MyHeritage Releases Exclusive Book Matching Technology for Family Historians by Dick Eastman, Eastman’s Online Genealogy Newsletter MyHeritage (the sponsors of this newsletter) today made an announcement at the Who Do You Think You Are? Live! conference in Birmingham, England, of a new technology that has not been used previously in genealogy, to my knowledge. So far, MyHeritage is the only company with a cloud-based service that AUTOMATICALLY finds matches for people in your family tree in the company’s collection of almost 450,000 digitized historical books. Yes, that’s nearly a half million books of interest to genealogists. Lots of other web sites contain digital images of books, typically as PDF files. These sites allow you, the user, to find the books and then to read them yourself the old-fashioned way: one page at a time. Some of these web sites will search books electronically to find words or phrases to define. Some of them are every-word-searchable but, again, only one book at time. The user has to enter the words or phrases one at a time in order to search a book. That is last year’s genealogy technology. In contrast, MyHeritage’s new Book Matching technology searches ALL your names of interest in your database at once in nearly a half million books and then notifies you of probable matches found within any of the books. The technology goes far beyond simple name matches, which we all know is close to useless on common names. Instead, Book Matching first reads the records in your personal MyHeritage database, then goes looking for entries in the books that match not only the name of the individual but also dates, locations, and even names of parents, spouse(s), siblings, and children. If you are looking for an ancestor named John Smith, MyHeritage’s Book Matching technology will find all the John Smiths who lived in the same place and same years as your ancestor PLUS had a father named William AND a mother named Julia AND a sister named Helen AND a brother named Ebenezer AND a son named Gabriel AND a daughter named Julia (named after her mother) AND on AND on AND on… Obviously, I am making these names up as a typical example The Book Matching technology uses the names in YOUR database to find matches. When it finds probable matches to your ancestor and his or her relatives as defined in your database, a notice is sent to you. The real “magic” in this is that MyHeritage uses new software that utilizes artificial intelligence methods to convert free form text into machine-searchable data. This is more difficult than you might first think. Almost all genealogists are familiar with census records, tax lists, and other records that list names in nicely formatted columns of information. They look like spreadsheets with all the first names in one column, all the surnames in a second column, and so forth. In contrast, MyHeritage’s Book Matching technology searches books where the information is NOT listed in columns. For instance, let’s think about the typical obituary. Again, it does not list the names of everyone in attendance in columns. Instead, the information is listed in a manner that closely resembles human speech. In a typical obituary, the Book Matching technology searches for phrases such as “He was the son of…” and then software knows those words are normally followed by a name or followed by two names: the father and mother of the deceased. The Book Matching technology extracts those names and indexes them. Also, in the same obituary, it might say, “He is survived by his widow …” and “He is also survived by three children…” Again, these phrases are normally followed by names. Obituaries also often list the names of others in attendances, such as the deceased person’s siblings and even pallbearers, as well as friends or relatives of the deceased. Even better, the same obituaries often mention significant events in the life of the deceased, such as “a graduate of Harvard University” or “served in World War I” and so on and so on. This data is analyzed, discovered, extracted, and indexed, all without human intervention. The number of errors in the OCR process appear to be a very low number. Not zero but certainly a very small percentage. I am using an example here of obituaries simply because most genealogists are familiar with them. However, MyHeritage’s new Book Matching technology is NOT limited to obituaries. It can read almost all formats that are commonly found in books of genealogical interest. The mention of each person in the book has the names, dates, locations, and other important information (military service, education, occupation, and more) extracted, indexed, and saved. Am I enthused about this new automated data analysis and extraction technology? You bet I am! I suspect a number of other genealogy web sites will follow and add similar technologies within a few years. However, today Book Matching technology is available today only on MyHeritage. The following is the official announcement from MyHeritage: MyHeritage users to automatically receive relevant excerpts from digitized books that reveal information about their ancestors and relatives TEL AVIV, Israel & LEHI, Utah, April 7, 2016 — MyHeritage, the fastest-growing destination for discovering, preserving and sharing family history, has launched today a revolutionary addition to its suite of technologies: Book Matching. This innovation automatically researches users’ family trees in historical books with high precision. In April 2012 MyHeritage launched SuperSearch™, a search engine for historical records, which has since then grown to include 6.6 billion historical records, including birth, marriage, death and census records. By implementing its vision of enhancing genealogy with technology, MyHeritage then developed a line of unique and sophisticated technologies that automatically match the records from the search engine to the 32 million family trees uploaded by its users. In December 2015, MyHeritage expanded its data collections to include digitized historical books, with an initial corpus of 150,000 books of high genealogical value. This collection was tripled last week to 450,000 books with 91 million pages. With a team of more than 50 dedicated curators, MyHeritage aims to add hundreds of millions of pages of digitized books to the collection each year. As of today, MyHeritage users will receive matches between profiles in their family trees and the books from this collection. The Book Matching technology analyzes the book texts semantically, understanding complex narrative that describes people, and matches it to the 2 billion individuals in MyHeritage family trees with extremely high accuracy. This breakthrough technology is the first of its kind, and is exclusive to MyHeritage. Book Matching has produced more than 80 million matches, and this number will continue to grow as the collection grows and as the family trees on MyHeritage continue to expand. Book Matching is currently available for English books, and the technology is being enhanced to cover additional languages. In addition, de-duplication technology is being added in the next few weeks to remove duplicate books that have been scanned and OCRed more than once by different sources. “No one has ever done this before,” said MyHeritage Chief Technology Officer Sagi Bashari. “Our Book Matching technology reads hundreds of thousands of books for you, every hour, comparing them to your family tree and pointing you to relevant excerpts about your ancestors with almost no false positives MyHeritage is the first to offer full semantic text analysis in this way, and the genealogical breakthroughs speak for themselves. You will be amazed at the value of books for your research.” “I’ve personally seen what this new technology can do, using my own family tree,” said blogger and lifelong genealogist Leland Meitzler. “It found well over 500 books with information on my family, most of which I’d never seen before. All kinds of ancestors and relatives can now be added to my tree! To say that this new search technology changes everything would be an overstatement, but not by much.” Genealogist James Tanner said: “This advanced technology from MyHeritage opens up a whole new world of research possibilities that were almost completely unavailable in the past. I have always valued the content of the older genealogy books because the people who wrote them were contemporaries with my ancestors. Being able to search these books on a large scale will change the way most of us have been doing genealogy and our attitude towards the books that have been there all along but were not searchable.” Dick Eastman, of Eastman’s Online Genealogy Newsletter, summed up MyHeritage’s latest innovation: “MyHeritage Book Matching is like having a huge library at your fingertips, with a twist; there is a magical librarian who tells you exactly which books have information about your ancestors.” Book Matches are available at www.myheritage.com and are generated automatically for any family tree built on the website or imported into it. A Data subscription is required to view Book Matches. About MyHeritage MyHeritage is the world’s fastest-growing destination for discovering, preserving and sharing family history. As technology thought leaders, MyHeritage is transforming family history into an activity that’s accessible and instantly rewarding. Its global user community enjoys access to a massive library of historical records, the most internationally diverse collection of family trees and ground­breaking search and matching technologies. Trusted by millions of families, MyHeritage provides an easy way to share family stories, past and present, and treasure them for generations to come. MyHeritage is available in 42 languages. www.myheritage com. Sally Rolls Pavia [email protected] List Owner: [email protected] Archives: http://archiver.rootsweb.ancestry.com/th/index "Our Soldiers are one of our greatest assets!"

