Cheyenne Genealogy Journal - Message From the CGHS President
←
→
Page content transcription
If your browser does not render page correctly, please read the page content below
Upcoming Events:
Cheyenne Genealogy Journal 9 Mar 2021
CGHS Monthly Meeting &
Program: “Mapping Your
Family History”
Susie Wickman, Colorado
Message From the CGHS President Genealogist
While I am certain that there is at least one more snowstorm up Mother Na- Cheyenne Genealogical &
ture's sleeve I do believe that Spring has sprung. My crocus are blooming, the iris Historical Society
are shooting up and the rhubarb crop is bubbling from the soil (call me if you like to 6:15-8:00 p.m.,
Online Zoom Event—email
have some as there will be plenty!) and I am frustrated. My newest friend
otishalverson@gmail.com
“Clunk“ (formerly known as my left arm) is the dominating factor in my life and that for Zoom link
means very little activity on my part. I am perennially tired since everything I can do
requires two to three times as much energy as normal, so...well, enough whining! 20 Apr 2021
Next week “Clunk” will be gone and replaced by “Clunk Jr” and all will be better. “Adding Memories to
FamilySearch Family
I wish I could report that I have done a pile of family research but that is also a
Tree” 10 a.m.
“no”or at least it was until yesterday. I saw the free Ancestry UK weekend being Family History Library
offered and sat down to give it a try. My mother's side is 100% Irish and I had been Webinar
saving the clues for future research. I had some luck except that I had to continu-
ally sign-in between searches. As I was paying $0, I am not complaining! I was glad 23 Apr 2021
that I had actually a.) prepared for this po- “Never Trust...” 9 a.m.
tential time, and b.) that I took the time to Family History Library
do it. I was still tired yesterday afternoon Webinar
but in a much better mood!
23 Apr 2021
As I look back at this past year I think “English History & Family
we should be very proud of ourselves for History Research:1066-
keeping the group going. Great programs 1714” 9:30 a.m.
helped (Kris!!!) and a fantastic upgrade to Family History Library
Zoom technology (Otis, Otis he's our man!!) Webinar
kept us viable and communication was great
23 Apr 2021
(Wendy!) Please support us as we move into “English History & Family
2021/2022 by paying your dues, visiting the History Research:1714-
website and if you participate on Facebook 1939” 10 a.m.
liking and following our page! Judy Family History Library
Webinar
23 Apr 2021
March is Women’s History Month Celebrating Its Theme: “Church of England
Records Before 1813”
“Valiant Women of the Vote: Refusing to be Silenced” 11 a.m.
Women’s History Month is a celebration of women’s contributions to history, culture and Family History Library
society and has been observed annually in the month of March in the United States since Webinar
1987. Women’s History Month 2021 will take place from Monday, March 1 until Wednesday,
March 31, 2021. Women’s History Month is a dedicated month to reflect on the often- 23 Apr 2021
overlooked contributions of women to United States history. From Abigail Adams to Susan B. “Church of England
Anthony, Sojourner Truth to Rosa Parks, the timeline of women’s history milestones stretches Records From 1813 On-
back to the founding of the United States. The actual celebration of Women’s History Month ward” 11:30 a.m.
grew out of a weeklong celebration of women’s contributions to culture, history and society Family History Library
organized by the school district of Sonoma, California, in 1978. Presentations were given at Webinar
dozens of schools, hundreds of students participated in a “Real Woman” essay contest and a
parade was held in downtown Santa Rosa. 26 Apr 2021
Six sessions on DNA &
The National Women’s History Alliance designates a yearly theme for Women's History genealogy (Refer to the
Month. The 2021 theme is a continuation of 2020's: "Valiant Women of the Vote: Refusing to link below for a complete
Be Silenced." This theme recognizes the battle for women's suffrage, which was gained with list of topics and sign
the passage of the 19th amendment in 1920. For almost 100 years, women had been fighting ups)
for the right to vote: They made speeches, signed petitions, staged demonstrations and ar- Family History Library
gued over and over again that women, like men, deserved all of the rights and responsibilities Webinar
of citizenship.
