EXPERT GENEALOGY Editor: Jeannette Holland Austin Series: Land Sources Subject: American State Papers - Laws Date: April 1, 1999 In 1775 Continental Congress promised land to Revolutionary War veterans. Thus began the Public Domain Laws. In 1785 they established a Rectangular Survey System (Northwest Territory) which allowed the sale of land. All of the Public Domain had to be surveyed before titles could be issued. In 1786, surveys were made of all townships north of the Ohio River, with the first land sale occurring the following year. This system became the standard for identifying and conveying title. Even before the survey, settlers moved into the Public Domain, and waited to file claims. So what happened to the land in the Public Domain which has previously been granted to people by the French, Spanish and British Governments? Such private land claims had to be validated by the US Government, and so commissions were established to evaluate such claims. Many actions ended up in the federal courts. Also, Indian claims had to be adjudicated before title could be granted. When settlers filed entries under the Public Land Laws, conflicts occurred with those having the old land grants. Appeals were presented to Congress, and records of these private relief actions are contained in the American State Papers. The land Private Land Claims which were determined to be valid by the claims commissioner and federal courts are "first-title deeds" and were surveyed outside the rectangular survey system. This means that the rectangular survey stops at the boundaries of such private claims and legal titles. Here is an example of what you would expect to find - John Brown filed a claim in Florida to 95 acres that was first granted to Josiah Gray on February 16, 1816, by Governor Coppinger. Gray then sold it to George Flemming in 1819, who in turn sold the tract to Brown. This claim was supported by copies of deeds and surveyed as claimed. The claims board confirmed the claim to Brown and his heirs on April 17, 1824. Many claims were not approved. Such as the 1835 petition of Matthew Arbuckle for eight tracts totaling 2132 acres in Arkansas. Arbuckle claimed that he purchased those tracts from five individuals in 1829 in the Lawrence Land District, Arkansas Territory, presenting copies of instruments claiming to transfer title to him. All of these parcels were originally entered as Spanish Land Claims, which had been confirmed by land courts of Arkansas Territory when he purchased them, and were described by the rectangular survey system. Despite the evidence presented, his claim as denied. However, genealogical data can be found in the claims. Carol P. Martoccia 903 East Fifth Street Greenville, NC 27858 Pridgen Home Page: http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Meadows/6297 Pridgen Archives: http://searches.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/listsearch.pl

> >Hi, >This was posted on another list. Have visited it and it is working. >The LDS search site is now online: http://32.96.111.13/default.asp >Just input your ancestor's name and it will search the Ancestral File, >North American and the British IGI, Family History Library, Web Sites, and a few other areas for a match. >Happy hunting! > > >

