Indexes Point, But You Have to Look

I'm working on my Rufus D. Stephens "map," and in so doing I was reminded of the importance of taking a look at the actual record.

The census indexes at  Ancestry.com  indicate that there are two Rufus Stevens/Stephens in New York State in 1810. At least the number of matches is not unmanageable. Of course, there could be other Rufuses with a totally mangled last name (due to a combination of enumerator and transcriber issues), but I'm going to limit myself to those that I find in indexes at this point. My research notes indicate what types of database searches were done.

The index entry and preview for the Rufus Stephens in Lewis County shows:

The actual image shows one additional clue:

1810 U.S. Census-Lewis County, New York, page 117 (handwritten--bottom right)

The "Jr." after his name is significant. Whether it means that his father was named Rufus or that there was another Rufus in the same general area is not yet known. Despite my uncertainty at this point about what the "Jr." means, it does mean something. It is up to me to figure that out and it would not have been noticed if I had not looked at the actual image.

And it's also up to me to look at the original record so that clues of this type are not overlooked. Brick walls are sometimes the result of not looking deeply enough. Looking at the actual record is not an advanced search approach.

Don't blame Ancestry.com for this--indexes are finding aids for the census. They are not replacements.

New on FamilySearch

New on FamilySearch as of 21 November 2012:

United States, World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918	13,420,151
Maine, County Probate Records, 1760-1979	Browse Images
Iowa, County Births, 1880-1935	2,013,193
New Jersey, Probate Records, 1678-1980	Browse Images
Montana, Granite County Records, 1865-2009	Browse Images
Virginia, Isle of Wight County Records, 1647-1917	Browse Images

Dots for Time and Places for Rufus

It is easy to get excited when searching for a "new" potential ancestor. It is also easy to get confused as well.

I've been working on Rufus D. Stephens and I've located several different references to him in several different records which I've mentioned here before.

It is now time to stop.

At this point, I am going to get myself some maps and put "dots" and "years" of where and when Rufus appears in different records. I need to make certain that I have the same Rufus in all these records (or be as certain as I can be) and also make certain that I'm not overlooking specific clues.

And, I need to remind myself that my real person of interest is the Rufus D. Stephens shown in this 1850 census enumeration in St. Clair County, Michigan. Benjamin Butler is the known ancestor and Margaret his wife was a Stephens before her marriage and it is believed that Rufus is her father. Research on Rufus is being conducted to determine if he is connected to the Butler family. The proximity of the Butler and Stephens families in the 1850 census is the motivation for the search.

1850 US Census, St. Clair County, Port Huron, page 201. from Ancestry.com 

Have to keep that in mind while researching Rufus.

New On FamilySearch

The following have a release date of 19 November 2012 on FamilySearch

Title	Records
Oregon, Marion County Records, 1849-1976	Browse Images
Maine, Death Index, 1960-1996	401,960
New Hampshire, County Probate Estate Files, 1769-1936	Browse Images
Maryland, Register of Wills Books, 1629-1983	Browse Images
New Hampshire, County Probate Records, 1660-1973	Browse Images
Washington, County Probate Records, 1853-1929	Browse Images
Maine, Marriage Index,1892-1966, 1977-1996	857,131
Ohio, Jefferson County Court Records, 1797-1940	Browse Images

A Citation for the Rufus Stephens Horse Claim

Earlier, I posted an image of part of a claim for a War of 1812 era claim for a "drafted horse" that was made by Rufus Stephens.

There was no real citation along with the image. Since I received no email about it, I'm concluding that either the citation police do not exist or no one really reads my blog.

The document image is reproduced here again:

The researcher who usually obtains NARA documents for me always includes a citation as a part of the file of copies or images. This is greatly appreciated. It's excellent to share NARA documents so that researchers and the general public can be aware of them, but images sans citations is not the way to go. And, in case anyone wonders, I've used the citation (written by her) with her permission.

Is this in "proper form?" No--for reasons that I have discussed before and are included at the end of this post.

I was negligent in the original post on this image. Shouldn't let my excitement cause me to neglect citations.

------------------------------
Reminder--we don't include complete citations on blog posts--just our personal preference. Complete citations are always included in Casefile Clues or you can learn about citations in Elizabeth Shown Mills' Evidence Explained. We always do include enough background information in blog posts that readers can find our original sources.If you think we don't, please fire off an email to me at mjnrootdig@gmail.com

Who Was this Justice of the Peace in Ontario County, New York?

