Tuesday, March 13, 2018

According to Microsoft Excel, the World began on January 1st, 1900 - My Ancestors will disagree

In a previous post, I demonstrated the power of using the date format YYYY.MM.DD in Microsoft Explorer to place anything contained in one folder in chronical order.  This is a very powerful tool.  But, when working with Excel the rules change. 

Recently I added several Civil War battle dates to an Excel sheet wishing to sort them in date order.  Nope!  After troubleshooting this, I discovered something interesting.  Excel actually converts dates to serial numbers starting 1/1/1900.  These numbers are then displayed as dates (in various formats) to the user.  The result is no valid date can exist in Excel before 1/1/1900.  That's not good for the genealogist or course. So what to do?

Well, you could use 1900 dates.  Instead of 12/16/1863 one could use 12/16/1963 for the purposes of sorting.  Being 100 years off just seems weird to this genealogist.

Not wishing to have my Civil War dates in the 1900s, I dug deeper and found this fix.  Inasmuch as Excel refuses to recognize DATES before 1/1/1900, let's use simple NUMBERS.  For this workaround the date, 12/16/1863 is represented as 18631216.  Now Excel is forced to take your date; more precisely it doesn't know it is a date. 

Here is how is use this method: For every application where a date is involved I use the YYYY.MM.DD format.  For example, 1941.12.7, or 1961.7.9, or in the case of a Civil War date, 1863.12.16.  This is my standard, but using 12/7/1941, 7/9/1961, or 12/16/1863 works fine too.  Any date format that you like can be applied. 

First I create an Excel document and enter data.  Record #, date, event, etc.  Now, because Excel is not DATE friendly, we need a NUMBER column also.  I label this column as "Sort" and place it to the far right of the Excel page.  For me, the number 18631216 doesn't quickly translate into the date 1863.12.16, or 12/16/1863, or even 16 December 1863 (for you Purist).  But for Excel, in this application (pre 1/1/1900), it is required.

In practical application, I start out with my standard YYYY.MM.DD column and do a Cut/Paste to a far right column when all my work is entered.  I then painfully remove all the "." and add "0" before any month or day less than 10.  The result is a column of eight numbers per cell.  Now I label this column as "Sort" and try not to look at it.  It's ugly in my humble opinion.  Now I sort using the "Sort" column and if asked, Expand to the entire worksheet.  Now my "Dates" are sorted in date order - not under their own power (unfortunately) - and the product works for me.



I've read that OpenOffice's version of the Excel tool does not have this limitation but I have not tested it yet.       

   

Monday, November 13, 2017

FamilySearch - FamilyTree, a love hate thing.

I've had this post bouncing around in my head for a few weeks.  If it is written down, maybe I can get it out of my head and move on?  Let's see.

I'm a big football fan.  My teams are the New Orleans Saints and LSU Tigers.  I also follow certain players, not necessarily on my two teams.  Cam Newton, the quarterback of the Carolina Panthers is a player I follow.  I love Cam Newton, and I don't.  As a player and a QB, I just love to watch him drive his team down the field.  But, off the field...not so much.  Love him, and then not so much. I feel the same way about FamilySearch's Family Tree...I love it and then, not so much!

FamilySearch's Family Tree is a global 'one tree' online tree.  You already know how I feel about online trees!  But I really like the way FamilySearch has built Family Tree, and how it is continually being improved for the better.  The person-centric Bow Tie view is a favorite.  Hinting, source attachments, family view layout, person watch.  All of it, I love.  A huge plus is the integration with Roots Magic.  Up to this point, I'm a big fan.  But...

Family Tree is ONE tree.  We all add, modify, delete, source, edit, add again, move, edit again, restore...the same data.  In theory, each person has only one record...their record.   And in so doing, there is a rub.  The information you add can be changed by anyone else.  This has been the main criticism of  Family Tree.  Another one tree is Wiki Tree.

By the way, I know of people - generally members of the LDS Church - who use only Family Tree for their genealogical work.  I understand the reasoning - Temple Work - and if this is your sole mission, then I guess it is okay for that.  But for everyone else, having all of your work up on any online platform is crazy.  Even if all you have is PAF (Personal Ancestral File), use it as your data platform.  NEVER make any online platform your sole repository for all that family history you have been collecting for so many years!  The best practice here is to have some software on your own computer and have it backed up redundantly.  I use Roots Magic plus a maze of back-ups.

Back on topic, ideally Family Tree would be a great way for family historians to collaborate.  I haven't seen this.  What I see are people changing what other's have put in, and then having it changed back.  A genealogical tug-of-war.

