Sunday, February 10, 2008
Tennessee Crossroads
If you're interested in Tennessee history, crafts, artisans and places, there's a TV show that might interest you. I TIVO this show and really enjoy it. It's called Tennessee Crossroads and is shown on our local PBS station. Each show has three or four segments covering places, people or things of interest in Tennessee. If you're not in Tennessee, you can watch some of the segments online here: http://www.wnpt.net/crossroads/index.html (Click on "all episodes for last 12 months) If you ARE in Tennessee, I recommend you find it on your local station and catch ALL the episodes.
Finding Living Individuals on the Net
I read a great suggestion, that hadn't occured to me, in a Kim Komando newsletter (technology interest newsletter - http://www.komando.com/ ).
We lose touch over time with old friends, and would like to find them. I've used the usual phone search sites and alumni sites, but the suggestion in the newsletter was to place the full name and location of the person you'd like to find in your blog or online web page. The reasoning behind this is that people often "Google" themselves, and content on blogs is searched by search engines, including Google. I'm going to try it right now, and will let you know if it ever brings results. My husband was a military brat and moved often as a child. He developed few long term friendships because of the moves. He attended Biloxi High School his junior year (1966) and Pensacola High School his senior year (1967). He had a very good friend that I'd like to find for him. His friend was Norman E. Clarke. He played the accordian (it was the 60's!!). I'll type his name in other ways to help any search engine: Norman Clarke, Norman Clark.
Well, that's the 21st century version of a note in a bottle.....
We lose touch over time with old friends, and would like to find them. I've used the usual phone search sites and alumni sites, but the suggestion in the newsletter was to place the full name and location of the person you'd like to find in your blog or online web page. The reasoning behind this is that people often "Google" themselves, and content on blogs is searched by search engines, including Google. I'm going to try it right now, and will let you know if it ever brings results. My husband was a military brat and moved often as a child. He developed few long term friendships because of the moves. He attended Biloxi High School his junior year (1966) and Pensacola High School his senior year (1967). He had a very good friend that I'd like to find for him. His friend was Norman E. Clarke. He played the accordian (it was the 60's!!). I'll type his name in other ways to help any search engine: Norman Clarke, Norman Clark.
Well, that's the 21st century version of a note in a bottle.....
Saturday, February 9, 2008
Fun Things I Found This Week
I'm descended from Thomas Chittenden (1729-1797), the first Governor of Vermont. His daughter Beulah (1764 - 1821) married Elijah Galusha (1757 - 1783). Elijah Galusha was a captain in the Revolutionary War. I found a document today that mentioned both, Thomas Chittenden and Elijah Galusha. It was my most interesting find on Footnote.com since joining the pay site. I've also found revolutionary pay records for another ancestor, Garrett Gray, on the site. These are among the records that Footnote.com has copied from the National Archives. The son of Elijah Galusha and Beulah Chittenden Galusha was Elijah Galusha (1780 - 1854). This Elijah Galusha provided the supplies needed by the Lewis and Clark expedition. The supply records for this event are listed on a free site ( http://www.lewis-clark.org/content/content-channel.asp?ChannelID=56 ) which shows excerpts from the journal kept by Lewis and Clark.
Another ancestor is found in online records. He is Jacob Towne. He is the son of William Towne. Two of the daughters of William Towne (and sisters to Jacob) were Rebecca Towne Nurse and Mary Towne Estey. Those names should be familiar to researchers, as two of the women who were hanged for being witches in Salem Massachusetts in 1692. Jacob appears in various court records of the time.
Those are the easier ancestors to trace. Most of the others were farmers, brick layers and barrel makers (among other occupations). They were born, married, had children (a BUNCH of children), divorced (one or two) and died without much paper work being generated. I've seen Civil War era letters written by a great great grandfather to two of his sons who had been captured during the civil war; I've seen property records tellling me that the property was inherited from a deceased father and brother; I've seen very few wills; no diaries. I want to know the "whys" and the "whats". Where was a family during the two missing consecutive censuses? Where were they between Virginia and kentucky? Why did they leave South Carolina? Why did they leave New Jersey?
ALL my family lines have been in this country since the 1600's or early 1700's. I started genealogy (in 1977) with the goal of tracing all my lines back to their arrival in this country. That's a whole lot harder than it sounded when I started. I've travelled to courthouses all over the south and up and down the east coast. I've written letters. I've met new "cousins" over the years by letter and by phone. I've joined historical societies. I really want know more about these people than names and dates. My cousin emailed me the other day and asked me if my daughter was still afraid she'd inherited "the nose" (long and pointed) from our family. That was what he remembered about his last meeting with her. I told him that the college age daughter was now more worried that she'd inherited the family "rear end"!!! What did I get from all these people? Did I get more from the one who was forced to enter a mental institution than from the one who had thirteen children and listed herself as a "weaver"?
I'm still looking. I'm still learning. My daughter is becoming interested and is taking a class with me at Samford this summer. How much fun is that!!! I'm teaching a class this week on "Getting Started in Genealogy" for our Genealogical Society. I think passing on our knowledge and enthusiasm is important. You're IT. Pass it on!!!