UW Dean Peter Parolin Analyzed a 17th Century Manuscript to Understand Early American Life
This article was written by Ivy Engel, this were not uncommon at the time. the love and the expertise and the
iengel@uwyo.edu, reporter for Wyo- Many surviving manuscripts from the wisdom, and the personalities of these
ming Public Radio. It is reprinted with same time period are from upper class long-dead people, it's meaningful to
permission. families, many of which had a steward me to know that there are parts of
who would standardize the book, our lives that carry on, and that can
A 17th-Century book known as give richness to future generations."
the Baumfylde Manuscript has captured It also makes one wonder what our
the attention of researchers looking to own Baumfylde Manuscript will be.
learn more about early modern life. Uni- "What is it that you would hope
versity of Wyoming Honors College your grandchildren might hold in their
Dean Peter Parolin contributed hands, or see on their computer
an essay to the Early Modern Studies screens 50, 60 years from now? Or
Journal (University of Texas) discussing their grandchildren 150 years from
the manuscript and what it can tell us now?" asked Parolin. "And when you
about its authors. think about it that way, maybe that
The biggest thing that interested will be an inspiration to put your own
him was the collaborative nature of the Baumfylde Manuscript together,
manuscript. whatever it might look like."
"There's a very fascinating, cryptic
Editor’s note: Wyoming Public Radio’s
little phrase in one of the early pages in
Ivy Engel interviewed UW professor
this book, and it says 'many hands
Peter Parolin further about his analy-
hands.' That's all it says. There's no
sis of the manuscript. Following are
context for it. But 'many hands hands'
their thoughts:
is almost a perfect description for the
creative principles that underlie these Peter Parolin: It's one of a large
manuscripts because there's a lot of number of surviving manuscripts of
different hands," said Parolin. "We this sort from the 17th, 18th century.
In the first page of the manuscript, mul- They were kept within a household,
don't know who's the dominant, we tiple people sign their names—first is
don't necessarily know how they relate Mary Baumfylde, claiming ownership of it. they were clearly passed down over
to each other. But there's many differ- generations, where different mem-
though that's not the case with the bers of the household would write in
ent literal, physical hands of people that Baumfylde Manuscript. In Parolin's
hold the book, and then if hand is also them. Primarily, I think it's fair to
opinion, these books likely weren't an say they wrote recipes for dishes,
taken to mean handwriting, there's attempt to leave a stamp on history.
many different kinds of handwriting in culinary recipes, and they wrote reci-
Instead, they served as a collective pes for medicinal remedies. So now,
the book, as well. So you just see net- repository for the household's
works of ownership and relationships we already have a problem, because in
knowledge and allowed that knowledge our times, we don't publish books that
and different kinds of people contrib- to be passed down, like an early data-
uting recipes and wisdom and poems or have a recipe for Baked Alaska along-
base. side a recipe for what to do if you
whatever to the manuscript." "And it is a way, especially for the
As Parolin alluded to, this book have an open sore on your knee, right?
women who had the kitchen as this That's kind of gross to think about
doesn't have a singular focus. The pages central realm, it's a way of writing
hold entries on a variety of topics in- putting those things together. So
themselves into being by saying, 'I we're clearly looking at a world of
cluding culinary recipes, medicinal reci- matter. I have something to offer. I
pes, poems, and aphorisms. According to household wisdom in which different
have information that my family will kinds of recipes were thought worth
Parolin, the vaguely scatterbrained con- like and that some future reader who
tents are actually connected by an im- recording. Those two primary kinds of
may not even be born yet will benefit entries are culinary and medicinal rec-
portant thread. from.'" said Parolin. "I don't want to
"They aren't separate realms, the ipes. But also you get all kinds of oth-
overstate that. I don't think these er bits of information. People wrote
realm of the early modern kitchen was writers thought of themselves as
the place where you cooked your chick- poems and put them in these books;
great literary producers, but I do people wrote lists of almost anything
en dinner, and it was also the place when think when you write down instruc-
somebody was bleeding or when some- like laundry lists or to-do lists, finan-
tions for somebody to follow in the cial charts, all kinds of things like
body had an internal ailment, that was kitchen, you are asserting yourself a
the place where the remedy was put that. They would record births and
little bit." deaths in the family. When I started
together," said Parolin. "You didn't pull The manuscript's contents puts
somebody to the local doctor's office doing this kind of scholarship, I
today's priorities under a microscope. thought, 'I'm looking at early modern
or hospital, you did it at home, if you at "So much of the time, we think
all could, supported by the expertise cookbooks.' But it's not right to say
about what's valuable in our lives is that that's what we're looking at.
