The Roberts Brothers~Remembering on Memorial Day

  On this Memorial Day, my thoughts are as always on my maternal grandfather, Gilbert Ernest Roberts, and two of his brothers who lost their lives while serving in WWII.

Edmund, Gilbert, and Wilbert Roberts
©Cheri Hudson Passey

Edman George Roberts -Officially declared dead July 11, 1944
Gilbert Ernest Roberts - Killed in Action 29, Sept. 1944
Wilbert Lewis Roberts -Killed in Action 1 Oct. 1944

 Remembering their sacrifice for our freedom.

Thanks so much for stopping by!
Helping you climb your family tree,
 

This Week On My Family History Calendar

May 25-May 31

May 31~

Margaret Frances Gibson Thames (1854-1929), my paternal Great Great Grandmother would be celebrating her 160th birthday on this day. Fanny was the daughter of Benjamin Reese Gisbon (1824-1907) and Margaret Canty Walker (1839-1900).

Honor Roll Project-Horry County,SC Vietnam Memorial

      Heather Rojo of Nutfield Genealogy has issued a challenge once again this Memorial Day. She is asking Bloggers to take a picture of and transcribe names from a War Memorial in our local area. The blog posts will be added to her Honor Wall Project, an ongoing effort to make veterans names available in search engines on the internet.

      On behalf of my Father, John Allen Hudson, who served in Vietnam and has lived the past several years suffering from the effects of his time there, I would like to add the Horry County, SC Vietnam Memorial to the Honor Roll Project.
     This Memorial, which was dedicated on May 25, 1985, can be found in Conway, Horry, SC in front of the old courthouse on the corner of Elm and 3rd Avenue.

Vietnam War Memorial
Conway,Horry,SC

       


  Vietnam Veterans of Horry County Acknowledge Our Fallen Comrades

PFC Bellamy, Simmie, Jr.         2-26-66
CAPT. Sawyer, Johnnie P.         6-10-66
LCPL Beverly, Willard F.           9-8-66
LTJG Carter, William T.            11-10-66
SSGT Burroughs, Ulysses G.      2-5-67
SGT Gore, Horace Roscoe         5-18-67
LCPL Martin, Buddy Ray          7-10-67
SSGT Collins, Claude L.            9-2-67
PFC Lance, John Henry            10-27-67
PFC Best, Neal Ira                    11-20-67
CPL Reaves, James Louis          12-4-67
 PFC Bryant, James Roy            2-23-68
SP4  Hinson, Ronald Douglas    4-16-68
PFC  Brown, Wilson Boyd         6-29-68
SSGT  Spivey, Willie Dalphus    11-5-68
CPL   Wasilow, John Stephen    11-24-68
PFC  Hucks, Lloyd Junior         2-8-69
HM3  Todd, Carl Edward          3-25-69
PFC Skipper, Michael Ray        4-22-69
SP4  Keith, Willie Lee               10-20-69
SGT Faison, Everson B.           11-14-69
CPL Mincey, James Marshall   11-21-69
PFC Hardee, Joseph Edward    12-8-69
CPL Jordan, Larry Leon           3-24-70
SGT Chestnut, Leland McLane  5-10-70
SSGT Huggins, Eugene            6-23-70
AN   Moore, Jack Donald, Jr.   3-14-71
SP4 Edge, James Hampton      3-5-66
PFC Rabon, Joseph Levern      11-21-66
PVT Colter, Kenny Lawrence   2-16-68
SSGT  Thomas, Pearley J.       2-16-68
PFC McDaniels, Billy C.         11-19-68
PFC George, Hezekiah            6-3-66
WO  Taylor, J.A. "Tiny"         8-26-68

Back of Vietnam War Memorial
Conway,Horry,SC

CPL Richardson, Jimmie Jenkins   8-27-68
SGT Chandler, Thomas Leroy        2-23-70
CPL Medlin, Jackie Monroe          11-27-68
SP4  Jerry, G. Jordan                    1-29-95



 
 Are there War Memorials in your area? If so, please take the time to add their names to this project. Working together we can make sure these brave men and woman are never forgotten.

