Findmypast.com Announces Partnership with Federation of Genealogical Societies

The following announcement was sent to Olive Tree Genealogy

Findmypast.com Announces Partnership with Federation of Genealogical Societies

Partnership makes records available to findmypast.com and

creates a vital source of revenue for local societies

LOS ANGELES, August 30, 2012 –Findmypast.com, an international leader in online family history research, today announced a national partnership with Federation of Genealogical Societies (FGS) to preserve, digitize and provide access to local records from genealogical societies across the country.

The collaborative initiative will help preserve genealogical records and provide a vital revenue stream for the societies. Throughout the remainder of 2012, findmypast.com will release records from the following pilot partners:

·         New York Genealogical and Biographical Society, the most authoritative source for research on New York families
·         Illinois State Genealogical Society
·         Williamson County (Texas) Genealogical Society

“As we aggressively grow our business in the U.S., we are looking to form partnerships that benefit both the genealogical community and findmypast.com,” said Chris van der Kuyl, CEO of brightsolid, the parent company for findmypast. “This partnership will benefit our customers by giving them access to records that can’t be found anywhere else and participating societies will receive royalties for record images viewed.”

The records are a fantastic addition to a growing collection of US records on findmypast.com. FGS members who participate will reach new audiences as each society and their collection will be promoted by findmypast.com. 

The society collection complements the new US and international records that will be made available on findmypast.com and could include:

·         Newspapers and obituaries
·         Bible records
·         Cemetery records
·         Birth, marriage and death records
·         Land records
·         Court records

“Through its partnership with findmypast.com, the Federation of Genealogical Societies is pleased to offer a way for its member societies to engage with content providers and publishers,” said Pat Oxley, President of FGS. “Currently, one of the biggest challenges for societies is the pressure to provide online content, while also growing their membership and operating budgets. Through this partnership, societies will generate income and entice new audiences.”

Photo Archive: Facey, Elgie & Wilford Treasure #2

This is photo #2 from our Photo Archive: Facey, Elgie & Wilford Families

We know these are Facey sisters, daughters of Samuel Facey and his wife Margaret Wilford.

But we aren't sure which daughters they are! Sam and Maggie had daughters Redgon born 1880, hubs' great grandmother Mary Louise, born 1882, Nellie born 1885, and Margaret Jane (aka Jenny) born 1900.

FREE Access to all US Census Records on Ancestry.ca

All U.S. Census FREE ACCESS

Ancestry.ca is giving FREE ACCESS to ALL of the U.S. Census records (1790 - 1940) including the newly launched U.S. 1940's Census.

Free access to 713 million U.S. census records begins Wednesday August 29th - Monday September 3rd, 2012 on Ancestry.ca. To view a full list of the collections, go to Ancestry.ca

You can also search these census records for free on Ancestry.com during this time period.

Search All U.S. Censuses FREE on Ancestry.com

With the completion of the 1940 census index there now are more than 713 million U.S. Federal Census records online and fully searchable from 1790 through 1940. To celebrate this unprecedented access to all publicly available censuses, Ancestry.com a great offer for you

Search all U.S. Censuses free
From August 29th through September 3rd, Ancestry.com is opening all of its U.S. census records – FREE.

You can also search these free records on Ancestry.ca during the same time period. 

Flip-Pal mobile scanner 2012 Back to School and Labor Day Sale

Morning everyone! Had to let you know about the Flip-Pal Mobile Scanner 2012 Back to School and Labor Day Sale

The following promotion codes are valid 12:00 a.m.–11:59 p.m. Mountain Time (-6 GMT) on their respective dates when ordered on the Flip-Pal Mobile Scanner shop page.

Not sure where or when you would use a Flip-Pal Mobile Scanner? See how I use mine - on the road, at home, on the couch, creating borders for photos, and more. I've scanned family photos and memoirs with my 87 year old auntie. I've taken it to archives, museums and libraries to scan documents, I've created pretty borders for treasured family photos - the list of what you can do with Flip-Pal Mobile Scanner is endless.

August 27-30
Save $20 when you purchase a Flip-Pal Mobile Scanner plus a Deluxe Flip-Pal mobile scanner Carry Case with Pocket!
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August 31-September 3
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September 4-7
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Please note: these promotional codes cannot be used in conjunction with other promotion codes.

