Wormhole Genealogy

Last night I had one of those out of body, out of time genealogy adventures. In the end it was more fiction than science, but what a ride! 

I began by revisiting my great-aunt Mary Kathryn's mysterious husband, Heiskell (now Hascal) McKenzie. I knew he was a devastatingly handsome man "from" Lenoir City (Loudon County, TN), that they married when my mother was a teenager (1940s) and that he died soon after from alcoholism. I have never found a marriage record for them and decided to see how Ancestry's search feature would work with the elusive Mr. McKenzie. 

Sometime later (on FamilySearch) I found him in the 1900 census living with his grandparents in Cocke County, TN. This was a revelation to me, for I had no idea he had local roots. I was even more surprised that his mother's parents were Abe and Jane Dawson, part of a large Dawson clan that contributed many in-laws to my Sawyers and Conways. 

I wandered a bit further and discovered that Jane Dawson, Hascal McKenzie's grandmother, was born Jane Precilla Ren in January, 1837 which is when Mary Kathryn's grandfather, Archie Sawyer was being hauled into court to support an illegitmate child born to Scintha Ren. This was when my brain took off and the ride become more carnival roller coaster/side show than actual research. I leapt, wondering if she was the child (probably not). I found a Priscilla Ren living with Jane in 1850 and suspected she was the errant Scintha, neglecting to notice she was in her sixties in 1836. I discovered that Jane's purported father Joel Ren was married to an Elizabeth Killion, prompting visions of Archie's sister-in-law marrying into the other woman's family and raising his spawn. 

At which point I decided I'd best go to bed.

Today, after sleep and copious amounts of caffeine I realize that I don't know if Archie and Scintha Ren's child was a boy or a girl. I don't know if the child survived. I don't know what happened to Scintha Ren. I have yet to find a record that I can confidently tie to Scintha. I even wonder now if Archie and Sallie's son Andy could have been Scintha Ren's son, for I have no marriage record for Archie and Sallie. 

What I do know is that Archie and Sallie's FAN club has grown, giving me lots more to work with. Joel Ren was born in North Carolina. Did he migrate with the Killions? Did he know the Sawyers before landing in Cocke County? Who is the Priscilla Ren I was so eager to label as the other woman in Archie's life (wouldn't that have been an accomplishment)? Is Elizabeth Killion Ren one of the tickmark daughters of David and Barbary Killion? 

I also know that falling into those wormholes is tremendous fun. I started looking for a 20th c. in-law and landed back in the 19th c. hills circling near my favorite mystery grandfather. 

Photo Credit
 Some rights reserved by uncleboatshoes

Saturday Night Fun - Ancestral Name Numbers

Randy Seaver has handed me an easy way to get back to blogging with this week's Saturday Night Genealogy Fun challenge. Easy, but pretty depressing, were I a negative type of person. (Those who know me are guffawing. I am never the optimist.)

After similar posts made on geneablogs and social media, Randy suggested we calculate the percent of ancestors we've identified going back 10 generations. Luckily I'm in a glass is half-full mode and not too dismayed by my 14% total. Given that my father is a first generation American whose family is from the Carpathian Mountains, I'm pleased I broke the ten percent threshold.

I ran Legacy's Ancestor Book report for 10 generations and started counting. I'm golden through my 2nd great-grandparents, but then the numbers drop off. Precipitously.

In addition to my mystery Rusyns, I have all those lovely Southern ancestors. Ancestors who simply appear in Tennessee with only a few breadcrumbs to follow. Women recorded as Sarah, wife of great-grandpa so and so.  Smiths and Jameses living in the mountains of Virginia. Mountain people are hard to trace.

So 14% is where I am. I don't know if I'll ever get much further, but I've made some progress in the last 25 years. Future breakthroughs will be worth far more than whatever small percentage they add to the number.

The Anonymous Dead

I spent another day lost in the images of old newspapers at Old Fulton NY Postcards, skimming through news reports of slate quarry accidents for mention of a mystery Pereksta cousin reportedly killed in a mining accident in Vermont in the early 1900s.

While fatalities in the slate quarries of New York, Vermont and Pennsylvania weren't reported daily, there were dozens and dozens of reports. My first two search requests yielded over 500 hits each. I got a manageable list of 154 articles on my fourth try. It was very dangerous work. The demented genealogist in me perked up, thinking that there would be ample occasion to find my Pereksta mentioned.

Wrong. Lots of fatalities. Lots of news reports. But almost all the Eastern European immigrant fatalities were reported as unnamed Hungarians.

CAUGHT BY A CAVE IN

Five Workmen Probably Killed in an Accident in a Slate Quarry

Allentown, Pa., March 1 - While seven quarrymen were at work this morning in the slate quarry... the top caved in, burying Joseph Reamley, Samuel Kreitz, Griffith O. Pritchard, William R. Jones and three Hungarians....

(The Brooklyn [NY] Daily Eagle, 1 March 1894, p. 1, col. 4)

This next report adds the insult of scant vocabulary to fatal injury when compared to the adjective laden report of Mr. Williams' death.

Fatalities at Granville 

Rowland Williams, a native of Wales, while at work in Norton Brothers' slate quarry at Granville on Wednesday afternoon, was instantly killed by a huge stone which fell from the ledge and crushed him. His body was terribly mangled. He leaves a wife and four children.

A Hungarian working in Hughes quarry at Granville was struck on the head by a falling stone and killed on Tuesday afternoon. 

(Glen Falls [NY], The Morning Star, 30 July 1897, p. 8, col. 2)

There was a widely reported collapse in 1905 that killed several men - though reports of the numbers range from eight to 14. I read thirteen accounts of the accident. Most read like this one.

Cave-In Fatal to 14

Awful Accident in a Vermont Slate Quarry This Morning

Troy, N.Y., Oct. 6 - Sixteen men were buried this morning in a cave-in of the Vermont Slate company's quarry, about two and a half miles from Granville, N.Y.  

David Cadwallader and Fraser Queen, foremen of the quarry, were rescued. The latter is expected to die. The 14 dead include J. B. Williams, president of the company, and Hungarian laborers. 

Four bodies had been removed by 11 o'clock.

(The Auburn [NY] Citizen, 6 October 1905, p. 5, col. 8)

Only two papers, The Syracuse Journal and The Binghamton Press, named the immigrant laborers, Stephen Banois, John Illnetakie, Joseph Illnetakie, Netro Demsic, John Toronco and Joseph Wasick. The next spring there was another accident nearby.

