Did Your Ancestor Provide Services to a President?

Finding A Presidential Connection

George Washington Papers, LOC

Those on a President's political staff or even on the household staff were not the only one's who served the Presidents.  There were favored dressmakers, barbers, and other skilled persons who were documented in newspaper articles, presidential papers, journals and diaries. Have you checked for your ancestor?

One of the a3genealogy brainstorming games we play to bring down colonial and Revolutionary war era brick walls is entitled "6 Generations of George Washington." How was this ancestor associated with Washington? But a relationship can often be highlighted with our ancestor's and any era-specific President, especially if your ancestor resided in the same region, state, or community. Of course, sometimes, the relationship can be quite obscure, subjective, and unfounded and best kept as a game. 

Where to Start - Crossed Paths

Of course not all of our ancestor's were favored tailors, barbers, or vitners of a President, but many researchers overlook the possibility.  A good place to start is by creating a timeline: could paths have crossed?

William Florville - A Barber

Young Abe and William Florville crossed paaths in a wooded area. This chance meeting created a life long relationship. Even President Lincoln had to control his thick head of curls and needed to groom his beard and the barber Billy was just the person for the job.

William Florville (Fleurville), a free-Haitian, was Lincoln's barber for 24 years.  Florville's Barbershop was a "loitering" spot for Lincoln and other political members.

Springfield, IL Street Plaque

More information on Willaim Florville and President Lincoln can be found at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Museum and Library (Illinois Preservation Society). Other ancestral discoveries may be made among the stacks at the various Presidential libraries. You may find correspondence and confirm ancestral relations associated with a President.

Political Movements and Campaigns

Be sure to create a timeline of your ancestor's residence during Presidential elections.  The local newspapers are usually a-buzz on activities of local political parties and Presidential supports.  War time elections produced a surge of local interests pieces in the newspapers, many naming citizens by name.

In Rutherford, NC, much was found on J.B. Carson, the editor of the Rutherford Star, a leader in the Civil War era Republican party.  As much was written on the Democratic leader, Randolph Shotwell in the Western Vindicator of  Rutherford.  But the news did not stop there.  The Rutherford Star and the Western Vindicator used their white-space as warfare.

Over the 1864-1868 period, articles were splattered regarding those involved in the  Lincoln party as well as Lincoln's opponents of the Democratic party, even naming  active and supportive members of the Ku Klux Klan who pledged their allegiance to the party.  Perhaps your ancestor was one of the infamous arrested in the KKK raid of 1869.

A Political Campaign

The Abraham Lincoln Council Union League of America (ALCULA) followers, like Wiley (Tobe) Morris, led committees in towns across America to gain supports even in the south.  In the Rutherford Star, a list of organizers led me to locating ancestor's and extended family members thought to have left the area. 

African Americans and Presidential Service

Like Florville other African Americans also played a role serving presidents allowing researchers to discover unknown information on their ancestors.  In a recent visit to Springfield Illinois I discovered the Elizabeth Keckley who contributed to the life of Mary Todd Lincoln (exhibit at The Lincoln Museum and Library). 

The National Archives Archives.gov featured the dress maker Ann Lowe, "who had designed gowns for the matrons of high society families" including that of Jacqueline Bouvier.

E. Keckley, LOC

Elizabeth Keckley - A DressMaker

Mary (Todd) Lincoln, a socialite and southern belle, surely needed dresses designed, tailored, and made for conversation.  Her dressmaker and confidant through the years was Elizabeth Keckley, African American.  More can be leard from the Documenting the American South Series.

Ann Lowe - A Dress Maker

Jacqueline Bouvier’s ivory 50 yards of ivory silk taffeta silk wedding gown was draped and designed by Ann Lowe, an African-American dress-maker born in Grayton, Alabama required and took more than two months to make.

