Reconstructing the Face of a Man 700 Years After His Death

A reconstruction project in Cambridge England has brought to light the face of a man who died and was buried in a medieval cemetery. The cemetery was attached to a hospital and independent charitable foundation for poor and infirm residents between 1200 and 1500.

From the website we learn that "The 13th-century man, known as Context 958 by researchers, was among hundreds whose remains were found in a graveyard under what is now the Old Divinity School of St John’s College."

Archaeologists found 400 largely complete skeletons and the partial remains of about 600 more.

Read more at Face of Cambridge man brought to life 700 years after his death

Names of Emigrants From England 1773-1776

Olive Tree Genealogy has published an index to names for Emigrants From England 1773-1776 The lists were discovered among Treasury Records in the Public Record Office, in London, England.

The lists contain approximately 6,000 names. Information provided for each individual includes name, age, occupation, the place of origin, the name of the ship, the destination, the passenger's occupation, and the reason for the emigration
 
To find complete details for an individual you must refer to any one of the following sources:

• Lists of Emigrants Found in the Treasury Records in PRO, United Kingdom (6000 names) FHL US/CAN film 928418 Item 4
• New England Historical Register Volumes 62-65
• Emigrants From England to the American Colonies 1773-1776 by Peter Wilson Coldham
• Emigrants from England 1773-1776 by Gerland Fothergill

Search for a British ancestor on Emigrants From England 1773-1776 

Image credit: Copyright Brian L. Massey, not to be used without written permission

Ephemera Richter Family in North Carolina

Annette P. has generously donated several ephemera items from the Richter Family in Virginia to Olive Tree Genealogy for publication. This postcard is to Neil Richter and Connie Schulz in Spruce Pine, North Carolina. It is from Kathy O'Neil in Utah. She signs "Kathy and Byron" and the card is sent from Arizona.

 

 

New DNA Information About Native American Ancestry

The 11,500-year-old remains of a 6 week old child found in Alaska have revealed new information on the ancestors of all Native Americans. It is believed that she is from a previously unknown genetic group who crossed the Bering Sea from Russia via a land bridge that later disappeared.

Scientists believe that evidence in her DNA shows that a single wave of migrants moved into the continent from Siberia just over 20,000 years ago. Since I have Mohawk ancestry this story is extremely fascinating to me.

Read more at Alaskan infant's DNA tells story of 'first Americans'

Our Immigrant Ancestors: the Huguenot Pierre Cresson ca1609-ca1681

St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre of Huguenots, France 1572

My 9th great-grandfather Pierre Cresson was a Huguenot who lived in France then settled in New Amstel, Delaware and New Harlem New York

Pierre Cresson was born circa 1609 at Menil La Cresson, Picardy, France. He was the son of Pierre Cresson and Elizabeth Vuilesme. In 1639 he married Rachel Clauss, daughter of Pierre Clauss and Jeanna Famelar at Picardy, France.

On 25 April 1659 he is said to have set sail from Amsterdam on the "Beaver" for New Netherland and arrived several weeks later.

On 1660 Gov. Steuyvesant engaged him to go to Manhattan and appointed Commissary (Judge) Pierre Cresson on 16 August 1660 at New Harlem, Kings County, New York. He  was a Corporal of the First Company in an expedition against the Indians at Esopus (Kingston) in 1663. He left a will on 15 March 1673 leaving 50 guilders ot the church at New York, and indicating that his son, Elias was under 16 years of age.

On 1679 he sold lands in Harlem and moved to Staten Island where he had already obtained a lot at or near Long Neck by the Fresh Kill on the northwest side of the Island.

He received a patent of 88 acres on the northwest side of Staten Island. On 30 December 1680 at Staten Island, Richmond County, New York. He died after 3 August 1681 at Staten Island, Richmond County, New York.

Ancestor Marriage Record Finder Helps You With Your Brick Wall

Most genealogists search the obvious marriage records such as Church records and Vital Stats (Marriage Registrations or Certificates). These records are fairly well known but before Civil Registration began, in whatever country your ancestor was from, you will have to look for other records for a marriage date.

If we don't find our ancestor in one of those common marriage records, we're often stuck! Where to search next? The Ancestor Marriage Record Finder can help direct you to alternate sources for marriage records. All we need to do is think outside the box.

