DNA and Genealogy – Now’s the Time to Learn 

Filed under: Genealogy Tips on Thursday, May 8th, 2008 by Erica | No Comments

By Carolyn L Barkley

I’ve been happily doing genealogical research for over twenty years. As time has progressed, my learning curve, sizeable in the beginning, has flattened somewhat, increasing as I encounter a new location or resource. Recently, however, it has leapt to new heights as I begin a new role as the DNA surname project administrator for Clan Barclay International.

It was probably the O.J. Simpson trial in 1995 that first made me aware of DNA findings. I became aware of its applications to genealogical research, particularly in terms of understanding one’s family medical history, although I had no experience within my own research. After beginning to work with the Barclay DNA project, however, I realize how much there is to learn, even at the most elementary level. It has been a good reminder that it is always important to do thoughtful research before leaping into leadership or participation in a project. Luckily, resources abound:

  •  Cyndislist is a good place to start to identify online resources on the topic. My search under the heading “Genetics, DNA & Family Health” resulted in eleven pages of sites. Under general resource sites is an article by Donn Devine entitled “Solving the     Mystery: DNA Tests for Your Research” (at ancestry.com’s Ancestry Magazine Archives, 1 September 2000) as well as Chris Pomery’s DNA Portal page (2002) entitled, “DNA & the Family Historian,”described as “a primer on DNA testing and genetics for family historians” (to access this article google Chris Pomery’s DNA Portal). My second Cyndislist search, under the heading “Surname DNA Studies and Projects,” resulted in twenty-seven pages of sites including general resource sites, mailing lists, newsgroups and chat opportunities, as well as listings of established DNA projects. Be thorough in investigating such lists. While the alphabetical listing of DNA projects does not include my Barclay project, a check under “General Resource Sites/Family Tree DNA – Surname Projects” did locate my specific project.
  •  Periodicals provide many opportunities to learn more about DNA and its genealogical applications. Search PERSI [Periodical Source Index], available through heritagequest.com and your local public library, to discover what journal articles have been written on the topic. A search for “DNA” resulted in 316 journal and newsletter articles. Ask your librarian to help you identify other periodical and newspaper indices that can help you identify information in publications in other disciplines, and then request interlibrary loan copies of those not available at your library. Be sure to check your own subscriptions. For example, the April 2008 issue of Family Chronicle features an article by Susan C. Meates entitled “Adding DNA to Your Family Tree.”
  •  Books will provide information in more depth. Several titles to look for include:
    Trace Your Roots with DNA: Using Genetic Tests to Explore Your Family Tree by Megan Smolenyak Smolenyak and Ann Turner (Rodale, 2004).
    DNA and Genealogy by Colleen Fitzpatrick and Andrew Yeiser (Rice Book Press, 2005)
    Family Diseases: Are You At Risk? By Myra Vanderpool Gormley (Clearfield, 1989, 1998)
    Unlocking Your Genetic History: a Step-by-Step Guide to Discovering Your Family’s Medical and Genetic Heritage by Thomas H. Shawker (National Genealogical Society Guide #6, 2004)
    Seven Daughters of Eve: The Science That Reveals Our Genetic Ancestry by Bryan Sykes (Norton, 2000)
    The Genetic Strand: Exploring a Family History Through DNA by Edward Ball (Simon & Schuster, 2007)
    Deep Ancestry: Inside the Genographic Project by Spencer Wells (National Geographic, 2006)
    Saxons, Vikings and Celts: the Genetic Roots of Britain and Ireland by Bryan Sykes (Norton, reprinted 2007)
  •  Attend conferences, whether at the local, state, or national levels. For example, on Saturday at next week’s NGS Conference in the States in Kansas City (May 13-17), an entire lecture track is devoted to DNA, featuring three lectures by Thomas H. Shawker (see Unlocking Your Genetic Heritage above) entitled “Compiling Your Family Health History,” “DNA Testing: The Very, Very Basics” and “Race, Ethnicity, and Ancestry: Genetic Genealogy; DNA Testing.” Other DNA programs at the conference include “The Nuts and Bolts of Using DNA Testing” by Buford Joseph Suffridge, D. D. S., “DNA Testing for Genealogy: A Surname Project and Results” by Robert McLaren; and “What DNA Can Show: Case Studies of Five Practical Applications to Genealogy” by Donn Devine. I also know of a Virginia genealogical society that devoted its annual seminar to this topic.

Finally, after you have acquired a comfortable level of knowledge about genetic genealogy, consider being tested. First, be sure to research the various companies and organizations that provide DNA testing services. Cyndislist.com, under “Professional Services & DNA Testing” lists over a dozen. Appendix B in Smolenyak’s book (see Trace Your Roots with DNA above) is an excellent starting point as it provides contact and other basic information for eleven DNA testing companies. Her inclusion of available products and company-specific services and resources is particularly helpful. Among the questions you should consider: Does the company provide the type of test most useful for my research? Does the company already offer a project for my surname or will I have to participate on my own? If a project is available, how will I be able to communicate about possible matches with others in the study? Are there products available such as charts, newsletters, or accessible databases that will be helpful to me? What does the company web-site look like? Is it easy to use? Is it updated regularly? What is the cost of my test and what reports will I receive?

