Whether you've taken an atDNA test or not yet, this lecture by Maurice Gleeson helps you think more clearly about the results and how to analyze them.
The audio is a little fuzzy.
© 2015 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.
Thursday, April 30, 2015
Maurice Gleeson lecture: A Step-by-Step Approach to Analysing Your atDNA Matches
Whether you've taken an atDNA test or not yet, this lecture by Maurice Gleeson helps you think more clearly about the results and how to analyze them.
The audio is a little fuzzy.
© 2015 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.
Wednesday, April 29, 2015
Working on Wednesday: John Scott (1659 - 1724), Tobacco Planter and Mill Owner
My paternal seventh great grandfather John Scott was born in Charles City County, Virginia, in about 1659. He later became a resident of Prince George County without having to leave the area when that county was created out of Charles City in 1702.
By his marriage in 1685 to Betheyer Boyce*, John was connected to one of the earliest families to settle in the colony and we know that he acted as a witness in several legal documents over the years.
Although many early Virginia documents have been lost, from surviving records of Prince George County** it's clear that he owned a lot of land, including 748 acres on the south side of Warwick Swamp which he acquired on June 16, 1714, and where he appears to have settled for the rest of his life.
In his will, signed June 1, 1724 and proved eight day later, John named each of his surviving children (all married daughters) and made provision for his grandsons, the minor children of his recently deceased son John. Thomas was to have "my mill and ten acres of land whereon it stands" (although his grandmother Betheyer was to retain half the profits during her widowhood). The bequest to his other grandson, another John, was the remaining 348 acres of the home plantation. Apparently his daughter Elizabeth, who had married Samuel Chappell*** in 1720, had already been given property because his bequest to her was "all that she is possessed with already and 630 pounds of tobacco." Everything else was to go to his widow for her life or widowhood.
John only names three enslaved persons in his will, "negro man Will," given to his daughter Bridget and "Ceasar & Nan" who are to remain with Betheyer until her death or marriage and then become the property of grandson John. But it's clear that he owned other human property from the wording of the will; we don't know how many slaves there were in his estate because he ends the document by directing that it wasn't to be inventoried.
Unfortunately these records are available only as transcriptions.
Betheyer (spelled Berthia this time, no one seems to know how to spell her given name) died the following year and her estate was inventoried and appraised on November 9, 1725.
* Her grandfather Cheney Boyce arrived in Jamestown in 1617.
**In 1720 he deeded 221 acres of this patent to his only son, another John Scott, "for natural affection."
***Their great granddaughter was Sarah Heath Chappell,
© 2015 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.
[Virginia and Maryland. By H. Moll, Geographer. (Printed and sold by Tho: Bowles next ye Chapter House in St. Pauls Church Yard, & Ino: Bowles at ye Black Horse in Cornhill, 1736?). David Rumsey Historical Map Collection]
By his marriage in 1685 to Betheyer Boyce*, John was connected to one of the earliest families to settle in the colony and we know that he acted as a witness in several legal documents over the years.
Although many early Virginia documents have been lost, from surviving records of Prince George County** it's clear that he owned a lot of land, including 748 acres on the south side of Warwick Swamp which he acquired on June 16, 1714, and where he appears to have settled for the rest of his life.
In his will, signed June 1, 1724 and proved eight day later, John named each of his surviving children (all married daughters) and made provision for his grandsons, the minor children of his recently deceased son John. Thomas was to have "my mill and ten acres of land whereon it stands" (although his grandmother Betheyer was to retain half the profits during her widowhood). The bequest to his other grandson, another John, was the remaining 348 acres of the home plantation. Apparently his daughter Elizabeth, who had married Samuel Chappell*** in 1720, had already been given property because his bequest to her was "all that she is possessed with already and 630 pounds of tobacco." Everything else was to go to his widow for her life or widowhood.
John only names three enslaved persons in his will, "negro man Will," given to his daughter Bridget and "Ceasar & Nan" who are to remain with Betheyer until her death or marriage and then become the property of grandson John. But it's clear that he owned other human property from the wording of the will; we don't know how many slaves there were in his estate because he ends the document by directing that it wasn't to be inventoried.
Unfortunately these records are available only as transcriptions.
