Exploring My Ancestors

New Blog

noreply@blogger.com (Andin) — Sat, 13 Dec 2008 05:09:00 +0000

My new consolidated blog, Mom's Many Projects, is now ready! You can find it at http://momsmanyprojects.blogspot.com! This blog will still be available to view old posts.

Consolidation of Blogs

noreply@blogger.com (Andin) — Sat, 13 Dec 2008 02:52:00 +0000

I am currently in the process of consolidating my blogs into one new blog. As much as I enjoy each of my blogs, I'm afraid I don't have as much time as I would like to keep up with all of them separately. Therefore, soon there will be a brand new blog that will encompass posts on my personal finance, genealogy, home and garden projects, and anything else I feel like posting. I feel that at this time it will allow me more flexibility to post in times when there is more subject matter to discuss in one area over another. I will post the website here as soon as I am ready to go live with it.

This blog has been extremely enjoyable for me to work on and I hope everyone that follows it will enjoy the new one!

Titanic Crew Member

noreply@blogger.com (Andin) — Sun, 28 Sep 2008 22:44:00 +0000

We went to a Titanic exhibit at a science center yesterday and I saw a last name that sounded familiar from my family tree. Miss Ruth Bowker was a crew member that survived the sinking of the Titanic. I know we have Bowker's in our family tree that are both direct line and indirect as cousins, though I'm not currently showing too many of them. I would be interested in doing some research on her and see if she is connected to my family in some way.

Storm and School

noreply@blogger.com (Andin) — Sun, 24 Aug 2008 23:01:00 +0000

This blog went a little off the radar for me lately and will more than likely continue for a little longer.

Firstly, we had Tropical Storm Fay that took me away from my blogs. While we luckily did not have any damage, it did move my attention to Fay and not on my blogs.

Secondly, I start this terms college classes tomorrow. While I have blogged during the college terms, the beginning of each term takes up time as I determine the best schedule based on the specific classes.

Therefore, I may not be blogging here for a little while until I can get my schedule straight. Once I do, then I'll be back! Hopefully, that will not take me any more than a week or two.

8-17-08 Data Transfer Numbers

noreply@blogger.com (Andin) — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 03:05:00 +0000

I did a little better today with entering in data. I got to 3,513 or 124 entered today. I could have done more, but I'm making it a shorter day because school starts tomorrow for the boys and I have to get up early.

8-16-08 Data Transfer Numbers

noreply@blogger.com (Andin) — Sun, 17 Aug 2008 04:09:00 +0000

I didn't enter in as many as I had planned today, but it was still better than yesterday. I'm up to 3,389 individuals or 73 additional records entered.

8-15-08 Data Transfer Numbers

noreply@blogger.com (Andin) — Sat, 16 Aug 2008 04:05:00 +0000

I'm up to 3,316 individuals entered, which is 28 more than yesterday.

Google Search Friday--Pulling

noreply@blogger.com (Andin) — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 18:46:00 +0000

Today's Google Search Friday is on the surname, Pulling, from my paternal grandfather's side. I have two in my tree: Margaret Pulling and her father, Simon Pulling.

I have no information on either one other than who they married. Simon was married to Mary Tosh with no other info on her either. Their daughter, Margaret, was married to Nathaniel Dodge sometime between 1705 and 1706. He was born in New Shoreham, Block Island, Washington, Rhode Island so perhaps she was from the area as well.

Search entered: Pulling

I found absolutely nothing even remotely close to being about a person.

Search entered: Margaret Pulling

The first site given was for her husband's family, which also included her and her parents. The only thing is that they show her birthday as the same as her husband's birthday. This may be correct, but seems unlikely.

I also found this on Genforum.

This site gives me a birth year of about 1685. Still not sure how correct that is, but it would make more sense.

Search entered: Margaret Pulling genealogy

I was surprised that I didn't really find anything with this search. I found two sites, but one I already found and mentioned, and the other wasn't worth a mention for this search.

Moving info to Reunion 9 from FTM

noreply@blogger.com (Andin) — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 18:22:00 +0000

I may have mentioned before that I am in the process of switching all my genealogical information over to Reunion 9 from FTM. Instead of just moving a gedcom file I am manually typing in everything to help prevent errors and also clean up the data a bit as I go.

