Worldwide Genealogy: AncestryDNA Process for Newbies (Including Me!)

So you have DNA tested with Ancestry. Now what?

My husband and I first had our DNA testing done in 2012 using an autosomal test offered by Ancestry. My two brothers and my 83-year-old mother tested the next year, which turned out to be the year before she died. Dad's dementia did not enable him to understand spitting into a vial. But earlier this year his 89-year-old brother tested. Currently, I administer the results of 11 DNA tests and another 6 are at the lab being processed. I still consider myself a DNA research rookie.

Several of the tests are first cousins on my maternal side. None of us know much about our grandfather, the family Gustav Lange (1888-1963), and more than half of my 11 Lange cousins are helping me in my research by agreeing to DNA test. I have uploaded Mom's raw DNA test results and a gedcom version of her tree to GEDMATCH.com because there is a group of Society of German Genealogy in Eastern Europe (SGGEE) members who share DNA with Mom who understand chromosome matching. I do not. Therefore, this post is about how someone with a limited understanding of DNA can use Ancestry DNA-related tools to further their research.

And I will attest to the success I've had using DNA even with a limited understanding of the science. Some successes:

1. Confirming my 4X great grandfather Samuel Beard, (1750-1814) was the brother of Capt. David Beard and the son of Adam Beard (1725-1777), which proved my previous research and enabled me to have him re-instated as a Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) patriot.
2. Identifying a new Beard cousin (descended through Capt. David Beard), whose uncle had written a book which described the family's wagon trip from Iowa to Colorado and California in the late 1890s.
3. Learning about my previously unknown great great grandmother Barbara Ann Mitchell, who descended from Robert Mitchell "the Immigrant," who was alive and living in Londonderry, Northern Ireland during the Seige of Derry in 1688-1689.
4. Having the opportunity to interview my first cousin once removed who was the son of Grandpa Lange's youngest brother about the family's experience during and between World War I and World War II
5. Proving that I had correctly identified the siblings of my great grandmother, Caroline (Ludwig) Lange.
6. Discovering a five times great grandfather was Robert Mitchell "the Elder" (1714-1799) and finding a book about one of his sons which included a personality profile about Robert Mitchell.

And more...

In order to take full advantage of what little I do understand about DNA, I needed to develop a process to follow when viewing, identifying, and managing the results of the tests as well as how I communicate with the people who have so graciously spit into the tube for me! I thought for my bi-monthly Worldwide Genealogy -- A Genealogical Collaboration, I would detail my DNA process. 

Please click AncestryDNA for Newbies (Including Me) to learn more.

Worldwide Genealogy: Incorporating and Integrating Evernote into My Research Process

I contribute a blog post once every other month on the 25th to Worldwide Genealogy -- A Genealogical Collaboration. I've begun incorporating Evernote into my research process due to my dissatisfaction with how the transcription of a document displays using "new" Ancestry.com.

This is a source citation I created from a non-Ancestry.com document I found on ScotlandsPeople. When I click the source link from the Sources column on the facts tab, the text is all jumbled and difficult to read:

Citation details of Robert Orr Muir's 1917 death registration; citation created by
me; image courtesy of Ancestry.com

This is not the entire Evernote "note" but it should give you an idea of how much better the display of the transcription information is than the two options Ancestry.com provides.

My Evernote public note about the death of Robert Orr Muir; image
courtesy of Evernote

I know I'm late to the Evernote party, but I would very much like to know how are you integrating Evernote with your your family tree software? I hope you will click over to my post for more details.

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Incorporating Evernote into My Research Process

World War II Army Awards and Decorations

My father-in-law was drafted into the U.S. Army on 7 April 1941 and today is the 71st anniversary of his honorable discharge. During his active service he earned or was awarded the following medals, ribbons and devices:

• Bronze Star Medal with One Oak Leaf Cluster -- awarded for heroic achievement or service, meritorious achievement or service, or meritorious service in a combat zone; each Oak Leaf Cluster denotes multiple awards
• Purple Heart Medal -- awarded for wounds suffered in combat
• Army Good Conduct Medal -- awarded to active duty military personnel who completed three years of honorable and faithful service
• American Defense Medal -- recognized military service members who were on active service between 8 September 1939 and 7 December 1941 (before Pearl Harbor was attacked and the U.S. entered the war)
• European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal with Three Bronze Battle Stars -- recognized military service members who performed military service in the European (including Africa and the Middle East) Theater of Operations; battle stars are awarded for each military campaign[1]
• World War II Victory Medal -- awarded to any military member who was on active service between 7 December 1941 and 31 December 1946

My father-in-law's ribbon "rack;" built using EZ Rack Builder[1]

On 16 May 1945, he was awarded the Bronze Star Medal with One Oak Leaf Cluster. His citation read:

Staff Sergeant PETER C. DAGUTIS, 36109224, Infantry, 2d Infantry Regiment, United States Army. For distinctive service in connection with military operations against the enemy during the period 20 September 1944 to 15 April 1945 in Europe. On innumerable occasions, Sergeant DAGUTIS, a squad leader, has voluntarily exposed himself to enemy fire for the safety and protection of his unit. In addition to directing the operation of his squad in SANRY-SUR-NEID, he commandeered a weapon and from the speed with which he completed fire missions, was largely responsible for the disruption of a desperate enemy counterattack. His courage, leadership and devotion to duty reflect great credit upon himself and the armed forces. Entered service from Michigan.

-- ALBERT E. BROWN

Major General, U.S. Army

Commanding

My father-in-law's Bronze Star Citation; personal collection

In addition to the medals and ribbons, he also received or earned the following:

• Combat Infantry Badge -- for active combat
• Expert Infantry Badge -- for attaining certain required infantry skills
• Driver and Mechanic Badge with Driver-W Bar (wheeled vehicles) -- awarded to soldiers who exhibited a high degree of skill in the operation and maintenance of motor vechicles
• Six Overseas Bars -- each bar denotes 6 months in a combat zone
• Honorable Discharge Lapel Button, better known among soldiers as the Ruptured Duck -- awarded to military service members who were honorably discharged during World War II

His uniform would have also included patches indicating rank and the units in which he served. In my father-in-law's case, the 5th Infantry Division and perhaps his 2nd Infantry Regiment patch.