Two Men Killed in a Quarry

Troy, N.Y., June 22 - John Hasoyd Roberts of Warren's Switch, and an unknown Hungarian were killed by a cave-in in the slate quarry of Beecher & Company.... Robert Jones of Granville and two Hungarians were injured, the former probably fatally....

(New York, The Evening Post, 22 June 1906, p. 1, col. 2)

I suspect this accident warranted a full paragraph because young Norton was injured. 

Slate Quarry Accident

Hungarian Killed and Granville Resident Seriously Injured. 

A falling rock in one of the Norton Brothers' slate quarries at Granville Tuesday afternoon killed a Hungarian and seriously injured Hiram Norton, son of James Norton, village president of Granville, and senior member of the firm of Norton Brothers. The block was being lifted when it slipped from the chain, and falling struck a rock in the side of the quarry, breaking into two parts. One struck the Hungarian on the top of the head, killing him instantly; the other struck Mr. Norton on the side of the head and shoulder, bruising the head and cutting open his shoulder badly. His injuries, while serious, are not thought to be dangerous. 

(Glen Falls [NY], The Morning Star, 13 February 1908, p. 8, col. 5)

This article names the Welsh miner who could not rescue the victim, but neither the victim nor his friend.

A Fatal Dive

A young Hungarian was drowned in the Mettowee river while swimming Friday near the Sheldon slate quarry in Granville.... [He] was accompanied by another Hungarian, who called for help. His cries were heard by Myrddin Jones, at work in a quarry. Jones dived in....

(Glen Falls [NY], The Morning Star, 4 August 1908, p. 8, col. 4)

This article actually named two Hungarian men, though not the two or three others who were still missing.

BURIED BY CAVE-IN MAN STILL LIVES

Was Covered by Tons of Slate Rock and Earth

... A remarkable escape from death was that of Phabbeus Drewseitch, who, with four or five other Hungarians, was buried in a cave-in of rock and earth at Owen Brothers slate quarry near Granville on Tuesday morning....

The dead body of Steve Sautjes, another victim, was recovered....

(Glen Falls [NY], The Morning Star, 15 April 1909, p. 8, col. 6)

There were more, but I'd seen enough. I'll have to find another avenue of investigation to see if I can locate documentation supporting or disproving the family story of a mystery cousin's death.


Image Credit: Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division, FSA/OWI Collection, [ LC-USF34- 045884-D [P&P] LOT 1246 ]

Swinging from the vines or reaching for the stars?

I have upon occasion (here and here and here, for example) expressed my frustration with current genealogy software. Those of you lucky (cough) enough to have spent time with me personally have heard me rant vent express my opinions. Some of my frustrations are the result of my own haphazard efforts, but many result from the challenges of analyzing and recording cluster research projects.

Imagine my reaction when almost the first words out of Elizabeth Shown Mill's mouth last Saturday morning at her NGS 2012 session Information Overload? Effective Project Planning, Research, Data Management & Analysis expressed her own frustration with the limitations of genealogy software vis-à-vis the research process? I was not restrained. Fist pumps were involved.

There is a light on the horizon, however. Or a vine to cling to, using the metaphor Katie and Chris Chapman of Pentandra have chosen for their new software, which will be released to beta testers this summer. Geungle, as in it's a jungle out there (which certainly reflects my research at this point), aims to provide a software platform for genealogical research and analysis that complements rather than constrains the research process.

I met Katie and Chris in the NGS 2012 exhibit hall after blogger Linda McCauley (who has heard those rants) told me forcefully that I must visit their booth. She was right. Rather than struggle to adapt existing software to fit their own research needs, they have opted to build a new cloud-based program that will integrate mobile apps, tools for analysis and reporting features that reflect genealogists' actual research work flow. Katie mentioned the ability to take a picture in a cemetery with your smart phone and add it directly to your Geungle database. I asked about linking individuals that are not related by family but by business partnerships, or as neighbors, and was assured that would be possible.

At this point they expect to have a free demonstration model with limited storage capabilities and a subscription-based version for individuals. They hope to include a professional version, as well.

I was completely smitten with their enthusiasm and vision. Completely. I want them to succeed! To the point of all but begging that they allow me to be a beta tester. They are wisely limiting testing in the first stages but (full disclosure here) relented and included me as a beta tester. They hope to start testing in July. Meanwhile, I am sending positive thoughts their way.

One more full disclosure note - I did send this to them to review for accuracy. I'd hate to have my muddled thoughts attributed to them!


Photo credit - From Flickr: Some rights reserved by Accretion Disc

Geneabloggers Rock!

My first take on a completely delightful weekend in Fort Wayne with other Geneabloggers - I need to do this at least a couple times a year! What seemed self-indulgent turns out to have been a terrific boost. I've enjoyed the conferences I've attended, but the focus there is on learning. And they are e x h a u s t i n g.

This time spent on my own research, surrounded by equally passionate (and entertaining) friends, allowed me to see my work with fresh eyes and kicked my energy level up a notch. I'm a poor bet for the goals, encouragement and accountability Geneabuddies provide for one another (it should be clear to those that attended that my attention span is non-existent), but the laughter, conversations and company of  these folks was fabulous!

The first results -

I realized on the drive home that as much as I want my Rachel Hampton to be the daughter of the Robert Hampton who left a 1796 will, and land, and records, that those same records all but prove she isn't. I still believe she's related (she did name a son Robert Hampton Mulkey, after all), but I need to let go of Robert as her father and move on! Hat tip to Laura at The Last Leaf On This Branch. Just thinking of handing off the research to her to review made it depressingly clear. I did find a new Hampton - Alfred - mentioned with Robert's family in several road orders.

Context is essential. My husband's family settled in Wyoming early in the 20th century. I've heard some stories and seen a few family photographs, but never visited the area or dug into the research. Two hours reviewing the Fremont County books available at the Allen County Public Library let me know just how much I don't know! I need to learn about the legal and commercial relations between the white and Shoshone residents, about the schools on the Wind River Reservation, and fire off some questions asap to his aunt.

For all my complaints about Legacy Family Tree (and they were non-stop) I lost count of how many times I referred to it for a date or name. I concede. It is useful. Those who endured my whining are free to wave this in my face.