Ask yourself what happens when a couple marries? What events take place around a marriage? What kind of Marriage record paper trail is created at the time of marriage of an individual? The answers to these questions will lead you to other sources of marriage records and hopefully end that brick-wall.

Ancestor Marriage Record Finder: Finding a Marriage Record When You've Hit a Brick Wall is now available as an Ebook or a paperback on Amazon.com or Amazon.ca

Finding an Ontario Ancestor Born Before Vital Registration Began

Kelly C. asked a question about her great-great Grandfather Henry Spencer Dunford.

So I have a few mysteries I am hoping to solve.. the biggest one is that of my 2nd great grandfather, Henry Spencer Dunford born March 20 1863. He married Margaret Aelis Bonham and their daughter Frances was my great grandmother. They lived in the Sarnia Lambton area. The problem is the name Spencer!! For some reason unknown, my great grandmother went by the surname Spencer Dunford. Henry and Margaret, her parents, are buried under the name Dunford, but both are recorded as Spencer in their death certificates, and throughout records they can be found as either Spencers or Dunfords. When I first started this a few months ago, I thought spencer was just Henry's middle name, but now I am not so sure.. otherwise why would his spouse and children carry that name down as part of the surname or in some cases as the only surname? the mystery deepens, as I cannot find any birth record, or parents or family for Henry beyond his spouse and children. The other mystery is that between 1863 and 1891 i can find no records for either of them in Ontario. Also Margarets sister Anne is surrounded by some mystery as we cannot find a birth record and on her marriage record it states she was born in Kansas USA there is also mention of her being born on a wagon train so not sure what happened there. I have a book on the Bonhams which states they came to canada on a sailing ship in 1856 and landed at Port Credit and settled in Streetsville.. their son, Charles, the father of margaret is said to have lived in ontario from that point on, but if so how was his daughter born in Kansas and why?

Lorine's Response: Vital Registration was not in effect in Ontario before 1869 so you won't find Henry in the birth records. You will have to hunt for church records of baptisms instead.

It's an interesting puzzle Kelly. You might consider using DNA to help you with this. That is how we solved the mystery of who my husband's "real" great-grandfather was - through DNA. If you're interested at all in the use of DNA to solve these mysteries, see my blog post at DNA Gave My Husband a Completely Different Great Grandfather

When you're faced with a challenge such as yours, it's a good idea to forget about the parents for a bit and search for the children. You can't find Henry and Margaret in 1871 or 1881 census, so you might look for the children in those census years who were born before 1881. Also, remember that Henry can be recorded as Harry and Margaret can be Maggie. Use wildcards, for instance Henry would be h*r*y, to pick up variations such as Harry or Henery.

To add to my earlier suggestion, I see from the 1891, 1901 and 1911 census that your Margaret was recorded as Mary in each one. you might want to try hunting for the children in the 1871 and 1881 census - use their names to see if the family pops up.

In the 1881 census for Lambton, there is a Henry Damford [sic - the image is very difficult to see, being faded] age 19 living with John and Emiline Spencer. I found their marriage in 1871 where Emiline's maiden name is given as Elford. Could she have been mis-recorded as Elford but in reality be a Dunford? And could Henry be her illegitimate son, and John Spencer his stepfather? 

You have a lot of conflicting info on your family and it can be very confusing to know what is correct. For example Ann's marriage says born Kansas USA but in the 1891 census it says she was born in England. So you really can't believe either one is right! Your best way to approach this is to take the time to list every single piece of evidence you've found - different names, different dates of birth, etc. Then approach your research using all the known "facts" even though some will prove incorrect as you gather more documents. the main thing is - slow and steady wins the race. Be methodical. Try not to jump around too much just go slowly trying to verify ever single fact you have found so far.You don't know what is correct with all the conflicting info until you find something that proves or disproves each "fact"

Lists of Emigrants Extracted from the Ordnance Survey Memoirs for Counties Londonderry and Antrim

Do you have ancestors from Londonderry or Antrim Ireland? Lists of Emigrants Extracted from the Ordnance Survey Memoirs for Counties Londonderry and Antrim are now available on Olive Tree Genealogy website. See Irish Emigrants 1833-1839

Indexes of names with page numbers for full details from the published book are now on Olive Tree Genealogy. The indexes consist of 8,713 names of Irish individuals who were listed in the Ordnance Survey of Ireland for Londonderry and Antrim Ireland and who emigrated from Ireland between 1833 and 1839.

