Websites for Genealogy #2

 Free websites for genealogists, part 2:  We don't talk a lot about YouTube.com as a genealogical source.  

There are tons of educational videos, most notable among them, Lisa Louisa Cooke (Genealogy Gems), whose presentations contains a plentiful amount of inspiration as well as content.  Ancestry.com also has a major presence at YouTube, primarily featuring Crista Cowan, The Barefoot Genealogist.  Crista likes to go barefoot and at a recent Rootstech.org appearance, she actually took her shoes off!

However, when you want "real" sources, with names, dates, and places, the best you can do at YouTube.com, is enter search terms like  "Clark Family Reunion".  or, if you have a famous ancestor like George Washington, you might enter "George Washington Family", you can actually watch a biography of his life and other such clips.  Historical events and characters have a great representation at YouTube.com!  

Another goodie from YouTube.com: Information about places!  I like this Virginia Counties Map site.  It was intended for children but I enjoyed it, too.  There are way too many map sites to list.  If you don't believe me, just enter a place!  Not sure all of them would be helpful to a genealogist but you will just have to find that out for yourselves!

So I decided to look for "timelines".  Again, there are a multitude of timelines!  Hint:  You are looking for "historic" timelines; I know because I was faced with way too many timelines that had nothing to do with history!  I recommend adding the word "genealogy" to the word "timeline" if you want some excellent ways to utilize timelines for family history purposes.

Stay tuned for more websites and genealogy, section #3!


 

Genealogy Web Sites Review

Let's pick a few of the many, many, genealogy websites and shine a little sunlight on their effectiveness.  How valuable are they?  Should you incorporate this website into your "favorite's" folder?!  Are they "free" to use?  We love free! 

• Relative Finder:  Brigham Young University Research Page.  
• Originally created for the members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints who are looking to find out which (if any) of their ancestors were members of their faith.
• This site has been enhanced and updated to include how you are related to past U.S. Presidents, signers of the U.S. Constitution, European Royalty and more!
• I have utilized this site in the past and recently checked again to review for any updated information.  I think that this site is a candidate for a "fun" way to consider your family's possible links. 
• You have to sign into this site via your FamilySearch.org account.  The familysearch account is free to everyone, so just there is no reason not to have that site in your family history tool bag!
• This site (Relative Finder) is primarily for those that have already uploaded their family tree information to the FamilySearch site
• After picking which categories I was interested in (entertainers, authors and poets, and folks from the science/technology field), I learned that Johnny Cash is my tenth cousin.  Whoopee! When you click on his name, a family chart for Mr. Cash pops up.  This chart is generated by the information that familysearch.org currently has access to.  It may or may not be relevant or strictly correct.  However, this chart can be utilized to give you ideas for research and names or relations  that you may recognize! 
  
  I discovered, from this chart, that my relation to Johnny Cash may be via/through my Tucker line.  Grandma Hall's maiden name was Tucker.  Clicking on an individual takes you to the FamilySearch profile for that person.  When that happens, you are going to look for common denominators between what you know and the information for this individual--you know like that person's other family names, where (location) these folks lived, and what documents/proof/resources are associated with the person.
• Finally, this is a free resource that may or may not prove efficacious in providing you with new information, new avenues for research, or actual connections for your lineage, etc.

This "article" is part of a continuing project of choosing various websites and evaluating their usefulness in finding our kinfolks! 

Historical Notes

Find an old newspaper (archives, library, online) and see what events coincide with your ancestor's life.  He/she may or may not have been affected by every historical happening, but this type of info will add color and sometimes vital records information to your genealogical search.  

Access   https://www.pbs.org/opb/historydetectives/technique/genealogy/  Check out this site and click on "Detective Techniques". These suggestions will make you an expert historian in no itme!

Here are some discoveries that I made in a trip to my local Fort Walton Beach Library in 1997 from the historic publication of the  Okaloosa News Journal on microfilm, Film #2:

• June 10th, 1921:  GASTON DAVIS DROWNS AT VALPARAISO, contains news article and a memorial written by his teacher Lula Edge, and signed by the students in his class. 
• Also in this issue of the newspaper:
• J.E. WORTHINGTON, a legislative correspondent, announces the forthcoming wedding of two prominent young people.
• "UNCLE GEORGE EDGE was in town Monday and requested us to state that there is a cemetery working at the Old Bethel Cemetery on Friday...".
• MRS. TOBE EDGE left here the first of the week to visit her sister who lives in Texas.
• ADVERTISEMENT: W.W. Clark & L.V. Trueman, lawyers in Milton, Florida.
• (Rock Hill Dots):  MR. JOHN H. CUTTS and Mesdames Ida Steele and Will Cutts were visitors to Laurel Hill [on] Saturday.
• Medames Chipley and Ida Steele were dinner guests of Mrs. Ed Wang Sunday.
• Miss Era Hart visited at Svea Sunday last.
• (Laurel Hill News): "Mrs. J.W. Weatherly is expected home from a visit with her daughter, Mrs. P.C. Richbourg, and family in Pensacola."
•  (Laurel Hill News): Tuesday, Rev. Wiley F. Martin was greeting old friends in Laurel Hill.  Wednesday he left for a visit with a sister in Pensacola.

