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The Life From The Roots blog topics have changed several times since I began this blog in 2009. I initially wrote only about the family history I had been working on for 20 years. Years later, I was into visiting gardens, historical homes, churches, libraries that had genealogical collections, historical societies, war memorials, and travel/tourism places. I also enjoy posting autographs and photos of famous people I've met or have seen.

Along with my New England roots, other areas include New York, New Jersey, Michigan, Illinois, Wisconsin, and the Eastern Townships of Quebec, Canada.

Please check out the labels on the right side for topics (please note, they need work). Below the labels and pageviews is a listing of my top nine posts, according to Google. Four of them pertain to Lowell, MA. These posts change often because they are based on what people are reading.
Showing posts with label Research Tips. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Research Tips. Show all posts

Wednesday, March 15, 2023

Wow is All I can say, Imagine Finding Clues this Way

Family Photo of William Frederick Poole.

February 4, 1882 lasted two days for my gg-grandfather, William Frederick Poole, as this is how long it took him to fill out a New England Historic Genealogical Society (NEHGS) application inviting him to be a corresponding member of the society. In their four required pages, he wrote about his life's work, including listing 17 published works (with full titles and dates), and gave six generations of his ancestors "in direct line, as far as is convenient to do" from his father who was born in 1763 to his 5th great grandfather, John Poole who died in 1667 in Reading, Massachusetts. Why didn't I find this 25 years ago?

When I began my genealogy hobby in 1989, I naturally started with my parents as I knew my father was born in Illinois. A few years later and generations too, the Pooles were born and living in Illinois. It wasn't until January 1998 at the NEHGS (in Boston) I discovered his huge obituary in the New York Times and learned he was born in Salem, MA. This is the very best thing a genealogist could wish for, learning this ancestor's roots were nearby. The very next day I drove to Harmony Grove Cemetery in Salem. MA where he and his parents were buried.

One of the strangest things was I wasn't looking for anything on him because a month previously sent the last of my Poole information to a first cousin. However as luck would have it, with a few minutes on the AmericanAncestor's web page, I put in his name with his birth date and the word Evanston, Ill. The first thing that appeared was a total surprise. Fortunately, this Society kept and scanned all their applications, and this one was dated 1883. You might consider using this source. I just read "This database contains over 11,000 pages of applications and correspondence and 121,000 searchable names."

With my ancestor living near Chicago, I would never have thought his information would pop up in Boston!

Below are three sections:





I found this information on the American Ancestors (NEHGS) site at:
https://www.americanancestors.org/
The citation and all pertinent information are below.


"Citation

NEHGS Membership Applications, 1845-1900. (Online database. AmericanAncestors.org, New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2020.)

https://www.americanancestors.org/DB2758/rd/58871/33-co1/1427893480

Description

American Ancestors and New England Historic Genealogical Society (NEHGS) is America’s founding genealogical organization and the most respected name in family history. Since its founding in 1845, NEHGS has had a written membership process that typically includes written biographical and genealogical information about each new member. As part of the 175th anniversary of its founding, American Ancestors has indexed the membership application forms and correspondence for those who joined between the years 1845 and 1900. The first member was former President John Quincy Adams, and the database contains membership information for several other Presidents and other famous individuals.

The 52 volumes in this database are organized by the year that the member joined NEHGS. The records indexed in this database are generally between the years 1620 to 1900, though some will be found outside this range. The most common record types are Birth, Baptism, Marriage, and Death. There are also many Residence records, as they include where the member lived when they joined NEHGS. This database contains over 11,000 pages of applications and correspondence and 121,000 searchable names.

Please be aware that the genealogical information submitted with these applications was not reviewed or verified for accuracy.

Keywords: AAUnique"





 

Tuesday, March 1, 2022

The Librarian's Guide Might Help You With Your Research

First the background, then the forms

When I first wrote about this guide, The Librarian's Guide go Genealogical Services and Research in October 2010, I knew it was something that could help genealogists with their research. Over the years, I was always aware that people were looking at this blog post. Six months ago I was able to track how many people were looking at it out because I only wrote posts about the city I live in and that made it easy to look at the Google statistics. My Lowell posts were very high in readership, but I always saw at least  20-30 hits for this post in the top 10 for each day. The total of hits since 2010 per Google is over 3,400.

I recently purchased the book from Amazon, now out of print, and I lucked out with a brand new-looking book with a CD, it came from a library. So I decided to write about this guide again because of the interest many of us have in the 1950 census (being released on April 1, 2022). So, many hours were spent last week trying to get in touch with the publisher for permission to use the forms again. I couldn't find the author anywhere, and the publisher seems to have disappeared (Neal-Schuman Publishers, Inc.) but I learned it is now under the wing of the ALA (American Library Association). Well, it seems I know about that organization because my great, great grandfather was an early president of it. (William Frederick Poole). So, happily I called and left messages for the research department...four times and never heard back. Again, I called the main number and got a 25-year dedicated employee who told me I should be talking to the copyright department. Yes, well I left a message and nothing.

Fast forward to five days ago when I reread my initial post. Low and behold, per that post, "I indicated I wrote to the publisher for permission to share some examples with you. He responded today (Oct. 4, 2010), and wrote this: "This is fine. Please just add a line to each:  Reprinted with permission from <book title> by James Swan.  Copyright 2004 by James Swan.  All rights reserved. Based on this, I am sharing some forms that might help you. Some were from years ago and some from photos.

My two previous posts (Oct. 1, 2010, and Oct. 4, 2010) about the book are:

http://lifefromtheroots.blogspot.com/2010/10/follow-friday-librarians-guide-to.html 

I explain a lot about the book, table of contents, and where you can find it (WorldCat).

https://lifefromtheroots.blogspot.com/2010/10/librarians-guide-to-genealogical.html

I am not doing a review of the 356-page book because it is not in print. This is his sixth book. There are few websites listed, but I imagine many have been changed. Mr. Swan's forms are valuable to us and will be for many years.

