Genealogy Blogs: Read, Comment, Repeat!

Recently, blogger Mish Holman posted a poll on Twitter, asking "Do you think people actually read your #Genealogy blog posts?" 

The final results from 83 participants: 

• YES - 50.6%
• NO   - 32.5%
• THEY SAY THEY DO, BUT THEY LIE - 16.9%

I answered yes, people actually do read my blog. How do I know? Because some folks leave comments...and some get in touch via my "contact me" gadget on the blog's home page. Plus site statistics show me the number of views per post and page, another indicator that people are stopping by. 

Why I 💜 blogs 

Personally, I love reading genealogy blogs! Many bloggers post about new developments in the genealogy community...the latest database improvements by big genealogy sites...tricks and tips for technology...using specific resource sites/repositories. I learn a lot from these bloggers, and I leave a comment of thanks now and then. 

Blog entries about personal family history adventures are also fun and informative. Posts about creatively sharing genealogy with the next generation...finding ancestors in the most unexpected places...connecting with a long-lost cousin, all can teach me something. Again, I comment every so often to let the blogger know I've stopped by.

Finding genealogy blogs

One good place to find interesting blogs is at the GeneaBloggers site. You can also see bloggers in action on the Generations Cafe Facebook page where Amy Johnson Crow posts weekly blog prompts. Then there's the Genealogy Blog Party, which has a different theme every month. That's just for starters. 

A few bloggers list their picks for "best of the week" blog posts with links for easy access. To name just two: Linda Stufflebean posts her weekly roundup on Fridays on her blog, and Randy Seaver posts his weekly roundup on his blog. 

Of course, there's not enough time in the day to read every blog or every post, let alone comment every time. Just dip in and out, and have fun.

1950 US Census: Read the Notes!

 

Enumerators sometimes wrote notes on the 1950 US Census. The notes section may be near top, middle, or bottom of the page, depending on which version of the questionnaire was being used.

In most cases, the notes mentioned where a missing resident might be enumerated elsewhere in that ED (sheet number, line number). At least two of my ancestors, living in big city apartments, weren't home on the first call--and were never actually interviewed. The notes said something like "Superintendent provided information after 4 calls." 

Enumerators occasionally noted that they had left income forms for residents to fill out and return confidentially. Others noted the presence of more than one apartment at a dwelling or the fact that an address was a vacant dwelling.

You just never know what little details you'll learn if you read the notes! Some interesting notes I've found so far:

• "Line 26--Person just arrived from Canada. Sister-in-law supplied information and couldn't tell former occupation."
• "Lines 6-8 - Respondent vague on answers--couldn't remember ages."
• "Line __, serial no. 80. Rent of $40.00 is out of reason, about $15.00 should be right."
• "I left [Census] line for a locked gate and then I got information from neighbors."
• "Person is in reserve Navy."
  
• "Information given by daughter staying there while parents are away."
• "Line 1 is a female even though name is William T."
  
• "On vacation, don't know when she will be home."

I'm delighted to participate in this month's Genealogy Blog Party by going back to the 1950s!

Honor Roll Project: Veterans' Memorial in Middlebury, CT

For Heather Wilkinson Rojo's wonderful Honor Roll Project, I visited Middlebury, Connecticut, where a lovely plaque embedded on a boulder honors veterans from pre-Revolutionary War days up to World War I. 

The boulder bearing the plaque is located at the right of steps leading to  Middlebury's stately Town Hall. 

With pride, the Middlebury historic marker below notes: "During the Revolutionary War, French General Rochambeau and his troops established a camp in the Breakneck Hill section on their march to the final campaign at Yorktown, Virginia."

I've transcribed the names of the men and women honored on this memorial plaque, one war at a time, as shown on the plaque.

If any descendants of these veterans conduct an online search, I hope they find the names and realize their ancestors' service to country has not been forgotten.

For Veteran's Day 2021, I'm doing my part to keep alive the memory of these brave men and women from Middlebury, Connecticut, who served in the military. 

