Tuesday, June 28, 2016

Tombstone Tuesday~Daniel and Martha


My paternal 4th Great Grandparents, Daniel Epps (About 1775-1827) and Martha Elvira (Frierson) Epps (About 1783-1853) are buried in the Epps Cemetery in Cades, Williamsburg, South Carolina. 

Daniel and Martha Epps
Epps Cemetery, Cades, Williamsburg, South Carolina
©Cheri Hudson Passey
Add caption

A close up of their headstone shows an arrow or maybe a spear. Research on tombstone symbolism indicates that this usually is a reference to "mortality". The arrow on this stone is wrapped at the top.
 Do you have interesting symbols on your ancestor's headstones? Have you discovered the meaning? I would love for you to share in the comments below.

Are we kin? Need help with your research? Please contact me.
Together we can find our people.
Thanks so much for stopping by!









Sunday, June 26, 2016

This Week On My Family History Calendar

26 June - 2 July




June 28~
  Alpheus J. Baker, my paternal 3rd Great Grandfather was born 192 years ago in Sumter County, South Carolina. His father was Jesse Hinton Baker (1795-1866). The name of his mother was thought to be Nancy Wilder but that research has been disputed and more needs to be done to determine the correct mother.

Alpheus J. Baker

My Great Grandparents, William Treadford Roberts and Buelah Mae (Price) Roberts would be celebrating their 102 anniversary on this day. Wiliam was 20 and Bessie Mae 17 when, as family lore says, they snuck away from their homes in Richland County, South Carolina and eloped.

William and Beulah Mae Roberts
Wedding Day
28 June 1914

Are we kin? Need help with your research? Please contact me.
Thanks so much for stopping by!




Celebration Sunday~Genealogy Happy Dance!



You know the dance. You know you've done it. The one every researcher does after finding something new. The one where you want to jump up and down and shout to everyone around that you found the document, contacted a cousin who has the family Bible, made a DNA connection or found a whole new branch to your tree. The one that is met with glazed stares and eye rolls.
                                                          Celebration Sunday is a place to share your discoveries. 
This is a weekly series to enable everyone to tell about their Genealogy Happy Dance moment. This can be done by scrolling down and adding your story to the comments section. You may also put a link to a blog post.


Click below to share this post on twitter! 




                                                                 
My Happy Dance This Week:  Spending a week with my daughters at our church's Girls Camp caused me to do that dance! Making memories with them is priceless!
                                                                           
                                                                                           Share your discovery!
                                                                                   Let the dancing commence!





Are we kin? Need help with your research? Please contact me.
Together we can find our people.
Thanks so much for stopping by!



Tuesday, June 21, 2016

Tuesday's Tip~Gettin' By With Help From Our Friends~J. Paul Hawthorne



Today's Tip comes from GeneaSpy J.Paul Hawthorne.


 Cemeteries, plots, and records, oh my!
 We all know about Find A Grave and Billion Graves, but there are more information out there besides pictures of tombstones, if you just dig down a little (excuse the pun). Of course we know about the information the cemetery office holds, like when the person was buried, the exact row and plot, if there is an actual body there or just ashes. But, what else can we find about our ancestors final resting place? Below are three examples of how I found additional information with just a little sleuthing.


Grave Markers
 Somebody created them, somebody paid for them, but who? Check local grave marker companies for the time period using city directories. Do the companies still exist today? If so, contact them and ask if they still have records for the time period you’re interested in. If a company is not in business anymore, try local city, county, or even state archives. I found a book of a monument maker entitled, “J. Henry Brown Monuments, Inc. Order books, 1899–1920” in the Library of Virginia. Not only did it have a conceptual artist sketch of the monument (with dimensions too!) that I was looking for, but also included the name and address, and how much it cost.

Funeral Homes
 Another worthwhile research strategy is funeral home records. Who took charge of a deceased ancestor’s body? The two best places I have found for this information is the death certificate and the newspaper obituary. Check to see if they are still in business and if they have records for the time period you are researching. If they are not in business, check other nearby funeral homes, sometimes they will take over the business and keep their records. Be courteous when asking for these records, funeral homes are private businesses. They are not obligated to show you anything, so take it slow and easy when approaching them. Always thank them for their work in locating them for you.

