(Not So) Wordless Wednesday - Christmas Tree 2021

 

It's hard to believe that soon it will be Christmas Day - another year has gone by so fast.

Here's hoping that you and yours have a very Merry Christmas! 

Working Through the 1880 Census

Moved on to the next phase of my census projects to update my database to the 1880 census.  Completed the 1940 census awhile back and have jumped back in time 60 years to the 1880 census.

I've set my search feature in my RootsMagic database to locate individuals that should be found in the 1880 census.  My criteria is to look for individuals born before 1860 and died after 1880.

As I go through the database and find people who match these criteria, I'm looking for those who do not have an entry for the 1880 census and those who have a spouse.  I'm selecting only those who were married by the time of the 1880 census, hoping I can find household information.

Understanding that these criteria will exclude individuals who do not have a death date, I plan to go back after I get through the alphabet and de-select the death date criteria.

So far, I've managed to get into the "C" in my database, finding and adding many new records and individuals.  My database has grown from just my family and in-laws to include DNA matches as well as one-name study members.  

I'm not concerned that some of these people added might not be blood relatives, as I will be using them as "cousin bait" when I update my family tree on the public sites, such as Ancestry.  Having a more robust family tree (or family bush) with all of the interconnected families will also be helpful in identifying where DNA matches tie into the family.

Why 1880?  Because the 1880 census is the first one that identifies every individual in relationship to the head of household.  Unlike the 1850-1870 census, you don't have to assume that people are married or that all the children are from the same set of parents.  Of course, I've come across a few interesting clues along the way and some mysteries that will need further research.

Of great interest are the clues generated when the enumerator captured the birthplace of the father and mother. These are merely clues, however, and are only as good as the person who gave the information.  I've seen many listed as "unknown" or just left blank.

I'm trying to stick to the schedule I previously set for myself, but i find that adding the census records are addictive.  Currently, I'm using the hints from RootsMagic into the FamilySearch database to add the records.

Sticking To A Schedule

 As I continue to work on the family genealogy research, a schedule was needed to keep me on track.  Usually, I'm working on the family in the early mornings (5am-7am) with a cup of coffee in hand and a quiet house.

Below is the schedule by day that I'm trying my best to keep on track with, in order to keep me focussed.  

Sunday - DNA

Monday - 1940 Census

Tuesday - Research Projects

Wednesay - 1940 Census

Thursday -  Research Projects

Friday - 1940 Census

Saturday - Hereditary Society

I'm telling myself that if I stick to this schedule, I can continue to meet my goals of joinging hereditary societies and still continue my project of updating my database for all individuals who were enumerated in the 1940 census.

I'm finding that the 1940 census is a bit addictive - in the "S" section now - and I've already decided that once I'm done with 1940 I will jump back to the 1880 census.

Still Plugging Along

Well I've not done a great job of keeping up with this blog, though it doesn't mean I haven't been working on my genealogy.

Work and summer activities have kept me busy, but one project I've spent an inordinant amount of time on has been the updating of the census records in my database for the 1940 census.  Finding records in 1940 and sourcing them in my RootsMagic database has added a few newly found family members.  Updating the tree at Ancestry allows for additional connections to DNA matches.

I'm working through the alphabet, and am currently in the letter "S", so hope to have the 1940 project wrapped up soon.  My next census project will be the 1880 census - the first one to give relationships to the head of household - and make sure that I have a record for everyone alive at the time of the 1880 census.

Working on some family projects and lineage society applications as well - more to come on those.  

Cross-Referencing Timelines

 As I continue to update and document the sources in the timeline for myself and my immediate family, I'm also taking the time to add the relevant facts and information to my parents and other family members as well.

For instance, timeline facts about my birth and those of my siblings can also be added to my parents timeline to give them additional data points and avenues for research.

Technically, only the mother can be certain to be at the locality of a birth, but assuming the father is in the area as well will give another place to locate additional records for them.

Working through these timelines on my own life and those of my close immediate family members will give me the practice that will be needed when I'm dealing with the more distant ancestors.

Even Weak Evidence Can Teach

Earlier I posted that the only fact cited for my birth in my Rootsmagic database was from a published genealogy of nearly 50 years ago.  While this source wouldn't be one I would hang my hat on as definitive evidence of my birth, the fact is not without use in my research.

Rummel, Merle & Madelaine Olt, comp., "Three Sons of Steffan Petry, 1729-1977", Gateway Press, Baltimore, MD, 1977, p. 401.

Working with this citation in my timeline for the research question of , "The objective of this research project is to identify the parentage of Travis LeMaster, born [redacted] in [redacted], Indiana."  

There are a number of things I can extract from this source, even though it isn't the best.

The source gives an exact date of birth, though it does not list a place.

The source is not an original record, but an authored narrative.  It is unknown who was the source of the information, but my assumption is that my father was likely contacted by the compilers of the genealogy and provided the information about our family group.

