Webinars at the National Archives UK

If you're looking to brush up on genealogy research in the United Kingdom you can view webinars produced by the National Archives on their website. They even have a Family History category.

http://media.nationalarchives.gov.uk/

I recently watched the webinar "Missing from the Census?" live and learned some interesting facts about UK censuses:

• Your ancestor may have only been listed by initials if they lived in a boarding house, detention house, prison or asylum
• Information on birthplace can vary widely - from street address to county to sea coordinates if born at sea
• Towns with populations of 40K or more have street indexes that can be found at in the National Archives Historical Streets Project

If you think your ancestor may be completely missing from the census, consider that:

• the 1861 census is considered the worst for missing bits, about 5% is missing
• there was about 7% non-participation in the early years of civil registration
• some suffragettes are missing from the 1911 census as they were out protesting
• your ancestor may have hiding in the cellar from the enumerator because they thought it was the rent man calling

Lastly, if you're shocked at your great-grandmother being described as a prostitute at the age of 64, it may have been an error. One enumerator, a Mr.Hunt, wrote down what he thought was the truth, and given his apparently misogynistic attitude he described several women as prostitutes when in fact they were not.

The UK censuses 1841-1891 can be searched for free at http://www.freecen.org.uk/

Joy

New match feature on Ancestry DNA!

On August 27, AncestryDNA added a new feature to it's DNA matching system that will make it easier for genetic genealogists to find relatives. Ancestry.com members who have already submitted their DNA samples can view mutual matches shared between them and their DNA cousins. This new feature enables you to narrow down which ancestors on specific lines you and your DNA matches may share ancestry with.


rs

Archivo Historico Militar Mexicano (Archive of the Mexican Military)

Did any of your ancestors ever served in the Mexican Military? Imagine if they did what other valuable information you could add to your Genealogy Research. I have often wondered where I could find military documents and I found just the right place. It is the Archivo Hisotrico Militar maintained by SEDENA (Secretaria de la Defensa Nacional). 

This archive contains thousands digital documents in regards to the Mexican military from 1821 to 1921, but I have also come to find some documents that are from the Spanish Colonial period.

You can visit the website with his link:

• http://www.archivohistorico2010.sedena.gob.mx/

You can go straight to searching the archives with this link:

• http://www.archivohistorico2010.sedena.gob.mx/busquedamenu

I know that this military archive will be of great value to you. Let me know of any finds that you make. As for me I found three sets of documents in regards to the founding of Revilla, Mier, and Camargo by Joseph Tienda de Cuervo. All three sets contain a listing of all families of whom many are my ancestors. I even found out that one of them, my 6th great grandfather Miguel Martinez was a Teniente de Capitan.

posted by Moises Garza

JMR

Clayton Staff Meeting Notes 08/20/2015

Staff Meeting Notes 08/20/2015

Steven presented 5 minute presentation on NUMUC (National Union Catalog of Manuscript Collections).  A how to tip sheet was distributed which gives a good explanation of the service.  This is another source for referencing surnames.  The presentation is on the Blog.

 

Sue’s Update from August Managers Meeting and other Clayton Matters:

• Alief is closing soon, the Passport service will be relocated to Robinson Westchase.
• There are changes to Wellness this year.  Points will no longer be required.  Check your email for updates.
• Melissa’s Librarian I position was changed to Sr.L.L.S.  The position will be posted nest week as an internal post for City of Houston employees only.
• FY’16 Staff meeting and other meeting schedules handed out.
• FY’16 Hear Direct Report meeting dates will be sent by email to each individual by their direct report supervisor.
• Julia requests that we always complete a donation form even if the donor is anonymous or doesn’t want one.
• Always post your initials to any Blog post you upload.  Joy suggest labels be added as an easier way of finding articles without have to search the entire blog.  Sue is researching how to add additional pages and if anyone knows how please let her know.  Sue wants the Blog to be an internal and external source of help.
• Allen Brother’s statutes will arrive Saturday 08/22/2015.  Lynna Kay Shuffield will be the contact person for any inquires about the Statutes. 
• Please do not respond to inquiries with “I don’t know anything about them”.   A Press Release was distributed and will be at the reference desk for distribution to anyone inquiring.   There is contact information on the Press Release.
• Media can take pictures of the Statutes and front of the building without calling HPL Communications.  Anything else needs to go through HPL communications.  Contact Blanca first if she is not available ask for the next person in charge.
• The Display will run through 12/15/2015 as of this date. 

         FS 08/25/2015

National Union Catalog of Manuscript Collections (NUCMC)

NUCMC is a manuscript collection cataloging service offered by the Library of Congress to archival collection repositories located throughout the U.S.  Archival collections eligible for cataloging can include family papers, personal papers, and collections about a person or subject (which can contain printed material, maps, and photographs), as well as single item manuscripts such as diaries, logbooks, account books, and letters.  NUCMC is therefore a valuable resource for genealogists and family historians.

• NUCMC catalog entries for 1959-1993 are found in out-of-print printed volumes owned by certain libraries and universities (University of Houston and Rice University are two local institutions that own the printed volumes).
• NUCMC catalog entries for 1985-present are found online in OCLC WorldCat.

"Index to Personal Names in the National Union Catalog of Manuscript Collections 1959-1984 (Vol. 1-2)"

Clayton Library owns this 2-volume set (call number 011.31 I38 USA).  Entries in these volumes refer to individuals identified in the printed volumes.  Each index entry consists of:

• a name
• an epithet or birth/death/lifespan dates
• a two-part citation number

Example:  WAY, Robert --- 1668-1725 --- 83-1615
Explanation:  Robert Way (1668-1725) is found in manuscript collection # 1615, the name and description of which is located within the NUCMC printed volume for the year 1983.

