Tuesday, August 28, 2012

Online Newspapers: Chronicling America

Another expansive and free source of online newspapers is the Chronicling America website in the online digital collection of the Library of Congress.  I located some articles here that I was not able to find elsewhere.

You may search terms narrowed by state and date.  The result screen will highlight the desired search word in dark pink.  Click on the link below the image for a view without the pink highlight.  Also record the link so you have a source.

The small dark pink square is the word that you entered in the search box.
The web link below the image will provide you with a clear copy.  You can enlarge the image.


New York Daily Tribune, 7 June 1850.
If you are lucky, you may find miscellaneous information about your family.
George W Duryea broke his leg in 1850.
 

We can then look over the family's time line to picture this occurrence in light of other known events.
George W Duryea's first son, Jacob, was born 12 July 1850, one month after the accident.
Perhaps he was still recuperating at home when his son was born.
[Hoboken Cemetery, North Bergen, Hudson County, New Jersey.  Picture by J Lutter.]


New York Daily Tribune, 1 November 1842
This article tells us that Mary B Sillsbee and William Winterton lived at the same address, 2 Carlisle street, New York City.
Further research is required to determine if there was a familial relation
or if they were merely tenants of a multi-family dwelling.

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.