Tuesday, November 19, 2024

Did David Light Join the California Silver Rush?










My husband's Bentley ancestors moved from upstate New York to settle in Elkhart county, Indiana in the mid-1830s. William Tyler Bentley (1795-1873) and his wife Olivia Morgan Bentley (1799?-1838) had seven children before she died during a particularly severe winter in Indiana. 

William never remarried. About 1850, he went west to begin farming in Tulare County, California as it became a state. Many of his family members also went to California at that time to farm or raise livestock.

William's daughter Elizabeth E. Bentley (1821?-1898?) married widower Emanuel Light (1815-1897) in Elkhart, Indiana in 1847, becoming a stepmother to his sons David and Eugene. The family moved to California and settled in Santa Rosa, north of San Francisco. As adults, David Light and Eugene Light also became farmers in Santa Rosa (see top left of map).

Then why did David die in Silver City, California in 1863? He was reportedly 22 years old, and multiple news reports of his death only provide a date and a place. Silver City is in the area now known as Sequoia National Park, a mountainous region that today has no year-round residents. Interestingly, Silver City (bottom right of map) is much closer to Tulare (where William Bentley died in 1873) than to Santa Rosa, where the rest of David's family lived.

Silver City was apparently part of the California Silver Rush. Was David seeking his fortune there? Or was he in Silver City for some other reason? As the map shows, it was more than 300 miles from his farm (and his father and brother), quite a long distance to travel in 1863. 

Remembering David Light (1839-1863), outlived by his brother Eugene Light (1840-1908) and his father Emanuel Light.

Saturday, November 16, 2024

Sharing Ancestor Bite-Sized Bios More Widely Because LOCKSS


Another post about bite-sized ancestor bios! Many of my husband's US, Canadian, and UK ancestors served in the military over the years. Researching them over the past year, I prepared bite-sized bios as part of a family history booklet for the family. 

Most of the bios are 4-8 sentences long. I mention parents' names, birthplace, spouse, children, not just military service. Sometimes I include a sentence or two about significant military battles or awards, if appropriate. But even a couple of sentences will help flesh out a bit of the life of each military ancestor.

The next step was to share the bios on multiple websites so these ancestors and their military service is not forgotten. Remember, LOCKSS (lots of copies keep stuff safe).

Bite-sized bios on Fold3

You don't have to subscribe to post a bio on an ancestor's memorial page on Fold3, which is owned by Ancestry and focuses on military records. Searching the Honor Wall of service men and women is free, as is adding a bio. Search the wall using this link. Also on that page is a link to create a new memorial (free) if none shows up in your search. Sharing ancestor/veterans' bios on that site has been an ongoing project for me.

As an example: For my husband's great great uncle Benjamin Franklin Steiner (1840-1924), I added a bio by clicking the add button on his memorial page (see yellow arrow in image above). You can either type it in or copy from a document and paste it in. Once you save it, you can edit if you like by clicking the pencil tool (see green circle on above image). 

Be sure to bookmark or tag the memorials so you can easily return to them later. The tag tool is at top right (orange circle on above image). You can tag with a phrase like "US Civil War" or use a bookmark tag for a later visit.

Bite-sized bios on Find a Grave


Many (but not all) Fold3 memorials include links to the person's Find A Grave memorial. Since the bite-sized bio is already written, it's easy to copy and paste onto that person's Find A Grave memorial. Above, a slightly edited version of the bio I wrote for Benjamin Franklin Steiner's Fold3 memorial is also posted on his memorial at Find A Grave. 

Benjamin's memorial page is managed by someone else, so I submitted the bite-sized bio using the suggest edits function...also indicating that this man was a veteran. The edits were accepted. A small V shows next to this ancestor's name, a visual symbol of military service that any visitor to his Find a Grave page will see.

Wash, rinse, and repeat


You can post bite-sized bios on even more sites. I added Steiner's bio to WikiTree (above), FamilySearch (below), and MyHeritage (at bottom).  

LOCKSS in action! I don't want family history to fade away--I want to perpetuate it for future researchers and descendants.


Wednesday, November 13, 2024

Book Review: Storytelling for Genealogists

Since my emphasis these days is on writing family history for the sake of future generations, I was drawn to this concise and affordable new book by Doug Tattershall, Storytelling for Genealogists.

