FamilySearch Updates: USA Materials in ME, IA, CA, and WA

The following databases are showing as updated on FamilySearch since our last update:

Maine, Nathan Hale Cemetery Collection, ca. 1780-1980 Iowa, County Death Records, 1880-1992 California, San Francisco Passenger Lists, 1893-1953 Washington, County Records, 1803-2010

The Kiles Find a Horse in 1810

Genealogists often use estray books as evidence that a person had lived in a certain place for at least a bare minimum amount of time. Notices of strays were also published in the newspaper as well.

This 1810 notice from the Chillicothe, Ohio, newspaper (obtained on GenealogyBank.com) does more than document the existence of a lost horse. It also suggests that John Kile and James Kile were living in or near Truro Township in Franklin County, Ohio, in the late 1809-early 1810 time period.

Digital image obtained on GenealogyBank.com

James Kile found the horse and John Kile was one of the appraisers. There is nothing in the notice to indicate the men were biologically related, but the reference does suggest they were relatively near neighbors of each other in 1810.

And in some cases, a newspaper mention be the only record that a person was in a specific place at a specific point in time.

Even if the owner of the horse cannot be found.

Seven Head of Horse Creatures

We've slightly modified this image for the purposes of this blog post. Using only the portion relevant to the Kile family would have required the removal of some context, particularly the fact that this was a Sheriff's Sale in Franklin County, Ohio.

[portion omitted] was used to indicate where some of the original image was cut away and the resulting image was made.

Digital image obtained on GenealogyBank.com

Apparently John Kile owed money to the estate of M. Fisher and apparently there was some sort of legal action brought to the Franklin County Court in 1828. The specifics of the debt are not mentioned in this newspaper notice. This legal notice is only announcing the sale. It is possible that there were other legal notices in the newspaper mentioning this case, but given that this is probably a chattle debt of some type it likely didn't make the local news.

There should be some type of local court record regarding this case against Kile in the county court records of Franklin County. Chances are it's not very detailed, but I won't know until I look. I might never have uncovered the case if I had not chanced upon it on GenealogyBank.com.

Seven head of horse creatures....now there's an interesting phrases. Why they just didn't say seven head of horses is beyond me.

Selling A Land Warrant for $47.00

Estate inventories and sale lists tend to be household and items that a relative used in the course of his daily life. At times these listings can provide a glimpse into our ancestor's life and clues as to his occupation.

Sometimes they can give us more.

On 8 May 1852 near Keithsburg, Mercer County, Illinois, there was a sale to settle up the affairs of James Kile. One of the items sold was a land warrant.

That's as specific as the description gets: land warrant.

There's no mention of how James obtained the warrant, but there are likely two ways:

• he had military service and the warrant was based upon his eligibility for a land warrant based upon his documentation of that service
• he had purchased the land warrant from someone else.

A land warrant entitles the holder to a specific amount of acreage within the federal lands available at that point in time. Federal land warrants usually don't mention a specific piece of property. The patent, which actually transfers real property title from the federal government to a private individual does that. The warrant indicates the holder is entitled to so much land but the patent specifies where that land is located.

How did James come to get the warrant?

We're working on that...stay tuned.

And you thought estate inventories were just about livestock, plows, and butter churns.

Recent Updates: FamilySearch-Canadian Materials

We're going to start periodically posting non-American updates to FamilySearch. These will not be as frequent as those updates, but we will post them for our readers who are conducting searches outside the United States.

Recent Canadian updates:

British Columbia Death Registrations, 1872-1986

British Columbia Marriage Registrations, 1859-1932

Nova Scotia Marriages, 1907-1932

Nova Scotia Deaths, 1864-1877

Nova Scotia Marriages, 1864-1918

Nova Scotia Births, 1864-1877

New Brunswick, County Registers of Births, ca. 1812-1919

Canada Census, 1911

Quebec, Catholic Parish Registers, 1621-1979

Canadian Headstones

British Columbia, Crown Land Pre-emption Registers, 1860-1971

Manitoba, Census Indexes, 1831-1870

Saskatchewan, Catholic Church Records, 1846-1957

British Columbia, Dominion Land Branch Records, 1885-1949

British Columbia, Crown Land Grants, 1869-1930

British Columbia, Crown Land Grant Records, 1851-1874

Saskatchewan, Judicial District Court Records, 1891-1954

Quebec, Quebec Judicial District, Guardianships, 1639-1930

The entire Canadian list of materials can be seen here. 

FamilySearch: IA and WA Materials

The following databases have been updated on FamilySearch:

Iowa, Polk County Probate Records, 1914-1924

Washington, County Records, 1803-2010

Non-Famous People in the Newspaper-Your Genealogy Plate May Be Full

It's not just the rich and famous who appear in newspapers across the country. This 1956 item captures the license plate display of J. L. Goldenstein of Golden, Illinois. This item was in the San Diego Union, published a distance from Golden, Illinois. It didn't take much searching to determine that J. L. Goldenstein was the John Goldenstein--my great-grandma Habben's brother.

