Free Access to Civil War Records on Ancestry!

Starting  Thursday, April 7th and running through the following Thursday April 14th, Ancestry.com will be featuring a week long promotion to commemorate the 150th Anniversary of the beginning of the U.S. Civil War.

Ancestry.com is offering Free Access to all Civil War records during the promotion!

Every Cloud Has a Silver Lining

There's been a lot of discussion about clouds recently. Cloud computing that is. Are you in the cloud? I am and it's not only easy, it's fun and a great way to save and share important things.

Got a new find in your genealogy research and want to have multiple copies in safe places? Typed out great-grandma's recipe and want to share it with your cousins? Scanned 100 old family photos and want to make sure you have backups? Need to work on a project in collaboration with others? At your hotel for a genealogy conference and just remembered you left your notes at home? Don't worry, the cloud has your back!

What is it and Why Do I Want It?

There are many different types of cloud computing and several models of use, but I just want to describe the cloud services  I use and how and why I use them. You can Google "cloud computing" to read detailed definitions and descriptions.

I Love Dropbox!

My all-time favourite and most-used cloud service is Dropbox. With Dropbox I can store, sync, and, share files online for free. Not all cloud services will sync. If that's not important to you, don't worry about it. But I like to have at least one service that will automatically sync my uploaded files to all my devices.

Here's a brief look at how Dropbox works. Let's take an example of writing the story of Grandpa Harvey's life. I've saved my file to my computer hard drive but I want a backup and I want to be able to work on the story from my iPad, iPhone, Blackberry, Android, Laptop or other computers. All I need to do is "drop" my file into my Dropbox Account (2 GB of free storage space). Dropbox automatically syncs the file to all my devices that have the App installed. I can also access the files from any computer simply by going to the Dropbox website. I can also give other family members or contribuotrs access to the file and they can participate in the story writing, or simply enjoy reading it.

With Dropbox I can take a photo from my iPhone camera and immediately send it to Dropbox. When my husband is out photographing cemeteries for our Cemetery Walk series on Olive Tree Genealogy You-tube Channel, he can send each photo as he takes it to Dropbox. Dropbox notifies me on all my devices and my main computer immediately that a file has been added to my space. That gives me  immediate access to the tombsotne pictures hubby is taking.

Comparison of Free Cloud Services

Dropbox
2GB of free storage plus ability to earn extra free space up to 8GB. No size limit on files. Sync files automatically. Available as an App for iPhone, iPad and other mobile devices. Able to access files from any computer (Mac, Windows, Linux) or mobile device. Sign up for your free Dropbox Account of 2GB and get an extra 250MB free through this link.

Amazon Cloud Drive
5 GB free storage. Does not sync. Access files from any computer. Amazon promotes their cloud storage as a great way to save videos, music and photos. 5 GB is about 1,000 songs, 2,000 photos or 20 minutes of videos.  When you purchase songs or albums from the Amazon MP3 Store, you can  save your purchases to your Cloud Drive.

Memopal
3 GB free storage space. Get an extra free 500 MB with friend invites. Available as an App for iPhone. Use this link to immediately get 3.5 GB of free storage on signup    UPDATE MAY 5, 2011. I do not recommend this cloud storage service and will be writing a blog post to explain why



Box.net
5 GB free storage space. 25MB file size limit. Mobile App access. Website

Windows Skydrive
25GB free storage but file sizes limited to 50MB.  Create, view, edit, and share Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and OneNote files online with SkyDrive even if you don't have Microsoft Office installed on your computer. Note: I find Windows SkyDrive slow but I love the online Excel and Word programs! It allows me to use my familiar Excel and Word even on my MacBookAir.

Google Docs
1GB free. With Google Docs you create and share your work online.

Summary

Each of the free cloud storage services above with the exception of SkyDrive  allow users to pay for  expanded storage and more features.

Why do I use so many? I like to keep my cloud storage semi-organized by type of files or work. For example I use Amazon Cloud Drive for my scanned photos. I use DropBox for files I'm actively working on and files I need to easily and quickly share between computers.

I use Memopal for backup storage of my main website Olive Tree Genealogy. Box.net isn't one of my favourites but it's useful for backup of final versions of the Family History books I've published. It's downfall is the small file size it allows.

I'm not a huge fan of Google Docs so hardly ever use it but I include it here because it is good for teamwork participation. Windows SkyDrive is one I'm just starting to explore and I love being able to work in Excel and Word from my MacBook Air, but I find it the least user-friendly.

You can read what PC World had to say about Google Docs vs SkyDrive vs Amazon CloudDrive.  Spoiler: The author likes Box.net the best. Don't ask me how that got into the mix when the title is "Cloud fight! Amazon Cloud Drive vs. Google Docs vs. Microsoft Skydrive"

My Top Three

My personal choice for my top three cloud services are Dropbox, Memopal and Amazon CloudDrive. Try them. See which one works for you! Don't forget to use these links for Dropbox and Memopal to get your extra free storage space when you join! You won't be sorry you dipped your toe into the cloud.

New Births, Deaths & Marriage Records Available for Ontario

The Archives of Ontario has completed microfilm of  Vital Statistics records from the Office of the Registrar General for the 1913 birth, 1928 marriage, and 1938 death indexes and registrations.

