Okay, in the midst of everything else I'm up to my eyeballs in, I've decided to compete in Thomas MacEntee's Geneabloggers Winter Games , scheduled to coincide with the Winter Olympics in Vancouver (provided they can find some snow!) over the course of the next two weeks.
I have designed my flag, which you see there on the right. The flag shows the American flag on top, with the flag of the United Kingdom and a smaller flag of Switzerland, which means that I am an American with mainly British ancestry, and a smattering of Swiss ancestry on my mother's side.
There are six categories of competition, and I will be competing to one extent or another in all six. I am not by any stretch of insanity going to try to do all the tasks under each category -- I have books to read and 18th and 19th century Spanish documents to transcribe and journal articles to copy and read and my classes and two days a week with the five-year-old grandson! But I'm going to try to do some of the tasks in each category, as a way of advancing some of my own personal genealogy work which has gone neglected with all the other stuff I get involved in!
The categories are:
Go Back and Cite Your Sources!
I have recently transitioned from The Master Genealogist
to Family Tree Maker 2010, and need to be sure that all
my sources transferred intact, as well, and surely there
are other documents I need to make citations for.
Back Up Your Data!
I won a copy of HandyBackup in a Geneabloggers Data
Backup Day contest, and I will be using that to back up
all my data, not just genealogy, onto the portable hard
drive my husband bought me.
Organize Your Research
I have a drawerful of items that need to be cataloged,
sourced, and placed into binders. I also have some more
photos to put into my heritage scrapbook that I have
been working on. Time to get some of that done, and
these tasks will make a good study break.
Expand Your Knowledge
I'm always in favor of that!
Write, write, write!
That's what I do for a living, so I will be doing some of
it for the Games.
Reach Out & Perform Genealogical Acts of Kindness
I'll do what I can in this department with the time
available.
So let the games begin!
Saturday, February 13, 2010
Saturday Night Genealogy Fun: My Funny Valentine
Here are the instructions for tonight's Saturday Night Genealogy Fun from Randy Seaver:
1) Recall a memory of a Valentine's Day in your life. Is it the first love of your life? A special day with your lover, spouse or significant other? Do you have a picture of a Valentine's Day event, or a special Valentine that you received, to share?
2) Describe your Valentine's Day memory, activity and/or image in a blog post of your own, a comment to this blog post, or a comment on Facebook.
3) Have fun remembering a special day.
Back in my mother and father's day there was a song called "My Funny Valentine." Frank Sinatra and Ella Fitzgerald did renditions of it, among others. It was written by Rodgers and Hart, and the words were something less than complimentary but the sentiment was "Don't change a thing; I love you the way you are." Kinda sweet, in a backhanded way. But "My Funny Valentine" probably should be the theme song for my husband and me, not simply because neither one of us would win any contest for good looks (especially now in our old age), but more because humor has been a huge part of our lives and our relationship. So this SNGF won't pick on just one memory, but on the general tone of Valentine's Day around here.
We usually go for the humorous in the cards we get for each other on this day. Not the insulting humor that has such a place on the card racks -- though some of those are quite funny as well. Usually we go for the humor that reflects the absurdities of life, the little sillinesses that make life sometimes bearable in the face of increasingly disgusting news from the real world. We like the cards with puns, and the sillier the pun the more fun it is. As for our celebration, that usually revolves around food -- tomorrow night we will go to a favorite steak house that we reserve for very special occasions such as this, but do not get to visit often because it is quite expensive! Valentine's day comes one week before our anniversary, which adds a little to it, too. Next weekend, for our anniversary, we will be attending a symphony concert program of the music of John Williams. That will be fun.
And fun is a key word in any activity. Sure, an activity can be meaningful and helpful to others and contribute positively to society and all that good stuff, but if an activity or a relationship or any other thing we put our minds to can't be fun, why bother?
.
Back in my mother and father's day there was a song called "My Funny Valentine." Frank Sinatra and Ella Fitzgerald did renditions of it, among others. It was written by Rodgers and Hart, and the words were something less than complimentary but the sentiment was "Don't change a thing; I love you the way you are." Kinda sweet, in a backhanded way. But "My Funny Valentine" probably should be the theme song for my husband and me, not simply because neither one of us would win any contest for good looks (especially now in our old age), but more because humor has been a huge part of our lives and our relationship. So this SNGF won't pick on just one memory, but on the general tone of Valentine's Day around here.
We usually go for the humorous in the cards we get for each other on this day. Not the insulting humor that has such a place on the card racks -- though some of those are quite funny as well. Usually we go for the humor that reflects the absurdities of life, the little sillinesses that make life sometimes bearable in the face of increasingly disgusting news from the real world. We like the cards with puns, and the sillier the pun the more fun it is. As for our celebration, that usually revolves around food -- tomorrow night we will go to a favorite steak house that we reserve for very special occasions such as this, but do not get to visit often because it is quite expensive! Valentine's day comes one week before our anniversary, which adds a little to it, too. Next weekend, for our anniversary, we will be attending a symphony concert program of the music of John Williams. That will be fun.
