Wednesday, September 28, 2011

The 1833 Marriage of Jean Baptiste Brouillet & Marie Josephte (Louise) Denis Laporte



On May 13, 1833, after 3 bans made during the "prones' of the parrish mass, between Jean-Baptiste Brouillette, living in this parrish, son of age of Jean-Baptiste Brouillette, farmer, and of Françoise Larrivée, his father and mother from this parrish, on one side, and Marie-Josephte Denys, daughter under age of Jean-Baptiste Denys, also farmer, and of Marie-Josephte Bachand, her father and mother, from this parrish, on the other side, no impediment being found, with the agreement of the parents, I undersigned priest received their mutual marriage consent and gave them the nuptial blessing, in front of Sieur Joseph Porlier, undersigned, Moyse Blanchet, friend of the spouse, of Jacques Daigle and Élie Smith, friends of the bride, and many others who could not sign.

Tuesday, September 27, 2011

Preserve access to Virginia's Vital Records!


MEMORANDUM TO THE GENEALOGICAL COMMUNITY
FROM: Peter E. Broadbent, Jr.
DATE: September 20, 2011
RE: Potential Changes in Virginia’s Vital Records Laws
Public Comment Deadline, October 6, 2011
The Virginia legislature is considering changes to Virginia’s laws on access to vital records which could either expand – or severely limit – research access to birth, marriage, and death records.
It is critical for all members of the genealogical community to file comments by October 6 with the Virginia legislative commission considering this issue.
Currently, birth records held by the Virginia Department of Health are closed for 100 years, with marriage and death records closed for 50 years. After these time periods, the records are supposed to be turned over to the Library of Virginia (LVA), though VDH has tried to delay this. The copies of marriage and death records at the Virginia county or city level are not closed, but are public records (if they can be found).
VDH has limited access to its statewide “closed” records to “immediate family members,” excluding even grandchildren.
Senator Harry Blevins of Chesapeake put in a bill in the 2011 Virginia General Assembly to modestly improve access to records, which was referred to the Virginia Joint Commission on Health Care (JCHC) for study. When the Virginia Genealogical Society (VGS) became aware of this study, it offered comments urging i) that death certificates held by VDH become open records immediately, since there were no legitimate privacy or identity theft reasons for keeping death certificates closed, and ii) that the range of family members who can access closed vital records be significantly liberalized.
VGS and LVA worked with JCHC staff educating staff about genealogists’ need for these records, the Surgeon General’s emphasis on family medical histories, and supplying information from physicians about the importance of death certificates in compiling family medical histories.
We were therefore very disappointed when a JCHC staff study was released on September 19 which is confusing at best, and proposes restrictions, not liberalizing, access.  Indeed, staff testimony made it clear that they supported closing all records (including the open county and city marriage and death records) and lengthening the closed VDH period to 125 years for births and 75 years for marriages and deaths.
While the staff report suggests allowing an Ancestry-type indexing system of the VDH database to allow close relatives access, the staff made it clear that VDH, not LVA (which has the genealogical experience) should do this, potentially taking vital records away from LVA.
Please email comments referencing SB 865 (with your name and address) to sreid@jchc.virginia.gov, or fax them to 804-786-5538, or mail to:  Joint Commission on Health Care, P.O. Box 1322, Richmond, VA 23218, to arrive by close of business on Thursday, October 6, 2011.
If you are out of state, you might explain that you do research in Virginia, and that closing records will discourage travel to Virginia for research.
If you have examples where your current research has been blocked by VDH, include this.
Unless extensive public comments are received by October 6, Virginia’s vital records may become closed, threatening genealogical and family medical history research, and blocking new members for lineage societies.
Please send in your comments now!

