Nursing Sister Philips WW1 Photo Album No. 9

This Photo Archive consists of a small autograph album (6.5" by 5.25") kept by Constance (Connie) Philips as a memento of her time serving as a nurse during World War One.



The majority of the photos and items are from 1915, when she served as a nurse in France and Britain.

The album and all photographs, postcards, and other ephemera contained in the album belong to Karin Armstrong and may not be copied or republished without her written permission. The images will be published on Olive Tree Genealogy with her permission.

Each image has been designated an "R" for Recto or a "V" for Verso plus an album page number. Recto is the right­hand side page of a bound book while Verso is the left­hand side page.

I will be posting the entire album and my additional research on the individuals identified in Connie's album over the coming months so please check back frequently to view these historic photos. The easiest way to see what has been published is to click on the topic "Nursing Sister WW1 Photos"

Meme: Our Immigrant Ancestors - Thomas King of Arkell Ontario

There is a lot of discussion about immigration in America right now. Tempers have flared, and different groups hold various strong opinions. There is also Brexit, where immigration was a large focus of the recent vote which resulted in the U.K. leaving the E.U.

I've been following this for several months and it occurs to me that those of us in Canada, America, and Australia have immigrant ancestors. Have you researched yours? Do you know who they were, why they came to your country and when? Do you know how they fared once settled in their new land? Were they welcomed? Were they shunned? Was their discrimination based on their religion or ethnic origin? These are all questions that are important, and interesting to discover. With that in mind, I'm the dedicating Saturdays (as many as needed) as the day to join me in discussing your immigrant ancestors.

You will be able to read any you are interested in by using the keyword Immigrant Ancestors. I'm going to share each week what I know of my immigrant ancestors to North America (whether that is USA or Canada)

One of my more recent immigrant ancestors was Thomas King. Thomas, his wife Harriet, their son David and Thomas' brother Lewis King left Suffolk England circa 1831 for North America.

Lewis and Thomas were born in Wenhaston, Suffolk England. In 1817 the brothers married and began raising their families but in 1831 they decided to settle in what was then the wilderness of Upper Canada (present day Ontario). Joining a small group of Englishmen, they sailed to New York and then crossed into Canada. Once in Upper Canada (now called Ontario) they established a new settlement called Arkell, named after the leader of the group. Descendants of the two pioneer brothers settled mainly in Michigan, Ontario, Australia, and Alberta.

A book on the family is available  from Amazon.com, Amazon.ca, or CreateSpace  
8.5x11. 
200 pages
Full Color on White paper 

Susan B. Anthony Paved the Way

Like Clinton or not, it's a historical moment. No other words needed, just read this story and check out all the names being added to the thank-you letter beside her grave.

As Hillary Clinton accepts the nomination, Susan B. Anthony gets thanks for paving the way

Review: Dr. Eureka Is Fun for Everyone

Today I had an opportunity to play a new game by Blue-Orange called Dr. Eureka. This is a really fun game where every player is a scientist. Each scientist is trying to solve a formula using plastic test tubes to get coloured balls into the same pattern shown on a card. Sounds easy, right? Wrong!

The challenge is that you have to  pour your balls from one test tube to the other in order to get them in the correct order. You can't just dump the balls on a table and sort them. This game is great for young players but also for older ones, including adults! What a great activity for genealogists to bond with their children or grandchildren. Imagine the ancestor stories you can tell as you all try to solve the formula.

It's also educational. Younger children are going to learn planning and thinking ahead. All players need to think logically, devise a plan and then execute their ideas for getting those balls into the correct order.

To put it simply a card is chosen. Each player races to be the first to solve the formula (getting all the balls in the same order as shown on the card). The first player to solve the formula gets the card. The rules say that the first player to get 5 cards wins, but you could set the final number at anything you wanted. Playing to get 5 cards takes around 10 to 15 minutes.

Two of my grandchldren, now aged 8 and 10, spend a week with me every year and sometimes it is during school days. As a former teacher I have them write in their journal each day, and do some math with me. I found that having a couple of games of Dr. Eureka between the Math and the Journal writing helps them switch to a different mode of thinking. We do Journals first, then Dr. Eureka to switch their thoughts from creative to logical, then we tackle Math.

