Sunday, May 29, 2016

This Week On My Family History Calendar

May 29-June 4



May 31~
Margaret Frances "Fannie" (Gibson) Thames (1854-1929), my paternal 3rd Great Grandmother, was born 162 years ago in Clarendon County, South Carolina. She was the daughter of Benjamin Reese Gibson (1824-1907) and Margaret Cantey (Walker) Gibson (1830-1900).

Fannie Thames
(1854-1929)
Original Owned by the Author
©Cheri Hudson Passey


June 4~
   My maternal Great Great Grandfather, William A. McManus (1854-1914), would have been celebrating his 162 birthday on this day. William was born in South Carolina, but the exact place and his parent's names are unknown at this time. 


Signature of William A. McManus
From 1914 Letter
©Cheri Hudson Passey



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



Celebration Sunday~Genealogy Happy Dance!



You know the dance. You know you've done it. The one every researcher does after finding something new. The one where you want to jump up and down and shout to everyone around that you found the document, contacted a cousin who has the family Bible, made a DNA connection or found a whole new branch to your tree. The one that is met with glazed stares and eye rolls.
                                                          Celebration Sunday is a place to share your discoveries. 
This is a weekly series to enable everyone to tell about their Genealogy Happy Dance moment. This can be done by scrolling down and adding your story to the comments section. You may also put a link to a blog post.





                                                                 
My Happy Dance This Week: 
  Contact from tree different DNA matches through ancestry.com may lead to solving a family mystery in one line and moving my research back a line or two in another. A third match sent me a copy of a manuscript that he has been writing on a family line. Three in one week! Doing that Happy Dance for sure!
What were your discoveries this week?
   
                                                                           
                                                                                           Share your discovery!
                                                                                   Let the dancing commence!





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


Wednesday, May 25, 2016

Wednesday's Children~The Two Nellies



Nelly Pearl Booth the Granddaughter of my maternal Great Great Grandparents, Bertrand Campbell Price (1876-after 1922) and Bessie Mae (Eargle) Price (1878-1943) only lived 55 days. She died from acute allergic colitis as a result of poor feeding and was buried in Graniteville Cemetery, Aiken, South Carolina.


Nellie Pearl Booth
(1927-1927)
Graniteville Cemetery, Graniteville,Aiken, South Carolina
©Cheri Hudson Passey
 
Nellie Pearl Booth Death Certificate

What could cause an infant to die of malnutrition in 1927? 
The death of her mother. 

Nellie Pearl (Price) Booth
Graniteville Cemetery,Graniteville, Aiken, South Carolina
©Cheri Hudson Passey

 Nellie Pearl (Price) Booth (1910-1927) died from Eclampsia not long after giving birth to her namesake. She was only 16 years old. To be more specific, her death certificate says she was 16 years, 4 months and 17 days.
A child having a child. 

Nellie Pearl (Price) Booth Death Certificate


Infant, Nellie, couldn't survive without the nourishment from her mother. Was she not able to digest the milk they were trying to feed her? Perhaps she was too weak from her birth. She may have been born early due to her mother's Eclampsia. 
There must have been so much sorrow with both losses.

Burial Plot for Mother and Daughter
Graniteville Cemetery, Graniteville, Aiken, South Carolina
©Cheri Hudson Passey

  This Wednesday two Nellies are being remembered.
A child bride and her child.

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

   




Sunday, May 22, 2016

This Week On My Family History Calendar

May 22-28



                                                                               

May 22~
  My paternal Great Grandfather, Jubal Ransom Early (1888-1964) was born in Statesville, Iredell County, North Carolina 128 years ago. He was the son of Ransom Taylor Early (1829-1888) and Ellen Caroline (Martin) Early (1850-1926).
             
Jubal Ransom Early (?)

This picture is said to possibly be of Jubal Ransom Early. Any information to help confirm the identification of the man in this photo would be appreciated!



May 24~
Benjamin Thomas Thames (1854-1931), my paternal Great Great Grandfather, was born 162 years ago in Clarendon County, South Carolina. He was the son of Thomas Lemuel Thames (1827-1863) and Rebecca Hannah (Stukes) Thames (1830-1870).

