I had deduced that my g-grandmother Salomeja’s maiden name was Markiswiez.  Salomeja’s maiden name is reported on many records as “Morris” and my g-grandfather’s ship manifest reads as follows:

Departure 7 April 1900 from Antwerp Belgium, Arrival 18 April 1900, ship Kensington: Jozef Baltrunas, age 25 male, married, unable to read or write, Russian, Village Prezvi (?) , destination Boston MA, passage paid by brother-in-law.  US contact is a brother-in-law Kaz (or Raz?)  Markiswiez, Boston, MA. 

I had searched for Kaz and my g-grandfather in the 1900 census and Boston city directories previously without any success.

A few months ago, I had posted the following in this blog: 

My Lithuanian relatives (who lived in Pittsfield and Athol, MA) changed their surname from Baltrunas to Billings/Billie/Barton. Children were Anthony, Charles (my grandfather), Ralph and  Connie.

I  found a draft registration card at Ancestry.com dated 12 Sep 1918 for an Anthony George Baltrunas born 20 Apr 1900 listed as living on 289 First Street in Pittsfield, MA.  Birth place is listed as Russia. Nearest relative is listed as Anthony Gaston also of 289 First Street.  

I had sort of dismissed this record as being my Lithuanian G-Uncle. The ship manifest of “Anton” and his mom, dated April 1902, listed him as being 36 months of age, thus born in 1899. The family disappeared from the Pittsfield city directories in 1918 and began to appear in Athol, MA directories – I assumed that he moved with the family. I didn’t have the Gaston’s as a related surname. Not to mention that Anthony’s father arrived at Ellis Island on 7 April 1900, meaning he would have left behind a wife who was ready to deliver any day!!

But…  The 1930 Pittsfield census has a Charles Billings, single, age 25, born in MA, both parents born in Lithuania, listed as a boarder at 387 Draper Avenue at the home of Anthony Gaston, age 52, born in Lithuania and wife Ann, age 46, born in Lithuania.

I had saved this census record, but wasn’t all that sure that this was my grandfather (since in 1930, according to my mother he was living in Athol, MA).

It wasn’t until I began to transcribe records and look at neighbors that I realized both men were living with an Anthony Gaston…  With a bit of research I confirmed that this was the same Anthony Gaston and thus concluded that the draft registration and 1930 census record were that of my ancestors!

At that time, I forwarded this new revelation to my 75-year-old mother and asked if she had even heard of a Gaston family. My mother who previously swore that she had no other information on the family, said that she didn’t know of a Gaston family, but she suddenly recalled that she had a letter from a cousin:

Mrs. Blanche McKeever, 23 Williamsburg, Pittsfield Ma. 01201

Sept. 8. 1974

Dear Betty,

I’m awfully sorry I didn’t write sooner but I guess it’s better late than never.  What I wanted to tell you how sad I am about your aunt Connie passing away so suddenly.  She was a very dear friend and cousin of mine and I miss her very much.  I often think of her and I miss her letters.

The last letter I got from her was a week before she died. Betty I never found out what she died of.

I know she had terrible headaches but otherwise I guess she was all right.  She was very closed mouth and never complained.  She hated to see doctors.

I was very sorry that no one could get in touch with you at the time of her death.  Mrs. Martin (her landlord) found my address on Connie’s table that’s why she called me.  Connie never told me where you lived or I would have got a hold of you.  It was awful.  I didn’t know what to do.  Well any way it’s all over.  I hope that everything is settled.  I understand she had a brother in Boston, that was news to me.

Betty if you have the time would you please write and let me know how everything was settled and about her brother.  I hope that you come in on the settlement.

I know Connie always said that the only one she cared for was her niece Betty that’s all she said. as far as your sister and brother she never mentioned them.  I hope Betty that you and I can keep in touch once in a while so please write.

Love,  Daisy

A bit of research using  Ancestry.com, MA vital records and online copies of the “The Berkshire Eagle”, revealed that Daisy was the daughter of Anthony and Anna Gaston.  The same family with whom my g-uncle and grandfather resided!

I reconstructed the family using these sources and discovered a number of living people - some using the surname Gaston, others using Gasson.  I began to write letters. 

I did a quick search on Facebook which revealed a Mitt Gasson living in Pittsfield, MA, I couldn’t figure out how or if he fit into my tree, but it was worth a shot, so I wrote to him as well. 

The next morning, I rose to the following Facebook response:

• LINDA…I’M DAISY’S SON…CONNIE WAS MY MOTHER’S COUSIN…MY GRAND FATHER WAS ANTHONY GASSON…IBELIEVE MY GRANDMOTHER WAS RELATED TO YOUR GRANDFATHER CHARLES…SHE PAST ON IN 1935… I NEVER KNEW HER…THESE RELATIVES YOU ARE ASKING ABOUT ARE PAST ON…MY TEL. IS xxx-xxx-xxxx. I’M 75 YEARS OLD…I HAVE A LOT OF STORIES …MILTON S. GASSON

Turns out that Daisy had a child out-of-wedlock!!  (which is why Mitt has the Gasson surname).

My husband and I had already planned a research/hiking trip in the Berkshires.  According to Mapquest, we would be staying 8 miles from Mitt’s home!

Mitt invited us for dinner.  It was a wonderful evening!  I had homemade Lithuanian food for the first time in my life and although Mitt couldn’t remember many of the names, he recalled sleeping on Aunt Connie’s floor in Athol, MA., as a child, when they went to visit the Lithuanian relatives (who all loved Lithuanian homemade beer).  He shared stories of his mother and grandfather and of his own life, he passed on some old photos.  We stayed for hours. Unfortunately, he wasn’t sure how Daisy and Connie were related.  He thought that it was through his grandmother Anna.

