I Do -- Marriage Record Research by Ruby Coleman Marriage records are inconsistent from one county to another and from one state to another. At various times periods they were recorded in different formats and according to laws that are no longer in existence. During the colonial era many couples were married by circuit riding preachers who did not keep track of their marriages, baptisms and burials. In some cases, couples went ahead and lived together as man and wife until they could be officially married. Some of the words that you will encounter in research of marriage records are the following: marriage banns - notice of intended marriage published by a church and often read before the congregation; normally published three Sundays or holy days in the parish were the persons dwelled or wedding was to occur marriage bond - document binding parties to pay a sum of money if the obligation of marriage is not performed; used in colonial era; usually paid by the father, brother or a relative of a bride; posted before a license could be issued marriage license - document issued by a civil authority authorizing that the marriage can be performed marriage record or return - report of marriage returned to the civil authority by person performing marriage marriage register - record of marriages performed in a civil or church jurisdiction bondsman or surety - person legally liable for the debt or default of another; they are shown as such on early marriage bonds declaration of intent to marry - in some instances required before a ceremony could be performed marriage contract - also known as a prenuptial agreement; normally used to protect property for children (in case of second or more marriages); sometimes filed in probate or land records dowry - property a bride brings to her husband at the time of marriage For remainder of article: http://genealogytoday.com/columns/ruby/041013.html Sally Rolls Pavia sallypavia2001@yahoo.com List Owner: GENEALOGYBITSANDPIECES-L-request@rootsweb.com Archives: http://archiver.rootsweb.com/th/index/GENEALOGYBITSANDPIECES "All incoming and outgoing email checked by Norton Anti-Virus" Patriotic people VOTE!

Story of the Plague Disease was rampant in the 17th century. In England, people anxiously read the Bills of Mortality, published every week, which listed the number of deaths and their causes. Plague was the most feared disease of all: people died of it every year, and the Black Death pandemic – which had killed nearly one third of Europe's population (20 million people) in the 1300s – still lived on in folk memory. The plague was terrifying because it struck so swiftly. Victims died within days, in agony from fevers and infected swellings. It spread at a horrifying rate, too, and could ravage a town or even a city within weeks. With no cure the authorities relied on drastic methods to contain it. Many continental countries built large plague hospitals – 'pest houses' – to hold victims, but England preferred cheaper local solutions. Its 'plague orders' decreed that victims should be shut into their own houses and left to die. www.channel4.com/history/microsites/H/history/plague/story.html Sally Rolls Pavia sallypavia2001@yahoo.com “We have not inherited the world from our forefathers, we have borrowed it from our children.” . Kashmiri Proverb List Owner: GENEALOGYBITSANDPIECES-L-request@rootsweb.com Archives: http://archiver.rootsweb.com/th/index/GENEALOGYBITSANDPIECES "All incoming and outgoing email checked by Norton Anti-Virus"

Here is an interesting looking event. You can attend without leaving home. The following is an announcement from the Family Link Network: Salt Lake City, Utah--- (Oct. 19, 2004) With the continued widespread use of the Internet in family history research, the Family Link Network is announcing today the opening of registrations for their first online genealogy Expo to be held November 16 - December 16, 2004. The theme of Family Link Expo I is, "Now is the Time…This is the Place, for Genealogy Training to Come to You!!" The Expo contains 15 online presentations by genealogy professionals ranging from British research to using animated maps. Also included is a very entertaining presentation called, "Hookers, Crooks and Kooks, Aunt Merle Didn't Run a Boarding House" which shows some of the surprises you may find in your family history closet Admission to the Expo amounts to just over $3.00 per presentation at $49.95 and includes 24 hour / seven days a week accessibility to the online presentations for the 30-day length of the Expo as well as printable handouts on the material prepared by the instructors. Discounts are available for early registration up to November 4, 2004. Family Link Expo I also offers an online Exhibit Hall that the general public can enter and view booths with information on the latest family history products and services. The Family Link Network will also be giving away a prize each day for the 30-day length of Expo I. For a complete list of the presentations and registration information, go to www.familylinknetwork.com About Family Link Network The Family Link Network is a company that provides a combination of exciting genealogy products and services that assist you in successfully connecting to your family history. Connecting means going beyond names and statistics to an actual link between your family and your ancestor's achievements . . . beneficial and enriching information you will treasure! So Get Linked. . .and find out what you've been missing!!! Sally Rolls Pavia sallypavia2001@yahoo.com “We have not inherited the world from our forefathers, we have borrowed it from our children.” . Kashmiri Proverb List Owner: GENEALOGYBITSANDPIECES-L-request@rootsweb.com Archives: http://archiver.rootsweb.com/th/index/GENEALOGYBITSANDPIECES "All incoming and outgoing email checked by Norton Anti-Virus"