I had one "aha" research moment of finding the burial spot for a "lost" great-great grandmother and learned of four previously unknown children. I am not sure why they are buried apart from the other family, but given the 30+ years between her death and her husband's, it's possible they moved or that his second wife determined his burial site.

And finally, I detoured to visit Waveland Cemetery outside Hillsboro, IL on my way home. This is something I should have done years ago. It's only 80 miles from my front door. I found another Jones to research (this is good news) when I realized the only other Joneses in the cemetery were laying next to my husband's ggg grandfather Joseph Jones. Joshua Jones is entirely new to me, but a quick check of census records yields some interesting hints. He is 5 or 6 years younger than Joseph, born in IL (Joseph was born in TN) and lists both parents as born in VA on the 1880 census - as does Joseph. Fun, fun, fun!

All this before I even look at the images and pages I copied. Thanks to Tina Lyons and Terri O'Connell for organizing the Midwest Geneabloggers gathering. Can't wait for the next one!

Getting Down to the Basics - A Review

Last weekend I wrote a post asking why people use genealogy databases and begging for specific answers. And I got them! Thanks to all who participated in the discussions here, on Google+ and on Facebook. Five bloggers (hope I haven't missed any, but if I did please let me know and I'll add to this list) posted in response.

• Jasia wrote My Love/Hate Relationship with Legacy Software at Creative Gene.
• Denise Levenick shared My Needs and Wants for Genealogy Database Software; How Well Does Family Tree Maker Mac2 Measure Up? at Family Curator.
• Shelley Bishop explained How I Use Reunion for Mac as my Genealogy Database at A Sense of Family. 
• Review Randy Seaver's Ten Reasons Why I Use a Genealogy Software Program at Genea-Musings.
• Linda McCauley detailed some her favorite tricks in How I Use in My Genealogy Database at Documenting the Details.

I've read and re-read the responses, thought about my frustrations, and settled on a few things I want my Legacy database to do. 

• Manage my source and repositories lists
• Provide a master geographic locations list
• Generate basic reports to share with those contacting me for more information 
• Record conflicting information or problems

I will not be using Legacy in my digitizing project beyond entering appropriate source information. Many people commented that they used a database to organize documents and images. I don't need that. I can find the computer files I need quickly using my existing digital filing and tagging system. Now if there was a way that Legacy could organize the physical papers and photographs I'd be a lifetime devotee!

Nor will I be using Legacy for cluster research projects. I far prefer spreadsheets to sort and analyze information. I have used Ancestry.com's online trees to gather census information and other source documents for small groups and will probably continue. But so far I don't see a genealogy database helping me with my group projects. 

I may learn new methods that will change these views. I joined a Legacy User Group to learn more about the program's features. I'm especially excited to have people I can bounce questions, ideas and problems off of. We'll see how excited they are after a month or two of my questions.

Read the comments on all the blog posts and social media platforms. There are as many ways to use the genealogy database programs as there are users. You may find an idea you hadn't considered. 

And thank you again to all who chimed in with your opinions. It was a marvelous discussion.

Getting Down to the Basics

More musings as I continue to think deep thoughts. The really good news is my husband will be home tomorrow and I'll rejoin the real world and actually do things rather than think.

Anyway, I really need to figure out just what I want my genealogy database software to do for me. It's got nothing, I repeat nothing to do with what "kind" of researcher I am. The software is a simply a tool. Right now it's not a very good one. I'm hoping that's because I haven't really thought through why I use it.

I inherited a Family Tree Maker database from my parents who took all the notes and charts my grandmother, aunts and other family historians had made, wrote letters to all their cousins asking for current information and entered all that data into the program. Heroic work that I truly appreciate for I am not a fan of data entry.

I spent several years validating their data, first using sources I had gathered in my own research and then using the online resources that were becoming available.

Since then I've been focused on two projects: researching those individuals or families that I could not document and digitizing the boxes of papers handed down to me. I haven't found any genealogy database software particularly useful for these projects.

So, an open-ended question for all you genealogy software users out there (especially the non-pro family types): What is it you use the program for? Specifics, I beg of you. As in -

• I use it because I like the lineage reports it produces.
• I like to keep track of my research and it's the best way I've found because it allows me to........
• I collaborate with other researchers and it's a program that we all use.
• I like the family tree structure it provides.
• I love linking media to individuals in the tree.
• I use it to produce GEDCOM files I can upload or share.
• My family loves the charts and reports I share with them.
• I use it to generate HTML pages for my website.
• I use it because it does internet searches or links with Ancestry.com for searches.
• I use it to keep track of my sources materials and write citations. 
• I prefer entering information into a database. It's more organized that way.

There must be hundreds of other reasons. I really want to know. I must be missing something here and could use some guidance.  So let me know.

Why do you use a genealogy database program?

Photo credit: Some rights reserved by Ninja M.

Meandering and Musing: Where do friends go?

I've been completely immersed in research and thinking "great family history thoughts" - the meaning of life, the definition of family, what it is to be a woman, a person. This is what happens when my dear husband leaves town for more than 4 days. I disappear into the recesses (notice it's not a productive spot I vanish to, but a playground) of my mind. There's probably a medication that would help, but until I'm dragged off to the psych ward let's see if I can pull a theme out of the mess.

Two bloggers helped trigger my reflections - Jasia's prompt for this month's 116th Carnival of Genealogy spotlights Women's History Month. Not surprising that a gifted photographer chose a photograph for a prompt. I've been paying attention as I go through my boxes and piles and one picture has captured my attention - my grandmother and her dear friend. 

Kathy Reed wrote three posts at Jones Family Matters about identity and how little is revealed in our "just the facts" gathering of vital statistics. They are beautifully done and illustrate how many layers there are to our lives and by extension, to those of our ancestors.

Toss in some new DNA matches, online discussions of how we use various software programs and I come up with ....

Friends. My research is focused on finding genetic and adoptive relationships. But as I think about my ancestors' layered lives, and of how little I know beyond the vital statistics, I wonder about those people who figured in their lives but did not appear in the wills or deeds, except perhaps as witnesses. I wonder about the friendships that changed the direction of a life - encouraged a move, introduced someone to their spouse, stepped in during a crisis. 