Top 10 Places to Find Maiden Names By Kimberly Powell; Genealogy Expert Discovering the maiden name of a female ancestor can sometimes be difficult, but can lead to a whole new branch of your family tree. New surnames, new families, new connections. Try these ten places for clues to maiden names of the women in your family tree. 1. Marriage Records The most likely place to locate a woman's maiden name is on her marriage record. These can include not only the marriage license, but also the marriage certificate, marriage announcements, marriage banns, and marriage bonds. It is generally necessary to know the spouse's name, marriage location and approximate marriage date to find these records. For the remainder nine places, check the rest of the article at: http://tinyurl.com/jfm75eb Uncover Hidden Family Relationships in Estate Records By Kimberly Powell, Genealogy Expert Wills and probate records can be a rich source of names and family relationships for individuals researching their family history. Wills often (although not always) name surviving heirs, along with their relationship to the deceased. For individuals who died intestate, the probate records which document the handling of the estate through the court may include a list of heirs, along with their place of residence. There are times, however, where the genealogical evidence buried in these records is not as direct as we might like. But that doesn't mean the answers aren't there! When examined carefully and thoroughly, estate records may also be able to help you pinpoint when the individual died, deduce which child was the eldest, or uncover names of unnamed heirs, in-laws or other relatives. 1. Who Was Appointed Administrator? When an individual died intestate (without a will), the court's first order of business upon being notified of the death was to appoint an administrator to oversee settlement of the estate. In most jurisdictions and time periods, the right to administer an estate usually belonged first to the decedent's next of kin, generally the surviving spouse. If this individual relinquished their right to serve as administrator, the court generally went to the next family member in line—most often a son, son-in-law, or daughter—although next in line" could vary depending on both law and circumstance. Some jurisdictions required that the administrator live in the county, for example. If a relative was not available to serve as administrator, the court may have appointed a creditor, or someone else with an interest in the estate. For the remainder four items, please check below: http://tinyurl.com/hdzntj6 Fashion Throughout History Sources for Researching Historical Clothing, Fashion and Accessories By Kimberly Powell, Genealogy Expert What people wore, how the clothing was made, and who made it, can offer important insights into social and personal history. Clothing and fashion accessories, as well as hairstyles and makeup often convey a great deal about the men, women and children who wore them, and about the society in which they lived. Whether you want to learn more about the clothing worn by your ancestors, research clothing of a particular era for a book or character, or use clothing styles to help assign a time frame to a vintage family photograph, these research sources and timelines of fashion and costume history may have the answers you seek. 1. An Online Exhibition of Canadian Dress: The Confederation Era (1840–1890) This well-done online exhibition from the Canadian Museum of History in Québec includes information and accompanying photos on women's fashion in Canada during the Confederation Era (1840–1890), including everyday clothing fancy clothing, outerwear and accessories. Explore further and you'll also find sections on men's wear, children's wear and working wear. For the remaining nine items, check: http://tinyurl.com/z9hfmcx

