St. Louis Genealogical Society

Transcription

1 St. Louis Genealogical Society ASK LOUIE Ann Carter Fleming, CG, CGL, FNGS; Bob Goode; Carol Whitton, CG; Viki Fagyal Divorce Records: How does one obtain a record of a divorce in the city of St. Louis? DNA: How can I find my natural (birth?) parent? NARA Civil War: How can I find records of a St. Louis, MO ancestor who served with the Confederate army during the Civil War? a. Missouri State Archives Soldier Database: War of 1812 World War I b. Organization: How do I organize various handouts, articles, booklets, etc. from monthly meetings, SIG meetings, conferences, magazines, etc. so I can find them when I need them? Notebooks? File folders? a. Hollinger Metal Edge Box 1. Used by National Archives 2. Archival Quality b. SnapScan (scanner) and either Evernote or One-note. c. Evernote more versatile, d. One Note integrated with Microsoft Office. e. PDF and OCR f. Create notebooks (folders) search function of Evernote is excellent. g. Or use tags. Ex DNA Research in Salt Lake City: I am uncertain about when a researcher would go to SLC. I am new to genealogy and I believe there are still a number of records and sources to be found here in St. Louis. What would you recommend? a. If completely new and lacking in research techniques then a Salt Lake City trip not recommended yet. b. Opposite: If new but comfortable with researching in a library then good chance for positive results. c. Second best place for St. Louis Research is Salt Lake Family History Library. d. In addition, you do not have distractions that you have when at home. e. IF in doubt, come to the office and talk to Ilene Murray and/or Bob Goode. Then decide. Migration: What are the possible paths for a family moving from southeastern PA to southern Ohio (Scioto county) in 1800 before Ohio statehood? How did they cross PA? a. After 1740 three major migration routes crossed Pennsylvania. 1. One coming out of Philadelphia by the west branch of the Susquehanna River reached the Allegheny River at Kittanning. 2. The Forbes Road was further south. 3. Still a third followed the Potomac to Fort Cumberland and subsequently by Braddock s Road crossed the divide to the Youghiogeny and Monongahela Rivers; many Virginians traveled this route.

2 The three maps above are preview only. Ancestry "leaves": I have over 500 Ancestry leaves - how do I approach them - any advice or suggestions would be helpful. a. When at Ancestry, have a research task or plan of action. 1. Do not let the leaves distract you from your task; but having said that, check the leaves to see if they have some connection to your task. b. Family trees are the proverbial two-edged sword. c. We hate them for the lack of documentation, and, on some, the terrible errors such as daughter born forty years after mother dies. d. DNA on Ancestry will give you better results if you have a more detailed tree. e. You will also get more leaves. f. You will never clear the leaves because the more you do on Ancestry the more leaves popup. g. Does the leaf take you to another tree or to a document? Is the document about a missing detail or one that you have well sourced? Researcher for Hire: Is there any one available for hire to break through the brick wall of my family history? a. StLGS b. BCG certifies in U.S. (CG) c. ICAP Gen certifies internationally (AG) d. APG doesn t certify; lists others in U.S. who consider themselves qualified; some are certified CG or AG by the other organizations. Finding Information for France, Germany, Ireland, U.K., and Canada (After Ancestor s Village and Parish of Origin Identified in U.S. Document(s)) AND Hiring A Foreign Researcher, If Needed? a. Prioritize! Choose ONE family and country to focus on first. b. Learn more about each country s research using #1 source of foreign materials and information--family History Library (FHL) WIKI up-todate page per country, c. Do parish research from the U.S.; increasingly, you won t need the help of someone overseas yet. Seek ALL parish microfilm, online images, or books. 1. FHL! 2. Try Ancestry world edition at library. 3. France: 4. Germany: and 5. Ireland: & 6. United Kingdom (England, Scotland, Wales): 2