When I started today I already had 3,139 names in my new database. The total at the end of the day is 3,288 so I've added 149 names today.

FTM statistics show that I have 56,331 individuals in that database, though I believe some may be duplicates or in error. Still I have a long way to go before all the data will be transferred over completely. Once done, I plan on adding any photos I may have and attaching sources.

Ancestral Space

noreply@blogger.com (Andin) — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 16:15:00 +0000

A couple of days ago I was informed about a site called Ancestral Space and found it was quite interesting. I've since signed up though I will be continuing my blog here and just referencing it there. My page on the site can be found here.

Ancestry--New and Updated Databases: July 26 - August 11

noreply@blogger.com (Andin) — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 14:50:00 +0000

July 26th:

None

July 27th:

None

July 28th:

Bremen, Germany Ships Crew Lists, 1815-1917 (in German) - Updated
Bremen, Germany Sailors Registry, 1824-1917 (in German) - Updated
The Edward Pleasants Valentine Papers, Vol. I - New
Bremen, Germany Births on Ships, 1867-1911 (in German) - New

July 29th:

Bremen, German Deaths of Sailors and Ship Passengers, 1834-1875 (in German) - New
The Edward Pleasants Valentine Papers, Vol. II - New
Bremen, German Desertions of Sailors, 1855-1874 (in German) - New

July 30th:

Tennessee State Marriages, 1780-2002 - Updated
The Edward Pleasants Valentine Papers, Vol. III - New

July 31st:

The Final Disposition, Vol. I - New
Illinois State Census Collection, 1825-1865 - New

August 1st:

The Final Disposition, Vol. II - New
The Final Disposition, Vol. III - New
The Final Disposition, Vol. IV - New

August 2nd:

None

August 3rd:

None

August 4th:

The Genealogical Advertiser, Vol. I - New

August 5th:

The Edward Pleasants Valentine Papers, Vol. IV - New

August 6th:

The Genealogical Advertiser, Vol. II - New

August 7th:

The Genealogical Advertiser, Vol. III - New
The Rise and Progress of Australia, Tasmania, and New Zealand - New

August 8th:

The Winthrop Fleet of 1630 - New
The Prominent Families of the United States of America - New
The Genealogical Advertiser, Vol. IV - New

August 9th:

None

August 10th:

None

August 11th:

1770-1790 Census of the Cumberland Settlements - New

UK National Archives

noreply@blogger.com (Andin) — Sat, 09 Aug 2008 16:46:00 +0000

I've found this site to be very interesting. It's the National Archives for the UK and if you have the time to go through it all you'll find quite a bit of great information. It covers the 8th century to the present for both England and Wales.

Google Search Friday--Hoo

noreply@blogger.com (Andin) — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 18:41:00 +0000

I know it is no longer Friday, but the Olympic opening ceremony was on last night so I didn't quite get to it. I really must get a bit ahead on these before school starts for me again.

Today's Google Search Friday is on the surname, Hoo, from my paternal grandmother's side. It seems that I have again given myself a challenge.

I only have one person in the tree with this surname, Anne Hoo. I have no additional information on her other than she was married to Thomas Rede and her son is also Thomas Rede born in 1516 in Brocket Hall, Hertfordshire, England.

Let's see what I can find.

Search entered: Hoo

I found some information on Sutton Hoo. And at the British Museum. The rest is just really weird. I'll move on.

Search entered: Anne Hoo

I found an Ann Hoo, but I do not believe it is the right one. It appears that Google cannot get away from this Ann Hoo because of her Boleyn connection. I even tried with Anne Hoo 1496, which would make our Anne 20 at the birth of her child.

Search entered: Anne Hoo Thomas Rede

I think I finally started to hit something! Here is a site that mentions the correct Anne Hoo and her father. This book excerpt is mostly about the Rede's/Reade's, but confirms her father. I also found a book that shows her mother as being Alice in the index. It seems to have quite a few other names that would be interesting to my research, but the price is outrageous ($160 for hard copy and $120 for and ebook). So perhaps I can find it in the library.