Respectfully,
Peter E. Broadbent, Jr.
Former President, VGS

Friday, September 23, 2011

Fairfax VA Genealogical Society Fall Fair









This October, the Fairfax Genealogical Society invites you to participate in the

Military Records with Craig R. Scott, CG


Saturday, October 29, 2011
9:00 AM to 2:30 PM

Dunn Loring Volunteer Fire Department
2148 Gallows Road
Dunn Loring, VA 22027
    Featured Speaker: Craig R. Scott, CG
    Craig Scott was the co-editor of Northern Virginia Genealogy (1996-1997) and the editor 
    of the Scott Genealogical Quarterly (1987-1995). 
    He is the author of The 'Lost Pensions': Settled Accounts of the Act of 6 April 1838 
    and Records of the Accounting Officers of the Department of the Treasury, Inventory 14
     (Revised)He has co-authored several books relating to records in Northern Virginia. 
    He is President and CEO of Heritage Books, Inc., a genealogical publishing firm with 
     over 2,800 titles in print.
    A professional genealogical and historical researcher for more than twenty years, he
     specializes in the records of the National Archives, especially those that relate to the
     military. He is the current president of the Association of One-name Studies and was
     the Clan Scott Genealogist (1985-2000). He is a member of the Library Board of 
    Virginia, and on the Board of Directors of the Association of Professional Genealogists, 
    and the Maryland Genealogical Society. He is also on the Editorial Board of the 
    National Genealogical Society, and the Coordinator for the Military Courses at the 
    Institute of Genealogy and Historical Research at Samford University.

    Lectures:
    RESEARCHING YOUR COLONIAL OR FRENCH AND INDIAN WAR ANCESTOR
    This session will delve into how to properly research your ancestor during the wars 
    and after. It will include a look at the militia for Colonial and British forces, records 
    of service, bounty land records, manuscript collections, and other records. 
    Pre-Revolutionary War records are at the British or colonial/local/state level, and the 
    nature of colonial service is local.

    RESEARCHING YOUR WAR OF 1812 ANCESTOR
    Military records for the War of 1812 and later wars changed a great deal from those 
    for conflicts before the Revolutionary War. Except for State militia units, the nature 
    of service is national, and there are consolidated service records, pension records 
    and bounty land records located at NARA. Come find out how to research your 
    ancestors who fought in the War of 1812.

    REASONS FOR NOT SERVING IN THE CIVIL WAR
    This session will show how to research provost marshal records, recruits, draft records, 
    substitutes, and medical records. It will include a look at conscription in the South and 
    the North.

    Registration:
    or fill out the registration form and mail it along with your check to the address shown 
    on the form.
WHEN:
WHERE:
TO REGISTER: Register online at eventbrite.com
Download the mail-in registration form

Thursday, September 22, 2011

Locating Online Newspaper Archives


Wikipedia - a go to place for general infomation has a


This list includes free and pay sites of digital online newspaper archives organized by locations.

Below a is sample showing the listings for New Jersey:
Have fun!

Tuesday, September 20, 2011

Jacob Grimm - d. 20 September 1863



Jacob Ludwig Carl Grimm, one of the Brothers Grimm and editor of Grimm's Fairy Tales, was born on 4 January 1785 in Hesse-Kassel, the son of Philipp Wilhelm Grimm (a lawyer and court official) and Dorothea Grimm, née Zimmer.
Jacob died at the age of 78 on 20 September 1863 in Berlin, Prussia.


(Photos from find-a-grave)

The children of Philipp Wilhelm Grimm and Dorothea Grimm:
  1. Friedrich Hermann Georg Grimm (1783-1784)
  2. Jacob Ludwig Carl Grimm (1785-1863)
  3. Wilhelm Carl Grimm (1786-1859)
  4. Carl Friedrich Grimm (1787-1852)
  5. Ferdinand Philipp Grimm (1788-1844)
  6. Ludwig Emil Grimm (1790-1863)
  7. Friedrich Grimm (1791-1792)
  8. Charlotte (Lotte) Amalie Hassenpflug, neé Grimm (1793-1833)
  9. Georg Eduard Grimm (1794-1795)

Monday, September 19, 2011

Carignan-Salieres Regiment of New France


The Carignan-Salieres Regiment was the first regular military unit to serve in New France (now Canada).  Most people with French Canadian ancestry will have one or more ancestors who served in the Carignan-Salières Regiment.
  
Shown below is our ancestor, Mathurin Gregoire's burial record as seen on PRDH noting under "Occupation" that he was a soldier in the Carignan Regiment.
 
    
In 1665, King Louis XVI ordered the Carignan-Salieres Regiment to New France to help protect the Royal Colony. Between June and September 1665, some twenty-four companies of 1200 soldiers and their officers of the Carignan-Salières Regiment arrived in Quebec. King Louis XIV's plan included the permanent settlement of New France and over 400 soldiers decided to remain in the colony and marry newly arrived 'filles du roi'.




The uniform of the régiment de Carignan-Salières, stationed in New France between 1665 and 1668, was brown with a gray lining that was visible in the upturned sleeves, forming a decorative facing. Buff-coloured and black ribbons decorated the hat and right shoulder, in accordance with the style of the time. The soldiers of the régiment de Carignan-Salières all wore swords and most were armed with matchlock and flintlock muskets. Some had a light flintlock musket known as a fusil.

