Reflecting on Genealogy

Friend of Friends Friday - Will of John Barker, Sr., Iredell Co., NC, 1808

2013-07-12T05:00:00.000-07:00

When John Barker, Sr., wrote his will in 1808, he bequeathed a number of slaves to his children; however, he set one woman, Hannah, free. A transcription of his will and a digital image of the document is given below. The references to slaves are shown in red text.

“In the name of God, Amen:

I John Barker, Sen^r. of the State of North Carolina Iredell County, being weak of Body but of sound & perfect mind & Memory, thanks be to God for the same, calling to mind the mortality of body know that is appointed for all men once to die hoping that the Great General resurrection to be raised to life Eternal, through the [?} & mediation o four blessed Lord & Saviour Jesus Christ & do hereby make & ordain this my last will & Testament. First of all I do recommend my Soul into the hands of ^^Almighty God that gave it me and my Body to Earth, to be decently buried after a Christian manner at the discretion of my Executors herein after mentioned, and as touching my worldly Estate it hath been pleased God to bless me with in this life, I give & dismiss and dispose of the same in the folloowing manner & form.

First I give & bequeath to my Son Burale Barker, all that I have procest him with & five Shillings beside[?] extraordinary. Second I give to my Daughter Susannah Cheetham one Negro Woman ^^named Jude with all her increase to her & her heirs forever. To my Daughter Mary white all that I have procest her with & 5/. besides. 3^d to my Daughter Elizabeth Foot I give two Negroes, a Negro Woman by the name of Fortune & Phib, to her & her heirs forever. Fourth, to my Son Howell Barker I give three by name of Jack, Easther & Ben, to him & his his [sic] forever. Fifth, one Negro woman by the name of Hannah, I set her, at liberty, only ^^left in the care of my Son Henchea.

Sixth, I give to my son Henchea, whom I appoint & constitute to my Sole Executor, Administrator, of this my last Will & Testatment or Estate. Seventh, four Negroes by the name of George, Rodger, Tobe & Raciel, & the two Wommens increase. These I give to my Son Henchea Barker, to him & his heirs forever, & I also give my son Henchea Barker all my goods & chattles & household furniture as also my Stock of all kinds as Horses, Cattle, Hoggs & Sheep & to him & his heirs forever, & I hereby disallow & revoke all other form or forms, Will or Wills, Testament or Testaments by me made, declared this & no other to be my last Will and Testament or Testamentory. Whereof I have hereunto set my hand this 2^d day of April 1808.

Signed, sealed & delivered

in the presence of us

Attest

Daniel Parham } Jn^o Barker {seal}

Tho^s Millsaps, jurat }

John Griffith, jurat }”

[Source: Iredell County, North Carolina, Wills, 1:42, John Barker, Sr.; digital image, FamilySearch.org, "North Carolina, Probate Records, 1735-1970, Iredell, Wills, 1790-1819, Vol. 01," (https://www.familysearch.org/search/collection/1867501 : accessed 30 June 2013).]

Friend of Friends Friday - Will of William Ireland, Iredell County, North Carolina, 1796

2013-06-28T05:00:00.000-07:00

One of the earliest wills recorded in Iredell County, North Carolina, is that of William Ireland who signed his will on 26 April 1796. In an interesting provision he bequeaths one of his slaves and that slave's wife and children to the "Pennsylvania Society for the abolishing of Slavery and the relief of free Negroes held in bondage." The Pennsylvania Abolition Society was originally founded in 1775; more information can be found here.

Here is a transcription of William Ireland's will with those provisions related to his slaves highlighted in red. Digital images of the source documents follow the transcription.

“In the Name of God: Amen.

