Genealogy research

[nlloyd]

I have a divorce from 1836 where my 3x great grandmother claimed her husband 'deserted her with 6 children, was cruel, intemperate and tried to suffocate her with brimstone in the bedroom'.

Interesting. Is this in the US? In the UK at this time women could only divorce their husbands if they committed adultery AND deserted them, treated them cruelly, or committed rape, sodomy, incest or bigamy. Men could divorce their wives simply for committing adultery. So if this was in the UK (including Ireland at that time), it would explain her access to divorce. There were other inequities also. Men could sue for damages against a third party (another male) if their wives were unfaithful, women could not. Divorce was rare because it was an expensive procedure requiring a Private Act of Parliament; only the very wealthy had access to it. After the Divorce and Matrimonial Causes Act of 1857 Britons no longer needed to go through Parliament in order to get a divorce, and divorce became more accessible, but many of the gender inequities remained in place. I wonder how the legal situation in the US compared to this if she was US-based?

 

[Andrushka]

I've been doing genealogy research since my teens(I'm in my 30s now) and I help other people research their stuff.I use ancestry and other sources at the moment.There's some records and diaries I need to view that I can only do in person.I'll get to those some day.

 

[gkelly]

My sister has a subscription to Ancestry.com (which she will soon let expire).

She sent me a .jpg of a 1920 census page that lists my grandmother's family (8 people out of 50 listed on the large form).

The writing is faded in many places, and cursive handwriting within the typeset form that is not always easy to read even where the image is sharpest.

From what I can make out, the information appears to match what I know about my grandmother's family, but I would like to be able to read more of the relevant entries to learn more.

Is there any way to enlarge or enhance parts of a .jpg file to make it more legible?

 

[Susan1]

My sister has a subscription to Ancestry.com (which she will soon let expire).

She sent me a .jpg of a 1920 census page that lists my grandmother's family (8 people out of 50 listed on the large form).

The writing is faded in many places, and cursive handwriting within the typeset form that is not always easy to read even where the image is sharpest.

From what I can make out, the information appears to match what I know about my grandmother's family, but I would like to be able to read more of the relevant entries to learn more.

Is there any way to enlarge or enhance parts of a .jpg file to make it more legible?

Don't know if this will help, but I found that when I was on the site itself, you can enlarge the actual image to read it better. This was on FamilySearch.org, which is free and had all of the same census pages that Ancestry had. You can try looking there.

 

[smurfy]

Interesting. Is this in the US?

Sorry to have not replied til now. The divorce was in the US - in Connecticut and had to go through the Connecticut Legislature- back in 1836.

I am still plugging away - such a fun hobby. I always loved mysteries.
I am now a member of the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR). One reason I joined - you have to submit documentation back to your patriot. They retain the application, not all the backup - but the info is documented.
I'm single, not kids - I have to work on one of my niblings - I do not want all my work lost when I die.

I have done DNA testing and have gotten 8 relatives tested, with 2 more in the works.
So far - everyone matches as they should - no funny business.
It has helped me fill in some more of my tree.
I have gone to some conferences - love the educational part of the hobby.

gkelly - I have an ancestry subscription - it expires May18 - if you give me the info for the 1920 census - I will look it up, do some screenshots and send to you. Ancestry has typed transcriptions in the census - that may be helpful.
Please PM your email.

 

[Peaches LaTour]

Hi, all you who know all kinds of stuff...............

Has anyone ever done any genealogy research, like on ancestry.com or anything? Just going to the free Mormon church site, I discovered things they had wrong, so how can you trust things you don't already know.

And, horror of horrors, they have dead people's names, dates of birth, last address AND SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBERS out there. Great place for identity thieves to check out.

I'm just disgusted!

 

[Peaches LaTour]

I have been researching family history since before the internet arrived.
It can be extremely frustrating because records were not accurately kept back in the 1800's when so many of my own family arrived from Europe. My one great- grandfather came from the Netherlands and since our research into him, we have discovered his name recorded in eleven variations in various legal documents. You have to really be careful so you don't end up on the wrong track by mistake.
We've gone far enough on our own, now, that we have exhausted the avenues we have been using over the years. If we had the $$$$$ we would hire a pro to take it further.

 

[Peaches LaTour]

Sorry about the blank post!
Just wanted to add that before you shell out money for any on line ancestry website, check & see if your local library has free access to those websites. We only log onto ancestry.com at the library because it is free there. Of course the Mormon Church also provides free access to ancestry websites, too, and our local branch doesn't even charge us for making copies.

