Thursday, October 28, 2010

Updates… LOTS of Them!!!

Forewarned: Long Post Ahead...

 REBOOT!

In continuing with updating my blog theme, I spent some time today looking at other improvements.  I’ve changed all of my labels to cluster them together into categories by hyphenating them.  I wish there was a way that Blogger would create a hierarchy for them.  Then a reader could go to Surnames and then see all of the names under that.  Instead, I changed them, one-at-a-time no less, to Surname – Name.  I also thought this would help designate these names as such.  For example, my Royal surname could be mistaken for Royal as in imperial or sovereign.  I also did that for Places and eliminated counties and towns, keeping just the state.

Also, because the new theme is wider in the posts section, I went back and enlarged many of the pictures and fonts.  That way, viewers may not have to click on them to see them large enough.

Then I started to go through old posts and see if there were any “dangling” items I said I would bring up in a later post and never addressed.  Or updates to posts.  Here goes…
  1. In 2010 Has Arrived! I mention that I’d like to start a hand-written diary.  Didn’t happen.  Other priorities.  My around-the-house improvements are in full swing!  I am pulling things out of storage, clearing out, cleaning up and de-cluttering continuously and with fervor!  {It helps that hubby and I became empty-nester’s in July… and no one has moved back home yet:-)  I’m plugging away at that cross-stitch and, after attending a Sampler’s Guild meeting by happenstance (you know I believe there are no accidents) I picked up some tips, a better frame, and magnification clip-on glasses, which all help immensely.  I go on to say that writing down my goals for that post helped to put it all in perspective.  My latest ProGen assignment was to write an education plan, in which I included some other goals and unfinished items “to-do list” style.  Once again, I emphasize how that helped me keep my goals on the forefront of my mind and keep them there until they’re addressed.  MAKE A LIST OF YOUR GOALS!!!  In: life in general, related to your research, or anything else!  It really does help.
  2. In My Genealogical Superpower I talked about how I like to help others and teach.  Since then, I have signed up to be a contributor at Find-A-Grave, done look-ups for two people at the GA Archives for friends across the country on GenealogyWise and agreed to repeat my “Internet Tools for Genealogy” at my county society’s upcoming Beginner’s Course 2011 in addition to another one about logging your research and citing sources (details have not been discussed further).
  3. In the Land Records for Female Ancestor? post I talked about how I’m cleaning up records in my Ancestry.com family tree to show actual records instead of text.  I am STILL doing this as I work on any family line.  What a pain!  Can’t we get the Software people to work with Ancestry so that GedCom files can be synchronized instead of merely uploaded or downloaded?  (I think Family Tree Maker does this, but I don’t use that one). Also, I’ve learned a whole lot more about researching land records since then and it makes me smile at my naiveté’ back then! ;-) 
  4. I have not worked on my pockets mentioned in Threads of Time.  I put that away to focus on my unfinished cross-stitch project mentioned above.  However, I did make a unembroidered pair of pockets for their practical use out of plain linen and an 18th century women’s wool cloak with the hood lined in silk.  I finished a new polonaise style dress and coordinating petticoat.
  5. More of Tee's Crewel: I have continued to work on cleaning out my storage room and found yet another of Tee’s pieces of crewel work!  But you’ll have to wait to see that in another post!  I still need to hang it and take a photo.
  6. Keeping up with my goals, see Progress for Goals in 2010, I am still archiving photos and VHS tapes at home – a long-term project.  I’ve pulled another of my grandfather’s trophy’s from a yacht race and polished it (silver), I’ve printed a couple of retouched photos to frame, and decided I don’t like all the clocks together on one wall and plan to move them around the house into places where I’d like them better and separate from each other.
  7. Organizing Photos: Manage Folders on Your Computer: I finished making a new folder structure.  However, I have many subfolders in my Dump_From_Camera folder that need to be named, tagged, edited and moved.  Will it ever end?
  8. From FGS Conference 2010: Recovering Back Home: I still have not gone through my FGS materials.  They are on my desk in one of  my To-Do project pockets.  Oh, and those same friends that “hate me for winning all the time” were at our genealogy meeting the other night when our speaker announced that she had 2 door prizes.  Her lecture was on the Georgia Land Lotteries.  She asked us to identify the date of a particular year’s land lottery when they started issuing grants (referring to her handout). I was the first to see the dates from July 22 to August something. Then the speaker clarified asking “what was the starting date?”  “July 22nd”, someone else answered.  We all thought the person with the answer would be the winner when she said,  “Who has a birthday around July 22nd”?  My hand went up… “July 28th”.  Followed by someone else.  Speaker asks “is is less than 6 days from the date”?  “Nope”.  I felt daggers in my back from my friends eyes and glanced over my shoulder to see them looking at me with “that look” and big smirks on their faces!  They told me later that they “were going to make me buy the chicken wings at dinner because of this”!  Geez, I can’t help when I was born!!!… and, oh, by the way, we all thought it was the first to answer who got the prize, not a birthday thing!  Maybe I just should keep my mouth shut!  HAHA!  But I won a CD entitled “Georgia Colonial and Headright Plat Index, 1735-1866” by Mary H. Abbe published by the R.J. Taylor, Jr. Foundation and Georgia Archives in 2005.  I can use this for my McVicker/Royal/Brown ancestors of Henry and Dooly Counties, Georgia!  How exciting!!! 
(They love to tease me, but they still love me too).


