Thursday, June 1, 2017

Resurrection of a Small Dakota Pioneer Cemetery


This Power Point was presented at a Sioux Falls Family History Conference in October 2013 

by Pat Walker

My involvement with this cemetery began when I was 2 or 3 years old when my mother brought me here to place flowers, clean up, etc. 
I found cement lot borders a maze to run on, little lamb stones to sit on and lots of adventure.
I am sure my mother explained which ancestors were buried there—such as my grandmother, who I knew in life before she died when I was 3.  The cemetery seemed full of promises, future awakenings—why take care of these graves unless we expected those residing here to someday come back to “life”?

Great Great Grandfather William C Lampson donated part of his land to plat out a cemetery, which was surveyed in 1886.  Later a “Trust” association was formed for selling plots—1909.
Early records indicate they had Association Mtgs. Elected officers, held Ice Cream Socials to raise funds for special projects.

This early history, brief, but inaccurate, was a “skeleton” to build upon.  The memories of relatives, at advanced age, are sometimes clouded as to exact dates, but the basic core of the story is accurate.  The earliest burial was NOT Hiram King (will touch on that later), but Daniel Latham in 1882.   The land donated for the cemetery was not homesteaded in 1880, but rather purchased about 1883.

Wellman Church Death Records were a valuable tool in “resurrecting” some of those buried in Mt Auburn—providing religious affiliation, vital data such as birth, death, burial.
Especially infants—Note the Cade date of death as July 28 1914, “Infant” which confirms the tombstone inscription of George Francis Cade including who preached at the funeral.

We had a church Youth Group, as a Summer Camp Project, come to the cemetery, in drenching rain, with several of us holding umbrellas, to make an initial survey of the cemetery by copying Tombstone Inscriptions. This was then compiled, published and microfilmed by the Family History Library in Utah.  It was used as a basis for the Excel Spreadsheet created in 2007.

Notes in Margins of one of the earlier map copies indicate discrepancies with that original history Art Leighton. 
For example, HIRAM KING Earliest Death Recorded as 1881 ? On Lot 57. 
Land deeded 1886—there were a number of burials before the survey of the area was recorded in 1909.
Closer look at Stone Inscription for Hiram King shows he probably died in 1884, not 1881, so earliest death was Daniel Latham in 1882.

This is the 1941 WPA Map that my grandfather had in our attic—shows date and legend of noting burial location, veterans, but only a few of the earlier graves actually agree with this burial location map, as to location, grave space number.  
What did the WPA use to determine Grave numbering system?
--Actual WPA records list names, dates and burial locations, in addition to Unmarked or Unidentified burials agree with this map as to Grave space number, but not necessarily location.  Neither of these agree with future grave space numbering as recorded in Register of Deeds Burial Index or Burial Permits in the Lot Records. What happened?

Maps and Letter photographed by Larry Cool from Moody County Register of Deeds – Certification by Deputy State Surveyor as employed by the Trustees of Mt Auburn of Land Coordinates, location description and all are correct as signed in January 1909. 
Map is accompanying drawing by the State Surveyor showing the lots and lot numbers

This is WPA data copied from archives at Moody County Museum for Mt Auburn Cemetery. 
This, with other data has been added to the master Excel database and lot records, even though grave locations and some other data disagrees with facts discovered later from other sources.  It is VITAL to check other databases. 
Example: Binnewies, F W above—that burial does not exist any more because he was later moved to Greenwood Cemetery in Brookings—information from family confirms that. Dowsing might still indicate a burial because the earth was disturbed twice—once to bury and  once to exhume.

This shows the different numbering keys depending on dates of burial, location and whose records are used. In addition, in some plots, only quarters, such as SW, NW, NE are given—thus limiting gravespaces to 4-6, rather than 8 per lot.

In 2007, husband, John was appointed sexton for Mt Auburn Cemetery and I elected President. We gathered burial data from these sources, along with the data from the Cemetery records themselves (as I just mentioned the WPA records, Church records, Lot Records, old maps, correspondence, Gravestone transcriptions) and created a lot envelope and book to centralize this data. 
--We then copied every old map copy (scribbled on at different times in different ways by different sextons or presidents) and cut up the copies into Lot squares and added to the Lot record envelope and the data to the Excel Database.
--After creating the database, we added (and are still adding) data gathered from outside sources such as listed here, footnoting the source of each piece of data.


