News You Can Use - Limited Time Free Viewing of Ancestry's Historical Newspaper Collection

Juliana Smith of Ancestry's "24-7 Family History Circle" Blog is reporting free access to Ancestry's Historical Newspaper Collection from now through June 19. According to Ancestry, a recent update doubled the collection by adding 20 million images. If you've wanted to checkout this collection, now would be a good time. Enjoy!

© 13 June 2008, Desktop Genealogist Unplugged, Teresa L. Snyder 

Wordless Wednesday - A Day in Amish Country

Pictures Taken by Terry Snyder in Holmes County, Ohio June 11, 2008

© 11 June 2008, Desktop Genealogist Unplugged, Teresa L. Snyder 

An Anniversary

On June 9, 1952, my mother and father were married in Woodville, Mississippi. Neither family nor friends were present for the ceremony. Sadly, there were also no pictures to document this important event. My father, whose unit had been activated in August 1951, was stationed at a nearby army base in Louisiana. Because they didn’t know when or if Dad’s unit would ship out for Korea, the young couple decided it was a good time to marry. So my mother, with the knowledge and approval of both of their families, traveled to Louisiana to meet my father. The two slipped over into Mississippi, a state with friendlier age of consent laws, and eloped. The picture below was taken a month later when they were part of another couple’s wedding. It is the closest thing we have to a wedding picture.

 

There is my mother with that winning smile and my father handsome in his army uniform. Both so very young and so unaware how soon they would be parted. Two months later my dad was aboard a ship leaving for Korea, and my mother was on her way back to Fremont to live with her sister. A lucky break for dad occurred when he was one of three men aboard the ship chosen for reassignment to a base in Japan. He remained stationed there as a supply sergeant until the end of the war. 

In August 1953, Dad came home. His ship, which docked in San Francisco, was the first ship to arrive in the United States at the close of the war. He flew back to Ohio where his wife and four-month-old daughter (me) eagerly awaited his return. Four children, seven grandchildren, and two great grandchildren later, they celebrate their fifty-sixth anniversary.

Congratulations, Mom and Dad!

© 10 June 2008, Desktop Genealogist Unplugged, Teresa L. Snyder 

A Sunny Afternoon in June

Usually I am not at a loss for words. But the tragic events of yesterday afternoon have left me without my usual form of comfort. Though I knew none of the victims personally, my heart goes out to them and to their family and friends. 

Yesterday, a sunny, warm day in June, six individuals soared into the sky. One can imagine their smiles, the camaraderie of their shared adventure, and the infectious excitement of the youngest member, age four, who was getting a first plane ride. Of such things, we expect only happy memories, and not the tragedy that found them on a grassy field south of town. 

To those they left behind, I offer my heartfelt condolences. I pray for their strength in the days ahead, and I hope for each, that the day will come when the memory of those they have lost will bring not heartbroken tears, but the soft smile of remembrance to their lips. 

In memory of Gene, Bill, Allison, Matt, Danielle and Emily Rose – June 8, 2008.

© 9 June 2008, Desktop Genealogist Unplugged, Teresa L. Snyder 

Sandusky County Kin Hunters Meeting This Sunday

Hey, guys, I received an email from Dave Golden of the Sandusky County Kin Hunters reminding me that this Sunday, June 8, is their regular monthly meeting. Scott Mitchell will be on hand discussing, “Researching Cherokee Ancestors.” The meeting, which is free and open to anyone with an interest in family history, will be held at 2:00 PM at the Sandusky Township Hall on Rt. 19 North in Fremont. Parking is ample and the building is handicapped accessible. 

If you would like further information, you can contact Dave at (419) 502-7620. 

Until Next Time - Happy Ancestral Digging

© 3 June 2008, Desktop Genealogist Unplugged, Teresa L. Snyder 

One SuperPower to Go - Please!

Over the past couple of days, I’ve been thinking about what superpower I could appropriate that would help me most in my genealogical snooping. I won’t delve into what short circuit in my brain would lead me into daydreaming about this possibility. Let’s just say anybody who would think it socially proper to a put a picture of their foot online, well who really wants to delve too deeply into such a disturbed mind. Nuff said! Anywho, once the thought of acquiring a superpower had settled into my brain, it wasn't going away anytime soon.

The thing is, it took me all of two seconds to figure out what power I wanted. I mean X-Ray vision might be fun and all that but who wants to see everybody walking around like a big pile of skeletal bones? After a half an hour or so, it would get sooo old! And no way do I want to possess the power of telepathy. I mean who wants to know exactly what negative thoughts the person sitting next to you is having. I certainly don’t want to eavesdrop on someone thinking, “Wow, that Terry has packed on quite a few pounds.” How depressing would that be? 

The ability to fly would be cool. I could fly out to Utah to visit the Family History Library and if I wasn’t done researching by the end of the day, no sweat. I’d just fly back the next day. I wouldn’t have to pay airfare or hotel room costs. Sweet! I could also use the flying thing locally. Just think how much gas money I could save by flying over to the local grocery store when I ran out of Pepsi, chocolate or other important necessities. And you just gotta know that all that flying burns mega calories – talk about a win/win situation. Of course, there could be a down side to this flying thing. Like say, hunters mistaking you for, I don’t know, maybe a really big goose or something. And what if the prospect of a human being flying set the bird world into such a tizzy that they went all crazy like that movie, “The Birds.” I couldn’t live with myself if any of you got Tippie Hedrened because of something I had done.

