North Carolina Troops, 1861 - 1865: A Roster - 18 volumes on sale now!

The North Carolina Office of Archives and History is pleased to present the latest compilation of North Carolina Troops, 1861-1865: A Roster, that, when completed will comprise 20 individual indexed volumes.

The first 18 volumes are being offered at an excellent discount for the month of October through November 15^th. Volumes 1-15 are $15.00 each and volumes 16-18 are $20.00 each. These volumes are regularly priced at $50.00 each!

The completed set will contain the names and service records of approximately 7,000 soldiers. The master index will include approximately 125,000 names of military personnel. If you have Civil War ancestors who served in North Carolina, then these books are for you! Don’t hesitate to take advantage of these offers. Ordering is quick and easy and shipment is fast.

Visit the NC Historical Publications Shop to order your copies today. (They make great gifts too!)

2011: A year in Review

This time last year I set 5 goals for myself. They were really only supposed to run for the month of January, because I could never imagine setting a WHOLE YEARS WORTH of GOALS for myself like many of you diligent genealogy people out there. But of course, they ended up running for the entire year, so no harm done. Here was my list from Jan 2011 and my progress to date (along with any future goals I might add to each):

1) To scan all of the genealogy documents that my cousin Richard sent me on the Binns and Brooks sides of my family and enter the information into my genealogy database:

I scanned all 95 pages he sent me. Most of it was genealogy his Aunt Rubye (Binns) Brashears had compiled back in the 1950s and then his own additions from the 80s. These were scanned in .tif format and pages from the same group were also saved as a .pdf file for easier reading. Much of this information I already had in my database. I didn’t find any new information in what he sent me. One of the files was a type-written genealogy of the Binns surname and information about the family coming from England compiled by “The Media Research Bureau” – whatever that is. This compilation did mention my particular line. It had a very short bibliography, but no references cited in the text, so it would be hard to determine what information came from what source, but I might be able to use them as a future guide, especially for research in England. A future goal might include typing up a transcript of this text (or finding an online version of it which is searcheable; or possibly converting the scan to OCR text – something I’ve never done before).

2) To enter all of the Binns, Anthony, and Pye names references from the Wilkes County Georgia books I copied from the Library into my excel spreadsheet. Determine the major Binns family lines in Wilkes Co. GA

Ok first of all, let me say that I didn’t even know I had a spreadsheet! But alas I see that I did, in fact, start one in Jan of 2010!!! I don’t see anything with a 2011 date, so it doesn’t look like I added anything from 2011. In fact, I think most of this stuff in on my “To SCAN” list. So chances are this was not even started. Guess it will be marked as a future goal.

Oh and guess what? I bought one of the books from a genealogy conference I went to (NGS in Charleston) which mentions my Binns family in VA! Reviewing that deed book will be added to a future goal.

3) To read Christine Rose's Courthouse Research for Family Historians: Your Guide to Genealogical Treasures book

Yeah, I read this off and on throughout the first 6 months of the year and then I got bored with it. I didn’t learn anything new. So I ordered myself 3 new books – Helen Leary’s North Carolina Research book, Val Greenwoods, The Researcher’s Guide, and something else, probably Elizabeth Shown Mills’ Evidence Explained (the big one) that would probably be more interesting. Add those to goals for 2012, especially since it sounded like the bookclub in Second Life was really good this year with “The Researcher’s Guide.

4) Get back to working with some cousins on James Godwin Sr and Jr (not necessarily father and son) of North Carolina, including putting all relevant documents online on the Wiki site

This was our best accomplishment. I worked with 5 other researchers on this project throughout the year. We pulled land grants, deeds, wills, and estate files from Sampson and Johnston Counties (North Carolina) and abstracted them. I created an online abstract form using Google Docs (thanks to Thomas MacEntee’s webinar on Google Forms), which saved the information into an online, shared spreadsheet. And then I created a Word Doc which pulled the information from the online spreadsheet into an abstract Word Doc (automatically) which we then were able to save to our Godwin wiki site. As it turns out the Sampson County (North Carolina) deeds are now online at the Sampson County Register of Deeds.  Whoo hooo     !!! That was a big help. So far we have over 100 deeds transcribed.

My colleagues on this project are all descendants of this line except for me and Lori – to me it is worth it to work with excellent researchers such as Lori, Sara, Tracy, Charlie and Ashley even if I am not related to this line because by finding records and Godwins who belong to their line, we are finding ones that do NOT belong to ours!

One of them started mapping land grants and deeds with a Deed-Mapper like software. We also incorporated Google Earth to see where the land would sit in modern day. We also managed to sort out who all of the progenitor’s (James Godwin who died in 1801, Sampson Co., NC and who married to Elizabeth Dawson?) children were. I thought this was a huge accomplishment. We challenged each other in all sorts of aspects. And it was a joy to work with them and I hope it continues. Oh yeah and we’ve incorporated DNA into the mix as well. That’s how we know that Lori and I are not related to their lines.

5) Continue evaluating some Family Finder DNA test results of some Godwin relatives.