FEDERAL SOURCES - REVOLUTIONARY WAR BOUNTY-LAND WARRANT APPLICATION FILES (from National Genealogical Society Newsletter Sep/Oct 1986) Bounty-land warrants, which entitled their holders to free land in the public domain, were given to veterans or their survivors for wartime service performed between 1775 and 3 March 1855. Bounty-land warrant application files, which provide evidence of military service, are part of Record Group 15, Records of the Veterans Administration. Since most bounty-land warrants were transferable, an approved bounty-land warrant application is not evidence of land ownership. Bounty-land warrants surrendered for land in the public domain, usually by someone other than the veteran who applied for the warrant, document ownership of land at a given time and place. These surrendered warrants are part of Record Group 49, Records of the General Land Office. A bounty-land warrant application is especially valuable in an instance where the veteran or his widow did not apply for a pension. Not all Revolutionary War veterans and widows met the qualifications for pensions during their lifetimes, and some who did qualify did not apply. Since there was no need requirement for bounty land, many of these veterans and widow did apply for bounty-land warrants. In addition to his rank, military unit, and period of service, a bounty land warrant application by a Revolutionary War veteran will give his age and place of residence at the time of the application. An application by a widow will normally give, in addition to her age and place of residence, the date and place of her marriage to him, and her maiden name. An application by a survivor may list all of the veteran's heirs at law. BOUNTY LAND LEGISLATION In 1776, the Continental Congress promised land to officers and soldiers who engaged in military service and served until the end of the Revolutionary War or until discharged and to the survivors of those killed in the war. The amount of land varied with rank. Privates and noncommissioned officers were to receive 100 acres, ensigns 150, lieutenants 200, captains 300, majors 400, lieutenant colonels 450, and colonels 500. In 1780 the law was extended to generals, granting brigadier generals 850 acres and major generals 1,100. This was the basic law under which bounty land was granted for Revolutionary War service until 1855. In 1788 Congress directed the Secretary of War to begin issuing warrants to eligible veterans upon application. This law provided that the veteran could transfer his warrant to another person, and most of the warrants issued under this and succeeding acts were assigned at least once before being surrendered for land. Actual patenting of land in exchange for bounty land warrants did not begin until about 1800. Until 1830 the U.S. Military District of Ohio was the only place a Revolutionary War bounty land warrant could be used. Beginning in 1830 a bounty-land warrant could be exchanged for scrip which was receivable at any land office in Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois. In 1842 all federal bounty land warrants were made good at any land office. In 1855 Congress amended the basic law governing bounty land granted for Revolutionary War service by making the minimum entitlement 160 acres regardless of rank and reducing the service requirement to fourteen days or participation in any battle during the war. A veteran or survivors who had previously received fewer than 160 acres could apply for the balance. In 1856 the benefits of the 1855 act were extended to Revolutionary War naval officers and enlisted men and their heirs. Many applications for bounty- land warrants were made under the 1855 act by persons who met the service requirement for the first time. Claimants for bounty-land warrants based on Revolutionary War service forwarded their applications to the Secretary of War until 1841, to the Commissioner of Pensions in the War Department from 1841 to 1849, and to the Secretary of the Interior after the Pension Office was transferred to that department in 1849. Some applications were accompanied by affidavits testifying to the military service performed, marriage records, and other forms of evidence. When an application was approved, a warrant for a specified number of acres was issued to the claimant or his assignee. The holder of the warrant then selected the portion of the public domain he wished to have in exchange for the warrant and surrendered the warrant at the appropriate district land office. The papers were forwarded to Washington where the Treasury Department and, after 1849, the Interior Department issued a patent for the land. BOUNTY-LAND WARRANT APPLICATION FILES Bounty-land warrant applications and related papers approved before the War Department fire of November 1800 are presumed to have been lost in that fire. These lost files are represented by 10" x 14" cards that show the name of the veteran, his rank, the state or organization for which he served, the symbol "B.L.Wt." followed by the warrant number and the number of acres granted, the date the warrant was issued, and the name of a person other than the veteran to whom the warrant was delivered or assigned. This information was transcribed from surviving registers of bounty-land war- rants issued before 8 November 1800. Files for bounty-land warrants applications approved after 8 November 1800 are in envelopes that have headings consisting of the name of the veteran, his widow's name if she applied for the warrant, the state or organization for which he served, the symbol "B.L.Wt." followed by the number of the warrant, the number of acres granted, and, in the case of applications made under the act of 1855, the number "55". Records in the files may include applications, family Bible records, marriage records, affidavits testifying to the veteran's service, and other papers. Envelopes containing rejected bounty-land warrant applications are marked "B.L.Reg." (for bounty-land register) followed by the register number assigned to the application. Bounty-land warrant applications and related papers have been consolidated with pension application files based on the service of the same veteran. Frequently a widow's approved pension application is consolidated with her approved bounty-land warrant application under the act of 1855. A veteran's pension application and bounty-land warrant application may be in the same file. Rejected pension application files may also contain ap- proved or rejected bounty-land warrant application papers. MICROFILM PUBLICATION The Revolutionary War pension and bounty land warrant application files have been microfilmed on 2,670 rolls of National Archives Microfilm Publi- cation M804. The files are arranged alphabetically by the surnames of the veterans. A pamphlet describing the contents of this publication roll by roll is available free of charge from the National Archives. Microfilm Publication M804 is available to researchers at the National Archives in Washington, D.C. and at the eleven National Archives field branches. Individual rolls can be borrowed for you by your local library through the Census Microfilm Rental program. The publication is also available at the LDS Genealogical Department Library in Salt Lake City and through its branch libraries. Microfilm rolls can be purchased from the National Archives. As an alternative to using the microfilmed records, a copy of a Revolutionary War bounty-land warrant application file can be ordered by mail from the National Archives using NATF Form 80, Order for Copies of Veterans Records. Check "Bounty-Land Warrant Application" on the form and provide the name of the veteran, the war in which he served, the state from which he served, and, if you have it, the bounty-land warrant application file number. "Index to Revolutionary War Pension Applications in the National Archives," published by the National Genealogical Society gives the name of the veteran, the state from which he served, the bounty-land warrant applica- tion file number, and, in the case of a widow's application, the given name of the widow. This index is available in many libraries and can be pur- chased from the Society. Information found in a bounty-land warrant application file for your Revolutionary War ancestor should be properly identified in your family records. A citation should include the following: (Descriptive title of the document), (name of the veteran), Revolutionary War Bounty-Land Warrant Application File (symbol and numbers), Records of the Veterans Administra- tion, Record Group 15, National Archives Microfilm Publication M804, roll (number. Carol P. Martoccia 903 East Fifth Street Greenville, NC 27858 Pridgen Home Page: http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Meadows/6297 Pridgen Archives: http://searches.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/listsearch.pl

http://www.angelfire.com/ok2/sites/ There is an excellent site on the web which has great links--including: EBay's sales of genealogy books-Click on Odds and Ends History References Odds and ends Native American links Religion Literature Genealogy....German maps, German names and Italian names, etc. Anthropology Art The graphics are lovely (Allan)! Carol P. Martoccia 903 East Fifth Street Greenville, NC 27858 Pridgen Home Page: http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Meadows/6297 Pridgen Archives: http://searches.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/listsearch.pl

