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Take a trip back in time with a tour of Colonial Williamsburg, Virginia, from a 1962 perspective. These rare old photo slides were stored away for more than half a century before I got ahold of them, cleaned off the dust, scanned them with my handy dandy slide and negative scanner, and turned them into this 2.5 minute video for your enjoyment! #virginia #slides #colonialwilliamsburg #colonyofvirginia #colonists

In the past I've shared videos and blogs about my family's trips to New York City and in them you can see photos from the ferry we took to Ellis Island and Liberty Island, so it was nice to find these old photo slides containing very similar views from these photos taken more than half a century earlier, back in 1963. Enjoy this one minute video of these rare old photo slides! If you're researching family from New York City, be sure to check out my index of resources for New York and also for Kings County, Queens County and New York County - or any other county! #newyork #newyorkcity #vintage #photos #skyline #cityscape

[This page may be slow to load. It contains everything you need to access these records quick, easy and free, so please be patient] The Colony of Virginia was founded by the Virginia Company, a private venture, under a royal charter in 1606. The colony was settled the following year, in 1607, and the governor was royally appointed. The House of Burgesses, on the other hand, were the representatives elected to the legislative body to represent the people of the colony. There were 22 burgesses in the Virginia General Assembly. After the American Revolution and Virginia's independence from Great Britain, the name was changed to House of Delegates or what we call today the lower house of the General Assembly. In an effort to entice colonists to emigrate to Virginia, "The Great Charter", was written by the leaders of the Virginia Company in 1619. Anyone willing, who could pay their own way to Virginia, would be granted 50 acres of land. Maybe some of your ancestors came to America under those terms. Since most of my family mostly emigrated to the northeast, I was surprised to learn that at least three of my ancestors on my Daniels branch were born in Virginia, which goes to show you just never know! Maybe they were even part of the Lost Colony at Roanoke! We'll have to keep digging, but for now, here's another resource which will prove useful for researching Virginian colonists. Here it is... Thirteen volumes of the Journals of the House of Burgesses here at your fingertips - free! These books are loaded with 157 years of colonial records, from 1619 to 1776, available free on Archive.org and indexed here to make them easy to find. There are a few ways to use this resource: Browse by Year If you know what years your ancestor(s) lived in Virginia, start with the corresponding volume. The volumes are divided by time period as follows. Clicking the volume number will take you to the corresponding volume where you can search or find the pages you need. Manually search the General Index Use the General Index, provided in the volume embedded here to find a surname or subject in the Genearl index. I wouldn't recommend using their search feature. Instead, scroll through the pages the old-fashioned way (kind of) to find the name you are researching. If you find potential matches, take a snippet or make a note which years and page numbers you need and then easily find and access the volume by clicking the volume number above or using the buttons below. Browse the Tables of Contents For your convenience, the "Contents" of all 13 volumes is shown below. Click any image to enlarge the text. Use the blue buttons to access the volumes: Note: The General Index, embedded above, is from Volume 1. This volume contains two indexes - a General Index, as well as its own separate index. All the indexes are covered in the general index, so to save time, I recommend checking that first. If you find anything relevant, let us know in the comments below! #virginia #colonial #colony #williamsburg #houseofburgesses #resources #history #colonists

Among hundreds of vintage photos I am sorting through and sharing in the upcoming weeks, I found this picturesque scene. Two photos taken in 1965 feature the "Captree Boat Basin", on Jones Beach Island: On Google Maps, we can see that after 56 years, Captree Boat Basin still bears the same name. It is located on Jones Beach Island, near Captree Island. The bridge seen in the photo appears to be the Robert Moses Causeway, crossing the Great South Bay going back to Long Island. Captree State Park offers two large fishing piers, making it a hotspot for fisherman and picnickers. Captree Boat Basin offers the largest public fishing fleet on Long Island for those looking to do a little saltwater fishing. Sightseeing excursions are also available. You can visit their website at captreeboatbasin.com for details. (Note: MyGenealogyAddiction.com is in no way affiliated with Captree.) Stay tuned for more! See more New York history and genealogy resources here. #newyork #history #photos #vintage #captree

In the book I recently acquired, "Christopher Jarrett of New Plymouth", by Winona Strachan, shared in a previous post, I came across a curious term I had seen before, but never took the time to research - "the dividing of assets". I decided it was time to find out what it meant. Following is the excerpt: As you may know, or recall from my previous blogs regarding the Mayflower passengers who landed at Plymouth Colony in 1620, there were two groups of passengers on the ship - the Leyden Congregation (true "pilgrims") and associates of the Merchant Adventurers (true capitalists). With lots of work to be done in the new colony and the potential for profit, the investors financed the passage and supplied provisions for the colonists under the agreement that they would be repaid and profit from future commodities the colony would produce, such as corn, tobacco and furs. In 1626, several of the Plymouth men and five London investors bought out the Merchant Adventurers interest in the colony. The following record of "garden plots" written in William Bradford's handwriting was published in Records of the Colony of New Plymouth Vol. 1, (Deeds), page 2: Fifty-three householders joined the "company" as shareholders. The livestock and cattle became community property and it was agreed the colony's assets would be divided after seven years, giving everyone the incentive to work hard to care for and breed the livestock. In 1623, each household in the Plymouth Colony was granted one acre of land per person. The lots were drawn like a lottery. Isaac Allerton received the largest parcel - seven acres for the seven people in his family. Then in 1627 the "Division of Cattle" took place. Twelve groups would each receive a cow and two female goats. Each of these groups consisted of 13 people. The full list of groups is published in Records of the Colony of New Plymouth Vol. 1, (shown below) on pages 9-13. Almost anything you would want to know about the Division of Assets in the Plymouth Colony can be found in this volume. Other volumes of Records of the colony of New Plymouth, in New England can be found here, in my previous blog. Click here to see the Interactive Mayflower Passenger List. #plymouthcolony #plymouth #mayflower #newengland #divisionofassets

Mary (Brown) Leonard was my 4th great-grandmother. Family tradition says she was Native American, from either the Mohawk, the Seneca, or the Cayuga Indian tribes of Central New York. Mary was born on November 12, 1838, and she married Charles Russell Leonard when she was about 16 years old, probably in 1853. Charles would have been about 22 years old. Their first child, Joseph Russell Leonard, was born April 6, 1854, in Cayuga County, New York. Charles and Mary would have at least eleven children born between 1854 and 1880. A photo of a family record Mary embroidered by hand was so graciously shared on Dryer Family Photos. In this treasured family heirloom, each person in the family was listed, along with their birth dates. At the top of the list, we see C. R. Leonard (Charles Russell Leonard), followed by herself (M.L.) and their eleven children, listed below. Children of Charles & Mary Leonard, all listed in the family record were: Joseph Russell Leonard b. April 6, 1854 in Cayuga County, New York ("Joseph" on 1855 census age 2 or 3 months; on 1865 census, age 11; on 1870 census, age 16) Susan L. Leonard b. June 5, 1856 in Cayuga County, New York ("Susan" on 1865 census, age 8) Charles L. Leonard b. Aug. 10, 1858 in Genoa, New York ("Charles" on 1865 census, age 6) Sarah G. Leonard b. Nov. 30, 1860 in Tompkins County, New York ("Sarah G" on 1865 census, age 4; "Jane" on 1870 census, age 8) Frances Jennie Leonard b. July 12, 1863* in Tompkins County, New York ("Frances" on 1865 census, age 1 year 11 months; "Frankie" on 1870 census, age 7, "Frances" on 1875 census, age 13) William H. Leonard b. July 24, 1866 in Tompkins County, New York (not in parents home in 1870 or on any census) Lewis F. Leonard b. Oct. 4, 1869 in Tompkins County, New York ("Lewis" on 1870 census, age 1) Maude M. Leonard b. Sept. 7, 1871 in Tompkins County, New York (not in parents home in 1875 or on any census) Lydia Leonard b. June 13, 1873 in Cayuga County, New York ("Lydia" on 1875 census, age 2; on 1880 census, age 7) Arthur Leonard b. May 23, 1877 in Cayuga County, New York ("Arthur" on 1880 census, age 3) Irving Eugene Leonard b. April 18, 1880 in Cayuga County, New York ("Irvin" on 1880 census, age 2 months) See the family's census records here. Also found on Dryer Family Photos is a typed genealogy, which provides the following information: [Click here to learn more about Mary "Polly" (Brown) Leonard] [Click here to learn more about my branch of the Leonard family] #marypollybrown #charlesrussellleonard #leonard #brown #familyrecord #heirlooms

The State University of New York at Stony Brook, also called Stony Brook University (SBU), is a public research university located in Stony Brook, Suffolk County, New York. It is the largest public university in the state and the flagship campus of the SUNY (State University of New York) system. Stony Brook's story began in Oyster Bay, New York in 1957, when it was called the State University College on Long Island. In 1960 the State decided to form a new public university on Long Island. upon a recommendation by the Heald Report, and Ward Melville donated over 400 acres of land at Stony Brook to the State for that purpose. Two years later, in 1962, the State University College on Long Island was relocated to Stony Brook and its name was changed to State University of New York at Stony Brook. In 1963, the State took another recommendation from the Heald Report, for the creation of a Health Science Center and campus hospital to train and prepare medical professionals. Since then, Stony Brook has expanded to 1,454 acres of land with 213 buildings. These are are few of the originals, from photos taken in July of 1965: I was only able to locate one of the buildings on the campus. The first picture in the slideshow above is what is now the Sports Complex building shown here on Google Maps: Stay tuned as I share more of this collection of 1960s photos! Click here for more New York history and tons of genealogy resources! #newyork #suny #colleges #universities #stonybrook #longisland #suffolkcounty #photos