I William Ireland of the county of Iredell, in the State of North_Carolina, being of sound and disposing Mind, make and ordain this my last Will and Testament, in manner and form following (To Wit) after all my lawfull Debts and funeral Charges are paid; I give and bequeath the remainder of my Estate, both real and personal as underneath___ I give and bequeath to my beloved Wife Sarah Ireland, the one half of all Profits arising from the Sale of Three Hundred Acres of Land from the Plantation I now live on, taken from the East End of said place to be separated from the remainder by a Line across said Track at equal distances from the old Corner of said Land; and also the One half of the Amount of the Sale of the Track or Entry of Land on the Elk Shoal Creek I purchased from Matthew Gaston both which parcels of Land I allow to be sold together with the Still and Still Vessels by my Executors as soon as Circumstances will admit after my Decease; together with the Right to hold and enjoy and to her only proper use and behoof forever, all the Profits arising or that may arise from the Cultivation or Possession of the remainder of all my Lands with their Improvement and Appurtenances in it's fullest Latitude without Hinderance or Molestation and that the said Profits so arising may be appropriated by her to her only proper use and behoof for ever with the right to dispose of, and bequeath by Will or otherwise at her Death to any Person to whom she may see fit, but her Right or Property in the same is not to be altered during her Natural Life. And also the whole of my household Furniture, Vessels of Cookery and Implements of Husbandry, including the clock, wearing Apparell, Books &c and also the Profits arising from the use of labour of all my Negroes, (Bob excepted) as long as she lives; likewise one half of all my live Stock of horned Cattle, Horses, Sheep and Hogs, ready Cash and outstanding Debts, all of which as above set forth she is to hold, and apply to her own use and her own disposal in any manner that, to her may seem meet, and that She be one of the Executors of this my last Will and Testament &c. I give and bequeath to my Brother's Son William Ireland, the Negro Boy Bob, reserving nonetheless, the use and labour of said Negro Bob for my Brother John Ireland as long as he lives, and then and not till then he is to become the property of said William &c. I give and bequeath to the Pennsylvania Society for the abolishing of Slavery and the relief of free Negroes held in bondage_ my Negro Boy named Ben and his Wife Poll and their Son Luke with all their increase till the decease of my Wife Sarah to be delivered to the Agent or legal Representative of said Society at any time when called for after the decease of my Wife, but not before that period, in order [th]at the said Negroes may have and enjoy the Benefits intended and designed by said Society &c.

I give and bequeath to my Brother John Ireland one Dividend or tenth part of the Profits arising from the Sale of the Land heretofore directed for Sale, and also that part of my personal Estate not heretofore bequeathed, which I allow to be sold at my decease, and also the like part or dividend of the remainder of my Lands, which I allow to be sold at my decease, and also the like part or dividend of the remainder of my Lands which I allow to be sold at the decease of my Wife and not before. I give to John Ireland's children, each of them, male and female one Dividend or tenth part of the Money arising from the Sale as above (To witt) to James Ireland, One part, to William Ireland one part, To James Alexander, Husband of Margaret Ireland One party, to Peter Fleming the Husband of Martha Ireland, one part, to David Ireland One Part, to Andrew Ireland, One part; to Elijah Mitchel, the Husband of Sarah Ireland, one part, to John Adams, the Husband of Nancy Ireland, one part, To David Pervinance the Husband of Mary Ireland one part, and that the same or each of them or their Heirs or Successors equally share and share alike, agreeable to the true intent and meaning of the above &c.

And I do hereby appoint and constitute my Two Friends, in whom I repose Confidence (to wit) Andrew Morrison and Thomas Morrison jointly with my Wife Sarah already nominated to be Executors of this my last Will and Testament.

