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Downloading Data From FamilySearch – Update to Census Analysis Part 2

Elizabeth Pellicane — Sat, 16 Oct 2021 12:08:44 +0000

There have been some changes at FamilySearch, you can still download data to a spreadsheet but the process has changed. This is an update to my earlier instructions on the blog post from 2020.

https://www.familysearch.org/search/

Log into your FamilySearch account and select Records
In my example, I began my search with the surname of Butler, in New Jersey.

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Technology and Record Piles, the Dark Side of Genealogy

Elizabeth Pellicane — Sun, 29 Nov 2020 17:37:47 +0000

We are looking at a long winter here in New Jersey. The State Archive is closed indefinitely, in-person library visits on hold and historical societies are hibernating. I have enough source material to keep myself occupied at home, and I’ve decided to digitize, cite, and index all of my personal research and reference resources I’ve accumulated over the years. I’ve done this with all of my later projects, but my earliest research is in a mixed state. Some records are buried in a folder, not well documented and others, a bit ragged, needing a refresh. I had many of these records in genealogy software, which I was very fond of, RootsMagic; I loved it for the creation of full citations, including adding the image of the documents sourced. Unfortunately, More than once, I have had issues when Mac updates its OS, and Roots Magic is unusable for quite a while. Sure, there is a promise that an upgrade will be available for purchase later, but when I want to pull up my organized sources, that isn’t much help.

So my earlier records need to be documented in my Genealogy software of choice, Word. I am also considering giving Scrivener one last try as well. I will be following the teachings of Michelle Novak; if you haven’t taken her course on preserving photos, or organization you should. I’ve been using her file naming conventions from her class for all my saved records, and it is a lifesaver.

I’ve decided for each hour of “fun,” research, and writing, I must do penance of an hour of organizing. Midway through my penance, Apple rolled out an update, and my Macbook won’t accept it, not enough disk space. I’ve removed the applications to the bare bones but still stuck. Most of my disk usage is the system, so there isn’t anything I can do at this point but reinvest.

I have a new Mac, and of course, the ports have changed (shrunk and reduced), making USB more challenging to use. My 2015 Mac’s trade-in pretty much covers the cost of the accessories I have to purchase to make this baby work for me. Unfortunately, my favorite scanner isn’t recognized by the new creature on my desk, so I will have to either replace the scanner or see what I can do to make it work. I had noticed in the past the older Mac sometimes didn’t seem to find it either. The scanner is old, so I can’t complain too much (but I will).

I still would like to find a replacement genealogy software, if only for charting, but it will have to be written for Mac, or it is a no go. I guess the other option is to find a cheap barebones PC for the software, but not a fan of such a wasteful choice.

The Fennimore family, my second oldest project, is first on the organization list. I only have 6 inches of older holdings to get digitized. While I add information to my Ancestry DNA trees, I get distracted by the shiny objects (new finds). There is always hope that going through my older records, I will find that one hint to locate who were the parents of my William Fennimore, my original brick wall.

What are your organizing solutions? Please share your secrets!

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These are a few of my Favorite Things! Hunterdon County Historical Society Manuscript Collections 18, 19, 47, 57, and 67

Elizabeth Pellicane — Mon, 24 Feb 2020 20:32:28 +0000

I love the Hunterdon County Historical Society, so much so that I volunteered at the Research Library for several years. While working on one of my ~~obsessions~~ historical interests, I did a deep dive into the Hunterdon County Historical Society Collection, parts I, II, IV, V, and VI. There isn’t a part III, which I verified with the Society Archivist. This collection is a grouping of old records that someone deemed historically significant and decided to put them in a few boxes. The collection was “organized” before the mid-1980s, and has been filmed at least in part by the Latter Day Saints. Following is the link to their catalog entries at FamilySearch; https://www.familysearch.org/search/catalog/490939?availability=Family%20History%20Library.[i] Very few of the microfilms are digitized.

