Sunday, October 30, 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.




                                                                 
My Happy Dance This Week:  Writing the recap for my post "Help From the Other Side" for the In-Depth Genealogist Blog was a lot of fun. The experiences shared by those who have had strange and downright eerie things happen as they have researched their ancestors had me feeling grateful for the help I have received. I do believe that our ancestors want to be found and will assist us if we will let them. That is something to dance about.

                                                                                           Share your discovery!
                                                                                   Let the dancing commence!




Looking forward to reading about your Happy Dance moment!
Thanks so much for stopping by!



Sunday, October 23, 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.




                                                                 
My Happy Dance This Week: Yesterday, I was privileged to spend the day at the Charleston, SC Family History Workshop where I taught a Beginning Genealogy and a Genealogy Blogging class. So wonderful to see people get excited about learning. One lady followed my steps to setting up a blog while I was demonstrating and got hers up during class! The look of "aha! I get it" on faces of those wanting to gain more skills and be better researchers got me doing that dance! What about you? What had you doing the Happy Dance this week?

                                                                                           Share your discovery!
                                                                                   Let the dancing commence!




Looking forward to reading about your Happy Dance moment!
Thanks so much for stopping by!




Friday, October 21, 2016

Family Recipe Friday~For a Nice, Suitable Meal


Have you ever wondered what types of food your ancestors may have eaten? If they lived near or could travel to a store, what may have been available to them? Were there recipes showing how they cooked their food? A search of newspapers in the area your ancestors lived may help answer some of those questions.



The Watchman and Southron (Sumter, SC)
Wed., April 20, 1892-pg.6
Newspapers.com image


Ducker and Bultman, a store in Sumter, South Carolina let their customers in April 1897  know that their list of foods "will enable housekeepers always to know where something nice and suitable for a meal, at this most difficult season for them, can be procured."
   It goes on to say that fresh meat is hard to come by just at this season.

As I look at the lists of foods available I think about my people who lived in or near Sumter. 
Most of them were farmers and grew their own produce and had  animals for meat.  Perhaps the "difficult season" brought them into town to feed their families.

  Did they see and follow the recipes for Ham and Bacon Breakfast Bread A La Epicure? Did they ever stop by for the fresh crackers and sliced cake? 
Did my ancestors go to Ducker and Bultman for a nice, suitable meal?  Ah, questions that may never be answered but the information in the paper gets me thinking about experiences they may have had.

Have you discovered interesting ads, recipes or other social history items in the newspapers from where your ancestors lived?
I would love to read about it. Please leave a comment 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, October 16, 2016

This Week On My Family History Calendar

October 16-October 22



Oct. 20~
  My paternal 4th Great Grandmother, Emily Elizabeth (Vaughn) Dargan (1795-1863) was born 219 years ago. She lived most of her life in Sumter District, South Carolina and may have been born there as well. Her parents were William Vaughn (1764-1857) and Alice (Cook) Vaughn (1774-1859).

Oct. 22~
  Loretta "Etta" (McManus) Daughrity (1894-1936), my maternal Great Grandmother was born 122 years ago in Sumter County, South Carolina. Her parents were William A. McManus (1854-1914) and Frances "Fannie" Virginia (McRady) McManus (1856-1903).  


Etta Daughrity
Sumter, South Carolina
Are we kin? Need help with your research? 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: An email notification of new hints on ancestry.com lead me to learn more information on my Walker line from Sumter County, South Carolina. I was able to locate a will which included names and gave me a new family unit to add to my tree. Finding the will also allowed me to add to the Slave Name Roll Project. Benjamin Walker's will included names of the enslaved. Putting the names in a post and including it in the project hopefully will help their families find them.  
 How about you? What had you dancing this week?

                                                                                           Share your discovery!
                                                                                   Let the dancing commence!




Looking forward to reading about your Happy Dance moment!
Thanks so much for stopping by!



Friday, October 14, 2016

Friends of Friends Friday~Releasing Slave Names from the Benjamin Walker Estate

 Genealogy research in South Carolina for both my paternal and maternal lines often results in locating records dealing with slavery. Friends of Friends Friday is a way to share the information regarding the enslaved.