And fun is a key word in any activity. Sure, an activity can be meaningful and helpful to others and contribute positively to society and all that good stuff, but if an activity or a relationship or any other thing we put our minds to can't be fun, why bother?
.
Sunday, February 7, 2010
Asking the Right Questions
In our genealogical study and training ,we are urged to question our sources. Who created the source? When was it created? Why was it created? These are important questions, and I can give you an example as to why they are important.
In my research for my current grant project on the family structure of St. Augustine, Spanish Florida, 1783-1821, I came across an excellent article by Sherry Johnson, titled "The Spanish St. Augustine Community 1784-1795: A Reevaluation" (Florida Historical Quarterly, 68:1 27-54, July 1989). In the article, Johnson discusses the ethnic/national makeup of the population of St. Augustine, and deals with a contention entrenched in the historiography of St. Augustine: that the Spanish population during that period was quite fluid and therefore not of much consequence in the affairs of the town. From a comparison of the census of 1786 with a town plan drawn up in 1788 (which includes owners' names for town plots) and the census of 1793, it appears the English and Menorcan components of the population were more stable, and therefore of more consequence in the town's history.
This evaluation stems from the work of Joseph Byrne Lockey, who transcribed and translated the censuses found on Reel 148 of the East Florida Papers, Bundle 323A. The East Florida Papers, the originals of which are at the Library of Congress, consist in Spanish records seized at the time of the United States' takeover of Florida in 1821. There are several censuses from 1783 to 1814 on Reel 148 of the microfilmed East Florida Papers, but not all of them bear dates. It has been difficult to discern which enumerations apply to which years. Lockey transcribed the entirety, and thought along with everyone else at the time -- the early to mid 1940s -- that there was one huge census from 1793, the census of 1786 which is dated and identified, and a few from about 1813-1814. However, when Lockey was working with this long transcription of the supposed 1793 census, he discovered that names appeared more than once, with changes in family composition and in ages of the individuals. He was able to figure out that there was more than one census recorded, and to figure out the years of each of them within a small margin of error.
However, in examining these censuses, according to Johnson, Lockey also reached the above conclusion -- that the Spanish population turned over fairly rapidly. He assumed that these were the government officials who served short terms and then returned to Spain or Cuba or wherever. This rapid turnover, as perceived by Lockey, led to the conclusion that the Spanish were not that tied to St. Augustine during the period, and were not that important.
The problem is that in looking at the 1786 census, Lockey, a historian, did not ask an important genealogical question (which, may I point out, is also an important historical question): Who created the 1786 census? WHY was the 1786 census created?
Johnson did more research, thinking like a genealogist, and came up with the explanation, and support for the idea that St. Augustine in the Second Spanish Period was very much a Spanish town with a very stable and significant Spanish or Spanish-descended population. It is well-known that the census was taken by the parish curate, Father Thomas Hassett (he was Irish). The census has a brief descriptive introduction signed by Father Hassett, in which he states that he did not enumerate the Spanish officials or the troops of the garrison of the Castillo de San Marcos. He took the census because he wanted to know how many protestant foreigners resided in St. Augustine, for whom and whose children he wanted to create a school to catechize these protestants in the Catholic faith.
For 20 years, between 1763 and 1783, St. Augustine had been under the control of England. When the Spanish returned, there was a decree that foreigners who wished to remain as residents of the town must swear allegiance to the King of Spain and must, if not already Catholic, convert to the faith. It was those protestants who had been permitted to remain whom Father Hassett wanted to enroll in his school. It follows, then, that Father Hassett would not have enumerated the Spanish and Spanish-descendant families in St. Augustine who were already Catholic and not in need of Father Hassett's schooling.
Johnson adduces much other evidence to show the importance of the Spanish and Spanish-descended population of St. Augustine.
We need to remember to question our sources, for doing so may prevent us from reaching erroneous conclusions.
.
In my research for my current grant project on the family structure of St. Augustine, Spanish Florida, 1783-1821, I came across an excellent article by Sherry Johnson, titled "The Spanish St. Augustine Community 1784-1795: A Reevaluation" (Florida Historical Quarterly, 68:1 27-54, July 1989). In the article, Johnson discusses the ethnic/national makeup of the population of St. Augustine, and deals with a contention entrenched in the historiography of St. Augustine: that the Spanish population during that period was quite fluid and therefore not of much consequence in the affairs of the town. From a comparison of the census of 1786 with a town plan drawn up in 1788 (which includes owners' names for town plots) and the census of 1793, it appears the English and Menorcan components of the population were more stable, and therefore of more consequence in the town's history.
