Reading 17th Century Dutch Handwriting - Part Two

Reading Dutch Script: Studying the letter formations on a page of records



If you need help with Dutch names, you might find my section on New Netherland (present day New York) of some help. Anyone with ancestors from New York in the 1600s may find themselves with Dutch ancestry (which is what got me started on all this!)

It gives examples of >Dutch names = English names = Shortened Dutch names (nicknames). It also explains the use of suffixes -je or -tje, -je, -tje, -ie and -ke

To learn the patronymic naming system and the suffixes used there, you might find >Understanding Patronymics helpful

Membership Lists New Amsterdam (New York City) Dutch Reformed Church, Question & Answer

Question: Here's the entry from the "New York Membership lists" exactly as it appears in New York Genealogical Biographical Record, Vol 9, p. 168.

den 29 Novemb. (1682)

Claes Janszen Stavast, en Obyt tot N. Albany
Eva Gerrits, Syn huysvr. [den 6 Aug. 1687

I feel more confused now that I have seen the entry because the way I read it:

Claes Janszen Stavast, and died N.Albany 6 Aug 1687 Eva Gerrits, his housewife.

Would this be Eva that died????

My Answer: The membership lists of the New Amsterdam (New York City) Dutch Reformed Church are searchable online. The names are in the left column. Comments are in the right column and were made (sometimes years later) after the names were entered.

This means that the notation below is read as

Claes Janszen Stavast, and Eva Gerrits, his wife

The extra notation "died N. Albany 6 Aug 1687" refers to whatever name it is beside. If it is beside Claes, it refers to him.

When you read the other names in the earlier registers you can see that various names have an entry which begins on the same line as their name. If it extends to a second line it is indented but kept in the samn column - presumably so there is no confusion as to whom the notation refers.

In the years you are looking at, you can see that if the entry extends to a second line, sometimes it is indented, and sometimes a [ has been added to the beginning of the second line in the right hand column. Sometimes it is indented *and* has the addition of a [

I am presuming this is to reinforce the separation of the entry from the name on that line, and to indicate the entry refers to the name *above* (which is also where the entry started) The entry you show below has the separating bracket [ and is indented in the NYGBR publication.

Several names have a little } beside both of them - and one notation on the first line of the right hand column. This means, as far as I am aware, that the notation refers to both parties.

If you look at the name one down from Claes Jansen Stavast and Eva Gerrits you will see the { being used and the right column notation extending down two lines with no indentation and no separating bracket [ --- thus indicating that this notation, unlike the one for Claes, refers to both parties.

Reading 17th Century Dutch Handwriting - Part One

Finding an entry on a page of records from 1621

Click on the image for a larger picture, or View larger image. You can also view a larger image here

This is a page of church baptismal records from 1621 in Amsterdam. The entry I was looking for was for Claesje the daughter of Teunis Dircks & Aefje Pieters.

This is a relatively easy page to read compared to some! The handwriting is neat and legible, the filmed record is not dark, and the size of the writing is not too small.

Reading 17th Century Dutch Handwriting - Introduction

If you have ancestors who settled in New Netherland (now New York) in the 1600s, you will undoubtably eventually find yourself struggling with Dutch words and handwriting. You may even venture into research from the Amsterdam Archives Church Records which have been microfilmed.

Amsterdam Doopregisters (Baptism Registers) follow a fairly consisent format. They show names (sometimes an occupation) of father, mother, child and sponsor(s).

You don't need to read Dutch, you only need to be able to pick out and read the names of the individuals you are interested in. But it is more difficult than it sounds. 17th century letter formations are very different than what we are used to. Dutch names and spellings are something new to many of us as well.

Example from a 17th Century Marriage record from Amsterdam

As I was struggling to learn how to read this early Dutch script, I made up a little booklet which I add to each time I figure out something new.

I use my little home-made guide to help me interpret what I am looking at in these early (1600s) records. Other researchers asked me to send them copies of my notes and examples, so I made up a mini-tutorial.

I am not an expert, I muddle along as best I can, but researchers I sent the tutorial to seemed to find it helpful, so here it is. I hope that if any of you are starting to dig into those distant records you will find this at least interesting if not helpful in some small way.

I'll add to these Blog notes as I get the pages of my little guide scanned. Remember, it's FUN and it's NEW and it can be intimidating but just keep on plowing through one step at a time.

Part One: Finding an entry on a page of records from 1621 will be published tomorrow

Source of Registers: Amsterdam Doop (Baptism) Registers on Microfilm

Cousins Removed versus 1st, 2nd, or 3rd Cousins - an Explanatioin

There is often confusion over the terminology of cousins removed versus 1st cousins, 2nd cousins, etc.

