Repost: Tip - Use the Terrain View on Google Maps

While Christine takes a break here's another view of one of her posts from 2017.

My great grandparents George Hartley and Minnie Nosler lived near Riverton, Coos, Oregon in the 1910 Census.  Looking up the location in Google Maps in Map View gives this image.  Notice there is a muted topographical aspect.

Switching to the Google Map Satellite View gives a better idea of the area, particularly giving some additional form to the river snaking around the higher ground.

The Terrain View in Google Maps (note: for some reason I can't switch directly from Satellite View to Terrain View, I have to switch back to Map View and THEN Terrain View).

I already knew that Google Earth had a terrain view, but I use Google Maps more often and had overlooked the Terrain View (as opposed to Map View or Satellite View, which are readily available as options when you first search in Google Maps).

The default is the Map View, and the Satellite View option is readily available at the lower left side of the map.

This is a very handy and quick way to check out the terrain for most places in the United States, particularly in rural areas not flooded for dam purposes.  Most rural areas have retained their form that they had when first settled.

To get to the Terrain View, you go the left pane with the left-pointing double arrows, and Terrain View (as well as other options) becomes visible.

© 2018 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Free Limited Time Webinar: "The Case of the Broken Link: Decoding the URL" by Cyndi Ingle

This happens a lot to me--I find something great on the internet and then the URL changes, or has changed before I can even look at it!  Sometimes I can figure out where it has been moved.  Thankfully Cyndi Ingle (from Cyndi's List!) demonstrates some strategies around this common problem in "The Case of the Broken Link: Decoding the URL":

Web site addresses appear to be long, complicated, and mysterious. Navigating through the web leads you from link to link, web page to web page, site to site, and server to server all in a matter of a few clicks. How can you sort out separate web sites? How can you track down a new URL for a broken link or a broken bookmark? What happens when your source citation for a web site contains a URL  that suddenly disappears? We will break down this technical topic to help you easily hunt down the URL you need.

1 hour 33 minutes
Free to non-subscribers through March 21, 2018


© 2018 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Relative Race: Season 3

Image from the Relative Race FB page.

I watched BYUTV's Relative Race: Season 1 a while back (it's like the Amazing Race crossed with the FamilySearch collection). They are already on their 3rd season!

A 90 minute season premiere kicks off from Washington D.C. as four teams embark on the journey of a lifetime to complete challenges, find family, and win $50,000. The teams uncover a new twist in travel plans, discover unexpected family connections, and a first place victory is rewarded with a mysterious gold coin.

© 2018 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

New To Me: LucidChart

A tutorial on using LucidChart in general.  "LucidChart Full Tutorial 2014" by Technology by Teachers and Students

Note: This is Christine but I'm blogging under Patricia's name today.

I've wondered how people have been doing customized descendancy charts, and during a presentation at i4GG this weekend I learned that LucidChart is a great program to use.

"Lucidchart - how to create a simple family tree" by Jonny Matthew

Awesome!

© 2017 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Getting There

It used to be over 57,000 people.  I've eliminated almost 6,000 since the beginning of this year.

I don't know what an ideal amount of people on a tree is, but I don't think it is anywhere near 57,000+.  I've been doing an overhaul of my tree, taking off people who don't seem to be relevant to my lines and updating, correcting, and otherwise upgrading all of the profiles on my tree.  It has taken a lot of time, but it was very necessary.  I was originally inspired to do this so that I could standardize my locations, making my tree more functional for the Legacy 9 software I purchased.  Now I'm hoping to finish this upgrade by the end of the year.  We'll see if it happens that soon.


© 2017 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Limited Time Free Legacy Family Tree Webinar: "New York City Genealogical Research: Navigating Through The Five Boroughs" presented by Michael L. Strauss

I have always thought it a shame that I don't have any recent New York City ancestors.  Here and there I find a relative lived there but otherwise I don't know much about that iconic American city. To straighten out what areas comprise New York City I looked up what Wikipedia had:

New York City encompasses five different county-level administrative divisions called boroughs: Manhattan, the Bronx, Queens, Brooklyn, and Staten Island. Each of the boroughs is coextensive with a respective county, the primary administrative subdivision within New York State. The Bronx and Queens are concurrent with the counties of the same name, while Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Staten Island correspond to New York, Kings, and Richmond Counties respectively.

