Good Morning America featuring a Genealogy Segment Oct. 13

 This just in via email ...

Good Morning America will be running a segment on genealogy tomorrow morning on their show around 7:45 a.m. They did an interview with Leslie Albrecht Huber, author of The Journey Takers.

Apparently someone from Ancestry.com will also be featured but I have no more details.  The segment will be posted on the Good Morning America site soon after it runs.

Lost & Found: L. Pellerin Metal Trunk - a Genealogy Treasure

Hubs and I share a love of antiques as well as a love of genealogy and history. At an antique auction this weekend, we spotted a beat-up metal storage box.

At first we thought it was an Army footlocker. It was painted black and had a name and address stencilled on the top and two of the sides. Its rough shape couldn't hide how well made it is. Although the stencilling was faded and worn on the top, the sides were fairly clear so the name was legible. Hubs best guess re age of the box is 1900 to 1950, and probably closer to 1930-1950.

Impulsively we bid on and won this well-used item. It was the name and address that hooked us. The box was sent by L. Pellerin in India to himself in Shawinigan Falls, Quebec. Of course we wanted to find out who L. Pellerin was and do a little genealogy research on him!

Part of the street address was missing. We could only read "188 _RIGON STREET" I used Google Maps to look at all the street names in Shawinigan and easily found Rue Frigon (Rue means Street). Clicking on Street View brought me to an actual view of the street and perhaps the very home where this box was delivered!

A quick Google search revealed only one L. Pellerin in Shawinigan Falls - Louis Arthur & Albertine Pellerin of Shawinigan Falls Quebec had a son Emile Roger Pellerin who was killed 24 November 1943 while serving in the Royal 22e Regiment RCIC. Louis seemed a good candidate for our trunk with the name L. Pellerin

The Drouin Collection on Ancestry.com revealed the marriage of a Louis Arthur Pellerin to Albertine Caron in 1917. Louis was living in Trenton Ontario (a Canadian Air Force base) but the couple married in Shawinigan.

Next I searched for and found Louis in several census records using Ancestry.com

In 1891 he was in St. Maurice, St. Etienne des Gres which is Trois-Rivieres, with parents Arthur and Annie (which confirmed the marriage record). Shawinigan is considered part of this area. He was 2 years old so his date of birth was circa 1889.

The 1911 census found them in the same general area. It was very difficult to find the family and I had to use many tricks on Ancestry.com - wildcards, no names, dates of birth only, etc. The family was misindexed badly as "Pattersn" Yes - no "o", not "Patterson" but "Pattersn" which isn't even close to the actual name of Pellerin. Louis was misindexed as "Ls"

We were still not certain that our trunk belonged to Louis who was born in 1889. With hubs leaning more towards 1930 to 1950 as the time period, I looked for a son with the initial "L". Once again the Drouin Collection on Ancestry.com came to the rescue and I found a son named Joseph Lucien Yvon was born in July 1929 in Shawinigan. It is almost certain he would be called Lucien and not Joseph. Did he own the trunk?

I think we have found the right family and the trunk belonged to either Louis Pellerin (born circa 1889) or his son Lucien born 1929. One of them went to India (we think the sending address is Kundara, S. India) and shipped his trunk back home. Was it military? We are not sure although the trunk does resemble a military footlocker. Did he ship his military kit back home? Was it a personal trip? Did he send back gifts for family members?

Even though we are not sure of the provenance of this trunk we feel a connection now to the family who owned it. And that has changed our minds on what to do with the trunk. At first hubs was going to repaint it after cleaning up the rust. But we don't want to paint over the name! So hubs is going to carefully and gently clean it, then leave it as is.

Perhaps someone who knows the family or who is a descendant will read this blog post and contact me. Perhaps one day we'll know the full story of L. Pellerin in India shipping something back home to Shawinigan Falls Quebec.

Meantime we will continue to treasure this little find and hubs is going to store his own genealogy family treasures in it (his baby blanket crocheted by his great-grandmother, his grandfather's silver christening cup, various family documents etc)

Movie Monday: Another Cemetery Walk, Orillia Ontario Canada

It's Movie Monday again! It's also Thanksgiving for me and today is a big turkey leftovers day. I plan on enjoying a turkey sandwich with stuffing, cranberry sauce and lettuce while I watch the movie.

