The Falmouth Genealogical Society President: Ralph Wadleigh Vol. 25 Number 1 Editors: Joyce Pendery, CG P. O. Box 2107, Teaticket, MA 02536 Newsletter August - October 2013 [email protected] www.falgen.org C. David Burt [email protected] The Falmouth Genealogical Society Newsletter is published four times a year and is dedicated to news, events and ideas that will help members enhance their genealogical research. Falmouth Genealogical Society ONE FAMILY’S ENCOUNTER WITH AMERICAN HISTORY Program presented by Alfred Knight at the July 13, 2013, meeting Reviewed by Joyce S. Pendery, CG A Wadleigh family friend, Alfred Crocker Knight of The speaker brought to life nine generations of his fam- Greenwich, Connecticut, Mayflower descendant, son of ily, beginning with 1620 Mayflower passengers Stephen Barnstable County’s former Probate Judge A.C. Knight, Hopkins and Edward Winslow, followed by the Bourne, and member of the Society of the Cincinnati, Hawley, and Crocker families of Cape Cod, and presented a talk that brought together the gene- ending with the 20th century Knight and alogy of his coastal Massachusetts family and Crocker families. events in American history during the past four centuries. In other words, he placed Early contacts and relationships between his family in historical context! His princi- his family and Native Americans were pal sources were a genealogy that a family one focus of the talk. Edward Winslow member prepared years ago, The Mayflower established a peaceful relationship with by Nathaniel Philbrick and Albion’s Seed by Indian Chief Massasoit and members of David Hackett Fisher for 17th century his- his tribe that endured until their deaths. tory, his ancestor Gideon Hawley’s diary and Seventeenth-century family members who letters, 1754-1804 from the Congregational Library, were involved in efforts to convert Indians to as well as resources at Sturgis Library and family records. Christianity included Reverend Richard Bourne who came to the Mashpee area in 1670 to lead a Praying

Calendar of Meetings for 2013 Saturdays, 10 a.m., Falmouth Public Library Sept. 14: Maureen Taylor: Identifying and Dating Family Photographs Oct. 12: Connie Reik: Researching Your Civil War Veteran in Federal Publications and Documents Nov. 16: David Lambert of NEHGS: Two lectures on Forging Broken Links and Closing Gaps in Genealogical Research. Joint meeting with Cape Cod Genealogical Society held at St. Peter’s Church, Osterville. (Note: this is the 3rd Saturday of the month.) Dec. 14: Annual Holiday Food Fest: bring your favorite sweets and recipes from antique cookbooks. Jan. 11: What’s New On The Web? Feb. 8: Lewis White: The Portuguese in Falmouth. The Falmouth Genealogical Society Indian Church. In 1758 the Society for the Preserva- negatively).This information can be found in local and tion of the Gospel assigned Reverend Gideon Hawley, county land and probate records and histories, pub- a Congregational clergyman, to establish a church for lished genealogies, family letters, and newspaper articles Indians at Mashpee. He served there for almost fifty and obituaries. The third level is to place ancestors and years, supporting rights and education for the Mashpee their experiences into the “big picture” or into a broad Indians. historical context. Detailed time lines can show major events that occurred during our ancestors’ lifetimes; In 1739, Knight’s ancestor Ebenezer Crocker built scholarly histories, such as those Al Knight consulted, today’s oldest Cotuit house, on Route 28, near Route can provide information about people and events and 30. Another of the old Crocker houses is the present historical trends and analysis. Cahoon Museum, built by ancestor Zenas in 1782. For those of us whose ancestors were farmers or immi- Members of the Crocker family participated in major grants of the 19th or 20th centuries, going to level three migrations. Zenas3 Crocker sailed around the Horn to may seem pointless or even hopeless. Yet, major events California for the Gold Rush of 1849. He remained such as European wars and the Potato Famine or per- there as a successful merchant until 1861, when he re- sonal events, such as pressure from earlier immigrants to turned to Cape Cod. His son Zenas4 Crocker migrated join them in the new country, are of significance in our to the Dakota Territory, married there and built a hard- family histories and can serve as starting points. ware store before returning to Cape Cod. An early 20th century Crocker was an innovative and reform-minded Dig as deep as you can! sheriff of Barnstable County. BOOK REVIEW Al Knight concluded his presentation with descriptions by Joyce Pendery, CG of 20th century military service by members of his fami- ly: wars in which they fought, their military experiences, French Genealogy from Afar: Being Basic Procedures and their awards, and their fates. Suggested First Steps in Research via the New Electronic Technology and Method of Communication Known He explained that the past of his family is saved in as the Internet…as Presented on the French Genealogy traces like memorial plaques, Cape Cod place names, Blog, by Anne Morddel. Self-published by the author. and craftsmanship seen in buildings, judicial decisions, Order by sending an email to [email protected]; $26. and surgeon-mended bodies of soldiers. His family’s actions are one tiny thread in the enormous fabric of Anne Morddel has been interested in genealogy since American history. she was fourteen. Living in for the last ten years, she has focused on French genealogy. She founded her REVIEWER’S AFTERWORD web site “The French Genealogy Blog” in 2009. Many sections of this book are updated and enlarged blog arti- After Al Knight’s talk, I recalled that many professional cles. I met Anne in Paris in 2012 and know how serious genealogists propose that the ultimate goal of amateur she is. If you have French ancestry, you may find the genealogists should be placing their ancestors in histori- help you need on one or more of the Internet sites she cal context, as our speaker so admirably did. discusses. While the Table of Contents is detailed, there is no index. Anne writes in a conversational, tongue-in- Genealogists point out that there are at least three levels cheek manner. Like many self-published authors, she of genealogical research. The first is to search vital and did not consult an editor! church records to determine birth, marriage, and death dates and places for ancestors and to create family trees. Anne provides some assistance in figuring out common The second level involves searching for biographical French genealogical terms for those who do not know information about ancestors: the work they did, an idea French. Reading the handwriting is a different issue. of their economic level, what it was like where they Patience, practice, and persistence are the answers for lived, moves they made, public roles they held, and fam- successful research in French records! She also explains ily experiences that were of interest (either positively or that knowing where your ancestors were born, married,

2 The Falmouth Genealogical Society and died is essential, as French vital records are kept on communities of members of many different occupa- the communal level. Copies of most records from com- tional groups that required registration of all workers in munal archives are sent to departmental (like county) that field. Even family recipes, drinks, and clothing may archives, but there are no indexes. To deal with this offer clues as to place of origin. “Location, Location, Location” problem Anne offers a number of web sites that may offer clues or even cite If you would like to look at this book before you buy locations, before you delve into the online resources. it, send me an email at [email protected] and I will For example, there is a web site that lists the names and bring it on Tuesday afternoon or to a monthly meeting. brief biographies of everyone who lost their head during Meanwhile, if you have French ancestry, do read “The the . Another lists the names and French Genealogy Blog” at [email protected].

FGS Monthly Meeting Aug 10, 2013 Tales of Our Ancestors Reviewed by Ralph Wadleigh

