1891 Canadian Census FREE on LAC

If you didn't find an ancestor in Library and Archives Canada's 1871 census offerings, you might want to have a search in 1891 census for Canada.

It's online. It's free. It's indexed and there are images attached.

Enjoy!

Internet Tethering my iPhone to my MacBookAir - Lifesaver!

Yesterday our wireless internet stopped working. We subscribe to Rogers in Ontario Canada and every so often it conks out on us. Because I can’t easily blog or upload files to my websites using my iPhone or iPad, it’s a major inconvenience. I use my main computer (Windows) and my MacBookAir to write blog posts, upload files, check email and so on.

Usually I grumble and moan until the service starts working again but this time it’s been a full 24 hours with no wireless in sight. When I complained about the lack of internet on Facebook, friends jumped in with advice. One friend said I should try creating a personal hotspot with my iPhone so that I could work from my MacBookAir. I had no idea what she meant but I immediately googled it to find out. Boy did I get an awakening!

It seems my iPhone (3GS) has the capability to do internet tethering (aka personal hotspot on other phones). If my service provider allows it, I read that I could jump my iPhone (or iPad) 3G service to my MacBookAir (or even my Windows XP or Windows 7 computer). This sounded very cool!

So I started on my quest. It was super easy. Within 10 minutes I was online via 3G but on my MacBookAir. Phew, sigh of relief although I do have very limited data transfer sizes - only 1GB per month on my iPhone. But it’s better than nothing! I don’t want to go over as each GB extra costs about $40.00. But at least I can work offline, as I am doing for this blog post which I’m writing in Pages. Then I’ll connect via Internet Tethering from my iPhone and upload the post to the blogger platform.

Here’s how I did it:

In my iPhone, open SETTINGS

Go to GENERAL and choose NETWORK then INTERNET TETHERING. Turn Tethering ON

iPhone then provided me with two options  - tether via USB (plug iPhone into USB port of computer) or via Bluetooth.

I could not get the USB option to work. My iPhone tells me to plug my phone into my computer (done) the choose iPhone from the list of network services in my settings. Sound easy but I have no option for “iPhone”. I looked everywhere but no dice. After 15 minutes of frustration I decided to go Bluetooth.

Bluetooth was super easy. I turned on Bluetooth on my phone. When I went to pair my phone with my MacBookAir a security code popped up on my computer and my phone. I then told my MacBookAir that yes, the codes were identical and yes, I did want to pair the two devices together. The two devices were paired and I was able to function on my MacBookAir using my iPhone’s 3G service.

I did have to create a PAN (Personal Area Network) but it was not difficult at all, my computer walked me through it.

If you decide to try this, here’s one more tip. When I shut down and then went back online on my MacBookAir, the two devices could see each other but wouldn’t connect.

I kept getting a notice saying it was taking too long and to be sure both had bluetooth turned ON and that they were in range of each other. I knew that wasn’t the problem so I poked around on my MacBookAir until I finally discovered that inside the little icon for settings below the network choices in my settings,  was an option to join a specified network. In this case it was the PAN I’d previously created. It shows in the graphic as Administrator’s iPhone, right above my Jambox by Jawbone

I have mixed feelings - my wireless internet is still not functioning so that makes me stressed, frustrated and slightly worried. But at least I can connect occasionally via Internet tethering and that reduces some of my stress!

By the way if anyone knows how I can internet tether from my iPhone 3GS to my MacBookAir via USB, please let me in on the secret!

Records Added for Canada, England, Mexico, and South Africa Collections

Records Also Added to Canada, England, Mexico, and South Africa Collections 7 September 2011 http://FamilySearch.org added millions of new records this week of both Confederate and Union soldiers who served in the American Civil War. Also now available for viewing are newly added notarial records from Canada, church records and civil registrations from Mexico, and miscellaneous records from England. Begin searching now at FamilySearch.org.