10 “Must-Do” Genealogy Projects for April from AncestralFindingds.com Are you looking for some productive genealogy projects to do for April? As the first full month of spring, April offers some interesting and unique genealogy opportunities that just don’t fit in as well during other months of the year. If you want to stay on top of things in your genealogy research these are the projects that should definitely be on your “to do” list this month. Enjoy them. 1. Spring Clean Your Genealogy This is a perfect time to go through all of the printed genealogy information in your files and binders and clean it up. Put things in their proper places if they have been stacking up for a while. Get rid of information you don’t need anymore. Alphabetize items and arrange them by date from oldest to newest. You can even categorize documents in this way. Doing this will make it much easier for you to find what you need when you need it, and reduce genealogical clutter. 2. Sweep Your Family Tree It’s not just your physical genealogical information that needs cleaning this time of year. This is also a perfect time to prep your digital family tree for work for the year ahead. Go through the lines you are actively working on and make sure every piece of information has a credible source attached to it. If there is no source, find one or more. Make sure your family tree makes sense and all generations have a proven connection to one another. Delete inaccurate or disproved information. Edit notes in your family tree for grammar and spelling, and add new details that you may have discovered but not written down yet. Add photos of any new ancestors you’ve discovered to your digital family tree to paint a more complete picture of your family history. Still eight more ideas waiting for you. Check them out at: http://tinyurl.com/jsgpkgy

Ten FREE webinars that you can watch at your leisure. Let me know if you can use this before I send it out. http://familytreewebinars.com/archived_webinars php?type=category&category_id=325 Sally Rolls Pavia [email protected] List Owner: [email protected] Archives: http://archiver.rootsweb.ancestry.com/th/index "Our Soldiers are one of our greatest assets!"