Genealogy Treasure No. 5: 1904 Land Deed O'Ray-Hall

This is the fifth set of documents in the batch I purchased at an antique store in Kingston Ontario July 27, 2012. For details, see Found! Treasure Trove of Land Documents from Ontario Canada

 This is a Deed of Land dated 23 February 1904 between C. O'Ray et ux (and wife) and F. H. Hall

Details: Gertrude E. Walker, stenographer, Napanee, Lennox & Addington Co., takes oath that she witnessed signatures of Charles O'Ray, farmer, and his wife Margaret.

 Frederick Harold Hall, farmer, paid $2600.00 to Charles O'Ray for East 75 acres of Lot 16, Concession 6, Richmond Township, Lennox & Addington Co. Ontario

More documents will follow as I scan them and extract their details.  You may view all documents in this collection by clicking on Lennox-Addington Collection in right hand nav bar.

 If you are a descendant and would like to see these records, they are now with Lennox and Addington County Museum and Archives,
97 Thomas Street East,
Napanee, Ontario
K7R 4B9

What Type of Genealogist Are You?

My husband and I are very different genealogists. I love research. I love the challenge of the hunt, the mystery waiting to be solved. I'll research anyone's ancestry, it doesn't have to be mine. I just love solving the puzzle. Of course I also love finding my own ancestors!

Hubs however dislikes research. He finds it tedious and a lot of work.  He loves finding an ancestor, or better yet, having someone else find that ancestor for him. He's passionate about his ancestry, but avoids the actual research whenever possible. Family lore is enough for him, he has no need to find sources to verify it. If it's important enough to him, he'll force himself to push through the research but he'd rather I did it for him. As he says, if he were rich, he'd hire someone to do all the research for him.

I'd hate that, and in fact I often feel bad that I'm doing so much that I'm not leaving my grandchildren the fun of the hunt!

It seems to me that there are several types of genealogists -

The Hunter or Detective: This genealogists loves the research. While they want to find their own ancestors, they'll research anyone's ancestry just for the thrill of the hunt. They are easily sidetracked from their own ancestral research by the challenge of solving a stranger's brick wall

The Gatherer or Ancestor Collector: This genealogist loves to know about their ancestors but doesn't really enjoy the hunt. Is happy to have their family tree handed to them

The Ancestor Finder: This genealogist loves it all - doing the actual research and finding that elusive ancestor but they only enjoy researching their own family tree, not the ancestry of strangers.

The Hoarder: This genealogist does lots of research, finds new things about their ancestors but refuses to share any of the information

The Junkyard Collector: This genealogist gets excited over online Family Trees and merges them with his/her own. He/she never verifies anything or checks their facts. Before long they have a mess of unsourced information, conflicting data and facts that don't make sense. They'll have female ancestors having children at the age of 100, or men born 50 years after their spouse or children born before their parents.

The Scholar: This genealogist lives and breathes source citations.  Accuracy is everything to this research. You'll often find this person submitting articles to scholarly journals as the NYGBR. Page after page of red edit marks don't intimidate them, they'll plow through their article drafts, refining and revising and making each more accurate than the last.

The Analyzer: This genealogist finds a new fact, then studies it and analyzes it carefully before moving on to the next bit of research. They use each fact as a stepping stone to more research. They verify every piece of information they find and they view it critically, thinking about what it actually means and what other clues might be gleaned from it.

The Planner: This genealogist is a faithful keeper of research logs. He/she creates research plans and follows them. They are extremely organized in their research and meticulous about planning before they go on a research trip

I'm not judging any specific type as the best or the worst except the junkyard collectors who make me shudder and shake my head in bewilderment.

Some of us may fit more than one category. I am definitely a Hunter-Detective but I'm also a little bit of a Scholar. I don't live and breathe source citations but I have submitted articles to scholarly journals and I've faced the red editing pen with determination. I'm also an Analyzer.  Hubs on the other hand is a Gatherer. He doesn't seem to fit any other categories.

Where do you fit in?

Image credit: http://www.freedigitalphotos.net

Family Tree DNA 3 Day Sale!

Family Tree DNA 3 Day Sale! At this time these are the only two options, and they are geared specifically for newcomers. This sale will end on Saturday, August 25, 2012 at 11:59PM.

