San Francisco Bay Area Genealogy Calendar – April 2008

Posted on April 1, 2008 by Steve

Copyright © 2008 by Stephen J. Danko

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More from the Spring Seminar of the SMCGS

Posted on March 31, 2008 by Steve

The Spring Seminar of the San Mateo County Genealogical Society was held on Saturday, March 29, 2008. Approximately 100 people were in attendance.

The theme of the seminar was “Your Immigrant Ancestors By Land and Sea”. The program included two plenary sessions in the morning and six lectures in two tracks in the afternoon.

The second presentation of the day was “Before You Cross the Pond – How to Find Your Ancestor’s Place of Origin” presented by Christine M. Green.

Chris discussed several sources of information a researcher can use to discover the place of origin of one’s ancestors. These sources include:

  • Learn as much as possible about the ancestor in US records
  • Talk to family, including distant cousins
  • Research census records, especially US Federal Census records after 1850
  • Look to see if a national index to civil registrations or vital records exist in the country of origin, such as FreeBMD or FindMyPast for England, Scotland’s People for Scotland, Genlias for the Netherlands, and the national index for Ireland (not yet online)
  • Investigate church records in the US
  • Research obituaries for clues to immigrant origins
  • Check out military records such as civil war records, World War I draft registrations, and World War II draft registrations
  • Look into immigration records, including naturalization records, passenger arrival lists, and passenger departure lists
  • Search for land records, including homestead records
  • Try researching the extended family, especially if a sibling of the immigrant ancestor also immigrated
  • Where possible, map the surname using surname atlases available on CD or online
  • If the immigrant ancestor was from the UK, check out the UK wills for US residents who still had property in the UK at http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/documentsonline/

Copyright © 2008 by Stephen J. Danko

 

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From the Spring Seminar of the SMCGS

Posted on March 30, 2008 by Steve

The Spring Seminar of the San Mateo County Genealogical Society was held on Saturday, March 29, 2008. Approximately 100 people were in attendance.

The theme of the seminar was “Your Immigrant Ancestors By Land and Sea”. The program included two plenary sessions in the morning and six lectures in two tracks in the afternoon.

The first lecture of the day was “One Step Webpages – A Potpourri of Genealogical Tools” by featured speaker Stephen P. Morse, Ph.D.

Steve Morse’s One-Step website began as a finding aid for the Ellis Island database. It has grown over the years to include more than 100 tools grouped into 14 categories:

  1. Ellis Island Search Forms and Ship Arrival
  2. Castle Garden years (1855-1891) plus other New York Arrivals
  3. Other Ports of Immigration
  4. US Census and Soundex (1790-1940)
  5. Canadian and British Census
  6. New York Census
  7. Births, Deaths, and other Vital Records
  8. Calendar, Sunrise/Sunset, Maps
  9. Dealing with Characters in Foreign Alphabets
  10. Holocaust and Eastern Europe
  11. Genetic Genealogy (DNA)
  12. Creating your own Search Applications
  13. Publications, Awards, and Interviews
  14. Miscellaneous

I have used Steve’s web tools in the past, mostly for finding Ellis Island passenger lists and for finding enumeration districts in the US Federal Census. I have to admit that I was largely ignorant of many of the other tools on his site.

In his seminar, Steve reviewed many of the One-Step web tools using real-life examples. Perhaps I should say that Steve used larger-than-life examples, because he showed how to use the One-Step tools to find Albert Einstein, Fiorello LaGuardia, and Nikola Tesla in the New York passenger lists and to find Franklin Roosevelt, Alfred E. Smith, John D. Rockefeller, John D. Rockefeller Jr, and Nelson Rockefeller in the US Federal Census.

But that was just the beginning.

Steve showed us how to find changed street names in US cities, how to use a soundex converter that provides both American Soundex and Daitch-Motokoff Soundex codes, how to find Canadian and British census records, New York census records, birthdays, and information in the Social Security Death Index (including information on when and where the Social Security Number was issued).