Tattershall packs a lot of ideas and info into nine chapters plus a humdinger of a worksheet, and an index. The table of contents includes:

  1. Why Family Story? - "We work hard to discover our family tree," writes the author. "But what we really want to know is our family story." So true. Names and dates don't illuminate ancestors' lives. That's why this book is so helpful.
  2. How to Tell a Good Story - Engage readers. Then plot a course and find a theme to keep readers interested.
  3. The Stuff - Put meat on the bones by researching and interpreting history, biography, and "affective history."
  4. Puzzle Pieces - We have facts, but we may also have fiction. How to put the puzzle pieces together in the right way and in the wider context.
  5. The Value of Things - Going beyond words to tell the story with images, heirlooms, places, and more.
  6. Format - Text, audio, and/or video? Considerations as you choose a format to tell your ancestor's story.
  7. True and Good - "You've done fact-finding. Now it's time to spin a tale," the author says, and he goes on to explain how to make the story interesting without getting bogged down.
  8. Before You Write - Tattershall recommends outlining first to establish how to organize and present your story, with examples. Yes, outlining really works.
  9. Conclusion - "Your family history is a story worth telling, and therefore a story worth telling well." 

Although I would have preferred a little more elaboration on the key points in this slender book, I appreciate and agree with Tattershall's emphasis on telling an engaging story, well beyond names and dates with sources. 

In particular, I recommend his Family Story Worksheet, shown on p. 81. The worksheet serves as a quick-start guide to completing the components needed to spin a tale that will interest the next generation and beyond. 

Storytelling for Genealogists is an excellent, practical, readable book for anyone who wants to bring family history alive through storytelling.

Please note: The Genealogical Publishing Company sent me a free review copy of this book, and it has previously provided free review copies of other books. My reviews always reflect my honest opinions, without regard to any outside influence.

Monday, November 11, 2024

Honor Roll: World War II Veterans from Woodbury, Connecticut

In this second of two blog posts, I'm honoring the men and women from Woodbury, Connecticut who served their nation during the two world wars. This post names those who served during World War II. On Veterans Day, I salute their service with respect and appreciation.

