The Sterling Affair

The Sterling Affair (The Forensic Genealogist Book 8)
by Nathan Dylan Goodwin (Goodreads Author)

Nathan has written the best genealogical crime mystery I have read. It held my interest throughout, with excellent plot twists. He parsed the clues out fairly, and they were cleverly done. He does a very good explaining the research process, including DNA, without making it seem like a textbook. That is often a problem in other genealogical mysteries. The description of the archive process is especially good. I can very easily put myself into the character. Nathan hooks us to discover more about Morton’s family in the next installment. I will highly recommend this to my mystery loving friends and genealogists.

Advanced Genetic Genealogy: Techniques and Case Studies by Debbie Parker Wayne (Editor), paperback and eBook, 414 pages, Wayne Research, 2019 (ISBN:1733694900) (ISBN13: 9781733694902).

This is a great addition to the literature on DNA for genealogy. There are fourteen chapters by different experts in the field. Having several specialists gives the book a significant advantage by highlighting the varying expertise of each of the contributors. Although the title does let readers know it has advanced techniques, it has very good background for those with a more elementary understanding. Most chapters include basic explanations, which makes the work usable by a larger audience. For example, there are explanations of the various DNA tests. There were several chapters that I thought especially added to the field. The chapter on X-DNA by Kathryn Johnston, MD was very thorough and is the best I have seen in telling about X-DNA and how it can be better used. The chapter by Ann Turner, MD, on “Would You Like Your Data Raw of Cooked?” was also especially good. A weakness of some chapters is their emphasis on the interpretation of tools, rather than how to use them. I would like to have seen better explanations on using DNA Painter and how to do nodal graphing. The book is fairly expensive, but it is printed in color, which is necessary for understanding the tables and graphs. I highly recommend the book for those who want to delve deeper into the field, as it is an exceptional overall reference work for genetic genealogy.

Marriage Law for Genealogists: The Definitive Guide ...What Everyone Tracing Their Family History Needs to Know about Where, When, Who and How Their English and Welsh Ancestors Married by Rebecca Probert
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

First, I want to emphasize that this book is about marriages that took place in England and Wales. That does not mean it is not of interest to a wider audience. The author, Rebecca Probert, is a well-known British legal historian on marriage. She is currently the chair in the Law College at Warwick University. Research libraries throughout the world have many of her books. This work covers the interrelation of the marriage laws and how the courts enforced those laws. What you get is what the laws said, but what really transpired. She did diligent research and discovered some surprising findings. The book reads very nicely and even though I do not have any English or Welsh marriages to ponder, I find it excellent reading. It would be great to see a similar work on American marriage laws.


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The Family Tree Guide to DNA Testing and Genetic Genealogy by Blaine T Bettinger
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The genetic genealogy community has been anticipating the publication of the newest DNA book on the block. Blaine started a blog on DNA and genealogy in 2007. Since then he has become one of the genetic genealogy gurus. I immediately ordered a copy as soon as it became available. The book does not disappoint. He covers selecting the right DNA testing, how to use the various tests: mitochondrial, Y, autosomal and X. One of my favorite parts is a chart showing the odds of a fourth cousin match in each of the major testing companies. He has very helpful charts throughout the book. He even discusses how to use those ethnicity estimates companies give. For me I especially liked the part on third-party tools. I have used some, but he has a nice section on one I have not used, yet. This book is excellent for anyone just starting DNA in genealogy or who has need for some higher level basics.


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Organize Your Genealogy: Strategies and Solutions for Every Researcher by Drew Smith
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I saw this book promoted and decided to find a copy to review for my local genealogical society newsletter. Is there a genealogist that doesn’t want to be more organized? Fortunately, my local Barnes and Noble had a copy for me to assess. I was so impressed by it that I bought a copy. The table of contents is a good way to hone in on where you especially feel you need more help. Drew starts by suggesting ways to organize ourselves. He uses psychology and suggests habit building to make the best use of our time. His different approach to organizing is refreshing. This isn’t the same old “color-coding” filing we often read and hear about. It covers how we use our space at home or office, goals, organizing notes and ideas, files, research processes, communication, online research, research trips, and organizing your learning. I am very impressed to see that it even has a chapter on organizing your volunteering. This has my highest recommendation for a library or for your personal collection. I feel it is worth the extra money for the print copy.