Faith of Our Fathers – Church Records in Virginia 

Filed under: Genealogy Tips on Thursday, May 1st, 2008 by Erica | No Comments

By Carolyn L. Barkley

Martha McCartney, author of Virginia Immigrants and Adventurers, shared the following brief article which she wrote for a recent issue of Hickory Neck Nuggets, the monthly newsletter of Hickory Neck Episcopal Church in Toano, Virginia.

      “On October 16, 1776, when the State of Virginia’s legislature convened for the first time, the delegates received a petition, asking for the disestablishment of the Church of England and for religious equality.  This 125-page document, signed by an estimated 10,000 citizens, publicly initiated the debate over the relationship between church and state.  Afterward, the legislature deliberated whether it was appropriate to levy taxes to support teachers of the Christian faith.  James Madison circulated his “Memorial and Remonstrance against Religious Assessments,” which received widespread support.  Finally, in its 1785-1786 session, the General Assembly passed the Statute of Religious Freedom, which abolished the State Church, denied it the right of general taxation, and allowed abandoned parish-owned real estate to revert to the Commonwealth of Virginia.  With that vote, separation between church and state was achieved.
      Protestant Episcopal (formerly Anglican) churches that were in continuous use were not threatened by the new law, although church-owned real estate, such as a parish glebe, was to be sold as soon as the incumbent clergyman died or vacated the property.  The funds generated by such sales were to be given to county Overseers of the Poor, the local officials deemed responsible for public welfare.  During this transitional period, many Anglican churches came into the hands of other denominations or simply fell into disrepair. At Hickory Neck, worship services seem to have come to an end in 1780, a few months before the Allied Army began using the church as a military hospital.”

Martha’s article prompted me to think about the impact of religion on early Virginia and our ability to research successfully (even in burned counties) because of the records created by the early church. British colonists had, in fact grown up with an official, national church, supported by the Crown. Virginia’s colonists, in particular, brought that church with them, unlike many of their northern neighbors, who came to America to escape the established church.

Although Virginia developed a plantation system that was considerably different from English village life and although Virginians thwarted the establishment of an Anglican bishopric in their midst, the Anglican Church vestry, nonetheless, served as the focal point of local governance for Virginia counties. The General Assembly formally established fixed boundaries for each Anglican parish. Parish boundaries coincide with the boundaries of one or more Virginia counties.

The vestry’s interests were wide-ranging and included education, morality, social welfare, and in many cases, the creation and administration of laws, virtually taking care of the individual from cradle to grave. Vestry records provide a fascinating glimpse into aspects of every-day life and thus describe the context of our ancestors’ lives. For this reason, knowledge of available parish, or vestry, records is essential to successful research in colonial Virginia.

The following example, while from North Carolina, illustrates the value of these records. I have for many years researched George Barkley who lived in Isle of Wight County, Virginia in the 1750s, and who died in Northampton County, North Carolina in 1788. Other than several deeds and a will, I had never been able to document his life from original records. Research in Northampton County records, however, identified the parish vestry’s Minutes and Accounts, Wardens of the Poor (1773-1814) and from them I learned that George was a sextant in the parish. In the detailed accounting of warden meetings, he was mentioned several times, including a report outlining the financial support provided to him and his wife in their final years. Without consulting vestry records, I would never have learned this information. The same example could easily have been experienced in Virginia vestry records.

Research in parish vestry records is particularly important in the twenty-two Virginia   “burnt” counties, jurisdictions whose civil records have been destroyed for the colonial time period.  In such cases, vestry records often provide the only documentation for the time periods represented by these lost records. An excellent example is Nansemond County in which all records are lost prior to 1866, but for which two vestry books have been published. Not all such records are extant, nor are have they all been published. However, a First Search keyword search for “Vestry Virginia” yielded 294 entries, including 237 books, forty-five archival records, and ten Internet files. Your local public library can help you identify these titles and facilitate interlibrary loan if necessary.

Heritage Books of Westminster, Maryland has published a number of records of early parishes, including Henrico, Kingston, Alexandria and Fairfax Cities, Cople, Loudoun, Dettingen, Southam, St. Peter’s, Christ Church and South Farnham. Of these parishes, several are from burnt counties.

The following titles dealing with Virginia parish records may be found on genealogical.com (for those marked as out of print, please select the “Notify Me” button on the title’s page on genealogical.com and be notified by e-mail when it returns to print):

Some Thoughts - and Resources - for Scottish Research 

Filed under: Genealogy Tips on Thursday, April 24th, 2008 by Erica | No Comments

By Carolyn L. Barkley

April 6th marked the annual celebration of Tartan Day. I have been reminded by friends that I neglected to do a Scottish-related posting earlier this month, so I thought I had better redeem myself and my heritage by doing so before the month was over.

Americans have always displayed interest in British Isles genealogy. The fact that the Family History Library in Salt Lake devotes an entire floor to British Isles resources illustrates the depth of that interest. After the success of movies such as Rob Roy and Braveheart, however, the interest in all things Scottish, and the desire to discover one’s Scottish ancestors, has grown dramatically in this country.

In 1999, under the leadership of Trent Lott, the U. S. Senate passed Resolution No. 155 establishing Tartan Day as a day of special significance for all Americans, particularly those of Scottish descent. The date was not chosen randomly, as it was on 6 April 1320 that the Scottish declaration of independence, the Declaration of Arbroath, was signed. Some 450 years later, this seminal document would provide inspiration for the American Declaration of Independence. The Senate, by establishing Tartan Date, created an official date on which Americans of Scottish descent can come together to celebrate their shared heritage as well as the richness of the contributions that Scottish Americans have made in the history of our nation.

