The DNA Journey - Update on my MtDNA Test

On May 10th I mailed my completed Family Tree DNA kit. Yesterday I received an email saying the kit has been received. Now I wait. If I recall it took a month or more for my brother's Y-DNA test results.

I took the MtDNA test for my maternal lineage. I know my maternal ancestors back to England in the late 1700s so it will be quite interesting for me to learn more about the very early origins of my maternal DNA.

The MtDNA test traces from either a man or a woman back up the mother's lineage, following the mothers (maternal) one generation at a time. So for me it goes like this:

Me
My mom
My mom's mom (my maternal grandmother)
My maternal grandmother's mother
and so on

Let me demonstrate with names

Me
My mom
Ruth (my mother's mother Ruth Simpson)
Sarah #1 (Ruth's mother Sarah Stead)
Sarah #2 (Sarah #1's mother Sarah Elvery)
Hannah (Sarah #2's mother Hannah Elvery)
Mary (Hannah's mother, Mary Ansell born 1771)

That's as far as I know. Will my MtDNA results give me my ancestors' names? No. But it should give me a glimpse into the earliest geographical origins of this female line. It may link me to others who descend from the same lineage.

My MtDNA test will tell me what haplogroup I am in. A haplogroup is the major branch on either the maternal or paternal tree of humankind. Haplogroups are associated with early human migrations and are associated with a geographic region or regions.

I am honestly not sure what other information I will find from this test, but I'll take you on my journey as I discover more.

Lesson Learned: Back up Your Blogs!

With the big Blogger Fail that began Thursday May 12 around noon and semi-ended on Friday May 13 after lunch, I realized that the panic I was feeling was shared by thousands of other bloggers.

For those who don't blog or were unaware of what was going on, many bloggers, myself included, use blogspot.com as the platform for their blogs. Blogspot.com is Blogger which is run by Google. When Blogger went down, we could not log into our blogs. We could see the blogs (sometimes) but all posts made after May 11th were deleted. That included drafts and those written and scheduled for posting at future dates. For those interested you can read Blogger Buzz's "Blogger is Back"

As the hours went by, I bemoaned the fact that I had ignored the first rule of websites - always have a backup. On a "normal" website a webmaster would create a file on her computer and then upload it to a remote server. That's the webmaster's failsafe - one copy on her computer and one copy online plus with any luck, an archived version in the WayBack Archives. The careful webmaster will also make monthly or weekly backups of what is on her computer, thus ensuring a third copy of files that create her website. But blogs are another story.

Blogs aren't easy to backup. Most of us write our blog posts directly in blogger so we don't have a copy on our computers. It's not easy to save copies once the posts are published. And so, like many, I simply set aside what I know is good practice and I trusted in the power of Google to protect my blogs. I found out during the Blogger Fail that the WayBack Archives doesn't have my blog archived - ouch!

Since Blogger came back online, I've noticed problems. Yes, my blog posts written after May 11th that were previously removed, were restored. But there are hidden characters in the labels (tags) of the drafts and scheduled posts. Not a big deal, but I had to go in and remove those characters which display as strange images. My drafts and scheduled posts were duplicated - several times. In some cases I had six of each one. Still not a big deal, I simply deleted all but one. Lastly, posts previously posted on May 11 and 12 did not re-post, they were set to "scheduled". So I had to republish them.

Lastly some of my readers wrote to me yesterday in email to say they could not post comments. I'm not sure what is happening with that feature but will look into it. For the most part, the glitches once Blogger returned were not a huge deal but it points out to me that there may still be problems lurking.

The huge deal is me being remiss. No back up for the 1,235 posts I've written since February 2003 - that's crazy on my part! So yesterday I began creating backups. I'm really curious what steps other bloggers are taking to create backups. I am creating mine using Blog2Print.

I've talked about Blog2Print before. Basically it will take whatever portions of your blog you want - the entire blog, certain dates, specific labels - you set it up as you wish. For $7.95 you can create a digital copy in PDF format and download it to your computer. The catch for me is that it has a maximum size of 500 pages. My blog is almost 2,000 pages. It's been challenging to guess at what start and end dates I need to use in order to create a book 500 pages or less!

I discovered that you can create a book that is larger than 500 pages, then edit sections out, such as the contents pages. But that doesn't work for me as removing 33 pages of contents in my first book didn't get me under 500 pages. So it's a labourious and somewhat frustrating process and so far I have only saved blog posts from Jan 1, 2010 to May 11, 2011. That's Book One, all 453 pages!

