Okay, I know most of you are wondering what in the world hemming has to do with genealogy, but bear with me as I guide you through my thought process as I had to re-hem a pair of pants that was manufactured in China.
My first thought, like many of yours, was that we can't purchase clothes that are sewn well any more. That inevitably led to thoughts about moving our manufacturing overseas instead of keeping it here in the United States. I began to think about all the children who are being exploited in the Chinese factories and about the empty garment factories that I had seen in Amory while I was there at Christmas. I also thought about the economy and how the garment industry used to employ so many people in the area in which I grew up. My mom even worked in one for awhile way back when. As I thought about how many people are out of jobs right now, I began to wish that those factories were still open and giving employment to people in an area which really needs some jobs.
From there, my thoughts went to college. I was in a vocal ensemble when I was in college called "Radiance." We had matching outfits but for some reason the person who was making them was way behind right before our first performance. We had to hem them ourselves. Well, I'd never hemmed anything in my life. By the time I made it around the skirt, I had three legs! Our music professor's wife took pity and tore out the hem and did it herself! I'm pleased to say that my hemming skills have improved since then. It's kind of sad though when you think about the reason they've improved. It's because you can't find clothing today that will hold together once you take it home. I'm always having to mend something.
I then began to realize that the rhythm of the stitches was relaxing. I wondered if our ancestral women found sewing to be relaxing or if it was just a chore for them. Then I thought about the invention of the sewing machine. I realized that any time you introduce mechanization into a process that it becomes less relaxing. I'm sure that most of the women by this time viewed sewing as a chore instead of something for relaxation.
This led to thoughts about genealogy in general. As we have more and more electronic tools -- databases, Word processors, spreadsheets, online sources, etc. available to us are we also letting the quality of our research slip? Do we start relying on online sources and forget that there are things in courthouses, archives, and other repositories that may never make it online? Do we become so intent on making sure we get everything entered and cited that we never make progress when sometimes a written documented summary might do the same thing for us? I know that I have a lot of old data that still needs to be entered into my genealogical software and documented. However, I have that information available in my files, and I generally know what I've proven and haven't proven. Yes, I need to go back through some of that early research, but I'm not sure that putting it into my genealogical database and citing it is what I need to do as much as creating narratives and timelines where I can spot gaps or things that need further documentation. Have we forgotten how to do the things that bring order to our chaotic electronic world? I'm not saying that we ought to abandon those programs, but I think there is a time and place for them. I've decided not to worry if I don't have everything in my program if I can reach the place I need to reach without the stress of adding it. There are some things that are easier to do with a program. I'll continue to enter and document for those things, but I'm going to be relying a little more on the Word processor and spreadsheet software. I'll have to admit that I still like to do things with pencil and paper, but I also know that it's easier to document when I have the footnote feature available to me in the word processor. I am, however, going back to a few of those old family group sheet forms and putting little numbers in circles for the footnotes and writing those out on the back of the form. There are times that is all I need while sorting people out. We also need to remember that those full image electronic resources we love so much are still derivative works. While I don't think that any of our major vendors are guilty of digital manipulation, it's possible that could happen. I'm especially careful when it comes to digital images on a personal Web sites. It would be pretty easy to "photoshop" a document. We need to get the best source we have available to us to use. Most of the time that means a visit to a state library, archives, or courthouse. Sometimes we still have to use the microfilm which is a derivative, but we can get as close to the original as possible. I guess you can say I'm getting out the needle and thread a little more and not relying on the sewing machine quite as much with my genealogical research these days.
Wednesday, December 31, 2008
My 2009 Genealogy To-Do List
The theme for the first January 2009 Carnival of Genealogy is New Year's Resolutions. We're supposed to share some of our genealogical and blogging intentions. I am not one to make resolutions at all. However, I will share a few things on my to-do list.
Prepare presentations and meet all deadlines for the 2009 FGS/AGS Conference. I'm doing four presentations. Some of my presentations just need to be revised to meet the audience needs. One is getting a great deal of new content because I'm changing some of the focus. I'll be updating or creating syllabus materials for all of them in the next couple of months so that they are ready when they need them for the conference syllabus.
Work on articles for publication. I'm currently researching a problem that will make a great article. I'm also working with another researcher on a project which we hope to publish. I hope to make good progress on both of these in the next year. I had really hoped to do a lot of work on the problem that I was working on over Christmas break, but my mother's health issues altered my plans. I'm running behind. At least I'll get off to a good start on the one by keeping my research trip to the North Carolina State Archives in Raleigh on schedule. I'm not quite as prepared as I would have been had I been able to complete my research in published abstracts in Knoxville before the trip, but I've got a few things to do and can do those now instead of later when my time may be a bit shorter. I do have hopes of completing at least one of these in 2009.
Submit proposals for 2010 conference presentations. The only way I may be able to go to NGS in 2010 is if I'm speaking. It falls in the academic year instead of after it as usual. In fact, it will be fairly close to finals. I don't have the tentative academic calendar with me, and I'm not sure if I've seen it or not. It should be either the week before finals or the week of finals though. I'm really sad about that because it is in Salt Lake City, and I really want to go. I don't really hold out a lot of hope for getting an invitation to present at NGS, but I can try. FGS 2010 is in Knoxville so it's "local."
Attend NGS, FGS, and regional and local conferences, seminars, and workshops. Besides NGS and FGS, I have the registration form for the North Carolina Genealogical Society's Spring Regional Workshop [PDF] ready to fill out. I usually find at least one worth attending in our area as well.
Blog as I find something to blog. I don't like to force posts. There's nothing worse than re-hashing old posts for an entire month. If I don't have something new to say, I just won't say it. I know that I don't like re-reading old posts, and I'm sure my readers don't really want to do that. If a newcomer to my blog comes along, he or she can easily access the old posts through the side links. The posts are there. My blog has never been entirely devoted to genealogy. It's a reflection of my whole person. I've seen other bloggers with multiple blogs for each interest in their life neglect one when they focus on the other. Now I'm sure there are some that manage these successfully, but I am not one of those. I've badly neglected my Mississippi blog since I resigned from USGenWeb a little over fourteen months ago. It probably needs to be buried! I keep hoping to find another blogger with Mississippi genealogical and historical interests to be a co-blogger with me, but it's just not happening. I simply don't have the time to maintain two blogs. Technically I have four, but one is for my class and isn't used much any more except as a demo. The other is our library's, and I'm not the only blogger there although I am the most frequent blogger. I probably won't be making Randy's list of the best of the geneablogs for the week very often because most of the research I'm doing at the moment is intended for publication elsewhere, but I do hope to make it once or twice in the coming year!
Prepare presentations and meet all deadlines for the 2009 FGS/AGS Conference. I'm doing four presentations. Some of my presentations just need to be revised to meet the audience needs. One is getting a great deal of new content because I'm changing some of the focus. I'll be updating or creating syllabus materials for all of them in the next couple of months so that they are ready when they need them for the conference syllabus.
Work on articles for publication. I'm currently researching a problem that will make a great article. I'm also working with another researcher on a project which we hope to publish. I hope to make good progress on both of these in the next year. I had really hoped to do a lot of work on the problem that I was working on over Christmas break, but my mother's health issues altered my plans. I'm running behind. At least I'll get off to a good start on the one by keeping my research trip to the North Carolina State Archives in Raleigh on schedule. I'm not quite as prepared as I would have been had I been able to complete my research in published abstracts in Knoxville before the trip, but I've got a few things to do and can do those now instead of later when my time may be a bit shorter. I do have hopes of completing at least one of these in 2009.
Submit proposals for 2010 conference presentations. The only way I may be able to go to NGS in 2010 is if I'm speaking. It falls in the academic year instead of after it as usual. In fact, it will be fairly close to finals. I don't have the tentative academic calendar with me, and I'm not sure if I've seen it or not. It should be either the week before finals or the week of finals though. I'm really sad about that because it is in Salt Lake City, and I really want to go. I don't really hold out a lot of hope for getting an invitation to present at NGS, but I can try. FGS 2010 is in Knoxville so it's "local."
Attend NGS, FGS, and regional and local conferences, seminars, and workshops. Besides NGS and FGS, I have the registration form for the North Carolina Genealogical Society's Spring Regional Workshop [PDF] ready to fill out. I usually find at least one worth attending in our area as well.
Blog as I find something to blog. I don't like to force posts. There's nothing worse than re-hashing old posts for an entire month. If I don't have something new to say, I just won't say it. I know that I don't like re-reading old posts, and I'm sure my readers don't really want to do that. If a newcomer to my blog comes along, he or she can easily access the old posts through the side links. The posts are there. My blog has never been entirely devoted to genealogy. It's a reflection of my whole person. I've seen other bloggers with multiple blogs for each interest in their life neglect one when they focus on the other. Now I'm sure there are some that manage these successfully, but I am not one of those. I've badly neglected my Mississippi blog since I resigned from USGenWeb a little over fourteen months ago. It probably needs to be buried! I keep hoping to find another blogger with Mississippi genealogical and historical interests to be a co-blogger with me, but it's just not happening. I simply don't have the time to maintain two blogs. Technically I have four, but one is for my class and isn't used much any more except as a demo. The other is our library's, and I'm not the only blogger there although I am the most frequent blogger. I probably won't be making Randy's list of the best of the geneablogs for the week very often because most of the research I'm doing at the moment is intended for publication elsewhere, but I do hope to make it once or twice in the coming year!
Proximidade Award
Bill over at West in New England has given me the Proximidade Award. [Also Denise at Family Curator tagged me.] My biggest question is this: If the recipients of these "are not interested in prizes of self-aggrandizement" why are we continuing to send them on? Why are we even participating when we receive them? I'm honored to receive this award, but I'm really tired of these tagging memes. I much prefer the memes that let people choose whether or not they wish to participate. When most of your blogger friends have already been selected, it's really hard to find anyone left to pass the honor along. If you are reading this, have your own blog, and haven't been tagged in this meme, consider yourself a Proximidade recipient.
Time to go put those clothes in the dryer and another batch in the washer!
Saturday, December 27, 2008
Origins of Town Names
The Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal had an article in today's paper that told the origins of several north Mississippi towns including Trebloc, Guntown, Aberdeen, Verona, Ashland, Falkner, Oxford, and Tupelo. It also has the meanings of some Native American bodies of water such as the Tallahatchie, the Tombigbee, and the Lappatubby.
Wednesday, December 24, 2008
Ornament Traditions
I read a most interesting article in this morning's Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal about some of the ornament traditions (see below for link to print version; this link is for the stories only) in various families from the area. The newspaper showed a photo of the tree with more than 1200 ornaments on it! That was not the only tree in the home either. I sure would hate to be the one hanging all those ornaments! There were stories of ornaments that were handed down through families, made from old quilts, and even ones made from Happy Meal toys. There was at least one person who shares my habit of purchasing souvenir ornaments from places I have traveled. I began doing this because I simply don't have the space for mugs and such, and it is easier to store ornaments and bring them out when I decorate. As I hang the ornament, I can relive the memories of that trip. I just wanted to share this with my blog readers! The online version (of unedited stories) is quite a bit different than the version that appeared in the print version.
Saturday, December 20, 2008
Christmas Will Be Different
Many of you have probably noticed a lack of blogging over the last couple of weeks on my part. I have not had time to blog. My mother entered the hospital on December 3 and was there for 2 weeks. I finished my responsibilities for the semester and after grades were submitted, I left a week earlier than I intended because I was needed. Even before I left, I was busy taking care of many things by phone at a distance. Mom is home now, but Christmas will be different this year. She's still very weak, and she's not quite herself. I'm doing all the cooking for Christmas dinner. I suspect that all of us will experience a wide range of emotions when it comes to how different Christmas is at the family level. However, there is one thing that will remain the same. We would not be celebrating Christmas had it not been for Jesus! I think we've all had a reminder of how dependent we are on Him this year as there has been nothing we can do except pray as we've been dealing with Mom's state of health. I don't know how much time I'll have for blogging over the next week or two, but I'll try to post as I have something to say and have time.
Sunday, December 07, 2008
Randy's Challenge
Here are his instructions:
For each person listed below, provide the name of the spouse of the person and the genea-blogger to whom they are related. Easy, eh?
My answers:
1) Emma Priscilla Libby - Bill West of West in New England
2) Cerena Whipple - Apple of Apple's Tree
3) Elenor L. Vreeland - Miriam Midkiff of AnceStories
4) Abbie Ardell Smith - Randy Seaver of GeneaMusings
5) Daniel Derondo Delaney - Sherri Fenley of The Educated Genealogist
6) Ophelia Elizabeth Nix - Terry Thornton of Hill Country of Monroe County, Mississippi
And for the bonus question:
A bonus question: Who in your ancestry has a very unique name? Tell us - amaze us with the creativity of your ancestors!
I think I'll go with Tamasin Ireland, the wife of Rev. Nathan Ward. To be honest, I really don't think of names being unique after years of doing genealogical research. I've not encountered a lot of people with the name "Tamasin" though. Most published sources state that her father was Abraham Ireland. I blogged an interesting story about Abraham over a year ago.
For each person listed below, provide the name of the spouse of the person and the genea-blogger to whom they are related. Easy, eh?
My answers:
1) Emma Priscilla Libby - Bill West of West in New England
2) Cerena Whipple - Apple of Apple's Tree
3) Elenor L. Vreeland - Miriam Midkiff of AnceStories
4) Abbie Ardell Smith - Randy Seaver of GeneaMusings
5) Daniel Derondo Delaney - Sherri Fenley of The Educated Genealogist
6) Ophelia Elizabeth Nix - Terry Thornton of Hill Country of Monroe County, Mississippi
And for the bonus question:
A bonus question: Who in your ancestry has a very unique name? Tell us - amaze us with the creativity of your ancestors!