Terrible picture of the shadowbox present I made for my
husband; personal collection

I collected over time all of my father-in-law's medals, ribbons, badges, pins, and patches and had a shadow box made for my husband as a birthday present several years ago. When my father, a Korean War veteran, saw it, he was most impressed with the Combat Infantry Badge, not to be confused with the Expert Infantry Badge.

Combat Infantry Badge; photograph courtesy of the U.S. Army

The Expert Infantry Badge is awarded to infantry men with certain specialities, after testing and exhibiting specific required skills. It is a merit badge, if you will. The Combat Infantry Badge was awarded to soldiers who were 1) infantry men satisfactorily performing infantry duties, 2) assigned to an infantry unit during such time as the unit is actively engaged in armed combat, and 3) actively participating in such ground combat. Campaign or battle credit alone is not sufficient for award of the Combat Infantry Badge. The badge is still awarded today. If you see a soldier wearing one, he has been in an actual ground battle and under enemy fire.

If you would like to learn more about the awards and decorations listed on your ancestor's Army discharge papers, I found the following sources very useful:

Army Regulation 600-8-22, Military Awards

Awards and Decorations of the United States Armed Forces, which includes links to explanations about individuals awards and decorations

Badges of the United States Army

If you are interested in purchasing your ancestor's Army awards, simply Google the term "Army medals" and you will find plenty of sources. Most of these sources include a slew of commemorative medals and ribbons, but none of them are listed in the Army military awards regulation. They do make nice keepsakes and momentos, but should not be confused with the official ones.

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[1] A few days ago, when reading The Army Ground Forces: The Organization of Ground Combat Troops, I learned 5th Infantry Division was informed in early July 1945 that it was entitled to credit for two additional campaigns. My father-in-law's honorable papers reflect only three campaigns as he separated from the Army in mid June. I have not yet updated his ribbon rack to accurately reflect the European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal with one silver star which is used instead of five Bronze Battle Stars. His updated ribbon rack would look like this:

Top row left to right: Bronze Star with one Oakleaf cluster, Purple Heart, and
Army Good Conduct Medal. Bottom Row left to right: American Defense
Service; European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign with one Silver Battle
Start; World War II Victory; image courtesy of EZ Rack Builder.

7 Tips When Researching Your U.S. Army World War II Soldiers
Women's Army Corps (WACs) in World War Two
Understanding the U.S. Army World War II Infantry Division
Army Campaign Streamers

Worldwide Genealogy: 7 Tips When Researching U.S. Army World War II Soldiers

After nearly 30 years of researching my father-in-law's WWII military service, which began on 7 April 1941 and ended on 18 June 1945, I now know where he was on almost every day of that time. My husband and I have taken many terrific trips visiting those places and learning more about where he served. So it's no surprise I like to write about the war experiences of my ancestors. To skirmishes with Native Americans prior to the Revolutionary War right through the Global War on Terrorism. However, I write most frequently about my Civil War, World War I and World War II veteran ancestors' experiences. Today, I'd like to share with you what I've learned about researching U.S. Army World War II veteran ancestor -- one of the millions of citizen soldiers Tom Brokaw called the "Greatest Generation."

My seven tips are:

1. Order his military service record
2. Learn about the specific unit in which he served
3. Understand the role he played in his unit
4. Record the awards and decorations he earned

My father-in-law's ribbon "rack;" built using EZ Rack Builder[1]

5. Learn about the campaigns in which he served
6. Use unit societies' websites and books about units
7. Don't forget your women ancestors

To read the details behind each tip and the resources to use and how to find them, click over to 7 Tips When Researching U.S. Army World War II Soldiers at Worldwide Genealogy -- a Genealogical Collaboration.

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Understanding the U.S. Army World War II Infantry Division
Army Campaign Streamers

The Cadastral Survey System Explained

My great grand uncle, Herbert Bartist Beck's farm land was spread across three different townships/ranges in Fergus County, Montana:

• 20 North Range 24 East, abreviated as T20N R24E
• T20N R25E
• T19N R25E

Each township/range was six square miles in size:

The above diagram indicates the three township/ranges where Herbert Beck bought land. Each township/range was divided into 36 sections, which were 640 acres in size. As an example, we will use Township 20 North, Range 24 East (T20N R24E):

Herbert Beck owned land in four sections of T20N R25E. Sections could be further subdivided, typically into quarters, each comprising 160 acres. Then those quarters could also be quartered. Each quarter of a quarter section was 40 acres. So Herbert Beck's land was located in the following areas of Fergus County:

This system of legal land descriptions makes so much sense to me. It is so much easier than trying to find land my ancestors bought in Virginia, for example, 300 years ago when the description uses creeks, old trees and other landmarks which may no longer exist.

To learn how I use the cadastral survey to locate my ancestor's land today, click Working with Land Patents and Plat Maps.

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All the diagrams included in this post were created using Microsoft Excel.

Understanding the U.S. Army World War II Infantry Division

The United States Army had studied its organization extensively after World War I and reorganized the infantry division in the 1930s and again in 1942 and 1943 after a series of large training exercises. The division that fought in World War II was a more compact offense force than in the previous war, carrying a minimum of defensive weapons, streamlined for open warfare, and backed up by other types of units as needed. "It was the smallest Army unit capable of operating completely independently."[1]

However, divisions were still what most would consider large organizations of about 14,000 men organically composed according to the Order of Battle of the United States Army World War II, European Theater of Operations, Divisions. They could be modified to suit any tactical situation by the attachment of other types of units, such as anti-aircraft, chemical, and engineer, etc. Central to the infantry division's mission was the rifle squad, composed of 8 to 24 men, though 12 was most typical.