Hope you find a Presidential Connection

Kathleen Brandt

a3Genealogy@gmail.com

Connect to FGS 2011 Media Center

Federation of Genealogical Societies (FGS)

(click link to page)

Sept. 7-10

Eastern European Research

Immigrant Ancestor Research

Map from About.com Eastern Europe Travel website 

The Map of Eastern Europe reminds us that there are ethnic groups and countries we are familiar with, i.e. Poland, Czech, Hungary, Croatia, Lithuania.  But there are also clusters of culturally and ethnically unknown people and countries, i.e. Carpatho -Rusyn, Moldova, and Banat. These faintly known ethnic groups also migrated to America.  So where do you go to research?

Recently I attended the FGS2011 seminar Demystifying Eastern European Research with Lisa Alzo, author of Best Online Resources For East European Genealogy on the Archives.com website who gave us a few great tips. 1) Join a genealogy society that concentrates in your research area. For a listing of ethnic genealogical societies, do a basic google search 2) Conduct as much research as possible stateside prior to doing in-country research. Like all ethnicmgenealogy, you need to pinpoint immigrant's villa/township of origin.  3) Consider hiring an in country researcher (for translation assistance and due to their familiarity with records), or one familiar with your ethnic group and associated records.

Apply Genealogical Principles and Tools
Surely these same tips should be applied to Italian (Greek, Spanish etc.) ancestors. But, for some of us, just knowing that less familiar ethnic genealogical societies exist is a good place to start.  Alzo suggested the Federation of East European Family History Societies (FEEFHS) website as a good place to begin your research.

Just for kicks, I also visited the Family Search Wiki website to see if they had any reference to Banat.  True enough, there was information: https://wiki.familysearch.org/en/Banat. So, again I would say this is typical immigrant ancestor research and I would reference many of the traditional sources like Family Search Wiki, and Cyndi's List.

So Why Is it Different?

Basic genealogical research principles apply, so how hard can it be?  This is what I can tell you... wars, language, scattered records, and violent boundary changes are a few headache producing issues, not to mention some restricted releases of documents, and of course the expected number of destroyed documents.  This is not to say that your research can't be done; yet, patience and perseverance is the key. Know that Eastern European research should not be done in a vacuum.  As Alzo suggested, enroll other researchers; join an ethnic society; and perhaps solicit others to assist (perhaps for-hire researchers).

Should You Hire A Professional Researcher?

At a3Genealogy we will never discourage a family researcher from digging into records, and conducting their own family, but, if you aren't sure if you need to hire a professional, here is a good indication. If you think Rusyn is Russian misspelled, you may wish to hire a researcher (like Alzo) for assistance.  If you are allergic to map plotting, border changes, or if country name changes make your head explode, these too are indications that perhaps hiring a researcher (or consultant) may be the answer. 

Good luck on you Eastern European research.

Kathleen Brandt

a3Genealogy@gmail.com

Religion Influencing Genealogy

Using Religious Migratory Paths to Follow Ancestors

Mennonites in the Vistula Delta and river valley (Northern Poland)
Bethel College, http://www.bethelks.edu/mla/vistula.php

There are so many patterns of migration that we follow as family researchers: migration patterns due to wars, due to famine, due to plagues and epidemics, but what about politics and religion.  Politics and religion have always had a reciprocal causality effect, where the events in religion (or history) are either a result of ancestors' action; or ancestors' actions are the result of a religion, political or historical event.  By determining your ancestor's religion, you may be able to trace the family to a particular country.  You may even be able to develop a migratory route of immigrants, especially if they followed an expected path following religious persecution or in search for religious freedom.

Where Are the Records?

Did your ancestors come from the Netherlands before arriving in the New World, Plymouth, in 1620 instead of a direct route from England? Perhpas you should be researching Pilgrim migratory paths. It has been confirmed that the Pilgrims had a 12 year stop-over in the Netherlands.  Does this explains why you cannot find the British records expected?

In the FGS (Federations of Genealogical Societies) session "Religious Migration History and Genealogy, David Ditts, AG of the Family Search Track gave a detailed outline of religious impacts and migrations to the New World.  Using religious history and timeline references of early American history, genealogists have a useful tool to tracing an immigrant ancestors.  

