New York State Historical Note:

In 1785, the Oneida reluctantly succumbed to pressure from New York State to sell their land at Oquaga (Onaquaga), (now Windsor and Colesville, Broome Co., NY).  By the 1740s the large Oneida village extended along the Susquehanna River.  In 1756, Sir William Johnson, superintendent of Indian Affairs was asked to set up a trading post.  That same year he a fort built to protect local Oneida families during the French and Indian War.  Thayendanegea (Joseph Brant), Mohawk, gathered forces at Oquaga in an attempt to stop the expansion of European settlements.

Family Member Profile:

William Marcus Wormuth – Uncle Marcus – son of Thomas James Wormuth and Fanny B. Hulse – was born 16 Jan 1892 in Peakville, Delaware County, NY.  He died 26 Aug 1956 in Harvard, Delaware Co. and is buried in the Harvard Cemetery.  He remained a bachelor all his life.

He worked for and lived with John D. Houck and Nancy Wormuth Houck on Houck Mountain.  Nancy was his sister as was my grandmother, Margaret Eleanor Wormuth Beismer.

He was my great uncle but I remember him as Uncle Marcus.  I remember him as taller than his sisters, handsome and pleasant, but shy and quiet.

I’ve only seen one photograph of Uncle Marcus.  He was standing in either a hay wagon or a manure wagon.  My mother had a copy but it was lost, possibly in a roof leak.  If anyone has any photos of him, I’d appreciate and would pay for a copy.

Software:  Ancestral Quest

You may have read that I recently purchased Ancestral Quest to replace PAF (Personal Ancestry File) which is no longer being supported.  I was nervous about how well my database would migrate into Ancestral Quest and was very happy that there were no problems and the process was very quick.  Ancestral Quest appears to be modelled on PAF, many screens and reports are identical and it has many enhancements that I’m only beginning to discover.  I will report on features that I find useful.  I’ve applied to be an affiliate and will shortly have a link to their web site where you can purchase the software.  It’s very reasonable and easy to install and use.

The Wilderness Empire by AllanW. Eckert

Do As I Say, Not As I Do

I discovered an index card today, written in someone else's hand, with notes of connections between relatives and relatives of relatives.  I have no idea who gave it to me or when.

I admit it; I'm a sloppy note taker and very disorganized.  

I also recently discovered a photo of my paternal grandfather that I've had for years.  I don't remember ever seeing it.  I didn't know I had it but I do remember other items in the envelop I found it in.  The photo is attached to my grandfather's enlistment card.

Over the years, many people have given or sent me notes, photographs, newspaper clippings.  I have boxes and files full of things.

Over the years, I've visited a lot of people who have spent time talking to me, giving me information about relatives and ancestors.  I've taken notes, returned home and looked at the notes weeks and months later and not been able to figure out what I'd written, or who I'd visited or when.

Sometimes, I'm able to piece together these things and fill in holes in family trees and take another step forward in the family history.  Sometimes, I have to put the note back into a file folder or envelop and hope I'll figure it out later.

I apologize globally to all who have contributed to the information I have on my families, for being so disorganized that I can't always remember who gave me what.

So, DO AS I SAY, NOT AS I DO.

Get yourself a plan together, a routine for research, for taking notes.

If nothing else, whenever you're working, visiting somebody, looking at some kind of record, use the basic journalistic practice of writing down:  Who, What, When Where.  Sometimes you need to record How and/or Why, as well.

Whether you use spiral notebooks, a 3-ring binder, loose note paper, when you begin, write down, on the top of the page:  Date, Place, Title of Resource, Name of Person Spoken to, etc.

As you take notes - write down the surname of individuals discussed.  Draw a miniature family tree chart.

Use separate pieces of paper for different surnames.

When you get home, look over the notes briefly to be sure you know what you've got, then file them in surname file folders.

This index card I've found has mostly given (first) names related to the writer's "Dad".  Since I don't know who gave the card to me, I don't know who the Dad was.  Fortunately, there are a few surnames given and some are familiar, although not directly related.

The next few blogs will be about a filing system, correspondence and genealogy etiquette.

I really would appreciate your comments.  I'm sure you have methods and practices that would be helpful to me.

Switching Software

I'm definitely a creature of habit and I like my routines and familiar tools.

But, every once in a while, something changes that you can't avoid and you have to make a change:  new dentist, new hair cutter, new software.

I've used PAF, Personal Ancestral File, the Mormon family history software, for decades.  I first acquired it because it was free and it proved to provide everything I need and it improved over time.  I did try another software for a very short time, for whatever reason.  It was inexpensive but had more of a learning curve than I wanted and it also linked my database to a well-known online genealogy site that I pay to use, and appreciate, but I don't have any interest in supplying them free data.  So I uninstalled it.

I used to have my own free family history web site with charts, photos and lots of information but encountered someone who appeared to want to exploit my data for personal profit and that same genealogy web site clearly data-mined my site and sent me emails wanting to sell me back data that, as far as I knew already, only I had.  So, I deleted all my online files and deleted that site membership.

I use a couple of online genealogy sites that allow you to upload your GEDCOM - genealogical database files - and control access to your own data.  My membership in one has lapsed to I don't have access to my own data now and updating the database is not easily done.  More on that later.

Most recently, I've been migrating my data files to my new laptop.  You can't migrate your software applications; you have to install them on your new system.  So, I visited the Mormon FamilySearch site to get the latest edition of PAF only to discover that it's no longer supported.  This has happened before and within a few years, PAF is downloadable at the Mormon site again.  Still, I can't wait, I have work to do.  The edition I have on my old laptop was downloaded, no discs.  The last edition I have on disc is way too old and is not compatible with Windows 8 which is the operating system I have now.  So, what to do?

FamilySearch, the Mormon genealogy site, with some effort in finding it, has a list of both free and commercial software available.  I went to the site of a couple of them but it was obvious, right away that Ancestral Quest is, more or less, a new edition of PAF, with with a few bells and whistles.

Ancestral Quest is very inexpensive, under $30, and easy to use.  I was very concerned about migrating my database file into the new software but it worked easily and, so far, foolproof - no errors. I'm happy with it so far and have already added quite a few records to my database through AQ, added a database to compile some work for a friend and printed out a substantial number of reports from mine and her databases.

I highly recommend Ancestral Quest as a basic genealogical software application, and beyond.