While going through an old box of slides and photo transparencies from the sixties, I found some dated July 1965, and after popping one in to my slide scanner, I was thrilled to see it was Shea Stadium. While these photos were before my time, I have been to Shea Stadium twice in the 1990s to see the New York Mets play, but it didn't look like this! The story of Shea Stadium is an interesting one. To sum it up, we need to go back to 1957, when New York had two National League baseball teams - the Brooklyn Dodgers and the New York Giants. They also had the New York Yankees, but the Yankees are in the American League, East division. The New York Giants had played ball at the Polo Grounds since 1891, and The Brooklyn Dodgers played at both Washington Park and Eastern Park before using Ebbets Field, which they used for about 43 years. Both teams were in need of new stadiums. The owner of the Dodgers, Walter O'Malley, wanted to build a new stadium in Brooklyn at his own expense, but New York officials wanted the city to build the stadium and lease it out. Furthermore, the city insisted the new stadium be built at Flushing Meadow Park, so O'Malley packed up and moved to Southern California. The New York Giants baseball team also moved to California. so, the Brooklyn Dodgers became the Los Angeles Dodgers, the New York Giants became the San Francisco Giants, and New York was left without representation in the National League from 1958 to 1962. Finally, in 1962 a new National League team was formed. They were called the New York Mets and their colors were a combination of the two departed teams - blue from the Dodgers and orange from the Giants. The Mets played at the Polo Grounds, while the new stadium was being planned and conflicts over everything from financing to electrical work caused many challenges and setbacks. The stadium finally opened on April 17, 1964, when the Mets faced the Pittsburgh Pirates with a crowd of a little over 50,000 people in attendance. Sadly, the Mets lost 4-3. They played 82 games at Shea in 1964. Shea Stadium was located on Roosevelt Avenue in Flushing, Queens, New York. The first game played there was five days before the 1964-65 New York World's Fair, which was held near the stadium, so the stadium was decorated with blue and orange panels coordinating with the fair's futuristic theme. The panels remained until 1980. Shea Stadium hosted the World Series in 1969, 1973, 1986, and 2000. The Mets shared the field with the New York Jets (football team) from 1964 until 1983, converting it for use as a baseball field in the Spring and a football field in the Fall. In 1983 the Jets moved to New Jersey to share Giants Stadium with the New York Giants (football). The Mets continued to play at Shea Stadium until 2008, when it was demolished to make space for additional parking for their new home at Citi Field, which was completed in 2009. Their last game at Shea Stadium was against the Florida Marlins on September 28, 2008. The Mets lost 2-4. The photographs in the slides that got me all into this story were stamped by Kodak, "JUL 65", so I went to find out which game they were taken at. Even if we don't recognize the red and white uniforms, we can see in the scoreboard photo that the Mets were playing the St. Louis Cardinals. The Mets were losing 3-0 at the bottom of the second inning. I found a site that helped me find the roster for 1965, so I checked all the games they played against the Cardinals that year finding they played 18 games, of which they only won 5 that year. I was then able to check each game's "play by play" and found that on Sunday, July 4, 1965, the Mets played the Cardinals and at the bottom of the second inning, the score was 3-0. The final score was 6-2, with the Mets losing again. It was game #81 of the 1965 season but it was their 38th home game that year, so in these photos we see their 120th game played at Shea Stadium. The Mets' record for the season was 27-53 (W-L) when the game was over. Overall, they won 50 games that season and lost 112. These photos were sitting in storage for the past 60 years and I just thought they should be shared in memory of Shea Stadium and it's part in the changing of New York baseball, a major part of New York's culture. I hope you enjoy them! For those interested in copies of some of these rare old photos and more, check out my gallery on FineArtAmerica. Click here for more New York history and lots of genealogical resources! References: Shea Stadium [Wikipedia] Scores and Standings Sunday, July 04, 1965 [Baseball-Reference.com] Mets 1964 Schedule [Baseball-Reference.com] Mets 1965 Schedule [Baseball-Reference.com] Scores and Standings Sunday, September 28, 2008 [Baseball-Reference.com] #history #baseball #newyork #mets #photography

My 9th great-grandfather, Samuel Stowell, was born in 1625 in England. Chudleigh Parish Registers indicate that his father died on December 7, 1628, when Samuel was just three years old. Young Samuel arrived in America some time before 1635, for it was in that year that he went to Hingham, Massachusetts, with Peter Hobart and about 25-30 people who Hobart had brought from England and some he recruited at Charlestown to accompany him.[1] Hobart was a Puritan minister, undoubtedly traveling by boat to Hingham, a distance of about eleven miles. In Hingham, Samuel Stowell worked as a toolmaker and was granted land there in 1656.[2] The Stowell House, Hingham, Mass. - “One of the oldest houses in America, on Fort Hill Street, at the foot of the hill on which stood the old fort prior to King Philip's War. The streets were then mere grassy lanes without sidewalks. The houses were of logs with thatched roofs and oiled paper for windows. Here Samuel Stowell lived. On the same spot, over 250 years ago, the above house was built. It is still standing and has been occupied by at least five generations of the descendants of Samuel Stowell.” - Stowell Genealogy[3]. In an attempt to find out if the house was still standing today, I found information seeming to match the above description. A house built in 1685 by Capt. Thomas Lincoln, once occupied by Stowells[4], was moved from its longtime home at 99 Fort Hill Street in 2013 and was relocated to its new home 1.5 miles away. It now sits behind the Old Ordinary Museum on Lincoln Street as part of the museum's campus and is called the "Old Fort". Google Maps is an awesome tool for potentially seeing the places our ancestors lived without leaving home, so I went looking for images of the home before it was moved in 2013. While click-walking down the street in an attempt to spot the house in the photo, I noticed a home at 106 Fort Hill Street, which looks more like the one in the plate shown above from Stowell Genealogy than the one on the flat bed being hauled in the news photo. Below, the street view image in October 2012 is shown. An image for 2009 is also available, but the house is barely visible, being hidden behind trees. Therefore, it appears the property was cleaned up and the home was remodeled sometime between 2009 and 2012. A date is shown on the corner of the house - "1693". The home appears at the bottom of the hill and looks identical to the Stowell House, which was said to have been built in 1685 by Capt. Thomas Lincoln. Perhaps he built several houses using this basic plan. Samuel Lincoln, original proprietor of Hingham, was the ancestor of Abraham Lincoln.[5] If you're planning a trip to Hingham, you can visit the museum and fort. Check out the Hingham Historical Society's website for more information. If you are interested in the preservation of Hingham's history, consider donating to the society. A donation link is provided on their page. In the meantime, this video published by the HHS provides an excellent view of the structure believed to have been the long time home of the Stowell family of Hingham, about half way through the video. Please share your thoughts and comments below! UPDATE: The original home belonging to Samuel Stowell reportedly burned in 1933. Still, the home behind Old Ordinary appears to have also belonged to a Stowell, according to the news article in the Boston Globe, referenced herein. Thank you to Sarah Jane Stowell for sharing this link and update with us! Sources: [1] Annual Meeting, Stowell Family, p. 6, by the Stowell Family Association, 1925. [Link] [2] An address delivered before the citizens of the town of Hingham, by Solomon Lincoln, 1835. [Link]. [3] "Stowell Genealogy, A Record of the Descendants of Samuel Stowell of Hingham, Mass.", by William Henry Harrison Stowell, 1922. [4] "17th-century house moved to new home", by Jessica Bartlett, Boston Globe, July 14, 2013. [Link] [5] "Abraham Lincoln and Religion", by Lincoln Financial Foundation Collection [Link] Click here for Hingham, Massachusetts, genealogy and history resources Click here to learn more about this branch of my family. #stowell #harvey #samuelstowell #hingham #historiclandmark #massachusetts

Hingham, Massachusetts, was first settled by a group led by Puritan minister, Peter Hobart. Hobart was among the many Christians who fled religious persecution during The Reformation. Christians were harshly persecuted by the Roman Catholic Church and the Church of England and many sought freedom in the new world. Hobart had arrived in America in 1633, settling in Charlestown. In the first year of their arrival, his father surveyed nearby land which was officially incorporated as the town of Bare Cove in the Massachusetts Bay Colony in September of the same year[1]. The name was soon after changed to Hingham. A small Unitarian church was built in 1635 and Peter Hobart was installed as minister. It was the 12th church built in the Massachusetts Bay Colony. In 1681, a much larger church or "Meeting House" was built and although it only took three days to build, it still stands to this day. It is the oldest church in America still in use since its construction well over 300 years ago. It was more than just a place of worship. The Meeting House offered protection for the settlers as well as a place to conduct official government business. It was the heart of the community who helped build it. The church members/founders cut down trees from the surrounding forests and those with ship-building skills were critical in its construction, which could explain the ship-like components of its design. It was ordered that all settlements be built within half a mile of the meeting house. Among the church's members was Samuel Lincoln, ancestor of Honorable Abraham Lincoln. Parishioners sat on wooden, backless benches until pews were put in in 1755 and there was no heat in the building until about 1822. Images from Early American Churches[2]. Tour the exterior of the church with this interactive Google Maps (Street view): Click here for genealogy resources and more information about Hingham, Plymouth County, Massachusetts. Several of my maternal ancestors were early settlers of Hingham. David Stowell was born there in 1660, and his wife, Mary (Stedman) Stowell was born there in 1670. Samuel Stowell II was married there in 1649 and died there in 1683. (He is buried in Fort Hill Cemetery). John Farrow and his wife, Frances (Carpenter) Farrow, died there between 1687 and 1689, and their daughter Mary (Farrow) Stowell died there in 1708. She was the wife of Samuel Stowell II. Click here to see my index of ancestors. [1] Shepherd in the Wilderness, Peter Hobart 1604-1679, by Edward Franklin Ripley. [Link] [2] Early American Churches, by Aymar Embury, 1914. [Link] #hingham #massachusetts #oldshipchurch #stowell #farrow #samuelstowell