3 The Falmouth Genealogical Society Dottie Clark Davison, spoke of uncovering the truth Janet Burt Chalmers 1944-2013 about the Cronk Family Fortune. The story goes that by C. David Burt three brothers came to American from Holland in 1742. Two brothers, Jacob and James established themselves and eventually fought in the Revolution against the British. A third brother, Caspar, was a Loyalist and returned to Holland during the war. In Holland he became successful and supposedly amassed a fortune. Upon his death, he willed that after 100 years the ac- cumulated assets would be divided among all the heirs. In 1902, certain heirs located in the United States organized to claim the fortune, but alas research in Holland revealed nothing. Dottie’s research led her to correspondence from Walter Cronkite who had heard of this same story. It turns out that it was all started by a rogue genealogist, hoping to extort funds from Cronk/ Cronkite heirs. Too bad, Dottie!! Janet with her husband Stephen Chalmers Lorraine Nagy, spoke about her adopted daughter, Catherine’s, Cherokee ancestry. She related how she My sister Janet served as editor of the Falmouth Genea- came to a FGS Tuesday session armed only with a logical Society Newsletter from 2004 to 2012, a year name, Cora Sansing Pugh, and a year of death. With before her death when she asked me to take over. I had Jan Zlatev’s help, a date and place of death was deter- done some preliminary genealogical work on our family mined and a death certificate was obtained. This led tree and when Janet became interested in it, I gladly let to a chain of discovery including Cora’s husband and her take over. She did remarkable work making contacts parents. Lorraine will be traveling to Alabama later this with living descendants of our relatives, including the year with Catherine and her birth mother, and plans to Provincetown Burts on the maternal side of our family, share her findings with Cora’s living descendants. on whom she reported in December of 2011. She also extended the family tree considerably through research Lockwood Rianhard, related how he had been re- on the internet. searching his grandparents ancestries and had discovered in online family trees a line of descent from the great Janet was born in Boston on September 28, 1944, Cape Cod Sachem, Iyannough, whose son John had grew up in Waban, attended The Beaver Country Day supposedly married Priscilla Bearse. Knowing that School, Centenary College, and the University of Wis- online family trees need to be treated cautiously, Lock- consin. She spent summers in Falmouth and became an wood attempted to verify this fact through Barnstable avid sailor in the Quissett Yacht Club. She married Ste- County records. This he was unable to do. However, phen Chalmers, another Quissett sailor, in 1969. They through further study, he learned that intermarriage have two children and five grandchildren. Janet worked between Native Americans and colonists in Early New with her husband for many years in their business The England was extremely rare and mostly due to the Village Printer, and she volunteered her skills to edit the capture of white settlers, who, if they stayed with their FGS Newsletter. abductors, entered into familial relationships without the benefit of Christian marriage. Iyannough and his As a sailor, Janet excelled, winning local and regional initial descendants were not found in Barnstable records championships. She gave up actively racing in the Quis- as marrying outside their tribe. So, another hoax! sett races because she was embarrassed about winning practically everything, and she dedicated herself to the race committee. She did the write-ups of the races for The Falmouth Enterprise, and they were so entertaining and well written that the Enterprise offered her job as 4 The Falmouth Genealogical Society a reporter and feature writer. She served as a flag officer minutes for last year’s Annual Meeting. Donna Walcovy of the Quissett Yacht club from 1996-2002, serving as moved to accept the minutes as read, and the motion Commodore in 2001-2002. She continued running the was passed unanimously. races until the year before she died. Donna Walcovy, Chairman of the Nominating Com- Janet was interested in tracing the maternal line of our mittee, reported that an unnamed person had agreed to family. Fortunately we had some records that our ma- accept nomination as President for one year, provided ternal grandmother, Gertrude Littlefield Mahady, had that the duties would be shared by the First Vice Presi- saved, tracing our ancestry to Elder, William Brewster of dent, and that no one had agreed to accept nomination the Mayflower. Because genealogists will be interested for the position of Secretary. in this, here is the female line from my records: This report was followed by a request from President Abigail Young, m. John Treat 6 Dec 1716 Ralph Wadleigh for nominations from the floor. No nominations were forthcoming from the floor for Presi- Rachel Treat Mulford, b. 5 Nov 1725, m. Joseph Cobb dent or Secretary, but Gerald Luby said he would be 19 Mar 1750 willing to run for Treasurer next year (2014), provided that the current Treasurer, Ed Shibata, would be will- Tamsin Cobb, b 31 Jan 1757, d 22 Nov 1794, ing to train him during 2013. This was agreed. Further, m. Daniel Lombard 15 Apr 1779 during the course of floor discussion, Dottie Priestley Tamsin Lombard, b 12 Jun 1785, m. Samuel Small volunteered to be nominated as Secretary, and Mary 15 Dec 1803 Barry volunteered to be nominated as First Vice Presi- dent, sharing duties for 2013 with the current Presi- Rosetta Small, b. 23 Mar 1817, d. 1892, dent, Ralph Wadleigh, who would continue in office m. John Graham Burt 23 Apr 1817 until June 2014. There was some discussion concerning the positions of NERGC Representative and Program Mary E. Burt, b. 23 Oct 1838, d. 8 Feb 1924, Committee Chairman, but no volunteers made them- m. Joshua Owen Littlefield 13 May 1861 selves available.

Alice Gertrude Littlefield, b. 1 Apr 1875, d. 11 Jan 1960, Based on the floor discussion, the following slate of m. Edward F. Mahady 21 Nov 1900 candidates was proposed:

Alice Gertrude Mahady, b. 5 Nov 1910. d. 24 Sep President – Ralph Wadleigh 1991, m. Charles E. Burt 25 Nov 1937 First Vice President – Mary Barry Janet Lee Burt. b. 28 Sep 1944, d. 30 May 2013, m. Stephen Chalmers 3 May 1969 Second Vice President – Richard Harbison

Secretary – Dottie Priestley

MINUTES OF THE FALMOUTH GENEALOGI- Treasurer – Ed Shibata, who will train Gerald Luby CAL SOCIETY ANNUAL MEETING Editor, Newsletter – David Burt 8 June 2013 Chairman, Library Committee – Janice Zlatev Before the annual meeting, visitors were welcomed and reports of the Chairman of the Library Committee Jan Chairman, Publications Committee – Robert Chase Zlatev, Treasurer Ed Shibata, and Program Chairman Chairman, Publicity Committee – Mary Ann Shafer Ralph Wadleigh were presented. Chairmen, Program Committee – Ralph Wadleigh and At 10:19 a.m., the Annual Meeting was called to order Mary Barry by President Ralph Wadleigh. Jan Zlatev read the

5 The Falmouth Genealogical Society NERGC Representative – open New Members Members of the Board at Large – Joyce Pendery (Gen- We welcome the following new members of the Fal- eral Advice), Jeramie Hammond mouth Genealogical Society:

(Website), Gerald Luby (Budget and Finance) #435: Dottie & Mac Davidson of Cotuit, researching Cronk of New York State and Simpson of DE and PA, When the above slate of Board Members was proposed, both in the 1800’s. Maggie Rioux moved to elect the entire list of candi- dates. This motion was seconded by John Checklick, #436: Robert & Evelyn Barker of East Falmouth, re- and passed unanimously. searching Barker in KY/VA and Brooklyn, Long Island, NY from 1730 to 1975; Bethel in Spring Valley/Nyack, Following the election of the Board, Richard Harbison NY and IL from 1630 to 1930; Lycke in Bayshore, NY, announced that he planned to teach his class on inter- from 1890; Bartels on Long Island, NY, from 1900; and net genealogy in the Fall of 2013; members discussed Lessels in Brooklyn and Long Island, NY, from 1890. GenealogyInTime, a service that gives information on recently digitized web content; a number of other free #437: Jeremiah A. Whitaker of Mashpee, researching resources on the Internet; and problems with military Whitaker in Ulster County and NY, Friedman in Hun- records, particularly those relating the Civil War. gary before 1900, Koller in Austria before 1900, and McGoldrick before 1875. The meeting was adjourned at 11:08 a.m. #438: Lois Parker of West Falmouth, researching Joswig Respectfully submitted: of Ungerberg, Germany, 1925.

Richard Harbison, Acting Secretary for the Falmouth #439: Donna Nascimento of East Falmouth, research- Genealogical Society ing York, Cheney, and Boston of Maine, 1700-1800.

#440: Bernadette C. Brown of Falmouth, researching Brown of Bristol County, MA, in the 1830’s, Andrews NOVEMBER JOINT MEETING WITH of Gloucester, RI, in the 1760’s; Muller of Rosbach, CAPE COD GENEALOGICAL SOCIETY Bavaria, and Germany in the 1780’s; O’Day of Limer- November 16, 2013, St. Peter’s Episcopal Church, Wi- ick, Ireland, in the 1840’s; and Crotty of Ireland in the anno Avenue, Osterville, MA 1820’s.

Our traditional November joint meeting with Cape #441: Alice Borden of Mashpee, researching Leven, Cod Genealogical Society will be held on Saturday, No- Steinberg, Sagowitz, Lepinsky, Rubinovits, all in Lithu- vember 16, 2013 from 10:00 – 1:00 at St. Peter’s Epis- ania/Russia in the late 1800’s. copal Church, Wianno Avenue, Osterville. To carpool, #442: Charles B. Cooper & Sara E. Bysshe of East meet in the Gus Canty parking lot at 9:00 a.m. Falmouth, researching Bysshe of the United Kingdom David Lambert, Chief Genealogist at NEHGS, will (UK); Long of Northern Ireland; Cook and Prosser of present two talks under one title: “ Forging Broken the UK or Ireland; Maiseloff (phonetic) of Galicia or Links – Closing Gaps in Genealogical Research.” Top- Belarus; Geyser (phonetic) of Ukraine or Galicia; and ics David will cover include adoptions, orphans, name Meyer (phonetic) of the Koblenz area of Germany, all in changes, transferring children between families, guard- the 18th and 19th centuries. ianships, and dispersions of children during events such as the Holocaust.

An optional Lobster roll luncheon can be purchased separately for $10. Details will follow.

