GRIP: Day 2

Another early start today (Tuesday) for breakfast and catching up online.  Our first session today was on German church records.  John discussed how church records brought the common man out of obscurity.  Prior to these, you can only research nobility or the winners of history.  With local parish records, every person has a name and a spot in the past.  These are the records that will help you put together families and the joining of families (through marriage).  They are the most important record group for German research.

After our church record introduction it was time to learn to read said records.  The Germans used Gothic script, which is what has kept me from ordering parish records from the villages I have identified as my ancestral home.  After a couple hours of reading words and paragraphs with his Gothic script font, I was a parish reading rock star.  Then came the copies of actual parish registers after lunch and it was like I had never seen these characters before.  As with anything, this will be a skill I learn in a slow and steady manner.  I intend to practice as much as possible on films from the FHL when I get back to Syracuse.

After dinner tonight, I purchased my pile of books which will make for some interesting reading for German research and narrative writing.  Then I headed to Rick and Pamela Boyer Sayre’s lecture on Google Earth for Genealogists: The Sequel.  This was one of the lectures I was not able to attend at the NGS conference, so it was nice to have a second chance.  I am amazed by all that you can create with Google Earth and all of the ways it can help in your research.  I have to admit that it is not a program I use frequently, but I will be ordering some introductory books on it when I get home.  The Sayre’s will be teaching a course on advanced land records at the 2013 GRIP which I am told is fantastic.  Deciding which course to take next year is going to be tough.

The lecture ended at 8:30 and after dropping off my belongings I took a walk around campus.  La Roche is a beautiful campus surrounded by the woods.  They have large statues of the Stations of the Cross that lead down a gravel path toward the woods which ends at a cemetery.  Since it was late, I did not make it all the way to the cemetery, but I plan on wandering around it tomorrow.  Only a genealogical institute would have attendees excited by a cemetery on the grounds.

Our lectures Wednesday will be the Pennsylvania Germans, finding places of origin in Germany and typefaces, published sources and German-American newspapers.  At night there is a public lecture on Pennsylvania Research, which I may not attend due to my lack of Pennsylvanian ancestry.  I do have a great-great uncle who randomly got married in Scranton, however, so maybe they can tell me why (he and his wife were from and living in Buffalo).

Get a GRIP on German Genealogy: Days 0-1

I arrived at the La Roche College campus Sunday afternoon for the inaugural Genealogical Research Institute of Pittsburg where I am taking the German Genealogical Research track with John T. Humphrey.

After registration (where we received our course notebook and GRIP polo shirt) and unloading my car, we had a simple buffet dinner and a welcome to the institute.  Then it was back to the room to begin reading Cleopatra: A Life by Stacy Schiff, followed by an early bedtime.

Monday began with an early breakfast and then off to class.  We began with participant introductions and it was interesting to hear the variety of reasons people were taking the course.  We were then given an introduction of the course and a background of Germans in the US.  My biggest takeaways from the morning sessions was that genealogy is local, both in the US and in Germany and to find a document that your ancestor has signed, as it will give you their German surname.  This is a tactic that I imagine would work for any immigrant ancestor.

After lunch we were taught German language skills for genealogist and a primer on German history.  The language skills were similar to what I had learned in my German course in Hamburg.  The German history was interesting, particularly since it made me look at Germany differently, as Germany didn’t exist as a country in 1871.  He also said that jobs can be as important as surnames for German research, as they tended to be the same through the generations, even in the US.

After class ended, we had some downtime, then dinner and browsing through the books brought by Maia’s Books.  At 7:30, there was a public lecture by Pam Stone Eagleson on Telling the Tales: Writing the Family Narrative.  This was the type of lecture that you wish lasted longer than the one hour provided.  Pam showed her writing process, particularly how to add historical to your research to create a story.  After her workshop, I want to write, write, write (hence this blog post). 

Tomorrow will be church records and handwriting skills, which is rather daunting and one of the main reasons I took this course.

Sodus Bay Lighthouse Museum

Image from the Sodus Bay Lighthouse Museum site

Yesterday, my husband surprised me with a trip to the Sodus Bay Lighthouse Museum, which is located in Sodus Bay, on Lake Ontario. The lighthouse was originally built in 1824, but had to be rebuilt in 1871.  It became a museum in 1984.

The museum showed this history of the lighthouse, talked about Sodus Bay in the War of 1812 (every building except one was burnt down by the British), and showed beach fashion over the past 150 years.  Included with admission is a guided tour and this was one of the best tour guides I have ever had.  After the tour we walked to the top of the lighthouse which gives a great view of Sodus Bay.  In the gift shop, I purchased a Lighthouse Passport and got my first stamp.  I'm looking forward to visiting other lighthouses in the future.

After out tour ended, we wandered around the grounds a bit and looked at Lake Ontario.  Unfortunately, it started to rain, so we were not able to explore as much as we had wanted.  We then drove around the town a bit and headed home, stopping at a farm stand along the way.

