ONWARD

image from Pinterest

 

LOOKING FORWARD TO SEEING YOU IN THE NEW YEAR!

I'm looking forward to 2024.... more to learn, more to discover, more to document.

See you then!

CHRISTMAS

 

A POMEGRANATE FAMILY TREE

Image from The Library of Congress - United States

BEAUTIFUL and BOUNTIFUL

 

ARCHIVES ORG - IS THIS ALL ENCOMPASSING WEBSITE WORTH YOUR TIME? HOW TO SEARCH FOR GENEALOGY RECORDS

archives.org  aims to have it ALL but recent searches on it seemed to be real time wasters.  WHY would archives.org sallow COMMERCIAL ADVERTISEMENTS to COME UP that are simply obnoxious to sort through for the good stuff?   I put in the search terminology  BERKS COUNTY and then PENNSYLVANIA BERKS County?  I think these ads are a misuse of the intent of the organization.

After giving up in frustration I tried it again.

I chose BOOKS and then put the word GENEALOGY in the search engine.

Here is what it says:   The Archives ever-expanding collection of genealogy resources includes items from the ALLEN COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY GENEALOGY CENTER in Fort Wayne, Indiana,  ROBARTS LIBRARY at the University of Toronto, the UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS URBANA-CHAMPAIGN LIBRARY, BRIGHAM YOUNG UNIVERSITY in Provo, Utah, THE NATIONAL LIBRARY OF SCOTLAND, the INDIANAPOLIS CITY LIBRARY'S  INDIANAPOLIS CITY DIRECTORY and YEARBOOK COLLECTION, the LEO BAECK INSTITUTE ARCHIVES OF GERMAN- SPEAKING JEWRY - LEO BAECK INSTITUTE ARCHIVES, and the BOSTON PUBLIC LIBRARY.

Resources include among many things, books on surname origins, vital statistics, parish records, census records, passenger lists of vessels, and other historical and biographical documents.   

***

Up came a lot of RECLAIM THE RECORDS contributions.

I NOTICED THAT I COULD SEARCH THE COLLECTION, so I put in New Jersey...  Now a sense of satisfaction came over me.

Reclaim the Records is an organization that aims to make records that genealogists and historians use free in the public domain (i.e. no subscription databases) and have been particularity interested in the states and counties that have not been so cooperative with the big database companies to fork over records - such as New Jersey. 

PATIENCE my friends.... PATIENCE

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Ancestry Worship - Genealogy

AMERICAN THANKSGIVING

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Thank You For Reading Ancestry Worship - Genealogy BlogSpot

 

MAPLE

 Image From Graphics Fairy

FILBYS PASSENGER LISTS - STILL GOOD - STILL AVAILABLE ALWAYS ADDED TO! BUT NOT FINDABLE ON ANCESTRY TM DATABASES BY THAT NAME

Before there were databases that attached to original ship manifests... there was FILBY's.  Well Filby's still exists. Covering immigrants to the U.S. and Canada, the 1500's forwards to the 1970's, every calendar year it's supplemented with more information. Many big city libraries, colleges, and genealogy specialty archives, have the entire binder set, a vast number of volumes. 

Filby's best use is for finding those who came before the 1820's, before there was any lawful requirement that such records be kept. The immigrants on sail ships trickled in well before the steamship era, sometimes just a few at a time on a ship intended to transport cargo. Information in these books comes from a variety of first resources including family diaries, naturalization documents, even indentured servant lists.  An important source was also the passenger lists that were published in newspapers.

The places referenced do not always equate to a port or port city. The place might be a destination city or the first place the person appeared in a public record.

The information in Filby's can and should be cross referenced with other documents.  For instance, I would attempt to cross reference based on lists for Philadelphia or Boston of incoming passengers.

Primarily, it is a way for people with ancestors who arrived in the United States, the colonies, and territories, to move to finding the location they left and potentially records held in other countries.

However, I recently went looking for some German immigrants who came to Pennsylvania some time between 1795 and 1820, most likely closer to the 1820.

The person I sought did not come up on Ancestry TM, the popular database in a general search.  So I headed to Los Angeles, the Central Library in downtown LA, where there is a genealogy and history floor. The Filby's book set there was not entirely complete or undated and the wonderful and earnest genealogy librarian there said to me "Filbys is on Ancestry TM now." We went onto Ancestry TM from there, and using the card catalog (which is confusingly called New Collections on the main page of Ancestry TM) and tried again. No - Searching for Filbys did not bring it up.  But there are numerous other databases that bring up early America arrivals on sail ships.  I individually searched through these and up came a few names.

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THE OAK and THE ASH

 

                                                                                                       image from Graphics Fairy

Ancestry Worship - Genealogy

PRESIDENT GEORGE WASHINGTON's CASKET WAS OPENED

GEORGE WASHINGTON 1837 DISENTERED In 1837, George Washington's Remains Were Disinterred.  Here's What Was in the Casket.

There are commercials so I won't embed but this is a great video and the station "Life on the Civil War Research Trail" is terrific.