Consisting of over 127,000 scanned images, the microfilm and its related finding aids are available  at the Reading Room at 134 Ian Macdonald Boulevard in Toronto, Ontario, on York University's Keele Street campus, and at local libraries through the Interloan program. 

The Vital Statistics records for 1914 birth, 1929 marriage, and 1939 death indexes and registrations, are currently being scanned and the resulting 130,000 images checked for clarity and completeness. 

Ontario Archives is working to have these records available online in a searchable format in 2011. They also hope to make the 1915 birth, 1930 marriage, and 1940 death registrations available later in the same year. As the work progresses, further details will be released through Archives of Ontario website.

The Peer Family in North America (Press Release)

The Peer family left New Jersey to settle in Ontario Canada in 1796, after the Revolutionary War. Jacob and Anne (aka Hannah) Peer had several children born in New Jersey (Levi, John, Edward, Philip, Phoebe, Marcy, Jacob and Stephen). Their descendants settled in Michigan, Pennsylvania, Illinois and Ontario Canada.

I have been researching all branches of this family for over 30 years and last year I published Volume 1 of a planned series of books on the family.


The following brief excerpt is from my book The Peer Family in North America. V1 Jacob & Anne Peer, Immigrants from New Jersey to Upper Canada in 1796. A study of the first two generations. published June 2010.  

Jacob Peer, the immigrant ancestor to Ontario, left New Jersey for Upper Canada (present day Ontario) thirteen years after the American Revolution ended in 1783. The American Revolution began in 1773 and during this time New Jersey was a hot bed of political and military upheaval.

From records found in Ontario we know that Jacob and his family were loyal to the British side, and suffered from persecution in New Jersey throughout the war years. His British sympathies had caused great hardship for him during the War, and as former neighbour Nathaniel Pettit described in an affidavit supporing Jacob’s petition for land in Upper Canada (present day Ontario)

"[Jacob] suffered greatly both in his person and property in the Late War between Great Britain and America".

Jacob remained in New Jersey until the summer of 1796 when he and his family and at least one adult son Philip (and his family) left for Upper Canada.

Subsequent volumes are in process for each individual in Generation 2 (Jacob & Anne's children) and their descendants. Peer descendants will want to purchase Volume 1 plus any  Volume(s) containing details and records of their next ancestor and descendants.

Generation 2: Children of Jacob & Anne Peer

• Levi Peer & his wife Elizabeth Marical (settled in Illinois & Ontario) [Vol. 2]
• John Peer & his wife the widow of Thomas Millard (settled mainly in Ontario) [Vol. 1]
• Edward Peer & his two wives Anna and Sarah (settled in Pennsylvania & Ontario) [Vol. 3]
• Philip Peer & his two wives Ester Dunn and Susan Griniaus (settled mainly in Ontario) [Vol. 4]
• Phoebe Peer & her husband Daniel McQueen (settled mainly in Ontario) [Vol. 7]
• Marcy Peer & her husband Harcor Lyons (settled in Michigan & Ontario) [Vol. 7]
• Jacob Peer Jr. & his wife Lucy Powers (settled in Michigan & Ontario) [Vol. 5]
• Stephen Peer & his wife Lydia Skinner (settled in New York &Ontario) [Vol. 6]

Use this link to place an order through Paypal or download an order form for your copy  of The Peer Family in North America. V1 Jacob & Anne Peer, Immigrants from New Jersey to Upper Canada in 1796. A study of the first two generations. 

Interested descendants may sign up for notification of publication and updates by writing to PeerFamilyBookATgmail.com (replace AT with @) Please include your name, and the Volumes you are interested in. 

The Indian List - A Revelation

Recently I found mention of my great-grandfather's brother Gideon Peer in a local Guelph Ontario newspaper. The date was 6 August 1913. The notice read as follows:

'ENRICHED THE COFFERS: Gideon Peer, Robert Simpson and Chas. Emslie, all on the Indian list, were each fined $10 and costs at the police court this morning. Abe Summerville, also on the list, pleaded not guilty, and his case will be disposed of tomorrow morning"

That was it. No explanation as to what the fine was for and no details as to what this "Indian List" was. I'd never heard of such a list before.

As far as I knew, my Peer ancestors were not of native heritage. But could I be mistaken? Wouldn't an "Indian List" be a list of natives, those known to be of native blood?

I remembered that Gideon's father Levi Peer, in a letter written to his mother Elizabeth Marical Peer in the 1840s had referred to his Irish born wife Jane as a "squaw". In the next sentence he'd added that Jane was "Irish to the bone" so I'd dismissed the use of the term "squaw" as simply some kind of local colloquialism.

I also recalled that one branch of the family descended from Elizabeth Marical Peer insisted she was a native,  part of the Mohawk Marical family in Ontario. Although I had found no evidence of this in my research and in fact I linked her to the Palatine family of Merckel aka Merkely aka Marical.

Now I questioned my research. Perhaps I'd overlooked something. So I went back and pulled out all my notes on Gideon and his sibings and parents. No reference to native heritage in any of the census records. No reference to it in other sources. I decided to search for the men listed in the newspaper account - Charles Emslie, Robert Simpson and Abe Summerville. Perhaps something found in records for these men would provide a clue.