[Ancestry.com. The Edward Pleasants Valentine papers : abstracts of records in the local and general archives of Virginia relating to the fami [database on-line]. Original data: Valentine, Edward Pleasants,. The Edward Pleasants Valentine papers : abstracts of records in the local and general archives of Virginia relating to the families of Allen, Bacon, Ballard, Batchelder, Blouet, Brassieur (Brashear), Cary, Crenshaw, Dabney, Exum, Ferris, Fontaine, Gray, Hardy, Isham (Henrico County), Jordan, Langston, Lyddall, Mann, Mosby, Palmer, Pasteur, Pleasants, Povall, Randolph, Satterwhite, Scott, Smith (the family of Francis Smith of Hanover County), Valentine, Waddy, Watts, Winston, Womack, Woodson.. Baltimore: Genealogical Pub. Co., 1979.]
Betheyer (spelled Berthia this time, no one seems to know how to spell her given name) died the following year and her estate was inventoried and appraised on November 9, 1725.
* Her grandfather Cheney Boyce arrived in Jamestown in 1617.
**In 1720 he deeded 221 acres of this patent to his only son, another John Scott, "for natural affection."
***Their great granddaughter was Sarah Heath Chappell,
© 2015 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.
Tuesday, April 28, 2015
Comment: Photoshopping Primary Source Documents
[The family photograph tree. Published by Currier & Ives, c1871. Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington, D.C.]
Following up on the controversy caused by Ben Affleck's expressed (but not originally publicized) wish to have Henry Louis Gates, Jr. overlook part of his family tree on Finding Your Roots last fall, Andy Hall over at Dead Confederates brings up a few more instances where that program has altered things for our viewing pleasure, including (but not limited to) manipulating an original source document.
"This makes for great viewing, but it’s a dishonest depiction of the actual (and critical) document, and that’s a problem. Although in this case Gates is not misrepresenting the information, he’s absolutely misrepresenting the original document. Doing that calls into question anything he and his producers do with primary source materials, and reflects very poorly on his commitment to accuracy.
Makes you wonder what else he’s shown on that series that’s not entirely real."
By the way, if you have any interest in the American Civil War, you're missing out if you don't visit Dead Confederates regularly.
© 2015 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.
Eurogenes K13 for My Parents: Admixture vs Phased Admixture
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| Mom's phased Eurogenes K13 |
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| Mom's regular Eurogenes K13 |
Since there are so many ways to cut, slice, and dice DNA results on GEDmatch, I thought I'd start with phasing, which allows you to estimate what a parent's ethnicity would be estimated at, given your own DNA and your other parent's DNA.
I'm mostly interested in how much of a difference there is. I'm not seeing any wild variation between using someone's DNA vs estimating what their estimate would be. It's funny, because they are all estimates, really.
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| Dad's regular Eurogenes K13 |
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| Dad's phased Eurogenes K13 |
I'm a mix of my parents, of course:
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| My own Eurogenes K13 |
© 2015 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.
Monday, April 27, 2015
Monday Is for Mothers: Mary Henderson (About 1781 - After 1860)
The records we have tell us very little directly about this paternal great great great grandmother; most of what we do know is from inference, since only the head of each household was named in federal census records before 1850.
Although we aren't sure who her parents were, we know that Mary was born in Virginia and her family was living in Georgia when she married Richard Turner in Wilkes County*, probably about 1799 because their first child was born the following year.
Unfortunately Richard Turner is an extremely common name and we haven't identified the right one in U.S. Census records until 1820 by which time the family was living in Jasper County, Georgia, now numbering thirteen free white persons and three slaves. Five members of the household were engaged in agriculture.
In the next two U.S. Census enumerations, the Turner family expanded its holdings in human property from seven in 1830 to twelve in 1840** by which time they were in Newton County, which had been created in 1821 out of parts of Henry, Jasper and Walton Counties.
At last in the 1850 U.S. Census, Mary had her own listing which names her birthplace as Virginia.
In his will signed on January 3, 1851, and presented in court for probate on April 5, 1852, Richard Turner's first bequest was to ensure that his "beloved Wife Mary Turner" had a comfortable home "during her natural life or widowhood." To that end he not only gave her household and kitchen furniture but also three slaves: "Charles a negro man, Viney a negro woman and Mourning a negro woman" along with "horses, cows and hogs."
Richard's estate was valued at $10,479.49 in the appraisal filed with the court on April 14, 1852. Charles was judged to be worth $500; Viney, $450; and Mourning $100.
The final record we have referring to Mary Turner is on the 1860 U.S. Census - Slave Schedule for Pike County, Georgia, where S. Turner (almost certainly her son Shadrack) is named as her agent in regard to two enslaved persons. Charles is undoubtedly the 53 year old mulatto man but we don't know if the 48 year old mulatto woman is Viney or Mourning.
