Tuesday, February 21, 2012

See More of your Census Citation [Tuesday’s Tip]

One of the differences I noticed when I upgraded from Family Tree Maker 2010 to Family Tree Maker 2012 is that hovering over a source citation didn’t tell me as much as it used to – at least for census citations that I had let Family Tree Maker create after the upgrade.
Before:
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After:
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You’ll notice that the individual’s name was listed in the “before” example, but not in the “after” example.

To make things even more confusing, census citations generated in my Ancestry Member Tree and subsequently synched to Family Tree Maker showed the additional information.  What’s up with that?

This week, I finally figured it out!

Apparently the default for a certain little checkbox on the citation screen was changed between Family Tree Maker 2010 and 2012.  It used to default to Checked; now it defaults to Unchecked.
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By checking this checkbox, I can now see the Citation Detail and the Citation Text when I hover over a citation.  This is very helpful for me.

I have issues with the lack of completeness in the auto-generated source citations from US Census records, but that’s for another day.  This is a Tip, not a Complaint.

Sunday, February 19, 2012

City Directories Aren’t Just for City Folk

When I listen to podcasts about genealogy, I often hear people mentioning finding good clues in city directories.  In my mind, I always imagined New York City, Boston, Philadelphia, and maybe Dallas and Houston.  But my ancestors were farmers.  They didn’t live in big cities like that.  I figured I was out of luck.

But ancestry.com recently posted enhanced indexes of city directories, so I thought I’d give them a look.  Much to my delight, I found that Texas was one of the states included – and specifically there were directories for Abilene, Waco, and San Antonio, all cities where some of my direct ancestors have lived.

I checked for Collins surname in the Abilene city directories. I was surprised to find my great grandfather Albert Buell Collins in several (1909, 1914, 1917, 1919, 1921, 1924, 1926) directories. The surprise came because he was a farmer. Furthermore, the 1910 US Census showed him with his family in Roby, 50 miles away. My grandfather’s memoirs mentioned moving to Abilene so that his older brother could attend high school, but the dates weren’t mentioned. These directories help flesh out that information. 

There were several Collins in these directories, some known relatives.  It makes me wonder if there are any other relatives lurking there.
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The Abilene entries sent me on successful tangents to San Antonio, Dallas, and Houston where family members moved as they established their own careers.

I also checked out Lester Loyd Edmonds in the Waco city directories.  I found him in the 1923, 1926, 1928, 1930, 1932, and 1934 directories.  I found one new address for him, plus plenty of evidence of his employment at Piggly Wiggly Stores.  It also provided some tips for his sister Blanche and her husband James Blaine Gilmore.  I’d really like to find and get in touch with her descendants.

Oh, and the advertisements are a hoot, too.  Check out this one from the 1919 Waco directory:
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Note the 2-digit phone number!

Thursday, February 16, 2012

“Gone to Texas” Letters [Thankful Thursday]

Anne Chappell’s Genealogy Pages were last modified in 2000.  How much value could they be?  But I found some priceless letters transcribed there.

Somewhere in the 1870s, several families from Fayette and Tuscaloosa counties in Alabama moved to Hill County, Texas, to seek the promise of the rich soil and open lands.  My great grandfather, Augustus Newell Edmonds, and his family were in the bunch.  Other surnames include Stanley, Richards, and Chappell.

On Anne Chappell’s web pages, I found a transcription of numerous letters back and forth between Texas and Alabama, dated from 1881 through 1977.  According to a heading on the web page,  the letters were saved by Eliza Hester Johns Stanley and her daughters, Missouri McKinney Stanley Chappell and Cornelia Josephine Stanley Chappell, and have been passed down for two more generations.

In addition to being Chappell family treasures, these letters provide insight into life in Central Texas in the late 1880s.  To me, they provide glimpses of my great grandfather, as he and his wife are among the people mentioned:

C. McDuffs family is all well.  gus Emmons is on the mend.  R. D. & B. E. Standley and folks is all well.   uncle jess Ben is complaining Some.
we went to gus Edmonds tuesday, to Tom's tuesday night, friday went to Ben's and Saturday we taken Rufe's wagon and mares and colts and Ben's Willie and went to Col's by ourselves.
pusses Liza called Bet Edmonds Narce all the time.

Elizabeth Shown Mills talks about the importance of the FAN club (Friends, Acquaintances, and Neighbors).  These letters highlight how intertwined the families were.

Sunday, February 5, 2012

Cousin Bait

I will readily admit that a nice side benefit of this blog is that it provides a point of contact for unknown cousins.  A couple of distant cousins have already found me through this blog, and others have found me through ancestry.com.  It is always exciting to get a notice that a distant relative has found an entry on my tree and wants to connect.