A few hours later I was still puzzled. Nothing I found indicated that these men were of native heritage. I'd already searched on Google for "The Indian List" without much success but I went back to Google and started over. Finally I found two references - one an article called Punched Drunk 
and a cached version of an article titled "Are You on the Indian List" published in 2008.

Apparently in 1876 a change in the Indian Act made it illegal for natives to purchase or possess alcohol. Names of natives were compiled on an Interdiction List which became known as The Indian List. Saloon keepers, hotel owners, and bars had copies of this list and they were not legally allowed to sell to anyone whose name was on the list.

That still did not explain my Gideon Peer appearing on such a list. But I learned that rather quickly non-natives were added to this list. Thus anyone, white, native or otherwise, who was a habitual drunk or had been in trouble with the law due to being drunk and disorderly, had their names added to this list. It then became illegal for them to purchase or own liquor or to have a drink in a tavern, hotel or bar.

Failure to comply with the regulations meant a fine either for the person on "The Indian List" or the person selling the liquor to them.

I must confess that finding out about this "Indian List" shocked me. Such a list could only lead to prejudice and social classifcations that were applied to all natives. Assumptions had to be made in the first place that no native was to be trusted with alcohol! This would have affected social expectations and views of the native population. Adding the names of non-native individuals who had been found drunk and disorderly would only further add weight to the notion that a native was automatically assumed to share that classification.

As a Metis (of native and French descent) I'm appalled that this existed in our country. I recognize that it was a product of the times but it doesn't make the law or the list any less a social injustice.

What did I learn about Gideon? He wasn't a native but apparently he liked his liquor and was prone to being charged with  drunk and disorderly conduct.  His family must have been mortified to see his name in the newspaper and the mention that he was "on the Indian List".  

Gwyneth Paltrow in Episode 7 of Who Do You Think You Are

Tonight's the night! Who Do You Think You Are re-runs are over and tonight's episode is brand new.  Ancestry.com has once again partnered with NBC in Season 2 of Who Do You Think You Are?

Gwyneth Paltrow is featured tonight in Episode 7. Tune in at 8 p.m. tonight, Friday April 1st to see what exciting ancestors Gwyneth discovers as she journeys to Barbadoes in search of her ancestry.

Season 2 consists of 8 episodes featuring Gwyneth Paltrow, Tim McGraw, Rosie O'Donnell, Steve Buscemi, Kim Cattrall, Lionel Richie, Vanessa Williams and Ashley Judd in their search for ancestors.

Chatting With Jay Verkler, CEO of FamilySearch International

Shortly after the Awards Ceremonies at the end of the 3-day RootsTech Conference, I sat down with Jay Verkler, CEO of FamilySearch, International. I asked Mr. Verkler how he came up with the idea of combining Technology with Genealogy to create RootsTech. "GenTech had the idea first" he said. Almost every idea was a team effort. The key was thinking together with others and as such, the entire team was part of the creative process in developing the conference.

What about the older generation, I asked. Often they are afraid of new technology or they like using it but don't care how it works. How would Mr. Verkler suggest we reassure this group and find ways to engage them? Mr. Verkler's response was a surprise. He pointed out that some people are at a stage in their lives where they don't care about learning anything new. And that's absolutely okay. But said Verkler, they probably care about getting things done. So who can they ask for help? One of their children? A friend? As long as someone is there to help them, do they really need to learn the new technology? Mr. Verkler doesn't think we should drag them, kicking and screaming, into it. But he also pointed out that sometimes it just takes a bit of encouragement to get reluctant users to plunge in because they are often more capable than they realize.

The bottom line is that the new technology tools are much better than doing things manually. FamilySearch has a course on the basics - using a computer, using a mouse and so on. Volunteers at a local Family History Center are always willing to help, as are the staff at the Family History Library in Salt Lake City. Libraries offer assistance too. All we need to do is encourage the reluctant or fearful users to find someone or some place that will help them.

I moved on to a question about participant feelings about their RootsTech experience. At the time of the interview, the email surveys had not gone out and I asked Mr. Verkler if he had any feedback at this point. He replied that of approximately 500 comments already turned in at that time, about 498 responded that they were having a great time.  Only 2 of the 500 had suggestions for improvement. [Note: These were the numbers a half hour after RootsTech ended]

What did Mr. Verkler hope RootsTech participants would take away with them? Mr. Verkler prefaced his answer with an analogy. RootsTech was like making a cake, he said. You put together the best ingredients but you aren't absolutely sure how it will turn out or how it will taste. However many participants said they learned some practical solutions. Connections were made between vendors, with others and with associations. CEOs said they would return to a future RootsTech Conference just to work with such highly talented people. And there would be another Conference, in fact the dates for RootsTech 2012 are established (February 2-4, 2012).

I asked Mr. Verkler to take out his crystal ball and tell us what technical innovations are forthcoming. He replied that we will see new things at RootsTech 2012 that don't exist in the public domain at the time of this writing. Mr. Verkler could not share specific details at this time but he stated that technology will be moving at a faster rate than seen in the past.  RootsTech 2011, being the first, was an experiment to see what worked and what didn't. You must do more to determine if you have the right mix. If future Conferences are as good or better than 2011 then we can look for it to be a permanent feature. It will always be in Salt Lake City as there are  many good reasons to  hold it there. The Family History Library being nearby is a huge plus. He added that RootsTech will keep its theme and try to be effective not necessarily huge.

