Site Search

Michigan Historical Collections were published by the Pioneer Society of the State of Michigan from 1877 through 1915. Each volume contains an average of 500 pages of historical, political, economical, and biological facts about the early settlers to Michigan Territory. Index to Volumes 1-15 [LINK] Index to Volumes 16-30 [LINK] Indexes for Volumes 31-39 are in each volume. Note: Each link below takes you directly to the index for the corresponding volume: Volume 1 [LINK] 1877 Volume 2 [LINK] 1880 Volume 3 [LINK] 1881 Volume 4 [LINK] 1883 Volume 5 [LINK] 1884 Volume 6 [LINK] 1884 Volume 7 [LINK] 1886 Volume 8 [LINK] 1886 Volume 9 [LINK] ed. 2, 1908 Volume 10 [LINK] 1888 Volume 11 [LINK] 1888 Volume 12 [LINK] 1908 Volume 13 [LINK] 1889 Volume 14 [LINK] ed. 2, 1908 Volume 15 [LINK] 1890 Volume 16 [LINK] 1890 Volume 17 [LINK] 1892 Volume 18 [LINK] 1892 Volume 19 [LINK] 1892 Volume 20 [LINK] 1892 Volume 21 [LINK] ed. 2, 1912-1913 Volume 22 [LINK] 1894 Volume 23 [LINK] 1895 Volume 24 [LINK] 1895 Volume 25 [LINK] 1896 Volume 26 [LINK] 1896 Volume 27 [LINK] 1897 Volume 28 [LINK] 1900 Volume 29 [LINK] 1901 Volume 30 [LINK] 1906 Volume 31 [LINK] 1902 Volume 32 [LINK] 1903 Volume 33 [LINK] 1904 Volume 34 [LINK] 1905 Volume 35 [LINK] 1906-1907 Volume 36 [LINK] 1908 Volume 37 [LINK] 1909-1910 Volume 38 [LINK] 1912 Volume 39 [LINK] 1915 Click here for more Michigan genealogy resources! Click here for 20,000+ more Genealogy Resources! #Michigan #pioneers #American #volumes #genealogy #history

The Annual Register of the State of New York is an excellent resource for people researching ancestors who lived in New York. In this edition, published in 1831, nearly everything you need to know about the State of New York can be found. Among these old pages, you'll find New York's Congressional Districts, Census demographics, names of clergymen by location, practicing physicians and surgeons, government officials, judges, military personnel, vessels of war, West Point cadets, United States Governors, coins minted, rates of duties and imports, medical institutions, table of roads, newspapers, and much more. It even includes "Lines of the Packet Boats on the Erie Canal". It is interesting to note that a trip from Rochester to Buffalo, 93 miles, took 24 hours in a packet boat on the Erie Canal. Perhaps this little tidbit relates to my long lost ancestor, Charles Russell Leonard. Did he travel on one of these packet boats when he went missing? On page 327, we find that the National Debt of the country in 1831 was 39.1 million dollars or an average of $4.50 per person. On page 333, an informative table shows the population of each state along with the number of slaves. There were a total of 37 slaves in all of New England (Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island & Connecticut) and 100 in New York. In the entire country, there were 2,011,320 slaves, 339,360 free colored persons, and almost 10.5 million whites. On page 334, a list of all the Native American tribes in the U.S. is given, along with their location, population, and acres of land. There were 69 tribes, with 129,266 members, and they owned 77.4 million acres of land. That's an average of 599 acres per person. This time line of the principle events that occurred in New York from 1609 to 1814 might prove helpful in your genealogy hunt. [Source] Click here for more genealogy resources! #NewYork #history #chronological #resources #almanac

Lee St. Margaret is an ancient parish in the union of Lewisham, 8.5 miles southeast of London. ​Marriages, Christening and Burials in the Church of St. Margaret, Lee, County of Kent, from 1579 to 1754, by Duncan and Barron, 1888. Lee St Margaret on Google Maps (Alternate link) Click here for more genealogy resources. #Kent #KentCounty #unitedkingdom #England #england #foreign

New York did not establish policies for reporting vital records until 1881. Uncertified copies of death records can easily be obtained for genealogical purposes for birth certificates that have been on file at least 75 years, and marriage or death certificates that have been on file for 50 years. These time periods can be waved for direct descendants (a child, grandchild, great-grandchild, etc.) of the person, if you can provide proof of relationship. The State of New York has released their death index books, which they began printing in 1881. These books can help find or confirm the date and place of death, as well as the file number, for deaths that occurred after 1880. If you'd like to order a copy of the record, visit health.ny.gov/vital_records/genealogy.htm for details. Save money by knowing the date, which you may be able to find in one of the death index books below. Please note, however, while there are more than 5 million names in this collection, some municipalities were not included and some for only certain years. If you don't find the record, you may need to pay for a search at the state archives. Death Index (Select a year) 1880 New York State Death Index (Link) 1881 New York State Death Index (Link) 1882 New York State Death Index (Link) 1883 New York State Death Index (Link) 1884 New York State Death Index (Link) 1885 New York State Death Index (Link) 1886 New York State Death Index (Link) 1887 New York State Death Index (Link) 1888 New York State Death Index (Link) 1889 New York State Death Index (Link) 1890 New York State Death Index (Link) 1891 New York State Death Index (Link) 1892 New York State Death Index (Link) 1893 New York State Death Index (Link) 1894 New York State Death Index (Link) 1895 New York State Death Index (Link) 1896 New York State Death Index (Link) 1897 New York State Death Index (Link) 1898 New York State Death Index (Link) 1899 New York State Death Index (Link) 1900 New York State Death Index (Link) 1901 New York State Death Index (Link) 1902 New York State Death Index (Link) 1903 New York State Death Index (Link) 1904 New York State Death Index (Link) 1905 New York State Death Index (Link) 1906 New York State Death Index (Link) 1907 New York State Death Index (Link) 1908 New York State Death Index (Link) 1909 New York State Death Index (Link) 1910 New York State Death Index (Link) 1911 New York State Death Index (Link) 1912 New York State Death Index (Link) 1913 New York State Death Index (Link) 1914 New York State Death Index (Link) 1915 New York State Death Index (Link) 1916 New York State Death Index (Link) 1917 New York State Death Index (Link) 1918 New York State Death Index (Link) 1919 New York State Death Index (Link) 1920 New York State Death Index (Link) 1921 New York State Death Index (Link) 1922 New York State Death Index (Link) 1923 New York State Death Index (Link) 1924 New York State Death Index (Link) 1925 New York State Death Index (Link) 1926 New York State Death Index (Link) 1927 New York State Death Index (Link) 1928 New York State Death Index (Link) 1929 New York State Death Index (Link) 1930 New York State Death Index (Link) 1931 New York State Death Index (Link) 1932 New York State Death Index (Link) 1933 New York State Death Index (Link) 1934 New York State Death Index (Link) 1935 New York State Death Index (Link) 1936 New York State Death Index (Link) 1937 New York State Death Index (Link) 1938 New York State Death Index (Link) 1939 New York State Death Index (Link) 1940 New York State Death Index (Link) 1941 New York State Death Index (Link) 1942 New York State Death Index (Link) 1943 New York State Death Index (Link) 1944 New York State Death Index (Link) 1945 New York State Death Index (Link) 1946 New York State Death Index (Link) 1947 New York State Death Index (Link) 1948 New York State Death Index (Link) 1949 New York State Death Index (Link) 1950 New York State Death Index (Link) 1951 New York State Death Index (Link) 1952 New York State Death Index (Link) 1953 New York State Death Index (Link) 1954 New York State Death Index (Link) 1955 New York State Death Index (Link) 1956 New York State Death Index (Link) (Subsequent years are being released annually). Click here for more New York genealogy resources! #NewYork #deathrecords #links #vitalrecords #deathindex

