Into a Briar Bush - Genealogy Records Page by Page

"If a girl jumps into a briar bush, it is hard to tell which bush scratches the hardest."[1]

This birth certificate took my breath away. There were several illegitimate births each year in Stonington, Connecticut, but for this one, either the doctor or the clerk felt the need to pass moral judgement on the mother of this baby boy. 

Genealogy Records Page by Page

I found the record for baby boy Morrison born in 1863 by looking through the Stonington vital records on microfilm, image by image. When you are searching for a family (online, on microfilm or in person), take the time to proceed page by page. There are several benefits to this process;

• become familiar with names of fellow residents; important when building your FAN club
• find items missed during indexing or indexed incorrectly
• microfilm: you may discover film descriptions are inaccurate and find something you didn't expect to find
• births: find babies recorded without first names
• marriages: learn the names of officiants of other marriages and by extension discover religious institutions
• deaths: learn about most common causes and epidemics
• discover interesting stories and add to your knowledge of the time and place

Yes. It takes more time to look at every page or image. I spent eight hours going through this microfilm reel! That's three days spent at the Family History Center in Exeter, New Hampshire. However, not only did I find several family records, I found baby Morrison's birth certificate. 

Baby Morrison's certificate tells us about the morals of the day and society's view on illegitimate births, promiscuity and racial prejudice. Was this remark made by the white doctor because of the mother's color? We could answer this question by making a survey of all of the illegitimate births in Stonington and noting the doctors' names and their remarks.[2] 

I hope you will consider going page by page the next time you are hunting for an ancestor's record. Let me know what you find. 

Research on!

Jennifer Shoer aka Scrappy Gen

Reconnecting Relatives, LLC

Let's Remember!

________________________________________________
[1] Stonington, Connecticut, Records of births, marriages, deaths 1847- 1869, Certificate of Birth, 39, Morrison, April 12th, 1863; FHL microfilm 1309873, Item 4.
[2] 1850 U.S. census, Stonington, New London County, Connecticut, population schedule, p. 270 (stamped), dwelling 208, family 381, Geo. E. Palmer; digital image, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 19 June 2015); citing National Archives microfilm publication M432, roll 48.

My Genealogy Sabbatical Year

If you could spend each of the next twelve months living in one of your ancestral locations and researching on-site, where would you go? 

Join me as we dream up our genealogy sabbatical years. The rules for the genealogy sabbatical year meme are that you have enough money to support yourself and you are free of regular life responsibilities. There is nothing that will distract you from your mission, family history immersion research. 

Month 1: Connecticut         

My first stop would be the state of Connecticut. It isn’t far from New Hampshire, but life responsibilities keep me from spending an extended amount of time there. My paternal grandfather’s lines are embedded in Connecticut for generations. My mother’s parents’ families settled in Connecticut in the late 1800s and early 1900s. Both sides immigrated to Connecticut, her mother’s from Prussia, today Poland; her father’s mother’s family from Ireland to Canada to Vermont and then to Connecticut; and her father’s father’s family from Ireland.

Month 2: Massachusetts

The second month would find me next door in Massachusetts. My paternal grandmother’s roots are here. Her mother’s family came from Northern Ireland in the late 1800s, while her father’s family has been here for generations.

Month 3: New York

I was well into Northern Ireland in my mental trip planning, when I realized that before I headed to Ireland, I must go to New York. My grandfather’s maternal grandmother died with child at a young age so we didn’t learn a lot about her family from family lore. Her mother’s maiden name was Diamond, which brought us the only family story I have heard which was that she was related to the family of the Diamond match company. I have not found that connection. The Diamonds and Murtaghs most likely arrived in New York between 1830 and 1840. My Murtagh 2x great grandfather's headstone indicates he was from Old Ballinacargy, County Westmeath, Ireland. 

Months 4-5: Poland and Germany

After gathering all that I can in Connecticut, Massachusetts and New York with a possible side trip to Rhode Island during one of the first two months, I would spend the next months in Poland and Germany. Both of my maternal grandmother’s parents came from the area of Włocławek near the Wisła or Vistula River. While I can get along in German and can roughly translate Russian, I would need assistance with Polish records. Luckily, per the rules of the genealogy sabbatical year, I can afford to hire a guide or a local genealogist.  Germany is included in this research plan because these grandparents were Germans from Russia, or Prussia, or Poland, depending on the year. While further research is needed to determine their German ancestral origin, part of my family fled the Soviets before WWII and went back to Germany, where they ended up living in the East until 1990 when the two sides reunited shortly after the wall began to come down in 1989. There is both modern and ancient family history to pursue, including known living relatives.