This Week On My Family History Calendar

May 18-May 24

May 18~
 Phillip Roberts III (1798-1852), my Paternal 4th Great Grandfather, would be celebrating his 216th birthday on this day. Born in Kershaw County,SC, Phillip was the son of Phillip Roberts (1763-1854) and Sarah Kirtley (1765-1838). 

May 22~
  The 158th anniversary of the birth of my Paternal Great Great Grandfather, George Phillip Roberts (1856-1930). George was the son of Thomas Phillip Roberts (1830-1893) and Eliza Atiza Brazell (1836-1890) and was born in Columbia, Richland,SC.

  My Paternal Great Great Grandfather, Jubal Ransom Early (1888-1964) was born 126 years ago in Elmwood, Iredell,NC.
 Jubal was the son of Ransom Taylor Early (1829-1888) and Ellen Caroline Martin (1850-1926).

May 24~
  Benjamin Thomas Thames (1854-1931), my Paternal Great Great Grandfather, was born 160 years ago, possibly in the Clarendon County,SC area. He was the son of Thomas Lemuel Thames (1827-1863) and Rebecca Stukes (1830-1870).

Are we kin? Please contact me! Let's work together to find our people!

©Cheri Hudson Passey

Passing It On~Springbank Cemetery and Slave List

  My trip to my ancestors land in Williamsburg County,SC this April was an exciting and emotional journey. While it was thrilling to "walk where my ancestors had walked",  there was a somber side too. 

 Yesterday, a post that I wrote, Research in the South: The Unavoidable Realities, about this visit for The NextGen Genealogy Network went live.

 The response was more than I was expecting. There were messages from descendants of former slave owners who have experienced the same feelings that I have and also from those who struggle to research their enslaved ancestors.  Many of whom asked that the names and information that was given to me about the slaves at Springbank Plantation be shared.

    The Slave Cemetery at Springbank has many graves, but only recent ones are marked with headstones or metal markers. It is presumed that these are former slaves of descendants of slaves.

 Once there were glass and paper markers, as well as small stones that were placed in memory of those who had died. These have been lost due to time, Hurricanes and other bad storms.

One of the documents in a folder at Springbank Retreat was a listing of some of the graves in the slave cemetery. It was copied and given to me on my visit.  No compiler is named on the hand typed document. 

                         ________________________________
                    

                    Cemetery on the Grouds of Springbank Retreat Center

                                             Kingstree, South Carolina

                                              Williamsburg County,SC

                                                          Spring 2000

 There is evidence of many graves in this cemetery. Generally the depression in the ground is the only indication of a gravesite. However, there are some stone markers and many small metal markers with a glass cover paper. The majority of these latter type no longer have glass or paper-or the paper is blank due to the elements. there are indications of the area having at one time been fenced in with bared wire. This is most evident on the south and southwest side of the cemetery west of the current most westerly path.

 Graves toward the northern part (closest to the swamp) and west of the most westerly path with the metal markers that have information are the following:

Love V. McElveen

Died June 16, 1939

OME Funeral Home

L____W. Pangeth(?) Poinereth (?)

Died September 30, 1947

Green's Funeral Home, Lake City,SC

There is another one with the writing obliterated, but that is from Green's Funeral Home, Lake City, SC and the form contains 194_as the date of death.

The stone markers are south of the above graves and contain the following information:

 Minnie Page Died 1933

Age 84 Years

Gone But Not Forgotten

William Burgess                     Near this stone is a small stone with no inscription

Died July 1, 1934

Age 74 Years

Gone But Not Forgotten

Luther John Wilson

South Carolina

Pvt.422 Res Labor BN

Aug. 31, 1893-Dec. 25, 1945

On the other side of the path (east of the westerly path) and more in the area of the other stone markers is:

Isreal

Son of William and Lillie Burgess

Died May, 1918

Age 21 years

Asleep in Jesus

Stone which had been removed from the original cemetery, but replaced-howsoever the correct gravesite is unknown:

Elisa Wheeler

Died Feb. 27, 1935

Age 44 years

Gone but not forgotten

                 ________________________________


   Hopefully, this list will help someone locate their ancestor and other sources will be found that will help to name the many others buried here. 

