Those Places Thursday: Netze District, Prussia

I was told repeatedly that my great grandfather, Johann August Fredrich, came from Posen, Germany. No family members had any records or documents supporting this, only hearsay. I thought, "okay, that is a start", until I started researching Posen! Posen was not only a city, but a province, as well, and a pretty big one!

It wasn't until I was contacted by a Fredrich researcher, who lives in Germany, that I learned of the area the Fredrich family was from in the late 1700's.  He even sent me a book on the area, "Heimat an Netze Brahe Weichsel".

Netze District, 1786

This image is a copy or a derivative work of central_europe_1786.jpg, from the map collection of the Perry-Castañeda Library (PCL) of the University of Texas at Austin.

The Netze District was a part of the Kingdom of Prussia from 1792-1807.  Wikipedia states," It included the area of Bydgoszcz (Bromberg), Inowrocław (Inowraclaw), Piła (Schneidemühl) and Wałcz (Deutsch Krone) and was given its name for the Noteć River (German: Netze) that traversed it." The Fredrich family was from the Bromberg area.

This area eventually became a part of West Prussia, then South Prussia, which became part of the Duchy of Warsaw after Napoleon Bonaparte's victory in the War of the Fourth Coalition.  In 1815, it was divided between the Duchy of Posen and Poland. Today, the area is in Poland.

Where in the World is Samuel B. Poor?

Where in the World is Samuel B. Poor?

Census records are some of the first records I search for when researching an ancestor. I have been doing a series of Where in the World? posts in table format to see where there are gaps in my research. This table is for Samuel B. Poor, my third great grandfather. 

FACT	DATE	PLACE OF RESIDENCE	ENUMERATION DISTRICT/PAGE ID./DWELLING
Birth	9 Sep 1792	Dunbarton, Merrimack, New Hampshire, United States
Census	1830	Dansville, Steuben, New York, United States	/397/
Census	1840	Washtenaw county, Michigan, United States	/73/
Census	1845	Lima Township, Washtenaw, Michigan, United States	/10/
Census	1850	Johnstown, Barry, Michigan, United States	/88B/355
Census	1860	Johnstown, Barry, Michigan, United States	/62/508
Death	bef 1870

Lucy Powers Hyde Maiden Name Is ...

The maiden names of our female ancestors are often elusive, especially the further back in time one researches. It would be great if we could find a marriage record for every couple in our family, but that isn't always the case.  If a marriage record isn't available then one has to use other records to help find a maiden name.  Some of the records include census, probate, newspaper, and church records.  

Source: "War of 1812 Service Records," database, Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com : accessed 12 January 2012), Entry for Powers, William; National Archives and Records Administration. Index to the Compiled Military Service Records for the Volunteer Soldiers Who Served During the War of 1812. Washington.D.C.

My elusive maiden name was for my fourth great grandmother, Lucy Powers Hyde.  I first found Lucy's name in the War of 1812 Pension Application Files Index for William Powers.  She was listed as William's widow, former Lucy Hyde.  I was wondering if former meant this was her maiden name, or had Lucy remarried after William's death.

Further research of Lucy Hyde led to the following records:

• Mrs. Lucy Hyde was admitted to membership of First Presbyterian Church, Ypsilanti, Michigan on 2 January 1834.
• Lucy Hyde was named in Ypsilanti's First Presbyterian church session records as the mother-in-law of Samuel S. Glover on April 27, 1835. 
• Lucy Hyde is living with Charles W. Glover and Mary Ann Powers, her daughter, in the 1850 Census, in Ypsilanti, Washtenaw, Michigan. 
• Lucy Hyde is living with Charles W. Glover and Mary Ann Powers, her daughter, in the 1860 Census, in Ypsilanti, Washtenaw, Michigan.

Since Lucy was going by Hyde as early as 1834, I concluded that Lucy Powers remarried a male Hyde between Williams death in 1813 and her mention in church session records in 1834.  Again, no marriage record has been found.

I continued my research of Lucy by researching William Powers death.  I found William's probate records in Abstracts of Wills, Adminstrators and Guardianships in NY State, 1787-1835 at American Ancestors.org.  The abstract provided the information I needed to find the actual records, dated 2 May 1817, available at American Ancestors. These records included making Lucy the administrator of William's will and naming Lucy Powers guardian for her children: Eliza Ann, Mary Ann, Remus Vernum, William, Samuel S, Vinera Egleston and Mary Ann Powers. (Note: Mary Ann was listed twice in the abstract and in the actual court transcript)

Another record showed that Asa Pixley was appointed guardian for Remus Vernum Powers of Framington, Ontario, New York, dated 18 March 1820.  This was the first time I saw the Pixley surname.  Who was Asa Pixley?  Was he family?  Was he in Lucy's family?  