 

What are the old detective questions?  In the case of finding family history, you want to ask:

• Who?  (Name)
• Where? (Place, locale)
• When? (Date)

 

A long story but you can stop reading anywhere along the line...

Did You Know? 

 "In 1916 there were two spurs of the Florida, Alabama, and Gulf Railroad and both were west of the (previous) Yellow River Railroad which ran from the L&N [Railroad] in Crestview (Okaloosa County, Florida) and on to Florala (Alabama). 

The first spur was from Milton NE to Whitley or Whittley in Alabama. The second spur went to Falco from Galliver. (Other spurs)? They were all taken over by the L&N but I do not know the time frame for that".   (Notes from Mary Ellen Wexler 2006, to myself).

[I found this map at the Library of Congress; not sure if it is pertinent to the discussion of railroads in Northwest Florida, but it may be relative): 
https://www.loc.gov/resource/g3931p.rr001970/?r=0.172,0.06,0.131,0.053,0

Here are some other links that are interesting re: railroads and Florida:

http://www.frrm.org/history/

https://www.floridamemory.com/photographiccollection/photo_exhibits/trains/

You may wonder why I'm even interested in this topic.  One, I am a native of Okaloosa County.  The railroad no longer runs through Crestview, but it hasn't been that long ago that it did?!  Depending on your age, I guess, as to what your perspective is.

Two, I had a relative/ancestral link to James Alexander "Alex" Givens who may have died as a result of some type of railroad accident, in June of 1921 near or at Falco, Alabama (Falco is some 28 miles north of Crestview).  He is my great granduncle.  His father, John Witherspoon Givens, was my second great grandfather.  

There are a couple of interesting incidents that kind of branch off from what you've read so far.  

In the 1970's (I'm guessing, here), my mother (Opal Givens Hill) and dad, (Wiley Benjamin "Ben" Hill), were staying out at a condo at the El Matador on Okaloosa Island.  It was the nature of my dad when he met new people, to always ask them about their ancestral history; he was the proverbial genealogist guru in our family.

On this occasion, he got into a conversation with Lydia Angelyn Givens Taylor.  She had married the fellow who was the founder of "Taylor Auto Parts", Robert Perkins Taylor.  They were taking some time off and vacationing via the Emerald Coast.  

My dad, who  upon discovering the heritage of Lydia Angelyn Taylor, exclaimed, "My wife's father was a Givens"!  Pretty soon, he had a promise from Lydia Angelyn that she would write down some of her family's history.  After all, it was her father who had suffered a premature death at Falco.  James Alexander Givens "Alex" died back in 1921; he left behind his wife, Rose Emma (nee Henley) and nine children, including this Lydia Angelyn.  

Rose returned home to Andalusia and raised her children in the large home that is now owned (after extensive renovation and restoration) by Linda Palmer and her husband of Huntsville, Alabama. 

Hurrah for Historical Markers

Don't stop with visiting historical markers or just taking photos.  Look for web sites like this one.

This site gives not just background information but contains people's names that may or may not be your relatives.  These folks may have associated with your family members.  These names are historically linked to a place and a time.  

Our research must take us not just to the names of our ancestors but also include the dates and places, the events and the history that are associated with them.

Rabb Family in South Carolina: the 1850 Census

My third great grand uncle, J. Glazier Rabb in 1850 Census in Fairfield, South Carolina (15 Aug 1850): He is the head of the household.  At the age of 33, his occupation is "Planter".  (See discussion at THIS LINK).  
See also the wikipedia article.

 The value of his real estate is $5000; I am assuming that he inherited this property, for the moment.  So, if he was 33 in 1850, he was born about 1817.  

Mr. Rabb is married to Nancy; for both her and her husband, they were recorded as having been born in Fairfield County.  Nancy is age 28.  (She was born about 1822).  From various sources, I believe that her maiden name was Watt.  In my database, she is listed as Nancy Ann Kinkaid Watt.