Example: First cousins 4x removed means that the two individuals are 4 generations apart.

Example: 4th cousins means the individuals are on the same generational line and share a common ancestor in one of their 3rd great grandparents.

* First cousins share common grandparents
* 2nd cousins share common great grandparents
* 3rd cousins share common g-g grandparents

and so on

* 1st cousins once removed means one of the individuals is the child of your first cousin (you are one generation apart)

* 1st cousins twice removed means one of the individuals is the grandchild of your first cousin( you are 2 generations apart)

and so on

Stephen Peer, Tighrope Walker of Niagara Falls in Carnival of Genealogy “I read it in the news!”

Newspapers are a great source of information on our ancestors. I didn't actually find this news story in a newspaper until after I had been told about it. One of my uncles had always told this tale, and insisted it was in a Hamilton Ontario newspaper. Uncle Roy's retold tale of family lore was that my great grandfather's brother had walked Niagara Falls on a tightrope and plunged to his death.

To say I was intrigued was putting it mildly! Uncle Roy could not find the newspaper clipping he claimed he had from the 1880s, so I began searching. Sure enough my grandfather's cousin (not brother) Stephen Peer (whose flyer proclaims him as Professor Stephen Peere) had indeed walked Niagara Falls on a tighrope, then fell or was pushed to his death a few days later on 25 June 1887.

The full story is given in various newspaper accounts, for this was high drama and intrigue!

The Niagara Falls Public Library has this report:

Stephen Peer was born in Stamford Township in 1840. He was nineteen when Blondin performed the first of his many tight rope walking feats at Niagara Falls. Peer became determined to become the first real "Niagaran" to walk the Gorge. In 1873 he became an assistant to Henry Bellini, he then illicitly used Bellini's equipment to perform his own first stunt. Bellini was not amused and attempted to cut down the tight rope. The residents chased him out of town, after all Peer was the home town boy ! By 1887 he had become famous enough to begin performing under his own billing and on June 22, 1887 he successfully walked on a wire cable stretched between the present Whirlpool Bridge and the Pen Central Bridge. Three days later he went to the platform from which he had started his crossing, with friends. Speculation is that they had been drinking, Peer began to walk across the cable and fell forty five feet to his death

The reports of his death claimed accident, suicide and murder, but his family was convinced Peer was murdered.

The first report of his successful first walk across the Falls follows:

"NIAGARA FALLS TIGHT ROPE WALKER in The Hamilton Daily Spectator, Hamilton Wed. June, 1887, pg. 1 Col 7

Niagara Falls Ont. June 22 Steve Peer, a local tight rope walker, crossed the Niagara River on a 5/8 inch cable stretched from the Canadian to the American side between the Cantilever and Suspension bridges at 4 o’clock this afternoon successfully. A stiff breeze was blowing during the time, and the cable was not properly guyed and he says that several times he very nearly lost his balance from its vibrations. Several thousand people witnessed the daring performance. Peer will repeat his performance several times during the season. "

The famous Canadian author Pierre Burton wrote about Stephen's walk and mysterioius death in his book Daredevils of the Falls.

It was unusually windy on June 22, 1887, but Peer gave his performance as scheduled. His five-eighths inch cable was a mere thread compared to the heavier ropes of his prdecessors, and the wire was held steady by 20-30 guy wires and weighted down between them with 12-20 sandbags, each weighing about 35 lbs. His walk was a complete success, and he returned to Canada in a carriage via the suspension bridge, welcomed by thousand sof applauding spectators. Three days later he ws dead, discovered on the gorge bank below his cable. The reason for his death remains a mystery, but stories suggest murder.

The Hamilton Daily Spectator Hamilton, Canada, Monday June 27, 1887 called its story Peer the Rope-Walker Suicide

Niagara Falls, June 25 Steve Peer, the local celebrity who outdid Blondin in daring feats around Niagara and recently crossed the rapids on a 5/8 inch cable is dead. Ever since he did the daring act he has been drinking very heavily, and Wm. Leary proprietor of the Elgin House where Peer has been stopping, has been watching him closely. This evening about 7:30 pm Peer went out unobserved with John Gillespie and a stranger, and later was seen with 2 men near his rope. As he did not show up by 8:30 and no trace of him could be found elsewhere, it was suposed that he had attempted to walk his rope and had fallen from it or stumbled over the bank, and ropes and lanterns were procured and Peer’s brother, with John Connolly was lowered down. Near the bottom of the incline they found his lifeless body, badly cut around the head. There was a large gash leading from his nose over the top of his head so that his brains protruded, and death must have been instantaneous. His body was raised to the top of the precipice by means of ropes, and taken to the Elgin House, where it now lies awaiting the coroner. A good many rumors are afloat regarding how he met his death, amongst them one that he suicided, there being, it is said some trouble between himself and his wife. The general belief is that he attempted to walk out on the cable when recovering from his drunk and lost his footing and fell into the abyse below.

