There are several recordings my family has made over the years that I have listened to recently. They are all very different, and have caused me to think about what I personally get from these recordings, and thus what future generations might get from recordings I made.
I came to the conclusion that my favorite tape was probably the most unlikely tape to be recorded.
1) My maternal grandfather, a brother, and a sister, over a weekend, recorded their memories of their childhood in Transylvania.
I knew my grandfather very well. I’d often stop by his home after school. His second wife (I called her Grandma, as I never knew my mother’s mother) taught me how to play gin rummy, and it remains my favorite card game. My grandfather taught me how to bowl. He passed away in 1991, and hearing his voice brings back the memories. I saw his sister a handful of times. Enough so that I can visualize her when I hear her voice. I don’t recall ever meeting his brother. I was too young when he died.
As I listened to the tape, I wrote down any information I could. My great-uncle, the eldest of the three, was about 13 when they immigrated. He remembered the most, but still, his memories were filtered through a child’s eyes, and sixty years. That he knew they arrived in Baltimore, not at Ellis Island, and that he refused to budge when my grandfather tried to insist everyone came in at Ellis Island, gives me confidence about his other memories.
They talked a little about their first few years in Chicago, but nothing after that, and I wish I knew more about those years.
There is a mine of information at the end of the tape as the three of them try to recall all the names of uncles, aunts, and cousins. Many who remained in Transylvania. I write everything down, but I think that it would have been better if they had written it down. There’d be no issue of me writing down names phonetically. And on the tape, when they couldn’t agree, they moved on…on paper, they could come back to it a week later.
The best part of the tape is hearing their voices, and the interplay of their personalities.
2) Both my paternal grandparents were interviewed about their memories of childhood through adulthood.
These tapes are heavy on information. I write it all down, though they could have written it down, too. Maybe the interviewer gets them to remember things they wouldn't otherwise have remembered. I don’t know the interviewer. My grandparents are relaxed, but their personality doesn’t come through as much as I would like. I love listening to their voices, though.
3) A cousin of my paternal grandfather was interviewed by his alma mater about his medical career. (This I found online.)
I never knew this individual, and he's not a direct ancestor, so this tape means less to me, but he mentions a few things about his family life, and his career, that I write down. His comments about life in the 30s are also interesting in a historical sense.
4) On my grandmother’s 80th birthday my parents, aunts, uncles, cousins and myself crowded into a van and drove her around town, driving by old homes, old schools, etc. The entire trip was recorded. It's been twelve years since we did this. It's been five years since she passed away.
The conversation was chaotic. There are people speaking simultaneously, arguments, and hilarity. Informationally, I actually think this contains the least of any tape, but I love it the most. Everyone’s personality comes through in full force. I also know that while it’s going to be difficult, I have to transcribe the tape, because someone who recognizes all the voices needs to do it.
I think the next generation, even though they won’t have the pleasure of recognizing all the voices, will get pleasure out of hearing everyone having such a great time, and will certainly appreciate knowing who is saying what as they match personalities with names.
It didn’t take me much thought to come up with the easiest way to reproduce the results of the fourth tape. We didn’t have to wait for a birthday or anniversary. All we really needed to do was bring a tape recorder to Thanksgiving Dinner. Or any Sunday Dinner at my grandparents when I was a kid would have been grand to hear played back.
It wouldn’t matter that the conversation wasn’t about family roots – and it might almost be better if it wasn’t. All that stuff can be written down. The tape recorder (or now the video recorder) captures us as we are, for posterity. Talk about politics, talk about sports, talk about the weather. I’d love to know what my great-grandparents talked about around the dinner table.
Thursday, November 1, 2007
Sunday, October 28, 2007
Happy Birthday to our Lady in the Lake
The Statue of Liberty was dedicated 121 years ago on October 28, 1886.Currently, if asked, I am Transylvanian, Dutch, Polish, Russian, Lithuanian, British, French, German, and possibly Choctaw. Except for that one small possibility, I'm 100% immigrant. I'm also 100% American.
The presence of anti-Immigrant attitudes in America disturbs me. It tells me we're forgetting our history. I wonder if some people were to have a conversation with the spirits of their great-grandparents, what those ancestors would say to them.
Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame,
With conquering limbs astride from land to land;
Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand
A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame
Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name
Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand
Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command
The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame.
"Keep ancient lands, your storied pomp!" cries she
With silent lips. "Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"
-- "The New Colossus" - by Emma Lazarus
Lovely Lady Liberty
With her book of recipes
And the finest one she's got
Is the great American melting pot
The great American melting pot.
-- "The Great American Melting Pot", Schoolhouse Rock
I like Polish sausage, I like Spanish rice,
and pizza pie is also nice
Corn and beans from the Indians here
washed down by German beer
Marco Polo traveled by camel and pony,
he brought to Italy, the first macaroni
And you and I as well we're able,
we put it all on the table
-- "All Mixed Up", by Pete Seeger (also performed by Peter, Paul, and Mary)
Wednesday, October 24, 2007
Can DNA solve these mysteries?
For the 35th edition of the Carnival of Genealogy, The Genetic Genealogist, who has a Ph.D. in biochemistry with a concentration in genetics, has offered to analyze whether or not certain family mysteries could be solved by DNA tests.
I’d actually been giving this some thought prior to the announcement, reading various websites, wondering whether I should get a test done, or convince a relative or two to do so. A relative has already participated in the National Geographic Genographic study, which might eliminate the need for others in the family to take the same/similar test.
There are basically two mysteries/questions. My non-expert conclusion is that DNA could help solve one of them, but unfortunately, not likely the other.
Family Mystery #1
There is a family myth that we have a Native American ancestor. My mother’s mother’s mother’s mother – Sarah Hartley, who married Ebenezer Denyer. (If true, it is significant, since Ebenezer's brother, Samuel, was killed by Native Americans, as his daughter, Ida, wrote about in her poem. The 1870 census indicates that once both her parents had died, Ida spent some time living with her uncle, and possibly Native American aunt. There may have been some tension there if her ancestry was known.)
No vital statistics are known about Sarah (birth date/location; death date/location; names of parents) so tracing her ancestry is difficult by normal means. If she were a full-blooded Native American, or if half-blooded, and her mother was full-blooded, it is my understanding that an mtDNA test of either myself, or my mother, would verify this. Of course, if the test came back negative, it would still be possible she was half-blooded, and her father was the full-blood.
There are some reports of genetic tests that tell you that you are x% Native American. That suggests that it isn't telling you about your mother's mother's mother's mother's.....mother only. That it can look at your broader genetic makeup. If that is possible, then it's likely my mother should take the test, because whatever the percentage is, her percentage would be twice mine, and easier to detect.
Family Mystery #2
This mystery is whether or not my research regarding Selig (Dudelsack) Feinstein’s siblings is correct. I think I have found one brother (Julius Odelson) and one sister (Tillie Oberman). Unfortunately, no descendants of the sister would have the Dudelsack Y chromosome. I wouldn’t either, but there are several direct male descendents of Selig who might be willing to take the test. Possible brother, Julius, had two sons, though I believe only one had a child, and that child was a daughter. So even if she has living descendants (which isn’t clear) there’d be no way to test their relationship.
So I’m left with Tillie’s death certificate, with parent names that match Selig’s, which is almost certain proof in my mind that she was Selig’s sister, and by deduction, the likelihood that Julius was probably their brother. Julius had a daughter who probably has some descendants in St. Louis, but the name of her husband was relatively common, and the list of people I’d have to blindly write letters to is extensive. I might do it, but it’s not a job for DNA.
I’d actually been giving this some thought prior to the announcement, reading various websites, wondering whether I should get a test done, or convince a relative or two to do so. A relative has already participated in the National Geographic Genographic study, which might eliminate the need for others in the family to take the same/similar test.
There are basically two mysteries/questions. My non-expert conclusion is that DNA could help solve one of them, but unfortunately, not likely the other.
Family Mystery #1
There is a family myth that we have a Native American ancestor. My mother’s mother’s mother’s mother – Sarah Hartley, who married Ebenezer Denyer. (If true, it is significant, since Ebenezer's brother, Samuel, was killed by Native Americans, as his daughter, Ida, wrote about in her poem. The 1870 census indicates that once both her parents had died, Ida spent some time living with her uncle, and possibly Native American aunt. There may have been some tension there if her ancestry was known.)
No vital statistics are known about Sarah (birth date/location; death date/location; names of parents) so tracing her ancestry is difficult by normal means. If she were a full-blooded Native American, or if half-blooded, and her mother was full-blooded, it is my understanding that an mtDNA test of either myself, or my mother, would verify this. Of course, if the test came back negative, it would still be possible she was half-blooded, and her father was the full-blood.
There are some reports of genetic tests that tell you that you are x% Native American. That suggests that it isn't telling you about your mother's mother's mother's mother's.....mother only. That it can look at your broader genetic makeup. If that is possible, then it's likely my mother should take the test, because whatever the percentage is, her percentage would be twice mine, and easier to detect.
Family Mystery #2
This mystery is whether or not my research regarding Selig (Dudelsack) Feinstein’s siblings is correct. I think I have found one brother (Julius Odelson) and one sister (Tillie Oberman). Unfortunately, no descendants of the sister would have the Dudelsack Y chromosome. I wouldn’t either, but there are several direct male descendents of Selig who might be willing to take the test. Possible brother, Julius, had two sons, though I believe only one had a child, and that child was a daughter. So even if she has living descendants (which isn’t clear) there’d be no way to test their relationship.
So I’m left with Tillie’s death certificate, with parent names that match Selig’s, which is almost certain proof in my mind that she was Selig’s sister, and by deduction, the likelihood that Julius was probably their brother. Julius had a daughter who probably has some descendants in St. Louis, but the name of her husband was relatively common, and the list of people I’d have to blindly write letters to is extensive. I might do it, but it’s not a job for DNA.
Monday, October 22, 2007
Blogging may be light in November
I plan on participating in National Novel Writing Month in November, which will necessitate a slight decrease in my genealogical pursuits. However, the tentative title for my planned masterpiece is Ahnentafel Falafel.
Limitations of DNA testing
News articles on the limitations of genealogical DNA testing
I've been reading a lot about DNA testing recently. I have one relative who has participated in the Natl Geographic project, placing our family's paternal ancestry in the K2 haplogroup. I am considering getting an mtDNA test to answer a question about a maternal ancestor. I will be writing more about that later.
I've been reading a lot about DNA testing recently. I have one relative who has participated in the Natl Geographic project, placing our family's paternal ancestry in the K2 haplogroup. I am considering getting an mtDNA test to answer a question about a maternal ancestor. I will be writing more about that later.
Sunday, October 21, 2007
Patrick Swayze - direct descendant of ....
This morning I found Patrick Swayze's alleged genealogy, and confirmed that the Swayze in my tree intersected with his tree. I haven't done the math yet1 to see what number cousin we are. I have two left feet though. The only dirty dancing I can do is with iambics, and even then, I'll frequently step on a foot.
We allegedly intersect at Judge Samuel Swayze (1688-1710).
Judge Samuel Swayze's parents were Joseph Swayze and Mary Betts. Whoever entered the Swayze tree doesn't carry Mary Betts' line back further than Mary's mother Joanna Chamberlain Betts, however, Joanna is (according to One World Tree) a direct descendant of Chaucer. Which would make cousin Patrick one too.
17th
We allegedly intersect at Judge Samuel Swayze (1688-1710).
Judge Samuel Swayze's parents were Joseph Swayze and Mary Betts. Whoever entered the Swayze tree doesn't carry Mary Betts' line back further than Mary's mother Joanna Chamberlain Betts, however, Joanna is (according to One World Tree) a direct descendant of Chaucer. Which would make cousin Patrick one too.
17th
Friday, October 19, 2007
Friday Five
Five names from various census -- all thematically related
DNA Smith – M - 1900 – Lagrange IN – 5 years old
Genetic Biggers – F – 1880 – Parker TX – 3 years old
Helix Humphrey – M – 1930 – McDowell WV – 1 year old
Amino Cassain – M – 1910 – Morgan, IN – 1 year old
Genome Kelly – F – 1920 – Blount, AL – 17 years old
DNA Smith – M - 1900 – Lagrange IN – 5 years old
Genetic Biggers – F – 1880 – Parker TX – 3 years old
Helix Humphrey – M – 1930 – McDowell WV – 1 year old
Amino Cassain – M – 1910 – Morgan, IN – 1 year old
Genome Kelly – F – 1920 – Blount, AL – 17 years old
G-Wizz-News
Recently when commenting on the Cost of Genealogy, I said that I didn't see myself travelling to Europe to do research due to the cost of travel.
Since I have programmed "Transylvania" as one of my News Topics at my customized Google News page, I learned this morning that there's a Budget airline in Europe called Wizz that has stops in London, England; Cluj, Romania; and Poland. The news article wasn't specific about cities in Poland, but Wizz Air has an English website, and they do stop in Warsaw. Anyone planning a trip in Europe might want to check out their routes - there are stops in France, Spain, Germany, Norway, Italy, and Greece as well.
London, Cluj and Warsaw would be the three main stops of any Family History trip I would probably make. Whether it was to do research, or just visit the locations my ancestors lived. I could do a round-trip from London-Cluj for 53.60 GBP ($109). Of course, I have to get to London. It's probably still not any time soon, but it's nice to know about a budget airline that stops in so many European cities.
Since I have programmed "Transylvania" as one of my News Topics at my customized Google News page, I learned this morning that there's a Budget airline in Europe called Wizz that has stops in London, England; Cluj, Romania; and Poland. The news article wasn't specific about cities in Poland, but Wizz Air has an English website, and they do stop in Warsaw. Anyone planning a trip in Europe might want to check out their routes - there are stops in France, Spain, Germany, Norway, Italy, and Greece as well.
