Genealogy By the States – Week 11 – New York

Part of the reason I took on the Genealogy By the States challenge is because I knew it would force me not only to post something every week, but it would allow me to get in some research time.  Only 11 weeks in and I have made some great discoveries that I may never have gotten around to.  This week was no different. 

I have lots of New York connections so my initial problem was figuring out who or what to tackle.  I ultimately decided to explore the New York Land Records, 1630-1975 image collection that was added to FamilySearch a few months ago.  What a relief to be able to explore the many counties I needed to search (just for one family!) from the comfort of my home.  I cannot begin to tell you how many films I would have had to order just to research this one family, not to mention the other families I have in New York. 

Part of the reason so many counties were involved is because this particular family lived in three different areas in New York, and during the times they were in a county, new counties were being formed.  Thank goodness for Red Book and the thoroughness of information on county formations and records.  And fortunately, I had kept excellent notes on the specific towns and the trail of counties the belonged to and when.

After searching all but one of the applicable counties, I found three deeds that were relevant to my research goal of finding land records for Aaron Webster in known places of residence in New York.  Oddly enough, each of the three are the selling of land and I was not able to find the initial purchase for any of them.  The good news is I have a better timeline to work with, which will be helpful for continued research on this family.

Below is one of the deeds I found in Jefferson County.¹

Click image to see the original on FamilySearch.

Another interesting resource I found was The Balloting Book, and Other Documents Relating to Military Bounty Lands in the State of New York (this was found under Onondaga County).  This book lists all of the townships (including those outside Onondaga County) and who was awarded each lot of land.  It also lists each person and whether they were actually deeded the land or if they assigned it to someone else.  For more information about the Military Tract of Central New York, see the Wikipedia entry for Central New York Military Tract and information put together for the Cayuga County NYGenWeb Project entitled A Summary History of the Military Tract of Central NY.

Even though this resource didn’t really apply to what I was working on (or any of my ancestors, that I’m aware of at this point in time), I thought maybe I could figure out who was awarded Lot 47 in Fabius that Aaron acquired and later sold in 1806.  I hoped that I could follow the trail and perhaps find the deed where Aaron purchased the land, thinking perhaps it wasn’t indexed correctly or at all under Aaron as the grantee. 

I was able to figure out that Thomas Warner, Lt. was awarded Lot 47 in Fabius and assigned it to Richard Platt.  This was verified by the deed index showing the transaction for that land from Thomas Warner to Richard Platt (however, I cannot locate the actual record).  Unfortunately, I could not find a record of Richard Platt ever selling that land.  On top of that, in the handwritten pages after the book, there are other names listed for Lot 47 in Fabius:  William Cooper and Seth Johnson.  This was further confirmed by the Awards of the Onondaga Commissioners book.  I’ll have to work on this further and see what shakes out.

My focus was on Aaron Webster’s land transactions in New York, but while I was searching the indexes, I also noted other Websters I knew were in the same areas.  So now I have a list of other deeds I need to pull and work on in the future.  My next step in Aaron’s project will be to transcribe the three deeds I found and adjust my visual timeline accordingly.  Those “unknown” gaps of time are getting smaller!!

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Sources

1.  Jefferson, New York, Deed Records, F: 210, Aaron Webster to Roger Read, deed, 21 March 1814; digital images, "New York, Land Records, 1630-1975," FamilySearch (familysearch.org : accessed 20 March 2013).

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Genealogy By the States is a theme created by Jim Sanders over at the Hidden Genealogy Nuggets blog.

Genealogy By the States – Week 10 – Virginia

I don’t have too many ties to Virginia, but I thought I’d take some time and write about a cousin who ended up in the National Home for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers, Southern Branch in Hampton, Virginia.

Phineas D Parks is my first cousin five times removed.  He is the son of Calvin Chapin Parks and Harriet Thomas.  He was born about 1833 in Oakland County, Michigan Territory.  By 1850, he was living in Waukegan, Lake, Illinois.  On 5 November 1856, Phineas married Harriet Lincoln in Kendall County, Illinois, and by 1860, they were living in Earl, LaSalle, Illinois, with their infant daughter, Hattie.

On 26 September 1861, he enlisted in Company I, Illinois 4th Cavalry as a Sergeant.  He was discharged on 8 July 1862 due to disability, rank of QM Sergeant.

Eventually, I find Phineas living in the National Home for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers, Southern Branch in Hampton, Virginia by 1880.  How or why he ended up there, I’m not sure.  He died on 7 June 1891, at the home, and is buried in Hampton National Cemetery.

According to the National Home records, he was admitted on 17 April 1879.  From then until March 1883, it looks like he was in and out of the home, either by transfer to and from the Northwest Branch, or discharged and readmitted.