CIVILIAN CONSERVATION CORPS (CCC's) RESOURCES

Click on the label CCC's or Civilian Conservation Corps to bring up other informative posts on this subject from the past here at Ancestry Worship - Genealogy BlogSpot

***

Three million young men, from families in poverty due to the Great Depression, joined the CCC;s from 1933 to 1942. Some of these men also then enlisted to serve in World War II. 

Here are links to good resources to start your exploration.

The National Archives of the United States. I know that the search in their expansive catalogue is intimidating and difficult for most people but they did recently announced it had been reworked. My suggestion is that you open an account with them and then use the Ask the Archivist opportunity to get to where you want to be with these records.  

NARA archives - RESEARCH GUIDE CCC's

National Archives U.S.A Catalogue - CCC's

The next link is to a blog and website that someone put up on the internet years ago that was a true labor of love. I want to honor that person for all the information they have provided to us.  It features so much information including state by state guides that is useful. Topics such as soil conservation and segregation have their own pages.  Many THANKS to that person...

https://cccresources.blogspot.com/search/label/Accidents - see the sidebar to go to the topic you are interested in.

C 2023 Ancestry Worship - Genealogy

NEAR DEATH EXPERIENCE LECTURE by JOHN MARTIN FISCHER UC RIVERSIDE DISTINGUISHED PROFESSOR OF PHILOSOPHY

NEAR DEATH EXPERIENCES!  Fascinating always, here is an expert lecturing and discussing what is mental, what is cultural or religious, and the proof that consciousness is not necessarily tied into the physical brain.

Presented by John Martin Fischer, UC Riverside

Professor and Distinguished Professor of Philosophy.

CHANGING COLORS

 image from Graphics Fairy

CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS : ITALIAN? SPANISH? PORTUGUESE? DNA? CUBA? KNIGHTS TEMPLER?

Is Christopher Columbus Who We Think He is? / Secrets and Lies of Columbus / Timeline

October 9th is the traditional Columbus Day holiday... And this documentary about the search for the man credited with "discovering America" after sailing across the Atlantic in 1492, is fascinating. Several highly intelligent people -including his descendants and that of Vasco De Gama, are devoting their research and expertise to discovering the historical truth about the man, who died not revealing his origins. Chances are he was born in Cuba Portugal to a woman who was a mistress to a member of the Royal Family, and it's possible she was Jewish. What of the stories you may have heard that Columbus was actually the surname Colon?  In this documentary we learn that even the name Christopher Columbus was one the mystery man took rather than be identified as a royal bastard. As for his humble origins, boys and men from humble origins generally did not get to sail such ships.

You'll love the archival documents and the visits to royal tombs.

Ancestry Worship - Genealogy

UNDERGROUND RAILROAD QUILT CODES

SMITHSONIAN FOLK LIFE MAGAZINE : UNDERGROUND RAILROAD QUILT CODES 

Did slaves and Underground Railroad participants set out quilts that were maps to freedom, signals that it was a good time to leave, or that a particular house was a safe house on the way to Ohio Territory?

Patterns:

Bow Tie - Dress in disguise to appear of higher status.

Bear Paw - Follow an animal trail through the mountains to find water and food.

Log Cabin - Seek shelter now, the people here are safe to speak with.

Drunkards Path - Zig Zag as you go along incase you are being stalked by houndes.

Double Wedding Ring - It's now safe to remove chains and shackles. 

 *** This article suggests that the book about the codes, a popular book that I read years ago, is controversial... 

Well, I believe it.  I loved this book!

SMITHSONIAN NATIONAL QUILT COLLECTION

SMITHONIAN INSTITUTE SPOTLIGHT NATIONAL QUILT COLLECTION

A TRUE AUTUMN

 Image from Graphics Fairy

NEBRASKA STORIES : THE QUILTS OF KEN BURNS and the INTERNATIONAL QUILT MUSEUM at UNIVERSITY OF NEBRASKA at LINCOLN

NEBRASKA STORIES - THE QUILT COLLECTION OF KEN BURNS   a secret collection of the historian's personal quilts was put on display at the International Quilt Study Center and Museum. 

INTERNATIONAL QUILT MUSEUM at UNIVERSITY of NEBRASKA at LINCOLN

QUILTING is "Women's Art" - FUNCTIONAL ART

Well beyond my personal abilities in sewing, I find myself so excited by the designs and the history!

THE ASTORS : ANDERSON COOPER HAS A NEW BOOK ABOUT THE AMERICAN DYNASTY THAT BEGAN WITH BEAVER FUR TRADE

 Looking forward to reading this book...

DAR HIGH SCHOOL ESSAY CONTEST TOPIC FOR 2023-2024 WRITE ABOUT A HISTORIC CHARACTER

 Celebrate Stars and Stripes Forever

If you are in the 9th to 12th grade you're invited to participate in the 

PATRIOTS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION  DAR HIGH SCHOOL ESSAY CONTEST

Select a figure from the era of the America Revolution ( 1773-1783).  Discuss how he or she influenced the course of the American Revolution, who he or she was and the contribution that historic character made to the founding of a new nation.  Your figure must have been an actual person- one who is well known or an everyday man, woman, or child, who supported the American Revolution in ways large or small.

