NEWSLETTER__________Volume 24___ Issue 3__________March 2008

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MEETINGS
Held 3rd Wednesday
7:00 pm – YL Community Ctr. 

PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE

 

           

GSNOCC MEETING – NO MEETING!

There’s no meeting in March, since we had our Seminar!  Read on for details!

Plan to attend the April 16 meeting –
Jody Horton will discuss how to research at
Cal State - Fullerton

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Audrey Coming update...GSNOCC member

Audrey is currently battling an infection with only one antibiotic to take for it, having beaten the staph infection that she had. Her daughter is looking to transfer her Mom to a nursing home, but she has to be completely off a respirator before she can be moved.  The good news is that she’s been able to go as long as 5 hours without it!  
Thanks to Judy Broberg for keeping us up-to-date on Audrey!  This latest info is from 3/9.

Flash: We’ve just learned that Emma Lee Price fell and broke her hip.  

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FINDING  KIN IN COURT  RECORDS   SEMINAR –

Saturday, March 8 saw over 55 individuals enjoying the hospitality of GSNOCC and the Brea United Methodist Church at the annual
Spring Seminar.  The day was sunny, warm and bright.  The three speakers—Cheryl Cook-Singleton, Penny Feike and Don Ray covered much information about court records, what they are, where to find them and how to research. 

Thirty-seven people went home with door prizes.  Eight baskets with Happy Face buckets to “catch” opportunity drawing tickets were quite popular with the crowd.  The Tall Mouse donated a Silent Auction basket and Beth Hillger donated the gift of a family portrait for the winning Silent Auction person. 

Lunch was catered by Desk Top Gourmet again and most had the opportunity of eating al fresco.  Our attendees went home with stomach full of food and heads full of court information.  Seats in the church were quite comfortable for long-term sitting.  We thank the Brea United Methodist Church for allowing us to use their facilities. We had lots of  “S’Mores!  (Just like Girl Scouts!!)  
More information given.
More food eaten.
More chances to win prizes.
More friends made.
More happy genealogists can do...
More research.

There was a navy blue fleece jacket left at the church - if you are missing your jacket, call Ruth.

Ruth Govorchin, Seminar Chairman

 CALENDAR ITEMS...

March 26 – GSNOCC Field Trip
to Georgina Cole Library in Carlsbad.    We will carpool.

March 29 – North San Diego Gen. Society Spring Seminar with Christine Rose, “Finding Ancestors
with GPS: Genealogical Problem Solving.”  Carlsbad Senior Center, 9-4 pm.

April 9 – Lake Elsinore Gen. Society will have Candy Petersen discussing “Pioneer Minnesota Life” the story of her great-great-grandparents about their pioneer settlement in Indian Territory at Mankato, and later to Garden City,  MN in 1854. Meeting will be 1:00 p.m. at Mission Trail Community Library, Wildomar.

June 27-29 – SCGS JAMBOREE !!!  Plan now to attend this event, now in its 39th year!
Trip to Carlsbad Library Planned- Join Us!!

We will be driving to Carlsbad on March 26th to spend the day in the Genealogy Section of The Georgina Cole Genealogy Library. We will carpool from Yorba Linda.  If you want to be included, please contact our GSNOCC Education Chairman, Norma Keating, to sign up. The genealogy section has special librarians dedicated to helping researchers use the collection to the fullest, so we will have a warm welcome there.

Georgina Cole Library has one of the largest family history collections in Southern California in the form of books, journals, film, fiche, CDs and many online databases. With an emphasis on the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries in the United States, Cole has acquired a large number of U.S. City Directories through 1881, county histories and atlases and census records.

Special Collections available at Cole include: Alabama Records; Barbour Collection of Connecticut Records; Colonial and States records of North Carolina; Corbin Manuscript Collection (western MA); Draper Manuscript Collection; Hale Collection of Connecticut Vital Records; Hollingsworth Genealogical Card File; New Jersey Archives; New York Archives; Pennsylvania Archives; Province & Court Records of Maine; Public Records of the Colony of Connecticut; Texas First Families; Turner Genealogical Collection (DE/ MD/ VA on 647 fiche!); Vosburgh New York Church records.

