I am a firm believer in spending as little money as possible to find the information you need to expand your family history. I don't like to be forced to pay a monthly fee to get that information. Having said that, if you don't want to chase down your English roots the way I did by actually going to the source in England, Find My Past is a great option.
I do not have a subscription at the moment but after doing a few quick searches on their site I felt as if it would be a very good idea to have one. I searched for a couple of ancestors who are dead ends for me in England and got results that I could tell by the limited information given to me, would be helpful. To actually see the documents I would need to pay or work really hard during the 14 day trial period.
If you have ancestors in England or Ireland, it is worth your while to at least take a look and do a free search to see if they have records that would be of help. You can find parish records, census, newspaper and more. Some of the records they have are exclusive to them which is what makes Find My Past so appealing.
The search results will make you want to buy a subscription. For $14.95 a month or $129 a year you can have access to the basic information that they have, parish records, census, and emigration records. If you want more, such as newspapers, military, wills and institutional records you will need to go for the Ultimate subscription which costs $19.95 a month or $179 a year. Only you know which makes more sense to you but I think it is certainly worth at least a one-month membership to see if you can find some of the information you are looking for.
I used Find My Past myself for free searching and was able to see a lot of excellent information and if you are willing to accept just the year and not see the original documents, you can get plenty of free info.
Wednesday, March 13, 2019
Wednesday, February 27, 2019
NERGC Update
If you plan to attend the NERGC Conference in Manchester NewHampshire April 3-6 you have one more day to get the early bird rate which will save you $30. Early Bird registration ends on February 28th.
See you there!!
Conference website
See you there!!
Conference website
Wednesday, February 13, 2019
Planning a visit to the National Archives
National Archive Branches are located in
- Washington, DC
- College Park, MD
Atlanta, GA - Boston, MA
- Chicago, IL
- Denver, CO
- Fort Worth, TX
- Kansas City, MO
- New York City, NY
- Philadelphia, PA
- Riverside, CA
- St. Louis, MO
- San Francisco, CA
- Seattle, WA
Not every branch will have all records, it is important that you check before you visit what records are available at each branch. You can use the National Archives Catalog to determine where the records you want are located. Also check the times when the archives are open, each branch has different hours.
When you arrive at the branch you plan to visit you will need to fill out call slips so that the records you want to view can be pulled. Arrive as early in the day as possible and try to avoid the weekends. I speak from experience when I say, if you are driving any distance you should probably plan on an overnight visit. Getting and working with the records is likely to take longer than you anticipate. You don't want to rush through things and if you are like me, one visit won't even be enough.
I did my research and even though the archives in Pittsfield was closer and much easier to get to, I had to go to the one in Waltham, Ma. (Boston). I was wanting to look for naturalization records and ship records and these were in Waltham.
Staff is available for questions and are very helpful at least in Waltham they are. I now need to go another route to look for my father-in-law's naturalization and it will not be at Waltham since he wasn't a resident of Connecticut in those days.
What types of records can you hope to find?
Military service records, naturalization records, immigration records, ship manifests, passenger lists, land records, court records, fugitive slave records and a whole lot more.
Thursday, January 3, 2019
NERGC 2019
Registration has now opened for the 2019 NERGC in Manchester, New Hampshire April 3-6. If you haven't made your hotel reservation yet, the Doubletree Hotel is filling up fast and you may have to use the Hilton Garden Inn. Some of the tracks have a limited number of spaces so if you have very specific things you are looking for, it is imperative that you register as quickly as possible.
And yes, I have already registered. Follow the link and register and I look forward to seeing you there.
And yes, I have already registered. Follow the link and register and I look forward to seeing you there.
Thursday, December 13, 2018
Meeting With DNA Cousins
While I was in Ireland last month I met up with a DNA cousin whom I matched on Family Tree DNA. I am not usually the one who contacts people but in this case, I did. David Malloy is my second cousin once removed. My grandmother and his great-grandmother are sisters. We exchanged a few emails and when he found out that I was visiting Ireland, he made reservations to come to Dublin and stay while I was there.
We met in the Den Bar at the Landsdowne Hotel. Did I recognize him at first sight? No, not really. I did look at him as he stood at the bar but since we hadn't exchanged pictures I didn't immediately recognize him. Luckily he came over to our table which had me jumping to my feet and into his arms.
We were immediately chatting away like we had always known each other. I have found this to be a common reaction. We know right away we have two things in common, ancestors and the love of genealogy. I have met quite a few of my cousins who I didn't know I had over the years and it has been the same every time.
We had some really interesting information that I didn't have and I have my knowledge of using DNA to nail down relationships.
We met again the next day for breakfast and then spent 5 hours figuring things out. We found that we have a lot in common and it is obvious that we share lots of DNA. I am not suggesting that it will always work out this well, but in my experience it has. Be sure to meet in a public place and if possible not alone.
I wish I had asked our friends to take a picture of us together but we were so busy talking that it never occurred to me.
We met in the Den Bar at the Landsdowne Hotel. Did I recognize him at first sight? No, not really. I did look at him as he stood at the bar but since we hadn't exchanged pictures I didn't immediately recognize him. Luckily he came over to our table which had me jumping to my feet and into his arms.
We were immediately chatting away like we had always known each other. I have found this to be a common reaction. We know right away we have two things in common, ancestors and the love of genealogy. I have met quite a few of my cousins who I didn't know I had over the years and it has been the same every time.
We had some really interesting information that I didn't have and I have my knowledge of using DNA to nail down relationships.
We met again the next day for breakfast and then spent 5 hours figuring things out. We found that we have a lot in common and it is obvious that we share lots of DNA. I am not suggesting that it will always work out this well, but in my experience it has. Be sure to meet in a public place and if possible not alone.