Benjamin Thomas Thames
(1854-1931)
About 1910
©Cheri Hudson Passey
     
  

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





Celebration Sunday~Genealogy Happy Dance!



You know the dance. You know you've done it. The one every researcher does after finding something new. The one where you want to jump up and down and shout to everyone around that you found the document, contacted a cousin who has the family Bible, made a DNA connection or found a whole new branch to your tree. The one that is met with glazed stares and eye rolls.
                                                          Celebration Sunday is a place to share your discoveries. 
This is a weekly series to enable everyone to tell about their Genealogy Happy Dance moment. This can be done by scrolling down and adding your story to the comments section. You may also put a link to a blog post.

                                                                           Let's celebrate and dance together.

                                                                                A No Eye Rolling Zone!


My Happy Dance This Week: 
Season 3 of Genealogy Road Show began on Tuesday. I love this show and seeing the joy in people's faces as they learn about their ancestors. Celebrating the return of one of my favorite shows had me doing that Happy Dance! What got you dancing this week?
Take a minute and share so we can all dance with you!
   
                                                                           
                                                                                           Share your discovery!
                                                                                   Let the dancing commence!





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


Friday, May 20, 2016

Meet Your Ancestors~A Challenge from Find My Past

I received this press release from find my past this morning:




FINDMYPAST CHALLENGES FAMILY HISTORIANS TO FIND THE ANCESTORS THEY’VE NEVER MET IN THEIR TREE CHALLENGES

·         From 23rd May until 30th May 2016 all records hinted against in Findmypast trees will be completely free
·       This includes over 116 million United States Marriages and over 10 million Irish Catholic parish registers
·       Findmypast challenges you to find at least one new ancestor through an FMP family tree
·       Family historians will be supported with expert insights, help videos, how to guides and a dedicated “tree building” webinar at 11am EST on Wednesday 25th May.


            
London, UK. 23 May, 2016.
Is your family history leaving you stumped? Findmypast is here to help with their “Tree Challenge”, a seven day event to encourage people to branch out and discover ancestors they’ve never met. From 9am, 23rd May until 12pm 30th May 2016, all hints on Findmypast Family trees will be completely free to view and explore.
Findmypast is challenging family historians around the world to discover at least one new ancestor by building their family tree on the site, or uploading an existing GedCom file. Researchers will be provided with daily getting started guides, expert insights, useful how to videos and a special webinar hosted by expert genealogist, Debra Chatfield, dedicated to helping you get the most out of your Findmypast family tree.
#TreeChallenge week will have something for everyone, from seasoned experts to complete beginners. Keeping a tree on Findmypast is the first step towards exploring our archive of more than 8 billion records from around the world, more than 1 billion of which aren’t available anywhere else online. That’s over 1 billion family connections you won’t find anywhere else, so explore our collections today to ensure you don’t miss out.
Findmypast trees currently provide matches from birth, baptism, marriage, death, burial and census records across the UK, US, Ireland, and Australia. This includes Findmypast’s vast collections of more than 116 million United States marriages and over 10 million Irish Catholic baptisms, marriages and burials. Findmypast’s entire collection of 570 million UK BMDs - the largest available online - will also be free for the duration of #TreeChallenge, including over 78 million exclusive parish records you won’t find anywhere else. All UK and Irish parish records are hinted against.
Uploading a tree to Findmypast is quick, easy and secure. As you add information, Findmypast does all the hard work for you by sifting through millions of records to instantly identify potential matches. Once potential matches have been made, you can quickly and easily review possible leads before adding the relevant information to your tree.
To encourage you to make the most of this feature, we are running a special tree themed competition. Share any discoveries you make on your tree via social media with the hashtag - #TreeChallenge and you could be in with the chance of winning an expert bundle worth $1000. This includes a 64 GB Ipad mini4, a three TB hard drive and a 12 month subscription to Family Tree magazine. We will also be giving away a 12 month world sub on our social media channels daily. You can find out more here.
Hinting allows you uncover records for multiple ancestors at once with virtually zero effort. The larger your tree, the more potential matches you’ll be presented with so it’s well worth your while to add as many ancestors as possible.
As we release new records, our hinting system will continue to grow, providing you with even more opportunities to find unknown ancestors.