The purpose of the Ordnance Survey of Ireland was to map the whole country. Each map was to have been accompanied by memoirs for every civil parish, but this was impractical and the idea was abandoned. Data was gathered for nineteen of Ireland's thirty-two counties, with the memoirs of Antrim and Londonderry the only ones with lists of emigrants.

These extracted lists identify the emigrant's destination and his place of origin in Ireland. The age, town and address, year of emigration, and religious denomination are given for each emigrant.

The notebooks in which the information was recorded are now in the Royal Irish Academy in Dublin. The book Irish Emigration Lists, 1833-1839, Lists of Emigrants Extracted from the Ordnance Survey Memoirs for Counties Londonderry and Antrim by Brian Mitchell is available in many libraries (In Salt Lake City Library it is 941.6 W2m and is available in FHL US/CAN Book and FHL BRITISH Book ) or it can be ordered through Amazon.com for full details on any immigrant found in the index.

Search for your Irish ancestor on Irish Emigrants 1833-1839 Names of 8,713 Irish individuals who emigrated between 1833 and 1839

Richter Family Ephemera New York to Virginia

Annette P. has generously donated several ephemera items from the Richter Family in Virginia to Olive Tree Genealogy for publication. This postcard is to Leora Richter in Falls Church Virginia. It is from the Museum of Modern Art in New York and signed "Jane"

Finding an Ancestor in Early Upper Canada

Joan P. sent an email to Olive Tree Genealogy because of my research into the Peer family of Ontario and America. Here is Joan's query:

My paternal great-grandmother was Louisa Pear (dob 02 July 1861, born in Matilda, Dundas County, Ontario, Canada. Louisa Pear was married to Ira McIntosh.
Louisa's father my 2nd Great grandfather was Alexander Pear (dob about 1813). I cannot find any other information on where in United Stateshe was born or who his parents or grandparents were. He was married to Elizabeth Bouck (1825-1901). He shows up in Canada census of 1851,1871, and 1881.and lists a place of birth as "United States". As wellthe surname shows as Pear, Pier, or LaPear on various census.
I am hoping you would have some information you may have come across with regards to him and his family.

My answer: As it happens I do have some information on Alexander which I found while researching the Peer family. I do not know who his parents were but I believe that he may have had brothers Joseph born ca 1822 in Ontario and Edward B. born ca 1823 in Ontario.

Here is information on Joseph in the 1851 for Mountain, Dundas County
Joseph Pear  abt 1822  Canada farmer, 30
Mary M Pear 29, abt 1828  Canada
Lucinda Pear 7, abt 1845  Canada
William E Pear 2,  abt 1850  Canada

And here is a bit on Edward on the 1851 Census for Matilda, Dundas Co.

Edward Pear 29, farmer abt 1823  Upper Canada
Maria Pear 28 abt 1824 Upper Canada 
Wm Pear  2  abt 1850 
Mary Keeler, widow, age 60



Is it a co-incidence that Alexander, Edward, and Joseph named first-born sons William? (The 1881 census for Alexander confirms this) I suspect not. I suggest it may very well be that they named their sons in honour of their father. Please remember as you forge ahead that this is what I call a "Working Theory". That means you work towards proving or disproving it.


Here is Alexander in the 1851 census for Matilda, Dundas County

Pear, Alexander, farmer, 30 no place of birth
Elizabeth, 26
Alice, 2

Alexander is found on Conc 4, Lot 13, with 52 acres in 1851 in Matilda, Dundas Co.

Edward is found living Matilda, Dundas co. on conc 2 lot 13 with 100 acres.

Joseph LaPier (sic) is found in Matilda, Dundas Co. on Conc 4, Lot 18

Armed with that I would look in the online Abstract Index to Deeds for all these  properties. You want to choose "Historical Books". Once there you want to view

Abstract/Parcel Register Book, DUNDAS (08), MATILDA, Book 6, CONCESSION 4 for Joseph and Alexander's lots. For Edward you want Book 4, Concession 2. 

Interestingly enough I see a Bouck family in those Abstract indexes purchasing Concession 2, Lot 13 - a relative of Alexander's wife perhaps?