One family appears in more than six decades of my family's pictures - photos taken in Tennessee, Connecticut, France, Missouri and Michigan. We are not related by blood (at least not that I can find), but by a family friendship that spans generations. If anyone ever wondered why we ended up living where we do, we bought our home (as well as an earlier one) based on advice from my "sorta" sister.  My parents were introduced by friends. They shared no common church, neighborhood, or interest and would likely never have met had Margaret & Ted not intervened. (Even then it wasn't that easy to get them in the same place at the same time!) I grew up with friends who brought a friend into their home for the last months of her life. She was surrounded by those dear to her, but not related to her. 

I consider how vital friendships have been to me. Two pictures stand out in my memory. The first, from my wedding having just laid eyes on my dearest friend who I was not expecting to see. The second, from my son's wedding having just laid eyes on the young woman who sheltered my children (in the borrowed home of my dearest friend) the summer my mother died. My mouth and arms are wide open, my eyes filling with tears, in both pictures. Pure joy.

My friend was as instrumental in shaping my views and beliefs, my children's upbringing, as any member of my family. If you don't know about her, you are missing an essential part of who I am. The young woman is as important to my children (and thus, to me) as their extended family. It was a joy to introduce her to them when my son married. 

So should friends figure in family history? I don't know. Certainly they are key parts of our individual lives. But in the aggregate? There's so much we will never know about our ancestors. But as I scan photographs, letters and sift through the boxes of "things" I've inherited I wonder if the clues there lead to relatives (here's where the software comes in) that I will enter into my database or to friends. 

And that's my chief complaint about using genealogy software. Most programs do not allow one to link people in non-familial relationships. I've no easy way to record business partners, neighbors, godparents or dear friends other than in the written notes. I did discover my software search capabilities include searching the notes. Perhaps I'll start adding these figures into the database and adding a "Linked to" note that could be found via search. 

Meanwhile a few hints to my descendants. That bullwhip my son will leave to some lucky offspring? Given to him by my other dearest friend's husband the summer they took him off my hands. Don't loose sleep trying to figure out his cowboy connections. The candlesticks that stood by my fireplace, the handsewn aprons I wore while cooking, the gold bracelet I handed down? The lovely blonds who keep appearing in decades of photos? All from my sorta family. They're fabulous and well worth researching. But they aren't related (unless of course you've FINALLY managed to marry one another). 

Photo source: Some rights reserved by TMAB2003

The Posterity Project - Follow Friday

A quick Follow Friday recommendation for those with Tennessee research interests - or those who love history and archives (pretty much covers all of us, no?).

Gordon Belt's (read his About Us entry to be wowed by his credentials) The Posterity Project is one of my must reads. I love his posts referring to my East Tennessee locales of interest, such as when he wrote about the Archives of Appalachia at East Tennessee State University recently.

I love his posts about current issues facing archives and archivists.

I love his posts about the Civil War and the resources available to explore its history and effects.

I could go on, but you get the point. Check it out. It's a fabulous resource and always a great read.

Down the Rabbit Hole or Digging Deeper

I've fallen into a very large research rabbit hole and have no wish to climb out. It will take something powerfully persuasive - leeches or snakes in the puddles at my feet or promises of sunshine and warm desert breezes waiting me above ground - to lure me out.

Several weeks ago I spent days searching early and mid 20th c. copies of the Binghamton (NY) Press at Old Fulton NY Post Cards for mention of my family. It was time well spent. Yesterday I returned to search for information about one of my grandmother's dearest friends. I discovered that she lived next door to a probably-related family from my grandmother's village when she was a girl which explained when and how they met.

Then I got distracted, as is my want, by other articles. One recorded the gruesome accidental death of a boarder living at the house next door. I wondered about the house. Who else had lived there? What else happened?

One of the joys of using the Old Fulton NY Post Cards site is that searches are limited only by one's imagination. I have searched by surname, by cemetery name, by church name, and yesterday, by street address. I could search by disease (several stories about typhoid appeared on the pages I reviewed), by business name, by keywords like prohibition or socialist. I have clipped hundreds of pages with information I want to abstract; information that will give me a much richer picture of the community where my grandparents lived in the 1920s, '30s and 40s.

But what really sent me falling all the way down that hole was when I realized I could search by name or street address in the U.S. Cities Directories (Beta) database at Ancestry.com. I'll be mining this database until those leeches push or breezes pull me out.

Big find #1 was when my grandfather changed his surname from Papp to Popp. I knew it wasn't at Ellis Island, but didn't know how or when it happened. Now I do. Below are the index listings from Ancestry.com for my grandparents in the Binghamton, NY directories from 1923 when they married to 1940.

Anna Papp	1923	Binghamton, New York	Stephen Papp
Anna Papp	1924	Binghamton, New York	Stephen Papp
Anna Papp	1925	Binghamton, New York	Stephen Papp
Anna Papp	1926	Binghamton, New York	Stephen Papp
Anna Papp	1928	Binghamton, New York	Stephen Papp
Anna Papp	1929	Binghamton, New York	Stephen Papp
Anna Papp	1930	Binghamton, New York	Stephen Papp
Anna Papp	1931	Binghamton, New York	Stephen Papp
Anna Papp	1932	Binghamton, New York	Stephen Papp
Anna POPP	1934	Binghamton, New York	Stephen POPP
Anna Popp	1935	Binghamton, New York	Stephen Popp
Anna Popp	1939	Binghamton, New York	Stephen Popp
Anna Popp	1940	Binghamton, New York	Stephen Popp

Do you know what happened on 2 January 1934? My grandfather became  a United States citizen - under the surname Popp. It's amazing what makes me happy. This has been a very, very good day.


Photo Credit:  Some rights reserved by NashvilleCorps

A Challenge: One Bible Record, 5 Times Removed

I'd love to see what a citation pro would do with this!

Last summer I spent part of two days at the DAR Library in Washington, DC examining the documents in their files relating to my ancestors Jonathan and Philip Mulkey. I had, and continue to have, doubts regarding the records used to prove their Revolutionary War service for DAR membership. There were two Philip Mulkeys, possibly three, in what is now East Tennessee in the late 18th century. It has never been clear to me that the rosters naming Philip Mulkey are in fact referring to my 6th great-grandfather, Rev. Philip Mulkey (b. 1732, Edgecombe Precinct, NC) or that those naming John Mulkey are referring to his son, Rev. Jonathan Mulkey.

