Part of the worldwide genealogy/family history community
ISSN 2253-4040
Quote: "I don't know who my grandfather was, I am much more concerned to know what his grandson will be". -- Abraham Lincoln
Contents
DNA
testing for Family history
Early
Herald Searchable Through Papers Past
The Use
of Personal Cameras at Archives New Zealand.
A
Photographic Mystery Solved?
Whangarei Family History Computer
Group
Have Your Say – Letters to the
Editor
Editorial
Editors Parting Words
I am pleased to announce we have a new newsletter editor. Colleen Sherman-Williams has agreed to take over my role.
When I started this role I
received a phone call out of the blue from Robert Barnes asking if I could help
do one newsletter in 2010, just until he could find someone to take over the
role. Almost four years later I was still
the editor.
For many reasons I needed to either give up the role completely or find someone to take over the editing and just help behind the scenes. It turns out we have been very fortunate that Colleen has offered to take over as editor. This has given me the opportunity to concentrate on my family, and the Kapiti Branch’s project “Why You Are You for 2014: Soldiers in the Trenches”, plus working behind the scenes with Robert on FamNet.
I will still be here, just not out in the front. I will continue to help find interesting stories and articles for Colleen.
I would also like to thank Linnette Horne, Lorri Adams and Noel Gillard who have offered to help in supplying information and articles to Colleen. If there are any other members out there that would like to be part of a small team happy to gather articles I am sure that Colleen would love to hear from you.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who has helped over the years with supplying information and articles. I do hope many members will support Colleen and supply her with their stories.
From the new Editor
I joined FamNet a couple of months
ago and duly received my first newsletter. Upon reading this I saw a plea
from Sue for a new editor. As I have some spare time, I emailed Sue and
Robert, and Robert rang me back within minutes: perhaps he thought I might
disappear. Thus I am now your new editor. I have just completed
your first newsletter with a lot of help from Robert, and we hope that you will
enjoy it.
I have been a genealogist for almost 30 years, starting off with just visits to the library and hand writing letters. Technology has advanced greatly since then enabling me to find a vast amount of information on the internet. My other interests include teaching English to new immigrants, playing the piano, and reading up to 3 books a week. I am also a qualified IT Technician.
Genealogy is all about sharing, so I hope you will all have interesting stories and anecdotes to share with us all, and many more of you will upload your trees into the database. Tell your friends about FamNet. Get them to join at NZ$30.00 per year.
From the Developer
From Robert Barnes
QR Codes: More follow up.
In January’s newsletter I mentioned that the Barbarians Rugby Club, where my father-in-law’s rugby caps are on display, were very interested in my ideas about using QR codes to complement the memorabilia displays with information from a web page. Not only are we going ahead with putting a QR code on the display of his caps, the club is also ordering plaques for five more of their displays. In these other cases the subjects were all All Blacks, and the plaque will take the user to a page such as this page about Fred Allen. A good illustration of the fact that our QR Codes facility can be used for any web page, not just a FamNet page.
In the quantities that we’ve ordered (6 plaques) they cost about $18 each. In the next newsletter I will give you some more information, including what it would cost you to get a plaque suitable for a headstone.
By the way, if any of you have All Blacks in your family history, you might like to look at http://stats.allblacks.com/ and search for your names. Why don’t you link the page to your FamNet record?
Using the Timeline View
Since October 2011 FamNet has offered [Timeline], the best way of seeing your data in its historical perspective and complimenting the more common [Tree] and [Page] views. Developed with the “FamNet in Schools” project in mind, it displays your ancestors as bars on a timeline, alongside world and family events.
For example, if I display the record of my wife’s father and click [Timeline] and you see a display like this: -
The bottom section of the timeline shows people: the subject, their children and their partners, and three generations of ancestors. The subject (in this case John Alfred PYM, my father-in-law) is shown as a green line, and other people are shown with FamNet’s normal pink/blue colour convention. Where years of birth or death are unknown they are estimated from relatives and the estimate sections are shown in light blue.
Above this section there are two bands of events. The top
band shows general
The middle band is “Personal Events”, where you can record
historical events of interest to your family. In the “robertb” events table
(click the button “Historical Events” and select “Personal History Timelines”)
I have recorded the voyages on which our ancestors arrived in
As far as we’re aware, Timeline View remains a FamNet unique feature. Have you checked it out yet? It’s very easy, and you can use it on anybody’s records, not just your own, but of course, as with everything else in FamNet, it is much more interesting with your own data.
