Midwestern Microhistory: A Genealogy Blog

Now published: The Lottery of Life: Scholes Family 1814-2016, Four Generations from Lancashire and Wisconsin

2021-02-04T06:41:00.001-08:00

William Scholes (1814-1864), a cotton carder in one of the "dark Satanic mills" of the Industrial Revolution in England, won a workers' lottery on New Year's Day 1849. That fall, he and wife Ann Mills (1814-1875) and their children arrived in central Wisconsin with high hopes and few skills. In 37 chapters, "The Lottery of Life" follows the ancestral couple and their descendants -- among them teachers, telegraphers, engineers, homesteaders, active union members, farmers, inventors (from farm equipment to recycling fluorescent lights), an encyclopedia manager, and a world authority on glass.

Table of contents:

Table of Contents

People Finder by Descent
and Chapter.. 0

Introduction... 1

Prequel Escape from the Cotton
Factory.. 5

ENGLISH GENERATION

Chapter 1. Samuel^AMills–Alice Stocks Family.. 9

FIRST GENERATION

(1814-1875, presidents Madison to Grant)

Chapter 2.. Ann Mills¹–William Scholes Family.. 11

SECOND GENERATION

(1835-1941, presidents Jackson to Franklin Roosevelt)

Chapter 3. Mary Scholes²–Bissell Sherwin Family.. 23

Chapter 4. Sarah Ann Scholes²Robert Walker Hume Sr. Family 29

Chapter 5. Elizabeth Scholes² Family.. 37

Chapter 6. Alice Scholes²–Joseph Cockroft Smith Family.. 41

Chapter 7. Robert² Scholes–Caroline Cornelia Parkes + Ellison Family.. 45

Table 1. Scholes-Ellison Families:

Seven Somewhat Related Children... 54

Chapter 8. Samuel Mills² Scholes–Harriet Newell Mozley Family 55

STORY 1. Traveling in Minnesota
in 1879. 57

Chapter 9. William² Scholes–Mary Ellen Dixon Family.. 61

Chapter 10. George Walker² Scholes–Susanna Rebecca Audiss Family 65

Chapter 11. James Mills² Scholes–Emma Maria Hull Family.. 69

THIRD GENERATION (& FOURTH GENERATION THROUGH 2016)

(1856-1995, presidents Pierce to Clinton)

Chapter 12. Charles Truman³ Sherwin–Jane Thressa Young Family 73

Chapter 13. Francis Roderick “Frank”³ Sherwin–Annie Henry Family 85

Chapter 14. William Orlando³ Sherwin–Harriet M. Manley– Lottie Mazie Taylor Family.. 95