Coroner Records
 Yes, coroner records. There may not be one for your ancestor, but hey, don’t you want to know? Again, the best place to know if an autopsy was performed is the death certificate. Also, if you suspect one after reading an obituary that say’s so and so died unexpectedly at age 40. That would be a big clue that there may be one done. Sometimes there is just an inspection done for the cause of death and no autopsy. The best place to find these records are the county medical examiner’s office. County websites usually have a link to their office where you can learn how to contact them. In the case of Texas, autopsy reports are public record and are accessible upon request. Check your state for accessibility.

Further Reading
 The following articles will expand the three topics I briefly touched upon.
·      United States Cemeteries https://familysearch.org/wiki/en/United_States_Cemeteries
·      What Info Found on Coroner's Report? http://www.genealogy.com/articles/over/heard040600.html








Paul is a passionate genealogist who loves to have fun digging up the past. Brought up in San Diego and now works for his family’s tractor business, Paul spends every spare moment in his quest of discovering his own family roots. Education is the key to documenting correctly your family tree. Belonging to several local, state, and national genealogical societies, along with attending conferences and institutes, he aggressively learns so he can correct and expand his over 20 years of research to new heights.

Thanks for the great tips, Paul!


What has helped you with your cemetery finds? We'd love to hear your suggestions. 

Are we kin? Need help with your research? Please contact me.
Together we can find our people.
Thanks so much for stopping by!




Sunday, June 19, 2016

Celebration Sunday~Genealogy Happy Dance!



You know the dance. You know you've done it. The one every researcher does after finding something new. The one where you want to jump up and down and shout to everyone around that you found the document, contacted a cousin who has the family Bible, made a DNA connection or found a whole new branch to your tree. The one that is met with glazed stares and eye rolls.
                                                          Celebration Sunday is a place to share your discoveries. 
This is a weekly series to enable everyone to tell about their Genealogy Happy Dance moment. This can be done by scrolling down and adding your story to the comments section. You may also put a link to a blog post.


Click below to share this post on twitter! 




                                                                 
My Happy Dance This Week: This week I had two cousin connections from my blog. One of them is someone who just started coming to our local Genealogy Club! She visited the blog and discovered the connection. How fun is that?!
                                                                           
                                                                                           Share your discovery!
                                                                                   Let the dancing commence!





Are we kin? Need help with your research? Please contact me.
Together we can find our people.
Thanks so much for stopping by!




Wednesday, June 15, 2016

My Heritage Releases Innovative Family Tree Chart

I received the following email from My Heritage this morning:


MyHeritage Releases Innovative Family Tree Chart



The Sun Chart is designed to be the most spatially efficient way to display a descendant family tree with photos  


TEL AVIV, Israel & LEHI, Utah, June 15, 2016 — MyHeritage, the fastest-growing destination for discovering, preserving and sharing family history, released today the Sun Chart  a new type of descendant fan chart, available to all users of MyHeritage for free. The center of the Sun Chart features an ancestor selected by the user, with multiple generations of descendants in the outer rings. This chart is the world's first descendant fan chart with personal photos, unique to MyHeritage.

The Sun Chart is designed to place as many descendants as possible on the smallest possible chart, scaling to hundreds and even thousands of people,
making it ideal for sharing with relatives at a family reunion or get-together. Descendant 
charts that would not fit in a room if arranged horizontally or vertically, can now be prepared in this compact circular format and hung conveniently on the wall. It is designed to be the most compact family tree chart, while offering a very eye-catching and attractive visualization of a family tree, complete with photos.

The Sun Chart design was inspired by a family tree chart format that MyHeritage staff encountered multiple times while researching family history in Corfu, Greece. It was used for centuries by the Jewish community in Corfu, and the researchers immediately saw that it offered a unique benefit: a different segment is allocated for each person, proportional to the extent of descendants he or she has, creating a very compact layout that can easily be extended as new generations are born.

"The new Sun Chart is a perfect example of MyHeritage's unique approach," said Uri Gonen, Senior VP of Product Management at MyHeritage. "We bridge together cutting-edge technologies and an appreciation for the wisdom of generations past. When our research on the genealogy of the community in Corfu revealed an unusual and highly useful family tree format, we decided to harness our technological abilities to bring the benefit of this style of family tree chart to as many people as possible, and added personal photos to make it even more appealing."