Another ancestor is found in online records. He is Jacob Towne. He is the son of William Towne. Two of the daughters of William Towne (and sisters to Jacob) were Rebecca Towne Nurse and Mary Towne Estey. Those names should be familiar to researchers, as two of the women who were hanged for being witches in Salem Massachusetts in 1692. Jacob appears in various court records of the time.
Those are the easier ancestors to trace. Most of the others were farmers, brick layers and barrel makers (among other occupations). They were born, married, had children (a BUNCH of children), divorced (one or two) and died without much paper work being generated. I've seen Civil War era letters written by a great great grandfather to two of his sons who had been captured during the civil war; I've seen property records tellling me that the property was inherited from a deceased father and brother; I've seen very few wills; no diaries. I want to know the "whys" and the "whats". Where was a family during the two missing consecutive censuses? Where were they between Virginia and kentucky? Why did they leave South Carolina? Why did they leave New Jersey?
ALL my family lines have been in this country since the 1600's or early 1700's. I started genealogy (in 1977) with the goal of tracing all my lines back to their arrival in this country. That's a whole lot harder than it sounded when I started. I've travelled to courthouses all over the south and up and down the east coast. I've written letters. I've met new "cousins" over the years by letter and by phone. I've joined historical societies. I really want know more about these people than names and dates. My cousin emailed me the other day and asked me if my daughter was still afraid she'd inherited "the nose" (long and pointed) from our family. That was what he remembered about his last meeting with her. I told him that the college age daughter was now more worried that she'd inherited the family "rear end"!!! What did I get from all these people? Did I get more from the one who was forced to enter a mental institution than from the one who had thirteen children and listed herself as a "weaver"?
I'm still looking. I'm still learning. My daughter is becoming interested and is taking a class with me at Samford this summer. How much fun is that!!! I'm teaching a class this week on "Getting Started in Genealogy" for our Genealogical Society. I think passing on our knowledge and enthusiasm is important. You're IT. Pass it on!!!
Wednesday, February 6, 2008
Tennessee Genealogical Society 2008 Upcoming Events
These presentations will all be held, either, in the Tennessee Genealogical Society classroom, or next door at the Pickering Center. Address: 7779 Poplar Pike, Germantown, TN.
February 14 7pm: How to Get Started in Genealogy - by me, Debbie Atchley
February 24 3PM Our Trees Your Trees, Using Photoshop Elements to Restore Old Photos - Vince Hughes
March 8 10AM African-American Genealogy Research Workshop
March 13 7PM A repeat of the Using Photoshop Elements to Restore Old Photos Workshop - Vince Hughes
March 30 3PM Using the Internet to Search for Family History Information - Vince Hughes
April 5 - 10AM Membership Meeting with speaker Jerry O Potter, speaking on The Sultana Tragedy: America's Greatest Maritime Disaster
April 10 - 7PM Meet the Author - Dr John Harkins discusses his new book: Historic Shelby County
April 20 - 3PM A History Special - The "Murkin Files" How James Earl Ray was Caught - Vince Hughes
May 3 - 10AM A History Special - Davey Crockett - Speaker Joe N Bone
February 14 7pm: How to Get Started in Genealogy - by me, Debbie Atchley
February 24 3PM Our Trees Your Trees, Using Photoshop Elements to Restore Old Photos - Vince Hughes
March 8 10AM African-American Genealogy Research Workshop
March 13 7PM A repeat of the Using Photoshop Elements to Restore Old Photos Workshop - Vince Hughes
March 30 3PM Using the Internet to Search for Family History Information - Vince Hughes
April 5 - 10AM Membership Meeting with speaker Jerry O Potter, speaking on The Sultana Tragedy: America's Greatest Maritime Disaster
April 10 - 7PM Meet the Author - Dr John Harkins discusses his new book: Historic Shelby County
April 20 - 3PM A History Special - The "Murkin Files" How James Earl Ray was Caught - Vince Hughes
May 3 - 10AM A History Special - Davey Crockett - Speaker Joe N Bone
Natchez Trace Program
In today's Memphis Commercial Appeal:
Trace Presents History Program
Robert Bruce Smith will present the history program "William Johnson: Witness to a Vanished Natchez World" at 11 a.m. Saturday in the Natchez Trace Parkway Visitor Center near Tupelo (Mississippi).
Smith will focus on Johnson's life as a free black barber and diarist living in Natchez during the antebellum period.
The talk is free. The Natchez Trace Parkway Visitor Center is at mile 266, just north of Barnes Crossing.
Trace Presents History Program
Robert Bruce Smith will present the history program "William Johnson: Witness to a Vanished Natchez World" at 11 a.m. Saturday in the Natchez Trace Parkway Visitor Center near Tupelo (Mississippi).
Smith will focus on Johnson's life as a free black barber and diarist living in Natchez during the antebellum period.
The talk is free. The Natchez Trace Parkway Visitor Center is at mile 266, just north of Barnes Crossing.
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