MISSING LINKS: A Weekly Newsletter for Genealogists Vol. 2, No. 38, 19 September 1997 Copyright (c) Julia M. Case and Myra Vanderpool Gormley Editor-at-Fault: Julia M. Case Co-Editor-to-Blame: Myra Vanderpool Gormley, CG ***************************************************************** MEMBER OF THE WEEK: This week we recognize DENISE VOLLMER (APAP92A@prodigy.com) whose frustrated "I Give Up" message posted 9/8 in the COFFEE SHOP on Prodigy Classic's Genealogy BB elicited such a torrent of encouraging responses that by 9/11 Denise had publically rededicated herself to the search. We all become discouraged sometimes, but we can do anything "with a little help from our friends." Thanks, too, to all our friends! ***************************************************************** VIRTUAL BOUQUETS: by Darlene Ames (EurekaKids@aol.com) We live in Eureka, California and decided to drive down to Lakeport to research my husband's grandmother's family. I wrote to the genealogical and historical societies there and received two positive responses. The wonderful ladies did some research and had the results waiting for us when we got there. Judy, the docent on duty at the Historical Museum in the Old Courthouse located these items for us. But then she went the extra miles for me. She found voters records, marriage records, funeral records, obituaries, and probate records. She also found a book with a full chapter on great-grandpa Greene. Each time I thought I was through she would say, "No you are not," and off she would go again. She showed me how to run their copier and located the many records I needed without any hesitation. She was a blessing to us. We are going back and hope to see her there again. Judy helped me take his family back four generations from California to Virginia. ***************************************************************** TRIBUTE TO MILTON RUBINCAM, CG by Alvie L. Davidson (HVMY35B@prodigy.com) The world of genealogy has lost a true statesman. Called "the dean of American Genealogy" by the Smithsonian, Milton Rubincam was a genuine asset to all who did research into their roots, whether directly or indirectly. On Tuesday, September 9, 1997, at the age of 88 years, in Washington, D.C., this great genealogist went to his reward. In 1972, after retirement from the U.S. Department of Commerce as Chief of Security, Milton Rubincam launched into genealogy with the fervor of a teenager pursuing his first date. When most people are finding a way to settle down in retirement, he was just launching into a new field of research, plowing deep furrows in that field which can be followed by newcomers and old salts equally. Milton Rubincam was respected by all who knew him. This writer only met him once at a conference sponsored by the National Genealogical Society and I found him to exude integrity with his approach to technique and methods. He further showed this during his life in his many writings which were published in books, quarterlies, and periodicals. The best work that I have seen published on varied genealogical subjects came to the forefront in a book "Genealogical Research: Methods and Sources" from The American Society of Genealogists, Washington, D.C. (1980). A past president of this Society, Malcom H. Stern, says of Milton Rubincam, "to those who know him, [he] remains everyone's favorite genealogist, knowledgeable, indefatigable, conscientious, thorough, and amazingly unrufflable." During his tenure in the genealogy world, Milton Rubincam attained many enviable goals, some achieved by his hard work, others by his respected ability. He was a Certified Genealogist, certified by the Board for Certification of Genealogists; a Fellow of the American Society of Genealogists; and a Fellow of the National Genealogical Society, among others. He held the offices of President of the American Society of Genealogists, Chairman and President of the Board for Certification of Genealogists, and was a Contributing Editor to "The American Genealogist." To those in the world of genealogy who never had the pleasure of meeting and/or getting to know Milton Rubincam, I can only say you have missed meeting one of genealogy's greats. ***************************************************************** WELDING LINKS: Tips for Using Census Schedules by Myra Vanderpool Gormley, CG Federal census schedules, available from 1790 to 1920, are important records for tracing American families. They provide clues as to when and where ancestors were born, along with various additional data. However, there are some false assumptions that researchers sometimes make in using