See who they bought from, when they obtained the land, and how. Also who did they sell to, and when? You can also read about the Abstract Indexes to Deeds and other valuable Ontario land records on Olive Tree Genealogy. There are many types of land records available that can lead to wonderful genealogy discoveries, and my articles will help you if you are not familiar with these records.

You will no doubt want to do more research on Edward and Joseph to try to find out their parents' names and to prove or disprove my theory that they are brothers to Alexander. Look for their death certificates, follow their children for more information on the family, and of course, gather census details for all available years.

I also suggest that if you need further help finding vital statistics you might want to refer to the books below:

Ancestor Birth Record Finder: Finding a Birth Record When You've Hit a Brick Wall available as an Ebook on Amazon.com or Amazon.ca, also as a paperback on Amazon.com or Amazon.ca	Ancestor Marriage Record Finder: Finding a Marriage Record When You've Hit a Brick Wall available as an Ebook on Amazon.com or Amazon.ca, also soon as a paperback	Ancestor Death Record Finder: Finding a Death Record When You've Hit a Brick Wall available as an Ebook on Amazon.com or Amazon.ca, also as a paperback on Amazon.com or Amazon.ca

A Book on the Michigan Peer family

The Peer family, loyal to the British Crown, suffered from persecution in New Jersey throughout the American Revolution. Jacob Peer Jr. and his wife Lucy Powers settled in the wilderness of Upper Canada (present day Ontario) after the American Revolution.

After suffering losses during the War of 1812, Jacob Jr and Lucy left Ontario for Michigan in 1821. This book discusses the lives of Jacob, his wife Lucy, and their children in those early years. Descendants will enjoy seeing early documents such as land petitions, family photographs, probate records and wills.

Available on Amazon.com or Amazon.ca

Note for the book on his parents you also need to purchase V. 1 Jacob & Anne Peer on  Amazon.com or Amazon.ca

• Series: The Peer Family in North America
• Paperback: 152 pages
• Publisher: Olive Tree Genealogy (April 5, 2016)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1987938054
• ISBN-13: 978-1987938050
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 0.4 x 11 inches

Genealogy Chats on Twitter

 Did you know that there are chat sessions on Genealogy being held on Twitter? I've dug around and tried to find out what they are about, when they happen and who runs them. I don't have all the answers but this is what I was able to come up with:


Genchat. #genchat is a genealogy based Twitter chat. 
@_genchat on Twitter. Join us for #genchat every other Friday! Great #genealogy conversations, lots of learning, and good times! 9pm Central.

GenchatDNA
#GenchatDNA @genchatDNA ‏ on Twitter. A monthly group for newbies wondering where to start when testing their DNA

AncestryHour
@ancestryhour  on Twitter.  #AncestryHour Tuesdays 7.00pm GMT. See website

GenChatDE
#genchatDE @GenchatDE 
@BarbFFm is the host for this German version of GenChat. Held every three weeks on Thursdays. See full schedule

IAmNextGen
#iamnextgen @Nextgennetwrk 
Usually on Saturdays, Schedule not known

RogueGen
#roguegen See the website

Victoria BC Genealogy SIG
#vgstwittersig Victoria Genealogy
Every 2 weeks, Wednesdays same week as #genchat
 
ABGenealogy
@ABGenealogy  starting  soon

If I missed any or if I made any errors, drop me a line in the comment section and I'll update this blog post.

Are You Stuck Trying to Find an Ancestor's Birth Record?

Most genealogists search the obvious birth records such as Church records and Vital Stats (Birth Registrations or Certificates). These records are fairly well known but before Civil Registration began in whatever country your ancestor was from, you will have to look for other records for a birth date.

If we don't find our ancestor in one of those common birth records, we're stuck! Where to search next? The Ancestor Birth Finder can help direct you to alternate sources for birth records. All we need to do is think outside the box.

What happens when a child is born? When a woman becomes pregnant? What events take place around the birth of a child? What kind of birth record paper trail is created on the birth of an individual? The answers to these questions will lead you to other sources of birth records and hopefully end that brick-wall.

When an ancestor is born, many records leading up to and surrounding that birth might be created. Let's talk about records kept before an ancestor is born, and those created after a birth up to the individual’s death.

