Hurley's World

“Happiness often sneaks in through a door
you didn’t know you left open.”
~ John Barrymore

Posted This Week

• U.S. Marine Corps Muster Rolls, 1798-1940 - Updated 
• U.S. Army Indian Campaign Service Records Index, 1815-1858 
• U.S. Index to General Correspondence of the Record and Pension Office, 1889-1904 (browseable) 
• View a list of all new and updated databases 
• Learn more about what’s new at Ancestry.com 
• Search the Ancestry.com Card Catalog
   

The holiday season and family get-togethers provide a great opportunity for family historians to glean information from relatives that can further your research. Whether you are planning on conducting formal interviews or just a little discreet prying, a little pre-planning can go a long way. Take some time to review what you know and what information you need to know. Then come up with a list of questions, the answers to which may give you some guidance. Check out the list of interview questions in the Ancestry Library for some ideas.

This year our daughter began taking pre-Algebra in school and she didn’t really get off to a smooth start. Accustomed to figuring out problems in her head or on a separate piece of scrap paper, she turned in her first homework assignment only to get it back with points taken off because she didn’t show her work. She was crushed. I tried to explain the rationale behind the grade and the importance of showing her work. It was a tough lesson for her but something that she’ll need for years to come. And if she chooses to follow her mother’s footsteps (Hint!), showing her thought process will be a huge help when applied to family history.

When I started writing for the newsletter, the benefits of writing about my genealogical finds became immediately clear. I’m notorious for scribbling cryptic notes in the heat of the moment. Too often, I have made an exciting discovery only to go back to it weeks or months later scratching my head and wondering what the heck I meant. “Corn, fruit, Bkln. 1850?” Is that a grocery list or something to do with my family history? As it turned out, it was a note about a probate to remind me that there was a Cornelius Kelly who had a fruit stand in Brooklyn in 1850–but that’s a story for another day.

Fortunately, when I slip up I can sometimes find a paper trail in the form of an article I have written about the find. But that’s not always the case, so I’ve since expanded the process of “showing my work.” Now, when I dive into my family’s history I journal during the process. This gives me an extended research log, and I’ve also learned over the years that the best way to find holes in my theories is to try to write about them. (Unfortunately, some of my best theories seem to self-destruct when I’m up against a deadline.)

What to Include
Here are some of the items that I include in my research journal:

• How and where did I find the information? What searches did I perform during online research? How was the name indexed? Were there any irregularities or discrepancies? I also record times where I’ve failed to find an ancestor. I document the various methods I used to search, and include why I think they should be included in that record collection. Sometimes this step is very revealing. It makes me look closely at descriptive materials and sometimes I realize that there’s a very good reason they aren’t included. 
• What was the extent of my search? Did I just search the index? Did I go all the way to the end of the register or microfilmed or digitized collection to see whether there were more records at the end? Did I browse surrounding pages (and how many), looking for other family references? 
• When possible, I like to include a transcription of the record. It makes for easy review and this can also be copied/pasted into my family history software, family timelines, and e-mails to family history buddies. 
• Sometimes a record may not come right out and say something, but alone or in the context of other records, it may allow you to draw conclusions. This is a great place to spell out the rationale behind any conclusions you have drawn. For example, you have an 1860 census record that says that your eleven-year-old ancestor was born in Ireland. You also have a baptism record for his sister that says she was born in 1852 in New York. From these you can estimate that the family immigrated to the U.S. somewhere between 1849 and 1852. If you spell it out here, you won’t be scratching your head a year from now trying to figure out how you arrived at that estimate. 
• Put yourself in your ancestors’ shoes. Has something in this record changed your perceptions about the family and what was going on in their lives? What part might history have played in what you’ve learned? Did they emigrate because of war, disease, or famine? Spell out your theories. 
• Sort out conflicting facts. Did the information in the record conflict with what you had previously thought or with what you have found in other records? Is it possible you are looking at two separate individuals or families? How can you reconcile the conflicts? How credible is the record you are looking at? Document the conflicts and look for ways you can prove or disprove your findings.
• Chart your course for follow-up. Look at what you’ve written and make a list of follow-up steps you can take to move your case forward.

Your Journal’s Format
My process is simple. I just have an open journal (a.k.a., Word document) for each person in his or her folder on my computer, and when I work on that line, I open it up, type in the date, and create my summary using some or all of the above criteria. Mine is free form, but if it’s more helpful to you, you could easily create a template to use each time, then go through and fill in the blanks.

