Updating Sources....Helps Others. Will it Help me?

As I drive to and from work everyday, I listen to genealogy podcasts.  One of my favorites "Genealogy Gems" by Lisa Louise Cooke mentioned about sourcing documents with citation guides.  Lisa referred to the book by Elizabeth Shown Mills, "Evidence Explained: Citing History Sources from Artifacts to Cyberspace" which provides citation models for all types of source documents.  I decided it was time to take a step away from research and look at my documentation process.

When I first starting genealogy many years ago, it started with a bunch of family group sheets and charts that my mother had been working on.  There were no source documents to support the information they contained.  Once I had inputted all the data she had collected into Family Tree Maker, I started out collecting the documents to support all of her work. My mother was the family socializer. She made it a point of staying in contact with all her siblings and many cousins as possible.  I believe this is from where her information came.

While I have not found any family errors as I dug up the supporting documentation, it would be nice to have known who told her what and when.  Unfortunately, my mother has passed away and that information is lost to me.  I don't want the next generations to wonder where I got my information!  So I have documented and documented.  But will they understanding my source citations?  I see where following a specific recognized set of citation models would come into play. 

So here I sit with my 614 source titles which I have compiled over the last 20 or so years. Fortunately, Family Tree Maker (FTM) has developed source templates based on the QuickCheck models defined in Elizabeth Shown Mill's book. That should make things easier right? FTM allows me to choose which fields go to which place in the template.  I'm not sure that was a good choice. Any way I will press on.

It appears that my census format for citation was not too far off the mark. I am uncertain of the format it is placing email sources.  It is putting a comma in front of the surname in the Source title list but looks fine in the reference note field.

I decided to go online and do a google search to see if I could find a website that could provide me information on how to cite the source.  I found http://www.easybib.com/.  The web page allows you to select up to 58 different items to cite.  The site provides drop down menus and named field to lead the user into creating a properly formatted source citation.

The About Us page states "EasyBib is an automatic bibliography composer. When you have sources you need to cite properly for your research paper, EasyBib will help you format your sources quickly and accurately. Millions of students a month use EasyBib to cite sources for their papers."  The site is a service of ImagineEasy Solutions.

By using this website in combination with the FTM source citations, I was able to determine how to use FTM's templates to get my citation into the right format.  So far, I have updated 27 source formats.  that leaves on 587 more to go.

Surname Saturday - Daniel

After reviewing several blogs this sunny Saturday morning, I thought I would research on my Bell family line.  I went out to Ancestry and was preparing to look for shaking leaves on that line.  There it was a shaking leaf on Mary Jane Bell.  The hint led to a family tree about the William Daniel family of Charles City County, Virginia.  It was that point that I was led astray.

Mary Jane Bell married John Daniel who was the son of George Washington and Polley (Isley) Daniel. It was on George Washington Daniel on this family tree that I found sources to him in the 1850 and 1860 census which I had not found or had I and just not done anything with them. I can see where Ancestry and many of the record repositiories will cause me to abandon my original research plans.

I guess one could say in a roundabout way I was researching the Daniel family since Mary Jane Bell married into the family.  Perhaps that is stretching it a bit.  But up the Daniel's family tree I did continue.

I returned to the first Daniel in my family line - Martha Jane Daniel.  Martha was born 19th of October 1848 in Saidora, Mason County, Illinois to John and Mary Jane (Bell) Daniel.   She married Thomas Milton Johnson on her 23rd birthday (19 October 1871) in Mason County, Illinois.  Guess that is one way to make sure the groom remembers your wedding anniversary...just hope he remembers your birthday!

Martha and Thomas had 6 children with only three surviving to adulthood.  The other three children passed away between the ages of 4 to13 months.  A year and half after the death of her last daughter, Martha would lose her husband of 14 years as well.

Martha went on to live 42 years after her husband passed away and never remarried. She would spend her last 20 or so years in the household of her eldest son, Adolph Albert (my great  grandfather) until passed away at the age of 78 on 8 Jan 1927 in Mason County, Illinois.  Martha was laid to rest in Fairview Cemetery, Lynchburg Township, Mason County, Illinois.

Now I take a step back to Martha's father, John H Daniel.  This is where I got off on today's journey. 

I have reached out to the genealogist who posted the information about William Daniel and his descendants.  I am looking for source documents to prove that John H Daniel is the son of George Washington Daniel.  I thought I had George Washington Daniel's probate packet but after investigation, I found I was wrong.  It appears to be George's son George Washington Daniel's probate packet.  While looking for that probate packet, I found John Daniel's probate.  Taking a quick review, I realize I have not documented it into my files.  Now am off on another track! Guess I will get back to the Daniel's another day!

Where are all the Genealogists?

Today , I am feeling a little like this monkey....out on a limb... all by myself.  I have been searching for a group of genealogists that meet on a regular basis and discuss brickwalls and research.  I want more of a personal connection than networking through the computer all of the time.    

I have researched genealogy societies in my local area and the societies in the areas of my ancestors which are within a reasonable driving distance.  But here in central Illinois, it appears that the counties where my ancestors lived do not maintain their websites.  Leaving people who are trying to find information out about their society to question whether or not they still exist.  Several attempts to connect with these societies via email or snail mail have left me...hanging out on a limb!                                                                                           

While I follow many genealogy facebook pages & blogs, I have not stepped into the realm of genealogy chat rooms. Is that where I am headed?  Will my genealogy society be the online society of genealogists in chat rooms on various subject?

Yes.. Yes the internet opens our genealogy up to wide world. We now have access to millions and millions of other genealogy researchers across the world. Some of these people will be related to me.  The internet may be the only way I will ever connect with these relatives.

Perhaps I am being a bit old school here...but there must be a way for me to get the best of both worlds.  So....where are all the genealogists in my area?  Where are the people with knowledge of the rurals areas where my ancestors lived? 

Guess this is another thing I will be "In Search of".

Walking in the Footsteps of My Ancestors



Bethel Methodist Church
Detroit, Pike County, Illnois



 This weekend I had the opportunity to go inside of a church which I had only seen from the outside for the past 5 years of my genealogy research.  I visit the surrounding cemetery every year to place flowers on the graves of my ancestors.

During this year's Pike County Color Drive, the church was open to visitors.  While some of my Burlend and Croft ancestors never stepped foot in this church, they would have attend the church that was built on this location in 1843.  The first church was described as simple but fitting the needs of the members of the congregation.

The church show in this picture was built in 1883.  My Yelliott ancestors would attend this church until their deaths.  There is no electricity or running water.  There are two stoves in the church which would have provided heat in the cold Illinois winters. 
I
n the cemetery surrounding the church are the graves of six of my direct ancestors.  Buried along side of my family are many early Pike County settlers. 

My Burlend family came to Pike County after hearing letters written by George Bickerdike to his family in England. One of the Burlend's daughters who remained in England, who married Luke Yelliott, would come to America with her family when her mother returned to England in the early 1840s.  It was at that time that Rebecca Burlend, my fourth great grandmother, told her son, Edward about the trip to America and life in Pike County.

As to when my Croft family came to Pike County, I am not sure.  It is part of genealogical search to determine why they came.  George Croft was a missionary to the West Indies for some time.  It appears he returned to England before coming to America.

It is inspiring to know that I have walked where they actually walked both in times of joy and times of sorrow.  Here at this quaint little church in Pike County, Illinois