Cutting-Edge Genealogy Day-Long Program

Press Release: The New York Genealogical and Biographical Society Presents a Day-Long Program on Cutting-Edge Genealogy, Saturday, September 24th

Learn from Three of the Field’s Top Experts -- Dick Eastman, Ruth A. Carr, and David Kleiman -- How to use New Technology and Thinking to Move your Research Forward


NEW YORK, NY, August 15, 2011 – On Saturday, September 24th, the New York Genealogical and Biographical Society will present Dick Eastman, Ruth A. Carr, and David Kleiman in a full-day program designed to enhance your online genealogical searches. The program will take place in the South Court Auditorium of the New York Public Library’s Stephen A. Schwarzman Building, Fifth Avenue at 42nd Street, New York, NY.

Dick Eastman is the publisher of “Eastman's Online Genealogy Newsletter,” the daily genealogy technology newsletter with more than 60,000 readers worldwide. He will deliver two lectures: Genealogy Searches on Google: Extract the Most Genealogical Information Possible from Everyone's Favorite Search Engine and The Latest Technology for Genealogists: An In-Depth Look at Today's Technology.

Ruth A. Carr retired in 2008 as Chief of the Irma and Paul Milstein Division of United States History, Local History and Genealogy, New York Public Library where she worked for 20 years. She will present a talk on Other Places Your Ancestors Might Be Hiding: “Non-Genealogy” Databases and Internet Resources to Explore.

A genealogist and family historian for over 35 years, David Kleiman co-founded and chairs the New York Computers and Genealogy Special Interest Group and serves on the executive council of the Jewish Genealogical Society, Inc. and on the Education Committee of the NYG&B. He will deliver two lectures: Rediscovering the Globe: Maps Online, GIS, Google Earth and Technology & Design: Looking Good in Print and on the Screen.

The program begins at 9:30 a.m. at the NYPL’s South Court Auditorium and will end at 5:00 pm; there will be a break for lunch on-your-own. Registration for NYG&B members is $60, non-members is $90. Register online at www.newyorkfamilyhistory.org. For additional information, contact Lauren Maehrlein, Director of Education, at 212-755-8532, ext. 211, or by e-mailing education@nygbs.org.

About the NYG&B

The New York Genealogical and Biographical Society has been a primary resource for research on New York families since 1869. The NYG&B seeks to advance genealogical scholarship and enhance the capabilities of both new and experienced researchers of family history through a rich schedule of programs, workshops, and repository tours; through its quarterly scholarly journal The NYG&B Record and its quarterly review The New York Researcher; and through an E-Library of unique digital material on its website www.newyorkfamilyhistory.org

1871 Canada Census FREE on LAC

Looking for your Canadian ancestors? The 1871 complete Canadian census is now free to search and view images at Library and Archives Canada

This census provides  the name, age, country or province of birth, ethnic origin, religion and occupation of Canada's residents in this year.

Find links to census records at AllCensusRecords.com

Cemetery Walk Cochrane Catholic Cemetery: Video 4

Another Cemetery Walk - this one is Video 4 for Cochrane Catholic Cemetery in Ontario Canada.

View other Cemetery Walks on Olive Tree Genealogy Channel on Youtube

New U.S. Military Records on Fold3

Fold3.com is excited to announce that they have begun adding the following new titles to the site, covering 5 wars and 130 years of U.S. military history:

War of 1812 Pension Files^Free

Records in the War of 1812 Pension Files reveal details of each soldier’s service and family.

Mexican War Service Records

From 1846 to 1848, the war with Mexico determined the southwest border of the U.S. as we know it today. The Mexican War Service Records launch Fold3's commitment to bringing records of this strategic war to our members.

Confederate Casualty Reports

From skirmishes to major battles, documents within the Confederate Casualty Reports describe a unit's role in the conflict and detail casualties, from killed to missing to "slightly" wounded.

World War I Officer Experience Reports

The World War I Officer Experience Reports reveal intriguing accounts by engineers in the American Expeditionary Forces (AEF).

WWII "Old Man's Draft" Registration Cards

In 1942, men between the ages of 45 and 64 were required to register for the draft in order to create an inventory of those who could provide essential skills to the home front during World War II. The "Old Man's Draft" Cards are the result, complete with addresses, dates, and physical descriptions of each registrant.

