Mullin' Marrow & Ponderin' Pith

What Are YOU Going to Do in October?

9/25/2018

Image courtesy nickgesell via Pixabay

Simple resolution 160 was introduced in the US Senate by Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), on 12 September 2001 and passed on 26 September 2001.

It’s significance?

It designated the month of October 2001 as “Family History Month.”[1]

While the resolution did not designate the month of October Family History Month in perpetuity, its devotees continue to commemorate it as such, celebrating heritage in a variety of ways.

Below are 20 ideas, be ye beginner or seasoned researcher, to help you get involved.

1. Go to Grandma’s ATTIC and see what treasures abound—ask her first and have her give you the skinny about the loot you find....

Image courtesy wallner via Pixabay

2. Pursue BOARD CERTIFICATION—get those credentials!

3. Visit a family CEMETERY and collect vital information from the gravestones.

4. Take a DNA test. And make yourself accessible!

5. Research goal: determine from whence your first generation U.S. ancestor EMIGRATED.

6. Begin writing your FAMILY HISTORY.

7. Use a GAZETEER (or two or three...) to trace your family’s migration.

Image courtesy Wikimedia Commons

8. Consult HISTORY books to learn more about the areas where your ancestors lived.

9. Research goal: determine your first generation U.S. ancestor’s port of IMMIGRATION.

10. Attend a LOCAL GENEALOGY SOCIETY meeting to learn more.

11. Look for MANUMISSION PAPERS in the court houses of the counties where your ancestors lived.

12. Delve into NATURALIZATION RECORDS for more information about your first generation U.S. ancestor.

13. Record the ORAL HISTORY of your oldest living relative and, with their permission, donate a copy to a local archive.

Image courtesy satermedia via Pixabay

14. Fill out your PEDIGREE CHART.

15. Confer with a professional RESEARCHER when you need help.

16. SCRAPBOOK those old photographs in that shoe box; please try to use acid-free, archival quality papers.

Image courtesy kaboompics via Pixabay

17. Utilize TAX RECORDS to find that elusive ancestor between censuses.

18. Research goal: focus on one UNKNOWN during October 2018 and turn it into a known.

19. Research goal: see how many copies of or actual VITAL RECORDS as you can obtain during October 2018.

20. Start a family WEBSITE.

Image courtesy monicore via Pixabay

Let me know what you find and please share your ideas!

Happy Family History Month!

Image courtesy Pixabay

[1] “S.Res. 160 — 107th Congress: A resolution designating the month of October 2001, as “Family History Month”.” www.GovTrack.us. 2001. September 23, 2018

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Why "THEY" Aren't on There!

9/18/2018

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“Oh Honey, this is simply beautiful!” my 85-year-old mother exclaimed.

She was commenting on my latest labor of genealogical love: a five-generation harlequin pedigree chart of my ancestors along with my husband’s.

Available for purchase at Fun Stuff for Genealogists.com

It took several weeks to complete: finding the font I wouldn’t mind looking at until the Second Coming, acquiring truly clear glue dots, checking and double-checking spellings and dates, making each generation was the correct size to fit into the corresponding box, printing it all out on vellum without smudging it, and don’t forget the cutting.

LOTS of cutting. Yes, our wedding information is in the heart....

My daughter came by to visit on Sunday while I was away. They looked at the pedigree and my daughter commented on what a good job I had done.

“She agreed with me that is was simply beautiful,” the Senior Citizen reported. “But we have one question.”

“What’s that?” I asked, wincing mentally.

“We want to know why you didn’t put Michael’s sister on there. Did you forget her? And where are your brother and sister on there? And why aren’t your kids on there?”

It became crystal clear that all this had probably been stickin’ in her craw since she first saw it but she didn’t say anything. Until she found a questioner in crime....

“Well, that’s actually three questions, but the answer’s the same: it’s a pedigree chart—my and Michael’s ancestors are the ones who go on there. Not our siblings or our kids. Family group sheets show kids and, therefore, siblings.”

This free form and others available at Ancestry.com

“But why isn’t Mike’s sister...mmmm....”

“Liz?”