Because I cannot determine who the source of the information presented was, this information is neither primary or secondary, but is of an undetermined nature.

Is the evidence direct or indirect?  It is direct because it answers the question of who my parents are.

So I've listed the date of birth fact in my timeline, without a place, and noted on my timeline that the source is Authored, of Undetermined Information, and provides Direct Evidence of answering the research question.

In the comments section of my timeline, I've indicated that the source is a compiled genealogy, my assumption that my purported father was the source of the information, and that I am listed as the oldest child of the family group.

Now I'm on to the next source, citing the information, and building evidence to answer my research question.

 

Documenting Myself

Building out a timeline for myself, I noticed that the fact of my birth only contains one source listed in my RootsMagic database, and it's not something that would hold up to any sort of scrutiny.

Rummel, Merle & Madelaine Olt, comp., "Three Sons of Steffan Petry, 1729-1977", Gateway Press, Baltimore, MD, 1977, p. 401.

While I have primary sources for my birth scattered among my digital genealogy files, apparently I'd never taken the time to actually examine those sources and update documentation in my database.

In today's era of no privacy, where there are enough public records out in cyberspace for someone who wanted to know my birthdate could find it out, I'm sure the young folks today would be surprised to know that there are also bound genealogies in libraries that have some of the same data printed less than 50 years ago.

[Side note: No documentated cases of identity theft have ever been proven to be caused by genealogical research - I'll recommend you read this excellent post from James Tanner.]

For the purpose of this project my research question is stated thusly, "The objective of this research project is to identify the parentage of Travis LeMaster, born [redacted] in [redacted], Indiana."

Because this phase of the research involves living people, I will not post the particulars.

Building the Timeline - Initial steps

Whether you utilize the built-in features of your genealogy software or use Excel or Google Sheets to build out a timeline - the bottom line is to "just do it."

There are many examples of how to build a timeline on the web or in Facebook groups for genealogy.  Please take the time to find one that seems to fit your needs and begin using it.  So many times I've forgotten that this no one 'right way' to do this, ie. 2+2=4 but so does 3+1.

Since my Rootsmagic software already has a built in timeline, it wasn't hard to take the information the software presented and add that to my working timeline for my research question

While my research question objective is defined at the top of the sheet, the timeline can include all relevant fact events as I document them.

For my identity question, I began with the Birth fact as the Event, then added the date, place and what the source for the fact.  This will eventually be done for every fact that I have in my database.  

Each source that is listed can then be examined and categorized as to the origin of the source, whether primary or secondary, and ultimately whether the source provided directly or indirectly answered the research question.

Beginnings : Building A Timeline

Begin with the beginning.  Work from what you know to what you don't know.  

How many times have I heard or read regarding the genealogical journey?

As I begin to re-examine my previous work to make sure that I'm leaving the best documentation behind for future generations, I'm discovering some anomolies.  Facts missing documentation or gaps in the timelines.

My family tree data is kept offline in Rootsmagic, and variations of my tree are shared online at Ancestry and other sites.  When I look at an example of a Rootsmagic timeline for an ancestor, I can quickly see not only items that have missing sources (green check marks), but also notice substantial gaps in years that might suggest further avenues of research.

Settling on a research question wasn't hard in this case, although there are so many I want to explore.  For now, it will start with a question of identity - myself.

Lineage Society - SUVCW

In what seems like an eon ago, back in January 2020 (before the pandemic), I posted about how I had attended my first meeting of the Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War and postulated that perhaps 2020 would be the year that I finally get around to preserving my research and joining those lineage societies.

I can report that in 2020 I did join the Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War through the service of my paternal 2nd-great grandfather, Pvt. Luman Walker Lemasters (1842-1931), who served with Company C of the 39th Indiana Infantry (later 8th Indiana Cavalry).  Luman is just one of six direct line ancestors who served during the Civil War.  Four are on the paternal side, and two on the maternal side.

The Civil War has always interested me, ever since I was a youngster and we visited the many battlefields in Tennessee and Georgia while on vacation.  Knowing that my ancestors fought in these places makes me want to get back there as an adult now that I'm studying the family history.

Not only have I enjoyed being a member of the organization, but I was named as Camp Commander for 2021 of the Orlando A Somers Camp # 1 which meets in Kokomo, Indiana.

It has been a challenge to meet and grow the local camp during the midst of a pandemic, but we are still able to meet in person.  In 2020 I attended the National Encampment virtually through Zoom, and the Department of Indiana's recent Mid-Winter Encampment was held via Zoom as well.  Technology is allowing the larger organization to meet, while fortunately our local meeting space has been open for business and allowed us to meet.

We are looking forward to a COVID-free spring and have plans to complete a Last Soldier project in Tipton County as well as other projects to keep the memory alive of the Boys in Blue.

File Naming Structure Addendum - Maiden Names, etc.