Announcement from the National Archives, 10/19/2004 All of the most frequently requested records in the National Archives can be ordered online. The National Archives and Records Administration has made all of their form requests available online at: www.archives.gov/research_room/orderonline.html The site requires that you register as a user and that you pay with a credit card. Using Order Online, you can order: ---copies of passenger arrival records ---copies of specific pages from the Federal census ---copies of Eastern Cherokee applications ---copies of Federal land entry files ---Federal military pension files for the Revolutionary War through the Civil War ---military service records for the Revolutionary War through the Spanish American War. The archives will continue to accept paper forms. Paper forms can be ordered by email to Inquire@nara.gov or by calling the toll free number, 1-86-NARA-NARA (1-866-272- 6272). Sally Rolls Pavia sallypavia2001@yahoo.com “We have not inherited the world from our forefathers, we have borrowed it from our children.” .. Kashmiri Proverb List Owner: GENEALOGYBITSANDPIECES-L-request@rootsweb.com Archives: http://archiver.rootsweb.com/th/index/GENEALOGYBITSANDPIECES "All incoming and outgoing email checked by Norton Anti-Virus"

Social Security Numbers It is interesting to note that you can tell where a Social Security Number was issued simply by looking at the first few digits of the number. This does not tell where the person was born, only where he or she was living when the number was issued. Nonetheless, it can be a valuable clue as to where to look for additional information. The Social Security Account Number (SSAN) is divided into three sets of digits. For example, let’s take 123-45-6789. The 3 digits in the first group indicate the state or territory in which the number was originally issued. The second group of 2 numbers is used to define the people within the state. The third group of 4 digits is simply issued in numerical sequence. The following list shows the area indicated by first 3 digits: 001-003 New Hampshire 004-007 Maine 008-009 Vermont 010-034 Massachusetts 035-039 Rhode Island 040-049 Connecticut 050-134 New York 135-158 New Jersey 159-211 Pennsylvania 212-220 Maryland 221-222 Delaware 223-231 Virginia 232-236 West Virginia 237-246 North Carolina 247-251 South Carolina 252-260 Georgia 261-267 Florida 268-302 Ohio 303-317 Indiana 318-361 Illinois 362-386 Michigan 387-399 Wisconsin 400-407 Kentucky 408-415 Tennessee 416-424 Alabama 425-428 Mississippi 429-432 Arkansas 433-439 Louisiana 440-448 Oklahoma 449-467 Texas 468-477 Minnesota 478-485 Iowa 486-500 Missouri 501-502 North Dakota 503-504 South Dakota 505-508 Nebraska 509-515 Kansas 516-519 Idaho 520 Wyoming 521-524 Colorado 525 New Mexico (also 585 below) 526-527 Arizona 528-529 Utah 530 Nevada 531-539 Washington 540-544 Oregon 545-573 California 574 Alaska 575-576 Hawaii 577-579 District of Columbia 580 U.S. Virgin Islands 581-585 Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa 585 New Mexico (some 585 numbers) 586-699 Unassigned 700-729 Railroad Retirement Board 730-899 Unassigned A few Social Security Numbers beginning with a 9 have been issued, but these are very rare. For more information about obtaining information from the Social Security Administration, look at: www.socialsecurity.gov/foia/foia_guide.htm Sally Rolls Pavia sallypavia2001@yahoo.com “We have not inherited the world from our forefathers, we have borrowed it from our children.” .. Kashmiri Proverb List Owner: GENEALOGYBITSANDPIECES-L-request@rootsweb.com Archives: http://archiver.rootsweb.com/th/index/GENEALOGYBITSANDPIECES "All incoming and outgoing email checked by Norton Anti-Virus"