Organization of a generic Army World War II infantry division
without the support and specialty unity which augmented
battalions, regiments and divisions; created using Microsoft
Powerpoint

My father-in-law, Peter Charles Dagutis (1918-1991) served as a Staff Sergeant during World War II, having been promoted to that rank from Private, with the 5th Infantry Division. The organic composition of his division included the following units:

Organic units of the 5th Infantry Division; image from Order of Battle of the
United States Army World War II, European Theater of Operations, Divisions

Divisions are attached to corps, corps to armies, and armies to an army group. For example, my father-in-law's chain of command was:

The Army officers in my father-in-law's chain of command; created using
Microsoft Excel

Lt. Gen. Omar Bradley reported to Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower, Supreme Allied Commander, Allied Expeditionary Force. When I am reading about World War II, I keep this chart nearby. Enlisted men are very rarely mentioned in the histories or even contemporary unit reports. The commanding officers are much more likely to be mentioned. If I spot a name on this chart, especially a name near the bottom, I make a note of it as whatever occurred may have involved my father-in-law. Knowing how the Army was organized and the chain of command also enables me to better understand combat narratives and the after action reports.

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[1] Forty, George. The Armies of George S. Patton, (London: Arms and Armour Press, 1996) , page 65.

Army Campaign Streamers

Worldwide Genealogy: 12-Step Program for New Online Collections

Today is my once every two-month day to collaborate on Worldwide Genealogy -- A Genealogical Collaboration with a post.

I recently learned that FamilySearch had a collection of Ohio death certificates for 1908 through 1953. This was news to me so I wanted to take maximum advantage of the collection. To do so, I have a workflow I use when I discover new online collections that may be relevant to my genealogy research.

My 12-step process for taking maximum advantage of new online document collections;
created using Microsoft Powerpoint

Preparation Steps

These are important steps for saving time and creating efficiency. They let me target specific individual, eliminate duplicate entries, and improve my knowledge of the availability of online sources.

Searching and Recording Steps

These are the actual "meat" of the process. The order of Steps 6 through 11 is just my personal preference. I find I get in a rhythm of search, discover, switch browser windows or tabs, record findings, etc. If I add too many different steps, I lose my rhythm and make mistakes. (I'm a terrible dancer, too!)

Wrapping-up Steps

These steps enable me to easily pick up where I left off if I have to end my research for the day. By updating my custom report of people with new findings, I can easily record where I stopped if I run out of time. I prefer to create source citation creations for many documents from one repository all at once (as it has its own unique rhythm). But it's totally up to you!

To learn more about each step, I hope you'll click over to my post at Worldwide Genealogy -- A Genealogical Collaboration.

Army Campaign Streamers

Today would have been my father-in-law's 98th birthday. In honor of his life and military service during World War II with Company H, 2nd Battalion, 2nd Infantry Regiment, 5th Infantry Division, I am starting an occasional series about what I have learned while researching his military service, which I have been doing for nearly 30 years. Today I'm describing Army campaign streamers. If you have visited a museum of a color-bearing Army organization, you've probably seen some of them.

Campaign streamers are ribbons that hang from the top of a military color-bearing unit's flag staff. Each streamer (2-3/4 inches by 4-feet long) is embroidered with the designation of a campaign and the year in which it occurred. The Army flag currently has 189 ribbons commemorating all of the campaigns in which the service fought since its founding in 1775. Individual color-bearing elements of the Army's organization are privileged to add streamers to their flags for each campaign in which they fought.

The concept of campaign streamers became popular in the Civil War when several Army organizations embroidered the names of battles on their organizational colors. This practice was replaced when Army units were authorized to place silver bands, engraved with the names of battles, around their flag staffs. American Expeditionary Force units in World War I were unable to obtain these silver bands so General Pershing authorized the use of small ribbons bearing the names of World War I operations. In 1921 all color-bearing Army organizations were authorized to use the campaign streamers currently used today.

Army flag with campaign streamers; source unknown

Each war or conflict includes a different number of streamers depending on how many campaigns comprised it and each war has a different ribbon design. The design of the streamers are also used for the campaign medals and ribbons soldiers are awarded. The specific names of the campaigns are embroidered on the ribbon.

World War II European Theater of Operations (green/brown) campaign streamers;
photograph courtesy of the 63rd Infantry Division

The complete list of Army campaign streamers, along with an image of the ribbon design, may be found here:

• Revolutionary War (16 streamers)
• War of 1812 (6 streamers)
• Mexican War (10 streamers)
• Civil War (25 streamers)
• Indian Wars (14 streamers)
• War with Spain (3 streamers)
• China Relief Expedition (3 streamers)
• Philippine Insurrection (11 streamers)
• Mexican Expedition (1 streamer)
• World War I (13 streamers)
• World War II (38 streamers)
• Korean War (10 streamers)
• Vietnam War (17 streamers)
• Armed Forces Expeditions (4 streamers)
• Southwest Asia (3 streamers)
• Kosovo (2 streamers)
• War on Terrorism (13 streamers)

My father-in-law's division earned five campaign streamers during World War II:

• Normandy
• Northern France
• Ardennes-Alsace
• Rhineland
• Central Europe

I began trying to collect the streamers several years ago and pretty easily was able to collect the first four streamers. However, Central Europe proved a challenge. A few weeks ago a seller on eBay offered that streamer and had a Buy It Now Button (love that thing!). I've cleaned the ribbons and am having them framed now as a gift to my husband.

World War II European Theater of Operations Central Europe campaign
streamer; image courtesy of UnitHistories.com

If you are interested in learning more information about your ancestor's Army service, then the Center for Military History is a good website to visit. If you want to read something informative buy quite dry, Army Regulation 600-8-22: Military Awards will explain campaign streamers in exhaustive detail.

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NOTE: My third cousin once removed, Haskins Thomas Farrar, served in 10th Infantry, 5th Infantry Division. He died on 19 November 1944. A previous post, Fortress Metz and the 5th Infantry Division, told his story.