Each record I found led to more questions on my part.  None of the records answered my research question by itself: What is the maiden name of Lucy, the mother of Vinera Egleston Powers and wife of William Powers?

I found Pixley as Lucy's maiden name in a Bible record at Ypsilanti Historical Society, Ypsilanti, Michigan.  The Bible was a Glover Family Bible, owned by Mrs. Hal W. Glover, Annie Overton Crary Glover. Hal W. Glover was the great grandson of Lucy, through her daughter Mary Ann Powers, who married Charles Williamson Glover.  The Bible record stated that "Mary Ann Powers married Charles Williamson Glover".  Her parents were recorded as "William Powers and Lucy (Pixley) Powers of St. Albans, Vermont."  Did I find Lucy's maiden name?  Maybe?

I do not feel that my research is complete, especially when primary sources are scarce, unless I conduct a broad search.  At this point, I don't feel I have conducted a broad enough search. Everything I have found is one piece of a very large puzzle, but a few more pieces are needed to come to the conclusion that Pixley is her maiden name.

Further research found a Lucinda Pixley birth record in Vermont Births, Marriages and Deaths to 2008 at American Ancestors.  It gave a birth date of 9 August 1783, in Westminster, Windham, Vermont.  Parents were Paul Pixley and Sylvia.  The birth year of 1783 coincides with census records that gives Lucy's age.

Am I ready to write a conclusion of my research question: What is the maiden name of Lucy, the mother of Vinera Powers and wife of William Powers?  Does the preponderance of the evidence lead to Pixley as Lucy's married name?  Not yet, but I feel I am getting closer.

What are my next steps?  

• Find marriage record for William Powers and Lucy, who married in Vermont, possibly. 
• Research Westminster, Vermont and St. Albans, Vermont records for family information for William Powers.
• Use Fold 3.com to research William Powers, War of 1812 records.
• Research children of William Powers and Lucy, including William R., Eliza Ann, Remus Virnum, and Samuel S. Powers.
• Research Asa Pixley.

What would you do next?  Please leave a comment if you have any suggestions of where to look for Lucy's maiden name.

 

The Great Big New England Genealogy Tour: Research Plans

It's hard for me to narrow down the list of questions I have about my New England ancestors, but it is something I need to do as I plan my Great Big New England Genealogy Tour. This is going to be the most challenging part of the preparation for me. It is the most important part if I want to have a successful research trip. 

I started by looking at my research and creating questions that need to be answered.  Next, I prioritized the questions to those that are ready for on the ground research.

It is hard to know how many questions I realistically can work on during my trip, but I came up with the following, in order of importance.  Three questions may not seem like a lot, but answering these questions will lead me to new avenues of research and more questions. Plus, I have a list of ancestral places I would like to visit and a list of additional questions, if needed.

Question 1:  Who were the parents of Daniel Fenn, who was born circa 1787, possibly in Vermont, and married Huldah Rowley, 28 Feb 1808, in Shoreham, Addison, Vermont?

Question 2:  Who were the parents of Huldah Rowley, that was born circa 1789, possibly in Pittsford, Vermont, and married Daniel Fenn, 28 Feb 1808, in Shoreham, Addison, Vermont?

Question 3:  What was the maiden name of Lucy, the wife of William Powers and mother of Vinera Eglantine Powers, who was born circa 1782, possibly in Vermont?

Below is my blank research plan.  I make a copy of it and fill in the relevant information based on the research objective/question.

Objective:

Current Information: 

Conduct a Broad Search:  (Search based on location, time, and associates)

Understand the Records:  (Glean information from names and dates)

Correlate the Evidence:  (Direct vs. Indirect Information)

Conclusion: 

Here is my research plan for Question 1:

Objective: 

·      Who were the parents of Daniel Fenn, who was born circa 1787, possibly in Vermont, and married Huldah Rowley, 28 Feb 1808, in Shoreham, Addison, Vermont?