Impressive- right?  There’s more! Online databases available at the library don’t quit: Ancestry Library Edition; Biography & Genealogy Master Index; Biography Resource Center; Footnote.com; Heritage Quest; NEHGS; ProQuest Newspapers; TitleSource3; ReferenceUSA; InfoTrac General Reference Center Gold; Access Newspaper ARCHIVE.

We suggest anyone contemplating a trip to Cole should access their website and card catalog beforehand to identify materials you want to search. The library has special “User Guides” to sources in the collection. These User Guides are available to read and download on the library’s website. The list of city directories is also on the website at http://www.carlsbadca.gov/library  You can also find the site through Google by typing “Georgina Cole Library.”

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MEMBERSHIP

Please remember to pick up your annual membership cards at the next meeting.  They will be with your nametag on the front table.  And a friendly reminder, we would like you to leave the nametags with us at the end of the meeting and they will be available again at the following meeting.  Please let us know if yours is missing, or look around the house!  We look forward to seeing you in April.

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BOY SCOUT PROJECT...

Plans are taking shape for a Genealogy Merit Badge workshop to be given later this year for Boy Scout Troop 93 in Fullerton.

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Using Census Records Effectively As a Genealogical Resource  - # 2
by Norma Storrs Keating

Not all census records were created equal! The Federal Census Records have evolved over time.  When searching the records it is a very good idea to know what questions were asked for each census year. A very good resource for this information is a publication called “Measuring America: The Decennial Censuses From 1790 to 2000” by the Bureau of the Census. It can be purchased from the Bureau of the Census or read online at the census website http://www.census.gov/prod/2002pubs/pol03marv-pt1.pdf   This publication provides copies of the census questionnaires, special schedules, and instructions to the census takers from 1790 through 2000 (yes, they did have instructions!) A short history of each census is also discussed. 

The early census acts dictated what questions were to be asked but the U.S. government did not provide uniform printed forms until 1830. In 1790 the marshals used whatever form they found convenient. Between 1800 and 1820 the individual States provided forms of varying size and type font.

In the first six censuses, 1790-1840, only the name of the head of the household was recorded, along with a varying amount of information about males and females residing in the house. As each year progressed more questions were added. Some of these questions may surprise you- have you really looked at all the answers? Or did you merely look at the head of household and numbers of people in them? These censuses are primarily useful to a genealogist for locating the residence of a family. But what if you have a Revolutionary War veteran or alien immigrant – can these censuses be useful to you?  Read on to find out. Also, using advanced research techniques it is possible to identify individuals in a household (more on that later.)

1790:  Very basic information was asked in this first census (six questions).
name of head of the household
# of free white males age 0-16 years
# of free white males over 16 years
# of free white females
# of all other free persons
# of slaves

1800 and 1810: While still asking basic questions, these censuses did begin to delineate the ages of free white people in a household more clearly (13 questions).
name of head of the household
# of free white males age 0-9 years
# of free white males age 10-15 years
# of free white males age 16-25 years
# of free white males age 26-44 years
# of free white males age 45 years and older
# of free white females age 0-9 years
# of free white females age 10-15 years
# of free white females age 16-25 years
# of free white females age 26-44 years
# of free white females age 45 years and older
# of all other free persons except Indians not taxed
# of slaves

1820: The government now added questions to learn more about the slave population, free colored persons, occupations and citizenship. Remember, this census was taken after the War of 1812.  If you suspect an immigrant in your family this census might help. Information about occupations can assist in learning more about early ancestor’s daily lives. (33 questions).
name of head of the household
# of free white males age 0-9 years
# of free white males age 10-15 years
# of free white males age 16-17 years
# of free white males age 18-25 years
# of free white males age 26-44 years
# of free white males age 45 years and older
# of free white females age 0-9 years
# of free white females age 10-15 years
# of free white females age 16-17 years
# of free white females age 18-44 years
# of free white females age 45 years and older
  # of persons foreign not naturalized
# of persons in agriculture
# of persons in commerce
# of persons in manufacturing
# of male slaves age 0-13 years
# of male slaves age 14-25 years
# of male slaves age 26-44 years
# of male slaves age 45 years and older
# of female slaves age 0-13 years
# of female slaves age14-25 years
# of female slaves age 26-44 years
# of female slaves age 45 years and older
# of free colored males age 0-13 years
# of free colored males 14-25 years
# of free colored males 26-44 years
# of free colored males 45 years and older
# of free colored females 0-13 years
# of free colored females 14-25 years
# of free colored females 26-44 years
# of free colored females 45 years and older
# of all other persons except Indians not taxed
1830: This census added more specific age questions and health information questions.  (60 questions)
name of head of household
# of free white males in age groups as follows:

(0-4 years), (5-9 years), (10-14 years), (15- 19 years), (20-29 years), (30-39 years), (40-49 years), (50-59 years), (60-69 years), (70-79 years), (80-89 years), (90-99 years), (100 years and older)

  # of free white females in age groups as           follows:

(0-4 years), (5-9 years), (10-14 years), (15- 19 years), (20-29 years), (30-39 years), (40-49 years), (50-59 years), (60-69 years), (70-79 years), (80-89 years), (90-99 years), (100 years and older)

  # of male slaves in age groups as follows:

(0-9 years), (10-23 years), (24-35 years), (35-54 years), (55-99 years), (100 years and older)

 
# of female slaves in age groups as follows:

(0-9 years), (10-23 years), (24-35 years), (35-54 years), (55-99 years), (100 years and older)

  # of free colored males in age groups as follows:

(0-9 years), (10-23 years), (24-35 years), (35-54 years), (55-99 years), (100 years and older)

  # of free colored females in age groups as follows:

(0-9 years), (10-23 years), (24-35 years), (35-54 years), (55-99 years), (100 years and older)

Total number of persons
Number of white persons who are:
deaf & dumb age 0-13 years
deaf & dumb age 14-24 years
deaf & dumb age 25 years and older
blind
aliens
Number of Slaves and Colored who are:
deaf & dumb
blind and aliens

1840: The name and age questions remained the same in this census. However, more specific questions regarding occupations were added this time. Also new was the request for the name and age of Revolutionary War Pensioners.  In addition, the government was interested in the schools of the country and asked questions about them. Some of these are similar to those asked on the famed 1900 census! (79 questions)
Name of head of household
# of free white males in age groups as follows:

(0-4 years), (5-9 years), (10-14 years), (15-19 years), (20-29 years), (30-39 years), (40-49 years), (50-59 years), (60-69 years), (70-79 years), (80-89 years), (90-99 years), (100 years and older)

  # of free white females in age groups as follows:

(0-4 years), (5-9 years), (10-14 years), (15-19 years), (20-29 years), (30-39 years), (40-49 years), (50-59 years), (60-69 years), (70-79 years), (80-89 years), (90-99 years), (100 years and older)

  # of male slaves in age groups as follows:

(0-9 years), (10-23 years), (24-35 years), (35-54 years), (55-99 years), (100 years and older)

  # of female slaves in age groups as follows:

(0-9 years), (10-23 years), (24-35 years), (35-54 years), (55-99 years), (100 years and older)

  # of free colored males in age groups as follows:

(0-9 years), (10-23 years), (24-35 years), (35-54 years), (55-99 years), (100 years and older)

  # of free colored females in age groups as follows:

(0-9 years), (10-23 years), (24-35 years), (35-54 years), (55-99 years), (100 years and older)

Total number of persons

Number of persons employed in:
mining, agriculture, commerce,  manufacturing and trade, navigation-oceans, navigation-rivers, learned profession or engineer

Name of Revolutionary War Pensioners
and age

# of white persons (including forgoing):
deaf & dumb age 0-13 years
deaf & dumb age 14-24 years
deaf & dumb age 25 years and older
blind
idiotic or insane
illiterate males over 21 years of age
not naturalized
# of slaves and colored:
deaf & dumb age 0-13 years
deaf & dumb age 14-24 years
deaf & dumb age 25 years and older
blind
idiotic or insane
   # of Schools: University or Colleges and # of students
Academies or grammar schools and # of scholars
Primary or common schools and # of scholars
# of scholars in public charge
To be continued next month.