Other tools include a zip code map, a tool to find the latitude and longitude of places, and area codes. There are also tools to transliterate names between English and Hebrew and between English and Russian.

Steve concluded by discussing several other tools, including one that enables users to create their own search applications.

Tomorrow: More from the seminar.

Copyright © 2008 by Stephen J. Danko

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Spring Seminar of the San Mateo County Genealogical Society

Posted on March 29, 2008 by Steve

Today, I’ll be speaking at the San Mateo County Genealogical Society, presenting seminars on Eastern European Genealogy and A New Look at Immigrant Passenger Manifests. The complete program is available at the SMCGS website.

For now, enjoy some photos of Bridal-Wreath Spirea I took at Filoli last week.

Spirea prunifolia - Bridal-Wreath Spirea at Filoli

Spirea prunifolia (Bridal-Wreath Spirea)

SOURCE: Spirea prunifolia (Bridal-Wreath Spirea) (Woodside, San Mateo County, California). Photgraphed by Stephen J. Danko 19 Mar 2008.

Detail of Spirea prunifolia - Bridal-Wreath Spirea) at Filoli

Detail of Spirea prunifolia (Bridal-Wreath Spirea)

SOURCE: Detail of Spirea prunifolia (Bridal-Wreath Spirea) (Woodside, San Mateo County, California). Photgraphed by Stephen J. Danko 19 Mar 2008.

Copyright © 2008 by Stephen J. Danko

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The Birth and Baptism of Marie LeBlanc – 1732

Posted on March 28, 2008 by Steve

On 25 Mar 1732, Marie LeBlanc, daughter of Pierre LeBlanc and Franí§oise Landry, was born. She was baptized in the parish of St. Charles de la Grand Pré de Mines de L’Acadie on 05 Apr 1732.

The Birth and Baptismal Record of Marie LeBlanc - 1732

The Birth and Baptismal Record of Marie Leblanc – 1732

SOURCE: Gabriel Drouin, comp. Drouin Collection. Montréal, Québec, Canada: Institut Généalogique Drouin. Parish of St. Charles de la Grand Pré de Mines de L’Acadie, Acadia, 1732. Birth and Baptismal Record of Marie LeBlanc, page 293.

Click on the image above to enlarge it. Click on the link for a PDF copy of the Birth and Baptismal Record of Marie LeBlanc. Translated from the French the record reads:

Marie Leblanc

In the year 1732 and the 5th of April, the
ceremonies of baptism have been supplied
to Marie, born on the 25th of March of the
same year, daughter of the undersigned
Pierre LeBlanc and his wife Franí§oise
Landry. The Godfather
was Germain Terriot and the
Godmother was Anne LeBlanc who have
all declared that they are unable to sign
Pierre Leblanc
     C. delafondalie p.g.v.

This record can be found as image 298/317 in the Acadia French Catholic Church Records (Drouin Collection), 1670-1946 on Ancestry.com in the records for St-Charles-les-Mines Baptíªmes 1707-1733. The record appears on page 293.

Copyright © 2008 by Stephen J. Danko

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The Birth and Baptism of Franí§oise LeBlanc – 1727

Posted on March 27, 2008 by Steve

On 27 Jul 1727, Franí§oise LeBlanc, daughter of Pierre LeBlanc and Franí§oise Landry, was born. She was baptized in the parish of St. Charles de la Grand Pré de Mines de L’Acadie on 09 Sep 1727.

The Birth and Baptismal Record of Francoise LeBlanc - 1727

The Birth and Baptismal Record of Franí§oise Leblanc – 1727

SOURCE: Gabriel Drouin, comp. Drouin Collection. Montréal, Québec, Canada: Institut Généalogique Drouin. Parish of St. Charles de la Grand Pré de Mines de L’Acadie, Acadia, 1727. Birth and Baptismal Record of Franí§oise LeBlanc, page 228.