New Customers Only Current Price SALE PRICE Family Finder + Y-DNA 12 $339 $249 Family Finder + mtDNA $339 $249

As with all promotions, orders need to be placed by the end of the sale and payment must be made by end of this sale. Family Tree DNA

 

No Family Tree Maker 2013 - Bonus Features on FTM 2012 Instead

Many genealogists have been eagerly waiting to hear when Family Tree Maker 2013 will be released. Things a little different this year at Ancestry.com . Instead of creating a new version of the software, the team has been putting all of its resources into improving Family Tree Maker 2012 so you get new bonus features throughout the year.

If you haven’t purchased or upgraded at Ancestry.com to Family Tree Maker 2012 yet, there’s never been a better time.

Since Family Tree Maker 2012 was released last fall, a number of updates have been sent out that include improvements and new features. Here’s a list of just some of these great changes:

• Numerous enhancements to TreeSync so syncing your tree to Ancestry.com is faster and more reliable
• A new Family View Report that displays a person’s ancestors, spouse, and children together (similar to the Family View in the People workspace)
• A new Undocumented Facts Report that lists people’s facts that have no source documentation
• The ability to merge info from multiple versions of the same fact
• New source templates for the 1940 U.S. census and improved support for city directories
• Dozens of report enhancements including performance improvements and new options in the relationship chart, family group sheet, Individual Report, Notes Report, Data Errors Report, Outline Descendant Report, Media Item Report, photo albums, Media Usage Report, Documented Facts Report, and calendar

And there are more enhancements to come in the next bonus update—so stayed tuned.

Photo Archive: Facey, Elgie & Wilford Families

Aren't family treasures wonderful? A few days ago hubs resurrected dozens of photos from the late 1800s, early 1900s that were found in his great aunt's house after her demise.

He can identify many of the people, but there are dozens of photographs (I haven't counted them all yet) and probably half of those are of people not known to him. We'll start posting these photos here on Olive Tree Genealogy blog in hopes descendants will spot an ancestor.  Please let us know if you do.

The great aunt who owned these photos was an Elgie from the St. Mary's Ontario area, whose mother was a Facey. Extended family members in the photographs are from the Facey and Wilford families.

These two photos are of hubs' great-grandmother Mary Louise Facey. She was born in 1882 in W. Nissouri Township, Middlesex County Ontario to parents Samuel Facey and Margaret Wilford. Mary Louise married William Elgie and they settled in St. Mary's, Blanchard Township, Perth County.




 

Genealogy Treasure No. 4: 1877 Mortgage Carscallen-Andrews

This is the fourth set of documents in the batch I purchased at an antique store in Kingston Ontario July 27, 2012. For details, see Found! Treasure Trove of Land Documents from Ontario Canada

This document is a mortage dated 10 January 1877 between William Carscallen and Elizabeth Andrews.

Details: William Carscallen of Richmond Township and Jane his wife. Elizabeth Andrews, wife of David, lumber merchant.

Land in question: East 1/2 of East 3/4 of Lot 16, Concession 6, Richmond Township, Lennox & Addington Cos Ontario.

More documents will follow as I scan them and extract their details. You may view all the documents in this collection by clicking on Lennox-Addington Collection in right hand nav bar.

 If you are a descendant and would like to see these records, they are now with Lennox and Addington County Museum and Archives,
97 Thomas Street East,
Napanee, Ontario
K7R 4B9

Evernote Tutorial: Creating a New Notebook in the Evernote Mobile App

Evernote is something I can't live without. I use it daily, in fact, several times a day. I clip recipes I find online. I use Evernote to save receipts for online purchases. I make point form notes of ideas for future genealogy blog posts.

If you're familiar with Evernote you know it's easy to create a new notebook on your computer or laptop. Just click on FILE then in the dropdown menu you choose New Notebook. Simple!

But I often use Evernote on my iPhone and frequently need to create a new notebook directly in the Evernote Mobile App. It's not easy! There's no selection that allows you to easily create one! I've spent days trying to figure out how to do this on my iPhone using the Evernote mobile app.

After finally figuring it out yesterday, I want to share the how-to with my readers. It's definitely not intuitive, it's rather confusing, it's certainly tedious and I hope the developers will create a simple icon choice for creating new notebooks in the mobile app. But meantime, here's how can you do it.