How much do you know about your cultural roots? I knew virtually nothing about mine before my quest to find my heritage began. My parents told me I was part English, Irish, French, Welsh, German and a little bit of Native American, but my grandparents and great-grandparents were all born in America, so as far as I knew, none of their cultural customs or traditions were passed down to me. I was intrigued by friends who emigrated to America, or whose parents or grandparents came from some exotic faraway land. Now, after years of following my family history backward through time, I know a lot more about my family's coming to America and I realized that the reason we didn't know much about our ancestors origins is because it was too long ago! The last immigrant ancestor in my family was my maternal 2nd great-grandfather, Harry Dickinson, who was a third-generation steel worker. He emigrated with his parents from Sheffield, England, to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in the 1880s during the steel boom that made Pittsburgh famous. His wife, Annie (Robinson), had immigrated from Manchester, England, with roots from Wales. Prior to that, my paternal 3rd great-grandfather, William McGinnis, had immigrated from Ireland to upstate New York, escaping the Great Irish Famine in the late 1840s, probably by offering himself as an indentured servant to whoever paid his passage. The next immigrant ancestor, going back in my ancestral history, was my paternal 7th great-grandfather, Elias Shevalier, who sailed from Jersey - the island, that is. He was born in Saint Helier, Jersey, in or before 1712 and immigrated to Connecticut as an indentured servant before 1735, after the death of his parents. Those are the four most recent arrivals of my immigrant ancestors and the only traces of them today is quite literally microscopic. It's a shame to think that within a couple hundred years, your descendants could know nothing about you! Living in today's increasingly globalistic society, some people prefer to eradicate the cultural differences between us, while others stereotype, shame and vilify people for the deeds of people who are long gone and probably no relation. Consequently, we grow further and further from our roots and the cultures of our ancestors, who each played a vital role in our existence. While we possess little to no heirlooms, scarcely any documented evidence, almost no portraits or photos, and absolutely no video footage of our ancient ancestors, we do carry copies of portions of each of them in our DNA. Every cell in our body carries traces of those who came before us, as inconceivable as it may seem. Not only do we inherit their dominant physical traits, but some of the habits, preferences, customs, and traditions we learn from our parents may have also been passed down for generations, too. As a "genealogy addict", I love to learn about the things my ancestors experienced and personal aspects of their lives, such as the kinds of foods they ate and the music they enjoyed. Traditional ethnic recipes and favorite old folk songs can help us feel a connection to our heritage and they're not too hard to find. Of course, recorded music wasn't available in homes until the invention of the phonograph in 1877. Just think, for thousands of years, the only music that was heard was played or sang live. Surely minstrels were popular and a home with a musically inclined family member was an extra happy one. Since there are no recordings, however, the only songs that have survived are those that were written down or ones that were popular enough to be passed down from generation to generation as folk songs. Note, also, that the printing press wasn't invented until 1473, so printed sheet music wasn't even available until then. Prior to that, copies of music had to be reproduced by hand. On that note, it's probably safe to assume that many great songs died with people who never copied them down or passed them on. While researching your family history, you might come across a note or a newspaper clipping with details about a song sang at a wedding or party, or perhaps a wedding invitation quoting a line of lyrics or the name of a song. When you do, try to find a copy of the song online and then find a way to preserve the memory of it. Print out the lyrics and/or sheet music and keep them in a scrapbook or frame, share it with family to keep the memory of alive. Also, try a search for folk songs and see what you can find. Maybe a small part of you will find some comfort or enjoyment in a good old kansanlaulu (Finnish folksong), or a volkslied (Dutch folksong), or maybe a népdalt (Hungarian folksong). These are more than songs, these are connections to your people. These connections remind us that we are part of something much bigger than ourselves. We are part of a clan, a family - one with millions of people across the globe, who you probably would never guess are your relatives. It's a reminder to be kind and compassionate to all people regardless of race, creed or color. Tip: Try searches for both "folksong" and "folk song", along with the language, ethnicity, or country. Translate "folksong" to whatever language you're looking for to find authentic songs and more accurate versions. Google Translate will come in handy! My personal favorite is this cân werin (Welsh folk song) called, Dacw 'Nghariad (There is my sweetheart). Of course, I don't know if any of my ancestors knew it, but my DNA thoroughly enjoys it, so maybe! A full playlist of Welsh folksongs can be found here, but first, listen to this song! Share your thoughts and comments below! Dacw 'Nghariad Dacw 'nghariad i lawr yn y berllan, Tw rym di ro rym di radl didl dal O na bawn i yno fy hunan, Tw rym di ro rym di radl didl dal Dacw'r tŷ, a dacw'r 'sgubor; Dacw ddrws y beudy'n agor. Ffaldi radl didl dal, ffaldi radl didl dal, Tw rym di ro rym di radl didl dal. Dacw’r dderwen wych ganghennog, Tw rym di ro rym di radl didl dal Golwg arni sydd dra serchog. Tw rym di ro rym di radl didl dal Mi arhosaf yn ei chysgod Nes daw 'nghariad i 'ngyfarfod. Ffaldi radl didl dal, ffaldi radl didl dal, Tw rym di ro rym di radl didl dal. Dacw'r delyn, dacw'r tannau; Tw rym di ro rym di radl didl dal Beth wyf gwell, heb neb i'w chwarae? Tw rym di ro rym di radl didl dal Dacw'r feinwen hoenus fanwl; Beth wyf well heb gael ei meddwl? Ffaldi radl didl dal, ffaldi radl didl dal, Tw rym di ro rym di radl didl dal English translation: There is my sweetheart down in the orchard, Oh how I wish I were there myself, There is the house and there is the barn; There is the door of the cow house open. There is the gallant, branching oak, A vision, lovingly crowned. I will wait in her shade Until my love comes to meet me. There is the harp, there are her strings; What better am I, without anyone to play her for? There’s the delicate fair one, exquisite and full of life; What nearer am I, without having her attention? #wales #music #reese #griffith #dickinson #welsh #folksong Share this blog with other lovers of folk music!

Over the past few weeks I have been working on better organizing the thousands of genealogy resources I've collected for reference during my years of genealogy research. Most of them are within the United States and you can browse resources by State, County, or Town, but I've also found some useful international resources along the way and organizing them has been somewhat of a challenge due to my admitted lack of knowledge of world geography. It is all very confusing to me, so I took some research to figure it all out. Let's take England for an example, where much of my family originates. England is located on the island of Great Britain, within the United Kingdom (U.K.), off the northwestern coast of the continent of Europe. The islands of Great Britain, Ireland, the Isle of Man, and more than six thousand smaller islands make up the British Isles, collectively encompassing 121,684 square miles. Besides the United Kingdom, Ireland is the only other sovereign nation in the British Isles. The Republic of Ireland is located on the island of Ireland, divided from Great Britain by the English Channel. Northern Ireland, however, belongs to the United Kingdom and although both Great Britain and Ireland are islands, they are located within the continent of Europe. As you know, Europe is one of the earth's seven continents. It is also considered part of the larger landmass called Eurasia. In this map, the continent of Europe is shown in green. As you can see, the islands of Ireland and Great Britain are shown as part of the continent of Europe, along with Iceland and thousands of other small islands. However, in terms of Continental Europe and its common definition, Great Britain, Ireland, Iceland and Scandinavian (Nordic countries) are not considered European countries. It is primarily countries on the mainland that are considered to be part of Continental Europe. As of today, October 18, 2021, the population of Europe is 748,226,898 (Source). Russia's population tops the chart in both size and population, out of all the European countries, followed by Turkey, Germany, France, and the United Kingdom, respectively. Following is a list of countries within the continent of Europe, located on the mainland (Continental Europe): * indicates countries that straddle both Europe and Asia. The following countries are Northern European countries, formerly part of Scandinavia, called Nordic Countries: Following are Islands which are considered part of the Continent of Europe, but generally not considered Continental European countries: After shining some light on my dark understanding of the definition of "European", I now understand why many of the early immigrants to America were called Europeans, despite some having British, Irish, Scottish, and other origins we might not typically consider to be part of Europe. Are you from England, Ireland, or Scotland? If so, do you consider yourself to be European? Please share your perspective in the chat! #european #geography #genealogy