Our movie today is another Cemetery Walk, this one through St. Michael's Catholic Cemetery (NEW ONE), Orillia Ontario. This is the new cemetery, on Highway 12 just west of the old St. Michael's Cemetery

We took 218 photos in this cemetery and I've placed the first 25 online in this Video. 50 more will be going online on AncestorsAtRest and the rest will be uploaded as videos over the next few weeks on the OliveTreeGenealogy YouTube channel.

Featured Genealogy Database: Irish Passengers in J & J Cooke Shipping Agents Records 1847-1871

Featured Genealogy Database this week is the set of the J & J Cooke Shipping Agents Records.

These Irish passenger lists from shipping records can be found in  Passenger Books of J & J Cooke, Shipping Agents. Sailings from Londonderry to Philadelphia Pennsylvania, Quebec, St. John New Brunswick & New Orleans Louisiana, 1847-1871

This database of Irish ships passenger lists include 27 ships to St. John New Brunswick, 30 to Pennsylvania, 23 to Quebec and 5 to New Orleans, Louisiana. If your Irish ancestor left Ireland for N. America between 1847 and 1871 you won't want to overlook these lists of passengers.

NGS Video Productions at the National Archives

This just in from NARA, and it sounds very interesting!

NGS is proud to present two new features in the NGS Online Video Series


· Finding Your Ancestors at the National Archives


· NGS & NARA


In celebration of Columbus Day join us at the National Archives in Washington, D.C., as archivist Reginald Washington takes us into the stacks to see how our forebears’ Civil War pension files are stored. Wonder with John Humphrey, CG, over German language documents from a New York City Church in his ancestor’s file. Appreciate viewing the Declaration of Independence with John as he contemplates his ancestor’s public reading of that great document in Easton, Pennsylvania on 8 July 1776.

Also showing at NGS


· Thomas Adams, 2009 Rubincam Youth Award Winner


· Helen F. M. Leary, CG (EMERITUS), FASG, FNGS


· Paths to Your Past


· American Genealogy: Home Study Course


· NGS Conferences: What to Expect

Update on new FamilySearch Collections online

This in from FamilySearch:

20 million new “browsable” images from 8 countries published online


An increasing number of “image only” collections are being published on the FamilySearch.org website, signifying a new phase in the site’s digital pipeline. Rather than waiting until the index is complete for each collection, FamilySearch is releasing the digital images as soon as possible in a browsable format. This gives patrons quicker access to records, which they can search in a similar way they would with a microfilm reader.

This week FamilySearch published its first digital Chinese collection, along with additional digital image collections from Belgium, Germany, Guatemala, Mexico, Netherlands, Philippines, and Puerto Rico. Twenty million additional indexed records were also published for Civil War and Revolutionary War collections and the 1851 Census for England and Wales. Search these records now at http://Beta.FamilySearch.org.

Brick Wall Ancestor? Go AROUND or OVER!

We've all encountered it. The infamous brick wall where you are absolutely bogged down researching an ancestor. You can't find any records. You don't know where to look next. You're completely stuck!

When this happens, what do you do? Don't waste energy trying to force your way through, go AROUND or OVER that wall!

The first thing you need to do is step away. Set the problem aside for a few days, weeks or even months. Then look at it with fresh eyes. Analyse what you have leading up to the brick wall moment. Think  outside the box and come up with creative alternatives to the path you were following.

Let me give you an example of two brickwalls concerning one ancestor - William Massey.

Brick Wall #1: My hubby did not know where in Ireland his 3rd great grandfather William Massey came from. He searched for several years and found many records and documents but nothing gave him the county or town of origin.

William is buried in St Mary's Ontario and we've been to the cemetery and seen his tombstone. We have his death certificate. No obituary was found. It suddenly occured to hubby that the cemetery where William is buried is a new one, built several years after William's death. That meant William had been buried in the old cemetery and his remains moved along with others when the new one was built.

So hubby found the records of the move from the old to the new cemetery and there it was - the notation from the ORIGINAL cemetery burial records that William Massey was from Wicklow Ireland. Brick Wall #1 solved by thinking about the records already found and coming up with an alternate research plan.

