Archive for April, 2013

Tuesday’s Tip: Using Diaries in Your Family History

Posted by on Tuesday, 30 April, 2013

It was Christmas Eve in Oxford, Connecticut and it snowed dreadfully. John, the first born of John and Jane Doe was born on that fateful day in 1856. How would you like to be able to describe the day when one of your ancestors was born?

Not everyone is going to have a 18th or 19th century diary written by their ancestors or even a close relative. Even if you do not have access to a diary of your ancestors, it is possible a diary of a neighbor or someone living in the same town is available today. In the Diary of Laura Davis transcribed by Oxford, Connecticut’s historian Dorothy DeBisschop it describes the weather of most days at the start of each entry. It did indeed snow dreadfully on December 24th, 1856 in Oxford, Connecticut at least according to Laura’s diary.

Here in Connecticut and New England in general, the vital records that were kept and survive today are very good. However in some areas such as upstate New York vital records started very late. Even after vital record keeping started, it was not always reported and there may be gaps. Diary entries may be the only mention about a particular date to a birth, marriage or death.

Here are just a few vital records contained within the Laura Davis Diary mentioned above;

  • Nov 2, 1856: Charles son of Bennett Scoville died aged 6 months
  • Nov 7, 1856: Daughter of Cyrus Sanford burned to death
  • Dec 9, 1856: Lyman Johnson buried
  • Dec 18, 1856: Orlando Cables died
  • Dec 19, 1856: Henry, son of George De Forest, drowned in Falls Pond, Seymour
  • Dec 29, 1856: Mrs. Henry Church gave birth to a son
  • Dec 31, 1856: Henry son of Mrs. Harison Tomilinson (sic) died

These are the vital records from just two months of her diary. If you can find the diary from someone in the same town at the same time period as your ancestor lived, it may just provide that hidden piece of data you’ve been looking for. You can also glimpse into daily life of the townsfolk; attending festivals and learning about the relationships of friends and neighbors and perhaps see a mention of your own ancestor in a neighbor’s diary.

Now that I’ve hopefully convinced you to search for a diary from the time and place your ancestor came from, where would these hidden genealogy nuggets be found? Here are a few places to start your quest to find that diary.

  • The local historical society:
  • Most areas will have a local or county historical society where diaries of it’s citizens would be stored in their archives. The state archives or library may only be interested in prominent citizens of the state and thus a diary of a common citizen may be more likely to be archived at the local level.

  • The local town historian:
  • Find out who the local town historian is and contact them. They are most likely working very closely with the local historical society, but they may have further information and insight into where some local diaries may be kept.

  • The state historical society or state archives:
  • Although the diary of a common person may be more commonly archived at the local level, don’t overlook the possibility that a diary you’re interested in is stored at the state level.

  • Academic Libraries:
  • Find out what major colleges or universities are close to the town where your ancestor lived. Contact the college library to see if they have diaries in their archives.

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Hidden Genealogy Nuggets Website is Two Years Old Today

Posted by on Monday, 29 April, 2013

Two years ago today was the first day Hidden Genealogy Nuggets was put on line. There has been a lot of developments on the website since then. Over twenty thousands records mostly in Connecticut have been made available within our search engine. Free Ancestry Search at Hidden Genealogy Nuggets. There is also an index to Newtown Connecticut Birth, Marriage and Death Records which have been put on-line.

We started a blog about a month later, but didn’t really start posting regularly until the start of 2012. We have recently been named one of the top 40 genealogy blogs of 2013 by Family Tree Magazine.

Some of our blog posts have dealt with getting the most out of unusual records;

We have a few series of blog posts dealing with a variety of subjects including;

  • Genealogy by the States
  • This is the most recent series of posts. Each week we highlight an ancestor or connection to a particular state. If there’s no connection to that state, we highlight a resource of interest for that state.

  • School Records
  • School Registers can be a great genealogy find. They can have birth dates and identify relationships which you might now find elsewhere. This series transcribes various school records from towns in Connecticut.

  • Genealogy Interview Questions
  • During this past Christmas season, our blog highlighted series of blog posts to prepare questions you might ask your relatives. Each post focused on a different subject matter. The subjects included the games your ancestor played, the sports they played, Sunday Supper and more.

To all of you who’ve been visiting this site regularly and reading our blog posts, I would like to thank you for visiting. I hope you have enjoyed the blog posts and the rest of the website. I look forward to another year.

Amanuesnis Monday: Center School Seymour, CT 1891-92

Posted by on Monday, 29 April, 2013

This is a transcription from Center School records from Seymour, Connecticut for the school year 1891-1892.