Nope, all those powers, cool though they may be, are not the power I want. What I want is the power that Samantha Stephens had on the TV show, “Bewitched.” You know, that power where she could put everybody into a state of suspended animation by simply twitching her nose. Think about it, what’s the one great impediment keeping most of us from doing some first quality genealogical digging. Time – am I right? So many things tugging at us - jobs, family, social obligations, emergencies, housework, yard work, sleep, getting the gray dyed out of our hair, daydreaming about superpowers – there’s always somebody or something dipping into our personal time bank.

With the rest of the world in suspended animation, I could take my own sweet time to get all my chores done, pop on over to the local probate court, take a drive over to that nearby cemetery and not kill myself playing catch up with all the other things that needed to be done while I was indulging in a genealogical craving. And if the superpower gods were truly generous, they would make it a two-fer. I’d get not only the suspended animation power with a simple nose twitch, but also that teleportation thing Samantha used to do by merely snapping her fingers. That way I could swoop on over to the Jackson County recorder’s office and look until my eyes bugged out for what happened to David Thacker’s land. Somehow I missed it when I was at the recorder’s office on my recent visit to Southern Ohio. Only unlimited time and patience will make me believe that the answer isn’t sitting there, undisturbed and waiting for me to find it – if only I had the time.

So how about it, you wouldn’t mind being put into a state of suspended animation for a good cause, would ya? I’d better start practicing my nose twitching - just in case. 

Until Next Time – Happy Ancestral Digging!

© 2 June 2008, Desktop Genealogist Unplugged, Teresa L. Snyder 

Virginia is for lovers - of Genealogy!

I love the Library of Virginia. Now I have never been to the library personally, but thanks to the Internet and the library’s terrific website, I have been able to do quite a bit of research on my Virginia ancestors without having to leave Ohio. 

Having two sets of ggg grandparents who came from Virginia and one set of gggg grandparents born in that state, I have a significant interest in Virginia’s history and its genealogical treasures. Below is a sampling of services that you can take advantage of if you too have Virginia roots. 

1. Images and Indexes Online 

This list of catalogues was my first “find” on the LVA website. It’s always the first place I go when I find a new twist on the Virginia part of my family tree. Some of the indexes include: 

Death Records Indexing Project (1853 to 1896)

Index to War of 1812 Payrolls and Muster Rolls

Index to Virginia Confederate Rosters Obituary

Index for Richmond Enquirer/Richmond Visitor 

Petersburg Public Library Newspaper Index

Below is a list of some of the databases that have online images attached. It was a real treat to see a small outlined map for my sixth great grandfather’s land in what was then Frederick County of Virginia. 

Virginia Land Office Patents and Grants/Northern Neck Grants and Surveys

WPA Life Histories 

Collection Confederate Disability Applications and ReceiptsConfederate Pension Applications Robert E. Lee Camp Confederate Soldiers’ Home 

Applications World War I

History Commission Questionnaires 

Revolutionary Bounty Warrants 

2. Chancery Court Records Index 

Chancery Court cases are those involving two parties who are in dispute over conflicting claims. A judge listens to both parties and then renders impartial justice based on legal precedent, when there is precedent, or uses judicial discretion when there is not. 

Types of cases found in Chancery Court would include estate division cases, settlements of dissolved business partnerships and resolution of land disputes. This is an ongoing project for the Library of Virginia. 

You can use the index to search for parties involved in chancery cases for a particular county. Entries show the last names of defendants and plaintiffs, LVA’s index number and also the original case number. Some of the cases have been microfilmed, some are still found only in the original papers, but some have been scanned and put online in a PDF format. 

Shenandoah County, for instances, falls in the latter category. I was able to find and VIEW a court case involving my ggg grandfather Joseph Good – which by the way, didn’t make him look very honorable.

For a list of what is currently available click here. You will want to check back periodically, because as mentioned, this is an ongoing project. 

3. Microfilmed County and City Records 

LVA maintains a robust microfilm collection for each of the counties of Virginia and some of the major cities. Most of these are eligible for the library’s inter-library loan program. LVA does not charge for this service, however, my library, Birchard Library, does charge for the postage insurance to send the films back to Virginia.

Last time I ordered three films, the total charge came to $2.45, which netted me some, land deeds, some marriage records, and a peek at the index to a particular county’s wills. The Library of Virginia allows you to order up to five films, which you may keep for 28 days. You can renew these for another 28 days if for some reason you haven’t finished with them in the allotted time.

It’s hard to believe, but it’s easier for me to research various counties in Virginia than it is for me to research Ohio counties. Paul Heinegg, who has researched free African Americans pre Civil War, has said that he used this same inter-library tool to research Virginia records for his book, “Free African Americans of Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Maryland and Delaware.” 

Check to make sure your local library participates in the inter-library loan program. If it does, you are all set to do some great long distance searching – close to home. 

Until Next Time – Happy Ancestral Digging!

© 28 May 2008, Desktop Genealogist Unplugged, Teresa L. Snyder