Current Information:

·         According to the book, 1992 Supplement to the 1984 Genealogical Register of the Early Families of Shoreham, Vermont by Susan Holt MacIntire and Sanford Stowell Witherell, Daniel was born circa 1787.  No other record of birth has been found.  This date goes along with his death information.  He died in 1836 at the age of 49.

·         Daniel Fenn married Huldah Rowley, 28 Feb 1808 in Shoreham, Addison, Vermont, United States.

·         Daniel Fenn and Huldah Rowley Fenn were the parents of Orpah Ann Fenn, Tully C.P. Fenn, Betsy M. Fenn, Aminda Fenn, Orlo H. Fenn, Daniel C. Fenn, Abel Fenn and two other daughters.

·         Daniel Fenn was a member of Capt. George Fisher’s Company, Sumner’s Regiment in the War of 1812 from 12 April 1814 to 20 May 1814.

·         Daniel Fenn, age 33, can be found living as head of household in the 1820 Census records for Shoreham, Addison, Vermont, living with Males: Under 5 years of age: 1; Of 5 and under 10: 1;  Of 15 and under 20:  1; Of 20 and under 30:  1; Of 40 and under 50:  1 Females: Under 5 years of age:  1; Of 5 and under 10:  1; Of 10 and under 15:  1; Of 15 and under 20:  1; Of 20 and under 30:  1

·         Daniel Fenn, age 43, can be found living as the head of household in the 1830 Census living in Shoreham, Addison, Vermont with Male: Under 5:  1; Of 5 and Under 10:  1; Of 15 and Under 20:  1; Of 20 and Under 30:  1; Of 40 and Under 50:  1.  Females: Under 5:  1; Of 5 and Under 10:  1; Of 10 and Under 15:  1; Of 15 and Under 20:  1; Of 20 and Under 30:  1; Of 40 and Under 50:  1.

·         Daniel Fenn and his family arrived in the Michigan Territory in the spring of 1833 settling in Sylvan Township, Washtenaw, Michigan Territory.  He was one of the earliest settlers in Washtenaw County, Michigan Territory.

·         Daniel Fenn was named overseer of the poor for what was known as the Vermont Settlement in April, 1834.

·         Daniel Fenn and his wife, Huldah Fenn were two of fourteen original members of First Baptist Church of Lima, Washtenaw, Michigan Territory in July of 1833..

·         Daniel Fenn purchased three land patents, certificate numbers 9093, 9094, 9095 for 80 acres per certificate for land in Washtenaw County, Michigan Territory. 

·         Daniel Fenn is buried at Vermont Cemetery, Sylvan Township, Michigan Territory.  His headstone states he died 8 March 1836 at the age of 49, making his birth year about 1787.

Conduct a Broad Search:  (Search based on location, time, and associates)

·         Check Census records for 1790, 1800, 1810, for Fenn’s living in Shoreham, Addison, Vermont that have males of Daniel Fenn’s age.  (1790: 3; 1800:13; 1810: 23 married) There is a Daniel Fenn living in Washington, Litchfield CT in the 1790 and 1800 Census. Look at names on the pages surrounding to see if any came to Vermont or Michigan with them.

·         Check Addison county, Vermont Land Transactions for Daniel Fenn.

·         Check church records(Baptist?) in Shoreham, Addison, Vermont for mention of Daniel Fenn.

·         Check tax records for Shoreham, Addison, Vermont for Daniel Fenn.

·         Check probate records for Washtenaw County, Michigan for Daniel Fenn, Date of death 8 March 1836.

·         Check First Baptist Church records in Lima Township, Washtenaw.

·         Look for Daniel Fenn’s War of 1812 records.

·         

Understand the Records:  (Glean information from names and dates)

Correlate the Evidence:  (Direct vs. Indirect Information)

Conclusion: 

The last three sections will be completed as the research is completed.  If you would like to see my first, The Great Big New England Genealogy Tour post, click here.

Six Years of Blogging and I Missed my Blogiversary!

Happy 6th Blogiversary to Me!

Journey to the Past celebrated its sixth blogiversary in silence!  Usually, I post a blog on that day, March 1st, to celebrate the milestone, but this year it went by with barely a blip on my radar.

Here are a few of my favorite posts from year six:

Online Primary Sources of the Salem Witch Trials

Teacher in Salem, New Hampshire Find Cellar Hole of Moses Poor

You Know Your Are the Family Historian When ...

