Ireland Research Hopes Revisited

My turn to blog is a wee bit after St Patrick's Day but the thought of researching the Irish ancestors is not bound by time.

My Irish quest has been begging to start for years. Recently due to a DNA find, I have been sent on a new Irish quest when an O'Toole turned up as an ancient DNA match for our Langley DNA project.
I have felt intimidated by the challenge of delving into the films on FamilySearch or Ireland, and just trying to sort out all the Michaels, Williams, and Margrets that I see when I go to FindMyPast or other Irish sites...words escape me. One thing I do know and follow is...the obvious search for our ancestors begins with a name, and, if you have it, a place. On the Hero's and my mom's side of the family there are many Irish names to look for.
There are some blogs and websites that specialize in Ireland research
Smallest Leaf is one of those. She has so much Irish information and many books listed on her blog. It is wonderful to stop by and browse. Click here to see her blog.
Another site I really like it Irish Genealogy Tool Kit.
I like these because I need someone to give me direction. I am so ingrained in United States research it will take some shift in my paradigms to hopefully finds some success in venturing into Ireland research.
What I have done so far...
I started making a note of all the names I was looking for, variants of the names, and places the names were found.  An example for the is : A Rootsweb site for Researching Irish Names. I searched for Magill from my mom's ancestors. They were adamant in the 1830's per a letter written by John Magill that their family was the only ones who spelled it that way.
"...I have been particular so that you may know if you meet with any person of the name of Magill you can tell whether they are your relation. I have seen several from Ireland that are no kin of mine. They spell their name McGill. They are generally native Irish and Roman Catholic. I recollect to have seen my grandfather's certificate from Ireland dated 1725. It was spelled Magill and all his descendants spell their names the same way. Any who do not are not of our kindred..."  Click here to read the rest of the transcribed letter.
My finding:
MacGiolla ancient of Magill,
Gill,
McGill
Turning to my Hero's Irish ancestors, I was able to glean the following for his known surnames.
Death certificates helped with clues as to where the places were correct.

O'Shaughnessy      
Sandys
FURLONG              Wexford
FURLONG              Wicklow
O'AHERN,               Cork
O'Echtighearn  
Ahern
O'DWYER              Tipperary
Dwyer                      Lemerick
Dyer                         Sligo
O'Breen  
O'Brien

I have toyed with learning Gaelic, but I haven't gotten that far yet.
Besides knowing the surname, I discovered that the old Irish had a naming pattern. Most but not all used it. The Irish Tool Kit website points out that in the 1700s and 1800s those that immigrated to America did use this...making it hard to sort out the descendants when 5 brother, in the same area named their sons in the same pattern (true experience). I have posted on the naming patterns before click here to read the post then click back to return.

I have ascribed to the method of looking to others who have already done research reading how to find records in Ireland, talking to people who have UK experience in searching, and utilizing the free course on FamilySearch.org. I take the time to watch videos by those who have done the walk such as David Rencher's videos Tips for Researching your Irish Ancestors. I HAVE to mention the FamilySearch.org's Irish Collection which includes images... Ireland Historical Records.

There is something so exciting in searching for families that have been apart for years and reuniting them. I love genealogy research and have been excited to share how to research and source with the upcoming generation to get them involved in their history to know their ancestors. So Far, it has been a positive experience for both generations. 😉

Updates for Those Who Use FamilySearch

It has been a while since I have updated about the newest in FamilySearch. The developers and product managers have been moving so fast lately it has been hard to keep up.

They have a FamilySearch Channel on YouTube that keeps people abreast of changes and dreams for the website.

The other big changes have been on the Wiki.  They have done a series of upgrades. If you used to be a Wiki contributor, you may have to request editing rights.  There is a form on the pages to fill out if needed.  The FamilySearch Wiki is up to 84, 488 articles now. So much help is found here. put in a search term and see how many articles there are. FamilySearch has several pages on the Wiki of how to use FamilySearch. This is one such article on FamilySearch Search Tips and Tricks.
They use the Wiki to give instruction and tips on using Family Tree also. This is an example of the articles, it says "Attaching FamilySearch (FS) Records to Family Tree Using the Source Linker" but it is so much more. Click on the title to view.