Mary is not part of Shadrack's household in Pike County in the U.S. Census for that year and I haven't been able to find any record for her anywhere else.
We don't know when or where Mary Turner died, nor do we know where either she or Richard are buried.
*Possibly in the part of Wilkes that is now Lincoln County.
**You can see these census records in my post about their daughter Lizzie Turner Freeman.
© 2015 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.
Although we aren't sure who her parents were, we know that Mary was born in Virginia and her family was living in Georgia when she married Richard Turner in Wilkes County*, probably about 1799 because their first child was born the following year.
Unfortunately Richard Turner is an extremely common name and we haven't identified the right one in U.S. Census records until 1820 by which time the family was living in Jasper County, Georgia, now numbering thirteen free white persons and three slaves. Five members of the household were engaged in agriculture.
[Ancestry.com. 1820 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Images reproduced by FamilySearch. Original data: Fourth Census of the United States, 1820. (NARA microfilm publication M33, 142 rolls). Records of the Bureau of the Census, Record Group 29. National Archives, Washington, D.C.]
In the next two U.S. Census enumerations, the Turner family expanded its holdings in human property from seven in 1830 to twelve in 1840** by which time they were in Newton County, which had been created in 1821 out of parts of Henry, Jasper and Walton Counties.
At last in the 1850 U.S. Census, Mary had her own listing which names her birthplace as Virginia.
[Ancestry.com. 1850 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Images reproduced by FamilySearch.Original data: Seventh Census of the United States, 1850; (National Archives Microfilm Publication M432, 1009 rolls); Records of the Bureau of the Census, Record Group 29; National Archives, Washington, D.C.]
Beginning with this census, "Slave Inhabitants" were enumerated but not named on a separate schedule. Richard Turner was listed as the owner of fifteen persons--four adult males, four adult females and seven children no older than ten.
[Ancestry.com. 1850 U.S. Federal Census - Slave Schedules [database on-line]. Original data: United States of America, Bureau of the Census. Seventh Census of the United States, 1850. Washington, D.C.:
National Archives and Records Administration, 1850. M432, 1,009 rolls.]
In his will signed on January 3, 1851, and presented in court for probate on April 5, 1852, Richard Turner's first bequest was to ensure that his "beloved Wife Mary Turner" had a comfortable home "during her natural life or widowhood." To that end he not only gave her household and kitchen furniture but also three slaves: "Charles a negro man, Viney a negro woman and Mourning a negro woman" along with "horses, cows and hogs."
["Georgia, Probate Records, 1742-1990," images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-1942-30463-13550-21?cc=1999178&wc=9SBS-YW5:267728901,267884801 : accessed 28 April 2015), Newton > Wills 1823-1871 vol 1-2 > image 167 of 350; county probate courthouses, Georgia.]
Richard's estate was valued at $10,479.49 in the appraisal filed with the court on April 14, 1852. Charles was judged to be worth $500; Viney, $450; and Mourning $100.
The final record we have referring to Mary Turner is on the 1860 U.S. Census - Slave Schedule for Pike County, Georgia, where S. Turner (almost certainly her son Shadrack) is named as her agent in regard to two enslaved persons. Charles is undoubtedly the 53 year old mulatto man but we don't know if the 48 year old mulatto woman is Viney or Mourning.
[Ancestry.com. 1860 U.S. Federal Census - Slave Schedules [database on-line]. Original data: United States of America, Bureau of the Census. Eighth Census of the United States, 1860. Washington, D.C.:
National Archives and Records Administration, 1860. M653, 1,438 rolls.]
Mary is not part of Shadrack's household in Pike County in the U.S. Census for that year and I haven't been able to find any record for her anywhere else.
We don't know when or where Mary Turner died, nor do we know where either she or Richard are buried.
*Possibly in the part of Wilkes that is now Lincoln County.
**You can see these census records in my post about their daughter Lizzie Turner Freeman.
© 2015 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.
Sunday, April 26, 2015
Sunday Drive: Curreys and Salazars
In these photos taken in 1926, the Curreys have joined the Salazar family* at their ranch on Campo Road (now California State Route 94) in San Diego's east county. Unfortunately I don't recognize any of the Salazars but Bernice (wearing the big sombrero) and Junior are standing together next to Delbert and Ethel (Plank) Currey and I believe that their daughter Marguerite is the young girl in a white dress holding her hat in front of her. (Harold, of course, is the one taking the picture.)