A FindAGrave.com page has also been set up for the Springbank Slave Cemetery and contacts have been made in an effort to search for and locate the many grave sites. There may not be a way to know who is buried in them but the sites and be found,marked and remembered.

The second document copied for me on my visit was another hand typed list, this time of the slaves owned by my ancestor, Henry J. Smith. Once again there is no source information for the transcriber or where the information came from. 

 I have written the names and dates just as they are were typed  on the paper. Note that an error seems to have been made when giving the death date of the first slave mentioned, Old James. 

                     _______________________________________

                                          

                                                                List of Slaves of Henry J. Smith

                                                            Springbank Plantation

The plantation located near the Williamsburg and Clarendon county line, was built either in 1782 or 1784. The name Springbank was given by its original owner John Burgess, who derived it from a gushing spring located on a small hill. overlooking the plantation.

 The house was part of the plantation  sold to William Smith by John McElveen, Sr. and wife Elizabeth, on February 10, 1807. Henry John Smith, son of William Smith and Jannet Fierson was born April 18, 1807 and died December 12, 1849.

Old James was born about 1784 and died November 30, 1852

Old Peg was born about 1787

Mack was born about 1787 and died 1849

Hope was born about 1796

Web was born about 1796

Sue was born about 1792

Jane was born June 1804

Limas was born August 2, 1805

Borrah was born about 1808

Letty was born about 1808

Nancy was born about 1809

Cindar was born about 1820 and sold 1852

Anicha was born June 26, 1820

Dinah was born August 29,1822

Birth of Old Peg's children:

   Washington was born about 1816

   Elory was born about 1818

   Little Sam was born about 1822

   Twins:

      Mary was born about 1824

      Martha was born about 1824 and died in 1848

   Peggy was born about 1828

Birth of Hannah's children:

 Isaac was born December 17, 1828

 Jacob was born April 1831

 Dinah was born 1833

 Chaney was born June 9, 1835

 Timon was born August 8, 1838

Birth of Nancy's children:

 Morris was born in 1834

 Harriet was born in 1836

Birth of China's children:

 Sam was born July 1857

Birth of Cindar's children:

 Venus was born 1836

 Joe was born Sept. 1837

 Adaline was born January 3, 1840

 Caroline was born November 28, 1841

 Calvin was born August 24, 1844

 Ben was born May 2, 1845 and died December 9. 1847

 Warren was born April 15, 1848

Birth of Elery's children:

 Dick was born April 15, 1838

 Jerry was born April 12, 1840

 Sampson was born March 3, 1842

 Miley was born September 11, 1843

 Thomas was born April 12, 1845

 Juleus was born June 28, 1851

 Maria was born January 30, 1853

 ? was born December 1857

Birth of Letty's children

 Juddy was born January 2, 1839

 Jack was born October 30, 1842

 Greasey was born September 22, 1845

 Rivers was born July 14, 1848

 Jane was born January 4, 1851 and died 1851

Birth of Adaline's children:

 Philis was born October 21, 1839

 Peter was born April 4, 1843 and died Oct. 26, 1843

 Leah was born July 27, 1844 and died January 1849

 Birrah was born December 10, 1846

 Clara was born July 3, 1851

 Javid was born September 4, 1853

Birth of Marey's children:

 Ison was born September 20, 1840

 Esther was born October 18, 1842

 Hester was born August 15, 1844

 Betsey was born June 10, 1846

 Patty was born march 23, 1848

 Louisa was born November 4, 1850

 Nancy was born October 4, 1852

Birth of Dinah's children:

 Joe was born August 22, 1841

 Jack was born April 10, 1843 and died January 20, 1844

 Suckey was born September 2, 1844

 Caley was born September 19, 1848

Birth of Little Peg's children:

 Fanny was born October 3,1847

Birth of Harriet's children:

 Albert was born September 1855

 Nancy was born June 9, 1857

 Henry was born April 10, 1859

 Sally was born October 24, 1862

 Catey was born October 17, 1864

 Fannie was born ?

