Sunday, February 28, 2010

Alexandria-Monroe Twp. Historical Society Needs Volunteers

Received the latest newsletter of the Alexandria-Monroe Twp. Historical Society, and there is a call out for volunteers to reach their goal of opening the museum on Saturdays.  Currently, the museum is only open on Thursdays from 1-4 p.m. or by appointment, and Saturday hours would allow more people to visit. Contact President Larry Maple at 724-3508 if you are interested.  I've already let him know that I would be willing to help.

One item of interest mentioned in the newsletter was that the Anderson Herald will be publishing stories in March regarding the murder of Police Chief Ellis and Patrolman Virgil Kirkman.  These murders occurred March 4, 1911.

If you haven't already visited, I would highly recommend you take the time to do so.  The society has quite a collection of memorabilia and photographs relating to the history of the town of Alexandria and Monroe Township. 


The society is located at 313 North Harrison Street, Alexandria, Indiana.

Saturday, February 27, 2010

Family Milestones: February 27th

My maternal 3rd-great grandaunt, Mary Ann BEALS, was married on this date in 1884 to Joseph E. GILBERT.  Mary was the daughter of John T. and Mary (DAVIS) BEALS, and the younger sister of my Nathan Thomas BEALS.  Mary was born March 27, 1859 in Westfield, Hamilton County, Indiana.  I do not have date of birth and death for Joseph.  They resided in Girrard, Crawford County, Kansas and Hennessey, Kingfisher County, Oklahoma.  Nothing further is known at this time.

My maternal 5th-great grandaunt, Sarah JACOBS, was married on this date in 1812 in Adams County, Ohio to Valentine SHELDON.  Sarah was the daughter of William and Sibell (LITTELL) JACOBS, and the younger sister of my James Thomas JACOBS.  I do not have dates of birth and death for Valentine.  Sarah died December 26, 1839 in Brown County, Ohio.

My paternal 3rd-great grandaunt, Sophia Polly MOULTON, was born on this date in 1823 in Rutland County, Vermont.  Sophia was the daughter of Selah and Lydia (FENNEL) MOULTON, and the younger sister of my Albert MOULTON.  Sophia married April 1841 in Licking County, Ohio to Lorenzo SHERMAN.  Lorenzo was born circa 1811 in Vermont, the son of Shubael and Phebe (________) SHERMAN.  They had 8 children and resided in Jay County, Indiana.  Sophia died December 7, 1907 in Jay County, Indiana.

Will the 2010 census be genealogically relevant?

In 2082, when the 2010 U.S. census data is released to the general public, will it be greeted with excitement or will it be a 'ho-hum'?  Provided there still is a United States at that time, what will the researchers of tomorrow be hoping to find in the 2010 census that they cannot find elsewhere?

Will the 2010 U.S. census be genealogically relevant?

Although the census is a genealogist's treasure trove of information, with each one revealing clues about a ancestor's family, their neighbors and their community, will the information from this year's census get lost in the 'noise' of the multitude of other records available?

While the 1850 census was a landmark because it was the first to record the names of everyone in the household, and each successive census asked different questions that told the story of the household, will this year's census shed much light on our daily lives for our descendants?  I'm eager for the 1940 census to be released because of what it can tell me about my family just before the U.S. entered WWII, will my great-grandchildren be as interested to find out where I was in 2010?

The questions that will be asked on this year's form can be found here. While the answers will be information for future genealogists, will this be anything that cannot be found elsewhere?  In today's society, we have created so many paper and digital records that I believe it would be unlikely a researcher in 2082 will find a clue in the 2010 census that couldn't be found elsewhere.

I believe that genealogically, the census may have lost its importance to future researchers.  

That is not to say that it shouldn't be filled out, as it helps determine political representation.  There have always been those who have managed to avoid the census, and even today, there are those who are advocating that others do not fill it out.  Those concerned about privacy must be oblivious to the fact that we have at this time the most documented, regulated society we've ever had, and it would be a rare individual who cannot be found through online sources or public records.

As a genealogist, it almost sounds sacrilegious to even ask the question about the relevance of the census to the genealogy community.   What do you think?  Am I way off-base here?