In his historic Inaugural Address of January 20, 1961, President John F. Kennedy made the famous and wise quote, "Ask not what your country can do for you. Ask what you can do for your country." Scroll down to read the entire speech or watch the video here: Norman Rockwell, captured the scene in his painting "A Time for Greatness". You can find a copy on Amazon. We observe today not a victory of party, but a celebration of freedom — symbolizing an end, as well as a beginning — signifying renewal, as well as change. For I have sworn before you and Almighty God the same solemn oath our forebears prescribed nearly a century and three quarters ago. The world is very different now. For man holds in his mortal hands the power to abolish all forms of human poverty and all forms of human life. And yet the same revolutionary beliefs for which our forebears fought are still at issue around the globe — the belief that the rights of man come not from the generosity of the state, but from the hand of God. We dare not forget today that we are the heirs of that first revolution. Let the word go forth from this time and place, to friend and foe alike, that the torch has been passed to a new generation of Americans — born in this century, tempered by war, disciplined by a hard and bitter peace, proud of our ancient heritage — and unwilling to witness or permit the slow undoing of those human rights to which this Nation has always been committed, and to which we are committed today at home and around the world. Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe, in order to assure the survival and the success of liberty. This much we pledge — and more. To those old allies whose cultural and spiritual origins we share, we pledge the loyalty of faithful friends. United, there is little we cannot do in a host of cooperative ventures. Divided, there is little we can do — for we dare not meet a powerful challenge at odds and split asunder. To those new States whom we welcome to the ranks of the free, we pledge our word that one form of colonial control shall not have passed away merely to be replaced by a far more iron tyranny. We shall not always expect to find them supporting our view. But we shall always hope to find them strongly supporting their own freedom — and to remember that, in the past, those who foolishly sought power by riding the back of the tiger ended up inside. To those peoples in the huts and villages across the globe struggling to break the bonds of mass misery, we pledge our best efforts to help them help themselves, for whatever period is required — not because the Communists may be doing it, not because we seek their votes, but because it is right. If a free society cannot help the many who are poor, it cannot save the few who are rich. To our sister republics south of our border, we offer a special pledge — to convert our good words into good deeds — in a new alliance for progress — to assist free men and free governments in casting off the chains of poverty. But this peaceful revolution of hope cannot become the prey of hostile powers. Let all our neighbors know that we shall join with them to oppose aggression or subversion anywhere in the Americas. And let every other power know that this Hemisphere intends to remain the master of its own house. To that world assembly of sovereign states, the United Nations, our last best hope in an age where the instruments of war have far outpaced the instruments of peace, we renew our pledge of support — to prevent it from becoming merely a forum for invective — to strengthen its shield of the new and the weak — and to enlarge the area in which its writ may run. Finally, to those nations who would make themselves our adversary, we offer not a pledge but a request: that both sides begin anew the quest for peace, before the dark powers of destruction unleashed by science engulf all humanity in planned or accidental self-destruction. We dare not tempt them with weakness. For only when our arms are sufficient beyond doubt can we be certain beyond doubt that they will never be employed. But neither can two great and powerful groups of nations take comfort from our present course — both sides overburdened by the cost of modern weapons, both rightly alarmed by the steady spread of the deadly atom, yet both racing to alter that uncertain balance of terror that stays the hand of mankind's final war. So let us begin anew — remembering on both sides that civility is not a sign of weakness, and sincerity is always subject to proof. Let us never negotiate out of fear. But let us never fear to negotiate. Let both sides explore what problems unite us instead of belaboring those problems which divide us. Let both sides, for the first time, formulate serious and precise proposals for the inspection and control of arms — and bring the absolute power to destroy other nations under the absolute control of all nations. Let both sides seek to invoke the wonders of science instead of its terrors. Together let us explore the stars, conquer the deserts, eradicate disease, tap the ocean depths, and encourage the arts and commerce. Let both sides unite to heed in all corners of the earth the command of Isaiah — to "undo the heavy burdens -. and to let the oppressed go free." And if a beachhead of cooperation may push back the jungle of suspicion, let both sides join in creating a new endeavor, not a new balance of power, but a new world of law, where the strong are just and the weak secure and the peace preserved. All this will not be finished in the first 100 days. Nor will it be finished in the first 1,000 days, nor in the life of this Administration, nor even perhaps in our lifetime on this planet. But let us begin. In your hands, my fellow citizens, more than in mine, will rest the final success or failure of our course. Since this country was founded, each generation of Americans has been summoned to give testimony to its national loyalty. The graves of young Americans who answered the call to service surround the globe. Now the trumpet summons us again — not as a call to bear arms, though arms we need; not as a call to battle, though embattled we are — but a call to bear the burden of a long twilight struggle, year in and year out, "rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation" — a struggle against the common enemies of man: tyranny, poverty, disease, and war itself. Can we forge against these enemies a grand and global alliance, North and South, East and West, that can assure a more fruitful life for all mankind? Will you join in that historic effort? In the long history of the world, only a few generations have been granted the role of defending freedom in its hour of maximum danger. I do not shank from this responsibility — I welcome it. I do not believe that any of us would exchange places with any other people or any other generation. The energy, the faith, the devotion which we bring to this endeavor will light our country and all who serve it — and the glow from that fire can truly light the world. And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you — ask what you can do for your country. My fellow citizens of the world: ask not what America will do for you, but what together we can do for the freedom of man. Finally, whether you are citizens of America or citizens of the world, ask of us the same high standards of strength and sacrifice which we ask of you. With a good conscience our only sure reward, with history the final judge of our deeds, let us go forth to lead the land we love, asking His blessing and His help, but knowing that here on earth God's work must truly be our own. Click here to view my Gallery of Presidents. Click here for more nostalgic and commemorative history in art. #kennedy #president #patriotic #historicspeech #gallery #America #American #citizenship #civicduty #communityservice #meme

In his speech of September 22, 1880, General Garfield stated the following to the President and others: "To have known some of the men who are named here was a liberal education in itself. To have known Phil Sheridan's horse yonder, was to make a great acquaintance, of large inspiration, but to have known Phil on his horse, was to have an epitome from the glory of war, and the sublimity of victory." (Source: James A. Garfield. His Speeches at Home. 1880, by Carpenter, C.S.). In the book, "History of St. Clair County, Michigan", the following mention of the same horse is made: From this source we learn that Sheridan's famous horse once belonged to Russell Leonard of Burtchville, St. Clair County, Michigan. Click here to read this book for free at Archive.org. Click here to learn about my Leonard family. There are dozens of books about Phil Sheridan and his horse. Click here to see some! See also, the statue dedicated in the dynamic duo's honor, located in East Capitol Park, Albany: #russellleonard #leonard #horse #civilwar

This massive collection of historic photos of New York City can easily consume hours of your time. Not only can you browse through hundreds of thousands of old photos and documents in the archives, you can now search for a specific address and then search to find old photos of that location! Here's how: To locate an exact address, first you'll need to find the Block and Lot of the location you wish to search. Do this by going to http://maps.nyc.gov/doitt/nycitymap/ From there, enter the address or locate the location on the map. Once you locate the property on the NYCityMap, click on the lot you are looking for. A window will pop up showing the Block and Lot numbers. An example is shown here: Next, go to http://nycma.lunaimaging.com/luna/servlet/allCollections Use the format shown here to enter both the Block and the Lot number: For example: block=34 AND lot=1 (Replace the numbers with the ones you found in the first step) You could also try entering the name of the street in quotes. With a little tinkering, I was able to locate the address my great-grandfather, Percy Daniels, gave on ship manifests in 1907. He was a sailor and when he was at port, he resided at 27 South Street, facing the waterfront at South Street Seaport. I also tried to find photographs of South Street by using their Category page. I used my browser's page-search feature (press and hold Ctrl and press F) to search the page for "South Street". This allowed me to find other photos of the area. One of them shows the building next door to where Percy stayed. In the bachelor stage of his life, I can imagine his appreciation for such places as the "Seamen's Bar and Grill". (You can learn more about Percy's life here!) Click here for more New York historical and genealogical resources! #PercyDaniels #NewYorkCity #NewYork #photographs #historic #photos #resources