London, Cluj and Warsaw would be the three main stops of any Family History trip I would probably make. Whether it was to do research, or just visit the locations my ancestors lived. I could do a round-trip from London-Cluj for 53.60 GBP ($109). Of course, I have to get to London. It's probably still not any time soon, but it's nice to know about a budget airline that stops in so many European cities.
Thursday, October 18, 2007
Of hogs and ghoti.
Terry Thornton has honored me with adding my blog to his list of H.O.G.S. Blogs, even though I stated a preference for ghoti over pork. (I've also always preferred swimming in oceans to wallowing in mud, though there is, alas, photographic evidence I have done both. Luckily, I went to college pre-youtube.) I accept the honor, and have added the logo to my sidebar.
Wednesday, October 17, 2007
Birthdays, Brothers, and Euphemisms
Boris Efimov turned 107 on September 28th. Billed as "perhaps the oldest Jew in the world" (can't be positive of course), he is best known for caricatures he drew of Hitler, Goebbels and others. He is still employed in Russia as a cartoonist for the newspaper, Izvestia, where he's been for 85 years.
I read that and, not completely understanding the last sentence, thought to myself, "How old is his brother?" and started looking for information about him. I learned that his brother was 'most severely' repressed in 1940 or 1942. Luckily he was 'rehabilitated' by the Soviet government in 1954...but not by a reanimator as skilled as Anita Blake. Alas.
In his childhood, Boris Efimov and his brother – now a well-known journalist Mikhail Koltsov – both bore the last name Fridlyand. However, as often occurred during the Communist regime, people working in the creative and public sphere took on a pseudonym so as to be able to circulate their works in various Soviet publications.
Since his brother's repression during the terrifying years of Stalin's reign, Boris Efimov is often known to say "I live two lives – one for myself and one for my brother"
I read that and, not completely understanding the last sentence, thought to myself, "How old is his brother?" and started looking for information about him. I learned that his brother was 'most severely' repressed in 1940 or 1942. Luckily he was 'rehabilitated' by the Soviet government in 1954...but not by a reanimator as skilled as Anita Blake. Alas.
It seems I'm not up on my euphemisms. The story about Boris, though is a good one. He has certainly seen a lot, and has lived to see a Russia with greater freedom.
Tuesday, October 16, 2007
Mac Genealogy Software Demo and Upgrade Comparison
Many people like to test software before they buy – which is why software companies create Demo programs. Limitations of some sort are always placed on Demo packages (otherwise, people would never buy the full software.) Below is a comparison of the Demos offered by three major genealogy software programs for the Mac. I’m not suggesting one should buy the full program based completely on the demo, but the three are significantly different in my opinion making the differences worth mentioning.
MacFamilyTree [website]
Their demo is fully functional, except you can’t save any entries. At least that is what the website says. I bought the software from a store without testing the demo. Taking the website at its word, this is an interesting limitation. I could import a gedcom created in another software program, and give it a full test. However, if it were the first demo I tried, I would be frustrated, because I’d have to enter enough data to test it…and do it in one sitting, because I couldn’t save anything. I assume there is no time limitation on the demo – not really necessary with the ‘no save’ feature in my mind.
Reunion [website]
Also seems to be a non-expiring demo. However, you can’t import or export GED files. You can’t save charts. And printouts have a watermark on them. You are also limited to 50 entries.
Not being able to import a GED file, makes it more difficult to test. They do provide a sample "Family File" (The Kennedy family). It contains 35 entries, but with few entries that are 'outside the norm' to adequately test the software, so you will likely end up entering data to do so.
IFamilyForTiger [website]
Almost fully functional 10-day demo. You’ve only got ten days to test it, the version might be an older version than the most current, and you're unable to export a GED file. Otherwise fully functional. (The website says that you also can't use the menu option to upgrade the demo to a newer version. I'd think that was common sense, but they probably have to say it.)
It comes with a sample database – the British Royal Family – with over 3000 entries which provides ample records to test all of the features. You can also import any Gedcom you already have, with no limitation on size.
Upgrade Policy Comparison
This is a much shorter comparison – and something someone might later wish they considered prior to making their initial purchase.
Reunion
Original software: $100
Upgrades: $60 (based on current price for Reunion 9 Full vs Upgrade)
MacFamilyTree
Original software: $50
Upgrades: $25 (based on current price for MacFamilyTree 4.5 Full vs Upgrade)
IFamilyForTiger
Original software: $30
Upgrades: Free
(note: I round all prices to the nearest dollar.)
MacFamilyTree [website]
Their demo is fully functional, except you can’t save any entries. At least that is what the website says. I bought the software from a store without testing the demo. Taking the website at its word, this is an interesting limitation. I could import a gedcom created in another software program, and give it a full test. However, if it were the first demo I tried, I would be frustrated, because I’d have to enter enough data to test it…and do it in one sitting, because I couldn’t save anything. I assume there is no time limitation on the demo – not really necessary with the ‘no save’ feature in my mind.
Reunion [website]
Also seems to be a non-expiring demo. However, you can’t import or export GED files. You can’t save charts. And printouts have a watermark on them. You are also limited to 50 entries.
Not being able to import a GED file, makes it more difficult to test. They do provide a sample "Family File" (The Kennedy family). It contains 35 entries, but with few entries that are 'outside the norm' to adequately test the software, so you will likely end up entering data to do so.
IFamilyForTiger [website]
Almost fully functional 10-day demo. You’ve only got ten days to test it, the version might be an older version than the most current, and you're unable to export a GED file. Otherwise fully functional. (The website says that you also can't use the menu option to upgrade the demo to a newer version. I'd think that was common sense, but they probably have to say it.)
It comes with a sample database – the British Royal Family – with over 3000 entries which provides ample records to test all of the features. You can also import any Gedcom you already have, with no limitation on size.
Upgrade Policy Comparison
This is a much shorter comparison – and something someone might later wish they considered prior to making their initial purchase.
Reunion
Original software: $100
Upgrades: $60 (based on current price for Reunion 9 Full vs Upgrade)
MacFamilyTree
Original software: $50
Upgrades: $25 (based on current price for MacFamilyTree 4.5 Full vs Upgrade)
IFamilyForTiger
Original software: $30
Upgrades: Free
(note: I round all prices to the nearest dollar.)
Sunday, October 14, 2007
Snafu City
Going through some photos my maternal grandmother took. Most of them in the 1920s and 30s, though a small handful of them from the early 40s. I came across one without any people in it. It looks like a humorous billboard that caught her eye, though I have no idea where it was located.
I say I have no idea where it was...however, "seabee" is a term for the 'construction battalions' of the US Navy. Rats is a term often associated with members of the Army. And SNAFU is a military term. So I wouldn't be surprised if this were at a military base of some sort. However, this would date the photo to the 1940s, as the 'sea bee' term was coined for WWII, and it would probably be the most recent photo in the box.
I don't know if there was another meaning for the term before then. My suspicion is that this isn't an example of 'antedating'.
I say I have no idea where it was...however, "seabee" is a term for the 'construction battalions' of the US Navy. Rats is a term often associated with members of the Army. And SNAFU is a military term. So I wouldn't be surprised if this were at a military base of some sort. However, this would date the photo to the 1940s, as the 'sea bee' term was coined for WWII, and it would probably be the most recent photo in the box.I don't know if there was another meaning for the term before then. My suspicion is that this isn't an example of 'antedating'.
The Vicious Chiffonier Part II
This is part II of a story that happened almost 100 years ago in Transylvania.
Don't start here.
Start with Part I
Ted: So this day he didn’t go very far, he left the gun at home. When he left his home he had a chiffonier. And in there he locked up the bread and locked up any other stuff the kids might take. And his gun. So he forgot to lock it this time.
When I first listened to the tape, I had no idea what a chiffonier was, so I had no idea what Ted was saying. But I knew it was a container of some sort, so I got out a copy of Roget’s Thesaurus and went to the section on containers and read through the list until I found it. So anyway…
We have a loaded chiffonier, and three kids: Armon, Ted and Ed. It’s not certain that my grandfather was in the room at the time, and Jean was with their mother and father, wherever that was. A total of seven.
Ted: I went to the Chiffonier. It was open so I went to get the bread. If it was locked we couldn’t get the bread, but if they left the key open, we’d go in and look for bread.
Martin: Something to nibble on
Ted: Yeah, so we found a gun in there. We didn’t know what the hell it was. I thought it was a plaything. Armon was older than I and I don’t know if he knew what it was. But he wanted…he took it away from me…And showed it to me. And then Eddie got it, and he was looking at it. He thought it was something to whistle in because the barrel was there, and if you blew your breath in there you could whistle.
So Ed does it. He tries to use the gun as a whistle.
Ted: Yeah, he held it up against his mouth like that and suddenly the damn thing went off and it went through his upper jaw and through his nose. It came out thorough his nose.
But Ed isn’t the one who dies.
Ted: Eddie, Luckily he wasn’t hurt much…He always had a spot around his nose where it came out…He didn’t take the thing in his mouth, he just pointed it this way where you’d blow into it…If he had shot himself in the mouth…when Mother came home he was bleeding a lot but they took care of that.
It's hard for me to imagine how much blood there probably was. Nor can I imagine my great-grandparents' reactions when they returned home. There was probably a lot of yelling and screaming. Probably focused a lot on Armon, the eldest child who was supposed to be 'in charge' of his younger brothers. Even though he was only seven or eight.
Ted: So he got scared because Ed was bleeding and there was no doctor around there to take care of it. Nobody knew what to do. Anyhow, after awhile, Dad and Mother blamed him, and he got scared and he got depressed that he was to blame for the entire thing…He was depressed in every way. He wouldn’t eat right. Finally about a month later he passed away…He was just scared. He was just scared stiff.
Martin: He died of fear or something like that.
Martin mentions a memory of a coffin in the house, and Ted confirms there was one, and that Armon was buried in a cemetery not far from the home – about the equivalent of two blocks. My mother visited the town a few years ago, and looked in the cemetery, but the inscriptions were so worn, even if they had been able too afford a marker for the grave, it was unfindable.
Don't start here.
Start with Part I
Ted: So this day he didn’t go very far, he left the gun at home. When he left his home he had a chiffonier. And in there he locked up the bread and locked up any other stuff the kids might take. And his gun. So he forgot to lock it this time.
When I first listened to the tape, I had no idea what a chiffonier was, so I had no idea what Ted was saying. But I knew it was a container of some sort, so I got out a copy of Roget’s Thesaurus and went to the section on containers and read through the list until I found it. So anyway…
We have a loaded chiffonier, and three kids: Armon, Ted and Ed. It’s not certain that my grandfather was in the room at the time, and Jean was with their mother and father, wherever that was. A total of seven.
Ted: I went to the Chiffonier. It was open so I went to get the bread. If it was locked we couldn’t get the bread, but if they left the key open, we’d go in and look for bread.
Martin: Something to nibble on
Ted: Yeah, so we found a gun in there. We didn’t know what the hell it was. I thought it was a plaything. Armon was older than I and I don’t know if he knew what it was. But he wanted…he took it away from me…And showed it to me. And then Eddie got it, and he was looking at it. He thought it was something to whistle in because the barrel was there, and if you blew your breath in there you could whistle.
So Ed does it. He tries to use the gun as a whistle.
Ted: Yeah, he held it up against his mouth like that and suddenly the damn thing went off and it went through his upper jaw and through his nose. It came out thorough his nose.
But Ed isn’t the one who dies.
Ted: Eddie, Luckily he wasn’t hurt much…He always had a spot around his nose where it came out…He didn’t take the thing in his mouth, he just pointed it this way where you’d blow into it…If he had shot himself in the mouth…when Mother came home he was bleeding a lot but they took care of that.
It's hard for me to imagine how much blood there probably was. Nor can I imagine my great-grandparents' reactions when they returned home. There was probably a lot of yelling and screaming. Probably focused a lot on Armon, the eldest child who was supposed to be 'in charge' of his younger brothers. Even though he was only seven or eight.
Ted: So he got scared because Ed was bleeding and there was no doctor around there to take care of it. Nobody knew what to do. Anyhow, after awhile, Dad and Mother blamed him, and he got scared and he got depressed that he was to blame for the entire thing…He was depressed in every way. He wouldn’t eat right. Finally about a month later he passed away…He was just scared. He was just scared stiff.
Martin: He died of fear or something like that.
Martin mentions a memory of a coffin in the house, and Ted confirms there was one, and that Armon was buried in a cemetery not far from the home – about the equivalent of two blocks. My mother visited the town a few years ago, and looked in the cemetery, but the inscriptions were so worn, even if they had been able too afford a marker for the grave, it was unfindable.
The Vicious Chiffonier - Part I
In the 1970s my maternal grandfather, Martin, and his brother, Ted, sat down and recorded their recollections. Both of them were born in Transylvania/Romania/Hungary in a small town called Varalmas, Nagyalmas, or Almasu, depending upon the language.
This is being written for the 34th Carnival of Genealogy, which is themed for the Halloween season. However, despite the setting for the tale, there are no vampires involved. And while wolves will be briefly mentioned, they probably weren't of the were-variety. I briefly considered titling this post "The Were-Chiffonier" for the poetic qualities, but settled on the current title for accuracy. There isn't anything supernatural about this, it's unknown what time of year it occurred, or even whether it occurred under a full moon. But horror stories are one of the sub-themes, and this may well be the most horrific story I have discovered in my family's past. I hope I never discover anything that exceeds it.
I've had this audiotape for a while, and digitized it a year or so ago, but I made a transcription specifically for this entry. It's been on my to-do list, but it got moved up a bit, for which I am grateful. This way, instead of just summarizing the events, I can use the words of my grandfather and great-uncle.
After they announce that they’re going to talk about an Accident that brought the number of family members from seven to six, several minutes are spent discussing years, birthdates, and ages. They know their parents were married in 1898, and they think the oldest child, Jean, was born in 1899, and Armon, 1900. However, it’s also possible Jean was born in 1900 and Armon 1901.
