Death and Birth Records Now available for PA

The house bill has been passed to allow access to death records prior to 1961 and birth records prior to 1906.  This is wonderful, but we have yet to hear how, when or where they will be available.  The records are to go to the Pennsylvania Archives, but what does this mean?  Will they be on microfilm? On computer?  Will Ancestry.com or FamilySearch.org make them available on their websites?  How many birth records will be available since Pennsylvania only began officially recording them in 1906?

This is a lovely start, but we still have a long way to go to make me jump for joy.  We will still have to wait 5 months to receive a death certificate.

GSP & Ancestry.com PA Family History Day

Yesterday was Family History Day sponsored by The Genealogical Society of Pennsylvania and Ancestry.com.  I always come home ready to break down those brick walls and to take on new challenges.  They had wonderful speakers from across the US.  I heard renown speaker, Curt B. Witcher, Manager of the Genealogy Center at the Allen County Public Library in Fort Wayne, IN speak on “The Changing Face of Genealogy”.  He is so entertaining and really hit the head on the nail about genealogy.  Since I began so many years ago, we have gone from trips to the library to search microfilms (and pray you would stumble across your ancestor) to type their names into Ancestry.com and viola –more information than you can possibly absorb in one sitting.

Most of my research is in Pennsylvania, so I never miss John Humphrey speaking about those PA Ancestors.  If you are researching in PA you really must purchase his book “Pennsylvania Research:  County and Township Records”.  I am constantly pulling it off the shell to see what records can be found in a new county where I’m working.  He has oodles of books that every serious genealogist needs on their reference shelf.

The next speaker I heard was Susan Koelble on “Formation of the Pennsylvania Counties”.  She has published a companion book that goes with her talk.  For the price, I couldn’t resist purchasing one.  I have a software program, called Animap, that is also very helpful for other US County Boundaries and is also an historical atlas.  If you are having difficulty find a record in a county courthouse, you just might want to see if that town/township fell in another county at the time of the event.  Pennsylvania counties did not necessarily share their records when the county lines changed.  From the 3 original counties of PA, we now have 67.  You can imagine how many times those county lines changed in the 110 years it took to finalize the present boundaries.

Our lunch time speaker was DearMyrtle (Pat Richley), who is from Salt Lake City.  “Let Them Eat Jam” she says and went on to describe the many flavors of jam.  If you think this is a talk on food, you would be mistaken.  Jam in this case is whatever “floats your boat” or that you get excited about.  If you like genealogy you know not EVERYONE else does.  Have you ever been to a genealogical society meeting and been bored to death by that guy who just has to tell you all about the research he has done so perfectly over the past umpteen years.  Take note –boriiiinnnng.  Don’t you fall in this same trap.  Families are a potpourri of jams – photographers, teachers, travelers, etc. and everyone likes to share their stories.

Ancestry.com provided some excellent speakers.  I attended Juliana Smith’s talk on “Finding Your US Military Heroes on Ancestry.com”.  I have been a member of Ancestry from inception and still learn lots of things about the website with every meeting.  A word of advice — open up those little areas under the boxes.  Try looking at the default settings under First Name or Last Name.  You have many more options and will make your searches more defined.

The final speakers I heard were Aaron McWilliams from the Pennsylvania Archives and Kathleen Hale from the Pennsylvania State Library.  Both are excellent and always willing to help you find that hidden gem at the Archives or Library that will advance your search.  Aaron worked with “Who Do You Think You Are?” produces to help actor Steve Buscemi find his PA connections.  We were told there will be a season 3 of this show, so keep an look out for the advertisements.

Can you tell I had a great time?  I never miss a chance to visit the vendors either.  I have a Nook, but still love holding those old books and adding some meat to my barebones research.  And always looking for a new piece of software to help with my research.  I’ll get back to you on the program I purchased “Gen Detective”.  It is supposed to tell you what you don’t know and what you need to find.  I also heard the count is 149 days until 1940 Census is released.  And finally, please write to your Representatives about voting in favor of putting birth and death certificates on the web.  If you need gr. grandma’s death certificate from 1910, it just may take an act of congress to get a copy.  It is presently taking about 4 months.

Bill Jackson on Emma Jane Foster, RN with the Flying Tigers

Today, Derry Seniors in Hershey, heard Bill Jackson, former owner of The Sun of Hershey and Hummelstown, speak on Emma Jane Foster.  Emma Jane was a nurse who supported the Flying Tigers while they were in China fighting the Japanese.  Emma is one of our own “Notable Women of Pennsylvania” being born in Bellefonte, PA.  It is a fascinating story that will make any woman proud.

Emma was a woman ahead of her time, but very humble about her accomplishments.  If you want to hear a captivating speaker, get in touch with William S. Jackson of Hummelstown.

