Ancestor Landing Pages: Cousin Bait!

 

In 2013, I created ancestor landing pages on this genealogy blog to summarize what I've written about specific ancestor families. You can see them arranged (alphabetically by surname) in rows below the title of my blog. I took this screen shot about a month ago, so the numbers in the image are already outdated.

Landing pages are great cousin bait as well as a convenient way of organizing blog posts to tell stories about my ancestral families. When I blog about an ancestor, I add a note and a link on the ancestor landing page that corresponds to that family. And of course having these names on more than one page/post means more opportunities to show up in online searches, especially if I update the landing pages fairly regularly.

All these years later, each of the landing pages has attracted thousands of views and sometimes comments from cousins or possible cousins who are (or might be) related to that part family. Each week, each landing page gets anywhere from 10 to 50 views--potential connections with cousins and maybe researchers seeking info on these surnames.

Ranking my landing pages from most visited to least:

• McClure, Donegal - 7,275 views (this page is about my husband's McClure ancestors, who sailed from Northern Ireland to Philadelphia and walked to Virginia to buy farmland--they spread out and kept moving west)
• Steiner & Rinehart - 5,294 views (posts about my husband's maternal ancestors, descended from Jacob Steiner and from Joseph Rinehart, another Ohio branch)
• Wood family, Ohio - 5,234 views (about my husband's ancestors in Toledo and, much earlier, part of the "Little Compton" Wood branch in Rhode Island)
• Schwartz Family, Ungvar - 4,427 views (about my maternal grandfather's family based in what is now Uzhhorod, Ukraine)
• Isaac & Henrietta Birk's story - 4,244 views (about my paternal grandparents, Isaac from Lithuania and Henrietta from Latvia; my quest to learn about Isaac is what started me in genealogy in 1998)
• Robert & Mary Larimer's story -  4,163 views (about hubby's ancestors from the north of Ireland, including a tale of shipwreck and more)
• William Tyler Bentley story - 3,931 views (hubby's ancestor who lived in Oswego county, New York, and my attempt to trace his line and his wife, Olivia Morgan Bentley, who dropped from Mars into the family tree)
• Farkas & Kunstler, Hungary - 3,680 views (my maternal grandparents and great-grandparents from Hungary, including my great-grandpa whose financial ruin prompted him to come to New York City in 1899)
• Meyer & Tillie Mahler - 3,526 views (my paternal great-grandparents and their dear friends/sometimes in-laws--Tillie was the longest-lived ancestor I know about, passing away around 100 years old)
• Mary A. Demarest's story - 3,435 views (my husband's elusive ancestor who somehow got from New York City to Louisiana when she was 14, marrying a whaling man/carpenter and ultimately settling in Toledo, Ohio)
• Abraham & Annie Birk - 3,398 views (my paternal grandfather's older brother and his wife, who met and married when the Birk brothers were staying with relatives in Manchester, England, in the very early 1900s)
• John & Mary Slatter's Story - 3,045 views (lots of stories, some sad and some positive, including the three military bandmaster brothers who made their names in Canada)
• Rachel & Jonah Jacobs - 2,755 views (my paternal great-great grandparents, I know nothing about Jonah but widowed Rachel came with her children to New York City in the 1880s and she would have known my grandma Henrietta Mahler Burk)
• McKibbin, Larimer, Work - 2,308 views (hubby's intermarried ancestors who, fortunately, were researched by descendants over the years and now there are digitized family histories in the Family History Library)

Other bloggers have different ways of summarizing ancestor knowledge on their blogs. Randy Seavers has a page of bio links arranged by relationship, as one example. No matter the format, family history information like this can attract folks who are searching online for your ancestors' surnames--and help them connect with you. Cousin bait!

Review: "Acadian Genealogical Research" by Judy Nimer Muhn

I've long been a fan of Genealogical.com's "At a Glance" four-page, laminated guides to genealogy research in specific places or about specific cultures. Written by experts, they're concise, affordable, and quite convenient for reference, including detailed resources to consult.

