Geneabloggers Church Record Sunday - Swedish Household Examinations (Husförhörslängder also called Skriftebok)

Church Record Sunday – describe a specific church record or a set of records held by a church or denomination and how they can assist genealogists. This is an ongoing series developed by Gena Philibert Ortega at Gena’s Genealogy.

These records showed every individual in a household much like a census they include name, exact date and place of birth, and relationship to the head of the household. If soneone has moved, the village they moved to is also noted. By pinpointing the exact place and date of birth, You know exactly where to find a birth record.

In Sweden, it was required to get permission from thechurch to move from one area to another. The lists for these permissions were called Moving in and out records (Inflyttnings- och Utflyttningsländer). In appearance they are like ledger books with columns for various information.

Sorting Saturday - Cleaning Out My Files

Sorting Saturday is an ongoing series by Michelle Goodrum at Turning of Generations.

As one of my genealogy goals for this year, I determined to work through my genealogy files one family per month. As I go through each file, I make sure that sources are entered and data is compete. I review census form for any additional information to be extracted, and then if the source is an online image, I get rid of the paperwork. I can always download it again if I need it. I scan original documents or photos into my computer. Those I save, but now they are also preserved by being part of my backup system.

Sorting through my Ferguson file this way leads to the added benefit of finding new information. New trails to explore. This month I have found 2 Revolutionary soldiers in my husbands tree and I'm on the trail of Civil War soldier ancestors. I have also found Land Records for land purchased in 1850 in southern Illinois.

Geneabloggers Mappy Monday - Jasper County, Illinois

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This is the area in southern Illinois that the Ferguson Family settled into in 1850 to farm. They settled in Willow Hill but Robinson, Oblong, Newton and Palestine are also mentioned.

Geneablogers Tech Tuesday - Toys To Play With

Technology is advancing so rapidly it's difficult to keep up with the advances.  More and more I am using new ways to back-up, save, and share my information.  Cloud computing is a major factor in preserving my files.
Dropbox not only allows me to share large files with others, it also stores my files in the cloud so they can be retrieved from any computer.  Picassa organizes and stores my pictures on the web and allows for sharing via invitation.  MOZY automatically makes back-ups of my files and stores them in the cloud.  All of these utilities are free and will protect my files in the event of a hard drive crash.  Soon we will not need huge internal hard drives as more and more data storage will be in the cloud.

My Blog Anniversary - 1 year 100 posts!

It all began a year ago when I answered Thomas MacEntee's challenge to enter the Winter Olympic Games of Genealogy.  I was pretty much a solo genealogist.  I volunteered 4 hrs/week at my local Family History Center and indexed for both ancestry.com and familysearch.org but other than using the message boards my genealogy was pretty much a solitary effort.  What a difference a year makes and Thomas is to blame!

Using the blogging prompts provided by Geneabloggers, I have managed to create 100 blog posts in the past year.  Me, who was regularly grounded in boarding school for not writing a weekly letter home!  This year I have been reading lots of blogs and watching just about every genealogy related webinar  in existence.  I have experimented with additional software programs and began a serious source citation effort.  While not quite the project that Randy Seaver has created, I have used 3 different programs to create source citations to find out which one I will be more likely to use.  Actually citing the source is the real point!

I have joined 2 genealogical groups, one local and one in my home state.  I attend the local monthly meetings and have created and presented two power point shows to the local group, explaining gedcom and jpeg files and moving around in Familysearch.org.  I volunteer 4 hours a week in the genealogy room at my local library.

Thanks to reading all the Jamboree 2009 updates on faceboook, I actually signed up and attended Jamboree 2010 in Burbank last June.  I had a super time and began saving for this year as soon as I got home.  I was able to do some personal genealogy while in California since I had dinner with a cousin (and her husband) that I hadn't seen or visited with in 50 years.  No feud, just life and distance.

Maybe it isn't all Thomas' fault.  Facebook and Unclaimed Persons might have caused the opening crack in the wall of my solitary genealogy pursuit.  Getting to know Thomas, Randy, Dick Eastman, and Megan through their fb posts and following their advice led me to expanding my horizons.

I've come a long way baby, and I like where I've landed!