Middlebury Honors Those Who Have Served in the Wars of Their Country

French - Indian War

Abner Munson

Revolutionary War

David Abbott, Benjamin Bemont, Aaron Benedict, Enos Benham, Samuel Benham, Edward Blackman, Michael Bowers, Asahel Bronson, Elijah Bronson, Isaac Bronson, Andrew Clark, Daniel Clark, Benjamin Fenn, Samuel Fenn, Israel Frisbie, Stephen Hawley, Reuben Hickox, Timothy Higgins, Benjamin Hine, Justus Johnson, Simeon Manvil, Augustus Peck, Gideon Platt, James Porter, Ebenezer Richardson, Jonathan Sanford, Ebenezer Smith, John Thompson, Aaron Tuttle, Ezekiel Tuttle

War of 1812

Lewis Booth, Eldad Bradley, Jonathan Bradley, Noyes Bradley, Elijah Bronson, Isaac Bronson, Daniel Clark, Asa Fenn, Loammi Fenn, Philo Hamblin, Levit Hawley, Benjamin Hine, Isaac Hodge, Mark W. Mazugan, Abner Munson, Miles Newton Jr., Isaac Nichols, Samuel Porter, Ranson Saxton, Harry Smith, William H. Smith, Mark Stone, Eli Thompson, John Thompson, Peter Van Bogert, Peter Vandereagast

Mexican War

Ranson L. Gaylord

Civil War

Robert J. Abbott, George Anderson, George W. Baldwin, Philetus M. Barnum, James W. Benham, Eli B. Blackman, Maro P. Blackman, Henry Blakeslee, Charles Bradley, James M. Bradley, Eli Bronson, George H. Crook, Adrian Dehm, Church R. Fox, Michael Genter, Guernsey Johnson, Thomas Kenney, Charles King, George S. Manville, John Meier, George B. Meramble, Michael G. Miller, Charles Moshier, Jacob Prime, Emery J. Roswell, John Smith, Asa W. Stone, Charles E. Stone, Edward L. Welton

Mexican - Border War

Arthur M. Foote

World War (World War I)

Stanley Andrews, Walter Beebe, Allan J. Benson, Bernhardt Benson, Edwin H. Benson, Henry J. Benson, Lester J. Benson, Burton F. Bird, Vincent Botta, William Budieser, Antonio Calabrese, Raymond Caligan, Mary J. Campbell, Robert M. Campbell, Rodger W. Cooke, Edward Cronley, Francis Cronley, Cyril Davis, John Delaney, Thomas Dowling, Joseph Feist, Arthur M. Foote, Asahel Gibson, Arthur C. Hallgren, Gustave E. Hallgren, Edmund Janes, Wilfred Jordan, Harvey S. Judd, John Kawickas, George Muller, Clarence A. Nichols, Earl H. Nodine, Alfred Perro, Ellis F. Phelan, Fred H. Robertson, Edwin J. Robin, Emanuel J. Robin, Morris L. Robin, Melville Skiff, Horatio N. Smith, Lyman E. Smith, Frederick W. Speaker, Raymond Stauffer, Royal J. Steele, Raymond F. Tyler, Ralph Vincent, Willis T. Vincent, Frank Wassabach, George Webster, Leon Williams

Note: The memorial plaque from Middlebury, CT, is also listed in the Historical Marker Project.

--

This post is also part of the November, 2021 Genealogy Blog Party.

Experiment: Bite-Sized Family History Video

 

This week, my hubby and I experimented with videoing a bite-sized family history story from his childhood. Every Sunday, his Dad would take the kids (pre-school age) to church while Mom stayed home and cooked a big dinner. 

After church, it was still too early to bring the kids home. Mom needed another 30 or 60 minutes to finish cooking and set the table. So Dad took the kids to a nearby railroad yard, where they all watched trains being made up. When they returned home, Sunday dinner was on the table. 

Here's the three-step process we followed to get from "story" to "bite-sized video."

Step 1: Find visuals

Visuals are, of course, a big part of any video. We had a couple of good photos of the kids at the rail yard and in the car.

To add more to the story, I found (via Pixabay.com) free, somewhat generic photos of a railroad yard and a church. These would be good enough to convey the sense of childhood Sundays.

Step 2: Create a slide show

Next, I created a slide show (I use PowerPoint) with a simple colored background, making the photos the center of attention. 

I added headlines at the top of each slide, partly to guide the narration and partly for viewers to read. I used present tense for these headlines, to make the story feel "in the moment" rather than "in the past." Example: "After church, Dad drives to..."

Not visible in this illustration are the names superimposed on one of the photos, to clearly caption who's who even though one of the children is narrating the story. Also, I included an approximate date on one of the slides.

Step 3: Record the videoconference

Once my husband was happy with the four slides and had thought about what he would say as a voice-over, we began a videoconference (in this case, Zoom). He shared his screen with the slide show, and then I began the recording. He narrated the four slides in about eight minutes. I stopped recording, waited for it to be converted to mp4 video, and then we played the video. 