I have the luxury of being able to visit the Historical Society in person; even so, this collection can be a bit frustrating. To use it, you need to view the detailed inventory. The contents don’t appear to have any specific organization, so you pretty much need to scan through the inventory to find what you might need. Once you locate a folder of interest, you will need to go to another sheet to discover which microfilm houses the folder and what drawer to find the microfilm. One of these days, I’m going to have to index this collection and give it to the Society. I can’t imagine arriving from afar and trying to acquaint myself with this on-site; luckily, the inventory is available at the website to plan ahead of time. Be forewarned; the microfilm machines are old; you may want to ensure the machines are working before a visit. I find it is best to bring a camera and skip printing.

[ii]

It’s incredible how far the Society has come since I first stepped into the doors in 2010. Back then there were boxes and boxes of unlabeled piles in the librarian’s office, and finding things were difficult. Much credit should go to the employees of the Society, and the many volunteers. The Library is well organized and cataloged thanks to Librarian Pamela Robinson, and the volunteers. Don Cornelius, Manuscript Curator, has not only ensured that the existing holdings are well conserved, but that a new acquisition is preserved correctly. He leads a small group of volunteers at the archive. The Society is very dependent on volunteers, unsung heroes of many such places.

The Research Library and Archives are a treasure. The well preserved Doric House is a historic gem. The Hunterdon County Historical Society has so much to offer.

[i] “ Hunterdon County Historical Society; Manuscript Collection, 1700-1984.” Catalog. FamilySearch. https://www.familysearch.org/ : 8 February 2020.

[ii] “Hunterdon County Historical Society Collection; Part 1.” Manuscript Collection. Inventory. Hunterdon County Historical Society. https://hunterdonhistory.org/ : 8 February 2020.

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The Fennimore Family of Somerset and Morris Counties New Jersey A DNA Project – A Twist

Elizabeth Pellicane — Wed, 19 Feb 2020 03:13:27 +0000

Where we last left off, I was using DNA Painter to map Gedmatch matches with two known Fennimore descendants. None of the one hundred shared matches were closer than 3^rd cousin. I then turned my attention to 23andMe. I looked to see if my two known descendants had an obvious kit in 23andMe, but none stood out. Unfortunate but not unexpected. Only six[i] of our shared Gedmatch matches originated in 23andMe so, I decided to scroll through my DNA matches to see if any of the six names had a commonality with the Gedmatch kits. When I reached page four, something exciting happened; a tester with the “right” surname appeared, and he had opted in for sharing. My first step was to look at our shared DNA to see if it was consistent with my Gedmatch results. We share 39 centimorgans on chromosome 18, where I have mapped a dozen kits, including the descendant of Louis Fennimore. The correct surname, and the right matches, I add it to my tracker and start digging into our shared matches in 23andMe, as I did in Gedmatch.

I look at our list, and a familiar surname was at the top, associated with my maternal family. My Fennimore family is on my father’s side, and this was unexpected. The name is very familiar, and I believe that he is my second cousin’s son. My great Aunt, his grandmother, was not a Fennimore, and my parents are not remotely related (Gedmatch verified). I examined the match a little closer:

23andMe makes this very easy. I can see that we three do not have shared DNA, we match, but not in the same way. I also look at our relationship, and you can see that there is a large difference between the two. Even when I put my “2^nd cousin” into DNA Painter, it associates the kit with one set of maternal great-grandparents, which I am mapping. My conclusion is that my cousin’s unrelated paternal line has a far removed match with this test kit or a possible anomaly. I hadn’t even considered that my paternal and maternal lines could be intertwined, my mother is second generation Irish-German. My Paternal Grandmother was a mixture of recent British immigration (her mom was born in London), and New Jersey for at least nine generations. My Dad’s father was from New England. I knew that I didn’t have any misaligned parental events in recent generations. Again I lucked out; I could easily resolve this twist.

Do you agree with my analysis? Have you encountered any DNA conflicts? If so, how did you resolve them?

I’d love to hear from you!

[i] Coakley, Louise. “Tips for using Gedmatch.” Genie1. https://genie1.com.au/tips-for-using-gedmatch/, 2020.