In 2007, husband, John was appointed sexton for Mt Auburn Cemetery and I elected President.
We gathered burial data from these sources, along with the data from the Cemetery records themselves (as I just mentioned the WPA records, Church records, Lot Records, old maps, correspondence, Gravestone transcriptions) and created a lot envelope and book to centralize this data.
   --We then copied every old map copy (scribbled on at different times in different ways by different sextons or presidents) and cut up the copies into Lot   squares and added to the Lot record envelope and the data to the Excel Database.
  --After creating the database, we added (and are still adding) data gathered from outside sources such as listed here, footnoting the source of each   piece of data.

In setting up the database, I had to make a key for the sources for various pieces of data and this is what I used in 2007 and subsequent years as the data evolved.

Then created the fields as above based on the information from Lot records and compiled from other sources.


Using the database, lot records, other sources, applied this information to Cemetery mysteries, such as incorrect Tombstone dates, Unmarked graves, etc.
First Case: Hiram King—History and Map History Notes say he died in 1881.  Where did they get this information?
Photos show that how the 1884 could be misread as 1881. The WPA Records do note the death year as 1884.  Again these records were made over 60 years form the event, not the ideal evidence. Go to http://apps.sd.gov/applications/DT58Cemetery/Default.aspx

What other records to seek?  Could not find Funeral Home Records for 1884-5.
 However, there is Federally-sponsored Territorial 1885 Census Mortality schedule for SD.
Mortality schedules list people who died during the previous 12 months. Mortality schedules were taken along with population schedules during the 1850, 1860, 1870, and 1880 censuses, and in six states (Colorado, Florida, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Dakota, and South Dakota) in 1885. The 1885 mortality schedule enumerated all individuals who died between June 1, 1884, and May 31, 1885.
In SD, the 1885 Mortality Schedule is available in only 2 repositories: Yankton Community Library as a published book summarizing the data and the original Microfilm at the SD State Archives—not available for ILL and no other copy as the 1885 Federal Mortality Schedule was not sent to National Archives for SD.  The Book version is at the FHL in Utah, and you can request scanned copies by email.
This shows the data summarized from the Book version in index form as extracted by Ancestry.com, BUT noted under the wrong time period—1850 – 1880, not 1885.
Conclusion: Hiram King died in December 1884, not 1881.

This was from a book.  Ancestry implies this as the year of death, but knowing that he died in December, that is not possible due to the range of dates the mortality schedule was taken. 
The death date had to be December 1884. 
Unfortunately, this is not all the data actually in the Mortality Schedule—the Schedule itself needs to be viewed. 
We found it in only one place (according to WorldCat)—SD State Archives—microfilmed. 
I realized that data could help with other burials in our cemetery and since our county was formed from Brookings and the Cemetery is nearest Lake, I ordered copies of Moody, Lake and Brookings, which did give me more data for some of the burials in our cemetery, besides Hiram King.

Rather than 3rd hand index such as we saw in the Index, we have “almost” the original document—a microfilm.
There was another document on the reverse of the census with a place for statement of attending physician with primary and causes of death. 
What additional information is available on this schedule that gives some new “life” to a cemetery record?
Not just his place of birth, but those of his parents.
How long he had been in the county—disputing “History” of Cemetery saying he came in 1880.
Where he contracted the disease from which he died.
Attending physician and where from
This and other Census Data can give clues to other family members buried near the deceased and “unmarked” or “unidentified” in Cemetery records

SD Genweb--site now gone – archived at http://files.usgwarchives.net/sd/moody/cemeteries/mtauburn.txt
Google Site/Google Docs—now Google Drive
SD Gravestones —Incomplete, but more complete than Find A Grave http://southdakotagravestones.org/cemetery.php?cemID=366

Giving the “burials” life history—linking them to family group and pedigree connections where stories and photos can “resurrect” their personality, history, links to other relatives who have more information,


Unreadable stones—3D photography uses same principle as the old Stereopticons to bring to “life” Tombstone Inscriptions

As of 2017, this no longer is here—removed by “unknown” persons



Monday, May 15, 2017

Minneapolis Star Tribune since 1867 Online

Minneapolis Star Tribune Newspapers Since 1867 are now Digitized and Available Online

Until now, archives from The Minneapolis Tribune and The Minneapolis Star, which merged in 1982, weren’t all available in one place. Now, the Star Tribune has digitized more than 54,000 issues from the past 150 years.