Chapter 15. Flora Ann³ Sherwin–John James Bell Family.. 105

Chapter 16. Margaret Alice³ “Maggie” Hume–Judson Stiles Berry Family.. 111

Story 2. The Berry Patch and Its House

(on the eve of WW2) 119

Chapter 17. Robert Walker³ Hume, Jr.–Alice Sarah Smith Family 123

Chapter 18. William Scholes³ Hume–Eliza May “Lida” Sutcliff Family 133

Story 3. Endeavor Christian Academy

(1890–1926) 145

Chapter 19. Sarah Ann Janet “Nettie”³ Hume–Henry Eden Jones Family.. 149

Chapter 20. James Samuel³ Hume–Lydia Alberta “Birdie” Sawyer Family.. 163

Story 4. Showdown in North

Dakota,1918. 169

Chapter 21. George Walker³ Hume–Lois/Louise DeMott Family.. 179

Chapter 22. William Henry³ Smith–Ruth Rosie Haines Family.. 185

Chapter 23. Eva Florence³ Smith–Richard Albert Beichl Family 193

Chapter 24. Mary Irene³ Smith Family.. 199

Chapter 25. Robert Joseph³ Smith–Myrtle M. Page Family.. 201

Chapter 26. Nettie A.³ Scholes–Thomas Clarence Moran Family 205

Chapter 27. Mary H.³ Scholes–William Robert Heames FamilY.. 215

Chapter 28. Hattie C.³ Scholes–John Rodney Schwemerlein Family 229

Chapter 29. Eleanor “Nellie” Elizabeth³ Scholes Family.. 233

Chapter 30. Bonnie Elizabeth³ Scholes. 235

Chapter 31. Samuel Ray³ Scholes–Lois E. Boren Family.. 239

Chapter 32. Marion Edith³ Scholes

FamilY.. 255

Chapter 33. Lillian Estelle³ Scholes–Fred Gaylord Russell Family 259

Table 2. Scholes and Russell,

allied families. 263

Chapter 34. Elmer Roy³ Scholes–Mary Elsie Rood Family.. 265

Chapter 35. Samuel Eugene³ Scholes–Edna Peake Family.. 273

Chapter 36. Robert Henry³ Scholes–Pearl Alida Edwards Family 279

Chapter 37. Ruth Emma³ Scholes–Leo Robleske–George Redman Family.. 289

Index.. 295

"Ackersons Across America," part one, in the NY Genealogical & Biographical Record

2020-10-26T14:01:00.000-07:00

The first installment of my "Ackersons Across America: Descendants of John and Rachel (Lowe) Ackerson in New York and California" is fresh from the New York Genealogical and Biographical Record for October 2020. It starts with an indirect-evidence proof that Rachel Lowe the daughter of Segar Lowe was indeed Rachel Lowe the wife of John Ackerson, and then we're into the life stories. Thanks to editor Laura Murphy DeGrazia for keeping me on track.

Next installment in the January issue: John Walter Ackerson goes to the California Gold Rush and gets rich on trees and real estate, and his sister Mary Elizabeth -- well, I won't tell that part yet. Keep the Kleenex handy.

New encroachment on New York public records

2020-10-07T07:15:00.002-07:00

https://www.newyorkfamilyhistory.org/access-alert?utm_source=enews&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=records+access

"Midwestern Methodists" is published! Table of contents attached...

2020-09-17T07:00:00.001-07:00

My second family history book is available now at lulu.com: Midwestern Methodists: Four Thrall Generations from Bone Gap, Illinois, 1809-2018. It follows Worthy Thrall (1809-1851) and his wife Hannah James (1809-1874) and their four children, 16 grandchildren, and 38 great-grandchildren -- the 8th, 9th, and 10th generations from immigrant ancestor William Thrall of Connecticut (and presumably from England, although he has yet to be found there in the late 1500s or early 1600s). Price is $28.99 (430 pages) but lulu.com has 10% off through the 18th of September.

I have not figured out whether there is a way to put the Table of Contents up at lulu, so here it is in this quiet corner of the internet instead!

Table of Contents

Family Finder by Descent and Chapter................................................................... 0

People Finder by Descent and Chapter.................................................................. 0

Introduction................................................................................................................................ 1

Family Overview 3

Map 1: Thrall and Gould migrations 6

Map 2: 1891 Bone Gap and railroads 10

Seventh generation

(1809–1875, presidents Jefferson to Grant)

Chapter 1. Worthy⁷ Thrall & Hannah James 13

Eighth generation

(1827–1925, presidents Jackson to Coolidge)

Chapter 2. Mary Elizabeth⁸ Thrall & Amos Morgan 27

Chapter 3. Laura Lucina⁸ Thrall & Solon Gould 33

Tree 1: Allied Gould–Thrall Families 45

Story 1: A walk in the orchard 46

Chapter 4. H. Caroline⁸ Thrall & Charles Campbell 47

Chapter 5. Leonidas⁸ Thrall, Edith Marie Flint,

Emily Jones 59

Tree 2: Allied Jones–Thrall Families 74

Story 2: Housework in Kansas, 1878 75

Ninth Generation

(1852–1979, presidents Fillmore to Carter)