these records. Watch out for these pitfalls: -- Assuming that any or all of the information in the census records is correct. The enumerator may have asked the neighbors. Your ancestor may not have spoken English well, or at all, or could have misunderstood various questions. And the math skills of many of the census takers was poor, to say the least. Verify all census information with other sources. -- Assuming the children belong to the couple they are enumerated with (unless relationships are specified.) They may be nieces and nephews, grandchildren, or even unrelated. Enumerators often got carried away with the ditto marks. -- Assuming the children are those of the wife listed. They may be, but often are not. Men have been known to marry women with same given name. Always search for marriage records. Re-marriage was frequent as many women died in childbirth, leaving the father with young children to care for. The solution was to find a wife -- and quickly. -- Assuming that all the people listed in the families on the 1790 to 1840 censuses are related. They could have been farmhands or miscellaneous relatives living with the family. Often several families resided together. -- Assuming when a head-of-household is no longer enumerated with the family that he or she is dead. The "old folks" may have gone to live with a son or daughter. Always search for them in the homes of their children. -- Don't assume a person was still living at the time of the census. The enumerator was instructed to take down the names of the family as it was composed on the official date of the census, not the day of the visit. Official census dates were: First Monday in August for 1790-1820 schedules; June 1 for 1830-1880; first Monday in June for 1890 (most of this schedule was destroyed or badly damaged by a fire in 1921 -- a card index to the 6,160 names on the surviving schedules is available on two rolls of National Archives film No. M496); June 1 for 1900; April 15 for 1910; and Jan. 1 for 1920. Enumerations were generally done by townships. Pay attention to the township in which you find your ancestors. When searching in unindexed records, or if you can't find your ancestors in an index, locate a map that shows the townships. Then check the census for that township. Many genealogy libraries have atlases that show townships. The page numbers used for the indexing of census schedules are the stamped numbers that appear on every other page. These numbers are missing from a few records, in which case there should be a handwritten number. Always check the page before and after the stamped one. Use indexes and Soundexes with caution. There are errors and omissions in all of them. Practice creative spelling of your family's surnames and look at all possibilities. Don't insist your family always spelled their name a particular way. Indexers missed people, and misread names. If you know (or strongly suspect) your family was living in a particular county, read the entire census for that locality. The census schedules are marvelous finding tools, but be sure to check all available federal censuses for each ancestor, and follow up on the children and other relatives. Also consult any and all available state and local census records to give you a more accurate account of your families. ***************************************************************** WEB LINKS: You'll find Greek Genealogy On-Line at: http://pages.prodigy.com/CCHZ53A/ For heraldry, visit: http://digiserve.com/heraldry/index.htm At Pursuing Our Italian Names Together ("POINT"), you'll find Italian genealogy, heritage, culture, and databases on the WWW at http://www.cimorelli.com/pie/piehome.htm At New England Genealogy you'll find resources such as "Mohegan Tribal Census for 1861," "Black and Indian Census for Rhode Island, 1774," "Native Americans of SE New England," and "Headstones of Hartford, CT (Old Center Cemetery). http://pages.prodigy.com/GFCZ88A/home.htm Visit "A Melungeon Home Page" to "explore the mysteries, myths, and multiplicities of the Melungeon people and one community's quest to embrace their past and open the sealed envelope of human history." http://www.clinch.edu/appalachia/melungeon/ The home page for the Polish Genealogical Society of America is at: http://www.pgsa.org You'll find the Virginia Genealogical Society's new home page with links to many sources for Virginia research at: http://www.vgs.org To send FREE cartoon postcards to family and friends in cyberspace, visit: http://www.toonogram.com/ To send FREE musical animated electronic greeting cards to family and friends in