Thursday, November 24, 2011

My Genealogy Book Christmas List

I love books.  There is nothing better to me than genealogy related books.  So I decided to put together a list of books that I would like for Christmas.

For Fun:
Steve Luxenberg, “Annie’s Ghosts: A Journey into a Family Secret”
Why: Lisa Louise Cooke of the Genealogy Gems podcast spoke to the author on her podcast.  It seemed like a real engrossing storyline.

Anne Bradshaw, “True Miracles with Genealogy: Help from Beyond the Veil”
Why:  I loved the “Psychic Roots” series by Henry Z Jones.  This book seems to contain similar stores.  There is already a sequel!

Laverne Galeener-Moore, “Collecting Dead Relatives:  An irreverent Romp Through the Field of Genealogy”
Why:  It looks to be a funny commentary on genealogy while trying to possibly learn a few things as well.


For Education:
Judy Jacobson, “History for Genealogists: Using Chronological Time Lines to Find and Understand Your Ancestors”
Why:  I think it would be great to have a book with historical time lines at my fingertips.  I wish the publisher had authorized Amazon to allow you to preview some of the pages.

Andrea McNichol, “Handwriting Analysis: Putting It to Work for You”
Why: Lisa Louise Cooke had a handwriting analyst on her podcast.  It was really interesting the information that the analyst was able to interpret just from the signature of an ancestor.  I would like to learn more about the technique.

Marsha Hoffman Rising and Sharon DeBartolo Carmack, “The Family Tree Problem Solver: Tried and True Tactics for Tracing the Elusive Ancestors”
Why:   This book’s title really caught my eye.  I have several problems that I am stuck on…..brick walls….. hoping this book  can help me find direction to break them down!

For Specific Location:
Coleman Phillipson, “Alsace-Lorraine, past, present, and future, with four maps”
Why: This book might help me to learn more about my ancestors who lived in the area.  My Peter Family emigrated from that area in the early 1800s.

Rachel Bellerby, “Tracing Your Yorkshire Ancestors”
Why: Several branches of my family tree come from Yorkshire England.  This book would be a possible start to learning more about research in the area.

Marian Press,  Education and Ontario Family History: A Guide to the Resources for Genealogists and Historians”
Why: Two of my family lines go to Ontario Canada for a couple of generations before immigrating to the United States.  This would be a good guide to understanding the resources in the area .

Must Have Book for Christmas:
Bertram Hawthorne Groene,  “Tracing our Civil War Ancestor”
Why:  With this time frame being the 150th anniversary of the Civil War, it seems appropriate to researching ancestors who served during the war. 

My Genealogical Christmas List

Santa, 
What do I want for Christmas?  Let me think...... I would like the answers to all the following brick walls. ....or at least a few!


1) Where did Maude Coonrod and Gaston Foote marry?  
      - My grandparents were married Dec 1 1923 according to the family bible.  But the big question is where?  Several times I have made attempts to locate the marriage license.  My grandmother was a schoolteacher and was not allowed to be married.  They got married on the sly.  I have checked many counties in Illinois and Missouri with no luck.  I found a comment online that said they married in Beardstown, IL according to Edmund West, Comp Family Data Collection.  I have checked the county seat for Beardstown (Viriginia, Cass County, IL) but no record.  Where or where can it be??


2) Did John Johnson really use Abraham Lincoln as an attorney and for what purpose?
     - Okay maybe that's two questions but I would like answers to both.  In John's wife's obituary (Rosanna Adkins Johnson) in the Chandlerville Times, June 1898, it is stated " They located on a farm in Menard Co., known then as White Point, but known now as Fields Prairie.  They resided here until about 1842, when he entered government land, now the old home place, and in after years in proving up the claim, he went to Springfield on horse back, and employed Abe Lincoln as his attorney, and they rode from Old Salem together.  This is the only time in his life Mr Johnson every employed a lawyer."  I would love to know if this statement is true and see the proof of it!