Our first try was pretty good. We did a second take, and that one was better, with my husband adding a few specific details he had not mentioned the first time. 

More ideas to try

Because the video was short, we were able to email it to recipients. (A longer video, too large for email, would have to be sent a different way.) Although we're still waiting for reaction, hubby and I enjoyed the process so much that we're already thinking about our next bite-sized video of family history.

Next time, we'll figure out how to have the narrator (my husband) visible on screen as he tells the story and advances the slides. Or we might include a recent photo of him next to a photo of him at the time of the family-history story he's telling.

Another plan is to have a sibling reminisce with him, via videoconference, with slides on the screen. The headlines could be a starting point for discussion as the photos stimulate memories from the past.

Also, I need to add my husband's name and the date of recording to one of these slides, so future viewers know who is narrating and when.

Have you tried videoing a family history story? How did it work? What did your family think?

--Post is part of the August Genealogy Blog Party  https://www.thefamilyheart.com/

My 1950 U.S. Census Release To-Do List: From Address to ED

To be ready for the release of the 1950 U.S. Census next April, I'm listing ancestors of special interest and indicating their 1940 and 1950 addresses (guessing if necessary). 

The goal is to be able to browse images and locate these ancestors in the unindexed Census records that will be made public in April of 2022. To do this, I have to turn the 1950 address into an Enumeration District (ED). Then I'll only need to click through the images of that one ED to look for each ancestor or family.

Using the Unified Census ED Finder

Luckily, Stephen Morse and Joel Weintraub have an extremely powerful tool to transform an address into an ED. They call it a Unified Census ED Finder. You can find it on SteveMorse.org. 

Be sure you set the ED Finder to 1950, as shown in the screen shot at top. I've entered "1933 Marmion Ave" in the Bronx, New York, as my ancestor's address. However, that street appears in a number of Enumeration Districts. To narrow down my search, I need to look at a map and name other streets that are in back of or that cross with Marmion. Not crossing any streets, just on the same city block.

Looking at the Bronx map above, Elsmere Place is at the corner of this apartment building. When I select "Elsmere Pl" from the handy drop-down menu of "cross or back street on same city block" I see the number of EDs reduced to only four.

Keep adding cross or back streets

Next, looking at the map, I select "Tremont Ave" from the drop-down menu because that's the street at the other end of this city block. This reduces the number of EDs to only two. That's still too many EDs to easily browse. 

Again I add another back street from the drop-down menu, after consulting the map once more. This time, I choose the street at the very back of this same city block, which is "Prospect Ave." 

At this point, I only have a single ED listed, as shown above. To double-check, I can select the "Streets in the 1950 ED" button and click "More details." 

This takes me to a summary showing the ED and the description of the streets it includes. Note that this is a single city block. Not across any boulevards, avenues, streets, or places--just one big city block. For a city address, it's a fairly easy process to determine the proper ED, because the boundaries are easily ascertained by looking at a map.**

Put the ED on your list

My final step is to write the ED on my list. Here's an excerpt of my current listing. The two ancestors who lived on Marmion Avenue should both be in ED 3-798, as listed here. I've also found other EDs for ancestors on this list. Note that I also decided to alphabetize my ancestors by surname, so I can sort that way if I choose. And I can sort by "1950 ED" in order to group all ancestors who live in one ED together for more efficient browsing when the images are released next year.

Try the Unified Census ED Finder and once you see how it works, you'll be ready to work your way down the list of ancestors little by little. 

Remember to read the "Getting Ready for the 1950 Census" introduction on Steve Morse's site. He steps through the ED Finder process using Donald Duck's address. Really! Worth a look.

Also see my summary page of 1950 US Census tips and techniques here.

** Reader Amanda has an important reminder: "Be sure to check to see if the area you are looking in has had any house renumberings or street name changes. For example, Chicago renumbered many of its houses in 1909, and there's a list of street name changes available through 1948 (although the dates of each change are not noted). Portland, Oregon, renumbered most of its streets 1931-33, and changed directionals (NW, NE, etc.) on many as well. These changes will be important to know about when using modern-day maps to find cross and back streets when using the Unified Census ED Finder."

This is also my January 2022 post for The Genealogy Blog Party!

Wish List: Cousin Connections

 

If I could go back in time, I would ask my mother and my father to list the names and addresses of their first and second cousins. Only years after my parents passed away did I discover how extensive their cousin connections really were.  