 

[Jubak]

I've been doing research for about 2 years now on Ancestry and also on Family Search. I find I have to check & double check a lot of the "little leafs" as dates don't match & people mix up family members with the same names. Family Search actually had my mother completely left out of her family. I knew my mother's family dated back to before the Revolution here in the US, but her father's side came through Canada. I was shocked to find out that I can go back to the founding of Canada "New France" with 3 "Fils du Roi". Heck, I didn't even know I had any French ancestry at all. These were young, poor, orphaned women sent by the King of France to the Montreal area to marry the soldiers & workers sent in the founding of Canada. Some were Protestant and made to convert to Catholicism. The records of the Catholic Church of the Drouin Collection are amazingly extensive. Part of my interest was that I wanted to join the DAR, which I can - however, in the current political climate here in the US, I have a problem with "pledging allegiance to support our country." I can't blindly do this right now, with this current POTUS. Anyone but him! I have seriously thought about ways to become a Canadian, but my family history is too many generations back.

 

[smurfy]

Ancestry subscription:
AARP members can get 30% off the annual world subscription only once.
I have already used mine. I called to renew- to see if I could use again- no luck, but the rep make a suggestion- there r specials in gifts- and one is allowed to gift themselves.
Lol

 

[Simone411]

My uncle from Ohio has researched the family ancestry since around 1988. He uses Ancestry.com along with one of my first cousins. Most of my uncle's research was done on his mother's side of the family (my grandmother). He even has visited cemeteries in several different states. He's found so much information, and I'm not sure how he found out so much. He managed to locate hundreds of photos of all of our ancestors ... some dating back to the early 1700's.

My grandmother's father's descendants were originally from Drayton, Berkshire, England. My uncle has sent me so many PDF files of information and it's really hard to keep up with. I do know that I'm part English, Scotish and Irish which does come from my grandmother's side of the family.

People contact my uncle all the time regarding all the information that he's found throughout the years, and we even have a group on Facebook where others that found out that we're kin in some way have posted, too. There are so many photos of people dating back to the 1700's that all the members have shared. It's not just with my grandmother's side either. It also includes my grandfather's relatives that came from Syria and Lebanon in the 1890's and early 1900's.

I thought I would share some of the history when my grandmother's ancestors first came to the United States of America.

Descendants of John Cox
Generation No. 1
1. JOHN 1 COX was born 24 Sep 1675 in Drayton, Berkshire, England, and died
1755 in Kennett, Chester, Pennsylvania, United States. He married (1) ALICE
BEALS . She was born 1677. He married (2) RACHEL EMBREE CARR 1688. She
was born 11 Dec 1692 in New Castle, Delaware, United States, and died 1736 in
Chester, Pennsylvania, United States. He married (3) RACHEL HARLAN DUSKIN
1690. She was born 1665 in , , , England, and died 04 Oct 1735 in
Pennsylvania, United States. He married (4) MARY GARRETSON 1713. She was
born 18 Dec 1690 in New Castle, New Castle, Delaware, United States, and died
08 Jun 1753 in Huntington, York, Pennsylvania, United States.
More About JOHN COX and RACHEL CARR :
Marriage: 1688
More About JOHN COX and RACHEL DUSKIN :
Marriage: 1690
More About JOHN COX and MARY GARRETSON

The rest lists all of the children of the three wives that died listed above. I didn't see anything listed about the first wife, Alice Beals in that particular PDF file. What I was amazed with is that he outlived all four of his wives.

 

[skatesindreams]

What I was amazed with is that he outlived all four of his wives.

Not really uncommon, if you consider the number of women who died in childbirth; or shortly after, from complications.

 

[Jubak]

Simone411 - I'm from Ohio, and can trace my lineage back to a Cox family at about the same time - Isaac then daughter Sarah Cox; their descendants also emigrated to PA then to OH. Odd coincidence & wonder if we are related?

 

[Simone411]

Simone411 - I'm from Ohio, and can trace my lineage back to a Cox family at about the same time - Isaac then daughter Sarah Cox; their descendants also emigrated to PA then to OH. Odd coincidence & wonder if we are related?

You mentioned Sarah Cox. Here is some more information that I think you'll find very interesting. I think we may very well be related.