Historical Register of National Homes for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers, 1866-1938, Southern Branch, Page 1

Historical Register of National Homes for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers, 1866-1938, Southern Branch, Page 2

Where Phineas was between the time he was discharged from service and when he appears in the Home in 1879, I’m not sure.  I find a P D Parks (widow, age 37, born in Michigan) and a Hattie (age 10, born in Illinois), living in Seattle, Washington.  By all appearances, this would seem to be Phineas and his daughter Hattie.  But, I’m not 100% sure.  The occupation of lawyer throws me off, since he identified himself as a dry goods merchant in 1860 and a tinsmith in 1880.

I also found an Army enlistment record for a Phineas D Parks, enlisted on 5 August 1864 at Chicago, Illinois.  He’s the right age and lists Oakland County, Michigan as his place of birth and tinsmith as his occupation.  The “Remarks” column has a bunch of information, most of which I don’t understand, but I can clearly read the last two words, which say “a Private.”  Military records, terminology, and protocol, are clearly not my area of expertise, but if this is the same person, how can he go from the rank of a Sergeant to a Private?  I’m also not sure how he could re-enlist after being discharged for disability (the 1890 census Veterans Schedule indicated his disability as “sabre wound head”).  Plus, the dates of enlistment and discharge that he uses for the Home register and the 1890 census Veterans Schedule, are the dates from 1861 and 1862.  There is no mention in the Home register of additional service, not that there would be (remember, me + military records = not good!).  But curiously, there is mention of additional Navy service in the 1890 census.

It appears he filed for a pension in 1879.  Perhaps the file would shed more light on not only his military service, but where he was in those intervening years.

Genealogy By the States is a theme created by Jim Sanders over at the Hidden Genealogy Nuggets blog.

An Example of a Record Found in the British Army Pensioners – Royal Hospital Kilmainham Collection at Findmypast.com

A little bit ago, I posted about a new collection added to Findmypast.com.  It seemed like an interesting collection so I decided to check it out further and share with you what I found.

First, I had a hard time locating the record collection.  But after a few minutes of sleuthing, I managed to find it.  Depending on where you look, the collection is either called British Army Pensioners – Royal Hospital Kilmainham, Ireland, 1783-1822 or Kilmainham Pensioners – British Army Service Records 1783-1822.  This is the link to search the collection specifically, through the findmypast.com US version (it also contains more information about the records).

I did a search on the surname Cahill and there were 12 results.  I found one in County Kilkenny, which happens to be from where my Cahills are from.  Below is the first page (pretty much a blank page on the back), and although it is small, you can see that there is quite a bit of information.

This particular record is the discharge paperwork for Sergeant William Cahill, who was “born in the Parish of Freshford in or near the Town of Freshford in the County of Kilkenny was enlisted for the aforesaid Regiment at Kilkenny in the County of Kilkenny on the 11^th Day of July at the Age of 25 years for the Kilk[enny] Militia.”  He served in the Army for 29 years and 71 days, from 11 July 1793 to 25 September 1822.  During his service, he was a Private for about six-and-a-half years, a Corporal for over a year-and-a-half, and a Sergeant for over 21 years.

After the service record, there is some more interesting information, some of which is obscured by a stamp.  I think it has to do with his discharge, and I can tell that his “character” was “very good.”  I’ve transcribed the 6th through 8th items below.

[begin transcription]

6th. Certificate of the Settlement of all Demands.	THAT he has received all just Demands of Pay, Clothing, &c. from his Entry into the Service to the date of this Discharge, as appears by his Receipt underneath.
7th. Acknowledgement of the Receipt of all Demands.	I Wm Cahill do hereby acknowledge that I have received all my Clothing Pay, Arrears of Pay, and all just Demands whatsoever, from the time of my Entry into the Service to the date of this Discharge. Witnessed by John Gordon [??]  Signature of the Soldier } Willm Cahill Serj [notice that he signs his name Willm not Wm]
8th. Certificate of Description.	TO prevent any improper use being made of this Discharge, by its falling into other Hands, the following is a Description of the said Wm Cahill He is about 54 Years, of Age, is 6 Feet 1 Inches in height, Brown Hair, Gray Eyes, Fair Complexion; and by Trade or Occupation a Laborer

Given under my Hand, and the Seal of the Regiment at Castle[??] this 24th Day of Sept^r 1822

Signature of the Commanding Officer. } [illegible] Col. Kil[kenny] Reg[iment] Militia

[end of transcription]

Certainly a neat document.  Learned quite a bit about this gentleman.  I wonder if he’s related to my Cahills of Kilkenny.  Freshford is about 19 miles from Thomastown, which is where my Cahills are from.  I have no idea about my Cahill line prior to the baptism of my third great-grandfather in 1834 (and I not even sure if the record is for him!), so who knows.  At least I had fun exploring a new-to-me record type.

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Image:  Discharge papers for Serj. Wm Cahill, digital image obtained from findmaypast.com, Kilmainham Pensioners British Army Service Records 1771-1821 collection on 7 December 2012.

Findmypast.com Releases Thousands of British Army Service Records from 1760 to 1902

I received the following press release earlier today from Findmypast.com.  Looks like an interesting collection of records.  Not sure if it will help me out, but perhaps it will help out one of my readers.  I will post an example shortly.

