Rev. James Bennett--St. John, New Brunswick

I have a copy of it, but it's buried in my filing cabinet and admittedly never been computerized--the transcription of the marriage announcement of Samuel Neill and Anne Murphy


From the St. John Globe--17 November 1865, which indicates that Samuel Neill and Miss Anne Murphy were married on 9 November 1865 by the Rev. James Bennett and that they were both of Simonds Parish (St. John).

I found this on the New Brunswick Provincial Archives website. This database may have been on there a while, but I never noticed it until just right now. Pays to go back and look.

Now to find out if there are any church records.

Alfred Hitchcock arrives in the US in 1937

Sailing on the Queen Mary, the family of Alfred Hitchcock arrived in New York in 1937.

You can search for your relatives--who probably had less "direction" that Hitchcock-- in passenger lists--just remember that the earlier ones are not typed and were written in nearly invisible ink ;-).

Online Registration for FGS 2007 Ft. Wayne

Online registration for the annual Federation of Genealogical Societies' 2007 conference in Ft. Wayne, Indiana, this August is now operational. Yipee! I'll be there and hopefully I'll find a few ancestors in the library (Well not their actual bodies--although they did dig a pretty big hole for the library's new parking garage, so you never know--but that would give whole new meaning to the phrase "open stacks").

Learn more about the program, the speakers, and FGS at

http://www.fgsconference.org/

We always have a good time, always learn, and always share. Join us and learn more about your ancestors, genealogical research, and FGS in Ft. Wayne late this summer.

Michael
FGS Board Member

Presentation in Princeton, Illinois 29 March 2007

Due to a scheduling conflict on my part, the Bureau County folks have graciously changed their meeting date to the 29th of March 2007 at the usual location and the usual time in the evening.
The topic "Discovering Your Own Migration Trail and Establishing Your Ancestor's Neighborhood" and everything else remains the same.

The Bureau County website contains more information, but the date might not be changed on the website yet as we just confirmed the new date late this afternoon.

Pickles in 1900

We can't always locate the ketchup in our house, but I did manage to find Henry Heinz in the 1900 census. H J Heinz and his oldest son are enumerated as pickle manufacturers. The "0" behind the occupation means something, but not how many pickles they made during the year. The column headings on the original indicate the intent.

If your ancestor was in a pickle in 1900, that may be shown when you search the 1900 Census.

Chances are you may find pickles in your refrigerator, but not your ancestor. And if your ancestor is in the refrigerator...well that's another problem entirely.

1900 Willa Cather

In 1900 Willa Cather was a newspaper reporter living in Phildelphia. The author of O Pioneers, My Antonia, and other novels of the western frontier had yet to pen her well-known works.

Philadelphia was probably a big change from rural Nebraska where Cather grew up. Her migration trail was little bit atypical. She was born in Virginia, lived in Nebraska and moved to Pennsylvania where she is shown here in 1900.

The 1900 Census can be searched at Ancestry.com--but keep your ancestor's migration path in mind.

1920 Census--Grandma from the Waltons (Ellen Corby)

Did you know that Grandma from the Waltons (Ellen Corby) was born in Wisconsin of Norwegian parents and grew up in Pennslyvania? I sure didn't.

Her maiden name was Ellen Hansen and her 1920 census entry is partially shown here with her mother and step-father in Philadelphia.

The 1920 United States Federal Census can be searched for your relative--no matter where in the US they were born or were living. Of course, sometimes we search but never find them.

1920 Census-Anthony Quinn

His real name was Antonio Quine (at least in the 1920 census). Those of us with ancestors for whom English was not their native language must always be on the lookout for the "original" name of our ancestor or how their name might have sounded to the census taker. The rest of the image can be viewed on our site, along with the year the Quine family came to America. They were living in California in 1920 where Antonio was a little too young to be an actor.

Search the everyname index to the 1920 United States Federal Census for your ancestor--and keep those alternate spellings and names in mind.

