Thursday, March 7, 2024

Genealogy-Related Posts

While scouting around the internet I sometimes find articles and posts that seem genealogy-related.  I enjoyed these recent finds and thought you might find them interesting.

Surprise! You Own a Long-Lost Cemetery

Swiss Maps Are Full of Hidden Secrets

The U.S. Census Is Wrong on Purpose:  they literally doubled one town's population

Watch the video to see what was found in a French child's 120-year-old time capsule.  Read more about the photographer who found the box and his process for developing the photographs here.




Enjoy!
--Nancy.

Friday, January 5, 2024

FamilySearch's "All About Your Ancestors"

When I go to FamilySearch, it's most often to either search for an ancestor in their records or to index.  But just recently, when I clicked on the "Get Involved" tab with the intention of indexing, instead of clicking "Indexing," I clicked "Opportunities."  I found a generous gift of more than 30 "family history experiences" with search results just waiting for me to learn more about my ancestors.
These are some of the experiences available:
  • 1950 US Census
  • Ancestor Challenge  (identify photos of ancestors and/or their grave markers)
  • Ancestors Calendar
  • Cemeteries
  • Challenging Times
  • Discover Relatives Who May Need to be Added to Your Family Tree
  • Family Obituaries
  • Honoring Your Military Relative
  • Mayflower
  • My Ancestors in the 1950s
  • My Relatives' Military Records
  • Pearl Harbor
  • Record Hints
  • Relatives' Headstones
  • Religious Records
  • Top Contributors (to individuals who appear in your tree)
  • War of 1812 Relatives
  • WWI Draft Records
  • WWI Service Records
  • WWII Enlistment Record
  • Your Ancestor's Marriage
  • Your Female Ancestor Photos
  • Your Female Ancestors' Stories

To access these opportunities you'll need to sign in to your free FamilySearch account and have begun a family tree.  Click on "Get Involved" at the top of the screen, then click "Opportunities."  Since others contribute to your tree (which is really the collaborative tree), you'll likely find some information or ancestors who are new to you.  I did!

—Nancy.

Copyright © 2024 Nancy Messier.  All Rights Reserved. 
Do not copy or use any content from this blog without written permission from the owner. 

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Monday, January 1, 2024

Friday, December 1, 2023

December Birthdays and Anniversaries Among My Ancestors and Relatives

   I love December.  There's the possibility of snow, of course, but it's the wonderful Christmas season when hearts are more open and generous and we're usually more thoughtful and kind during the month. 
    But December can also be a difficult month.  For a pregnant mom nearing the time of delivery, or a mom with a newborn baby, it has to be a challenge to recover from labor and delivery, care for any older children, and also prepare for the holidays.  And then there are the December birthdays, always a part of the Christmas season and sometimes overlooked or melded into that holiday. 
   Most difficult of all may be the December deaths.  Every year after the death of a loved in December, the holiday will always bring a remembrance of the loved one and the sorrow and grief that accompany the event.

Living Relatives
December 25    Martha A.

The Grands
December  ??, 1871   John Froman (death)
December 19, 1911   Gust Doyle and Beulah Mae Gerner
December 29, 1899   Rebecca (Smith) Bartley (death)
December 30, 1925   Henry Carl Meinzen

Collaterals
December   2, 1884    Emma Doyle
December   4, 1862    Susan Bickerstaff
December   4, 1927    Donald E. Davis
December   9, 1891    Hazel Doyle
December 11, 1839    Eli Porter
December 12, 1900    Minnie Froman
December 15, 1875    Laura V. Thompson
December 15, 1893    Jacob Increase Meinzen
December 18, 1921    Tressa Hazel Doyle
December 20, 1897    George T. Doyle and Emma Everall
December 22, 1832    Westley Scott Roe
December 24, 1869    Henry W. Kropp
December 24, 1871    Thomas Hardy and Ann Armitage
December 24, 1915    John Ellis Bickerstaff and Alice May Bickerstaff
December 25, 1886    Emma Doyle
December 25, 1888    William Turner and Catherine Froman
December 26, 1911    Charles Edward Sticker and Lula Bernesa Meinzen
December 27, 1896    Henry Carl Meinzen and Ella Dray
December 27, 1927    Pauline Mary (Polly) Meinzen
December 30, 1864    Elizabeth Jane Doyle