The Star Tribune is giving away free PDFs of any front page from the archives right now. Getting to click through the past isn’t free, though. Access for 30 days costs $7.99, and a six-month subscription costs $29.95. The archives were digitized with underwriting from Thomson Reuters and in partnership with newspapers.com.
You can learn more in an article at http://bit.ly/2qM5PTw while the collection itself is available at https://startribune.newspapers.com.

Saturday, March 11, 2017

BROOKINGS SD Family History Center 25th Anniversary Open House



                                                                                                                                                                        



25TH ANNIVERSARY
OPEN HOUSE
OF THE
BROOKINGS SD
FAMILY HISTORY CENTER
of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

200 22nd Avenue, Brookings SD, NE doors

Saturday April 22 2017--1 to 4 pm

Individual Help Stations, Displays, Demos  

Celebrating 25 years of helping patrons
In the research and preservation of their family history
By providing access to records and free one-on-one individual assistance


WHERE DO I BEGIN?
Find an Ancestor in 5 minutes!


FAMILY HISTORY APPS
For all Ages!

FAMILYSEARCH BASICS
Try, Learn, and Grow Your Tree

PRESERVING YOUR PAST to LAST
Plan to Scan a few old photos/documents---bring a flash drive

CONVERTING OLD PAF DISCS
Bring your discs and a flash drive

WHAT’S ALWAYS FREE AT THE FHC?
Try Ancestry, NEHGS, Old Newspapers, Obituaries, FOLD3

WHY WE DO FAMILY HISTORY

BILLION GRAVES GREENWOOD
EAGLE SCOUT PROJECT
How you can help!

INDEXING
How you can assist in the effort to index millions of digitized records

ROOTSTECH VIDEOS
Get a taste of the world’s largest genealogy tech  conference!

PAST, PRESENT, FUTURE
 25 years of Family History Center
Directors and technology!

CLICK HERE to print a POSTER to SHARE!

No registration required--Just Come and Enjoy 


 


Friday, March 10, 2017

Dropbox vs. Google Drive vs. OneDrive: Which Cloud Storage Is Best for You?

Dropbox vs. Google Drive vs. OneDrive: Which Cloud Storage Is Best for You?

I have written several times about the wisdom of keeping backup copies of your more valuable files. You can keep local copies or off-site copies but the important thing is to always have copies available someplace. One popular option is to keep copies in “the cloud,” using one of the file storage services, such as Dropbox or Google Drive or OneDrive.

Actually, there are dozens of available cloud-based file storage servies to choose from but Dropbox, Google Drive, and Microsoft OneDrive seem to be the three most popular, if not necessarily the best. 

Joel Lee has published a side-by-side comparison of the “big three,” pointing out the strengths and weaknesses of each. If you are thinking of using a file storage service, you might want to read the article on the Make Use Of web site at: http://bit.ly/2mRQmyW.

Wednesday, March 1, 2017

The Big 4: Comparing Ancestry, Findmypast, FamilySearch and MyHeritage

The Big 4: Comparing Ancestry, Findmypast, FamilySearch and MyHeritage

You may have asked, “Which is the best online genealogy service for me to use?” Or perhaps you want to know the best two or three services. Sunny Morton gave a presentation about these four online powerhouses at the recent RootsTech2017 conference that may answer your questions.
comparing-ancestry-findmypast-familysearch-and-myheritage
The one-hour four-minute presentation was videotaped and is now available as a video on the RootsTech.org web site. I suspect this video will answer most of your questions. Topics covered include cost, record types, geographic coverage, genetic testing, DNA matching, search flexibility, languages supported, mobile-friendly, automated matching, and a lot more. Sunny provides the most information about these four sites that I have ever seen in any other one document or video.
As Sunny states, “No site has it all.”

This is a keeper! I have been using all four of these web sites for years and yet I learned several new facts about them, thanks to Sunny’s online video presentation. I suspect you will learn some things as well if you watch the video.
The Big 4: Comparing Ancestry, Findmypast, FamilySearch and MyHeritage with Sunny Morton is available at https://www.rootstech.org/videos/sunny-morton.
Also, look at the size of that audience!

