We've Been Busy

As I write this, I am aware that many members of our Chapter live out-of-town.  Through this blog, we've heard from some of you. A couple have even volunteered to be a part of one of our Long-Range Planning Committees.  One of our members from California contacted us after reading a post on our facebook page that had relevant information for one of her ancestors.  In our correspondence, she told me that she will be attending the NGS conference in Cincinnati.  It is a pleasure to know that this blog may have relevance for not only our "in town" members, but also our "out-of-town" members.  We love hearing from you.

Those of us who live here have had some wonderful educational opportunities over the past couple of months.  During February, our Program Chair Linda Dietrich arranged two behind-the-scenes visits at the Cincinnati History Library and Archives.  As the CHLA has a strict no camera policy, we were able to get permission to take a couple of pictures in their Reading Room.  The tour proved so popular that the tour had to be scheduled twice.

On Saturday, March 10th, our Irish Interest Chair Mary Ann Faloon and Membership Chair Eileen Muccino collaborated on a wonderful presentation about the conditions faced by the Irish in Cincinnati from the years 1850-1860.  About 40 people attended their presentation. A summary of the conditions the Irish confronted can be summed up in the sign below.

Eileen Muccino and Mary Ann Faloon

Despite the difficulties faced by our immigrants in Cincinnati, it was nice to hear that things were much better for the sons and daughters of the immigrants.  A study of the second generation showed that the Irish adapted to their new environment and that only 9% of the men in the second generation were employed as unskilled laborers.  Most made significant moves toward becoming part of the middle class.  As Linda Dietrich commented during the question and answer period, the Irish story seems to be one that we've all heard before as each immigrant group tries to assimilate and become American.

If you live in this region, now may be a good time to update your calendar and take advantage of the April Chapter Meeting, the OGS Conference in Toledo and the NGS Conference that we are hosting in May. You can find out what some of the opportunities in this area by clicking on the calendar that is a part of this blog.  

We love hearing from you.  Consider adding a comment to this post. Help us get to know YOU.  Give us suggestions. Let your voice be a part of the discussion.

Submitted by:  Kathy Reed

khreed@cinci.rr.com

Put HCGS in the subject line.

Find A Grave

www.findagrave.com

Have you heard of "Congenealogy?"  This is a friendly group of genealogy buffs who meet once a month in Northern Kentucky.  It is sponsored by the Kenton County Library and led by librarian Jan Mueller.  Several HCGS members have ventured across the Ohio River to take advantage of the wonderful programs they offer. In fact, Mary Ann Faloon, Chair of our Irish Interest Group, was one of their guest speakers when she spoke about Griffith's Valuation at one of their meetings last May.

This month Debra Jacks, a longtime volunteer for Find-a-Grave, will share her knowledge and experience on this very worthwhile—and free—resource!  I'm not very familiar with this resource, but HCGS member Deb Eddy, has convinced me that this is a resource I need to consider using.  So I, along with several other members of our Chapter, are planning to attend.

Due to the extensive renovation project that is taking place at the Covington Mary Ann Mongan Branch, meetings are being held at the Baker Hunt Arts and Cultural Center.  The meeting will take place Monday, January 30th, beginning at 6:30.  Direction to Baker Hunt are listed below.

Come once and I promise you'll come again.

Institute for Genealogical and Historical Research (IGHR) - Samford

Irish Group 2011

This past summer, Mary Ann Faloon and I  had the pleasure of attending the Institute for Genealogical and Historical Research (IGHR). IGHR provides week-long intensive genealogical training at Samford University.

The experience was somewhat of a cross between a monk-like sabbatical and a college road trip! Mary Ann and I had a great time on the drive down and back and at the sessions. As we approached the campus memories of college  intruded - traipsing down the hall to take a shower was not at the top of my list of pleasurable memories!  We were pleasantly surprised to see that the dorm rooms had in-room bath and shower facilities. Although spartan, the rooms were clean and welcoming. It was a nice change to have all meals provided in the dining hall!

Military 2 Group

The experience was wonderful - genealogy from sun-up to sun-down! Meals were spent meeting other participants and talking about, what else, genealogy! We met many old friends and made new ones. I now have a face to go with the name 'Dear Myrt'!  Next year HCGS is the local sponsor of the The National Genealogical Society Conference giving us all the chance to immerse ourselves in genealogy in the Queen City.  We look forward to hosting our genealogy friends and meeting HCGS members from across the country.

In the meantime, there is a great line-up of local events to keep us happy, including two presentations this Saturday, September 24.  At 11 am Doug Magee will feature the Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County Map Collection and at 2 pm, Kathy Reed will give an introduction to blogging.  Hope to see you!