My second step I've taken is to create all my blog posts using Evernote or Springpad. I do that once in awhile but now I'm determined to follow that practice faithfully. It won't be easy, in fact I've already strayed from my commitment by writing this post directly in blogger! Old habits die hard. I can easily copy this post and save it in Evernote in my Blog Posts folder so that oversight on my part is solved.

Bloggers let's help each other. What are your practices for ensuring you have backups of your blog or your individual blog posts? 

Press Release: South Carolina Records Online

Free Online Records Cast Historic Light on South Carolina

SALT LAKE CITY—FamilySearch, a nonprofit, volunteer-driven organization in charge of the world’s largest genealogy repository, announced today rich new online resources that will certainly be of interest to South Carolina residents, Civil War buffs, and family historians with Southern roots. FamilySearch’s free resources consist of new historic records and image collections and anin-depth online help center (wiki) for South Carolina genealogy resources. The information can be found at FamilySearch.org. The announcement coincides with the National Genealogical Society’s 33rd annual family history conference in Charleston this week.

FamilySearch’s newest South Carolina collections are South Carolina Probate Records, Files and Loose Papers, 1732-1964, and South Carolina Probate Records, Bound Volumes, 1671-1977. Probate and estate records typically include wills, bonds, property inventory, and court petitions.

“These types of records are extremely valuable to genealogists because they may be the only known source of an ancestor’s death date, name of a spouse, children, parents, siblings, in-laws, neighbors, associates, relatives, and their place of residence,” said Mary Lynn Sharpe, FamilySearch project manager.

The new collections include hundreds of thousands of digital images of the original historic documents that can be browsed online at FamilySearch.org using a digital viewer.

“For example, let’s say your ancestor was Jasper Crooks, and you knew he lived in Oconee County South Carolina,” said Sharpe. “A review of the historic probate records online will reveal that his wife, Sallie Crooks, petitioned the court for permission todivvy up his estate. The records show Jasper Crooks’ death date was November 1, 1897, and personal property deemed most valuable at the time—right down to the mouse grey mule, old two horse wagon, 4 rocking chairs, 3 padlocks, wash pot, and a corn sheller.”

Also in FamilySearch’s free online collection of South Carolina records are South Carolina Deaths (1915–1955) and Civil War Confederate Service Records (1861–1865)—the two collections comprise millions of searchable records.

FamilySearch has also introduced a South Carolina section to its free online research wiki. Using the information from the wiki, patrons can quickly find out what other historical records exist by county and where. There are also links to free online genealogy courses and a free forum for asking personal research questions. The help services are supported by volunteers.

Press Release: Catalogue of Stolen Cultural Artefacts From WW2

The National Archives joined with leading archives and museums in a global agreement to make records relating to cultural artefacts stolen by the Nazis available through an international online catalogue. The catalogue is intended to help families, historians and researchers trace the history and provenance of the looted art.

As part of the project, The National Archives worked with the Commission for Looted Art in Europe to catalogue and digitise more than 950 files. The records are now available on DocumentsOnline.

Memopal - A Warning!

On April 4th I installed Memopal, an online cloud storage system. I included it in my comparison of cloud storage systems on April 6th.  I've had nothing but problems every since but it took me until earlier this week to figure out what was happening.

First thing I noticed was that my MacBook Air was running very slowly. There was an annoying lag between me typing and the actual text appearing on screen. Everything was sluggish.

Then a browser window began to open unexpectedly and without my doing anything. The window was at the Memopal website where a prominent notice announced I was out of space and needed to purchase more. That was puzzling since I'd set the Memopal options to download one small directory from my computer hard drive.

At first I ignored what was happening. But the Memopal browser window began opening several times daily. So I logged into the Memopal website and discovered that much of my hard drive had been uploaded to it. I was stunned. Everything was there, not just the folder I'd selected originally. Oddly enough the website also stated that of my specific amount of free storage, I'd used double that. Huh? How could I use twice what I was allowed?

I began deleting the files on the website. That wasn't as easy as it sounds. Then I found Memopal on my computer (did I mention I had to download a program to use Memopal? Big mistake on my part!) and shoved it into the Trash can. But it would not go and a message came up telling me Memopal could not be deleted because it was open. Hmm... I hadn't opened it, I just found the application on my hard drive and selected it for deletion.

So I opened the application and immediately saw that it was busy downloading my entire computer's hardrive! Another look showed me that it had been doing that for over a week, presumably running unnoticed in the background. No wonder my computer was so sluggish.


