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.

From the Probate Files: Peter Worden II - New Plymouth, New England, 1680 (Part IV)

If you look closely at the inventory of this 10X great grandfather's estate you may understand why I've been postponing my consideration of it. Handwriting from the late 17th century is hard to decypher.

["Massachusetts, Plymouth County, Probate Records, 1633-1967," images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-997D-V3ZQ?cc=2018320&wc=M6BX-F29%3A338083801 : 20 May 2014), Wills 1633-1686 vol 1-4 > image 514 & 515 of 616; State Archives, Boston.]

In fact I'm going to take advantage of a printed version of the inventory taken from "Specific Ancestral Lines of the Boaz, Paul, Welty & Fishel Families" by Adrienne Boaz.

[Specific Ancestral Lines of the Boaz, Paul, Welty & Fishel Families, page 401.

By Adrienne Boaz. Source: Google Books]

From this inventory we can see that Peter II had amassed a respectable amount of worldly goods, including livestock, beds, other furniture and cooking utensils, tools, a gun with powder and bullets, and two bibles. But there's one item I particularly want to draw your attention to in the original:

Item an Indian servant that cost att first                 04 -- 10 --- 0

This is the person referred to in this phrase of the codicil to Peter's will: "I give my Indian servant to my son Samuell after my wife's decease."

I've already covered the land in Old England left him by his father Peter I here.

Peter II's wife Mary survived him by about seven years, making her own will in 1686 which we'll look at next time.


© 2017 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Planning to Plan: Mahlon Hibbs

I know this isn't Mahlon Hibbs' origin story, but it sometimes feels like it.  "Athena is "born" from Zeus's forehead as a result of him having swallowed her mother Metis, as he grasps the clothing of Eileithyia on the right; black-figured amphora, 550–525 BC, Louvre."  By Wikipedia User:Bibi Saint-Pol (Own work) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons.  

I have a lot of "brick walls" in my tree.  They are likely brick walls for me because I am still too disorganized and unexperienced a genealogist to break them down yet.  Mahlon Hibbs is one of my most vexing "brick walls."

He emerges fully formed, like Athena from the head of Zeus, in his 50s, in eastern Tennessee (Anderson County) about 1802.  A few years later some local records indicated that he petitioned to be exempt from paying taxes due to his advanced age.  He had a large family, participated in some land sales and road work, and moved to Putnam County, Indiana in the early 1820s.  He either died there or in Iowa some time after 1850, well over 100 years old.  His birth place in the 1850 Census indicates that he was born in Virginia.

This guy had lived an entire life already by the time I find his first record.  I need a plan!

I need to review the records I've gathered so far:

• some early Anderson County, Tennessee tax records
• early Anderson County, Tennesse court minutes
• Anderson County, Tennessee land records
• BLM record for Putnam County, Indiana
• Federal census records 1830-1850 (before 1830 he was in areas where the federal census no longer exists)

I already have a fully developed tree for his children, and I need to review his family and neighbors using the FAN club method:

Right away I see that I have only focused on very particular areas, not the surrounding counties in either Tennessee or Indiana.  I also know that I lack knowledge in general of the formation of Tennessee and the role North Carolina in Tennessee history (and where to find those records).  I am also not very skilled at research in Virginia.

The above shows how Tennessee was when Mahlon Hibbs likely first came on the scene.  The area in what is now Clinton, Anderson County (close to where Anderson and Knox counties meet) was in Spencer County (State of Franklin).  Before it became Anderson County in 1801 it was part of a series of other counties, including Knox, Grainger, Hawkins, Spencer and Sullivan counties.  It is possible that Mahlon was actually in Washington ("Was") county until about 1802. (from the Tennessee mapofus which uses AniMap Plus 3.0, permission of the Goldbug Company).

The above shows how Tennessee was when Mahlon Hibbs starts showing up in records in Anderson County (shown above as "An") around 1803.(from the Tennessee mapofus which uses AniMap Plus 3.0, permission of the Goldbug Company).

The above shows how Tennessee looked when Mahlon Hibbs and family moved out from Anderson County ("An"). (from the Tennessee mapofus which uses AniMap Plus 3.0, permission of the Goldbug Company).

The above is how Indiana looked when Mahlon and his extended family moved to Putnam county (shown above as "Put") (from the Indiana mapofus which uses AniMap Plus 3.0, permission of the Goldbug Company).

The above shows how Indiana looked when Mahlon Hibbs last appears on a record in Putnam County, Indiana (1850 Census). (from the Indiana mapofus which uses AniMap Plus 3.0, permission of the Goldbug Company).