Lancaster County Historical Society / LancasterHistory.org

LancasterHistory.org

Lancaster County’s Historical Society
will be closed to the public from
September 6 to 24, 2011

In preparation for the upcoming construction at LancasterHistory.org’s headquarters, Lancaster County’s Historical Society will be closed to the public from September 6-24, 2011. We will reopen at our interim location in Lancaster City on September 27 at 9:30 am.

The historical society will operate from 4 West King Street, Lancaster (right off Penn Square, see below for a map and directions) for approximately fourteen months. During that time, our operating hours will be 9:30 am- 6:00 pm, Tuesday-Friday, 9:30 am-4:30 pm Saturday. Wheatland will continue to operate as normal. Our contact information will remain the same.

Researchers take note of this relocation and remember the Archives and Lancaster Mennonite Society are still open for research

 

PSSDAR South Central District

August 27th the South Central District of PSSDAR held a High Tea to support our State Regent’s Project for the DAR Schools.  What a huge success.  We had 11 beautiful baskets and a Treasure Chest to distribute.  Our daughters are very generous and we raised almost $1000 towards the Regent’s Project.

High Tea can be a lot of fun, especially when we get out our hats and gloves.  We had daughters from around the mid-state area from as far north as Lewisburg – Shikelimo Chapter, Scranton- Scranton City Chapter, and the State Regent from Washington, PA.

If anyone is interested in joining the DAR, you can get help by emailing me at the contact section of my website.

Hershey Family Reunion Newsletter

The Hershey family reunion is being held, August 28th in Paradise, at the usual spot.  I have put together a newsletter to keep the family updated on the information I receive.  It has been emailed to those folks who have been kind enough to share their email.  For all the rest, you are missing out.  You can reach me through the contact section of my website to get on the email list.

Zotero

Dick Eastman’s newsletter is so informative and if I only had half the time needed to try everything, I would be a super computer geek.  I did log in to a new website that he suggested called Zotero.  It is great if you are an author and have lots of citations for a bibliography, footnotes, or endnotes.  It may take some time to get used to it, but when you get working with it, you will save lots of time with just a quick click or two.

Go to www.zotero.org and watch the video of his interview with Connie Riek, Government Publications Coordinator and Research Librarian for History at Tisch Library at Tufts University.  It is short, but fascinating.  They have sold me on Zotero.

Does anyone know Susannah Shafer Shoemaker Ayres?

I continue to search for that elusive connection for yet another NSDAR Supplemental.  I am looking for the birth place of Susannah Shafer, born to Adam and Elizabeth (Swartout) Shafer in 1789.  She first married Malachi Shoemaker.  When he died she married Gilbert Ayres (Ayers) “late in life”.  She was 62 when she married Gillie.  Not so late in life now that I’m reaching that age.  She live into her 90’s so it was not really late in her life.

Another connection I’m struggling with is Persis Stone, daughter of Benjamin and Susannah (Buckman) Stone.  She was born 1772, I know not where.  I have the baptismal records for all her brothers and sisters, but cannot find her listed in any of the church records of her parents.  She married Jesse Morse.  They were from Massachusetts but later move to Bradford County, Pennsylvania where they both died and are buried.

This will not conquer me, but will drive me a little nuts until I locate the information.

Stampin Up Cards

I’ve added a new dimension to my life making cards with my neighbor, Barb at the StampinUp studio nearby.  It is so much fun to be creative when you have no talent for it.  But I can copy the many cards we make in class or that are on line, in the shops such as Michael’s and AC Moore or that I see in card shops that need a little tinkering.

Like any hobby, it gets expensive, but so much fun and if you team up with someone else, you can trade stamps, cutters, etc.

 

Federation of Genealogical Societies

The Federation of Genealogical Societies annual conference is getting reved up for the 2011 meeting in Springfield, IL, Sept 7-10.     If you plan to attend, it is time to get registered, find a hotel and start planning what sessions you will attend.  I usually try to attend every year, but will have to sit it out this year due to other commitments.

As we get closer to 2012, you will hear more about the 200th anniversary of the War of 1812.  The Federation is helping the National Archives and the genealogy community digitize the War of 1812 Pension Applications.  There is a counter on their website that lets you see their progress.  They are about 1% of the way and need financial assistance to complete the project.  Donations are gladly accepted, so go to the Federation website at www.fgs.org. and make a donation.

There are so many things to hear about at FGS.  And one of the most important parts is the exhibit area where 100s of exhibitors display their software, books, maps, etc.  It always seems like I come home with about 100 extra pounds of books.

All folks who profess to be a genealogist should attend at least one major genealogy conference per year and a number of local meetings to keep current with new ideas, records and websites available.