I was able to "pause" the download but I could not stop it permanently. Every time my computer was turned back on the download resumed. I could not cancel it. I could not delete Memopal no matter what I did as my Mac continued to inform me the program was open. A visit to the Memopal website revealed that all the files I'd deleted several hours earlier were back. I deleted those files a half dozen times over the next several hours and they still kept reappearing.

In the Memopal program on my computer I had 3 options - download my entire computer (recommended by Memopal!) or download one folder or one other choice. I could also limit the file size in MB. I reset the options to "one folder" chose the specific folder (a test folder with nothing of importance) and set the size to no file bigger than 1 MB.

I started the download process but instead of downloading the folder as instructed it began downloading all files on my hard drive.  I spent almost 4 hours trying to solve this problem before finally figuring out how to access the actual contents of the application that I'd installed on my computer. Even though I could not delete the application itself I was able to delete the contents, that is, the scripts that made the application run. That stopped the download and I went back to the website and once again deleted all the files from my computer that were there.

Then I cancelled my account - again, not a  simple task. It required an email to "support" and then a wait for a response. That took over 24 hours.

So - I recommend that you avoid Memopal! I am still worried about my files being downloaded to the website but that's done so all I can do is change all my passwords and hope that I did not have any sensitive information on my hard drive. A lesson learned.

Local Museums - an Overlooked Genealogy Treasure Trove!

Readers of Olive Tree Genealogy blog know that a few weeks ago I purchased an antique cook stove made in Guelph Ontario Canada. Both my parents were born in Guelph and my father's ancestry there goes back to the 1830s.  Not finding much information online about the Guelph Stove Company, I wrote to the Guelph Civic Musuem.  The Assistant Curator, Kathleen Wall, responded very quickly to my query and provided details on the history of the company.

I'm always looking for information on places my ancestors worked, so I decided to ask Kathleen if the Museum had any information or photographs for a few of the places I knew family members worked. My great-grandfather Peer is listed in several Guelph City Directories pre 1900 as working at Robert Stewart which I was pretty sure became Stewart Planing Mills. My grandfather McGinnis worked at Page-Hersey in 1917 and perhaps other years. My maternal grandfather worked at the Guelph Lumber Co. before 1941.  And my father worked at Biltmore Hats in Guelph before WW2.

Kathleen had a great deal of information on these companies and she was very helpful in providing me with lots of new details. But what really caught my eye was one paragraph about the Guelph Lumber Co. Here is what Kathleen sent:

"The Guelph Lumber Company was established in 1913 on Duke Street, Guelph, near the Allan Bridge. The manager was Jason Harrison at that time. At the time of this photograph, the manager was Charles H. Fuller. The mill specialized in lumber and planing mill goods, doors, inside finish and hardwood flooring, as well as outside blinds and "Canada Ideal" cedar dye sticks."

I almost fell off my computer chair! Charles Henry Fuller was my grandfather! I never expected to find his name mentioned. And my genealogist brain immediately saw those all-important words "...at the time of this photograph..." A photograph?  Wow.

I wrote to Kathleen asking if I dared hope there was a photograph in the possession of the Museum. Her response included a scan of a wonderful photograph of a summer picnic for the Guelph Lumber Co. It is obvious that employees and family members were invited as there are many women and children.  The Museum had no knowledge of who any of the individuals were in the photo, nor of the exact year although they estimated it was circa 1930.

Courtesy of Guelph Civic Museum.

ID# 1988_30_24

Saving the photo to my computer and enlarging it in Picasa allowed me to have a good look at the faces. And there they were - my grandfather Fuller, his wife my grandmother and their two eldest daughters - one being my mother. I could see that mother was about age 5 or 6 which would date the photo to circa 1921 or 1922. And since their youngest sister who was born in July 1923 was not in the photo that confirmed that the picture was taken before that year.  As an aside, anyone wishing a copy of this specific photograph can write to the Museum and request it by using the Museum ID# I have included in the caption.

Kathleen also sent a photo of Biltmore Hat employees in 1927 but my father was not in it. All in all I received a great deal of information on various places my ancestors worked. She also checked for some of the names I mentioned in my emails and found tidbits on many. A typical item sent to me for a specific name was this one which I suspect refers to my grandmother:

"Edith Fuller – listed on a 1916 Roll of draft for the 11^th Brigade and 29 and 36 Batteries"

But that wasn't all. Kathleen informed me that the Museum has two High School yearbooks, for 1932 and 1933 and my mother is in them. I happen to own the 1931 and 1932 yearbooks for Guelph Collegiate Vocational Institute (GCVI) and my mom' s class photo is in one. So the 1933 Museum copy is of great interest to me! I'm meeting Kathleen in June at the Museum at which time she is going to show me the yearbook and other items.

