The Beauty Of Using the Census

In doing research for my Hurford/Herford line I had used the Canada West census of 1851 & 1861.  I found them on Ancestry.  In my quick work approach. I extracted what I needed then saves it to my tree.

However I did not pay much attention to who else was listed on the Census.  Imagine that right there my next set of grandparents are listed.  How cool is that.  Way cool   Use the census for more then just what you think you have glean it for the other clues it just might have for you.

Genealogy on TV now on You Tube

So now that the seasons of “Who Do You Think You Are” and “Finding Your Roots” is over.  Cry Rant Cry some more especially since WDYTYA is cancelled by NBC.  Where do you look for more of that great genealogy expertise? 

Check out You Tube:  search for “Faces OF America” and “Black In America”  both of these excellent programs are genealogy based.  From the same great man that brought  us “Finding Your Roots “    Henry Lois Gates Jr. these are also his brain children.

We can all benefit from these genealogy programs.  After watching the first Finding your roots I was awe inspired since I felt like I had been to a genealogy Conference.  So excellently done.  All tru the season I found more information I could use in my research.  I hope you found that too.

My daughter found more of Henry Louis Gates Jr. programs on you tube.  Of couse I have watched them too.  Amazing amazing ways to further the genealogy work of many.

From Finding Your Roots

Who Is In Your Mosaic of Ancestors

“Who Do You Think You Are?” Who Am I

Who Do I Think I Am?

Do you find yourself asking that question since the Ancestry.com & NBC show started?  

The more I do my own family research the more I know about my families Origins.  I gain a greater understanding  into all that goes in to the current generations.

I will say I try to scrapbook,  So the page listed in the side bar here where I have the Names Beauder dit DuCap 1931 Putman well now that’s the year Clifford married Etta.  Then Spegel 1929 & Sylvestre that’s when Henry married Teresa.

They are my grandparents.  Some could say they started it all did they?  NO! they they didn’t it began long, long ago. But my grandparents were the exact Generation of  the right time.  Family flows one generation to the next.  Mostly in smooth patterns, Boy meets Girl, Love & marriage then children.  Next grandchildren on & on etc…

So who am I ?  I am me first, then I am a daughter, & a mother.  Then to look into where I came from?  Is it the town I grew up in?  Or is it where my ancestors laid roots?  For me, my mom was born in Essexville, then moved to Flint, then out to Davison.  But neither of  her parents were from there.  They moved way out of the city.  Even past the burbs.  My dad well like my mom  was not from the area either. 

I am so glad the great shows “Who Do You Think You Are”, “Finding Your Roots” “Faces Of America” & the mini series “Roots”  have excitied so many more people to find out more about themselves and their ancestors.

“Finding Your Roots” , “African Ancestry.com” & “Who Do You Think You Are?”

Amazing views into who our ancestors are.  How lucky we are to live in a time when Genealogy is so popular and so welcomed.    Do you feel a boost to be able to discuss genealogy where ever you go now?

This weekend I was working at a scrapbooking conference.   We had a box for names & email address.  I noticed many of the names as they were filled out.  I commented on a gal with the last name of May.  She had some knowledge into the name.  To me I thought it was shorten from the name “LeMay” of  Quebec fame.  However she informed me that the name “May” is from the Mc Donald clan. It was fun to hear of her knowledge.

I was so excited when on “Finding Your Roots”  they spoke with the creator of  “African Ancestry.com”.   How cool is that that if you have African Heritage you can pinpoint exactly where and which family group you came from in Africa with DNA test.  Just a cheek swab.

 My dad had his Maternal line DNA tested a couple of years ago.  This line is his mothers, mother, mothers line  all the way back 10,000 years.  It let us know the Halo-group and where the origin of where the original mother geographical home land was.   It was really cool.  I was looking for a shorter time period of 300 years.  I was looking to prove or disprove one of my theories.

The reason the African Ancestry.com test is so accurate is that they went to Africa where they tested & sequenced many of the different African kinship groups.  They produced a large data base.  How lucky the creator had figured out a way to produce such results of geographical accuracy by having a large data base to start.