1. Start a new note by tapping the blue + button

2. After you create a note (mine is called TESTING) select the pencil (edit feature)

3. Select the little "i" symbol

4. Select the Notebook icon

5. Type the name for your new notebook in the field that says "Find or Create a New Notebook"

6. Your notebook name will pop up and beside it is an icon with the word "Add".
 Choose this then hit SAVE.

You've got a new notebook now which will automatically sync to your other devices that have Evernote - such as your computer, laptop or iPad

 I'll be writing more tutorials on using Evernote over the next few weeks so watch for them here on Olive Tree Genealogy blog.

Ancestry.com Acquires Archives.com

PROVO, Utah, Aug. 17, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Ancestry.com Inc. (ACOM) today announced the completion of its acquisition of Archives.com, a leading family history website, for approximately $100 million in cash and assumed liabilities.

"Archives.com is a great addition to the Ancestry.com family. It is a fast-growing business that has expanded the addressable family history market through a simple and affordable approach," said Tim Sullivan, President and Chief Executive Officer of Ancestry.com. "We are excited to increase our ability to help more individuals discover their family history."

Archives.com was owned and operated by Inflection LLC, a Silicon Valley-based technology company. Since Archives.com's launch in January 2010, the site has rapidly grown to more than 440,000 paying subscribers who pay approximately $39.95 a year. Archives.com offers access to over 2.2 billion historical records, including birth records, obituaries, immigration and passenger lists, historical newspapers, as well as U.S. and U.K. Censuses.

Ancestry.com plans to operate Archives.com separately, retaining its brand and website. Many Inflection employees, including key marketing, product and engineering executives, will join the Ancestry.com team.

What's Your Number? Don't Be Too Shocked if It's Below 30%!

Did you know that with each generation your number of ancestors doubles? For example you have 2 parents, 4 (2x2) grandparents, 8 (4x2) great-grandparents, 16 (8x2) 2nd great grandparents and so on.

By the time you reach your 7th great-grandparents you will have a total of 1,024 ancestors. Phew!

Now that doesn't mean these are all unique individuals, in fact is is almost certain that you will find cousins marrying cousins, perhaps uncles marrying nieces as you go further back. That means that even though we all have 1,024 ancestors at this point in our family tree, there are probably duplicates. See Pyramid vs Diamond Theory of Ancestry for more on this fascinating topic, but I want to talk about something different in this blog post.

Recently my friend Lisa B. Lee of GotGenealogy posted on her Facebook Status that of the 1,024 possible ancestors in her family tree (going back 10 generations to her 7th great-grandparents) she has only found 77. That's 7.5%.

Now Lisa is not a novice at genealogy research. She's a very good genealogist and has been researching for many years. But the number not found surprised her! I was intrigued but before I could figure out my own numbers, I happened to read Crista Cowan's blog post called "Family History All Done? What's Your Number?" on the Ancestry.com newsletter. Crista also figured out how many ancestors she has found so far, again going back the same 10 generations.

Before I tell you the numbers remember that Crista is an experienced professional genealogist. She knows what she's doing! Well Crista's total number out of 1,024 was 365. That's 36% Crista still has 64% not yet found.

Okay it was my turn. I'll set the scene by saying I consider myself an experienced genealogist. I've been researching for more than 30 years. Like Crista and Lisa, I know what I'm doing and I am fanatical about finding my ancestors. Well I did the numbers and here's a chart showing my results:

Generation

Number of Ancestors

My Numbers

7th great

512

81

6th great

256

60

5th great

128

47

4th great

64

46

3rd great

32

30

2nd great

16

16

1st great

8

8

Grandparents

4

4

Parents

2

2

Out of 1024 possible ancestors I have found 295 for a total of 29%. What a surprise and yes, a shock! I knew I was stuck on my Irish ancestors. I knew I could only get back to my 2nd great grandparents on several of those ancestors from Ireland but I had no idea I had so many not found.

I'm doing okay with my family tree until I hit my 4th great grandparents. That takes me back to about 1800 so I've pretty much got my family tree covered for the last 200 years. After that it gets sketchy!

Not having a high percentage of found ancestors is obviously not related to how experienced a genealogist you are or how long you've been researching, so there's no shame attached to a low number. It's just an interesting exercise that points out that genealogy research is never done! And that's what makes genealogy so much fun and so addictive. There's always something more to find.

And now if you'll excuse me I'm off to find my missing 71%!

Rumour Mill: Who Do You Think You Are? New Season Coming to a New Network?

