Donna’s Genealogy Blog

Strategies for Starting Your Family History: Home Sources

Mon, 8 Mar 2010 11:32:13 -0500

Now that you’ve learned the basics of citing sources, analyzing evidence and recording your findings, it’s time to start digging. Where to start? We always start with what we know and move back, carefully, analyzing and recording evidence which will lead to new clues. Your search may start with yourself, or it may start with your children. I elected to start with my children, so both my husband’s and my families would be documented.
What documents do you have in your home? Your birth certificate or marriage certificate, or those of your children are probably around the house, or in the bank safety deposit box. You might also have baptismal or confirmation certificates, diplomas, or a family Bible. If your parents have passed away, you may have their death certificates, wills or other documents associated with their estate. Using the skills learned in the earlier lessons, create source citations for each of these documents, analyze the clues they contain writing a short report on the document, make a list of clues to other documents and record the information either on your family group sheets or input the information into your genealogy software or online family tree.
This is probably a good time to talk about paper...in case you hadn’t noticed, genealogy is not a paperless hobby! We collect all sorts of documents which we need to organize. There are all types of filing systems you can select. Most people I know begin with a binder for each family that contains their family group sheets, notes and documents. A pre-punched sleeve can hold original documents, photographs, newspaper articles, but it’s important to make sure that the sleeves you select are archival quality and acid free. You can usually find these at your local office supply store, or online (just google archival sleeves). If you are going to carry your binders with you on research trips, I’d suggest a photocopy of original documents, with the originals stored away in archival materials. Never store newspapers with photos or other original documents, as they have a very high acid level and will damage other documents. These documents should be stored in a safe place in your home where there are no drastic temperature or humidity changes (that means no attics, basements or garages). You’re probably thinking after the last comment that those home source documents we started discussing are in a shoe box in the attic. GO GET THEM NOW!
Another source of information for you are your older relatives. One of my biggest regrets is that I didn’t develop the genealogy bug until after all my grandparents had passed on. Maybe you’re still lucky enough to have those older relatives...don’t waste any time...go interview them! Aunt Sally may not be able to remember what she had for lunch, but can probably regale you with stories of her childhood. Family stores and traditions that are passed down frequently have inaccuracies (it’s like the game of telephone you played as a kid where you whispered sometime to the person next to you, only to get back a very garbled message) but there are usually some bits of truth in them that can be researched. Don’t forget to bring those unidentified photos. Hopefully some one of the older relatives can identify the people in them.
There are so many different types of documents you can find at home that it’s not possible to list them all here. One great worksheet on home sources was created during the Ancestors TV series and you can find it here. The website About.com:Genealogy has great articles including one on home sources. One of the best sources of information at my mother-in-laws was a drawer full of Funeral Cards...I don’t think she ever parted with one! To this day, I go back through those cards on a regular basis. Names that meant nothing to me when I started are now firmly fixed on the family tree. The cards from Ireland gave me the exact location of the family; one card from Queens, New York gave me the Section, Range, Plot and Grave number in Calvary Cemetery; all provided death dates, the name of the funeral home and some gave me maiden names.
You might want to check out some “How To” books at your local library. Below are some of my favorites, along with some online articles you might want to read.
So here is your assignment for the next week....go through you drawers, basement, attic and any other nook you use for storage and look for items that contain information about your ancestors. Cite, analyze and document your findings (either on your Family Group Sheet, software or online) and you’ll be off to a great start.
Happy Hunting!

Questions or comments?

1. Carmack, Sharon DeBartolo. Organizing Your Family History Search, Betterway Books, Cincinnati, 1999.

2. Croom, Emily Anne. The Genealogist’s Companion & Sourcebook, Betterway Books, Cincinnati, 1994.

3. Morgan, George G., How to Do Everything with Your Genealogy, 2nd Edition, McGraw Hill/Osborne. Emeryville, California, 2009.

