Wordless Wednesday: Can I Use the Evidence as Proof?

It's a beautiful fall morning and my voice has gone still.  While the weather outside is delightful, I am, well, I am wordless.  Am I quiet after spending a day shouting "Happy Constitution Day" yesterday, or am I just plain stuck?

I have to write a paper to try and prove that my beloved ancestor is who I think he is.  All was well in the world until someone tried to use my dearly departed's information as their own.  To be fair, the imposter descendant of my beloved didn't realize that she was only a cousin to my ancestor.  You think she would have noticed that the odds of him serving in the American Revolution in Connecticut while living in New Jersey was a stretch.  However, in this great world of folks just cutting, pasting and claiming on the internet, my ancestor is now torn in his roots.

I know who he was.  I have followed the evidence.  Now I have to prove it as best I can.

To try and accomplish this, I had to learn how to find all evidence from the Revolutionary War time that exists in New Jersey.  That in itself was enlightening.  After spending a few weeks digging through the web, I also sent off to New Jersey for other information which is not currently found online.  Ah, ha.  I am now thoroughly convinced I have my man.  His was the only family name living in that county at the time, and we have successfully been able to follow the lines from there with primary evidence or very sound secondary evidence.  All except for one generation, but that generation is not the one for which I am trying to prove at the moment.

There is a ton of secondary information to be found and now, I have to try and make sense of it all in writing for a genealogist to review.  I have the sources, the websites, the history book pages, the oaths of allegiance for his dad and uncle, payroll information from the state of NJ for the American Revolution, etc.  I just don't have the date of death, although I know where he was living when he died.  I don't have his final resting place, although one source would lead me to believe it could be in the same family location as his older brother who still has a headstone back in that one county where they were the only family name living there.  Why, oh why, didn't he have the wisdom to apply for a pension so I could find the definitive proof?

What I don't have are the words to put it all down in an understandable format.  What I don't have is a thorough understanding of how to write a genealogical proof standard.

Many of the elements found in the GPS are now in my possession.  I performed a reasonably exhaustive search, found the citations, resolved the conflict of evidence and arrived at a soundly reasoned conclusion.  I just can't seem to get it down on paper.  It is still swirling around in my head. 

Perhaps the first step is just what I have done now.  Put my frustrations down on paper- will that be enough to eliminate this wordless Wednesday?  Words.  I need words.

Ahh, genealogy.  How much indirect evidence can I use?  It's clear as mud.

©AS Eldredge 2013

Wordless Wednesday: The Pauper's Secret

Secrets are a part of our lives.  With our ancestors, some secrets certainly include what happened to them.  If our searches of today are successful, evidence can sometimes be found to reveal some of those secrets.

Enjoy the newest addition to our Pittsburgh Past--  the Poor House Articles.  Perhaps a clue to one of your beloved will leave you speechless.

Seven new articles have been uploaded to our Pittsburgh Past, One Page a a Time site.  We have many more waiting in the wings. 

Here is one excerpt from March 1, 1872-
.....The deaths were Hugh McHard, age 60; Mary Dougherty, 68, Cathering Mulholland, 75; Laura Beggs, 5 months; Rachel Johnson, 5 months; Charles Armstrong, 27; Phoebe Franks, 45; Conrad Miller, 40, The causes of death were: apoplexy, 1; old age, 1; whooping cough, 1; consumption, 2; pneumonia, 1; inflammation of the lungs, 1; asthma, 1.....

And another from May 8, 1882-
...Years ago Thomas Mulaney had a happy home, and managed to support his family in a comfortable way. Many pictures in memory of the domestic happiness of those days now cheer the old man in his declining years. Death finally broke up the family circle, taking his wife first and all but two of his children afterward. Then darker days came upon him. Losing his corporal vigor, and the increasing infirmities of old age settling down upon him, he was no longer able to work. One daughter and a son had drifted away to distant points, and he had no knowledge of their whereabouts. At last, when he was on the verge of starvation he was taken charge of by the authorities and sent to the Allegheny Home.
This was about three years since, and he was then about eighty years of age. About a year ago he learned in some manner that his son ....


Check it out.  You'll love finding the secrets of the paupers.

Ahh, genealogy.  The desire to uncover the past keeps on going even as I prepare my heart and home for the holidays. 

©2012 AS Eldredge

Careful Investigation Needed Before Before Posting Family Ties

"Hey, this one looks good. It must be my family. So, I'll add it to the family chart online and life will be so perfect."

So wrong! I was quite surprised when a distant cousin sent an email to me asking if a new family tree posted online belonged to my line. I hadn't seen it, so I went to check it out. Quite shocking. Who are the people they've linked us to? They are not mine.

I took a quick look at the sources noted and quickly noted their assumptions. It was assumed that someone of the same name and similar birth year must have been ours. Not so fast.

One must follow the evidence. Were the obituaries checked? Were the death certs checked? Did they check the wills? The probate records? The land records?

I know they weren't checked because I have copies and what it shows is not what the online family chart is detailing.

Now, there may be researchers who are misled on the real family for years to come. And all because the evidence was not followed properly.

Please don't take a census and make it yours. Please follow the evidence and investigate thoroughly before making a claim. Please don't make the family into a fairy tale.