Narrow Ancestor's Settlement in New World

So. Baptist, Congregationalist, Puritan/Pilgrims

Often researchers use religious migrations to narrow ancestor's settlements.  Recently I followed a Southern Baptist family.  As expected this Texas family was located in Baptist records in Pennsylvania, and in earlier Congregationalists records after the Puritan and Pilgrims merged. This is the expected religious evolution of traditional Southern Baptist families. Knowing that most Baptists followers were early Congregationalist allowed me to follow this religious family back to Europe. Ditts mentions that there were more than 575,000 Congregationalist in 1775, like the Congregational Church of Connecticut. The New England Historical Society and other new England genealogical societies hold many diaries, letters and reports of these church records. 

History of Huguenots

Much is written on the Huguenots and Moravians, but many fail to understand their religious evolution.  In the New World, early Huguenots settled many towns. It's not well known that many Huguenots that left France about 1562, moved to Germany (Netherlands or England) and later settled Jacksonville, FL (1562-1565).  For more information visit National Huguenots Society.

Presbyterian

Following a Presbyterian ancestor of the Appalachian, a family researcher may be able to trace his Scottish or Irish roots.  In 1775, there were an excess of 310,000 Presbyterians according to Ditts. For my family we found the John Morris, Irish family in Rutherford, NC. 

Catholic Ancestry

We easily make and association of Spanish or French Catholics, but did you know Maryland can boast the largest settlement of early English Catholics (1634)?  I have located records at the Maryland State Historical Society.  Perhaps your ancestor can be found in these early settlement records.  For more information visit Family Search Wiki, England Nonconformist Church Records.  

Kathleen Brandt

a3Genealogy@gmail.com

The Help - African American Families, Too

The Strader's from Kansas

In the early 60's when the nation was in racial turmoil, the Strader family moved to Kansas City. This family was from central Kansas, Amish territory in Buhler, Kansas (Reno County), originally from Comanche County when the family moved in 1894; and Lyons, Kansas (Rice County) also late 1890's.

There was one African Family in both towns (Buhler and Lyons).  These African American families settled in Reno and Rice and Comanche County Kansas in the late 1800's.  Their children attended the all white schools, worked in the communities and participated in the town activities. So by 1960, there were 3 generations of African Americans who had lived in these white communities. But the young families chose to move to Wichita, Kansas City or any larger city for work and marriage.

Back to the Strader's

The Strader's did fairly well in Kansas City. As teachers, they were able to have a nanny, cleaning woman, and a laundry woman and milkman.

Mama Nina assisted with the 4 children. Mama Nina, a Mexican descendent, had a strong accent, spoke broken English, but also contributed to the children being bilingual. She worked in the home 5 days a week and was primarily hired to take care of the 6 week old son, Rhett. She was employed by the family for over 12 years, even though some times there were calls of her being fired like when she scorched the good work shirts, or when the children asked for pork chops to be prepared for lunch instead of the planned tuna fish salad. Mama Nina complied, and dinner was slim that night.

Before Mama Nina, there was Pat, the woman who was fired for bringing her little brother to work, there was cousin Janice who worked for the family while in Emporia for the summers, and there were others.

There was the laundry woman who charged $5.00 a basket to press laundry.  The basket was dropped off in the morning and ready for pick up after work.

Ms Geneva was the house keeper. She was an African American woman from Texas, that all the children were afraid of. She would wrap a scarf on her head, squint her eyes, and mumble in a southern dialect that was incomprehensible to scared children. She worked without conversation and dared the children (with her eyes) to walk on her freshly vacuumed carpet or touch the toothbrush-cleaned light switches.

There was Milkman Ken who knew the children changed the orders as soon as their parents left the house, but delivered the chocolate milk and other treats anyway. When discovered, this was one more close call for Mama Nina's employment. She knew the  milkman orders were being changed.

Summer for the Strader's

Mother and Father were teachers, and summers were dedicated to furthering education. So in the summers the Strader's closed up the Kansas City house, and moved to Emporia for the summer months. Emporia Kansas was the home of Emporia State Teacher's College (later Emporia State University). The children would leave the summer house every morning to attend camps, piano lessons, and summer schools while the parents worked toward post graduate degrees.