Reviewing these maps, I see I need to create mini locality guides for Anderson County, Tennessee (and surrounding/previous counties), and Putnam County, Indiana (and surrounding counties), with a table including the following categories:
Vital records
Land records
Probate records
Cemetery records
Church records (Quaker and Baptist denominations would take priority as those the the most likely from what I already know).
Census records



I also need to review my own blog posts:

• Monday Madness: Mahlon Hibbs
• Diary of James Milo Nosler: Introduction, part I  (Mahlon Hibbs was his grandfather)
• Land Genealogy Gleanings: Focus on early Hibbs in Anderson County, Tennessee
• Hibbs Trajectory I had Not Considered

Finally, I need to review my father's DNA cousin matches (particularly at Ancestry.com, where there are the most amount of trees to compare).  He has steadily been gaining Hibbs related cousins, and they have yielded a number of Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Kentucky Hibbs lines that might help me (maybe Mahlon was in those places at some point).



© 2017 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Working on Wednesday: Richardson Grove State Park, 1948

The caption on this slide reads "Richardson Grove Redwoods Oct 1948 - Min* sorting huckleberries"

[From my personal collection]

Our summer trips were vacations for Dad and me, but Mother's work was never done.


*How Bernice hated that nickname but Dad never stopped using 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.

Monday Is for Mothers: Thanklord Perkins (About 1610 - After 1675)

In the first record we have of this 8X great grandmother, Thanklord Perkins was married to Ralph Shepard at St. Bride's, Fleet Street in London on the 21st of May, 1632.

[Ancestry.com. London, England, Church of England Baptisms, Marriages and Burials, 1538-1812 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010. Original data: Church of England Parish Registers, 1538-1812. London, England: London Metropolitan Archives. Images produced by permission of the City of London Corporation Libraries, Archives. ]

A year later the baptismal record for the couple's first child, Sarah, at St. Dunstan's in Stepney lists only her father's name, giving his occupation as tailor residing in Limehouse.

[Ancestry.com. London, England, Church of England Baptisms, Marriages and Burials, 1538-1812 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010. Original data: Church of England Parish Registers, 1538-1812. London, England: London Metropolitan Archives. Images produced by permission of the City of London Corporation Libraries, Archives.]

The couple's non-conformist religious beliefs led to Ralph, Thanklord and Sarah's departure from London on June 30, 1635 aboard the ship Abigail bound for New England. Thanklord's age was given as 23 and she was pregnant with her second child, Thomas, who is one of my 7X great grandfathers.*

Their first residence was in Watertown (presumably where Thomas was born), followed by removals to Dedham in 1637, then Weymouth in 1639, on to Malden by 1650 and ending up in Concord by 1666.

In 1651 Thankslord joined with 35 other women in a petition in defense of their minister Rev. Marmaduke Matthews.

[Ancestry.com. The history of Malden, Massachusetts, 1633-1785 [database on-line]. Provo, UT: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2004. Original data: Corey, Deloraine Pendre,. The history of Malden, Massachusetts, 1633-1785. Malden: The author, 1899.]

Here's a tracing of her signature from that document.

[From Ralph Shephard, Puritan by Ralph Hamilton Shepard, 1893.

Source: Google Books]

Several land records in Malden name Ralph "with the assent and consent of Thankslord my wife" and she "acknowledged" a deed giving some property in Concord to their son-in-law Walter Power** on March 28, 1675. This is the last date we have for her. Her date of death and place of burial are unknown.



*My descent from Thomas.

[Ancestry.com]

**Walter Power married their daughter Trial (1641-1708) who's my 7th great grandmother.

[Ancestry.com]

© 2017 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Sunday Drive: Doheny State Park - 1948

The caption of this color slide reads: "1948 Doheny SP on way home"

[From my personal collection]

As usual Dad had me posed facing into the sun so my eyes are closed as usual. I'm not sure if I was waving or trying to shield my face from the sunlight.




© 2017 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Back to School, circa 1980

Me, from my personal collection.  I'm not sure when this was taken, but possibly for my 4th grade year?

It's that time again, when the kids are all going back to school.  I don't remember what year this was.  I was inclined to say 3rd grade (1979) but it might be 4th grade (1980).

Sears had some girls clothes that are similar in theme in their Fall 1980 catalog.  I don't think my outfit was from Sears, but might have either been purchased for me by my grandmother, or my mom may have made it.  I don't remember if it was a dress or a pant suit:

"Budget Basics: Little Girls' Dresses," Sears catalog (Catalog Number : 261H), Fall 1980, page 15; digital image, Historic Catalogs of Sears, Roebuck and Co., 1896-1993, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : 19 Aug 2017).

