White Birch Research

09/12/2022

On Saturday, September 17, join the Essex Society of Genealogists via Zoom at 12:45 pm EST for “DNA & Your Revolutionary Ancestors” with professional genealogist, Jennifer Zinck. If you are not a current ESOG member, and would like to be invited to this lecture, please contact Steve Hartwell, Webmaster and Membership Chair, at membership@esog.org.

Just how useful can DNA be in researching our Revolutionary ancestors? Are there reliable DNA uses in lineage research as suggested by new lineage society guidelines? Explore the DNA footprint of a boy who was kidnapped and escaped to enlist and fight in the Revolutionary War under General Washington.

Jennifer Zinck, CG® is a genealogical researcher, speaker, and educator with a passion for learning and applying genealogy standards to help reclaim lost and forgotten stories of our ancestors. Jennifer earned her credential from the Board for Certification of Genealogists in 2021. She serves as the President of the Connecticut Professional Genealogists Council and as a member of the Board of Governors of the Connecticut Society of Genealogists. Jennifer is a member of the faculty of the Boston University Center for Professional Education Genealogy Studies Program. She enjoys sharing her contagious enthusiasm for family history with people of all ages.

09/11/2022

Seven spots left for Lifelong Learning: Genealogy 101 with Linda MacIver, a 6-week online course starting September 15. Sign up at https://bit.ly/3d90sM8.

Beginning with “Six Key Steps to Launching Your Family Search” learn the basic skills, especially how to get organized from the beginning, to save time and frustration later in your research. Understand the many things you can, and should, do first in the comfort of your home 24/7. Prepare to take advantage of the many opportunities to learn from your family connections as you interview family members. Begin to add to your basic skills as you are introduced to free as well as major online commercial tools and the wealth of resources available to you in the metro area.

Linda B. MacIver is an educator, lecturer, librarian and genealogy researcher. She retired from a 27-year career at the Boston Public Library where she inaugurated the BPL patron genealogy classes and taught the multi-week beginners’ genealogy course. She also organized two extremely popular seasons of the Local and Family History series and developed the Intermediate Genealogy Summer Lecture series. Linda is the past Secretary and Director of Federal Records of the Massachusetts Genealogical Council, a member of the Massachusetts Society of Genealogists (MSOG) and the Essex (MA) Society of Genealogists (ESOG.) She serves as the New England Representative for the Essex (England!) Record Office. Linda has a BA in History from the University of New Hampshire, an MEd from Boston University and earned her MLIS at Simmons College.

06/30/2022

Counties and their boundaries changed frequently as the United States grew from 13 colonies to 50 state. Knowing the correct county is critical for locating ancestors' records. The Newberry Library's Atlas of Historical Boundaries is a robust search tool for identifying county names and boundaries at precise moments in history. I tested it for my own Maryland ancestors from when they arrived in the colony to just after the Revolutionary War: https://bit.ly/3ywmuQD vs. https://bit.ly/3I1njEm. What will you discover about your own ancestors?

04/01/2022

Countdown to the 1950 census…less than four hours to go!

https://www.archives.gov/research/census/1950

Taken every 10 years since 1790, the United States census provides a snapshot of the nation's population. Because of a 72-year restriction on access to the records, the most recent census year currently available is 1940. On April 1, 2022, the 1950 Census will be released, and users will be able to....

03/13/2022

On Saturday, March 19 join the Essex Society of Genealogists via Zoom at 12:45 pm EST for “Influenza: The Twentieth Century’s Deadliest Pandemic” with Michael Strauss, AG. If you are not a current ESOG member, and would like to be invited to this lecture, please contact Steve Hartwell, Webmaster and Membership Chair, at membership@esog.org.

In 1918 with the war raging in Europe, a silent deadly killer traveled with the soldiers from the United States over to the war zones in France. Considered America’s deadliest epidemic, it killed more people here than the soldiers that lost their lives fighting. As quickly as the virus spread it disappeared by early 1919. Many genealogical and historical records document our ancestors who died or survived this terrible period of our history.

Michael L. Strauss, AG®, is a professional Accredited Genealogist® and a nationally recognized speaker. A native of Pennsylvania and a resident of Utah, he is employed by Ancestry. Strauss has a BA in History and is a United States Coast Guard veteran. He is a qualified expert witness in the courts in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Virginia and is a faculty member at the Salt Lake Institute of Genealogy, Genealogical Research Institute of Pittsburgh, and IGHR - Institute of Genealogy & Historical Research where he is the Military Course Coordinator.

02/27/2022

For African Americans, finding genealogy records and documents that tell a complete and full story can be a daunting task - until now.