Don't assume that your "non-famous" people won't be in the newspaper.

You just never now. This item was obtained on GenealogyBank.

We'll have an interesting announcement regarding this picture in a future blog post.

New or Updated On FamilySearch: GA Deaths and Trumbull County, Ohio

The following are showing as new or updated on FamilySearch since our last update:


Ohio, Trumbull County Records, 1795-2010

Georgia, Deaths, 1928-1938

World War Two Douglas Aircraft Plant Photo of W L Rampley

According to the original Ebay listing for this item, it was taken at the Douglas Aircraft Plant in El Segundo, California.

Exactly how the seller knew that is not immediately clear to me unless there is a notation on the back of the photograph that I'm not understanding.

The item was purchased because the man in the picture is identified on the back of the photograph as W. L. Rampley. The only date on the photograph is 11-24-1941, which is likely the seller identified the photograph as being from the World War II era.

The photograph was purchased because of the name on the back. I'm not certain if this Rampley is connected to my family with the same last name, but there's a reasonable probability. The majority of people with the Rampley surname descend from either a James Rampley who settled in Harford County, Maryland, in the late 1700s or a William Rampley who settled near Spartanburg, South Carolina at about the same time.

Hopefully we'll have an update with additional information on Rampley--and just who he is.

But it's a neat World War II era photo whether I identify the man in it or not.

Webinar Sale Through Halloween

Due to popular demand, we are re-opening our $5 webinar sales until 11:59 pm. on 31 October.

Estate Publication Notices Provide Residential Clues

Publication notices of estate settlements are one of those items that researchers sometimes overlook as "routine paperwork."

That can be a mistake.

I know where Andrew Trask lived in Mercer County, Illinois, at the time of his death. But if I had not known where he lived, the places within the county where the notice of the final settlement were posted could have been a clue as to the general area where he lived within the county.

Estate of Andrew Trask, Mercer County, Illinois, Probate case files, file 1475, box 1490, 
Affidavit of Publication and Posting of Notice, filed 19 April 1886, 
Circuit Clerk's Office, Aledo; digital image, FamilySearch (http//www.familysearch.org), accessed 26 October 2014.

The notices were posted at:

• Ed Crosby's Store in Viola
• Post Office in Norwood
• Wray's Drug Store in Cable
• County Clerk's office

The County Clerk's Office seems like a logical place to place any probate notice, so it's difficult to draw any residential clue from that. The other villages, however, are in the eastern end of Mercer County and it would be reasonable to conclude that Andrew lived in that portion of the county.

This information would have been helpful if Andrew had not owned real estate and his estate at his death had only consisted of personal property. The locations given in the publication notice may have been the only item in the probate record that suggested his residence.

Everything is a clue.

Dead Men Swear in Mercer County

Any item taken from a record out of context has the potential to confuse other researchers or to result in statements that are simply false.

This image from an estate settlement in Mercer County, Illinois, in the 1880s makes the point perfectly well. If the researcher takes just a key phrase out of this record, it may appear that Andrew Trask was alive and well on 19 April 1886 when this record was created or that a dead man was taking an oath.

"Andrew Trask, late of said County, deceased, being duly sworn on his said oath, does depose and say that he has..."

Huh?

Late does not necessarily mean dead, but deceased usually does. Did the clerk err and neglect to cross out the word "deceased" in the record book?

Dead men do not swear nor do they take oaths, at least not on Earth. The conscientious researcher does not quote a document in such a way that the report is misleading.

This little snippet makes it clear why quoting any document needs to be done with enough context to make the meaning clear.

Andrew Trask had not been sworn in open court on 19 April 1886. He was dead and buried in a Mercer County cemetery at the time. The word "deceased" is correct. Dead mean don't make oaths. It was the administrator of his estate who was in court on that date. Those words "The undersigned, Administrator of the Estate of" make all the difference as they clearly indicate who was taking the oath.

Estate of Andrew Trask, Mercer County, Illinois, Probate case files, file 1475, box 1490,
Affidavit of Publication and Posting of Notice, filed 19 April 1886,
Circuit Clerk's Office, Aledo; digital image, FamilySearch (http//www.familysearch.org), accessed 26 October 2014.

Make certain when you extract details that you extract enough.

Dead men may tell tales but they don't make out affidavits.

Illinois Probate Records Updated On FamilySearch

The online images of probate materials from Illinois has been updated on FamilySearch.

Illinois Probate Records, 1819-1988

We forgot to include this in our recent FamilySearch posting.