OPEN TO GRADES 9-12 Length between 800-1200 words.  Deadline October 10/21/23

CONTACT YOUR CLOSEST DAR CHAPTER.

This flyer came to me from Diana Starr, Point Vicente Chapter in Los Angeles, California.

Here is more detailed information from the Cupertino chapter

DAR 2023 ESSAY CONTEST DETAILS

FOR YOU!

Image from Graphic's Fairy

 

9/11 REINCARNATION STORY : CALEB REMEMBERS and COMMENTARY

The Ghost Inside My Child:  I recall that I may have reviewed this series some time ago, because I recall thinking that the title The Ghost Inside My Child was all wrong - inaccurate.  The title indicates that ghosts are possessing the body of the child....  I think it's attempt to suggest spookiness - creepiness. Reincarnation is not the same as possession or the same as a ghost.  It's a natural cycle of awareness.

The mother of Caleb says that other children's parents don't want their children to play with him.  Well, if it's a matter of not wanting their child to pay with another child because they don't share the same religious or spiritual beliefs, I'd say that's rather intolerant. 

Caleb is a child who is burdened with nightmares, phobias, memories of horror. And he's not the only one. Some children who are experiencing abuse in this life have no one to trust.  At least Caleb's parents love and support him.  If Caleb lived in my neighborhood he'd be welcome in my yard.

So what can we learn from children who remember a past life?

I think it's vital to listen to children who tell of their dreams, their beliefs.  If it seems that there is a past life possibility and the child is upset and this seem not to have an end to it, I would suggest you read Carol Bowman's books as a start.  There are a number of interviews and speeches she has given available on YouTube and the Internet as well.  I think she is in semi-retirement. Taking the child to a hypnotherapist is probably the next step.  I think it may be possible also for parents and children with this experience to network so that they all know they are not alone in this experience.

WHAT ARE THE CHANCES YOU'LL HAVE TRIPLETS or BE A GENIUS or a SOCIOPATH?

Or have two different colored eyes?

LEARN ABOUT THE HISTORY OF LABOR DAY - U.S. HISTORY at THE NATIONAL ARCHIVES

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NARA gov : LABOR DAY

Excerpt: The National Archives and Records Administration holds records created or recieved by the U.S. Government on issue of labor and labor rights, including records on unions, strikes, and responses, debates about women and children in the workplace, and the Government's role in providing economic security and workplace rights....

Ancestry Worship - Genealogy

OPEN BOOK

 

IS GENEALOGY EXPENSIVE?

Genealogy has become less expensive in recent years because of databases. Because of databases it can take much less time to find documents needed for a professional standard research and the hours put in. However it is not true that any database has everything that is available. Databases can also come with certain issues that a beginner may not have a clue about  My warning is to not look at the charts that other people have put up because so many of them are not up to pro standards. Don't start by networking for information. Get yourself situated and do your own research. Only reach out to others when you've hit into a brick wall and then, still insist on documentation. You may find that there are many people stuck at the same point and maybe all of you can work on the problem together. Being a hobbyist is no excuse for doing or accepting sloppy research. 

A researcher may have to revert to old but good methods, such as engaging the assistance of librarians and archivists who can go into the stacks or the boxes and pull up what is needed. How efficient, how much time one must wait for response and how expensive it will be varies madly from country to country, from county to county, from one location to another.  It has always been a concern when it comes to hiring people in other countries who claim they can physically go into archives for you and find what you need.  It's difficult to negotiate when there is a language barrier especially. Yes, some - probably most - of these people are trustworthy.  However money sent to another country is difficult to get back if the contract is not fulfilled. Interacting with archivists via e-mail is essential now.

If you are considering working with a professional, get everything you can in order, and copied, to hand over to that person, which may help tremendously. This can include vital record documents such as birth, marriage, and death certificates.These documents are vital in a chain of documentation. A genealogist may prepare letters and fill out forms but your cooperation - signature is still a requirement on many of these.

Your pro genealogist will keep your privacy. You might be working with a lawyer to draw up a will for inheritance purposes, be seeking lost relative or a birth child.  Whatever the situation I believe a pro genealogist should not post the results of an ancestry quest on the Internet.  

Be sure to discuss all these things in your first meetings with your pro.

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DNA GENEALOGY and THE BRYAN KOHBERGER MURDER CASE : IS THE DNA ENOUGH? CAUTIONS ON THE USE OF DNA SERVICES

DAILY MAIL UK - KOHBERGER IDAHO TRIAL UPDATE 

I've been following this murder case, perhaps uncharacteristically so, since the four college students in Idaho were found stabbed to death in their close-to-campus rental house late last fall.  Bryan Kohberger, a graduate student in criminology at another university across state lines but only about 20 minutes away by vehicle, was arrested as the only suspect about a month later.  The crime-investigation buffs all over the world, including several who run crime-oriented YouTube channels immediately got interested in the case. My concern was and is that almost everything I have heard and read has him guilty before being proven so.  Can he get a truly fair trial?  I read that there have been over 40,000 articles and videos about him and even those that have people who should know better - such as FBI agents and police detectives - talk about him as if this were so.

