Are There Ancestors from Scotland in Your Tree?

Today I was wandering around online, looking to see if I could find information on a very distant grandfather of mine from Lesbury in the northern part of England. Since Scotland sits on top of England, I decided to look in that area. I found a great site to do some researching in and I wanted to share it with you.

The site is Old Scottish Genealogy and Family History. There, you will find transcripts of primary sources. Unfortunately I haven't found my ancestor. I am actually looking for his father. Several family trees pertaining to this family on Ancestry, have chosen the "wrong" father for him as I determined by searching primary sources that are available online.

I hope that this link is useful to those of you researching ancestry in Scotland. This is a great time to do some armchair genealogy research as we wait out the pandemic. 

Stay safe--

Sharon

Quick Genealogy Hints (27 June 2017)

Many times when one researches the ol' family tree dates are estimated. An example is when one sees a family listed on a census, birth dates are not normally listed, just ages so if in 1940 an ancestor is listed on the census as being 10 years old then this person's birth year could have been in 1930 or perhaps even in 1929 if their birthday is after the census date. I was taking a look at several family trees on Ancestry and comparing with individuals on my tree. Here is a look at a listing of a woman's children as was noted on about half a dozen trees.

Children

Henry (1713-1760) 

Henry (1713-1713) 

Margaret (1715-1715) 

Margaret (1717-1715) 

Elizabeth (1719-1719) 

Please note that 1 child died 2 years before she was born. More research needs to be done because it appears that the same child may be listed twice or perhaps 2 children born in the same year were given the same name.

The thing is, double check the information. Other folks' family trees are not primary sources and are subject to errors and in this case, numerous researchers duplicated the same mistake on their trees.

Happy hunting!

Sharon

Ancestry DNA Test Kit

Looking at the Cost of Food 1934

I am sometimes amazed to see the cost of foods in the olden days. At times I wonder if we actually "get ahead" when wages go up because the cost of food goes up too. At times it seems like we are barely keeping up with the status quo. (Click on photo to enlarge.)

Quick Genealogy Hint (30 May 2017)

Often when reading newspaper obituaries, wedding and engagement announcements there may be errors as far as relationships listed in the articles. An example of errors was found in a couple wedding and engagement announcements that I was perusing the other day. Johnny Smith was getting married to Janie Jones. Johnny's step-father, Joe Doe Sr., was listed as father of the groom and there was no mention of biological father. Johnny has a half-brother who is a Joe Doe Jr. The article mentions that Joe Doe was the best man. There was no mention of Junior or Senior after the name of Joe Doe. Since I personally know this family, I know that Joe Doe Sr. was also the best man because Joe Doe Jr. was deployed with the military. Confused yet?

An obituary I had gone over listed a woman's grandchildren. Well, actually her natural grandchildren were listed, 1 of her 3 step-grandchildren was listed and there was no indication that the included 1 was not biological. A non-related, non adopted person was listed as grandchild when in fact this person was an honorary grandchild since no legal adoption had taken place.

Rule of thumb--If these newspaper articles seem "fishy" then they very well might be. Do not accept as truth until you have found more reliable documentation, preferably a primary source.

Another thing, if you are responsible for providing information for obituaries, wedding and engagement announcements, then lets stick to the facts.

Happy hunting!

Sharon

Quick Genealogy Hint (25 May 2017)

Today's hint is about assigning a family position to a family member. For example, I'm looking at an individual's profile, let's call him John Quincy Doe, and notice that through research I have discovered he has another child called Frederick Barney Doe. So, I enter this new person, Frederick, as child of John Quincy Doe. On Ancestry, one is able to go to John Quincy Doe's page and enter new individuals according to their relationship to JQD e.g. child, spouse or parent.

One day when I was working on my tree, I noticed that a close relative had been assigned the wrong relationship. She was assigned as her father's spouse. Imagine the disservice done to the individuals reputations if future genealogists took this information at face value.

Wishing you happy days climbing your family tree.

Sharon

RootsMagic 7 Family Tree Genealogy Software / Book Bundle

Quick Genealogy Hint

I have decided to post hints on doing genealogical research.  Every now and then, I run across examples of what-not-to-do when documenting your tree.I am not an expert by any means although, I do have a degree in history and was taught a bit about researching. I plan to every now and then post a hint, one at a time so not to overwhelm.

Today's hint--

Women are always entered on a tree by their maiden name NOT married name. 

Happy Hunting,

Sharon

decorative family tree posters

Interesting Tidbits Found Investigating My Family Tree.