The Museum charges a small fee for research but I didn't think it was enough for all the work Kathleen did so I wrote a cheque for a more substantial donation. Supporting local museums is a good cause and I took up a lot of the Assistant Curator's time.

My advice to genealogists is to contact the local museum where your ancestors lived. Write a friendly short note and ask if they have specific information on one or two of your ancestors or on a local company where your ancestor worked. Don't overwhelm them with a long list of questions!

Keep it brief, keep it simple and be polite and friendly. Ask what their research fees are and offer a donation to the Museum.  When your first request is met, that is the time to ask for more help if you require it. But remember you are taking up their time and asking for their help so don't expect it to be free. Even if they don't charge for research services you should make a donation. That's only fair.

If the Museum sends you photographs or information that you want to use on your blog or distribute to other family members, please do ask their permission. There may be copyright issues that you aren't aware of,  and besides it's just common courtesy to ask.

Oh, and remember to thank the staff member at the Museum who assisted you. And be patient. The Museum may or may not have staff that are available to give you the kind of help I got from Guelph Civic Museum. 

Taking My MtDNA Test - Step One

Two years ago I had my brother's Y-DNA tested. I chose Family Tree DNA as they have the largest database for comparison purposes. I haven't written about my experiences with Y-DNA testing (all good!) but I will in a future blog post. Briefly, the 37 marker test allowed us to connect with others and eventually find our McGinnis ancestors place of origin in Northern Ireland. Only men can take the Y-DNA test which follows the paternal line unbroken from son to father.

A few weeks ago I decided to do three things - upgrade my brother's Y-DNA to a 67 marker test, order the Family FInder Test for Y-DNA and test my own MtDNA.

Both men and women can take a MtDNA test which follows the maternal lineage. I ordered my MtDNA test from Family Tree DNA and it arrived a few days ago.

When your kit arrives it has a Collection Number (your own unique ID), a welcoming letter from the head of the company, a page of easy-to-follow instructions, a return envelope and a plastic baggie with 3 collection sample tubes, 3 collection brushes and a permission slip.

Signing the permission slip is important as that allows  Family Tree DNA to compare your sample with others in their database and inform you of matches.

 I was excited to begin and read the DNA Collection Method. Basically it said I was to collect 3 samples several hours apart, by scraping the inside of my cheek for 60 seconds each time.

The only problem for me was that you have to wait a certain number of hours between scrapings as well as a certain number of hours after eating. Since I'm a "grazer" (I eat small amounts frequently throughout the day) it was difficult for me to figure out when I could get the samples.

Then it dawned on me that all I had to do was take Scraping #1 first thing in the morning, then Scraping #2 last thing at night and Scraping #3 first thing the next day.

 Scrapings done (easy!), permission slip signed and my test was back in the envelope ready for mailing. Now I wait. I don't know when I will hear from Family Tree DNA about my results but I'll post about it here on Olive Tree Genealogy blog when I do.

Dropbox Just Keeps Getting Better!

Readers of Olive Tree Genealogy blog know that my favourite and most-used cloud service is Dropbox. With Dropbox I can store, sync, and, share files online for free.

Here's a brief look at how Dropbox works. I've saved a 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 free Dropbox Account. 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. But here's the good news! You used to have to add one photo at a time to Dropbox. It was tedious. It meant going into Dropbox app on your phone, selecting the camera icon and then choosing ONE photo from your Camera Roll. When that was done uploading to Dropbox, you selected the camera icon again, back to your Camera Roll, try to remember where you left off and choose one more photo. It was time-consuming and you could only upload 2 photos every minute.

But now Dropbox has the coolest update - the ability to mulitple select photos on your phone's Camera Roll! I tried it out after accepting the update on the App Store. I opened Dropbox on my iPhone and chose the Uploads icon. Then I clicked on the + sign and dropbox immediately went to my iPhone's Camera Roll where I began selecting photos. I added 22 at one time! Each photo I chose popped up a little check mark. When I was done, I clicked on upload.

I was able to put my phone down and do other things while all 22 photos uploaded to my Dropbox account. This is a huge improvement. Now when my husband and I take our cemetery photos we can upload dozens at one shot. I am curious if there is a maximum number for an upload and have not tested that yet. Sometimes we take over 100 photos in a cemetery!

