Are You Wise Yet? GenealogyWise, That is

There's a new social networking site just for genealogy that is being unveiled. I've heard the official date is later this week, but you can check it out now.

I decided to look at GenealogyWise to see what all the chatter is about. It is free and it is simple to use. There are tons of groups available to join, so I joined a few to see if it works for my style of digging into my family's past.

I've already sent a comment to one gent and have heard back from him. Both of our COX families were in the Marion District, SC, before 1800, so there is a good chance we could share some long ago relatives. I don't know too much about my COX family other than George COX b. c.1755 in VA, d. near Pee Dee River in Marion District, SC 7 Sept 1843. I know nothing of his wife. He is reported to have had six children: Jacob b. 1802, Jane b. abt 1785, Margaret, Mary b. 1792, Catherine b.1795 and Elizabeth b. 1800.

I have already decided not to be contacted when people leave generic comments for the groups. Already, my inbox is way too full as more and more genealogists are jumping on the bandwagon. I have now changed the email notifications to only those who are responding to me or are interested in talking with me about possible family connections.

You may want to check it out yourself at http://www.genealogywise.com .

Have a great day chock full of wise genealogy news!

St Clair Cemetery Has More Loving Hands Working to Remember the Fallen

I just love St. Clair Cemetery in Mt. Lebanon in Allegheny Co, PA. Of course I do. The majority of its residents are names that easily fall off my tongue and share my blood.

Last night, I received a phone call from a dad of a Boy Scout who has decided to donate some time in getting new headstones for some of the American patriots at St. Clair Cemetery. This has been done before by another Boy Scout and, of course, by me.

The dad asked if I would be able to assist him with information on some of the patriots of St. Clair and in locating family members. Well, the majority of the names he mentioned were my family. If I am not of direct blood, then chances are I know who is.

The earliest known burial in St. Clair Cemetery was in 1806, if I remember correctly. I know my first family member, a grandma, was buried there in 1807. The names of the residents there echo the early history of the area.

Over the years, I've found many cousins through the St. Clair Cemetery. I've been there several times and hosted parties for my kin, living and dead, at the cemetery. My roots are there and I feel so at home and connected to family when I am there. On our last trip there, one of my children helped to uncover an old headstone. Of course, it was one of our cousins.

Anyway, I am going to dig up my ole partial map of the cemetery as this dad tells me he would like to make a new map of the cemetery. Be still, my heart! That is a project I have been hoping someone up there in Pennsylvania would undertake. I also hope to have ground radar used one day to accurately locate how many graves are there and how deep they go. My great aunt told me that we were buried several deep in our plots.

My friendly words of wisdom today are to take time to adopt an old cemetery. It may be your family cemetery or one in your local area that needs some loving hands. Research the families in it. You just may learn something really fun.

In my case, bring on the continuing work at St. Clair. My thanks to the many hours that Margaret Jackson and Mark Hughey have so lovingly given to the early settlers of Lower St. Clair. Know I am always with you in spirit.

My Ancestors Fought for America's Freedom. Have You Found Yours Yet?

July 4th. The day of America's proclaimed independence from the tyranny of England's rule. The day of our birthday. Celebrate the dreams of our founders.

I saw the following article on Eastman's genealogy newsletter and thought you'd enjoy seeing it. I will, however, make a couple of observations on it since my household are both members of the Daughters of the American Revolution and the Sons of the American Revolution.

The lineage books referenced are a good starting place. Back in the early days of the DAR, people didn't move as far from their roots, so everyone "knew" who their people were. Documentation proving lineage was sometimes quite lacking. Since the internet has come around, the DAR does not always accept those old applications as valid proof. The best way to see if your ancestor is still approved by the DAR is to contact the DAR and ask for a patriot lookup. Volunteers are happy to assist you in your quest to prove your lineage. Many lines have to be reproven. With diligence, it can be done. Recently, my DAR chapter just found the missing proof for a lady- after a 2 1/2 year search.

The following article is from Eastman's Online Genealogy Newsletter and is copyright by Richard W. Eastman. It is re-published here with the permission of the author. Information about the newsletter is available at http://www.eogn.com.

Revolutionary Roots

Did your ancestors fight in the American Revolution 233 years ago? Thousands of men answered the call to arms in 1776. These thousands probably have many millions of descendants today. Many Americans can find a Revolutionary War veteran in the family tree if they expend a bit of time and effort. Luckily, there are a number of online and offline sources to help you in that search.

