Who else is a Genealogy Nut??
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I went to the first meeting at a nursing home facility. They seem like quite the group. I love doing Genealogy research. I am going through a bunch of New York state wills from the early 1800s. I transcribed a land sale from my 5x great grandfather to his son. What a job. First I had to read up some of the typical terms used. Then with great effort I transcribed the writing. I love that there is so much in the way of microfilm images out there. Also searching tools are getting so good.
I love antiques, early american antiques. Historical preservation is tops on my list. Also the group does alot for our veterans. I think it is a good fit for me. I have all my supporting documents except my great grandfather's birth certificate. For me no one in my family joined so I have the evidence back to my patriot (actually 2 patriots) thanks to wills and census records and old handwritten family notes.
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Had to get this topic back up onto the first page since family history/reunion trips become popular during the summer! We're thinking of going to visit New Ulm, a Bohemian community in Minnesota. Anyone else on the road this season for research purposes?
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I had to take a hiatus from genealogy this spring, both because of the BC and I'm an accountant. Am starting to get back into it again. My mother had done a lot of research on both sides of my family, which I've entered into Family Tree Maker and uploaded to ancestry.com. I've gotten something on Facebook about an Olinger reunion in Illinois in June, but it's the day after round 2, so I'll pass. If I'm going to drive from Texas that far north, I'd rather visit my daughter in Indiana.
My tree is public, and is Paul and Lynn Wells on ancestry, if anyone is interested. I got an email today from a DNA match, and one of the people they were interested in is my husband's ancestor. It really was a small world 10 generations ago!
Lynn Range Wells
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Needed to post again in order to get this thread back up on page one...
Finding Your Roots started up a couple weeks ago on PBS.
My summer research trips did take me to Minnesota twice, plus Salt Lake City. Spent several hours at the Family History Library without learning much. They certainly don’t have everything available on line yet.
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Are you having any luck with census records? I found familysearch.org to be helpful.
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Census records are great, although sometimes folks aren’t found where they should be! Enumerators not familiar with ethnic variations may have used phonetic spelling for names. Then, transcribers having trouble reading sloppy handwriting make creative interpretations.
Starting this week everyone will need a free individual Family Search account to look at their records. No more unidentified trolling will be allowed...
Here in Wisconsin the state library system has many resources available on line at no charge including Heritage Quest plus a couple of newspaper archive sites covering local and national publications
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I need to make an account.
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Time to get this thread back up on page one again!
For anyone with Swedish background, you no longer need a paid subscription to get data and look at original records on line from their national archives. Part of the website is even in English. I may have broken through the brick wall described earlier by finding an Anders Andersson born in 1785...
I’m waiting for new episodes of ‘Who Do You Think You Are?’ to show up on TV this spring.
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I have Danish background. Still waiting for my dar application to be approved.
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TLC started showing a half dozen new episodes of WDYTYA last Monday. I was able to use our cable on demand feature to view the one I missed. Interesting history of the Scots in New England.
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Anyone on ancestry.com?
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No but I like familysearch.com and the fultohistory newspaper site. They are free. I think you can use ancestry for free at the library. Just found my ggg grandfather's obit in an old newspaper it said he was in the 93rd infantry during the civil war and a member of the GAR in Newcomb,ny. Didn't know that.
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Anyone still interested in this thread? I am an active genealogist, including teaching genealogy classes. Getting back into it after a hiatus for surgeries and radiation.Always happy to talk about genealogy!
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Beaverntx, are you DRT or DAR? My mom has been very involved fo years. She's in Denton
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DAR, yes. My family traces back in Ohio, West Virginia, Virginia, Pennsylvania so I'm not eligible for DRT.
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There are some new episodes of Who Do You Think You Are on TLC this month featuring Mandy Moore and other celebrities. I wish Genealogy Roadshow would come on again. They used regular people as their subjects instead of actors and media personalities...
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PBS has 'Finding Your Roots' on the air again. The first show helped SNL comedian Andy Samberg's mom locate her birth family since she was adopted.
We have a similar situation with a distant relative who had a baby boy in 1914 but no one seems to know where he ended up. I'm not sure what the procedures were back then in terms of going through an agency, etc so there may not be much information out there.
Perhaps a descendant will do a DNA test in order to learn who his/her grandfather was...
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Here's hoping that descendant does test, and especially with a company where another relative has tested!
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I dabble somewhat in geneology. For my side of the family, it's hard because 2 grandparents came to the U.S. from Italy and the other 2 came over from Poland. I know some great grandparents names, but after that it gets much harder.
My husband and therefore my son's geneology fascinates me, and there's a lot of generations to go back to in the U.S., starting with WV and PA and going further east after that. I learned my mother-in-law's great-great-grandfather was a “Revolutioner" meaning he fought in the Revolutionary War. He has a large headstone, shaped sort of like the Washington Monument, and it says Revolutionary at the top. Super cool looking. The cemetery where he's buried is just about a 2 hour drive to Pennsyslvania from Ohio, and I am planning a road trip with dh and ds this year to check it out.