It has proven to be quite a challenge to keep up with some of my Godwin Family Finder testers. I actually took the test myself in July, thinking I would have more time to “play” with it while I was on summer break from school. Boy was I in for a big surprise! I caught on pretty quick though and figured out how to work with it. Unfortunately I wasn’t very proactive with blogging about my experiences, so that will definitely be high on the priority list for 2012!  There were also a lot of challenges because ftDNA kept making changes to its site and things “stopped working.” Fortunately as a project administrator I was only helping 1 person with their results and she caught on pretty quickly with how to deal with her brother’s results; she also caught on to when things “stopped working.”

I’m going to leave my goals for 2012 for the next post. Oh and as a side note, did you know that when I write a post and set a goal in it, I tag that post with the label of “goal?” That way I can easily find all the goals that I posted and shared with you, my readers. You can see the label on the right side of the page under the “Other Misc Items” category. Speaking of, that reminds me, one of my goals for next year is definitely going to be to create a very cool family history / genealogy related blog header!!!

What about you?

Did you set some genealogy goals for yourself in 2011?

How did you do in working towards them?

What worked well for you in achieving them?

What didn’t work well for you?

Did you work with a genea-buddy?

Please feel free to write your own blog post and link back to it in a comment below or tell me about it in a comment below.

I look forward to hearing about your goals!

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Photo - Clip art licensed from the Clip Art Gallery on DiscoverySchool.com (This is what the website told me to write. It is copyrighted, but the website says I can use it as long as I link back to their site). 

Write Your Family History as a Snapshot, not a Family Portrait - Buzzy Jackson

The second keynote speaker today was Buzzy Jackson, author of Shaking the Family Tree: blue bloods, black sheep, and other obsessions of an accidental genealogist.

I really enjoyed listening to her speak because she was very energetic, entertaining, and engaging.  She got a PhD in History but didn’t really become interested in genealogy or family history until she read a research paper that one of her students wrote entirely from primary records; oh and the birth of her son, who’s physical characteristics intrigued her.

She agreed to write a family history book in 22 months!!! The 22 months however included the time it took to research her family as well as the time it took to actually write the family history out. Buzzy literally started from scratch – which entailed her own personal records. She recalled that she couldn’t even find her own marriage records and joked that she is “probably NOT descended from Type A individuals!”

Today she shared with us photographs and stories of the journey she took and the people she met along the way.  She warned of the pressure of time and reminded us to interview our older relatives because you never know when we might lose them. She told the story of the relative who wouldn’t let her “touch” but only briefly “look” at the pages she allowed to see and who quickly filed the family bible away when asked to view the family tree pages.

I got the impression that Buzzy was trying to say that it is experiences like the latter that may result in gaps in the family history story. In which case, she related the telling of the story in much the same way as the photographs she displayed in her slides: Think of writing your family history as a snapshot and not a formal family portrait.

What a great piece of advice to leave us with. She encouraged us to “write it down” no matter how short or long; and not wait until our genealogy is “completed.”  

Photograph of Buzzy Jackson from her website: www.buzzyjackson.com.

Inventory of Beginner Genealogy Books at Wake County Libraries that Circulate

I’ve been interning for several weeks at a fairly big Wake County library in Raleigh and I was pretty surprised to see that their genealogy collection was pretty non-existent.

I think the only genealogy-related book I was actually able to put my hands on was the Genealogy for Dummies book.

I wanted to do a book display at the library on genealogy to celebrate Family History Month back in October. However, in order to do so, I would have to request genealogy books from other libraries because as I mentioned above, my library just didn’t have any.

When I started searching for genealogy books I kept running into the same roadblock – all the good ones were locked up tight at the Olivia Rainey History Library. Well, not really, this just means that they do not circulate, which would not be a good fit for my book display as the point of it was to get people to take the books home with them and read them!

I did an inventory of some of the basic genealogy books held throughout the 20 or so libraries in the Wake County system.  I ended up with a random collection of 13 books that are available to check out from these libraries along with 13 books that are only available at the History Library (that do not circulate).