Chapter 6. Milton⁹ Morgan, Clementine Clark,

Amanda Teachout 77

Genealogical puzzle 1: Beyond this chapter, how much of Milton’s life in Nebraska can be told? 86

Chapter 7. Allyn T.⁹ Morgan, Rosina Smith, Louisa Jones

(Thrall) Gash, Mary Catherine Schofield 87

Tree 3: Allied Flint–Morgan Families. 103

Tree 4: Allied Schofield, Thrall, Morgan Families

104

Genealogical puzzle 2: Who were the parents

of Lulu Irene Geoffroy? 105

Chapter 8. Wilbur A.⁹ Morgan & Eliza Jane Smith 109

Chapter 9. Lucretia⁹ Morgan & Joseph W. Britton 117

Tree 5: Allied Thrall, Morgan, Gould, Britton Families 125

Chapter 10. Alta Areta Gould⁹& Edw. G. Britton 127

Chapter 11. Leighton–Pifer–Gould Connections 133

Chapter 12. Virgil N.⁹ Gould & Dora S. Leighton 139

Chapter 13. Edith E.⁹Gould, Flora A.⁹Gould 145

Chapter 14. Etta J.⁹ Campbell & Harvey Marshall 149

Table 1: Etta’s and parents’ stated birthplaces 151

Chapter 15. Leo F.⁹ Campbell & Fleeta M. Cantwell 153

Table 2: Leo’s parents’ stated birthplaces 155

Chapter 16. Edith Laura⁹ Thrall 159

Chapter 17. Victor W.⁹ Thrall & Carrie Jones 163

Chapter 18. William F.⁹ Thrall & Enola L. Keisling 171

Story 3: Locating the high-school track meet 180

Chapter 19. Charles⁹ Thrall & Gertrude Gerking 181

Chapter 20. Harold⁹ Thrall & Elizabeth Schriber 185

Story 4: Horse and Buggy from Noble to Weedman, 1911 193

Chapter 21. Mary Virginia⁹ Thrall & David Cover 195

Tenth Generation

(1874–2018, presidents Grant to Trump)

Chapter 22. Edgar A.¹⁰ Morgan & Addie Gould 199

Chapter 23. Myrtle¹⁰ Morgan & Christopher Collins 213

Chapter 24. Raymond¹⁰ Morgan & Ada P. Vensel 217

Chapter 25. Ezra Leonidas¹⁰ Morgan & Mary Flint 221

Chapter 26. Earl A.¹⁰Morgan & Effie Bankston 225

Chapter 27. Evart¹⁰ Morgan, Elsie Drury, Eva Brines 229

Chapter 28. Hale E.¹⁰ Morgan & Edna Wheeler 233

Chapter 29. Glen¹⁰ Morgan, Mina Sims, Ava B. [–?–] 237

Genealogical puzzle 3: Who was Glen’s 2^nd wife? 241

Chapter 30. Willard¹⁰ Morgan & Wilma Snider 243

Chapter 31. William¹⁰ Britton, Sarah Castile, Helen Ross 247

Chapter 32. Floyd¹⁰ Britton, Gladys Gaunt, Hazel (Reck) (Crocker) Thorsness 251

Chapter 33. Lucile¹⁰ Britton & Timothy McKnight 257

Chapter 34. Vivian¹⁰ Britton & Harry I. Hannah 259

Chapter 35. Waldo Vincent¹⁰ Britton 263

Chapter 36. Elsie M.¹⁰ Britton & Verla Crawley 265

Chapter 37. Ethel¹⁰ Britton & Milton Hartman 269

Chapter 38. Ernest¹⁰ Britton & Martha Hughes 273

Chapter 39. Kathleen V.¹⁰ Pifer & Hugh McNelly 277

Chapter 40. Edwin M.¹⁰ Gould & Rhodean Perdue 283

Chapter 41. Victor¹⁰ Gould, Ella Lippert,

Geraldine Hacke 287

Chapter 42. Paul Glenwood¹⁰ Gould, Ada Shaffer, Rosa

(Burdette) Germanini 291

Chapter 43. Areta H.¹⁰ Gould & Emery H. Martin 295

Chapter 44. Margaret Louise/Lucille¹⁰ Pifer &

George Y. King 299

Chapter 45. Cecil Melvin¹⁰ Pifer, Rosalie Galeener,

Kathryn Williams 303

Chapter 46. Carrie Eleanor¹⁰ Marshall &

Howard Lee Daughenbaugh 309

Chapter 47. Beulah¹⁰ Marshall 313

Chapter 48. Leona M.¹⁰ Campbell & Chester E.