Screen capture of the boroughs of New York. By Vector adopted by User:NafsadhOriginal:Julius Schorzman, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=36401671

Michael L. Strauss presented "New York City Genealogical Research: Navigating Through The Five Boroughs" on November 8, 2017:

Many persons can trace their origins to the Empire State. New York City being one of the largest urban center offers many genealogical resources. Between the American Revolution and the Civil War-several key urban cities along the eastern seaboard populations increased strikingly. In 1790 New York’s population was about 33,000 persons, and by 1860 more than 1 million persons lived in the metropolitan area. This lecture offer a unique prospective into the various genealogical sources and historical records that are New York City.

Free to non-subscribers through November 15, 2017.

Runs 1 hour 41 minutes.

© 2017 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Limited Time Free Webinar: "No Easy Button: Using “Immersion Genealogy” to Understand Your Ancestors" by Lisa Alzo

Lisa Alzo has put together a great webinar,"No Easy Button: Using “Immersion Genealogy” to Understand Your Ancestors," on the ways you can better understand your ancestors, through strategies to understand their daily life:

"Learn how to go beyond the same old research strategies through “immersion genealogy” to further understand your ancestors’ lives."

I've only done this approach in a haphazard way.  I need to incorporate this more fully in my research going forward.

Originally recorded October 4, 2017 (available to non-subscribers through October 11, 2017).  Runs 1 hr 30 minutes.

© 2017 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Throwback Tuesday: Crista Cowan presents "Geography and Genealogy" (published Nov 25, 2016)

Crista Cowan did this video "Geography and Genealogy" last year for Ancestry, and she provides some great ideas and sources to consult when researching where your ancestors lived.

As I've been cleaning up/standardizing my locations on my tree I've found Wikipedia entries on locations to be easy to find and helpful, especially in getting a reality check on when counties and locations were first settled.



© 2017 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Genealogy Day at the San Diego History Center (Saturday, October 21, 2017)

Mom and I will be attending the Genealogy Day on October 21, 2017 (8:00 am - 12:30 pm), at the San Diego History Center in Balboa Park.  We chose the “Researching Local Libraries: Your Guide to Success” and “GENSMARTS–Using Artificial Intelligence to Assist with Your Research” workshops:

Unearthing your family’s unique story is like solving a puzzle. Whether you have been researching your family’s history for years or you are just getting ready to start, we have a special program to guide your efforts. 

The San Diego History Center and San Diego Genealogical Society are partnering to present the third-annual Genealogy Day on Saturday, October 21, from 8:00am-12:30pm, at the History Center. Dawn Parrett Thurston, author and family historian, will be the keynote speaker addressing, “Writing My Roots“. 

Participants will have the opportunity to choose breakout sessions for both beginning and advanced researchers. The program will also include a continental breakfast and an exhibit hall full of experts to answer your questions on the process of researching your family tree.

More info here.  I'm looking forward to it!


© 2017 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Some Ideas on Where To Donate My Genealogy

Now that's a fancy family tree.  The family tree of Ludwig Herzog von Württemberg (ruled 1568–1593), image taken by Jakob Lederlein [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons. 

Taking a cue from my 3rd great grand aunt, family genealogist May Tibbetts Jarvis, I hope to donate my genealogy to a variety of respected places, including:

• the New England Historical Society library in Boston, Massachusetts (how to donate), 
• the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. (how to donate),
• the National Library at the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) in Washington, D.C. (how to donate),
• the Newberry Library in Chicago, Illinois (how to donate),
• the Central Library of the San Diego Public Library in downtown San Diego, California (their collection development policy as of 2016),
• the San Diego History Center (document archives),
• the Carlsbad City Library (how to donate),
• the local Family History Center in Mission Valley (or should I donate to the Salt Lake City one?) (how to donate),
• the Sutro Library in San Francisco (a branch of the California State Library) (California History room genealogy info).