Ancestor Birth Record Finder: Tips on Finding a Birth Record When You've Hit a Brick Wall is available on Amazon and Amazon.ca as an ebook or paperback

Sewage Pipe Destroys Graves in Huronia Cemetery

The group Remember Every Name claims to have found evidence that sewage pipes have disturbed 150 graves in a cemetery attached to Orillia’s Huronia Regional Centre.

The centre was originally named the Orillia Asylum for Idiots and housed developmentally delayed individuals from 1876-2009.
 

From 1876 to 1971 over 4,000 individuals housed in the Asylum were buried with only numbers marking their graves. The Archives of Ontario has a list of people who died in the notorious Huronia Regional Centre, but won't release it without a freedom of information (FOI) request. This is the story of one of the children buried anonymously in the cemetery under Grave Marker 1751

NEW: Ontario Canada Marriage Records 1936

It was fun to search the new Ontario Marriage Records brought online by Ancestry.com this week. My mom and dad married in Guelph in 1936 in a double wedding with mom's sister! It was interesting to see my mother and father's marriage.

It was new to me that my dad was a hat-maker! I knew he worked for Biltmore Hats but didn't know exactly what he did there.I thought perhaps a low-level job on an assembly line.

According to the website:

This database is a collection of approximately 3.3 million marriages recorded in Ontario, Canada between 1826 and 1928, and 1933 and 1936. The indexes contained in this collection were created by two different organizations – Ancestry and the Genealogical Research Library in Brampton, Ontario. The following list is a breakdown of the records included in this database and who created the index to them.

Indexed by Ancestry (includes images of the records):

    Registrations of Marriages, 1869-1928, 1933-1935 (MS 932, Archives of Ontario)
    Division Registrar Vital Statistics Records, 1858-1918 (MS 940, Archives of Ontario) [However, there are very few marriages in this record set.]
    Marriage License Books, 1907-1910 (MS 945, Archives of Ontario)
    Delayed Registrations of Marriages, 1892-1919 (MS 948, Archives of Ontario)
    District Marriage Registers, 1801-1858 (MS 248, Archives of Ontario)
    Roman Catholic Marriage Registers, 1828-1870 (MS 248, Archives of Ontario)

Indexed by Genealogical Research Library (no images available):

    Registrations of Marriages, 1869-1919 (MS 932, Archives of Ontario)
    County Marriage Registers, 1858-1869 (microfilm, Family History Library) (the FHL microfilm is of Archives of Ontario microfilm series MS 248, reels 5-18)

Surnames A-Z: X,Y, Z

There's a new meme going around Facebook right now. Genealogists are listing their mother's maiden name, father's surname, maternal and paternal grandparents' surnames and a few more generations back.

It's a cute idea but I don't think it's wise to be providing such detail, especially your mother's maiden name, as it is often the secret question asked on sites where you require a password to log in.

So I'm revising the meme to suit me and I hope others will follow suit, either here as a comment on Olive Tree Genealogy blog, or on their own blog.

Over the coming weeks I'll be listing my surnames starting with "A" and going through the alphabet until I reach "Z".

I'll preface this with a caveat - most surnames are more common than you might think, so sharing a surname doesn't mean we're related. To be completely useful any surname list should have a geographic location and a time period. But this is just a fun little exercise and if you spot a name of interest, just let me know and we'll compare dates and locations.

X, Y, Z SURNAMES: Zwahlen

Join me - maybe we connect! Find previous surnames on Surnames A-Z

Richter Family in Virginia Ephemera from San Juan

Annette P. has generously donated several ephemera items from the Richter Family in Virginia to Olive Tree Genealogy for publication.This postcard is to "Mom" - Leora Richter in Virginia from Toby and Libbet in San Juan

Kind Words From Interment.Net

Back in August 2016, Steve Johnson of Interment.net was kind enough to publish a brief blurb about my genealogy mystery book "Death Finds a Way"

I'm late (very late!) in talking about his column but please take a look at New Genealogy Mystery Novel Debuts: "Death Finds a Way"

Names of Those Convicted of High Treason During War of 1812

During the War of 1812,  most of the inhabitants of Upper Canada (present day Ontario) fought on the British side in defence of the colony. Some did their best to stay neutral but some preferred the American side and openly joined the invaders in the fighting.