There are other options available that would work well too. A blog is a perfect forum for this type of journal and allows you to share easily with the entire blogosphere. People with whom you are collaborating can easily be kept up-to-date, and you may even hear from a long-lost cousin who happens across your blog post. With a category set up for each person, it makes a great chronological research journal where you can easily review your research process over time. Hosting services like Blogger.com (www.blogger.com) and LiveJournal.com (www.livejournal.com) make it simple to create your own blog. You don’t need a lot of technical expertise to get it up and running.

You could also use your genealogical software and use the notes section or task list to record your thought process.

What Else?
It’s a good idea to journal your findings right away–immediately after the happy dance if possible. You want the facts to be as fresh in your mind as possible. Try not to get sidetracked and immediately enter the follow-up frenzy. (I know–that’s a tall order for me too.) But if you haven’t written about previous finds, pull out your research and start your journal with a review. It’s a great way to jump-start research that you’ve been away from for a while.

With all that is available online, it’s really easy to get into the habit of just adding stuff to your tree without really looking at it. Take the time to really get into the record you have found and explore it by journaling it. In addition to the benefits above, it’s a great way to go back and see how far you’ve come!

Juliana Smith has been an editor of Ancestry newsletters for ten years and is author of “The Ancestry Family Historian’s Address Book.” She has written for “Ancestry” Magazine and wrote the Computers and Technology chapter in “The Source: A Guidebook to American Genealogy,” rev. 3rd edition. Juliana can be reached by e- mail at Juliana@Ancestry.com, but she regrets that her schedule does not allow her to assist with personal research.

A popular tradition found in many American families is the one pertaining to an unknown Native American ancestor. It is usually the great-great-grandmother with a common given name who supposedly was a “full-blood” [fill in the tribe]. It piques our interest and off we go–but in the wrong direction. All too often, we find that the oral history that has been handed down is not accurate, so it’s important to keep an open mind.

If the name of the tribe is known with certainty, you will be able to take a shortcut and go directly to the tribal records. The U.S. Indian Census Schedules, 1885-1940 (click on the image to see an example from Ancestry.com), or the 1900 population schedule with its “Special Inquiries Relating to Indians” section, and will in many instances provide the name of the tribe and degree of blood. In the case of the 1900 census one question asked the degree (percentage) of white blood an individual had. In many instances, the answer is incorrect. One of my ancestors is listed as 1/8th white, when he actually was 1/8th Cherokee and 7/8th white. Another relative and his children are all listed as white in the 1900 California census, when in fact the children were 1/2 Indian.

You may have Indian blood although your ancestor left the tribe long ago and intermixed with other ethnic groups. Tribal membership and Indian bloodlines are not synonymous. Indian ancestry does not of itself entitle an individual to any special rights or benefits or guarantee eligibility for tribal membership today. Additionally, Indian census lists do not prove tribal affiliation–you must find the enrollment lists and then make the genealogical link that proves that a particular George Wolf or Mary Pumpkin (for example) on that list is yours.

Location, Location, Location
For many researchers, tribal affiliation will not be known or will be incorrect. Study the localities, especially the birthplaces where your purported Indian relatives lived. Narrow it to a county or region within a state. Next research the historically documented Indian tribes that are known to have been living in those geographic areas. This information will narrow down the tribal possibilities. It is a lesson in futility to search for your Shoshone ancestors in Ohio (they lived primarily in California, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Utah, and Wyoming) or to make 100-year leaps in time in cases where the tribe was relocated. Study maps and atlases that will enable you to ascertain where the various Indian tribes, reservations and settlements of the United States are located. (See Figure 19-1, pages 780-781, of The Source: A Guidebook of American Genealogy.)

Names
Names are a frequent problem encountered when researching this ethnicity. In 1885, when the annual Indian census lists began, you may find your ancestor listed under two different names–one being his Indian name, the other an English one. For ancestors who lived in earlier times, keep in mind that they often were of mixed-blood heritage and had Scottish, Irish, German, or English names by the early 1800s.