4. Alzo, Lisa A., “What Do I Care About Those People? They’re Dead,” Ancestry Daily News, 24 January 2006.
http://www.ancestry.com/learn/library/article.aspx?article=10892

5. Witcher, Cur B., “Digging Deeper: Home is Where the Heart Is,” Ancestry Daily News, 4 March 2006.
http://learn.ancestry.com/LearnMore/Article.aspx?id=11049

6. Cyndi’s List, Organizing Your Research

Strategies for Starting Your Family History: Recording Your Findings

Mon, 1 Mar 2010 21:58:33 -0500

Last week I discussed collecting evidence from documents, and beginning the analysis process. Where do you put the information you’ve collected and how do you develop a research plan for the next steps? You may have selected a software package to assist you in recording your findings, but at this point, a word processor will also work (or even hand written notes). Forms can be helpful at this point in recording your information, however it’s important that you focus on the evidence you’ve collected (citing each source) rather than just filling out information you “think” is correct on the form. People have a tendency to want to fill in all the blanks, whether it’s a form or a search box on an internet site...Don’t! Be methodical...it will save you a great deal of time in the future. You don’t want former ancestors! (Those are the ones that got into your database and you’ve been searching for years, only to discover they’re the wrong ones.) Proper research, evidence analysis and recording will prevent this problem.
There are many sites on the internet where you can download forms, and if you’re using genealogical software, you can print out the forms, either blank, or with the information you’ve input during your research. Here are some places to look.
FamilySearch.org
Ancestry.com
CyndisList
Here are the forms I think you need to start.
First is the Source Summary. This is one I’ve created myself. It is just a consecutively numbered worksheet where you fill in the appropriate information for the citation. The format for the citation can be taken from the resources listed in my blog Citing Sources. Remember to fill out the Source Summary first, that way you can refer to the citation number when you’re recording the information from your source. If it is a book or document with multiple references, always provide the detail when you use the source, for example, Date of Death: 20 Feb 1904.6 p204 That way you can later convert the information to a proper footnote or endnote.
Next is the Family Group Sheet. As the name suggests, this form collects all of the information about a family group. As you analyze your document, such as the death certificate of Patrick Moughty we looked at last week, you would fill in the appropriate places on the form with the information from the death certificate. For each piece of information you enter, you would use a superscript number that corresponds to the number on your source summary. For example, you would indicate that his birthplace was Ireland1 and that his mother’s name was Mary.1 You might find another document that contains the exact (or a different) location for birth or his mother’s maiden name, and you would cite that also on the Family Group Sheet. It’s fine to have multiple sources for your information because that will help you evaluate the information.
Once you have extracted the information from the record, you should write an analysis of your findings, and a list of next steps. You might put this in the “Notes” section of your Family Group Sheet, or simply type or write a report.

Patrick J. Moughty
Death Certificate

Evidence

Patrick J. Moughty died 8 May 1973 at his home on 34 Hassake Road, Old Greenwich, Fairfield, Connecticut. He was married to Beatrice Moughty, and born in Ireland [no location given] on 26 Oct 1889 to Bernard Moughty and Mary [maiden name unobtainable]. His Social Security Number was 043-03-2720 and he was a retired chauffeur for Electrolux Corporation. He was not a veteran. The informant on the death certificate was Mrs. Christine Dennis of the same address [his daughter].

According to his death certificate, the cause of death was “Myocardial Insufficiency, 1 wk.” This information was given by the assistant medical examiner (J. Colman Kelly, MD) who certified the death at 8:30 a.m. on 8 May 1973.

The undertaker was Leo F. Gallagher & Sons, Inc., 31 Arch Street, Greenwich, Connecticut. Patrick was buried at St. Mary’s Cemetery, Greenwich, Connecticut on 10 May 1973.

Analysis

Most of the information provided on the death certificate was known with the following discrepancies to be researched:

Middle initial “J” not seen on any other document. What does it stand for?
Wife was always known as “Bridget.” Where did Beatrice come from?
[If not already know, the name of the cemetery would confirm the religion as Roman Catholic.]

