I can't remember the last time I was so eager to use a new website/service. Was it Gmail? Anyway, tomorrow CastleGarden.org opens up and I can't wait to see what they're going to do. I hope it will be similar to the Ellis Island Passenger Arrivals site, which I've only played around with (because all of my ancestors immigrated before 1892).
Even if I don't find any new information, this site has been long overdue for the genealogy community. Yes, there are books about New York passenger arrivals, but it can be a chore to search a paper index for every conceivable misspelling of a name. Ancestry.com has done a great job with their immigration database, especially with the New York arrivals having a soundex search and images of the passenger lists, but their subscriptions are a little pricey and that database is not part of AncestryPlus in libraries.
[Tag: genealogy]
Sunday, July 31, 2005
Friday, July 29, 2005
Film review: 1819 Census of Mecklenburg-Schwerin
I ordered this film nearly a year ago to see what I could find on the BULL and SCHUKNECHT families in the town of Finkenthal. Now, after having looked at three reels of film for the Lutheran records of Altkalen (where Finkenthal residents attended church), I know that the 1819 census records are actually more useful than I realized at the time. What I found is that the 1819 census is unlike any contemporary American census record that I've seen. The form is extremely detailed with the names of every inhabitant in a household, their dates and places of birth, place of baptism, occupation, length of residence and religion. These details may seem redundant with the availability of the Altkalen church records, but it turns out that the church records are less detailed and ordering the census records really was necessary.
The 1819 census lists incorrect dates of birth for most of the BULL family, however the dates for the BULL children were close enough to what was listed in the church records that it's easy to see what mistakes were made. The census proves its worth when it comes to the parents of the BULL children, though. The Altkalen marriage record for Joachim Christian BULL and Catharina Maria VATIEN (or VATH) does not list their ages or dates of birth. Without that information (or their parents' names), it would be impossible to extend our genealogy without some other record to provide a clue. The census lists Joachim's date of birth as February 10, 1761, place of birth as Finkenthal and place of baptism as Altkalen. There was no 1761 BULL baptism, but on January 17, 1762, a Joachim BULL of Finkenthal was baptized in Altkalen. To me, this would seem to be our man and I'd go even further to suggest that his date of birth was probably January 10, 1762, noting that the census was close on the month and year and probably had the day close, if not correct. Catharina Maria (VATIEN) BULL was listed as having been born on May 6, 1762, on the census form. At this time, that date is not an issue because the census also noted that she was born and baptized in Brudersdorf, a town less than 15 kilometers northeast of Altkalen. I'll have to order the Brudersdorf church records to sort out her actual date of birth and the names of her parents.
I was unlucky with the SCHUKNECHT family — they weren't in Finkenthal in 1819 — but Dorothea SCHUKNECHT, likely the woman that married Michael BULL in 1820, was listed as a servant and having been baptized in Groß Methling. Like the Brudersdorf church records, the Groß Methling records are for another day.
Anyone conducting research in Mecklenburg-Schwerin should seriously consider ordering the 1819 census for the particular town of their interest. The census may only compliment your research of church records, but there's also a chance it could provide new clues. This particular reel of film — at least the section with the enumerations of Finkenthal, Schlutow and Stubbendorf — was very easy to read and made nice copies.
Title: Volkszählungslisten 1819
Film number: 0068882
Film quality: 9/10
[Tags: genealogy, Bull, Schuknecht, Vath]
The 1819 census lists incorrect dates of birth for most of the BULL family, however the dates for the BULL children were close enough to what was listed in the church records that it's easy to see what mistakes were made. The census proves its worth when it comes to the parents of the BULL children, though. The Altkalen marriage record for Joachim Christian BULL and Catharina Maria VATIEN (or VATH) does not list their ages or dates of birth. Without that information (or their parents' names), it would be impossible to extend our genealogy without some other record to provide a clue. The census lists Joachim's date of birth as February 10, 1761, place of birth as Finkenthal and place of baptism as Altkalen. There was no 1761 BULL baptism, but on January 17, 1762, a Joachim BULL of Finkenthal was baptized in Altkalen. To me, this would seem to be our man and I'd go even further to suggest that his date of birth was probably January 10, 1762, noting that the census was close on the month and year and probably had the day close, if not correct. Catharina Maria (VATIEN) BULL was listed as having been born on May 6, 1762, on the census form. At this time, that date is not an issue because the census also noted that she was born and baptized in Brudersdorf, a town less than 15 kilometers northeast of Altkalen. I'll have to order the Brudersdorf church records to sort out her actual date of birth and the names of her parents.