Brick Wall #2: Hubby now had a county of origin in Ireland, but how to find a more precise location such as a Town or City? He struggled with this brick wall for many years. Nothing he found gave him more detailed information. The brick wall seemed insurmountable. So hubby did everything you are not supposed to do in genealogy!

He began a study of every single Massey name in Wicklow Ireland. He carefully compiled data (massive amounts of it!) on all Masseys living in that county before 1830. This took years. On a hunch he honed in on similar first names (naming patterns) found in his Massey branch. This took him to a smaller geographic location within Wicklow - Delgany.

He was treading now on dangerous genealogy ground! He needed to be careful to not make any assumptions based simply on finding similar names. He was careful to look for proof of his hunch - he would not even call it a working theory, it was always just his hunch or best guess. He looked for supporting proof.

Even when he found that one branch of the Massey line with those similar first names had left Delgany for Ontario at about the same time as his William Massey, he didn't declare the two lines related. He just kept it as another bit of fodder that strengthened his hunch, and his resolve to keep hunting!

Then he connected with two other researchers, both with proven descent from the Delgany Masseys. After a few years of sharing their research findings with each other, my husband decided it was time to take another step. He took a DNA test from Ancestry.com and asked one of the women to have her uncle take the same test. Their Massey ancestor left Delgany for Ontario around the same time his Massey ancestor arrived in Canada and hubby was convinced they shared a common ancestor - but needed proof.

The results were conclusive. My husband and his contact's uncle shared a common ancestor. And thus Brick Wall #2 was solved.

Overcoming these brick walls took patience (it took my husband almost 20 years), hard work, creative thinking and being careful to not leap to conclusions without proof.

So my advice is: don't try to bust through a brick wall with sheer power. Step back, take a break and think about the situation then go AROUND or OVER that seemingly insurmountable hindrance to your genealogy!

Genealogy Day: Not as Easy at it Sounded!

My first planned Genealogy Day was October 1st and I thought I'd let readers know how it went. Genealogy Day is the day I'm setting aside once a month to work on my own genealogy for a change!

My plan was a stay-at-home day with hubby, when we would both organize files and documents on one ancestor. I thought we would also work up a Research plan for each of our ancestors. HA! How naive was I?

The day didn't start well. I'm an early riser and figured that by the time hubby woke up 2 hours later, I'd have a good start on Cornelius Vollick's land records. That was all I wanted to do - organize what land records and petitions I have, figure out what I need next, and write out a simple research plan.

I spread my Cornelius Vollick file on our dining room table. I sorted and read and organized, all the while realizing I had quite a shambles on my hands. Hubby got up and somehow we both got sidetracked into household chores! It seemed that having set aside a free day we were both obsessed with getting caught up on cleaning and handyman jobs that had been neglected.

Note to self: Do the dishes and kitchen cleanup the night before Genealogy Day! No cleaning the fridge or scrubbing toilets either. Housework can wait!

By 1 pm I decided that was it, I was sitting down and working on my genealogy without interruption. I was able to do that and worked fairly steadily until 5 pm. I managed to organize all the Upper Canada Land Petitions and township papers I have for Cornelius, his siblings and his father. I checked the online index to see if I'd missed any and was surprised to find I had.

I printed off the "hits" from the online index, circled the ones I need, and the ones I want to re-copy due to my poor copy on hand. That was a good feeling! Part 1 of my research plan done! Next month when we go to the Ontario Archives I will get those petitions.

Next I sorted township papers. Then I wrote out all the land locations for Cornelius and his family members over the years. That was a huge job! It meant I had no time to figure out the rest of my research plan but it had a positive benefit in that I then took some time to analyse the land locations.

I felt that I achieved part of my goal for Genealogy Day 1, but I need to be more focused for the next in-home one. And I will definitely need another in-home Genealogy Day before we venture out on our field trip to the Archives.

I'm sorry to say that hubby did not fare quite as well. He didn't settle in to his genealogy until mid-afternoon, and then he quickly became side-tracked by his notes on the Massey branch he wanted to research. I think he ended up mostly reading his previous research notes and running to the computer to look things up on Ancestry.com! He agrees he needs to hone in a specific goal and not allow himself to be distracted.