It's IMPORTANT.  Any of us could be arrested for a crime we did not commit and lack the resources for our legal defense.  Any of us could be falsely accused of anything. So this is a test case for what happens in today's world of easy information and world wide coverage.

Meanwhile there are literally many thousands of unsolved murders in the United States that get no attention. 

Bit by bit his defense attorney or his defense has provided information that would indicate that Kohberger may very well be innocent of the crimes. Seems as if a tiny bit of DNA that was taken off the metal button of a knife sheath left at the scene is now being refuted.  The party house, one in which parties went on when none of the renters were there to host or keep control, was one in which strangers could easily attend. DNA from others was found there. In addition, there was reported (and i can't verify) that despite what was said to be an extremely bloody scene, no blood evidence was found in Kohberger's apartment, car, or parent's house...

In the article above, which I'll excerpt from below, the difficulty of being sure of results is stressed.

*** 

Excerpt:

A poor quality kit might have too few matches or it just might have phantom matches that are not real measures of relationship,' the document reads.

Larkin notes that sites such as AncestryDNA, 23ndme and MyHeritage prohibit forensic/investigative genetic genealogy in their databases, but there isn't really a way to enforce it.

'In the absence of effective oversight, forensic genetic genealogists are on an 'honor system' to obey the Terms of Services and the Department of Justice Interim Policy on forensic genetic genealogy.'

Larkin explains that the science used by these sites is not perfect, and 'any given centimorgan amount can represent more than one possible relationship.'

She notes one example that has nearly 20 possible relationship lines listed for a match - and says that's considered a close match.

Larkin points out that unlike DNA tests that find an individual, which are standard forensic STR tests, genetic genealogy testing identifies possible relatives. 

She then goes on to note cases she's allegedly aware of where genetic genealogy has been wrong, as well as cases where the databases were used improperly by authorities.

WHY GENEALOGY? STEREOTYPES OF GENEALOGISTS

Although genealogy is one of the most popular hobbies in the United States, there are still plenty of people who are not at all interested in pursing a study of their ancestral heritage, and some of them want to know why I do genealogy.  There are so very many reasons why some people are genealogy aficionados , and there are stereotypes attached.

Stereotypes include:

That genealogy is done by retired people or old people, assuming they finally have the time off to do so.

That genealogy is about out who you are or 'finding yourself.'  I know a popular series and magazine is entitle Who Do You Think You Are?  I love that genealogy series.  However, who you are as a human being in the here and now may have little to nothing to do with your family of origin, the way you were brought up, and everything to do with what you make of yourself. It's interesting to discover through historical and documentary evidence how your ancestors, or people in general, lived fifty or a hundred, or five hundred years ago, but the world has changed dramatically and rapidly so...

That genealogy is about snobbishness.  Aristocratic, arrogant, elitist... snotty.  (I.e. my people are better than your people.)  While there are those who brag of their ancestry, it seems to me that what databases and do-it-yourself genealogy has done is open knowledge in a democratic way.  In America, discovering how ancestors lived, how they endured or survived or escaped carries with it pride and inspiration.

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THE WONDERFUL MODERN PORTRAITS OF HISTORICAL PERSONALITIES BY ROYALTY NOW : SUMMER PHOTO PROJECT

https://www.royaltynowstudios.com/    Be sure to link to Becca's blog too..

I just love the work of Royalty Now studios and I suggest you link over to her George Washington history and portrait.  When you get to the very end you'll see what he would look like if he were President of the United States now.

ROYALTY NOW YOUTUBE STATION   Harriet Tubman,  Mary Queen of Scots, Vincent Van Gogh and many more.

****

PRESERVE YOUR OWN PHOTO's...

Be sure that you have them in plastic or paper that does not have acid in it.  You can usually purchase the right stuff at art supply stores. It's usually advertised as 'archival."

Go ahead and photograph your photographs, upload them, but think carefully about putting any photos on the Internet or uploading them to databases. I know some of them are prompting you to upload and add to family charts.  Read the fine print and be sure that you retain the copyright as well as the right to remove those images that belong to you and your family.

Ancestry Worship - Genealogy

TRAVELS WITH GEORGE : GEORGE AND MARTHA WASHINGTON and THEIR SLAVES

From previous reading on this blog about Martha Washington, I can tell you that she first married a much older man who happened to also be perhaps one of the wealthiest colonials and campaigned with his father to be his wife.  When that man died, she became the wealthiest widow in the colonies.  She brought with her into her marriage to George a fortune, which as her husband he was allowed to preside over. However, it would seem that George was good about discussing things with her and that they had a good relationship. One of the things I just learned in Nathaniel Philbrick's book is that half the slaves that the Washington's owned in their marriage came with her and were first owned by her as part of her "marriage dower."  A dowry is money, land, wealth, anything that is an asset that a bride brings with her into a marriage, and a dowry was most often provided by a woman's father upon her first marriage. 

In the passage I've selected from my reading of this book, the problem of owning slaves and wanting to free them, is one that George and Martha Washington contemplate. However, the situation becomes especially person when one slave runs away and the Washington's put out ads to have her tracked and re-enslaved. You could say that historically this is not their proudest moment.