Eastman's Online Genealogy Newsletter A Weekly Summary of Events and Topics of Interest to Online Genealogists Vol. 4 No. 13 - March 27, 1999 This newsletter is sponsored by Ancestry Publishing, a leader in providing print and electronic research information to genealogists. To learn about Ancestry's state-of-the-art online genealogy databases and other fine products, visit the Ancestry HomeTown at: http://www.ancestry.com Past issues of this Newsletter are available at: http://www.ancestry.com/columns/eastman/index.htm ========================================================== Copyright (C) 1999 by Richard W. Eastman. All rights reserved. If you do contact any of the companies or societies mentioned in this newsletter, please tell them that you read about their services in this newsletter. ============================================================ ============================================================ - Holocaust Group Seeks LDS Data According to the Deseret News, the LDS Church has been asked to provide genealogical records that could help identify between 300,000 and 400,000 Jewish Holocaust victims who may have established bank accounts in Switzerland. Church spokesman Dale Bills confirmed that the accounting firm Coopers & Lybrand asked for copies of records to further their work with the Volcker Commission. Former Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker is heading up an audit of Swiss bank accounts, hoping to identify Holocaust victims who had untold millions deposited that were never retrieved. For years, the descendants of those victims have said they can't get enough information from Swiss banks to determine whether assets still remain that are rightfully theirs. In response to the request, Bills echoed comments by Michael Otterson, director of media relations for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, who told Reuters news agency that "our intent is to respond to it as a goodwill gesture, but we are still waiting to see if there are any objections." In 1995, the church signed an agreement with the American Gathering of Jewish Holocaust Survivors to stop doing proxy baptisms in its temples for Jewish Holocaust victims. The agreement came after that organization strongly objected to the posthumous baptisms, which Latter-day Saints perform not only for their own ancestors but for millions of others who have died. The agreement also stipulated that the church would "remove from the next issue of the International Genealogical Index (IGI) the names of all known posthumously baptized Jewish Holocaust victims who are not direct ancestors of living members of the church." Bills said those names have been removed from the IGI, which is a database that is available to the public for research on family history. The database is also one source of names for which Latter-day Saints perform proxy baptisms and other ordinances in their temples. The complete story is available at: http://www.desnews.com/dn/view/0,1249,75001152,00.html ============================================================ - Gibson County, Indiana Cemetery Indexes Online Chawn E. Caniff, with assistance from a number of other people, has developed a valuable Web site for anyone with Gibson County, Indiana ancestors. The site lists all the cemeteries in the county. In addition, volunteers are transcribing the tombstones of the cemeteries and placing that information on the Web site. Not all of the cemeteries have been completed yet. However, when I looked at the site, I found a lot of listings. The Web site's main page has links to the individual pages for each cemetery. Each individual page will eventually contain a transcribed listing of the graves in that cemetery. One of the neat functions of the site is the availability of an on-line mapping capability showing the location of the cemetery. The GPS coordinates are passed to Tiger Mapping to allow this function. A view is then displayed, showing the location of the cemetery along with other cemeteries in close proximity. Not all the cemeteries have the GPS coordinates listed, but the coordinates are being added frequently. I wrote an article in Genealogical Computing last year about the use of a GPS receiver to find cemeteries. I suspect that GPS receivers will become standard equipment for genealogy research in the near future. I keep a GPS receiver mounted on the dashboard of my car at all times and have found many uses for it. For instance, I record not only cemetery locations but also the precise location of land purchased by my ancestors or towns where they lived. With data from Chawn E. Caniff's Web site, I can easily drive to cemeteries in Gibson County, Indiana, even if they are on back roads and overgrown with weeds and underbrush. To look at the Gibson County, Indiana Cemetery Indexes, set your Web browser to: http://www.usroots.com/~jmurphy/gibson/gibcem/gibcem.htm. ============================================================ - Centraal Bureau voor Genealogie Online The Centraal Bureau voor Genealogie in The Hague was founded in 1945. Since then it has become the largest center for family history and genealogy in the Netherlands. The Bureau presently has: * an extensive library (100,000 bindings) with, amongst others, publications on genealogy, heraldry and both regional and local history, in Dutch as well as foreign languages. The foreign publications mainly refer to countries of importance for Dutch emigration and immigration. * about 60,000 files with genealogical manuscripts, biographical data, etc. originating from the work of hundreds of amateur and professional genealogists. * millions of newspaper cuttings and family announcements about birth, marriage and death (from circa 1795 up till the present) * 'primary' genealogical data in the form of microfilm-copies of thousands of registers of births, baptisms, marriages and burials in the Netherlands, the former Dutch East- and West-Indies and the Dutch border areas. As well, there are copies of municipal