Happy 21st Birthday to Olive Tree Genealogy!

Can you believe it???? Twenty-one (21!) ago I started my website Olive Tree Genealogy

Olive Tree Genealogy actually began sometime in the winter of 1995 but it wasn't until February 1996 that it was given space on the old Rootsweb site. 

That site is still online at http://rootsweb.com/~ote/ and it holds all the "extra" free databases and goodies that I don't have room for on Olive Tree Genealogy at http://olivetreegenealogy.com/
 
Many of the big sites we use today did not exist when I set up Olive Tree Genealogy. CyndisList came online right after me. Rootsweb started up around the same time. Ancestry.com didn't exist.

I am often asked why I created Olive Tree Genealogy. After my husband died in 1993 and I was injured at school by a student, my enforced inactivity allowed me to begin creating Olive Tree Genealogy site.
I started with one ships list and articles I wrote about Huguenots, Walloons, Loyalists and Palatines. The  ships list was so popular and I received so many requests for more that I began hunting for more. Now Olive Tree Genealogy has over 1,600 ships lists online. Photos of ancestors - I've got that covered in my Lost Faces section. At last count there were 77 Civil War Era Photo Albums online, each containing about 50 ancestor photos, most of them identified by name.

Look at me now! I am officially a dinosaur in Internet terms. 21 years is a very long life on the Internet. Wonder if I can last another 21!

New Resource for Loyalists from New York

The  New York Public Library recently digitized a manuscript List of loyalists against whom judgments were given under the Confiscation Act, which documents judgments made against loyalists between 1780 and 1783. It includes the name of the loyalist, their occupation, town or county of residence, date of indictment, and date of judgment when signed.

Search the lists and read more at the New York Public Library article Disposessing Loyalists and Redistributing Property in Revolutionary New York

Nursing Sister Philips WW1 Photo Album: Performace of Three Little Maids from School (the Mikado).

This Photo Archive consists of a small autograph album (6.5" by 5.25") kept by Constance (Connie) Philips as a memento of her time serving as a nurse during World War One.

The majority of the photos and items are from 1915, when she served as a nurse in France and Britain.

Performance of Three Little Maids from School (the Mikado)

The album and all photographs, postcards, and other ephemera contained in the album belong to Karin Armstrong and may not be copied or republished without her written permission. The images will be published on Olive Tree Genealogy with permission.

Each image has been designated an "R" for Recto or a "V" for Verso plus an album page number. Recto is the right-hand side page of a bound book while Verso is the left-hand side page.

I will be posting the entire album and my additional research on the individuals identified in Connie's album over the coming months so please check back frequently to view these historic photos. The easiest way to see what has been published is to click on the topic "Nursing Sister WW1 Photos"

Ledger Books Records of Life Insurance on Slaves

A life insurance company called New York Life opened in Manhattan’s financial district in the spring of 1845. One of the first things the company did to spur sales was to encourage slave owners to take out insurance on their slaves since they were considered valuable assets.

Ads in southern newspapers began appearing. Within 3 years, over 500 policies had been sold. New York Life kept their ledger books and records of these slave life insurance polices. When the books were discovered, company  turned over the names of slaves and slaveholders as required by law and donated several of the accounting books to the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, where they are available to the public. The company stored the rest in a private corporate archive. Other life insurance companies also sold policies that covered the lives of slaves but their records have not been found.

The New York Times has the full story at Insurance Policies on Slaves: New YorkLife’s Complicated Past

Credit Images: 
Image 1 Charleston Courier (Charleston, South Carolina). Monday, February 3, 1845

Image 2 Augusta Chronicle (Augusta, Georgia) Tuesday, October 2, 1849.

Familial DNA Testing Used to Solve Cold Cases

Genealogists love DNA. Many, if not most, of us have tested with more than one DNA company. Why? Because DNA not only allows us to learn about our early ethnic origins, it also allows us to match with other genealogists who share a common ancestor. Like crowdsourcing, this permits us to help each other, to share information that may help us in our ancestral quest.