I think I'll go with Tamasin Ireland, the wife of Rev. Nathan Ward. To be honest, I really don't think of names being unique after years of doing genealogical research. I've not encountered a lot of people with the name "Tamasin" though. Most published sources state that her father was Abraham Ireland. I blogged an interesting story about Abraham over a year ago.
Saturday, December 06, 2008
Dear Genea-Santa
I hear that you look a lot like Randy Seaver. If you live in San Diego like he does, you might want to shed that red suit you always wear. It might be a little warm in such a warm climate. You will, however, need it for your trip to East Tennessee if the weather is like today's which included some snow. Our weather seems a little colder than usual, so I just want to make sure that you are prepared for it!
I think this is where I'm supposed to say that I've been a good girl this year. However, since the song says that "he knows if you've been bad or good, so be good for goodness sake," that seems a bit redundant. I'll let you make your own assessment!
Here is my list of 3 wishes for Christmas. I understand that you only grant heirlooms and not clues to genealogy or current things like journal subscriptions. I have arranged them in order of priority for your convenience.
Richard & Agnes Thornton family Bible . I just know that if you'll send this along to me that it will hold the answers to the parentage of both Richard and Agnes among many other important family dates that would have been recorded.
Quilt made by Lucy Perkins Dearborn. I would love to have a quilt made by this 3rd great-grandmother. She's one of my New England ancestors that moved to the Midwest. I think an old quilt would be a wonderful heirloom.
Medical implements that belonged to Elizabeth "Betsy" Murry Mosely. I think it would be interesting to have some mid-19th century medical implements that belonged to my 3rd great-grandmother. There weren't that many females practicing medicine back then, but the family tradition that she practiced medicine is backed up by census records so I want these implements to treasure.
This concludes my wish list for Christmas 2008. I'll skip the part about the snack for Santa. Some would say that you need to go on a diet, but I think you really feed most of those snacks to the reindeer or you'd be gaining far more weight than your pictures reveal.
Sincerely,
Lori
I think this is where I'm supposed to say that I've been a good girl this year. However, since the song says that "he knows if you've been bad or good, so be good for goodness sake," that seems a bit redundant. I'll let you make your own assessment!
Here is my list of 3 wishes for Christmas. I understand that you only grant heirlooms and not clues to genealogy or current things like journal subscriptions. I have arranged them in order of priority for your convenience.
Richard & Agnes Thornton family Bible . I just know that if you'll send this along to me that it will hold the answers to the parentage of both Richard and Agnes among many other important family dates that would have been recorded.
Quilt made by Lucy Perkins Dearborn. I would love to have a quilt made by this 3rd great-grandmother. She's one of my New England ancestors that moved to the Midwest. I think an old quilt would be a wonderful heirloom.
Medical implements that belonged to Elizabeth "Betsy" Murry Mosely. I think it would be interesting to have some mid-19th century medical implements that belonged to my 3rd great-grandmother. There weren't that many females practicing medicine back then, but the family tradition that she practiced medicine is backed up by census records so I want these implements to treasure.
This concludes my wish list for Christmas 2008. I'll skip the part about the snack for Santa. Some would say that you need to go on a diet, but I think you really feed most of those snacks to the reindeer or you'd be gaining far more weight than your pictures reveal.
Sincerely,
Lori
Christmas Meme
I found this on a blog somewhere out in cyberspace.
1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? BOTH - probably heavier on the gift bags lately.
2. Real tree or Artificial? - Mine is artificial, but I love live ones. I'm just too busy to take care of a live one during the holidays.
3. When do you put up the tree? When I have time. It will go up this weekend this year. Usually a few days earlier.
4. When do you take the tree down? When the cat lets me! I do keep it up until January 6, but if the cat is sitting under it, I will leave it up a little longer. He loves that tree, and I hate to cut his fun short!
5. Do you like eggnog? Yes. Although I usually have mine without the real "nog."
6. Favorite gift received as a child? I don't remember a lot of my childhood gifts, but it was probably a doll of some sorts. I got a cassette player when I was about 10 that I played nonstop for a long time. I really enjoyed that also.
7. Hardest person to buy for? My dad.
8. Easiest person to buy for? Me.
9. Do you have a nativity scene? Yes. It's a small one.
10. Mail or email Christmas cards? Mail. There are just a few traditions worth keeping!
11. Worst Christmas gift you ever received? Probably a really bad fruitcake.
12. Favorite Christmas Movie? I love all the Christmas movies including the perennial favorite "It's a Wonderful Life", but I will be different and admit that I really like "The Bells of St. Mary's."
13. When do you start shopping for Christmas? When I have time. I just purchased my first gift online today.
14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? For those white elephant parties, I have.
15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? Cheese ball and crackers. I love all Christmas food though. I'm trying to avoid making it because I don't need the calories.
16. Lights on the tree? Clear
17. Favorite Christmas song? Just one? I guess I'll choose "O Holy Night"
18. Travel at Christmas or stay home? Travel to parents' house.
19. Can you name all of Santa’s reindeer? Of course.
20. Angel on the tree top or a star? Currently an angel, but used to always be a star. When the star broke, all I could find was an angel.
21. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning? Usually Christmas morning.
22. Most annoying thing about this time of the year? Crowds -- crowded roads, crowded parking lots, crowds in the stores.
23. Favorite ornament theme or color? I have a large collection of music-related ornaments.
24. Favorite for Christmas dinner? We used to always have turkey & ham, but since there have been fewer of us on Christmas day, we often do steak now.
25. What do you want for Christmas this year? I haven't really thought about it yet. I'm not as much into the gift giving and receiving as in the "Reason for the Season." I really want those kids that receive the boxes I packed for "Operation Christmas Child" to have a great holiday. As far as gifts go, I usually end up getting money so I can spend it on whatever. I'll have to see what's on sale for the after-Christmas sales or what I really need. I'm not into buying a lot of extra stuff that will collect dust.
1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? BOTH - probably heavier on the gift bags lately.
2. Real tree or Artificial? - Mine is artificial, but I love live ones. I'm just too busy to take care of a live one during the holidays.
3. When do you put up the tree? When I have time. It will go up this weekend this year. Usually a few days earlier.
4. When do you take the tree down? When the cat lets me! I do keep it up until January 6, but if the cat is sitting under it, I will leave it up a little longer. He loves that tree, and I hate to cut his fun short!
5. Do you like eggnog? Yes. Although I usually have mine without the real "nog."
6. Favorite gift received as a child? I don't remember a lot of my childhood gifts, but it was probably a doll of some sorts. I got a cassette player when I was about 10 that I played nonstop for a long time. I really enjoyed that also.
7. Hardest person to buy for? My dad.
8. Easiest person to buy for? Me.
9. Do you have a nativity scene? Yes. It's a small one.
10. Mail or email Christmas cards? Mail. There are just a few traditions worth keeping!
11. Worst Christmas gift you ever received? Probably a really bad fruitcake.
12. Favorite Christmas Movie? I love all the Christmas movies including the perennial favorite "It's a Wonderful Life", but I will be different and admit that I really like "The Bells of St. Mary's."
13. When do you start shopping for Christmas? When I have time. I just purchased my first gift online today.
14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? For those white elephant parties, I have.
15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? Cheese ball and crackers. I love all Christmas food though. I'm trying to avoid making it because I don't need the calories.
16. Lights on the tree? Clear
17. Favorite Christmas song? Just one? I guess I'll choose "O Holy Night"
18. Travel at Christmas or stay home? Travel to parents' house.
19. Can you name all of Santa’s reindeer? Of course.
20. Angel on the tree top or a star? Currently an angel, but used to always be a star. When the star broke, all I could find was an angel.
21. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning? Usually Christmas morning.
22. Most annoying thing about this time of the year? Crowds -- crowded roads, crowded parking lots, crowds in the stores.
23. Favorite ornament theme or color? I have a large collection of music-related ornaments.
24. Favorite for Christmas dinner? We used to always have turkey & ham, but since there have been fewer of us on Christmas day, we often do steak now.
25. What do you want for Christmas this year? I haven't really thought about it yet. I'm not as much into the gift giving and receiving as in the "Reason for the Season." I really want those kids that receive the boxes I packed for "Operation Christmas Child" to have a great holiday. As far as gifts go, I usually end up getting money so I can spend it on whatever. I'll have to see what's on sale for the after-Christmas sales or what I really need. I'm not into buying a lot of extra stuff that will collect dust.
Sunday, November 30, 2008
Who's Number 1000?
Randy's Saturday night fun is my Sunday morning fun. I decided to take a look to see who person #1000 is in my database. I'm fortunate that I'm one of those lucky Legacy 7 users.
Person #1000 is Indiana J. Moseley, daughter of Samuel C. Moseley and his wife Missiniah Coffee. The family lived in Giles County, Tennessee. She was 11 years old in the 1850 census, making her likely born in 1838-39. She is not a direct line ancestor. She is my 1st cousin 4 times removed according to the Legacy relationship calculator.
Person #1000 is Indiana J. Moseley, daughter of Samuel C. Moseley and his wife Missiniah Coffee. The family lived in Giles County, Tennessee. She was 11 years old in the 1850 census, making her likely born in 1838-39. She is not a direct line ancestor. She is my 1st cousin 4 times removed according to the Legacy relationship calculator.
Thursday, November 27, 2008
An Early East Tennessee Flyer
The Citizen Tribune (Morristown, Tennessee) has an interesting story about Melville Murrell. It seems Mr. Murrell tried out his flying machine before the Wright Brothers. His flight was a little less successful, but it seems to have created a sensation in the area.
He appears to be the five-year-old M. M. Murrell in the home of M. R. and R. Murrell in Jefferson County, Tennessee in the 1860 census. Interestingly, all the children in the household are listed as M. M. Murrell. [1860 U.S. Federal Census, population schedule, Jefferson County, Tennessee, p. 164 (written), dwelling 1150, family 1189, M. R. Murrell household, page 164 (written); digital image, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 27 November 2008); citing National Archives microfilm publication M653, roll 1258.] His father is listed as a merchant in the census. (The article states he was a grocer.)
In the 1870 census, the family is enumerated in Civil District 11 of Jefferson County, Tennessee with the Witts Foundry post office listed. His presumed father Mark R. Murrell is listed as a farmer in this census. His presumptive mother's name is given as Rebecca M. His older presumed brother is Mabry M. [1870 U.S. Federal census, population schedule, Jefferson County, Tennessee, Civil District No. 11, Witts Foundry post office, p. 20 (written), dwelling 155, household 155, Mark R. Murrell household; digital image, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 27 November 2008); citing National Archives microfilm publication M593, roll 1540.]
Hamblen County was formed from Jefferson in 1870.
Melville is still residing with his parents in the 1880 census in the Panther Springs area of Hamblen County. [1880 U.S. Federal Census, Population Schedules, Hamblen County, Tennessee, s.d. 1, e.d. 69, p. 321 (stamped), dwelling 104, family 104, Mark R. Murrell household; digital image, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 27 November 2008); citing National Archives microfilm publication T9, roll 1258.] Both he and his father are listed as farmers. His presumed brother Mabry M. is residing next door with a new wife Louisa and son Raymond and is listed as a sewing machine agent. [1880 U.S. Federal Census, Population Schedules, Hamblen County, Tennessee, s.d. 1, e.d. 69, p. 321 (stamped), dwelling 105, family 105, Mabry M. Murrell household; digital image, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 27 November 2008); citing National Archives microfilm publication T9, roll 1258.]
By 1900, Melville is married to Matilda F. and has four sons and one daughter residing with him. His mother Rebecca, now a widow, is also living with him. [1900 U.S. Federal Census, population schedule, Hamblen County, Tennessee, s.d. 1, e.d. 54, sheet 2B, dwelling 39, family 40, Melville M. Murrell household; digital image, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 27 November 2008); citing National Archives microfilm publication T 623, roll 1575.] The 1900 census says that Melville was born in November 1854, rather than 1855 as the newspaper article states. He had been married 15 years at the time of the census.
I have been unable to locate the patent at the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office database. I tried several combinations of dates, names, terms, etc. but still could not find it. If anyone has better luck, please post the link!
He appears to be the five-year-old M. M. Murrell in the home of M. R. and R. Murrell in Jefferson County, Tennessee in the 1860 census. Interestingly, all the children in the household are listed as M. M. Murrell. [1860 U.S. Federal Census, population schedule, Jefferson County, Tennessee, p. 164 (written), dwelling 1150, family 1189, M. R. Murrell household, page 164 (written); digital image, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 27 November 2008); citing National Archives microfilm publication M653, roll 1258.] His father is listed as a merchant in the census. (The article states he was a grocer.)
In the 1870 census, the family is enumerated in Civil District 11 of Jefferson County, Tennessee with the Witts Foundry post office listed. His presumed father Mark R. Murrell is listed as a farmer in this census. His presumptive mother's name is given as Rebecca M. His older presumed brother is Mabry M. [1870 U.S. Federal census, population schedule, Jefferson County, Tennessee, Civil District No. 11, Witts Foundry post office, p. 20 (written), dwelling 155, household 155, Mark R. Murrell household; digital image, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 27 November 2008); citing National Archives microfilm publication M593, roll 1540.]
Hamblen County was formed from Jefferson in 1870.