My paternal 4th Great Grandfather was Benjamin Walker (1786-1845). Named after his father and grandfather, Benjamin was a land owner in Sumter County, South Carolina.
 When Benjamin died intestate an inventory of his personal property was completed on 22 December 1845.
 Included in the list were names of the enslaved on his plantation.
They were put into the following groups:
2) negro man Peter 400  1 do Ben 400
2) negro man Joseph 350  man George 300
2) woman Tilly 350  infant Peter 75 
3) Caroline 250 Ellen 200 Emma 150
2) Charlie 125- young man  January 425
3) boy Ross 300    Sam 275    old woman Kate 25
3) woman Jane 200   Matilda 200  Charlotte 150
1) child Edward 125
3) Jenor old woman 200   Martha 250  Nora 225
1) old woman Tilda 25

Inventory of Benjamin Walker Estate
22 December 1845
Sumter County, South Carolina
 Probate Bundle 122 Packet 4
Ancestry.com image

Additionally, the probate packet contains a Petition from Eliza A. Walker and W.J. Gibson, wife and son in law of the deceased saying that in order to pay the debts of the estate, they were going to have to sell 
" 18 negros belonging to said estate, George, Joe, Peter, Ben, January, Ross, Jenna and child, Nora, Tilley and four children, Ellen, Emma, Charlie, Peter, Jane and her children, Charlotte, Tilda, and Ed and Cate"

Dated 16 June 1946 and signed by Eliza Walker her mark x admin.
W.J. Gibson admin.   Test. B.A. Walker.


Petition Paper- Estate of Benjamin Walker
16 June 1846
Sumter County, South Carolina Probate
Bundle 122 Packet 4
Ancestry.com image

Perhaps with the listing of their names, they will not be forgotten and their families will be able to locate them.

This post will be submitted to the Slave Name Roll Project created by Schalene Dagutis. Do you have documents and records that list the names of the enslaved? Please consider contributing to this project. 


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

Thanks so much for stopping by!



Tuesday, October 11, 2016

Tuesday's Tip~Gettin' by With Help from Our Friends-Katherine R. Willson




This week's Tuesday Tip comes from our friend Katherine Willson!


FACEBOOK’S 10,000+ GENEALOGY & HISTORY LINKS

This is an amazing time to be a genealogist, given the power of the internet!  It’s incredibly convenient to be able to view original records online at sites like FamilySearch.org, Ancestry.com, MyHeritage.com, and FindMyPast.com - records that we previously viewed on microfilm or that required travel to other states and countries in order to view. 

Combining the power of the internet with crowdsourcing has made it possible to also see images of cemetery stones at sites like FindAGrave.com, BillionGraves.com, NamesInStone.com and, Interment.net. 

But it’s the crowdsourcing that’s available in the genealogical communities on Facebook that’s REALLY making this an exciting time to be a family history researcher!  There are currently more than 10,000+ groups and pages on Facebook that are specific to genealogy and history that focus on locations worldwide, surnames and so much more!

There are groups available to assist with research on African American, Hispanic and Native American ancestors, and those who were Jewish, Quaker, Mennonite, and Mormon.  There are groups specifically for those who are adopted (or descend from an adopted family member) and are trying to complete their family tree.  Members in the many photo identification groups can assist with unlabeled photographs, and there’s a large RAOGK (Random Acts of Genealogical Kindness) community that is willing to do look-ups at civic & sacred locations around the world. 

Do you descend from an ancestor who served in a major conflict, was a prisoner, a patient in an asylum, or a railway worker?  There are groups for those populations!

Are you trying to find antique maps from the towns where your ancestors lived?  Translate the letters your great-grandmother wrote in German?  Searching for Bible pages that may contain birth/marriage/death dates of your great-great-grandparents?  Looking for fraternal organization record archives?  There are groups for those, as well!

If you’re unsure how to get started with the use of Facebook as a genealogical research tool, here are some tips:

1) Download the “Genealogy on Facebook” list at no cost from  www.SocialMediaGenealogy.com/genealogy-on-facebook-list and familiarize yourself with the Table of Contents.  Note that each listing in the Table of Contents is a clickable link and will take you directly to that portion of the list. 

2) When you join a Facebook group, read the group’s descriptions and pinned posts to ensure you’re following group rules.  Some groups prohibit the posting of information about living individuals, while others have a specific focus - you don’t want to ask how to use your genealogy software in a group focused on translating foreign language documents. 

3) Utilize the “Search this group” feature in the upper left corner of the group’s home page to see if anyone else has already posted the information you seek. 

4) Explore the group’s uploaded files - there may be templates in there that will assist you or listings of surnames being researched by members of the group. 

5) When writing your query, remember that the best ones have the following:
·       A Who-When-Where introduction.  If you’re visiting the Willson Families of Cherry Valley, NY group, you don’t want to simply say you’re researching James Willson - tell people the time period that your James Willson lived in that area so he’s not confused with this son, grandson and great-grandson by the same name.
·       A specific question.  While we all wish we could get “everything having to do with my ancestor,” asking specific questions like the following will yield better results:  When did my ancestor marry?  Where was she born?  What were her parents’ names?
·       Where you’ve already looked.  If you’ve already researched the various censuses, city directories and newspapers of the time, say so.  You don’t want volunteers to spend their time duplicating the work you’ve already done. 

6) Always thank the group members who have provided you with assistance, and offer to pay it forward.

If you’re not yet using Facebook as a genealogical research tool, I hope that these tips can help you get started!  Enjoy! 