Updated Databases on FamilySearch: NY, TN, OH and GA materials

The following databases are showing as updated or new on FamilySearch:

New York, State Census, 1865

Tennessee, Probate Court Files, 1795-1955

Ohio, Trumbull County Records, 1795-2010

Georgia, Deaths, 1928-1938

Settling Up with A Rifle and A Pig

There are always interesting discoveries to be made in probate case files. Like any court record, the amount of detail they can provide varies greatly from one file to another and can provide interesting insights into our ancestors lives.

Like how they paid their doctor bill.

Many families have traditions about how a doctor was paid by a means other than cash. The probate file of William Smith in Mercer County, Illinois, provides direct evidence of how a 1860 era doctor bill was paid.

The Smiths gave the doctor a rifle and two pigs to complete payment on their $34 bill. 

The doctor signs an affidavit stating that the account had been paid in full.

There are no details about the type of rifle or the type of pigs. In all seriousness, the court really wasn't interested in the type of rifle or pigs used to pay the bill--just that the bill had been paid.

Common usage of the time would indicate that since the animals were referred to as "pigs" and not "hogs" that they were younger animals, perhaps recently weaned and not fully grown. But that's speculation.

And there's no record of the gun permit or the transfer of ownership--(smirk!).

Sometimes there's interesting details in those estate accountings.


--------------------------
Acknowledgements:

Pig: Image courtesy of Tina Phillips at FreeDigitalPhotos.net.
Pig: Image courtesy of Suat Eman at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

lidya Sargeant Not Lydia Sargent

Variant spellings are frustrating for many genealogists, including myself.

This image (with the black text) was originally used an illustration in a recent Genealogy Tip of the Day blog post. I incorrectly spelled the name in the citation. It should have been "lidya Sargeant"--not Lydia Sargent. Normally when writing about ancestors whose names are spelled a variety of ways, I standardize the names in any general discussion of them and in my conclusions about them.

But when transcribing documents and records I should transcribe the names as they are written or at least as close to that as possible.

I didn't in this case and thanks to a reader for very graciously pointing this out to me.

FamilySearch Updates: TN Probates, WA Marriages, and SD School Records

The following databases are showing as new or updated on FamilySearch:

South Dakota, School Records, 1879-1970

Tennessee, Probate Court Files, 1795-1955

Washington, County Marriages, 1855-2008

Who Are You Missing In the Census?

Most genealogists have at least relative they can't find in a specific census. Here are four people I simply have been unable to find along with what I know about them.

1920 Anna Apgar

• Born in 1913 in Chicago, Cook County, Illinois
• In 1920 should be living with her mother, Marie (Demar) Apgar Verikios and her step-father Peter Verikios.
• Not enumerated with her living grandparent or a parental sibling.
• It is possible she was in Clinton County, New York--where her mother was born in the 1890s.

1870 John Ufkes

• Born 1838 in Ostfriesland, Germany.
• Place of birth could be listed as Ostfriesland, Germany, or Prussia.
• Name actually Johann Frederichs Hinrichs Ufkes--those middle names could be a last name in a census enumeration.
• Should be in the Adams County, Illinois, area although he did start a homestead in Nebraska in 1871.

1870 Ira William Sargent

• Born early 1840s in Canada
• Other enumerations list New York or Illinois as a place of birth
• Should be in Davis County, Iowa--where he married in October of 1870. 
• Parents are dead by 1870 and he's not enumerated with any siblings in 1870.
• Could be enumerated as Ira or William Sargent or Ira or William Landon (his step-father's surname).
• Probably not living with step-father, Asa Landon, as Landon returned to his native Canada during the Civil War leaving his step-children in the Missouri/Iowa area.

1850 Peter and Barbara Bieger

• Should be in either Hamilton County, Ohio (where they married in 1849) or Hancock County, Illinois (where they purchased property in the fall of 1850).
• Born in the 1820s in Germany.
• Possible they were moving from Ohio to Illinois at the time of the enumeration.

I've not included sources in this blog post, but I may be well-advised to revisit each statement I've made about the person in question. This is especially true for any statement I've made that begins with "could" or "should" as those statements are not backed up by any documentation or source.

It's also worth noting that it may not be worth my while to spend too much time additionally searching for these people as I've already devoted quite a bit of time to it already. It may be that the enumeration simply doesn't provide anything that I do not already "know."

Then again, it's also possible that if I find them in an unexpected place I end up with a whole new set of questions.

Learning More About North Carolina, Civil Action Court Papers--Not!

Ancestry.com has included images of North Carolina civil action court papers in its online collection of materials. The items are unindexed, but the images can be viewed by county. They are also available online free at FamilySearch.

There's even a link on the Ancestry.com website to the page on FamilySearch where "you can learn more about this collection."

Well, not quite.

The wiki page on FamilySearch is empty as no one has added to it.

Didn't take long to read that!

The page Ancestry.com linked to is a page on United States court records in general--apparently.