I wish I had asked our friends to take a picture of us together but we were so busy talking that it never occurred to me.
Tuesday, October 23, 2018
My Genealogy Road Trip to Cape Ann Massachusetts
I have been on many genealogy trips. For me, coming to Cape Ann was a journey of discovery. I have early New England ancestors who were residents in the area at about the time of the infamous Salem witch trials. That, of course, made me very curious. I had one ancestor who had died in Gloucester in 1728 but I had no idea where he was buried.
The Cape Anne Museum, in addition to some wonderful exhibits, has a genealogy library that is the ideal place to start any research into ancestors in the area. I checked in on Friday morning and began my quest to find out where Michael Webber was buried.
Staff is available to send you in the right direction and let you know what is available. Lots of people were searching that morning so it took me a while to get the help I needed. I was given the cemetery registers for all of the cemeteries in Gloucester. It was a painstaking search that yielded nothing. I was quite defeated. The death record was no help as it only said that he died not where he was buried.
I was looking through a book about the area when I came across a section about my ancestor Michael’s son of the same name and his wife. A minister was named who had visited their home. I mentioned it to one of the librarians and she immediately responded: "he is the minister from the First Parish". It seems inadvertently I had stumbled upon the information that I needed. As members of First Parish, they would have been buried in the First Parish Cemetery. Since they were not listed in that cemetery, they are unlikely to have a stone.
I immediately asked about the location of the cemetery and got a rather vague answer. Later that day, at the Sargent House Museum, the director looked it up for me and printed a map that showed me where it was. Even with that information, I was not able to find it on my first attempt.
I refused to leave town without finding it so returned to the street, driving very slowly and there it was. It is off the road, there is a small sign but the cemetery is completely overgrown. A few gravestones standing in a field of hay. Too bad because this is a very historic place and many of the early settlers of Gloucester are no doubt buried here.
Another piece of information I acquired at the Cape Anne Museum was the location of my ancestor's land. It seems he was quite well off and had a large holding in an area that is quite amazing today.
As I visited the Fisherman’s Memorial on the waterfront, I realized that I had a relative on the memorial. Michael Webber's grandson lost his life and is memorialized here. I really loved my visit to Gloucester and I feel very connected to the area.
Before you head off on your own genealogy road trip be sure that you have done the necessary research not only about the dates and places but about the possible sources of information in the area.
The Cape Anne Museum, in addition to some wonderful exhibits, has a genealogy library that is the ideal place to start any research into ancestors in the area. I checked in on Friday morning and began my quest to find out where Michael Webber was buried.
Staff is available to send you in the right direction and let you know what is available. Lots of people were searching that morning so it took me a while to get the help I needed. I was given the cemetery registers for all of the cemeteries in Gloucester. It was a painstaking search that yielded nothing. I was quite defeated. The death record was no help as it only said that he died not where he was buried.
I was looking through a book about the area when I came across a section about my ancestor Michael’s son of the same name and his wife. A minister was named who had visited their home. I mentioned it to one of the librarians and she immediately responded: "he is the minister from the First Parish". It seems inadvertently I had stumbled upon the information that I needed. As members of First Parish, they would have been buried in the First Parish Cemetery. Since they were not listed in that cemetery, they are unlikely to have a stone.
I immediately asked about the location of the cemetery and got a rather vague answer. Later that day, at the Sargent House Museum, the director looked it up for me and printed a map that showed me where it was. Even with that information, I was not able to find it on my first attempt.
I refused to leave town without finding it so returned to the street, driving very slowly and there it was. It is off the road, there is a small sign but the cemetery is completely overgrown. A few gravestones standing in a field of hay. Too bad because this is a very historic place and many of the early settlers of Gloucester are no doubt buried here.
Another piece of information I acquired at the Cape Anne Museum was the location of my ancestor's land. It seems he was quite well off and had a large holding in an area that is quite amazing today.
As I visited the Fisherman’s Memorial on the waterfront, I realized that I had a relative on the memorial. Michael Webber's grandson lost his life and is memorialized here. I really loved my visit to Gloucester and I feel very connected to the area.
Before you head off on your own genealogy road trip be sure that you have done the necessary research not only about the dates and places but about the possible sources of information in the area.
Tuesday, September 25, 2018
Ancestry Updates Your DNA Results
When I logged into Ancestry this past week and looked at my DNA results I saw that I had the option to look at and then accept updated results. I was naturally curious and couldn't wait to see what my new results said. It was not shocking but it was certainly much more in keeping with what I have always personally thought my DNA results should look like.
Current results:
Ireland and Scotland 49%
England, Wales and Northwestern Europe 31%
France 20%
Previous results:
Europe West 45%
Ireland 38%
Iberian Peninsula 11%
Great Britain 3%
Scandinavia 2%
Finland/Northwest Russia <1 %
Given the fact that my mother is half Irish and my father is half Irish, and the other halves are English and French, I think that the new results are much closer to reality.
Alfred's has really changed he is now 100% Portuguese, guess what, all 4 of his grandparents are Portuguese so this is not at all surprising and he is delighted that he is no longer Italian/Greek, English and Irish. He prefers to just be Portuguese.
Current results:
Ireland and Scotland 49%
England, Wales and Northwestern Europe 31%
France 20%
Previous results:
Europe West 45%
Ireland 38%
Iberian Peninsula 11%
Great Britain 3%
Scandinavia 2%
Finland/Northwest Russia <1 %
Given the fact that my mother is half Irish and my father is half Irish, and the other halves are English and French, I think that the new results are much closer to reality.
Alfred's has really changed he is now 100% Portuguese, guess what, all 4 of his grandparents are Portuguese so this is not at all surprising and he is delighted that he is no longer Italian/Greek, English and Irish. He prefers to just be Portuguese.
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