While researching the ancestors of my 4th great-grandmother, Sophronia Burrill, I found an entry in the Boston Transcript's Genealogical Column, in the June 19, 1911 edition. It pertains to Sophronia's paternal grandmother, Mary Eaton's line. She was born in Killingly, Windham, Connecticut, on July 28, 1748. Mary's 3rd great-grandfather was Jonas Eaton. The lineage is as follows: Sophronia Burrill > Joshua Burrill > Mary (Eaton) Burrill > Joshua Eaton > Corp. Jonas Eaton > John Eaton > Jonas Eaton. A source I had found previously claimed Jonas Eaton's father was William Eaton, which is why I was interested in this find, however, it caused me to question this claim, and rightly so. According to this source, William Eaton was born at Staple in Kent County, England, about 1605, and married in 1629 to Martha Jenkins. They came to America, settling at Watertown, Massachusetts, in 1637 and in 1658 they moved to Reading (called Lynn Village until 1644), documented by "a sale from Richard Russell". William died on May 13, 1673, and Martha died Nov. 14, 1680. William & Martha's children, according to this source, were: John Eaton (1635-1691), married Elizabeth Kendall, daughter of Thomas Kendall, in 1658. Daniel Eaton, born in 1638, married and may have had a daughter who married Ebenezer Bancroft. Martha Eaton, born 1630, married 1st to Thomas Brown of Cambridge, and 2nd to Francis Moore. Abigail Eaton, born in 1631, possibly. Mary Eaton, born in 1643, married Rev. Richard Dodge in 1668. This raised an eyebrow because the source didn't list Jonas Eaton as one of their children. I had to backtrack to see what made me believe Jonas's father was William. It was the book "History, genealogical and biographical, of the Eaton families", by Nellie Zada Rice Molyneux, 1911, which had given William's genealogy on page 243 (Link) and Jonas was listed as his fourth child on page 244, as follows: No further information about Jonas is offered in Molyneux's work. New England Marriages Prior to 1700, states the following on p. 241: "EATON, Jonas (1618-1673/4) & Grace ___, m/2 Henry SILSBEE 1680; b 1643(4?); Watertown/Reading" At this point I realized if William was born about 1605 and Jonas was born in 1618, they were probably too close in age to be father and son. Digging deeper I discovered several valuable clues on Ancestry.com, shared by Gina Mikel, to whom I am thankful for shedding some light on the story. According to her findings, Jonas was NOT a son of William but a brother. According to the New England Families Genealogical and Memorial: Third Series, Volume IV, p. 2095, Jonas's biography is as follows: "(I) Jonas Eaton was son of Peter Eaton. He first settled with his brother in Watertown, and bought land there in 1643. He and his brother William were among the first settlers of Reading, Massachusetts. Jonas and his wife Grace were admitted to the church in Reading, September 29, 1648, or earlier, he was admitted a freeman in 1653, and was selectman of Reading for several years. His house and farm were on Cowdrey's Hill, in the northwest part of the town, now within the limits of Wakefield, where he died February 24, 1674. His widow married, November 18, 1680, Henry Silsbee, of Lynn. The will of Jonas Eaton was proved April 7, 1674; bequeathed to wife Grace; sons, John, James, Joshua, Jonathan, and daughter Mary. Children: Mary, born February 8, 1643-44, died 1731; John, mentioned below; Jonas, born and died September 24, 1648; Sarah, born 1650; Joseph, January 5, 1651; Joshua, December 4, 1653; Jonathan, December 6, 1655; David, September 22, 1657, died October 7, following." Although Jonas was said to have been William's brother, a list published in the New England Historical & Genealogical Register, titled "Two Early Passenger Lists 1635-1637", lists Jonas Eaton as a servant of William Eaton. In 1637, Jonas would have been about 15 years old and William would have been between about 32 years old. Perhaps he made a deal with his brother, agreeing to bring him to America in exchange for work? The list was made from the records of Sandwich, Kent, yearbooks C and D. The names were entered on 9 Jun 1637 but the sailing date and name of the ship are omitted from the record. Following are three pages from the Register: (William's group is #12) According to the NEHGR Vol 15, p. 29 the name of the ship was the "Hercules of Sandwich". A work containing the passenger list for the ship's earlier voyage of March 4, 1634, contains another part - a list of "persons who have taken passage from the town and port of Sandwich for the American Plantations since the last certificate of such passengers returned into the office of Dover Castle." It was dated June 9, 1637. The only Eaton group on the list is given as follows: Tour Staple in Kent, England, here! While DNA is said to have proven that William and Jonas were either brothers or cousins, I have yet to find evidence of Jonas's birth, proving who his father was. In my next post, I will share the few possible matches I found in U.K. records on Ancestry.com. Find genealogy resources for Reading, Middlesex, Massachusetts, here. Click here to learn more about this branch of my family. #eaton #jonaseaton #willeaton #leonard #burrill

Jonas Eaton was my 10th great-grandfather and immigrant ancestor who came from Dover, Kent, England, in 1637. In my previous post, I explained how I discovered an error in one Eaton genealogy, which stated that Jonas was a brother of William Eaton. Why I didn't check WikiTree before digging, I just don't know. There the answer had been all along and Jonas is included among the immigrants in the Puritan Great Migration Project. and the facts are well documented, including a copy of his will. Click here to see his profile on Wikitree. The book The Granberry family and allied families : including the ancestry of Helen (Woodward) Granberry, by Donald L. Jacobus, 1945, provides a wealth of information about Jonas Eaton, as follows: This source also includes information about Grace's second husband, Henry Silsbee, as follows: In an attempt to find solid evidence of his birth and parentage, I searched Ancestry (World) and found only one record of Jonas Eaton, a son of John Eaton. He was baptized August 15, 1619 in Northbourne, Kent County, England, just 5-6 miles from Staple, where William Eaton lived, and 6.5 miles from Dover, where Jonas was said to have been born, according to collaborators on Wikitree. According to the parish records, John Eaton had another son named Matthew who was buried at Northbourne on September 22, 1619, when his other son, Jonas, would have been just a baby. I found no record of William Eaton as a son of John Eaton, in the collection. [The Tyler Collection, The Institute of Heraldic and Genealogical Studies; Kent, England, Tyler Index to Parish Registers, 1538-1874]. I found a record of William Eaton, baptized Sept. 26, 1607, at the Saint Mary the Virgin, Dover, Kent, England. He was a son of Peter Eaton, according to the record. [England, Select Births and Christenings, 1538-1975]. I was unable to find any potential matches other than this baptism record. I found one possible match on FindMyPast.com in their Births & Baptisms dataset but this, too, only included the baptismal record. Therefore, I am unable to confirm whether or not this is my ancestor, Jonas Eaton, at this time. Although the record says the father's name was John, perhaps but there is a change his name was John Peter Eaton or Peter John Eaton. If anyone can help provide some documentation to solve this mystery, please comment below or contact me. The old parish church at Northbourne can be seen here: Stay tuned for updates! Click here to learn more about this branch of my family. Click here to learn more about Jonas Eaton. #eaton #jonaseaton #willeaton #leonard #burrill

