Since Pennsylvania is a state land state, the land was surveyed using metes and bounds rather than townships and ranges. This type of survey starts at a starting point which is a “bound” or some type of physical feature. Then, the survey gives a direction (such as north, south, east, or west) and the number of degrees (between 0 and 90) and then a distance. This is the “metes” part of the survey which includes a direction and a distance. At the end of that direction and distance, another “bound” is given. Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, Deed Book X, page 414 (close up), “Dorothea...
Evidence suggested that my great, great, great grandfather, Gunther Werther, was born in 1819 in Berka in present-day Germany. However, locating his baptism on an FHL film proved quite difficult. The film covered dozens of villages and included baptisms, marriages, and death records. Yesterday, I returned to search the film for the second time. This time, I decided to start at the beginning. I saw a typed listing of what appeared to be villages. And, on the next few pages, I saw handwritten, numbered lists of what also appeared to be village names. Did one of these lists show the...
After the death of Michael Kline in 1781, his son Nicholas paid 400 pounds to the other heirs—Nicholas’s mother, Dorothea, along with his siblings and their spouses—for two tracts of his father’s land. Although I’ve blogged about this 1781 indenture before, today I am looking at the adjoining neighbors who were listed in the description of the first piece of land: David Beilor, George Kline (possibly a brother of Michael’s), Thomas Falkner, and John and Jacob Snavely. [Note: The relevant part of this 1781 indenture is transcribed at the bottom of this post. Also, though I believe the document is...
This week I started working on converting my (messy) craft room into a genealogy room/office. I have piles and piles of papers, notebooks, and books to sort through. It’s kind of overwhelming, but I’m sure I’ll make some neat discoveries that I’d forgotten! Today I came across some old microfilm order slips from when I first started doing genealogy. Back then, we didn’t order the microfilm online. We went to our local family history center and filled out an order card. Then we waited for notification that our film had arrived via snail mail. The oldest card I found was...
When my husband’s grandmother was 16, her 7-year-old brother died from injuries after he was hit by a car. He was hit while crossing a highway on his way home from school. The newspaper account says that an officer had stopped to tell the children to face the traffic to safely cross the highway. Little Obel Jene ran from behind the police car and was hit by a car. His little body was then thrown into traffic coming from the other direction and he was hit a second time. Another motorist picked him up, but Obel Jene died before he...
Last week I shared about Dorothy/Dorothea Klein/Kline’s “interesting will.” I also shared about it at my local special interest group genealogy meeting on Friday. We all had some laughs, but a few things were pointed out to me. What’s a “half wagon?” First of all, I shared how two of Dorothy’s sons, Daniel and Nicholas, were each given a “half wagon.” When I first read about this, I thought it must be a type of wagon. But, someone suggested to me that it was literally half a wagon. In other words, the two brothers were sharing a wagon. That made...
While searching for a newspaper article about relatives who had measles in 1853, I came across this article about Mrs. Singleton, the oldest woman in the world. The Charleston Standard, Alton Evening Telegraph, Alton, Illinois, 28 May 1853, page 2, column, 3, digital image, newspapers.com, (http://newspapers.com), accessed 5 February 2017. The Charleston Standard says that the oldest woman in the world is now living in Williamsburg district, South Carolina. Her name is Mrs. SINGLETON. She is now in the one hundred and thirty-first year of her age—enjoys good health—retains all her senses, except that of sight of which she was...
For the past three years, I’ve attend GRIP (Genealogical Research Institute of Pittsburgh) each summer. This year, I’m doing something new: I’m going to the Institute of Genealogy and Historical Research (IGHR)! And, IGHR is doing something new this year, too. They have moved to Georgia. I will be taking my first course with Tom Jones as the coordinator and primary instructor. I understand he always offers a lot of homework, which is a good thing! In fact, we have homework before we arrive. The course, course 4, is “Writing & Publishing for Genealogists.” Besides Tom Jones, we will have...
JANUARY REVIEW Blogging My goal was 8 posts; I had 12! Education – Book Instead of reading Biedler’s German book, I read Genealogical Proof Standard: Building a Solid Case, 4th Edition Revised by Christine Rose and participated a little with the DearMYRTLE group which was studying the book. I wrote two blog posts: week 1 is here, and week 2 is here. A quick review of the book: The booklet is short at only 56 pages. The five chapters do a great job of explaining the genealogical proof standard. One of my favorite sections was on page 39 when the author listed “six critical...
Tomorrow is our monthly internet research group genealogy meeting and we will be discussing wills and probate packets. We were asked to pass along any “interesting” wills or probate packets we had in our files to discuss at our meeting. I chose one I recently received from a newly found cousin. The will, which was proved in 1799, is my 6th great grandmother’s. Will of Dorothy Klein of Warwick Township, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, signed 27 June 1794, proved 14 September 1799, provided by Lititz, Pennsylvania Public Library, page 1 of 3. Highlights From the Will I found this will to...