Mr. Verkler pointed out that RootsTech is about the community. The people invited to participate (technologists, genealogists, speakers, companies) were some of the best in the world. The notion of participating as part of the community to make it better is extremely important. And RootsTech 2012 will be even better and stronger than RootsTech 2011.

Win a 12 month Geni-Pro Account on OliveTreeGenealogy Blog

Have you visited Geni.com yet? Geni is a website devoted to helping genealogists build their online family tree. Using the basic free service at Geni.com, users add and invite family members to join their family tree.  Geni then compares it to other trees. Matching trees are  merged into a single world family tree, which currently contains nearly 50 million living users and their ancestors.

Good news!  Geni is running a contest where 3 subscribers to their free service can win a 12 month Pro Account A pro account provides users with many extra services.  

Today's other good news is that readers of Olive Tree Genealogy blog can also win a free 12 month Geni Pro Account! All you need to do to enter for a chance to win is follow these instructions:

1. Share this blog post on Twitter OR Facebook by using the icons at the bottom of this post.

2. Send an email to otg.giveaway@gmail.com after you have shared this blog post on Twitter or Facebook and in ONE sentence tell me why you want to win a Geni Pro account

One winner will be chosen from entries received at the email given above. One entry per person.

If you tweet this post more than once you will be disqualified.

If you send your entry to any other email other than otg.giveaway@gmail.com it will not be accepted.


Rules:
1. No purchase necessary.
2. Winner will be chosen from entries received.
3. One winner from readers of Olive Tree Genealogy Blog will be chosen to receive a prize.
4. The contest  ends at 3PM PT April 1st, 2011.
5. You are responsible for anything in regards to the legality of entering a contest in the area in which you live.
6. The winner will be notified via your provided contact information the week following the end of the contest.
 

My Ancestor Wall

My ancestors are hanging on my living room wall. I collect antique picture frames and then I take a photo of an ancestor, have it enlarged and insert it into the frame. Then it gets a place of honour on my wall.

My main Ancestor Wall

There are a few things you might want to do if you are going to have an Ancestor Wall. First you need to choose a photo that is in focus. It doesn't matter how small the photo is, it's the sharpness of the image that counts.

You should choose a photo that suits your frame. You don't want a family group photo in a tiny frame. Likewise you don't want Great grandma's head and shoulders photo in a large one.

After you choose your frame and your photo you need to pick a suitable mat. That's a personal choice but you should think about colour - you want the mat to go with the frame and the photo, you don't want it to clash. You should also think about the size of the mat, the bit you're going to see around the photograph. If you make it too large, it will overpower the photo. If it's too small it won't look balanced.

I had a frame chosen for a family photo of my dad and his siblings and parents in 1916. But none of the mats we looked at seemed just right. The frame was an unusual dull beige-gold. So we chose a cream mat and my husband stained it in blotches with a used tea bag. It looks great - very antique looking and it ties in the frame colour with the photo.

We love our living room. We have a cathedral ceiling so there is a lot of wall space to fill! All three walls are hung with ancestor photos and antique art. We even have an oil painting that my husband's grandmother painted but didn't like. So she nailed it to the wall of her barn! We rescued it, cleaned it, chose a frame to suit it and now it hangs in a place of honour. You can see it in my photo above - it's the bright oil painting with orange flowers hanging top left of the photo.

So be creative and pick what you like, not what someone else tells you is good. After all you are the one who has to live with your Ancestor Wall, so it has to please you. Our Ancestor Wall would not suit everyone. The way we choose to hang our pictures would not suit everyone. But it pleases us and that's what's important. Every morning when  I go through the living room to get to the kitchen I feel a warm glow as I pass the photo of my father, my grandmother and other relatives. The pictures bring me peace and pleasure.

Update on the Search for Susan (a Step by Step Analysis part 2)

A few days ago I wrote  A Step By Step Analysis of a Genealogy Search outlining my search for Susan, the grandmother of my aunt Marge Cahoe. 

Several readers commented on that post and thanks to them, new ideas and clues arose.

Taking a Second Look

So I decided to take a closer look at a marriage I had found, but dismissed. The marriage was for Annie Angelina Gavin to John Mason in 1881. Those who have read my first post may recall that there was a 3 year old Angelina Gavin living with a mother Susan in 1871, and a 14 year old Amy or Annie Gavin with mother Susan in 1881. But I could not say with certainty that this was the same Susan with daughter born circa 1868.

Annie's marriage record was found but the record stated she was born in Guelph (location was right) to parents William Gavan and Susan Hambridge. So I dismissed Annie Angelina as being Annie, the daughter of "my" Susan.

But could Angelina the 3 year old in 1871 be Annie the 14 year old in 1881? Were they the same Susan? I was puzzled by the 1871 census since Susan's daughter Elizabeth born circa 1861 should have been there with them. I also thought Susan's maiden name was Cowan (or Gowan) and that she married John Gavan. So John Gavan should also have been with the family in 1871.

Reader to the Rescue!