Was Your German Ancestor Recruited to Come to Michigan?

Leyndyke-DeSalvo Wedding

The Great Big New England Genealogy Tour: Preparation

Every genealogist has that one place that they would give anything for to be able to visit and conduct research. I am no different. Ever since I found out I have deep roots in New England, I have wanted to visit there.

My husband, Kirk, and I have finally decided we are going to take that great big New England Genealogy Tour! I am so excited, but also overwhelmed when I think about how much I need to do to get ready for a trip of this magnitude.

I need to make the usual trip preparations: trip itinerary, reservations, routes, etc, and I need to get my genealogy research in order.  I plan to make research plans for each question I would like answered during my trip.  I plan to create Roots Magic, my genealogy software, reports for each area we are visiting.

I have taken other research trips that were closer to home and I was able to focus my research goals to a family or two.  I have hundreds of families to research in New England and narrowing my focus for best success will be tough.

First, I need to plan the trip.  I started a Pinterest Board, "Future New England Trip", about three years ago.  I have been adding pins that are of interest to my husband and I.  We plan to combine his hobby of beer-making, our love of traveling to new places, with my research interests.  Although I am calling this "The Great Big New England Genealogy Tour", I am planning vacation time or down time as well.

Putting trip resources in one place!

Next, we plotted out what states and attractions we would like to see and how long we feel we would need to do everything on our list.  We have five states (New York, Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine, and Massachusetts) and numerous attractions we are going to visit.

I am sure this list will be edited as we continue our planning, but I wanted to get an idea of where we wanted to go so I could start looking for places to stay.  We plan to use VRBO (Vacation Rental by Owner) and hotels during our stay.

Our first stop will be in the Finger Lakes area of New York.  Both Kirk and I have ancestors from that area.  I don't plan on doing any research here, but want to visit a couple of cemeteries and see the Phelps, Oak Corners and Owasco areas.

Next, we will travel to Massachusetts. We plan to stay South of Boston, for one week, and visit the historical sites of Plymouth and Cape Cod.  We plan to stay a number of days, North of Boston, and use public transportation to go into Boston.  I want three days to research at NEHGS (New England Historic Genealogical Society) Library.  Plus, we need a couple of days to explore Boston's historical wonders. In addition, I want to visit Salem, Newburyport and Haverhill areas.

The rest of the time will be spent exploring the other states in New England. Visiting Maine will be for pure vacation time.  So far, I don't have any research to conduct in Maine.  I plan to eat my way through Maine with Lobster! I bought a book on Lobster Shacks at Half.com!  Then I will waddle around Acadia National Park, Freeport, and Portland, all for fun.

A couple of days will be spent in New Hampshire exploring the area where my Poor family lived. We will spend a day exploring part of the states beauty before traveling to Shoreham, Vermont.

Shoreham, Vermont is where my Fenn/Rowley line lived before moving to Michigan. I hope to be able to explore the area and find new leads for research, if I didn't find them at NEHGS library.  We will use this as our 'home' base for visiting other areas of Vermont. Fort Ticonderoga, Lake Champlain, Ben and Jerry's, Covered Bridges and Burlington are on the list.

This is an ambitious itinerary, one I am looking forward to tackling. I tried to remain flexible in case something pops up and we want to explore it, but I travel best when I have a plan.

The Great Big New England Genealogy Tour will be included in my blog posts from time to time.  I plan to share my trip and research preparation with my readers.  I hope to include information on research plans, research logs, repository reports, Roots Magic reports, and more.  But, first I need to record research I have previously conducted.  I try to do that before I conduct more research.

Join me as I plan one of my long sought after research trips.  Do you have any New England research gems, favorite food joints, or must see places?  Please share in the comments.

German Letters: A Key to the Past

Katherine is guest blogging on German translation today.  Thank you, Katherine.  Please see Katherine's bio at the end of the post.  I do not have any relation to Katherine or her ancestors.  I found her story interesting and thought my readers would too.  

As a translator of old German handwritten documents, I spend many days reading the personal correspondence between family members living in the 19^th and early 20^th centuries. I often wonder what these people would think if they knew that, 200 years into the future, a woman in America was reading their private hopes and dreams they had written to their mother, to their son, to their best friend. However, I like to believe that these writers wouldn’t mind, as this translation of their letters allows their great-great-great grandchildren to get an idea of what their ancestors were like all those years ago: how their minds worked, what their worries were, what they hoped for and so on. It allows the memory of these individuals to live on throughout the ages, and I think all people like the idea of that. 