So now I say to my self if only these other companies would do the same so that we non-African descended people should be able to find out closes ties to our ancestors then 10,000 years.  I know I would like a 300-400 year window of the ancestors too.  Especially since my 2^nd great was adopted.  

On “Who do you think you are”  Rob Lowe made such a astounding finds.  I was enthralled with each phase of his discoveries.  It is intriguing to know that the DAR & SAR have such a vast collection of Genealogy information.  I never knew they had such sources at the finger tips.  

My story is, if you have read my other post concerning my discoveries some of this might be a repeat, I knew I was French Canadian, Irish, Dutch, Belgian & French Canadian Indian.   I never suspected I had ties to 1. The Civil War & 2. To the Revolutionary War.  In 2008 I set about my fathers mothers fathers lines.  Oh what a load of insight I carry with me now.

The Civil War was a part of my Ancestors lives.  My 3^rd Great Granddad Simeon Caryl served in the Civil War.  As well as his first cousins, sons of Simeon Caryl fathers brother Russel Carroll,  Grant Carroll & Obed J. Carroll of Lynn, MA.  Both of these cousins died in Andersonville Prison.  There may have been another of the brothers to have also perish in the same way.  

Once I was knee deep in these New England lines and I was paying attention to dates of birth and death of my male ancestors I then began to think oh maybe I do have a Revolutionary War member.  Into several lines of the Caryl line I have several but since I cannot prove Joel Caryl as the father of Simeon Caryl I cannot prove them for a DAR membership. 

I do however have many other ancestors back in the Babbitt line to give me a chance at the DAR.

To me it’s great to know that I do have great heritage in the United States.  That I am a descendant of Patriots.  

What Patriots have you discovered in your research?

Kevin Bacon & Kyra Sedwick on "Finding Your Roots"

Great show Kevin surprise Royal connection.  Every one has a story.  A story comes with ever life on the earth.  What is your story?  Do you feel your connection with your ancestors?  Have you worked to find out more about who you are?  What do you know of your past family history?  Do you want to know?

Genealogy has the truth of History attached to it.  No escaping from that.  As we saw with Kyra & Kevin on the slavery issue.  Since I had learned in 2008 that I have New England ancestors I have wondered if there were slave holders.  I hate it so much that I have ancestors who were involved with fighting Native Americans.  My humanitarian side is bothered greatly by that truth.  What have you found in your family history you would like to of not found?  Hitler's genealogist lied to him.  Deleted his Jewish ancestors.  Told him want he wanted to hear.

Doing genealogy in our modern age with the internet helps us find out who are ancestors really are.  Which ever way it leads to us to  discover for ourselves in the privacy of our own homes our own family history as sweet and wonderful as it can get, or as dark & terrible the truth can reveal.

Every one has a story  What is your story, are you still discovering it?

Grave Stone Information for Babraba Walters

Have you had the opportunity to watch "Finding Your Roots"  from PBS.org. Well this week had Babrabra Walters & Geoffery Canada featured.

It is all about the way names have changed for families. Barbara Walters in the past had paid a Genealogist to find out about her "Walters" family.  They did not come back with much.

But this time hiring a hobbyist genealogist, who by day is a paralegal & specialize in Jewish genealogy, gets real results.  How is it one genealogist or maybe a few could not know where to find the most important clue when all other avenues were un-revealing?

Simple he did not give up.  The whole process of what he did and how he figured out the serendipity was not revealed to the audience.  They show right there at the grave yard on her fathers grave marker was her grandfathers name.  I know that in "Who Do You Think You Are"  they show several people going to to see the grave markers of their ancestor. However none have shown where it is used as a valuable/important piece of information.

The grave maker is of course unusual.  Gravemakers for most do not reveal parents or grandparents names.  However in Barbaras family tradition it does include the information.  Please watch "Finding Your Roots" at PBS.org or watch the program on Sunday evening.  See what new stuff you can learn.