I discovered that Mitt’s grandparents were married in Pittsfield, and not in Lithuania.  A quick search on the NEHGS site reveal a marriage record:

October 29, 1906, Pittsfield

Antanas Gasiunos (age 26) married Anna Wishnewski (age 19)

The groom’s father is Andors Gariunos, his mother is Regina Kiarshauski

The bride’s father is Dominikas Wishnewski, her mother is Elizbista Morkiewich (pretty close to my g-grandmother’s maiden name).

Antanas is listed as a Machinest Helper living at 87 Madison Ave and Anna is listed as Housework  living at 29 Alder Street.

My Lithuanian family was living on 87 Madison Ave that particular year.  So perhaps my ancestor’s “fixed up” the couple, or we are related to both Anna and Anthony or the town clerk mixed up the addresses and Anna was really the one living at 87 Madison (which might be what occurred, since Anthony Gaston’s ship manifest refers to a brother on Alder Street).

Long story short, the next day I stopped by the Pittsfield library and collected naturalization records for several Gasson’s.  Anna is listed on her husband Anthony’s records as being born in Pumpenai, Pasvalys, Lithuania.

I hadn’t searched for Kaz (listed as my g-grandfather’s brother-in-law on the manifest) in some time, so I tried again.   Someone had recently posted a gravestone photo of Kazimeras and Magdalena Morkevicius in an Athol, MA cemetery!!!   I found the couple in the Athol census records and located birth records for their children.  Kazimeras was also called Charles in some of the documents.

I then found a single Kazimeras (under the name Charles) Morris living in South Boston with a brother Raphael Morris.  In the next census year, I find Kazimeras to be married and residing in Athol, MA.  I have yet to find a marriage records for Kazimeras (which I am hoping once found, will name his parents, thus giving me the names of my g-g-grandparents….)

A few days later I discover a naturalization record on Footnote.com for Raphael Morris’ son.  Place of birth – Pumpenai, Pasvalys, Lithuania. We have a match!!

So it appears that I FINALLY have a town for one of my g-grandparents!!

The lessons?  There are lots.  But to name a few:

1. Always go back and review records that you collected long ago, as you might have missed a clue.

2. Create a time line and plot on a map where each of your relatives were living and with whom they were living each year. I should have discovered Kaz in Athol a long time ago, since that is where my g-grandmother resided after her husband died!! Look at siblings, neighbor’s, cousins and roommates.

3. Keep asking your relatives if they are sure that they told you everything (interestingly after I shared Mitt’s photos with my mother, she suddenly remembered that she had taken a stack of photos from my aunt Connie’s apartment when she cleaned it out after her death - most were unmarked, but a few have given me more clues and one was of my g-grandmother Salomeja!!)

4. Join Facebook?!?!? 

Just in case ”cousins” out there comes across this post, here is a summary of information related to my g-grandmother and three others who I believe to be her siblings:

SEEKING MORKIEWICH/ MARKISVICH/MORRIS:

Morkiewich is either Markevic^ius or Morkevic^ius in Lithuanian. The Polish ending “-wicz” (often rendered in English as “-vitz”, “-wich”, “-vich”, “-vage”, etc.) is “-vic^ius” in Lithuanian. The ending “-ski” becomes “-skas” in Lithuanian, which does not use the letter “w” but “v” instead.

1. Salomeja /Seleomije  (Sally):  b. about 1869, arrived Ellis Island 22 April 1902, resided Pittsfield and Athol, Massachusetts, d. 5 March 1938, married Joseph BALTRUNAS/BILLIE/BILLINGS;
2. Kazimieras/Kazys  (Charles) b. Mar 1871, immigrated about 1895, resided South Boston and Athol, Massachusetts, d. 1924, married Magdelena/Maggie BLANDENZA/BINDINSKO.
3. Rapolas or Rafaelas or even Ralfas (Raphael/Ralph):  b. 15 Dec 1873, immigrated about 1900, resided South Boston, Massachusetts d. about 1954, married Anastasia MACKAY;  
4. Elizbista: married Dominykas WISHNEWSKI (birth/death , immigration information unknown);

Linda Hall-Little, PO Box 132, Jackson, NH 03846; e-mail:LLittle62@roadrunner.com

Happy Hunting!!

Jackson, New Hampshire is a small town of 800 residents and a popular tourist destination, with a rich historic past dating  from the late 1700′s.

Warren Schomaker, now 86 years young, is President of the town’s Historical Society.  It is his passion.  He wears every imaginable hat – fundraiser, grant writer, record keeper, landscaper, docent, etc.   For this, he receives no salary.  Although future plans may include a paid employee, today there are only volunteers; few in number.

I tell you this, because many of the small towns where your ancestors lived are just like our small town. 

The Jackson Historical Society has boxes and boxes and boxes of records. Some are related to town business (such as selectman meeting minutes, which name residents who spoke at meeting or brought an item up for discussion at a meeting). Others are filled with old family papers, scrapbooks, diaries and photos; donations from Jackson families, many of whom have resided in the town for generations.

Some points (which I would guess apply to most small Historical Societies):

- The Historical Society is advertised as being open 9-4 on Saturdays but, I believe Warren would be thrilled to meet you there at any time day or night to give you a tour.  In most Historical Societies there will be someone like Warren.

-  Although there is an index of records online http://www.jacksonhistory.org/collection.html, it is not all-inclusive and does not do justice to this vast collection, as is the case with many understaffed organizations with limited funding.

- Warren will tell you that Alice Warwick Pepper is the town historian.  She has boxes of Jackson  records stored in her home and has written a book tracing the genealogy of the first Jackson families http://www.jacksonhistory.org/merchandise.html - she would be thrilled to tell you all about your ancestors. I have found that most small towns do have someone who has been deemed the town historian either formally or informally.

- Warren will tell you which families in town are unwilling to turn over their historic papers for preservation and have instead chosen to retain documents that span many generations in their private homes.  He may even give you their phone numbers.