It's hard to believe how much life in America has changed in the past 220 years. I wonder what the people living in 1800 would think if they could have peeked into our world today. Surely they would have been amazed and perhaps terrified of all the unfamiliar technology. For our ancestors, however, the future lived only in their imaginations and in their hopes and dreams. They say hindsight is 20/20 but most genealogists would disagree. Looking back at our ancestors' daily lives, the view is rarely crystal clear. It's often dense with fog and darkness. Journals and diaries (like the one passed down from Emma Dickinson, my great-grandfather's sister) offer some insight, but so many of the old ways are almost completely forgotten today. This short 1969 gem of a film shown below, titled "Had You Lived Then...America Around 1800" gives us a fairly in depth look into everyday life in the 17th, 18th and 19th early century. See how they lived without running water, heat, electricity or alarm clocks. Watch how women made their own soap and butter. They also spent their days making bread, candles, and fabric. Children wrote on slate boards in one room schoolhouses. They learned words, morals, manners, history and arithmetic. Rather than being absorbed by video games, boys spent their free time hanging out at the blacksmith shop, an essential business in those days. Girls helped their mothers at home. My favorite part of films like this is the tiny tidbits that enhance our view of the past. For example, we've all heard of stagecoaches. Surely, most of our ancestors have traveled on one at least once in their lives. It was the only method of public land transportation before the railroad was built. A trip from New York to Boston took 46 hours by stagecoach, stopping two nights for rest. In this film, the narrator describes the experience: "Traveling was not easy in those days. The stage coaches were small. Three narrow benches held nine cramped passengers. Long trips were especially uncomfortable. Also, most coaches started early in the morning - very early, sometimes at 5 or even at 3 or 2 o'clock and you didn't dare be late because if you were, the coach left without you." Unsurprisingly, the film appears to have been recorded in "Upstate" New York, where the winds of change have been blowing at a slower pace than other regions. In fact, today many of the old rural towns look much like they did 200 years ago. In some places, horses and buggies can still be seen trotting along the roads as if straight out of the past. To learn more about what was happening during the lives of your ancestors, check out my Timeline of Events & Inventions. You might also be interested in my Genealogy Dashboard. #history #genealogy #video #america

Years ago, I acquired a copy of Frederick Verkus's Abridged Compendium of American Genealogy, which contains thousands of genealogies, undoubtedly a very valuable tool for historians and genealogists. In the index, thousands of names are found. I pulled out my copy recently, to see what I could find out about the Dudley family in an effort to trace the origins of my Grandpa Reese's 8th great-grandfather, Francis Dudley. Francis was born in England in 1640 and arrived in New England in 1665. He married Sarah Wheeler and they lived in Concord, Middlesex County, Massachusetts. In this post, I will share information about the Dudley family from this source. Dudley is found in the index of the Compendium, with 18 different Dudley men, named as follows: Following are the pages containing these Dudley entries in the book, for those researching the Dudley family. Feel free to download or print it for future reference. Ambrose Dudley, Ambrose Simeon Dudley, Benjamin William Dudley, Daniel Dudley, Edward Dudley, Ethelbert Ludlow Dudley, James Dudley, Joseph Dudley, Richard Dudley, Robert Dudley, Roger Dudley, Roy Dudley, Samuel Dudley, Stephen Dudley, Thomas Dudley, Thomas Underwood Dudley, William Dudley, and William Ambrose Dudley are named. As you can see, there are many entries for Thomas Dudley. Thomas had come to New England on the Arabella with the Winthrop Fleet in 1630, and was involved with the formation of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, working closely with John Winthrop. Thomas served as governor, deputy governor, and other high ranking positions in the service of the Colony until his death in 1653. According to Dudley Genealogies, by Dean Dudley, 1848, Thomas is said to have been a relative of Francis, which may or may not be true. Thomas did have a brother born in 1583 who was named Francis, indicating the name Francis was in his family, but Thomas had left England long before my ancestor Francis was born and he died two years before Francis arrived in New England. You can learn more about Gov. Thomas Dudley on Wikipedia here and see some of Thomas Dudley's genealogy on Wikitree here. Note: Wikitree reports he had a brother named Francis who was born in 1583. Stay tuned for more as I continue to attempt to trace Francis's roots. If you have any information to contribute, please contact me privately or use the public comments section below.

One of my favorite shows to watch is Timeline World History Documentaries on YouTube. I've binge watched for hours as Tony Robinson and his team visit historical sites, mostly in the United Kingdom, and tell the stories of the people who lived there. From their discussions and research, we can often learn interesting details we might not find elsewhere. In this episode, Time Team visits the buried homestead of the Grey family and recreates the estate digitally, based on their archaeological findings. One of the many treats in this episode is their digital recreation of the homestead, shown here. Tony explains that this is what the homestead looked like until the end of the 14th century, when they decided it was time to upgrade. Watch the full episode, The Buried Homestead Of The Grey Dynasty here via YouTube [Alternate link] Lady Jane Grey married Lord Guildford Dudley, son of John Dudley. See my previous post, The Dudley Castle and other Dudley legends, for more information on the Dudley family. Tip: Search YouTube for videos of the places your ancestors lived! You never know what you might find! If you don't know where they lived, check out the Domesday Book and try a search for your family names. Stay tuned for more genealogy tips and resources! #grey #groby #england #video

William Bradford's writings have been the primary source for Mayflower history since the ship's landing in 1620, but information omitted by Bradford has subsequently been published, elaborating on the history of our Pilgrim Fathers and other "first-comers" to New England. This book, for example, contains information about where the Pilgrims came from, their occupations, and some genealogical information. Furthermore, it includes information about three ships that arrived after the Mayflower - the Fortune, the Anne, and the Little James. It was originally published in 1929 and this copy, shown here courtesy of Archive.org, was published in 1962: "The English ancestry and homes of the Pilgrim Fathers who came to Plymouth on the "Mayflower" in 1620, the "Fortune" in 1621, and the "Anne" and the "Little James" in 1623, by Banks, Charles Edward, 1854-1931, [Alternate Link] See my previous posts, "The Great Migration" and "Timeline of American Immigration" for more information on early immigration to America and Colonial times. You might also be interested in The Winthrop Fleet. Click here for my interactive Mayflower database, complete with illustrations. Click here for more Mayflower resources. Click here for my Genealogy Dashboard featuring access to thousands of other free genealogy resources. Subscribe for updates and new resources! It's free! #mayflower #colonial #newengland #immigration #pilgrims #genealogy

While researching the McGinnis family of Cortland County, New York, the name Turner is frequently seen. It can be very confusing, which is the reason I'm taking the time to summarize a few things for any fellow family researchers. First, we know that William and Catherine (Smith) McGinnis had a daughter named Catherine McGinnis (1874-1923), also known as "Rene". She married Fred Turner (1869-1927), son of Dewitt C. Turner and Louisa (Underwood) Turner (1849-1923), of Groton. Rene and Fred Turner had at least two children: Maurice Dewitt Turner (1898-1948), who married Ada Cooper (1892-1986) in 1917 and had a daughter named Eloise who married Gordon W. Sheldon in 1940. She was living in Florida abt. 1950. Hazel Turner (1896-1971) who married Homer Reynolds (1892-1984) in 1916, and had children: Robert and Gertrude Reynolds. Homer and Hazel lived in Summerhill. There is another connection between the McGinnis and Turners, however. One of William and Catherine McGinnis's sons, Charles McGinnis (1872-1934) also married a child of Dewitt & Louisa Turner. He married Anna Mae Turner (1876-1955) and had two daughters, Eleanor and Catherine McGinnis. Dewitt and Louisa Turner also had a daughter named Bertha Frances Turner (1885-1954), who married Arthur William Lanpher in 1909. They had four known children: (Daughter) Lanpher born 1911. (See Cortland Standard, Nov. 2, 1911, transcription below). Lawrence Lanpher, who was born in 1915 and died the same year. Ruth Leone Lanpher, born 1917 and died 1995, married Hatfield. Clair William Lanpher (1919-2013). Related news items found: FREETOWN. Mrs. A. W. Lanpher is at East Freetown caring for her sister, Mrs. Chas. McGinnis and infant daughter. [Cortland Standard, Nov. 2, 1911]. MCGRAWVILLE. Dec. 12 - Mrs. Louisa Turner, widow of Dewitt Turner, died Saturday, Dec. 8 at the Cortland Hospital, where she has been cared for several weeks. Her age was 74 years. The remains were brought to the home of her daughter, Mrs. Charles McGinnis, where funeral services were held Tuesday afternoon. Burial was in McGrawville Cemetery. Mrs. Turner leaves four children, Mrs. McGinnis, Mrs. Arthur Lanpher, Fred and Frank Turner, and 6 grandchildren, and 3 great-grandchildren. [Cortland Standard, Dec. 14,1923]. The Turner View The McGinnis View See more: William McGinnis Catherine Smith Mary Ellen McGinnis Rose Hollenbeck #mcginnis #hollenbeck #williammcginnis