6 The Falmouth Genealogical Society President: Ralph Wadleigh Vol. 25 Number 2 Editors: Joyce Pendery, CG P. O. Box 2107, Teaticket, MA 02536 Newsletter November 2013 - January 2014 [email protected] www.falgen.org C. David Burt [email protected] The Falmouth Genealogical Society Newsletter is published four times a year and is dedicated to news, events and ideas that will help members enhance their genealogical research. Falmouth Genealogical Society IDENTIFYING AND DATING FAMILY PHOTOGRAPHS Program presented by Maureen A. Taylor at the September 14, 2013, meeting Reviewed by Joyce S. Pendery, C.G. A large audience gathered on September 14th to hear owned it before you and before they did? Has anyone Maureen A. Taylor’s talk on “Identifying and Dating supplied identifications? WHO was the photographer and Family Photographs.” An international lecturer, Maureen WHERE was he located? is also the author of many articles and books on photo identification. According to Maureen: • WHAT are the subjects wearing? WHAT “A family photograph collection is more than type of photo is it? WHAT do you know about a random collection of images: each one is the image? a story worth saving.” Maureen showed • WHERE was the photo taken? many historic photos and described their significant characteristics that aid in dat- • WHEN was the photo taken? ing photos. She talked about how to solve photo mysteries yourself by following these • WHY was the photo taken: for a special guidelines: event or reason: wedding, reunion, funeral?

Questions to ask and try to answer include: Then you add up the clues:

• WHO were the subjects of the photo? WHO • THE TYPE OF PHOTO helps determine the date the photo was taken – from the earliest daguerreotypes of Calendar of Meetings for 2013-2014 Saturdays, 10 a.m., Falmouth Public Library Dec. 14: Annual Holdiday Food Fest - at Falmouth Senior Center Jan. 11: What’s New On The Web? Feb. 8: Lewis White: The Portuguese in Falmouth. Mar. 8: Mary Ellen Grogan: Researching your Irish Roots Apr. 12: Alice Stelzer: Women May 10: Paul Bunnell: Loyalist Migrations June 14: Annual Meeting and Election of Officers The Falmouth Genealogical Society the 1830’s to Brownie photos of the 20th century to recent digital photos. Mystery Photo • THE PHOTOGRAPHER helps determine the date and place the photo was taken. Do any FGS members recognize this family? Someone left it at last month’s Maureen Taylor meeting and we • GENEALOGICAL RESEARCH helps predict want to return it. Please speak to Ralph Wadleigh or Ed who the subjects might have been. Shibata.

• COSTUMES AND HAIR STYLES offer the most important clues for dating photos.

• INTERNAL EVIDENCE may help determine relationships, events, locations. Alas, captions written on historic photos are often wrong!

If you can’t identify a photo, show the photo to as many relatives as possible and post it on the Internet. Advertise your family on a message board or in a query column with details about the photo.

Maureen shared information about many photo projects that she is working on, including preparing albums of photos of Revolutionary War veterans in their old age and a documentary about their lives. CONTRASTING GERMAN MIGRATIONS and GERMAN You can contact Maureen and sign up for her free e- newsletter on www.photodetective.com and you can FOR GENEALOGISTS watch Maureen solve cases on www.vimeo/photodec- tive.com or @photodetective on Twitter. Two lectures presented by James M. Beidler, September 21, 2013, at Brewster Ladies’ Library Reviewed by Joyce S. Pendery, CG

Before a room-full of Cape Cod and Falmouth Ge- nealogical Society members, Pennsylvanian James M. Beidler presented two lectures on German genealogy on Saturday morning, September 21, 2013. In his first lecture, Mr. Beidler discussed the differences between 18th and 19th century German immigrants. In the second lecture he discussed German for genealogists and how to learn or find the language basics necessary for working with documents written in German.

During the 17th century, very few Germans immigrated to North America. Eighteenth-century German immi- grants are dubbed “Pennsylvania Germans,” as many of Maureen Taylor and Alice Batchelor them arrived in or passed through that colony on their

8 The Falmouth Genealogical Society route west. About 80,000 German speaking immi- • Jones, Henry A. Jr. The Palatine Families of grants came to America during the 1700’s. Most came New York: A Study of the German Immigrants Who from the Palatinate, Saarland, Baden, Wuertemberg, or Arrived in Colonial New York in 1710, 2 vols. (Uni- Alsace areas, all in southwestern Germany. Some also versal City, CA: H.Z. Jones, 1985). Jones has written came from adjoining Switzerland. The majority traveled additional books that extend his study. up the Rhine River to the port of Rotterdam and disem- barked in Philadelphia. • Schenk, Trudy and Ruth Froelke. Wuerttemberg Emigration Index, 8 vols. (Salt Lake City, UT: Ancestry Most of these early German immigrants were Protes- Inc., 1986-). tants: Lutheran, Reformed, or sectarian Mennonite, Moravian, or Amish who sought religious freedom. • Strassburger, Ralph B. and William J. Hinke. Many had to buy their economic freedom from some Pennsylvania German Pioneers, 3 vol. (Camden, ME: type of serfdom, or they revolted against partible in- Picton Press, 1992). heritance that reduced the size of land holdings each • Web sites, include www.familysearch.org; www. generation. The majority were poorly educated peasants, ellisisland.org; Hamburg passenger lists at http://in- farmers or village residents, some of whom were inden- ternational.hamburg.de/ (click on “English,” then on tured and all of whom wanted to acquire land. “LinkToYourRoots;” National Archives passenger lists During the 19th century and up to , over 5 at www.archives.gov/index.html (click on “Research million Germans immigrated to North America. They Room”). became known as “German Americans,” and the major- Reading these records, written in German, can be chal- ity came from northern and eastern Germany: Saxony, lenging and requires some basic vocabulary and knowl- Pomerania, Brandenburg, and Bavaria. Most embarked edge of printed, script, and hand-written German. Mr. at Bremen or Hamburg and went to New York, Balti- Beidler provided a list of words and abbreviations found more, or the upper Midwest and Texas, via the port of in German records; he showed examples of different New Orleans. types of records and writing; and he provided a bibliog- These immigrants were about equally divided between raphy that included: Catholics and Protestants. They were looking for busi- • Humphrey, John T. Finding Your German ness opportunities, increased class mobility, fewer mar- Ancestors: A Practical Guide for Genealogists (Pennsyl- riage restrictions, and avoidance of military service. In vania Genealogy Books, $19.95). addition to farmers, some were tradesmen or business- men with better education. • Thode, Ernest. German-English Genealogical Dictionary (Genealogical Publishing Co., $29.95). Church records are one of the best sources of infor- mation on the births, marriages, and deaths of these • Bentz, Edna M. If I Can, You Can: Decipher immigrants, in both the old and new countries. Luther- Germanic Records (self-published, $17.25). ans, Catholics, and Moravians kept the best records. Anabaptists and Evangelicals did not practice infant • Web sites, including: www.Babelfish.yahoo.com baptism. (Babel Fish Text Translation); LEO Deutsch-Englisch- esWoerterbush (German-English Dictionary) at www. The speaker’s Bibliography included: dict.leo.org; or use Google Translator. • Filby, P.William and Ira A. Glazier, editors. Ger- v v v mans to America: Lists of Passengers Arriving at U.S. Ports, 1850-1897.

• Hacker, Werner. Eighteenth Century Register of Emigrants from Southwest Germany to America and Other Countries (Apolla, PA: Closson Press, 1994).