About Findmypast
Findmypast (previously DC Thomson Family History) is a British-owned world leader in online family history. It has an unrivalled record of online innovation in the field and 18 million registered users across its family of online brands, which includes Lives of the First World War, The British Newspaper Archive and Genes Reunited, amongst others.
Its lead brand, also called Findmypast, is a searchable online archive of over eight billion family history records, ranging from parish records and censuses to migration records, military collections, historical newspapers and lots more. For members around the world, the site is a crucial resource for building family trees and conducting detailed historical research. 
In April 2003, Findmypast was the first online genealogy site to provide access to the complete birth, marriage, and death indexes for England & Wales, winning the Queen’s Award for Innovation. Since that time, the company has digitized records from across the globe, including major collections from Britain, Ireland, Australia, and the United States. Findmypast, in association with The National Archives, recently launched the 1939 Register, a record of 41 million lives on the eve of World War II.
For more information please contact Alex Cox, email: acox@dctfh.com


Sunday, May 15, 2016

This Week On My Family History Calendar

May 15-May 21


May 17~
  My paternal 4th Great Grandmother, Emily Elizabeth (Vaughn) Dargan (1897-1865) died 151 years ago most likely in Sumter County, South Carolina. Her place of burial is unknown.

May-18~
 Phillip Roberts, III (1798-1852), my 4th Great Grandfather
was born 218 years ago in Kershaw County, South Carolina.
He was the son of Phillip Roberts II (1763-1854) and Sarah (Kirtley) Roberts (1765-1853).

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



Celebration Sunday~Genealogy Happy Dance!



You know the dance. You know you've done it. The one every researcher does after finding something new. The one where you want to jump up and down and shout to everyone around that you found the document, contacted a cousin who has the family Bible, made a DNA connection or found a whole new branch to your tree. The one that is met with glazed stares and eye rolls.
                                                          Celebration Sunday is a place to share your discoveries. 
This is a weekly series to enable everyone to tell about their Genealogy Happy Dance moment. This can be done by scrolling down and adding your story to the comments section. You may also put a link to a blog post.

                                                                           Let's celebrate and dance together.
                                                                                A No Eye Rolling Zone!


My Happy Dance This Week: 
 A cousin who connected through the blog sent me a 6-page report on the descendants of my Great-Great Grandmother's sister. That was wonderful, but the best part? It is sourced! Happy Dance for sure!
   
                                                                           
                                                                                           Share your discovery!
                                                                                   Let the dancing commence!





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


Sunday, May 8, 2016

This Week On My Family History Calendar

May 8-May 14



May 9~
 Thomas Phillip Roberts (1830-1883), my maternal 3rd Great Grandfather, died 123 years ago on this day in Richland County, South Carolina. He was buried in Brown's Chapel Cemetery.


Thomas Phillip Roberts
Headstone
Brown's Chapel Cemetery
Richland County, South Carolina
photo credit: Jim Hepler

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


   



Celebration Sunday~Genealogy Happy Dance!



You know the dance. You know you've done it. The one every researcher does after finding something new. The one where you want to jump up and down and shout to everyone around that you found the document, contacted a cousin who has the family Bible, made a DNA connection or found a whole new branch to your tree. The one that is met with glazed stares and eye rolls.
                                                          Celebration Sunday is a place to share your discoveries. 
This is a weekly series to enable everyone to tell about their Genealogy Happy Dance moment. This can be done by scrolling down and adding your story to the comments section. You may also put a link to a blog post.

                                                                           Let's celebrate and dance together.

                                                                                A No Eye Rolling Zone!


My Happy Dance This Week: 
   Watching the live streaming sessions from NGS 2016 and learning from some of the best genealogists for two days was so much fun! Although I wish I could have been there, being able to participate at all was wonderful! 
What about you? What are you celebrating this week?
   
                                                                           
                                                                                           Share your discovery!
                                                                                   Let the dancing commence!





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


Saturday, May 7, 2016

NGS2016~Watching Another Conference From My Rocking Chair~Day 2



Friday's Livestream from NGS 2016 Topic Methods for Success featured great speakers. And yep, you guessed it, I watched again from my rocking chair!