All in all I'm pleased that we started our monthly Genealogy Day and even though I'm disappointed in how little I achieved, I am reminding myself that I got some organization and planning done - and that next time I'll be better at it!

Movie Monday: Final Video of St. Michael's Catholic Cemetery in Orillia Ontario.

It's Movie Monday and this week's Movie is the final video (three total) of a Cemetery Walk through St. Michael's Catholic Cemetery in Orillia Ontario.

There are 70 tombstones in this cemetery. There are 3 videos online on the OliveTreeGenealogy Channel on You-Tube.  Video 1 is an overview of the cemetery grounds. Video 2 is a slideshow of photos of the first 25 tombstones as you start walking into the cemetery. Video 3 is a slideshow of photos of 20 tombstones in the cemetery.

The last 25 tombstones in St. Michael's Cemetery are online at AncestorsAtRest.com

This older Cemetery is not well maintained, there's no parking and stones are tossed into the bushes. It's on the S. side of Coldwater Rd between Rynard Dr and Emily St. in Orillia.

Featured Genealogy Database: New Jersey Baptisms Ramapo, Bergen County

The featured free set of genealogy records this week is the newly published Selected Baptisms of the Evanglical Lutheran Church Ramapo, Bergen Co., New Jersey 1750-1817

More New Jersey Church Records may be found at http://www.olivetreegenealogy.com/usa/nj/njchurch.shtml

Genealogy Research Bag - a Lifesaver!

You've impulsively decided to spend the day at a local archives. Do you have all your genealogy must-have items packed and ready to go at a moment's notice? Or do you race frantically around your house looking for the binder that has notes you need for researching Great Grandma Elizabeth?

Can't find any gum but you know you are going to need some? Pens! Pencils! Where oh where is a small bottle of aspirin just in case the microfilm reader gives you a headache. And on and on it goes, if you're like me you are breathless, sweating and slightly grumpy by the time you get out the door. And you're not really sure you have everything you need.

My husband and I are avid antique hunters and we keep a tote bag in the closet with our antique hunting needs - small tape measure, pencil, small notepad, small package of kleenex (some of those stores are incredibly dusty!), sanitizing hand wipes (you are touching lots of filthy items and have no idea what might be on them), Collection list of "have already" and list of "want", and a note that says "Don't forget books on coffee grinders, pot lids, etc" That reminds us to grab our books from the bookcase that show collections and prices.

It occured to me last year that I could also start a Genealogy Research Bag. Whatever can't go in it ahead of time can be put on a list which is clipped to the outside, so I don't have to think about what I need. I can just read the list.

My Genealogy Research Bag contains a small pack of kleenex; sanitizing hand wipes; small plastic ziplock bag with a tiny container of Tylenol (I'm allergic to aspirin), some anti-acid tablets and some throat lozenges; small plastic ruler; pens and pencils; yellow highlighter; small notebook; pad of lined paper; loonies and toonies for vending machines and parking (a loony is a one-dollar coin, a toony is a 2-dollar coin); pair of airplane sockettes (very thin, easy to slip on no matter what shoes I'm wearing and they keep my feet from freezing in overly air-conditioned buildings) and a  list of items to grab before leaving the house.

The grab list changes periodically but right now it has

* Ipad. I don't have to take binders or a laptop anymore, my Ipad with the GedView app works perfectly - my entire genealogy program from FTM is there at my fingertips through GedView

* GPS. Sometimes we forget to grab our GPS and can easily get lost if we're going to an archive or Library we've never gone to before.

* Charger for Iphone & Ipad. We have a car charger for these items but it never hurts to toss the in-house one in the Genealogy Research Bag

* Research Purse. That's my reminder to switch from a daily large purse to a tiny shoulder bag I keep just for antiquing or cemetery hunting or genealogy research. It allows my hands to be free, isn't heavy and holds minimal items.

* Bottles of Water and/or Lunch Bag. A reminder to take bottles of water and either pack a lunch or bring the zipped insulated lunch bag which I can fill with purchased sandwhiches, muffins, etc

When my Flip-Pal Mobile Scanner finally arrives I will add it to the Grab List or put it in my Genealogy Research Bag.