For me, the basics of Scottish genealogical research revolve around the “3 Cs” of church, census, and civil registration records. Later research can then involve testaments, sasines, military, immigration, and many other types of records. A very (very!) brief summary includes:

       The Old Parish Registers (OPR) are the records of births/baptisms and banns/marriages kept by individual parishes of the Established Church (Church of Scotland) before the introduction of civil registration in 1855. Deaths and burials were recorded infrequently and, if found, usually record the rental of the “mort cloth,” the pall draped over the coffin. The OPRs provide the opportunity to research these events beginning as early as 1553, depending on the parish. These registers are easily accessible at LDS Family History Centers through the Scottish Church Records database and through extracted data in the IGI (International Genealogical Index). In addition, they may be accessed online (fee-based) at scotlandspeople, the official government source for genealogical data for Scotland. Please note that there may be more information available through the scotlandspeople site as the general record offices are constantly updating their indices as errors or misinterpretations in the original documents are identified. Before using these records, it is important to read about the history of the official church in Scotland to understand what church was official at what time and the records that it created, as well as the records that may be available for nonconformists. 
      
       The Scottish census is available from ancestry.com from 1841 to 1901 [check the website for subscription pricing or check the subscription at your local public library] and from scotlandspeople [fee based]. The index to the 1881 census is a free index on ancestry.com and on familysearch.org. Again, read about how the censuses were collected. Unlike in the United States, the British census is a snapshot of the people in a household on a given night and can therefore include people who were visiting overnight and might normally belong to a household elsewhere. If Aunt Phebe was visiting an old childhood friend [and a name unknown to you] in another town or area of the country, it can be difficult to identify her accurately.
      
       The Statutory Registers [civil registration] are the official records of births, marriages, and deaths in Scotland from 1 January 1855. These records were compulsory, were unrelated to religious denomination, and followed a standard entry format. They are available on scotlandspeople [fee based]: Births from 1855 to 2006, marriages from 1855 to 1932, and deaths from 1855 to 2006.  One caveat of this research (of any research) is that indices do not include all of the data in the actual register entry (for example, birth indices do not include parents’ names, and marriage and death indices include only the year of the event, the full date is in the actual register entry). In addition, restrictions apply to what full records may be viewed online. Due to privacy restrictions, images of birth entries are available from 1855 to 1907, marriages from 1855 to 1932, and deaths from 1855 to 1957. For records in years after those that can be viewed online, the indices may be used to identify records for which you may wish to order an extract.

Several sources and websites can provide a great deal of assistance as you research your Scottish roots. Some of my favorites, in addition to those mentioned above, include:

Make it a Special Mother’s Day 

Filed under: Genealogy Tips on Thursday, April 17th, 2008 by Erica | No Comments

By Carolyn L Barkley

As it’s only 35º outside my window this morning, it’s hard to believe that Mother’s Day is a little more than three weeks away. It will be here before we know it, however, and it has made me think about how to make it a special day for the women in our families – the mothers, grandmothers, and perhaps great-grandmothers - who we celebrate on that day. These women connect us to earlier generations in the family and can share with us factual, but more importantly, anecdotal information to support our genealogical research. Here are a few activities you can do with them, and for them, to further your understanding of the people and history of your family.

  • 1. Does your mother or grandmother live close by? (If they live at some distance away, plan to meet for a special occasion – like Mother’s Day.) Pick a day to get together to look at family pictures and other documents. Perhaps make it an afternoon tea and invite others to attend – aunts, children, grandchildren, etc. Select someone to make labels for each picture or document listing names, dates and locations. Have someone else take notes or record the conversation and stories that are told. If the owner of the pictures or documents agrees, consider scanning them not only to preserve them, but also to make the copies available to more people in the family.

  •  2. Reread Joe Brickey’s article in this blog (“Putting Walls Around Memories,” March 21, 2008). Consider using this approach in a Mother’s Day discussion to prompt recollections and stories.

  • 3. Purchase a notebook and give it as a Mother’s Day gift. Ask your relative to keep it close at hand throughout the year and to write down family stories as they come to mind, perhaps placing pictures or documents that relate to the story with the pertinent pages. I gave one to my mother several years ago thinking that she would do just that. Instead, she was far more formal about it, noting specific individuals in the family and writing about them extensively before moving on to another person. I read stories that I had never heard before and in the process greatly enriched the story of my family. Had I not made this gift, these stories would have gone untold.

  • 4. Use the information from these family get-togethers and your own research to complete a family tree to give as a gift. While genealogical software programs will generate a tree, you may want a more decorative version. Several websites offer family tree chart services, including generationmaps.com, Master Genealogist’s chart printing service, ancestryprinting.com, and in the UK, familytreeprinter. You may also want to look at books of decorative family tree charts such as Tony Matthews’ Paper Trees – Genealogical Clip-Art or, Treets: A Feast of Family Trees.