Next Steps

Obituary
Birth Certificate
Marriage Certificate
Census Records (both US and Irish)
Immigration
Naturalization
WWI Draft Registration
Social Security Records
Church/Cemetery Records

Source

“Patrick J. Moughty,” Certificate of Death, Connecticut State Department of Health, 8 May 1973, Greenwich, CT, State File Number 211 (1973), Certified Copy.
Note that an analysis of each document in the Next Steps could provide additional (or conflicting) information and might suggest additional Next Steps. Patrick’s obituary, for example, mentioned he was born in Westmeath [one step closer to the information needed for Irish research], and that he had a sibling, Mrs. Ann Ledwith of Westmeath, still living at the time of his death (information not already known). His Naturalization gave his birth date as 18 Oct 1889, however his birth certificate recorded the date as 20 Oct 1888; his mother’s maiden name as Mary Lynn and the townland of birth as Aughnaboy.
If you follow this strategy of analyzing documents and working back one generation at a time, you’ll be more successful with your genealogical research.
One last thing, here’s a great blog from one of my friends, Tom Kemp, that showed up last week. Seems like we may be writing in parallel, so bookmark his blog as well!
Happy Hunting!

Strategies for Starting Your Family History: Evidence Analysis

Mon, 22 Feb 2010 20:24:08 -0500

Last week I discussed source citations. As we look at various sources, be they books, certificates, census records or other artifacts, we are gathering evidence from them and it’s therefore important that we understand what we’re looking at, why it was created, and where the information contained in that source came from. As genealogists and family historians, our goal is to find original sources...documents that were created at the time an event took place by someone with first hand knowledge of the event. We’re not always able to find original documents, but that is the goal to support our research. If a source does not meet the two criteria listed above, it is a derivative source.
The fact that a source is original doesn’t mean the information contained in it is correct. My father-in-laws original birth certificate spells his name incorrectly. All sources contain information and the information can be primary or secondary. Primary information is information given by someone who was a participant in the event or who witnessed it. Other information is secondary. Primary information may contain errors as well. A mother is present at the birth of her child, yet we all know of instances where the birthdate is incorrect.
The third concept is of evidence...direct or indirect. Direct evidence provides the answer we are looking for without the need for additional documentation. A birth certificate with the name of the father and mother of the child. Sometimes there is no direct evidence available and we need to write a proof summary presenting evidence from multiple sources not directly related to the question we are trying to answer. I needed to prove James was the son of David but there was no extant birth or baptismal record. By following James’ land deeds through three New England towns, and two states, along with David’s will I was able to prove that the James who lived in New York was the son of David who died in Connecticut.
If you are new to genealogy, one of the first things you’ll look for are home sources. So what original documents might you find? Birth, death or marriage certificates, naturalization papers, newspaper clippings, obituaries, a family bible, deeds, photographs, military records, legal records, church records...you might find any or all of these plus more. Or, if you family was like mine, you might find none <g>. This is where you want to hope that you are descended from a bunch of pack rats.
Let’s look at an example of a document and analyze the information. The document is an original document, the death certificate of Patrick J. Moughty. The purpose of this document was to register his death, it was created at the time of his death and signed by the medical examiner who was called to the house when he died therefore a witness to the death. A death certificate meets the criteria for an original document.
Next let’s look at the information contained in the death certificate. In the first section we have the name of the individual, the date of his death and the place of death, all primary information. The rest of the information, however, was provided by an informant, in this case, Mrs. Christine Dennis (the daughter). She was not there at her father’s birth, so she only has only secondary information about the events...the information could be right or wrong. Notice that the name of Patrick’s mother was listed as Mary “Unobtainable”...Christine didn’t know her grandmother’s maiden name. This document provides us with a clue to Patrick’s birth, 25 Oct 1889 in Ireland, but we need to find further evidence to confirm this information.
The next section of the death certificate is the medical information. In some states (including Florida) this information is only available to family members and you must request the “long form.”
This information is vital in creating a health history, so make note of the information you find. Patrick’s doesn’t give a great deal of information as he died at home and it was completed by the medical examiner. If he had died in the hospital, there would have been more information.
The last section of this certificate contains information about the funeral home and the cemetery, both of which can be helpful if you don’t know where a person is buried. Although funeral home records are private records, you may be able to obtain additional information if you call or write them. This section also contains the signature of the Registrar, as well as the seal if the record is certified. You do not need a certified copy for genealogical purposes, but some states (including Connecticut) will only provide certified copies.
To record the information from this death certificate, the first step is to create the source citation.
1. “Patrick J. Moughty,” Certificate of Death, Connecticut State Department of Health, 8 May 1973, Greenwich, CT, State File Number 211 (1973), Certified Copy.
Each piece of information you use from this death certificate will have the above citation. If you were putting this information into a pedigree chart it might look like this.
There is other information on the death certificate that doesn’t go on your pedigree chart, but rather on your family group sheet. It tells us that Patrick was married at the time of his death to Beatrice King; that he was a naturalized US citizen; that he was a retired chauffeur from Electrolux Corporation; his address at the time of his death; that he was not a veteran and that his parents were Bernard Moughty and Mary (?). He died of heart failure, he was buried at St. Mary’s Cemetery in Greenwich (which also tells me his religion was Roman Catholic). Based on the above information, what would be your next research steps?
Next week I’ll share where this document led me.
Happy Hunting.