Wednesday, February 22, 2017

How Accurate are DNA Kits used for Testing Ancestry?

How Accurate are DNA Kits used for Testing Ancestry?

dnaMillions of people are purchasing and using home DNA kits to determine their ancestry. The television program Inside Edition enlisted the help of two sets of identical triplets and one set of identical quadruplets to investigate the accuracy of the at-home tests. The ancestry of each group should be absolutely identical since they all came from the same egg.
Test kits from 23andMe, FamilyTree DNA, and AncestryDNA were used.
The results are surprising.

The medical experts were confused and disappointed because of the varied results. Does this indicate that some of our our beliefs about DNA are wrong?
You decide. You can watch the television program’s tests and the results at https://goo.gl/Kz5ODH.

Friday, December 2, 2016

Library of Congress, Digital Public Library of America To Form New Collaboration

Library of Congress, Digital Public Library of America To Form New Collaboration

This undoubtedly will affect many genealogists as more and more records are added to the Digital Public Library’s database of digital content records. Making such records available online results in much easier access for all than the present methods. The following announcement was written by the Library of Congress:
library_of_congress_logoThe Library of Congress today signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Digital Public Library of America to become a “content hub partner” and will ultimately share a significant portion of its rich digital resources with DPLA’s database of digital content records.
The first batch of records will include 5,000 items from three major Library of Congress maps collections—the Revolutionary War (loc.gov/collections/american-revolutionary-war-maps/about-this-collection/), Civil War (loc.gov/collections/civil-war-maps/about-this-collection/) and panoramic maps collections (loc.gov/collections/panoramic-maps/about-this-collection/).
“We are pleased to make the Digital Public Library of America a new door through which the public can access the digital riches of the Library of Congress,” said Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden. “We will be sharing some beautiful, one-of-a-kind historic maps that I think people will really love. They are available online and I hope even more people discover them through DPLA.”
“We couldn’t be more thrilled to collaborate closely with the Library of Congress, to work with them on the important mission of maximizing access to our nation’s shared cultural heritage,” said DPLA’s Executive Director Dan Cohen, “and we deeply appreciate not only the Library’s incredible collections, but also the great efforts of the Librarian and her staff.”
The Digital Public Library of America is a portal—effectively, a searchable catalog—that aggregates existing digitized content from major sources such as libraries, archives, museums and cultural institutions. It provides users with links back to the original content-provider site where the material can be viewed, read or, in some cases, downloaded.
The Digital Public Library of America, the product of a widely shared vision of a national digital library dating back to the 1990s, was launched with a planning process bringing together 40 leaders from libraries, foundations, academia and technology projects in October, 2010 followed by an intense community planning effort that culminated in 2013. Its aim was to supersede the silo effect many digitization efforts were subject to. Based in Boston, the board of directors includes leading public and research librarians, technologists, intellectual property scholars, and business experts from across the nation. Its goal is to create “an open, distributed network of comprehensive online resources that would draw on the nation’s living heritage from libraries, universities, archives, and museums in order to educate, inform, and empower everyone in current and future ­generations.”
The Library of Congress expects to add a significant portion of its digital items to the original trio of collections over time, covering other collections such as photos, maps and sheet music.
Library of Congress items already appear in the DPLA database. Earlier in this decade, the Library digitized more than 100,000 books in its collections as part of its membership in the Hathi Trust and the Biodiversity Heritage Library, both current partners with the DPLA. As a result, those books are already in the DPLA’s collections through those partners.
The Digital Public Library of America strives to contain the full breadth of human expression, from the written word, to works of art and culture, to records of America’s heritage, to the efforts and data of science. Since launching in April 2013, it has aggregated more than 14 million items from more than 2,000 institutions. The DPLA is a registered 501(c)(3) non-profit.
The Library of Congress is the world’s largest library, offering access to the creative record of the United States—and extensive materials from around the world—both on site and online. The Library is the main research arm of the U.S. Congress and the home of the U.S. Copyright Office. Explore collections, reference services and other programs and plan a visit at loc.gov, access the official site for U.S. federal legislative information at congress.gov, and register creative works of authorship at copyright.gov.
My thanks to newsletter reader Ernie Thode for telling me about this announcement.