For an upcoming Casefile Clues article and my own research, I'm transcribing this document and analyzing it as much as possible. We've mentioned this claim of Rufus D. Stephens before.

There is one problem: I am having difficulty reading the name of the justice of the peace and his signature. The document comes from the reimbursement claim for Rufus D. Stephens who served in a War of 1812 unit from Ontario County, New York. The original documents are only in paper format at the National Archives.

Any thoughts?

Michael's Mayflower Ancestors

In the interest of the season, I've included my own Mayflower descents here--so far I have seven.  All of these lines of descent are through my paternal grandmother and include the following passengers:

• John Tilley
• Joan Hurst
• Elizabeth Tilley
• John Howland
• Isaac Allerton
• Mary Norris
• Remembrance Allerton

The Tilley-Howland line

• 1) John Tilley (1571 Henlow, England--first winter at Plymouth ) and Joan Hurst  (1567/8 Henlow, England--first winter at Plymouth )
• 2) Elizabeth Tilley (1607 Henlow, England-1687 Swansea, MA)  and John Howland  ( )
• 3) Hope Howland  (1629 Plymouth-1683 Barnstable, MA ) and John Hale Chipman  (1621 Dorchester, England-1708 Sandwich, MA )
• 4) Lydia Chipman  (1653 Barnstable, MA-1730 Barnstable, MA ) and John Sargent  (1639 Charlestown, MA-1716 Malden, MA )
• 5) Samuel Sargent (1688-Malden, MA-1721 Malden, MA )  and Elizabeth Pratt  (1693 Malden, MA-1760 Chelsea, MA )
• 6) Thomas Sargent (1720 Malden, MA-1795) and Tabitha Tuttle (1724 Chelsea, MA -1804 Hubbardston, MA)
• 7) Samuel Sargent (1748 Hubbardston, MA -1819 Marlboro, NH) and Deborah Sylvester (1751 Leicester, MA-1791 Marlboro, NH)
• 8) Samuel Sargent (1774 Ashby, MA-1841) and Sarah Gibson (1774 Ashby, MA-1847)
• 9) Clark Sargent (1805-1847 Winnebago County, IL) and Mary Dingman
• 10) William Ira Sargent (abt. 1845 Ontario-1916 Peoria County, IL) and Ellen Butler
• 11) Ida Mae Sargent (1874-1939 Quincy, IL) and George Trautvetter (1869 Tioga, IL-1934 Jacksonville, IL)
• 12) Ida Trautvetter (1910 Hancock County, IL-1994 Carthage, Hancock, IL) and Cecil Neill (1903 Stillwell, Hancock, IL-1968 Keokuk, IA)

The Allerton line

• 1) Isaac Allerton (1586-1659 New Haven, CT) and Mary Norris (1588-1622 Plymouth, MA).
• 2) Remember Allerton (1614 Leiden, Holland-?) and Moses Maverick (died 1686 Marblehead, MA)
• 3) Abigial Maverick ( 1644 Salem, MA-1685 Salem, MA) and Samuel Ward (1638 Hingham, MA-1690 Quebec)
• 4) Martha Ward (1672 Salem, MA-1723 Ipswich, MA) and John Tuttle (1666 Ipswich-1715 Ipswich, MA)
• 5) Samuel Tuttle (1691 Boston, MA-1742 Chelsea, MA) and Abigal Floyd (1691 Chelsea, MA -1773 Chelsea, MA)
• 6) Tabitha Tuttle (1724 Chelsea, MA -1804 Hubbardston, MA) and Thomas Sargent (1720 Malden, MA-1795)
• 7) Samuel Sargent (1748 Hubbardston, MA -1819 Marlboro, NH) and Deborah Sylvester (1751 Leicester, MA-1791 Marlboro, NH)
• 8) Samuel Sargent (1774 Ashby, MA-1841) and Sarah Gibson (1774 Ashby, MA-1847)
• 9) Clark Sargent (1805-1847 Winnebago County, IL) and Mary Dingman
• 10) William Ira Sargent (abt. 1845 Ontario-1916 Peoria County, IL) and Ellen Butler
• 11) Ida Mae Sargent (1874-1939 Quincy, IL) and George Trautvetter (1869 Tioga, IL-1934 Jacksonville, IL)
• 12) Ida Trautvetter (1910 Hancock County, IL-1994 Carthage, Hancock, IL) and Cecil Neill (1903 Stillwell, Hancock, IL-1968 Keokuk, IA)

Stone Takes His Case to the Paper

Apparently Isaac Stone wrote a letter to the Ontario [New York] Republican to make his case that he was not at fault in the burning of St. Davids, Ontario, on 18 July 1814. This letter was dated 10 days later and was copied by other newspapers in the area, including the one where this image was located on  Genealogybank.com. 