My Lines to the Grands
  • John Froman -->  Tressa (Froman) Doyle -->  Gust Doyle -->  Lee Doyle -->  me
  • Gust and Beulah Mae (Gerner) Doyle -->  Lee Doyle -->  me
  • Rebecca (Smith) Bartley -->  Elvira (Bartley) Gerner -->  Beulah Mae (Gerner) Doyle -->  Lee Doyle -->  me
  • Henry Carl Meinzen -->  William Carl Robert Meinzen -->  Audrey (Meinzen) Doyle -->  me

Happy Birthday, Happy Anniversary to my ancestors and relatives!

—Nancy.

Copyright © 2023 Nancy Messier.  All Rights Reserved. 
Do not copy or use any content from this blog without written permission from the owner. 

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Thursday, November 23, 2023

Happy Thanksgiving

I wish you a bounty of blessings on this Thanksgiving Day!

--Nancy.

Wednesday, November 1, 2023

November Birthdays and Anniversaries Among my Relatives and Ancestors

There's something interesting about the three grandparents whose events I'm celebrating this month:  they are all related.  Martha Reay is Andrew Doyle's mother.  Andrew and Elizabeth Jane (Laws) Doyle are Gust's grandparents, which make Martha Reay and her husband William Doyle Gust's great-grandparents.  When I think about that longer than a few seconds, it amazes me that the only direct ancestors who had celebrations this month are all related.

Living Relatives
November  3    Noah D.
November 21   Hester D.

Grandpaarents
November   7, 1809   Martha Reay
November 14, 1863   Andrew Doyle and Elizabeth Jane Laws
November 17, 1888   Gust Doyle

Collateral Relatives
November   1, 1922   Daniel I. Bickerstaff
November   7, 1918   Geraldine Mae (Jeree) Meinzen
November 11, 1961   James Eugene Bickerstaff and Janet Faye Martin
November 13, 1882   Walter Meinzen
November 15, 1868   Adam Froman
November 15, 1947   Rex Foulk
November 16, 1875   Lana Ellen Gerner
November 20, 1901   Marie Isabella Meinzen and Benjamin Robert Hashman
November 20, 1904   Edward Jesse Bickerstaff
November 22, 1905   Madelyn Lengauer
November 23, 1877   Scott Wesley Roe Jr.
November 25, 1922   Edward Jesse Bickerstaff and Agnes May Pressell
November 25, 1930   Edna Hendricks and Russell Sage Pugh
November 29, 1882   John N. Gerner
November 30, 1882   John Laws Doyle

My line from my grantparents to me
Martha Reay (who married William Doyle)  --> Andrew (& Elizabeth Jane Laws) Doyle  --> William Doyle  --> Gust Doyle  -->  Lee Doyle  -->  me

I'm wishing all Happy Celebrations!

—Nancy.

Copyright © 2023 Nancy Messier.  All Rights Reserved. 
Do not copy or use any content from this blog without written permission from the owner. 

Sunday, October 22, 2023

Problems Report in RootsMagic for Saturday Night Genealogy Fun

For Saturday Night Genealogy Fun last night, Randy Seaver suggested doing a genealogy software problems report.  At first I thought, Nope, not doing it.  I'm sure it will turn up dozens and dozens of problems that I'm not prepared to deal with right now.  But then I relented and made the report.  Whew!  Only six problems.  (But then there are only 529 people in my program.)

I'm still using RootsMagic 7.  I clicked on "Tools" then "Problem Search > Problem List."  I was able to check or uncheck 10 options.  I left all of them checked.  (From Randy's post I see that RM 9 has an extensive list which would be more helpful.)
These are the problems RootsMagic searched for.
  • Individuals without sex entered
  • Proper order of events
  • Birth before parents' marriage
  • Birth before parent's birth
  • Birth after father's death
  • Birth after mother's death
  • Age at death should be less than 102
  • Age at marriage should be between 14 and 70
  • Father's age should be between 14 and 70
  • Mother's age should be between 14 and 50

These are the problems RM indicated and my responses to the problems.
Bickerstaff, Margie J.   Parents married after person's birth
Yes, a problem.  Margie is one of my mother's cousins.  All of her information comes from her obituary.  It doesn't help that I don't have an exact date for her parents' marriage.  More research is needed for this family.   For now I'll make a note on her page.