9 The Falmouth Genealogical Society FORGING BROKEN LINKS CLOSING GAPS IN GENEALOGICAL RESEARCH Double Presentation to Falmouth Genealogical Society and Cape Cod Genealogical Society by David Allen Lambert, Chief Genealogist, New England Historic Genealogical Society, Boston Osterville, November 16, 2013; reviewed by Joyce S. Pendery, CG AVID LAMBERT has an encyclopedic knowledge children were transferred between families without filing Dof genealogical resources helpful in solving genea- of legal documents, and orphans who were siblings were logical dead ends. His expertise was evident during his sometimes separated and sent to different families or to double presentation to members and guests at the 6th orphanages. Sources of information about guardianships Annual Joint Meeting of the Falmouth and Cape Cod and adoptions might also be found in diaries, letters, Genealogical Societies obituaries, newspaper articles, held at St. Peter’s Church and divorce proceedings. in Osterville on Saturday, November 16, 2013. Clues for locating orphans may be found in probate David began with the records, guardianships, mili- topic of finding adop- tary pension files, census re- tion records: original, cords, obituaries, court cases, amended, corrected, with newspapers, and orphan- name changes, or with a age records. The majority of missing parent, suggesting Orphan Trains, destined for illegitimacy. Information the west, originated in New can vary according to the York and Boston from 1854 record date and location. to 1929. Due to high infant There were few adoption mortality rates, families often records before the Civil welcomed orphans as foster War, and many adoption children. Orphans traveling records are closed for up on Catholic orphan trains to 100 years. Adoption were given to Catholic fami- can be a delicate topic, lies. Non-Catholic orphans as some adoptees are un- were often picked out upon aware of their status. arrival to help with work and family chores with both Both adoption and guard- positive and negative results. ianship records can some- Cyndi’s List web site has in- times be found in the formation on Orphan Trains, original dockets of pro- and the web site for the Na- bate files. Online indexes tional Orphan Train Complex to probate indexes and in Concordia, Kansas, is www. files are available for many states. Guardianship records orphantraindepot.org. can be for young, old, incapacitated, and mentally ill persons and among other information, they may include World events, including wars, genocides, fleeing refugees, accountings of expenses for personal care. Sometimes famines, and natural disasters also led to the dispersion of

10 The Falmouth Genealogical Society children. While more difficult to trace, some information Library News from Janice Zlatev may be found at the United Nations International Refugee Organization and in U.S.. National Archives files Record Falmouth Genealogical Society member Lockwood Group 59, covering the years 1939-1945. Rianhard has donated a book to the Falmouth Public Library. The title is: Female Index to Genealogical Dic- David proposed that everyone put themselves under a tionary of the First Settlers of New England by James microscope through DNA testing. The long-established Savage, compiled by Paty Barthell Myers. Lockwood web site he suggests is www.familytreedna.com. David had noticed, while doing his own research, that the explained the main types of tests: Y-DNA for males, library did not own this book. This title is currently in MtDNA for females, Autosomal DNA to determine cataloging at the library. evidence of non-European DNA (for example, American Indian ancestry), and the SNP test that analyzes particular markers within surname groups. BEYOND PENSION FILES! DISCOVER YOUR David concluded by talking about unusual genealogical sources that may provide clues or even direct information CIVIL WAR ANCESTORS that will help forge broken links or close gaps. These in- IN FEDERAL PUBLICATIONS clude coffin plates that contain birth and death informa- tion, hand written cook books and recipe cards that show AND DOCUMENTS hand writing and can indicate recipe preferences and pos- sibly suggest areas of origin, address books, account books, Program presented by Connie Reik at the Octo- family samplers, birth date books, wedding gift books, ber 12, 2013, meeting funeral books, old checks, tax bills, old telephone books, and letters and postcards with messages and postmarks on Reviewed by Susan Hutchinson stamps that establish dates. Connie Reik, Research and Instruction Librarian for The moral of the story is that we should never overlook History and Government Publications Coordinator at or throw away any possible source of family information! Tisch Library, Tufts University, spoke about using Con- gressional and other governmental agencies’ publica- tions to gather and supplement information about Civil

Informative Website War ancestors. She presented an extensive bibliography reported by Ralph Wadleigh including numerous website references.

Are you having trouble keeping up with the constant Connie began by pointing out that the first step in changes on the web? Perhaps you are interested in researching a Civil War ancestor is to “know” your sol- database additions or changes in certain geographic dier. This includes the full name of the person (and his areas you follow. If so, you should take a look at the spouse’s name), full date of birth, place of birth, and res- weekly Genealogy in Time Magazine Newsletter. This idence before and after the conflict. Both the 1910 and free newsletter arrives weekly in your email and con- 1930 U.S. censuses have questions on military service. sists normally of two parts, first an interesting article The 1890 U.S. Census’s Veterans’ Schedule for states on a genealogical related subject and second a list of all beginning with letters K-W is available on Ancestry.com the websites that had new data posted during the past [Note: Most of the 1890 Census burned accidentally.] week. So, for example, if you are interested in finding out about new data on Ireland, you would have learned The next steps in researching a Civil War ancestor are to about two new items in the 9 November 2013 issue. find out which branch of the service he was in, whether More importantly, the issues are archived so you can he was in the regular army or a state volunteer unit, and review several issues at one sitting. A plus to the site whether he was an officer or an enlisted man. She also are two search engines that you will want to try. To get mentioned that some people served as “contractors” started, just go to www.genealogyintime.com. You’ll be who contributed to the war effort. It was also common glad you did! for a soldier to pay a substitute to take his place!

11 The Falmouth Genealogical Society In addition, there are many U.S. Agency/Dept. Publi- cations which are a vast source of information. These include:

• List of Pensioners on the Roll, January 1, 1883 (U.S. Pension Bureau)

• The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Records of the Union and Confederate Armies (U.S. War Dept., Gov. Printing Office, Washington, D.C. 1894)

• Official Records of the Union and Confeder- ate Navies in the War of the Rebellion (U.S. Naval War Records Office, Gov. Printing Office, 1894.)

During this fascinating presentation, Mr. Reik showed us that by using additional websites such as for the National Park Service, Centers for Military History, “How To” guides, and online databases, we can actually trace our ancestors through the entire Civil War while researching the War itself.

Marianne Shafer and Connie Reik

The National Archives has many publications that will help in this area. Several that she recommended are:

• Plante, Trevor K. Military Service Records at the National Archives: http:www.//archives.gov/publica- tions/ref-info-papers/rip109.pdf

• National Archives and Records Administration. Finding Information of Personal Participation in the Civil War: http//www.archives.gov/exhibits/civil-war/ resources/research-brochure.pdf

• National Park Service Soldiers and Sailors Database: http://nps.gov.civilwar/soldiers-and-sailors- database.htm

Many other Federal publications will enable a researcher to gather information on an ancestor’s regiment and any campaigns and battles in which he participated. At this point, Ms. Reik mentioned the advantage of using online commercial versions of the U.S. Congressional Serial Set. This set is available from the Boston Public Library via an e-card. Many volumes of this set have been scanned by Google, so do a Google search for the people involved to determine the names that are avail- David Martin at the Joint Cape Cod and Falmouth able online. Genealogical Societies meeting on November 16th.

12 The Falmouth Genealogical Society President: Ralph Wadleigh Vol. 25 Number 3 Editors: Joyce Pendery, CG P. O. Box 2107, Teaticket, MA 02536 Newsletter February - April 2014 [email protected] www.falgen.org C. David Burt [email protected] The Falmouth Genealogical Society Newsletter is published four times a year and is dedicated to news, events and ideas that will help members enhance their genealogical research. Falmouth Genealogical Society THE PORTUGUESE IN FALMOUTH Program presented by Lewis A. White on February 8, 2014 Reviewed by Joyce S. Pendery, C.G.

Curious Falmouth native and would-be genealogist, Lewis immigration from the , agricultural islands 850 A White told how he embarked on a multi-year study miles west of Portugal, until the mid-nineteenth century. of the history of the Azores, home of his ancestors, The small first wave of immigrants, ca. 1840-1870, was and Falmouth, their more recent home. He primarily male: comprising whalers who were re- visited the Azores in 2001. An engineer and cruited as crew members for whaling vessels that mathematician by training and profession stopped there during voyages to the Pacific and an amateur historian, he also had to Ocean. Whalers often settled in the New learn about genealogical methodology and Bedford area at the end of those voyages. resources to reach his goal. Second wave immigrants, ca. 1870-1920, were often recruited as families of unskilled During his research, he hoped to answer laborers to work in factories and mills in these questions: Why would anyone leave southeastern Massachusetts and Rhode Is- the Azores and why are there so few Portu- land. It was members of the more numerous guese in America and so many in Falmouth? third wave of more skilled immigrants, ca. 1950’s Census records were very helpful in determining to 1980’s, who settled in Falmouth. The Azores are when Azoreans came to America and where they settled, volcanic islands, and frequent seismic events during those although he found many problems having to do with ac- years led to increased immigration to America. curacy, completeness, and inconsistency. There was little Calendar of Meetings for 2014 Saturdays, 10 a.m., Falmouth Public Library May 10 - Paul Bunnell: Loyalist Migrations June 14 - Annual Meeting, Round Table Discussion, and Election of Officers July 12 -TBA August 9 - Ralph Wadleigh: Writing a Genealogical Sketch September 13 - Beginners’ Workshop October 11 -DonnaWalcovy: How to Plan a Family Reunion November 8 - Joint Meeting with CCGS: Rhonda McClure of NEHGS: Immigration Research December 13 - Annual Holiday Food Fest The Falmouth Genealogical Society WHAT’S NEW on the INTERNET Falmouth Genealogical Society Program, January 11, 2014 Reviewed by Joyce S. Pendery, CG