Abbott, H. Ellsworth
Atwood, Gilbert
Atwood, Henry S.
Balch, George F.
Barnes, Randall
Bassett, George C.
Beaurgard, Howard F.
Bennett, Sherwood
Bergensten, L.W.
Bowker, Ruth N.
Bradley, Kenneth A.
Brown, Charles E.
Brunet, Richard D.
Bull, David
Burdick, Edward C.
Burdick, Harold
Burton, William J. Jr.
Bynack, Joseph G.
Cable, George
Cable, Lewis
Carlisle, David
Cassidy, John
Cassidy, Joseph L. 
Cassidy, Marjorie
Cassidy, Paul
Chatfield, Robert
Churchill, Howard
Coats, John E.
Coddington, John
Coey, Albert L.
Cole, Ferris E.
Cole, Ralph E.
Cooper, Earl D.
Cooper, James
Cowles, Paul G.
Crighton, David B.
Cunningham, Harold W.
Daury, Vincent P.
Davidson, James H.
Dawson, John
Decker, E. Norton Jr.
Decker, Robert S.
Dillon, James
Dillon, Richard
Drake, Arthur
Drakeley, Robert L. Jr.
Duda, Casimer
Duda, Peter A.
Dyer, Carroll L.
Elting, Chalres E.
Elting, Stewart E.
Eyre, Alfred O.
Eyre, Harry D.
Eyre, Stanley B.
Farrell, John W.
Faye, Lesley
Fegen, Charles W.
Fray, Robert
Frazier, Charlotte
Freeman, Arthur
Fleming, William
Gardiner, Shirley
Giggey, Kempton L.
Gillis, Carter S.
Graham, Leslie W.
Green Ernest H.
Green, George A.
Green, Robert W.
Griswold, Hobart W.
Hahn, William A Jr.
Harriman, Charles S. Jr.
Harriman, Ellen
Hirsch, Arthur Z.
Hirsch, Charles E.
Hirsch, Clifford B.
Hogan, Michel
Hohimer, Ernest
Hower, William D.
Johnson, Clifford M.
Judson, Donald F.
Karagulla, Selim M.
Kenny, John
King, Arthur C.
Knox, Delmar A.
Koch, Edgar M.
Kozenieski, Llyod
Laukaitis, Anthony
Lavery, James
Leach, John
Leesemann, Frederick W.
Lizauskas, Stanley
Lundin, David J.
Lundin, Frank G.
Lucas, Francis A.
Lyon, Frank O.
Lyon, James G.
Macbeth, S. Alexander
MacCallum, John
Markle, Raymond D.
Mansfield, Paul H.
Manzi, Edward J.
Manzi, Roland
Manzi, Vincent D.
Markham, Fred A.
Markham, Hurlburt A.
Martinson, William F.
Mrvin, Everett D. Jr.
Mason, Howard F. R. Jr.
May, Russell C.
Michaels, Richard W.
Miller, Robert E.
Miller, Vincent A.
Minor, Emerson
Minor, Lewis R.
Morgan, Addis
Morgan, Henry
Morris, George
Morris, Hobart D.
Morris, Vernon H.
Mosavage, Anthony J.
Mosavage, George W.
Munson, Richard
Murphy, Franklin
Nadel, Mortimer J.
Nichols, Joel L.
Nutting, Parker B.
Pastore, William S.
Pearson, James E.
Pearson, Robert R.
Peck, Hiram W.
Petruzzi, Marco
Petruzzi, Michael
Phillips, John
Phillips, Thomas J.
Pinard, Alton H.
Platt, Alfred H.
Pond, Sebastian L.
Pagano, Anthony
Racenet, Amelie H.
Rice, Roy E.
Richards, David K.
Richards, James H. Jr.
Richards, Robert K.
Richardson, Phillip E.
Riese, Frederick K.
Robinson, Waltyer A.
Savage, David W.
Scott, Joseph
Schmidt, Clifford
Sears, Richard A.
Sharp, Charles M.
Shaw, Raymond W.
Sherwood, Albert C.
Sherwood, Charles C.
Shippee, Harold E.
Slattery, Frances R.
Slattery, James J.
Smith, Allen G.
Smith, Burton C.
Smith, Carlton E.
Smith, Edward
Smith, Robert G.
Smith, Walter E.
Snyder, Melvin L.
Somers, Harold
Starr, Robert F.
Stevens, Fannie R.
Strattman, Dwight
Stever, Charles W.
Sturges, Edward B.
Sturges, George R.
Sweeney, Bernard J.
Sweeney, Lawrence
Stockwell, Charle
Taylor, Raymond Jr.
Thomas, Ferris F.
Thompson, David
Thompson, Louise J.
Tomlinson, James H.
Towne, Ernest H. Jr.
Titus, Howard
Travers, Sherwood W.
Underwood, Hiram A.
Underwood, Home R.
Voytershark, Frank
Wallace, Raymond D.
Walston, Harvey D.
Weeden, Willis M.
Weeks, Carnes
Weeks, Carnes Jr.
Westerland, Charles H.
Westerland, Harry F.
Weymer, Russell
Wilson, Herbert R.
Wilson, Robert L.
Walcott, C. James
Wooden, Paul M.
Yurkunas, Kasimir

Saturday, November 9, 2024

Honor Roll: World War I Veterans from Woodbury, Connecticut

This dignified memorial plaque honors military veterans from Woodbury, Connecticut who served in the two world wars.

In this first of two blog posts, I'm transcribing the names of men and women who served during World War I, as listed on this memorial. 

Adams, Ralph C.
Adams, William M.
Anderson, Gustave Daniel
Barnes, George H.
Bauch, Harry J.
Beardsley, Howard D.
Bennett, Edson J.
Bennett, William B. Jr.
Bradley, Hubert L.
Brotherton, Frederick L.
Cahill, William P.
Carroll, James P.
Carroll, William J. 
Charter, Legrand F.
Crowley, Jeremiah J.
Dawson, James S.
Drakeley, George M.
Dunlap, Collier W.
Eyre, Alfred G.
Fitzsimons, Dwight
Fitzsimons, Thomas
Foster, Leroy E.
Foster, Ralph E.
Fox, John Jr.
Gibson, Asahel R. Jr.
Gibson, Philo A.
Gorman, Joseph M.
Halstead, Leo D.
Harvey, Robert W.
Harvey, Samuel C.
Hawes, Charles L.
Jackson, Pearlie C.
Karrman, Milton A.
Lathrop, Leslie E.
Leavenworth, Raymond R.
Main, Arthur G.
Mason, Archie D.
Mason, William A.
McDonald, Floyd J.
McDonald, Paul L.
Nelson, Frederick
Parker, Sterling
Parkin, Ernest
Randall, Henry S.
Randall, Louis L.
Reichenbauch, Alfred
Reichenbach, Auguste
Reilly, Bernard
Ross, Frank A.
Roswell, Hubert M.
Salmon, John S.
St. Pierre, Alphonse
Terrell, Eli B.
Terrill, William Gladston
Thompson, Louis F.
Tracy, George F.
Turner, Charles Norman
Tyler, Walter Jr.
Walker, Czar E.
Walker, Edward C. Jr.
Walker, Harold
Walker, Lillian
Willner, Abraham L.
Willner, Ralph L.
Wolfe, Joseph O.
Wooden, Ralph V.

