Sunday Drive: Slater-Currey/????

So many questions! Other than recognizing myself as the little girl sitting in someone else's red pedal car, nothing in this undated photo looks familiar. It definitely wasn't taken at our house in Encanto but since I'm wearing a fancy smocked dress that wouldn't have been taken on a camping trip I assume the location wasn't far from home.

[From my personal collection]

Perhaps as I (slowly) continue to scan the family Kodachrome collection I'll find other slides that will give me a clue.


© 2016 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Fantastic Find: FamilySearch article "United States Newspapers"

I've been asked how I find so many articles in newspaper databases.  Most of it entails having plenty of practice learning all the vagaries  of any given database.  Though most of my searches come up without meaningful results, I find the process fascinating, so I just keep trying.  Okay, I'm a bit obsessive.

The FamilySearch article, "United States Newspapers," has a great section, "Identifying and finding newspapers in an area," that can really help you know what might actually exist.

In particular, they mention the Chronicling America project, which I use a lot:

1690-present: The Library of Congress' Website Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers contains information about America's newspapers from 1690 to the present, including the locality each paper covered, its title, publication years, and current locations in various repositories. The database is searchable by place or title. After using this source to identify newspapers in your ancestor's locality, we recommend you use both this site's listing of repositories as well as OCLC/WorldCat to find repositories in your area that have the newspapers in question. Chronicling America also contains a growing collection of digitized newspapers published between 1836 and 1922, and is planned to become a comprehensive source for digitized U.S. newspapers from that time period.

For example, my 3rd great grandfather, John Nosler (1800-1864) in Winterset, Madison County, Iowa.  In his estate file I found the following newspaper clipping:

A lot of interesting stuff on this page.
Madison Co., Iowa, probate case files, John Nosler (1864), confirmation by E. W. Fuller for publishing notice, 5 February 1866; digital image, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : 6 Feb 2016). 

I went to the Chronicling America to see if I could find out where and IF this particular issue of the Winterset Madisonian was available so I could see the "Original Notice" in its original context.

There are two options at Chronicling America that I use most often to see what might actually be available; "All Digitized Newspapers, 1836-1922," and the "US Newspaper Directory, 1690-Present."  The latter directory contains all known newspapers to the LOC, and may or may not be digitized (most haven't been yet).

As of this posting, there are 153, 642 titles listed in the directory.

I selected Iowa and the county Madison to search:

The first page of results of all newspapers (digitized or no) known to the LOC, from Madison County, Iowa, where my Noslers were for a while.

I didn't find any place that has the 1865-1866 run of the Winterset Madison that I was searching for (darn it!).  However, I chose the Winterset Madisonian 1874-1880 on the second page to see what libraries/archives have this run of the newspaper, just for an example.  Here is part of the results, showing how sporadic holdings can be (sometimes a library/archive only has 1 issue), but also leads where individual issues might possibly be, even if not online.

NOTE: I did a blog post last August about Data Visualization: Journalism's Voyage West, which uses Chronicling America's records to give a visual representation of where newspapers were from the Colonial American era to modern America.




© 2016 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Family Friday: Currey/Conner

This group posing in the garden on a sunny day in the summer of 1954 includes (left to right) Eben Conner (1901-1960), his step-mother Florence Hilda Peterson (1879-1968), his wife Ada Winifred Couzens (1904-1971) and the sanding man on the right is his father Calvin Marion Conner (1875-1958). Seven-year-old me at the center of the photo in front of Bernice Evangeline Grenfell (1902-1980) and on my left is Harold Delbert Currey (1902-1981)--the parents who raised me.

Every summer that we went to Oregon we always visited the Conners who were supposed to have some family connection to the Curreys but it was never explained to me and I haven't been able to verify the story but Dad's photo album from the 1910s has photos of various Conners.

[From my personal collection]

Looking at this picture now, I can see that we Southern Californians were dressed in brighter colors than the Oregon residents. Mother, whose hair is obviously recovering from a home perm, is wearing a mustard-colored dress that she had sewn using a narrow-wale corduroy and adding Navajo silver buttons bought on our trip to South Dakota the year before. I'm pretty sure she's pinned this Mexican silver broach to her collar; it was a favorite of hers.

[From my personal collection]

© 2016 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Legacy Family Tree Webinars: Devin Ashby's "Family History for Kids"

Are your children fascinated by genealogy?

Tonight I watched to watch Devin Ashby's free video presentation "Family History for Kids (2014)."  I haven't been able to get my son  interested in his genealogy, and maybe I never will, but there are some ideas here I might try.




© 2016 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

What Is the "U.S., Definitive List of Slaves and Property, 1827-1828" Database Just Released on Ancestry?

I just noticed that Ancestry released a new database originating from the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), "U.S., Definitive List of Slaves and Property, 1827-1828".





