Respect For The Dead

The past fews days have not brought good news for those who work hard to preserve cemeteries and other places where our ancestors are buried:

- In Oxford, Alabama as I write this a 1,500 year old Indian burial mound is being desecrated so it can serve as fill for the construction of a Sam's Club.

Oxford, Alabama Destroying A 1500-Year-Old Indian Mound To Build A Sam's Club

State Laws Offer Few Protections For Mound

- In Alsip, Illinois (outside of Chicago), four people have been charged with the uprooting more than 300 bodies and dumping them in a corner of the cemetery in order to resell the burial plots.

4 charged. 300 graves desecrated

Till's kin on neglected casket: Get it out of here

Cemetery workers made $300K in gravedigging scheme

Parents can't find graves in Burr Oak 'Babyland'

What these stories have in common is that greed seems to triumph even after death. As the saying goes you can't take it with you, but now you can't even rest in peace.

Terry Thornton of Hill Country of Monroe County, Mississippi has highlighted the Oxford, AL story and I've been helping him publicize it. The best way for you to get involved as a reader is to tweet this blog post or any of the links included here if you are on Twitter. Or e-mail the post to someone you know who is a fan of cemetery preservation.

For genealogy bloggers, try to take a minute and think about how you would feel if your ancestors were involved in one of these awful situations. In order to keep the preservation of burial locations in the forefront of peoples' attentions, consider posting at your blog about how important cemeteries and other burial sites have been to your family and your genealogy research.

Upcoming Summer Events at Historic Huguenot Street

As many readers know, I can trace my Huguenot heritage back to Hugo Freer (d. 1698, New Paltz, NY) who was my 9th great-grandfather. I am a far-flung member of the Huguenot Historical Society and I wish I could be in New Paltz this summer to attend one or more of these great events. Take a look:

Wickets and Wine, Wednesday, July 8th
Movies on the Lawn starting Thursday, July 16th
Special "Bare Bones" Tour of Locust Lawn on Saturday, July 11th
Moonlight Magic Tour, Saturday, July 18th
Mad Hatter's Tea, Sunday, July 19th

Get all the details here.

Justice, Choices and Freedom

Photo: Headstone of Matthew McCrickert, date unknown, Calvary Cemetery, Queens, NY. Digital photograph. Privately held by Thomas MacEntee, [ADDRESS FOR PRIVATE USE,] Chicago, Illinois. 2009.

[This post was written for the 75th Edition of the Carnival of Genealogy hosted by Colleen at Orations of OMcHodoy]

As I get ready to celebrate our nation's 233rd birthday, I'm reminded of all my ancestors who were willing to risk their lives in military service defending their country for causes in which they believed. At least I'd like to think that this is the reason they served - they had a strong held belief in the basic tenets upon which the United States was formed: justice, choices and freedom.

If it were not for all my ancestors who fought in the Revolutionary War (David Everett, Jonathan Everett, Cornelius Krom, Wigglesworth Messenger, and Frederick Visscher) and the Civil War (Alonso Sylvester Austin, Crandall William Austin, Franklin Duane Austin, Grinman Austin, Harlow Austin, Seymour Austin, Phillip DeGroodt, and David O'Keefe), I along with the rest of their descendants would most likely be living under much different conditions than we are today.

Men like my cousin Matthew McCrickert who died on July 11, 1946 in a military plane crash in Freehold, New Jersey served in peace time as well, not only to pursue a career but also to make certain that the freedoms for which my ancestors had fought remained in place.

Whether their surnames were Austin or Everett or McCrickert, whether they had been in this country since its founding or had just arrived from distant shores, these men had commonality in this:

that in order to ensure that future generations are allowed the same opportunities of justice, choices and freedom, one must be willing to put one's life in jeopardy in defense of those opportunities

I am certain, like my cousin Kenneth VonRonn who was killed in Iraq in 2005, the choices were not easy. Families were left behind, careers were disrupted, and some never came home. But those choices continue to exist - for me and for all - only because of the sacrifices made by these men.

Wordless Wednesday - SoCal Jamboree 2009 Badge

Photo: Badge from Southern California Genealogical Society’s 40th Annual Jamboree, July 2009, Chicago, IL. Digital photograph. Privately held by Thomas MacEntee, [ADDRESS FOR PRIVATE USE,] Chicago, Illinois. 2009.

Ancestry Canada's Free Canada Day Offer

From Ancestry Canada:

Canada Day is not only a great day to spend with family - it's the perfect time to get together and learn more about how your family came to be Canadian.

For the first time ever, Ancestry.ca is making available The Canadian Passenger Lists Collection, 1865 to 1935, FREE* until July 3rd, 2009.