Through April 13, American Ancestors by New England Historic Genealogical Society is offering FREE access to one billion online records on AmericanAncestors.org. Free accounts ordinarily allow Guest Users only a sampling of the vast offerings that NEHGS provides family historians of all levels. This unprecedented promotion offers the Society's entire collection of online content for eight full days to anyone who registers for a free account! Already registered? Just log in and start searching. Please share this exciting opportunity with friends, family, and fellow family historians! AmericanAncestors.org/free-billion Sally Rolls Pavia [email protected] List Owner: [email protected] Archives: http://archiver.rootsweb.ancestry.com/th/index "Our Soldiers are one of our greatest assets!"

I can't find any descendants of Winslow. He may have had children we do not know about though. I also can only find Winslow as a child of Percy. There was also a daughter who died as a child. I will assist Gil in trying to find a family member who might want the photograph. I would really like to see the picture scanned in so I can put it in the database. Percy was well known on the Cranberry Isles. Here is a note I have about him and Winslow. "For many years Percy served as skipper, gardener and caretaker for the Edgar Morseman family on Great Cranberry Island, Maine. He also spent winters fishing for lobster with his son, Winslow." It will be nice to have his picture as part of the Bunker family history and the history of the Cranberry Isles. Such a great find and thanks for contacting us about this. Bette Bunker Richards, Historian On Sun, Apr 3, 2016 at 8:44 PM, Gil Bunker via <[email protected]> wrote: > Shelly, > If no one replies, you may forward the photo to me. I will make continued > attempts to locate descendants; if none are located it > will remain in the Bunker archives. The image will eventually be added to > the database. (Percy is identified in the 1982 Genealogy > as D-880 and your research appears to be correct). > Thanks for the concern and thoughtfulness. > Gil Bunker, Pres. > > -----Original Message----- > From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On > Behalf Of Shelley Cardiel via > Sent: Sunday, April 03, 2016 11:15 PM > To: [email protected] > Subject: [BUNKER] BUNKER Family Photograph > > I've "rescued" an old photograph of Percy E. BUNKER which was taken at the > Harry L. Plummer Studio in Lewiston, ME. The photograph > appears to have been taken in the early 1900's with the note on back > indicating that Percy was a member of the Hebron Academy Class > of 1907. Based on limited research I was able to gather the following > information regarding Percy and his family: > > Percy Edgar BUNKER was b. 6 Jan 1887 in Cranberry Isles, ME to parents > Willis Edgar BUNKER (b. 6 Mar 1855 in Cranberry Isles, ME-d. > 1915) and Irene or Rena Abbie STANLEY (b. 6 Apr 1856-d. 8 May 1940). Percy > married Gertrude Maria SPURLING (b. 15 Sept 1884 - d. 30 > Jan 1955) on 19 Dec 1911 in Cranberry Isles, ME and together they had a > son, Winslow E. BUNKER (1912-1992). > > Percy died in 1980 and is buried in the Bunker Cemetery in Cranberry > Isles, ME along with one sister, Lily BUNKER who was born and > died in 1884. I am hoping to locate someone from this BUNKER Family so > that the photograph can be returned to their care. > > Thanks, > Shelley > > ***************************** > If you wish additional information about the Bunker Family Association, > please visit http://www.bunkerfamilyassn.org. > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to > [email protected] with the word 'unsubscribe' without the > quotes in > the subject and the body of the message > > > ***************************** > If you wish additional information about the Bunker Family Association, > please visit http://www.bunkerfamilyassn.org. > > > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to > [email protected] with the word 'unsubscribe' without the > quotes in the subject and the body of the message >

