Tips – Page 26 – GenealogyAtHeart.com

The Nonexistent Genealogical Record

Originally published on genealogyatheart.blogspot.com on 23 Aug 2015.

This past week I had several interesting situations occur that really drove home to me the connection between education and genealogy.

The first was an email from my division superintendent that requested everyone bring a photo of their high school graduation to post as a visual reminder of our district’s goal of increasing high school graduation rates. Problem is, I don’t have a grad photo. If you’re one of my loyal readers you know my parents were divorced when I was young. I attended 1^st through 11^th grade in the Lake County, Indiana school district where my mom and I lived with my grandparents. In June of my rising senior year I sat for senior picture; the custom at that time was girls had to wear a crew neck grey top- no mortar boards. I have a copy of the photo which never appeared in a school yearbook because in August, my mother, who was employed by Montgomery Wards Department Stores, which was then owned by Mobil Oil, was given a transfer to Florida. Mom gave me the option of going with her or moving in with my dad and step-mother to complete my senior year in Indiana. Either way, I would have had to attend a different high school so I opted to move to Florida.

My first day of my senior year at St. Petersburg High School was a disaster. I had to retake classes I had already passed because Pinellas County Schools did not have a work-study program that I was scheduled to take in Indiana. They wouldn’t let me attend school part time, either. I had wanted to work my senior year to save money for college so that goal was shot. In addition, no one spoke to me the entire day, even when I asked for directions. I came home that evening and announced that I was quitting school. My mother insisted I return so the next morning we met with the guidance counselor. I don’t remember his name but I remember his complete lack of concern. He suggested I enroll in a school for drop outs where I could complete assignments at my own pace and hold a job. My mom drove me to the new school. As we entered there was a fist fight in the hall and we had trouble getting into the office. No adults were around although this was adult education. I only needed 3 classes to graduate but the school only allowed enrolling in 2 classes at a time. I finished senior English and Business Math in two weeks. I then enrolled in Americanism vs. Communism. Back in the day, the state of Florida was fairly certain Fidel Castro was going to storm the shores so every Florida senior had to be prepared by taking this ridiculous course. Even though I finished the actual course work in another 2 weeks I was forced to sit for the entire school day in the class for an additional two weeks as there was a requirement that students must be enrolled for a certain number of hours. The teacher was kind and told me I could bring anything quiet to do so I read a book a day. No one spoke to me at this school either. At the time, doctors, judges and other leaders in the community were so afraid that their children would become drug addicts that they enrolled them in a now defunct program called “The Seed.” Anyone enrolled was not permitted to speak with anyone outside of the group. The organization decided to enroll all of their students at the adult ed program probably because there would be less opportunity to interact with other teens. I completed my entire senior year in 6 weeks. When I went to the school counselor to turn in my completion paperwork she informed me the district would mail my diploma to me by the end of the semester (which they did but spelled my name wrong which is another story).

I never had a graduation ceremony so I never wore a cap and gown which is why I don’t have any pictures to contribute. Hubby offered to photo shop my senior pic to add a mortar board but I nixed that idea. I don’t want to fake history. I submitted a photo of my college graduation instead.

Technically, I’m a high school graduate as I had the diploma conferred to me via US Mail but since this didn’t occur with pomp and circumstance I have no photo. Several of my co-workers did attend a graduation ceremony but it wasn’t a custom to take a picture of the diploma being conferred so they don’t have pictures, either.

I think the practice of taking a picture as the diploma is being awarded must have occurred in my area after the early 1980’s. My bachelor’s and first master’s degree photos were taken by my mom and husband. By the time I received my second masters in the 90’s, photographers were on stage snapping away during the ceremony. By the 2000’s you could get the whole event on DVD.

My point is you may be looking for a record or photo that doesn’t exist because it was never recorded. Next time you’re searching for that wedding photo or birth certificate think about the possibility that it never was! This will save you time and frustration – just look for an alternative, like the marriage license of a baptism certificate. In my case, I have the transcripts and diploma – just no picture.

Familysearch.org Needed Changes

Originally published on genealogyatheart.blogspot.com on

In previous blogs I’ve mentioned my concerns about data loss and record inaccessibility (see Ancestry Site Changes – The Good, The Bad, The Ugly 6 Jun 2015 & Poof Be Gone-How Quickly Records Can Disappear 3 Jun 2015). A wonderful option to preserve your research would be to include it at Familysearch.org’s Wiki Tree. Unfortunately the site is not user friendly if you are not an LDS members. Let me demonstrate-

To access the Wiki, first sign into the site. If you don’t have a sign-on, you may create one even if you aren’t an LDS member, however, you won’t be able to link between Ancestry.com and Familysearch.org to sink data.

I have an extremely large well sourced tree that I would love to have on the Familysearch site. I’m going to outline the steps below of what I would have to do to build my husband’s paternal line on the Wiki. Below, on the right hand side, you can see that there are no parents identified on my Wiki Tree for William Lewis Samuelson.

There may be other Wiki Tree users who do have William’s parents. To discover if there is, one must click on the +Add Husband (or + Add Wife). Then, type in what you know. I typed in Gustaf Theodore Samuelson 29 Apr 1870 Baileytown, Portage, Indiana as the birth info and 9 Oct 1947 San Bernardino, San Bernardino, California as the death info. After clicking “Add,” 25 parent choices are presented. You may select 1 provided or by scrolling to the bottom, include a new couple.

In this case, I would “Add Couple” 1 – Gustav and Lulu Mae Cook. Once added, the Wiki Tree changes to the following:

That wasn’t very time consuming but here’s where my problems begin. I have 19 facts for Gustav Samuelson on my Ancestry tree:

Familysearch has 4 citations:

Really, Familysearch only has 1 source – the Legacy user that imported the information cited for 4 events but did the user did not include where he/she found the evidence. Truly, I’m not impressed with Familysearch’s sources for Gustaf. This is no improvement over the earlier trees that the site displayed. I equate this practice with only citing an Ancestry Family Tree that was unsourced to begin with. The citation is meaningless.

I could add the sources I found plus the 18 photos and the several additional records that I’ve scanned and uploaded to my Ancestry tree to the Familysearch Wiki but that takes quite a bit of time. I feel like I’m duplicating what I’ve already accomplished by re-entering the citations from Ancestry to Familysearch. Instead, I would prefer to spend my time further building my tree.

Perhaps, if down Gustaf’s line, Familysearch’s sources improved AND the tree was filled in I would enter my citations for Gustaf but let’s compare Gustaf’s parents in the Wiki to what I have in Ancestry:

Way too much to have to add! Way too time consuming!

So I thought maybe I would just add 1 photo to Wiki and keep the lines simple by just adding my direct line (no collaterals – no sibs!). Last evening I added my maternal grandparents, Ivan “John” and Mary Violet Kos Koss. I compared sources from ancestry to familysearch and added the difference. Then, I selected ONE photo for my mother, grandmother and grandfather and uploaded to Familysearch. This is what the photos looked like:

There’s nothing wrong with these 3 photos and I did agree that the site would first approve them before posting but its been a day and they’re still not displayed. At this rate, it would take me YEARS before I had my tree on Familysearch and it wouldn’t even be my complete tree.