  • 5. Are you a scrapbooker? You may want to design and compile a scrapbook for your family using scanned photos and documents, as well as journaling the stories that are told at family get-togethers like the one described above. Ancestry.com sells a scrapbook kit. In addition, Creative Memories (http://www.creativememories.com/), your local hobby store, and genealogy conference vendors supply scrapbooking supplies and often provide training programs to help you create your book. Tony Matthews’ Memory Trees – Family Trees for the Scrapbooker, and Creativitree: Design Ideas for Family Trees provide ideas for using family trees in scrapbook projects. This latter title is temporarily out of print, but you can select the “Notify Me” button on its page on genealogical.com and be notified by e-mail when it returns to print. In the meantime, you can look at Bev Kirschner Braun’s Crafting Your Own Heritage Album (Betterway Books, 2000), among other titles available on the topic.

I hope that you will take the opportunity to plan a fun and interesting family get-together to look at the historical items in your family; identify the people, dates and locations within them; and to hear the stories behind them. Preserve, organize, create a lasting record, and share it with others. Make this a special Mother’s Day and tell us here at Genealogyandfamilyhistory.com of your success.
 

1752 – A Very Important Date 

Filed under: Genealogy Tips on Thursday, April 10th, 2008 by Erica | 5 Comments

By Carolyn L. Barkley

I recently edited a book for a family history author whose text stated that an individual was born 8 February 1722. His footnote, however, in citing the source for the date, included the notation “second month 8th 1722.” This notation, when applied, meant that the birth date for this individual was actually 8 April 1722. This error in date translation made me think that we could all benefit from a refresher in the change from the old calendar (Julian) to the new (Gregorian) so that we date our ancestors correctly. The following information is adapted from a January 2006 Genealogical Pointers article written by William Dollarhide.

Genealogically, dates are critical in confirming when a person was born, married, died, and participated in events. If a date cannot be trusted, the genealogical event may not be valid. If you have evidence that a man had died ten months before a certain child was born, it would seem to exclude that man as the potential father of that child. If the calendar dates, however, had changed during the man’s life, it would be necessary to be very precise in determining the exact date of death. He might qualify as the potential father after all. The ability to make these precise date determinations relies on an understanding of the change from the Julian calendar to the Gregorian.

The English government, by an act of Parliament, adopted the Gregorian calendar effective September 1752 (to confuse things for British Isles researchers, the Scots had adopted the new calendar as of 1 January 1600, so between then and 1752 when it was 18 May in Scotland, it was only 7 May in England) and the change was implemented in all of the British colonies in North America. The British were one of the last of the European countries to adopt the calendar change, which had been in place in most of Europe since 1582, the year that Pope Gregory XIII decreed a new calendar that was adopted by the Catholic countries of Europe.

Three significant changes took place as a result of Pope Gregory XIII’s decree:

  • 1. Ten days were dropped from October 1582 to realign the vernal equinox with March 21st and to correct an annual error in dating the equinox in the Julian calendar from its inception under Julius Caesar in 45 BC.
  • 2. Reduction in the number of possible leap years. The Julian calendar included a leap year every four years. By reducing this number, the realignment with the vernal equinox became more closely aligned over the centuries. The change called for leap years for years ending in “00,” but only if the number could be divided evenly by 400.
  • 3. Change the first day of the year from March 25th to January 1st. This change was the most dramatic and the one that causes researchers the most problems.

By the time the English finally adopted the new calendar in 1752, the correction needed to bring the vernal equinox into alignment was eleven days. Parliament chose to drop eleven days from the month of September 1752, eliminating days three to thirteen. Thus, the first week in September 1752 jumped from Wednesday the 2nd to Thursday the 14th. In addition, they declared that the first day of 1753 would be January 1st, making the English year of 1752 it’s shortest in history, only 280 days long.

Right after this change took place, people began writing dates between January 1st and March 25th so that they reflected the old style – O.S. – and the new style – N.S. For example, George Washington, writing a letter after 1752, would have referred to his birthday as February 22, 1731/2. Any date a genealogist finds in old records before 1752, and between January 1st and March 24th inclusive, should be expressed as a double date.

A rule of thumb for genealogists researching British North American records prior to 1752 is that any date found on a document and dated January 1st through March 24th is one year off. For example: You find a will for your great-great-great-grandfather dated 12 March 1734, and then find a codicil dated 27 March 1735. It might appear that your ancestor died about a year after he wrote the first document. Actually, the two documents were written fifteen days apart. The 12 March 1734 document was written prior to the first of the new year which occurred on March 25th. March 27th, then, was in 1735, only fifteen days after March 12th. To put it more clearly, in the Julian calendar, March 24, 1734, was followed by March 25, 1735.

March was also identified as the first month, so a date may be expressed in records before 1752 in various ways such as 1st-3-1734, 3-1st-1734, or even 3-7ber-1734, or 3-8ber-1734 for September and October. The Latin names for some months relate to their position in the Julian calendar, not the Gregorian. Thus October, which is a word based on the Latin for the number eight (octo), makes sense in the Julian calendar, but not in the Gregorian where October is the tenth month.

Think you’ve got it?  Well, there are always exceptions. Some groups in early America may have adopted the Gregorian calendar before 1752, even in British-controlled territory. When a Reformed Church record in a German settlement in America is used for genealogical research, the date needs to be confirmed – were those Germans using the Gregorian or the Julian calendar? Dutch settlers along the Hudson River in New York and northern New Jersey were already using the Gregorian calendar when they came to America. After 1660, when the English took over the Dutch settlements, the civil and church recorders in Dutch towns continued the use of the Gregorian calendar despite the British government and its use of the Julian calendar for almost an additional one hundred years.