Google Search Friday--Potter

noreply@blogger.com (Andin) — Sat, 02 Aug 2008 00:56:00 +0000

Today's Google Search Friday is on the surname, Potter, picked by my oldest son this time. I have many in my tree so I'll be concentrating specifically on Nicholas Potter born in 1460 in Newport-Pagnell, Buckinghamshire, England.

I have some info on him, but would like more info on the people around him. I only have his wife as Agnes and that she was born in 1470 (no parents) and his father, Thomas. No mother is mentioned.

Search entered: Nicholas Potter

I did find a site with Nicholas Potter and his descendants, but it was not the Nicholas Potter I was looking for though they are related. Good site to check out later, but it has this Nicholas Potter's father different than what I have.

Search entered: Nicholas Potter 1460

This site gives an estimated date for his father's birth and a possible grandfather. It doesn't give any sources so I'd still need to look for those at a later date.

Search entered: Nicholas Potter history

It seems I've been looking for the wrong Nicholas...lol. I found a site that gives a little bit of background on the Nicholas Potter born in 1604 that may or may not have been the gr-gr-grandson of the Nicholas Potter born in 1460. There doesn't seem to be much info beyond the 1604 Nicholas's father, Robert Potter.

New Sidebar Look

noreply@blogger.com (Andin) — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 19:27:00 +0000

You may notice that my lists of direct line surnames are gone from the sidebar. Don't panic! They are not really gone--just no longer taking up as much space.

There are now links that will bring you directly to a list of my direct line surnames. This allowed the sidebar to look less cluttered and also finally allowed me to add some of the wonderful genealogy blogs and links I have found. I will still have the names linked to their posts as they are mentioned in the blog.

Over time I would like to add some lists of non-direct line surnames. While I'll generally stick with my direct lines, it is nice to have the non-direct lines, too, as I never know if they will become direct lines later in my research.

Ancestry--New and Updated Databases: July 12 - July 25

noreply@blogger.com (Andin) — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 01:29:00 +0000

July 12th:

None

July 13th:

None

July 14th:

Cabell County Annals and Families--New

July 15th:

Capon Valley. Its Pioneers and Their Descendants, 1698 to 1940, Vol. I--New

July 16th:

Capon Valley. Its Pioneers and Their Descendants, 1698 to 1940, Vol. II--New

July 17th:

Pioneers and Makers of Arkansas--New

July 18th:

Everyname Index to Egle's Notes and Queries Five Annuals--New
Genealogical Abstracts from The American Weekly Mercury, 1719-1746--New
Genealogical Notes--New

July 19th:

None

July 20th:

None

July 21st:

Record of Indentures [1771-1773]--New
1891 Census of Canada--New

July 22nd:

Siebmacher’s Wappenbuch (in German)--New
Red River Settlers--New

July 23rd:

Quebec Vital and Church Records (Drouin Collection), 1621-1967--Updated
Acadia French Catholic Church Records (Drouin Collection), 1670-1946--Updated
New South Wales, Australia, Convict Death Register, 1826-1879--New
Remember the Raisin!--New
New South Wales, Australia Convict Ship Muster Rolls and Related Records, 1790-1849--New

July 24th:

Settlers of Rensselaerswyck, 1630-1658--New

July 25th:

Stephen F. Austin's Register of Families--New
Suffolk County Wills--New
The Burlington Court Book--New

Google Search Friday--Merbury

noreply@blogger.com (Andin) — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 18:58:00 +0000

Today's Google Search Friday is on the surname, Merbury, picked by my youngest son. I have two in my tree. The first is Cecilia (Alice) Merbury, who married Richard Cornwall. The second is her father, John Merbury. I don't have much more information than that, though with the info on her husband I can assume she was born around the late 1300s and probably in England somewhere.

Search entered: Merbury

Wow! First search and I already have found something here. It appears that according to this site her background is a little shaky as to whether John Merbury is her father or not. They have it down as a possibility along with other children of his and his wife/wives. Regardless it will help fill in some potential blanks and give me some more to work with.

Here is another one with Cecilia, though they call her Cecily.

