I'm Going to the Totem Raising!

If you have friended me on Facebook, I'm sure you can't help noticing my many posts about the upcoming Totem Raising I'll be attending this weekend in Klawock, Alaska. Perhaps you're wondering what the big deal is. You've probably also never heard of Klawock (Kla...what?)!

Seal of the City of Klawock

Klawock, an incorporated city of 850 people, is located 56 miles west of Ketchikan, in Alaska's Southeast Panhandle. The original village was located on Klawock Island, just off Prince of Wales Island, the third largest island in the United States after Kodiak Island in Alaska (where I happened to be born) and the large island of Hawaii. Prince of Wales Island was originally inhabited by the Tlingit tribe of Native Alaskans, and later also inhabited by the Haida tribe. In the 1700s, Russian, British, Spanish, and French explorers and sailors charted the area, and the many languages are reflected in the location names.

Klawock was originally a summer fishing camp for a particular group of Tlingits who normally wintered at the north end of Prince of Wales Island in the sheltered village of Tuxekan. The fishing camp's location was chosen because of where the salmon left the salt water and entered the Klawock River to go upstream to spawn. In 1868, a trading post and salmon saltery were built in Klawock, and in 1878, Alaska's first salmon cannery was erected there. Klawock eventually became the permanent community, and Tuxekan was abandoned.

Salmon can from the first cannery in Alaska, in Klawock,. Hand soldered and labeled, ca. 1890s. North Pacific Trading and Packing Co. Image from Alaska State Museum.

In the 1930s, the Civilian Conservation Corps hired a number of native carvers to replicate the deteriorating totems at the abandoned village of Tuxekan.

Totems at Old Tuxekan, 1910. Alaska State Library.

Twenty-one poles were carved and erected in a totem park on top of a hill in Klawock. Each totem belongs to a particular clan and has a legend depicted on it.

Klawock Totem Park, 1967. 1st generation of poles. Alaska State Digital Archives.

 Because of the climate in Southeast Alaska (160-180 inches of rain per year), the totems only last about 40 years. In the 1970s, shortly after my family moved to Klawock, the second generation of poles was raised.

Miriam Robbins, Klawock Totem Park, September 1971. Noticing the broken toe and faded paint on this bear totem, I believe this also is a first generation totem.

My family was informally adopted into the tribe by Katherine (Skan) Rowan. She made the dress and blanket I'm wearing in the photo below.

The Fish Hook Dance. Alaska Native Brotherhood & Alaska Native Sisterhood Hall, Klawock, Alaska, September 1972.

Today, Jon Rowan, Katherine's grandson and my native "brother," is the cultural education teacher at the high school. He has trained the high school students to carve the third generation of totems. A few have been erected nearly every summer the past few years. This weekend, the last five poles will be raised of the third generation. They will last for another 40 years. The town has been preparing for months for the three-day celebration!Today, Jon Rowan, Katherine's grandson and my native "brother," is the cultural education teacher at the high school. He has trained the high school students to carve the third generation of totems. Nearly every summer the past few years, a few more replications have been erected. This weekend, the last five poles will be raised of the third generation. They will last for another 40 years. The town has been preparing for months for the three-day celebration! I'm excited to return to my hometown after an absence of 34 years!

Jon Rowan, master carver and cultural education teacher

In addition to the totem raising, the Dog Salmon Panel will be on display in the high school gym. In the early 1940s, this panel, which originally fronted the Dog Salmon Clan House in Tuxekan, disappeared and mysteriously surfaced at the Smithsonian's National Museum of the American Indian. It is believed that a non-native was responsible for its removal. When it was recently removed from storage in 2001, it was recognized to belong to the clan. It was repatriated to the community just one month ago. I look forward to seeing it for the first time.

Dog Salmon Screen on front of clan house, Tuxekan. University of Washington Library.

So what does this have to do with genealogy? Because I grew up in a culturally rich environment, my parents recognized the importance of teaching me my own heritage. I firmly believe that my interest in genealogy and history was nurtured by my Native Alaskan community, Tlingit cultural classes at school, and Dutch heritage celebrations and family history at home.

Surname Saturday: HAINLINE, HENLEIN

The HAINLINE name originated as the German HENLEIN. This family was located in the area known as the Palatinate, or Pfaltz, Germany. Protestants from this area emigrated to North America and other areas to escape religious persecution, and were called "Palatines." It appears the HENLEIN family emigrated in the late 18th century with a large number of other Palatines to what is now Virginia.

Stories and History:

Ahnentafel #200 - Johannes HENLEIN (d. 1775) - born in Pfaltz, Germany; married Catherine KUHN (dates unknown) and had 11 known children. Immigrated to North America and settled in what is now Virginia.

