Thursday, August 23, 2012

In the Footsteps of Our Ancestors

Yesterday was a lovely day thanks to a dear friend, Marianne.  She lives in Morris County and is able to highlight areas for local research that I may overlook.  Her insight and evaluation have been so helpful to me.

We visited La Cucina Restaurant in Denville, Morris County, New Jersey.  What does this have to do with genealogy?  I would have never guessed.  The business was a restaurant and store on the Morris Canal since the late 1800s, owned by Edward Cook Peer.  I was able to walk around a home where my relatives worked and where other relatives from the neighborhood dined and shopped!

This is a picture on the wall of La Cucina Restaurant.
The store was on the canal.
Today there is land in front of the house and patrons arrive by vehicle, not boat.
[Photo credit:  Marianne Totaro]
The interior of the restaurant displays old photographs, some of the Peer Family.
The site displays a marker from The Morris County Heritage Commission.
[Photo credit: Marianne Totaro]
The household of Edward Cook Peer in the 1880 census in Denville.
Ancestry.com
I am descended from Peer and Cook in Morris County, so a person named Edward Cook Peer is of particular interest to me.  I am not sure at this point how he is related to me, but I would suspect that he is related in more than one way.  The most recent Peer in my line was Jane Peer.  She married John Cook in 1772.  They lived in nearby Pequannock.

We absorbed some more of the local surroundings by visiting the alpacas
at Brookhollow Farm in Boonton.

Tuesday, August 21, 2012

AncestryDNA: Genetic Ethnicity


The results of the AncestryDNA kit are in.  Please bear with me as I try to decipher the results.

We received a summation of ethnic background.  The person who tested, M.S., is adopted.  To borrow a quote from R.S., "We didn't think she looked Chinese."  The AncestryDNA results reflect our conclusion.  M.S. is thoroughly of European ancestry for the last several generations of ancestors.

Clicking on "See Full Results" reveals histories of the genetic ethnic groups- their migration patterns for tens of thousands of years.  To personalize, people who match M.S. genetically are listed on the side with their corresponding percentage from the chosen geographical area.  Perhaps if both genetic cousins had very tiny percentages of a particular area this could help pinpoint where in their trees to look for the common ancestor.  Genetic ethnicity is not particularly helpful for M.S. at this time.

Sunday, August 19, 2012

New Jersey Probate Records Online

Family Search has just offered New Jersey probate records- over 3 million images.  Dates range from the late 1600s through the 1900s.  I am going to be very busy!  The records on this site are free and are the digitized versions of the microfilm rolls that you can order through a FamilySearch Center.  Types of records include wills, accountings, and guardianships.  To use the probate records, you need to use the indexes on the film as created by the Surrogate's Court.  The site is actively indexing its holdings and you can volunteer to help index.

You may discover dates of death from these records along with heirs at law (if no will/will rejected) or the people/family to whome the testator devised the estate.  Guardianship proceedings are also informative because all minor children should be named.  The surviving parent did not automatically receive custody of the children, hence the guardianship records.




The records are organized by county.  Keep in mind two things when you search for probate records.  First, boundaries of counties changed over the years and new counties were carved from existing counties.  If you know the name of the town (which also may have changed) where your family lived, you should be able to identify which county to search within a range of years.

The map on the right represents the 21 modern counties of New Jersey.  [Credit Geology.com.]
The map on the right is from circa 1826.  [Rutgers Special Collection]
The second point to keep in mind when searching for probate records is that the will or estate did not necessarily have to be probated in the county where the deceased lived.  The proceedings may be in a neighboring county or in the county where the real property (land/houses) was located.  This could result in probate proceedings in more than one county or even state, so read the records carefully for references to other proceedings.

Page from the Surrogate's Docket Index of Essex County, New Jersey
You may have to play around with the numbers until you find the corresponding documents.


Docket #17226 turned out to be a guardianship proceeding for the minor children of Charlotte Uhl,
awarding her guardianship of her own children after her husband died.