- Warren will not be able to look through all of the boxes for your personal family records.  Not that he is unwilling, but there are thousands of records.  Warren is not a genealogist.  His dream is to establish a world-class museum for the White Mountain School of Art Paintings within the edifice of our Historical Society.  To find your ancestors in these records, you may want to make a personal visit or hire a local professional genealogist to perform a search for you. 

- If the Historical Society or Historian were to help you, be sure to offer a donation or become a member of their society.  Without public donations and memberships many of these societies would cease to exist. 

- Will these records be available on-line someday?  Perhaps.  It takes volunteers.  There are numerous volunteer opportunities in Mount Washington Valley, so many that the volunteers are stretched thin.  Warren mentioned that he had tried to organize such a project, but his volunteers lost interest after a few weeks….

- My family is not from Jackson.  We vacationed here as children.  If I were to die tomorrow, besides making sure that all 8 of my g-grandparents down to my siblings are named in my obituary (including middle and maiden names), my husband has been instructed to donate all of my records.  My husband is not a genealogist.  He would in all probability donate my collection to the Jackson Historical Society.  My ancestors were primarily from Massachusetts, New York, Canada, Rhode Island, France, Wales and Lithuania.

What future researcher would ever think to look in the Jackson, New Hampshire Historical Society for these records?  I never had children of my own, so in all probability, no one. Just another reminder that you never can tell where records mentioning your family might be found.  Yet another reason to spend time searching for those collateral relatives.

OTHER HISTORICAL SOCIETIES

My husband’s childhood was spent in Pelham, NH.  This Historical Society has an extensive online collection: tax records, graveyard inscriptions, church records and vital records, just to name a few.  

Their site: http://www.pelhamnhhistory.org/ 

Click on the link that reads “HAYES-GENOTER HISTORY AND GENEALOGY ON-LINE LIBRARY” (http://www.pelhamnhhistory.org/library/onlinelibrary.html)

Then select “Aunt Molly’s Scrapbook” http://www.pelhamnhhistory.org/library/onlinelibrary_scrapbook.html  Aunt Molly was the town librarian beginning in 1892 at the age of 18.  For 65 years she collected newspaper articles related to Pelham families and events and pasted them in a scrapbook for the library patrons to view.  The earliest scrapbook pages pre-date 1892.

Amazing stuff.

The state of Maine has the “Maine Memory Network”.  This allows smaller historical societies to upload their collections eliminating the expense of building and maintaining a web presence  http://www.mainememory.net/ (list of contributing societies: http://www.mainememory.net/user/search_CP.shtml).

Have you visited your local historical society in the town where you are currently living?  If not, stop by…  Ask to see their collection.   Before you visit, find a family tree on the internet naming a family who resided in your town in the late 1800′s/early 1900′s.  See what you can find.  Surprise the tree owner with your findings. 

Use Google to search online for historical societies in cities & towns of your ancestors’ homes.  What do they have online?  Call them, visit and share your stories!

Happy Hunting!!

At a minimum, you should secure birth, marriage and death records for these folks (you will need them for your immediate line if you ever plan to join an organization such as DAR, SAR, Mayflower Society, etc.) 

For those with parents, uncles and grandparents who were in the US Military, the following record may be of interest.

Did you know that most veterans and their next-of-kin can obtain FREE copies of their DD Form 214 (Report of Separation) and other military and medical records at NARA?

Military personnel files are stored at the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA).
http://www.archives.gov/veterans/military-service-records/get-service-records.html

 https://vetrecs.archives.gov/VeteranRequest/home.asp

The NARA website provides a list of the information included on the DD Form 214:

• Date and place of entry into active duty
• Home address at time of entry
• Date and place of release from active duty
• Home address after separation
• Last duty assignment and rank
• Military job specialty
• Military education
• Decorations, medals, badges, citations, and campaign awards
• Total creditable service
• Foreign service credited
• Separation information (type of separation, character of service, authority and reason for separation, separation and re-enlistment eligibility codes)

I submitted a request and received the form (image below) within 3 weeks.  My neighbor wasn’t so lucky, she was informed that her dad’s record was destroyed in the fire and could not be recreated: http://www.archives.gov/publications/prologue/2005/spring/spotlight-nprc.html

Surviving a Fire

A fire on July 12, 1973, left the top floor of the military personnel records facility in ruins. This floor had contained some 22 million personnel folders, filed alphabetically, for U.S. Army personnel discharged from 1912 through 1959 and of the U.S. Air Force discharged from September 1947 through 1963. At the time of the fire, one-third of the air force records already had been relocated and thus saved, but overall, fewer than 4 million records were recovered, either entirely or with as little as one identifiable document. A subsequent renovation included frequent firewalls within the storage areas as well as a comprehensive sprinkler system.

Since 1973, NPRC has obtained alternative sources of documents to verify the dates of individual military service and the character of separation for many of the veterans whose files were destroyed. Among these are final pay records, enlistment registers from induction stations, an index of World War II service numbers and dates they were assigned, morning reports, unit rosters, and discharge orders. Many state and federal agencies, particularly the Department of Veterans Affairs, assist NPRC in the reconstruction effort.

NPRC reconstructs a file only after receiving a request involving that veteran, and even then, replacement of an entire folder is impossible for these one-of-a-kind documents. Medical information is especially difficult to replace. NPRC has provided several million reconstruction replies since the fire, but as the number of living veterans from the affected years declines, so has the volume of requests. Nevertheless, NPRC still processes up to 3,000 reconstruction inquiries each week.

2. Check out the (free) Chronicling America collection at the Library of Congress website http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/.  Here you will find (indexed) images of newspapers, 1860-1920, for Arizona, California, District of Columbia, Florida, Hawaii, Illinois, Kansas, Kentucky, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Texas, Utah, Virginia and Washington state.