Shelly, If no one replies, you may forward the photo to me. I will make continued attempts to locate descendants; if none are located it will remain in the Bunker archives. The image will eventually be added to the database. (Percy is identified in the 1982 Genealogy as D-880 and your research appears to be correct). Thanks for the concern and thoughtfulness. Gil Bunker, Pres. -----Original Message----- From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Shelley Cardiel via Sent: Sunday, April 03, 2016 11:15 PM To: [email protected] Subject: [BUNKER] BUNKER Family Photograph I've "rescued" an old photograph of Percy E. BUNKER which was taken at the Harry L. Plummer Studio in Lewiston, ME. The photograph appears to have been taken in the early 1900's with the note on back indicating that Percy was a member of the Hebron Academy Class of 1907. Based on limited research I was able to gather the following information regarding Percy and his family: Percy Edgar BUNKER was b. 6 Jan 1887 in Cranberry Isles, ME to parents Willis Edgar BUNKER (b. 6 Mar 1855 in Cranberry Isles, ME-d. 1915) and Irene or Rena Abbie STANLEY (b. 6 Apr 1856-d. 8 May 1940). Percy married Gertrude Maria SPURLING (b. 15 Sept 1884 - d. 30 Jan 1955) on 19 Dec 1911 in Cranberry Isles, ME and together they had a son, Winslow E. BUNKER (1912-1992). Percy died in 1980 and is buried in the Bunker Cemetery in Cranberry Isles, ME along with one sister, Lily BUNKER who was born and died in 1884. I am hoping to locate someone from this BUNKER Family so that the photograph can be returned to their care. Thanks, Shelley ***************************** If you wish additional information about the Bunker Family Association, please visit http://www.bunkerfamilyassn.org. ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to [email protected] with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message

I've "rescued" an old photograph of Percy E. BUNKER which was taken at the Harry L. Plummer Studio in Lewiston, ME. The photograph appears to have been taken in the early 1900's with the note on back indicating that Percy was a member of the Hebron Academy Class of 1907. Based on limited research I was able to gather the following information regarding Percy and his family: Percy Edgar BUNKER was b. 6 Jan 1887 in Cranberry Isles, ME to parents Willis Edgar BUNKER (b. 6 Mar 1855 in Cranberry Isles, ME-d. 1915) and Irene or Rena Abbie STANLEY (b. 6 Apr 1856-d. 8 May 1940). Percy married Gertrude Maria SPURLING (b. 15 Sept 1884 - d. 30 Jan 1955) on 19 Dec 1911 in Cranberry Isles, ME and together they had a son, Winslow E. BUNKER (1912-1992). Percy died in 1980 and is buried in the Bunker Cemetery in Cranberry Isles, ME along with one sister, Lily BUNKER who was born and died in 1884. I am hoping to locate someone from this BUNKER Family so that the photograph can be returned to their care. Thanks, Shelley

familysearch.org has added the 1861 British and Wales census records. This is a free site and for those who had later arriving ancestors, you might find some information here. Bette

Genealogists always like these. For those of you near our library. Stop by and see our latest display; old Victorian Valentines. One of our members had a box full of these wonderful Valentines that had been her Mother's. What a treat to have had those passed down from her Mother.  http://crestleaf.com/blog/victorian-valentines-day-traditions/ 

UpFront with NGS has an interesting article about the recovery of lost items at the National Archives. http://upfront.ngsgenealogy.org/2016/02/us-national-archives-archival-recovery.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+UpfrontWithNgs+%28UpFront+with+NGS%29. Very long URL. Sorry. You can follow this on Facebook too. https://www.facebook.com/archivalrecoveryteam/?fref=nf Bette

Genealogy In Time Newsletter has a list of numerous new records being put online. http://www.genealogyintime.com/records/newest-genealogy-records.html?awt_l=5U5mE&awt_m=J_ztBmFkdwk.Vy I recommend the newsletter as it is free. Many new records are being released by Find My Past. This is a subscription site you have to pay for. However, you can search it free and only pay if you find a record you need. Many new US marriage records have been added. There are also a lot of new English records being added all the time. Bette

