Book Review: Dreams in the Mist

Several months ago I discovered Dreams in the Mist: Loyalist House Season I by Barbara Nattress

The short novel (156 pages) concerns a woman, Marilee, who after retiring from a teaching career opens a Bed and Breakfast in Niagara with her husband. Marilee starts to have dreams, populated by ghosts, through which we learn what happened in the home during the early 19th century.

I discovered the book in a Google Books search for my Van Every ancestors, who happen to be the ghosts. (Actually, the ghosts aren't my ancestors, but close kin.)

Noticing that it was self-published, I decided to save a few dollars with the Kindle version. I knew I was buying a work of fiction. However, I was hoping to enjoy a story set in a time and location of interest, with some characters closely related to my ancestors. I wasn’t disappointed in that regard.

The initial pages where the protagonist is retiring from her career, and seeking to purchase a B&B, go by slowly. However, when the house is purchased, and Marilee starts to have the dreams, the pace picks up.

The point of view switches back and forth between Marilee and the ghosts in her dreams. I was most interested in the dreams, and the description of Marilee’s research into the history of the house. The sections of the novel where Marilee describes the day-to-day business of the bed and breakfast were of less interest, and I found myself skimming those paragraphs for more interesting material.

The author is a retired teacher, who operated a Bed and Breakfast for eight years in Niagara, and is now a realtor. While those sections of the novel are written from experience, perhaps the author put a little too much in. I'd rather she had focused on  Niagaran history. However, someone with a passion for Beds and Breakfasts might feel different. There is a collection of recipes at the end of the book as well, which might interest some.

The author includes a short bibliography, for which I am grateful as well, indicating where she conducted her research on the family, time, and setting. Of the four sources listed, I've  downloaded a free ebook of one, found a copy of another at a local library, and can purchase the third - though it is also searchable via Google Books. The fourth only appears to be available from the Canadian Archives.

While I enjoy reading historical fiction and have dabbled with writing fiction myself, the idea of fictionalizing the lives of my own ancestors troubles me. I don't think I could do it. I don't mind reading it, but I think I would be unable to write it.

Book Review: Annie's Ghosts by Steve Luxenberg

Steve Luxenberg’s mother was an only child. She worked that fact into many conversations, even with people she had barely met. Her family didn’t think it strange that she did so; it was just a part of who she was.

When Steve finds out his mother had a sister, his shock as a son, as well as his training as a reporter, compels him to research the mystery. He is determined not only to figure out the Who, What, When, Where and How – but also the Why. When he begins the research sixty years have passed since his aunt was institutionalized. She is deceased, and so are both of his parents. And he realizes he is racing against time to find the right people to ask the right questions.

Along the way he uncovers more family secrets. They propel his research to Detroit, Michigan, and through the history and bureaucracy of Michigan’s institutions for individuals with mental retardation and mental illness. They lead him from Radziwillow, Russia, where a cousin escaped the Holocaust, to the Philippines, where his father served during World War II, to Ellis Island.  They take him through the letters his parents wrote to each other, and through his own childhood memories.  The reader follows, often horrified, saddened, or intrigued by what is revealed. 

Who knew? Who didn’t? Both questions needed to be answered for a complete portrait. The artist’s challenge was mine as well: To get the composition right. I had to master the negative space as well as the positive; to paint what was absent as well as what was present. (page 65)

This is Luxenberg’s first book, but that is misleading.  He is not unskilled with the written word, as he has been a senior editor at the Washington Post for over two decades. The emotional conflict between the duties of a reporter and those of a son play out in the pages.

Much of the book will be familiar to a genealogist. We’re accustomed to uncovering these mysteries, though we may not be as skilled in some of the investigational techniques. I was impressed with what I learned from the book. (See below.)

I don't read many memoirs, but Luxenberg immediately was able to grab my attention, and hold it until the end.  The elements of mystery and genealogy research are undoubtedly the glue which kept me hooked, however I suspect regular readers of memoirs will find the emotional impact of the revelations satisfying.  My only frustrations during reading were the ones I shared with Luxenberg, over the bureaucratic red tape, and the fading human recollections.

Some readers may feel the descriptions aren't sufficient, and wish more of the documents referenced were presented in the book for us to look at. There is a fix for this, though. Luxenberg has created a website where he has uploaded many of these documents, as well as some additional ones not mentioned in the book. I recommend not visiting the website until after you’ve finished reading, as there are some potential spoilers. In both what is presented there, and perhaps more importantly to some readers, what is absent.

Finally, there are a few appendices worth mentioning.  First, he includes some extensive chapter notes. There is also a list of "Family Members and Recurring Figures."  This cast of characters will prove useful to many readers, and if you're a reader who tends to skip over the table of contents, you're not likely to see it until after you're finished.