“Yes, Liz! Why isn’t she on there?” Then, lower, “Is he upset because you didn’t put her on there?”

“What? No! He knows she doesn’t go on there!”

“Well, why doesn’t she go on there? Sharon’s her mom too!”

“I know Sharon is her mom. But Liz is a sibling, a collateral relative, not a direct line descendant in this chart. Siblings go on family group sheets.”

“Huh.” Clearly unconvinced.

“Think about like this: Where would I have put her? Where would I have put Steve and Tanya (my brother and sister)? Where would I have put YOUR seven brothers and sisters at the next level? The chart would have had to have been about eleventy feet tall to fit all those people in and it would be very confusing.”

“Ohhh. I guess that could be true. It would be a lot of people.”

Next labor of love: eleventy family group sheets!

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SO Much More....

9/11/2018

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To some, genealogy is nothing more than a bunch of names and a bunch of dates with some places thrown in.

To the rest of us, it is so much more.

A name gives identity and a date places a person at a point along history’s timeline. That point can give us insight into a person’s life or the lives of those around them.

Where was I on 14 June 2008? In Lexington, Kentucky—it was my wedding day, a second chance for happiness.

So much more.

A recent appearance on The Travel Channel’s Dead Files as the local genealogist soundly reinforced this, albeit on a much sadder note.

I was interviewed regarding a tragedy that occurred in Clark County, Kentucky on 30 July 1892. On that day six children drowned. Four Farney brothers and two Brock brothers.

The names, Farney and Brock are not unusual. The date by itself is also unremarkable. However, the date in conjunction with the names, and the location of Clark County, Kentucky gives us the “so much more.”

One family buried two children at the same time; the other buried four.

So much more.

Image courtesy: The Evening Bulletin, Maysville, KY, 1 August 1892. p. 1., col. 4. Via GenealogyBank.com

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Marriage Records: Part 3 of 3

9/4/2018

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The preceding two weeks’ blogposts, Marriage Records Part 1 and Marriage Records Part 2, examined documents that imply intent to marry. This week’s post will wrap up the marriage records series by taking a look at records that help prove a marriage actually took place.

Previously we looked at banns, bonds, consents, licenses and applications and their respective roles leading up to a marriage. Today, we’ll explore returns, registers and certificates.

Marriage returns were typically completed by ministers who united the couple “in holy matrimony.” The couple had to provide the officiant with their license or, in earlier times the bond or consent before the preacher could “legally” perform the ceremony. Not that people didn’t “jump over the broom” or “stomp the glass” without state consent. It’s just that if they did, it’s less likely there will be an official record of the union. Sometimes the returns are a part of the license, sometimes they are loose papers.

Image courtesy Kentucky Department for Libraries and Archives

Image courtesy "Missouri Marriage Records, 1805 - 2002" via Ancestry.com

Image courtesy Kentucky Department for Libraries and Archives

Regardless of form, if a return was filled out, a marriage took place.

Once the town or county clerk received the return, he could then register the marriage. Marriage registers exist in various forms, depending upon the locale. Sometimes they are books, not unlike will or deed books. These books can hold a genealogical treasure trove of information such as:

date and place of marriage
full name of each party
age and marital condition, i.e. widowed, etc.
place of their birth
place of their residence
names of their parents
occupation of the husband
name of the officiant
remarks

Image courtesy Kentucky Department for Libraries and Archives

Image courtesy West Virginia Department of Arts, Culture and History

Other times, registers are a separate part of the license or the bond which had to be filled out by the officiant and returned to the county clerk. Or, if the clerk performed the service, he filled out the register.

Image courtesy County Clerk's Office, Monroe County, West Virginia

If the register was filled out, a marriage took place.

Marriage certificates were usually issued by whatever entity recorded the marriage to the newly married couple. At times quite ornate, certificates can be found in marriage registers or in personal effects, such as a family bible or trunk of important papers.

Image courtesy Deseronto Archives via flickr

If a certificate was issued, a marriage took place.

To recap this series: banns, bonds, consents, licenses and applications imply a marriage took place while returns, registers and certificates prove a marriage took place.

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