Friday, September 16, 2011

Knox County TN Genealogy Resources


Are you researching in East Tennessee?
Then be sure to check out these resources:


 http://knoxcotn.org/  has a collection of transcribed data, biographies, photos, maps, and other items that have been transcribed and donated by volunteers and fellow researchers.  They also have links to related genealogy & history sites relevent to East Tennessee.
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http://cmdc.knoxlib.org/  is a searchable online archive of compelling digital images and artifacts from East Tennessee's rich  history.
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http://www.knoxvilletennessee.com/cemeteries.html has numerous links for cemetery research in Knoxville, TN
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This site has numerous resources including an Index to Tennessee Death Records 1908-1912

Happy Hunting!

Wednesday, September 14, 2011

Hôtel Dieu of Quebec

     
Hôtel-Dieu de Québec

Hotel Dieu & Cemetery

L'Hôtel Dieu, founded by three Augustinian nuns in 1639, was the first hospital in Canada and is the oldest hospital in North America outside of Mexico.    It continued to be administered by the Augustinian order until 1962.

L'Hôtel Dieu 1877
      



Today the Hotel-Dieu of Québec continues to operate as part of a network of three teaching hospitals and several specialized institutions.


(Photo credits:  Hôtel-Dieu de Québec & Library and Archives Canada)



Monday, September 12, 2011

Blogger for Android App

     
Have you tried the Blogger Android App?

Using your Android phone or tablet this app allows you to write up a quick blog post on the go. Are you visiting an ancestor's cemetery?  Or the old homestead or ancestral church? Easily compose a post, attach a photo that you just took with your phone, and either save it as a draft or immediately publish it to your blog. This Android app is available for download at no cost from the Android Market.
For more information visit:  Blogger Buzz
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Sunday, September 11, 2011

Patriot Day - September 11th


Patriot Day, signed into law on December 18, 2001, is observed on September 11th. 
 It is a day to remember those who lost their lives in the terrorist attacks against the United States on September 11, 2001, and to reflect upon the compassion of people who stepped forward to help those they have never met.  
Americans should fly their flags at half-staff and observe a moment of silence.
                          

Friday, September 9, 2011

PA-Roots Resource

                                 
PA-Roots provides free genealogy research resources available on the internet for Pennsylvania and the Mid-Atlantic region.
PA-Roots is a Pennsylvania Non-Profit Corporation consisting of a volunteers who are dedicated to providing free genealogical and historical data on-line.

What was I able to locate on this site?
Under Statewide Data  >  Abstracts of General Loan Office Mortgages



The record dated June 5, 1723, shows a reference to our ancestor Edmund duCasteel's property in Philadelphia.  It indicates that the senior Edmund DuChastel /Du Casteel whose will was proved Mar. 25, 1713/14 did indeed pass his property onto his son Edmund Casteel II.
                                    

Thursday, September 8, 2011

Sad Deaths by Fire


While researching on AmericanAncestors.org I came across this 1829 Casteel death record abstract:

(click image to enlarge)

Source File:  Rhode Island Vital Records, 1636–1850
 a series of vital records books for the towns of Rhode Island that include church records and newspaper records, filling twenty-one volumes with information.

These volumes are also available for viewing at the NEHGS Research Library, call number F78.A75.

Wednesday, September 7, 2011

Castle Garden, NYC


Drawing of the Castle Garden complex in 1890
  
Click images to enlarge.
    
Immigrants & workers exiting Castle Garden.

Visit: http://www.castlegarden.org/
(images from National Park Service)

Monday, September 5, 2011

Labor Day - 1882



Labor Day Parade, Union Square, New York, 1882
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Friday, September 2, 2011

Two Resources in Macoupin County, Illinois


Macoupin County Historical Society
Dedicated to the study of the area's history and the preservation of Macoupin County memorabilia, the Macoupin County Historical Society is located in the Anderson Mansion in the northwest quadrant of Carlinville.  The two-story Victorian home is filled with antiques and collectibles of Macoupin County's past, with memories and a Library of Literature of our ancestors. Several outer buildings, including an authentic Schoolhouse and newly constructed and equipped Print Shop, are also on display.

Macoupin County Genealogical Society
                            
 The Macoupin County Genealogical Society maintains a collection that includes Staunton newspapers on microfilm, census records, county histories, cemetery records, family histories, genealogical books, family data , church records, etc.. Their materials are housed in the George and Santina Sawyer Genealogy Room at the Staunton Public Library in Staunton, IL.