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Orange Lilies: A Review

The Orange Lilies by Nathan Dylan Goodwin
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I have reviewed some of Nathan Goodwin’s Forensic Genealogist books. The protagonist, Morton Farrier, is a forensic genealogist who is renowned for solving other people’s family histories, but he knows very little of his own ancestry. It is set at Christmas time. Morton and his girlfriend are staying with his “Aunty Margaret” and uncle for the holiday on the coast of Cornwall. Goodwin’s description of Cornwall in the winter is very good. I won’t write much more on the plot, as if you haven’t read the earlier books, I would be putting in a spoiler. This is Goodwin’s best work for me. It is not a murder mystery, but Morton does solve some family mysteries with an almost Agatha Christie denouement. I recommend it for its genealogical appeal, mystery, and for anyone interested in World War I.


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Betsy Ross and the Making of America by Marla R. Miller
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Miller did this as an academic endeavor. She pointed out that even though Ross was so famous, there were surprisingly few documents in which she is directly mentioned. It points out how difficult it is to research women historically, even though she ran a very successful business. It is a good read and I recommend it.


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Digging for Ancestors: A Review

Digging for Ancestors: An In-Depth Guide to Land Records by Michelle Goodrum
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Our local genealogical society newsletter editor saw a reference to Digging for Ancestors: An In-depth Guide to Land Records, by Michelle Roos Goodrum and suggested it as a book to review. I purchased a Nook Book copy and had it is seconds. It is also available in print. Land records are one of the best sources for a genealogist. The book is very strong on examples, which are very valuable to me when I am trying to learn about records. It is a good book for anyone who is trying to understand the basics of land research. My fault with the book is using the term in-depth, as I would call it a very good overview. I highly recommend it for anyone just starting to use land records, it does have some helpful advice for more advanced researchers, too. For those who want a true in-depth book, I recommend Land and Property Research in the United States by Wade Hone.


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Packing for RootsTech 2014

In just a week I will be flying to Salt Lake City for RootsTech 2014. Needless to say I am very excited for the conference. I attended in 2012, but had to miss last year. For that conference I created a nice Excel spreadsheet of things I needed to pack. It is interesting that in just two years that many of items are no longer needed on the 2014 list. The first is my once treasured hand scanner. That is being replaced by CamScanner on my android phone. That means one less device and one less charger. The second item to not make this year’s list is my digital camera. Again, the smart phone camera is replacing the need to take the camera. The third item to not make the list is my Nook. At the time I used it as a tablet and device to store my documents. This list is getting longer; I will also not need to bring my digital audio recorder, no extra batteries for the camera and audio recorder, and no charger for the Nook. It will be nice not have to pack or to worry about losing these.

That leaves what still made it on the list. I will bring refrigerator magnets for marking cabinets where I have pulled microfilm at the Family History Center. If you haven’t tried it, it saves a lot of time and helps ensure the microfilm gets back into the right place. I still like to take notes on paper. A neat idea I picked up from another blogger was to print the FamilySearch catalog records for the books and film I will be using. Those sheets will make a great place for taking research notes, plus the citation is already listed. I will still need to bring a charger for the phone and a flash drive to pick up extra files.  I carry a file folder with all of my hotel, air, and conference registrations with me, just in case. I almost forgot, I still need to bring pens and a notebook. Did I forget anything else?

The Journey to RootsTech 2012

Day 2 - 2February 2012

The day started off with an excellent breakfast at eh Radisson. The other good news was that I didn't have to change rooms. I headed over to hear the RootsTech keynote speaker for the morning, Jay Verkler, the past head of Family Search. I was very impressed and excited with what he told us. There are great collaboration plans in the near future. He also talked about developing the community framework timeline. That opens up some excellent research possibilities. Another momentous announcement was that they now estimate that it will only take ten years to digitize the current microfilm holdings for the Family History Library. I can can hardly wait! And it's wonderful to hear there are 4,200 genealogists here. That rocks. Google had an intriguing announcement about Google Chrome. Using Historical-Data.org, Schema.org, and an extension they will now be able to deeper search sites that were ignored in earlier Google searches. Family Search, Ancestry, and others will be included. BrightSolid is evidently going to become part of the American genealogist's vocabulary. They are a UK company that is well-known there that is coming across the pond. That could open up some interesting competition.

After the keynote thousands of genealogists headed to the Exhibitors Hall. I was aiming to get a free tee shirt by getting my card stamped from various vendors. I succeeded and am now the proud owner of a RootsTech tee. It was rather crowded to actually visit with vendors, but I decided to do more in-depth chats with them later.

My first session was Steve Morse. He has some great free helps that I would call widgets but probably aren't. They help you find things like the birth date from a gravestone that gives the death date and the age in year, month, and day. He also has some great aides for the 1940 census! He's at SteveMorse.org, not com. More to come.