Melville is still residing with his parents in the 1880 census in the Panther Springs area of Hamblen County. [1880 U.S. Federal Census, Population Schedules, Hamblen County, Tennessee, s.d. 1, e.d. 69, p. 321 (stamped), dwelling 104, family 104, Mark R. Murrell household; digital image, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 27 November 2008); citing National Archives microfilm publication T9, roll 1258.] Both he and his father are listed as farmers. His presumed brother Mabry M. is residing next door with a new wife Louisa and son Raymond and is listed as a sewing machine agent. [1880 U.S. Federal Census, Population Schedules, Hamblen County, Tennessee, s.d. 1, e.d. 69, p. 321 (stamped), dwelling 105, family 105, Mabry M. Murrell household; digital image, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 27 November 2008); citing National Archives microfilm publication T9, roll 1258.]
By 1900, Melville is married to Matilda F. and has four sons and one daughter residing with him. His mother Rebecca, now a widow, is also living with him. [1900 U.S. Federal Census, population schedule, Hamblen County, Tennessee, s.d. 1, e.d. 54, sheet 2B, dwelling 39, family 40, Melville M. Murrell household; digital image, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 27 November 2008); citing National Archives microfilm publication T 623, roll 1575.] The 1900 census says that Melville was born in November 1854, rather than 1855 as the newspaper article states. He had been married 15 years at the time of the census.
I have been unable to locate the patent at the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office database. I tried several combinations of dates, names, terms, etc. but still could not find it. If anyone has better luck, please post the link!
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
Knox County Libraries to Reduce Hours
Knox County (Tennessee) Public Libraries will be cutting back hours to avoid laying off staff. (They do have a hiring freeze.) Most of us researching genealogy use the McClung Collection the most often of the various branches, so I briefly want to outline how these changes will affect us. Basically, the library will open at 10 a.m. instead of 9 a.m. as in the past. On Tuesday evenings, the library will close at 5:30 p.m. instead of giving us evening hours until 8:30 p.m. (The library will still be open Monday evenings until 5:30 p.m.) The library will not open until 1 p.m. on Saturday, giving researchers who work all week only 4 hours to research on that day. In light of the fact that I've just read about increased library usage in light of the economy, I think that the government officials have made a terrible mistake in cutting library hours. This cut in hours is primarily affecting those who are working. It gives them even less time to use the library. The cut in Saturday hours is the worst thing for me. I live about an hour from the McClung Collection, and it is the best genealogical collection in the East Tennessee area. I usually work Monday nights during the academic year. I rarely used the library on Tuesday evenings because I'd only have a couple of hours to use it by the time I ate and got there after work. Saturday was my prime time to use McClung. Because of church activities, the Sunday hours don't work for me. I'm now reduced to 4 hours of research at the most when I do go. I enjoyed getting there early, going for lunch on Market Square and returning to research until near closing time. As bad as this is for genealogical research, I think the cut in hours will even be worse for potential users of the various branches of the library. You hear the government officials talking about how literacy and other educational measures need to be improved, but when it comes to putting their money where their mouth is, it isn't happening! I hope the public outcry will be great. Libraries in Tennessee are already underfunded. I was so disappointed in the selection of materials when I moved here from Ohio. I was a heavy user of the Cincinnati Public Library system when I lived in Cincinnati. When I moved to Tennessee, I ended up becoming a heavier purchaser of reading materials. East Tennessee libraries are inadequate in good fiction, but they are even worse when it comes to the types of non-fiction materials I enjoy (such as history which can be checked out).
Sunday, November 23, 2008
8 Things About Me-Me
I've been tagged by Thomas over at Destination: Austin Family who is probably tired of my lack of posting lately and decided to give me some inspiration in the form of this meme.
Tag Rules
1. Each player starts with eight random fact/habits about themselves.
2. People who are tagged need to write their own blog about their eight things and post these rules.
3. A the end of your blog post, you need to choose eight people to get tagged and list their name.
4. Don’t forget to leave them a comment telling them they’re tagged and to read your blog.
8 Things About Me
1. I enjoy singing. I sing mostly Christian music, and I've even recorded an album! I even have several boxes of leftover cassettes to prove it! The problem is that no one has equipment to play those on anymore!
2. I enjoy travelling. I don't get to do as much as I would like. I really want to do some more international travel. There are quite a few places in Europe I would like to visit. A large group from our church just returned from a trip to the Holy Land, and I just wish that I'd been able to join them. It sounded like they had an incredible time touring with our pastor who is an experienced guide. I hope to be able to go on a future trip to see the place our Savior walked.
3. I enjoy reading. I haven't had as much time lately to do this as I would like. I enjoy a good mystery. I also enjoy history books. I'm currently reading Tatiana de Rosnay's Sarah's Key as my fiction selection, and Helen F. M. Leary's second edition of North Carolina Research: Genealogy and Local History. I decided that I probably ought to spend a little more time with the latter book since I'm working on several North Carolina projects at the moment.
4. I enjoy cooking. As a single person who works all the time, I don't spend as much time in the kitchen as I would like. When I do start cooking, I enjoy experimenting and trying out new recipes. I like my food full of flavor. I prefer fresh ingredients when they are available. I still have garlic on my breath from that Tortellini Alfredo I made for lunch.
5. I am owned by a cat. Enough said! (For all you editor types out there, I believe that I should get rid of that passive voice and say "The cat owns me." Please feel free to edit this sentence as you wish.)
6. I have a hard time saying "no" but I'm learning!
7. I enjoy watching football and basketball. I prefer college sports. My favorite team is the Tennessee Volunteers. I'm also cheering for Duke when they aren't playing Tennessee! In pro ball, I tend to cheer more for the players than the teams. I love the Manning brothers. I grew up watching their Dad Archie play football for Ole Miss and then the Saints. I tend to cheer for the Colts because Peyton has been there longer. I also enjoy cheering for former Lady Vols in the WNBA.
8. I hate talking about me. I'd rather talk about something else.
Tagging Folks
8 people is a lot to tag, but I"ll try to find a few.
1. Sheri at The Educated Genealogist
2. Bill at West in New England (It's payback for all that early morning Facebook kidnapping!)
3. Becky at Kinnexions
4. Lisa at A Light That Shines Again
5. Denise at Family Matters
6. Ruth at Bluebonnet Country Genealogy
7. Holly at Genealogy Musings
8. Janet at Janet the Researcher
Now, it's time to go leave comments so they know that they are "it."
Tag Rules
1. Each player starts with eight random fact/habits about themselves.
2. People who are tagged need to write their own blog about their eight things and post these rules.
3. A the end of your blog post, you need to choose eight people to get tagged and list their name.
4. Don’t forget to leave them a comment telling them they’re tagged and to read your blog.
8 Things About Me
1. I enjoy singing. I sing mostly Christian music, and I've even recorded an album! I even have several boxes of leftover cassettes to prove it! The problem is that no one has equipment to play those on anymore!
2. I enjoy travelling. I don't get to do as much as I would like. I really want to do some more international travel. There are quite a few places in Europe I would like to visit. A large group from our church just returned from a trip to the Holy Land, and I just wish that I'd been able to join them. It sounded like they had an incredible time touring with our pastor who is an experienced guide. I hope to be able to go on a future trip to see the place our Savior walked.
3. I enjoy reading. I haven't had as much time lately to do this as I would like. I enjoy a good mystery. I also enjoy history books. I'm currently reading Tatiana de Rosnay's Sarah's Key as my fiction selection, and Helen F. M. Leary's second edition of North Carolina Research: Genealogy and Local History. I decided that I probably ought to spend a little more time with the latter book since I'm working on several North Carolina projects at the moment.
4. I enjoy cooking. As a single person who works all the time, I don't spend as much time in the kitchen as I would like. When I do start cooking, I enjoy experimenting and trying out new recipes. I like my food full of flavor. I prefer fresh ingredients when they are available. I still have garlic on my breath from that Tortellini Alfredo I made for lunch.
5. I am owned by a cat. Enough said! (For all you editor types out there, I believe that I should get rid of that passive voice and say "The cat owns me." Please feel free to edit this sentence as you wish.)
6. I have a hard time saying "no" but I'm learning!
7. I enjoy watching football and basketball. I prefer college sports. My favorite team is the Tennessee Volunteers. I'm also cheering for Duke when they aren't playing Tennessee! In pro ball, I tend to cheer more for the players than the teams. I love the Manning brothers. I grew up watching their Dad Archie play football for Ole Miss and then the Saints. I tend to cheer for the Colts because Peyton has been there longer. I also enjoy cheering for former Lady Vols in the WNBA.
8. I hate talking about me. I'd rather talk about something else.
Tagging Folks
8 people is a lot to tag, but I"ll try to find a few.
1. Sheri at The Educated Genealogist
2. Bill at West in New England (It's payback for all that early morning Facebook kidnapping!)
3. Becky at Kinnexions
4. Lisa at A Light That Shines Again
5. Denise at Family Matters
6. Ruth at Bluebonnet Country Genealogy
7. Holly at Genealogy Musings
8. Janet at Janet the Researcher
Now, it's time to go leave comments so they know that they are "it."
Friday, November 21, 2008
Thursday, November 20, 2008
Top 10 Newspaper Web Sites
I thought it was interesting that Tennessee had two newspapers that made it on the list of the top ten newspaper Web sites. Both the Knoxville News-Sentinel and the Tennessean made the list. Congratulations to both papers!
Friday, November 14, 2008
Family History Sources
While I was cataloging government documents today, I ran across Family History Sources. It's a publication of NARA's Southeast Region. You will be able to locate print copies of this brochure in many libraries participating in the Federal Depository Library Program. The brochure provides a good overview of what is available in Morrow, Georgia for genealogists and family historians!
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
Dear Mr. 1830 Census Enumerator:
I see that they did not teach you how to do your sums in Alabama. 1+1+1+1+1+1 under the free whites category is equal to 6 persons. 2+1+2+2 under slaves is equal to 7 persons. 6+7=13 not 18 as you somehow calculated.
You obviously need this wonderful invention that we have invented since you first enumerated the persons in your area to calculate your totals. It is called a spreadsheet program. You can choose from several. There is Microsoft Excel, Corel Quattro Pro, Open Office Calc, Lotus 1-2-3, and even Google Docs. If you put in the correct formula, it is very easy to calculate the totals so that you are not off by 5 persons!
Sincerely yours,
Someone in the 21st century who is using your data
You obviously need this wonderful invention that we have invented since you first enumerated the persons in your area to calculate your totals. It is called a spreadsheet program. You can choose from several. There is Microsoft Excel, Corel Quattro Pro, Open Office Calc, Lotus 1-2-3, and even Google Docs. If you put in the correct formula, it is very easy to calculate the totals so that you are not off by 5 persons!
Sincerely yours,
Someone in the 21st century who is using your data
Saturday, November 08, 2008
Reorganizing the Files
I decided that my former filing system was no longer working for me. I originally had folders that were mostly sorted by surname, with occasional folders for individual families or geographic locations as subdivisions of the surname. I also had some folders that were strictly sorted geographically, but these were few and far between.
The problem is that records within geographic regions often contain multiple families of interest to me. I tend to research a family and all of their associates. After talking with another genealogist, I'm going to try to slowly reorganize my old records mostly by geographic area with record type underneath.
I think that I'll still end up with a few surname files and correspondence files because I've already run across a few things that don't necessarily fit will in a geographic arrangement scheme. I will also end up with some files that address methodology that are more generalized.
Now I have a question for my readers: Do you have a filing system that works for you? Is your filing system "broken" as mine was? I'd love to have comments that talk about what has worked and what hasn't!
The problem is that records within geographic regions often contain multiple families of interest to me. I tend to research a family and all of their associates. After talking with another genealogist, I'm going to try to slowly reorganize my old records mostly by geographic area with record type underneath.
I think that I'll still end up with a few surname files and correspondence files because I've already run across a few things that don't necessarily fit will in a geographic arrangement scheme. I will also end up with some files that address methodology that are more generalized.
Now I have a question for my readers: Do you have a filing system that works for you? Is your filing system "broken" as mine was? I'd love to have comments that talk about what has worked and what hasn't!
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Checking the Facts
As I was cataloging books today, I came across a typewritten sheet inserted into a book. It's heading read "The Lord's Prayer." The following claim was made:
The following beautiful version of this prayer was found at Corinth, Mississippi by A. P. Green of Auburn, Indiana on the morning of May 30, 1862, just as the Confederate forces evacuated the city. These lines were printed on very heavy satin bearing the date of July 4, 1823.
This seemed to me to be a pre-Internet version of one of those nice inspirational things that get passed around to "everyone in your address book" with the additional stipulation of "send it back to me." I was curious and decided to see what I could find!
I found nearly the identical text at a church's web site with a claim that it was found in Charleston, South Carolina during the Civil War. They were also found here with the Charleston claim and the additional information about having been printed on satin.
According to this list found at the Dekalb INGenWeb site, there was an Alexander D. Green who was mustered in 25 Oct 1864 and out on 14 Sep 1865. If those were found in 1862, this was not the Green of the poem.
I ran out of time to keep researching to see if there was an A. P. Green from Indiana who could have been in Corinth (or Charleston) at the time of one of those battles. I just didn't have time to check all the regimental histories and check surrounding counties, so what I'm doing is inviting other genealogists to see if we can verify the claims of this or if we can disprove them!
I ran out of time to keep researching to see if there was an A. P. Green from Indiana who could have been in Corinth (or Charleston) at the time of one of those battles. I just didn't have time to check all the regimental histories and check surrounding counties, so what I'm doing is inviting other genealogists to see if we can verify the claims of this or if we can disprove them!
Friday, October 17, 2008
25 Things
I've been tagged in the 25 things meme by Bill West of West in New England.
10 years ago I was....