3) Where is Robert McIntosh buried?
     - A few years ago a cousin gave me the death date and place for Robert McIntosh as Apr 1888 Mason County, Illinois.  I checked the county clerk's office did not have a death record for him.  I checked the newspapers for area and did not find an obituary.  Unfortunately, my cousin did not provide documentation to support the claim.  So is that information correct?  I also don't know where his wife died.  I know they were in Kansas in 1885.  Did they really die there?  


4) Were William Flaharty and Joshua Flaharty brothers?
    - William's obituary provides only his date of death information.  There is no information about any family ... not his children... not his wife.... and nothing about his siblings if any.  Joshua Flaharty lived in Mason County, Illinois.  In his obituary, it gives his mother and father's names and states that he moved to Illinois with his mother and family.  It gives the name of one sister who survived him Anna Minner.  I have a lot of circumstantial evidence that links the two men that I can say it is highly likely that they were brothers.  I however want the proof!


5) Where did Frank Foote (my 2nd great grandfather) come from in Dorset County, England? 
    - Pretty simple and straight forward.  His parents are Thomas Foote and Arundel Mary Roberts.  Probably just need to settle down and review the church records of Dorset England.  Maybe more research on FamilySearch.org.


6)  Were Dorothy Thornley McIntosh and James Thornley brother and sister?
    - In an biographical record entry for Dorothy's son-in-law, William Abbott, it states that she was the daughter of Thomas Thornley of England.  Two family genealogists list James as the son of Thomas Thornley but again I have no documentation to support it.


7) Where in the Alsace-Lorraine region of France did John Peter come from and was Stephen Peter and  Josephine Bordeau his parents? 
   - As I read more documents, I am not sure he was from Alsace-Lorraine.  According to the censuses and his death certificate, he was born in France.  Where Alsace-Lorraine comes from is Stephen Peter and Josephine Boreau.  But are they his parents?  There is a statement I obtain from somewhere that says only one child survived of Stephen and Josephine a child named Stephen Jr.  But my research shows four other children who survived to adulthood.  


8) Who were Oney Frane's parents?  
   - She was born 12 Dec 1829 in County Mayo, Ireland.  Her obituary gives no indication to her parents.  She came to Canada in 1847 at the age of 18.  In 1858, she married Frank Foote.  Did her parents immigrate with her or did she come alone?


9) Where did Margaret Burbank Coonrod Davis die and when?
   - Her brother, Daniel Burbank, kept a record which stated Margaret died sometime between 1855-1865.  It may have been before 1855 as in the 1850 census her son Henry was living with David Van Gundy, his uncle.


10) Was Tom and Amanda Bell the parents of Mary Jane Bell?
  - A distant cousin told me that Mary Jane's parents were Tom and Amanda Bell.  But I have no documentation to support it.  Mary Jane's obituary does not give her parents name.  But does state that she came to Illinois with her parents as an only child.  Currently I have no records on Tom or his wife.  




So dear Santa I understand if I can't have all of them answered but a few would be wonderful.  


Janna



My Thankful Genealogy List

It's Thanksgiving.  Time to give thanks for the many blessings in my life.  I thought I would put together a list of some of the things I am thankful for from a genealogical perspective.


The Internet which has brought billions of records to my fingertips.

Social Networks which gives me closer contact to cousins all over the world.

The Mormons for having a belief that calls them to rescue genealogical documents.

The Government officials that required us to document certain facts about our lives.

Developers of the Camera who gave us the ability to see likeness of our ancestors.

Computer which allows me to store, review, edit and present to others copies of our family tree.

Makers of Family Tree Maker who created my favorite genealogy program.

Newspaper Writers, Editors, & Publishers for sharing the stories of our lives.

Genealogy Podcasts which keep me inspired to  continue my genealogical research.

All the Libraries and their staff who provide access to an abundance of information.

