My Wall of Ancestors

This is my wall of ancestors. One of many. Each of the photos you see is of an ancestor - either mine or my husband's.

We intersperse them with antique paintings or prints, or wall clocks for a display that, as you can see, almost fills every inch of space!

They didn't come to us in frames (except one or two). I buy antique frames which my husband repairs if he needs to, then we have the original photos enlarged to fit. We choose a mat from the local framing shop and have it put together. Then I write on the back the details of the person, or family group, in the photo. It's our way of cherishing our ancestors, preserving family photographs, and ensuring that information on them carries on to the next generation who will welcome the photos into their protection.

Here are a few closeups of some of our ancestor photos on the wall. It was challenging to take photos due to glare from windows and height of some. I hope you are preserving and enjoying your family treasures.

 

Don't Overlook Tokens if Your Ancestor was a Storekeeper

Henry Noldred Token 1650s

Last summer I found out that my 9th great-grandfather Henry Noldred of Ramsgate Kent England, was a grocer who had his own tokens created to spend in his store in place of official money.

Apparently that was often done in the 17th century when storekeepers would make their own money substitute.

I was so intrigued by this new-found information that I started researching to see if I could find any of his tokens and I found that one of his existed created circa 1650!. I also learned that Ramsgate was spelled Romansgate back then.

Once I found that one of Henry's tokens had been sold on an auction site a few months before, I became determined to find another and purchase it. I'm excited to say I succeeded! A rare coin and token dealer  in England found two for me, and I bought them both. The one is in the image above and the second one I bought is below. I plan on having a small plaque made with Henry's birth, death and location. Then I'll have the tokens and the plaque framed and it will have a place of honour on my wall.

This is the description of the tokens: (rosette)HEN.NOLDRED.IN.ROMANS , around beaded inner circle, three tobacco rolls / logs of wood.
Rev: (rosette)GET.IN.YE.ISLE.OF.TENNET , around beaded inner circle, HIS HALF PENY in three lines. M. Dickinson 454. Neither obverse or reverse dies represented in Norweb.

You never know what you might find on an ancestor if you look in unusual places! The Rare Coins and Tokens site I used has a very nice search engine if you want to start your own hunt for ancestor tokens.

Ephemera Postcard to Leora Aultman

Annette P. has generously donated several ephemera items to Olive Tree Genealogy for publication. This postcard is to Mrs. Leora Aultman in Rhode Island. It is from Cape Cod Massachusetts

The Peer Family in North America: V.3 Edward Peer & His Two Wives and their Descendants to 3 Generations

V3. Edward Peer & His Two Wives and their Descendants to 3 Generations. The Peer family, loyal to the British Crown, suffered from persecution in New Jersey throughout the American Revolution. Edward Peer, son of Jacob, came from New Jersey to the wilds of Upper Canada (present day Ontario) in 1786 with his first wife Anna.

By 1820 he and his second wife Sarah left Ontario for Pennsylvania. He died in 1834 in Erie County Pennsylvania.

This book discusses the lives of Edward, his two wives, and their children and grandchildren in those early years. Descendants will enjoy seeing early documents such as land petitions, family photographs, newspaper clippings, and wills. 

The Peer Family in North America: V.3 Edward Peer & His Two Wives and their Descendants to 3 Generations

Available at Amazon.com or Amazon.ca

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

Richter Family Ephemera to Phoebe Rockwell

Annette P. has generously donated several ephemera items from the Richter Family in Virginia to Olive Tree Genealogy for publication.

This postcard is to Miss Phoebe J. Rockwell c/o Mrs. M. Brown, Camp Star Acres, Eaton Center, [--]

It is signed "Grombie" in Falls Church Virginia. I suspect this is the original Richter Family writing to a granddaughter.

Book on Levi Peer & Elizabeth Marical New Jersey to Illinois and Canada

The Peer family, loyal to the British Crown, suffered from persecution in New Jersey throughout the American Revolution. Levi and his family left Sussex County New Jersey in 1801 to join his parents and siblings in Upper Canada (Ontario). Shortly after the War of 1812, Levi and family left Canada for New York, then Pennsylvania, and eventually Illinois. One son returned to Canada.