See http://www.famnet.org.nz/Help/GDBEdit_TimeLine_Help.htm for more information.
DNA testing for Family history
We’re delighted that Gail has offered to
write a series of articles on the use of DNA Testing in genealogy.
The series will cover the following and it is planned that one should appear in each month’s Famnet newsletter issue. They will all be at the absolutely basic level and apart from certain words, very few scientific terms will be used. As a result, there will be those readers who wish for more accuracy rather than an overview. But given that the majority of readers have absolutely no idea what is involved, I have chosen to remain at “grass roots” level.
1. What is Molecular Genealogy?
2. Where would I begin?
3. What test should I take?
4. What DNA will NOT tell you and the risks involved.
5. Direct paternal line (men only)
6. Direct maternal line (men and women).
7. All the lineages including maternal and paternal (men and women).
8. Understanding direct paternal results.
9. Understanding direct maternal line results.
10. Understanding the "cousin" results.
11. Hints and Tips.
12. Invaluable websites and blogs and forums for DNA.
What is Molecular Genealogy?
In simple terms, this is the taking of physical samples of a tester’s cheek cells (or saliva, depending on the lab selected) and relating these to biological knowledge to specifically locate those portions on the human genome which can be translated into ancestral inheritances for genealogy purposes. It is not a blood test and the sample is taken by the tester in the privacy of the tester’s own home.
It is not for forensic or medical interest – these portions of the human genome used for genealogy research and comparison are not those considered for other purposes.
Some call this “Genetic genealogy” (the favoured description) and others call it “DNA testing for genealogical purposes.” The outcome is similar but do NOT make the mistake of thinking that all labs testing your sample are the same because they are not. Some labs focus only on ‘Deep Ancestry’ whilst others only focus on the most recent five or so generations and yet others look across the spectrum.
‘Molecular Genealogy’ has been described as the “application of the current techniques for characterizing an individual’s DNA to the task of testing whether two or more testers share a common ancestor”. Although it goes much further than that, the essence is that on its own, a tester’s DNA result means nothing for genealogical purposes. The results must be able to be compared.
Without the ability to compare, any results are meaningless and so care must be taken to select both a reputable company (for DNA testing) plus the size of the data base, plus the ability to retain ownership of results and freedom to choose what to do with same. And just as not all of us are equal in physical stature, then so the same with the current testing companies – in spite of their marketing ploys.
To “begin”, you must first focus on what you wish to learn. This will be covered in a later segment - to be published in a future Famnet newsletter. And by “focus”, I mean work out whether your goal is specific (what is it?) or general.
For any enquiries,
please contact
Colleen’s Corner
Taxing Londoners
I
have recently purchased a book called TRACING YOUR
Rates. Rates were charged between 1601 to 1990. They were first imposed in the late 16th century , until the Elizabethan period when they became a permanent yearly fixture. The rates were levied for parishes to relieve the poor in cash or goods. This would be a good hunting ground for names.
Hearth Tax This is another useful source
for 1689 to the later 17th century. This tax was imposed on
householders at one shilling per fireplace. Constables and overseers had
to collect the tax but some were held locally by local parishes. These
assessments are found at the TNA (The National Archives at
Tithes Since the middle ages, Landowners and householders were obliged to pay tithes to the rector or vicar. In Hayes in the 1530s the parishioners who were too poor had to pay 1/10th of their crop. Lists are known as apportionments, detailing landowners and tenants. Three copies were made so it is possible to locate where land was owned or rented. These are found at TNA (IR29 is the series for apportionments, IR30 for the maps).
The Ship Tax These taxes were levied between 1634 to 1640. This tax was very unpopular which led to outbreaks of violence between King and Parliament 1642. These records are found at TNA SP16 and 17.
The Free and Voluntary Present This is not what is says, but is actually a list of about 130,000 people who were working and who gave money to the restored King Charles II in 1661. It is found in TNA E179.
