New Book Looks at Western European Immigration Experience

Press Release. I will be reviewing this book at a later date and posting my review here on the blog. For now, here is the official press release for what looks like a very exciting book!

New Book Looks at Western European Immigration Experience

Freelance writer and genealogist, Leslie Albrecht Huber, delves into the past to recreate the immigration story in her new book, The Journey Takers. Centered on the story of one family, the book widens its focus to tell the story of one of the most influential groups of people in US history—the nineteenth-century European immigrants.

Pre-orders are now open through www.thejourneytakers.com or through Family Chronicle Magazine directly at
http://familychronicle.com/thejourneytakers.htm.

Huber’s ancestors were journey takers, leaving their homes in Germany,Sweden, and England behind to sail to the US and start new lives here.Huber sets out to trace these journeys and to understand her family—who they were and what mattered to them. As she follows in their footsteps, walking the paths they walked and looking over the land they farmed, she finds herself on a journey she hadn’t expected. Based on thousands of hours of research, Huber recreates the immigration experience in a way that captures both its sweeping historical breadth and its intimately personal consequences.

Holly Hansen, Family History Expos President, says, "Leslie Albrecht Huber has the ability to pull us back in history, allowing us to view it through her eyes. She is able to capture the essence of life as it may have been. The reader will find it impossible to lay the book aside as Huber shares her experience in a way that envelops, inspires,
and motivates." Cyndi Ingle Howells, creator and owner of Cyndi's List of Genealogy Sites on the Internet, says, “With The Journey Takers,Leslie Albrecht Huber brings her ancestors to life. She adds flesh to the bones of a genealogical study by weaving historical context,family stories, and her personal feelings into the fabric of the story. The hardships and heartaches of those who came before her are tightly bound to the journey that took them from the old world and into a new life."

Huber has written over one hundred articles, mostly on family history and history topics. Her work has appeared in publications such as The History Channel Magazine, Ancestry, American Spirit, Family Chronicle,Family Tree Magazine, History Magazine, Internet Genealogy and others.Huber has spoken to local, regional, and national audiences on genealogy and history topics in New England and across the country. She lives in western Massachusetts with her husband and four children.

Visit her website at www.thejourneytakers.com for more information.

The Journey Takers
www.thejourneytakers.com (coming June 1)
By Leslie Albrecht Huber
Foundation Books
332 pages, 6 x 9, b/w appendix, bibliography
ISBN: 2010924144 (paperback), LCCN (PCN): 2010924144
Price: $19.95 paperback
Original pub. date: pre-orders June 2010 through www.familychronicle.com
Available Sept through www.amazon.com and at local bookstores

Floundering in a Sea of Photographs

One of my sons was visiting a few weeks ago. He asked to look through the family photo albums from when he was young. I gulped and explained that I took all the photos out of the 20 or more albums that were kicking around gathering dust and damaging the photographs with that horrible stick-down clear plastic film.

Out of storage came several tubs (neatly labelled) of photos and he started going through them. I felt discouraged watching him! They were not in any particular order, most were not identified and I realized what a jumbled mess I had on my hands.

As a genealogist it's important for me that I document our family history and preserve photos and other family treasures. I've scanned most of my older photos (pre 1950) but have been sadly negligent with the recent ones!

But as I watched him, his face alight with memories and the happiness of looking at all these wonderful family pictures, I realized I have to stop procrastinating and do the job. But it's overwhelming. How does one start? I don't think I can face scanning the hundreds if not thousands of photos I have.

Then I realized that when a task seems overwhelming it's best to break it down into smaller chunks - smaller jobs.

So I have a plan. Right now that's all it is - a plan, and a tentative one at that!

My plan is to follow these steps:

1. Sort the photos by event or year (in other words put all of Christmas 1980 together and/or put all of 1980 together)

2. Identify the individuals

3. Pull out duplicates and set aside for now.

4. Pull out the photos I can't live without and set them aside.

That's where I'm stuck.

Do I take the photos I can give up and put them in albums for my children? That would be easiest but then there are no copies.

Do I take the best photos and scan them, then print them off and put the copies into albums for my children and grandchildren? I could store the originals in labelled envelopes or storage boxes or albums.

I'm leaning towards choosing the best photos and scanning them, then either printing them or putting them on CDs for my children and grandchildren.

If anyone has suggestions, I would love to hear them! Maybe you have a great solution for this mountain of work facing me!

The Peer Family in America - available now!

The Peer Family in North America

Vol. 1 The Peer Family in North America: Jacob & Anne Peer,Immigrants from Sussex Co. New Jersey to Upper Canada in 1796, a study of the first two generations including documents and maps by Lorine McGinnis Schulze is READY FOR PURCHASE!

It's been a long haul but Volume 1 of The Peer Family in America is ready (after more than 20 years of research and writing). This set of volumes is my "baby", my first love. My grandmother was a PEER and it is because of her and my father that I have spent the last 25 years or so researching every branch of the immigrant PEER family in Ontario

Here are some of the details:

*The Peer Family in North America. V1 Jacob & Anne Peer,Immigrants from New Jersey to Upper Canada in 1796. A study of the first two generations*. published June 2010. Coil bound 8.5x11. 108 p. ISBN: 978-0-9680744-3-5

Page from Peer Family in North America

Subsequent volumes will provide details and the genealogy for up to 5 generations for each of the children of Jacob & Anne (Levi, Jacob Jr , Stephen, Marcy & Phoebe are 4 generation genealogies; Philip & Edward are 5 generations; John is included in V. 1 )

What's included in Volume 1 ? Here is a copy of the *Table of Contents*

Dedication

Introduction

Peer Origins

Part I: The Story of Jacob Peer & His Wife Anne

Timeline

Part II: The Pier Family of Amsterdam & New York

Origins of the Pier Family in the Netherlands and an update of Their
Connection to the Ostrander Family

Part III: The Pier Family of New Jersey

Descendants of Teunis Jansen Pier

Part IV: The Story of John Peer & his Wife, the Widow of Thomas Millard

Part V: Maps

Part VI: Documents for Jacob & Anne Peer

Documents A to 0

Part VII: Documents for John Peer

Documents P-AA

I hope you are as thrilled and excited as I am! Please check the online form for the cost and shipping information for Vol. 1. You will be able to use cheque, money order (international only) or Paypal to place your order.

To see a list of my other books which are available, please visit my Publications page.

And now for something completely different...

Yesterday around 1:45 pm we were rocked by a rather strong earthquake. That's pretty rare here in central Ontario. Our walls shook. Windows rattled and our porch roof undulated. Objects fell. Turns out a 5.5 earthquake hit outside of Ottawa and was felt for quite a way.

Okay we recovered from that excitement. A few hours later hubby headed into town to get our daily treat of coffee from Tim Hortons, plus a quick run into WalMart for a few groceries. The weather was nasty and about 15 minutes after he got home a tornado struck. Cars in the WalMart parking lot were flipped upside down. Shopping carts flew through the air. The tornado continued into downtown Midland and destroyed a trailer park. It flipped tractor trailer trucks where my sister-in-law works. Roofs were torn off businesses and walls of buildings collapsed. Power lines came down as did large trees. The tornado continued on down highway 12 tearing down walls and roofs from factories along the way. It passed within a mile of our home and hubby actually saw the storm race past us. Read more about the tornado and view photos here

Midland declared a state of emergency and we were all told to take shelter and stay inside. Power to almost 14,000 residents was lost and is still off. 200 people are homeless. 20 are in hospital. We were lucky. We still have power and no one was hurt.

Around 8 pm there was a severe weather warning for our area for hailstones and strong wind but that never materialized thank goodness.

But now for something completely different...thick fog started rolling in about 11 this morning. And the town is still cordoned off with highways closed. There were fears of a gas leak but that appears to be okay now.

This morning hubby and I tried to get to the other side of town to the Medical Centre so I could pick up my meds but no dice. It's okay as I have just enough until Monday.

But that is why this is not my usual blog post and why I missed writing one yesterday. I am thinking of those who lost homes or were injured and hoping they will be okay

New Netherland Settlers: The Stevensen and Jacobsen Families.

I'm very excited to announce the completion of another book in my NEW NETHERLAND SETTLERS series. It's taken 9 years (gulp!) to complete the last little bit, but it's done.