The publisher recently sent me a free review copy of Judy Nimer Muhn's informative Acadian Genealogical Research, newly published in laminated/print and in e-book format. The e-book is reasonably priced at $7.95 and the laminated four-page booklet is $12.50. One advantage of the e-book is being able to click through to access more than 20 online resources discussed by the author, by the way.

If I had Acadian ancestors, this handy guide would be a great overview (see contents in image above). Judy specializes in Acadian ancestry, and she starts with key points of historical background (including settlements, war, peace, and forced deportations).

She then describes exactly where to search for documentation covering specific time frames and areas, as well as detailing a number of repositories that hold relevant genealogical records. Finally, she discusses cultural organizations and mentions other online resources (including podcasts) to consult when researching Acadian ancestors. 

If I could add anything, it would be a quick map outlining the settlements and migration patterns, which would be especially helpful to those beginning their journeys into Acadian research.

In short, Judy's "At a Glance" guide is brief yet authoritative, a useful addition to your reference library if you're focusing on Acadian ancestry. 

Note: Although I receive free review copies of Genealogical.com's publications from time to time, my honest opinions are entirely, completely, truly my own.

Even Informed Informants Can Make Mistakes

Paul Chiddicks recently wrote an insightful post about separating truth from error on official documents like birth, marriage, and death certificates. Sometimes ancestors didn't know, sometimes they didn't want to tell, sometimes they flat-out made mistakes or omissions when providing information to authorities.

Case in point: My 3c1r Milton Weiss (1920-1995) enlisted in the US Army on January 29, 1942, to serve in World War II. (He was honorably discharged in December of 1945.)

On February 15, 1942, he and his bride-to-be, Charlotte Schnee (1926-2000), filled out a marriage license application in Manhattan, New York.

At top, you can see that bride and groom each printed the information on the application. I always look at an original document if available, rather than any transcription or index. Happily, New York City makes these originals available! I found this on MyHeritage.

Charlotte herself wrote that her father's name was Morris A. Schne. 

Whether the bride was nervous or in a hurry, I can't tell--but she certainly knew her father's surname because it was exactly like her own, as I know from looking at other official family documents.

Interestingly, when the New York City clerk typed up the info for the marriage license, based on the hand-written application, the clerk ignored Charlotte's mistake and simply typed her father's name as "Morris" with the assumption that the father and daughter shared the same surname. Correct, though not an accurate transcription of the application hand-printed by the bride.

Charlotte and Milton were married for more than 50 years and had two daughters together. Finding this handwritten application reminded me that even an informed informant like Charlotte can make a mistake. 

Wilson Caldwell, Minute Man in US Civil War

On this day in 1863, my husband's 1c3r answered the call to enlist in the Indiana "minute men" Infantry and prepare to defend against attack from Confederate forces during the US Civil War.

Wilson Caldwell (1845-1921) was just 18 and living in Posey township, Fayette County, Indiana with his farming family when he enlisted on July 10, 1863 in the 104th Indiana Infantry, Company K. On this map, Posey is at top left of the county.

Wilson and his fellow minute men served just eight days because they were enlisted specifically for short-term emergency service, not for regular military service. 

From Union Army, vol. 3, p. 174, a description of his unit's history in the context of other units formed at the same time: 

One Hundred and Fourth Infantry Indiana Minute Men. -Word being received at Indianapolis on the evening of July 8, 1863, that a force of 6,000 cavalry under [Confederate General] Morgan had crossed the Ohio River near Mauckport and was moving on Corydon, a call was issued for citizens to organize for defense. Within 48 hours 65,000 men had tendered their services. From this number regiments 102 to 114 inclusive, and one battalion were organized, the battalion being assigned to the 107th. One Hundred and Fourth Infantry. -Col., James Gavin, Lieut.Col. Jacob S. Buchanan Maj., Martin W. Richardson. This regiment consisted of six companies of minute men and four of the Legion: Six companies were from Decatur County and one each from Fayette, Madison, Marion and Rush Counties. The regiment was organized at Greensburg, July 10, 1863, with 719 rank and file, and moved to Sunman's station, thence to Lawrenceburg, and from there toward Harrison, Ohio. It returned to Greensburg after Morgan's escape and was mustered out July 18, 1863.