A Few Research Tips I Learned

1) Don’t Lead the Witness

I didn’t really learn this from Luxenberg, it’s more like I was reminded. I come from a family of lawyers, so the phrase was familiar. But it is important to remember when interviewing people, whether they are on a witness stand, or sitting across from you at the dinner table. People’s memories are a funny thing, and if you ask them, “Do you remember X?” they may suddenly think they are able to.

2) New Resources

Luxenberg used a few resources that were new to me.

A) Morning Reports

Many US World War II personnel records were destroyed in a 1973 fire, but these weren’t.

MORNING REPORTS are created each morning, as the name implies. They are an "exception based" system, only containing information on those individuals who are not "Present and Accounted for". Among the reasons for being listed on a morning report are: Promotion or demotion; Being killed, wounded or missing in action; Being assigned to a unit, or leaving a unit; Going to a hospital for treatment, or to another activity for training [quote from National Archives page linked to above]

Morning Reports are available from 1912-1974 for the US Army, and 1947-1966 for the Air Force.

B) 1940-2000 census records – Age Search Service

It’s a well-repeated maxim that the US census is closed to the public until 72 years have passed. This maxim, while generally true, hides an important exception. You can ask the census bureau for a transcription of your own census details. And after you are deceased, so can (1) a blood relative in the immediate family (parent, child, brother, sister, grandparent), (2) the surviving wife or husband, (3) the administrator or executor of the estate, or (4) a beneficiary by will or insurance.

This can be expensive. It’s $65 for a “census transcript” which will list the person’s name, relationship to household head, age at the time of the census, state of birth, and citizenship if the person was foreign born. An additional $10 for a “Full Schedule” containing the complete one-line entry for a single person.  Offhand, I can't think of any personal mysteries that this will help me solve. However, despite the cost and the restrictions, this could prove useful to some.

Disclaimers:

1) The publisher provided me with a review copy. This is standard practice for professional reviewers, but since I am not one, I feel I should disclose this.

2) Since I do have an Amazon Associates account, and used it for the below "Buy From Amazon" links, anyone who follows those links and makes a purchase from Amazon will be helping me earn a small referral fee. This doesn't add to your cost in any way. And if you wish to purchase it from Barnes and Noble, Borders, or a local independent bookseller, the choice is yours.

Hardback	Paperback
	The paperback is being released May 11, 2010, but can be pre-ordered.

Our Name in History: Redux

Back in November of 2007, upon their release(*), I reviewed Ancestry.com's Our Name in History line of books. I summarized:

Someone who has spent significant time researching their family history already isn't likely to learn much, or get too many leads. In their introduction, Ancestry is careful to insert two disclaimers: 1) this information is about the surname in general, and not about the reader's specific ancestors. 2) data shouldn't be confused with fact. [I illustrated both disclaimers in my initial review.]

However, I feel this book would be a good first book for a son or grandson of high school/college age, or an adult friend who has shown some interest in genealogy, but doesn't quite know where to start. There is a section at the back that provides tips on research, and organization, along with some sample forms to get one started. The data that is presented should whet their appetite.

I noted that a quick random survey of surnames available on Amazon indicated that there was some variance in page length (as much as ten pages), likely due to how much data was found for particular surnames in the databases that Ancestry used for the books. I had purchased The Newmark Name in History, and said I wasn't interested in most of my other surnames, since I knew they would be very similar books. However, I was slightly curious about the Vanevery surname, since I knew the family had a different migration history which could yield different stock history pages.

The Van Every surname is also one of my few surnames where I am pretty certain everyone with the surname is related to me. It is believed all Van Everys are descended from two brothers Myndert and Carsten Frederickse (sons of Frederick Van Iveren). Therefore, I knew that the charts and graphs on name and occupation distribution would have a little more meaning for me.

Still, it was almost two years before I bought it.

I'm not going to repeat what I said in my first review. I will focus on the differences, as I find the differences are important to note for anyone considering purchase today.

There are only two pages in the Van Every book that weren't in the Newmark book, and that's because five Van Everys purchased some federal land between 1830 and 1888. None of these were my direct ancestors. However, there is a nice stock entry on the Homestead Act, Manifest Destiny, and Daniel Boone.

There at 10 pages in the Newmark book on the surname's history in England from 1851-1901, and only 2 in the Van Every book. For the obvious reason, there were no Van Everys in England. They did throw in 2 stock pages on the working conditions in England in 1881, even though they had no family statistics to attach that to. I'm not sure why they did this, except perhaps for padding.

Some of my disappointment I should have seen coming, as I could tell from the Amazon descriptions that the Van Every book was 6 pages shorter. With some thought, I should have figured out why.