My Ancestors that left a lot of documentation about their lives because of them I feel I am making a lot of progress.

My Ancestors that left little documentation and led me to a brick wall because of them I am challenged to break it down.

My husband who loves genealogy as much as I do.

My late mother who handed me her work and started me on this adventure.


And thank you to everyone who has glanced at my blog!

Sunday, November 20, 2011

How to do my "To Do" list

Like many genealogists out there, I have a long list of genealogical "To Do" items that if I don't keep them somewhere, I forget them.  A list of them is a necessity.  But now that I have switched from PC to Mac, where should I create this list?

I used to be able to keep them in my Outlook Task List.  When I changed to Mac, the Microsoft Office package I purchased did not include Outlook.

This is a fresh start for the To Do List so what options do I need to fulfill?
*Do I want it to be portable?  If so, how do I want it to be portable?  -              Computer, iPhone, or old school paper?
*Inside of my Genealogy program or outside?
*Will it be related to a specific person or broader?

I would like to look at the last two questions first.  In the past, I have kept person specific lists in my genealogy program (Family Tree Maker for PC).  As I transitioned my files, those person specific to do list transferred over int o Family Tree Maker for Mac.  However, I have other genealogy To Dos that don't fit in.  So it would appear, I need some time of non-genealogy program list.

Now the question of portability comes into play.  I could do this the old fashion way and make a list on paper.  Very portable...but not very efficient.  Unless I plan to do them in the exact order they are listed, you end up with several pages of items with varying number of outstanding items.  Then you spent time condensing them into a new list.  As I said, not very efficient and a waste of valuable genealogy time in my opinion.  So I am definitely looking for an electronic method.

Currently, I do not have an easy method of inputting my extensive "To Do" lists on to my iPhone.  So until I find an app that I transfer between my computer and iPhone easily, I will stick with a computer version.  I am sure there is probably an app out there that would allow me to do this.  However, I am still trying to get a handle on the Mac World and am not sure I would choose the best product at this time.

My old standby for To Do lists has been Excel.  I can build a table of different types of items to be done and even keep notes on the status of the item.  I guess for the time being this is the solution I will peruse.  Unless someone has a better idea?

Saturday, November 19, 2011

The Hairstylist and the Genealogist

I often talk to my hairstylist about genealogy while she is styling my hair.  She always seems interested in what I have learned new about my family history.  She is a good listener and asks great questions.  Questions that often challenge me to think in different ways.

The other night, she quietly said "I've been thinking about doing some research."  She seemed a little tentative so I asked what she was wanting to research.  There is a picture she has of her paternal great grandfather and great grandmother.  "No one talks about what happened to him."  But she has learned he was in an asylum.

She supplied me with details about the picture.... black and white.... on cardboard stock.  I told her i thought the time frame would be from the last 1800s to the early 1900s.  All she knew was that her grandfather was young when her great grandfather died.

We had talked before about her grandfather who served in World War II and was in his 90s.  But this was not the grandfather.  This grandfather she didn't know his exact age but he was in his late 70s or early 90s.  I started to calculate his age when she added that her father was born in 1956 and her grandfather was 21 years old when he was born.  Okay....so your grandfather was born in 1935. 

"What should I look for?  What do I do first?"  I told her when you start genealogy, you start with yourself and work you way back in time documenting each piece of information along the way.  "But I already know about me."  For her great grandfather the first piece of information we would be looking for would be his death information.

She then recalled her great grandfather's name.  The first name was Ezra.  The last name was not common.  I asked where he died.... Illinois.  I asked if she knew when he died.... No.  I decided to see if by any chance he turned up in the Social Security Death Index.  There was an Ezra born Aug 1895 and died Feb 1944.  "That can't be him.  He died when my grandfather was young".  This man would have died when her grandfather was 9 years old. 