“Jackie” Pearson 317

Chapter 49. Mary A.¹⁰ Campbell & Edward Kohler 321

Chapter 50. Edith F.¹⁰ Thrall & George A. Mooers 323

Chapter 51. Evelyn G.¹⁰ Thrall & Jess Jennings Bird 327

Chapter 52. Victor W.¹⁰ Thrall Jr. & Donna Brown 331

Chapter 53. Rosalie¹⁰ Thrall & Colin Carmichael 335

Chapter 54. Robert M.¹⁰ Thrall & Natalie Hunter 341

Chapter 55. Elizabeth Rose¹⁰ Thrall &

Ronald Athol Henderson 345

Chapter 56. Miriam R.¹⁰ Thrall & George N. Foster 351

Chapter 57. H. James¹⁰ Thrall & Joan E. Walker 355

Chapter 58. William H.¹⁰ Cover & Ruth Alice Palmer 361

Chapter 59. David Leonidas¹⁰ Cover, Billie J. Taake, Ava M. (Simmons) Goddard 365

Index 369

2020-09-06T07:58:00.001-07:00

[Mozley Migrations and Memories by Harold Henderson CG for sale at lulu.com]

Table of Contents

Introduction. 1

Leaving Home. 3

Family Overview.. 5

The Pre-Emigrant Generation

Chapter 1. Richard^A Mozley–Mary Marshall Family.. 9

Map 1: Mozley–Harrison Migration, June–August 1833, Collingham to Erie. . . 12

First Generation

(1785-1870, presidents Washington to Grant)

Chapter 2. Henry¹ Mozley–Susanna Pilley Family. 13

Map 2: Townships of Erie County, Pennsylvania ....................................................................... 21

Chapter 3. Alissomon¹ Mozley–Joseph Harrison Family. 23

Second Generation

(1816–1906, presidents Madison to T. Roosevelt)

Chapter 4. Ann² Mozley–William McLean Long Family. 27

Genealogical Puzzle #1: Who’s the Father?. 30

Chapter 5. Elizabeth² Mozley–James Thomas–Albert Wood Family.. 31

Genealogical Puzzle #2: Capt. James Thomas in Wisconsin. 34

Genealogical Puzzle #3: A.W. Wood.. 41

Story #1: Borrowing the Baby. 52

Tree 1: Three Mozley/Wood/Thomas/Allen Families ……….53

Chapter 6. Thomas² Mozley–Elizabeth Van Natta Family.. 55

Map 3: Green Lake, Fond du Lac, and Milwaukee Counties in Southeast Wisconsin. 62

Chapter 7. Edward² Mozley–Laura Lyons–Amelia M. Warren–Mabel Van Natta Family ……………. 65

Story #2: “Pull Away, for Your Life!”. 71

Chapter 8. Susanna Pilley² Mozley–Henry Stoughton Drake Family.. 73

Genealogical Puzzle #4: Henry’s Mother. 75

Chapter 9. Henry Ebenezer² Mozley–Georgiana Douglass Family.. 85

Genealogical Puzzle #5: Could There Be Two Georgiana Pelkeys?. 89

Story #3: Capt. Pelkey’s Life and Death on the Great Lakes. 91

Chapter 10. Richard² Mozley Family.. 95

Chapter 11. William² Harrison–Martha Thorp Family.. 99

Chapter 12. Mary² Harrison Family.. 103

Chapter 13. Elizabeth² Harrison–Ephraim H. Abell–Edward S. Abell Family. 105

Genealogical Puzzle #6: Are You Abel?. 109

Chapter 14. Thomas² Harrison–Joanna D. [–?–] Family.. 111

Chapter 15. George² Harrison–Mary [–?–] Family.. 115

Third Generation

(1846–1963, presidents Polk to Kennedy)