With sincere appreciation for their service to country.

Wednesday, November 6, 2024

Now on BlueSky Social as Well as Mastodon


I'm transitioning away from Twitter after the US election. 

I'm already posting about genealogy and family history on Mastodon at @MarianBWood@genealysis.social.

Or we can meet on the BlueSky platform where I just began posting at: @climbingfamilytree.bsky.social‬. Very active genealogy community on BlueSky! Below is my profile on that fast-growing social media platform.


Genealogy chats on three platforms

#GenChat continues on Twitter two Friday evenings a month (10 pm Eastern for US genies), plus two Saturday mornings on Mastodon (9 am Eastern). UPDATE: #GenChat will leave Twitter at end of 2024 and relaunch on BlueSky! 

#AncestryHour continues informally on Twitter every Tuesday (2 pm Eastern for US genies, 7 pm for UK genies) but has set up an account on BlueSky at: @ancestryhour.bsky.social.

#GenHour has begun on BlueSky at 8 pm GMT every Thursday--that's 3 pm Eastern for US genies. Hashtag is from @oneplacestudies.bsky.social‬.

Looking forward to staying connected with my genealogy buddies!

Tuesday, November 5, 2024

Remembering Grandma Minnie 123 Years After Her Immigration

Born on November 10, 1886, my maternal grandma Hermina Farkas Schwartz was the second child (oldest daughter) of 11 children of Moritz Farkas and Lena Kunstler Farkas. She celebrated her 15th birthday on the SS Amsterdam in 1901, en route from Hungary to her future home in New York City.

Growing up in Hungary

Minnie and seven of her siblings were born in Hungary, in an area now known as Berehove, Ukraine. Minnie was sent to school to learn reading, writing, and arithmetic, plus fine needlework. 

Her father Moritz supervised vineyard plantings for his wife's family and also leased land for his own crops. Minnie sometimes rode along with him on his rounds of the vineyard--she loved the outdoors. The family wasn't wealthy but they weren't poor either.

Weather changed everything

One year, Moritz failed to insure his crops and a heavy hail storm destroyed everything before the harvest. He was financially ruined. To make a fresh start (and probably to avoid creditors), Moritz sailed to New York City in 1899. He found work in the garment district, like many Jewish immigrants, and always lived in a tenement or an apartment building, very unlike his former life.

At the end of 1900, Moritz's wife Lena sailed to New York City, leaving their eight children with her family. One year later, Minnie and three siblings were put on a ship to rejoin their parents in New York. The last group of four children who waited in Hungary were finally reunited with their family in New York in 1903. Moritz and Lena had three more children born in the Big Apple. The baby of the family was 20 years younger than the oldest.

Where Minnie lived in the big city

In 1910, Minnie lived with her parents and siblings at 645 E. 6th Street on the Lower East Side of Manhattan. According to the 1940 New York City tax photo, which I found using Steve Morse's One-Step search form, it was a large apartment building on a street corner, with stores on the ground floor.

In 1920 and 1930, married to immigrant Theodore Schwartz (1887-1965) and the mother of three children, she lived at 651 Fox Street in the Bronx, NY. It was a smaller apartment building located in a more residential area. Grandpa Teddy owned and operated a small neighborhood dairy store, which helped them get through the Great Depression.

In 1940, Minnie and Teddy and their children lived at 672 Beck Street in the Bronx, a nicer apartment building. All their children had graduated high school and the oldest two were in college and working part-time, their youngest child working as well. The couple stood on their feet helping customers at the dairy store day after day, including weekends.