Civil Secretary's Correspondence, Upper Canada Sundries
May-August 1815, No. 5, A1, Vol. 23

In November and December of 1813 the Canadian militia surprised a group of invaders near Chatham, Ontario. Among the prisoners were 15 residents of Upper Canada. They were sent to York to be tried in the court. Court proceedings began in Ancaster on 23 May 1814. Nineteen men were officially charged with High Treason. In June, the following men were found guity of treason:

Jacob Overholtzer, Aaron Stevens, Garrett Neill, John Johnston, Samuel and Stephen Hartwell, Dayton Lindsey, George Peacock Jr., Isaiah Brink, Benjamin Simmons, Adam Crysler, Isaac Petit, Cornelius Howey, John Dunham, and Noah Payne Hopkinsy. Dayton Lindsey.

Noah Payne Hopkins, John Dunham, Aaron Stevens, Benjamin Simmons, George Peacock Jr., Isaiah Brink and Adam Crysler were executed by hanging on 20 July 1814 at Burlington Heights.

Letter 28 July 1815 Informing Officials of the Deaths

Garrett Neill, Isaac Pettit and Jacob Overholtzer were sent to Kingston Gaol where they remained under sentence of death or transportation for the crime of High Treason. 

Their deaths in prison were reported in 1815 as Garrett Neil on March 6, 1815, Jacob Overholtzer on March 14, 1815 and Isaac Pettit on April 16, 1815 

We learn more details of these men in Vol. XII - Ontario Historical Society, (1923) THE ANCASTER "BLOODY ASSIZE" OF 1814. BY THE HONOURABLE WILLIAM RENWICK RIDDELL, LL.D., F.R.S.C., ETC. Justice of the Supreme Court of Ontario, 1923

Friday, June 17, Issac Petit (Pettit) was placed in the dock before the
Chief Justice. It was made to appear from the evidence that Petit had taken some part with the marauders, but he had refused to accompany them and had been branded as a coward; the case, however, was clear, and he was justly found guilty.

Petitions had already begun to pour in. Jacob Overholzer was described as "an unfortunate but honest old man" by many loyal inhabitants of the Township of Bertie as early as June 11. The Executive Council conferred with the Judges and the Attorney General, and after anxious consideration and careful weighing of all the facts, it was determined that seven might be saved from death; these seven, the Hartwells, Cornelius Howey, Issac Pitt[sic - Petit], Jacob Overholzer, Garret Neill and John Johnson were
respited till July 28, to enable proper enquiry to be made and proper terms fixed for commutation. 

The Chief Justice refusd to advise whom to execute but he recommeded that as the convicted men were all from the Niagara and London Districts, one at least from each District should be executed; at the same time he pointed out that the President had no power to pardon for Treason

In the latter part of the winter there broke out in Kingston Gaol, the dreaded Jail-fever which, under that name, or that of ship-fever, spotted-fever, etc., was the scourge of crowded gaols, ships and other confined places. It was a virulent type of typhus fever, then and for long  after believed to be "generated out of filth and overcrowding, bad diet and close, foul air", but now known to be due to the activity of the busy "cootie", as malaria to the mosquito, and the plague to the rat-flea.

Some of the unhappy prisoners were seized with the disease, and three died of it, Garrett Neill, March 6, Jacob Overholzer, March 14, and Isaac Petit, March 16, 1815.

Surnames A-Z: W

There's a new meme going around Facebook right now. Genealogists are listing their mother's maiden name, father's surname, maternal and paternal grandparents' surnames and a few more generations back.

It's a cute idea but I don't think it's wise to be providing such detail, especially your mother's maiden name, as it is often the secret question asked on sites where you require a password to log in.

So I'm revising the meme to suit me and I hope others will follow suit, either here as a comment on Olive Tree Genealogy blog, or on their own blog.

Over the coming weeks I'll be listing my surnames starting with "A" and going through the alphabet until I reach "Z".

I'll preface this with a caveat - most surnames are more common than you might think, so sharing a surname doesn't mean we're related. To be completely useful any surname list should have a geographic location and a time period. But this is just a fun little exercise and if you spot a name of interest, just let me know and we'll compare dates and locations.

