Madness Monday - Trying to Figure it Out

There are so many applications available for genealogy bloggers; I am still trying to learn them all.
Today I am working on the NetworkedBlogs app on Facebook.

I believe I now have Tangled Trees linked properly and have included the NetworkedBlogs widget  in the side margin.

Sometimes I really do not feel too computer savvy - but I am getting there   ;-)
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Honoring Memorial Day

Freedom Is Not Free

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Underwood - Doing the Happy Dance

Finally - While researching Underwood on this Surname Saturday in an effort to identify the parents of our ancestor, Susannah (Underwood) Casteel, I was able to break down a long standing brickwall!!
Long suspecting Benjamin Underwood as the father of Susannah I was, over time, able to put together different facts the supported this theory - but at last, by changing the focus of my search to his wife named in the 1850 census as Mary, I have finally found my link.

I found Mary Underwood residing with one of the sons of James and Susannah (Underwood) Casteel in the 1860 Macoupin Co., TN census. (Joseph Casteel - mistranscribed as Castell)
This, together with the other information shown below, allows me to finally feel confident enough to make the parental connection of Benjamin & Mary Underwood to Susannah Underwood.

1830 Blount Co. Tennessee census
Underwood, Benjamin
males: 3 - 5-10yrs; 1 - 10-15yrs; 1 30-40yrs
females: 1 - 0-5yrs; 1 - 10-15yrs; 1 - 20-30yrs
(Susannah fits in the 10-15 yr catagory)

Also in Blount Co. TN:
Deeds 1819-1833 - abstracted by Jane Kizer Thomas
pg 161; 870. (3:194) Benjamin UNDERWOOD to Samual Henery and son:
30 Jun 1836, $75, 3 head of horse, 1 bay mare, 1 clay bank mare,
1 sorrell horse, 4 head of cattle, 35 head of hogs, 1 loom, 1 cart, 1
spinning wheel. Underwood shall pay Henry and sons the sum of
$75 within 12 months for redemption of the property. Sig:
Benjamin (X) Underwood. Wit: P. Nelson Morony, James Casteel
2 Jul 1836
(James M. Casteel is the spouse of Susannah - They were married in Knox Co. TN in 1833)

1840 Knox Co TN - Benj.Underwood

  Males: 3 15-20yrs, 1 20-30yrs &

           1 50-60 yrs

 Females: 1 5-10yrs, 1 10-15yrs, 1 20-30 &

           1 40-50

And finally, with names, in Hamilton Co. TN
1850 census
hh918 Underwood, Benjamin 62, M farmer NC; Mary 50 NC; Richard 29 M
farmer; Martha 17 F
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Macoupin County, Illinois, Genealogy Website

This "follow friday" I wish to highlight the efforts of volunteers whose goal is to transcribe genealogical and historical data for the free use of all researchers.
One such website that I have used is:
  Macoupin County Genealogy and History

In honor of this Memorial Day weekend, here are some related links from the Macoupin County, IL, website:

97th Illinois Infantry Macoupin County Soldiers

ROSTER OF CO. K, 122nd REGIMENT ILL. VOL. INFANTRY

Illinois Soldiers and Sailors Home & Illinois Soldiers Widow's Home

List of CIVIL WAR VOLUNTEERS

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This Day in History - RMS Queen Mary's Maiden Voyage

27 May 1936:  RMS Queen Mary, one of the grandest passenger liners ever built, leaves Southampton for New York on her maiden voyage.

Newsreel footage of the launching and maiden voyage of the  RMS Queen Mary.

Occupation: Grazier

Grazier:  One who rears cattle or sheep on grazing land for market.

Romney Marsh - located in the south-east of England.

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Groveton Confederate Cemetery

Groveton Confederate Cemetery 

 Manassas National Battlefield Park, Virginia

Established in 1867, this cemetery is the burial place of 266 Confederate soldiers who lost their lives in or around the fields of Manassas.

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Follow Friday for Netherlands Researchers

J.M. of Tracing My Roots resides in the Netherlands and has posted a helpful article for those of use trying to do genealogical research in the Netherlands:

How-to Guide for Genealogy Research in the Netherlands

J.M.'s blog was also the host of 29th Edition of the Carnival of Central and Eastern European Genealogy that focused on religion as part of the life of an ancestor.

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Towns of our Ancestors: Porva, Hungary

Located in Veszprem County, Hungary, in the High Bakony Mountains, Porva is considered to be in one of the most beautiful spots in North-Western Hungary. The village population in the 2001 census was 502 inhabitants.  This town the birth place of  Istvan (Steve) Hack - born August 1907.