Dropbox gives you 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

11 Essential Genealogy Blogs - Yep, Olive Tree Genealogy chosen as one!

Recently I learned that Olive Tree Genealogy blog had been chosen as one of "11 Essential Genealogy Blogs" on Indian Country Today Media Network  

It's always great to be mentioned but to be put in such amazing company is fantastic! Indian Country Today Media Network explained how they arrived at their list of eleven essential genealogy blogs. According to the website, they consulted

"Family Tree magazine’s Fab 40 and 40 Best Genealogy Blogs 2011, and ProGenealogists’ 25 Most Popular Genealogy Blogs 2009—and came up with our own shortlist of essential reads."

And there I am - one of three listed as "The Pros"  Keeping me company are About.Com Genealogy Blog and Genealogy Insider at Family Tree Magazine. Wow. Those are huge in the genealogy community! 


So have a look at the other ten essential genealogy blogs and read what the site had to say about each of us. Then take a few minutes to read any that are new to you.... you won't be sorry. There's some terrific reading there.

Guelph Stove Company and Genealogy

Not only am I a passionate and obsessed genealogist, I'm also an avid collector of antiques. Recently I purchased a ca 1920s antique wood-burning cook stove made by the Guelph Stove Company in Guelph Ontario.

Because I always like to know more about the antiques I collect, I had a hunt online for information on the Guelph Stove Company. There isn't much to be found! Artefacts Canada had some information but not as much detail as I wanted.

Finally I found the Guelph Civic Museum and sent an email to the assistant curator. She responded very quickly and provided me with more detail.   I learned from her email that I can also make an appointment with her to see the photos and other records they have on the Company.  I'm hoping to get to Guelph in June and will visit the Museum at that time.

The Guelph Stove Company began in 1897 as the Guelph Foundry Company and was incorporated as the Guelph Stove Company in 1904. According to Artefacts Canada, the initial owners were Dr. Reid, Mr. Frank Nunan, Mr. Christian Kloepfer, Mr. Joseph Brown and Professor Doherty.

The early products were the Idea steel stoves and ranges, and the Kelly hot air and combination furnaces. In 1908, the T. Eaton's Company began to purchase stoves from the Guelph company.

In 1919, Eatons purchased the company. Ontario Archives holds many of the original ledgers and documents from the Guelph Stove Company, all of which can be viewed on site in Toronto Ontario. They are part of the T. Eaton Co. fonds.

The company was located on Paisley from 1897 until about 1929.  The original building was located just west of Norfolk and on the south side of the street and is probably where the parking lot for the plaza (with Simply Wonderful and Market Fresh) is now. In 1929 the company built a brand new plant at the corner of York Road and Victoria Road.

The company was sold in 1964 to the Studebaker Company. Studebaker sold the company to White Consolidated Co. in 1968 and they no longer manufactured stoves.

What is my interest in this Guelph Stove Company cook stove, other than as a collectible antique? Both my parents were born in Guelph. My mother's ancestry in Guelph is fairly recent, going back to 1914. But my father's ancestry in Guelph dates back on his paternal and maternal lineage to around 1860.  Many of my ancestors and their siblings of every generation worked in Guelph factories. They lived in Guelph and of course, used woodstoves for both heat and for cooking.

There is every chance that one of my ancestors (or a sibling) used a Guelph Stove Company stove. Thinking romantically there is a good chance one of them used the actual stove I now own. One of them may have worked at the Company or lived nearby or socialized with men who worked there.  This kind of history fascinates me. I call it social history - what were my ancestors doing in certain time periods or specific years, where were they living and working? What appliances did they have in their homes?

I wish I knew more details than I do but I can at least find out what their lives might have been like, what they might have incorporated into their daily lives, and so on.  I like to imagine my grandmother McGinnis standing at a stove very much like this one, in her home on Water Street in Guelph after WW1, cooking the family dinner. With six sons she had a lot of hungry mouths to feed!

Press Release: NGS 2011 Family History Conference

NATIONAL GENEALOGICAL SOCIETY

2011 FAMILY HISTORY CONFERENCE
CHARLESTON, SOUTH CAROLINA, 14 MAY 2011

Where the Past is Still Present

(4 May 2011) – The National Genealogical Society's (NGS) 33rd Family History Conference, Where the Past is Still Present, will be held on 11–14 May 2011 at the Charleston Area Convention Center, 5001 Coliseum Drive, North Charleston, SC 29418. If you have always wanted to research your family but don't know where to begin, the conference will feature a Family History Skills track for people new to genealogy or others who desire to broaden their research skills. This special twelve-lecture track will instruct you on how to research vital records, census, cemeteries, obituaries, city directories, printed genealogies, and county histories as well as how to organize your research and prepare a timeline. Full conference registration is available onsite with a discount for National Genealogical Society members.  Single day registrations are also available. Program and registration details can be found at http://www.ngsgenealogy.org/cs/conference_info.