This little teaser tidbit was posted on Dan Bucatinsky's Facebook page this morning

"WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE?" on DVD ! And Season 3 coming soon. Look for an all new season in 2013!!! on an all new network!

In case you don't know, Dan was co-producer of Who Do You Think You Are along with Lisa Kudrow. Here's a link to Who Do You Think You Are?: Season One   and  Who Do You Think You Are: Season 2

But what I'm excited about is the teaser about an all new season in 2013! I haven't been able to find out any more details but will let my readers know as soon as I do.

Cemetery Walk: Scotch Cemetery

Recently my husband and I passed by this cemetery in Durham County Ontario. It is the Scotch Cemetery, Manilla, Brock Township, Durham (formerly Ontario) County

Hubs took several photos of tombstones which I've made into a video and uploaded on Olive Tree Genealogy YouTube Channel. It is only a partial viewing of the cemetery as there are many more gravestones in it.

 I hope you enjoy your Cemetery Walk

Genealogy Treasure No. 3: 1872 Land Deed Carscallen

This is the third set of documents in the batch I purchased at an antique store in Kingston Ontario July 27, 2012. For details, see Found! Treasure Trove of Land Documents from Ontario Canada

This Deed of Land is in the name of Geo (George) Carscallen. It consists of an Oath by Walter Scott Williams of Napanee stating that he witnessed Alexander Williamson Carscallen sign an Instrument. Date is May 1873.

Another Oath is from Andrew Wilde of N. Fredricksburgh Township, yeoman, stating he was present when George, Thomas, Jane, Craig Luke, Edward, Metcalf, Elizabeth, Emily and Ann Carscallen signed an instrument. Date is 5 May 1873




Lastly is an Indenture dated 11 Jan 1872 between George Carscallen and Alexander, Thomas, James, Craig Luke, Edward and Metcalf Carscallen. Also named are Elizabeth wife of George Carscallen, Emily, wife of James and Ann wife of Craig Luke. There are many details and the signatures of all involved.



More documents will follow as I scan them and extract their details.  If you are a descendant and would like to see these records, they are now with Lennox and Addington County Museum and Archives,
97 Thomas Street East,
Napanee, Ontario
K7R 4B9

Family Fun Day in Pouring Rain - Yes it Can Be Done!

Well, our annual Family Fun Day (aka Family Reunion) was this past Saturday. It poured rain almost all day so I had to hold it inside our house. That called for some last minute revisions of games, events and the meal!

But guess what? As horrifying as it first was to figure out how 30 people were going to fit into our home, and be entertained, and fed at tables (I don't like people eating on couches and antique chairs), it worked!

I still had everyone wear an ancestor name tag and find their matching ancestor spouse for a partner for the games. Then I placed the 10 objects on the coffee table and gave a 2 minute time period to study and memorize them. I learned the hard way that 2 minutes is way too long as almost every team got it right at the end. In future I'd give a one minute time limit or more objects.

After they studied the objects we covered them and handed out a 10 question multiple choice quiz. This was funny because the questions were all about my husband and I! So whoever knew us best would score well.

I noticed a lot of cheating going on (One of the grandchildren called it research, not cheating) with folks looking at other people's questions for answers.

After the quiz was done, we had a 10 question oral math round. As a former teacher I should have known better, but I told the teams to yell out their answers and first team with right answer would get one point. Big mistake. Because I made the questions super easy, there were many simultaneous shouts of answers and it became impossible to know who said it first. But it made for a lot of laughter.

And really it wasn't very fair as I taught Math in High School and guess what both my sons are amazing at? Yep - Math. So I kind of figured they'd score well for their teams and they did, with the most points. Good thing my daughter was late arriving or she'd have been a strong contender because she too is a math whiz.

Anyway it was fun but we had a tie between the two teams both my sons were on. I had to come up with a quick tie breaker so I played one song from my iPhone and whoever got the name of the song and the artist would win. I chose Stereo Hearts by Adam Levine and Gym Class Heroes so that made it tricky as they both kept guessing Maroon 5 as the group! Cheating almost won the day as one team tried to Shazam the song using their iPhone for the answer.

Seating for the meal was fine - we brought up portable tables and a card table, and used the mudroom, dining room, living room and entertainment room to set places. No one complained so I think it went well.

All in all a good time was had and the last family member left at 9 pm (it started at 1 pm). And yes I'll do it again next year even though I was exhausted and sore and aching everywhere by the time it was over. But that's okay as I rested up all day on Sunday. I'm already planning the 2013 Family Fun Day.