In the past I have shared many resources pertaining to the pilgrims and early settlers of New England. You can find most of them on the Mayflower Resources page and if you haven't seen my interactive Mayflower Passenger List, you might find it useful. Bradford's journal and "History of Plymouth Plantation" provide some personal information about the Mayflower passengers, but another book, called "Mourt's Relation", provides a very detailed account of the events from the departure from Leyden to their arrival and settlement at Plymouth, or Plimoth as it was often written. "Cushman carried, in addition to Bradford’s letter to Weston, a manuscript that would become an invaluable historic recording of the Pilgrims first thirteen months in America known today as Mourt’s Relation. Believed written by Bradford and Edward Winslow, it recounts the First Thanksgiving and the abundance of the New World." [Wikipedia] Read in online (free) at Archive.org here: [Alternate link] Get your copy of this Mayflower passenger list on Amazon! Click here for my Mayflower database complete with illustrations. Click here for more Mayflower genealogy resources. Click here for thousands of other free genealogy resources. #plymouthplantation #pilgrims #mayflower #plimoth #plymouth #massachusetts #newengland

Margaret McGinnis, also known as "Maggie" was the sister of my 2nd great grandmother, making her my second great grand aunt. She was born in June of 1867 and when the census was taken in 1870 and 1880, she was counted in Cincinnatus, in the home of her parents, William McGinnis and Catherine (Smith) McGinnis, as follows: The only personal knowledge I have of Margaret is what was printed in the local newspaper. The earliest mention found was in 1886, when she was attending the Normal School at Cortland while her older sister, Mary McGinnis, was teaching in Texas Valley. Mary was my 2nd great-grandmother. Around 1891, Margaret married Adelbert, better known as "Dell" J. Underwood or "D. J. Underwood". He was born in June of 1868 (or 1869) in Freetown (Cortland County, New York), a son of Joseph and Mary J. (Grant) Underwood. The following year, in 1892, Dell and Maggie were living in Freetown with or near his mother's family: In 1900, when the census was taken, they were counted in McGraw, still with no children. He was working as a blacksmith, making carriages and she was working as a corset maker. In 1910, when the census was taken, Maggie was still living with her husband of 19 years, in McGraw. They were about 42 years old at the time and report having no children. He was self-employed as a carpenter and she worked as a "Trimmer" at a "Corset Factory". In 1920, she was counted on the census in the home of her sister, Grace Dunbar, in McGraw, Cortland County, New York. Her marital status was divorced. Maggie died a few months after the 1920 census was taken, but before we get to that, here are some newspaper clippings pertaining to Maggie. From these clippings, we learn that the year after she was married, she was teaching at Freetown Corners. If we relied solely on the census, we might never have known she was a school teacher at all! Despite all these news clippings pertaining to Margaret, the last twenty years of her life are a bit of a blur. It appears that she and Dell were divorced before 1915. According to data contributed on Findagrave, Dell married widow Elizabeth S. (Bice) Mack in 1912. She was the widow of Jay B. Mack, who had died in 1910, at the age of about 41. Elizabeth died on Sept. 2, 1930 and about seven months later, on April 27, 1931, Adelbert married widow Mae E. (Titus) Elliot, in Montrose, Susquehanna, Pennsylvania. Mae's former husband, Jay M. Elliot, had died in May of 1830 - eleven months before she married Adelbert. Adelbert's birthplace was given as Freetown, New York, on the marriage certificate. He died in 1943 and is buried in McGraw. I believe this is the same building still standing at the corner of Clinton Street and Route 41 in McGraw today, shown here: You can also browse the neighborhood on Google Maps: (Click and drag to look around!) From those clippings, we also learn that Maggie was seriously ill from stomach trouble from 1914 until she died on May 10, 1920. The Cortland Standard and Homer Republican, Wed., May 12, 1920, supplies her obituary as follows: *Notice, her age was incorrect in the obituary. She was born in June, 1867, making her 52 years old at the time of her death in May of 1920. (New York Death Cert #31101). Margaret rests in McGraw Rural Cemetery, in McGraw, Cortland County, New York. You can view her grave at Findagrave here. Rest in peace, Aunt Maggie. Click here to learn more about this branch of my family. Click here for more Cortland County resources and relatives. #margaretmcginnis #mcginnis

Our view of the past is as though we are looking through a dark glass, with only vague shadows of our ancestors visible from the present perspective. Names, dates, and places, are often easier to find than personal details about their lives. I love to find personal narratives and historical fiction that shine some light on their everyday lives, the struggles they faced, tactics they used for survival, and people they knew. While researching the Plymouth Bay Colony and the first colonists to arrive, I stumbled upon this book I was excited to find. It is called "Christopher Jarrett of New Plymouth", by Winona Strachan, published in 1957. I was lucky enough to find a copy on Amazon, and provided photos of the book's introductory summary from the interior flaps, shown below. Introduction: Sailing into the harbor aboard the shallop to which he had been transferred mid-ocean, the settlement of New Plymouth presented a disheartening prospect to twelve-year-old Christopher Jarrett. this was to his new home, through no choice of his own! Three years after the Mayflower had sailed back to England, leaving its pitifully small but determined group of passengers on the shore of the New World, the settlement they had built in the wilderness appeared to offer little to a child of the London gutters. Cocky and resentful, Christopher struggled to adapt himself to life in Governor Bradford's household, his thoughts constantly on his sister, Betsy. Ever since that night in London when she had been snatched from him, as he fought with their assailants, he had known that if he ever found her it would be as a bound-girl in Virginia. Thwarted in his attempts to leave Plymouth to search for Betsy, he finally came to accept this wild land as his home, adjusting to the rigors of wilderness life, the grueling hours of labor, the distraction of constant hunger. As Christopher helps to push back the forest, build cabins and boats, fight marauding wolves, haul herring for fertilizer, plant and harvest crops, a vivid picture of life in New Plymouth is created for the reader. Great names form America's past emerge as real people...Miles Standish, Governor Bradford, John Alden, Elder Brewster...all the hopeful men and women...the temperamental, the sad, the courageous, the greedy...who dare to believe that a dream could be a reality. Although this is primarily the story of Christopher Jarrett and his search which leads him to find not only his sister but himself as well, it is far more than that. It is the story of the first stumbling steps in the growth of America, recreated in absorbing and authentic detail. Read it free online now at Archive.org. Click here! Or click here to find a copy on Amazon! Click here for my Mayflower database complete with illustrations. Click here for more Mayflower genealogy resources. Click here for thousands of other free genealogy resources. #mayflower #pilgrims #plymouth #massachusetts #colonial

German immigration to Wisconsin began in 1839, when land was sold at $1.25 per acre for those willing to suffer the three month journey. After a 4,000-mile journey, these hearty souls had to journey another 900 miles inland to their destination near Lake Michigan. But why? In the 1830s, Germany was divided into multiple states such as Prussia, Saxony, Bavaria and Austria. Pomerania, which is now part of Poland was under German control which became a problem when they attempted to force all the churches to unite. Rathe than compromise their beliefs, a group of devoted Lutherans in Pomerania opted to head for the land of the free - America. In 1839, forty families from Pomerania, Northern Germany, arrived in Freistadt, now located in Mequon, near Milwaukee, Wisconsin. They suffered the journey specifically for religious freedom. The first building they constructed was a church, where sermons were preached in their native language until the mid-1900s. These images are from a 1976 documentary called Destination America, telling the story of these German (and some Irish) immigrants to Wisconsin. If you're interested in German immigrants to Wisconsin, watch the short film from Archive.org free: [Alternate Link] Click here for some Wisconsin genealogy resources. If you have any to share, please comment below! Click here for thousands of free genealogy resources.

