Genealogy Resolutions: 2010 score card & 2011 goals

2010 Resolution Scorecard 
When I sat down to compose this post, my mindset was that I had had a very successful year.  But, having just reviewed my 13 resolutions for last year, I didn't do so well if I just look at the numbers:  one completed and two very well along.  On the other hand, the one completion was a biggie: a research trip to the Salt Lake Family History Library.  Unfortunately, my one completed resolution created more finds to analyze and sidetracked me from my other, more specific, goals.

I had also resolved to eliminate the TO-DO piles.  (Yeah, sure!)  I didn't succeed, but I am very, very proud to have only 2 piles left and they are both much smaller than this time last year.

My other partial success was in finding the parents of the Lucy WAIT who married Asahel DAVISON circa 1792.  I have a couple under study now, and I really think they are the right ones:  I just need a solid piece of evidence to tie them to her.

It wasn't on my list of goals, but I feel very fortunate to have found the birth family for a 90-year-old friend of mine.  Adopted as an infant, she found out she was adopted when the woman she called 'Mom' died.  She has spoken with half-siblings and they are very happy to find out about her.  Also, I found the immigrant grandparents of another friend who thought she'd never know their names.

Alas, that still leaves 7 resolutions virtually untouched and 2 touched but with no substantive change in their status.  I think I need fewer resolutions for 2011!

Goals for 2011 
1.  Keep on the search for the parents of the Lucy WAIT who married Asahel DAVISON circa 1792.  I think I am really close on this one after all these years....

2. Attend the reunion of descendants of Amos RICHARDSON in Morgan County, Missouri in June, 2010 ... a carry-over from 2010.

3.  Write/phone the Del Norte Cemetery in Rio Grande County, Colorado to see who is buried in the plot for which I have a bill of sale / deed to Charles HEGWER ... another carry-over from 2010.

4. Arrange for a headstone at the unmarked grave of Celim PORTER [10 May 1913 - 18 Jun 1913] at Cavalry Cemetery in Los Angeles. Celim was the son of L Willis PORTER and his first wife, Josephine Slater, who died barely a month after her only child and is buried about 20 yards away  ... another carry-over from 2010.

5. Keep working on the 2 remaining piles of research to input or analyze. I made great progress on this goal in 2010.  This year I will get it down to one pile that fits in the TO-DO box by this computer!

6.  Blogwise, my goal was 20 postings published and this makes 47!  The only goal I'll make for GreatGreats itself this year is to get the story of finding my grandmother written.  That's why I started this blog and the time has come.

Overall, I think 2010 was a good year for GreatGreats!  May you have a GREAT year and may your greatest genealogy problem be solved in 2011!

First Friday Folder: Goodale & Clough

With all my agony over changing templates last month, I completely forgot to do a First Friday Folder.  Did anyone miss it?

This month, I picked a folder of which I had absolutely no idea what it needed.  It was labeled "Goodale ... Clough," which in my system means that it is a catch-all folder for those surnames and their ancestors: I haven't made folders for the couples and haven't printed out any family group sheets. 

The Goodale/Clough folder has about 23 sheets in it: excerpts from some un-sourced online pedigrees, some book excerpts from Heritage Quest, and some database printouts from New England Historical Genealogical Society.  This seems to be some of the info I used to add the names to my database, but it has no organization and I did not leave myself any notes let anlone anything resembling a plan.  My goal for today is to make folders, print family group sheets, examine sources, and make a general plan for each couple.

So, first, I printed out Mehitable Clough's portion of the pedigree chart:

Then, I checked the file drawer and found that I had followed my system: I don't have a folder for any of these couples.  That means that these names were entered into by database when I was more of a name collector than a genealogist, so there's no telling what these family group sheets will look like....

I've made 9 folders now and printed out the corresponding 9 family group sheets. Most were only 2-3 pages long and have source lists looking like this excerpt:

I guess it could have been worse. It looks as though it's been about 5 years since I've looked at any of these names.  There are very few primary sources but some reputable secondary sources and definitely a good lead for further solid research.

