And now for something completely different...

Information found online about a cemetery:

"Lakeview Memorial Estates is a private cemetery.  If you'd like information on people buried there, please contact them directly."

Hmmm, perhaps they needed to word that better?

Eyewitness Accounts After the Fact

While family stories passed down from generation to generation may add color to genealogical research, there is a reason why they may not be very dependable for factual history.  Even those told to you by a witness to the event are suspect, and this article will explain why.

To DNA or not to DNA

I have made numerous presentations about using DNA as a tool in genealogical research, although I have not yet had my own DNA tested (or had a cousin take a test).  However, with three of my lines involving very common surnames and very common first names, it is very likely that I will need DNA to make better progress.  Here are the 3 situations:

1.  My Smith ancestry has been traced back to the immigrant Smith ancestor (circa 1850).  I know him only as James Smith, and I have not yet identified any siblings for him nor the names of his parents.  I do not yet know where in Ireland he was from, although it is possibly County Cavan as that is where an obituary says his wife was from.  If I take a Y-chromosome test, I may be able to identify Smith cousins with Irish ancestry who already know the specific location in Ireland of their ancestors.

2.  My Martin ancestry has been traced back to the Edgefield area of South Carolina, with my earliest identified ancestor being James S. Martin (born around 1797).  There were a number of Martins living in that area at the time.  By having a male Martin cousin (my first cousins) take the Y-chromosome test, I may be able to determine which Martin families I should be focusing on.

3.  My King ancestry has been traced back to the Laurens area of South Carolina, with my earliest identified ancestor being Charlie King (mid-1800s).  I have only recently made contact with male King relatives (2nd cousins), and this provides an opportunity to test their Y-chromosome to make further progress on this common surname.

My other lines of immediate interest involve either relatively unusual surnames or lines that have already been traced back many generations, so DNA is not a high priority in those lines.

How old were your ancestors, really?

I just came across this posting in a blog I read, which should be of some interest to any genealogists who wonder if their ancestors were being accurate and telling the truth about their ages: Sakhalin Island

Goals for Future Research

When I present on the topic of using a blog as a research log, I point out that one purpose of using a blog is to put down in writing the research goals.

More than 5 years ago, I posted this:

"My project idea is to identify all descendants of the immigrant (to America) BODDIE ancestor. Before I do that, however, I should do the 'prequel' project, namely, to trace in an organized fashion my own ancestry back to that ancestor."

In reality, I'm interested in more than one project, and having multiple genealogical research projects allows me to keep my interest.  So let's enumerate those:

1. To identify all descendants of the immigrant Boddie ancestor to America, after having traced my own ancestry back to that ancestor.
2. To identify all descendants of the immigrant Smith ancestor to the United States, after having traced my own ancestry back to that ancestor.  
3. To identify all descendants of the immigrant Weinglass ancestor to the United States, after having traced by own ancestry back to that ancestor.
4. Other projects as time and interest permit: Martin, King, Foshee, Eidson, Pitts, Satcher/Sotcher, Gradowitz, Bannon/Bonnon, Hyland, Reilly (and a few others).

RootsMagic 4 arrives

One of the primary things I've been waiting on before re-starting the Rootsmithing blog is the release of the new RootsMagic 4, primarily due to its new abilities to track sources. Now that I've had it installed, I'm creating a brand-new file (ams.rmgc), while maintaining my older, poorly-sourced files as references.

The birth of Alta Corene Martin

When my mother approached retirement age, she sent off for a copy of her birth certificate so that she could apply for Social Security benefits. The resulting certificate provided a few surprises:

1. Her "real" birth name was Alta Corene Martin (not Altha Corinne Martin, the name she actually went by her entire life). The "Alta" part was not as surprising as it might seem, given that the story was that Mom's cousin was the person given the honor of naming Mom, and the cousin had a mother named "Alta".
2. Mom was born in "Moons Township" in Newberry County. This township was named for a family by the name of "Moon", who lived in the southwestern corner of Newberry County, in the area where Chappells and Silverstreet are.
3. Mom's mother, my grandmother Elizabeth Estelle King, was listed as "Lizzie" King. Not much of a surprise, as she always went by the name "Lizzie".
4. Lizzie King wasn't really born in "Lawrence", as there is no such place in South Carolina. The place is actually spelled "Laurens".
5. Mom was born in the P.M., and was delivered by a midwife named "Bulah Coleman". I will have to look for Ms. Coleman in the 1920 census to learn more about her.
6. The certificate was not filed until 8 days after Mom was born.

I'm fortunate to have this document at all, given that South Carolina had only been requiring birth certificates for a few years prior to 1920!