If you don't have time to attend the full conference, a one-day session, "Genealogy 101," will be offered on Saturday, 14 May 2011, from 9:30 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. This hands-on workshop will review both printed and electronic sources for family history research and will cover essential record groups, how to determine an immigrant ancestor's origins, and how to uncover the facts behind those family stories. You can register onsite but space is limited so arrive early to secure a spot.

An exhibit area with more than one hundred exhibitors will be open and free to the public Wednesday through Saturday, 11–14 May, and will include the latest in genealogical software, online research providers, and DNA testing services.

Springpad News - Back up Your Springpad Data

Good news for those of us who use and love Springpad. Now you can quickly and easily backup all your Springpad data. For those who don't know about Springpad, it's a terrific little (free) organizer for daily tasks and chores. I love it and use it almost every day for my genealogy ideas and blog posts.

To back up your files, just log into your account at Springpadit.com, click on Settings then Services and choose "Create Backup"

A zip file is generated. When it is done (it only takes a few seconds), choose the download option and it will be saved on your computer hard drive.

If you ever need to see or use that backup file, just unzip it and you will see all the folders and sub-folders that you created on Springpad. These can be viewed as html files on any web browser.

Finding a Loyalist (Part 5): Loyalist Lists

Previously I talked about the history of Loyalists in Part 1 , Land Grants and Requirements for Loyalist Status in Part 2, Land Petitions in Part 3 and Land Records in Part 4

Today I'll talk about  the various Loyalist Lists. There is no one list of Loyalists, and it is a misconception to think that there is.  There  are lists of approved Loyalists, but there was more than one created by different agencies. They are all different in varying ways, and there is no  list that is considered the final word.

For example the Crown Lands Department created lists of Loyalists based on a variety of sources. This is the Crown Lands List (aka Old UEL List). It contains approximately 6,000 names but only about half are qualified UEL.

The Executive Council devised a different list from various district rolls. This list is called the Executive Council UE List. This list, considered more accurate than the Old UEL List, contains about 3,000 names but is not complete.

Both these lists, which were first drawn up in the 1790s, have been altered since they were written. The important thing to remember is that if you consult these lists, a negative result (your ancestor's name does not appear) does not necessarily mean he is not a qualified Loyalist!

There is also the Inspector General's Loyalist registers. There are three registers (or lists) with names of Loyalist claimants in Upper Canada. The lists were created to provide a comprehensive listing of United Empire Loyalists, their sons and daughters, who were entitled to free grants of land.  Two of the lists  were compiled from the rolls drawn up by the District Land Boards on the order of Lieutenant-Governor Simcoe beginning in 1796.  From 1798 to 1839, additions and exclusions were made to the lists. The third list was compiled from muster rolls.

Some original muster rolls of Loyalist corps and provision lists are found in the Haldimand Papers  and British Headquarters Papers, formerly the Carleton Papers. 


It is important to note that there is overlap in these lists. Researchers will want to consult all of them in order to be certain nothing was overlooked in the search for a Loyalist ancestor. I will provide details on where these lists can be consulted in a future blog post.



There is also William D. Reid's book The Loyalists in Ontario: The Sons and Daughters of the American Loyalists of Upper Canada

While Reid's book is an excellent starting point in your Loyalist research you must use it with caution. There are errors and omissions. Reid did not always group families together correctly. There are many family members who have been left out. He did not find every single Loyalist and list them in the book.

So if you do not find an ancestor in the book, it doesn't prove he was not a Loyalist. Don't accept family groups without verification. However if you find an ancestor with an OIC date, that means Reid saw that there was a petition on file for that person and you should consult the Upper Canada Land Petitions which we talked about in Part 3.

The first place you should look for a possible Loyalist ancestor is in the land records, because Loyalists and their families were granted land in accordance with their military rank and dependents. Next week I'll provide a final list of Loyalist resources and where to find them.  Remember, this series is specifically about finding a Loyalist ancestor in Upper Canada (aka Canada West and now Ontario)

Cemetery Walk: Trinity UC Cemetery Beeton Ontario Canada

Join me on a Cemetery Walk of Trinity United Church Cemetery in Beeton, Tecumseth Township, Simcoe County Ontario. I have uploaded the video to the Olive Tree Genealogy YouTube Channel to join my other Cemetery Walk videos.



These are only a few of the photos my husband and I took on Sunday. The rest will be coming online as fast as I can get them done.