Recently FamilySearch added a messaging component to the Family Tree experience.  I think the idea was for people to work out their 'disputes' amongst themselves.  Maybe that works, but in my experience, some family historians don't like being confused with facts.  And a few weeks ago, I was contacted (through the Family Tree messaging system) by one such person.

My reason for putting anything into Family Tree in the first place, it simply to share my research.  If I add anything, it is sourced and this should help others working with the same person or family.  In 2015, I changed an unsourced birthdate (1703) to a new birthdate (1707) sourcing to a derivative secondary source.  In the area provided for an explanation, I explained myself.  Again, the only motivation here is to help someone working on the same family into the future.  My note said the change was based on the given source, and for now it was the best information available.  I even said the birthdate should be changed later if a better source is uncovered.  That was in 2015.

In 2017, I received a message.  It was short and curt.  Had I even taken the time to check the changelog before making my change?  Of course, I did.  I checked everything, the first date was unsourced; nothing supported it.  So I responded quickly (and much more politely) reiterating my 2015 justification in making the change.  Then a second message came in.  "By the time you read this, I may have already made the change" and "please consider deleting your comment [2015 change justication]".

Being the professional that I am, I didn't respond - and haven't.

Then a third message, saying the reference 'belonged' to a tree on World Connect.  Without saying anything, I followed up on this.  Yes, the same person with the 1707 birthdate was out on World Connect, and it was sourced the same.  The Point?  I'm not sure.  I found my information in the original volume during a visit to the Family History Library.

I still plan to continue adding and modifying Family Tree with my source-based research but have turned off messaging.  No time for the negativity.

So what about the birthdate in question?  It was changed back to 1703.  That date remains unsourced.




Wednesday, October 25, 2017

The Mendocino County Historical Society

The Mendocino County Historical Society maintains the Held-Poage Research Library located at 603 West Perkins Street in Ukiah California 95444.  Their website is www.mchs.ws.

While working on one of my long-standing authorship projects, I had the pleasure to visit the Mendocino County Historical Society's library in Ukiah, California.  The library itself is housed in a 1903 victorian home, recognized as a historical landmark, at Perkins and Dora Streets - not far from the center of Ukiah.  Open Wednesday to Friday, 1PM to 4PM, the library is staffed by volunteers knowledgeable as to the history of Mendocino County.

This repository has just what one would expect from a historical society.  There you will find a fair
sized collection of genealogical references from all over the country, in addition to collections focused on the region and Mendocino County in particular.  Telephone books, school annuals, old maps, and photographs.  The county's Great Register from 1865 to 1970 is available. 

I was very pleased to tour the newly built archives building located on the same property.  This building will house extensive archival collections.  Patrons will use the first floor Reading Room.  On the day of my visit, things were still being moved in.  This will be a terrific resource in the very near future.

Parking on street.  Eats on State Street a few blocks away.  Try the Ukiah Brewing Company. 

Donations to the Mendocino County Historical Society are greatly appreciated. 

Thursday, April 13, 2017

Identifying Slave Holdership

One very strong clue in identifying slave holdership among our ancestors can be found by comparing the 1860 U.S. Federal Population Schedules (Census) to the 1870 Census.  Both the 1860 and 1870 Censuses asked about wealth in the form of Real Estate and Personal Estate.  If we find an occasion where an ancestor, generally those from the southern states, had a marked decrease in wealth over this ten year period it may indicate slave ownership before the Civil War.  I have such an example in my family.

Here we see 1860 census information for Hubert Theriot (abt 1813 - 9 Mar 1881).  Notice his reported Real Estate owned in the amount of $15,000.  His Personal Estate was $5000.


Now compare this to the same self-reporting ten years later, and after the War Between The States.  A marked reduction in capitol where his Real Estate is $300 and his Personal Estate was $265.


This can not prove slave holdership on its own.  Hubert and his family lived in the deep south during the War - Iberia Parish Louisiana - and could have lost property in other ways due to the war.  We need to dig deeper.  In 1870 many emancipated slaves were still in close proximity geographically to their previous slaveholders.  Slaves would not have appeared on the regular 1860 Census, but now as free people are seen on the 1870 Census.  Look up and down the page from where your ancestor appears in the 1870 Census.  In Hubert Theriot's case, the evidence is clear.

Here is the same 1870 Census page shown above.  Notice just below Hubert's family we now find a 21-year-old black woman and three children below her.  They are Adeline Theriot 21 years, Pauline six years, Anathole three years, and Marie one month old.  Wow!  Amazing.  My family just got bigger.