It took me a while to actually figure out what this database was covering.  I had to start by looking up what "indemnify" meant.  According to Merriam-Webster:

indemnify
1  to secure against hurt, loss, or damage2  to make compensation to for incurred hurt, loss, or damage 

indemnification
a) the action of indemnifyingb) the condition of being indemnified

So what prompted this collection of data in the first place?

According to the NARA catalog entry:

DUring the War of 1812, the British took possession of a large amount of American property, including slaves, some of whom were voluntary fugitives, while others were taken in predatory excursions. Article I of the Treaty of Ghent, signed on December 24, 1814, contained provisions for restoration of "all territory, places, and possessions" taken by either party during the war. A dispute, however, arose between American and British officials about interpretation of this provision as it affected slaves. The dispute was referred, by article V of the convention signed on October 20, 1818, to the Emperior [sic] of Russia for arbitration. The Emperor's decision, APril 22, 1822, favored the United States. Having settled this point, a convention was signed on June 30, 1822, by the United States and Great Britain providing for a commission of two members from each country, a commissioner, and an arbitrator who would determine the average value of slaves and the validity of property claims. Langdon Cheves and Henry Seawell were appointed U.S. commissioner and arbitrator, respectively. 

Although the commssion [sic], which met in Washington, August 25, 1823, agreed on some points, it soon ran into insurmountable difficulties. On November 13, 1826, a new convention was signed in which Great Britain agreed to pay $1,204,960 in satisfaction of all claims under award of the Emperior [sic] of Russia. 

An act of March 2, 1827 (4 Stat. 219), provided for establishment of a domestic claims commission to examine and determine the validity and amount of award, if any, claimants should receive. Langdon Cheves, Henry Seawell, and James Pleasants were appointed commssioners [sic]. Aaron Ogden served as clerk. The commission met in Washington on July 10, 1827. A total of 1,060 claims were decided before it adjourned on August 31, 1828.

So which states exactly were covered?

Virginia, Georgia, Maryland, and Louisiana had the most slave claims, followed by Mississippi, Alabama, South Carolina, District of Columbia, and Delaware.  Image 2 from U.S., Definitive List of Slaves and Property, 1827-1828:  Definitive List of Slaves and Property on Ancestry.

An example of the list, with the slave owners, the enslaved that the British allegedly carried off, the enslaved's value, and a note of the proof:

Image 7 from U.S., Definitive List of Slaves and Property, 1827-1828:  Definitive List of Slaves and Property on Ancestry.

I'm not sure how, or even if, I can apply this dataset in my own research, but regardless this looks like an interesting new release.


ETA:  Maya Davis (Research Archivist, Maryland State Archives) and her colleagues used the the data for case studies on the fate of some of these slaves.  Blog post about her presentation here.








© 2016 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Why Is Someone Who Died in 1841 in the 1850 Census?

This guy died in 1841, so why is he in the 1850 Federal Census??
detail from Find A Grave, database and images (http://findagrave.com : accessed 2 Feb 2016), memorial page for Isaac Webb (1806-1841), Find A Grave Memorial no. 114,326,358, citing Mount Nebo Cemetery, Milford, Butler County, Pensylvania.  
Image added by Kurt Albert.

One of the benefits of having distant cousins and a public tree on Ancestry is that you can get feedback on whatever research you have.  I had this experience a few days ago.

The cousin who contacted me shares my Webb ancestors from Pennsylvania.  Both of us have had a devil of a time with this line.  My ancestor Abner Webb (1834-abt 1861) was the son of Isaac Webb (b 1806), and grandson to the elder Isaac Webb (b abt 1760), but I didn't have definite dates pinned down for either Isaac Webb.
I had recently found an estate file for an Isaac Webb who died about 1842 in Butler County, Pennsylvania (where Isaac Webb Jr had lived in 1840), and assumed it was the elder Isaac Webb, for a reason I'll explain in a minute.

My Webb line is through Alta Slater Norville, my maternal grandmother.

My cousin pointed out that it had to be the younger Isaac Webb who died in Butler county, and sent me links to the orphan's court papers (via FamilySearch) from 1848, clearly showing my Abner Webb and his siblings, Jesse and Elizabeth Jane, and their mother petitioning for a guardian for them because her husband Isaac Webb had died.

Both images from the same page.  Jane Webb petitioned for her children to be appointed a guardian, and the court appointed William C Martin (he is mentioned with his father, Robert Martin, in this county history).
Butler County, Pennsylvania, Orphan's Court Dockets, Volume 2: 470, Jane Webb's petition for guardian for Abner, Jesse, and Elizabeth Jane Webb, estate of Isaac Webb, 27 March 1848; digital images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-1961-28783-14234-93?cc=1999196 : accessed 2 February 2016), image 251.

