Many people have worked for many years to create a written and visual record of their family history. I've met several people who can justifiably be proud of their efforts - but they still have one regret: that they didn't get to interview an older relative. All that is left of that person's life and knowledge of the family's story is third-hand information. Capturing details of Aunt Edna and her famous chocolate cake recipe from transcribed notes taken in the one-on-one discussion is great - but there is something better: an audio recording of the entire interview!
We've all been to museums where the words of someone famous are captured in audio form. To put it in personal perspective, though, I'll mention a sad story I recently heard about a man who lost his daughter. After that tragic event, he would play her voice mails over again, just to hear her talking. Eventually, the phone company deleted the files (read about the story here). The outcome of this story is still in doubt (the company claims the audio is lost forever, but the dad is trying to force them to try harder to recover the files).
Preservation of our loved ones' words - and interesting accents or dialects - brings us closer to them and could truly improve the quality of a family history. As part of a genealogy effort, you need to attempt to prevent old recordings from degrading. Cassette tapes, for example, have a limited life span and will be nearly impossible to understand if you don't take action to save them. I just found an old answering machine with a small tape in it - it has some messages from over 25 years ago that are both entertaining to hear and are a snapshot of my life from that time.
The lesson here is not to ever discount the idea of saving voices of your family. You should consider making a permanent digital (and online!) recording of as many people as you can. They don't have to know a vanishing language (although that would be something very valuable to record), they could just talk casually about their memories. Maybe someday in the future you might even hear a fact you overlooked that truly breaks through a "brick wall." Happy hunting!
Saturday, March 31, 2012
Saturday, March 24, 2012
More 1940 US Census Information
We are a little less than two weeks away from the release of the 1940 Census! I found a great article about it that I thought you might find interesting:
Census Documenting Great Depression to Be Released
Enjoy - and happy hunting!
Census Documenting Great Depression to Be Released
Enjoy - and happy hunting!
Saturday, March 17, 2012
A Stickler for Sources
A serious genealogist always wants to record the source of data discovered during a search. Unsubstantiated details don't belong in a well researched family history. For that matter, the larger genealogy community does not benefit from errors that can't be traced to source documents.
You should strive to be as dedicated to properly identifying your sources as you are to finding the deepest roots of your family tree. Here are some sites you can use to support or develop your list of sources:
Genealogy.com
North Carolina Museum of History
Olive Tree Genealogy
SteveMorse.org
When you post genealogy information online, you should always cite your sources. By doing so, you build credibility for your efforts and prevent the propagation of false data. When other researchers locate your family tree, they can rest assured that you didn't introduce unsubstantiated guess-work into your project. Doubtful information can be included, but it should be noted as such.
Hopefully, you will always encounter equally verifiable information. Either way, happy hunting!
You should strive to be as dedicated to properly identifying your sources as you are to finding the deepest roots of your family tree. Here are some sites you can use to support or develop your list of sources:
Genealogy.com
North Carolina Museum of History
Olive Tree Genealogy
SteveMorse.org
When you post genealogy information online, you should always cite your sources. By doing so, you build credibility for your efforts and prevent the propagation of false data. When other researchers locate your family tree, they can rest assured that you didn't introduce unsubstantiated guess-work into your project. Doubtful information can be included, but it should be noted as such.
Hopefully, you will always encounter equally verifiable information. Either way, happy hunting!
Saturday, March 10, 2012
Transcription Errors
Have you ever encountered a website that seemed like it contained your genealogy missing link, only to discover the site's search index took you to a similar looking - but completely unrelated - result? You probably felt cheated and frustrated that you came so close and didn't have anything to show for your efforts. Sometimes the explanation for your dead end centers around an error in the transcription of an original source document.
Search indexes on the Web are built with algorithms that identify text and connect it to what you request as you interface with with the engine engine. But what if the text was wrong? It could be that someone typed the data wrong when they entered it - from a previous document. Or, they might have been unable to read the original source - and made a guess when they converted it to digital form. Either way, you feel like you got the raw end of the deal...
The biggest impact of a transcription error is usually that you don't find the information you sought. It could also lead to someone making a leap of faith to try to connect to something that looked similar to what they were looking for - and, if they post that on a family tree site or message board, that will spread the error further around the Net.
As I've written previously (for example, in New Year's Resolutions (2012)), you should try to avoid contributing error to available digital genealogy data. This starts with always ensuring you only trust original source documents that you read yourself - and that you add notes to show your level of certainty. Don't just go with what some search engine says is the truth. You should also consider sending a note to the webmaster for a site that has an error on it.