I understand that the LDS Church has an agreement with Ancestry.com and to quote an old commercial, membership has its privileges, but there needs to be an expedient alternative for genealogists, such as uploading an existing tree to the Familysearch site.

I vocalized this to a church Elder when I visited the Family History Library in March. He mentioned why uploading a gedcom wouldn’t be conducive and why PAF was discontinued. I understand the evolution of technology and don’t long for the Windows 3.1 days or dial up internet.

I am also extremely thankful and do appreciate the dedication of thousands of LDS members who have preserved and published records over the years. To make all that work free to the general public is commendable and more than generous. The LDS members, however, are not the only compilers of trees. If non LDS members have a sourced tree I don’t understand why LDS wouldn’t want it. I strongly believe that it would be in EVERYONE’S best interest if nonmembers could easily synch their records onto the WIKI. I would even pay to do this and I bet other genealogists would, too.

Ancestry Site Changes – The Good, The Bad, The Ugly

Originally published on genealogyatheart.blogspot.com on 7 Jun 2015.

I mentioned briefly in my last blog about the changes to Ancestry.com. There’s always an adaption period when there is a site revision but I’m really having difficulty with this “new and improved” version, more than with previous updates.

Back on February 19^th, Ancestry announced on their blogsite that the site was in the process of beta testing improvements. Ancestry.com noted that their design team had 3 underlying principles – Make it beautiful, usable, and delightful. (IMHO, I don’t think they reached any of their principles.)

I didn’t sign up at the time to be a part of the members who could check out the changes. Last week I received the following email:

“If you haven’t heard (or seen), we’ve made some huge changes to the Ancestry website. But the “New Ancestry” is much more than a new look. It’s new features that help you tell stories as remarkable as the people who lived them.
It’s the new LifeStory that turns the facts in your ancestor’s life into a narrative timeline, like a biography.
It’s Historical Insights that let you walk a mile (or two) in your ancestor’s shoes.
It’s a new media gallery that puts all your records and pictures in one place.
It’s a streamlined design that’s easier to use—on your desktop or mobile devices.
It’s your family story, reinvented.

Can the new Ancestry really do all that? See for yourself. All the research and information you have now will be on the new Ancestry.”

Let me be clear that I do appreciate THE EFFORT that went into the improvement. A major revision is never easy. Here’s what I think they got right: I love the Life Story view for several reasons. I believe that it will hook many more individuals to genealogy who have difficulty with putting the bits and pieces of records all together to understand one of their ancestor’s lives. I shared Life Story with my husband who supports my work but never caught the genealogy bug. He said the inclusion of pictures and the narrative was “captivating.” He especially liked the Historical Insights feature that adds local/national events to an ancestor’s timeline. I can see this as a benefit in drawing in younger users, too, who may have learned about an event, like the Civil War, but have difficulty in how the event connects to a direct line relative. The pictures and facts together are powerful. Kudos to the genius’ who came up with this concept!

I also really like the Media Gallery that places all of my uploaded pictures and records side by side for easy viewing. I wish they would further refine this feature to include a drop and drag so that I could move the pictures around and place them in chronological order as I’ve added as I’ve discovered and it makes me crazy that they aren’t in order.

Matching records to the timeline is also beneficial and if used correctly, may even give the site more validity as critics frequently express their frustration over unsourced or poorly sourced (citing a tree that originally cited a different tree). I wish there was a way to fix all my poorly cited sources from my baby stage of genealogy. For example, I sourced ALOT of my Leininger, Long and Harbaugh families from various family history texts. I made the source name as “Text” and not the actual book’s name because several versions of Ancestry ago, citations weren’t as easy to add. I would like a way to quickly change the word “Text” to the correct title.

So Ancestry got a lot right in the New Ancestry but here’s where I disagree with the design team meeting their principles…

Usable

From my desktop computer I am often not able to access my tree at all using Internet Explorer and at times, not even with Chrome or Firefox:

From my Kindle, accessing from the web, I get this view but the links don’t work. You can see all the links I tried as they are in a different color:

From my Kindle, accessing via the downloaded ap I do get my tree but it is not easy to maneuver. Note that you can no longer click an arrow on the right margin to move the tree back further generations. Now you must make several clicks to move to a previous generation (click on the person then click to view the tree again).

From my laptop, using Chrome or Firefox, I can use the site and get this view. See the arrows on the right that still allow me to move back generations quickly:

Clearly, the design team failed in making the site useable on different devices. Maybe they were rushed by the news that Ancestry is on the auction block. I don’t know but I hope they get the Kindle site working as I love using my Kindle when I research away from home for the portability, lightness of the device and various features I can quickly access (photo, notes, internet, etc.)

Beautiful

Yes, beauty is in the eye of the beholder but I don’t think the site is beautiful at all. As seen above, the color scheme is drab. Although the above pic doesn’t clearly show the contrast, the bright pink and blue against the pastel pink and blue when there is no picture is not attractive. Maybe the design team thought that would be a good way to alert the user that a picture is needed but it just looks out of place to me. And seriously, have we not moved beyond gender stereotyping of girls in pink and boys in blue? With the current color scheme I’d rather see white and light gray.

Delightful

Huh? Delightful, according to Word’s Thesaurus, means pleasant, charming, lovely, wonderful, enjoyable, amusing, agreeable, enchanting, delicious. None of these adjectives would I use to describe the revision. Maybe innovative as no one else has the Life Story and record matching features that are absolutely awesome.

I hope the tech team can quickly fix the glitches. I also hope that Ancestry can be expediently acquired by a group who cares about genealogy so that it can continue to operate, grow and provide the services that we’re paying for at a reasonable price

Poof Be Gone-How Quickly Records Can Disappear

Originally published on genealogyatheart.blogspot.com on 3 Jun 2015.

It’s officially Hurricane Season (June 1st-November 30th) and I’m predicting several storms. My rationale for the prediction is from observation and experience. May was hotter than usual and the summer rain pattern began early this year. By rain pattern, I mean the afternoon thunderstorms that drench the Tampa Bay region between noon and four daily, followed by a gentle Gulf breeze and sunshine for the rest of the day. The Gulf’s temperature is already hotter than in years when we didn’t have much hurricane activity, thus supporting my prediction. My husband hates hearing my last reason for a bad season but I stand by this – our daughter is moving back to the area. Every time she had signed up to take a medical school exam (MCAT, Step 1, Step 2, Step 3) there has been a hurricane – even when she had relocated to New Jersey. I can’t explain why she hits the hurricane jackpot every time she has to take an exam but she has two more coming up – mid August and early October so I’m preparing for the worst!

About a month ago, Genealogy Ninja Thomas MacEntee sent an email about a new Kindle E-Book he had just released called Preserving Your Family’s Oral History and Stories. He proposed the question, “How Safe is Your Family History?” and used the term “future proof” meaning making sure that your records will be available in the future. When I read this I immediately got a smug feeling – my family records and photos are all digitized. Most are public on Ancestry and privately held in Picassa. I have given copies on DVDs to several relatives around the US. The originals are kept in acid free sleeves in plastic storage bins on the highest shelf in the middle of my climate controlled home to insure against flood, wind, mold and water damage.

My smugness didn’t last long. Soon after reading the email I got a call from both my sister-in-law and daughter. Neither could find the DVD I had given them and they needed a picture. Turns out my son can’t find his copy, either. Sure, I could give them all another copy but what would happen if they again lose it or it malfunctions and something happens to me?