Wilson and his fellow minute men helped chase the Confederates but once the local threat was diminished, they were mustered out and returned home. Note: (Confederate General Morgan was captured in Ohio just eight days after the 104th was mustered out.)

Wilson married Annie B. Cassell and after a short period of farming in Posey, he became an agent and salesman, moving the family to the more populous Wayne County, Indiana. He and Annie had three children together.

Sadly, Annie passed away in 1906 but Wilson kept working to support himself and his youngest child. He wrapped up his working life as the manager of an Indianapolis billiards hall, according to the US Census of1920. 

Wilson Caldwell died on July 18, 1921, exactly 58 years after being mustered out of his Civil War unit. 

Ancestry "Tree Compare" in Beta

Here's a new Ancestry feature I'm exploring: Tree Compare, now in beta. I discovered it while looking at some ancestor-in-laws such as Alice Hopperton, who was the second wife of my husband's grandfather.

Of course I don't rely on any online tree as a quote fact unquote. But trees often have great clues such as family photos and record sources that I can examine and evaluate to determine relevancy and then follow up if I wish.

As shown, Alice is "found in 10+ Ancestry trees" and with one click, I was able to begin comparing Alice on those trees with Alice on my tree.

Using Tree Compare, my tree is on the right and another tree for comparison is on the left. (I obscured info for privacy.) When info is similar or identical on the other tree, Ancestry adds a "similar" label, as you can see on the tree at left. The comparison also shows the name and the owner of the other tree. That's helpful because I've already seen many of these trees and sometimes I recognize the tree name or the owner's name. I can also "pick a different tree" at the top right of the comparison screen.

When I clicked to pick a different tree, a longer list of trees (all with Alice) showed up. I could look at the overviews (including name of tree, number of records, number of people, and owner) and select another to compare.

This is a convenient way to look at trees "at a glance" and pick one (or more) to closely compare with my tree and that ancestor. Remember, clues only!

CAUTION: If a different tree has someone labeled as "new," then this beta Ancestry feature will suggest where to place the person in your tree. Beware.

Direct above, I was using Tree Compare to see James E. Wood on other people's trees. Ancestry's comparison examined related people. The suggested placement for Edith E. Baker (from someone else's tree, on left) is entirely wrong. Edith clearly does not belong to the parents where Ancestry wants to put her. I already have her on my tree as a daughter of, yes, James Sills Baker and Adelaide M Slatter. 

I discovered similar mistakes in Tree Compare's suggestions of other ancestors on same tree and in another tree. Tree Compare can't take the place of doing research to understand potential tree connections. Confirm before you click! 

Happy July 4th and America 250

Celebrating Independence Day and America 250 with this penny postal greeting sent to my husband's family in Cleveland, Ohio, 119 years ago today. What a colorful Uncle Sam!

Celebrating Fourth of July in Family History

Three special events took place on the Fourth of July in my and my husband's combined family tree:

• Samuel Schwartz (1883-1954), my maternal great uncle, was born on July 4th in what was Ungvar, Hungary (now Uzhhorod, Ukraine). He came to America in 1904, became a naturalized US citizen in 1909, and got married in Bridgeport, Connecticut, less than a week later. I've been in touch with his grandchildren, my 2d cousins.
• Thomas Jefferson Isaiah Haskell Wood (1848-1861), in my husband's Wood family tree, was born on July 4th in Plaquemine, Louisiana, the second of 17 children. Sadly, this young man drowned at the age of 12. 
• George Ainsworth Larimer (1873-1922), my husband's 1c2r, served in the 157th Indiana Infantry during the Spanish-American War, 1898. On July 4, 1899, George boarded a Chicago-bound train near his home in Indiana. "Coincidentally" on the same train was Cora May Lutz, also from Indiana. The two left the train at St. Joseph, Michigan (a Gretna Green), were married by a justice of the peace, then returned home later that day. I blogged about the news coverage of this elopement here.

Thinking of these three ancestors on July 4th weekend.