3. http://babelfish.yahoo.com/ is a site I use when I need to translate a couple of words or sentences from or to another language (it has only the most common languages, for example, no Lithuanian). 

I find this helpful when translating documents (such as those found in the French Canadian, Drouin Collection) or when letter writing to foreign repositories.

There is also a section that allows you to enter a URL and it will translate the entire page for you.

4. For those of you with Boston ancestors, this is an interesting site, illustrating how stories may be woven from city directories (it also includes free access to a number of digitized Boston street directories 1845, 1855, 1865, 1870, 1872, 19875, 1885, 1905, and 1925) http://dca.lib.tufts.edu/features/bostonstreets/index.html  fun to check out even if there are no Bostonian’s in your past.

5.  Although Google is (in my opinion) the top search engine, be sure to search for your ancestor’s using other search engines as their algorithms (hence results) may differ:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_search_engines

6. Almost all researchers know of the Family History Library, but did you know that the Allen County Public Library has the 2nd largest collection of genealogical records in the USA? http://www.acpl.lib.in.us/genealogy/index.html

7. When searching in Google, the ~  tilde character finds up to 10 synonyms and related words. For example, including ~genealogy (no space) in your surname search will reveal results which include such terms as family tree, ancestors, etc. Stop by the library and pick up a copy of “Google Your Family Tree, Unlock the Hidden Power of Google for Genealogy & Family History” by Daniel M. Lynch for more tips – http://www.googleyourfamilytree.com/

8. As an aid in finding where your ancestor may be buried or which church they many have attended (assuming it still exists), I add the street/city  (from the census or city directory) and then use mapquest or google maps with the word cemetery or church to get a listing of those closest their ancestral homes.

9.  Use the following website to view a variety of demographics collected in the census  years (1790-1960) and “map it” either for the whole country or for particular counties in a state: http://mapserver.lib.virginia.edu

10. Go to  http://archiver.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/search to search 36,886,027 Rootsweb genealogical message board posts (see related post at Genea Musings  http://www.geneamusings.com/search?q=Rootsweb+message+board)

Happy Hunting!!!

It was a highly positive review of a weekly newsletter called “Casefile Clues”.  I ordered my free sample (by emailing samples@casefileclues.com) which arrived in my inbox (as an automated response) almost immediately.

The response included links to two .pdf sample newsletters and a link which listed past topics. Following was the text included with the response:

“Thank you for your interest in Casefile Clues, a weekly genealogy how-to
newsletter written by Michael John Neill. Casefile Clues is not about the latest
website or database. Instead it focuses on sources, methods, problem-solving,
and analysis.

All research is drawn from personal research Michael has conducted in a wide
variety of states and several foreign countries. Upcoming topics include a
series on metes and bounds deeds in Kentucky, War of 1812 benefit records,
hiring and working with a professional genealogist, problem-solving approaches
on two brick wall ancestors, work with pre-1850 census records, and more.
Casefile Clues covers records and families from across the United States with a
focus on analysis and method that can be applied to problems in a variety of
areas and time periods. We even discuss things that did not work as that too is
an important part of the research process”.

Of course, (as I might have expected)  I was unable to access the .pdf files on my Compaq laptop running on Windows Vista (grrrrrrrrrrr - how I despise Vista!!) even though I have Adobe Acrobat Pro V9.  Michael provides his personal e-mail address in the event that you have questions or can not open the file, I was able to view them on my desktop MAC. 

In the right hand column of Michael’s website, there are a number of positive reviews from some popular bloggers including three of my favorites: DearMyrtle, Dick Eastman and GeneaMusings – http://www.casefileclues.com/2009/09/about-michael.html

I found the samples to be quite thorough and clearly written.  The reader is taken step by step through the research process.  This is a great resource for beginning and intermediate (and even advanced) researchers.  And I think a great deal for the price!

As of this writing, Casefile Clues is available weekly by email subscription for $17 a year (52 issues) or $6.50 for 3 months  – http://www.casefileclues.com/subscribe.html  – You can also purchase back issues at $1.25 each.  It seems that once Michael completes his 52nd issue these will only be available as a full set (so if you want individual copies order them quickly).

OR 

You may wish to take advantage of the offer which he posted on his site Wednesday, August 4th:

“For now until issue 52 comes out, you can get issues 1-52 from Casefile Clues volume 1 and have your subscription good through the end of volume 2 for only $34!”

Before signing up, explore his blog: http://blog.casefileclues.com/  Today I found a paypal link offering subscriptions at $15.00 through October 2010 and a copy of original issues 1-50 for another $15.00…  There are also prices listed for 10 issues. 

You can reach Michael directly at mjnrootdig@gmail.com.

I submitted my subscription request via papypal.  Michael emailed (from his phone) saying that he was out of the office and would get me my first newsletter upon his return.  I few hours later I had it!  Amazing customer service!

Michael also writes a blog entitled “Genealogy Tip of the Day” which I have added to my favorite blogs  -  http://genealogytipoftheday.blogspot.com/

You will need to know the woman’s birth date.  If you don’t have this information, order her birth certificate (most places had started to require birth certificates by the early 1900′s).  If you are not sure where to find a birth record, search for the city/county in Vital Rec  http://www.vitalrec.com/ 

VitalRec will usually tell you in what year the city/county/state began record collection, the current location of the records (i.e. county clerk’s office) and the cost of ordering the record.

Next, using one of the available Social Security Death Indexes (SSDI), enter the woman’s date of birth and first name:

• Rootsweb’s SSDI, http://ssdi.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/ssdi.cgi (free index)
• NEHGS http://www.newenglandancestors.org/database_search/ssdi.asp (free index, but their search engine accepts only birth year which will give you more results to weed through).
• Ancestry.com http://search.ancestry.com/search/db.aspx?dbid=3693 (requires subscription)

This search should give you a pretty short list of possible surname combinations. You could try entering the state of issue (assuming her residence state hadn’t changed since the 1930 census).