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LOS ANGELES (Dec. 7, 2012) – Findmypast.com, an international leader in online family history, today added 20,000 British soldiers’ records from the Royal Hospital Kilmainham from 1771 to 1822, along with several thousand other significant military documents, to its already extensive collection of historical records.

The records show details of soldiers, including their height, weight, color of hair and eyes and any distinguishing features such as a tattoo or scar, as well as where they served and their regiment.

The task of cataloguing just the records from Kilmainham took a team of 14 people from the Friends of The National Archives volunteer group more than three years and includes the records of 19,109 soldiers. The Royal Hospital Kilmainham, the building that now houses the Irish Museum of Modern Art, was established in 1681 to house sick and veteran troops from the British Army.

Among the Kilmainham pensioners’ documents is Private Hugh Burke from Wicklow, Ireland, who was known as a “green redcoat” or Irish soldier serving in the British military. Burke was pensioned from the army on June 26, 1816 after four years’ service. According to the record, he was deemed unfit for further service after “a gunshot wound to the left shoulder received in action near New Orleans in America on the 8^th of January 1815.”

The Battle of New Orleans is famous because it was the last major battle between the British and American forces in the War of 1812 and was fought after a peace treaty had already been signed. The Treaty of Ghent, which signaled the end of the war, came into effect at the start of February 1815 but due to slow communications the news did not reach New Orleans until two weeks later. Unfortunately for Private Hugh Burke, this left him with “a mark on each side of his left shoulder” - entry and exit wounds from the bullet.

“These records are invaluable for anyone researching Irish or British ancestry and looking for vivid details about their ancestors,” said D. Joshua Taylor, head genealogist for findmypast.com. “This significant addition to our world collection provides a glimpse into the lives and careers of these soldiers, some of whom were born in the U.S. or fought within U.S. borders.”

William Spencer, military expert at the National Archives added: “Many soldiers born in Ireland served in the British Army from the 18th-20th centuries yet the careers of these brave men have been hidden amongst some fragile and complex records. The digitization of the Kilmainham papers in WO 119, will at last provide access to the brave men of Ireland.”

The Royal Hospital Kilmainham pension records are part of a larger collection of military discharge documents today released by findmypast including:

• Royal Hospital, Kilmainham: pensioners’ discharge documents 1771-1822 (known as WO 119 at the National Archives)
• Royal Hospital, Chelsea: pensioners’ discharge documents 1760-1887 (WO 121)
• Royal Hospital, Chelsea: pensioners’ discharge documents, foreign regiments 1816-1817 (WO 122)
• War Office: Imperial Yeomanry, soldiers’ documents, South African War 1899-1902 (WO 128)
• Royal Hospital, Chelsea: documents of soldiers awarded deferred pensions 1838-1896 (WO 131)

Findmypast.com’s expertise at digitizing historical records and uniting communities provides the tools to help people connect with their past, present and future.

To learn more about findmypast.com or to get started on your own family history search:

• Like findmypast on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/findmypastus
• Follow findmypast on Twitter at https://twitter.com/findmypastus
• Follow findmypast on Pinterest at http://pinterest.com/findmypastus

About findmypast.com – Findmypast.com (owned by brightsolid) is the U.S. site of findmypast, an international leader in online family history. Findmypast connects people to core and unique U.S., English, Welsh, Scottish, Irish, Australian and New Zealand records dating back as far as 1200.  

About brightsolid – Findmypast.com is owned by brightsolid online publishing, a British-owned world leader in online genealogy, with over 45 years’ experience in family history and a record of online innovation in the field of family history nearly two decades long. With nearly 18 million registered users across its family of online genealogy brands, brightsolid hosts more than a billion genealogical records from across the globe. The company reported a 75 percent growth in turnover and a 47 percent growth in gross profits in its most recent published accounts and was voted Best Genealogy Organization in the Online Gene Awards.

War of 1812 Ancestors

The Battle at Fort McHenry set the stage for Francis Scott Key’s Star Spangled Banner.

Today, 18 June 2012, marks the bicentennial of the War of 1812.  Two hundred years ago America was once again at war with Britain in what some refer to as our “second war of independence.”  In honor of all War of 1812 patriots, I thought I’d post about two of my ancestors who participated in the war.

Aaron Webster – Aaron Webster, son of Ashbel and Rachel (Price) Webster, was born 28 August 1775 in Hartford, Connecticut.¹  He married Sarah Norton, presumably the daughter of Solomon and Sarah (Rexford) Norton, on 3 January 1797 at either Poultney, Vermont or Washington County, New York.²   According to two different books, Aaron served in the War of 1812 at Sackets Harbor, New York as a minute man.³   Both Aaron and his wife died in 1823 in Oakland County, Michigan.⁴   I have not located any additional information to confirm the assertions made in the two books about Aaron’s military service.