Many more events are planned for later this Fall, see the Calendar for further details.

It's Not All Online: Ordering Family History Library Microfilm

The Family History Library (FHL) in Salt Lake City literally has a mountain of genealogical records. Some are available online at FamilySearch. But, most are only available to order and view at your local Family History Center (FHC). Family History Centers are located in the Latter Day Saints’ churches throughout the country.

You don’t have to be a member to use a FHC. In fact, most of the people researching at FHCs are not members. Finding an FHC near you is easy at FamilySearch Centers. Simply type the city and state where you live and click 'Search.' If there is more than one, select a FHC that has hours that are convenient for you.

Now comes the fun part - finding the records of your ancestors! I am looking for the Griffith's Valuation Revision Lists that I learned about in Mary Ann Faloon’s presentation. To find out what microfilms the FHL has, I’ll check their online catalog. It is generally best to search by the place-name for the country and county where your ancestor lived. There may be additional records for smaller administrative divisions that you will want to explore as well.

The format for searching place names is to start with the country or county and then work down to the smaller divisions. For the U.S., it is not necessary to include the country. So, if searching for Cincinnati, you would enter Ohio, Hamilton, Cincinnati. To search for Ballymartle, Ireland, you would type in Ireland, Cork, Ballymartle. Entering only a state and county will list county-wide resources.

Searching for Ireland, Cork, produced a long list of microfilms. “General Valuation Revision Lists, Kinsale Union (Cork), 1855-1956” was found in “Ireland, Cork – Land and Property.” Clicking on the record brings up additional information. There are often multiple microfilms in a collection. A detailed list of what is on each film is in the description. I’m looking for the Ballymartle Electoral Division which is on FHL BRITISH Film 829111 Item 2. Many microfilms have multiple items. So, when I get this film, I’ll advance the film to Item 2.

Great – I found the records I was looking for! Before I leave the catalog, I’ll review the list for any other interesting titles and also check under Ireland, Cork, Ballymartle to see what local records are available. I  found, The Land and the People of Nineteenth-Century Cork: the Rural Economy and the Land in Question. Books are not available on interlibrary-loan through the FHL. A quick check on WorldCat, indicates the book is at the University of Cincinnati.

To order a microfilm you will need to know the title: “General Valuation Revision Lists, Kinsale Union (Cork), 1855-1956” and the microfilm number: “BRITISH Film 829111 Item 2”. Take this information and the film rental fee of about $5.50 to the local FHC (fees vary by location).

Before you fill out a microfilm request form, confirm the film is not already on-loan at the local FHC. The helpful FHC staff will answer any questions. Your request will be sent to the FHL and in 4-6 weeks, you will get a call letting you know that your film has arrived.  Film can be viewed at the FHC but cannot be taken home. 

The initial rental fee allows you to view the film for a short time. If you haven’t finished with the film before it is due, you can renew it or place it on indefinite hold. Not all Family History Centers keep ‘indefinite hold’ microfilms permanently. If you place a film on ‘indefinite hold,’ be sure to let the staff know that you are still using the film actively. Once you have finished, you can request that the FHC keep the microfilm permanently or tell them that you no longer need the film.

Online ordering of microfilms is available for some, but not all areas. See FHL Film Online Ordering Now Available in Cincinnati for information about ordering online.

Happy Hunting!

This is the first in a series of posts that will feature repositories and resources that are not available online. If have any suggestions or would like to feature a repository, please contact Liz Stratton. It is not necessary for you to become a blog contributor. I am happy to post the blog for you with your by-line. Thanks!

Submitted by Liz Stratton; Updated 27 November 2012.

What I Learned Reading The Tracer

I was excited to receive my August 2011 copy of The Tracer.  It seems that every time I dig into my copy lately, I find something directly related to my research.  This edition was no exception.  I've been researching my ancestors who served in the Civil War, some of whom were German.  So of course I was drawn to Don Heinrich Tolzmann's article on Germans in the Civil War. Mary Ann Faloon submitted and article on "More Irish Genealogy Learning Opportunities Available from Home" and Jim Dempsey helped us get a better handle on Probate Court records.  What really caught my eye in this issue, however, was Judy Craven's article on "The Mystery of Passenger #171 . . ."

Scanning the article, I realized that Judy had included a list of 204 passengers from Bremen to Cincinnati in 1852.  Better yet, many of the passengers came from the Oldenburg region of Germany with town names so familiar I can rattle them off in my sleep.

My Vonderheide ancestors emigrated from Holdorf, Germany.  The first family of "my" Vonderheides that came to Cincinnati were included in Judy's list.