The day began with Elizabeth Shown Mill's presentation Reasonably Exhaustive Research: The First Criteria for Genealogical Proof.
 Elizabeth began her presentation by explaining the difference between searching and researching.
   Researching means making a well thought out plan and strategies and then recording our process and findings.
She likened the research steps to baking a cake. We need the right ingredients and the right process.
   1) Identify the problem
   2) Identify sources
   3) Use the sources
   4) Analyze findings
   5) Write a conclusion
Explaining that some problems are easier to answer than others, we were given a few questions to ask ourselves.
Am I using all resources?
Am I applying all essential strategies?
 A bulls-eye approach was suggested using steps to get closer and closer to an answer to your question.
 The steps suggested were:
1) Basic Research
2) FAN Research
3) Deep Mining Sources (look at all records for the area for names of person and FAN club)
4)Topical Research: research the political, social and other influences of your ancestor and their FANS.
5) Geographic Research: Thoroughly research the areas where your problem person lived.
6) Generation Research: at least one before and one after your person.

Elizabeth presented a case study that used all these elements. She showed how she kept a research report on every source consulted whether it produced information or not.
She researched the person in question, all those with the same surname, all known FAN club members, used maps to see where people lived and more for a total for 1,0000 hours of research. All of which were recorded in her research report.
An amazing presentation with so many useful tips and examples. This is one that I will watch several times.
Did you watch it? What did you take away?



Sharing With Others: How to Convey Evidence by Jeanne Larzalere Bloom
  Jeanne started off her presentation asking us if we ever wonder when we read someone's information on their family, how they know what they saw they know?
 When it's not sourced, or a proof argument or written conclusion is not included, it can be hard to determine whether the research is sound or not.
Her purpose in the session was to help us understand and be able to write down what we believe about a research problem and why. She reminded us that it's not that scary because we all do it, at least in our minds when we have conflicting evidence after our reasonably exhaustive searches.
  In a Proof Argument, we need to
1) Identify evidence
2) Explain any anomalies in research
3) Resolve conflicts
4) Justify conclusion
5) Persuade reader that the conclusion is valid

Jeanne suggested letting a nongenealogist read your proof argument to see if they understand and agree with your conclusion.
Remember she said, people want to know why you know!

So many great points covered in this talk. Another one to watch again and glean all that I can out of it!.



Up next was Systematically Using Autosomal DNA Results to Help Break Through Genealogical Brick Walls by Thomas W. Jones.
 This presentation was a case study of how to use autosomal DNA to find answers to tough research questions.
He explained that sources are like pieces of a puzzle. Sometimes you find what you need to put solve the puzzle and get a complete picture. Other times, you have enough to give a partial view. DNA can be another tool to add a piece that fits into your puzzle.
 A piece that doesn't fit can be put aside. 
A focused question should always begin our research, a too vague question is a path to failure.
 So in his case study, the question was who -were the parents.?
For this family, all of the necessary documents had been researched. None could answer the question. DNA was the next step.
 This was the process used:
1) Supply DNA to the descendants of the question subject This needs to be enough to get a match.
2) Identify potential subjects who would answer the question by traditional research.
3) Supply enough DNA to potential subjects descendants to get a match.
4) Compare and sort out any matches between the two pools of tested people.
  By doing this, Tom Jones was able to answer the question about his ancestor.
 He gave this caution: DNA tests all by themselves mean nothing without a proper paper trail.
Aanother great talk by Tom Jones. 
    Have you used DNA to answer a research question?