Robert Parks – Robert Parks, son of Robert and Elizabeth (Hall) Parks, was born 12 February 1776 in Voluntown, Connecticut.⁵ He married Mary “Polly” Wheeler Smith about 1800.⁶   Robert died 29 June 1863, probably in Grand Rapids, Michigan.⁷ Several books mention his War of 1812 service, but again, I have not yet found anything concrete.  Following are some excerpts that discuss his military service and provide clues for additional research.

"April 27, 1810, he was commissioned Ensign of a regt. of militia, John Harris, Esq., Lieut. Col. commanding, Cayuga county, N.Y.  On March 2, 1814, he was commissioned Captain in the same regt." ⁸

"March 2, 1810, Captain Parks enlisted in the New York State Militia, and became a member of the 158th Regiment of New York Infantry in the War of 1812.  He was made captain of a company, and served as such until the close of the war." ⁹

You can see how these two contradict one another.  But at least there are many clues here to work with.  In the second reference, there is also a transcription of the Ensign commission, but there is no indication of where the original might be.

I hope one day to have a more complete picture of their.  I have a variety of sources to look at for both Aaron and Robert to hopefully uncover more information.  If you have any suggestions, please leave me a comment or send me an email.

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1.  William Holcomb Webster and Rev. Melville Reuben Webster D. D., History and Genealogy of the Gov. John Webster Family of Connecticut With Numerous Portraits and Illustrations (Rochester, New York: E. R. Andrews Printing Co., 1915), 401. 

2.  Webster and Webster, History and Genealogy of the Gov. John Webster Family of Connecticut, 401; also Charles Fey, History of Freemasonry in Oakland County, MI (Royal Oak, Michigan: Royal Oak Lodge No. 464, 1949). 

3.  Ibid.

4.  Webster and Webster, History and Genealogy of the Gov. John Webster Family of Connecticut, 401; also Oakland County, Michigan, Probate Records 1822-1911, 1: 52-68, 88, 98-103, 109, 116, 242-244 and 3: 89, 92, 104, 178, 179, 211, 212, 225, 308, 326, 327, 335, Aaron Webster; FHL microfilm 973,902, item 1. 

5.  Frank Sylvester Parks, Genealogy of the Parke Families of Connecticut (Washington, D.C.: Privately printed, 1906), 72. 

6.  Joseph Webster GARRISON membership application, National Society, Sons of the American Revolution, Office of the Registrar General, Louisville. 

7. American Biographical History of Eminent and Self-Made Men with Portrait Illustrations on Steel: Michigan Volume (Cincinnati, Ohio: Western Biographical Publishing Company, 1878), 95.

8.  Parks, Genealogy of the Parke Families of Connecticut, 102. 

9.  American Biographical History of Eminent and Self-Made Men: Michigan Volume, 95.

Image Credit:  The image is from Wikipedia and is in the Public Domain.

Why it Pays to Read the Record Collection Description

A few years ago, I remember searching for my great-grandfather’s World War II draft registration card.  I tried every possible combination I could think of between names, places, and date of birth.  After countless attempts, I gave up and made a note of the search in my database. 

Several months after this, I was working on family in Michigan and was struggling to find the WWII draft cards for these guys.  Then it dawned on me.  My great-grandfather was also living in Michigan at the time and I was unable to find him.  Was this a coincidence?

I was sure it wasn’t a coincidence and figured there had to be a reason, so I looked at the record description that Ancestry has for their WWII draft card collection.  Lo and behold, Michigan was NOT a state that was included in their collection.  Well no wonder I couldn’t find these men…Ancestry didn’t have them!  I made a note of this in my database and added the fact that NARA has the cards in their Chicago facility.

Earlier today, I was checking to see if there were any recently added or updated collections at FamilySearch (I try to do this once a week).  And although the WWII draft cards collection wasn’t new or updated, it occurred to me, why not check to see if they have Michigan.  Ah-ha, they do!  And there was the draft card for my second great-grandfather, right were I expected it to be.

Mind you, FamilySearch has two different collections.  Both collection have images, but one is indexed and the other is not.  Following is a list of the Ancestry and FamilySearch collections and what states they each cover.

Ancestry	FamilySearch (indexed)	FamilySearch (image-only)
Alaska Arkansas* California* Connecticut Delaware Idaho Illinois Indiana* Maryland Massachusetts New Hampshire New Jersey New York* Ohio* Oregon Pennsylvania Puerto Rico Rhode Island Vermont Virginia Washington West Virginia	Arkansas California Connecticut Delaware Indiana Louisiana Maryland Michigan Nevada New Jersey New York (NYC, all 5 boroughs) Ohio Oklahoma Pennsylvania Texas West Virginia Wisconsin	Delaware Illinois Indiana Maryland Massachusetts New Hampshire New York (NYC, all 5 boroughs) Ohio Pennsylvania Puerto Rico Rhode Island Vermont West Virginia Wisconsin

*Collection incomplete for these states

It’s also important to note that WWII draft registration cards were destroyed for the following states:

• Alabama
• Florida
• Georgia
• Kentucky
• Mississippi
• North Carolina
• South Carolina
• Tennessee

The moral of the story?  Always read the record collection description.  At a minimum it should tell you what the collection covers, the source of the original information, and why the records were created.