The Cards

I rate this game 5 stars. It's easy to understand, fast and easy to play as well as lots of fun.

• Age: 6+
• Players: 1 – 4
• Play Time: 10 – 15 mins

Dr. Eureka is available at Amazon.com and Amazon.ca

Disclaimer: Blue Orange sent me a free game for review purposes.

Try This Fun Genealogy Cemetery Hunt for Children

My grandchildren and I having a picnic

Are you looking for a summer activity for your children or grandchildren? Why not Try This Fun Genealogy Cemetery Hunt for Children

This is my July article for Legacy Family Tree and I think you'll enjoy it. I created this fun game for my eldest grandchildren when they were 6 and 8 years old. They loved it! 

See how I set this game up at
Try This Fun Genealogy Cemetery Hunt for Children

Can a Lost Colony Come Back to Life?

Baptism of Virginia Dare, 1st English child born in N. America

England’s first settlement in North America vanished completely three years after it started. In 1587, 116 English settlers led by John White landed on Roanoke Island. He left them there when he sailed back to England that same year for more supplies. Delayed by war between England and Spain, he didn’t return until 1590.The colony had disappeared and no trace of the settlers or the settlement was found.

The mystery may be solved as some archaeologists  suspect that the colonists found their way to the inland site south of the Chowan River bridge, roughly 50 miles from Roanoke. It first came to light in 2012, when researchers at the British Museum in London announced they had found a drawing of a fort that had been obscured under a patch on a map of Virginia and North Carolina drawn by White in the 1580s.

Read the full story at What happened to the Lost Colony? U.S. developer wants millions to save land that might hold clues

Credits: Image By Henry Howe - William A. Crafts (1876) Pioneers in the settlement of America: from Florida in 1510 to California in 1849, Pioneers in the settlement of America: from Florida in 1510 to California in 1849. edition, Boston: Published by Samuel Walker and Company, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=10182700

Nursing Sister Philips WW1 Photo Album L8

This Photo Archive consists of a small autograph album (6.5" by 5.25") kept by Constance (Connie) Philips as a memento of her time serving as a nurse during World War One. 

The majority of the photos and items are from 1915, when she served as a nurse in France and Britain.

The album and all photographs, postcards, and other ephemera contained in the album belong to Karin Armstrong and may not be copied or republished without her written permission. The images will be published on Olive Tree Genealogy with permission.

Each image has been designated an "R" for Recto or a "V" for Verso plus an album page number. Recto is the right-hand side page of a bound book while Verso is the left-hand side page.

I will be posting the entire album and my additional research on the individuals identified in Connie's album over the coming months so please check back frequently to view these historic photos. The easiest way to see what has been published is to click on the topic "Nursing Sister WW1 Photos"

Meme: Our Immigrant Ancestors - the Mennonite Jacob Burkholder

There is a lot of discussion about immigration in America right now. Tempers have flared, and different groups hold various strong opinions. There is also Brexit, where immigration was a large focus of the recent vote which resulted in the U.K. leaving the E.U.

I've been following this for several months and it occurs to me that those of us in Canada, America, and Australia have immigrant ancestors. Have you researched yours? Do you know who they were, why they came to your country and when? Do you know how they fared once settled in their new land? Were they welcomed? Were they shunned? Was their discrimination based on their religion or ethnic origin? These are all questions that are important, and interesting to discover. With that in mind, I'm the dedicating Saturdays (as many as needed) as the day to join me in discussing your immigrant ancestors.

You will be able to read any you are interested in by using the keyword Immigrant Ancestors. I'm going to share each week what I know of my immigrant ancestors to North America (whether that is USA or Canada)

Jacob and Sophia Burkholder, my 5th great-grandparents, were the first settlers in Hamilton Ontario Canada on land called the Burkholder Settlement. Jacob's land petition shows he arrived in Upper Canada July 1794 and applied for land 7 Aug. 1794. On this petition his name is recorded as Borghonder.