I don't know when I became such a nerd, but instead of watching the latest popular series on cable television, in my free time I like to watch documentaries, mostly on the internet. One of my favorite channels on YouTube is Timeline - World History Documentaries, where I am always learning interesting facts about ancient civilizations and cultures. Watching them investigate ancient myths and legends is fascinating! In an episode I was watching recently, called "Is there a sunken civilisation in the black sea?", a comment the narrator made caught my attention. The clip starts at 42 minutes 35 seconds, transcribed here: Phoenicians were presumed to have come from the sons of Sidon who was the namesake for the ancient, now-submerged port city off the coast of Lebanon. In addition, the Thracians were also presumed to have come from Tyrus, a son of Japheth. Ancient historians even linked the Ashkenaya region of the Ukraine with Ashkenaz who was also a son of Japheth. The Cimmerians are linked with Gomer, another son of Japheth, known to the ancient Persians as Gomera this seems to represent further evidence that the roots of the ancient people around the old black sea are corroborated by the Biblical counts in Genesis. Japheth was one of Noah's three sons, who was spared during the Great Flood. You can read about it in Genesis 7. This is interesting to me is because my DNA shows I am 4.56% Ashkenazi and, until now, I wasn't sure exactly what that meant. My father's results show 4.3% Ashkenazi and my maternal grandfather's results show 4.63%, proving it is from both sides of my family. It doesn't show up on my Ancestry DNA test but after downloading my raw DNA from Ancestry and uploading it to Gedmatch, I was able to view much more detail about my ethnicity. According to Wikipedia: "Ashkenazi Jews, also known as Ashkenazic Jews or, by using the Hebrew plural suffix -im, Ashkenazim are a Jewish diaspora population who coalesced in the Holy Roman Empire around the end of the first millennium. The traditional diaspora language of Ashkenazi Jews is Yiddish, developed after they had moved into northern Europe: beginning with Germany and France in the Middle Ages." Tip: You can view your admixture after uploading your raw DNA results to GedMatch. Click "Admixture (heritage)" and then select the "Eurogenes" project and click Continue. Enter your kit number and for Calculator Model, select "J Test" and click Continue again for your results. Noah's Ark Find thousands of free genealogy resources on my Genealogy Dashboard!

Draft registrations for World War I and World War II can be found online, providing personal details about the lives of our male ancestors and relatives. I have found several of my forefathers' draft registration forms for both World War I & II. One of my four great-grandfathers, John Reese, didn't fight in World War II, but he did register for the draft in 1940, as required by law. I was fortunate enough to know my great-grandfather, but for those who never knew him, this provides a small glimpse into his personal life. He was 29 years old in 1940 and although there is no indication of it on the form, he had a wife and two young sons at the time. The family was counted on the 1940 census in Groton, Tompkins County, New York. According to the information provided on his draft registration, he was 5' 2" and weighed 138 pounds. He had a light complexion, blue eyes and brown hair. He was employed by Rowland Davis of Cortland, New York, who was also his "Friend". See more photos and memorabilia about John Reese and his family here. To find World War II draft registration cards, try a search on Ancestry. (Paid subscription required to view results). #johnreese #reese #wwii #draft

An old legend tells of a Saxon lord called Dud, who built a wooden castle in the 8th century, in the region now known as Dudley, West Midlands, England. Historians, however, date the castle to the time of the Norman Conquest of 1066. The general belief among historians is that a follower of William the Conqueror built the castle in 1070. His name was Ansculf de Picquigny, and his son, William Fitz-Ansculf is recorded as the owner of the estate in the Domesday Book of 1086. The castle was first made of wood until it came into the possession of the Paganel family, who replaced the wood structure with one of stone. It was strong enough to defend an attempted siege by King Stephen's forces in 1153, but in 1173, when Gervase Paganel was involved with a failed rebellion against King Henry II, the King ordered the castle to be demolished. The Somery family owned the property in the 13th and 14th centuries and built a new stone castle there. John Somery died in 1321 and the estate was passed to his sister Margaret, Mrs. John de Sutton. Members of this family often used Dudley as a surname and in 1532, John Sutton inherited the castle but lost it to his cousin, John Dudley, who became the 1st Duke of Northumberland in 1537. Dudley lived from 1504 to 1553 and was said to be the most powerful man in the country. He was an English General and Admiral who was Chief Minister to King Edward VI, the only son of King Henry VIII and Jane Seymour. Queen Jane, Edward's mother, died from complications during his birth, less than two weeks after he was born. Edward was crowned King at the age of nine years old, upon the death of his father, King Henry VIII, and because he was still a child, the realm was governed by a "Regency Council", consisting of his uncle, Edward Seymour, at first, and then by John Dudley, 1st Earl of Warwick, from 1551. When John Dudley took over, the administration was almost bankrupt. He ended the wars with France and Scotland, and made other changes which helped the country's economy begin to recover. He introduced countrywide policing to maintain order and prevent uprisings, assigning Lord Lieutenants for each region. Dudley was Protestant and enforced the English Reformation and placed like-minded Protestant reformers in high Church positions. England had formerly been under the authority of the Roman Catholic Church, however when Pope Clement VII refused to accept Henry's divorce from Catherine of Aragon, a devout Catholic, Henry declared the Church of England officially separated from the Roman Catholic Church, though the Church of England continued to follow teachings of the Catholic faith. Catherine and Henry's only child was Mary and she, therefore, was heir presumptive. Henry "oversaw the legal union of England Wales with the Laws in Wales Acts of 1535 and 1542", himself descending from the Welsh Tudor Dynasty. Note: Catherine of Aragon was a daughter of the Catholic monarchs of Spain. She had been betrothed to Prince Arthur, Prince of Wales, from the time she was three years old, a plan intended to forge an alliance between the Spanish and English. They married when she was about 16, but tragically, Arthur died of a mysterious illness six months later. Her marriage to his younger brother, Henry, Duke of York, was arranged in order to renew the alliance. King Henry VIII was crowned in June of 1509. Their union produced only one child, a daughter, Mary, which displeased Henry. He lost interest in his wife and started a relationship with Anne Boleyn about 1526, and petitioned the Pope to annul his marriage with Queen Catherine. When the Pope refused, he declared the separation of the Church of England from the Roman Catholic Church. He married Anne Boleyn in 1533, and the birth of their daughter, Elizabeth, soon followed. Henry anxiously awaited the birth of a son to inherit the throne of the Tudor Dynasty, but after three miscarriages, Henry soon moved onto greener pastures with his third wife, Jane Seymour, with whom he finally produced a son, Edward. The year 1553 proved to be a history changing one for the Dudley's and all of England. John Dudley's son, Lord Guildford Dudley, was married to Lady Jane Grey, first cousin 1x removed from the King, Edward VI, son of King Henry VIII. She was also known as Lady Jane Dudley, or the Nine Days' Queen after she was nominated as successor to the crown in King Edward's will in June of 1553. John Dudley was beheaded that same year, after the Privy Council changed sides and decided Mary, daughter of King Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon, should be queen. Mary was devoted to the Roman Catholic Church and had over 280 religious dissenters burned at the stake, giving her the name "Bloody Mary". This, among other things, prompted the exodus of many English and Welsh to the New World. Here's a great video you might enjoy! (Not mine) Click here for information on my branch of the Dudley family. Click here for 20,000+ free genealogy resources. #harvey #dudley #francisdudley #legends #royalty #aristocrats

To live in the hearts we leave behind, is not to die. - Unknown #quotes #memories #memorials #death #grieving