Several members and guests of FGS discussed their fa- vorite genealogy web sites, with enthusiastic comments and questions from the audience. Web sites discussed included:

• www.genealogyintime.com opens to the Geneal- Lewis White (left) with state representative David Viera ogy in Time Magazine. This web site, founded in 2008, is free and very large. It lists new data sets coming onto Lewis White discovered that the first Azoreans in Falmouth the web each week. Anyone can sign up for their free settled in Waquoit. In 1870 there were three families there, weekly newsletter, as well as for queries. all from Faial. By 1900, forty-three families from the Azores were scattered throughout Falmouth. By 1930, Por- • www.gengathering.com opens to a menu and tuguese comprised 31.5% of the population of Falmouth. explanation of this site, dedicated to genealogists who are willing to share genealogical information or help At that time in the Azores, there was almost no possibility others with their research. A great deal of information to own land. Here, the Portuguese worked and saved to has been posted on this web site. buy land and a house. The majority were self-sufficient farmers who also worked part-time. After World War II, • www.olivetreegenealogy.com, another free web the expansion of the economy brought more opportuni- site, specializes in ships’ passenger lists for ships leaving ties for work and moving from blue collar to white col- U. S. ports, as well as those arriving; obituaries; records lar jobs. One of the traditions the Azoreans brought to from many national and ethnic groups; and much Falmouth was the formation of a Holy Ghost Association more. with a parade and feast at Pentecost. They also formed the Falmouth Portuguese-American Association in 1979. • www.familysearch.org has been redesigned (again), has much new information, and should be Many Portuguese first names and surnames were changed checked out again. during and after immigration, making genealogical research difficult. With much humor, Lewis White ex- • www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk is the largest online plained the many changes in his names and why they are source for basic Scottish genealogical information. no longer Portuguese. Indices on Ancestry.com require using any or all name and spelling possibilities. In addi- • www.ancientfaces.com features memories, pho- tion to U.S. census records, Portuguese parish records are tos, and obituaries from the past. available on microfilm. Lewis White also suggested using the web site www.georgepacheco.com and going to the • www.deadfred.com has photos, vital records, New Bedford Public Library Genealogy Room, Paul Cyr, genealogical records from Scotland and more. Director, and the New Bedford Whaling Museum, James • www.sturgislibrary.org is the web site for the St- Russell, Director. urgis Library in Barnstable Village with its large library Lewis A. White is the author of the article “The Portuguese and archives dedicated to Cape Cod history and geneal- in Falmouth,” published in the Winter-2013 edition of ogy. Spritsail, publication of the Woods Hole Historical Society. The standing room only audience enjoyed and appreciated • www.nnyln.com focuses on northern New York his fascinating lecture. newspapers, but has much general and international 14 The Falmouth Genealogical Society genealogical information, as well. by someone else). Information about the decedent, such as date and place of birth and parents, is considered second- • www.findagrave.com should always be checked ary information, since the subject of the record did not for deaths and grave stone inscriptions. provide that information.

• And don’t forget the old standby www.cyndis- • Bible records, if information was entered when list.com with links to most major genealogical websites, events occurred or later by a participant or observer of the worldwide. event.

• Deeds and land records SOURCES of INFORMATION • Probate records and administration papers Joyce S. Pendery, C.G. • Censuses that show family relationships, although information may have been provided by someone other With traditional genealogical research, as well as with than the subject and might be incorrect. increasing dependence on tracing our lineages on geneal- ogy web sites, it is important to know how to evaluate and • Tax assessments and exemptions prove the information found, especially if it is undocu- • Military and pension records mented or conflicting information. • Contemporary correspondence; diaries Sources are the principal means through which we find, evaluate, and document genealogical information. You • Ship passenger lists have probably heard the advice to find original sources to document all the facts in your lineage. Alas, much SECONDARY SOURCE: Information not provided by online genealogical information has little or no source a participant or witness of the event. documentation • Birth: newspaper accounts Genealogists and historians use the terms primary sources and secondary sources Sometimes genealogists also refer • Marriage: newspaper accounts to original or derivative information. Information from a • Death record (see above); obituaries; tombstone primary source or original information is the most sought inscriptions and cemetery records after and reliable, although on occasion, it can be incorrect. • Samplers PRIMARY SOURCE: Information that was provided by the subject or a witness to the event, at the time the event • Censuses that don’t show family relationships occurred or later. It can be written or oral. • Abstracts or transcripts of official records; court • Birth: vital record of birth; church christening or records baptismal record. • City directories. telephone directories • Guardianship or orphan record; court adoption or name change. • Family histories and undocumented genealogies

• Marriage: vital record of marriage; church record • Online genealogy databases of marriage; marriage bond or license One other possibility is to assemble several pieces of in- • Death: vital record of death is both primary and direct and/or circumstantial evidence that do not directly secondary, as the subject of the record did not provide all answer the question but do relate to the question and the information. What occurred at the time of death is do provide a reasonable answer. I used this method to primary information about the subject (told or recorded prove one generation for my Mayflower Society applica-

15 The Falmouth Genealogical Society tion. Only after moving to Cape Cod, did I learn from and energy into compiling a family photo book as well as a distant cousin, whom I met online, that I had Crosby writing eight individual personal sketches on a great great ancestors from Cape Cod, who descended from Mayflower grandfather, a great grandfather, a grandfather and his five passengers. My new cousin sent me photocopies of fam- siblings. I am also learning how a web site can be used to ily correspondence from the mid and late 1880’s with pull the family together. I plan to share the sketch writing references therein to several Crosby family members and experience with the membership in one of our monthly their spouses, information I knew to be correct. I could meetings. Maybe you will find this a good way to share document births for every Mayflower ancestor but one, your family knowledge. my ancestor Sabray Crosby, whose family had moved from the Cape to the Catskills in the early 19th century. The Thanks to all of you for your continued support of FGS births of all her siblings were recorded in church records through your energy and enthusiasm. there, but hers was not. In one of the old letters, that one NEXT NERGC – NEW ENGLAND REGIONAL of Sabray’s brothers wrote, he referred to Sabray Crosby’s GENEALOGICAL CONFERENCE husband, Abraham Ridlen, as “Brother” Ridlen, indicating that he was married to one of his sisters. Another bit of It is not too soon to start thinking about attending the circumstantial evidence strengthened the argument and next NERGC to be held at the Convention Center in led to a reasonable and acceptable proof of the relation- downtown Providence, R.I., from April 15 – 19, 2015. The ship. My ancestor’s somewhat uncommon first name of conference theme is “Navigating the Past: Sailing Into the Sabray was also the first name of her granddaughter, who Future.” Providence is accessible for a one day attendance, was my grandmother. while connecting hotels make a longer stay convenient. The 2000 NERGC in Providence was a rousing success. Be persistent and continue your search, until you are Let’s make it a tradition! reasonably sure that you have adequate and correct docu- mentation! FALMOUTH GENEALOGICAL SOCIETY NEWSLETTER v v v From the President The FGS Newsletter is a quarterly publication, published the last month of each quarter: In October, January, Ralph Wadleigh April, and July of each year. The Newsletter is available to members online or by mail. Each member is requested [email protected] to select their preference – or to choose both means of delivery .Contributions are very welcome. What’s going on? From where I sit, our organization continues to roll along. Regular board meetings have im- To put together our quarterly Newsletter, we need to have proved communication. The website committee has been a variety of articles to interest our readers. That is to say, revived and is beginning the exciting task of refreshing our more than reports on presentations at meetings that usually current site. The many chores that keep FGS alive and provide interesting and useful genealogical information. relevant are being better shared. This is especially true with WE NEED YOUR INPUT! respect to program, membership and NERGC planning. For all this I am grateful. You do not have to be an experienced writer! Just be you! We can edit it for you. As I look ahead to the rest of 2014, this seems to be a reunion year. In October, Donna Walcovy will be speak- You could write about: ing on Organizing a Family Reunion. Many of you are probably having reunions this year as well. These are 1. A BRICK WALL you solved or cannot solve wonderful opportunities for you to share your research with your cousins. For myself, I attended one family re- 2. A RESEARCH TRIP – NEAR OR FAR AWAY union last month and in June will be attending another. 3. AN AMUSING ANECDOTE about your research For the June reunion I have devoted a great deal of time

16 The Falmouth Genealogical Society 4. YOUR FAVORITE BOOK OR WEB SITE AND on www.familysearch.org. Microfilms of the records can be WHY. obtained through LDS libraries. Our nearest is in Catau- met. Griffith’s evaluation tax records (ca. 1840’s – 1860’s), 5. References to other helpful publications. provide information about property rentals, while census records are available only for 1901 and 1911. You could submit GENEALOGICAL JOKES, TRIVIA OR CARTOONS for filler we sometimes need. A list of the types of records available when you visit both Ireland and Northern Ireland was presented. Going there August-September-October issue: Deadline is October 1st should only follow in depth research in this country. November-December-January issue: Deadline is January 2 SELECTED IRISH RESEARCH REFERENCE LIST February-March-April issue: Deadline is April 1 Falley, Margaret Dickson, Irish and Scotch-Irish Ancestral May-June-July issue: Deadline is July 1 Research: A Guide to the Genealogical Records, Methods and Sources on Ireland, 2 vol. (Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1988).

v v v Grenham, John. Tracing Your Irish Ancestors, 4th edition. (Dublin: Bill & Macmillan Ltd., 2012).