Indian Princess?
A recurring story in American families is that one of your ancestors was the daughter of an Indian chief. While anything is possible in genealogy, such a story should alert you to the likelihood of a family fable. The second part of the tradition will be that the family was not necessarily proud of their mixed blood, and would not talk about it or tried to cover it up by claiming to be some other ethnic group. Don’t blindly accept these stories because for the most part that is all they are. Be diligent and be sure to thoroughly research claims like these.

Other family lore may be that some female ancestor was taken captive and carried off to an Indian village and became a wife of one of the tribesman and bore mixed-blood children from whom you descend. While it did happen, you’ll need to sift the legend from the real history. Be cautious about relying on the accounts of eighteenth- and nineteenth-century historians, who often put their own “spin” on such stories. Use these for research, but don’t accept them as the complete story.

A treasured tale in our family is the one about Catherine Vanderpool She, who, along with several of her children, was carried off by Shawnees during the French and Indian War in 1763. The historical accounts have proven to be fairly accurate. However, solving the genealogical conundrum is still ongoing because we have more than one Catherine Vanderpool who could have been this legendary lady.

Your Indian ancestry might be via a tribe you have never heard of or know next-to-nothing about. Tracing the extended lines of my Vanderpool family, I have found links to Cherokees of Alabama and Oklahoma, Blackfeet of Montana, Oneida of Wisconsin, Miwok and Chukchansi of California, and to Alaskan Athabascans. I’m still exploring the purported Mohawk connection.

If your Indian ancestors ever received monies or land from the federal government, there is a good chance you will be able to document your Indian blood. But for those whose family legends pertain to Indian ancestors prior to 1800, you face the challenge of doing some sophisticated and difficult research. Sometimes these lineages can be proven. Sometimes they can’t, but it is fascinating research, and you will learn a great deal of American history and Indian culture along the way.

Myra Vanderpool Gormley formerly was the editor of the RootsWeb Review and a columnist for the Los Angeles Times Syndicate. In retirement, she labors at detangling her illustrious roots and pruning her family’s notorious branches. The latter has turned out to be a full-time job. You can reach Myra at myravgormley@yahoo.com.

If you have ancestors whose surnames begin with “Mc” and “Mac,” such as McKnitt and MacTavish, you may find them suspiciously absent in records even in places you are almost positive they should be appear. Sometimes the Mc or Mac may have been omitted by the person making the record or the record may have been misfiled under the second half of the name. Look in the records for both the full name and for the shortened version of the name. Of course this would also apply to O’Malley and other surname prefixes that could be separated. Learning to misspell and fracture your ancestors’ surnames can sometimes help you find those missing links.

Commonwealth War Graves Commission
The Commonwealth War Graves Commission Site (www.cwgc.org) has details of all British and Commonwealth servicemen killed in action during World War I and World War II and often has details of next of kin. I found my great uncle on the site—someone I never knew fought in World War I. I also found one of my wife’s relatives who was killed during World War II.
 
Phil
Hythe, Southampton UK

Try Parents’ Names in Birth Searches
Having difficulty locating those elusive relatives in death certificate indexes? Try entering the father’s surname or mother’s maiden name in the search box. I have found many missing female relatives this way even when their married name is unknown. I have been searching the North Carolina Death Certificates, 1909-75. Most of these certificates give both parents’ names. And don’t forget to look at the actual image. There is a wealth of information not listed in the index.
 
Michelle Woodham
Shreveport, Louisiana

Mapping Advice
Virginia suggested Googling an address in a recent newsletter. Doing so, she found a current real estate listing for the same address. Using Google Maps, she could have also seen the actual street view, as Google is in the process of photographing every street in every city in the U.S.

Terrain view in Google maps has helped me find “old” place names and creek names. I have several pioneer ancestors in Oregon and converted record range and township land descriptions to latitude and longitude to find the present day locations. Then, comparing old and new maps, aerial views and new maps, I made many positive confirmations and discoveries.

One point to keep in mind–in the case of a house, the street numbering may have changed and road or street names may have changed over the years. Also, a house may have had a major addition, so it may not look like it did when your ancestor lived there.

Duplications in location names can cause confusion so be sure to clarify for your records. For example, in the old days a miner may have sought gold in Colfax, California, or in Colfax, Washington.

Dave Simmons

If you have a suggestion you would like to share with other researchers, send it to: mailto:juliana@ancestry.com . Thanks to all of this week’s contributors!