Don't miss this great opportunity to discover your Canadian story in The Canadian Passenger Lists today.

A Jamboree Recap

If you follow any of the major genealogy blogs, you know that the Southern California Genealogical Society held its 40th Annual Jamboree this past weekend in Burbank, California. I along with close to 40 other genealogy bloggers attended from as far away as Tel Aviv, Israel!

Here is a list of those genealogy bloggers that I know were present and all of whom I was able to say hello to:

Lisa Alzo
The Accidental Genealogist
http://theaccidentalgenealogist.blogspot.com

Bruce Buzbee
Roots Magic Blog
http://blog.rootsmagic.com

Amy Coffin
We Tree
http://wetree.blogspot.com

Lisa Louise Cooke
Genealogy Gems Podcast; Genealogy Gems News
http://www.genealogygemspodcast.com
http://genealogygemspodcast.blogspot.com

Stephen Danko
Steve's Genealogy Blog
http://stephendanko.com/blog

Illya D'Addezio
Live Roots Blog
http://www.liveroots.com/blog

Schelly Dardashti
Tracing The Tribe: The Jewish Genealogy Blog; International Jewish Graveyard Rabbit; MyHeritage Genealogy Blog
http://tracingthetribe.blogspot.com
http://jewishgraveyardrabbit.blogspot.com
http://www.myheritage.com/blogs/genealogyblog

Elyse Doerflinger
Elyse's Genealogy Blog
http://elysesgenes.blogspot.com

Kathryn Doyle
California Genealogical and Historical Society
http://calgensoc.blogspot.com

Dick Eastman
Eastman's Online Genealogy Newsletter
http://blog.eogn.com/eastmans_online_genealogy

Sheri Fenley
The Educated Genealogist
http://sherifenley.blogspot.com

footnoteMaven
footnoteMaven; Shades of the Departed
http://www.footnotemaven.com
http://www.shadesofthedeparted.com

Jean Wilcox Hibben
Circle Mending
http://circlemending.blogspot.com

Ruth Himan
Genealogy Is Ruthless Without Me
http://genealogyisruthlesswithoutme.blogspot.com

Paula Hinkel
It Just Never Came Up; SoCal Genealogy Jamboree
http://itjustnevercameup.blogspot.com
http://genealogyjamboree.blogspot.com

Jay Holladay
Jay's Genealogy Blog
http://jaygenblog.wordpress.com

Janet Hovorka
The Chart Chick
http://thechartchick.blogspot.com

Ancestry Insider
The Ancestry Insider
http://ancestryinsider.blogspot.com

Thomas Jay Kemp
Genealogy Bank; Ask The Genealogist; Genealogy Librarian News
http://blog.genealogybank.com
http://askthegenealogist.blogspot.com
http://genlibrarian.blogspot.com

Susan Kitchens
Family Oral History Using Digital Tools
http://familyoralhistory.us

Kiril Kundurazieff
Musings of a Mad Macedonian
http://www.madmacedonian.com

Denise Levenick
The Family Curator
http://www.familycurator.blogspot.com

Thomas MacEntee
Geneabloggers; Destination: Austin Family
http://www.geneabloggers.com
http://destinationaustinfamily.blogspot.com

Craig Manson
Geneablogie
http://blog.geneablogie.net

Leslie Mehana
La Donna Bella
http://www.Squidoo.com/LaDonnaBella

Leland Meitzler
GenealogyBlog
http://www.genealogyblog.com

George G. Morgan
George’s Genealogical Gleanings; The Genealogy Guys
http://georgegmorgan.livejournal.com
http://genealogyguys.com

Elizabeth O'Neal
Little Bytes of Life; The Graveyard Rabbit of the California Central Coast
http://www.littlebytesoflife.com
http://centralcoast-graveyardrabbit.blogspot.com

Cheryl Palmer
Heritage Happens
http://heritagehappens.blogspot.com

Dear Myrtle
Dear Myrtle; Teach Genealogy; Internet Genealogy
http://blog.dearmyrtle.com
http://blog.TeachGenealogy.com
http://blog.Internet-Genealogy.com

Randy Seaver
Genea-Musings; The Geneaholic; Chula Vista Genealogy Cafe
http://www.geneamusings.com
http://www.geneaholic.com
http://cvgencafe.blogspot.com

Drew Smith
Social Networking for Genealogists; The Genealogy Guys
http://snfg.blogspot.com
http://genealogyguys.com

Maureen Taylor
The Photo Detective
http://photodetective.blogspot.com

Gini Webb
Ginisology
http://ginisology.blogspot.com

Diane Wright
The Graveyard Rabbit Travels Wright
http://travelswright.blogspot.com

I will have much, much more on Jamboree all this week here at Destination: Austin Family and over at GeneaBloggers.com.