Ratifying and confirming this and no other to be my last Will and Testament, I hereunto set my hand and seal in Testimony thereof this 26^th Day of April in the Year of our Lord One Thousand Seven Hundred & Ninety Six

William Irlande {seal}

Signed and sealed

in the present of

James Morrison. Jurat

Henry Morrison. Jurat”

Source: Iredell County, North Carolina, Wills, 1:3, William Ireland; digital image, FamilySearch.org, "North Carolina, Probate Records, 1735-1970, Iredell, Wills, 1790-1819, Vol. 01," (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-1-19423-124033-68?cc=1867501&wc=10922252 : accessed 22 June 2013)

© 2013 Denise Spurlock, Ancestral Trees Research

Friend of Friends Friday - 1817 Will of Elizabeth Cook, Surry County, North Carolina

2013-01-25T05:00:00.000-08:00

When William Cook of Surry County, North Carolina, died in 1812, he bequeathed to his wife Elizabeth "his Molatto boy Lewis to be her own property forever." In her will, Elizabeth bequeathed Lewis to one of her sons with a provision for Lewis to be freed when he reached age 35. Following is a transcription and images of Elizabeth's will.

"In the name of God Amen I Elizabeth Cook of the County of Surry and State of North Carolina being weak in Body but of sound mind and memory Blessed be God for the Same_ and calling to mind my approaching mortality do this fourth day of april AD 1817 make and publish this my Last will and Testament in manner following: (viz) I give and bequeath until my Son Wilds [Miles?] Cook my molatto Boy lewis untill he shall arrive to the age of thirty five years old after that period my will and Desire is that the aforesaid Boy Lewis shall obtain his freedom and continue no longe[r] [?] and it is my will and Desire that my Said Son Wild [Miles?] Cook or Some other of my Children or some friend Should make application to the legislature for the purpose of haveing a law passed to Carry into effect this my will so far as Respects the freedom of said Boy. Witness my hand and Seal the Day and date above written. Signed and acknowledxged in ~~the~~ presance of ___

J Wright her

Henry Hampton Senr Elizabeth X Cook {seal}

mark

State of North Carolina Surry County February term 1824. Thomas Wright one of the subscribing witness to the foregoing last Will & testament of Elizabeth Cook decd made oath that he saw the said Elizabeth Cook, sign publish & declare the same to be her last Will & testament, that she was of sound, disposing mind & memory, and at the same time he saw Henry Hampton Sen^r sign the same as a witness, and therupon it was ordered to be recorded.

Recorded accordingly R J Williams C C"

Source: North Carolina, will, Elizabeth Cook, Surry County Wills, 1792-1827, Vol. 03, pg. 159, image 185; digital images, FamilySearch (www.familysearch.org : accessed 24 Jan 2013).

Capturing Memories

2013-01-02T13:38:00.000-08:00

I've tried to get family members to write about their memories without much success. However, I have noticed over the last few months, several relatives have written in emails, Facebook posts or blog comments about their memories of another family member or an occasion. I’ve been trying to come up with a way to capture those fleeting tidbits so I can easily access them when writing about family history.

I’ve decided to use a word processing document in which I can record the following information:

Family member or event remembered
Name of individual who made the comment
Date
Actual text of comment (copy and paste)
Copy of photograph or other related documentation

Each time I come across a memory I can easily add it to the document. This should make it much easier to find those comments than trying to search through Facebook posts or email accounts.

If you have any suggestions about how to capture these kinds of memories, I invite you to share them in the comments section below.

Public domain image, via Wikimedia Commons.

Wishing You a Glad New Year!

2013-01-01T05:00:00.000-08:00

Image courtesy of The Graphics Fairy.

Wishing All a Merry Christmas!

2012-12-25T07:34:00.001-08:00

Whether you are spending the holidays at home or traveling to see family and friends, I wish you a

Happy Holiday Season

and a

Bountiful 2013!

Blog Caroling with footnoteMaven 2012

2012-12-13T17:23:00.001-08:00

Each year footnoteMaven invites us to a day of virtual caroling...this year I join the singalong with Carol of the Bells.

Veterans Day 2012

2012-11-11T05:00:00.000-08:00

Words cannot express the gratitude I feel.