Finding Revolutionary ancestors isn’t much different than finding anyone else in your family tree. You always start with yourself and then work your way back, one generation at a time. You can search the online databases as well as the traditional resources, such as census records, vital records, and especially, Revolutionary War pension applications. However, you should be aware of several unique sources of records that contain information about Revolutionary War soldiers.

One excellent tutorial to read is "Finding Your Patriot: Basic Sources for Starting Revolutionary War Research" by Curt B. Witcher, available on Ancestry.com (without subscription) at: http://www.ancestry.com/library/view/news/articles/1561.asp.

Once you have learned the basics of Revolutionary War records, you will want to search the Lineage Books of the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR). In order to join the Society, members have to prove their descent from an ancestor who aided the American cause in the Revolutionary War. The DAR have spent hundreds of thousands of hours compiling Patriot Index lists of Revolutionary War ancestors of DAR members. The DAR Lineage Books are available online to Ancestry.com members at: http://www.ancestry.com/search/DB.aspx?dbid=3174. (This database is available to Ancestry.com paid subscribers; an Ancestry.com user ID and password are required.) The same information is available in printed DAR Lineage Books, available at most large genealogy libraries.

The DAR was founded in 1890. Early application papers supply the applicant’s maiden name, husband’s name, applicant’s birthplace (but not the birth date), parents’ names, chain of ancestors and their spouses leading back to the Revolutionary War, and discussion of patriot’s service and sources for his/her service. Note that the chain of ancestors is only from parent to child and does not show all children born to parents.

Later papers give much more information. In the chain of ancestors: birth, marriage, and death dates and places. In the applicant’s section: birth date and birthplace, marriage date, spouse’s information (name, birth date, birthplace, date of death or divorce). Space for multiple spouses is provided. The applicant must also supply data on the patriot’s marriages, children, and children’s spouses.

Keep in mind that the DAR Lineage Books contain the lineage of accepted members. While these books often provide great clues about the lineage of American patriots, the lineages they provide are often undocumented. As with any undocumented secondary source, all aspects should be documented with further research. Also remember that they do not list all the Revolutionary War soldiers. These books only list those who were identified as ancestors of DAR members.

More information about the many services of the Daughters of the American Revolution may be found at: http://www.dar.org. However, you will not find online databases at that site.

The records of the National Society of the Sons of the American Revolution (SAR) are another great resource. Their records are available online and on CD-ROM. The online database has over 230,000 records of patriots whose gravesites have been located or whose service has been documented by a descendant who joined the Sons of the American Revolution.

The SAR online database provides information about Revolutionary War soldiers, sailors, and others, but does not provide information about their descendants. It is up to you to build a family tree in the traditional manner to prove your descent from the listed patriot.

NOTE: Much of the data was reported to the Revolutionary War Graves Committee without citing any primary documents as evidence of service. As with genealogy information found anywhere else, you need to independently verify the information provided.

To access the National Society of the Sons of the American Revolution online database, go to http://www.rsar.org/rosters/findpatr.htm.

Finally, never overlook the best source of information: your family. Are you attending a family gathering this Fourth of July? If so, ask your relatives, especially your older relatives. They may know some family stories that you have not heard before. Keep in mind that many family stories have a mixture of truth and fiction interwoven in them, but they are always worth verifying. Who knows? Your aunt or uncle just may be able to provide a clue that helps you find information that previously eluded you.

Need Some Free Canadian Help? It's Here until July 3

Ancestry.ca is giving all of us genealogy types a great big present for Canada Day. From now until July 3, they are offering free access to the Canadian Passenger Lists, 1865 to 1935.

Here's the link in case you are interested. http://landing.ancestry.ca/intl/blanc.aspx?landingpage=39427&o_iid=39427&o_lid=39427

Keep Digging to Overcome That Insanity Story

GT Note: One of my biggest joys in genealogy is finding old blood in my veins that also runs in other people. I've had the honor over the last several years of reuniting family members all in one place and one time as we shared our stories and our bloodlines.

While I have not personally been to the Godfrey Library, I have corresponded with them over the years and dutifully sent them money to have them send some files to me.

The following is an update from one of my cousins on some of her personal research. I thought this is a good reminder to all to continue that search for the elusive find of the month. Ellen, keep up the hunt.

Have you ever explored the Godfrey Library in Middletown, CT's Family History Center in your real or online genealogy travels? What a wonderful resource it is! It is only about ten miles from my son's home, so I was able to spend a couple of hours there last month.