If you would like even more information about the “great change of 1752,” you may want to look at Kenneth L. Smith’s Genealogical Dates: a User-Friendly Guide (Picton Press, 1994) or check out the following websites:

http://www.norbyhus.dk/calendar.html  This site includes a table with a long list of countries and the last date of the Julian and first date of the Gregorian calendar for each. Not all revolve around the 1582 or 1752 dates. Croatia’s last Julian calendar date is 30 September 1923 and their first Gregorian calendar date is 14 October 1923.

www.tngenweb.org/sullivan/pcalendar.htm. This site is a quick converter for dates from the Julian into the Gregorian calendar and vice versa.

Planning to Publish…the Easy Way 

Filed under: Genealogy Tips on Thursday, April 3rd, 2008 by Erica | No Comments

By Ann Hege Hughes

Gateway Press, an offshoot of Genealogical.com, specializes in helping people publish family history books. If you’re working on a family history project – even if it’s still years from completion – here are some simple things you can do NOW to make publishing your book later far easier.

1.  Start looking at other people’s family history books. For the time period that you’re researching, take notice of the features you like about other people’s books.

a. What ways of organizing information do you like? What mix of facts and narrative do you prefer?

b. What about the book size? What appeals to you? What book size do you think will best fit YOUR material? (If you have a lot of large charts and documents, you may want to use the larger 8 ½ x 11 book size.)

c. Notice how people lay out their text. Do you like a particular style or size of type? Do you like a heading across the top of each page? Where do you prefer to find page numbers? Do they use bold type for key names? Do they space between sections? Are paragraphs indented or double-spaced? What about generations? Are they indented or handled some other way? How is the index formatted? How are footnotes handled? Chapter headings? Subheadings? Long quotes?

d. How have other authors treated illustrations? Do you have an illustration you’d like to use opposite the title page, as a frontispiece? A coat of arms? Is there a need for color illustrations? How will you arrange charts, documents and photographs? Scattered throughout the text, on separate photograph or chart pages, or in photo or chart sections? How many illustrations are “too many?” How many are “just right?” What treatment works well for photo captions? Would you prefer a book without illustrations?

e. Do you have a personal preference for hardback or paperback binding? Do you want a dust jacket?

TIP: At some point, you or your typist will need to make decisions like these about your book layout. If you have ideas ahead of time about your preferences, it will be helpful. One way to keep track of your choices is to make a photocopy of pages you like and keep them in a file marked “book pages I like.”

2. Gather free general information about the publishing process and read it. Don’t be afraid. It doesn’t take long to read and it will give you an overview of what is to come. Gateway has two free brochures that you can order at any time, without any obligation. The first gives an overview about how the publication process works – what comes first, what comes next, what are the standard book sizes, printing and binding choices, what you will need to be thinking about when. Our second brochure, “The Roadmap,” gives technical information about how to prepare your files for publication. Be sure to order “The Roadmap,” before you begin to lay out your final pages.

3.  Ideally BEFORE you get started with your final formatting, I’d like to talk to you on the telephone. It’s easier to discuss things such as the right book size, which printing method to use, and how many copies to order on the phone, as there are a lot of factors that go into those decisions.

a. The first issue to settle is the issue of book size. Which size is the best choice for your particular project? The four standard sizes are 8 ½ x 11, 7 x 10, 6 x 9, and           5 ½ x 8 ½. I can price several options and advise you after I know a little more about your particular project.

b. Once your book size is selected, we can discuss typing area and layout. I always like to review sample pages before you get started. Often I can point out inconsistencies you may have overlooked.

c. I can also answer technical questions if you’re using software with which we’re familiar. (MS Word is acceptable software.)

d. You will need to decide if you will do the final preparation work yourself – or if you would prefer to use a professional person. We can recommend several excellent editors, typesetters and indexers who are expert in working with family history authors.

For more free information, please check our website: http://gatewaypress.com/. You can also order our free brochures by e-mailing me at ahughes@gatewaypress.com or calling me at 800-296-6687, extension 204.

Ann Hege Hughes runs Gateway Press, Inc. Since 1975, she has helped thousands of first-time and repeat authors publish their family histories. Ann lives in Baltimore, Maryland, and exhibits at the annual National Genealogical Society (NGS) and Federation of Genealogical Societies (FGS) conferences.

Must Have Books for Your Genealogy Reference Collection 

Filed under: Genealogy Tips on Thursday, March 27th, 2008 by Erica | 1 Comment

By Carolyn L Barkley

As a retired public librarian, I am a firm believer in the use of public libraries (in fact, all types of libraries).  In addition, I realize that more and more how-to resources are available on-line. However, there are basic tools for research that you need to have at hand in your home library, books that you can reach easily from your computer chair. These are the titles that you refer to over and over again, no matter the time of day, or whether your DSL connection has disappeared yet again (I live in the mountains and for some reason this happens all too frequently!). The blog article posted on the 7th of March discusses one of my favorites. This posting, is “the rest of the story.” I started writing with a specific number of books in mind – top 6, then top 10, then top way-too-many.  What appears, then, is very selective and definitely personal. I recommend these titles both for your home collection, as well as for your local library’s genealogy collection. I hope you’ll comment with your top picks.