Children of JOHN COX and RACHEL CARR are:
i. JOSEPH 2 COX , b. 1672.
ii. JOHN COX , b. 1677, New Castle, New Castle, Delaware, United States; d. 1785, New Castle, New
Castle, Delaware, United States.
iii. ANN C OX , b. 1678, New Castle, New Castle, Delaware, United States; d. 1738, York, Pennsylvania,
United States.
iv. SARAH COX , b. 1686, Charles City, Charles, Virginia, United States; d. 1761, Amelia, Virginia,
United States.
v. SARAH COX , b. 1690, New Castle, New Castle, Delaware, United States; d. 02 Apr 1755, Virginia,
United States.
vi. RICHARD COX , b. 26 Mar 1690, New Castle, New Castle, Delaware, United States; d. 31 Mar
1762, Vincent, Chester, Pennsylvania, United States.
vii. JOSEPH COX , b. 1693, New Castle, New Castle, Delaware, United States; d. 01 Nov 1750.
viii. ANN COX , b. 1694, New Castle, New Castle, Delaware, United States; d. 1762, Hockessin, New
Castle, Delaware, United States.
2. ix. THOMAS COX , b. 1694, On Land, Delaware, Pennsylvania, United States; d. 1760, River, Saluda,
South Carolina, United States.
x. MARY COX , b. 1695, in , , , England; d. 1738, York, Pennsylvania, United States.
xi. JOSEPH COX , b. 1695, Newcastle, Delaware, United States; d. 1786, Delaware, United States.
xii. AMY COX , b. 1698, Newark, Essex, New Jersey, United States; d. 13 Sep 1778, London Grove,
Chester, Pennsylvania, United States.

Here is some information from Generation 4 (as my uncle lists it) and Isaac Cox is also listed as one of the children of John Cox (Generation 4) and Nancy Vaughn. I don't know for sure if this is the same Isaac Cox, though.

Generation No. 4
4. JOHN 4 COX (RICHARD 3 , THOMAS 2 , JOHN 1 ) was born 19 Oct 1764 in Essex
County,VA., and died 25 Sep 1842 in Clark County ,AL. He married NANCY
VAUGHN 06 Nov 1786 in Pendleton District, SC, daughter of WILLIAM VAUGHN
and BARBARA B REWTON .

More About JOHN COX and NANCY VAUGHN

Marriage: 06 Nov 1786, Pendleton District, SC
Children of JOHN COX and NANCY VAUGHN are:
7. i. MARY 5 COX , b. 29 Apr 1788, South Carolinia.
ii. WILLIAM COX , b. 28 Feb 1790; d. 07 Jul 1859.
8. iii. THOMAS COX , b. 02 Jun 1792; d. 1852, Clarke County ,AL.
9. iv. REBECCA COX , b. 03 Sep 1794; d. 20 Oct 1836.
10. v. ISAAC COX , b. 20 Dec 1796; d. 03 Jun 1833.
11. vi. BARBARA COX , b. 21 Jan 1798; d. 07 Sep 1824.
vii. JOHN COX , b. 13 Mar 1801; d. 11 Sep 1823.
12. viii. MATHEW COX , b. 31 Oct 1803; d. 31 Jan 1861, Clarke County , AL.
13. ix. REUBEN W COX , b. 12 May 1806, Clarke County ,AL; d. 1868.
14. x. J AMES COX , b. 16 Oct 1808; d. Abt. 1864.
15. xi. MAHALY COX , b. Abt. 1815.
16. xii. GEORGE COX , b. 24 Oct 1816; d. 06 Feb 1896.
17. xiii. JANE F COX , b. Abt. 1818, Alabama; d. Bef. 1880.

Editing because I found more in Generation 3

Generation No. 3
3. RICHARD 3 COX (THOMAS 2 , JOHN 1 ) was born 1750 in York, Pennsylvania,
United States, and died 01 Apr 1821 in Prairieton, Vigo, Indiana, United States.
He married A NN H ODGIN 04 Jun 1774 in Wrightsboro, McDuffie, Georgia,
United States. She was born 1756 in York, Pennsylvania, United States, and died
25 Dec 1797.