The Burkholder family came from the Ementhal valley outside Berne, Switzerland. Mennonites were opposed to war and many were imprisoned, exiled or burned at the stake. 

Jacob Burkholder, a weaver, and his two brothers, John and Christian sailed for America in 1765 on the ship Myrtilla. They landed at Philadelphia, 21 September 1765. John and Jacob Burkholder settled in Lampeter Twp., Lancaster Co.,  Pennsylvania, while Christian Burkholder settled near Newbury in Franklin Co., Pennsylvania. 



Several French Huguenot refugees were among the Myrtilla's 81 passengers, including Abraham and Sophia De Roche. Sophia was a French girl, supposedly of Huguenot descent. Jacob married Sophia De Roche in 1765 in Lancaster Co., Pennsylvania. Their signatures may be seen in Pennsylvania, where they took the oath of allegiance to the British Crown in 1765. 


Following the American Revolution, Jacob Burkholder with wife Sophia and their adult family left Pennsylvania for Upper Canada (now the province of Ontario). With their son Christian as their guide, they came by Conestoga wagon drawn by oxen, crossing at Buffalo and arriving at Niagara in present day Ontario

You can read more about the Burkholder family and origins at The Burkholder Family of Switzerland

European Family History Conference

The following Announcement was sent to Olive Tree Genealogy a few days ago.

The Family History Library and the research specialists of the European Reference team invite you to a free, never before offered, week-long conference focused exclusively on European research. The conference, which will be held September 12th-16th 2016, is perfect for beginning and intermediate genealogists interested in learning about records of European localities, and Family History Library collections.

Come and spend a week at the world renowned Family History Library learning from our expert staff of genealogists as well as experienced guest genealogists. Learn how to effectively use historical records and how to do research in several European countries. Explore such topics as census, church, immigration, and vital records. Learn more about German, Swiss, Russian, and Polish research. Discover new techniques, strategies, and methodology to apply to your genealogical research problems.

Most classes will be held at the Church History Museum Theater with the exception of the lab classes, which will be taught at the Family History Library in the B1 Lab. 

Seating in the Church History Museum Theater is limited to 190 participants, so be sure to register early to secure a spot. All classes will also be offered via webinar.     

Registration begins 1 Aug. 2016.To register for the free conference, visit the Eventbrite registration site at this link if you plan to personally attend in-house: http://bit.ly/29teGka.

For those attending by way of webinar, please use the following registration link. http://bit.ly/29vC93P. 500 spots are available.

26 seats will be available for in-person labs which will all be held in the Family History Library B1 LAB. 100 spots available for webinar labs.

A syllabus will be provided that can be downloaded from the FamilySearch Wiki.  Here is the Link: https://familysearch.org/wiki/en/2016_European_Family_History_Conference
             
We hope this conference will not only be informative and instructive, but that it will also encourage and inspire you to continue your family history research. Perhaps this will be just what you need to break through that 20-year-old brick wall research problem. We look forward to working with you!

We will use Eventbrite to process your registration. Your information will be processed in accordance with their privacy policy located at http://www.eventbrite.com/privacypolicy.

Celebrating Sisterhood - 100th Anniversary of Canadian Women's Right to Vote

2016 is the 100th Anniversary of Women first obtaining the right to vote in Canada. Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta were the first Canadian provinces to grant women this right. Canadian women who owned land however had the right to vote as early as 1791 but that right was taken away in 1849.

It was not until 1917 that British Columbia and Ontario followed suit and granted women the right to vote. I wish I knew if either of my grandmothers, who lived in Ontario, were involved in the struggle for women's rights, or at the very least were pleased with their new-found rights! But it is not something I thought to ask about when I was a young teenager.

1918 saw Nova Scotia come on board, then New Brunswick in 1919. Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland lagged behind, not granting women the right to vote until 1922 and 1925 respectively. But the biggest and most shameful holdout was Quebec. That province did not grant women the right to vote until 1940!

I have talked before about Canada's Famous Five, that group of 5 courageous and determined women who forced Canada to recognize women as "persons" in 1929.