Watch for more to come as these titles continue to grow and others are added to Fold3.com.

U.S. Census Records on Archives.com

New Image Viewer

Archives.com is bringing the U.S. Federal Census to it's website. Read the following Notice about this great new addition.

Archives.com the web's most affordable and easy-to-use subscription-based family history site, announces the addition of the U.S. Federal Census, the single most valuable collection of U.S. historical records.

The U.S. Census collections were made available by FamilySearch International, the world's largest genealogy organization, as part of a joint effort to introduce more records to family historians worldwide.

In conjunction with the Census effort, Archives.com will also embark on a joint project with FamilySearch to digitize tens-of-millions of additional historical records, the majority of which are not currently online. Archives.com has pledged a minimum of five million dollars to this important project which will positively impact the entire community.

Why Connecting With Other Genealogists is Important

A few days ago a correspondent who I've not chatted with for several years wrote to me. He'd been searching for our ancestors, John Greenlees and Elizabeth Johnston and had exciting news to share. Bill found their marriage in Ireland. This is a huge deal.

None of the descendants knew anything except that John and Elizabeth were born in Ireland. No county, no town, no parish, no townland... nothing had been found on any records other than "Ireland". I knew from census records and death registrations that John was born circa 1791 and Elizabeth circa 1783-1787.

Census records for early Ontario (Upper Canada and Canada West) are often missing. Many have not survived. The earliest census which records all persons in the household is 1851 although there is an 1841 which shows heads of household and numbers of family members. John died in 1868 and Elizabeth in 1872 so there are not many records to be found for them. The surviving 1851 census records do not exist for their location and thus the earliest record found is the 1861 census.

I knew from the approximate years and places of birth of their children that they arrived in what is now the province of Ontario circa 1820. But ships passenger lists to Canada before 1865 did not have to be archived and thus they are few and far between. No record of John and Elizabeth's passage has been found.

Searching for death records and obituaries of both John and Elizabeth and their children proved fruitless in providing a more exact location for their origins in Ireland. I even have a copy of a letter written in 1841 by their son-in-law (my 2nd great grandfather) which mentioned that his wife Jane (their daughter) was "Irish to the bone" but sadly gave no indication of her place of birth. The search has been frustrating over the years.

Then Bill found the following church record online:

From the parish register of Galloon in the diocese of Clogher, County Fermanagh: John Greenlees of the parish of Aghalurcher and Elizabeth Johnston of Drumy were married 1st September 1814.

This was pretty exciting and I spent a few hours learning more about Co. Fermanagh, Aghalurcher and Drumy (which I could not find). I also looked for other Greenlees names in the vicinity and found a few which I copied down in case they later prove to be part of John Greenlees' family.

My John Greenlees and Elizabeth Johnston had the following children, the first 3 born in Ireland, the last 4 in Upper Canada (Ontario):

George b 1815
Thomas b ca 1815-1816 (there has been some speculation that George & Thomas were twins)
Jane b ca 1819 (my ancestor)
Margaret b ca 1821
Catherine b 1825
John b ca 1825 (John and Catherine might also be twins)
James b ca 1827

I found a Sally (aka Sarah) Greenlees married to Thomas Liddle of Kilturk baptising children in the Galloon church records. Notice the naming pattern and the twin births:

Thomas b 1807
Margaret b 1809
Elinor b 1813
Elizabeth b 1815
John & Robert (twins) b 1817

If naming patterns were followed that honoured parents, we can see that there's a possibility that Sally and John were siblings and that Thomas and Margaret were their Greenlees parents. Sally gives her first son and first daughter  those names, while John gives his second son and second daughter those names.

IF my speculation proves eventually to be correct then it's also a good possibility that Elizabeth Johnston's parents were George and Jane (the names given to her first son and first daughter).

At this stage it's only speculation but it's a working theory and I'll try to prove or disprove it as I continue researching my elusive Greenlees ancestors. Thanks to Bill, I have a wonderful new lead to follow!