Doyle, William   Parents married after person's birth
Definitely a problem!  William is my paternal great-grandfather, the son of Andrew and Elizabeth (Laws) Doyle who, GRO records tell me, were married on November 14, 1863.  His birth date of March 3, 1863, comes from family records (which have been notoriously inaccurate.)  Sadly, I have been unable to find a U.K. birth record of any kind-- not a civil record or a church baptismal record.  I thought it could be possible that he was the son of his father and his father's first wife, Jane Barron, but nothing turned up in my searches in that direction.  I turned away from researching the Doyle line for a while because of this problem.

Froman, Catherine
   Born after father's death
Not a problem.  Catherine's father, John Froman, died when Catherine's mother was pregnant.  John died in December, 1871, and Catherine was born in January, 1872

Hardy, Robert
   Parents married after person's birth
Yes, a problem.  Robert is my great-grandmother's sister's son.  His birth information comes from the 1900 U.S. Census.   I've done little research on this family but I believe county records will show an accurate birth date.  County records may also give a marriage record (and date) for his parents.  I'll make a note in his person page and look for the information sometime in the future

For these two infants, their sex was not indicated on records and I have no way to learn it for either.
Kitch, Infant   Unknown sex
Meinzen, Stillborn Infant   Unknown sex

Thanks for suggesting this fun activity, Randy.  It's probably a good idea to do this regularly, and especially after adding more individuals to RootsMagic.

—Nancy.

Copyright © 2023 Nancy Messier.  All Rights Reserved. 
Do not copy or use any content from this blog without written permission from the owner. 

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Sunday, October 15, 2023

1897 Marriage Record for Andrew Doyle and Margaret E. Taylor

I've started going through stacks of papers with genealogy/family history records that need attention and thought I would begin posting some of them....

Andrew Doyle, born January 8, 1873, is the son of Andrew and Elizabeth Jane (Laws) Doyle.  He is their sixth child and third son.  He was a miner and later also a farmer.  (I continue to find more and more miners among my Pennsylvania relatives, descendants of my Northumberland miners.)

Andrew married Margaret E. Taylor on March 17, 1897, in Mercer County, Pennsylvania.  Coincidentally, Andrew's oldest brother, William who is my great-grandfather, married Tressa Rose Froman on the same date in 1885.  William and Andrew were born 10 years apart and married 12 years apart.

Marriage Record and Transcription

[page] 206
No. 4654
Andrew Doyle born in Pardoe
on the 8 day of January A. D. 1873 residing at Stoneboro Pa
and a miner by occupation not related by blood or marriage
to the person whom he desires to marry
not married before
and Margaret E. Taylor born in Stoneboro Pa
on the 30" day of July A. D. 1877 residing at Stoneboro Pa
.... not married before  
And now this 16" day of March 1897 Marriage License issued in legal form.
Consent of Thomas Taylor residing at Stoneboro Pa.....
     Filed this 16 day of March 1897
     Duplicate Certificate returned and filed this 27 day of March 1897 showing
ceremony to have been performed by John Kelly
on the 17 day of March 1897

FamilySearch Citation and Link to Image
"Pennsylvania, County Marriages, 1885-1950," index and images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/VF9R-YC9 : accessed 01 Feb 2014), Andrew Doyle and Margaret E. Taylor, 17 Mar 1897; citing Mercer Pennsylvania, United States, v 7 p 206; FHL microfilm 878938.

Notes and Comments
  • If I want to research Andrew's wife, Margaret Taylor, it's helpful that the record included her father's name.
  • I wish a marriage location more specific than the county were included.  Were they married in a church, a courthouse, or somewhere else?
  • John Kelly performed the marriage.  It's such a common name that I don't hope for much success in find him in 1897.  If I could perhaps it would help me to know a more specific location of their marriage.   

I have other records for this couple and family....  Somewhere.

—Nancy.

Copyright © 2023 Nancy Messier.  All Rights Reserved. 
Do not copy or use any content from this blog without written permission from the owner. 

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