Sun Charts provide extensive configuration options to control photo size, font size, and level of included detail, so users can customize each chart to their needs. MyHeritage has developed an algorithm for compacting the charts, which calculates every person's position precisely in order to result in the smallest possible chart.
Personal photos are included in the chart, helping to bring the family tree to life, and creating a visualization that is more appealing and interesting.

After generating the chart, users can download it in PDF format and print it themselves at home or at any printer, or email it to their family members. MyHeritage also provides an integrated poster printing service that is useful for charts of unusual size, with worldwide shipping.

Sun Charts are free. To generate a Sun Chart, users can sign up on MyHeritage for free and start a new tree, or import their existing tree as GEDCOM.

About MyHeritage

MyHeritage is the world's fastest-growing destination for discovering, preserving and sharing family history. As technology thought leaders, MyHeritage is transforming family history into an activity that’s accessible and instantly rewarding. Its global user community enjoys access to a massive library of historical records, the most internationally diverse collection of family trees and ground­breaking search and matching technologies. Trusted by millions of families, MyHeritage provides an easy way to share family stories, past and present, and treasure them for generations to come. MyHeritage is available in 42 languages. www.myheritage.com

Contacts

MyHeritage
Aaron Godfrey, VP Marketing



Monday, June 13, 2016

Saturday With Myrt


 Several months ago, the board of the Grand Strand Genealogy Club met to decide what to do with funds left to the club by long time member Larry Kelly, who had recently passed away.
We had been talking about having a workshop for some time. A meeting that would pull in people from the community to help our club grow and a program that would be a learning opportunity for all attending. 
The decision was made to explore a Virtual Presentation from a well known Genealogist. We chose DearMYRTLE.
Our club is small with no dues required to join. We are funded solely from the willingness of members to add money to our Gene Jar, which we pass around at our monthly meetings. Our speakers are usually members of the club -we have lots of talent in our club-or local experts on varying subjects. Payment is a free lunch! 
This was the biggest event the club had ever planned, and DearMYRTLE and Cousin Russ worked with us every step of the way to make it happen.
Videos on how to have a Virtual Presentation were sent to watch and a list of technical equipment was provided. Russ met with us a couple of days before to make sure our connections were working, and all was set up for the big day.

Waiting for the presentation to start.

Using a Google Hangout, we were able to have Myrt and Russ live to present "7 Habits of Highly Effective Genealogists". Through our webcam and microphone, they could see and hear club members and respond to their questions. A new feature of their Virtual Presentations is the ability to use a smart phone to type in questions that will appear on the screen. This is done via a link provided at the time of the presentation.

Myrt speaking to attendees in Myrtle Beach from Utah

Myrt was able to ask questions of our group, see hands raise and reactions to the topics she was presenting. Through the power of technology, Myrt in Utah, Russ in New Jersey and our club in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina could come together for an enjoyable morning of learning and fun. 

Myrt asking questions to attendees

What are the benefits of this type of meeting for your club or society? First, the ability to hear from a top speaker in the field of genealogy, and 2nd the lower cost due to not having to pay for travel, food, and housing for a presenter.
Because we are a small club with little money to spend on monthly programs, this was perfect for us. 
Did it fulfill our goals? Yes. We had several people come who were not members but expressed a desire to join. Our attendees came away enriched having learned from the 7 Habits Myrt and Russ discussed. 
In fact, they enjoyed it so much that after the presentation was over and we had finished the lunch provided, we continued to talk about genealogy and the things learned that morning for another couple of hours. 
Want to see how it worked for us? Watch the YouTube recording of DearMYRTLE and Cousin Russ presenting "7 Habits of Highly Effective Genealogists" to the Grand Strand Genealogy Club.




Virtual Presentations? Well worth the time and effort. When asked if we wanted to do this again in the future, a resounding "YES!" was the answer.

Has your club or society taken advantage of a Virtual Presentation? I'd love to hear your experiences. 

Are we kin? Need help with your research? Please contact me. Together we can find our people.

Thanks so much for stopping by!









Sunday, June 12, 2016

This Week On My Family History Calendar

June 12-June 18



June 12~
  My maternal Great Grandfather, William TreadfordRoberts (1894-1959) died 57 years ago in Camden, Kershaw, South Carolina from a heart attack. William was 65 years old. He was buried in Quaker Cemetery in Camden.