I was unlucky with the SCHUKNECHT family — they weren't in Finkenthal in 1819 — but Dorothea SCHUKNECHT, likely the woman that married Michael BULL in 1820, was listed as a servant and having been baptized in Groß Methling. Like the Brudersdorf church records, the Groß Methling records are for another day.
Anyone conducting research in Mecklenburg-Schwerin should seriously consider ordering the 1819 census for the particular town of their interest. The census may only compliment your research of church records, but there's also a chance it could provide new clues. This particular reel of film — at least the section with the enumerations of Finkenthal, Schlutow and Stubbendorf — was very easy to read and made nice copies.
Title: Volkszählungslisten 1819
Film number: 0068882
Film quality: 9/10
[Tags: genealogy, Bull, Schuknecht, Vath]
#1 - 747 Hunt giant pumpkin
June 18th
Seed started.
June 25th
Transplanted.
July 4th
July 20th
August 11th
This plant is so far the biggest of the bunch, with massive leaves and vines probably 15' to 20' at the widest point. We'll have to use a tape measure next time to be more accurate.
[Tag: giant pumpkin]
Seed started.
June 25th
Transplanted.
July 4th
July 20th
August 11th
This plant is so far the biggest of the bunch, with massive leaves and vines probably 15' to 20' at the widest point. We'll have to use a tape measure next time to be more accurate.
[Tag: giant pumpkin]
#2 - 403 Clark giant pumpkin
June 18th
Seed started.
June 25th
Transplanted.
July 4th
July 20th
August 11th
For some reason, this plant has been struggling of late. It has the smallest set of vines, has a lighter green color to the leaves and a softer texture than the others.
[Tag: giant pumpkin]
Seed started.
June 25th
Transplanted.
July 4th
July 20th
August 11th
For some reason, this plant has been struggling of late. It has the smallest set of vines, has a lighter green color to the leaves and a softer texture than the others.
[Tag: giant pumpkin]
Thursday, July 28, 2005
#3 - 383 Clark giant pumpkin (white)
June 18th
Seed started.
June 25th
Transplanted.
July 4th
July 20th
August 11th
This plant is the second smallest of the group, but is quite healthy and is threatening to encroach upon nearby tomatoes that seemed a safe distance away when the pumpkin was transplanted.
[Tag: giant pumpkin]
Seed started.
June 25th
Transplanted.
July 4th
July 20th
August 11th
This plant is the second smallest of the group, but is quite healthy and is threatening to encroach upon nearby tomatoes that seemed a safe distance away when the pumpkin was transplanted.
[Tag: giant pumpkin]
#4 - 906 Clark giant pumpkin
June 18th
Seed started.
June 25th
Transplanted.
August 7th
This plant has probably had the most trouble of the five, but recently has been doing very well. It's over ten feet at its widest point.
August 14th
Though not at big as some of the other giant pumpkins — understandable considering its early trouble -- the vines on this plant are growing noticeably from day to day. I'd say this plant is now the third largest of the five and the vines are going to test the limits of space presented by the rabbit fence around the garden.
[Tag: giant pumpkin]
Seed started.
June 25th
Transplanted.
August 7th
This plant has probably had the most trouble of the five, but recently has been doing very well. It's over ten feet at its widest point.
August 14th
Though not at big as some of the other giant pumpkins — understandable considering its early trouble -- the vines on this plant are growing noticeably from day to day. I'd say this plant is now the third largest of the five and the vines are going to test the limits of space presented by the rabbit fence around the garden.
[Tag: giant pumpkin]
#5 - 281 Jepsen giant pumpkin
June 18th
Seed started.
June 25th
Transplanted.
July 4th
July 20th
August 11th
The plant is doing very well, though some of the older leaves show some insect damage. At its widest point, the vines are probably 15' to 18'.
[Tag: giant pumpkin]
Seed started.
June 25th
Transplanted.
July 4th
July 20th
August 11th
The plant is doing very well, though some of the older leaves show some insect damage. At its widest point, the vines are probably 15' to 18'.
[Tag: giant pumpkin]
Tuesday, July 26, 2005
Progress on Willis Hall?
Saturday, July 16, 2005
Updates sent by email
I have added a link to the blog (see the right side of the screen) that will allow updates to be sent by email, rather than using the RSS feed in a news aggregator. Some may prefer this method of receiving news, but I'm very happy with RSS and Bloglines.
