Conference on Computerized Genealogy and Family History at Salt Palace

Here's another interesting Press Release from BYU Conferences and Workshops. Wish I were going!

News Release
Contact: John Best, 801-422-2048

Conference on Computerized Genealogy and Family History at Salt Palace

One of the largest gatherings of family history experts in the world will take place in Salt Lake City during the last week of this month. The 13th Annual Conference on Computerized Genealogy and Family History, traditionally held at Brigham Young University in Provo in March, will take place at the Salt Palace on April 26 and 27, immediately followed by the four-day Annual Conference (April 28-May 1) of the National Genealogical Society, also at the Salt Palace. The conferences are designed to be how-to guides for beginning, intermediate and advanced researchers.

This is an exceptional opportunity for those with an interest in family history, an interest that already is booming due to the NBC TV show, “Who Do You Think You Are?” The experts at the Conference on Computerized Family History and Genealogy, sponsored by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and BYU, will teach how to get started in family history research as well as how to make research faster, easier and more effective by using new computer technologies. Anyone with an interest in genealogy is invited to attend.

The two-day conference includes more than 50 classes to help participants learn about advances in computer programs, research techniques, managing genealogy databases, using New FamilySearch, publishing family histories, research methodology, digital photography, using social networking sites to do family history research, research in other countries, and using U.S. records to find ancestors. Vendors also will demonstrate how to use their programs.

Keynote presenter for the conference will be David Rencher, director of the Records and Information Division of the Family and Church History Department of the LDS Church. He has served as director of the Family History Library and has been a leader in providing records of value to family research, including acquiring the Social Security Death Index (SSDI) and making it available to genealogists. Other main presenters include Alan Mann of FamilySearch Community Services for the LDS Church, Kory Meyerink, adjunct religion and family history professor for BYU and vice president of ProGenealogists, and Rick Crume, an author and family history presenter. In addition, representatives from the Family and Church History Department of the LDS Church will discuss how to effectively use the Church’s family history programs.

The two-day conference is sponsored by the Family History Department of the LDS Church, FamilySearch, the BYU History Department, the BYU Center for Family History and BYU’s Division of Continuing Education. More information can be found at http://familyshitoryconferences.byu.edu.

For pricing or additional program or registration information, contact:

BYU Conferences and Workshops
115 Harman Continuing Education Building Provo, UT 84602-1516
801-422-4853
E-mail: cw115@byu.edu

DIGITAL ARCHIVE PROVIDES ACCESS TO HISTORIC ATLANTA NEWSPAPERS

This Press Release just in from the Digital Library of Georgia. Sounds interesting!

A new digital database providing online access to 14 newspaper titles published in Atlanta from 1847 to 1922 is now available through the Digital Library of Georgia, housed at The University of Georgia Libraries.

The Atlanta Historic Newspapers Archive (http://dlg.galileo.usg.edu/atlnewspapers)
consists of more than 67,000 newspaper pages and provides historical images that are both full-text searchable and can be browsed by date.

“This site will provide users with a record of Atlanta's history from its origins as a railroad terminus, through the devastation of the Civil War, to its eventual growth into one of the nation's largest cities,” said Toby Graham, director of the Digital Library of Georgia and deputy university librarian. “Of great interest to anyone curious about Atlanta history, it promises to be invaluable to researchers on any number of topics.”

The archive includes the following Atlanta newspaper titles: Atlanta Daily Examiner (1857), Atlanta Daily Herald (1873-1876), Atlanta Georgian (1906-1911), Atlanta Intelligencer (1851, 1854-1871), Atlantian (1911-1922), Daily/Georgia Weekly Opinion (1867-1868), Gate-City Guardian (1861), Georgia Literary and Temperance Crusader (1860-1861), New Era (1869-1872), Southern Confederacy (1861-1864), Southern Miscellany, and Upper Georgia Whig (1847), Southern World (1882-1885), Sunny South (1875-1907), Weekly Constitution (1869-1882).

The Atlanta Historic Newspapers Archive is a project of the Digital Library of Georgia as part of the Georgia HomePLACE initiative. The project is supported with federal LSTA funds administered by the Institute of Museum and Library Services through the Georgia Public Library Service, a unit of the Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia.