Saturday, October 22, 2016

Find A Grave vs Billion Graves--Comments on Find A Grave Suggested Improvements

How FindAGrave Could – and Should – Be Made Better 

[Click on the 21 Comments link below to view some valuable responses on Find A Grave vs Billion Graves. Having used Billion Graves, to search, to document grave sites and to transcribe, I have found issues with both Apps but they both have their plusses and negatives.  I think both could be used in one cemetery]

Amy Johnson Crow has posted an article in her blog that illustrates one of the problems with FindAGrave and offers suggestions for how it could be better. If you have an interest in FindAGrave, you might want to read Amy’s article, How FindAGrave Could – and Should – Be Made Better, at: http://www.amyjohnsoncrow.com/2016/10/21/findagrave-made-better/.

Comment: FindAGrave’s biggest competitor, BillionGraves.com, certainly is not perfect. It has some problems of its own but does not share the problems that Amy wrote about. For one thing, BillionGraves.com starts with a picture of the tombstone. No picture? No entry on BillionGraves.com.

Perhaps FindAGrave should adopt a similar policy.

Thursday, September 15, 2016

Why You Might Want a Personal Genealogy Blog

Why You Might Want a Personal Genealogy Blog on WordPress 

Click here for more of the article below

blog

You probably can find dozens of reasons for creating a blog. In addition, you can probably find dozens of companies that will host a blog for you. Given the choices and the reasons available, trying to decide on the best blog hosting service for you can be an overwhelming decision. How do you find the best one for your use? I will suggest there is no easy answer, but I will suggest that WordPress should be one of the services you evaluate.

NOTE: I will quickly admit that I am biased. The words you are reading right now are hosted on a WordPress blog. I have used several different blogging services over the years to host this newsletter. I switched to WordPress several years ago and am very happy with the company’s services. I have no plans to switch to anything else.

Why would you want a blog?

There are a number of reasons why a genealogist might want to crate a blog. Here are a few ideas I can think of:

Keep track of your own family history research and advise your relatives of your progress. If your relatives are monitoring your progress, it is possible they can contribute information to your research efforts, especially as they read about various items you discover. Reading about their ancestors’ lives often serves as a “memory jogger” for various bits of information they may have heard or known about years ago. Many of such bits may be new to you. In some cases, a blog reader who lives near the locations where your ancestors lived also may be able to perform some “in person” research for you.

Share your own life experiences. A blog can be similar to an online diary. Such a blog can be very interesting to your friends and relatives. Optionally, you can add a password to your blog so that it can only be read by the people to whom you grant access.

Genealogical and historical societies often use blogs to publish society newsletters online, to publicize upcoming events, to publicize books the society publishes, and to publicize all sorts of news and events of potential interest to society members and non-members alike. Some societies even add a “for members only” section that requires a password to access. A society blog often is one of the most powerful publicity tools a society can use.

Ethnicity interest groups often use blogs focused on specific ethnic groups and the genealogies of included families. Examples include Polish-American groups, African-American genealogy, Jewish genealogy, Hispanic genealogy, French-Canadian genealogy, Irish genealogy, German genealogy and more.

Almost all genealogy conferences now use blogs to publicize events, to distribute updates on speakers and presentations to be offered, to supply information about hotels and restaurants in the area, and myriad other reasons.

Archives and libraries often use blogs to provide news about recent additions to their collections, seminars, and other events being held by the archive or library, lists of holidays and other times the library or archive may be closed, solicitations for donations, and more.

Genealogy industry blogs are very popular. Almost every company in the genealogy business publishes a blog containing frequent updates about the latest additions and updates to the company’s offerings, publicity about future additions and changes, disseminating FAQs (Frequently-Asked Questions) that many customers ask, and many other customer support activities. Nearly 40% of US companies use blogs for marketing purposes. Two-thirds of marketers say their company blog is “critical” or “important” to their business.
Genealogy industry news: perhaps you want to compete with Eastman’s Online Genealogy Newsletter. (Comment: Come on in! There’s room for more.)

A blog makes it easy to reach a sizable audience on the World Wide Web. Most people read blogs more than once/day. In a recent survey, 90% of the respondents said they read 5 to 10 blogs frequently. Among those respondents, 23 % of their Internet time is spent on blogs and social networks. See 10 Interesting Key Facts and Figures about Blogging, Bloggers should know at http://goo.gl/d0EHiA for details.