Birth of Martha's children:

 Mosey was born March 3, 1848

Birth of Venus' children:

 Randolph was born June 9, 1858

 Lisunder was born July 27, 1860

 Davis was born September 16, 1862

Birth of Philis' children:

 Thanbil was born May 9, 1859 and died November 27, 1928

 Peter was born May 27, 1861

 Jack was born July 30, 1863

                        _____________________________________

  
  With the names of these children being put into lists of who their Mothers were, it gives me hope that family connections can be made. Some of the Mothers in the later years at the bottom of the list have the same names as daughters listed in earlier years. Are these the same women? Could this provide more than just one generation of family ties?  

  

   By postsing the names and dates of the cemetery and the slave lists, I am hoping that someone. somewhere will be able to find their family names. Anything typed into a post on this blog is searchable and that is the reason for not just attaching a .pdf for people to download. The time spent in typing out this information will be well spent if just one person searches and finds a name belonging to them. 
  Everyone on these lists belongs to someone. May they be found and never forgotten.

 Are any of these your ancestors? Please contact me and let me know!

 ©Cheri Hudson Passey

Oh, the people I met !

    Attending NGS2014 was a fantastic experience. I learned so much and set some new goals.
    Meeting lots of great people was one of the very best parts of the conference. Recognizing each other from FaceBook, Google+ and Twitter  pictures was so much fun!

Twitter Board at NGS2014
Photo Credit:J.Paul Hawthorn

   I wish I had taken more pictures. The days were just going by so fast!

Here are some I did take:

Lisa Alzo

Jenny Lanctot

Shannon Combs-Bennett

Josh Taylor

Jen Baldwin

Dear Myrt

Colleen Pasquale

Next Gen Group

Janie Darby, Barry Kline, Shannon Combs-Bennett,

 Kim Jordan, Jen Baldwin, Josh Taylor, Melanie Frick

   There were many others who sat with me during lectures and luncheons, talked to me on the bus and in the hallways. They gave me advice, support and became a friend.

  Why didn't I get a picture with Charlotte Bell, Bernice Bennett, Shelley Bishop, Rorey Cathcart, Susan Clark, Cheri Daniels, Terri Fraser, Paul Hawthorn, Tonia Kendrick, Wendy Mathias, Linda McCauley, Angela McGhie, Maureen Taylor, Judy Russell and many others? Hopefully, we will see each other soon and I can get those pictures!

   It was also fun to run into the people from the Grand Strand Genealogy Cub and those that I know from my South Carolina Genealogy FaceBook groups.  

Thank you all for helping to make my experience this year so wonderful!  

My Ribbon, Buttons and Blogger Beads
NGS2014
©Cheri Hudson Passey

©Cheri Hudson Passey

NGS2014~Day 4

      Day 4 arrived so quickly!

     My first class of the day was Using and Evaluating Family Lore: She Married a Distant Cousin in Virginia given by J.H. "Jay" Fonkert.
    In this lecture, we were told to be careful about family lore. Where the story came from and who told it is very important to determine whether the story is true or has elements of truth in it.
     I love this quote from Jay:
                             "Family Lore is like DNA: It can mutate!"

Q&A Time with Jay Fonkert after the session
Piicture used with permission
©Cheri Hudson Passey

    We all have family stories that have changed and shifted over the years. Details may be taken out on purpose or else enhanced to make them more exciting.
    Jay said that our job is to determine the reliability of each piece of the story and compare it to other sources to find out if our family lore is true or not.
  We went through a case study where we discovered that while close, the family story was not quite accurate. This was discovered by analyzing sources and coming to a conclusion about the evidence.

     My 9:30 session was Rich, Poor and all the Rest: Why Class Matters to Genealogists given by Stefani Evans.
    By looking at our ancestors lives, their religion, jobs, schools attended and neighborhoods lived in, we can get a sense of their status in the community.  Stefani explained that class matters because it can help us to understand some of the choices our ancestors made. Knowing if our ancestors were upper, middle or lower class might help us to locate them based on where people of the same ethnic, political. religious or work skills could be found.We can also use this information to help us figure out which of same named ancestors is ours.
     Another great source of information would be the shopkeepers records from our ancestor's place of residence. Where did they shop and what did they buy? Answers to these questions could give us a great deal of information regarding lifestyle.
     A great lecture that made me realize that class does matter when it comes to researching.