Ahnentafel #100 - John HENLINE (1760 - 1834) - born in Virginia. Wife's name is unknown, but they had six known children. He died in Montgomery Co., Kentucky.

Ahnentafel #50 - John W. HAINLINE (1796 - 1861) - born in Montgomery Co., Kentucky; married Mary DeVERRE (1803 - 1871) in 1826 in Clark Co., Kentucky. They had 11 known children. He died in McDonough Co., Illinois.

Ahnentafel #25 - Susan W. HAINLINE (1828 - 1914) - born in Montgomery Co., Kentucky. She was the second wife of Gideon CHAPLIN (1821 - 1876), whom she married in 1850 in McDonough Co., Illinois. They had ten children. She continued to run the family farms with her sons' help after her husband died. The family emigrated to Union Co., Iowa and then Cheyenne Co., Kansas, where she died after a stroke a fall.

Ahnentafel #12 - Albert Francis CHAPLIN (1868 - 1946) - born in Afton, Union Co., Iowa. He married Emma Alice LYTON (1874 - 1959) about 1891 in Iowa. They had six children, and lived all over the Midwest and West (Nebraska, Iowa, South Dakota, Colorado, Idaho) before settling in Washington State, where Albert died.

Ahnentafel #6 - Forrest "Frank" L. CHAPLIN (1901 - 1977) - born in Yankton, Yankton Co., South Dakota. Came out West in a covered wagon as a boy with his family...yes, they still had them in the early 1900s! Married Leona Mary MARTIN (1906 - 1993) in 1925 in Vancouver, Clark Co., Washington. they had three children and lived in various counties in Central and Western Washington State. Frank died in Othello, Adams Co., Washington.

Ahnentafel #3 - My children's paternal grandmother (living)

Ahnentafel #1 - My children's father (living)

More About the HAINLINE Family:

1. Online database (I update this at least once a month): HAINLINE and HENLEIN ancestors and relatives (no info on living persons available)

2. Posts about HAINLINE ancestors and relatives on this blog

3. Some scanned HAINLINE documents

My children's HAINLINE Immigration Trail:

Pfaltz, Germany > VA > Montgomery Co., KY > Clark Co., KY > McDonough Co., IL > Union Co., IA > Cheyenne Co., KS > Butler Co., NE > Fremont Co., IA > Clay Co., SD > Yankton Co., SD > Prowers Co., CO > Cheyenne Co., IA > Payette Co., ID > Yakima Co., WA > Thurston Co., WA > Clark Co., WA > Spokane Co., WA

Tuesday's Tip: Improving Your Tech Power

This article originally appeared in my Tech Tips column in Eastern Washington Genealogical Society's quarterly publication, The Digital Digest, the Spring 2013 issue. It has been revised for this post.

Do you ever feel inadequate in your computer abilities or intimidated by technology? Are you afraid that you might do something that will damage your computer, ruin your genealogy data, or at the very least, make you look stupid? Some of the most common comments I hear from people in my genealogical society or at genealogy classes I teach are that they don't understand technology, or can't keep up with it, or feel overwhelmed by it. Other obstacles may be budget or time constraints that make it difficult to purchase newer electronics or take opportunities to learn new skills.

As genealogists, it's important we make an effort to understand technology so that we can utilize it to enhance our research. Digital cameras, desktop computers, laptops, tablets (iPads), printers, scanners, smart phones, MP3 players (such as iPods) and even GPS units are used in various ways that can make gathering, analyzing, and storing genealogical information more efficient. Here are some ideas to help you improve your technological comprehension and aptitude.

Read a book or magazine. Years ago, I bought some photo editing software, but really didn't know how to use it. I went to the library and got Paint Shop Pro for Dummies. When I updated my computer to a new operating system, I purchased a Dummies book for it as well. My local library district has many Dummies books as well as Complete Idiot’s Guidebooks for all kinds of operating systems, software, and hardware. They can be found under the 004 and 005 call numbers. These books not only are educational but are often written with humor, and can definitely make you feel like less of, well, a dummy! Another favorite resource is Smart Computing magazine. The articles are written in layman's terms and the consumer reports have been very helpful to me in choosing the best product for my budget. Digital editions of past issues can now be downloaded for free at the link above. This publication is also available at my local library.

Take a local class. My local library district offers free computer classes. Additionally, several area senior and community centers offer computer classes for a nominal fee. Finally, my local community college district offers fee-based computer classes through their continuing education and seniors programs.