Tuesday’s Tip – Missouri History Museum

2012-10-02T10:34:00.002-07:00

If you have ancestors who lived in Missouri, check out the Missouri History Museum! The museum has exhibits and collections sure to be of interest.

Currently featured on-ground exhibits include The Civil War in Missouri, The Language of Portraits, Underneath It All, and Our Olympics. Some of the online exhibits are Sidewalks of St. Louis, unCommon Threads: Stories of Missouri Brides, and Shifting Gears: The Automobile Industry in St. Louis, 1890-1930.

History Happens Here! is the museum’s blog. Check out their publications page to learn about their magazine and available books.

Subscribe to the monthly e-newsletter “Genealogy and House History News” to receive the latest information on additions to the Genealogy and Local History Index, new Archives Collection Guides posted online, and upcoming genealogy workshops and lectures.

Information about location, hours, etc. can be found here.

Daily Official Program of Thursday, June 16, 1904, of the Louisiana
Purchase Exposition, also known as the St. Louis World's Fair.
Public domain image via Wikimedia Commons.

Remembering 9/11

2012-09-11T05:46:00.000-07:00

I didn’t have the television on that morning, so I didn’t hear about the attack on the World Trade Center until I got to work. At the time, I was teaching computer applications at a small vocational rehabilitation school. To think that terrorists so boldly attacked American citizens on our own soil was unimaginable to all of us. It was a difficult day as students and faculty tried to deal with what it all meant for the security of our nation.

Things have changed since 9/11. The new security measures in place at our nation’s airports mean longer waits before boarding flights. It’s inconvenient, but necessary. Osama bin Laden is dead, but unfortunately the threat of terrorism is not. Regretfully there are those who view all Muslims as terrorists; I understand fear, but not intolerance.

On this Patriot Day, I remember those who lost their lives and wish peace and healing for their families. I thank those who protect us from terrorist threats on a daily basis. I pray for tolerance for those who, despite having different religious beliefs, mean no harm and only wish to live peaceably with others.

Saturday Night Genealogy Fun - What Type of Genealogist Are You?

2012-09-01T14:11:00.000-07:00

Randy Seaver’s Saturday Night Genealogy Fun post for today asks What Type of Genealogist Are You? The mission for those responding is:

1) Read Lorine McGinnis Schulze's blog post What Type of Genealogist Are You? (25 August 2012).

2) Answer the questions, and write about them!!

3) Share your opinions in your own blog post, in comments on this post, in a Facebook Status, in a Google+ Stream post, or in a Twitter microblog.

There is no doubt that I am the Hunter/Detective type; I love research, for my own ancestors and for those of clients and friends.

Based on that, I am neither a Gatherer/Ancestor Collector (although I know several) nor an Ancestor Finder. And although I have been frustrated at times with collaborative genealogy, I am not a Hoarder; I want share my research but not necessarily in online trees. Not a Junkyard Collector either, although you couldn’t tell that by looking at my desk!

I haven’t submitted any articles to scholarly journals (yet), but I am a Scholar in that I want to have proper source citations and I try to include them even on my blogs so that people will know where I found my information. The longer I am involved in genealogical research, the more I am becoming an Analyzer; in my personal research, I find if I go back and look at documents again, there are clues I didn’t see before!

I wish I were more of a Planner. I try to use research plans and logs, but sometimes I get caught up in the thrill of the hunt, or sidetracked by some tidbit of information, and I get off track.

So there you have it: I’m a Hunter/Detective, with some Scholar and Analyzer thrown in for good measure!

Sherlock Holmes in "The Five Orange Pips"
By Sidney Paget (1860 - 1908) (Strand Magazine)
[Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

Happy Independence Day!

2012-07-04T02:00:00.000-07:00

Geni.com posted this great infographic about Independence Day! Do you live in a town with a patriotic name? Have a presidential surname? I remember hearing that one of my paternal ancestors signed the Declaration of Independence but I haven't found any evidence to support that family legend; on my maternal line, I am distantly related to John Adams. However you choose to celebrate the 4th of July, have a wonderful day!

