Source Citations and Personal Historian 7

During the Roots Tech 2021 conference, I watched a few different sessions on source citation. Now, I have known for quite some time that it's important to "cite your sources" and I've even bought a couple of books on the topic. It wasn't until I watched  "Peeling Back the Layers: Citing Sources from Online Materials" by Diana Elder that it all started to make sense to me. 

In the past, when I read other published work, I often found it difficult (if not impossible) to follow/utilize the source citations that were provided. They just weren't clear and I didn't understand how to follow them. Dianna's talk really helped me understand the basics; which, has led me to understand existing citations better as well as inspired me to clean up my own. 

Back when I was a baby genealogist in 1999, I didn't know anything about citing sources. It wasn't long before I found myself looking up something I had already found or couldn't go back to a source I had used before because I didn't know what it was!

In current times (especially with COVID), I have done quite a bit more online research. This especially confused me with source citations. At one point, I was only citing the source (i.e. web page) I found the information on. Dianna really explained how to layer the citation to include both. 

I have started using Diana's method of (from her syllabus):

1. Understanding the source by closely examining it and looking at all the fine text on the web pages. 
2. Make sure I answer the 5 questions in my citation
1. Who created the source?
2. What is the source?
3. When was it created and\or when did the event happen?
4. Where is the source located?
5. WhereIn the item is the source information located?

I initially started going back through my Roots Magic database and updating the source citations. I very quickly learned that was going to be A LOT of work! I struggled with it a bit and got frustrated. I've been very anxious (like many others) for the new version of Roots Magic to come out, but it's going on 2 years since it was first announced. I've been doing Beta testing for it and there are still SO many bugs! 

I started shopping around for new software and found Personal Historian 7. WOW! I fell in love with the work flow of entering the source first. Not only that, but I was able to create custom templates to use for sources so that I could format my citations the way that makes sense to me. I'm using Diana's process to make sure I have usable citations for myself and anyone who comes after and Personal Historian 7 is making the re-entry SO much easier. 

One last note I would like to make is that even though the task of re-entering my data (I've been researching since 1999) is daunting, I can't express the immense value that I'm getting out of the exercise. I am re-examining all my sources and finding new information each time I re-enter data. I am doing a little at a time. I block off 1-2 hours and re-enter data each day. I make note where I left off and pick up there the next time. I would truly recommend it. 

Cleaning up Digital Copies of Old Photos

 I recently completed the task of scanning all my old photographs onto my computer. In the process, I noticed several of the photographs are dirty and/or are starting to decay. The damage is not noticeable to the naked eye, but once scanned on the computer it became alarmingly apparent. 

I'm not sure what to do about the actual physical photos, but I have figured out a way to clean up the digital photos. There are several photo editing apps available. I happened to use the free Pixlr E  

 All I had to do was drag and drop my photo onto their canvas and then I was able to use their tools to clean up the photo and then download it back to my computer. 

The main tool I used was the Clone tool. The icon looks like a stamp: 

Once you click the stamp you get options at the top:

Holding down the shift key toggles between Source and Paint. Basically, you select a Source area to copy and switch to Paint to paste it. 

I also used several brush sized and opacity options depending on the area I was correcting. 

I would scroll in and out, select the appropriate brush then correct. The trick I learned was to clone from an area as close to the defect area as possible. That seemed to produce the best results. 

Once I had a photo corrected and downloaded back to my computer, I uploaded it to My Heritage to colorize it. There were a couple of times where I colorized it first and then cleaned it up. You will have to try it both ways to see what works best for you. 

Here are some before and after shots. 

Scanning Old Photos

 As many of us likely do, I have several old photographs that I inherited as my relatives have passed on. I have been diligent about getting them out of the old dangerous photo albums of years past, but I have not been as good at getting them scanned in so that I can have a digital copy as well. During the past few weeks, I have been doing just that!

I thought I would share some lessons learned as well as some helpful tips. 