Other newspaper archives available through the Digital Library of Georgia include the Macon Telegraph Archive (1826-1908), the Columbus Enquirer Archive (1828-1890), the Milledgeville Historic Newspaper Archive (1808-1920), the Southern Israelite Archive (1929-1958, 1984-1986), and the Red and Black Archive (1893-2006). These archives can be accessed at: http://dlg.galileo.usg.edu/MediaTypes/Newspapers.html

Easter Bunny's Family Tree

This was announced last Easter on my blog but I felt it was worth repeating!

It seems that a little girl named Alice was playing in the garden of an old house in England when she fell down a large rabbit hole. Before climbing out she made a unique discovery. In a small wooden box under a pile of rabbit fur hats Alice spotted a yellowed letter. The letter was addressed to "Dear Easter" and signed "Uncle Wiggily", and it provided details of an interesting family tree!

The complete letter has been transcribed and you can read the text of the letter here

This year a Descendant Family Tree was found! Here it is for your enjoyment and below it is the original letter from Easter Bunny's Uncle Wiggly.

Don't Miss Friday's Who Do You Think You Are!

Update! NBC has altered a few of the Who Do You Think You Are? episode dates. The updated schedule is as follows:

April 2nd - Brooke Shields
April 9th - Sarah Jessica Parker (Repeat)
April 16th - No episode
April 23rd - Susan Sarandon
April 30th - Spike Lee

The website for “Who Do You Think You Are?” can be accessed here http://www.nbc.com/who-do-you-think-you-are/. The website features bios of the celebrities featured in the show, photos, and several video clips as well as articles on how to get started in family history.

Ancestry.com is a partner with NBC on this genealogy show.

This Week's Episode - Brooke Shields Brooke Shields' episode is the most royal of the series, taking viewers to New Jersey, Rome, and Paris. In the episode, Brooke seeks to learn more about her father's aristocratic roots and to learn the origins of the "Torlonia" family name. Watch for Brooke's visit to the New Jersey State Archives in Newark and the New York Historical Society.

Weekly Featured Database: Arkansas Naturalization Records Index 1809-1906

In the 1930s and 1940s a statewide project was begun by the WPA (Work Projects Administration). This project was to find and photograph Naturalization Records before 27 September 1906. All copies were to be deposited with INS (Immigration & Naturalization Service) but when the WPA was disbanded in 1942, only a few states and districts were complete.

NaturalizationRecords.com has compiled and published an index (Surnames A to M) to Arkansas Naturalization Records 1809 to 1906. These are Orders Granting Citizenship.

If you find a name of interest in the online index, instructions are given for obtaining the full record.

Happy Birthday Grandma Ruth!

Happy Birthday Grandma Ruth. You would be 116 years old today if you were still with us.

My grandmother Ruth Ethel Simpson was born March 30, 1894 in Ramsgate England. She was called Dolly by her family because she looked like a little procelain doll.
When Ruth was 19 years old she left England for Ontario Canada with her fiance Charles Fuller, also 19. In May 1913 Charles and Ruth sailed on the Cunard Line ship AUSONIA from Southampton to Montreal then on to Quebec, Canada. They made their way to Toronto to Ruth's brother, and one year later in August 1914 they were married.

Charles and Ruth moved to Guelph Ontario where they raised three daughters but in 1941 after 27 years of a happy marriage, Charles died. Two years later in February 1943 Grandma Ruth married again to Sam Richardson who we called Daddy Sam. Another 12 years went by but Sam died in 1955. This time Grandma remained a widow less than a year before she married for the third time to Alfred (Fred) Bates a widower who worked in the same store as Grandma.

Grandma and Fred had 14 years together before he also died. Grandma was 76 years old and much to my surprise she did not marry again! I fully expected her to marry a fourth time. Grandma went to live with my mom and aunt after Fred died and then embarked on an adventure. The three ladies, all widows, sold their belongings, bought a motor home (a Winnebago) and began to travel. Mother drove, Lily (her sister) did the cooking and housework and Grandma Ruth knit, crocheted and watched the scenery.

In January 1985 Grandma Ruth passed away at the age of 91. She was fun, vivacious, loved the colour red and almost always wore a red pantsuit in later years. She was a terrific grandmother and I miss her a lot.

Lost & Found: Warren E. Reid 1902-1988

Recently I rescued The Memorial Book for Warren E. Reid who died in 1988 at the age of 86. Mr. Reid's Memorial Book contained many loose cards signed by friends and family, most likely taken from flowers sent to his loved ones. It also contained his obituary from the local paper, some hand-written notes, signatures of those who attended his funeral and other miscellaneous ephemera.