Search entered: Cecilia Merbury

The first site I found looks pretty good and includes more info on her children. I don't see any sources with them though. But is still gives me a starting point.

Search entered: Cecilia Merbury history

I found another site that has her in it and mostly follows her daughter, Matilda. Lots of info to go through here later.

Not much else of interest here on her right now.

Google Search Friday--Bown

noreply@blogger.com (Andin) — Sun, 20 Jul 2008 01:24:00 +0000

Here is yesterday's Google Search Friday. Even after the storms passed through yesterday we still has quick power outages several times that kept turning my computer off. It seems much better now so here we go!

This week I'll google the surname Bown. I have two in my tree. The first is Catherine Bown born 1556 in Bantry, Nottinghamshire, England and died in England. The second is her father, John Bown, born 1526.

Search entered: Bown

I immediately found a website from someone searching their own Bown family, but they are currently researching more recent dates. This information may or may not be a connection at a later date so I'll keep the link here to refer back at another time if needed.

Search entered: Catherine Bown

Again I immediately came across another website here. This time it was on my Catherine Bown, but there was an obvious mistake in their information. They list her husband correctly as George Morton, but then give birth and death information from their son also named George Morton.

Also found another website that looks more interesting. It doesn't give more info on Catherine and her father, but does show promise for her descendants.

Search entered: Catherine Bown genealogy

This pretty much gave the same search results as the previous search.

Search entered: Catherine Bown history

This actually helped a bit. I found a site here that had some info on her mother. No name, but some potential dates and places that could help further the search. Also, it included information about her other son, Thomas, here.

It seems that overall there is more information for her husband and children than for herself and her father.

Delay due to storms

noreply@blogger.com (Andin) — Sat, 19 Jul 2008 03:30:00 +0000

Due to some bad storms tonight, Google Search Friday will be postponed to tomorrow. Thank you.

Ancestry--New and Updated Databases: July 5 - July 11

noreply@blogger.com (Andin) — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 00:34:00 +0000

July 5th:

None

July 6th:

None

July 7th:

Pioneers and Their Homes on Upper Kanawha [West Virginia]--New

July 8th:

Roane County, West Virginia Families--New

July 9th:

The Soldiery of West Virginia--New
The Book of Household Management - Isabella Beeton 1869--New

July 10th:

West Virginia Estate Settlements--New
Michigan Passenger and Crew Lists, 1903-1965--New

July 11th:

West Virginia Revolutionary Ancestors--New
Alabama Census Returns, 1820--New
American Wills and Administrations--New

Google Search Friday--Hacke-Hoffman-Hell

noreply@blogger.com (Andin) — Sat, 12 Jul 2008 03:18:00 +0000

Today's Google search Friday will be on the surname Hacke-Hoffman-Hell. This is on my ancestor, Marie Hacke-Hoffman-Hell, also from Germany. I expect even less results for this person. We think she was previously married at one point before Hermann Obst Jr.

Search entered: Hacke-Hoffman-Hell

No matches other than this blog. Let's try what may be her maiden name, Hacke.

Search entered: Hacke

I came across a lot of websites for an Alexander Hacke and an Oliver Hacke.

Search entered: Hacke genealogy

The entire first page was full of "databases" of where the surname may be found. The second page started on trees and information for the Hacke surname, but also gave other variations such as Hack, Hacker, Heche, Hache, Hachey. I may look into those another time.

Search entered: Hoffman genealogy

I came up with a bunch of interesting Hoffman genealogy sites, but nothing that really stands out to me.

If we are thinking about the last name and the fact that she may have been married previously, then her maiden name could have been hyphenated at Hacke-Hoffman and her first married name, Hell. This is, of course, assuming she went by any of these names. We have no parents on her so we cannot know if she had hyphenated her maiden name.

Search entered: Hacke-Hoffman genealogy

Well that didn't bring up anything except two for this blog and three for Hacker.

This might be a nice mystery to try to solve in the future. Which was actually her maiden name? Who were her parents and were any of their surnames Hacke, Hoffman, or Hell? Was she really married previously?

