What name do you use?

I've used my complete name ever since I started writing and lecturing about genealogy. However, the funny thing is that many times I get "billed" as John Michael Neill or John Neill.

Ironic when one considers that my name was actually supposed to be in that order. That is another story.

But it goes to show that occasionally even genealogists get names wrong. I'm not bothered by the name change, but it does make a point: even family historians, who are often painfully aware of name variants, can occasionally make a mistake.

The only thing that really irritates me is when my last name is written as O'Neill. Since 1864 we have never had an "O." I figure why start now?

It also gets spelled as Neil or Neal and the ways it gets pronounced never ceases to amaze me. But it could have been worse: My mother's maiden name was Ufkes and my grandmother's maiden name was Trautvetter.

Which DAR line to work on?

I've been thinking about the two lines of descent my wife has from Revolutionary era ancestors. And after some thought, I've decided which line will probably be easiest to prove. Unfortunately it is not the Jones line that I have been working on the past several days.

The Jones line has two problems. The first is connecting the Benjamin Jones of Stokes County, South Carolina, with Revolutionary service with the Aquilla Jones who was in Tennessee and Missouri. I think they are father and son and can make a reasonable case, but there are still holes in it. I'll continue to work on it as it is an interesting problem--but I think it will be a while before it stands a fair amount of scrutiny (unless there is a document out there just waiting to be found). The second issue with this line is proving the connection between the Aquilla Jones (of Howard County, Missouri) and the Wesley Jones of Macon County, Missouri. .

The other line may be easier--partially because the last name is not as common as Jones.

Conrad Wickiser (variant spellings) of Luzerne County, PA had military service. Connecting him to his son Abraham Wickiser will be easier than making the Jones connection. Abraham migrated to Delaware County, Ohio, leaving no neat and easy records proving his children either and he and his wife are apparently both dead by the mid 1850s. However, there are a series of deeds that fairly clearly indicate Abraham's daughters, including Lucinda Wickiser Kile, of Mercer County, Illinois.

Lucinda had many children, including a daughter Nancy. Nancy never married but had children and herein lies the problem. Long story short is that Nancy had several children with the same man, clearly evidenced by various records. One of these children is my wife's great-grandmother, Jennie Kile Smith Trask, born in Mercer County, Illinois, in the 1870s. From there until the present day the line is pretty easy to establish.

I'm not certain how DAR deals with out-of-wedlock issue. Nancy and her children's father were clearly not married. It is not just a case of a missing marriage record (the father was married, but to someone else).

I'll have to add work on the early generations of the Wickiser family to my list for Salt Lake.

Is there a cat in the hat nearby?

The 1910 census entry shows a young Theodor Geisel living with his parents in Massachusetts. I'm not certain whether or not they were eating green eggs and ham on the day the census taker came...they don't ask interesting questions like that ;-)

You can View Census Records Online at Ancestry.com or you can read our suggestions for a 14 day free trial here.

Is there a brewery nearby?

The occupation column for this census page contains several well-known individuals, all employed in the Brewery business. In fact, many of the individuals on the entire page are apparently working for the brewery.

The family name will be easily recognized, but remember they are not related to another family whose name is very similar but missing the "h" on the end.

You can View Census Records Online at Ancestry.com or you can read our suggestions for a 14 day free trial here.

St. Charles Genealogy Society Makes St. Louis Post Dispatch

There is a nice article in today's St. Louis Post Dispatch about the St. Charles County [Missouri] Genealogical Society.

I've presented quite a few times for the St. Charles folks and they are a really great group of genealogists. The article was a good one, too.

Are you just overwhelmed?

Sometimes one can only handle so much genealogical information or stories to work on.

Readers of the blog might remember that I'm trying to cement connections between a Revolutionary serviceman from the Carolinas, Benjamin Jones, with an Aquilla Jones who married Lettie (Hooper) Cooke in Davidson County, Tennessee and later settled in Howard County, Missouri. Aquilla is probably the father of a Wesley Jones who marries Matilda Patrick in Randolph County Missouri in the 1830s.

Then there is a the brother of my great-grandmother who was probably murdered in Kansas City in the 1920s. That story is still on my to-do list, although a search of Kansas City newspapers resulted in no mention of the case.

