Surnames From our Family Tree

These are the surnames I am researching in my family tree.  Along with a quick blurb.  If you have any relation, please contact me!

Eckert - Newark, Essex, New Jersey

Valentine Eckert, born in Pennsylvania abt 1817, died in Newark, NJ on 27 Jul 1882.  He was a Union Soldier in the American Civil War

DeCamp - New Jersey

Laurens DeCamp, a hugenot that arrived in 1664 to New Netherland.

Devine - Ireland to New Jersey

John Joseph Devine, son of Peter Davin was a Justice of Peace in Ocean City, New Jersey.

Hacking - Lancashire, England to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

The Hackings were masons, from Blackburn.  Leonard Arthur Hacking was the first to come to America.

Slater - Blackburn, Lancashire, England

Binns - New York to Germantown, Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania

William Binns was born about 1833 in New York.  Many of the Binns in my line were Master Painters from Germantown, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Holt - Montgomery County, Pennsylvania 

Elwood Holt married into the local famous family of the Kenderdines.  His son, Sanford, ran his own hotel.  They were in and around Horsham, Montgomery Co, Pennsylvania.

Nestel - Betzingen, Wurttemburg, Germany to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Martin Nestel (1841-1899) came to America in 1862, and became a baker.

Hart - Ireland to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Patrick Hart came to America in 1849, and lived most of his place at Ledger Place in Philadelphia,

Flynn - Ireland to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Michael Flynn was born on 23 Dec 1862, and immigrated from Ireland between 1881-1885.

Greider - Lancaster County, Pennsylvania to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Dating back to the famous Martin Greider of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania.

Forester - Ireland

Jordan - Wexford, Ireland to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania Ancestors? You're In Luck!

There is no more reasons to keep putting off those Pennsylvania ancestors!  They, too, have a story that needs to be unearthed and told.  


In December of 2011, Governor Corbett of Pennsylvania, signed in to law Senate Bill 361.  This allows for public access to birth and death records; 105 years after a birth and/or 50 years after a death.  The Pennsylvania State Archives will maintain birth records of 1906 and death records from 1906-1961.  One researcher would have to go to the county level for records before 1906.


Beginning Wednesday, February 15, 2012 the state archives plans to have these records (1906 Birth and 1906-1961 deaths) indexed on their website (Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Collection).  This is merely just an index, however can broaden our research to levels once unforeseen!  


The costs for these records and searches are noted in the quote taken from the website:


"Copies of these birth and death certificates may be requested by mail using the Mail Reference Order Form. If the name of the person and the date of birth or death are known, the fee is $15.00 per name for requests from Pennsylvania residents, $25.00 per name for requests from outside Pennsylvania. The birth or death certificate number also will be useful in research. The research charge is $50.00 per name per hour if only the name is provided."

The Genealogical Society of Pennsylvania is thinking these indices will be available at some point today, or tomorrow!

Also in December of 2011 and January of 2012, FamilySearch made available the following records:

• Pennsylvania County Marriages, 1885-1950
• Pennsylvania, Eastern District Petitions for Naturalization, 1795-1931
• Pennsylvania, Pittsburgh City Deaths, 1870-1905

If that is not enough, Ancestry.com has recently made available the following:

• Pennsylvania, Church and Town Records, 1708-1985
• Updated City Directories (beta)

Treasure Chest Thursday - Irony in a 1922 Prayer Book

My maternal grandfather was cleaning out the house of his recently deceased sister, and found a prayer book belonging to his father, John Martin Nestel (1901-1972).

I have been dissecting this page over the past couple days, trying to figure out what everything means.