The General Plan
I need to start with Mehitable Clough and Thomas Goodell, finding primary sources for all events for them and their children.  (I believe they are my fifth-great-grandparents.)  Then, I can work back through their ancestors, one couple at a time.

Martin Hollick's New Englanders in the 1600s [1] shows several good sources available for most of these names.  The first thing that strickes me is that 'Goodale' is a varient for 'Goodell.'  I don't think I knew that before. 

Conclusion
This has been a secretarial, housekeeping week: making organized folders so I will have a place ready for filing the new research I need to do.  These lines seem to have a good deal of established research attached to them.  I think I just need to verify and document it.  I think research will be easier now, if only because I didn't have the Hollick book five years ago.

Sources

Pedigree and source excerpts cropped from my personal database, which uses Ancestral Quest software. [I am very proud of finally figuring out a way to easily get a nice looking pedigree chart into this blog!]

[1]  Martin E. Hollick, New Englanders in the 1600s: A Guide to Genealogical Research Published Betwee 1980 and 2005.  Boston: New England Historical Genealogical Society, 2006.

Lots of Marriage Records: John Sweet & Judith Payson

Great-great-great-grandparents Norton Bates and Betsey Sweet have caused me genealogical problems for all the years I've been working on genealogy.  First, it took several years to figure out who Norton's parents were: Moses Bates & Ruth Shaw. Sorting BATES in New England is not easy, but now I have all of his lines back for at least 3 more generations and some for many more.

Betsey Sweet is still a problem.  I think of her not so much as a brick wall but more like a climbing wall with footholds and handholds out of reach and me with no safely line....  I've been collecting SWEETs for many years, studying families and hoping for possibilities, while eliminating most of them.  Recent additions to the familysearch.org databases gave me a new location for Betsey's possible parents: Adams, Berkshire, Massachusetts.

CAUTIONARY WARNING: I am NOT saying that the following couple are the parents of my Betsey Sweet.  They are simply one more lead that I am currently exploring.

From the Massachusetts Marriages, 1695-1910 database:

This looks like a very good lead, given Betsey's death record listing parents' names John & Judith Sweet and a calculated birthdate of about 1794.  Last weekend, I traveled to the newly remodeled Los Angeles Family History Library (yes, they've changed names again) and got to see the source film, FHL# 760,652.  Sure enough, there where it was supposed to be on p. 23 was entry #124:

But, it's not quite as advertised: it says "intended," not "married," and is the only entry on that page without a notation of when a certificate was given.  I was very sad to see that I did not have a solid marriage record here, but I kept reading the film, mostly because it was such easy reading.  I was not hopeful since the familysearch.org search function had not turned up any other records. Then, just a few pages later, I found this one:

 Aha! Over two years later, they again made their intentions AND got a certificate another month later!  The difference in her name is not a deal breaker; it just gives me additional names to watch.  But, now I'll need to watch for issues around Betsey's birthdate in relation to the marriage of her parents.

I kept on reading, hoping to see some children for the couple.   There were some children listed pages later for other families, but none for any Sweet family nor Payson family.  But then, the format of the document changed again and it went back to some marriage records where I found this one:

Aha! Aha!  And 'they' thought they could fool me!  This entry sure makes it look as though this couple actually married on 4 September 1796.  These three entries were the only SWEET or PAYSON names I saw on the whole film.  There weren't even any of either name among the recorded earmarks!

I still can't link this couple to my Betsey Sweet with any confidence, but they are the best candidate now and the best candidates I have ever had.

I'm sharing this research to show that the familysearch.org databases are not perfect.  I tried again today to form a search that turned up either the second or third entry in the online index.  After quite a bit of effort and knowing the records are indeed on the film, I was able to find my second record:

Again, it's indexed as a marriage rather than intentions.
And, finally, I was able to force the third one to show up in a search:

Note that it was indexed as 'Tason' rather than 'Pason,' an understandable indexing interpretation if one had not been reading pages of that handwriting and looking at how known Ps & Ts compared.

This all showed me again in just one day that I must always, always go to actual sources.  This experience also reinforced the idea that just because a search in an online database doesn't turn up the people I'm looking for, it doesn't mean that they aren't there!