Nevertheless, it was a joy to finally see the records used by my grandmother and her cousins in their membership applications. The DAR files included digitized copies of family Bible records and transcriptions that I had never seen. The records support the information about the Mulkeys in the family record my grandmother gave to me in 1968.

Included was a transcription of a Bible record belonging to my 3rd great-grandfather (yet another) Philip Mulkey that was copied by Margaret Bayless McNees (my first cousin, 3 times removed) in 1937.  The Bible was then owned by Mulkey's son-in-law, John Horner of St. Clair, Hawkins County, TN.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Philip Mulkey born Jan. 14, 1810; Died July 27, 1884.

           Married (1) Anna Duncan, born Oct. 23, 1809

                                                       died ...............1850 

                                              Married     June 2, 1831

Married (2) Matilda Smith, born Feb. 12, 1819

                                                      died .............1862   

Married Mch. 18, 1852

Married (3) Mary Jane (Hopper) Crouch, born Mch. 16, 1834

died ..................     

Married Aug. 10, 1865

Children of Philip and Anna Duncan Mulkey:

Sarah Mulkey         born Feb. 26, 1832

Isaac Mulkey         born Oct. 21, 1834

James Mulkey        born Aug. 23, 1836

Rachel Mulkey        born Sept. 15, .......     

John Mulkey          born Oct. 2, 1842

Annaliza Mulkey         born Feb. 9, 1844

Elizabeth Mulkey     born Mch. 15, 1846"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The information in this transcription is supported by census and pension records with two exceptions. Philip Mulkey's will was filed on 1 Oct 1883 in Hawkins County so the 1884 death date appears to be an error. Census records suggest that Rachel Mulkey was likely born in 1839. 

Anyone want to take a shot at writing a citation for this?  I've no idea. None. So here's the full rundown. 

The quote above is from photocopy of a digitized image of a document titled "Copy of Bible Record, Philip Mulkey". The document is a typed copy of Margaret McNees' transcription (which is likely a copy of her first transcription made in 1937) that was mailed to Blanche V. Range on 16 Jan 1939. The typed copy is dated 19 Jan 1939. It is a supporting document from the file of Blanche V. Range (DAR National # 312112), my 2nd cousin, twice removed. It is held at the DAR Library in Washington, DC where the digital image was viewed and copied on 24 Jun 2011. 

If I have that right it's five steps removed from the source - Mulkey's Bible, 1937 transcription, 1939 copy of transcription, 1939 typed copy of 1939 copy of transcription, digitized copy of typed copy viewed on computer, 2011 photocopy of digitized image. 

Have at it!!

Photo:  Some rights reserved by Old Shoe Woman

Sweating the Details

I've been reading blogs when I ought to be doing some other real world things. And now I'm writing when I ought to be doing real world things. One of the greatest attractions of genealogy/family history is its endless ability to distract me from the real world.

That said, my point here is a bit of heresy. Michael Hait started the wheel's turning with his post What is a conclusion?. Russ Worthington chimed in with When to enter data into your genealogy software?. Then Randy Seaver posted Events, Assertions, Evidence, Fact, Sources, Analysis, Conclusions, Software, Oh My! Read them all.

After reading Randy's post I revisited Michael's and read the comments. When I got to Martin's I cheered.

"Most ages do not agree visa-vis the census. Do we really need to GPS [Genealogical Proof Standard] every single person, or can we just conclude that ages in censuses vary? Genealogy is proving relationships. I can understand that proving a relationship might incur the GPS, but every fact or event?"

Amen. Maybe it's because much of my research involves 18th and early 19th c. frontier areas where few records were kept. Maybe it's because I am not a genealogist, but a family historian and an historian by training. Maybe it's because I'm comfortable with chaos and confusion. But I do not have the need to prove every "fact" as Hait defines them. I am content to know my research subjects were born, to learn as much as I can about their lives and relationships, and that they died. I can live with conflicting information as to specific dates and places.

And frankly (hold on to your hats here), I don't need death certificates or birth certificates for the people I've known in my life. Someone else further down the line can hunt for those if they wish. I'm perfectly comfortable stating a birth or death date based on my personal knowledge.

I'm a big picture gal. Give me the overview, the route, the story. I want every detail I can find, but I'm not going to sweat it if a death certificate and marriage license differ on birth dates. If those differences suggest the documents are not for the same person, we can talk. If not, I'm moving on. It doesn't change the relationships.

I'm not going to obsess over each fact or event or assertion. Just as long as you don't tell me the Mulkey marker proves Jonathan's wives. Them's fighting words.

The Ancestors' Geneameme

Jill over at Geniaus has come up with another meme (and coined a great word) for we geneajunkies. I am answering this one for both my family (M) and my husband's family (H), who've been the focus of much of my research. Thanks, Jill, for a providing this diversion. It sparked a couple questions I need to investigate further and some interesting contrasts.

The Ancestors' Geneameme

The list should be annotated in the following manner:
Things you have already done or found: bold face type
Things you would like to do or find: italicize (colour optional)
Things you haven’t done or found and don’t care to: plain type
You are encouraged to add extra comments in brackets after each item

Which of these apply to you?