More About RICHARD COX and ANN HODGIN :
Marriage: 04 Jun 1774, Wrightsboro, McDuffie, Georgia, United States

Children of RICHARD COX and ANN HODGIN are:
4. i. JOHN 4 COX , b. 19 Oct 1764, Essex County,VA.; d. 25 Sep 1842, Clark County ,AL.
5. ii. THOMAS COX , b. 13 May 1775, Wrightborough, Columbia, Georgia, United States; d. 20 Feb
1820, Clarke County, AL.
iii. MARY COX , b. 14 Feb 1777, Columbia, Georgia, United States.
iv. REBECCA COX , b. 18 Jan 1780, Newberry, South Carolina, United States.
v. TAMAR COX , b. 15 May 1782, Newberry, South Carolina, United States.
6. vi. DAVID C OX , b. 14 Jun 1785, Newberry, South Carolina, United States; d. 04 Apr 1846, Vigo,
Indiana, United States.
vii. PETER COX , b. 1786, Newberry, South Carolina, United States; d. 18 Mar 1825, Vigo, Indiana,
United States.
viii. ISAAC COX , b. 14 Apr 1791, Newberry, South Carolina, United States.
ix. RICHARD COX , b. 1792, Newberry, South Carolina, United States.
x. ISAAC COX , b. 06 Sep 1794; d. 21 Aug 1849, Indiana, United States.
xi. WILLIAM COX , b. 1794, Newberry, South Carolina, United States.
xii. ANNE COX , b. 25 Aug 1808.

I believe the easiest thing to do would be to e-mail you the PDF file with all the information because PDF file is actually 84 pages long. I'd be more than happy to send you the PDF file. Just PM me if this is okay with you.

 

[skatesindreams]

Jubak and Angie, it looks as though FSU may have worked "magic" by bringing you together.
Let us know what you discover.

 

[Susan1]

I've been doing research for about 2 years now on Ancestry and also on Family Search. I find I have to check & double check a lot of the "little leafs" as dates don't match & people mix up family members with the same names.

I JUST got a "possible records match" from Family Search that showed what I had about my great-grandfather "in my tree" - born 1860, died 1900. And then the possible match was living in Ireland in 1911. Well, no, that would be impossible, even if I hadn't been to his grave. Why would they pick out a Thomas Murphy born in Ireland (there are at least a million!!) "abt. 1861" and send me a "possible match" that is completely false?

I reached dead ends on everybody a year ago (even using Ancestry at the library) anyway.

Not really uncommon, if you consider the number of women who died in childbirth; or shortly after, from complications.

Imagine my shock when I found out that my mom's grandmother was put in an orphanage, along with her brother and sisters, when their mother, Josephine, died having her 5th child! Apparently in those days, the father couldn't have taken care of them. I don't know why family couldn't have helped, if there was any. There were plenty of Bauers in the census records back then who might have been relatives. I researched the "kids" through their adopted (more like taken in to be helpers) families and beyond. I don't know what happened to the father. The "kids" all stayed in the same area (Cincinnati/Dayton) and kept in contact, and I wonder if the father did too. I wonder how they felt about him.

I wish I wouldn't have started thinking about this again!

Oh, what happened to Who Do You Think You Are? It's programmed into my DVR and I only got maybe three episodes this last time (John Stamos was one).

 

[Susan1]

I JUST got a "possible records match" from Family Search that showed what I had about my great-grandfather "in my tree" - born 1860, died 1900. And then the possible match was living in Ireland in 1911. Well, no, that would be impossible, even if I hadn't been to his grave. Why would they pick out a Thomas Murphy born in Ireland (there are at least a million!!) "abt. 1861" and send me a "possible match" that is completely false?

Apologies to Family Search! It was My Heritage. (brain glitch!) My Heritage is where you can fill in your tree and they send you "possible" matches. They did send me something awhile back that did help with a line of my dad's mom's people going way back.

 

[skatesindreams]

Oh, what happened to Who Do You Think You Are?

When I locate information about next season, I'll share.

 

[Lizziebeth]

I'd be cautious using information on My Heritage or Ancestry. People post a lot of incomplete or incorrect information. I think a lot of it happens because they post it before they check primary sources. The 'hints' you receive are not too reliable either because they seem to be based on what has already been posted on the site. Errors then get perpetuated. I look at My Heritage if it pops up in a google search when I am looking for something specific. If my "person" shows up, you can sometimes find a date or information on a sibling that you can use to check primary sources.

I am working on a tree for my brother in law. Can't find anyone else researching this person back in the old country, but I did find a tree on Ancestry where someone had mixed up two families and had the family with 19 children. I know this family had lots of kids, but there were not 19!