Quick Tips may be reprinted, with credit to the submitter, in other Ancestry publications, so if you do not want your tip included in a publication other than the “Ancestry Weekly Journal,” please state so clearly in your message.

The year was 1901 and it marked the end of the Victorian Era. On 22 January, Queen Victoria died at the age of eighty-one after ruling the United Kingdom for sixty-four years–the longest reign in British history. Her reign is largely remembered as a period of economic and imperial expansion, although her popularity wavered at times.

The 1901 Census for England was taken on the night of 31 March 1901. Enumeration forms were distributed to all households a couple of days before census night and were to reflect the individual’s status as of 31 March 1901 for all individuals who had spent the night in the house. The following information was requested: name of street, avenue road, etc.; house number or name; whether or not the house was inhabited; number of rooms occupied if less than five; name of each person that had spent the night; relationship of person enumerated to the head of the family; each person’s marital status; age at last birthday (sex is indicated by which column the age is recorded in); each person’s occupation; whether they are employer or employee or neither; person’s place of birth; whether deaf, dumb, blind, or lunatic. (This census is available to Ancestry members with a UK or World Deluxe membership.)

The year had begun with the birth of the Commonwealth of Australia as the British colonies of New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria, and Western Australia were united. The occasion was celebrated widely throughout the continent with parades and pageantry.

In the U.S., William McKinley began his second term as president of the United States. His term ended tragically and abruptly when he was shot in September 1901 by anarchist, Leon Czolgosz, at the Pan-American Exposition.

He was succeeded by his vice president, Theodore Roosevelt, who became the youngest president in U.S. history. During his terms as president, Roosevelt earned a reputation as a “trust buster,” who used the Sherman Antitrust Act to dissolve a large railroad monopoly. He also began work on the Panama Canal, fought for conservation of our natural resources, and won a Nobel Peace Prize for negotiating the end of the Russo-Japanese War.

Roosevelt’s invitation to Booker T. Washington, president of the Tuskegee Institute, to dine at the White House angered many in 1901. The Atlanta Constitution reported on 18 October 1901 that, “There is a feeling of indignation among Southern men, generally, that the president should, in the face of his declaration of friendliness toward the people of the south, take this early opportunity to show such a marked courtesy and distinction to a negro.” 

Contributed by Marilyn G.
These are the daughters of Frank W. and Serilda Jane Gibson Gates–top Nora, bottom left Emma, right Ella. They grew up in Girard, Illinois.

Click on an image to enlarge it.

Contributed by Delia Ann Jones
This is George W. Hoover in his Union Army uniform. He was a relative of Herbert Hoover and served in Company A, 11th Cavalry Regiment Ohio, 1861-1865.

MyCanvas (formerly AncestryPress) has just launched a new product. You can now create personalized calendars and I’ve already had some fun with them today. You can customize the cover with a photograph and the title, as well as each calendar page. You can even insert family events and thumbnail photographs into the calendar page or create custom backgrounds for each month. I created this page in about ten minutes with photos I had on my computer. (Click on the image to enlarge it.)

Stephanie Condie has already put up a helpful blog post with some really creative ideas, so I won’t try to reinvent the wheel here, but suffice it to say, I know what I’ll be working on this weekend!

To sweeten the pot a bit, Ancestry is offering a 20% discount on all MyCanvas products through December 24th, so now’s the time to start those holiday projects. To get the discount, just enter this code at checkout: ANHOLIDAY.  

Click here to go to MyCanvas and start your holiday project!

After Maureen’s directory of articles ran in the 3 November 2008 Ancestry Weekly Journal (click here if you missed it), I received the following message from StoryCorps, a non-profit project whose mission is to honor and celebrate one another’s lives through listening. What a great way to kick off the holiday season!

I’m writing from StoryCorps to let you know we saw Maureen Taylor’s blog post from February 17, referenced again on November 2, mentioning StoryCorps as an inspiration for recording ancestry in audio format. It’s such a great connection: preserving family ancestry and the simple act of listening to each other.

I wanted to write to let you know about a new initiative we’re launching this year that might also appeal to your readers. StoryCorps is asking the whole country to set aside one hour on Friday, November 28th, the day after Thanksgiving, to record a conversation with a friend or loved one. We’re declaring this day the National Day of Listening. We just launched a website (www.nationaldayoflistening.org) with more information and tips for a Do-it-Yourself style interview as well as a video walking through an interview. Since so many Americans aren’t able to make it to a StoryCorps recording booth, we’re making it easier for everyone to share this experience in their own homes.

