Wednesday, May 23, 2012

What I have learned - 5/23/12

Since my first goal is to "learn more" I will periodically report what I have learned.

This past week I learned the following:

People are actually interested in what I write about - dozens of people. Thank you for reading!

Also, taking another look at documents that you have had for awhile can yield new information.

While checking on the 1880 census for my paternal grandfather's parents (partly to research a new family posting here) I discovered information that showed where and approximately when my great grandmother Emily Farquahar's (1873-1965) parents emigrated.

When I first looked at the census I only looked here:

1880 US Federal Census Alexander and Mary Farquar (Farquahar) names detail

With everything I have learned over the last few months when I looked at the record again I noticed this:

1880 US Census Alexander and Mary Farquar (Farquahar) birthplaces detail

Looking at this we can see that both Alexander and Mary Farquahar as well as their their parents were born in Ireland. Sometime before the birth of their first child (in approximately 1856) they emigrated to England (their first two children were born there). 

Then, prior to the birth of their third child (in approximately 1860) they emigrated to Canada (their next three children were born there). 

Finally, prior to the birth of their sixth child (in approximately 1868) they emigrated to Pennsylvania, United States (their last three children, as of 1880, were born there) and in 1880 were living in Philadelphia, Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania.

I have not yet found them in the 1870 census to see if they were still living in Philadelphia (because Emily was born in 1873 and I was looking for information on her).

When I research this family I will be looking for records in Canada, England, and Ireland as well as Pennsylvania!

Saturday, May 19, 2012

"Who Do You Think You Are?" - Some Thoughts

I don't watch much television and up until recently I have been what you might call a loan family historian - basically doing everything on my own and not following genealogy news or what others were doing.

Therefore I did not hear about "Who Do You Think You Are?" until the beginning of the current season.

I have read some criticism about the show along the lines of "it's bad genealogy" or "they don't show enough of the research". I think that the reason is that some people who are watching the show are missing the point. This show is not about genealogy. It is about family history.

Quick Amateur Family Historian definition: genealogy is how you find information about your ancestors; family history is what you do with that information.

While I thoroughly enjoy seeing original documents that are sometimes hundreds of years old, the best part of the show for me is when the person shares the results with their family.

I like the show so much that I bought the first season from the iTunes Store. I may comment on those episodes as I watch them.


Tuesday, May 15, 2012

Ancestry.com subscription

Because I have a limited budget and because I have decided to rebuild my family tree from scratch and will therefore be concentrating on my American ancestors for a while I decided to downgrade my Ancestry.com subscription to US only from Worldwide.

In order to do this I had to threaten to cancel my subscription because it was too expensive. Only then was I offered the US only subscription. I could not find any other way to do it.

Monday, May 14, 2012

Geneabloggers

I am very proud to announce that my blog has been accepted by the Geneabloggers bogroll.

I hope that I continue to provide content that qualifies me for this honor.

Sunday, May 13, 2012

Family Tree Rebuild Status Update - 5/13/12

I have completed my Hunsicker ancestral line with all families added back to my first Hunsicker ancestor in America, Valentine Hunsicker (1700-1771).

I have also finished adding my Stauffer ancestral line with all families back to Samuel Stover (1804-1888).

Also, the Leedom ancestral line (my mother's mother's father) with all families back to John Leedom (1798-1885).

I am now working on the Lefferts ancestral line (my mother's mother's mother's father) with all families back to Leffert Pietersen who arrive in America (New Netherlands) in 1660. This is new territory for me, having never traced the Lefferts line before.

Tuesday, May 8, 2012

Central Jersey Genealogical Club Meeting

Tonight was the May meeting of the Central Jersey Genealogical Club.

There was an excellent presentation called "Tracking Your Italian Ancestors" by Trish Mirarchi.

I learned a lot about researching your ancestors overseas.

Sunday, May 6, 2012

Family Post Update

After organizing the documents I have on hand I found  more documents for Clifford and Margaret Hunsicker's family.

I have updated the original post here.