Familial DNA is now being used by police to hopefully solve cold cases. Familial DNA  is defined as

"A familial DNA search is a search by law enforcement in DNA databases for genetic information indicating a relative of a person they seek to identify."

Rockne Harmon, a forensic cold case specialist, defines familial DNA as "a two-phase process to develop investigative leads to potentially identify close biological relatives of the source of a DNA sample that carries an unknown forensic profile."

Familial DNA is being used in UK and some states in the USA, and Harmon hopes to apply familial DNA to solve some Canadian cold cases. There are legal obstacles regarding current laws governing Canada’s DNA databank which would have to be studied first.



The Ottawa Citizen has the full story at  Familial DNA searches could help crack Canadian cold cases

Image: http://www.slideshare.net/ThermoFisher/familial-dna-searching-technology-to-provide-investigative-leads-51740417 

A Hunch Helps Find a Medieval City in a Field

A farmer's field in Wales held the lost city of Trellech but no one knew it. At one point in history Trellech which was settled in the 13th century, was a boomtown, with as many as 10,000 inhabitants. Then it disappeared, destroyed by famine, disease and finally, a 15th century massacre.

Over time the exact location of Trellech was lost to memory. But Scott Wilson, a member of the local Monmouth Archaeological Society, began to look more closely at  pottery shards that kept turning up in molehills.

Wilson ended up purchasing a farm where he suspected the lost city might be found and his hunch was proven correct.

Read more about Wilson's Lost City of Trellech Project and read the full story of his find on the National Post story The lost city of Wales: Amateur archaeologist plays a hunch and finds a medieval metropolis in a field

Credits: Image is a screenshot from The National Post

Nursing Sister Philips WW1 Photo Album 34V off home

This Photo Archive consists of a small autograph album (6.5" by 5.25") kept by Constance (Connie) Philips as a memento of her time serving as a nurse during World War One.

The majority of the photos and items are from 1915, when she served as a nurse in France and Britain.

The album and all photographs, postcards, and other ephemera contained in the album belong to Karin Armstrong and may not be copied or republished without her written permission. The images will be published on Olive Tree Genealogy with permission.

Each image has been designated an "R" for Recto or a "V" for Verso plus an album page number. Recto is the right-hand side page of a bound book while Verso is the left-hand side page.

I will be posting the entire album and my additional research on the individuals identified in Connie's album over the coming months so please check back frequently to view these historic photos. The easiest way to see what has been published is to click on the topic "Nursing Sister WW1 Photos"

Finding Answers to Old Family Mysteries

"Growing up, Lisa Smith shared a room with her grandmother Maurine Chaney Everette in the family’s home in California. Her grandmother, Smith said, was like a mother to her. She was there to cook and bandage scraped knees. But there were things she rarely talked about — her scar, details of her childhood spent in an orphanage in Oklahoma. When Maurine died in 1992, she took much of her past with her."

All Lisa knew of her grandmother's past was that Maurine grew up in an orphanage in Oklahoma, she'd been involved in a train accident, and she had a brother. Searching online quickly provided Lisa with clues and then to connections with new-found cousins.

From there she was able to find a newspaper story of the 1918 train accident in which Maurine's father, mother and baby sister were killed. Read the full story In search for lost relatives, Nebraska woman uncovers truth about long-ago tragedy in the Omaha World Herald

Irish and Great Famine Documentary on YouTube

Screenshot from
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZuKPBaUCq2E

Thanks to Gail Dever I learned about a new Documentary about the Irish and Great Famine on YouTube.

This  new documentary tells the story of the Irish who fled poverty and the Great Famine of 1847 and traveled to Canada. This was such a tragic time for Ireland. My own McGinnis ancestors fled Ireland to escape starvation when the potato crop failed, and arrived in Canada in the summer of 1846.

Gail has written a very complete blog post about this so please read her article using the link above.