Since his son was not born until 1935, the 1930 Census would be of no use....or would it.  "My grandfather was the second youngest of seven children."  He would be in the 1930 Census with his other children and wife.  Did a search and there he was Ezra, his wife Beulah and four children.  His birth year according to the Census, was 1896.  So Ezra in the SSDI was him.

My hairstylist was amazed.  I found all of this while she styled my hair in 30 minutes or less.  And to be truthfully honest, I was too.  Guess twenty years or so of doing this has paid off!  Now the only question is "Has she caught the bug?"

Tuesday, November 15, 2011

Changing from Family Tree Maker PC to Family Tree Maker for Mac


Due to my Windows laptop having more and more errors, my husband and I decided it was time to switch to Mac.  I have not touched an Apple Computer since the early 1990s.  Over 20 years of PC use has embedded all of the shortcuts  and PC methods into my brain.  Now I have to learn the Mac techniques.

One of the reasons why we didn't go to Apple sooner was my attachment to Family Tree Maker.  I had been using it since the early 1990s as well.  But with Family Tree Maker for Mac, that has all changed.  Now comes the challenge of moving several family tree files over from the old PC.

I tried just opening the FTM PC file in the MAC version of Family Tree Maker but it was to the correct process.  My husband then tells me that there was a migration program on the installation CD.

So placed the CD in the Macbook Pro and tried to install the migration program. No Go.  The Migration program has to be installed on the PC and the files converted.  Since the plan is to get rid of the PC at some point, I realized I would have to convert all my FTM files.

I installed it and converted the files.  As the files were converting, I was a little concerned that all of my many notes might be lost.  I then opened the files in  Family Tree Maker for Mac.  I was happy to see that the program looked very similar to the PC version and nothing was lost in the transfer.  All of my notes were there.  Nothing lost.

I haven't really played around with the program to much yet. One small difference I noticed is the graphics seem much more artistic than the PC version.  I am glad to know that FTM will be one of my easier challenges of moving from PC to Mac.

Now to learn how to work the Mac itself!

Friday, November 11, 2011

Honoring My Ancestral Veterans

As today is Veterans Day, it is only appropriate to pay honor to those of my family who served in the military.

Let's start with ROLL CALL!

Howard Johnson          World War II       Father
Harold Johnson            World War II       Uncle
Marvin Johnson            World War II       Grand Uncle
Loren Thompson          World War II       Grand Uncle
Henry Coonrod            Civil War             2nd Great Grandfather
John Thompson            Civil War             2nd Great Grandfather
John Yelliott                 Civil War              2nd Great Grandfather

John Burlend                Mexican War       Great Grand Uncle
Daniel Burbank            Revolutionary        5th Great Grandfather
Woollery Coonrod       Revolutionary        5th Great Grandfather


These are the veterans I have determined so far in my family history research.  I want to thank each one of them and those that I have not yet identified for serving our country.  They fought to keep this country free and to protect the rights of all people. 

They had many new experiences.  Some experienced new forms of transportation.  My father was transported to Iceland via airplane.  It was his first flight.  My uncle had experiences with boats on the river but he had never experienced a troop ship.  Both my uncle and father took their first train trips being transported to camps in the United States.

Some experiences were not always good.  Several of my Civil War veterans suffered with dysentery and other ailments.  The details described in their pension files are sickening to say the least.

Probably the hardest of experiences was leaving behind family and friends especially when they did not know what their future held.  Of all the men listed above, only one did not return, John Burlend.  His death was listed as "Kill, affray on m'ch".

There is only one thing left to say... THANK YOU... to all my ancestral veterans and THANK YOU for all the veterans out there who read this blog.






Tuesday, November 8, 2011

My Illinois Civil War Ancestors

1500 years after the Civil War, my curiosity has been peaked to explore my ancestors who served during the war.  I have made a combined Civil War timeline list for my three ancestors.  Combined because I wanted to see any overlap in time and place as I start to plan my Civil War Road Trips.