I think Ancestry.com meant to link to this page on FamilySearch. 

Do they read the pages they link to? 

Joseph Daby Will Part 2-Not So Easy To Read

part of the will of Joseph Daby, Middlesex County, Mass., file 5702; 
digital image, www.AmericanAncestors.org,  viewed 18 October 2014

This is the second post from the will of Joseph Daby in Stow, Massachusetts, which was admitted to probate in June of 1763. This is the clause that centers on his wife, Eunice and her care and support after his death. We'll have a transcription in an upcoming post as this image is a little more difficult to read than the initial clause of Joseph's will.

The images on AmericanAncestors.org sometimes are not quite as clear as the digital images I made from Massachusetts probate materials while at the Family History Library in Salt Lake City. This is a will where I may want to create my own images from the Family History microfilm and compare those to the images I've obtained from AmericanAncestors.org.

Waiting for Permission

A reader sent me links to information on a distant Sargent relative whose loom was a part of an educational display at the Lincoln Log Cabin Site near Lerna, Illinois. I'd like to use their picture of the loom as a part of a blog post on the item and the family.

However since it's not my picture I need to obtain permission first before I'll use the picture. Realistically the worse that would probably happen is that I'll be asked to take the picture down. It's really just polite to ask before using someone else's image on my own blog...even if I credit them.

So the blog post will have to wait.

Stay tuned!

Updated on FamilySearch: Illinois and California Materials

The following databases are showing as updated on FamilySearchi since our last update:

Illinois, Northern District Petitions for Naturalization, 1906-1991

California, County Birth and Death Records, 1800-1994

Related to Michael?

As some of you know the only families I mention are ones to whom I am related. For those wondering how I connect to the families recently mentioned, a copy of my ancestor table is here.

Will of Joseph Daby from 1763, Part I

The image that follows is the initial part of the 1763 will of Joseph Daby of Stow, Middlesex County, Massachusetts, which was admitted to probate in June of 1767.  The will actually contains the names not only of Daby's daughters, but also several of his grandchildren. 

part of the will of Joseph Daby, Middlesex County, Mass., file 5702;
digital image, www.AmericanAncestors.org,  viewed 18 October 2014

--------------[begin transcription]-------------
In the Name of God Amen this fourth Day of April Anne Dom. one Thousand and Seven Hundred and Sixty and three I Joseph Daby of Stow In ye County of Mi[?]x. In ye Province of the Massachusets Bay in New England Gentn. being Suspible of my Mortality and the State of my Family Requiring a Settlement I Constitute  and appoint this to be my Last Will and Testament Principally I recommend my Soul to God In hope of Mercy thro ye Merits of Jesus Christ and my Body to ye Earth to be buried in Decent Christian Burial at the Expance and Discretion of my Exer here after appointed
--------------[end transcription]-------------

I fought with myself on whether the word in the bottom left hand corner of the image was "Direction" or "Discretion." Looking at the way the writer makes his letter "s" (when not the initial letter of the word), it seems that the third letter in the word was an "s." Both words would make reasonable sense in the context of the sentence.

Given the location of the record, it seems that the Mi[?]x is a reference to Middlesex County.

The only son Daby mentions in his will is one who apparently predeceased his father.

We'll have more of the Daby will in future posts.

Updated on FamilySearch

The following databases are showing as updated on FamilySearch since our last update:

New Mexico, Territorial Census, 1885

New York, Naturalization Index (Soundex), 1792-1906

South Dakota, School Records, 1879-1970

Illinois, Northern District Petitions for Naturalization, 1906-1991

How much of an update has taken place I can't say.

A Message and a Messuage

Knowledge of terms is important. While these sentences are ones I made up, do you know what's probably being said with the following statements:

"The message sent to the widow was that the grass widow gets the messuage. Needless to say the widow wasn't happy."

Where Were Notices Posted

Parties involved in a court case are to be given notice of when actions are to be taken.

This statement from August of 1920 indicated where four public postings were made regarding the sale of real estate in guardianship case.

Proof of public posting of notices for sale of real estate,
Guardianship of Mattie, Etta, and John B. Garrelts, digital image obtained from FamilySearch

This "notice of posting" appears in the guardianship file for the children of Etta Garrelts (Mattie, Etta, and John B.) in Hancock County, Illinois' probate records.

Posting of notices was a common occurrence and in later court materials a notice of the exact placing of these notes is usually included in the records. In earlier records the naming of places where items are posted can serve as evidence that a certain tavern or meeting place was in existence. The difficulty is that there is no index to place names listed in court records. For most of us, the names of these places simply add some background material to our ancestor's lives.

In this case I know where two of these places are (the bank and the courthouse). The other two I'll have to see if I can locate. My personal memory does not stretch back to 1920.