A good article about the latest with FTM and Roots Magic can be found in Genealogy In Time at http://www.genealogyintime.com/genealogy-news.html?awt_l=5U5mE&awt_m=J.Hw.1u.Bwk.Vy . Bette

Did you have a family member who served with the British Commonwealth during World War I? Look for them in Fold3’s new collection of more than 24,000 WWI Distinguished Conduct Medal citations (via the Naval and Military Press), which is part of our British Commonwealth Military Collection. The Distinguished Conduct Medal was Britain’s second-highest medal for gallantry in action for non-commissioned officers and enlisted men (until it was discontinued in 1993). Recipients of this award came from regiments across the Commonwealth, including Australia, the British West Indies, Canada, India, New Zealand, Newfoundland, Rhodesia, South and East Africa, and the United Kingdom. The collection is organized by country, then regiment. The citations give a brief description of the action the medal is being awarded for, as well as basic information about the recipient. Below are a couple examples of the types of information you can learn from the citations: McCann R. Cpl. 3786 4th Div. attd. 13th Fld. Amb. [Australia] On 25th April 1918, during the night attack by the 13th Brigade on Villers Brettoneux he was driving an ambulance car which was engaged in evacuating casualties from the advancing infantry along the Amiens Road to the advance dressing station at Blangy Cabaret. About 10 p.m., shortly after the advance had commenced, he made many trips with wounded along a section of the road which was exposed to heavy shell fire and his careful and expert management of his car have been responsible for saving the life of many a wounded man. 3.9.19 21479 1st Cl. A./M. S.W. Egan, R.F.C. (Catford, S.E.) [United Kingdom] For conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty. While engaged with his pilot on a photographic reconnaissance over the enemy’s lines they were attacked in a most persistent manner by six enemy scouts. His left thumb was shot off at the beginning of the fight, but he continued to engage the enemy with his Lewis gun, and when the gun jammed he succeeded in getting it into action again, and continued to fight until he became unconscious. It was undoubtedly due to his splendid pluck and determination that the pilot was enabled to bring his machine back safely to our lines.

Well that's what happens when I don't read the URL . Here is the right site. Sorry for the goof. http://www.genealogyintime.com/ Bette On Sat, Jan 16, 2016 at 11:54 AM, Joy Jarvis <[email protected]> wrote: > Am I missing something? The link took me to a Google for for a gmail > account. > > Joy Bunker Jarvis > > > > On Jan 16, 2016, at 7:18 AM, Bette Bunker Richards via < > [email protected]> wrote: > > > > If you have not tried this free newsletter, you should look at it. It > > gives new genealogy sources every edition and is very useful if you have > > already done a lot of research. Most of us just go to familysearch.org, > > ancestry.com, genealogy.com to look for our ancestors. While these > sites > > have the most data probably, other sites have data that does not appear > any > > where else. This newsletter will at least make you aware of some of the > > others. > > > > https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/#inbox/1524906e29eb1666 > > > > Bette > > ***************************** > > If you wish additional information about the Bunker Family Association, > please visit http://www.bunkerfamilyassn.org. > > > > > > ------------------------------- > > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to > [email protected] with the word 'unsubscribe' without the > quotes in the subject and the body of the message > >

Am I missing something? The link took me to a Google for for a gmail account. Joy Bunker Jarvis > On Jan 16, 2016, at 7:18 AM, Bette Bunker Richards via <[email protected]> wrote: > > If you have not tried this free newsletter, you should look at it. It > gives new genealogy sources every edition and is very useful if you have > already done a lot of research. Most of us just go to familysearch.org, > ancestry.com, genealogy.com to look for our ancestors. While these sites > have the most data probably, other sites have data that does not appear any > where else. This newsletter will at least make you aware of some of the > others. > > https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/#inbox/1524906e29eb1666 > > Bette > ***************************** > If you wish additional information about the Bunker Family Association, please visit http://www.bunkerfamilyassn.org. > > > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to [email protected] with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message

