About Genealogy

Ella's 1874 Pocket Diary

2010-02-09T11:01:30Z

After leaving a fun antique store in Fort Ann, New York, this past Sunday, my husband surprised me with a great early Valentine's Day present - an 1874 pocket diary filled with handwritten entries. A first glance offered no name or location for the author, but did mention other names and places throughout the pages. I was instantly intrigued...

Flipping through pages in the diary, one of the first things I ran across was a postscript near the end, stating that it was written nine years after the rest of the diary entries.

"Nine years have passed and I am a contented happy wife and mother among these very people among whom I spent a large share of this year [apparently referring to the year 1874 when she kept this diary]; the same yet has changed. 8 years ago Emma Martin passed triumphly over the river and had an abundant entrance into the mansion over there. Her husband Gurdon Martin is now my husband. I am living in her home, and would that I was taking care of her three boys. I am the mother of four children of whom one little girl goes to school in the same schoolhouse where I taught so long ago. Of my scholars, Albert, Barnet, Alma, Satira and Lucy are married. All are living Christian lives except Will Bohonon, Charles Roberts and Charlie Davis."

I wasn't sure on the spelling of "Gurdon" or if I was just misreading "Gordon," but it turned out to indeed be Gurdon which made my search much easier. I began by searching the 1880 census for a Gurdon/Gordon Martin in the Vermont/New York area because Barre, Vermont was mentioned as a nearby town in one of the diary entries, and the diary itself was found just across the New York/Vermont border in Fort Ann, New York. Sure enough, a simple search brought up a Gurdon Martin living in Williamstown, Orange County, Vermont, with wife M. Ella, and five children from the age of 10 down. M. Ella was listed as "keeping house" and not as a school teacher, but this wasn't surprising given that she was married and had four children of her own by this point if she is indeed my diary's author.

Is this Annie Moore?

2010-02-04T16:10:12Z

Genealogist Megan Smolenyak is always curious, and that curiosity has led her to once again ask for help regarding a mystery surrounding Annie Moore, the first immigrant to arrive at Ellis Island. In an article in this week's Huffington Post, she outlines her case for this photo being one of Annie Moore with her brothers upon their arrival at Ellis Island and asks for help from anyone who might be able to provide a clue. What do you think? Can you help?

Is this Annie Moore? originally appeared on About.com Genealogy on Thursday, February 4th, 2010 at 16:10:12.

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President Obama Related to Massachusetts Senator-Elect Scott Brown

2010-01-29T10:41:52Z

This morning's press release from the New England Historic Genealogical Society linking President Barack Obama with Scott Brown, the newly elected republican senator from Massachusetts, didn't really surprise me. If you go back far enough, it seems that almost everyone with deep New England roots can find a connection to one another. In this case, the connection is 10th cousins. According to NEHGS staff genealogists Chris Child and David Allen Lambert, Obama's mother, Stanley Ann Dunham and Brown's mother, Judith Ann Rugg, both descend from Richard Singletary of Haverhill, Massachusetts, who did in 1687 at the age of 102. President Obama descends from Richard's eldest son, Jonathan Singletary, who later changed his surname to Dunham. Scott Brown descends from Jonathan's brother, Nathaniel Singletary. Child and Lambert also found that Brown is related to six other U.S. Presidents including George H. W. Bush, George W. Bush, Richard Nixon, Calvin Coolidge, Herbert Hoover and Rutherford B. Hayes.

President Obama Related to Massachusetts Senator-Elect Scott Brown originally appeared on About.com Genealogy on Friday, January 29th, 2010 at 10:41:52.

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Two New iPhone Genealogy Apps

2010-01-26T11:07:03Z

This month two nifty new genealogy apps have made their way onto my iPhone, which I thought some of you might find interesting.

The first is a great app for iPhone / iPod Touch users of Ancestry.com Family Trees. The free new Ancestry.com Tree to Go iPhone app offers up a lighter version of your family tree that you can easily access on the go. You can search or browse your family tree while at the library, easily add a new tombstone photo right after you take it at the cemetery, or add interview notes directly to your tree as you talk to your relatives.

You can't begin a new Family Tree via the Ancestry.com Tree to Go app (at least not yet), but you can actually scroll through your existing trees a bit easier than is offered online. The navigation is different than what you're used to online (no more pedigree view for example) due to the need for streamlining for the iPhone. You also can't yet search Ancestry.com databases and upload your finds to your tree through the app (thought that will hopefully be available in the future). But even with these limitations, I love the new Ancestry.com Tree to Go app. Download it now for free in the iTunes store and let me know what you think.

The second is an iPhone / iTouch app for Lisa Louise Cooke's Genealogy Gems Podcast which streams her free genealogy audio and video content on the go (a nice feature for genealogists like me who are always on the go!), and also offers exclusive Bonus Content. The app streams all Genealogy Gems podcast episodes, which cover everything from research strategies to celebrity and family history expert interviews; new episodes are downloaded automatically. While Genealogy Gems podcasts are free online, the new Genealogy Gems app is available for $2.99 from the iTunes Store with exclusive bonus content such as custom genealogy themed wallpaper as well as Cooke's 20 page e-book, 5 Fabulous Google Research Strategies for the Family Historian. More bonus content will be released with future episodes.

Two New iPhone Genealogy Apps originally appeared on About.com Genealogy on Tuesday, January 26th, 2010 at 11:07:03.

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Preview the U.S. Version of Who Do You Think You Are?

2010-01-25T11:15:36Z

I mentioned previously that during Ancestry.com Blogger Day I was privileged to see the preview of the U.S. version of Who Do You Think You Are? which is to air on NBC in March. Now, the preview is online for everyone. What do you think of the show? Look promising?

