Andersonville Civil War

Folks here is a new civil war site dealing those soldiers from the North that spent time at Andersonville.  It also talks about the Sultanna disaster that was bringing many poor souls back up North when it sank.

http://www.civilwarprisoners.com/

Using that GPS for genealogy

Mapping and Geolocation | TechTips | FamilySearch

www.familysearch.org

You need at least three pieces of information to identify an ancestor: a name, a date, and a place. I often see individuals listed in pedigrees by genealogists with a name and a date, but often the place is something really general like Michigan or United States. Since almost all genealogical records ar...

Revolutionary Thought

Genealogy Tip of the Day

Not every research problem can be solved by an internet search. Some sources are only in their original form and require onsite access.

Genealogy- Putting together the flavr of family

When and where were your brothers and sisters born?  Did they marry?  Have Families? (Follow up for the details) What were they like?  Do you have any favorite memories of them? 

The important element of identifying the location of birth for the siblings is to put together the migration pattern of the family.  In my own family my grandmothers family moved from Northwest Ohio, Northeast Indiana, Northeast Ohio and then finally to Southeastern Michigan.  The motivation was the time period and the constant need to find employment.  In this situation it was not driven by family already being located in the area.  Each of my G Aunt's and Uncle's was born in a different location.  Meeting their spouses all along the way.


The importance of marriage is when you are looking to trace the siblings lines.  Learning about these families help in understanding the fabric of the family.


Understanding more about siblings helps in understanding more about your own family line.  This to me is what makes genealogy fun.

Genealogy- Confirming the location

Where were you born and when?  Do you remember any stories that your parents shared with you about your birth?  Do you have your birth and/ or baptismal certificates?

It is important that you get all the information when determining where people were born.  Remember in rural locations the family home was a common place or the local midwife.  Remember to people would go to the closest city which did not always mean in the same county, state or country.  I did research for a client who had family in Vermont and could not locate them.  They happened to live along the US Canadian border.  Guess what the family filed all their records in Canada.  
When interviewing for stories in large families remember memories are going to vary a great deal from the youngest child to the oldest.  You will get surprises from the people that you would not have felt when you started would have had the most information.  Interview everyone that is willing.
In many cases the best source for birth records prior to a civil record would be the church.  Remember that baptismal certificates often indicate the date they were baptized not the day they were born.
Tomorrow more insight into the questions.

Genealogy- Analyzing the question

What is your full name?  Do you know why your parents chose that name for you?  Were you named after an ancestor?  Someone famous?  Do you have a nickname? 

Why you say is it important to get the full name of the ancestor?  Well for one thing it was very common to get the middle name of many of our  ancestors from surnames on the maiden side of the family.  In my genealogy I had a middle name that was used repeatedly.  It turned out that two generations down the line it ended up being a surname.  This is very common.
Knowing why someone used a particular first name may offer clues to past generations.  Naming traditions were very common in many ethnic backgrounds.  The first born son was named after the fathers father, the first born daughter was named after the fathers mother, second son was named after the mother's father, second daughter after the mother's mother and so on down the line.  Please understand that our families were not real creative in coming up with regional names.  A relative uncommon name like Magdalena can be popular when naming traditions are involved.
A common name to someone famous does not indicate that your ancestor is related to that person somehow.  It is common today to have research done to prove relationships to people that are famous.  Proof is not always there.  
Finally pay attention to nicknames.  My own grandmother was named Babe for the first five years of her life, because my great grandparents could not decide on a family name.  Surprisingly these names appear many times in public records.  Checking several sources will help in finding the true name.  
So when doing your interviews be sure to ask questions that will offer solutions to problems that may be created as you do your research.

Genealogy- Putting together the questions

Questions to ask

–What is your full name?  Do you know why your parents chose that name for you?  Were you named after an ancestor?  Someone famous?  Do you have a nickname?

–Where were you born and when?  Do you remember any stories that your parents shared with you about your birth?  Do you have your birth and/ or baptismal certificates?

–When and where were your brothers and sisters born?  Did they marry?  Have Families? (Follow up for the details) What were they like?  Do you have any favorite memories of them?

–When and where did you meet your wife/husband?  How did your meeting come about?  Was she/he your first love?  Can you describe the proposal, the wedding ceremony, the honeymoon?

–When and where were your parents born?  What are their full names?  What do/did they look like?  What were their occupations?  How did they come to meet and marry? 

–Where and when were your grandparents born? (both sets) What do/did they look like?  What were their occupations?  How did they come to meet and marry?

–Who was the oldest person you can remember in your family as a child?  What do you remember about them?  Do you remember visiting other relatives or family friends as a child?

–Did you serve in any wars?  If so, which war?  Which branch of the service were you in?