that lay beneath your roof." that which we do in our careers, that
Entries started in 1626 by a woman We're looking at something different
which we do in the public world, that that does have cookery recipes, yes,
named Mary Baumfylde. Additions were which we do outside of the boundary
made by various members of the house- but it's a genre that we don't have a
of our houses," said Parolin, "But what precise equivalent for in our world.
hold through 1758, and the book was we do inside our houses matters too
handed down from generation to gener- And that makes it fascinating.
and to know that these recipes have (continued on page 3)
ation. According to Parolin, books like survived for so many years, carrying
The Collective Wisdom of the Household Was Gathered in a Book Such as Mary Baumfylde’s
(continued from page 2) er's handwriting, or my grandmother's, produce. The early modern term that
Ivy Engel: That's very cool. It does and it's very meaningful to me if I'm shows up in the manuscript is receipt.
seem a little scatterbrained, though. making my mother's recipe for Nanaimo And they can be synonymous. But
PP: I think because realms that we bars, which is a West Coast Canadian there's also, I think, there's an inter-
have separated out when we think delicacy that I always loved when I was esting difference of emphasis in the
about what it means to live a life in a kid. So I feel like she's with me, even term receipt. It means something
2021, they hadn't separated out. They though she's not alive anymore when I'm that you have received. And I love the
aren't separate realms, it's, say, the working with her recipe. So I feel like term receipt because that puts the
realm of the early modern kitchen was that's part of what's going on in these recipes into networks of circulation. I
the place where you cooked your early modern manuscripts. And then received this recipe from my mother.
chicken dinner, and it was also the there's also this—you don't have com- It's a recipe, but it's also a receipt,
place when somebody was bleeding or puters, you don't have the internet, you and it shows this relationship that has
when somebody had an internal ail- don't have smittenkitten.com to find happened. And if I share it with
ment, that was the place where the wonderful recipes, right? You have to somebody else who's received it from
remedy was put together. You didn't build your own database of recipes in me, it's a receipt and the line that
pull somebody to the local doctor's the early modern kitchen. And it is a starts with my mother, or maybe it
office or hospital, you did it at home way, especially for the women who had starts with whoever gave her the rec-
if you at all could support it by the the kitchen as a central realm, it's a way ipe to start with, now goes through
expertise that lay beneath your roof. of writing themselves into being, of say- me to this other person. And these
So when a Mary Baumfylde, or a Cath- ing, 'I matter,' 'I have something to networks expand. So when we talk
erine Thatcher, or an Abraham Som- offer,' 'I have information that my fam- about receipt, we're talking about
mers, which are other names in the ily will like and that some future reader movement, we're talking about kinetic
manuscript, when they are contrib- who may not even be born yet will bene- communities. And I think that's real-
uting these recipes, they're imagining fit from.' ly, really cool. Receipt talks about
themselves as putting down wisdom for I don't want to overstate that. I transmission, movement, energy, and
how to take care of the household, don't think these writers thought of that's a nice way to think about those
whether that's your bodily health or themselves as great literary producers. earlier worlds as well as our own.
your appetite for food. They're put- But I do think when you write down in- The complete Parolin essay and other anal-
ting down, 'How do you take care of structions for somebody to follow in the yses on the Baumfylde Manuscript can be
this household today?' And also, 'How kitchen, you are asserting yourself a found in Early Modern Studies Journal.
do I share my wisdom from today, with little bit. In fact, that's kind of the
maybe the next generation or two gen- central thing that I was interested in, in
erations down the road?' These books the article that I wrote on the FamilySearch.org Offers
are amazing because you can see them Baumfylde Manuscript was to investi- ‘FamilySearch Communities’
travel through the generations of a gate how these manuscripts allow the For Help on Hundreds of
family. individual voice to emerge when clearly
they're collective manuscripts. Lots of
Topics, Specialty Research
different voices put them together, the Did you know that FamilySearch.org
collective wisdom of the household goes has Research Communities that may
into them, the generic things that any- provide help in your interest areas?