Resources:
Elizabeth Shown Mills, Evidence Analysis - A Process Map, Board for Certification of Genealogists, 2006. http://www.bcgcertification.org/catalog/processmap.html

Strategies for Starting Your Family History: Citing Sources

Mon, 15 Feb 2010 21:20:53 -0500

At recent genealogy meetings I’ve been introduced to a number of people who are just starting their family history...more than I’ve seen for a few years. That’s exciting. TV programs, news broadcasts and newspapers seem to be writing more often about finding your roots. Adopted children are searching for birth parents and hardly a week goes by when one of the news programs doesn’t talk about the importance of knowing your family health history.
It’s a great time to be starting your journey. Those of us who have been searching for more than 10-15 years remember that there was research before the Internet and it required us to travel to archives, courthouses, the the local Family History Center. All of our census research was done off microfilm using soundex or printed indexes. It’s important to remember that you can’t do all of your research online, but today, it’s the way most people are introduced to genealogy.
It still amazes me when I hear the newbies talk about finding their entire family tree online...back to the 1500s, to royalty or to Adam and Eve (yes, there are some online genealogies with such purported claims!) One thing you will quickly find is that most of the genealogies online do not include sources...that makes the information only a clue and you need to find the documentation to verify the accuracy. (And no, quantity doesn’t count on the Internet...just because you found one date in five places and another date in only three, five doesn’t win! It just means that the information has been copied...right or wrong.)
So here’s my advise to newbies (and not so newbies <g>).
If you ask a professional genealogist what advise they wish they had been given at the beginning, nine out of ten will say, “cite your sources.” All of us (if we ever get a chance to work on our own families again) will tell you that we have information from our newbie days and we have no idea where the information came from. And here’s something you can take to the bank...you WILL find conflicting information, whether it is online, in books or in original sources (my father-in-law’s surname is spelled wrong on his birth certificate). If you don’t know the source of the information, how can you evaluate it? Was it original or derivative? Was the information primary or secondary? (If you don’t understand these terms, click here.)
When I realized that sources were important, I purchased a copy of Richard Lackey’s Cite Your Sources: A Manual for Documenting Family Histories and Genealogical Records. Published in 1985, it was considered THE resource. Then came Elizabeth Shown Mills, Evidence! Citation & Analysis for the Family Historian in 1997. This compact 124 page book is the book no genealogist or family historian should be without. Elizabeth often says that citation is an art, not a science, but this book will set you on the right course when citing sources. Two of the main purposes for source citation are so other researchers can find your source and review it, and so you can evaluate information that may conflict. Each piece of information in your genealogical database (name, date, event, location, family story) should have a source citation, maybe even multiple citations (you might find a date in one record and a location in another record).
Elizabeth has since published two editions (2007 and 2009) of Evidence Explained: Citing History Sources from Artifacts to Cyberspace. This book is a whopping 885 pages and close to three pounds. It is a superb book, but may be overkill if you’re starting out. Your library should have a copy if you need to refer to it.
Finally there are two “Quick Sheets,” four page laminated sheets which are quick reference guides. I’ve listed below the information on each of these resources which can be purchased online or off.
So, take the advise of this genealogist and start off on the right foot. Whether you are using genealogical software, or an online service, Cite Your Sources.
Happy Hunting!