That's a long list, yikes.

Not that I'm anywhere near done, but it is probably a good idea to start that planning now and work towards it.  It will need to conform to each library's particular collection development policy.

Some of my work will continue on through what others have copied from me over the years, particularly at Ancestry.com, although I have made my share of errors and cringe when I see others pass those on.  I would like my "final say" in the end to be reflected in my donated work.


Edited to add:
Commenter mbm1311 made a great suggestion for two more places:

• the Allen County Public Library Genealogy Center (how to donate)
• the Midwest Genealogy Center in Independence, MO (how to donate)

© 2017 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Tip: Use the Terrain View on Google Maps

My great grandparents George Hartley and Minnie Nosler lived near Riverton, Coos, Oregon in the 1910 Census.  Looking up the location in Google Maps in Map View gives this image.  Notice there is a muted topographical aspect.

Switching to the Google Map Satellite View gives a better idea of the area, particularly giving some additional form to the river snaking around the higher ground.

The Terrain View in Google Maps (note: for some reason I can't switch directly from Satellite View to Terrain View, I have to switch back to Map View and THEN Terrain View).

I already knew that Google Earth had a terrain view, but I use Google Maps more often and had overlooked the Terrain View (as opposed to Map View or Satellite View, which are readily available as options when you first search in Google Maps).

The default is the Map View, and the Satellive View option is readily available at the lower left side of the map.

This is a very handy and quick way to check out the terrain for most places in the United States, particularly in rural areas not flooded for dam purposes.  Most rural areas have retained their form that they had when first settled.

To get to the Terrain View, you go the left pane with the left-pointing doubble arrows, and Terrain View (as well as other options) becomes visible.

© 2017 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Limited Time Free Webinar: Janet Hovorka presents "Family History Adhesive: The Science of Why History Binds Families and the Simple Tech of How to Do It"

Janet Hovorka presented the webinar "Family History Adhesive: The Science of Why History Binds Families and the Simple Tech of How to Do It" on July 26, 2017.  This is a great reminder of the benefits of what we do as genealogists:

Studies have shown that greater knowledge about family history strengthens your relationships and creates a core identity that empowers your current family. In this session you will learn to use the technology your family members already access every day to create a strong family narrative together. Family history has proven to be the key to strong family relationships now and the emotional health of future generations. The transmission of family history is a personal way to pass on family values, learn from the consequences of decisions and figure out how to overcome the challenges of life. We’ll survey the psychology community’s studies of inter-generational transmission. They have found that the shared family narrative is a source of strength and resilience that binds family members together with a common story. The best way to create a strong family narrative together is to use the communication tools we already access every day in a family history oriented way. Once you've learned how important it is, we'll give you ways to assess where your family congregates online [how often they use it], and then give you strategies for binding your family to their history using those tools. E -mail newsletters, facebook groups, google hangouts, twitter hashtags, and family Instagram accounts are great places to start a family storytelling challenge, award prizes for who knows the most about Grandma and post pictures for a caption contest. You'll leave with a plan for making your family history fun and strengthening your current family relationships.

Free for non-subscribers through August 2, 2017.  Runs 1 hour 28 minutes.



© 2017 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Fantastic Find: Burned Counties Research

William T. Slater, my maternal great great great grandfather, is believed to have applied for citizenship in 1818 in Jefferson County, Indiana, and someone with this name appears in An Index to Indiana Naturalization Records. But when I decided to take a closer look at the repository of the original records in the Madison courthouse a few years ago, this is what I found:

[Madison, Indiana courthouse fire from south side. Spire collapse. 20 May 2009]

Although the fire was confined to the dome and cupola of the brick building, there was major water damage to the records stored on the first floor and in the basement. I haven't been able to find out the extent of that damage.

FamilySearch has a great web page listing research strategies for alternate sources of information in place of lost records.

