Organizing Research Digitally

organizing research2

Here’s one thing I am doing to organize my research: I used TreeSeek.com to generate two 9-generation PDF pedigree charts. One chart is from my FamilySearch Tree, the other is from my RootsMagic file, which originated from my Ancestry tree. Both trees are large with plenty of errors, so I highlighted where there are discrepancies in names and vital events.

I compare each person in each file, and when I have reconciled the errors, I click on Tools > Stamp to stamp the person in the chart with a little “approved” sticker. I like being digitally organized and not having to deal with file cabinets full of paper! How are you organizing your research?

3 Ways to Preserve Old Family Artifacts

A while back I wrote a post about what you should not do with old family artifacts such as photos, documents, and heirlooms. Today I will tell you three things you can do with them instead to preserve them.Continue reading “3 Ways to Preserve Old Family Artifacts”

Some Notes on Chinese Genealogy

To put the world in order, we must first put the nation in order; to put the nation in order, we must put the family in order; to put the family in order, we must cultivate our personal life; and to cultivate our personal life, we must first set our hearts right.

– Confucius (551 BC – 480 BC)

I looked up the great Chinese philosopher, Confucius, on FamilySearch today. His page is here. I read an article a while back about how there is a Confucius Genealogy Compilation Committee that is working on revising and updating the already existing genealogy of Confucius, which is the longest genealogy in the world. Unlike European genealogy, which I discussed in this post, Chinese genealogy has fairly accurate records that can legitimately go back for hundreds, even thousands, of years. Although many records, tombstones and shrines to ancestors were destroyed in the Cultural Revolution of 1966, there are still several records and family histories that survive. Not being of Chinese descent myself, I have not had any experience doing Chinese genealogy research, and I don’t plan to do it anytime soon because it requires being able to read Chinese characters, but it fascinates me that Chinese genealogy can be traced back so far.

Another cool thing I found is that FamilySearch has a template for entering names in Chinese so that they show up in the proper order (surname first instead of surname last as in English) and the system automatically finds a standard Romanized transliteration of the Chinese characters. When you are adding a new person, click on “Template.” There will be a dropdown menu with different language options. If you click on “Chinese,” it will look like this:

chinese name input

You can then input Chinese characters in the “Hanzi” field, and the transliteration will appear below. If you don’t have Chinese language input installed on your computer, you can use an online tool such as this one to type the Chinese characters you need, and then copy and paste them into the FamilySearch fields.

Again, I am not even close to being an expert on Chinese genealogy, but if you are trying to find your Chinese roots, here are a few links that might help you get started:

You should also watch this inspiring story about a part Chinese, part African-American woman from New York who managed to find her Chinese roots: https://vimeo.com/84472327

Reflections on Mothers Day

Mother Gile cropped Mothers Day
My Grandma and her baby, my Mother. I think of this photo often on Mothers Day

Thinking back on this last Mothers Day, I remember the mothers who came before me.

The mother in this picture is my grandmother, Margaret (DeWitt) Gile. The tiny baby is my mother. Being a mother now myself I realize how difficult it really is. I only have one kid right now and she is so demanding I can’t even imagine how hard it is raising five like my grandmother did, or seven like my mom.

Continue reading “Reflections on Mothers Day”

The Cliffords, Part 2: Family Scandal

This is a continuation of my account on the Clifford family. For more information, see Part 1.

In 1878, Sophia Clifford sold the land that she and Lewis had bought in Iowa. Apparently her sons (Fred was 20 and Charles was 15) wanted to seek more opportunities out west rather than stay and work the farm in Iowa. In the 1880 Census, Sophia was living with her daughter, Maria Schumacher and her family in Iowa. I haven’t been able to find Fred and Charles on the 1880 census. They could have been anywhere.Continue reading “The Cliffords, Part 2: Family Scandal”

Using Historical Place Names

A good question came up on my favorite genealogy Facebook group, Genealogy! Just Ask! yesterday. I tried to answer it as best I could on the original post, and others gave some good input as well, but I thought it would be helpful to some if I answered it more in depth here on my blog. Here is the original question:

“I want to get some clarification. My family came from Czechoslovakia, lived there in the 1661-1840s when they migrated to the States. With the Czech history they go by different names depending on the leadership years. How should I properly address their location of birth? Czech Republic, Czechoslovakia, Austria, Lands of the Bohemian Crown??? Please help me out. Thank you…”

Continue reading “Using Historical Place Names”

Can Census Records be Wrong?

Taking the census LOC

Featured Image: Taking the Census. Illustration in Harper’s Weekly, 1870. Found in Library of Congress Digital Collection.

A few decades ago, it was very difficult to find one’s ancestor in a census record. You had to go to an archive or library and really know what you were looking for to find the record. Today, however, with the wide availability of indexed census images on FamilySearch and Ancestry.com, thousands of people who have had little to no prior experience with genealogical research are finding their ancestors in census records. This is amazing and wonderful. But there is one thing you should be aware of: taking any record at face value is problematic. Any record can have incorrect information on it, even if it is an “official record” or an “original document.” Census records are no exception.Continue reading “Can Census Records be Wrong?”

The Cliffords, Part 1: Brick Wall Immigrants

AF_Vollmer_Hamburger_Hafen_1840 wikicommons

Featured Image: Hamburger Hafen (Port of Hamburg) by Adolph Friedrich Vollmer, 1840.

Ah, yes. Clifford. Kliefoth. The family that made me want to study German Genealogy in college. And I studied for four years and still didn’t find them. But they will be found. Someday. They originated in Germany as Kliefoth (pronounced like “klee-fote”), and the spelling of their surname varies from record to record, but by the second generation in America, they had settled on “Clifford” as their Americanized name.Continue reading “The Cliffords, Part 1: Brick Wall Immigrants”

Research Summary: Andrew

John Wesley Andrew 3

Featured image: John Wesley Andrew sitting on his porch in Geneva, Nebraska

Surname summary:

I have decided to devote my research time each month to one direct line surname that exists in my five-generation pedigree. My surname for the month of November was Andrew. This is one of the few lines on my grandmother’s side that is actually fairly well-researched. This line goes back to a John Andrew, born 1660 in Maryland according to other online trees (although I haven’t verified the data myself yet), but more recent lines are in Indiana and Nebraska.Continue reading “Research Summary: Andrew”

Discovering Allen and my Slave Owner Ancestor

I give and bequeath to my son William J Ray my yellow boy slave Allen until my son Benjamin F arrives at the age of twenty one years, at which time my boy Allen is to be set free.

My brother recently uncovered the will for my ancestor, William Calvin Ray in Murray County, Georgia. In it he mentions “my yellow boy slave Allen.” this is my first encounter with a slave owner ancestor. I have a lot of ancestors in the South, so I figured a slave owner would turn up, but this is the first one. It makes me feel, well, kind of sad.Continue reading “Discovering Allen and my Slave Owner Ancestor”