The November 2007 issue of Internet Genealogy is 55 pages packed with great information and tips to enhance your family history research...articles on GenSmarts, Timelines, 120 Online Databases, GenealogyBank and this one: "Big Changes at FamilySearch.org." Don't you just have to read these? (smile)
If you're ready to take the plunge and become an Internet Genealogy Magazine Devotee, then you'll be happy to learn that IG is offering all 9 back issues for $45 ($7 each x 9 is $63, so quite a savings.)
IG for one year is $28. Call toll free 888-326-2476. Tell them Donna sends you. Internet Genealogy magazine is the way to stay current with all the new wonderful happenings in the online genealogy world.
Friday, October 5, 2007
Wednesday, October 3, 2007
Virginia Tithables 1624 - 1704
All researchers should use tithable lists, which were annual head taxes that were levied on residents. Because land and personal property were generally NOT taxed in the early colonies, the tithable lists are about the only colonial period tax records we can use.
There were acts setting the amount of tax in 1629, 1632 and 1639 and the word "tithable" does not appear in the law statutes until 1643. As counties and parishes were established, there was naturally a need to collect revenue, therefore making subsequent statutes necessary, in order to define all factors. There were various acts from 1643 through 1748 and the main thing was to identify the people, not in a physical household, but rather a taxable one.
Still, existing lists may be county lists or even parish lists which could be originals, copies, or lists that were actually entered by the county or vestry clerk. The origins of the list, therefore, determines the likely accuracy and we must keep in mind a justice's list or a clerk's list may very well spell the same name differently.
As the colonies became independent, the tax system changed to taxing mainly males over 16 as well as to taxes on personal property and land. If you are researching Virginia, it is a good idea to check "The Statutes at Large: Being a Collection of All the Laws of Virginia" by Wm. W. Hening, editor. Vol. 1, p. 128. You need to carefully check the applicable laws and the county clerk records to interpret tithables lists made during the period of interest.
There were acts setting the amount of tax in 1629, 1632 and 1639 and the word "tithable" does not appear in the law statutes until 1643. As counties and parishes were established, there was naturally a need to collect revenue, therefore making subsequent statutes necessary, in order to define all factors. There were various acts from 1643 through 1748 and the main thing was to identify the people, not in a physical household, but rather a taxable one.
Still, existing lists may be county lists or even parish lists which could be originals, copies, or lists that were actually entered by the county or vestry clerk. The origins of the list, therefore, determines the likely accuracy and we must keep in mind a justice's list or a clerk's list may very well spell the same name differently.
As the colonies became independent, the tax system changed to taxing mainly males over 16 as well as to taxes on personal property and land. If you are researching Virginia, it is a good idea to check "The Statutes at Large: Being a Collection of All the Laws of Virginia" by Wm. W. Hening, editor. Vol. 1, p. 128. You need to carefully check the applicable laws and the county clerk records to interpret tithables lists made during the period of interest.
Saturday, September 29, 2007
What You Missed: The September 2007 General Meeting
One of the things promised on this blog was that it would be a way that members could be sure to catch up with what happened at meetings they may have had to miss.
On Saturday, September 8th, our first genealogy meeting of the 2007 - 2008 year was attended by several members of the Washington State Genealogical Society, who met with our board in anticipation of the 2009 WSGS State Conference, to be held in Spokane in September of that year. They included Steve Baylor, President; Laura Pemberton Starr, Conference Liaison; and Frank McLean of the Pioneer Certificates Committee. These guests remained after the general meeting to field questions and provide comments to any interested EWGS members in regard to the upcoming conference.
Our presenter for the general meeting was EWGS Past President Susan Beamer, who spoke on "A Sure Thing: Death & Taxes." Susan is very knowledgeable on probate and tax records, not only through her own genealogical research, but from a career standpoint as well, having previously worked in the Eastern Regional Branch of the Washington State Archives in Cheney. First, she carefully explained the types of each record, where they can be found, and what they generally contain. Then she demonstrated the wealth of information that is available to researchers in probate and tax records by using her own ancestors' records in her PowerPoint presentation. Susan is very fortunate to have Eastern Washington ancestors, and I admit I was envious at how easy it must be to access local records!