A personal favorite is the FamilySearch.org/blog.  Just as we have a Worldwide collaborative genealogy blog, they have many guest posts who write about many different aspects of FamilySearch from Roots Tech (which by the way has opened registration for next February 2017. )  to what is the latest changes, Indexing, or someone's stories.

From the blog you can explore everything. I put a red square, or arrow where you can join in. The Search drop down will give you the Wiki. 

If you have not tried all aspects of FamilySearch then, please, jump right in and join the rest of us. There is laughter at stories on the Tree, tears and frustration learning to work hands on with others in the Tree, and shouts of joy at the new discoveries in the FamilySearch collections that are added faster than the indexers can keep up with. I have had many who have tried the Wiki and discovered a place to look for an ancestor which led to a break through.

FamilySearch is my passion, I hope you will love it too.

Being The Bridge.

I have considered this before back in 2014, but due to circumstances of age, losing loved ones, and time, it has come to the forefront of my mind again.  My mom and her twin sister who are the last of their core family of 13 children are nearing 90 and in ill health.

My mother on the left. 

My mother had been the bridge for years in her family reaching out to her nieces and nephews as well as siblings. Now she can't communicate because of health; this caused me to look around and realize that a fractionated family would soon to lose all connection if intervention didn't happen. My first cousins, I was not so much worried about, but the future generations, yes, that concerned me.
Part of the awareness was, I had been pulling my father's family back together reaching back to descendants of my great great great grandfather because they had all lost contact up to the present generation. I started with one cousin and built upon that.
One of the ways I have taken action,was to begin by making private family groups on Facebook and adding the cousins to the family group as I found and collected them.  By sharing pictures and stories, I have been able to reach down to 3rd and 4th cousins that have felt the call to learn of their origins. Below is examples of my journey. I have shared before, but I am sharing it again in the hopes to see others find inspiration to reach out and be the bridge to hold their families together.
When I first began my genealogy blog Branching Out Through The Years, my purpose was to preserve the memories of my husband known on the blog as "The Hero"for our grandchildren.  He really wanted to know them and wanted them to know him.  His choice was taken from him by cancer.

The Hero and I with oldest daughter's first son.

After that, I decided to write the stories of my associations with my relatives, aunts, uncles, grandparents for my children and grandchildren because for the most part they never met or really knew any of them.  This grew to posts about ancestors I wanted to know about and sharing findings with those who were also interested.

Old letters scrapbooked are loved by future generation seeking to know about an individual

When I started on my mother-in-law's family, it was very exciting for her.  She shared her personal stories.  Many times I sat on the floor at her feet and wrote down as she told me.  My sister-in-law also had her write down her personal history so now we have it in her writing.  There is something special about seeing their story in their handwriting as opposed to a transcription or memory by someone else.

Every time I find a book, story, document about an ancestor, I will connect it to the FamilySearch Family Tree , which is a collaborative effort, as a source for others and myself to go back and read to learn more about that ancestor. Their stories make them real, not just a name.
I have used my blog and memes to writing some of my stories. I know, if you don't tell the stories, they are lost and if you find a story you need to share. I can't tell you how many times I look at at family name and wish I knew something of their story.  I have envy that I have to fuss at myself about, when others talk about their family journals.  My dad's family was closed mouth, and now I am recreating their stories.

A great grandfather and one of his sons belonged to the Anti Horse Thief Association. At least they weren't horse thieves. 

There has been research and studies done that shows how sharing your family history and stories shores up your family members when they have challenges, or even national trauma. It is called The Stories That Bind Us.
 I ask you to join in saving the stories for future generations, Be the catalyst in your extended families for sharing, caring, and reaching out to pull cousins together.

as a footnote: I apologize for missing a couple of months. I have an excuse, we had our first core family reunion, first time some of the family had met new members, and first time some had seen each other in 8 years. It was an awesome happening... The other excuse was my mother was sick. Hope that things are back on an even keel again and I will see you next month. Blessings wished for all ya'all from Texas, United States of America.

Napoleon’s Legacy – The Civil Code

Napoleon crossing the Alps

Last month's post on Dutch civil registration brought the influence of the French Empire under Napoleon Bonaparte to my attention. The Civil Code or Napoleonic Code established new, reformed legal principles and procedures that had widespread and profound effects on legal history far beyond the borders of France. A part of the Civil Code of interest to genealogists is the secular administration of birth, marriage and death registration, and the definition of the procedures and documentation of these events.