Page 113 Excerpt and Notes:  "Even though Washington had long been contemplating the emanicipation of his enslaved workers at Mount Vernon, he resolved to do everything possible to get Ona back.  (Ona was a twenty year old woman who had been Martha's personal servant.  The issue arose because Martha planned to give Ona over as a present when her "tempermental" grand-daughter Eliza as a wedding present.)  Ona was the property not of Washington but of the estate of Martha's deceased husband and was therefore known as a dower slave, meaning that technically he couldn't free her if he wanted to.  Upon Martha's death, Ona and the other dower slaves would go to Martha's grandchildren.  As Washy's and Nelly's guardian, Washington was legally bound to look after their financial interests, and he went after Ona with all the remorseless zeal that had characterized his pursuit of Lord Cornwallis at Yorktown."

Notes: Ona was absconded and to do so Washington may have abused his Presidential power.  However, Ona had not been seduced by a "Frenchman" as the Washington's proposed and she said she would only come back to serve the Washington's if they agreed to free her once they were both deceased.  They refused and she was free and married.  The Washingtons attempted to get her back another time but failed.

When Washington died in December of 1799, as in his will, all his slaves were freed.  But not Martha's dower slaves.

Ona had a difficult life as her husband died less than seven years into the marriage and she had by then three children to raise alone.

Page 305 " Many white SOuhterners condemned Washington's decision to free his enslaved workers, using the transparent and spurious claim that the enslaved at Mount Vernn were ill prepared for freedom and 'succeeded very badly as freemen." IN truth, the first free Black COmmunity in Fairfax County was composed of, acording to contemporary tax reords, "George Washington's free negroes."

To learn more about author Philbrick's travels that followed George Washington's and slavery, I suggest that reading this book will fairly take you through history, especially as he goes into the Carolina's and the scene of one of the largest sale of human beings ever.  Washington was not impressed with the Carolina's which were covered in a type of pine tree that is now near extinct with pine cones as big as pineapples!

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To bring up past posts about Martha Washington, click on the label Martha Custis Washington.

TRAVELS WITH GEORGE : TOBIAS LEAR EVENTUALLY MARRIED INTO BOTH GEORGE and MARTHA'S FAMILY

 

One of the surprising things about genealogy research is that one never knows when some unexpected archival type documents will be found in an individual's possession or buried in some library where maybe no one ever understood the value of them...

Excerpt and Notes: Page 109 -110  (What is now Kittery Maine marks the northernmost point of Washington's tour.  He stayed in what was called "the Red cottage" built about 1740 and Washington stayed there November 2nd, 1789.  Author Philbrick and his wife called the present owner and met with him. It is on Portsmouth Harbor.  The owner Jim is related to Tobias Lear and Stephen Decatur a American naval hero during the War of 1812.  He opened a chest that belonged to his grandfather that had not been open in 80 years and there found a family and genealogy treasure.  It is a ledger kept by Tobias Lear when he served as George Washington's private secretary during his first term as President of the United States.

"The large red-leather book, filled with daily transactions, from the purchase of theater tickets to that leopard-skin saddle pad, provided a remarkably detailed window into Washington's household during his first term as President.  Drawing upon this and other Washington-related documents that had come into Lear's possession after the President's death and never before seen the light of day, Decatur compiled Private Affairs of George Washington: From the Records and Accounts of Tobias Lear, Esquire, His Secretary.

Excerpt page 111 (How this became part of Jim's family's possessions.)

By the time the President had died, Lear was married into the family.   His first wife died of the Yellow Fever epidemic in 1793, and he first remarried Frances "Fanny" Bassett Washington.  After he was widowed again, because she died within the year of TB, he married Frances Dandridge Henley, who was niece of Martha's.  Therefore he had married into BOTH George Washington's family and hi wife Martha's.

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HONORARY or HEREDITY or LINEAGE SOCIETIES - A PARTIAL LIST

 HONORARY or HEREDITY or LINEAGE SOCIETIES 

BASED ON WHO YOU DESCENDED FROM 

THAT REQUIRE GENEALOGY RESEARCH TO PROVE IT

General Society of Mayflower Descendants  (PILGRIMS)

Daughters of the American Revolution   (DAR)

National Society, Sons of the American Revolution  (SAR)

General Society of the War of 1812

Descendants of Mexican War Veterans

Sons of Confederate Veterans

Presidential Families of America

Hereditary Order of the Families of the Presidents and First Ladies of America

The National Society of Washington Family Descendants (George Washington and his immediate family.)

The Monticello Association

The Daughters of the Republic of Texas

There are many more...

TRAVELS WITH GEORGE : PRESIDENT WASHINGTON'S BARGE - THE GREETING IN NEW YORK : ABOUT THE STATUE OF LIBERTY

Excerpt and Notes: Page 43-34  (Washington goes by barge to New York from New Jersey and his presidential barge is  greeted by a flotilla....

"... This forty-five foot open boat featured an awing and cushions and was towed by thirteen oarsmen dressed in white.  Washington was accompanied in the barge by a group of dignitaries...  But the New Yorkers were just getting started....