[From a Currey family photo album in my personal collection]
For many years, whenever we drove out Campo Road, Dad would point out the Salazar's ranch house to me. If memory serves, I think it was in Potrero, nicely sited on a south-facing slope.
*Laura Salazar married Louis Rusconi and I know the Rusconis were still living in Encanto when I was growing up, so perhaps this is the connection.
© 2015 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.
Saturday, April 25, 2015
A Little Birthday Genealogy Literary Humor
Happy Birthday, Mom :-)
My Kingdom For A Source! Birthday card
$3.30 per card
Artwork designed by jmkgifts. Made by Zazzle Greeting Cards in San Jose, CA. Sold by Zazzle.
© 2015 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.
Friday, April 24, 2015
Family Friday: Joslin/Worden
This photo, probably taken about 1887, is somewhat misleading--the couple are Thurston Joslin (1829 - 1920) and his wife Polly Ann Worden (1849 - 1931), the daughter of Porter Worden and Hannah Leonard, and therefore my great great grand aunt. But the little boy Polly is holding isn't one of their own--he's her grand nephew Herbert Leander Webb (1885 - 1962) the oldest child of Elnora May Worden and Jesse David Webb.
[Courtesy of Olive Kennedy]
At the time that picture was taken Polly was about 38, but she looks much younger than that and is wearing her hair cut and parted as if she was a little girl. (Boys, like Herbert, wore their hair parted on the side.)
Through the kindness of one of Polly and Thurston's descendants we have later photos of the couple surrounded by their kin.
[Courtesy of Ila Joslin Bunting (1931 - 2013)]
And of Polly after Thurston was gone.
[Courtesy of Ila Joslin Bunting (1931 - 2013)]
© 2015 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.
TGIF
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| "Girls' playground, Harriet Island, St. Paul, Minn." c1905, Detroit Publishing Co.,from the Library of Congress |
Can't argue with that!
I have been working on several different blog posts the past day. Unfortunately it has been impossible to settle down and exhibit some writing discipline--every post I work on becomes this elaborate research project. I'm both burned out and extremely interested in these posts. In addition, I'm still in the BU class and have a variety of topics we are covering there that are taking up mental space.
So, because it's Friday, I'm going to get into the weekend mood and play a little hooky. And maybe goof around on GenealogyBank. With no agenda.
*Hat tip to Scott Phillips, genealogist, and his article on GenealogyBank.
© 2015 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.
Thursday, April 23, 2015
Comment: Slavery in the Family
[Print shows an idealized portrayal of American slavery and the conditions of blacks under this system in 1841. Artist: Edward Williams Clay, 1799-1857, Published by Arthur Donnelly no. 19 1/2 Courtland St., N.Y.
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington, D.C. 20540]
By now you've probably seen the story in the New York Times and other sources about the actor Ben Affleck's request that his slave-owning ancestor not be mentioned on the PBS genealogy program "Finding Your Roots" that was aired last September. (At the moment everybody seems to be apologizing for how that turned out.)
As someone who learned about my biological ancestry only in the last fifteen years, I know what it's like to discover ancestors who lived in ways that make me uncomfortable. I know that most white residents of the South didn't own slaves, but almost all of my ancestors living in Virginia, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi and Texas did and I can't change that fact.
Shown below is a detail from the 1827 inventory of the estate of my paternal fourth great grandfather Jesse Warren, Sr.* in Hancock County, Georgia.
.jpg)
["Georgia, Probate Records, 1742-1990," images, FamilySearch ( https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-1961-30374-27961-28?cc=1999178&wc=9SYB-PT5:267654601,267796201 : accessed 14 April 2015), Hancock - Wills and administration records 1827-1830 vol M - image 57 of 394; county probate courthouses, Georgia.]
There's no evidence to suggest that any of my direct Southern forebears treated their human property more humanely than was common and the very real possibility that at least one was more harsh than most.
[ Illustrations of the American Anti-Slavery Almanac for 1840.
Library of Congress Rare Book and Special Collections Division Washington, D.C. 20540]
[Wilson Chinn, a branded slave from Louisiana--Also exhibiting instruments of torture used to punish slaves
Date Created/Published: c1863.
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington, D.C. 20540]
And it's not just my ancestors living in the South who owned slaves. One of my earliest New England ancestors left her "indian woman" to her son in her will and a New York Quaker was voted the money to buy a slave by his Meeting in the 18th Century.