Window Tax This was assessed from 1696 to 1851. Properties with two or more windows were taxed 2 shillings per window. Books exist for Finsbury and Clerkenwell for 1797 to 1794. These are found at LMA (London Metropolitan Archives)
Game Duty In 1784 and 1785 each person qualified to kill, hunt or sell game had to register with the clerk of the peace, who would issue a certificate. There are registers at LMA for those in Middlesex for 1784 to 1807. Essex Record Office has registers for 1784 to 1806.
Poll Tax Poll tax made an appearance in the 17th century. Seven were raised in 1660, 1667, 1678, 1689, 1691, 1694 and 1697. Records survive in the last four assessments. It was a tax on residents, which included householders and lodgers and sometimes children. The amount charged depended on the local status and type of occupation. The records are to be found at TNA, class E182 arranged by county. The LMA has a transcribed copy of the assessment for the City for 1692.
The Land Tax Once the hearth tax was
abolished the government which needed money to fight a war against
Income Tax This is the best known of taxes, introduced in 1798 to finance the war against Napoleon – but it became long lasting. It was abolished in 1802 and re-introduced the following year. It was abolished again in 1816, reintroduced in 1842, and remains with us since then.
Miscellaneous Taxes and Duties There are a few short-lived taxes. Marriage Duty Tax imposed from 1695 to 1706 on bachelors and childless widowers aged over 25. I would say a fair few got married before their 25th birthday. Carriage duty from 1747 and 1782. There were various other taxes which can be found on www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/e179 Clearly those listed were those who were fairly wealthy.
Death Duties From 1796, death duties became payable on estates as they passed from one owner on death to another. Many of the registers for 1890s were burnt and 1903 there are none due to a new method of recording. Registers from 1796 to 1811 are searchable on line at TNA’s website. Death Duty registers show different information to wills. The latter show intent, the registers show what happened.
There is much more information on the above taxes in the book, which is a mine of information.
These sites were mentioned in “Tracing your London Ancestors”
The London Metropolitan Archives www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/lma
Guildhall Library www.@cityoflondon.gov.uk The @ sign is not misquoted.
Huguenot
Society if
Salvation Army www.salvationarmy.org.uk
The National Archives www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/
The Society of Genealogists Library www.sog.org.uk
Lambeth Palace Library www.lambethpalacelibrary.org
Principal Registry of the Family Division www.courtservice.gov.uk
Army Records Centre www.mod.uk
Early Herald Searchable Through Papers Past
I came across an old newspaper article from the NZ Herald, written by Yvonne Tahana (NZ Herald, Aug 7 2012). Papers Past is a great site, I have personally found a lot of useful information there.
In 2012 a combined project of the Herald, Auckland Central Library and the National Library launched the first years of newspapers on www.paperspast.natlib.govt.nz Dating from Friday, November 13, 1863 to 1984 and comprising of 50,000 pages, it was the first of a planned release of papers through to 1956. Yvonne Tahana’s article included the following description the first issue of the Herald: -
The
inaugural paper cost three pence and set out that no cost nor care would be
spared in covering the “immediate anxiety” – the native rebellion.
Governor
George Grey invaded the
Frustration
at that was clear and words weren’t minced about the character of the
enemy. The extended editorial headlined “ourselves” said “According to
his lights the Maori may be a warrior; but the inherent excellence of his
valour lies in rapine murder, surprise and instant flight”.
Conquering
and confiscating land was imperative but past that point the paper’s publishers
W.C. Wilson and David Burn told their readers there would be a bigger focus on
in the future.
Long
letters were printed in both languages, stories and used Maori words without
translation in the expectation of the audience would understand them because of
higher levels of bilingualism, tupuna names were used and products such as
Taniwha Soap were advertised.
From the Papers Past front page.
Papers Past contains more than
three million pages of digitised
Latest additions to Papers Past (September 2013):
King
Country Chronicle (1906-1920)
Mount
Ida Chronicle (1869-1926)
There are two main ways to find information in Papers Past: searching and browsing. Searching lets you enter a query term and retrieves articles that contain that term. Browsing lets you look at all the newspapers, starting with a year, a region, or a newspaper title. All the newspaper titles on the site can be searched and browsed.
Getting started
The Getting started page gives an overview of how to use Papers Past.