1. Living in Cincinnati
2. Working as a reference librarian for a college and seminary
3. Working at the National Quartet Convention and other events for the Southern Gospel Music Association
4. Traveling and singing in churches quite a bit on weekends
5. Researching the family history
Five things on today's to-do list
1. Take class to Java City for "Fizz Ed." (done)
2. Work at library book sale (in process)
3. Index issues of Christian Single for Christian Periodical Index (1 issue down)
4. Work on church library's wish list
5. Attend performance of The Secret Garden
Five snacks I enjoy:
1. Fruit
2. Cookies
3. Popcorn
4. Peanuts
5. Chex Snack Mix
Five places I have lived:
1. Amory, Mississippi
2. Cincinnati, Ohio
3. Morristown, Tennessee
4. Nashville, Tennessee
5. Bartlett, Tennessee
Five jobs I've Had
1. Camp counselor
2. Librarian
3. Professor
4. Bookkeeper
5. Director of children's education (at a church)
Now, I'm supposed to tag 5 people. I don't have time to figure out who has been tagged and who hasn't. I think most have already been tagged, so I'm tagging people who read our blogs but don't have one of their own. Just respond in the comments!
10 years ago I was....
1. Living in Cincinnati
2. Working as a reference librarian for a college and seminary
3. Working at the National Quartet Convention and other events for the Southern Gospel Music Association
4. Traveling and singing in churches quite a bit on weekends
5. Researching the family history
Five things on today's to-do list
1. Take class to Java City for "Fizz Ed." (done)
2. Work at library book sale (in process)
3. Index issues of Christian Single for Christian Periodical Index (1 issue down)
4. Work on church library's wish list
5. Attend performance of The Secret Garden
Five snacks I enjoy:
1. Fruit
2. Cookies
3. Popcorn
4. Peanuts
5. Chex Snack Mix
Five places I have lived:
1. Amory, Mississippi
2. Cincinnati, Ohio
3. Morristown, Tennessee
4. Nashville, Tennessee
5. Bartlett, Tennessee
Five jobs I've Had
1. Camp counselor
2. Librarian
3. Professor
4. Bookkeeper
5. Director of children's education (at a church)
Now, I'm supposed to tag 5 people. I don't have time to figure out who has been tagged and who hasn't. I think most have already been tagged, so I'm tagging people who read our blogs but don't have one of their own. Just respond in the comments!
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
Poverty, Our Ancestors, and Responding to Needs
Many of us came from families who were poor. While I have some ancestors who came from affluent backgrounds, I had more than came from impoverished ones. A simple look at the value of lands on census records or on tax assessment lists verifies this. I've heard many of the family members I knew who grew up through the Great Depression talk about how little they had. However, they also freely admit that almost all of their neighbors were in the same boat that they were.
When I think about poverty, I am reminded of the words of the Apostle Paul to the Christians in Philippi. He said:
But I rejoiced in the Lord greatly that now at last your care for me has flourished again; though you surely did care, but you lacked opportunity. Not that I speak in regard to need, for I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content: I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound. Everywhere and in all things I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. Nevertheless you have done well that you shared in my distress. (Philippians 4: 10-14, NKJV)I love to read that Paul was content no matter what his situation was. With the financial worries of the past few weeks, many have been left to wonder if their economic conditions will worsen. Paul's contentment was not based upon his wealth (or the lack thereof). For him, Christ was enough. I believe that many of our ancestors didn't worry much about their poverty. I believe that they were content, just as Paul was, in whatever circumstance they found themselves. There were a few who weren't. However, I believe that many were!
I'm very grateful to belong to a great church that does try to minister to the needs of those who are hurting financially. We don't want people to go hungry. However, we want to minister to them spiritually as well. Just as the Philippian Christians ministered to Paul's needs, we need to be reaching out toward those who are in need.
Reading through a lot of older records, you will find accounts where finances or material goods were granted to those who were in need. There were even overseers who were charged with this.
Even this practice has Biblical roots in that the deacons were appointed specifically for that reason.
Now in those days, when the number of the disciples was multiplying, there arose a complaint against the Hebrews by the Hellenists, because their widows were neglected in the daily distribution. Then the twelve summoned the multitude of the disciples and said, “It is not desirable that we should leave the word of God and serve tables. Therefore, brethren, seek out from among you seven men of good reputation, full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom, whom we may appoint over this business; but we will give ourselves continually to prayer and to the ministry of the word.” (Acts 6: 1-4, NKJV)I wonder if our early government officials were following a Biblical example in responding to the needs of the poor in their communities.
This post was submitted for Blog Action Day.
Thursday, October 09, 2008
Revisiting Old Data
It's amazing how as genealogists, we can sometimes go back to our sources and look at them with fresh eyes. Tonight I looked at some of my Aldridge data from Alabama and North Carolina in my database and noticed that I'd probably entered it before I switched to a program that allowed footnotes! I decided to go back and put in the sources, but when I did, I added a little information in the "notes" field. You see, I had completely left out the listed bondsman and the witness for both Prince William Aldridge and Isham Aldridge. The same person served as bondsman for both. The same witness served in both marriages. I'm sure that I had omitted that in my old database (from the early to mid 1990s) which gave me only 10 fixed width lines in which to enter information because I just didn't have room for it. Fortunately I had copies of my sources which listed these. I don't really know how to connect the bondsman with the family, but I'll be looking for a link now. The witness' name jumped off the page at me. It was "William Johnson." You see, the Aldridges had close associations with the family of Price M. Johnson after moving from Wilkes Co., NC to Alabama. Now, I'm wondering if this William could be Price's father. One of Price's sons was named William, but he's a little further down the line than I would expect in a naming pattern if he named after either spouse's father. That's not to say that it is not possible.
Now, I just need to make a trip to North Carolina to get the actual marriage bonds and to do more research!
Now, I just need to make a trip to North Carolina to get the actual marriage bonds and to do more research!
Sunday, October 05, 2008
Happy 205th!
My church, First Baptist Church of Morristown, celebrated its 205th anniversary today. We got our start as Bethel Church way back in 1803. Today, we worshipped in a newly renovated worship center. It was an incredible day as we heard from 4 former pastors (two live and two by video) and from our current pastor. The service began with the blowing of the shofar. After the choir came in, a replica of the ark of the covenant was brought forward. The Celebration Choir (of which I'm a member) and Orchestra led in worship throughout the service. I don't want to say we performed because it was not a performance. It was Praise to God! Worship! It was an incredible service! We had several baptisms, and we had some people join the church. One memory that I'll always have of this day was that we didn't have enough chairs up in the choir. There were three of us sharing two chairs! We learned pretty quickly that we had to sit down in a certain order for it to work out as we had to get up and down several times throughout the service. How Great Is Our God!
By the way, this is my 900th blog post, and I can't think of one that I'd rather have in this position!
By the way, this is my 900th blog post, and I can't think of one that I'd rather have in this position!
Saturday, October 04, 2008
Whose Body Is It?
Inquiring genealogists want to know . . .
Terry Thornton pointed to an article in the Monroe County Journal (a merger of the Amory Advertiser and Aberdeen Examiner, both of which were owned by the Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal). Why didn't they give the section/township/range? Have they checked to see if the casket company's business records from that time period are available? (Nothing via NUCMC, but I'd sure love to know if anyone knows if there are any records of the company in Cincinnati which sold Fisk's coffins which still exist.)
Terry Thornton pointed to an article in the Monroe County Journal (a merger of the Amory Advertiser and Aberdeen Examiner, both of which were owned by the Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal). Why didn't they give the section/township/range? Have they checked to see if the casket company's business records from that time period are available? (Nothing via NUCMC, but I'd sure love to know if anyone knows if there are any records of the company in Cincinnati which sold Fisk's coffins which still exist.)
Monday, September 29, 2008
Kidnapped
I've been getting kidnapped quite a bit lately on Facebook. I've always been a fan of Trivial Pursuit, and one of my favorite categories was the blue one (geography). To escape your kidnapper, you must answer a trivia question based on the geographic location in which your kidnapper is hiding out. This is one Facebook application that I really enjoy. I'm in my fourth hideout city at the moment, but I'm sure I'm about to be kidnapped back to Rio de Janeiro at any minute!
Saturday, September 27, 2008
Today's Research
Today I used Google books and found a couple of resources that were extremely useful to me on my Rathbun/Rathbone ancestors who lived on Block Island (which appears to be threatened by Hurricane Kyle at the present moment). I found a published listing of those buried on the island. I also found a transcription of a Bible record for the family. The Bible originally belonged to my 6th great grand uncle. It was passed down through several generations before being published in the Register. I did notice something I didn't expect. A search by surname on the Register at the New England Ancestors web site did not produce a hit on this Bible. I was fortunate to locate the entry in the April 1913 issue through Google books. I think the moral of the story is that indexes are not always complete. If you have an opportunity to check another index or do a full text search, do so. You might come up with a "hit" that you would have otherwise missed.
Monday, September 22, 2008
Internet Privacy
Or - Why I didn't participate in the "Getting to Know Me, Getting to Know All About Me" challenge.
I gave an assignment to my classes which they submitted late last week in which they were to "Google" themselves and find out what they could find out about themselves. They were also to check their MySpace and/or Facebook profiles to see what a person just browsing the Web could find out about them. I also gave them links to government databases of various states so that they could check the information available for viewing there.
Many of my students found very little about themselves; others found a great deal of information about themselves or about their families, some of which was disturbing to them.
Any time that I reveal personal information about myself, I am very careful to weigh that and its potential consequences. I'm simply not comfortable putting too much into one post about myself. When I choose to reveal something, I make sure it is something that I'm comfortable revealing and that there is a point to revealing it.
I do not like to blog about living persons. Most of the time such persons remain unidentified by given name in my posts if I find it useful to include a slight mention. Many of you may have noticed that when the carnivals are on topics where I would have to reveal personal information about a living individual that I have not participated in that carnival.
I simply read about too many security breaches involving too much personal information. Take for example a post that has been in the news this last week. Gov. Sarah Palin's email was hacked because of information in a news story about her. Apparently her password was too easy to guess and a hacker cracked into her email account. Those of us here in East Tennessee are far too well acquainted with the story as a student at a nearby university appears to be the chief suspect in the breach.
I do reveal information about myself in the blog, but that information is revealed over a long period of time. I am not criticizing those of you who have chosen to reveal personal information, but I also do not criticize persons who choose to blog anonymously or under a pseudonym. For a long time, I simply signed my articles with "Lori." I ended up signing articles with both first and last name because it became common knowledge because other bloggers revealed my identity. We, as bloggers, need to be sensitive to the privacy of our fellow bloggers as well.
When is the last time you checked to see what personally identifiable information about you was available out on the Internet? Is there enough there that someone could assume your identity if they so chose? If so, you better be studying up on what to do if your identity is stolen! [Class dismissed.]
I gave an assignment to my classes which they submitted late last week in which they were to "Google" themselves and find out what they could find out about themselves. They were also to check their MySpace and/or Facebook profiles to see what a person just browsing the Web could find out about them. I also gave them links to government databases of various states so that they could check the information available for viewing there.
Many of my students found very little about themselves; others found a great deal of information about themselves or about their families, some of which was disturbing to them.
Any time that I reveal personal information about myself, I am very careful to weigh that and its potential consequences. I'm simply not comfortable putting too much into one post about myself. When I choose to reveal something, I make sure it is something that I'm comfortable revealing and that there is a point to revealing it.
I do not like to blog about living persons. Most of the time such persons remain unidentified by given name in my posts if I find it useful to include a slight mention. Many of you may have noticed that when the carnivals are on topics where I would have to reveal personal information about a living individual that I have not participated in that carnival.
I simply read about too many security breaches involving too much personal information. Take for example a post that has been in the news this last week. Gov. Sarah Palin's email was hacked because of information in a news story about her. Apparently her password was too easy to guess and a hacker cracked into her email account. Those of us here in East Tennessee are far too well acquainted with the story as a student at a nearby university appears to be the chief suspect in the breach.
I do reveal information about myself in the blog, but that information is revealed over a long period of time. I am not criticizing those of you who have chosen to reveal personal information, but I also do not criticize persons who choose to blog anonymously or under a pseudonym. For a long time, I simply signed my articles with "Lori." I ended up signing articles with both first and last name because it became common knowledge because other bloggers revealed my identity. We, as bloggers, need to be sensitive to the privacy of our fellow bloggers as well.
When is the last time you checked to see what personally identifiable information about you was available out on the Internet? Is there enough there that someone could assume your identity if they so chose? If so, you better be studying up on what to do if your identity is stolen! [Class dismissed.]
Saturday, September 20, 2008
Review: St. Patrick's Day Shillelagh
Nolan, Janet. The St. Patrick's Day Shillelagh. Illustrated by Ben F. Stahl. Morton Grove, Ill.: Albert Whitman & Company, 2004.
The Irish potato famine forces Fergus' family to immigrate to the United States. Before leaving the old country, Fergus carves a shillelagh which becomes the family's reminder of their family's history through several generations. This is a great book to remind families that their story needs to be heard.
I don't know if this qualifies or not, but I'm submitting it to the Back to School Edition of the Carnival of Irish Heritage and Culture hosted by Small-Leaved Shamrock (details here). Since I have no known Irish ancestry, I don't spend a lot of time in primary sources that deal with the Irish. This children's book, however, was delightful.