Copyright © 2010 Joanne Schleier
Photo credit: called REBOOT! by  http://www.flickr.com/photos/mark-magnusson/.

Wednesday, October 20, 2010

Will of Young Royal: July 12, 1818 Sampson Co., NC

Source:
Sampson County, North Carolina, Probate Records
Wills, 1778-1953 Rachels-Ryall
Young Royal, 1894 (3 pages)
State Library & Archives of North Carolina, Raleigh 


Photo taken with permission
Digital photo of original: Copyright 2009 Joanne Schleier


As Transcribed by Joanne Schleier:

[Page 1]
Young Royal, 1894 Will Page 1 of 3
In the Name of God Amen 


I Young Royal of Sampson County & State of North Carolina being of perfect mind and memory (blessed be God) and Calling to mind the mortality of man knowing that ' Tis allotted for all men Once to die do make this my last Will and Testament; But first of all I Recommend my Soul into the hands of Almighty God who gave it to me and my Body to be decently Buried at the discretion of my Executors but Touching of Such Worldly Estate as it has pleased God to bestow me I give and bequeath in the following manner and form (to wit) 

First I Give and bequeath unto my Beloved Son Rezin [Reason] Royal the land that I Bought of John Major Known by the name of the Phillips place and all the property which I have Given him heretofore. 

Secondly I Give and bequeath unto my beloved Daughter Sally Butler wife of Travis Butler one Negro Girl named Lynder [Linda] and the property which I have here to for given her. 

Thirdly I Give and bequeath unto my beloved Daughter Sabra Brown wife of Robert Brown One Negro Girl Named Hannah and the property which I have here to for given her. 

Fourthly I Give and bequeath unto my beloved Son William Royal One Negro Boy Named Harry Also One Bed and Furniture. 

[Page 2]
Young Royal, 1894 Will Page 2 of 3
Fifthly I Give and bequeath unto my beloved Wilson Royal One Negro Boy Named Jorden [Jordan] also one bed & furniture; and if Either William or Wilson Royal should die and never return to receive said property that the one who Shall Return to have both their parts; and if it Should so happen that Neither of them Returns the property that I have left to them to be Equally divided amongst the rest of my Children. 


Sixthly I bequeath and Give unto my beloved Daughter Betsey [Betsy] Westbrook One Negro Girl named Clarrender [Clarinda] also the property which I have heretofore Given her. 

Seventhly I Give and bequeath unto my beloved Daughter Polly Royal wife of Hardy Royal One Negro Girl named Hazel also the property which I have heretofore Given her. 

Eighthly I Give and bequeath unto my beloved Daughter Mary Butler wife of Robert Butler One Negro Girl named Phillis [Phyllis] also the property which I have heretofore Given her. 

Ninthly I Give and bequeath unto my Beloved Daughter Rebekah [Rebecca] Royal Two Negro Girls by the names of Ciller [Cilla, possibly short for Priscilla] & Cherry one bed and Furniture. 

