Tombstone Tuesday: Simeon Stephens

Simeon Stevens was a Captain during the Revolutionary War. He's buried next to his first wife, Sarah Hadley, in Oxbow Cemetery, Newbury, Vermont. This cemetery is the resting place for many Revolutionary War veterans, so there are quite a few old tombstones here. Since Simeon and Sarah are my six-greats grandparents, their tombstones are among my favorites - of course.

This image is a scan of a 35 mm black-and-white negative, but a better image can be found in a wonderful online collection: the Farber Gravestone Collection. If you have New England ancestors, or you're simply interested in tombstones, please visit this web site. Tombstones are not just sources that provide birth and death dates for genealogists. Early stones are also examples of folk art, and many people specialize in the study of these early artists. Simeon's stone was carved by Gershom Bartlett, a native of Bolton, Connecticut. Until he was identified, Bartlett's distinctive style gave him the nickname, "Hook-and-Eye Man". A Google search for Bartlett will take you to more photographs and several interesting stories.

The next time you're happily photographing or transcribing your six-great grandparents' gravestones, take a moment to thank the artist. Enjoy!

Madness Monday: Isaac Staples

Many years ago, early in my genealogy career, my great-aunt and -uncle sent me a letter they had received from James Staples, head of the Staples Family History Association. Since I had become the family's historian, they passed Jim's request for information along to me. I called Jim to talk about my Staples family and discovered that if I could trace my line back to someone born around the time of the Revolutionary War, the Staples Family History Association had records on all Staples family members prior to that time. I was so excited! All I had to do was trace one century of ancestors from my great-grandfather, born in 1878. As it turned out, this wasn't as many generations as I expected, since the line went through a couple of youngest children, but it was pre-Internet days, so it took me a little while. After a lot of census work, some Vermont vital records microfilm searches, and a couple of Civil War pensions, I had my answer. I was a descendant of one Isaac Staples, born circa 1772, died 4 February 1839 in Williamstown, Vermont.

I wrote my first research report - by hand - and sent it off to Jim. I still use this research report as a class example. Despite its relative simplicity, it contains all the elements found in the BCG Genealogical Standards Manual, including a proof summary and citations. Of course, the citations don't measure up to the standards of Evidence Explained, but I can tell exactly where each fact was found. Given the title of this post, I'm sure you know the reply I received. My Isaac Staples was not one of the people found in the family association's records. After more research and much correspondence, Jim and I came to the conclusion that my Isaac was probably a descendant of Joseph of Pomfret. Joseph was probably the son of Samuel of Groton. I was probably going to scream in frustration!

Jim sent me a hand-drawn descendant chart showing what was known on the line of Joseph Staples of Pomfret, Connecticut. He placed my research results on the Isaac Staples of Williamstown, Vermont, line in a large empty corner. Despite my disappointment, this chart made my research seem important. Remember the comment from Tony Burroughs' SoCal Genealogy Jamboree presentation? This was original work. I've added a lot to that corner in the years since, but I still haven't found Isaac's parents. As opportunity arises, or I learn a new technique or come up with a new idea, I return to Isaac Staples and his associates for a while. Although I've climbed over, dug under, gone around, or broken through many brickwalls over the years, it's disappointing to realize that my very first brickwall still stands.

Are there any fellow Isaac Staples researchers out there?

Black Sheep Sunday: Persons of Ill Name and Fame

Black sheep, when viewed from the safe distance of a century or so, add spice to a family story and can be very amusing. Closer examination sometimes removes the amusing aspect. While searching through some Washington County, New York, court records, I found this case.

The People vs. Timothy Case, Aaron Olmstead, Francis Drake Ingersoll (1789)

Court held at the house of Adiel [?] Sherwood, Esp., Ft. Edward, Argyle township . . . Tuesday, the 8th of February in the 15th year of the independence of the state of New York -

Timothy Case, yeoman, and Aaron Olmstead, Laborer, both now or late of Granville, and Frances Drake Ingersoll now or late of Hebron, laborer - being persons of ill name and fame and of dishonest conversation . . . intended to deprive Henry Cummins, yeoman of Grenville [sic] of good name, credit . . . to the loss of his life and forfeiture of his goods on the 20th day of October 1789 at Hebron - . . . did conspire . . . falsely to charge and accuse the sd. Henry Cummins that he the sd. Henry Cummins then lately before had committed the crome of Sodomy . . . with a certain Mare.