If you have not tried this free newsletter, you should look at it. It gives new genealogy sources every edition and is very useful if you have already done a lot of research. Most of us just go to familysearch.org, ancestry.com, genealogy.com to look for our ancestors. While these sites have the most data probably, other sites have data that does not appear any where else. This newsletter will at least make you aware of some of the others. https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/#inbox/1524906e29eb1666 Bette

10 Important Clues to Follow Up in Deeds by Kimberly Powell, Genealogy Expert, With about.com Updated July 28, 2015 Deeds and other land records are an important part of building any family tree. Outside of telling you what land your ancestors may have owned, and where it was located, deeds are also a potential source of information on family members, family relationships, and other locations in which your ancestor lived. Each time you read a deed for your ancestor, ask yourself the following questions. 1. Is your ancestor selling property? If so, how did he acquire it? Trace your way back through the grantee deed indexes to learn when and from whom your ancestor first acquired or purchased the land that he's selling. If you are unable to find an official record of land transfer in the deed indexes, search land grants and warrants at the colony, state, or federal level to see if he was perhaps the original owner? If that also fails, follow the property instead of the owner; use the legal land description to try to identify the property through tax rolls and other land records. Ownership of land without a record of purchase or transfer from the prior owner may provide evidence of inheritance. 2. Where is the property located? Get a good topographic map covering the area where your ancestor lived and locate your ancestor's property on the map. In the United States you'll need a map that shows watercourses for the State Land States and Range/Township lines in the Public Land States - USGS topographic maps are generally excellent for this purpose. Platting the deed can help you to place it on a map with precision, and explore its relationship to the surrounding community. Identifying your ancestor with a particular tract or parcel of land may also provide necessary evidence for distinguishing him from contemporaries with the same name. Once you've pinpointed the location of your ancestor's property, explore the neighborhood. Identify the nearest town, as well as the local churches, schools and cemeteries. Some may be marked on the map, while others may take some research to identify and locate on the map. With this information you can better understand the daily life of your ancestor, and possibly locate additional records. 3. What is the date? The date a deed was written is not always the date it was recorded at the courthouse. It's actually not that unusual to find a deed recorded many years or even decades after it was written, and the delay between the two dates may indicate a change in the family such as the coming of age of a minor child or the death or remarriage of a surviving parent. Deeds which were recorded long after the fact can also indicate land that passed down directly through generations of a family, since in some states and time periods a recorded deed was not required unless/until the land was actually sold. In certain situations old deeds may have been brought into the courthouse for re-recording following destruction of local records by fire or flood. 4. What was the purchase price? Is the purchase price of the land in line with the amount of acreage and location? Compare the transaction details with those of other deeds in the area and time period. Land granted "for love and affection" or for a token purchase price such as $1 or $25 may sometimes, but not always, indicate a family relationship. Land sold for amounts significantly less than the going rate may also bear further investigation for a possible family relationship or additional financial dealings between the two parties. These associates, even if ultimately unrelated, may turn out to provide clues to family migration or additional records. 5. Are there multiple grantors (sellers)? Deeds with multiple grantors, or sellers, other than husband and wife, may be "estate sales." This is especially likely when many of the grantors share the same surname. Not all sales of land by "heirs" will necessarily indicate that the individuals are related, or even that they are heirs to the estate, however. Look for related probate records, and also follow up each of the individuals in census and other records to determine their relationship, if any. Many deed indexes name only a single grantor and a single grantee, even when multiple parties were involved in the transaction. Sometimes the index may identify that there are others involved with a notation such as et al (and others), et ux (and wife) and, occasionally, et vir (and husband), but this is not always the case. 6. Are adjacent landowners mentioned by name? Neighbors of your ancestors can often be found mentioned in deeds. Some of these adjacent landowners may just be the typical neighbor next door. But it s also possible