Month 6: Canada

From Poland or Germany, I would fly back to Canada and visit Quebec and Ontario. My grandfather’s grandfather was born in Montreal, while the family was migrating from St. Columban, Quebec to Vermont. The story is that the family arrived in Canada in the late 1820s from Freshford, Kilkenny,Ireland. I am hoping to hunt down some records regarding their early time in Canada and firm up the connection back to Ireland.

Month 7: Northern Ireland

From Canada after a possible stop south of the boarder in Vermont, I would head to Northern Ireland. My grandmother’s mother, Mabel Hill, was born in Belfast and Mabel’s father, William Hill, was born in Ballymoney. The Hill family had been there since at least the early 1800s. They were Presbyterians. They were most likely English or Scottish. William, his wife Annie, and Mabel oft repeated for American records that they were English. William’s middle name was McPherson. Annie’s maiden name was Connor(s) and had family living in Scotland. I hope to find Annie’s birth record and learn more about where her family’s origins as well as the origins of the Hill family.

Month 8: Ireland

From Northern Ireland I would head south to Ireland in pursuit of my Catholic forebears. I have two known possible towns to explore. Hopefully further research in New York and Connecticut would reveal more information about the origins of my grandfather’s father’s family. They were Smiths, so it shouldn’t be that difficult.

Months 9-10: Scotland and England

Until now during my genealogy sabbatical year I have been working on locating the ancestral origins of my great through 3x great grandparents. If I have learned enough in Connecticut, Massachusetts and in Northern Ireland, I may be able to head to Scotland and/or England to learn about the places from which my earlier ancestors hailed.

Months 11-12: Revisit or Recap

I would use this time to revisit the documents, narrative research notes, photographs and connections I have amassed throughout the year. I would focus on organizing and filing or displaying as well as editing the narrative research notes. The notes would serve as a basis for my finding reports. 

Time for Your Genealogy Sabbatical Year

How would you spend your genealogy sabbatical year? Where would you go? What would you do? Dream big!

Have fun dreaming and planning and let us know where you will be. 

Jennifer Shoer aka Scrappy Gen

Reconnecting Relatives, LLC

Let's Remember!

MGP 2 – My Chapter 2 Homework Thoughts – Crafting a Genealogical Question

This post is part of DearMyrtle's Hangout on Air series, MGP2 Study Group 2, studying Mastering Genealogical Proof by Thomas W. Jones.¹ Hangouts are every Sunday morning at 10:00 AM Eastern US time. Join us to learn more about the discipline of genealogical work and how adhering to its standards will improve your family history results. Your family will thank you. 

As a hanger for Study Group 2, one of my responsibilities is to post my completed homework for each chapter. Because the answers are found at the end of your book, I will not post them (which would also violate copyright), but will post my thoughts about each question. If you have not already done so, I highly recommend that you purchase and use this text. I am not being compensated for my endorsement, although I am enjoying the benefit of the author's wisdom. 

The Chapter 2 MGP 2 Study Group 2 Hangout 
aired on Sunday, March 2nd. 

It All Starts With a Question

How do we begin genealogical research? We ask ourselves a question. What do I want to know? Perhaps the answer is everything about the Burrell family from Weymouth, Massachusetts. This is a noble question, but one which might require a lifetime of research to answer. Unless embarking on a major project or possessing limitless time and funding (i.e. we won the lottery), our question must be simple and straightforward.

Crafting a Genealogical Question

1. Who is your person of interest? “a documented person”²

2. What do you want to learn about this person? 

     “specific information”³

In the case of my Burrell family from Weymouth, my person of interest is my 4x great grandfather, Alvan Burrell. My crafted genealogical question answers the two questions above:

1.   Who? the Alvan Burrell, who married Nancy Tirrell                  Burrell on 6 August 1825 in Weymouth, Massachusetts 

2.  What? Who were his parents?

and becomes, "Who were the parents of Alvan Burrell, who married Nancy Tirrell Burrell on 6 August 1825 in Weymouth, Massachusetts?"

Parentage is a relationship question. According to Dr. Jones, there are two other possible general genealogical question types; activity and identity.⁴

My third great grandfather is also named Alvin [i and a are interchangeable for both father and son] Burrell. There are many sources, which include information about an Alvan Burrell in Weymouth. The identity question is which one? In order to identify the correct Alvan Burrell, I would ask, “Which Alvan Burrell is referenced in the 9 Jan 1873 Deed from Thais Burrell to Alvan Burrell.”

An activity question answers a question about something your person of interest did; immigrated, performed military service, lived in a place, etc. About Alvin Burrell, the son, I might ask, “Did Alvin Russell Burrell, born 24 March 1830 in Weymouth, Massachusetts, serve during the Civil War?”

Crafting our genealogical questions leads to better and more effective genealogical search results. How do you craft your questions? Feel free to post one in the comments below.