GEDmatch – Tools for DNA and Genealogy Research ©Copyright 2011-2020 by GEDmatch, Inc.
23and Me – © 2020 23andMe, Inc.
DNA Painter – © DNA Painter, 2020

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The Fennimore Family of Somerset and Morris Counties New Jersey A DNA Project -Organization and Privacy

Elizabeth Pellicane — Sat, 11 Jan 2020 02:08:16 +0000

Good organization is essential in any genealogical research, but it is critical in a genetic genealogy project. Just because two people have shared DNA doesn’t mean that you have proof that you are both descended from a particular ancestor. An accurate paper trail must accompany the matches to aid proper identification. For example, in Ancestry, I received a potential parent “box.” One of my known DNA relatives has added parents to our common ancestor, my “brick wall” ancestor. The tool has notified me of this action. My connected relative matched another person and accepted this couple from their public tree. I was not a match to this third person, but that doesn’t matter, we could still be descendants of the same couple. I did view the source family tree and found potential flaws, so I am not going to click on that suggestion. There is no way to determine if this match is really Fennimore with limited information. This hint presents a conflict, the same as you would encounter in traditional genealogy. Perhaps the match is valid but a generation is missing in the family tree. Either way, it should be reviewed more thoroughly with a proof statement. Being able to track this data is essential.

I’ve chosen to create my Project Management tracking in Excel, but use what works best for you. I like a particular spreadsheet software because I use it daily for my “day job,” and I can pivot and parse data quickly with it. Also, I can add fields easily. I hope to use a third-party tool for analyzing the details, but for now, I need to track my matches across different testing companies and contact the individuals who share DNA. I’ve tested in multiple companies, and I am sure that I am not the only one. I want to track the tests they have taken, whether there is a paper trail, and, most importantly, whether they are willing to participate in the project.

Two crucial subjects to consider are privacy and permission. If I intend to write up my findings (which I do), then I need the approval of the test takers I will use in my proof statement. If a kit is in the “public domain,” it can be used for analysis, but our professional standards require permission to publish. But we will get into that in a later post. Privacy is paramount; I will mask the identity of the test takers. Even though the data is “public,” it is too easy to link kits, and living people to not take this extra step.

For today I am beginning with the shared matches in Ancestry DNA between a descendant of William H. Fennimore (me) and the descendant of a brother with the most paper documentation. One of my children is a match, that kit will not be included in the analysis since it is a subset of mine. We have 14 shared matches. I chose Ancestry because I feel more people will have started there, and I have communicated with a few of the other users over the years. The downside is that I don’t know precisely where we match. If I want to identify the potential chromosomes and segments, I will need to convince them to take their DNA to a third party program. Some of the testers have already done this, so I will work on locating them in our various companies and start building my project plan.

My initial project tracking database has the following fields:

Project ID	Unique Identifier protecting the identity of participants, and linking multiple test to a single individual
Ancestor	Gen 2 Ancestor (William and Mary’s children)
Ancestry ID
Ancestry ID manager
Gedmatch ID
23 and Me ID
FTM ID
MY heritiage ID
Match Date
Chroms
CM:Segments
Notes
Paper Trail?
Initial Message	date of initial request
Second Message	date of second request
Final Message	date of final request
Response	Date response received
Participate	Yes, No, Undecided
Permission Form rcd	Permission/disclosure form received
Name
Email
Phone
Address
Preferred Communication method

I want to obscure the identity of the participants in any “sharing,” going forward, plus I need to link kits, so I don’t contact the same person multiple times, or consider them a separate person. I also want to ensure that I have adequate coverage across the children of William and Mary Fennimore. The matches must come from different lines, not just mine. Finally, I want to make sure I have adequate permission, that they have consented (or not), and to map them via traditional research. Looking at many of my matches, I can tell quite a few have not logged on in over a year. I’m sure the response rates will be low. I will be messaging a total of three times, and then move on.

I’m hopeful we will get enough participants willing to play along.

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My Ladies – Julia Beam Part 2

Elizabeth Pellicane — Tue, 10 Apr 2018 04:08:28 +0000

The Early Life of Julia Beam

Part 1 introduced Julia Beam who was tarred and feathered on 17 October 1891 by a group of men in Glen Gardner, Hunterdon County. Newspapers throughout the country followed the trials with great interest.