In 1950, Minnie and Teddy lived at 600 East 178th Street in the Bronx, an apartment building with the main entrance on the side street. Two children were married and had families of their own. By this time, Minnie had heart problems and Teddy had hired an assistant for the store. This man eventually bought them out so the couple could retire after a lifetime of standing on their feet for long hours.

Minnie's life and legacy

Minnie grew up to be a capable, complicated woman who defied her parents in order to marry the man of her choice. In a later era, she herself would have had many more opportunities to use her intelligence, talents, and determination. She was an expert with a sewing machine, and made fabulous Hungarian dishes from scratch, including apple strudel with an impossibly thin pastry crust. Though she lacked a warm and fuzzy way with her grandchildren, she worked extremely hard, made her children's education a high priority, and always put family first.

Grandma Minnie died 60 years ago, in 1964. Saddened and physically weakened, Grandpa Teddy died the year after. May their memories be for a blessing.

Sunday, November 3, 2024

Where Joseph Jacobs Lived in 1888?


My great-grand uncle Joseph Jacobs (1864-1918) was born in Lithuania and became a naturalized citizen in New York City in 1888. He (and his sister Tillie and his mother Rachel) all lived in tenements after coming to the Big Apple in the mid-1880s.

When Joe became a US citizen in October of 1888, his address was 49 Clinton Street, on Manhattan's Lower East Side, an area crammed with immigrants living in row after row of attached tenements. Many of those tenements are now gone. What about Joe's place?

49 Clinton Street, circa 1940

I used Steve Morse's One-Step tool to quickly and conveniently search the NYC Records & Information Department database of building photos taken for tax purposes, 1939-1941. I wondered whether Joe's tenement was still standing in about 1940.

Shown above is the search form, completed to show the address I was seeking. I specified the year as 1939-1941, selected Manhattan as the borough, and entered the house number "49" and the street "Clinton." Then I clicked to show block and lot, and finally clicked "display single house." The black and white tax photo is at top of this blog post, tenements with stores at street level. The full page of results is here.

Alas, I may not be looking at Joe's actual residence but a replacement. His original residence could very well have been torn down to make way for taller buildings. Current real estate listings for the address suggest the tenement shown at top was built about 1910.

If you're looking for a New York City address from the past, try the Steve Morse search form and also check Google for info about the current status of the building.

49 Clinton Street, circa 2024


Then I pasted the address "49 Clinton Street, New York City" into the Google search box. Up popped a map and a street-level photo. 

Surprisingly, the tenement is still standing and recognizable, as shown by this photo from September of 2024! Fire escapes and stores at street level, similar to the 1940 photo.

Remembering my immigrant ancestor Joe Jacobs on the 106th anniversary of his death in 1918. 

Friday, November 1, 2024

Happy Sweet Sixteen to WikiTree - Free Genealogy Talks!


It's WikiTree's 16th birthday and the celebration includes a constellation of genealogy stars giving terrific, free talks for three days, beginning today.

To see the speaker lineup, click here

For more fun activities, see the schedule here.

And a happy sweet sixteen to WikiTree.

Wednesday, October 30, 2024

Hallowe'en Greetings from 1913 and 2023

 
This colorful penny postal greeting was sent from "Aunt Nellie" (Rachel Wood Kirby) to her young nephew Wally Wood in 1913. 

Note the apostrophe in Hallowe'en, which in earlier years indicated it was the eve of All Hallow's Day (also known as All Saints Day).

My husband's WOOD family used penny postcards like to stay in touch throughout the year, on every conceivable occasion (including Lincoln's birthday and Independence Day).

In 2023, a young relative colored the stacked pumpkins shown at right, now a seasonal favorite proudly displayed on my mantle.

May you have all treats, no tricks, on Halloween! 

Friday, October 25, 2024

Ancestor Word Cloud for Family History Gifts

 
At holiday time or any time, a word cloud made from surnames or given names can be the start of a great bite-sized family history gift. Above, a world cloud I made from ancestor surnames in my husband's maternal line. I chose the shape of a heart to emphasize the family connection and put it on the back cover of a family history photo book.

Here is a different version of an ancestor surname word cloud, using a tree template to symbolize a family tree. The background color can be varied, size/font/color of each name can be varied, direction and number of names can be varied. Also try making a word cloud from given names.