Methodology / Best Practices

Mills, Elizabeth Shown, ed. Professional Genealogy: A Manual for Researchers, Writers, Editors, Lecturers, and Librarians (Genealogical Publishing Co., 2007, © 2001).
 Do not be scared away by the title! I’ve seen this happen in the GPC booth at conferences. This book is for everyone from family historians to professional researchers. With articles written by experts in the field, it describes best practices, defines quality, and offers each of us the opportunity to advance our skills and enrich our research. Topics include lineage papers, proofreading and indexing, family histories, abstracting, evidence analysis, writing research reports, copyright, execution of contracts, and more. Various sections will apply at different times in our research lives, but the aggregation of this knowledge is essential to have available.

Citing Your Sources / Writing

Mills, Elizabeth Shown. Evidence Explained (Genealogical Publishing Co., 2007). 
 This book is the definitive guide to the citation and analysis of historical sources. The mark of good research is the richness of the documentation. The mark of a good researcher is the quality of the citations provided as part of a research report, periodical article, newsletter article, compiled genealogy, etc. These skills need to be learned from the inception of our research and this book is the best available, discussing source citations for every known class of records, including microfilm, microfiche, and records created by digital media. I recommend this book as one that needs to be within easy reach of your desk. You may want to consider putting its predecessor (and lighter weight!) Evidence (2007, © 1997) in your briefcase when you travel to do research.

In addition, I recommend the 15th edition of the Chicago Manual of Style to use in conjunction with Evidence Explained.

Finally, I refer frequently to Sharon DeBartolo Carmack’s Carmack’s Guide to Copyright & Contracts: A Primer for Genealogists, Writers & Researchers (Genealogical Publishing Co., 2005). It is easy to be unsure if permission is required to include a map, an illustration, or other material in your writing or on your web site. Copyright law has undergone significant recent changes, and it is important to have an easy-to-understand guide to the law and its application to genealogical writing and research.

Land Research

Hone, E. Wade. Land and Property Research in the United States (Ancestry, 1997).
 Land research is often overlooked by researchers who are concentrating solely on vital records. Land records, however, can often shed new light on problems that would be otherwise impenetrable. Deeds, particularly deeds of gift, can provide answers to relationship problems. An example in my own research is a grandson returning to North Carolina to dispose of land left to him by his grandfather. The record established not only the relationship between grandfather and grandson, but placed the grandson’s residence in South Carolina, thus opening up a previously unknown branch of the family. Hone’s book contains a wealth of information about land research. I recently found the best description of the military bounty land process in its section on military land research. Other sections include pre-U.S. possessions, State-Land States, Federal-Land States, Individual Lands, and, in the Special Interest section, a chapter on Native American land records.

Handwriting

Sperry, Kip. Reading Early American Handwriting. (Genealogical Publishing Co., 2005 © 1998)
 I have to confess that colonial research is the bane of my existence – definitely not my favorite time period to research. Kip Sperry’s book provides guidance to make research in this time period less difficult. Techniques are provided to assist in reading early documents. Numerous illustrations include sample alphabets and letter forms. Definitions for terms and abbreviations used commonly in documents such as wills, deeds, and church records increase our understanding of the documents being transcribed. Documents, both simple and complex, are provided with Sperry’s transcription on a facing page. If you have colonial ancestors, you will appreciate the assistance and strategies offered in this book.

Dictionaries

 This recommendation is a kind of 3-in-1. First, I recommend that you own an edition of Black’s Law Dictionary. When reading original documents and analyzing their content with regard to our research, it is important to understand the terms included. What, for example is “an heir apparent,” a “laughing heir,” or “a bill of certiorari?” A law dictionary will assist you in understanding the document and its implications for your research. If the term is very old, you may need to do an online search for a definition, or better yet, call your local or state law library and ask them to research it for you. For further assistance with definitions, I also recommend Paul Drake’s What did They Mean by That: A Dictionary of Historical and Genealogical Terms Old & New (Heritage Books, 2000) and Barbara Jean Evans’ The New A to Zax: A Comprehensive Genealogical Dictionary for Genealogists and Historians (3rd ed., The Author 1995).

On-line Resource Guides
 There are many guides available to on-line resources. We spend a great deal of our research time on-line and it is important that our time is as effective and efficient as possible. George G. Morgan’s The Official Guide to Ancestry.com (Ancestry, 2007) is one of the best. Your time spent reading the Official Guide is time saved in your on-line research. I began reading it on the airplane on the way home from the last national convention and learned an enormous amount about how to use this major on-line resource effectively. Beginning with basic navigation and including such topics as database search basics and templates, accessing digital image collections, and working with specific types of records, your use of ancestry.com will become more productive very quickly.

PUTTING WALLS AROUND MEMORIES 

Filed under: Genealogy Tips on Friday, March 21st, 2008 by Erica | 1 Comment

Adding Another Dimension to Your Genealogy

Joe Roop Brickey

This article originally appeared in Heritage Quest, 16, no. 3, issue 87 (May/June 2000). It is reprinted here by permission of the publisher.

Faded photographs are among a genealogist’s treasured possessions. A picture of a family gathered on the front porch of an old farm house, or gathered around the Thanksgiving Day table, may be fun to have, but identifying everyone and establishing when and where the picture was taken can be difficult tasks. When my parents were visiting a few years ago, we sat down with some of the “mystery” photographs and in the process of identifying “who, what, when and where,” began talking about the houses and farms – the physical location of the events preserved in the pictures.