The next week I was sitting in my favorite chair, blogging away on my old laptop. A mosquito landed on my leg and I immediately slapped it. Not only did I miss the mosquito I had shifted in the chair and knocked the thumb drive into the armrest. I didn’t think much about it until several hours later when I tried to eject it. The device could not be found. I could find it – it was right in front of me sticking out of the laptop. Unfortunately, my computer could no longer read it because somehow it had snapped a connection inside the drive. I tried to remain calm thinking that I have most everything backed up to Dropbox except one file. Surely, it must still be somewhere on my hard drive. Nope, I hadn’t saved it because my laptop is old and I don’t trust it. I tried to go to recent documents but I guess I hadn’t opened it on the laptop recently so it wasn’t there. The next day my husband found the Excel document in my temp files. It wasn’t the most up-to-date version but it was much better than not having it all.

Okay, so DVDs get lost and thumb drives break, there are still clouds, right?! Well, only when they work. In mid-May a coworker asked to see a picture of the hydroponic garden that my son had built. I open my (not so) smart phone and couldn’t access the picture. Seems I had used up all my memory space somehow. I went from camera to gallery but still couldn’t access it. No worries, I thought, I have my photos sent to Picassa so I’ll just log on and find it. That’s when I discovered that you can’t view your photo in Picassa if your phone doesn’t upload it which mine didn’t do. Granted, this was not a major loss but it further lessened my smugness about my “future proofing” a tad more.

In the 3rd week of May I was visiting the Tampa Bay History Center to research Jose Marti’s visit to Tampa (see blog 14 May 2015 Marker Mistakes-Historical Plaque Inaccuracies) when I learned the center doesn’t have a printer or scanner for researchers’ use. I didn’t bring my digital camera, I wasn’t going to trust my new thumb drive, I couldn’t use my phone so I thought I was absolutely brilliant by taking photos of the pages with my Kindle. Well, I wasn’t so brilliant.

I got home late from work that night and was preparing for all day field trips with my students for the next two days so I didn’t take a look at the photos. I assumed they were going to go directly to Picassa. I know, I know, never assume in genealogy; someday I will get that lesson down. Three days after I had taken the photos I was holding my Kindle, purse, clipboards, travel mug, beach towel, and while getting out of the car, the Kindle slipped out of it’s sleeve and hit the garage floor. I noticed several hours later the Kindle screen was cracked. I also learned that my photos hadn’t been sent to Picassa because I had signed on to my Kindle with a different email address that Picassa didn’t recognize. I was able to keep rotating the device until I had the pics emailed from one address to another but it was a major pain in the neck after a long hot tiring day (and kudos to Amazon staff who were so nice about helping me save the photos AND sending me out a replacement Kindle 2 days later!) Well, by now I was no longer feeling secure about by ability to future proof my records.

To make me even further concerned, Eric Jelle, of Genedocs Templates on Facebook, posted this on Memorial Day Weekend: ” I would also like to take a moment to inform/remind members that both my grandfather and his father (Grandpa Richard) had their discharge paperwork burned and lost forever in the horrible fire in 1973 in St Louis at the National Personnel Records Center (NPRC). Before I even knew the fire happened or its 16 – 18 million military service document destroying impact, I had inherited the member copies of both Rays and Richards service info and then made color copies and sent them to NPRC after learning they had nothing on file. Of course, I went the extra mile and included service portraits of each too! IF you have these documents or end up with them – please send copies to NARA/NPRC which has a new fireproof facility in St Louis so you can rest easy they likely will not be easily burned again.” Fire! Don’t even want to think about that. I live in an area with lots of lightning which causes lots of fires. I got that nauseous feeling in the pit of my stomach reading his post.

I don’t want to sound paranoid but I’ve had too many tech issues in the past month not to be worried.

I guess it’s a miracle we find any documents today given all the things that can cause destruction. I’m hoping I’m wrong about the upcoming hurricane season and I’m hoping my work will be preserved.

The only solutions I can come up with is to make sure that our work is shared as much as possible and that both electronic and hard copies are made. I am making a point of saving my Ancestry tree to Legacy monthly and a copy is kept on my hard drive and in Dropbox. I have tried the Wiki Tree on Familysearch.org but I have some concerns about relying on it. First, its a Wiki and anyone can change what you input. That could be a positive if someone is correcting an incorrect entry but it can also be disastrous if someone is deleting your correct information. Second, maybe it’s me but I have a difficult time maneuvering on the site’s tree. Third, I have a large tree and don’t have time to input or click and select from the site’s choices to build. I spoke with a tech person when I was at the Family History Library in March and there is no option to upload a gedcom, old PAF or any other genealogical management program. So, Familysearch.org is not a viable alternative for me.

And now there’s the Ancestry rumors circulating again. I’m not overly concerned with their upcoming auction but one never knows what a new buyer will do. I never thought PAF would go away or Rootsweb would not have continued to grow.

I do absolutely love Ancestry’s new format (though I hate the drab background colors) that permits turning your ancestor’s timeline into a story. I’ve noticed some minor glitches but the edit feature allowed me to make corrections quickly and easily. I’m thinking of taking the stories and printing a family book for an additional safeguard against losing data. A hard copy could even be donated to a library or historical society even further insuring your hard work isn’t lost.

My last fail safe method to preserving our family tree is to further motivate family members who have shown an interest in genealogy as I would like them to continue on with the work that I began when I can no longer do so.

I’d appreciate hearing any preservation ideas you may have!

Genealogy Gems – More Online Resources You Need to Know About

Originally published on genealogyatheart.blogspot.com on 21 May 2015.

Last time I told you about 5 of my favorite free sites and here’s a few more that I think you’ll love as much as I do:

Every Sunday, with my morning coffee, I look forward to reading The Genealogy News Weekly Edition sponsored by Genealogy Today support@genealogytoday.com. This newsletter contains lots of press releases from the most well known organizations in genealogy to keep you up-to-date, as well as research tips and findings from historians around the world. I click on the links and when I find one that may help me with a brickwall, I copy and paste the site info as a comment on my ancestry tree associated with the person I’m stuck on. This way, I don’t forget the source to check out and I don’t feel rushed to do it immediately. Since my tree is public, others researching the same ancestors can see the comment and check it out themselves. Win-Win for everyone!
Another very good newsletter is Genealogy and Technology E-News by Thomas MacEntree, also the founder of Geneabloggers. You can subscribe at geneabloggers@gmail.com. I’ll be writing a future blog soon about info in one of the past newsletters.
I’ve mentioned Legacy before but they deserve to be mentioned again – weekly newsletter and webinars that are well worth taking. Subscribe to their email list at http://www.legacyfamilytree.com/LegacyLists.asp
My infatuation with Pinterest is recent. I created an account when it was new but I couldn’t figure out how to use the site for genealogy so my husband commandeered it and posted all kinds of building, gardening and craft ideas. That worked for me – my backyard is gorgeous with all the ideas he’s found! Last winter I returned to pinterest with genealogy in mind and organized my site as Genealogy Guffaws (humor), Genealogy Quotes, American History, Middle Ages and Genealogy Organizers. Go to https://www.pinterest.com/ and put your interest area in boards or type my site names (Genealogy Guffaws) to go directly to my pages. You’ll be amazed at all of the genealogy related info that is out there.
My personal favorite of all is Google Picassa https://picasa.google.com/. I have uploaded all my photos and stored them in the cloud. This way, I don’t have to worry about their destruction, my family has access and they’re organized by person so I can find the photo I’m looking for quickly, wherever I am. The absolutely coolest feature, though, is facial recognition. I had a lot of old photos in which my dearly departed ones didn’t bother to identify the people. Picassa gives you suggestions as to who they might be based on photos that you have already identified. It does tend to mix up young children – confused my kids several times but since I knew who they were it was a quick fix. I have this downloaded on my desktop but you can view it anywhere, anytime. I also have my smart phone photos sent directly to the site. For my recent trip to Salt Lake City, Picassa created a book based on the photos that it uploaded. It was a wonderful way to remember the trip and took no time on my part to do that!