Go
to the Getting started page
How to find out more about our newspaper
collection
The newspapers on Papers Past are
only a small proportion of
Book Review
As
mentioned in the Taxing London article above I read a book called TRACING YOUR
LONDON ANCESTERS A GUIDE FOR FAMILY HISTORIANS
by JONATHAN OATES. This book is full of anecdotes and articles
with sources for genealogists. The research gone into writing this book
is phenomenal. There is an amazing amount of detail on the history of
I purchased this book from www.bookdepository.co.uk where I buy all my books as there is no postage and they are also cheaper with no GST or VAT. The book comes complete with a bookmark at a total cost $24.67 NZ.
The Use of Personal Cameras at Archives New
Zealand
Archives New Zealand have over 4,000,000 records
which cover nearly every aspect of
Personal cameras e.g. digital or video cameras or mobile cameras may be used to take
digital reference copies of
archival records in Archives New Zealand’s reading rooms in
There is no need to register your camera to copy documents. As part of your standard Reader Registration, you are agreeing to observe the conditions of use as specified in the information sheet.
· Copying is not likely to damage the archive. Where bindings or file fastenings obscure parts of a page, you must not attempt to flatten or dismantle the record. A desk archivist can provide you with light weights to slightly flatten pages or hold map edges down. If damage is likely to occur, you can use their Digital Copying Service
· The item can be copied without using tripods, scanners, special lighting or flash photography. If copying requires any of the above, you will need to arrange with desk staff for the item to be professionally copied.
· You always use a hand strap to secure the camera when taking photos.
· The archive is issued to you personally. You may not copy archives issued to other researchers.
· Copying is not likely to involve disruption to other researchers. Archives can only be copied on the tables provided, not on the floor or any other surfaces. You must not stand on furniture to copy archives. All recording equipment must be on silent mode.
· By agreeing to the Reading Room terms and conditions you have declared that you will not copy any records to which any of above conditions apply. Anyone who illegally copies records will have their permission to use a personal camera in Archives New Zealand’s reading room cancelled.
· You cannot sell or make
public the digital images you have copied. You may apply to Archives New
Zealand for permission to publish or reproduce any archives. Archives
I visited the Auckland Archives in Mt Wellington a number of years ago. My mother was abandoned as a baby at the hospital where she was born. I knew my grandmother’s name but little else. When researching the appropriate archives I turned a page and there was a loose photo in between the pages. On the back of the photo was my grandmother’s name. I ordered a professional photographer to take a photograph of her and that photo takes pride of place in my dining room. I would highly recommend genealogists visit Archives New Zealand as, like me, you may be in for a very pleasant surprise. My mother of course was absolutely overwhelmed to get a copy of the photo of her mother.
A Photographic Mystery Solved?
I realise that this relates to the U.S.A, not
Two of
the series of photographs believed to show Abraham Lincoln's catafalque, as a
blur moving past Grace Episcopal Church on Broadway in
In the second shot, some heads are bowed. Men have taken off their hats. And the blur of a large black object is disappearing along the street to the left of the frame. What the scene depicts, why it was photographed, or where, has been a mystery for decades, experts at the National Archives say.
But a
Paul Taylor, 60, a retired federal government accountant,
believes the scene is on Broadway, outside
The day is Tuesday, April 25, 1865, 11 days after
And the crowd is waiting for, and then seems to be paying homage before, a horse-drawn hearse, whose motion makes it appear as a black blur.
If Mr Taylor is right, scholars say he has identified rare
photos of
Plus, it appears that the photographs were taken from an upper window of the studio of famed Civil War photographer Mathew Brady, across the street from the church.
"It's a big deal," said Richard Sloan, an expert
on the
Sloan added, "It's as if you're there, and you can see the mood."
Many people, including children, are in their Sunday best. A few look up at the camera. Flowers are in bloom. But there is no levity.
Mr Sloan is convinced that the pictures show the funeral scenes: "There's no doubt about it."
But experts at the Archives caution that although the theory sounds good, there could be other explanations, and no way to prove it conclusively.
The digital photographs were made from some of the thousands of Brady images acquired by the federal government in the 1870s and handed down to the National Archives in the 1940s, according to Nick Natanson, an archivist in the Archives' still-picture unit.
Next year is the 150th anniversary of
The two photos in question, both captioned "scene in front of church", apparently had gone unnoticed for decades.
"We've had many inquiries about many images in the Brady file," he said. "I can't remember . . . any inquiries about these two particular images. I don't think I ever noticed them before."