The phrase "burned counties" was first used for research in Virginia where many county records were destroyed in courthouse fires, or during the Civil War. The strategies for researching places where a local courthouse or repository was wiped out by fire, tornado, war, flood, hurricane, earthquake, insects, rodents, mold, neglect, foxing, theft, tsunami, or cleaning-streak clerks are useful in similar situations all around the United States, Canada, and throughout the world.

© 2015 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

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."

It does indeed.

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.

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.

["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.

Fantastic Find: Denmark's Archives Go Online (Free)

If you have ancestors in Denmark, it's time to brush up on your Danish* because as I just learned via NEHGS Weekly Genealogist's link to the Copenhagen Post from February 20th:

[Danish archives store some 50 million images and over 100 kilometres of shelves with documents that will be added to the digital platform. (Text from Copenhagen Post, Photo: Wikipedia)]

"Denmark's largest digital photo album with nearly two million images will open to the general public today at 4pm.

Danes will have access to the online database at Arkiv.dk, which includes 1,841,254 documents such as photos, diaries, letters, and sound and video recordings. 

Since the late 1980s, all items from the country's more than 550 archives have been recorded electronically, and today a large portion of them becomes freely available to the public.

 All documents in the digital archive are covered by the general rules of copyright, the oldest of them dates back to the 1600s." 

And 25,000 more photos will be added to the website monthly.

It makes me wish I had Danish ancestors.

*Website is entirely in Danish.

© 2015 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Looking Forward: Ancestry Website Update

From Ancestry's blog we learn:

A New and Improved Ancestry Website
Ancestry is continually working hard to improve our site and make it easier to discover, share, and preserve your family history. While we constantly make incremental improvements, it has been a few years since Ancestry has made a major update to the site. We are sensitive to the impact changes have on our members. However,  substantial research into the needs of our members and the experience they are having on the website have helped us to see new and innovative ways to reinvent the way we help you do family history. The improved website makes it easier for anyone to discover and tell the rich, unique story of their family, while also helping them to become better researchers.

Here's what the new Life Story view will look like:

[Ancestry.com]

And the Media Gallery:

[Ancestry.com]

You can learn more about what's coming later this year and sign up for an invitation to try the beta version of the new website at the blog.

© 2015 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Fantastic Find: The Ultimate Organization Cheat Sheet for Genealogists

Via New York Genealogy Research's post (if you're not following those NY people you should start right now), here's a very useful organization cheat sheet from Tara Cajacob at The Historium. (And I'm definitely adding her blog to my list.)

[Source: The Historium]

Tara has thoughtfully created a printable version of her cheat sheet. You can download it and get a head start on one of your next New Year's resolutions now!

© 2014 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Update on Solomon Joseph Hartley

I was able to round out Solomon Hartley's life in Philadelphia quite a bit more recently when I discovered a truly wonderful site, The Greater Philadelphia GeoHistory Network. Be still my heart.

"The purpose of the Greater Philadelphia GeoHistory Network is to gather geographic materials useful for the study of historic Philadelphia and its region.
This site contains thousands of old maps, property atlases, city directories, industrial site surveys, and other items documenting the history and development of the city from the 1600s through today."

City directories, linked from archive.org!  Yes!  I had been looking for those city directories for a year and didn't realize they were on archive.org.  Now I could track him over time, and he was there indeed.

1807 Hartly Solomon, rigger, Emlen's court

1808 Hartly Solomon, rigger, Emlen's court

1810 Soloman Hartley rigger 43 Coates'

(1810 Federal Census shows him in the Northern Liberties, Philadelphia area, which is where these addresses are)

1811 Soloman Hartley rigger 43 Coates'

(no 1812 city directory available from the site)

1813 Hartley Solomon rigger 49 Browne

1814 Hartley Solomon, mariner back 49 Browne
 
 
What is especially interesting to me is George Hartley who also appears in the city directories.  I have a working theory that the George Hartley whose 1794 Seamans Protection Certificate I found was a relative, possibly father or brother of Solomon, due to proximity, profession, and Polish background.  I'm starting to veer more toward the George Hartley in the city directories is most likely an older brother of Solomon.  Here are his listings:
 