Some of the things I learned:
On Saturday, September 8th, our first genealogy meeting of the 2007 - 2008 year was attended by several members of the Washington State Genealogical Society, who met with our board in anticipation of the 2009 WSGS State Conference, to be held in Spokane in September of that year. They included Steve Baylor, President; Laura Pemberton Starr, Conference Liaison; and Frank McLean of the Pioneer Certificates Committee. These guests remained after the general meeting to field questions and provide comments to any interested EWGS members in regard to the upcoming conference.
Our presenter for the general meeting was EWGS Past President Susan Beamer, who spoke on "A Sure Thing: Death & Taxes." Susan is very knowledgeable on probate and tax records, not only through her own genealogical research, but from a career standpoint as well, having previously worked in the Eastern Regional Branch of the Washington State Archives in Cheney. First, she carefully explained the types of each record, where they can be found, and what they generally contain. Then she demonstrated the wealth of information that is available to researchers in probate and tax records by using her own ancestors' records in her PowerPoint presentation. Susan is very fortunate to have Eastern Washington ancestors, and I admit I was envious at how easy it must be to access local records!
Some of the things I learned:
- You should search for a probate record in a span of ten or more years after the death of an individual, because sometimes it took that long before a will was probated.
- Sometimes the entire probate record is only the will, because it was easily probated (proved).
- The bondsmen, guardians, friends, and administrators named in the probate records are nearly always related or in-laws to the deceased individual.
- Tax records can show names, ages, residences, legal descriptions of property, and school districts (which leads to school records) for taxed individuals.
- Looking at the types of things an ancestor did and didn't own in tax records can be revealing; they can paint a better picture about their lifestyles.
Spokane's Lost Battalion Veteran Remembers The War
This morning's front page story in Spokane, Washington's local paper, The Spokesman-Review, is about Fred Shiosaki, a Japanese-American who served in the Lost Battalion, which will be featured in Episode 5 of Ken Burn's The War on PBS tomorrow evening. The links include audio interviews of Mr. Shiosaki, and the site's home page (on 29 Sep 2007, only) includes a photograph of the veteran:
Unlike many Japanese-Americans who were relocated to interment camps, Spokane's "enemy aliens" were not, probably because the city is located so far from the Pacific Coast; thus they were not considered such a "threat." Spokane has a good-sized Japanese-American population with a proud, celebrated heritage, which directly or indirectly influences most Spokanites today.
The Spokesman-Review archives most of its articles into pay-per-view format after only one day, so read it now! You can also purchase a month-long online subscription for only $7 here, which will give you access to all portions of their website.
Shiosaki was a member of the 442nd Regimental Combat Team, 3rd Battalion, Company K, which spent a week on a wooded ridge in northern France trying to break through to the Lost Battalion, a unit from Texas that was surrounded by German troops. He was wounded by shrapnel – not seriously, he adds, but enough for a Purple Heart and five points towards his discharge – and many of his unit were killed. Scenes of the casualties in the documentary might jog some unpleasant memories.
“I know I saw them get killed but I can’t remember anything about it,” the 83-year-old said this week in an interview.
Unlike many Japanese-Americans who were relocated to interment camps, Spokane's "enemy aliens" were not, probably because the city is located so far from the Pacific Coast; thus they were not considered such a "threat." Spokane has a good-sized Japanese-American population with a proud, celebrated heritage, which directly or indirectly influences most Spokanites today.
The Spokesman-Review archives most of its articles into pay-per-view format after only one day, so read it now! You can also purchase a month-long online subscription for only $7 here, which will give you access to all portions of their website.
Wednesday, September 26, 2007
NPRC Fire in 1973...All (Hope) was Not Lost
At the National Archives and Records Administration booth at the recent FGS conference, I picked up a copy of the free book, "Reference Information Paper 109, Military Service Records at the National Archives," compiled 2007 by Trevor K. Plante. On page 109 I learned something new...and encouraging.
Page 108 tells about the disastrous fire at the National Personnel Records Center that destroyed approximately 16-18 million Official Military Personnel Files...then page 109: "No duplicate copies of the records that were destroyed in the fire were maintained, nor were microfilm copies ever produced. There were no indexes created prior to the fire. In addition, millions of documents had been lent to the Department of Veterans Affairs before the fire occurred. Therefore, a complete listing of the records that were lost is not available. Nevertheless, NPRC-MPR uses many alternate sources in its efforts to reconstruct basic service information to respond to requests."