registers up to circa 1910 and personal record cards used in the municipal registers from 1939 till 1994. However, the Bureau has cards only of deceased persons of that period. Large parts of these collections have been catalogued in the automated CBG-Catalogue (CBG-Catalogus). Here you can find information mainly on books and journals, files ('dossiers'), newspaper cuttings ('familieadvertenties') and family announcements ('familiedrukwerk'). The catalog is computerized and is available online now. However, remember that this is an online catalog, not the details themselves. ============================================================ - African-American Genealogy Group The Philadelphia Inquirer ran an interesting genealogy story in their March 25, 1999 edition. It describes a Philadelphia-based genealogy group with 130 members called the African American Genealogy Group. The society holds workshops, hosts guest speakers, and offers field trips to libraries and archives. The entire article is available online at: http://www.newsindex.com/cgi- bin/result.cgi?http://www.phillynews.com/inquirer/99/Mar/25/pa_west/WROOT25. htm =========================================================== - More On NGS Convention Accommodations In last week's newsletter I mentioned the shortage of available hotel rooms at this year's National Genealogical Society annual conference. Then I wrote, "By the way, is anyone interested in going to the NASCAR race Saturday evening after the convention is finished?" The joke is on me: The race is sold out. I don't think any of us will be able to obtain last-minute tickets. - Home Pages Highlighted The following is a list of some of the genealogy-related World Wide Web home pages that have been listed recently on http://www.rootscomputing.com. Some of these sites may charge a fee for their services: Mulnix family Web site: http://mulnix.family.webjump.com Guild of One Name Studies for the surname of WEBB(E): http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Valley/2009 Sikes/Sykes Families Association: http://www.sikes- sykesfamilies.org Tower/Wheelock family from Massachusetts and pictures from Hingham, Massachusetts relating to Tower: http://hometown.aol.com/deaton6365/index.html Garner/Gardener family research: http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Garden/2238/ Information on Downing Family Historical Society of America. Also genealogy t-shirts: http://www.genealiTEES.com The Treadway Web - lineages of Nathaniel Treadway of New England, Thomas Treadway of Baltimore and Harford Co., Maryland, and Richard Treadway of Baltimore Co., Maryland: http://members.tripod.com/~Randy_T/treadweb.html Reynolds and over 100 other surnames: http:// www.geocities.com/westhollywood/3865 A site about Middleton Manchester, UK as it was before 1964 with links to former Middletonians or "Moonrakers" as they are known locally: http://www.vmims.com/middleton.htm Burchett families in Johnson and Morgan counties, Kentucky: http://homepages.infoseek.com/~randall30/index.html To submit your home page to this newsletter, enter the necessary information at: http://www.rootscomputing.com/register.htm. Due to the volume of new Web pages submitted, I am not able to list all of them in the newsletter. ========================================================== Are you interested in the articles in this newsletter? Would you like to learn more or ask questions or make comments about these articles? Join this newsletter's online discussion group on CompuServe's Genealogy Techniques Forum. CompuServe members using Netscape, Internet Explorer or CompuServe 2000 can go to http://go.compuserve.com/GenealogyForum. If you are using Classic CompuServe, you can GO ROOTS. ========================================================== COPYRIGHTS: The contents of this newsletter are copyright by Richard W. Eastman and by Ancestry Publishing and by others so designated. You are hereby granted rights, unless otherwise specified, to re-distribute articles from this newsletter to other parties provided you do so strictly for non-commercial purposes. Please limit your re-distribution to one or two articles per newsletter; do not re-distribute the newsletter in its entirety. Also, please include the following words with any articles you re- distribute: The following article is from Eastman's Online Genealogy Newsletter and is copyright 1999 by Richard W. Eastman. It is re-published here with the permission of the author. Thank you for your cooperation. ========================================================== Subscription information: To subscribe to this free newsletter, send an e-mail message to the following address: [email protected] The message title is unimportant. The first line of text in the message must have the words SUBSCRIBE ROOTSCOMPUTING followed by your first and last names. For instance, if your name is Jane Doe, you would write a message of: subscribe rootscomputing Jane Doe That is the entire message; nothing else should be in the message text. To cancel an existing subscription, send an e-mail to: [email protected] The message title is unimportant. The text of the message must be exactly: signoff rootscomputing Please note that the address of [email protected] is an "e-mail robot" and messages sent to that address are only read by a computer. If you send any more text in the message, it will be ignored. If you want to see the current issue as well as back issues of the newsletter, look on the World Wide Web at: http://www.ancestry.com/columns/eastman/index.htm Please feel free to copy this subscription information and pass it on to anyone else who you think might be interested in obtaining a free subscription. ========================================================== About the author: Dick Eastman is the forum manager of the four Genealogy Forums on CompuServe. He also is the author of "YOUR ROOTS: Total Genealogy Planning On Your Computer" published by Ziff-Davis Press. He can be reached at: [email protected]