I recently got to spend some time translating a few letters from my own ancestors, written on the back of photographs sent from Germany to America in the early 20^th century. These letters were written by a woman named Adolphine (b.1843) to her sons who had moved to the Midwest in 1887. While one of these sons, Fritz, is my great-great grandfather, I never knew much about his mother until I began working with these pictures. Through Adolphine’s letters, the rather serious older woman in the photographs comes to life as a whimsical and loving little lady. One such letter, on the back of a picture of Adolphine with her youngest son Erick, can be seen below: 

My dear Fritz, Here comes your little old mother with Erick and his family to wish you a happy birthday! May you, my dear Fritz, always spend this day in health with your loved ones and may God’s blessings be with you, dear boy, in this new year of life! I thought it would make you all happy if my 80-year-old self came to you “in person”!  Warmest greetings to you and all my love, your mother and grand- and great-grandmother!

Without this sweet little note, I may have imagined Adolphine to be a somber, rigid 19^th-century woman. However, through her happy words to her son, as well as her little “in person” joke, I now feel that I have more idea of who she was as a person. While I am sure she would have never imagined that her great-great-great granddaughter would be reading her birthday message in the year 2016, I hope that it would make her happy to know that her descendants are still thinking of her and want to learn about her life. I think that it would. 

Katherine is a German-English genealogy translator who works with old German handwriting in letters, marriage and baptismal certificates, church registers and more. After receiving her Masters degree in German from Bowling Green State University, she moved to Austria to teach English through the Fulbright Program and work as a translator. She now translates German genealogy documents full-time back in the States. Check out her website and blog at sktranslations.com for more information.

Meet My New Genealogy Assistant, Alexa, from Amazon Echo

I didn't think any gift would be able to top the one my husband got me last year for Christmas, but my son may have outdone him this year.  He got me my own genealogy assistant, Alexa.  Seriously, I have an assistant now.

Meet Alexa! 

Photo courtesy of Amazon.com

Alexa isn't a person, but it is the next best thing.  I don't have to pay Alexa or report her income. I just speak and Alexa does what I want.  Alexa is the voice activated persona of Amazon Echo.  Amazon Echo has been widely available since June, 2015, but I hadn't heard of it until I unwrapped it Christmas morning. Amazon Echo is a voice activated system with an awesome speaker.

My son knows of my love of music and I am sure that was why he bought it for me. I use it for music and have been re-living my youth by listening to Tommy James and the Shondells, 70's Rock, Eagles, Motown, Neil Diamond, and more.  It is an awesome system for music, but it wasn't long before I was thinking about how I could use it for genealogy.

The first thing I found was podcasts.  Lisa Louise Cooke's Genealogy Gems Podcast is available via Tune In for Echo.  All I have to do is say:  "Alexa, play Genealogy Gems on Tune In"  and there it is, ready to be listened to as I get dinner, do the dishes, or clean.  The Genealogy Guys, George and Drew, can be found on Tune In as well.

Next, I started using the 'to-do' list feature.  "Alexa, add record Archives of Michigan research to To Do list." and she does.  The shopping list is a neat feature too,  "Alexa, add file folders to shopping list".  She is an awesome assistant.

Alexa can tell me what is on my calendar for the day, she can tell me the weather in Fort Wayne in case, I decide to go to the Genealogy Center, or anywhere else. She can even answer questions, "Alexa, how far is it to Boston Massachusetts?"  She can't tell me how long it takes to get there because she doesn't know how fast I drive, and she tells me that!

One of the things I am looking forward to using Alexa for is when I plan my next research trip. She can tell you where cemeteries and libraries are and even the hours of some.  She can give you names of restaurants as well.

One feature I haven't used yet is Alexa's ability to read to me.  She can read audiobooks from Amazon Kindle.  Imagine working around the house and listening to Advanced Genealogy Research Techniqueos.

Alexa is adding new features, like Jeopardy, all the time and I can't wait to see what she has in store in the future and how I can adapt it to my genealogical world.  Thank you Travis and Alayna for the great genea-gift, even if you didn't know I would use it for genealogy.

Now, if she would only do the dishes!  "Cleaning the dishes is something I can't help with."  I will keep her anyway as she does enough to make me excited to see everything she can do.