What's more American than... Philadelphia

Today is Independence Day in the United States—better known simply as the Fourth of July. Amidst the parades, cookouts, and fireworks, it’s a day for cherishing the freedoms we enjoy, and remembering the cost of those freedoms.

The spirit of American independence remains alive and well 237 years later in the historic district of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where so much of the Revolutionary groundwork was laid. My husband and I took his parents there in July 2009 to see the USS New Jersey, which my father-in-law served on in World War II. Layers upon layers of history intertwine in those streets. In honor of the of Fourth of July, I thought I’d share a few of my pictures of the historic sights with you.

Independence Hall

Did you know that the Declaration of Independence wasn’t actually written or signed on July 4th? The Continental Congress voted for independence from Great Britain on July 2nd, and the document we now know as the Declaration wasn’t signed until August 2nd. But the wording of it was approved on July 4th—hence our holiday. (1) You can see an image and read a transcript of it on the National Archives’ site, The Charters of Freedom.

The Liberty Bell, with its iconic crack

The Betsy Ross house

A replica of the original Stars & Stripes

Hope you have an enjoyable Fourth of July, wherever this finds you. Happy birthday, America!

--Shelley

(1) “Did You Know…Independence Day Should Actually Be July 2?,” National Archives and Records Administration, press release, 1 June 2005 (http://www.archives.gov/press/press-releases/2005/nr05-83.html : accessed 3 July 2013).

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Getting a GRIP on New England Ancestors in July

Can you believe it’s July already, and we're halfway through the year? Where does the time go?

I’m excited for July, though. I don’t mind hot weather, and I love the long, lingering evenings of summer. I’m also looking forward to something I signed up for on a frosty February morning. Later this month, from July 21-26, I’ll be attending the Genealogical Research Institute of Pittsburgh (GRIP) at LaRoche College for the second time. I had a great experience last year and learned a tremendous amount in the Advanced Research Methods class, taught by Tom Jones. 

Happy students in Tom Jones' class at GRIP 2012 

This year I’m taking Bridging the 1780-1840 Gap: From New England to the Midwest, coordinated by Josh Taylor. Instructors Debra Mieszala, Rick Sayre, Craig Scott, and Paula Stuart-Warren will also be lending their expertise.

I’m eager to take this course because it focuses on one of the most common research problems I encounter: how to trace a family living in Ohio by 1800-1840 back to their origins in New England or New York. This is a tough period to research, due to the scarcity of records and general lack of detail in many records that do exist. I also find the whole topic of migration fascinating: why people chose to leave a settled area for the unknown frontier, how they moved everything they thought they’d need, the routes they traveled, the difficulties they encountered, and how they settled into their new surroundings. Compelling stuff.

In preparation, I’m gathering what I know about my (and my husband’s) migrating northeastern ancestors. So far I’ve assembled three clusters of families in the east that had worked their way west by 1840:

The Barnum Group

• BARNUM—Eli Barnum was born in Litchfield County, Connecticut, lived for few decades in Berkshire County, Massachusetts, and arrived in Portage County, Ohio before 1840.
• BISHOP—Fitch Bishop has been my biggest brick wall for a few years now. He married into the Barnum family and came to Portage County. But where was he from, and who were his parents? Siblings? Anything? 

The Sanborn Group

• SANBORN—Jeremiah Sanborn and his brother, Joseph Sanborn, came from an old New Hampshire family. They ventured to Loudonville in Ashland County, Ohio, before 1840.
• SMITH—Two Smith sisters, Clarissa and Mary Jane, were wives of the above-named Sanborn men. 
• IVES—Moses Ives brought several members of his family from Connecticut to Geauga County, Ohio. 

The Clark Group

• CLARK—George Clark came from Sussex County, New Jersey, to Licking County, Ohio, before 1820. (I’m hoping Josh will talk a little about New Jersey, even though it’s not technically part of New England.)
• DIVERS—Juda or Judy Divers, his wife, came with him from New Jersey.

All of these families probably trekked through Pennsylvania on their way to Ohio. In fact, I pick up the trails of many additional families in Pennsylvania, so I’m glad the course will take a close look at that state as well.

It amazes me, sometimes, to think of the risks these people took. What a sense of adventure they must have had. One thing I can’t help but wonder is why they did it. Why did my ancestors leave essentially everything they knew behind—their homes, their relatives, their friends, their communities—and set out for a completely different life in unsettled territory? Records alone don’t tell me that. Maybe I’ll understand their reasons better after I take this course.