But all these people lived a long time ago and I'm not responsible for nor feel guilty because of their actions. Covering up the "bad" part of their histories is not only dishonest but futile.
*At least the names of the enslaved persons are given in these documents unlike census records where they are only numbers. Note that the first man named is "African Dave" which probably indicates where he was born.
© 2015 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.
Wednesday, April 22, 2015
Working on Wednesday: Jesse David Webb (1860 - 1935), Carpenter
When he became a carpenter, this maternal great grandfather was following in the footsteps of his father Abner Webb who died when Jesse was an infant.
In the 1880 U.S. Census "Jessy" is listed as an 18-year old hired farm hand in Fairview Township, Jones County, Iowa, where his mother Mercy Ann Darling Webb* and step-father Joshua Walsh had moved sometime after their marriage in Denton County, Texas, in 1864 .
In the 1885 Iowa State Census, the newly married Jesse** was still a laborer living in Fairview.
Shortly thereafter, the couple moved to Nebraska where all of their children were born. They first lived in Antelope County but finally settled in Knox County in 1899.
By the 1900 U.S. Census the Webb family had expanded to eight people with the addition of their six surviving children*** and they were living in rented quarters in Logan Township. This is the first record we have of Jesse being a carpenter but with no records between 1885 and 1900 because of the destruction of the 1890 U.S. Census we don't know how long he had been working at that trade.
If the information in his obituary is correct, the Webbs moved to Boulder, Colorado, in about 1903 but returned to Knox County the following year, settling in Winnetoon Village where we find them in the 1910 U.S. Census with all of their children living at home, including the two newest members of the family, daughters Rosa and Nora.
By the 1920 U.S. Census, the oldest children had left home the family home in Winnetoon but there were still five living with their parents in a house with a mortgage. Jesse's occupation was listed as carpenter.
Jesse died on December 7, 1935, and is buried next to his wife in the Winnetoon Cemetery. We're fortunate to have a newspaper clipping of his obituary which has been corrected by someone's hand, possibly my grandmother Anna Delilah Webb Slater, his oldest daughter.
We know a few personal things about Jesse David Webb. His obituary states that "his garden and flowers were a source of wonder to all who saw them." And we know that earlier in his life he wasn't adverse to playing a friendly game of cards.
*She had relocated to Texas from Fairview in 1860, following Abner to Galveston where Jesse was born that July. Family stories say that she always wanted to return to Iowa and Joshua promised they would do that after they were married.
**His bride was Elnora May Worden.
***Baby Clarence Paul had died before his first birthday in 1887.
© 2015 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.
In the 1880 U.S. Census "Jessy" is listed as an 18-year old hired farm hand in Fairview Township, Jones County, Iowa, where his mother Mercy Ann Darling Webb* and step-father Joshua Walsh had moved sometime after their marriage in Denton County, Texas, in 1864 .
[Ancestry.com 1880 United States Federal Census [database on-line].
Original data: Tenth Census of the United States, 1880. (NARA microfilm publication T9, 1,454 rolls). Records of the Bureau of the Census, Record Group 29. National Archives, Washington, D.C]
[A young Jesse, courtesy of Olive Kennedy]
In the 1885 Iowa State Census, the newly married Jesse** was still a laborer living in Fairview.
[Ancestry.com. Iowa, State Census Collection, 1836-1925 [database on-line].
Original data: Microfilm of Iowa State Censuses, 1856, 1885, 1895, 1905, 1915, 1925 as well various special censuses from 1836-1897 obtained from the State Historical Society of Iowa via Heritage Quest.]
[Knox County, 1885; Publisher: Everts & Kirk, Philadelphia Source: David Rumsey Historical Map Collection]
By the 1900 U.S. Census the Webb family had expanded to eight people with the addition of their six surviving children*** and they were living in rented quarters in Logan Township. This is the first record we have of Jesse being a carpenter but with no records between 1885 and 1900 because of the destruction of the 1890 U.S. Census we don't know how long he had been working at that trade.
[Ancestry.com. 1900 United States Federal Census [database on-line].
Original data: United States of America, Bureau of the Census. Twelfth Census of the United States, 1900. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1900. T623, 1854 rolls.]
If the information in his obituary is correct, the Webbs moved to Boulder, Colorado, in about 1903 but returned to Knox County the following year, settling in Winnetoon Village where we find them in the 1910 U.S. Census with all of their children living at home, including the two newest members of the family, daughters Rosa and Nora.