When I originally removed the photos from their individual photo albums, I had put them in archival sheet protectors made for photographs. There are several kinds with different size pockets and I have a variety. Some have 2 pockets for 5x7, some have 3 pockets for 4x6 and then some have a combination with some smaller pockets. I found it best to by a few packages of each variation since my photos are in many different sizes. After I got them all in the sheet protectors, I put them in 3 ring binders. 

Before you start scanning, I have the following tips for you to think about:

Tip Number 1: Decide how you would like to organize the physical photos going forward.

I chose to arrange mine by person and then chronologically as best I could. This posed a challenge when multiple people were in the same photo. When that happened, I chose to include the photo with the relative closest to me. If both a grandfather and grandmother were in the photo, I chose to always place those with the male. 

Tip Number 2: Decide where you want to store your digital photos on your computer.

I chose to store mine with my digital sources. I have a folder for each of my 8 great grandparents Surnames.

 

Inside each surname folder, I have a folder for each generation I have files for.

 

For families where I have several items for multiple children, I have sub-folders for each child.

 

Tip Number 3: Decide on a naming convention for your digital photos ahead of time.

I have a naming convention I used for my sources and I followed that same naming convention for my photos. My naming convention is:

SURNAME - year - sourcetype - description

For example:  POLAND - 1900 - US Cen - Charles

I have several source types: US Cen, Marr, Newspaper Title, Bir, Dth, Obit, Bur, Cem, and Pic to name a few. If multiple people are represented by a single source, I name it based on the head of household. 

This naming convention allows me to see a timeline of sources when I'm looking at my files on my computer. For women, I use the maiden surname until she marries and then I use the married surname. For example, my grandmother Kathryn has documents and photos in the Putnam folder (her maiden name) until she married my grandfather. After the marriage, any document or photo is stored in my grandfather's folder. I store prior or subsequent marriages under her maiden folder and only those records and photos created when she was married to my grandfather are in his folder.

For photo file names I use the date, if known, otherwise I just use Pic to indicate the file is a picture. For example the below picture is named: POLAND - 1943 - Pic - Everett and Kathryn

 

I do not know when the photo below of my great-grandfather was taken, so it is just named: PUTNAM - Pic - Wm Earl

 The process or system that I used to scan all the photos into the computer was:

1. Pulled all the photos out of their sheet protectors and sorted them by person and time.
2. Placed as many photos onto the scanner bed as possible.
3. Scanned the lot of photos at 1200 dpi
4. Once the scan was complete, I opened the image containing all the photos from the scanner bed and cropped each one into it's own file using the file naming convention noted above.
5. After all the digital photos were named and stored, I deleted the original scan image and placed the physical photos back in sheet protectors. 
6. I placed the filled sheet protectors into 3 ring binders by family name. 

As a final thought, I want to mention that I did this same process to all the paper photos of my kids that I have as well. We often forget to document and preserve our current generation like we do the past ones.

 

 

Mapping with Google Earth: Metes and Bounds Deed

 I recently took on the challenge to identify and map my 4 times great grandfather's land in Highland County, Ohio. The description of the land from the July 8th, 1820 deed states: 

"...all that tract or parcel of land lying and being in the County of Highland and State of Ohio on Rocky Fork bounded and described as follows: Beginning at a beech and poplar in the line of Roses Survey No. 541; thence with the line north 48 degrees 15" W one hundred & sixty two poles to the middle of the Rocky Fork aforesaid; thence from the same beginning poplar and beech N 70 degrees W one hundred and seventy six poles to the middle of the creek aforesaid; thence down the same as it meanders so far as to intersect the first line in the middle of the creek aforesaid containing thirty four acres be it the same more or less being part of a survey of 500 acres entered for William S Hawkins No. 3320..."

I started my journey by Googling for historical maps of Highland County, Ohio. I found an 1871 Atlas at Historic Map Works. I then located the map page for Paint Township. There were actually 2 pages and sure enough, Rose Survey No. 541 is marked right on the edge of the county next to Ross County. The map also shows Paint Creek, where it forks and the Rocky Fork creek that comes off the fork. 