Learn online. Don’t know the difference between DOS and OS? Unsure what a widget does? TechTerms.com is an online computer dictionary. Not only can you look up a term and get its definition, but you can browse the terms by category (Internet, hardware, software, technical, etc.) or even by your skill level (1 through 10). You can take a quiz or read the daily definition. All will help you improve your tech word power. Another great site is GCFLearnFree, which offers free online classes, in print and video formats, in computer, email, and internet basics; Microsoft and Apple features; social media, such as Facebook and Twitter; and tips and tricks. You can set up a free account, take classes, and even get a certificate of completion in each category.

Learn from the Developers. Both Microsoft and Apple offer online classes in their products, some for free and some at cost. They range from basic understanding to training and certification. Learn more at http://www.microsoft.com/learning/en/us/default.aspx, http://www.apple.com/retail/learn/, and http://training.apple.com/. Don’t forget to check out the websites of the companies that produce your favorite accessories or programs, such as your printer/scanner or your photo-editing software.

Make it a personal--and a genealogy--goal that you will strive to increase your knowledge and skills and not be intimidated by technology.

Surname Saturday: WIERINGA

The WIERINGA family is one of the lines of my maternal step-grandfather. I have never thought about my mother's step-father as being a step-ancestor. He raised my mother, tried unsuccessfully to adopt her (her biological father wouldn't sign over his parental rights, although he didn't participate much in my mother's life), gave her away at her wedding, and included her equally in his will with his two biological children. My grandfather had six grandchildren (including my brother, who was named for him) and 12 great-grandchildren, only one of all those being his biological offspring between step families and adoptees. Yet just as he was always my mother's Dad, he was always Grandpa and Great-grandpa DeVRIES to all of us. To honor him and to bless my uncle, aunt, and cousins, I have researched his ancestry. After all, the DeVRIES family history directly impacted my own, and it's likely I would not exist if Grandpa hadn't married my grandmother and raised my mother.

Stories and History:

WIERINGA is a Frisian surname that means "the household of Wier," and originates out of the province of Friesland in the Netherlands. Friesland's language and culture is more closely related to that of the English, as they both had the same Anglo-Saxon ancestors. In Europe, the Frisian ethnic group primarily lives in the provinces of Friesland and Groningen in the Netherlands and also in the region of Ostfriesland and district of Nordfriesland in Germany.

(The letter "C" differentiates between my biological family tree and my step-family tree. I have used the letter "B" to mark my paternal grandmother's adoptive family tree.)

Ahnentafel #200C - Lubbart WIERINGA (dates unknown)

Ahnentafel #100C - Wobbe Lubbartus WIERINGA (dates unknown) - his wife, or at least the mother of his five known children, was Catarina (or Katrina) Onnes VAN POST (dates unknown)

Ahnentafel #50 - Hendrik WIERINGA (b. 1815) - he was probably born in the province of Groningen, the Netherlands. In 1858, he married Korneliske SIEGERS (b. 1827) in Oldehove, Groningen, the Netherlands. They had at least two daughters.

Ahnentafel #25 - Adriaantje WIERINGA (1861 - 1925) - her name is also spelled "Adriaantze" and "Adriana." Born in Oldehove, Groningen, the Netherland, she first married a shoemaker and barber, Binne Jarigs DeVRIES (1856 - 1896) in 1886 in the municipality of Kollumerland, Friesland, the Netherlands. At that time, her residence was in Noord Drachten, Smallingerland, Friesland. They had three children before Binne died. Adriaantje apparently ended up in an arranged marriage with John HOOGSTRA (b. 1858), who had emigrated to the United States in 1890. He was widowed as well. It is likely they knew each other before he left the Netherlands, or that Adriaantje had contacts with the Dutch immigrant community in Western Michigan, who may have helped arrange the marriage. At any rate, Adriaantje arrived at Ellis Island on the Spaarndam with her three young children on 29 March 1897. Ten days later, she married John in Grand Rapids, Kent Co., Michigan, with her ten-year-old son, George, as one of the witnesses. She and John had three more children. After his death, she married another widower, Teunis NIEMEYER (b. c. 1865) in 1915 in Grand Rapids. Adriaantje died in East Grand Rapids, Kent Co., Michigan.

Ahenentafel #12C - Jarig Binne Egbert DeVRIES (1887 - 1959) - born in the city of Drachten in Smallingerland, Friesland, the Netherlands he immigrated with his mother and two younger siblings to the United States, the only group of my ancestors to pass through Ellis Island. His name was anglicized to George Benjamin Edward DeVRIES. He married Johanna "Josephine" BOS / BUSH (1885 - 1946) in 1911 in Grand Rapids, Kent Co., Michigan. They had four sons and one daughter. My mother remembers George pretty well, as he lived with her family in Grand Rapids in his elder years, and died in their home.