[http://www.usgennet.org/usa/ne/county/knox/whs/photos/good_old_days/index.htm (Webb, Jesse Home)]
[Ancestry.com. 1910 United States Federal Census [database on-line].
Original data: Thirteenth Census of the United States, 1910 (NARA microfilm publication T624, 1,178 rolls). Records of the Bureau of the Census, Record Group 29. National Archives, Washington, D.C.]
By the 1920 U.S. Census, the oldest children had left home the family home in Winnetoon but there were still five living with their parents in a house with a mortgage. Jesse's occupation was listed as carpenter.
[Ancestry.com. 1920 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Images reproduced by FamilySearch.
Original data: Fourteenth Census of the United States, 1920. (NARA microfilm publication T625, 2076 rolls). Records of the Bureau of the Census, Record Group 29. National Archives, Washington, D.C.]
Nora died in 1928 so the 1930 U.S. Census listed Jesse, still a carpenter, as a widower living alone in his own house valued at $2,000 (no mortgage). Like most of his neighbors he didn't have a radio.
[Ancestry.com. 1930 United States Federal Census [database on-line].
Original data: United States of America, Bureau of the Census. Fifteenth Census of the United States, 1930. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1930. T626, 2,667 rolls.]
[Courtesy of Olive Kennedy]
We know a few personal things about Jesse David Webb. His obituary states that "his garden and flowers were a source of wonder to all who saw them." And we know that earlier in his life he wasn't adverse to playing a friendly game of cards.
[Jesse on the far left, courtesy of Olive Kennedy]
*She had relocated to Texas from Fairview in 1860, following Abner to Galveston where Jesse was born that July. Family stories say that she always wanted to return to Iowa and Joshua promised they would do that after they were married.
**His bride was Elnora May Worden.
***Baby Clarence Paul had died before his first birthday in 1887.
© 2015 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.
Tuesday, April 21, 2015
Where in New Jersey did Jeremiah Burnight Arrive about 1800?
The family story has it that Jeremiah Burnight came from the highlands of Scotland, first arriving in New Jersey in 1799/1800, and then moving on to Delaware County, Pennsylvania, where he met his wife, Phoebe Worrell/Worrall, who he married in 1802.
I have not yet found his immigration or passenger information. I have found a Methodist family of Burnights/Burnites in New Jersey, beginning at least as early as the 1793 Tax List index entry for David Burnight, of Lower Maurice River in Cumberland.
Are they related to my Jeremiah Burnight?
When I did a Google search on Lower Maurice, Cumberland, New Jersey, I came across this very interesting tidbit about the history of the area:
The Cumberland Pond we see today is a remnant of a major industrial facility called Cumberland Iron Furnace. There had been a smaller-scale "bloomery forge" in the area since around 1785. Eagle Glass Works in Port Elizabeth was established in 1799. In 1810, Eli Budd created the power for his new complex - Cumberland Iron Furnace - by damming the Manumuskin, creating a pond twice larger than at present. Ore was brought to the furnace by wagon overland from Schooner Landing on the Menantico.
I believe that after Jeremiah married he moved west to Lebanon, Pennsylvania, and worked for an undetermined number of years at the Cornwall Iron Furnace. Am I seeing a pattern here? Did Jeremiah work at the Cumberland Iron Furnace? I don't know yet.
© 2015 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.
Monday, April 20, 2015
Monday Is for Mothers: Justina Shaffer (1774 - 1853)
This week the focus is on my maternal fourth great grandmother Justina Shaffer, the daughter of Maria Barbara Scherer* and John Philip Shaffer*, who (as far as we can tell) spent her entire life in York County, Pennsylvania.
She was born in Shrewsbury Township on January 20, 1774, and when she was about six her father served as a private in Captain Henry Ferree's Company, 5th Battalion, York County Militia.
Justina married John Graaf (which was later changed to Grove) from neighboring Springfield Township on May 13, 1794 at the age of 20. The couple appear to have first settled in Windsor, later moving to Hopewell by 1820 where they remained for the rest of their lives, although John served in the York County militia during the War of 1812.
John and Justina had thirteen children--I am descended from Frederick Grove, their eleventh child and the seventh son**.
Because earlier census records only list the names of the head of each household, the first direct record we have of Justina*** is in the 1850 U.S. Census when she and John were living with their son Henry and his family in Hopewell Township.
John died the next year on January 16, 1851, and was buried in the cemetery of the Zion Methodist Episcopal Church in Draco. Justina survived for two years more, dying on November 25, 1853, and is buried next to her husband.
