Family History Center Visit 5

Yesterday, I went back to the local Family History Center, and I looked through the Huntingdon tax records microfilm, that I ordered, again. As you may remember from my previous post, I was unable to finish looking through the assessments for Hopewell Township after 1815 on my last visit, so I finished going through the assessments for the township between 1815 and 1823. Of course, I was still able to find an Oswalt in the assessments for that township, but I was unable to find my ancestor, Benjamin Oswalt, in the records before 1823. The Oswalt that I did find in the assessments was an Adam Oswalt, and I suspect this Adam might be Benjamin's father as this Adam is old enough to pass for his father. Of course, this Adam is not to be confused with Benjamin's son, Adam, who served in the Civil War. (If that makes any sense!)

Of course, I was hoping to find Benjamin before 1823 because I am trying to trace his movements. I know that Benjamin did reside in Hopewell Township from 1823 until 1826, and then again from 1829 until 1833, when the tax assessments end, but I have not yet been able to find him or his family in the 1820 census. I did notice that there were other people living with an Adam Oswalt in the 1820 census, so I am trying to determine if that is where Benjamin was living. Of course, I will need to look at other townships in the area as it could be possible that Benjamin was living another township before 1823. I am hoping to narrow his movements so that I can figure out when Benjamin married and his age.

I noticed that at the end of the tax assessments, there was a section for single, freedmen, but I could not find Benjamin listed in that list either, for Hopewell Township. One of the tax assessments recorded that single men who were 21 and older were listed under that list. So, if I was able to find Benjamin in the tax assessment, that would give me an approximate year of birth and the removal of his name from the single men's list would give me an approximate year of marriage. Since I was unable to find him listed under any of Hopewell's tax assessments before 1823, I will need to look for him in another neighboring township. (When Benjamin does show up in Hopewell in 1823, I know he is already married as he is listed with the other heads of households on the assessment and not with the single men.)

So, I will have to visit the local Family History Center again, and look through the microfilm again. Eventually I will do a post on the tax assessments, but that will have to wait until I am able to go through the microfilm again. Stay tuned ...

Don't Forget!

I just want to remind everyone that submissions for the seventeenth edition of the Carnival of Central and Eastern European Genealogy are due the 29th of March. M. Diane Rogers is hosting this edition, and you can find out more information about the edition here. You can submit your articles here. Thanks!

Forgot To Mention: 33rd Shades Of The Departed Guest Column Posted!

I forgot to mention on Friday that the 33rd Shades of the Departed guest column had been posted, and I am really sorry for forgetting to mention the post. The author of that column was M. Diane Rogers, and you can read it here. Enjoy!

Family History Center Visit 4

Earlier today I visited the local Family History Center, and I discovered that the another microfilm of tax assessments for Huntingdon County, Pennsylvania had arrived. I looked at the tax assessments for Hopewell township from 1788 to about 1815, and discovered that a possible Oswalt ancestor resided in the county from 1802. Of course, I have not proven that this man is my ancestor, but this man was old enough to pass for Benjamin Oswalt's father. I was unable to look at the tax assessments from 1815 to 1823 because I ran out of time, but I hope to look at those tax records again soon.

Now I have proof that Oswalts were living in Huntingdon County from at least 1802, so now, I need to figure out why I cannot find them in the 1810 census. I guess I'll have to look again and see if I can find the family. Stay tuned ...

Michigan Genealogy News: The Death Certificates and Other Things ...

I'm a little late in posting information about the Michigan Death Certificates, 1897-1920, but some of the deaths are up. (About 250,000 are up, or 25% of the death certificates are online.) Of course, I have already found a few people, and I'll probably write about those findings next week.

Before I even got a chance to write about this post, Miriam already posted about the records, and found a way to look at some of the death records online through a different site. (Of course, I should mention that that site only has about 20,000 records online.) Harold has also written about the records, and he posted his thoughts on the search capabilities of the site.

Update, 3/25 at 11:30 a.m.: I have finally gotten around to writing this post, and I thought I should add that Harold has also posted an update to the search problem at the site.

Family History Center Update

I forgot to mention this yesterday, but another one of my microfilms has come into the center. Obviously, I do not know what records are on the microfilm, but I hope to be able to visit the center in the next few days. As always, I'll report on what I find after my visit.

68th Edition of the Carnival of Genealogy Posted!

