Amanuensis: A person employed to write what another dictates or to copy what has been written by another.
I continue my project to transcribe family letters, journals, newspaper articles, audiotapes, and other historical artifacts. Not only do the documents contain genealogical information, the words breathe life into kin - some I never met - others I see a time in their life before I knew them.
I began this project three years ago, back on February 16, 2009. Since I began, many others have joined in on the meme. I am thrilled that this meme I started has inspired so many to transcribe their family history documents. Why do we transcribe? I provide my three reasons in the linked post. You may find others.
***
Last week I mentioned that I had found two news articles of interest at British Newspaper Archive. This week I am sharing the second.
The below was found on page 7 of the Hampshire Advertiser - Saturday February 6, 1854. It describes the discovery of a tombstone corroborating a local legend.
Showing posts with label Surname: Goldfinch. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Surname: Goldfinch. Show all posts
Monday, March 19, 2012
Thursday, September 30, 2010
Breaking Down Brick Walls: Part One
The theme for the 98th Carnival of Genealogy is: "Document Analysis! Show us a document that helped you break down a brick wall on your family tree. Discuss the information that appears on the document and how it contributes to your family history."
The term "brick wall" can be used to define almost any barrier we arrive at in our research, but is often used in genealogy circles to describe those ancestors for whom we know nothing about their parents. There might as well be a brick wall beyond this ancestor, because we can see nothing beyond them. Since we don't know their parents, it usually means we also are uncertain about when they were born.
Every branch of every family tree reaches a brick wall ancestor. (Note: I'm going to ignore any comments from people who claim to have traced a branch of their tree back to 'Adam.' We likely have different standards of reliable 'evidence,' so there's no use even trying to have a discussion.) As I said, every branch. Every time a wall is broken down, we have two more brick walls, because everyone has two parents. It's a hydra. (Pedigree Collapse is the only thing that can decrease your number of brick wall ancestors.)
Using this definition of "brick wall," I, personally, have only managed to knock down parts of three on my family tree. I have found the research of other genealogists online, and in libraries, that helped extend the generations my immediate family knew about. However, I didn't break down these walls, someone else did before me; thankfully, they wrote the information down for me to find. These walls are mostly on my maternal side, as my paternal brick walls mostly lay in countries where English is not the spoken language, and the online records are sparse.
One brick wall I may have knocked down half-way, is that of Jane Goldfinch. As I blogged about in July, I found the will of a Barnard Goldfinch, who looks very likely to be Jane's father. I still don't know her mother, though, so the wall isn't completely cleared away.
Here's what the will looks like:
And here's the transcription.
Another half-wall toppled does reside on my paternal branches. My paternal great great grandfather Selig Dudelsack arrived in the US in 1890. My family knew the name of his mother, Gertrude, or Gitel. We believe her surname was, "Slupsky," though this hasn't been verified.
In this case, finding the name of Gitel's father was the most simple of my genealogical breakthroughs. All it took was a trip to a cemetery. Some documents are carved in stone. It turned out Gitel made the trip to America with her son, and is buried next to him.
Translation of Hebrew: Gitel daughter of Reb Simcha Zelig died on the 16th of Av 5666. [August 6, 1906]
The tombstone doesn't provide a surname for the father. The family came from Poland or Russia, and may not have had a surname until sometime between 1821 and 1844. It's possible neither her father, nor Gitel, were born with one.
I did learn that Gitel named her son, Selig, after his grandfather. Selig's tombstone indicates his full Hebrew name was, "Simcha Zelig," too.
I will devote an entire post to the other wall I have chiseled away at.
Part Two
The term "brick wall" can be used to define almost any barrier we arrive at in our research, but is often used in genealogy circles to describe those ancestors for whom we know nothing about their parents. There might as well be a brick wall beyond this ancestor, because we can see nothing beyond them. Since we don't know their parents, it usually means we also are uncertain about when they were born.