Ahnentafel #6C - Adrian "Ed" DeVRIES (1916 - 2007) - my beloved grandfather, greatly missed

Ahnentafel #3 - my mother (living)

Ahnentafel #1 - myself

More About the WIERINGA Family:

1. Online database (I update this at least once a month): WIERINGA ancestors and relatives (no info on living persons available)

2. Some WIERINGA obituaries

3. Posts about WIERINGA ancestors and relatives on this blog

The WIERINGA Immigration Trail:

Oldehove, Groningen, the Netherlands > Kollumerland, Friesland, the Netherlands > Smallingerland, Friesland, the Netherlands > Kent Co., MI > AK > Stevens Co., WA > Spokane Co., WA

Tuesday's Tip: Early Ontario Marriage Registers and Vital Records, 1786 - 1870

Because of my Canadian heritage, one of the genealogy newsletters I subscribe to via email is from Global Genealogy. Besides news and research articles pertaining to Canadian genealogy, Global Genealogy is also a great resource of books, maps, and software. In their last newsletter, I noticed that their book and CD series, Early Ontario Marriage Registers and Vital Records, 1786 - 1870, had online indexes.

If you've done any Canadian research at all, you'll know that Ontario didn't start keeping vital records until 1869, with the start of mandatory civil registration. All my Canadian ancestors immigrated to Ontario before this date, making finding most vital records impossible. Prior to this date, however, many districts in the province of Upper Canada (now the southern part of Ontario) attempted to keep vital records. All non-Anglican and non-Roman Catholic ministers who performed marriages were required to provide their marriage returns to the district peace clerks, and most of these returns were recorded in the 1830s and later. Clicking on the link above gives a good historical outline and research guide for this time period. It also leads to the transcribed records in book and CD formats, which can be purchased, as well as FREE INDEXES of these records.

As I started searching through these indexes for my early Ontario ancestors, I decided to come up with a spreadsheet for these resources to help me track my research. I have made this spreadsheet available to you for your own use at http://tinyurl.com/OntarioVR. If you find your ancestors listed in the indexes, I recommend you purchase the corresponding book(s) at Global Genealogy for more details on the records themselves.

By the way, if you are looking for Ontario vital records after the start of civil registration in 1869, some places where they can be found are Ancestry.ca or the world membership subscription at Ancestry.com. They are also available for free at FamilySearch.org. There are also a number of early records indexes at Library and Archives Canada.

Happy Hunting!

July 2013 Scanfest

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Surname Saturday: DeJONG

The DeJONG family is one of my Dutch lines, most likely out of the province of Friesland. The name literally means "the younger." Surnames were not common in the Netherlands until 1811, when Napoleon, who then reigned over the Netherlands, ordered the Dutch to register a surname with the civil authorities.

My 2nd-great-grandmother, Berber DeJONG, is really the only person with this surname that I have solid information on. Her father has been named as "Sjerd DeJONG," but I am working with the hypothesis that he may have instead been Tjeerd Thijzes de JONG, as there is no registration of a birth of a Berber DeJONG to a Sjoerd [correct spelling] DeJONG in the Netherlands that fits my ancestor. My hypothesis has been written into a research plan that can be read here.

Stories and History:

Ahnentafel #50 - Sjoerd DeJONG (dates unknown) - may be the same individual as Tjeerd Thijzes (also spelled "Thijsses") de JONG (1812 - 1862).

Ahnentafel #25 - Berber "Barbara" DeJONG (1858 - 1934) - born in the Netherlands, she immigrated in 1882 to the United States with her fiance, Tjammes "James" Wiegers VALK (1860 - 1922) of Ferwerderadeel, Friesland, the Netherlands. They first settled in Rock Island, Rock Island Co., Illinois, where they immediately married. Later, they moved to Western Michigan. They had eight children; three of whom survived to adulthood.

