Ebay, or What Happens When Photos are Labeled

Ebay has a listing for family photos of Duryea, Bedell, Layton, Mott, and other related names.  We know this because several photos are labeled.  This identification is so rare that the seller is asking an astonishing $1,200.00 for the lot.

The photos and information contained in the brief labels are great.  I'm glad that the photos were posted at all, so I can at least see them and gain some info.  Yet, I'm glad that this is not my direct line because I would not pay $1200 for the photos.

On opposing pages are pictures of two women.  The picture on the left is labeled, "Ella Salt.  Later married David Layton."  The picture on the right is labeled, "David Layton.  First wife.  Phoebe."

The Wives of David Layton
Left: Ella Salt, second wife
Right: Phoebe Davis, first wife

David, Phoebe, and Ella were living together in the 1910 census.  Wonder what melodrama was going on in that household.

1910 federal census, North Hempstead, Nassau County, New York

This group was buried at Westbury Friends Cemetery in Westbury, Nassau County, New York.  Someone has kindly posted pictures of the graves here.

Software: Family Tree Maker 2011

To organize my every-multiplying family research information, I use Family Tree Maker software available through Ancestry.com.  I have the most current version, 2011.  You get good service for the $40 purchase price.  If you do not have an Ancestry subscription, then you will not get the most out of this software.  You enter names, add parents, children, spouses and supplement with dates and photos (and don't forget to cite your sources).  Little leaves appear to indicate that a matching record may have been located within the Ancestry.com database.  The software looks at the entire Ancestry.com database for matches.  I have a tendency to outline someone's life decade by decade, and then look for additional records only in the location where I think they would be.  This is partly because some names result in too many irrelevant matches.  By filling in the date parameters for you, this software can pick up some important records that you may have missed.

As a method of organization, I name women by their birth name, not a married name.  If I do not know a woman's birth name, I give her a last name of "Unknown."  This indicates to me that I have not uncovered all of her vital information yet.  Family Tree Maker sometimes locates appropriate records based on name changes, sometimes does not.

You can upload your tree to Ancestry.com fairly easily by creating a no-frills gedcom.  Your pictures will not travel with your tree.  If you want photos in your online tree, you need to add them one by one.  With the software on your computer, you can view any census page that you have saved.  In the online tree, viewers will see a listing of locations and years, but not the actual census entries.  Any revisions you would like to make after posting your tree must be done step by step.

A fluke that I noted with the 2011 version that was not in the 2010 version is saving media.  My media was not saving in spite of a merge.  I think I figured it out.  When merging records from Ancestry.com with an individual, you need to be on the page that lists the potential matches.  The final page of the dialogue box detailing the merge needs to show the actual media image, or the image will not become part of the media in the tree.

Sample page of Family Tree Maker 2011.  The media displayed in the column on the right will not appear if the record is not merged from the records page.

If this (non) image appears in the dialogue box just prior to merging records, the media will not display in your tree.

Other than the media issue, the software is running great so far.  You can create complicated charts to share your research or print family stories- bunches of facts.  I would recommend Family Tree Maker to anyone who is interested in pursuing family roots.

Working with Name Variants

Tracking the Zolders is requires recognizing them in different forms.  A few of them arrived in the United States in the 1880s from Hungary, later Austria.  In 1895 they appeared in their first census in Bayonne, Hudson County, New Jersey.  Below are some of the variations on this last name as depicted in the census, vital records, newspapers, and even etched into a gravestone.  Cousins found some entries.  Others were located after searching tediously, page by page.  Other entries were found after locating other family in the record and then searching nearby.  They tended to stay in the same geographical location year after year, making searching easier.

This is a great example of why you need to be open to alternate spellings and diligent in pursuing all possible avenues.  I have no doubt that the location of additional records will yield more variants for the Zolders.

1895 New Jersey State Census, Bayonne, Hudson County, New Jersey
Selda or Selder

Federal Census, 1900, Bayonne, Hudson County, New Jersey
Selder

Zolder (mit umlaut) spelling on family birth certificate 1910, Bayonne

Zolder spelling in the 1910 census, Bayonne

From the caption of the photo with the obit for Mary Zolder, wife of Andrew (also spelled Colder in the same article), 1918

Obit for Mary Colder, died 1930 in Bayonne

Gravestone at Bayview Cemetery, Jersey City, Hudson County, New Jersey.
Note the umlaut above the O.

DNA again

Happy Birthday to me

I ordered another DNA test.  It was on sale (hee hee).  23andme has discounted their genetic testing from $500 to $100, so I ordered a kit.  You also need to subscribe to their update service for one year at $60, but the total is still much cheaper than $500.

If I understand this test correctly, I will possibly find any relation- not just direct maternal lines.

I was alerted to this sale by a post of a distant cousin.  I located her through my aunt's mt-DNA test.  We have a common female ancestor- just no clue who this woman was.

Times were different

I have been searching through the Red Bank Register, the newspaper for Monmouth County, New Jersey, available online for free.  The search engine is great.  I am piecing together a branch of the Duryea and Dwyer family with help from tidbits such as this detailed obituary.

While looking at older newspapers, I take a little time and browse the surrounding articles to get a feel for what was going on in that time and place.  I came across an interesting article that lists the current patients of a nearby hospital, complete with their home address.  Such information sharing is prohibited today and made me smile.