My Van Every ancestors immigrated to America in the 17th century, but a large number of their descendants left America after the Revolutionary War. Even with just two surname books, I think I can say with relative certainty that all the books start with 1840, and the focus is on America, though they do have a sizable section on England, if applicable. Ancestry's Canadian resources have grown in the past two years, but all they had in 2007 may have been the 1911 census. So I did get a chart showing the 1911 name distribution - There were 98 families in Ontario, and 1-15 families in BC, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and Quebec. In comparison, there were only 3 Newmark families each in Quebec and Saskatchewan.

I'm not sure what the 19th century immigration data for the Van Every surname reflects. It could be families who were traveling instead of immigrating. Or perhaps some families returned to Europe for a couple generations instead of Canada. Or there is a third possibility that there are some Van Everys in America who aren't descended from the two brothers...perhaps related more distantly.

In summary, if one is evaluating which surnames to purchase a Name in History volume for, the paucity of information from Canada might play a role for some surnames.

(*)I know that the Amazon pages for the books say they were published in June/July of 2007. I also know the Amazon Press Release announcing them was on November 5th.

Our Name in History: A Review

It was the early-1930s, Great Depression, my grandfather and a couple friends hopped a train in St. Louis and rode it to California. Upon arriving in California, my grandfather saw a large building with the name Newmark on it. He had no idea he had relatives in California. So, naturally, he walked inside and asked for a job. And they told him to go away. They were probably nice about it, but it was the Great Depression, and there were no jobs available. Not even for potential distant cousins. No jobs were found, so the friends hopped another train, and rode back to St. Louis. My grandfather married my grandmother, had a successful career as a lawyer and a judge, and all was for the best in the best of all possible worlds (to quote Voltaire). However, when he heard about a family history book entitled, California Family Newmark, he bought a copy.

So when Ancestry recently announced they were publishing their "Our Name in History" series, I knew I had to buy a copy of "The Newmark Name in History," in memory of my grandfather. I knew the books had to be created by computer, pulling data from Ancestry's databases to create charts and graphs and mixed together with stock text. But there was still a chance the charts and graphs could be interesting, as well as the stock text.

So before I get into the full review, you're probably wanting to know what I think:
Q: Is the book worth $29.95?
A: It depends.

Someone who has spent significant time researching their family history already isn't likely to learn much, or get too many leads. In their introduction, Ancestry is careful to insert two disclaimers: 1) this information is about the surname in general, and not about the reader's specific ancestors. 2) data shouldn't be confused with fact. I will illustrate both of these disclaimers in the review.

However, I feel this book would be a good first book for a son or grandson of high school/college age, or an adult friend who has shown some interest in genealogy, but doesn't quite know where to start. There is a section at the back that provides tips on research, and organization, along with some sample forms to get one started. The data that is presented should whet their appetite.

Details:

The Newmark Name in History is 94 pages. When I browsed through the different surnames at Amazon, the longest volumes were 98 pages, so there is some information other surnames have, that the Newmark surname doesn’t. My guess is that since Newmarks appear in the United States about 1840, the missing 4 pages cover the years prior to that. However, 4 pages seems short to do that in. It is possible there is some variance in volumes, and more material was provided on the 19th century in mine than there would be for surnames that had a presence in America in earlier times.

I do have ancestors who were here during the Revolutionary War; the Vaneverys. Interestingly, the Vanevery Name in History is a shorter volume than The Newmark Name. My suspicion is that several pages on 19th century immigration are missing. It’s good that there is variance; but it means I can’t give a complete review from one volume. But still, I think I can give you a good idea of what you will receive.

Stock Material

There are a lot of pages devoted to history accounts, from immigrant journals, to discussions on name changes, Ellis Island, the Westward Expansion, medical advances in the delivering of babies, letters from soldiers, the Civil War, WWI, WWII, Literacy rates, and other topics. Mostly devoted to America, but there was a section on England too (perhaps only because the Newmark surname had a British presence) Working Conditions in Britain in the 1880s, Queen Victoria’s death, and a general article on immigration from England to the US. Those who are interested in history will probably find the articles interesting. It does provide a good illustration of the lives people led during the various decades. (Each individual article is only a page in length at most.)

Pages 78-85 are a section devoted to a five-step process for researching, and organizing your family tree. Following this is a blank sample Family Tree Chart, Family Group Sheet, and Research Log. Then there is a glossary of Family History terms, and a list of sources, including a lot of websites. This would have been the most natural section to push Ancestry, but they only include it in a list of other websites, including FamilySearch, CyndisList, FamilyHistory, Rootsweb, USGenWeb, and VitalRec. I was impressed by, and appreciated the restraint they showed in advertising their website.

