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...
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...
My last post was about Michael Kline of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, my 6th great grandfather, and a 1781 indenture which listed his 14 children. Finding estimated birth dates/years would be difficult since they were born in the mid-1700’s and census records would not be of much help. So, how did I estimate the birth years for Michael’s 14 children? How I estimated the birth years for the 14 children of Michael and Dorothea Kline: used the birth dates of the two children I knew: Frenia, who was born in 1748, and Michael, who was born in 1764 assumed Dorothea gave...
When I got home from Christmas yesterday, a package from the Lancaster Mennonite Historical Society was waiting for me! Earlier this month, I posted about finding my Michael Kline family on an Ancestry.com database called “Lancaster, Pennsylvania, Mennonite Vital Records, 1750-2014.” Surprised to learn that I had Mennonite ancestors, I sent the society $70 for two hours of research. After opening the large envelope, I eagerly read the cover letter to see what records they found. The end of the letter, however, surprised me. It said: “We have many genealogical cards of persons who were not Mennonite. The book by...
Last year, right before Thanksgiving, I held a copy of “our book” in my hands for the first time. Although other authors/cousins had been working on the book since the previous year, I became a contributing author of The Holthoefer Family History in June of 2016. Between June and October, we spent countless hours researching, writing, rewriting, proofreading, and fact checking the pages of our book. Since we are spread across the country, we emailed sections of the book back and forth while we worked on them. Robert J. Yagley, H. Holt, M. Aragon, P. Holthoefer, D. Leeds, Holthoefer Family History:...
UPDATE: Records received from the Lancaster Mennonite Historical Society show that my Kline family were NOT Mennonite after all. See “What Information…” post for more. Mennonites are pacifists opposed to war and violence. So, I was surprised to find my Kline ancestors in a Mennonite database on Ancestry.com. On the card for the Michael and Dorothea Kline family, their third child is listed as Frenia [seen as Frances on other records]. She and her husband, Michael Quiggell [seen in other records as Quigley or Quiggle], are my fifth great grandparents. He fought in the American Revolution. I wonder what his...