Click on the image above to enlarge it. Click on the link for a PDF copy of the Birth and Baptismal Record of Franí§oise LeBlanc. Translated from the French the record reads:

Franí§oise Leblanc

On the 9th of September in the year
1727, I the undersigned have administered
the ceremonies of baptism to
Franí§oise, born on the 27th of July of
the present year, daughter of Pierre
LeBlanc and Francoise Landry.
The Godfather was Franí§ois Landry.
The Godmother was Anne Terriot, wife
of René Landry. The Godfather has
signed. The Godmother has declared
that she does not know how to sign
in accordance with law.
Franí§ois Landry
   Ant. Faulin, prn

This record can be found as image 232/317 in the Acadia French Catholic Church Records (Drouin Collection), 1670-1946 on Ancestry.com in the records for St-Charles-les-Mines Baptíªmes 1707-1733. The record appears on page 228.

Copyright © 2008 by Stephen J. Danko

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The Birth and Baptism of Agní¨s LeBlanc – 1712

Posted on March 26, 2008 by Steve

On 15 Mar 1712, Agní¨s LeBlanc, daughter of Pierre LeBlanc and Franí§oise Landry, was born and baptized.

The Birth and Baptismal Record of Agnes LeBlanc - 1712

The Birth and Baptismal Record of Agní¨s LeBlanc – 1712

SOURCE: Gabriel Drouin, comp. Drouin Collection. Montréal, Québec, Canada: Institut Généalogique Drouin. Parish of St. Charles de la Grand Pré de Mines de L’Acadie, Acadia, 1712. Birth and Baptismal Record of Agní¨s LeBlanc, pages 57-58.

Click on the image above to enlarge it. Click on the link for a PDF copy of the Birth and Baptismal Record of Agní¨s LeBlanc. Translated from the French the record reads:

Agní¨s Leblanc

Agní¨s LeBlanc, legitimate daughter
of Pierre LeBlanc and Franí§oise
Landry, was born and baptized on the 15th
of March 1712 in the parish church
of St. Charles des Mines, by
me the undersigned. The Godfather was
Jean LeBlanc. The Godmother was Catherine
Joseph Tibeaudo. The Godfather has signed
with me. The Godmother has declared
that she does not know how to write. In
witness thereof I have signed.
   Br[other] Bonaventure Massne
     [Rec. Miss. ind.?]
Jean LeBlanc

This record can be found as image 58/317 and image 59/317 in the Acadia French Catholic Church Records (Drouin Collection), 1670-1946 on Ancestry.com in the records for St-Charles-les-Mines Baptíªmes 1707-1733. The record appears on pages 57-58.

Copyright © 2008 by Stephen J. Danko

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Rummaging in Attics: A Huguenot Family Retells French History

Posted on March 25, 2008 by Steve

On April 10, 2008 from 6:00 p.m. – 8:30 p.m, Carolyn Lougee Chappell will present a lecture entitled Rummaging in Attics: A Huguenot Family Retells French History at the Stanford Humanities Center, 424 Santa Teresa Street, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305-4015.

The lecture is part of the Stanford Humanities Center’s Conversations series.

The evening will begin with Professor Chappell’s lecture, in which she will discuss her experiences searching for and using the private family papers of a Huguenot family in France and exploring the professional and ethical issues that arise when scholars use private family papers as historical documents.

The program will continue with discussion during dinner, and will conclude with a question and answer session with Professor Chappell during dessert.

The talk and discussion will be of interest to anyone interested in genealogy.

The Conversation events are fairly intimate and typically range from about 40 to 64 people. Due to the restricted seating, attendees should reserve a space in advance. The ticket price is $50 per person and includes dinner.

Those interested in attending should contact Zoí« Bower at 650-724-8155 or zbower@stanford.edu.

Carolyn Lougee Chappell is Professor of Early Modern European History, Frances and Charles Field Professor in History, and Martin Family University Fellow in Undergraduate Education.

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A Quick Peek at My DNA

Posted on March 24, 2008 by Steve

A while ago, I wrote about how I thought a Y-DNA test could help determine if I was indeed related to the descendants of Franciszek Niedzialkoski.

