Wordless Wednesday: Wall Street in 1784

This illustration is from the 1908 book authored by Frederick Trevor Hill on the early history of Wall St. The tavern in the picture is that of my 5g grandfather, John Simmons, and is the site of the 1784 inauguration of the first American Mayor of New York, James Duane.

A previous illustration was posted of the tavern as it appeared about 1825 in a New York Tourist Guide.

A special thanks goes to my cousin who found this, and who noted---
"See the pigs feeding on Wall Street. Not much has changed in 225 years!"

Genealogy. Ain't it grand!

Tis the Season for Tombstone Searching

Graveyards just aren't creepy. In my world, tombstone searching is fun. I relish the thought of finding new family information to add to my vast collection of "blood tales." Sometimes, just seeing who is buried in the family plot can lead to new discoveries and new found cousins. For example. seeing who was buried with my grandparents in Southside Cemetery in Pittsburgh led me to discover more about my grandmother's family. You can read more about this genealogy tidit on AustinM. Brendel in an earlier post.

I spend a lot of time researching the good people of early Allegheny Co, PA. This site has a great contributed cemetery database and is always free to use. And before you ask-- yes, I have contributed to this database. Check it out if you have a need to dig in Pittsburgh.

Right now, for the next couple of days, you can also search the tombstone and cemetery collection at ancestry at no charge. Here are just a couple of their wonderfully creepy databases that I enjoy.

Abstract of Graves of Revolutionary Patriots
Cross Creek, Pennsylvania Cemetery History
Dutchess County, New York cemeteries
Gravestone inscriptions of Trinity Cemetery, New York City, New York

To begin searching on ancestry, go to this link: http://landing.ancestry.com/halloween/?sssdmh=dm13.222621&o_iid=41074&o_lid=41074&cj=1&o_xid=0000930738&o_lid=0000930738

Creepy tombstones? Nope, they are just hauntingly familiar.

Have You Asked Congress to Preserve Our American History Yet?

Time is slipping past quickly. Have you contacted your Congressman to ask if he supports HR2256, the Preserving the American Historical Record Act? The PAHR will help Americans archive our precious records through grants to each state.

With all the recent weather events, it stands to reason we are losing our historical records. Too frightening to mourn them, we should all be asking Congress to move forward with the bill so American History is maintained for future generations.

Have you noticed how libraries and archives have reduced their hours for genealogy buffs? Let's work together and save our history!

Read the bill: http://www.archivists.org/pahr/PAHR_bill_HR2256-05052009.pdf

Check to see if your Congressman has signed on to support the bill: http://www.archivists.org/pahr/#spons

Treasure Chest Thursday: Digging in the Graveyard

It's a cold blustery October day in Pittsburgh. An unexpected early snow flake or two can be seen in the air as everyone's bones are not quite used to the rapidly dropping temperatures. A small old graveyard is across the street from the church that is getting ready for a big celebration. For it is this year the church celebrates its 200th anniversary of its founding. Inside, the members are getting ready for the dinner which will honor the Founding Families as well as other people who have contributed to the church over the years.

Strangers appear in the door where preparations are being made for the festivities. The strangers, who are covered from head to toe in winter gear, ask for a shovel. A shovel? Absolutely. The strangers have some digging to do in the cemetery and time is of the essence for death is on the way.

Does this sound a little strange? Well, this is no story as it really happened back in 2004 at the Mt Lebanon United Presbyterian Church in Allegheny Co, PA.

The minister was perplexed when he heard that someone had come in looking for a shovel to dig in the cemetery. He looked across the road and saw people digging in the graveyard and he just knew who the strangers were, and he wasn't about to stop them.

Members of my family had traveled to Pittsburgh for one of our parties we hold from time to time in the St. Clair Cemetery, which was part of Associate Reformed Congregation of Saw Mill Run. The church was founded in 1804 by a number of men, including two of my 4g grandfathers. The cemetery's first known burial was in 1806 (my 4g-grandmother). Over the years, my family has laid many to rest in the St. Clair Cemetery. Stories from different sources indicate we are buried in layers. One of these sources was my great aunt who paid for the family plot upkeep for many years. While they rest peacefully, I do not.

I am on a mission. I have to know more about them as I am related to over half the cemetery occupants. Over the years, I have been able to assist the Historical Society of Mt Lebanon in providing information on many of the families, participating in resetting tombstones and honoring the contributions these early settlers gave to Pittburgh. Descendants have gathered to celebrate genealogy and our blood. The last reunion we had there in 2005 had descendants from nine states come to honor our roots.