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Utah Genealogical Association (UGA) Indexing Project

The first UGA indexing project with FamilySearch Indexing is now on the Internet!

UGA indexed the Salt Lake County death certificates from 1908 to 1949 (county, not state).  The indexing was completed last year.  Then the data went through various FamilySearch Indexing processes, and the index can now be used on the Internet at www.labs.familysearch.org

Labs is a free site, but you do need to register to use it.  On the Home Page, click 'Record Search'.  On the next page, click 'Register to Use Record Search'.  Fill out the short form.  You may need to wait a day or so, but then a notice will be sent to your email, and you can use Record Search.  After that, you just type your email address to sign in.

To find our index, scroll down the left hand column to Vital Records, "Utah, Salt Lake County Death Records, 1908-1949."  Click to search our index.  The county has not given permission for the images of the death
certificates to go online, but with the information in the index, they will send copies of death certificates.

FamilySearch Indexing would like us to use the index and let them know if there are any problems.  There is a Feedback button in the upper right section of the screen.

You can use the other record indexes in Record Search as well.  These include the 1850 and 1900 US Census, Freedman Bank Records 1865-1874, several Cheshire, England records, and state death records from Georgia,
Ontario, Ohio, Utah and Texas.

On the right hand side, are collections of records that have not been indexed but can be "browsed."  These include Vermont Land Records Early to 1900, Belgium Death Registration 1796-1908, and some church records from Germany, Illinois, France, Czech Republic and England.
Thanks again to all who helped index!
Thanks to Norma Keating for the information.

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Subject: Genealogy - Plea for family stories
from Jean Wilcox Hibben to Norma Keating:

Greetings, my genealogist friends!

As you may recall, I am collecting family stories for my doctoral dissertation.  I have collected a great many of these, but still need to get more.  I am writing to you in hopes that you might have a story (or more) to share and/or that you might be willing to pass along this plea to your genealogy society or friends/family who do genealogy.  I have asked a number of societies to put the following “ad” in their
newsletter or on their website or blog.  If you have connection to any of these ways of disseminating information, your assistance would be greatly appreciated.  So here's the official plea:

WANTED: Stories from your family for use in my doctoral dissertation.  Stories must have been passed down over at least 2 generations (your grandparents to you, you to your grandchildren, etc.), they must be (North) American in origin (no stories from "the old country," but immigration stories are great!), and must be from your own family (not a friend's).  Stories also should have had an impact or effect (however slight) on you or your family (this might be as simple as "inspired me to pursue family history"). They need not be true (may be proven false or not able to be proved at all - many fictional family stories have had impact on future generations!).  If you have proved them true or false, that added detail is also welcome.  Stories may be of any length, but must be submitted through my website submission form in order for me to have all the necessary data to do the analysis.  To read more about the project and submit your story, please go to http://www.circlemending.org/familystory.html.

I will donate $1 for each story received that meets the criteria just stated (just enter the society “id” in the appropriate spot on the website submission form).  I expect to complete the collecting process by the end of March 2008.  Thank you for your participation.
Jean Hibben - jean@circlemending.org>

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Tidbits – From Discovering Family History, Preview Issue 2008, pg. 5 – Lots of good information!

1. The National Burial Index (NBI) for England & Wales is an ongoing project of the Federation of Family History Societies (FFHS) and is now available online at FindMyPast, http://www.findmypast.com/

      national-burial-index-search-start.action
?redef=0                                       

 

1. PERSI updated – this resource is available via HeritageQuest Online, often available at a local library, http://www.proquest.com/

products_pq/descriptions/heritagequest.shtml.

1. Genealogy Bank, http://www.genealogy

bank.com/gbnk/newcontent.html, continues to grow its collection, more than 1.5 million documents were added in Nov. 2007 – these range from 1800 editions of the Charleston Times to modern versions of the Grand Island Independent.

1. Footnote.com has released original images from The Times of London, 1785 to 1820 and it has also released the largest collection of WWII photos on the web.  For news about this and other recent updates, see http://www.footnote.com/page/120/
   Footnote-Press-Room.