SAR Applications Searchable on Ancestry

Ancestry has a new collection, just in time for the 4th of July.  You can now search the Sons of the American Revolution applications, which are indexed by all of the names found in the lineage of the application.  Images of the applications are also available.  I could not find the option to download the images, nor could I right-click the image in Firefox…I could right-click and save the image from Chrome (don’t know about IE…I don’t dare open it!).

I’ve only done a few quick searches, but I have already found SAR members who are cousins and am able to fill in some missing pieces and links in my research.  They’re also providing information to carry down the lines into the current generation, which I had not been able to do previously.  Hoping to find more as time permits.

And, don’t forget that you can also search the Daughters of the American Revolution databases by ancestor or descendant and obtain the lineage from the member’s application.

Are You Good at Reading Bad Handwriting?

I am working on transcribing the pension application for Solomon Naughton/Norton, Revolutionary War soldier.  There are about 20 words across 5 pages that I am having some trouble with.  If anyone would like to try to decipher these words, I’d appreciate the help.  All of the words are highlighted.  If you click on the link, it will open the document in Sribd for easier viewing and options to enlarge.  A big thank you in advance for anyone wishing to help.

UPDATE:  See new post, Bad Handwriting Gets Better With More Eyes.

NORTON, Solomon NORTON Pension Application

Friday Finds – 08/06/10

Weekly column sharing genealogy-related things that I’ve learned or found.

The majority of my week was spent looking into the history of a few New York counties, as well as references for the War of 1812 and the Revolutionary War.  So this week’s finds are books available online and website on these subjects.  But before I get into that, I did find an interesting article (posted on Facebook by Becky Jamison):  “Lives of the dead come to life on tombstones.”

Revolutionary War

New York in the Revolution as Colony and State: Volume 1 (via Internet Archive)

New York in the Revolution as Colony and State: Volume 2 (via Internet Archive)

War of 1812

History of the Late War Between the United States and Great Britain Comprising a Minute Account of the Various Military and Naval Operations (via Google Books)

Sackets Harbor Battlefield Alliance (website)

Index of Awards on Claims of the Soldiers of the War of 1812 [New York] (via Ancestry)

Jefferson County, NY

Geographical Gazetteer of Jefferson County, N.Y., 1685-1890 (via Internet Archive)

A History of the Jefferson County Region (website)

Jefferson County Historical Society (website)

Jefferson County Wiki (website/wiki)

Adams, NY History and Genealogy (website)

Jefferson County (website via USGenNet)

Sackets Harbor History (website via 1000 Islands)

A History of Jefferson County in the State of New York From the Earliest Period to the Present (via Google Books)

Our County and Its People:  A Descriptive Work on Jefferson County, New York (via Internet Archive)

The Growth of a Century as Illustrated in the History of Jefferson County, New York from 1793-1894 (via Internet Archive)

Oneida County, NY

Oneida County Historical Society (website)

History of Oneida County, New York From 1700 to the Present Time: Volume 1 (via Internet Archive)

History of Oneida County, New York From 1700 to the Present Time: Volume 2 (via Internet Archive)

History of Oneida County, New York With Illustrations and Biographical Sketches of Some of Its Prominent Men and Pioneers (via Ancestry)

Our County and Its People:  A Descriptive Work on Oneida County, New York (via Internet Archive)

Cayuga County, NY

History of Cayuga County, New York With Illustrations and Biographical Sketches of Some of Its Prominent Men and Pioneers (via Internet Archive)

Cayuga County Historian’s Office (website)

History of Cayuga County, New York (website)

History of Auburn (via Internet Archive)

Historical Records of a Hundred and Twenty Years Auburn, N.Y. (via Internet Archive)

New York

Gazetteer of the State of New York (via Google Books)

Names of Persons for Whom Marriage Licenses Were Issued by the Secretary of the Province of New York, Previous to 1784 (via Google Books)

My Revolutionary War Patriots

In honor of Independence Day, I thought I’d write a post about my ancestors who are Revolutionary War patriots.

Robert Parks

Robert PARKS is the patriot I went in under for membership to National Society Daughters of the American Revolution (NSDAR).  His service is listed as a private serving under Captain Benager Leffingwell.  Below is a muster roll from 1777; it is the only one I have found for him.

