52 Weeks of Abundant Genealogy, Week 18, Historical Books

One of my favorite types of historical book is the 19th-century county history book, or mug book. Some are indexed, some are not, but all are worth investigating. If you find one that contains a biography about your ancestor, the information gained can be invaluable. The subject of each biographical sketch generally provided the information himself, so the accuracy and truthfulness is variable. It is important to search the book for collateral relatives, as your ancestor may be discussed in the biography of a brother, grandson or son-in-law.

One of the books in my collection is the 1878 History of Morgan County, Illinois. This book is 768 unindexed pages, of which 300 pages contain biographies. 150 pages describe the history of Illinois and 40 pages contain abstracts of state laws. With multiple branches of my family passing through that state, this information may be of use beyond the Morgan County families. The remainder of the book discusses the formation of the county, towns, early settlers, organizations, military history, businesses and churches. 

This book has two biographies of great interest to me. My third great-grandfather had a short biography that lists his birth date and birth place and that of his wife, the names and birth dates of all their children, the death dates of their children who died, his father's name and, last but certainly not least, the names of each of his father's seven wives. My second great-grandfather did not have a biography in the book, but his older brother had one. This biography was similar in listing his parents and also includes the names of his brothers who served in the Union Army, along with the unit in which they served.

Portions of 19th century mug books are increasingly found online as the copyrights have expired. Indexes to the biographies are often found at the USGenWeb county pages. Sometimes there is a look-up volunteer who will transcribe a biography of interest.

A cousin found and shared a biography that is the best I've seen for my family's genealogical data. Imagine finding such a gem as follows for your family.

My ancestor, Clifford Cole, was the grandson of Rebecca Ann Maynard Alexander. Rebecca's oldest brother had a biography with these paragraphs (and more) published in 1891.

Milestones digital kit from Club Scrap, Tree from Scrapper's Guide

GOODSPEED'S BIOGRAPHICAL AND HISTORICAL MEMOIRS
OF NORTHEASTERN ARKANSAS
1891

John Maynard
 ... He was born in the Old Dominion in 1823, and is a son of Evan and Judith (Ragland) Maynard, both of whom were born in Halifax County, of that State, the former's birth occurring March 3, 1793, and the latter's April 5, 1803, and their deaths in 1881 and February 16, 1874, respectively. Their marriage was celebrated July 13, 1820, and in 1847 they came to the State of Tennessee, where the father entered upon the practice of medicine, and he continued this occupation until his death, although he had previously been a farmer.
 

He and his wife were of French-English origin, and he was a soldier in the War of 1812. They were members of the Missionary Baptist Church, and became the parents of eleven children, nine of whom lived to be grown: Harriet (wife of Chris Adams), John, Judith F. (wife of Robert Hart. of Tennessee), Mary A. (wife of Bluford Alexander, a resident of this State), Stith, Patience (wife of Austin Simmons, a resident of Washington County, Ark.), Even (a resident of Missouri), Rebecca A. (wife of Jeff. Alexander, of Weakley County, [p.415] Tenn.) and Thomas (who is a resident of Randolph County). ...

What Did I Learn?

From this brief biography I have learned the names of the men that Rebecca's sisters married and that my great-great-grandfather went by the name of Jeff. More importantly, I've learned my 3rd-great-grandparent's names, birth dates, birth locations, marriage date, death dates, occupations, church affiliation, ethnic heritage, military service and migration year. Some of the items may not be accurate, but all are clues to my heritage.

Check out the mug books for the areas your ancestors lived. You may find some jewels.

Step 3 -- Research Your Photos

My journey into genealogy began with photos. Everywhere in my grandparents' home were little bunches of photos. They were stuffed into drawers and envelopes and shoe boxes and photo albums. Behind framed photos were other photos. Some photos were labeled, while most were not.

My sister-in-law and I sat with my grandmother one day and, using a photo capturing device, videotaped a series of photos with grandma narrating as she watched them on the TV. We barely made a dent in the stack. On other visits, I played show and tell, writing names on the photos that grandma could identify. I slowly began to recognize the faces. I was very fortunate to have about 8 years of visits. Not everyone is blessed in that way. Nonetheless, there are still dozens of photos for which I still have no names.

Let me tell you about some research successes.


Find A Family, Find A Cousin

On the back of this gentleman's photo is written simply: J W Kerr, Franklin, Penna. I suspected that he was related to my great-great-grandmother, Nerinda Margaret Kerr Crispen Tookey. The uniform identified him as a probable veteran of the Civil War.
 
I started by looking for Franklin, PA, finding a town named Franklin in Venango County, as well as some other possible places, which I was able to eliminate. The Venango County pages at USGenWeb are a wonderful resource and there I found a list of soldiers who had served the Union from the Venango County area. Included in the list was a Johnston W Kerr. I rejoiced that his name was not James, Joseph, or John! I was unable to find him in a pre-war census, however. So I gambled by ordering his Civil War service file. It revealed his birth as being in Clarion County, PA. By examining the 1850 census, I found Johnston Kerr, age 14, and Narinda Kerr, age 8, with other family members, in the household of William Kerr of Toby Township, Clarion County, PA.