The year of the accident is never stated, but from the ages of the children, it was probably 1908. Ted was about six at the time, and my grandfather, Martin, was two. The other main player is ‘Ed’ who was between Ted and Martin in age.
Ted: It happened that Dad always carried a gun when he went out of the village. He carried a gun with him because you travel through the mountains
Martin: Highway robberies
Ted: Not robbers, but
Martin: Hunting
Ted: Protection. Not not hunting, Protection from wolves.
Martin: Animals.
Ted: There are wolves around when you cross the mountains. He always had a gun
Martin: A revolver. A pistol.
Ted: A revolver or handgun. For protection. Not from robbers, but he did run into wolves. Wolves run in packs and you never know when they will attack you. Especially if you camp at night.
Martin: I wondered about that and how a gun got into the house.
This post is getting long, so I’m going to break and continue it in a second post.
This is being written for the 34th Carnival of Genealogy, which is themed for the Halloween season. However, despite the setting for the tale, there are no vampires involved. And while wolves will be briefly mentioned, they probably weren't of the were-variety. I briefly considered titling this post "The Were-Chiffonier" for the poetic qualities, but settled on the current title for accuracy. There isn't anything supernatural about this, it's unknown what time of year it occurred, or even whether it occurred under a full moon. But horror stories are one of the sub-themes, and this may well be the most horrific story I have discovered in my family's past. I hope I never discover anything that exceeds it.
I've had this audiotape for a while, and digitized it a year or so ago, but I made a transcription specifically for this entry. It's been on my to-do list, but it got moved up a bit, for which I am grateful. This way, instead of just summarizing the events, I can use the words of my grandfather and great-uncle.
After they announce that they’re going to talk about an Accident that brought the number of family members from seven to six, several minutes are spent discussing years, birthdates, and ages. They know their parents were married in 1898, and they think the oldest child, Jean, was born in 1899, and Armon, 1900. However, it’s also possible Jean was born in 1900 and Armon 1901.
The year of the accident is never stated, but from the ages of the children, it was probably 1908. Ted was about six at the time, and my grandfather, Martin, was two. The other main player is ‘Ed’ who was between Ted and Martin in age.
Ted: It happened that Dad always carried a gun when he went out of the village. He carried a gun with him because you travel through the mountains
Martin: Highway robberies
Ted: Not robbers, but
Martin: Hunting
Ted: Protection. Not not hunting, Protection from wolves.
Martin: Animals.
Ted: There are wolves around when you cross the mountains. He always had a gun
Martin: A revolver. A pistol.
Ted: A revolver or handgun. For protection. Not from robbers, but he did run into wolves. Wolves run in packs and you never know when they will attack you. Especially if you camp at night.
Martin: I wondered about that and how a gun got into the house.
This post is getting long, so I’m going to break and continue it in a second post.
Blog modifications
I decided I wanted the ability to 'cut' longer posts, like you see on some blogs. Have a lead-paragraph, and then let the reader click on something to read on...
There are instructions on how to do this in the Blogger Help manual, but their version isn't togglable. It's always on. Which explains the sudden appearance of a linked asterisk at the bottom of every post, if you're on the front page, or in a monthly archive. (Otherwise, you won't see it.)
I didn't want it to say "Read More" if there wasn't any more to read. If it's a short post, or an old post, the * will just provide a secondary link to the page with the entry+comments.
I am curious how confusing this post was, though. How long did it take you to figure out there was more to read, and where to click?
If anyone can come up with a better suggestion than an *, that's easy to change.
Update Thanks to Chris who in the comments directed me towards a better hack which makes the query above unnecessary.
There are instructions on how to do this in the Blogger Help manual, but their version isn't togglable. It's always on. Which explains the sudden appearance of a linked asterisk at the bottom of every post, if you're on the front page, or in a monthly archive. (Otherwise, you won't see it.)
I didn't want it to say "Read More" if there wasn't any more to read. If it's a short post, or an old post, the * will just provide a secondary link to the page with the entry+comments.
I am curious how confusing this post was, though. How long did it take you to figure out there was more to read, and where to click?
If anyone can come up with a better suggestion than an *, that's easy to change.
Update Thanks to Chris who in the comments directed me towards a better hack which makes the query above unnecessary.
Saturday, October 13, 2007
My type of blogging
Terry and Randy have been thinking about acronyms and what type of blogger they are. I like acronyms. It may be in my genes.
When I first started a personal blog, back in 2002, I called it Politics, Religion and Drew Barrymore. If I had added the topic of "Insanity", I could have called my type of blogging: DRIP. I won't discuss my next title for the blog, but the initials were PBFIW. Not much you can spell with that. (Pfiwb?)
While the acronym fits, I am uncomfortable with adopting the HOGS moniker, even though Terry assures one commenter pork posts aren't a requirement. I definitely like the "Tribe" in Randy's GHOST. But I don't view myself as a "Ghost blogger" either. I do write under my own name, after all. And while most of those who get mentioned here are no longer living, that's not universally the case. I considered possibilities for the letter "N". It's the first letter of my surname, for example. I could take a picture of a pair of shoes for a logo. (Other possibilities for logos came to mind, too, but they wouldn't have been family appropriate.)
Instead, because of my love for the English language, I fell upon G.H.O.T.I. Some of my posts here are just about as Insane as they are on my personal blog, and I believe all my stories fall under one of the other categories. So in honor of the genius of George Bernard Shaw1, for Klingons everywhere, and because in my short time as a family history researcher I've learned the importance of knowing how to spell phonetically: I choose to be a GHOTI blogger.
1 I know that GBS claimed he didn't invent the spelling, but he did popularize it.
(the original image came from the US Fish and Wildlife public domain image website)
When I first started a personal blog, back in 2002, I called it Politics, Religion and Drew Barrymore. If I had added the topic of "Insanity", I could have called my type of blogging: DRIP. I won't discuss my next title for the blog, but the initials were PBFIW. Not much you can spell with that. (Pfiwb?)
While the acronym fits, I am uncomfortable with adopting the HOGS moniker, even though Terry assures one commenter pork posts aren't a requirement. I definitely like the "Tribe" in Randy's GHOST. But I don't view myself as a "Ghost blogger" either. I do write under my own name, after all. And while most of those who get mentioned here are no longer living, that's not universally the case. I considered possibilities for the letter "N". It's the first letter of my surname, for example. I could take a picture of a pair of shoes for a logo. (Other possibilities for logos came to mind, too, but they wouldn't have been family appropriate.)
Instead, because of my love for the English language, I fell upon G.H.O.T.I. Some of my posts here are just about as Insane as they are on my personal blog, and I believe all my stories fall under one of the other categories. So in honor of the genius of George Bernard Shaw1, for Klingons everywhere, and because in my short time as a family history researcher I've learned the importance of knowing how to spell phonetically: I choose to be a GHOTI blogger.
1 I know that GBS claimed he didn't invent the spelling, but he did popularize it.(the original image came from the US Fish and Wildlife public domain image website)
Friday, October 12, 2007
Friday Five
I was gong to hold off on doing this one for two weeks, but since I'm thinking of cancelling my subscription to Ancestry, I'm doing it today. (Sure, I could write everything down and post it in two weeks, but why not get into the holiday spirit early?) And no, this isn't my submission to the Carnival.
Names from various census indexes:
1. Ghoul Nipple, M, 1930, Caroll IN, 36 years old
2. Goblin Fester, F, 1900, Amity IA, 12 years old
3. Witch Layers, M, 1920, Marathon WI, 31 years old
4. Pumpkin Upshaw, M, 1910, Elbert GA, 13 years old
5. Halloween Hovey, F, 1870, Fenton MI, 1 years old
Names from various census indexes:
1. Ghoul Nipple, M, 1930, Caroll IN, 36 years old
2. Goblin Fester, F, 1900, Amity IA, 12 years old
3. Witch Layers, M, 1920, Marathon WI, 31 years old
4. Pumpkin Upshaw, M, 1910, Elbert GA, 13 years old
5. Halloween Hovey, F, 1870, Fenton MI, 1 years old
Thursday, October 11, 2007
Blog Finder
Sometimes it pays to actually click on a few links on a blog's sidebar or topmenu, rather than just reading the posts as they come in through your newsreader, only going to the blog to comment.
I just found The Genealogue's Blog Finder. Of course, if I knew about his Blog Finder, I might have found his Blog Finder more quickly? Does that make sense?
Chris has catalogued over 600 genealogy-related blogs, and allows you to search the posts on all of them. He's also categorized all the blogs into useful categories based on their focii.
As near as I can tell, the last time he mentioned it in one of his posts was six months ago, back in April, which was a little before I started researching. Of course, the link has been on his site the entire time; I just hadn't clicked.
I just found The Genealogue's Blog Finder. Of course, if I knew about his Blog Finder, I might have found his Blog Finder more quickly? Does that make sense?
Chris has catalogued over 600 genealogy-related blogs, and allows you to search the posts on all of them. He's also categorized all the blogs into useful categories based on their focii.
As near as I can tell, the last time he mentioned it in one of his posts was six months ago, back in April, which was a little before I started researching. Of course, the link has been on his site the entire time; I just hadn't clicked.
Wednesday, October 10, 2007
Descendents of William Denyer and Elizabeth Sliver
I included a poem by an ancestor a few posts ago which I found in a Fretz Family History book published in 1890. I have now entered the 7 pages from the book that pertain directly to the descendents of William Denyer and Elizabeth Sliver, and since much of the information isn't available anywhere else online, I created a page for it on my website.
There is a lot of good story information in the text, and since it was published in 1890, most of the information probably came directly from the individual, or a sibling/child. It's probably as trustworthy as first-person narration usually is. (Which means some of the story might be slightly exaggerated, but the general details are probably accurate, as are the dates.)
The one consistent alteration I made to the text is that I spelled out abbreviations. (I think the only exception I made were a few titles like Dr. and Rev. since it is rare that they are spelled out as titles.) The author over-abbreviated to conserve space, which is completely understandable, but space isn't an issue online, and I feel it is easier to read without abbreviations.
There is a lot of good story information in the text, and since it was published in 1890, most of the information probably came directly from the individual, or a sibling/child. It's probably as trustworthy as first-person narration usually is. (Which means some of the story might be slightly exaggerated, but the general details are probably accurate, as are the dates.)
The one consistent alteration I made to the text is that I spelled out abbreviations. (I think the only exception I made were a few titles like Dr. and Rev. since it is rare that they are spelled out as titles.) The author over-abbreviated to conserve space, which is completely understandable, but space isn't an issue online, and I feel it is easier to read without abbreviations.
Fun and Games
This is in response to this week's 5-question prompts for Family History Month from the 24/7 Family History Circle. I am completely ignoring the five question concept and I'm going to ramble. However, I'm sure someone can find at least five questions that I answered.
As a child, I subscribed to Games Magazine. I loved all manner of games and puzzles. I definitely inherited my love for word games from my paternal grandfather, who would attack the newspaper's Crossword Puzzle daily, and he also taught me a game called Jotto where you select a 5-letter word, and try to guess your opponent's 5-letter word before they guess yours. I'd have Sunday dinner at my paternal grandparents house a lot, and they had a lot of games in their closet that I would play with my siblings and cousins: Rummikub being the most memorable. My grandmother had a Mah Jongg set, but I never learned how to play.
My maternal grandfather taught me to bowl. He was a much better bowler than I ever have been. I struggle to break 100, and he almost always broke 200. My maternal grandmother (actually step-grandmother, as my mom's mother died young) taught me how to play gin rummy, and it remains my favorite card game. My grandfather later purchased me a copy of Hoyle, and I taught myself several more games.
The game I remember playing with my brother the most was Stratego. I consistently lost until my brother told me his secret. All he had to do was watch me set up my pieces, as I always put my flag down first, and then surrounded it with bombs. Knowing exactly where my flag was, the game was easy for him.
A St. Louisan born and raised, my favorite professional sport to watch is Baseball. There is no close second. I'll tune into the Superbowl for the ads, and I've watched a little WWE with friends for the socializing, but Baseball is the only sport I've actually ever followed. I remember watching the final game of the 1982 World Series – age 13 – from the bleachers, and running onto the field with my brother when it was over. I can still name the players of the 1982 Cardinals team by position. And I can still hear Jack Buck's voice.
Finally – since age 6, I have considered reading Fun and Games, and I am still three decades later a voracious reader. I've read a lot of science fiction, fantasy, mystery, and horror over the years, but my favorite novel of all time is Les Miserables by Victor Hugo. Hence, the first domain name I ever purchased was gavroche.org -- it says a lot that the character I most identify with is the mischievous child.
I've emboldened the present tense in the final paragraphs, because I noticed that the questions were all focused on childhood. I realize this is Family History, so we're talking about things that happened in the past, but I want to make sure I state that for me, fun and games doesn't end when you turn a certain age. Fun and Games goes on forever. Otherwise, life gets boring, and I don't ever want that to happen.
As a child, I subscribed to Games Magazine. I loved all manner of games and puzzles. I definitely inherited my love for word games from my paternal grandfather, who would attack the newspaper's Crossword Puzzle daily, and he also taught me a game called Jotto where you select a 5-letter word, and try to guess your opponent's 5-letter word before they guess yours. I'd have Sunday dinner at my paternal grandparents house a lot, and they had a lot of games in their closet that I would play with my siblings and cousins: Rummikub being the most memorable. My grandmother had a Mah Jongg set, but I never learned how to play.
My maternal grandfather taught me to bowl. He was a much better bowler than I ever have been. I struggle to break 100, and he almost always broke 200. My maternal grandmother (actually step-grandmother, as my mom's mother died young) taught me how to play gin rummy, and it remains my favorite card game. My grandfather later purchased me a copy of Hoyle, and I taught myself several more games.