All reprinted with permission from The Librarian's Guide to Genealogical Services and Research by James Swan.  Copyright 2004 by James Swan.  All rights reserved.

All reprinted with permission from The Librarian's Guide to Genealogical Services and Research by James Swan.  Copyright 2004 by James Swan.  All rights reserved.

All reprinted with permission from The Librarian's Guide to Genealogical Services and Research by James Swan.  Copyright 2004 by James Swan.  All rights reserved.

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All reprinted with permission from The Librarian's Guide to Genealogical Services and Research by James Swan.  Copyright 2004 by James Swan.  All rights reserved.

All reprinted with permission from The Librarian's Guide to Genealogical Services and Research by James Swan.  Copyright 2004 by James Swan.  All rights reserved.

All reprinted with permission from The Librarian's Guide to Genealogical Services and Research by James Swan.  Copyright 2004 by James Swan.  All rights reserved.

All reprinted with permission from The Librarian's Guide to Genealogical Services and Research by James Swan.  Copyright 2004 by James Swan.  All rights reserved.

About 164 libraries in the United States have this book according to WorldCat.org.









Monday, May 24, 2021

Maybe This Report Will Help Me Solve My Brick Wall


My ancestor was either born in Canada, New York, or maybe Connecticut, I want to find out where.

If you use Roots Magic7, software for your genealogy database, maybe you discovered the search option called Find Everywhere. I recently came across it when I decided to see who I had living in the town of Derry, New Hampshire before I went to the library. I find it's always more interesting to me if I do have a connection when I write a library report (To date I've done 75 different library blog posts). Remember, the results of this report are based on what you have in your RootsMagic7 database.

When I did the simple report I discovered it listed names of People, Sources, and Places. There are other options you can add, but I just did the basics. The results told me that I have "SECCOMB, SIMMONS / Symmons. Lived detail: Boston, Mass. > abt. 1736 to Derryfield (Manchester), New Hampshire." I knew immediately this person was an ancestor because my All Cap is an indicator to me that this is my direct line. Unfortunately, it doesn't really say he was living in Derry (the area is now Manchester).  In the future, I will always print the appropriate report for every library or repository I visit, regardless if I have an ancestor there. How to do the report is simple, see below for instructions. The Derry library printout was four pages, the Niagara report was six pages. Then I discovered this is a useful tool, possibly to help solve a brick wall mystery for my third great-grandfather, Alexander Farmer.

Instructions: On the top tab of RootsWeb 7 go to Search, then click on the 3rd tab, it opens up as shown below. Type in what you want to find, then hit ok. An example of the first report follows.




My second example may be more valuable to me because there are some libraries or repositories I will never get to because of the distance. As shown below, I was interested in Niagara, New York.  Surprisingly, I had three surnames I wasn't aware that they lived there. The first three are of interest to me: Schramling, Farmer, Lay, Nellis, Stannard and Young. My "brick wall" is Alexander Farmer born 1814 in either Canada or New York. (His second child was born in Niagara, NY.) Alexander married Huldah Lay, and her father Daniel was from Connecticut now living in Niagara, NY. So with a wondering mind, I'm thinking maybe Alexander Farmer was also from Connecticut. Maybe the birthplaces of Canada or New York were wrong. This report, tells me what I have and a whole lot of what I'm missing (you figure that out on your own). The report provided the information below on my six direct ancestors. The red names are those I'm very interested in. I couldn't change the formatting.

FARMER, ALEXANDER F. "Alex" (edit)
Note: settling in northern New York. But that too was never substantiated. After a while, I gave up and said enough is enough. Currently, I can only substantiate that the Lays were in western New York (Niagara Co) @1800 and Huldah must have met Alexander @1800-1820 and went with Alexander @ 1830-1840 to Calhoun Co, Mich. Her parents settled in Kalamazoo Co, adjacent

LAY, DANIEL (edit)
Note: nd Charles N. Farmer is mentioned. "A native citizen of Connecticut came to New York as a young man, where he married Anna Brown, settled in Chenango County, later to Steuben County, and then to Niagara County. In 1835 he moved to Michigan and settled in Kalamazoo County, and a few years later moved to Calhoun County and died there at age 77. His wife surv
LAY, HULDAH S. (edit)
Note: mostly pioneers of, or born in Leroy township; and excepting one had all been residents of Leroy more or less time and were relatives of Mrs. Farmer. She was one of our earliest settlers who came from Niagara County, New York, in a wagon and has ever held a high place in the estimation of her neighbors and acquaintances; and is yet in possession of her natural fac
NELLIS, JOHANN WILHELM (edit)
Note: was dated 8 August 1809 and probated 17 January 1810. 7.Henrich Wilhelm, noted often in the 1760s as an officer, Capt. Henry Nelles aged 48 and his entire family were recorded on the 1783 census of Niagara. 8.Anna Maria, born 1731; possibly the Anna Maria recorded as marrying Michael Salzmann 9.Anna Margaretha, born 1733, died about 1780 10. Johann Henrich,

SCHRAMLING, ANNA (edit)
Name note: ce dealer; Erwin Burton on lot 49; Calvin Bowker, on lot 15; Daniel Carter on lot Si; Grant Cuddeback; John J. Cushing on lot 68; Daniel Dwight on lot 26: Benjamin Farley on lot 48 (he was sheriff of Niagara county in 1857 and member of assembly in 1867-65); Orsemus Ferris on lot 14; R. A. Ferris, on lot 53; Enoch Fitch in the west part of the town; Nathan Gallup
Note: (Note: An Andrew Brown living in Wilson, Niagara Co., NY during 1830 census, age 40-50.) A Joseph Brown on the same page as Alex Farmer in 1840 for Wilson, Niagara Co., NY. http://64.233.169.104/search?q=cach