Note that right below the Rose Survey is Hawkins No. 1936. William's land was part of a Hawkins survey albeit No 3320. Given that the atlas I found was for 1871 and the deed is from 1820, I assumed the Hawkins portion had been resurveyed between 1820 and 1871. The other markers (Roses Survey No. 541 and the Rocky Fork), gave me confidence I was in the right place. 

I then went to Google Earth and found the Paint Creek, the fork and the Rocky Fork. I noticed a dam has been put in place at some point in time. The top red circle is the dam and the bottom red circle is the Fork.

If you visually compare the two images above you can see they look very similar. To better compare the two, I used a snippet of the map to create an overlay in Google earth. With some stretching and turning I was able to get it to line up fairly well. I reduced the opacity so you can see both maps at once.

Then I set about trying to follow the deed's description using a Polygon in Google Earth to map out where William's land likely was. 

I'm certainly no pro, but I feel confident that I'm in the right area. I even added a couple of his notable neighbors by doing the same process with their deeds. 

Nicholas Swadley owned all of the dark purple and the orange land. Nicholas Swadley was William Poland's father-in-law. Nicholas sold the dark purple portion to Peter Houghman who was the brother of the man that raised William. The orange slice was William Troth the father of Job Troth that would become William's first son-in-law when he married William's oldest daughter Matilda. 

This was a fun project and it is nice to be able to visualize where my ancestor's lived. If you haven't tried this, I highly recommend it! 

William Smith and Ellen Foster Brick Wall

William Smith and Ellen Foster are my second great-grandparents. I have a brick wall with Ellen Foster. I have documented my connection to William Smith and Ellen Foster below as well as my thoughts and theories on the Smith and Foster families. My main goal is to determine who Ellen Foster's parents were.

My great-grandparents Elizabeth Ellen Smith and Charles Alfonso Poland were married on May 01, 1901 at St. Anthony's Catholic Church in Indianapolis, Indiana. 

On their civil marriage record, Eliza (as she's often referred to in documents) indicated that her father's name was William and her mother's maiden name was Foster and that she herself was born in Missouri.

On the church record of the marriage, Charles McGowey and Caroline Smith are the witnesses.

In the 1910 US Federal Census, Charles and Eliza are living at 220 Hancock in Indianapolis with their 5 children. Eliza's age is listed as 33 and that she was born in Maryland; her father born in Ohio; her mother born in France. This would put Elizabeth's birth at about 1877.

Charles commits suicide and dies December 18, 1911 leaving Elizabeth the raise their now 6 children on her own. 

In the 1920 US Federal Census, Elizabeth's age is listed as 43 and that she was born in Missouri. Her father is listed as born in Ohio and her mother born in France with her mother's native tongue being French.

In the 1930 US Federal Census, Elizabeth's age is listed as 52 and that she was born in Missouri. Her father is listed as born in Ohio and her mother born in Missouri. 

In the 1940 US Federal Census, Elizabeth's age is listed as 62. There is no information about parents on the 1940 census. 

Elizabeth passed away March 12, 1949. Her death certificate says her father's name was William Smith and that her mother's name was Ellen Foster and that she was born on August 15, 1877 in St. Louis, Missouri . The informant was her son Everett Poland.

No birth record for Elizabeth Smith has been found in St. Louis, Missouri. Online searches for birth records in all of Missouri for the 1877 time frame have resulted in no matches.

Elizabeth's obituary indicates that she came to Indianapolis a year before she married Charles. 

So, I looked in the 1900 Federal Census for Indianapolis and I found an Eliza Smith living with Edwin L and Caroline B Parker along with a potential sister named Caroline B Smith. Both of the Smith girls are listed as niece to the head of household. Both are listed as being born in Missouri with their father born in Ohio and their mother born in Missouri. Caroline B Parker is listed as being born July 1850 in Ohio and both her parents are born in Ohio. The Eliza Smith has a birth as May 1878 which is not August 1877, but close.

Further research into Caroline B Parker finds her death certificate that lists Harry Smith born in Penn and Eliza Alexander born in Ohio as her parents. 