New Netherland Settlers: The Stevensen and Jacobsen Families. A genealogy to three generations of the descendants of Maria Goosens and her husband Steven Janse Coning who settled in Fort Orange in 1649 (Stevensen Family) and Maria Goosens and a man named Jacob (Jacobszen Family) is now available.

Descendants may order a copy by downloading this Order Form or you may use the Paypal button on that page.

A brief excerpt was previously published as The European Origins of Steven Janse Coning in the December 2001, Vol. 6 No. 4 issue of New Netherland Connections.

My book completes several years of research into the origins and descendants of Steven Janse Coning who was baptized in 1617 in Nijkerk and settled in New Netherland with his wife Maria Goosens circa 1649. By 1663 Steven and Maria had at least 7, possibly 8 children. After their divorce in 1663 Steven and Maria married other spouses, and Maria had one more known child born to a man named Jacob whose surname is unknown. This book follows Steven, Maria and their descendants to three generations.

The book is 154 pages fully sourced and footnoted. Six full pages of original documents from Nijkerk are included as well as maps. Steven and Maria's lives are set in the historical context of the fascinating world of the early settlement of New Netherland. Steven's newly discovered origins and names of his parents, grandparents, great-grandparents and siblings are documented and sourced. His
family's suffering when the Bubonic plague struck Nijkerk in 1636 when Steven was only 18 years old is well documented and included in the book.

Please visit Published Books for other books in the New Netherland Settlers series as well as miscellaneous genealogy-history books.

Do You Remember Your First Time?

Do you remember the first time you started your genealogy hunt? I do. My father always talked about wishing he knew where in Ireland our McGinnis ancestors came from. My grandmother (on my mom's side) spoke endlessly of her family back in England.

It wasn't much of a step for me to start asking my grandmother questions. I was only 13 when I began writing down what she told me! I made little charts with the names of her parents, her grandparents and her siblings. I asked for details - when were they born, where did they live, go to school, who did they marry.....

Here is one of the first charts I made at age 14. Lots of blank spaces and question marks for names!



I'm a packrat and I kept all my original notes. I knew nothing about genealogy, in fact I didn't even know that word! No one in my family was interested and no one knew about family trees or ancestry or... anything genealogical. So I invented my own system for keeping track and recording facts. It looked much like the Family Group Sheets we see in genealogy programs today.

Then I began creating charts which helped me figure out what I had and what I was missing. Of course I had no idea how I would ever find the missing bits but I guess I was an investigator-researcher even at a young age. I figured there must be a way.

My next step at age 15 was to go to our local library (where I worked!) and find a book on finding out about one's ancestors. Luckily I discovered Angus Baxter's books on searching for ancestors in Canada and in England, which were the two countries I needed. Then I put my genealogy notes and interests aside for the next 10 or more years.

My next surge into genealogy was in my mid 20s. I was newly married, living in a new town, didn't know anyone and so I pulled out all my notes and charts to review them. I phoned my aunt to ask questions and created new charts and note pages. Here's one from those years.



Then I started searching census records on microfilm. That was my first step into the big wonderful world of libraries, archives, museums, microfilm and all the records I could find.

But how times have changed! Now there are thousands of times more records available. And they're available online. I'm so glad I started my genealogy research at a young age and have been able to take advantage of the amazing record collections available today.

But sometimes I long for those first early days when everything was new and I could sit with my aunt or my grandmother (who are long dead now) and ask a zillion questions. Do you remember your first time?

Group Photos now on Lost Faces - Sports Teams, Schools and more

A new section of Lost and Found Group Photos has been added to Lost Faces

Group Photos include photos of Sports Teams (Lacrosse, Hockey, Baseball, Soccer, Football, Curling, etc), School Pictures (Teachers and Students), Military Photos and other assorted Groups.

Feel free to copy and save any photos for your own personal use. They may not be reproduced or published elsewhere such as online websites or in books without my written permission.

Submissions of group photos are welcome. Please send photos to Lorine at olivetreegenealogyATgmail.com Change the AT to @ before sending your email.

Great Grandma, When Did you have your Portrait Taken?

Do you have old photographs that you can't put a year to? Are you wondering when that gorgeous photo of great-grandma Olive was taken?

For help identifying Ancestor Photos, you may find these links helpful

* Types of Early Photographs

* Hints for Dating Old Photographs

* Dating Old Photographs through Clothing & Hairstyle
* How Revenue Stamps Can Date Ancestor Photos

Once you've looked through the examples and read how to date an old photo, you may want to have a peek at the Civil War Era family photo albums I collect and place online on Lost Faces.

View Ancestor Photo Albums

A Little Thing I Wrote for Shades

Have you read Shades: The Departed?

Shades is an online free magazine that is well worth reading.

I've directed you to the April issue on the Civil War. If you turn to page 46 you will find an article called "Civil War Costume" which I wrote for the magazine. It's illlustrated with over 30 Civil War era photographs.

Don't miss the other articles in the April issue, they are all excellent. The May issue can be found online as can all other back issues.

Using Google Street View to See an Ancestor's Home

Google Maps is my new best friend in Genealogy!

My grandparents were born in England in a town called Ramsgate in Kent. I've never been to England but I've always wondered what the houses they lived in look like. What are the streets like where they played and walked to school?

Recently I discovered Google Maps Street View and I'm thrilled. Using Street View I was able to see the home where my great grandfather died in 1920. He'd lived there for almost 20 years before his death and seeing it was a very moving experience for me. I could picture my great-grandma coming out the front door and walking to the nearby shops to get groceries. So many images came to my mind!

Here's how I did it. From census and death records I knew that my great grandparents lived at 40 Grove Rd in Ramsgate. I searched for that address using Google Maps. The screen that opens can be set to see Satellite, Map or Hybrid. Here's what I saw using Hybrid:

I could zoom in or out, I could change that to satellite view or whatever I want.

I could also click on STREET VIEW which is an option in the little white popup window with the address and tiny photo. Choosing that gave me this:



It's the view taken from the street looking at their home. Now, Google Maps isn't 100% accurate so you do need to do a little moving around to be sure you are looking at the right house! In this example, the red "A" balloon/pin was pointing to a house next door. So I moved down the street looking for house numbers and names. Great grandpa's home was called Pentreith (as per his obituary and other records) and lo and behold on the house beside the Red "A" balloon was a black door with the number 40 and over it the word Pentreith. That was the correct house.

I knew where Grandma and Grandpa lived when they were little, I knew where they were born (the actual houses) and even further back - because all of this information is available on census records. The English census was taken every 10 years so I had 1901, 1891, 1881 and so on to look through. Using all those records back to 1841 I can gather addresses and cottage/house names to try to find the actual buildings (if they still exist)

I will be having quite a bit of fun over the next few weeks looking for houses and cottages in England where my ancestors lived. You can do the same thing world-wide but be aware that not all locations have a street view option. But give it a try, see what you can find!

FGS Genealogy Conference Registration Extended

PRESS RELEASE

7 June 2010

Pat Oxley, President of The Federation of Genealogical Societies, reports that FGS has extended the early registration discount for the 2010 FGS Genealogy Conference until Monday, June 21, 2010 at midnight, Central Daylight Time (CDT). Pat says, “we are happy to be able to make this offer and look forward to seeing everyone in Knoxville!” For registration details visit www.fgs.org. Anyone with an interest in genealogy and history may attend this conference August 18-21 in Knoxville, Tennessee. While the Hilton Hotel in downtown Knoxville is already full, she reports there is room at the Holiday Inn. Details are on the FGS website.

Coupled with that is another breaking item that “FGS is pleased to announce that the Archivist of the United States, David Ferriero, will be speaking at our FGS Focus on Societies Luncheon on Wednesday, August 18th. If you have already registered you can still purchase a ticket -- this luncheon is open to everyone! Mr. Ferriero will be speaking on the Citizen-Archivist and about the War of 1812 Digitization Project and will also have a question and answer period. We wish to thank Mr. Ransom Love, and the FamilySearch team for graciously welcoming the Archivist to speak in their place at this luncheon. To register for the conference and to add this luncheon visit www.fgs.org and click on the conference logo.” His bio can be found at www.fgsconferenceblog.org.