You can then  use other research techniques (i.e. look for death records, also using VitalRec as a finding aid) to confirm a match or rule out the individual (s) as an ancestor.

Remember that you can also order a copy of the social security application (SS-5).  It’s a bit pricy, so you may want to confirm that you have the correct person before ordering.  Instructions are outlined in #6 of this prior post: http://passagetothepast.wordpress.com/2010/07/05/learning-from-others/

For those of you who have never ordered a copy of the SS-5, below you can view my g-grandmother Georgianna’s:

Happy Hunting!!

This month’s assignment was to pull together our own personal Genealogy Education Plan. I thought that it might be helpful to share some of the items on my list and some things that I have done already to help further my research skills. 

Just as an Accountant or Doctor must keep us with changes in their field, so must a Genealogist. Primarily we gain knowledge  through hands on research experience. But learning is also enhanced by attending conferences and institutes, completing self-directed online (or classroom) based study courses and by reading genealogical books, magazines and other publications. To many of us, learning is a lifelong passion and by the way – as a side benefit –  lifelong learners are believed to have lower incidences of Alzheimer’s Disease.

My three favorite books:

• The Researcher’s Guide to American Genealogy, Val D. Greenwood
• Google Your Family Tree, Daniel M. Lynch
• The Family Tree Problem Solver, Proven Method for Scaling the Inevitable Brick Walls,  Marsha Hoffman Rising

Free Online Courses:

• Genealogy.com geared mainly to the beginner: http://www.genealogy.com/university.html
• FamilySearch  (beginner to intermediate) at FamilySearch.org, http://www.familysearch.org/eng/library/education/frameset_education.asp?PAGE=education_research_series_online.asp%3FActiveTab=2
• Brigham Young University (beginner to intermediate) http://ce.byu.edu/is/site/courses/free.cfm
• About.com (beginner) http://genealogy.about.com/library/lessons/blintro.htm
• Board for Certification of Genealogists, skill building columns (free – Intermediate/Advanced) http://www.bcgcertification.org/skillbuilders/index.html and their publication Onboard ($15/annually) http://www.bcgcertification.org/publications/onboard/index.html
• Roots Television (beginner to intermediate) http://www.rootstelevision.com/

Other Online Courses:

• The National Genealogical Society has a number of options  http://www.ngsgenealogy.org/cs/online_courses, they offer free classes to members ($60/year for an individual memberships which includes other benefits – Four issues of the National Genealogical Society Quarterly , and NGS Magazine, Access to the UpFront with NGS blog & a  number of discounts to other courses and conferences.
• The National Genealogical Society- NGS American Genealogy: Home Study Course (graded $495, and ungraded options $315) – I would HIGHLY recommend this course for beginner and intermediate genealogists, it offers a great foundation (NGS recommends that beginners take the online course before enrolling in the home study course).
• Ancestry.com’s Learing Center (beginner to intermediate) http://learn.ancestry.com/Home/HMLND.aspx?cj=1&o_xid=0001029688&o_lid=0001029688 (beginner to intermediate – free with paid subscription).
• NEHGS (http://www.newenglandancestors.org/ (beginner to intermediate – free with paid subscription).

Brick and Mortar

• National Institute on Genealogical Research (NIGR), held 11-16 July 2010 at the National Archives (NARA) in Washington, D.C., and College Park, Maryland, their website describes the course as “an intensive program offering on-site examination of federal records.  Designed for experienced researchers, it is not an introduction to genealogy”. The 2010 course (held July 11th-16th) was $350 – http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~natgenin/
• The Samford Institute of Genealogy and Historical Research (IGHR) - $445, They describe their offerings as “provides an educational forum for the discovery, critical evaluation, and use of genealogical sources and methodology through a week of intensive study led by nationally prominent genealogical educators.  Students may choose one of the offered courses that range from a course for beginners to courses on specialized topics.” Registration opens in January 2011, and many of the courses are filled within minutes http://www4.samford.edu/schools/ighr/
• Boston University Certificate in Genealogical Research  http://professional.bu.edu/cpe/Genealogy.asp (also available ONLINE) class starting 9/2010 is priced at $2,695, the prerequisites are described as follows: “Some prior genealogical experience will be assumed; the student should have spent a significant amount of time searching for multiple generations of a family through record repositories and online sources, then documenting results. Students are expected to possess basic computer skills, including the ability to use a web browser and word processor. Students should also be able to communicate well in spoken and written English”. I will tell you this class is WELL worth it based on my personal experience!!
• The Salt Lake Institute of Genealogy http://www.infouga.org/index.php?option=2011institute fees for Jan 2011 are $320 (intermediate to advance)

There are lots that I haven’t mentioned.  These are just the ones with which I am familiar (either I have taken them, am in the process of taking them or plan to take them).  Cyndi’s list names many more http://www.cyndislist.com/educate.htm or try a google search on: education ~genealogy

It’s also helpful to read some of the popular blogs – There are 100′s – I list my favorites (to the right of this post) in my blogroll.

It might be fun to attempt to complete the blog series entitled 52 Weeks to Better Genealogy, described as: ” to get all genealogists and family historians – both new to the field as well as the “lifers” – to stretch their brains and examine certain aspects of what some of us pursue as a past time, some as a profession and all as a passion”- http://wetree.blogspot.com/2010/01/52-weeks-to-better-genealogy.html

Magazines and other publications are helpful as well.  Randy Seaver of Genea-Musings posts the table of contents for many of the popular ones so you can pick and choose.  Just search on the words “table of contents” in the search box within his blog: http://www.geneamusings.com/

I regularly read articles in National Genealogical Society Quarterly, New England Historical and Genealogical Register and American Ancestors.  I don’t yet follow Internet Genealogy ($27.95/annually), but it’s recommended by many of my classmates,  they do offer one free online issue http://internet-genealogy.com/InternetGenealogy_Extra.pdf

So what’s the value in reading articles that are unrelated to your own personal genealogical surnames?