Laws

The Civil Code was published in 1804 and came into force in France and its territories thereafter. Civil registration in France commenced in 1792, which pre-dates both the Civil Code and Napoleon's rise to power in 1799. Many of the principles espoused by the Code, such as personal freedoms (including religious freedom) and equality, came to prominence during the French Revolution of 1789. The Décret du 20 septembre 1792 qui détermine le mode de constater l'état civil des citoyens was a decree of the French Revolutionary government that set up a secular civil registration system and made marriage a civil contract. This replaced the role of religious organisations had previously played in recording life events for governments. The Civil Code was a comprehensive codification of civil law, which governed interaction between citizens covering a broad scope including property, trade, as well as individual rights and obligations. It largely confirmed the civil registration system that was enacted in 1792.

Wars

The Republic of France was at war almost from its creation in 1789. The French Revolutionary Wars and Napoleonic Wars spanned the period 1792 to 1815. Mass conscription into the French army, which commenced in 1793, was supported by the information gathered by the civil registration system. During these wars much of Europe came under French rule. The extent of the French Empire reached its peak in 1810.

The French Empire in Europe in 1812, near its peak extent.  Alexander Altenhof, Wikipedia CC 

Territories that came under French rule might be expected to adopt the Code during Napoleon's time. The Wikipedia article Napoleonic Code suggests it was adopted in regions that now comprise Italy, The Netherlands, Belgium, Spain, Portugal, Poland and parts of Germany. Does that mean these countries implemented Napoleonic civil registration?

It depends.

The bureaucracy needed to run such a system requires a degree of military and political control, and co-operation from the population. It takes time to establish local officials in a new bureaucratic system or to adapt existing systems.

Guerilla warfare and political upheaval in Spain and Portugal meant that the military and political situation fluctuated throughout the period of French occupation. Civil registration was not implemented in these countries during Napoleonic times, but much later. In Spain, nationwide civil registration commenced in 1871, and in Portugal it started in 1910.

Places where civil registration was implemented by the French Empire were:

Modern Country	Historic Place	French rule start	Civil registration start	Civil registration end
Belgium	Austrian Netherlands	1795	1795-1796	continued
The Netherlands	Batvian Republic (Limburg & Zeeuws-Vlaanderen)	1795	1795-1796	continued
	Batvian Republic (the rest)	1795	1811	continued
Italy	Piemonte	1796, 1801	1804	1814
	Veneto & Lombardia	1797, 1801	1806	1814 or 1815
	Kingdom of Naples	1806		continued
	Papal States	1809	1810	1814
Poland	Duchy of Warsaw	1807	1808	continued
Germany	Rhineland , Baden, Pfalz & Alsace-Lorraine		1792
	Hamburg		1799
	Hessen-Nassau & Hessen		1803
	Westphalia		1808
	Hannover		1809
	Oldenburg & Lübeck		1811

After the final defeat of Napoleon at Waterloo in 1815, some places continued the French civil registration system, but others did not. Some areas re-introduced civil registration at a later date. Parts of Germany replaced the system by using duplicates of parish registers instead. Prussian provinces (later Germany) introduced civil registration in 1874. Nationwide civil registration followed unification in Italy (1860) in1866 and German unification (1871) in 1876. In Poland the system was implemented by drafting the Catholic clergy to act as civil officials. As the boundaries of Poland changed, the system was extended to former German territories in 1874 and former Russian and Austrian territories in 1918.

The last 200 years of turbulent European history resulted in many boundary changes between countries. A common feature of the French system is that records were kept locally, with a copy sent to the district court. Consequently, the trick to tracing ancestors using these records is knowing their place of origin, and tracking down where the records are now held. That is a whole topic of itself!

A Rosetta Stone for European Civil Registration Records

The rich detail and quality of the information contained in Civil Code registration records makes them a very important source for European genealogy. The content and format are remarkably consistent. The Code was very explicit in what was to be recorded, and who could report events, which contributes to the accuracy and completeness of the records.

The language of the records varies with place and time, following the language of the political administration. Languages include French, German, Dutch, Flemish, Italian, Polish, Russian, Ukranian and Latin. The Civil Code is a Rosetta Stone because it specifies what the records should say.

Go and read this English translation of the Code, or if you understand French the original. Come back here when you are ready.