My Genealogy Research Bag is a life-saver. Hubs and I can decide on a moment's notice to go researching. I get the bag, check the grab list, call out the items to hubs which he collects and bingo we are out the door.

Of course we do have to make sure both dogs are taken care of - that Barley is out in her run with a huge dish of water and that Webley is in his room with a bed, a toy and water, that the chickens and guinea hens are out of their pen, that our donkey has a carrot before we leave... but those are on our mental check-list every time we leave the house even to go grocery shopping! We can still be out the door within a half hour of deciding we are leaving. What a wonderful change from the days of scrambling around the house wondering where I put everything I need.

Genealogy Day: My Plan for Cornelius Vollick

Well, I've decided when my first Genealogy Day is going to be, and what ancestor I'm going to work on. Genealogy Day is the day I'm setting aside once a month to work on my own genealogy for a change!

This Friday, October 1st is the big day! Hubs and I have each decided to take our first day as an organizational day. Each of us is going to choose an individual in our ancestry, and organize our notes, documents etc for that person. Then we are each going to come up with a plan for doing more research on that person. That will be our second Genealogy Day - an excursion to do the actual research.

I've chosen my 4th great-grandfather Cornelius Vollick. Cornelius was the son of a Loyalist in Butler's Rangers, and may have been a Loyalist himself. I've got conflicting information on whether or not he too was in Butler's Rangers that needs studying.

Years ago I acquired many petitions, land records and other documents regarding Cornelius but I need to go through them and study them for clues I might have missed first time around. I also plan to make a list of all petitions for Cornelius in the online Upper Canada Land Petitions Index. Part of my plan is to visit the new Ontario Archives building and get all of them again. I have them all but many are bad copies so I want new. Perhaps I missed one or two and if I did, this is my chance to get them.

My land documents and notations for Cornelius desperately need organization. A quick glance last night showed me that I have a lot of land documents, but there is no order to them and I haven't studied them in depth to think about clues found in them.

Cornelius is an important ancestor for me for two reasons. Without absolute proof that he is the father of my Richard Vollick, I can't get my Metis status back. I had Metis status but my tribe (Woodland branch of Ontario Metis Aboriginal Assocation) was disbanded (it's a long story!) and so I need to reapply through the Metis Nation of Ontario. They've already but accepted an application from a "cousin" so I know there is hope. However I descend from a different brother than my "cousin" does, so I have my work cut out for me.

Cornelius is also important because I can't obtain my UEL (Loyalist) status without that same absolute proof that he is the father of my Richard Vollick.

Hubs is going to talk about his plan for Genealogy Day on his blog AncestorsAtRest but without spoiling his blog post, I think he plans on organizing his records on his black ancestor Jonathan Butler, who settled circa 1840 in the Queen's Bush area of Upper Canada - a settlement area set aside for fugitive slaves.

We are excited about this Friday and the first of our monthly Genealogy Days! Do you have your day planned?

Completing the Ancestor Picture

Are you a name collector? Just the names and dates of birth and death please!  Or are you passionate about finding details on your ancestors? Do you want to see the factory where grandpa worked in 1930? Are you fascinated by a glimpse of the bridge over a river in the town where great grandma was born in 1882?

I'm one of those who want as many details as I can find about each ancestor in my family tree. I drool over one tiny fact - for example the discovery of my grandfather (who died before I was born) listed in the City Directory for Guelph Ontario in 1917 as working for the Page-Hersey Co. sent me into raptures of delight!

I had no idea what my grandfather did for a living. No one ever talked about him. My mother (his daughter-in-law) simply shrugged her shoulders when I asked and informed me that he'd been injured in a work-related accident in the early 1900s and never worked again. But she didn't have any clue where he worked or what he did. So finding this tantalizing entry was unbelievably exciting for me.

But I didn't stop there. I didn't just enter that fact in my genealogy program under his name and carry on to the next ancestor. Instead I set out to find out more about this Page-Hersey Company. What did they manufacture? When were they in existence? Were they still around? A quick Google search for Page Hersey Company turned up some answers.

More searching found images of workers in 1919 in the Page Hersey Co. in Welland Ontario and even though my grandad wasn't one of them (wrong town!) I now had a much better idea of what his workplace probably looked like. 