Chapter 16. William Kinney³Long–Marchia H. Markworth Family. 117

Chapter 17. Susanna³ Thomas Family.. 125

Chapter 18. George Orlando³ Wood–Caroline Elvira Plumb Family. 129

Chapter 19. Melvern R.³ Wood–Emily “Emma” E. Raymond Family.. 137

Chapter 20 Alfred Edward³ Wood Family.. 151

Chapter 21. Sarah Jane³ Mozley–Benjamin Blackmon Family.. 153

Story #4: “Equivalent to the Loss of a Hand or Foot”. 159

Chapter 22. Julia Anna³ Mozley–Frederick Rauselier England Family.. 161

Story #5: “Out of Place and Embarrassed”?. 169

Chapter 23. Harriet Newell³ Mozley–Samuel Mills Scholes Family. 171

Story #6: What I Owe My Father. 183

Chapter 24. William James³ Mozley–Alida Collins Hamilton Family. 185

Chapter 25. Henry Fremont³ Mozley–Eliza Root Family. 193

Chapter 26. Anna Elizabeth³Mozley–John C. Boddington Family. 205

Story #7: “Bonnie and Clyde” in Reverse. 221

Chapter 27. Mary Ellen³ Mozley–David Lee Family.. 223

Chapter 28. Edward Lincoln³Mozley–Laura Winegar Family.. 237

Chapter 29. Henry McLean³ Drake–Emma E. Strong Family.. 255

Tree 2: Drakes and Playters, a Tangled Web 260

Chapter 30. Herbert Ludlow “Bert”³Harrison–Emolyn E. Eddy Family. 261

Chapter 31. Phoebe Alissiman³ Harrison Family. 269

Chapter 32. William Henry³Harrison–Mary Katherine Clark Family.. 271

ABOUT THE AUTHOR…………………………………………289

INDEX.. 291

FOUR-GENERATION MOZLEY WAYFINDING TABLE….327

Back from the undead, more or less

2020-09-05T06:17:00.001-07:00

After more than a year of silence I will make this a spot where folks can find notice of my recent genealogy articles and books. Earlier this year, with the help of Lisa Alzo, I published the first of what I hope will be a series of family histories. Mozley Migrations and Memories is a chronicle of the Mozley and Harrison families who emigrated from England to settle in or near Erie, Pennsylvania, in 1833. I'll post the table of contents tomorrow if this works. The book is available by way of the lulu.com bookstore. Just type "Mozley" in the search box and you should be there.

New book -- resources for major Christian denominations before 1900

2019-06-29T05:41:00.000-07:00

Sunny Jane Morton and I have just published How To Find Your Family History in U.S. Church Records: A Genealogist's Guide, with specific resources for major Christian denominations before 1900 (Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 2019). It includes five chapters on family history research in these records in general, and twelve more on specific denominations or groups of denominations:

Anglican/Episcopal,
Baptist,
Congregational,
Dutch Reformed/Reformed Church in America,
German Churches: Reformed and Sectarian,
Latter-Day Saint (Mormon),
Lutheran,
Mennonite and Amish,
Methodist,
Quaker (Religious Society of Friends),
Presbyterian, and
Roman Catholic.

Obviously this is not a complete book on records of all US religions from the beginning until now. In the introduction we wrote,

"To include all faiths and carry them through the 20th century would have doubled the size of the book and postponed its completion indefinitely. Recognizing that perfection is the enemy of completion, we encourage others to extend and improve upon this work. Many important faiths that have grown up in the U.S. or been brought here by immigrants are not represented in this book; their stories and records deserve to be respected, described, explained, and cataloged as well." We hope it will help genealogists at all levels.

