Welcome Back! Family History Month is causing a stir! People are reading my posts and looking into their family’s genealogy. That makes my heart sing! In the last post, we discussed finding your ancestors with little available information. I helped a Facebook friend find several great grandparents, 2x great grandparents and one set of 3x great grandparents with only her mother’s information and limited maternal grandparents’ information. I discovered that several of her 2x great grandparents were born abroad. What now? How do you conduct international family research? Let’s talk about it!
Census Records
If you know your ancestors were born in a foreign country, look for the first census record they appeared on. Immigration came in waves depending on the nationality. Most came in the mid 1800s to 1920s for various reasons – religious persecution, industrialization, national tragedies and economic opportunity. Look for their birthplace on the census record; this is the first clue. The 1900 census noted citizenship status in columns 16 (year of immigration), 17 (number of years in the United States) and 18 (year of naturalization). This information is important so write it down for future reference.
Immigrant Intake Centers
In my April 2022 newsletter, I wrote that Ellis Island did not process all the immigrants that came to America. Actually, there were 300 immigrant processing centers in America during the 1800s and early 1900s. Country of origin, financial status, labor force and cultural communities determined which port of entry an immigrant would arrive.
Other immigration centers included New Bedford (MA), Castle Garden (Battery Park, NY), Angel Island (San Francisco, CA), Boston (MA), Providence (RI), Port of Philadelphia (PA), Port of Baltimore (MD), New Orleans (LA) and Key West (FL) to name a few. Above all, Ellis Island was well-known due to the Statue of Liberty and the fee for transport was the most affordable. If you are certain that your ancestor came through Ellis Island, you can research their passenger lists here.
Passenger Lists
Passenger ships were required to have manifest lists from their country of origin. Those lists are a wealth of information! They contained the place of origin, place of arrival, final destination, the name of the ship, occupation and family members they were traveling with and their ages. Although immigrants arrived at these centers, some had other destinations to travel to. Usually a family member or friend sponsored them while in the United States, giving them a place to stay or finding them a job. These manifests often contained their final destination, including an address. From there, you can track your ancestors from census records.
Border Crossings
International family research also applies to our northern and southern neighbors, not just overseas countries. Mexican border crossings into the United States were recorded through a registry. Similar to the ship manifest records, immigrants had a record of registry upon arrival to the Uinted States from Mexico at the border crossings in Texas, Arizona, New Mexico and California. The same goes for Canada who had border crossings in Massachusetts, New York, Vermont, Michigan, Wisconsin and several other northwestern states.
Naturalization Records
Naturalization records contain the most important information to trace your ancestor to their country of origin and the city where they were born. This leads to baptismal records. Prior to birth certificates, church records were used to record all major events – the birth of a child, marriage and death. Baptismal records are the key to bring you to your international ancestor. Most churches have their baptismal records online. This is where the digging beginnings – genealogy websites, google searches for libraries, genealogical, regional and cultural Facebook groups, and historical societies can help you retrieve this information. DON’T GIVE UP! International family research can be done! Finding your family will pay off in the end.
For those interested, AncestryDNA is having a sale on DNA kits. The kits are regularly $99 but they are on sale for $59 until October 10, 2022.
If you’re interested in knowing your family history but you don’t have the time or resources to do so, I have affordable packages to do the research for you. If you book the Kati or Kubwa packages during October 2022, you will get a 10% discount plus a free gift!* Click here to contact me.
*You must book and pay the 50% non-refundable deposit before 11:59pm on 10/31/22 in order to receive the discounted services and free gift.
I had a friend on Facebook ask a question about researching her family. She wanted to know if she did not know the full names and birthdays of her older relatives, could she still have success researching her family roots. DEFINITELY!! This would be the best course of action:
Talk to Your Parents
This is the first step if your parents are still living. They could give you a roundabout age of your grandparents then do the math to calculate the year they were born. Familysearch.org is a free genealogy site. You must create a login in order to see the documents. It’s completely free…no tricks. Look at census records (before 1950) to confirm their age and who they lived with. Checking the census records confirms that you are looking for the correct people. Your parents should show up on these records as long as they were born before 1950. Note on the census their place of birth because this is important.
Look for Marriage Records
Looking at the marriage record for your grandparents can give you additional information. If you have their birthplace and approximate birth year, enter their names into the records search to see if any marriage licenses match for that location. If a record does pop up, it should contain your grandmother’s maiden name (if you didn’t know it already). Most marriage records contain the names of the bride and groom’s parents. If this is the case, now you have your great grandparents’ names!