     Time for lunch and the New England Historical and Genealogical Society Luncheon.
     The speaker for this event was David Allen Lambert whose topic was: After Appomattox, Researching your Confederate Veterans in Post-Civil War America.
    Mr. Lambert is passionate about Civil War research and showed us many examples of records that can be found on line at each of the Confederate State Archives as well as paid search sites such as Ancestry.com and Fold3.com. We were also encouraged to look into Reunions of the various Military Units that our ancestors may have been a part of. Often there are pictures and newspaper reports of the meetings.
    This was an enjoyable talk about finding information about our ancestors service in "The War of Northern Aggression"!
                 

Getting served my dessert at the NEHGS Luncheon
Photo Credit: J.Paul Hawthorn

    Next up, a fantastic lecture from Barbara Vines Little. Her lecture was called: The Importance of Context in Record Analysis.  Before the lecture began, she spent quite a while speaking with and taking questions from the audience. Barbara was very willing to share personal stories of her research and listen to other's stories as well as giving practical advice to some.
  The lecture began with being reminded that documents usually do not stand alone. In most cases another type of document has to be made to go along with the first. Examples of this were the records made due to a marriage. There's a bond, a license, newspaper announcement, Bible record, etc. We need to ask "What other records were created because of this one?".

Barbara Vines Little
Before Lecture
Photo Credit: J.Paul Hawthorn   

     Another thing we need to do, she said, is when analyzing a record we need to find out what are the laws were that caused the record to be made. If we don't know, then that lack of knowledge could mean that we will miss important clues.  We need to know who created a record and why to be able to more fully understand what it is telling us.
   What did I take away from the class? That everything in a document is important and to look at all the possibilities. Know what words mean and don't assume anything!


     Before I knew it, the time had arrived for the last session not only of the day, but of the conference.
   In a Rut? 7 Ways to Jump- Start Your Research by Elizabeth Shown Mills seemed like a great way to end my NGS2014 Conference experience. 

Elizabeth Shown Mills
Photo Credit: Scott Stewart Photography, LLC
Used with permission

     When Elizabeth started out by saying "Hope is not a strategy", I knew this was going to be a great lecture! 
     The 7 ways to get out of our rut dealt with looking at research in the way other professionals do their jobs. For example, think like a farmer: rotate crops- genealogists need to rotate projects that we are working on.  
     Other advice was to see if there is something in our research that is out of the ordinary. Find out why that is so and don't rely on second hand information or be influenced by someone else's judgment. We were told to analyze our successes and that of others. She also said it was important to treasure and learn form our failures.
     A worksheet was in the handout. There are questions to find out what kind of researcher we are and then it asks: "Am I a Critical Thinker?".
     Then there were some great quotes that were titled "Parting Shots" 
      Here are two that I really like:
 "It's not that I'm so smart. It's just that I stay with a problem longer"
-Albert Einstein

"Brick walls usually have their weak spots, but they may be visible only from the neighbor's yard.
-Elizabeth Shown Mills

  
     What a wonderful way to end the conference. So much now to process and put into practice from all 4 days. 

     Thanks to all the presenters who enabled me to learn so much and to the staff and volunteers at NGS2014 for making this such a great experience!

NGS 2014~Day 3

 A little bit of sleep....very little...and it was time to head off to the Marriott for my first session of Day 3.
  J. Mark Lowe gave a great lecture on Inheritance Laws and Estate Settlements in the Carolinas. Understanding the records, the purpose behind them and the laws of the time are all something that we need to know and understand to help us with our research.
  He told us to always follow the land. Family groups can be put together by knowing who could inherit. Just because your ancestor didn't inherit, they could be named in the records of those who did, so we need to make sure to search for lands owned by other members of the family and friends as well.
  A good law book was recommended to be able to look up unfamiliar terms as we read through a record. Never skip over a word or term you don't know. It's meaning could shed a whole new light on the document.
  We looked at the North and South Carolina State Archives web sites to see what was available on line for Land Records. Both states had some that were either in digital or transcribed formats. I was happy to be reminded that the SC Land Records are also on FamilySearch.
  Trying out these recommendation will be a priority. Recently, a clue about land possibly owned by one of my ancestors has been discovered! I will follow the land and see what I can find!