Ahnentafel #12 - William James VALK - (1886 - 1950) - fathered 16 children between two marriages (only 12 survived infancy), plus raised a stepson

Ahnentafel #6 - William ("Bill") VALK - (1912 - 1989) - my paternal grandfather, WWII veteran

Ahnentafel #3 - my mother (living)

Ahnentafel #1 - myself

More About the DeJONG Family:

1. Online database (I update this at least once a month): DeJONG ancestors and relatives (no info on living persons available)

2. Some DeJONG obituaries

3. Posts about DeJONG ancestors and relatives on this blog

4. Some scanned DeJONG documents

The DeJONG Immigration Trail:

The Netherlands > Rock Island Co., IL > > Ottawa Co., MI > Kent Co., MI > AK > Stevens Co., WA > Spokane Co., WA

Tuesday's Tip: Crowdsourcing at Digital Databases

"Crowdsourcing is the act of outsourcing tasks, traditionally performed by an employee or contractor, to an undefined, large group of people or community (a 'crowd'), through an open call." --Wikipedia

"Metadata describes other data. It provides information about a certain item's content. For example...a text document's metadata may contain information about how long the document is, who the author is, when the document was written, and a short summary of the document. Web pages often include metadata in the form of meta tags...Most search engines use this data when adding pages to their search index." --TechTerms.com

Recently, a number of digital archives websites have been inviting crowdsourcing in order to add metadata to their databases to allow ease of searching said databases. In case the previous sentence makes no sense to you, let me state it again in non-techy terms: Websites with databases full of historical digital images have been inviting volunteers to index the images, adding descriptions, comments, and tagging the digitized documents with names, dates, and places. Because these tend to be such vast projects, this crowdsourcing helps all of us by providing searchable, more usable databases attached to these digital images. We can find what we want when we can search on a name, date, or location, rather than having to browse through thousands or even millions of images.

One of the most notable examples of crowdsourcing was FamilySearch's 1940 U.S. Federal Census Indexing Project. Originally projected to take seven months, the census was completely name-indexed in four months, using 150,000 volunteers. Another well-known crowdsourcing project in the genealogy world is Ancestry's World Archives Project, indexing genealogical records from around the globe. Fold3 has annotating and comments features for its databases, although these are limited to subscribers only.

Additionally, some newer projects have been started for a couple of state digital archives projects. The first is Washington State Digital Archives. They have launched Scribe, a digital tool for adding metadata to their collections. A tutorial video can be viewed here. I tried Scribe out, and although I liked it, I have to admit it was not as efficient as FamilySearch's indexing tools. For example, the first document I indexed had three marriage licenses on it, yet there was only room in the Scribe tool to index one. I tried to see if there was a way to add more metadata for the other licenses on that page, without success. Also, I was unsure of what to do with initials, rather than names. Should "J. B. Smith" be indexed in the First, Middle, and Last Name fields as "J., B. Smith" or "J, B, Smith"? Some clarification and basic rules for complex situations would be beneficial. Nevertheless, I was excited to see the possibilities this has!
Another site with recent meta tagging capabilities is the California Digital Newspaper Collection. By creating a free account, one can add keyword tags and leave comments on various articles in the digitized newspaper collection. Correcting text misread by OCR software is also an option.

Crowdsourcing is definitely a way to give back to the genealogical and historical community. If you don't yet have a favorite volunteer project, I encourage you to pick one! Also, do you know of other similar crowdsourcing projects not mentioned? Please leave info and links in the comments below.

Scanfest is Coming!

The July 2013 Scanfest will take place here at AnceStories this coming Sunday, July 28th, from 11 AM to 2 PM, Pacific Daylight Time.
 
What is Scanfest? It's a time when geneabloggers, family historians, and family archivists meet online here at this blog to chat while they scan their precious family document and photos. Why? Because, quite honestly, scanning is time-consuming and boring!

Scanfest is a great time to "meet" other genealogists, ask questions about scanning and preservation, and get the kick in the pants we all need on starting those massive scanning projects that just seem too overwhelming to begin.

To get started, you need to know the basics about scanning:

1. Don't use commercial glass cleaners (i.e. Windex) or paper towels to clean your scanner's glass plate. Use a soft, clean cloth, preferably microfiber. If you must use a liquid, use water sprayed directly onto the cloth  and make sure to let the plate dry thoroughly before placing photos or documents on it.

2. Wear cotton gloves (available at many art and/or photography supply shops) when handling photos and old documents.

3. Don't slide the photos around on the glass plate. Place them exactly where you want them. Photos should NEVER be scanned by a scanner that feeds the document through the machine, but ALWAYS on a flat-bed scanner.

4. Set your scanner to scan at no smaller than 300 dpi (dots per inch). Many experts recommend 600 dpi for photographs.

5. Photographs should ALWAYS be scanned and saved as .tif files. Use "Save As" to reformat the .tif file to a .jpg file for restoration and touchups, emailing, or uploading to an online photo album. ALWAYS retain the original scan as a .tif file.