Note: FamilySearch currently indicates that this file is "volume 176." Having used the probate and guardianship records of Hancock County, Illinois, extensively, that does not quite seem to be the correct reference the digital images appear to be from the packets of loose papers and not the bound volumes. An extremely cursory scan of the materials in this "volume" suggests that they are guardianship papers in the early 1920 era.

We'll have an update when I've actually viewed the records at the courthouse.

Illinois Probate Records Updated On FamilySearch

This database is showing as updated on FamilySearch:

Illinois Probate Records, 1819-1988

I can't say how it's been updated. This database has been on FamilySearch  for a while.

John Sargent Makes His Son Samuel a Weaver

The 1716 will of John Sargeant of Malden, Massachusetts, contains bequests for all his children, including this one to his son Samuel:

Will of John Sargeant[part], Middlesex County, Massachusetts, 
file 19883; digital image from AmericanAncestors.org, obtained 13 October 2014

John gives his son Samuel a "weavers trade with a loom to work in" and indicates that he also has provided Samuel with land by "a deed of gift under my hand."

Fortunately the deeds for Middlesex County, Massachusetts, are available online at FamilySearch. The grantee index for the 17th and early 18th century contains numerous entries for members of the Sargent family, including the apparent deed referenced in John's will. The index wasn't very difficult to navigate on FamilySearch. Later work on the family should include a look at these other documents besides the one referred to in John's will.

The deed which is underlined in the above image was easy to locate as well. There are two deed book pages on one image which is why deed page 324 is part of image 185 and not image 324. The original deed books are apparently over 500 pages each. 

John refers to his son Samuel as a weaver in this deed and clearly states their relationship as father and son in addition to listing their residences. The weaver reference is consistent with the occupation clue for Samuel given in John's will. It serves as a way of specifically identifying Samuel Sargent as the weaver who is the son of John. There may have easily been other Samuel Sargents in the area who were not weavers or sons of John.

We'll discuss the details of the deed in a future post. It always pays to use wills and probates as clues to other records. John's reference in this case was pretty blatant. Sometimes the clues are a little more subtle.

Named for a Place in Sweden But Spelled the German Way

Names get spelled incorrectly for a variety of reasons. Sometimes the reasons are known and sometimes they are not. And sometimes reasons are merely speculation. 

Such is the case with Gothenburg, Nebraska.

I'm not certain how accurate the story in this newspaper clipping is in describing the history of the naming of Gothenburg, Nebraska. Any newspaper reference in 1954 to an event in 1882 is decidedly second hand and it's reliability could easily be less than 100%.

Digital image from  Genealogybank

The town was named for a place in Sweden: Goteburg. But a German spelled the word and so it ended up being spelled as "Gothenburg." I'm certain there is a genealogical lesson in that spelling origin.

The only reason I located this entry on Genealogybank was because I was searching for William Ehmen. He was a Lutheran minister and a first cousin of my great-great-grandfather Focke Goldenstein who also settled in Gothenburg.

Updated On FamilySearch: Oregon Materials

The following databases are showing as new or updated on FamilySearch:

Oregon, County Marriages, 1851-1975

Oregon, Deschute County Records, 1871-1985

Putting the Bilder and Back Back Together

I wasn't looking for this entry, but I couldn't pass up posting it.

Fold3.com has indexed this pension index card as James Bilder Back. It's pretty clear that the name is actually supposed to be James Bilderback.

Never hurts to split just about any name in half if you are having difficulties finding it in an index.

Hanover Military Records 1514-1866

My copy of Teresa S. McMillin's Guide to Hanover Military Records, 1514-1866, on Microfilm at the Family History Library has arrived. I'm hoping to use it to access records on a few of my Ostfriesen cousins who served in the military in the mid-19th century when I make my next trip to the Family History Library. The book provides Family History Library film numbers for the military records of Hanover from 1514-1866--something I've never used.

The image that appears below is for Jurgen Ehmen, a 1832 native of Spetzerfehn who apparently deserted in New York in 1859. The image shown below was obtained on Ancestry.com. 

Before I even use the military records, I'm going to have to create a list of "candidates" for military service from my genealogical database. I'll use that list as my research log when searching the actual records.. With over half my ancestors hailing from Ostfriesland, that's going to be a pretty long list and I need to think about the records, find out how they are organized and what information they typically contain in order to create a list that will effectively serve my purposes.

McMillin's book gives an overview of the records and the military and is an excellent finding aid to knowing what film to search for what records. It is not an everyname index to who is on which roll of microfilm. It's up to the researcher to search the film themselves--just like it is with every record. McMillin's book is an excellent start on accessing those records.

I've got some reading to do.

A Trade and a Loom and Entertaining Cattle

I don't think Joseph Sargeant entertained his cattle in the 21st century sense, but that is the word John Sargent uses in his will to describe his son's use of John's property to raise his cattle. At least I really doubt the Sargeant family provided fun and games for their cattle in the early 18th century. 