It was a beautiful sunny day and although it was a great day for a stroll through a peaceful cemetery, it made picture taking difficult. For many of the photos I could not see what was in the viewfinder so my apologies for sometimes cutting off portions of text.

Review: Tracing Your Civil War Ancestors

Tracing Your Civil War Ancestors by David A. Norris
published by Moorshead Magazines Ltd. 2011
Glossy Magazine format, 82 pages

David A Norris combined  his expertise in Civil War history with his love of genealogy research to write Tracing Your Civil War Ancestors. Tracing Your Civil War Ancestors is a collection of resources, both well known and obscure, combined with ideas, hints and suggestions on where to research.

Mr. Norris covers such topics as how to begin looking for a Civil War ancestor, how to find an African American Civil War soldier or sailor, finding records of Southern ancestors who served in the Union army.  He also explains how to find and access Civil War records such as medical records, pension records, amnesty papers and Southern claims, income tax records, cemetery records, prisoners of war, newspaper records, 1865 Payroll List, NARA Civil War service records, and records from Soldiers, Sailors and Widows' Homes.

Each of the topics covered includes a comprehensive list of what is available and where it can be accessed. Explanations of each record set is also given, which is very helpful for researchers. Many interesting facts are included with each chapter. For example the chapter on Pension Records provides an interesting account of the last known Civil War widow, Maudie Celia Hopkins who died in 2008 at age 83. How Mrs. Hopkins became a Civil War widow is the intriguing part of the factual tidbit! (Hint: At the age of 19 she married an 87 year old former Civil War soldier)

I was really impressed with this work. The magazine looked professional and the cover photo of a Civil War soldier in full uniform made me want to read what was inside. It is an excellent resource for all levels, from the beginner to the more experienced researcher. While researchers might be able to find the same information by spending many hundreds of hours at their computers and in various repositories, Mr. Norris' 82 pages have very capably put it all together in one easy to read format. At $9.95 you can't go wrong.

Are You Related to William or Kate?

The Royal Wedding. Prince William today marries Kate Middleton. Geni.com sent a graphic which is very interesting, and gave permission to publish it here. I don't think I'm related to royalty but maybe you are!

Finding a Loyalist Ancestor Part 4: Land Records

We talked about the history of Loyalists in Part 1 and about Land Grants and Requirements for Loyalist Status in Part 2 and Land Petitions in Part 3. Now let's talk about other Land Records that can help you find a Loyalist Ancestor

Upper Canada Land Books

The Upper Canada Land Books do not, for the most part, contain much more information than the names of petitioners for land. However if you cannot find your ancestor in a Land Petition, you may find his or her name in the Land Books. Sometimes more detail is found in the comments section of the Land Book reference, but not often. Library & Archives Canada provides a list of microfilm reel numbers for both Upper and Lower Canada Land Books.

There are four Land Books for Upper Canada (A, B, C & D) which are in chronological order from 17 February 1787 to 13 July 1798. Upper Canada Land Book C covering 11 April to 20 December 1797 has been indexed and abstracted and can be consulted online. There are also some out-of-order petition entries for June and July 1796 in this database.

An example of a Land Book entry is one for my ancestor Jacob Peer in July 1797. His one line entry in Land Book C states

"Peer, Jacob - Praying for lands as a settler. Recommended for 200 acres." 

That is a typical entry.  However some entries provide much more detail such as this one for Rebecca Seeley

"Seeley, Rebecca - Praying for 3000 acres of lands in remuneration of her father's losses during the American war. The committee of Council are restricted from recommending lands as a compensation for losses, commissioners having been sent by His Majesty to this country for the especial purpose of remunerating the suffering loyalists. As the petitioner appears to have neglected this opportunity, the committee regret that they can only recommend her for 200 acres, if her father's name appears on the U.E. List."

Remember - these are brief entries from the Land Books. Petitions in the Upper Canada Land Petition files contain letters, affidavits, petitions, oaths of allegiance and more.

CLRI

CLRI (Computerized Land Records Index) (aka Ontario Land Record Index)summarizes land grants from sales of Crown Land, from Canada Company sales or leases and from Peter Robinson settlers' grants. If your ancestor settled anywhere in Ontario and he was the first time buyer of Crown Land, he will be on these lists. Loyalists were the first time owners of Crown Lands and thus are almost always found in the CLRI.

The information from the CLRI one-line entry includes date of purchase, type of purchase, residence of purchaser, land location (lot, concession, township), type of purchase (very important to knowing whether or not there are more records available!), archival reference (where full record can be found) and often more info such as date of land ticket, or date of petition for land, etc.