Search engines and slavery

2019-05-15T06:46:00.000-07:00

Historian Adam H. Domby (College of Charleston) reports that Ancestry has recently changed its search engine in ways that make it more difficult to learn about slavery from basic genealogical inquiries. "When searching for an individual’s name, Ancestry.com stopped including results from the 1850 or 1860 United States Census Slave Schedules." Some improvements have been made but reportedly the search function is still not back to what it was. Read much more here. His article appears in "Black Perspectives," the award-winning blog of the African American Intellectual History Society (AAIHS).

Front-page news 101 years ago, or "we're not in Kansas any more"

2019-05-05T10:52:00.000-07:00

FIRST AIRPLANE PASSES OVER WILLIAMSBURG

A large airplane coming from the southwest and going northeast passed over Williamsburg about 4:30 Saturday afternoon [30 November 1918]. This is the first airplane which has been near here, and people in and around the vicinity were able to get a good view of it, as it was going rather slowly. No report has been seen of it, so no one know why it was traveling over here.

(Williamsburg Star [Kansas], Thursday 5 December 1918, page 1, column 2)

First steps in analyzing stupidity

2019-04-28T06:52:00.000-07:00

"Smart is the ability to solve hard problems, which can be done many ways. Stupid is a tendency to not comprehend easy problems."

So writes Morgan Housel at the Collaborative Fund's blog. While the examples tend to focus on finance and economics, the lessons can be applied in many ways . . .

For instance, one way of being stupid is "Discounting the views of people who aren’t as credentialed as you are, underestimating the special knowledge they have since they’ve experienced a world you haven’t."

Books vs. Articles

2019-04-21T05:25:00.000-07:00

Slowly I am learning that writing a family history book is not anything like writing an extra-long article. A book is more like infinity -- walking in a flat desert with no landmarks. The horizon stays in the same place no matter how long you walk.

On the positive side, once done, books are much roomier than articles. I can find out how relatives interacted -- how California cousins took in a Wisconsin relative whose doctor said she would die if she had to go through another winter; how my wife's 20something grandfather, on his way from Wisconsin to graduate school at Yale, stopped by to see an aunt in eastern Kansas (a sizeable detour); and some less reputable exploits. I can also find out how they didn't interact, as when a Civil War veteran died claiming he had no relatives, when he had at least two. (I count him and many like him as casualties of the war even though they lived for decades after.)

And a book has room for diversions and distractions, even though it cannot be as consistently entertaining as Sharon Hoyt on the many marriages of Ida May Chamberlain (National Genealogical Society Quarterly 106 [September 2018]: 217-38), or John Coletta on anything.

Easy online availability of deeds, probates, and newspapers makes it easier than ever to enrich the story -- and lengthen it (1216 footnotes but who's counting?). Even so, because so few write biographical or autobiographical sketches there are still many gaps. And when the task is to render the formatting consistent over many dozens of pages, it also helps to have the smooth drone of a Cubs game in your ear.

Read all about it! The day the earth died!

2019-04-14T06:39:00.000-07:00

This article by Douglas Preston in April 8 The New Yorker, alternating between hilarity and horror, shows how a paleontologist can reconstruct, almost moment by moment, the greatest disaster in the planet's history. (I found it at the aggregator site 3 Quarks Daily.) For those of us puzzling over preserving our work, and whether to publish on paper or on line, it rather puts things in perspective.

Criticizing constructively

2019-04-07T14:44:00.000-07:00

Four steps, from social psychologist Anatol Rapaport via philosopher Daniel Dennett.

Erased from history -- but not quite

2019-03-31T06:11:00.000-07:00

Back in the day (when there had been only thirty-four presidents), I memorized all the presidents and their dates when they were featured with pictures on a full page of my grandparents' Chicago Tribune. I may have known the vice-presidents too, but I don't recall Richard M. Johnson (1837-1841). Even if I had known all the "First Ladies" I would have had trouble finding his wife Julia Chinn.