The Voice of Snow White in 1930

Her father was a voice teacher, so I guess Andriana Caselotti got her talent naturally. Fortunately the apple that didn't fall far from the tree in this case was a good one, not one like Snow White (for whom Caselotti provided the voice) ate in the movie.

The 1930 census finds the 13 year old living with her family in Los Angeles, where her father is employed as a voice teacher.

Some occupations and talents tend to run in families. Some are re-developed every generation. And some are just stuck. You can search of the 1930 census at Ancestry.com and see what category your relative falls into.

Harry Houdini didn't escape from the manifest

Harry Houdini returned to the United States on board the Imperator in 1920. Obviously he didn't escape from the manifest and hopefully no one tried to throw him overboard with chains or leg irons on.

Indexes to these records are a part of the Ancestry.com's set of databases. Search for your own relative in ship manifests--hopefully he wasn't thrown overboard in leg irons either.

Can You Read It?

This comes from a 1860s era probate in Chariton County, Missouri. It is the listing of a person who purchased property at the estate sale.

Federal Land Patents

An article I wrote several years ago about the Bureau of Land Management website is still accurate--thankfully they leave the search interface alone for the most part.

A search for William Newmans in Indiana resulted in one match for my William. The legal description for his property is as shown in the image below.

The legal description is available on the patent image, but the quarter section can be viewed on the BLM site as part of the database entry for William's patent.

Then using the legal land description of William's 40 acres, I searched the BLM database of patents again. This time I searched for patents granted to people for property in the same section of the township.

I was excited when I viewed the names. One last name was the same last name as William's wife, Rebecca Tinsley. Viewing the patent for William Tinsley indicated he was living in the same county William was when William purchased the land in Tipton County. Both men were listed as residents of Rush County, Indiana.

Patents are not only for "early" or pre-statehood settlers. There were federal land sales in many states long after statehood. After all, these sales are in Indiana in 1850.

The article goes into more detail on using these patents. I would view the BLM website's information on patents and the rectangular survey system descriptions before I did extensive searches.

Can You Read It?

From an estate settlement in the 1860s in Chariton County, Missouri.

Feel free to post a guess--it's not too hard.

Looking for Images of Farm Implements?

I just had a thought...

Those who are looking for images of those items mentioned in an estate settlement from the 1800s or so might want to consider searching for the item on the US patents database at Google. While search for patents with a location of the town where I grew up, I happened upon an 1871 patent for a hand corn husker. There are images of every patented item on the website and Google's US Patents Database may be a good way for researchers to locate images of items with which they are unfamiliar. The patent description may also provide some information on what the item was used for.

Patent Searches at Google

Don't forget that US patents can be searched at Google.

A search of one of my wife's surnames turned up a relative of hers being a witness on a patent for a feeding trough put together by Chester A. Barnes of Blue Grass, Iowa.

The full text OCR search is really neat and as can be seen in the image, the search term is highlighted on the results. Fun stuff at http://www.google.com/patents

Candy is Dandy, but Ogden's Not Legal

Ogden Nash penned "Candy is dandy, but liquor is quicker," but he probably had not written it at the time of this 1920 census enumeration in New York. The 17 year old is living with his parents on 5th Avenue in Manhattan where his father worked in the export business.

You can search the 1920 United States Federal Census for your relative.

1920 Census--Jazz Great Louis Armstrong

The 1920 census found Louis Armstrong living with his mother in a boarding house in New Orleans. The 19 year old is listed as being employed in the "theatre" as a musician. Armstrong was not too difficult to find, but common names in large cities combined with bad handwriting always makes for a challenging search.

You can search the 1920 United States Federal Census for your relative.

1920 Census-Humphrey Bogart

Humphrey Bogart and his family were living on West 103rd Street in Manhattan at the time of the 1920 enumeration. The partial image to the right shows most of the household members. The future actor is listed as a 20 year old railroad clerk. I'm not quite certain what the father's occupation is supposed to be.