I have written about my father-in-law's war experiences: Historic WWII Assault Crossing of the Rhine River, They Called It Ireland, and When Things Went Sour on the Sauer.

To read all my posts related to World War II, click here.

4 Things I've Learned about Researching Eastern European Ancestors

I have finally seriously begun to study how to research eastern European ancestors so I can begin to work on Mom's and my husband's sides of my family tree. One morning over coffee I was bemoaning the difficulties I have experienced. Pete agreed it sounded tough and said I should write a blog post about it so others who are thinking of doing the same thing will know about which issues to watch or take into consideration. I'm certainly no expert but am making progress in my education.

According to AncestryDNA eastern Europe includes these countries: Albania (northern), Austria, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Czech Republic, Estonia, Greece (northern), Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Macedonia, Moldova, Poland, Romania, Russia (European), Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Turkey (European), and Ukraine. It's as good a definition as any other I have found.

Map of Eastern European Ethnicity per AncestryDNA; image courtesy of
Ancestry.com

Regardless of the specific country in which you find your research taking you, most of these countries require knowing certain facts before you can truly begin to make progress. And they are:

1. What calendar was in use?

It sounds crazy, I know, but if you want to add a certain date to an ancestor's timeline that puts that information in context with your other known ancestors, then you will likely want to use the Gregorian Calendar, which is what we use today. The Gregorian calendar was named for Pope Gregory XIII, who introduced it in 1582.

The calendar is sometimes known as the Western or Christian calendar. Not surprisingly, Catholic European countries were first to convert to the new calendar. Protestant and Orthodox countries adopted the Gregorian calendar sometimes centuries later with Greece being the last country to adopt it in 1923.

I use this web page to determine what calendar the country in which I am researching was using at the time of the ancestor about whom I am working. Then I go to Stephen P. Morse's converter to determine what the Gregorian calendar date is for a record created using the Julian calendar. I enter the Gregorian date as the fact in my family tree and add a note in the description field that includes the original Julian calendar date with (Julian) in parenthesis. The recording of the facts about my paternal grandfather Gustav Lange's birth is a good example:

Gustav Lange birth fact in my family tree; image courtesy of Ancestry.com

You could use an alternate birth fact, but my personal preference is to keep all of the information together as it really was the same date. If I had a source that listed an entirely different date, then I would use the alternate birth fact to record that information.

2. What religion did your ancestors practice?

Religion was more important in the daily life of our ancestors than it is for many of us today. My maternal grandmother's family moved from what is now Maliniec, Poland, to what is now Ukraine, but was then Russia, primarily for economic reasons. However, Tsar Alexander II offered many inducements, including the freedom to practice a different religion from Russian Orthodoxy, which was the empire's official religion. When Tsar Alexander III came to power, he rescinded those inducements and jailed my grandmother's family's minister. They undertook a 5,000+ mile journey in 1893 to escape Russia in order to practice their German Baptist faith. Many from their community and church made the same journey at the same time and settled in the same area in Canada where they built a church together. Without knowing your ancestor's religion, you will not know in what churches to look for records if none exist at the civil authority.

Photograph of the congregation of the First Baptist Church of Fredericksheim
in Leduc, Canada, which my great grandfather helped build; photograph
courtesy of Lucille Marian (Fillenberg) Effa

3. In what country did your ancestors reside?

Country boundaries changed a lot over time in Europe, but especially in eastern Europe. Poland actually disppeared from the map in 1795 after the third partition of the country as Prussia, Russia, and Austria gobbled it up. Other countries lost wars and territory and there was a war somewhere in eastern Europe for much of history. It is important to know in what country the town or area in which your ancestor lived at the time your ancestor lived there. It's also important to know the contemporary name of the location in case you want to plot it on the map.

I typically enter the current place name in the location field and the historical name in the description field. I do this so that mapping function of my family tree software will work. If they lived in a very small village that is not recognized by my software, I enter the region and enter the village name in the description field. By knowing the country in which Zamosty was located at the time of Gustav's birth, I can use Wikipedia or the JewishGen town search to get the correct spelling or current place name. Because most of my eastern European ancestors lived in Poland and the Volhynia region, I joined the Society of German Genealogy in Eastern Europe. Members have created some of the best gazetteers I have found. If your ancestors are from other countries in eastern Europe, however, the society's resources will not be as helpful.

4. What was the national language and what language did your ancestors speak?

Once you know the country in which your ancestor resided, then you will likely have a good handle on the official language spoken there. However, be aware that some countries allowed administrative areas to speak different languages based on the majority nationality in the area as did Russia until the reign of Tsar Alexander III. If you are lucky enough to find records about your eastern European ancestors, then knowing the language in which the record was written will be extremely helpful as you will need to have the record translated. I find Facebook groups very helpful for translations, but I must know to which group to post the record.

My maternal grandfather's birth registration provides a great example of how you can get tripped up. Remember, Gustav Lange was born in 1888. His birth information was recorded in German on a form pre-printed in Russian! After 1894, his birth information would have been recorded in Russian due to a change in the law.

Gustav Lange's original birth certificate; personal collection

Knowing it was in German enabled me to obtain a translation from the German Genealogy Facebook group. I now understand there is another group specifically for German translations.

I have found it particularly helpful to read the Ancestry.com and FamilySearch.org wikis before I begin researching in a foreign country. I also spend a lot time reading about the history of the country, especially its internal civil procedures and how local governments were organized for administrative purposes.

I hope you found these tips useful. Please let me know if you have others.

Daniel Webster Jennings' Farm

I participated in Amy Johnson Crow's 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks challenge in 2014 and 2015. Last year Amy provided optional themes for each weekly post. For Week 34, the theme was the census non-population schedules. I wrote about the farm of my great great grandfather, John Wesley Riggin, and used the 1880 agricultural schedule as the source for a description of the farm.