It is amazing what you find out when you investigate your family tree. This information I found by googling  Agnes Gruss, one of my great grandmothers. She allegedly gave this money she won in court to a relative to invest for her and that's the last it was seen. I have no proof of this--it is family lore.




from

The American and English Railroad Cases: A Collection of All ..., Volume 28, found online at https://books.google.com/books?id=nKZEAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA705&dq=agnes+gruss&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0CBwQ6AEwAGoVChMIjZO7gbHyyAIVDHQ-Ch3lewbb#v=onepage&q&f=false.

Blast from the Past

This book is a look at what some of the crafts a good wife in the late 1880s was expected to know. Notice the lack of illustrations.Today (2016), most of these things are leisure time activities of women and some men too. My paternal grandfather was born in 1888, a year after this book was copyrighted so perhaps my great grandmother had one of these.

Thank you for visiting my blog today. I'm not a regular poster here but I hope that the things I've posted have a high interest level for you. I am "re-doing" my links for this blog and they will have their own page with a button to access them under the blog's header. There have been a few new links added that were helpful to me as I was working on my genealogy.

Have a happy 4th of July everyone!

Sharon

Books available for Revolutionary War reading.

Killer Beauty Aid from the Past

In the past, killer substances were used to improve one's appearance. This ad shows that cocaine was peddled to aid in improving one's hair growth and appearance. Notice the archaic spelling of cocaine as cocoaine. I must come out and tell you that I am NOT advising you to try this. If you have problems with your hair I would advise a good conditioner, Rogaine, or a consult with your stylist.

Found on Newspapers.com
I haven't been posting here very much and I'm sorry. I somethings think that I should shut down this blog but then I will find something of interest that I feel compelled to share with you. This is all for today.
Later,
Sharon

Modern Day Hair Growth Treatments

WWII POW Survivor of Camp in Burma

In 1937, Advertising Meets Up with Cinderella

It's almost midnight and Cinderella needs to make her escape to home. What should she do? She needs to get in her car because Chevrolet will save the day! Here for your enjoyment is a 1937 advertising cartoon. Enjoy!

Car Prices Have Really Gone Up

Cars are expensive today. Look at how much a new Studebaker Champion cost in 1940.

From The Decatur Herald, (Decatur, IL), 15Oct1940, p 11.

Assorted books about Studebaker cars 

Looking at the American Revolution

The other day, I was surfing around some geneology sites and I saw where someone had noted that my 4x great grandfather was a loyalist during the American Revolution. A source for this information was not noted so I'm on a mission to locate documentation for this. So, I thought that I would check out some videos on this war and I think you will enjoy this one for its educational content.

Why John Wayne Loved America

Anniversary of D-Day--06 June 1944

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D-day, 1944
"OK, let's go."
Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower, giving the final order for D-day, the assault on Nazi-occupied France, June 5, 1944.

The greatest invasion force in the history of warfare stormed the beaches of Normandy, France, on D-Day, June 6, 1944. It was the beginning of a campaign of liberation to eliminate Nazi tyranny over the oppressed peoples of Europe, and its commander, Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower, Supreme Commander, Allied Expeditionary Force, called it "The Great Crusade."

Eisenhower gave the final order that put the vast operation in motion in the early morning hours of June 5, as meteorologists predicted a temporary break in the stormy weather. Hours later he wrote this note, in case the operation were to fail. In the statement, he praised the men he commanded and accepted total responsibility for the failure the next day could bring. The only apparent hint of nerves on his part is his error in dating the note "July 5" instead of June 5.

 from: http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/american_originals_iv/sections/d-day.html

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More books on D-Day

D-Day Kindle books

Women's Land Army WWI and WWII

The Women's Land Army was first created during World War One in the UK. This was an era when a great deal of farm work was done by men. With so many young men called up for the armed services, there was a real gap in farm workers. Hence, the government called on women to fill this gap. The same situation arose in World War Two - home grown food was needed and the men were not there to harvest it. Hence why the government resurrected the WLA.

For more information, see this article.

World War I books

Abraham Lincoln Part 3

Abraham Lincoln Part 2

Abraham Lincoln Part 1

The next 3 days, we'll be taking a look at Abraham Lincoln. He was a strong leader. He was the 1st Republican President, preserved the United States and freed the people used as slaves. Hope you enjoy.

The Latest Hi-Tech Washing Machine 1869

Home washing machine & wringer. Lithograph, 1869. From Library of Congress.