Tenthly I Give and bequeath unto my beloved Raiford Royal All the Lands That I Now Possess Except the piece that I bequeath to my Rezin [Reason] Royal to belong to the said Raiford after 

[Page 3]

Young Royal, 1894 Will Page 3 of 3
his mother death also I Give and bequeath unto my beloved son Raiford Royal Two Negro boys by the Names of Simmon [Simon] and Jonas also one bed and Furniture and all the Plantation Tools of Every Description Except the Blacksmith the Tools. 


Also I Give and bequeath my beloved Wife Edith Royal the Remainder of my property which I have not mentioned or Given to my Children after paying my Just Debts During her natural life time and after her death to be Equally Divided among my Children heretofore mentioned. 

P.S. William and Wilson Royal are to Receive their part of my property when Called for by them which I have above stated. 

I hereby make and appoint my son Rezin [Reason] Royal and my son in law Travis Butler Executors to This My Last Will and Testament this annulling all other Wills or bequeaths by me hereuntofore made this 12th Day of July One Thousand Eight Hundred and Eighteen. 

Signed Sealed and Acknowledged before
"H." Royal and Robert (his "x" mark) Butler
Young (his "x" mark) Royal

[End] 



Copyright © 2010 Joanne Schleier

Friday, October 15, 2010

Time for Changes

The season is changing. It feels like fall.  The weather is cooling, the wind is picking up.  It looks like fall.  Leaves are changing colors or falling from their branches.  Mums, pansies and other fall flowers are in bloom.
 
I feel like changing too.  My blog design that is.  You may have noticed the small changes I’ve already made.  I’ve added my personalized signature to each post and removed the generic “Posted by: Joanne”.  I wanted a wider area for the posts to allow BIGGER photos!  The sidebar is smaller and I’m thinking about adding some pages instead of some of the information in the sidebar.  I’ll leave that just for the archives, labels, subscribe, etc…, you know, that standard stuff.

I’ve become an affiliate for Paper Tiger software.  I got mine in July 2007 and LURRRRVE IT!  I has saved me so much time and effort and I just had to find a way to tell people about this amazing product.  I purchased it for use with my custom window treatment business way before genealogy was even on my radar.  Back then they only had the desktop version and becoming an affiliate cost major bucks and lots of training.  Now, you can be an affiliate for for free and they have an online version now too.  Where do I sign up!?!?  So, at the bottom of the page you’ll see a new banner.  I’m going to talk more about Paper Tiger in later posts.  If  you do genealogy, I can’t imagine a better system to keep your papers, materials, books and other junk stuff organized.

When I decided to change the column width, I had no choice but to change my header.  I “don’t do HTML” and have no desire to waste my time learning it!  So, out with the old and in with the new!  I really liked the simplified look of my other blog so, I just copied all the settings!  The only problem I have is the background color of the header on the other is a solid mustard color and I don’t remember can’t figure out how to change that.  Maybe you can help?  I literally opened the other blogs design options and copied and pasted the settings into this one.  But that darn mustard didn’t want to come over!

I think it’d be neat to have a page of the surnames I’m searching and perhaps a better “about me” page. 

For now, this is OK.  I just wanted to let you know it IS the same blog & author, just a new look!


Copyright © 2010 Joanne Schleier

Tuesday, October 12, 2010

Insomnia Does an Archivist Good!

OK so first, I do not recommend this to all of you genealogists working on your archiving projects (little disclaimer there), but I can’t tell you how happy I am that I was able to plow through a ton of negatives last night this morning!  

{Doing happy dance… oh yeah}!

Every once in a while I get these bouts of insomnia.  For me, that means that I can’t sleep and don’t feel tired until sometime way after midnight.  Going to bed would just mean tossing and turning, so I stay up and do something relaxing until I feel sleepy (while my husband is catching up on some major zzz’s and REM sleep including the occasional snore… {jealous}).  I don’t think that this happens often enough to interfere with my daily life and I don’t like allopathic doctors or medications.  So, I just deal with it take advantage of it when it happens.  My mom and grandmother were night owls too.  We get our creative bursts of energy after the sun goes down.  “No I’m not a witch, I am you.”  (Sorry, I just had to).
Well, last night I went to bed at 3:30am!  I tossed and turned until 4:00am which was the last time I looked at the clock.  WHAT!?!?  WOW, that was HIGHLY unusual.  The thought occurred to me that I might not sleep at all!  Which would be fine with me until it catches up with me later!