The game I remember playing with my brother the most was Stratego. I consistently lost until my brother told me his secret. All he had to do was watch me set up my pieces, as I always put my flag down first, and then surrounded it with bombs. Knowing exactly where my flag was, the game was easy for him.
A St. Louisan born and raised, my favorite professional sport to watch is Baseball. There is no close second. I'll tune into the Superbowl for the ads, and I've watched a little WWE with friends for the socializing, but Baseball is the only sport I've actually ever followed. I remember watching the final game of the 1982 World Series – age 13 – from the bleachers, and running onto the field with my brother when it was over. I can still name the players of the 1982 Cardinals team by position. And I can still hear Jack Buck's voice.
Finally – since age 6, I have considered reading Fun and Games, and I am still three decades later a voracious reader. I've read a lot of science fiction, fantasy, mystery, and horror over the years, but my favorite novel of all time is Les Miserables by Victor Hugo. Hence, the first domain name I ever purchased was gavroche.org -- it says a lot that the character I most identify with is the mischievous child.
I've emboldened the present tense in the final paragraphs, because I noticed that the questions were all focused on childhood. I realize this is Family History, so we're talking about things that happened in the past, but I want to make sure I state that for me, fun and games doesn't end when you turn a certain age. Fun and Games goes on forever. Otherwise, life gets boring, and I don't ever want that to happen.
Tombstone Tales
Last night I went to the monthly meeting of the St. Louis Genealogical Society. This month’s discussion topic was an appropriate theme for October: Tombstone Tales. There was a lot of good information presented on dos and don'ts regarding visiting tombstones. (Don’t clean a tombstone with household solvents. Very little is safe for a tombstone beyond water. If it’s a family burial ground, it’s not public, and you need to ask permission, or you could end up facing an unhappy landowner with or without gun. What you should wear. Tips on taking good photographs. Stuff like that.) There was also discussion and handouts about common symbols and artwork you find on tombstones and what they mean.
The presentation ended with several slides of tombstones…some from all over the world, and some from St. Louis. I had no idea that General William Tecumseh Sherman, who marched through Georgia, was buried here. But there were two graves shown, several slides apart, that caught my attention. After seeing the second slide, I wanted to raise my hand and ask a question, but I wasn’t sure if I recalled the first slide correctly, and didn’t want to embarrass myself if I remembered it wrong. So, alas, I said nothing.
The first slide was a picture of the tombstone of Dred Scott. It was originally an unmarked grave, but a stone was eventually erected. It says on the stone “Freed by my friend, Taylor Blow.”
Several slides later, was the tombstone of famed educator, Susan Blow.
Taylor was her uncle. Her grandparents were the owners of Dred Scott. Her father was Henry Taylor Blow, one-time ambassador to Venezuela. But census records clearly indicate brothers Taylor Blow and Henry Taylor Blow were separate individuals.
I either wasn't paying attention during the Local History section of my education, or the connection between these two was never mentioned. I actually couldn't remember much about Susan Blow beyond that she was important to education in some way. She introduced the concept of kindergartens to the US.
The presentation ended with several slides of tombstones…some from all over the world, and some from St. Louis. I had no idea that General William Tecumseh Sherman, who marched through Georgia, was buried here. But there were two graves shown, several slides apart, that caught my attention. After seeing the second slide, I wanted to raise my hand and ask a question, but I wasn’t sure if I recalled the first slide correctly, and didn’t want to embarrass myself if I remembered it wrong. So, alas, I said nothing.
The first slide was a picture of the tombstone of Dred Scott. It was originally an unmarked grave, but a stone was eventually erected. It says on the stone “Freed by my friend, Taylor Blow.”
Several slides later, was the tombstone of famed educator, Susan Blow.
Taylor was her uncle. Her grandparents were the owners of Dred Scott. Her father was Henry Taylor Blow, one-time ambassador to Venezuela. But census records clearly indicate brothers Taylor Blow and Henry Taylor Blow were separate individuals.
I either wasn't paying attention during the Local History section of my education, or the connection between these two was never mentioned. I actually couldn't remember much about Susan Blow beyond that she was important to education in some way. She introduced the concept of kindergartens to the US.
State and Regional Resources
Family Tree Magazine has a list of "best websites". Here's their section on State and Regional Resources.
It looks like Arizona one-ups Missouri's certificate database. I've been very proud of Missouri's taking a lead, and scanning in their death certificates, but Arizona has been scanning in their birth certificates as well. (Up through 1931 - a 75 year privacy window - which means many living persons.) Unfortunately, I don't think I have any relatives born in Arizona. However, I did find the birth certificate of Cesario Chavez (direct link to pdf), and the death certificate of Baron Michael Goldwater. Barry's father. Barry's birth certificate should be there, but I can't find it. Cardinal ballplayer Solly (Solomon Joseph) Hemus should be there, too.
There are several states that have impressive indexes that will help many researchers.
It looks like Arizona one-ups Missouri's certificate database. I've been very proud of Missouri's taking a lead, and scanning in their death certificates, but Arizona has been scanning in their birth certificates as well. (Up through 1931 - a 75 year privacy window - which means many living persons.) Unfortunately, I don't think I have any relatives born in Arizona. However, I did find the birth certificate of Cesario Chavez (direct link to pdf), and the death certificate of Baron Michael Goldwater. Barry's father. Barry's birth certificate should be there, but I can't find it. Cardinal ballplayer Solly (Solomon Joseph) Hemus should be there, too.
There are several states that have impressive indexes that will help many researchers.
Tuesday, October 9, 2007
Cost of Genealogy
Jasia at CreativeGene has been blogging about the cost of genealogy. It's a topic that hit home for me. She’s been at it for ten years, and I’ve just begun within the past few months, but I can already see the costs piling up. I work in the not-for-profit community, and don't make a large amount of money. However, being single without dependents does give me some hobby-money.
In some instances, I think the costs she lists are a little high. Especially for documentation from the US. They’re perhaps what they cost in Michigan, but document prices are dropping all over. Missouri’s death certificates from 1910-1956 are all online for free, unless they haven’t been scanned in yet, in which case they’re $1 if you’re superanxious. I ordered an 1854 marriage certificate from Gonzales Texas for $1. Chicago’s vital stats are going online in January. I’ve heard people say on mailing lists that in some county offices around the country you can walk in with your digital camera, and ask to ‘look’ at a certificate, and they won’t charge you the full price, since all they’re doing is looking it up. You’re not getting a “Certified Copy," but I don’t feel I need it to be certified. I just want a clear image of what is on the document.
Many documents do still cost in the $15-$25 range. Marriage, birth, and death certificates from the UK GRO cost 7 pounds, which is about $15 with today’s exchange rate. But there are many bargains for particular counties and states, and the number of these are increasing, not decreasing, as county and state agencies realize it’s more cost-efficient to put everything online than it is to hire staff to look up the documents every time someone asks.
Still, everything adds up. I’ve now ordered 4 certificates from the UK, and there are another four I know about which I will ultimately order if I can’t convince a relative to do so. ($120) There are also several marriage certificates I want to obtain.
I’ve told myself that ignoring any bargains under $5, I’m limiting myself to 1 certificate a month. I figure if I keep myself to that, I won’t spend much more than $200 on documents in a year. A birth certificate from the UK was my October purchase over the weekend. (One of my great-grandfather’s sisters.)
I started out with a monthly World Subscription to Ancestry. Since I found all the UK census records I’m likely to find, and the GRO indexes are free, I’m now at the Domestic level, until new international databases get added that affect me. I haven’t decided whether or not to subscribe for the full year. I probably will because I like being able to search from home, and I consider the benefits worth the cost, however I’m going to refrain from renewing next month and see how it feels not to have immediate access.
Hiring a Professional
I’m not sure hiring a professional makes economic sense if one doesn’t factor in time. Time doesn’t matter much to me. I don’t need to know everything possible now. On the other hand, I don’t want to spend ten years researching, and find out a professional genealogist could have learned everything I learned, but done it in a week’s time. I don’t think I’d feel my time was wasted, because I’m enjoying this. But I would feel like I’m a lousy researcher.
Still, I doubt that professionals are that much better at this. Better, yes. But not by that degree. They’re not miracle workers. They know more sources to go to, but I’m learning these sources as I go along.
Also, I know that whatever I pay a professional by the hour, they’re also going to be charging me for the documents, so I won’t save any money there. If anything, I will lose money, because they won’t necessarily be searching for the bargains.
And if I hired a professional genealogist, would they post queries on the community surname forums? I have, and found cousins, with information, and with scanned images of documents. Documents I would have had to pay for if I had hired the professional. And I wouldn’t have met a cousin in the process!
[On the other side of the coin, a distant cousin of mine who has done twenty years of extensive research on one section of my tree, has expressed gratitude for my interest, as I have read through her notes, and found some minor discrepancies other eyes have missed. Editing and proofreading are things I've received training in.]
Finally, a professional would also be likely to spend extra money on documents for quicker shipping so that they can produce the results quicker to the customer. Most customers like that, but as I said, time doesn’t matter much to me, and if it takes 4 weeks to receive the document instead of 1, I don’t really mind.
So I think in the final analysis I’d save time with a professional, but I would spend more money, and I wouldn’t extend my genealogical lines any further than I am able to on my own, learning as I go.
On further thought (10/11)
I do suspect there will come a time when I may hire a professional. Six out of my eight great-grandparents are Jewish, and I tend to reach dead-ends within one generation of their immigration. (That isn't too different for the other two great-grandparents, but their families have been in North America over a hundred years longer.)
The cousin I mentioned who has done 20 years of extensive research on one line, travelled to Lithuania multiple times to do onsite research. I don't see myself doing that. I do see myself finding a professional headed overseas to do some research in the Warsaw area, or Romania, who's willing to take on another quest. (That way one's only paying for the research, not the airfare.) I saw such a post on a mailing list a couple months ago, but I know I'm not ready to ask the question. I need to find everything here that I feel I can so that they're starting with the most information possible.
But I won't hire a professional to do research I know I can do, even if it's going to take me longer.
In some instances, I think the costs she lists are a little high. Especially for documentation from the US. They’re perhaps what they cost in Michigan, but document prices are dropping all over. Missouri’s death certificates from 1910-1956 are all online for free, unless they haven’t been scanned in yet, in which case they’re $1 if you’re superanxious. I ordered an 1854 marriage certificate from Gonzales Texas for $1. Chicago’s vital stats are going online in January. I’ve heard people say on mailing lists that in some county offices around the country you can walk in with your digital camera, and ask to ‘look’ at a certificate, and they won’t charge you the full price, since all they’re doing is looking it up. You’re not getting a “Certified Copy," but I don’t feel I need it to be certified. I just want a clear image of what is on the document.
Many documents do still cost in the $15-$25 range. Marriage, birth, and death certificates from the UK GRO cost 7 pounds, which is about $15 with today’s exchange rate. But there are many bargains for particular counties and states, and the number of these are increasing, not decreasing, as county and state agencies realize it’s more cost-efficient to put everything online than it is to hire staff to look up the documents every time someone asks.
Still, everything adds up. I’ve now ordered 4 certificates from the UK, and there are another four I know about which I will ultimately order if I can’t convince a relative to do so. ($120) There are also several marriage certificates I want to obtain.
I’ve told myself that ignoring any bargains under $5, I’m limiting myself to 1 certificate a month. I figure if I keep myself to that, I won’t spend much more than $200 on documents in a year. A birth certificate from the UK was my October purchase over the weekend. (One of my great-grandfather’s sisters.)
I started out with a monthly World Subscription to Ancestry. Since I found all the UK census records I’m likely to find, and the GRO indexes are free, I’m now at the Domestic level, until new international databases get added that affect me. I haven’t decided whether or not to subscribe for the full year. I probably will because I like being able to search from home, and I consider the benefits worth the cost, however I’m going to refrain from renewing next month and see how it feels not to have immediate access.
Hiring a Professional
I’m not sure hiring a professional makes economic sense if one doesn’t factor in time. Time doesn’t matter much to me. I don’t need to know everything possible now. On the other hand, I don’t want to spend ten years researching, and find out a professional genealogist could have learned everything I learned, but done it in a week’s time. I don’t think I’d feel my time was wasted, because I’m enjoying this. But I would feel like I’m a lousy researcher.
Still, I doubt that professionals are that much better at this. Better, yes. But not by that degree. They’re not miracle workers. They know more sources to go to, but I’m learning these sources as I go along.
Also, I know that whatever I pay a professional by the hour, they’re also going to be charging me for the documents, so I won’t save any money there. If anything, I will lose money, because they won’t necessarily be searching for the bargains.
And if I hired a professional genealogist, would they post queries on the community surname forums? I have, and found cousins, with information, and with scanned images of documents. Documents I would have had to pay for if I had hired the professional. And I wouldn’t have met a cousin in the process!
[On the other side of the coin, a distant cousin of mine who has done twenty years of extensive research on one section of my tree, has expressed gratitude for my interest, as I have read through her notes, and found some minor discrepancies other eyes have missed. Editing and proofreading are things I've received training in.]
Finally, a professional would also be likely to spend extra money on documents for quicker shipping so that they can produce the results quicker to the customer. Most customers like that, but as I said, time doesn’t matter much to me, and if it takes 4 weeks to receive the document instead of 1, I don’t really mind.
So I think in the final analysis I’d save time with a professional, but I would spend more money, and I wouldn’t extend my genealogical lines any further than I am able to on my own, learning as I go.
On further thought (10/11)
I do suspect there will come a time when I may hire a professional. Six out of my eight great-grandparents are Jewish, and I tend to reach dead-ends within one generation of their immigration. (That isn't too different for the other two great-grandparents, but their families have been in North America over a hundred years longer.)
The cousin I mentioned who has done 20 years of extensive research on one line, travelled to Lithuania multiple times to do onsite research. I don't see myself doing that. I do see myself finding a professional headed overseas to do some research in the Warsaw area, or Romania, who's willing to take on another quest. (That way one's only paying for the research, not the airfare.) I saw such a post on a mailing list a couple months ago, but I know I'm not ready to ask the question. I need to find everything here that I feel I can so that they're starting with the most information possible.