 Disputes and Unhappy Differences: Surprises in Land Records by Sharon Tate Moody was my next class.
  Again, I heard about the importance of using land records in my research. This class dealt with the names on the records and the information about the land itself. Family relationships, good or bad, can be discovered. Her examples were very entertaining!
 We went through a Deed and looked at the wording and format. It was helpful to see what to look for and get a definition of typical words that are in a Deed or Grant.
 I was very interested in the information given about the Metes and Bounds system of measuring land. Most of the land owned by my ancestors was measured in this way. The few land records I have are fun to read with their descriptive borders such as oak trees and streams. Makes it a little harder to plot, but it's great to picture these markers.

 I guess I had a records theme going because my third class was Michael Haite's  Of Sound Mind and Body: Using Probate Records in Your Research. 
  Probate records are something that I have used before but Michael's tips were very helpful.
 One of the tips he gave was to look and see if there was a Bond signed. If there was, he said to take special note of the name of the person who signed the Bond. This person was most likely a very important person to the deceased. Signing the bond would make a person legally responsible of the affairs of the estate, that would be in most cases a trusted member of the family or close friend.

Micheal Haite just before the session started
Picture taken with permission
©Cheri Hudson Passey

  One of my favorite part of a probate record is the Inventory List of all the property belonging to the estate. A wonderful source of information for family, friends and the life of an ancestor.
 Michael took us through an Inventory and looked at the various items owned. A pattern formed and we could see what the occupation may have been and also what life style the family had. Friends and family were listed as buyers and as those who owed money to the estate. These would be good clues to get more information about our ancestors. A second Inventory showed a man who basically had nothing but some clothes and a Bible. No furniture was mentioned. This may have been a clue that the man owned no property but was living with someone or renting a room.
 This was a great class. I am going to go through the probate records that I have found, especially the Inventories. I am sure I have missed a clue or two!

 My choice of the Luncheons today was one given by the Association of Professional Genealogists with a talk by Donn Devine entitled, Why I Belong to APG. Since I have only been a member for a few months, I decided this would be a great way to spend my lunch break. After a tasty Chicken Salad, Mr. Devine spoke to us and gave his reasons for joining and maintaining his membership in the Association of Professional Genealogists. The reason he emphasized the most was the fellowship of like minded people. Being affiliated and socializing with others who love the research process was something that he felt was very important and one that he felt he couldn't do without.
 Sitting with me at my table were several wonderful genealogist who discussed with me some plans that I have been formulating and were very helpful and encouraging to me. That is the reason I joined APG. Like Donn Devine, I would like to take opportunities to be a part of groups who help and support my desire to be become a more rounded Genealogist.
 
 What better way to start the afternoon than listening to Judy Russell present her lecture, The Seanachie: Linking Life and Law Through Storytelling. Anyone who has ever been to one of Judy's classes knows that she is fun and down to earth. Before the class began, she was talking with all of us and answering questions. Research stories and experiences were shared not only from Judy, but she listened to ours as well. If felt as though we were talking to an old friend.
 The lecture began and Judy explained that a Seanachie is the story teller of the tribe. We, as Genealogists and Family Historians are the Seanachie for our tribes.
 We learned that there are 3 important reasons why Genealogists tell stories.

Judy Russell entertaining us before the start of the session
Photo used with permission
©Cheri Hudson Passey

Those reasons are that genealogy is more than "begats", that context matters and that we learn more and faster through stories.
 Judy gave us examples of these reasons through stories dealing with historical court cases.  It worked! At the end of the lecture, we remembered not only the case, but the who, what, when and why.
  Do you know why children are told "Not to take candy from strangers"? Those of us in the class do, and because of the story shared with us of the 1874 case of a kidnapped little boy, we will probably never forget.
 We need to broaden our reading, learn about the situations and stories surrounding out ancestors lives and tell their stories.