Bibliography
Mills, Elizabeth Shown. Evidence! Citation & Analysis for the Family Historian, Genealogical Publishing
Company, Baltimore, 1997.
_______. Evidence Explained, Citing History Sources from Artifacts to Cyberspace, Genealogical Publishing
Company, Baltimore, 2007.
______. QuickSheet: Citing Online Historical Resources, Genealogical Publishing Company, Baltimore, 2005.
______. QuickSheet: Citing Ancestry.com® Databases & Images, Genealogical Publishing Company, Baltimore,
2009.

Who Do You Think You Are?

Mon, 1 Feb 2010 10:27:29 -0500

Isn’t that why all of us started to explore our family history? Knowing about our past provides the connection between generations. There are lots of reasons why people are drawn to family history and genealogy...some for religious reasons, some to join a lineage society, some to pass on to children and grandchildren, and some for health reasons. There’s not a week that goes by recently when I haven’t seen or heard something about the importance of knowing your family health history.
Alex Haley and Roots was a big influence and many started their research at that time. The Internet has and also been a great (or in some cases a not so great <g>) influence. In the next month, two television series with look at the genealogy of some famous individuals. Genealogists, historians and scholars have always done this, and each election year there are revelations about our politicians and their family trees. Last week’s revelation by the New England Historic Genealogical Society (NEHGS) was that Barack Obama and the new republican senator from Massachusetts, Scott Brown are tenth cousins. Obama is also related to Warren Buffett, George Bush, Gerald Ford, Dick Cheney, Hillary Clinton and Brad Pitt. But what about us “regular” people. Who knows? That’s one of the draws.
Now I would never suggest that someone should start researching their family history with a specific connection in mind. We have in many of our libraries, books written at the turn of the century by Gustav Anjou, a purported genealogist who provided star studded genealogies to wealthy individuals, giving them exactly what they wanted...famous connections even when none were warranted.
This Wednesday (February 10th) a new series will debut on PBS entitled Faces of America with Henry Louis Gates Jr. According to the website, “the Harvard scholar turns to the latest tools of genealogy and genetics to explore the family histories of 12 renowned Americans.” The series will run the week of March 3rd.
But wait...there’s more! Beginning Friday, March 5th at 8 p.m., NBC will finally begin the Who Do You Think You Are series. Modeled after a popular British series begun in 2004, this program has been in the works for the past three years. It appears that this year it will finally be released. The program follows seven well know personalities as they search for their family origins. The show is sponsored by Ancestry and a link on the show page invites individuals to start their family tree.
Those of you who read this blog will find these shows interesting, but don’t forget to pass the information on to those who haven’t yet begun their search. I’m sure they’ll thank you.
Happy Hunting!