1. Can name my 16 great-great-grandparents (M) (H)
2. Can name over 50 direct ancestors (M) (H) 
3. Have photographs or portraits of my 8 great-grandparents (M) Have 6 of 8, but still missing two of my European great-grandparents. (H) Have 6 of 8, but still missing one line. 
4. Have an ancestor who was married more than three times (M) Haven't found one in my family yet, but would love to! (H) His great-great grandmother Cansada Jones was married four times. 
5. Have an ancestor who was a bigamist (M) (H) Who wouldn't love to find this? We've got adulterers aplenty on both sides, but no evidence anyone tried to tie the knot twice at the same time. 
6. Met all four of my grandparents (H)
7. Met one or more of my great-grandparents (H) Definitely something to investigate. One great-grandmother died three years after he was born, but lived at such a distance they likely did not meet. 
8. Named a child after an ancestor All our children are named after ancestors. They carry the names of my paternal grandmother, my husband's paternal grandmother, one of my maternal great-grandmothers and, coincidently, one of my paternal great-great grandfathers (we did not know this when he was named). 
9. Bear an ancestor's given names (M) I was not named for ancestors, but do share my middle name, Elizabeth, with at least 3 ancestors. A 3rd great-grandmother was named Susannah. (H) My husband shares his middle name (an ancestor's surname) with his mother and great-grandmother and on back. 
10. Have an ancestor from Great Britain or Ireland (M) (H) Scads of them.
11. Have an ancestor from Asia (M) Autosomnal DNA analysis indicates Asian ancestry in my father's Eastern European family. 
12. Have an ancestor from Continental Europe (M) My paternal grandparents were born in Europe. My mother's family includes colonial German and French lines. (H) There are German and Swiss lines. 
13. Have an ancestor from Africa (H) His great-great grandmother said her grandfather was Haitian. 
14. Have an ancestor who was an agricultural labourer (M) (H) 
15. Have an ancestor who had large land holdings (M) (H)
16. Have an ancestor who was a holy man - minister, priest, rabbi (M) I come from a long line of Baptist ministers. My father's family includes many priests, though I've not found a direct ancestor yet. His surname, however, means priest or father. (H) At least one. His 7th great-grandfather was a minister in colonial Virginia. Many uncles, aunts and cousins were Roman Catholic priests and nuns. 
17. Have an ancestor who was a midwife (M) My great-great grandmother signed an affidavit that she was the midwife when most of her daughter's children were born. (H) I know the oft married Cansada Jones had a sister who acted as her midwife. I would like to know if Cansada acted as midwife when her sister's children were born.
18. Have an ancestor who was an author
19. Have an ancestor with the surname Smith, Murphy or Jones (M) I have a Smith 3rd great-grandmother. (H) No Murphys, yet. But his mother is a Smith and his father had Smith and Jones ancestors. 
20. Have an ancestor with the surname Wong, Kim, Suzuki or Ng
21. Have an ancestor with a surname beginning with X
22. Have an ancestor with a forename beginning with Z (M) A 3rd great-grandfather was named Zebidee. 
23. Have an ancestor born on 25th December
24. Have an ancestor born on New Year's Day
25. Have blue blood in your family lines (H) 
26. Have a parent who was born in a country different from my country of birth
27. Have a grandparent who was born in a country different from my country of birth (M) Two of the four were born in Eastern Europe. 
28. Can trace a direct family line back to the eighteenth century (M) (H)
29. Can trace a direct family line back to the seventeenth century or earlier (M) (H)
30. Have seen copies of the signatures of some of my great-grandparents (M) (H)
31. Have ancestors who signed their marriage certificate with an X (M) (H) Likely. I've found X signatures on deeds, but do not have marriage certificates for those ancestors.
32. Have a grandparent or earlier ancestor who went to university (M) (H) 
33. Have an ancestor who was convicted of a criminal offence (M) (H) There are a couple serious candidates on both sides for this one. 
34. Have an ancestor who was a victim of crime (M) Seems ghoulish to hope for, but it would be such fun to research. I have a great-something grandmother killed by Indians on the Virginia frontier, but that seems more an act of war than a criminal offense. (H) His grandfather lost most of his money when the town banker absconded with the bank's funds after the 1929 stock market crash. 
35. Have shared an ancestor's story online or in a magazine (M) I wrote about my grandmother here. (H) I wrote about his great-great grandmother here.
36. Have published a family history online or in print (Details please) (M) (H)
37. Have visited an ancestor's home from the 19th or earlier centuries (M) (H) 
38. Still have an ancestor's home from the 19th or earlier centuries in the family (M) Not in this country, but as of 1991 cousins in Slovakia still lived in a home we think was the one my grandmother grew up in. (H) My husband's cousins have preserved the 18th c. home his great-grandmother was born in. It's hard to imagine a greater contrast between two homes. The one in Slovakia had dirt floors, minimal plumbing and was set on a small plot of land in a remote village in the Carpathian mountains. It was a breathtakingly beautiful spot, but clearly impoverished. The one in Virginia is a meticulously preserved colonial home, complete with gardens, still part of a working farm, set on a hill with sweeping views toward the Chesapeake Bay. 
39. Have a family bible from the 19th Century (H) An early 19th c. Bible is in the family, though we do not own it. 
40. Have a pre-19th century family bible

Pye Chart - (Almost) Wordless Wednesday

Among Maria Lee Palmer Smith's papers I examined this summer were hand drawn pedigree charts outlining her husband's family. Based on the handwriting, I believe they were prepared by a Washington DC genealogist, Katherine C. Dorsey, who did research for Maria Lee and had extensive correspondence with her during the 1890s.

This chart outlines the ancestors and descendants of Roger Pye of the Mynde. My husband has one Pye ancestor listed in a respected (but unsourced) family history prepared several decades ago - his 4th great-grandmother, Elizabeth Pye. I have not yet examined or evaluated the research in Maria Lee's papers to see how Elizabeth may connect to these charted Pyes, but I treasured seeing these century old pedigrees.

This is Why I Came to FGS!

Beyond a burning desire to meet Geneabloggers I'd only known virtually, beyond my deep admiration for Mr. Lincoln and Springfield's resources, beyond the fact that this year's FGS conference was so close to home I could almost walk here, what sold me on this conference was the breadth of the course offerings.

They have not disappointed. I attended two Thomas Jones lectures yesterday, Lisa Alzo's Immigrant Cluster Communities and Debra Mieszala's Disappearing Dude lectures. All very well done and all emphasizing the need to approach research from far more than the birth, marriage and death record perspective. Understanding context, gathering details to construct a biography, tackle a brick wall or build collaborative research communities that reflect earlier immigrant communities - the theme of the day was broadening research and telling the stories.

Today my classes were all record based - very detailed and very informative. The theme today was knowing the lay of land - both in terms of navigating the record collections and understanding the geography of the area being researched.

I have mined all the obvious records for my especially challenging research targets. I've done the census records, the deeds, vital records, etc. The people I need to find are all born in the 18th c., all living on the frontiers where few records were kept or survive. I have new tools now!

Linda Woodward Geiger's U.S. Territorial Papers course introduced me to the records kept in the frontier areas and offered information on various finding aids to help dive into the various collections. I'm not likely to find vital records, but court cases, petitions, even postal records will provide context - and with luck one or two of my guys.

Craig Scott provided an overview of military records, both regular Army and local militia units, available for men who fought in the Indian Wars before the Civil War. For one who has avoided military research it was a bit overwhelming (I am following all those pre-conference recommendations to check out unfamiliar material!). But, I have a good beginning bibliography (first purchase is Military Service Records: A Select Catalog of National Archives Microfilm Publications - once it's available again), an awareness of what I need to start looking AND links. First stop is The U.S. Army Center of Military History.