Also be careful with census data. They are great for tracking location and who was living in the household. But the ages and dates of emigration from the old country are not exact. It is funny to look at the census data from several years and see the dates change. At least the dates give you a starting point for checking primary sources.

Genealogy is addicting and I have learned so much about my immigrant ancestors.

 

[Simone411]

I'd be cautious using information on My Heritage or Ancestry. People post a lot of incomplete or incorrect information. I think a lot of it happens because they post it before they check primary sources. The 'hints' you receive are not too reliable either because they seem to be based on what has already been posted on the site. Errors then get perpetuated. I look at My Heritage if it pops up in a google search when I am looking for something specific. If my "person" shows up, you can sometimes find a date or information on a sibling that you can use to check primary sources.

I am working on a tree for my brother in law. Can't find anyone else researching this person back in the old country, but I did find a tree on Ancestry where someone had mixed up two families and had the family with 19 children. I know this family had lots of kids, but there were not 19!

Also be careful with census data. They are great for tracking location and who was living in the household. But the ages and dates of emigration from the old country are not exact. It is funny to look at the census data from several years and see the dates change. At least the dates give you a starting point for checking primary sources.

Genealogy is addicting and I have learned so much about my immigrant ancestors.

I totally agree with you. My uncle from Ohio began his research around 1968. As I mentioned, he went to cemeteries throughout the country, managed to find phone numbers and contact people from different leads that were given to him, found several photos of those people dating back to the 1800's. He even traced/located some relatives that still live in Berkshire County, England and contacted them.

It's not an easy task whatsoever especially before the time that there was the internet and places like Ancestry.com. He still adds information and photos on our family facebook group page. Several of the relatives I never knew we had found my uncle's info and research on Ancestry.com. We used to have family reunions every year at my dad's camp. Several of the people (mainly associated with the Cox name) that contacted my uncle attended those reunions. They have also shared photos, etc. on our family facebook group.

The one thing that my uncle always told me was to never begin the quest thinking you'll find out all the information overnight. It's taken him years to gather and collect all this info and he's 83 years old now.

 

[gkelly]

Also be careful with census data. They are great for tracking location and who was living in the household. But the ages and dates of emigration from the old country are not exact.

Yes, the info my sister found for my grandmother shows her father as having immigrated in 1890 and her mother and oldest sister in 1900, the sister having been born in 1897. Possibly the father made at least one visit back to the old country (unlikely), or the oldest sister had a different father (I think we would have heard about that -- I can ask my uncle what he remembers about his grandparents and aunts when I see him next month), but most likely at least one of those dates is wrong.

 

[Deleted member 221]

Imagine my shock when I found out that my mom's grandmother was put in an orphanage, along with her brother and sisters, when their mother, Josephine, died having her 5th child! Apparently in those days, the father couldn't have taken care of them. I don't know why family couldn't have helped, if there was any

When my grandmother was five, her father died. She and various siblings went into foster care, each in separate homes. Apparently, her mother worked and paid various foster parents to take care of her children. That's the story at least. It makes no sense to me, but I've heard it the same way from my grandmother and a few of her siblings. They tell stories about their foster families threatening to throw them out on the street if their mother didn't pay them a nickel (or whatever it was) that month. My great-grandmother had no family in the States, and apparently her deceased husband's family refused to take care of the children.

Most of the people involved are dead now, so the truth -- whatever it is -- is buried. I've always wondered if my grandmother's mother cracked up or otherwise became unfit to take care of her (eight) children? She was involved in their lives as an adults, so whatever the reason, it was temporary.

Yes, the info my sister found for my grandmother shows her father as having immigrated in 1890 and her mother and oldest sister in 1900, the sister having been born in 1897. Possibly the father made at least one visit back to the old country (unlikely), or the oldest sister had a different father (I think we would have heard about that -- I can ask my uncle what he remembers about his grandparents and aunts when I see him next month), but most likely at least one of those dates is wrong.

All of my relatives went back and forth multiple times. On the Irish side, my great-grandfather was Irish-American, and my great-grandmother was Irish-Irish. Their first child was born in Ireland, the next couple in the US, the one after that in Ireland, and then the rest were U.S. born.

On the Italian side, my great-grandfather (from whom I've acquired citizenship) came over at age 13, with his father, to work on the various construction projects of the time. They would work in America and periodically take their earnings back to Italy, more or less once a year. Kinda like the Mexican immigrants do today. Eventually he got married (in Italy), at age 28, and later that year brought his new wife (pregnant with my grandmother) to the States. Lucky me, my grandmother was born on US soil to an Italian father and preserved our continuous right to Italian citizenship.