But I won't hire a professional to do research I know I can do, even if it's going to take me longer.
"Mother" by Ida Green
Yesterday I found a copy of Fretz Family History in the St. Louis Public Library. It was published in 1890 by Rev AJ Fretz, who published several family histories centered around families that settled originally in the Bucks County Pennsylvania area. I knew that my great-great grandfather, the Confederate soldier, would be mentioned in the book, but I was interested in finding information about his siblings. Little did I expect to find a poem written by Ida Green (nee Denyer), his niece, and the first cousin of my great-grandmother. The text of the family history is fully within the public domain, so I have no issues with reprinting it here.
I might take a few issues with meter, and modern political correctness, but I feel it’s wonderful a poem that clearly came from her heart has survived the generations through Rev AJ Fretz’s genealogical work, and encourages me on my own research and story gathering. (All the family history referenced in the poem are given dates and details in the bio that accompanies it.)
Mother
Mother! Ah, how oft that name
Our loving hearts have thrilled,
It soothes to rest in hours of pain,
Though death her pulse has stilled.
In life we were her constant care;
And often while we slept,
She o’er bent in silent prayer,
While Indians through our barley crept.
They had her loved companion slain,
Disguised in white-men’s clothes.
Whom he mistook for neighboring friends,
Till they had strung their bows.
And then upon that April morn,
When death his frame had chilled,
She stood beside that lifeless form,
Her heart with anguish filled.
And when we laid him in the tomb,
And sadly turned away,
Our mother knew that she alone,
Must guard us night and day.
Nor did she through those years of grief
E’er murmur or repine,
But sought in prayer that sweet relief
Which true believers find.
And when consumption seized her child,
The first that God had given,
She closed in death those eyes so mild,
And said, “We’ll meet in heaven.”
One year elapsed, then mother left,
To join the host above,
And four small children were bereft
Of either parents’ love.
And now those loved ones round the throne
Are beckoning us away;
Dear brothers, sisters, kindred ones,
Let us the call obey.
Yes! Let us follow in the path
This noble woman trod;
Perform our duty here on earth,
But lean upon our God.
Santa Maria, Texas, Oct 8, 1889.
I might take a few issues with meter, and modern political correctness, but I feel it’s wonderful a poem that clearly came from her heart has survived the generations through Rev AJ Fretz’s genealogical work, and encourages me on my own research and story gathering. (All the family history referenced in the poem are given dates and details in the bio that accompanies it.)
Mother
Mother! Ah, how oft that name
Our loving hearts have thrilled,
It soothes to rest in hours of pain,
Though death her pulse has stilled.
In life we were her constant care;
And often while we slept,
She o’er bent in silent prayer,
While Indians through our barley crept.
They had her loved companion slain,
Disguised in white-men’s clothes.
Whom he mistook for neighboring friends,
Till they had strung their bows.
And then upon that April morn,
When death his frame had chilled,
She stood beside that lifeless form,
Her heart with anguish filled.
And when we laid him in the tomb,
And sadly turned away,
Our mother knew that she alone,
Must guard us night and day.
Nor did she through those years of grief
E’er murmur or repine,
But sought in prayer that sweet relief
Which true believers find.
And when consumption seized her child,
The first that God had given,
She closed in death those eyes so mild,
And said, “We’ll meet in heaven.”
One year elapsed, then mother left,
To join the host above,
And four small children were bereft
Of either parents’ love.
And now those loved ones round the throne
Are beckoning us away;
Dear brothers, sisters, kindred ones,
Let us the call obey.
Yes! Let us follow in the path
This noble woman trod;
Perform our duty here on earth,
But lean upon our God.
Santa Maria, Texas, Oct 8, 1889.
Sunday, October 7, 2007
The Wanderer
They call me the wanderer, yeah I'm a wanderer,
I go around around around around.
I've had difficulty finding some relatives in the various census - due to name spellings, etc. But now I have run across the inverse.
A relative recently sent me a huge Register for one branch of the family, and in it is someone who I will call B.
On Jan 3, 1920, the census taker in St. Louis, MO knocked on the door, where B, his wife, and six kids were living. He was 53. Immigrated to the US in 1885. Naturalized in an unknown year. His mother tongue was 'Jewish'.
On Feb 3, 1920, the census taker in Greenville TX, knocked on the door where B's son, J. was a boarder. But according to the census, B was a boarder there too! Must have been visiting his son, and must have decided, "Cool! Another census taker! Don't forget to count me!" He was now 54. (We don't know when his birthday was - it's possible he actually was a year older.) He immigrated in 1891, and was naturalized in 1906. His mother tongue was Polish.
On Feb 11, 1920, the census taker in Redbud TX, knocked on the door of B's brother S. Guess who must have been visiting that day? Almost 200 miles from Greenville, but he had a full week to get there. Still 54. Immigrated in 1887, Naturalized in 1900. Russian was his mother tongue.
Apparently those are all we've found -- but not necessarily all there is. His occupation on all three is 'Merchant'. It also leaves me wondering what the 'record' is. Most 'appearances' in a single census year for one person.
I go around around around around.
I've had difficulty finding some relatives in the various census - due to name spellings, etc. But now I have run across the inverse.
A relative recently sent me a huge Register for one branch of the family, and in it is someone who I will call B.
On Jan 3, 1920, the census taker in St. Louis, MO knocked on the door, where B, his wife, and six kids were living. He was 53. Immigrated to the US in 1885. Naturalized in an unknown year. His mother tongue was 'Jewish'.
On Feb 3, 1920, the census taker in Greenville TX, knocked on the door where B's son, J. was a boarder. But according to the census, B was a boarder there too! Must have been visiting his son, and must have decided, "Cool! Another census taker! Don't forget to count me!" He was now 54. (We don't know when his birthday was - it's possible he actually was a year older.) He immigrated in 1891, and was naturalized in 1906. His mother tongue was Polish.
On Feb 11, 1920, the census taker in Redbud TX, knocked on the door of B's brother S. Guess who must have been visiting that day? Almost 200 miles from Greenville, but he had a full week to get there. Still 54. Immigrated in 1887, Naturalized in 1900. Russian was his mother tongue.
Apparently those are all we've found -- but not necessarily all there is. His occupation on all three is 'Merchant'. It also leaves me wondering what the 'record' is. Most 'appearances' in a single census year for one person.
DNA testing
Lots of people are turning to DNA tests to see if they have Nordic, Russian, Chinese, African, or Native American ancestry.
But what if you want to know if beloved Rover is part Alaskan Malamute, French Poodle, or Border Collie?
DNA testing for Dogs
Only disappointment is that the article began with an attempt to tie "Rascal" to a famous ancestor. That's so not what dog genealogy is all about.
And as some people argue, enough generations have passed, and every dog is related to Lassie in some fashion. (Every Collie?)
But what if you want to know if beloved Rover is part Alaskan Malamute, French Poodle, or Border Collie?
DNA testing for Dogs
Rascal's mom looked like Lassie. And his dad? Well, that's a good question. Rascal's ears make it clear that he was the product of something besides a collie, but his owners couldn't say exactly what. So Kathie Svoboda of Lincoln dabbed a swab in her pet's mouth, mailed it to a lab and, a few weeks later, unlocked the mutt's canine heritage.
Collie and cocker spaniel, as suspected, along with a twist -- Shetland sheepdog.
Only disappointment is that the article began with an attempt to tie "Rascal" to a famous ancestor. That's so not what dog genealogy is all about.
And as some people argue, enough generations have passed, and every dog is related to Lassie in some fashion. (Every Collie?)
Saturday, October 6, 2007
Canadian Manifests
Discovered this resource today. If you have any ancestors who arrived in Canada by ship:
From the Canadian Archives Passenger lists 1865-1922
You can search by: Name of Ship, Year of Arrival, Port of Arrival, Shipping Line, Port of Departure, Date of Departure, and Date of Arrival.
Once you find a particular manifest, it's not indexed by names, so you will have to read the images carefully to find your ancestor. And personally, I'd like the ability to enlarge the images a little. (Yeah, I know, magnifying glasses are cheap at the local store, but I'm talking about a key I can press...*)
I know my great-grandfather Barney, and his father Samuel, should appear on the manifest for the SS Tunisian in May of 1904. At least when they crossed over into the US in 1907, that's the information that was provided for their arrival in Canada. The fact that it does match up to a real ship is hopeful, but my first reading of the 36 pages of names hasn't been successful.
Other databases at the Canadian Archives:
including immigration records from 1925-1935 which are indexed by name.
You can also search all their genealogical databases at once. And the search engine has the feature where as you type, it displays all the results for what you have typed so far. This didn't help me with my Newmark ancestors since they didn't stay in Canada long enough, but my Loyalist ancestors who skedaddled North after The Revolution ended are there.
*Update: I haven't looked at the 'world' in 800x600 for a few years, I briefly forgot I could, but that does help. They still aren't there, and I doubt 640*480 will make them appear suddenly. Now I have to figure out why they aren't.
From the Canadian Archives Passenger lists 1865-1922
You can search by: Name of Ship, Year of Arrival, Port of Arrival, Shipping Line, Port of Departure, Date of Departure, and Date of Arrival.
Once you find a particular manifest, it's not indexed by names, so you will have to read the images carefully to find your ancestor. And personally, I'd like the ability to enlarge the images a little. (Yeah, I know, magnifying glasses are cheap at the local store, but I'm talking about a key I can press...*)
I know my great-grandfather Barney, and his father Samuel, should appear on the manifest for the SS Tunisian in May of 1904. At least when they crossed over into the US in 1907, that's the information that was provided for their arrival in Canada. The fact that it does match up to a real ship is hopeful, but my first reading of the 36 pages of names hasn't been successful.
Other databases at the Canadian Archives:
including immigration records from 1925-1935 which are indexed by name.
You can also search all their genealogical databases at once. And the search engine has the feature where as you type, it displays all the results for what you have typed so far. This didn't help me with my Newmark ancestors since they didn't stay in Canada long enough, but my Loyalist ancestors who skedaddled North after The Revolution ended are there.
*Update: I haven't looked at the 'world' in 800x600 for a few years, I briefly forgot I could, but that does help. They still aren't there, and I doubt 640*480 will make them appear suddenly. Now I have to figure out why they aren't.
Thursday, October 4, 2007
Carnival of Genealogy #33
The 33rd Carnival of Genealogy has been posted. I haven't read all of the wedding stories yet, but those which I have have been enjoyable. The 34th carnival will be on the theme of Halloween and the supernatural.
...stories of haunted houses, ghosts, any superstitions, voodoo, stories of Halloween parties or traditions, trick or treating, good luck charms, curses, ... Bring on your hauntings and horror stories, humorous and happy ones as well...One idea in mind already, in preparation, I have spent about an hour tonight transcribing ten minutes from an audio tape. It was my first experience doing this. Recently on the Family Oral History blog, I read a 6-1 ratio is about average for transcription, so I feel pretty good about my skills. It's not really a Halloween story, but it is set in Transylvania, and has many of the trappings of a true horror story, so it might work. We shall see. At the very least, I've had transcribing this excerpt on my to-do list for awhile, and transcription is a good activity during Family History Month.
Sunday, September 30, 2007
Family History Month
According to the 24/7 Family History Circle it's Family History Month, and they're going to post 5 questions each week on a weekly topic. They'll provide 5 default questions, but one can make up their own. There's also a good article on how to get beyond the fear of the blank page.
The five questions for the first week are on the topic: "School Memories" and since my 20th high school reunion was this past weekend, they seem very appropriate. I thought I'd post my answers.
The five questions for the first week are on the topic: "School Memories" and since my 20th high school reunion was this past weekend, they seem very appropriate. I thought I'd post my answers.
- What was your favorite subject in school?
- In what extra-curricular activities did you participate? Sports? Drama? Music? Academics?
- Did you go on field trips, and if so, what was your most memorable field trip?
- What teacher influenced you the most?
- Did you buy a lunch at school, or bring one from home? What kind of lunchbox? What was your favorite lunch?
Friday, September 28, 2007
Friday Five
There's a message hidden in the five names below from various census.
The message reveals what my plans for this weekend include.
Twenty Orton - 1900 census - Iron, UT - age 5
Year Smith - 1881 census - Middlesex, England - age 4
High Fields - 1860 census - Russell, AL - age 18
School Boy - 1930 census - El Paso, TX - age 28
Reunion Jones - 1930 census - Wetzel, WV - age 7
The message reveals what my plans for this weekend include.
Twenty Orton - 1900 census - Iron, UT - age 5
Year Smith - 1881 census - Middlesex, England - age 4
High Fields - 1860 census - Russell, AL - age 18
School Boy - 1930 census - El Paso, TX - age 28
Reunion Jones - 1930 census - Wetzel, WV - age 7
Wednesday, September 26, 2007
August 31, 1902
On August 31, 1902, my great great grandparents, Samuel and Rose, along with their children Barney, Nellie, Bella, Max, Katie and Cissie, were gathered in the Great Synagogue in London to watch their son and brother, Sol, get married to Sarah Nathan.There is some speculation there, in that I assume the whole family was in attendance. The youngest child at that time, Cissie, would have been six years old. This was almost 3 years after the Dreyfus protests I mentioned in an earlier post, which I also suspect several of them were at, though perhaps not the younger children. However, they lived 4.5 miles from the synagogue, so they couldn't have walked. They were close to the Oxford Circus Railway Station, though, which opened in July of 1900.
Above is a picture of the Great Synagogue in 1809. [source] It had been built in 1790, and from what I have read, it was basically the same structure in 1902. It no longer stands today, as in May of 1941, it would be completely destroyed by the German bombing.