Taking the surname of your previous slaveholder happened in less than half of all instances, but it did take place.  In this example, the evidence to this point is convincing.  Notice also, Adeline lists her occupation as "Domestic ___".  I'm betting that after her emancipation, she just stayed on with the Theriot family - now as an employee.  We can not know if Pauline, Anathole, and Marie were Adeline's children because the 1870 Census did not ask for relationships.

From here, we can dig even deeper.  In 1860 the federal government took a count of slave holdership known as the 1860 Slave Schedule.  This was concurrent to the 1860 Population Schedule.  Here I found a Hubert Theriot from the same parish reporting the age and sex of slaves held.  I know this to be the same Hubert Theriot from other records.  According to this document, Hubert held 10 slaves - both male and female - ranging in age from 40 to one year old. Now consider this, Adeline was 21 years old in 1870.  She would have been 11 years of age in 1860.  And we find an 11-year-old female on the list of slaves held by this Hubert Theriot. Circumstantial but noteworthy.

One last observation.  Going forward, we find my Hubert Theriot in the 1880 Census.  Hubert and his wife Rosalie are living with their son Norbert.  Also listed is a young man named Anatole Pardolf, age 12, a male black.  His role is "servant."  Remember young Anathole Theriot, age three, from the 1870 Census?  The surname is different but everything else lines up.


More investigation can be done here.  Traditional African American genealogical research methods should be followed.  This would start with looking for records in the Freedman Bureau and Freedman Bank collections.  I'd also look for property deeds and press accounts linked to Hubert Theriot leading up to 1864 (Civil War).  Tracking down Adeline, Pauline, and Marie (not living with Hubert in 1880) would be interesting too.  Lastly, there are two other persons living with Adeline in 1870, a 19-year-old male black and a 50-year-old white Frenchmen, both Farm Labor.  Who are they?

All Images from Ancestry.com

Wednesday, October 5, 2016

Calcasieu Parish Courthouse - Lake Charles, LA

The Calcasieu Parish Courthouse is located in downtown Lake Charles, Louisiana, at
Calcasieu Parish Courthouse - 1000 Ryan Street
1000 Ryan Street.  It’s a beautiful court building, as described to me with a green colored dome.  I got into Lake Charles early, and found some free off street parking at the northeast corner of Pujo and Bilbo Streets (across the street from the Calcasieu Parish Public Library - 411 Pujo Street).


My former life as a Police Detective found me in court buildings all of the time.  I've discovered there is a certain flow to government buildings, and courthouses in particular.  Go against the gain and you will find yourself getting stuck.  Being patient, polite, and professional (dressing the part also helps) will literally open doors.  

As with any other on-site research, I'd done my homework well ahead of time.  Today I was after a civil case from 1932.  Calling ahead of time, and following up by email, I learned that many case files are housed off-site.  If the file I was interested in was off-site, archives staff would need to pull it back before my arrival.  Luckily, mine was kept on-site (microfilm).  Doing my homework ahead of time also gave me the name of a point of contact.  Weeks before my flight from California to Louisiana, I had already spoken with a very helpful (and very knowledgeable) staff person and explained the main reason for my cross county flight was to make a copy of this file.  I was assured the film would be waiting for me on the date we had set.  Again, there is a flow to these things, and lining everything up well ahead of time helps everyone concerned.

Microfilm reader/printer.  Photo taken with permission.
The Archives Office is on the main floor.  Just off of this office is a small hallway leading to archived files and microfilms.  A very old, yet altogether useful, microfilm machine sits just inside this area.  Taking photos of images from the microfilm is not allowed.  Pages are printed (by you) and payment is per the page.  From memory, I think it was a dollar a page - but, I might be off on this point.  Nevertheless, I only paid for what I printed.  And I printed just able the entire file, 100 plus pages.  This file documented a set of circumstances which, interestingly enough, lead to my grandparents (Tassin/Theriot) meeting.  She sued him - it's a long story.  But, the cost of reproduction in this case was not a concern to me.  

When I am working on-site like this I take notes.  The description of the microfilm roll, start and stop image numbers, things of interest for follow-up later.  In all cases these notes go into the file/s for the involved persons.  In some cases, like this one, I also prepare a report.  My notes and any report I write will aid others who may wish to follow my steps later.  They are also tools for me into the future.
Firetrucks!  No fire, everything turned out fine.


Leading up to my visit to Calcasieu Parish, I learned that most of the records from 1910 and before burned in a fire - as did much of Lake Charles.  Ironically, just as I was finishing up with my good-byes to my helpful point of contact, the fire alarm went off.  It was time to leave - and in a hurry.  I stood outside for some time chatting with people and never saw any smoke.