1798 Hartley George, mariner, Duke st

1799 Hartley George, rigger, Duke st

1800 Hartley George, rigger Duke st

(1800 Federal Census has Geog Hartley in the Northern Liberties (East), Philadelphia area, which is where these addresses are, and household is 1 male under 10, 1 man 16-25 (Solomon??), 1 man 26-44, 1 girl under 10, 1 girl 10-15, 1 woman 26-44)

1802 Hartley George, rigger, Noble above Front & Steinmetz wharf

1803 Hartley George, rigger, Noble above Front & Steinmetz wharf

1804 Hartley George, rigger, Noble above Front & North wharves near Callowhill

1805 Hartley George, rigger, Noble above Front & North wharves near Callowhill

1806 Hartley George, rigger, Noble above Front & North wharves near Callowhill

1807 Hartley George, rigger, Noble above Front & North wharves near Callowhill

1808 Hartley George, rigger, Noble above Front & North wharves near Callowhill

1809 Hartley George, rigger, Noble above Front & North wharves near Callowhill

1810 Hartley George, rigger Warder's wharf & 16 Noble

(Can't find in 1810 Census)

1811 Hartley George, rigger Warder's wharf & 16 Noble

1812 not available on the site, or possible wasn't done that year?

1813 Hartley George, rigger Bright's wharf and 16 Noble

1814 Hartley George, rigger Bright's wharf ad corner Key's alley and Second

1815 not available or wasn't done??

1816 Hartley George, rigger Bright's wharf

1817 Hartley George, rigger Bright's wharf

[Bright's Wharf is between Race and Vine]


I don't find any more on George Hartley. He would possibly be about 51 or so in 1817.


According to our family stories, Solomon had a brother William, but nothing else is known other than that he was in either Philadelphia or Camden, NJ in 1815 (most likely for his brother Solomon's funeral?).  I did find one possibility for him in 1797:

1797  Hartley Wm. mariner, south fourth, between Plumb and Shippen st.


© 2014 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Solomon Joseph Hartley: Brick Wall everlasting?

My maiden name is Hartley. Captain Solomon Joseph Hartley (abt 1775-1815), who was a mariner in the late 1700's/early 1800's in the Philadelphia area, is my 4th-great-grandfather. When I first started my family tree it didn't sink in that he was only 1 of 64 4th-great-grandparents, and because I shared the same last name I put an undue amount of importance on his line.

The problem is, no one seems to know where he came from.

This is the original info I had on Solomon:

Captain Solomon Joseph Hartley, the progenitor of the family which forms the subject of this chapter, was a sea captain in Philadelphia, PA. He was born about the time of the beginning of the American Revolutionary War. He followed the sea from the time he was a boy and finally became a sea captain. He is known to have made long voyages to foreign countries and sometimes would be gone for three years on such trips. On one voyage to China he brought back some dishes which have been preserved by one of his descendants. [QUERY: DO WE NOW KNOW WHERE THESE DISHES ARE?] He had a brother, William, of whom nothing further is known than that he was resident either in Pennsylvania or New Jersey in 1815. Capt. Hartley married, about 1803, in Jersey City, NJ, Mary (Gwynap) (Clegg) Onetti, the widow of Joseph Onetti; he was her third husband...............
Capt. Hartley drowned in the Delaware River in 1815 at the age of 39, while rowing on the river near Philadelphia. ("It is greatly to be regretted," May Tibbetts wrote, "that some history of his branch of the Hartley family was not written down during his lifetime, to be preserved for his descendants." The widow Mary Hartley, who older sons were eight and 10 years old at the time of their father's untimely death, was left in straitened circumstances; she assumed again her occupation as glove maker and pursued that work for many years until her death, about 1855, at the home of her son, William Hartley, then of Camden, NJ.

Records indicate that the three sons of Capt. Solomon Joseph and Mary Hartley were provided with "good educations" and each was apprenticed to well-to-do Quaker families in Philadelphia. By this means, each learned a trade. All were reared in the Society of Friends, though in later life they did not all continue as members of this group.