Territorial and military records are almost completely new to me, and daunting enough. But I've actually tried to dig into the Draper Papers at the Wisconsin Historical Society. Think quicksand. 491 volumes or 130 reels of microfilm covering decades of Drapers research on the Trans-Allegheny West. Unindexed (mainly).

I was overjoyed to see a lecture by James Hansen introducing what he referred to as the (In)famous collection. I am not the first to find it intimidating. Hansen suggested that Draper himself was overwhelmed with the amount of material he gathered. Decades of research led to one book. I harbor a sneaking suspicion I may be afflicted with Draper Disease - always collecting, never producing! There are no shortcuts with the manuscripts, but there are finding aids and guides that can point one in the right direction. And, as Hansen pointed out, the material is fascinating. It may take days to pour through a small portion, but it'll be a good read.

This was a fabulous day. Technical, geeky, detailed and more exciting than I can express.

Loving Lincoln and more - FGS 2011

I'm easing myself in to the FGS conference in Springfield this week. I've spent much of the last two days reviewing microfilm on my husband's Jones ancestor in preparation for Thomas Jones' The Jones Jinx class tomorrow. I don't think I've found anything groundbreaking, but I did discover our Jones was quite the land trader - 21 deeds over 35 years. I'm hoping there's a nugget in one of them that's gold.

Last night I was able to meet some of the Geneabloggers here face to face at the FamilySearch reception. Plenty of bloggers are giving a rundown of the Conference. I'm not going to even attempt that. But I am grateful to FamilySearch for the chance to visit with people I only know through social media. I was also blown away by their efforts at bringing new records online. Their Field Express project is getting newly digitized records online within a month of being recorded. They have cameras around the globe - including Ukraine which made my heart leap. I'll be watching those new records.

This afternoon I (and 39 others) took one of the behind the scenes tours being offered by the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library. Conservation labs, manuscripts, and a visit to the closed stacks - it was enough to thrill this library rat. Once again - blown away. If the rest of the conference is a complete bust (not likely, they're serving ice cream tonight) learning more about this resource was worth the trip.

The library is so much more than a Lincoln reference site - though that would be interesting enough to warrant a visit. Its collection dates back to 1889 when the Illinois State Historical Library was created and is a fabulous genealogical research resource.

Our guide Gwen Podeschi outlined several databases and indexes that are available online for those out of the area or to use in planning a trip.

• The Law records of Lincoln database is online. Lincoln practiced law here for decades. If you've family who were in Central Illinois at the time they may have served on a jury or been a witness in one of Lincoln's cases.
• The Library is charged with preserving Illinois newspapers by microfilming as many as it can. It has the largest collection in the world of Illinois newspapers dating back to when Kaskasia was the capitol. 
• The Boys in Blue is a database of the names of 7,000 Illinois Union soldiers whose photographs have been cataloged. Haven't hunted that one yet, but it's on the agenda.
• Their Obituary Index has been compiled from research done and information donated. Obituaries are not available, but citations are. It is not a complete index of all obituaries appearing in Illinois newspapers, but what a great place to start.

Obviously so much more is available at the Library - 12 million papers in the manuscripts collection, hundreds (was it thousands?) of maps. While I was standing in the Reading Room I couldn't help but notice a set of books "Medical and Surgical history of the Civil War". With at least two Civil War era physicians in the family it might be worth a look.

My favorite part of the day was the realization that living in St. Louis I am actually close to some resources that will be enormously helpful. I've given the midwestern branches of our family short shrift over the years. It's time they got a little attention.

The Road

By freefotouk

I am home. My genealogy dream trip this summer lasted five and half weeks, covered 4,800 miles (lots of backtracking involved, but I could drive Interstate 81 for years and not mind), stays in 4 states and the District of Columbia, visits to the National Archives, the DAR Library, the Library of Virginia, the Mary Ball Washington Library, the Archives of Appalachia, two courthouses, eight cemeteries, family homes and even living, breathing family members. I had dinner three nights with fellow geneabloggers (completely wonderful!), ate my first Ethiopian meal with my fabulous niece, caught up with a college friend I'd not seen in years, and looked at microfilm until my eyes and brain were completely crossed. I have thousands of images to sort through and assess. But I do believe that's for another day. A la Scarlett O'Hara, I'll think about that tomorrow.

What I have been thinking about is how I was able to travel the distance of my ancestors lives in a matter of hours. My Scots-Irish family migrated south through the Shenandoah Valley from western Pennsylvania to Tennessee over several generations. One morning I woke in Lexington, VA and visited the Rockbridge County Courthouse. I saw the original marriage bond for my 4th great-grandparents, John Stephenson and Elizabeth Cloyd. That afternoon, after driving south on I-81, I visited their graves at the Salem Cemetery in Washington County, TN. I stayed in Jonesborough, where Elizabeth started a school for girls in 1820.

I remember traveling through Virginia before the interstate was built, before cars had air conditioners, when  a hotel swimming pool was rare. It took a full day longer. The roads were curvier (I consumed large quantities of dramamine on those trips), narrower, and far more difficult to drive. From today's perspective it was a difficult trip.

I try to imagine John and Elizabeth traveling down to Tennessee in 1808. They surely traveled the same route I did - the Great Warriors Trail. I wonder if there were ghosts on their road, as there have been on mine.

A Newbie's View of the National Archives - Those Places Thursday

There truly aren't words for what a fabulous experience I had researching at the National Archives. I was there a day and a half. The staff was extraordinarily patient, supportive, and just plain kind without being the least bit patronizing (which wouldn't have been much a leap given some of my questions).

"Checking in" after lunch worked since I had the next day as well. If I'd only had one day I would have been first in line when the doors opened in the morning. It did take well over two hours to clear security, get my temporary researcher's ID, fill out requests for the Civil War Pension Files I wanted, drop off all but the allowed essentials in a locker and wait for the files to be delivered. I then had a couple hours to dig into the first file before the end of the day. The beauty of the system was that all the files were there waiting for me the next morning.