Roman Coins Found in Japanese Castle

 Since 2013, a team of archeologists has been excavating Katsuren castle in Okinawa, Japan's southernmost prefecture. Recently ten Roman coins were found at the site.

According to the scientists an Ottoman coin had inscriptions that dated it to 1687, while the Roman coins appeared to be much older -- from at least 300 to 400 AD.

The finding of these coins confirms speculation that the area of Okinawa had trade relations with the rest of Asia. Archeology is similar to genealogy in that even a tiny find can lead to huge revelations and provide more clues for future research.

Continue reading this archaeological story at Ancient Roman coins found in ruined Japanese castle

Nursing Sister Philips WW1 Photo Album: Loose Photo

This Photo Archive consists of a small autograph album (6.5" by 5.25") kept by Constance (Connie) Philips as a memento of her time serving as a nurse during World War One.

WW1 Loose photo Snap taken outside the hut 1916

The majority of the photos and items are from 1915, when she served as a nurse in France and Britain.

The album and all photographs, postcards, and other ephemera contained in the album belong to Karin Armstrong and may not be copied or republished without her written permission. The images will be published on Olive Tree Genealogy with permission.

Each image has been designated an "R" for Recto or a "V" for Verso plus an album page number. Recto is the right-hand side page of a bound book while Verso is the left-hand side page.

I will be posting the entire album and my additional research on the individuals identified in Connie's album over the coming months so please check back frequently to view these historic photos. The easiest way to see what has been published is to click on the topic "Nursing Sister WW1 Photos"

Friggatriskaidekaphobics Beware!

Friday the 13th. Bad luck. Black cats walking in front of you. Touch wood if you say something and don't want it to come true. Bad luck comes in threes. Step on a crack, break your mother's back.... these are some of the many superstitions that have passed down through the ages.

But where do they come from? Did our ancestors touch wood as way of protecting themselves from bad things happening? Superstitions often arise because we humans need a way to explain things that don't seem to have an explanation.

 Superstitions continue even in our enlightened age for one simple reason - they are passed on from generation to generation!  Most of us have one or even two superstitions which we may try to keep hidden. Here are a few of our more common superstitions and how they formed.

Don't walk under a ladder. One theory holds that this superstition arises from a Christian belief in the Holy Trinity: Since a ladder leaning against a wall forms a triangle, "breaking" that triangle was blasphemous.

Black cats walking in front of you. This fear (superstition) may have arisen from fear of witches and witches familiars, most often thought to be black cats.

Knock on Wood (Touch wood). This is a very common superstition, believed to ward off evil or bad luck. This may have come from ancient belief in trees having spirits. A good spirit in the wood could protect you from evil. I know my grandmother carried this tradition of wood touching on and I confess so do I!

Friday the 13th. Friggatriskaidekaphobics fear Friday the 13th. The fear of Friday the 13th dates back to the late 1800s. Friday has been unlucky day and 13 has a long history as an unlucky number. Combine the two and it's a double whammy!

So to all you Friggatriskaidekaphobics out there, take cover! Today is your worst day.

U.K. War Office Records Available Online

Five volumes of War Office, Class 42 (WO 42) have been digitized and are now free to view on the The National Archives UK website. WO 42 covers half pay and widow's pensions in the 19th Century for Provincial and other Loyalist and Canadian officers. 

It is chock full of genealogical information such as marriage certificates and references to widows. There are several online sections, organized in alphabetical order. (see image on left)

The images are freely available. 