STANNARD, HANNAH (edit)
Lived detail: Westbrook, CT>Georgia, VT>Schoharis Co., NY>Wilson, Niagara Co., NY

YOUNG, JOHANN THEOBALD / or DAVID "Dewalt" (edit)
Note: ga woman and they had a daughter; at the death of his first wife, he married an Onondaga woman and they had another daughter." (3) "John DeCou (DeCew) left in 1833 his home at DeCew's Falls in the Niagara area and settled in North Cayuga Township. He had mills near Taquanyah and eventually became the founder of Decewsville. His father, Jacob DeCou, had served
SORCES

Birth information
Research notes: Born in Michigan per death record; NY per 1850, 1860, 1870, 1880 census. Birthdate and location based on a death certificate. Marriage certificate states born in Wilson, Niagara Co., New York.
My Father, John Anderson Adams, Founder of the Adams Extract Company
Research notes: "My father, John Anderson Adams, was born 2/25/47 in New York state on a farm near Leroy not far from Niagara Falls."
1840 U.S. Census
Research notes: For Wilson, Niagara Co., New York. Alex. Farmer: Males: 1 under 5; 1 20-30; Females: 1 under 5; 1 20-30. https://www.ancestry.com/interactive/8057/4410720_00239?pid=3820190&b
1820 U.S. Census
Research notes: For Wilson, Niagara Co., New York. Daniel Lay: Males: 2 under 10; 1 to 26-45. Females: 2 under 10; 1 16-26. Also on the page is Abner Lay.
1830 U.S. Census
Research notes: For Wilson, Niagara Co., New York. Daniel Lay: Males: 2 under 5; 2 15-20 and 1 40-50. Females: 2 5-10; 1 10-15; 1 20-30 and 1 30-40.
A Genealogy of the Descendants of William Kelsey,
Research notes: ). Pg. 299. States: "After his death [Daniel], the widow made her home with her son Timothy in Schoharie County, NY, until 1827, when she went to live with her youngest son, Daniel Lay, at Wilson, Niagara County, the same state, where she died."
Correspondence
Research notes: From Mary Lay Stephenson's letter of June 23, 2010. Church record states that Hannah Lay "died at Porter Niagara Co About 1820"
Parker in America 1630-1910
Citation: Parker, Augustus G., Parker in America 1630-1910 (Buffalo: Niagara Pub. Co., 1910).
Research notes Parker, Augustus G., Parker in America 1630-1910, (Buffalo: Niagara Pub. Co., 1910). Pg. 303.
Parker in America 1630-1910
Citation: Parker, Augustus G., Parker in America 1630-1910 (Buffalo: Niagara Pub. Co., 1910).
Research notes Parker, Augustus G., Parker in America 1630-1910, (Buffalo: Niagara Pub. Co., 1910). Pp. 303-304.
1860 U.S. Census
Research notes 1860 Federal Census for Royalton, Niagara, New York. James Henry age 30, Electa age 21. Children: Mary age 3 and Fanny 6/12 mo.. Also Alvin__ age 16.
1870 U.S. Census
Research notes 1870 U.S. Census. For Royalton, Niagara, New York. James Henry age 39, Electa L. age 31. Children: Mary age 12; Hattie age 8 and John age 4.
1870 U.S. Census
Research notes 1870 U.S. Census. For Royalton, Niagara, New York. James Henry age 39, Electa L. age 31. Children: Mary age 12; Hattie age 8 and John age 4.
1870 U.S. Census
Research notes 1870 U.S. Census. For Royalton, Niagara, New York. James Henry age 39, Electa L. age 31. Children: Mary age 12; Hattie age 8 and John age 4.
1870 U.S. Census
Research notes 1870 U.S. Census. For Royalton, Niagara, New York. James Henry age 39, Electa L. age 31. Children: Mary age 12; Hattie age 8 and John age 4.
1870 U.S. Census
Research notes 1870 U.S. Census. For Royalton, Niagara, New York. James Henry age 39, Electa L. age 31. Children: Mary age 12; Hattie age 8 and John age 4.
A Genealogy of the Descendants of William Kelsey,
Research notes Claypool, Edward & Azalea Clizbee, A Genealogy of the Descendants of William Kelsey, Vol. 2, (Pub. Tuttle, Morehouse and Taylor Co., 1928). Pg. 57. Jeremiah lived in Hartland, Niagara Co., NY.
Marriage Information
Research notes t, compiler. (Ancestry.com database.) States George T. Lay & Mary E. Barber (his parents Abner Lay & Mehitable Talbot) married Oct. 1851 in Allegan, Allegan, Michigan. He was born Oct. 28, 1822, in Niagara, near Lockport, NY and died 1880 of Monterey, Allegan, Mid Lothian. ALLEGAN COUNTY VR.marriage.1.136.
Obituary
Research notes: ek by the serious illness of their mother, Mrs. R. S. Turner .... Mrs. Turner was formerly a resident of this neighborhood .... The Holton Weekly Signal, January 4, 1899." "Adenine Lay was born in Niagara County, New York, December 4, 1824, and died at her home in Holton, Kan., Saturday morning, December 31, 1898, at the age of 74 years and 27 days. September
1850 U.S. Census
Research notes 1850 United States Federal Census. Name: Truman Kellums; [Truman Kilbourn]; Age: 70; Birth Year: abt 1780; Birthplace: Connecticut; Home in 1850: Lockport, Niagara, New York, USA; Gender: Male; Family Number: 2186; Household Members: Name and Age: Truman Kellums age 70; Deborah B Kellums age 64; Sarah Morehouse age 60; S
State Census
Research notes New York, State Census, 1855. Name: Truman Kilborn; Birth Year: abt 1780; Age: 75; Gender: Male; Relation to Head: Head; Residence: Lockport, Niagara, New York, USA; District: E.D. 2; Household number: 65; Line Number: 29; Sheet Number: 9; Truman Kilborn age 75; Deborah B Kilborn age 69; Sarah M Eager age 4
State Census
Research notes New York, State Census, 1855. Name: Truman Kilborn; Birth Year: abt 1780; Age: 75; Gender: Male; Relation to Head: Head; Residence: Lockport, Niagara, New York, USA; District: E.D. 2; Household number: 65; Line Number: 29; Sheet Number: 9; Truman Kilborn age 75; Deborah B Kilborn age 69; Sarah M Eager age 4
1860 U.S. Census
Research notes 1860 United States Federal Census. Name: Truman Kilborn; Age: age 80; Birth Year: abt 1780; Gender: Male; Birth Place: Connecticut; Home in 1860: Lockport, Niagara, New York; Post Office: Lockport; Family Number: 1086; Name and Age: Truman Kilborn age 80; Deborah Kilborn age 74; Truman C Kilborn age 46; Sarah M Eager age
State Census
Research notes New York, State Census, 1865. Name: Truman Kilbourn; Gender: Male; Relation to Head: Head; Birth Year: abt 1780; Age: 85; Residence: Lockport, Niagara, New York, USA; District: 2; Line Number: 15; Page Number: 69; Household Members: Name and Age: Truman Kilbourn age 85; Debra Kilbourn age 79; Truman C Kilbourn
1850 U.S. Census
Research notes 1850 United States Federal Census. Name: Truman Kellums; [Truman Kilbourn]; Age: 70; Birth Year: abt 1780; Birthplace: Connecticut; Home in 1850: Lockport, Niagara, New York, USA; Gender: Male; Family Number: 2186; Household Members: Name and Age: Truman Kellums age 70; Deborah B Kellums age 64; Sarah Morehouse age 60; S
State Census
Research notes: New York, State Census, 1855. Name: Truman Kilborn; Birth Year:abt 1780; Age: 75; Gender: Male; Relation to Head: Head; Residence: Lockport, Niagara, New York, USA; District: E.D. 2; Household number: 65; Line Number: 29; Sheet Number: 9; Truman Kilborn age 75; Deborah B Kilborn age 69; Sarah M Eager age 4
1860 U.S. Census
Research notes: 1860 United States Federal Census. Name: Truman Kilborn; Age: age 80; Birth Year:abt 1780; Gender:Male; Birth Place: Connecticut; Home in 1860: Lockport, Niagara, New York; Post Office: Lockport; Family Number: 1086; Name and Age: Truman Kilborn age 80; Deborah Kilborn age 74; Truman C Kilborn age 46; Sarah M Eager age
State Census
Research notes: New York, State Census, 1865. Name: Truman Kilbourn; Gender: Male; Relation to Head: Head; Birth Year: abt 1780; Age: 85; Residence: Lockport, Niagara, New York, USA; District: 2; Line Number: 15; Page Number: 69; Household Members: Name and Age: Truman Kilbourn age 85; Debra Kilbourn age 79; Truman C Kilbourn
PLACES
Wilson, Niagara Co., New York
Place: Wilson, Niagara Co., New York
Niagara Co., New York
Place: Niagara Co., New York
Lockport, Niagara Co., New York
Place: Lockport, Niagara Co., New York
#8 of Grand River Niagara by Robert Addison, Minister of Niagara
Place: #8 of Grand River Niagara by Robert Addison, Minister of Niagara
Royalton Center, Niagara, New York
Place: Royalton Center, Niagara, New York
Somerset, Niagara Co., New York
Place: Somerset, Niagara Co., New York
of Somerset, Niagara Co., New York
Place: of Somerset, Niagara Co., New York
(Prob.) Niagara Co., New York
Place: (Prob.) Niagara Co., New York
Cambria Center, Niagara Co., New York
Place: Cambria Center, Niagara Co., New York
Nelson, Niagara Co., New York
Place: Nelson, Niagara Co., New York
Hartland, Niagara Co., New York
Place: Hartland, Niagara Co., New York
Niagara-On-The-Lake, Ontario, Canada
Place: Niagara-On-The-Lake, Ontario, Canada
Niagara District, Ontario, Canada
Place: Niagara District, Ontario, Canada