I have indirect proof of the relationship through church records in Poland, but I still have not been able to find some critical documents to confirm the relationship directly. In particular, I’m missing my grandfather’s birth and baptismal record, my great-grandfather’s marriage record, and my great grandfather’s birth and baptismal record.

Three of my Niedzialkowski/Niedzialkoski cousins arranged to have their Y-DNA tested. While the results are not yet complete, we do know that the Y-DNA markers of all three fit into the R1a haplogroup, described by FamilyTreeDNA as:

R1a – The R1a lineage is believed to have originated in the Eurasian Steppes north of the Black & Caspian Seas. This lineage is thought to descend from a population of the Kurgan culture, known for the domestication of the horse (circa 3000 B.C.E.). These people were also believed to be the first speakers of the Indo-European language group. This lineage is found in central & western Asia, India, and in Slavic populations of Europe.

The R1a haplogroup is the most common Y-DNA haplogroup in Poland. So, no surprises here.

I also sent my own DNA to be tested. My Y-DNA will correspond to the Danko surname. I received the results of the analysis of the first 12 markers and my Y-DNA fits firmly within the R1b1 haplogroup.

FamilyTreeDNA describes this haplogroup as:

R1b1 – Haplogroup R1b is the most common haplogroup in European populations. It is believed to have expanded throughout Europe as humans re-colonized after the last glacial maximum 10-12 thousand years ago. This lineage is also the haplogroup containing the Atlantic modal haplotype.

Quite frankly, I expected my Y-DNA would fit into the R1a haplogroup, just like the DNA of my Niedzialkowski/Niedzialkoski cousins. It looks like my Danko ancestors followed a different migration path to Poland than did my Niedzialkowski ancestors. My distant Danko ancestors appear to have arrived from Western Europe while my distant Niedzialkowski ancestors appear to have arrived from Eastern Europe!

These results are a bit unexpected, but not unreasonable.

I’m still waiting for the results of the analysis of my mitochondrial DNA, which should give me clues to the origin of my matrilineal line.

So, now I have DNA tests in progress for DNA that tracks with three of my grandparents: Kostanty Niedzialkowski, Helena Chmielewski, and Michael Danko. If I can convince another family member who carries my paternal grandmother’s mitochondrial DNA, I’ll have a DNA trail for all four grandparents.

It will be interesting to see what kind of information I can coax out of the final DNA results.

Copyright © 2007 by Stephen J. Danko

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Happy Easter! Happy Spring!

Posted on March 23, 2008 by Steve

I wish you all the best this Easter! This is the earliest Easter anyone now living will experience. Easter, a moveable holiday, is set for the first Sunday after the first full moon after the Vernal Equinox.

The Vernal Equinox (First Day of Spring) occurred on Thursday, March 20. The full moon occurred the next day, Friday, March 21. Thus, today is March 23, Easter Sunday. None of us living on this date will experience an Easter this early again in our lives.

On Wednesday, I visited Filoli in Woodside, California to take some photographs, because the tulips have begun to bloom there.

Red Tulips at Filoli

Red Tulips at Filoli

SOURCE: Red Tulips at Filoli (Woodside, San Mateo Co., CA). Photographed by Stephen J. Danko on 19 Mar 2008.

Tulip Group at Filoli

Tulip Group at Filoli

SOURCE: Tulip Group at Filoli (Woodside, San Mateo Co., CA). Photographed by Stephen J. Danko on 19 Mar 2008.

Potted Pink Tulips at Filoli

Potted Tulipa ‘Ollioules’

SOURCE: Potted Tulipa ‘Ollioules’ (Woodside, San Mateo Co., CA). Photographed by Stephen J. Danko on 19 Mar 2008.

Tulipa 'Ollioules' and Baby Blue Eyes

Tulipa ‘Ollioules’ and Nemophila menziesii (Baby Blue Eyes)

Copyright © 2008 by Stephen J. Danko

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