You can read more about women's rights in Canada at A greater sisterhood: the Women’s Rights struggle in Canada

Update on Digitization of Canadian WW1 Files

 The following announcement was sent by Library and Archives Canada (LAC):

 
As of July 15, 2016, 307,588 of 640,000 files are available online via our Soldiers of the First World War: 1914–1918 database. Please visit the Digitization of the Canadian Expeditionary Force Service Files page for more details on the digitization project.

Library and Archives Canada is digitizing the service files systematically, from box 1 to box 10686, which roughly corresponds to alphabetical order. Please note that over the years, the content of some boxes has had to be moved and, you might find that the file you want, with a surname that is supposed to have been digitized, is now located in another box that has not yet been digitized. So far, we have digitized the following files:

• Latest box digitized: Box 5218 and Knaggs.

Nursing Sister Philips WW1 Photo Album 50 V

This Photo Archive consists of a small autograph album (6.5" by 5.25") kept by Constance (Connie) Philips as a memento of her time serving as a nurse during World War One. 

The majority of the photos and items are from 1915, when she served as a nurse in France and Britain.

The album and all photographs, postcards, and other ephemera contained in the album belong to Karin Armstrong and may not be copied or republished without her written permission. The images will be published on Olive Tree Genealogy with permission.

Toast to the King

Each image has been designated an "R" for Recto or a "V" for Verso plus an album page number. Recto is the right-hand side page of a bound book while Verso is the left-hand side page.

I will be posting the entire album and my additional research on the individuals identified in Connie's album over the coming months so please check back frequently to view these historic photos. The easiest way to see what has been published is to click on the topic "Nursing Sister WW1 Photos"

Meme: Our Immigrant Ancestors - My First in N. America

1636 List of Rensselaerswyck ^FN1

There is a lot of discussion about immigration in America right now. Tempers have flared, and different groups hold various strong opinions. There is also Brexit, where immigration was a large focus of the recent vote which resulted in the U.K. leaving the E.U.

I've been following this for several months and it occurs to me that those of us in Canada, America, and Australia have immigrant ancestors. Have you researched yours? Do you know who they were, why they came to your country and when? Do you know how they fared once settled in their new land? Were they welcomed? Were they shunned? Was their discrimination based on their religion or ethnic origin? These are all questions that are important, and interesting to discover. With that in mind, I'm the dedicating Saturdays (as many as needed) as the day to join me in discussing your immigrant ancestors.

You will be able to read any you are interested in by using the keyword Immigrant Ancestors. 

I'm going to share each week what I know of my immigrant ancestors to North America (whether that is USA or Canada)

One of the first ancestors I've found setting foot in North America is Albert Andriess Bradt de Norman (ca 1607-1686 New Amsterdam) With his brother Arent Andriesse Bradt, he was among the early settlers at Rensselaerswyck in New Netherland. 

The yacht "Rensselaerswyck" set sail from the Texel for New Amsterdam, 1 October 1636, carrying colonists to Fort Orange (present day Albany New York) in the service of the Patroon, Killian Van Rensselaer, of Amsterdam, Holland.

On board the ship were Albert Andriessen (Bradt)  and his wife Annetje Barents of "Rolmers" and two children; and Arent Andriessen (brother to Albert). The voyage was through rough seas, and a son born to his wife during the voyage was named "Storm." Although this Storm was not our ancestor, and in fact took the surname Vanderzee rather than Bradt as his siblings used, the name Storm has carried on in our family. A direct ancestor is Storm Bradt, the grandson of Albert Andriessen, who married Sophia Uziele in 1711. As well my eldest grandson was given the middle name of Storm.

The brothers were from Fredrikstad, a town at the mouth of the Glommen, the largest river in Norway. Albert Andriess Bradt, known as "de Noorman" was a land owner and tobacco farmer at Bushwick, New York, 13 August 1630. He established himself a few miles south of Albany on a stream, "Norman's Kil," where he built a mill.