But the rewards were great. Right before school started in the fall, there was always the family-loved seven to fourteen day vacations. Each year there was a new destination with, of course, an educational and historical undertone.

This is My African American Family

Perhaps I should mention the Strader's were an African American family, (maiden name: Kathleen Strader). Plenty of African Americans had domestic help for children and chores.

Recently I read The Help, by Kathryn Stockett. But I wonder how the story would read if it written about the help hired in black American families. Was the struggle different? Were the expectations different? If not the racial struggle in the 60's were there others that polarized the community? I can only reflect on my own childhood. My parents had their share of "help."

Perhaps this is a topic to be analyzed and discovered by future generations, those a bit further removed.

Kathleen Strader Brandt

a3genealogy@gmail.com

Should Genealogists Care About Voter Registers?

Don't Pass Over Voter Registers 

California Voter Register 

As genealogists we have favorite records -  the records we go to immediately when looking for our ancestors.  For some that may be census records, for others military records.  But, few researchers claim voter registers as their favorite set of records. But why not? These records can really move along your family research. Here are just a few ways I've used these records to solve mysteries.

Is Your Ancestor On the Voters List?

Voting rights have historically been reserved for citizens, but privileges comes with a plethora of law changes. Knowing the laws will help.

• For example in 1867 ex-slaves were added to the voter registrations. In 1920 women were extended the privilege to vote thanks to the ratification of the 19th Amendment.
• If you are researching in Europe, you will find that typically only land-owners were added to voter rolls.
• Another note of importance -  not all registered to vote, often because they never naturalized. Many of our immigrant ancestors never became naturalized citizens, but their country-born children were eligible to vote. 

Uses of Voter Registration

Separate Common Named Ancestors

When researching common named ancestors, family historians can not afford to overlook voter registration records (when available).  Identifying ancestors by age, nativity and occupation, I use voter registers to create a preliminary snap shot of an ancestor's residence. You must pair your ancestor's name with other distinctions: age, occupation, country of nativity (may simply state the country of Kentucky) to separate common named ancestors (especially if the name is repeated within families). Some voter registrations list physical descriptions: height, unique marks, etc.

Voter Registers and Land Claims

What good is a land deed, if you don't know which Moses owned it?  Sometimes, the deed itself will note Sr. or Jr. or a wife's name to assist the researcher, but what if these distinctions are omitted? My Moses was born in 1804, his youngest son 1848 and a grandson, a descendant of an older son, born in 1855, was also named Moses. It did not help that generations of this family died intestate (without a will). Using voter registrations coupled with the census records, tax records, deeds and probates, this active migratory family was traced making it easier to determine the owner of various land plats based on dates and county of residence.

Where Was Your Ancestor Naturalized?

It's not enough to know that your ancestor was naturalized. To obtain records, you may need to identify the specific court  (not all were naturalized in Federal Courts even after 1906).  You may find the court of naturalization listed on the voter register. 

Where to Find Voter Register Records

After an online state and county search, turn to the State Archives or State Historical Society to retrieve any salvaged records like that at the Colorado State Archives. Of course these records may be found at a local level.

For More Information

• Family History Library has a healthy catalog of voter registration records also.
• Ancestry.com offers various Chicago Voter Registrations between 1888-1892, and California Voter Registers, 1866-1898 and 1900-1968. 
•  Be sure to reference Cyndi's Lists: Voters, PollBooks, Electoral Records: Locality Specific.

Kathleen Brandt, a3genealogy@gmail.com 

Civil War Speaker Series

Kathleen Brandt

Audience: All levels of researchers may benefit (Beg, Interm, Adv)

For More Information: a3genealogy@gmail.com; 816-729-5995Location

Civil War Series

CW101: 10 Best Bets to Civil War Research

CW102: Finding the Elusive Civil War Ancestor

CW103: African Americans Served Too

CW104: Civil War POW Records

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CW101: 10 Best Bets to Civil War Research 

Abstract:

If your family lived in the United States in the 1860s, chances are you're related to someone who served in the Civil War. Perhaps your great- or great-great-grandfather was among the 2.1 million men mustered in the Union Army or the 800,000 to 900,000 men who were on the Confederate side. Or maybe a great-aunt served as a scout, nurse or spy. She may even have been among the several hundred females who, disguised as men, actually fought on the ground.