Friday, September 19, 2008
Which Musical Instrument Should I Play? - I Already Do
You Should Play the Piano |
 You are a true music aficionado who loves many musical style and eras. You find music to be an escape. And you'd like to be relaxed and comfortable when you're making it. You're very innovative, and you have a unique way of knowing what may sound beautiful. There's a strong possibility that you could compose some of your own work songs quite easily. While you have a lot of creative energy, you are also serious and conscientious. Your musical talent needs time, practice, and lots of privacy to flourish. Your dominant personality characteristic: your painstaking attention to detail Your secondary personality characteristic: your natural tendency to be whimsical |
Thursday, September 18, 2008
Carnival of Genealogy - 56th edition - Part II
In part I of the Carnival, you read the individual submissions to our theme of the ten most essential books in your genealogical library. Now, in part II, we will look at the results of our exercise. Listings will be from most often mentioned to those appearing only once in a listing. All books mentioned are worthwhile or they would not have been included on someone's listing!
Mills / Evidence Explained
Mills / Professional Genealogy
Board of Certification for Genealogists / BCG Genealogical Standards Manual
Greenwood / The Researcher's Guide to Genealogy
One could also argue that The Source belongs here. Because of the different authors of different editions, it makes two appearances in the 3 times list.
Mills / Evidence!: Citation and Analysis for the Family Historian
Rose / Genealogical Proof Standard
Carmack / Your Guide to Cemetery Research
Eichholz / Red Book
Hansen / The Handybook for Genealogists
Carmack / Organizing Your Family History Search
Eakle & Cerny / The Source
Hoffman / Polish Surnames
Hone / Land and Property Research in the United States
McGinnis / Michigan Genealogy
Rising / The Family Tree Problem Solver
Shea & Hoffman / In Their Words
Szucs & Luebking / The Source
Carmack / You Can Write Your Family History
Croom /Genealogist's Companion & Source Book
Croom /Unpuzzling Your Past
Crowe / Genealogy Online
Dollarhide / New York State Censuses and Substitutes
DuMelle / Finding Your Chicago Ancestors
Geyh et al. / French Canadian Sources
Hatcher / Producing a Quality Family History
Hinckley / Your Guide to the Federal Census
Hoffman & Helon / First Names of the Polish Commonwealth: Origins & Meanings
Humphery-Smith / The Phillimore Atlas and Index of Parish Registers
Morgan / How to Do Everything with Your Genealogy
Morgan / The Official Guide to Ancestry.com
National Genealogical Society / National Genealogical Society Quarterly
Shea & Hoffman /Following the Paper Trail
Sulimierski, Chlebowski & Walewski / Słownik geograficzny Królestwa Polskiego i innych krajów słowiańskich
Taylor /Preserving Your Family Photographs
Taylor / Uncovering Your Ancestry Through Family Photographs
Thorndale & Dollarhide / Map Guide to the U.S. Federal Censuses, 1790-1920
One could also argue that The Everything Family Tree Book goes here. Different submitters gave different authors, but it may be the same title. It is listed once under each author in the "1 time" list.
Abbot / Our Company Increases Apace
Abbot & Abbot / A Genealogical Register of the Descendants of George Abbot, of Andover
Adolph / Tracing Your Family History
Akenson / Some Family
Allen / First Steps in Genealogy
Anderson / The Great Migration Begins (3 v.)
Anderson & Thode / A Genealogist's Guide to Discovering Your Germanic Ancestors
Anderson, Sanborn, & Sanborn / Great Migration: Immigrants to New England (7 v.)
Armbruster / Brooklyn's Eastern District
Association of Gravestone Studies / AGS Field Guides
Baer & Breeze / Finding Indiana Ancestors
Baker / A Guide to Historic Plymouth
Barran / The Stadte-Atlas of Pommern (Pomerania)
Barrons / 301 Polish verbs
Barth / City People
Baxter / In Search of Your British & Irish Roots
Beard & Demong / How to Find Your Family Roots
Beider / A Dictionary of Jewish Surnames from the Russian Empire
Beider / Dictionary of Ashkenazic Given Names
Beider / Dictionary of Jewish Surnames from the Kingdom of Poland
Beider / Dictionary of Jewish Surnames from Galacia
Bell / Out of This Furnace
Benardo & Weiss / Brooklyn by Name
Bennett / Elaine
Bennett / Nell
Bentz / If I Can, You Can Decipher Germanic Records
Billingsley / Communities of Kinship
Bonnen / Sangre Judia
Boyd / Family Maps of Monroe County, Mississippi
Brandt / Germanic Genealogy
Brown / History of the Sisters of Providence of Saint Mary of the Woods
Burroughs / Black Roots
Burton-Cruber / Cemetery Markings: Itawamba County, Mississippi
Butler / History of the Town of Groton
Butler / Everyman's Dictionary of Dates
Byrne / The 2,548 Best Things Anybody Ever Said
Carmack / Family Tree Resource Book for Genealogists
Carmack / A Genealogist's Guide to Discovering Your Immigrant and Ethnic Ancestors
Carmack & Gaunt / Carmack's Guide to Copyright and Contracts
Carter / Searching American Probate Records
Case / The Hollister Family of America
Cerny & Eakle / Ancestry's Guide to Research: Case Studies in American Genealogy
Chambers / Early Germans of New Jersey
Chavez / Origins of New Mexico Families
Chorzempa / Polish Roots
Christensen / Parishes and Registration Districts in England and Wales
Christensen / How Do I Prove It?
Clearfield Progress / A View From . . .
Clemensson & Andersson / Swedish Roots
Clifford / Becoming an Accredited Genealogist
Conwill / The Diary of Henry Jackson Lentz (1819-1869) of Limestone County, Alabama & Itawamba County, Mississippi Covering the Years 1847-1869.
County Dunham Environmental Education Curriculum / Coal Mining in Co. Dunham
Crichton / America 1900
Croom / Unpuzzling Your Past Workbook
Curran, Crane & Wray / Numbering Your Genealogy
Daniel / Genealogical Resources of New Mexico
Darrah / Cartes de Visite in Nineteenth Century Photography
Dearden / The German Researcher, How to Get the Most Out of LDS FHC
Delorme Corp. / Mississippi Atlas & Gazetteer: Topo Maps of the Entire State
Drake / What Did They Mean By That?
Dunkle & Lainhart / The Town Records of Roxbury, Massachusetts, 1647 to 1730
Eismann / Photoshop Masking & Compositing
Eismann & Palmer / Adobe Photoshop Restoration & Retouching
Ellis & Evans / The History of Lancaster County
Esquibel & Colligan / The Spanish Recolonization of New Mexico
Evans / Mother Monroe
Faiguenboim / Dictionary of Sephardic Surnames
Feldblyum / Russian-Jewish Given Names
Filby / Bibliography of American County Histories
Fisiak et al. / Nowy słownik Fundacji Kościuszkowskiej = The new Kosciuszko Foundation dictionary.
Flanders / Atlas of American Migration
Forkner & Dyson / Historical Sketches and Reminsces of Madison County
Franks & Turner / An Itawamba Sampler: A Researcher's Guide to Itawamba County, Mississippi
Fretz / A Genealogical Record of the Descendants of Martin Oberholtzer
Gingerich & Kreider / Amish and Amish Mennonite Genealogies
Gitlitz / Secrecy and Deceit
Gormley & Lord / The Official Guide to Rootsweb.com
Gorr / Jewish Personal Names
Greene County History Book Committee / Historic Greene County, Tennessee, and Its People: 1783-1992
Gronlund / Pioneer Register: Pioneers of British Columbia, Pre 1900
Grover / U. S. News & World Report Stylebook for Writers & Editors
Gutkind / Keep It Real
Gwin / Olden Times Revisited: W. L. Clayton's Pen Pictures
Hagstrom / Hagstrom's Pocket Atlas New York 5 Boroughs
Hakim / The History of US
Harding / Mayflower Families Through 5 Generations: Vol. 3: Family of George Soule
Hartley / The Everything Family Tree Book
Hatcher / Researching Your Colonial New England Ancestors
Heidgerd / The Freer Family
Herber / Ancestral Trails: The Complete Guide to British Genealogy and Family History
Hicks / Adventures of a Tramp Printer,1880-1890
Hill / History of Coshcocton County, Ohio: Its Past and Present, 1740-1881
Hinckley / Locating Lost Family Members and Friends
Hispanic Genealogical Research Center of New Mexico / Marriages: Socorro 1854-1900, San Ignacio, San Cristobal, San Marcial, La Jolla
Hoes / Baptismal and Marriage Registers of the Old Dutch Church of Kingston, Ulster County, New York, 1660-1809
Holt / Encyclopedia of Etiquette
Hornberger & Hudson / The Historical Atlas of New York City
Howe / Genealogy of the Bigelow Family of America
Hunt / Historical Collections of Coshcocton County, Ohio, 1764-1876
Hunter / Marriages of Coshcocton County, Ohio, 1811-1930
Irwin / Robert Irwin’s Brothers and Sisters and their Families from County Cavan, Ireland to Fenelon Township, Ontario
Jackson / The Encyclopedia of New York City
Jaslan / Wiedza Powszechna Compact Polish and English Dictionary
Jonas / A Genealogist's Guide to Discovering Your Scottish Ancestors
Jones / German-American Names
Kelly / Kelly's Directory of Lincolnshire
King / King's Handbook of New York City
Knab / Polish Customs, Traditions and Folklore
Kobbe / Kobbe's Guide to New York
Kriter, Kriter, Thompson, & Thompson / Monroe County, Mississippi, Chancery Court Record Index 1821-1900
Labrosse-Purcell / Researching Canadian Uncommon Sources
Lambert / A Guide to Massachusetts Cemeteries
Lehnhof & Kaiser / Zauberhafter Niederrhein, Eine Farbbildreise durch Landschaft und Geschichte
Lindberg / Genealogist's Handbook for New England Research
Lindsay / Mayflower Bastard
Linkman / The Victorians
Linkman / The Expert Guide to Dating Victorian Photographs
Loveland, Fremont & Loveland / The Genealogy of the Loveland Family in the United States of America from 1635 to 1892
Luthy / Amish in America
Mace / Collector's Guide to Early Photographs
Malka / Sephardic Genealogy
Mann / The Oxford Guide to Library Research
Markham Berczy Settlers Association / A Story of the Markham Berczy Settlers
Markham Historical Society / Markham, 1793-1900
Mautz / Biographies of Western Photographers, 1840-1900
McCulloch / Card Photographs
McCullough / Truman
McCutcheon / The Writer's Guide to Everyday Life in the 1800s
McWhorter / The Power of Babel: A Natural History of Language
Melnyk / Family History 101
Melnyk / The Weekend Genealogist
Menk / Surnames
Merriman / Genealogy in Ontario
Merriman / United Empire Loyalists
Merriman / About Genealogical Standards of Evidence, A Guide for Genealogists
Meyerink / Printed Sources
Millennium Committee / Churches in the Diocese of Dunham
Minert / Deciphering Handwriting in German Documents
Mississippi Department of Transportation / Mississippi Road Atlas
Mokotoff, Sack & Sharon / Where Once We Walked
Moore / A Genealogy of the Descendants of Robert Austin of Kingstown, R.I.
