Kind Words From a New (To Me) Member

While scrolling through Google Reader I was pleasantly surprised to come upon a glowing review of our Lookups service by Leah Allen in Follow Friday: CGSL Look-Ups.

Her kind words are especially meaningful because the California Genealogical Society Lookups and Research team has been stretched to the breaking point with their work on the Judge project. Now that the book has been published I hope they are all catching up on their sleep. On behalf of our Lookups Committee – Judy Bodycote, Lavinia Schwarz, Pat Smith and Jim Sorenson – thanks, Leah, for the commendation!

The other part of the surprise was learning that we have another member blogger. Leah is a student and the author of two genealogy blogs: The Internet Genealogist and The Sacramento Valley Graveyard Rabbit. I've added the links to the sidebar collection of blogs written by CGS members. It's getting to be a large collection so I invite you to do some browsing!


Copyright © 2010 by Kathryn M. Doyle, California Genealogical Society and Library

Finding Fintan's Family

One of the most satisfying outcomes of the recent Scots-Irish Research Seminar involved turning the tables on one of our speakers and helping him to find his family.

It started on the drive from the San Francisco International Airport when Fintan Mullan mentioned that his mother's first cousin had come to Oakland and the families had lost contact with each other. Fintan and Dr. Brian Trainor, of the Ulster Historical Foundation in Belfast, Northern Ireland were here for the CGS Scots-Irish Seminar.

As soon as we saw CGS President Jane Lindsey I informed her of Fintan's missing cousin. I know how much Jane loves a search so I wasn't surprised to learn the next day that she had made considerable progress in a short amount of time.

Fintan was able to provide Jane with some details about Hugh Moreland who had left Ireland and went first to Australia but settled in Oakland. Hugh had made one trip back to Ireland to visit family but they lost contact after that. Hugh died in California and Fintan knew the names of Hugh's children.

Jane worked the California Death and Birth Indexes and checked the California passenger records. She found Hugh H. Moreland, born in Ireland, came from Australia to San Francisco in April of 1930. Kathleen DiGiovianni of the Oakland Public Library helped the cause by finding Hugh's obituary in the Oakland Tribune.

Jane was able to locate Fintan's first cousin once removed, Eileen, who lives in Napa. Fintan called his mother in Ireland to tell her the good news. Eileen and her husband drove to Oakland the next day to meet with Fintan after the seminar.

First cousins, once removed: Eileen and Fintan.

Fintan and Eileen were reunited after almost thirty years of lost contact between their families.

Great work, Jane!

Photographs by Kathryn Doyle, Oakland, California, 3/7/2009.

How An Item in the Personals Led to a Photo I.D.

My favorite type of genealogical pastime is newspaper research. I've wiled away more hours than I care to admit scrolling through microfilmed papers borrowed through inter-library loan from the Pennsylvania State Library. Obituaries, legal notices, passenger arrivals and news articles provide important information and often point to documents needed for the search. But the really fun stuff resides in the personal columns – the collections of gossip often grouped by neighborhood or town – that offer glimpses into the lives of our ancestors.

Lookups volunteer Patricia Smith stumbled on to a personal item in an Indiana newspaper that led to an unexpected find when the California Genealogical Society acquired NewspaperARCHIVE.com last summer.

According to Pat, CGS President Jane Lindsey was helping her to navigate the site and found an item in the personals about the 50th anniversary of Pat's great-grandparents, Alanson and Laura Ross, in The Fort Wayne Journal Gazette. It was published " Tuesday morning" January 2, 1917, under the headline "Pleasant Lake News."

Mr. and Mrs. Alson Ross celebrated their fiftieth wedding anniversary last Sunday and a public reception was given them at the home of their daughter, Mrs. Frank Chadwick, from 2 to 4 p.m. The Pleasant Lake concert orchestra furnished music during the afternoon. Mr. and Mrs. Ross were seated in the large window beautifully decorated for the occasion. Those present from a distance were: Mrs. Lucey Widney, of Auburn; Otto Ross and wife, of Louisville, Ky.; Bessie Cross of Fort Wayne; Mrs. Bert McNett and children of Nevada Mills; Donn Ross and wife of Monpelier, O. Miss Laura McEthenie sang "Put on Your Old Grey Bonnett." L.L. Matson gave a short eulogy on the couple and closed by reading Riley's "That Old Sweetheart of Mine." Mrs. Frank Chadwick gave a short poem on "Mother." Miss Helen Huffman read "When This Old Ring Was New" with Miss Maurine Huffman presiding at the piano. A vocal solo, "Silver Threads Among the Gold," was sung by Maurine Huffman. Light refreshments were served, after which the Ross family sang "Bless Be the Tie That Bonds," with the guests joining in the chorus. It is not often that a couple celebrates their fiftieth anniversary who are as supple and robust as Mr. and Mrs. Ross. Fred Fay was present and took the family picture.

Image from newspaperarchive.com.

