Godfrey's Unique Connecticut Resources

Did you know? 

Godfrey has a number of unique Connecticut resources that members can access online from home. These include everything from the Congregational church records of Middle Haddam and Cromwell to the funeral home records of Middletown. Just imagine finding your ancestor's cause of death in your PJs! Check out the full list here.

Tuesday's Tip: Connecticut's Hale Collection

Rural Cemetery

Have you heard the name "Hale" while doing Connecticut research and don't know what it means?

Named for Charles R. Hale, the Hale Collection was created through the federal W.P.A. between 1932 and 1935. It includes headstone transcriptions for approximately 2,400 Connecticut cemeteries. Since many headstones not have survived years of rough winter weather, the Hale can be helpful in determining where your early Connecticut ancestor was buried – even if the headstone is no longer standing.

Looking for a photo of a Connecticut headstone? If you are a member of the Godfrey library, check to see if one is available through the Ed Laput Cemetery Project.

Tuesday's Tip: French-Canadian Collection

French manuscript

Ever wonder what books the Godfrey has on French Canada? You can see the complete list here:

French-Canadian Resources at the Godfrey

How a Gazetter Can Help Your Research

"Gazetteer" is an unfamiliar word to most researchers, but it can be a huge help in your research. 

Columbia Gazetteer

Also known as "geographical encyclopedia," a gazetteer provides detailed information about a place. This includes current and former names, the boundaries, major geographical features, and more.  

Why would you want to use a Gazetteer? Often our ancestors' places of birth, death, or marriage have changed names since they lived there. A gazetteer can help ensure that you're looking in the right place. It can also provide important hints about their way of life in that location, including why they choose to fish or farm, and what crops they might have grown. 

How do you access a gazetteer? Library members have access to the Columbia Gazetteer through Godfrey Scholar. To get there, go to http://www.godfrey.org, click on "Godfrey Scholar+" and log in. Then click on "Maps" and "Columbia Gazetteer."

Happy hunting!

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! 

Tuesday's Tip: Mayflower Resources

Spring has sprung... and so has research season.

Are you working on your Mayflower research yet? If so, we have resources that can help. Check out our finding aid!

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.

 

We're More that Just a Website: the Library's Unique Revolutionary War Collection

If you're in the midst of preparing a DAR or SAR application, you know how valuable sources with information about your ancestor can be  - and how hard they often are to find. Godfrey can help!

Our collection goes beyond what's available online. For example, this book might be a valuable resource.

Compiled in 1976 by the Stamford Genealogical Society, this copy of Stamford's Soldiers: Genealogical Biographies of Revolutionary Patriots from Stamford, Connecticut is one of only 500 printed. And for a DAR applicant, it is a gem. The book contains short biographies of all 738 men with known connections  to Stamford during the Revolution. While it is uncited, it offers the dates and places where a soldier died, was buried or had his will probated. For a lineage society applicant, this book might make your research much easier.

Thinking it's time to visit the library in person? Visit us at www.godfrey.org for directions.

Leave no Stone Unturned by Diane Reid

         Godfrey Memorial Library is an amazing place.  In the more than fifteen years I have been volunteering as a docent and researcher, I have met and been able to help genealogists from all across the United States, and in a few instances, those from other countries. Some people have lots of information about the ancestor they are researching, some have nothing more than a name, a general birth year, and, if we’re lucky, a town.  We are able to find information most of the time using the many resources available to us here at the Godfrey.   

Then there are the people that no one appears to be searching for.   They are the persons who died and are buried in cemeteries across the United States, most with no stone to mark their grave, buried in what used to be called “pauper’s graves”.  Most towns have lots for the burial of those without family or funds, and some churches have lots for that purpose also.

Indian Hill Cemetery in Middletown has both.  A beautiful cemetery opened in 1850,  Indian Hill Cemetery is the final resting place for more than 9,000 souls.  There is a large city lot, and a lot owned by the local Episcopal Church.   These lots contain very few stones to mark the final resting places for those buried here.  I have been researching those buried in the church lots to identify them and document something about their lives.  I hope to see a marker erected on the lots listing the names of those who rest among strangers.

The resources at the Godfrey have been of tremendous help in discovering the resting places of those who would otherwise be lost to history.   The Ed Laput Cemetery Cemetery Project has recorded names and dates from 950 Connecticut cemeteries and 37 in other states, along with photos of the sites if available.  This collection is just part of Godfrey's online materials available to members.

In addition, Godfrey has copies of the records of the Episcopal Church of the Holy Trinity, and the vital records of Middletown and the Sexton Returns from 1892 to 1900. Add to this the Middletown City Directories, the Penny Press newspaper from 1884 to 1921, and the Indian Hill Cemetery burial records, and I have been able to locate information on close to fifty persons buried in the church lot since 1851.