Then a reader found the birth of an illegitimate daughter named Georgina Lillias (Lillian?) to Susan Gavan in 1873 in Eramosa. Aha! The wheels in my head were turning.. was Susan ever married to anyone called John Gavan??

Another Look at the Death Record Image Leads to a New Theory

I took another closer look at the image for Susan's death in 1926. What I had read as Cowan a reader pointed out was almost certainly Gowan but on a very close inspection I realized the name could actually be (drum roll please) GAVAN! 

So Susan was never married to a Gavan. The births of her first two daughters were too early for Ontario Civil Registrations so I couldn't use that method to verify my new theory. But I'd also found a Susan of the right age living in the right place with parents John Gavan and Martha in 1851. I theorized she was "my" Susan. 

Surprising Findings re Annie Angeline Gavan

I looked again at Annie Angelina Gavan who married John Mason in 1881 in Ottawa. I found her death in Ottawa in 1896. She was listed as Annie A. Gavan (odd that she wasn't listed under her married name of Mason) she died at the age of 29 years and was born in Rockwood Ontario. Rockwood is very near Guelph. Again, the right area for birth, the right age and the right last name. Unfortunately parents' names are not noted on death records for that time period so I really wasn't any further ahead. 

Then I remembered that burial records for Beechwood Cemetery  in Ottawa are online on Ancestry.com .  I had a search through them and there she was, listed as Mrs. Annie Angeline Mason. Best of all the burial records give parents' names! Her mother was given as "Susan Gavan" and father's name was left blank. Susan Gavan! That added more weight to my new theory - that Susan never married a Gavan but was a Gavan (not Cowan or Gowan) by birth. 

Questions, Questions and More Questions

Why Annie Angeline Gavin's  mother's name appears as Susan Hambridge in her 1881 marriage, but as Susan Gavan in Annie's 1896 death is a mystery. Perhaps the minister blinked when transcribing the marriage record to the sheet to hand in to the registry? Perhaps he mixed up the surnames and the father is William Hambridge with mother Susan Gavan? Perhaps Annie was too ashamed to admit she didn't know who her father was?  I don't know the answer. But I do know that Annie Angeline is "my" Susan's daughter. 

Summary

Here's a summary of what is known  about Susan and what I theorize. You'll see that there are many discrepancies!

1851 Eramosa: Susan Gavan age 14 with parents and siblings

1861 Eramosa (Misindexed as Gueris on Ancestry): Susan Gavin age 23 with what looks like a daughter Mary E. possibly age 3 (hard to read) and parents and sibling.  I suggest that Mary E. is the Elizabeth Gavan who later married James Swindlehurst in Guelph in 1881

1871 Eramosa: Susan Gavan age 28 with daughter Angelina 3. I suggest that missing 10 year old daughter Elizabeth is living with other relatives or as a servant in another home

1873 Eramosa: Susan Gavan has an illegitimate daughter Georgiana Lillias (Lillian?)  born in Eramosa. No father's name given. 

1881 Guelph. Susan is now Susan Kehoe living with husband William Kehoe and 3 Gavan daughters Elizabeth, Annie, Teno [Tina? Gina?]

1881 Guelph. Elizabeth Gavan marries James Swindlehurst. She gives her parents' names as John Gavan and Susan (no maiden name). In reality John Gavan is Susan's father's name. Did Elizabeth think John was her father? Did she know John was her grandfather? Or was she confused, or too ashamed to reveal she didn't know who her father was? 

1891 Guelph. William and Susan Kehoe are found with children Amy/Annie age 22 and Norman age 7. Both children listed with Kehoe surname

1891 Ottawa. Annie Angelina Gavan marries John Mason. Parents' names given as William Gavan and Susan Hambridge. 

1896 Ottawa.  Annie Angeline Mason dies. Mother's name given as Susan Gavan

1900 Detroit Michigan. Sally [sic] age 51 and son Norman Cahoe born 1883 living Detroit. Susan says she bore 4 children but only 2 are alive. This agrees with what we have found so far - 3 illegitimate Cavan daughters named Elizabeth, Annie Angelina and Georgina  and a son Norman Cahoe. Elizabeth and Norman marry and have children. Annie Angelina dies in 1896. I have not discovered what happened to Georgina and do not know if Annie Angelina had children before her death.

1910 Border Crossing Canada to USA: Susan Cahoe age 60 and son Norman age 28 say they have been at Susan's daughter Elizabeth Cahoe Swindlehurst's home in Canada and are going to Detroit Michigan

1911 Guelph. Susan Cahoe age 58 and son Norman age 25

1926 Guelph. Susan dies. Her son Norman is informant. He gives her parents' names as John Gavan and Mary Thompson. I suggest Mary Thompson is the wife Martha recorded in 1851 and 1861 census of Eramosa with her husband John Gavan and  daughter Susan living with them. 

Brainstorming Welcome!   

I've found CAHOE recorded as KEHOE, KEHO and KEOGH. CAVAN has also been found as CAVEN, CAVIN. There may be more varieties in spelling that I haven't yet discovered. 

I neglected to point out that Guelph is a city in Guelph Township, Wellington County. Eramosa is a township in Wellington County (quite close to Guelph) Rockwood is a small town near Guelph. Ottawa is some distance away but finding that John Mason was a carpenter born in Ottawa helped explain why Annie Angelina would move so far away from her home.  