The coroner's inquest labelled his death suicide. Others proclaimed that as nonsense, for why would Stephen, just as his career as a tighrope walker was about to peak, end his life? Sadly 121 years later, the mystery remains - accident, murder or suicide?

October Ancestor Most Wanted - $100.00 Reward

The ancestor most wanted for this month is Joseph McGinnis.

Background

Joseph McGinnis was born ca 1825-1830 in Ireland. He was married to Frances (Fanny) Downey. With his wife and year old daughter Bridget (aka Delia) he came to Ontario Canada circa 1846. They settled on a farm owned by John McGinnis who was probably a father or uncle. The farm was on Concession 3, Lot 11 Puslinch Township, Wellington County Ontario.

Joseph disappears from the records after the 1871 census for Guelph, Wellington County Ontario. Fanny also disappears but is found again in 1891 Guelph and 1901 Morriston census as a widow. She may be the Fanny found in 1881 Guelph census too, also as a widow. Many of Joseph's brothers (or cousins) and sisters (or cousins) left the Guelph area for USA and it is possible Joseph left with them and died there.

To complicate this mystery, there was a second couple named Joseph McGinnis with wife Frances (Fanny) Foster living in the area at the same time. Both couples were born in Ireland and were Roman Catholic. Both couples were around the same ages. One of the problems is determining which couple is being referred to in some of the records. I have listed the known facts and confusions below.

Known Facts about Joseph McGinnis & Fanny Downey

* Joseph rented/ran a tavern called Speed the Plow on Concession 4 Lot 6 Puslinch Twp.
* 1847. Daughter Fanny baptised in Church of Our Lady, Guelph, in Sept. Parents "Joseph Miganes and his wife Fanny"
* 1850. Son Alexander in Church of Our Lady, Guelph,in Feb. 1850. Parents "Joseph McGinnis and his wife Fanny"
* 1851. Missing from the 1851 census for Puslinch Township. The first page of that census is missing, it is very probable that Joseph and family were on that lost page
* 1857. Daughter Margaret baptised in Church of Our Lady, Guelph, in Feb. Parents "Joseph McGinnis and Fanny Downey"
* 1861 Puslinch Township Census. Joseph age 30, labourer born Ireland, Roman Catholic. Wife Fanny age 30 born ireland. 7 children
- Bridget, b Ireland, 16
- Fanny, b. Upper Canada, 14
- Alex b. Upper Canada, 12
- Daniel b. Upper Canada 10
- Ann b. Upper Canada 8
- Margaret b. upper Canada 6
- Mary Jane b Upper Canada, 1
* 1864. Son Joseph baptised in Church of Our Lady, Guelph in August. Parents "Joseph McGinnis and Fanny Downy [sic] McGinnis"
* 1871-1872 Wellington County Directory. Joseph McGrunnis [sic] farmer on Conc 3 Lot 11 Puslinch
* 1871 Census, Guelph Wellington Co. Joseph age 46, labourer and Fanny age 44 with children:
- Alex, 23 b. Ontario
- Fanny, 20 b Ontario
- Daniel, 18, b. Ontario
- Annie 16 b Ontario
- Margaret 14 b Ontario
- Mary 9 b. Ontario
- Joseph 7 b Ontario
- Robert 5 b Ontario
* 1881 Census Ontario. Joseph not found but Fanny may be (see notes below)
* 1891 Census Guelph, Wellington Co. Fanny McGinnis, 60, widow, Roman Catholic, laundress. living with her daughter Delia Johnson
* 1901 census Morriston, Puslinch Tp, Wellington Co. Fanny McGinnis, widow, born Ireland 1824, age 76, living with her daughter Frances (Fanny) Vogt and son Alex McGinnis
* 1904 Death of Fanny McGinnis nee Downey in December.

Known Facts about the SECOND Joseph McGinnis & his wife Fanny Foster

*28 March 1877. Death of Joseph McGinnis age 48 in Guelph. Church of Our Lady records his burial with the notation "husband of Fanny Foster". Burial in St. Joseph's Roman Catholic Cemetery, Guelph, Block C, Section 28, Grave 25
* 12 July 1890. Death of Fanny McGinnis in Guelph. Church of Our Lady records her burial with the notation "born in Gilbrator, age 65 years". Death certificate reads "60 years old, died in St. Joseph's Hospital [Guelph]" She is buried in St. Joseph's Roman Catholic Cemetery, Guelph, Block B, SEction 19, Grave 47.