Trying to find out as much as I could about the wedding, I looked up the names of the individuals who signed as witnesses on the Marriage record (see top of post). One of them, IL Defries, appears a few times in the Birth, Marriage, Death notices of the London Jewish Chronicle from 1890-1895, but beyond that, I know nothing about him. Two of them -- Marcus Hast and Samuel Gordon -- are mentioned in the final chapter of The History of the Great Synagogue by Cecil Roth (see link preceding the picture of the ruins).Marcus Hast was the Hazzan (Cantor) at the Great Synagogue from 1872-1911.
“Apart from his great vocal qualities and deep piety, he deserved well of his community by reason of his monumental work, Avodath haKodesh, in which the musical traditions of the Great Synagogue were set down for all time. In 1888 Abraham Elijah Gordon (father of Samuel Gordon the novelist, who was at one time Secretary of the Congregation) joined him on the Almemor as Second Reader--an office which he continued to occupy with success until his retirement in 1919.”Some people might wonder, "Why didn't the Rabbi sign it?" The Rabbi might not have been there. Traditionally the role of the Rabbi is as a teacher and judge/arbitrator for disputes in the community. The individual who normally led the worship services, and performed the marriages, was known as "Reader", and it was a role the Hazzan often filled. This began to change in the 19th century, but it appears the Great Synagogue still followed the traditional roles.
The scores of Hast's compositions are available for download, and there is a section devoted to wedding music, so the music that was likely played at the ceremony could be duplicated. Hast was born in Praga and was Hazzan in Warsaw before coming to England. The Newmarks also came from Warsaw, though Hast left about 20 years before they did. Still, it is possible Sol's parents, Samuel and Rose, heard Hast in Poland when they were children.
As I mentioned back in June, despite Sol not being my direct ancestor, this wedding originally piqued my interest because of Sol's wife, Sarah. The clerk who entered their marriage made an error in the name of the father of the bride. It says "Nathan Nathan." The clerk must have assumed that the father would have the same surname as the bride, and failed to ask. But Sarah was following the old tradition of using her father's given name as her surname. While that was my original interest, the more I researched, the more I discovered.
[this is an entry for the 33rd edition of the Carnival of Genealogy]
Friday, September 21, 2007
Null set
Family lore had my great-great-grandmother's maiden name as Rose Garten. I always cringed and shook my head, wondering if that could be true. Everyone knows there are real Rose Gartens out there, and other silly names, but still, I didn't want my ancestor to have to have suffered through that.
When I discovered her death certificate, and with her son, my great-grandfather, as informant, learned her name had been Sundberg, I smiled in relief.
Another son's birth certificate just arrived from London, and as she was the informant in this case. that narrows down any variances to clerical error, which is usually limited to spelling. Turns our her maiden name was Sandgart. A nice compromise between Sundberg and Garten.
Unfortunately, there are no records on Ancestry or FamilySearch of anyone ever having that surname. Anywhere. Anywhen. I plugged the word into Google, and it was a 1-word Googlewhack.
Sure, if I spell it Sandgaard, or Sundgart, I come up with some peeps from Denmark or Sweden, but somehow she had to meet her husband in Warsaw. I ask myself...Did the Danes ever invade Poland? Turns out, not to my knowledge, but there was a series of wars between Denmark, Sweden, Poland and Russia . Hmmmmm.
(JewishGen suggests Cantkert, which is still a null set on both Ancestry and Familysearch, but there are a handful in the Polish database. Since a Polish 'C' is pronounced 'Ts', that's actually pretty close.)
When I discovered her death certificate, and with her son, my great-grandfather, as informant, learned her name had been Sundberg, I smiled in relief.
Another son's birth certificate just arrived from London, and as she was the informant in this case. that narrows down any variances to clerical error, which is usually limited to spelling. Turns our her maiden name was Sandgart. A nice compromise between Sundberg and Garten.
Unfortunately, there are no records on Ancestry or FamilySearch of anyone ever having that surname. Anywhere. Anywhen. I plugged the word into Google, and it was a 1-word Googlewhack.
Sure, if I spell it Sandgaard, or Sundgart, I come up with some peeps from Denmark or Sweden, but somehow she had to meet her husband in Warsaw. I ask myself...Did the Danes ever invade Poland? Turns out, not to my knowledge, but there was a series of wars between Denmark, Sweden, Poland and Russia . Hmmmmm.
(JewishGen suggests Cantkert, which is still a null set on both Ancestry and Familysearch, but there are a handful in the Polish database. Since a Polish 'C' is pronounced 'Ts', that's actually pretty close.)
Thursday, September 20, 2007
More videos
Back in August I posted some YouTube videos related to genealogy. Here's some more:
Godzilla's Genealogy - courtesy of MST3K
Thomas Timberwolf - Family Tree
Godzilla's Genealogy - courtesy of MST3K
Thomas Timberwolf - Family Tree
Olo Chubb-Baggins of Pincup's family tree
I wasn't satisfied that the On Notice board I created was sufficient fun in response to the challenge issued on CowHampshire.
So I went to the Hobbit Name generator, and entered in my own name, and the names of all my ancestors up to 4 generations, and then of course I created a new database on iFamily and typed in those names.
I fear I may need to apologize to my Mom most for the results. If anyone is interested in the gedcom, just ask. I entered nothing except names, though I could have created some descriptions a the detailed character generator.
I do notice in the final generation that there is evidence of possible pedigree collapse if I carry the diagram much further. And why did Drogo Foxburr of Fairdowns change his name to Hardbottle upon coming to America? You'd have to ask him.
So I went to the Hobbit Name generator, and entered in my own name, and the names of all my ancestors up to 4 generations, and then of course I created a new database on iFamily and typed in those names.
I fear I may need to apologize to my Mom most for the results. If anyone is interested in the gedcom, just ask. I entered nothing except names, though I could have created some descriptions a the detailed character generator.
I do notice in the final generation that there is evidence of possible pedigree collapse if I carry the diagram much further. And why did Drogo Foxburr of Fairdowns change his name to Hardbottle upon coming to America? You'd have to ask him.
You're On Notice!
Janice at CowHampshire wants genealogy bloggers to show we can be funny.
So I decided to come up with a list of people and things to put On Notice.
If you're a Colbert fan, the URL to go to for this generator is on the image.
Yom Kippur 1899
Yom Kippur, the Jewish Day of Atonement, begins Friday night at sunset. But for this post, I’m taking you back 108 years to 1899:
The above comes from the Sept 15, 1899 New York Times. (read the full article) They used to charge a fee to read their archives, but this week they opened up most of it for free. Everything prior to 1922, and thus in the public domain, is freely downloadable as PDFs. Anything after 1987, out of NYTimes generosity, is also free. There’s still a large amount they charge for, but they decreased the price as well. (It used to be $4.95 per article, and the ones I've found in my searches so far have been $3.95)
Several of my Newmark ancestors were likely at the Great Synagogue that day. They were in London from 1893 to 1909. They were definitely at the Synagogue a couple years later, on August 31, 1902, but that’s a different post I will write soon.
Dreyfus had been convicted in 1895, but this protest followed rumors of an army cover-up and his possible innocence. Pertaining to that, here’s another interesting quote from the above article:
Dreyfus was pardoned on September 19th. And while a pardon, as the article points out, is usually all one can expect in most countries after a conviction, in 1906 he was exonerated by a military commission. (source)
Speaking of which...Are there black sheep in your family tree that you would like pardoned/exonerated? Craig Manson of Geneablogie has created a new service called the Historical Appellate Review Project
“Jews Celebrate Atonement Day by Holding Demonstrations”
“Chief Rabbi Adler Speaks”
“Says Last Saturday’s Verdict was a Disaster to France”
London – Sept 14 English indignation against France was strengthened today on account of the observance by all Jews of the Day of Atonement.
The day was celebrated here, especially in the East End, with Dreyfus demonstrations…The Great Synagogue in London presented a striking spectacle. It was crowded from 6 o’clock in the morning until 6 at night and thousands were unable to enter.
The above comes from the Sept 15, 1899 New York Times. (read the full article) They used to charge a fee to read their archives, but this week they opened up most of it for free. Everything prior to 1922, and thus in the public domain, is freely downloadable as PDFs. Anything after 1987, out of NYTimes generosity, is also free. There’s still a large amount they charge for, but they decreased the price as well. (It used to be $4.95 per article, and the ones I've found in my searches so far have been $3.95)
Several of my Newmark ancestors were likely at the Great Synagogue that day. They were in London from 1893 to 1909. They were definitely at the Synagogue a couple years later, on August 31, 1902, but that’s a different post I will write soon.
Dreyfus had been convicted in 1895, but this protest followed rumors of an army cover-up and his possible innocence. Pertaining to that, here’s another interesting quote from the above article:
“Let the majesty of the law be vindicated,” [Chief Rabbi Adler] concluded, “and let them not seek a pardon, which should be rejected with scorn, for where no crime was committed, how can a pardon be granted?”
Dreyfus was pardoned on September 19th. And while a pardon, as the article points out, is usually all one can expect in most countries after a conviction, in 1906 he was exonerated by a military commission. (source)
Speaking of which...Are there black sheep in your family tree that you would like pardoned/exonerated? Craig Manson of Geneablogie has created a new service called the Historical Appellate Review Project
HARP, the Historical Appellate Review Project, is dedicated to setting the record straight. Using state-of-the-art genealogical and legal research procedures, HARP will investigate your family's alleged black sheep and let you know if their names might be cleared! In certain cases, we even may be able to go to court and get the official record changed!That sounds like a great idea! I haven't found any ancestors yet that have been convicted of any serious crimes, but if I do, and think it may have been an unfair conviction, I now have a place to go!
Wednesday, September 19, 2007
TLAPD
1) Were any of my ancestors pirates?
2) Did any of my ancestors own parrots?
3) Did any of my ancestors like to drink rum?
4) Do I have any distant cousins who have played baseball in Pittsburgh?
Realizing I am unable to say 'yes' in certainty to any of these questions, I am a little glum on Talk Like a Pirate Day.
I know I have lime-burners, mule drivers, and tailors represented. If OneWorldTree is correct, I also have a 1930s bootlegger/massmurderer nicknamed "The Alligator Man" as a distant cousin. He may come the closest. OWT also claims that John Ledyard, who sailed with Captain Cook, is a cousin. Though, while they sailed off the Barbary Coast, and Cook rhymes with Hook, like so many in my family tree, they fought for the 'other side.'
2) Did any of my ancestors own parrots?
3) Did any of my ancestors like to drink rum?
4) Do I have any distant cousins who have played baseball in Pittsburgh?
Realizing I am unable to say 'yes' in certainty to any of these questions, I am a little glum on Talk Like a Pirate Day.
I know I have lime-burners, mule drivers, and tailors represented. If OneWorldTree is correct, I also have a 1930s bootlegger/massmurderer nicknamed "The Alligator Man" as a distant cousin. He may come the closest. OWT also claims that John Ledyard, who sailed with Captain Cook, is a cousin. Though, while they sailed off the Barbary Coast, and Cook rhymes with Hook, like so many in my family tree, they fought for the 'other side.'
Sunday, September 16, 2007
Personal Ancestry Writer II
I found a free Mac download that will export a Register-format report from a Gedcom file. It's caled Personal Ancestry Writer II.
From the official description:
From the official description:
It combines most of the features of the LDS Personal Ancestral File program (PAF) for the Macintosh (for which all development stopped a few years ago after release 2.3.1), with additional features that generate web pages (in HTML), word processing files (in RTF for, e.g., AppleWorks) and desktop publishing files (in MML for FrameMaker). The generated report files include genealogical dictionaries, registers, ahnentafels and lineages—such as appear on this site—as well as some interesting text files and pedigree charts.It tries to do a lot of things, and could be used possibly as one's primary software, though its interface looks like it was created in the dark ages of System 7 and never updated. Still, it is free.
PAWriter is not meant to have the bells and whistles that are in the current crop of genealogical programs. The emphasis is on maintaining a genealogical database from which the user can write books and/or post web pages about a family.Users of MacFamilyTree or iFamily who feel they must have a Register report can use it easily for that purpose.
More about iFamily
I like iFamily. (Officially 'iFamily for Tiger' as the name gets changed each time the Mac OS is upgraded. On the website forums it is clear they are working on an 'iFamily for Leopard'. However, the software has no relationship to Apple Corp that I can see, beyond that it is designed to run on their systems.) And if I choose to buy it after the 10day demo period, it will only cost $30.
The website says that it is designed for screens at least 17inches. However, I have a laptop with a 14 inch screen, and it looks fine.
Here is the default view for one individual from the Royal Family database (over 3000 entries) that came included with the demo:
I like that I can see several generations on my screen at once, and to move to a new person, I just need to double click on their name. You'll notice if you enlarge the image above that at the top of the screen in the right is a switch for 'Levels' set to 3. That's the number of ancestor generations. It can be increased, but on my screen it get rather tiny with anything higher than the default '3'. (So, yeah, a 17 inch screen might be nice. But 3 generations is great.) You may also notice the colors and fonts for the interface are easily adjustable from the default view. If you click on the tabs you see at the bottom of the screen, you get different information in the bottom half of the screen.
It is extremely intuitive and easy to navigate.
Also, I really appreciate that the database is either updated as you enter the data, or it is saved when you close the window (instead of quitting from the file menu as one really should always do, but sometimes you get in bad habits.) When you close the window by clicking on the red circle, a dialog pops up asking if you want to close the window, close and quit the application, or cancel. MacFamilyTree just closes the window automatically, and all unsaved data is lost.
Finally - there's a cool "On this Day" feature that tells me that King Louis XVIII, Mary Stuart, and Charles V the Wise all died on September 16th. I can also get a list of births, deaths and marriages for a given month, which with my own family database, could be useful to remember when I should go out and buy gifts. (I'm not likely to buy gifts for anyone in the Royal family.)