I go on to research Caroline V (Smith) Parker and find her with her parents in Letart, Meigs Co, Ohio in the 1860 census and in Jennings Co, Indiana in the 1870 census. I find her marriage record to Edwin L Parker on May 07, 1874. In 1880, Caroline Virginia (Jennie) and Edwin living in Jennings county with an orphan named Nettie Russel and a female Eva Smith who is 22 years old and a dressmaker. Eva is Caroline's sister based on the 1860 and 1870 census records. As noted earlier, I find Edwin and Caroline in Indianapolis in 1900. In 1910, I find Carry Parker and Carry V Smith (neice) living in Indianapolis.

So I researched Caroline (Carry) V Smith and found her marrying Lewis E Horner May 29, 1911 and she lists her parents as Wm Smith and Helen Foster. At this point, I'm fairly confident I have found a sister of Eliza and I'm pretty sure I have a better understanding of the Smith side of the family. Especially, since one of the witnesses for Eliza and Charles's wedding was a Caroline Smith.

What about the Foster side? Why are the girls living with their Aunt in 1900? Where are the parents? I haven't found a death entry for either of them yet. I've looked between 1884 (Caroline's birth) and 1900 when they show up in Indianapolis.

Still Unknown:

• Eliza's birth date
• Was the mother's name Ellen or Helen?
• Was the mother from France or Missouri?
• Where is the family in 1880? (see possible answer below)
• When did William Smith die?
• Who are the parents of Helen\Ellen Foster? (see notes below)

1880: In the federal census for St. Louis, I find 2 entries that appear to be the same family (1 recorded on June 3 &4th the other on June 16th). Both entries are for Bellefontaine Rd.

 

The later entry lists the wife as Marie were the first lists Mary. The later entry also includes the father Harry born in Ohio which fits with the other research done on Caroline. Questions and thoughts  generated from this find:

• Is this the right family?
• Liza's birth is about 1874, not 1877
• Temperance/Tempy hasn't been found in any other documents yet. Perhaps she died young?
• Eva\Evy - William had a sister named Eva, so the naming convention matches.
• Is the mother's name Marie, Mary, Ellen, or Helen? Since both entries have an E as a middle initial, I'm inclined to believe Ellen. So is it Marie Ellen or Mary Ellen? 

Parents of Ellen Foster: There is a Foster family living Cape Girardeau with a daughter named Mary Ellen who married a William H Smith Nov 24, 1872. The names are correct, the marriage date in is line with the birth ranges of the children. I'm thinking this might be the right family, but need more proof. 

If anyone has any information that could help in this investigation, please leave me a comment!

Research Trip to Ohio

A few weeks ago, I was fortunate enough to be able to make a genealogy research trip to Ohio. I had a fabulous time getting to focus on my genealogy for a whole week! I want to share my experience with everyone as well as my lessons learned.

I road-tripped from Madison, Wisconsin to Columbus, Ohio and listened to genealogy podcasts along the way. I found this not only inspiring, but it also seemed to make the drive time go by so fast! By the time I made it to Columbus, I was more fired up than ever to get to researching.

I spent 2 days at the Ohio History Connection in Columbus. My plan of attack was to go through newspapers that are not available online yet (that I can find!) as well as to look for any Poland's or Houghman's in Highland County, Ohio or Ross County, Ohio from the earliest records to about 1830.

I found myself wearing thin with the newspaper research, so I didn't get through nearly what I wanted to there. I did, however; spend a lot of time pouring through all the books the library had on Highland and Ross counties. I took pictures with my phone of the front cover, any important preface information, the index and the pages of interest for each book. I even took pictures of the front cover and the index pages for those that did not have any Poland or Houghman (or name variations) listed. This way, I could document what I looked at and what I did not find. As we all know, what we don't find is just as important as what we do find!