Today, I’m putting it out there for people to Google.  Here is a lengthy list of direct-line ancestors in my research family tree.  Hopefully someone will find a name that they care about when they search, and we’ll be able to connect and exchange information.

Ruth Antle (1751-1842) [Virginia, North Carolina, Kentucky]
Joel Appling (1752-1838) [Virginia, Georgia]
John Appling (1798-1840) [Georgia]
Mary Frances Appling (1823-1880) [Georgia, Alabama]
Thomas Appling (1726-1801) [Virginia, Georgia]
Minerva Adeline Barrett (1842-1870) [South Carolina, Texas]
Oliver Barrett (1810-1877) [South Carolina, Texas]
Winifred Buckner (1751-1840) [Virginia, Georgia]
Mary M Childers (1837-1909) [Georgia, Alabama, Texas]
Albert Buell Collins (1862-1942) [Kentucky, Texas]
Samuel Collins (-1834) [Virginia, Kentucky]
Thomas Alexander Collins (1824-1892) [Kentucky]
Amanda H Davis (1861-1902) [Alabama, Texas]
Thomas Davis (1811-) [South Carolina, Alabama]
William T Davis (1831-1863) [Alabama]
Augustus Newell Edmonds (1846-1920) [Alabama, Texas, Oklahoma]
John Edmonds (1716-) [Wales, Virginia]
John Edmonds (1746-1830) [Virginia, Georgia]
William A Edmonds (1814-1902) [Georgia, Alabama]
Susan Martha Ellis (1838-1912) [Kentucky]
Lemuel Green (1814-1852) [South Carolina]
Susan Emma Green (1867-1953) [Texas, Arkansas, Colorado]
William Pinkney Green (1837-1907) [South Carolina, Texas]
Leo Edward Habich (1903-1976) [Kentucky]
Leopold Habich (1847-1920) [Germany, Kentucky]
Mary Hamner (1755-) [Georgia]
Nancy Harper (1821-) [North Carolina, Tennessee]
Buford Knight (1801-1850) [Kentucky]
Talitha Jane Knight (1827-1885) [Kentucky]
Agnes Maxwell (1795-) [Virginia]
David McCoy (1742-1822) [Scotland, South Carolina]
Susan Emma McCoy (1814-1883) [South Carolina, Texas]
Mary Polly McElroy (-) [Georgia]
John McElvain (1874-) [Kentucky]
Mamie Violet McElvain (1899-1979) [Kentucky]
Alexander McKinnon (1818-) [North Carolina, Tennessee]
Amanda Bell McKinnon (1858-1931) [Tennessee, Texas]
Elihu Melton (1798-1885) [North Carolina, Georgia, Alabama]
Emily Jane Melton (1835-1910) [Alabama, Texas]
Nancy Emily Murrah (1821-1893) []
Adeline Neal (1821-) [Kentucky]
Kemp H Parker (1815-) [North Carolina, Tennessee]
Kemp Hawkins Parker (1853-1928) [Tennessee, Texas]
Lula Mae Parker (1894-1928) [Tennessee, Texas]
Amanda Jane Perryman (1860-1945) [Kentucky, Texas]
George Washington Perryman (1804-1878) [North Carolina, Kentucky]
William Perryman (1760-1854) [Maryland, North Carolina]
Elizabeth Price (1841-1913) [Kentucky]
Harvey Price (1819-) [Kentucky]
Edward Prince (1803-) [South Carolina, Alabama, Texas]
James Nathaniel Prince (1860-1902) [Texas]
John W Prince (1837-1921) [Alabama, Texas]
Sarah Simmons Richards (1807-1898) [Georgia, Alabama]
Sarah Jane Rippetoe (1808-1886) [Kentucky]
William Rippetoe (1781-1863) [North Carolina, Kentucky]
William Rippetoe (1748-1839) [Virginia, North Carolina, Kentucky]
Nancy Sherrill (1805-) [Tennessee]
David Standley (1797-) [Tennessee]
Louisa Standley (1828-) [Tennessee]
Elizabeth Steitz (1859-1934) [Germany, Kentucky]
James C Swinney (1818-1887) [Kentucky]
Thomas Gilbert Swinney (1900-1979) [Kentucky]
Thomas Wilson Swinney (1865-1940) [Kentucky]
Emily Vaughan (1816-1864) [South Carolina]
Cora Vincent (1876-) [Kentucky]
John H Vincent (1844-1917) [Kentucky]
Elizabeth Vinson (1787-1844) [North Carolina, Kentucky]
Hallie B Wellman (1875-1907) [Kentucky]
John Wellman (1839-) [Kentucky]
Anna Pearl Woods (1900-1997) [Kentucky]