RESEARCHING YOUR IRISH MacLysaght, Edward. The Surnames of Ireland, 6th edi- ROOTS tion. (Dublin: Academic Press, 1991). Program Presented by Mary Ellen Grogan Mitchel, Brian. A New Genealogical Atlas of Ireland, 2nd eddition. (Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 2002). Falmouth Genealogical Society on March 8, 2014 Mitchel, Brian. A Guide to Irish Parish Registers. (Balti- more: Genealogical Publishing Co. Inc., 1988). Reviewed by Joyce S. Pendery, CG Ryan, James G. Irish Records: Sources for Family & Local ary Ellen Grogan presented a lecture on the History, 2nd ed. (Dublin: Flyleaf Press, 2000). Mbasics for Irish research. She pointed out that for Irish researchers, the destruction of the Public Record PRINCIPAL WEBSITES FOR IRISH GENEALOGY Office in Dublin during the Civil War in 1922 created a RESEARCH major problem. She then discussed many other possible sources of information about Irish ancestors. To receive a www.ancestry.com. Indexes to Griffith’s Valuation and to copy of Mary Ellen Grogan’s handout with more detailed the Tithe Applotment Books for Ireland. information, send an email marked “Falmouth Lecture” www.familysearch.org. Birth records, indexes to civil re- to [email protected]. cords; microfilms rented through LDS libraries.

Tips for success include searching every record source www.findmypast.ie. Detailed information on many regis- available in the U.S. before going to Ireland; looking for ters, records, directories, marriages, wills, etc. information about every member of the family, as any one may have left valuable clues; being flexible in spelling of www.irish-roots.ie. Catholic church records primarily. surnames and places; and learning about both civil and religious administrative districts. www.irishgenealogy.ie. Church records for parishes in Carlow, Cork, Dublin, and Kerry. Mary Ellen discussed available vital records and church records and showed examples of the information on each www.irishorigins.com. Definitive version of Griffith’s type of record. Most records begin in the mid-19th cen- Primary Valuation records and maps; Irish Will Index tury, and most of the indexes through 1958 are available (1484-1858); 1851 Dublin City Census, and more.

17 The Falmouth Genealogical Society www.nationalarchives.ie; 1901 and 1911 census records, ideas presented on how to take advantage of them. Authors tithe applotment maps. suggest electronic message boards, social networks, and specialized genealogical software. They include ideas on www.pronic.gov.uk. Public Record Office of No. Ireland how to most effectively post information on electronic with information on collections and databases. message boards and social media. Specialized software mentioned includes GenSmarts, Clooz, and Evidentia.

If all your hard work does not lead to success, it may be v v v time for professional help, and the authors discuss how to find the best option for you. BOOK REVIEW I found this a very interesting book with a wealth of in- Janice Zlatev, Library Chair formation.

I recently read Advanced Genealogy Research Techniques by George C. Morgan and Drew Smith. In addition to their other genealogical credentials, they are the co-producers OPPORTUNITY of “The Genealogy Guys Podcast.” I read about this book in an online review and borrowed it through the library’s My name is Lexie Fleege and I’m contacting you from CLAMS network. EF High School Exchange Year. I was referred your way by Julie Madden and wanted to get in touch with you This book is about ways to get through brick walls in your to see if there is a way to let members of the Falmouth genealogical research. Once beyond the early research Genealogical Society know about a flexible, part-time of your ancestral lines, most genealogists encounter one employment opportunity? EF High School Exchange Year or more brick walls. The authors offer a broad range of is a non-profit high school foreign exchange program and options for finding a breakthrough in those walls. They we’re currently hiring exchange coordinators throughout emphasize accurate record keeping of your searches and the U.S. to bring this program to their local communities. sources, as it may be that through reviewing your sources We find involved community members thrive in this role, you might see something you missed previously. New data as our International Exchange Coordinators work locally is constantly coming online. Also, it can help you not to with schools, networking, and student supervision during go down a dead end again. the school year. This is something that can be done while working full time, and taken on as more of a side project, It is important when reviewing records to check that they since the coordinator decides their level of involvement. are original sources. Often errors occur in transcription of records and abstracts or excerpts may leave out informa- It’s a great program and we would love any help in getting tion that is important to your research. In using family the word out. Please let me know if this is something we trees posted online, you should check the citations for can notify members about through methods such as email, each entry and read them yourself. Some trees are very bulletin board or newsletter. I’m looking forward to hear- well documented, but others may be copies of earlier ing from you soon! [email protected] misinformation. FGS MEMBERSHIP RENEWAL Research FANS--family, associates, neighbors of your ancestor. Sometimes their footprints can lead you to Membership dues for fiscal year FY15 (June 2014 through your ancestor. The authors also suggest discussing your May 2015) of $20.00 per year is due on June 1, 2014. research with others. This is one of the benefits of society Kindly remit your check made payable to Falmouth Ge- membershi. Other members may be researching in the nealogical Society P.O. Box 2107, Teaticket, MA. 02536- same geographic area or ethnic group, and you may learn 2107 or bring your check to the next monthly meeting. about new resources.

DNA testing and other new technologies are discussed and

18 The Falmouth Genealogical Society President: Ralph Wadleigh / Mary Barry Vol. 25 Number 4 Editors: Joyce Pendery, CG P. O. Box 2107, Teaticket, MA 02536 Newsletter May - July 2014 [email protected] www.falgen.org C. David Burt [email protected] The Falmouth Genealogical Society Newsletter is published four times a year and is dedicated to news, events and ideas that will help members enhance their genealogical research. Falmouth Genealogical Society CHALLENGES OF RESEARCHING WOMEN

APRIL 12, 2014 PROGRAM PRESENTED BY ALICE PLOUCHARD STELZER

Reviewed by Joyce S. Pendery, CG The invisibility of women in the records genealogists for a woman to own property in her own name. Family consult presents a challenge to researchers. Few early members are often named in probate documents, in- documents refer to women, and those that do cluding married surnames of daughters. However, often omit their full names. Often women attention must be paid to references to “in laws,” are referred to as “wife” or “daughter” of the as their relationship to family members was man who is the principal subject of the often different in the past. document. Few 17th and 18th century women left The research approach that Alice Stelzer wills. Surviving wills may reveal the literacy recommends is to “follow the men” and level of the testator, including whether she examine probate records, wills, inventories, signed her name or used an “X.” Probate and settlement agreements for insights into records can also help establish death dates family relationships and possible names of fam- of family members. Finding exact or even ap- ily members of the deceased. Property in America proximate death dates for women can be difficult. was usually divided among surviving children, and the widow had the right to one-third of her husband’s estate Early estate inventories can give insight into family wealth during her lifetime, if she did not remarry. It was rare and possessions. For example, since cloth was not produced Calendar of Meetings for 2014 Saturdays, 10 a.m., Falmouth Public Library July 12 -Tracing Your Family Health History, Carol Bosworth (Carol is a Worcester County RN and an instructor at Quinsigamond Community College.) August 9 - Writing a Genealogical Sketch, Ralph Wadleigh September 13 - Workshop for Beginners, a panel discussion October 11 - Organizing a Family Reunion, Donna Walcovy November 8 - Immigration Research, Rhonda McClure of NEHGS (Joint Meeting with Cape Cod Genealogical Society, at St. Peter’s Episcopal Church, Wianno Ave., Osterville) December 13 - Annual Food Fest and Holiday Party The Falmouth Genealogical Society

Speaker, Alice Stelzer (showing her book) with members of the Falmouth Genealogical Scoiety. in America until well into the 18th century, great value For keeping track of probate records being digitized con- was placed on imported clothing, and household linens are sult Eastman’s Online Genealogy Newsletter at http:// often listed, evaluated, and sometimes described in detail. blog.eogn.com and Michael Leclerc’s blog at http://blog. mocavo.com. Original wills and other probate records are usually kept in official county repositories. Personal or family copies Many onsite and digitized wills can be found on NEHGS’ have often been lost. In many European countries it is web site http://americanancestors.org. necessary to know the parish of death to find original or digitized probate records. For wills in the United States: www.archives.gov.

