2011's genealogical discoveries

Christmas celebrations are over, and it's a good time to look back over the past year. For me, it's been a pretty remarkable one as far as genealogical discoveries go:

One of the biggest discoveries I've made was the FamilySearch site; this is an invaluable resource for genealogists of all experience levels. Many of my mother's family and ancestors were from New Hampshire, and this is the only place that I have been able to find New Hampshire vital records online. They are not the original records, but derivative records that were filled out around the turn of the 20th century by town clerks. But they are still extremely helpful.

A very recent discovery I've made in regard to FamilySearch is that of FamilySearch research centers that exist throughout the U.S. I did a search, and found that there is an LDS (Mormon) church just a few miles up the road from me that is a such a center. They are unfortunately closed from December 17th to January 4th.

Here they might have microfiche of records that aren't available online. I believe that you can also order microfiche through the FamilySearch website on loan for a small fee and have it delivered to a FamilySearch research center.

When I'm able to get to my local FamilySearch research center (probably on a Saturday morning), I'll blog about my experience. For many reading this who have been doing this much longer than I have and who have far more experience, it will probably be like reading about someone marveling over the discovery that the earth is round...

Find A Grave is another discovery I've made. Here you're likely to find memorials to at least some of your family members and ancestors-- often with photos of their tombstones, and sometimes even with photos of the people themselves. Membership is completely free, and as a member you can create memorials to deceased family members and ancestors and upload photos.

Fold3 (formerly Footnote)has been wonderful for finding military records-- specifically of my ancestors who fought in the American War for Independence and a couple of great-great-great uncles who fought in the Civil War.

Here I've also found some census records that I could not find on ancestry.com, as well as many city directories. One of the great things about Fold3 is that they have images of the actual records-- not transcriptions. Ancestry.com members are usually offered good membership discounts via ads.

City directories are also something that I've only recently started paying attention to, finding them to be great at giving information on where your relatives were living and what they were doing in years between census records. Fold3, the site mentioned above, has Boston city directories for most years between 1789 to 1925.

GenealogyBank, another newly discovered site, has Boston city directories for 1939 and 1959 as well. They also have a wonderful archive of newspapers going back to the 18th century. Here I've found a few marriage and death notices of ancestors.

Using the above resources, I've been able to find a great deal of information about various ancestors, filling in marriage dates and death dates and occupations.

Lastly, there was also the discovery of how enjoyable it is to blog about genealogy! It's a great way to share information, ideas, and stories with people who are also interested in family history research. I've found that learning about family histories is fascinating even when it's not my own family. And through research and the genea-blogosphere, I've met many truly wonderful people.

What will I discover in the year to come?

When you know the date of your 4th great-grandmother's baptism, but not your own...

One reason I love reading genealogy blogs is that you get great ideas, and so much food for thought.

In my last entry, I highlighted one such great idea that was posted on Turn The Hearts: writing your own life history in an hour.

I was led in trying this to the realization that there are facts and details I don't even know about myself, never mind my 17th century ancestors.

Another blog I love, The Catholic Gene, adds focus to faith in our family history search, and has made me think more about the role of faith in the lives of my ancestors.

Hence the questions: When was I baptized, anyway? And at what parish? St. John or something.

I was baptized in the Latin rite of the Catholic Church, but my family stopped going to Mass when Mom went to work. As a result, I wasn't confirmed until adulthood, when I decided to do so on my own.

So recently, having become the Documentator, I decided to try to get copies of my baptismal and confirmation records by emailing the parish at which I was confirmed and giving them as much info as I had.

I received a reply this afternoon, containing the exact church and date of my baptism and the info that all Catholic sacramental records are kept at the parish of one's baptism; this is something to bear in mind if you're wanting to to track down such documents.

Here are a couple of photos I found online of St. John the Baptist in Quincy, Massachusetts-- the church in which yours truly was baptized:

The Generations Project

I just discovered a show similar to Who Do You Think You Are?, only better: The Generations Project.

Stumbled upon it online tonight, watched a couple of episodes, and was impressed.

I enjoy it more than Who Do You Think You Are? in part because it features regular people instead of celebrities; it seems more genuine and not so scripted.

The show also focuses more on people's personal motivations behind wanting to research their family history; a set of twin sisters wanted to feel closer to their deceased mother-- something I could definitely identify with-- and to heal their own relationship.

In another episode, a young man-- a bit of a neo-hippie/tree hugger who seems like he maybe hit the bong a little too hard in high school-- wanted to find the source of his family members' adventurous spirits and to answer what he continuously referred to as "the call." A very neat episode, in spite of this guy's annoying habit of laughing at everything everyone said to him or showed him.

In both episodes, the featured guests find amazing connections to American history. And at the end, they reflect on how their discoveries have impacted how they see themselves or their lives.

I think this program is only available to watch online, through Brigham Young University's BYUtv.

Who Do You Think You Are?

One of the highlights of my Friday evenings is watching new episodes of WDYTYA (and yes, I'm aware of how sad that is).

Granted, the show is basically an hour-long advertisement for ancestry.com, and it's on the horrendous NBC, but nothing's perfect.

I enjoy this show for a couple of reasons: one, it's interesting to know the family histories of the famous people you watch in movies or on TV. Two, the show usually gives some good ideas of where you might find clues and information about your own ancestors. For example, I had no idea that there was a special census for Civil War veterans until I saw the episode featuring Steve Buscemi. I myself have no direct ancestors who fought in the Civil War (that I know of), but it's good to know what's available.

Now, here's what bugs me about the show: unlike the featured celebrities, most people have neither the money nor the time to jet off around the country and the world and meet with professional genealogists and historians (with whom private consultations are very costly).

I would love to be able to go up to Massachusetts and New Hampshire for a month and dig around in the county courthouses and old churches for records-- or even better, have someone do that for me and then get to meet with them to have them explain what they've found.

One of these days I will go back to New England and investigate that which I can't find online... but I think we can forget consultations with experts.

Why genealogy?

I started researching my family history around the same time I started blogging. It didn't occur to me until recently to ask why? I mean, what does it matter who my 3rd great-grandparents were?

I read recently, to my surprise, that genealogy is the third largest hobby in the United States, and there are probably many reasons for this.

For me, there are a couple of reasons:

Finding a sense of heritage and identity. I think modern people in the western world have become... well, rootless. Back in the old days, most people lived their whole lives in the same town or county, near much of their family, and died within just a few miles of where they were born.

Today we're far more mobile; families are often scattered about the country and even the world. We know longer seem to have any roots.

My mother's ancestors were Puritans who came over from Britain to settle in Massachusetts and New Hampshire in the 1620's-30's. My father's mother's ancestors were Irish potato farmers who immigrated to Boston in the 1850's, and my father's father family were Russian Jews who fled to the U.S. and Canada after the Bolshevik Revolution.

Having lived most of my life away from New England, where my parents grew up, I often felt disconnected from these roots.

Growing up, my mom used to tell me stories about her family and her childhood, and perhaps her death has added to this desire for me to research her family; connecting with them is really connecting with her.

Another reason is my love for history. In discovering an ancestor who fought in the Revolutionary War or who was accused of witchcraft, it makes history personal and real. These aren't just names and dates, but people who actually existed and lived and loved and suffered.

I decided to start this blog to share the discoveries I have made and will make during this quest. Although I am not a professional genealogist-- and that point should be stressed-- I hope to also share tips and resources I find with others who might be embarking on a similar journey.

It promises to be a long but interesting road.