02/07/2022

On Saturday, February 19 join the Essex Society of Genealogists via Zoom at 12:45 pm EST for “Successful Cluster and Collateral Searching” with Thomas P. MacEntee. If you are not a current ESOG member, and would like to be invited to this lecture, please contact Steve Hartwell, Webmaster and Membership Chair, at membership@esog.org.

While you may think you’ve hit a brick wall with your research, have you tried using cluster and collateral search strategies to look for an opening? Researching non-direct relations as well as those friends and neighbors in your ancestors’ network can pay off in ways you might not imagine. Learn why researching those in-laws, “shirt-tail cousins,” and others who may not be a direct-line ancestor as well as “friends, neighbors, and associates” can help you break down your genealogy research brick walls.

Thomas MacEntee is a genealogy professional who’s also a blogger, educator, author, social media connector, marketer, network builder, and more. Thomas was laid off after a 25-year career in the information technology field, so he started his own genealogy-related business called High-Definition Genealogy. Currently Thomas shares many of his articles and videos for free at GenealogyBargains.com.

01/17/2022

The Essex Antiquarian, a quarterly periodical published in the late 19th - early 20th century, is available for free at Google Books (https://books.google.com ➡️ search on “the essex antiquarian”). In it you will find family histories, transcribed wills, abstracts of court records, maps, photos, and a host of other genealogy gold. If you have ancestors from Essex county, MA add The Essex Antiquarian to your resource list.

11/06/2021

Join us on Saturday, November 20, 2021 at 1:00 PM via Zoom for “The Maritime Records of Essex County” with Stephen A. Hartwell.

**Please see pinned post at top of page if you are not an ESOG member and would like to attend the meeting**

Learn about maritime record sets that can be useful to genealogists researching Essex County ancestors in the 18th and 19th centuries. We will examine resources both online and in local repositories, and look at numerous examples of what we can discover about the lives of those who made their living from the sea.

Stephen Hartwell is a professional genealogist specializing in New England / New York research, genetic genealogy, and family history websites. He is a graduate of the Boston University Genealogical Research Certificate Program and a Board member of the Essex Society of Genealogists. His website can be found at https://shartwell.com.

10/11/2021

The Essex Society of Genealogists presents:
”Hidden Treasures in Town Records” with Carol P. McCoy
Saturday, October 16, 1:00 (virtual meeting)

Genealogists with New England ancestors have a great advantage in being able to use Town Records as a resource. From earliest times, New England towns began keeping records of their many activities. This virtual lecture will highlight the benefits of using town records in genealogy, provide examples of gems in the records, suggest ways to locate the records, and present keys to using these records successfully. As always, Dr. McCoy looks forward to an interactive session with questions, comments, and additions to her ideas.

Dr. Carol P. McCoy, President of Find-Your-Roots in Brunswick, Maine, has been tracing her family history for over 30 years. She grew up in Bronxville, NY and graduated from Connecticut College with an A.B. in psychology. She received her M.S. degree and Ph.D. degree in psychology from Rutgers University. After the hustle and bustle of NYC, she migrated north to Maine in 1991. Prior to starting her own genealogy business in 2001 and her training consulting business in 1999, Carol worked as a training director for UNUM in Portland, Maine. Carol has formerly served as President of the Maine Genealogical Society (MGS), as a Director for MGS, and as President of the Greater Portland Chapter of MGS. She transcribed the Vital Records of Durham Maine (published by MGS.) Dr. McCoy has given genealogical talks for the New England Regional Genealogical Conference (NERGC), the Maine Genealogical Society (MGS) Conference, the Greater Portland Chapter of the MGS, the Limerick Maine Historical Society, the Falmouth Maine Historical Society, the D.A.R. sponsored conference in Winslow Maine, and for other groups.

10/08/2021

THREE SPOTS LEFT!

On the Trail of your Ancestors: Genealogy for Beginners with Linda MacIver

Monday, October 18, 7:00—8:30 PM via Zoom
Virtual TOHP Burnham 30 Martin St, Essex, MA, 01929
Register here: https://essexpubliclibrary.assabetinteractive.com/calendar/on-the-trail-of-your-ancestors-genealogy-for-beginners-7/

Ready to take the plunge but haven’t any idea how to start researching your family history? Register now for this six-session course and join in one of America’s most popular hobbies: Genealogy Research! Thanks to the generosity of The Friends of the Library, this course is offered to you for free!

Beginning with “Six Key Steps to Launching Your Family Search,” learn the basic skills and get organized from the beginning, to save time and frustration later in your research. Understand the many things you can do all from the comfort of your own home. Begin to add to your skills as we investigate many free as well as major online commercial tools and the wealth of resources available to you.