Close Encounters of the Fourth or Maybe Fifth or Sixth Kind

Last night I watched about 10 minutes of a Wayne and Shuster comedy show from 1964. Wayne and Shuster were a popular Canadian comedy act of Johnny Wayne and Frank Shuster. They appeared on the Ed Sullivan Show dozens of times. And I knew them.

Deer Park Library

They didn't know me, except as the young gal in Deer Park Library in Toronto Ontario who checked their library books in and out in the early 1970s. They never came in with their families, or with each other, but always alone. I'd smile and greet them. One would return my smile and a reciprocal hello. The other (and I'm not about to reveal which one did what) would remain stony faced and simply nod.

I mentioned all this to hubs as we watched a few minutes of this old black and white comedy, and he asked "What other famous people did you know?" My rather hasty response was "Oh gee, no one, I don't know any famous people" But he persisted,  saying that I didn't have to be best buddies with them, but had I ever had any encounter of any kind with anyone well-known. That got me thinking and I realized that over the years my path had indeed crossed the paths of several famous individuals.

So indulge me this morning and let me list my encounters with celebrities, politicians and other famous people. I'd love to know about yours!

Ovide Mercredi. Ovide was an Aboriginal Canadian politician, very well known in Canada. He travelled far afield, speaking at the United Nations in Geneva and New York. Around 1993/1994 he went to Mexico as head of a Canadian delegation to the troubled Mexican state of Chiapas. I had a chance meeting with him there in Ixtapa. I was on a holiday with my sister and we went to a new restaurant for dinner one night. The staff did not speak English very well. I speak a little Spanish, just enough to get by on, and was enjoying using what Spanish I know with the restaurant staff.

At the table next to us was a  distinguished-looking man about our age with a woman. The stranger at the next table was listening and finally he spoke, telling me that the staff thought he was Indian from Mexico and so they insisted on speaking Spanish to him. But he did not understand them, and would I mind translating for him. So I did, and we began chatting. He introduced himself when I told him he looked familiar. It was Ovide Mercredi and he was taking a break from the talks in Chiapas. We had a very pleasant conversation for a few hours as we enjoyed our meals.

Gordon Lightfoot, Canadian songwriter and singer. For many years Gord had a home near Penetanguishene which is a few miles from where I live. He also sailed on Georgian Bay in his sailboat Golden Goose. I also sailed in those days (both for pleasure and competively) as crew on a 30 foot sailboat called Bobby Shaftoe. Georgian Bay is a tricky Bay to sail in with lots of shoals and vast stretches of open water. If you are crossing from Penetanguishene or Midland heading to Tobermory on the other side, you need to watch the weather as strong gales and huge waves can come up suddenly. One beautiful day four of us decided to take a run to Tobermory for a weekend away. I can't recall the year but it was in the 70s.

Golden Goose

We saw Gord's boat in the distance, making the same run. A gale came up and things got very bad. Two of our 4-person crew were seasick and not able to help take sails down or man the tiller in the storm. Gord's boat, piloted by Vic Carpenter, drew near ours and Gord yelled out to say that their crew was also seasick and we should sail together for safety reasons.

We had several hours of fighting the storm, wind and waves together as we yelled back and forth to each other. Finally we made Tobermory Bay and we anchored, as did Gord. I immediately pulled out my tape recorder (remember those?) and began playing my Gordon Lightfoot songs at full volume. Gord came out on deck and I yelled out "Hey Gord, do you like my music?" (Now so embarrassing to think about but at the time I thought I was quite clever). His response was a grumbled "It's interfering with my playing!" And he disappeared below deck. I don't think I impressed Gord very much that day.

John Dieffenbaker, 13th Prime Minister of Canada. I happened to pass him in a deserted hallway of the old Pearson Airport in Toronto in the early 1970s. He was within an arm's length from me, surrounded by 3 or 4 staff aka bodyguards. I did something something out of character - smiled and said "Hello Mr. Dieffenbaker!" He looked up and nodded his head, then kept on walking. That counts as a semi-encounter I think.