Again, thank you for writing about StoryCorps on your blog. Please share the idea of National Day of Listening and these Do-it-Yourself tools with your readers, family, and friends, helping us make the experience of listening as an act of love even more accessible.

Thank you again,

Kathleen McCarthy
Marketing and Communications
StoryCorps
www.storycorps.net/

Join StoryCorps in the National Day of Listening
November 28, 2008
http://www.nationaldayoflistening.org

Armed with a stack of photos and stories, author Jeffrey Badger sets out on a 10-year hunt to retrieve a past in Finding Granddad’s War.

(PROVO, Utah) 6 Nov. 2008—Growing up, Jeff Badger imagined that if he stared long enough at the pictures of Leo Kavanaugh as a WWII GI, they would tell him the story of the grandfather he never had the chance to know. When the pictures didn’t, Jeff decided to track down the men who could—the soldiers who had served with his grandfather in the 978th Engineer Maintenance Company.

Finding Granddad’s War is both the story of Jeff’s search and the stories of the men he found. Flattered by his interest, Jeff’s new “war buddies” confided in him, shared experiences they had never spoken of before, and sent Jeff hundreds of photographs taken in Europe and the Pacific. Sometimes the experience of talking was cathartic, sometimes not, but most of the men spoke on, whether they were discussing anti-Semitism within their own ranks, the unit’s one casualty in three years and two theaters of war, or robbing a German bank.

Finding Granddad’s War is filled with the firsthand accounts Jeff found so compelling, he expanded his search to Europe to track down sites and characters from the GIs’ past. Retracing his grandfather’s steps in Holland, Jeff unearthed memories from the days when the 978th occupied the town of Spekholzerheid, drinking in the barroom where his grandfather once boxed, and speaking with people who had posed for pictures fifty years before.

As his grandfather’s war buddies became his own, Jeff came to know the soldier, the hell-raiser, the friend, and the war they had known. Their voices, in concert with Jeff’s own, make Finding Granddad’s War an open-eyed, loving portrait of the “greatest generation”—from a grandson of WWII.

Finding Granddad’s War is a new title from Ancestry Publishing, the publishing arm of popular genealogical website Ancestry.com.

Here are some quotes from the book:

You know, Jeff, you ask me about that war. What can I tell you? It was sometimes tragic, sometimes sickening, sometimes happy, sometimes sorrowful. I didn’t know if I was going to make it… But we were glad that we were alive. I have different memories. Sometimes it puts a tear in your eye, even today, even now. But even today, every day I get up, maybe I hear gunfire, maybe I hear something else, but I’m grateful I’m alive.
—John Powasnik

There were a lot of other bodies in the area that we were picking up. I came across one American GI lying on his back who had a letter sticking out of his breast pocket. Foolish me, I read it. He looked to be in his mid-to-late twenties. He was married and the letter was from his wife with a picture of her and two or three kids. He was from Kentucky, my neighboring state. That hit home quite hard. I got pretty choked up. After I read a few lines I suddenly felt like a thief. That letter belonged to him.
—Farran Helmick

Well kid, I’ve really been around this damn world since the war started. A fellow really learns a lot too. I mean in a thousand different ways. I wouldn’t trade my experiences for a million dollars. But I wouldn’t give 10¢ to do it over again either.
—Leo Kavanaugh

If they told me that they needed me, that I had to go out and do it again, I’d be there tomorrow. And I could do it too. I’m not joking. I still have my uniform. And it doesn’t fit me half bad.
—Elmer Kulback

Contact: For a review copy or to schedule an interview, please contact Russ Hannig at 801-705-7314 or rhannig@tgn.com. You can find more about Jeff Badger and Finding Granddad’s War (including photographs) at www.Findinggranddadswar.com.