Their oldest child living at home is John W. Rabb (age 9).  Then, there is James K. Rabb, age 6; William C. Rabb, age 5; Virginia C. Rabb, age 2, and a baby (no given name is recorded).  This child is 1/12 years old.  Can we "guestimate" that the child was born in July of 1850?  We will want to follow up our research by checking the 1860 census, etc.

Here is the findagrave link to John Glazier Rabb.


 

FamilySearch Perks

FamilySearch.org has many little features that can bring us closer to our ancestors.  For example, there is a link that you can follow to see the headstones of your family members' headstones!  

https://screenshots.firefox.com/98Ig5ynbyAlb2bnP/www.familysearch.org 

is the link I followed and saw that my grandmother's oldest sister was still living just after I had given birth to my youngest child.  Why, oh why, did I not take the opportunity to go and visit her?  Back then?

 

Twitter Fills a Niche for researchers

News of all types happens at Twitter!  I stumbled across this website/blog:  http://www.digitalnc.org/blog/tag/genealogy/.

Challenge: See what you can find of interest at Twitter.com in the genealogical field!

You can find the very blog, maybe, that will push your research a little bit further down the road. 

 

I have "played" with alternate websites to establish my family history.

Here is one example of my publishing attempts, the purpose of which was to explore and record various family history research projects.

My WordPress Site

(My) Human Errors Notwithstanding, real research is imperfect but a guide, nevertheless.

Residence 1900: Cauley, Santa Rosa, Florida: “Cauley” was a family that lived in this area, possibly, an area which I have yet to define as a township, at this point.  There were also other families; McLelland was one and I did find a McLelland Community on the map listed below.

Current Community Map of Santa Rosa, Florida

A sloppy transcription of the 1900 Census (by me), with comments:
Samuel Barnes (head of the household), in 1900 U.S. Federal Census in the township of Cauley, Santa Rosa County, Florida, is 73 years old; he and his wife have been married for 54 years! Samuel was born in Georgia. His wife, Elizabeth, is age 70; she has borne 4 children, all of whom are living. Her maiden name is Holland and she hails from North Caolina.
Sam and Elizabeth’s son, Joseph lives “next door” to them in this census. I believed that his wife was named Laura, but in this census “Vetsie” or ?Betsy? is listed as his wife. Joseph is age 31; they’ve been married for 6 years. Both were born in Alabama. Joseph Barnes’ son is William and he is age 6. William Barnes was born in Florida March of 1894. Joseph’s daughter is Mary C; she was born June, 1897 and she was also born in Florida.
Another of Samuel and Elizabeth’s sons live nearby and is listed on this page as Charlie Barnes. His age and year of birth isn’t listed! However his birth month is September and he has been married to his wife Anna for three years. Charley/Charlie was born in Alabama and his wife was born in Florida. They have a daughter and a son. Both children were born in Florida, probably in Santa Rosa County. Nettie’s birthday is Dec of 1897 and Joseph D. Barnes was born in November, 1899. He is just 5 months old in the census!
Also, the Henry Barnes listed on this census page is I believe, another of Sam and Elizabeth’s sons. He is “Henry Barnes”; he was born in May of 1865. Henry’s wife, “Viney” was born in Florida, but he was born in Alabama. Question: Where in Alabama did the Barnes family live?
Henry and his wife have been married 12 years; they have 3 children, all of whom are living. Mary E. Barnes was born Feb 1889 and she is 11 years old (born in Florida); Ruth is 5 or 6 years old and was born in May of 1895. Lillie is a September baby, born 1896; she is three years old.
There is at least one or more other family members listed on this census page for the Barnes family. Sarah Barnes married Mr. Farrington. She was born in Alabama in May 1873. She is 27 years old; she had 4 children but in 1900 only three of them are alive. Her son William H. is listed on the census page; he was born August 1888 and he is eleven years old. He was born in Florida. Mary E., a daughter, was born in Feb. 1891, also in Florida. James, a son, was born June 1899; he is 11 months old.
The father of Sarah, Henry, Charlie, etc. is listed in “My Heritage” as being both William Jackson Barnes and as Samuel Jackson Barnes. This may be an error I made earlier in my research of these folks. Or an error in the record sources. I do believe the correct name is Samuel for the father of this family.
You can discover more info by searching at My Heritage, FamilySearch, etc.  I am looking for someone who knew members of the Barnes Family in Santa Rosa County, (or their descendants, rather).  Please contact me.

The Rain is falling, drop by audible drop!

Just listened to a webinar (free) from the Florida State Genealogical Society website.  Judy, the Legal Genealogist was featured and basically the topic was good evidence versus bad evidence.  