You didn't skip that did you? If so, go read the Code now. Yes, really do.

Impressed by records that specify not only the primary subject's details but also both parent's and witnesses and give details all these people's full names, professions and residence? If you have read the Code you know that is just for starters.

Now take another look at the Dutch marriage I presented last month. Examine other civil registration records with the Code in mind, such as the examples of Belgian records, or explore the online Italian records such as these death records. If you need a little help with the format of records the FamilySearch wiki on Polish records gives a clear account.

Can you see the Civil Code being fulfilled?

Have you thought about joining a Family Society, Association, or Organization?

When I first started to explore my family history, I discovered periodicals that were produced by Family Organizations.  These presented wonderful clues for me.  I was able to follow their research to know how and where to explore to prove my ancestors.  Sometimes the thesis that a researcher on the family presented proved wrong, but isn't that the purpose?  You present and idea and then prove or disprove it?  They collaborate with information and delight in sharing pictures or "finds" they have made.  It is a place you can bounce ideas off of.  Researchers are the beneficiaries of the newsletters or publications which the member's donations fund the subscriptions to various libraries. (I funded the Vance Newsletter for Clayton Genealogical Library in Houston.)  Many now have a DNA project they manage for their surname.  Don't be discouraged if you aren't a male descendant. Many are beginning to recognize the value of atDNA tests (autosomal) and are adding them.

My example of a newsletter front.

How do you find your "Family Organization?"  Some Organizations are a Surname that pulls in people that had the same surname.  I found in the United States, it often follows the theme of a myth, for example:"three brothers came to the United States..." For my Mayflower ancestors, there were is the lineage society of the Mayflower and individuals, such as The Pilgrim John Howland Society.  I am being simplistic here; there are many family societies of all shapes and sizes. Some require a membership fee, usually because they have a project which fees provides funds to support.  Some don't have membership fees, but do require a pedigree to prove relationship.  Again, I am just giving examples.  

Finding your Family Organization or Association may prove problematic.  You can find some that are listed in books written by people who have researched names, periodicals in the genealogy department, and organizations like the Federation of Genealogy Societies membership.  Directory of Family Associations Paperback –1996 by Elizabeth Petty Bentley (check your local library, or it is available in paperback online) is one book available.  

On the internet, searching for a surname organization is not always intuitive.  The title could be an acronym instead of the name. Some of the organizations are not on the internet or have moved to social media sites like Facebook.  That is when organizations like the United Kingdom FFHS and Cindi’s List come in handy.

I have the privilege of helping compile and add Family Organizations to a FamilySearch Wiki page.   It has been sad to see many old organizations have disbanded because of age related problems, since no new younger people showed and interest.  There are many unanswered or unproven mysteries in family files.  Those who have proven their ancestors can help the new or continuing researcher to sort out the records best for the researcher's use. There is good to be done by participating in a Family Society.  I digress.

Going back to my "job", for those of you that know of a Family Society, Organization, or Association, come to the Wiki, see if it is there, if it is not add it.  The word is Wiki. It is for anyone to edit, correct or add information to. It is good advertising to seek out members.

These are some resources for seeing if your Family Society is still active and you can join. 
Some family societies join State and Nation Societies where you can find a list.
Federation of Genealogical Societies

The UK FFHS gives a list of Guild of One Name. 

Directory of Family Associations Paperback –1996 by Elizabeth Petty Bentley (check your local library, or it is available in paperback online. 

Cyndi's List has Surname, Family Associations and Family Newletters.  unfortunately through no fault of her own, many links are broken.   

Sometimes when associated with a specific organiztion you can find them on the Wikipedia such as the List of Mormon Family Organizations.  It says Mormon but many are New England ancestors common to member and nonmember alike.

Another resource is GenWeb Counties like Washington, Tennessee, they list Associations related to their county. 
Some Blogger's have lists on their blogs too. 

This is the FamilySearch Wiki pages. It is a work in progress; names have been searched and discovered through the internet. 

Genealogy Research in Spain

I’m a thirteenth generation American married to a first generation American.  My husband’s family is from Spain.  He was born in New York City while his father was working at the United Nations.  Not another member of his family was born in the USA, except for our daughter. Learning how to research his genealogy was something completely new to me! 

My husband grinning after finding an ancestor
in the church record books of Sinovas, Burgos, Spain

Working on my husband’s family tree doesn't necessarily mean that we have to physically be in Spain.  Here are several hints for working on Spanish genealogy. 