Lincoln Alexander & Lorine

Lincoln Alexander, 24th Lieutenant-Governor of Ontario. I met Mr. Alexander in April 1990 at Victoria Harbour Public School where I was teaching.  He spent some time in our classroom of special needs children and we talked for a short time. This is a photograph taken of us standing together with another teacher. That's me on the right (his left) in the polka dot skirt and short-sleeve blouse.

Guy Lombardo,  bandleader. I happened to be on an elevator with him in my hotel in Forida in the late 1960s or very early 1970s.  I think it was in Fort Lauderdale but it was so long ago I'm not sure. We were the only two on the elevator but I was too shy to speak up.

I couldn't think of anyone else but hubs seemed to think  my list was pretty good. He couldn't recall anyone famous with whom he was ever in any kind of encounter, but maybe you have an encounter or two or several that you can share with us?  It was a fun exercise and brought up a lot of old memories. I plan to add this blog post to my Genealogy Journal for my children to enjoy reading one day.

Find Ancestors in FREE Immigration & Naturalization Records on Ancestry Aug 29-Sept 5

Ancestry.com OFFERS FREE ACCESS TO IMMIGRATION AND NATURALIZATION RECORDS

Week of Free Access Enables Families to Discover Stories of Ancestors’ International Travels and Passage

PRESS RELEASE PROVO, UTAH – (August 29, 2011) – Ancestry.com, the world’s largest online family history resource, today announced an entire week of free access to its popular U.S. and International Immigration and Naturalization records. The free access week begins August 29^th and runs through the Labor Day holiday ending September 5^th. During this time, all visitors to Ancestry.com will be able to search for free the indices and images of new and updated U.S. immigration records as well as selected international immigration records from the United Kingdom, Ireland, Italy, Australia, Canada, Germany, Sweden and Mexico. Millions of Americans can trace their family history to other countries, and these collections provide valuable information about the travels and journeys that brought them to America or other countries around the world.

Ancestry.com’s extensive collection of immigration, naturalization and travel records offer an important resource for discovering and celebrating family history. As part of this promotion, the company is adding to its collection of U.S. and international records for tracing relatives from their homeland to other countries around the world. These records include ships passenger and crew lists, declarations of intent, petitions for naturalization, witness affidavits, border crossings, certificates and other records generated by the naturalization process, which is the act and procedure of becoming a new citizen of a country. Because the process has changed significantly over time and varies from country to country, different records are available from a wide variety of state, federal and international sources.

Newly added U.S. collections include Florida Petitions for Naturalization, 1913-1991; Delaware Naturalization Records, 1796-1959 and Utah Naturalization and Citizenship Records, 1850-1960. Noteworthy updated U.S. and international collections include U.S. Naturalization and Passport applications, 1795-1972; UK Incoming Passenger Lists, 1878-1960; Border Crossings: From Canada to U.S., 1895-1956; New South Wales, Australia, Unassisted Immigrant Passenger Lists, 1826-1922; Border Crossings: From Mexico to U.S., 1895-1957; New York State, Passenger and Crew Lists, 1917-1973; Atlantic Ports Passenger Lists, 1820-1873 and 1893-1959.

“One of the most common elements of the American experience is our respect and interest in our native heritage.  Almost all Americans have international roots, and many take great pride and even feel patriotic toward the countries from which their ancestors originated,” said Josh Hanna, Ancestry.com Executive Vice President. “That’s why we continue to build and enrich our collection of immigration and naturalization records and why we are providing free access to anyone who wants to search these records to discover their family’s international history.”

Many families have already made important discoveries in Ancestry.com’s immigration and naturalization collection. Each of the following stories offers an example of the exciting and often emotional discoveries made by some Ancestry.com users.

 

Cemetery Walk: Cochrane Catholic Cemetery Video 3

Here is Cemetery Walk Video 3 of Cochrane Catholic Cemetery, courtesy of Jim Rye


View more Cemetery Walks on Olive Tree Genealogy Channel on YouTube

Sometimes You Get Lucky and Sometimes You Don't

My husband's Aunt Evvie got him started in genealogy and family history at a young age. Aunt Evvie was his grandfather's sister and she was the keeper of the family photos and treasures. When hubs was a teenager, she gave him many of the Massey and Sandercock photos.

