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March, 2014:

Snapshot

Mar 25th, 2014
by Dennis.
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I’ve had this idea for a while now, but wasn’t sure how I should present it. The idea was to take a snapshot of my research status, broken out into each of the major surnames of my family tree. I limited the snapshot to great great grandparents, to keep the linked spreadsheet from ballooning in size. The result looks quite a bit different than I was expecting (which is why we do these things in the first place). Each column represents one surname. Each surname column is divided into three sections (let’s call them drums). Blue drums indicate the number of generations from myself to the first appearance of that surname. Red drums indicate the number of direct ancestors with a given surname that for whom I have research that supports their place in the tree. Green drums indicate the number of direct ancestors with a given surname for whom I have no sources (other than others’ assurances).

Snapshot: March 2014

Snapshot: March 2014

I hope to revisit this chart every year or so and update it with new findings. That being said, don’t expect the height of the red drums to change any time soon. Hopefully, I won’t lose the spreadsheet between now and next time the chart needs updating. :(

Looking for Baileys

Mar 23rd, 2014
by Dennis.
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I am currently for searching tombstones belonging to my 3rd great grand father, Jacob Bailey and his wife Barbara Ann Tracey. I know that they lived in the Parkton and Wiseburg areas of Baltimore county, Maryland where Jacob was a stone mason. Jacob’s death is mentioned in the 1870 census with a small notation that reads “died this day”. That page of the census was enumerated on 21 Jul 1870. His wife is believed to have died the year before. Jacob and Barbara had a large family with at least nine children, e.g., John Thomas, Warnel, Mary Catherine, Anna E., Jane, Mariam, William, Adam Isaiah, and Dora. Finding any of their children’s families would be helpful as well.

This Saturday, I dragged my family to yet another cemetery. We stopped at the Wiseburg United Methodist Church in White Hall and combed through the rows looking for Baileys. It didn’t take long to find Bailey stones, but it soon became apparent that either a) Jacob and Barbara weren’t there, or b) their stones weren’t there. Instead, I found the family of Adam Isaiah, his wife Annie, and their children. Most of these stones had already been cataloged on Find-A-Grave, but you can never be sure how thorough other volunteers might have been. There was no one in the office the day we stopped by. I may have to visit during the week if I’m going to have a chance of looking at the church records.

Next, we will be visiting other cemeteries in the area.