After lunch we heard from David A. Rencher speaking on Ethics in Genealogy: Personal and Professional.
 This was a talk all genealogists need to hear. He talked about a professional code of ethics as well as a professional code of ethics.
We should be committed to uphold the standards that the genealogy community has put forth.
Our research should be of the highest quality. We need to be able to cite our sources to help the generations coming after us know that we know what we know. It is our ethical responsibility.
Source Citation Ethics: Always cite clearly and never site a derivative as if you had looked at an original record.
Copyright: Always respect the copyright of others. Always ask permission to use someone else's work and then keep a copy of it if they say yes.
Presentations: Cite your sources.Do not copy other's works. Again, ask for permission to use a part of someone else's work.
 Give attribution if given permission.
Plagiarism: Don't copy other's work and call it your own in any medium. If you see it, call it out!
These same principles apply to publishing articles.
Another point brought out was that taking pictures of slides in a presentation is not allowed in conferences during a presentation. Some presenters, when asked will agree to one or two pictures, but not the whole presentation. It is a copyright violation and is disturbing to those attending the lecture.
What about letting someone else use your login information to a paid website to look for records or research? How about those requests or offers for lookups on those paid sites? Again, it's unethical. The terms of service for these sites are for personal use only.
Why should we care about all these things?
Because we want to leave a legacy of excellence in our genealogy work.



Doughnut Holes and Family Skeletons: Meeting the GPS Through Negative and Indirect Evidence presented by Stefani Evans was the last of the livestreaming presentations.
 Stefani explained that Negative Evidence is the absence of information in records where you thought it should be.
 When you find negative evidence it should make you ask-why isn't the evidence there? and-what does it mean that the evidence isn't there? She warned that ignoring this type of evidence can lead to bad conclusions.
 We can take the answers to the questions about why there was negative evidence and come up with theories and then other places to search.
 A case study was then shown to help us understand this principle.
One of the research strategies used in her case study was to consider the cultural history of the time period to see if there was a reason for anyone to purposely omit information from a record.
For her research project, this is indeed what happened.
 Again, another great lecture!
Have you ever found a record that someone had purposely qualified or omitted someone? Did you find out why?

Once again a conference has ended too quickly. I am grateful to NGS 2016 for providing the opportunity to watch, enjoy and learn from my rocking chair!

There's still time to subscribe and watch the records of all the livestream presentations. Go to playbackngs.com for information. The syllabus for the entire conference is included. An option to buy audio recordings of all the sessions held during the entire conference is also offered.

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













Friday, May 6, 2016

NGS2016~Watching Another Conference From My Rocking Chair





Day 1 of the Livestream of the NGS2016 Conference from Fort Lauderdale, Fla. had me once again at home, in my rocking chair, wishing I could have joined my genfriends. 

Thursday's track of live sessions was all about Land Records.



  Mapping Apps for Genealogists presented by Rick Sayre started off by the day.
  Rick presented several different apps for ios, android and web-based platforms that can help with genealogy research.
 There are map apps for just about anything you want to do.
City and transit apps can help plan trips, plat apps can lead you to your ancestor's land and cemetery apps can help plot and find a burial spot.
 The advantage of these apps is that they can be downloaded and do not have to rely on a wifi connection to work. Very handy when you are in the middle of nowhere or even on a big city street.
 Rick Sayre's advice was to experiment with the apps and see what works for you.
 Looks like I've got some fun playing around with apps to do!



   Next up was Pamala Boyer Sayre who discussed Private Land Claims. These records deal with land claims on property that once owned by Mexico, Spain, and France before the U.S. did.
  Pamela's started off by explaining that dealing with these types of land records are "complicated" and quoting Tom Jones, she said that finding them"it depends" on the state, law's and time periods to determine a process of research. Researching Private Land Claim Records is not easy and they can be hard to find.
 Finding Private Land Claims is a"boots on the ground' type of research due to the fact that most are not online.
 The claim process involved a person had to provide evidence of his land claim with a plot or survey; they had to get affidavits from others in the community who would testify that he had lived on and made improvements to the land, and then file the claim with the authorities in the area. This claim could either be approved or denied. The paperwork with their decision was then sent to the General Land Office in Washington, DC. If they approved the claim, then a certificate was sent to the land owner. Some of these cases took many years. Some not being resolved until many years later.
 These land records are held at NARA but other places should be searched too. The State Archives may be able to give you information on Private Land Claims for their state, the BLM GLO website, and Newspapers are great places to begin a search. Tract books may also be available.
 The important thing as Pamela mentioned at the beginning is to study what the laws of the time period for which you are looking for Private Land Claims to help you decide on a research process.