Here is an article from the New England Historic Genealogical Society newsletter. Research in Connecticut Towns Part I: Records Kept in Connecticut Town Halls by Joyce S. Pendery, CG Visiting Town Halls Although many Connecticut records have been microfilmed and are widely available, many researchers like to visit town halls where they can do "hands-on" research from original records or first-generation copies of those records. Researchers planning such a visit may wonder what they will find and whether it will be worthwhile. Much ink has been spilled over how to get the most out of visiting a town hall. If you plan your research in advance, allow enough time for careful and thorough research, and use common sense, your visit can be rewarding. Offices of town clerks and registrars of vital records, as well as probate offices, may be open to the public during limited hours. In small towns, the town clerk may, in fact, hold more than one town position. Call for more information before visiting these offices. When planning your trip, determine when the town of interest was founded. Records there will begin at that date, and earlier records will be found in the parent town. This information can be found in Betty Jean Morrison's Connecting to Connecticut (Glastonbury, 1995) and in Marcia D. Melnyk's Genealogist's Handbook for New England Research (Boston, NEHGS, 1999 and 2001). For example, vital records for the town of Cromwell begin in 1851, but earlier Cromwell records are found in Middletown. Until the early 1800s New Canaan and Darien were part of Stamford, where their early records will be found. Town Clerks and Registrars of Vital Records Town clerks have always been responsible for recording information pertaining to Connecticut's 169 towns, including birth, marriage, and death records. Vital records in Connecticut have never been kept on the county level. As towns grew, that work was sometimes reassigned to registrars of vital statistics, whose offices may not be in the town or city hall. Among the towns with separate registrars of vital statistics are Bridgeport, Greenwich, Hartford, Middletown, New Haven, and Waterbury. Town clerks, registrars, and other town officials fit requests of genealogists into busy schedules, so be patient and courteous to personnel and other researchers in the offices. Present your driver's license or other identification and explain the reason for your visit. Some town halls have open stacks, while in others clerks bring out requested volumes, perhaps one at a time. If you follow all the procedures and ask if there are other records of possible interest, you may be rewarded with an opportunity to see special records that are not on the open shelves. One Connecticut town clerk, who used to have a "goodie cabinet" where she stored old records under lock and key, could sometimes be persuaded to bring them out. Another clerk in a small Connecticut town who was helping me find information about a certain family brought out an early nineteenth century handwritten compilation of information about town residents of that era. Vital Records Town halls or bureaus of vital statistics in Connecticut towns and cities are the only places where you will find all the vital records of a town, dating from its founding to the present. The majority of vital records up to about 1850 have been included in the Barbour Collection of vital records or in separate town volumes. Many have been microfilmed and are available at the NEHGS Research Library, the Connecticut Historical Society, the Connecticut State Library, or through the various Family History Centers. While generally accurate and complete, these compilations are derivative sources, and genealogists often prefer to examine the original records kept by town clerks. Even then, some records may be missed or omitted. In a recent article in Connecticut Ancestry, "Darien Vital Records, Book 1: Another Barbour Omission," Harlan R. Jessup discusses vital record keeping in Darien after its separation from Stamford in 1820. For some time, the new Darien town clerk used the same volume for recording vital and tax records. Because that volume was eventually filed with tax records, agents collecting vital records for the Barbour compilation failed to find the book and omitted early vital records for about sixteen Darien families. Connecticut vital records from about 1850 to 1897 are available from town clerks or registrars, on microfilm at the Connecticut State Library, or through the FHL. Vital records from July 1897 to the present are kept by town clerks or registrars, who send copies to the Department of Public Health in Hartford. The vital records office is currently closed for microfilming of its holdings. In Connecticut, access to birth records for the last 100 years is restricted to the actual person or a close family member, public officials, attorneys, persons authorized by court order, or members of genealogical societies authorized to do business in Connecticut. You will need to present identification and show your credentials to see these records or obtain copies. For information on ordering vital records by mail, consult Barbara Mathews' earlier column on Connecticut vital records or read the general guidelines online. You may also find information about obtaining vital records from specific towns at this site. Earmarks Beginning in the 1640s and continuing through the mid-nineteenth century, residents of Connecticut towns were required to register the earmark or brand they used to identify their cattle and swine. Town clerks recorded descriptions and sometimes included drawings of these marks along with other town records. In early volumes, earmark registrations were often interspersed with vital records and town meeting minutes. In later volumes they were usually grouped on special pages in town record volumes. Earmarks are an overlooked and important source of genealogical information. They indicate that the registrant was resident in a certain town at a certain date. They may state family relationships, such as the following Stamford, Connecticut, earmark, entered into town records on September 4, 1790: "Catherine Bishop enteres for her Son Isaac Bishop's ear mark the same that was formerly entred to his Grand Father Isaac Bishop decd., viz. a crop on the end of the near ear, and two slits in the end of the off ear." Some earmarks were transferred during a registrant's lifetime, proving that both individuals were living in the town