My Ladies – Julia Beam Part 1

The Beam Family
Julia Beam was likely born in August 1873 in Lebanon Township, New Jersey, in an area called Germantown in Tewksbury, Hunterdon County. She was the oldest surviving child of Theodore Beam and his first wife, Ann Elizabeth Call. Typical of the time frame, the births of most of the children were not formally registered. Ann Elizabeth Beam would have twelve children in total, at the birth of her last child a boy; nine were still living. Julia’s mother died on 16 January 1894, five days after giving birth. The cause of death was puerperal peritonitis complicated by La Grippe, “childbed fever,” and the flu. Like many of her peers, Julia’s mom had children regularly until she passed away.

Theodore Beam would take a second wife, Catherine Frank [Franks]. The couple married in 1897, and the union would produce two sons before Theodore passed away in 1898. Catherine was still very young and went on to marry Joseph Apgar in 1899. The two youngest Beam sons, George and Alfred, possibly assumed the surname of their Stepfather, Joseph Apgar. The children of Theodore’s first marriage appeared to scatter or have passed after the death of their father.

The family was nothing out of the ordinary. Theodore was a laborer, owned no property, and kept out of the court records for the most part. One news article indicated that Julia was mistreated as a child. She was sent to work at age eleven, had little education, and had not attended church. Another reporter suggested that she was lying about being married; Marvin Walters already had a wife, and it would have been impossible to wed. There is no way to know how Julia was raised or if she knew her husband was a bigamist. She was seventeen or eighteen when she married and likely more of a sympathetic figure than the horrible influence the people of Glen Gardner deemed her.

In the 1880 census, Theodore’s family and his younger brother’s family shared the same residence. Both men were laborers, and neither could read or write. Julia’s mother Elizabeth [Ann Elizabeth] was able to read. Julia was attending school at age seven. In the 1900 census, Julia and her younger sister, Sarah, both grown, indicated they could read and write. After the death of her parents, Julia was caring for her younger brother, William, and he was attending school. The Beam children weren’t entirely uneducated, as suggested. Though several news articles described Julia as simple or childlike, it was more likely a reflection of her youth and being placed in a difficult situation.

The Beam family was large, and Julia was the eldest surviving daughter. Her family likely expected her to marry and not be a burden. It doesn’t appear that her parents were willing or able to support her when she was alone.

The Marriage
Julia Beam and Melvin [Malachi] N. Walters were married in the Lower Valley Presbyterian Church 29 December 1890 by the Pastor. On the marriage return, it was indicated that it was Walter’s second marriage. The church was near Julia’s home; it seems unlikely the Pastor would marry the couple if he believed Melvin was still legally married. It was not as if the couple wed away from the area or were trying to hide the fact that the groom was married previously. Months before their union, the local newspaper stated that Walters was initiating divorce proceedings against his first wife. His first marriage seems to have been 1888 to a woman named Almira Harrison. A search of the state archives did not turn up a divorce record; his newspaper announcement may have misled different parties to believe that he could legally re-marry.

The time between when Julia was wed and deserted by her husband was not very long. In about ten months, she went from being a newlywed to homeless and victim of vigilantes. The headlines focused on her actions, but minimal mention was made of her husband or the events that led up to the attack.

Marriage Document of Julia Beam and Melvin Walters

Part 3 – The Groom

Sources
New Jersey, Department of Health Bureau of Vital Statistics, Death Certificate, no number, (1931), Julia Frank [Beam], SHEVS004 reel no. 708, New Jersey State Archives, Trenton.

New Jersey, Department of Health Bureau of Vital Statistics, Marriage Certificate, W-39, (1890), Melvin N Walters and Julia Beam, SHEVS003 reel no. 77, New Jersey State Archives, Trenton.

1880 U.S. census, Hunterdon County, New Jersey, population schedule, East Lebanon, Enumeration District (ED) 86, sheet 352 a (stamped), house number 125, family 2, Theodore Beam; digital image, Ancestry.com, (https://www.ancestry.com/: accessed 8 April 2018), citing National Archives microfilm publication T9. [Julia A. Beam aged 7 eldest child enumerated, birth year about 1873].

