by Lisa Cooke | Oct 27, 2014 | 01 What's New, Inspiration, Listeners & Readers
Recently I heard from Emily, a mom of younger children who is feeling inspired to take her love for family history in a more professional direction. Have you considered becoming a professional genealogist yourself? You’ll want to check out an interview I told her about (see below). Anyone can take their life’s experiences and channel them into their career path!
“Dear Lisa,
I was at the Midwestern Roots conference today and I just wanted to say ‘thanks’ for something you said at your opening session this morning. You were talking about when your daughters gave you the iPod and how you were at a point in your life when you were trying to figure out what to do, and I think you even used the expression ‘just a mom.’
I really related to what you said. I am a mom to two younger kids, I love my family history research, and I’m trying to find a new professional direction in life. So, you’ve given me some hope that maybe I can use my love of genealogy to (somehow) help and teach other people.
Probably not the typical type of ‘thank you’ note you usually receive, but I just wanted you to know.”
Hi Emily,
You are very welcome and how sweet of you to take the time to write. Believe me when I say that “just a mom” was a reference to the fact moms often get that sort of response from the culture these days. (I know that other moms know what I mean.) Being a mom is the highest calling possible, and remains my first priority. And the great news is that technology makes it possible more than ever to pursue additional dreams!
I think you might enjoy a special interview I gave recently to the Genealogy Professional Podcast. It was for folks just like you. You’ll also find additional interviews at the bottom of my About page on my website.
Wishing you great success as you pursue your dreams!!
Lisa
by Lisa Cooke | Jul 29, 2014 | 01 What's New, Ancestry, History, Inspiration, Memory Lane, Pinterest
Sears Catalog Fall 1960, Cover. Digital image from Ancestry.com. Historic Catalogs of Sears, Roebuck and Co., 1896-1993 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010.
Original data: Sears Roebuck Catalogs 1896–1993. Vol.102–228 K. Chicago, Illinois: Sears, Roebuck and Co.
Wouldn’t pages from the Sears catalog make a lively addition to your family history posts, pins, pages and conversations? Ancestry.com thinks so, too! They’ve digitized the catalogs and they’re keyword-searchable here. (Just a word of advice: browse a certain issue or search for a specific product. A keyword search for “bicycle” brings up over 5000 results through the OCR technology used to find matches.)
According to this brief history, the Sears catalog first launched as a mailer for watches and jewelry in 1888. “The time was right for mail order merchandise,” says the article. “Fueled by the Homestead Act of 1862, America’s westward expansion followed the growth of the railroads. The postal system aided the mail order business by permitting the classification of mail order publications as aids in the dissemination of knowledge entitling these catalogs the postage rate of one cent per pound. The advent of Rural Free Delivery in 1896 also made distribution of the catalog economical.”
Here’s one more blast from the American consumer past: Sears kit houses. Have you heard of these? You used to be able to order pre-fabricated homes from Sears. You could customize one of many standard sets of plans, and all the materials would be pre-cut and delivered to your home, “some assembly required,” so to speak. Learn more about Sears kit houses and see images of several designs (1908-1940) here. Did your family ever live in a kit house? Tell us about it on the Genealogy Gems Facebook page!
by Lisa Cooke | Dec 27, 2013 | 01 What's New, British, Conferences
It’s always a joy for me to get to get out and about and meet readers and listeners in person. In July 2014 there’s a wonderful opportunity for us to get together in person, talk genealogy and experience the joy of travel: the Unlock the Past Cruises for their 2014 British Isles Cruise!
I’ll be joining eight other incredible genealogists to bring cruisers an exciting assortment of family history classes aboard the beautiful Marco Polo ship (right). Check out the Presenters page
You’ll have around 40 topics to choose from, held mostly in the evening so there will be loads of time to explore the breathtaking landscape.
Itinerary:
- day 1 – depart Tilbury, London – 6pm (boarding from 12.30pm)
- day 2 – at sea
- day 3 – Invergordon, Scotland – 7.30am-10pm
- day 4 – Kirkwall, Orkney Islands – 7am-6pm
- day 5 – Stornoway, Outer Hebrides – 7.30am-10pm (transfer to shore by tender)
- day 6 – Tobermory, Isle of Mull – 7.30am-4pm (transfer to shore by tender)
- day 7 – Dublin, Ireland – 8am-5.45pm
- day 8 – St Mary’s, Isles of Scilly – 9am-6pm (transfer to shore by tender)
- day 9 – St Peter Port, Guernsey – 7.30am-6pm (transfer to shore by tender)
- day 10 – Honfleur, France – 9am-5pm
- day 11 – arrive Tilbury, London – 9am
My understanding is that this cruise is filling up very quickly so if you’re interested be sure and click here for more details.
by Diahan Southard | Jul 1, 2014 | 01 What's New, Trees
Easy or complicated genealogy for the folks on this remote island? Tristan da Cunha, Wikipedia image.
Small, isolated populations should mean it’s easy to do their genealogy, right? Well, I wonder.
I came across this Wikipedia article on Tristan da Cunha, described as “the most remote inhabited island in the world, lying 1,750 miles from the nearest landfall in South Africa, and 2,088 miles from South America. Its current population of 264 is thought to have descended from 15 ancestors, 8 males and 7 females, who arrived on the island at various times between 1816 and 1908. The male founders originated from Scotland, England, the Netherlands, United States and Italy and the island’s 80 families share just eight surnames: Glass, Green, Hagan, Lavarello, Patterson, Repetto, Rogers, and Swain.”