Sometimes researching family history is like a roller coaster. It is exciting to find out you're related to a famous person and gratifying to find ancestors who were upstanding citizens who contributed to society in some way, but what about when you uncover a family secret or an ancestor or relative who did something shameful? When we venture into the family forest we should make sure we're ready to accept whatever we may find. We should remember our goal is to learn about our family's history and the fact is we can also learn from both their successes and their failures. Actually, it's probably easier to learn from people's failures than it is to learn the secrets of people's success. Yes, shameful deeds put a stain on the family record, but there is a positive side. The fact that these records exist is an important lesson for us all, especially for those with children. Remembering that your deeds will be recorded in newspapers, court records, people's journals, or elsewhere, might help influence people to make better decisions. After a story hits the newspapers, all your peers, neighbors, and family discover what you've done, and your name is tarnished forever. A hundred years from now your great-grandchildren might want to learn about you and search old newspapers and what would you like them to find? That you were abusive, criminal, or even a murderer? Also, knowing the shame or stigma the family suffers should also be strong motivation to resist the temptation to do shameful deeds, too. It makes the decision process simpler: If you'd be ashamed for people to read about it in the newspaper, don't do it! I have been working on adding more documents and sources to the people in my tree and I was searching newspapers at fultonhistory.com when I stumbled upon a story about Levi Sherman, with the headline "Assault With Deadly Weapon - Such is the Charge Against Levi Sherman After Shooting a Woman". I had been researching another branch of my family from the same area, but this story jumped out at me because my 4th great-grandfather was named Levi Sherman and he also lived in the same area. My ancestor, Levi Sherman, was the grandfather of Cora (Sherman) Leonard. Cora married Lewis Leonard, son of Charles Russell Leonard. Cora's father was James Sherman. I remember there was another Levi Sherman with a son named James in nearby Wayne County, mentioned in my previous blog, but this incident was in Cayuga County so it wasn't this other Levi Sherman. I also already found a story about Levi's daughter, Dora Sherman, who pistol-whipped a man in 1874, for not paying the rent he owed her, and she also stabbed a man with a pitchfork in 1878. Based on this pattern of aggression, I was pretty sure there was a connection, so I continued reading and found more articles about the incident, all shown below. The story, in short, is that Levi Sherman lived "in the woods" near Venice, New York. He had a girlfriend, Minnie Cogsdill, a married woman who had apparently separated from her husband. In November of 1907, Minnie left Levi and went to her friend Mrs. Pearl Wallace's home in Venice. Levi showed up and asked to speak with her and they went outside to talk. He asked her to marry him while brandishing his gun and she agreed, fearing he would kill her. She then said she had to go inside to get her cloak and he objected, saying she had plenty of cloaks at home. When she protested, he slapped her in the face. Then, giving up the charade, she told him she would not marry him and went back in to the Wallace home. A few minutes later, Levi appeared at the front door and began shooting at the occupants inside. Mrs. Wallace was the only one shot, receiving only a grazing, and when he ran out of bullets, he was chased away. Police found him later in a cornfield and although his gun was fully reloaded, he did not resist and was taken into custody. He was taken to prison and soon after committed to Willard Asylum in Ovid, New York. He escaped in November of 1908 but was captured after locals spotted him in Moravia. What made me realize this wasn't my ancestor, Levi Sherman, was that mine died in 1898, nine years before this incident. Also, my ancestor would have been near 90 years old if he were alive in 1907 and Minnie was only 31. I looked among Levi's children's names and found no mention of a son named Levi, so who was this "Levi Sherman", hermit of Moravia? For this answer, I looked to the census and on the 1875 New York State Census, I found the following: Here we find Levi N. Lamphere (or Lamphier) living in the home of my 4th great-grandfather, Levi Sherman, who was 63 years old at the time. Mary Lamphere, age 28, was listed as Sherman's housekeeper and it appears her two sons were in the home: Daniel Webster Lamphere, age 6, and Levi N. Lamphere, age 2 years 4 months. So Levi Lamphere (later called Levi N. Sherman) was born in January or February of 1873. Looking back on the 1870 census, we see Mary and Daniel were already in Levi Sherman's home, along with two of Levi's sons, so it is possible that Levi N. Lamphere was actually a son of Levi Sherman. Oddly enough, on the 1880 census, Mary was listed as Levi Sherman's wife. According to that census, he was 48 years her elder. Levi N. Lamphere would have been 7 years old in 1880, but I was unable to find him on that census. The next records I found him on was the 1892 New York State Census, when he was 19 years old, a laborer. His name was written "Levi N. Sherman". Following are the news articles containing the story of the shooting. Click here for Part 2 of the video. So, now we know who Levi Sherman, the eccentric hermit of Moravia was. Whether or not he had any children is unknown, but it appears he was freed by 1914 and it didn't take long for him to find someone willing to marry him. On November 17, 1914, Levi N. Sherman married Manervia Maxson (Manervia Lillie) in Sempronius. (NY Marriage Cert. 25174). Hopefully she wasn't coerced by his gun! #sherman #levisherman #crime #venice #genealogy #history

In the year 1584, two ships sailed across the Atlantic looking for a suitable settlement in which the English could stake their claim of land in North America. The ships, sent by Walter Raleigh, landed off the coast of North Carolina on Roanoke Island, a region rumored to be rich in silver and gold. The land appeared fertile and green and the natives were hospitable, so the ships returned to England and delivered their report. Full of hope, Raleigh requested permission from Queen Elizabeth to start a colony there and name it "Virginia" in her honor, since the unmarried queen was known as the "Virgin Queen". Permission was granted and Raleigh sent about a hundred men to Roanoke to form a colony. The colonists soon found that not only were the rumors of gold and silver false, but the soil was too sandy to farm. When their crops failed, the desperate men raided the fields of the Indians, prompting hostility. Finally, they withdrew and sailed back to England. They had been at Virginia less than a year. Undeterred, Raleigh gathered a second group of colonists in 1587 to make a second attempt. This time he sent women and children along with the men - about 120 people. After the long voyage and delivering the colonists to Roanoke, the ship went back to England for supplies and because of the threat of the Spanish Armada, all worthy ships were required to stay in English ports for a time. When they were finally permitted to leave again, they returned to find the settlement at Roanoke destroyed and the settlers no where to be found. Their fate remains a mystery. Following is a list of the people of the "Lost Colony" at Roanoke (sorted by last name): *Allen, Morris Archard, Arnold Archard, Joyce (woman) Archard, Thomas (child) Arthur, Richard *Bailie, Roger ("Assistant") *Bennet, Marke Berde, William *Berrye, Henry (or Berry) *Berrye, Richard (or Berry) Bishop, Michael Borden, John *Bridger, John Bright, John *Brooke, John (or Brooks) *Brown, Henry *Browne, William Burden, John *Butler, Thomas *Cage, Anthony *Chapman, Alis (or Charman?, a woman) *Chapman, John *Cheven, John Clement, William *Colman, Thomas *Colman, ___ (woman) *Cooper, Christopher ("Assistant") Cotsmur, John *Dare, Ananias ("Assistant") *Dare, Elyoner (woman) *Dare, Virginia (born at Roanoke) Darige, Richard Dorrell, Henry Dutton, William Earnest, John Ellis, Robert (child) Ellis, Thomas English, Edmond Farre, John Fernando, Simon ("Assistant") Florrie, Charles Gibbes, John Glane, Elizabeth (woman) *Gramme, Thomas (or Graham/Graeme) *Harris, Thomas *Harris, Thomas *Harvie, Dyonis ("Assistant") *Harvie, Margery (woman) *Harvie, __ (born at Roanoke) Hemmington, John Hewet, Thomas *Howe, George ("Assistant") *Howe, George (woman) Humfrey, Thomas (child) Hynde, James *Johnson, Henry *Johnson, Nicholas *Jones, Griffen *Jones, Jane (woman) *Jones, John Kemme, Richard *Lasie, James Lawrence, Margaret (woman) *Little, Peter *Little, Robert *Lucas, William Mannering, Jane (woman) Manteo, a "savage" from England *Martyn, George (or Martin) Merrimoth, Emme (woman) Myllet, Michael Mylton, Henry Newton, Humfrey Nicholes, William *Pattenson, Hugh *Payne, Henry (or Paine) *Payne, Rose (woman) Phevens, Thomas *Pierce, Jane (woman) Powel, Edward *Powell, Winnifred (or Wenefred, a woman) Prat, John (woman) Prat, Roger ("Assistant") Rufoote, Henry *Sampson, John ("Assistant") *Sampson, John (child) *Scot, Thomas Shaberdge, Richard Smart, Tomas (child) *Smith, Thomas Sole, William Spendlove, John Starte, John *Stevens, Thomas ("Assistant") Stilman, John Sutton, Martyn Tappan, Audry (woman) Taverner, Richard Tayler, Hugh *Taylor, Clement Tomkins, Richard Topan, Thomas Towaye, a "savage" from England Tydway, John *Viccars, Ambrose (child) *Viccars, Ambrose *Viccars, Elizabeth (woman) Warner, Thomas Warren, Joan (woman) Waters, William *White, Cutbert *White, John ("Governor") Wildye, Richard *Wilkinson, Robert *Willes, William *Wood, Agnes (woman) Wotton, Lewes *Wright, John Wyles, Brian Wyles, John Wythers, William (child) The Governor, John White, and ship captain, Simon Fernando, returned to England. George White, an Assistant to Governor White, was killed by Indians soon after the colonists arrived. Many of the other names were found among the Indians in Robeson County, North Carolina, as late as 1888 and "the traditions of every family bearing the name of one of the lost colonists, point to Roanoke as the country of their ancestors". These names are indicated with an asterisk ("*") in the list above. Sources and further reading: The English voyages of the sixteenth century, by Sir Walter A. Raleigh (1861-1922), 1910. Read it free online [Link] or click here to find a copy on eBay! Sir Walter Raleigh's Lost Colony, by Hamilton McMillan, 1888. Read it free online [Link] or click here to find a copy on eBay! Click here for 20,000+ free genealogy resources! Tour the island on Google Maps here: UPDATE: 9/23/2021 I found this video on YouTube. If you like a good storyteller, this is your guy! #virginia #northcarolina #lostcolony #sirwalterraleigh #colonization #history #roanoke #america #precolonial