The will of John Sargeant from Middlesex County, Massachusetts in 1716 provides significant detail about his bequests to his children, along with his reasons for giving them what he did. The clause discussing his son Joseph is representative.

Will of John Sargeant[part], Middlesex County, Massachusetts,
file 19883; digital image from AmericanAncestors.org, obtained 13 October 2014.

-----[begin transcription]--------
Item

I Give to my Son Joseph Sargeant forty Shillings in currant pay to be paid him by my Executors within twelve months after my decease--The reson why I give him no more now is because I have Given him a good Trade and a loome to work in he also had his share or more than his share in my Son Jabiz his estate which was considerable and the Gratest part of my children had not any part of it Also when he lived with me He Raised up free [??] [this should be "Several" instead of "free"] Cattle and I Entertained them:
-----[end transcription]-----------

It would appear that the [Trade?] reference is indicating that John Sargeant either taught his son a trade himself or paid someone to do it. Wills frequently indicate that a parent has already given a child money, but John Sargeant's will is a little more specific than most. There is also no mention as to why Joseph received the bulk of Jabez's estate.

The use of the word "entertaining" in reference to the cattle is also a little unusual, but the reference here likely is to John's providing son Joseph a free place on which to raise his cattle. I'm not entirely certain what the letters or symbol after the word "free" in this part of item refer to.

The mention of Jabez's estate does mean that I need to see if there are any probate records for him in Middlesex County as well.

John mentions all his children in his will and provides for them but the clauses devoted to his sons are more detailed than those devoted to his daughters.

John is one of my New England ancestors whose been written up in several genealogies, but I've made the best discoveries about him and several of them by looking for them in actual records. Wills, probate records, and land deeds often provide clues that compilers of large genealogies simply don't have the time to include. And it is those details that often provide the best glimpse into our ancestors' lives.

[note: Pam Bolton posted a comment correcting me on "free," which I've noted in red. For some reason, Google Blogger won't let me publish or see her comment now---so we're acknowledging it here. Thanks!]

Registration for CSI-G Begins 13 October!

Registration for the 2015 CSI-Genealogy being held at Carl Sandburg College in Galesburg, Illinois, begins on 13 October. Registration details are here. More information on CSI-Genealogy can be found on our site.

Booze and Politics in 1742

[we run this every election year--I originally wrote it in 2000 so some of you might have already seen it-this originally ran on 28 Nov 2000 in the Ancestry Daily News....]

Booze and Politics in 1742

The 2000 election "dilemma" in Florida brings to mind a situation in Orange County, Virginia in 1742. At that time, though, there was no recount, and "chads" were not pivotal to the outcome. Booze, intimidation, swords, and betting were involved—as was one of my ancestors. As fate would have it, he was involved with the booze, the intimidation, the swords, the coins, and the betting. And he was not even running for office.

This information came to light while I was searching for ancestral names in the published Journals of the House of Burgesses of Virginia, 1742-47. These journals have been published and are available, generally, in some sort of microtext format. I accessed them at the university where I attended graduate school—university libraries are an excellent source of material of this type, especially when it's of a broader, more general historical interest. I remember going to the index thinking I would not find anything on this ancestor, John Rucker. Was I wrong!

John was not running for office, but he apparently had strong political feelings. Parts of a House of Burgesses transcription are included here, including the original spelling. (I turned off my spellchecker for this one.)

[Note: This material has been edited for space, and the typing has been changed—Fs to Ss—to help readers make sense of the "old style" writing. However, the original spelling has been preserved. It should further be noted that type changes from the old script S (which resembled a lowercase F) to our style S have resulted in the changed spelling of some names: Mr. William Ruffell changed to Mr. William Russell, and Mr. Jonathan Gibfon changed to Mr. Jonathan Gibson.]