The 68th edition of the Carnival of Genealogy has been posted! You can read it here. The topic for the next edition will be on "What if... This is your chance to rewrite history! Have you ever imagined your ancestor playing a major roll in history? Perhaps you've envisioned them single handedly winning the American Revolution, going over Niagara Falls in a barrel, or inventing the flutaphone. This is your chance to write a bit of fiction about your ancestor to delight and entertain us. It is the April Fools edition after all! This edition will be hosted by Bill West at West in New England. Thanks Bill! The deadline for submissions is April 1st so start spinning your tall tales!" Enjoy!

Happy Saint Patrick's Day!

I just want to wish everyone a happy Saint Patrick's Day. Enjoy!

12th Edition of the Carnival of Irish Heritage and Culture Posted!

The 12th edition of the Carnival of Irish Heritage and Culture has been posted! You can read it here. The topic for the next edition will be on "Irish names," and you can read more information about it here. Enjoy!

11th Edition of the Smile For The Camera Carnival Posted!

The 11th edition of the Smile for the Camera has been posted! You can read the edition here. The topic for the next edition will be on "Noble Life. Show us a photograph of an ancestor, relative, or friend that is the embodiment of A Noble Life. A life that is worthy of those who came before and those who follow after. A Life filled with small but courageous acts; filled with love and honor. A simple life, an ordinary life, A Noble Life. Bring them to the carnival and share with us how you've honored them." Enjoy!

(Note: I am only posting my notice for this edition now as I was busy this past weekend, and I was unable to do any blogging when this edition was posted.)

32nd Shades Of The Departed Guest Column Posted!

The 32nd Shades of the Departed Guest Column has been posted! The author of this week's column is Sheri Fenley, and you can read it here. Enjoy!

Library of Michigan and State Archives News: Possible Closure?

I've just learned from a genealogy group on yahoo that there is some discussion about closing the Library of Michigan due to the budget. If true, this not good for genealogists. I'll try to find some more information, and post it here later if it is true.

Update at 1:12 p.m.: I've found a message from the State Librarian here. As for whether it is true or not that the Library might be closed, I'm still not completely sure.

I Haven't Posted Too Much Lately ...

As you probably have noticed, I haven't posted at all in the past several days. Part of the reason for not posting has been due to the fact that I have been busy taking care of stuff for graduate school in the fall. In addition, there have been a days where I haven't felt like posting although I have about four to five backlogged posts that I want to write. Of course, I plan to post these articles as soon as possible.

As for the Trippstadt, Germany death records, I'll have to wait a couple of weeks before I post an article on them as I am still waiting for another microfilm of those records to arrive. I still plan to do a post on the records, although I don't know when I'll get around to it.

Even though I haven't posted too much lately, I have added several genealogy blogs and a history blog in the past several months. A couple of the blogs I learned about from other genealogy blog posts, but I have mostly learned about genealogy blogs from the followers application and technocrati website. Unfortunately, I do not remember all of the blogs I have added in the past several months, so I really can't provide a listing of the blogs. Of course, if you happen to notice that your blog isn't listed, please leave me a comment with your blog's URL, and I will add it to my list. Thanks.

31st Shades Of The Departed Guest Column Posted!

The Shades of the Departed guest columns are back, and the 31st Shades of the Departed guest column has been posted! The author of this week's column is Terri Kallio, and you can read it here. Enjoy!

67th Edition of the Carnival of Genealogy Posted!

The 67th edition of the Carnival of Genealogy has been posted! You can read it here. The topic for the next edition will be on "A Tribute to Women. Write a tribute to a woman on your family tree, a friend, a neighbor, or a historical female figure who has done something to impact your life. Or instead of writing, consider sharing a photo biography of one woman's life. Or create a scrapbook page dedicated to a woman you'd like to honor. The next edition will be hosted at Creative Gene."

Celebrate Your Name Week - Day One

I just learned about the Celebrate Your Name Week from Amanda and Sheri's posts, and I thought I would play along. As everyone knows, my name is Jessica, and as a little girl, my parents told me that my name meant wealth. When I got older, I noticed in a store, a card with the meaning of my name. According to that card, Jessica came from Hebrew and means wealthy.
According to Behind the Name, Jessica as a name, "first used in this form by Shakespeare in his play 'The Merchant of Venice' (1596), where it belongs to the daughter of Shylock. Shakespeare probably based it on the biblical name ISCAH which would have been spelled Jesca in his time. It was not commonly used as a given name until the middle of the 20th century." Meaning of Names also says the same, but adds a little more information: "In Hebrew, the name Jessica means- Rich. God beholds. The daughter of Shylock in Shakespeare's play The Merchant of Venice.. Other origins for the name Jessica include - Hebrew, Israeli.The name Jessica is most often used as a girl name or female name. Hebrew Meaning - Rich. God beholds. The daughter of Shylock in Shakespeare's play The Merchant of Venice. Origin - Hebrew." So, as you can see, the information that I had learned prior to looking on those websites was fairly close and accurate.