But something about them intrigued Mr Taylor when he saw them among the hundreds of Brady photographs posted on an Archives Flickr photo-sharing site in January.
Both were unusual four-image pictures - four shots of the same scene grouped together.
"I was just struck by the scene,"
In the second picture, "I saw this black streak,"
he said. "When I looked at it closer, I saw what it was. It was a funeral
vehicle. . . . I knew it was
Mr Natanson, of the Archives, was sceptical. "It still strikes me as odd that . . . there wouldn't have been some mention or some hint [in the caption] of the monumental nature of the event," he said.
The funeral observances for Lincoln, who was assassinated by
actor John Wilkes Booth on April 14, 1865, went on for more than two weeks.
During that time, the president's body was moved by train on a 13-day, 2575-kilometre
journey from
Along the way, the train stopped in over a dozen major cities, and his coffin was removed for numerous processions and elaborate tributes.
The president's coffin, with the lid unfortunately open, was
placed on view in
The next day, with the lid closed, the coffin was borne through jammed streets aboard a black hearse decorated with flags and black plumes and drawn by a team of 16 horses shrouded in black.
Half a million people lined the route, much of which was along Broadway.
Mr Taylor, who said he has long been fascinated by historic photographs, said he does not think the images have ever been published before.
Bob Zeller, president of the Center for Civil War Photography, agreed: "It's incredibly historic, (a) totally fresh piece of our American photo history."
Useful Websites
If you know of websites that you think may be helpful to others please email Janice or Colleen at –
Janice Cornwell or Editor@famnet.org.nz
To find FamNet’s Useful Websites page: either
· Click the [Community] tab on FamNet’s home page. Click the button [Useful Web Sites]. Or
· Click the [General Resource Databases] tab on FamNet’s home page. Locate “Useful Web Sites” in the list of “Other Tables” and click this link.
From Colleen : -
Family History Societies in and around
Woolwich and District Family History Society
These societies hold regular meetings , often with speakers expert on a particular field that is relevant to the history of the particular district that society covers. Family History Societies often produce regular newsletters and their members often have special knowledge and information of which may be of use to you.
Group News
Whangarei Family History Computer Group
Contacts:
Gloria: (022) 635 4161 barryandgloria33@gmail.com
Wayne: (09) 437 2881 wayne@bydand.co.nz
Pat: (09) 437 0692 whangareifamilyhistorygroup@gmail.com
Venues
Thursday evening venue is
email me at Whangareifamilyhistorygroup@gmail.com, if you need directions. **NB new Thursday venue
Saturday meetings are held
in the SeniorNet rooms in
The rooms are upstairs in the
2014 has started out with a review of 2013, the Waipu Highland Games and
what we are planning for our 2014 programme. Our first meeting was a look at
browsers other than Internet Explorer and
News and Views
We invite
contributions from FamNet members for this section: please email me (Colleen) if you have any
material.
Thanks to Linnette
Horne for bringing this to our notice.
Community
Advertising with FamNet
As of January 2014 if your organisation is not a group
subscriber then there will be a charge for advertising events and services,
which must be paid for before publication. Charges start at $NZ20 for a basic
flier, and increase for more elaborate presentations. FamNet is a charitable
organisation and like everyone else we need funds to help keep FamNet going.
Fees are very minimal. If your organisation paid a yearly subscription you can
have all the advertising you want all year round in the Group News section.
Your group could be anywhere in the world, not just in
Ask an Expert
Help Offered
Do you own reference books at home and would be happy to do lookups for members? Or are you willing to visit cemeteries, archives, etc. for others? Simply click here and add a record into the “Information Offered” table: we’ll put a note in the next newsletter, and at any time FamNet users can look up this table and make contact with you.
Like “Useful Web Sites”, we believe that a combination newsletter/table approach is needed. The newsletter can give you an instant “aha” and if it happens to coincide with your need it’s perfect, but you also need the table so that you can look up the list later long after you’ve forgotten which newsletter mentioned the subject that you needed help with.
Information Wanted etc.
Remember that you can post photos for identification, and information wanted requests:-
Click here to request help with some information
We’ll post the photos and information requests in the next newsletter, and they’ll remain on display for at least a year.
There were no new photos at the time of sending the newsletter.
Have Your Say – Letters to the Editor
Just click here to send us an email.
In conclusion
A Bit of Light Relief
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