6. Documents can be scanned as .pdf files or .tif files.

7. When you are done scanning your photos, don't put them back in those nasty "magnetic" photo albums. Place them in archival safe albums or boxes found at websites such as Archival Products or Archival Suppliers. Do NOT store any newsprint (articles, obituaries, etc.) with the photos. The acid from the newspaper will eventually destroy the photograph.

Now about the chatting part of Scanfest:

We will be using Blyve, a live blogging platform that you access right here at AnceStories. On Sunday at 11 AM, PDT, come right here to AnceStories and you'll see the Blyve live blog/forum in the top post. It's not really a "chat room," per se, it's more like a live forum and anyone visiting this site can read and see what is happening in the forum.

You will not need to download any software.

We look forward to having you participate with us!

Surname Saturday: HIGBY

Higby is one of my paternal grandmother's adoptive lines. It is her adoptive maternal grandmother's maiden name. In doing a little digging, it appears that the Higby family was an early New England one. It is frequently seen with the Higbee spelling, and occasionally as Higbie. In England, it appears to have originally been Higbed. 

I use the letter "B" after each ahnentafel number to distinguish my adoptive family ahnentafel from my biological one.

Stories and History:

Ahnentafel #2944B - Edward HIGBY, the immigrant (1615/6 - 1699) - born in Ivinghoe Parish, Buckinghamshire, England, he had immigrated to North America by about 1646. He settled on Long Island, with his wife, Jedidah SKIDMORE (1624 - 1660). By 1663, he had settled in Middletown, Middlesex Co., Connecticut. He had 10 children with Jedidah; then later had six more children with his second wife, Lydia [?]. He appears to have been somewhat of controversial figure, as he is named as both defendant and plaintiff in a number of lawsuits over property as well as slander charges. He died in Jamaica, Long Island, New York. Note: I have seen a number of online genealogies tracing Edward's lineage into England, but I do not know how accurate they are.

Ahnentafel #1472B - John HIGBY (1658 - 1688) - He was born in Huntington, Suffolk Co., New York and married Rebecca TREADWELL (1658 - 1708) in 1679 in Middletown, Middlesex Co., Connecticut. They had five sons.

Ahnentafel #736B - Edward HIGBY (1684 - 1775) - Born in Middletown, Middlesex Co., Connecticut, he married Rebecca WHEELER (1686 - 1771) there in 1706 and had eight known children. He died in Westfield, Middlesex Co., Connecticut.

Ahnentafel #368B - Isaac HIGBY (1709 - 1766) - He spent his entire life in Middletown, Middlesex Co., Connecticut. He married Dinah ELTON (1713 - bet. 1793-7) in 1730 and they had 13 known children.

Ahnentafel #184B - Daniel Elton HIGBY (1739 - 1829) - Born in Middletown, Middlesex Co., Connecticut, he married Martha IVES (b. 1742) there in 1766. They had four known sons and perhaps two others. In 1758, Daniel enlisted in the 7th Connecticut Company (Captain Timothy Hierlehey's company), during the French and Indian War. He died in Lewis Co., New York after moving there with his son Benjamin.

Ahnentafel #92B - Silas HIGBY (c. 1777 - c. 1855) - Not much is known about Silas, other than his birthplace of Middletown, Middlesex Co., Connecticut. His wife's name is unknown. They had 10 known children. It's not clear exactly when and where Silas died, although it likely was in New York, perhaps Constableville, Lewis County, where his first four children supposedly were born.

Ahnentafel #46B - Stephen HIGBY (1810 - 1873) - He was born in Constableville, Lewis Co., New York and married Hannah "Matilda" OSBORNE in 1840 in Ohio, probably in Bedford, Cuyahoga County. They had 11 known children, eight of whom survived childhood. About 1853-4, they removed to Alleghan Co., Michigan, and then again about 1857 they settled in Byron Twp., Kent Co., Michigan, where they lived out their lives and eventually died.

Ahnentafel #23B - Anna Matilda HIGBY (1861 - 1903) - She supposedly was born in Augusta, Carroll Co., Ohio, although that doesn't fit into her parents' migration journey, unless she was born on a trip back to Ohio to visit family. Both her immediate older and younger siblings were born in Byron Center, Byron Twp., Kent Co., Michigan, where her family had settled several years before her birth. She married John Dennis CONCIDINE (1854 - 1925) in 1879 in Kent Co., Michigan. They had seven children, five of whom survived childhood. Anna died at the age of 42 in Byron Township, due to septic periotonitis, usually caused by a ruptured appendix.