My parents named me Jessica because they liked the name, so I wasn't named after a relative. In addition, my middle name is unique in my family since none of my other relatives have that name. So, that's a little information on the name, Jessica.

Something To Think About ...

I just happened to notice Brenda's post on the Michigan Grange, and I thought I would mention it since the post reminded me about something I read a few years ago.

Since I had ancestors who were farmers, it is very possible that they were members of teheir local grange, and according to one of the local history books, one of my Detwiler ancestors' son was an officer in the local grange of his area. I did read somewhere a couple of years ago that old grange records might still exist, but unfortunately, I do not remember where I read about it. Either way, the article I read mentioned that records would probably be held by the state's Agriculture college (or a college originally founded to study agriculture science), and in Michigan's case that would be Michigan State University. I suppose that it is something for me to look into, but I haven't had a chance to find out whether or not that information is true. When I get a chance to investigate the possiblity, I will let everyone know what I have learned. Stay tuned ...

Google Analytics Results For February 2009

Well, another month has gone by, and that means that it is time for another Google Analytics report. Here's are the results for February 2009:

The top ten countries, in number of visits, are:

1. United States - 660 visits
2. Canada - 76 visits
3. United Kingdom - 52 visits
4. Australia - 13 visits
5. Netherlands - 10 visits
6. Germany - 4 visits
7. Israel - 4 visits
8. Poland - 3 visits
9. New Zealand - 3 visits
10. Spain - 3 visits

The top ten states in the United States, in number of visits, are:

1. Michigan - 99 visits
2. California - 76 visits
3. Illinois - 57 visits
4. Texas - 49 visits
5. New York - 42 visits
6. Utah - 27 visits
7. Ohio - 25 visits
8. Washington - 23 visits
9. Florida - 21 visits
10. Virginia - 18 visits

The top ten places in Michigan, in number of visits, are:

1. Hamburg - 62 visits
2. Lansing - 8 visits
3. Southfield - 6 visits
4. Grand Rapids - 4 visits
5. East Lansing - 3 visits
6. Clinton Township - 2 visits
7. Washtenaw County - 2 visits
8. Oak Park - 2 visits
9. Redford - 2 visits
10. Detroit - 1 visits

The top ten articles, in number of views, are:

1. I've Left Facebook ... - 53 views
2. Updates in FamilySearch's Record Search - 47 views
3. How Does One Become Certified? - 39 views
4. Three Ladies in the 1940s? - 36 views
5. Another Shipwreck Found! - 30 views
6. Has Anyone Heard Anything New? - 29 views
7. Update on the Michigan Death Certificates, 1897-1920 - 29 views
8. Jessica's Genejournal's Best Of The Best 2008 - 25 views
9. 10th Edition of the Smile For the Camera Posted! - 24 views
10. 16th Edition of the Carnival of Central and Eastern European Genealogy - 24 views

Well, that's it for this month's report. To my readers, I just want to say, "Thank you for reading!" Enjoy!

74th Edition of the Carnival of History Posted!

The 74th edition of the History Carnival has been posted! You can read it here. Enjoy!

Data Back-Up Day: My Experience with Data Loss

As you may of may not remember, about nine months ago, I experienced a major loss in my genealogy data when I had a problem with my flash drive, and a few months before that incident, I experienced another close call with data loss when my computer crashed. So, I am no stranger to experiencing data loss.

So, what have I done since my two experiences with data loss? Well, I have burned CDs of my photos and school work that were on my flash drives, in addition to keeping the files on my flash drives. I have also burned family history information on to CDs. To prevent any data loss that might occur as a result of a computer crash, I have also backed up my files on my laptop, and I have burned the files of my most important applications and drivers onto three CDs. In short, I've made sure that I've backed up my data onto CDs so that I have a back-up in case I experience something similar to has already happened. I think I have done as much as I can, but I do appreciate any further advice on how to protect my data from loss. Thanks.