Organizing your family history search : efficient & effective ways to gather and protect your genealogical research / Sharon DeBartolo Carmack. 1999 12 copies, 1 DNC at ORL	American genealogical research at the DAR, Washington, D.C. / by Eric G. Grundset and Steven B. Rhodes. 1997 DNC at ORL
Unpuzzling your past : a basic guide to genealogy / by Emily Anne Croom. 1995 5 copies, 1 DNC at ORL	Going to Salt Lake City to do family history research / J. Carlyle Parker. 1996 DNC at ORL
Uncovering your ancestry through family photographs / Maureen A. Taylor. 2000 2 copies, 1 DNC at ORL	Courthouse research for family historians : your guide to genealogical treasures / by Christine Rose. 2004 DNC at ORL
North Carolina research, genealogy and local history / edited by Helen F. M. Leary and Maurice R. Stirewalt. 1980 (older edition) 2 copies, 1 can circulate	Professional genealogy : a manual for researchers, writers, editors, lecturers, and librarians / editor, Elizabeth Shown Mills ; editorial board, Donn Devine, James L. Hansen, Helen F.M. Leary. 2001 DNC at ORL
Crafting your own heritage album / by Bev Braun. 2000 Several copies available	North Carolina Research : Genealogy and Local History / Helen F. M. Leary, C.G., F.A.S.G., editor. 1996 5 copies, none circulate
The researcher's guide to American genealogy / Val D. Greenwood. 2000 Several copies available	Land & property research in the United States / by E. Wade Hone.1997 DNC at ORL
Genealogy 101 : how to trace your family's history and heritage / Barbara Renick. 2003 Several copies available	Ancestry's guide to research : case studies in American genealogy / by Johni Cerny & Arlene Eakle.1985 DNC at ORL
Genealogy for the first time : research your family history / Laura Best. 2003 Several copies available	The Source : a guidebook of American genealogy / edited by Arlene Eakle and Johni Cerny. 1984. 1997. 2006 DNC at ORL; DNC at other Libraries too
The family tree guide book : everything you need to know to trace your genealogy across North America / the editors of Family Tree Magazine. 2003 Several copies available	The handybook for genealogists : United States of America.2006 DNC at ORL
The everything family tree book : research and preserve your family history / Kimberly Powell. 2006 Several copies available	Red Book 2004 DNC at ORL
A genealogist's guide to discovering your female ancestors / Sharon DeBartolo Carmack. 1998 2 copies, one at ORL, one that circs	Ancestors : a beginner's guide to family history and genealogy / by Jim and Terry Willard with Jane Wilson. 1997 DNC at ORL
The complete idiot's guide to genealogy / by Christine Rose and Kay Germain Ingalls. 2005 Several copies available	A genealogist's guide to discovering your immigrant & ethnic ancestors : how to find and record your unique heritage / Sharon DeBartolo Carmack. 2000 DNC at ORL
The weekend genealogist : timesaving techniques for effective research / Marcia Yannizze Melnyk. Several copies available	Evidence explained : citing history sources from artifacts to cyberspace / Elizabeth Shown Mills. 2007 DNC at ORL

So from the look of this list, maybe we are not so bad off after all? I was thinking that because we had a dedicated History Library that the genealogy selection for the mainstream libraries which could circulate was reduced; However, it does seem like the beginner genealogist wouldn’t have to go very far to get their hands on some good quality books, albeit they might have to do some finagling to get them sent to their local library.

Transitioning from beginner to intermediate genealogist might present more of a problem, however.  Books like The Source, The Red Book,  and The Handybook are only available at the History Library. And any kind of specific type of research book covering records at the DAR library, cemetery research, immigrant research, land and property, court house, or North Carolina research is also only available at the History Library.

I was glad to see that Carmack’s Organizing your Family History Search, Greenwood’s The Researcher’s Guide to American Genealogy, and Rising’s Family Tree Problem Solver were available for circulation through a couple of local libraries. Next time I will inventory the Durham Public Libraries’ genealogy collections. Durham County does not have a dedicated History Library, although they do have an “NC Collection Room” where they keep all of their non-circulating genealogy books.

How about your local library? Does it have any genealogy books that are available to be checked out? If not, are there other public libraries in your area from which you can request genealogy books be sent?

What I do When I'm not Doing Genealogy...

The Presence of the Past by Roy Rosenzweig

Wow. This book gave very good insight into how Americans viewed the concept of "History" and the Past. I was not surprised to learn as a genealogist that most Americans valued the beliefs and oral history of family members over books, TV, and "experts," especially around National events. They believed family members who had "been there" and "seen firsthand" what happened during these events were the most credible sources. This is a recurring theme in the genealogy world.

A very surprising theme, however, was that most Americans believed that the History they learned in school was rubbish and a waste of time. HOWEVER, today they believe it is IMPERATIVE that their child go through the same process in school today and they propose no changes to the curriculum.

History of Johnson County, Arkansas

I received the book, "History of Johnson County Arkansas: The first hundred years" by Ella Molloy Langford today through the Wake Co Interlibrary Loan system. The book came from Duke University. It is signed by the author and the pages are falling out. It was published in 1921. There is no index, however, there are some really great pictures in the back of the book of various buildings in and around the county seat of Clarksville.

My goal is to read the book (~200 pages), scan the photos, and learn about the history of Johnson County. My Smith family settled here shortly before 1850.

David Smith was enumerated on the 1850 Horsehead, Johnson Co., AR census report next door to Clayborne Smith. David Smith was 61 years old (born about 1789) from Tennessee. His wife Sarah Smith was also enumerated in the household. She was 60 years old (born about 1790) also from Tennessee. William and Richard Smith were also in the household. William was 18 years old (born about 1832) in Alabama and Richard Smith was 13 years old (born about 1837) in Alabama.

Clayborne Smith was living next door with his wife and family. He was 28 years old (born about 1822) in Tennessee.

In March 1855, David Editon Smith of Johnson County, AR purchased 40 acres of land in the NW quarter of the SE quarter of section 23 in township 9 north of range 24 west in the district of lands subject to sale at Clarksville, AR.

This is all we know of David Smith. His son, Richard Smith also settled in Johnson Co., AR. He was a Civil War Soldier for both sides. You can read about his Civil War Records here.