Cousins? What cousins?

My father never mentioned his Burk cousins, relatives who were actually at his wedding! It took me a decade of research to identify them and find their children, my second cousins. Dad certainly would have been able to rattle off their names, but I never thought to ask until it was too late.

My mother never mentioned her first cousins on the Schwartz side, even though she knew some of them. Using photos and documents, I eventually traced several. I was able to meet one and, happily, get to know a few of my cousins in the next generation.  

For a number of years, I've been doing what I wish my parents had done: Maintaining a list of my cousin connections. One of my goals is to continue this practice, keeping the names and contacts updated and sharing with my relatives.

Write down your cousin connections

Creating a list of cousin contacts will help you and your family (and your heirs) know who's who and how each person is related in the family tree. It's not enough to have a name, address, phone number, and email address in your smartphone contacts. It's really important to explain the relationships. Otherwise, all you have is a list of contacts with no genealogical context.

At top is a sample of my "cousin connections" form. This week, I updated the list for my side of the family tree, and created a new cousin contact list for my husband's side. I'm sharing with immediate family so everyone is on the same page, literally.

Please do your family and future generations a big favor and write down your cousin connections!

--

This is one of the tips in my book, Planning a Future for Your Family's Past, a practical (and affordable) guide to passing your genealogy collection and knowledge to the next generation. Please check it out!

Participating in The Genealogy Blog Party, 2021 Goals!

The Weddingest Months in His Family Tree

February 14, 1861 marriage of Adaline Steiner Sigler and John Dome in Crawford county, OH

My husband's family tree has one Valentine's Day wedding, among 25 marriages that took place in February. But February isn't the month with the most weddings in that family tree.

Valentine's Day Wedding

Above, the marriage license of Adaline Elizabeth Steiner Sigler (1837-1912) and John Dome 1824-1902). Adaline was my hubby's 2d great aunt, the sister of his great-grandfather Edward George Steiner.

Addie's first marriage was to Albert Sigler (1833-1858), who sadly died at the age of 24, just three months before their only child was born.

When this child was nearly three years old, Addie married for a second time. She and John Dome applied for the license on Thursday, February 14, 1861, and were married the same day. This was two months before the official start of the Civil War. John did register for the draft in July of 1863, but he was not called to serve.

By the time great-great-aunt Addie died, she was widowed again and a grandmother several times over.

August and December, the Weddingest Months

In my husband's family tree, the most weddings took place in August and December. According to the anniversary list I generated using my RootsMagic7 software, 40 couples were married in each of these months. By comparison, only 25 couples were married in February.

On the first day of August, 1722, Andrew Allen and Abiah Lovell were married in Barnstable, Massachusetts. Andrew and Abiah were my husband's 5th great-grandparents. This is the earliest August wedding in the anniversary list.

There were three New Year's Eve weddings on the anniversary list. On December 31, 1863, John N. McClure and Rebecca Jane Coble were married in Wabash county, Indiana. John was my husband's 2d great uncle. They were part of the McClure contingent that left Indiana to try farming in Emmet county, Michigan.

My husband's great-great-grandpa William Madison McClure, part of the contingent, briefly farmed in Little Traverse, Michigan before returning to Indiana. One of his four children was born in Little Traverse. That child was Grandpa Brice Larimer McClure, born on December 29, 1878. The other three were all born in Indiana.

I wrote this post for Elizabeth O'Neal's Genealogy Blog Party, February 2020 edition!

What Happens to Photos of Distant Cousins?

Iris Weiss married Albert Mintus in 1964

I never met Iris, my 3d cousin, once removed, but I'm saving her wedding photo and baby photos as part of my family history. Why, since she was such a distant cousin, do I have these photos?

Iris Hope Weiss (1930-2014) was the beloved only child of Fred F. Weiss (1901-1982) and Gladys Berger Weiss (1896-1989). Iris was named after her grandmother, Ida Farkas Weiss (1873-1924), a relative of my maternal great-grandpa, Moritz Farkas (1857-1936).

Iris and Albert

Iris was very devoted to her husband, Albert Mintus (1936-2004), after their marriage on June 21, 1964. They remained happily married for 40 years, until his death. The couple had no children; they loved to travel, often going abroad with cousins and friends. They were also theater buffs. She filled albums with photos and memorabilia from their travels and cultural adventures.

After Albert passed away, Iris became a night owl, staying up late to watch old movies and television programs. Once she and I connected through genealogy research, she sent me several photos of her family and told me what she remembered about her ancestors (and a bit about her life).

