Tuesday's Tip: Using FamilySearch to Order French-Canadian Records

Most genealogists start by reviewing the same set of records, no matter what country they are researching: census, vital and church records, land records, probate files, military records, newspapers, and city directories. For French Canada, census records, military records, newspapers, and city directories may be online. But how do you find land and probate records?

You can order many land and probate records (called notaire records in Quebec) on microfilm and have them sent to the Family History Center at Godfrey.  To do so, go to www.familysearch.org and follow the instructions below.

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First, "sign in." If you don't have an account, you can create one by clicking on "Free Account." Once you are signed in, you'll be brought back to the main page. Click on "Search," and then "Catalog."

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Enter Canada and then the province name under "Place."

Entering "Canada, Quebec" and then clicking on "land and property" results in a number of titles related to the topic.

For example, click on Land Records, 1754-1857. Clicking on the title brings up a page about the item. Going to the bottom of page, you can see how the land records are available.

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This particular set of records is available on microfilm. Once you see the years you need, click on the film reel to order that roll.

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Follow directions to add it to your cart and have it shipped. Hope to see you soon at our Family History Center!

Tuesday's Tip: Finding the Full Run of Connecticut Newspapers

With obituaries that provide date of death, social columns that track vacations, and more, newspapers can be a valuable resource - but how do you locate them?  

If your ancestor was from the Middletown area, Godfrey may have the resources you need at the ready. Middletown's Penny Press covered the area in the late 19th and early 20th century - and still does today as the Middletown Press. The Library has a nearly full run of newspapers on microfilm from 1885 to 1921, as well as an index covering 1884 to 1921. 

If your ancestor was from the Hartford area, try The Hartford Courant instead. If you're a Connecticut resident, did you know you can access historic issues on ResearchIT CT? To do so, go to http://researchitct.org/, 

click on "Newspapers," the title you want to look at, and enter your library card number to begin searching. 

Stuck? Consider joining our next internet genealogy club, which will cover how to use ResearchIT CT. 

Happy hunting! 

Deed Microfims Help Build Your Tree

Enjoy today's guest post on the role of deeds in your research!

Use of Real Estate Deeds to Establish Family Connections

The first installment of this series discussed how the use of real estate deeds obtained through the Family History Center at the Godfrey Memorial Library can be a way to uncover spousal identity.

In this second installment, the use of real estate deeds to identify other family relationships is discussed. 

The use of wills was not overly prevalent during the 19^th century, especially in rural areas.  Many adults died relatively young and unexpectedly due to the outbreak of a particularly virulent illness.  In those intestate situations, the deceased’s land would be divided between his spouse (dower’s right) and any children.  Often times, however, some of the land had to be first sold to satisfy an estate’s debts.  Typically, the division of land either left small parcels which the heirs would then typically sell or if a division of the land could not be agreed upon, then the heirs sold their interests prior to any division of the land.

For instance, my great-great grandfather, Philip W. Smith, died intestate in 1878 in Sussex County, New Jersey.  His ten surviving children sold off the 51 acres inherited to one of their cousins.  We find a transaction in 1881 which states that six of the heirs of Philip W. Smith are each selling their one-tenth interest, for a total amount conveyed of six-tenths.  This confirms the identity of six of the children and also states which ones were married at that time, along with the name of each spouse.  These six lived in or near Sussex County.  A seventh heir executed at the same time a separate deed to sell his one-tenth interest because he was stated as living in Illinois at that time, thus providing information on his location.  The other three children were still minors in 1881 but each executed a deed later to sell their one-tenth interest upon reaching 21 years of age.  This was a very typical pattern and helps to 1) identify living children; 2) identify their locations; and 3) identify the names of spouses.  If the heir was a female and married, then the full name of her husband would be stated since women at that time could not own land separate of their spouse.

Similarly, another relative, named Lodewick Smith died intestate in early 1810 in Sussex County.  In this case, his widow decided to be the administratrix of his estate.  During the proceedings to settle the estate, an 1817 deed reveals that she has remarried since she is identified as “Mary Teeple, formerly Mary Smith….Administratrix of the estate of Lodewick Smith, deceased…”  This was further confirmed by an 1812 marriage record between Joseph Teeple and Mary Smith.  With a common name such as Smith, this type of confirming record is critical.  And similar to the first example discussed, her three children later each sold their one-third interest.  In this case, a daughter was married and her husband was fully identified.

The above two examples provide just two examples of how interesting family relationships can be found in deeds.

 

Godfrey's Family History Center Helps Bring History to Your Fingertips

Have you wondered how to access your ancestors' records when they lived far away? Today's guest post gives you a glimpse of what can be found using films delivered to Godfrey's Family History Center. For more information about the center's hours, please visit our website.

Use of Real Estate Deeds to Uncover Spousal Identity

            Identifying the names of spouses during the 1700s and 1800s is always a challenge.  Real estate deeds can be a useful tool in this effort.  Other than a few commercially prepared abstracts, information from real estate deeds can be obtained either by going to whatever jurisdiction in which the deed was recorded or (more easily) by obtaining microfilm through a Family History Center such as found at the Godfrey Memorial Library.

