Hardy Phillips: 1849 Cause of Death

 

Question: Why are genealogy friends important?? Why are genealogy society gatherings important? 

Answer: So we can network and toss out our questions!

On the 1849 Mortality Census, State of Georgia, I find husband's ancestor, Hardy Phillips listed. His cause of death?

What do YOU think?

It was "chronic" whatever it was. 

Tossing it out to several genealogy friends, I now believe it was TYPHOID F(ever). 

Get the message? "Ask and ye shall receive."

Nurture Your Family Tree Online Or On Your Device Or Both?

 

Cyndi Ingle (who "purples" everything) gave a bang-up and comprehensive talk for Legacy Family Tree Webinars. This presentation is in their archive/library and I strongly suggest that a $49 annual subscription to hear/view this and 1000 others is worth your money and time.

Cyndi began by asking "where are you keeping your tree? Online or off line.... as in a program on your own computer. Or both? There is no right answer to this question; it is a personal choice. It's your hobby and it's okay to do it your want. You are not right or wrong."

BUT.

A 6-page handout explains all the reasons Pro and Con for keeping or not keeping your tree online. Page six is a Comparison Chart of 14 different desktop software programs and the specifics for each...... cloud based? web based? crowd sources? mobile App? App system? Private/public tree? Fee/Free?

My take: I strongly suggest you think seriously about this. As I've said so often, do you want to leave a legacy or not? If you're doing family history solely for yourself, then don't worry about what will happen to your genealogy when you're gone. If you're doing it for your posterity, then MAKE SURE you're putting it/keeping it in a fashion that will be easy for descendants to find, to use and to appreciate. 

Livestock Brand Book: State of Washington

 

At a barn sale out beyond Wilbur, Washington, in a box of free books, I found a treasure! I found a Livestock Brand Book: State of Washington for 1966. According to the title page, the book contains 13,406 brands AND AND AND the name of the person for that registration. 

For example: On page 453 I found "Oswald, J.M. Spokane, Route 1, Box 51." This is my husband's uncle! (Third down on left.)

I'd be happy to look up your farmer family's surname and see if they had a registered brand and then to send you a copy. Just let me know. 

Time For A Little Hygge??

 

Pronounced hoo-ga, I think we all could use a little hygge as we limp out from under all the COVID-19 ramifications of the past year. 

Although there is no literal translation, hygge alludes to a feeling of cozy intimacy and contentment. It's all about creating feelings of happiness, friendliness and wellbeing within everyday life. 

So how to Hygge Your Life?

• Spend quality time with family and friends
• Avoid multi-tasking
• Remove stressors
• Wear comfortable clothing
• Go outdoors
• Bring the outdoors in with plants
• Don't deprive yourself
• Pick up a book; put down the phone

This concept of hygge was originated with the Scandinavian peoples. I think they knew something we should learn. 

Why Join A Lineage Society?

 

Why would you want to join a lineage society? To have a monthly lunch date with like-minded friends? Or to honor and help perpetuate the memory of a patriotic ancestor?

Lineage societies are organizations created to honor a specific heritage or event and to document an ancestor's participation in that event. 

Those joining such societies must prove with documentation their descent from an ancestor involved or participating in historical events. That creates paperwork!! Such paperwork can be so valuable to future descendants seeking to know more about that ancestor. 

Click to www.lineagesocietyofamerica.com for a long list of such societies. Pick one to join that appeals to you and click to their website for details on how to join. 

I chuckled as I read through the list of societies:  Bloodlines of Salem? Descendants of the Illegitimate Sons & Daughters of the Kings of Great Britain? Descendants of Whaling Masters? Military Order of the Carabao? Noble Society of Celts?  Order of the Daedalians? 

There were lineage societies for Mayflower passengers, early New England towns, ethnic heritage and most military wars. 

Early English Census Occupations (Funnies!!)

 So which of these occupations, as officially listed in the British census of 1881, would you wish was the occupation of YOUR ancestor????   Fatuous pauper? Fish-Bender? or maybe Electric Bath Attendant??

Why Care About Historical Societies??

 

Why Care About Historical Societies?

By Donna Potter Phillips, 2021

Why keep historical materials? Why, indeed, keep all this “old stuff?”  How did this idea begin?

A Massachusetts Historical Society online presentation in January 2021, with speakers Alea Henle and Peter Drummey, answered that question.

“Historical societies preserve the cultures of the early United States,” Henle stated, “by preserving the papers and artifacts that were in their everyday use.” Where else can you go to see (and perhaps touch) kitchen tools from 1889 or 1920?

How did the idea of historical societies begin? Before 1791, when the Massachusetts Historical Society began (as The Historical Society), there was no National Archives, no Library of Congress, no big history collections. There were collections in private hands but often these were sold and scattered when the family died out. Harvard University was the first to attempt to collect the scattered materials of our country’s history which were widely scattered, some even in Europe.  The New York Genealogical & Biographical Society was formed in 1804 and the New England Historic Genealogical Society in 1845. Many historical societies came from states, counties or towns wishing to mark their centennials. The Massachusetts Historical Society had as its original mission to collect materials pertaining to the whole of U.S. history but never had the money to ensure that mission’s survival. “It was only due to the dedicated officers and volunteers of these organizations that kept them alive,” said Henle.

Alea Henle showed a slide of a guest register from 1850 for the Connecticut Historical Society and remarked that in that year the Society had over 100 visitors! There were some folks who did value and seek out their history.

Today, historical societies are spread across the nation. As folks moved from east to west they took this idea with them. Initially they collected selectively and only what “they” (usually males of white European ancestry) felt was important. Native American and minority histories were not of much interest to the majority. Thankfully, that notion has long since disappeared for the most part.

Today, and I’m thinking of my own state of Washington where I have road-traveled the most, nearly every little town proudly has its historical society. And what’s in these places? Artifacts collected or donated from the people who lived there through time! If your ancestor lived in Okanogan County, surely the Okanogan Historical Society would have some item they used during their life time or something quite like it.

Historical societies are places housing the cultural history of America. The items in these places aren’t just “artifacts,” but are their things, their everyday things, the things they used.

 I must say that I have enjoyed with wide eyes and open mind each and every historical society I have visited.