1.        All family research starts with YOU and then you work your way backwards.  Start with interviewing family members.  We’ve used snail mail (the US Postal service), email, and Skype to ask questions.  This can work with relatives in any foreign country.

A typical Libro de la Familia from Spain

2.     In Spain all families must register their births, marriages, and deaths in a “Libro de la Familia”.  Every family has a copy of this book.  These were started by the Ministerio de Justicia under Francisco Franco, and the practice continues today.  Each book shows the heads of households, marriages, children, etc. It is an invaluable resource.   There are additional pages for other civil registrations, orphans, widows, places of employment, residence changes.  It’s a treasure chest!

3.     From the oral history and the “Libro de la Familia” you will be able to discern where each family unit lived in order to search for church records.  The Catholic Church was the official church for most of Spain’s history, although you might find that some family members belonged to other religions.  Most churches have uninterrupted records back to the 1600s except in cases of wars, such as the Napoleonic Wars in Spain (The Peninsular War 1807 – 1814).  During this time period many church records were lost.

4.       In the case of lost records, don’t despair.  One of my husband’s paternal lines came from the village of Sinovas in the province of Burgos, where the records were destroyed during the Peninsular War.  The Catholic church records after 1814 name the parents and grandparents on the births, marriages and deaths so I was able to still go back another two or three generations to the mid-1700s with these families.

The marriage of Celestino Garcia and Joaquina Munoz, in the village of
Barba de Puerco, Salamanca, Spain 1 December 1877

5.   Many Spanish church records have been microfilmed by the LDS church.  You can find these films online at familysearch.org   If you are lucky these images have been digitized, such as the villages for my husband’s maternal grandmother’s side of the family in Salamanca province.  If not, you can view these films at your local LDS church’s family history library.

6.     After searching church records, other records to use include town histories, tax records, military records and other documents from Spain.  These are sometimes available through Family Search, and also online at the Spanish National Archives website  http://en.www.mcu.es/archivos/MC/AHN/   or the National Library of Spain http://www.bne.es/en/LaBNE/ArchivoWeb/    where you can search by surname, village or topic.

Good luck!  Buena Suerte!

International Collaboration

Last month I wrote of my intention to join the Familysearch Worldwide Indexing Event, this is a followup post. 

“Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much” - Helen Keller. 

I am rather proud of the new badge (right) that my personal blog is wearing. Although I am pleased to have made a small contribution to the Familysearch Worldwide Indexing Event I am proud because the Worldwide event highlighted the benefits of collaboration in the genealogy and family history sphere. Just as our blog Worldwide Genealogy brings together genealogists from around the world whose individual contributions combine to produce this blog as a resource for the Worldwide genealogy community the Worldwide Indexing Event brought together genealogists from around the workd to index digital resources from Familysearch.

The Familysearch blog reports that 66,511 indexers collaborated in this event and "While the focus for this challenge was on the total number of participants, a tremendous amount of indexing and arbitration work was accomplished as well. Here are the results for the number of records indexed and arbitrated.

Indexed: 4,682,746

Arbitrated: 941,932

Total Records Processed: 5.7 million"

If you have ever trawled through pages of unindexed Familysearch digital images you will appreciate the value of having more than 5 million new records indexed.

What made this event even more special for me was another collaborative effort, a Google Hangout on Air - GeneaSleepOver: Worldwide Indexing Event,  spearheaded by DearMyrtle and her Cousin Russ Worthington. (I will add links to the four Youtube videos from this event to the bottom of this post.)

I listened to and chatted to the hosts Myrt and Russ and other panelists from the US and UK while I indexed my few batches, at one stage the camera was directed to my computer screen as I worked on indexing one of my batches. That was quite a challenge for a newbie indexer. Myrt had also asked me to join and talk aboout a topic of my choosing, I elected to chat about Australian Royalty - those people who have and are proud of their convict ancestry. 

I watched and listened to the Hangout for around 8 hours of the 24, I was on the panel at the beginning and rejoined for the end. I was thrilled to chat with fellow Worldwide Genealogy bloggers, young Australian genealogist and new indexing volunteer Caitlin Gow and Hilary Gadsby from Wales who has blogged about her indexing experience.