New Jersey, Department of Health Bureau of Vital Statistics, Death Certificate, no. B75, (1894), Elizabeth Beam [Call], SHEVS004 reel no. 141, New Jersey State Archives, Trenton.

New Jersey, Department of Health Bureau of Vital Statistics, Birth Certificate, number, (1897), George Beam, SHEVS002 reel no. 153, New Jersey State Archives, Trenton.

Find A Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com : accessed 08 April 2018), memorial page for Theodore Beam (1846–1898), Find A Grave Memorial no. 71533016, citing Middle Valley Cemetery, Washington Valley, Morris County, New Jersey, USA ; Maintained by Donna (contributor 46910450).

New Jersey, Department of Health Bureau of Vital Statistics, Marriage Certificate, A-2, (1899), Joseph Charles Apgar and Catherine Frank [Beam], SHEVS003 reel no. 147, New Jersey State Archives, Trenton.

1900 U.S. census, Hunterdon County, New Jersey, population schedule, Clinton Township, Enumeration District (ED) 3, sheet 57b (stamped), house number 51, dwelling 167, family 174, Joseph C. Apgar; digital image, Ancestry.com, (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 8 January 2018), citing National Archives microfilm publication T623. [Joseph Apgar is the head of the household, two Step-Sons George Beam (3), and Albert (1), but 10 years later on the 1910 census they are listed as sons with the last name Apgar].

1910 U.S. census, Hunterdon County, New Jersey, population schedule, East District Lebanon Township, Enumeration District (ED) 8, sheet 230b (stamped), dwelling 99, family 104, Joseph C. Apgar; digital image, Ancestry.com, (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 8 January 2018), citing National Archives microfilm publication T623.

“For Tarring a Woman,” The Sun [New York], 20 November 1891, page 1, column 1, digital image; Newspapers.com, (http:www.newspapers.com : accessed 21 October 2017).

“Tarred and Feathered because she was Bad; Glen Gardner’s Young Men were being Corrupted,” New York Herald, page 18, column 3, digital image; Genealogybank (http://ww.genealogybank.com : accessed 7 October 2016).

1880 U.S. census, Hunterdon Co., N. J., pop. Sch., E. Lebanon, ED 86, sheet 352 a, house no. 125, family 2, Theodore Beam; digital image, Ancestry.com.
1900 U.S. census, Hunterdon County, New Jersey, population schedule, West Lebanon, Enumeration District (ED) 18, sheet 248A (stamped), house number NA, dwelling 257, family 260, Edward Lisk; digital image, Ancestry.com, (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 8 January 2018), citing National Archives microfilm publication T623.

1900 U.S. census, Hunterdon County, New Jersey, population schedule, East Lebanon, Enumeration District (ED) 17, sheet 229A (stamped), house number NA, dwelling 80, family 85, Luther Frank; digital image, Ancestry.com, (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 8 January 2018), citing National Archives microfilm publication T623.

New Jersey, Department of Health Bureau of Vital Statistics, Marriage Certificate, W-39, (1890), Melvin N Walters and Julia Beam, SHEVS003 reel no. 77, New Jersey State Archives, Trenton.

Brief News Items from Glen Gardner,” transcript by Bill Hartman, Rootsweb (”http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~njhrna/ : accessed 4 November 2016); citing original publication in the Hunterdon County Republican, 4 June 1890.[Note: Rootsweb is currently experiencing hosting issues, but I have Mr. Hartman’s pdf].

“Married,” transcript by Bill Hartman, Rootsweb (”http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~njhrna/ : accessed 4 November 2016):citing original publication in the Hunterdon County Republican, 7 January 1888.[Note: Rootsweb is currently experiencing hosting issues, but I have Mr. Hartman’s pdf].

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Thanks Melissa!

Elizabeth Pellicane — Sat, 03 Feb 2018 15:50:02 +0000

Last week the New Jersey Chapter of the Association of Professional Genealogists met in the Plainfield Public Library. Melissa Johnson, CG® presented the topic Scrivener writing software for genealogists. She demonstrated how she uses it along with some hints and tips.