This message is a general review of some of the things one needs to do Genealogical research. For most this will be a review, but perhaps it can serve as a help to newbies. Ancestry Daily News >From the publisher of "The Source" and Ancestry Magazine http://www.ancestry.com 26 March 1999 GEORGE G. MORGAN: "ALONG THOSE LINES . . ." "What Are Genealogy Tools?" <<<>>><<<>>><<<>>><<<>>><<<>>><<<>>><<<>>><<<>>><<<>>> ======================================================= I got into a discussion the other night with my friends Valencia, Ivy and Alva in the Genealogy Forum on America Online about updating our glossary of terms. Valencia raised the question, "What are genealogy tools?" We agreed that many a new genealogist -- and the experienced genealogist trying to stay caught up with technology -- may be confused when reading an article that instructs him/her to use all the tools at one's disposal. Just what are these tools? In "Along Those Lines . . ." this week, let's discuss some of the tools that you might use in your research. PREPRINTED FORMS There are all sorts of preprinted forms available for your use. These include pedigree charts, family group sheets, census forms for each of the federal censuses, abstract of deed forms, abstract of will/codicil forms, and other specialized forms. These are tools for your written research. MAPS One of the most valuable tools to locating your ancestors is an accurate map of the area when your ancestor lived. The map should be one that reflects the geopolitical boundaries and features that existed when you ancestor lived there. Only this map will provide you the information to accurately perform research in the correct location. GAZETTEERS Gazetteers are geographical dictionaries that help you locate specific locations. Older gazetteers can be invaluable when trying to locate places that no longer exist or whose names have changed. CENSUS INDEXES AND OTHER CENSUS FINDING AIDS Among the early resources we can use to trace ancestors is the census. Federal population censuses have taken place every ten years beginning with 1790, and records for the 1790-1920 censuses (except the 1890 census which burned) are available for review on microfilm. What you may not know is that there were a few colonial enumerations performed prior to 1790 and that a number of states conducted their own censuses between the federal ones. Printed indexes are invaluable for quickly locating the name of an ancestor and the county/parish in which he or she was enumerated, and the page number of the actual census record. More recently, some of these census indexes have become available in electronic environments. Ancestry.com just announced the availability of census indexes for 1790-1870 in their subscription database area at their Web site. One CD-ROM manufacturer is selling CDs containing the actual image of the census records for some areas, part of a large project whose intent is to make all census records available in this manner. Enumeration district records are available on microfilm too. These define the boundaries of each area where a census taker (enumerator) was to conduct their portion of the census. By studying boundaries of the enumeration district where your ancestors were situated in one census, you can use the enumeration district records for another census to determine where to look in the census records to locate the ancestor again. CD-ROM REFERENCE DISKS There are many excellent genealogical reference materials available on CD-ROM today. Certainly there are marriage records, census records, ships passenger list records, other people's databases (GEDCOM files), and a variety of other record types. There are, however, tremendous reference works available on this media. These include: ~ The Church of Latter-day Saints' "Family History SourceGuide" which includes research outlines, an index to the LDS records catalog, a glossary and other resources on a single CD-ROM. ~ The "Ancestry Reference Library," a CD containing the full text of the definitive Ancestry reference books, "The Source: A Guidebook of American Genealogy," "Ancestry's Redbook: A Guide to American State, County, and Town Sources," "The Library of Congress," "The Library: A Guide to the LDS Family History Library," and "The Archives: A Guide to the National Archives Field Branches." ~ Family Tree Maker's Family Archive "The Genealogist's All-in-One Address Book," which contains family associations, libraries, archives, genealogical societies, newsletter and book publishers, courthouses and many other addresses. ~ The "Periodical Source Index" (PERSI) the invaluable index of over five thousand genealogical and historical publications. Other CD-ROM-based reference materials accompany the genealogy database software programs described below. GENEALOGY DATABASE PROGRAMS There are many programs available to enter, store, and manage the genealogical information you collect during your family history odyssey. They range from the basic family tree program to more sophisticated products such as Broderbund's "Family Tree Maker," the "LDS Personal Ancestral File" (PAF), Palladium Interactive's "Ultimate Family Tree" and others. Many of these contain extensive embedded help and reference facilities. If you're using a genealogy database program and have not explored and utilized these resources, you have missed a great deal of sophisticated material. INTERNET WEB SITES Nothing has changed the face of genealogical research in the last half-decade than the World Wide Web. The vast resources of Web pages serve as pointers to primary information sources and as a means of connection to other people researching the same surnames that we seek. In order to use these important resources, one needs to know how to access the Web with a graphical browser such as Netscape or Microsoft Internet Explorer, and learn how to use directories and search engines (see last week's column for details about using search engines). Among the best Web sites are Cyndi's List of categorized genealogical links (http://www.cyndislist.com/), Juliana's Links (http://www.ancestry.com/ancestry/testurllinks/search.asp) which provides a searchable database of links to genealogical resources on the Web, and The USGenWeb site (http://www.usgenweb.org/) which provides links to state and county resources across the country. MAILING LISTS (LISTSRVS) There are thousands of people researching the same surname you are, and chances are good that they are subscribed to an Internet E-mail mailing list (also known as a listsrv). There are literally thousands of such lists for surnames, geographical locations, ship passenger lists, immigration and naturalization, and scores of other topics. Among the best resources for genealogists are the RootsWeb site (http://www.rootsweb.com/) and the Mailing List Resources on the Internet (http://members.aol.com/johnf14246/gen_mail.html). AUTOMATED AIDS There are certainly automated aids that you may have developed to facilitate your own research. This might include: ~ Forms -- You may have created log sheets, research forms, forms for notes, forms for recording bibliographic citations, and a variety of other self-designed or self-created aids for your unique style and method of research. (I created forms for use in gathering census information for a single ancestor on one form for all the censuses.) ~ Spreadsheets -- You may have prepared a data entry and recording system to store certain data. The use of spreadsheet programs is common because you can define columns, perform data entry, and then sort all the data based on column content and in ascending/descending and other orders. (I use an Excel spreadsheet to keep track of my genealogical correspondence. I make a notation of the ancestor about whom I'm writing for records. Later, I can sort the whole spreadsheet by surname and first name and track all the correspondence I've generated for him/her and its status. I use a similar spreadsheet for surname research I've performed.) ~ Automated reports -- You may be using your word processor, your spreadsheet program, a database software package, and/or your genealogical database program to produce specific mechanized reports for specific needs. (I use my computer and these programs to produce custom reports to take with me when I go on a research trip. These commonly contain all the information about a surname or a family unit.) OTHER TOOLS There are other tools you may use to record data. An audio tape recorder is great for use in reading records for later transcription or data entry. A video camcorder is wonderful for recording events, interviews, etc. A camera is another tool. A stenographer's pad, several pencils and pens, paper clips, a stapler, a piece of chalk, a crayon, tissue paper (for tracing), coins for photocopy machines -- these are all essential tools for a genealogist. CLOSING THE TOOL KIT As you can see, there are many, many tools that we use in our genealogical research. Perhaps you never thought of some of these as tools, per se. Nevertheless, that's what they are. When I mentioned the subject of this week's column to another friend, he asked if I was going to mention bribes. "You know," he said. "The chocolate candy you send to the reference librarian for being such a great help to you?" I told him I didn't think it was necessary because we all do that anyway. Right? Happy hunting! George <<<>>><<<>>><<<>>><<<>>><<<>>><<<>>><<<>>><<<>>><<<>>> Copyright 1999 George G. Morgan. All Rights reserved. Carol P. Martoccia 903 East Fifth Street Greenville, NC 27858 Pridgen Home Page: http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Meadows/6297 Pridgen Archives: http://searches.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/listsearch.pl