LOYAL AMERICAN AND CANADIAN CORPS is a subset within WO 42 - War Office: Officers' Birth Certificates, Wills and Personal Papers 

Also see UK, British Army and Navy Birth, Marriage and Death Records, 1730-1960

Unlock the Past Cruise 2017 Papua New Guinea

Ready for a sea trip? Join the Unlock The Past Cruise 2017 Papua New Guinea



Date: 28 July–7 August 2017
Duration: 10 nights
Ship: Pacific Aria
Price:

• conference AU$450 (non-genealogy companion sharing a cabin ($250)
• cruise – at the rate of the day – click here for current guide to rates

An exciting new cruise featuring:

• a completely different kind of itinerary – to Papua and New Guinea and and its islands, one of the emerging and exciting new cruise destinations.
• a 10 night cruise providing a balanced schedule:
  • 4 days at sea – lots of time for our usual wide ranging conference
  • 5 days in ports and/or around islands – great sightseeing and fascinating shore excursions
• some of the  best conference facilities of any ship we have seen – we will have two of the Pacific Aria‘s three conference rooms available for our exclusive use for the entire cruise
• a conference program headed by Dr Tom Lewis, one of Australia’s foremost Pacific war historians and authors, supported by other recognised experts. The program will have around 40 talks, mostly in a single stream
• a special WWII Pacific War stream. 2017 will be the 75th anniversary of the Pacific war coming to both Australia and New Guinea. 1942 was the year:
  • the Japanese attacked the Australian mainland (including Darwin and Broome by air and Sydney by submarines).
  • the Japanese attacked New Guinea including Rabaul and Milne Bay (places visited by this cruise) and the Kokoda Trail.
  • of Battle of the Coral Sea, the first time the Japanese were checked in their relentless southward advance.

Nursing Sister Philips WW1 Photo Album 37 R

This Photo Archive consists of a small autograph album (6.5" by 5.25") kept by Constance (Connie) Philips as a memento of her time serving as a nurse during World War One.

The majority of the photos and items are from 1915, when she served as a nurse in France and Britain.

WW1 37R Le Trepont Receiving Convoy from front

The album and all photographs, postcards, and other ephemera contained in the album belong to Karin Armstrong and may not be copied or republished without her written permission. The images will be published on Olive Tree Genealogy with permission.

Each image has been designated an "R" for Recto or a "V" for Verso plus an album page number. Recto is the right-hand side page of a bound book while Verso is the left-hand side page.

I will be posting the entire album and my additional research on the individuals identified in Connie's album over the coming months so please check back frequently to view these historic photos. The easiest way to see what has been published is to click on the topic "Nursing Sister WW1 Photos"

Crowdsourcing Genealogy Documents at LAC

Page 1 of the 1818 Coltman Report

"In the spring of 2016, Library and Archives Canada (LAC) digitized A General Statement and Report relative to the Disturbances in the Indian Territories of British North America, more commonly known as “the Coltman Report.” Its digitization was in support of the 200th-anniversary events commemorating the Battle of Seven Oaks, organized by the Manitoba Métis Federation in June 2016." [Beth Greenhorn. November 29, 2016]

To support this effort, LAC (Library and Archives Canada) started a crowdsourcing project to transcribe the only copy of the 1818 521-page report. According to LAC "the entire report was transcribed within less than a month. In addition to the transcription, every page has tags related to the individuals, dates, locations and specific events recorded during Coltman’s investigation. A PDF of Coltman’s report is available in the database and is fully searchable. Each entry is accompanied by a link to the corresponding digitized page from the report."
 
Historical inaccuracies that had previously been perpetrated and spread were corrected by this transcription project. Read the full details about this in Transcribing the Coltman Report – Crowdsourcing at Library and Archives Canada

Can You Believe 6 Generations All Alive?

A 4-Generation Family

Some of us might be lucky enough to live long enough to become great-grandparents. But 96 year old Vera Sommerfeld of Lethbridge, Alberta, Candaa, just became a great-great-great-grandmother! That's right, she is the head of 6 generations of living females.

The youngest is baby Callie born in October 2016. Her mother, Alisa Marsh, is 20. Grandmother Amanda Cormier is just 39, and Grace Couturier became a great-grandmother at 59. Great-great-grandmother Gwen Shaw is 75.

I have family photos of 4 generations living but no more than that. On the left is a photo taken in 1958 of my niece (my brother's daughter), my grandmother, my mother and my brother - 4 generations.