Hope you’ve found these free sites valuable.

I’m always looking for more so let me know about others that are your personal favorites.

Genealogy Gems – Online Resources You Need to Know About

Originally published on genealogyatheart.blogspot.com on 17 May 2015.

I was rereading Mills’ Professional Genealogy this past week and the chapter on The Essential Library got me thinking of the resources that I consider must haves. Mills was referring to books on a shelf but I find myself using more online resources these days. Wish her books had a Kindle edition; it’s so clunky to carry around!

Besides the obvious Big 5 resources – Ancestry, Family Search, Fold3, Heritage Quest and American Ancestor – that I can access as a paid member anywhere or use at my local library for free, I find lots of good info at these FREE sites:

Genealogy In Time Magazine in their words, “maintains the most complete list available on the internet of the newest genealogy record sets from around the world.” I love this resource for the time they save me in identifying newly posted internet records from around the world. See more at here.
Crestleaf.com blog has innovative ideas and heartfelt and humorous stories. They email me links to their featured stories so I can quickly click what I’m most interested in. Here’s examples of just a few of this week’s offerings: 21 Ways to Know You Were Raised by Polish Parents – Infographic, 5 Simple Ways to Organize Your Digital Family Photos, 7 Useful Smartphone Apps for Genealogy Research, If You Grew Up in the 1960s, You Definitely Wore These Things, The Most Important Step Missing From Your Genealogy Research, and Simple Tips for Dating Old Family Photos Using Women’s Hairstyles-Victorian Era. Sign up at http://crestleaf.com/blog
Paper.li allows me to create my own newspaper – daily, weekly or monthly – on the topics that I want to read about. I’ve entitled my own newspaper Genealogy@Heart.paper.li and it’s delivered to my email with interesting articles on history, genealogy and genetics. I love the professional formatting and the articles arranged by topics – for example, science, business, politics, etc. It takes only a few minutes to set up and it’s simple to add or delete sites. To create your own paper visit here.

Linkedin –were you aware that there are genealogy groups at this site? There are 269 groups noted – some are open to all and some are private. Once you’ve created a profile go to interest areas and type in genealogy. Click on those that interest you https://www.linkedin.com/

Facebook – I don’t use Facebook like most folks do; I rarely post anything about me but I definitely use the info that organizations have posted. Check out the Association of Professional Genealogists, Genealogy Buffs and ask to join Deciphering Genealogy Script, Lineage Society of America and Genedocs Templates. Also look for your local and state genealogy and historical societies.

Next time – 5 more free sites that are simply awesome for genealogy!

Specials to Share!

Originally published on genealogyatheart.blogspot.com 29 Apr 2015.

I had planned to write about my decision to obtain Certified Genealogist status but this week I discovered 3 special offers so I’ve revised my plan to let you know what I found.

DEAL #1

If you aren’t a Legacy member, you may not know that you can take advantage of their webinars; some cost, some are permanently free and others free for just a limited time.

For a list of their archived webinars visit:http://www.familytreewebinars.com/archived_webinars.php

I’m not a member of Legacy so I only watch the free ones. I first learned about the webinars when I signed up for their weekly email newsletter after I purchased Legacy software last Christmas as a present to myself. I ended up with Legacy because I was so frustrated with Family Tree Maker (FTM). My extremely large public “Main Tree” on Ancestry.com stopped synching with my desktop FTM last May. I called FTM customer service and they blamed Ancestry. Called Ancestry and they blamed FTM. This went on for several weeks. I did what everyone does when you call a call center and can’t get help – hang up, wait a few minutes and call again with the hope you’ll get someone more knowledgeable. Unfortunately, that didn’t work, either. FTM reps did sent me a useless email with instructions several times but it didn’t fix the problem. Next I posted on the Ancestry Message Boards asking for advice. Surprise, surprise, discovered from the Message Board that I wasn’t alone with the problem so I began to explore other family tree software options. Looking at them seriously made me start pining for my old PAF from Family Search! Since that’s no longer available, for a temporary fix, I downloaded Legacy’s free family tree standard software

https://www.legacyfamilytree.com/DownloadLegacy.asp#Download

and was happy that it could quickly save my Ancestry tree. I liked that it also gave me an error report. I just wanted a product that would serve as a backup on my desktop in case I couldn’t sign on to Ancestry but the more I used Legacy, the more I liked it so I decided to buy the latest version. I haven’t really explored all of its features yet which is on my to-do list. I am trying to download my Ancestry tree monthly and save it to Legacy. After a weekend thumb drive disaster, it’s something I really will make time to do on the first of every month (Famous Last Words!) but that’s another story…

On Monday I listened to the passionate webinar presentation by Bernice Alexander Bennett regarding her volunteer work at the National Archives and took the challenge she mentioned. No spoilers here – this is a must listen to training offered through May 1^st!on Legacy so sign on for the 1 hour class “United States Colored Troops Civil War Widow’s Pension Applications: Tell the Story.”

DEAL #2

The second special offer with a limited time is that Fold3’s Civil War records are FREE for the month of April. If you aren’t a paid member then you’ll really want to check this out by Thursday, April 30^th at 11:59 PM! You’ll have to register your email at

http://www.fold3.com/

but it’s well worth it. I stayed up way too late last night but got all of my “close” Civil War records saved to honor the 150 years since the war ended. This included my great great grandfather Ferdinand Kable (Ohio Infantry Unit 29 Company A), 2 times great uncles Thomas, Prosser, and Mark Duer, (Ohio 99^th Infantry Regiment, Company F), my husband’s great great grandfather Samuel August Samuelson (Indiana Infantry Unit 73), and 2 times great uncle Thomas Charles Thompson (Illinois 1^st Light Artillery Battery). I also saved records for several coworkers whom I’m working on their trees for my Certified Genealogist portfolio.

Then I got totally side tracked and looked up the War of 1812 pension records for my 3^rd great grandmother, Mary Polly Dennis Hodge Adams Elder Search. Yep, GGGGrandma outlived 4 husbands. Her first husband, John Hodge, died in combat and she was left in 1813 with twin boys in the Ohio wilderness. And to think I thought childcare was a nightmare when my kids were small; I can’t even imagine what she went through! Her second husband, Edward Adams, whom I’m descended from, died in 1822 leaving GGGGram with 5 kids. She then married Owen Elder and after a 6^th child, became a widow again in1830. The pension records were under her last husband, William Search’s name. Someday I plan on writing more about the hunt for Mary and her family.