Warren's wife was Mabel Hawthorne and his children are also named. I am not naming them here for privacy reasons. Warren's parents' names were given as Isaac Reid and Wilhelmina Robinson, one deceased sister was also named - Mrs. Eveline Morrow; also a deceased brother Elmer Reid.

I thought it would be interesting to do some research on Warren. The Memorial Book was obviously kept by someone who loved him, and I wondered why it had now been discarded.

Warren's funeral was in Listowel Ontario (Canada) and since I know he was born circa 1902 I figured I could find him in the 1911 Canadian Census. Sure enough, a hunt on Ancestry.com turned up 9 year old Warren (born Jan 1902) living in Mornington, Perth North with his mother Mina (Wilhelmina no doubt), a 32 year old widow born Feb 1879 in Ontario, and siblings Elmer and Eveline, 6 year old twins, born November 1904.

My next find was Warren's birth registration. He was registered as Edwinn Warren Reid born 10 Jan 1902 in Perth County to parents Isaac Reid & Mina Robinson

His twin siblings were registered as Lylya Eveline & Aylmer, both born 11 Oct 1904

To find Warren's grandparents I looked for the marriage of Isaac Reid & Mina Robinson and there it was on 28 Nov 1900. Isaac was 36 years old and the son of John Reid & Charlotte Robinson. Mina was 10 years younger and the daughter of Alexander Robinson &Elizabeth Warren. Both Isaac and Mina were born in Ontario

Because Mina was left a widow at such a young age, I wondered what happened to Isaac. When did he die and what was the cause? This time I used Pilot Family Search to look for Isaac's death. There it was on 4 April 1910 in Perth. His date of birth was given as June 1, 1861 and the cause of death Pernicious Anemia. Poor Isaac, he was only 48 years old. His death certificate further revealed that both his parents were born in Ireland.

I was actually surprised to find Isaac with his parents in the 1861 census for Mornington Perth County! I thought given his date of birth he would not show up until 1871. However there he is, little one year old Isaac with John Reid a blacksmith from Ireland, age 41 and mother Charlotte age 30. Other siblings listed in 1861 were Hannah Reid 13 born Ireland, John Reid 11 born Upper Canada (present day Ontario), William, Margaret, David and little Isaac - all born Upper Canada. What a nice find! Knowing that Hannah was born circa 1848 in Ireland and John born circa 1850 in Ontario, gives a nice timeframe for the family leaving Ireland for Ontario. The Irish Famine was in full force so presumably the family fled out of necessity.

No doubt there is much more that could be fairly easily found on Warren Reid's family tree but I just wanted to show what a researcher can do with a few hours and a lost and found item such as Warren's Memorial Book.

Featured Foto from Lost Faces Photo Album of the Derr Family

This is a tintype of Eva, Ada & Ida Bushnell

It is part of my private collection of 1800s Photo Albums

This tintype was with the Derr Family Photo Album which is a Civil War Era Derr Family Album with CDVs (Cartes de Visites), circa 1860s.

Inscription inside cover reads: -- and Richard -- Cleveland

Inscription front page reads Mr. & Mrs. R. Derr, Ney Defiance Co. Ohio

Surnames in the identified photos: Derr, Prehn, Bartholomew, Stahl, Bushnell, Austen, Ward, Beavis, Brownlee, Garman, Gray, Green, Carter, Furst, Newcomb, Mott, Beck, Field, Wilson

Locations of photographers: Ohio, Kentucky, Pennsylvania

Reminder! WDYTYA is on Friday with Matthew Broderick

A reminder that the TV genealogy series, Who Do You Think You Are? at 8:00 Eastern/7:00 Central Time is on NBC every Friday.

Episode 4 is tomorrow and features Matthew Broderick, who sets out to discover more about his father's side of the family, whom he never knew. As he learns about his ancestors' heroic military service and sacrifice, Matthew gets closer than he ever imagined to Captain Robert Shaw, who he portrayed in the epic Civil War movie Glory. Watch for Matthew's visit to the National Archives in New York City, the Connecticut State Archives, and the Marietta National Cemetery in Georgia.