Robert is my sixth great-grandfather.  He was born 4 December 1737 in Voluntown, Connecticut and died in 1810 in Windham, Connecticut.  Following is my direct line to him (in bold):

1. Me
2. Joseph CAHILL (1945-1989), m. Jean MILLER (living)
3. Joan Garrison McMAHON (1927-1980), m. John Francis CAHILL (1922-1984)
4. Emma Jane GARRISON (1901-1970), m. John Ward McMAHON (1902-1962)
5. Sarah Jane MULLIGAN (1870-1947), m. James Manly GARRISON (1861-1909)
6. Sarah Norton WEBSTER (1828-1894), m. James MULLIGAN (1812-1879)
7. Betsey PARKS (1801-1856), m. Calvin Price WEBSTER (1802-1856)
8. Robert PARKS (1776-1863), m. Mary “Polly” Wheeler SMITH (1781-1844)
9. Robert PARKS (1737-1810), m. Elizabeth HALL (?-?)

Jonathan Webster

Jonathan WEBSTER took the Oath of Fidelity in October 1777 at Glastonbury, Connecticut.  Jonathan in my seventh great-grandfather.  He was born 5 October 1705 in Hartford, Connecticut and died 14 November 1781 in Glastonbury.  Following is my direct line to him (in bold):

1. Me
2. Joseph CAHILL (1945-1989), m. Jean MILLER (living)
3. Joan Garrison McMAHON (1927-1980), m. John Francis CAHILL (1922-1984)
4. Emma Jane GARRISON (1901-1970), m. John Ward McMAHON (1902-1962)
5. Sarah Jane MULLIGAN (1870-1947), m. James Manly GARRISON (1861-1909)
6. Sarah Norton WEBSTER (1828-1894), m. James MULLIGAN (1812-1879)
7. Calvin Price WEBSTER (1802-1856), m. Betsey PARKS (1801-1856)
8. Aaron WEBSTER (1775-1823), m. Sarah NORTON (1780-1823)
9. Ashbel WEBSTER (1733-1801), m. Rachel PRICE (1737-1813)
10. Jonathan WEBSTER (1705-1781), m. Mabel RISLEY (1718-1871)

Solomon Norton

Solomon NORTON is apparently my sixth great-grandfather, although I have not been able to prove this through actual records.  According to NSDAR, he is a patriot, having served as a private under Captain Bostwick in New York.  There are three members listed that have gone in under his supposed daughter Sarah, but again, I have not proven this connection through any records.  By all accounts, Solomon was born 12 May 1751 in Farmington, Connecticut and died after 1837 probably in Villanova, New York.  Following is my direct line to him (in bold), assuming Sarah is his daughter:

1. Me
2. Joseph CAHILL (1945-1989), m. Jean MILLER (living)
3. Joan Garrison McMAHON (1927-1980), m. John Francis CAHILL (1922-1984)
4. Emma Jane GARRISON (1901-1970), m. John Ward McMAHON (1902-1962)
5. Sarah Jane MULLIGAN (1870-1947), m. James Manly GARRISON (1861-1909)
6. Sarah Norton WEBSTER (1828-1894), m. James MULLIGAN (1812-1879)
7. Calvin Price WEBSTER (1802-1856), m. Betsey PARKS (1801-1856)
8. Sarah NORTON (1780-1823), m. Aaron WEBSTER (1775-1823)
9. Solomon NORTON (1751-after 1837), m. Sarah REXFORD (1757-?)

A big salute to all those who have served or are currently serving our country.

Also, a reminder that anyone can access the NSDAR’s Genealogical Research System to search for patriots.   Celebrate the 4th of July by doing a little research on your Revolutionary War patriots.

Friday Finds – 06/11/10

Weekly column sharing genealogy-related things that I’ve learned or found.

Researching my World War I Ancestor’s Records and Story – Jen posted this great article on her Chicago Family History blog.  If you have any family members who served in WWI, you really need to read this!

Personal Past Meditations – A Genealogical Blog – This is a new-to-me blog that’s been around for almost a year, authored by Daniel Hubbard.

The Public Record of the Colony [State] of Connecticut – This is a series of books containing transcriptions of various public records.  The link is to my blog post about the series containing examples and a list of books available online.

Dating a Cabinet Card – Kimberly Powell posted a brief article about dating cabinet cards.  There is a link in the article to a lengthier discussion of clues to use in order to date a cabinet card.

Army Dog Tags: A Story & My Discovery

The Story 

I was catching up on my blog reading while waiting for my hair appointment.  I had come across the post Help Find a WW2 Soldier from Illinois over at Olive Tree Genealogy, and just barely started reading it when they called me back for my haircut.  When I got home, I headed to the computer to finish reading the blog post. 

The long and short of the story is someone in Australia found WWII dog tags and was hoping to find living relatives to pass them on to.  Olive Tree Genealogy author Lorine, posted the information found on the tags, along with a photo.  Several people jumped on board to help find a relative, posted their finds in the comments of the blog post.  Someone located and contacted the man’s wife, and it looks like she will be reunited with her late husband’s WWII dog tags.  Be sure to read her post and the comments.

My Discovery

While reading through the comments, someone posted information on what the information on the dog tags meant, specifically, the serial number.  The comment referred to a website that I checked out to see if I could learn more about my grandfather’s WWII history through his dog tags.