¹Thomas W. Jones, Mastering Genealogical Proof (Arlington, Virginia:                National Genealogical Society, 2013).

²Jones, Mastering Genealogical Proof, 7.

³Ibid., 7.

⁴Ibid., 8.

Jennifer Shoer aka Scrappy Gen

Reconnecting Relatives, LLC

Let's Remember!

[Book available from the publisher, 

http://www.ngsgenealogy.org/cs/mastering_genealogical_proof in both print and Kindle versions.]

Salt Lake Institute of Genealogy

Family History Library

What a week! Exhausting, exhilarating, emotional, euphoric. From beginning to end, every  minute of the week brought new information and discoveries. My brain is filled to the brim with ideas and resources for researching family history and furthering the genealogies of my family and yours.


I have to laugh when I look at my last post in which I said that I would blog each day of the  Salt Lake Institute of Genealogy. That would be like asking a skier to stop skiing in the most beautiful, deep powder he had ever seen and just write about skiing while the other skiers go whizzing past him. Sure I am a blogger and I love to blog, but I was in Salt Lake City learning with some of the top genealogists in the country and every minute outside of that time I was researching in the Family History Library. There was simply no time to blog, unless I wanted to give up my beauty sleep, which was not going to happen. Each night I literally fell into bed exhausted. 


American Research and Records with Paula Stuart-Warren was the perfect class track for me. Some of it was review, but it was review in a good way. It caused me to pause and reflect and then redirect my energies toward resources that I haven't used recently. Paula gathered several other phenomenal teachers for her track including; Cath Madden Trindle, CG; D. Joshua Taylor, MA, MLS; Debra Mieszala, CG; John Philip Colletta, Ph.D; Kory Meyerink, MLS, AG, FUGA; and Karen Mauer Green, CG.  American Research and Records was light on homework, which was perfect for me as it allowed time for personal research at the library.  


Paula did give us a group project, which I enjoyed because we got to know some of our classmates during our research.  Hi to my group mates Denise, Raylene, Bonny, Jaycee and Todd. You guys were great! The entire class worked on a Kentucky family with the surname of Hedges, so if you are a Hedges with Kentucky roots, let me know. We may have some information to share with you.


Will I return to the Salt Lake Institute of Genealogy? You bet! Hopefully next year in January 2013. I took two evening classes with John Philip Colletta, Ph.D and he mentioned that he is putting together a new writing track. Keep your fingers crossed. Will I see you there? 


Happy Friday!


Scrappy Gen
Let's Remember!

Would Pooh Have Made a Good Genealogist?

Pooh as Genealogist

Pooh is my literary idol. If I could keep only one fiction book, it would be Pooh. In "The House at Pooh Corner," Pooh agrees to help Rabbit in the search he has organized to find Small. Rabbit insists that the search is all organized, but after he has gone, Pooh realizes several things. He has forgotten to ask who Small is and what kind of friend or relative he is. To help himself figure out how to look for Small, he makes a list, a sort of research plan, called "Order of Looking for Things." At which point, Pooh thinks to himself "Which makes it look like a bothering sort of day." [1]

A list can make a day feel like a bother, particularly when it is filled with to dos you would rather not do. Perhaps Pooh is better suited to spending time with Piglet and eating honey than going on a hunt, especially one requiring a list. But I know you are here because you love a list filled with genealogy to dos. You love the hunt, as do I!

What Sort of Relation?

In conducting genealogical research it is necessary to constantly create, revisit and revise our plans. Before we begin a search for an ancestor, we should take a cue from Pooh and ask ourselves and our living relatives what we know about him or her. Who is he? Where did he live? What kind of person was he? No living relatives? Search for what has already been written. There may be books, diaries, journals, manuscripts or letters. Some places to search include:

Google

Google Books

Family Search

New England Historic Genealogical Society

WorldCat

Ancestry.com Catalog

Where Is the Special Place?

Pooh begins his list:

"1. Special Place (To find Piglet.)"

Pooh in his infinite wisdom tells himself 

"because he's been organdized in a special place of his own. So I shall have to look for the Special Place first. I wonder where it is." [2]

While you have learned about what sort of relation your ancestor was, undoubtedly you uncovered some possible areas he may have lived. Before you create your research plan, find out more about his special place or places during the time he lived there. Learn about the laws, industry, religions, organizations and geography. Use the links above to search for places and also use map websites to see locations near or related to the special place. It is helpful to know if the place is located on a border, or has been located within multiple places within its existence.

Google Maps

David Rumsey Map Collection

Well friends, I think it is about time I went and had some tea with honey. Thank you to Pooh for his timeless wisdom. 

Happy Wednesday!

Scrappy Gen

Let's Remeber!