3 7. Canada: DO EVERYTHING POSSIBLE IN THE U.S. FIRST! If parish not available anywhere online or in film OR if you ve already obtained all family parish records back to 1500s, ONLY THEN contact the country for additional help locating other document types (wills, land, etc)! a. Locating paid researchers: 1. ICAP Gen certifies internationally (AG) 2. BCG certifies in U.S. (CG) 3. APG doesn t certify; lists others in U.S. who consider themselves qualified. 4. OR: locate and contact the appropriate State Archives (only some National Archives are useful), local genealogy or historical society, parish, or town mayor. Request a list of English-speaking local researchers. b. Be able to explain concisely what you ve already done: (1) sources used and (2) which U.S. document(s) name the overseas origin town. c. s mostly will be acceptable (exceptions specified on Archives websites.) d. Work with the researcher. The contract should specify: 1. Ask ONE (test) QUESTION initially! Make a second contract for more if satisfied. 2. Always request original document copies--electronic or paper--you choose; but remember in some repositories, only paper copies may be possible. 3. Always request a full citation on the front of each document. 4. You pay for Archive fees, copies, postage, and travel time. 5. Payment may be via PayPal, Xoom, Western Union, direct bank transfer, etc. You incur the conversion cost, not them! Costs may run as low as 20 for a single item or more than 5,000 for research. Cost limits must be in the contract! Poland Research: Where/how can I find German genealogical records of any kind (birth, marriage, death, etc.) for small villages in what is today northwest Poland (Pommern's Kreis Cammin, Kreis Regenwald)? Also for area around present day Gdansk, Poland. a. Use Karetnmeister.com to locate the current Polish town name, determine if parish records are Lutheran or Catholic for the area. b. Find parish records first; many of these sites are for parish records! First take full advantage of all English records online or on film: 1. Read and understand how to do Polish research, as well as find online images or microfilms Family Search (Family History Library) on Poland: (how to), ntories (digital books), (online records) 2. Foundation for E European Family History Societies 3. Society for German Genealogy in E Europe 3

4 4. On the German site see: 5. Ancestry: look under Prussian Provinces c. Then try Polish records, but 1 st learn to use the following sites and the necessary Polish vocabulary (seeb1 (wiki) or attend a lecture at a conference on Polish records): 1. links in Poland, especially #9 BaSIA 2. Polish State Archives 3. Central Archives of Historical Records Warsaw (AGAD) 4. Poland Digital Libraries at Naturalization a. Where do I look for naturalization records? Census records for some of my ancestors indicate they were naturalized. I have searched Ancestry.com and can't find these records. b. My husband's GG Grandfather has naturalization papers finalized in Buffalo Co, NE in This document states he filed a Declaration of Intent in District Court of Lewis and Clarke Co., MT. How do I find the Declaration of intent if I don't know the date? c. Do the Application for Naturalization and the Petition for Naturalization come from the same court or is it possible for the Petition to come from a third court? I am pretty sure that an ancestor filed a Declaration of Intention in one place and then moved and filed an Application for Naturalization in another place. 1. Naturalization is a three-step process: a. Declaration of Intention b. Petition for Naturalization c. Certificate of Naturalization 2. St. Louis County Library Indexes a. St. Louis County Library Index to selected naturalization records created prior to September 27, b. St. Louis County Library Index to naturalization records created after Sept. 27, Loretto Dennis Szucs and Sandra Hargreaves Luebking, editors. The Source. (Salt Lake City: Ancestry, 2006). (Three editions with different information). 4. Alice Eichholz, PhD, cg., editor. Ancestry s Redbook: American State, County & Town Sources. Third Edition. (Salt Lake City: Ancestry, 2004). 5. Christina K. Schaefer, Guide to Naturalization Records of the United States, (Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Company, 1997). 6. Val D. Greenwood, The Researcher's Guide to American Genealogy, Third Edition, (Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Company, Business records: What records are available for a small 19th century business? a. Start with the company to see if it is still in existence. 4

5 b. Check the Secretary of State Online Business Filing website for the state where the business was incorporated c. Check the City Directories for the time period the business was in operation. d. Search newspapers for the address of the company and for the name of the company. e. Search local libraries and archives to see if any business records are in their collections. Orphan Train: Rumor has it that my GG Grandfather came to Missouri via the orphan train. Are there any ways to research this? a from New York, Boston, and Chicago to the West and to Canada. b. Courthouse records for adoptions in the county the adopting family lived c. Newspaper articles for Orphan Train arrivals in a town d. Missouri Orphan Train transcription e. National Orphan Train Complex, Concordia, Kansas f. Children s Aid Society, Bronx, New York g. Ancestry.com 1. New York, Orphans Placed with the New York Foundling Hospital, h. FamilySearch Masonic Records: Does the Missouri General Assembly still approve Free and Accepted Mason Chapters? What is the best source to review records for the Masons? The Missouri General Assembly approved the incorporation of the Free and Accepted Masons in Cassville, Mo. in a. Check the Secretary of State Online Business Filing website [see question 12] for creation and or incorporation. b. If the Masonic Lodge is still active, write to the specific lodge for information. c. If the specific Masonic Lodge is closed, write to the Grand Lodge of Missouri, 6033 Masonic Drive, Suite B, Columbia, MO Gold Miner: GG Grandfather panned for gold during the gold rush about 1874 in the Black Hills of SD. He was in Burlington, Iowa in the summer of 1873 and in 1878, he signed a homestead affidavit in Buffalo Co, NE. Is there a way I can prove he was in Black Hills between 1874 and 1878? City directories? State Census? a. Books b. Newspapers 1. Chronicling America c. South Dakota GenWeb d. South Dakota State Archives e. South Dakota State Historical Society 5