that some could be parents, cousins, children or family friends. Whether or not these adjacent landowners are related, it's always worth investigating their deeds for further clues. Their deeds may name your ancestor, or may provide a relationship or other additional detail that isn t found in your ancestor's own deeds. Even the landless (renters, squatters, etc.) are sometimes identified in deeds as neighbors, making land deeds a potential resource even for individuals who never owned land. 7. Who else is named? All associates mentioned in a deed, whether the grantor or grantee, witnesses, etc. are a potential source of genealogical clues. Do any of these associates or even people with the same surnames as the associates, appear in other records with your ancestor? If so, they should be further researched for a possible connection. They may just hold the clue to your ancestor's place of origin, religious affiliation, or wife's maiden name. Associates such as the local storekeeper, doctor, or minister may also have left records that name your ancestor. You can also take this a step further by reading all deeds recorded on the same day, or for several pages both before and after, looking for other transactions in which any of the same associates are named, or for land located in the same general area. 8. Is there a release of dower rights? If the grantor (seller) is a married man, did his wife also sign the deed or execute a separate release of her dower rights? Dower refers to a widow's right to a lifetime interest in one-third of her husband’s lands. If the husband sold any land during their marriage, the deed usually included the wife's relinquishment of this dower interest so the individual purchasing the land was guaranteed that she wouldn't sue after her husband's death to reclaim her dower interest. If nothing else, this provides evidence of a wife's name, along with a time and place in which she was living. In the United States, dower is found in areas where law was derived from the common law of England, particularly the eastern, southeastern (with the exception of Louisiana), and midwestern states. A separate release of dower is less commonly found in the public domain states; instead, the wife typically signed the deed to indicate her agreement to the sale. The way in which dower operated and was enforced varied by time period and locality, so don't read anything into the absence of a wife's signature or a separate dower release without first checking the local statutes in effect at the time. 9. Did he sign with an X? Investigate the signatures of all interested parties to the deeds and make note of how each person signed, whether with their full name, initials, or an X or cross. Unless the deed is an original passed down through the family marks and signatures found in deed books are generally copies, faithfully recorded by the county clerk. Marks, such as X or a sideways E, were usually copied by the recorder as exactly as possible. Full signatures, however, are of less use for identification, other than the fact that the individual was literate and could sign their name, as the recorded copies generally do not replicate the original handwriting. If an individual used a mark other than an X, such as the first letter of their given name or surname, make note of the mark along with size, direction, and anything else that makes it distinctive. Even a cross, while fairly common, was used less often than the X. An individual's mark or signature might provide necessary evidence for distinguishing individuals of the same name. Marks and signatures do change over time, however. 10. Have you read every word? A working knowledge of legal terminology in the time and place in which you are researching, along with a good legal reference such as an older version of Black's or Bouvier's Law Dictionary, can reveal important distinctions between standard "boiler plate" language and words or phrases that may have significant implications for solving genealogical problems.1 For example, the fact that one of the parties "acknowledged" a deed in court implies that he was physically in the court room on the day that the deed was recorded. And a reference to “feme sole” denotes a single woman who had the right to own property and sign contracts in her own name. ------------------------------------------- Sources: 1. Henry Campbell Black, A Dictionary of Law (St. Paul, Minn.: West, 1891). The 1891 and 1910 editions are also available on CD-ROM from Archive CD Books USA, and a free, digital version of the 1910 edition can be viewed through Google Books. John Bouvier, A Law Dictionary Adapted to the Constitution and Laws of the United States of America and of Several States of the American Union With References to the Civil and Other Systems of Foreign Law, Philadelphia: T. and J.W. Johnson, 1839). The revised sixth edition (1856) can be viewed as a plain text reprint on Constitution.org. Additional editions are available from Google Books.

Many of our Charlestown family member descend from Martha Bunker Starr. Here is an online history/genealogy of that family. https://archive.org/details/historyofstarrfa1879star Bette

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