The extended deadline also includes the Association of Professional Genealogists Professional Management Conference that is being held on Tuesday, August 17th. www.apgen.org

The four day genealogical extravaganza takes place from August 18-21, 2010 at the Knoxville Convention Center. The full program is at the same website and it is chock full of lectures on techniques, records, libraries, archives and many other topics. Some of the top notch speakers from around the U.S. will be presenting these lectures. The local hosts of this event are the East Tennessee Historical Society and the Kentucky Historical Society and these states provide some of the best of the area speakers.

Did you watch “Who Do You Think You Are?” on NBC TV this year? The main sponsor of that show and a generous sponsor of the conference, Ancestry.com, has many things planned for you during this conference. Others who worked on the show and the research will be with us as will D. Joshua Taylor, MLS, who worked with Sarah Jessica Parker on the first episode. Josh will be presenting several lectures during the week and you just might catch him at the Exhibit Hall booth of the New England Historic Genealogical Society where is is Director of Education and Programs.

Join with other genealogists from all around the United States who will be learning, networking, shopping, and having fun at the 2010 FGS Conference. www.fgs.org

New Records on FamilySearch.org

PRESS RELEASE

8 June 2010

Brazil, Canada, Czech Republic, Guatemala, Mexico, Spain, and U.S. Records Added

Twenty two (22) new collections were updated or added this week at FamilySearch.org—over 11 million new, free indexed names and images from original source records!

This week the complete U.S. 1910 Federal Census name indexes for Arkansas, Connecticut, District of Columbia, Indiana, Nevada, New Jersey, and Texas were published online at FamilySearch’s Record Search pilot (http://FamilySearch.org, click Search Records, and then click Record Search pilot) or http://Beta.FamilySearch.org.

Massachusetts death records and Minnesota probate court wills were also added to U.S. collections.

New international collections were published for Brazil, Canada, Czech Republic, Guatemala, Mexico, and Spain!

None of this would be possible without the great contributions of many FamilySearch volunteers. These individuals donate the time and effort needed to make these collections freely available to FamilySearch patrons. If you would like to help by donating a few minutes here and there online with projects of personal interest, become a FamilySearch community volunteer at FamilySearchIndexing.org. Many hands produce great work. Thank you for your support!

Being an Adventurer Isn't Always Genetic!

My mother was born in 1916. It wasn't really a time for women to be independent but my mother was. In the 1950's she was one of the few, if not the only, wife and mother in our little town who worked at a job outside the home. I remember asking her once why she didn't get together with the other moms in town to have coffee like my friends' mothers did. She just laughed and said she'd rather be working.

In 1971 at the age of 55, she retired, sold her belongings and bought a Winnebago. With her widowed mother (my grandma) and sister, she began travelling. They started their adventures by driving to Florida and then across to California. They towed a little car behind the Winnebago - mom did all the driving while her sister did the cooking. Grandma used to say that her job was to oversee them both. They called themselves the Merry Widows and were written about in two travelling magazines!

I made a list of all my mother's major driving adventures and it impressed me so much I had to share it. Remember as you read this, that in between these "big trips" she was still driving in her motor home all around N. America

1974: Arizona, Florida
1975: Maritime Provinces Canada
1976: Mexico
1976: Flew to Europe for 2 weeks
1977: Texas
1978: Florida
1985: Bought two trailer homes and parked one in Ontario, the other in Florida. Continued to drive around N. America but instead of a motor home, it was in a truck.
1990: Moved to British Columbia
1995: Moved back to Ontario
1996: On her 80th birthday, no longer driving around N. America, she treated herself to a trip to Australia and New Zealand. She backpacked for 3 weeks, with a little pink Barbie backpack.
1997: Discovered genealogy and went to Salt Lake City to research
1997: Age 81. Drove herself to Florida and back to Ontario
1998: Age 82. Went to China for 4 weeks
1999: Age 83. Went to England, Russia, Poland, Denmark, German, Sweden and Finland
2000: Age 84. Camping-hiking trip through the Australian Outback
2001: Age 85. Alaska, British Columbia and Alberta
2001: Age 85. South Africa

She made many other trips during this time - to England mostly but also to New York and other places in N. America. Oh and did I mention that at age 60, she took flying lessons to obtain her pilot's license in America? And that she then built her own ulra-light airplane with her boyfriend?

Here she is ready for a hot-air balloon ride in Australia at age 84. She's the tiny one in front holding a cream coloured hat.


and in S. Africa sitting on an ostrich at age 85.

I wish I had 1/4 of my mother's spirit of adventure! But sadly, I don't. So I guess that adventurous spirit doesn't always get passed on through our genetic code or DNA.

From Australia to Nebraska - WW2 Dog Tags Go Home

Great news!

Randall Packard's lost WW2 dog tags arrived safe and sound at Randall's daughter's home in Nebraska on June 3. It was a special day because June 3 was Randall's birthday and he would have been 93 that day.

Congratulations to all my readers who helped make this happen and to Jill for allowing us all to have a small part in getting Randall's dog tags back to family.

We have one happy family, I wonder if we can find another? Stanley Thompson's dog tags from WW2 have still not made it home.

1901 Irish Census Now Online

The 1901 Census of Ireland is now online at the National Archives of Ireland website.

All thirty-two counties for 1901 and 1911, searchable by all information categories, are now available.

This is great news for those with Irish ancestors in the early 1900 time period.

Expansion of Southern Israelite Archive

PRESS RELEASE: The Digital Library of Georgia and the Cuba Archives of the Breman Museum are pleased to announce the expansion of the Southern Israelite Archive:

http://dlg.galileo.usg.edu/israelite/

The Southern Israelite Archive now includes issues from 1959-1983, and spans the years 1929-1986, including over 48,000 images. Rabbi H. Cerf Straus established the Southern Israelite as a temple bulletin in Augusta in 1925. The publication was so popular, he expanded it into a monthly newspaper. Later in the decade, Straus sold the paper to Herman Dessauer and Sara B. Simmons, who moved the paper to Atlanta, where it began circulating state-wide and eventually throughout the South. In 1930, M. Stephen Schiffer, a former employee of the Atlanta Georgian, took over as sole owner of the Southern Israelite. Even in these earliest years, the paper not only covered the news of the southern Jewry, but also the issues that involved Jewish populations throughout the nation and world, including the Holocaust and later the creation of the Jewish state of Israel.

In October of 1934, the Southern Israelite began publishing a four page weekly edition, supplemented by its established monthly magazine edition. Ownership of the paper was turned over to a corporation headed by Israelite editor Adolph Rosenberg in 1951, while the paper continued its mission as the voice of the Jewish community in Atlanta. In October of 1958, the paper was at the forefront of the coverage of the Temple bombing in Atlanta, giving its readers a unique first hand perspective. The monthly edition of the paper was discontinued in 1973 in favor of its increasingly growing weekly edition. In 1987, the paper changed its name from the Southern Israelite to the Atlanta Jewish Times and guaranteed at least thirty-two page issues moving forward. The paper is today owned by Jewish Renaissance Media and continues as a weekly publication with a readership of over 25,000.

The Southern Israelite database is a project of the Digital Library of Georgia, a GALILEO initiative that shares Georgia's history and culture online. Digitization is made possible by the Cuba Archives of the Breman Museum and the generosity of the Srochi family of Atlanta.

Other newspaper archives available through the Digital Library of Georgia include the Atlanta Historic Newspapers Archive (1847-1922), the Macon Telegraph Archive (1826-1908), the Columbus Enquirer Archive (1828-1890), the Milledgeville Historic Newspaper Archive (1808-1920), and the Red and Black Archive (1893-2006). These archives can be accessed at http://dlg.galileo.usg.edu/MediaTypes/Newspapers.html

Can You Teach an Old Genealogist New Tricks?

Oh boy. I never learn. Or I learn the hard way.

Over the last 30 plus years I've been diligently researching the Peer family of America. They came to Ontario from New Jersey in the 1790s, some stayed and some returned to America. There are descendants all over N. America. My goal has been to publish a book (or books!) on the family.

With that in mind I've "met" many descendants online. They've generously shared their family information and photographs.