You can read more about Albert Andriessen at Bradt Family - The Descendants of Albert Andriessen de Noorman aka Bradt 

^FN1  Memorandum listing passengers indebted to the owners of the ship Rensselaerswijck for voyage from Amsterdam to New Netherland, 1636-1637. Image courtesy of http://www.nysl.nysed.gov. The heading of the memorandum reads: "The following persons are indebted to the owners of the ship Rensselaerswijck for board beginning on the first of October anno 1636 and ending anno 1637 when each person landed in New Netherland." This memorandum contains the names of 33 men, women, and children and gives the exact date [or time?] when each person disembarked the ship.

A Great List of New Netherland (New York) Family Genealogies!

New Netherland (New York) Settlers - Family Trees & Surnames

Are you hopelessly confused with Dutch patronymics? Can't figure out your New Netherland (New York) 17th century ancestors?  The following New Netherland genealogies are available to help. Some are part of Olive Tree Genealogy's New Netherland Settlers project and are published in book format. Other genealogies are online and can be enjoyed by all descendants. More genealogies are coming as the New Netherland Settlers project progresses so be sure to bookmark the New Netherland Settlers page for updates.

* BARHEIT Barheit Family The Barheit Family Revealed: A Genealogy of Hans Coenradt and Barenjte Jans Straetsman, the Immigrant Ancestors of the Barheit Family of Albany New York

* BOELEN Boele Roeloffsen & his wife Bayken Arents New Netherland Settlers. Boele Roeloffsen & His Wife Bayken Arents From Amsterdam with information on the European Origins of the Family.

* BRADT. BRATT Bradt Family Descendants of Albert Andriessen de Noorman aka Bradt

* DAMEN Damen Family Descendants of Jan Cornelise Damen from Bunik Netherlands

* JANSEN New Netherland Settlers Albert Jansen & Elsjie Jans & Their Van Woggelum, Provoost & Van Loon Descendants

* LEROY. LARAWAY. AUDY  Simeon LeRoy dit Audy French settler to New France (Quebec) then New York

* PIER Pier Family Jan Theunissen and Arent Theunissen Pier and their descendants

* POST The New Jersey Post Family Descendants of Adriaen Crijnen Post

* POST New Netherland SettlersLodewyck Cornelis Post & His Wife Agnietje Bonen

* RYCKMAN Ryckman Family Harmen Janse Ryckman of New Netherland

* STEVENSEN Jan Stevensen & Maria Goosens The Stevensen and Jacobsen Families. A genealogy to three generations of the descendants of Maria Goosens and her husband Steven Janse Coning who settled in Fort Orange in 1649 (Stevensen Family) and Maria Goosens and a man named Jacob (Jacobszen Family)

* STRAETSMAN Straetsman Family The Straetsman Sisters Barentje & Teuntje and Their Six Husbands

* VAN ALSTYNE The Van Alstyne Family - The descendants of Jan Martense de Wever aka Van Alstyne

* VAN SLYKE. VAN SLYCK The Van Slyke Family - The descendants of Cornelise Antonissen Van Slyke and his nephew Willem Pieterse Van Slyke. Two books on the family also available

* VAN VALKENBURG Van Valkenburg Family Lambert Van Valkenburg and his son Jochem Lambertse

* VINCENT Adriaen Vincent and his wife, Walloons in New Amsterdam A Walloon in New Amsterdam: The Story of Adriaen Vincent and his Wife Madaleen Eloy

* VROOMAN The Vrooman Family in New Netherland New York
 
* VAN SICKELEN. VAN SICKLES The Van Sickelen, Van Sickles Family in New Netherland New York includes scanned book A History of the Van Sickle Family in the United States of America BY John W. Van Sickle, A.M., M.D., Ph. D.

Using MetaData to Make Your Computer Life Easier

 Denise Barrett Olson of Moultrie Creek Blog has given us a wonderful Moultrie Creek Guide called "Sharpen Your Digital Pencil: An Introduction to MetaData"

If you are a genealogist whose hard drive is full of photos, you need to start using MetaData to help organize your files. If you don't know what MetaData is, the official definition is "a set of data that describes and gives information about other data"

Using MetaData truly does make your digital life easier. 

How To Prevent Your Facebook Profile from Being Spoofed

Facebook accounts get spoofed all the time. But what does this mean? Has your account been hacked? Do you need to change your password?