            For many years I worked on the family of one of my 4^th great-grandfathers, George Smith.  I found his 1772 marriage record to his wife Barbara, baptismal records for their children and other records which traced their life together in Upper Mount Bethel, Pennsylvania for about twenty years.  Then, in 1796, a deed was recorded where George Smith sold his land in Pennsylvania, prior to his move to Sussex County, New Jersey.  Pennsylvania law required the spouse to also sign the deed and to do so “to be their free act.”  In this case, his wife’s name is listed as Susannah.  Since no death or burial record was ever found for the first wife of George Smith, and no marriage record was ever found for this second wife, this deed becomes the only evidence that his first wife was deceased and that he had remarried.

            As I tracked George Smith’s real estate transactions in New Jersey, his wife continued to be Susannah.  An 1808 marriage record for George Smith to Sarah Compton was found among the Sussex County records but without confirming evidence, the record could not be relied upon.  This confirming evidence was found in an 1809 real estate deed where George Smith and his spouse, Sarah, are seen selling 10.92 acres of land.  The deed states that Sarah was the widow of Jacob Compton and that she had acquired the land from a William Compton.  Thus, this record confirms the 1808 marriage record and further agrees with the 1812 will of George Smith where he identifies his spouse as Sarah Smith.  Obviously, his second wife, Susannah is deceased prior to the date of the 1808 marriage.  Still to be determined is Sarah Compton Smith’s maiden name.  Nevertheless, the use of real estate records can identify a spouse’s given name; give approximate time periods of a marriage and also the date by which a prior spouse is deceased.  Also, as seen in this case, the prior marriage of a spouse is identified and if the land was inherited from her father, his name would have been identified.

            Much of early real estate law, and all other laws, was modeled on English common law which in general did not provide rights to females.   Nevertheless, the concept of a spouse’s right of dower to her husband’s estate was generally found in common law.  Similarly, English common law, while generally denying a wife of a separate identity, did provide a protection to a woman by preventing a husband from selling real property without the wife’s consent which was also adopted by many of the colonies.  Thus, the spouse is identified when they are selling real estate and her signature (or mark), provided freely (and often after a separate interview) was required on the deed in many states. 

                 

Microform: Preserving Documents and Saving Space in Libraries since 1896

Before the advent of the digital document recording and storage techniques we have today many institutions turned to microform to help condense and preserve their collections.  Microform, miniature photographs or micro-reproductions, contained on either film or paper were more cost effective to produce than traditional books and took up far less storage space.  Libraries and archival facilities still maintain their microform collections, though methods of digital preservation have surpassed microform in almost all respects.  If you have ever done research in a Family History Center before you most likely looked into ordering microfilm from their collection.

The phenomenon of microphotography was developed in 1839.  For a while it was counted as little more than an amusing pastime by most, but by 1851 people began proposing its potential use in document preservation.  By 1896 the idea had begun to catch on and microform continued to grow in sophistication and popularity from then on. 

The most prevalent types of microform are microfilm and microfishe.  Microfilm is printed on a reel of photographic film while microfishe is printed on a flat sheet of paper.  Godfrey Library founder Fremont Rider tried to popularize another type of microform, the microcard, which was similar to microfishe except for being printed on cardboard rather than photographic paper.  A convenient way to enlarge the microcard images for easy reading was never fully developed and Rider's invention did not catch on.

Today microform continues to hold one advantage over digital preservation: you need no special software or up to date hardware to view it.  All one needs is a magnifying glass.  That is, of course, the bare minimum needed and is not recommended if one actually wishes to be able to read what was preserved.  Microfilm and fishe readers work by displaying the image recorded onto a screen for easy viewing.  More advanced readers also have printing capabilities.  Though they can occasionally be unwieldy and difficult to use, it certainly beats squinting through a magnifying glass! 

Microform is particularly useful in the preservation of such documents that are prone to damage or printed on poor quality paper that may deteriorate with time.  Newspapers, magazines, and vital records were all perfect candidates for microform preservation.  Even though digital preservation has advanced far enough to make microform near obsolete, do not discount investigating various microformed documents in your genealogical research!  Many records have yet to be converted to digital content and are only available as either originals or microform copies.  Family History Centers, like the one at the Godfrey, not only have microfilm readers, but can also help you order films of the documents you need from the Family History Library in Salt Lake City.  Who knows, you might just find the one elusive record you've been looking for! 

Tuesday's Tip: How to Order Films to View at the Godfrey Family History Center

Did you know you can use Godfrey’s Family History Center to look at films from the Family History Library in Salt Lake City? It’s a great way to examine records from around the world and even dating back to colonial times in the U.S.

Here's how to order.

Don’t have an account?

1.      Go to www.familysearch.org/films.

2.      Click “Create an account” and follow the steps to designate Godfrey as the Family History Center you will use to view films. 

Do you have the film number?

1)      Go back to www.familysearch.org/films

2)      Enter the number in the box to the left and click “Search.”Information will appear to the right which allows you to place your order

Don’t have the film number?

1)      Go to www.familysearch.org.

2)      Click “Search” and then “Catalog.”

3)      Choose a search category and enter the pertinent information.

4)      Click “Search.”

5)      A new page called "Search Results for FamilySearch Catalog" will open. Click on a category and then a title for more information.

6)     Scroll down to see details of the listing of films and the film numbers.

7)      Click on the film image next to the film you wish to order.

8)      A new page will open with instructions. Follow them to complete your order.