Facts for Joseph and Fanny McGinnis - but which ones?

* 1847. Feb 4, July 7. Letters for Joseph McGinnis in the Guelph Post Office
* 1850. Dec 10. Letters for Joseph McGinnis in the Guelph Post Office
* 1873 Guelph City Directory. Joseph McGinnis, labourer living Norfolk & Cork St
* 1875-1877 Guelph City Directory. Joseph McGinnis, living 77 Norfolk St. near Cork
* 1877 Guelph City Directory. Fanny McGinnis, widow of Joseph, living 64 Cork St.
* 1881 Census Guelph. Fanny McGinnis, 40, born Ireland, servant in another house (if this is MY Fanny, where are her sons Robert and Joseph?)
* 1881 Census Guelph, Fanny Maginnis [sic], 49, charwoman, born Ireland, Roman Catholic with son Joseph, 15, a moulder. (If this is MY Fanny with her son Joseph where is son Robert?)
* 1882-1883 Guelph City Directory. Fanny McGinnis, widow of Joseph, living 64 Cork St.

Migratory Pattern of Known Sons & Daughters of John McGinnis of Conc 3 Lot 11 Puslinch

* S. left Ontario for Cherokee Iowa in 1872
* J. Jr. in Puslinch until 1861. 1871 in Oxford Co. Ontario. Naturalized in LaPeer Co. Michigan in 1879
* D. in Puslinch until 1861. 1871 in Oxford Co. Ontario. Naturalized in LaPeer Co. Michigan in 1880
* C. left Puslinch for Marquette Michigan in 1864 then went to Iowa
* MJ was in Puslinch in 1851, in Cleveland Ohio by 1860
* F. in Puslinch in 1851, in Cleveland Ohio by 1860
* J & H sold land in Puslinch in 1875, found in Hespeler, Waterloo Co. Ontario in 1879

The possibility is strong that my Joseph and Fanny also left Puslinch/Guelph for USA. Joseph may have died there sometime between 1871 and 1881.

Additional Notes:
* no death record found for Joseph in Ontario after 1871
* no burial record found in Church of our Lady, Guelph
* no record of Joseph in the 1880 USA census or 1881 Ontario census

* I am unable to find the 4 youngest children of my Joseph and Fanny in the 1881 census for Ontario. These children are Margaret, Mary Jane born 1860-1862, Joseph born 1864, Robert born 1865. I did find a Fanny with son Joseph who could be my Fanny with son, but the other 3 youngest children are missing.
* All the children except Margaret resurface (Mary Jane marrying in 1883 in Galt, Watlerloo Co; Joseph in Hamilton by 1899 and possibly in Guelph 1885; Robert in Morriston Wellington Co. in 1891)
* The 5 oldest (Bridget aka Delia, Fanny, Alex, Daniel and Ann) are all married and accounted for in 1881 census records for Guelph (Delia & Alex), Morriston (Fanny), Bruce Co (Dan) and Waterloo (Ann).

The Reward

$100.00 Reward offered for proven death for my Joseph McGinnis - the location and date.

OR

$50.00 Reward offered for proof of where Joseph was living after 1871

OR

$25.00 Reward offered for proof of whereabouts of any of 4 youngest children - Margaret, Mary Jane, Joseph and Robert, in 1880 or 1881 census.

If you need more details to tackle this mystery, please contact me in private email (olivetreegenealogyATgmail.com replace AT with @)

P.S. The Reward for September Most Wanted Ancestor is still up for grabs!

Reformed Dutch Church of New Amsterdam (New York) - an Explanation

The first Christian religious services in New Netherland (present day New York) were conducted by the Comforters of the Sick. The first known was Bastien Jansen Krol, who arrived in 1624.

After a short stay at Fort Orange (Albany), Krol returned to the Netherlands, asking for a minister. However the Dutch West India Co. felt the settlement was not large enough to warrant a minister, and Krol was empowered to baptise and marry provided he used the liturgy of the church in his services.

From the first beginnings of the settlement of New Amsterdam (now New York City), services were conducted in a loft above the Grist Mill. Dominie Jonas Michaelius arrived in 1628 as an ordained minister but services continued in the Grist Mill until a church was built in 1633. This was the Reformed Dutch Church in New Amsterdam, now called The (Collegiate) Reformed Protestant Dutch Church Of the City of New York

The Reformed Dutch Church of New Amsterdam (New York) Baptism Records 1639-1801 are available online. Marriage records 1639-1801 and Church membership lists 1649-1701 are also available. There are no earlier records for this church in existence.