 BIO:  Katherine R. Willson of Ann Arbor, MI is a professional genealogist, public speaker & educator who is the creator of the “Genealogy on Facebook” list, containing 10,000+ links to genealogy & history pages/groups on Facebook.  Read more about her, the family lines she’s researching and her upcoming speaking 
engagements at www.SocialMediaGenealogy.com








Thanks, Katherine for the great tips and all your hard work in creating the "Genealogy and Facebook " list and keeping it updated!

Have you used Facebook for your genealogy research? We'd love to hear about it!
Thanks for stopping by!




Monday, October 10, 2016

This Week On My Family History Calendar

October 9-October 15


Oct. 11~
 My paternal Great Great Grandfather, Ezra Ashby Hudson (1821-1882) was born 195 years ago in Darlington District, South Carolina. He was the son of Jacob Hudson (1788-1870) and Mary (?).

 Mary Jane (Brown) McRady, my maternal 3rd Great Grandmother (1821-1894), died 122 years ago in Sumter County, South Carolina. She is buried in the Pisgah Baptist Church Cemetery in Pisgah Crossroad, Sumter, South Carolina. 
Mary Jane (Brown) McRady
Headstone
Pisgah Baptist Church Cemetery
Picture courtesy Remember Me
Find A Grave 


Oct. 13~
  The 104th wedding anniversary of my maternal Great Grandparents, Manning David Daughrity, Jr. (1889-1931) and Loretta (McManus) Daughrity (1834-1936). David was 23 and Etta 17 when they married in Bishopville, Lee, South Carolina. 
David and Etta Daughrity
Marriage License 
     My 5th Great Grandmother, Mary (Strother) Dargan (1772-1822) died 193 years ago in Sumter District, South Carolina. 



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

 Thanks so much for stopping by!


Sunday, October 9, 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.



                                                                 
My Happy Dance This Week: Coming through Hurricane Matthew and seeing that my genealogy friends did too is my happy dance this week. I am grateful that my family and friends were spared loss of property and lives. My prayers are with those who suffered and are continuing to suffer. Thank you to all who asked about me and family over the last few days. 
Much love to all. 

                                                                                           Share your discovery!
                                                                                   Let the dancing commence!



Looking forward to reading about your Happy Dance moments!
Thanks so much for stopping by!





Sunday, October 2, 2016

This Week On My Family History Calendar

October 2-October 8


October 2-
Frances "Fannie" Virginia (McRady) McManus (1856-1903), my maternal great great grandmother, was born 160 years ago. She was born in Sumter County, South Carolina. She was the daughter of Thomas J. McRady (1821-1896) and Mary Jane (Brown) McRady (1821-1894).


Fannie V. McManus
Headstone
Pisgah Baptist Church Cemetery
Pisgah Crossroads, Sumter, South Carolina
©Cheri Hudson Passey

Are we kin? Need help with your research? 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: Taking some time to work on my own family tree instead of doing client work, I was able to add several names to my database. Researching and finding these leaves to my tree had me dancing all week!

                                                                                           Share your discovery!
                                                                                   Let the dancing commence!




Looking forward to reading about your Happy Dance moment!
Thanks so much for stopping by!






Saturday, October 1, 2016

Press Release-Little Family Tree Genealogy App for Children

This Press Release was received today.


Little Family Tree, A Genealogy App for Children, Now FREE to Download


Herriman, Utah, October 1, 2016

Yellow Fork Technologies LLC has just released a major update to their app, Little Family Tree, making it FREE to download through the mobile app stores. Little Family Tree is an app that teaches children about their family history through interactive games and activities with information obtained from an online family tree.

Today's children intuitively understand how to use touch devices such as smartphones and tablets. Little Family Tree brings a child's personal family history to them through this learning medium and shares it in a way that is accessible to them. An adult logs into an online family tree account, such as FamilySearch, and the app synchronizes the data while children play. There is no need to manually upload or enter family history data into the app and any changes made or photos added to the online tree will synchronize with the app. The app is read-only and does not change the data on the online tree.

Playing Little Family Tree teaches children to: identify family members by name, relationship, and picture, understand who and where they come from, and recognize and navigate a family tree, all in a fun and engaging way. Most importantly, they will feel a connection to their ancestors as they learn about them.

Little Family Tree is available for iOS and Android smartphones and tablets and may be downloaded directly from the app stores. The FREE version includes five games; five additional games are available in the premium version for $3.99 in the U.S., priced accordingly in other regions. More information, videos, and tutorials can be found on the website at http://www.littlefamilytree.com.


About Yellow Fork Technologies LLC:

Little Family Tree is the inaugural product of Yellow Fork Technologies, LLC, of Utah. Yellow Fork Technologies, LLC was founded in 2015 with the key mission to make family history more accessible and engaging through technology. http://www.yellowforktech.com