Other fun ancestry discoveries -- through DNA, I learned that my sanctimonious great-grandmother had an out-of-wedlock baby at 17. The baby was raised by her sister. Either no one in the family knew, or they are really good liars. And through vital records, I discovered that she got pregnant out of wedlock a second time (with a different man) when she had my grandfather. She and my great-grandfather rewound the date of their anniversary by a year.

I also met an elderly cousin of my grandfather (whom I never knew), who had saved newspaper clippings about him since World War II and mailed them to me.

 

[Lizziebeth]

Louis, I have made quite a few "fun" family discoveries regarding out of wedlock children. Many children arrived 'early.' The best story was discovering that my great great grandfather back in Norway had a child out of wedlock with a woman at least 30 years his junior who worked at his farm as a servant. While he was married to another woman. The birth record is plain as day in the parish record.

I found this by accident when I was doing other research and saw a tree listing his third 'wife.' On the census, I saw the daughter living with relatives as a "foster daughter" which I think is code for servant. So the kid was not abandoned but she certainly was not treated just like anyone else. She emigrated to America at age 18, got married and had a large family. Probably turned out better for her to emigrate!

My Norwegian grandmother came to America, returned to Norway for about 5 years and then returned to America for good, after her parents died. She was the baby and was expected to take care of her mother in her old age. My Finnish grandparents emigrated separately and met and married in America. They went back to Finland (separately) and stayed long enough to have three children born in Finland. They went back to America separately - my grandmother made the journey south from her home in central Finland to Hanko on the south coast, boarded a boat that stopped in England before continuing on to America. All this with three little children in her care. Those people were tough!

 

[Susan1]

I'd be cautious using information on My Heritage or Ancestry. People post a lot of incomplete or incorrect information. I think a lot of it happens because they post it before they check primary sources. The 'hints' you receive are not too reliable either because they seem to be based on what has already been posted on the site.

Yes, it's very frustrating. One census had my mother's middle initial wrong. I've seen documents that had different info than what they transcribed. In fact, Family Search has my (I think I mentioned this way up thread) dad's place of death as Champaign County. Well, I was there (here) at the hospital in Montgomery County when he died. And, obviously, it is correct on the death certificate. Where they got Champaign, I don't know. It's three counties away from Montgomery. And you can't correct the websites (or everybody would be correcting right things wrong" by what they "thought").

I take what I know and match it up with things that fit. Or check for continuity of names or dates. Except - everybody in the family insists my grandfather's birth year is what is on his headstone and death certificate, but in three different censuses, the kids are in the same order, which would make it his brother's birth year, and they are two years apart. And it's different than either of those on his marriage license too. Did people born in the 1800s not have calendars???

Maybe they cancelled "WDYTYA" because their guesses were ridiculous. "This is your great great grandmother even though the name is not close to what it was in the last country you visited". Where do they find these people who all have historical or famous people in their background. And they all are just amazed at the end that their ancestors left wherever to come to America for a better life. It is entertaining though.

I have like 135 "possible matches" to the tree I've updated on My Heritage. The "possible matches" are the places where I got MY information in the first place (censuses, death certificates), except for the one that could not be living in Ireland in 1911 since he died in Ohio in 1900. I would like to be able to match something with something I don't have.

Oh, did I mention this upthread anywhere? - my dad's grandmother's brother's (you need a spreadsheet ha ha) death certificate says cause of death was shot in head by police officer (1918). I wish I could find the details on that one!!

 

[smurfy]

WDYTYA - I saw several episodes recently (March/April) including Stamos, Jessica Biel among others. I have not heard it has been cancelled. It appeared to be a regular season. I highly recommend checking out YouTube - and watching the UK episodes.

Censuses are great, but one has to remember - in the US - what we are seeing online is a transcription from the original interviews. The original sheets are long gone. Clerical error in the rewriting. Also the informant may not have been someone in the family, it could be a neighbor. The interviewer could have been of a different background and wrote down what they heard. Spelling was looked at the way we look at it. I have seen legal documents where a person name is different spelling. I find it best to look at several censuses for a person to get an overall picture, along with other documents including city directories etc.
I have taken online classes and gone to conferences and seminars. Proper technique and understanding all the discrepancies is key. One thing to remember the difference between Primary and Secondary information. On a death cert - the death, date of death and the persons name, cause is Primary, but their parents name is Secondary. I have multiple death certs where at least one of the parents names are wrong.