 My last class of the day also dealt with family stories. I attended John Phillip Colletta's class Writing a Narrative Family History, Snares and Pitfalls.
  He is the author of Only a Few Bones: A True Account of the Rolling Fork Tragedy and it's Aftermath.  This is the story of the murder mystery surrounding one of Mr. Colletta's ancestors in Mississippi.
 After swearing us to secrecy and getting a good laugh out of that, we were shown some of the mistakes he had made when writing the book. Most dealt with context of history. It was explained that when we write about our ancestors lives we need to make sure that we research the time and place and make sure not to add anything to the story unless it is known to be true.
 A couple examples that he gave were, adding a cash register to the description of his ancestor's store when the cash register hadn't been invented yet, and writing about his ancestor watching the Swallows when Swallows hadn't been introduced to the that particular area of Mississippi yet.
 There was also a warning of assuming that just because historically events happened, your ancestor participated. One example was given of thinking that someone had gone through Ellis Island. Everyone knows that immigrants of a certain time period went through Ellis Island, right? Well, not if it turns out that during your ancestors arrival, there had been a fire and people were being processed elsewhere!
  The lecture was very entertaining and really hit home the importance of getting facts correct for the portrayal of the times our ancestors lived in, both historically and in the wording and phrases we use to describe them.

 A 5:15 consult with Maureen Taylor took me to the Exhibit Hall. I wanted to see what Maureen had to say about a few unnamed  pictures that recently were found and given to me. The belief is that they are from my Maternal Grandfather's side of the family and I needed her expertise to come up with time periods for when they were taken. Maureen pulled out her magnifying glass and went to work. In very little time she was able to tell me, by looking at the type of pictures and the things that were worn, hairdo's and other items in the photos, a good estimation of when the pictures were taken. Now, I just need to compare that information with my data base and see if I have enough clues to possibly indemnify who these people are. Thank you Maureen for looking at not three as was really the limit, but four of my unknown pictures! Another blog post about this is sure to follow!

 Another long, rewarding day. I took the opportunity after the sessions were over to meet up with friends from my local Grand Strand Genealogy Club. Their day had been just as enjoyable and we had a great time discussing the things we had learned.

 Then it was off to bed to rest up for Day 4!
   

 

This Week On My Family History Calendar

May 11-May 18

May 17~
   Emily Elizabeth Vaughn Dargan (1797-1865), my Paternal 4th Great Grandmother, died 149 years ago in Sumter County,SC at the age of 67. It is believed that she is buried in an unmarked grave in Dargan Cemetery of the same county.


Are we kin? Please contact me. Let's work together to find our people!

©Cheri Hudson Passey

Day 2 at NGS2014

      Another great day starting with a lecture by Diane Florence Gravel. The topic was New Strategies for Old Problems.  She emphasized the importance of researching the FAN club of our ancestors and talked about county and town records, newspapers and manuscripts. The PERSI Index was another sourse suggested. She mentioned Heritagequestonline.com and Findmypast.com as two places to access the index. For those of us at NGS2014, FindMyPast.com is offering a free 30 day subscription.  Just go to their booth and they will sign you up, no credit card information needed!
 
 My next two hours were spent in the BCG Certification Seminar.  Becoming Certified is something that I have been thinking of doing. Judy Russell,  Elissa Scalise Powell, and Debbie Parker Wayne went through the steps involved in the certification process and explained the best ways to prepare.
 Skill building is something I will continue to do, and maybe one day I will be "on the clock".

BCG Certification Semin

  BCG's 50th Anniversary is this year and celebrated with a Lunchon today. After a great meal we were able to hear from the former and current Presidents of BCG talking about past accomplishments and future goals.

   Elizabeth Shown Mills' session filled up so quickly that people were turned away as early as a half hour before it started! It was a great lecture on Using Evidence Creatively~Spotting Clues In Run of The Mill Records. Her lecture emphasized the importance of looking at all information found about an ancestor. The examples she showed really made me think about the way I look at the documents I find. Who would have thought that you could plot where people lived using Jury Records!

 My choice for the 2:30 Session was -Can a Complex Research Problem Be Solved Solely Online?, given by Tom Jones. This was a great lecture! Likening research to a jigsaw puzzle, we were told that we should find enough pieces until we can see the picture.
  In the case presented the pieces were entertaining and sometimes confusing, but in the end a picture presented itself. It was of a man who lead a very unconventional life. I don't want to spoil it for anyone who hasn't heard this lecture. All I will say is, if you ever get an opportunity, do it. It's quite a story!