Over the past month I've gotten closer to my goal of publishing my book. I've had to break it into several books as it was well over 1,000 pages in the draft format. It works well to have Vol. 1 on the immigrant ancestors Jacob & Ann - details, documents, maps, a genealogy summary of their children and children's spouses. Then each child of Jacob & Ann gets their own volume which digs down into 4 or 5 generations.

Each subsequent volume for each child (there were 8 children so 9 volumes total) will contain narrative chapters, a genealogy report and notes, maps and so on. I have wonderful photographs sent to me by other branches and other researchers and these are to be included.

Sounds easy but it requires careful organization to compile all the data, documents and photos. The problem? Remember I said "30 plus years..."? The photos that didn't come via email are scanned and in folders on my computer. The emailed photos are in folders on my computer. But over the last 10 years I've upgraded computers several times and so there are several folders scattered on my hard drive.

I spent the weekend moving photos into the correct folders, one per family branch (or volume). I was pleased to find that I had enough foresight to give each photo a good long file name such as "WilliamAlexAlviraJoseph.jpg" That allowed me to look in my genealogy program and find the branch that the photo fits into.

On some photos I even added the contributor name such as "WilliamAlexAlviraJosephFromThomas.jpg" Great! I know who shared the photo and can add their name in the books appropriately as the contributor.

But some photos have no contributor name. In my genealogy program under the name of the Peer individual it says simply "See email for more information on photo" Oh no! I didn't say who sent the photo! I just said to check my email.

But a search of all my email addresses (current ones) didn't turn up every contributor. I realized that I had a very old computer which was networked to my main one and when I got rid of the computer I neglected to copy my email files to the new one.

Therefore I do not know the names of every contributor who sent photos. I know most, but not all. I'm horrified at my carelessness. Many of the photos were sent to me several years ago and I simply don't recall who might have sent them.

Now for the "if only" part of my post:

* If only I'd kept a master list of contributors and photos

* If only I'd remembered to transfer my old emails over to my new computer three years ago

* If only I'd entered the contributor names in my genealogy program

* If only I'd organized the photos by contributor name as they came in instead of filing them away for the future

With any luck, Peer descendants with whom I've been in touch over the years will read this post and contact me to tell me they sent me photos. Most of the 60 or so photos have contributors' names attached but about a dozen have no contributor name(s).

I know better now. I'm an old genealogist but I am always learning. The hard way. My new trick is to notate items properly and carefully at the time I find or receive them. No more setting them aside for later.

Why We Do The Things We Do

I accidentally found on the weekend that Ontario Canada Death Records has been added to on Ancestry.com

I've been waiting a long time to look for the death of my great grandpa Alexander McGinnis. I knew he died in 1935 because the year of death is on his tombstone. Mind you, his year of birth on his stone is incorrect (I have his church baptism records as proof). The stone was erected by his eldest daughter Mary Sheward and I figure she may have been confused about his year of birth but she surely knew when he died!

Finally Ancestry.com has updated the death records to include 1935. I was pretty excited to search for Alex as there's a bit of a story about him.

My dad, who was Alex's grandson, never met his grandfather and grew up believing that Alex was long dead. One day my grandfather came downstairs wearing a suit and tie - which he never did, and my dad asked him jokingly if he was going to a funeral. According to my father, his dad replied "Yes, my father just died" and then walked out the door without another word.

My father was stunned. He was 23 years old and never knew his grandpa was not only still alive but lived just a few miles away. Eventually my father got part of the story from his dad - that Alex and his son Joe (my grandfather) had a huge argument and falling out in the early 1900s and never spoke again. So for over 25 years my grandfather and his father were estranged, and my father never met his grandpa.

Never knowing much about Alex, I was quite curious how and where he died. The death certificate stated that he fell down a flight of stone steps (most likely leading to his basement), broke his neck and was in hospital for 17 days before succumbing to his injuries and pneumonia. I felt very sad reading this, and thought about his son, my grandfather, probably knowing that his dad lay seriously injured in the local hospital but not going to visit him.

What a sad way to live one's life, with arguments and estrangements and pretending that family members don't exist. Perhaps I'm being harsh but it seems hypocritical to me for my grandfather to then attend his dad's funeral. His dad and mother separated when the children were young and his mom had died several years before his father. So it's not as if he went to offer support and comfort to his mom.

Oddly enough I confess that I feel anger at my grandfather for not letting his sons grow up knowing their grandpa. Perhaps I'm misjuding him, perhaps it was his father Alex who refused to give in. Who ignored who? One of life's mysteries and one which I will likely never know what the truth was. To me it all boils down to stubborness and pride and it's a terrible waste.

Memorial Day Weekend: Uncle Ern

I think of all the photos I have of Military ancestors, this one of my Uncle Ern is one of my favourites.


Ernest George Simpson 1883-1958

Ernie was my grandmother's brother and he left England for Toronto Ontario Canada in 1908. He was in the military in England (The Kent Buffs) and again in Canada, and in this photo he's at Stanley Barracks in Toronto during WW1.

My family has a long military history. My father was a Lieutenant during WW2, one of my sons is currently serving in the Canadian military.

I'm descended from two Loyalists who fought on the British side during the American Revolutionary War, from soldiers who fought during the War of 1812 and from men who fought in many wars and skirmishes over the centuries.

I remember them all and thank them for their sacrifices.

American Soldier's Lost WW2 Dog Tags Going Home!

Success and a happy ending! Jill from Australia has mailed Randall Packard's lost dog tag from WW2 to his daughter in America. Here is Jill with the envelope ready to go!



I asked Jill how she came to find Randall's Dog Tag as well as Stanley Thompson's and here is her reply. It's fascinating and Jill deserves a huge thank you for her efforts.

My husband and I have had a interest in the many deserted sites of WW11 in the Northern Territory for about 25+ years. We have been to many crashed aircraft site and many of the camps set up as part of the Pacific war.

Fenton air strip was one of the larger ones and had a group of Americans stationed there for a period of time. There was a mulititude of services provided on the base, including a visit from Bob Hope in Nov 1943 to entertain the 380 Bomb Group. When the war finished the sites were just abandoned. Over the years some stuff was picked up for scrap and other stuff was collected by fossickers like me as something interesting.

I found the two American dog tags near what I named the canteen area. In this area I picked up numerous coca cola bottles that had been left by the Americans. There were many things left and it is still possible to find something lying around in the bush. And bush it is. It is about 300km away from where I live and there is no community close by.

My family had an interest with the serving Americans. During the War an American soldier returned home to his home in Wisconsin. An article was written about his time in my home town in South Australia. A lady (Rose Jahman) whose two sons were fighting in the Pacific wrote to the Mayor of the town in the hope her boys may have been there, The letter was passed to my mother who had just won a competition run by the Army Barracks to reply. My mother did and she continued to write to Rose until her death. I have been writing to her grand daughter for the past 50 years.

We are still looking for descendants of Stanley Thompson so maybe we can help Jill find a family member before Memorial Day!

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

Debbie wrote to me to ask for help. Here is her note:

In the mid 60's, during the Vietnam War, people bought copper bracelets with the name of a service person who was MIA. I have one that I got in 1966. I now know that the individual was removed from the MIA list and his name is engraved on the Vietnam Wall as KIA. I'd like to find his wife and/or children to give this bracelet. I have saved it for over 40 years in the hopes of giving it to a family member. So, how can I do this? I do know his name, his branch of service and other bits of information.

The soldier's name is Charles Peter Claxton. Here is a picture of the bracelet that Debbie sent.



I'm asking for readers' help once more to find a descendant so that Debbie can send the bracelet to them. You can post here in the comment section but if you have details on living people you might want to send them to me privately in email olivetreegenealogy@gmail.com

I found an article about Charles and the rest of the air crew that went MIA in 1967. It stated their bodies were found in 2000 although only two were identified positively.