This is a terrific genealogy series, so you want to be sure you don't miss it! If you missed the first three they are available online at NBC.com

My thoughts and critiques of the first two episodes are available at

* Episode 1

* Episode 2

There is also a companion book written by Megan Smolenyak Smolenyak which may be of interest.

Weekly Featured Database: New York Almshouse Records 1819-1840

This week's featured free database is the New York Almshouse Records 1819 to 1840

This set of records is extracted from a Ledger Book containing residents of the Almshouse, the names of the ship each person sailed on, plus dates of arrival. This database includes arrivals in Canadian ports.

In the early 1800s port cities in the USA bore the burden of immigration. By the time they arrived, so many immigrants were tired, hungry and poor they ended up in the City Almshouse. This meant the citizens had to take care of them.

Dating back to the colonial era, New York City assumed responsibility for its citizens who were destitute, sick, homeless, or otherwise unable to care for themselves. The city maintained an almshouse, various hospitals, and a workhouse on Blackwell's Island (now called Roosevelt Island) for the poor.

There are 2 pages for each name in this ledger. Only portions of the left hand page have been extracted. There is more information in the Ledger, including Captain's Name, Owner's Name, Date of Bond, Sureties, Date Discharged, Death Date, Remarks, Bonded, Commuted & Total.

For example, under date 1820 March 11 the full record shows Elizabeth Kennedy age 34 is listed as having died June 14, 1820; her daughter Mary Ann died Nov. 5, 1820

The extracted portions are

Date of Admission; Foreigner (Surname); Foreigner (First Name); Age; Place of Birth; Vessel Name; Where From

Thus Elizabeth Kennedy's extracted record online shows

1820 Mar. 11 Kennedy Elizabeth 34 ; Ireland; Grey Hound ; Halifax

The suggested way to use this online set of extracted records is to search for your ancestor then consult the microfilmed Ledger Book for the full details.

What About Georgiana's Illegitimate Birth?

On March 8, I wrote a post called "What About The Women" One of my goals for March was to find my ancestor Georgiana Fuller's death and figure out more about her illegitimate birth to the widow Hannah Golding nee Philpot

There were several comments on that post and I thank everyone for their contributions. I want to answer two of the comments:

Michelle Goodrum said...
I am curious about Georgiana's father George Norris. What happened to him and why did Georgiana not use his surname?

Michelle, I don't know. I was not aware of his name until I found Georgiana's marriage to Charles Fuller in Lenham Kent England. On the marriage certificate Georgiana names her father as "George Norris"

A search of census records for Lenham turned up only one George Norris - a neighbour to Hannah Golding and her family. In the earlier 1841 census his parents and siblings are living a few houses from Hannah Golding and her family. In 1851 his parents and a few brothers and sisters live next door to Hannah and her children. In the 1861 census for Lenham, I found George, age 50, living with his mother and unmarried.

I do not know what happened to George and have no absolute proof that he is the George Norris named on Georgiana's marriage record. But Lenham was a tiny village and it seems most plausible that Georgiana's father would be someone who Hannah knew from her daily life in the village. I've not yet found George in any other census other than 1861 but searching for him is on my To-Do list.

I also plan to send for the birth certificate of Hannah's illegitimate son Edward John Golding born 05 Mar 1843 in Lenham to see if his father is listed, and if he and Georgiana shared the same father. I may need his marriage record, as Georgiana's birth record did not have a father's name.

Brett Payne said...

FreeBMD shows the death of a Georgina FULLER, aged 44, in Hollingbourn Registration District, Kent in the 4th quarter of 1882. Despite the ages not quite matching up with what you say is shown on the 1881 Census, I wonder if that is her? Perhaps it would be worth sending off for the death certificate if it's in the right area.

Brett was absolutely correct. A cousin informed me that he had sent for that death record and it was indeed our Georgiana. She is listed as 44 years of age, the wife of Charles Fuller, a farm labourer. Georgiana died on 19th December 1882 of complications from pregnancy, aggravated by heart disease.

So now I know what happened to Georgiana. After 10 children in a 23 year time period, her 11th pregancy was her breaking point.

Georgiana's oldest child was 23 when his mother died, her youngest was 2 years old.

Who Do You Think You Are: Episode 3 Lisa Kudrow tonight

Tune into NBC Friday 8/7c tonight March 19th for Episode 3 of Who Do You Think You Are with Lisa Kudrow exploring her Jewish ancestry.