Always try to carefully transcribe data you find yourself - and help to fix the mistakes of others. As the saying goes: "Trust, but verify." Happy Hunting!
Search indexes on the Web are built with algorithms that identify text and connect it to what you request as you interface with with the engine engine. But what if the text was wrong? It could be that someone typed the data wrong when they entered it - from a previous document. Or, they might have been unable to read the original source - and made a guess when they converted it to digital form. Either way, you feel like you got the raw end of the deal...
The biggest impact of a transcription error is usually that you don't find the information you sought. It could also lead to someone making a leap of faith to try to connect to something that looked similar to what they were looking for - and, if they post that on a family tree site or message board, that will spread the error further around the Net.
As I've written previously (for example, in New Year's Resolutions (2012)), you should try to avoid contributing error to available digital genealogy data. This starts with always ensuring you only trust original source documents that you read yourself - and that you add notes to show your level of certainty. Don't just go with what some search engine says is the truth. You should also consider sending a note to the webmaster for a site that has an error on it.
Always try to carefully transcribe data you find yourself - and help to fix the mistakes of others. As the saying goes: "Trust, but verify." Happy Hunting!
Saturday, March 3, 2012
Life-Stories Emerge
For the last 10 years, I've been trying to figure out how a person is connected with our family. He doesn't appear to be a blood relative, but he appears at family events and even shared a residence (during the 1880s) with some of my cousins. As I've gathered information, I filed it away until I was recently able to construct a short biography of the gentleman. I wanted to share it with you, since it required a wide variety of sources (online and offline) to create.
Felix Devlin is a person of great interest in the development of this family tree. He may not have been a relative of the Coogan family, but his life intersects with their lives several times in the period between 1850 and 1890. His origins are uncertain, but he most likely came from County Tyrone or County Armagh, since his name was common in those areas during the early Nineteenth Century.
The relationship between Felix Devlin and the Coogan family may have begun before their immigration to the United States, but the first indication we have of a connection comes from the 1860 Census: Felix (age 30, a charcoal dealer) was living in the 16th Ward of Brooklyn, New York, with his wife (Ann, age 34, born in Ireland) and children (Bridget, age 7; Mary, age 6; Peter, age 1; and James, age 5/12 - all born in New York). In the same household, a Bridget "Caugan" served as a domestic servant. Her age (20) and birthplace (Ireland) indicate that she could be the same person who arrived in New York with Hugh "Elder" Coogan in 1853.
On 17 MAR 1863, Felix and his wife, Ann, (both listed with the surname "Develin") were baptismal witnesses for John Coogan, son of Hugh "Elder," at the Coogan family parish (St. Mary's) in Kingston, New York.
He may have been able to purchase a bar or saloon earlier in the decade, but Felix first appeared as a barkeeper (in the vicinity of DeBevoise and Morrell Streets) in the 1869 Brooklyn City Directory.
In the 1870 Census, Felix (age 43, importer of liquors) appears again in the 16th Ward of Brooklyn. His family included his wife (Ann, age 40) and children (Bridget, age 17; Mary, age 16; Peter, age 12; James , age 10; and Annie, age 8). In the same home, Bridget "Cogan" (age 28) served as a domestic - but now she is accompanied by two older people: Morris (59) and Eliza (57) Maloney. We don't yet know if these are relatives.
The Devlin family saloon was often described in Brooklyn histories from that era as the home of the "Felix Devlin Light Guard"). Sadly, financial successes were accompanied by tragedy: Felix's wife apparently died in the mid 1870s and he had some difficulty raising his older children after that point. An article (search "Felix DEVLIN" - case sensitive) from the September 29, 1877 edition of the Brooklyn Union-Argus described the circumstances of how James Devlin (Felix's son) murdered someone and then robbed the family saloon as he made his escape.
Perhaps so they could assist him after these sad events (or to escape their own troubles in Kingston), the wife and children of Patrick "Innkeeper" later moved to Brooklyn and moved into the same building (95 DeBevoise) with Felix. The 1880 Census reported that he had become a real estate agent and lived with his children (Bridget, age 26; Peter, age 21; and Annie, age 18).
The last verifiable interaction between Felix and the Coogans was when he served as a witness to Michael "Stonecutter"'s will in Kingston. In the September 4, 1885 edition of the Kingston Daily Freeman, the wording of the article below seems to indicate that Felix died the same day as Michael "Stonecutter" after witnessing the latter's will. However, we believe this is a mistake.