52 Weeks of Personal Genealogy & History - Radio & Television

Week 6: Radio and Television. What was your favorite radio or television show from your childhood? What was the program about and who was in it?  About 52 Weeks of Personal Genealogy and History: Amy Coffin of We Tree Genealogy has created a third year of blogging prompts for genealogy bloggers. The theme for 2011 is 52 Weeks of Personal Genealogy and History. These are shared on the Geneabloggers.com web site, hosted by Thomas MacEntee.


I remember spending Sunday afternoons in my bedroom listening to mystery shows like "The Shadow" and "Boston Blackie".  I think it was about 2 hours of shows.  Between Thanksgiving and Christmas a local department store sponsored The Cinnamon Bear.  We all gathered around the radio in the kitchen before dinner to listen to that day's 15 minute  episode.  On Saturday mornings we also listened to The Buster Brown show featuring Froggy the Gremlin.  Of course there were also, The Lone Ranger, Sky King, Hoppalong Cassidy and Roy Rogers.


The first TV I remember was Gorgeous George in wrestling.  Childrens shows we watched include Romper Room. Bozo's Circus, Super Circus, Lunchtime Little Theater, and Kukla, Fran and Ollie.   All of the cowboy shows moved to TV but there was also The Loretta Young Show (remember her twirl in her designer gowns?), Alfred Hitchcock, Your Hit Parade, and Jack Parr.  There were lots more but these rise to the top of my memory bank.

Geneabloggers Amanuensis Monday - Ferguson Land Purchases

An Amanuensis is a person employed to write what another dictates or to copy what has been written by another. Amanuensis Monday is a daily blogging theme which encourages the family historian to transcribe family letters, journals, audiotapes, and other historical artifacts. Amanuensis Monday is a popular ongoing series created by John Newmark at Transylvanian Dutch.


For February, my concentration will be on my husband's Ferguson line.  After migrating over the years from Virginia to Southern Illinois, they finally setteled in Jasper County, Illinois and remained there for over 100 years.  The following is a discription of their first land purchase there.


Jeremiah Ferguson was 37 years old at the time, married, and the father of 9 children.  As indicated in the document, Jeremiah was then living in Decatur County, Indiana.  By 1850, the family had moved to Jasper County since their 10th child was born in Illinois in March of 1850.



In November of 1849, Jeremiah Ferguson purchased land in Jasper County, Illinois according to the U.S. General Land Office.  I am reproducing this record with the transaction specific information in Blue.  Spelling, punctuation, and capitalization are as shown.


                                     THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
CERTIFICATE
No. 17109
                                    To all to whom these Presents shall come, Greeting:
WHEREAS        Jeremiah Ferguson, of Decatur county, Indiana


has deposited in the GENERAL LAND OFFICE of the United States, a certificate of the REGISTER OF THE LAND OFFICE at     Palestine    whereby it appears that full payment  has been by the said 


Jeremiah Ferguson     according to the provisions of the Act of Congress of the 24th of April, 1820 entitled "An act making further provision for the sale of the Public Lands," for  the South East Quarter of the North West Quarter of Section Thirty-six, in Township Seven, North of Range Ten, East, in the District of Lands subject to sale at Palestine, Illinois, containing Forty acres.


according to the official plat of the survey of the said Lands, returned to the General Land Office by the SURVEYOR GENERAL, which said tract has been purchased by the said  Jeremiah Ferguson


                NOW KNOW YE, That the United States of America, in consideration of the Premises, and in conformity with the several acts of Congress, in such case made and provided, HAVE GIVEN AND GRANTED, and by these presents DO GOVE AND GRANT, unto the said    Jeremiah Ferguson
and to  his  heirs, the said tract above described: TO HAVE AND TO HOLD the same, together with all the rights, privileges, immunities, and appurtenances of whatsoever nature, thereunto belonging, unto the said  Jeremiah Ferguson  
                                                                                                      and to   his  heirs and assigns forever.


                     IN TESTAMONY WHEREOF, I,      Zachary Taylor     PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, have caused these Letters to be made PATENT, and the SEAL of the GENERAL LAND OFFICE to be hereunto affixed.


      Given under my hand, at the CITY OF WASHINGTON, the  first         day of  November   in the Year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and     forty-nine    and of the Independence of the United States the Seventy - fourth  . 


                   BY THE PRESIDENT:                             Z. Taylor
                                                     By         Tho. Ewing, Jr.      Sec'y
             N. Sargent  ,         RECORDER of the General Land Office.