The Civil War touched the life of every citizen. The Union enlisted nearly 180,000 black soldiers. African Americans also served with Confederate forces as laborers and servants — and a handful even served as soldiers at the end of the war. Native Americans were involved in the western theater for the Union and defended Southern lands with the Confederacy.  Many records to uncover your Civil War veteran are overlooked.

Description:

This PowerPoint presentation provides the researcher with tips, hints and hidden resources to uncover Union and Confederate Soldiers, and women who served or supported troops. It also discusses why your ancestor may not have served.  Handouts will be available.

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CW102: Finding the Elusive Civil War Ancestor

Abstract:

Many family researchers have given up on finding information on their civil war era ancestor.  Perhaps, they can’t find any record verifying that they ever served in the Civil.  Or maybe they can’t understand why their perfectly aged ancestor didn’t serve in the war.  Or were your ancestors in one of the five Confederate dominate states – the Carolinas, Virginia, Mississippi, and Alabama – where many records were lost? You may wish to extend your search to the Provost Marshal Records and Adjutant General Office records.

Description:

This PowerPoint presentation guides the researcher through revealing NARA Civil War records.  Various Provost Marshal and other records held at the NARA will be discussed, as well as State held records. Handouts will be available.

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CW103: African Americans Served Too

Abstract:
African Americans served in both the Union and Confederate armies. Some served by choice, some as substitutes for a slave master, or as part of an emancipation agreement. Of course there were also the Free-coloreds and runaway slaves.

Over 180,000 African Americans comprising 163 units served in the Union Army during the Civil War, and many more African Americans served in the Union Navy.  African Americans were being recruited for the United States Colored Troops as early as 1863;  many were granted veteran pensions.  By the end of the war, the Confederate armies also made allowance for African American recruits. Final burial places, POW camps, State and Federal records may lead the researcher to their African American Civil War veteran.

Description:

This PowerPoint guided workshop presents the researcher with a compilation of resources, links and repositories to uncover their African American Civil War veterans. Historical and political impact of the African American soldier is also discussed. Handouts will be available.

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 CW104: Civil War POW Records

Abstract:

It's impossible to research the Civil War era, without reviewing POW records. There were more than 160 prisons holding 647,000 prisoners captured during the Civil War. Many were paroled in the field, but 215,000 Confederate soldiers (and citizens) were held in Union prisons; 26,000 died while being held.  Of the 195,000 Union soldiers (and citizens) held in Confederate prisons, 30,000 died while imprisoned.  Although some records were destroyed and burials places removed, many records have survived and may be used to locate your Civil War veteran. These records confirm burials, prisoner's exchanges, escapes and more.

Description:

This PowerPoint presentation gives the researcher an overview of the most notorious Union and Confederate POW camps, and lesser known camps in various states. Helpful resources to POW Civil War research will be provided. Handouts will be available.

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Bio:

Kathleen Brandt is a Professional International Genealogist and Consultant and is a published freelance writer for genealogy magazines and columns. She is also the author of the a3Genealogy educational and skill building blog that explores various cultural and ethnic folk life, traditions, history, and genealogy research tips. Utilizing twenty years as an international corporate executive and five years of teaching college level Spanish, French and English writing courses, Kathleen offers workshops and lectures to the genealogy community and is a consultant for various corporate historical, cultural, and genealogy projects. As a multilingual speaker, she translates Spanish, French, and Italian records and has experience researching German, Swedish and Hellenic records. Celebrated clients: NBC, Who Do You Think You Are? Season 2 and Season 3 (2011-2012); featured on Tim McGraw episode; and PBS- Finding Your Roots. Visit website: www.a3genealogy.com.