Aunt Evvie is long gone but her husband Mac is still alive. A few months ago my husband went to visit Mac.While visiting, Mac showed him items that had once belonged to hubs' ancestors - among them an antique Carriage clock from the Massey house and a set of dishes that belonged to hubs' great-grandfather Sam Sandercock. During the visit Mac gave my husband a few small items including Sam's mustache cup.

Hubs' planned to return but soon after the visit Mac fell ill and was taken to the hospital. He did not recover enough to go back to his home and was sent to a nursing home. Mac called an auctioneer and gave instructions to put everything in his house up for sale. Unfortunately no one in the family, including my husband, knew about the auction. Mac's very elderly and also blind so letting family know would not have occurred to him.

And so it is all gone - everything was sold and my husband found out when it was too late. He would have been the first one there to buy some of the family items. It seems such a shame that these items have now passed out of family hands into the hands of strangers who know nothing of the people that once owned and treasured them. Hubs doesn't blame Mac, but he is saddened to think he missed out on keeping the items in the Massey family.

Apostle Spoons, Another Family Treasure Comes My Way

Set of Apostle Spoons

These are a set of 6 Apostle Spoons given by my Grandmother to her daughter (my Aunt) many years ago. They were in Grandma's family and it seems likely they were given to her mother as a christening gift when Grandma was born in 1894.

Apostle spoons were popular in England and usually given as a Christening gift by a godparent. If the godparent was poor, they gave one spoon. If they had money, they gave a complete set.

 We have not yet figured out which Apostle this is. You can tell from looking at what he is carrying but this set is a bit worn and it is difficult to be sure.

Apostle Spoon

Sometimes the set consisted of all the apostles, but often it was a matching set of one apostle, which is what Grandma's spoons were.

When I went to visit my aunt a few days ago she gave me the spoons to add to my other family heirlooms and treasures.  We haven't cleaned them or decided how to display them but I'm overjoyed to have another reminder of my beloved grandmother.

Grandma Ruth was born in Ramsgate England in March 1894. Her father, who suffered from epileptic seizures, was a coal driver. He and his horse delivered coal to homes in Ramsgate. His wife, my great-grandmother, ran a boarding house and Grandma Ruth told me many stories of her mother's wonderful cooking and loving personality.

Grandma often told me the story of how her father frequently had a seizure while making his daily rounds with coal. His horse would simply carry on the route and folks would come out, take their portion of coal and send the horse and cart with great-grandfather in it, on its way. Eventually the horse would return home and great-grandmother would come out to tend to her husband.

Great-Grandfather Simpson

Grandma Ruth

Capturing Memories Told By My 88 Year Old Aunt

Eileen September 1941

This is a portrait of my Aunt Eileen in 1941. She was 18 years old and performing tap dances with a group of minstrels.

Yesterday I had a nice long visit with her in her apartment. I encouraged her to tell me stories of her childhood and about my grandparents, my mother (her sister), and my great-grandparents.

Auntie "I" as we call her, has a fabulous memory and knowing from past visits that she would talk faster than I could write, this time I was prepared. I took my Echo Smart Pen with me.

With the Smart Pen I was able to make jot notes (point form) as my aunt shared her wonderful stories. My Pen recorded her words so all I had to do was make the occasional notation in my notebook.  It is easy to transfer the recorded audio to a computer to work with it.  I could even touch my pen to the brief notes I made and hear the recording at that point of the story.

In an hour I learned more than I'd ever known about my mom's family life as a young girl in Guelph Ontario. Why didn't anyone tell me that my Grandfather was an accomplished singer? That he sang in church choirs as well as performed in Vaudeville and Minstrel Shows? That he woke up singing and sang as he worked throughout the day? That every Saturday evening the whole family gathered around the player piano and sang songs so loudly that the neighbours would come and join them. My mom never mentioned a word about growing up in such a musical home. 