I have an account at Family Search because its free. A few years ago, ds and I had a six months free account at Ancestry and I logged lots of info and photos there.
The other thing I did was send into Ancestry for DNA results. Nothing I didn't already know, and no surprising relatives, several third or fourth cousins I don't know. Still, it's interesting. But Ancestry—too pricey
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The other thing I find very fascinating is the use of DNA from these geneology sites to solve cold case rapes and murders. It is one of the greatest technological break-throughs of our time and it's helping families finally get answers and some closure on crimes committed against their loved ones. Anytime I come across a story about a case being solved using this method, I’m intrigued.
The other stories of great interest to me are adults who were abandonded at birth who are finding their parents and siblings using geneology DNA results.
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I have a great-grandmother who came from Ireland in the late 1800's. Little information. My father's father's family came from Germany in the same time-frame. Little information. My grandfather came from England in the early 1900's to join family. I made contact with a family historian in England. She had done a lot of work, going way back, but didn't have much interest in the American branch. I found one genetic relative, who said the relationship was fuzzy because of adoption.
I have a New Amsterdam Dutch. lineage, they preserved their culture by intermarriage for many many generations. Also some Maine ancestors who stayed together in the same way.
Spending that 20$ for one month every year of intensive work is not such a financial burden. My DNA was as expected, especially with the refinements. I had an odd bit of some Iberian peninsula Spanish Armada survivor? Recently clarified as French. Yes I have a Hugenot ancestor.
I was getting ready to get documentation for DAR when this happened. It is on the back burner now. Birth and death certs can get expensive. My grandfather (Bristol) used to tell that he had ancestors on both sides of the Revolution. But my qualifying ancestor was New Amsterdam Dutch. Sort of. His original last name indicates Scandinavian origin. Some of the members of the Dutch company were not Dutch by blood.
I was told that the New Amsterdam Dutch were not involved in the Revolution. My DAR genealogist looked at me real strange. I then read Knickerbocker's History of New York. By Washington Irving. The truth and the satire are easily sorted. A very entertaining book.
Anyway.......I expect to have plenty of time to get that finished.
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MCBaker, it is possible that you might find some of the records you need for your DAR application online--try Familysearch.org, state archives, county clerks, etc. I even proved one link by a deed that is now online. When you are ready let me know if I can help. Before my diagnosis last year I was working with the registrar of my chapter to help potential applicants get their documentation -- haven't gotten back into the swing of that but I still am active in genealogy in other ways.
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Also look at reclaim the records I found new york state death indexes for many of my relatives also birth and marriage indexes.
I agree familysearch.org I found census records and wills.
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I don't have to go very far back. The Conover line is well-documented, so I don't have to go back very far.
It is county clerks almost all the way. The toughest is either my grandfather's naturalization certificate or birth certificate. The genealogist in England might be able to help. We know the name of the pub his father ran. I think South Dakota's naturalization certificates from that period of time are stored in Kansas City, but it takes a personal visit. And I have no idea the exact year he made the leap. Linked to Franklin Roosevelt and the beginning of the war, probably.
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My great grandmother was a DAR.
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WC3, are you thinking of joining? I am a member. My 6x great grandfather was a first lieutenant in revolutionary war. I found his will on familysearch. I had to go through scanned documents to find it. He mentions my 5x great grandmother and husband. From there census records helped since my 5x great grandmother lived till she was 94, she showed up on 1860 census living with her son.
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Wow. You can find wills on Family Search? How does one do that
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Just found this thread! I am trying to figure out how to keep all of my documents organized, so my kids can have them at some point. I guess I will make binders or something. I have two," Our Family Story" record books to fill in, but there is really no place to put birth, marriage, death certs, etc. I got my rubber maid tub out the other day, for my GS's school project and it is a mess. Any ideas for organization would be welcomed! I was on Ancestry for a while, which was helpful. I found a 2nd cousin on Ancestry who sent me information and photos that I didn't have before. I met her a few yrs ago. I have been on findagrave and contributed photos and information. I would love to be able to find more personal information, rather than just data. My family immigrated here from Germany and Bohemia (Czech Republic). I have immigration records from one side through Ellis Island; but the other side came in at Castle Rock(?), I think and records were lost in a fire, if I remember correctly. I will look on the famlysearch website also. Thanks for sharing!
I have an adopted sister whom I was able to find through an adoption registry site several years ago, after 10 yrs of searching. We connected through Facebook. The wonders of the Web!
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Castle Garden was in operation in NewYork City prior to Ellis Island's opening. Both have free websites. The ability to look at original passenger lists is fascinating. Many immigrants also came on ships through Canada. At least those national archives aren't closed right now due to a government shutdown!
I'm a little perturbed that Ancestry bought Find a Grave. They now have possession of all the data folks provided on a volunteer basis. They better not put it behind their paywall...
Organization of records is a challenge. I tend to believe that paper is best when stored correctly. Computer files are invaluable but, even with an online tree or information in the cloud, things can happen. Thumb drives are good for a working backup right now but technology changes. Anyone remember floppy disks?
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I didn't know findagrave was purchased by Ancestry. That really disturbs me too.
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