"A Bevy of Beautiful Dresses," Sears catalog (Catalog Number : 261H), Fall 1980, page 16; digital image, Historic Catalogs of Sears, Roebuck and Co., 1896-1993, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : 19 Aug 2017).

© 2017 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

From the Probate Files: Susanah* Mrs. Johnson - Chowan County, North Carolina, 1718

We know almost nothing about this paternal eighth great grandmother** but when she made her will on August 13, 1717, she was living in Chowan Precinct in Albermarle County, North Carolina, and had survived her husband William by five years.

[A new & accurate map of the provinces of North & South Carolina, Georgia &c. Drawn from the late surveys and regulated by astronl. observatns. By Eman. Bowen. (London: Printed for William Innys, Richard Ware, Aaron Ward, J. and P. Knapton, John Clarke, T. Longman and T. Shewell, Thomas Osborne, Henry Whitridge ... M.DCC.XLVII). David Rumsey Historical Map Collection]

[Detail of above map showing the location of Chowan]

The first information we found about Susanah's will was through an abstract, but fortunately the North Carolina State Archives has an image of her will which I have transcribed below.

[Abstract of North Carolina Wills [1663-1760] [database on-line]. Ancestry.com]

[Johnson, Susanah, 1718. Office of Secretary of State: Call Number: SS 839 - SS 861

MARS Id: 12.96.13.48 (Folder). North Carolina State Archives]

In the name of God Amen

I Susanah Johnson of the precinct of Chowan In the Collony

of North Carolina Semtress: Being Infirm in body: Butt of

a perfect health of Mind and memory: Prayse be therefore given

to Almighty God - - - -

I do make and ordaine This my last Will and Testament, In

manor and form as followeth - - - -

First I commend my soule Into the hands of Almighty God -

hoping through the merritts and death and passion of my Saviour

Jesus Christ to have full and free pardon and forgiveness of all my

Sins: And to Inherit Everlasting life - - - -

And my body I committ to the Earth to be decently Interred

At the Descretion of my Executrix hereafter named - - - -

And as touching the Dispossall of all Such Temperiall Estates as

itt hath pleased Almightly God to bestow upon me I give and dispose

As followeth - - - -

First I will all my Just debts And funeral Charges be paid and disch-

arged -

Item   I give unto my son William Johnson one Shilling

Item   I give and bequeath unto my grandson Jacob parrott one two year

          heifer - - - -

Item   I give and bequeath unto my granddaughter Susanah parrott*** one two year

          old heifer and one small deale box

Item   I give and bequeath unto my granddaughter Elizabeth Parrott one two year

          old heifer and one popalar box

Item   I give and bequeath unto my beloved friend Mr John Hardy one gold

          ring of Twenty Shillings Value

Item   I give unto my godson Edward Frederick Rasor one two year old heifer

Item   I give and bequeath unto my Daughter Frances Rasor all this my

          my plantation where I now dwell containing Six hundred and forty acers

          unto her the said Frances Rasor And her disposall for Ever

Item   I give and bequeath unto my said daughter frances Rasor all my other

          Potales[?] both personall and reall

Item   I give and bequeath unto my son William Johnson one hundred acers of land

          upon the upper line of my said tract and plantation And two cows & calves

          and two sows and piggs and one deale chest This last Legacy to my son William

          is wholly depending In consideration of the said William coming with his

          wife and children and settling upon the said one hundred acers of land within one

          year after the proving this will, otherwise this Legacy is no ways Intended or given

Lastly  I appoint my beloved daughter Frances Rasor sole Executrix of this my last

             will and testament Utterly Revoking and disanolling all wills heretofore

             by me made. In witness hereof I have hereunto my hand and fixed ring

             seale this 13 of August Anno:Dom 1717

                                         Susanah Johnson

Signed and Sealed

In presence of -

Laurence Sarson

E_____ Z_____ Can?

Patrick Canadas

William Waters

It's clear than daughter Frances is Susanah's favorite; I wonder if William moved his family so he could claim his legacy?

Note: Deal is another name for pine wood; poplar is another kind of wood.

*Although some sources claim that her maiden name is Monteigne, I don't know where that comes from.
**The content of this post is "recycled" from one I wrote on October 15, 2015.

***Granddaughter Elizabeth Parrott, who was about 15 when Susanah died, married Lemuel "Lamb" Hardy, the grandson of "my beloved friend John Hardy" and their great great granddaughter Martha Heath Hardy married my great great grandfather Jesse Thomas Simeon Warren in Macon County, Alabama in 1849.