 

[1] A.A. Milne, The World of Pooh (USA: E.P. Dutton, 1957), 191.

[2] Milne, The World of Pooh, 191.

The Question - The Ask and the Answer

We have all gotten THE QUESTION. You know the one. It goes something like this: “Could I have a copy of what you have on the Smith side of the family?” It stops you in your tracks because you wonder what your cousin is really asking. Does she want you to send her the three binders containing all of the documents and notes you have compiled? Or, does she simply want a flash drive with all of the files labeled Smith?

The Ask 

Because it is not all that simple to collate and hand over your blood, sweat and tears research, your first step is finding out the answer to this question: “What does she want to know?” In this case, my cousin would like any more information before Sarah Murtagh, grandmother of Bubba whose surname was Smith. The person is specific, but the any more is still rather broad.

The Answer

What you do next is up to you, but here is what I suggest and what I will post here on my blog as an example. In lieu of grilling her further and because I don’t want to turn off any family member asking about our family history, I propose to answer this question: “Who were the parents of Sarah Murtagh?” If my cousin wants to explore back in time before my great, great grandmother, then a documented piece giving her the next step would be the most helpful. The question is specific and giving her the answer is doable. 

As a genealogist or family historian, have you gotten the question from a family member? How did you handle it?

On the flip side of the question, have you been trying to figure out how to ask your relative about the research she is doing on your family tree? Decide what you would most like to know, and then ask the question. Make it as specific as possible, such “Who were my great grandparents?" or "Where did great grandfather John Smith live in 1920?” Your question will let her know you are interested in her family research and will probably lead to her sharing more information than you ever thought you wanted to know. 

Happy asking and answering!

Scrappy Gen

Let's Remember!

An Interview with Sharon Sargeant, Forensic Genealogist

Where is your plan? Is it up in the air?

Sharon Sargeant, internationally recognized forensic genealogist, will present a Research Planning Workshop at the New England Regional Genealogical Conference in April 2011. Sharon attracted international attention for bringing conflicting evidence to light in the case of Misha Defonseca's autobiography, Misha: A Memoire of the Holocaust Years. She went on to similarly debunk two other self proclaimed Holocaust survival stories. Sharon prepared Module 2 for the Boston University Genealogical Research Program and is currently writing a book about investigative genealogy.

Sharon and I connected last Wednesday via Skype for a conversation about her thoughts on conducting genealogical research and jigsaw puzzles. The session turned into my own research planning seminar. To say that Sharon is passionate about research planning is an understatement. She is equally as passionate about making the Genealogical Proof Standard process accessible and comprehensible. From her teaching experience at Boston University and in workshops, Sharon became aware that both research planning and the Genealogical Proof Standard mystified many of her students. She realized she needed to demystify research plans, provide concrete examples and bring the abstract concepts to her audiences in a simpler way.


Research Planning and the Genealogical Proof Standard

How does Sharon help her students to understand and use the Genealogical Proof Standard? She gets it right out there in the beginning of the research planning so that newer researchers will get used to using it. Or, for more advanced researchers, she has them go back to review or essentially step through their information again with the G.P.S. in mind. Sharon's goal is to bring the standards to the plan and illustrate why they expedite it. Sharon's students learn how to keep the G.P.S. awareness right up front in research planning as a reminder to look at the big picture, keep thinking about the evidence, keep track of sources, extract all information and resolve conflicting evidence.


Research Planning and Puzzles: Do the Edges First
 
After learning the concepts about how to create a research plan with the G.P.S. as a guide, then what? Sharon tells her students, when beginning to try to solve a genealogical puzzle, do the edges first! Give your problem boundaries. The edges are the pieces of evidence that give proof of time and place. Keep all of the middle pieces, even if you don't think they fit. Keep them just in case. Sharon suggests that if we try to do the middles first, we will be like water circling around the drain, the drain being the holes in our research. She says get the concepts, then do the straight edges. Figure out what you have that is solid evidence and build on that. Don't focus on the holes!


Research Planning Workshop

Any researcher from beginning to advanced would benefit Sharon's upcoming workshop. Beginners will get solid tools for approaching their research. Advanced or experienced researchers will get a better idea of where they are in their process. With a plan in place all researchers will feel less overwhelmed. Sharon's goal is to give her students tools they can use again and again.

Students do not have to prepare anything in advance of the workshop, but they might find it helpful to focus on one problem that they would like to solve. This could be a beginning or a brick wall problem. 

Sharon Sargeant will present her Research Planning Workshop in Springfield, Massachusetts on Friday, April 8th from 8:30-10:30 AM at the New England Regional Genealogical Convference (NERGC). This workshop requires a fee and advance registration. More details can be found in the conference brochure on page 8. 

Scrappy Gen

Let's Remember!