Fortunately, I have several projects in the works and the one I chose to work on allowed me to sit on the couch with the TV on.  I had already compiled all of my negatives, sorting them by type, 35mm, 110 and disc camera films.  My focus was on the 110 size negatives stashed in an old can opener box.  (For Shame!)  WELL!!!  At least I saved them all!  The biggest mistake I made was separating them from the prints in the first place and not noting the date, subject, location or anything! ~I can’t tell you how much I’m learning!

I set up my little area, brought in the films and supplies and got to work.  I went through each image on each film and found the corresponding print which wasn’t to hard ‘cuz I already” sorted” in the previous phase of the project.  On the back of the each print in the corner I wrote (using my archival safe pen) “110” for the type of negative and then “N#”, “N” for “negative” and the number on the strip that correlates to the image. 

To see the itty-bitty image, I used both my floor lamp and desktop Ott-Lites.  I wore some reading glasses (I don’t wear  prescription glasses) and added some clip on Magna-Clips magnifiers in a +3.00 for when I couldn’t see anything without them.  I love these things for my hand sewing because they flip up and down.  Figured they’d work for this too – BOY HOWDY – they sure helped a lot! 

Some of the prints were collected already by subject in folders and I made a spreadsheet to help me locate each set.  I better save how I set that up for another post.  Just know that this is NOT  the initial stage of my project, or the last.  Still other prints were in an album – not chronological, but all mixed together (what was I thinking?).  And best of all (just because I like sarcasm) they were in one of those albums with the sticky glue behind the images – I think they call it a magnetic album.  YIKES!  I only have one of that kind of album and now it’s half empty {grin}.  Mostly “Germany” and “Spain” are out of it.  

I put each set of negatives in it’s own archival sheet protector, temporarily, with the prints I could find and a note with how many prints on the strip, the size of the prints (this helps to find missing ones because I can look at the size of the  prints) and subject or anything that might suggest a possible match for one missing like “Kera (my daughter) wearing yellow sunglasses”.  

I put all the sheet protectors in a 3” binder, temporarily again, and labeled the binder “WIP Germany” for “Work in Progress”.  That sets it apart from sets where all the prints are found and ready to put into archival page protectors for the particular print size.  Which is the next phase…

For now, all the 110 negatives are accounted for!  Thanks to a sleepless night (I think?)!!!  Now the negatives for the disc film is going to be worse because they’re even smaller!  Fortunately, their aren’t a whole lot of those – because those cameras were crap, cheap, worthless poor quality.  But good, I guess, if you’re in the sandy desert fighting in a war…

I hope I’ve given you some help if you’re struggling with what to do with all of your images and negatives.  I’m no expert, but I have learned a lot and want to do the best I can to have it all make sense to the poor soul lucky person who inherits all my neatly organized, indexed and labeled photos!   

NOW GO TO BED!  {Just kidding}.

*I have no affiliation and I am not being compensated for or by any of the products or companies I’ve linked to.  I just wanted to answer the questions before they were asked.

Saturday, October 9, 2010

Brown Family: Henry County, GA Deeds

Here are some extracts of deeds pertaining to the Brown family in Henry County, Georgia. I first found them indexed in a book and later got copies of the originals from the Georgia Archives. There were more entries within this book (see bibliography at the end of the post), but these are the ones I had time to make note of during a trip to The Brown House in Henry County.

Also of note, in one of them, the justice of the peace is my fourth great-grandfather Duncan McVicker - signed "D. McVicker, J.P." His eldest son, John McVicker, married Mary Brown, thereby linking the two families. 

Unfortunately, the hard copies I printed from microfilm are so bad that I won't bother scanning them to post here. Perhaps I'll be able to get a digital copy with my thumb drive next visit to the state archives.
These records proved, among other things, that John McVicker's wife's father's name was Robert Brown and that Robert Brown had once lived in Dooly County, Georgia.