29 Dec 67- Donald E. Fisher, LTC 05, Navigator, of Halfway, Org; Charles Peter Claxton, Pilot, MAJ 04, of Chicago, ILL; Edwin Neims Osborne, Jr., Aircraft Commander, CPT 03 of Ralford, FL; Frank C. Parker,III, Electronic Warfare Officer, CPT 03 of Bridgeport, Penn; Gerald Gordon Van Buren, Pilot, CPT 03 of Toledo, OH; Gordon J. Wenaas, Navigator, CPT 03 of Mayville, ND; Jack McCrary, Flight Engineer, SSG E-5 of Madison, Tenn; Gean Preston Clapper, Radio Operator, SGT E-5 of Altoona, Penn; Edward Jospeh Darcy, Loadmaster, SGT E-5 of Portlandm Org; Wayne Allen Eckley, Flight Engineer, SGT E-5 of Enterprise, Org; and James R. Williams, Loadmaster, SGT E of Charlotte, NC all USAF, Air Crew, C- 130, "Combat Talon", l4th Special Operations Wing, US AIR FORCE, Ops 32/75, Nha Trang-Performing aerial resupply mission for Project Oodles phantom team over North Vietnam they never returned MIA-Remains not recovered. [See page 85, SOG A Photo History of the Secret Wars, by John Plaster]

Revised Edition Van Slyke Family in America NOW AVAILABLE!

The Van Slyke Family in America: A Genealogy of Cornelise Antonissen Van Slyke, 1604-1676 and his Mohawk Wife Ots-Toch, including the story of Jacques Hertel, 1603-1651,
Father of Ots-Toch and Interpreter to Samuel de Champlain REVISED EDITION by Lorine McGinnis Schulze is now available for purchase.

Download an Order Form to pay by check or pay using Paypal

Ever since the publication of my first Van Slyke Family in America book in 1996, I have been continuing my research on this family. A few years ago I found a court record in New Netherland where Cornelis Van Slyke wrote about the death of a man in Breuckelen Netherlands. Cornelis referred to the deceased man as his brother and asked if he was in the will.

This exciting discovery spurred me to hire a Dutch researcher to search the Breuckelen and Nijenrode archives for more details. His findings are presented in this Revised Edition.

The Van Slyke Family in America, Revised Edition, discusses Cornelise Antonissen Van Slyke born in Brueckelen,Netherlands in 1604 and his Mohawk-French wife Ots-Toch born
ca 1620 at Canajoharie, New York. Cornelis came to the New World in May of 1634, settling at Beverwyck and then Schenectady, New York.

Cornelis Van Slyke's story is of a Dutchman who came to the New World as a carpenter at the age of 30, who became an interpreter for the Mohawk nation, was adopted into the tribe, and who met and married a French-Mohawk woman (Ots-Toch) who never left her native village.

Their children, all raised at Canajoharie, one of the Mohawk castles or villages, became well-known and respected in the Dutch community. All except one left the village and married Dutch settlers.

In the Revised Edition, new findings on the Van Slyke family in Breuckelen are revealed. New facts are added to the descendant genealogies and a few errors from the firstbook are corrected. More sources have been added and there is more detail about individuals included. There are 1,342 footnoted sources for the facts contained in this 287 page book.

Download an Order Form to pay by check or pay using Paypal

Read more about the Van Slyke Book and Family. See the Van Slyke book List of Contents

WW2 American Soldier's Dog Tags Found in Australia: They're Going Home!

Success! With the help of an amazing group of readers of my blog, we have found descendants of our WW2 soldier who lost his dog tags in Australia some 65 years ago.

The clues we had were a dog tag found by Jill in a remote area of Australia. The dog tag gave us the name Randall E. Packard, his ID# and a next of kin name, presumably his wife - Margaret L. Packard, and an Illinois address.

Jill asked for my help on my Ask Olive Tree blog to find Randall's descendants so the dog tag could be returned to family.

So I put out a call on both my blogs and miraculously, within a day, several readers put their genealogy research skills to work and found a great deal about Randall.

Then we hit gold - we found Randall's wife, still alive at age 90, and Randall's son. While I was pondering how best to approach Randall's son with the news, one of my readers (Gord) phoned Randall's wife. She was very pleased and excited and the word spread in their family.

Several grandchildren posted comments on the original story on my blog. Randall's son and daughter also posted comments. The comments show how loved and admired our soldier was. Everyone seems very excited and thrilled to think that their dad and grandpa's dog tags are coming home (courtesy of Jill in Australia)

But there's more! I've been corresponding with Rev. Charles (Randall's son) and on his Church website he wrote a Devotional which I think will interest readers.

Rev. Charles also shared with me an email from a former employee of Randall who wrote to Randall's son as soon as he heard about the dog tag. The email was very touching and showed once again what a strong impact Randall Packard had on those with whom he came in contact.

And one last thing, Gord has offered to put together a package of materials for the family which will provide them with all the data readers found in the search, as well as the sources. What a lovely gift!

So everyone who participated, give yourselves a well-deserved pat on the back! You deserve it.

Now that we've had such wonderful success as a team, I'd love to do the same for our other WW2 soldier Stanley Thompson. Jill approached me for help with another find - the Dog Tag for Stanley Thompson With the help of my readers we found quite a bit about Stanley but never found a living descendant. Perhaps we can have another hunt for Stanley's family and bring the same joy to them as Randall's family found.

Weekly Featured Database: Irish Famine Migration to New Brunswick, 1845-1852

Announcing a new website that is chock full of incredible Irish records. This is my Featured Weekly Database for this week.

In the Wake of Dark Passage: Irish Famine Migration to New Brunswick, 1845-1852

Don't be misled by the title! There are records here that pertain to other geographic locations.

The website includes the following searchable records. I have just spent an enjoyable half hour searching the Passenger Lists and Almshouse Records. I was amazed to find that in the ships passenger lists, each individual entry is linked to the actual images of the original manifest.

When I glanced at the Immigrant Letters database I was struck by the geographic locations - many in the USA as well as of course Ireland and New Brunswick.

* Saint John Almshouse Records
* Brenan Funeral Home Records: Traces of Ireland
* Fitzwilliam Estate Emigration Books 1847-1856
* RS555 Provincial Secretary: Immigration Administration Records
* Immigrant Letters
* Newspapers
* Passenger Lists
* Teachers Petition Database
* Irish Immigrants in the New Brunswick Census of 1851 and 1861

Stewart & Kincaid Famine Letters Bought in Ireland

Over 2000 letters from agents to tenants in Ireland during the Famine Years have been discovered and purchased at auction in Ireland.

According to an online report, the letters were found "in the archives of Dublin solicitors Stewart and Kincaid, who represented landlords such as Lord Palmerstown, Col Wingfield [Sligo], Daniel Ferrall [Roscommon], the Marquess of Westmeath, the Stratford estates of Clare and Limerick and the Frankfort estates in Kilkenny and Carlow."

The letters were purchased as a group by an Irish Archives and will eventually be made available for study.

Wouldn't it be wonderful if these letters were made available online? Wishful thinking perhaps on my part! Who knows what other treasures lie hidden in personal attics, basements and business archives.....

Read more at http://www.irishcentral.com/news/Famine-letter-collection-bought-by-Irish-archive-94089499.html

Help Find a WW2 Soldier from Illinois

Jill in Australia found another Dog Tag belonging to an American WW2 soldier. This military identification tag belonged to Randall E. Packard. His next of kin was Margaret [L.?] Packard of 406 Ash Street in Carbondale Illinois.



Jill would like to see the Dog Tag go to a living descendant so let's see if we can work together and find more about Randall E. Packard and his relative Margaret L. in Illinois.

Jill's previous find was the Dog Tag for Stanley Thompson With the help of my readers we found quite a bit about Stanley but never found a living descendant.

Fingers crossed that we have better luck with Randall and can send his dog tags home!

Lorine's Lament

Why oh why can't people spell my name? We're genealogy researchers. Shouldn't one of our number one skills be the ability to copy what is on a document. Copy accurately? Not write what we think we see, or expect to see, but what is there?

Let me explain. My first name as most of you know is Lorine.

L O R I N E

I have my name on the bottom of all my emails. It is on my websites.

I know how to spell my own name. Therefore, my question is - why are there a significant number of correspondents who return my emails with my name badly mangled?

I get Loreen. Lorrine. Laurine. Variant spellings of my name but not correct. Honestly, I do know how to spell my own name! If you see it in my email or on my website, trust me, I spelled it correctly.

I also get Lorraine or Loraine. That's not even my name! That's an entirely different name.

Then I get those who decide to give me a nickname such as Lori. I've never been called Lori in my life and I don't want to start now.