Hooper-Squires Photo Archives Treasure No. 2

This is the second photo in our collection of rescued photographs of the Hooper and Squires families of St. Mary's Ontario Canada.

This was in the Hooper-Squires musty box which I wrote about in Rescued - the Hooper & Squires Photograph Archive


To view all the photos in this collection as they are published here on Olive Tree Genealogy blog, click on Hooper-Squires Photo Archives link.

Webster & Co, Photographer

 The photographer was Webster & Co, St. Mary's (Perth Co., Ontario Canada)

We know that the young boy standing is Edgar Hooper and seated are his father John Hooper and mother Kezia Perkins. Given Edgar's birth year we estimate the photo was taken no later than 1907.

Edgar had a sister Edith born in 1889 so perhaps this is the young woman standing behind John and Keziah. Ella, another sister, was born in 1898 so it is possible she is the younger girl. However we are missing other children - Eva born 1895 and Milton born 1892.

The family group consists of children:

• Edgar John Hooper 1884 – 1932
• Edith Kezia Hooper 1889 – 1960
• Milton Edward Hooper 1892 – 
• Eva Alberta Hooper 1894 – 1967
• Ella Elizabeth Hooper 1898 – 1981

Flip-Pal Mobile Scanner Coupons Just Keep on Coming!

Flip-Pal Mobile Scanner just keeps on giving genealogists great deals! The following promotion codes are valid 12:00 a.m.–11:59 p.m. Mountain Time (-6 GMT) on their respective dates when ordered on our shop page.

August 8-10
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August 11-13
Save 10% on all Flip-Pal Mobile Scannerr accessories—minimum $50 order!
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August 14-16
Save $50 when you purchase a Flip-Pal Mobile Scanner with Digital Creativity Suite 3.0 DVD plus a Deluxe Flip-Pal mobile scanner Carry Case with Pocket and a Picture Keeper PK8!
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August 17-19
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Found: Wedding Photo 1907 Ramsgate England

1907 Wedding Ernest Simpson-Cordelia Cook

This is an 8"x6" photo I own. It was taken in Ramsgate, Kent England on 27 December 1907 at the wedding of my grandmother's brother Ernest Simpson to Cordelia Cook.

You can't see the entire item as it is on some kind of grey mat which is very dirty and torn at the corners. I've made copies to share with my siblings but thought I'd post it on Olive Tree Genealogy blog because either my mother or grandmother recorded the names of almost everyone in the photo! She didn't always use first names; perhaps she didn't know them. I did some research to find out who they were and any that I found I've noted their first name in brackets.

I knew several of the individuals as they were my grandmother's parents and siblings. But many were unknown to me so having the names is important. Many of these individuals left England for Canada. One went to Australia and several remained in Kent England.

Perhaps someone will recognize an ancestor or two:

Back row left to right: Horace Cook (Cordelia's brother), Albert Simpson (my grandmother's brother)

Middle row (standing): Mr. Cook (Henry, the father of Cordelia), Mrs. Cook (Rose Dugwell), my great grandfather David Simpson

Front row (seated): Alice Riches, Lillian Simpson (my grandmother's sister)

Back row (standing): Albert Simpson, Molly (Maude) Stace (she later married Albert Simpson and they settled in Australia), Henry Portice

Middle row (standing): David Simpson (my great grandfather), Mrs. D. Simpson (Sarah nee Stead, my great grandmother), Mrs. Simpson (Sarah nee Page, my great great grandmother), Edith Cook (Cordelia's sister - she left England for Canada)

Next row (seated): Ernest Simpson (my grandmother's brother and the groom), Cordelia Cook (the bride)

Front row (seated): My grandmother Ruth Simpson (emigrated to Canada), her brother Sydney Simpson (also settled in Canada), Rhoda Cook

Back row: Henry Portice, Harry Cook (Cordelia's brother)

Middle row: Sarah Simpson nee Page, Emily Grant, Edith Portice, Mrs. Giles

Front row: Cordelia Cook (she and Ernest Simpson settled in Canada), Edith Cook (Cordelia's sister), Mrs. Coley

Games for Annual Family Fun Day

As many of my readers know, I host an annual Family Fun Day (aka Family Reunion). I have games and team activities and I try to incorporate some genealogy in there too!