From Deed Book H., page 575 & 576:
Mar. 31, 1838
Francis Adams sold to Sabry Brown both of said County on Mar 31, 1838 for the sum of $400 Lot #186 in Dist. 2, 202.5 acres.
Wit. Wm. Kimball
Wm. Adair

Rec.d October 4, 1838

From Deed Book J., page 189:
Dec. 20, 1838
Jordin R. Richardson sold to Balus Brown, both of said county, for the sum of $300, 101 & 1/4 acres of land lying in Lot #199, Dist. 2.
Wit. Wm. Kimbell
Geo. W. Thurston

Rec. Dec. 14, 1839

From Deed Book J. , page 189:
Feb. 3, 1839
Geo. W. Thurston to Baylous Brown, both of said county, for the sum of $160, 101 & 1/4 acres of land lying in the east half of Lot #199, Dist. 2.
Wit. T. Dixon
D. McVicker, J.P.

Rec. Dec. 13, 1839
PROB_Brown_0910D003_edited-1

From Deed Book J., page 166:
Sept. 13, 1839
Jasper M. Sansom sold to Balis Brown, both of said county, for the sum of $775, 101 & 1/4 acres, being of south half of Lot #247 in Dist. 2.
Wit: Lewis Tyrus
Abel Lemon J.J.C .

Rec'd. - Sept. 30, 1839

From Deed Book J., page 346:
Oct. 3, 1839
Bales Brown sold to Jasper M. Sansone, both of said county, for the sum of $775, 101 & 1/4 acres of land described as the south half of Lot #247, Dist. 2.
Wit. John P. Puckelow J.P.
John Kimbell
Timothy T. Parham

Rec. Oct. 2, 1840
PROB_Brown_0910D002_edited-1

From Deed Book J., page 576 :
Feb. 19, 1842
Baylous Brown to Sabra Brown, both of said county, promissory note in the sum of $100, Lot #199, Dist. 2.
[Signed] Baylous Brown
Wit. Archibald Brown
Wm C. Ferrell

Rec. May 29, 1842
PROB_Brown_0910D001_edited-1

From Deed Book M., page 407:
Jan. 25, 1843
Rec'd of Sabra Brown $198 in full in right of my wife for the balance of her legacy as her part from her deceased father Robert Brown.
[Signed] John McVicker
[Wit.: none]
Rec. May 17, 1851

From Deed Book M., page 407:
Feb. 17, 1844
Rec'd of Sabra Brown, administrator of the estate of Robert Brown, late of Duly [Dooly] County, Georgia, in full payment of my said estate.
[Signed] Archibald Brown
[Wit.: none]
Rec. May 17, 1851

From Deed Book M., page 407:
Jan. 29, 1846
Rec'd of Sabra Brown, administrator of the estate of Robert Brown, Dec'd, and Guardian of my wife, Atha Brown, $85.50 in full payment and right of my said wife as her part of the estate of her father, Robert Brown.
[Signed] Robert Sandifer
[Wit.: none]
Rec'd - May 17, 1851

Bibliography:
Turner, Freda R., editor. Henry County, GA., Land Records, 1824-1838, Deed Books C/D, F, G, H. 2 Volumes. McDonough, Georgia: Genealogical Society of Henry and Clayton Counties, Inc., 1993.

Monday, October 4, 2010

Painting Goes Back to Artists Family

Exhilaration!!! That's an understatement of what I'm feeling right now! 

One of the long-term projects that I'm working on right now is to deal with all the the antiques my mother had in her home when she died in 1991 and her mother's belongings from when she died in 1994. I know many of you archivists will squirm a when I say they have been stored in cardboard boxes in my basement ever since. EEK!
 

I have already dealt with the furniture and most things which are sentimental to me or to my brother. What remains are the things I don't know what to do with which they had in their homes.
One of the items is a small painting, oil on canvas. The canvas is about 5 x 7 and it's in a gilded frame.

2010 Oct 04_0761

I don't know whether this was my mothers or grandmothers, though it looks more like my grandmother's style. I don’t know where it came from, though we were probably living in New England at the time they acquired it. I personally think it's charming, but between their stuff and mine, I really need to purge as much as I can! If it's of value I sell it. If it's not I donate it.
But this one was special because of this (click on it to see it larger):

2010 Oct 04_0760

The artist's signature included her maiden name and married name. Viola Files Dube’. So I did a search on Ancestry.com and only found one tree with her complete name. I contacted the owner who said the artist is his great grandfather's brother's wife. And that his mother would be thrilled to have it because "Uncle Herman" was her favorite uncle. 

So, it's boxed and ready to ship. THISisFUN!!! And I will be smiling all the way to the post office knowing that it was returned to the original family.