This book discusses the lives of Levi, his wife Elizabeth Marical and their children and grandchildren in those early years. Descendants will enjoy seeing early documents such as land petitions, family photographs, newspaper clippings, and wills.

The Peer Family in North America: V.2 Levi Peer & Elizabeth Marical and their Descendants to 3 Generations is now available at or Amazon.com or Amazon.ca

Note for the book on Levi Peer's parents you also need to purchase V. 1 Jacob & Anne Peer which is available at Amazon.com or Amazon.ca

How to Find Ancestors in Upper Canada (Ontario) Land Records

Recently Olive Tree Genealogy received an intriguing email query from Jennifer.

I have tried on my own to access deed/land record information on an ancestor.William Lamoure bought Thomas Talbot land on a contract in 1804.   He received the deed in 1826....I have those records.   What I am searching for is when he sold it....what year and to whom???   He was in London Township. I believe that he sold his land and moved to Michigan....but I have NO record proof. I hired a researcher previously and they found nothing.

Lorine's Answer: I don't always undertake research when I receive such a query; instead I often offer suggestions as to where the genealogist could look next. But in this case, due to my interest in Ontario land records, the question intrigued me. I am pleased to say I found what Jennifer wanted in less than an hour. Because I think my process may help others searching for such records, I'm outlining my steps here.

Step One: I first searched the online Upper Canada Land Petitions at LAC (Library and Archives Canada) to find out exactly where William's land was. I also sent Jennifer an email asking her for the Concession and Lot if she knew it. Meantime I found William's petition in the online index. This gave me the Volume, Bundle, Petition Number, and Film Number I needed: 240A, L14, Petition 156 on film C 2128.

For more details on searching the UCLP (Upper Canada Land Petitions) see my article Searching Ontario Canada Land Records, eh?


Step Two: Next I went to the online digitized microfilm, also at LAC (Library and Archives Canada), searched for C 2128 and opened it. It didn't take long to find the section of film needed (Images 731-734 if anyone wants to see the petition) The envelope of the petition provided the detail I needed. William was granted land on Concession B, Lot 6, London Township. The date it was granted was July 1826. I also noted the Land Book Reference from the envelope so I could check there too. That was recorded as Land Book "M" page 650.

For help with understanding what is on these Upper Canada Land Petitions, see my article Understanding Notations on the Envelope of an Upper Canada Land Petition


Step Three: To search for the Land Book Reference I needed to find out what film held July 1826. So I went to the online conversion table at Heritage Canadiana and saw that I needed to consult film C-104. The films are online  and it was then a matter of scrolling through to July 1826. William was found on image 424. The record did not reveal much more than was already in the petition but it is always a good idea to check there too just in case.

C-104 Land Book "M"

For more help with finding a record in the Upper Canada Land Books see Finding an Ancestor in the Challenging Upper Canada Land Books

 
Step Four: Next I went to the onine OnLand.com site to search the Abstract Indexes to Deeds. This set of records provides the names of all owners of every piece of Crown Land in Ontario. So finding the abstracts for Lot 6, Concession B in London Township should provide me with dates and details of William obtaining the land in 1826 and when he left it. It was a bit of work to figure out what Book I needed but I did find it (MIDDLESEX COUNTY (33), LONDON, Book 3. ABSTRACT INDEX 1 UP TO 1866; CONCESSION A, B, C; CONCESSION 1 TO 2; PAGE 1 TO 114). I scrolled through many pages of other books before figuring out it was in this specific book.

 

Learn how to use the information in the Abstract Indexes to Deeds at The Overlooked Abstract Indexes to Deeds - a Useful Genealogy Research Tool

William is noted a few times over the years 1826 to 1849. The last entry is November 1849 so we might assume he left the area that year. Obtaining each of the instruments for each transaction will provide details that may give further clues. The instrument numbers are noted with each transaction. For those interested, the images for William are 31 and 32. It seems this was a 2-sided ledger so look at the left side on one image and the right side on the next.