One of my favorite experiences came at the end of my visit. I finished reviewing the last Civil War pension file (I was able to thoroughly examine three files in my day and a half) with 30 minutes left before the Archives closed. I was curious about hunting for something more obscure. I settled on War of 1812 Civilian Reparations files - or records of claims made by American civilians for damages by the British - and sweetly asked where I would find them. One of my Meredith in-laws did receive a settlement from the British in 1828 and I would love to get a look at the information in the claim.

There was no rabbit pulled out of a hat, nor did I truly expect to get my hands or eyes on the claim at 4:30 pm (and a Friday, at that). But three archivists thought, talked, quickly searched and suggested ways to find the information. I walked away with several viable search strategies and a telephone number for an archivist who specializes in records of that era. An impressive result.

A few other hints to total novices - 

• First, know where the serial numbers are on all your electronic devices. My little HP had the number hidden away on the battery which I had never removed. Took us a few minutes. (And to HP - print could be just a little bigger for eyes that have seen a few years, thank you!)
• The sheet recording all your electronic devices should be kept if you're going to be using the Archives for several days running. Saves those minutes spent squinting at the serial numbers the first day. 
• It is not necessary to break into giggles the first time you move to the microfilm reader/digital scanner, elated to be grabbing digital rather than paper images, and realize it has hand cranks to move the film. But if you do, no one will shush you.
• My standard dressing in layers for libraries is less effective here. No sweaters, wraps or hoodies allowed in the reading room unless you are wearing them. Which means a bit of going back and forth to the locker room if your temperature fluctuates. Still it was a chance to stretch my legs and grab a drink of water. 
• Gathering Civil War Pension File information from Footnote.com before the trip saved a bunch of time when filling out the document request forms. Do as much advance work as possible using the NARA website, or other on-line repositories.

Big changes are apparently afoot at the Archives. In future years most research will be done at other sites. If you have a chance to visit it this year or next, do. It's a thrill.

Random thoughts from the road

I'm a couple weeks into an alternately leisurely and manic tour of East Coast relatives and archives. It's been a grand trip so far. Mostly great weather, wonderful visits with family, a glorious treat meeting a geneablogger friend and husband, and some wonderful "finds" that have kept me awake at nights as I reflect on what I'm uncovering.

A few thoughts have wandered through my brain repeatedly.

Having a portable WiFi network via my cellphone has been a lifesaver. Senior relatives don't always have computers, much less wireless networks. I've been able to set up computer, scanners, printers where ever I am and plug away with my digitizing projects. I've even been able to web browse or catch up on blog reading parked on the side of an interstate waiting for a squall line to pass.

My camera does a better job digitizing documents than I thought it would. Much faster than the scanners, too. Still, for those that it cannot adequately capture, the FlipPal scanner has been marvelous. For digitizing photographs the FlipPal or my flatbed scanner have been far better.

I am even more committed to getting information about the research and my "finds" out into the world via blogging and a website. Much of what I have worked out over the last 10 years of researching my Meredith and Lee in-laws is hinted at in the late 19th/early 20th c. letters I am reviewing now. There's real joy in reading these letters since I "know" all the characters from my research, but I could have chopped a couple years of work off if I'd had them to start with. I'd like whoever is interested in this bunch three or four generations from now to have a leg up!

And finally, having census data indexed, on-line and searchable is an incredible advantage. Thank you to the federal government, indexers, churches, for-profit corporations and Al Gore for making it possible.

Sunday evening wrap up

A hodge podge day with hodge podge results.

I spent hours looking at admixture results for our DNA testing. For someone who literally dreams about maps, vectors and migration patterns (not normal I know, but I really don't have much control over my dreams) it's been fascinating. I've always seen traces of central Asia in my grandmother's face, a slight oriental cast to her eyes. While my father's family has been firmly planted in the shadows of the Carpathian Mountains as far back as we can trace them, that's no more than 200 years. It's clear from the DNA tests that somewhere in the previous 10,000 years or so his ancestors (MY ancestors) were tromping across Asia. While 75% of his DNA reads as European in the latest admixture test, 25% is a mix of Middle Eastern, Asian and North African. Forget finding Charlemagne. I'm hunting Ghengis Khan! And one note to my descendants - all that DNA you think might be Indian comes from your European Grandfather, NOT your Colonial American Grandmother.

Switching gears, I searched GenealogyBank.com for Meredith information and found some information about a John & Thomas Meredith who were merchants in Easton, MD in the early 19th c. I would very much like rule these guys in or out as my John & Thomas Meredith but it's not clear yet.

Finally, I'm assembling some information on my grandmother Anna Pereksta's family for a new-found cousin and am, of course, obsessing over what I don't know or haven't well documented. He's more interested in what I do know and that's what I need to focus on. HOWEVER, during my one (ok, there were four of five) last check on FamilySearch I found a fascinating record.

I mentioned in an earlier post about the Perekstas that my aunt knew a family in Binghamton, NY where the first husband had been George Pereksta. He was a cousin of some sort, was working as a miner in Vermont when he was killed in a mining accident. I did not mention that his wife was named Susie and that they had a daughter Katherine before he died.

Today someone new, Katie Perkesta born 1905 in New York, showed up on my screen. Since I thought I'd found every possible Pereksta in the US after 1900 I was startled. Katie was enumerated in the 1905 New York State Census which can now be viewed. I viewed.

From FamilySearch.org

Katie was listed as the 5 month old daughter of Mike and Susie Pereksta both born in Austria (the Empire, not today's nation). Just as I was beginning to remember a Susie with daughter Katherine I saw Mike's occupation. Slate quarryman. The bells went off! That's awfully close to a miner. Then I looked up Granville on a map. It's awfully close to Vermont! I went back to my notes from my aunt and saw George, not Mike, staring up from the page.

From Google Maps

So it's not a perfect fit. But this Katie and Susie are the same ages as the women in the 1920 Binghamton census. And I know too well that first names are fluid in this population and memories are not perfect. I was asking specifically about Georges when my aunt told me this story - trying to figure out just who the George Pereksta was who travelled with my aunt Mary when she came to America.

I don't have an immigration record that fits for this Mike or Susie. It's not clear whether they were married in the United States or if Mike went back to Europe to marry. I don't know where Mike died. There were plenty of slate quarries in Vermont and NY and apparently many accidents and deaths. He likely died shortly after the 1905 census, since Susie's next daughter, who was reportedly not his child, was born about 1907/1908. Immigration, marriage, birth, death records - lots to do!