Those with relatives in the United Statse can search the 1920 EVERY NAME United States Federal Census at Ancestry.com

Hizzoner Richard Daley in 1920

Future Chicago Mayor Richard Daley (the father of the current may0r) is enumerated in the Chicago census at 7621 Green Street--his grandmother is also living there.

You can search the 1920 United States Federal Census for your ancestor who may or may not be living with grandparents and future mayors.

President Richard Nixon in 1920

Future president Richard M. Nixon was enumerated with his parents and several siblings in the 1920 census for Orange County, California. His parents were not native Californians; his father was born in Ohio and his mother was born in Indiana.

Search the everyname index to the 1920 United States Federal Census at Ancestry for your ancestor--whether he was living in California or not!

Making Certain you have the "right" Guy

Tracking ancestors across state lines can be difficult, especially so when they have left few records and the searching is done before the everyname censuses begin in 1850. Some time ago we posted an article on my search for Levi Rhodes across Missouri and back into Tennessee. The discussion is still relevant today.

Here are a few reminders from our searches for Levi in Tennessee:

• Don't just grab the first name that matches. Check all possible reasonable matches in the area and eliminate them systematically.


• Make logical connections.


• Fit as many pieces together as possible. Realize that some pieces may not fit, but make note of the fact that they do not fit.


• Research the most recent era first.


• Make certain you have copied everything you needed.

The rest of the article can be viewed on our website.

It Looks Like Stone-Harriet Beecher Stowe in 1860

Harriet Beecher Stowe (of Uncle Tom Cabin's Fame) is enumerated in 1860 with her family---but the last name certainly looks like Stone in the image shown in this post.

Think about how your ancestor's name might have been written when searching in the index for her. It might be that an incorrect spelling might not be as "obvious" as you think. Search the 1860 Census at Ancestry.com for your relative---who may also be hiding under an alternate surname.

Google Warning--website may harm computer

I did a search for a well-known person who died recently and Google popped up this warning before I could proceed to the person's home page. I do a lot of google searches and have never seen this before.

I deleted the name of the website, but it was nothing that I thought was going to cause any trouble.

I'd be interested in any comments from readers on this warning.

Shoeless Joe Jackson Draft Card-WW I

Draft cards and census records can provide unique insight into the personal lives of individuals. The draft card of baseball great "Shoeless" Joe Jackson indicates he supported his wife and a younger sister as shown in the image. The complete card indicates he is a professional baseball player. This card comes from the World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918 database at Ancestry.com where you can search for your own relatives who might have registered.

1930 Census--Marilyn Monroe

We "think" we have Marilyn Monroe in the 1930 census--to be perfectly frank, I'm not 100%, but what follows is the text from our page that contains an image of her suspected 1930 census enumeration.

The Marilyn Monroe Facts Page at http://marilynmonroepages.com/facts.html indicates that Marilyn (formerly Norma Jean Baker) lived with the family of Albert Bolander at 459 E Rhode Island St., Hawthorne, CA, from 1926-32, which is the address of this enumeration (noted on the side of the page). There are other references that provide similar information. Numerous sites indicate that Norma Jean's mother, Gladys, also lived with the family at various times during this period.

There are a few errors in this enumeration, most notably the age (which should be 6--unless it is to indicate 6 years and some months) and the places of birth listed for Norma Jean and her parents. This Norma Jean is listed as being widowed as well. I don't have the answer for this particular discrepancy. However, given the family structure it is likely that whoever answered the questions for Norma Jean was not certain of all the answers.


Gladys Baker's husband, Mr. Baker, went to Kentucky after his divorce from Gladys and this Norma Jean Baker is not his mother. As Gladys was likely estranged from the Baker family, I find it difficult to believe that a member of the extended Baker family would be living with Gladys at the Bolanders.

It seems really coincidental that Marilyn Monroe (formerly Norma Jean Baker) lived with the Bolanders in the late 1920s and early 1930s and yet there is ANOTHER older Norma Jean Baker enumerated in their household and younger Norma Jean Baker is somehow omitted.

If you think she's elsewhere, give a search of the 1930 census and let us know if you find another potential match.