My good friend realized this when she requested her father's records from WWII service with the 10th Mountain Division. She was sent paperwork and documents that while they were not the "official" paperwork, were wonderful to receive and furnished information she did not have.
So you WWII record-seekers, take heart. All was not lost.
And perhaps request a copy of this free booklet for your own use? Your genealogical society's use?
Page 108 tells about the disastrous fire at the National Personnel Records Center that destroyed approximately 16-18 million Official Military Personnel Files...then page 109: "No duplicate copies of the records that were destroyed in the fire were maintained, nor were microfilm copies ever produced. There were no indexes created prior to the fire. In addition, millions of documents had been lent to the Department of Veterans Affairs before the fire occurred. Therefore, a complete listing of the records that were lost is not available. Nevertheless, NPRC-MPR uses many alternate sources in its efforts to reconstruct basic service information to respond to requests."
My good friend realized this when she requested her father's records from WWII service with the 10th Mountain Division. She was sent paperwork and documents that while they were not the "official" paperwork, were wonderful to receive and furnished information she did not have.
So you WWII record-seekers, take heart. All was not lost.
And perhaps request a copy of this free booklet for your own use? Your genealogical society's use?
Tuesday, September 25, 2007
EWGS is One of the Top Ten RootsTelevision Contestants!
Folks, I just checked out Og's Blog at RootsTelevision, and we are in the Top Ten list of societies and libraries that are clicking our way from our website and blog into their website!
We need to work hard over the next month (until October 31st) to win our $1,000 prize!
Here's how:
We need to work hard over the next month (until October 31st) to win our $1,000 prize!
Here's how:
- Og recommends that when you click on the link to RootsTelevision from our website and blog, " be sure you let the page load completely (until the video actually begins to play) before you navigate out of the Roots Television website. You may even want to click on an extra page inside of the RTV site for good measure."
- E-mail your family, friends, and good-natured co-workers to help us out! Send them the links to the blog (http://ewgs-spokane.blogspot.com) and the website (http://www.rootsweb.com/~waewgs).
- Put a reminder note on your computer, such as a Post-it note, an index card, etc. that says "Go to EWGS and click on RootsTV!" If you have more than one computer, or a computer at work, put a note on each one. Make a point each day to go to the blog AND website from each computer you have access to and visit RootsTelevision!
- Another idea is to make the website or blog your home page. To do this on Internet Explorer, at the top of your browser window, go to Tools, then choose Internet Options. When the mini-window opens up, make sure it is on the General tab. Under home page, type in the blog and/or website addresses (if you type in both, separate them by a comma). This will make the website or blog (or both) the first page(s) you see when you go online, and hopefully remind you to click on the RootsTelevision link!
- If you have Mozilla Firefox, go to Tools, then Options, then select the Main tab. Under "Startup: When Firefox starts:" choose "Show my home page" from the drop-down menu. Then type the blog or website address in the Home Page box. I don't have a Mac, so I can't help you there, but it has to be similar to Explorer and Firefox. Mac users, if you know how to set this up, please leave a comment or send me a message: kidmiffatgmaildotcom (replace the green letters with the correct symbols).
Sunday, September 23, 2007
Newspaper Article: An Oldie of Interest
This was just too "good" not to share: The Spokesman-Review newspaper (Spokane, Washington), Sunday, 30 April 1899: "Mrs. George is to Lecture: Saxton's Former Mistress in Great Demand as a Freak. "
Who was "Mrs. George," other than "Saxton's former mistress"? And why is she a "freak" for speaking out on womens' rights? Obviously to me, the newspaper media gave this lady no credence at all. Thankfully, times, things and attitudes have changed. Aren't we glad?
CANTON, OHIO, April 29th: Mrs. George said today as to her future plans: "I will lecture on woman's rights. I believe women ought to vote, and that a jury ought to be half women. I think a woman has just as much right to make something out of herself as a man." Mrs. George has had several propositions from theatrical managers, but refuses to consider them. Several offers of marriage have been sent her, but they are all ignored.
Who was "Mrs. George," other than "Saxton's former mistress"? And why is she a "freak" for speaking out on womens' rights? Obviously to me, the newspaper media gave this lady no credence at all. Thankfully, times, things and attitudes have changed. Aren't we glad?
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