Writing that post got me thinking about how to use those schedules to better understand how an ancestor's farming operation evolved over time and if I could discern economic conditions in their area using those schedules. I ran a report of the sources used in my family tree and discovered that I had three agricultural schedules for Daniel Webster Jennings, my great great uncle, for the years 1850, 1860, and 1880. In addition, a products and industry schedule for 1860 included an entry for him. He lived in Virginia during a time the commonwealth experienced great economic and social upheaval during and after the Civil War. It would be a good case study.

Daniel Webster Jennings was born about 1807 in Buckingham County, Virginia. His father was John William Jennings, Sr., a War of 1812 veteran, moved his family to Amherst County in the mid 1800s. By 1840 Daniel had married Martha Ann Staples and lived in Amherst County. They had one child and a young female slave.

When the 1850 census was enumerated, Daniel and Martha had six children ranging in age from 13 years old to two. Daniel owned 200 acres of land, 150 of which were improved, and his real estate was valued at $2,700 on the population schedule. He valued the land at $1,600 on the agricultural schedule. He had farming equipment valued at $75. While he owned 6 horses, 4 milk cows, 10 head of cattle, and 10 sheep, most of his livestock were swine, of which he had 160 animals. He valued that stock at $600. On the farm he grew wheat, Indian corn, oats, and Irish potatoes. His wife, Martha, oversaw the making of 200 pounds of butter.

By 1860, Daniel's farming operation had grown. He now owned 500 acres of land, of which 200 acres were improved, and he valued his farm equipment and machinery at $200. He owned 8 horses, 3 milk cows, 14 head of cattle, 25 sheep and 150 swine. He continued to grow wheat, Indian corn, and oats, as well as a small amount of peas and beans but his cash crop was now tobacco. He harvested 1,500 pounds in 1859.

Daniel also owned a mill in 1860. He invested $1,000 in the operation and hired one worker, who he paid $16. They milled 3,000 bushels of corn and Daniel valued that production at $3,300. It appears that Daniel owned another type of business, but I could not decipher what it may have been. The mystery business is the second entry underneath Daniel's name on the snippet below.

1860 Schedule 5--Products and Industry entry for Daniel W. Jennings;
image courtesy of Ancestry.com

The next year the Civil War began. No battles were actually fought in Amherst County, but there was a lot war related activity. Fort Riverview was constructed in Madison Heights to protect Six Mile Bridge, which was an integral part of a major Confederate supply route. At least three of Daniel's sons fought in the war.

According to the 1870 census, Daniel's real estate was valued at $1,000 and his personal property at $330. His oldest son lived next door and a younger son lived nearby. Their census entries did not include a value for real estate or personal property. Perhaps, the war did have a negative financial impact on Daniel or perhaps he had begun distributing his assets to his children?

In 1880, the Census Bureau changed the agricultural census quite a bit. Much more detail for each farm listed was now required. Daniel owned 350 acres of land, 150 less than in 1860. He farmed 175 acres and the remaining land was unimproved. He valued his farm equipment and machinery at $150 and his livestock at $500. The big change in the farm animals was that Daniel was no longer raising swine. However, he had many more sheep. He had reduced his tobacco growing to two acres, but the other crops remained the same. This agricultural schedule asked about orchards, chickens, and other farming related activities. Daniel had 50 chickens, raised apples and peaches, and kept bees for their honey. He also made a small amount of money from his forest land.

By using several non-population schedules over a period of 40 years, I was able to identify changes in Daniel's livelihood. What was less obvious, was the reasons for those changes.

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I used two Census publications to decipher the meaning of the non-population schedules used as sources in this post:

Agricultural Schedules: 1850 to 1890
Instructions, 1860 Decennial Census (products and industry)

Worldwide Genealogy: Writing about Scottish Soldiers in World War I

Today is the 25th so it's my day to contribute a bi-monthly post to Worldwide Genealogy -- A Genealogical Collaboration.  We're a group of global genealogy and family history bloggers so I try to write about topics with wide appeal. I thought what I've been learning about researching British soldiers during World War I might be such a topic. I had to go back to "school," so to speak before I succeeded in learning much.

Unfortunately, records about their service are spotty at best. German bombers struck the War Ministry repository in 1940. More than half of the military service records pertaining to World War I were destroyed.

Damage caused during September 1940 German bombing raid of London;
photograph courtesy of Wikipedia

I hope you'll click over to my post and read about what I've learned and what resources I use.

52 Ancestors Week #36: Occupations in a Coal Mine

Ancestor Name: Dedicated to all my coal mining ancestors

Like his father and grandfather before him, my great grandfather, Robert Muir, was a coal miner all his working life. He worked in both subsurface, or underground, mines and drift mines. According to my grandmother, his oldest daughter, he was an organizer for the United Mine Workers (UMW) of American and was blackballed from employment by mine owners and even shot at to encourage him to leave town. He may have been involved in the bloody West Virginia Mine Wars in the early 1920s as his daughter, Henrietta Muir, was born in Tralee, West Virginia, in 1920. Tralee was a company coal town of housing and stores for miners.

Tomorrow, on Labor Day in the United States, our holiday to celebrate the American labor movement and dedicated to the social and economic achievements of workers, I will post more about the West Virginia Mine Wars of 1920-1921. Coal miners had some of the hardest labor struggles in our Nation's history. Owners employed private detectives to stop union organizing efforts, used their political influence to enact laws that were tilted in their favor. They kept miners and their families on extremely short leashes. Miners were not paid in cash; they were paid in scrip, which could only be used in company-owned stores. These stores contained few choices at exorbitant prices. Housing was provided by the owners, but the cost was taken out of their wages. In anthracite mines fields of Pennsylvania, there were only two towns where miners could own their own property.

Company-owned miner housing in Tralee, West Virginia, where my
grand aunt, Henrietta Muir, was born in 1920; from Coal Towns of West
Virginia: A Pictorial Recollection by Mary Legg Stevenson

Today, I'd like to focus on the different occupations found in coal mines. Understanding these occupations and what the were required to do helped me understand the working lives of my coal mining ancestors much better. These are descriptions of the various jobs in a coal mine from the early 1800s until the mines became more mechanized.