Sources

Births, Marriages, and Intentions of Marriage, ca. 1766-1847 [Adams, Massachusetts].  FHL # 760,652.

https://beta.familysearch.org ; database: Massachusetts Marriages, 1695-1910.

Digital photos of the microfilm images off the microfilm reader by MHD.

A New Celebrity Cousin!

I admit it's interesting to me to find a distant relative is a celebrity or historical figure, but I don't go looking for them.  I've often thought that I'd much rather be related to a professional or serious genealogist!  If only Steve Danko had a Silesian Hegwer in his Polish lines....  At least I've got Pauline Litton in my Carr line, as I've written previously, and I'm very proud of that!

But wait, today there is news:  Randy Seaver of Genea-Musings and I are cousins! I'm so excited!  Alright, it's only 8th cousins, but that's something!  

I just saw Seaver's recent post  on his Peirce Surname.  We share 7th great-grandparents George Stearns and Hannah Sanderson of my New England Porter line.  I am not totally surprised, though, since I've been reading his series of surname lines and I had seen several names that I knew were neighbors of several of my great-greats. I saw him last year at Jamboree but didn't talk with him; if he comes this year, I'll be sure to introduce myself!

Something Old, Something New

Something New
I hope this is not a let down after all the talk about changing templates, but here it is!  My goals were to get to play around with the design options in Blogger and to have a new & more attractive appearance to GreatGreats. 

Something Old
I'm still reading/analyzing the microfilm version of the Bishop's Transcripts for Helperthorpe and Weaverthorpe in East Yorkshire.  As I've already posted, I've found some solid sources for baptisms and marriages for direct ancestors for whom I previously only had dates obtained from other researchers.  I've also found lots of names & dates for which I need to do some more analysis before I write about it here or accept it as something to add to my "proven" lines.

While studying this microfilm, I've been re-reading some of my reference books on genealogy in English records.  One book in particular has been very helpful:
Genealogical Research in England and Wales, Vol. I by Gardner & Smith.  My copy is from 1956.  [Whoa, stop the presses: This is younger than I am...how can I call it old?!]

I've especially found Chapter 13: Bishop's Transcripts and Their Value helpful with this film.  In a very thorough discussion of the differences between the transcripts and the parish records, the authors emphasized the importance of seeing both sets of records wherever possible:

There are cases on record where the Bishop's Transcripts list some entries not recorded in the parish registers.  One may surmise that the transcript was made, not from the parish register but from some day-by-day account.  The differences between the register and the transcript may have occurred at the time the register was copied from the day book, and the transcript was also copied up at the same time with variations occurring in the copying of the details.  Researchers should be aware of these possibilities. The Ideal method of research is to search both the registers and the transcripts if such is feasible and not too expensive. [p. 197]

I have found a film reference for Weaverthorpe parish records and I will order that film.  It will be interesting to see what differences exist between the records in this one small town. 

Conclusions
Older books can be very useful, especially when I am lucky enough to find them at at used bookstore for a very, very good price.  No trip to the Family History Library in Salt Lake City is complete without walking over to visit Sam Weller's Books, which is where I found this book (and also Vol 3 on a later trip).

Changing a blog's design can be just as much, if not more, fun than shopping for a new outfit with coordinating shoes!

Reference

David E. Gardner & Frank Smith. Genealogical Research in England and Wales, Vol. I.  Salt Lake City: Bookcraft Publishers, 1956. 

Disclaimer
I have no connection with Sam Weller's Books and receive no special consideration from them.  I just like their used books department and, given the location, it's pretty likely to always have a good selection of used genealogy books!

Great-Great-Great-Grandmother Rachel GRICE: Update

I'm still working through the Weaverthorpe microfilm.  I've already renewed it once and still haven't made it all the way through for the first time!  The film does not have its own index, but the FamilySeach entries online have helped me find some of the entries.  Otherwise, I'm basically reading the entire film page by page.  I've certainly seen films with poorer quality images, but some of this film is very hard going.  So, I'm expecting to renew the film again next week; and, that will keep it at my local FHC indefinitely.  