Ancestry--New and Updated Databases: June 27-July 4

noreply@blogger.com (Andin) — Sun, 06 Jul 2008 22:27:00 +0000

Here I'll list weekly new and updated databases available on Ancestry.

June 27th:

Official records of the Union and Confederate Armies, 1861-1865--New
Virginia Soldiers of 1776--New
Virginia Tax Records--New
Virginia Vital Records--New

June 28th:

None

June 29th:

None

June 30th:

U.S. Colored Troops Military Service Records, 1861-1865--Updated

Virginia Will Records--New

England & Wales, FreeBMD Birth Index: 1837-1983 - Free Index--Updated

England & Wales, FreeBMD Marriage Index: 1837-1983 - Free Index--Updated

July 1st:

Gateway to The West, Vol. I--New

July 2nd:

Library of Congress Photo Collection, 1840-2000--Updated

Gateway to The West, Vol. II--New

July 3rd:

Genealogies of West Virginia Families--New

July 4th:

Genealogy of Some Early Families in Grant and Pleasant Districts, Preston County, W. Va.--New

Greenbrier [W. Va.] Pioneers and Their Homes--New
Mason County, West Virginia Marriages, 1806-1915--New

Google Search Friday--Rubarth

noreply@blogger.com (Andin) — Sat, 05 Jul 2008 02:50:00 +0000

Today's Google search Friday will be on the surname Rubarth. The only person with this surname is Sophie Rubarth. She will also be a real challenge because that is all the information I have on her other than she was married to Karl Schutte. I can also assume she is also from Germany.

Search entered: Rubarth

I basically just came up with a bunch of sites for a musician, Amber Rubarth.

Search entered: Sophie Rubarth

Came across my mother's post requesting information again. This would be the same one found for the surname, Schutte.

LOL...my own blog came up on the next page of search results.

More sites for Amber Rubarth came up, too.

Search entered: Sophie Rubarth genealogy

The link for this book of Rubarth genealogy is more than likely not related to my Rubarth, but it does go back to Westphalia, Germany and gives other variations of Rubarth to consider during future searches. (Reminder to self: look into surname variations of Rubard, Rubart, Rhubardt)

Reunion 9

noreply@blogger.com (Andin) — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 14:31:00 +0000

Almost from the beginning of my genealogical research I've used FTM on my PC laptop to hold my information. It's been a real pain! But I didn't realize how much of one until I decided to find a program to use on my Mac so I could eventually get rid of my PC. I found Reunion 9 and it's amazing! I absolutely love it! I cannot believe how incredibly easy it is to use and their manual is actually in simple step-by-step terms instead of beat-around-the-bush questions and answers. I've learned so much about the program in the two days that I've had the program than I know about FTM and I've used it for years!

I love how easy it is to correct someone's parents or add a child to a set of parents. You just drag and drop! The same for adding photos and documents! I also like that everything is/can be color coded. Oh and that you can mark people you've finished researching.

Anyway, I could go on and on, but I'd rather get back to inputing my data. Yes, I am doing it the long way and typing it all out by hand from one computer to the other. But I have discrepancies in my FTM and don't want them in my Reunion 9 tree. This way I can have everything uniform and add colors, notes, etc. as I go.

Google Search Friday #2--Obst

noreply@blogger.com (Andin) — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 03:09:00 +0000

This time I'll be checking out Obst. More specifically Hermann Obst, Sr. born 1849 in Altwasser, Schlesien, Prussia.

Search Entered: Obst

Mostly came up with a bunch of hits for the writer/producer, Lynda Obst.

Search Entered: Hermann Obst

I came across a Hermann Obst over and over again, but he was from Leipzig and I think an anthropologist or something. I've never heard anything like that from either of my Hermann Obst ancestors.

Search Entered: Hermann Obst genealogy

I came across a forum message I left in March 2005 that still has not been answered regarding Hermann Obst, Jr. and his wife.

I found an interesting article about German last names. Apparently the last name Obst means fruit.

Search Entered: Hermann Obst genealogy germany

I found my great-grandmother, Ida, in Family Search. And my great-grandfather, Henry, who was Hermann Obst Jr.'s son.

There doesn't seem to be anything else I can find for this surname through Google.