• First we find the obvious, the name and address of my great-grandfather, John Nestel.  I wasn't positive if this was his home address, or the church address, of another random address.  However, the 1920 U.S. Federal Census provided me proof that this was indeed his home address, 2103 S. 66th St, West Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA.
• The prayer book was blessed by Father Eckert, a priest of the Dominican Order.  What was Father Eckert's first name?  What church did he belong to?
• We know it was blessed in November of 1922, and it appears that it was on a Saturday.  But why was the actual date left out?!  Based on a calendar of 1922, it could have been the 4th, 11th, 18th or 25th.
• The top right corner is written, Woodland 0728 W.  That I am clueless to.  Woodland was a street name, and a trolley station.  Everything else was written in what appears to be pen, while this writing in the top corner appears to be in pencil.  Were these written on a different date?  Was this the trolley station he had to meet someone?  Was it the street his church was on?  The 0728 W I can't even begin to figure out.  This is why I enjoy blogging, hopefully I can get some answers from you!

So where does the irony appear in this prayer book?  Well, my last name is Eckert, and my mothers maiden name is Nestel.  This was happening in 1922..  An Eckert and a Nestel wouldn't meet again for over 50 years.  Is this Father Eckert a distant cousin of mine?  Ironic.. I know!

Wednesday's Child - Katie and Mary Greider

Catherine "Katie" Greider

Daughter of 

Peter G & Eliza Ann

GREIDER,

Born August 11, 1863

Died Jan 1, 1871

Aged 7yrs 4 mos

Mary Greider

Daughter of

Peter G & Eliza Ann

GREIDER

Born April 30, 1865

Died Dec. 10, 186

Aged 2 yrs. 7 mos. 

and 10 dys

Tuesday's Tip - City Directory Trick

Tuesday's Tip - City Directory Trick

One of my favorite resources are City Directories.  Through City Directories, you will find out important information such as physical address, occupation, who was living with them, etc.  My favorite website for searching City Directories is Fold3.com.  Because most, if not all, of my ancestors came from/through Philadelphia and/or Newark, NJ, this makes Fold3.com a great website for City Directories.


Most websites that house City Directories have a search function.  The first step is to pick the State, City, and Year directory you want.  In the following snapshot, I picked Newark, New Jersey for 1889.  I will be looking to see who was living with my Gr Gr Gr Grandfather, Edward V. Eckert.

After searching for Eckert, it will find hits for that name found on any page in the Directory.  In the following snapshot, you'll see that I found my ancestor Edward V. Eckert, living at 20 W Kinney, as a jeweler.

After a quick scan of that page, and the Eckerts on it, I did not find anyone else living at 20 W Kinney.  I wanted to find out if anyone else was living at that address.  I decided to go back to the search screen for the 1889 Newark, NJ City Directory and searched for "20 W Kinney".  Take notice that I pout the address in quotes.  If you fail to do so, it will search for any page that has 20, W, OR Kinney on it, which will bring back hundreds of pages!

Seeing the first match shows a page starting with Ecke, George; I know it will take me to the original page that I found on my "Eckert" search.  The following search result shows Adams, Ferdinand is at the top of the page.  This will get me to dig deeper, to see if anyone on that page lived at 20 W Kinney.

It looks like we found a hit!  James K. Adams, a japanner, and the letter h indicates this was his home, not business address.  I now know that James L. Adams and Edward V. Eckert lived in the same dwelling, at the same address.  They may or may not have shared the same living space.

The above process was what led me to find out that James L. Adams was his father-in-law.  This was a piece of evidence that helped support my claim that came later in research.

Wordless Wednesday - Sanford E Holt, Prop.

Geneabloggers - My Rooted Technology Meme 

I am going to give it a go on Geneabloggers My Rooted Technology Meme.

• The directions are as follows: 
• Technology you already use: bold face type 
• Technology you would like to use or learn more about: italicize (color optional) 
• Technology you don’t use, have no interest in using or no longer use: plain type 
• Explain or give opinions in brackets [ ] at the end of each bullet point 