Last week, I found out that a first cousin of my great-great-grandfather Trautvetter was on the run from the law in April of 1902 and apparently apprehended in Boston. More on that as I am able to add details. This was a story I had never heard.

My wife's uncle George Washington Drollette was a private secretary to the US ambassador to China Edwin Conger in the 1901 era. So far, I have not had much luck locating information on his service overseas either.

Add these to the dead ends I've got and there is quite a list.

More on Analyzing Pre-1850 Census Entries

I had nearly forgotten that several years ago we posted an extensive series of articles on searching per-1850 census records for Thomas Chaney of Bedford County, Pennsylvania. Those articles are housed on our site at:
http://www.rootdig.com/chaneythomas/

Land Patents of Aquilla Jones

I am still thinking that the connection between Aquilla Jones (of Davidson County, TN and later Howard County, MO) needs something more concrete than what I currently have.

In an attempt to locate more information I searched for Aquilla on the BLM Land Patent site. There were three results as shown. Turns out that the first two are probably for the Aquilla I am looking for. The first one from 1961 is a delayed patent, originally intended to be issued in 1825 and the second one indicates the Aquilla Jones is of Howard County. Both of these warrant followup, especially how the land was disposed of by Aquilla. Hopefully there was an estate or deed to settle it up. Consequently I'll be looking for probate/land records in both Franklin and Howard Counties.

But I nearly overlooked the 1961 deed thinking it was too late--just goes to show.

Small images of the two patents are included in this post

Searching pre and post 1850 census records

One hurdle faced by family historians is working in pre-1850 census records. Although only the heads of household are listed, these records do have value. Head of household census records can provide valuable clues about family structure that may not be available in other records. Census records should be included as an integral part of any research plan for 1790-1850 era research.

Assessment of pre-1850 federal census enumerations needs to be done carefully, as occasionally different interpretations can reasonably be made. It is important to note assumptions....
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Our discussion of the analysis of the census records of Augusta Newman 1820-1860 continues in the article posted on our site. I'd be interested in hearing from any descendants of Augusta--he's my 4th great-grandfather.
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Those interested can Search US Federal Census Records at Ancestry.com

Need a death date for a Civil War Veteran?

Need a date of death for a Civil War veteran, but have no idea where to look?

The Organization Index to Pension Files of Veterans Who Served Between 1861 and 1900, on microfilm at the National Archives, the Family History Library (card catalog reference), and Footnote.comhas a line on each index card for when and where the soldier died.

Many cards do not have a death date and place (at least I saw quite a few that did not), but it might be worth a try if you know the guy was in the service and just can't find out where he died and do not want to order the entire pension file to find out.

The card in this post is a sample of one from the 78th Illinois Volunteer Infantry, the same unit as my ancestor and his brother. Of course their cards did not have a date and place of death, but I already knew it.

The main thing is that this might be a help. Using the cards on film (NARA or FHL) requires that one know the unit (because that is how the cards are organized). Using the cards at Footnote.com
only requires a name as they are indexed.

Case Files of the Bureau of Investigation

I located a first cousin of my ancestor in the Case Files of the Bureau of Investigation from 1908-1922 at Footnote.com.

John Fecht of Varna, Illinois, and two of his children were suspected of pro-German activity. There are three interesting pages of testimony from the agent assigned to the case. The file contains just of three pages; only the first one is reproduced here.

The unnamed daughter was a teacher and "radically pro-German." She also had "some bank account."

According to the testimony, John still had siblings in Germany, including one brother in the Army. The family at first did not appear conducive to the agent's requests, and wanted nothing to do with war bonds and had no interest in the government's involvement in the war. The agent asked several other questions and gave the father and the two adult children the night to apparently "think things over."

The next morning, the agent accompanied "them" to the bank and watched the son Anton buy war bonds. Whether "them" is all three or not is not clear.

The Case Files can be browsed at Footnote, but viewing images requires access.

Interesting...

Source information:

Suspect Name: John Fecht

Collection Title: Investigative Reports of the Bureau of Investigation 1908-1922

Publication Number: M1085

Series: Old German Files, 1909-21

Case Title: PRO GERMAN ACTIVITY

Footnote Users Meeting at NGS-Richmond

Footnote.com will be hosting a meeting of Footnote.com users at the National Genealogical Society Conference in Richmond, Virginia on Saturday, May 19, 2007 at 10:00 AM. Footnote users who live near Richmond or who will be attending the 2007 NGS Conference, are welcome to attend.