Every year I try to come up with a new idea for the team activities. This year was tough and I honestly didn't know how or if I could top last year's Amazing Genealogy Race.

Well, I definitely haven't topped it but I have a new idea for this year. First, each friend or family member will be given a card to hang around their neck. The card has a name of an ancestor and the instructions "Find your ancestor spouse. He or she will be your partner in the team activities"

So for example one card is the name of my ancestor Cornelis Van Slyke. Whoever gets that card must go around and talk to everyone to find out who is wearing the spouse card of his Mohawk wife Ots-Toch. I do this to encourage folks to meet newcomers, and also to do a little family tree brainwashing. There are charts with pedigrees which I put up for those who don't know all the ancestors - which sad to say is most of my family!

The activities this year are few and they are simple, but I think they'll be fun. After partners find each other, the games begin. They must first go to our storage shed where they will find 10 objects on a table. Their job is to memorize the objects. They can't take a picture with their smartphone or camera. They can't write down what is on the table. It's all memorization.

I'll have some everyday objects such as a spoon, an egg, a guinea feather, a ruler. But I will also have some Ancestor Cards with a photo of an ancestor plus their name. Whenever a team thinks they have the objects memorized they must race off to the first of four events.

These events are easy, for example one is to toss a frisbie through a hanging hula hoop. The goal is to break the team members' concentration and make it harder for them to remember the ten objects.  The last event is a fun one - they must go to our pig field, toss a scoopful of food over and yell out "Piggy Wiggly Oinky Oink oink" to call the pigs. Then they count them (and remember how many they counted!) The goal of this event is to make hubs and I laugh. We plan to video folks as they do their silly call.

Then and only then do the teams race to the Pit Stop where they will find pencil and paper waiting. They write down the 10 objects plus the total number of pigs and give it to me. If they're wrong, back they go! First team to get it right wins the prize.

What do you think? Will everyone have fun?

Genealogy Treasure No. 2: Carscallen Land Records 1884

This is the second set of documents in the batch I purchased at an antique store in Kingston Ontario July 27, 2012. For details, see Found! Treasure Trove of Land Documents from Ontario Canada

James Carscallen Declaration

Several documents were dated March 1884 and all referenced land Lot 16, Concession 6 in Richmond Township, Lennox & Addington Co. Ontario Canada

One was the Declaration of James Carscallen (on left). It begins with "I, James Carscallen, of Napanee, Co. of Lennox & Addington, manufacturer..." and continues with the statement that he is the son of Edward R. Carscallen who died December 1871.

The declaration states that Edward Carscallen had 8 sons: George, Alexander Williamson, Thomas, Craig Luke, Edward, Metcalf, William and James.

March 1884 Carscallen Documents

James' declaration also states that in January 1872 the East 1/2 of Lot 16, Concession 6, Richmond Township, was conveyed to William Carscallen.

There is much more detail in the document as to what has happened to the land and why he is offering his declaration.

A two-page letter dated March 14, 1884 from W. G. Wilson, Soliciter addressed to "My dear Gibson" was also in this bundle. It is regarding the lease of land to William Carscallen.

The letter names heirs of E. R. Carscallen, namely Fanny, his wife, and a son James. A Mrs. Elizabeth Andrews is also mentioned along with a request for money to be sent to her. A scribbled notation in the margin adds "she is an old lady about 80"

The last paper in this bundle is dated March 21, 1884 and is on letterhead of W. S. Williams, US Consular Agent. It is addressed to Robison, O'Brien & Gibson, Barristers, Toronto Ontario. It is in regard to the execution against the land in William Carscallen's name.

More documents will follow as I scan them and extract their details.  If you are a descendant and would like to see these records, they are now with Lennox and Addington County Museum and Archives,
97 Thomas Street East,
Napanee, Ontario
K7R 4B9

Lorine's Research
Research on the Carscallen family on Ancestry.com reveals a great deal of information about them. Edward Riggs Carscallen married Frances (Fanny) Moss and lived in Richmond Twp, Lennox & Addington Co. Ontario. He is found on the 1851 census living beside Rebecca Parks and her sons.

In the 1851 census for Richmond only 7 sons are listed (Craig Luke is missing) but living with the family is an Elizabeth Gill age 7. She is continues to be found with Edward Carscallen in the census records for 1861 and 1871, and is noted as a family member.

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