This email subscription service appears to work fine. If anyone has a problem, please contact me.
An aspect of this service that I don't like is that only a portion of a post is sent in the email. To read an entire post, you will have to click on a link in the email that will bring you to the blog. This isn't a major issue, but the email gives no indication of the message being incomplete.
This email subscription service appears to work fine. If anyone has a problem, please contact me.
An aspect of this service that I don't like is that only a portion of a post is sent in the email. To read an entire post, you will have to click on a link in the email that will bring you to the blog. This isn't a major issue, but the email gives no indication of the message being incomplete.
Very good Kinser news?
I recently received a copy of Michael KINSER's 1819 will from Wythe County, Virginia, and a Mary KINSLER was named as one of Michael's daughters. I'm sure that was a misspelling of KENSLER, as in the Mary KINSER that married Jacob KENSLER in 1810.
Better yet, the volunteer that obtained this copy for me turned out to be a KINSER descendant herself! She informed me that there is a KINSER book worth checking out and I've since tracked down a copy. This book may be the source I've been looking for; I've suspected for some time that all of the KINSER family information online came from a book, which no one previously could name. With this book, I should finally be able to use some of the local resources (at the excellent St. Louis County Library). The problem I had been running into is that the Pennsylvania and Virginia books had KINSER information which others obviously have used, but did not link the older generations to the point at which I had been stuck (circa 1800). This "new" book should make the connection.
Michael KINSER was a veteran of the Revolutionary War, the second such ancestor I've found so far. (The other being Charles HOWARD.) Michael's experience in the war was not good, as evidenced by the injuries he and his wife described in pension claims. Michael was also caught by the British.
[Tags: genealogy, Howard, Kensler, Kinser]
Better yet, the volunteer that obtained this copy for me turned out to be a KINSER descendant herself! She informed me that there is a KINSER book worth checking out and I've since tracked down a copy. This book may be the source I've been looking for; I've suspected for some time that all of the KINSER family information online came from a book, which no one previously could name. With this book, I should finally be able to use some of the local resources (at the excellent St. Louis County Library). The problem I had been running into is that the Pennsylvania and Virginia books had KINSER information which others obviously have used, but did not link the older generations to the point at which I had been stuck (circa 1800). This "new" book should make the connection.
Michael KINSER was a veteran of the Revolutionary War, the second such ancestor I've found so far. (The other being Charles HOWARD.) Michael's experience in the war was not good, as evidenced by the injuries he and his wife described in pension claims. Michael was also caught by the British.
[Tags: genealogy, Howard, Kensler, Kinser]
Disappointing church records
After having good luck with various records from Catholic and Lutheran churches in Germany, I've come across two parishes whose records leave a lot to be desired. The Lutheran churches in Bockhorst and Borgholzhausen have some sections in which the details are what one would hope to find, but most of the pre-1800 records do not list an individual's date of birth or age, the names of their parents, or even lesser details such as a house number or father's occupation. This is primarily a problem with marriage records. The lack of these details makes it difficult to determine the names of parents and extend the genealogy.
By ordering additional microfilm (death/burial records) I hope to be able to learn an individual's age at death and then see if a baptism record matches up. This may work with the WIEDEY family, but there were so many KOCH families that I don't know if it will be possible. The only bit of hope with the KOCH family is that it appears they were in the town of Berghausen for many years, whereas the other families by the same name were scattered about in nearby towns.
I will probably be able to finish this phase of KOCH and WIEDEY research this year.
[Tags: genealogy, Koch, Wiedey]
By ordering additional microfilm (death/burial records) I hope to be able to learn an individual's age at death and then see if a baptism record matches up. This may work with the WIEDEY family, but there were so many KOCH families that I don't know if it will be possible. The only bit of hope with the KOCH family is that it appears they were in the town of Berghausen for many years, whereas the other families by the same name were scattered about in nearby towns.
I will probably be able to finish this phase of KOCH and WIEDEY research this year.
[Tags: genealogy, Koch, Wiedey]
Tuesday, July 05, 2005
Sunday, July 03, 2005
Ordering online photos
I thought it would be pretty cool to take digital photos and scans on a memory card to a store that shall remain nameless and have photos printed. I should have realized, though, that it wasn't worth the hassle. The store stores (yes, plural) had constant problems keeping their machines operable and I never was able to judge their quality. Instead, I had to use, and came to like, the Kodak machines* which did the same thing for a few cents more. The quality was excellent.