Family, Associates and Neighbors – the FAN Club
Continue to review the census records of your grandparents living in the households of their parents. The census records should give you information about your great aunts and uncles, their education, their occupations. Also, most children lived in their parents’ neighborhood after marriage so look at the entire census records for other relatives that lived close by.
Death Certificates
I have always said, you can find the living through the dead. Death certificates give you the decedent’s birth place, their exact birthdate (most of the time), decedent’s parents’ names and where they were born and other important information like if the deceased was a veteran, their occupation, informant’s name (this is most likely a relative), their last address and if they were married/divorced/widowed. All this information can lead you to additional records that can help you go back even further.
Next question – what if your grandparents were born in another country? That’s a question for another post. Stay tuned!
If you’re interested in knowing your family history but you don’t have the time or resources to do so, I have affordable packages to do the research for you. If you book the Kati or Kubwa packages during October 2022, you will get a 10% discount plus a free gift!* Click here to contact me.
*You must book and pay the 50% non-refundable deposit before 11:59pm on 10/31/22 in order to receive the discounted services and free gift.
Thank you for subscribing to our monthly newsletter! We hope that you enjoy this month’s information. If you want us to address a specific topic, send us a message at tanya@familymattersgenealogy.com and we will discuss it in the November 2022 newsletter.
Researching the 1890 Census
As you know from previous newsletters, the census records contains different information every time. The huge gap between 1880 and 1900 censuses frustrates genealogists and family historians because a lof of information cannot be determined, specifically the migration patterns of family members. However, the new categories on this census gave us more socioeconomic information for each family.
The 1900 census included the birth month and year of each member in the household. Additionally, it recorded the number of years a couple had been married (doing the math you could calculate the year of marriage) and the number of children born and the number of children still living for adult women in the household. This census incorporated the economic status of the family – whether the head of household owned or rented their home, whether the home was a house or farm and if it was mortgaged or owned free and clear. An enumerator noted farms and included a farm schedule. Farm schedules were important because they included the value of the property, number of acres, types of crops grown, number of livestock and the name of the owner if the farm was rented.
The month of October has a lot going on – Breast Cancer Awareness Month, Down Syndrome Awareness Month and National Family History Month! In 2001, Senator Orrin Hatch, a Republican Senator for Utah, introduced a bill designating October as Family History Month to encourage people to research their ancestry. “By searching for our roots, we come closer together as a human family.” Try to dedicate some time during this month to do some kind of genealogical research on your family and immortalize it for future generations – in an album, a book or on a family tree site. During October, Family Matters Genealogy, LLC will offer a 10 % discount for Kati and Kubwa services plus a free gift. You must book and pay the 50% deposit before 11:59pm on 10/31/22 in order to receive the discounted services.
The Woman King is True History
I went to see The Women King, starring Viola Davis. It was an excellent movie about women’s empowerment, strength and independence. I knew that Dahomey was a real place because of a book written by Zora Neale Hurston. Situated in Western African in present day Benin (renamed in 1975), it is true that Dahomey was an essential factor in the Atlantic Slave trade with the British until 1852. Dahomey went to war with France in 1892 and in 1894, France defeated them. Afterwards, Dahomey became a colony of France but France did allow the royal families and its administrators to continue to rule the people. We will analyze what are true historical facts from the movie. For those that did not see it…SPOILER ALERT!
The Kingdom of Oyo existed and fought against the Kingdom of Dahomey over the slave trade. Both kingdoms sold captured enemies from neighboring tribes to the British and Portuguese to support their empires.
The King of Dahomey increased their palm oil trade as an economic alternative to the slave trade BUT only after the British prepared to discontinue the practice in its colonies in 1833. The movie reversed this fact.
Nanisca, played by Viola Davis, was a real Agojie but on a smaller, lesser known scale than in the movie.
King Ghezo, same as in the movie, reigned Dahomey from 1818-1858.
Dahomey had a real all-female army called the Agojie warriors. Originally organized as elephant hunters, they progressed to be the king’s guards. The population of men had significantly dropped because Dahomey was at war with other tribes in order to maintain their power in the region. Women had no choice but to fight to protect the kingdom from neighboring villages and tribes.