W SURNAMES: Warner, Wash, Wastell, Watkins, Webb, Werner, Whibley, White, Whiting, Wildbore, Williams, Winne, Wood, Wust, Wyersdr., Wynter

Join me - maybe we connect! Find previous surnames on Surnames A-Z

Finding Records in Canadian Ships Passenger Lists

There are no comprehensive ships passenger lists of immigrants arriving in Canada prior to 1865. Until that year, shipping companies were not required by the government to keep their passenger manifests.  However there are individual Immigration projects and databases online that may be of help in your search for ancestors

The National Archives of Canada (NAC) aka Library & Archives Canada (LAC) holds immigration records from 1865 to 1935. These are searchable online but from 1865-1922 are not searchable by passenger name. From 1922-1935 the images are searchable by passenger name.

To obtain a copy of your own landing record, you must submit an Application for a Certified True Copy, Correction, or Replacement of an Immigration Document to Citizenship and Immigration Canada Alternatively, you can apply for a Permanent Resident Card

BOOK: Willem Van Slyke aka Neef in New Netherland

One of my early immigrant ancestors is Cornelis Antonissen Van Slyke. I am also descended from Cornelis' nephew Willem Pietersen Van Slyke. 

Willem Pietersen Van Slyke's arrival in the New World is generally considered to be in 1660 on board De Trouw.  Willem, who was also known as Willem Neef (Neef being the Dutch word for nephew) was the nephew of Cornelis Antonissen Van Slyke, who arrived earlier in the Colony of Rensselaerswcyk in May 1634 on board de Eendracht.

The first record found for Willem is on 22 February 1661, probably not long after his arrival in the colony. In the Deacon’s Account books of Beverwyck and Albany, Willem is noted as having been given 160 guilders.  Here we find the first reference to Willem as the nephew of Cornelis Van Slyke.

Willem probably met, and married his wife, Baertie, in the Albany or Kinderhook area shortly after arrival in the colony. Her last name remains uknown, but together she and Willem had at least six children, probably between 1660 and 1674. Church records for the Albany area have not survived before  1684, but we can determine their children by other means. 

To honour Willem and his story, I wrote a book about the family called "New Netherland Settlers: Willem Pieterse Van Slyke aka Neef - A genealogy to five generations of the descendants of Willem Pieterse Van Slyke" by Lorine McGinnis Schulze

You may purchase this book on Amazon.com or Amazon.ca

Review of New Netherland Settlers: Willem Pieterse Van Slyke aka Neef in July 2005 New York Genealogical & Biographical Record volume 136, Number 3, page 223

"Willem Pieterse Van Slyke of Albany and Rensselaerwyck was known as Neef or nephew, as his uncle Cornelis Antonissen Van Slyke was also a settler in the area. Lorine Schulze, who published the genealogy of Cornelis' family in 1996, has now produced an extensive account of Willem's descendants.

Initial narrative chapters cover historical background on New Netherland and the Dutch; new research on the family in the Netherlands which shows how uncle and nephew were related; and the lives of Willem Pieterse and his children, including the identities of their spouses, with resolution of several genealogical questions carefully explained.

The remainder of the book contains a traditional genealogy of Willem and his descendants, documented with 753 endnotes mostly referencing primary sources. Ms. Schulze plans more volumes in the series, including a supplement to the Cornelis Atonissen book with more detail on the Netherlands ancestry."

Credits: 
Image of ship inside compass copyright Brian L. Massey

Surnames A-Z: V

There's a new meme going around Facebook right now. Genealogists are listing their mother's maiden name, father's surname, maternal and paternal grandparents' surnames and a few more generations back.

It's a cute idea but I don't think it's wise to be providing such detail, especially your mother's maiden name, as it is often the secret question asked on sites where you require a password to log in.

So I'm revising the meme to suit me and I hope others will follow suit, either here as a comment on Olive Tree Genealogy blog, or on their own blog.

Over the coming weeks I'll be listing my surnames starting with "A" and going through the alphabet until I reach "Z".

I'll preface this with a caveat - most surnames are more common than you might think, so sharing a surname doesn't mean we're related. To be completely useful any surname list should have a geographic location and a time period. But this is just a fun little exercise and if you spot a name of interest, just let me know and we'll compare dates and locations.

V SURNAMES: Van Alstyne, van der Morsch, Van der Straaten, Van Horn, Van Huyse, Van Reumsthofstede, Van Rottmer, van Rynsburch,Van Schaik, Van Slyke, Van Valkenburg, Van Woert, Vanderburgh, Vollick, Vonck, Vrooman

Join me - maybe we connect! Find previous surnames on Surnames A-Z

Richter Family Ephemera 2 from Jersey Shore

Annette P. has generously donated several ephemera items from the Richter Family in Virginia to Olive Tree Genealogy for publication. This item is a postcard from the Jersey Shore sent to Mrs. C. V. Richter in Virginia

Nursing Sister Philips WW1 Photo Album 6-L

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"

Calling All Witches!