  Evening Lectures were held at 7 pm and I chose to go to Maureen Taylor's class Sefies, Mugshots and Instant Pictures: Early Photography and Your Family. What a fun hour of looking at some great old pictures! We learned that selfies are nothing new, people have been taking pictures of themseves for years. She showed us mugshots of women who dressed the part for their particular crime and another mugshot of a man and woman that looked like an ordinary husband and wife with trees as a backdrop. There were lots of pictures of people from various time pictures just having fun. Since I love old pictures, I really enjoyed it!



 To end the night, I met up with a wonderful group of people from The NextGen Genealogy Network. A great way to wind down from a busy day.

NextGen Meet and Greet

 Looking forward to reporting on Day 3!

First Day At NGS 2014!

Actually,  last night was my first event. My first FamilySearch blogger dinner!
  Getting my blogger beads was very cool and so was meeting many of the bloggers that I have only met on line.
 After a wonderful meal, we were able to hear about some great things coming from FamilySearch. What I loved the most was the announcement that soon the ability to Index would be available on a tablet as well as a comuter. There will be nothing to download and if you index for more than one group there will no longer be a need to have multiple sign in information. Everything indexed will be counted for all.

FamilySearch Blogger Dinner

 After that it was time for the APG Dessert Social in the room next door. The dessert selections were hard to resist...chocolate covered strawberries? Yes, please!

  This morning I was up early and off to the Find My Past breakfast. We got to hear from Josh Taylor as he let us know about features of the website. Besides the Census, Vital, Migration and other records, Find My Past has the PERiodical Source Index. A great and often overlooked source that will be kept updated. If you haven't done so already, you need to try it out!

 In the Opening Session we heard from Sandra Gioia Treadway, the Librarian of Virginia and State Archivist.The library has some new and innovative goals. A few of the words to describe the modernization concept were energy, welcoming and activity.  As a patron comes into the library they will be greated and their needs will be assessed. Help will be given if needed. Better use of technology throughout the library is a goal. 

  Problems and Pitfalls in a Reasonably Shallow Search by Elissa Scalise Powell was my 11:00 class. She emphasized the importance of looking at original records and showed some great examples of what happens when you don't! 

 A lunch break and then it was time for Tom Jones' Lecture, New Standards or Old? Guidelines for Effective Reaearch and Family Histories. This session involved comparing the old 2000 version of the BCG book Genealogy Standards to the new 2014 version. He explained that the change was to clear up any misunderstanding that the Standards were only for those who were seeking or were certified.  The Genealogical Standards are for everyone.

Next in The Sociology of Cemeteries by Helen Shaw taught that what we know about our ancestors can help us narrow down where they might be buried and what we know about the cemeteries that our ancestors are buried in can tell us a lot about our ancestors. She said that people are buried in a particular place for a particular reason.

 The Next Generation of Genealogy Learning was my final session today. NGS is working hard to keep up with the times in the classes it offers. The CD based learning is being replaced by on line classes. Currently, there are two American Genealogical Studies classes offered on line. More are in the process of being added. The NGS Home Study Class CD 1 is also now available on line. The question was asked about those of us currently working on the CD version of the class. The answer was to continue with the CDs since it will be a while before the on line versions will be available.

What a day! I am exhausted but ready to get up and do it all again tomorrow.

This Week On My Family History Calendar

May 4-May 10

May 5~
 My Paternal Grandmother, Mary Baker Hudson (1920-2010) , would have been 94 years old. She was born in Sumter County,SC and was the daughter of Jubal Ransom Early (1888-1964) and Emma Ruth Baker (1901-1993). 

May 9~
 The anniversary of the death of my 3rd Great Grandfather, Thomas Phillip Roberts (1830-1893 )is on this day. Thomas died in Richland County,SC at the age of 62, and is buried there in Brown's Chapel Cemetery.

Are we kin? If so please contact me. Let's work together to find our people!

©Cheri Hudson Passey