I have a 3rd cousin that is a prominent politician. FamilySearch did a tree for him.
I saw some of his siblings at a funeral recently and one gave me a copy of what FamilySearch provided. It had for our shared Great Great Grandmother - a different maiden name, close, but different. I was concerned, as I had done what I thought was good research and found baptism records of our great grandparents and the 2G great grandparents marriage at a church in Ireland.
I went back to the town hall here in the US ( 80 miles away, I go once or twice a year) - and my politician's great grandma listed her mother with the maiden name Family Search had. But my great gr pa death record had the maiden name I worked with.
But in conversation with the cousins at the funeral - I learned that our shared 2G gr ma - was here - living with her daughter. The names are common and I had found it in the 1900 census - but there were multiple families with the same head of household and spouse name. So I found the 2GGrma death record (after reviewing the censuses and city directories - narrowed what year she died) - and her maiden name is the one I had.
The records at the town hall are again transcriptions, typed up from the original handwritten. I believe that in the case of the name that FamilySearch has - the name was abbreviated/not able to read and a guess was taken.
And to make things even crazier. Another lady was doing research at the townhall - and we started to chat. Ends up her husband is a first cousin to the prominent politician - and another 3rd cousin to me. I showed her what I had - and she confirmed from her research that I had the correct name all the time. Family Search did not do anything wrong, but they looked at one record, where I looked at multiples.
Looking at collateral relatives (siblings, cousins) - more data can be found.
And this is the 2nd time - one of my great grandfathers - his widowed mother was living with a daughter until her death.
So I got my 2GrGrmas parents names - 2 more names to research. One is never done!

 

[Jubak]

WDYTYA in the US was not cancelled. I watched the entire recent series. Some of it was a bit boring. I liked Jessica Biel's & Liv - Steven Tyler's the best. As usual, the original UK version I find much more interesting, even with some of the celebs who I don't know. The stories have a lot of social history, stories of poverty, changing times into the industrial age, "the workhouse" that the US tends to gloss over. European & British history that also can make us understand why so many people emigrated to the US. Black families who emigrated to the UK from the Caribbean. A number of men who went to work in India & took Indian wives as well as those of African Colonialism. I feel like I never really learned world history here in the US, when I watch these, as they are so informative. I can really recommend them.

Poor people also didn't get married - they would be common-law and thought of as husband & wife, but unless they could afford a license, no formal marriage (in the UK) Baptisms in a church parish could show better family lineage. Here in the States, marriage seemed to be more common, maybe more affordable or done in a church.

I've hit a lot of dead ends with my research. I know that my paternal great-grandmother left her alcoholic husband but left him with the children. My grandmother had a lot of animosity towards her, understandably, as she ended up being "the mother" After she left, I am having trouble tracing her. My father's side I can trace to 1755, to one man sent over on a convict ship, for petty theft, from London. Our name is Scottish, though. I have actually located his sentencing records from the Old Bailey & Middlesex, however, I can't get any further back than that. He was about 20 when he was sent here, so I figure he must have been very poor. Some things will be lost to time, and 1755 is pretty good, I guess.

 

[Susan1]

WDYTYA in the US was not cancelled. I watched the entire recent series. Some of it was a bit boring. I liked Jessica Biel's & Liv - Steven Tyler's the best.

Well, my DVR is set up to record all new episodes. It got the Jessical Biel and John Stamos, oh, and Noah Wyle (sp?) but not Liv Tyler. Were there any others this "season". It seems like at the beginning they advertised more people than that. It's still listed in my "series record". I did a search on the show title back then, but I didn't even see any of the usual reruns.

Research-wise - I've been trying to track down the father of the orphaned kids. I was thinking about German spellings and put in "Michel" for Michael Bauer. AND I GOT one. And holy moley, I about fell out of my chair. His mother's name was Rosine Wendling. I have a piece of paper from a scratch pad in the 60's where my mom made notes of things like "cousin Lil" (who was not actually a cousin, but turned up as a notifier on someone's death certificate), and it said Mrs. Wendling. Rosine Wendling and her parents are from the 1800s. A Rose Wendling lived in Cincinnati in 1930 - great, great, granddaughter? But, the 1800's Wendlings and "Michel Bauer" were born in France??????? Is that too coincidental?