(Journals of the House of Burgesses of Virginia, 1742-47, pp. 50-51)
FRIDAY, JUNE 4, 1742
Mr. Conway, from the Committee of Privileges and Elections, reported [on] the Petition of Mr Thomas-Wright Belfield . . . complaining of an undue Election and Return of Mr Robert Slaughter . . . and Mr Henry Downs . . . as Burgesses . . . for the County Of Orange; . . . it appeared to the Committee . . . That Mr Robert Slaughter, Mr Henry Downs, Mr Thomas-Wright Belfield, Mr Thomas Chew, Mr Zachariah Taylor, Mr William Russell, and Mr James Wood, stood Candidates for the Election; and that the Poll was opened on Friday the Twentieth Day of November last, about Twelve of the Clock.
That as soon as the Poll was opened, John MacCoy, Honorius Powell, John Snow, and Timothy Terrill, and several others, throng'd into the Court-house in a riotous Manner, and made such a Disturbance, that the Sheriff and Candidates were obliged to go out of the Court-house, 'til the House was clear'd, and the People appeas'd:
And that the said Mr Chew, whilst he was on the Bench, called for a Bowl of Punch, and had it brought to him; upon which, the Sheriff stay'd the Poll, and said he would not have any Punch drank on the Bench, but wou'd have a fair Election; to which Mr Chew replied, he would have Punch, and drink it, and that the Sheriff should not hinder him.
. . . the Candidates and Sheriff return'd into the Court-house, and proceeded in taking the Poll; Mr Jonathan Gibson and John Newport, the Under-Sheriff . . . [stood at] . . . the Court-house Doors, with drawn Swords across the Doors, in order to let the Voters pass in and out quietly and regularly in their Polling.
That after the Under-Sheriff was placed at the Door, one Mr John Rucker came to the Door, and demanded Entrance, which he had; and then the said Rucker threw the Under-Sheriff and another Person headlong out of the Doors; and when the Under Sheriff recovered his Post, the said Rucker insisted to clear the Doors, so that everone might have free Entrance, and seized the Under-Sheriff's Sword with both his Hands, endeavouring to break it, which the Under-Sheriff prevented, by drawing it through his Hands.
That then one John Burk came to the said Rucker's Assistance, and laid violent Hold on the Under-Sheriff, who was rescued by the By- standers. That towards Night . . . the People throng'd into the Court-house in a drunken riotous Manner, one of them jumping upon the Clerk's Table, and dancing among the Papers, so that the Sheriff was unable to clear the Bar, or the Clerks to take the Poll:
Whereupon the Candidates desired the Sheriff to adjourn the Poll 'til Eight of the Clock the next morning, which he refus'd to do, unless the Candidates would give him Bond to indemnify him . . . several of the Candidates agreeing to give such Bond, the Under- Sheriff, by Direction of the High-Sheriff, adjourned the Poll 'til Eight of the Clock next Morning; and thereupon a great many of the Freeholders who had not voted, returned home; and Mr Chew and Mr Belfield went to Mr Belfield's House . . . That when the Sheriff had prepared a Bond ready for the Candidates signing, Mr Russell . . . offered it to Mr Chew and Mr Belfield to execute, who refused, saying the Poll was adjourn'd, and their Friends gone home.

[Russell returned to the courthouse and the sheriff re-opened the poll until about eight that night. Russell and several freeholders went to the courthouse to be polled, but the sheriff refused them and declared that Slaughter and Downs had been duly elected.]

It also appeared to the Committee, that the said John Rucker did, before and during the Time of the Election give several large Bowls of Punch amongst the People, crying out for those Persons who intended to vote for Mr Slaughter to come and drink of his Punch; and that the said Rucker stood at the Court-house, and kept out those who were Mr Belfield's Friends and after the Election was over, confessed he had won several Pistoles upon Mr Slaughter's being elected the First Burgess.On 5 June 1742, the House declared that Slaughter had not been duly elected. They also indicated that John Rucker (among others) "are guilty of great misdeameanors and breaches . . ." and that these men (including Richard Winslow, Orange County Sheriff) be sent for in the custody of the serjeant [sic.] at arm.
On 19 June 1742 a petition was read from John Rucker (and some of the other men) which indicated they were truly sorry and that they would not behave in a way that would incur the displeasure of the house in the future. They were discharged from custody and paid their fees.

Very interesting indeed. I didn't learn cold and hard genealogical "facts," but I certainly learned something about John.

Why Uncle Joseph Watson Matters

Research methodology suggests that we completely research the entire family and as a sibling of an ancestor. That is sound advice, but the reality is that in many cases there are aunts, uncles, and first cousins that really don't get researched. There is only so much time and only so many resources. Failure to research the entire family completely is more likely to happen if there more than adequate records on the actual ancestor of interest and tracing the actual ancestor is relatively easy.

Joseph Watson, an English immigrant to Chicago in the 1880s is one of those relatives. I didn't need to research him to locate the English origins of his sister Elizabeth (Watson) Frame who died Chicago, Illinois in 1919. There were plenty of records on Elizabeth and her family that provided information on her family's English origins. I didn't initially know about Joseph's immigration to Chicago, but it really wasn't crucial to my research on Margaret and her family.

And then I discovered Joseph died without any apparent children.

And that's when I got to thinking that he may be more helpful than I realized.

Elizabeth (Watson) Frame and her husband had several children, including my wife's great-grandfather William. This son William "disappears" around 1920. His wife and her family was unable to find him and it is possible that he stayed in touch with his biological family. And, if Joseph Watson died without children, William would have been an heir to Joseph's estate and mentioned in the subsequent probate file. The only problem is that I'm afraid Joseph Watson died in  February of 1930 in Chicago, Illinois, without any estate worth probating.