The Journey to RootsTech 2012

1 February 2012

Planning paid off! I made a list of everything I needed to pack days before I was to leave. It would be too easy to forget a charger or some other vital tech piece. Last night I checked that list twice just like Santa-- I don't think I forgot anything.

I deliberately took the mid-day flight and am really glad I did. It was an easy morning getting out of the house. My flight wasn't until 12:45, but I wanted to get tot he airport an hour and a half early just in case there were any problems. It was an easy drive to Omaha and the easiest airport check-in I have had. There was no one waiting to check baggage, the security check was barely busy, and I was to my gate by 11:15-- wow.

One of the things besides the kitchen sink I didn't bring was a lunch or snack. I brought a small package of Lay's potato chips and a cup of coffee. I could refill it and take it on the plane. That worked well, but next time I will take along a sandwich or something. It was great having the new Delta card, as it got me zone 2 seating which is pretty sweet. The flight was on time leaving and arriving at Salt Lake. The last time I was st the SLC airport I was stranded with my daughter for a day. This time it went well. Their shuttle system takes getting used to but was only $8.00.

My hotel reservation was in two parts. They couldn't guarantee I would have the same room the second night. They did upgrade my room though. I hurriedly set up in my room and then headed towards the Family History Library. On the way I realized I was very hungry and stopped at the J B's across from the Salt Palace. It was great getting that 55+ lunch price. I had looked before I got toe SLC to figure out how to get to the FHL. Of course I got the distance off a bit and had to call Mike to get better directions. The FHL ended up being just a hundred feet away.

My friend Marcia and I had planned to meet for dinner tonight, and I knew she was going to the FHL when she got to SLC. I looked around the FHL a bit and found her checking out the US book shelves. I had forgotten just how impressive the FHL is. I was mesmerized walking down any bookshelf-- it was incredible what they have. I checked out a few books I had printed out the records for before I left.

Marcia and I headed over to the Salt Palace to get our registrations. The Salt Palace is huge. The registration process went well. From there we went to a very nice Japanese restaurant across from the Palace. We ate light,but each added a glass of wine. After dinner we headed back to the FHL. This time I decided to work on the Saratoga land records. I had ordered the grantee index earlier in Lincoln and had the volumes and page numbers I needed. It was tedious, but I am starting to put a picture together of that family. Thank you to the person who suggested bringing magnets to mark the microfilm cabinets. After a couple of hours or more we headed back to our hotels. After relaxing for a bit and checking out the conference schedule again I decided to go down to the bar to write up my notes while enjoying an excellent glass of Cabernet!

My DNA Surprise

I started the year in my previous blog by telling what I would be doing in 2012. I really didn't go into my end of the year update on my FamilyTreeDNA profile. though. I had a Y-DNA profile done four years ago as part of the Clan MacFarlane project. When FamilyTreeDNA had their recent sale, I thought it would be fun to do the Family Finder profile. I just recently received my results. I wasn't at all surprised to learn that according to the test about 93% of my ancestry is Western European. I have researched most of the immediate lines and figured it would be a high percentage. I thought there might be a small American Indian lineage as, like many families, there is a story if native ancestry. That was not the case, the profile showed instead that about 7% of my ancestry in Middle Eastern. This fascinates me, as it was so unexpected. Now I can't wait to get going on verifying where this comes into my ancestry. Genealogy, it's the hobby of surprises.

Looking at 2012

I think this will be an exciting year for genealogy. I kicked off the year using several new databases on FamilySearch.org. FamilySearch is becoming a great site. They have made great inroads in making state and local sources available. They have become especially strong in New York documents. In addition to the state censuses, they recently added probate records. It is gratifying to see them going this direction with their collections.

This year I will be attending my first RootsTech conference in February. I am very anxious to head to Salt Lake. Not only will there be lots of genealogists to meet at the conference, there will some time to do some research at the Family History Library. This summer I plan to take a road trip through Michigan, Ohio, New York, and Massachusetts. There will be cemeteries, historical societies, libraries, and Niagara Falls to visit along the way. As an added fun trip, I am also considering a trip to Oklahoma and Missouri to fill in some loose ends.

This past Fall I joined the local genealogical society, the Lincoln Lancaster County Genealogical Society, and plan to be active in it. For this coming year I also plan to index the 1940 census for the area where I grew up in South Dakota. As a fan of FindAGrave, I will continue to add records to their database from requests and cemeteries I visit on the trips. Yesterday, I found a newly added record on FAG that helped open up a current line.

2012 will be a very busy year for me, contributing to what is available and extending my own genealogy.