Immigration records are a treasure for family historians, providing not only evidence of our ethnicity but also personal information we probably couldn't find anywhere else. If you can find the ship manifests or passenger lists, they could yield genealogical treasures. The ship's place of origin could provide evidence of one's ethnicity, a documented connection to ancestral homelands - unless they transferred ports, of course. Some passenger lists included the age and place of birth, too, which is most helpful in distinguishing between people sharing the same name. The timing of their voyage could indicate why they emigrated. For example, my maternal 3rd great-grandfather, John Dickinson, came from Sheffield, England, in the mid to late 1800s to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. What brought him here? Well, he was a "steel forgeman" back in Sheffield and in the 1870s, Pittsburgh boomed with new steel mills, making it one of the foremost steel producing cities in America at the time. (To this day, their NFL football team is called the Pittsburgh Steelers - my favorite). So, it appears the Dickinsons came to America for opportunity. On the other hand, my paternal 3rd great-grandfather, William McGinnis, came from Northern Ireland to America in 1849 or 1850. What was happening in Northern Ireland in 1850? It was about five years into the Great Irish Famine, which killed over a million people and caused over 2 million to flee the country - not just for a chance at a better life but to save their lives. My "Timeline of Events" was created to help see what major events were taking place at any given time. It is a work in process but many major events are listed and may provide some clues as to what was happening during their lives. The other passengers on ship manifests may also provide clues. For example, half of the Mayflower passengers were members of the Leiden Congregation who came from the Netherlands. You may also be able to determine who they traveled with. Perhaps their future husband or wife was on the ship with his or her parents, which would provide more clues for you to follow. Some manifests indicate how much money they were carrying, their occupation, any distinguishing marks on their bodies, their height, weight, and/or eye color. Being from the northeast, when I think of 19th and 20th century immigration to America, I think of Ellis Island, Castle Garden, and the Ports of Philadelphia and Boston. My immigrant ancestors all arrived in the northeast, and most stayed in that area, with the exception of my great-grandfather, Percy Daniels. He was born in Olympia, Washington, but his parents had gone west by land, following the Oregon Trail. As far as I know, none of my ancestors arrived on the west coast, so I had never given much thought to immigration stations in the west. It was a book called "Angel Island, the Ellis Island of the West", by Mary Bamford, that brought the Angel Island Immigration Station to my attention. As you can see on the map, the analogy is fitting. Like Ellis Island sits in the New York Harbor, Angel Island sits in the San Francisco Bay. After Mexico ceded California to the United States in 1848, Angel Island was used as a military base, just as Ellis Island was formerly used by the military for decades, first as a fort (Fort Gibson) and later as a battery and naval magazine where ammunitions were stored. Castle Garden, now called Castle Clinton, located in Battery Park, New York City, was America's first immigration station. More than 8 million immigrants reported their arrival at Castle Garden between 1855 and 1890. Ellis Island didn't open until about 1892 and from then until 1954, about 12 million immigrants were processed there. Although immigrant lists were kept, there were no restrictions on immigration to America until 1882. It was then that Congress passed The Chinese Exclusion Act, restricting the immigration of Chinese laborers and they soon realized the need for a designated place on the west coast for immigrants to be processed and inspected upon arrival and Angel Island was chosen as the location. The administration building for processing immigrants at Angel Island was opened in 1910. The immigrants arriving there came primarily from Germany, Russia, India, Africa, Japan, Korea, and China. Because only skilled Chinese immigrants were allowed entry, some who didn't qualify claimed they were sons or daughters of Chinese Americans already in the country, thereby claiming they were automatically citizens. Those immigrants had to be thoroughly interrogated and detained while their claims were investigated. Witnesses had to be called and relationships had to be verified, a process that took anywhere from 3 days to 22 months. Those who were detained wrote poems in Chinese on the wooden walls at Angel Island, expressing their disdain for the process, their treatment, and unsanitary conditions in the detention center. Over a million immigrants were processed at Angel Island between 1910 and 1940 and about 80% were granted entry. Of those, it is estimated that 175,000 were Chinese and 117,000 were Japanese. In August of 1940 the main building and part of the women's quarters were destroyed by fire and the station and detainees were relocated to a facility in San Francisco. Three years later, in 1943, the Chinese Exclusion Act was repealed. The buildings on Angel Island sat in disrepair for decades until the 1970s, when demolition was considered. A group of advocates, however, fought to preserve the site and it was made into a public park. The poems of the detained Chinese immigrants on display as a reminder of the suffering they endured in hopes of becoming American citizens. For more information about Angel Island, see the Wikipedia article found here. You might also enjoy this short video: Finally, here is the book that first peaked my interest in Angel Island. Read it free, courtesy of Archive.org: #resources #immigration #thewest #california #genealogy

Last week my family and I toured Lower Manhattan, visiting the home of several of our ancestors. Since it was the first time my two youngest kids visited the city, I thought the best way to see it would be from one of the tallest buildings on earth - the One World Observatory. With a little reluctance, despite the recent Iranian conflict, we embraced our faith in God and Country and spent the day in the same district targeted by terrorists on September 11, 2001. Located on West Street, between Vesey Street and Fulton Street, the tower is located directly next to the 9/11 Memorial at the World Trade Center. Construction began in 2006 and was completed in 2013. It was opened to the public on November 3, 2014 and the observatory opened on May 29, 2015. With the spire on top, the building stands 1,776 feet, a deliberate measurement corresponding with the year America gained its independence from Great Britain. Initially it was called the "Freedom Tower", but in 2009, it was officially named "One World Trade Center" or "One WTC". My absolute favorite part was the elevator ride going up. The walls of the elevator display a time-lapse of the cities growth, from its bedrock foundation, to the time of the early Dutch settlers, and into the present day, similar to a time machine! If you're interested in watching my very amateur video of our trip, here it is! Subscribe to my YouTube channel while you're there if you haven't already! #newyorkcity #onewtc #worldtradecenter #manhattan #ancestortrails #nyc

Near Castle Clinton, formerly Castle Garden, in Battery Park, New York City, stands a stirring memorial called "The Immigrants 1973". It is a memorial to the immigrants arriving at Castle Garden prior to the opening of Ellis Island in 1890. In this scene we see weary and afflicted immigrants from various places arriving off the boat. At the head of this diverse group, we see an Eastern European Jew, barefoot and crawling with an outstretched hand. Behind him, a young man and his bride look up, likely praying and hoping for a better life for their newborn child. They are the only ones wearing shoes. A muscular man holds his hand over his face, either fighting back tears or seasick from the voyage as he holds on to the young man in front of him. Beside him, a priest, perhaps Russian Orthodox, holds his hand to his heart and carries his suitcase at his side, also looking up in the same direction as the young couple. Behind the priest, an African slave rejoices with broken chains still around his wrists. Finally, a Christian woman on bended knee in prayer, presumably giving thanks for a safe landing. Each life is a story and this scene reflects scenes familiar to many of our ancestors who came to America for a chance at life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. The sculpture was commissioned by Samuel Rudin (1896-1975) in the early 1970s in honor of his parents, who had immigrated to America in 1883. The work is credited to Frank Luzi (Architect), and Luis Sanguino (Sculptor). It was completed in 1973 and dedicated in 1983. The red granite base of this bronze sculpture measures 8' x 17' 7" and the statue stands over 10' tall. The inscription at the base reads as follows: DEDICATED TO THE PEOPLE OF ALL NATIONS WHO ENTERED AMERICA THROUGH CASTLE GARDEN IN MEMORY OF SAMUEL RUDIN 1896-1975 WHOSE PARENTS ARRIVED IN AMERICA IN 1883 You might also like to have this book for your family history collection: Click here to see more from my visit to Battery Park Click here for my list of places to find immigration records This is part of my new Ancestor Trails series, visiting the places my ancestors lived. Click here to see more like this Subscribe to my blog for free updates! #ancestortrails #newyorkcity #dykeman #tourneur #newyork #nyc #manhattan #monument #batterypark #immigrants #immigration #castlegarden

During our trip to New York City last week, one of the monuments I marked on our tour route was the Netherland Monument in Battery Park (The Battery). My 10th great-grandfather, Johannes Dyckman, worked for the Dutch West India Company. He was born in Holland around 1618 and was "first clerk to the chamber at Amsterdam". In 1651 he was stationed at Fort Orange (modern-day Albany, New York), working as Commies (Commissary) - the clerk and chief officer of Fort Orange. The "Old Dyckman Homestead" on Broadway in Manhattan is the oldest Dutch house on the island to this day. It was owned by Jan Dyckman and possibly originally the property of another 10th great-grandfather, Daniel Tourneur, a French Huguenot who lived in this settlement when it was still called New Amsterdam. Daniel's home is marked on the 1660 map of New Amsterdam. For more blogs about this interesting branch of my family, click here. To learn more about the Dykeman branch (which married into several New York City families including Tourneur, DeVaux, Bosyns, Claessen, and Paresis), click here. "IN TESTIMONY OF ANCIENT AND UNBROKEN FRIENDSHIP THIS FLAGPOLE IS PRESENTED TO THE CITY OF NEW YORK BY THE DUTCH PEOPLE, 1926" The west side of the monument is inscribed: "ON THE 22ND OF APRIL 1625 AMSTERDAM CHAMBER OF THE WEST INDIES COMPANY DECREED THE ESTABLISHMENT AND THE CREATION OF THE ADJOINING FARMS THE PURCHASE OF THE ISLAND OF MANHATTAN WAS ACCOMPLISHED IN 1626. THUS WAS LAID THE FOUNDATION OF THE CITY OF NEW YORK." The opposite side contains a map of "Fort Amsterdam and Surroundings". This monument is located on the southwest corner of Battery Place and State Street, at the head of Broadway and across from the National Archives building. It was designed and sculpted by H.A. van den Eijinde (1869-1869) from bronze and granite. The base is 7-feet x 7-feet and it stands 12-feet in height, without the flagpole. Click here to see more monuments of Battery Park. Subscribe to my blog for free updates on my Ancestor Trails and other genealogical finds! Click here for my list of places to trace your Dutch heritage! #newyorkcity #batterypark #netherlands #dutch #holland #newamsterdam #nyc #manhattan #tourneur #dykeman #devaux #genealogy #historic #monument #ancestortrails