William Treadford Roberts
Headstone
Quaker Cemetery
Camden, Kershaw, South Carolina
©Cheri Hudson Passey

June 13~
 Azile Juanita (Daughrity) Roberts Sullivan (1921-2009) my maternal Grandmother, died seven years ago in Myrtle Beach, Horry, South Carolina at the age of 86. Grandmom had been suffering from Alzheimer's disease for several years. The cause of death was recorded as Natural Causes. She was buried in Quaker Cemetery in Camden, Kershaw, South Carolina.


Azile (Daughrity) Roberts Sullivan
Headstone
Quaker Cemetery
Camden, Kershaw, South Carolina
©Cheri Hudson Passey


The 196th birthday of my maternal 3rd Great Grandmother, Martha (Mathis) Dorrity (1820-1905) in Sumter County, South Carolina. Martha is believed to be the daughter of Shadrack Mathis and Martha (Rodgers) Mathis.

Martha (Mathis) Dorrity
Headstone
St. John's Methodist Church
Springhill, Lee, South Carolina
©Cheri Hudson Passey


June 16~
 Sarah Rebecca (Smith) Fleming Hudson (1835-1916) my paternal Great Great Grandmother would have been 181 years old on this day. Born in Sumter District, South Carolina, Sarah was the daughter of Henry John Smith (1807-1949) and Martha Julia (Epps) Smith (1808-1854).


Possible photo of
Sarah Rebecca (Smith) Fleming Hudson
©Cheri Hudson Passey
         
    Any help identifying this picture would be appreciated!

June 17~
 My maternal Great Grandfather, Manning David Daughrity, Jr. (1889-1931) was born in Sumter County, South Carolina 127 years ago. David was the son of Manning David Daughrity, Sr. (1844-1918) and Mary Elizabeth (Stafford) Daughrity (1843-1930).

Manning David Daughrity, Jr.
About 1930
©Cheri Hudson Passey

Are we kin? Please contact me. Together we can find our people.
Thanks so much for stopping by!


Celebration Sunday~Genealogy Happy Dance!



You know the dance. You know you've done it. The one every researcher does after finding something new. The one where you want to jump up and down and shout to everyone around that you found the document, contacted a cousin who has the family Bible, made a DNA connection or found a whole new branch to your tree. The one that is met with glazed stares and eye rolls.
                                                          Celebration Sunday is a place to share your discoveries. 
This is a weekly series to enable everyone to tell about their Genealogy Happy Dance moment. This can be done by scrolling down and adding your story to the comments section. You may also put a link to a blog post.





                                                                 
My Happy Dance This Week: I have two this week. First was the Virtual Presentation from DearMYRTLE and Cousin Russ to my local Genealogy Club. It was a lot of hard work getting it together but it was well worth it and the club members learn so much. We were doing the Happy Dance that it all worked out well and was so enjoyable.
 The second was a message from fellow blogger Cathy Meder-Dempsey. Looks like we have a DNA connection on my paternal side! Can't wait to look into it and see where! Happy Dance for sure!
  
                                                                           
                                                                                           Share your discovery!
                                                                                   Let the dancing commence!





Are we kin? Please contact me. Together we can find our people.
Thanks so much for stopping by!


Friday, June 10, 2016

Find My Past Friday~New Releases

I received the following announcement:

Find My Past Friday~New Releases This Week

Surrey Marriage Index 1538-1887
Over 271,207 records have been added to the Surrey Marriage Index. The index now covers 178 Surrey parishes and will allow you to add new branches to your family tree.
Warwickshire Burials 1836-2006
Uncover the final resting place of your Warwickshire ancestors with 175,000 new records that reveal when they died, the names of their parents and the location of their grave.
Warwickshire, Birmingham, St Martin in the Bull Ring parish registers
Delve through more than 23,133 baptisms, marriages, and burials that took place in the parish of St. Martin's-in-the-Bull-Ring between 1554 and 1929.
Wiltshire Baptisms 1538-1866
Search more than 109,000 new baptisms, including some rare early parish records, to discover your ancestor’s name, date of birth and parents’ names.
Happy Researching!