The unexpected find happened when Pat went home and tried to decipher the family relationship of those named in the article. Pat explains:

I recognized the name "Mrs. Bert McNett" as that of my mother's cousin – Parepa Walker McNett – and I remembered that I had a family photograph that included her. When I retrieved it, I noticed that almost everyone mentioned in the article was in the photograph. On the back was written "Taken at Pleasant Lake, Indiana."

The family of Alanson and Laura Ross (left to right): Nellie Ross Chadwick, Alanson Ross, Don Ross, Parepa Walker McNett, Laura Ross, George McNett, Walker McNett, Bessie Ross Cross, Esther Westergren Ross, Ella Ritter Ross, Otto Ross, Gertie Ross and Harry Ross.

On closer inspection, I could see that it was taken in the winter – you can see some snow on the ground. Parepa's little boys were born about 1913 and 1915 and would have been approximately four and two years old, if this photo was taken in 1917, which looks about right. I also know that Perapa had a daughter born late in 1917 and although her waistline isn't totally visible, she doesn't appear to be pregnant, or if she was, she was not far enough along to show.

The news item states that Fred Fay took the family picture and I think, given the above information, that this photo was taken on that January day in 1917.

Do you have a great story about a find made at the CGS Library? If so, leave a comment. Inquiring minds want to know!

A Note From Beyond the Grave

If you are a regular reader of the CGSL blog you already know that serendipitous finds are a regular occurrence around the society library. My blog reporter self is always on the lookout for another good story so I tend to keep my antennae up when I visit CGS and my camera is always in my bag.

So last Saturday I immediately investigated when I heard one of those laughs of delight and discovery. Our newest member was crouched in the stacks with an opened book in one hand and a small slip of paper in the other. Barbara Schenck Wilcox was part of the visiting DAR group from the Berkeley Hills-Oakland Chapter. After the meeting Barbara stopped by the desk to fill out an application and join CGS and had settled in to do a bit a research in some SMITH family books. The whoop I heard was her reaction to finding this:




The note is the size of a post-it but it predates those ubiquitous stickies since its author, Anna Tangier Smith, died in 1933. Miss Smith's hand-written correction reads:

The date of the birth of Col. William Smith of St. George's Manor is incorrect. It should be 1655 instead of 1652, the date of his birth given in his own handwriting in his journal still in the possession of his descendants.
- A. Tangier Smith

The note was slipped into the Wills of the Smith Families of New York and Long Island, 1664-1794: Careful Abstracts of All the Wills of the Names of Smith recorded in New York, Jamaica, and Hempstead, Prior to 1794: with Genealogical and Historical Notes by William S. Pelletreau. New York : F.P. Harper, 1898. xiii, 151 p. : ill. ; 24 cm. How this book found its way into the CGS Library is unknown but it is possible that it was donated by the note-writer.
Anna Tangier Smith was Barbara's great-grand aunt, the sister of her great-grandmother. The note had been placed in the book more than seventy-five years ago, just waiting for another descendant of Col. William "Tangier" Smith to find it. Smith had once been mayor of Tangier, Morocco and many of his descendants carry the Tangier moniker. Because SMITH is such a common name, the family is often called "Tangier Smith" to distinguish it from the others.

Image of Anna Tangier Smith (1863-1933).

Barbara knew that her great-grandmother's sister had been a member of the California Genealogical Society and she was looking forward to spending some time at the society library. She is very familiar with the research done by Anna Tangier Smith and with her handwriting. This is a sample Barbara had from another Smith history.



Barbara was pleased at another find in the library – a copy of The Tangier Smith Family: Descendants of Colonel William Smith of the Manor of St. George, Long Island, New York by Ruth Tangier Smith and Henry Bainbridge Hoff [New York]: Order of Colonial Lords of Manors in America, 1978 vi, 102 p., [1] leaf of plates : ill. ; 24 cm.



Barbara informed me that only 300 copies of the 1978 publication had been printed and it had taken her some time to track one down for purchase. She was very surprised to find one on the CGS library shelves.

A happy Barbara Schenck Wilcox posed with the note.

So I offer up this story as another reason why you really should visit the the California Genealogical Society Library. I can't guarantee that you will find a note from your great-grand aunt, but you will find something!

Photographs by Kathryn Doyle, 12/6/2008, Oakland, California.

Baby Samuel: Some Answers, More Questions

A team of researchers at the California Genealogical Society joined forces this week to give Elizabeth O'Neal some new information in her quest to solve The Mystery of Baby Samuel. In just a couple of days Dick Rees, Laura Spurrier and Lavinia Schwarz found several new leads for her to pursue.

As with any genealogical research, answers often reveal more questions, and this is certainly the case with the information found in the Danish work previously described.

The Danske I California og California Historie contained two biographies of interest. This is Laura's translation:

Brothers Jens and Peter Nielsen, born in Udby Sogn, Holbæk Amt, came to California in the 1860s. They worked in the gold mines, and Peter Nielsen for a while ran a rooming house in San Francisco. They last resided in Kansas where they homesteaded. Two grandnephews, brothers Ejlert and Lars Mortensen, live in Riverside, California.