Who Do You Think You Are? Preview Video

Preview the U.S. Version of Who Do You Think You Are? originally appeared on About.com Genealogy on Monday, January 25th, 2010 at 11:15:36.

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You're Never Done Learning! Genealogy Education & Scholarship

2010-01-19T10:56:56Z

It took me 30+ minutes this morning to make it all the way through registration for the Institute of Genealogy & Historical Research after over one hundred of us hit the site at the same time (server issues kept timing out pages as I would get partway through and I would have to start over....and over...and over). I was one of the lucky ones, and did end up in my first choice class at the end of it - Elizabeth Shown Mill's Advanced Methodology & Evidence Analysis, although I also had several very tempting backup options in mind. Despite the frustration, it is absolutely wonderful to see so many people interested in a quality genealogical education!

Whether you've been researching for two years or twenty, there is always more to learn. To be the best genealogist you can, it is imperative that you Read more...

You're Never Done Learning! Genealogy Education & Scholarship originally appeared on About.com Genealogy on Tuesday, January 19th, 2010 at 10:56:56.

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U.S. Version of "Who Do You Think You Are?" to Air in March

2010-01-15T08:32:21Z

They say it's finally official (we'll see), but the air date for NBC's celebrity genealogy show "Who Do You Think You Are?" has been set for March. The new alternative series from Lisa Kudrow will premiere Friday, March 5 (8:00-9:00 p.m. ET) and will run though Friday, April 23.

p>NBC's "Who Do You Think You Are?," an adaptation of the hit BBC television documentary series created and executive-produced by Alex Graham, gives viewers an up-close and personal look inside the family history of celebrities, including Matthew Broderick, Lisa Kudrow, Spike Lee, Sarah Jessica Parker, Susan Sarandon, Brooke Shields and Emmitt Smith. I was able to see a preview during the Ancestry.com sponsored Blogger Day and the new series shows a lot of promise; the celebrities appeared to really enjoy the things they learned about their ancestors, the places visited include multiple countries for some celebrities, and several of the celebrities stories were truly touching, such as that of Emmitt Smith. Knowing the researchers behind the stories, I can also say that the research for this show is truly sound. I can't wait until it airs! "Who Do You Think You Are?," as well as the new PBS series, "Faces of America", will hopefully excite a whole new set of genealogists, so please tell all of your family and friends to watch. Their success will benefit us all!

U.S. Version of "Who Do You Think You Are?" to Air in March originally appeared on About.com Genealogy on Friday, January 15th, 2010 at 08:32:21.

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Ancestry.com's "New" New Search

2010-01-12T10:14:43Z

I've tried many times to love Ancestry.com's standard ranked search - dubbed "New Search" by most of us who have been subscribers for years, despite the fact that it was released over a year and a half ago - but I'm still one of the 13% of Ancestry users who prefers and uses the old search on a regular basis. I can just make it do what I need most of the time better than I can navigate the "fuzziness" of the newer "ranked" search. Apparently, I'm not the only one, as Tony Macklin, head of Ancestry.com's Search team, says that a greater percentage of members using the old search tool find the records they are looking for, although this number is likely skewed by the fact that many of these users are the power users of Ancestry.com - the ones who really know how to manipulate search options to get the results they need.

Old search does have its limitations, however, which is why the demonstration of a "new" new search tool at the Ancestry sponsored "Blogger Weekend" really piqued my interest. I'm pretty sure I'm really going to like this one, and can't wait until it's released on the site for users.

Insights from Ancestry.com's Blogger Day 2010

2010-01-11T22:49:02Z

It's now an annual event, as Ancestry.com invited a number of genealogy bloggers out to company headquarters in Provo, Utah, for the second annual Blogger Day this past Friday. I was unable to attend last year due to a death in the family, so was delighted to join the group this year. Other genealogy bloggers in attendance included:

Ancestry Insider (I've been sworn to silence!)
Craig Manson, GeneaBlogie
Diane Haddad, Genealogy Insider at Family Tree Magazine
Dick Eastman, Eastman's Online Genealogy Newsletter
Leland Meitzler, GenealogyBlog
Lisa Louise Cooke, Genealogy Gems
Pat Richley-Erickson, DearMYRTLE
Thomas MacEntee, GeneaBloggers

Coming in 2010...

There are a number of exciting new databases and image collections planned to come to Ancestry.com sometime in 2010... Read more...

Insights from Ancestry.com's Blogger Day 2010 originally appeared on About.com Genealogy on Monday, January 11th, 2010 at 22:49:02.

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Celebrity Genealogy - New PBS Series

2010-01-06T14:47:44Z

Poet Elizabeth Alexander, who composed and read the poem at President Barack Obama's inauguration, chef Mario Batali, comedian Stephen Colbert, novelist Louise Erdrich, writer Malcolm Gladwell, cellist Yo-Yo Ma, film director Mike Nichols, Her Royal Highness Queen Noor, actress Eva Longoria Parker, actress Meryl Streep and figure skater Kristi Yamaguchi will�all appear in a�new PBS television series FACES OF AMERICA airing in the U.S. next month. Hosted by Harvard scholar Henry Louis Gates Jr. of African American Lives and African American Lives Two, Faces of America�turns again to the latest tools of genealogy and genetics to explore the family histories of 11 renowned Americans.

The Faces of America series airs Wednesdays, February 10 - March 3, 2010 from 8:00-9:00 p.m. ET on PBS and includes the following four episodes: Read more...

Celebrity Genealogy - New PBS Series originally appeared on About.com Genealogy on Wednesday, January 6th, 2010 at 14:47:44.

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