Out came a pad of graph paper and pencils. “Let’s see,” Dad said, “You came into the entry hall and the steps to the upstairs were straight ahead, the den to the left and the parlor to the right.” Stories came pouring out of my parents. Memories long forgotten came to light in drawing the walls that surrounded them. Before long, both of my grandparents’ homes were committed to paper, my great-grandparent’s farm came to life, and the town where my father was born and raised had been recreated.

This project is easy and inexpensive. It takes paper, pencils, a BIG eraser, and time. Add a tape recorder for the stories and you are all set. My mother and I began with the home she grew up in. She did not worry about exact room dimensions, but rather the layout of the rooms in the home. The front right corner was the living room where the piano sat on the inside wall. Her parents’ bedroom was in the right back corner. On the back of the house were the bathroom and a small den. The steps to the basement were off of the kitchen which sat in front of the den, and the dining room was in the middle of the left side, with a small parlor on the left front. “Remember when your grandmother tried to brush her teeth in the dark and put BenGay on the tooth brush?” (Sure I do – grandmother’s howl could be heard for blocks!) There was a lilac bush on the corner of the house outside their room. Yes, soon you are drawing in the yard and before long the names of the neighbors get filled in.

An added plus for this project is that friends have tried it with relatives who have claimed to remember “nothing.” Something about making a drawing of a childhood home, the street you lived on, or the family farm brings even the “I don’t remember anything” uncle’s memory into focus. Knowing where the table that now graces my living room sat in my grandparent’s home adds to my enjoyment of the piece. Having a clear picture of the great-grandparent’s sheep ranch makes the stories told about summers there more meaningful because I can “see” it better.

Homes, streets, farms, the list is endless as to what you can create with your pencil and pad of paper. I drew the school where I went to first grade. In the process, the name of my teacher surfaced along with names of long forgotten classmates. Mrs. Perkins was my first grade teacher and she lived just a few blocks from the school. On nice days we would walk to her house and have a picnic in her backyard.  Since moving every few years was a part of my childhood, finding a “trigger” for these memories has been great! I have placed my drawing in the file with the class photograph, along with the things that I remember about going to first grade. Maybe I’m writing my life story without realizing it!

So, when you are talking to a relative, or even a neighbor, feeling a bit stuck, or in a rut with your research, try adding this new dimension to your genealogy. Your best memory of a house can be sent on to a cousin to add details and stories, an aunt may remember a house that is no longer standing, and just maybe, if you are very lucky, someone will finally remember who is the third person from the left in the picture of the family on the front porch. At the very least, now you know about the house behind the family.

Happy drawing!

Related reading:

Arthur, Stephen and Julia, Your Life and Times, currently on sale at genealogical.com. This oral history handbook is a guide that will help you record your life experiences on tape simply by answering questions that will lead you, step by step, through the precious moments of your life. When finished, you will have completed the oral history of your life and times–a treasure for yourself and a gift of love for your family and its future generations.

Light, Sally. House Histories: a Guide to Tracing the Genealogy of Your Home (Golden Hill Press, 1995, c1989.

Joe Roop Brickey is a familiar face in the Genealogical Publishing Company’s booth at national conferences. She is a former board member of the Federation of Genealogical Societies [FGS] and is a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries Scotland. She resides in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Need the Luck of the Irish in Your Research? 

Filed under: Genealogy Tips on Thursday, March 13th, 2008 by Erica | 3 Comments

By Carolyn L. Barkley

Monday, March 17th, is the day when everyone claims to be Irish. For many of you, however, your research has already documented a bit – or a lot – of green in your family tree. You may have known all along, judging by family surnames such as O’Meara, Hennessey and others. For some of us, the discovery may have been more of a surprise.

Some years ago, tired of the brick walls in my own research lines, I turned to my son’s paternal ancestral lines for a fresh start. I knew that his great-grandmother’s maiden name was Susan Holdcraft and that she lived in Frederick County, Maryland - but not much more. Having looked at the name from time-to-time, I had assumed (never a good thing to do) that the surname was German. Knowing absolutely nothing about German genealogical research, I ran in the other direction! The time, however, had come to do some research, German content or not.

An IGI search indicated that Susan was born 12 February 1870 at Brook Hill in Frederick County, Maryland, the daughter of James Patrick [alternately given in other resources as Patrick James] Holdcraft and Catherine Ann Sophia Dutrow. No sources were provided. The Dutrow line clearly would lead to German research as it included surnames such as Ramsburg and Devilbiss. A further IGI search – again no sources – indicated that James Patrick Holdcraft was born in September 1836 at Keagh’s Cross, co. Louth, Ireland, the son of James Holdcraft and Rose McCabe. A James Patrick Holdcraft was in the United States at the time of the Civil War, enlisting in June 1861 in Co. K of the 5th Regiment Massachusetts Foot Volunteers, later Co. K of the 9th Massachusetts Infantry. “Left behind” by his unit in Maryland in 1862, he stayed in Maryland so long that he feared arrest on charges of desertion. He enlisted in Co. D of the 1st Regiment Potomac Home Brigade, Maryland Cavalry on 29 July 1863, but did so under the name of James E. McCabe. Further reading of all of his service records, an enormous (three folders) widow’s pension file and research in Frederick County records, documented that the James Patrick Holdcraft born in co. Louth (and the James E. McCabe who served in the Maryland Cavalry) is the same James Patrick Holdcraft who married Catherine Ann Sophia Dutrow. I now have Irish research to pursue (while letting the German lines languish until a later date).

