[SFGS] Fwd: The Weekly Genealogist, Vol. 14, No. 39, Whole #550 September 28, 2011
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Subject: The Weekly Genealogist, Vol. 14, No. 39, Whole #550 September 28, 2011
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The Weekly Genealogist
Vol. 14, No. 39
Whole #550
September 28, 2011
Edited by Lynn Betlock, Jean Powers, and Valerie Beaudrault
dailygenealogist@xxxxxxxxx
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Greetings from the New England Historic Genealogical Society! This newsletter
has been sent to people who asked to receive it. If you would like to
unsubscribe or change your email address, please click on the link at the
bottom of the email and follow the instructions provided.
NEHGS collects, preserves, and interprets materials to document and make
accessible the histories of families in America.
Contents:
* Change in Access to Maine Vital Records
* NEHGS Database News
* The Clamorgans: A Lecture at NEHGS
* Tips from Weekly Genealogists
* Name Origins
* This Week’s Survey
* Spotlight: Charlotte County, Florida, History Collections
* Stories of Interest
* Black Families in Hampden County, Massachusetts, 1650-1865 , Revised Edition
* Upcoming Education Programs
* NEHGS Contact Information
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Change in Access to Maine Vital Records
Today, September 28, 2011, a new law on accessing vital records in Maine will
take effect. The law changes the one hundred year closure set by law in 2010 to
seventy-five years for birth records, fifty years for marriage records and
fetal death records, and twenty-five years for death records. Family members
and genealogists with a state issued researcher ID card will be able to access
these closed records.
Accessing Vital Records in Maine , a six-page document written by Maine
Genealogical Society Vice President Helen A. Shaw, CG, provides a detailed look
at the new law, how to access original vital records in Maine, and what
resources researchers can and should use before accessing original records. A
link to a PDF is available on the Maine Genealogical Society’s website .
Return to Table of Contents
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NEHGS Database News
by Sam Sturgis and Ryan Woods
Ireland: Session Book of Aghadowey, 1702–1725
In 1905, J. W. Kernohan, Secretary of the Presbyterian Historical Society in
Belfast, Ireland, transcribed the first twenty-three years of the session book
for Aghadowey, County Londonderry, Ireland, at the request of a member of the
New England Historic Genealogical Society. The member subsequently donated Mr.
Kernohan’s transcription, which covers the period from 1702 to 1725, to NEHGS.
(The manuscript begins in 1702; earlier years are lost.)
In the summer of 1718, a number of ships bearing passengers from Coleraine and
Londonderry, Ireland, arrived in Boston — the first organized mass migration of
Irish and Scots Irish people to America. Among these passengers were
Presbyterians from the Aghadowey area and their minister, Reverend James
McGregor. Many of the Aghadowey immigrants eventually established the community
of Londonderry, New Hampshire. A good history of this migration is available at
The 1718 Migration .
A session was composed of the ministers and elders of a congregation. Session
records cover financial, legal, and disciplinary matters. A good discussion of
the types of topics that may be addressed by the session is located in Short
History of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland by Prof. John M. Barkley, M.A.,
Ph.D., D.D., F.R.Hist.S. Many session books have been microfilmed and are
available at the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland . However, the
Aghadowey Session Book has not been microfilmed and is available only at the
Presbyterian Historical Society , Church House, Fisherwick Place, Belfast,
Northern Ireland.
Charles Knowles Bolton, in his book Scotch Irish Pioneers in Ulster and America
(Boston: Bacon and Brown, 1910), described the acquisition of the Agahadowey
Session Book by the Presbyterian Historical Society and the contents of the
book. Bolton’s description is available online at Scotch Irish Pioneers in
Ulster and America .
Return to Table of Contents
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The Clamorgans : A Lecture at NEHGS
The Clamorgans: One Family’s History of Race in America by Julie Winch
October 19, 6 p.m., NEHGS
In her multigenerational history of the unforgettable Clamorgan family, Julie
Winch traces how one family navigated race in America from the 1780s through
the 1950s.
The Clamorgan clan traces to the family patriarch Jacques Clamorgan, a French
adventurer of questionable ethics who bought up, or at least claimed to have
bought up, huge tracts of land around St. Louis. On his death, he bequeathed
his holdings to his mixed-race, illegitimate heirs, setting off nearly two
centuries of litigation. The result is a window on a remarkable family that by
the early twentieth century variously claimed to be black, Creole, French,
Spanish, Brazilian, Jewish, and white. Winch’s remarkable achievement is to
capture in the vivid lives of this unforgettable family the degree to which
race was open to manipulation by Americans on both sides of the racial divide.
Julie Winch is a professor of history at the University of Massachusetts,
Boston. She is the author of A Gentleman of Color and Philadelphia’s Black
Elite .
The talk at NEHGS (99-101 Newbury St., Boston) is free and open to the public.
No registration is required.