There are several GRICE entries and I am extracting each one.  I've started to make family group sheets for them all in an attempt to confidently sort out all the Grice's.

The baptism of Rachel Grice

Online, unsourced notes show her birth and/or baptism on 2 June 1816 in Weaverthorpe or West Lutton.  With this film, I now have my own real source for Rachel for a specific event with a specific location!

This image is fairly easy to see on the microfilm reader; my photo here does not do it justice.  Transcription of the entry on a page of baptisms for the Weaverthorpe parish, Yorkshire, in 1816:

June 2 / Rachel Daughter of / John & Sally / Grice / (abode) West Lutton / grocer / (performed by) Abm Ashworth

Perhaps the most significant information here is that specifying an occupation for her father John.  There are clearly two John Grice's in town in this time period and this entry will certainly help correctly determine Rachel's line.

The Marriage of Rachel Grice and Joseph Ethell

Again, all I had here were unsourced notes from other genealogists.  But, now I have this beauty:

I've read about 60 years' worth of Weaverthorpe BMD entries now, and this is the only ETHELL in the lot!  Joseph may have been "of this Parish" at this time, but he was not part of any extended family raised here!  This entry is unusual in Weaverthorpe in that, where only one of the couple signs their own signature, it is usually the groom.  I'm assuming the witness, Charles Grice, is Rachel's older brother, but that could change as I proceed with all the other Grice's!

 Conclusions

• I think I will still need to look at the original parish records, rather than relying only on these Bishop's Transcripts.  The original entries could well have additional or even different information.
• I'm feeling more confident about the potential for keeping the different Grice families straight. I think I am going to be able to present a fairly solid line of evidence to confidently identify Rachel's parents and at least her paternal grandparents.
• I'm still proud that I've stayed focused on Weaverthorpe for several weeks now.  But, I must admit, even with all this success, I am getting bored and am eager to change to researching and writing about something else!

Related Posts

Research Diary - Weaverthorpe, Yorkshire
First Friday Folder - Joseph Ethell & Rachel Grice

Source

Bishop's Transcripts for Weaverthorpe, 1631-1852. Church of England. Parish Church of Weaverthorpe (Yorkshire). FHL # 990,896. Item 3. [There are very few page numbers, but the images are generally in chronological order.]

Elopement of Ben Hegwer & Bertha Carr and Genealogical Kindness

[from the Ely Daily Mining Expositor, 11 September 1912, p. 1]

I treasure this newpaper clipping.  Luckily, the entire, original issue has been handed down.  Otherwise, I doubt if I would have ever looked for an article, let alone found this 4-page newspaper.  The paper is starting to crack, but it does give a legible image from a scan or photo.  Clicking on the image should give you a larger image so that you can easily read all the exciting details of the chase!  My research does verify Bertha's being of legal age.

The family legend was that great-grandfather John Henry CARR sent the sheriff's posse after Ben & Bertha.  I had always assumed it was just a legend, and was very pleasantly surprised to find the newspaper in the things my dad left.  I'm not sure Dad knew he even had this paper. 

John Henry and at least two of his other children were working at the mine in White Pine, near Ely.  Ben worked for the related power company.  [A previous post has a photo of this couple many years later.]  

Other news of the day

Other front page news that day included articles on the rebellion in Mexico, election campaigning, violations of banking law, rebuilding New Orleans, and hostilities in Turkey.  I guess some things never change...

Interestingly (at least to me), there were two more articles about local weddings, and here's where I get to the Genealogical Kindness.  First, the article immediately adjacent to Ben & Bertha's was about the lovely, planned wedding (with breakfast and guests!) of Katherine Graham and Elmer Porter.  Was it just a coincidence that they left on the same train for the same destination as my grandparents?  It could well have been: the train didn't come by daily and Salt Lake is where it went; there weren't that many options.  But they must have all known each other.  Maybe the wedding and departure of the Porter's helped prompt Ben & Bertha to plan the elopement and join the ride?!