1. It helps to improve your own research techniques learning how someone else found that missing record or correlated information to come up with a genealogical conclusion.

2. You learn of sources which you may not have been aware, which may help with the progression of your own family history research.

3. They are a great source for enlightening discussions (blogs too).

4.  It raises your awareness of some of the top genealogists in the field because you have read their work.  This helps when you are deciding whether or not to take a course or which session to attend at a conference – Who are my favorites, you ask?  99% of the courses/presentations that I have attended were WONDERFUL – here are just a few off the top of my head (certainly not an all-inclusive list) – Dr. Thomas W. Jones, D. Joshua Taylor, Elizabeth Shown Mills, Elissa Scalise Powell, Melinde Lutz Sanborn and Jean Nudd…..

This video by Mary Penner taped at the APG Professional Management Conference given in September 2009 on Henry O’Neil will give you an idea of how genealogies written by others might teach you something… https://fch.ldschurch.org/WWSupport/Courses/FGS_2009/The_Bachelor__Reconstructing_a_Solitary_Life_Using/Player.html

Last but not least, volunteer!  Helping to transcribe records or find records in different repositories “pays it forward” and helps to improve your skills – see my related post: http://passagetothepast.wordpress.com/2010/07/03/genealogy-volunteering/

Happy Hunting!!

The First Book of Raynham (MA) Records (Raynham is in Bristol County), 1700–1835 (Online database: NewEnglandAncestors.org, New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2003), (Handwritten unpublished transcription, transcriber unknown, “First Book of Raynham Records,” donated to NEHGS in 1897) lists his parents as:

There is speculation (in unsourced published genealogies) that Brian’s mother was Mary Brettun, granddaughter of Mary (Pendleton) Brettun Cross Morey who was the granddaughter of Brian Pendleton a wealthy Englishman born about 1599. He was one of the early settlers of Watertown and Sudbury, MA and owned quite a bit of land in the Saco area of Maine and Portsmouth New Hampshire.

Mary (Pendleton) Brettun Cross Morey (possibly Brian’s grandmother) left a will.  It is indexed under the name “Marcy Morey” in ”Abstracts of Bristol County, Massachusetts Probate Records, 1687-1745″ H. L. Peter Rounds:

An abstract is a summary of the text of a document, retaining all its essential details.

SCORE!!!!!!!!!!!. right?  Incredible list of names…  Mary Hall is among them.  It doesn’t support the claim that she is my Brian Hall’s mother, but at least it tells us that there was a Mary Hall in this particular family in the right time period and maybe even in Bristol County.

Let’s step back a bit….

As one of Ancestry.com’s Expert Connect providers, I have observed a common theme.  8 times out of 10  the query begins with something like:

“I have tried every search imaginable on Ancestry.com and can not find any records on my family”

or

“I have looked everywhere online and can not find any information on my family.”

In 5 out of 10 cases, when I spend 30 seconds searching (Family Search, Footnote, NEHGS, Google, etc. ) I find a record or in some cases many records naming their “unfindable” (is that a word?) ancestor. 

I am guessing that most of these folks are beginners (even though most profess to have been searching for 5 or 10 years for this “lost” ancestor).  So I am thinking that if they were to find their ancestor in an index, they might stop there; add it to their family tree with great joy (I finally found a record!!!!) - perhaps not even aware that there might be more.

How tragic would it be to find your ancestor in Ancestry’s Naturalization Index and stop…  Never look for the actual record which would be chock full of great information – potentially a birth date, town of origin in the “old country”, ship name, ship arrival date, wife and children’s names, etc., etc.

But what about an abstract, it lists everything, doesn’t it? 

So do you stop there, or would you pull a copy of the original probate record?

Pull you should.   Many years ago I stopped in at the New England Historic Genealogical Society in Boston and got an actual copy of Mary Morey’s will which they have on microfilm (not the case here, but sometimes you get lucky and find other papers filed with the will). 

Below is a small section which I transcribed. Not “transcription perfect” as required by the BCG, but good enough for me - I added some punctuation to make it easier for the reader (the original has no commas between the names):

A transcript is a word-for-word exact copy of the text in a document. Nothing is changed; everything is written just as it appears: errors, punctuation, misspellings, and all.

….Item – I Give and Bequeath to my Grand Children William Brettun, Abiale Brettun, Ebenezer Brettun, Pendleton Brettun, Mary Hall, Lydia Brettun, Sarah Brettun, Elizabeth Brettun, & Abigail Brettun,  all the remaining three quarters of my Real Estate lands Meadows & ____ which belong to me to be equally divided between them Only that my granddaughter Mary Hall is to enjoy her part during her life and after her deceased her children to enjoy her part equally between them and their heirs….

The original will doesn’t tell us much more about Mary Hall, but it is interesting that Mary is called out separately.  Perhaps implying that Mary Hall already had a child or children?  The will was written in 1732.  Brian Hall would have been about 5 years old and living in Bristol County. 

In any case, the will clearly reads “Mary Morey” and not “Marcy Morey”.  It gives enough of a description of the actual land in Maine and New Hampshire so that a researcher could identify land deeds related to this  property and perhaps follow the book and page numbers to determine if any of the land mentioned ends up in the hands of Lt Brian Hall, who was by the way, a large land holder.