Auntie "I" tells stories and my Smart Pen records them

Auntie "I" had so many memories and stories they came tumbling out. I was thrilled! I heard about the Christmas her grandfather (my great-grandfather) had a little too much brandy on his rounds of St. Joseph's Hospital in Guelph. It seems that every Christmas he visited all children in the Hospital to dispense gifts.

The Nuns would give him a bit of brandy to warm him up before he made his way home, but one Christmas he got a bit tipsy and fell into a snowbank on his way home. Unable to get out he lay there giggling until my grandfather found him. What a great story! I love to be able to form a picture in my head of what was just a name and dates of an ancestor. Now great-grandpa is a real person to me.

I spent several hours happily listening to Auntie "I"'s stories and she enjoyed telling them. I can hardly wait to go back and hear more. 

When I got home I transferred the recording of Auntie "I" to my computer and now I have the fun of transcribing her words. If you want to record family memories you can buy the Livescribe 8 GB Echo Smartpen  from Amazon.com

25,000 U.S. Yearbooks Added to Ancestry.com

ANCESTRY.COM EXPANDS U.S. SCHOOL YEARBOOK COLLECTION TO INCLUDE MORE THAN 150 MILLION RECORDS OF RELATIVES’ SCHOOL DAYS

PROVO, UTAH – August 24, 2011 – Ancestry.com , the world’s largest online family history resource, today announced a massive expansion of the world’s most extensive searchable collection of U.S. school yearbooks online.  The company has added nearly 25,000 new yearbooks to the collection, which now totals over 35,000 and carries 155 million records encompassing the years 1884 to 2009. The U.S. Yearbook Collection includes close to seven million images from thousands of U.S. high schools, junior highs, academies, colleges and universities.

The U.S. Yearbook Collection provides candid photos and insight into a relative’s appearance and extracurricular activities during their formative school years. The information and images contained in the collection also reveal insightful historical and cultural trends about fashion, style, politics, sports and social beliefs over the past 125 years of U.S. history. With the addition of the new records, family historians can more easily find what their current family members and ancestors looked like as youngsters and discover the types of activities in which they were involved. This collection can help tell a more complete story by offering rich details and providing context about the time their family members were in school.

"Our school years are often some of the most memorable times of our lives,” said Josh Hanna, Ancestry.com Executive Vice President. “With the additions we’ve made to our U.S. School Yearbook collection, millions of Americans can experience their family members’ school years vicariously through the photos and records contained in this important collection. The details they include are often difficult to find, and while you’re searching, you might just find a famous classmate.”

Please Don't Expect to be My Friend if You Won't Tell me Your Name!

One of my pet peeves is when someone on Facebook sends a friend request but they are using a pseudonym (usually something like "GraveSeeker" or "GenieGal" or....) and I have no idea who they are. 

They could send a personal message at the same time as the friend request, something along the lines of "Hey Lorine we met at the Genealogy Conference in Boston. I'm Janis of AncestorsRUs" or "Hi Lorine, we've never met but I'm the webmaster on AncestorsRUs website"  But they don't.

So off I go to GraveSeeker or GenieGal's Profile page, only to find that's no help either. They have no identifying information on their profile page, no indication of who they really are, what their interests are or how they know me. 

It truly puzzles me. But an interesting thing happened recently on Facebook. I got one of those anonymous friend requests. Facebook kindly informed me we had 57 mutual friends. A look showed me that they were genealogy people I know and who my anonymous requester was also friends with.

So I asked around - who is this person? And guess what - no one I asked had a clue who she/he was! It seems everyone I asked was accepting his/her friend request based on the fact that so many other friends were accepting. Now maybe someone in that friend list knows who this person really is. But why is GraveSeeker (or GenieGal or whover) making us work that hard to find out?

I dunno, maybe it's just me but I feel uneasy about letting a complete stranger who won't even use his/her real name see my personal family photos or read my status updates and have a glimpse into my life.

Sorry Ms./Mr. Anonymous but I won't be accepting that friend request.