 In Australia we talk about the Tyranny of Distance, being able to participate in the Hangout while participating in the Worldwide Indexing Event broke down the barrier of isolation we sometimes feel in Australia. Thanks to Myrt and Russ for organising this event.

GeneaSleepOver: Worldwide Indexing Event - Video (a):



GeneaSleepOver: Worldwide Indexing Event - Video (b):


GeneaSleepOver: Worldwide Indexing Event - Video (c):



GeneaSleepOver: Worldwide Indexing Event - Video (d):

Payback

I don't know about you but I have found the Famlysearch website (and before that the IGI microfiche) most useful resources for my family history research. I have used theses resources provided freely and generously by The Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter Day Saints (LDS) over many years. I have also made use of the Famlysearch Centres in both London and Salt Lake City.

When I was at Rootstech in 2012 there was a big drive by Familysearch (an initiative of the LDS) to find volunteers to index the 1940 US Census that was due to be released in April that year. I considered signing up to be an indexer but because my keyboarding skills are so woeful I did not  join.

Last week I tuned into DearMyrtle's Wacky Wednesday Hangout on Air to find that the topic was Familysearch Indexing. During the program Myrt demonstrated how to log in to Familysearch, sign up for indexing, download the indexing software, set it up, do some indexing and upload your work. It didn't look too difficult at all and there is lots of online support for indexers. After watching the demonstration I thought that I should have a go so I downloaded the software and joined up.

To date I have indexed  200 records in five batches of forty records each, although they have all been at Beginner Level some have been typed and easy to transcribe while others have been handwritten by people whose handwriting left a lot to be desired. I don't know that I'll ever progress to Intermediate Level! To ensure accuracy all  indexing is checked by an arbitrator, so far I have scored between 78% and 100% agreement from my arbitrated batches, I only made a couple of typos but I will try to be more careful. The lower percentages were from the batches of handwritten records I indexed. I am sure that as I get more used to reading tricky handwriting I will improve. I must also remember that quality is better than quantity, I will try to take my time.

With a large family that creates lots of ad hoc commitments I find it difficult to make a commitment to volunteering on a regular basis at a given place and time. Contributing to the Familysearch indexing project (as with doing text corrections for Trove) allows me to do some volunteering say thankyou in some small way to Familysearch for al the information they have given me over the years.

I am looking forward to July 20 and 21 when Familysearch is holding a Worldwide  Indexing Event for old and new indexers to break the record set in 2012 when 49,025 indexers  and arbitrators joined together to index records.

Will you be joining me at the Worldwide  Indexing Event?

Family History - A Key to Meaningful Conversation

I am presently on the high seas on a cruise ship and have lost track of time. I note that the post for the 3rd of May has already appeared but I also note that in Hawaii and other places in the Pacific it is still the 2nd of May so I am bashing out a post and hoping that the ship's internet will behave and allow me to post it before midnight.

What strikes me as I enter into conversations with fellow cruisers and visit sites in various countries is that many people outside my genealogy circle are interested in family history especially if it relates to a place or location familiar to them. Being able to make a connection with a fellow traveller from a village or town through a story of one of my ancestors from that area breaks down barriers and enables one to enter into meaningful and interesting conversations. 

I just had coffee with a Scotsman who loves whisky, he was waiting for the bar to open. When I told him we had ancestors from Islay, home of eight malt whisky distilleries, we were able to skip those questions one normally asks when meeting someone new and launch into a meaningful conversation about Islay, the clearances and beautiful 12th century Scottish Churches. That gentleman is presently paying someone to research his Scottish roots. When his wife from Aberdeen joined us I told her of my issues in tracing my "James Duncan" from Aberdeen ; she wished me luck and said "That is like trying to find John Smith".

Yesterday a lady noted that I had a Familysearch pen and that started a conversation. It turns out that she is an avid family historian and was most impressed that I had such a prize. Our conversation immediately turned to the village in which she lives, the lectures she attends and a discussion of the  1801, 1811, 1821 and 1831 English Censuses.

The Americans on this trip are well travelled but very few of them have ventured to the genealogy mecca of Salt Lake City. So many have been interested in our stories of visits to that place for Rootstech and The Family History Library and have asked many probing questions..

On this trip I have connected with people from the UK, Ireland, Canada and the US with whom I have been able to discuss family history and places that are familiar to them. My family history stories have given me a set of keys to enter into interesting conversations with fellow travellers.