I find it disturbing that so many genealogists don't copy things accurately. How are they ever going to find the right ancestor if they can't get a name right?

And I haven't even started my rant about my surname of Schulze. It's spelled S C H U L Z E. That's right. No "T" and put an "E" on the end.

It's been a long week. Maybe next week will be better?

Featured Foto from Lost Faces: Burtch Family

Civil War Era Burtch Family Album with CDVs (Cartes de Visites), circa 1860s.

This week's Featured Photo from Lost Faces is from the Burtch Family Civil War era Photo Album. It is part of my private collection of 1800s Photograph Albums which I rescue and publish online at Lost Faces



This carte de visite was not identified but was with the Burtch Photo Album. Many of the photos in the album were identified and can be viewed online at Lost Faces.

Surnames: Burtch, Gransake, Zeir, Zeirt, Blanchard, Morehouse, Stetson, Hooper

Locations: Massachusetts, New York, Rhode Island, Illinois, Nebraska, Michigan, Ohio, England

Lost Faces is my collection of Family Photo Albums. One of my hobbies is going to antique auctions, stores, flea markets and garage sales. Whenever I spot one of those old Photo Albums from the 1800s with family pictures, I have to buy it! I can't bear the thought that the album and photos will be lost or destroyed. Even though they aren't my ancestors, and they can be very expensive, I can't walk away without it.

Lost Faces is my way of saving these genealogy treasures and preserving historical documents. I have albums that contain funeral cards, memorial cards, obituaries, Christmas cards, and hand-written genealogies. My goal is to eventually place all these albums online for all to see

MyHeritage.com’s Top 100 Genealogy Sites

MyHeritage posted their list of top 100 Genealogy blogs. I'm very pleased to find Olive Tree Genealogy blog on that list!

Quoting from MyHeritage website:

... recently at MyHeritage.com we've been scanning the web, evaluating content, and identifying some of the best genealogy sites on the internet right now. We put a focus on finding hidden gems in the community, so there's a good chance that some of these are sites you won't have seen before. It's a testament to the vibrancy of the online genealogy community that even this selection of 100 sites had to leave out a lot of quality content. Nevertheless, these are the 100 we came up with, presented in alphabetical order. We hope you enjoy reading them!

I encourage readers to drop by their website and check out the other 99 blogs on the list. I'm sure you'll find some you didn't know about.

Weekly Featured Database: Missing Friends Project

The featured genealogy database this week is the Missing Friends Project

The Missing Friends Project on OliveTreeGenealogy.com is extracting the names of those who immigrated from UK to America or Canada and who were inquired about by family in various 19th Century newspapers.

Missing Friends Project starts with Lloyd's Weekly Newspaper, published in London England and their weekly column (1886-1900) called "Long Lost Relatives". We also have begun extracting names of those in the Boston Pilot, published in Boston Massachusetts (1831-1921).

Our Boston Pilot project is only extracting the names of missing Irish individuals who sailed to Canada. It is important to note that many who sailed first to Canada went on to USA and are so noted in the extracts. Many of the relatives and friends seeking them were based in USA and their location is also given.

Czech Republic, Mexico, and U.S. Records Added on FamilySearch

Press Release from FamilySearch

Eight new searchable collections were updated or added this week at FamilySearch.org—millions of new free images and records.

This week the complete name indexes for the states of Alabama, Colorado, and Illinois were published online and can be found at FamilySearch’s Record Search pilot (http://pilot.familysearch.org/, click Search Records, and then click Record Search pilot) or Beta.FamilySearch.org. http://beta.familysearch.org/
The Delaware state birth records, 1875 Minnesota State Census, and Illinois, Cook County birth records were also added.

Also released was a digital image collection of church records from Litomerice, Czech Republic—60,000 images! Consumers will see these types of collections more and more online as FamilySearch digitizes microfilms in its Granite Mountain Records Vault. Instead of a microfilm reader in a local family history center, patrons use FamilySearch’s image viewer online to search these high quality digital collections—and they are accessible 24/7.

Annie Moore, first at Ellis Island

Fascinating article about Annie Moore, the first person to go through Ellis Island processing station.

In 1892, she was the first foreigner to arrive at Ellis Island. By 1893, she was an American mystery.

Grandma with her 3 Daughters

In honour of Mother's Day - My grandmother with her three daughters.



From left to right: my aunt, my mother, my grandmother and my aunt

Press Release: Free Newspapers in May

Press Release from Footnote.com

For the month of May all the historical newspapers on Footnote.com will be open to the public. A free registration is needed to view the images.

To access the newspaper collections visit www.footnote.com/newspapers.

On Footnote you will find newspapers ranging from small towns to major cities and dating back to the 1700’s. Whether a historian or a genealogists, historical newspapers are one of the best resources that provide a unique window into the past.

Featured Foto from Lost Faces: Webster Family Photo Album

This week's featured Photo is from the Webster Family Photo Album from Lost Faces.

LOST FACES is my collection of Family Photo Albums. One of my hobbies is going to antique auctions, stores, flea markets and garage sales. Whenever I spot one of those old Photo Albums from the 1800s with family pictures, I have to buy it! I can't bear the thought that the album and photos will be lost or destroyed. Even though they aren't my ancestors, and they can be very expensive, I can't walk away without it.

Lost Faces is my way of saving these genealogy treasures and preserving historical documents. I have albums that contain funeral cards, memorial cards, obituaries, Christmas cards, and hand-written genealogies. My goal is to eventually place all these albums online for all to see

This photo is a Carte de Visite of Abigail Coleman Robbins taken in 1867. On the verso (back) is written "Abigail Robbins, 91 years old, Dec. 24, 1867"

This is a Civil War Era WEBSTER Family Album with CDVs (Cartes de Visites), circa 1860s into 1880. The Webster Family Photo Album has slots for 46 CDVs (Cartes de Visite). Some slots had names but no CDVs in them. A few had no name but 30 were identified by name.

Surnames: Edwards, Converse, Coleman, Tenney, Tenny, Webster, Smith, Dickie, Clark, Cushing, Reed, Everson, Bates, Wadley, Peterson, Shaw, Spellman

Locations: New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Connecticut

Over 300 Million New Names Added Online

Press Release from FamilySearch

Over 300 Million New Names Added Online

There were over 150 new collections added or enhanced this week at FamilySearch.org. FamilySearch volunteers indexed over 120 million records—over 300 million new names—from original source documents to accomplish this great feat. The massive release was announced this past week at the National Genealogical Society annual conference in Salt Lake City, Utah.

The records can be found at FamilySearch’s Record Search pilot (http://pilot.familysearch.org/, click Search Records, and then click Record Search pilot) or Beta.FamilySearch.org. http://beta.familysearch.org/ Be sure to share the good news with family and friends.

The following Canadian records are only a FEW of the many databases

Canada Marriages , 1661—1949
British Columbia Death Registrations , 1872—1986
British Columbia Marriage Registrations , 1859—1932
New Brunswick Births , 1819—1899
Nova Scotia Births , 1702—1896
Nova Scotia Marriages , 1711—1909
Ontario Births , 1779—1899
Ontario Marriages , 1800—1910
Quebec Births , 1662—1898

None of this would be possible without the great contributions of many online FamilySearch volunteers. These individuals donate the time and effort needed to make these collections freely available to FamilySearch patrons. If you would like to become a volunteer in the FamilySearch community, please go to FamilySearchIndexing.org. Many hands produce great work.

Weekly Featured Database: Outbound Ships Passenger Lists

Neither U.S. A. nor Canada maintained outbound ships passenger lists. There are no archived Ships Passenger Lists for ships sailing from ports in Canada to USA. However, some partial lists do exist.

ShipsListsOnline is pleased to announce a new project to transcribe ships passenger lists leaving USA, bound for Europe and United Kingdom.

Oh How Easy it is to be Fooled!

Several years ago my husband and I looked over his genealogy. Much of it was done before we met, and I kept peppering him with questions "Where did you find this?" "How do you know this is correct?" "What's your source?" "Who told you?" He was a novice researcher and most of his answers were "I can't remember" or "My grandmother told me" or "I think I read it somewhere" We did manage together to track down most of the sources for his lines. And he became really conscientious about noting his sources.