A True Bill - attest George Wray, foreman - witnesses Wm. Drake of Granville, Laborer, Samuel Crosier, Esq., Hebron, Jeduthan Dickinson, Hebron

I was in Washington County researching the family of Philip Case, especially his son Aaron. This court case was added to my records as a curiosity and I haven't followed through on it. You know the research situation. There's always a seemingly unlimited amount of information to sift through in a very limited amount of time. As I gradually built up my picture of the families in this area, the amusing aspect of this case disappeared.

Aaron Olmstead appears more than once in court cases of the time. Doreen Dolleman, a Jabez Olmstead family researcher, wrote a wonderful article, "The Rest of the Story", which includes the news of his suicide while in gaol in 1798. The other two defendants in this case, Timothy Case and Francis Ingersoll, are part of the Philip Case family. Timothy was Philip's oldest son and Francis Ingersoll was his son-in-law, husband of daughter Rachel. All three defendants owned property adjoining that of Henry Cummins. When I first read this indictment, it sounded like a prank, but the ages and circumstances of the men, and the nature of the accusation, paint a different picture. Both Timothy Case and Francis Ingersoll were Revolutionary War soldiers, and both would later receive pensions. Both were men of property, about thirty years old, and married. Timothy Case was the father of four children, Francis Ingersoll was the father of three. In New York at this time, sodomy was a felony, and the penalty was death and the forfeiture of all property - although the widow would be allowed to keep her dowry. When looked at in this perspective, I no longer found this story quite so amusing. What were they thinking??

What Is a "Genealogy Record"?

When someone mentions "genealogy records," what do you think of? In the pre-Internet days, if you walked into a local library and said you were researching your family history, the librarian might point you towards the published genealogies or, if you were fortunate, the local history area. Perhaps the librarian might mention the local newspaper was on microfilm or the local cemeteries had been transcribed. Some time after records began appearing on the Internet, I remember a librarian saying simply, "Oh, all the census records are on line." Now, a librarian is likely to say that the library subscribes to Ancestry Library Edition, so please sign up for time on the computer. I'm sure many of you have heard non-genealogists say, "Isn't it all on line?" What constitutes a "genealogy record" to you? Let me tell you a story from my very early researching days.

I went to the Maryland Historical Society one day to research the Hughel family, supposedly residents in colonial days. I found the family in the card index referencing the St. Thomas' Parish Episcopal Church records. The historical society held some of the parish records, including baptisms; so, of course, I went through those immediately. There were also several references to the parish vestry proceedings, unmicrofilmed records that were still held at the church. I asked the reference person about these records, and she said, "The vestry proceedings don't hold anything of interest to genealogists. You might find your ancestor mentioned, but there are never any births, deaths, or marriages." By the way, this person was not an inexperienced researcher. I would later discover that she was the author of several books and journal articles, she was active in local, state and regional organizations, and she was a frequent speaker at regional and national conferences. What she was really saying to me was, "I've never found anything of import in church vestry proceedings." I'm sure we all view records the same way. If a record has helped us solve a research problem, it's a "genealogical record." If not, we may forget that a record that didn't shed light on one problem might be the key to solving another.

Of course, I took a day off from work and visited St. Thomas' Parish Episcopal Church. The secretary left me with the old books, and I read through several years of vestry proceedings finding many references to Thomas Hudgell (in its many spellings), the sexton of the church. Wonder of wonders, this entry appeared for 4th April 1763: ". . . choosed Alice Hudgell sexton in the room of her late husband decd. for 5 [lbs.] per annum for the ensuing year upon condition she takes care to keep the Church clean and do her other Duty in her place as Sexton otherwise to be paid after the rate aforesaid she continues therein and no longer." Thomas Hudgell died between 10 August 1762, the last time he's mentioned as sexton, and 4 April 1763, and his wife's name was Alice! This was definitely a "genealogy record"!

Thomas Hudgell was the sexton of the church from April 1753 until his death. Alice served from April 1763 through March 1766. The 31 March 1766 entry states, ". . . choos'd Thos. Hudson Sexton for 5 [lbs.] a year in the room of Alice Hudgell. accepted AH's order on us to Mr. Saml. Worthington for 5 [lbs.] for her years salary ended this day." As I prepared to put this book away, a slip of paper fell out. It was Alice's final pay order! The church secretary kindly copied this paper for me, and I hope it still exists. Imagine - A colonial "pay check" written to a woman in a man's job! The icing on the cake for the day: it was my birthday.