at that date. Again from Stamford Town Records, February 1, 1792: "Joseph Stevens junr. enters for his ear mark the same that was formerly entred to Nathaniel Hoyt & by his permission as he saith, viz., a crop on the end of the near ear and a hole in the same." Town Meeting Minutes Town clerks sometimes recorded minutes of town meetings in the same volumes as vital and land records. In some Connecticut towns, these early volumes no longer exist; elsewhere you may find originals or early copies. Microfilmed copies of original or transcribed town meeting minutes are available for some towns. Each town held an annual meeting of freemen or property owners and additional meetings took place during the year, as needed to transact town business. Elections of town officials were held at annual meetings. Reading town meeting minutes is a good way to learn about the history of your ancestor's town and to flesh out the skeletons of (male) ancestors who actively participated in town government. One of your ancestors may have served as a selectman, grand juryman, surveyor of highways, sealer of weights and measures, brander of horses, or pound keeper. When someone fell upon hard times, they might be "warned out" of town or assigned to a townsman as a boarder. In Cornwall in December 1774: "Daniel Steward agreed to keep Abiel Dudley one year next ensuing for L6-15s-0 lawful money and keep his clothes in good repair…" For several years, responsibility for the care of Abiel Dudley was passed around to the lowest bidder. Town meeting minutes also include discussions on schools, taxes, smallpox inoculations, bounties for killing rattlesnakes, foxes, and wildcats, annexations, Sabbath Day houses and meeting house pews, construction of highways and bridges, liquor licensing, and other topics of local concern. Land Records and Town Maps While some Connecticut deeds have been microfilmed, visiting a town hall enables the researcher to see every deed of interest. Since the founding of their towns, Connecticut town clerks have been responsible for keeping land records that include deeds, mortgages, attachments, liens, tax liens, judgments, releases, conveyances, and grantor-grantee indexes to those records. Maps of towns and subdivisions, surveys, and planning and zoning records may also be found in town clerk offices. Deeds are a source of information that no family historian should overlook. Information about family relationships included in deeds has solved many genealogical problems. Other important genealogical information found in deeds may include places of residence of both grantor and grantee and occupations or titles. Relationships may be stated as well as the names of earlier owners of the same parcel of land, often family members. Since indexes to land records include only the names of grantors and grantees, studying deeds is essential for ferreting out important information. For more about land records, consult Patricia Hatcher's article under "Hot Topics," Land Records: An Under-Appreciated Genealogical Resource. One of my favorite projects that used information from land records is Genealogical References in Stamford, Connecticut. Land Records, Volumes A-S, 1666-1800+ (Stamford, Connecticut Ancestry Society, 1999), available as both a book and CD-ROM. While abstracting early Stamford deeds, Edith Wicks noted and later prepared a separate index of all genealogical references in those deeds. Under entries for the surname "Allen," for example, one finds the names of Eunice Allen and her deceased husband John, originally of Stamford and later of Mamaketing, Ulster Co., New York. Also listed are the names of their children, Lydia, Reuben, and Seymour of Ulster Co., and Trowbridge, who had moved to Irish Settlement, Northampton Co., Penn. Other Records Kept by Town Clerks * Voter registration records: Town clerks keep current voter registration lists, and some town clerks save old voter registration books. They might be in the town hall basement or attic or in out-of-the way storage rooms. In Stamford, for example, the town clerk still has the separate registration books for men and women used after 1893 when, in Connecticut, women were granted the right to vote in local school elections. * Election and absentee ballot information * Veterans' Records: Town clerks keep on file limited military records of veterans who apply for tax exemptions or for patients in veterans' hospitals who require assistance. * Trade name registrations * Notary Public applications, filings, and certifications Probate District Court Offices Probate Records For an historic overview of probate record keeping in Connecticut, consult Barbara Jean Mathews' column on probate records previously published in this series. Connecticut's probate records are kept in 131 probate district court offices, not quite one district office for each of Connecticut's 169 towns. Over the years there have been many changes in district boundaries, so consult Connecting to Connecticut or Genealogist's Handbook for New England Research to determine where you should look for probate records that include the years of interest to you. Probate district courts handle estate settlements of deceased town residents, guardianships for minors and jurisdiction over their trusts, legal matters pertaining to adoptions, and powers of attorney for adults judged incompetent. Probate offices in town halls maintain indexes to probate records of their district. Most Connecticut towns sent their probate packets of original documents through about 1880 to Hartford, so most original probate records for the early years are available only at the Connecticut State Library or on microfilm. Towns maintain an index of records sent to Hartford. However, most town probate district offices have probate court record books containing handwritten copies of the original records, and these volumes are available for research. As Barbara Mathews points out, information in original probate packets and in probate court record books may vary, so both should be consulted. Most twentieth century probate packets of original documents as well as record books with copies of those documents will be found in probate district offices. Assessor's Records Grant lists or property valuations for tax purposes are kept in assessor's offices in town halls. Although information for several recent years may be found there, historic tax lists may be in town archives, historical societies, or at the Connecticut State Library.