Ahnentafel #11B - Nellie Mae CONCIDINE (1883 - 1953) - my paternal grandmother's adoptive mother; She was born in Byron Center, ByronTwp., Kent Co., Michigan and married Alfred Henry HOLST (1882 - 1952) in 1905 in Byron Center. She died in Coopersville, Ottawa Co., Michigan. Nellie and Alfred had three children, with only one surviving infancy, before they adopted my paternal grandmother.

Ahnentafel #5 - Jane Marie YORK (a.k.a. Jeanne Marie HOLST) (1924 - 2012) - my paternal grandmother, an adoptee. She was born Jane Marie YORK, and was adopted by Alfred Henry HOLST and Nellie Mae CONCIDINE. Her name was changed at adoption. She married Robert Louis ROBBINS (1920 - 2003) in 1940.

Ahnentafel #2 - my father (living)

Ahnentafel #1 - myself

More About the HIGBY Family:

1. Online database (I update this at least once a month): HIGBY ancestors and relatives (no info on living persons available)

2. Posts about HIGBY ancestors and relatives on this blog

3. Some scanned HIGBY photos

4. Edward Higby and His Descendants by Clinton David Higby, Ph.D., 1927. Still under copyright, available in many genealogy libraries.

Surname Saturday: FREDENBURG

The FREDENBURG family was a Dutch colonial one. The emigrant ancestor supposedly was William VAN VREDENBURGH, a soldier for the Dutch West India Company. He apparently came to New Amsterdam (now New York City) in 1658.

The name FREDENBURG has multiple spellings and evolutions. Some of them include: FREDENBURGH, FRIEDENBURG, FRIEDENBURGH, FRADENBURG, FRADENBURGH, and (VAN) VREDENBURCH.

So far, I've only been able to trace my ancestry through my 4th-great-grandfather's generation, with any accuracy and sources. Information shared with me and that which I have seen online (unverified, of course), hints that my Anthony FREDENBURG is likely the great-great-grandson of immigrant Willem. Other information claims to trace back Willem's ancestry another five generations to Hugo VAN VREDENBURCH.

Stories and History:

Ahnentafel #92 - Anthony FREDENBURG (1816 - 1881) - born in Tackannae, Schoharie Co., New York; died 15 June 1881, probably in Greenwood Twp., St. Clair Co., Michigan. He married Hannah FOX (c. 1814 - c. 1890) in 1837 in Middleburg, Schoharie Co., New York. He was supposedly a son of John FREDENBURG (1789 - 1857) and Charity/Geertje MILLER (1792 - 1873).

Ahnentafel #46 - Sylvester FREDENBURG (1844 - 1879) - Civil War veteran; read more about him here.

Ahnentafel #23 - Mary Jane FREDENBURG (1875 - 1962) - born in Chesterfield Twp., Macomb Co., Michgan. Married four times; her first marriage was to my ancestor, Orlando BARBER (1868 - 1910). She died in Lapeer, Lapeer Co., Michigan (obituary).

Ahnentafel #11 - Mary Jane BARBER (1909 - 1975) - read her AnceStory here. She also married at least four times. I don't have one of her husbands listed in her biography yet. Again, I descend from the first husband, Howard Merkel YORK (1898 - 1945).

Ahnentafel #5 - Jane Marie YORK (a.k.a. Jeanne Marie HOLST) (1924 - 2012) - my paternal grandmother, an adoptee. She was born Jane Marie YORK, and her biological mother was Mary Jane BARBER. Her name was changed at adoption. She married Robert Louis ROBBINS (1920 - 2003) in 1940.

Ahnentafel #2 - my father (living)

Ahnentafel # - myself

More About the FREDENBURG Family:

1. Online database (I update this at least once a month): FREDENBURG ancestors and relatives (no info on living persons available)

2. Some FREDENBURG obituaries on my website

3. Posts about FREDENBURG ancestors and relatives on this blog

4. Some scanned FREDENBURG photos

5. Some scanned FREDENBURG documents

6. My  FREDENBURG Virtual Cemetery on Find A Grave

My FREDENBURG Immigration Trail:

Columbia Co., NY > Schoharie Co., NY > Yates (now Potter) Co., NY > Macomb Co., MI > Lapeer Co., MI > Genesee Co., MI > Ottawa Co., MI > Alaska > Stevens Co., WA > Spokane Co., WA

Wordless Wednesday: MARTIN Twins, Mother Angelia R. MARTIN, and Grandfather Isaac LUKE

Left to right: Isaac Luke, Leona Mary Martin, Angelia Rebecca (Luke) Martin, Lee Joseph Martin. C. 1915. Unknown location (possibly South Dakota). Original photograph privately held by Karen Coro, [ADDRESS FOR PRIVATE USE], Connecticut. 2013.