As my time was limited, I only researched my mid-seventeen hundreds Witter ancestor in Connecticut--I had run into an alarming stonewall in the genealogy dept. in the Port Charlotte, FL Library, which has an excellent collection of New England and Northeastern family information.

According to one of the three books in which I was able to find information on Ezra and Anne Morgan Witter, Ezra had, in a fit of insanity, murdered his wife and three older children, including my ggggwhatever grandfather, Isaac Witter. So, obviously either the material was wrong, or that particular Isaac wasn't my ancestor.

They, at Godfrey, found several more Stonington, CT resources on the Witters, including one that mention the awful story, but said it wasn't Ezra, but a cousin of his. Phew! I was fond of Isaac as an ancestor, because he is listed in the DAR index as having performed patriotic duty. He was terribly crippled, apparently, but served as a cook to his militia. I knew that he was my ancestor, but because of the "awful story" wasn't sure who he was descended from in CT before he moved to Orange Co., NY.

UK 1911 Census Online

Here's a boost for those searching their family genealogy in the United Kingdom.

Entire 1911 Census now Available Online for the First Time

Research commissioned by 1911census.co.uk reveals nearly a quarter of the population (23%) have now actively researched their family tree*, with 2.9 million people having visited 1911census.co.uk to research their own ancestors’ census records since the website went live in January this year**. The pastime is now just as popular as participating in team sports and overtaking other popular hobbies such as making Twitter posts and blogging (11%) and bingo (13%).

Following the initial release of the Southern English records in January 2009, the website now hosts the complete 1911 census records for people living in England, Wales, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man. What’s more, for the first time in a British census, full details are available of British Army personnel and their families stationed overseas. There were 135,866 people serving in the British Army and 36,804 people serving in the Royal Navy across the British Empire in 1911, including 69,785 serving in India.

Christine Webber, psychotherapist and lifecoach, says: “Being able to find out how our grandparents and great-grandparents lived gives our own lives some extra perspective, and also helps us to understand ourselves better. The ability to delve into what our relatives were doing almost a hundred years ago is fascinating. It also helps us to get a sense of our own place in history. I think that getting in touch with your own roots is a very valuable and healing thing to do. So, this is a most exciting development.”

And it’s not just the older generation who are embracing the chance to discover more about their roots. Over a fifth (21% of under 35s and 35-55 year olds) have researched their family history in the past 12 months. People are turning to genealogy for a wide variety of reasons, from wanting to find out more about family stories that have been passed down through the generations (28%), to being inspired by TV shows like ‘Who Do Think You Are?’ and after a family event such as the birth of a new child (12%).

Women, however, are still leading the way when it comes to family history research as over one quarter (26%) are actively researching their family history, compared to only one fifth of men (20%).

The 1911census.co.uk website service has been developed by UK-based family history website findmypast.com, owned by brightsolid, in association with The National Archives***. Completed by 36 million householders on Sunday, 2 April 1911, the census records show the name, age, place of birth, marital status and occupation of every resident in every home as well as their relationship to the head of the household and the online records include images of our ancestors’ own handwriting. For the first time the enumerators’ summary books for the whole of England and Wales have also gone online today, recording details of all properties in the country in 1911 – a great resource for anyone interested in local history or house histories. The 1911 census records have been released three years earlier than the scheduled 2012 date as a result of public demand for the 1911 census, which will be a key resource for family historians.

Debra Chatfield, Marketing Manager at findmypast.com, says: ‘“We’re delighted that the final records have been uploaded from the 1911 census including the military records and the records for Wales, the Isle of Man and Channel Islands. We hope many generations will gain a huge amount of valuable information about their ancestors by consulting the records and that they’ll discover new chapters of their family history that they previously knew very little or nothing about.”

Oliver Morley, Director of Customer and Business Development at The National Archives, commented: “It’s wonderful to see that so many people are discovering a new passion for family history through the 1911 census. Bringing this project to completion has been one of the most exciting events for us this year, and to know that so many people have been able to access part of their personal history online shows how valuable it can be to make these records available via the web.”

**Findmypast.com internal data
***In line with data protection legislation, certain sensitive information relating to infirmity and to children of women prisoners will be held back until 2012. The 1911 census is a special case at the request of the Information Commissioner all records of infirmity as listed on the records (e.g. ‘deaf’, ‘dumb’, ‘blind’, ‘lunatic’ etc.) have been obscured and will not be available to view until January 2012.

Wordless Wednesday: Wall St of 1825

The two story building on the right front is the site of my family tavern. If only the family had known!