Calcasieu Parish Public Library and Genealogy Room

The public library branch located at 411 Pujo Street in Lake Charles Louisiana was on my list of places to see while I was in this part of the state.  A friend, and fellow genealogist, spoke highly of the staff and the collection.  Before I ever left California, I knew I'd be stopping in.

While research wasn't my goal during my visit, I was able to take some items off of my To Do list.  For anyone conducting genealogical research in southern Louisiana, the Genealogy Room at this library branch is sure to please.  The staff is friendly and even knowledgeable.  If I lived in southern Louisiana, this would be one of my haunts.

Here is an outline of my notes:

Parking (free) across the street to the west of the building.  No problem finding a spot in the morning.

This is a public library.  The Genealogy Room is in the back.

Obituary Card Catalog from early times to 1999.

The Southwest Louisiana Genealogical Society's Book of Charts, five generations, are in bound books.  Beyond that the genealogies extend into nearby cabinets.

The Family History stacks wrap around the walls.  Blue dots on the book's spines represents Bios.

Impressive collection of maps.  Local cemetery maps.  (Good place to start before heading out to a cemetery.)

Map Books: Map Guide by William Thorndale; Louisiana Post Offices by John Gremann; Township Atlas of the United States by Andriot.

Reference guides at desk.

Complete sets of Father Hebert's indexes, the Baton Rouge Catholic Diocese's indexes, the New Orleans Diocese's indexes.

Family Map Books by parish; these are green bound books filed by parish.

Scanner that will email or export to thumb drive.

* Online card catalog.

Wifi as "CPPL".  Power strips on each table.

* I found the card catalog system confusing.  There was a need to log-in and to
keep 'adding time' to use it.  Somehow there is a library card (barcode) that was also required.  I never did fully under understand it, or whether I would be able to use it from home.

My takeaways were:  This library would be very useful to a serious researcher visiting from out of town, as well as to family historians who just needed some help or direction.

 


Tuesday, October 4, 2016

St. Peters Cemetery - Iberia Parish Louisiana

I'd been to several places already the day of my first visit to the historical cemetery known as St. Peter's Catholic Cemetery in New Iberia Louisiana.  Without a doubt, this stop would be the most exciting.

St. Peter's is a quintessential Louisiana cemetery.  Absolutely fascinating, and I would argue beautiful in its own way.  I was here with a mission in mind...find my missing second-great Grandfather, Hildebert Theriot, and if possible his wife Louise Elmina Delahoussaye.  I'd already done as much as I could from California, including speaking a few times over the phone with the cemetery's pro bono manager.  Everything I had up to this time pointed to Hildebert and Louise at rest here.  If I couldn't find them, I'd have an explanation why.

The cemetery is located at French and Pershing Streets in New Iberia, about one block north of the courthouse.  The cemetery manager and the cemetery's maintenance supervisor knew I'd be in town and kindly met me near the main entrance.  Both men have devoted much of their free time to caring for this historical treasure.  The maintenance lead has generations of his own family at rest here, and his family is also mine!  Yes, he and I are third cousins on my Theriot line.  This second-great Grandfather and my second-great Grandfather (Hildebert Theriot) were brothers.

October afternoons in Southern Louisiana are predictably rainy.  The three of us sat in the cemetery manager's truck as both men explained the history St. Peter's, records that survived and did not, yellow fever, unreported burials and removals, unreadable and unidentified grave markers, and the like.  Their's is a story of doing the best they can with the information available.  Taking notes, and fearing I'd not find Hildebert and Louise on this trip, I took it all in.  Everything pointed to St. Peter's - most significantly records from the Catholic dioceses.

St. Peter's Cemetery is about 200 years old.  Available records establish 11,000 names of persons interned yet of this number about 6,000 can not be placed at a known grave site.  Conversely, there are about 300 unmarked grave sites.

With major walkways crossing from top to bottom, and left to right, the cemetery is generally laid out in a grid.  But be careful, some of the pathways off the major walks don't always line up.  Today all the identified graves are in a database.  Many are already on Find-A-Grave.  More grave sites are identified from time to time because of proactive outreach.

After the rain stopped I found some Theriots, but not Hildebert and Louise.  There is a grouping of Theriots, and among them a few unidentified grave sites.  My suspicion is they are here.  Concrete interments give away the age of a grave site.

While more research is needed, when I got back to California a detailed report documented my "reasonably exhaustive research" to date.  In situations like these, a genealogist can only keep pushing, re-evaluating, and continually searching.