Too many beginning researchers use online indexes, abstracts and transcriptions as “proof”.  It’s important to remember that humans make mistakes – who knows if the original was abstracted correctly (Marcy vs. Mary, for example).  Original records will have additional information not found in indexes and abstracts.   Yes; it is a lot of work to pull offline sources – you may have to look through 100′s of unrelated records, not to mention that it sometimes costs money and you have to actually leave your computer; but as genealogists we  strive to meet the Genealogical Proof Standard which includes our completion of “a reasonably exhaustive search”.   Not to mention that it is actually fun to look through old records (extra bonus if you find an ancestor).

This doesn’t just apply to probate records but all records.  There are more and more indexes, abstracts and transcriptions appearing online daily – births, marriages, deaths, censuses….  Use these as “finding aids” to help you locate the original records.

Once you have the original record, it may be difficult to read.  There are a lot of great resources on the Internet to assist you with old handwriting.  Try a google search on the word palaeography.

Thsi webstie si ym fvaortie wehre yuo cna gte sarted http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/palaeography/where_to_start.htm

Happy Hunting!!

How many ancestors have you found on this census?  Have you “noticed” if information is recorded in columns 19 & 20 for these ancestors?

Questions #19 & #20 (last two columns) ask: “male citizens 21 and over, and number of such persons whose right to vote is denied or abridged on grounds other than “rebellion or other crime”.

The 1870 census instructions to Assistant Marshals were as follows:

CONSTITUTIONAL RELATIONS

Upon the answers to the questions under this head will depend the distribution of representative power in the General Government. It is therefore imperative that this part of the enumeration should be performed with absolute accuracy. Every male person born within the United States, who has attained the age of 21 years, is a citizen of the United States by force of the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution; also, all person born out of the limits and jurisdiction of the United States, whose fathers at the time of their birth were citizens of the United States (act of February 10, 1855); also, all persons born out of the limits and jurisdiction of the United States, who have been declared by judgment of court to have been duly naturalized, having taken out both “papers.” 

The part of the enumerator’s duty which relates to column 19 is therefore easy, but it is none the less of importance. It is a matter of more delicacy to obtain the information required by column 20. Many persons never try to vote, and therefore do not know whether their right to vote is or is not abridged. It is not only those whose votes have actually been challenged, and refused at the polls for some disability or want of qualification, who must be reported in this column; but all who come within the scope of any State law denying or abridging suffrage to any class or individual on any other ground than participation in rebellion, or legal conviction of crime. Assistant marshals, therefore, will be required to carefully study the laws of their own States in these respects, and to satisfy themselves, in the case of each male citizen of the United States above the age of 21 years, whether he does or does not, come within one of these classes. 

As the fifteenth amendment to the Constitution, prohibiting the exclusion from the suffrage of any person on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude, has become the law of the land, all State laws working such exclusion have ceased to be of virtue. If any person is, in any State, still practically denied the right to vote by reason of any such State laws not repealed, that denial is merely an act of violence, of which the courts may have cognizance, but which does not come within the view of marshals and their assistants in respect to the census. 

Huh?

NARA tries to decipher the instructions for us:

• “In other words, was the person denied the right to vote in violation of the 15th amendment, which guarantees citizenship, due process, and equal protection under the law for men regardless of race”.

For those of you (like me) who wish they paid attention in 5th grade history, Wikipedia explains:

• The Fifteenth Amendment (Amendment XV) to the United States Constitution prohibits each government in the United States from denying a citizen the right to vote based on that citizen’s “race, color, or previous condition of servitude” (i.e., slavery). It was ratified on February 3, 1870

But….It seems, to find the real reason that your ancestor was denied the right to vote, you will have to research the local and state laws on eligibility for voting requirements in the state where he lived in that year.

From http://www.dosomething.org/tipsandtools/background-voting

• “In colonial America, voters were required to have a “stake in society,” meaning they either had to pay taxes or own a certain amount of land, and some colonies added their own restrictions onto this by excluding voters who followed certain religions. Voting rights varied throughout the colonies, and in some cities just 40% to 50% of white men were ruled eligible to vote.
• Following the American Revolution, most states eliminated religious requirements for voting, but many still required voters to be taxpayers. Vermont was the first state to get rid of all property and taxpaying qualifications for voting and was one of only six states that allowed free African-Americans to vote. In the early 1800’s, men who didn’t own property and political parties seeking to gain more support, pressured states to expand voting rights. The property requirement was soon thrown out, and some states began to allow immigrants who intended to become citizens to vote”.

From Voting Rights History
http://www.crmvet.org/info/votehist.htm

• “Adoption of the 15th Amendment in 1870 extends voting rights to Black males — in theory.
• In reality, there is massive resistance to the intent of the 15th Amendment, particularly in the Southern states, but also in the North and Midwest. Violence and economic reprisal are used to intimidate and prevent Black men from voting.
• The 15th Amendment does not apply to Native-Americans or Asians because they cannot be citizens. Similarly, it does not apply to Mexican-Americans in New Mexico and Arizona because they live in “territories” that are not yet states. While legally eligible to vote in Texas and California, Mexican-Americans are still denied the vote through violence and economic retaliation”.

That’s all for today’s history lesson.  Sad that most of us take our rights to vote for granted and many of us don’t exercise those rights…

I must confess that I had never noticed this column until taking a genealogy course at Boston University where they suggested that researchers transcribe each document, even if it is typed – census, birth, death, deeds, probate, etc.

I find that this practice forces me to read and digest each piece of information. It also doesn’t hurt to list the other surnames on the page (and perhaps even the preceding and following pages).  I find this information useful when an ancestor “goes missing” from a census, I search for his neighbors.  This way I also “notice” matching surnames (potential relatives) and potential candidates for married daughters…stuff that I may not have picked up until months later (or never).

My short (related) story :

My Lithuanian relatives (who lived in Pittsfield and Athol, MA) changed their surname from Baltrunas to Billings. Brothers were Anthony, Charles (my grandfather) and Ralph.