Cemetery Walk on a Monday Morning: Cochrane Catholic Cemetery

Another Cemetery Walk - this one is Video 2 for Cochrane Catholic Cemetery in Ontario Canada. View other Cemetery Walks on Olive Tree Genealogy Channel on Youtube

Finding More Details From Y-DNA Test Results

12 Marker Matches

Family Tree DNA has a new Map section. It's really very cool and very interesting.

As many of my readers know I tested my brother's Y-DNA a year or two ago. I'm always learning and finding out something new and this morning I found these  Maps in Family Tree DNA reports section.

The map on the left shows location matches at the 12 marker level. There are 71 for my brother's Y-DNA. There are 8 colours of pushpins showing exact matches, 1-step matches, 2-step matches and so on to 7-step matches. You can see that my brother has a lot of red (exact) and orange (1-step) matches at this level.

25 Marker Matches

At the 25 Marker Level the  matches are mostly further removed, being 2-steps and higher. But there is one exact match hiding behind the yellow pushpins. I can click on that red pin to see the match and can email the person whose DNA gave that match.

My brother's most distant ancestor is showing as a white pushpin which represents our Joseph McGinnis born ca 1827 in Co. Down Ireland.

37 Marker Matches

At the 37 Marker level our matches are even more removed. This doesn't always happen, you may be lucky enough to have a good match with someone else at this level. I'm just showing you my brother's results.

67 Marker Matches

I recently upgraded to the 67 Marker test so we also have results for this level. My brother had 18 matches, but a lot of steps removed.

However there was one match that was yellow (2 steps removed) and that piqued my interest so I chose the "View Name List" tab to see all the matches at this level, but in particular that orange one. It looked like it was in Ireland which is where our most distant McGinnis ancestor was from.

2-step Match at 67 Marker Level

Now I saw that the surname matched (McGinnis = Guinessey and other variants) and it was indeed in Ireland and someone born around the same time as my most distant ancestor's father.

I'll write to the person whose DNA this was and see if we can find a shared ancestor. Even if we can't, it was really fun to see the matches and their geographic location.

One thing that threw me were two matches in the area of China and Mongolia! But a click on the pushpins revealed people whose most distant ancestors were born and died in the USA. Apparently they weren't very careful when submitting their most distant ancestor and pinpointing his location on the maps provided. So if you are submitting yours and updating your personal map, be sure that the correct location is displaying before you click to update it!

If you haven't taken a DNA test yet, check out Family Tree DNA You might be surprised at all the new testing available.

Foundling Swatches: Bits of Cloth Tell a Sad Story

The Foundling Hospital in London England was founded in 1741 by the Thomas Coram for the education and care of deserted children. 

The first children were admitted to the Foundling Hospital on 25 March 1741. Often mothers or fathers placed a distinguishing token on their child in hopes of reuniting with their child one day. These were often marked coins, trinkets, pieces of cotton or ribbon, verses written on scraps of paper. The child's clothes were carefully recorded in notebooks by hospital staff and many of the swatches of cloth were carefully pinned to the page for that child.

Foundling Swatches has  published photos of some of the poignant cloth tokens and scraps of paper attached to different children. Please take a look. The photos include:

An embroidered sampler left with a boy named William Porter, admitted 1759 and died 1760.

 Patchwork  embroidered with a heart and cut in half. Left with a boy admitted in 1767. He was named Benjamin Twirl by the Foundling Hospital. His mother Sara Bender reclaimed him in 1775.

Threadbare linen ‘flowered all over with playing cards’ left with a boy in 1759. He was named Joseph Floyd by the Foundling Hospital. He was apprenticed in 1769.

A boy  admitted 1759 wearing ‘checkt stuff’  named Mentor Lesange by the Foundling Hospital. In 1770, he was apprenticed to a farmer named Hercules Durham. 

A girl 14 days old wearing ‘yellow satten flowered’  admitted in 1759 and given the name Lucy Locket.

A girl  admitted  in 1758 with heart cut from red woolen cloth pinned to her cap. She was named Isabel Crane

A flowered silver ribbon with a paper note sewn into it attached to a boy admitted in  1756

You can search for records of Orphanages and Almshouses on Olive Tree Genealogy. They are a treasure trove of information for genealogists.