*These surnames are spelled in a variety of ways; I have tried to use the most common ones.
**He married Leah Bixler,
***Her given name is spelled with a "G" in this record.
© 2015 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.
[Detail of A Map Of The State Of Pennsylvania published in London by James Phillips, 1792. Source: David Rumsey Map Collection]
She was born in Shrewsbury Township on January 20, 1774, and when she was about six her father served as a private in Captain Henry Ferree's Company, 5th Battalion, York County Militia.
Justina married John Graaf (which was later changed to Grove) from neighboring Springfield Township on May 13, 1794 at the age of 20. The couple appear to have first settled in Windsor, later moving to Hopewell by 1820 where they remained for the rest of their lives, although John served in the York County militia during the War of 1812.
John and Justina had thirteen children--I am descended from Frederick Grove, their eleventh child and the seventh son**.
Because earlier census records only list the names of the head of each household, the first direct record we have of Justina*** is in the 1850 U.S. Census when she and John were living with their son Henry and his family in Hopewell Township.
[Ancestry.com. 1850 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2009. Images reproduced by FamilySearch. Original data: Seventh Census of the United States, 1850; (National Archives Microfilm Publication M432, 1009 rolls); Records of the Bureau of the Census, Record Group 29; National Archives, Washington, D.C.]
John died the next year on January 16, 1851, and was buried in the cemetery of the Zion Methodist Episcopal Church in Draco. Justina survived for two years more, dying on November 25, 1853, and is buried next to her husband.
[John and Justina Grove, Find A Grave Memorial# 70655909; photo added by roogie #48165661]
*These surnames are spelled in a variety of ways; I have tried to use the most common ones.
**He married Leah Bixler,
***Her given name is spelled with a "G" in this record.
© 2015 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.
Sunday, April 19, 2015
Sunday Drive: Currey
One day (probably a Sunday) around 1918, the Currey family of Marshfield, Oregon, went for a drive out in the country in Harold's old Buick.* When they stopped at Libby, Harold took a picture of his parents, Delbert A. and Ethel V. (Plank), and his sisters Violet (leaning against the fender) and little Marguerite still sitting in the car.
[From a Currey family photo album in my personal collection]
Perhaps the reason Grandpa Currey was looking so stern is that he didn't appreciate traveling at high speed and had once threatened to jump from the car when he felt certain that his son was going nearly 20 mph!
*The father who raised me could afford a car by then because of his job at the C.A. Smith Mill but it certainly wasn't a new model. If you haven't already seen them, you can see more about his career as an electrician here, here, and about the Mill specifically here.
© 2015 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.
Saturday, April 18, 2015
Boston University Center for Professional Education, Genealogical Research Program - Intense! And Worth It
As I noted in my January post about this online course, it is a lot of work but totally worth it. Anyone wanting to improve their skills in genealogy should take it. I will be in the assignment trenches for the rest of the weekend getting everything finished for the end of this module. My world should be back to normal by Tuesday night.
© 2015 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.
Friday, April 17, 2015
Family Friday: Slater/Webb
This set of photos taken at Peaceful Valley Camp in 1953 includes both the front and back ends of my grandfather Harry Slater. My mother Alta Mae and her mother Anna (Webb) are hanging out together with a young woman named Liz* at the picnic table.
© 2015 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.
[Photos courtesy of Olive Kennedy]
*I'm not sure who Liz is--if anyone out there knows, please tell us in the comments.
Thursday, April 16, 2015
A Video on Understanding GEDmatch Basics
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| And now for something completely different. Here's a "Sculpture of DNA, made out of shopping carts." Wikipedia - Source: from geograph.org.uk, Author: Keith Edkins. |
"...most ancestry.com DNA testers suffer severe shock on being presented with the no nonsense screens at GEDmatch."Haha, include me in that bunch. Truer words were never spoken!
Hat tip to Kitty Cooper's Blog for posting molecular biologist/genealogist Angie Bush's video on understanding some basics on using GEDmatch utilities for genetic genealogy. It's worth a look if you are into this stuff.
© 2015 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.
Throwback Thursday: My Glamour Shot
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| Polaroid, from my personal collection. |
© 2015 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.
Wednesday, April 15, 2015
Working on Wednesday: Jesse Warren, Sr. (About 1747 - 1827), Planter and Distillery Owner
It's clear from records that this paternal fourth great grandfather was doing quite well financially in Hancock County, Georgia, having moved there from his birthplace in Prince George County (now Dinwiddie) in Virginia in about 1791.