Hello, Does anyone in Wilson Co., NC or on the Wilson List know of any Batts living in Edgecombe Co., NC in the early 1800's. Now Wilson Co., NC ( possibly) that had a daughter named Sarah "Sally Batts. She married John Whitehead b. 1809. Son of Matthew whitehead. They had twin son's born 25 July 1844. John And Jeremiah Whitehead. There were also other children. John b.1844 was my mother's grandfather. He married Mary Ann Ruffin b.1844. I am interested in any Batts but perticularly Sarah Batts. I need to know whoSarah Batts father was. She was Born ? 1810.( Also her mother if known.) John Whithead b. 1809; his father Matthew Whitehead had land that joined Jeremiah Batts. 92 acres joining Jeremiah Batts was left to John as well as 92 acres to each of his brothers and sisters except Thany who married Theophilius Thomas. Margaret married James Griffin. ( I have the names of the other children also.) Does anyone know this Jeremiah Batts ? My feeling is that he may have had a daughter named Sarah. Does anyone know of this? Please help! Thanks for any help. Peggy

List and Mike Simmons: There is also the Flowers Family Historical Society web site at: http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Ridge/7524 Rae Jean in Memphis

There are 2 new boards at Rootsweb-GenConnect for the Flowers surname. If you have a query you can post it here: http://cgi.rootsweb.com/~genbbs/genbbs.cgi/surnames/flo/Flowers If you have a biography you would like to share you can post it here: http://cgi.rootsweb.com/~genbbs/genbbs.cgi/surnames/flo/FlowersBios Thanks, Mike Simmons

The LDS website has a "traditional" tree chart you can print up at the following website: http://www.lds.org/en/2_How_Do_I_Begin/2-What_Can.html They also have a handy research chart you might be interested in. This is a basic How to begin page and may be worthwhile to review. Carol Carol P. Martoccia 903 East Fifth Street Greenville, NC 27858 Pridgen Home Page: http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Meadows/6297 Pridgen Archives: http://searches.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/listsearch.pl