But the freedom that they fought for, and the country grand they wrought for, is their monument to-day, and for aye.
~ Thomas Dunn English

Posted This Week

• Brooklyn, New York Catholic Church Baptism Records, 1837-1900 
• Brooklyn, New York Catholic Church Marriage Records, 1839-1900 
• England, The National Roll of the Great War, 1914-1918 
• British Army WWI Service Records, 1914-1920
  (Update-Surnames A-N now available)
• Holocaust: Schindler’s Lists 
• View a list of all new and updated databases 
• Learn more about what’s new at Ancestry.com 
• Search the Ancestry.com Card Catalog

Most of us can identify at least one family member in our family tree who served in the military. Have you researched his or her military service? Where were they stationed? Did they see active duty and if so, what engagements did the unit participate in? Look for their military unit history online and investigate the holdings of the archives of their service branch. Learning more about our ancestors military service is a great way to honor the veterans in our family this Veterans’ Day.

They called it “The Great War” and it was to be “The War to End All Wars.” Tomorrow will mark the ninetieth anniversary of the signing of the armistice that ended World War I. There is no shortage of information on the war that ravaged much of Europe between 1914 and 1918 and dramatically changed the map. As with most wars, many books have been written, movies and mini-series made, and websites launched chronicling the conflict.

While these types of resources are undoubtedly helpful, they are often painted with too wide a brush to give you that close-up picture of the war on the ground. The most revealing insights into war are often written by the participants themselves. My first foray into the world of writing was an article based on a collection of letters that my mother had inherited that had been written by her uncle while he was fighting in World War I. Reading those letters and then learning more about the movements of his battalion, I got a much clearer perspective of both Edwin and his involvement in World War I.

Of course, not everyone has a notebook full of letters like we did. All too often correspondence, diaries, and first-person accounts are discarded or lost to the ravages of time. Even if you don’t have gems like these written by your own ancestors, by reading the surviving correspondence of your ancestors’ contemporaries, you can still get that glimpse into the conditions they endured in the trenches, on the field of battle, in camps or prisons, and wherever else the war took them.

With Veterans’ Day tomorrow, I thought that this week it would be appropriate to learn a little more about the service of the veterans in our family tree. Here are some places you can begin your search for first-person accounts.

Online
As I went off in search of online resources for correspondence and the diaries of military personnel serving in various conflicts, I was thrilled with what I found. War Letters is a website that has posted letters from the Civil War and both World Wars–both images and transcripts.

The Valley of the Shadow website has made available letters and diaries from both sides of the Civil War. The site focuses on the lives of people Augusta County, Virginia, and Franklin County, Pennsylvania, with accounts from before, during, and after the war. 

A search of the Card Catalog at Ancestry for war letter turned up sixteen hits, and a subsequent search for war diary produced another fourteen.

General history sites may also have personal accounts posted. I found this page with memoirs and diaries on FirstWorldWar.com.

Newspapers
Sometimes newspaper correspondents were actually hometown boys who mailed in their accounts of the action. I found this website titled “Dear Eagle: The Civil War Correspondence of Stephen H. Bogardus, Jr.” Bogardus served with the 5th New York Duryee Zouaves and Purnell’s Maryland Legion and wrote regularly to his hometown newspaper. The accounts have been compiled in a book and many of his missives are available on the website.

State Archives
State archives often house collections of military correspondence. The West Virginia State Archives has posted a collection of war letters on its website titled “Hope to See You Soon.” 

Some archive collections are too extensive to post online. The Maine State Archives website says that “Because the volume of Civil War correspondence in the Maine State Archives is so great, we have no immediate plans to attempt an item-by-item index of this material.” In reading through the descriptions of the collections, for those who can make the trip, these records sound fascinating.

Check your local state archive to see what collections they have and what can be found online.

University Libraries
The Virginia Tech University Digital Library and Archives has posted a collection of Civil War love letters on its website. You may find military correspondence in the libraries of universities as well. The University of Miami Libraries have posted a collection of letters from the Civil War, written by a New Hampshire soldier, Calvin Shedd, who was stationed at Fort Jefferson in the Gulf of Mexico. 

University of Virginia Special Collections Department has posted the Civil War letters of twin brothers John and James Booker, written to their cousin, Chloe Unity Blair. Their letters describe everyday life in the Confederate army, both in camp and on the battle field.

Finding Collections
Try searching for your ancestor’s military unit or a ship name if it is known, combined with the name of the conflict. If that doesn’t work, try searching for the name of the conflict and diary or letters (e.g., civil war letters, or world war ii diary). I feel I have to insert a warning here though. Be prepared to spend some time on these sites. The accounts I found while researching this article were riveting.