New Zealand Genealogy Search Engine Search all the on-line New Zealand passenger lists, family trees, surname interest and other genealogical resource pages at once! http://www.downtown.co.nz/genealogy/ New Zealand Genealogy Links http://www.genealogylinks.net/newzealand/ New Zealand Cemeteries Online http://homepages.paradise.net.nz/barbgreg/Cemetery.html New Zealand expeditionary force linked to relatives in Scotland, WW I info, passenger lists, etc. http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~sooty/ Example: New Zealand and WWI http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~sooty/NZ%20And%20WWIFrame1Source1 htm or http://shorl.com/hahefridrystupre Sally Rolls Pavia sallypavia2001@yahoo.com “We have not inherited the world from our forefathers, we have borrowed it from our children.” . Kashmiri Proverb List Owner: GENEALOGYBITSANDPIECES-L-request@rootsweb.com Archives: http://archiver.rootsweb.com/th/index/GENEALOGYBITSANDPIECES "All incoming and outgoing email checked by Norton Anti-Virus"

Where Did They Get That? – Michael John Neill Confusion is often in the mind of the beholder. The ongoing release of the every name 1900 census index at Ancestry.com has caused me to revisit some relatives in this census. When I viewed one entry, I remembered how confused I was when I first saw it. Like many genealogical records, the enumeration contained an error. And like many errors, the incorrect statement was a clue In this case it was a clue that I failed to notice. In 1900, John M. Trautvetter is a 60ish widower, living with his four youngest children on a farm in rural Hancock County, Illinois. The bulk of the census entry is consistent with other records, including John's age, place of birth, year of immigration, and citizenship status. What confused me was the place of birth listed for the children's mother--Ohio. No other record ever listed that state. John's wife, Frances, was the mother of all his children (there was not a second wife, although different places of births for the mother can sometimes indicate this), and she died in 1888 well before the 1900 enumeration. Every document indicated she was born in Illinois in 1851 with no hint to another possible state of birth. While I had no direct evidence of her birth date and place, Frances' parents were known to have resided in Illinois as early as November 1850, and Frances' guardianship records (created when she was five years old) clearly state she had been born in January 1851. There was no evidence that her parents lived anywhere except Illinois after November 1850. But still, in the 1900 census, entries for four of her children indicate she had an Ohio place of birth. Frances' three oldest children were out of the house by the 1900 enumeration and their entries were also located. These children indicated their mother was born in Illinois. While this was not consistent with the Ohio birthplace listed by the other children, at least it was consistent with what I already knew about Frances. So Where Did Ohio Come From? I do not know who provided the information for the Trautvetter household in 1900. But now I do know that the informant was not entirely confused when they indicated that the mother of the children in the household was born in Ohio. It was years after I first discovered that 1900 census entry that I learned that Frances' parents were German immigrants who married in Cincinnati, Ohio in 1849. Their stay in Ohio was short, but it was where they were married and where the husband was naturalized. I wish I had considered the Ohio reference as a clue from the start instead of simply ignoring it as some off-the-wall mistake. Whoever told the enumerator the children's mother was born in Ohio must have known that her family had some connection to that state. In this case, the error was a lead as to the family's origins. Some discrepancies in records are clues as to other locations where the family lived. Unfortunately, not all inconsistencies can be understood as easily as this one. However our point is that apparent errors should not immediately be tossed aside. Many Errors in Records There are many errors in genealogical records. If all records were completely consistent, genealogy research would not be nearly as difficult (or as interesting) as it is. And some of us become skeptical when all the records completely agree. And while an error is still an error, there are times when the error is a clue. The error can result from many scenarios, but it is worth remembering that we were not present when the information on the record was obtained. We do not know who answered the questions and what distractions might have been in the respondent's mind. All we have is what is written on the document. Did our ancestor think the clerk meant, “Where is your mother from?” instead of “Where was your mother born?” Where a person is “from” is not necessarily the same place as where they were born. In the case of Frances, the children still living in the household in 1900 were relatively young when she died in 1888. Their memories of their mother may be very dim, and their only knowledge of her and her origins may come from their father--who might not necessarily know where she was born either. Other Types of Errors - Hearing and Speech Problems Your ancestor's ability to speak the language of the country in which he or she lived can easily impact how the name is written in various records. Combine that with regional dialects, hearing problems, and inattentive clerks and the problem can be greatly compounded. This topic was discussed in this column some time ago in an article titled “Do You Ear What I Ear?” - Bald-faced lie. Was your ancestor hiding from his or her past? Was he or she lying to get out of something? Was he or she lying to be able to do something? If your ancestor lied on a document, there is usually a reason. The difficulty lies in determining what that reason was. If your ancestor made up several lies, the problem can be even worse. - They were not there. Many documents that genealogist use reference events that took place long before the document was created and, perhaps, even before the informant was born. The amount of time that has elapsed, combined with the fact that a story may have passed through several individuals, can cause facts to be reported incorrectly. And the mistake may be an honest one, particularly if the informant on a document is an in-law. - A little detail they did not know. My parents have lived in the same county their entire lives. And yet they were born in a different state because the nearest hospital was across the state line. I can remember that when I gave the clerk in the marriage records office the birthplaces of my parents, my soon-to-be wife looked at me when I indicted my parents were born in Iowa --and yet they were. - Sometimes there's no telling what they were thinking. One relative of mine said her father was born in Canada, the United States, Iowa, or Kentucky. It all depends upon what census enumeration you believe. (Skeptics can view the census entries here.) This is a case where I just wonder exactly went on when the census taker knocked on the door. (To read our fictionalized view of the census taker read “The Census Taker Cometh.") Consider the Errors Some errors are errors. Some errors are clues. It is the job of the genealogist to determine the difference as best they can. Your ancestor might have been giving you the biggest clue when they gave the wrong answer. Michael John Neill is the Course I Coordinator at the Genealogical Institute of Mid America (GIMA) held annually in Springfield, Illinois, and is also on the faculty of Carl Sandburg College in Galesburg, Illinois. Michael is the Web columnist for the FGS FORUM and is on the editorial board of the Illinois State Genealogical Society Quarterly. He conducts seminars and lectures on a wide variety of genealogical and computer topics and contributes to several genealogical publications, including Ancestry Magazine and Genealogical Computing. You can e-mail him at mjnrootdig@myfamily.com or visit his website at www.rootdig.com/, but he regrets that he is unable to assist with personal research. Copyright 2004, MyFamily.com. Sally Rolls Pavia sallypavia2001@yahoo.com “We have not inherited the world from our forefathers, we have borrowed it from our children.” .. Kashmiri Proverb List Owner: GENEALOGYBITSANDPIECES-L-request@rootsweb.com Archives: http://archiver.rootsweb.com/th/index/GENEALOGYBITSANDPIECES "All incoming and outgoing email checked by Norton Anti-Virus"