 In his session Are You Lost? Using Maps and Gazetteers for English and Welsh Research, Paul Miner gave some important tips and reasons for using these tools. Although he was speaking about their use in English and Welsh research, it could apply to researching anywhere.
 His first tip was to get all the maps you can for the area you are interested in. Any type of map, whatever is available for all years for the county, parish, town etc. where your ancestor lived.
  One way he has used maps is to be able to "follow" a census taker down the road and discover which house his ancestor lived in. Fire Insurance Maps were used to help the insurance companies to decide rates. These maps will tell you what structures were made of and what businesses were around your ancestor's home that might make it more susceptible to a fire. These maps have a lot of detail about the community and can help you visualize where your ancestor lived.
 Gazetteers can give you a description of the population and town that your ancestor lived in. These are also useful to find out about locations that no longer exist.
  After listening to his presentation, I will be hunting down maps of where my ancestor's lived.



Deed Books-More Than Just Land Records presented by Vic Dunn, CG was up after lunch.
  In this presentation, Vic Dunn showed the many types of records and information that can be found within Deed books.
 Deeds of Sales, Gifts, Mortgages, Leases, Manumissions, Power of Attorney, Marriage Contracts, Depositions, Releases and many other agreements between parties can be found in these books. They also can include documents that don't fit anywhere else.
  Many relationships can be determined by researching Deed Books. Maiden names, Slave families as they sometimes will mention mothers and their children, the FAN club can be identified and ages can be inferred.
 Signatures on documents can also help in differentiating two men with the same name.
 These are useful for discovering family structure as property is passed from one member to another. A sense of how the family lived can also be found by what they are selling, or buying.
This lecture helped me see Deed Books in a whole new light.
He was right! The are just not about the land!


 The last session of the day was from Lisa Louise Cooke who presented Google Earth: Your Ancestor's Footprints Through Time.
 In this presentation, Lisa showed how to use  Google Earth's My Maps feature to make an interactive map to share with family members engage in the stories and history of their ancestors. Lisa calls it a tour of your ancestor's life during a certain time period. 
 Once the story to be told is decided on, a folder should be made in "My Maps" to hold everything that you want to share. 
To add the item on the map where the events occurred, a place marker needs to be added. Clicking on the place marker will bring up a popup box that you can a story, pictures, and video. Youtube videos can be embedded here by copying and pasting the HTML code. For photos and documents, a photo hosting site like Photobucket.com can be used to produce a code to put into the dialogue box. 
 Lisa shows step by step instructions on how to make one of these "Ancestor Tour Maps" and discussed ways to share them via email, on a website or blog. 
 So many ideas of tours that I could make to share my ancestor's stories came to my mind as I watched.
What stories would you tell? 

Mapping Apps, Private Land Claims, Maps and Gazetteers, Deed Books and Ancestor Tours with Google Earth. Lots of great information to help with my genealogy research.

Did you watch the Livestream videos from NGS2016? 
What did you learn? 

There's still time to subscribe and watch the records of all the livestream presentations. Go to playbackngs.com for information. The syllabus for the entire conference is included. An option to buy audio recordings of all the sessions held during the entire conference is also offered.

Whew! Time to relax and get ready for Day 2! I'll be watching once again from my rocking chair. Will you be watching?

Are we kin? Please contact me. Together we can find our people.








Thursday, May 5, 2016

More Exciting News from find my past!

This press release from find my past was emailed to me:




FINDMYPAST ANNOUNCES ONLINE RELEASE OF OVER 10 MILLION NEW US MARRIAGE RECORDS
New records contain over 30 million names
Includes significant additions from Indiana, New York, Illinois, Pennsylvania and Maine
Includes 1 million names published online for the first time and only found on Findmypast


Leading family history website, Findmypast , announced today at the 2016 conference of the National Genealogical Society the release of over 10 million new marriage records in the second instalment of their United States Marriages collection.

Released in partnership with FamilySearch International, the records contain more than 30 million names, nearly 1 million of which have never before been published online and can only be found at Findmypast.

The release marks the second stage of an ambitious project that will see Findmypast digitize and publish the single largest online archive of U.S. marriages in history. Covering 360 years of marriages from 1650-2010, when complete this landmark collection will contain at least 100 million records and more than 450 million names from 2,800 counties across America.