GRIP directors Elissa Scalise Powell and Deborah Deal say there are still a couple of seats left in three courses, so it's not too late to jump in. They’re taught by fantastic instructors: Paula Stuart-Warren (a gem—I’ve taken an intermediate class with her and loved it), Craig Scott (who I swear knows everything about U.S. military records), and John Colletta (who is so much fun to listen to you hardly realize how much you’re learning). If you’d like to find out more, check out the GRIP website at http://www.gripitt.org. I imagine those last few spots will get snapped up pretty quick.

It's fun to meet up with friends like Becky Wiseman in the cafeteria

I know the week at GRIP is going to be a busy one, but I’ll try to post a little about what I’m learning, as time permits. I hope to get some new ideas for solving the puzzles of my northeastern ancestors, and have a good time seeing and making lots of genealogy friends. Let me know if you’ll be there. I can’t wait!

--Shelley

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Finding Ohio War of 1812 Soldiers: Tuesday's Tip

Do you have an male ancestor who was born between 1762-1799, and might have been living in Ohio by 1814? If so, you may want to check the Roster of Ohio Soldiers in the War of 1812 to see if he served in the Ohio Militia during that conflict.

The Roster, compiled by the Adjutant General of Ohio in 1916, is a unique resource for identifying a potential War of 1812 soldier. Required by an act of the state’s General Assembly in 1915, the compilation includes the names of 1759 officers and 24,521 enlisted men.

Militia companies in the War of 1812 were organized by the name of the captain or lieutenant, rather than by a regiment number (as was customary during the Civil War). Most militia units were raised within a particular county, so if you find your ancestor’s name, you might also discover what county he lived in. Or if you know the county but are dealing with a common name, you can see if there's a potential match.

Here’s a sample listing of a unit I'm interested in. This is Capt. William Kendall’s Company, a cavalry unit from Scioto County: (by the way, that’s pronounced “sci” as in “sci-fi”)

Image from: Adjutant General of Ohio, Roster of Ohio Soldiers in the War of 1812
(1916; reprint, Westminster, Maryland: Heritage Books, 2007), p. 148.

The Roster of Ohio Soldiers in the War of 1812 has been reprinted in handy paperback size by Heritage Books. I have it, and like being able to browse through it in print. Most libraries with a large genealogical collection, including main county libraries in Ohio, should have it or the original hardback edition on their shelves. But for those with a subscription, it’s also available as a searchable database on Ancestry.com, with images of every page. It's nice that there are multiple ways to access the information.

Dorene Paul, the Graveyard Rabbit of Sandusky Bay, gave another good tip on finding more about the War of 1812 in Ohio in her recent post, “Battle of Lake Erie Bicentennial,” so I recommend you hop over and read it. And if you’re wondering where I got those birth years of 1762-1799 for the soldiers, I need to give full credit to Family Tree Magazine, which posted this cool graphic on its Facebook page awhile back:

That kind of gets you thinking, doesn’t it? Especially since military records can be fantastic sources of information. Could you have an ancestor who served in the Ohio Militia from 1812-1814? If so, good luck with your search!

--Shelley

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OGS 2013 Conference: Day Two

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What I hope to learn at the FGS 2013 Conference

In a little over two months, I’ll be packing my bags and heading to Ft. Wayne, Indiana, for the FGS 2013 Conference. The Federation of Genealogical Societies has assembled an impressive line-up of speakers and events for this year’s conference, and I’m really looking forward to it. A few weeks ago, in “Why Attend a Genealogy Conference?,” I talked about my reasons for going to conferences, particularly FGS 2013. As the August 21 start date is getting closer, I’m thinking more and more about how I’ll use my time in Ft. Wayne to help my genealogical research. 

First off, I want to learn more about my ancestors. I have to admit that the Genealogy Center at the Allen County Public Library (ACPL) is a huge draw for me. I’ve only been there once, and didn't come close to getting through everything I wanted to do. If you haven’t researched there before, you’re in for a treat. Their collection is amazing—resource books from every state in the U.S. and around the world, a ton of family histories, loads of microfilm, and all the periodicals that make up the PERSI index. It’s all easily accessible and laid out quite logically, so you can quickly get down to work after a short introductory tour. If you have any questions as you go along, the friendly Genealogy Center librarians are right there to help you out.

Getting a tour of the Genealogy Center

Harold Henderson has written a helpful guide to ACPL, Finding Ancestors in Ft. Wayne, that you can download for free on his website, Midwest Roots. Over the next few weeks I plan to scour the ACPL catalogs and databases he describes and come up with a research battle plan. I especially want to spend some time on PERSI (Periodical Source Index) and make a list of articles in genealogical journals, newsletters, and magazines to look at. I’m driving to Ft. Wayne on Monday morning, even though the conference doesn’t start until Wednesday, so I can have extra time in the library to research. The Genealogy Center is staying open until midnight for three nights of the conference, so I’ll probably hang out there some evenings, too.