Without sharing my copious notes (I didn't get a syllabus because I'm not yet a member of this society), let me just say, the presentation was very helpful!  I will sign up again and hope that the next webinar will be just the high quality that this one was!

The Genealogical Proof Standard plays a center role in our efforts to collect our family and determine that they are definitely our family!  And of course, you can't talk about evidence without mentioning Elizabeth Shown Mills!

You will find Elizabeth's book, "Evidence Explained" at this website and others.

How Do You Group or Organize Your Family History Files?

Occasionally, I think that I have worked a lifetime finding the trails of my ancestors and yet failed to organize those files in a way that makes sense.

I am equally challenged by the sharing (or lack of) the discoveries and surprises, the human drama stuff.  Here are a few forgotten files I found on my computer and their relevancy to the families I cherish as my own. 

I think that, for now, I will open one file at a time and post it in some type of format that gives clarity and direction.  My first such effort can be viewed; this is research conducted by my Dad, Wiley Benjamin Hill, years ago.   https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1F-9kbDO1QJ7CP8KOED9he19FvWYZ0OWdjeFk6ncfinw/edit?usp=sharing

It is just a tidbit, but every tidbit teaches us something about the resources that can be searched. 


 I will show the information, for posterity's sake by entering the details, if possible, at the FamilySearch.org website.  I'll let you know how it comes out! 

Chipping Away at Brick Walls

https://goodmenproject.com/featured-content/chipping-away-at-the-brick-walls-in-my-family-history/

Evidently, Google has the answer, in fact Lots of Answers! 

I wonder, also, how many clues lie closer to our reach?  Old photos, old documents in the homes and residences of ourselves and/or our kinfolk.  What do we remember?  Memories are another treasure chest.  For example, in the case of my ex-husband, with whom I had three children:  I remember meeting Bill's grandfather when I was perhaps, 12 years old!  Bill's family was living in Shalimar, Florida at the time, in a big old rambling house that was located on a spit of land on the bayou.  

I also met and knew Bill's maternal grandfather and grandmother, the Reynolds family who lived in Troy, Alabama.  Now that Bill, recently deceased, is gone, are my memories of any importance?  With our three children, will a small sliver of my recollections be of any value?  You never can tell.  It may be that my meager bank of recall might be of some comfort to them, simply because we all look back and wonder sometimes at the struggles and triumphs of our ancestors.  As well as our own.

Descendant of Adolph Forrest Dalton

Obituaries Folder

In scrabbling around (I have tons of paper, notebooks, newspaper clippings, etc.), I found one folder that held "Obituaries".  

 I noticed that I had gotten the basic (vital) facts from the first obit, but had neglected to record the whole obituary as written, ....you know, the part with relatives, brief life sketch, etc.

Everyone deserves to be remembered (you will often hear that sentiment from a genealogist or see it in written materials).  What I have done in the past, finding a place to put the obituary information/sentiment, as well as the vital "facts", is to enter it at FamilySearch.org, on the personal profile "page" for that person.  Located at the top of the items listed, including details for birth date, etc., is a heading for "Life Sketch".  You can easily enter the detailed obit information, here under this section.  

The obituary itself, or rather an "Image" of it can be added under the Memories option.  There are other options, as well.  You can read the obituary and by this I mean that you can vocally read it and add it as a recording, also a "Memories" feature.

Questions?  Please contact me at margaret.harris@gmail.com if you need further instructions.  

Helpful Hints from Ancestry.com

When working on your family history, it is helpful to receive hints and tidbits of educative stuff!  This is a message I received from Ancestry.com as I was "unpacking" my DNA results:
 1850–1875

Disrupted by the Civil War

North Alabama Settlers

When several years of depression forced cotton prices to plummet and banks to collapse, thousands of farmers left Alabama and joined other migrants en route to cheap or free land in Texas, Oklahoma, and Arkansas. Market prices improved leading up to the Civil War, a war that left the state divided in the north, which thousands of Southern Unionists called home. Alabama lost more than 25,000 men to the war and  many farms were destroyed. It also brought an end to the enslaved labor the plantation system was built on and laid the foundation for Alabama’s iron and steel industry.

[Does anyone have a personal story about this event impacting their family]?

My Ancestry DNA results are in!

So, I recently did my second DNa test, this one, via Ancestry.com.

My first test was with FTDNa.com.    I have a warm spot in my heart for that company (it was my first), and I trust their lab; they are doing an awesome job out there in Texas!  However, you won't always find a lot of family trees posted on that website.