Thanks to Jo Webb and Al Bass for this info. Connie

I have just returned from a Heritage Quest Road Show. If one comes in your area, please do take the opportunity to go. Leland Meitzler was our lecturer and he had three different sessions... One session was called LOCATING YOUR ANCESTOR'S FAMILY WHEN ALL YOU KNOW IS THE STATE. This lecture dealt with all the state wide indices that are available and mentioned a lot of the ones we have discussed on Pridgen list. Ex...PERSI. As you know we have in our archives ALL the articles that are Pridgen based thanks to our own Jane who so graciously fetched them from the Allen County Library. Other indices were of course, Census, IGI (use with caution), The internet, and almost every state has some sort of index of names. Perhaps later this week I can go into more detail about this lecture. The second lecture of the day was of particular importance to those of us from the South...YOUR ANCESTOR DIDN'T DIE IN THE COURTHOUSE FIRE. This talk told where we should go to look for information if the courthouse did burn... County histories Date of fire....maybe it burned before your ancestor was there even. Did the WPA do any inventories. Were the Deeds reconstructed? Check for county boundary changes. Maybe the necessary you need is in a parent county--or a child county. Church Records City directories Coroner's records Newspapers Tax records Voter Registration records Cemetery Records and tombstones Funeral home records School records Go to Archives and check if there were any copies of county records sent there State Bounty Land Records...available for Ga., Maryland, Mass, NY, NC, Pennsylvania, SC, and Virginia...and here I learned something new....A person could give his bounty land to a relative...a son or daughter or grandchild...when that person claims the land, he has to prove his bloodline to the Veteran....Maybe here is where we need to spend more time. State Prison records State Hospital records Federal Records Pension, Census, Federal Bounty Land Records ...Revolutionary War through the Mexican War The third lecture was on the value of Newspaper Research. I will go into this tomorrow because this is an important tool also. Carol P. Martoccia 903 East Fifth Street Greenville, NC 27858 Pridgen Home Page: http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Meadows/6297 Pridgen Archives: http://searches.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/listsearch.pl

Brenda, Thanks for sharing your experiences on your grandmother's birthday and your adventures that day. I am especially interested because my Pridgen list wants a reunion.We are a group of white and black researchers--all with the Pridgen/Pridgeon name. I think it will take at least a year to get all the activities planned that would make a good event. I was glad to hear that the mixed reunion worked well in your case. Carol At 06:52 AM 3/24/1999 EST, you wrote: >Devereux Descendants: Slave Owners and Slaves > >Thank you for all the help you gave me within the last few weeks. My Granny's >birthday celebration was great and very loving with a few surprises. We had >more family members to attend that was planned our that I knew about as being >a part of the family. As you can remember we are descendants of the Devereux >slaves. We even had a descendant of the Devereux slave owner to attend. My >Granny and Claire bonded instantly. My family really had a great time with her >and the whole thing was video taped for a documentary about the Devereux clan. >The video taping started at my grandmother's church Sunday morning. Granny is >a member of an Holiness church. I thought it would be different from anything >that Claire had ever been too, but she was just as excited as everyone else >and it seem as if she had always been with us. It seems as she and her son, >Victor, as a part of our family that had just went on a little vacation and or >just returning with their arm open and loving. I hope you understand what I >mean. It just that when you meet people for the first time there is this >bonding connection that you have always know each other and are the very best >of friends or family. > >Saturday we spent all day at Conneconara and Runeroi (plantations) in Halifax >and Bertie Counties. We went to unmarked slave gravesites non standing slave >quarters sites. I have never been so far back in the woods. I have never >thought of what might exist beyond the trees we see from the roads or >highways. It was about 12 or 13 of us. Elvatese and myself were there because >we were the descendants of the slaves. For us I think we had already boned >over the phone but when we finnaly met each other, I knew we were family. For >me it was a very emotional and overwhelming day. I never dreamed of such an >experience. I think each researcher and their family should make an attempt to >visit their ancestoral lands and dwellings (if still standing). I have never >felt more close to my past. It made me understand and see my ancestors more >clearly in their day to day life. It's one thing reading and writing about it >and it's another thing actually being there to touch the dirt, breathe and >cry. I learned more of my history from that group of people because everyone >was there bonding with a past that we each share. > >My grandmother wanted me to thank everyone that sent her card and email >wishes. She really enjoyed my book. All the cards and wishes were included as >pages in her book. I have a copy being copyrighted also. > >Thanks once again for all your help and please have a blessed day. > >Brenda > > Carol P. Martoccia 903 East Fifth Street Greenville, NC 27858 Pridgen Home Page: http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Meadows/6297 Pridgen Archives: http://searches.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/listsearch.pl

> > Could some kind person check the 1870 and/or 1880 Wilson Co. census for: > > > > AMANDA MOORE born 1865 > > > > Thanks so much... > > Connie > > > > Connie {Do you know who her father is? I am asking because I to have > a Moore line in Wilson Co. {Wendy Wendy, I don't know who her father is. There is likely some connection with Benjamin Moore Sr. born 1780 and noted in the 1850 Edgecombe Co. census in that part that became Wilson. He's likely a member of the Moore family of Ward's Run in Pitt, Edgecombe and Wilson Cos. Connie

