Dallas Public Library - A Wonderful Place To Visit

Dear Uncle,

Today my Beloved and I went to the Dallas Public Library to investigate their Genealogy section.  What a wonderful place! Neat, clean, organized, and friendly.  Microfilm and Microfiche readers. Nice and open and airy.  Not a stuffy place at all.  I was pleasantly surprised to find a lot of information for Massachusetts.  Our trip was bascially a go see what it's all about.  I had a couple of things that I wanted to verify if the info was available and it was on microfiche. So that was a pleasant surprise.  I think it may be a place I will frequent. Family Historians and Genealogists can work side by side in a wonderful, fostering atmosphere.

They also have a lot of Texas info which will benefit my friends who are just starting their trek into genealogy.  It will be wonderful for them to start here in Texas and work their way back to the East and then up to New England.  All without leaving Dallas.

The 8th floor of the library is home to Genealogy and there are sections for each state in the Union.  There are State censuses, Passenger lists, maps, and a section is for searching overseas. I haven't gone into that section yet. That will be my next trip.  Once I get my Irish situation under control.  No, Uncle, I do not want to talk about it. Other than to say there are just too many Williams, Patricks, Martins, Bridgets etc., etc.  My spreadsheet is getting a bit out of hand.


Until the next time,
Fondly,
Your Devoted Niece

The Genealogical Atlas of Ireland, Spreadsheets & a Magnifying Glass

Dear Uncle,

It had been my intention a year ago to start on the Irish side of the family. In preparation for what I knew would be walls everywhere I mentioned to my family what I would be very happy to see under the tree.

1. Brian Mitchells: A New Genealogical Atlas of Ireland
2. Family Tree Pocket Reference
3. A book of humor regarding digging up the dead folk

My Beloved gave me all three and made me a very happy woman.

Now it's taken me a year and a bit to actually get down to the Irish side. I've played with it a few times.  Just sorting out what I already know, getting the easy online confirmations of what I had written down 15 years ago when I was on my trip up North.  I double checked the Natick database to confirm dates that I had.  I filled in causes of death for the ones I hadn't already. The filler stuff.

Having done that there was my foray into the land of emigration where I shared with you finding William Sr. coming to America.  I guess it was that spark that really got me going.

Now here is something you may not know about me Uncle.  I am a firm believer in there is no such thing as too much information.  Hence the spreadsheets.

I've gone through Griffiths Valuation to find the surnames, the first names,the parishes etc. I've entered them into a spreadsheet. I also photocopied the cover of my atlas and divided it into 4 parts.  My brain likes things organized and this method was the easiest way for me to sort the counties out.

Sections 1 - 4 are the Irish Free States.  Census records have indicated that the ancestors came from Irish Free States.

Section 1: Kerry, Cork, Waterford, Tipperary, Limerick and Clare  (Munster)
Section 2: Kilkenny, Wexford, Carlow, WIcklow, Laios/Leix,Offaly, Kildare, Dublin, Meath, Westmeath, Longford and Louth  (Leinster)

Section 3:  Galway, Mayo, Roscommon, Leitrim, Sligo  (Connaught)

Section 4: Donegal, Cavan and Monaghan   (Ulster)

Section 5 : These would be the "other" Ulster counties. Fermanagh, Tyrone, Armagh, Down, Antrim and Derry

So now I have a huge spread sheet with names of ancestors, having culled the lists to names that I believe are ancestral in nature. A thousand Johns but no Jonathans, Williams, James, you get the idea.
Here are the headings of my spreadsheet:

Surname, First Name, Townland, Parish, Roman Catholic Parish, Diocese, Barony, County and last of all, Section.

Now with most of the information that I have already I can populate the fields with the help of my Genealogical Atlas ( I am currently blessing Mr. Mitchell hourly for this genius of a book.)  If you do not have this in your library ask for it as a gift or get it your self.

I can manipulate the info by sorting it, I have the info by county ( color coded of course), or section or whatever way I want it. And as a result I think I may have found one of the couples I was looking for.

He and she, same section, same county, same Diocese, same parish.  Not the same town but the same Roman Catholic parish. Pretty exciting.

I am holding off getting deeper with these two because I must get the rest of the info into the spreadsheet.  We know what will happen if I go off on another tangent lol.

Then the big map of Ireland will go up on the wall, the timelines will go up, the town historys will be found and accessed, may be even a picture or two that some generous soul has put on the web.

This is getting VERY exciting!  So that's all for now Uncle.  I hope you are getting as excited as I am.  It's The Hunt! The Chase! The Mystery!  Following the clues!

So until the next time,
Your Devoted Niece

Ancestor Birthdays This Month

Dear Uncle,

I thought you might appreciate an update on the birthdays this month.