Other Places to Search

CLRI

I also had a look in the CLRI (Ontario Land Record Index) which is an alphabetical listing of first time land owners of Crown land. William was found as William Lamoure of London Township obtaining Lot 6, Concession ID under Date ID of 8 which is an OIC (Order in Council). It was a Free Grant but he paid Full Fees. The Archival Reference is RG01 Series C13 Volume 033 page 046. It is not likely that much more would be found using the Archival Reference.

Other places one might search are:

Township Papers

Township Papers deal mostly with the original locatees, but may contain other pre-patent records.  These are miscellaneous land-related records, arranged by township name, then by concession and lot or by town name and lot number.These are available on microfilm. See Archives of Ontario.

Heir & Devisee Commission Records

The first Heir and Devisee Commission heard claims to land made by original nominees, their heirs devisees or assignees, the second Commission was confined to claims made solely by heirs, devisees or assignees. 

The First Heir and Devisee records are available on microfilm and have been digitized and placed online at Canadiana.org

 *Note: Researches are advised to consult my corrected Finding Aid for the First Heir and Devisee records at Peristence Pays Off: My Finding Aid is linked to from Library and Archives Canada


The Second Heir and Devisee records can be searched online at Archives of Ontario. Their database consists of an index to 5184 case files

As I explained to Jennifer, I no longer accept payment for research projects. If a query appeals to me, I do the work pro bono. I was happy to do this for Jennifer but I mentioned that if someone I have assisted is happy with the results they might consider buying me a cup of coffee (if they choose to) by using this link PayPal.Me/OliveTreeGenealogy

She very kindly bought me several cups of coffee and I appreciate it! 

Ephemera Schulze & Richter

Annette P. has generously donated several ephemera items from the Richter Family in Virginia to Olive Tree Genealogy for publication. This postcard is addressed to Miss Connie Schulze in Georgia and is signed "Mother"

Coffin Plate of Patrick Dalton died 1879

Olive Tree Genealogy is sharing this coffin plate with permission of my Facebook friend Dan Lynch:

Hoping to return a found family treasure to the right descendants. 

Silver cross engraved Patrick Dalton, Died Aug 4. 1879, Aged 67 Yrs 5 Mos (Estimated birth March 1812). 

Measures approx 8x6 inches.

Dan has given me permission to add this to the collection of coffin plates on AncestorsAtRest.com

 

 

 

Find Ancestors in Free United Kingdom Genealogy

Free UK Genealogy is the parent organization for FreeBMD, FreeReg and FreeCEN. Volunteers make transcriptions of the England and Wales Index of Births, Marriages and Deaths (FreeBMD), historic Parish Registers (FreeReg) and 19th Century Censuses (FreeCEN).

Each of the projects is a significant undertaking and in total, more than ten thousand volunteers have contributed over 350,000,000 records.

The three databases - FreeBMD, FreeReg, and FreeCen are completely free to access online.

If you are searching your UK ancestors, you might want to give these sites a try.

Happy 15th Blog Birthday to Olive Tree Genealogy Blog

On February 9, 2003 Olive Tree Genealogy Blog was born. Today is its 15th birthday!

In the last 15 years, from February 9, 2003 to January 17, 2018 I've written 3,413 articles and published them here on my blog.

It's interesting to see how I started out slowly, and gradually increased my yearly publications. Then I decreased my output. This was a deliberate move on my part as, to be honest, I felt I was suffering burnout! Decreasing my blog posts to approximately 3 per week has helped and I hope has improved the quality of my offerings to my readers.

    ►  2017 (264)

    ►  2016 (309)

    ►  2015 (379)

    ►  2014 (366)

    ►  2013 (379)

    ►  2012 (355)

    ►  2011 (371)

    ►  2010 (269)

    ►  2009 (259)

    ►  2008 (192)

    ►  2007 (114)

    ►  2006 (17)

    ►  2005 (86)

    ►  2004 (26)

    ►  2003 (12)

I plan on continuing for as many years as possible, so please keep dropping by Olive Tree Genealogy blog and leave your comments. I love hearing from you!