I have owned Scrivener for years, and have dabbled with it but have yet to adopt it for my writing. I am a notebook junkie, and I use OneNote extensively for my ~~7-10,~~ 9-5 job. It should have been an easy shift from Word to Scrivener but, it hasn’t stuck yet. I’ve taken classes, and tried it for report writing but still end up going back to Word. Word is terrific but for some of my writing, I find that I’m going back too much between my research journal, my document, and Preview. I then end up using a notebook to jot down my thoughts. Scrivener would eliminate quite a bit of that waste.

Melissa’s presentation was thorough, and it encouraged me to try Scrivener again. My full-time job is hectic this year, so I’ve thrown in the towel on doing any substantive writing or researching for 2018. This year will mostly be dedicated to learning, volunteering and getting my blog back on track. When I am asked to help someone else or provide guidance, it will be turned into a blog post whenever possible.

Thank you, Melissa, for sharing some of your knowledge with other professional researchers. You inspired me!

Resources

Melissa Johnson CG

Scrivener – Free Trial

Coupon for Scrivener – 2018

(Note I did not try the coupon, but it is worth a try), if it doesn’t work please, let me know)

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The Donegal Distraction

Elizabeth Pellicane — Sun, 28 Jun 2015 15:43:10 +0000

A rainy summer weekend. My favorite outdoor activity, kayaking is off the agenda. That means more time for genealogy! However, I had promised myself I would not do any further research until I scanned the pile of wills, deeds, and NYC vital records collecting dust on my desk. Once that is complete then I could look into ordering Elizabeth Shown Mill’s latest edition of Evidence Explained, and only then start some new research. Then it happened, an email kicking off the “Donegal Distraction.”

We were running early errands. I was a passenger in the “white knuckle express,” a combination of New Jersey traffic and my husband’s unique style of driving. When it gets to be too much I will glance at my personal emails on my phone. I have a tendency towards motion sickness when I read in the car, so it’s not something I do frequently. The message was several emails down, but it stated “Donegal Ancestry” in the title. Well, what’s a girl to do? It’s not like I was at my desk at the moment with my scanner and document pile, so of course I opened it. It was an email from a nice gentleman, introducing himself, his research and why he contacted me. I was a match for 5 DNA kits he managed for his family. He wanted to know if I knew anything about my Donegal ancestors, ca. 1830.

To my knowledge, all my Irish ancestors were from Dublin. The furthest back I have been able to get was 1842 on one surname, and 1856 on another. I was fortunate that some of the churches in Dublin have had their records online for a few years. I was hoping that as more records open up online I would get a little further back. I have no evidence of anyone from Donegal, yet, and the locations are on opposite sides of Ireland. I could have easily ignored the email, but it instead I gave a quick reply that I would look into it, and once I had a chance would look at it more closely.

I am a member of a few genealogy based Facebook groups and it appears one major gripe of genetic genealogy discussions is private family trees, and positive connections. My family trees are private. Earlier there was a time my main tree was public, and then my documents ended up on another public tree which was grossly incorrect. The error was replicated, and my user name was on the document. After fruitless attempts to contact other users, I decided to keep my research private. I am more than happy to share my findings with others, upon request, but I no longer have my work in the public domain. Now that I have entered the DNA-based genealogy “playground,” I do feel more than ever it is important to at the very least reply to requests for information. While I have no record of a Donegal ancestor, I clearly have a genetic connection with a group of people that have that ancestry. I gladly shared what information I had on my Irish ancestors, and I responded quickly. Although Ireland is probably not my main focus right now, you never know what might come of the collaboration.

For those of you that are looking at the long list of “matches” with private family trees. It doesn’t hurt to ask nicely. Introduce yourself, explain why you are contacting the user, and hope for the best. If you haven’t joined Gedmatch yet, you might want to give it a try. I find these users are more willing to respond to emails, and the basic edition is free, although I encourage you to donate or subscribe if you find you will be using it.

I am back to my piles of documents, wistfully wishing for time to explore my DNA matches further.

Mills, Elizabeth Shown. Evidence Explained. https://www.evidenceexplained.com/ : 2015.

GEDmatch. Online databases. GEDmatch Inc. http://v2.gedmatch.com/login1.php : 2015.