Wednesday, April 14, 2021

Putting My Lives Together


A little update. I have not posted a blog since December 2019, but I feel like I've been blogging the entire 2020 year posting to my journal in a private blog. The working title is called Putting My Lives Together and I thought it was an appropriate title because I was constantly getting my life's facts wrong. This isn't like a genealogy post or research, but I was dealing with my own documents and memory. The thing that started me on this trail was I discovered I had seen the Gateway Arch in St. Louis three times instead of one time, and since I didn't remember that, I decided to do something about it.

So, my 2020 New Year's Resolution was to do a journal about my life. I knew I had lived in 18 different locations covering four states (California, Connecticut, Virginia, Massachusetts, and a few months in Texas when I was in the service).  I also remember the four different fourth grades (in three different states), and the two high schools in different towns in Massachusetts, the last year was my senior year.

I've never used scrapbooks or journals, but I did have a 5-year diary for years 1963/4-68, and a lot of loose papers, some with a date of what I did. However, I was a huge collector of mementos, playbills, tickets to concerts, theaters, various events, a lot of letters because I was always moving, flyers, newspaper clippings, photos, and other items. These were always stored in a big Rubbermaid container. Nothing organized (just like genealogy sometimes). When I began going through my paper treasurers, I found my baptism certificate and had no idea I had been baptized in Illinois! That along with finding photos of the Gateway Arch in St. Louis got me thinking about my life. I also couldn't remember the chronological order of some of my jobs and dates to many of my moves. And, the letters from my grandparents, aunt, and mother (hidden away for 25 to almost 50 years) provided a wealth of information. I had everything saved that mattered.