However just recently I was going over one of his Irish lines. He is descended from a Catherine Kennedy who married Thomas Elgie. Catherine's birth location and exact age at death is on her tombstone which is a very nice find. Her gravestone reads

ELGIE/ Sacred to the memory of Catherine Kennedy/ beloved wife of/ Thomas Elgie/ died 1 June 1890/ age 66 years, 5 months, 6 days/ native of County Kerry, Ireland/ may her soul rest in peace

From this we calculated a date of birth as 26 Dec 1823. This may not be exact, for we do not who had the tombstone done. It was probably her husband for he outlived her by another 10 years. But it may have been someone else. How knowledgeable were they? Maybe they knew her exact age, maybe they did not. But it was a start.

I'll keep my long story short and just say that for various reasons we had her parents as Cornelius Kennedy and Elizabeth Clifford. Cornelius was the name given to one of Catherine's sons. Cornelius was from Co. Kerry as was Catherine. Cornelius and his wife are buried beside Catherine in the Cemetery. They all lived near each other in Ontario Canada. In the 1861 Canadian Census, Cornelius and his wife have an 18 year old daughter named Catherine. The age is off, but we all know we can't completely believe a census or a gravestone. So the decision was that this Catherine was the wife of Thomas Elgie.

We gathered lots of interesting information on Cornelius Kennedy. He was written up in local newspapers as a man who lived through 3 centuries (born 1797 died 1901). There were photos of him. It was rather exciting to find such a wealth of detail!

Then reality hit. Recently another descendant of Thomas Elgie and Catherine Kennedy contacted me and asked for information. I hadn't looked at the lines in a very long time so as I was digging through my files and notes to make sure I had every document and every source, I realized that the connection of our Catherine to Cornelius was tenuous. There were discrepancies that needed to be resolved.

With that in mind I began a more thorough search. Now that all the Canadian census records are online on Ancestry as are early Ontario births, deaths and marriages, my search was much easier. And then I found it. The death of Catherine, daughter of Cornelius Kennedy and Elizabeth Clifford. But their daughter Catherine was married to John Kean aka Kane and she died in 1913.

Back to our Catherine Kennedy who married Thomas Elgie and died in 1890. Another search of our long-forgotten notes revealed that buried in the same plot as Catherine Kennedy Elgie were Peter Kennedy and his wife Mary. Peter was from Co. Kerry. Their stone reads

Sacred to the memory of Peter Kennedy died 10 Sept. 1868, age 75 years. His wife Mary, died 14 Oct. 1867, age 70 years, natvies of County Kerry, Ireland

Another look at Thomas Elgie and Catherine Kennedy's children showed they named a son Peter and a daughter Mary Ann. Light bulbs were flashing in my head. Bingo. I suspect that the correct parents of our Catherine are Peter and Mary Kennedy.

Given the dates of birth, locations of birth, settlement locations and burials, I also suspect that Cornelius and Peter might have been brothers. I'm itching to start researching Peter and Mary, but sad that old Cornelius, the man who lived through 3 centuries, is not an ancestor of my husband.

And I'm reminded how easy it is to be fooled and how diligent we genealogists have to be in our ongoing research into our ancestors.

Casefile Clues Review & Discount Price

Great news! Casefile Clues by Michael John Neill is now available to readers of Olive Tree Genealogy blog at a reduced rate.

For those of you who are unfamiliar with Casefile Clues, it is a weekly How-To column of genealogy tips and advice. Michael uses his own research to walk us through various genealogy records, step by step. His analysis of the documents combined with in-depth explanations of what can be found and how to interpret the findings, is invaluable. Even if the specific set of records he discusses is not applicable to your ancestors, you can extrapolate his advice to your own genealogy challenges.

I asked Michael how long he's been writing Casefile Clues and he responded with

I started writing Casefile Clues in December of 2008 and began self-publishing Casefile Clues in July of 2009. I had written hundreds of how-to columns for Ancestry.com's various newsletters for about ten years before that.

Michael informed me that his reasons for writing Casefile Clues are many. He elaborated on one very important reason

I wanted Casefile Clues to focus more on the "why" and the "how" of research. There already is a lot of good beginner information on the Internet and I really didn't want to compete with that or to essentially just rephrase that information. I have felt for a long time that the amount of detailed, how-to material for the non-beginner was somewhat limited, particularly for those who choose not to subscribe to the more academic type journals. I've always been interested in the process of research, organizing the research procedure, and understanding and interpreting what has been located.Casefile Clues discusses what worked and what didn't, and where I'm going to go next.

Having recently read three episodes (yes I confess that Casefile Clues was new to me) I was impressed both with the writing and the clear explanations. I wondered what level of genealogists Michael gears his column to. Michael responded

Casefile Clues is geared towards intermediate and advanced researchers. All sources are cited in the spirit of Elizabeth Shown Mills' "Evidence Explained," but final responsibility for citations rests on my shoulders. I believe in citing and try and model that as best I can in Casefile Clues.

I learned a lot from the issues I read and look forward to learning more. You can subscribe for a low cost of $14.50 for a full year or for back issues at $15.00 using the Paypal buttons below.

One year subscription $14.50. Usual price is $17.00

All Back Issue Discount $15.00. Usual price is $18.00

Watch Spike Lee: Last Episode of Who Do You Think You Are

The final episode of this season of Who Do You Think You Are aired last night on NBC. If you missed it you can watch it online on NBC.

I watched it and have to be honest. It was by far my least favourite episode. I loved the others, especially the episodes with Lisa Kudrow and Emmitt Smith. I enjoyed Susan Sarandon's episode too. But not this one.

There were too many huge leaps and assumptions for my liking as a genealogist. I also didn't find Spike Lee someone I could relate to. He seemed removed from the process but in fairness, perhaps he was just processing the information. His love of family did come across and that was great to see. I did find it eerie that his grandmother suggested he name his character Mars in his first big hit movie, and then it turned out that Lee's great great grandfather was Mars. His grandmother suggested the name after a "crazy uncle" she remembered, but had no idea her own grandfather's name was Mars. I liked Spike Lee's perception that it was Mars himself wanting to be known that caused his grandma to toss out that name.

The website for “Who Do You Think You Are?” can be accessed here http://www.nbc.com/who-do-you-think-you-are/. The website features bios of the celebrities featured in the show, photos, and several video clips as well as articles on how to get started in family history.

Ancestry.com is a partner with NBC on this genealogy show.

Featured Foto from Lost Faces: Fisk Civil War era Photo Album

This week's Featured Photo from Lost Faces is from the Fisk Family Civil War era Photo Album. It is part of my private collection of 1800s Photograph Albums Which I rescue and publish online at Lost Faces



This carte de visite is Fisk Family Photo #14 - Mrs. Elihu Smead. It was taken ca 1870s

After some research I discovered that the album was probably owned by a child of David Fiske and Laura Severington of Massachusetts. It was probably passed on to a grandchild of David & Laura, that grandchild being the person who wrote names of individuals in the album.

Who Do You Think You Are with Spike Lee Tomorrow Night

Who Do You Think You Are? is nearly over. This Friday is the last episode!

This Week's Episode featuring Spike Lee will air this Friday April 30.

The website for “Who Do You Think You Are?” can be accessed here http://www.nbc.com/who-do-you-think-you-are/. The website features bios of the celebrities featured in the show, photos, and several video clips as well as articles on how to get started in family history.

Ancestry.com is a partner with NBC on this genealogy show.

I'm going to miss the show when tomorrow's episode is over but good news -- NBC has picked it up for another season!

Weekly Featured Database: Reformed Dutch Church of New Amsterdam (New York) Baptisms 1639 - 1801

The featured genealogy database this week is the Reformed Dutch Church of New Amsterdam (New York) Baptisms 1639 to 1801

Other New York genealogy databases can be viewed at http://www.olivetreegenealogy.com/nn/

Spring Cleaning Your Genealogy

Well, it's April and a perfect time for Spring Cleaning. Spring cleaning your genealogy that is! If you are like me, your genealogy files are in a mess.

I have filing cabinets chock full of file folders which are chock full of papers.

I have dozens of clear plastic tubs full of assorted genealogy papers.

I have a desk that defies the laws of gravity with its towers of papers.

In short I have a mess that I have the best intentions every year to clean up.

But this year it's going to be different. Here is my plan. And yes, I've already started on it!