The name Hartley immediately says "English" to most people, and one of my cousins, Richard Stanley Dunlop (who wrote the above quote), did quite a bit of research on other Hartley's in the Philadelphia area who all seemed to be of English heritage. When he assembled the list of possibilities there was no Internet as we know it today, and certainly no online genealogy sites. I took his extensive work and developed Ancestry* trees for those lines, soon discovering that Solomon Joseph Hartley did not fit into any of them.

Solomon had three children that we know of, all with his wife Mary Gwynap (??-abt 1855) (she is another monster of a brick wall): George Washington Hartley (1805-1880), William Hartley (1807-1874), and Abner Hartley (1813-1890).

I believe George W probably has the most descendants (I am one of them) and thus more people are likely looking for info on Solomon from that angle. George W claimed his father's birthplace was GER on the 1880 Census (the first federal census that asked for parents' place of birth).

Germany?? But Hartley isn't a German name! Well, actually it can be, it turns out, although I don't think it is very common, or is an anglicized version of Hertel or Hartle.

William only lived until 1874 so he didn't get to answer that question.

Abner, who was an obscure figure on my side compared to his brothers, was generally thought to have been born about 1809, a reasonable assumption of spacing between siblings, but wrong. He was born in 1813 and was only about 1 1/2 when his father drowned in the Delaware river. In the 1880 Census he put his father as from Poland.

Poland????

And then one of George W's sons, Marquis de Lafayette Hartley (1836-abt 1920), seemed to think Solomon was a Danish sailer. By this time it was decades away from the fact and he never met Solomon, so it is possible that he got it mixed up.

There is a Family Search/LDS/IGI record of Solomon Joseph Hartley married to a Miss Gijwnap, daughter of Giles Gijwnap. I'm not a big fan of the Family Search side of the LDS records, and this record is just strange. Mary Gwynap was supposedly born in New Jersey and was Scottish (although Gwynap says "Welsh" to me). At some point I will have to request the info on who submitted that data to LDS. But I digress...

I've noticed that in the 1800's and 1900's Censuses people would say that their parents were from Ireland or Germany or wherever and upon further investigation of the parents it would turn out that they were just of that ethnicity a generation or two back, and were actually from Pennsylvania or Maryland for example.


Anyway, none of this evidence on Solomon says "English" to me. I looked on the map and tried to figure out what area would have been in both Germany and Poland at some point around Solomon's time and that would work with the assertion that he "followed the sea from the time he was a boy," and came up with the tentative place of Danzig.

Solomon was gone a lot at sea, and didn't appear to be in any of the Federal Census records (although the New Jersey ones of his era were lost, so he might have been on one of those). It is possible that the Solomon Hartley in the modern-day Fishtown area of Philadelphia in the 1813 Philadelphia city directory is my guy, and possibly the 1810 Bridgeport address, but otherwise there seemed to be no documentation on him.


After months of looking around the web I discovered a wonderful index put together by the (late) Ruth Dixon that was on limited preview via Google Books:

Title Index to Seamen's protection certificate applications, port of Philadelphia, 1796-1823: record group 36, records of the Bureau of Customs, National Archives and Records Administration, Washington, DC

Indexes to Seamen's Protection Certificate Applications and Proofs of Citizenship Author Ruth Dixon Edition reprint Publisher Genealogical Publishing Com, 2001 ISBN 0806345896, 9780806345895 Length 159 pages

Seamen's Protection Certificates were authorized by Congress in 1796 to identify American merchant seamen as citizens of the United States and, as such, entitled to protection against impressment at sea. This work is an index to the names of merchant seamen who made application for a Seamen's Protection Certificate (SPe at the Port of Philadelphia between 1796 and 1823. The names of 14,397 seamen appear in this new volume, and each is identified according to the date of the SPC application, age, race, and state or country of birth.

Limited preview - 2001 - 159 pages - Reference

Through this I found a Solomon Hartley (applied in 1803 at age 28, born in PA), a George Hartley (applied in 1794 at age ?? from Germany), and Joseph Onetto (likely Mary Gwynap's first son by her second husband Joseph Onetto). Umm, wow!! Hot stuff!