(There was singing - groups of singers - greatly effecting the President.)

Suddenly the waters surrounding the barge erupted into foam.  "At this moment a number of porpoises came playing amongst us, as if they had risen up to know what was the cause of all this joy." But the most impressive sight was still to come as the barge continued its advance toward the New York City waterfront.  "We now discovered the shores crowded with thousands of people.  Men, women, children.  Nay I may venture to say tens of thousands; from the fort to the place of landing although near a half a mile, you could see little else along the shores in the streets and on board every vessel but heads standing as thick as ears of corn before the harvest."  (quoting Boudinot)

(Still, this display just made Washington more anxious about his new role and how he might please the people.)

Excerpt: (Author Nathaniel Philbrick and his wife go to Battery Park - where the Statue of Liberty is.)

... "And yet we did see quite enough: The Statue of Liberty looming above the water, her oxidized copper skin darkened with verdigris  I had always thought the statue depicted the goddess of liberty standing proudly with her gilded torch held high --a welcoming beacon of hope for the millions of immigrants bound for nearby Ellis Island throughout much of the twentieth century.  But once our boat, appropriately named Liberty, had taken us to the landing spot on the south side of the island. I could see that, no, the goddess was not standing still;she was striding forward, the broken shackles of a chain at her feet.

The Statue of Liberty, I soon learned, had been inspired by the abolition of slavery during the Civil War.  A gift from France, it had been left to the Americans to raise the money for the statue's 150 fott-high- pedestal.  Fund raising had lagged until the newspaper publisher Joseph Pulitzer appealed to the readers of the New York World and raised a significant portion of the required fields.  The Statue of Liberty was finally dedicated in 1886."

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GEORGE WASHINGTON in 1783

 

George Washington in 1783

Artist John Trumbell

Looking a lot younger than we're used to seeing him.

TRAVELS WITH GEORGE : NEW JERSEY WAS DIFFERENT : THE RIGHT OF WOMEN and AFRICAN AMERICANS TO VOTE : SUFFERAGE

 Excerpt: Page 32 

"In terms of suffrage and political access, New Jersey was different than from any other state in the Union. Since 1776, the state's constitution had given voting rights to any adult - male, female, white, or African-American - who had lived in New Jersey for a year and was worth at least fifty pounds. (This would remain the case until 1807, when the Anti-Federalist state legislature restricted the right to vote to white males in an effort to prevent women, who tended to vote Federalist, from participating in the 1808 presidential election, ultimately won by the Anti-Federalist Thomas Jefferson's heir-apparent, James Madison.) Whether or not New Jersey's liberal  voting laws in 1789 had anything to do with it, the women of Trenton took the leading role in celebrating Washington's return. Under their direction, a twenty-foot arch supporting thirteen pillars was constructed over the bridge across the Assunpink. Just as had been done in Philadelphia, the arch was entwined with branches of evergreen, laurel, and flowers.  Emblazoned across the arch's top in large gold letters was the phrase, "The Defender of Mothers Will Be the Protector of the Daughters. Above the inscription was a cupola of flowers encircling the dates of Washington's twin victories.  December 26, 1776, and January 3, 1777, topped by a large sunflower.

When given the choice, Washington seems to have preferred the company of women over men.  He loved to dance, and after a dinner party he could be found in conversation with Martha and her lady friends rather than his male peers.  He particularly enjoyed speaking with sharp-witted, articulate women..."

C 2023 Ancestry Worship - Genealogy BlogSpot

THE WHITE HOUSE

 

TRAVELS WITH GEORGE : ANCESTRY WORSHIP - GENEALOGY BOOK REVIEW

Nathaniel Philbrick*** is adept at writing about the early inhabitants of the colonies and key figures in the foundation of the United States. This book is about George Washington, who took office in 1789 and was our first President after a successful Revolutionary War campaign. It's about his family, his wife Martha, and slavery, as well as other aspects of the man's personality and character. 

What Philbrick did was travel the route that Washington himself did: New England to South Carolina and a small area of Georgia. He went to some of the places where Washington's presence was well known enough to enjoy tours and reenactments today. He talked to people.  As he says on page 6, "But this wasn't going to be the same kind of carefree ramble enjoyed by Harry and Bess (Truman)  in the 1950's. We were, after all, following the travels of a slaveholder at a time when Confederate monuments were being removed across the South.  The country's political divide seemed to be widening by the day.  And yet I didn't want this trip to be about what separates us.  I wanted to find out how Washington attempted to bind us together into a lasting union of states.  Acknowledging and even delving into his weaknesses and failings, especially when it came to slavery, I wanted to know what Washington got right - what tools he and his generation had left us to begin to build a better nation.

Oh, and a little independent research on my part; our first three presidents, Washington, Jefferson, and Madison all spoke with English accents. They didn't just speak with that accent, they had that accent because they were British, and their thoughts had to be influenced by a certain mentality of that ethnic heritage, that political system - the King - even as they wanted different for a new nation.

(I try to think of my own ancestors who were in Europe in 1800.  I often wonder what they heard of the American Revolution and what they thought of it.)