A Guide to Searching the Canadian Ships Passenger Lists 1865-1935

The Canadian Ships Passenger Lists 1865-1935 have been online and searchable now for a few weeks. Some genealogists are having trouble finding an ancestor who they know should be there.

I've been playing in the lists since they were published, and thought I would share a few tips for successful searching.

First, be aware that many of the lists are faded and difficult to read. So transcribers may not have been able to read the name of your ancestor. The transcriber may have used ?? to indicate an unreadable entry. You won't have any luck finding your ancestor if you stick stubbornly to "first name" "last name". You must be creative! You must play with the search engine provided and learn how to use it to its full advantage.

* Use wildcards. Ancestry.com allows the use of 3 letters plus an asterisk *. So Abigail Johnson for example, can be searched for under first name of Abi* The last name of Johnson can be searched for under John* which will pick up Johnston, Johnson, Johnstone and other variations

* Use only last name, or only first name. This will pick up on any that the transcriber could not read. For example if you search JAMES in the first name field, and nothing else. You get a very long list of "hits" including

James M
Mrs. James P
Inft Wm Jas
?? James
Revd Bro James
James
?? James
??D James
??Nost James
??Old James

Can you see how you would not find your ancestor if his name was Arnold James and you were typing that full name into the search engine? Since the transcriber has rendered his name as ??Old James, you're out of luck unless you loosen up your search parameters

A search of JAMES in the last name field brings up an entirely different list of "hits" so be sure you try both ways before giving up! Here's a few that came up when I typed JAMES into the last name field

Miss James
Mrs. James
Mr. James
P Hd James

So if you were searching using any first name and the last name James, and one of the above happened to be your ancestor, you're out of luck again! You won't get a "hit" because the first name was not recorded

Don't worry about determining if one of the obscure hits is your ancestor, for the hits also provide you with more detail. See the screen shot above.

* Use other fields such as estimated birth year, estimated year of arrival or birth country If you have searched under variations of first name, last name, and used wildcards and still have not found your ancestor, you may need to try just searching under other fields. But be cautious! For example if you were searching for someone born in England and you typed ENGLAND into the field for birth you will not get a hit if birth country was not recorded! You can see how few names have a birth country in that column in the screen shot above.

There are also Port of Departure and Port of Arrival fields. Try these in combination with other fields. DOn't give up, just try different fields to get different results.

* Be sure to allow a few years on either side of year of birth or immigration year. Even if you know your ancestor was born in 1854, you don't know what was recorded on the passenger list. So give him 5 years on either side. Too many hits? Try 2 years on either side.

Play with the search engine. Use the KEYWORD feature. Try various combinations. A good rule of thumb is to start with a narrow search (first name, last name) then loosen the search paremeters if that does not bring up results you want. I have found an ancestor simply by in desperation searching under an age, and scrolling through every "hit" until I spotted my guy.

You can search the Canadian Passenger Lists by using the Free Trial on this page

The lists include the following ports of arrival (yes, even some Eastern USA ports!)

* Eastern US Ports
* Halifax, Nova Scotia
* Montreal, Quebec
* New York, New York, USA
* North Sydney, Nova Scotia
* Quebec, Quebec
* Saint John, New Brunswick
* Vancouver and Victoria, British Columbia and Pacific Ports

For those whose ancestors arrived before 1865 see Filling in the Gaps in Ships Passenger Lists to Canada

New Canadian Collection Part of International Newspaper Launch

New Canadian Collection Part of International Newspaper Launch at World Vital Records
The Major Collection for this week is a collection more than 60 Canadian newspapers representing every province and territory except Newfoundland and Labrador, the Northwest Territories, and Nunavut.

Additional newspapers from Canada will be posted at World Vital Records as part of the International Newspaper Collection scheduled to be released during September, October and November.

Search Canadian Newspapers on World Vital Records

Ellis Island Phonetic Matching now possible!

Steve Morse has just informed OliveTreeGenealogy.com that he has now added phonetic matching as another search choice for the surname on the Ellis Island gold search form.

Steve says "This type of matching something that Alexander Beider and I have been
experimenting with for some time, and such matching already exists on some of my other forms (e.g., Dachau concentration camp records, Footnote naturalization records, etc). However the Ellis Island database was presenting its own set of problems simply because there were so many records (25 million) and from so many different ethnicities. This is why it has taken all this extra time to add phonetic
matching to the gold form."

The choice for phonetic matching on the form is also a link to a page that describes phonetic matching in two paragraphs.

Don't miss searching for your ancestors using this innovative new search from Steve.

GenSoftReviews Site Launched

Now there's a website that allows users of genealogy software to rate and review the programs they've used or tried. This will allow others who are looking for programs to better compare and select software that will help them.

All the genealogy software, reviewed and rated by you.