> From: [email protected] > Date: Wed, 17 Mar 1999 03:33:56 +0000 > Priority: normal > Subject: [NCWILSON-L] Amerson Family > To: [email protected] > Reply-to: [email protected] > Hello All > I am looking for info on these families I would like to > hear from anyone working on these lines > > Isaac Uraih Amerson born 1816 in Edgecombe Co. > wife Matilda Barnes born 1814 Edgecombe Co. > children Charity born 1840 Edgecombe Co. Elizabeth born 1842 > Edgecombe Co. > Rufus born 1843 Edgecombe Co. Edwin born 1845 Edgecombe Co. > Thomas born 1847 Edgecombe Co. Sarah born 1849 Edgecombe Co. > Susan born 1852 Edgecombe Co. > This is info from the 1860 Wilson Co. census > Elisha Amason born 1825 wife Martha born 1829 > children Penina born 1853 Seth born 1855 Nancy born 1859 > Hope to hear from you soon {Wendy > > > >

I'm trying to determine county lines for North Caroline in 1880, 1900, 1910 and 1920. Does any one know where I might be able to obtain maps for these time periods? Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you. Vanessa

> Date: Wed, 24 Mar 1999 17:36:32 -0500 > From: Connie Fisher <[email protected]> > Reply-to: [email protected] > To: [email protected] > Cc: [email protected] > Subject: Census Lookup/Moore > > > Could some kind person check the 1870 and/or 1880 Wilson Co. census for: > > > > > > AMANDA MOORE born 1865 > > > > > > Thanks so much... > > > Connie > > > > > > Connie {Do you know who her father is? I am asking because I to have > > a Moore line in Wilson Co. {Wendy > > > Wendy, > > I don't know who her father is. There is likely some connection with > Benjamin Moore Sr. born 1780 and noted in the 1850 Edgecombe Co. census > in that part that became Wilson. He's likely a member of the Moore > family of Ward's Run in Pitt, Edgecombe and Wilson Cos. > > Connie > > Hi Connie {I have a cousin that maybe able to help I don't think that she is from my line but he has info on alot of Moore's E-Mail him at [email protected] His name is Albert let me know if he can help you.{Wendy

Could some kind person check the 1870 and/or 1880 Wilson Co. census for: AMANDA MOORE born 1865 Thanks so much... Connie

To All Whom It May Concern: Search the “DESCRIPTIVE & HISTORICAL REGISTER of Enlisted Soldiers in the U.S. Army,” who served “At Buffalo,” between 1835 and 1846. This is a free service on: The Buffalo Barracks Historical Web Site [ http://www.buffalonet.org/army ] Every pre-Civil War state was well represented at this short lived federal military post. Many having served in the Florida Indian Wars, the War with Mexico, and then the Civil War. Perhaps you have an ancestor who was at the Buffalo Barracks? Cliff Williams [email protected]

Devereux Descendants: Slave Owners and Slaves Thank you for all the help you gave me within the last few weeks. My Granny's birthday celebration was great and very loving with a few surprises. We had more family members to attend that was planned our that I knew about as being a part of the family. As you can remember we are descendants of the Devereux slaves. We even had a descendant of the Devereux slave owner to attend. My Granny and Claire bonded instantly. My family really had a great time with her and the whole thing was video taped for a documentary about the Devereux clan. The video taping started at my grandmother's church Sunday morning. Granny is a member of an Holiness church. I thought it would be different from anything that Claire had ever been too, but she was just as excited as everyone else and it seem as if she had always been with us. It seems as she and her son, Victor, as a part of our family that had just went on a little vacation and or just returning with their arm open and loving. I hope you understand what I mean. It just that when you meet people for the first time there is this bonding connection that you have always know each other and are the very best of friends or family. Saturday we spent all day at Conneconara and Runeroi (plantations) in Halifax and Bertie Counties. We went to unmarked slave gravesites non standing slave quarters sites. I have never been so far back in the woods. I have never thought of what might exist beyond the trees we see from the roads or highways. It was about 12 or 13 of us. Elvatese and myself were there because we were the descendants of the slaves. For us I think we had already boned over the phone but when we finnaly met each other, I knew we were family. For me it was a very emotional and overwhelming day. I never dreamed of such an experience. I think each researcher and their family should make an attempt to visit their ancestoral lands and dwellings (if still standing). I have never felt more close to my past. It made me understand and see my ancestors more clearly in their day to day life. It's one thing reading and writing about it and it's another thing actually being there to touch the dirt, breathe and cry. I learned more of my history from that group of people because everyone was there bonding with a past that we each share. My grandmother wanted me to thank everyone that sent her card and email wishes. She really enjoyed my book. All the cards and wishes were included as pages in her book. I have a copy being copyrighted also. Thanks once again for all your help and please have a blessed day. Brenda