The Case of the Disappearing Old House

The old house disappeared. My grandparents, George and Mary McFarland, purchased a fine old house in Rapid City, South Dakota in the early 1900's when my grandfather invested in the Security Bank. After the bank closed, the family used the house off-and-on over the years when the children attended high school and for other occasions. The picture shows Alice, Mamie, Clarence, and Ellen McFarland in front of the house in 1937. George died in 1941. He left the house to his daughter, Alice (Sallie) McFarland Miles, as the house had always been a favorite of hers. She lived in it until her death in the house in 1965. I have good memories of visiting my aunt and cousin there. After Sallie’s death the house went to her daughter. She and her family lived there until the early 70’s.

When visiting Rapid City it was easy to spot the old house at the end of Fifth Street. In 2010, I drove by to see the house, but I was dismayed to discover that it was no longer there. I could see the remains of the foundation but nothing else. I figured that a large old house like that was probably too expensive to maintain and heat and that the current owners had likely razed it. I was very disappointed to lose the old icon.

Recently, my cousin Ann moved to Rapid City. She learned that they had not razed the house but moved it. My next step was to find out to where they moved it. The only clue was that it was out in the country somewhere; not an easy search. I tried doing some searches on the Rapid City Journal website, but I was not able to locate anything. On a trip back to the area a couple of weeks ago I stopped at the Rapid City Public Library. The reference librarian https://www.facebook.com/#!/group.php?gid=60792005629&v=info did some searching and found that the house actually has its own Facebook page. I was delighted to find the web page with a nice picture of the house, a picture of it being moved, and an article about the move. When I next go back to visit, I think I should be able to locate it. Mystery solved.

Looking Back on 2009

It's time to reflect on my genealogy journey in 2009.

I have been doing genealogy so long that I rarely have great surprises, but there were a few this year. For me, the biggest surprise was the very unexpected find of a photo of an oil portrait of my ancestor, Elizabeth Wildey Rosevelt, done in about 1808. I had no idea a portrait existed, but Karen Morris, who also is working on this line, saw the original portrait at the home of another of Elizabeth's descendants. I had no idea a portrait existed and had never pursued looking for one. In 2008 I worked with a friend to add gravestone photos of a local cemetery to Find A Grave. This year I was able to contribute in a different way by taking photos requested by others. I replaced my old digital camera with a new model that is very good at taking gravestone pictures but wasn't expensive. I can also now be more a part of the digital world by using it to take photographs of documents. This was very useful on my genealogy trip to New York City. I was able to photo a large number of documents at the New York Historical Society. It wasn't a surprise to find these documents, but it was a pleasure to actually see them. It was also very fulfilling to visit the graves of so many of the family buried in New York City. Over the year I was able to add a large number of descendants to my Jacob and Lydia Butts Rosevelt line, so all-in-all it was a successful year.

It is also time to give appreciation for the efforts of so many who have added documents and saved them to be shared online. Missouri has a tremendous site with digital copies of vital records. Other state and societies, such as South Dakota, Michigan, Delaware, Massachusetts, and Ohio have added many vital records also. I have been disappointed that Ancestry hasn't added more American records this year, but several other have added records that were difficult to locate before. The Family Search pilot project has added several state censuses with indexes to them. Footnote is making available some great Civil War records. I especially want to thank the Old Fulton New York Post Cards site, http://www.fultonhistory.com/Fulton.html. Part of his site has copies of many old New York newspapers. This is a great site that should receive more commendations. I also want to give a special thank you to all of you that took gravestone pictures I requested on Find A Grave.

Here to to a great 2010.

Surprise Finds --- Some of the most Fun

A surprise genealogical find is often the most exciting, and often one of the most revealing. A couple of weeks ago I was playing around on FindAGrave, one of my favorite sites. I love the idea of genealogists and others contributing to the database without any monetary reimbursement. FindAGrave now has over 39 million graves listed. I have contributed many records, taken many photographs, had others take photos for me, and searched it regularly. I would never be able to visit all of the cemeteries in person, but FindAGrave gives me the opportunity to see gravestones throughout the country.

I had been looking at my records for Lydia Rosevelt Tracy, wife of Dennis Tracy. A published family history stated that Lydia died in New Jersey in 1890. The last record I had for her was in the 1880 census, where she is shown living in Monroe, Middlesex County, New Jersey. A look at Google maps showed that there was actually a place called Tracy there and may be where she resided. It also showed its proximity to nearby Monmouth County. I decided to see what cemeteries were nearby, so I used FindAGrave. There were a few not far from Tracy. I then did a name search and found Lydia buried in Old Tennent Churchyard in Monmouth County. Thank you AnnieFran, Anne Mount West, for your contribution. She also has her own web page with links to Monmouth County resources. A further search of FindAGrave showed several other family members buried there also.