A valuable resource for researching genealogy is "Your ancestors, a national magazine of genealogy and family history". This publication was put out between 1947 and 1960 and can be accessed freely using any of these links: Volume 1 - Volume 2 - Volume 3 Nov. 1947 - Dec. 1949 Volume 4 - Volume 5 - Volume 6 Jan. 1950 - Oct. 1952 Volume 7-10 - Jan. 1953 - Dec. 1956 Volumes 11-14 Spring 1957 - Sept. 1960 Search inside each volume for your family names. You might be surprised with some found missing pieces! Among the pages you'll find extensive genealogies of Roger Williams of Rhode Island, John Wilcox of Rhode Island, John Huntley of Lyme, Connecticut, the Finley family of Pennsylvania, the Thomas Sherwood of Fairfield, Connecticut, Ralph Farnham of Andover, Mass., the Philip Hatch family of Maine, and many others such as Alexander, Dibble, Beardsley, Johnston, Maxson, Hatch, Spoor, and more. #NewYork #American #ancestry #genealogy #genealogies #familyhistory #resources #searchonline

In the year 1086, King William I (William the Conqueror) ordered an inventory of England's lands to be taken. The purpose was to determine the amount of taxes owed from the reign of King Edward the Conqueror, the last of the Anglo-Saxon kings, conquered by William. The book was written in Medieval Latin and is difficult to read but has been translated for easier reading. You can now search the Domesday book online, free of charge at opendomesday.org. I would also suggest checking the name index in case there are spelling variations. You can also choose a place from the map, to see all the entries for the place. Click here for more free genealogy resources! Sources: Domesday Book images kindly made available by Professor J.J.N. Palmer. Images may be reused under a Creative Commons BY-SA license - please credit Professor J.J.N. Palmer and George Slater. The Domesday Book from Andrews, William: “Historic Byways and Highways of Old England” (1900) ISBN 9781406797541[1] #England #Domesday #WilliamtheConqueror #resources

The Pennsylvania State Archives has made thousands of family history records available online at Ancestry.com. Residents of Pennsylvania will be glad to know they have been granted free access to these files: Pennsylvania, Veterans Burial Cards, 1777-2012 Pennsylvania, Births, 1852-1854 Pennsylvania, Land Warrants and Applications, 1733-1952 Pennsylvania, Oyer and Terminer Court Papers, 1757-1787 Pennsylvania, Spanish War Compensation, 1898-1934 Pennsylvania, Naturalization Records from Supreme and District Courts, 1794-1908 Pennsylvania, War of 1812 Pensions, 1866-1879 Pennsylvania, Land Warrants, 1733-1987 Pennsylvania, Civil War Border Claims, 1868-1879 Pennsylvania, Marriages, 1852-1854 Pennsylvania, Deaths, 1852-1854 Pennsylvania, Records of Marriages, 1885-1889 Pennsylvania, Tax and Exoneration, 1768-1801 Pennsylvania, Septennial Census, 1779-1863 Pennsylvania, WPA Church Archives, 1937-1940 Pennsylvania, Veteran Compensation Application Files, WWII, 1950-1966 Pennsylvania, Death Certificates, 1906-1964 Pennsylvania, Civil War Muster Rolls, 1860-1869 Pennsylvania, Birth Records, 1906-1910 Pennsylvania, WWI Veterans Service and Compensation Files, 1917-1919, 1934-1948 Pennsylvania, Prison, Reformatory, and Workhouse Records, 1829-1971 Pennsylvania, County Marriages, 1845-1963 Here's how to access the collection free of charge: First, if you have an account with Ancestry.com, log in to your account. A paid subscription to Ancestry is not required but logging in first will make the next step easier. In another tab or window, click this link to enter Ancestry's site through the State Archives: Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission In the page that opens, scroll to the bottom and enter your Pennsylvania zip code. After typing in the zip code, Do NOT press Enter on your keyboard. Simply click the link: "Go to Pennsylvania State Archives records at Ancestry.com". You will arrive at a search form, where you can enter the criteria of your search. If you aren't already logged into Ancestry.com, you will be prompted to create an account when you try to access a document. Once your logged in, you may browse or search the collection. Click here for more genealogy tips and resources! #Pennsylvania #vitalrecords #marriagerecords #landrecords #militaryrecords #pennsylvania #pennsylvaniaarchives

Mary "Polly" Brown was born November 12, 1838, reportedly in Genoa, Cayuga County, New York. Her name varied on records, sometimes being written Polly and at least once it was written Sarah, but she usually went by Mary. You can see the variations in my previous posts, where I shared the census records she was found on from 1855 to 1892, and from 1900 to 1915. Here in this embroidered "Family Record", hand made by Mary Polly Brown herself, she stitched her own name as "M . LEONARD . BORN . NOV. 12, 1838". (From Dryer Family Photos). Mary Polly Brown's father was said to have been Eugene Edwin Brown and her mother, Lydia King. (Documentation containing her parents' names was shared in my previous post). In this post I'll lay out the only clues I've found which may reveal Mary Polly Brown's whereabouts in 1850, when she was a young girl. If she was born Nov. 12, 1838, as recorded in the Family Record, she would have been 11 years old and would have turned 12 in November of 1850. Since she was reportedly born in Genoa and she also lived there at the age of 17 as a newlywed with Charles and a newborn baby, Joseph, she may have been in the same small town of 2,500 people when the census was taken in 1850. Sure enough, a search of the 1850 census does reveal a girl named Polly Brown living in Genoa, but her age was given as 12 and she was the only Brown in the home belonging to Peter and Lydia Shaver. The census in Genoa was taken on October 1st, a month before Mary Polly Brown's birthday, so if this was her, whoever gave the information to the census taker may have estimated her age, or perhaps she was really born in 1839, which is a possibility. It is interesting to note that on the 1900 census, "Nov 1839" was given as her birth month and year. Alternatively, this may not have been our Mary Polly Brown at all. Peter and Lydia Shaver (Shaffer/Shafer) report being born in Pennsylvania. They appear to have had two children in the home in 1850, Philip and Sally A. Shafer. By 1855, Sally was married to George Bower. Philip also married and had at least three children: William Shaffer, Edgar Shaffer, and Emma (Shaffer) Newman, all named in Phillip's will dated 1899. No will has been found for Peter or Lydia. Mary was not found in the Shaffer household in 1855, which supports the idea that this Polly Brown was our Mary Polly Brown because we know ours married Charles Russell Leonard about 1854 and when the census was taken in 1855, they had their own home in Genoa, as mentioned previously. Lydia Shaffer died on January 19, 1888 and is buried in Genoa Rural Cemetery (Findagrave). Whereas I had hoped this Lydia was Polly's mother, Lydia King, others claim this was Lydia Fetterman and so, for now, we'll have to assume the Shafers were not family and simply took Polly in, perhaps as a foster child, or perhaps as a servant, which wasn't uncommon for young people in those times. A copy of Lydia's death certificate should confirm her identity more definitively, however. (Certificate #2229 "Lydia Shaffer"). If you have a copy, please share! In my next post, I'll share what I've found in trying to locate Mary and her parents on the 1840 census. Stay tuned! Click here to learn more about Mary Polly Brown. Click here to learn more about the Leonard family. #marypollybrown #brown #leonard

Mary "Polly" Brown was my 3rd great-grandmother. She was born November 12, 1838, in Genoa, Cayuga County, New York. She married Charles Russell Leonard before 1854. Following are the census records Mary is found on between 1855 and 1900, during her marriage to Charles Russell Leonard. Despite combing many pages of census records, I have yet to find the couple on the 1850 or 1860 census. Stay tuned for more! Subscribe for updates! Click here to learn more about Mary "Polly" Brown. Click here to learn more about this branch of my family. #marypollybrown #brown #leonard #charlesrussellleonard