As I mentioned in the last post, I've been renaming my digital files (both photos and documents) in an effort to reorganize and make sense of my Genealogy Files in my Dropbox account.

At the base level, the file name is SURNAME First Name Middle Name Date of Birth Description Place.  So for example: WHATEVER Samuel b 1840 1870 Census Madison County Indiana.

How to file the documents left by our female ancestors and relatives has always presented a conundrum.  In many records, women get "lost" in the identities of their husbands and those with multiple marriages makes it difficult to keep track of what item goes with whom.

Regarding the file structures, for example, do I file the death record of my grandmother under her married name at the the time of death (Wright) or under her maiden name (Lambertson)?   While I will always know whose record it was, someone coming behind me might not make the immediate connection.

The consensus in the field is to file documents for women under their maiden names in order to maintain consistency, so that is what I'm trying to do.  In the file naming structure it looks like : WHATEVER Fanny b 1840 m_1 JOHNSON Death Certificate 1900 Cook County Illinois.  

I'm using the m_1 SURNAME of spouse to add to the identifiers.  Multiple marriages look like m_1 JOHNSON m_2 SMITH.   This can lead to some rather long file names.

However, by adding the surnames of the spouses and naming the file under the maiden name I can harness the power of the computer to search for the file and find it whether or not I'm searching for records under the maiden or married name.

While I'm trying to utilize full names including maiden names on all of the files, for those that end up being a bit long, I've dropped the middle name down to an initial for identification purposes.  Some of my families really enjoyed using the same naming patterns over and over again.

File Naming Structure

 Ask any two genealogists how they structure the file names of their digital files, and you'll probably get three different answers.  I imagine that determining a proper file naming convention is what trips up most researchers and keeps them from becoming better organized.  I know that I've struggled off and on with how to name my files.

All of my Genealogy files, whether documents, photographs or other images, are stored in Dropbox so they can be accessed across multiple devices.  As I begin to get organized with this new attitude of making sure that my research is up-to-date to pass on to the next generation, I've had to settle on a file naming convention.

My first pass has been in using this file structure to rename the files that are currently in my Genealogy files with names such as "DSC12395.jpg" or whatever the camera or iPhone decided to name them.  Once renamed with a meaningful name, each of these files will be filed under their own Surname file in Dropbox.

After much deliberation and reading about how others name their files, I think I've settled on the following:  Surname First Name birth date Description Place. 

For example - WHATEVER John b 1865 1910 Census Madison County Indiana. 

This way I can differentiate between multiple people who have the same first name and surname.  If I don't know the birthdate, I'll use an estimate or perhaps the death date.  The point is to get like images with like images.

Many of my files had already been named, so I won't go back and rename them just yet - my focus will be on getting the unidentified and unnamed files named and sorted first. Then, once I begin to work systematically up my family tree, I can update the naming conventions on any of the other files.

In going through images stored in my Genealogy folder, I've not only gone down memory lane - I've also found items that had nothing to do with genealogy that were just lumped into the digital pile.  Those items have been either deleted or filed accordingly in another Dropbox folder.

Research Update - January 2021

Hard to believe that the first month of the new year is almost over.  The beginning of the year is usually the time where one makes resolutions or states research goals.

2020 was a crazy year with a lot of changes.  Working remote with the pandemic, I thought I'd have more time to dedicate to my genealogical research, but instead I had less. Making sure the job was getting done lead to some long hours and my energy level to write blog posts was non-existent. Shame on me for not keeping a journal of all of the thoughts and feelings we've dealt with during this time.

If you look at this blog, you'll notice I didn't post nearly as much as I had in the past.  That didn't mean I didn't do any research, I just couldn't muster the desire to write posts.

My morning routine through most of 2020 was to work on adding burial locations from Find-A-Grave in to my Rootsmagic database before work. This led to me adding a lot of individual facts, but not really any true research.  Part of the year I posted the journals of my maternal great-aunt Vera - a project that didn't get completed.

Though I'm not going to call it a resolution - I do have a goal in 2021 - and that is to get organized.  I've studied methods such as the Genealogy Do-Over or Research Like A Pro before but never taken the plunge.

With goals of passing the research on to the next generation and joining lineage societies, I've decided to spend my January getting orginized - starting with my digital files.  Though I have Dropbox folders to segment most of my files, so many recent Camera Uploads and miscellaneous files have no identification other than the file names created by the scanner or iPhone.

Each morning I've been slowly working to label the images and get them sorted into my main Genealogy files in Dropbox.  So far the progress has been good, but it's daunting.  Finding duplicate files, misnamed as well as the unnamed ones.  I'd better get them labelled before something happens to me and the information is lost.

Once I can get a handle on what I have, my next steps will be to systematically work through my lineage and make sure I have documentation to prove each generation.  Those lines that I already have enough documentation will be used to apply to lineage societies to preserve the work.  Additionally, I hope to share more photos and information via this blog and social media.

"A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step...."