No you have not been hacked. You do not need to change your password, in fact, changing it does nothing to help or stop a spoofed profile.

Spoofing is when someone duplicates your Facebook profile.  It is not the same as hacking. A spoofer sets up a clone of your profile page and sends out Friend Requests to everyone on your friends list. This is not the same thing as actually having your account hacked into and your password stolen. In the case of actul hacking, yes, changing your password is a must.

** If you were spoofed, changing your password does nothing, because your password was not compromised. The spoofer does not have access to your account.**

To help prevent being spoofed, you need to make sure that your list of friends is not public. To make your friends list private make sure you are on your profile page. That is your name, not the word "Home". Click on the word "Friends"

There is a pencil icon top right. Hover your mouse over it and you will see the word "Manage". Click on this and you see "Edit Privacy" Select this and you see a popup window with choices for setting the privacy of your friends list. You can see that mine is set to "only me" That means no one, not even friends I am linked to, can see who else I have as friends.

Setting your friends list to something other than public will make your Facebook account not worth spoofing!

If you were spoofed, or if you accidentally accepted a spoofed account friend request, go to the spoofed page and report it to Facebook then unfriend them. Warn others and warn whoever was spoofed so they can take action too.

Remember to check your Privacy Settings every so often to make sure they are set as you want them to be! You probably don't want all your posts and status updates and photos being available to everyone including search engines, so be alert and be savvy about what it means to have settings as "public" vs "private"

Nursing Sister Philips WW1 Photo Album 55V

This Photo Archive consists of a small autograph album (6.5" by 5.25") kept by Constance (Connie) Philips as a memento of her time serving as a nurse during World War One. 

The majority of the photos and items are from 1915, when she served as a nurse in France and Britain.

Sisters Riorden, Wilson, Philip, Howe, Lynch

The album and all photographs, postcards, and other ephemera contained in the album belong to Karin Armstrong and may not be copied or republished without her written permission. The images will be published on Olive Tree Genealogy with permission.

Each image has been designated an "R" for Recto or a "V" for Verso plus an album page number. Recto is the right-hand side page of a bound book while Verso is the left-hand side page.

I will be posting the entire album and my additional research on the individuals identified in Connie's album over the coming months so please check back frequently to view these historic photos. The easiest way to see what has been published is to click on the topic "Nursing Sister WW1 Photos"

A New Meme: Our Immigrant Ancestors

There is a lot of discussion about immigration in America right now. Tempers have flared, and different groups hold various strong opinions. There is also Brexit, where immigration was a large focus of the recent vote which resulted in the U.K. leaving the E.U.

My Immigrant Ancestor Cornelis Van Slyke

I've been following this for several months and it occurs to me that those of us in Canada, America, and Australia have immigrant ancestors. Have you researched yours? Do you know who they were, why they came to your country and when? Do you know how they fared once settled in their new land? Were they welcomed? Were they shunned? Was their discrimination based on their religion or ethnic origin? These are all questions that are important, and interesting to discover. With that in mind, I'm the dedicating Saturdays (as many as needed) as the day to join me in discussing your immigrant ancestors.

You will be able to read any you are interested in by using the keyword Immigrant Ancestors. On Twitter I will be using #ImmigrantAncestors as the hashtag for searching.

1646 Letter

I'm going to share each week what I know of my immigrant ancestors to North America (whether that is USA or Canada). Let me start with my father's side, and the first immigrant I found many years ago when I was fairly new to genealogy research - Cornelis Antonissen Van Slyke from Holland.

It was an exciting day for me when I discovered I was descended from a Dutchman who arrived in New Netherland  (New York) in 1627. Cornelis Van Slyke's story is of a Dutchman who came to the New World as a carpenter at the age of 23, who became an interpreter for the Mohawk nation, was adopted into the tribe, and who met and married a French-Mohawk woman (Ots-Toch)who never left her native village. Their children, all raised at Canajoharie, one of the Mohawk castles or villages, became well-known and respected in the Dutch community. All except one left the village and married Dutch settlers.

One of their children was my 8th great grandfather, Jacques Cornelissen Van Slyke who was known as Akes Gautsch, and whose Mohawk name was It-sy-cho-sa-quash-ka. Jacques was also an interpreter and one of the first settlers of Schenectady.