Friday Funny - A Census Chuckle!

2012-06-15T12:19:00.000-07:00

Marysville Tribune, 13 January 1851,
page 4, column 1; Ohio Historical Society,
microfilm 46242.

"Census Anecdote.

'What is your age, miss?' inquired a gallant marshal of a young lady about sixty, in the — district, the other day.

'What's that to you, Mr. Impertinence?' said the fair one, drawing up and exhibiting a formidable chevaux de frieze of broken teeth.

It is a very unpleasant question but it must be asked. What age shall I place you at? twenty, I should think.

'Yes,' said the old girl, completely molified, 'I think I was twenty last spring,' and the gratified damsel invited our friend to take a glass of wine and call again before he left town."

Tuesday's Tip - Newspapers Can Provide Data Missing from Records

2012-06-12T11:58:00.001-07:00

Historical newspapers can provide information about events that are missing from the record books. For example, if you have a marriage license, but no return, check the local newspapers to see if a marriage announcement was printed (click here for an example from my own family). In small town papers, you may find other useful information; in city papers, there may only be the names of the bride and groom with the date of marriage.

© 2012 Denise Spurlock, Ancestral Trees Research

Tuesday's Tip - Finding the Obituary

2012-06-05T05:00:00.000-07:00

I didn't find David Franklin's obituary for a long time. Why? Because I was using the year of death as part of my search criteria. David died on 29 December 1932; his obituary was not published until 5 January 1933.

Since many of the smaller newspapers were weekly or biweekly, it could be several weeks after a death before an obituary was published.

Lesson learned: If your ancestor died in December, the obituary may not be published until January!

© 2012 Denise Spurlock, Ancestral Trees Research

52 Weeks of Abundant Genealogy - Week 14 - State and National Societies

2012-04-12T05:00:00.000-07:00

I belong to several state, regional and national genealogical societies including the Southern California Genealogical Society, the Utah Genealogical Association, the New England Historic Genealogical Society, and the National Genealogical Society. All have publications and benefits that are helpful to me in my research.

Of these, I would say I am most thankful for the NEHGS. I am descended from early New England ancestors and the databases and other reference materials available to me through their website have been invaluable in furthering my research on these familial lines.

I also have a particular interest in early American history. Reading their books and periodicals has helped expand my knowledge and provided many hours of enjoyable reading.

Although I am not sure I will ever have the opportunity, I would love to visit Boston and take advantage of the research library and educational programs offered by NEHGS.

52 Weeks of Abundant Genealogy by Amy Coffin is a series of weekly blogging prompts (one for each week of 2012) that invite genealogists and others to discuss resources in the genealogy community including websites, applications, libraries, archives, genealogical societies and more. You do not have to be a blogger to participate. If you do not have a genealogy blog, write down your thoughts on your computer, or simply record them on paper and keep them with your files.

52 Weeks of Abundant Genealogy - Week 13 - Local Societies

2012-04-11T10:45:00.002-07:00

Because my genealogical research is focused thousands of miles from where I live, I’ve never joined a local genealogical society. However, I am thankful for all that local societies do in preserving records and promoting family history. Without their tireless efforts, much of what we find online would not exist. Local societies have taken on the dirty work of transcribing old, overgrown cemeteries and sitting in dusty courthouses going through record books. What they have produced throughout the years is amazing!

In this new digital age, local societies are joining in the effort to index the 1940 census. Often their cemetery work involves not only transcribing information from headstones but also taking photographs and creating memorials such as Find-A-Grave and interment.net. They continue their efforts within their communities to preserve and promote local history and to educate their members and the public about genealogy.

Despite the fact that I have no ancestors in the area in which I live, I need to join a local society so that the resources we have are available to researchers everywhere!