Of course, once the conference starts, I’ll be spending most of my time in the class sessions. I’ve been pouring over the program schedule and trying to make up my mind about which sessions I want to attend—not an easy task, given that each time period has eight choices! So I’m trying to think about what I’d like to learn. FGS has conveniently broken things into tracks, which helps a lot in this process. Here’s some of the things I hope to learn about, and a small sampling of presentations I’m torn between:

• How to find information (Records, Online Resources, Midwest, and Midwest Repositories tracks)—"Loc.gov: Using Our Nation's Library Online" by Laura Prescott, and “Who, What, Why, When, Where, and How of American Divorce” by Judy Russell
• How to analyze and correlate evidence (Methodology track)— “Trousers, Beds, Tacks & Housekeeping Bills: Problem-Solving with Trivial Details” by Elizabeth Shown Mills, “Tips and Tools for Planning and Tracking Research” by Debbie Parker Wayne, “A Wife, or Rather a Woman: Identifying the Wife of Edward Worthington, Kentucky Pioneer” by Karen Mauer Green (I do love a good case study), and “Organizing Evidence to Overcome Record Shortages” by Thomas W. Jones
• How to track ancestors from one place to another (Immigration/Migration, Transportation, German, European, and British Isles tracks)—“Passenger Arrival Records, Colonial Times to Mid-20^th Century” by John Colletta, “English Parish Registers: How to Access, Use, and Interpret” by Paul Milner, “Methods for Identifying the German Origins of American Immigrants” by Michael Lacopo, and “Whiskey, Brandy, and Family Migration” by J. Mark Lowe (doesn’t that sound like fun?)
• How to use some new tools (Technology and Genetics tracks)—“Going Nuclear: DNA Discoveries to Trace All Lines of Descent” by Debbie Wayne Parker, and "Evernote for Every Genealogist" by Cyndi Ingle Howells 
• How to write more effectively (Writing, Speaking, and Publishing track)—“Creating Family Histories for Future Generations” by Tom Jones, and "Family History Writing Made Easier: Cloud-based Tools Every Genealogist Can Use" by Lisa Alzo

Whew--and I’ve just scratched the surface! I haven’t even mentioned the Military, African American, Ethnic Origins, NARA/Federal, and Religious Communities tracks, or any of the society-oriented tracks. I can see I’ve got my work cut out for me trying to reach some decisions between now and the third week of August. Take a look at the daily program schedule for yourself, and you’ll see what I mean.

The FGS 2013 Conference will be held at the Grand Wayne Convention Center from Wednesday-Saturday, August 21-24. If you haven’t registered yet, now is the perfect time. Special early bird discounts are in effect until July 1st. You’ll save $50 on the full conference and $20 on a single day if you sign up by then. Visit the conference website at https://www.fgsconference.org to register.

Oh, and be sure to subscribe to the FGS Conference Blog for helpful tips and recommendations. It’s the best way to stay up to date and find out about things, like Paula Stuart-Warren’s recent post, “The syllabus is the key to the presentation.” Scroll through the index to find lots of good stuff.

But enough about me. What do you hope to learn at FGS 2013?

--Shelley

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Joseph Haven Sanborn, Loudonville, Ohio

Loudonville Cemetery is the final resting place of many members of the Sanborn family, who migrated to Loudonville, Ohio from New Hampshire before 1840. This stately gravestone marks the burial place of Joseph Haven Sanborn, born 13 January 1831 in Plymouth, New Hampshire, to parents Jeremiah B. Sanborn and Clarissa (Smith) Sanborn. Joseph was a railroad ticket agent for many years. He died in Loudonville, in Ashland County, on 24 August 1895, at the age of 64.

The marker, which bears the inscription "Blessed are the Dead, who die in the Lord," honors Joseph’s wife and daughter as well. Clarissa Annah “Clara” Smith (who usually went by Clara, possibly to avoid confusion with her mother-in-law) was born 6 January 1838 in Loudonville. She outlived her husband by many years, until 30 December 1913. The couple’s little daughter, Laura Clarissa Sanborn, was born 22 August 1870 and lived only five months, dying on 25 January 1871. Like her father and mother, she has her own little marker showing her actual location in the family plot.

Joseph H. and Clara Sanborn had three other children, who all lived to adulthood: Haven Levant Sanborn, Mary Asenath Sanborn, and Gilman Stanton Sanborn. None of them are buried in Ashland County.

Loudonville Cemetery sits on a hill not far from the center of town, and is well tended. It’s a pleasant spot in which to reflect on some of my husband’s early Ohio ancestors on a summer day.

--Shelley

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