My next step was to start checking E-Bay on a weekly basis - maybe someone was selling some Page Hersey ephemera or collectible. And I want it to complete that one tiny bit of the picture of Grandpa's life.

I've had some good luck in acquiring some blank cheques for the Biltmore Hat Co. in Guelph during the time my father worked there. I'm still on the hunt for more items!

So far I've not turned up anything on the Guelph Lumber Company circa 1924-1941 where my other Grandfather was the manager, but I won't give up hope. Somewhere someday, maybe in an antique store or a flea market or on E-Bay, some little item will turn up. I also plan to visit the Guelph Library and the Wellington Co. Museum to see if they have any photos of that lumber company.

I've found historic postcards on E-Bay that reveal much about a town where an ancestor was born. If they are reasonably priced, I buy them and include them as scans in my family booklets.

Using census records I can find out street addresses and then use Google Street View to see the actual street where an ancestor lived, and if I'm lucky - the original house!

And that's how I complete my ancestor pictures - or at least get a start on it!

Movie Monday: A Cemetery Walk Through St. Michael's Catholic Cemetery, Ontario

It's Movie Monday and this week's Movie is a Cemetery Walk through St. Michael's Catholic Cemetery in Orillia Ontario.

There are 70 tombstones in this cemetery and we have 50 photos  online with the rest to follow. There are 2 videos online on the OliveTreeGenealogy Channel on You-Tube.  Video 1 is an overview of the cemetery grounds. Video 2 is a slideshow of photos of the first 25 tombstones as you start walking into the cemetery.

There are also 25 photos of more tombstones in St. Michael's Cemetery online at AncestorsAtRest.com The rest of the tombstones in this cemetery will be going online as a Video this week.

This older Cemetery is not well maintained, there's no parking and stones are tossed into the bushes. It's on the S. side of Coldwater Rd between Rynard Dr and Emily St. in Orillia. The newer St. Michael's Catholic Cemetery will be going online soon.

*NEW* Upper Canada Land Petitions Index available online

Readers familiar with OliveTreeGenealogy.blogspot.com know that I talk about Upper Canada Land Petitions (UCLP) a lot! I also talk about it a lot on AskOliveTree.blogspot.com 

In 2008 I provided an example of a Land Petition for a Loyalist claim to illustrate to genealogists how much detailed information can be found in this wonderful resource. You can view the petition on my October 7, 2008 post called Upper Canada Land Petition for a Loyalist Ancestor

It's important to note that present day Ontario had name and boundary changes, and was once called Upper Canada (and also Canada West). So if you are searching for early Ontario ancestors, you should not overlook the Upper Canada Land Petitions.

The terrific news is that Library and Archives Canada (LAC) has just  launched a new online database, Upper Canada Land Petitions (1763-1865). Caveat - this is NOT the petitions themselves, this is an INDEX to the petitions, with full details on where the actual petitions can be found for each individual listed.

Through this online database, researchers can access more than 77,000 references to petitions for grants or leases of land created by individuals who lived in present-day Ontario between 1763 and 1865.

This is an amazing new resource and one I'm utilizing already to double-check my previous searches of the microfilm in the Ontario Archives.  With the online index you can use wildcards to represent letters, making it much easier to find all spellings of a surname. Using the microfilm index of course you cannot do that and must be very creative in your spelling!

Featured Genealogy Database: Newtown Long Island Church Records 1736-1846

Friday's Featured Database is First Reformed Dutch Church of Newtown, Long Island Communicants 1741, Baptisms 1736-1845, Marriages 1835-1846

This is a free set of church records for genealogists, online at Olive Tree Genealogy at http://www.olivetreegenealogy.com/nn/church/newtown1.shtml

More church records for New York can be found at http://www.olivetreegenealogy.com/nn/church/

Ancestry.com Inc. to Acquire Iarchives (Footnote.com)

Wow this is pretty big news in the genealogy world! Time will tell if this is a forward step or not. This Press Release just arrived (20 minutes ago) in my email inbox:

PROVO, Utah, September 23, 2010 – Ancestry.com Inc. (Nasdaq: ACOM) announced today it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire iArchives, Inc. and its branded Web site, Footnote.com, a leading American History Web site, for approximately $27 million in a mix of Ancestry.com stock, cash and assumption of liabilities. This acquisition will provide the company with a complementary consumer brand, expanded content offerings, and enhanced digitization and image-viewing technologies.


iArchives digitizes and delivers high-quality images of American historical records of individuals involved in the Revolutionary War, Continental Congress, Civil War, and other US historical events to Footnote.com subscribers interested in early American roots. iArchives has digitized more than 65 million original source documents to date through its proprietary digitization process for paper, microfilm and microfiche collections.