Mullerowa & Zuchowska / Roman Catholic Parishes in the Polish People's Republic in 1984
Murff & Murff / The Descendants of Randolph S. Murff 1784-1955
National Society, Daughters of the American Revolution / Lineages Books of the Charter Members of the National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution
National Society, Daughters of the American Revolution / DAR Patriot Index
National Society, Daughters of the American Revolution / Catalog of the Seimes Microfilm Collection
New England Historic Genealogical Society / New England Historical and Genealogical Register
Nugent / Cavaliers and Pioneers
O'Laughlin / Co. Kilkenny Ireland, Genealogy & Family History Notes
O'Laughlin / Book of Irish Families Great and Small
Olmstead / New Mexico Spanish & Mexican Colonial Censuses: 1790, 1823, and 1845
Olmstead / Spanish and Mexican Censuses of New Mexico 1750-1830
Palmquist & Kaibourn / Pioneer Photographers from the Mississippi to the Continental Divide
Palmquist & Kaibourn / Pioneer Photographers of the Far West
Pearson / Contributions for the Genealogies of the Descendants of the First Settlers of the Patent and City of Schenectady, from 1662 to 1800
Pfeufer / New Mexico Baptisms: San Miguel de Socorro Church 1821-1853
Philbrick / Mayflower
Poles in Michigan / Poles in Michigan (vol. 1)
Poliniak / When Coal was King
Polking / Writing Family Histories and Memories
Polley & Thornton / Descendants of Richard Thornton
Pols / Family Photographs 1860-1945
Poucher, Terwilliger & Heidgerd / Old Gravestones of Ulster County
Powell / The Everything Family Tree Book
Proko, Kraska & Stickles / The Polish Community of Worcester (Images of America)
Putnam / Genealogy of David Putnam and His Descendants
Putnam / A History of the Putnam Family in England and America
Quillen / Secrets of Tracing Your Ancestors
Rael / Reading, Writing, and Researching for History
Rainer / Your Life as Story
Ramirez Alief et al. / New Mexico Censuses of 1833 and 1845
Reed / Itawamba: A History; Story of a County in Northeast Mississippi
Renick / Genealogy 101
Reynolds / Hudson and Mohawk Genealogical and Family Memoirs
Riemer / The German Research Companion
Rineer / Churches and Cemeteries of Lancaster County
Risley / The Risley Family History
Romano / Per a Una Historia de la Girona Jueva
Rose / Courthouse Research for Family Historians
Rudisill, Sandweiss, & Palmquist / Photographers
Ryan / Irish Records
Sanborn & Sanborn / Vital Records of Hampton, N. H.: to the End of the Year 1900
Sanchez / San Miguel de Socorro, New Mexico: Marriage Records, 1821-1853
Schaefer / The Hidden Half of the Family: A Sourcebook for Women's Genealogy
Schickel / The World of Carnegie Hall
Secall i Guell / Els Jueus de Valls
Severa / Dressed for the Photographer
Seversmith / Colonial Families of Long Island, New York and Connecticut
Shanet / Philharmonic
Sherman, Sherman, & Wakefield / Mayflower Families Through 5 Generations: Vol. 13: William
White
Skulnick & Moorshead / 500 Brickwall Solutions to Genealogy Problems
Skulnick & Moorshead / More Brickwall Solutions to Genealogy Problems
Sledge / Monroe County Post Offices: 1827-1950
Smart / Index to Upper Canada Land Books
Smith & Weiser / Trinity Lutheran Church Records
Southwest Pennsylvania Genealogical Society / Pennsylvania Line
Spector / Encyclopedia of Jewish Life
Spence / Legacy
Sperry / Reading Early American Handwriting
Strangstad / A Graveyard Preservation Primer
Stratton / Applied Genealogy
Stratton / Plymouth Colony
Streidl / Häuserchronik der Stadt Pfaffenhofen a.d. Ilm
Streidl / Stadt Pfaffenhofen a.d. Ilm
Szucs / They Became Americans
Tademy / Cane River
Taylor / The Canadian Genealogical Sourcebook
Taylor / Scrapbooking Your Family History
Thiry & Dolader / El Libro Verde de Aragon
Thornton / New Hope Cemetery, Parham, Monroe County, Mississippi
Thornton / Index to Online Burials in Monroe County, Mississippi
Thornton & Thornton / The Thornton News
Tilden / History of the Town of Medfield, Massachusetts, 1650-1886
Todd / First Alabama Cavalry USA
Torrey / New England Marriages: Prior to 1700
Treat / The Treat Family, A Genealogy of Trott, Tratt and Treat
Turner / 1850 Census, Itawamba County, Mississippi
Ueland / If You Want to Write- A Book about Art, Independence, and Spirit
Valencia y Valdez et al. / Aqui se comienza
Vrabel / When in Boston
Wakefield / Mayflower Families Through 5 Generations: Vol. 18: Descendants of the Pilgrims Who Landed at Plymouth, Mass., December 1620
Warrilow / Tracing Your Ancestors in Bruce & Grey
Wheeler / Old Homes of Stonington
Wheeler / The History of Stonington, Connecticut
White / Guide to Quebec Catholic Parishes and Published Parish Marriage Records
White / White's Directory of Lincolnshire
Williams & Jaggar / Saving Stuff
Wood / Mayflower Families Through 5 Generations: Vol. 12: Francis Cooke
Woodtor / Finding A Place to Call Home
Wright / Lancaster County Church Records of the 18th Century
Yates / Publish Your Family History
Young & Miles / Itawamba County, Mississippi Families (1836-1986)
Zubatsky / Sourcebook for Jewish Genealogies and Family Histories
The Denison Genealogy
German-English, English-German Dictionary
1864 Atlas of Lancaster County
The New Testament of Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ (Family Bible information included)
History of Wilsons Mills and the Magalloway Settlements
La Catalunya Jueva
Perpignan: L'histoire des Juifs dans la ville
La Via Judia en Sefarad
The Oxford Companion to United States History
United States Official Postal Guide
The New York Chronology
Deutsche Namenkunde
Webster's New World Dictionary of the American Language
Rand McNally Road Atlas
Oxford American Writer's Thesaurus
Oscola Mills
100 Years in Brisbin and Houtzdale
75th Anniversary of Barnesboro
McCutchen Family Trace Newsletter
British Columbia War Memorials: An Index of Names
American Genealogist
Chicago Manual of Style
Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary
Call For Submissions! The topic for the next edition of the COG will be: I read it in the news! Newspapers can be a wonderful source of family history information. Share some aspect about your family history that you learned about in a newspaper. Articles, advertisements, obituaries, classified ads, photos... all are fair game if they appeared in a newspaper. What did you learn about your family from this information? Was the information accurate? How did you learn about this information... online search? Perusing old newspapers? A clipping saved by a relative? Fill us in on your family scoops... who in your family was in the news? The deadline for submissions is October 1st. The next edition will be hosted at the Creative Gene blog.
To All COG Participants: Please use a descriptive phrase in the title of any articles you plan to submit and/or write a brief description/introduction to your articles in the "comment" box of the blogcarnival submission form. This will give readers an idea of what you've written about and hopefully interest them in clicking on your link. Introductions for your articles will not be provided for you due to the volume of articles submitted. Thank you!
15 times
Mills / Evidence Explained
8 times
Mills / Professional Genealogy
6 times
Board of Certification for Genealogists / BCG Genealogical Standards Manual
Greenwood / The Researcher's Guide to Genealogy
One could also argue that The Source belongs here. Because of the different authors of different editions, it makes two appearances in the 3 times list.
5 times
Mills / Evidence!: Citation and Analysis for the Family Historian
Rose / Genealogical Proof Standard
4 times
Carmack / Your Guide to Cemetery Research
Eichholz / Red Book
Hansen / The Handybook for Genealogists
3 times
Carmack / Organizing Your Family History Search
Eakle & Cerny / The Source
Hoffman / Polish Surnames
Hone / Land and Property Research in the United States
McGinnis / Michigan Genealogy
Rising / The Family Tree Problem Solver
Shea & Hoffman / In Their Words
Szucs & Luebking / The Source
2 times
Carmack / You Can Write Your Family History
Croom /Genealogist's Companion & Source Book
Croom /Unpuzzling Your Past
Crowe / Genealogy Online
Dollarhide / New York State Censuses and Substitutes
DuMelle / Finding Your Chicago Ancestors
Geyh et al. / French Canadian Sources
Hatcher / Producing a Quality Family History
Hinckley / Your Guide to the Federal Census
Hoffman & Helon / First Names of the Polish Commonwealth: Origins & Meanings
Humphery-Smith / The Phillimore Atlas and Index of Parish Registers
Morgan / How to Do Everything with Your Genealogy
Morgan / The Official Guide to Ancestry.com
National Genealogical Society / National Genealogical Society Quarterly
Shea & Hoffman /Following the Paper Trail
Sulimierski, Chlebowski & Walewski / Słownik geograficzny Królestwa Polskiego i innych krajów słowiańskich
Taylor /Preserving Your Family Photographs
Taylor / Uncovering Your Ancestry Through Family Photographs
Thorndale & Dollarhide / Map Guide to the U.S. Federal Censuses, 1790-1920
One could also argue that The Everything Family Tree Book goes here. Different submitters gave different authors, but it may be the same title. It is listed once under each author in the "1 time" list.
1 time
Abbot / Our Company Increases Apace
Abbot & Abbot / A Genealogical Register of the Descendants of George Abbot, of Andover
Adolph / Tracing Your Family History
Akenson / Some Family
Allen / First Steps in Genealogy
Anderson / The Great Migration Begins (3 v.)
Anderson & Thode / A Genealogist's Guide to Discovering Your Germanic Ancestors
Anderson, Sanborn, & Sanborn / Great Migration: Immigrants to New England (7 v.)
Armbruster / Brooklyn's Eastern District
Association of Gravestone Studies / AGS Field Guides
Baer & Breeze / Finding Indiana Ancestors
Baker / A Guide to Historic Plymouth
Barran / The Stadte-Atlas of Pommern (Pomerania)
Barrons / 301 Polish verbs
Barth / City People
Baxter / In Search of Your British & Irish Roots
Beard & Demong / How to Find Your Family Roots
Beider / A Dictionary of Jewish Surnames from the Russian Empire
Beider / Dictionary of Ashkenazic Given Names
Beider / Dictionary of Jewish Surnames from the Kingdom of Poland
Beider / Dictionary of Jewish Surnames from Galacia
Bell / Out of This Furnace
Benardo & Weiss / Brooklyn by Name
Bennett / Elaine
Bennett / Nell
Bentz / If I Can, You Can Decipher Germanic Records
Billingsley / Communities of Kinship
Bonnen / Sangre Judia
Boyd / Family Maps of Monroe County, Mississippi
Brandt / Germanic Genealogy
Brown / History of the Sisters of Providence of Saint Mary of the Woods
Burroughs / Black Roots
Burton-Cruber / Cemetery Markings: Itawamba County, Mississippi
Butler / History of the Town of Groton
Butler / Everyman's Dictionary of Dates
Byrne / The 2,548 Best Things Anybody Ever Said
Carmack / Family Tree Resource Book for Genealogists
Carmack / A Genealogist's Guide to Discovering Your Immigrant and Ethnic Ancestors
Carmack & Gaunt / Carmack's Guide to Copyright and Contracts
Carter / Searching American Probate Records
Case / The Hollister Family of America
Cerny & Eakle / Ancestry's Guide to Research: Case Studies in American Genealogy
Chambers / Early Germans of New Jersey
Chavez / Origins of New Mexico Families
Chorzempa / Polish Roots
Christensen / Parishes and Registration Districts in England and Wales
Christensen / How Do I Prove It?
Clearfield Progress / A View From . . .
Clemensson & Andersson / Swedish Roots
Clifford / Becoming an Accredited Genealogist
Conwill / The Diary of Henry Jackson Lentz (1819-1869) of Limestone County, Alabama & Itawamba County, Mississippi Covering the Years 1847-1869.
County Dunham Environmental Education Curriculum / Coal Mining in Co. Dunham
Crichton / America 1900
Croom / Unpuzzling Your Past Workbook
Curran, Crane & Wray / Numbering Your Genealogy
Daniel / Genealogical Resources of New Mexico
Darrah / Cartes de Visite in Nineteenth Century Photography
Dearden / The German Researcher, How to Get the Most Out of LDS FHC
Delorme Corp. / Mississippi Atlas & Gazetteer: Topo Maps of the Entire State
Drake / What Did They Mean By That?
Dunkle & Lainhart / The Town Records of Roxbury, Massachusetts, 1647 to 1730
Eismann / Photoshop Masking & Compositing
Eismann & Palmer / Adobe Photoshop Restoration & Retouching
Ellis & Evans / The History of Lancaster County
Esquibel & Colligan / The Spanish Recolonization of New Mexico
Evans / Mother Monroe
Faiguenboim / Dictionary of Sephardic Surnames
Feldblyum / Russian-Jewish Given Names
Filby / Bibliography of American County Histories
Fisiak et al. / Nowy słownik Fundacji Kościuszkowskiej = The new Kosciuszko Foundation dictionary.
Flanders / Atlas of American Migration
Forkner & Dyson / Historical Sketches and Reminsces of Madison County
Franks & Turner / An Itawamba Sampler: A Researcher's Guide to Itawamba County, Mississippi
Fretz / A Genealogical Record of the Descendants of Martin Oberholtzer
Gingerich & Kreider / Amish and Amish Mennonite Genealogies
Gitlitz / Secrecy and Deceit
Gormley & Lord / The Official Guide to Rootsweb.com
Gorr / Jewish Personal Names
Greene County History Book Committee / Historic Greene County, Tennessee, and Its People: 1783-1992
Gronlund / Pioneer Register: Pioneers of British Columbia, Pre 1900
Grover / U. S. News & World Report Stylebook for Writers & Editors
Gutkind / Keep It Real
Gwin / Olden Times Revisited: W. L. Clayton's Pen Pictures
Hagstrom / Hagstrom's Pocket Atlas New York 5 Boroughs
Hakim / The History of US
Harding / Mayflower Families Through 5 Generations: Vol. 3: Family of George Soule
Hartley / The Everything Family Tree Book
Hatcher / Researching Your Colonial New England Ancestors
Heidgerd / The Freer Family
Herber / Ancestral Trails: The Complete Guide to British Genealogy and Family History
Hicks / Adventures of a Tramp Printer,1880-1890
Hill / History of Coshcocton County, Ohio: Its Past and Present, 1740-1881
Hinckley / Locating Lost Family Members and Friends
Hispanic Genealogical Research Center of New Mexico / Marriages: Socorro 1854-1900, San Ignacio, San Cristobal, San Marcial, La Jolla
Hoes / Baptismal and Marriage Registers of the Old Dutch Church of Kingston, Ulster County, New York, 1660-1809
Holt / Encyclopedia of Etiquette
Hornberger & Hudson / The Historical Atlas of New York City
Howe / Genealogy of the Bigelow Family of America
Hunt / Historical Collections of Coshcocton County, Ohio, 1764-1876
Hunter / Marriages of Coshcocton County, Ohio, 1811-1930
Irwin / Robert Irwin’s Brothers and Sisters and their Families from County Cavan, Ireland to Fenelon Township, Ontario
Jackson / The Encyclopedia of New York City
Jaslan / Wiedza Powszechna Compact Polish and English Dictionary
Jonas / A Genealogist's Guide to Discovering Your Scottish Ancestors
Jones / German-American Names
Kelly / Kelly's Directory of Lincolnshire
King / King's Handbook of New York City
Knab / Polish Customs, Traditions and Folklore
Kobbe / Kobbe's Guide to New York
Kriter, Kriter, Thompson, & Thompson / Monroe County, Mississippi, Chancery Court Record Index 1821-1900
Labrosse-Purcell / Researching Canadian Uncommon Sources
Lambert / A Guide to Massachusetts Cemeteries
Lehnhof & Kaiser / Zauberhafter Niederrhein, Eine Farbbildreise durch Landschaft und Geschichte
Lindberg / Genealogist's Handbook for New England Research
Lindsay / Mayflower Bastard
Linkman / The Victorians
Linkman / The Expert Guide to Dating Victorian Photographs
Loveland, Fremont & Loveland / The Genealogy of the Loveland Family in the United States of America from 1635 to 1892
Luthy / Amish in America
Mace / Collector's Guide to Early Photographs
Malka / Sephardic Genealogy
Mann / The Oxford Guide to Library Research
Markham Berczy Settlers Association / A Story of the Markham Berczy Settlers
Markham Historical Society / Markham, 1793-1900
Mautz / Biographies of Western Photographers, 1840-1900
McCulloch / Card Photographs
McCullough / Truman
McCutcheon / The Writer's Guide to Everyday Life in the 1800s
McWhorter / The Power of Babel: A Natural History of Language
Melnyk / Family History 101
Melnyk / The Weekend Genealogist
Menk / Surnames
Merriman / Genealogy in Ontario
Merriman / United Empire Loyalists
Merriman / About Genealogical Standards of Evidence, A Guide for Genealogists
Meyerink / Printed Sources
Millennium Committee / Churches in the Diocese of Dunham
Minert / Deciphering Handwriting in German Documents
Mississippi Department of Transportation / Mississippi Road Atlas
Mokotoff, Sack & Sharon / Where Once We Walked
Moore / A Genealogy of the Descendants of Robert Austin of Kingstown, R.I.