[Ancestry.com]

© 2017 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Cousin Jonathan Edward Tibbetts Spent Some Time in a Montana prison for Forgery

Jonathan E Tibbetts shares his paternal grandparents with me (my 5th great grandparents Benjamin Tibbetts and Hannah Snow) through Jonathan Snow Tibbetts (brother of my 4th great grandfather George Tibbetts, not shown).

My 1st cousin 5xs removed Jonathan Tibbetts (1856-1930) was quite difficult to track after he was last found as a clerk in Portand, Oregon in 1887.

Montana State Historical Society (Helena, MT), Prisoner Descriptions: Edward Tibbetts, 30 Apr 1910; digital image, Montana, Prison Records, 1861-1968 (http://www.ancestry.com : 17 Aug 2017).

Apparently he was quite busy (on the description above he was both a Civil Engineer and a Barber), and he also eventually ended up convicted for forgery in Great Falls, Cascade, Montana, and sentenced on April 28, 1910:

"...Held on a charge of forgery, Edward Tibbetts was arraigned before Judge Leslie yesterday afternoon, and entered a plea of not guilty.  He will be tried at the next term of the district court.  Tibbetts is alleged to have passed a bogus check for $40 on George Cor, a local saloon keeper on March 18, 1910.  The check was drawn on the First National bank and was signed "J. E. Hammond, secretary." When the check was presented for payment the bank turned it down and the matter was reported to the police.  Tibbetts was arrested on March 23, on Central avenue, by Chief of Police Pontet.

Pending his trial, Tibbetts is langusihing in the Cascade county jail."***

Definitely him--he has two sisters, Mrs. A. J. Knot and Elizabeth Hamblin (his older sisters Mary Eliza Tibbetts and Elizabeth Jane Tibbetts) in East Portland, which is where they lived.  I prefer more formal portraits, but any time I can catch a glimpse of an ancestor or kin I'll take it.  Montana State Historical Society (Helena, MT), Prisoner Descriptions: Edward Tibbetts, 30 Apr 1910; digital image, Montana, Prison Records, 1861-1968 (http://www.ancestry.com : 17 Aug 2017).

I find it interesting that he was using a name, "J. E. Hammond" which I will use to look up more records for him. After 1910 he was mentioned in a sister's will in 1915 as living in Los Angeles, and he died in Riverside County, California, in 1930, and I can't find any other records of him during that time [not him, see comment].

The Montana State Prison was designed by the architectural firm Link and Haire in the Romanesque style, and was built in Deer  Lodge, Montana in 1871.  From "A view of Tower 7 with Cellblock in the background of the Old Montana Prison," by Wikipedia user Tanankyo.

***"Alleged Burglar and Check Forger Are Arraigned Before Judge Leslie," Great Falls Tribune (Great Falls, MT), Saturday, 16 Apr 1910, p. 5, col 1; digital image, Newspapers.com (http://www.newspapers.com : 17 Aug 2017).



© 2017 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Limited Time Free Webinar: LaBrenda Garrett-Nelson presents "Analyzing Probate Records of Slaveholders to Identify Enslaved Ancestors"

My mom has done a lot of work on Mary Warren and her former owner, our 4th/5th grand uncle Jeremiah Warren, and his legal efforts to ensure she and a few of his other slaves had some protection and provision following his death.  This case came from the perspective of the slaveholder's side.  But what if you are researching in the other direction, such as tracing an enslaved ancestor's origins and background?

If you are willing to take the time to research and transcribe wills, estates, and other probate records you might be surprised at what you can unearth.

LaBrenda Garrett-Nelson shows how to begin this daunting process in "Analyzing Probate Records of Slaveholders to Identify Enslaved Ancestors":

This webinar will provide an overview of the probate process, the genealogical information that can be found in a slaveholding estate, and related records that a probate proceeding may point to.

Runs 1 hour 23 minutes.  Free for non-subscribers through August 22, 2017.

© 2017 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Book Shelf: "On Writing Well" by William Zinsser

My library copy of "On Writing Well" by William Zinsser.  I'm sure it's available at most public libraries, and is available at Amazon and other online bookstores.

Blaine Bettinger ("The Genetic Genealogist") recently mentioned that Tom Jones recommended "On Writing Well: The Classic Guide to Writing Nonfiction."  That is all the endorsement I need!  I am not happy with my current writing skill level so I hope reading this will help improve my blog postings.