In January 2020 I made eight piles of what I wanted to cover. Where I lived, various friends in each location, jobs, plays, my family, trips all over the United States. Doing this helped me immensely. I always knew I saw the St. Louis Gateway Arch in 1979 with my sister on a west-to-east coast road trip. but I had completely forgotten a 1988 trip from Virginia to the midwest with my husband, and a 1976 road trip from Virginia to St. Antonio. Thank goodness I had photos of all three and they were dated on the back. New York City trips were pretty much jumbled, I just knew I visited about 25 times, but with whom, where did we stay, and what we did was driving my mind crazy.

Fortunately, after a week or so, I got the piles done but wasn't sure how to begin putting them together. So, I began with Journal #1 sharing all I knew about my birth in New Britain, CT, and that my grandmother was the attending nurse. My grandfather was an architect of the house, and I only lived there for about 9 months before moving to California...that location was covered in Journal #2.

When I began this journal I told my husband that I would allow myself one year. So, my friends, this is why I didn't write any genealogy blogs last year. The project was very therapeutic because my husband died on April 14th. Throughout the 2020 year, many of my memories with past boyfriends and former husband, my DAR and VA jobs in Virginia cheered me up. My husband and I began our lives together about 52 years ago, so there was a lot of coverage regarding him, both in Massachusetts and Virginia.
We loved genealogy, cemeteries, and libraries. This is my favorite photo of him. Thank you Bill for the memories.

I put this information into a new Blogger file, printed it out in color, and copied it to Dropbox. I went through so much ink and paper of course, but the 350-page pile was worth it.

If I had children, I believe this would be something they could be interested in, rather than reading about the old people in my genealogy reports.

So, I have spent the last few days working on some posts, one is recent, the others were done in a draft in 2019. You will see a few new posts down the road very soon.

Wednesday, August 29, 2018

A Timeline, See What a Really Good One Should Look Like

Photo of Georgia O'Keeffe, taken at the Peabody Essex Museum
January 2018. Georgia is my 4th cousin once removed.

In January 2018, I visited an exhibit called, Art, Image and Style, an excellent showing of Georgia O'Keeffe's life, artwork, and clothes. I wrote a blog about this visit, and you'll be able to see the pictures at Georgia O'Keeffe, The Website was a Gem, and Oh Her Clothes. At the time I always try to do some research on the topic prior to posting. Naturally, I checked out the website for the Georgia O'Keeffe MuseumOne of the things that interested me the most was the Timeline of her life, something genealogists should do, I believe. Both of my parents have the Ten Eyck line, and one has the Wyckoff line, both names mentioned in the first timeline entry for 1887. I felt I needed to share this information for those who might be interested.

in January, I called the museum to ask for permission to use their work on this blog. It was an easier task than I expected because all I had to do was write a letter and explain why I wanted permission. In less than 24 hours, I had my answer. All I had to do is give credit, well naturally, I will and have. To see their original timeline, see https://www.okeeffemuseum.org/about-georgia-okeeffe/timeline/ I also copied it below.