Mullerowa & Zuchowska / Roman Catholic Parishes in the Polish People's Republic in 1984
Murff & Murff / The Descendants of Randolph S. Murff 1784-1955
National Society, Daughters of the American Revolution / Lineages Books of the Charter Members of the National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution
National Society, Daughters of the American Revolution / DAR Patriot Index
National Society, Daughters of the American Revolution / Catalog of the Seimes Microfilm Collection
New England Historic Genealogical Society / New England Historical and Genealogical Register
Nugent / Cavaliers and Pioneers
O'Laughlin / Co. Kilkenny Ireland, Genealogy & Family History Notes
O'Laughlin / Book of Irish Families Great and Small
Olmstead / New Mexico Spanish & Mexican Colonial Censuses: 1790, 1823, and 1845
Olmstead / Spanish and Mexican Censuses of New Mexico 1750-1830
Palmquist & Kaibourn / Pioneer Photographers from the Mississippi to the Continental Divide
Palmquist & Kaibourn / Pioneer Photographers of the Far West
Pearson / Contributions for the Genealogies of the Descendants of the First Settlers of the Patent and City of Schenectady, from 1662 to 1800
Pfeufer / New Mexico Baptisms: San Miguel de Socorro Church 1821-1853
Philbrick / Mayflower
Poles in Michigan / Poles in Michigan (vol. 1)
Poliniak / When Coal was King
Polking / Writing Family Histories and Memories
Polley & Thornton / Descendants of Richard Thornton
Pols / Family Photographs 1860-1945
Poucher, Terwilliger & Heidgerd / Old Gravestones of Ulster County
Powell / The Everything Family Tree Book
Proko, Kraska & Stickles / The Polish Community of Worcester (Images of America)
Putnam / Genealogy of David Putnam and His Descendants
Putnam / A History of the Putnam Family in England and America
Quillen / Secrets of Tracing Your Ancestors
Rael / Reading, Writing, and Researching for History
Rainer / Your Life as Story
Ramirez Alief et al. / New Mexico Censuses of 1833 and 1845
Reed / Itawamba: A History; Story of a County in Northeast Mississippi
Renick / Genealogy 101
Reynolds / Hudson and Mohawk Genealogical and Family Memoirs
Riemer / The German Research Companion
Rineer / Churches and Cemeteries of Lancaster County
Risley / The Risley Family History
Romano / Per a Una Historia de la Girona Jueva
Rose / Courthouse Research for Family Historians
Rudisill, Sandweiss, & Palmquist / Photographers
Ryan / Irish Records
Sanborn & Sanborn / Vital Records of Hampton, N. H.: to the End of the Year 1900
Sanchez / San Miguel de Socorro, New Mexico: Marriage Records, 1821-1853
Schaefer / The Hidden Half of the Family: A Sourcebook for Women's Genealogy
Schickel / The World of Carnegie Hall
Secall i Guell / Els Jueus de Valls
Severa / Dressed for the Photographer
Seversmith / Colonial Families of Long Island, New York and Connecticut
Shanet / Philharmonic
Sherman, Sherman, & Wakefield / Mayflower Families Through 5 Generations: Vol. 13: William
White
Skulnick & Moorshead / 500 Brickwall Solutions to Genealogy Problems
Skulnick & Moorshead / More Brickwall Solutions to Genealogy Problems
Sledge / Monroe County Post Offices: 1827-1950
Smart / Index to Upper Canada Land Books
Smith & Weiser / Trinity Lutheran Church Records
Southwest Pennsylvania Genealogical Society / Pennsylvania Line
Spector / Encyclopedia of Jewish Life
Spence / Legacy
Sperry / Reading Early American Handwriting
Strangstad / A Graveyard Preservation Primer
Stratton / Applied Genealogy
Stratton / Plymouth Colony
Streidl / Häuserchronik der Stadt Pfaffenhofen a.d. Ilm
Streidl / Stadt Pfaffenhofen a.d. Ilm
Szucs / They Became Americans
Tademy / Cane River
Taylor / The Canadian Genealogical Sourcebook
Taylor / Scrapbooking Your Family History
Thiry & Dolader / El Libro Verde de Aragon
Thornton / New Hope Cemetery, Parham, Monroe County, Mississippi
Thornton / Index to Online Burials in Monroe County, Mississippi
Thornton & Thornton / The Thornton News
Tilden / History of the Town of Medfield, Massachusetts, 1650-1886
Todd / First Alabama Cavalry USA
Torrey / New England Marriages: Prior to 1700
Treat / The Treat Family, A Genealogy of Trott, Tratt and Treat
Turner / 1850 Census, Itawamba County, Mississippi
Ueland / If You Want to Write- A Book about Art, Independence, and Spirit
Valencia y Valdez et al. / Aqui se comienza
Vrabel / When in Boston
Wakefield / Mayflower Families Through 5 Generations: Vol. 18: Descendants of the Pilgrims Who Landed at Plymouth, Mass., December 1620
Warrilow / Tracing Your Ancestors in Bruce & Grey
Wheeler / Old Homes of Stonington
Wheeler / The History of Stonington, Connecticut
White / Guide to Quebec Catholic Parishes and Published Parish Marriage Records
White / White's Directory of Lincolnshire
Williams & Jaggar / Saving Stuff
Wood / Mayflower Families Through 5 Generations: Vol. 12: Francis Cooke
Woodtor / Finding A Place to Call Home
Wright / Lancaster County Church Records of the 18th Century
Yates / Publish Your Family History
Young & Miles / Itawamba County, Mississippi Families (1836-1986)
Zubatsky / Sourcebook for Jewish Genealogies and Family Histories
The Denison Genealogy
German-English, English-German Dictionary
1864 Atlas of Lancaster County
The New Testament of Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ (Family Bible information included)
History of Wilsons Mills and the Magalloway Settlements
La Catalunya Jueva
Perpignan: L'histoire des Juifs dans la ville
La Via Judia en Sefarad
The Oxford Companion to United States History
United States Official Postal Guide
The New York Chronology
Deutsche Namenkunde
Webster's New World Dictionary of the American Language
Rand McNally Road Atlas
Oxford American Writer's Thesaurus
Oscola Mills
100 Years in Brisbin and Houtzdale
75th Anniversary of Barnesboro
McCutchen Family Trace Newsletter
British Columbia War Memorials: An Index of Names
American Genealogist
Chicago Manual of Style
Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary
We also had a few non-specific resources mentioned such as a good history of the United States, an historical atlas of the United States, a good regional cultural history of whichever area in which you are researching, a cultural or social anthropology book, a current road atlas of the United States, and the Internet.
Call For Submissions! The topic for the next edition of the COG will be: I read it in the news! Newspapers can be a wonderful source of family history information. Share some aspect about your family history that you learned about in a newspaper. Articles, advertisements, obituaries, classified ads, photos... all are fair game if they appeared in a newspaper. What did you learn about your family from this information? Was the information accurate? How did you learn about this information... online search? Perusing old newspapers? A clipping saved by a relative? Fill us in on your family scoops... who in your family was in the news? The deadline for submissions is October 1st. The next edition will be hosted at the Creative Gene blog.
To All COG Participants: Please use a descriptive phrase in the title of any articles you plan to submit and/or write a brief description/introduction to your articles in the "comment" box of the blogcarnival submission form. This will give readers an idea of what you've written about and hopefully interest them in clicking on your link. Introductions for your articles will not be provided for you due to the volume of articles submitted. Thank you!
Carnival of Genealogy - 56th edition - Part I
The 56th Carnival of Genealogy will be published in two parts. For this edition of the carnival, bloggers were supposed to list the ten books in their genealogical libraries that they find absolutely essential. Almost all of us could probably come up with many more titles, but there really was a method to my madness, and I discovered that genealogy bloggers are just like my college students. Some follow the directions better than others! Part I consists of the links to the individual submissions. Part II is a compilation of the results of those submissions. Which titles are valued most by geneabloggers? You'll see the results. The call for submissions for the 57th edition will be posted with each part of the Carnival so that it can be easily found later.
Robert Baca presents 10 Essential Books in My Genealogy Library posted at The Baca / Douglas Genealogy and Family History Blog. His list focuses on New Mexico Hispanic research.
Terry Thornton presents Ten Books I Use Most Frequently in Writing Hill Country posted at Hill Country of Monroe County, Mississippi. He explains his entry: "Because I am not a genealogist, I own few reference books in that field. There are, however, a group of books and references materials I use on a daily basis to write about the hill country of Monroe County, Mississippi. This article takes a look at each of those ten books, unpublished documents, digital files, and CDs."
Myrt :) presents 10 essential books in my genealogy library posted at DearMYRTLE's Genealogy Blog. The first few books in her list are some of the ones that I expect to see on a lot of lists.
Jasia presents 10 Essential Books for Polish, Michigan, and Detroit Genealogical Research posted at Creative Gene. She says: "I can't imagine doing Polish and Michigan genealogy research without these books. They are largely responsible for the success I've had with my research. I owe a debt of gratitude to the authors. See if there aren't some books here that would help you with your research! "
Bob Franks presents Ten Essential Research Books in My Personal Library posted at Itawamba History Review: The Itawamba Historical Society. In describing his choices, he states: "As most of my research relates to Mississippi and Itawamba County in particular, most of my essential research books, both genealogy and history, pertain to Itawamba County, Mississippi. ."
Midge Frazel presents Slate & Sandstone: New England Books posted at Granite in My Blood. Midge says, "My state trio of Connecticut, Massachusetts and Rhode Island ancestors makes using research materials in print a necessary part of my day despite my always-wired lifestyle. My list reflects compiled genealogies and gravestone studies with a splash of research tools. "
Linda Stienstra presents Seriously? My Ten Essential Genealogy Books? Only Ten? posted at From Axer to Ziegler. Linda says, "I decided to just concentrate on the essential books for Lancaster County research. I have a lot of essential books, but some of them cover all research, and some of them cover other areas. Since I live in Lancaster County and concentrate my research her, I picked Lancaster County books. Obvious choice for me. " Since I had Amish ancestors in Lancaster and Berks Counties, I have actually used several of the titles she mentioned.
While this next post doesn't really fit our call, it is of interest to many of us. Fiona King presents 100 Awesome Blogs for History Junkies posted at Best Colleges Online. Check out her list.
Julie Cahill Tarr presents GenBlog - 10 Essential Genealogy Books posted at GenBlog. Julie includes several general titles as well as some specific to Irish and German ethnicity.
Sheri Fenley presents 10 Books I Have Used in the Last 6 Months posted at The Educated Genealogist. I'm sure you'll all get a smile when you find out the theme of this edition of the Carnival helped Sheri!
Janet Iles presents Janet the Researcher's 10 essential genealogy books posted at Janet the researcher. She has several selections that reflect her interest in Canadian genealogy and several on writing family histories.
Bill West presents ON MY BOOKSHELF posted at West in New England. Bill describes his ten choices as "books that either have given me information on my ancestors or insights on the times in which they lived."
Schelly Talalay Dardashti presents Tracing the Tribe: The Jewish Genealogy Blog: Ashkenazi, Sephardi: Essential Jewish genealogy books posted at Tracing the Tribe: The Jewish Genealogy Blog. Schelly says that these are "essential books for Jewish genealogy." She tells us about the challenges of those who have and don't have Eastern European ancestry and presents two lists, one for each of these groups (Ashkenazi and Sephardi genealogy), which present different sources, languages and challenges.
Laura presents 10 Favorites from My Genealogy Bookshelf posted at Life at the Home20. Her selections are mainly general genealogical books and case studies.
Stephen J. Danko presents Ten Essential Books in My Genealogy Library posted at Steve's Genealogy Blog. Stephen's titles include some of interest to those researching Polish and French Canadian ancestry.
Wendy Littrell presents Books for Genealogy « All My Branches Genealogy posted at All My Branches Genealogy. Wendy's list includes books from family histories to county histories. She says, "I return to them time and again and learn something new each time."
Donna Pointkouski presents 10 Essential Books in My Genealogical Library posted at What's Past Is Prologue. Her list includes many on researching Polish genealogy.
Craig Manson presents Ten Books Essential for Genealogists: Some ?Different? Thinking posted at GeneaBlogie. Craig describes his selections this way: "Everybody can probably agree on the top books by the top authors in our field. But how about books that add context and broaden our perspectives? Here they are." Craig isn't quite as specific on exact titles, but he does describe some books that all genealogists should use in their research.
Msteri presents 10 Essential Books in my Genealogy Library posted at Heritage Happens. Her selections include a couple of fictional titles with a setting very important to her research. Because there is truth in the mix, she includes these in her top ten.