Click to view in larger size.

Although not in my direct line, this Herman and Elisabeth were the aunt and uncle of those who were to arrive 29 years later.  They probably were the link that made my g-grandparents decide on Cincinnati.  Judy questioned in her article whether or not Arnold Muthing, passenger #171, could actually be her great-grandfather, Adolph, using his brother's name.  Judy went on to describe her evidence for why she had concluded that "This must be Adolph!"

How did this impact me?  First of all, I grew up in Pleasant Ridge and was in a Girl Scout troop with Carol Muething.  Her mother, Mildred, was one of our leaders.  A quick phone call to Judy confirmed that she knew that family well and that they were related to her.  Secondly, I was encouraged to think that if Judy could find Vonderheides on a Passenger List that I should be able to also. 

For years it amazed me that I could not find "my" family in Germans to America or on a passenger list.  After all, I knew more than most.  I had a copy of  my gg-grandfather's naturalization papers and I knew they had arrived in the U.S. in June, 1881 when my g-grandfather was 7 years old.  Encouraged by Judy's success, I searched one more time.  Here is what I found:

Click to view larger size

The person who transcribed this record recorded the name of passenger #157 as H. o. d. Heide, age 42. Here is the transcription for his wife and three children:

Click to view larger size

My Vonderheide family of 1881 included Hermann Heinrich (age 42), Elisabeth (age 43), Joseph and Heinrich (Henry) twins (age 11) and August (age 7).  The ages for the parents were correct.  Elisabeth could have had the nickname of Liselle.  What was clearly "Heinr." on the original record was transcribed as "Heiur", and "August" was transcribed as "Margurt".  The poor transcription of the names was understandable, but the ages were clearly wrong.  And how did they EVER decide that their surname was HeideHeide?

I have overwhelming evidence that this is the exact time frame for the arrival of my ancestors in Baltimore.  I have the Naturalization record, a written family history and census documents that all support this date.  I'm not surprised that the people responsible for recording the names of the people in steerage were not too concerned about getting the ages of the children correct.  Everything else fits.

So I want to thank Deb Cyprych and Judy Craven for their work on The Tracer and publication of this article.  Without their contributions, I would have never solved this mystery  -- The Mystery of Passenger #157 and his family. And Judy can add her name to the list of HCOGS members from this area.  Anybody for a DNA test?

Griffith's Valuation with Mary Ann Faloon

Mary Ann Faloon

Mary Ann Faloon, Chairman of the Irish Interest Group for the Hamilton County Genealogical Society was the Guest Speaker for the Kenton County Library's Congenealogy Group.  Due to the current renovations at the library, the meeting was held at the Baker-Hunt Arts and Cultural Center on Greenup St. in Covington, Kentucky.

Those in attendance were really in for a treat.  Learning how to navigate Irish genealogical records can be a daunting task.  Mary Ann was able to lead us through the various kinds of records available for researching Irish ancestors.  Tithes were collected to support the Church of Ireland.  The "County Cess" was created to support the needs of the counties.  The Griffith's Valuation was based on any occupant of the land, regardless of whether or not they owned land. 

Various acts passed in 1826, 1848 and 1852 determined what was to be assessed.  After 1838 the country was divided into Poor Law Unions and after 1852, all assessments were organized by Poor Law Unions.

We learned of the unintended consequences that made it much more profitable for landlords to evict their tenants and level their homes rather than pay the assessed taxes.  Mary Ann tracked a few select individuals through the various records so that we could better understand how the records complement each other to provide a fairly good picture of an individual ancestor.

We were provided with a list of terms and related resources.  Some items, including the Griffith's Valuation, are available online.  Townland Maps and 6" Maps are available in the Genealogy and History Department of the Cincinnati Public Library. Still other records are on microfilm which can be ordered and placed on loan at your local Family History Library.

Once again I am amazed at the expertise that can be found within the membership of the Hamilton County Genealogical Society -- one more reason to become actively involved. 

Jan Mueller of the Kenton County Library was our host for the evening.  Anyone interested in other programs sponsored by the Congenealogy Group can ask to be put on a mailing list.  Jan's email address is:
jan.mueller@kentonlibrary.org

Listed are some online resources that can be used to aid you in your Irish Genealogy.

• Ordnance Survey Maps - http://shop.osi.ie/
• Griffith's Valuation - http://www.askaboutireland.ie/griffith-valuation/index.xml
• Lists of Townlands by Civil Parish - http://www.seanruad.com/
• Catholic Parish Information - http://www.irishtimes.com/ancestor/browse/counties/rcmaps/index.htm

Baker-Hunt Arts and Cultural Center