1887
November 15: Georgia Totto O’Keeffe born to Francis Calyxtus O’Keeffe and Ida Totto O’Keeffe at family dairy farm, near Sun Prairie, Wisconsin, the first girl and the second of seven children, including Francis Calyxtus (1885-1959), Ida Ten Eyck (1889-1961), Anita Natalie (1891-1985), Alexius Wyckoff (1892-1930), Catherine Blanche (1895-1987), and Claudia Ruth (1899-1984).
1892–1900
Attends Town Hall School and, along with sisters Ida and Anita, receives art lessons at home; furthers art instruction with Sarah Mann, a local watercolorist.
1901–1902
Attends Sacred Heart Academy in Madison, Wisconsin, for first year of high school (as boarder); receives art instruction from Sister Angelique.
1902
Fall: O’Keeffe family moves to Williamsburg, Virginia.
1902-1903
As sophomore, attends Madison High School; lives with her aunt, Leonore (“Lola”) Totto. June 1903: joins family in Williamsburg.
1903–1905
Fall 1903: attends Chatham (Virginia) Episcopal Institute, as boarder. June 1905: graduates. Elizabeth May Willis, Chatham’s principal and art instructor, recognizes and encourages O’Keeffe’s interest in art. In senior year O’Keeffe serves as art editor of the school yearbook Mortar Board.
1905-1906
Fall 1905: attends School of The Art Institute of Chicago and studies with John Vanderpoel; lives with uncle and aunt, Charles and Alletta Totto. Summer 1906: with family in Williamsburg, recovering from lingering illness; remains there through the next summer.
1907-1908
Fall-spring: attends Art Students League, New York; studies with William Merritt Chase, F. Luis Mora, and Kenyon Cox; rooms with Florence Cooney. January 1908: attends exhibition of works on paper by Auguste Rodin at The Little Galleries of the Photo-Secession (291), operated by Alfred Stieglitz; sits for portrait by fellow student Eugene Speicher. April 1908: possibly sees exhibition of works by Henri Matisse at 291. June 1908: awarded League’s 1907-8 Still Life Scholarship. Summer 1908: as scholarship winner, attends League’s Outdoor School at Lake George, New York.
1908-1911
Fall 1908: moves to Chicago to work as free-lance commercial artist, again living with uncle and aunt, the Tottos. Around 1910: becomes ill with measles and moves to Charlottesville, Virginia, to live with mother, sisters, and brothers, who move there from Williamsburg sometime in 1909. Fall 1911: temporarily takes over Miss Willis’s teaching schedule at Chatham Episcopal Institute, who indicates in 1912 letter, “Miss O’Keeffe had charge of my Art Department last fall.”
1912
Summer: attends drawing class at University of Virginia, Charlottesville, taught by Alon Bement, of Teachers College, Columbia University, who introduces her to ideas of his mentor, artist-teacher Arthur Wesley Dow, head of Art Department at Teachers College.August: moves to Amarillo, Texas, as supervisor of drawing and penmanship in public schools; holds position through spring 1914.
1913Summer: returns to Charlottesville to work as Bement’s assistant at University of Virginia (and continues to teach there summers through 1916).
1914-1915
Meets Arthur Macmahon, a political science professor from Columbia University, who is teaching summer school at University of Virginia and with whom she becomes close friends.
Fall 1914: enrolls at Teachers College, Columbia University.
December 1914-March 1915: attends exhibitions of works by Georges Braque, John Marin, and Pablo Picasso at 291.
Fall 1915: moves to Columbia, South Carolina, to teach art at Columbia College.
October 1915: makes decision to chart new direction for her art and produces seminal series of charcoal abstractions, some of which she sends to her friend Anita Pollitzer in New York during the period October-December.
1916
January: Pollitzer takes group of O’Keeffe’s charcoal drawings to Stieglitz at 291 on New Year’s Day. O’Keeffe sends Pollitzer additional work and begins a thirty-year correspondence with Stieglitz, which is particularly intense in 1916-18.
March: returns to Teachers College to attend the Dow course in methods specified by West Texas State Normal College, Canyon, as prerequisite to assuming position there.
May 1: mother dies in Charlottesville; attends funeral following day.
May 23: Stieglitz opens group show at 291 that includes some of O’Keeffe’s charcoal drawings.
June: leaves New York for Virginia to teach with Bement.
Late August: moves to Texas to begin teaching job. Stieglitz includes O’Keeffe work in an informal group show at 291.
1917
April 3: Stieglitz opens Georgia O’Keeffe, first one-person show of her work, at 291;
August: vacations in and around Ward, Colorado, with sister Claudia. On way back to Texas, stops in Santa Fe for first time and is immediately impressed by New Mexico’s vast skies and vistas and the stark beauty of its landscape forms.
Early winter: becomes ill.
1918
Late February: granted leave of absence from teaching responsibilities and, on February 21, moves first to San Antonio and later, in March, to a farm in Waring, Texas. Relocating rejuvenates O’Keeffe.
May: Stieglitz sends Strand to Texas to discover if O’Keeffe would consider moving to New York.
June 10: O’Keeffe and Strand arrive in New York, and O’Keeffe moves into studio apartment at 114 East 59th Street that Stieglitz’s niece, Elizabeth, is not using.
July 8: Stieglitz leaves Emmeline Obermeyer Stieglitz, his wife since 1893, to live with O’Keeffe. That month, he begins photographing O’Keeffe in earnest, and she resigns from West Texas State, accepting Stieglitz’s offer to underwrite a year of painting.
November 11: O’Keeffe’s father dies in Petersburg, Virginia.
1921
February 7: Stieglitz retrospective exhibition opens at The Anderson Galleries (145 prints, 1886-1921); several nudes within the 45 photographs of O’Keeffe create sensation with public and critics.
1923
January 29: Stieglitz opens Alfred Stieglitz Presents One Hundred Pictures: Oils, Water-colors, Pastels, Drawings, by Georgia O’Keeffe, American, an exhibition of over 100 works at The Anderson Galleries. He organizes exhibitions of her work annually until his death in 1946.
1924
March: Stieglitz opens Alfred Stieglitz Presents Fifty-One Recent Pictures: Oils, Water-colors, Pastels, Drawings, by Georgia O’Keeffe, American, at The Anderson Galleries and, simultaneously, opens an exhibition of 61 of his photographs.
September 9: Stieglitz’s divorce from wife finalized.
November: O’Keeffe and Stieglitz move to apartment at 35 East 58th Street and, on December 11, are married in Cliffside Park, New Jersey.
1925
March: Stieglitz opens Alfred Stieglitz Presents Seven Americans: 159 Paintings, Photographs & Things, Recent & Never Before Publicly Shown, by Arthur G. Dove, Marsden Hartley, John Marin, Charles Demuth, Paul Strand, Georgia O’Keeffe, Alfred Stieglitz at The Anderson Galleries, in which O’Keeffe’s large-format paintings of flowers are first exhibited.
Mid-November: O’Keeffe and Stieglitz move to the Shelton Hotel, on Lexington Avenue between 48th and 49th, living first on 12th floor and, subsequently, on other floors until 1936, when they move to 405 East 54th Street.
1926
February: Stieglitz opens Fifty Recent Paintings, by Georgia O’Keeffe, at The Intimate Gallery, which includes first of many depictions of New York architecture completed between 1925 and 1932.
1927
January: Stieglitz opens Georgia O’Keeffe: Paintings, 1926, at The Intimate Gallery.
April: O’Keeffe at Lake George.
June: first retrospective, Paintings by Georgia O’Keeffe, opens at The Brooklyn Museum.
1928
January: Stieglitz opens O’Keeffe Exhibition, at The Intimate Gallery.
April 21: he announces sale of six O’Keeffe calla lily paintings for $25,000.
1929
February 4-March 17: Stieglitz opens Georgia O’Keeffe: Paintings, 1928, at The Intimate Gallery.