The Price in Blood! Casualties in the Civil War www.civilwarhome.com/casualties.htm At least 618,000 Americans died in the Civil War, and some experts say the toll reached 700,000. The number that is most often quoted is 620,000. At any rate, these casualties exceed the nation's loss in all its other wars, from the Revolution through Vietnam. The Union armies had from 2,500,000 to 2,750,000 men. Their losses, by the best estimates: Battle deaths:110,070 Disease, etc.:250,152 Total360,222 The Confederate strength, known less accurately because of missing records, was from 750,000 to 1,250,000. Its estimated losses: Battle deaths: 94,000 Disease, etc.:164,000 Total258,000 The leading authority on casualties of the war, Thomas L. Livermore, admitting the handicap of poor records in some cases, studied 48 of the war s battles and concluded: Of every 1,000 Federals in battle, 112 were wounded. Of every 1,000 Confederates, 150 were hit. Mortality was greater among Confederate wounded, because of inferior medical service. The great battles, in terms of their toll in dead, wounded, and missing is listed on this site: These total 61,315, with rolls of the missing incomplete. The Appomattox campaign, about ten days of running battles ending April 9, 1865, cost the Union about 11,000 casualties, and ended in the surrender of Lee's remnant of 26,765. Confederate dead and wounded in the meantime were about 6,500. Lesser battles are famous for their casualties. At Franklin, Tennessee, November 30, 1864, General Hood's Confederates lost over 6,000 of 21,000 effectives -most of them in about two hours. Six Confederate generals died there. Hood lost about 8,ooo men in his assault before Atlanta, July 22, 1864; Sherman's Union forces lost about 3,800. The small battle of Wilson's Creek, Missouri, August 10, 1861, was typical of the savagery of much of the war's fighting. The Union force of 5,400 men lost over 1,200; the Confederates, over 11,000 strong, lost about the same number. The first battle of Manassas/Bull Run, though famous as the first large engagement, was relatively light in cost: 2,708 for the Union, 1,981 for the Confederates. The casualty rolls struck home to families and regiments. The Confederate General, John B. Gordon, cited the case of the Christian family, of Christiansburg, Virginia, which suffered eighteen dead in the war The 1st Maine Heavy Artillery, in a charge at Petersburg, Virginia, 18 June, 1864, sustained a "record" loss of the war-635 of its 9oo men within seven minutes. Another challenger is the 26th North Carolina, which lost 714, of its 800 men at Gettysburg-in numbers and percentage the war's greatest losses. On the first day this regiment lost 584 dead and wounded, and when roll was called the next morning for G Company, one man answered, and he had been knocked unconscious by a shell burst the day before. This roll was called by a sergeant who lay on a stretcher with a severe leg wound. The 24th Michigan, a gallant Federal regiment which was in front of the North Carolinians on the first day, lost 362 of its 496 men. More than 3,000 horses were killed at Gettysburg, and one artillery battalion, the 9th Massachusetts, lost 80 of its 88 animals in the Trostle farmyard. A brigade from Vermont lost 1,645 Of its 2,100 men during a week of fighting in the Wilderness. The Irish Brigade, Union, had a total muster Of 7,000 during the war, and returned to New York in '65 with 1,000. One company was down to seven men. The 69th New York of this brigade lost 16 of 19 officers, and had 75 per cent casualties among enlisted men. In the Irish Brigade, Confederate, from Louisiana, Company A dwindled from go men to 3 men and an officer in March, '65. Company B went from 100 men to 2. Experts have pointed out that the famed Light Brigade at Balaklava lost only 36.7 per cent of its men, and that at least 63 Union regiments lost as much as 50 per cent in single battles. At Gettysburg 23 Federal regiments suffered losses of more than half their strength, including the well-known Iron Brigade (886 of 1,538 engaged). Many terrible casualty tolls were incurred in single engagements, like that of the Polish Regiment of Louisiana at Frayser's Farm during the Seven Days, where the outfit was cut to pieces and had to be consolidated with the 20th Louisiana. In this action one company of the Poles lost 33 of 42 men. One authority reports that Of 3,530 Indians who fought for the Union, 1 ,018 were killed, a phenomenally high rate. Of 178,975 Negro Union troops, this expert says, over 36,000 died.