Banksman -- a person in charge of the cages at the pithead that transported miners down into the mine and up at the end of their shift.
Bottomer -- a person who attended to the bottom of the shaft, usually where the cage that transported workers up and down the shaft
Breaker boys -- young children who worker in the breaker, sorting and breaking coal before it was dumped in a railroad car
Brakeman -- one employed to work the machinery used to raise coal up from the mine
Brusher -- a person employed to blast the roof or floor of the mine to give it more height

Pennsylvania breaker boys, 1911; courtesy of Wikipedia

Clearer -- unskilled labor used to clear away trash and other debris
Coal carrier -- people responsible for the transport of coal
Coalcawer -- person responsible for the transport of coal
Coal hewer -- person who cuts coal from the mine walls
Coaltrimmer -- person who stores or shifts coal on barges
Collier -- a person who works in a mine; it is a general term
Coupler -- usually a boy hired to connect tubs of coal into a train
Craneman -- a strong man who worked the crane

Dook headman -- a person who tended the top of a roadway incline
Drawer -- a person, often a child, who pushes or pulls a cart full of coal using ropes or chains

Engine tender -- a person who looked after and maintained the machinery that had engines

Furnace man -- the person who tended the air ventilation furnace

Hitcher -- a person who but the trams into the cage to raise or lower them

Journeyman -- between an apprentice and a master of a trade

Lamp keeper -- the person in charge of the lamps miners used so they had light while they worked

Pit shanker or shanksman -- a person who works at a coal pit, especially sinking, repairing, or inspecting shafts
Pit sinker -- a person who works sinking mine shafts
Pitman -- a person who works at a coal mine but at the surface and not usually underground
Putter -- a man or boy employed to bring carts from the coal face to the bottom of the shaft for removal

Postcard of a pit shaft and the cage that transported miners in and out of
the mine; courtesy of delcampe.net

Trapper -- a person, often a boy, who opens and shuts gates underground for people and coal to go through

This is my entry for Amy Johnson Crow's 52 ancestors in 52 weeks challenge optional theme Working for a Living.

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Tralee, West Virginia: A Coal Camp

52 Ancestors #35: Yearbooks for Personality

Ancestry.com has a collection of school and college yearbooks that includes priceless information about nearly 300 million people. I consider them priceless because they do a few things for my research I like very much:

• Pinpoints a person and likely their family in a specific place at a particular time that is often in between when the decennial census are enumerated
• Often includes a photograph
• Identifies whether they played sports or joined a club, indicating the interests of an ancestor

I enjoy adding these little snippets of personality to my tree and my blog writing. Here are a few examples of adding personality type color to your tree from recent research I'm doing for my aunt.

My Aunt Katherine's 3rd cousin; image courtesy
of Ancestry.com

Husband of Aunt Katherine's 2nd cousin once removed; image courtesy
of Ancestory.com

And my personal favorite from the 1920 Salem College Yearbook, Sights and Sounds:

My 4th cousin once removed; image courtesy of Ancestry.com

MAE HAIRSTON, Danville, Va.
Deal little Mae, the youngest member of our class. Smart? Well we'll say she is! Mae hails from Ole Virginia, and a more loyal soul of that dear old state never breathed. Everyone loves Mae; loves her generous heart and unspoiled frankness. Who would dream that in her heart she desires "Rights for women"? Well she does and we're proud of her!

More about Mae

I do have a few issues with how Ancestry.com prompts us to use these sources:

• After reviewing the record, they want to add it to my ancestor's timeline as a Residence fact. Frequently, in a large city that would be correct. If, however, it is a college or university yearbook, then the ancestor's residence is not always the city in which the institution of higher learning is located. This also applies to rural counties. The school may be located in the county seat, but my ancestor lived elsewhere in the county. I would prefer it if the school yearbook source citation would be added to the timeline as an Education fact.
• Ancestry.com is not smart enough to calculate the age based on the grade the person is in when they appeared in the yearbook. Instead, it assumes all people attending school are 16 years old. So do not expect the birth year associated with the record to be extremely accurate.

I usually add an Education fact to the timeline and go to the Facts and Sources tab to edit the source citation so that it is associated to the new Education fact and then go back to the timeline and delete the erroneous Residence fact.

To search this collection for your ancestors, click SEARCH >> CARD CATALOG from the navigation menu; enter School as your search term; and click U.S. School Yearbooks, 1880-2012. Or from an ancestor's detail page click the Search Records link under their name near the top of the page.  Then click Schools, Directories & Church Histories from the Search Categories in the left column.

Happy hunting!

This is my entry for Amy Johnson Crow's 52 ancestors in 52 weeks challenge optional theme School Days.

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An Early Feminist of the Very Best Kind

52 Ancestors #34: John Wesley Riggin's Farm

Ancestor Name: John Wesley "Wes" Riggin (about 1835-before October 1886)

One of my great great grandfathers was John Wesley "Wes" Riggin. He was born about 1835 in Illinois, likely Madison County, to Alfred and Sarah "Sallie" (Piper) Riggin. He married Mary Ramsey in 1858. When the 1860 census was enumerated, they had a 5-month-old baby named Josephine and John owned a farm valued at $800. His personal property was valued at $135.

Ten years later, he was a widower with three children and lived with his younger brother, William, who was the head of the household, his widowed mother, Sallie, and sister, Mary Jane (Riggin) Horton, and her young son.

Wes married Clementine Wells later that year. During the course of their marriage, they had six children -- five boys and one girl, who was my great grandmother, Ida Mae Riggin. Wes was a farmer until his death, which likely was sometime in 1888 before October. That month Clementine went to court to become the legal guardian of her minor children.