A special word cloud would look smashing on a note pad, scarf, mug, or another item for holiday gifting.

I used wordart.com for the tree word cloud, but you can find other free or low-cost word cloud generators with a simple online search. Have fun experimenting!

Tuesday, October 22, 2024

FAN Club Includes Military Affiliations

Writing about the military service of ancestors in my husband's family tree, I learned via newspaper items and military records that his 1c2r had served in the Spanish American War: George Ainsworth Larimer (1873-1922). I've written about George before. He eloped with Cora May Lutz (1875-1945) on July 4, 1899 in a surprise move that was seen as a "thunder clap from a blue sky" when revealed months later!

Online search for military unit and war

I wanted to document more about George's military service, so I did a simple online search for the Spanish American War, 1898. This took me to a super-informative site marking the centennial of that war, with names, dates, and photos! I was delighted to discover lots of details about Company C, 157th Indiana Volunteer Infantry--the "Goshen Company" in which George served (because most of the men enlisted from the town of Goshen).

Looking at the names of the men in that company, I noticed someone familiar from hubby's family tree: Miles Powell Bradford (1872-1944). A newspaper search gave me more info, including the snippet shown above, about Miles Bradford being on the sick list as Company C was to be mustered out after the war was over, in the fall of 1898.

Served with future brother-in-law

From previous research, I knew that Miles had married George's sister, Atta Larimer (1875-1936) in 1902. They announced their intention to take the train to Chicago to be married by a minister who had previously led their congregation in Goshen, Indiana. Not a surprise, not a thunder clap. 

My discovery that Miles and George had served in the same military unit opened up a fresh avenue of speculation about how Miles might have met his future wife, Atta. Their home town of Goshen, Indiana had 7,800 residents counted in the 1900 US Census, not a tiny fly speck of a town but not a metropolis either.

Could George have encouraged his military buddy Miles to meet or court his sister Atta? Was the men's military service a catalyst in the romance? Or were Atta and Miles acquainted before the war? Since Miles's father operated a Goshen grocery store, and Miles worked with his father, it is possible they met when Atta shopped there. Lots of possibilities here. 

This situation reminds me that military affiliations can be a really key part of an ancestor's FAN club (friends/family, acquaintances, neighbors) and as such, they are worthy of closer investigation. 

Thursday, October 17, 2024

Full House For George and Lucy Before He Sailed to War


Researching military ancestors in my husband's family tree, I was a bit surprised to see that his great-grand uncle George Scarborough Handy (1819-1892) joined the Union Navy despite having a house full of kids.

Born in Dartmouth, Massachusetts in 1819, George married Lucy M. Wood (1821-1902) in June, 1841. They settled in New Bedford, Massachusetts, and had nine children together as he worked as a farmer and a carpenter to support his growing family. At times, it seems he struggled financially: he reported himself to be a laborer with $100 in personal property when enumerated with his wife and 7 children in the 1860 US Census.

Joining the navy

In September of 1861, during the US Civil War, George left his family to enlist with the Union Navy at the rank of ordinary seaman. He served on the Bark Kingfisherchasing Confederate ships and enforcing the Union's blockade along the Atlantic coast and into the Gulf of Mexico. Scurvy, scarce food and water, and other problems plagued the Kingfisher and other Union vessels constantly on the move.

George had some kind of health crisis because in March of 1862, he was sent to the Naval Hospital in New York with a diagnosis of “deafness and imbecility” as shown in the document above. Among his possessions were 3 jackets, 4 pairs trousers, other clothing, and 1 book. George was discharged due to disability from the Union Navy in April of 1862, and returned home. 

Rejoining his family

Whatever his health condition following his military service, he resumed working as a gas fitter and then as a house carpenter after rejoining his family. He and Lucy had one more child in 1863, who sadly died young. Later in life, George qualified for an invalid pension and after his death in 1892, his widow Lucy received his pension payments until she died of heart disease, age 82, in 1902.

Enumerated as deaf? 

What intrigued me about the hospital transfer was the diagnosis of "deafness and imbecility." To that point, George had been enumerated in the 1850 and 1860 US Census and there was no indication that he was either deaf or imbecilic. Both of those US Census questionnaires have a place in the far right column to show whether a person had such disabilities, but George was not identified in this way. (To see the full questions of each US Census, look at this handy list of viewable/downloadable blank forms at the US National Archives site.)