April 27: O’Keeffe and artist Rebecca Strand (wife of photographer Paul Strand) leave for Santa Fe, New Mexico; after arrival, move to Taos as guests of arts supporter-writer
Mabel Dodge Luhan, who provides O’Keeffe a studio.
December 13: Paintings by 19 Living Americans, with five works by O’Keeffe, opens at the Museum of Modern Art.
December 15: Stieglitz opens final gallery, An American Place, in Room 1710, 509 Madison Avenue, with Marin exhibition.
1930
February: Stieglitz opens Georgia O’Keeffe: 27 New Paintings, New MexicoNew YorkLake George, Etc., at An American Place, which includes earliest paintings of New Mexico crosses and of San Francisco de Assís Church in Ranchos de Taos.
Late April: O’Keeffe to New Mexico.
June-September: O’Keeffe guest of Luhans in Taos.
1931
December 27: Stieglitz opens Georgia O’Keeffe: 33 New Paintings (New Mexico) at An American Place, the first exhibition with paintings of bones.
1932
April: O’Keeffe accepts $1500 commission to paint mural for powder room in Radio City Music Hall, scheduled to open at end of year.
June and August: travels to Canada and paints barns, crosses, and the sea.
October: faced with technical and other difficulties, abandons Radio City Music Hall commission and stops painting entirely.
1933
January: Stieglitz opens Georgia O’Keeffe: Paintings—New & Some Old, at An American Place. O’Keeffe becomes ill and moves to New York apartment of sister Anita Young.
February: admitted to Doctor’s Hospital, suffering from psychoneurosis. From March through April: recuperates in Bermuda. In October, is recovered enough to begin drawing at Lake George.
1934
January: begins painting after 13-month hiatus, and on January 29, Stieglitz opens Georgia O’Keeffe at “An American Place,” 44 Selected Paintings 1915-1927.
March-April: O’Keeffe again travels to Bermuda.
June: travels to New Mexico.
August: first visit to Ghost Ranch, a dude ranch north of Abiquiu. Stunning landscape configurations around Ghost Ranch provide new inspiration for O’Keeffe’s work.
1935January: Stieglitz opens Georgia O’Keeffe: Exhibition of Paintings (1919-1934), at An American Place.
July: travels to New Mexico, and until August 2, stays at Garland’s ranch, then moves to room at Ghost Ranch.
1936
January: Stieglitz opens Georgia O’Keeffe: Exhibition of Recent Paintings, 1935, at An American Place.
April: O’Keeffe and Stieglitz move from Shelton Hotel to penthouse apartment at 405 East 54th Street.
June: O’Keeffe travels to New Mexico; first summer living in the house at Ghost Ranch she buys in 1940, Rancho de los Burros.
July- Fall: receives $10,000 commission from Elizabeth Arden to make large painting for new exercise salon in New York.
1937February: Stieglitz opens Georgia O’Keeffe: New Paintings, An American Place, New York, N.Y.
July: O’Keeffe to New Mexico.
December: Stieglitz opens Georgia O’Keeffe: The 14th Annual Exhibition of Paintings With Some Recent O’Keeffe Letters, at An American Place.
1938
May: O’Keeffe travels to Williamsburg, Virginia, to receive honorary degree from College of William and Mary, the first of many she would receive during her lifetime.
Summer: O’Keeffe receives commission from advertising agency N. W. Ayer to travel to Hawaii to produce paintings for a Dole Company promotional campaign.
August: O’Keeffe to New Mexico.
1939
January: Stieglitz opens Georgia O’Keeffe: Exhibition of Oils And Pastels, at An American Place.
Late January-April: O’Keeffe travels to Hawaii.
1940
February: Stieglitz opens Georgia O’Keeffe: Exhibition of Oils and Pastels, at An American Place.
August: O’Keeffe to New Mexico.
1941
January: Stieglitz opens Exhibition of Georgia O’Keeffe, at An American Place.
May: O’Keeffe to New Mexico.
1942
February: Stieglitz opens Georgia O’Keeffe: Exhibition of Recent Paintings, 1941, at An American Place.
June: O’Keeffe to New Mexico.
December: O’Keeffe moves with Stieglitz to 59 East 54th Street, her last New York address.
1943
January: O’Keeffe in Chicago to install and attend events related to opening of retrospective, Georgia O’Keeffe, at the Art Institute of Chicago.
March: Stieglitz opens Georgia O’Keeffe: Paintings-1942-1943, at An American Place.
April: O’Keeffe to New Mexico.
1944
January: Stieglitz opens Georgia O’Keeffe: Paintings—1943, at An American Place.
April: O’Keeffe to New Mexico.
1945
January: Stieglitz opens Georgia O’Keeffe: Paintings, 1944, at An American Place.
May: O’Keeffe to New Mexico.
December: purchases Abiquiu property from Catholic Archdiocese of Santa Fe.
1946
February: Stieglitz opens Georgia O’Keeffe, at An American Place. O’Keeffe begins organizing retrospective, Georgia O’Keeffe, to open at The Museum of Modern Art in May.
July 13: Stieglitz dies.
Late September: O’Keeffe returns to New Mexico.
1947
January through early summer: O’Keeffe in New York (where she primarily lives until 1949), working to settle the Stieglitz Estate, which results in the distribution of his art collection to numerous public institutions.
1949
June: leaves New York to live permanently in New Mexico, where she habitually spends winter and spring in Abiquiu and summer and fall at Ghost Ranch.
1950July: O’Keeffe begins organizing Georgia O’Keeffe: Paintings 1946-1950, to open at An American Place in October. Edith Halpert, owner of The Downtown Gallery, becomes O’Keeffe’s exclusive agent.
1951
February-March: O’Keeffe travels to Mexico for six weeks with Spud Johnson, Elliot Porter, and Porter’s wife, Aline. Trip includes drive to Yucatán with Rose and Miguel Covarrubias and meets Diego Rivera and Frieda Kahlo.
1959
Brother Francis dies.
January-April: travels via San Francisco and Honolulu to Southeast Asia, the Far East, India, the Middle East, and Italy.
1960
July: O’Keeffe helps organize Georgia O’Keeffe: Forty Years of Her Art, the retrospective that opens in October at the Worcester (Mass.) Art Museum.
Late October-November: O’Keeffe makes second trip to Asia.
1961
Sister Ida dies.
Spring: helps organize and install what will be her last exhibition at The Downtown Gallery, Georgia O’Keeffe: Recent Paintings and Drawings, which opens in early April.
1963
Doris Bry becomes O’Keeffe’s exclusive agent.
1965
Summer: in garage at Ghost Ranch paints her largest clouds picture.
1966
March: attends opening of retrospective, Georgia O’Keeffe: An Exhibition of the Work of the Artist from 1915 to 1966, at the Amon Carter Museum of Western Art, Fort Worth.
1970
Early October: installs retrospective, Georgia O’Keeffe, at the Whitney Museum of American Art.
1971
Early in year: loses central vision; retains only peripheral sight.
1972
During year, completes last unassisted oil painting, though continues to work in oil with assistance until 1977. (Works unassisted in watercolor and charcoal until 1978 and in graphite until 1984.)
1973
November: meets potter-sculptor Juan Hamilton, who becomes her assistant and, later, her close friend and representative. (Among other things, Hamilton is a travelling companion and facilitator, making possible completion of several projects, including Viking Press publication Georgia O’Keeffe [1976] and Perry Miller Adato video Georgia O’Keeffe [1977]).
1977
January: receives Medal of Freedom from President Gerald Ford.
1984
March: O’Keeffe moves, with Hamilton and family, to large house in Santa Fe, Sol y Sombra, to be nearer medical facilities.
1985
Sister Anita Young dies. Awarded National Medal of Arts by President Ronald Reagan.
1986
March 6: O’Keeffe dies at St. Vincent’s Hospital, Santa Fe.
___________________
 I have decided not to use the Comment feature for my blog. If you would like to leave a comment for me or ask a question, please write me at my email: BarbaraPoole@Gmail.com. Thank you.