Oh, and who were the strangers? They were my spouse and me. Why the shovel? The caretaker of the cemetery had called me to say he was cleaning up and getting rid of the overwhelming number of daylilly plants on my family plots. When I gasped, he said he would keep some of them and that he would not kill the plants until I got there.

I got there, grabbed the shovel, and dug up plenty of those wonderful daylilly plants. Now these plants grace the yards of several of my cousins-- from Pennsylvania to Florida to Montana.

My treasure is the memory of those wonderful days in the cemetery with my cousins as we celebrated our heritage. All I have to do to remember is to look out my door each day to see the evidence --- in those daylilly plants.

Madness Monday: Got My Blood?

As it's close to Halloween and with all the popular vampire books, I just couldn't resist using today's title, Got My Blood.

Someone has been reading about my finds as I dig deeper in to the history of my family. Someone also has a love of genealogy. Someone has my blood, and just like a vampire's bite, I have to have more!

A man who shares my blood has found me through this blog. How much fun! What makes it exciting for me is this man and I share my 4g grandfather, John SIMMONS (1761-1843.) His brief comments last night gave me pause. Pause because I have yet to find any of his descendants from another one of his many children. Well, living.

John was married three times. I come from a son, Samuel, of his first marriage to Mary. His first wife died rather early on and John remarried and had several children with Lucinda. She appears to have died about 1823 or so, and John quickly married wife number 3. Wife number 3, Margaret HARBISON, was a young widow compared to him as she was about 30 years his junior. Yep, he had children older than her. But that's ok. They appear to have made a good life together until his death in 1843.

My new found cousin mentioned he had information on the eight children of John and Margaret. Eight children? Hmm. That's new.

To my knowledge, good ole John sure did like having children as I know he had:

Four with wife number 1 (one died as an infant)
Six with wife number 2 (she had a couple from her first marriage as well)
Four with wife number 3 (she had a couple from her first marriage as well)

Did John and Margaret have other children of which I am unaware? Did they die young as well and that is why the census and her will do not mention them?

Which son of John and Margaret does this new blood cousin descend from? Is it Ben or Gus? I suspect it is not Daniel as I don't think he had a son.

I hope he can solve some mysteries for me. Just like a vampire, I was up all night waiting to share this blood with my cousin.

I hope we'll be up all night together as we devour our shared blood.

Drying Out Those Precious Family Memories After the Flood

With all the recent rain and flooding, now is a great time to review tips on how to try and recover all those photographs, documents and other family treasures for genealogy.

Do you know how to clean pictures? Do you know if you can put them in water or not?

Here's a great tip page from the state of Georgia: http://www.sos.ga.gov/archives/how_may_we_help_you/emergency_advice/emergency_response_wet_damaged_objects.htm

Sometimes Letting the Fingers do the Walking Works Wonders

No web site? How can that be? In this age and time, how can a small town historical society not be online? It seems, well, it seems so quaint.

I've been digging around in Sweden with the help of some online friends to try and find more documentation from the 1874-1877 time frame in Stockholm. We've made some progress and I hope more is to follow.

In the meantime, I took the time to go back and look at what I really have in the way of documentation from the state of South Carolina. There's work to be done.

After letting my fingers do the typing, the search in the probate court of Charleston left me with no more information than I had. Early family lore says my great grandparents were married there. If so, Charleston doesn't know it.

I checked the 1880 census in the place they moved and found them there. Of course, Orangeburg County searches had me pulling out my hair in vain. You just can't do a lot of online research there.

I found the birthdate of the couple's oldest child which is in 1880. So, logic tells me the marriage had to happen sometime between September 1879, which is when she got off the boat in New York, and the birth of the child. Logic says it, but there's no proof.

Time to let my fingers do the walking. I called the church at which the family were members in the 1880s. A very sweet older lady answered the phone. We chatted and then she asked for the surname. When I told her, I found out that my great uncle had worked for her brother in law and that her husband is kin to the wife of this same great uncle. Coincidence?

She didn't know of any records as she is only a sometimes volunteer, but I hope she found the common names of our blood lines sufficient that she will dig some in the past.

I also asked her about the local historical society and she tells me they just aren't real active. How can that be? Oh, I shudder at the thought.

Then, she pops up and tells me that my great uncle and his wife were very active members of the historical society. Perhaps there is more information to be found there!

The historical society is only open for a few hours a week and, of course, they are not open today.

So, while I haven't really found any evidence for my genealogy bug, perhaps, letting my fingers do the walking today will unearth a new treasure.

Tip of the day. Be sure to contact those old small churches. Their older members may dredge up some memories of some of your kin. Just another reason to smile as their memories get added to my memory bank.