Motivation Monday – March Madness

2012-04-09T19:18:00.000-07:00

Public domain image, from
Wikimedia Commons.

Between “Censusmas” (April 2^nd) and Easter, I lost the first week of April, after a crazy March! Here is my status on my 2012 goals:

Client Research

Ongoing heir search in the Midwest United States
Full family history project as a gift for a family friend’s 80^th birthday.

Personal Research and Organization

Using the Surname Saturday prompt, I blogged each week about one of my ancestors. With the first week of April included, I’ve made it through all my great-grandparents. Next weekend I start with my 2^nd great-grandparents; while I have done considerable research on some of them, there are others who really need some attention!
I transcribed four deeds for Amanuensis Monday postings. I did not get as many other documents organized as I wanted; however, I did spend several hours processing (including writing proper source citations) and organizing about 40 documents and photographs. There are still many more to do!

Writing

Continued weekly participation in Amy Coffin’s 52 Weeks of Abundant Genealogy with a total of four posts in March! I got behind, spent some time catching up and I’m behind again!
In March I wrote 20,801 words for blog posts, Examiner articles, and the family history project. I wrote another 23,902 words at 750words.com – a total of nearly 44,703 words!
My editorial calendars went by the wayside for March – need to try again!

Speaking

I presented “Countdown to the Release of the 1940 Census” at the March 16th meeting of the San Fernando Valley Genealogical Society.
Scheduled a workshop on “Source Citations for Beginners” for the Genealogy Garage scheduled for May 19th at the Los Angeles Public Library.

Education

Completed my research report assignment for ProGen.
I participated in several excellent webinars and a mentoring meeting sponsored by the Association of Professional Genealogists.
Participated in the Mini-Professional Management Conference sponsored by the Southern California Chapter of the APG.
I’ve finished reading Annie’s Ghosts: A Journey into a Family Secret by Steve Luxenberg, and now need to write the review for it, as well as review The Family Tree Problem Solver: Tried and True Tactics for Researching Your Elusive Ancestors by Marsha Hoffman Rising.

Giving Back

I went to Wilmington Cemetery to take photos for Find-A-Grave and to research a burial for someone. I took a few photos and created about half a dozen memorials. I was disappointed that I was unable to get good photos because the grass had nearly grown over several of the grave markers in the area in which I was working. I’ll be taking some gardening tools along with me next time.

So that was March…time to get back to April!

Tuesday's Tip: No Land...Only Slaves!

2012-04-03T05:00:00.000-07:00

If you are researching African-American ancestry in Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas, or Mississippi, you might want to check out the No Land…Only Slaves! series. These books contain slave records abstracted and indexed from deed books. I contacted one of the authors by email for more information. The following books have been published:

Volume 1: Bossier Parish, Louisiana

Volume 2: Claiborne Parish, Louisiana

Volume 3: Caddo Parish, Louisiana

Volume 4: Harrison, Hunt and Kaufman Counties, Texas

Volume 5: DeSoto Parish, Louisiana

Volume 6: Lafayette County, Arkansas

Volume 7: Panola and Grayson Counties, Texas

Volume 8: Bienville Parish, Louisiana

Volume 9: Smith and McLennan Counties, Texas

Volume 10: Fannin County, Texas

Volume 11: Upshur and Ellis Counties, Texas

Volume 12: San Augustine County, Texas

Volume 13: Rusk County, Texas

Volume 14: Travis County, Texas

Volume 15: Cass County, Texas

Volume 16: Navarro County, Texas

Volume 17: Bastrop County, Texas

Volume 18: Hempstead County, Arkansas

Volumes for the following counties and parishes are in the works:

Nacogdoches County, Texas

Pontotoc County, Mississippi

Scott County, Mississippi

Lauderdale County, Mississippi

Madison County, Mississippi

Natchitoches Parish, Louisiana

Sevier County, Arkansas

Red River County, Texas

Lamar County, Texas

For more information, contact:

Slaves & More Bookstore

13215 Twin Oaks Drive

Balch Springs, Texas 75180

214-235-5099

Email: slaves8m@yahoo.com

Website: http://slaves.8m.com

And the race is on…

2012-04-02T08:48:00.000-07:00

… to find your ancestors in the 1940 US Census, released this morning!