I searched WorldCat for 105th machine gun battalion world war I and found that the New York State Library has the papers of Chester B. Bahn, who it appears served in the same division as my grand-uncle, Edwin Dyer. In another search of the National Union Catalog of Manuscript Collections (NUCMC) I found a more detailed description of the contents of the collection. There are copies of the division’s publication, the “Wadsworth Gas Attack” and photographs and other items included in the collection that are of interest to me.

The Legacy Project
Six years ago, Megan Smolenyak wrote an article for the newsletter about The Legacy Project. The work of Andrew Carroll, this project “encourages Americans to honor and remember those who have served—or are currently serving—this nation in wartime by seeking out and preserving their letters and e-mails home.” Andrew has edited four books now filled with wartime correspondence which are available through the Legacy Project website–www.warletters.com. The site also includes links to project letter displays online, and tips on preserving your wartime correspondence.

Honoring Our Veterans
This Veterans’ Day, let’s take steps to make sure that we are preserving the history of those who served. Whether it’s to research an ancestor’s participation in a conflict of the past or preserving the correspondence of those who are currently serving, we can offer them this small token of our gratitude.

Have you found a good resource that I missed? Let us know about the military correspondence and first person accounts that you’ve found in the Comments section of the blog. And if you’ve found a unique way to honor the veterans in your family, we’d like to hear about that too.

Juliana Smith has been an editor of Ancestry newsletters for ten years and is author of “The Ancestry Family Historian’s Address Book.” She has written for “Ancestry” Magazine and wrote the Computers and Technology chapter in “The Source: A Guidebook to American Genealogy,” rev. 3rd edition. Juliana can be reached by e- mail at Juliana@Ancestry.com, but she regrets that her schedule does not allow her to assist with personal research.

I’ve decided that it is time to return to researching my Scottish lines. News about archives and libraries in Scotland are sparking my interest, and there is new material on the Web to keep me busy until I can actually make a trip.

My last research trip to Scotland was four years ago. In that time the resources online have expanded and I have been able to carry on with some of the work in my research plan from home. I use online resources in three ways:

(1) To search for ancestors in the major record groups (censuses, civil registration, baptisms and marriages in Church of Scotland registers, and testaments)

(2) To find information about records and for background to my research

(3) To search catalogues of archives and libraries—so I can plan future work in Scotland or find out what can be done using microfilm copies of records in the local LDS Family History Centre.

Websites I use most often are:

Ancestry.co.uk
ancestry.co.uk

Scottish Archives Network
www.scan.org.uk

National Archives of Scotland
www.nas.gov.uk

Angus Archives and other regional archives
www.scan.org.uk/directory/index.htm

Mitchell Library, Glasgow
www.mitchelllibrary.org

Websites of family history societies
www.safhs.org.uk

FamilySearch
www.familysearch.org
 
Destinations in Scotland
Three destinations top my list of places I want to visit on my next trip to Scotland. The first is the new facility for Angus Archives at the Hunter Library, Restenneth priory, just two miles outside Forfar. The location is adjacent to the ruined twelfth century Restenneth Priory, burial site of a son of Robert the Bruce.

The second is the new Family History Centre at Dundee. It is in the Central Library which is in a shopping mall. How many of us go to the mall to carry out our research? Lunch breaks should be fun! More important is what the Dundee City Council has done. They have brought together local officials from civil registration, administration of burial grounds, and local history services in one location. They also have an onsite service which, essentially, gives patrons a “buddy” while they research. The charge is reasonable. You can read more about this on the Dundee City Council website.

Third on my list is the General Register House in Edinburgh, where the new ScotlandsPeople Centre is now open. The building has undergone renovation and refurbishment and it’s well worth your time to look about and appreciate the changes. Information about the Centre can be found at its website. 
 
The National Archives of Scotland (NAS) has two public search facilities in central Edinburgh. We’ve mentioned the General Register House, and the other is West Register House. If you go to Edinburgh, wonderful as the General Register House facilities are, be sure to plan to research in both facilities. To find a brief summary of what is in each building visit the website.

You will also find information about location and open hours at the NAS website as well as source guides to many types of records, catalogues and indexes. The NAS help page tells you how to get the most out of the website. 

Other worthwhile research locations in Edinburgh are: the National Library of Scotland, Edinburgh Central Library and the library of the Scottish Genealogy Society. The National Library has a particularly good website to help you prepare for a visit to Scotland. Not only can you search for materials in online catalogues, but you can also view images of more that 4,000 maps in their care.