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Uncle Frank’s Slides

Elizabeth Pellicane — Mon, 05 Jan 2015 00:23:58 +0000

My husband’s great Uncle Frank Pellicane was the youngest of all the first generation Pellicane siblings, and as a result was actively involved in the lives of his nephews and their children (much to our good fortune). He and his wife Lorraine did not have children of their own, so this gave them the freedom to travel and take pictures. His medium of choice was slides. My husband recalls it being a treat to be invited to view the show of their most recent travels.

In my early days as a genealogist I decided to try my hand at my husband’s paternal line. It would be a great experiment, as they were Italian and my knowledge of the language was limited to what appeared on menus. I discussed it a bit with Uncle Frank and he was only too happy to provide me with an abundance of material. It felt a bit like cheating as I was merely verifying items he told me for much of the project. Uncle Frank knew the family originated from the town of Santa Ninfa in Sicily, making my job locating the family in the “stato civile” much easier. I guess because of this interest, he decided to give me part of his slide collection, items he must have thought that would be of interest to my husband and his siblings. The slides came to me in a rumpled paper bag from a bagel shop in New Brunswick, and there they sat. I kept them in a safe place, but I really not sure of what to do with them. I had previously taken slides of my grandparent’s wedding to a camera shop and the resulting pictures were costly and to be honest, not the greatest quality. In November I attended a lecture on preserving photographs and was inspired to do something for the slides and my guilty conscience.

On my Christmas list was an item to convert slides to pictures. I am now the proud owner of a Wolverine 35mm Film to Digital Converter. It’s very basic, but it seems to be doing a decent job. I have completed retrieving them, and now I am in the process of lightening the images with Photoshop Elements. Once done, I will be sharing them with the rest of the family. It’s been a treat to look back in time to my husband’s childhood (and some earlier). I can’t wait to share them with my in-laws, maybe they can identify some of the folks in the pictures.

So if you have old slides, I really recommend getting the pictures where everyone can see them. You will be surprised how young everyone looks, or that your husband had a fondness of plaid leisure suits as a child (I can tell he really thought he was the cat’s meow). In our case there are some faces my husband can’t place so it will be a good catalyst for a conversation with his parents as well.

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A “Village” in Three Counties

Elizabeth Pellicane — Sat, 03 Mar 2012 23:32:34 +0000

Whenever I take on a new project either personal or for hire I set time aside to educate myself about the general vicinity of the family. This is not something I would bill anyone for, but for me it’s like doing your homework. Though I am a life-long New Jersey resident, I don’t know the history of every corner of this state, but it’s important that I find it out before I begin investigating the people and their lives.

Every day on the local news there seems to be some discussion on how we have too many fiefdoms, too many counties and too many school districts for a state our size. If you have a family that lived on the border of multiple counties (mine were Somerset/Morris/Union) you will find yourself researching more than one county usually. It can be a bit confusing.

This brings me to Kingston, New Jersey. According to Wikipedia it is located in modern-day Franklin (Somerset), Princeton (Mercer), and South Brunswick (Middlesex) towns. The “King’s Highway”, which was the first route between Manhattan and Pennsylvania, the two major ports on the Mid-Atlantic region, ran right through this area (Lurie, Siegel, Wacker, 2009). Kingston has a long and important place in our state’s history. While most early records will probably be in Middlesex County, the oldest of the three, you could miss entire branches of a family, if they happened to be residing in Somerset County. If you are researching a Dutch family, they could have worshipped at Six Mile Run, another unincorporated area of Franklin Township. English families would have probably ended up at the Kingston Presbyterian Church, or perhaps the Society of Friends Stony Brook, Meeting in what is now Princeton. Still can’t find anything? Then it is time to break out a map and see what other towns are in the vicinity.

Kingston is unique in that it is a “tri-county” village. It has a rich history and has been an important part of what would one day be our nation since the 1600’s, like much of New Jersey. Don’t just search for the people on your tree, learn about where they lived as well.

Sources

Kingston, New Jersey. (2012, February 14). Retrieved

from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kingston,_New_Jersey

Lurie, M. N., Siegel, M., & Wacker, P. O. (2009).

Mapping new jersey, an evolving landscape. New Brunwick: Rutgers University Press.

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