Irish Genealogy

Mon, 25 Jan 2010 21:25:50 -0500

No one said your Irish genealogy research would be easy, but that’s the fun of it. Although I do quite a bit of work for clients in Ireland, I get very little time to work on my own family. My trip to Ireland last summer allowed me to visit some Irish cousins, but I really didn’t spend any time delving into my family. Perhaps when I go this year, I get that chance. I plan to be in Ireland the first two weeks of July, so if you’re interested in any research, let me know. Some people have asked if I plan to take a group to Ireland to research. Although that’s not my plan for this year, if people are interested in being there in early July, I would be happy to set something up.
Most people have heard that “you can’t research in Ireland because of the fire.” Although the fire at the Public Records Office in Dublin in 1922 was devastating, there are still many records to research your 19th century ancestors. The farther you go back, however, the more difficult it becomes.
Over the past year, a number of new resources have become available for Irish family researchers. As I’ve written on a couple of times, the Irish Civil Registration Indexes at FamilySearch.org (pilot site) are one of the most helpful new resources. Instead of having to order films from the LDS to your local Family History Center, you can now search the birth, death and marriage indexes from 1864, and Protestant marriages from 1845. After 1922 only the Republic of Ireland is available. For more information, I’ve linked a copy of the article I wrote for Digital Genealogist to my Calendar page.
The expansion of the Irish Family History Foundation online database of church records is another great resource. Although you can search the index for free to see the actual certificate costs €5 (about $7). Not all counties are available, but it’s a terrific site for the counties that are online.
Finally, IrishGenealogy.ie. This site is hosted by the Department of Arts, Sport and Tourism and currently has about 1,334,000 Church records of Baptism, Marriage and Death available to view free of charge. The focus so far has been on Kerry and Dublin. Kerry is important, since their records have long been a problem. Although the microfilms of Roman Catholic church records were available at the National Library, they could not be viewed without permission of the Bishop. Last spring, the National Library opened them for viewing and this database is a huge step forward for genealogists researching in Kerry. One of the interesting features of this website is that it will find a name, whether it appears as a name of a child, parent or sponsor. Hopefully the government will continue to populate this site with new records. In addition, this site also has a “Central Signposting Index” covering over 3 million names in eleven counties. It will point you to resources in the county (usually a Heritage Centre) that will be able to assist you with your search.
Remember, if you’re planning research in Ireland, you need to do your homework before you leave. The websites listed above will help you prepare for a successful research trip to Ireland.
Happy Hunting!

Salt Lake City

Mon, 11 Jan 2010 22:52:12 -0500

I’ve just spent six days in Salt Lake City and am sitting at the airport, waiting for my flight home. I wish I had another week! For those of you who have visited the mecca of genealogical research I’m sure you know what I mean...for the rest of you, it’s a trip you need to make.
This week is typically a “winter retreat” week for professional genealogists so there are plenty of friends here with whom to share that wonderful find. Today I found a will from 1678 that I didn’t think existed! I was doing the happy dance big time.
One of the discussions that we’ve had this week is how to get new family researchers to move from the Internet to original records and to use repositories for research in conjunction with their Internet research. The truth is, although many records are being made available on the Internet, the majority of original documents will not make it to the Internet in my lifetime. So many new researchers will try out a few sites and believe that all their ancestors are online...what else do they need to do? Experienced researchers know to treat family trees on the Internet only as hints to your family story. If there are no sources cited you need to question everything. I’m not saying that the trees aren’t interesting. I use them frequently to get hints on where to look for original records. I pulled up one the other day on a collateral line for a client. The individual I chose had an unusual first name, and I came up with six hits. All six hits had the same information, including children born 20 years before the parents marriage and with a range of close to 60 years between the youngest and oldest “sibling.” That would make the mother 10 when the first child was born and close to 70 when the last child was born...not likely. They were all submitted with different family tree names, so either one individual uploaded information multiple times, or more likely, one person uploaded the file, and the other five copied it into their files and uploaded them. Everyone needs to be responsible for making sure whatever they upload to the Internet is well researched and cited.
Much of the work I accomplished this week I could have done at the Family History Center in Sarasota by ordering films, however it would have taken me much longer. At the Family History Library (FHL), I can pull a Grantee index for Allegany County, New York deeds, and make a copy of it, or write down the volume and page number of the deeds I want to view. In this case there were about 30 of them. I then check the volume numbers in the Family History Catalog and create a list of microfilms. I pull the microfilms out of the cabinet and go to the page noted in the index and make a copy of the deed. At home, I would have to order the microfilms and wait a few weeks for them to arrive. At the library I can move from film to film quickly. Cost is also a factor. If I were to order these films it would cost $5.50 each. The FHL has installed new scanner/printers which allow you to either print a paper copy (.10 ea.) or save the document to a USB drive (free). I elected to save all of the documents to my drive so I could transcribe them at home. Besides the deeds, I obtained wills, inventories and vital records for New York, Massachusetts and Connecticut, all in one place. In all cases these were original records that are not available on the Internet. (If you don’t know why deeds are so important to your research, read this.)
When I visit the FHL I schedule my trip from mid-week through the weekend. The library is open from 8 a.m. until 9 p.m. Tuesday - Saturday; until 5:00 p.m. on Monday and is closed on Sunday. I tend to arrive at 8 a.m. and work until mid-afternoon when I have a late lunch/early dinner, return to the library and work until closing. Sunday is my day to (1) visit the Tabernacle to hear the Choir, and (2) to reorganize my work, check what I’ve done, and write reports, which helps me understand what I need to do during my last few days. There’s nothing worse than arriving home to realize the one record you needed you forgot to get (been there, done that).
If you would like more information about researching at the FHL, or if your Society is interested in a trip, please contact me.
Happy Hunting!