There are a few passages in this book that I thought were especially telling or valuable which I will be excerpting. In particular the way Washington dealt with his slaves and those who were brought into the marriage by his wife Martha, called "dower slaves," was especially telling. Laws of inheritance at the time prevented him from decisions on Martha's.

As I have been, rather than do one extremely long session of excerpts, I will play it forward and readers who are interested in more can bring up all posts by clicking on the label or using the search feature...  Try the words George Washington.  This book is a recommended read for those of you who like to learn more about American History, especially as it might pertain to your own genealogy research.

Oh, and as a P.S.  The author and his wife took their dog with them on their travels.  Washington loved his dogs.  Page 23:  "Not only had he almost single-handedly developed what we call today the American fox-hound, but he had a great affection for his dogs, giving them names like Sweet Lips, Drunkard, and True Love.

C 2023  Ancestry Worship - Genealogy BlogSpot

*** In the past I reviewed his book about the Mayflower.

 

Ancestry Worship - Genealogy

HISTORICAL MARKER DATABASE - AN INTERESTING WAY TO LEARN AMERICAN HISTORY of PLAN YOUR LOCAL TOUR

HISTORICAL MARKER DATABASE 

How many of us have toured our locale in order to learn the history of the place? 

Happened upon this site and was amazed at what I did not know.  Searchable and, if you know of a marker that should be included, you can suggest additions. So many structures have been built over but the markers noting them are there to discover.  And what I get is that in each case the marker had to be thought noteworthy. It had to be proposed, designed, determined, and paid for, as well as placed. Sometimes this was done because what had happened there was over or what had been built there was being taken down.

To quote the site, historical markers lead us to "public history cast in metal, carved on stone, or embedded in resin."

So, perhaps you are standing on an old burial ground, or the location of the school your great grandparents went to is marked - or still standing.

Worth exploring!

THE ANCESTRY OF PRESIDENT GEORGE WASHINGTON

A chart from the Library of Congress that includes the English Heraldry of the Washington family.  I'm always interested in the artistic notions that various family trees, records, and other documents reveal.  These historical renderings can inspire us to think about ways we can fashion our own ancestral charts.

DADDY'S DAY

 Honoring all those who provide love and nurturing to children.

COLONIAL AMERICA CENSUS WORK - LIMITS OF THE 1790 U.S. CENSUS : 13 ORIGINAL COLONIES and THEN SOME

The first census taken in what was the United States was taken in the year 1790 and its a statistical census. It features the names of heads of households, mostly men. There were less than four million people counted. Thomas Jefferson was then the Secretary of State, not yet President, and under his direction the census was taken not by census takers, but by the marshals of the various districts. The census was of the ORIGINAL 13 COLONIES that became STATES but also the districts of Kentucky, Southwest Territory (mostly what is now Tennessee), as well as Maine and Vermont. 

The 13 COLONIES WERE :  New Jersey (NJ), Maryland (MD), Virginia (VA) which included an expanse of what is now South West Pennsylvania*,  Rhode Island (RI), Connecticut (CT), New York (NY), Pennsylvania (PA), North Carolina (NC) and South Carolina (SC) - the state was split in two in 1712, Georgia (GA),  New Hampshire (NH), Massachusetts (MA). We tend to think of the 13 original colonies as all in the North East, as New England, but as you see, three of the states were actually in the South.

* Were your ancestors Colonial's living south of Pittsburgh? Yohoghania County Virginia is the name of the County that was disputed between the state of Virginia and the state of Pennsylvania, also called the District of West Augusta. As land grants and legalities were in dispute, you may want to look at records from both states.

C 2023  Ancestry Worship - Genealogy BlogSpot

 

 

FLAG DAY U.S.A.

 

This is the day to honor the emblem of the United States of America, the Flag, to fly it and learn to fold it.  Speaking of, it's been a while but in the past I've gotten some great information I needed from the genealogy database called Fold3.  The name Fold3 came from the folding of the flag into a three pointed triangle.  The site came upon the scene with military records.

NOT INTERESTED IN JOINING SONS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION or DAUGHTERS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION ? COLONIAL AMERICAN RESEARCH!

Although heredity societies such as DAR or SAR are not of interest to everyone, if you're doing research on your very early American roots in Colonial times, you may still want to see what information that DAR or SAR holds that may be applicable to your search. You may be surprised. Both have libraries of their own. Some of their membership and past applications can be found on certain databases. If you're starting to loose a trail. I would certainly look to see who may have applied for membership and the lineage they are reporting.

Talking to someone the other day about PEDIGREE COLLAPSE and how interrelated humans are, I suggested that DNA results would probably lead to an affirmation that a person is genetically linked to dozens of ancestors in a small town in Europe. 

Basically, as we go back in time there were less people on earth than there are now.  And people died younger. And remarried quickly. So while today there are blended families because of divorce, not so long ago the death of a spouse a - until the mid 1800's in Colonial America - common for people to marry a cousin. Not a first cousin but someone related. In Europe concerns and understandings about land ownership and inheritance also encouraged interrelated and local marriages. It was not until massive immigration, travel and transportation ease, and the move from country to cities that people started having an opportunity to meet people who would otherwise be strangers to them, and to choose their own partners, really mixing up that DNA.  So, be it a royal family or you and me, we are likely to discover that some of the same people appear on our charts in more than one of our lines. What might appear as a fan chart -that looks like an inverted pyramid may just collapse.