1. Purge my file folders first. Go through each folder and ruthlessly toss papers I truly do not need anymore

2. Reorganize the papers that I have in the now purged file folders. Make sure I have sorted the remaining papers into groups other than "Assorted" or "Miscellaneous". I want each family to have folders for census, vital stats, land records and so on. So I will sort by such titles as PEER FAMILY - CENSUS; PEER FAMILY - LAND RECORDS etc. Everyone has their own organization method. The key is to choose yours and then be consistent.

3. Using my beloved labeller, print off all new file folder labels. Large print, easy to read.

4. Now attack the tubs of loose papers. That's a huge job but it needs to be done. Sort, organize, toss, and file.

5. Next attack my gravity defying stacks of paper on my desk. Same deal - sort, organize, toss and file. Create more file folders if needed.

6. At this point your office should be looking a whole lot neater! Next is a monumental task but extremely important and one I am very very bad at. Go through each file folder and ENTER DATA into your genealogy program! Check every single piece of paper, every document. Have you entered it? If not, do so. Now, this minute.

This is not a one day or even one month job. My spring cleaning of my genealogy is going to take me a few months but I'm determined to do it. No more file folders labelled "Miscellaneous". No more opening a file folder labelled "New York Families" and finding my Ontario Vollick line in there. No more hunting for hours for that one land record I know I have - but can't remember where I put it.

I've already started. Last month I purged. It was so hard to do, I always have the certainty that I will toss out paper that next week I'll find I need. But I did it. I purged and I reorganized my folders and I re-labelled everything.

Saving the worst for last, I now have to go through all my odds 'n ends of paper which cover every square inch of available furniture in my office, and are in tubs stacked 3 high. Maybe I'll have it done by Christmas!

Recap of Who Do You Think You Are: Susan Sarandon Episode

Who Do You Think You Are? aired last night with it's episode featuring Susan Sarandon. I really enjoyed this episode, which focused on Susan's attempts to solve mystery of her grandmother Anita, who disappeared from Susan's mother's life when her mother was just a child.

With the help of genealogists in New York, Susan learns that her grandmother lived a very difficult early life, losing her own mother at the age of 9, married at age 13, and bearing two children (one of them Susan's mother) before she was 15 years old!

Anita disappeared when Susan's mother was about 2 years old, then reappeared briefly when Susan's mother was a teenager. Susan's mother had been told that Anita was dead so her appearance was startling. Then Anita disappeared once more and was never heard from again.

The story of Anita seemed to resonate with Susan who found that her grandmother's past as a dancer in a New York night club was bore similarities to Susan's career as an actress. By the end, Susan has found a new understanding of her grandmother and perhaps the reasons she left her family and started a new life.

The website for “Who Do You Think You Are?” can be accessed here http://www.nbc.com/who-do-you-think-you-are/. The website features bios of the celebrities featured in the show, photos, and several video clips as well as articles on how to get started in family history.

Ancestry.com is a partner with NBC on this genealogy show.

Featured Foto from Lost Faces: Santelman Steffanhagen Family Photo Album

This week's featured Photo is from the Santelman Steffanhagen Family Photo Album

This is a 1880s-1890s Wine Coloured Velvet Album with Oval Metal Insert on Cover containing photos of the Santelman Steffanhagen Family. The photos are mainly Cabinet Cards with some earlier tintypes. I rescued this family photo album from an antique store many years ago.

There were 46 identified photo slots in this album but only 33 photos in the album. The photos were identified in the album index in later handwriting



Surnames: Santelman, Steffanhager, Steffanhagen, Koehn,Pigorzs, Landivehr?, Gohrke, Grimm, Algrihm, Koch, Berlin

Locations: Minnesota, Illinois

Weekly Featured Database: Baptisms Reformed Church at Machackemeck (Deerpark), Orange County New York 1716-1827

The featured genealogy database this week is the Records of Baptisms of the Reformed Church at Machackemeck (Deerpark), Orange County New York 1716-1827

Researchers have been led to believe that church records for the Minisink aka Machackemeck (Deerpark) Dutch Reformed Church were lost for the years 1720- 1736. Histories of the Dutch Reform Churches in America reveal the following: The Deerpark Dutch Reformed Church was not established until 1737. Until that time, Dominies from the established Kingston Dutch Reformed Church travelled to the remote areas to perform baptisms which were later entered into the Kingston Dutch Reformed Church records.

The first Dominie at the Deerpark Dutch Reformed Church found notes on baptisms performed in 1716-1719 in Minisink that had never been recorded in Kingston. He appended them to the Deerpark records which actually began in 1737. Thus the appearance of missing records for 1720-1736.

Other New York genealogy databases can be viewed at http://www.olivetreegenealogy.com/nn/

Who Do You Think You Are with Susan Sarandon

Who Do You Think You Are? is nearly over. There are only two episodes left!

This Week's Episode will air this Friday April 26. Susan Sarandon sets out to learn more about her grandmother Anita, who led a life shrouded with mystery and who disappeared out of Susan's mother's life when her mother was just a child. In the episode, Susan visits the New York City Public Library and the New City Library in Rockland, New York.

The website for “Who Do You Think You Are?” can be accessed here http://www.nbc.com/who-do-you-think-you-are/. The website features bios of the celebrities featured in the show, photos, and several video clips as well as articles on how to get started in family history.

Ancestry.com is a partner with NBC on this genealogy show.

Next week we'll have a chance to watch Spike Lee discover his roots. Check out the teaser featuring Susan Sarandon, and tune into NBC for the full episode on Friday at 8/7c.

Featured Foto from Lost Faces: Barnum, Pickard, Raymond Family of New York

This Cabinet Card circa 1880-1885 is of a young boy. He looks to be about 5 - 8 years old. The Photographer is from Syracuse New York. On the back is written "D. F. Pickard"

From my own genealogy research on the family I believe this cabinet card is a photograph of Darwin Frank Pickard, born 19 September 1875. He was the pastor of First Presbyterian Church in Watertown NY for 29 years

It is part of my private collection of 1800s Photograph Albums Which I rescue and publish online at Lost Faces

This Cabinet Card comes from the Photo Album of the Barnum, Pickard, Raymond Family of New York. It was in a red velvet Photo Album purchased in St Jacobs Ontario, Patented 1882

This late 1800s album was full of 35 photos and funeral cards. I'm so glad I rescued this album

Graveyard Rabbits Carnival: Broken to Shivers

The topic for the May 2010 edition of the Graveyard Rabbits Carnival is: Cause of Death.

This is my entry. Poor Joseph!

Vollick, Joseph, News, appeared in Canadian Champion, 17 Jun 1869, page 2, column 3

FATAL ACCIDENT. - A fatal accident occurred on the 10th inst., at Mr. Hadden's mill, Nelson. A man by the name of Joseph Vollick was killed. It appears that he had been engaged at work on this mill for some time, acting in the capacity of fireman, and yesterday while in the act of throwing off the pump belt he was caught by it, and whirled around the main shaft at the rate of two hundred and forty times per minute. When they got the engine stopped his body was a mutilated mass, the bones of his legs were broken to shivers.

An inquest was held the same day on the body by Dr. Richardson, coroner, and a verdict of accidental death was given. No blame could be attached to either Mr. Hadden or Mr. Frazer, the foreman, as the mill is the same as any other mill, having a number of belts or straps, which always produce danger in dealing with them while in motion. He leaves a wife and five children to mourn his untimely end.

Weekly Featured Database: New York Military Records

The featured database this week is a list of men in the 8th Regiment Albany Militia 1898 There are over 1200 names

Other New York Military databases can be viewed at http://www.olivetreegenealogy.com/nn/mil/

They are

* Palatines in New York 1710
* Volunteers Against Canada 1711
* Lt. Gov. Leisler's Commissions 1689 & 1690
* MERCHANT AND REDCOAT: THE PAPERS OF JOHN GORDON MACOMB, JULY 1757 TO JUNE 1760 (NEW YORK, BRITISH ARMY)
* Captn. Jonas Douw's Company Albany 1715
* Capt. Jacob Hallenback's Company of Militia 1757
* Capt. Marte Hallenback's Company of Militia 1757
* Muster Roll in Livingston Manor, 1715