Tuesday's Tip: Elephind.com

Thanks to a heads up from one of my Facebook friends, I learned of a great new search engine targeted specifically for searching in digital newspaper collections, called Elephind. In fact, it searches across 14 collections in four countries, with more to be added. These include such well known sites such as the Chronicling America (the U.S.'s Library of Congress) and Trove (National Library of Australia), as well as smaller collections like Door County Library in Wisconsin. The statistics are impressive: over 1,000 titles, nearly 1,100,000 issues, and over 45 million articles and items. The date ranges cover 5 March 1803 through 2 June 2011.

One can search across ALL the collections with both standard and advanced search features. The advanced search features allow one to search in both text and titles. I did a trial search for my children's unusual ancestral surname, Westaby, and came up with 65 hits; 56 from the U.S. and nine from Australia. Results can be sorted by relevance, newest or oldest publication date. Additionally, the results are listed by location, source (collection), publication (title) and decade in the left-hand margin, for ease of filtering. Using this site, I was able to find several obituaries and articles for the Westaby family that I did not yet have.

Veridian, the software behind the search engine was "signed specifically to organize large digitized newspaper collections and make them easily accessible to anyone online." Many of the collections listed at Elephind were originally created with Veridian. This allows the results to be "fast, accurate, and relevant." Interestingly enough, the site is hosted in the cloud, as are a number of the collections.

This search engine site is worthy of bookmarking and being added to one's genealogical toolbox!

Surname Saturday: SNOOK (SCHNUCH)

The SNOOK family, originally spelled SCHNUCH, was a German one which joined one of the latter waves of immigration from the Palatinate to the Hudson River Valley in New York State. Over time, the spelling was Anglicized to "Snook". I have been unable to determine the meaning of the name.

Stories and History:

Ahnentafel #1344 - Johann Theis SCHNUCH (c. 1675 - c. 1714) - Johann was born in Vielbach in the Palatine. On 9 Jul 1708, he married Maria Magdalena OSTER (b. c. 1688) in Germany (probably the Palatine). I do not have death places for him or Maria, so I do not know if they migrated to North America with their children.

Ahnentafel #672 - Johannes SCHNUCH - born in Grenzhausen, the Palatine, he married Juliana Catharine Stroder KLEE on 20 Feb1732/3. I have very little information on this couple; however, they must have immigrated to North America, because at least one child was born there.

Ahnentafel #336 - William SNOOK (1742 - 1812) - born in either Dutchess County, New York or in New Jersey, he married Elizabeth [?] and had at least one child born in Union County, Pennsylvania. It is believed that his place of death is somewhere in Pennsylvania.

Ahnentafel #168 - Mathias SNOOK (1775 - 1852) - he is the first SNOOK ancestor for which I have any solid information. He was born Union County, Pennsylvania and married Maria Christina KLECKNER there in West Buffalo Township. They had eleven known children and eventually moved to Clinton County, Pennsylvania. It was there, in Loganton, that both Mathias and Maria died.

Ahnentafel #84 - Levi SNOOK, Sr. (1807 - 1889) - born in West Buffalo Township, Union County, Pennaylvania. In 1826 he married Margaretha WOLFART (1806 - 1882) in Centre County, Pennsylvania and had at least 10 children; I'm still sorting out possible others besides those listed in his grandson's biography here. Levi and his wife lived their remaining days in Centre County; they died and were buried there.

Ahnentafel #42 - Reuben Wolford SNOOK (1833 - 1912) - his biography can be found here, and a photo of him and his second wife appears here.

Ahnentafel #21 - Rebecca Catherine SNOOK (1865 - 1960) - her life has been sketched out here.

Ahnentafel #10 - George Rice WESTABY, III (1890 - 1972)

Ahnentafel #5 - Helen Mary WESTABY (1915 - 1997)

Ahnentafel #2 - my children's paternal grandfather (living)

Ahnentafel #1 - my children's father (living)

More About the SNOOK Family:

1. Online database (I update this at least once a month): SNOOK ancestors and relatives (no info on living persons available)

2. Some SNOOK obituaries on my website

3. Posts about SNOOK ancestors and relatives on this blog

4. Some scanned SNOOK photos

5. My  SNOOK Virtual Cemetery on Find A Grave

The SNOOK Immigration Trail:

Vielbach, the Palatine, Germany > Grenzhausen, the Palatine, Germany > Dutchess Co., NY > Union Co., PA > Clinton Co., PA > Centre Co., PA > Custer (now Rosebud) Co., MT > Dawson Co., MT > Yakima Co., WA > Thurston Co., WA > Clark Co., WA > Spokane Co., WA