PLEASE NOTE: Attendance is mandatory for the first two sessions. All participants must have basic computer knowledge & skills.

07/09/2021

Follow up to last post: The Dennis Historical Society maintains a digital, well-organized archive of documents and photos dating back to the early 17th century.

I love these 2 photos of Louisa M. Crowell which appear to be from the mid-19th century. The So. Dennis school photo is from 1888. Do you like how they put some of the kids on the roof so they could fit everyone in the picture?!

Visit https://www.dennishistoricalsociety.org/archive to research your mid-Cape ancestors. The Society also sponsors events like cemetery walks and cultural events at the Josiah Dennis Manse Museum.

All images are from the Dennis Historical Society Digital Archives.

07/09/2021

Genealogy serendipity is when you unwittingly book a vacation rental in the neighborhood where the family you’re researching lived 250 years ago…

Captain John Sears built the first solar evaporation salt works in what is now East Dennis, Massachusetts during the Revolutionary War to address the urgent need for salt for food preservation after the British blocked salt imports from the Caribbean. The marker for the approximate location of Captain Sears’ salt works was steps from our rental house.

By the early 1800’s Cape Cod had 800 salt works, including one in So. Yarmouth which was founded by another member of the Sears family.

Have you experienced genealogy serendipity? What form did it take? How did it make you feel?

05/08/2021

The Essex Society of Genealogists is pleased to welcome Cyndi Ingle to its 2021 Zoom lecture series. If you are not a current member, and would like to be invited , please contact Steve Hartwell, Webmaster and Membership Chair, at membership@esog.org. Attendance may be limited, and paid members will be given preference.

CYNDI’S LIST IN PRACTICE

Join ESOG on Saturday, May 15 at 1:00 for a special presentation by Cyndi Ingle, the creator and innovator behind the award-winning and globally recognized CyndisList.com, a free categorized list of more than 337,000 links for genealogical research.

Sometimes overwhelming to beginners and sometimes underused by veterans, Cyndi’s List is a research tool that is robust with resources helpful in everyone’s research. Using specific examples for beginners, as well as more advanced researchers, we will explore the site and point out how to make the most of the categories and the links found within.

Cyndi, a genealogist for more than 40 years, has an expertise in using technology for genealogy. Additionally, her many active years in genealogy have also resulted in specialties for research in the United States and bringing together traditional methodology with organization, computers, software, and the Internet. Cyndi is the recipient of several awards and honors, she has served in several capacities for genealogical organizations, she is an internationally-known guest lecturer, and she has authored numerous articles and three books.

02/11/2021

Whether you're new to genealogy or a seasoned pro, there's something for everyone at NERGC! Register by March 15.

Registration for Virtual NERGC 2021 remains open though May 23. Go to https://web.cvent.com/event/dd0f52ce-f347-4603-83c1-5e63cadd92ca/regProcessStep1 to register!

A summary of conference information is available at https://web.cvent.com/event/dd0f52ce-f347-4603-83c1-5e63cadd92ca/summary.

More information about the conference is available at www.nergc.org. We hope you’ll join us for a great conference!

Cost for conference registration is $150; there is no “Early Bird” discount as in previous years. The cost of each of the three Optional Activities (Advanced DNA, Becoming a Professional Genealogist, and Writing Up Your Genealogy) is $30.

When you register, be sure to keep a record of your username, password, and confirmation code, which you will need when you want to access the conference presentations in April and May.

10/31/2020

How did your American ancestors celebrate Halloween? If they were New England Puritans, they were more likely to hang a witch than dress up as one, which Anglican and Catholic colonists in the South would have observed “All Hallows’ Eve” in church as part of the 3-day celebration of Allhallowtide.

Halloween in America changed in the 19th century thanks to Irish and Scottish immigrants who brought with them traditions like carved vegetables (Old World turnips giving way to New World pumpkins) and guising - the practice of going from house to house in costume reciting verses in exchange for food.

It took until the mid-20th century for Halloween to become what it is today with kids, costumes, and candy. So, dig into the Reese’s and Skittles and have a Happy Halloween!

10/12/2020

If you have collateral ancestors from the UK who disappeared from British records in the 1700-1800’s, check if they were among the tens of thousands of British citizens who went to India with the East India Company or later during the Raj.

This is where I located 4 siblings of my 3rd great-grandfather, William Aubrey, using FamilySearch, which explained why they disappeared from the Welsh census and other records.

Other sources of genealogical information for British India include the Families In British India Society (https://www.fibis.org) and the The British Library's India Office Family History search (https://indiafamily.bl.uk).

10/07/2020

Please join me in taking action against these proposed licensing fees. There are already enough challenges regarding NY vital record. Let’s not sit by and permit additional restrictions!