Both of these resources can help you find a Loyalist ancestor. Next time I'll talk about the various lists of Loyalists and why the researcher should approach with caution....

Titanic's Unknown Child Given New, Final Identity

A very poignant story has emerged about the identity of a young child aged about 2 years old, whose body was recovered when the Titantic sank. The child's identity was not known and he was buried in an umarked grave in Halifax Nova Scotia. Over the years different identities were attached to this child and published as fact but recent DNA extraction has proven with 96% accuracy that the child  was 19-month-old Sidney Leslie Goodwin from England.

A pair of brown leather shoes helped substantiate the identity.

Little Sidney was travelling with his parents, Frederick and Augusta Goodwin and five siblings. The family was headed from England to Niagara New York. None of the bodies of the rest of Sidneys' family has ever been recovered so little Sidney lies alone in his unmarked grave.

Read more about this story and view photos of Sidney as a baby and a group photograph of his family on Live Science.

iPhone App Rama Looking for Writers for Historical Tours

This Press Release intrigued me. Could genealogists utilize this app for iPhone or create walking genealogy tours? I'd love to hear from any readers who decide to apply - just post a comment here on my blog and let us know.

Past Preservers is looking for passionate writers who can utilise the iPhone app, Rama, to make history come alive

04-21-11 - Press Release Cumbria, United Kingdom, Europe

Past Preservers is working with Crimson Bamboo to develop historical tours for iPhone app, Rama. Uniting popular history with archival photographs, Rama adds a historical narrative to the walking tour and shows snapshots of the tour route as it actually appeared. Named by BBC Travel in 2010 as one of the ten best new travel apps, Rama is the only app that captures the experience of being in Chicago after the Great Fire, on the beaches of Normandy during D-Day, or in Shanghai’s French Concession in the roaring 20s. If you would like to be involved with creating tours for Rama, send us an email about yourself and your tour idea to info@pastpreservers.com Whether it’s a jaunt through your university’s past, or a recreation of the recent protests and political reform in Egypt, if you make the idea sound compelling, we’ll give you the tools to make it into a tour.

Related Link: http://pastpreservers.blogspot.com/2011/04/make-money-writing-historical-tours-for.html

Contact Information:

Nigel Hetherington Past Preservers 2 North Street Carlisle Cumbria, CA7 1BP

FEDERATION OF GENEALOGICAL SOCIETIES RADIO DEBUT

FEDERATION OF GENEALOGICAL SOCIETIES RADIO DEBUT

Special Guest Curt Witcher to Discuss 21st Century Genealogy Societies

April 20, 2011 – Austin, TX. The Federation of Genealogical Societies (FGS) announces the debut of My Society, the first Internet radio show dedicated solely to genealogy societies. Broadcast weekly each Saturday at 1:00 pm Central, My Society will host discussions of genealogy society topics with a variety of guests including well-known genealogists and genealogy community leaders. This unique media outlet can be accessed at http://www.blogtalkradio.com/mysociety.

Debut Episode of My Society with Special Guest Curt Witcher

On Saturday, April 23, 2011 at 1:00 pm Central, Curt Witcher, Senior Manager for Special Collections at the Allen County Public Library, will be the special guest on My Society hosted by FGS board member Thomas MacEntee. Witcher, who is also a former president of both FGS and the National Genealogical Society as well as the founding president of the Indiana Genealogical Society, will discuss bringing genealogy societies into the 21st century.

Internet Radio and FGS

Each week, My Society will focus on a selected topic relevant to genealogy society management and the role societies play within the genealogy community. Future topics will discuss increasing membership, developing a social media and Internet presence, member services, and more. In addition, each episode of My Society will spotlight a member society of FGS and discuss their various programs and offerings. Using the Blog Talk Radio platform, listeners will not only be able to hear a live broadcast, but they will also be able to call in and speak with the show’s host and guests to discuss their own genealogy societies.

George G. Morgan, FGS Vice President-Membership and veteran genealogy podcaster notes: “FGS strives to provide information and value to its members and to the entire genealogical community. We recently announced the FGS series of webinars, beginning on April 30th. However, we are also significantly expanding our offerings in 2011 to include the launch of regularly scheduled, live FGS Radio broadcasts over the Internet. These program will feature leaders in the genealogical field, and genealogical and historical societies sharing their success stories and best practices. Listeners can call in with their questions and comments. The programs will be recorded and made available for free download at the FGS website. We are very excited and proud about this new offering and look forward to expanding communication in the genealogy community.”

  To learn more visit http://www.fgs.org.