As an example, the sixth and seventh burials in the church lot were the 800^th and 852^nd at Indian Hill.  They were of Elizabeth Martin and her son William Andrew Martin, who died six months apart in 1876. The Indian Hill Cemetery Internment Book says Elizabeth  was 35 years old when she died of pneumonia.  The Middletown Vital Records give her birthplace as Wilmington North Carolina and stated that she  was married to Henry John Martin, a stone worker.  The church records list two children, John Henry, b.2 Apr 1871, baptized the 12^th of that month, and William Andrew b. 15 Jul 1875, and baptized 15 Aug 1875.  William died in  Sep 20, 1876 six months following his mother’s passing and was buried with his mother in the same grave.   In 1880, John Henry was living in the Hartford Orphan Home.  Neither Henry John nor his son John Henry were located in the 1900 census.

This is just one example of the many resources we have available to help you discover information about your ancestors.  To learn more, come in or go to our website.

Researching your Civil War Veteran Ancestors

Working off of last week's post about researching your Revolutionary War veteran ancestors we thought the logical next step would be to highlight how the Godfrey can help you research your Civil War veteran ancestors!  More than 2.8 million men and an estimated few hundred women served on both sides of the Civil War.  To this day the Civil War remains the most deadly war fought by American soldiers.  A study performed in 1889 by William F. Fox and Thomas Leonard Livermore approximated that 620,000 soldiers died over the five years of fighting but more recent estimates place the number dead as high as 850,000.   To compare, an estimated 680,778 American soldiers have died in all other wars combined, including the present war on terror.


So, let us say you have researched your Civil War veteran ancestor extensively.  You know dates of service, vital information, even a few notes on specific events that happened to while they served.  Of course the next thing you will look for is which battles they served in.  The National Archives themselves warns you to be careful when pursuing this information!  Presuming that someone fought in a battle because their dates of service indicate the person was with a specific company at a specific time is not recommended.  Muster rolls are only accurate for the day they were taken, and even then the possibility exists that someone on combat duty could have been relegated to other tasks that day.  The only way to come close to conclusively proving your ancestor fought in a specific battle, in most cases, is to see their name mentioned in records or histories as having done so. 

This is where the Godfrey comes in.  The library houses over 500 histories and biographies relating to the Civil War, 104 of which are available in the Scholar+ Digital Library.  These include biographies and autobiographies of famous generals from both sides of the conflict.  But more important for those researching battles and individual soldiers is the extensive collection of regimental histories from Connecticut, Illinois, Iowa, Indiana, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Wisconsin.  Everything about the regiments, from the members to location they were stationed to the battles they participated in, can be found in these histories. They are well worth a look for anyone researching their Civil War veteran ancestors!

For those of you looking for general information on the Civil War rather than histories of specific regiments and people, the Godfrey has that too!  From histories of the war as a whole to accounts focusing on either the Confederate or Union armies, we've got a little bit of everything!  Our collection even contains a history of prominent female participants in the war, Frank Moore's Women of War.  So if you're researching your ancestors of just the Civil War in general be sure not to overlook the Godfrey's collection!

Official military records for Civil War veterans can be found at the National Archives in Washington DC and regional archives around the United States.  These include Compiled Service Records, Pension Requests, and, in some cases, records of events- compiled histories of companies or units put together using information from the muster rolls.  Records of events can differ drastically in the level of detail and amount of information included.  More information on these records and how to obtain them can be found on the National Archives' website.  

Upcoming Event: Using the US Census for Family History Research

Are you just getting started in genealogy?  Imagine finding a source that would help you trace your family over time, find the names of their siblings, and much more.

Uncle Sam & U.S. Census

Discover how the U.S. Census can help your family history research in our upcoming 2-hour class. The class will explain what census enumerations are available, how to access them, and what questions they can answer about your ancestors.

The class will meet June 2 from 1-3 p.m. at Godfrey Memorial Library. The cost is $15 per person. Please pre-register by calling the Library at 860-346-4375.  Click here to see the flier. 

We hope to see you there!

Upcoming Event: Using ResearchIT CT for Genealogy

We all loving hear the words "free genealogy resources!"

Did you know Connecticut residents have free access to a number of genealogy databases through the database ResearchIT CT (formerly IConn)? These include newspaper databases, genealogy specific websites, and more. 

To begin, go to www.researchitct.org

For genealogy specific databases, click on "Genealogy" on the left side of the page. 

Then click on the title, and if requested, enter your library bar code.


To get more help or to find out what else is available, join us for a session on using the ResearchIt CT website for genealogy on April 18, 2016 between 6-8 pm.

Please bring your laptop. The session is free to Godfrey Premium members and open to others at $15.

Pre-registration is required. Register by calling the library at 860-346-4375. Questions? Visit at www.godfrey.org

It's not Halloween... but it's almost time for witches!

Do you know if your ancestor was accused of witchcraft? It didn't just happen in Salem - but throughout all of New England. Godfrey resources can help you find if your ancestors were ever called "witches."

Want to know why they were called witches? Join us on April 2 for board member Cathi Maxim's Genealogy Club talk on witchcraft in colonial history! More information here.