The Democratization of Sources

There were many presentations at the SoCal Genealogy Jamboree that announced new web sites, or new developments in existing web sites, that would feature the Web 2.0 concept. I may use computers all the time, but sometimes Web 2.0 technospeak confounds my understanding, so I definitely wanted to hear at least one of these talks. The one I attended seemed a little premature, as the site does not seem to be in beta state, yet; but the speaker presented some very thought-provoking ideas. I'm not sure I'm ready to jump on the bandwagon.

The goal, the speaker said, was to provide access to all the world's records - admirable, of course - and to allow users to interact with these records: the "democratization of sources." This interaction, he said, might lead to "chaos," but it might lead to the "harnessing of the wisdom of the crowds." I had never heard the term, democratization of sources. We all know that all sources are not equal! When I got home, I Googled the term. There were a few entries, most of them referring to the ability we now have to obtain information from many sources, not just those approved by authority. It's a given that genealogists should look for all sources in our research. Just because we have a death certificate doesn't mean we don't need to look for an obituary or a tombstone. Just because we have a pension record doesn't mean we no longer need to look at a muster roll or a day book. Several undocumented million-name family trees, however, really don't add anything to our knowledge of an ancestor. Something told me I didn't understand the speaker's use of this term.

When I Googled the term democratization of information, I found this post, Web UI Platforms through Javascript sandboxes. If you avoid the technospeak, it's an interesting article, and I'm sure it's what the speaker meant when he referred to democratization of sources. "The users of these data make the data better." This isn't a new concept in genealogy web sites. Footnote has been doing this for some time. Original records can be annotated; links identifying an individual in multiple records can be created; original documents and pictures can be uploaded and linked to original records; and personal pages can be created. The Footnote user adding data is always identified - and there is a clear separation between the original record and the added material. The farther a genealogist strays from the original record, the more likely it is that errors creep into the family history. We all need reminders that our conclusions should be based on what a document really said, not on what someone else thought it said. And of course, what a document meant in the 18th century might not be what our 21st century mind inferred.

Find A Grave was one of my favorite sites when searching for tombstones. This web site is based on user contributions. When those contributions were tombstone photos and inscriptions, this site was wonderful. Some users, however, began competing to improve their statistics. When this happens, the quality of the contributions can diminish. Material was plagiarized, duplication was rampant, and copyright laws were violated. In fairness to the people at Find A Grave, they state that submissions must be the original property of the submitter, and they always remove material in violation of this policy. That must be a constant effort on their part! The site has always had problems clearly differentiating between what a tombstone said and what the submitter inferred, and the recent addition of family links and maiden names to the material has considerably increased the error to information rate. Sometimes, the "wisdom of the crowds" isn't so wise.

These two examples illustrate the possibilities and the limitations in the concept of democratization of information. Although Footnote's user contributions have added value to the site's data, access to the added material is still haphazard. Without user contributions, Find A Grave would not really exist, but the quality of material is often questionable. How does a site facilitate access to all data, maintain quality, yet encourage quantity?

Wordless Wednesday: My Grandparents' Gravesites

Tombstone Tuesday: My Grandmother's Grave

I suspect I'll have trouble coming up with ideas for "Black Sheep Sunday" and "Madness Monday", but "Tombstone Tuesday" should cause no problems at all. Don't we all have lots of cemetery photos and stories? Here is a photo of my paternal grandmother's tombstone in Glen Haven Memorial Park. After we found her stone, one of my fellow Jamboree attendees reminded me, "Don't forget to look at the neighboring tombstones!" I didn't think anyone else in the family was buried here, but we looked anyway. Lo and behold, right next to Nana was her son-in-law! I'm glad someone from the family is buried near her. It always seems a little sad to find one family member buried all alone.

Of course, this visit reminded me of other cemetery visits, and I realized that this was only the second grandparent whose grave site I've visited! Can you believe it? I've visited hundreds of cemeteries, but I've never been to either grandfather's grave. Time and circumstances have scattered my grandparents' graves to the four corners of the U.S. My paternal grandfather is buried in Woodmere Cemetery in Detroit; my maternal grandfather rests in Maple Street Cemetery in Bethlehem, New Hampshire; my maternal grandmother's grave is in Rest Haven Cemetery in Long Beach, Mississippi; and my paternal grandmother is buried in Sylmar, California. My husband's four grandparents, on the other hand, are buried in two cemeteries less than thirty miles apart. "Wordless Wednesday" is a good opportunity to show you my grandparents' burial map. Can anyone top this?