My first ancestor to serve in the war is John Burlend Yelliott of Pike County, Illinois.  He was mustered in at Camp Butler, Illinois near Springfield on 21st August 1862 at  the age of 18.  He served for three years being mustered out on 12th of June 1865 at Nashville, Tennessee.

My next ancestor to serve war was Henry Harrison Coonrod, Sr. also of Pike County, Illinois.  He was 30 years old when he mustered in at Florence, Illinois on the 23rd of August 1862.  Henry was married with one son. He, too, served for three years being mustered out on 31st of July 1865.

My final ancestor to serve was John June Thompson of Fulton County, Illinois.  At the age of 26, he musters in at Camp Butler, Illinois on the 21st of February 1865.  He was married with three daughters.  John served a little over six months being mustered out on 5 Sep 1865 at Nashville, Tennessee.

Many questions run through my head as I look at these three men.  How did two gentlemen from the same county  muster in two days apart at two different places?  Why would John June Thompson a married man with three children  - all female - be called to serve when it would seem he was the sole support for these girls and his wife? What was it like for them?  What inspired them to take up arms?  How were their families handling them being gone?

These are questions I plan to research further in later blogs.  But for now I just want to salute these men that served

Sunday, November 6, 2011

Going to the Cemetery! - Gone but not forgotten?

Mid October, I went to Bethel Methodist Church near Detroit, Pike County, Illinois.  As I said before in my blog, this was the first time I went inside but it was not the first time I visited the cemetery that surrounds the church.  I have been several times in the last 5 years.  Before that day in October, I had been there exactly 5 times...every Memorial Day.

I recall in Megan Smolenyak Smolenyak's book "Honoring Our Ancestors", Jodi L. Severson contributed a store called "My Mother's Example".  Jodi tells of her mother's tradition on Memorial Day weekend of traveling to the cemeteries of her deceased family members.  While I don't talk to my deceased relatives at the cemetery, I do bring flowers and decorations for their plots.

My own tradition started 5 years ago before my mother past away.  She loved that I was researching her family and always wanted to know what new I had learned.  My mother developed dementia over the last few years of her life but she always remembered our trips to the cemeteries to Honor the Ancestors.  The year she passed away I probably went in remembrance of our trips together but last year was more of a remembrance of all my ancestors and for me.

While at the Cemetery in October, I noticed that there were only a few flowers on the graves in the older section of the cemetery.  The only ones I noticed were ones I knew I had placed there.  I commented on this to my husband and he looked around but didn't see any others. 

I have posted memorials to my ancestors on Find A Grave which leaves a digital record of their burial and tombstone.  But for me, there is just more meaning in seeing the sites in person.  I understand not everyone can be near their ancestor's resting places.  It's walking on ground they walked on.  It's walking next to where they rest.
So I wonder when I am gone who will Honor our Ancestors. Who do I inspire to carry on the tradition for my family? Or will they become like the rest of these stones unadorned and unvisited?  Until the next genealogist comes along.








Friday, November 4, 2011

Aliquots...Ali.WHATS???

A couple of days ago, I was working with Google Earth and land patents from the Bureau of Land Management.  Part of the description of the land was something called an "Aliquot".  Say What?  What is that?  What does it mean and more importantly how does it affect my ancestor and me?

The Merriam-Webster Dictionary Online defines "Aliquot" as "contained an exact number of times in something else  - used of a divisor or part".  Okay... it was a divisor of land.  That seems to make sense.  But what exactly does "SW1/4 NW 1/4" mean?

Instead of just "aliquot in my google search, I added the words "land description". This led to an article on the "PLSS" or Public Land Survey System which is defined as a way of subdividing and describing land in the United States.  According to the http://nationalatlas.gov  website,, the PLSS typically divides land in to 6 mil square townships.  Each township is subdivided in 36 one mile square sections.  The sections are further subdivided into quarter sections and quarter-quarters sections.  It was the subdivision of sections which is called aliquots.