Of course, success in doing family history on this island depends a lot on how strong their record-keeping and preservation has been. (Consider what one natural disaster could do to written history) Barriers to migration should certainly mean it’s easy to find ancestors. But what does that family tree look like? How many people will show up in multiple places on the tree?
Have you ever done genealogy research on an isolated or insular group? What are the challenges? What’s easier? Feel free to share on the Genealogy Gems Facebook page. Feel free to share your tales of complicated genealogy!
by Lisa Cooke | May 13, 2014 | 01 What's New, Family History Podcast, Immigration
Family History: Genealogy Made Easy Podcast
with Lisa Louise Cooke
Republished May 13, 2014
Listen to the Family History: Genealogy Made Easy podcast by Lisa Louise Cooke. It’s a great series for learning the research ropes and well as refreshing your skills.
https://lisalouisecooke.com/familyhistorypodcast/audio/fh31.mp3
Download the Show Notes for this Episode
Welcome to this step-by-step series for beginning genealogists—and more experienced ones who want to brush up or learn something new. I first ran this series in 2008-09. So many people have asked about it, I’m bringing it back in weekly segments.
Episode 31: Immigration and Naturalization Records for Family History, Part 3
Did you know that all those annotations and scribbles on passenger lists may hold important clues to your family history? In this episode, we continue our discussion with Stephen Danko about immigration and naturalization records. (If you missed them, they are Episodes 29 and 30.) Specifically,we’ll listen in on a presentation he gave on passenger list annotations and what the immigrant’s experience was like at Ellis Island.
So we’ve talked already about ship passenger arrival lists. Now let’s get out the magnifying glass, so to speak. We’ll look closely at the little notes on this records.
Annotations on passenger lists could have made upon departure, arrival or later when that immigrant applied for citizenship. One of the common misconceptions about passenger lists is that they were not filled out at Ellis Island, as many people believe. Rather they were completed at the port of departure. So notes could have been made at a variety of different times.
Here are three examples of annotations that were made upon a person’s arrival in the United States:
D=detained for inquiry
SI or DSI=Special Inquiry or Detained for Special Inquiry—this was really bad! (listen to the podcast to hear why)
USC=Was born in the U.S. or was a U.S. citizen
For a more thorough list of annotations on passenger records, read Stephen’s handout he graciously shared with us: A New Look at Immigrant Passenger Manifests. His companion blog posts (see Updates and Links below) show you real-life examples.
Here are some more great tips from that conversation:
- Check at the end of the manifest for pages called Record of Detained Alien Passengers, and Records of Release of Aliens Held for Special Inquiry.
- Our ancestors could have traveled back and forth from their homeland several times before they became citizens. Those passenger lists are just as valuable as their original immigration. If they hadn’t completed the naturalization process yet, then you may find an indication of that re-entry number or their citizenship status.
- As Stephen mentioned in a previous podcast, depending on the timeframe, your ancestor may have had to request a certificate of arrival when applying for citizenship. And if you haven’t found their naturalization records yet, and are lucky enough to find a certificate of arrival annotation on the passenger list, then you will have a really good chance for tracking them down.
- Certificates of arrival were required for anyone who applied for citizenship beginning in 1926 who had arrived after 1906. Annotations on the passenger list about the certificate of arrival (C/A) can lead you to where and when they applied for citizenship. A number like 1X-151953 indicates a request for a certificate of arrival was made after 1926 to help with the naturalization process. The first number “1” is the naturalization district, if there is an “X” it means the person didn’t have to pay for the Certificate of Arrival and the numbers after the dash are the certificate of arrival number or the application number. The date of the certificate of arrival may appear after this number sequence.
- Another code, VL, is the verification of landing, often seen for arrivals before 1906, before certificates of arrival were issued.
- Numbers like 432731 / 435765 = the passenger was a permanent resident of the U.S. and was returning home with a re-entry permit.
- If someone’s name was crossed out on the passenger list but the rest of the line was not, it probably means their name was amended. It was likely misspelled.
- Look through every page of the ship’s manifest for your ancestor’s voyage. You may find record of stops the ship made along the way, recording of friends or relatives, or even a second entry for your ancestor as Stephen mentioned in the case of changing class of ticket.
- The more recent the passenger list, the more information we’ll find and possibly the more annotations we may find. In my case my great-grandparents made the journey from Antwerp Belgium in 1910. In looking back over their passenger lists (they each have their own because they traveled three months apart) I found numbers and markings on their record that I hadn’t really paid much attention to. So when I heard Stephen’s talk I was very excited to figure out their meaning!
Listen to the podcast itself for more details on:
- Head taxes charged;
- Names entered at port of departure for people who may not have sailed;
- Why a person might appear twice on a passenger list;
- Notations that they were hospitalized upon arrival—or that they died there;
- The number of meals eaten at Ellis Island; and
- Grounds for exclusion for entry to the U.S.
Updates and Links
A New Look at Immigrant Passenger Manifests. This pdf by Stephen Danko provides a timeline history of the information requested on passenger lists. You’ll also find annotations made before and after arrival.
Stephen’s Blog: A New Look at Immigrant Passenger Manifests
Stephen’s Blog: More Annotations on Immigrant Passenger Manifests
One-Step Webpages by Stephen P. Morse (Ellis Island Search Tool)