Genealogists have been talking about, blogging about, and preparing for the census release for months. And the system has bogged down with everyone trying to use it at one time.

Don’t yell at your computer (or worse yet, those who have worked so hard to get it ready), don’t kick the dog, just relax and keep your ~~census~~ senses about you. Here are a few things you can try:

Create an account on the NARA site and then bookmark those EDs that you want to look at; this will save a little time as you go back to the site to try one more time!
If you can get to the images you need, download them and look at them offline. I haven’t been able to do this yet, but I have heard that people are having success downloading the images.
Check Ancestry.com and FamilySearch.org; both are uploading images to their servers which are browsable.

Everyone is eager to find their family members, but now that it has been released, the 1940 census is not going anywhere. If you can’t get to the images, do some other family research instead. The images will be there tomorrow, next week, a year from now. In fact, in 6-9 months, we’ll have an every name index!

52 Weeks of Abundant Genealogy - Week 12 - Podcasts

2012-03-22T11:23:00.000-07:00

Podcasts—hmmm…This is one area of genealogical education/technology that I have not embraced…yet.

On my phone, I do have the app for Lisa Louise Cooke’s Genealogy Gems Podcast. I’ve tried to listen to an episode, but I tend to get antsy when I just sit. I haven’t tried listening while I do something else.

One thing I want to try is to listen while I drive, particularly on those hour-long drives to society meetings or to visit friends in other areas. But to do that, I need to get a phone charger for my car…guess I should go shopping because I have one of those drives coming up soon!

52 Weeks of Abundant Genealogy - Week 11 - Webinars

2012-03-15T11:01:00.000-07:00

Webinars are the best thing to come along since sliced bread! The ability to attend quality genealogical programs at little or no cost—what could be better!

For those who want to learn more about genealogy, but who are unable to attend meetings or conferences because of time constraints or physical or financial limitations, webinars are surely a god-send. For the rest of us, it’s an easy way to feed our insatiable hunger for knowledge about all things genealogical.

I have participated in webinars made available by a variety of genealogical societies and vendors. All of them have been worthwhile.

Here are links to two of my favorite webinar providers:

Legacy Family Tree – webinars are free at time of live broadcast (usually during work hours in the U.S.) and for a limited time afterward (7-10 days); recorded broadcasts which include handouts are available for purchase [Note: I am a Legacy affiliate; if you click on links on my blog to go to their site and subsequently purchase something, I receive a small commission.]

Southern California Genealogical Society – webinars are free at time of live broadcast (Saturday mornings and Wednesday evenings) and afterward are available to SCGS members on the society’s website. [Note: I am a dues-paying member of the SCGS and a volunteer on their Jamboree Committee. I am presenting a webinar in September for which I will be compensated.]

The only thing missing from webinars is the camaraderie and socialization with other like-minded individuals that one can only get in person!

52 Weeks of Abundant Genealogy - Week 10 - Road Trips

2012-03-08T10:08:00.000-08:00

I was born, raised, and still live in California, but my roots are elsewhere—from Texas and Louisiana to Kansas and Missouri, up to Minnesota, and all the way back to New England.

The only genealogy road trips I’ve taken have been in the Texas/Louisiana area. My sister lives in Texas and, when I go to visit, we usually plan a two or three day road trip to see some sights and do some genealogy. (She’s not a genealogist, but makes a wonderful courthouse research assistant.)

About 5 years ago, we took my granddaughter along and did a 4-state trip from her home in Texas, up to Oklahoma to visit family, a brief stop in Arkansas (it only counts as a state visited if you actually get out of the car!) and then on to northwestern Louisiana to visit the area in which our Spurlock ancestors settled.