DEAL # 3

Got an email from our friends at geneablogger about an Ancestry.com contest to win a 6 month US Discovery Ancestry membership. I don’t know what happens if you win and you’re already an Ancestry member – I figure I’ll do a pay it forward and give it away or negotiate with them for a discount. If you’re interested first go to

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1440336180/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=1440336180&linkCode=as2&tag=geneabloggers-20&linkId=A7V4AIHNDL6WSJ3D

and click on “Look inside” on the right hand side of your screen. You want to go to the back of the book and write down the LAST PAGE NUMBER. Then, enter the contest:
http://www.geneabloggers.com/giveaways/win-6month-ancestrycom-membership/?lucky=7964
Simplest entry I’ve ever participated in but I did like Ancestry’s former October contests where you tried to use your research skills to discover the answers. Never won but sure had fun! Hint, Hint, Ancestry – do it again!

Next time, really, I’ll be writing about the reason I decided to go for the gold standard of genealogy – Certified Genealogist.

The Scoop on Salt Lake City’s Family History Library – Views of a First Time Researcher

Originally published on genealogyatheart.blogspot.com 26 Apr 2015

Yours truly, Family History Library, Salt Lake City, Utah, March 2015

If you haven’t been bitten by the genealogy bug you don’t understand why anyone would spend a week of their hard earned vacation time in a library far from home researching dead people. My work colleagues gave me polite bemused smiles last month when I shared my exciting news – I was FINALLY going to the Family History Library in Salt Lake City, Utah. Definitely not a dream vacation for any of them but it’s always been my hope to one day research there.

Here’s what I learned from my adventure…

BEFORE YOU LEAVE HOME:

Form a goal – mine was finding clues on how to climb over at least one of my top 10 walls in the four days I would be visiting.
Make a list of the people you want to search – what you know, how you know it, & what you want to know. Then, narrow your list down as you aren’t going to have time to check out every one. I used a small pocket notebook as a backup to my electronic tree. I have my tree saved to a cloud (Dropbox and ancestry.com) so it’s available in case I needed to view saved original records. The notebook enabled me to write down call numbers, page numbers and thoughts and was a backup if the electricity went out. (Ok, I realize that would be highly unlikely but being from Florida where we have the power go out frequently, I was going to find a window and keep working from my paper notes.)
If you haven’t already done so, join FamilySearch – like the library, it’s free. Then, use the online catalog to identify resources you’ll be checking. If you’re not sure how to use the catalog check out this Youtube video. Make sure you remember to print and bring the list you’ve compiled! You’ll be using the catalog as you find new information at the library but this initial search is a great way to identify a starting point. If you see “Vault” on an item request that it be pulled for you so it will be available on the day of your visit – you can do that from home.
View these YouTube videos so you are familiar with the library procedures: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O_umqQmaGvM and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4sAr7NltMaY
You’ll quickly get acclimated to the floor collections: British Isles-Basement 2, International-Basement 1, Surnames and Canada books-1^st floor, US/Canada microfilm-2^nd Floor and US Books and Maps-3^rd floor. Here’s a floor plan of the library: https://familysearch.org/locations/library_floor_plans
Go online to verify the library hours (Typically Monday 8AM-5PM, Tues-Fri. 8AM-9PM, Sat 9 AM-9PM). I saw a sign while there of an upcoming closure so do check ahead of time or you may be in for a disappointing surprise.
Google Earth your hotel and the library (35 North West Temple Street) so you know the route. The blocks are much longer than in my area but it was a pleasant walk as passerbys were very friendly.

WHAT TO BRING:

Kindle Fire/IPad/Tablet if you have one. Don’t go out and buy one if you don’t! I used my Fire to take notes, sign on to the free wifi to check my tree, use Google translator and do quick searches of the catalog while in the stacks or at the microfilm area. Saved time getting up and walking over to a computer.
Digital camera, scanner or your phone with a fully charged battery. I took pics of the book pages and microfilm discoveries. If none of those suggestion work for you, purchase a copy card. I wanted to come home without killing a forest and be able to quickly import what I found to my tree page so the camera worked well for me. I bought an extra sd card but didn’t need it. Make sure you bring the charger to recharge the battery overnight!
Office Supplies I found useful were a pen (there are pencils with no erasers and scrap paper everywhere), stickees to tag book pages that I wanted to photograph, and a highlighter to highlight the microfilm index pages I wrote down so I knew that I checked each page. (I so despise microfilm even though that’s where I seem to find my most amazing discoveries!)
A magnifying glass – seriously! Some of the records are small and difficult to see.
A bag to carry your research goodies. I used my airline carry-on purse but a backpack would also work. My hotel was several blocks away and it rained so the bag and the rain poncho I brought kept my stuff safe and dry.

WHAT TO LEAVE HOME OR IN YOUR HOTEL ROOM:

Laptop – there are plenty of computers to use. I brought mine the first day and it was heavy to lug around as you don’t want to leave it out unattended. I used it in the hotel in the evening to upload my discoveries, record the source citation while they were still fresh in my mind, and plan for the following day’s research but I really didn’t need to bring it at all since I had the tablet.
A thumb drive – always have one on me but didn’t use it.

WHAT OTHERS RECOMMEND THAT I DIDN’T FIND USEFUL:

Change – I used the lockers on the first day only to store the laptop I didn’t need.
Orientation Room– Since I viewed the YouTube videos I didn’t need to spend time there, though I did a quick walk through of the eye appealing displays in the room.
Snacks-I was so consumed by what I was doing I wasn’t hungry. I brought a box of granola bars but never ate them. There is a vending machine area if you do get hungry.
Meals at the Blue Lemon in City Creek Center that everyone raves about because the line was long (there was a conference in town). For a quick bite, eat at JBs, the old fashion restaurant on the corner – a nice salad bar, daily specials and a to die for chocolate chiffon pie to celebrate your finds! I figured I burned a 1000 calories using my brain to research so the calories didn’t count. JBs online reviews weren’t so hot but due to inclement weather, I didn’t want to venture far. Wish I had discovered them on day 1! Also did Johnny Rocket and Jimmy Johns for lunch, Olive Garden, Squatters Pub, and Blue Iguana for dinner. Used the hotel breakfast bar which had a nice selection of different items every morning.

city-creek-center — City Creek Center with real trout in the creek!

I’M HERE, NOW WHAT?

