Sunday, January 31, 2016

This Week On My Family History Calendar

Jan. 31-Feb.6





   Nothing to report on the calendar this week. Would love to hear from those who are related and know of a birth, anniversary or death for this first week of February.  

Are we kin? Please contact me. Together we can find our people!
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Friday, January 29, 2016

Friday Followup-Organizing and Going Over







 Between Dear Myrt's Finally Get Organized weekly checklists and Thomas MacEntee's  Genealogy Do-Over topics, this has been a busy month. 

   This is the second go round for me with the Genealogy Do-Over. My approach is to Go-Over the research in my files and database instead of starting from scratch as some are doing.
       This month both lists had organizing the office area on of the  to -do items. Cleaning off my desk, filing papers and documents and putting books back on the shelf felt great! I could sit down and actually do some work. Everything was in it's place and I could find what I needed.
      Making sure that necessary supplies were on hand, I purchased more files and other office supplies. Ordering more acid-free picture protectors will help properly store my ancestor's photos as they are scanned and filed. 
    Like Myrt, I keep a plastic file tote near me so that I can file things quickly as I research. It is very convenient for carrying around the house if I need to move from my office to work in another room to be near the family, Many times, my children and I are doing homework together.
   
   On the Organization Checklist for Week 2 was making sure our work was backed up. Currently, I am using Dropbox and Backblaze. Both have features that help me not worry about loosing my computer data. An external hard drive is backed up monthly and I also have a jump drive on my key chain that contains my genealogy information. 
    My genealogy management program of choice is Legacy Family Tree. It is here that I place all the information that I have on my ancestors. A good source template is included as well as many reports and other features. It is also Family Search Certified.

    My tree is also placed on several different websites. FamilySearch.org, Ancestry.com, FindMyPast.com, MyHeritage.com and WikiTree.com all have the ability to upload your tree from a gedcom. Connecting with others and having an online backup of your tree are good reasons to use these.
  
    Organizing my paper and computer files is one of the tasks for my Organization and Go-Over goals. I have been going through 30 year old binders, scanning necessary documents, pictures and other items. Originals are put in archival protectors.             
                    Everything else will be thrown away. 
    Yes, I am throwing away duplicates. There were four copies of the same picture in one of my paper files. Who needs four copies of the same picture? The original is scanned on my computer and then placed in a picture protector. The file is uploaded to my online trees and my Legacy Program. That same picture is backed up in the cloud and locally at home. My files are thinner.
 I don't think I will miss those copies!
  
   One of the suggestions for getting things organized was to create an introduction for those that follow. It makes sense to include an explanation of filing systems and where our information is kept. Do we use Binders, filing cabinets or a combination? Are family trees online? What are the passwords and any other access information?
 Making sure that those coming after me will be able to find and understand their family history is something I am working on.

   Another goal was to transcribe all documents for the first 4 genearations. Most of my documents are transcribed and filed correctly for these ancestors so I started the week of Jan. 17th -23rd a little ahead. Like Myrt, I also use the program Transcript. It makes what can be a tedious chore so much faster. Transcribing helps me catch things that I didn't see when just reading through something.

      For this past week the Finally Get Organized Checklist suggests getting involved with FamilySearch Indexing. This is something that I love to do. On Thurs. Feb. 4, I am planning on joining in the Freedman's Bureau Index-A-Thon. This is a joint, live from RootsTech and online at home event. 

   A few other items were already completed and could get checked off right away. These were learning to browse on FamilySearch, making binders for myself and my mother's maiden name and adding my sibling to my genealogy database. 

 Whew! A lot was accomplished this past month on my Organizing and Go-Over goals. 
     My paper files are getting thinner and easier to manage plus-
                                           I can see my desk! 



What Do-Over/Organization goals did you meet this month? Let me know in the comment section below. 

Thanks so much for stopping by!
Helping you climb your family tree,





  

Thursday, January 28, 2016

RootsTech~ Be There When You Can't Be There!





  Last February I took my first plane trip in years and attended the combines FGS/RootsTech Conference. To say that it was worth it is an understatement. Geneafriends , classes, and social events all made for a fantastic week.
                                           And really? A picture with Donny Osmond? Good times!

Backstage picture with Donny!
RootsTech 2016


    Unfortunately, this year, attendance in person is not possible for me. For those of us who won't be in Salt Lake, participation is available in other ways. 

Gathering with Geneapeeps
RootsTech 2016

    Dear Myrt will be broadcasting her Mondays With Myrt hangout on Monday, February 1st from the Family History Library. She will be talking with researchers and conference attendees.Some of these may be genealogist that you have been wanting to get to know. Watching the hangouts is easy. With a click you can register with whichever social media you prefer and an email will be sent with a link to participate. You have a choice to just watch and leave comments or there is an opportunity to actually join the panel discussion. 