According to Stone's letter (reproduced below) he was given orders to retire the day after the incident--19 July 1814. None of the volunteers are listed, but it is reasonable to conclude that Rufus D. Stephens was one of them as he was in Stone's unit. 

Date: Saturday, August 20, 1814  

Paper: New Hampshire Sentinel (Keene, NH)  obtained on  Genealogybank.com. 

For now, we'll put the research on Stone on hold as it does not appear that it will yield any information on Rufus D. Stephens. But it certainly has been interesting and I'll be certain to search for commanding officers of other family members in the future.

Note--a careful reading of the claim Rufus D. Stephens submitted for his horse mentions that the horse was taken by order of the assistant adjutant general on 19 July 1814. Interesting date, given the incident in St. Davids the day before.

We'll have an update on the horse claim in a future post.

Commander Stone Censured for Burning Entire Village

It is not often when you find a potential relative involved in the burning of an entire town.

Searches on Genealogybank.com for Isaac W. Stone, the commander of the unit in which Rufus D. Stephens served, resulted in several hits--more than I could practically go through. It was necessary for me to remember the reason for searching for Stone in the first place: to learn more about Stephens and potentially Stephens' family or areas where he might have lived in New York in order to connect him to the correct Stephens family. It could be very easy to get distracted by Stone's military career and lose sight of my focus.

One entry from 1814 made it clear just how easily that distraction could happen. Apparently Stone was involved in the burning of the Ontario town of St. Davids in July of 1814 according to this news clipping from Boston.

Date: Friday, August 5, 1814  

Paper: New-England Palladium (Boston, MA)

 obtained on Genealogybank.com

There were several mentions of the incident in newspaper images on Genealogybank.com, including this one:

Date: Monday, August 8, 1814  

Paper: Gazette (Portland, ME)  

 

Volume: XVII  

 

Issue: 18 obtained on Genealogybank.com 

Apparently Stone was censured by the military for his actions as the account from the Portland Gazette indicated he was suspended from the cavalry.

There is a plaque in St. Davids, Ontario, which reads:

"On July 18th, 1814, during the final American campaign on the Niagara frontier, Major-General Peter B. Porter sent a detachment of militia from the United States encampment at Queenston to attack St. Davids. This force, commanded by Lieutenant-Colonel Isaac W. Stone, was joined later by a small group of American regulars. Despite opposition from the 1st Lincoln Militia, the enemy captured the village, looted it and burned most of the buildings. Stone was severely censured for this destruction of private property and summarily dismissed from the United States army"

Source: http://www.niagarafallsheritage.ca/heritage/show.asp?id=252851&b=1

The Commander Died--Looking for Your Relative's Commanding Officer

I'm still not certain whether or not Rufus D. Stephens is my ancestor, but in an initial read of the claim he filed for his horse that was "drafted" into the War of 1812, it mentions that Stephens was enlisted in a company of New York volunteers command by Capt. Isaac W. Stone.

Date: Thursday, September 22, 1814  

Paper: Albany Gazette (Albany, NY) obtained on Genealogybank.com 

Apparently Stone died in August or September of 1814 in Genesee County, New York, but was from Boyle, Ontario County.

This time period and location presents certain research challenges in trying to document everything I can about Rufus D. Stephens. I'm not usually in the habit of searching for the names of military officers associated with the people for whom I am searching. I'll have to try this approach with a few others who were in various wars. It might be a good way to find references to battles in which the unit fought.