My Favorite Document

Mon, 4 Jan 2010 11:04:11 -0500

In the early 1990s, my oldest daughter Sarah was in 9th grade and had an independent study project to complete. She wanted to know more about the Moughty family and so began my involvement in family history. Just to set the record straight, she got an “A” on the project and I got hooked. As I’ve often mentioned, my family has no interest in family history and frequently refers to me as the “crazy lady who chases dead people.”
We were discussing the project at our Sunday night dinner at my sister-in-laws and she excused herself and returned with a shoebox with papers that had belonged to her grandfather. Nestled among the papers was a card that clearly had something to do with his immigration. It said “From Queenstown, October 18th, 1907, Manifest Sheet No. Q12, Moughty, Patrick.”
A few weeks later the family was headed out on a skiing vacation to Park City, Utah, and I stuck the card in my purse. One day, my daughter and I headed to Salt Lake City to visit the famous Family History Library. As it was our first trip and we really didn’t know anything about genealogy, we approached the desk and I pulled the card from my purse asking the person working there if he thought we might be able to find a ship manifest based on the information on the card. He looked at me and said “I’ve never seen an original before!” What did I know...an original what? After checking a few books we were directed to a microfilm reader and shortly thereafter we were looking at the manifest of Patrick “Pop” Moughty age 20, arriving in New York on the Baltic from Moyvore in Westmeath, Ireland. His father, Bernard was his closest relative in Ireland and he had $15. I was hooked!
As you can see from the picture above of immigrants arriving at Ellis Island, this was his Inspection Card that was attached to each arriving immigrant. And yes, it was the original, and no, I don’t carry it around in my purse any longer. It, along with the manifest are the documents that started me on my journey of family discovery.
Perhaps someone in your family has a shoebox, or a strongbox (found under my grandmother’s bed with my grandfather’s change of name petition), or other box containing family papers. Don’t forget to ask. Check with all of your cousins, because you know, they always got the good stuff! You never know what might turn up that will start you, or perhaps even one of your children on a great journey.
I’m off on Wednesday to Salt Lake City for a week of research at the Family History Library...five full days of cranking microfilm (no you can’t do it all on the Internet). Who knew back in 1990, that this would become one of my favorite trips.
Happy Hunting!

Genealogy Resolutions for 2010

Fri, 1 Jan 2010 20:38:20 -0500

I hope you had a wonderful holiday and offer best wishes for a happy, productive and healthy New Year. It seems like only yesterday that we were contemplating Y2K and hoping that our computers would continue working (I didn’t really worry too much about that since I had a Mac). Now, here we are entering a new decade and our lives are definitely not the same. I was working full time, and trying to squeeze my genealogy into the limited free time I had (usually late at night). Today, though I still frequently work late into the night, I rarely have time to focus on my own family.
Perhaps you were not researching your family ten years ago, and don’t realize that most of us spent more time in repositories cranking microfilm or pulling dusty books off shelves than on the Internet. Yes, it’s true, there was research before the Internet <g>. With so many records and books being digitized it’s easy to think that everything you need is going to be as close as your keyboard, but that’s not true.
I’m starting off 2010 with a research trip to Salt Lake City next week (I hope it’s not too cold as I’ve become accustomed to the warm weather here in Florida). Although I am a frequent user of the Family History Center here in Sarasota, an intensive week at the Family History Library allows me to access records faster and accomplish more in a shorter time. That’s for all those records (especially land and probate) that are on microfilm, but not digitized. Spending two weeks in Ireland this past summer was also a great learning experience and I’ll be returning to Ireland the beginning of July of 2010 for another two weeks.
So where are you on your genealogy resolutions for the new year and the new decade? I’ve learned a tremendous amount over the past few years and I plan to continue my education by taking classes, attending conferences and researching not only the hatches, matches and dispatches, but also history and records. A better understanding of history may help you break through a brick wall. For example, through research I’ve been doing for a client, I’ve become interested in the Anglican (Church of England) experience in Connecticut prior to the Revolution. It helps to put into perspective why records for this family have not been available. I also hope to do more writing this year, not only on my blog, but also for other publications. I’m also working on delivering some online classes, so stay tuned.
Finally, I hope to give back by continuing to work on Family Search Indexing. I was active in indexing the Irish Civil Registration Indexes in 2008, but did not do much in 2009. I plan to schedule at least a few hours a month as a volunteer on this very worthwhile project.
I hope you have given some though to your New Year’s Genealogy Resolutions as well. Happy Hunting!