cyberspace, courtesy of Blue Mountain Arts, visit http://www.bluemountain.com ***************************************************************** SUCCESSFUL LINKS: Seek Local Advice Wherever You Go by Ruth Ann Messick (unlimitd1@juno.com) While doing research this summer, my cousin and I traveled around upper CT and lower MA to libraries, museums, courthouses and cemeteries. I have new suggestions for doing research that I have not seen in any how-to books. These actually were the special helps that found us the answers we needed. Ask questions of everyone about locations of the above places but in places you normally don't think about. We always eat breakfast at small restaurants that have the most cars for they usually serve the best and least expensive food. They also have a lot of the local people who know more than some libraries as to locations of old cemeteries and can refer you to a person who is very knowledgeable about the area. Mention some of your surnames that lived in this area long ago and the older diners might tell you who locally descends from those people. We noticed a tourism business in a small mall next to a small restaurant and went in to see what they knew. Bingo! The owner has done her homework and kept handing us brochures for museums plus maps with special places that a tourist would want to go and great descriptions of their collections. She has made it a point to visit every place in her area and see what is there. We explained our activities and she knew where information was outside of her business area. A person in her business obviously checks out these things no matter where they go. Ask questions of many people at courthouses, historians, libraries and any place where it is obvious that the local people frequent. Anyone who has had a business for more than 10 years and is a busy place, knows what is going on in their area. On a table at a church we spotted a small flyer giving directions to a member's home for an activity and saw a reference on the map to a cemetery in Enfield, Connecticut we had not known about. We located three cemeteries with directions from the motel clerk who had lived in the area all of his life. Attend local events and festivals whose theme includes the old days. These are people who are teaching history and know where to find the information to support their event. Be sure to ask at museums and historical societies if they have any personal items of anyone by your surnames such as diaries, Bibles or artifacts. Everywhere I go, I pick up free local tourist brochures, maps and the place mats in restaurants with advertising. This is how we found the Pioneer Valley Museum in the Quadrangle in Springfield, Massachusetts. They have two large rooms of genealogical material, heavy in but not limited to New England material. What a gold mine and it is open 7 days a week 12 - 4 p.m. with very helpful staff. Ask questions everywhere and keep your eyes and ears open at all times! ***************************************************************** SUCCESSFUL LINKS: What Would You Have Done? by Phillip Roberts (NHZX37A@prodigy.com) I spent the entire month of July in Kentucky and Virginia searching for my elusive great-great-great-great-grandfather Roberts. One day, while in Clay County, Kentucky, I decided to try to find the grave of Captain Adoniram Allen, a great-great- great-great-grandfather on my mother's side. I had my trusty "Kentucky County Maps" book with me, and had marked the Laurel Grove Cemetery where he is buried. I had been there once before, but had not been back in nearly 30 years. I stopped at several houses to ask directions but no one was familiar with the site I was looking for. Just when things looked hopeless, I spotted an old faded and dusty car approaching with a flashing yellow light on top. I just knew my luck had taken a turn for the better when I discovered it was a rural mailman making his rounds. Surely he would know the area well. I told him I was looking for some old Allen relatives of mine and asked, "Do you know where the Laurel Grove Cemetery is?" He finished putting the mail in the box, told me that Laurel Grove was up the next "holler," and continued, "but none of the Allens live up that way anymore." Then he looked at my Texas plates, conferred with the lady who had walked down to the mailbox, and asked me, "Are you armed?" Taken aback, I told him, "No, but should I be?" He said "it wouldn't hurt," and then told me marijuana growing was pretty common in that area, that none of the old Allen family lived around there anymore, and that the families that did might not be too happy