My Brick Wall Continues to Haunt me.

When I first started researching my family history, I asked my father, where did his grandfather come from?  His answer was "He came across the Mississippi River and he lost his wife and child while crossing.  My mother never talked about it."  I was also led to believe they were from Oklahoma...
How I began my journey back was written here on my blog.
Levi Edwin Gildon was my great grandfather.  His father was Charles R Gildon son of Charles Gildon born 16 Feb 1773 in Norwich Twp,New London,Connecticut to Richard Gildon and Issabelle.  I had found Charles R early on in Texas and found that he was born in Connecticut researching the censuses.  The birth I first found on the old FamilySearch.org IGI files.  The data is now found in the Indexed records "Connecticut, Births and Christenings, 1649-1906," index, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/F74M-P76 : accessed 17 Apr 2014), Charles Gildon, 16 Feb 1773; citing ; FHL microfilm unknown.
There are several researchers who think his middle name could be Rawles... no rhyme nor reason for this. Why not Richard after his dad?  Which brings me to my mystery man, Richard Gildon.
Richard Gildon, as I said above, was first found on Vital Records in New London County, Connecticut as father to Charles. The next record I found was in "Record of service of Connecticut men in the I. War of the Revolution, II. War of 1812, III. Mexican War", Connecticut. Adjutant-General's Office; Johnston, Henry Phelps, 1842-1923 Hatford, Connecticut 1889 Page 6.
Found now on Archive.org;  https://archive.org/details/waroftherevolution00recorich
Richard was a responder from Canterbury to the call for defenders at the battle of Lexington. He was one of the minutemen.

Fold3, Revolutionary War Rolls, Connecticut, Chester's Regiment of Militia (1776 - 77) folder 201 page 58 

Then in the book, "Old Houses of Antient Norwich" Mary E Perkins, Norwich, Connecticut, 1895 pages 331 - 332, and 462, Richard is mentioned again.  He had a shop/home which is later identified as Charles Gildon leather shop, making fine saddles, gloves, etc.  Many wondered where Charles apprenticed.
After the revolutionary war, Richard does not appear in any records found so far.  His wife is the head of household in the first census. No notation in the books as to his possible demise or where he came from. I have kept an eye open to Virginia and the possibility of him traveling north from the Northern Neck of the land where a Charles Gildon b about 1750  married a Mary Dixon in 1771.
I dug around in old newspapers and found a possibility in a Pennsylvania Newspaper on Newspaper.com; Page 63 Richard Gilding, John McIntire 12/15 1768, English 25 breeches maker 4 days, Sunday, 2 pounds, 5'4-5.The Pennsylvania Gazette.  Gilding is an alternative spelling for Gildon and the leather working would work.
Then I found an advertisement in 1766 for letters waiting in Annapolis, Anne Arundel, Maryland, USA for a Richard Gildon.
My hopes are up that I will be able to prove these are my Richard, but much work is needed for proofs.  It was hoped by first researchers that his son Charles would tie them to Charles Gildon the writer, who wrote against the Pope.  A possibility, but I have never seen any children for Charles Gildon and his brother, Joseph, became a priest.  I would say the connection would more likely be that my Richard was a dissenter too and wanted to honor the writer.
There is also the possibility that his beginnings are hidden by misspelling of the last name as Gilden or Gilding.  All these variables keep me going back every once in a while with hopes for a break through that will take me across the pond to tie Richard to the many Gildons in England.
I am traveling again. Hailing from Idaho, US this time.

Playing with FamilySearch Family Tree

My choice of subject for this month, is Family Tree on FamilySearch.org. I work with many on learning about the Family Tree as well as using it, so I have heard a lot of mixed feeling about a global tree that everyone can work on together.
Why would one want to work on a community tree? Lots of good reasons, finding new family, learning information you did not know before, finding pictures of family that you did not have, companionship over tearing down a brick wall, and accomplishing so much more.
A negative I frequently hears is "you have to learn to play nicely with people who don’t agree with you". There is a solution, if you don’t agree, the one can show the sources and proofs that a fact is true wins. Do I sound like your mother who was questioning you and your brother when ya’all were called in after a squabble?
For those of you new or who haven’t started using it yet, I will share just a little and then point you in the direction of the wonderful videos that have been made by FamilySearch to assist everyone in using the program correctly. I REALLY recommend it so you don’t end up deleting a treasured family member. Holy smoke! I did that following the wrong person’s advice, since that moment in time, FamilySearch has put in some safe guards. Whew!
I have found many people don't know to go beyond 'search' when using FamilySearch.org. They don't know how to find the collections or that the 'learn' at the introduction of a collection is invaluable source of information. It will tell you what is included in the collections. My illustration is numbered 1 - 5. If you scroll down from the top of 1 to 2, then you can choose a country, 3. choose your place you want to search, 4. your collection, and 5. learn more to find out what is in the collection.
Hope this helps.