I discovered that he was in fact drafted, based on the first number of his serial number (3).  I had suspected this, loosely based on the fact that I could not located enlistment card, and a relative (who’s now in his late 70s) was “pretty sure” he was drafted.  I could not located a draft card because he was too young to be in the fourth batch of draft cards currently available to the public.

The second number refers to the Corps Area or Service Command.  A number of 6 indicates the Sixth Corps Area, which is part of the Second Army Area.  The Sixth Corps Area contains Illinois, Wisconsin, and Michigan.

I also came across this website, which explains what the other information is, as well as the reason for the notch on the left side of the tags.  According to my grandfather’s tags, he had a tetanus shot in 1943, had a blood type of O, and I’m assuming the “C” stands for Catholic.

It’s amazing how much information a few lines of text can provide!

Research Finds via the Connecticut Archives

Yesterday, I wrote about the Connecticut Archives collection available at the Connecticut State Library.  Today I thought I’d share with you some of the gems I was able to retrieve.

I spent all day Wednesday looking through all of the collection indexes online, looking in particular for my Parks and Webster families (there are many other lines in CT, but these are my focus right now).   Although the collections are held at the Connecticut State Library, many of them are also available through the Family History Library.  There were a bunch of records I wanted, and since everyone was hanging out at the FHL this week, I asked my Facebook friends if anyone could pull a few for me. 

The short list of must-haves initially consisted of 10 films, and about 20 or so records.  Seeing as my research isn’t a priority for someone visiting SLC, I pared it down, creating a must-must-have list of eight records (four films).  Donna Pointkouski, who author’s the blog What’s Past is Prologue, was kind enough to obtain those few records for me.  As for the others, I will deal with them another time (one film has several, so I may order that one the next time I’m at the FHC).

Two collections are of extreme importance, as I am trying to figure out if my seventh great-grandfather, Joseph Parks, actually served in the Revolutionary War.  The DAR has “red-marked” him indicating that the Joseph Parks who served was a younger gentleman; I tend to agree with this.  Joseph’s son, Robert (my sixth great-grandfather), did serve, and it’s possible that Joseph’s son, Joseph, is the other one who served (I have no information on this Joseph at this point, to know whether he was alive at the time of the war, or in the area).  Given Joseph’s age, I thought perhaps he served in the French & Indian War and perhaps King George’s War.

Joseph was indexed in the Revolutionary War Series 1 Index, covering 1763-1789.  The document I had pulled appears to be a petition relating to the reinstating of a tavernkeeper.  Joseph Parks, was one of the signers, as was Robert and John.  I have no idea at this time what this has to do with anything, nor whether it’s my Joseph.  I’m pretty sure that the Robert listed is Joseph’s son.  Both were alive and by all accounts in Voluntown, Connecticut where the document was signed on 5 October 1775.  The only other listing for a Joseph Parks in this index is for a Joseph jr. “priv. Norwich, half days training, 1775.”  Norwich is in the right area of the state, but the indication of “jr.” in the index makes me seriously think this is not my Joseph (mine would have been about 67 years old in 1775).

Moving on to the other collection, Militia Series 1 (1678-1757), there were five documents I had pulled, related to what I believe are Joseph and his father Robert.  The earliest record for Robert in this series is dated 1733, in Voluntown, indicating Lieutenant Robert Parks was from Plainfield.  This seems to line up with other research.  A document dated 1742, includes both a Robert and a Joseph Parks.  Without doing a full analysis, I suspect that Robert in this case, is perhaps Robert’s son, Robert.  A Joseph is found in two other documents, in 1756 and 1757.  In the 1756 document, Lieutenant Joseph Parks was voted Captain of the Eleventh Company in the Eleventh Regiment of the Colony of Connecticut. 

Connecticut, "Connecticut Archives: Militia records selected papers, series 1-3, 1678-1820," Vol. 5, p. 370; Connecticut State Library, Hartford; FHL microfilm 3,604. 

If Joseph is the same person through all the documents in the Militia Series 1 Collection, it would seem that he was part of the militia in 1742 and perhaps fought during both King George’s War and the French & Indian War.  The next step is to determine if it’s the same person, and if it’s my Joseph.  I also need to obtain the other military documents from the collections.

A very special thanks to Donna Pointkouski for obtaining these records for me.

Friday Finds – 04/30/10

Weekly column sharing genealogy-related things that I’ve learned or found.

Note:  Some of these are from last week, but I forgot to post them.

List of NARA Microfilm Publications and Original Records Digitized by Our Digitization Partners – This is list of records that have been digitized and are available via Ancestry or Footnote, as of March 2010.  They will update the list as more records become digitized.

Preparing for a Genealogy Research Trip – Elyse wrote a great article about getting ready for your next research trip.  She even includes a list of items to bring with you

52 Weeks of Online American Digital Archives and Databases: Iowa – Miriam delivers again in this series, this time focusing on Iowa.  I can’t wait to dig further into these sources for my Linn and Muscatine County families.