–Are there any items, traditions or customs in the family which have been handed down from generation to generation (these could include everything from naming traditions to jewelry to recipes)?

   

I will be putting more questions together in the next few days.

Genealogy- Preparing for the interview

•Gathering Oral History

–Decide where to start

•Start with the family historian.

•Interview the older members of your family.

–Make a Game Plan

•Start with setting a appointment.

•Write down questions to work off.

•Bring along family chart and things that you have found so far that will jog memories.

–Tips for interview

•Read information on doing proper interviews.

•Consider writing or emailing questions

•Use the Phone

–This by far can be the hardest. 

 

 

•Asking the correct questions

–Do your research.

•Make sure you know how the person being interviewed fits into the family.

•Use your charts as a guide.

–Use open ended questions.

•Get the person to tell stories instead of yes or no answers.

–Try to elicit facts.

•Be sure to find out the how, why, where, when and what

 

Tomorrow we will work on the questions to ask.

Genealogy Talking to the relatives

Visit Family members homes or via the phone to locate information.

–Be respectful of their wishes.

–Best way is to get them involved in the hunt.

–Remind them you are looking for personnel history.

–Make sure to have your questions ready.

–Use a family check list to complete your hunt.

•Clues from Family Sources

–Photographs

•Names and dates

•Photographers mark

•Clothing and houses

–Postcards

•Pictures may offer clues to where they lived.

•Comments on the back may offer clues.

–Vital Records

•May be stored in a variety of places.

•Just the fact they were saved makes them important.

•Birth, marriage & death certificates, baptismal certificates, naturalization papers, wills, patents, military enlistments, discharges.

•Clues from Family sources

–Diaries, Letters & Journals

•Here is where you learn the stories of your families past.

•These are the important facts that document the events of their lives.

–Family Bibles

•The births, marriages and deaths that are documented are invaluable.

•Traditionally given at the time of a marriage of a couple.

•Documents many facts that you may not find somewhere else.

–Scrapbooks

•Will include obits, wedding & anniversary announcements, graduation and other events of their lives.

Saturday I will add more.

Genealogy Help for the support

Just wanted to thank those other sights that are sending their folks my way.  Please check out their blogs as well.

www.jessica journal.blogspot.com

I will continue with contacting those relative tomorrow.

Genealogy Contacting the Relatives

   Now that we have gathered the information we have at home the next step is to put it in a context that we can understand where we need to go.   This step involved putting together all the names that you know starting with you.  This can all be put on what is know as a Pedigree chart.  Typically these are what is known as a five generation chart.  Start on the left side of the sheet.  Then work your way to the right and fill out as many blanks as you are able.  The top part of the charts is your paternal line (father's side) and the bottom portion is the maternal line (mother's side).  Be sure to fill out the categories of birth, marriage and death.  Please identify the date as follows. ex 4 September 2011.  Include the location of the event. (Toledo, Lucas, Ohio)  Don't worry about filling it all out if you don't have it all.  Reference where you got your information.  A genealogy without proof is fiction.
   Evaluate the blank spots.  This give us the areas where we need to find more information.  At this stage of the search it is now time to contact relatives.  Start by making a list of people you know.  As you go through the contact process be sure to ask for names with others that may be able to help.  Be aware that often the people you think will help and those you don't think will help do.  Information comes from the most unlikely places.  The stories from the oldest to youngest can vary a great deal.  Prior to making the calls, make a list of questions that will help you keep on track.  Tomorrow we will go over a list of questions.

Genealogy- Why Start?

Are you thinking about researching your Family?  Most people face this question at the beginning of their search.  Many start after they retire, but for me it began when I turned thirteen years old.  Some people are just curious about there families past.  For others it becomes a search for medical history.

  One of the first steps in preparing for the search is to look to see what you have on hand.  For me it was a large box that was handed to my mother when one of our relatives died.
  Things to look for include obituaries, family bibles, discharge papers, birth announcements, etc. etc.  Much of this information will not make sense in the beginning, but make sure to keep it.  The family bible often given as a gift when a couple got married was the safe in olden times.  Don't just look at the family information on the inside, but leaf through all the pages.  Here if you get lucky you will find funeral cards, obits or military discharge records.
  Make sure to organize this information for later use. One of the largest challenges for any genealogist is keeping things organized.  This should start from the beginning.  The next step is to contact relatives.

Genealogy Class Begineers Moncolva (Toledo)

The Monclova Community Center will have genealogy expert Derek Davey teaching a six-week course .
Class participants will also have the change to go to the Allen County Library in Fort Wayne, Indiana at the end of the course with Derek. Class size is limited.
When: beginning Friday, September 30 from 10 a.m. – 12 noon