 

1. Two British newspapers, The Guardian and The Observer have placed more that 212 years of their back editions on the Internet.  They are available free at any library or educational institution that subscribes to ProQuest Historical Newspapers Service or you can purchase personal access via their website, http://archive.guardian.co.uk.

1. The Original Record, www.theoriginalrecord

.com, is constantly adding new material – some recent noteworthy additions include:
New Plymouth Colony Deeds 1620-1651, 1930 Crockford’s Clerical Directory, 1934 The Half-Yearly Army List, 1930 Liste du Rat for the parish of St. Peter, Jersey and much more.

AND to follow-up on a recent GSNOCC Seminar topic, by Don Ray...

1. Get Grandpa’s FBI File – This website, http://www.getgrandpasfbifile.com/ , helps you craft Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) letters that you can then print and mail to the FBI to learn more about your deceased ancestors.  If you prefer to do it yourself, check out the FBI’s own FOIA web page at http://foia.fbi.gov.

 

 

IRISH RESEARCH Gets A Wee Bit Easier!

Anyone who has done Irish research knows the challenges due to the dearth of records available.  Well, Irish research has now become just a bit easier.  There is an ongoing dizitizaton project for the 1901 and the 1911 Irish censuses.  Focusing on Dublin, the National Archives of Ireland now has part of the 1911 census online, http://www.census.national.
archives.ie/search.  For more on the digitization project, see http://www.census.
national archives.ie/about/index.html.
From Discovering Family History, Preview Issue 2008

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Irish Presbyterianism History Goes Online

The 400-year history of Irish Presbyterianism is now available on a website, in an initiative by the Church’s Historical Society.

The mould-breaking website, backed by the Ulster-Scots Agency, was launched in Belfast on Jan. 16, 2008.  The website will make Presbyterian history easily accessible to the wider public for the first time.

The idea for the website, which was designed by Brian Smyth, began in 1995, but did not progress until more recently, when the society approached the Ulster-Scots Agency.  After gaining their support, the project developed quickly and has culminated in an excellent site for historians and others interested in local Presbyterian history.

The site will contain a digital format of the book, A History of Congregations in the Presbyterian Church in Ireland, which is long out of print and therefore inaccessible to many.

As the site progresses it is hoped that more information will be added including the history details of Non-Subscribing Presbyterian churches and Covenanters.  To access the information there is a charge of £10 per annum, which qualifies the user to be an associate member of the society.
The Rev. Brian Kennaway, A Historical Society member, highlighted the importance of the new website.  “This launch is the beginning of making available to the wider world the rich history of the churches of the Presbyterian Order in Ireland.  We are confident that this will make a major contribution to a better understanding and an increase in knowledge of our complicated and sometimes controversial past.  We want to thank the Ulster-Scots Agency, as our major funder of this project, for their support.”

George Patton, chief executive of the Ulster-Scots Agency and a Presbyterian, said:  “Presbyterian history is an integral part of Ulster-Scots history; therefore it is wonderful to see a resource like this being made available by the Presbyterian Historical Society of Ireland.
The Ulster-Scots Agency is very pleased to be associated with this project.”

The web address is www.presbyterianhistory
ireland.com.
From the Jan. 17, 2008 edition of the Belfast newsletter, and reprinted from genealogyblog.com by Leland Meitzler. Jan. 21, 2008 and the WAGS newsletter, v. 27, #10, March, 2008.
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The Public Record Office of Northern Ireland (PRONI) launched a revised website on 10 Jan. 2008.  Go to http://www.proni.gov.uk
Thanks to Saddleback Valley Trails, So. Orange County newsletter, v. 15, #2, Feb. 2008
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Just in time for St. Patty’s Day, we get word that Dublin’s Glasnevin Cemetery, which dates back to 1832, will be posting its older registers online. According to the Council of Irish Genealogical Organisations (CIGO), “Until recent times, the capital’s Catholics generally used Glasnevin while the Protestants tended to favour Mount Jerome.” The pay-per-view service is expected to be available in upcoming weeks. For more information, see the CIGO news page.

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