Monday, April 27, 2009

Researching the Bickmore Family from Lincoln County, Maine

So many John Bickmores! Who's the John in my niece's family tree who resisted the British in 1770s and who, with his wife, signed a petition against the king? That's the Bickmore I want to find so I can verify his Revolutionary War activities, confirm the genealogy line, and Katie can qualify for the DAR. Here's the limb of this family tree I'm seeking to verify: George Bickmore (b. 1705? in Norfolk Cty, MA) --> John Bickmore (b. 1731? in Suffolk Cty, MA) -->David Bickmore (b. 1764? in Meduncook, Lincoln county, Maine) -->Samuel David Bickmore (b. 1806, Friendship, ME) --> Martha Jane Bickmore (b. 1842, Nauvoo, IL). 

Still researching this in 2022, seeking proof of the relationship between Martha Jane Bickmore Huntsman and her possible father, Samuel David Bickmore. 

Monday, April 20, 2009

Abigail Allen Foote

Neither my family nor my hubby's family had any connection to CT when we moved here but recently we learned, through his genealogy cousin, that Abigail Allen Foote, a distant cousin, died in 1755 and is buried in Fairfield County, CT supposedly. But where? Records about grave stones, collected during WPA era, don't list her name, nor do local church records. Her son-in-law was from a major local family and I can trace him and that line, but not Abigail. She's listed in the Foote family genealogy but because she married into the Foote family (in fact, Foote was her 2d husband), nothing other than her parents' names and her children's names are mentioned. 2022 update: Still seeking Abigail Allen Foote's final resting place.

Wednesday, April 8, 2009

Library of Congress Photos and Maps of the Bronx

Found this image of Bronx apartment, taken in 1936, not far from where my mother was brought up. Thank you, American Memory project from Library of Congress. Wonderful way to see old furniture and rooms from era.

2022 update: I'm also using the Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps in the Library of Congress collection to look up buildings where my ancestors lived in the Bronx before the middle of the 20th Century. 

Tuesday, March 31, 2009

Backing Up Just in Case


2022 update: Currently using BackBlaze for automated background backups and Apple's Time Machine for local backups to a hard drive on my desk. I have another hard drive for digitized family history photos and other genealogical documents and images. Backing up every day is a way to keep these valuable genealogy materials safe! 

Thursday, March 26, 2009

Typealyzer Says DOER


Just put my blog through the Typealyzer test, to see how the system classifies the blog's writing persona (similar to Myers-Briggs personality model). The result: A Doer, which is fairly accurate except that I follow through with great persistence (illustration from Typealyzer Doer, above, is NOT accurate for me). Try it and see what your blog's persona turns out to be.

DOERS: The active and playful type. They are especially attuned to people and things around them and often full of energy, talking, joking and engaging in physical out-door activities. The Doers are happiest with action-filled work which craves their full attention and focus. They might be very impulsive and more keen on starting something new than following it through. They might have a problem with sitting still or remaining inactive for any period of time.

Saturday, March 21, 2009

Genealogy Blogs - search on Geneabloggers

2022: Geneabloggers maintains a wonderful list of genealogy blogs. I use Feedly to subscribe to favorite genea-blogs and I also joined the Geneabloggers page on Facebook. On Twitter, follow the group here: @GeneaBlogTRIBE. As of 2022


Sunday, March 15, 2009

More mystery photos

Today the mystery is: Who are these two handsome men in uniform, circa WWII, related to Wood family of Cleveland? Anybody recognize them?

Saturday, March 14, 2009

Graves and Obits Online 2022 update


The Ancestor Hunt has links to obituaries and BMD records--for free! Plus downloadable (free) guides showing how to search. A highly recommended site for 2022 and beyond.

Of course Find A Grave is well-known for grave memorials. I found many of hubby's ancestors in Ohio cemeteries listed on Find a Grave, complete with photos of cemetery and plots. Also I've been linking my ancestors to their relatives with memorial pages, and requesting to be the manager of ancestral memorial pages.

Plus Family Search, Ancestry, and MyHeritage have links to obits and more. I'm using them all to search out info about my ancestors.

Tuesday, March 10, 2009

Twitter Genealogy

#GenChat, #AncestryHour, and many other organized chats are a fun and informative way to use Twitter to connect with other genealogy folks, ask questions, share info, and more. (2022 update)

Friday, March 6, 2009

Names, names, names

What's in a name? 2022 Update: Here's an excellent guide from the University of Delaware library, discussing how to think about names as we conduct genealogical research.

I also like lists such as this one, showing popular baby names (from Soc Sec, going back decades).