The website for “Who Do You Think You Are?” can be accessed here http://www.nbc.com/who-do-you-think-you-are/. The website features bios of the celebrities featured in the show, photos, and several video clips as well as articles on how to get started in family history.

Ancestry.com is a partner with NBC on the show.

The family history-focused series will lead seven celebrities on a journey back in time as they discover more about the ancestors who came before them. Lisa Kudrow, who executive produced the show, will be featured in the episodes, along with Sarah Jessica Parker, Spike Lee, Matthew Broderick, Susan Sarandon, Emmitt Smith, and Brooke Shields.

Caveat re Ontario, Canada Marriages, 1801-1930 on Ancestry!

Ontario, Canada Marriages, 1801-1930 on Ancestry.com has recently been updated. I was pretty happy to see that as my family lines are Ontario back to 1800. I immediately began searching for some of my earlier ancestors.

At first I didn't notice anything unusual. Then I realized that ever index result I obtained had the SAME MOTHER for both the bride and groom. Uh-oh!

Here's a few examples to show what I found:

Name: Charlotte Peer
Birth Place: Nelson
Age: 53
Estimated birth year: abt 1824
Father Name: John Thomas
Mother Name: Mary Thomas <==
Spouse Name: George Hardbottle
Spouse's Age: 73
Spouse Birth Place: Yorkshire England
Spouse Father Name: John Hardbottle
Spouse Mother Name: Mary Thomas <==

Name: Denzalo J Peer
Birth Place: United States
Age: 41
Estimated birth year: abt 1831
Father Name: Abraham Peer
Mother Name: Mary Peer <==
Spouse Name: Amelia Taylor
Spouse's Age: 18
Spouse Birth Place: England
Spouse Father Name: Henry Taylor
Spouse Mother Name: Mary Peer <==

I began to click on random results that were not mine. Same thing - same name for both mothers. I checked the images where images were available. Nope, the mothers' names were not the same on any of the images.

For example, the image shows that George Hardbottle's mother's name is recorded as Mary Hardbottle and Charlotte's is Mary Thomas. The image shows that Denzalo Peer's parents were Abraham and Mary while Amelia's were Henry and Eliza.

I checked over 30 marriage registrations. All had the same error.

Then I realized that I could not check the ones that did not have images attached. That's a huge problem! However eventually through trial and error I stumbled on the way around this.

Here's an example of a marriage index entry with NO IMAGE attached to verify parents' names:

I searched for STEPHEN PEER (His name is first in the index results)

Name: Stephen Peer
Birth Place: Canada
Residence: Ancaster Township
Age: 21
Estimated birth year: abt 1842
Father Name: John Peer
Mother Name: Nancy Peer <==
Spouse Name: Mary Newton
Spouse's Age: 22
Spouse Birth Place: England
Spouse residence: Nelson Township
Spouse Father Name: Thomas Newton
Spouse Mother Name: Nancy Peer <==

Notice that both mothers are given as Nancy Peer. Which one is correct? All you do is reverse your search order. You've searched for Stephen, now search under his wife's name (Mary Newton)

Now you get the indexed results with Mary's name first:

Name: Mary Newton
Birth Place: England
Residence: Nelson Township
Age: 22
Estimated birth year: abt 1841
Father Name: Thomas Newton
Mother Name: Sarah Newton <==
Spouse Name: Stephen Peer
Spouse's Age: 21
Spouse Birth Place: Canada
Spouse residence: Ancaster Township
Spouse Father Name: John Peer
Spouse Mother Name: Sarah Newton <==

Now you get Sarah Newton as the mother of both. In this example it is easy to figure out which mother (Sarah Newton or Nancy Peer) goes with the bride and which goes with the groom. The mothers are recorded under their married names (not their maiden names) so Stephen Peer's mother is Mary, and Mary Newton's mother is Sarah.

The problem that is hard to work around is when the mother's maiden names are given - which mom goes with the bride and which with the groom? The only way then is to check census records and hope you can find the parents.

This is a serious flaw that Ancestry.com has managed to introduce in the database search results. The data has been indexed correctly but the search results fields are not being pulled into the results as they should be.

Please be cautious using this database until it is corrected!

Happy St. Patrick's Day to my Irish Ancestors!

In honour of St Patrick's Day, when tradition has it that we all want to be Irish, I shout out THANK YOU to my Irish ancestors who came from Ireland to N. America.