From the time the Dutch settlers arrived in New Amsterdam (now Manhattan, New York City), they knew the southern tip of the island was a strategic location for guarding the harbor and protecting the settlers on the island. A substantial fort called Fort Amsterdam was built there by 1626, shown in the illustration below from one of my favorite books, "The Legend of New Amsterdam". My father's ancestor, Daniel Tourneur, lived nearby in 1660. Fort Amsterdam remained until after the American Revolution but was demolished in 1790. For nearly two decades, there was no fort there, but with tensions rising again between the U.S. and Britain, a new fort was built in 1808, just before the War of 1812. The new structure was built slightly west of where the original fort stood, on an artificial island called West Battery. A bridge connected the fort to Manhattan, as shown in the painting by Samuel Waugh, below. The name of the fort was changed to Castle Clinton in 1815, in honor of Mayor DeWitt Clinton, who later became Governor of New York. Then, in 1822, the U.S. Army ceded the fort to the city who used it as a venue for public entertainment such as concerts and plays. On August 1, 1855, Castle Clinton was designated as New York's official Emigrant Landing Depot, the country's first immigrant processing center. Prior to that, most ships arriving in New York City landed at the docks on South Street. With more standardized procedures in place, it is estimated that 8-12 million immigrants were processed here between 1855 and 1890, maintained by the State of New York. In the 1860s, landfill was used to replace the water between Castle Garden and Manhattan, thereby extending the island of Manhattan and forming what we know of today as Battery Park or "The Battery". Strolling or riding along the paths of Battery Park, admiring the dozen or more massive granite monuments scattered throughout the park, you'd never suspect it was built upon 19th century garbage any more than you'd suspect there are cars driving underground beneath your feet, through the Brooklyn-Battery Tunnel. The Pier A Harbor House was built in the mid-1880s as headquarters for the NYC Board of Dock Commissioners, later known as the Department of Docks. It was also home of the Harbor Police. In 1890, the U.S. Government assumed control of immigration processing and desiring a more isolated place to do so, Ellis Island was built and opened by 1892. The records from Castle Clinton were moved to Ellis Island and operations commenced, but to every genealogists dismay, a fire broke out on Ellis Island on June 15, 1897, destroying at least 42 years of immigration records containing valuable information about our ancestors. Castle Clinton was slightly modified to host the New York City Aquarium in 1896, quickly becoming a popular attraction, drawing thousands of visitors to the city for the next 45 years. In 1941, the aquarium was closed for the construction of the Brooklyn-Battery Tunnel, and more than once, demolition was considered. In 1946, legislation was passed making the castle a U.S. historic monument, and still, just a year later, it came close to being demolished for the sixth time, but because of the public outcry of those who opposed the demolition, the New York State Assembly rejected the request. Finally, in July of 1950, the city ceded Castle Clinton to the federal government. It was renovated in 1956 and again in the 1970s. The original masonry of the fort is still in tact. These are photos I took last week. Today the castle is managed by the National Park Service and has been restored relatively close to its original appearance, minus the water surrounding it. To this day, visitors from around the world enter the castle to experience a taste of what millions of immigrants experienced. It is used as a departure point for visitors taking cruises to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis island, the place where life in America began for millions. Click here to see my photos from the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. Click here to see more from my trip to Battery Park. Click here for my list of places to find immigration records. This is a part of my Ancestor Trails, visiting the homes of my ancestors. Subscribe to my blog for free updates! You can learn more about Castle Garden/Castle Clinton in this book: #castleclinton #batterypark #ancestortrails #newyorkcity #nyc #historic #newyork #manhattan

Almost 12 million immigrants to America were processed at Ellis Island between 1892 and 1954 and although all my ancestors came before 1892, several did travel overseas through this port and many lived in the area. See photos and video clips from my family's recent trip to Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty in this video, below. We departed from Liberty State Park in Jersey City and took the ferry to Ellis Island. After spending a couple hours there, we took another ferry to Liberty Island. We didn't go to Lady Liberty's crown, but we went up to the pedestal (near her feet). From there, the ferry took us back to Liberty State Park. The sky was heavily overcast and a light misty rain fell most of the day, but we still had a great time and got some good photos. Enjoy! Later we toured lower Manhattan including Battery Park, Castle Clinton, and South Street Seaport, where my great-grandfather, Percy Daniels lived around 1900. He was a merchant mariner and the American Merchant Mariner's Memorial is located very close to where he roomed in between voyages. We also saw many immigrant monuments and memorials, like the Walloon Settler's Monument, the Netherland Monument, the Korean War Veterans Memorial, the American Merchant Mariner's Memorial, "The Immigrants 1973" memorial, and the East Coast Memorial. We also visited the One World Observatory, the tallest building in the western hemisphere, which was amazing experience giving us a peek at what New York City looked like before it was plastered with concrete and steel as if we were traveling through time. If you haven't been there, don't miss that video! Click here for free genealogy tips and resources to help research your family's history! #StatueofLiberty #NewYorkCity #NewYork #immigration #immigrants #ellisisland #newyork #libertyisland #ancestortrails

If you're heading to the Statue of Liberty from Manhattan, you'll need to head to The Battery. The Battery, also known as "Battery Park", was used as a defensive stronghold in the late 1600s. Artillery batteries were placed here at the southern tip of Manhattan to protect the settlement on the island. The location was also used as a landing point for immigrants (Castle Garden) arriving at New York until Ellis Island was designated as the place for processing immigrant arrivals around 1890. Surely many of our immigrant ancestors' first steps in America were taken in Battery Park. Today Battery Park is a 25-acre public park on the southern tip of Manhattan, between Pier A and the South Ferry Terminal. It features several monuments commemorating the people of New York's past. My family and I toured the park last week and because I can't stand the cold, I mapped out which monuments and memorials I wanted to see on my brisk January walk-through beforehand. First, we saw the (1) Seaglass Carousel (shown above), which was closed. Then we saw the (2) Statue of Liberty Viewpoint (shown above). Since we visited the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island last year, it was interesting to see it from this perspective. Next, we came to the (3) East Coast Memorial, a tribute to the soldiers who died in the Atlantic during World War II. Continuing north from there, we came across the dramatic sculpture depicting suffering immigrants, called (4) "The Immigrants 1973". Next on the trail we saw (5) Castle Clinton. Continuing on, we stopped at the (6) Korean War Veterans Memorial. From there, we saw the (7) American Merchant Mariner's Memorial (shown above). Continuing north, toward Battery Place, we found the (8) Walloon Settler's Monument, and finally, on our way back to the parking garage, we stopped at the (9) Netherland Monument. Check out my other blogs to see my photos of these memorials, South Street Seaport, and pictures from the top of the One World Observatory! Note: The grey roads shown on the above map are actually underground tunnels. The Hugh L. Carey Tunnel and the Battery Park Underpass run below Battery Park. The Hugh L. Carey Tunnel goes under the ground and water, connecting Brooklyn to Manhattan, while the Battery Park Underpass connects West Street to FDR Drive. New York is such an amazing city, packed full of interesting things to see and do. If you're planning a visit, be sure to plan ahead and give yourself plenty of time to see and experience as much of it as you can. On this trip, we focused on Lower Manhattan, where my great-grandfather, Percy Daniels, lived as early as 1907. Next time we will venture up to the Upper West Side and Central Park to see the lands his wife's ancestors once owned there since the 16th and 17th century. This is part of my new Ancestor Trails series, visiting the places my ancestors lived. Subscribe for free updates to be notified about my new blogs! #ancestortrails #newyorkcity #dykeman #tourneur #newyork #nyc #manhattan #monument #batterypark #landmarks #historic

On the north end of Battery Park, opposite the Brooklyn-Battery Tunnel entrance, stands a granite monument nearly 10-feet tall, commemorating the Walloon Settlers who joined the Dutch settlement in New Amsterdam, now Manhattan, in 1624. My 9th great-grandfather, Frederick De Vaux, immigrated from Wallonia to New Amsterdam (Manhattan) in 1675. (Click here to learn more about this branch of my family). Gilded inscription: PRESENTED TO THE CITY OF NEW YORK BY THE CONSEIL PROVINCIAL DU HAINAUT IN MEMORY OF THE WALLOON SETTLERS WHO CAME OVER TO AMERICA IN THE "NIEW NEDERLAND" UNDER THE INSPIRATION OF JESSE DE FOREST OF AVESNES THEN COUNTY OF HAINAUT ONE OF THE PROVINCES --- 1624 - 1924 The Walloons were natives of the County of Hainaut, Belgium. Like many others, they fled to Holland to avoid religious persecution. Feeling unwelcomed there, they requested permission to settle in Virginia in 1621, while it was under British control, but their request was denied. Next they petitioned the Dutch West India Company for permission to settle in Dutch-controlled New Amsterdam, a request that was granted. They left Holland in March of 1624 and landed in New York on May 20, 1624. This memorial was a gift from the Conseil Provincial du Hainaut and was dedicated on May 20, 1924 exactly 300 years after their arrival. That same year, the New York state Senate officially recognized the Walloons and their place in New York and American history. Three commemorative stamps (#614, 615, and 616) were issued by the Federal Government and the Huguenot-Walloon Tercentenary Silver Half-Dollar was also minted in memory of the Walloons. Check to see if these are available for sale! This trip was part of my Ancestor Trails, visiting the places my ancestors lived. Click here to see more memorials from Battery Park and be sure to subscribe to my blog for free updates and new additions! #nyc #batterypark #ancestortrails #walloons #immigration #anniversary #monument #memorial #dykeman #FrederickDeVaus #Wallonia #Belgium #NewYorkCity

Yesterday, my family and I finally visited South Street Seaport at the southern tip of Manhattan, New York City! I had been there years ago, but that was before I knew that my great-grandfather, Percy H. Daniels, sailed to and from there frequently and lived across the street when he was in port. Percy used the address "27 South Street, New York" on several records I've found between 1907 and 1920. The building is no longer there, however, the historic South Street Seaport is! This is the view of the East River, along the banks of which the docks were built, from One World Trade Center Observation Tower. The skyscrapers are obstructing our view of the piers, but they are to the right of the Brooklyn Bridge in this photo: Click here to see more of my Ancestor Trails Subscribe to my blog to follow my genealogy trails! (Free) Click here for my free Genealogy Dashboard with thousands of free resources! #newyorkcity #ancestortrails #percydaniels #southstreetseaport #sailor #genealogy #heritage