Much more recently, a friend drew my attention to a blog post at the Association of Black Women Historians. "The Erasure and Resurrection of Julia Chinn, U.S. Vice President Richard M. Johnson's Black Wife" will be the subject of a forthcoming book by Indiana University Bloomington professor Amrita Chakrabarty Myers. The post also references her earlier book, Forging Freedom: Black Women and the Pursuit of Liberty in Antebellum Charleston, 1790-1860. I look forward to reading both.

Ways to say "No" in professional situations

2019-03-24T05:48:00.000-07:00

Literary historian P. Gabrielle Foreman has this list. Wish I knew this many ways ten years ago!

Trying to "fix" the past by hiding and erasing the archives

2019-03-05T04:29:00.000-08:00

This story by Ann McGrath is from Australia, but the lesson is international.

Life in front of the bulldozer

2019-01-31T14:00:00.001-08:00

I have thought of professional genealogists as an island surrounded by amateurs, but it had not occurred to me that the same might be said of historic preservationists until I read this article by
Kate Wagner: "The Archivists of Extinction," 19 October 2018, in The Baffler:

"What if I told you one of the largest ever undertakings in American historic preservation was happening not through the graces of any large institution, but through the autonomous participation of thousands, if not hundreds of thousands, of individuals across the country, who are collectively stitching together their own narrative of architectural history? The 'Kmart' group on the photo-sharing website Flickr has amassed a staggering twenty-five thousand photos of its subject, a struggling American discount store. . . .

"This is the ice-cold reality of the retail death spiral. It’s why people feel the need to collect motel postcards, share old photos of their hometowns, and document the finale of Kmart. The end time is always lurking; the only thing you can do is take pictures and post stories before it happens. . . ."

Much more here.

Her blog is McMansion Hell.

The Shocks of War

2019-01-28T05:51:00.001-08:00

Three economists -- Dora Costa, Noelle Yetter, and Heather DeSomer -- have investigated "when and how health shocks reverberate across the life cycle and down to descendants." They examined "the impact of war wounds on the socioeconomic status and older age mortality of US Civil War (1861-5) veterans and of their adult children." Among other things they found that "fathers' severe wartime wounds affected daughters', but not sons', socioeconomic status."

Even though every family is different, knowing the general trends can help us understand those trying to find their way through the postwar "Gilded Age." And, in another frame, it can remind us that no decision to go to war should ever be taken lightly.

"The Impact of a Wartime Health Shock on the Postwar Socioeconomic Status and Mortality of Union Army Veterans and their Children," National Bureau of Economic Research Working Paper 25480, Jan. 2019 (http://www.nber.org/papers/w25480)

Fugitive slaves and their options

2018-11-26T09:04:00.003-08:00

CAUTION: I have not read this book. I found it noted in the Legal History Blog.

Fugitive Slaves and Spaces of Freedom in North America was recently published by the University Press of Florida; it's edited by Damian Alan Pargas, a professor of history at Leiden University. According to the publisher, the book aims to provide

"a groundbreaking continental view of fugitive slave migration, moving beyond the usual regional or national approaches to explore locations in Canada, the U.S. North and South, Mexico, and the Caribbean. Using newspapers, advertisements, and new demographic data, contributors show how events like the Revolutionary War and westward expansion shaped the slave experience."

Obviously this is not genealogy, but it might provide useful leads as well as historical and geographical context.

WorldCat shows it in many college and university libraries, where it can be viewed before deciding to lay down $90 for your own copy.

Joel Thrall is back . . .

2018-11-15T12:20:00.000-08:00

. . . in the fall issue of the New England Historical and Genealogical Register for the second and concluding installment, now visible to NEHGS members on line at American Ancestors and to patrons of good genealogy libraries.