New At FamilySearch

New materials posted on Familysearch over the last few days:

California, San Mateo County Records, 1855-1991

Browse Images

Utah, Tooele County Records, 1855-1956

Browse Images

Texas, Houston, Historic Hollywood Cemetery Records, 1895-2008

Browse Images

Montana, Cascade County Records, 1880-2009

Browse Images

Montana, Chouteau County Records,1876-2011

Browse Images

Washington, County Records, 1856-2009

Browse Images

Washington, County Marriages, 1855-2008

48,385

Virginia, Isle of Wight County Records, 1647-1917

Browse Images

Maine, State Archive Collections, 1790-1966

Browse Images

Oregon, Douglas County Records, 1852-1952

Browse Images

Colorado, State Census, 1885

56,302

North Carolina, Civil Action Court Papers, 1712-1970

Browse Images

Pre-Black Friday Sales--two free webinars

We're a little bit ahead this year to get you ahead in your genealogy research.

We're going to be doing other things over the next few weeks, so our "Black Friday" specials are coming early.

Purchase any one(1) of the following starred (*) items by 6 p.m. Central Time on 17 November and we'll give you a free code to download two of our genealogy webinars.

*124 Issues of Casefile Clues for $30

Grow your genealogy research skills over the holiday season.

Not only do we include complete, accurate citations we also discuss ideas of where to go next. We also focus on setting goals and keeping on task.

You can download samples following the link on this page:
http://blog.casefileclues.com/2011/11/new-samples-of-casefile-clues.html

A complete list of all topics (and order links) can be found here:
http://blog.casefileclues.com/p/order-back-issues.html

*Subscribe to Casefile Clues for $11

You can subscribe to 52 issues of Casefile Clues for only $11--use this link to process your order.

*Short Course--Constructing Database Searches

Increase your genealogy database searching skills with our short course this December--homework is optional

http://rootdig.blogspot.com/2012/11/constructing-database-searches-short.html

----------------------------------------------------------

When you order is processed, we'll contact you about free webinars. You'll need a special code for those downloads.

If these links are not working in your email, visit this webpage:

http://rootdig.blogspot.com/p/specials.html

----------------------------------------------------------

Happy Thanksgiving a little early from us!

Michael

Where's My Good Customer Experience at Ancestry.com?

We've blogged about this problem before (In my blog post "Color Me Confused," )--but still no resolution.

An Ancestry.com staffer did reply to my post regarding searches on Ancestry.com's immigration database that were more specific and resulted in "too many matches."

The problem is still there--and the searches are still not working in a consistent fashion.

The search for:

• first name sop*
• last name tra*
• arrival year 1870+/- 10

Has too  many matches--as shown below:

The search for:

• first name sop*
• arrival year 1870+/- 10

Does not have too many matches--as shown below:

I've had readers privately tell me that this isn't really a problem.

It is.

The first search is the more restrictive search--at least in the way I interpret searching. The more search terms that are entered, the more limiting the search. The first search is most limited and yet receives too many matches to display. The less restrictive search does not return this result.

Why does it matter?

Because if the search interface does not respond in the way it should, how can I effectively construct searches?

And, how do I know that other searches are working properly?

It's great when a search gives me what I'm looking for. That makes for "a good customer experience." But when I don't find something after conducting searches, it leaves me wondering if it's something I'm overlooking or if the search is not working properly. And when I perform my genealogy research, I'm not interested in a "good customer experience."

I'm interested in things that work they way they should--that's a "good customer experience" for me.

Why Stones Can't Wait

These images are the front and back of the stone of H. Grady Rampley in Arlington's National Cemetery and are taken from the cemetery's website. Rampley served in the Confederacy during the American Civil War.

We've discussed the nighttime pictures before--which I think are pretty cool. The contrast is much better--but be careful taking pictures yourself in cemeteries where safety may be an issue.

The position of this stone in the trees also makes the ever-present point that tombstones are not as permanent as we might like to think they are.

Don't assume the stone will always be there.

Johnny Appleseed's work may trump that tombstone for which you're looking.

And if you don't know the legend of Johnny Appleseed chances are a few of your ancestors did. At least if they were in the United States.

They Photographed Some of Arlington at Night

This is a picture of the stone for Bertus Ufkes, taken from the Arlington National Cemetery website. I was unaware that some of the photography was done at night, but apparently it was.

Bertus is a brother to my great-grandfather.

Genealogy Tartare Defined

Genealogy tartare is genealogy research that is "less than-half cooked." It can be used as a way to describe hastily-conducted research where adequate research time has not been allowed and "reasonably good" research methodology has not been applied.