© 2017 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Fantastic Find: Maps from "Territorial evolution of the United States" Wikipedia article by user:Golbez

I had ancestors in Indiana and the surrounding areas at this time.  "Map of the change to the United States in central North America on December 11, 1816," By Golbez - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=44551106

When I was viewing Amie Bowser Tennant's recent webinar, "Secrets and Clues Hidden in the 1790-1840 U.S. Censuses" (only available to suscribers of Legacy Family Tree Webinars), I was interested in the great maps she included of what states were part of the census at any given time.  Thankfully Tennant provided a citation to the sources, and one I didn't recognize was from a user at Wikicommons with the username Golbez.  On further inspection I see that he has provided an huge number of customized maps in the history of the expansion of the United States in a Wikipedia article "Territorial evolution of the United States".

This is a nice set of maps pertaining to the territorial evolution of the United States.  If you have any amount of American history in your genealogy you might appreciate the visualizations.



© 2017 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Sunday Drive: "We Drivers" 1936

In 1934 the first driver's education classes were taught in American schools. This film was originally distributed by the General Motors Film Library and includes cartoon segments by by Max Fleischer (of Popeye and Betty Boop fame).

I found it on YouTube--there's a guy named Jeff Quitney has been adding documentary and training videos to his site since 2009.


© 2017 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Some Notes on Samuel Patterson in Pleasant Township, Fairfield County, Ohio in the 1820 Census

Easter Rittcher (Esther Patterson Rittgers), born about 1803 in Maryland.  She and her husband had moved the family to Hocking County, which neighbors Fairfield. 1850 U.S. census, Hocking County, Ohio, population schedule, Marion township, p. 428 (stamped), dwelling 213, family 219, Jacob Rittcher; digital image, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com: accessed 12 Aug 2017); citing NARA microfilm publication M432, roll 695.  

My 3rd great grandmother, Easter or Esther Patterson (1802-1856) married Jacob "Jake" Rittgers (1800-1879) in Fairfield County, Ohio on December 16, 1822.  Their daughter Esther (Rittgers) Nosler (1844-1887) was my great grandmother Minnie Nosler's mother.

The Rittgers have a ton of descendants, including the children of this couple, and large amount of work from others, notably Joyce Rorabaugh in "Those Roving Rittgers" but I have yet to figure out anything definite about Esther Patterson's parents and origins.  In her one named appearance on the census she was listed as born in Maryland.

Her various children listed her as from Ohio, Virginia, Scotland, or Ireland, but never Maryland.  I suspect from this that her parents likely came from the British Isles in the late 1700's (maybe earlier).

One clue I have pursued to a limited degree is the presence of a Samuel Patterson in Pleasant Township, Fairfield, Ohio in the 1820 Census.

Samuel Patterson in the 1820 Census in Pleasant Township, Fairfield, Ohio. 1820 U.S. census, Fairfield County, Ohio, population schedule, Pleasant Township, p. 90 (stamped), Samuel Patterson; digital image, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 12 August 2017); citing National Archives microfilm publication M33, roll 87. 

He is gone by the 1830 Census, and Jacob Rittgers (and presumably Esther Patterson) are living in the same township.

A little hard to read, but it is Jacob Rittgert or Rittgers.  Note there are different neighbors than Samuel Patterson had, but it is in the same township.  1830 U.S. census, Fairfield County, Ohio, Pleasant Township, p. 249 (stamped), line 5, Jacob Rittgers; digital image, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 12 Aug 2017); citing National Archives microfilm publication M19, roll 130.  

What happened to Samuel Patterson, and where did he go?  And who the heck was he?

Inspired by the National Genealogical Society (NGS) Magazine, July-September 2015 (Volume 41, No 3, pp 50-56) article, "Which way did the census taker walk or ride his horse?" I have begun correlating the names on the 1820 Census with the BLM data as presented in HistoryGeo, and have narrowed down where Samuel Patterson likely was.

I first tried to get a list of transcribed names from Ancestry, restricting the search to people in "Pleasant, Fairfield, Ohio" in the 1820 Census, but there was no elegant way to print the results.  Fortunately they aren't the only game in town:

Thanks to the Ohio Genealogical Society, Fairfield Chapter, the 1820 Federal Census for Pleasant Township, Fairfield County, Ohio has been transcribed (and some blessed soul even numbered them).  Ignore my scribbles.

Using the numbers in the name transcriptions, I tried to figure out where Samuel Patterson's neighbors were (so perhaps where he was) in 1820.  I used the HistoryGeo site, although you could also use BLM if you don't have a subscription.  From the list and the map I would guesstimate that Samuel was somewhere in the axis of 985/982/994, possibly bordered by the modern roads of Lancaster Thornville Rd NE, Rainbow Dr NE, and Mud House Rd NE.

I need to do the same thing with the 1830 Census to determine if Jacob Rittgers was living near where his (possible) father-in-law was, or maybe it was a different part of the township.


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