“Footnote.com is highly complementary to Ancestry.com’s online family history offering,” said Tim Sullivan, President and Chief Executive Officer of Ancestry.com. “By promoting Footnote to our Ancestry audience, we hope to expand its reach among researchers who care about early American records. iArchives also brings outstanding image-viewing technology and content digitization capabilities that will improve our leadership position in bringing valuable historical records to the market. We welcome the iArchives team to the Ancestry.com family.”


Upon completion of the transaction, iArchives will become a wholly-owned subsidiary of Ancestry.com. As part of the transaction, Ancestry.com currently expects to issue approximately 1.0 million shares of common stock. The transaction is subject to various closing conditions and is expected to close early in the fourth quarter of 2010.



Ancestry.com also announced today that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program of up to approximately $25 million of its common stock. Under the authorization, share repurchases may be made by the Company from time to time in the open market or through privately negotiated transactions depending on market conditions, share price and other factors and may include accelerated or forward or similar stock repurchases and/or Rule 10b5-1 plans. Part of the rationale for the repurchase is to offset dilution of equity resulting from the iArchives acquisition. No time limit was set for the completion of this program. The share repurchase program may be modified or discontinued at any time by the Board of Directors.

It's All Relative..... to Someone, Somewhere!

My husband and I love antiques. We love to go antique hunting. One of our biggest passions is to find items that have a name attached - whether that be a signed painting, an identified photograph, an engraved snuff box.... or other miscellaneous identified object. If we possibly do it, we buy the item and research the name.

It doesn't matter that it's not our ancestor. We are dedicated to finding and saving lost items, then researching the family connected to that item. We try to post about as many of them as we can so that with any luck a relative or descendant will spot the article and enjoy seeing what we found.

Lost Faces: Family Photo Albums is one of the examples of our quest to find such lost items and give them a prominent place online. But we also have items in our home that we enjoy on a daily basis. This large painted photograph is one of them. We know who this sweet young boy is and we've done research to find out more about him.

Here is his story: Many years ago my husband's grandmother cleaned homes for elderly women in Perth County Ontario. One of the homes was that of a widow, Elsie Harstone. When Elsie died, the estate was put up at auction and my husband (then in his 20s) and his grandmother attended.

Up for auction was a large (2' x 2 1/2') tinted portrait of a young boy in an antique frame. It was taken circa 1900. On the back was written "Robert H. Harstone on his third birthday"

Hubby's grandmother told him the photo was of Elsie's husband as a young boy and that it had always been in the attic during the time she worked there. This may have been due to water damage in the upper right corner. My husband didn't want the photo to be lost or to go to someone who didn't know the family, so he bid on it and won it.

We love this photo and have it hanging in our living room. I've done some research on Robert and his family, and have written it neatly on the back of the painting. That way when the painting goes on to someone else, they will have knowledge of the subject of the portrait. I've also added when it was purchased (that is, when it left Elsie's hands) and by whom. Future owners might add their own details and the painting will take on new life with each owner.

Robert Hopper Harstone  was born 22 July 1899 in St. Mary's Perth County Ontario to Leonard Harstone and Drucilla Beatrice Maude Windsor. Leonard Harstone was a lawyer. The marriage of Leonard Harstone and Drucilla Windsor took place in Toronto, York County Ontario on 22 March 1898 in the Church of the Messiah.

See Harstone & Windsor Families of Perth and Essex Counties, Ontario for more details if you recognize this family.

Thank You Jeannette, and RIP

My former sister-in-law passed away on Saturday. I was 12 years old when Jeannette married my brother. I was so in awe of her! She brought so many new experiences into my life. I didn't have the greatest of childhoods and she brought me several moments of happiness which still linger with me.