* I had the "pleasure" of using a few different Kodak machines because, again, maintenance was an issue with this chain of stores, forcing travel around the area looking for one that worked.
Finally fed up of this runaround, it was time to test ordering photos online. So far, only KodakGallery has been used. Considering the quality, ease of use and frequent special pricing, I don't know that it's necessary to order from another company, though I have read of some insanely cheap offers that may be too good to pass up.
* I had the "pleasure" of using a few different Kodak machines because, again, maintenance was an issue with this chain of stores, forcing travel around the area looking for one that worked.
Finally fed up of this runaround, it was time to test ordering photos online. So far, only KodakGallery has been used. Considering the quality, ease of use and frequent special pricing, I don't know that it's necessary to order from another company, though I have read of some insanely cheap offers that may be too good to pass up.
Here come the giant pumpkins
So we decided this year to try and grow some huge pumpkins, primarily at the farm. Generous folks at BigPumpkins.com gave me some free seed this past winter.
The seed was started late (around June 18th), so I don't know if we'll be able to reach the maximum potential by Halloween. But so far, so good. The seedlings were transplanted on June 25th and have been growing well, though there is a little leaf damage on the plant at home. I hope this isn't serious because that seed (#4) came from the largest parent.
The seeds are as follows (numbers = weight in lbs., the name is of the grower):
[Tag: giant pumpkin]
The seed was started late (around June 18th), so I don't know if we'll be able to reach the maximum potential by Halloween. But so far, so good. The seedlings were transplanted on June 25th and have been growing well, though there is a little leaf damage on the plant at home. I hope this isn't serious because that seed (#4) came from the largest parent.
The seeds are as follows (numbers = weight in lbs., the name is of the grower):
- 747 Hunt
- 403 Clark
- 383 Clark (white)
- 906 Clark
- 281 Jepsen
[Tag: giant pumpkin]
German migration
I went to the June 25th discussion, "Uprooted or Transplanted? Patterns of German Immigration to Missouri," by Dr. Kamphoefner at the St. Louis County Library and left a little disappointed. Had I attended this kind of talk a few years ago I probably would have been excited and energized by his facts, but at this point I know where most of our Germans came from and he offered me little to hunt for new clues. It sure as heck didn't help with the elusive EBERT, HOLTERMANN, HUHN and LODENKAMPER families. I hope that doesn't come across as arrogant. It's not like I was there for a private consultation and he had to speak from his experience and explain the big picture to the audience, which was quite large...maybe 175 to 200. The talk was also just an hour, which was and wasn't a bad thing. I had anticipated longer, but the extra time allowed me to head upstairs to Special Collections for research. I would recommend this speaker to others, though, especially if you are new to genealogy and German research.
The surprise of the talk was that Dr. Kamphoefner was from New Melle and mentioned several names I'm familiar with from St. Charles County research. He also noted how his hometown was founded by those from Melle, Germany. This general area was the home to several of our ancestral families and it was good to hear someone speak of this. I was disappointed that Dr. Kamphoefner did not mention Buer or its connection to St. Charles City and County (opting instead to cite Menslage), but I later concluded that he may have generalized a bit and viewed the emigrants of Buer and Melle to be pretty much the same considering the proximity of the German towns.
[Tags: genealogy, Ebert, Holtermann, Huhn, Lodenkamper]
The surprise of the talk was that Dr. Kamphoefner was from New Melle and mentioned several names I'm familiar with from St. Charles County research. He also noted how his hometown was founded by those from Melle, Germany. This general area was the home to several of our ancestral families and it was good to hear someone speak of this. I was disappointed that Dr. Kamphoefner did not mention Buer or its connection to St. Charles City and County (opting instead to cite Menslage), but I later concluded that he may have generalized a bit and viewed the emigrants of Buer and Melle to be pretty much the same considering the proximity of the German towns.
[Tags: genealogy, Ebert, Holtermann, Huhn, Lodenkamper]
Friday, July 01, 2005
"Roots"
I was too young to know what a big deal Roots (book, TV) originally was, but I'd heard a little about it. Since the genealogy/history angle appealed to me, and we did have some Southern ancestors, I taped and watched most of the mini-series when it was on one of the cable channels last year. It was OK. Now, to read this article....yikes. (Google)
[Tag: genealogy]
[Tag: genealogy]
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)