In an earlier blog post, I described the family farm in this way:

"The Riggin farm in Pin Oak Township was 38 acres, which Wes rented for shares of products he produced on the land. While on the small side, the farm seemed to be a going concern, used primarily to raise cereal crops, such as corn, oats and wheat, and Irish potatoes. Only two acres were wooded. Farm stock included 2 horses, 7 swine, and 23 chickens. The farmed produced about $400 a year in income and Wes hired hands for two weeks out of the year during harvest time."

How did I get such a specific description of the farm worked by Wes Riggin?

That's where the 1880 U.S. Federal Census Non-Population Schedules came in handy. Wes Riggin's farm was enumerated in that schedule on 3 June. I use another document, Agricultural Census 1850-1900 to explain the various fields on the schedule, which helps me describe ancestors' farms when I write. It was critical to even reading the schedule for Wes Riggin as the image was so poor.

1880 U.S. Federal Census Non-Population Schedule for Wes Riggin, a
farmer in Pin Oak Township, Madison, Illinois; image courtesy of
Ancestry.com

Let's break it down into the four parts of the schedule...

1880 Statistics of Agriculture: Schedule 2, first section of form; image
courtesy of Ancestry.com

The Census Act of 1879 provided for a more elaborate collection of statistics, and a new schedule for agriculture was adopted. This contained 100 questions related to 25 subjects. Although the sheets were of blanket form, but 20 farms could be entered, 10 on each page. The most important additions to this schedule were the questions of land tenure and those relating to the areas of the various crops. Inquiries for rice, cotton, and sugar cane were printed on the schedules for Southern states only.

For John Riggin, the following information was included:

• The Name: John Riggins
• Tenure/Owner:
• Tenure/Rents for fixed money rental:
• Tenure/Rents for shares of products: X (Yes)
• Improved: Tilled, including fallow and grass in rotation (whether pasture or meadow): [illegible], but I have settled on 38 after close examination of how enumerator wrote numbers and the number of acres planted in specific crops
• Improved: Permanent meadows, permanent pastures, orchards, vineyards:
• Unimproved: Woodlands and forest:
• Unimproved: Other unimproved, including "old fields" not growing wood:
• Farm value/Of farm, including land, fences, and buildings: $1,800
• Farm value/Of farming implements and machinery: $50
• Farm value/Of live stock: $100
• Fences/Cost of building and repairing in 1879:
• Cost of fertilizers purchased in 1879:
• Labor/Amount paid for wages for farm labor during 1879, including value of board: $10
• Labor/Weeks hired labor in 1879 upon farm (and dairy), excluding housework: 2 weeks
• Estimated value of all farm products (sold, consumed, or on hand) for 1879: $400
• Grasslands/Acreage, 1879/Mown:
• Grasslands/Acreage, 1879/Not mown:
• Grasslands/Products harvested, 1879/Hay:
• Grasslands/Products harvested, 1879/Clover seed:
• Grasslands/Products harvested, 1879/Grass seed:
• Horses of all ages on hand June 1, 1880: 2
• Mules and asses, all ages, on hand June 1, 1880:

1880 Statistics of Agriculture, Schedule 2, second part of form; image
courtesy of Ancestry.com

• Neat cattle and their products/On hand June 1, 1880/Working oxen:
• Neat cattle and their products/On hand June 1, 1880/Milch cows:
• Neat cattle and their products/On hand June 1, 1880/Others:
• Neat cattle and their products/Movement, 1879/Calves dropped:
• Neat cattle and their products/Cattle of all ages/Purchased:
• Neat cattle and their products/Cattle of all ages/Sold living:
• Neat cattle and their products/Cattle of all ages/Slaughtered:
• Neat cattle and their products/Cattle of all ages/Died, strayed, and stolen and not recovered:
• Neat cattle and their products/Milk sold or sent to butter and cheese factories in 1879:
• Neat cattle and their products/Butter made on the farm in 1879:
• Neat cattle and their products/Cheese made on the farm in 1879:
• Sheep/On hand June 1, 1880:
• Sheep/Movement/Lambs dropped:
• Sheep/Movement, 1879/Sheep and lambs/Purchased:
• Sheep/Movement, 1879/Sheep and lambs/Sold living:
• Sheep/Movement, 1879/Sheep and lambs/Slaughtered:
• Sheep/Movement, 1879/Sheep and lambs/Killed by dogs:
• Sheep/Movement, 1879/Sheep and lambs/Died of disease:
• Sheep/Movement, 1879/Sheep and lambs/Died of stress of weather:
• Sheep/Clip, spring 1880, shorn and to be shorn/Fleeces:
• Sheep/Clip, spring 1880, shorn and to be shorn/Weight:
• Swine/On hand June 1, 1880: 7
• Poultry on hand June 1, 1880, exclusive of spring hatching/Barnyard: 21
• Poultry on hand June 1, 1880, exclusive of spring hatching/Other: 2
• Eggs produced in 1879: 180

1880 Statistics of Agriculture, Schedule 2, third part of form; image
courtesy of Ancestry.com

• Cereals/Barley, 1879/Acreage:
• Cereals/Barley, 1879/Crop:
• Cereals/Buckwheat, 1879/Acreage:
• Cereals/Buckwheat, 1879/Crop:
• Cereals/Indian corn, 1879/Acreage: 21 acres
• Cereals/Indian corn, 1879/Crop: 1,000 bushels
• Cereals/Oat, 1879/Acreage: 4 acres
• Cereals/Oat, 1879/Crop: 100 bushels
• Cereals/Rye, 1879/Acreage:
• Cereals/Rye, 1879/Crop:
• Cereals/Wheat, 1879/Acreage: 10 acres
• Cereals/Wheat, 1879/Crop: 200 bushels
• Pulse/Canada peas (dry) in 1879:
• Pulse/Beans (dry) in 1879:
• Fiber/Flax, 1879/Acres in crop:
• Fiber/Flax, 1879/Seed:
• Fiber/Flax, 1879/Straw:
• Fiber/Flax, 1879/Fiber:
• Fiber/Hemp/Acres:
• Fiber/Hemp/Tons:
• Sugar/Sorghum, 1879/Acres in crop:
• Sugar/Sorghum, 1879/Sugar
• Sugar/Sorghum, 1879/Molassas
• Sugar/Maple, 1879/Sugar:
• Sugar/Maple, 1879/Molassas:
• Broom Corn, 1879/Acres:
• Broom corn, 1879/Pounds:

1880 Statistics of Agriculture, Schedule 2, fourth part of form; image
courtesy of Ancestry.com

• Hops, 1879/Acreage:
• Hops, 1879/Crop:
• Potatoes (Irish), 1879/Acreage: 1
• Potatoes (Irish), 1879/Crop: 20 bushels
• Tobacco, 1879/Acreage:
• Tobacco, 1879/Crop:
• Orchards, 1879/Apple/Acres:
• Orchards, 1879/Apple/Bearing trees:
• Orchards, 1879/Apple/Bushels, 1879:
• Orchards, 1879/Peach/Acres:
• Orchards, 1879/Peach/Bearing trees:
• Orchards, 1879/Peach/Bushels, 1879:
• Orchards, 1879/Total value of orchard products of all kinds sold or consumed:
• Nurseries/Acres:
• Nurseries/Value of produce sold in 1879
• Vineyards/Acres:
• Vineyards/Grapes sold in 1879:
• Vineyards/Wine made in 1879:
• Market gardens/Value of produce sold in 1879:
• Bees, 1879/Honey:
• Bees, 1879/Wax:
• Forest products/Amount of wood cut in 1879: 2
• Forest products/Value of all first products sold or consumed in 1879: $12

This is my entry for Amy Johnson Crow's 52 ancestors in 52 weeks challenge optional theme Non-Population.

_________________
Other posts about Wes Riggin's family include:

Photographs of My Great Great Grandmother
The Too Brief Life of Ida Mae (Riggin) Muir
An Adoption on a Train

Social Security Applications and Claims Index

Last week Ancestry.com added an important new data collection to its subscriber-available repository -- the U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007. The collection includes over 49 million records about people whose deaths have been reported to the Social Security Administration (SSA), had a social security number, and would have been over 110 years old if still living. Not every person listed in the U.S. Social Security Death Index, 1935-2014, is included in this new collection.

Why is it so important?

The Social Security Application and Claims Index provides additional details about a person not contained on the death index record such as:

• Applicant's full name
• Social Security Number (SSN)
• Date and place of birth
• Citizenship
• Sex
• Father's name
• Mother's name
• Race/ethnic description (optional)
• Names changes filed with SSA
• Life and death claims filed with SSA

Parents names are not included if the person died within the last 10 years and the social security number is not provided if the person died within the last 75 years.

I have found the database particularly helpful for identifying maiden names and marriages I didn't previously know about (name change filings). I used to submit a SSA Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) claim each time I was unable to find a maiden name through usual sources such as a parent living with a married daughter in a census, obituaries, etc. Each time I submitted a request, it cost $27.00.

This is what I would receive from SSA about a month later:

Application for Social Security Account Number for Mary Inez Muir
(1922-2002); personal collection

This gave me her place of birth, which I did not know at the time.

This is the same form for one of her father's partners:

Application for Social Security Account Number for Eppa (Swan) Childs
(1909-1975); personal collection

I learned Eppa "Eppie" (Swan) Childs' maiden name and the name of her parents, as well as the surname of her first husband. This was crucial information as a later partner's obituary listed her name as Eppie Sevan. From the obituary I didn't know if it was her maiden name, her name from a previous marriage or even if it was correct. And made no progress beyond the incorrect name listed in the obituary until I received this from from SSA.

Let's go back to Eppie's step-daughter, Mary Inez Muir. I contacted one of her granddaughters after finding her tree on Ancestry and she told me Mary Inez had been married nine times, but she didn't know who all the husbands were. She and I worked together to discover five of them. This is how Mary Inez's marriages looked in my tree after we ran out of places to search:

The five husbands and one "almost" husband of Mary Inez Muir. She and
George R. Brewster applied for a marriage license in West Virginia but
never married; from my family tree on Ancestry.com

This morning I searched for Mary Inez in the US, Social Security Applications and Claims Index:

Mary Inez Muir's record in the Social Security Applications and Claims
Index; image courtesy of Ancestry.com

If you read the Notes field, you will see that Mary Inez submitted several names changes to SSA. Two of the changes I didn't know about: 1) July 1966 changing her surname to STACY and 2) May 1967 changing her surname to CARLISLE. These two "new" marriages bring her known marriage count to seven. So the hunt continues for the two remaining marriages. When I started working on Mary Inez, I knew about two marriages -- her "almost" marriage and her last. Collaboration with her granddaughter and this new record set have been a wonderful addition to my research.

I hope you will have success using the U.S. Social Security Applications and Claims Index as well. But it can be a bit overwhelming to know who in your tree may be included in this collection. To develop a list of candidate ancestors, I ran a Documented Facts and Sources report from Family Tree Maker, and searched for everyone who had a U.S. Social Security Death Index record associated to them. I entered their birth date, name at birth, death date, name at death and social security number, if it was included, into a spreadsheet. Then I sorted the list by birth date and moved everyone who would be less than 110 years old if they still living to another worksheet as they should not be in the Social Security Applications and Claims database. (I have found several of these people in the database, however.)

Next, I opened the U.S. Social Security Applications and Claims Index, using Search >> Card Catalog from the navigation menu on Ancestry.com and began searching. If I found a record for the correct person, I saved it to that person, then analyzed the record to see if it included any new information. If it did, I recorded that information on my tree and entered YES into my spreadsheet indicating I had successfully found the record. If I did not find it, I entered NO into my spreadsheet so I would not be repeating the same search at a future time.

I'll be working on this for weeks and a large portion of my Muir book will have to be extensively rewritten in light of all the new information I am finding.

Happy hunting!

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Unraveling Henry's Children: Mary Inez Muir (1922-2002)