Ms. Stelzer is the author of Female Adventurers who For English wills drawn up since 1858 consult: http://www. Helped Colonize Massachusetts and Connecticut, wherein familyrelatives.com/information/info_detail.php?id=109 she created brief biographies of twelve women based on records she located and analyzed. She encourages others For Irish wills: http://www.familyrelatives.com/search/ to trace the histories of women in their families, as well. search_irishwills.php See David Burt’s review of Ms Stelzer’s book on page 23 For Quaker wills: http://familyrelatives.com/search/ of this newsletter. search_quakers.php

20 The Falmouth Genealogical Society v v v

LOYALIST MIGRATIONS LEAVING & RETURNING TO THE STATES MAY 10, 2014, PROGRAM PRESENTED BY CHIEF PAUL BUNNELL, UE

Paul was so grateful to return to his Genealogical Soci- ety beginnings at Falmouth. He began his talk on how the American loyalists were affected after the end of The American Revolution in 1783. Detailed statistics, dates, and numbers were presented which explained how Jerry Luby and Paul Bunnell 150,000 loyalist soldiers, their families, and refugees were removed from the United States. Many new homes were Paul ended his talk by listing the names of many Cape carved out by these fleeing loyalists in England, Bermuda, Cod loyalists and where they ended up, as well as other Bahamas, Sierra Leone, Jamaica, Dominica, Islands of St. Cape engagements and historical notes. He also outlined Vincent, and mainly in . some notorious loyalists who stood out. Support from the British for these loyalists fell short; v v v very little material support and nearly no compensation for all their losses in the States was delivered. Saint John City (Parr Town), Nova Scotia, (later to be New Bruns- FGS JUNE 2014 wick) became a city of 10,000 tents with many starving ANNUAL MEETING loyalists, little food, and the rich stealing from the small garden patches the farmers grew. Around 1786 in New President Ralph Wadleigh opened the meeting at 10:05 Brunswick, unhappiness over unfair land grants nearly a.m. Reading of the minutes of the 2013 Annual Meeting led that province to become the 14th state in the U.S. was dispensed with by general agreement. Instead, it became the Loyalist Province with Saint John City becoming the Loyalist city. Treasurer Ed Shibata reported approximately $5,500 in the checking account and CD’s for $4,000 and $5,000. Dues Black loyalists got their freedom for serving the King, for the current year are now due. The Society presented but their rewards were nothing close to what their white Ed a gift in thanks for his nine years of service as treasurer counterparts received. This led to riots in Shelburne, Nova and membership chair. Scotia. Until the 1790’s, when hard negotiations with England were finally successful, the Blacks where given a Library Chair Jan Zlatev reported that there were about few ships to sail to their new life in Sierra Leone, Africa. 1/3 fewer clients in 2013-2014 than in the previous year This proved a bigger disaster for them with 90% of them for research assistance at the library on Tuesday afternoons. dying there of disease or starvation. FGS continues to pay part of the yearly fees for Ancestry and Heritage Quest to be available on library computers. From 1830 to 1860, many of the descendants of the loy- alists returned to the U.S., seeking new lands, jobs, and A Publicity chair is needed. opportunities. After 1784, many loyalists themselves snuck back into the States, not to their home towns, but they Donna Walcovy needs volunteers to honor veterans of the came across and settled just over the border in Maine, New Revolutionary War and War of 1812 buried in Oak Grove Hampshire, Vermont, and also New York and Michigan. Cemetery, by researching their biographies.

21 The Falmouth Genealogical Society Past officers of FGS, present at the meeting included I want to express my thanks to all the members of the Eleanor Baldic, Robert Rice, and Joyce Pendery. Board of Directors who served with me. I could not have carried on without your guidance and support. I v v v also want to thank our faithful members who come to PRESIDENT’S REPORT our meetings. Their attendance proves that we are doing something of worth. PRESENTED AT JUNE 2014 Finally, I am pleased to report that I will continue to ANNUAL MEETING serve on the Board as Program Chair. Hopefully we will continue to attract noteworthy speakers and a wide variety Ralph Wadleigh of topics.

[email protected] Thank you again for allowing me to be your leader and representative for the past five years. Today brings an end to my term as President. With your new, about to be elected President, Mary Barry, I am Ralph confident in the future of our society. Mary will be a great leader thanks to her organizational skills and the support of our energetic board of directors. Without a doubt, the Society will continue to provide educational, research, and social support to area genealogists and family historians.

Looking over the past five years, we accomplished a num- ber of significant things. Most importantly we survived in a world where a number of other similar societies have dropped from the scene. We published an index of the obituaries from The Falmouth Enterprise from 1960 to 2012, we continued to work on the cemetery transcrip- tion project, we invited a number of important genealogi- cal speakers to Falmouth, we continued to support and benefit from NERGC, and we maintained and even grew our sound financial condition. We also assisted numerous folks at our Tuesday afternoon help session here at the library. The one, somewhat frustrating, unfinished task Ralph Wadleigh and Mary Barry is the introduction of a new website, but work is again underway on that project.

FALMOUTH GENEALOGICAL SOCIETY OFFICERS AND DIRECTORS, JUNE 2014 – JUNE 2015 OFFICERS President Mary Barry Secretary/Clerk Dottie Priest 1st Vice President Open Treasurer Gerard Luby 2nd Vice President Richard Harbison DIRECTORS Library Jan Zlatev Publications David Burt Membership Ray Howe Publicity Marianne Shafer NERGC Representative Phyllis Day Website Jeramie Hammond Newsletter Joyce Pendery At Large Robert Chase Nominating Donna Walcovy At Large Joan Croce Program Ralph Wadleigh At Large Susan Hutchinson

22 The Falmouth Genealogical Society BOOK REVIEWS Stelzer, Alice Plouchard: Female Adventurers, The Women who Helped Colonize Massachusetts and Connecticut. Hite, Richard: Sustainable Genealogy: Separating Fact from 2013 Merriack Media, ISBN 978-1-939166-21-0. Fiction in Family Legends. The author is State Records Coordinator of the Rhode Island State Archives and started Alice Stelzer gave an interesting talk to the Falmouth Ge- his own family genealogy in 1979, working with his father. nealogical Society on April 12, and had a number of her The book is available through CLAMS. books to sell. I picked one up because since my father came from Connecticut, I am practically sure that I am related Hite explains how to avoid the pitfalls of believing fam- to some of these women if not most of them. ily legends as truth. Just because your surname is that of someone famous, it does not follow that you are related. As she did in her talk, the author explains the frustrating We are all told to start with ourselves and work backwards, fact that colonial women are not treated the same as the but sometimes family stories claim an ancestor who is not men in the records that are kept. More often than not, really yours. Getting sidetracked keeps you from finding the maiden name of a woman is totally missing from the the true story of “your” family. records, and hence it becomes very difficult to trace the maternal line. Unfazed by this inconvenient fact, the au- Sustainable Genealogy has 11 chapters, each dealing with thor manages to cull enough information about a dozen a specific topic that can lead the researcher astray. The women to paint vivid pictures of their lives and the dif- first chapter is on oral history, the stories told about your ficulties they encountered. ancestors, and the errors that creep into these tales as they are passed on. Hite also tells about “written” oral histories The result is a series of stories based on facts in the record, which are published in county or family histories (usually but filled in with plausible conjecture based on what the with no documentation). Even a primary source such as author knows about the conditions of the times. This is a death certificate may be wrong if the person giving the a history of colonial women, and the resulting picture is information is not familiar with the deceased. one of true heroism. While the men of the period showed great strength of character, the women are often the un- Other chapters deal with ethnic origins of surnames and sung heroines, sometimes as the wives of two or more of maiden names of female ancestors. The author points the men, and the mothers of many in a tremendous period out that claims to relationships to royalty or wealth are of our New England History. difficult to prove. Claims of Native American ancestry are usually unfounded. Only in certain geographical parts of Probably from a genealogist’s point of view the most valu- the US is this a feasible choice. In Canada there is more able thing is the extensive set of notes and bibliography of a chance of having a Native American ancestor. Some following each chapter. researchers unable to find a maiden name “decide” the C. David Burt ancestor was Native American and this information gets printed in a family history. Woodard. Colin: American Nations – A History of the Eleven Rival Regional Cultures of North America,Viking – Penguin Military service of an ancestor is another area open to Books, New York, 2011. misinformation. Great-uncle John may have served in a war, but he was a private, not a major. Check birthdates This broadly brushed cultural history of North America and dates of supposed service. Sometimes the veteran is takes the reader from the first European arrivals right up to of a different generation or not a direct ancestor. the present day and presents a thesis of why today’s politi- cal structures are the product of seeds sown centuries ago Hite writes about using DNA to help solve some questions when immigrants of different cultures came to America. of ancestry. He uses many examples from his own fam- The eleven nations discussed are First Nation, New France, ily history showing how “facts” can change over time in Yankeedom, New Netherlands, Tidewater, Greater Appa- retelling. There is a lot of “food for thought” in this book. lachia, Deep South, El Norte, Midlands, Far West and Left Jan Zlatev Coast. Each nation is shown to have a particular set of values, some shared and some opposed. The friction and