But it is worth looking. If there is was an estate for Joseph, it would not only have mentioned William but it would mention other relatives---some of whom lived in England.

[Thanks to my wife's cousin TD in Scotland for catching my error in this initial posting. I constantly referred to Elizabeth by her sister's name of Margaret.]

Does that Look Like Brampton To You?

It's always worth it to consider how many iterations a location went through before it was placed on the document where you've seen it.

The place of birth on this 1930 death certificate for Joseph Watson appears to be somewhere in England. It also looks like some place starting with an "F."

But that's not where Joseph was born.

Local records in England indicate this Joseph Watson was born in Brampton, England in 1848 the son of James and Mary (Liddel) Watson. James had a sister who also lived in Chicago so I know this is the correct certificate and the correct person. The informant on this death certificate was a hospital administrator. Very likely he was copying the information from a hospital record--which may or not have been written clearly. Joseph had no surviving spouse or children to assist with the death certificate. It's not too much of a stretch to see how a sloppily written Brampton could have later been interpreted as the writing that appears in the birthplace section of this birth certificate.

What makes the analysis of this location easier is that I've already got the "correct" place from other records.

Often we don't have that.

It is always worth our while to think about how many times a piece of information may have "passed hands" before it came to be included in the document we  are using.

Updated On FamilySearch: NJ, NY and OH Materials

The following databases are showing as updated on FamilySearch:

New Jersey, State Census, 1915

New York, Queens County Probate Records, 1785-1950

Ohio, County Death Records, 1840-2001

FamilySearch Updates

The following items are showing as new or updated on FamilySearch:

Oregon, Marriages, 1853-1935

Ohio, Deaths and Burials, 1854-1997

United States General Index to Pension Files, 1861-1934

CSI-Genealogy 2015 Registrations Begin 13 October

We are really excited about plans for our first CSI-Genealogy to be held in Galesburg, Illinois, in May/June 2015.

Readers may remember that I am one of the four course coordinators for CSI-Genealogy. We've got four great tracks of lectures lined up on methodology, sources, digital techniques, and German research. More details can be found on our web page.

Registration begins on 13 October.

Double Cousins Are Normal For Me

My great-great-grandparents Johann Hinrichs Frederichs Ufkes (1838-1924) and Noentje Lena (Grass) Ufkes (1848-1902) had nine children who grew to adulthood and married. The Ufkes family lived in Bear Creek Township, Hancock County, Illinois for most of their married life. They are buried in Immanuel Lutheran Cemetery in Hancock County.

Their youngest child was my great-grandfather--Fred Ufkes. Seven of his siblings married individuals who were also related to me through three of my other great-grandparents. Double cousins were normal to me.

Here's a brief rundown of the double relationships.

Johann Ufkes (1879-1955)--my great-grandfather Ufkes' brother

• Spouse Elske Huls (1879-1949)
• Elske was the daughter of Sarke Tjarks Fecht Huls (my ggg-grandmother Janssen's sister)

Trientje Aslena Ufkes (1877-1934)--my great-grandfather Ufkes' sister

• Spouse Wilhelm Janssen Schuster (1872-1919)
• Wilhelm was the daughter of Altje Goldenstein Schuster (my gg grandfather Goldenstein's sister)

Lena Christena Ufkes (1879-1909)--my great-grandfather Ufkes' sister

• Spouse Poppo Fooken (1870-1914)
• Not a relative to me!

Henry Janssen Ufkes (1881-1949)--my great-grandfather Ufkes' brother

• Spouse Altje Garrelts (1886-1972)
• Altje was the daughter of Wilhelmina Goldenstein Garrelts (my gg-grandfather Goldenstein's sister)

Gerhard J. Ufkes (1883-1951)--my great-grandfather Ufkes' brother

• Spouse Anna Huls (1892-1930)
• Anna was the granddaughter of Sarke Tjarks Fecht Huls (my gg-grandfather Janssen's sister)

Eielt J. Ufkes (1885-1970)--my great-grandfather Ufkes' brother

• Spouse Antje Schuster (1887-1966)
• Antje was the daughter of Altje Goldenstein Schuster (my gg-grandfather Goldenstein's sister)

Bertus J. Ufkes (1887-)--my great-grandfather Ufkes' brother

• Spouse Margaret Wetterich (1898- )
• No relation to me

George J. Ufkes (1889-1971)--my great-grandfather Ufkes' brother

• Spouse Tena Bruns (1895-1984)
• Tena was the granddaughter of Ubbe Gerdes Bruns (brother of my ggg-grandmother Fecht)
• Tena was also the granddaughter of Wilhelmina Goldenstein Garrelts ( my gg-grandfather Goldenstein's sister).

Frederich J. Ufkes (1893-1960)--my great-grandfather

• Spouse Trientje Janssen (1896-1986)