   Have you "scoped"? A new app called Periscope allows for recording and viewing live video streams. Several genealogists have made plans to broadcast during the week of RootsTech. After downloading the app to your phone or tablet, search for people like        Amy Johnson Crow, Jen Alford and other genealogists. Once you click on people to follow, a notification will be sent when their live feed starts. The map view will show any broadcasts coming out of Salt Lake during the week of RootsTech. These will not be full broadcasts of lectures but be a way to experience the excitement and get a report from the conference.
   
   Are you on Twitter?  The hashtag #RootsTech will be used to keep everyone up to the minute on what is happening during all the events, classes and activities. You can virtually be there as you follow what is being tweeted. If you haven't tried Twitter before, this is a great time to download the app and join in the conversation.
 
   Social media platforms like Facebook and Google+ will be full of blog posts and status updates from RootsTech Ambassadors and others reporting on their day. They will share what sessions they attended, what they found in the exhibit hall and who they were hanging out with.  After parties, lunches and dinners and other functions will be shared. 
     
   It's good news that LiveStreaming is back again this year. RootsTech announced  that it will be streaming several classes throughout the week of Feb. 3-5. The list of what is being shown and how to watch can be found here
        For those presentations not being streamed live, the Class Syllabus for RootsTech 2106 is available to download for each of this year's sessions. 
         
     Periscope, twitter, blogs, status updates, livestreaming, and downloading the syllibus are some of the ways to be there when you can't be there. Take advantage of these opportunities and see what you can learn and who you can meet!

                                          Here's hoping for another trip to Salt Lake for RootsTech 2017. 
                                                              Maybe Donny will be back too!



Are we kin? Please contact me. Together we can find our people.
Thanks so much for stopping by!



Monday, January 25, 2016

Motivational Monday~Evidence:What's Your Type?




       This month Evidence Analysis was the topic for my Progen Study Group. Our assignment was to take the records gathered for one individual and analyze them using the following criteria:

  A source is either:
      Original- first form
      Derivative-made from the original (index, transcription, abstract etc.
      Authored-Publish works

 The information is either-
      Primary-First hand account
      Secondary-Second hand account
      Undetermined-not known who gave information

The evidence is either:
      Direct-answers the research question itself
      Indirect- implies and answer but more needed
      Negative-absence of information that should have been there
   

   Why should you take the time to look at your sources and determine each of these criteria? Because not all sources are the same. The accuracy of the information contained in them depends on the type of record, who gave the information and how close to the actual time period it was made. A record that has been indexed,  or transcribed can be flawed due to human error. 
  Going through the analysis process will help determine if the information collected provides enough to come to a reasonable conclusion or if more research needs to be done. 
    
My analysis of the records of William J. Dorrity, my maternal 3rd Great Grandfather contains these types of sources. 
   Census Records from 1850-1880 are categorized as Original (digital copies), the information they contain is secondary (taken by the census taker but it's not known who gave the information), and they contain direct answers to the questions (whether they are true or not).  The 1900 census showed negative evidence of William Dorrity. He was not listed in the census and his wife was recorded as a widow. This "negative" evidence helps to pinpoint a year of death.

Martha Doherty
Recorded as Widowed
1900 Sumter County Census
Image from ancesty.com





 Military Records from the Civil War are Derivative (records made from copies other records), with primary information (made at the time of the event), and Direct evidence of military service and other information provided by the record.
     
W.J. Dority
Co. G, SC 20th Infantry
Muster Roll
Image from Fold3.com


  Newspapers provide Original (digital copies) information. Usually, a newspaper article was written about an event that recently happened and it can be classified as primary. This was the case with the newspaper accounts of William J. Dorrity's land being adjacent to another piece of land in a legal notice and the listing of his wife Martha in a Widow's Pension list. The legal notice is direct evidence that William owned land and where it was, and the Widow's Pension list is indirect evidence of the year of his death. 
           
Martha Dority
Widow's Pension List
Watchman and Southron
26 May 1897 pg. 7
Image from Newspapers.com

     Records can have more than one type of evidence. Usually, a death certificate is primary information of a person's death, cause, and burial, with the birth date and place being secondary. This is due to the fact that the death information is recorded near the time of death but the birth information is supplied many years after the fact and depending on the informant, it is at best secondary and often not reliable. 
  A family Bible can be primary information if each event recorded was done at the time it happened. It can also contain secondary information if births, marriages and deaths were written years after the fact. 

  If you haven't done so, take a look at your documents and other records. Analyzing the types of information they contain will help  determine whether you have good solid evidence or if you need to continue searching. 
 For more information go to: Cindy's List-Evidence Analysis
And for software that can help put it all together, I recommend using Evidentia.

Are we kin? Please contact me. Together we can find our people.
Thanks so much for stopping by.