We searched out and visited several cemeteries—Hurricane Cemetery in Claiborne Parish, Mt. Zion (Driskill) Cumberland Presbyterian Church Cemetery in Bienville Parish, and Antioch Cumberland Presbyterian Church Cemetery in Jackson Parish—and paid our respects to the ancestors buried there. I discovered that my sister has a wonderful ability to find tombstones.

We travelled the length of Spurlock Road in Claiborne Parish; I think this road was an original boundary of Ransom Spurlock’s homestead but haven’t mapped it out. We also visited the Bonnie and Clyde Museum and ate at a wonderful restaurant called Ernie’s in Shreveport.

Digital image. Denise Spurlock, 2007.

From a research standpoint, this wasn’t the most productive genealogical road trip, but in terms of making family history, it tops my list! It was a wonderful opportunity to share my passion with both my sister and my granddaughter.

52 Weeks of Abundant Genealogy by Amy Coffin is a series of weekly blogging prompts (one for each week of 2012) that invite genealogists and others to discuss resources in the genealogy community including websites, applications, libraries, archives, genealogical societies and more. You do not have to be a blogger to participate. If you do not have a genealogy blog, write down your thoughts on your computer, or simply record them on paper and keep them with your files.

© 2012 Denise Spurlock, Ancestral Trees Research

Tuesday’s Tip – Never Enough Time!

2012-03-06T05:00:00.000-08:00

Like genealogists everywhere, I love the thrill of the hunt – searching through online databases, records and books for tidbits of information about my ancestors and their lives! I admit that sometimes I get so caught up in the hunt and recording the information in my database that I haven’t always taken the time to properly cite my sources. I made notes on the sources – usually a copy and paste of the information to a text document – with every good intention of writing the source citations later.

In the last year, I’ve changed my errant ways and record my source citations as I go along. But I still have lots of catching up to do. This weekend I spent several hours going through those old documents (some back from November 2009!) and creating the proper source citations in my database. What I’ve learned from experience is that if I’d just done it right the first time, it probably would have taken me far less time!

It reminds me of this quote attributed to Jack Bergman:

There's never enough time to do it right,

but there's always enough time to do it over!

Take whatever steps are necessary to set up a system that makes it easy to create your source citations right the first time! Whether you use the templates available in your genealogy software, free-form citations that you write using Elizabeth Shown Mill’s Evidence Explained as a guide, or templates you create on your own in your word processing software, get that source citation written! It will save you time in the long run.

If you need help, here are three resources to make it easier:

Wyatt Scrapbook - So What is Left?

2012-03-05T10:41:00.001-08:00

In November 2011, I purchased a scrapbook at an antiques mall in Carson, California. The scrapbook is believed to have belonged to Laurine Wyatt. I am transcribing the articles and documents contained in the scrapbook with the hope that it may be of value to genealogists who may be researching the individuals named.

Over the past two weeks, I posted the few items from the scrapbook that directly mentioned Laurine Wyatt. So what is left?

There are photo corners glued in the scrapbook that now hold nothing so certainly there were other items; I imagine those items were of some value to the individual who last owned the scrapbook.

There are additional items that, in my estimation, lack genealogical value in the sense they do not report vital events in the lives of individuals. But certainly those items represent people, places and events that were meaningful to Laurine.

While working with the scrapbook, I have done some research on Laurine Wyatt that is posted on a public member tree at Ancestry.com. From what I have been able to determine, she never married and has no direct descendants.

Over the next few months, I plan to continue to research Laurine’s life. I also plan to assemble a digital scrapbook containing all of the contents of the physical scrapbook. (I welcome any suggestions for the best place to publish such a digital scrapbook; I would like for it to be accessible free of charge.)

My hope is that one of Laurine Wyatt’s distant cousins will someday claim her legacy.