Porva - C.1910

The gothic baroque church was built c.1783 over the ruins of the palos monastery.

The church and the vicarage of Porva used to belong to the Archabbey of Pannonhalma. After World War II however the Russians took possession of the vicarage to establish their regional headquarters. The facade of the vicarage was destroyed by the Russian repercussion of the Hungarian Revolution in 1956.

Two marble memorials were erected in the church in memory of the First and Second World War’s casualties from the village.

Digitizing the Canterbury Cathedral Archives

The Canterbury Cathedral Archives, which has a tradition of record-keeping that dates back at least 1300 years, has announced a collaboration between the University of Kent, Canterbury Cathedral Archives, and researchers in Rouen for a project through which researchers may gain easy access to some of the older and more fragile documents held in the Cathedral Archives.

"Known as DocExplore, the project aims to develop an interactive system which allows digitised versions of valuable historical documents to be explored via a touch-screen, simulating, as far as possible, the experience of accessing the physical object itself. But users can see much more than the document – they can access translations and transcriptions, read more about the period in which it was written, its contents and who would have used it at the time by using the additional text, image, sound and video resources that are a feature of the system."

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J. Cassingham - War Hero Recognized

SUPPLEMENT TO THE LONDON GAZETTE, 4 MARCH, 1918

http://www.london-gazette.co.uk/

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General Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson

 - Confederate General Thomas Jonathan 'Stonewall' Jackson died on May 10, 1863, after being accidentally shot by his own troops. General "Stonewall" Jackson was badly wounded in the arm at the battles of Chancellorsville and had his arm amputated. The operation did not succeed, and  he died of pneumonia on May 10th  near Richmond, Virginia.

Ancestors of Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson

Descendants of Thomas J. Jackson

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Digitizing the War of 1812 Pension Files

— With the approaching bicentennial of the War of 1812, the Federation of Genealogical Societies, a non-profit genealogical organization headquartered in Austin, Texas, is pleased to announce a national fundraising initiative to raise $3.7 million to digitize of the War of 1812 pension files. The digitization process will enable online access by historians and family researchers to the memories and biographies of those who fought to protect our nation’s independence.

The War of 1812, often referred to as America’s second war for independence, significantly shaped this country’s identity both internationally and domestically. Many remember the War of 1812 as the war that give us the “Star-Spangled Banner” and the burning of the White House. Some of the great leaders of our country, including three presidents, took part in this conflict. Nearly 300,000 men served, including members of at least eighteen Native American tribes.

The pension records for the War of 1812 consist of more than 7.2 million documents in 180,000 files. The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) receives more than three thousand requests per year for War of 1812 pensions, placing them among the most requested sets of records. Digitizing these valuable records will preserve the originals by removing them from continued heavy use. It will also make the images of the records much more widely available. NARA reports these important historical records already have been conserved and readied for digitization, so scanning could start as soon as funds are received. With the cost for digitizing and saving a single page from a pension file being fifty cents, supporters will see progress from the earliest days of the fundraising initiative.

Genealogists, historians, and scholars of military history have long appreciated the value of pension files. A typical pension file may contain documents that describe a veteran’s service as well as why he, his widow, or his dependents qualify for a pension. In the cases of widows’ and dependents’ filings, there are typically a number of documents proving the claimant is related to the veteran. The testimony of a veteran’s comrades can provide unique and valuable data on what military life entailed, the rigors of everyday camp life, and details of particular skirmishes and battles. One may discover numerous details of an ancestor’s life in these pension files, some of which may be many dozens of pages long.
The Federation of Genealogical Societies is committed to projects that link the genealogical community and advance the cause of preserving records and making them more accessible. The Federation will be working with the genealogical and historical societies nation-wide, particularly in states where War of 1812 activities took place, as well as the many War of 1812 societies and bicentennial commissions, to raise awareness about this vital preservation and access project and to raise the funds necessary to complete the project.
Those interested in contributing to the Preserve the Pensions! Project or wanting additional information should contact the Federation of Genealogical Societies at www.fgs.org/1812

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Follow Friday for Colonial Researchers

History Happenings

Collecting & sharing the stories of Pennsylvania

 
The Historical Society of Pennsylvania invites you to explore the origins and diversity of Pennsylvania and the United States, from the colonial period and the nation's founding through today.
 
Browse their family history and genealogy webpage to see for yourself why they are considered to be one of  most complete and professional genealogy centers in the nation as well as being the largest in the Mid-Atlantic region.

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