So "SW1/4 NW 1/4" is a subdivision of a section.  But was part of the section?  I delved further.  The best description I found was on Ehow read-land-property-description.  It suggested taking a piece of paper, drawing a square, dividing that square in four and then dividing those squares into four.  Then proceeds to describe how to label each square.  It ends up looking something like this.
I have color coded each major quadrant and then labelled the minor quadrants.  Now where exactly is "SW1/4NW1/4"?  It is easier to understand if we translate the aliquots into "SouthWest Quarter of the Northwest Quarter" which according to several websites is the meaning of the shorthand.  I need to start with the "of the Northwest Quarter" first because the words in front of the "of the " are a portion of the last part. 

In this case, the NW Quarter is yellow. Now to locate the SW Quarter of the yellow section. I found it!!!

But what if it says E1/2SE1/4?  First I will translate it to full words - the East Half  of the Southeast Quarter.  Find the SE Quarter which is blue in my diagram.  The East Half would the parts marked NE and SE.

Sometimes it really does help to write it all down!

Thursday, November 3, 2011

Are We Related to this Thompson dentist from Peoria?

This year at my family reunion a cousin asked me if we were related to this other Thompson. He had been told by an acquaintance that he looked and sounded like this dentist from Peoria, IL.

The name seemed to ring a bell but I couldn't find anything about this person in my family binder  which I always bring to the reunion.  I promised to do some research.  Now six months later.....  I have not progressed very far.

First, I checked my Family Tree Maker file.  Several years ago, I worked with a genealogist from Kansas.  She had been collecting obituaries for many years but had never entered them into a database system.  She sent me copies and I in return sent her pedigree charts, family charts and an electronic copy of the database.  No Thompson in my file fit the name and place I was given.

Second, I did a google search. Confirmed there is a dentist in Peoria IL by the name I was told. While I was able to find the location of his business for a possible candidate, I was looking for a more personal way of contacting Mr Thompson.  I wanted to substantiate the claim a little more as well.  Cold Calling is not one of my favorite pastimes.

Third, I checked Ancestry.com.  I found only one reference to a potential Thompson in US Public Records Index.  But the address did not seem to fit.

I will do a little more research.  More on the search for the dentist later.....






Wednesday, November 2, 2011

Playing with Google Earth and My Ancestors Lands

A couple of weeks ago, I returned to hunting down the land owned by my ancestor, John Johnson.  I know that John lived in Mason County, Illinois.  There is a family story that John used Abraham Lincoln to help with the government land grant....but that's for another post.  What I wanted to know was where the land was and who was living on the land in the 1874 Mason County Illinois Plat map of which I had a copy.

I started with the Bureau of Land Management's website http://www.glorecords.blm.gov/ and clicked to search for a Federal Land Patent.  Into the BLM's search template, I entered State and County along with first and last name of my ancestor.  With a name as common as John Johnson, I wasn't sure what I was going to get.  But fortunately, the site returned with only 3 land patents entries.  Only 1 of those patents was for the correct time frame of my ancestor moving to Mason County, Illinois. 

From the BLM, I was able to get the land description.  It appears that the BLM plans to or did have a mapping feature.  But as luck would have it, it was not working.  So how was I to translate the land description of meridian - township - range - section into something Google Earth would understand?  Time to do a Google Search of that same question.

Google replied with many options but the one I followed was Township and Range - Search By Description at http://www.earthpoint.us/TownshipsSearchByDescription.aspx.  There I entered the State , Principal Meridian, Township, Range and Section and clicked "Fly to On Google Earth". 

There it was... the land that my 3rd great grandfather was issued on July 1 1848.  Now comparing to the Plat Map, it is in 1874 in the name of F L Mugge.  The name doesn't ring any bells....guess I need to find an earlier Plat Map or time for a road trip to search the land records at the county courthouse!