In the movie, the Agojie took an oath to remain single and childless to be a part of the army. However, the king considered the all the Agojie as his wives and did not allow them to date or marry anyone else. They lived in the palace with the king like in the movie.
Read Barracoon: The Story of the Last “Black Cargo” by Zora Neale Hurston. Cudjo Lewis,a former slave, described his capture by the Agojie of Dahomey from his West African village in 1860. Imprisoned at a slave port in Ouidah (later named The Gate of No Return), he was sold to Americans by King Glele (son of Ghezo) and was illegally smuggled into Alabama on the last American slave ship Clotilda.
Of course, the movie has created controversy because of its “historical inaccuracies;” however, it is a depiction of true historical events with fictional characters. The Woman King is a great story with some historical facts sprinkled in.
CLIENT CORNER – SYLVIE MARRESE
I was gifted an Ancestry DNA test and received the results a few weeks later. I had no experience in organizing a genealogical search, as it seems quite overwhelming. She helped me organize every match, and together, we identified each and every branch possibility on the tree. My challenge was the many similar last names. in my DNA matches, that were not of the same family branch. Tanya guided the search by suggesting and using Ancestry’s website, uploading my DNA to GedMatch, My Heritage, 23 and ME, and to take an additional mtDNA test to align the results with my possible birth mom. She used DNA Painter to explain the centiMorgan complexities and to further map out relatives.
Aside from Tanya’s vast knowledge, it was her determination to move ahead past any obstacles. She was very supportive when emotions got the best of me. We found my Bio parents, within 4 months- a full sister, and half siblings and close relatives. I never in my life would imagine attempting a search without Tanya. Her guidance and knowledge of genealogy and the steps to build a family tree, were the keys to our success. I highly recommend Tanya for any of your genealogical needs. Her professionalism, determination, and perseverance are the key to anyone’s Ancestry search.
LOOKING FOR LONG LOST ANCESTORS?
If you are interested in researching your family history (and I strongly encourage everyone to do so), let me know and I can assist you. I offer several affordable packages depending on your research needs. If you are an amateur genealogist/family historian, I can create a research plan to guide you in the right direction. I am always willing to help.
DID YOU KNOW? Mermaids Come in All Colors
There has been an uproar when Disney announced that they were casting Halle Bailey as Ariel in their live-action revival of the Little Mermaid. The controversy stems from many believing that Ariel should remain white because mermaids are white. But…is that really true? Mermaids are mythical creatures, so how does anyone know they are strictly white? Did you know that mermaid stories were more well known in African countries than European countries? Let’s examine the history.
Myth of the Mermaid
Different cultures have depicted mermaids in their folklores and fables. So, who was the first to tell the mermaid story? The legend of Mama Wati dates back six centuries. Mama Wati was a West African mermaid or a water spirit who had long flowing hair and snakes as necklaces. She was notorious for sinking ships, promising fertility and prosperity to anyone who worshiped her and taking a human form with legs and appear in the least likely places.
Other countries had stories about mermaids – the ningyo, Matsya and duyung of Asia, Mama D’Leau of Caribbean stories, and the nommos of the Dogon people from Mali. There have been shrines of mermaids and other ocean deities that lined the west African coastlines from Senegal to Angola, the same coastline where slave ships kidnapped Africans to take to the Caribbean Islands and the Americas.
So why do mermaids have to be white? NO! Does everyone believe Danish writer Hans Christian Andersen created them for his book written in 1837? YES! Could Caucasian writers adapt these stories to make for interesting reading for their audiences? YES! Cultural appropriation happens all the time, especially from elements of African and African American culture.
EDITOR’S NOTE
Thank you for reading my newsletter. I love October for many reasons. It’s Breast Cancer Awareness Month and as a breast cancer survivor, this is the time of year that I raise money for the American Cancer Society. The other reason is because it’s FAMILY HISTORY MONTH!!! This is the time of year that I focus on my own family’s research, either by going through my family trees to update some records or look for more records as they become available on various genealogical sites. I take detailed notes for the book that I will write someday. For my family, I am currently researching my Davis, Teat and Fernandes lines.
Next month, we will celebrate Native American Heritage Month and Veteran’s Day by reviewing military records and Indian census records. If you have any genealogical questions, feel free to comment and I will feature your question in the next issue. Michael Crichton said, “If you don’t know history, you don’t know anything. You are a leaf that doesn’t know it is part of a tree.”