My mom's family has gone our whole lives (most of them are gone and the rest don't care) thinking Gengler was German. And that Lucius was Italian. They ended up being from Belgium and Luxembourg. And now I might have a French relative? I wish I could do one of those DNA tests to see if I have French blood too. This drags me back in every spring! I hit a wall and then get a second wind just to hit another wall.

Oh, yeah, about changing names - my dad's mother's father was named Henry Homerick Houser. Going WAAAAAAAAY back into Germany (for real this time) and Prussia, they're last names were Homerighausen. Cool, huh?

 

[skatesindreams]

Susan1, here's one link to Liv Tyler's episode:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OEvosBo_4jA

 

[smurfy]

DNA testing - do it. I adminster 9 tests with 2 more coming. It has provided new information and clues for further research.
For location - I think the databases are not there yet for specificity - very general. I am mostly Irish, with a little german, english and scottish. My ancestry DNA came out 16% Scandinavian - so viking, rest is mostly Irish/british isles, and then 'Western Europe' for about 6% which is in range - which covers France/Germany and surrounding areas. Also ancestry percentages have wide ranges. As more people test, I believe it will get more specific.
I know where some of my Irish is from (Leitrim, Cork and Carlow), but some I do not. But by reviewing many of my dna matches - that I yet do not know how they match are from the same couple of counties over and over again (especially Cavan - but my ancestors from Leitrim are from an area that borders Cavan).

Susan1 - your french/german - could that be the Alsace/Lorraine region? The WDYTA episode with JK Rowling ( the UK version, not the watered down US version) - she had relatives from that region and it was interesting how the ethnicity changed based on the borders.

WDYTA this past season, I saw Noah Wyle, Jessica Biel, Liv Tyler, Julie Bowen, Jennifer Grey, Courtney Cox, Smokey Robinson this past season. My cable dvr picked them up. They were on sunday nights, but the Liv Tyler was on a Monday.
I highly recommend the UK version - check out Jerry Springer - heartbreaking! And Patrick Stewart!
Alan Cumming's episode is cool - and he wrote a book, autobiographical, but highlights the time of when he was filming the show. One thing from his book that I learned - the producers had done way more research than was used for the show - and all the info was given to Alan in binders. His mother now has it and continues to research.
And ones of people I have never heard of before. The UK versions are longer! One thing I enjoy - when they are doing research within the UK - they show them on the train - and theirs homes seem more normal, not as posh as some of the americans. Seems more relatable in a way.

 

[Susan1]

Susan1 - your french/german - could that be the Alsace/Lorraine region? The WDYTA episode with JK Rowling ( the UK version, not the watered down US version) - she had relatives from that region and it was interesting how the ethnicity changed based on the borders.

WDYTA this past season, I saw Noah Wyle, Jessica Biel, Liv Tyler, Julie Bowen, Jennifer Grey, Courtney Cox, Smokey Robinson this past season. My cable dvr picked them up. They were on sunday nights, but the Liv Tyler was on a Monday.

Holy Moley! You are brilliant!!!! I was just coming on here to p.s. this - Alsace Lorain (Lorraine) website - "One might wonder WHY these people living in France had German surnames and lived in towns and villages with German names. Well, the truth is, as stated above, this area of Europe had always been inhabited by people of Germanic origin. The fact that the area changed hands several times between France and Germany didn't change the fact that the inhabitants were GERMANS!"

So................they really were German but thought they were born in France? Ow, my head!!!!! I wouldn't actually have French DNA then?

(here I am again, doing this stuff. I haven't even taken a shower yet!)

And, o.k. I did see all of the WDYTYA's except Liv Tyler. I don't know why my DVR didn't pick up the Monday one. It does that for other programs that deviate from what I set. Like if a "first run" is on at 9 instead of 10. Oh well.

I wish I had somebody in my family who was interested in this stuff. Anybody know any Bauers from Cincinnati? Because..... I found a death of Josephine Bauer Wiese, father Michael (born in Alsace Lorain), who would have been born a year before the oldest one that was sent to the orphanage. Doesn't have a mother's name. Josephine was the name of the mother who died in childbirth. Did he keep the oldest daughter and get rid of the other four? She would have been 13. Is that weird? I have chills.

Every spring, it drags me back in. Just like in The Godfather???? Getting giddy.....................................