Mrs. Samuel K. Swartz (Inger Anna Nielsen), sister of the previously mentioned Nielsen brothers, came to San Francisco in 1906. She was president of the "Zion" society, under the auspices of the Ansgar Church, and she also active in the Danish Ladies' Aid Society.

Dick Rees visited the San Francisco Public Library and pulled microfilm in the Herb Caen Magazines and Newspapers Center to look for obituaries. He was unable to find one for Samuel K. Sr. but he did find this:

The Rees-Spurrier-Schwarz team all expressed some concern about the apparent age difference between Inger and her elder brothers. Dick's comment was "I found it interesting that the brothers Nielsen arrived in the 1860s and sister Inger wasn't even born until 1883. I'm hoping Father Nielsen had at least two wives!"
Vinnie commented on a problem that Elizabeth already discussed, "Inger's age and Samuel's birthdate, as well as daughter Irene's birthdate don't add up well. Sam is a late baby, but possible. Irene's birthplace seems off." The married name for Irene in the obituary provides some new clues.

Laura offered this:

Danske i California, though very, very useful, is not infallible in my opinion. I would look for the dates of naturalization for Jens and Peter in the 1890 Great Register of California, then find their naturalization papers. I'd also try to find their ages at death. I would try to find Inger's own immigration records and her marriage record. The records of St. Ansgar Lutheran Church in San Francisco should be checked. Raking the Ashes states that St. Ansgar merged into St. Francis Lutheran Church but doesn't say if the records are extant. If Inger didn't reach San Francisco until after the '06 quake, relevant records might still be there -- certainly the record of her funeral if she remained a member. Inger may have been a daughter or niece of one of the Nielsen brothers, not a sister. Another possibility is that Inger was the grandmother of Baby Samuel and the records were fudged in order to cover up an illegitimate birth. Sources in Denmark, may shed some light too.

We all wish Elizabeth much luck if she chooses to continue her research of Baby Samuel's family. Happy birthday, Elizabeth!


Sources:

1. Sophus Hartwick, Danske I California og California Historie: Beretninger om de Danskes liv og Virke Fra de Tidligste Pioner Dage [Danes In California and California History, a Report on Danish Life and Work from the Earliest Pioneer Days], 2 volumes, San Francisco, 1939, p. 658. Chapters in the work are arranged by county. The Nielson Brothers biography appears in the Los Angeles County chapter, translated by Laura J. Spurrier, M.L.S.

2. Sophus Hartwick, Danske I California. p. 840. Inger Swartz's biography appears in the chapter on San Francisco.

3. Inger A. Swartz Obituary, San Francisco Chronicle, microfilm, Monday, 28 May 1973.

Part 1: Baby Samuel: A Few More Clues About Mom

Baby Samuel: A Few More Clues About Mom

Yesterday I had a full day of meetings at CGS but I thought I would sneak in a little research time for a friend. I planned to noodle around in some San Francisco city directories to see if I could find any new information about the SWARTZ family for Elizabeth O'Neal of Little Bytes of Life. On Tuesday she reported on The Mystery of Baby Samuel and how she had become strangely obsessed with his short life.

When I got to the library, I discovered that the crack team of researchers at the society were already on the case. Since Elizabeth had done the basic census work, CGS "Look-up Maven" Lavinia Schwarz, did what anyone who has San Francisco ancestors should do. She searched the California Names Index on the California Genealogical Society Web site.

Through the years, CGS volunteers have indexed a wide variety of state, county, and local references, creating an enormous and unique database of the library's holdings. The California Names Index currently contains over 265,000 entries. Search results yield a full name and an Index Code that tells the source type of the information.

These are the results that come up after a search for "Swartz."


The bottom listing is for Baby Samuel's parents: "Swartz, Samuel K. (I. Nielsen) BIO $10.00." The three letter code "BIO" indicates that some biographical information is available in our collection of more than 50 California state, county, and local histories. $10.00 is the charge for copying and sending the information. (Elizabeth, this one is on us!)

Lavinia recognized the source for the Swartz biography as one she had consulted for several previous look-up requests. It is a two volume set and it is in Danish.

Danske I California og California Historie: Beretninger om de Danskes liv og Virke Fra de Tidligste Pioner Dage is: Danes In California and California History, a Report on Danish Life and Work from the Earliest Pioneer Days, according to Google Translate.


Author Sophus Hartwick was once an owner and publisher of the San Francisco Danish Newspaper Bien (the Bee), the only Danish newspaper west of the Rockies when it began in 1882. The paper is still being published, a bi-weekly printed every other Thursday. Another interesting coincidence: the paper's local editor at its Solvang office is a Nielsen!

The biography is actually for "Mrs. Samuel K. Swartz" and it names her Inger Anna Nielsen. Luckily, CGS's Library Committee chair, Laura Spurrier will be able to translate the passage for us. Stay tuned.


Part 2:  Baby Samuel: Some Answers, More Questions