Getting a Handle on "Old Fulton NY Post Cards"

"Old Fulton NY Post Cards" is so awesome, but it uses frames??  And I'm not sure what to make of the Joker...

"Old Fulton NY Post Cards," run by Tom Tryniski, is a great site for free access to New York state newspapers**, but it can be a little jarring when you first try to use it.  Fortunately, quite a few people have posted information and tips:

• FamilySearch Wiki: "Old Fulton NY Post Cards"
• Wikipedia: "Fultonhistory.com"
• Poughkeepsie Public Library District: "Tuesday’s Tip — Historical Newspapers from Old Fulton, NY Post Cards Site" (PDF)
• Family Tree Magazine: "Genealogy Insider: "Somebody Stop Me! Finding New York Family History in Newspapers"

I like to browse sites to get an overview of what is available.  You can browse the newspapers here and browse "Main Album" here (the main album includes, among other things, Oswego County Probate Records, O'Hearn's Histories Auburn NY, various class photos, and an aerial view and stereographic photos of Fulton NY).



**Miriam J. Robbins of Online Historical Newspapers blog keeps on ongoing list of newspapers available online from a number of different providers, including Old Fulton NY Postcards, NYS Historic Newspapers, and Library of Congress (among others).  Here is her New York newspapers page.






© 2016 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Salt Lake City FHL Trip Preparation: Planning a Search for the Parents of Isaac Leonard and Jemima White

I think it is safe to say that I don't really have much of a handle on Hannah's ancestry. I'm not even entirely sure about her mother's name, for which we only have one source (Hannah's sister Cynthia Leonard Belcher's Michigan death certificate).

I'm going through my tree right now to see where my ancestral gaps are, and my 4th great grandmother Hannah Leonard is a prime candidate.  I can trace Hannah to her father Isaac because he lists his children's names in his will and in the probate notice published in Jefferson County, New York in 1863.

Also, Isaac Leonard's possible father, Ebenezer Leonard, was living in Burlington, Otsego, New York, the same place that William White was living in 1800, but that connection has yet to be made solid.  William White's widow's name, Jemima, was included in William's extensive Revolutionary pension file, giving the detail that she and William White were married on 13 Dec 1781 in Adams, Berkshire, Massachusetts, by Elder Peter Worden/Werden (the ancestor of Hannah Leonard's husband, Porter Worden).  So I think I am on the right track, but finding records on people in the mid/late 1700's/early 1800's in Western Massachusetts and New York has proven to be more difficult than I initially anticipated.

Last night I started to map out where Wrights were in the 1790 Census, 9 years after Jemima and William were married:

Wrights listed as head of household in Berkshire County, Massachusetts in the 1790 Census.

Jemima and William were already out in Canajoharie (Ancestry has Canajoxharrie), Montgomery, New York (a few counties west of Berkshire County) by the 1790 Census.  There were a number of Wrights there as well, and might very well be related to Jemima Wright.

Wright, Daniel--1-2-2-0-0
Wright, Earl--3-0-2-0-0
Wright, Gideon--2-2-2-0-0
Wright, Humphry--1-1-4-0-0
Wright, Jacob--1-3-4-0-0
Wright, John--1-3-1-0-0
Wright, Luther--1-0-3-0-*
Names from the New York GenWeb site on Montgomery county

Canajoharie was only a few counties west of Berkshire County.

© 2016 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Sunday Drive: Stone Lagoon, 1958

We must have stopped here to have lunch as I don't recall that we ever camped at Stone Lagoon overnight.

[From my personal collection]

[Detail from Shell Highway Map of California (northern portion), 1956. Source: David Rumsey Historical Map Collection]

© 2016 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Free Saturday Night Webinar from Legacy Family Tree: "Digital Research Guidance, Research Logs, and To Do Lists: FamilySearch, Research Wiki, and Legacy Family Tree" by Geoff Rasmussen

Don't have a human research assistant to help you with all the information you juggle?  Me neither!