I would love to hear readers thoughts, comments and critiques of my theory and my findings.

 

Episode 6: Steve Buscemi in Who Do You Think You Are?

Tonight's the night! Who Do You Think You Are re-runs are over and tonight's episode is brand new.  Ancestry.com has once again partnered with NBC in Season 2 of Who Do You Think You Are?

Steve Buscemi is featured tonight in Episode 6. All I've heard about this Episode is that Steve is looking for rogues and villains in his ancestry. So tune in at 8 p.m. tonight, Friday March 25th to see what exciting ancestors Steve discovers.

Season 2 consists of 8 episodes featuring Gwyneth Paltrow, Tim McGraw, Rosie O'Donnell, Steve Buscemi, Kim Cattrall, Lionel Richie, Vanessa Williams and Ashley Judd in their search for ancestors.

A Step By Step Analysis of a Genealogy Search

A few days ago I spent some time looking over my McGinnis genealogy. I like to do that every once in a while. It helps to attack genealogy challenges with a fresh eye, and often I spot a clue I overlooked the first time around. Sometimes I spot areas where I need to find more to fill in gaps.

This time I realized I'd never gotten around to searching my aunt's family. My Aunt Marge was married to my father's brother. I knew her maiden name was Cahoe, her father was Norman Cahoe, her mother Jessie McMillan, and the Cahoe family were from Guelph Ontario, but that was it. I'd never asked my mother about her, and had not  searched for more details. I don't search back very many generations on collateral spouse lines but I do like to know a little more about each spouse.

Finding Norman Cahoe

I immediately headed to Ancestry.com where I found Norman Cahoe easily in the 1911 census for Guelph Ontario. He was 25 years old, born in Ontario in August 1885 according to the census) and living with his 58 year old widowed mother Susan. Susan gave her birthdate as July 1852 and place of birth as Ontario.  This was easy and I was confident the rest of my search would go well. I was wrong.

The next two pieces of information were also found fairly quickly. One was a Border Crossing Record for Susan and Norman dated July 1910. The index on Ancestry.com showed they were crossing at Vermont which puzzled me but a look at the image revealed that in fact they crossed at Port Huron Michigan. An interesting and misleading error with Ancestry's indexing!  Susan was said to be a 60 year old widow (which didn't match the 1911 census but as we all know, ages can vary from one record to another). Norman was a single man aged 28 and they were on their way to Detroit. They listed their nearest relative in Canada as Susan's daughter Elizabeth Cahoe Swindlehurst. Exciting - now I had another family member and what looked like her married name.

Finding Susan's Death Record 

Leaving that record for a bit, I continued my search for Susan and Norman in earlier records. I hoped to find Norman's father's name. But no luck. I did however find Susan's death registration and now my quest became more challenging. Susan died in Guelph in 1926. Her son Norman was the informant and she was listed as living in the same home as him. A researcher might assume that Norman would know quite a bit about his mother since he had lived with her for so long. And in fact he'd provided her father's full name (John Cowan born Ireland) as well as her mother's (Mary Thompson born Scotland).

But he'd also given her age as 89 years old and her date of birth as July 31, 1836. That was very different from the census and Border Crossing record, but it was definitely the right Susan Cahoe. But her date of birth in the census was 1852. According to the Border Crossing Record it was circa 1850. And now her death record (with info provided by her son) gave 1836.  That seemed wrong to me because it would make Susan almost 50 when Norman was born. Not impossible but something to keep in mind as I continued my search.

The Quest for Susan Becomes More Intriguing

And now my search became more difficult. Try as I might  I could not find Susan or Norman or Elizabeth (whose age I didn't know) in 1901, 1891, 1881 or earlier census records. I used wildcards. I used Susan* to allow for Susannah or Sussan. I tried Norm* to allow for a shortened name.  I tried C*ho* as the surname. Finally after many hours of searching I decided to use only first names, no surnames, and Norman's birth year plus/minus two. Bingo. There they were in the Guelph 1891 census as Kehoe. Kehoe? My heart skipped a beat. The Kehoe family first intermarried with my McGinnis family in  1831 - almost 100 years earlier.

The Kehoe (also spelled Keogh) family were among the first Irish settlers in Puslinch Township (very near Guelph). They had lived briefly in New York where two Keogh sisters met and married two McGinnis brothers. Then the families settled in Puslinch.  I was, as the British say, gob-smacked. I never realized that Aunt Marge connected to this family. I'm quite sure she had no idea either.

Contradictions Galore

What else did I find? Many more confusing and contradictory details from various records came to light. Taking them all and studying and analyzing them carefully provided me with new clues and leads. I still have more to find but here's a summary of what I've found so far:

1900 Census Detroit Michigan - Sarah [sic] Cahoe, 51 born July 1848 [yet another year of birth!!], widow, had 4 children, 2 are living, father born Ireland, mother Scotland, immigrated 1890, says she is naturalized [note to self - hunt for her naturalization record] living with son Norman born August 1883. He says his father was born New York and mother in Ontario. Another clue revealing father's place of birth

1891 Census Guelph Ontario - William KEHO [sic] age 47 b USA, father born USA, mother born England with wife Susan, 46 [giving estimated year of birth as 1845], daughter Amy (or Anny) age 22 born Ontario and son Norman 7 born Ontario.