A STRANGE COINCIDENCE: Michael Coogan, who died last Wednesday evening at Higginsville, called about 4 o'clock on the afternoon of the same day at the office of D. W. Sparling with two other gentlemen, and said to Sparling: "I wish to make my will, as life is uncertain." Sparling drew up the will, and it was signed by Coogan and witnessed by the two gentlemen, Thomas Grant and Felix Develin. Mr. Develin died about 8 o'clock on the same day.
It is likely that Felix actually lived into the 1890s. A candidate certificate (which we have not yet ordered) is for a Felix Devlin, age 61, who died in Kings County on 04 JUN 1891. We continue to research Felix's life in an effort to determine our Coogan family connections to him - and to each other.
If you can write a "mini-biography" like this about people you are researching, it truly makes them come alive. It also identifies areas where you could do more research. Happy hunting!
Felix Devlin is a person of great interest in the development of this family tree. He may not have been a relative of the Coogan family, but his life intersects with their lives several times in the period between 1850 and 1890. His origins are uncertain, but he most likely came from County Tyrone or County Armagh, since his name was common in those areas during the early Nineteenth Century.
The relationship between Felix Devlin and the Coogan family may have begun before their immigration to the United States, but the first indication we have of a connection comes from the 1860 Census: Felix (age 30, a charcoal dealer) was living in the 16th Ward of Brooklyn, New York, with his wife (Ann, age 34, born in Ireland) and children (Bridget, age 7; Mary, age 6; Peter, age 1; and James, age 5/12 - all born in New York). In the same household, a Bridget "Caugan" served as a domestic servant. Her age (20) and birthplace (Ireland) indicate that she could be the same person who arrived in New York with Hugh "Elder" Coogan in 1853.
On 17 MAR 1863, Felix and his wife, Ann, (both listed with the surname "Develin") were baptismal witnesses for John Coogan, son of Hugh "Elder," at the Coogan family parish (St. Mary's) in Kingston, New York.
He may have been able to purchase a bar or saloon earlier in the decade, but Felix first appeared as a barkeeper (in the vicinity of DeBevoise and Morrell Streets) in the 1869 Brooklyn City Directory.
In the 1870 Census, Felix (age 43, importer of liquors) appears again in the 16th Ward of Brooklyn. His family included his wife (Ann, age 40) and children (Bridget, age 17; Mary, age 16; Peter, age 12; James , age 10; and Annie, age 8). In the same home, Bridget "Cogan" (age 28) served as a domestic - but now she is accompanied by two older people: Morris (59) and Eliza (57) Maloney. We don't yet know if these are relatives.
The Devlin family saloon was often described in Brooklyn histories from that era as the home of the "Felix Devlin Light Guard"). Sadly, financial successes were accompanied by tragedy: Felix's wife apparently died in the mid 1870s and he had some difficulty raising his older children after that point. An article (search "Felix DEVLIN" - case sensitive) from the September 29, 1877 edition of the Brooklyn Union-Argus described the circumstances of how James Devlin (Felix's son) murdered someone and then robbed the family saloon as he made his escape.
Perhaps so they could assist him after these sad events (or to escape their own troubles in Kingston), the wife and children of Patrick "Innkeeper" later moved to Brooklyn and moved into the same building (95 DeBevoise) with Felix. The 1880 Census reported that he had become a real estate agent and lived with his children (Bridget, age 26; Peter, age 21; and Annie, age 18).
The last verifiable interaction between Felix and the Coogans was when he served as a witness to Michael "Stonecutter"'s will in Kingston. In the September 4, 1885 edition of the Kingston Daily Freeman, the wording of the article below seems to indicate that Felix died the same day as Michael "Stonecutter" after witnessing the latter's will. However, we believe this is a mistake.
A STRANGE COINCIDENCE: Michael Coogan, who died last Wednesday evening at Higginsville, called about 4 o'clock on the afternoon of the same day at the office of D. W. Sparling with two other gentlemen, and said to Sparling: "I wish to make my will, as life is uncertain." Sparling drew up the will, and it was signed by Coogan and witnessed by the two gentlemen, Thomas Grant and Felix Develin. Mr. Develin died about 8 o'clock on the same day.
It is likely that Felix actually lived into the 1890s. A candidate certificate (which we have not yet ordered) is for a Felix Devlin, age 61, who died in Kings County on 04 JUN 1891. We continue to research Felix's life in an effort to determine our Coogan family connections to him - and to each other.
If you can write a "mini-biography" like this about people you are researching, it truly makes them come alive. It also identifies areas where you could do more research. Happy hunting!
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