 This link will tell you more about the FamilySearch Wiki. https://familysearch.org/learn/wiki/en/Help:Tour

The newest features on FamilySearch Family tree are:
The ability to search from the person on the tree by clicking on the link “search records” under: Research Help which will include the person’s information in the search.
The new Memories link at the top, when clicked on, shows how many documents, pictures or stories have been added.

There is also a link at the top labeled Sources, which when clicked on, takes you to the sources listed. If you click on the source, you will see a link to the source as well as why it was added.

There is the ability to generate reports by clicking on the one of the labels in the box call Print.

There is also a thing called Life Sketch above the person’s details.

 Randy Seaver on Genea-Musings did a wonderful job showing how to use this. http://www.geneamusings.com/2013/10/adding-life-sketch-and-notes-to.html

Now the videos…
The route to learn more through videos is not intuitive.
1. You click on “Get Help” on the upper left hand corner of the page. A drop down appears, now you will choose Learning Center Video Courses. Don’t get distracted by all the wonderful courses and videos; we are going to do one more step.
2. In the Search Box type “Family Tree”. This will then give you all the helps with Family Tree you can use to make it a pleasant experience.

I hope this has been a pleasant journey, and invite you join me on Family Tree. I trust the owners of FamilySearch to do as they promise: to preserve the stories, pictures, and genealogy for generations to come. They are dedicated.

Howdy, From Texas... This Month

Hi, I am Fran Langley Ellsworth, also known as the Hummer.  It fits, as I “flit” from state to state visiting and loving on my children and grandchildren.

I was born an Okie (means I am from Oklahoma) but found my heart lies in my ancestor’s state of Texas, where I live now. Hmm, that means I must be from the United States.  I was married 39 years to my Hero. He was the reason I started blogging. I wanted to write his stories, and now it has branched out to our (his and my) ancestors.  Stop by and visit at the garden gate on Branching Out Through the Years to find out about the Hero stories, and my genealogy progress. I also have a blog about the joys of my life, Joyous Tomorrows. The Hero and I had 6 children, 4 girls and 2 boys.  Now, I have 23 grandchildren with one on the way. Life is so interesting. 

My six loves with the Hero.

You will find me on Twitter, Facebook, and Google+. I never started out to be a Social Media butterfly, I mean Hummer J, but after the hero died in 2008, I joined the ranks of the FamilySearch Genealogy support missionaries. I have worked in support in FamilySearch Indexing, in FamilySearch Wiki, in FamilySearch product support, and on Facebook Genealogy Research pages, I am struggling at present, as many are, to master the FamilySearch Family Tree, and, in general, social media support for FamilySearch. It has been wonderful and so many I have met this way have mentored my growth in blogging. I love the genealogy community and their loving support. 

Blogging about Indexing.

I love the sleuthing it takes to find an ancestor. It is better than putting a 1000 little pieces of a puzzle together, which my mother-in-law did as a hobby.  The Hero’s mom was from a Southern heritage, while his dad’s side of the family came from England and Ireland to Canada to the United States. Well, with one exception, his great grandmother’s parents were from Germany. Their story has been fun to tell. My family on the other hand, came to the United States on the Mayflower, my mom’s side and my dad’s, or so early I haven’t found my way back across the pond.  I have my hopes.  I have also entered the world of Autosomal DNA genealogy trying to prove some of my paper trails.  DNA is a new learning curve. I am now looking forward to the journey on the Worldwide Genealogy Collaboration  Project. 

The hardest part is staying focused. 

So that is pretty much me, I may be in California pinning my blog or in Idaho, maybe Oklahoma, but mostly in rural Texas with my birds, trees, and woodland critters keeping me company.