Return to Table of Contents
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Tips from Weekly Genealogists
With this issue of The Weekly Genealogist , we introduce a new occasional
feature: “Tips from Weekly Genealogists,” which will allow us to showcase some
of the collective wisdom of NEHGS members and subscribers.
Assessing Information on Death Certificates
by Charles Carter Morgan, West Windsor, New Jersey
Do you ever think twice about the information contained in a birth or death
certificate? I didn’t until I began to find discrepancies.
I knew that my grandmother passed away while napping on her couch in Wayland,
Massachusetts. Her death certificate stated that she died in Newton,
Massachusetts. By asking questions, I learned that her official place of death
was Newton, since her death was officially determined there.
When I requested the death certificate of a distant relative, I found her date
of death was listed as July 17. On a subsequent research trip to that area, I
examined the original records, only to find that the real date of death was
July 16. Upon inquiry, the office issued a new death certificate with the
correct July 16 date.
Another death certificate from the same jurisdiction stated that my
great-grandfather’s date of birth was “April 27, 1838” and date of death was
January 27, 1916. But the original record contained only the following: date of
death: “Jan 27, 1916,” date of birth “April 27th" and age “78” yrs. Spaces for
months and days were left blank. The person who completed the death certificate
inferred the date of birth incorrectly by subtracting 78 from 1916 to arrive at
the 1838 year of birth. But since my great-grandfather died in January before
his April birthday, the year of birth should have been 1837. After I inquired
about it, the office issued a new certificate listing the exact information
shown on the original record, without inferring a date of birth.
These experiences taught me to be wary of the information listed on birth and
death certificates. When obtaining a certificate, I now request an exact
transcription without inferences. With an exact transcription, any inferences
are up to me. I also check the original records whenever possible.
Return to Table of Contents
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Name Origins
by Julie Helen Otto
SELISSA (f): Selissa Scott (b. 1789), daughter of Samuel and Selah (Ballou)
Scott of Bellingham, Mass., apparently married there 16 June 1831 Asa Hall,
Esq. Her name may have been a variation of SELAH (her mother’s name), derived
by adding the archaic Greek suffix – issa to create a fancier version of the
name. Other “archaizing Greek” names include CLARISSA (from CLARA), MELISSA
(from adding “issa” to “mel-”, the Greek root for “honey”), etc. The original
names need not be Greek.
Return to Table of Contents
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This Week's Survey
Last week’s survey asked about the devices you use to read books
electronically. The results are:
• 58%, laptop or desktop computer
• 36%, Amazon Kindle
• 15%, Tablet (including the iPad)
• 11%, Barnes & Noble Nook
• 10%, Smartphone (including the iPhone)
• 4%, other
• 3%, Sony Reader
• 2%, Kobo E-Reader
This week's survey asks whether you’ve paid for genealogical research. Take the
survey now !
Return to Table of Contents
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Spotlight: Charlotte County, Florida, History Collections
by Valerie Beaudrault
Charlotte County History Collections
Charlotte County is located in southwestern Florida. It was formed from DeSoto
County and established in 1921.
The Charlotte County History Collections website contains genealogical records,
family histories, historical photographs, “Florida-themed postcards,” newspaper
articles, and many other items. Click on the Browse the Charlotte County
Florida Genealogical Society Collection link to view them. The website includes
the following:
Charlotte County, Florida, Marriages, 1921–1941
This guide to Charlotte County, Florida, marriages was compiled and published
as a project of the Charlotte County Genealogical Society. The guide covers the
period from 1921 to 1941. There are two alphabetical indexes in the volume, one
organized by groom’s surname and one by bride’s surname. The data fields in the
indexes are groom name, age, and residence, bride’s name, age, and residence,
and marriage date.
Charlotte Harbor Cemetery, 1992
This volume is a compendium of available records and transcriptions for local
cemeteries, which were compiled by the Charlotte County Genealogical Society.
The records are organized alphabetically by surname. The data includes full
name, date of birth, date of death, and location of burial plot. There is also
a roster of veterans’ burials.
Indian Springs Cemetery in Punta Gorda, Florida, 1886–2004
There are more than 2,000 burials at Indian Springs. The records are organized
alphabetically by surname, by section of the cemetery. The records include
birth and death dates and, in some cases, a transcription of an obituary.
Charlotte Memorial Gardens, Interments & Inurnments, 1959–2001
Charlotte Memorial Gardens Cemetery was established in 1959, and the Charlotte
Memorial Funeral Home, within the cemetery, was established in 1987. The data
in this volume was drawn from cemetery records and obituaries collected by the
Charlotte County Genealogical Society. The information in the record may
include name (plus maiden name) and age of the deceased, date and place of
birth, date and place of death, funeral home, date and place of burial,
survivors, veteran status, and the name and date of the newspapers in which
obituaries appeared.