SAUDI-FATHERED CHILDREN ABANDONED IN AMERICA - ONE MAN'S SEARCH FOR HIS FATHER

ABC NEWS SPECIAL : SAUDI CHILDREN LEFT BEHIND   Link to the YouTube video.

I'm linking to this video rather than embedding it because there is a commercial attached.  This is the story of one man, one of many children, whose pregnant mother was abandoned by his father, a college student in America at that time.  It focuses on the difficulty he has because of the fact that what his father did - having sex without marriage and with a woman not of his culture and religion - is a shameful thing among his own.  Certainly such men know what they are doing. So take responsibility already!

The man is able to connect with younger family members who do not have the same attitude, but his birth father shuns him, as he always did, even when he travels all the way to Saudi Arabia.

Saudi Arabians are not the only college students who come for an American education and use the comparative liberalness of America and American women to experience sex and then abscond to their own far-away countries leaving women to raise the child without their support, without marriage. 

While not every foreign student is this way and the abandonment of women and children also happens by native-born men, the great numbers of people who approach me hoping to find a birth parent leads me to think seriously about this as an issue.

Recently I worked with a person who's mother - in her 80's - still wants to know who her mother's birth parents were. We got as far as learning that her adoptive parents died within a month of each other when this adopted girl was only 18 and using census, that they were born and raised in different states but managed to adopt when they were living in Chicago. Women were having their babies without fathers in Chicago at the turn of the century.  There is still hope.

Ancestry Worship - Genealogy

MEMORIAL DAY

ANN FESSLER INTERVIEW ; THE GIRLS WHO WENT AWAY : BIRTH MOTHERS WHO GAVE THEIR BABIES UP FOR ADOPTION

THE GIRLS WHO WENT AWAY

As she talks about how horrible it was for women who got pregnant when not married in the 1950's and 1960's, it came to me that it was the same way in the 1970's and even today, depending on where a person lives, what religion the family is, and so on.

https://www.thegirlswhowentaway.com/   link to excellent reviews

NURTURING

 

THE 800 WOMEN WHO FRENCH CANADIANS ARE DESCENDED FROM

CBC : MOST FRENCH CANADIANS DESCENT FROM 800 WOMEN   Excellent article!

Fur traders and missionaries needed wives and so here came the orphans and the adventurers, ready to take their chances. France decided to appeal to the women through clever marketing, calling them an honorific "Daughters of the King."  One in ten didn't survive the journey across the ocean.  Unlike most women, however, a possible positive was that they got to choose their husbands.  There were about 3000 to choose from.

Excerpt:  For the 800 women who make it, France pays for the women's passage and provides a dowry from the royal treasury.  The women are also given a hope chest containing, among other things, a pair of hose, a pair of shoes, a bonnet, gloves, a comb, a belt and various sewing supplies.

(The dowry was essential for marriage in France.  It came to about $1000. today.)

Excerpt: Two-thirds of toay's French-Canadians can trace their ancestry back to one of these 800 women.  Their influence was felt outside Quebec, as well. Some famous Americans also claim a Fille du Roi as an ancestor, including Hilary Clinton, Madonna, and Angela Jolie.

TERESA WEILER'S TESTIMONIAL ON BEING A CHILD OF INCEST, MEETING HER BIRTH PARENTS, and WHY SHE CHOSE NOT TO HAVE CHILDREN

DAILY MAIL : I COULDN'T HAVE CHILDREN BECAUSE  from December 2022, Teresa Weiler wrote this testimonial published by Daily Mail. It is her story of discovering she was born due to brother-sister incest and how this knowledge strongly influenced her choices to not also have children.

As I read this I felt for her, very much so, but I also wish she had been better informed in youth.  I'm not sure that if she had children they would be "monsters."  And I think she might have benefited from counseling. 

Last year I met a woman who is good friends with a woman who has a few children that are the result of her father having sex with her as a teenager.  I was told these children were prospering and that their mother was fine. It was told to me by someone who is anti-abortion, perhaps as an example of how well things can turn out.  But when this same woman told me that children of incest never suffer I had to question that.  I said I knew of a family in which there had been first cousin marriages through the generations and they had all sorts of mental illness, learning disabilities, and developmental delays...  They said it was to keep the land in their family in Europe. Though for two generations the immigrants children had married outside that close family, these medical issues were not resolved.  (And I was there when the immigrant grandparents were trying to "match-make" their grand-daughter with a cousin as if they had lived in America for years!)

I also thought of the ancient royal Egyptians who did have genetic negatives from close interbreeding.

Today, however, should you be concerned about passing down genetic issues to your offspring, there is genetic testing and counseling. 

And, I won't say "there's always adoption," as I realize from friends that it has gotten expensive and difficult.  However, if you do love children, there are other ways that a person can get involved with children in education, in fostering, and in volunteer work.