Property tax lists for 1812 show that Jesse owned a total of 575 acres in Hancock County and two additional plots of 202-1.2 acres in Putnam and Baldwin Counties.
[Ancestry.com. Georgia, Property Tax Digests, 1793-1892 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011. Original data: Georgia Tax Digests [1890]. 140 volumes. Morrow, Georgia: Georgia Archives.]
By the 1820 U.S. Census, Jesse's household had expanded to 35 persons, including 29 slaves. Sixteen persons (almost certainly all slaves) were engaged in agriculture. His son Jesse Jr., my third great grandfather, is probably enumerated as the sole individual in the column titled "Free White Persons - Males - 26 thru 44" as he didn't marry until 1824.
[Ancestry.com. 1820 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010. Images reproduced by FamilySearch. Original data: Fourth Census of the United States, 1820. (NARA microfilm publication M33, 142 rolls). Records of the Bureau of the Census, Record Group 29. National Archives, Washington, D.C.]
In his will, written just ten days after the death of Jesse Jr., Jesse Sr. left one of his sons (Robert) one dollar as his entire inheritance, gave Jesse Jr.'s widow Timley* five dollars, and after making provision for his wife Elizabeth, his surviving children and several orphaned grandchildren, and naming his oldest son Jeremiah and son-in-law Lott Harton as his executors, in his final bequest he left one thousand dollars to Jesse Jr.'s infant son if he should survive to twenty-one.**
["Georgia, Probate Records, 1742-1990," images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-1971-30374-27009-79?cc=1999178&wc=9SYB-PT5:267654601,267796201 : accessed 16 April 2015), Hancock > Wills and administration records 1827-1830 vol M > image 56 of 394; county probate courthouses, Georgia.]
Jesse Sr. died one year and four days after Jesse Jr. His obituary was published in The Southern Recorder of February 26, 1827.***
"Died at his residence, in Hancock county, Geo., MR. JESSE WARREN, SEN., in the 79th year of his age. After spending forty-four years of his life in Dinwiddie county, Va., he moved to this State, and by industry and economy accumulated a handsome property. For the last twenty years of his life he was a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church. As an honest, upright, virtuous, benevolent man, he was surpassed by few; as a husband he was kind and affectionate; as a father tender and lenient; as a master, possessing command, yet his suavity of manners ensured obedience from his servants; and as a neighbor, his death was lamented by all--He has left an aged, affectionate companion with seven children, all of whom have for many years enjoyed his company and conversation, with a numerous acquaintance, to lament their irreparable loss--but he is gone! his eyes were closed to everything beneath the sun on Wednesday evening, the 10th inst., at about 5 o'clock, without the least appearance of dread. 'Let me die the death of the righteous, and let my last end be like his.'"
He is buried in the Harper Cemetery in Hancock County, Georgia. We hope to visit his grave later this year.
[Find A Grave Memorial# 13410051; Photo: Jack Johnson (#46814495) ]
An extensive inventory and appraisal of his estate took place the following month and was property was valued (not counting land or buildings) at $13,676.77 and included a list of 39 enslaved persons.
I hadn't paid much attention to what Jesse Sr.'s belongings were until I found this notice of the executors' planned sale in which, among "other articles too tedious to mention," were "a first rate still worm for the purpose of stilling by steam, and two stills, a pair of mill-stones and a quantity of slaves**** well seasoned for the purpose of still tubs."
[Hancock County, Georgia, newspaper abstracts, : Hancock Advertiser, 1826-1860]
Going back to the probate records I found that the stills***** were there, along with barrels and even some bottles.
So part of this great great great great grandfather's industry was distilling alcohol (probably whiskey), not that he was doing it personally of course. But I don't think it's accurate to label him as a moonshiner because the stills and worms were officially counted as part of his property in court records and their sale was publicized in the local newspaper so this wasn't a secret enterprise at the time.
As for what the liquor was for? Everybody, if there's any truth in the following passage taken from a temperance tract written by Daniel Dorchester and copyrighted in 1884 titled "The Liquor Problem in All Ages."******
*That's how Timney Watts' name is spelled in this document.
**I haven't been able to discover whether his grandson Jesse T.S. Warren ever got his inheritance.
***Source; Digital Library of Georgia, Milledgeville Historic Newspapers Archive
****I wish we could figure out which of the enslaved persons listed in Jesse's inventory are referred to here.
*****General information on distilling whiskey and other spirits here and here and here.
******Available as a free Google book here.
© 2015 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.