body knows or should know are in these FamilySearch Genealogy Research
manuscripts. But at the same time, you Groups are resources where individu-
get these eruptions of distinctive, inter- als can post specific genealogical
esting individual voices, where you think, questions or translation requests
'Oh, here's a young girl who's trying regarding a country or region in the
something out for the first time. And world. The community consists of
she's figuring out who she can be, and individuals who wish to collaborate
maybe how she's gonna follow in her and help one another find answers.
mother's footsteps, but carve a slightly To find a research group, you can
different role for herself in the house- go to one of two places:
IE: So do you think that that travel- hold than her mother carved.' So I do
ing and handing it down, do you think think that the manuscripts give us these 1. FamilySearch Community: found on
that kind of speaks to them thinking beautiful glimpses into early modern the FamilySearch website. You must
about the future? Or why would they personalities. log in using your FamilySearch ac-
hand it down versus not have their own IE: Yeah, well, and kind of along with count to view and post questions.
recipe book for each generation of the that. So you had said, recipes? 2. FamilySearch Facebook Groups:
family? PP: mhmm found on Facebook and maintained by
PP: That's a good question. Here's a IE: In your essay it said receipts. FamilySearch. You must have a Face-
place where I think we can still make PP: Yes. book account to view questions and
modern connections. We pass recipes IE: What is the difference and which is "join" the group to post questions.
down in our own families. We share technically correct?
them in friend networks. If you go to a PP: I love that you asked that question. To find out more information and
potluck, and somebody brings a dish When I say recipes, I'm using the mod- to see the list of International,
that you love, you say, 'Please give me ern term recipes. Here are the ingredi- North American and Specialty
that recipe'. I have recipes in my ents, here are the steps that you take, groups, click on the link above.
kitchen that are written in my moth- here's what you're going to ultimately
New Hampshire Genealogists Share Research Hints That Can ‘Put flesh on the bones'
This article was written recently by Emily certificates. You can always look at there was slavery in New England.”
Reily, as a Special to the “New Hampshire Census data. But if you only do that, in But maybe Weir’s most surprising
Union Leader.” your research, you end up with a skele- discovery was finding out he’s a di-
ton of a family tree. It’s just ‘so and so rect descendant of King Æthelred
Online records are a huge resource begat so and so.’ If you really want to the Unready, Weir’s 29th great-
now, but nothing beats family stories put flesh on the bones, to really flesh grandfather. “He’s essentially the one
handed down from generation to genera- out the story, and then understand a who screwed it all up for the Anglo-
tion. While finding your family history bit of the lives of ancestors, you need Saxon kings,” he said.
can be just a click away, getting to the more than that,” said Weir. Gravel, whose family roots are in
real heart of your ancestry may be trick- So where or how should you start? Georgia, said one ancestor fought in
ier — but no less rewarding. Local geneal- Gravel said court records can be key. the Civil War and was taken prisoner
ogists say family researchers shouldn’t “I’d start with vital records (at fami- at Cumberland Gap, Tenn. “I remem-
stop at DNA testing sites like Ances- lysearch.org), then probate. Those are ber a section in the official records
try.com and 23andMe.com, because they where you identify the errors — when that said they threw down their mus-
only tell part of the story. Board- wills are filed or when people die with- kets and wept. And I remember when
certified genealogist Diane Gravel of out leaving a will, then their estate is I saw that, I just got a chill because
Thornton, president of the New Hamp- probated, and the descendants are still it made it so visual. And that’s what a
shire Society of Genealogists, said a wide named. Land records are wonderful. lot of these records do.” Her search
network of lineage societies and services They’re not just deeds. If someone is also brought some devastating reve-
can help people dig deeper to “really put declared ‘non compos mentis’ and can’t lations. “(On) my father’s side, there
the flesh on the bones” of their history, take care of themselves anymore, those were Klansmen, there were the plan-
and maybe even get younger generations types of records are found in there.” tation owners, one of whom was a
curious, too. Erin Apostolos of Alexandria, NH., beekeeper. (There were) several Rev-
“When you start to put character Meredith Public Library’s director and olutionary War soldiers. One woman
with each of those names, that’s where it the society’s recording secretary, was a midwife. I’ve tried to find more
really starts to come to life, and you have agreed that online resources are a records on her. But unfortunately,
something to tell your grandchildren game-changer for researchers, ama- the man who had the family Bible
about that they might even listen to,” she teur and professional alike. “It’s made passed away and his children didn’t
said. State- and local-level resources at life so much easier for genealogists. keep the Bible.”