John Greenlees and his wife Elizabeth Johnston came from Ireland to the wilds of Upper Canada (present day Ontario) with three children - George about 5 years old, Thomas about 3 years old and my 2nd great grandmother Jane who was under 2 years old. The year was some time between Jane's birth in 1819 and the birth of their next child in Upper Canada in 1821. What a perilous journey that must have been!

I wish I knew where in Ireland they came from but I don't. They made it possible for me to exist though so for that I thank them!

Joseph McGinnis and his wife Frances (Fanny) Downey made the journey from famine stricken Ireland with their year old daughter Bridget (Delia) in 1846. They were both barely 20 years old.

It must have been a nightmare voyage and I am sure that like most of the Irish who left Ireland during the Famine Years, they and their loved ones suffered greatly at home. Joseph and Fanny arrived in Ontario and settled near family who had arrived much earlier. They were my 2nd great grandparents and sadly I know nothing of their parents or origins other than learning last year that they came from the area of Katesbridge, Co. Down Ireland. They were very poor Catholics and the land they settled on was more swamp than anything else.

So - I have three Irish great-great grandparents (Joseph, Fanny and Jane) and two Irish Great great great grandparents (John & Elizabeth). Out of that mix I get four Irish surnames: Greenlees, Johnstone, McGinnis & Downey.

I hope this Irish blessing worked for them! "May you be in heaven a full half hour before the devil knows you're dead."

Weekly Featured Database: Missouri Newspapers

There are a couple of links for Missouri newspapers (free) online that you might want to add to your list of favorites!

Missouri Newspapers

Jefferson Leader 1866-1868
Jefferson Democrat 1870-1888
Jefferson Watchman 1883-1884
De Soto Weekly Facts 1895-1899

More Missouri Newspapers

Jefferson Democrat 1890
Jefferson County Record 1911

These are ongoing projects and more newspaper transcripts are being added as they become available

Schedule for Who Do You Think You Are

The TV genealogy series, Who Do You Think You Are? at 8:00 Eastern/7:00 Central Time is on NBC every Friday. Here is the current schedule according to NBC:

* March 5 – Sarah Jessica Parker
* March 12 – Emmitt Smith
* March 19 – Lisa Kudrow
* March 26 – Matthew Broderick
* April 2 – Brooke Shields
* April 9 – Susan Sarandon
* April 23 – Spike Lee

This is a terrific genealogy series, so you want to be sure you don't miss it! If you missed the first two they are available online at NBC.com My thoughts and critiques of the last two episodes are available at

* Episode 1

* Episode 2

There is also a companion book written by Megan Smolenyak Smolenyak which may be of interest.

Is This My Father?

My father died Christmas Day many years ago. I had just turned 14 one month before his death. Over time my memory of his face has faded.

There are very few photographs of my dad. Those few (a handful) that exist are grainy badly taken images. Except for one. I have a studio portrait of my father taken during WW2, long before I was born.

At an auction recently I bid on and won a group photo of soldiers who were in training in Guelph Ontario in 1942. My dad lived in Guelph and was in training there when he joined the Army. This is a cropped portion of that group photo.



As soon as I saw the photo, I thought that the soldier seated to the right of the officer with the swagger stick (front row) could be my dad! It looks so much like him to my eyes. He is the 5th man counting from the right side.

I scanned and enlarged that soldier and have placed it below beside the WW2 studio portrait of my father. What do you think? Is it him?

I did notice differences as soon as I enlarged the photo. But my husband pointed out that the unknown man (left) has the sun in his eyes so he has shadows on his face that distort his features. He is also squinting a bit, further causing distortion. His face is turned slightly further to the side than the one I know is my father.



Please take a look and give your opinion. I want this to be a photo of my father so much that I am not sure I can judge objectively! Perhaps someone knows who the men were in No. 1 Platoon Basic Training in Guelph in July 1942. Even if no one knows for sure, your opinions and thoughts would be appreciated.

Episode 2 Who Do You Think You Are: Emmitt Smith

Episode 2 of Who Do You Think You Are aired last night. Emmitt Smith was able to embark on a journey to trace his African American ancestry back to his slave roots. On his journey (both physical and emotional) he found his white ancestry and uncovered dark parts of the past. You could see how it disturbed him but made him think too - think about who he was and where he came from, the ancestors who had struggled and suffered to help make him who he is today.