First Day – I admit that I’m a research nerd and I got so excited when I walked in that I announced to the world that my dream had come true. I guess that got me tagged as a Newbie which resulted in the staff asking me throughout the day how things were going. Each morning staff welcomed me back and asked what I’d be working on that day. By my last day I was hugging several volunteers and staff members good-bye as their genuine interest in my research bonded us. I sent a few email thank you’s upon my return home as one genealogist’s neighbor was from my childhood hometown and I had pictures to share. Another volunteer was researching the same surname (Coke) from the same areas (Virginia and New York) and we hit it off.
On each floor is a podium with helpful volunteers. I call them the Greeters. On your first time on each floor they can give you useful tips for their resources. For example, on the 3rd floor on the left wall is a notebook cheat sheet to quickly locate state-county-city books on the shelves. I wouldn’t have found it if the Greeter hadn’t told me about it. After you’re familiar with the floor I found myself going to the podium behind the podium – that’s where you ask for specific genealogical assistance.
Ask For Help – I liked to get there at opening because there are no crowds and you can quickly speak with a genealogist. If there is a wait, they’ll give you a restaurant style pager. I never waited longer than 5 minutes. Getting a new pair of eyes on your quandaries can open up a new direction for you. Blue lanyards are research helpers, red lanyards are collection helpers. Even if you forget which is which you’ll be directed to someone that can help you.
Pace Your Day – I varied my activities between looking at books, microfilms (which tires my eyes), following a new lead online after using their other resources, and talking with a genealogist. I tried to speak with a genealogist first because both of us are fresh first thing in the morning, there is no wait and the advice might have revised my plan for the day. I looked at books next because they don’t circulate to my home library for review like microfilms do so I didn’t want to miss them. On my last afternoon I browsed the surname books on the first floor. I found 2 books on Leiningers I didn’t know about and was surprised they didn’t have the 2 that I have, nor any of the 3 Harbaugh books. It’s important to remember they don’t have everything. If you don’t find what you’re looking for it still may be out there somewhere so don’t give up!
Classes – I didn’t think I would have time to take a class so I didn’t look at the schedule from home. Thank goodness that the daily classes are posted and an announcement is made about 30 minutes before the start of one. I found I did have time so I took Scotts-Irish Research Ideas and French Resources. Both were awesome, FREE and gave me additional direction to pursue. I wish I could have squeezed in the German class, too.
Have Fun Outside of the Library, Too! All research and no sightseeing makes for an exhausted and grumpy travel companion so do see the surrounding area. There is a Visitor’s Center next to Salt Lake Palace Convention Center (with a nice small gift shop) a block away that can assist you. My travel companion and I took the UTA light rail which is very inexpensive to the University of Utah to visit the “Dino” Museum and the botanical gardens next door.

Dino Family Tee at the Natural History Museum in Salt Lake

magnolia-at-red-butte-gardens — Magnolia at Red Butte Gardens

A student we met on the light rail gave us a short walking tour of the University which was also nice. There is a free campus van that will drive you from the light rail to the museum/gardens. It’s about a 10 minute walk but it’s all uphill!

One night we did the Grimm Ghost Tour which was fun but a little creepy – I skipped out on visiting the serial killer’s basement.

The Mormon Tabernacle Choir had a dress rehearsal on another evening which was wonderful. (No pictures, no audio and they check your bags).

We also rented a car to go to Antelope Island and the Great Salt Lake. This is where the bison and the antelope play.

WHAT I WISH THE LIBRARY BIGWIGS WOULD KNOW:

Your knowledgeable and dedicated employees and volunteers are beyond awesome! I so appreciated their wonderful recommendations, encouragement and patience with my many questions. I am thankful that I was able to visit your beautiful facility and plan on returning again and again!

Only suggestion I have is to remind your Elders if you want the Millennial generation to become interested in genealogy, they need to be encouraging. On two separate days, my travel partner was questioned by Elders as to why I was asking all the questions. She responded politely that she was new to genealogy and was in town for the conference. The response of both was, “Hrmph.” My advice, Elders, is listen to the Sisters. They always said, “Glad you’re here!”

WHAT I TOLD THE ‘KNOW AT ALLS’ WHEN I GOT HOME:

IMHO, there are 2 kinds of people in the world – the glass is half full and the glass is half empty. Before I left home I had several people tell me I wouldn’t find anything. WRONG! I found and learned so much that I only wish I had more time to spend and lived closer. I am truly sorry for the folks that never found what they were looking for. I know it’s frustrating but it is what it is. Just because you didn’t find anything doesn’t mean no one else should go.

I also had acquaintances tell me that I would be accosted by Mormons who were going to repeatedly attempt to evangelize me. WRONG! No one ever tried to persuade me to join the Mormon faith. No one ever asked me what my faith is. The ancestors I was researching had been Quaker, Roman Catholic, Lutheran, Dutch Reformed, Puritan, Episcopalian, Presbyterian, Baptist and Methodist. No one cared that they weren’t Mormon. No one tried to ‘baptize’ them. Just because a Mormon woke you up too early on a Saturday morning does not mean it’s going to be a problem in the library. It won’t be. So go visit – you really must!

Next time I’m going to share my thoughts on how the library experience pushed me to pursue becoming a Certified Genealogist.

Euripides was right! Why you should leave no stone unturned.

Originally published on genealogyatheart.blogspot.com 23 Apr 2015

stones Sometimes in genealogy we get so consumed with the names, places, and dates of our ancestors that we overlook the details that tell us much about their character.

The cemetery records transcribed by Josephine Frost from an earlier book by Henry Onderdonk broke through a 16 year genealogical brick wall and gave insight on the spiritual beliefs of the Wilson Williams Family:

“Williams, Wilson Williams: died March –?, 1831; aged 76 years.”

“Williams, Margaret. Wife of Wilson Williams, died April 26, 1807 in her 64^th year

F.W. A common field stone marked “F.W.”

W.W. A common field stone marked “W.W.”¹

The obvious information provided by these records are the name of the deceased, month and year of death, age at death and type of grave marker. For Margaret, her spouse’s name is also provided. F.W. most likely is a mistranscription of Wilson’s father, Thomas Williams.

There is much more information provided that isn’t initially obvious, however. The first hint is the mention of a common field stone. Onderdonk and DeHart (1884) tell us that the Dutch Reformed denomination custom “In early times farmers often interred their dead on their farms and put up at their graves a rough flat stone with the initial of the name, and year of decease rudely cut thereon.”² From the record we know that Wilson and F.W. are following the Dutch Reformed tradition of burial.

But what about wife Margaret? There is no mention of a common field stone marker for her.

To locate picture of the markers, death dates were inputted into Find-a-Grave. No record for F.W, W.W., Thomas or Wilson Williams was found. The common field stone markers may be missing or may have been missed by the volunteers who photographed the cemetery. There is a record for Margaret Williams; she is noted to be buried in Christ Church Cemetery, Manhasset, Nassau, New York^{3. :}

margaret-williams-stone We know this is our Margaret because the death date, spouse’s name and her name match the church burial record of Frost’s transcription.

Margaret’s headstone reveals that she did not follow the field stone custom as did her husband. Margaret also did not follow what Walter (1987) notes is “the traditional Dutch practice of the wife retaining her maiden name” on her marker.4

A more careful examination of Margaret’s tombstone will give a better insight of her belief system.

Margaret’s stone is worn so a transcription is needed. Enlarging the picture uncovers:

In Memory of Margaret

Wife of Wilson Williams

deceased the 26^th of April, D. 180_

In the 64^th year of her age

Behold my friends, as you pass by

As you are now so once was I

As I am now you soon shall be

Prepare for death and follow me

By researching the poem more knowledge about Margaret becomes available. With some variation in the third line, the poem was commonly used in colonial times.5Meyer (2006) noted that the poem was “Influenced by the ‘British pre-Romantic graveyard school’ of poetry” and the ‘Americanized Puritan mind-set’.”6 He cites George and Nelson (1985) who identify it as a “mori gravestone epitaph found throughout New England” between the 16^th-17^th century.⁷

Wilson and Margaret lived between 1754-1831. Margaret was born, lived and died in Long Island, New York and there is no record that she ever ventured to nearby New England. The use of a common New England epitaph tells us that:

Margaret or her spouse’s ancestors were originally from New England or
The area in which Margaret lived was influenced by New England

History tells us that Long Island was populated by former New England colonists and during the Revolutionary War, some Long Islanders fled back to New England for safety. Thus, New England’s influence could result from either Margaret’s childhood or later, during her adult years. Only further research of Margaret’s parents can determine when the origination of her spiritual influence occurred.