the society, nhsog.org, include nh.gov/ You can go so much further now than Beware of Mistakes
almanac, with information on famous New you could, unless you wanted to drive Online genealogy also comes with a
Hampshire residents; sections on town, and fly all over the place. caveat. Gravel said one mistake can
land, probate, and court records; library Surprising Discoveries get replicated, and unchecked it can
special collections; and historical socie- Apostolos said her own search re- lead you down the wrong path.
ties and community profiles. Other links vealed a connection to Giles Corey, her “Credibility and accuracy are on-
include familysearch.org, ArchiveGrid and nine times great-grandfather. Corey going problems in genealogical re-
archive.org (WaybackMachine), also was accused of witchcraft during the search, especially given the abun-
known as the “Internet Archive,” a free Salem Witch Trials and pressed to dance of online, undocumented family
digital library with access to everything death in 1692. The only person to re- trees. If a name even remotely
from movies to pictures to outdated web ceive that sentence, Corey was official- sounds like it fits with their family,
pages. ly absolved in 1712. While the history is (researchers) accept it as legitimate,
The Art of Conversation gruesome, Apostolos admits it was an and they’re off to the races. These
But genealogists say it’s just as im- exciting detail. “It wasn’t great for trees get copied and pasted over and
portant to simply have a conversation him, but it was cool for us. I said, ‘Oh, I over again, perpetuating the same
with a grandmother or an uncle. “One of can’t find any Mayflower link.’ They misinformation ad infinitum,” Gravel
the best starting points is conducting were like, ‘We went to the Salem Witch said. Still, what if all those links and
oral interviews, talking to our oldest rela- Trials. That’s way better than the May- resources don’t give you answers?
tives, and recording their histories, ex- flower.’” Apostolos is also trying to Gravel said there’s still more places
ploring every clue that may lead to credi- learn more about her great- to look, like account books, diaries,
ble evidence,” Gravel said in an email. grandfather, who she said was mur- and other family papers. “There are
Robert Cameron Weir of Dover, chair- dered; and her mother’s uncle, who was manuscript collections all over the
man of the society’s publications commit- killed in World War I. country. And the website called Ar-
tee, became interested in genealogy when Weir made some discoveries of his chive Grid indexes manuscript collec-
his older relatives started to pass away. own: his great-grandfather was adopt- tions in libraries all over North
“It was kind of too late. You don’t miss it ed; one relative was struck by lightning America.”
until it’s not there anymore. People in the 1860s; and his grandmother once “I mean, you’re never really done,
should really start getting interest, if lived with the daughter of a Civil War are you?” Apostolos said.
they’re going to, when they can still ask veteran. Weir, who claims German, “I wish I had known about all
questions of their oldest relatives. That’s Polish, Irish and Scottish roots, was these records in high school, I would
the golden opportunity.” He said those sobered to discover a family member have been much more interested in
unwritten histories could provide some was a slave owner. “It’s kind of star- history,” Gravel. said
important clues. “It’s easy enough later tling when you first see that. We think To find out more about New
to go through and order vital records of New England as being the part of Hampshire genealogy, some previous
from the state, death certificates, birth the country with clean hands, but you programs and its online resources,
go back into the 1600s, early 1700s, visit: Meredith Public Library
Genealogy News You Can Use...
Wyoming State Library & University of Wyoming Libraries DAR Announces New Lecture
Launch Digital Newspaper Collection Featuring 800,000 Series Viewable on “YouTube”
Searchable Pages of Newspapers from 1849-1922 Daughters of the American
lection included content digitized by Revolution (DAR) recently an-
The Wyoming State Library and nounced it will share the first in-
the University of Wyoming Librar- the University of Wyoming. More is
coming—last year UW received a Na- stallment in its new DAR Genealogy
ies have worked in partnership to Lecture Series, which is free and
bring the Wyoming Digital News- tional Endowment for the Humanities
Grant to digitize 100,000 pages of offered to their membership and
paper Collection online. This collec- other family history researchers.