Write Your Family Stories With Over 150 Prompts

Sharing Family Stories and Memories: Prompts for Writing Your Memoirs for Future Generations is now available as an ebook on Amazon.com, paperback on Amazon.com, ebook on Amazon.ca or paperback on Amazon.ca

Family stories are lost over three generations unless they are recorded and preserved. Don’t wait to start preserving your precious memories. It is important as genealogists that we not forget about writing our own story. Finding an ancestor diary is a huge thrill.

But what about our own memories and stories? We need to preserve them for future generations. I invite you to begin your personal genealogy journey. Start your own journal and write your stories.

My book provides more than 150 prompts and suggestions for guiding  you  as you record your childhood memories and stories. Each prompt has several questions designed to jog your memory of events.

For example one prompt is Firsts (first Kiss, first Dance, first airplane ride, first birth in family, first car, first death in family, first wedding in family, etc. ) 

Use the prompts in this book to jog your memory or guide you. Write daily or weekly or monthly, but write!

Another Prompt For Writing Your Life Story

Last year a Meme hit Twitter called #FirstSevenJobs  As the hashtag suggests, folks posted a list of the first seven jobs they held. That made me think about what a great prompt that is for writing the stories of our lives. I already have a prompt about talking about your first job in my book "Sharing Family Stories and Memories: Prompts for Writing Your Memoirs for Future Generations" but making a list of all your paying jobs is a great addition.

Of course, with each job listed you would write a description of what year(s) you worked at that job, what you did, how much you made (if you remember), where it was, what your boss was like, whether you loved or hated it, and any other details you can remember.

To show what I mean, here is my list of all of my paying jobs - 18 of them, starting from age 14 with babysitting jobs. I would have included being a homemaker but I didn't get paid for that. I haven't included a description of them but in my personal journal of my life story I will. Why not try your hand at this? Here's mine:

1. Babysitting
2. Working as a page in the local Library
3. Waitress at a Lodge near Huntsville Ontario
4. Vending Machine company sorting and rolling coins
5. Assistant to Chief Accountant in Canada-wide Banking & Mortgage Company
6. IBM Keypunch Operator
7. Creating surveys for Survey Marketing company
8. Library Assistant
9. Nursery School Aide
10. Dental Office Receptionist
11. Bookkeeper in Ophthalmologist office
12. Child Care Worker Kinark Child and Family Care Services
13. Teacher Assistant
14. Teacher in Special Education
15. Math Tutor
16. Self-employed Genealogist
17. Affiliate Marketer
18. Author

Richter Ephemera from the Grant Family

Annette P. has generously donated several ephemera items from the Richter Family in Virginia to Olive Tree Genealogy for publication. This postcard is to Lee Richter in Falls Church Virginia. It is signed from Bob and Peggy Grant

Happy 23 Year Anniversary to Olive Tree Genealogy!

Olive Tree Genealogy actually began sometime in the winter of 1995 but it wasn't until February 1996 that it was given space on the old Rootsweb site. Imagine – my site has been on the Internet for 23 years - that's a LONG time for a website!

You can read a bit about me or see some of the early versions of Olive Tree Genealogy

I am often asked why I created Olive Tree Genealogy. After my husband died in 1993 and I was injured at school by a student, my enforced inactivity and loneliness was pretty tough to take. A friend suggested I learn how to set up a website on this new thing called "the internet".

An early version of Olive Tree Genealogy

Many of the big sites we use today did not exist when I set up Olive Tree Genealogy. CyndisList came online right after me. Rootsweb started up around the same time. Ancestry.com didn't exist. Hard to imagine, isn't it?  Olive Tree Genealogy is a senior in Internet days. Back then the few genealogy sites online were, as all sites were, battleship grey with no fancy bells and whistles like search engines!

I started with one ships passenger list and some historical articles I wrote about Huguenots, Walloons, Loyalists and Palatines. That one ship's list was so popular and I received so many requests for more that I began hunting for others. Now Olive Tree Genealogy has over 1,500 ships lists online. And they're all free. Everything on my site is free. No strings attached.