with strangers wanting to wander over their property. The cemetery I was looking for was on private property. I had no intention of wandering over anyone's land without permission. My son and I decided that old Captain Allen should continue to rest in peace. ***************************************************************** VOLUNTEER LINKS: Volunteer Work Leads to TV Offer by Charles Hansen (WEQG78B@prodigy.com) The Eastern Washington Genealogical Society (EWGS) asked me if I would help with the pledge break at Channel 7 KSPS, our local PBS station. It would publicize our society, help the station, and I would get a free meal. I have been a "Friend of 7" for longer than I have been an EWGS member, so being able to help both groups and get a free meal sounded great. EWGS needed 24 people to handle the phones. About a month prior to the event, I received a letter from KSPS outlining the procedure and time to be there. KSPS asked us to wear a shirt with the EWGS logo, but the only shirt I have with the EWGS logo is a sweatshirt. I asked another member to see if we had any EWGS T-shirts and learned we have never had those. The day of the pledge break it hit 90 degrees, so the sweatshirt was out. I put on my "Friends of 7" T-shirt and the "Volunteers Add That Special Touch" button I received from the library for volunteering in the genealogy section. The television station is clear across town from me, and since I would be driving in the early rush-hour traffic, I left early from work. However, the traffic was not bad as expected, and I arrived at the station just before 5 p.m. A couple of employees came out to the lobby where we were waiting and visited with us. One noted that my T-shirt was a collector's item since it was one of the first designed with the station's logo in four colors. Because of the expense of four-color logos, shirts made since then have only had one-color logos. We volunteers signed in and went to the meeting room where we watched a video on how to take the pledges and what areas the station covers. This channel covers eastern Washington, northern Idaho, western Montana, parts of eastern Oregon and parts of British Columbia and Alberta provinces of Canada. We were reminded to get the six-character Canadian postal codes correct. Twenty-four of the 25 society members who showed up to volunteer were seated in the studio and ready for the first pledge break. An electronic sign welcoming the Eastern Washington Geneological [sic] Society greeted us. We pointed out that "Genealogical" was spelled incorrectly. When the pledge break session was completed, we went to the cafeteria. The food was provided by Lindaman's North, a lasagna restaurant, and there were at least eight varieties of lasagna. I do not have any Italian ancestors -- that I know of yet -- and lasagna is not one of my favorite meals, but like the lady in front of me, I took some of each variety, and most were pretty good. Later we were treated to a wonderful chocolate dessert. When we went back to the studio they asked us to play musical chairs so everyone would have a chance to be seen on TV. The electronic sign now read: "Welcome Eastern Washington Genealogicl [sic] Society." The show being televised at that time was "Elvis in '56," about the early part of his career. The station warned us that others running the same program had received few calls, but our phones started ringing steadily. A couple of staff members of the station asked me if I had ever been told that I look like Mr. Bean on PBS? I told them that I had. They said he was doing a movie for PBS later in the year and wondered if I would be interested in doing a "promo" for his show. I said, "yes," but am not sure it will happen, but it was nice being asked. During each break the station thanked the Eastern Washington Genealogical Society and Lindaman's North restaurant for our support, and spelled "Genealogical" right on the TV screen, and finally spelled it correctly on the electronic sign. The television exposure for Eastern Washington Genealogical Society will help, plus it was fun handling the phones, and we collected more money than was expected. The station treated us like royalty. Later I received a "thank you" letter from KSPS, so I know we were appreciated. EWGS was a sponsor for the Ancestors' television series on PBS last year, and I hope the society and the station are able to help each other in the future. ***************************************************************** HUMOROUS LINKS: "If You Can't Say Something Nice ..." by Lorene Wilson (TSHM39A@prodigy.com) This obituary is from the "Clio