Mary Polly Brown married Charles Russell Leonard before 1854 and together they had at least 11 children. They were counted on the census together until 1880, which you can see in my previous blog. There you'll also find Mary's entry on the 1892 New York State census when she was living in Locke with two of her sons, Arthur and Irving Leonard. She and Charles had split up around 1888. Meanwhile, in February of 1892, Mariette Wilson, wife of Joseph Wilson, died at the age of 68. Eight years later, when the 1900 census was taken, Mary was still living in Locke, but she was reported as the wife of Joseph Wilson. We know this is our Mary for a few reasons. First, our family genealogies report she married Joseph Wilson, second, because she is buried in the same plot with Joseph Wilson, and finally, the most obvious reason - because her son, Irving Leonard was living in the home and his relationship to Joseph Wilson was "step-son". Joseph died on January 10, 1905 and later that year Mary was counted on the census, still in Locke, with only one other person in the home. It was her grandson, Victor Raymond, a son of Frank and Lydia (Leonard) Raymond. (Census shown above). Mary would go on to marry Peter Welch (or Walsh) on March 17, 1906, but the marriage would later be annulled when Mr. Welch discovered that Charles Leonard and Mary (or "Polly") had never been legally divorced. Click here for that story. Nevertheless, Mary kept Walsh's name until death. Her name was written "Polly Walsh" on the 1915 census, when she was still living in Locke, with a granddaughter, Bertha Leonard, in the home. She died two years later in 1917. Her name is written "Mary Walsh" on her death certificate, and "Mary Welch" in Bird Cemetery's burial records, although she is buried in the same section with Joseph Wilson. Read about the settling of her estate here. Click here to learn more about Mary Polly Brown. Click here to learn more about the Leonard family. #marypollybrown #leonard #brown

Finishing up my review of what we know about Mary "Polly" Brown, wife of Charles Russell Leonard, Joseph Wilson, and Peter Walsh, the following are the known facts about her death and burial. (The surrogate records for the distribution of her estate can be found here.) Mary's death certificate, shown here, indicates her father's name was "Eugene Brown". (My apologies for not recalling who to credit for this great find). The certificate also indicates she was born in Genoa, New York, on November 12, 1838, and she died on May 14, 1917, from "Paralysis Right Hemiplegia" or "Right Sided Hemiplegia", meaning she had paralysis on the right side of her body, with Chronic Nephritis as a contributing factor. Chronic Nephritis is inflammation of the kidneys, a type of kidney disease. For information on repairing your DNA to help prevent disease, click here! A typed genealogy report found at Dryer Family Photos elaborates, stating that her father's name was Eugene Edwin Brown and her mother's name was Lydia King. Mary is buried in Bird Cemetery with her second husband, Joseph Wilson. Hopefully a photo of her grave will follow soon! Next, I'll try to find more on Eugene Edwin Brown and Lydia King. Stay tuned and subscribe for updates if you haven't already! If you have information about this family to share, please share in the comments below or contact me! Click here to learn more about Mary Polly Brown. Click here to learn more about the Leonard family. #marypollybrown #birdcemetery #leonard #brown

This week, it was snowing here in Pennsylvania - a great time to do some digging but not the cold, backbreaking kind - the genealogy kind! I decided to revisit a question that pops into my mind every now and then: Who was Mary Jane Gorton? The question led me to finding the will and surrogate records of my 3rd great-grandmother, Mary Polly (Brown) Leonard. If you follow my blog, you know that recently I found a wealth of clues about my McGinnis and Smith connections from surrogate records and reunion announcements published in the local newspapers. In the same way, the mystery of Mary Jane Gorton came about. While searching for clues on one of my favorite sites, FultonHistory.com, I found two notices which seem to provide a glimpse into the extended family of Charles & Mary Leonard. From the Geneva Daily Times, June 10, 1918: "Mrs. Lydia Raymond was called to Moravia and Auburn last week in the matter of a will of her aunt for which she is named executor". From the Moravia Republican Register, Feb. 1919: "The people of the State of New York, to Arthur Leonard, Joseph Leonard, Irving E. Leonard, Susan Canavan, Charles Leonard, Flora Sherman, Bert Pease, Helen Hamlin, Luella Townsend, James Leonard, Albert Leonard, Elma Wilkins, Ethel Bross, Cyrus Gorton: Upon the petition of Lydia J. Raymond of the town of Lodi, N.Y., you are hereby cited to show cause before the Surrogate's Court of Cayuga County at the Courthouse in the City of Auburn on the 15th day of April, 1919, at 2:30 o'clock in the afternoon, why a decree should not be granted judicially settling her accounts as Executrix of etc. of Mary Jane Gorton, late of the town of Venice, N.Y., deceased..." Lydia J. Raymond was a daughter of Charles Russell Leonard and Mary "Polly" Brown, my 3rd great-grandparents. Lydia was born in 1874 and married in 1888 to Frank Raymond, born abt. 1865, a son of Fitch Hopkins Raymond. Because Mary Jane Gorton was called Lydia's "aunt", we can assume she was a sister of one of Lydia's parents - Charles Leonard or Mary "Polly" Brown, but it is also possible she was Lydia's husband's aunt - a sister of one of Frank Raymond's parents. As for Charles Leonard, we only know of him having one sister, Jenette (Leonard) Reynolds, although he could have had more. He did have several half-siblings from his mother's marriage to Thomas Knapp. I was able to locate Mary Jane's will and surrogate records on FamilySearch. In the papers, it clarifies that she was aunt to all of Charles Russell Leonard's children, eliminating my initial thought that Mary Jane could have been an aunt of Lydia's husband and not a sister of Charles or Mary. You can read, download, or print the pages from the surrogate records, shown here: Mary Jane Gorton died May 7, 1918 in Venice, New York. Cert #31644. News of her death was reported in the local paper as follows: "Mrs. Cyrus Gorton died suddenly Tuesday at her home in East Venice. Funeral services were held yesterday." (Moravia Republican Register, May 1918). This valuable clue from the New York Marriage Index indicates Mary Jane Gorton's maiden name was either Brown or Johnson and since she was Lydia Raymond's aunt, we know it could only have been Brown! It seems likely that she married a man named Johnson before marrying Cyrus Gorton at the age of about 53 in 1900. So Mary Polly Brown had a sister named Mary Jane Brown? Strange, but not impossible! It appears she was Mary Johnson at the time of her marriage, so I checked the 1892 census to see if I could find her. The following potential matches were found. I still haven't found the details of this Johnson marriage. If anyone has any information, please comment below or contact me. Cyrus and Mary were counted on the census of 1900 in Sullivan, Madison County, New York. In 1905, they lived in Locke, Cayuga County. In 1910, they lived in Venice and in 1915 they lived in Throop. Cyrus was a blacksmith, apparently moving frequently for work. Mary Jane Gorton is buried in Bird Cemetery in Locke, in the same section as Mary "Polly" Brown Leonard Wilson Walsh and her second husband, Joseph Wilson - Section PF-1. (These links to their corresponding Findagrave memorials). Her obituary and entry in Bird Cemetery's index are shown here: Six months after Mary Jane died, Cyrus married on November 16, 1918, to May E. Willson, also known as Marjorie Raymond, daughter of Ebenezer Raymond and Harriett Hartigan. Cyrus died on July 20, 1929, in Romulus, and is buried in Ovid Union Cemetery with Marjorie, who died on March 8, 1939. Cyrus Gorton was a descendant of Samuel Gorton, the subject of "Life and Times of Samuel Gorton", written by Adelos Gorton in 1907. His family is found on page 474 as follows: In May of 1892, Mrs. Wealthy Gorton died. According to her obituary, which corresponds with the Gorton book, she was born in Brookfield and married Daniel P. Gorton. They lived in Brookfield and in New York Mills. They had seven sons, including C. H. Gorton of Syracuse at the time of her death. She also had two brothers, Reuben Nash of Skaneateles Falls and Isaac Nash of Brookfield. (Utica Weekly Herald, May 31, 1892). Subscribe to my blog to follow my research! Stay tuned for updates coming soon! Click here to learn more about the Leonard branch of my family. #maryjanegorton #brown #leonard