Unfortunately I won't be at NGS in Richmond...

Those unfamiliar with Footnote may wish to do some exploring of the site which offers digital images of NARA microfilms not found elsewhere.

Working on Benjamin Jones

A search of the Family History Library Card Catalog indicates they have several items for Stokes County, Northa Carolina that may be helpful in my search for more information on Benjamin Jones:

• Land records--including grantor and grantee indexes.
• A variety of microfilmed and published probate records
• Some corresondence regarding military pensions
• Tax records that may help me pinpoint dates of death
• Court records pre-1830 or so should also be searched.

My real concern is to try and connect Benjamin Jones with Aquilla of Davidson County, Tennessee and Howard County, Missouri. That is one of my goals while I'm on my trip to the Family History Library in May.

Delayed births are not always with the delayed births

For reasons that are not entirely apparent, Lillian Apgar's birth certificate was recorded on 3 March 1931, one day after her twenty-first birthday. Her sister's was recorded a few days later, but has the wrong date of birth. These certificates were recorded with the 1910 births and not in a separate series of records.

These certificates and the certificate for a younger brother of these two sisters are analyzed in an article on our site.

What was interesting in this case of Chicago birth certificates was that of the four children the parents had, one daughter's record was never recorded.

Unfortunately that missing daughter is my wife's grandmother.

A German Takes the Census

Would you have thought that entry 70/71 was supposed to be Riley Rampley? Sure enough it is. The first time I searched for Riley years ago, I never realized this entry was for him. I knew the family was living in Walker Township, Hancock County, Illinois--where they had lived for years, but could not find them.

The German-born census taker occasionally put his own spin on the surnames when completing the enumeration. The wife of Riley is actually Nancy, but it has been spelled Nanzy.

And the Thomas Ramplie (71/72) is Riley's older brother.

A good way to prepare for any research trip

A good way to prepare for any research trip is to write up the information you already have, as if you were going to submit it for publication. You don't have to submit it to anyone, but just the fact of writing it up, organizing it, and making your case and summarizing the details you know will get you on track for continuing your research and noticing holes.

I've often pulled up old Ancestry articles I have written to use when at a library when doing research.

Your writing need not be fancy (but it should be sourced). And your written up summary is better to take with you than just untranscribed copies of your records.

Take with a grain of salt

I'm going to have to take the material that comes in the Amy Jones Doyle book with a grain of salt (as one should information from any published compiled genealogy). She does not indicate that any of Wesley Jones' children married a Rhodus/Rhodes. Yet the probate for Wesley Jones clearly indicates that he had a daughter Lucretia M. K. Rhodus. The "M" likely stood for Matilda. Doyle indicates another husband for this child.

However, it does not appear that Lucretia was married before either. There is an 1850 Macon County, Missouri marriage for Jones and Rhodes, using those last names--pretty much eliminating the possibility that she was married before her marriage to Rhodes/Rhodus.

I'll still get the genealogy when I'm in Salt Lake this May and copy or scan it--whichever I can do fastest. But I'll use it as a source of clues and leads not as facts--which is how one should use any compiled genealogy.

Connection to Aquilla Jones

This is a quick sketch of the connection to Aquilla Jones.

1) Aquilla Jones, died 1843 Howard County, Missouri.
2) Wesley Jones, born likely in Davidson County, Tennessee, died 1878 near Callao, Missouri.
3) Matilda Jones, married William Rhodes. Died and buried in Macon County, Missouri in the 1880s.
4) Clara Rhodes, married Granville Lake. She was born in 1867 in Macon County, Missouri and died in 1921 in Macon County, Missouri.
5) Ola Lake (1906-1969), married Anna Apgar--my wife's grandparents

Working on Benjamin Jones

A google search turned up an abstract from the Revolutionary War Pension file of Benjamin Jones. There was speculation in this file that Benjamin was the father of Aquilla, but nothing concrete and no source listed. That helps.