For years many in my Leonard family have tried to confirm the identity of our matriarch, Sophronia Burrill. She married Russell Leonard quite young and their son Charles Russell Leonard was born in 1830. Their daughter, Jenette, was born in 1833. On May 2, 1834, Sophronia placed a notice in the Cayuga Republican newspaper, asking for information about her missing husband who reportedly had gone to buy land in Michigan Territory several months prior, in November of 1833. See the clipping here. Russell's fate and identity has yet to be proven, and is another mystery. The family reports that Sophronia remarried to Thomas Knapp in Genoa, Cayuga County, New York, on September 11, 1837. She was living in Scipio in 1840, Genoa in 1850, Locke in 1855, Springport in 1860, Union Springs in 1865, Springport in 1875, Summerhill in 1880, and she died in Moravia in 1883. Her obituary said she was to be buried in Union Springs. I wondered if there was a connection to or mixup with Sophronia (Campbell) Burrill, wife of Nelson Burrill, who lived in Elbridge, Onondaga County, New York, as mentioned in my previous article. The similarities are astounding. Both Sophronias were reportedly born in or about 1815 and they also both died in 1883. Sophronia (Campbell) Burrill died on April 20th and Sophronia (Burrill) Leonard Knapp died on December 3rd. Ancestry DNA is an amazing tool for solving these mysteries! Their ThruLines feature automatically suggests connections to people by comparing shared matches in both trees. It suggested that my 5th great-grandfather (Sophronia's father) was Joshua Burrill of Pembroke, Genesee County, New York. In some cases, ThruLines is unreliable, because it relies on data entered by others in their trees. If they have entered erroneous data, it could cause significant confusion. For example, ThruLines shows that there are 12 matches connecting my father to Joshua Burrill because 12 people on Ancestry have connected him as Sophronia's father, yet there is no evidence to prove this. It has been a rumor or theory that her father was Joshua, but no records have been found to confirm this (to my knowledge). There are, however, a few reasons I now believe this connection is true. First, Joshua had a son named Arba F. Burrill, who named one of his daughters Sophronia Burrill (born abt. 1849). It seems likely that he named her after his sister. Furthermore, there is now DNA evidence to show the connection is there! Here's why: My father's DNA shares three other matches with Joshua's brother and sister, Simeon and Polly. This raises the question of why Sophronia wasn't mentioned in Joshua's will, dated May 22, 1865. He mentions only his "three oldest daughters, Patty (Martha) Redman, Brooksey King and Achsah King", giving them each $200. To his "only son, Arba F. Burrill" he left $10. Finally to his "youngest daughter, Mahaleth Shuminsk and Jacob her husband", he left the remainder of all his real estate. (Side note: It is interesting to note that both Achsah, Mahaleth, and Arba are Hebrew Biblical names). Update: See Joshua Burrill's timeline for a newly discovered clue! Next, I decided to do a little research on Nelson Burrill, the husband of Sophronia Campbell. Low and behold, his father was Jacob Burrill, the brother of Joshua. Therefore, Nelson would have been Sophronia's first cousin! With this revelation, it leaves me wondering if the DNA connection is through Joshua Burrill or Jacob Burrill. Regardless, both would lead back to John Burrill and Mary Eaton. There are currently 24 family trees on Ancestry with Jacob in it. Whether or not these users have had their DNA tested is unknown but so far no DNA matches are found among them - or at least none greater than 7 cM, which is the threshold at Ancestry. (On GedMatch, comparisons can be made at a lower threshold. If you are a descendant of any of these Burrills and have uploaded your DNA to GedMatch, please contact me!) Update: (9/5/2021) Notice also, my confirmed relationship to descendants of Joshua who have had their DNA tested on Ancestry. Three of his daughter, Martha's descendants are confirmed matches with both my father and I, as shown here: Stay tuned for updates! If you have info on this family, please share! Click here to learn about my connection to the Burrills. Click here for thousands of free genealogy resources. #burrill #sophroniaburrill #joshuaburrill #genealogy #newyork

Looking for a marriage that occurred in Massachusetts between 1784 and 1840? Check this resource! Four volumes of marriages at your fingertips! Free! Click here for more Massachusetts genealogy records! Click here for more Marriage Records #marriagerecords #marriages #massachusetts #resources

Prior to their release by Reclaim the Records, the New Jersey birth index was only available on microfilm at the Archives. You can now access some of the indexes free of charge online. The birth index includes the name of the child, the parents, and the certificate number. Copies can be ordered using this information. Some of the pages are missing, faded, torn or damaged. The following is a sample of what you can expect to find. The names are sorted alphabetically by last name, so you will have to flip through the pages to find the names you are looking for. Use these links to find the surnames you are looking for: 1901 - Surnames [A-H] [I-L] [M-S] [T-Z] 1902 - Surnames [A-J] [K-L] [M-W] [W-Z] 1903 - Surnames [A-Z] Additional years may be added as the time limitations expire. Check for new releases here. For more birth records, visit the New Jersey Genealogy Resources page and select Vital Records from the list. From there you can also check resources for specific counties or towns, too. You can also submit a request for a search of the New Jersey's Birth Records Database, which contains births from 1848 to 1920. The search is $10-$15. Click here to see more places to find birth records nationwide. Stay tuned for more valuable genealogy finds! Subscribe for updates - it's free! #resources #newjersey #births

Today is a great time for researching family history with more sites and resources available online than there is time to review it all. There are excellent sites for searching databases, such as Ancestry, FamilySearch, Wikitree, MyHeritage, FindMyPast...the list goes on! Although you're likely to find some relevant matches most of the time, results are often numerous and filtering results could cause you to miss out on legitimate matches, so the process can be very time consuming. Even with hours of searching, there is still a chance that the records you seek are not available on any of these popular sites. I've found that much of the valuable information we seek about our ancestors was printed in old books, most of which are available free online. Church records with births, baptisms, marriage, deaths and burials, local histories with portraits, maps, illustrations and biographies, immigration records and passenger lists, military records, census records, statistical data, and directories can all be found among these old books. As you may have guessed from my site's name, I'm a genealogy addict and whenever I get some free time, you can find me searching for family history. When I come across books containing valuable genealogical data, I add them to my resource database, which currently contains about 20,000 resources with new items being added regularly. It is by no means complete, but a work in progress. In the past, users had the option to search or browse the titles in my database, but because people who lived prior to the 20th century certainly didn't foresee search engine capabilities when titling their books, these searches didn't produce ALL relevant matches either. As someone who uses my database quite a bit, I found it annoying and finally took action. Over the past several months I've spent countless hours categorizing them ALL by the location(s). I even recruited the help of my husband who probably pitied me for taking on such a massive challenge and decided to help me through it. (Thanks, honey!) So, in summary, now you can choose a State from the dropdown menu at the top of the page, or you can visit the Genealogy Dashboard and choose one from there. You will see all the resources I've found for that state, along with information about the State's size and year of founding. From there you can also see a list of all the Counties in the State. You can choose a County to see a map along with resources pertaining specifically to said County. From there, you can also see a list of all the Towns and Cities in said County. Select a town to see an interactive map of the town as well as resources specifically related to the town or city. Give it a try! Let us know if you find anything relevant and stay tuned for updates!

Here I go again, being sidetracked by an intriguing story I came across while searching Archive.org for old family history books. This one is unrelated to my family like my previous blog about The Bissinger Suicide, but equally as interesting. Before researching my family's history, I was under the impression that people in America in the 1800s were good, righteous, God-fearing people who did no wrong. Only true outlaws like Bonnie & Clyde and Billy the Kid broke the law! From my grandparents and other elders, I heard all about how up until the 1960s people could leave their doors unlocked and they could let their children play outside and roam the neighborhood all day long without worrying about them being kidnapped or murdered. They abstained from premarital relations and they never ever got divorced. This is what I heard about the good old days as I was growing up, so I'm always shocked when I read these stories. Yes, morals in America have suffered tremendous decay with each passing decade, but the people in the past were definitely not as righteous as I thought. If we all made an effort to learn from the mistakes of those who came before us, we might have achieved a Utopian society by now, but instead we prefer to make our own decisions and our own mistakes, which can cause major setbacks in life, if not our total total destruction. This book I found is called "The Pennsylvania hermit. A narrative of the extraordinary life of Amos Wilson who expired in a cave in the neighborhood of Harrisburgh (Penn.) after having therein lived in solitary retirement for the space of nineteen years in consequence of the ignominious death of his sister". It was published in 1839, author unknown. This short story is only 24 pages and gives us a personal look into the events that occurred in a small town in Pennsylvania in the late 1700s. It all started with a young woman named Harriot* Wilson. She was born in Pennsylvania, possibly in Lebanon (Dauphin County), in 1776, according to the author. Growing up she was a well-respected, virtuous young woman, that is, until she reached the age of 18. It was then that she became acquainted with a young man by the name of Smith, who lived in Philadelphia. Mr. Smith charmed and seduced young Harriot, by pledging his love and promising to marry her. She "surrendered to her vile seducer all that could render her respectable in the eyes of the world". Afterwards, she was devastated to learn that Smith was a married man with no intention of marrying her and the situation became dire when she realized she was pregnant with his child. The author reminds us of society's treatment of "tarnished" women in those days, in some ways, still do today: "The tenderness and sensibility that prevails in the minds of females, subjects them to many temptations and dangers from which men are in a manner exempt. Their weakness and dependent state places their reputation on a foundation so slender, that the smallest breath of wind will overturn, and the slightest touch indelibly tarnish. While lordly man can sin with impunity, and his most indecent deviations from modesty and virtue, set down as trifling indiscretions, and oftentimes, the more he sins the more he is caressed. He can, without any scandal to himself, seduce the innocent virgin from the paths of virtue, while the unfortunate victim of his arts is expelled from society, and doomed either to end her days in a brothel, among the most depraved, or be made a sacrifice on the altar of justice". When the child* was born, Harriot secretly laid the body in a neighboring grove. Whether it was living or not, I found no mention but she was immediately suspected of being the perpetrator and was put on trial for murder. The trial lasted 11 hours and in the end, the jury delivered a verdict of "guilty". Distinguished people sought her pardon and, her brother, Amos* Wilson, fought adamantly to prevent her execution. He was two years Harriot's elder, born in 1774* in Lebanon, Pennsylvania. On the morning of the scheduled execution, Amos went to Philadelphia and "prostrated himself at the feet of the Governor", begging for a pardon for Harriot. The Governor had mercy and issued the pardon. With no time to waste, Amos raced back home to stop the execution. On his way, however, heavy rain fell, making the Schuylkill River impassable. He had to wait for the rain to stop and the waters to calm enough for him to cross and continue his race home. As he raced to the place where the execution was to take place, pardon in hand, he witnessed the invisible departure of his sister's soul, while her lifeless body hung from the gallows. He was five minutes too late to stop the execution. He fell from his horse in shock and disappointment and was never the same again. For a time he remained at his parents home, delusional and inconsolable. Finally, he decided his perception of the world was now too tainted to participate in society. He went into the forest and found a cave near Harrisburg and there he stayed for 19 years. He rarely had visitors, except the author of the book, a friend. He would have been only about 39 years old when he died, but the illustration provided by the author, who was reportedly a personal friend of Amos, depicts an older man, in my opinion. The discrepancies were enough to entice me to search for the family in historical records, to confirm whether or not it was true. First, I tried Findagrave but found no matches for Amos Wilson (born 1774) or Harriot Wilson (born 1776). Next, I tried to find the family on the 1790 census before the murder. This, I found, to be very difficult because on the 1790 census, only the head of household was named and since the book doesn't mention their parents' names, I was unable to identify the family, even with the help of my 1790 Census Helper. There were more than a dozen Wilson (and Willson) families in Dauphin county in 1790 and none of them contained two males and two females, as described in the book. Next, I searched the web and found that both Amos and Harriot have articles on Wikipedia, which provide more information, some conflicting with the information in the book that had first brought the story to my attention. (I marked those items with an asterisk* above). Yes, I realize academia frowns upon Wikipedia, deeming it unreliable because it is user-contributed data, but when properly cited, it can be a great resource for information. At any rate, there is much information about the tragedy in the articles for Harriot and Amos, including variations of the story passed along the grapevine. First, Harriot's name was actually Elizabeth Wilson and she was not born in 1776, as stated in the book, which did not state the year of her execution. She was scheduled to be executed on December 7, 1785, but when people began to doubt her guilt, it was postponed until January 3, 1786. Since we know she was at least 18, she was born no later than 1767, but varying accounts are given for her age. Some say she was born as early as 1758. Next, her brother's name was William Wilson - not Amos - and he was not born in 1774, as stated in the book. He was born in or around 1762 and died in October of 1821. So he was about 59 when he died in the cave he lived in for 19 years. The cave was said to be near Hummelstown. Today it is a tourist attraction called Indian Echo Caverns, located about 8 miles east of Harrisburg. It is a place of natural beauty with underwater lakes, stalactites, and minerals and the temperature is a constant 52 degrees (Fahrenheit) year-round. The most shocking allegation that conflicts with the account written in the book is that it wasn't "a child" that Harriot left in the woods, it was "children" - twin boys. According to one version, she confessed that Smith met her in the woods because he wanted to see if the boys resembled him and then he ordered her to kill them. When she refused, he trampled the boys to death. Many people, including the judge and the sheriff of Chester, believed she was innocent. I believe the unnamed author of this book may have been attempting to protect the identity of the family by changing the names and omission of dates, but the fact that the book's account only mentions a child and not twins, makes me wonder if this person really knew "Amos" at all or if the author just recounted the story from local legend. It was, after all, published 53 years after her execution and 18 years after William "Amos" Wilson's death. See also: Elizabeth "Harriot" Wilson [Wikipedia] William "Amos" Wilson [Wikipedia] Pennsylvania Genealogy Resources Genealogy Dashboard #pennsylvania #history #murder #wilson #scandals #crime