Federal Trade Commission Cracks Down On Bloggers

This information may have flown under the radar of most genealogy bloggers but it is important and could seriously impact the way some bloggers construct their posts. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has proposed new guidelines which could make bloggers responsible for misleading claims when they review products.

As highlighted in The Wall Street Journal and other news services, the FTC intends to regulate a fairly common practice among bloggers: how they review products and whether or not they are paid for such reviews (either outright or through free products and services).

Personally I have not reviewed many products although back in February I did review a YDNA kit which was provided to me for free by familybuilder. At the end of the review I did include a full disclosure of how I was asked to provide a review and how the product was provided to me at no cost:

"Disclosure: familybuilder sent me their YDNA kit at no charge for purposes of reviewing the process of taking a DNA sample, using a DNA kit for genealogy purposes, and to receive and interpret results. I am disclosing this as a matter of transparency and honesty of my opinion. My intent is to give a good review (meaning a well-researched and written review) not necessarily a favorable review of all products I receive gratis."

As a rule, I don't solicit free items for review from vendors, they usually approach me based on a recent post at my blog. I am very upfront about my disclosure policies and I tell them that my intent is to provide a good review - meaning it is thorough and my opinion of my experience with the product. This is not the same as a favorable review - if the product fails in my eyes or is less than what I or an ordinary consumer would expect I will convey such information in the posted review.

I am waiting to hear from other genealogy bloggers as to their past experience with product reviews, how they are contacted by vendors, what disclosure policies they use and what the proposed FTC guidelines might mean for their future review practices.

thisMoment - Social Media Scrapbooking

I stumbled upon a new site this morning called thisMoment which bills itself as a way to "save and share life's moments" allowing you to easily create multimedia journal entries and then share them with friends and family.

With the concept of "you over time" thisMoment wants users to capture a moment such as a graduation ceremony or a day at the zoo and build a mini digital scrapbook using video, photos and commentary. There are some great privacy features built in so you can only share your "moment" with those you desire. And thisMoment is collaborative meaning you can have others add content as well as comments via Facebook connect.

It will be interesting to see if and how the genealogy community embraces thisMoment as a way to transform their research into multimedia presentations. Another interesting concept would be to create a collaborate scrapbook of a genealogy event like the upcoming Jamboree in Burbank this weekend.

Madness Monday - Sarah Ann Christiana Where Were You In 1900?

I spent much of my weekend genealogy research time (yes, with everything going on I still try to get in about 3-5 hours per weekend) going mad and looking for my 2nd great-grandmother, Sarah Ann Chrstiana who married William R. Krom in Marbletown, Ulster, New York on June 30, 1866.

William R. Krom died on November 19, 1891 in the town of Olive, Ulster, New York and my research so far indicates that Sarah Ann would have gone to live with one of her children, most likely the eldest, Peter Jacob Krom.

In 1920, Sarah Ann Christiana is shown living in Marbletown with the family of her daughter Sarah Eliza Krom who married Leonard Wynkoop about 1915. Sarah Eliza was almost 40 years of age and this was Leonard's second marriage (he had married Mary Barley about 1876 and Mary passed away sometime after the 1910 US Federal Census). Since Sarah Ann Christiana died on February 26, 1926 in Gardiner, Ulster, New York, I should be able to locate her in both the 1900 and 1910 US Federal Census reports, correct?

Well so far my efforts on Ancestry have not been fruitful so my next steps will be working with Family Search and barring that perhaps I will even go through all the Marbletown entries for 1900 and 1910 via Ancestry. My "hunch" is that Sarah Ann Christiana did not stray very far while her eldest son Peter Jacob Krom did die in Ravenna, Albany, New York in 1948, for the 1910 Census he was still located nearby in Forestburgh, Sullivan, New York.

I will also work on going through all the Krom children including Louisa Jane Krom, Alice D. Krom, Walter Krom, Dora Krom, Lucinda Krom and Loretta Krom.

Footnote Price Increase and a Special Offer

I just received notice, as a Footnote subscriber, that on August 1, 2009, the annual membership fee will increase by $10. However, if you decide to extend your annual membership using the Footnote Loyalty Program, you can save $20 and renew for $59.95.

I am a big fan of Footnote not just because I can access certain records, especially Civil War-related records not found in many other place, but they have built functions which help engage you and your family in the family history research process. This includes interactive 1930 US Federal Census pages as well as I Remember pages and more.

I was able to create a tribute page to my first cousin Kenny VonRonn who died in Iraq in 2005. In addition, I created a person page for my great-grandfather John Ralph Austin complete with photos, timeline, Google map and more. And I also take advantage of the storage space on Footnote to store images such as my scan of the 1893 book Souvenirs of Lowville. I just wish there were more time in my day to spend on these fantastic features!