Over the course of two years, Iris and I chatted occasionally, not just about family history but also about favorite films and detective shows. I especially enjoyed her good humor and thoughtful comments. Then one day, Iris's first cousin called me with the sad news that Iris had passed away after a brief illness.

Keeping Iris's Photos in the Family

Not too long after that, Sis and I visited Iris's delightful first cousin (who is also our Farkas cousin). This cousin showed us Iris's travel albums and spoke with great emotion of their enduring connection over the years.

Because Iris had no descendants, our mutual cousin entrusted me with some of her childhood photos and her wedding portrait. I'm keeping these in my Farkas family archival box.

Though a distant cousin, Iris was part of our Farkas family. As the family historian, I want her name and face to live on even after I join my ancestors. Carefully captioned photos are the best way to do that!

The photo at top was taken at 55 years ago at Iris's wedding on Staten Island, New York. I also have the wedding announcement from The Miami News of June 24, 1964, listing bride, groom, parents, attendants, and the Algiers Hotel as the venue.

You're not forgotten, my Farkas cousin.

This is my post for the June 2022 Genealogy Blog Party.

Lessons Learned in My Virtual Research Trip

Today, when I was clicking my merry way through online records pertaining to my husband's Slatter family, I discovered one shortcut and was reminded, yet again, of the value of checking originals.

Above, the shortcut I found to cut through the clutter of hints. My husband's Slatter family tree on Ancestry has more than 9,000 outstanding hints. Most of those are for ancestors too distant to be a priority. So I clicked on "records" to choose only those hints, then brought up the "filter by name" sorting option. (The default is "most recent" which means when Ancestry added that hint.)

By entering "Slatter" in the surname search box, I was able to view only record hints containing that name. Of course, I could have searched by first and last names, but given the creative spelling in so many records, I wanted to click through all Slatter record hints individually. Focusing on one surname enabled me to make progress, rather than being sidetracked by hints unrelated to my current research.

Now for the reminder about original records vs. transcriptions. The three dates on this record of marriage banns from a London church are 1 Dec, 8 Dec, and 15 Dec. The handwriting is very clear. At top of the page, not shown here, is the handwritten year--1907. Yet the transcription of this record says the year is 1908.

By reading the handwritten record, I was able to enter the correct dates for the marriage banns of Thomas Albert Slatter and Jessie Alice Elms. Also, the marriage license original confirmed the actual wedding day as 28 December 1907.

It's never safe to assume a transcription is accurate, let alone complete. It took only a few more clicks to view the originals and extract every possible data point.

My starting point for today's post was Elizabeth O'Neal's Genealogy Blog Party, July edition: Virtual Research Trippin'.

A Close-up Look at One Brick-Wall Mother

Combining two #52Ancestors challenges ("Close Up" and "Mother's Day") with this month's Genealogy Blog Party theme of "Marvelous Mothers," I thought it would be fun to take a closer look at a particular brick-wall mother on my husband's tree.

Eleanor Kenny (1762-1841) was hubby's 4th great-grandma. She is intriguing because, according to some family trees, she is shown as the daughter of James Kenny, a private in the Cumberland County (PA) militia who died during the Revolutionary War in 1784. He served in the 7th Co., 1st Battalion of this militia.

Eleanor's father (hubby's 5th great-grandpa) would be the first direct family connection to that war, if this is the right Eleanor and right James Kenny.

Now, before you say "grain of salt," this James Kenny's will specifically lists his daughter "Elinor Kenny" (she wasn't yet married). That's not enough, of course, but consider that one of the witnesses was . . . Brice Smith, who married Eleanor Kenny one year after her father died. Seems more likely that this is hubby's family after all.

The only other clues I currently have about Eleanor Kenny are:

• Her marriage to Brice Smith took place on Aug. 23, 1785 in Carlisle, Cumberland county, PA. The Family Search transcription of the original ledger is shown above.
• She is mentioned (as "Elenor") in her husband's will of 1828. So she was clearly alive when he died.
• She is buried in Driver Cemetery, Bremen, Fairfield county, Ohio, alongside her husband. The Find A Grave memorial provided her birth/death dates and shows her as "Ellen Smith."

So very possibly this James Kenny is hubby's 5th great-granddaddy and his only ancestor who we know fought in the Revolutionary War. And I discovered this link by taking a closer look at his probable daughter Eleanor, an elusive brick-wall mother on my husband's tree.