Any time you begin research in a new geographical area, whether in the U. S. or elsewhere, the best way to begin is with a good overall research guide. For Ireland, one of the best is John Grenham’s Tracing Your Irish Ancestors, now in its third edition (2006). Grenham discusses the major sources (civil records, census records, church records, and land records) as well as wills, emigration, deeds, newspapers, directories, and Genealogical Office records. Ireland has records unlike other countries, and it is important to understand such resources as Griffith’s Valuation, Tithe Applotment Books, Flax Tax records, and more. In addition, Tracing Your Irish Ancestors includes county source lists. To assist me in my Holdcraft research, Grenham provides me with find a list of co. Louth census returns and substitutes beginning in 1600 and ending in 1911. The census substitutes include such things as voter lists, a 1796 Spinning-Wheel Premium List, Brewers Lists, and more. In addition, there is a list of local histories, local journals, directories and county guides, publishing gravestone inscriptions, and estate record lists. A section on Roman Catholic Registers includes a map of co. Louth with twenty-three churches in three dioceses and lists which baptismal, marriage and burial registers are available for these churches, as well as the location of the registers. I now know what records are available, often where they are located, and can read about the purpose, contents, and use of each.

An additional great strategy for learning about new areas and resources is to attend national conferences and attend lectures by experts in the field. David Rencher, Elizabeth Kelly Kerstens, and Paul Milner are several to look for on conference programs.

Genealogical Publishing Company titles that will assist you in your research include:

Selected other resources include:

Duffy, Sean, ed. The Macmillan Atlas of Irish History (Macmillan, 1997)
Grenham, John. Grenham’s Irish Surnames. CD, Eneclann Ltd.
Index of Irish Wills, 1484-1858, CD, Eneclann Ltd.
MacLysaght, Edward. The Surnames of Ireland, 6th ed. (Irish Academic Press, 1991)
Ryan, James G. Irish Records: Sources for Family and Local History (Ancestry, 1988)

Playing Favorites with Books 

Filed under: Genealogy Tips on Thursday, March 6th, 2008 by Erica | No Comments

By Carolyn L. Barkley

Can you name your favorite book? Can you name just one or does the list just grow and grow?

I’m in the process of having built-in book cases installed in my home office/library. The process of removing books from the shelves to get ready for the new ones to arrive has provided me with the opportunity (that’s a cheerful way of looking at all the lugging and stacking) to take a renewed look at my collection. There’s something very satisfying about handling books and peeking into their contents. Sometimes the moving gets put on hold as a particular book, perhaps one that I’ve forgotten about, catches my attention and I have to spend time dipping into its contents. This work has led me to consider which ones are favorites.

Some books, particularly fiction, are favorites due to the enjoyment they provide. One of the joys of retirement has been the time to read for pleasure. On the other hand, some books are favorites because of the success they offer in genealogical research for ourselves or our clients. For me, my favorite book-of-the-month (actually one of my favorites of all time) is the Map Guide to the U.S. Federal Censuses, 1790-1920 by William Thorndale and William Dollarhide. It sits within easy reaching distance of my desk chair and laptop.

Our research may focus on one main geographical area, but inevitably, some ancestor moved to another state, sometimes at quite a distance from the rest of the family. This move instantly makes us beginning researchers in the new geographical area, requiring us to familiarize ourselves with county names and the chronology of county formations. The Map Guide is the book for you. The preface states that the Guide “shows county outline maps at ten-year intervals, the old county boundaries being superimposed over the modern lines…The maps begin with 1790, the earliest federal census, and end with 1920.” Counties in existence for a particular federal census are in black; names and lines in white illustrate the difference between the specified census and 1920. In some cases, maps are included for state censuses if the lists were sent to Washington, such as the map for Nebraska in 1885.

In addition to the maps themselves, explanatory notes discuss border disputes, county creation dates, census availability, year of statehood, and other helpful information to assist researchers. Examples include: the loss of the 1790 federal census for all counties in Delaware; an 1885 Nebraska state census map where notes indicate the transfer of partial counties from the Dakota Territory to Keya Paha and Knox Counties in 1882 and also the extension of Burt, Cuming, and Wayne Counties into part of Omaha and Winnebago Indian lands; and a listing of the Indian jurisdictions in the Oklahoma Territory when it was created in May 1890.

If you are beginning a new segment of research in a state or county unfamiliar to you, The Map Guide will quickly become your favorite book and one that is indispensable for your home library. It provides a quick look-up to help move your research forward.

If you need even more detail, check out GoldBug’s Animap, a county boundary historical atlas for Windows users. This software, available on CD or as a download, provides 2,300 historical maps showing changes in county boundaries for each of the forty-eight contiguous states for every year since 1776. This software is very helpful if you have a town which has disappeared from modern maps or which is no longer in the same county it was in the year your ancestor was living there.
You may also wish to consult the U.S. Board on Geographic Names website which allows you to search the names of cemeteries, churches, geographical features, hospitals, and more, both domestic and foreign.
Map Guide to the U. S. Federal Censuses, 1790-1920 is definitely one of my favorite and most often used books. What’s your favorite? I hope you’ll comment and let us know!

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