I'm looking forward to visiting with the folks at Footnote at #scgs09 and finding out what new features they have planned for the future. And remember to extend your annual membership if you have a current subscription or if you've always wanted a subscription to Footnote, now is the time to take advantage of their offer!

All for Good - Google's New Community Service Search Engine

Google has launched a new community service search engine called All for Good which allows people to look for volunteer opportunities in their communities and within certain areas of interest. As described in the Google blog posting about All for Good:

All for Good provides a single search interface for volunteer activities across many major volunteering sites and organizations like United Way, VolunteerMatch, HandsOn Network and Reach Out and Read. By building on top of the amazing efforts of existing volunteer organizations like these, we hope to amplify their efforts.

Out of curiosity, I entered the search term "genealogy" (being a big fan of RAOGK and the like) and was surprised by the number of opportunities available, such as:

• Publicity and Marketing Coordinator for the Southern California Genealogical Society (producers of the upcoming #scgs09 Jamboree!)
  
  
• Assistant for the Old New Utrecht Cemetery in Brooklyn, NY
  
  
• And one of my favorites: A Genealogy Project To Remember! at the Saint Elizabeth Home in East Greenwich, RI which is looking for someone to help document the heritage of the residents of this facility.

For genealogical societies and non-profits in the genealogy and family history field, now is the time to get those volunteer opportunities posted, especially since All for Good is now on the scene!

Madness Monday - Dr. W.L. Bartholomew Commits Suicide

Most of my Madness Monday posts concern my part as a genealogist driven mad by either the actions of others or myself. However this week I can actually post about someone in my family tree who actually suffered from mental illness.

I've renewed research on my O'KEEFE and SULLIVAN lines over the past week and I consider myself blessed that many of my ancestors lived in Lewis County, New York during the 19th and early 20th centuries. Why? Well there is a great resource - Northern New York Historical Newspapers - which is a FREE and fully searchable database of historical newspapers from various New York counties including Lewis, St. Lawrence, Jefferson and Oswego.

As I research my various lines, I also perform a search at NNYHN to see if there are any news items about them. As I was researching Ellen Francis SULLIVAN (1864 - 1946), who was my First Cousin 4 Times Removed, I noticed she was mentioned as Mrs. Nellie Sullivan Bartholomew in The Journal & Republican newspaper after 1904.

I could tell that she either had divorced her husband, Willis Leigh BARTHOLOMEW or was widowed, which was more likely - otherwise she would be listed as Mrs. W.L. Bartholomew. I was raised to address widowed women in writing using Mrs. plus their given name and then their married name. My great-grandmother was a stickler for that and she also refused to use the "Ms." title when writing to someone. Once when I told her I used it when I didn't know if the woman were married or not, with a "harrumph" she said: "Well then you have no business writing to a woman if you don't know her social standing or her correct title, do you?"

Willis Leigh Bartholomew and Nellie Sullivan were married on September 3, 1890¹ in Lowville, New York where Willis was a physician. There are various advertisements in Lewis county newspapers for Dr. Bartholomew's office and listing him as a physician and specializing in "homeopathic medicine."

After some more searching I finally located an article with the details of W.L. Bartholomew's death:

Dr. W.L. Bartholomew Takes His Own Life at Middletown

Dr. W.L. Bartholomew a homeopathic physician, committed suicide last Friday at Middletown, N.Y., by discharging the contents of a shotgun into the right side of his neck. Dr. Bartholomew was also known as Dr. Barth, and had been engaged in the manufacture of a patent medicine. He ended his life while lying in bed at his boarding house. The deceased was aged 42 years. he came from Potsdam to Lowville about fifteen years ago and was engage to practice here two or three years. A dispatch from Middletown states that he was addicted to the morphine habit. Dr. Bartholomew was a well education young man, and when a resident of Lowville was held in high esteem².

A sad end to such a promising life and how it must have affected not only his wife Nellie but their children Gerald and Geraldine (twins b. 1892), Eleanor (b. 1893) and Daniel (b. 1898). Shortly after Nellie's father, Daniel P. Sullivan (1841 - 1907) died in Lowville, she moved with her children to Washington, D.C.

1.The Journal and Republican (Lowville, New York), September 9, 1915. Volume 56, Number 44, Page 5. "This Week In Local History, September 4, 1890: Dr. W.L. Bartholomew, of Potsdam, and Miss Nellie Sullivan, of Lowville, were married yesterday by Rev. Father Ryan."

2. The Journal and Republican (Lowville, New York), December 1, 1904. Volume 46, Number 2, Page 5.