Messenger," October 5, 1933, Clio (Genesee County) Michigan. Montrose is a small town near Clio. "Montrose lost one of its former residents this week when Peter Leonard died at the home of his daughter in Flint. Pete was probably one the worst old reprobates that ever graced the streets of Montrose. Always a trouble-maker without a good word for man, woman or child -- words of truth probably never passed from his mouth for many of the fifty years of his depredations on earth. Unprincipled from the years that the writer knew him, meanness far surpassed any thoughts of goodness that the average person would command and exemplify. He has passed on, and it is not likely that Montrose will ever have another resident his equal -- at least most people have their "moments of decency." May his sojourn in Hell be as lengthy as his cursed days on earth is the wish of his many enemies." Ralph C. Gillett, Editor and Publisher ***************************************************************** CHAT LINKS: (PC = Prodigy Classic; PI = Prodigy Internet) If you would like to arrange a regular day/time to meet with others interested in a particular country, U.S. State, ethnic group, clan, surname, or other topic, please let us know and we'll put the day/time/topic/room/contact person on the weekly schedule so that more interested researchers and possibly cousins will find you. There are five rooms in Prodigy Classic's Genealogy Chat Area (Attic, Family Room, Parlor, Tree House, and Root Cellar) and the cultures.genealogy room on Prodigy Internet available for such meetings, seven days per week, 24 hours per day. Please e-mail Julie_Case@prodigy.com to be put on the schedule. PC SCHEDULE: (All start at 10 p.m. ET in the Genealogy Chat Area, unless otherwise noted.) N.B. The Saturday sessions are UNHOSTED. Sat 09/20 NEW ENGLAND Research (3 p.m. ET in the Parlor) NY/NJ/PA Research (3 p.m. ET in the Root Cellar) DEL/MD/VA/WV Research (4 p.m. ET in the Family Room) SOUTHERN STATES Research (4 p.m. ET in the Attic) ENGLISH Research (5 p.m. ET in the Parlor) GERMAN Research (5 p.m. ET in the Family Room) IRISH Research (8 p.m. ET in the Root Cellar) ITALIAN Research (8 p.m. ET in the Attic) WEST COAST Research (9 p.m. ET in the Parlor) MIDWEST Research (9 p.m. ET in the Root Cellar) AFRICAN-AMERICAN Research (9 p.m. in the Family Room) NATIVE-AMERICAN Research (9 p.m. in the Attic) Sun 09/21 ADOPTION Research/General Genealogy (Joanie Brink/Team) Mon 09/22 BEGINNING/General Genealogy (Myra/Team) Tue 09/23 CA/Beginning/General Genealogy (Margaret Posehn/Team) Wed 09/24 CIVIL WAR (ALABAMA) (Flo Jenkins *8 p.m. ET*) Wed 09/24 NEW ENGLAND/General Genealogy (Linda Edelstein/Team) Thu 09/25 NEWBIES CHAT HOUR (Pat Hohne *9 p.m. ET*) Thu 09/25 LOCATE LIVING KIN/General Genealogy (Alvie Davidson) Fri 09/26 TGIF; BEGINNING/General Genealogy (Julie/Team) PI SCHEDULE: (All start at 10 p.m. ET in cultures.genealogy) Mon 09/22 Beginning/General Genealogy (Julie) Wed 09/24 Beginning/General Genealogy (Julie) Fri 09/26 TGIF; Beginning/General Genealogy (Myra) ***************************************************************** MISSING LINKS is available gratis to anyone who has an internet e-mail address. If you have friends or family members who are interested in genealogical research, please let them know about MISSING LINKS and that all they need to do is e-mail a request to Julie_Case@prodigy.com ***************************************************************** BACK ISSUES OF MISSING LINKS are available for download from the Genealogy File Library on Prodigy Classic (GO TO/Jump FILE LIBRARIES, select GENEALOGY, select MISSING LINKS) and on Prodigy Internet (click the FILES option on the toolbar on the main Genealogy screen). If you are not a Prodigy member, you can request the appropriate software and a free trial of Prodigy Classic and/or Prodigy Internet by calling 1-800-213-0992. ***************************************************************** CALL FOR PAPERS: If you have a delightful, amusing, amazing, cautionary, or otherwise wonderful and educational tale of genealogical research that you would like to share with the readers of MISSING LINKS in the "SUCCESSFUL LINKS" section of the newsletter, if you would like to recognize a particularly helpful librarian, archivist, town or county clerk in "VIRTUAL BOUQUETS", or if you have an explanation of one of the great mysteries of the world for the new "FACT OR FICTION?" section of the newsletter, please send your story for consideration for publication to Julie_Case@prodigy.com *****************************************************************