The photo of Johnston Kerr has been featured on my genealogy website for years. His great-great-granddaughter, Laurel, found me through my website and now the original photo is in her possession. Laurel's knowledge of the Kerr family is extensive and, working together over the past 10 years, we've learned even more about the family. Laurel has also shared with me photos of her extended family, including her parents and grandparents and I've met several of her family members. From a single photo, I gained a fourth cousin and her extended family, as well as a dedicated research collaborator and a wealth of family knowledge.

Find A Cousin, Identify Known People

Here's a cabinet card from Kansas. This photo had nothing written on it when I received it from my grandmother, nor did she know any names. Her knowledge of her ancestry did lead me to believe that the photo was from her allied Lake-Maddox families. After working through census records,  I suspected the women were 4 of the 6 Lake sisters, but had no idea which ones. My great-grandmother's youngest brother also did not know. Another gentleman had submitted Lake family information to the Mormon Church files, but I was unable to locate him at the time I found that information. Months later I found his contact information on Ancestry, but learned he had passed away 6 months earlier. I had to set aside this wonderful photo with the expectation that it might never be identified.
 
When I decided to make my 19-day genealogy road trip in 2002, I invited Lorna, the wife of my mother's second cousin. Lorna and I traveled together from my home in the Phoenix area to hers in the Chicago area, focusing most of our research on the Lake-Maddox families. I showed Lorna's husband my collection of unidentified photos and asked him if he recognized any of these people. When he saw this particular photo he jumped up and ran for his own heritage photo collection. He pulled out the same photo, but his copy was labeled!

He also shared with me several other photos which were not in my collection. Among them was a photo of [Joseph] Allen Maddox, my great-great-grandfather, whose photo I had never before seen.

By researching the photo's location and the allied family structure, I was able to focus on the Lake family, increasing the chances that the photo could be identified. Someday I hope to also identify the mate to the photo. This cabinet card with 3 men is from the same studio in Kansas. My guess is it contains at least two Maddox men, with a brother or brother-in-law.




Some Photo Research Tips

• The first step in any genealogical research is to always start with what you know. Label the photos you have and can identify.
• Discuss mystery photos with living relatives. If they don't live near you, scan the photos and send them copies by e-mail or snail mail. Or share photos with them on Facebook or via your favorite photo-sharing website.
• Do your best to identify a location and time frame. Look for unusual clues. I have an undated photo taken in Lincoln Park, Chicago, with a camel. Via the web I learned the year that Lincoln Park first acquired a camel.
• Find identification advice online and in books from experts such as Maureen Taylor, who specializes in identifying heritage photos.
• Research the census to determine family structures. For example, the Maddox girls were too young to be the 4 Kansas women and they had no Maddox aunts. Therefore, it was most likely to be 4 of the Lake sisters, including the mother of the Maddox girls.
• As you work back through the generations, look for other researchers that are working on the same families. As you connect, you will have new relatives with which to share photos.
• Besides your own ancestors, find the census records for their brothers and sisters and their families. That mystery photo may not be your ancestor, but rather, the family of a sibling or cousin.

Embrace the Mystery

If all else fails, you can always scrapbook a mystery photo as just that or use your scanned copies for collage or period images. You wouldn't be alone in finding creative uses for your unknowns. A friend created this digital page for me with one of my favorite mystery photos. Thanks, Annette!

Newspapers: A Nuisance No Longer

The high acid content of most newspaper clippings is hazardous when used in close proximity to heritage photos. Newsprint also discolors, turns brittle and crumbles. Fortunately there is a simple solution to protect photos and use intact newspaper clippings on scrapbook pages. Since you have a flatbed scanner for your precious old photos, you can also scan newspaper clippings and other paper memorabilia.

I keep a supply of matte photo paper for copying and printing clippings. It's heavier than ordinary printer paper, but not glossy. A white or ivory, smooth, acid-free cardstock would work as well. Once a clipping is copied or scanned, I throw away the original. Just like a photo, the scanned clipping can be resized, recolored, repaired and reused.

Sometimes a collection of clippings is worth keeping. For example, a cousin has a small journal full of newspaper clippings from the late 1800s and early 1900s. The journal belonged to her ancestor, who was a writer. The clippings include reviews of his books, as well as newspaper columns that he wrote. For that collection, the paper should be treated to neutralize the acid. I'm no expert at this process, so will instead recommend searching the internet for ideas on ways to do that.

On this sample layout, the clipping is a digital version that was resized to fit the page before it was printed.

Club Scrap Paisley paper kit

Consider scanning or copying your paper memorabilia -- it is one method to preserve and share those items that might otherwise cause damage to your scrapbook pages and heritage photos.