Kathryn Lake Hogan presents Books on My Shelf; Books on My Desk posted at LOOKING4ANCESTORS. Kathryn at LOOKING4ANCESTORS says "I have a large wall unit in my office which houses a lot of things including my genealogy books. Often, I have books laying open or stacked on my desk as well. Does this count as a library?" Be sure to check out her list at "Books on My Shelf;, Books on My Desk".
P. Taylor presents What's on my nightstand? Why my ten favorite genealogy books of course! posted at Taylorstales-Genealogy. She includes quite a few titles focusing on online research and some Midwestern research titles. She even mentions a title that she'd love to obtain.
Lidian presents The Virtual Dime Museum: Ten Indispensible Books posted at The Virtual Dime Museum. Lidian describes her choices this way: "These are the ten books that are either on my desk, acessible through Heritage Quest (and therefore also on my desk, in a way) or nearby - the ones I turn to constantly as references for history and genealogy."
Thomas Macentee presents Destination: Austin Family: My Ten Essential Genealogy-Related Books posted at Destination: Austin Family. Thomas says he "cares more for e-books than actual tomes and seeks them out whenever possible." He shares his top 10 and tells us about a new, free, on-line tool that instantly formats your source info for you!
Becky Wiseman presents The Indispensable Bookshelf posted at kinexxions. Becky says, "It is truly embarrassing to have to admit this, but I do not have 10 genealogy-specific reference books on my bookshelf! Gasp! It's true though. That said, there are several very useful items on my indispensable bookshelf."
My own entry is Ten Indispensable Books in My Genealogical Library. I include five general sources and five regional or ethnic ones.
Bob Kramp presents Representatives of Essential Books in my Genealogical Library posted at Life's Journey. Bob says, "I present several books in my personal library which I use to expand the stories of my ancestors in both a historical and geographical context. The are not so much general reference books in genealogy, as one-of-a-kind books and pamphlets that will be difficult to obtain some day." He gave us a few more than ten!
M. Diane Rogers presents Ten Genealogical Books I Can't Do Without - Carnival of Genealogy posted at CanadaGenealogy, or, 'Jane's Your Aunt'. She says, "I wish there were 10 books written about my ancestors! Although there aren't, I do have a good number of books at home and I use libraries a great deal, especially the British Columbia Genealogical Society's Walter Draycott Library. Here are a few I rely on or re-read often. I'm cheating a bit here with the #10 for my list; I'd have another 10 I'd recommend, especially for Canada or British Columbia. Quite a few of these are Canadian books - but only four cover Canadian topics - and some of those IRWINS did live in the United States."
Elizabeth O'Neal presents Tops in my Genealogy Library posted at Little Bytes of Life. Elizabeth's featured selections focus on American, French-Canadian, and Irish research, genealogical standards, and resources for filling out those DAR applications!
Jessica Oswalt presents 10 Essential Genealogy Books That I Have Or Wish I Have posted at Jessica's Genejournal. She includes books she owns and books she wishes she owned.
Dru Pair presents My Ten Favorite How-To Genealogy Books posted at Find Your Folks. She focuses on "how-to" books.
Randy Seaver presents 10 Essential Books in my Genealogy Library posted at Genea-Musings. Randy includes ten basic titles and a baker's dozen of regional books.
footnoteMaven presents 10 Essential Books In My Genealogy Library X 4 + 6 posted at footnoteMaven. Her description says it all, "I tried. I really tried, but I'm just not good at following directions!" She groups her selections into the categories of research, writing, history, and photography.
Miriam Robbins Midkiff presents Miriam's Ten Essential Genealogy Books posted at AnceStories: The Stories of My Ancestors. She lists only books she owns.
Call For Submissions! The topic for the next edition of the COG will be: I read it in the news! Newspapers can be a wonderful source of family history information. Share some aspect about your family history that you learned about in a newspaper. Articles, advertisements, obituaries, classified ads, photos... all are fair game if they appeared in a newspaper. What did you learn about your family from this information? Was the information accurate? How did you learn about this information... online search? Perusing old newspapers? A clipping saved by a relative? Fill us in on your family scoops... who in your family was in the news? The deadline for submissions is October 1st. The next edition will be hosted at the Creative Gene blog.
To All COG Participants: Please use a descriptive phrase in the title of any articles you plan to submit and/or write a brief description/introduction to your articles in the "comment" box of the blogcarnival submission form. This will give readers an idea of what you've written about and hopefully interest them in clicking on your link. Introductions for your articles will not be provided for you due to the volume of articles submitted. Thank you!
Robert Baca presents 10 Essential Books in My Genealogy Library posted at The Baca / Douglas Genealogy and Family History Blog. His list focuses on New Mexico Hispanic research.
Terry Thornton presents Ten Books I Use Most Frequently in Writing Hill Country posted at Hill Country of Monroe County, Mississippi. He explains his entry: "Because I am not a genealogist, I own few reference books in that field. There are, however, a group of books and references materials I use on a daily basis to write about the hill country of Monroe County, Mississippi. This article takes a look at each of those ten books, unpublished documents, digital files, and CDs."
Myrt :) presents 10 essential books in my genealogy library posted at DearMYRTLE's Genealogy Blog. The first few books in her list are some of the ones that I expect to see on a lot of lists.
Jasia presents 10 Essential Books for Polish, Michigan, and Detroit Genealogical Research posted at Creative Gene. She says: "I can't imagine doing Polish and Michigan genealogy research without these books. They are largely responsible for the success I've had with my research. I owe a debt of gratitude to the authors. See if there aren't some books here that would help you with your research! "
Bob Franks presents Ten Essential Research Books in My Personal Library posted at Itawamba History Review: The Itawamba Historical Society. In describing his choices, he states: "As most of my research relates to Mississippi and Itawamba County in particular, most of my essential research books, both genealogy and history, pertain to Itawamba County, Mississippi. ."
Midge Frazel presents Slate & Sandstone: New England Books posted at Granite in My Blood. Midge says, "My state trio of Connecticut, Massachusetts and Rhode Island ancestors makes using research materials in print a necessary part of my day despite my always-wired lifestyle. My list reflects compiled genealogies and gravestone studies with a splash of research tools. "
Linda Stienstra presents Seriously? My Ten Essential Genealogy Books? Only Ten? posted at From Axer to Ziegler. Linda says, "I decided to just concentrate on the essential books for Lancaster County research. I have a lot of essential books, but some of them cover all research, and some of them cover other areas. Since I live in Lancaster County and concentrate my research her, I picked Lancaster County books. Obvious choice for me. " Since I had Amish ancestors in Lancaster and Berks Counties, I have actually used several of the titles she mentioned.
While this next post doesn't really fit our call, it is of interest to many of us. Fiona King presents 100 Awesome Blogs for History Junkies posted at Best Colleges Online. Check out her list.
Julie Cahill Tarr presents GenBlog - 10 Essential Genealogy Books posted at GenBlog. Julie includes several general titles as well as some specific to Irish and German ethnicity.
Sheri Fenley presents 10 Books I Have Used in the Last 6 Months posted at The Educated Genealogist. I'm sure you'll all get a smile when you find out the theme of this edition of the Carnival helped Sheri!
Janet Iles presents Janet the Researcher's 10 essential genealogy books posted at Janet the researcher. She has several selections that reflect her interest in Canadian genealogy and several on writing family histories.
Bill West presents ON MY BOOKSHELF posted at West in New England. Bill describes his ten choices as "books that either have given me information on my ancestors or insights on the times in which they lived."
Schelly Talalay Dardashti presents Tracing the Tribe: The Jewish Genealogy Blog: Ashkenazi, Sephardi: Essential Jewish genealogy books posted at Tracing the Tribe: The Jewish Genealogy Blog. Schelly says that these are "essential books for Jewish genealogy." She tells us about the challenges of those who have and don't have Eastern European ancestry and presents two lists, one for each of these groups (Ashkenazi and Sephardi genealogy), which present different sources, languages and challenges.
Laura presents 10 Favorites from My Genealogy Bookshelf posted at Life at the Home20. Her selections are mainly general genealogical books and case studies.
Stephen J. Danko presents Ten Essential Books in My Genealogy Library posted at Steve's Genealogy Blog. Stephen's titles include some of interest to those researching Polish and French Canadian ancestry.
Wendy Littrell presents Books for Genealogy « All My Branches Genealogy posted at All My Branches Genealogy. Wendy's list includes books from family histories to county histories. She says, "I return to them time and again and learn something new each time."
Donna Pointkouski presents 10 Essential Books in My Genealogical Library posted at What's Past Is Prologue. Her list includes many on researching Polish genealogy.
Craig Manson presents Ten Books Essential for Genealogists: Some ?Different? Thinking posted at GeneaBlogie. Craig describes his selections this way: "Everybody can probably agree on the top books by the top authors in our field. But how about books that add context and broaden our perspectives? Here they are." Craig isn't quite as specific on exact titles, but he does describe some books that all genealogists should use in their research.
Msteri presents 10 Essential Books in my Genealogy Library posted at Heritage Happens. Her selections include a couple of fictional titles with a setting very important to her research. Because there is truth in the mix, she includes these in her top ten.
Kathryn Lake Hogan presents Books on My Shelf; Books on My Desk posted at LOOKING4ANCESTORS. Kathryn at LOOKING4ANCESTORS says "I have a large wall unit in my office which houses a lot of things including my genealogy books. Often, I have books laying open or stacked on my desk as well. Does this count as a library?" Be sure to check out her list at "Books on My Shelf;, Books on My Desk".
P. Taylor presents What's on my nightstand? Why my ten favorite genealogy books of course! posted at Taylorstales-Genealogy. She includes quite a few titles focusing on online research and some Midwestern research titles. She even mentions a title that she'd love to obtain.
Lidian presents The Virtual Dime Museum: Ten Indispensible Books posted at The Virtual Dime Museum. Lidian describes her choices this way: "These are the ten books that are either on my desk, acessible through Heritage Quest (and therefore also on my desk, in a way) or nearby - the ones I turn to constantly as references for history and genealogy."
Thomas Macentee presents Destination: Austin Family: My Ten Essential Genealogy-Related Books posted at Destination: Austin Family. Thomas says he "cares more for e-books than actual tomes and seeks them out whenever possible." He shares his top 10 and tells us about a new, free, on-line tool that instantly formats your source info for you!
Becky Wiseman presents The Indispensable Bookshelf posted at kinexxions. Becky says, "It is truly embarrassing to have to admit this, but I do not have 10 genealogy-specific reference books on my bookshelf! Gasp! It's true though. That said, there are several very useful items on my indispensable bookshelf."
My own entry is Ten Indispensable Books in My Genealogical Library. I include five general sources and five regional or ethnic ones.
Bob Kramp presents Representatives of Essential Books in my Genealogical Library posted at Life's Journey. Bob says, "I present several books in my personal library which I use to expand the stories of my ancestors in both a historical and geographical context. The are not so much general reference books in genealogy, as one-of-a-kind books and pamphlets that will be difficult to obtain some day." He gave us a few more than ten!
M. Diane Rogers presents Ten Genealogical Books I Can't Do Without - Carnival of Genealogy posted at CanadaGenealogy, or, 'Jane's Your Aunt'. She says, "I wish there were 10 books written about my ancestors! Although there aren't, I do have a good number of books at home and I use libraries a great deal, especially the British Columbia Genealogical Society's Walter Draycott Library. Here are a few I rely on or re-read often. I'm cheating a bit here with the #10 for my list; I'd have another 10 I'd recommend, especially for Canada or British Columbia. Quite a few of these are Canadian books - but only four cover Canadian topics - and some of those IRWINS did live in the United States."
Elizabeth O'Neal presents Tops in my Genealogy Library posted at Little Bytes of Life. Elizabeth's featured selections focus on American, French-Canadian, and Irish research, genealogical standards, and resources for filling out those DAR applications!
Jessica Oswalt presents 10 Essential Genealogy Books That I Have Or Wish I Have posted at Jessica's Genejournal. She includes books she owns and books she wishes she owned.
Dru Pair presents My Ten Favorite How-To Genealogy Books posted at Find Your Folks. She focuses on "how-to" books.
Randy Seaver presents 10 Essential Books in my Genealogy Library posted at Genea-Musings. Randy includes ten basic titles and a baker's dozen of regional books.
footnoteMaven presents 10 Essential Books In My Genealogy Library X 4 + 6 posted at footnoteMaven. Her description says it all, "I tried. I really tried, but I'm just not good at following directions!" She groups her selections into the categories of research, writing, history, and photography.
Miriam Robbins Midkiff presents Miriam's Ten Essential Genealogy Books posted at AnceStories: The Stories of My Ancestors. She lists only books she owns.
Call For Submissions! The topic for the next edition of the COG will be: I read it in the news! Newspapers can be a wonderful source of family history information. Share some aspect about your family history that you learned about in a newspaper. Articles, advertisements, obituaries, classified ads, photos... all are fair game if they appeared in a newspaper. What did you learn about your family from this information? Was the information accurate? How did you learn about this information... online search? Perusing old newspapers? A clipping saved by a relative? Fill us in on your family scoops... who in your family was in the news? The deadline for submissions is October 1st. The next edition will be hosted at the Creative Gene blog.
To All COG Participants: Please use a descriptive phrase in the title of any articles you plan to submit and/or write a brief description/introduction to your articles in the "comment" box of the blogcarnival submission form. This will give readers an idea of what you've written about and hopefully interest them in clicking on your link. Introductions for your articles will not be provided for you due to the volume of articles submitted. Thank you!
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