Read the story and see pictures at Alberta woman becomes great-great-great-grandmother

Canada Female Black Rights Activist to be Featured on Bill

Civil rights pioneer Viola Desmond will be the first Canadian woman to be featured on the ten dollar bill. I doubt most Canadians have ever heard of Viola, although she was featured on a stamp in 2012.  On November 8, 1946, she went to the  Roseland Theatre in Nova Scotia to see a movie. Black people could only sit in the balcony of the theatre but Viola sat in the downstairs section which was only for whites.

She was removed, taken to jail, and charged with defrauding the Province of a penny because she had not paid the 1 cent extra to sit downstairs. Viola appealed and her court case was the first known legal challenge against racial segregation brought forward by a black woman in Canada.

Read the full story at Black rights activist Viola Desmond to be 1st Canadian woman on $10 bill

Other stories and bios of Viola (Davis) Desmond:

How civil rights icon Viola Desmond helped change course of Canadian history

Heritage Minutes 

Nursing Sister Philips WW1 Photo Album: 45 V Red Cross Dog

This Photo Archive consists of a small autograph album (6.5" by 5.25") kept by Constance (Connie) Philips as a memento of her time serving as a nurse during World War One.

The majority of the photos and items are from 1915, when she served as a nurse in France and Britain.

WW1 45V dog One of our Red Cross helpers

The album and all photographs, postcards, and other ephemera contained in the album belong to Karin Armstrong and may not be copied or republished without her written permission. The images will be published on Olive Tree Genealogy with permission.

Each image has been designated an "R" for Recto or a "V" for Verso plus an album page number. Recto is the right-hand side page of a bound book while Verso is the left-hand side page.

I will be posting the entire album and my additional research on the individuals identified in Connie's album over the coming months so please check back frequently to view these historic photos. The easiest way to see what has been published is to click on the topic "Nursing Sister WW1 Photos"

New Year's Genealogy Resolutions for 2017

At the end of 2015 I wrote a blog post How Did I Do in 2015 and New Year's Resolutions for 2016

What were my 2016 goals and did I achieve them?

2016 GOALS & RESOLUTIONS

One of my goals in 2016 was to continue growing my Twitter profile with quality followers, and find time to work on Instagram and Periscope. But mainly in 2016 I resolved to continue to focus on my writing - both non-fiction and fiction.

DID I ACHIEVE THOSE 2016 GOALS

1. Twitter
I started 2016 with 10K followers on Twitter. I continued to work to grow that number with quality followers and as of December 2, 2016 I have reached 11.8K (11,800). Growing my Twitter reach is important to me but it was not my main focus in 2016, nor will it be for 2017

2. Instagram & Periscope
After a great deal of study and applying myself on both these Social Media outlets, I determined that, while they are fun, they are not a useful part of my business model. I believe Periscope could be but due to my limited physical mobility, the optimum way of using it is too challenging for me.

3. Writing Genealogy & Mystery Books

I'm very pleased that in June 2016 I published my first fiction - a genealogy mystery book about a middle-aged genealogist who has a penchant for stumbling on dead bodies as she researches her ancestors. In "Death Finds a Way: A Janie Riley Mystery" readers meet Janie Riley. Janie and her husband head to Salt Lake City Utah to research Janie's elusive 4th great-grandmother. But her search into the past leads her to a dark secret. She must solve the mysteries of the past and the present before disaster strikes.

Death Finds a Way is available as a paperback on Amazon.com, Amazon.ca and the CreateSpace eStore  Also available as an e-book on Amazon.com and Amazon.ca

As well as my venture into mystery novel writing, I completed and published several genealogy-history books in 2016.

2017 GOALS

My goals for 2017 are easy to formulate. I plan to focus even more on my writing. Presently I am 3/4 of the way through a first draft of Janie Riley's second adventure which I hope to publish in 2017. "A Grave Secret" and follows Janie's journey to the most haunted village in England as she searches for her 4th great-grandparents.

Of course I will continue my genealogy research as well. I look forward to new challenges and opportunities in the New Year!  What are your goals for the coming year?