School Teacher Teacher 2 Year
Center Josie A. Kelleher 1891 – 92

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Name Age Last Bday Name of parent or guardian
First M Last S Sex Yr Mo Mo Day P First M Last
Henry Baldwin M 6 2 July 30 Noble Baldwin
Walter Buchler M 6 6 March 6 August Buchler
Patsy Cosgrove M 5 2 July 9 John Cosgrove
Charlie Evans M 6 8 Dec 29 George Evans
Ive Farland M 7 9 Nov 19 Peter Farland
Robbie Finkle M Perry Finkle
Charlie Flack M 12 8 Jan 13 Theodore Flack
Robbie Foster M 5 10 Oct 5 Harry Foster
Henry Jones M 4 0 Sept 2 Harry Jones
Henry Kaufman M 5 8 Jan 14 John Kaufman
Wardie Lyons M 7 3 May 29 Robert Lyons
Willie Mahoney M 7 1 Aug 2 Wm. Mahoney
John McNerney M 4 10 Nov 7 Michael McNerney
John Molane M 4 Dec 25 Thomas Molane
Lawrence ODonnell M 6 5 June 4 Wm. ODonnell
David Owens M 5 1 Aug 6 David Owens
Frank Regan M 6 2 July 4 James Regan
Albert Runmetch? M 5 6 Feb 20 Henry Runmetch?
Adam Smith M 4 2 July 20 Adam Smith
Winnifred Smith M 5 11 Oct 1 Frank Smith
Hugo Schaefer M 4 6 Jan 3 Wolfgang Schaefer
Earle Sperry M 4 9 Dec 2 Frank Sperry
Howard Tucker M 5 4 May 5 Charles Tucker
Willie McCann M 6 1 Aug 2 James McCann
Reed Wilson M 5 11 Sept 2 Thomas Wilson
Charlie Owens M 5 9 Jan 13 Richard Owens
Fielding Ireland M 5 5 June 19 John Ireland
James Fitzgerald M 5 7 Apr 1 Michael Fitzgerald
Lewis Partre M 11 3 Aug 6 John Partre
Elmer Mannson M Henry Mannson
Peter Farland M 6 10 May 31 Peter Farland
Leon Maynard M 5 1 Mar 1 Jesse Maynard
Walter Collington M
Harris Collington M
Dennis Finkle M 5 6 Oct 31 Homer Finkle
Laura Bowers F 6 9 Nov 27 Charles Bowers
Nettie Beers F 5
Josie Brandow F 6 8 Jan 21 George Brandow
Emma Bukofski F 7 11 Sept 29 Charles Bukofski
Martha Bukofski F 6 11 Oct 2 Charles Bukofski
Mary Cosgrove F 7 1 Aug 6 John Cosgrove
Flossie Evans F 4 4 May 7 George Evans
Lillie Geary F 5 2 July 6 Wm. Geary
Annie Johns F 5 8 Jan 13 Wm. Johns
Lena Kolb F 5 3 June 26 John Kolb
Bessie Lyons F 5 7 Feb 2 James Lyons
Emma Mason F 4 8 Dec 25 Charles Mason
Winnifred Ryan F 4 9 Dec 5 Thomas Ryan
Hattie Smith F 6 2 July 5 E H Smith
Lillian Warner F 5 2 June 2 Wallace A Warner
Emma Buskmiller F
Mamie Fitzgerald F Michael Fitzgerald
Fanie Thorpe F 7 6 Oct 4 Edward Thorpe
Leah Juno F 8 10 June 14 Arthur Juno
Daisy Knapp F 8 9 Apr 9 Hiram Knapp
Geurtrude Kauftman F 6 2 Feb 2 Mrs. Annie Kauftman
May Beach F 5 6 Oct 19 Benjamin Beach

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Genealogy by the States – Week 17 – Ohio

Posted by on Sunday, 28 April, 2013

This week’s blogging prompt is the State of Ohio. Blog about an ancestor or your families connection to Ohio. If you don’t have any connections to Ohio, find a Ohio resource useful for genealogy research to highlight and write about. This week’s prompt runs from 4/28/2013 – 5/4/2013. If you choose to follow along, I would appreciate a mention to the Hidden Genealogy Nuggets website.

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I don’t have any direct descendants within the state of Ohio. My wife’s ancestor Joseph Dallas Pool was from the state of Georgia. I previously wrote about him when I talked about my Georgia Connections. I tracked one of his sons Joe Henry Poole to Ohio, which is this week’s Ohio Connection.

Joe Henry Pool was the son of Joseph Dallas Pool and Nancy Osborne. He was born on September 2, 1899 in Georgia. Between the years 1921 and 1924. His wife, Anna May Moon, their son William and a daughter moved to Ohio. In 1924, Joe and Anna welcomed another boy to the family. On February 19, 1927, they welcomed Nadine to their growing family. I have not mentioned the names of one known son and one known daughter as it’s possible they are still living. I did not want to mention a living individuals name without first asking them and I was also unable to locate them to ask.

Joe Henry died on Apr 11, 1949 in Cleveland, Ohio. Joe’s wife Anna lived for another 40 years and died on Apr 25, 1989 also in Cleveland, Ohio.

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A few Ohio Genealogy Links
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Ohio Newspaper Archives at Genealogy Bank
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