Winnipeg, Manitoba -- September 24, 2008 -- Now there's a website that allows users of genealogy software to rate and review the programs they've used or tried. This will allow others who are looking for programs to better compare and select software that will help them.

The site is located at: www.gensoftreviews.com

The site is starting with 355 programs ready for review. You can select between Windows, Mac, Unix, handheld and online programs. Types include full-featured, GEDCOM utilities, website builders and other programs useful for genealogy.

The site collects ratings in five categories: Whether you enjoy using it, if you use it often, if it has easy input, useful output, and an overall rating. Then you can write a short review and list the program's biggest pro and biggest con.

Continue reading GenSoftReviews Site Launched

Records Of The Reformed Dutch Church Of Albany, New York 1683-1809, an Explanation

According to the introduction in Records Of The Reformed Dutch Church Of Albany, New York 1683-1809 the first records preserved from the Albany Reformed Dutch Church are from 1683 when the Rev. Goddefridus Dellius arrived. He wrote a note in the introduction of these earliest records to say that records had not previously been kept. This is even though the first reverend was appointed in 1642. That reverend was "financed entirely by the patroon Kilian Van Rensselaer".

It is very important for researchers to note that in the early years (1683-1691) the name of the mother of the child is not recorded. In fact, until Baptism #484 (in the Holland Society publication) in 1691, the mother's name was not listed. But what confuses many genealogists is that a woman's name is recorded in the spot where one would expect to find the mother's name. It is in fact the name of the woman (or man) who presented the child for baptism. This was often a grandparent.

Thus for all baptisms from 1683 to 1690 inclusive, you will not find the name of the mother of the child being baptised. It is a very unique way of recording baptisms and one that has confused many researchers, leading them to assume (incorrectly) that the presenter of the child for baptism was the mother.

In the online version of Records Of The Reformed Dutch Church Of Albany, New York 1683-1809 you will see that the webmaster and transcriber, Dave Pane-Joyce, has chosen to rearrange the order of the names from the original, and add "by" to the name of the person presenting the child for baptism. While this does not remain faithful to the original, it helps genealogists tremendously so that confusion is cleared up.

Search for ancestors in more Church records for New Netherland and New York

Genealogy Workshop Louisiana Oct 25

The Alexandria Genealogical Library, the Central Louisiana Genealogical Society, and the Rapides Parish Library have teamed up to offer Beginning Family History, a workshop for basic genealogy research at 3 p.m., Saturday, Oct. 25, at Martin Branch Library, 801 West Shamrock, Pineville Louisiana

Topics will include census records, basic resources, reference books, and courthouse research. To register or for more information, contact Kelly at (318) 445-2411, ext. 241.

Finding Ancestors in Passport Records

Some immigrants applied for passports to return home to visit family or friends. These records usually give a place of birth or at least the destination (which is often the home town)

The first passport issued in USA was dated July 1796. However until 1914 American citizens did not require a passport to travel abroad. NARA has passport applications from October 1795-March 1925. The U. S. Department of State has passport applications from April 1925 to the present.

Passports may include the following information:

family/marital status
birth place and date
residence
naturalization year
name of ship, port and date of entry (after 1900)

Online FREE Passport Records on NaturalizationRecords.com site are:

* Register of Passports from 14 November 1834 to 1843 an Index for all states in USA
* Index to Special Passports 1829-1887 an Index for all states in USA
* Index to Special Passports 1887-1894 an Index for all states in USA
* Register of Passport Applications 1809-1817
* Index to Emergency & Special Passport Applications 1830-1831

Online pay-to-view Passport Records are:

Passports 1795-1905 shows Citizenship, residence, family, date & place of birth, occupation

U.S. Passport Applications, 1795-1925 includes emergency passport applications 1877-1907, passport application registers for 1810-1817, 1830-1831, & 1834-1906

Cherchez la femme! or How to distinguish between men found in 17th Century genealogy records

I've talked about name changes - those frustrating ancestors who changed their names, causing great confusion for descendants. I've talked about Dutch patronymics and diminuitives and how to understand those names if you have 17th Century ancestors in New York.

But how do we know if all the variant names (patronymics, diminuitives etc) we find for an individual are truly for one person?? For example, how do I know that the man I find recorded in various 17th Century records as Cornelis Antonissen, Cornelis van Breuckelen, Broer Cornelis, Cornelis Teunis, and Cornelis Van Slyke is One individual and not several different men? For that matter, how do I know that there are not more than one man named Cornelis Antonissen running around in the same location in the same time period?

As the French say "Cherchez la femme!" (Look for the woman)

Most men who came to New Netherland (present day New York) married. Yes, some remained single but the majority married and had large families. When a spouse died, he or she was quickly replaced (an economic necessity) and families merged.