If you are in the area, I definitely recommend checking out the museum.

New York Indexed in 1940 Census at Ancestry.com

New York is now indexed for the 1940 census at Ancestry.com! 

From Ancetsry’s webpage about this: “From upstate to downtown, New York was a busy place in 1940. The 11th state was number one in population with 13 million people. The eyes of the world were watching, too, as the World’s Fair landed here in 1939, and planes were landing at the new LaGuardia Field. What were your Empire State relatives up to in 1940?”

I know how I’ll be spending my Wednesday!

Tuesday’s Tip: A Rose by Any Other Name

Having a hard time finding a person in an index that you just know must be there?  For women, make sure you always check their maiden name (particularly in passenger lists) or Mrs. Husband’s Full Name.  For birth records, always try “male” or “female” last name, as many infants were not named prior to leaving the hospital.

Amanuensis Monday: Barbara Fleeman Probate (Part 1)

I have found many probate packets for my ancestors over the years, most all small, just a will and a few pages of information from the Surrogate’s Court.  One probate packet that surprised me was that of my 4th great-grandmother, Barbara (Griss) Fleeman, who died 1 October 1870.  At 37 pages long, this packet includes legal proceedings that occurred for 3 years after Barbara’s death.  Written mostly in not-always-easy-to-read longhand, I will be transcribing a couple pages a week over the next couple months.  Italics are used to differentiate handwritten items.  Items in brackets are asides written by me.

Erie County, SS. - To Jacob Sumers + Henry A. Swartz

By virtue of the power and authority given to me, I do hereby appoint you appraisers of the personal property of Barbara Fleeman late of the City of Buffalo deceased.

In Witness Whereof, I have hereto set my hand and seal of office, this 12th day of June 1872.  [Signature Unreadable] Surrogate.

Erie County, SS. – I Jacob Somers and I, Henry A Swartz do solemnly swear that I will truly, honestly and impartially appraise the personal property of Barbara Fleeman deceased, which shall be exhibited to me, according to the best of my knowledge and ability.

Sworn to this 1st day of July 1872, before me} H A Swartz [Signature] Jacob Somers [Signature] Edward Edge [Signature] Commissioner of Deeds for Buffalo

STATE OF NEW YORK, Erie County.}SS. I, Adam Fleeman Administrator of Barbara Fleeman deceased, do swear that the following Inventory is in all respects just and true; that it contains a true statement of all the personal property of the said deceased which has come to my knowledge, and particularly of money, bank bills, and other circulating medium, belonging to the said deceased, and of all just claims of the said deceased against me, according to the best of my knowledge.

Sworn before me, this 1st day of July 1872} Adam Fleeman [Signature] Edward Edge [Signature] Com of Deeds for Buffalo

A True and Perfect Inventory of goods, chattels, and credits of Barbara Fleeman deceased, made on the 1 day of July 1872, by Adam Fleeman Administrator &c., of deceased, with the aid of Jacob Somers and H.A. Swartz appraisers, duly appointed by the Surrogate' of the Count of Erie,

Articles for the Widow and Minor Children, set apart without appraisal, pursuant to the Revised Statutes: None

[Page 2]

In addition to above, we do inventory, appraise and set apart for the use of the Widow and Minor Children of said deceased, the following articles of property, ($150 in amount,) pursuant to the Statute of 1842, viz: None

We further certify that upon inquiry we could not find any personally property to appraise

Adam Fleeman [Signature]

H A Swartz [Signature]

Jacob Somers [Signature]

Source: Erie, New York, Probate Files, 7035, Barbara Fleeman; Erie County Probate Court, Buffalo.

Motivational Monday: June

It is hard to believe we are at the halfway point of the year already.  After hearing Elizabeth Shown Mills speak at NGS, I am focusing the majority of my time putting sources into my updated RootsMagic database.  Although most items are sources in my Legacy database, not everything is and there is almost no document transcription or comments on the validity of the document/information.  As such, I am trying to create a main database that will include all of this information and have decided that RootsMagic 5 is the best program for this.

Research:

• Main focus: Sophia Possehl research strategy
• Secondary focus: Continue basic search for the husband’s family (Ancestry, FamilySearch, etc.)
• Search for tombstones for my husband’s family in the Utica area

Organization:

• Put all Whitehead family sources into RootsMagic.  All sources must be fully documented, transcribed and with comments as needed.
• Dedicate one shelf on our bookcase to my genealogy notebooks

Education:

• Watch all RootsMagic webinars of interest
• Read the 4 genealogy books I have out from the library
• Continue reading and taking notes on the NGS syllabus
• Attend 3 CLRC library/archives workshops

Misc.

• Post at least twice per week on this blog
• Complete at least 3 Find-A-Grave cemetery requests