Truthfully I've lost count of how many pages and data (names of individuals) are online now.  I've also lost track of how many times I've attempted to come up with a more manageable navigation system for the site! It's so huge and covers so may topics that it's pretty much impossible to make it simple or easy. So fair warning - visiting Olive Tree Genealogy is like going to a relative's home that they've lived in for 23 years (see what I did there?) and it's had additions added over those 23 years. So many additions that it's a bit like a maze but you love it anyway because it's warm and cosy and a very friendly place to be. You also know that you can't visit in a half hour or even an hour, you have to plan to stay for awhile.

So please drop by Olive Tree Genealogy and stay awhile. With any luck you might find an ancestor or two!

Names of Emigrants to Canada 1845-1847

From 1823 to 1849, James Allison was a government emigrant agent at Montreal, Quebec Canada. He was responsible for the provisioning and transportation of destitute immigrants from Montreal to locations mostly in Upper Canada. There were several Emigration Agents in Upper and Lower Canada, each was responsible for assisting poor immigrants in finding employment, shelter, provisions and transportation to their final destination.

The book Names of Emigrants from the 1845-1847 Records of James Allison, Emigrant Agent at Montreal is divided into two parts:

Part 1: The transcript (The transcript includes the records of James Allison and an appendix from the British parliamentary papers of persons who died at Grosse Île in 1846.)

Part 2: The indexes - an Index of emigrants personal names and an Index of place names)

Olive Tree Genealogy has published an index of emigrant names plus page numbers at Names of Emigrants from the 1845-1847 Records of James Allison, Emigrant Agent at Montreal

To view the full record for an individual, consult Ancestry.com Irish Canadian Emigration Records, 1823-1849

These records are also available on microfilmat the NAC as records of James Allison, Emigrant Agent at Montreal, 1823-1849 (reel C-15773)

Image is a sample page from Ancestry.com database

Woman of Courage Sarah Stead 1836-1867

Because February is Women's History Month I wanted to share with my readers the story of strong and courageous women in my life. You will be able to follow along as you wish by choosing the label "Women of Courage" in the right side bar. I encourage my readers to join me in honoring women of courage in your own families.

Sarah Elvery Stead 1867

Sarah Elvery has always been an ancestor whose life story brings tears to my eyes. Born in Kent England in 1836, Sarah grew up in a hard-working family. At the age of 20 she married William Stead, a local gardener. William was deaf, having suffered from measles as a 10 year old and losing his hearing as a result. 

Children soon followed in rapid succession - Edward, William Jr. and Charles. In 1862 their only daughter, my great-grandmother Sarah, was born. Sadly one year later little 6 year old Edward died. 1866 saw the birth of another son who they named Edward after their deceased first-born son.

William decided the family would emigrate from England to Australia where his brother had been living since 1855. It was 1867, the Civil War was barely over in the United States, and 29 year old Sarah was pregnant with her 6th child.

The voyage on the Light Brigade was a rough one. They encountered many storms and the voyage was much longer than normal. Sarah was nearing her time to deliver her child an they were still at sea. Then tragedy struck. Sarah gave birth to a son who they named Ebenezer but shortly after his birth she was bitten by a flea on a rat, and fell ill with Typhus. When the ship reached Sydney Harbour, they were quarantined and poor Sarah died on board without ever setting foot on land.

My mother at Sarah's grave

Sarah would no doubt have been heart-broken at what happened next. William took his 5 year old daughter Sarah and 7 year old son Charles back to England, leaving his other two sons behind with his brother. They were later adopted by William's brother, and William himself remarried in England one year later and had more children with his new wife.

Finding Malaria Through Ancient DNA

Centuries before the first known case of malaria in Africa, researchers have now found signs of malaria in skeletons from Italy. Two adult remains were found to have this ancient infectious disease in their DNA. Studying ancient DNA helps scientists better understand present-day malaria.

An article by Amara McLaughlin, CBC News states that

The team at McMaster University was assisted by scientists at the National Museum of Prehistory and Ethnography in Rome and the University of Sydney.  They extracted DNA from the teeth of 58 adults, using a technique called "targeted enrichment" technology to recover the malaria parasite that is centuries old. 

Continue reading  Researchers uncover the existence of malaria 2,000 years ago during the Roman Empire

 

Book to Help You Find Your Ancestor's Death Record

Most genealogists search the obvious death records such as Church records and Vital Stats (Death 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 death date.

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

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