This means that one of the ways you can determine if Cornelis Antonissen and Cornelis van Breuckelen and Cornelis Van Slyke are the same person is to look for records which also name his wife (or children)

Another way to determine who an individual is, is to search court and land documents. These exist in great quantities for 17th Century New York and are available as published books. So, for example, if you find two men named Jan Albertsen, and are trying to determine if they are one and the same, find out if they lived in two locations at the same time.

Look for church records, especially baptisms. Who sponsored the children of the two Jan Albertsen individuals? Were the sponsors from entirely different families? Usually sponsors were family members or close friends. If you find that sponsors seem divided with one Jan Albertsen using sponsors from one distinct group and the second Jan Albertsen using sponsors from a second group, you probably are looking at two different men.

Check the naming patterns of his children. Usually children were named after each set of grandparents. If you know the man's father (which you determine from his patronymic) and his mother, as well as the wife's parents, you may be able to see a pattern of names that does not fit (because in fact it is two different families and not one). Conversely the naming pattern may fall nicely into place, indicating that you are probably looking at one individual and not two.

By the way, Jan Albertsen is a true example, and is one of the settlers I plan to write a book on for my New Netherland Settlers series. It's the story of two men with the same name who have been confused by genealogists for many years and erroneously merged as one man. The main secret to determing which man was which was to look at his wives, his children (their naming patterns) and baptismal sponsors.

Don't despair, take your time, check your facts carefully and you should be able to prove that your ancestor did indeed use 7 different names during his lifetime.

Understanding Diminuitives in 17th Century New York Dutch names

I talked about patronymics in an earlier post. Hopefully it helped clear up any confusion! But research in 17th Century New York is not easy.

You also have to be aware of the diminuitives of regular first names, because the patronymic might be formed from the normal name or its diminuitive. For example:

* Antonis=Theunis/Teunis (patronymic of Antonisz or Theunisz)
* Matthys=Thys/Tice (patronymic of Thyssen)
* Harmanus=Harman or Manus
* Jacobus=Cobus
* Nicolas=Claes (patronymic of Claessen)
* Denys=Nys (patronymic of Dennysen or Nyssen)
* Bartolomeus=Bartol or Meese/Meus (patronymic of Meesen)
* Cornelis=Krelis

There are two kinds of Dutch diminuitives: the shortened Dutch name and the endearing Dutch name.

The shortened name was used by the Dutch for both males and females.

The endearing diminuitive was used exclusively for female names. This diminuitive form attached to female names as an expression of endearment was formed by adding the suffix -je or -tje. As well, -je, -tje, -ie and -ke are also additions to a child's name.

A boy with the Dutch name "Jan" will in his childhood very often be named "Jantje". It is also used to show an age difference in place of Senior [Sr.] and Junior [Jr]. the father will be called "Jan" and the son "Jantje".

Female names are slightly different. If a grandmother is named for example "Sien" or "Sina" the girls Dutch name very often is "Sientje" meaning small or younger Sien, and this will be the name given on the Birth certificate. Thus Sientje is her registered name, not just the diminuitive.

As well, the suffixes -je and -tje, while normally used as a diminuitive, are also used to create the female form of the name (especially in Friesland). For example, "Eelke" is the male name and "Eelkje" is the female form. "Hendrik" is the full male name, "Henk" the short form and "Hendrikje" or "Hendrickje" the female form.

Browse the list of English names and their Dutch equivalents, including both shortened and diminuitive Dutch forms when known.

Patronymics - or understanding names that have you so confused you don't know who's who

by Lorine McGinnis Schulze

The Dutch were much slower than the English in adopting surnames as we know them. Patronymics in New Netherland (New York) ended theoretically under English rule in 1687 with the advent of surnames, but not everyone followed the new guidelines.

The most common Dutch naming custom was that of patronymics, or identification of an individual based on the father's name. For example in my Bradt family, Jan Albertszen (who later took the surname Bradt) is named after his father, Albert. Albertszen means son of a man named Albert. So Jan's name is "Jan, the son of Albert"

The patronymic was formed by adding -se, -sen, or -szen. Daughters would very often have the ending -x or -dr. added. For example, Geesjie Barentsdr. (Barentsdochter) is named after her father Barent.

An individual could also be known by his place of origin. Cornelis Antoniszen (who also used the surname Van Slyke), my 9th great- grandfather, was known in some records as 'van Breuckelen', meaning 'from Breuckelen' (Breuckelen being a town in the Netherlands).

The place-origin name could be a nationality, as in the case of Albert Andriessen from Norway and my 9th great-grandpa, originator of the Bradt and Vanderzee families - he is entered in many records as Albert Andriessen de Noorman, meaning the Norseman.