Was George temporarily deafened by some explosion? Or did he have another injury that caused him to have symptoms of deafness and imbecility? I'll never know...but I do know that he lived to the age of 73, survived by his wife and only 3 of his children.

Full House is the genealogy prompt of the week for #52Ancestors from Amy Johnson Crow.

Tuesday, October 15, 2024

Label and Organize Genealogy For Today and Tomorrow

 


It's Family History Month, and I want to show one of my indispensable tools for genealogy. 

Above, my trusty label maker sitting on top of genealogy file folders for intermarried families Roth/Mandel, and Lebowitz/Markell, and Waldman. Rather than alphabetize, I prefer to group files according to connected families. 

I have separate file folders labeled for documents about donated artifacts (with my counter-signed copies of the deeds of gift), Civil War ancestors in the Wood family tree, and other non-surname records. 

Over time, I've culled these files to get rid of printed Census records and other redundant paperwork now digitized and attached to my online family trees. Still in my file folders are letters and notes from discussions with cousins, plus recent vital records, requests for genealogy info, and research plans. 

I also have digital files with scanned genealogy items, organized by surname or surname groupings or topic, backed up in the cloud and on an external hard drive for extra safety.

Plus I have archival boxes clearly labeled by family and contents ("Edgar Wood negatives" is specific enough to identify what's inside). 

Printed labels make my files and boxes look neat, legible, and accessible for today and tomorrow. I want my heirs to know what's what and what's where. 

For more ideas about keeping family history safe for the sake of future generations please see my genealogy book, Planning a Future for Your Family's Past. 

Friday, October 11, 2024

Ask a Local Historian or Librarian About Your Brickwall Ancestor!


For a long time, I've been trying to learn more about my husband's 3d great-grandparents, William Tyler Bentley (1795-1873) and Olivia Morgan Bentley (1799?-1838). The earliest official document I have for this family is the 1830 US Census, where they're enumerated in the town of Sandy Creek, Oswego County, New York. Other documents confirm Oswego as the birthplace of William and Olivia's children in the 1820s and 1830s.

Browsing the 1830 Census page by page, I noticed two other men named Bentley were enumerated as heads of households, each with a wife and a few young children. Are they relatives of William? Don't know--yet. No entry for Morgan anywhere in the Sandy Creek Census for that year. 

Local knowledge, networking with other researchers

A decade ago, I spoke with the historian of Sandy Creek, New York, who had a Bentley surname file but nothing about these specific people. She did, however, have the names of Ed and Ruth, two other researchers also on the trail of William and Olivia, and gave me their contact info (with their permission).

Ed, Ruth, and I have pooled info and made some discoveries. For instance, Ed found a "list of letters" newspaper notice (image above) showing that "William T. Bently" lived in the area as early as 1821. Ruth traced other descendants and found their burial sites, adding those to Find a Grave. I found Olivia's maiden name by obtaining death certs of two children.

What reminded me to take another look at William and Olivia this week was the 121st anniversary of the death of their daughter Lucinda Helen Bentley Shank (1825-1903), on October 12th. I retraced my research steps and that's when I decided to pick up the phone.

Ask, share, leave contact info

I noticed there's a new town historian at Sandy Creek, so I called to introduce myself, asking about anything new that might have been collected, donated, or filed since my inquiry ten years ago. I sent a followup email with a simplified family tree of these ancestors plus I shared some original documents pertaining to these people, for her files. I thanked her sincerely for any assistance in adding to my knowledge of my husband's Bentley and Morgan ancestors.

If I'm lucky, William or the other two Bentley men will be in the historian's files and we can try to piece together any possible relationships. If I'm really lucky, Olivia Morgan's family will be somewhere in her files. It will be a week or so until I hear from her, well worth the wait, and I will be appreciative for any clues she can offer. Fresh eyes, fresh ideas.

After I hear back from the historian, I plan to contact the library in Sandy Creek to ask about their genealogical files, cemetery records, and other info that may be in their collection. Of course I'll leave my contact info in case other researchers are looking for Bentley or Morgan. 

Local folks have local knowledge, so consider whether a local historian or librarian may be able to help you learn more about your brickwall ancestors.