Since Clayton Library does not own the printed volumes, you will need to visit or contact an institution that does (such as University of Houston or Rice University) to be able to find out to what manuscript collection the citation 83-1615 actually refers, and where it is physically housed.

Happy Hunting!

SB

Bexar Archives Online Place and Name Index

I was going through a book in our Clayton collection "Residents of Texas, 1782-1836" and spotted a French surname (not commonly found in 1782 New Spain.), I went into Google.com, entered his name and it brought up a website called  Bexar Archives Online Place and Name Index Project. There is a search box where again I entered his name and it brought up this document. Very cool. Try it out.

Ripperdá's affidavit honoring passport of Bernardo Dortolan issued at Natchitoches.

April 12, 1775
Browse the entire document

https://www.cah.utexas.edu

JMR

North Carolina Digital Collections

If your a snoop like I am, check out the North Carolina Digital Collections home page and explore the Pinterest like selections before your eyes.  Super sight for genealogists.
http://digital.ncdcr.gov/

Enjoy!
Mel

Pension Records Reveal Marital Fluidity

Have you even looked at census records and been perplexed by a person who shows up ten years later living across the country with completely different people? It can't be the same person, right?

Such a drastic change would lend improbability that this could still be your person, but an article on JStor suggests such a scenario was more likely than we might imagine. In "Lots of Them Did That: Desertion, Bigamy, and Marital Fluidity in Late-Nineteenth-Century America", Beverly Schwartzberg  writes that in examining pension applications from the Civil War Pension Bureau she found a pattern that "demonstrates the significant degree to which marriage among the working class was a fluid practice during the late nineteenth century". In other words, it could very well be your great-great grandfather in Colorado, Oregon, then Texas, each time living with a different family.

The combination of accessible means of transportation and growing cities and communities meant that deserting your spouse or remarrying without the bother of divorce was easier to pull off and less likely to be found out. Schwartzberg uncovered that the number of marriage-like unions revealed in a single pension case went as high as twelve marriages between all the partners, where the family tree looked like a "tangled kudzu vine more than an oak".

Besides untangling complicated marriage histories, pension records also give us detailed information on women's participation in the labor force that were "generally hidden in the federal census, city directories, and other records". Under the 1890 pension act widows could only receive pensions if they showed financial need and supported themselves by their own labor, thus we can find details of their working life in their individual depositions.

If you'd like to read the article in its entirety, click here.

Native American Collections in Ancestry Library Edition

In a personal subscription there is a new Native American Indian Records landing page to search all collections related to this group.

However, in the Library Edition, there is NO landing page for this collection.  To help our cusotmers who have Native American ancestry, it is important to get the researchers to use the "SEARCH" button and click on the applicable state that are researching to view the Native American Indian resources that are available for that area.

·                     Michigan Native Americans History, 1887

·                     Military and genealogical records of the famous Indian woman, Nancy Ward

·                     Minnesota Native Americans, 1823

·                     Minnesota Native Americans, 1851

·                     Minnesota, Indian Allotment Records, 1888-1919 FREE INDEX

·                     North Carolina, Native American Census Selected Tribes, 1894-1913 FREE INDEX

·                     Oklahoma and Indian Territory, Dawes Census Cards for Five Civilized Tribes, 1898-1914

·                     Oklahoma and Indian Territory, Indian and Pioneer Historical Collection, 1937

·                     Oklahoma and Indian Territory, Indian Censuses and Rolls, 1851-1959

·                     Oklahoma and Indian Territory, Indian Photos, 1850-1930

·                     Oklahoma and Indian Territory, Land Allotment Jackets for Five Civilized Tribes, 1884-1934

·                     Oklahoma and Indian Territory, Marriage, Citizenship and Census Records, 1841-1927

·                     Oklahoma Osage Tribe Roll, 1921

·                     Oklahoma, Creek Equalization Records, 1912-1921

• Oklahoma, Historical Indian Archives Index, 1856-1933
• Oklahoma, Indian Land Allotment Sales, 1908-1927
• Origin and traditional history of the Wyandotts: and sketches of other Indian tribes of North America, true traditional stories of Tecumseh and his league, in the years 1811 and 1812
• Osage Indian Bands and Clans
• U.S., Cherokee Baker Roll and Records, 1924-1929 FREE INDEX
• U.S., Citizenship Case Files in Indian Territory, 1896-1897 FREE INDEX
• U.S., Indian Census Rolls, 1885-1940
• U.S., Native American Applications for Enrollment in Five Civilized Tribes (overturned), 1896
• U.S., Native American Applications for Enrollment in Five Civilized Tribes, 1898-1914
• U.S., Ratified Indian Treaties and Chiefs, 1722-1869
• U.S., Records Related to Enrollment of Eastern Cherokee by Guion Miller, 1908-1910
• U.S., Schedules of Special Census of Indians, 1880 FREE INDEX
• Wallace Roll of Cherokee Freedmen, 1890-93

If you have any questions, please ask Frank or Sue.  Thanks!  (SK)

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SSDI's New Companion: U.S. Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007

Good morning!

Last week, Ancestry.com released a new companion database to the Social Security Death Index. The U.S. Social Security Applications and Claims Index includes abstracts of application claims. Some of the information included valuable for genealogists are parent's names, birthplaces and birthdates.

RS

Irish Genealogy @ National Library of Ireland

Irish Genealogy Just Got More Accessible!

Today the National Library of Ireland released their entire collection of Catholic parish registers online. Previously accessible only on microfilm, these digitized images are free to search. These unindexed images can be filtered by location and date. The parish register records consist mainly of baptismal and marriage records, and span from 1740 to 1880. The home page has a handy interactive map where you can click on a county and have all of its parishes displayed.

http://registers.nli.ie/