The message here is to check, and re-check, a source. I probably missed seeing the entry earlier because it didn't show Middlesex County. This wasn't my find of the year, but it was still fun to come across it unexpectedly.

Manuscript Heaven - NYHS

I'm on my way to manuscript heaven, New York Historical Society in this case. The train to NYHS required a station change. There were several stations closed over the weekend and that caused a few problems. I got to NYHS by about noon and noticed that I had received a voice mail from my friend Steve who had gone on a Statue of Liberty tour. Living up to Mission Impossible standards, we reached the same station from opposite directions within just a couple of minutes of each other. Steve agreed to do some sightseeing and take in Central Park while I did my research.

There was a short line to get into NYHS, but no fee to use the library and manuscripts. I was referred to the manuscript department and had some very good advice for doing the searches. Besides the Relyea Family Papers, the card catalog had an entry for Misc Rosevelt Papers, which I also ordered. While they were getting the papers, I paid $15 for permission to photograph the papers. I was very glad I did.

There were great materials in the folders. Many of them were the source material used earlier by others, but there were also some papers that had not been cited in earlier research. Photographing them gave me the opportunity to go through a great many in a short time. I will be able to read them carefully at my leisure later. Of course, the Solomon Rosevelt Bible record got my immediate attention.

Next stop-- lunch, but what could beat an afternoon in manuscript heaven.

The picture is of an oil painting of Elizabeth Wilde Rosevelt, wife of Solomon Rosevelt, and baby son Solomon, Jr probably done about 1808.

Daytripping at Woodlawn

I am on a jet plane to NYC. I have been to NYC a few times, but I never had the opportunity to reserve much time for genealogical research while I was there. This time I have planned time to visit the New York Historical Society, Woodlawn Cemetery, and Greenwood Cemetery. There will be a lot of opportunity to make good use of the digital camera I bought last month.

On this trip I will be ferreting out more information on the siblings of Stephen Rosevelt, plus there is supposed to be a family record of Solomon Rosevelt at the NYHS where they also have the Relyea Papers. Those papers are supposed to have several documents regarding my line.

All of Stephen's brothers and two of his sisters resided in NYC for at least a few years. All of the brothers, except for John Henry, were involved in someway with shipping. Jacob headed the Custom House and also was a ship's chandler. Solomon and George both had shipyards and Warren was a dock builder.

My plan was originally to visit NYHS early on Saturday. The weather forecast caused me to rethink that. They were calling for rain 0ff-and-on for most of the day, but more so in the afternoon. I decided Woodlawn would be the bet for the morning. Three of Stephen's siblings are buried there, Sarah Gifford, George, and Warren. It was a very easy ride from the hotel on the subway. Woodlawn is the last station on the line and the cemetery is just across the street from it. The main entrance though, where I needed to get my photography permit, is on the farther side. It is quite a nice walk through the cemetery and the route to the office is marked by a divided white line on the lane. I had talked with Sonia at the cemetery office earlier and had emailed her several times. She was very helpful. While I was there I got the lot card, which was very helpful.

By the time I reached the family lots, it was starting to lightly rain. I hurriedly took the pictures and looked around the area. Fortunately, it wasn't raining very hard and I was able to get some very good pictures. The fun part was finding a name I did not know of before and which should open up another line of research. On the way back to the subway station it started to rain harder and I was very happy I had brought my umbrella.

Next stop-- NYHS.

It's time for NY genealogy

I'm off to New York City, not to see the Statue of Liberty or the Empire State Building, but to visit a couple of cemeteries and the New York Historical Society. I made reservations August 1 and finally it’s T minus a couple of hours. A favorite part of any genealogical journey is the planning. There are often new libraries, historical societies, and cemeteries to visit, and if you are really lucky another researcher with whom you can discuss the family tree. For my trip, it will be my first to the New York Historical Society, plus Greenwood and Woodlawn Cemeteries.
A few years ago my research indicated that the Relyea Papers had considerable information on the Rosevelt line I research. Like any researcher, I want to see them for myself and make my own analysis of what they contain. Other research indicated that there is also a “family record” of Solomon Rosevelt available. It wasn’t made evident if this is part of the Relyea Papers or is a separate manuscript. Both of them are supposed to be in the manuscript collection of the New York Historical Society. I called the archivist and had his assurance they were available. Now, it's New York genealogy time.

Search Engines for Genealogists

My favorite search engine is Google. It has great depth and some excellent search options in the Advanced Search. I am curious to know what other genealogists think. What is your favorite search engine? What makes it better?