Last week, I posted on the “Pike County, Ohio Genealogy” Facebook group asking what church my German immigrant ancestors, the Peters family, might have attended. I knew that, in 1860, they had been enumerated in the township of Pee Pee in that county. And, from other church records I knew they were Evangelical Lutherans. By the next morning, I had information as to which church they probably attended and the name of a published booklet which contained the church records. I was also given the name of a library which had a copy of that booklet. I emailed the library...
To label the people in this group photo of my husband’s family, I used PhotoShop Elements to create a faded version of the photo and then number each person. I then posted both photos on Facebook and asked for help filling in the names of individuals my in-laws had not identified. because of this process, we now have 25 of the 30 people in this photograph identified. Also, a relative had photos from this same day in a scrapbook and provided us with a month and year for the gathering. Payton Family “Reunion” Photo, April 1942, Muskogee, Oklahoma List of...
As I mentioned in yesterday’s post, “When was Uncle Teddy Born?,” Theodore Peters was listed as 6 years old in the 1860 census. However, it might not be clear to everyone that he was listed as 6. As you can see from the image above, the number next to Theodore looks like a long line followed by a short line. Why do I think this is a 6? After looking at many pages written by this enumerator, his “6” often looks the same: a long line followed by a short line. In the family above, it makes sense that...
Four sources have been found which give evidence for when Theodore “Teddy” Peters was born: When was Theodore Peters born? Source Listed Age Estimated Birth Year 1860 U.S. Federal Census1 6 1853 or 1854 1870 U.S. Federal Census2 10 1859 or 1860 1875 Kansas State Census3 16 1858 or 1859 Headstone4 – 1859 (stated) Although records created closest to an event are often the most accurate, in this case I do not believe that to be true. The first census which records Theodore Peters was in 1860. However, this census seems unreliable due to other known errors. [See my previous...
I first did an “ancestral score” spreadsheet in January of 2015. This is where you create a chart showing how many of your grandparents, great grandparents, etc., you have identified. “Ancestral Score” January 2015 I didn’t post a similar chart in January of 2016. However, I now realize that in 2015, I discovered my missing 3x great grandparents, the Holthoefer’s and the Adam’s, through the book I was a contributing author to regarding Holthoefer ancestors. So, I now know all of my 3x great grandparents! table.tableizer-table { font-size: 12px; border: 1px solid #CCC; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; } .tableizer-table td...
My great, great grandfather, A. L. Merrill, was county commissioner of Clinton County, Pennsylvania, in the early 1900s. This summer, I found the first photo I’ve seen of him. But, it was in a 1958 newspaper clipping, so it was under copyright laws. I recently emailed the publisher of the newspaper, The Express, who quickly responded with permission to use the photo. (Used with Permission: The Express/www.lockhaven.com) A. L. Merrill is on the far left of the front row. Pictures from the Past, The Express, Lock Haven, Pennsylvania, 22 December 1958, page 10, columns 5-8, digital image, newspapers.com, (http://newspapers.com), accessed...
Several months ago, my dad sent me this photo which was labeled “Margaret Catherine Coppenbarger.” But, there’s a problem: we don’t have anyone on our family tree named Margaret Catherine Coppenbarger. So, who was this young lady? Thankfully, my dad recently realized he had another copy of the same photo! And, this one was labeled slightly different. It is labeled “Matilda Katherine Coppenbarger Bro. to Josiah.” Of course, it should say she’s Josiah’s sister, not brother, but we do know the identities of both Josiah and Matilda. Josiah Randolph Coppenbarger (1844-1934) was my great, great grandfather. He was the son...
Building a Solid Case I am currently reading Christine Rose’s booklet, Genealogical Proof Standard: Building a Solid Case, 4th Edition Revised. Chapter 2 discusses that, whether or not conflicting information is found, a conclusion must be written. But, we must weigh all of the evidence we’ve gathered. Two important questions to ask are “who created the record?” and “why was the record created?” Answering those questions can help us determine the reliability of each piece of evidence. My Research Question Who were the parents of Carl Peters? My Case Study: Resolving Conflicting Information 1860 U.S. Census, Pike County, Ohio, Pee Pee Twp,...
What is the Genealogical Proof Standard? I’m currently reading Christine Rose’s 56 page booklet titled Genealogical Proof Standard: Building a Solid Case, 4th Edition Revised. Chapter 1 was about the Genealogical Proof Standard and, more specifically, step number three in which we analyze and correlate all sources, information, and evidence. Although I feel pretty comfortable with these concepts, I am realizing my challenge lies in understanding how certain documents were created. The example I’ll be using in this post is a marriage license application for my grandparents. But, before we can analyze and correlate, we must start with a research question. My...
Eve Haas has written a wonderful book that I believe many genealogists would enjoy. Titled The Secrets of the Notebook: A Woman’s Quest to Uncover Her Royal Family Secret , the description on Amazon starts with these words: Eve Haas is the daughter of a German Jewish family that took refuge in London after Hitler came to power. Following a terrifying air raid in the blitz, her father revealed the family secret, that her great-great grandmother Emilie was married to a Prussian prince. He then showed her the treasured leather-bound notebook inscribed to Emilie by the prince. Her parents were reluctant to...