The poem, however, does provide us more insight into Margaret’s belief system at the end of her life. It is considered to be memento mori, Latin for “remember, that you have to die,” a Medieval theory that the Puritan community espoused.⁸

We know from Frost (1941) that at the time of Margaret and Wilson’s burial, Christ Church Cemetery belonged to the Reformed Dutch Church.⁹ Today, the cemetery belongs to the Episcopalian Church.¹⁰ Is there a relationship between these denominations?

Boettner (1932) notes that “it is estimated that of the 3,000,000 Americans at the time of the American Revolution, 900,000 were of Scotch or Scotch-Irish origin, 600,000 were Puritan English, and 400,000 were German or Dutch Reformed. In addition to this the Episcopalian’s had a Calvinistic confession in their Thirty-nine Articles…”.¹¹ The interrelationship is explained further by Monsma (1919) “The Pilgrims were perfectly at one with the Reformed (Calvinistic) churches in the Netherlands and elsewhere. In his Apology, published in 1619, one year before the Pilgrims left Holland, Robinson wrote in a most solemn way, ‘We do profess before God and men that such is our accord, in case of religion, with the Dutch Reformed Churches, as that we are ready to subscribe to all and every article of faith in the same Church, as they are laid down in the Harmony of Confessions of Faith, published in that name.”¹² Clearly, the Puritan English, Dutch Reformed and Episcopalians have a shared history.

“You never really understand a person

until you consider things from his point of view” –Harper Lee

What were Margaret’s spiritual beliefs? Although we may never know for certain, based on the selection of the epitaph, Broker (2003)13 cites Stannard (1977), “the Puritan worldview included the following beliefs:

The earth is positioned at the center of the Universe [a decidedly pre-Copernican belief].
The world is infused with design and divine purpose.
God is omniscient and omnipresent, and the course of every man’s life is predestined.
God is inscrutable.
Death is inevitable, and it is God’s punishment for the original sin of Adam.
Children are born with and imbued with this original sin.
Evil spirits and evil men occupy the earth. In fact, all suffer from “utter and unalterable depravity.”
Death is a reward, at least for the chosen few.
Upon death, the soul is released from its earth-bound world.
The millennium is at hand, whether one takes it to mean the apocalyptic Day of Judgment or the thousand-year reign of Jesus prior to the Day of Judgment.
The most glorious purpose to which a Puritan can espouse is to work to ‘bring God’s kingdom home.’
Some will receive eternal salvation as a gift bestowed by God, but most face eternal damnation. Hell is a place of ‘unspeakable terrors.’
It is impossible to know with confidence that you are among the saved. The best you can do is to examine your life constantly and maintain faith in your own goodness and God’s own justness”¹⁴

There is one piece of evidence that is atypical, however, for both Puritan and Reformed Dutch believers at the time the marker was made. Margaret’s stone has NO artwork. Shortly after the Revolutionary War, stone cutters from Great Britain arrived in the New York area. The most typical motif for the Dutch Reformed in New Jersey was a tulip, shell, or fan; in Long Island, as in New England, urns and willows became dominant over the cherub or winged skeleton found on grave stones from the pre Revolutionary times.15

Why Margaret has no artistic design on her marker remains a mystery. Perhaps it was Wilson’s decision to keep the marker plain as was his own marker years later or maybe Margaret adhered to the earliest Puritan custom of no artwork. Without family records we can only surmise.

Analyzing death records and grave markers can provide the researcher with more than just vital statistics. Careful study can unlock further clues about the family’s convictions. Euripides was certainly right!

Your comments are most welcome. Next time I’ll take a break from the scholarly and give you IMHO the ins and outs of visiting the Family

1Frost, Josephine C. Microform p. 41 & 47. Church Records from Reformed Dutch Church at Success, Long Island, Later Known as North Hempstead, and Now Known as Manhasset, 1731-1878 (1941): 17748 item 1.

2Onderdonk, Henry, and De Hart William Henry. History of the First Reformed Dutch Church of Jamaica, L.I. Jamaica: Consistory, 1884. 33-34. Web. 19 Apr 2015.

3Dyane. “Margaret Williams ( – 1807) – Find A Grave Photos.” Margaret Williams ( – 1807) – Find A Grave Photos. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Apr. 2015.

4Watters, David (Ed). “Markers : Association for Gravestone Studies : Free Download & Streaming : Internet Archive.” Internet Archive. University Press of America, 1987. Web. 21 Apr. 2015.

5Meyer, Richard E. “”Death Possesses a Good Deal of Real Estate”: References to Gravestones and Burial Grounds in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s American Notebooks and Selected Fictional Works.” ” by Meyer, Richard E. Studies in Literary Imagination, Vol. 39, No. 1, Spring 2006. Web. 19 Apr. 2015.

6Palmer, Sara A. “Spinning Wheel Magazine.” Google Books. 417., n.d. Web. 19 Apr. 2015.

7George, Diana Hume, and Malcolm A. Nelson. Epitaph and Icon: A Field Guide to the Old Burying Grounds of Cape Cod, Martha’s Vineyard, and Nantucket. Orleans, Mass: Parnassus Imprints, 1983. Print.

⁸“Memento Mori.” Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, Web 19 Apr. 2015, Translation from the Oxford English Dictionary, Third Edition, June 2001.

9Frost, Josephine C. Microform preface. Church Records from Reformed Dutch Church at Success, Long Island, Later Known as North Hempstead, and Now Known as Manhasset, 1731-1878 (1941): 17748 item 1.

10Dyane. “Christ Church Cemetery – Find A Grave Photos.” Christ Church Cemetery – Find A Grave Photos. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Apr. 2015.

¹¹Boettner, Loraine. “28.” The Reformed Doctrine of Predestination. Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans, 1932. N. pag. Web 19 Apr. 2015.

¹²Monsma, John Clover. What Calvinism Has Done for America. Chicago: Rand, McNally, 1919. 72-73. Print. Web 19 Apr. 2015.

¹³Broker, Stephen P. “03.02.01: Death and Dying in Puritan New England: A Study Based on Early Gravestones, Vital Records, and Other Primary Sources Relating to Cape Cod, Massachusetts.” 03.02.01: Death and Dying in Puritan New England: A Study Based on Early Gravestones, Vital Records, and Other Primary Sources Relating to Cape Cod, Massachusetts. Yale-New Haven Teachers Institute, 2015. Web. 19 Apr. 2015.

¹⁴Stannard, David E. The Puritan Way of Death: A Study in Religion, Culture, and Social Change. New York: Oxford UP, 1977. Print.

15Watters, David (Ed). “Markers : Association for Gravestone Studies : Free Download & Streaming : Internet Archive.” Internet Archive. University Press of America, 1987. Web. 21 Apr. 2015.