Downsides:
Gedcom import is limited to Ascii Gedcoms. I had difficulty importing my MacFamilyTree Gedcom. I thought it was because it was in unicode, because when I exported it in Ascii, iFamily recognized it fine. In the comments I've been assured that iFamily recognizes unicode, as well as several other versions, so I haven't figured out yet what the issue was. (Turns out MacFamilyTree invented a filetype extension for their unicode files (.uged). The file only needed to be renamed. The next update of iFamily will recognize the weird extension.)
You also can't save a report in "Register" format. You can't do this with MacFamilyTree either. (I've read you can do it with Reunion, but that's three times as expensive as iFamily, and more than double MacFamilyTree) I find Register confusing, but still, it is supposedly the standard.
I like iFamily's reports. Their descendant report covers each branch of the tree separately. So in the Royal Family example, if you started with the Queen, it would list Queen Elizabeth, then her son Charles, then his children William and Henry, and then if eiher of the Princes had children, their children, then it would go back up to Charles' sister Anne, then her children Peter and Zara, then back up to Charles' brother Andrew, etc. It's certainly easy enough to read and follow the report.
The website says that it is designed for screens at least 17inches. However, I have a laptop with a 14 inch screen, and it looks fine.
Here is the default view for one individual from the Royal Family database (over 3000 entries) that came included with the demo:
I like that I can see several generations on my screen at once, and to move to a new person, I just need to double click on their name. You'll notice if you enlarge the image above that at the top of the screen in the right is a switch for 'Levels' set to 3. That's the number of ancestor generations. It can be increased, but on my screen it get rather tiny with anything higher than the default '3'. (So, yeah, a 17 inch screen might be nice. But 3 generations is great.) You may also notice the colors and fonts for the interface are easily adjustable from the default view. If you click on the tabs you see at the bottom of the screen, you get different information in the bottom half of the screen.
It is extremely intuitive and easy to navigate.
Also, I really appreciate that the database is either updated as you enter the data, or it is saved when you close the window (instead of quitting from the file menu as one really should always do, but sometimes you get in bad habits.) When you close the window by clicking on the red circle, a dialog pops up asking if you want to close the window, close and quit the application, or cancel. MacFamilyTree just closes the window automatically, and all unsaved data is lost.
Finally - there's a cool "On this Day" feature that tells me that King Louis XVIII, Mary Stuart, and Charles V the Wise all died on September 16th. I can also get a list of births, deaths and marriages for a given month, which with my own family database, could be useful to remember when I should go out and buy gifts. (I'm not likely to buy gifts for anyone in the Royal family.)
Downsides:
You also can't save a report in "Register" format. You can't do this with MacFamilyTree either. (I've read you can do it with Reunion, but that's three times as expensive as iFamily, and more than double MacFamilyTree) I find Register confusing, but still, it is supposedly the standard.
I like iFamily's reports. Their descendant report covers each branch of the tree separately. So in the Royal Family example, if you started with the Queen, it would list Queen Elizabeth, then her son Charles, then his children William and Henry, and then if eiher of the Princes had children, their children, then it would go back up to Charles' sister Anne, then her children Peter and Zara, then back up to Charles' brother Andrew, etc. It's certainly easy enough to read and follow the report.
Saturday, September 15, 2007
iFamily
I thought I would download the iFamily demo to try out a different genealogy software package. The website says it integrates well with iPhoto which is intriguing. It's a ten-day trial, and I will look at it some more tomorrow, but one of the first things I noticed was that they included an interesting sample GEDCOM with the package. The Royal family.
And I didn't know it was Prince Henry Charles Albert's 23rd birthday today. (Well, there's about 15 minutes left of it where I am, but if I were in England, I'd have missed it.)
Being familiar with Shakespeare and all, I did suspect Harry's first name was Henry, but there may be a character limit issue with the software, as the prince should have four names "Henry Charles Albert David," and his record only includes the first three.
I was a little disturbed that while it does mention that the Queen Mother passed away in 2002, it has Diana Spencer as living.
I also noticed that while the Romanovs are included in the name index, Vlad's family isn't, even though it has been recently claimed that Charles is descended from a brother of Dracula.
I guess asking for completeness in the sample GEDCOM is being a little too nitpicky.
And I didn't know it was Prince Henry Charles Albert's 23rd birthday today. (Well, there's about 15 minutes left of it where I am, but if I were in England, I'd have missed it.)
Being familiar with Shakespeare and all, I did suspect Harry's first name was Henry, but there may be a character limit issue with the software, as the prince should have four names "Henry Charles Albert David," and his record only includes the first three.
I was a little disturbed that while it does mention that the Queen Mother passed away in 2002, it has Diana Spencer as living.
I also noticed that while the Romanovs are included in the name index, Vlad's family isn't, even though it has been recently claimed that Charles is descended from a brother of Dracula.
I guess asking for completeness in the sample GEDCOM is being a little too nitpicky.
Friday, September 14, 2007
What's in the public domain?
Note: I live in the US, and so this post is US-centered. Different laws apply in different countries.
The recent discussions on copyright, due to their origin, have mostly focused on "fair use" and technology's impact on copyright law. But if a work is in the public domain, it is free to be used in any way anyone likes, without the need to get anyone's permission.
In genealogy we read source material of various age, and the issue of public domain can arise. There is some confusion though about what is in the public domain, due partially to recent court decisions revising the code, and partially due to different laws being in effect depending upon when a work was written, and where.
I don't work somewhere that understanding copyright law is part of the job description, but a colleague a couple days ago told me he was certain that it no longer mattered when the author died, it was a flat 95 years after creation. This is wrong, but it is understandable why they might think this. There has been a lot of media about corporate copyright, and work-for-hire now lasts for 95 years. Another colleague in the discussion claimed that Disney is actually trying to argue that some of their characters were created by Walt Disney, and not by the company, so that the clock starts when Disney died in 1966. I haven't verified this, but it sounds like a smart business move, for if they are successful, Mickey Mouse won't be public domain until after 2036 (1966+70), instead of 2022 (1928+95). Yielding an extra 14 years of profit.
The Intellectual Property Officer at Cornell University creates an annual chart detailing what is in the public domain as of January 1st of the current year. It depends on factors such as whether the work was published, or unpublished, with notice or without, where, and when. But the chart does a great job in my opinion of simplifying it as much as it can be simplified, and still cover all contingencies.
Note: all my comments regarding length of copyright terms in this post come after reviewing the chart linked above. It's been 12 years since I had any formalized training on copyright law, and that was only one college course, though I do try to follow news stories about related issues.
The recent discussions on copyright, due to their origin, have mostly focused on "fair use" and technology's impact on copyright law. But if a work is in the public domain, it is free to be used in any way anyone likes, without the need to get anyone's permission.
In genealogy we read source material of various age, and the issue of public domain can arise. There is some confusion though about what is in the public domain, due partially to recent court decisions revising the code, and partially due to different laws being in effect depending upon when a work was written, and where.
I don't work somewhere that understanding copyright law is part of the job description, but a colleague a couple days ago told me he was certain that it no longer mattered when the author died, it was a flat 95 years after creation. This is wrong, but it is understandable why they might think this. There has been a lot of media about corporate copyright, and work-for-hire now lasts for 95 years. Another colleague in the discussion claimed that Disney is actually trying to argue that some of their characters were created by Walt Disney, and not by the company, so that the clock starts when Disney died in 1966. I haven't verified this, but it sounds like a smart business move, for if they are successful, Mickey Mouse won't be public domain until after 2036 (1966+70), instead of 2022 (1928+95). Yielding an extra 14 years of profit.
The Intellectual Property Officer at Cornell University creates an annual chart detailing what is in the public domain as of January 1st of the current year. It depends on factors such as whether the work was published, or unpublished, with notice or without, where, and when. But the chart does a great job in my opinion of simplifying it as much as it can be simplified, and still cover all contingencies.
Note: all my comments regarding length of copyright terms in this post come after reviewing the chart linked above. It's been 12 years since I had any formalized training on copyright law, and that was only one college course, though I do try to follow news stories about related issues.
Tuesday, September 11, 2007
9/11
I didn't think to write a post on 9/11 here this morning since I don't think about the day in relationship to genealogy, and I have another blog where I post my thoughts on all other topics.
But after reading Randy, Miriam and Jasia,
I decided to write a few thoughts.
First, I refuse to listen to Alan Jackson's song despite Miriam's suggestion. I didn't hear it played today, but I've heard it so much, I don't need to listen to it, and it has always bugged me. I like country music generally, and Alan Jackson has some good songs, but I can't stand the idea of bragging about not knowing the difference between Iraq and Iran. You can tell me the narrator of the song isn't bragging, but he's setting himself up as the 'common man' because he is ignorant of world geography and events, but somehow the fact that he is 'common' and ignorant is supposed to make his opinions more 'real' or 'valid' and that seems like bragging to me about his ignorance. The recent American phenomenon of actually turning knowledge and learning into something 'bad' and ignorance into something 'good' is very disturbing to me. I would much rather elect a politician - for any office - who spoke with intelligence than one who I felt I could sit down and have a beer with. End of Soapbox.
I won't bother anyone with any more of my political thoughts about the past six years.
9/11: I remember where I was. I was at work. And being at an investment brokerage there was a television playing the Financial News Network in the hallway all day. And every hour or so I'd get up and spend 10 minutes in the hallway with a group of others and see if any more news had come in.
Here's a poem I wrote shortly after 9/11, which I think is appropriate to post here:
Two Photographs
Looking at a photo
on my office cubicle shelf
taken 25 years ago
of my mother, brother, sister and I
standing at the Statue of Liberty,
my sister wearing a bicentennial tshirt,
and the New York skyline in the background
with the World Trade Center
three years old to my seven
I recollect another photo
from my grandfather’s collection
of him sitting on a horse
in front of a partially completed
Mount Rushmore.
© 2001 John Newmark
(Note: I had assumed the date of the photograph from my sister's tshirt, but after writing the poem, I showed it to my parents who told me that the picture was actually taken in 1977. My sister just liked the shirt enough to wear it a year later. I didn't change the ages in the poem, as I preferred the sound of the ages I had. The details in a poem don't always have to be 100% true.)
But after reading Randy, Miriam and Jasia,
I decided to write a few thoughts.
First, I refuse to listen to Alan Jackson's song despite Miriam's suggestion. I didn't hear it played today, but I've heard it so much, I don't need to listen to it, and it has always bugged me. I like country music generally, and Alan Jackson has some good songs, but I can't stand the idea of bragging about not knowing the difference between Iraq and Iran. You can tell me the narrator of the song isn't bragging, but he's setting himself up as the 'common man' because he is ignorant of world geography and events, but somehow the fact that he is 'common' and ignorant is supposed to make his opinions more 'real' or 'valid' and that seems like bragging to me about his ignorance. The recent American phenomenon of actually turning knowledge and learning into something 'bad' and ignorance into something 'good' is very disturbing to me. I would much rather elect a politician - for any office - who spoke with intelligence than one who I felt I could sit down and have a beer with. End of Soapbox.
I won't bother anyone with any more of my political thoughts about the past six years.
9/11: I remember where I was. I was at work. And being at an investment brokerage there was a television playing the Financial News Network in the hallway all day. And every hour or so I'd get up and spend 10 minutes in the hallway with a group of others and see if any more news had come in.
Here's a poem I wrote shortly after 9/11, which I think is appropriate to post here:
Two Photographs
Looking at a photo
on my office cubicle shelf
taken 25 years ago
of my mother, brother, sister and I
standing at the Statue of Liberty,
my sister wearing a bicentennial tshirt,
and the New York skyline in the background
with the World Trade Center
three years old to my seven
I recollect another photo
from my grandfather’s collection
of him sitting on a horse
in front of a partially completed
Mount Rushmore.
© 2001 John Newmark
(Note: I had assumed the date of the photograph from my sister's tshirt, but after writing the poem, I showed it to my parents who told me that the picture was actually taken in 1977. My sister just liked the shirt enough to wear it a year later. I didn't change the ages in the poem, as I preferred the sound of the ages I had. The details in a poem don't always have to be 100% true.)
Wait for it...
(ZombieNews Central) St. Louis - Mugged by his long dead great-great-great grandfather, who was recently reanimated, local man, Charles Whitley started to chase him. His ancestor was quicker than zombies have been rumored to be and a chase began. Passing a policeman, Charles shouted, “My ancestor stole my life savings. So I’m taking after my ancestor!”
Monday, September 10, 2007
Found this in a fortune cookie...
Confucius say: You may be my descendant
(There's probably something offensive about the way I phrased that, but I eat at Chinese restaurants a lot)
Apparently there is a large database of every descendant of Confucius. The last time it was updated was in the 1930s.
I think it's good news that they decided to include everyone in the database, including female descendants, this time around.
On some other blog recently I was reading that some people claim everyone is descended from Charlemagne. I found that doubtful. Charlemagne died in 814. Confucius died in 479 BCE. If Confucius only has 3 million descendants, Charlemagne must have less. Right?
(There's probably something offensive about the way I phrased that, but I eat at Chinese restaurants a lot)
Apparently there is a large database of every descendant of Confucius. The last time it was updated was in the 1930s.
I think it's good news that they decided to include everyone in the database, including female descendants, this time around.
On some other blog recently I was reading that some people claim everyone is descended from Charlemagne. I found that doubtful. Charlemagne died in 814. Confucius died in 479 BCE. If Confucius only has 3 million descendants, Charlemagne must have less. Right?
Privacy in Texas
Several discussions on legal and ethical issues lately. As a newcomer to the genealogical community, I don't know how common this is. I have come upon another one that's troubling me.
Last night, doing some research on a surname in Texas I came across the Ancestry databases of their birth, death and marriage indexes. Several states have their death indexes online. This can be useful. Missouri even has their death certificates online - up until 1956. But they stop with certificates less than 50 years. They have no index for recent deaths either. The St. Louis Public Library has an index for Post Disptach obituaries that isn't complete, but when it is, will be up-to-present. This doesn't trouble me much, since all the people in the index are deceased.