It would include genealogical compilations where the mother dies before the child is born, the father is on another continent when the child is conceived, and other statements of fact that deny the laws of time, physics, and biology.

It does not include those situations where first cousins of the same name are included in the wrong family or other situations where confusion, even among academically inclined researchers, is possible.

Make certain your research is well-done with no pink on the inside.

[No image is included in this post because the author thinks eating uncooked meat is simply nasty.]

New County Level Probate Records on FamilySearch

Recent county-level probate records added to FamilySearch:

Oklahoma, Probate Records, 1887-2008	Browse Images
Arkansas, Probate Records, 1817-1979	Browse Images
Massachusetts, Plymouth County, Probate Estate Files, 1686-1915	Browse Images
Maine, Androscoggin County, Probate Estate Files, 1854-1918	Browse Images

Aunt Margaret's Military Stone In Idaho

My great-aunt Margaret has two tombstones at the Valley Vu Cemetery in Malta, Idaho. One is for her and her husband. The other is her military marker which lists her name only. The dates on the stone are the same, even though on the stone with her husband she is listed as Margaret A. and on the military marker she is listed as Anna M. I am guessing that the stone with her husband was erected first as he passed away in 1966--some time before Aunt Margaret.

Margaret A. and Robert J. Hutchison grave marker, Valley Vu Cemetery, Malta, Idaho;  digital image from FindaGrave (http://www.findagrave.com) -photographer inactive--could not contact.

Anna M. Hutchison military grave marker, Valley Vu Cemetery, Malta, Idaho;  digital image from FindaGrave (http://www.findagrave.com) -used by permission of photographer

I always heard her referred to as Aunt Margaret, never Aunt Anna.

I don't think her military marker has her name wrong either. Aunt Margaret's enlistment record (obtained at Ancestry.com) lists her name as Anna M. Habben. The year of birth and other identifying information is consistent with what is known about my aunt--except for the first name.

World War Two enlistment record information for Anna M. Habben--obtained on Ancestry.com.

Was she Anna or was she Margaret?

The quick answer: she was both. My great-aunt Margaret also had a sister, my great-aunt Anna. They were full siblings (both children of Mimka and Tjode (Goldenstein) Habben and sisters to my maternal grandmother). The reason for the confusion is that the Habbens named two of their daughters for their mothers: Anke (Fecht) Habben and Anna Margaret (Dirks) Goldenstein. The first names of Anke and Anna were distinct in low-German, but not in English. Grandmother Anke did have a middle name, but her middle name was Hinrichs, a patronym based upon her father's first name. My hunch is that it was easier for Anna Margaret to go by her middle name than it was for Anke--if she even had a middle name. I am not certain my great-grandparents would have given her the middle name of Hinrichs.

The children were likely christened in the Zion Lutheran Church in Carthage, Illinois, and those records cannot be located. The church has disbanded and the ELCA archives did not have the records in their collection and the congregation into which the church folded (Trinity Lutheran) did not have the records either. Writing this post reminded me that I don't have copies of the civil records of their birth--that's something I need to do.

So I need to add a couple things to my research list.

Erasmus Trautvetter at HathiTrust Digital Library

I located the reference to my ancestor Erasmus Trautvetter in Google Books several years ago, but there was no image in Google Books and as the item was located at Harvard University, I wasn't going to see it any time soon.

However, a search for Erasmus Trautvetter at the HathTrust Digital Library located the same reference and images of the book which was published in Germany in 1830.

Screen shots of images work well when the material is in a foreign language.

The title page:

(1830). Kurhessisches Staats- und Adress-Handbuch. Cassel. Digital Image HathiTrust Digital Library. Accessed 11 November 2012

The actual reference to Erasmus:

The reference to Erasmus Trautvetter is on the image above which comes from page 83. He is listed under the heading of Unterbediente. Now I've just got to determine what the reference means.

Fortunately the name Erasmus Trautvetter is not a common one and hopefully a translation of this material will point me in the direction of more information.

Stay tuned.
------------------------------
Reminder--we don't include complete citations on blog posts--just our personal preference. Complete citations are always included in Casefile Clues or you can learn about citations in Elizabeth Shown Mills' Evidence Explained. We always do include enough background information in blog posts that readers can find our original sources.If you think we don't, please fire off an email to me at mjnrootdig@gmail.com