Wilson William’s Wall

Originally published on genealogyatheart.blogspot.com 19 Apr 2015

brick-wall

The term “brick wall” in genealogy means an impasse has been reached and further knowledge is unavailable. Conferences are always filled to capacity when the topic of how to break through a wall is presented. Those blocks affect us physically, through wasted time and resources, and emotionally, as frustration and disappointment. It’s no surprise we’re interested to find a way through that obstacle.

Remember, though, that there are two sides to every wall. The frustration of needing to detour from my intended route may cloud my view of a solution. What I can’t clearly see ahead is probably safe and sound, just not yet accessible. Isn’t that the reason why walls were built in the first place – for protection? Next time you encounter a brick wall ancestor have a Zen moment and know the missing information is most likely safe somewhere just waiting to be found.

When a family member invited me to be her travel partner on an upcoming business trip to Salt Lake City I was delighted. The Family History Library has always been on my bucket list but with work and other commitments, a vacation there wasn’t visible on my horizon. With the hotel and plane reserved, I forged ahead with research goal setting and planning, my fourth rule of genealogy.

“Failing to plan is planning to fail.” –Alan Lakein

My goal was to find clues on how to climb over at least one my top 10 walls in the four days I would be visiting.

To accomplish my goal, I identified who I would be researching. This was difficult as I have a large family tree which results in many walls. I decided to select 5 from my family and 5 from my husband’s side. I cheated a bit and included spouses so my actual 10 was more like 15.

Then, I followed my number 1 rule of genealogy – write down everything you know and what you want to know – for each of the selected individuals. I also added where I found the information to prove what I did know. Why? Through experience I’ve learned that family lore is just that – a word of mouth tradition that someone may have misheard, misunderstood or mythologized. Think the childhood game, telephone, where a sentence is whispered child to child with the last player repeating aloud what he/she heard. The last oral sentence is not the same as the first oral sentence. Just like the game, there is some similarities in family lore from the time of the original telling but not necessarily the whole story.

In the late 1990’s I discovered the truth about family lore the hard way. Happily clicking away on an online tree I had discovered and saving the info to my own tree, I never stopped to look where the poster had found his sources. I spent several days adding many individuals to my husband’s side only to learn late one evening that, according to the online tree, he was the great grandson many times removed of Odin and Frigg, the Norse god and goddess. My spouse is an awesome husband, a devoted dad, a dedicated employee and a loyal friend but it’s a stretch to believe his Grandpa was the founder of the runic alphabet and his Grandma was a sorceress. He, understandably, liked what I found. I had to spend many hours deleting the line one individual at a time and have since checked sources before including new information in my tree.

“Genealogy without sources is mythology.” -Unknown

Definitely a painful but valuable learning experience!

I have also found it useful to review my previously discovered sources before researching further on a line I haven’t looked at for a while. There may be a hint in plain sight that I missed earlier or by reviewing the record, I may gain a new perspective.

So in preparation for my trip, I pondered my sources for my husband’s 4^th great grandfather, Wilson Williams, born in 1754 in Roslyn Harbor, Nassau, New York. He is found in the 1790, 1800, 1810, 1820 and 1830 Federal censuses as living in North Hempstead, Queens, New York and he has been documented in several texts for his service during the American Revolution, as a witness in two court cases, and for being appointed to maintain the highways as he operated a stagecoach and a ferry to bring visitors between Long Island and Manhattan. An accomplished carpenter, two of his homes still stand and have been on the Roslyn Landmark Society’s home tours several times. What I could not discover was when he died and where he was buried. Collaborating with four cousins I met online, a hired genealogist, two research trips to Long Island and Troy, New York where his son had moved in the 1820’s, calls to numerous churches where he may have been a parishioner, cemeteries where he might have been buried, library and historical society visits and hours spent searching online over 16 years uncovered nothing.

I placed Wilson as my 10^th brick wall as I was fairly certain that the five of us had checked every possibility in determining his death and burial.

At the Family History Library, I shared my information on Wilson with a genealogist and asked for her suggestions on where to go next. She recommended checking microfilms of birth, marriage and death records for any church denomination of which Wilson may have been a member. I narrowed the search to Presbyterian, Quaker and Dutch Reformed as Wilson’s grandchildren were members of those churches and his wife, Margaret, was buried in the Dutch Reformed Church Cemetery. Many of the microfilms did not have indexes and the process was exhausting. After several hours I got a text from my family member who asked if I was ready to go to dinner. “On the last microfilm, be done soon,” I responded. “Meet you there,” she replied. Minutes later she appeared on the scene and asked if she could help. “I’m looking for a record for Wilson Williams. I’ve been through this film already but found the index at the very end. I’m just double checking that I didn’t miss him.” “I’ll do that,” she volunteered as I collected the other films to refile. In less than 30 seconds she asked, “Is this who you’re looking for?” I glanced at the screen.

wilson1

Stunned, I couldn’t respond. I reread the words. Tears of joy moistened my eyes. If I had not found the index and double checked, the wall would have remained. Ironically, the family member who found the record is a DAR because of Wilson.

The next day I found another microfilm source for the cemetery where Wilson’s wife is buried:

wilson2

So the “W.W” on the “common field stone” buried in the same plot as wife, Margaret Hicks Williams, was Wilson Williams and he had been where he should have been the whole time. The answer was clearly right there but none of us had found it. How had Wilson remained invisible for so long?

“Leave no stone unturned.” -Euripides

Most likely, the field stone with just initials was either missing entirely or not noted by the Find-a-Grave volunteers transcribing and photographing the cemetery because they would have no idea what W.W. stood for.

When I returned home and was adding the pictures and citation to my tree I noticed that the cemetery was in Success, New York. Success? I thought the cemetery was in Nassau. The microfilm noted that North Hempstead became Success which became Manhasset. Sometime after the book was published it became Nassau.

So why weren’t the records at the church? The church secretary I had contacted told me the church does not have records of the burials. Doing a google book search I found that Onderdonk’s (1884) History of the Dutch Reformed Church mentions that the early records were sketchy. To complicate the situation, a minister had died and the congregation was not in agreement on hiring a replacement. Half wanted to have a new pastor sent from the Netherlands while the other half wanted to hire a pastor from New York. Consequently, the church ended up with 2 pastors. After ten years, one pastor took half the congregation and started another church a few miles away. He took the records with him.

The records I was viewing were a transcription from the 1940’s copied by a Josephine Frost. She noted that her transcript was from a book by Onderdonk that was in disrepair. Frost was unable to find the original church records that had been donated to the Long Island Historical Society but they were available when Onderdonk published his book. There are only 12 copies of Frost’s book. They are in Cincinnati, OH, Indianapolis, IN, Harrisburg, PA, Ann Arbor, MI, 2 in Chicago, IL, Ithaca, NY, Independence, MO, Edmond, OK, Albany, NY, Provo, UT, and La Jolla, CA. The Family History Library in Salt Lake City has a microfilm of one of these books.

Wilson Williams spent his entire life in Long Island, New York yet the 13 records of his death do not reside where he lived and died. Sometimes looking in the most logical place will not give you the answer. I had to detour more than 1900 miles to get over the wall.

The microfilm record gave me far more information on Wilson then just his date of death. Next time, I’ll tell you more about the meaning of Wilson’s fieldstone marker.