Tuesday, June 7, 2016

Tuesday's Tip~Gettin' By With Help From Our Friends: Dawn Williams-Kogutkiewicz



Today we get help with these tips from our friend Dawn Williams-Kogutkiewicz:

Newspaper Research Tips
I love researching in newspapers! I use Legacy.com , Chronicling America , FamilySearch.org which are free sites. At Legacy.com some obituaries can be un-archived for the nominal fee of $2.95, if available. In addition to these free sites, I also use The Ancestor Hunt.com and The Online Historical Newspaper Website for specific regions or to help me find newspapers by name. I also use the subscription site, GenealogyBank.com and Newspapers.com which is part of my All-Access Subscription to Ancestry.com. Recently, I have noticed that Newspapers.com has started a feature called “Publisher Extra”. To access the “Publisher Extra” pages is $11.95 per month in addition to the current subscription I have through Ancestry.com.
Tip # 1 – You are already searching for life events such as marriages and deaths but don’t forget to look for these other life events:
  • Engagements
  • Births
  • Graduations
  • Birthday and/or dinner parties
  • Societal clubs (ie: book clubs, sororities and women’s groups)
  • Did your ancestor have visitors? Some newspapers listed the comings and goings of visitors in the community.
  • Coroner inquests
Tip # 2 – Did your ancestor own a business?
  • Be sure to check the “ads/classifieds” for advertisements.
Tip # 3 – Legal Notices can prove helpful with
  • Probates
  • Divorces
  • Arrests
  • Court Notices
  • Property Sales
  • Coroner inquests
Tip # 4 – Did your ancestor immigrate to the United States?
  • Look for passenger lists
  • Be sure to check for foreign language newspapers in your area of research.


Tip # 5 – Major events such as:


  • Earthquakes
  • Hurricanes
  • Fires
  • Wars
  • Famine
  • Flooding
Just remember that sometimes the information or article you are looking for may be found in regional or national newspapers that are nowhere near where your ancestor lived. So don’t ignore them, you just might miss something that a local staff writer or reporter missed!




Bio:
I am a genealogical researcher and writer. I started my first blog, Dawning Genealogy in 2014. Dawning Genealogy is about my family, my children’s paternal lines and anyone connected to them.  In January 2016, I started my second blog, The Other Side of Scarlet which is about my search for my biological genealogy and my journey searching for my birth family.

Thanks, Dawn! 
To read more from Dawn, please visit her blogs Dawning Genealogy and The Other Side of Scarlet.

What newspaper tips do you have? We'd love to read them!
Thanks so much for stopping by!

Need help? Please visit Genealogy 1-on-1 


Sunday, June 5, 2016

This Week On My Family History Calendar

June 5 - June 11




June 9~
David Daughrity
Late 1920's
©Cheri Hudson Passey
Manning David Daughrity, Jr. (1889-1931) died 85 years ago in Sumter, Sumter County, South Carolina. David, my maternal Great Grandfather, died from an illness he had been suffering from for a while. He was buried in The Sumter City Cemetery. 


June 11~
Mattie Baker
  My paternal Great Great Grandmother, Martha Victoria (Bradford) Baker (1862-1947) was born 154 years ago. Mattie was born in Sumter County, South Carolina to Samuel James Bradford II (1815-1875) and Mary Alice (Dargan) Bradford (1825-1875).

Also on the 11th~
Jubal Ransom Early (1888-1964) and Emma Ruth (Baker) Early (1901-1993), my paternal Great Grandparents, were married 85 years ago most likely in South Carolina. Their marriage record has not been located. They were later divorced.


Are we kin? Please contact me. Together we can find our people.
Thanks so much for stopping by!


  



Celebration Sunday~Genealogy Happy Dance!



You know the dance. You know you've done it. The one every researcher does after finding something new. The one where you want to jump up and down and shout to everyone around that you found the document, contacted a cousin who has the family Bible, made a DNA connection or found a whole new branch to your tree. The one that is met with glazed stares and eye rolls.
                                                          Celebration Sunday is a place to share your discoveries. 
This is a weekly series to enable everyone to tell about their Genealogy Happy Dance moment. This can be done by scrolling down and adding your story to the comments section. You may also put a link to a blog post.





                                                                 
My Happy Dance This Week: Finding the Probate Packet of my maternal Great Great Grandfather, Ransom Taylor Early who died in Iredell County, North Carolina in 1888 had me putting my dancing shoes on! 
  
                                                                           
                                                                                           Share your discovery!
                                                                                   Let the dancing commence!





Are we kin? Please contact me. Together we can find our people.
Thanks so much for stopping by!