January Births- 

Ezra ALDEN 185, Ezra ALDEN 220, Susan ALDEN 187,

 George Balcom 110, Alice BEAL 138, Andrew BEAL 326, Azariah BEAL 255,

 Bethiah BEAL 310, Calvin BEAL 195, Charles BEAL 149,  

David BEAL 243,  David BEAL 198,  David BEAL 328, Desire BEAL 301, Elisha BEAL 330,  Evelyn BEALE 81, Hannah BEAL 251,

 John BEAL 269, Joseph BEAL 341, Japeth BEAL 265, Lewis BEAL 194,  

Mary BEAL 206,  Melinda BEAL 154, Phineas BEAL 255, Priscilla BEAL 280,  Ruth BEAL 278,  Ruth BEAL 294,

 Sally BEAL 200, Sarah BEAL 190,  Sarah BEAL 167, Sibbel BEAL 259, Sophia BEAL 216, Tabitha BEAL 265,  

Anna CARPENTER 266, Jonathan CARVER 253, Martha CHUBBUCK 343, Eunice DOWNER 288,

 Hannah EDDY 289,  Patience EDDY 260, Charles E. GILSON 174, George GILSON 174, Phebe GOULD 247, Thomas GOULD 173,

 Urania HALL 303,  Miranda HARTWELL 219,  Nelson HARTWELL 201, Oliver HARTWELL 284,  Ruth HARTWELL 277,  Sally HARTWELL 217,  Esther HOVEY  309,  Abijah HOWE Jr. 208, Harry HULBERY 129,  

Benjamin JONES 349,  Dorothy KIDDER 361,  Amos LEAVITT 253,  George LEIGHTON 108,  Dorothy LONG 108,  Florence LONG 106,  Molly MAY 233, James McNEILL 183,  

Lawrence PARSONS  91, Hannah POLDEN 242, Ephraim PRATT 284, David RALPH 223, Experience ROOD 293,

 Rebekah SHAW 295, Rosewell SPOONER 172, George STAVELEY 181, Stephen TUCKER 240,  Hammond YATES 110.

Until the next time,

Your Devoted Niece

Back on Track for the Moment

Dear Uncle,

I needed a bit of a break and thought it the perfect time to drop you a note.  I am not working today and was not feeling up to snuff so I took it rather slow today. 

For the past several hours I've been working on the Irish side again. I am trying to figure out the names of William Greene seniors' parents.  I have taken several ideas from the internet in regard to naming traditions.  I've played with the names, rearranged the names, rearranged the tables of names. Rearranged the arrangement of namesakes.

I made my own charts to assist in the clues of naming within a family [ I am a visual person, charts and graphs work for me]. I even went so far as to try to find the Gaelic spelling of William ( Liam), John ( Sean, Eoin, Seaghan, Seon) and James ( Seamus, Seamas) so that when I look in the Griffiths valuation I don't miss someone by accident.

So far the naming traditions have not panned out.  At least in so far as William Senior is concerned. He and Catherine named the first son John H., which theoretically should be the name of William Seniors father.  It may well be. The oldest daughter should have been named after Catherines mother, Bridget, but was instead named after Catherine. 

It is my understanding that in those times Irish girls were referred to as "Brideys". The name "Bridey" being a nickname for the name Bridget.  However, at the time this nickname, among those unhappy with the Irish immigrants,  became somewhat akin to an epithet.  It could be that William and Catherine chose to wait on using the name Bridget for that reason since the name wasn't used until their 3rd daughter was born.

The second son was named James. Traditionally the second son would have been named after the mothers' father and in that case his name would have been Laurence/ Lawrence.  The name of Lawrence/Laurance was given to the 3rd son.

The fourth son was named William after his father, but according to tradition he would have been named after his fathers' oldest brother.

So my only clues are John and James, hoping that there is someone in the family of those names.  I am crossing my fingers that the second daughter's name- Mary Anne -is the name of William Senior's  mother.

That being said here is who I plan on looking for: John/ Sean/Seaghan/Eoin/ Seon and James/Seamus and Mary/ Maire/Muire Greene.   John and James and Mary Ann would have been born before or about - I'm guessing - 1800 +/- 10. William was born 1825. Emigrated to the US 1851.

The other hint that I have is that both William and Catherine were born in the Irish Free State so that eliminates 6 entire counties. They were Catholic so that helps limit the selections even more.

So the search continues.  Please keep good thoughts for progress.

Fondly,
Your Devoted Niece

I look, I find, I research and I am amazed.

Dear Uncle,

Well now, I'm a bit calmer then the last time I contacted you and that's a good thing. But it did get me to thinking about just who have I been searching for.  Of late, as you know, it's been the Irish side because I have neglected it for so long.  Prior to that was your side of the Family, hence the name the Beal Family Tree.

For many years I felt alone in my search, and got used to the eye rolls and the "gotta go and get dinner on the table" or the "sorry someone is at the door gotta run, love you, bye".

Ok I got it, I was in it alone. Then like a miracle, a couple of years ago my brother got interested in our Charley.  He was the one who went to the Civil War and never came back.  Kind of. Now my brother is an educator and loves history as much as I do and seems to enjoy the deep research a little more than I do. After some digging and some contact from far flung, previously unknown cousins, the story took a different turn.

My brother approached me with an idea that perhaps we should send for Charleys Army records, which we did. But you know how it goes, information leads to more searching and more info.  The next thing you know we're searching for the other Beal boys in the Civil War.  Five of them, from the same family. Two came home. One died a few years later and the other lived to a good age.