I went to ancestry.com and found 5 family trees including the Graham/Porter couple.  None included a marriage date/location nor did they include Katherine's siblings.  So, using ancestry's connection option, I sent brief emails to all 5 tree owners, offering to send a copy of the article.  In just 4 days, I've received replies/requests from 3 of the 5.  I feel very good about sharing this info!

Second, there was a very brief social notice about Louis Cononelos of McGill leaving (on the same train as everyone else mentioned here!) for New York to meet his fiance, Nina Chakopoulou, who was arriving from Athens.  The couple would be married in New York and return to McGill.  I did not find any family trees for this couple, but I posted a comment on their 1920 census record and gave her birth name and the newspaper citation.  I hope that info will help someone someday.

Disclaimer

I subscribe to ancestry.com, but otherwise still have no connection to these companies and receive no special consideration from them.

Note

I have no reason to believe that Elmer Porter is any relation to my own Porter line.

First Friday Folder: Richard ETHELL & Mary BEETHAM

I'm taking it easy this month: I know this is a very thin folder!  I selected this couple because they are (probably? hopefully?) the parents of Joseph ETHELL, the subject of last month's FirstFridayFolder and my recent Weaverthorpe post.  I'm still working on the Weaverthorpe/Helperthorpe microfilm and I just don't want to change gears right now.

The Couple

I am very hesitant to post this information at all: I have no primary sources and there are clearly problems with what I do have. Please do not add this data to your database, but for this discussion, here is what I have right this minute:

Richard ETHELL was born 17 March 1784 in Rillington cum Scampton, Yorkshire and died 18 December 1845 in Low Hutton, Yorkshire. Mary was born 10 September 1774 in New Malton, Yorkshire and died 26 June 1856 in Huttons Ambo, Yorkshire. They were married 23 November 1801 in High Hutton, Yorkshire.

The Problems

Oh, dear, where do I begin?!

• Richard seems a bit young to be getting married and what is the likelihood that a 17-year-old would marry a woman 10 years older than he?
• I have to be very careful about the town names, given the possibility of confusing the script for 'Hutton' versus 'Lutton' or 'Sutton.'
• The first child I have for them, Thomas Beedison ETHELL, was born (or is it a baptism?) before the marriage date and before Richard would have turned 16 years of age.
• I have a number of variant surnames for Mary: Beedam, Beedison, Beetham, Betham.  If the Thomas I just named goes with this couple at all, perhaps Mary was a widow and has another surname all together.
• The biggest problem is my complete lack of anything I can honestly call 'evidence.'  Some of my info is from two family researchers who are generally very thorough, but their conclusions are conflicting and not all their pieces are sourced.  That's why I'm working on their son's generation and reading the Weaverthorpe/Helperthorpe records for my self right now.

The Folder

It's hard to have organizational problems in a folder that only contains a few items, but there were still a couple of things to do.  I had not printed a new family group sheet for 4 years, which isn't so bad I guess since I have not been working on them in that time.  There were two copies of the 1841 census image and no annotation to explain why I had two!  And, neither of them had been entered in my database.

The Good News
The best thing I have going for me here is Richard ETHELL himself. Noted English genealogist, Pauline Litton, is an Ethell/Ithel descendant and has used the family research as examples in her publications and speeches. It is her reputation that gives me confidence that the other two family researchers and I do indeed have the right people and that we just need to tidy up around the edges!  I've seen two of Litton's articles and would like to find more.  Also, she has registered the ETHELL surname at the Guild of One-Name Studies.  What I really need to do is to write to her! And, I'd like to buy her book,too! 

Conclusions
There are certainly problems with my Ethell/Beetham couple, but I can't really do anything here before I thoroughly deal with my Ethell/Grice couple!

It's nice to be able to use the research of others as a help in my genealogy, but my ETHELL line is a good example to show that there can still be conflicts and problems.  Clearly, I still need to find and study the sources and build my own solid evidence trail.

I'm proud of myself for staying focused on Weaverthorpe.  I'll be even more proud if I can stay focused until I've finished the film, analyzed it, and made a thorough plan for what to do next....  

Disclaimers

I have no connection to nor do I receive any special consideration from The Guild of One Name Studies or Litton's Swansong Publications.