Stay Informed
So much gets lost in the mass of e-mail we receive. One way to keep abreast of changes is to set aside a little time each month to check out sites that are important to your research. Most archives, data, and society sites will have some way of announcing what is new. If you are part of a mailing list, no doubt you get news that way. At RootsWeb you can find out what mailing lists there are for any county of Scotland by putting in the county name at the search page.

Finally, for my Scottish research, I keep an eye on the Talking Scot website. You can read the forum discussions, whether or not you decide to join in. 

Sherry Irvine, CG, is an author, teacher, and lecturer specializing in English, Scottish, and Irish family history. She is the Course Director and co-owner of Pharos Teaching and Tutoring (www.pharostutors.com), a British company. Her books include Your English Ancestry (2d ed., 1998), Scottish Ancestry (2003) and Finding Your Canadian Ancestors (co-author, 2007) all published by Ancestry. Upcoming lecture locations include Ottawa, Kelowna, London, and Auckland.

When indexes are created, indexers are instructed to record information exactly as it appears on the original record. Humans do occasionally err, but it is important to remember that the error could have been done by the informant or the clerk filling out the record.

A search of the World War I Draft Cards at Ancestry indicates that 10,893 individuals in the database were born in 1918. There has to be something amiss someplace. Registrants for this draft could not actually have been born in 1918. My unscientific study of some of these hits failed to locate one card that did not say the registrant was born in 1918.

How could this happen? There are many reasons, but obviously none of the men were actually claiming to be under the age of 1. Registering men for a draft when war might have appeared imminent could have lead to some distraction on the part of the registrars. After all, how many of us today have accidentally put the incorrect year on a check when writing one?

It is important to keep this in perspective. There were approximately 24 million registrants for this draft–10,893 only represents .045% of the total—a small percentage to be certain, but enough to consider if you can’t locate your ancestor when searching by year of birth.

When searching any database, consider that one of the pieces your ancestor gave could have been either given or recorded incorrectly. It will impact how he appears in the database. Try altering or omitting one search term at a time. You may be pleasantly surprised at the results even if his age is correct. 

A Scrapbook History
After years of trinkets and tokens for Christmas from my children and grandchildren, I have now asked them to complete a scrapbook page of the highlights in their life for that year.
 
Each year I get a page of events from them. But little do they know, that they are writing their own history. It’s inexpensive and much more personal and means more to me than any “store-bought” gift.
 
It keeps a log of events in their lives from year to year and someday I hope my great-grandchildren will enjoy them!
 
Clara Leib
Valparaiso, Indiana

Census Browsing Tip
When I couldn’t locate my ancestors from Belgium in the 1900 Moore County, North Carolina census (where I knew them to be living at that time), I accessed the actual census pages and began scrolling through. I looked down the “Country of origin” column for Belgium and found them that way. The spelling of the name was unusual so I hadn’t been able to find them by just putting in their name. Of course, this could work also if one’s relative was born in another state rather than country.
 
Thank you for the tips. Some have been so helpful.
 
Beverly Hall
North Carolina

Combine Middle and Last Names
I would like to add that it is possible to add the middle and last name when searching. In the case of my great-grandfather whose name was Thomas Fitz Martin in later years he is listed as Fitzmartin. Hope this will help someone.

Bern

If you have a suggestion you would like to share with other researchers, send it to: mailto:juliana@ancestry.com . Thanks to all of this week’s contributors!

Quick Tips may be reprinted, with credit to the submitter, in other Ancestry publications, so if you do not want your tip included in a publication other than the “Ancestry Weekly Journal,” please state so clearly in your message.

Contributed by Steve Kirby, UK
This is a photo of my great-grandfather Jeremiah Joseph Kirby. He was born in New York City in 1864 but the birth was registered in Dalton, Massachusetts, his parents having travelled there from Dublin, Ireland, the year before. The family returned to Dublin a year later and eventually settled in London, England-a well travelled man.

Click on an image to enlarge it.

Contributed by Mark Jones
This is a photo of my great-great grandfather, Thomas Staton Brown and his sons, taken in 1869 in Arkansas. Clockwise from left: George Washington, Thomas Staton, Isaac Neely, James McCloud, and Marion.