more helpful New York Resources: Lists of Orphans in New York Orphanages http://www.rootsweb.com/~ote/orphans.htm New York Naturalization Records http://naturalizationrecords.com/usa/naturalizations.shtml New York Almshouse Records 1819-1840 http://olivetreegenealogy.com/ships/ny_alms1819.shtml New York Almshouse Records 1850-1855 http://www.rootsweb.com/~ote/ships/ny_alms1855-a.htm Ship Passenger Lists to New York http://olivetreegenealogy.com/ships/tousa_ny.shtml

Online Pennsylvania Death Records & Indexes (includes offline finding aids for Philadelphia & Pittsburgh) http://www.deathindexes.com/pennsylvania/ Philadelphia County GenWeb http://www.pa-roots.com/~philadelphia/ Philadelphia Passenger Lists Quick Guide 1800-1948 http://www.genesearch.com/philadelphia/ Pennsylvania German Pioneers Research Guide 1727-1808 http://home.att.net/~wee-monster/penngermans.html Early Immigrants to Pennsylvania 1680s-1726 http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~pagermanpioneers/ earlyimmigrants.html Genealogy Resources at the Philadelphia City Archives http://www.phila.gov/phils/Docs/Inventor/genealgy.htm ,

Online Illinois Death Records & Indexes http://www.deathindexes.com/illinois/ Online Chicago & Cook County Death Records & Indexes http://www.deathindexes.com/illinois/cook.html Illinois Statewide Marriage Index 1763-1900 http://www.sos.state.il.us/departments/archives/marriage.html Online Illinois Naturalization Indexes & Finding Aids http://home.att.net/~wee-monster/illinoisnat.html

Helpful New York Resources (city & state) Online New York Death Records & Indexes http://www.deathindexes.com/newyork/ Online New York Naturalization Indexes http://home.att.net/~wee-monster/newyork.html Finding New York Passenger Records 1820-1957 http://germanroots.home.att.net/ellisisland/nypassengers.html 1890 New York City Police Census Research Guide - Manhattan http://www.genealogybranches.com/1890nycensus.html

Don't believe everything u read on net. Especially at worldconnect(rootsweb) or family search(mormons). You never know where they got their information. A book of the 1880 Sumner County Tn. has my ancestor Joseph freeland list as Joespeh Freeling. And family search.com has his father and grandfather born the same year in their records I agree with Faye and others. I dont know how much stuff I have and no idea where it came from in my early years before I knew what I was doing. Then in 1997 I got a computer and had to learn all the things that are part of research with a computer. I too spent HOURS before I was told about the Search and Find feature. I am STILL learning the computer. DOCUMENT EVERYTHING. I too have learned to add the URL to pages I get on the internet. AND TO PRINT OUT copy of things I want as I have had three major crashes and lost so much material I had stored in email and files. BACK UP YOUR FILES OFTEN too! BACK UP Your Family Files often store a copy online somewhere. Sue Ellen Faye Parker wrote: Documentation .... to me the biggest mistake I made as a newbie was *blush* not documenting resources. Came back later had tons of info and no idea where had found it *blush* Another goof I made was spending hours and hours reading LONG LONG documents and pedigrees til someone pointed out to me the edit/find tool thingy at the top of my screen, would search and find for me any name or phrase for me ============================== Gain access to over two billion names including the new Immigration Collection with an Ancestry.com free trial. Click to learn more. http://www.ancestry.com/rd/redir.asp?targetid=4930&sourceid=1237 --------------------------------- Do you Yahoo!? vote.yahoo.com - Register online to vote today!

I use my address book, at yahoo email addy, under nicknames I put family or surname they connect with __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com

Since we've been discussing it, and talking about sources, I thought I'd throw out a generally accepted way to credit a website for a source. (I had to look it up for the book I was writing, because I didn't know.) Last name, First. “Title of article/page.” Name of Website. <http://www.urlofwebsite.com/exactpage.html> (date viewed). (example) Hickman, Alyssa. “A Recipe for Family History.” Family Education Network. <http://www.familyeducation.com/article/0,1120,22-12207,00.html> (4 Nov 2003). If you want to be really nitpicky, here's a terrific webpage with lots of information on this very subject, referencing the Chicago Manual of Style's standard for sourcing webpages: http://www.bedfordstmartins.com/online/cite7.html (I'm going to save this page digitally, because it's really quite handy, in case it gets deleted or moved.) If you are consistent about how you include the sources for your information, you run less risk of leaving out some important bit. And if you're going to write (type) down your sources, you might as well do it like a pro, right? Hope this is helpful! Have a terrific weekend, everyone! Wendy in IL

I just wanted to thank everyone for the great tips and information for newbies! It's so wonderful to receive great info from those who have experience and knowledge. I hope to learn more great tips from this list!!! --------------------------------- Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Mail Address AutoComplete - You start. We finish.