Every now and then I do a search on Archive.org in hopes that new books have been uploaded, which may contain clues about some of the brick walls in my family tree. I probably haven't found all the answers yet because I usually get sidetracked, reading about families completely unrelated to me, like I did again here. I came across a book on HeritageQuest, printed in 1875, bearing a shocking title, "The Bissinger suicide history of that sad tragedy in which Mrs. Bissinger (as alleged), made desperate by neglect and ill treatment, drowned herself and three children in the Union Canal, at Reading, Penna., statement of her brother in reply to her husband". The title sums up the tragedy, but I was curious and wanted to know more. The book starts with a well known quote: One of the greatest poets that ever existed has written an adage which will be quoted as long as language lives. It is this: "Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned!" In the book, the story of how Louisa, a young woman just 29 years old, was driven to the point of suicide and beyond, after being discarded by her husband, Philip Bissinger. He was a saloon keeper in Reading, Berks County, Pennsylvania, who was reportedly openly having an affair with a German woman from Philadelphia, even bringing her to the family home. In a recent argument sparked by his infidelity, he ordered Louisa to leave, offering her $2,000, a hefty sum in those days, to just be gone with the two daughters, leaving him their only son. Instead, Louisa reportedly took the three children to Union Canal where she and the children, ages 9, 6, and 3, collected large rocks, putting them into a basket. She then tied the basket to her waist and jumped into the canal with her three children in her arms. This is the Union Canal in Reading. Could this be the spot she jumped from? Following are some articles I found about this tragic event: In this article, Louisa's brother, Fred Eben, writes a personal message for Philip Bissinger. He ends it with these words that should have cut like a knife at the conscience of Philip. Fred says: "...but I also know that YOU, PHILIP BISSINGER WERE THE CAUSE of all this, and in conclusion, I, as her brother, and the son of a broken-hearted mother BRAND YOU AS THE MURDERER of my sister and your four children - and I am willing that the people amongst whom we live shall judge between us. Fred. Eben." (The Daily Gazette, Sept. 10, 1875). I found Philip's memorial on Findagrave (see here). There I learned that he was a soldier of the civil war, enlisting in Company G, Pennsylvania 79th Infantry Reg. in September of 1861. He rose through the ranks and was promoted to Sergeant Major, to 1st Lieutenant, and finally to Captain of Company F in December, 1863. He resigned from his commission nine months later and mustered out Sept. 12, 1864. He was counted on the 1860 census, in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. He was a bar tender living in the home of Augustus Schoenberger, a brewer and immigrant from Germany. Philip was 18 and a young woman named Mary "Bisinger", age 16, was also living in the home. Both were reportedly born in Germany. Was this a first wife, or a sister? (Census shown below). Because Louisa's brother's name was Fred Eben, (documented in the article at left), I was able to find Louisa on the 1860 census. She was living in the South East Ward of Reading with Gotleab (?) and Rosina Eben, presumably her parents. Her father's occupation was "Restaurant". Louisa was 14, Frederick was 12, and a younger sister, Rosa, was 9. That census was taken on June 9, 1860, so based on her age, she was born before June 9, 1846. (Census shown below). Her memorial on Findagrave contains details about the story and another sketch of Louisa. There her birth date, is given as March 21, 1836, calculated from a newspaper clipping of the funeral announcement which stated she was age 39 years, 4 months and 27 days. (Confirmed with The Time Deductor). Based on the 1860 census, though, I believe she was born in 1846 and that she was 29 years old when she committed suicide on August 17, 1875. In 1880, four years after the suicide and death of his family, Philip married Ida Sebald Rosenthal. According to Findagrave, she was born Oct. 20, 1850, in Philadelphia. I found nothing to indicate whether or not she was the mistress mentioned, but she was a younger woman from Philadelphia, so it is possible. Ida died in Reading in 1910 at the age of 59 and Philip died at the age of 84, in 1926. All of them are buried in Charles Evans Cemetery in Reading. Following are the two census records from 1860 before Philip and Louisa married, mentioned above. When the 1870 census was taken, Philip and Louisa were married and living in Reading with two daughters: Mary, age 3, and Elizabeth, age 3 months. A domestic servant named Susan also lived in the home. Philip's occupation was "Saloon Keeper". He was born in Bavaria and Louisa was born in Wurttemberg. So from this, we can see that Philip married Louisa very soon after returning from the war, sometime between September, 1864 and 1867. Louisa would have just turned 18 years old when he returned and their oldest daughter, Mary, was born in April of 1867, when Louisa would have been about 21 years old (if she was born in 1846). So they were married sometime between September 1864 and July 1866. A final observation regarding the names of Philip and Louisa's daughters. On the 1870 census, the two daughters living in the home were Mary and Elizabeth. The short obituary shared on Findagrave, reports that (aside from the unborn child in her womb), the three children who died with their mother on August 17, 1875 were: Mollie C. Bissinger, age 8 years, 3 mos., 19 days - (Born April 28, 1867, "Mary", age 3 on the census taken in August 1870) Lillie Bissinger, age 5 years, 2 mos., 11 days - (Born June 6, 1870, "Elizabeth", age 3 months on the census taken in August 1870) Philip Bissinger, age 3 years, 7 mos., 5 days - (Born Jan. 12, 1872) The ages match perfectly but the names of the girls are different, as you can see. Yes, Mollie can be used as a nickname for Mary, but I wasn't aware that Lillie was a nickname for Elizabeth, unless one of them was her middle name. It just goes to show how census records, newspapers, and even gravestones and cemetery transcriptions can contain errors. Either way, four innocent children's lives were cut short at the hand of a dejected and tormented mother who saw no other way out. What should have been a flourishing family tree today, was cut down at the roots, marking the end of Mr. Bissinger's bloodline. Instead of being the beloved immigrant ancestors of a great many Bissingers, like many of our ancestors are, Philip was left with no heirs. Instead, his decisions earned him a legacy of being the unfaithful and cruel husband who drove his wife to suicide and murder. May their souls rest in peace. #miscellaneous #murder #genealogy #pennsylvania #berkscounty #readingpa #suicide

Those interested in Plymouth and its early settlement might be interested in this resource I came across. The Records of the Colony of New Plymouth were published "by order of the Legislature" in the 1850s, and contain much of the official business of the colony in the 1600s. I was able to find the following volumes, which you can read online at Archive.org using the corresponding links: Volume 1 Acts of the Commissioners of the United Colonies of England (1643-1651) [Link] Volume 2 Acts of the Commissioners of the United Colonies of England (1653-1679) [Link] Deeds &c. Volume 1 Book of Indian Records for their lands (1620-1651) [Link] Court Orders Volume 1 (1633-1640) [Link] Court Orders Volume 3 (1651-1661) [Link] Court Orders Volume 5 (1668-1678) [Link] Court Orders Volume 6 (1678-1691) [Link] Miscellaneous Records. (1633-1689) [Link] Judicial Acts (1636-1692) [Link] Laws (1623-1682) [Link] You might also like the Interactive Mayflower Passenger List, loaded with information, illustrations, resources and more or see even more Mayflower resources here. #mayflower #genealogy #plymouthplantation #plymouth #massachusetts