Lt. Carl A. Bailey Memorial Cemetery and Other Early Black Burials
This volume published by the Charlotte County Genealogical Society is a
compendium of records and transcriptions of the Lt. Carl A. Bailey Memorial
Cemetery in Cleveland, Florida, and other early “black” burials in Charlotte
County. There is an alphabetical listing of those buried in the cemetery by
surname, which includes full name, birth date and death date. There is a
military veterans’ roster and some burial listings from other cemeteries.
The Cemeteries of Fort Ogden, DeSoto County, Florida
This volume contains burial information for three different cemeteries in Fort
Ogden: The Fort Ogden Cemetery, The Ziba King Family Burial Ground, and two
Jernigan family plots. The records are organized alphabetically by surname by
cemetery. The data includes full name, date of birth, date of death, and plot
location information. There is also a roster of military/veteran’s burials.
There is also a collection of genealogical articles from various years that
were written by Society members and published in the Sun Herald Newspapers, as
well as individual family archives.
Return to Table of Contents
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Stories of Interest
Permanent Record: Untold Stories from a Stash of Depression-Era Report Cards
After Paul Lukas found a collection of report cards from the Manhattan Trade
School for Girls, he decided to try to find family members of the students —
and then share the experience on his blog and on Slate.
For the Dying, A Chance to Rewrite Life
An end-of-life treatment called dignity therapy encourages the creation of a
formal written life narrative. The psychiatrist who developed this treatment
observes that, “The stories we tell about ourselves at the end of our lives are
often very different than the stories that we tell about ourselves at other
points.”
Disunion
This New York Times series “revisits and reconsiders America's most perilous
period — using contemporary accounts, diaries, images and historical
assessments to follow the Civil War as it unfolded.”
Return to Table of Contents
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Black Families in Hampden County, Massachusetts, 1650-1865 , Revised Edition
Now available! Black Families in Hampden County, Massachusetts, 1650–1865 ,
Revised Edition, by Joseph Caravalho.
This extensively researched and expanded volume chronicles the lives of African
American individuals and families who lived in the area now known as Hampden
County in western Massachusetts, between the years 1650 and 1865. Author Joseph
Carvalho III has relied on a wide variety of sources — including church
records, ministers’ journals, family papers, court records, newspapers, U.S.
and Massachusetts census reports, military and pension records, city
directories, and cemetery records — to piece together family relationships. As
a result of additional research, the revised edition includes noteworthy new
material. This compilation of genealogical, biographical, and historical
information not only brings these individuals to life but also provides the
student of regional black history with a comprehensive view of the community at
a pivotal time in history.
The book is priced at $29.95 (or $26.96 for NEHGS members), plus shipping. To
order, please follow the link above or call 1-888-296-3447.
Did you know that the NEHGS Book Store offers library-quality copies of over
10,000 rare and out-of-print books? Some titles ordered by recent customers
include:
• The Collins Family . . . Record of the Descendants of William Collins
and Esther Morris from 1760 to 1897 (Item P4-S06339, $26.50)
• Genealogy of the Splawn and Collins Family, 1600–1960 (Item
P4-S24222, $17.00)
• King's Mountain and Its Heroes: History of the Battle of King’s
Mountain, North Carolina, October. 7, 1780 and the Events which Led to It.
(Item P5-NC1500H, $57.50)
• Ogden Family History in the Line of Lt. Benjamin Ogden of New York
(1735–1780) and His Wife Rachel Westervelt (Item P4-H20421, $30.00)
• List of Persons Whose Names Have Been Changed in Massachusetts
1780–1892 (Item P5-MA0148H, $49.50)
You can search the entire Classic Reprints catalog online. If you would like a
list of FAQs and search tips for the Classic Reprints catalog, simply send an
email with "Classic Reprints" in the subject line to sales@xxxxxxxxx .
Return to Table of Contents
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Upcoming Education Programs
Each year the Society presents a number of dynamic lectures, seminars, and
tours for genealogists and the general public. Programs are held at 99–101
Newbury Street unless otherwise indicated. For more information, please contact
call 617-226-1226 or education@xxxxxxxxx .
View a listing of upcoming programs .
Seminars and Tours
Salt Lake City Research Tour
October 30 – November 6, 2011
Be a part of the annual NEHGS research tour to the Family History Library in
Salt Lake City, Utah. You are invited to join fellow researchers and NEHGS
members for a week of intensive research aided by expert staff. Lectures
relating to organizing your materials, accessing the library catalog, and other
research tips and techniques are included along with group dining events and
personal consultations. (Please note: Rooms for the tour are no longer
available at the Radisson Hotel.)
Return to Table of Contents
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NEHGS Contact Information
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Subscribe or view back issues of The Weekly Genealogist .
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The Weekly Genealogist , like all of our programs, is made possible through the
generous contributions of our members. Visit us online for information about
giving to NEHGS .
For more information on the New England Historic Genealogical Society, please
visit our website .
Become a member of the New England Historic Genealogical Society or sign up for
a FREE research account !
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99–101 Newbury Street, Boston, MA 02116
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