In the hotel room after the library closed, I downloaded all my photos to my computer. I cleaned them up, gave them identifiable names, organized them into folders on my computer and added them all to Evernote so they would be searchable. This kept me pretty busy until I needed to sleep for the next day. I can't decide if I liked this method of gathering data or not. The pictures aren't perfect, but you can read them. Here are some examples:

 

After I left Columbus, I drove down to Hillsboro in Highland County, Ohio. This is where my William Poland was married in 1810. In Highland County, I visited the Court House and was allowed to look through all the old marriage returns, wills, court order books, etc. I found a couple of possible items that I didn't already have, but nothing to break down my brick wall yet. I then went over to the administration building and spent several hours obtaining copies of multiple deed records.

After the courthouse, I went to the  Southern Ohio Genealogical Society library. I met the most wonderful ladies there. We had such an amazing afternoon. They even hooked me up with another fine lady that opened up the Highland County Historical Society Museum and gave me a personal tour! I got to see items from the area and time frame that my William Poland lived there. Including this chain used to survey Highland County land.

They even had a cabin outside that had been originally built in 1830.

All in all, I had a fabulous time! It would be hard for me to have a bad time while getting to do genealogy! I did come away from the experience with a few lessons learned though. 

The lessons I think I learned are:

• I still have not perfected an optimal research plan for trips. I still found myself getting excited and jumping from one thing to the other. I did have a better idea of what I was looking for this time, but putting that into context with all that was available was still challenging. I still need to do a better job of researching the contents of a repositories catalog before I head out. 
• Less time messing with files at night and more time re-focusing for the next day would have served me better. 
• Reach out more. When I reached out to the local society, I was amazed at the help and comradery I found. 

Preparations for Research Trip to Ohio

I am off to Ohio to research the Poland family! I'm so excited!

The earliest record I have been able to find for William Poland is his marriage record in 1810 Highland County, Ohio. I have other sources that indicate that William Poland was born in Virginia, but I'm not sure what part of Virginia or who his parents may have been. So, I'm off to Ohio to see if I can determine when William Poland may have first landed in Ohio. Hopefully, I can find some clues as to what part of Virginia and/or who his parents may have been.

When William Poland married Mary Swadley in 1810 Highland County, Ohio, he would have been 21/22 years old. I'm thinking this may restrict him from most earlier records due to his young age. My plan then, is to look for Poland families either in the area where William ended up, the surrounding areas or any areas east that would maybe be part of the migration from Virginia.

Also, I'm going to look for Houghman/Hoffman/Huffman families. I have a theory that William may have been a 4 year old that was bound out to the Houghman family in Loudoun County, VA. See my other blog post for more details on my theory. While I'm in Ohio, I want to look for any groups that William Poland may have been a part of which may include the Houghman family.

My plan of attack:

• Create a Research Plan ✓
• Identify Research Locations, Contact Information, and hours ✓
• Create a To-Do List✓
• Ensure I will have the right tools with me such as: tablet/computer, access to my notes (using Evernote), and charging cables! ✓

My main Research Plan goal is to determine when William Poland came to Ohio. I have identified what I already know, what types of sources I would like to check, where to look for those sources and a list of items to keep in mind such as county boundary changes. I will also have with me my research plans for "Determining who William's parents are" and "Is William the 4 year old bound out to the Houghman family". 

I want to try to stay focused as much as possible. I'm going to try to flush out all possible sources that may indicate when William first arrived in Ohio. Then, if I have time, work on the other research plans. 

The sources I'm thinking I need to try to find are: 

• Tax Lists
• Newspapers
• Land Records
• Court Records
• County Histories
• Ohio First Families

Please drop me a comment if you know of any other sources I should be checking. 

Research Locations

I have been to Highland county three times already. That is where I found William's marriage record and the will packet for Mary's father Nicholas Swadley. I have not, however, exhausted the court records in Highland County. I plan to visit the Highland County courthouse and view the early court records. I also have not been able to visit the Highland County Historical Society, so that is on my list as well. 

A main research location I plan to visit this time is the Ohio History Connection in Columbus. I have reached out to the Ohio Genealogical Society (which I hope to visit also) and they pointed me to the Ohio History Connection for Newspapers. 

Other than that, I will go where the search leads me! Depending, of course, on the time I have due to having to go back to work. 😔

Well, wish me luck! I will share whatever I find when I get back.