So it appears William Kehoe died between 1891and 1901.  I have not been able to find his death in Ontario or Michigan.

Birth Records Ontario revealed several children born in Guelph between 1881 and 1898 to James Swindlehurst and Elizabeth Gaven, with one record showing Elizabeth's surname as (drum roll please!) Keogh in brackets with the surname Gaven written above.  Their first child was named Susannah and was almost certainly in honour of Elizabeth's mother. But why the surname Gaven?

Marriage Records Ontario revealed a marriage in 1881 for James Swindlehurst and Elizabeth Gavin [sic] who said she was 21 years old, born in Eramosa Township to parents John & Susanna Gavin.  Bingo! Susan(nah) was apparently married twice - to John Gavin/Gaven/Gavan and then to William Kehoe/Cahoe/Keogh. And if daughter Elizabeth was born circa 1861 then Susan(nah) was surely at least 16 years old, so I might assign a tentative year of birth of 1845 or earlier. 

I love it when a genealogy search has so many twists and turns you feel like you're in a maze and can't quite figure out which turn to take next!

1881 Census Guelph - William Kehoe age 37, wife Susan 38 with 3 daughters: Elizabeth 21 (yay - she is the Elizabeth who married James Swindlehurst), Annie age 14 (she must be the child Amy/Anny age 22 in 1891) and another daughter age 7 whose first name is very difficult to read. It looks like Teno and I've not yet figured out exactly what the name says.

1871 Census Eramosa - Susan Gavan age 28 with daughter Angelina age 3. Is this the Susan I am looking for? Who is Angelina? Where is Elizabeth who should be 10 years old. Where is her husband John Gavan?

Ontario Death Records - John Gavin died August 1875 in Eramosa Township. He was age 77 and born Ireland. Is this the husband of Susan?

Still Searching

So I am still on the trail of the elusive Susan.

Here is what I have found:

* 1926 Death in Guelph
* 1911 Census Guelph, widow with son Norman
* 1910 Going to Detroit Michigan with son Norman
* 1900 Census Detroit Michigan, widow with son Norman
* 1891 Census Guelph with husband William Kehoe and 2 children (1 son, 1 daughter)
* 1881 Census Guelph with husband William Kehoe and 3 daughters
* 1881 Marriage in Guelph of daughter Elizabeth Gavan to James Swindlehurst

Where oh where is Susan before 1881??!!

Here is what I have not found yet:

* Death of William Kehoe between 1891 and 1901, probably in Ontario or Michigan
* Susan Cowan/Gavan/Kehoe in 1851, 1861 and 1871 census
* Deaths of John Cowan and/or Mary Thompson Cowan (Susan's parents)
* Census records for John Cowan and wife Mary (Susan's parents)
* Census records before 1881 for William Kehoe who was born circa 1846 New York
* Birth record for Norman Cahoe 1883-1885 in Ontario
* Marriage record for William Kehoe/Cahoe/Keogh and Susan Cowan Gavan circa 1875-1883
* Death record for Anny/Amy Gavan born circa 1869 Ontario

Success! WW2 Lost Dog Tags Being Returned to American Soldier

Alex in Germany had a WW2 American soldier's dog tags that he wanted to return and I posted the details and a scan of the tag yesterday. I asked for help from our readers and wow, what a great team!

Thanks to Lisa, Sam, Cheri, Tara and Kathy for working so hard to find Donald's descendants. Not everything they found was posted here as much of it referred to individuals who were probably still living. But they found Donald and his wife, both alive and well! Sam phoned Donald and spoke to him then put him in touch with Alex.

I've spoken to Donald's daughter and grandson and they tell me that Donald is very excited to know that his dog tags have been found and are being returned to him. His daughter told me that her dad  is 86 and retired from Hughes Aircraft, Army radar corps.

What a great happy ending! I've asked for details on how, where and when the dog tags were lost and hope to have more information within the next few days

Here are the cases my wonderful readers have worked on (and in several cases - FOUND A DESCENDANT!)

Let's Send a WW2 American Marine's Dog Tags Home!

Help Find a WW2 Soldier from Illinois

American Soldier's Lost WW2 Dog Tags Going Home!

Photo of American Lieutenant MIA, Dog Tags Found

WW2 American Soldier's Dog Tags Found

MIA bracelet for Illinois soldier Vietnam War - can we find a descendant?

Finding Doris - another bracelet needs to be returned to family

Send an American WW2 Soldier's Dog Tag Home

Alex from Germany has found another WW2 American Soldier's Dog Tag. You might remember Alex from the Thomas James Lilliard Dog Tag.

With the amazing help of my readers, Thomas Lilliard's family was found and the dog tag returned to them. Now Alex wants our help to find the family of Donald G. Watts whose dog tag photo and information is below. Let's send Donald's dog tag home!