I  found a draft registration card at Ancestry.com dated 12 Sep 1918 for an Anthony George Baltrunas born 20 Apr 1900 listed as living on 289 First Street in Pittsfield, MA.  Birth place is listed as Russia. Nearest relative is listed as Anthony Gaston also of 289 First Street.  

I had sort of dismissed this record as being my Lithuanian G-Uncle. The ship manifest of “Anton” and his mom, dated April 1902, listed him as being 36 months of age, thus born in 1899. The family disappeared from the Pittsfield city directories in 1918 and began to appear in Athol, MA directories – I assumed that he moved with the family. I didn’t have the Gaston’s as a related surname. Not to mention that Anthony’s father arrived at Ellis Island on 7 April 1900, meaning he would have left behind a wife who was ready to deliver any day!!

But…  The 1930 Pittsfield census has a Charles Billings, single, age 25, born in MA, both parents born in Lithuania, listed as a boarder at 387 Draper Avenue at the home of Anthony Gaston, age 52, born in Lithuania and wife Ann, age 46, born in Lithuania.

I had saved this census record, but wasn’t all that sure that this was my grandfather (since in 1930, according to my mother he was living in Athol, MA).

It wasn’t until I began to transcribe records and look at neighbors that I realized both men were living with an Anthony Gaston…  With a bit of research I confirmed that this was the same Anthony Gaston and thus concluded that the draft registration and 1930 census record were that of my ancestors!

Anyway…..There are some great free forms to use as a transcription aid prepared by Gary Minder : http://www.censustools.com/census/download.html  (he asks for a $10 donation if you find his tools useful).

I also find it helpful and interesting to review the enumerator instructions for each census year.  It will give you a better understanding of the data that they collected – for example the reasons why your ancestors occupation may have been recorded differently in various census years.  IPUMS USA has posted these instructions: http://usa.ipums.org/usa/index.shtml

If you are just beginning your family research, and you are new to census records, it may also be helpful to explore some of the information that NARA has posted on census records http://www.archives.gov/genealogy/census/

Happy Hunting!  and If you are an expert on the voting laws on any particular state and/or find some links on the topic, please share.

City Directories:  

• If the family moved in the last year, many times the directory will tell you to what city they “Removed”.  Many of the directories list the names of people who died in town that year, so always check for that as well.  Death information is usually in the back of the directory, so browse those pages.
•  The data for the directory was sometimes collected a year in advance, so be sure to check all versions.  For example the data collected in 1916 might appear in the 1917 city directory.
• If the directory you need is not on ancestry.com, you could do a google search for the local library in the city where your ancestor was living. The librarian may be able to help you with street directories if they are not online.  Many times they will copy the pages for you for free or just charge a small fee for copying.

Salvation Army Missing Persons Locator Service  

• The Missing Persons Service is available in most countries where The Salvation Army operates. Their objective is to bring families together where contact has been lost, either recently or in the distant past.   You must provide: Missing person’s complete name, date of birth, place of birth, and parent’s names.  They do say that they will not search for “genealogical reasons”….  I realize this is a genealogy blog, but sounds like a grey area to me…I met my g-g-g-grandmother’s g-g-grandson online when he discovered a photo I had posted of our common ancestor standing with both of our g-grandmothers…we are friends now.  Genealogy?  maybe, maybe not…  Cost is $25 for a search in the Northeastern US  (I am not sure if the cost varies by region).

• US – http://www.salvationarmyusa.org/usn/www_usn_2.nsf/vw-sublinks/5D969AF479D05F78852574410045EEB5?openDocument
• UK – http://www1.salvationarmy.org.uk/en/Departments/FamilyTracing/Home.htm
• Main Site: http://www.salvationarmy.org/ihq/www_sa.nsf

Social Security Administration letter-forwarding service 

• The SSA will forward a letter to someone’s last known address for “under circumstances involving a matter of great importance” if the you have a name, Social Security number and birth date. Letters that have a “humanitarian purpose” will be forwarded for free. Requests for letter forwarding should be sent to: SSA, Letter Forwarding, P.O. Box 33022, Baltimore, MD 21290-3022. http://www.ssa.gov/foia/html/ltrfwding.htm

 Driver Records

•  By writing to the Division of Motor Vehicles Office or Drivers License Office in the state of residence, it may be possible to obtain information such as Social Security number, address, date of birth, and accident history. There are different rules by state.  Do a google search.  Here is an example of what is available in the state of California “How to get a copy of someone else’s driver license, ID card, vehicle or vessel record”: http://www.dmv.ca.gov/faq/genfaq.htm     

Need a Birth Date to contact one of the organizations above?

• Try http://www.veromi.com/ -   although it doesn’t give the birth date, you can find it (for free) using trial and error. First, put the year. It usually gives the person’s age, so you should only have to try 2 years. Then try the months. Once you establish the month and year, try the days. If you go to www.zabasearch.com (similar to Veromi.com) or some of ancestry.com’s public record indexes, they sometimes give you month and year of birth to get you started.

Obituaries

• Many “recent” obituaries are easily located online at funeral home websites and local newspaper sites.  When Aunt Mary passes, the obituary sometimes lists the names of those she left behind along with the city/state of residence.  Check for these names at social networking websites like Facebook, Linkedin or Classmates.com.  In Linked in and Facebook, you can usually view a person’s “friend” list without becoming  their friend.  Browse the list – any of the other names in the obituary listed?  Bingo you have the right person!

I’ve barely touched the surface, but hopefully have given you a few new ideas.  Check out Cyndi’s list for more ideas: http://www.cyndislist.com/finding.htm

This quick interview from Lisa Louise Cooke of The Genealogy Gems Podcast with Amy Urman, a private investigator offers a few additional tips:

Do you have additional tips to share?  We’d love to hear them!!

Happy Searching!!