 

   

Sunday, January 24, 2016

This Week On My Family History Calendar

Jan. 24-Jan. 30




January 24~
     My maternal Great Great Grandmother, Loretta (McManus) Daughrity (1894-1936), died 80 years ago in Sumter, Sumter, South Carolina. She was buried in the Sumter City Cemetery. 


Sumter City Cemetery
Sumter, Sumter, South Carolina


   Phillip Roberts (1763-1854), my maternal 5th Great Grandfather was born 253 years ago in Cumberland County, North Carolina. 





Saturday, January 23, 2016

Surname Saturday~Daughrity


Manning David Daughrity, Jr.
(1889-1931)
Copy of original picture owned by
 Mildred Chrystanella (Daughrity) Jolly Finfrock (1914-2006)

   My maternal Grandmother was a Daughrity from Sumter County, South Carolina. The name is found spelled many different ways even among those in the same generation. While her father, Manning David Daughrity, Jr. used this spelling, his brother Charles Edward (1880-1957) used Daugherty. The surname in records varies from Dority, Dorrity, Doherty, Doty and Dougherty.  
       Azile Juanita (Daughrity)Roberts Sullivan (1921-2009)
                 her father:
                    Manning David Daughrity, Jr. (1889-1931)
                 his father:
                    Manning David Daughrity, Sr. (1844-1918)
                 his father:
                   William J. Dorrity (born abt. 1816-died before 1897).

 These families lived in the Spring Hill area of Sumter County that became part of Lee County in 1902. 

             The place of birth for William on the Sumter County census records is South Carolina. Different candidates suggested as the father of William include a John and an Alexander Dorrity. Both lived in the Sumter County/District area. Those who have these men on their family trees have not provided the sources needed to determine who is indeed the father. At this point, I have not been able to locate documentation to support a conclusion of paternity.
        The surname is said to be of Irish origin and that "three brothers came from Ireland during the potato famine." While this line of the Daughrity family appears to have been in South Carolina well before the famine, the surname is a typical Irish one and brothers may have immigrated together at some point. Finding a correct link to William J. Dorrity's father would help move back a generation and perhaps answer the question as to when, and why this family came to South Carolina as well as from where.
     Can you shed some light on the Daughrity/Dorrity family of Sumter County/District, South Carolina? 

Are we kin? Please contact me. Together we can find our people.
Thank so much for stopping by!



       
     
           


Sunday, January 17, 2016

This Week On My Family History Calendar

Jan. 17-Jan.23




    January 19~
        My maternal Great Great Grandfather, Manning David Daughrity (1844-1918) died in Statesburg, Sumter, South Carolina 98 years ago. He is buried in the Sumter City Cemetery, Sumter, Sumter, South Carolina.
  

   
Manning David Daughrity, Sr.
Obituary
Sumter Watchman 23 January 1918 pg.5



  January 20~
          Martha (Parnold) Brazell (1795-1876) my maternal 4th Great Grandmother, was born 221 years ago. She may have been born in the Richland County area of South Carolina. 


Are we kin? Please contact me. Together we can find our people.
Thanks so much for stopping by!




         

Sunday, January 10, 2016

This Week On My Family History Calendar

Jan. 10-Jan. 16




January 10~
 The 137th wedding anniversary of my paternal Great Great Grandparents, Arthur Wellington Baker (1857-1940) and Martha Victoria (Bradford) Baker (1862-1947). Arthur was 21 and Mattie 16 when they were married in Sumter, South Carolina in 1879.


Arthur Wellington Baker
(1857-1940)





Martha Victoria (Bradford) Baker
(1862-1947)


Are we kin? Please contact me. Together we can find our people.
Thanks so much for stopping by!





Sunday, January 3, 2016

This Week On My Family History Calendar

Jan.3-Jan.9



 January 3~
     My maternal Step Great Great Grandfather, James Lewis Williams (1872-1937) was born 143 years ago in Camden, Kershaw, South Carolina.  

 January 4~
  Mary Baker Hudson (1920-2010) my paternal Grandmother died peacefully in her home in Scranton, Florence, South Carolina 6 years ago. She was buried in the Sumter City Cemetery, Sumter, South Carolina. How I miss her!

January 6~
    Benjamin Reese Gibson (1824-1907) and Margaret Cantey (Walker) Gibson (1830-1900), my paternal  3rd Great Grandparents were married in Clarendon County, South Carolina 168 years ago. He was 24 and she was 18.

January 8~
    Just two days after her 52 wedding anniversary, my paternal 3rd Great Grandmother, Margaret Cantey (Walker) Gibson (1830-1900) passed away. Margaret was 70 when she died 116 years ago in Clarendon County, South Carolina.

 January 9~
   My maternal Great Great Grandparents, Manning David Dority, Sr. (1844-1918) and Mary Elizabeth (Stafford) Dority (1843-1930) were married 148 years ago.  They were married in Sumter County, South Carolina.  

Are we kin? Please contact me. Together we can find our people.
Thanks so much for stopping by!