In "Digital Research Guidance, Research Logs, and To Do Lists: FamilySearch, Research Wiki, and Legacy Family Tree" Geoff Rasmussen has some great ideas on using all the amazing tools available to the modern genealogist for organizing research.

Everyone can use a little research help every now and then, right? Learn about best practices in using the latest technology to organize and plan your research strategies. Call on these digital research assistants 24/7.

Geoff Rasmussen will educate, compare, and contrast two major research guidance tools: FamilySearch's Research Wiki, and Legacy Family Tree's Research Guidance. You will learn how to easily keep track of what you've previously researched, as well as plan your research To Do List.

The webinar was originally recorded on August 14, 2013 (1 hour, 21 minutes).  Most of Legacy Family Tree Webinars are not free and I recommend subscribing to their site for full access to all their amazing, affordable genealogy webinars.



© 2016 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Family Friday: Grenfell/Plank/Currey

The caption to this snapshot from one of the Currey family albums says it all. It was taken on their boat in San Diego bay in 1928.

[From my personal collection]

I love Bernice's coat with all the buttons!


© 2016 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Spending a Week at the Salt Lake City Family History Library While on Dialysis

Very cool setup.  The Salt Lake Plaza hotel is right next to the Salt Lake City Family History Library.

Family Tree Magazine/AncestorSeekers.com has sent out notices of their periodic Salt Lake City packages, and we are thinking of attending the April 2017 one:

The most popular genealogy research program in Salt Lake City, designed to maximize your chances of breaking down those brick walls and finding new information on your ancestors
A week at the Family History Library in Salt Lake City, housing a staggering collection of genealogical records from all over the world. Over 1 billion names under one roof.
Help provided exclusively for our guests by Ancestor Seekers professionals at regular intervals. Our experts will help you find the records you need, thus providing a more productive and enjoyable experience
Ideal for both first time and previous visitors with all skill levels catered for. Places are limited in order to provide everyone the help needed
Six nights at the Plaza Hotel (next door to the Library) included in the price. Just arrange your travel to Salt Lake City and we take care of the rest
Free airport/hotel shuttle - Complimentary Wi-Fi Internet - Microwave & fridge in each room

Besides planning which people/lines we are going to focus on during this trip, I also have to plan for my daily peritoneal dialysis treatment away from home, which is scary but very doable.  This must be a common scenario for this hotel which specializes in genealogy packages, as genealogy is typically an older person's pursuit, and older people are more likely to have chronic health issues, like dialysis for kidney failure.

This trip will make me focus on shoring up what I know about my ancestors.  Like most genealogists I daily fight the urge to chase bright, shiny objects (like interesting collateral relations) in favor of reviewing and analyzing records I've already found for my direct ancestors.  I will be reviewing my direct ancestors using the tips given by Crista Cowan to break down brick walls.





© 2016 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Gone for Soldiers: Willet Orlando "Richard" or "Dick" Worden (1843 - 1912), Soldier, U.S. - Part 7

After the fall of Vicksburg on July 4, 1863, Dick Worden and his comrades of the 24th Iowa Infantry in General Hovey's Division formed part of General Sherman's forces at the Siege of Jackson* which took place from August 9th until the morning of the 17th when it was discovered that Confederate troops had abandoned the city.

[Map of the Siege of Jackson, Miss. Source: Library of Congress]

[From Personal memoirs of U. S. Grant by Grant, Ulysses S. (Ulysses Simpson), 1822-1885. Source: Internet Archive]

After Jackson's second fall, according to its regimental history the 24th Iowa

"was transferred to the Department of the Gulf, and put in much of the fall and early winter in marches in various directions, without apparent aim or result."

The transfer entailed being transported downriver to New Orleans where on August 23, 1863, Dick Worden received a disability discharge from the Army and returned home to Iowa.**

For the moment at least, his war was over.



*Jeff T. Giambrone's blog Mississippians in the Confederate Army has an excellent detailed description of the two battles for Jackson here.
**To date I haven't been able to discover what disability my great great grandfather suffered that led to his discharge.




© 2016 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.