Jeannette, I often think about your toasted salmon sandwiches every Friday at midnight. Such a seemingly small thing, but so special to me.

I remember when you went against my mother's wishes and took me to Oshawa to see the new movie "Psycho". I was so thrilled to be taken to the movies by my wonderful new sister-in-law! It was only the second time I'd ever been to the movies, and you bought me popcorn and a coke. I was so amazed that you chose to spend time with me and to give me a wonderful day out.

Even though my mother was right in that I was terrified and had nightmares for weeks afterward, the memory of that day with you is still special even after 50 years.

I remember driving back late one night from Toronto, sitting beside you in the front seat of the car. It was winter and you were wearing a big faux fur coat. I was sleepy and you told me I could put my head on your shoulder and go to sleep. I doubt you knew what that meant to me, but it's another treasured memory I carry. I didn't do it as that kind of physical closeness was something my family never did, but I longed to. I don't recall ever being told I could snuggle up to anyone before you offered your shoulder!

You showed me how to design and sketch clothing using paper dolls. It sounds strange now I know, but for my artist soul that opened a whole new world for me. I spent hundreds of blissful hours designing clothing for those silly paper dolls, an activity which offered me peace from a less than pleasant home life.

I'm so glad I had a chance to see you again last year (after more than 30 years!) at my mother's memorial service. I didn't recognize you at first but you recognized me and we had a big hug. I still remember the first words out of your mouth "When did you get to be so tall!"

We had a lovely chat and that's another memory I'll cherish. But I wish I'd told you of those special moments with you when I was young.

Thank you for the joy you brought me as a young girl. This song is for you. You had serious health problems for many years of your life and I hope you've reached that peaceful valley.

I went up to the mountain

Because you asked me to

Up over the clouds

To where the sky was blue

I could see all around me

Everywhere

I could see all around me

Everywhere

Sometimes I feel like

I've never been nothing but tired

And I'll be walking

Till the day I expire

Sometimes I lay down

No more can I do

But then I go on again

Because you ask me to

Some days I look down

Afraid I will fall

And though the sun shines

I see nothing at all

Then I hear your sweet voice, oh

Oh, come and then go, come and then go

Telling me softly

You love me so

The peaceful valley

Just over the mountain

The peaceful valley

Few come to know

I may never get there

Ever in this lifetime

But sooner or later

It's there I will go

Sooner or later

It's there I will go

Get Out the Popcorn, it's Movie Monday!

It's Movie Monday on the Olive Tree Genealogy Video Channel on YouTube!

Join me on some Cemetery Walks or check out the full passenger list of the ship Flora MacDonald sailing from Liverpool to Baltimore Maryland on 31 May 1851

The Flora MacDonald carried passengers from Ireland consisting of 131 men, 125 women, 40 males under 14 years old, 44 females under 14 years old, 6 infants under 1 year old for total of 347 passengers.  One child was born on the voyage. Four passengers died - their exact dates of death are noted beside their names on the manifest.

Surnames include: Reed, Haley, Ryan, Murphy, Killan, Golding, Larkin, Ford, Lawrence, Donlan, Murry, Daley, Clrak, Hall, Conbery, Corbitt, Butter, Flynn, Morley, Galleger, Slattery, Kelly, McCarty, Mooney, Darcy, Moran, Black, Ryan, Doyle, Neil, Kane, Coffee, Crimes, Grimes, Hays, Fitzgerald, Quillam, Ellis, Coyle, Miner, Burns, Moore, Duffy, Fox, Hoare, Culby, Finnegan, Sheelan, Henderson, Hopps, Patterson, hogan, Stanton, Eaton, Sullivan, McCleary, Wright, Crosby, Roney, Poland, Mears, Madigan, Finley, Gilridge, Heath, Walker, Connolly, Brady, Elwood, Shanahan, Hines, Gillan, Hefferman, Shannon, Regan, Kegan, Peck, Connor, Smith, Gray, Johanson, and many more

More Cemeteries are coming online on the Olive Tree Genealogy Video Channel , as well as more ships passenger lists plus other genealogy goodies so stay tuned.
 
See http://olivetreegenealogy.com/ships/ for more free ships passenger lists. More cemeteries and death records are available on AncestorsAtRest.com