While the United States Marriage collection includes marriages from nearly every state, this second instalment includes significant additions from Indiana, New York, Illinois, Pennsylvania and Maine.

The records include marriage date, bride and groom names, birthplace, birth date, age, and residence as well as father’s and mother’s names. Customers with family trees on Findmypast will benefit from leads connecting relatives on their trees with the marriage records, thus generating a whole new source of research.

Commenting, Ben Bennett, Executive Vice-President North America and International for Findmypast said:

“We are very proud to be part of the 2016 conference of the National Genealogical Society.  NGS plays a leadership role in our industry providing world class education and standards enabling many more people to learn more about their past.  Having access to Findmypast as part of their membership ensures that NGS members have one of the best tools available to find their ancestors.”

Press contacts: US:  Fred Wertz, email: fwertz@findmypast.com Tel: (914) 441 590
                            UK:  Alex Cox, email: acox@findmypast.com Tel: +44 7464 946769



 About Findmypast
Findmypast (previously DC Thomson Family History) is a British-owned world leader in online family history. It has an unrivalled record of online innovation in the field and 18 million registered users across its family of online brands, which includes Lives of the First World War, The British Newspaper Archive and Genes Reunited, amongst others.
Its lead brand, also called Findmypast, is a searchable online archive of over eight billion family history records, ranging from parish records and censuses to migration records, military collections, historical newspapers and lots more. For members around the world, the site is a crucial resource for building family trees and conducting detailed historical research.
In April 2003, Findmypast was the first online genealogy site to provide access to the complete birth, marriage, and death indexes for England & Wales, winning the Queen’s Award for Innovation. Since that time, the company has digitized records from across the globe, including major collections from Britain, Ireland, Australia, and the United States. Findmypast, in association with The National Archives, recently launched the 1939 Register, a record of 41 million lives on the eve of World War II.





Wednesday, May 4, 2016

Wordless Wednesday~Six Months

                                                                                    

Reagan Blake Passey
2002-2015
                                                                                           It's been six months.
                                                                                          Miss you sweet boy!                               

           

Tuesday, May 3, 2016

Free Irish Records from Find My Past!

   I received the following email from findmypast.com announcing these free Irish Records:





10 Million Irish Catholic Parish Records Free Forever To Search Online
Records span 200 years of Irish history (1670-1900), contain 40 million names, cover 1000 parishes across all 32 counties of Ireland
Collection forms the most important resource for Irish ancestors prior to the 1901 census, allowing researchers to trace their roots back to Pre-Famine Ireland
Reveal how Great Famine halved the number of Catholic baptisms
Findmypast makes entire Irish collection of over 110 million records free from Tuesday 1st of March until Tuesday 8th March
Dublin, 1 March 2016

Leading family history site, Findmypast, has announced today the online release of over 10 million Irish Catholic Parish Registers as part of their ongoing commitment to making Irish family history easier and more accessible than ever before. Fully indexed for the first time, the registers form one of the most important record collections for Irish family history and are free to search forever.
Spanning over 200 years of Ireland’s history from 1671-1900, the Irish Catholic Parish Registers contain over 40 million names from over 1,000 parishes and cover 97% of the entire island of Ireland, both Northern Ireland and the Irish Republic.
This is the first time that National Library of Ireland’s collection of Irish Catholic Registers has been fully indexed with images to the original documents linked online. The records can now be searched by name, year and place, allowing relatives and historians the opportunity to make all important links between generations with the baptism records and between families with the marriage registers.
The indexing of these important documents also allows researchers to witness the devastating effects of the Great Famine (1845-1852) first hand. Using the records to examine baptism rates in pre and post Famine Ireland has revealed that the number of children baptised across the whole of Ireland dropped by more 50% in the decade that followed. Across all 32 counties, 2,408,694 baptisms were recorded from 1835-1844, while 1,109,062 baptisms were recorded between 1851 and 1860, a difference of more than 1,299,000 baptisms.
The records also reveal the worst affected regions, with counties Limerick, Wexford, Roscommon and Kilkenny seeing the most dramatic drops in baptism rates.
To celebrate the release of this essential collection, Findmypast is also making its entire archive of over 110 million Irish records, the largest available anywhere online, FREE from 9am Tuesday 1st March to 9am on Tuesday 8th March. Findmypast is home to the most comprehensive online collection of Irish family history records with millions of exclusive records, published in partnership with The National Archives of Ireland, The National Archives UK, and a host of other local, county and national archives.
Brian Donovan, Irish records expert at Findmypast said:

“This important publication marks a further step in Findmypast’s commitment to making Irish family history more accessible. In less than 5 years, we have made over 110 million records (with 300 million names) available online for the first time. Irish research has been transformed from the select pursuit of the few, to a fun and relatively easy hobby for the many. The Irish story of hardship, migration and opportunity is a global story, and in partnership with the cultural institutions around the world we are bringing the fragments of their lives within reach”.

Spokespeople from Findmypast will be available for comment.
For further information or to register interest for access to the collection please contact:
Brian Donovan, email: brian.donovan@findmypast.com Tel: +353 (0)86 6486262
Niall Cullen, email: ncullen@findmypast.com  Tel: +353 (0)86 0833380
findmypast.ie
Notes to Editors:
About Findmypast
Findmypast (previously DC Thomson Family History) is a British-owned world leader in online family history. It has an unrivalled record of online innovation in the field and 18 million registered users across its family of online brands, which includes Lives of the First World War, The British Newspaper Archive and Genes Reunited, amongst others.
Its lead brand, also called Findmypast, is a searchable online archive of over eight billion family history records, ranging from parish records and censuses to migration records, military collections, historical newspapers and lots more. For members around the world, the site is a crucial resource for building family trees and conducting detailed historical research.
In April 2003, Findmypast was the first online genealogy site to provide access to the complete birth, marriage, and death indexes for England & Wales, winning the Queen’s Award for Innovation. Since that time, the company has digitized records from across the globe, including major collections from Britain, Ireland, Australia, and the United States. Findmypast, in association with The National Archives, recently launched the 1939 Register, a record of 41 million lives on the eve of World War II.
http://www.findmypast.com


Sunday, May 1, 2016

This Week On My Family History Calendar

May 1-May 7



May 3~
   This day marks the 102nd anniversary of the marriage of my paternal Great Grandparents, John McSwain Hudson (1880-1961) and Louvinia Blanche (Thames) Hudson (1886-1918). John was 34 and Blanche 28 when they married in Manning, Clarendon, South Carolina. 
Marriage Announcement
John and Blanche Hudson
Manning Times (Manning, SC)
9 May 1914 


May 5~
   My paternal Grandmother, Mary (Baker) Hudson (1920-2010) was born 96 years ago in Columbia, Richland, South Carolina. Mary was the daughter of Jubal Ransom Early (1888-1964) and Emma Ruth (Baker) Early (1901-1993).
Miss you Mimi!

Mary (Baker) Hudson
1920-2010
Are we kin? Please contact me. Together we can find our people.
Thanks so much for stopping by!



Celebration Sunday~Genealogy Happy Dance!



You know the dance. You know you've done it. The one every researcher does after finding something new. The one where you want to jump up and down and shout to everyone around that you found the document, contacted a cousin who has the family Bible, made a DNA connection or found a whole new branch to your tree. The one that is met with glazed stares and eye rolls.
                                                          Celebration Sunday is a place to share your discoveries. 
This is a weekly series to enable everyone to tell about their Genealogy Happy Dance moment. This can be done by scrolling down and adding your story to the comments section. You may also put a link to a blog post.

                                                                           Let's celebrate and dance together.

                                                                                A No Eye Rolling Zone!


My Happy Dance This Week: 
   A ship passenger list coming into Charleston Harbor included the name of Thomas McCrady born about 1798. He was a merchant traveling back to Charleston from Havana in August of 1822. My paternal third Great Grandfather was Thomas J. McCrady (1821-1896) from Sumter, South Carolina. The merchant Thomas just may be a clue to lead to who my Thomas' parents were! Happy Dance for sure!!
   
                                                                           
                                                                                           Share your discovery!
                                                                                   Let the dancing commence!





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