A search for Benjamin Jones on WorldConnect yielded several hits, but the only sources I was able to locate were:

• The Daniel Webster Jones Genealogy, by Amy Jones Doyle--this is at the Family History Library in Salt Lake so I can look at that in May.

• A will reference. Aquilla supposedly had a brother Gabriel who wrote his will in 1806 and an Aquilla Jones is listed as the executor. I'll have to see if these records are in the Family History Library.

At this juncture, I'm not too worried about who Benjamin's parents are. The WorldConnect postings disagree about Benjamin's parents, but at this point I'm more concerned to proving/disproving the connection of Benjamin with service to Aquilla Jones, ancestor of my wife. I think what I need to do is also look for land/probate records in Stokes County, where this Benjamin Jones died. I need something connecting him to Aquilla.

There's still room for those who want to join us on our trip to the Salt Lake City Family History Library in May.

Getting Ready for Salt Lake City Family History Library

I'll have a small amount of time to work on my own families while leading our second annual research trip to Salt Lake City's Family History Library this coming May, so I've decided to work on one of my wife's families. She's been wanting to join the DAR, so I decided upon two lines that will be the easiest to prove descent from. Each have problems.

The first line begins with a Benjamin Jones in the Carolinas. The problem is attaching him to an Aquilla Jones who ended up travelling through Tennessee and Missouri. The case I have seen so far is somewhat circumstantial and I have to make certain I have the right Benjamin Jones. The line of descent from Aquilla to my wife is fairly solid.

The second line begins with Conrad Wickiser who served from Pennsylvania. I think his service is pretty solid and the connection to his son Abram is as well. Abram left no will or probate records, but a series of land records in Ohio seems to indicate one of his daughters was Lucinda Wickiser Kile, who later lived in Mercer County, Illinois.

The problem comes a couple of generations later. Lucinda's daughter Nancy had several out of wedlock children. They are fairly well documented, but there are no birth records for the children, but several records indicate Nancy was their mother. The problem will be convincing others of the connection.

So in my spare time I'm organizing my information on these two lines and looking at the card catalog for the Family History Library for these two families and will work on them hit and miss as I can. The organization is something I'm encouraging our trip participants to do. The hit and miss aspect of it I'm not.

There is still room on our May 2007 trip to Salt Lake City's Family History Library for those who've never made the trek to the world's largest genealogical library.

Using Gmail for my mailing lists

I've used gmail for sometime and really like it for subscribing to the genealogy mailing lists that I am on. The messages stay threaded in the display which saves space and makes deleting topics I am not interested in. And having a "permanent" email address is really nice--especially one separate from my "other" email address.

I'd encourage anyone who didn't have a gmail address to get one. Or at least get an account at yahoo or hotmail to handle your genealogy mail.

Gmail
http://gmail.google.com

Yahoo mail
http://mail.yahoo.com

Hotmail
http://www.hotmail.com

Michael

World Vital Records and Everton's Handy Book

Everton Publishers (via their World Vital Records site) is offering an electronic copy of their Handy Book free with a two-year subscription to World Vital Records. The Handy Book is the first genealogy how-to book I ever bought over twenty years ago and one I still use on a regular basis. The maps of migration trails in the back are just excellent and particularly helpful.

Additionally the book has county maps of every state and information on state records in every state.

The ad below will take you to the World Vital Records site.




The Handybook is one of those books that every genealogist must have. And now it won't even take up spaec on your self.

How to appear in Photos

Yahoo has this article on how to look thinner in photographs, which is all fine and good, I guess. However there are those who are suggesting using Photoshop to "clean up" the pictures. How will we ever know which side of the family got "the nose" if they have edited them out of the picture?

If great-grandma edited her picture, how would we know who got her facial features?

1930 Census-President Bush

Future president George W. Bush is only enumerated in 1930 with the "W" he's the Walker shown here in part of the 1930 census enumeration for he and his family.

You can View Census Records Online at Ancestry.com or you rcan read our suggestions for a 14 day free trial here.

1930 Census Bob Barker

Bob Barker's getting ready to retire from the "Price is Right" television game show. Well...after all, he was six years old in 1930...so you do the math. The image here shows part of his 1930 census entry in Missouri with his family.




You can View Census Records Online at Ancestry.com or you rcan read our suggestions for a 14 day free trial here.