His unlikely trajectory -- from pioneer/fugitive from justice to farmer to teacher to doctor to an early death in 1827 -- is not quite complete yet. His great-grandchildren scattered across the continent, but they had to be cut from the journal for space reasons. They will appear, most likely on line, in good time -- as will Joel's dozens of nieces and nephews. He was the oldest of ten children, all of whom have multiple descendants.

" 'Faultless Could I Love Him Less?' Joel S. Thrall and His Descendants in Vermont, Quebec, Ohio, and Texas," parts 1 and 2, New England Historical and Genealogical Register 172, Summer 2018:248-56, Fall 2018:341-52.

Finding a pensive genealogist in "The Witch Elm"

2018-10-20T18:21:00.000-07:00

It had to happen. My all-time favorite (living) fiction writer, Tana French, has a genealogist in the cast of characters in her new title, The Witch Elm. His findings are not as friendly as they used to be:

"People are coming to me because their analysis didn't turn out the way they expected . . . . They're unsettled and they're frightened, and what they want from me isn't the lovely presents, any more; it goes much deeper. They're afraid that they're not who they always thought they were, and they want me to find them reassurance. And we both know it might not turn out that way. I'm not the fairy godfather any more; now I'm some dark arbiter, probing through their hidden places to decide their fate. And I'm not nearly as comfortable in that role."

(FYI: The genealogy is Irish, not my forte; but it appears that the author did her homework. Don't pick it up for the genealogy -- it's scattered lightly through the 509 pages -- pick it up for what Stephen King calls its "incandescent" prose. )

Tana French, The Witch Elm (New York: Viking, 2018), 132

"Everybody is about to be under genetic surveillance one way or another"

2018-10-15T10:09:00.001-07:00

That's the gist from computational biologists quoted in yesterday's Wired article by Megan Molteni: "GENOME HACKERS SHOW NO ONE'S DNA IS ANONYMOUS ANYMORE." Well, almost no one. And depending on what role state or national governments may take.

Read the whole thing, it's not long. If you have reason to think it's bogus or overstated, reply in the comments (or take it up in a DNA forum).

What Aaron Goodwin Just Said

2018-10-02T11:39:00.000-07:00

The brand-new NGS Monthly for September leads with editor Aaron Goodwin on writing. He puts the arrow right in the bull's eye.

You'll need to join the National Genealogical Society to read the whole thing, but even the public part makes the point clear: are we trying to create something for posterity, or are we just fooling around?

Winning Women's Suffrage in the Upper Midwest

2018-09-28T07:43:00.001-07:00

A new book has been reviewed on H-Net (Humanities and social sciences online) that may be of interest to genealogists:

Woman Suffrage and Citizenship in the Midwest, 1870-1920 (Iowa City: University of Iowa Press, 2018) by Sara Egge (who teaches history at Centre College in Danville, Kentucky) has an interesting review at H-Net. The book focuses on the upper Midwest -- Iowa, Minnesota, and South Dakota. I haven't seen the book but those researching folks in those states may be interested in the resources Egge drew on.

There's also an overarching lesson -- one that historians know and that genealogists, including me, may need to be reminded of -- not all things that we might consider good ideas run together. Especially after the U.S. joined World War I, women often promoted their right to vote by endorsing both the war and anti-immigrant nativism. Another interesting angle is that the book discusses the many failures of suffrage activism prior to its eventual success.

The book is widely available in top libraries (including Allen County Public Library in Fort Wayne) according to WorldCat. The summary there notes that the author focused on Clay County, Iowa; Lyon County, Minnesota; and Yankton County, South Dakota. There is also a link to a Google preview.

Potentially bad news for genealogists: privacy rights for the dead?

2018-09-08T05:10:00.001-07:00

Law professor Michael D. Breidenbach argues for privacy for the deceased.

"If society is a partnership among the living, dead and unborn, then historians should interpret figures from the past, even those with mortal failings, with as much justice and charity as we ought to extend to the living. History is not gossip about dead people." (Washington Post, 6 September 2018)

If this isn't the "right to be forgotten," it's a close cousin.