From the research I have done, it appears that Cornelis, who was known as Broer Cornelis by the Mohawks, was a respected and hard-working man. I was so intrigued by Cornelis venturing into the new world when it was nothing more than a wilderness, and meeting and marrying a native Indian, that I wrote a book called "The Van Slyke Family in America: A Genealogy of Cornelise Antonissen Van Slyke, 1604-1676 and his Mohawk Wife Ots-Toch, including the story of Jacques Hertel, 1603-1651, Father of Ots-Toch and Interpreter to Samuel de Champlain" (REVISED EDITION) which is available online if there are other interested descendants.

Finding Cornelis was actually the start of my author career! Since I wrote the first book on Cornelis in 1996, I have researched and published 21 genealogy-history books, 6 books on researching your ancestors, and 1 genealogy mystery novel. If you are interested, check these out at my author website LorineSchulze.com 

Stay tuned for next Saturday's Immigrant Ancestor story. I hope you will join me! 

1868 Shipwreck Found in Lake Ontario

Daily Albany Argus August 10, 1868

Recently the wreck of the schooner Royal Albert was found  in deep water off Fair Haven, 35 miles northwest of Syracuse.

The crew survived the August 1868 sinking by getting into a small boat and making it to shore. Apparently the 104-foot vessel was carrying 285 tons of railroad iron that shifted in rough conditions, causing the ships' seams to break.

Here is some information about the Royal Albert. I have not been able to find a crew list so if anyone knows of one, please let me know in the comment section of this post.

ROYAL ALBERT

Type at loss : schooner, wood, 2-mast
Build info : 1858, J. Simpson, Oakville, Ont.
Specs : 104x23x9, 165 gc
Place of loss : 10 mi off Little Sodus, NY
Lake : Ontario
Loss of life : none
Carrying : 235 t. RR iron
Detail : Bound Oswego for Toledo, she split her seams and foundered quickly, her crew barely escaping in her boats. Speculation was that her cargo of RR rails was misloaded, forcing her sides outward.
Owned by H.C. Holland of Owsego.
Source: http://www.boatnerd.com/swayze/shipwreck/r.htm

http://images.maritimehistoryofthegreatlakes.ca/53554/data 

Continue reading Shipwreck of 1868 schooner found in Lake Ontario

Image Credit: Telegraphic News Date: Monday, August 10, 1868  Paper: Daily Albany Argus (Albany, New York)  Volume: XLI   Issue: 16227  Page:2 

Use Almshouse Records to Find Immigration Information

Olive Tree Genealogy has another article on Legacy Family Tree.

House of Refuge, Randall's Island, New York 1853

 

Find Ancestors' Immigration in New York Almshouse Records

In the early 1800s port cities in the United States bore the burdens of immigration. By the time immigrants arrived from their native country, many were tired, hungry, and poor. Many newly arrived immigrants ended up in the City Almshouse or Poorhouse. This meant the citizens of their new country had to take care of them.


These Almshouse records are a genealogist’s treasure and often contain immigration details. Some contain basic information on each person admitted, such as the name of ship, the date of arrival in USA and the port of arrival. Others contain much more information.

Almshouse records for New York City exist from 1758 to 1953. Olive Tree Genealogy has an ongoing project to transcribe and publish all New York Almshouse Records that contain immigration information.

Project Number One
The first set of New York Almshouse admittance records is for the years 1782 to 1813.
New York Almshouse Records 1782-1813.

Project Number Two
This set of New York Almshouse Admissions covers the years 1819-1840
 

Project Number Three

The third set of Almshouse admission records for New York city is for 1855-1858

More details at Find Ancestors' Immigration in New York Almshouse Records 

Image Credits:
Art and Picture Collection, The New York Public Library. "House Of Refuge, Randall'S Island." The New York Public Library Digital Collections. 1853. http://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/510d47e0-d364-a3d9-e040-e00a18064a99

But I KNOW My Great Grandma's Name! So Why Am I Stuck?