This evaluation stems from the work of Joseph Byrne Lockey, who transcribed and translated the censuses found on Reel 148 of the East Florida Papers, Bundle 323A. The East Florida Papers, the originals of which are at the Library of Congress, consist in Spanish records seized at the time of the United States' takeover of Florida in 1821. There are several censuses from 1783 to 1814 on Reel 148 of the microfilmed East Florida Papers, but not all of them bear dates. It has been difficult to discern which enumerations apply to which years. Lockey transcribed the entirety, and thought along with everyone else at the time -- the early to mid 1940s -- that there was one huge census from 1793, the census of 1786 which is dated and identified, and a few from about 1813-1814. However, when Lockey was working with this long transcription of the supposed 1793 census, he discovered that names appeared more than once, with changes in family composition and in ages of the individuals. He was able to figure out that there was more than one census recorded, and to figure out the years of each of them within a small margin of error.
However, in examining these censuses, according to Johnson, Lockey also reached the above conclusion -- that the Spanish population turned over fairly rapidly. He assumed that these were the government officials who served short terms and then returned to Spain or Cuba or wherever. This rapid turnover, as perceived by Lockey, led to the conclusion that the Spanish were not that tied to St. Augustine during the period, and were not that important.
The problem is that in looking at the 1786 census, Lockey, a historian, did not ask an important genealogical question (which, may I point out, is also an important historical question): Who created the 1786 census? WHY was the 1786 census created?
Johnson did more research, thinking like a genealogist, and came up with the explanation, and support for the idea that St. Augustine in the Second Spanish Period was very much a Spanish town with a very stable and significant Spanish or Spanish-descended population. It is well-known that the census was taken by the parish curate, Father Thomas Hassett (he was Irish). The census has a brief descriptive introduction signed by Father Hassett, in which he states that he did not enumerate the Spanish officials or the troops of the garrison of the Castillo de San Marcos. He took the census because he wanted to know how many protestant foreigners resided in St. Augustine, for whom and whose children he wanted to create a school to catechize these protestants in the Catholic faith.
For 20 years, between 1763 and 1783, St. Augustine had been under the control of England. When the Spanish returned, there was a decree that foreigners who wished to remain as residents of the town must swear allegiance to the King of Spain and must, if not already Catholic, convert to the faith. It was those protestants who had been permitted to remain whom Father Hassett wanted to enroll in his school. It follows, then, that Father Hassett would not have enumerated the Spanish and Spanish-descendant families in St. Augustine who were already Catholic and not in need of Father Hassett's schooling.
Johnson adduces much other evidence to show the importance of the Spanish and Spanish-descended population of St. Augustine.
We need to remember to question our sources, for doing so may prevent us from reaching erroneous conclusions.
.
Monday, February 1, 2010
52 Weeks to Better Genealogy: WorldCat
Here are the instructions for this week's challenge: Play with WorldCat.org. WorldCat is a massive network of library content that the public can search for free (user name and password not required). Not every library is a part of WorldCat, but the vast size of the network makes it an important genealogy tool. If you are looking for a specific book or publication, enter the identifying information into the WorldCat search box and see which libraries hold the item. You may even find that you can get the item through your library’s inter-library loan program. Don’t forget to search for some of your more unusual surnames and see what comes up. The goal is to play with WorldCat and examine its possibilities for your own research. If you’re already familiar with WorldCat, play with it again. The network and collection grow and change constantly. If you have a genealogy blog, write about your experiences with searching WorldCat for this exercise
I have been playing with WorldCat lately because I've been looking at how many libraries have bought my new book, Non-Federal Censuses of Florida, 1784-1945: A Guide to Sources. It is just so cool to see your own work in a library catalog, or, in this instance, a meta-catalog.
Something else I played with, according to the instructions: I entered the phrase "St. Augustine, Florida" and saw what came up. There are a few things I might look into for my current grant project on St. Augustine, so WorldCat did give me a bit of help there. But as for my own surnames, not much luck. Seems the branches I descended from had no writers hiding in them!
.
I have been playing with WorldCat lately because I've been looking at how many libraries have bought my new book, Non-Federal Censuses of Florida, 1784-1945: A Guide to Sources. It is just so cool to see your own work in a library catalog, or, in this instance, a meta-catalog.
Something else I played with, according to the instructions: I entered the phrase "St. Augustine, Florida" and saw what came up. There are a few things I might look into for my current grant project on St. Augustine, so WorldCat did give me a bit of help there. But as for my own surnames, not much luck. Seems the branches I descended from had no writers hiding in them!
.
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