My reason is because since November 2017 to May 2018, I received no comments, but upon investigating I found that I had indeed received 167 legitimate ones and 1,000 were in the spam folder. Google Blogger had made some changes that I was unaware of. Please be aware that I do not know who reads my blog, I may know who subscribes, but that is all.

Wednesday, January 10, 2018

Chelmsford, MA Library and Historical Society Have a Lot to Offer Genealogists

Chelmsford Library aka Adams Library Chelmsford Public Library 
25 Boston Road, Chelmsford, MA USA 01824
Telephone: (978) 256-5521
https://www.chelmsfordlibrary.org

If you live near a library where your ancestors might have lived and haven't visited it lately, you might be in for a nice surprise. I have been in perhaps 70 or more libraries in my lifetime, but this local library is the one I used when I was in high school, and is the go-to library I use now for some genealogy research. I began this post with the intention of writing just about the Genealogy offerings of the Library. Then I went on to another topic, that of online yearbooks from 1920, then on to the last topic, that being the Chelmsford Historical Society, which has a fabulous page for everybody who has old, really old ancestors. Check it out. Makes me wish I had ancestors from this town. Oh, the top page of my blog, the header, is a photo of a cemetery in Chelmsford, I've used this photo for about seven years.


Local History Room

Back to the Library. Want to see what they offer? Go to their website and click on the Services tab, then select Family Search, History Library Affiliate which opens up to Genealogy and Obituaries.

The first section are the featured online resources. Researchers may use American Ancestors, Heritage Quest, and Ancestry Library edition. To be used at the Library. 

Other topics include:

Local History Room Circulating genealogy collection
. Chelmsford Newspapers Obituary Search...index to the Chelmsford    Newsweekly and Chelmsford Independent. (502 pages, beginning June 1940)
. Microfilm Periodicals
. Chelmsford Cemetery Archive (Search Burial Records)
___

On July 26, 2017, I received the following facebook message: 

"Chelmsford Public Library is collaborating with the Historical Society to make past CHS yearbooks available for free online, but we need your help! We're missing the following years:
1926, 1927, 1933, 1938, 1939, 1940, 1941, 1944, 1949, 1953, 1954, 1955, 1956, 1957, 1959, 1963, 1964, 1965, 1967, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1974, 1978, 1981, 1985, 1994, 1995, 1997, 2000
If you have a CHS yearbook from one of these years you'd like to donate to the library, just drop it off at the reference desk. If you'd like to help us out by allowing us to scan it, but would like the yearbook returned to you, just leave a note on it with your contact information and we'll let you know when the scanning is complete. Thank you all!"

*As of June 2018, there are 92 books available to look at online. No books are missing. Why not check out the various book covers. For those interested in the yearbooks online, here is the link of the downloadable PDF scans of CHS yearbooks.

I noticed my yearbook wasn't included, so I brought it to the Library to be scanned. Click on the Select a yearbook to view tab to search the year you want. Look at 1925, for a look into the past."


The third section is a page the Genealogy tab of Chelmsford Historical Society webpage, shown below, extra large because I want you to see some features, three are below:
Births and Baptisms to 1699
(PDF, 17 pages)

Cemetery Records to 2007
(PDF, 189 pages)

Vital Records to 1849
(Surname index page)
Mass. Vital Records Project

The Library tab offers Chelmsford Town Directories in searchable PDF format:


UPDATE: Printing, Copying, Scanning, Faxing
(2/3/2019)
Below is information from the Chelmsford Library.
"The library strives to meet the research and homework needs of our patrons, and this includes offering basic office supplies and services. Pencils and scrap paper are available throughout each library, and the Children's, Young Adult, and Reference Desks also offer additional items."
https://www.chelmsfordlibrary.org/services/printing-copying-scanning-faxing/

I have decided not to use the Comment feature for my blog. If you would like to leave a comment for me or ask a question, please write me at my email: BarbaraPoole@Gmail.com. Thank you.

My reason is that from November 2017 to May 2018, I received no comments, but upon investigating I found that I had indeed received 167 legitimate ones and 1,000 were in the spam folder. Google Blogger had made some changes that I was unaware of.