You can comment here on this blog post with information you find, but if concerns individuals who may be living, please send it to me privately at olivetreegenealogyATgmail.com (replace AT with @)



WATTS DONALD G
14167381 T43 44
EULA F WATTS
BROADWAY ROAD
WINSTON-SALEM NC

Working as a team, we've had success with other found Dog Tags

Here are the cases my wonderful readers have worked on (and in several cases - FOUND A DESCENDANT!)

Let's Send a WW2 American Marine's Dog Tags Home!

Help Find a WW2 Soldier from Illinois

American Soldier's Lost WW2 Dog Tags Going Home!

Photo of American Lieutenant MIA, Dog Tags Found

WW2 American Soldier's Dog Tags Found

MIA bracelet for Illinois soldier Vietnam War - can we find a descendant?

Finding Doris - another bracelet needs to be returned to family

Maine Genealogical Society Spring Conference

Maine Genealogical Society's Spring Conference is to be held April 23rd in Winslow, Maine

The featured speaker is John Philip Colletta who will be discussing how to use Federal Records in your
genealogical research.

More info and registration forms can be found at the workshop's web page:

http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~megs/workshop.html

Ready for a Genealogy Survey?

Are you an avid genealogist? If you answered yes, you may want to take this new genealogy survey being conducted by Myles Proudfoot.

Myles wrote to me to say that he attended RootsTech this year

"...and came away feeling very inspired to go discover more about the new generation of genealogists. As a way to give back to the genealogy community I have created a research survey about people's genealogy habits, attitudes and origins..."

Myles went on to say that he

"...will be happy to share the results with helpful bloggers, libraries, family history organizations or societies at no cost. If the results are really interesting I hope to share a paper at the next RootsTech about the new generation of family historians...."

Myles wants  to hear from genealogists  from all over the world. I took the survey and found it quite interesting.

Musings About Immigrant Ancestors on a Rainy Friday

I've always wondered why many genealogists tend to say things like

"My ancestor(s) came over to Ellis Island (insert any country/port you want) in 1911 (insert any year)" 

For many (most?) of us this isn't a correct statement! Many of us are descended from different ancestral immigrants who arrived in various ports/countries in different years and from different countries. Of course some are first generation in our country of residence and so ca  correctly make the statement. But those who are not the first generation probably cannot.

Do researchers simply pick a favourite ancestor and not bother mentioning all the other immigrants we descend from?

Or do researchers pick a time frame and a port that appeals to them, ignoring all the other arrivals?

I get the impression  that many people in America want to have an Ellis Island arrival and a Mayflower arrival. I don't  care about having an ancestor that fits into either or both of those two categories and it's always interested me that many genealogists do.

I'm not criticizing, I'm just curious. 

My earliest immigrant ancestor that I know of was Cornelis Antonissen Van Slyke, a young Dutch lad who arrived in New Netherland (present day New York) in 1634. My most recent immigrant ancestors were my maternal grandparents who left England and arrived in Quebec Canada in June 1913.  I have many other ancestors who came to N. America at different times, and from different countries.

So what do I tell other genealogists or family or friends if asked? Do I choose my favourite time/port/country? Do I choose my earliest? How about my most recent? I've learned that when asked what I consider an imprecise question such as "when did your ancestors come to this country?" I can't give a detailed precise answer. If I do,  the questioner's eyes glaze over, they fidget, and I see them rapidly losing interest.

So I simply say

"My ancestors came over at different times but my very first ancestor to arrive was in 1634" 

It's an imprecise response to an imprecise question and being a bit of a nit-picker it bothers me. But it's the best I can come up with.

St. Patrick's Day: Win a Trip for Two to ireland!

Do you have Irish ancestors?

If yes, you are definitely going to be interested in the Ancestry.com St. Patricks Day promotion ending on Sunday, March 20th.

This promotion includes brand new Irish content just available on Ancestry.com, PLUS a sweepstakes for a trip for two to Ireland!

If you use the link "Get Started" in the graphic in this blog post, you will be taken to Ancestry and there you can enter the contest to win the trip for two to Ireland in their "True Irish Roots Sweepstakes"

Good luck in the sweepstakes! 

Shoemaker's Ledger, Lunenburg Nova Scotia

Shoemaker's Ledger, Lunenburg Nova Scotia

March 17, 1897: Josiah Garret, pair boots soled heal 85 cents

March 17, 1898: John Rissor, shoes repaired, 25 cents

Mocavo - a NEW Genealogy Search Engine

Mocavo launched yesterday and it's definitely worth a look.

Quoting from the website

The world’s largest free genealogy search engine, Mocavo.com, provides genealogists access to the best free genealogy content on the web including billions of names, dates and places worldwide. Mocavo.com seeks to index and make searchable all of the world’s free genealogy information.

I took a peek today and it's pretty darn good. The search is fast. Results lead you directly to the website where the genealogical information is found. There's no sneaky trying to keep you in a frame of the original website. Websites that snag the visitor in a frame make it so you never really know where you are or where you found the information. Mocavo doesn't do that and kudos to the creator(s) for keeping it honest!

Mocavo is new so the indexing of genealogy data sites is not complete. There is a link where you can suggest a site you think should be included in the search results so that will speed things up once visitors start utilizing that ability.

I tried a couple of genealogy searches and was impressed with the speed. I'm going to be watching Mocavo closely over the next few weeks to see how it grows. You might want to check it out at http://mocavo.com