Non-Population U.S. Census Schedules Online – Kimberly Powell writes about the non-population schedules (agricultural, industry/manufacturing, and social statistics) that are being added to Ancestry.  She notes, “Not all available schedules are online as of yet. The states covered include California, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Nebraska, New York, North Carolina, South Carolina, Texas, Virginia, and Washington Territory. Some states may have one type of non-population schedule online, but not others.”  Since Michigan was on the list, I spent the better part of the day collecting the agricultural schedules for my folks in Oakland County!

Connecticut Archives, 1629-1820 – According to the Connecticut State Library’s website, “The ‘Connecticut Archives’ are the papers and correspondence of the General Assembly, the Governor and Council, and other colony or state officials. Included in this collection are petitions, drafts of bills, acts, resolves, and other early government documents.”  Most of them are indexed, and the indexes are available online.  More on this is a separate blog post.

The Source:  A Guidebook to American Genealogy – The third edition, edited by Loretto Dennis Szucs and Sandra Hargreaves is available online through the Ancestry.com Wiki.  It’s nice to see this online, as I do not own this book.

Red Book: American State, County, and Town Sources – The third edition of this book, edited by Alice Eichholz, is also available online through the Ancestry.com Wiki.  Although I own this book, it’s nice to have an online version for the times I need it when I’m away from home.

The Federation of Genealogical Societies to Digitize War of 1812 Pension Files – I’ve know about this for awhile now, but keep forgetting to post about it.  Running across Dick Eastman’s post, I figured now was as good a time as any.  The post also includes some general information about the War of 1812 and pension files.  I made three seperate donations:  one in honor of Marsha Hoffman Rising, and the other two for my fifth great-grandfathers who served in the war, Robert Parks and Aaron Webster.

FamilySearch Record Search – Tons of new records available this week!

Historical Register and Dictionary of the United States Army (1789-1903) – This book, by Francis B. Heitman, is available via Google Books.  Various details, particularly about officers.

List of Officers of the Navy of the United States and of the Marine Corps from 1775 to 1900 – This book, edited by Edward W. Callahan, is available via Google Books.

Friday Finds – 01/08/10

It’s been quite a while since I’ve posted this column.  With the new year upon us, I figured it’s time to start it up again.

Blog – One of my new favorite blogs is Blog of a Genealogist in Training.  Right now, the main focus of the blog is the authors work on completing the NGS Home Study Course.

Revolutionary War Pension File – This week, I found (by accident) the pension file for my sixth great-grandfather Solomon NORTON (aka NAUGHTON) on Footnote.  What was more interesting than the pension papers, were the varied query letters in the file.  One letter’s author I recognized immediately.  But there are letters from two other individuals who are apparently Solomon’s heirs, but I do not have them in my tree as of yet, so I’m curious to know how they are related.

Irish Records – I’m just about finished reading the book Tracing Your Irish Ancestors, Third Edition, by John Grenham.  So far I’ve learned about what records exist, where they exist, and how to obtain them.  I can’t wait to dive into my Irish heritage, and this book is a huge stepping stone to doing so.

Article – From Kimberly Powell’s About.com Genealogy Blog, is a good primer article, Starting a Genealogy Business.

Wordless Wednesday – 11/11/09

Wordless Wednesday – 09/23/09

Saturday in the Attic – 07/11/09

John Ward McMAHON, my great-grandfather, was apparently a temporary member of the U.S. Coast Guard Reserves in 1945 and possibly participated in World War II.

Below is a Certificate of Enrollment as a Temporary Member of the U.S. Coast Guard Reserve, dated 27 July 1945. 

Below is the enrollment paperwork.

Below is the disenrollment paperwork.  So far, it looks like he enrolled on 27 July 1945 and was disenrolled on 30 September 1945.  None of these papers indicate whether he participated in the war.

Below is a letter to John from the U.S. Coast Guard indicating that he had been awarded the WWII Victory Medal.  This medal was awarded to anyone “who served on active duty, or as a reservist between December 7, 1941 and December 31, 1946.” [wikipedia]

I’m curious to know more so it’s on my list of things to ask my grandaunt (John’s daughter).

Saturday in the Attic – 05/30/09

This is a State of Illinois Service Recognition Certificate that was awarded to my grandfather in 1947 after serving in World War II.

Saturday in the Attic - 03/28/09

This is a scrapbook from my grandfather's time in World War II.

I'm not sure who put it together.  My grandmother liked to do scrapbooks, so it may have been her.  There are many pictures and some articles.  It is in very fragile condition so I haven't combed through it in great detail as of yet.

My grandfather was a bridge builder in the 167th Combat Engineers Battalion Company C and was overseas until after the war ended.  I don't know a lot about his time over there, but it's on my list of things I want to explore.  There is a website that has some great information about this particular Battalion.  I've tried to contact the person who put it together, but have never heard back from him.  The web master is the son of someone who was also in the Battalion, and although he was in Company B, I wonder if he happen to know my grandfather.  I do wish I would have heard back from them...perhaps I'll try for a third time!