We may also see naming differences over the generations. Albert's sons and daughters took the surname BRADT except for his son Storm, born on the Atlantic Ocean during the family's sailing to the New World. Storm adopted the surname Van Der Zee (from the sea) and this is the name his descendants carry.

An individual might be known by a personal characteristic. Vrooman means a pious or wise man;Krom means bent or crippled; De Witt means the white one. The most fascinating one I've seen is that of Pieter Adrianszen (Peter, son of Adrian) who was given the nickname of Soo Gemackelyck (so easy-going) but was also known as Pieter Van Waggelen/Van Woggelum. And his children adopted the surnames Mackelyck and Woglom.

Sometimes an occupation became the surname. Smit=Smith; Schenck= cupbearer, Metsalaer= mason. An individual might be known by many different 'surnames' and entered in official records under these different names, making research difficult unless you're aware of the names in use.

For example, my Cornelis Antoniszen Van Slyke mentioned above, was known and written of under the following names:

* Cornelis Antoniszen
* Cornelis Teuniszen (Teunis being the diminuitive of Antony)
* Cornelis Antoniszen/Teuniszen van Breuckelen
* Cornelis Antoniszen/Teuniszen Van Slicht (this is how he signed his name and might have been a hereditary family name based on an old place of origin)
* Broer Cornelis (name given him by Mohawks)

Remember that there are tremendous variations in spelling of these names, and changes from Dutch to to English record keeping in the New World affected the spelling even more.

To confuse matters even more, we also have to be aware of diminuitives of regular first names, because the patronymic might be formed from the normal name or its diminuitive! More on diminuitives in another post..

Now that we understand patronymics, how do we record the individual in our genealogy program? A good rule of thumb is to decide what name the individual is found under in official records. Use that name but be sure you record the source for each notation you make and record the name exactly as found in that specific source. It is okay for example to show a man as Cornelis Antonissen in your genealogy program, but show his sons and daughters with their surname of Van Slyke. If the individual never used the surname himself, you should not add it to his name.

What's in a Name?

We've probably all experienced it - our ancestor's name badly mispelled on a census record or other document. You know - the one where ROWLAND becomes ROWLIN or ROWLAN. Assuming we know what our ancestor's name was (Rowland) and we can correct that in our genealogy program.

But what if there has been an actual name change? How do we deal with that? How do we record each generation if the surname keeps changing? What if the name changes depending on the mood of the individual? Let me give you some examples.

one of my ancestors was the illegitimate son of Maria Bradt and Isaac Van Valkenburg. He always used the surname Van Valkenburg (with variant spellings including Falkenburg) in New York records. So that solved one problem as to whether he was Isaac Van Valkenburg or Isaac Bradt.

When Isaac was a grown man, the Revolutionary War broke out. He went to Upper Canada (present day Ontario) as a Loyalist, and there he began consistently using the surname Vollick. His sons used both Vollick and Follick. His grandsons did the same - some descended from a son using Vollick, switched to Follick. Some descended from a son using Follick switched to Vollick. Others remained faithful to their father's version (either Follick or Vollick) What do we do in this type of scenario?

I chose to use the surname most frequently found for each individual. However I made careful note of each record and copied the surname exactly as rendered in that record. This allows me to see easily that a man used, for example, the surname Vollick 20 times out of 25 records found, but also was recorded in those other 5 records as Follick, Valck and Valic. You are also being faithful to the original record and not changing it to suit your idea of what is "correct"

If you have ancestors going back to the Dutch settlement of New York (called New Netherland) in the 17th Century, you will eventually end up with the patronymic system of naming.

Then you're in for a lot of fun, as a man might use his patronymic in one record, his occupational surname in another, his commonly used nickname in yet another and after the English took over and ordered everyone to adopt a surname - a name you've never encountered before! This is a very complicated naming era and I will talk about how to handle that in another post.

O'Kelly Chapel records, North Carolina, online 1857-1953

O'Kelly Chapel records now available for online research

Two record books from the early years of the Christian Church are now available online through Elon University’s web site for researchers to access anywhere in the world. The dates represented are 1857-1924 and 1941-1953.

PDF files of the record books are available online to anyone, and original photocopies are available for viewing through the library. They are now working on transcribing the original texts to be included in the Web site.

The documents are primarily comprised of congregation member lists, congregation meeting minutes and conference meeting minutes. The books also provide information about the black community by way of member lists, indicating this church was integrated by the early 19th Century

O'Kelly Chapel record book 1857-1901. (PDF)

O'Kelly Chapel record book 1901-1924 and 1941-1953. (PDF)