But indexes of births and marriages for people who are still living? The Texas birth index at Ancestry is for 1903-1997. The marriage index is for 1814-1909 and 1966-2002. If I had been born in Texas, I'd be on it, as would my parents, and grandparents. The birth index gives names of both parents, with maiden name for the mother. Combined with the marriage index, this provides an easy reference to track the generations. There is a large gap in the marriage index, but still, while the census stops at 1930, if the family remains in Texas, you can pretty much keep on going until the current generation of parents. And then at several phonebook websites (Or on Google if you figure out the city they live in) you can probably find the phone number of the living generations. And give them a call and say, Hi, I'm a cousin.
It certainly might not be advisable to start out the conversation that way. And you might do better trying to find their address and writing a "blind inquiry" letter to them. (Uncle Hiram has some good advice on that.) It's way too easy to hang up a phone. But Texas certainly makes it easy. I'm not sure how many other states do this. Randy at GeneaMusings back in February suggested California was the only other one. Chicago (Cook County) recently announced it is putting a lot of their vitals online - with an estimated date of arrival in January, but I don't know if this will include recent vitals.
He also asks for input on the privacy issue. I didn't see his post back then (see first paragraph) but I'm giving it now, I guess. I don't like it.
Well, that is, looking at it from the perspective of somebody tracking me down - online - within a couple hours of fairly easy research - if I don't want to be tracked down that easily. I don't have to worry about that, I don't live in Texas.
But I do have some Texas relatives. I now know their names. I won't mention the surname. And while I'm not about to pick up the phone, I think I'd be silly not to write a couple letters. Gives them the option of not replying. I might even play 'dumb' and say that I think 'we may' be related. Don't want to scare them by telling them that I *know* we are. Of course, I'd be surprised if this hasn't been discussed in Texas newspapers, and they know full well how easy it is. So they might see right through my facade.
Last night, doing some research on a surname in Texas I came across the Ancestry databases of their birth, death and marriage indexes. Several states have their death indexes online. This can be useful. Missouri even has their death certificates online - up until 1956. But they stop with certificates less than 50 years. They have no index for recent deaths either. The St. Louis Public Library has an index for Post Disptach obituaries that isn't complete, but when it is, will be up-to-present. This doesn't trouble me much, since all the people in the index are deceased.
But indexes of births and marriages for people who are still living? The Texas birth index at Ancestry is for 1903-1997. The marriage index is for 1814-1909 and 1966-2002. If I had been born in Texas, I'd be on it, as would my parents, and grandparents. The birth index gives names of both parents, with maiden name for the mother. Combined with the marriage index, this provides an easy reference to track the generations. There is a large gap in the marriage index, but still, while the census stops at 1930, if the family remains in Texas, you can pretty much keep on going until the current generation of parents. And then at several phonebook websites (Or on Google if you figure out the city they live in) you can probably find the phone number of the living generations. And give them a call and say, Hi, I'm a cousin.
It certainly might not be advisable to start out the conversation that way. And you might do better trying to find their address and writing a "blind inquiry" letter to them. (Uncle Hiram has some good advice on that.) It's way too easy to hang up a phone. But Texas certainly makes it easy. I'm not sure how many other states do this. Randy at GeneaMusings back in February suggested California was the only other one. Chicago (Cook County) recently announced it is putting a lot of their vitals online - with an estimated date of arrival in January, but I don't know if this will include recent vitals.
He also asks for input on the privacy issue. I didn't see his post back then (see first paragraph) but I'm giving it now, I guess. I don't like it.
Well, that is, looking at it from the perspective of somebody tracking me down - online - within a couple hours of fairly easy research - if I don't want to be tracked down that easily. I don't have to worry about that, I don't live in Texas.
But I do have some Texas relatives. I now know their names. I won't mention the surname. And while I'm not about to pick up the phone, I think I'd be silly not to write a couple letters. Gives them the option of not replying. I might even play 'dumb' and say that I think 'we may' be related. Don't want to scare them by telling them that I *know* we are. Of course, I'd be surprised if this hasn't been discussed in Texas newspapers, and they know full well how easy it is. So they might see right through my facade.
Genealogy Challenges and Puzzles
I've been having fun with Genealogue's challenges, but I often see them after the answers are revealed in the comments, or while I am at work without much time to solve them. I did submit one to him, and it was fun to see people solve it.
A local puzzler named Nobody published a puzzle late last night early this morning, and today it has a genealogy-related slant. I found it not too challenging, but still somewhat fun, since it involved some well-known names, and thought others might like to try their hand.
Nobody's site used to be much more active than it is now, but it's good to see they're not completely gone.
A local puzzler named Nobody published a puzzle late last night early this morning, and today it has a genealogy-related slant. I found it not too challenging, but still somewhat fun, since it involved some well-known names, and thought others might like to try their hand.
Nobody's site used to be much more active than it is now, but it's good to see they're not completely gone.
Saturday, September 8, 2007
In the attic
I was over at my parents' house today going through some old boxes in the attic. Discovered photo albums both of my grandmothers put together when they were young. 1920s and 1930s. Both contain high school graduation photos. And I think my favorite pictures are those of my grandfathers young and hamming it up for the camera. Though there are also some pictures of great-grandparents and great-great grandparents in the collections.
(I'm going to have to reread the posts on The Practical Archivist on rescuing glued photos, and find myself a microspatula.)
The most surprising find though wasn't a photograph. It was my maternal grandfather's resume. He updated it after he retired, in 1968, and saved it. Who does that? (My grandfather, I guess. He's the same grandfather who gave me his Hungarian birth certificate to put into a grade school report.) So I have a one page summary of his career that I couldn't have found anywhere else. I knew the highlights: brief stint as a lawyer, most of his career as a Postal Inspector, a few years in the army, but now my knowledge is more complete. He also had kept in a folder a lot of business correspondence.
(I'm going to have to reread the posts on The Practical Archivist on rescuing glued photos, and find myself a microspatula.)
The most surprising find though wasn't a photograph. It was my maternal grandfather's resume. He updated it after he retired, in 1968, and saved it. Who does that? (My grandfather, I guess. He's the same grandfather who gave me his Hungarian birth certificate to put into a grade school report.) So I have a one page summary of his career that I couldn't have found anywhere else. I knew the highlights: brief stint as a lawyer, most of his career as a Postal Inspector, a few years in the army, but now my knowledge is more complete. He also had kept in a folder a lot of business correspondence.
Friday, September 7, 2007
Friday Five
It's Friday, so five more names from various census.
It should be obvious what is on my mind this morning.
1900 – Cub Beers – Manhattan, NY – 22
1910 – Cardinal Butter – New Orleans, LA – 12
1920 – Astro Archie – Limestone, TX – 17
1930 – Met Pitt – Marshall, KY – 15
1880 – Pirate King – Richmond, MO - 45
It should be obvious what is on my mind this morning.
1900 – Cub Beers – Manhattan, NY – 22
1910 – Cardinal Butter – New Orleans, LA – 12
1920 – Astro Archie – Limestone, TX – 17
1930 – Met Pitt – Marshall, KY – 15
1880 – Pirate King – Richmond, MO - 45
Wednesday, September 5, 2007
Genealogy Jenny
Not too many people know what a Jenny is. A Jenny is a form of poetry I created last year. (Link is to my other blog). Like haiku, the word is both singular and plural.
It's a real simple form to learn. There is a specified number of lines, with a specified number of syllables for each line. Jenny have 7 lines, and a total of 38 syllables. The first line has 8 syllables. The second line has 6 syllables. The third line has 7 syllables. Can you guess the rest? Does this help: 8-6-7...
Here's an example:
Honor thy Great Grandmother and Great Grandfather
We all have eight great grandparents.
Half of us don’t know them.
I treasure all my surnames:
Newmark and Cruvant,
Feinstein, Blatt,
Deutsch, Lichtman, Van Every, Denyer.
That of course was more factual than poetic. The following is slightly better:
Advice Not Taken
In the hot summer heat I found
myself reading gravestones
looking for my ancestors.
All of the websites
said: Autumn.
I could not wait that long to find them.
© John Newmark
It's a real simple form to learn. There is a specified number of lines, with a specified number of syllables for each line. Jenny have 7 lines, and a total of 38 syllables. The first line has 8 syllables. The second line has 6 syllables. The third line has 7 syllables. Can you guess the rest? Does this help: 8-6-7...
Here's an example:
Honor thy Great Grandmother and Great Grandfather
We all have eight great grandparents.
Half of us don’t know them.
I treasure all my surnames:
Newmark and Cruvant,
Feinstein, Blatt,
Deutsch, Lichtman, Van Every, Denyer.
That of course was more factual than poetic. The following is slightly better:
Advice Not Taken
In the hot summer heat I found
myself reading gravestones
looking for my ancestors.
All of the websites
said: Autumn.
I could not wait that long to find them.
© John Newmark
Genealogy Haiku/Senryu
I find it a lot easier to think in syllables of 5-7-5. Maybe I'm part Japanese; from a past life?
Erosion
A British study
reveals half can't name one great
grandparent. Lost roots.
---
Epitaphs
I can't walk past graves
without stopping to read them.
Dead men do tell tales.
© John Newmark
Erosion
A British study
reveals half can't name one great
grandparent. Lost roots.
---
Epitaphs
I can't walk past graves
without stopping to read them.
Dead men do tell tales.
© John Newmark
Genealogy Limericks
Randy at Genea-Musings put out a request for some Genealogy Limericks
Since I consider myself something of a poet, and since my great Grandfather Barney claimed to be Irish even though the wasn't, I had to see what I could come up with...
I will note that I tried to stick to a 3-3-2-2-3 pattern with regard to metrical feet, though I know there are a few rough spots. I was more flexible with rhyme.
There once was a guy from Missouri
Knew nought ‘bout his granddad named Morrie
He searched at Ancestry;
Got help at the library
Now he knows where his granddad is buried.
There once was a lady named Maude
Who loved to explore a graveyard
With blue jeans and bug spray
She would spend the whole day
Rubbing graves and chatting with G-d.
I intentionally avoided the word 'genealogist'. I didn't see an easy way to fit that into the metrical scheme without totally ignoring it. Then it came to me...
Way back when ol' Beowulf was young
A kid searched for his dad and his mom
"Genealogist" they
might now call him today
But back then he was known as young Tom
© John Newmark
Since I consider myself something of a poet, and since my great Grandfather Barney claimed to be Irish even though the wasn't, I had to see what I could come up with...
I will note that I tried to stick to a 3-3-2-2-3 pattern with regard to metrical feet, though I know there are a few rough spots. I was more flexible with rhyme.
There once was a guy from Missouri
Knew nought ‘bout his granddad named Morrie
He searched at Ancestry;
Got help at the library
Now he knows where his granddad is buried.
There once was a lady named Maude
Who loved to explore a graveyard
With blue jeans and bug spray
She would spend the whole day
Rubbing graves and chatting with G-d.
I intentionally avoided the word 'genealogist'. I didn't see an easy way to fit that into the metrical scheme without totally ignoring it. Then it came to me...
Way back when ol' Beowulf was young
A kid searched for his dad and his mom
"Genealogist" they
might now call him today
But back then he was known as young Tom
© John Newmark
Monday, September 3, 2007
Labor Day
Since it's Labor Day in the United States, and I believe in Canada too, as opposed to all the other countries that still observe it on its original May day, I've been thinking about the work my ancestors did.
In the early 1900s they were tailors, launderers, undertakers, salesmen. The next generation had several lawyers and doctors. Most people see that as a jump, because we focus on the money, and the years of required education. But every one of my ancestors in the first list were self-employed businessmen, dealing with clients in much the same fashion.
I've found an online interview of a distant relative who left the city and started a medical practice in a small rural town in the 1930s because they had no other doctor. For years he charged his patients $1, and never sent out bills, because he knew they would pay if they could. Something which he, and his children, and his children's children should rightly be proud of.
In the interview he states one of his reasons for becoming a doctor was because his mother didn't want him to become a tailor like everyone else in the family. I cringe at the joke, even though it receives the expected laughter from the interviewer. Mostly because I know the interviewee's father, and his father's father were tailors, and I know his mother's father was a bootmaker.
It's not exactly what he said that bothers me, but how he said it. The parents of all his cousins probably had similar (mostly fulfilled) desires for their children. I like to think, though, that instead of looking down on the profession, they saw the hard work that went into it, and the years of poverty, and wanted an easier life for their children. That's probably how he looked at it too, and I'm just reading too much into a one-liner in an interview.
I was certainly thrilled to find a recording of his voice. The interview is about 30 minutes long.
In the early 1900s they were tailors, launderers, undertakers, salesmen. The next generation had several lawyers and doctors. Most people see that as a jump, because we focus on the money, and the years of required education. But every one of my ancestors in the first list were self-employed businessmen, dealing with clients in much the same fashion.
I've found an online interview of a distant relative who left the city and started a medical practice in a small rural town in the 1930s because they had no other doctor. For years he charged his patients $1, and never sent out bills, because he knew they would pay if they could. Something which he, and his children, and his children's children should rightly be proud of.
In the interview he states one of his reasons for becoming a doctor was because his mother didn't want him to become a tailor like everyone else in the family. I cringe at the joke, even though it receives the expected laughter from the interviewer. Mostly because I know the interviewee's father, and his father's father were tailors, and I know his mother's father was a bootmaker.
It's not exactly what he said that bothers me, but how he said it. The parents of all his cousins probably had similar (mostly fulfilled) desires for their children. I like to think, though, that instead of looking down on the profession, they saw the hard work that went into it, and the years of poverty, and wanted an easier life for their children. That's probably how he looked at it too, and I'm just reading too much into a one-liner in an interview.
I was certainly thrilled to find a recording of his voice. The interview is about 30 minutes long.
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