There is a call for witches to help with Chicago’s Newberry Library need to crowdsource translations for three 17th-century manuscripts of spells, charms and magic.

The three manuscripts, “The Book of Magical Charms,” “The Commonplace Book” and “Cases of Conscience Concerning Witchcraft” are currently available at “Transcribing Faith” portal.

In the 17th century manuscript, The Book of Magical Charms, you can transcribe, edit others' efforts, or translate Latin to English.

The Commonplace Book appears to have been started in the 15th century and contains many diverse topics from morality issues to odd events and religion.

 You can transcribe or edit others work in Cases of Conscience Concerning Witchcraft  which is part of the Cases of Conscience Concerning Evil Spirits by Increase Mather, an influential Puritan minister and president of Harvard who also administered the Salem Witch Trials.

Continue reading Library seeks witches to translate 17th-century spellbook

Organizing Your Genealogy Files

It's another year, another opportunity to create some kind of organization out of our genealogy files and notes. Yes, I said "our" because I'm pretty sure that most of you are in the same mess I'm in. I'm super organized in the kitchen. Spices are all in alphabetical order. Dishes and glassware are neatly placed by type and pattern. Cereal is in the cupboard in alphabetical order. You get the picture, right?

But my genealogy files? They're a mess, although I prefer to think of them as in a state of "organized chaos". I have had stacks of papers and documents so high they defied gravity. Oddly enough I'm very organized and methodical with the research I do on my New Netherland Settlers project and any genealogy that is not about my own ancestors!

One of the reasons I'm in a bit of a big mess with my personal genealogy is that every year I decide I don't like my current method of organizing my research and I start a new one. Since I've been researching my ancestors for over 30 years, obviously I run out of new methods and repeat former ones, with small modifications.

Over the years I've tried binders, filing cabinets, digital files instead of paper, storage tubs.... you name it, I've probably tried it. Of course within each method there is even more choice. For example when you use binders, you can file by surname, by family group, by location, by type of record, by individual.

I loved binders when I used them. I printed off family group sheets and filed all relevant documents and photos with the appropriate family. It was a great system for me until I had so many files filling dozens of binders and it became cumbersome. That's what happens the longer you look for, and find, ancestors.

Filing cabinets worked well for me until again, I found so many ancestors that my notes and documents filled so many cabinets they could not fit in my small office. Soon we had huge filing cabinets in my office, in the basement, and in our family room.


I'm even worse at organizing digital files. It's boring. It's tedious. I do use Evernote to help me with organizing those genealogy files but I still don't enjoy doing it.

I liked using storage tubs because I could just label each tub and toss the documents in without worrying about chronological order or sorting by location or whatever method might be best. Of course that didn't work well after awhile because I could never find what I wanted and I never got around to organizing the papers in each tub.

One of my family books

A few years ago I hit on the idea to publish books on my ancestors for my children. The books are between 20 and 30 pages and I carefully choose what documents and photos to use. I publish one book for each surname. I start with the furthest back ancestor I have with that surname and print his family group chart, then I include images of various documents of his life.

Each chapter contains documents (and a family group sheet) for the next generation down. I also add research I've done on siblings in each generation. The book ends wherever the surname daughters out for my direct line. This has been really fun and my children are enjoying them.

I'm ensuring that my research is not lost but the drawback is that I can't include every single fact and document. I didn't think it would solve my problem of organizing my papers but I was wrong! I've gone back to using filing cabinets for my research notes and papers, and when I create a book, I am forced to organize those documents before I begin writing.

My husband also came up with the idea of selling these family surname books. Much to my surprise other descendants have purchased them! So it's a win-win situation.  My genealogy gets organized, my children have individual books on our family surnames and ancestors, and other descendants can read about their ancestors.

How do you solve the problem of organizing your genealogy files? 

VIrginia USA Richter Family Ephemera

Annette P. has generously donated several ephemera items from the Richter Family in Virginia to Olive Tree Genealogy for publication. Here's the first one sent to Craig Richter in Virginia from Portugal in 1994