Every branch of every family tree reaches a brick wall ancestor. (Note: I'm going to ignore any comments from people who claim to have traced a branch of their tree back to 'Adam.' We likely have different standards of reliable 'evidence,' so there's no use even trying to have a discussion.) As I said, every branch. Every time a wall is broken down, we have two more brick walls, because everyone has two parents. It's a hydra. (Pedigree Collapse is the only thing that can decrease your number of brick wall ancestors.)
Using this definition of "brick wall," I, personally, have only managed to knock down parts of three on my family tree. I have found the research of other genealogists online, and in libraries, that helped extend the generations my immediate family knew about. However, I didn't break down these walls, someone else did before me; thankfully, they wrote the information down for me to find. These walls are mostly on my maternal side, as my paternal brick walls mostly lay in countries where English is not the spoken language, and the online records are sparse.
One brick wall I may have knocked down half-way, is that of Jane Goldfinch. As I blogged about in July, I found the will of a Barnard Goldfinch, who looks very likely to be Jane's father. I still don't know her mother, though, so the wall isn't completely cleared away.
Here's what the will looks like:
And here's the transcription.
Another half-wall toppled does reside on my paternal branches. My paternal great great grandfather Selig Dudelsack arrived in the US in 1890. My family knew the name of his mother, Gertrude, or Gitel. We believe her surname was, "Slupsky," though this hasn't been verified.
In this case, finding the name of Gitel's father was the most simple of my genealogical breakthroughs. All it took was a trip to a cemetery. Some documents are carved in stone. It turned out Gitel made the trip to America with her son, and is buried next to him.
Translation of Hebrew: Gitel daughter of Reb Simcha Zelig died on the 16th of Av 5666. [August 6, 1906]
The tombstone doesn't provide a surname for the father. The family came from Poland or Russia, and may not have had a surname until sometime between 1821 and 1844. It's possible neither her father, nor Gitel, were born with one.
I did learn that Gitel named her son, Selig, after his grandfather. Selig's tombstone indicates his full Hebrew name was, "Simcha Zelig," too.
I will devote an entire post to the other wall I have chiseled away at.
Part Two
Monday, July 5, 2010
Amanuensis Monday: The Will of Barnard Goldfinch (w/guest Amanuensis)
Amanuensis: A person employed to write what another dictates or to copy what has been written by another.
I know I said I was taking a vacation, but I received an amazing email this morning from geneablogger, Martin Hollick of The Slovak Yankee. Apparently he has experience with 16th century English script, so 18th century was easy for him to read. So when he saw my post this morning concerning the will of Barnard Goldfinch, it didn't take him long to transcribe it. I plan to use his transcription to try to familiarize myself with this style so I am able to do the same in the future.
I know I said I was taking a vacation, but I received an amazing email this morning from geneablogger, Martin Hollick of The Slovak Yankee. Apparently he has experience with 16th century English script, so 18th century was easy for him to read. So when he saw my post this morning concerning the will of Barnard Goldfinch, it didn't take him long to transcribe it. I plan to use his transcription to try to familiarize myself with this style so I am able to do the same in the future.
London Lives - Barnard Goldfinch
I've extended one branch a generation further back this week. I was inputting some surnames into London Lives, a new website recently mentioned by the Genealogy Insider.
I discovered the abstract of a will for a Barnard Goldfinch.
My fourth great grandfather, William Denyer, married a Jane Goldfinch in 1791. I knew from the marriage record I had found online that Jane was from Portsea, and William was from Farlington.
Denyer, William, of Farlington, lime-burner, 21, b., & Jane Goldfinch, of Portsea, 21, sp., at P., 22 Oct., 1791. (from Hampshire allegations for marriage licences granted by the Bishop of Winchester: 1689 to 1837 - Vol 35, p. 217.) [The b. and sp. mean bachelor and spinster, and the 'at P.' most likely means 'at Portsea'.]