Did the same thing. Was so anxious to get the info loaded into the computer, just figured I'd go back and enter the sources when I wasn't so busy, "big joke." Then, when I did get ready to enter sources, never seemed to have all the info. Might have the name of the book, but not the author or date published. Now, try and do it at the time. Am still always having to go back and redo the sources and I find the 'right' way. I personally feel the computer should KNOW what I want to enter and automatically do it the right way. On Oct 15, 2004, at 2:26 PM, faye parker wrote: > to me the biggest mistake I made as a newbie was *blush* not > documenting resources. Came back later had tons of info and no idea > where had found it *blush* Sally Rolls Pavia Sun City, AZ sallypavia2001@yahoo.com “We will not be remembered by our words, but by our kind deeds." List Owner: GENEALOGYBITSANDPIECES-L-request@rootsweb.com Archives: http://archiver.rootsweb.com/th/index/GENEALOGYBITSANDPIECES "All incoming and outgoing email checked by Norton Anti-Virus"

Not a bad idea also to print out pages that are considered very important, as I have found that over the long term many of the web pages I thought would be there "forever" have vanished. Only in one instance did I have the foresight to print off that page, and I was able to reconstruct it and use it as an addition to my own web site as a resource ... with credit to the origin ... wherever they went. Web pages can also be copied digitally, too, and thus save the cost and space of paper. Woody ~~~~~~~~~~~~<>~~~~~~~~~~ db1753@dragonbbs.com writes: I agree with Faye and others. I dont know how much stuff I have and no idea where it came from in my early years before I knew what I was doing. Then in 1997 I got a computer and had to learn all the things that are part of research with a computer. I too spent HOURS before I was told about the Search and Find feature. I am STILL learning the computer. DOCUMENT EVERYTHING. I too have learned to add the URL to pages I get on the internet. AND TO PRINT OUT copy of things I want as I have had three major crashes and lost so much material I had stored in email and files. BACK UP YOUR FILES OFTEN too! BACK UP Your Family Files often store a copy online somewhere. Sue Ellen Faye Parker wrote: Documentation .... to me the biggest mistake I made as a newbie was *blush* not documenting resources. Came back later had tons of info and no idea where had found it *blush* Another goof I made was spending hours and hours reading LONG LONG documents and pedigrees til someone pointed out to me the edit/find tool thingy at the top of my screen, would search and find for me any name or phrase for me

Excellent idea to save it all..... but it's very important to put a complete date on it also... Bunny ----- Original Message ----- From: Lina Markle To: bunny@lightstream.net ; NEWGEN-L@rootsweb.com Sent: Friday, October 15, 2004 6:37 PM Subject: Re: [NEWGEN] a good place to start if your new They told me never throw away anything you have wrote down anything on that pertains to family Lina --------na >From: "bunny" <bunny@lightstream.net> >To: NEWGEN-L@rootsweb.com >Subject: Re: [NEWGEN] a good place to start if your new >Date: Fri, 15 Oct 2004 18:24:31 -0400 > >Wonderful piece of advise..... > > I didn't write down my sources... because I'd remember....... yeah, >right...... > >Any more pieces of advice... > >Thanks Wendy. > >Bunny > >SHARE..... >----- Original Message ----- >From: "Wendy A. B. Whipple" <wendy@dianaslegacy.net> >To: <NEWGEN-L@rootsweb.com> >Sent: Friday, October 15, 2004 4:29 PM >Subject: Re: [NEWGEN] a good place to start if your new > > >AMEN! If I had a nickel for every time I had to go back and figure out >where some bit of information had come from, I would be a wealthy >woman! > >Now I save and print out emails I have gotten from various connections. >I print webpages out when I can, so that the URL and date prints on the >top of the page. If I can't print the whole page, I make sure that the >URL gets footnoted, or I copy/paste it into a Word document with the >URL and print *that* out. All of that paper then gets filed by surname >in my file cabinet (one drawer for my line, one drawer for hubby's >line). Then I note in my genealogy program with footnotes that a >printed copy of the information exists in those files. Oh, if only I'd >done it from the start! I think if I had only a single piece of advice >to give to beginning genealogists, that would be it! > >Wendy in IL > > >On Oct 15, 2004, at 2:26 PM, faye parker wrote: > > > to me the biggest mistake I made as a newbie was *blush* not > > documenting resources. Came back later had tons of info and no idea > > where had found it *blush* > > >============================== >Gain access to over two billion names including the new Immigration >Collection with an Ancestry.com free trial. Click to learn more. >http://www.ancestry.com/rd/redir.asp?targetid=4930&sourceid=1237 > > > > >============================== >Gain access to over two billion names including the new Immigration >Collection with an Ancestry.com free trial. Click to learn more. >http://www.ancestry.com/rd/redir.asp?targetid=4930&sourceid=1237 > -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Find the music you love on MSN Music. Start downloading now!