What?????

I have no problem correcting whatever mistakes I've made on my tree, and these sources are a gold standard as far as proving parentage.  The record clearly shows that Jane Webb was the widow of the late Isaac Webb of Franklin County, Butler, Pennsylvania, and that the children were his.  That was where Issac Webb was in 1840, so it all makes sense.  This was some awesome evidence!  My cousin also provided me with a death date for the elder Isaac Webb in 1844.  Now I had more concrete dates and places for them.

But I had one little problem...

The last federal census I found with Isaac Webb (b 1806) was in 1850!

Isaac had died 9 years earlier!

Here he is listed, in McKeesport, Allegheny, Pennsylvania, with Jane (Sill) Webb, and Abner, Jesse, and Elizabeth, all the right ages.  Both Isaac and son Abner are listed as laborers.  Maybe an overly talkative informant overwhelmed the census taker who put down the same profession for both, not quite understanding the father was long gone?
1850 U.S. census, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, population schedule, p. 238A (stamped), dwelling 185, family 185, Isaac Webb; digital image, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com: accessed 2 Feb 2016); citing NARA microfilm publication M432, roll 432.

After discussing this discrepancy with my cousin and with some of the helpful folks over at Ancestry's Member-to-Member Support Community, I have decided that this is most likely a result of a misunderstanding between the census taker and whoever was the informant for the family. I have no other explanation.

This was a heavy reminder to not put too much stock in what a single census says, that's for sure!




© 2016 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Monday Is for Mothers: Timney P. Watts (1803 - 1863)

Finding information about this paternal great great great grandmother remains a challenge although at least one of our questions was answered by an obituary printed in the October 22, 1863 edition of this newspaper.

[Southern Christian Advocate Masthead from University of Florida Digital Collections]

Through an Ancestry.com hint I discovered that Wofford College maintains an obituary index from Southern Christian Advocate and that there was one for Timney. So of course I sent off an email request for it.*

Two weeks later it arrived and here's what it says:

   "Mrs Timney P. Phillips, was born in Morgan co., Ga.
December 14th, 1803: was first married to Mr. Warren, of
Hancock co., Ga. and, after his decease, to Mr. John Phil-
lips, now dec'd. and moved to Macon co., Ala., where she
died of bilious fever September 21, 1863.
   She embraced religion in early life and joined the M. E.
Church and lived an upright, Christian life. Her house was
an asylum for the orphan, several of whom, for years she
fed, and, to a great extent, clothed; among them, a poor
deaf and dumb child. To her the poor often resorted for
the favors and comforts of life, and none were ever turned
away empty. She was a very affectionate mother, and
one of the best of step-mothers, an indulgent mistress and
an excellent neighbor. From the commencement of her
illness, she seemed conscious of her approaching dissolu-
tion, and often spoke of it with composure, expressing her-
self as willing "to depart and be with Christ," after admon-
ishing those who came to see her as well as those around
her, to prepare for death and the judgment."

As to what the "bilious fever" that caused her death was, an internet search brought up many definitions, my favorite of which is this one from Sickness and Death in the Old South, a special project at Tennessee's TNGenWeb.

"An excessive amount of bile in the system with a fever. Typhoid
was occasionally called "bilious fever" in eighteenth century
Europe, and yellow fever was called "autumnal bilious fever" in
1668 New York. 

Also see as bilious pneumonia; bilious remittent fever; bilious
typhoid fever; occasionally seen misspelled as billows fever;
bellows fever."

From the mention of her kindness to orphans, I think that explains the presence of Miss Molly Morgan (15) and Franklin T. Morgan (8) who were living with Timney and her youngest son in the 1860 U.S. Census. I've not been able to locate either of them in subsequent census enumerations so we don't know if one of them was the "poor deaf and dumb child" she sheltered.

[Ancestry.com. 1860 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2009. Images reproduced by FamilySearch. Original data: 1860 U.S. census, population schedule. NARA microfilm publication M653, 1,438 rolls. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.]

Her motherly qualities would have been shown not only to her only child by her first husband** but to the seven children she had with John Phillips as well as his three children by his first wife.

There would have been plenty of scope for her indulgence toward her household's enslaved members as we can see from the inventory of John P. Phillips estate in 1852, two of whom are listed in her own probate records.

[Notes : Estate Papers, Phillips, Nancy (Minor) to Piques, Sarah. Ancestry.com. Alabama, Wills and Probate Records, 1753-1999 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2015. Original data: Alabama County, District and Probate Courts.]

*Note from Wofford's site: "Thanks to our listing in the Ancestry.com index, we're experiencing delays in responding to requests. While we do not charge for limited requests, researchers who ask for more than a few obituary copies may be assessed a fee."
**J.T.S. Warren, my great great grandfather.

© 2016 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.