I figured this Barnard Goldfinch was a likely candidate for a relative. Not necessarily an ancestor, but possibly that too. So before heading to the UK Archives to obtain a copy of the will, I did a google search on "Barnard Goldfinch."
There were a total of 8 results, including an index to baptisms in Farlington Parish from 1766-1812. Apparently, a Barnard Goldfinch Denyer was born to a William (and Ann) Denyer on August 17, 1800. Ann? That's close to Jane. Clerical or transcription error perhaps?
The parish index listed a total of 8 Denyers born to a William from 1793-1807, and the other seven had a mother named Jane. My third great grandfather appears to be among them. So it seems a likely clerical error. Sure, there could be a child with a different mother -- but to name him after the other woman's father would be slightly unorthodox. And at this point, I was suspecting that's what he was. Still, I was less interested in the parentage of Barnard, than in the parentage of Jane. I was certain I wanted to obtain that will.
The UK National Archives charges a fee per record. (3.50 pounds) However, you can immediately download the record. Instant gratification.
Sort of. I'd like to go back in time and invent the typewriter a few centuries early please!
It's going to take some work to transcribe (decipher) this, but my initial perusal finds no mentions of a wife, and mention of only one child, a spinster daughter named Jane. Since my fourth great grandmother wasn't married yet to William Denyer, this is a very likely fifth great grandfather.
Whether or not he is descended from the Barnard Goldfinch who was born in 1643 in Winchester at the Goldfinch Cottage - is an unknown.
Correction: I have received some help in transcribing this, and there appears to have also been a son named Joseph, which could be helpful.
I discovered the abstract of a will for a Barnard Goldfinch.
| Forename | Barnard |
|---|---|
| Surname | Goldfinch |
| Occupation | Sailmaker |
| Parish, County | Portsea , Hampshire |
| Parish Name | Portsea |
| County, or Country | Hampshire |
| Date Proven | 27 June 1789 |
My fourth great grandfather, William Denyer, married a Jane Goldfinch in 1791. I knew from the marriage record I had found online that Jane was from Portsea, and William was from Farlington.
Denyer, William, of Farlington, lime-burner, 21, b., & Jane Goldfinch, of Portsea, 21, sp., at P., 22 Oct., 1791. (from Hampshire allegations for marriage licences granted by the Bishop of Winchester: 1689 to 1837 - Vol 35, p. 217.) [The b. and sp. mean bachelor and spinster, and the 'at P.' most likely means 'at Portsea'.]
I figured this Barnard Goldfinch was a likely candidate for a relative. Not necessarily an ancestor, but possibly that too. So before heading to the UK Archives to obtain a copy of the will, I did a google search on "Barnard Goldfinch."
There were a total of 8 results, including an index to baptisms in Farlington Parish from 1766-1812. Apparently, a Barnard Goldfinch Denyer was born to a William (and Ann) Denyer on August 17, 1800. Ann? That's close to Jane. Clerical or transcription error perhaps?
The parish index listed a total of 8 Denyers born to a William from 1793-1807, and the other seven had a mother named Jane. My third great grandfather appears to be among them. So it seems a likely clerical error. Sure, there could be a child with a different mother -- but to name him after the other woman's father would be slightly unorthodox. And at this point, I was suspecting that's what he was. Still, I was less interested in the parentage of Barnard, than in the parentage of Jane. I was certain I wanted to obtain that will.
The UK National Archives charges a fee per record. (3.50 pounds) However, you can immediately download the record. Instant gratification.
Sort of. I'd like to go back in time and invent the typewriter a few centuries early please!
[Image of will removed due to copyright/permission issues with the UK National Archives.]
Whether or not he is descended from the Barnard Goldfinch who was born in 1643 in Winchester at the Goldfinch Cottage - is an unknown.
Correction: I have received some help in transcribing this, and there appears to have also been a son named Joseph, which could be helpful.
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