Happy Holidays

Mon, 14 Dec 2009 22:25:35 -0500

Just 10 days left until Christmas. I wonder if Santa will bring me the answers to all of the brick walls on my family? Probably not. However, it will be great to see all of our family and friends. I did get an early Christmas present...a new MacBook Pro. I’m trying to be careful about moving things from my old computer as I need them rather than load it up with all of the “stuff,” but that means that whatever I’m looking for is not where it needs to be (hence no blog last week).
I’m heading north tomorrow with a side trip to Colonial Williamsburg and since we’re driving, I’m taking both computers, three hard drives and various cables, jump drives and of course my iPhone. Hopefully I’ll have everything sync’d up by the time I get back.
I’ll be making a research trip to Salt Lake City, leaving of January 5th, so if you are in need of any research at the Family History Library, please contact me.
May you have a joyous holiday season, and a happy and healthy new year.

Genealogy Odds and Ends

Mon, 30 Nov 2009 09:38:30 -0500

Hope you had a great Thanksgiving holiday. Did you work on your health history? I hope so. I also heard about another family memory project for the Thanksgiving weekend called StoryCorps...check it out. Even though this is a little late for Thanksgiving, hopefully you’ll be getting together again for Christmas and can use some of these ideas.
Last year I created a book for Christmas for my sisters using Ancestry’s MyCanvas that was a great hit. I planned to do the same this year, but the time just got away from me and I’ve come to the conclusion that it’s too late. What I really need to do is start it in January and work on it throughout the year. Maybe I’ll set that as one of my New Year’s Resolutions. I realize that’s coming up soon and I snuck a look back at what I said last year and guess what...I haven’t gotten that done either. What happened to this year!
This weekend while I was flying back and forth to Connecticut I cleaned out most of the 250 or so emails that were still sitting in my inbox. When I’m busy, I tend to leave things there, thinking I’ll get back to them when things slow down, but of course, they never do. I found some video links that I want to pass on.
I always enjoy RootsTelevision.com. They’ve posted some videos from the National Archive on the 1940 census (yes it’s coming but not until April of 2012) that are interesting. Take a look. You can see what’s happening on RootsWebTelevision by subscribing to the Og Blog.
The other video was one put out by the National Genealogical Society. Titled “Paths to Your Past,” this is a 12 minute presentation done by noted genealogists and family researchers.
Happy Hunting!

Happy Health History Day

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 10:31:53 -0500

Did you know that the Surgeon General has declared Thanksgiving Day to be Family Health History Day? If you’ve been reading my blog for a while, you probably already know this as I’ve written on it for the past few years. It is a topic that is near and dear to my heart and I hope you will consider collecting and sharing this information with your family.
I’m visiting Connecticut for the holiday and heard just this morning of a young woman (a cousin of my husband) who was diagnosed with breast cancer and just had a double mastectomy. She lives across the country and when she was diagnosed she had no idea that her great aunt had been diagnosed with breast cancer in her early forties. With the announcements of this past week changing the recommendations for mammograms it is more important than ever to know about your family history. And remember, men can get breast cancer as well.
I hope you’ll take the opportunity to discuss health issues with your family on Thursday.
Happy Health History Day, and Thanksgiving, too!