From the Probate Files: Mary Mrs. Worden - Yarmouth, New England, 1686

Peter Worden II's wife survived him by about seven years. Unfortunately her will, dated March 26, 1686, is only available in transcript form.

[“Barnstable, MA: Probate Records, 1685-1789.” Records of Barnstable, Massachusetts. CD-ROM. Boston, MA: New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2002. (Online database. AmericanAncestors.org. New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2008.)]

Her husband's will having disposed of his land, Mary didn't have that much to leave behind her and she sought to ensure that "there by no differance amongst my children" by having them agree that she could leave her worldly goods as she chose. "All my wearing apparrel" was to be divided equally between her three daughters, all married women, and almost everything else was left to Mary's son-in-law John Barge/Burge/Borg who was also named her executor. Her son Samuel was the recipient of the only exception: "my Indian Squaw Servant" as Peter II had directed in his will.

Sadly we have no idea of the name of that enslaved Native American woman.





© 2017 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Throwback Thursday/Free Legacy Family Tree Webinar: Geoff Rasmussen presents "Timelines and Chronologies - Secrets of Success"

Another day, another day spent cleaning up my locations on my tree.  Part of why I'm cleaning up/standardizing the locations is so that my chronologies will be more useful.  Ancestry provides a basic timeline already, but I need to prepare for using Legacy software's timelines to further enhance my research once my cleanup is complete.  This webinar, Timelines and Chronologies - Secrets of Success by Geoff Rasmussen, originally recorded almost 4 years ago (October 19, 2013), is still relevant even though I have a later Legacy product.

 Join FamilyTreeWebinars.com's host and Legacy Family Tree developer, Geoff Rasmussen, as he presents "Timelines and Chronologies: Secrets of Success" to a live audience in Anchorage, Alaska. Geoff will teach:

- Benefits of using a timeline in your genealogical research
- What a good timeline includes
- Methods of creating a timeline
- How to embed historical events into an ancestor's timeline 

© 2017 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Book Shelf: Plymouth Colony: Its History & People 1629 - 1691

Although my Worden ancestors rate just two mentions* in this book, I'm looking forward to reading Eugene Aubrey Stratton's history of Yarmouth. After all, the Wordens weren't my only ancestors who lived there and I've been neglecting them while concentrating on my favorite lineage.**

[Image: Amazon.com]

The book is described as "the first comprehensive guide to Plymouth Colony" and I alway enjoy learning more about the daily life of my ancestors.


*"Old Worden (dead)" on page 66 and his son Peter Worden II in a list on page 445.
**You can be sure if I find out anything, I'll be sharing it here.

© 2017 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Fantastic Find: Blaine Bettinger Has Updated His "Shared cM Project" Chart

Blaine Bettinger's new chart.  See the entire article at the ISOGG site here.

After attending the genetic genealogy conference last year I learned to use the Shared cM Project chart to navigate my DNA matches at Ancestry.  I used my parents as examples of how to find the amount shared, but you can use it for any DNA match to get a ballpark idea of how they might be related to you.

I highly recommend keeping this chart handy if you are trying to analyze your DNA matches.



© 2017 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Fantastic Find: FamilySearch Poland Genealogy Wiki

By the time I discovered the FamilySearch website our family tree was well established and it was clear that all but one of my ancestral lines had arrived in what's now the United States well before the American Revolution* so I never felt a need to look into what other assistance FamilySearch site provides.

But this summer when I agreed to help a German man** who is trying to find out more about his father's family in Silesia, I knew I needed help and FamilySearch didn't disappoint. (First of all I learned that Silesia is (mostly) located in what's now southwestern Poland, although in the past it's been claimed by Germany.)

[FamilySearch.org]

When DA and I sat down together and opened FamilySearch's Poland Genealogy wiki, the online tutorials looked like the best place to start.

Sonja Nishimoto has done a  impressive job of introducing the subject in her webinars. I wasn't sure how committed my DA was to the process but he watched the whole thing, taking copious notes, and I think he may well follow through.

His son the astrophysicist*** has recently expressed an interest in his heritage and DA was looking forward to sharing what's he's learned about researching Polish records.

And I learned that I should consider FamilySearch as a source for other things besides all those unindexed probate records!



*The only exception being my maternal grandfather Slater's lineage--his Yorkshire-born great grandfather William T. Slater applied for citizenship in 1818.
**Let's call him "DA"
***Yes, really!



© 2017 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Sunday Drive: Truck, Trailer & Cow - Oregon, 1950

If not for the caption on this slide we would never understand why our truck was hitched to a trailer carrying a dairy cow. Fortunately Dad wrote "Roger - Lloyd Middleton Auction near Portland" and this slide is one of several obviously taken during the same visit in 1950.*

[From my personal collection]

Who were the Middletons and why were we visiting them?

Here's the family's listing in the 1940 U.S. Census where their place of residence was given as Eastwood in Multnomah County, Oregon, and Lloyd was a truck driver.

[Year: 1940; Census Place: Eastwood, Multnomah, Oregon; Roll: T627_3376; Page: 13A; Enumeration District: 26-23. Ancestry.com. Original data: Original data: United States of America, Bureau of the Census. Sixteenth Census of the United States, 1940. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1940.]

Dad's note on another slide suggests that by 1950 the Middleton's were living in Estacada and daughter Joleta's obituary states she was raised in Boring.

I have only the vaguest memories of how Dad Currey** was connected to them but they may have fallen into the category of what he called "shirt tail relatives."

As for the cow, I don't know if she was coming or going.


*Stay tuned, I'll be posting at least one more from this series in the future.
**I believe they would have been Currey rather than Grenfell connections because of their location in Oregon.


© 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.