I contacted the National Archives and Records administration and they sent me copies of these certificates (so far my experience with NARA has rocked!).

Text of Solomon's protection certificate--anything in parenthesis are my comments:

(Content of the copy of the record of Solomon Hartley (n. 9566 Soloman Hartley, 2 Nov). The certificate is folded, with info on each side)

(inside)

Commonwealth of Penn.

Phildelphia County

Personally appeared before me the Subscriber one of the Justices of the Peace forsaid county, James Creed(?), who upon his sollemn Oath Sywreth and Sayeth, that Solloman Hartley to his certain knowledge was born at Pitsborough in the Commonwealth aforesaid, said Solloman is about twenty eight years of age, five feet five inches and three quarters high, brown hair, near unto black, blue eyes and dark complexion, a scarr under his left chinn on the upper part of his neck. A mark or scarr on the upper joynt of the little finger of his right hand-- Said Solloman Hartley acknowledges no government but the government of the state of Penn and generally the Government of the United States of America of whome he claims citizenship--

Sworn and subscribed before me Given under my hand and Seal the 2nd day of Novem. 1803

James Creed(?) (signed)

Salomon Hartley (signed) (might read Solomon, the writing is a little unclear)

Wm Robinson(?) (signed) (last name unclear)

So he's claiming to be from PITTSBURGH (Pitsborough) of all places lol. It just goes to show that when you assume things you'll miss out on other possibilities. For some reason I thought the population movement went from East to West in the early United States, but actually it makes sense. Pittsburgh isn't near the ocean, but it is near key rivers and maybe Solomon originally was a riverboat guy. Also, there were German immigrants in that area when he was born.


Text of George Hartley's protection certificate:

City of Philadelphia ss(?),

I Matthew Clarkson Mayor of the said City do hereby Certify that George Hartley Mariner son of George Hartley Labourer of Dantzig, where he was born, and arrived at Philadelphia--from Amsterdam----did this day take and subscribe before me the Oath of Allegiance prescribed by an Act of the General Assembly of the Common Wealth of Pennsylvania pass on the 13th day March 1789,--

five feet nine inches, dark compl.

Germany, Dansick

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto subscribed my name and affixed my seal the--Third day of July 1794

Matthew Clarkson (signed), Mayor

DANZIG?? I just about fell over when I saw this. I'm not saying that this IS a relative of Solomon because I really have no way to prove it, but I made a pretty good guess at a mariner Hartley from Danzig! I do wonder if it IS a relative though.



So, I've made some progress on Solomon, but not as much as I'd like. I could never figure out what happened to his brother William mentioned in the quote toward the beginning.
I did recently contact the very helpful Joan Lowe, Corporate Archivist at ACE Archives for a search of the Insurance Company of North America (INA) voyage insurance records to see if his name came up, but he didn't. And I think if he was a captain he should have had a record. This makes me wonder if he was indeed a captain or if that was a natural exaggeration of status that happens so often in family genealogies lol. Ms. Lowe recommended that I contact the Philadelphia Seaport Museum library to see if they have any ideas, so that is the direction I'll go next, along with a new interest in early Pittsburgh.

As an aside, I do wish I knew how Solomon met Mary Gwynap. At that time she was twice-widowed Mary Gwynap Clegg Onetto, and mother to 2 young children, Joseph "Joe" Onetto (b abt 1796-1851) and Elizabeth "Betsey" Onetto (b abt 1800-???). Was Joseph Onetto elder a mariner as well? Did Joseph Onetto the elder and Solomon know each other?? Why on earth did Solomon and Mary get married in Jersey City, NJ, instead of Camden NJ or Philadelphia? I believe that one of Joe Onetto's own children said he was from Italy in the 1880 Census, and that seems to be one of those cases where he was of Italian ancestry (father Joseph Onetto probably WAS from Italy) rather than from Italy itself.




*I am an Ancestry subscriber, so my bias tends toward that service.


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