Know and love your family history. Peace, Love and Genealogy.
Last week’s blog post talked about digital photos vs. printed photos but for our final week of Save Your Photos Month, we will plan for the inevitable, death. Parents buy life insurance to pay for their funerals or to make life comfortable for their children. We make a will to distributethe important things in our lives between the ones we love, equally and fairly. We try to take care of our final arrangements, making sure those in charge know what to do. What about the family photo albums, memorabilia and digital pictures after our death? WHAT?!?! You never thought about this? Well, it’s time!
“By Failing to Prepare, You Prepare to Fail”
A very important quote from Benjamin Franklin that can be parlayed into many things in life. If you are the family historian (like me), it is important to make a plan after your demise. Is there someone in the younger generation that will take up the cause? Does someone in the family show an interest in continuing the family research? Is there anyone who cares at all?? That’s what you need to find out NOW. Seek out the current family historian at the next family reunion. Make sure they know your interests in taking over after they have gone. Talk to your children to see who might take on this task because making a plan is the first and most important step. Also make sure your family photos will be passed on after your death.
Make a Plan
If your Auntie/Grandpa/Mom/Dad agree to pass the family history torch to you, make sure they state it CLEARLY in their wills. Please make sure they let their heirs know NOW! We do not want surprises when the end comes and you try to retrieve unsuccessfully what you’ve been promised. I would highly recommend that you ask your relatives to pass it down to you NOW.
Also, have them go through the album with you. Have them tell you stories of the family members in the pictures (make sure you record it as oral history so you can write it down later). Additionally, make sure they go through their phones and computers to transfer any photos they might have stashed there. Encourage them to upload to a cloud service like Google Photos, Dropbox, shared drive, etc. If they are willing, ask them to share the username and passwords with you so you have access to it at all times.
Be Creative
Since natural disasters happen (seems like more often lately), scan all family photo albums and take pictures of any family memorabilia so you will have a digital copy. Upload this to a cloud service just in case. Last but definitely not least, create a book from the photo albums, memorabilia, newspaper articles, etc. for the next family reunion or to pass along after you! Make sure you include everything about yourself – the good, the bad and the ugly – so they know who you truly are. Include your immediate family and their adventures and mishaps. It’s the best gift you can give your future descendants and continue the family forward.
Next month is Family History Month! I am determined to make family historians out of EVERYONE! I’ve got some great stuff to share so stay tuned.
Last week’s blog discussed decluttering photos on our phones. This rolls into this week’s blog of digital photos. The current generation is technology savvy and believe and love anything digital. So where does that leave us old school printed photo people? Are we considered relics because we have several boxes of printed photos? What should we do with the photo albums passed down through the generations? Should we only have digital photos. There is a way to live in both worlds.
Scrapbook Queen
I confess…I’m a scrapbooker! It is a creative obsession I’ve had since I was young (I am 53). Imagine lots of pretty paper, glitter and tchotchkes all over my spare bedroom in my house. Therefore, printed photos are important to me. However, scrapbooking has even moved away from paper and embellishments and has turned to digital scrapbooking (not fun for me). I refuse to adjust! My daughters use social media as their scrapbooks, uploading pictures into albums and deleting them from their phones to save memory. Which method is correct?
Digital vs. Printed
There are several pros and cons for each:
Digital photos require no physical space. The only space it needs is memory on an external hard drive, a laptop, on your phone or a cloud service. Printed photos and scrapbooks require real estate – on a bookcase (like at my mom’s house), on a closet shelf (in my house) or a corner somewhere in the house.
What happens when technology is upgraded? Do you have to worry about transferring all your digital photos to a new hard drive? What if your laptop crashes or a cloud service shuts down? You will still have your photo albums, printed photos and scrapbooks.
Both have an expense attached. Digital photos require hardware (or cloud service. There is a max to the free memory for Google, iCloud or Dropbox. Digital images take up A LOT of memory so thousands of photos will eventually max out and you will need to pay for additional memory to save your photos.
Natural disasters affect both digital and printed photos. A fire, accidental spill or lost/stolen equipment happen so understanding how to protect your photos (syncing your phone to your laptop/tablet, having a fire safe, keeping liquids away from electronic equipment and photos) is very important.
Make sure you preserve your photos for future generation so they know who you are and what you look like. By the way, The Photo Managers events for Save Your Photos Month are great!