Consequently, I  uploaded my gedcom/database, (created from my fave genealogy software, RootsMagic.com), to as many family tree websites as possible.  MyHeritage.com took my raw data and has, so far, been very useful in putting me in touch with matches, but again, not a lot of family trees.  I also uploaded my raw data to WikiTree.com, Gedmatch.com and maybe a few other websites that I can't think of, right now.  

Just for the heck of it!  My personal belief is that you can't have your DNa data in too many places!

For many years, now, I have posted family trees at Ancestry.com; when I discovered, however, that I couldn't upload my FTDNa results to Ancestry, I really had no choice but to do the Ancestry.com DNa test!  For one thing Ancestry has a ton of other people's family trees, and I wanted to be able to connect with those folks, people to whom I might be related.  Secondly, I wanted those folks to be able to connect with me. 

Just got the results and can't wait to start digging into them!
I don't put a lot of store in the ethnicity report; most of my folks probably came from the

British Isles and (genealogical research always takes me there)!  However, this Ancestry DNA test confirms what I already knew:  If I ever get to the British Isles, I should feel a "whammo" ton of ancestral auras!  Or something. 

Stay tuned---more to come!

My Personal Family HIstory Projects

We all have our personal libraries that were created by the Family History Lust Bug!  Some of us have books that have been passed down from an earlier generation.   

Access this Link to see My Private Library's List!

Maybe we went to yard sales, genealogy conferences, or bought off of E-Bay, those publications that might hold the key to finding an ancestor.  For whatever reason, we haven't thrown them away.  Well, today, I created my own little project...actually it is just one poke at a bigger job: a file of all the genealogical publications that I own.  I would gladly donate the books to a local library if I thought anyone, anymore, wants hard copies and more paper.  And, I suppose that when I pass away, that is probably what my children will do with all this "stuff".

I'm not sure if the Fort Walton Beach, Florida library would be interested.  They have been working well with the local Genealogical Society of Okaloosa County; we needed a home for the exchange journals accumulated over the years.  Then, there is the Baker Block Museum (limited space, but has done a whole lot of work in preserving local histories).  The Valparaiso Library used to be "the" genealogical library, but their space and resources are also limited.  

Then, there is the Family History Library in Salt Lake City.  I'm pretty sure that they will take as much as one would want to give them!  Or the Allen County Public Library in Fort Wayne, Indiana.  The 3rd national treasure of genealogy is located at the Clayton Library in Texas.

Finally, there is the University of West Florida historical archives.  Okay, kids; you have several choices, here, but this would probaby be a very good one!  I have to keep reminding myself that "things" are not important but we all do the best we can in preserving history, especially family history.  To take a look at my list so far, access this link: https://www.facebook.com/groups/nwflgenealogy/

I posted last night on Facebook, about how you can find books and other genealogy-related info/published materials at FamilySearch.org. 

There are literally thousands (well, I didn't count them), but there are a lot of other ways to access this type of stuff. Here is one such site/source I just stumbled on:

https://issuu.com/tuscaloosagenealogicalsociety/docs/rootsbranches_april_2010_v3_cg

Excellent Opportunity to Enhance Your Knowledge

Want to learn more about DNA?  

Here is your chance to get ahead of the game!

Sponsored by our local genealogical society!

https://sites.rootsweb.com/~flocgs/DoDNA-Regform.pdf

News and Other Stuff: Best Internet Sites

How to Search for Records at FamilySearch

• Get a free account
• On the opening page, you will see four options to the right of the little FamilySearch tree symbol:
•  Family Tree
•  Search
•  Memories
•  Indexing
• Choose the "Search"

• Click on the very first option "Records" 
• Records = Sources = Documents
• What record do you need for your ancestor?  
• Some sources may already appear on his/her profile.
• Review that information and then, identify what other sources might be helpful.
•  This is where "Search" Records comes into play!  Do you know what record types will give you the info that you need?
• Make a timeline for your relative; there are a few more events that just Birth, Marriage, and Death, although these are the major ones that you want to identify.

Timeline Events might include the following:

 

Births generate a certificate: a birth certificate!  How easy or how hard is it to locate someone's birth certificate?!!

 

 

 Marriage generates a Marriage Certificate.  Where can you find, if not the actual certificate, a record that verifies the marriage?

 

 Death generates both a death certificate and burial records.  An obituary may help you locate a cemetery, the place of burial or other information.  Findagrave.com is one of the most popular websites for searching information about this "life" event.  It is owned by Ancestry.com, but because the database info and photos was gathered by volunteers, there is no charge to access this wonderful source.