tion of historic newspapers com- Wyoming newspapers, dating from
1863 to 1963, as part of the state’s The first lecture, Revolutionary
bines the digital holdings of both War Era Genealogy (part one)
institutions with a new interface participation in the National Digital
Newspaper Program. Find the Wyo- will explore the documents and
that is more robust, providing eas- records made during the Revolu-
ier, customizable searches and ming Digital Newspaper Collection at
www.wyomingnewspapers.org tionary War and where to find
better results. More than 800,000 them. To view the lecture, click
pages are now available, with new In addition to the Wyoming State the following YouTube link: DAR
content added monthly. The Wyo- Library and University of Wyoming Genealogy Lecture Series
ming State Library has long been Libraries collaboration, the two units
home to the Wyoming Newspapers Presenter Craig Roberts Scott,
also joined forces with the Colorado MA, Certified Genealogist, is the
online collection that included State Library to launch “Plains to
more than 340 historic newspa- President and CEO of Heritage
Peaks Historic Newspaper Database,” Books, Inc., a genealogical publish-
pers with more than 800,000 pag- a one-stop collection that combines
es consisting mostly of newspapers ing firm with over 8,500 titles in
the Wyoming and Colorado historic print. A professional genealogical
from 1849 through 1922. Along newspaper collections. The combined
with this existing content, the and historical researcher for more
regional collection can be found at than thirty years, he specializes in
Wyoming Digital Newspaper Col- www.ppc-historicnewspapers.org. records of the National Archives,
especially those that relate to the
My Heritage Announces its Groundbreaking New Feature, “Deep military. He has coordinated the
Nostalgia” That Allows Users to Animate Faces in Still Photos Military tracks at the Institute of
Genealogy & Historical Research,
In February 2021, MyHeritage “It’s as if they are looking at you and and is currently the Coordinator of
announced the release of Deep your surroundings and seeing how the Salt Lake Institute of Geneal-
Nostalgia™, a groundbreaking new much things have changed,” said an- ogy Consultation Track, helping
feature that allows users to ani- other user. Reporter Joe Fitzgerald students solve their brick wall
mate the faces of their loved ones Rodriguez commented that the fea- problems. All lectures may be ac-
in still photos. This feature truly ture gave him a chance to see his late cessed on the DAR Genealogy Lec-
takes “bring your old family pho- father’s face move again after he ture Series web page on the day
tos to life” to a whole new level — lost the only videotape he had of him they are premiered but they are
and it went to a new level of viral years ago. intellectual property and they can-
in turn! not be copied. However, users have
More than 1 million photos the opportunity to use the lec-
were animated in the first 48 tures in member study groups, for
hours alone and their website personal analysis, or just to in-
states that they recently passed a crease their own research
76-million milestone. Users have knowledge.
responded with wonder and emo-
tion: some were awed to see an-
cestors they’d never met — some CGHS Officers 2020-2021
from over 100 years ago — move,
blink, and smile, while others were Judy Engelhart, President
“Forget iPhones and self-driving
moved to tears witnessing their cars,” one commenter said in re- Kristine Smith, Vice President
lost loved ones in motion after so sponse to a Deep Nostalgia™ anima- Jeanette Hursman, Secretary
many years with only still photos tion. “This is the moment we official- Suzanne Anderson, Treasurer
to remember them by. ly started living in the future!”
Sue Seniawski, Past President
“It makes me so happy to see Deep Nostalgia™ even made a splash
him smile again,” one user said af- in the international media: it was fea-
ter animating a photo of her hus- tured in Financial Times, USA Today,
band, who died 4 years earlier. and the BBC among others.
Cheyenne
Genealogical &
Historical Society
P.O. Box 2539
Cheyenne, Wyoming
82003-2539
Website:
www.cghswyoming.org
To contact CGHS or to
submit newsletter
suggestions and/or
articles, send a note to
Wendy at
wendywy04@aol.com
The Cheyenne Genealogical &
Historical Society continues to
wish all its members a healthy
productive home-bound time
filed with genealogical research
wonders and inspirational learn-
ing.
Don’t forget, it is time for members pay their dues.
Individual membership: $20
Family membership: $30
We welcome new members at any time of the year!
See our website for more information, a membership application and
mailing address. We look forward to having you!!
Page 64
Page
You can also read