I don't do war well.  That is to say I don't want to see the pictures or read of the horrors.  I have nightmares. Just skimming over the exploits of the boys battles was enough to keep me awake nights for months.  So I left that particular part of the research to my brother.

He has done an outstanding job of recreating the days of battles, where the boys were on a particular day, what the days were like weatherwise and militarily. He has gone through diaries and military transcripts and logs and what all to bring the boys and their experiences to life. Sometimes too real for me. These boys break my heart.  So my brother will write and do it so well.  Our family will know what our boys went through and give them the respect that they and their parents deserve.

I am thankful that my brother, who was once only vaguely interested in the family tree, has found the members of the family that stir him and make him want to tell their story.  Were it not for him it is doubtful that I could do them justice.

Uncle, you knew these boys.  Your nephews, your brother Calvin and Sally's boys. Eleazar and Jesse who made it home.  George W., Merrill and William who didn't. Brave boys.

That's who I look for Uncle.  No one famous, or rich. No high society, special groups, certificates or whatever. Yes, I've found the ones who would put me into groups, certificates, etc. but these are my kin. I've got my heros and heroines, remarkable people, to me anyway, pioneers, risk takers. Strong folk. Determined.  It was not easy, not privilaged.  I am so proud and humbled to be of their line. I look, I find, I research and I am amazed. That is why I look into the past. But you already knew that.

And so my dear Uncle until the next,
Fondly,
Your Devoted Niece

Digging for the rich and famous? Seriously?

Dear Uncle,

I've returned from the south and my all too short visit with the descendants (my daughter and grandson).  I had missed my computer time and was eager to catch up.  I stopped over at Greta's Blog and read with great sadness and then anger the discussion that was going on regarding whether Genealogy was a "Trivial Pursuit".

A Mr. Ball, author of a book which I will not mention here as I will not add to his income, made the statement that " Most people who do family research are white, and most of them look for ancestors with the goal to unearth the whitest, most moneyed forebears they can."

Here's what I can tell you about what that statement did to me.  It lit me up like a firecracker.  I'm talking Roman Candle, Blockbuster, the big boomers that we hear on the 4th of July and I don't mean in a good way.

Uncle, if we were sitting on a front porch in a couple of rocking chairs, I can tell you that we'd both be about ready for take off. We'd be rocking so fast in agitation and our voices would be getting pretty loud, thinking about the audacity of that man.  I'm sure we'd have a couple of descriptions about  him and his character and a few other things that "het up" folks have a say about.

Here's what I have to say.  He doesn't get it.  It's not in his blood or his soul.  And I guess I should read his book before I condemn him for his statement but it's pretty obvious.  He doesn't get it.  If he did he'd never have made a statement like that.

Yes, there are all kinds of Genealogists.  Professional, semi-professional, certified, not certified, taking classes to be certified and then there's the family genealogist. The person who gathers the names and dates and puts them in a chart.  And then there is the family historian.  The one who saves everything, looks for everyone, wants the story behind the story, who looks at the maps because they really care to know the area, to learn about the ancestors, reads up on history to know what affected the ancestors, who can't remember what they had for breakfast yesterday but can tell you the circumstances surrounding the crop failure of 1698, the Flu pandemic of 1918 and what happened at Thanksgiving dinner 20 years ago when Aunt Mabel told the story about the traveling salesman and great Aunt Gert and Uncle Fred.

So maybe he has a point.  But Uncle I think you and I both know that we are the HIstorians.  And because of folks like us, our ancestors never really die, they are just the next story to be discovered and told and remembered.

Until the next,
Fondly,
 Your Devoted Niece

Optimism and the Bricks in the Wall

Dear Uncle,

Typical Gemini that I am I got so excited about finding Will Greene that I thought the rest of the Irish hunt would go as quickly.

 I’m sure that you also had your moments where a discovery got you pretty excited also.  And you can’t say you didn’t Uncle…I have your journal! It takes a Gemini to know one. We are optimists.

The point is, Uncle, I am once again looking at the bricks in the wall.

How could I possibly think that just because I have the year of immigration (after the famine ships) for an individual I would be able to lickety split, click a few searches and ta-da have who I was looking for.  Silly, silly woman. 

Silly right up until 1:15 am when I finally looked at the clock last nite ( this morning) and realized that I had to get up to go to work today. If I hadn’t had to work…..well I’m sure you know where I’m going with that.

I’ll be taking the next few days off to go visit your 6th great grand niece and your 7^th great grand nephew.  I’ll give them your regards. I’ll also poke around the storage and see what I could possibly have left behind relating to genealogy.  (Doubtful as everyone knows where it all goes – with me- always- period.)

 But mistakes do happen. I may have left a couple of maps behind, possibly a magazine or 80. Photos – probably but there was only so much room on the moving truck and in my truck.

I’ll take the next few days to rest my genealogy brain, let things ruminate a bit and see what happens when I get back. While I'm gone if you happen to run into the Irish side you might mention I could use another break, thanks!

Fondly,

Your devoted Niece