OTD: Marital Expatriates Can More Easily Regain US Citizenship

In my father's family tree, when Vilna-born merchant Samuel Markell (1885-1971) married Boston-born Marion Goldstein (1885-1961) in Revere, Massachusetts in 1911, the new bride took her husband's surname--and also his nationality. He was "Russian" and she became "Russian" at the moment of their wedding.

This was due to the US law known as the Expatriation Act of 1907, which tied a woman's citizenship to that of her husband. By marrying an alien, Marion Goldstein Markell was transformed into a marital expatriate for three decades. Samuel became a US citizen in 1923 but that didn't change his wife's status.

Changes under the Cable Act 

After World War I, and an outcry from US women who gained the right to vote starting in 1920, Congress passed the Cable Act of 1922 to restore citizenship eligibility to women who were marital expatriates. However, the women had to actually apply for naturalization as though they had not been American-born. Many did not. By 1936, US law streamlined the process of allowing marital expatriates to become US citizens. 

Changes on July 2, 1940

Finally, on this day in 1940, a new law amended the 1936 rules. Now women who were marital expatriates could more easily "repatriate" and regain their citizenship, no matter their marital status. They still had to take an oath of allegiance.

And that's why, in June of 1941, Marion Goldstein Markell filed the paperwork to regain her US citizenship. In September of that year, she took the oath of allegiance. Thirty years after losing her US citizenship, she was again legally an American citizen. 

Color to Add Pizzazz to Bite-Sized Family History Book

Putting together this most recent bite-sized family history project, Sis and I had an abundance of photos and ideas. The trick was to streamline the project by selecting some of the photos, not all of the photos--and some of the info, not all of it. That's why we focused only on the first decade of family life. Even so, we had to make decisions about what to put in and what to leave out. And we needed a touch of color to catch the eye of our readers.

PRO TIP: If you are doing a project like this, and want to have multiple books printed, please please order ONE to start. Sis and I found 2 typos and some slightly misaligned photos in the first book we ordered, plus we sharpened our captions on a few pages. THEN we reordered to receive more books (on sale of course).

How to choose?

Because the younger generation responds strongly to visuals, Sis and I looked at the content of the photos, the quality, and how these fit with the stories we wanted to highlight: our parents' wedding, our birth, play time, hobbies, family visits, vacations, and education.

Most of our bonanza of photos didn't appear in the photo book, which turned out to be 22 pages long. The vast majority of photos were small and black/white. Often the captions were on facing pages.

It's a 10 inch by 10 inch book, to be sure faces in the snapshots are visible and identifiable. As shown at top, each page had up to 4 photos, positioned quirkily to avoid looking too blocky and regimented. This is not a corporate project, it's a family history project.

We chose Shutterfly but have also used MixBook and Snapfish for family history projects. 

Who's who again?

For this first book, it was wonderful to find and include a photo (left) of Grandma Minnie with four of her grandchildren. Rarely did we four children (us and our 1st cousins) get together in Grandma's Bronx apartment. Sis and I even remembered the dolls we're holding! The identification wasn't over the photo in the final book, only here for privacy reasons.

Sis and I were identified by the initials M and I in the bottom margin of the photo. Too often there was no identification on a photo of us. This photo was a highlight that we're excited to share with the younger generation. I left in the marginal notes of photos we chose, including the dates if printed on the edge of the photo.

Tweaking photos but no significant changes

I cleaned up each image after digitizing so the chosen photos would be as clear as possible. As a MyHeritage subscriber, I used its color restoration tools to bring old color photos back to life in a way that looks natural and vibrant. I didn't want to go that far beyond the original for b/w images, but restoring the color of faded color prints made sense to me.

I used AI to sharpen and straighten a few photos, but not to change anything. Whatever was in the photo remained--including inconvenient objects, stray tree limbs, etc. Still, I had to crop a bit to fit so many photos into the book.

That touch of color

As shown at top, each page has a touch of color, such as a color word or a simple graphic like a yellow sun. The background color of the pages shows a hint of texture. Color borders surround each photo, to brighten the look without overwhelming the content. (I obscured some parts of this page before posting here, for privacy reasons.)

This fun bite-sized project will preserve and perpetuate lots of memories and photos from the past!