Many of us know our great grandparents' names. One of my great grandmothers was a Vollick. I knew that, and I had proof (baptism, marriage, census records)which I had found over 30 years ago.

As I traced her lineage back, I found the trail stopped cold at *her* great grandfather, Isaac Vollick the Loyalist. I could not find him in New York before he arrived in the Niagara area of Ontario with Butler's Rangers. I hunted in every resource I knew of, to no avail. There simply were NO Vollicks running around south of the border in pre-Revolutionary times!

And then I stumbled on a very generous lady who steered me in the right direction with a casual remark "Did you know that your Loyalist ancestor Isaac Vollick used to be called Isaac Van Valkenburg?"

Huh? How the heck did one go from being a Van Valkenburg to a Vollick??!!! But she was absolutely correct in her statement. The reason I could not find any Vollicks running around south of the border was because it was not a "real" surname! My Loyalist ancestor simply adopted it. I think he adopted it as a nickname "Valk" (Dutch for falcon) from Van Valkenburg (meaning town of the falcon in Dutch) which may be what his comrades in arms called him. And it stuck. It became an established surname and there are thousands and thousands of Vollick descendants running around in America and Canada today.

There are also Follick descendants - because some of Isaac's sons and grandsons became known as Follick and that surname also stuck. I believe this alteration was due to the German/Dutch sounding "f" for "v". So instead of hearing Vollick, an English speaking/writing clerk no doubt heard Follick. And thus another surname was born!

That experience taught me to open my eyes to the possibility that a surname as we know may have changed greatly over the centuries. It may have been changed deliberately as in the case of my Isaac Vollick, or it may have been changed through mis-communication or mis-hearing.

As a side-note, since my discovery 30 years ago that my Vollick ancestor was really a Van Valkenburg I have researched the family in detail and have now published three books on Isaac Van Valkenburg aka Vollick, the Loyaist, and his two sons Cornelius and Storm.  

• From Van Valkenburg to Vollick: V1 The Loyalist Isaac Van Valkenburg aka Vollick and his Vollick & Follick Children
• From Van Valkenburg to Vollick V2 Cornelius Vollick and his Follick and Vollick Descendants to 3 Generations 
• From Van Valkenburg to Vollick V3 Storm Follick and his Follick and Vollick Descendants to 3 Generations

The above books are available at New Netherland Books

Another example is my French LeRoy ancestor (prounced sort of like Le Wah in French - it's difficult to render it in text) settled in what is now Quebec in the mid 1600s. When he moved to New York, his name started being recorded as Larua, then Larraway. No doubt English speaking clerks mis-heard his name when he pronounced it! And so it began to be recorded as Larroway.

You must have an open mind when researching ancestors. You don't know if they changed their names. It may have changed due to mis-recording based on language differences. Did they change it to escape a bad situation? Did they change it simply due to having an established nickname that took hold? Whatever the reasons, if you are truly stuck on an ancestor, think about possible name changes. You may need to develop an entirely new area of thinking and researching!

Nursing Sister Philips WW1 Photo Album - 57 - Group of Sisters

This Photo Archive consists of a small autograph album (6.5" by 5.25") kept by Constance (Connie) Philips as a memento of her time serving as a nurse during World War One. 

The majority of the photos and items are from 1915, when she served as a nurse in France and Britain.

Sisters Philip, Lynch, Johnstone, Wilson, Howe

The album and all photographs, postcards, and other ephemera contained in the album belong to Karin Armstrong and may not be copied or republished without her written permission. The images will be published on Olive Tree Genealogy with permission.

Each image has been designated an "R" for Recto or a "V" for Verso plus an album page number. Recto is the right-hand side page of a bound book while Verso is the left-hand side page.

I will be posting the entire album and my additional research on the individuals identified in Connie's album over the coming months so please check back frequently to view these historic photos. The easiest way to see what has been published is to click on the topic "Nursing Sister WW1 Photos"

Canada Day Special on Ancestry!

Ancestry.ca is offering free access to their Canadian records for Canada Day! Offer ends July 3, 2016

Register (free registration) then start your search for your Canadian ancestors on Ancestry.ca or Ancestry.com