23 The Falmouth Genealogical Society competition between the values and goals of each nation The Falmouth Enterprise, October 8, 1904: “Very sad event are evident in both historic and current events. occurred in the village this past week. Hiram F. Hall’s three children were taken very sick and poisoned by eating horse Most interesting to the genealogist is the concise report- chestnuts. One child [Marjorie] aged 7 died at 10:25 a.m. ing on the origin and make up of each nation, especially Monday and Walter at 10:45 p.m. Funeral in the church with respect to the importation and establishment of their on Thursday.” respective values here in the United States. Each nation is covered by a founding chapter. Reading the details After that, I decided to find out why their son, Norman makes it possible to place immigrants in broad historical Hall, died at age 20. His very long obituary states, in part: perspectives. The Falmouth Enterprise, February 14, 1920: “The Com- For example, Woodard writes: “Greater Appalachia started munity was greatly saddened on Wednesday, Feb. 14th, as a civilization without a government.” It was peopled by to learn of the death of Norman Francis Hall, the only Borderlanders, a “clan-based warrior culture from the bor- son of Mr. and Mrs. Hiram F. Hall, which occurred that derlands of the .” New Netherland was “an day at the Relief Hospital, Cambridge, with pneumonia unabashedly commercial settlement with little concern for following an attack of the influenza. At the outset of his either social cohesion or the creation of a model society.” illness, while at the home of his uncle in Watertown, his mother was sent for to help care for him. Soon after Mrs. If one has a particular ancestor who immigrated as part Hall’s arrival she contracted the prevalent epidemic and of or into one of these nations, it is possible to begin to both were removed to the hospital….The deceased was understand what that individual may have valued as part in his 20th year, born in this village Feb. 24th 1899. He of his or her social/economic environment. This book is a graduated from Lawrence High School in the Class of good choice for family historians and is available through 1919. [Many biographical details follow.] Owing to the CLAMS. lack of train service, his remains were not able to arrive until Monday. The funeral was held that day from the vil- Ralph Wadleigh lage church…. Internment was in the family lot… A small v v v sister with his parents, to whom the deepest sympathy is extended, are the close surviving relatives.” THE HIRAM HALL FAMILY OF Hiram F. Hall’s obituary was in The Falmouth Enterprise NORTH FALMOUTH on June 11, 1948. It states, in part: “For many years prominent in the church and social life By Charlet Roskovics of North Falmouth, Hiram Frederick Hall died yesterday [Editor’s note: Discover how Charlet’s act of genealogical at Tobey Hospital after an illness of five days. Mr. Hall kindness turned into a significant find for someone she was 78 this past January. He was born in North Falmouth, did not know.] the son of John W. Hall and Mary P. Nye Hall and had lived there all his life….He is survived by his wife, Ada In February 2014, I volunteered to take a FindAGrave C. Hall, a sister, Mrs. Bertha E. Wright, both of North (www.findagrave.com) photo of the Hiram Hall headstone Falmouth and one daughter, Mrs. Robert H. Potts of in the North Falmouth Cemetery for “Joyce” who lives in Cobleskill, N.Y. The funeral will be held Monday in the Texas. When I saw that two of the Hall children died in North Falmouth Congregational Church at 2 p.m. The 1904 at very young ages (7 and 3 years old), I became curi- Rev. Phillip Adams Job will officiate. Internment will be ous and wondered if it was due to influenza or a horrible in North Falmouth Cemetery.” accident. My husband, Ed, knew where the Hall family had lived, so in addition to the photo of the headstone, I And lastly, part of the obituary of Ada C. Hall, from The took a photo of the Hall house, currently owned by George Falmouth Enterprise, April 10, 1953: and Barbara Hampson. Barbara Hampson shared the “Mrs. Ada C. Hall, 76, life-long resident of North Fal- obituary for young Marjorie and Walter Hall, which reads: mouth, died Wednesday at the home of her daughter,

24 The Falmouth Genealogical Society Mrs. Vera Potts, in Cobleskill, N.Y., after a long illness. v v v She had lived with her daughter since the death of her husband, Hiram F. Hall, in 1948, when she sold her North WELCOME NEW MEMBERS: Falmouth home to Frank Oglivie of Newton to move to #443: Jean E. Whitten of Marston Mills, MA. Jean is Cobleskill. Born in Cataumet in January 1877, Mrs. Hall researching Britten in New Brunswick/Nova Scotia in was the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Francis Chadwick. She 1780-90; Pierce in Bridgewater/Middleboro before 1775; attended Cataumet school and was wed on New Years Geggate in Falmouth in the 1790’s; and Fish in Falmouth/ Eve, 1897, at Cataumet Methodist Church. Mr. and Mrs. Sandwich in 1750-1800. Hall celebrated their golden wedding anniversary in 1947 at a community Reception…. One son, Norman, died in #444: Paco de la Fuente of Tallahasee, FL. He is research- 1920 of influenza…. [Note no mention of two children ing Lewis. George arrived in 1632 and his grandparents who died in 1904.] Survivors include Mrs. Potts and a Arthur R. and Grace Hall Lewis, etc., are buried in the granddaughter, Ellen Louise Potts; two sisters, Mrs. Myra family plot at Oak Grove Cemetery, Falmouth. Merritt of Cataumet and Mrs. Estelle Elliott of Woods Hole; a brother James F. Chadwick of Cataumet, and v v v several nieces and nephews. JOHN COLLETTA TO SPEAK IN BREWSTER, Charlet continues: “Luckily, Ada and Hiram Hall had Saturday, August 2, 2014 a fourth child who survived, Vera (Hall) Potts, born in 1910. At least one horse chestnut tree stands on Old Cape Cod Genealogical is sponsoring a special presenta- Main Road near the four corners. It makes one wonder tion on Saturday, August 2nd, at Brewster Ladies Library, how many other children ate poisonous horse chestnuts featuring well known genealogist and author John Colletta. that fell from those trees in North Falmouth and are also John, a professional genealogist, is the author of several buried in the cemetery.” books on genealogy and family history research and an instructor at the Boston University Summer Genealogical [Editor’s Note: Charlet’s account of her curiosity and ad- Institute. Long-time members may remember that John ditional research shows how much genealogical, personal, was the featured speaker at the 2003 Falmouth Genealogi- and community information can be found in obituaries cal Society Conference held at Seacrest Resort. - in this case, covering members of four generation of a North Falmouth family, plus many details about the com- From 10:30 a.m. to noon, John will speak on ‘Putting munity and life there.] Your Ancestors in Historical Context,” and from 1:30 to 3:30 he will conduct a workshop on “Writing Your Family v v v History.” The fee for each lecture is $15 if paid by June 30; after that it is $20. To register, send your check made MEMBERS: We need your contributions for the News- out to CCGS, with indication of which lecture(s) you will letter! A book review, such as those by Ralph, David, and attend, along with you name and mail or email address to Jan in this issue; a description of research you have done, CCGS, Box 1394, Harwich, MA 02645. like Charlet’s article; a web site you love; how you met cousins online, etc., etc. etc. You can send them anytime to the Editor. v v v FGS MEMBERSHIP RENEWAL Membership dues for fiscal year FY15 (June 2014 through DIGITIZED NEWSPAPERS May 2015) of $20.00 per year is due on June 1, 2014. Digitized versions of many newspapers, including The Kindly remit your check made payable to Falmouth Ge- Falmouth Enterprise from 1896 to 1962, are available nealogical Society P.O. Box 2107, Teaticket, MA. 02536- online. Google the newspaper name, or enter the email 2107 or bring your check to the next monthly meeting. address, such as www.falmouthpubliclibrary.org and on their home page, look for the digital archive link. 25