Surname Specific material

Charts/Graphs (extensive list, but not complete list)
Place Names (Buildings and Streets with the surname in them. Hopefully, if your surname is Main, they don’t include a complete list.)
Places of Origin (pulled from passenger lists)
Ports of Departure
Most Common Ship Names
Ten Earliest Immigrants, with arrival date, departure port, and ship name (Maybe you’ll get lucky, I didn’t)
A graph charting the number of arrivals per year from 1823 to 1943
Distribution of Households in 1840, 1851 (England), 1880, 1881 (England), 1901 (England), 1911 (Canada), 1920, 2000 (source for 2000: Phone Directories)
Literacy distribution by age in the 1920s
Distribution (by state) of WWI Draft Registrants, WWII Army Enlistment
Occupations in 1880 (US), 1881 (England)
Most Popular Given Names by Decade (1880s, 1900s, 1920s, 1940s, 1960s)
Home Ownership rates in the 1920s by age
Graph of Life Expentancy by year (1939-1999) versus general public
Most Common Causes of Death
Most Common Cemeteries for Veterans Burials

There is also the occasional ‘silly data’ such as the most common day of the week for a birth or a death in your family. I guess there are people who might think that’s significant.

There are times when it becomes painfully obvious that a computer produced the volume instead of a human. For example, for “Places of Origin for Newmark Immigrants” the chart shows that most immigrants (38) came from Russia. So they include below the chart a generic paragraph about generic Russian immigration. “The first Russians in the United States were explorers from Siberia that settled in Alaska in 1784…The large number of Russian immigrants declined in 1952 when the Soviet government began threatening those who tried to emigrate.” However, 37 immigrants came from England, 8 came from Great Britain, and 5 came from London. If a human had created the book, there would be a paragraph on immigration from England. However, ironically, I know that a good number of Newmarks only stopped briefly in England (my family was there for 15 years), and really originated in Poland or Russia. So in actuality, while the data indicates the majority came from England, the majority really didn’t originate there. Similarly, in 1880, out of the top five occupations for Newmarks are “Keeping House” and “Keeps House”. The sixth most common occupation got pushed off the list by the duplication.

In summary, I don’t think I have any new leads for research (except the long list of websites in the back pages under “Selected Sources”). I’m not disappointed. Some of the information is at least fun to have. There is a significant amount of good reading material about life in America. And the section on research and organization could be beneficial for any beginner. (Which I still am.) These books appear to be meant for the newcomer to genealogy and family history. They’re meant to ignite the spark.

I don’t have a large interest in buying a copy for any of my other surnames, since I am almost certain most of the stock material will be repeated, and I don’t expect to learn anything truly essential to my research. However, I might get a copy of the Vanevery volume since they immigrated in the 17th and 18th centuries, and while I don't know for certain, there might be some good articles on that time period. There also could be more information on Canada, since that's the part of my family that were Loyalists and they fled to Canada for a couple generations after the Revolutionary War.

Instructions on how to add text to, and otherwise alter Amazon images as done at top of entry.

Your Name In History

BookSurge (Amazon.com's Print-on-Demand service) has partnered with Ancestry to produce 277,577 books in a series entitled "Our Name in History". Each volume costs $29.95. Collecting the whole series would be expensive, but most people wouldn't want the whole series. They'll only want the volumes on their various surnames of interest.

This PR-Release says 90% of all names in America are covered. A quick search told me there wasn't a volume on the Dudelsacks, Cruvants or the Van Everys, but there was a volume on Denyers, Newmarks, Deutsches, and Blatts, as well as Vaneverys, and Kruvants. (So when searching, remember to enter variant spellings.)

Here's their standardized 'Product Description'. The only thing that varies is the surname:

The Newmark Name in History is a customized book offering a unique blend of fascinating facts, statistics and commentary about the Newmark name. The book is just one of an entire series of family name books in the Our Name in History collection. Each book in the collection is printed on demand and is compiled from hundreds of millions of records from the world's largest online resource of family history, Ancestry.com. This particular book follows the Newmark family name through history and makes the perfect gift for your family members and anyone interested in the Newmark name. In the book you'll find out about where people with the Newmark last name originated. You may discover the countries and ports they left behind, the ships they sailed and more. You'll get a better idea of where people sharing the Newmark name settled and where they may reside today in the United States, Canada, England and other countries. You'll get all this information and much more in your Newmark family name book. If your last name is not Newmark, then check out our collection of nearly 300,000 family name books to find other available names in the series.

The entries at Amazon.com I looked at (just a handful) seem to range between 80-98 pages. The announcement was today. I don't have a copy to review yet. Should have one by Wednesday.