During the show Emmitt made personal connections with people, used courthouses, online census records on Ancestry.com and other genealogy record sources to hunt for his ancestors.

I have nothing negative to say about Episode 2. I loved it. It was very well done and I especially liked Emmitt's comment that in order to know who you are, you need to know where you come from. He was absolutely right!

During the course of the show we learned that Emmitt took a Ancestry.com DNA test to find out more about his ethnic origins and facts were uncovered which pointed to a specific area of Africa as his homeland. If you have not yet taken a DNA test I urge you to do so. I had my brother take one last year to learn more about our McGinnis roots and the results were very exciting and worthwhile.

Carnival of African-American Genealogy: Slaves & Slave Owners

Restore My Name – Slave Records and Genealogy Research, will kick-off this African-American themed carnival intended to be a gathering place for the community to share and learn about African-American genealogy.

As a descendant of slave owners, have you ever been pressured by family not to discuss or post about records containing slave names?

As a descendant of slaves, have you been able to work with or even meet other researchers who are descendants of slave owners?

I wanted to join in this first Carnival for African-American genealogy for two reasons. First, I am the descendant of slave owners. My husband is almost certainly the descendant of slaves. It's an uncomfortable position for me even though I know logically and intellectually that I am not responsible for my ancestors actions.

My husband’s ancestor Jonathan Butler and two of his sons are noted in early (pre 1851) Ontario census and tax assessment records as “negro”, “African”, “black” and “mulatto”. We know that Jonathan arrived in Upper Canada (present day Ontario) as early as 1812, and that he was from America, and that he settled in an area provided by the government for fugitve slaves, - but we do not know his ancestry. It is almost certain he was either a fugitive slave or a free black man. But almost certainly if not Jonathan himself, somewhere in his ancestry there is a slave.

How does this affect our research? In my own research I have found several ancestors who owned slaves, which was a shock to me. These ancestors were living in New York - several were the early Dutch who settled New Netherland (present day New York) in the early and mid 1600s. Sadly the names of their slaves are not recorded in any records I have found. I say sadly because finding and recording those slave names to share with others would have been a small effort on my part to help ease my discomfort over that aspect of my ancestry.

I also have ancestors who owned slaves in New York in the 1820s but again the slave names were not recorded.

While we've not found any resistance among other descendants of slave owners to discuss that time in history, we have found reluctance and even outright refusal in some branches of the descendants of Jonathan Butler to accept and embrace their black heritage. They do not want us to continue our research into his ancestry and so refuse to share information with us.

However my husband and I are united in our attempts to find slave records and share them with other researchers.

US Census Records Free on Footnote for Limited Time

Press Release Lindon, UT - March 11, 2010 – In order to encourage more people to find their ancestors and connect with family, Footnote.com, the web’s premier interactive history site, is opening all of their U.S. census documents for free to the public for a limited time.

Unlike any other historical collection on the web, the Interactive Census Collection has the unique ability to connect people related to ancestors found on the historical documents. Simply by clicking the “I’m Related” button for a name on the document will identify you as a descendent and also list others that have done the same. Never before has it been as easy to connect with distant relatives through historical documents. To learn how to get started with the Interactive Census, visit: http://go.footnote.com/discover.

Finding a record featuring an ancestor’s name provides not only an emotional experience but also a connection with the past. On Footnote.com it’s more than just finding a name on a census record. Interactive tools allow people to enhance the documents by adding their own contributions including:

Photos
Stories
Comments
Other related documents
Each contribution is linked to a Footnote member and provides a means for people to find each other and exchange more information about their ancestors.

“TV programs including ‘Who Do You Think You Are?’ on NBC and ‘Faces of America’ on PBS will surely increase the interest in family history in the United States,” explains Russell Wilding, CEO of Footnote.com. “We believe that using our Interactive Census Collection is a great way for those who are new to genealogy to get started.”

In addition to providing the basic information about ancestors with the census documents, Footnote.com has been working with the National Archives and other institutions to digitize and index over 63 million historical records that include:

Military documents
Historical newspapers
City directories
Naturalization records


“Using the records on Footnote to go beyond the names and dates is like adding color to your tree,” says Roger Bell, Footnote’s Senior Vice President of Content and Product. “The more details you add, the more colorful your family tree becomes.”

To search for an ancestor and experience family history like never before, visit: http://go.footnote.com/discover.