1. I have a tablet computer such as an iPad that I use for genealogy [I have an iPad, but most of my genealogy research is on my Acer Laptop. I really only use my iPad for the Ancestry.com app to show off my tree(s). I do read Genealogy blogs on my iPad.] 
2. I have downloaded one or more apps to a Smart Phone or similar device. [The only apps I really use for Genealogy are Ancestry.com and the Blogger app. I am looking into the MyHeritage app, but have yet to download it. I use the obvious Facebook and Twitter apps, to follow other genealogist buffs. I do not consider myself a Genealogist, just a family history buff!] 
3. I belong to a genealogy society that uses social media. [I am still a rookie at this, so have yet to join any society. So far my trips include visits to the Philadelphia and New Jersey State Archives, along with the Historical Society of Pennsylvania. I would like to get involved in a local genealogical society, "to get my feet wet"]. 
4. I use GEDCOM files and understand the various compatibility issues involved. [I use GEDCOM files, however haven't ran into many issues. This is probably because it is only using it for Ancestry, which in that case it is a .ftm not .ged. I understand GEDCOM files, but again, not their issues yet.] 
5. I have added metadata to some of my files and digital photos. [I always use metadata on my digital photos. Mainly to remember who is in there, where it was taken, and hopefully when it was taken.] 
6. I have utilized an API from a genealogy-related application or website. [If I think about this long enough, I will probably understand what it's asking me!!] 
7. I have taken a DNA test related to my genealogy research. [I would love to do this, but haven't found the time to really research it.] 
8. I have used the FamilySearch Research Wiki. [I have not used this yet, but use FamilySearch.org regularly. Thanks for the tip!] 
9. I have a Facebook account and use it regularly for genealogy.[I use Facebook for much more than genealogy, but have used it for so. I post my blogs on there, I search for family members and groups with my surnames. I also follow other genealogists facebook pages. I can be found at http://www.facebook.com/aeroeck.] 
10. I use tech tools to help me cite my sources in genealogy research. [This has been one of my biggest flaws in genealogy. I know where my research came from, I know each of my facts are multi-sourced. I make photocopies, print webpages, and store my own sources in my filing cabinet. I need to get better at sourcing on the web, sor the general public to see where it came from. Thanks for the tip on Zotero, Thomas MacEntee!] 
11. I have developed a genealogy-related app for a Smart Phone or similar device. [I think it would be "fun" to do so, but it would turn out awful, and not worthwhile for the general public. I think we have enough apps out there to help us in all our research for now.]. 
12. I use a genealogy database program (Family Tree Maker, Legacy Family Tree, RootsMagic etc.) [I currently use Family Tree maker 2012. I like it a lot, but my Ancestry.com trees is mainly where I do my research, especially with the new linking system on FTM.] 
13. I use cloud computer resources to store my genealogy data.[I have an account on DropBox, but have yet to use it and really understand it.] 
14. I have made one or more contributions to the FamilySearch Research Wiki. [Sounds like something I would enjoy to do.] 
15. I have attended a genealogy webinar. [I follow the Geneabloggers Blog talk Radio often, I watch the small webinars from Ancestry.com, and I try to watch as many YouTube videos from the pros as possible.] 
16. I have organized and administered a DNA testing group related to my genealogy. [Sure, why not, sounds interesting enough.] 
17. I use apps involving GPS and Geo-caching for my genealogy research. [I use BillionGraves when I am out and about at the cemeteries. I also use the Facebook Check-In feature when I am at places of interest regarding Genealogy.] 
18. I have a Google+ account and use it regularly for genealogy.[I am a HUGE Google fan, but I think Google dropped the ball on this. Google+ had so much potential, but it just can't compete with Facebook. I think it has the tools to compete, but they haven't made it interesting enough to the non-tech/geeky crowd to join in on the fun. I check my account periodically, at best.] 
19. I have created and published a family history e-book. [Can't wait to get on this. What has held me back the most is my everchanging research! I am constantly updating, and researching that when I bring one to print, a second edition will be needed that much quicker. I know I should just get started on one, and update on a yearly or bi-yearly basis]. 
20. I have create a wiki related to my genealogy research. [I have not, and may look into it in the future, but it is not a priority just yet.] 
21. I have conducted a genealogy webinar as a presenter. [I'm not the best in getting my points across, unless it's in writing. Writing things down I can go back and change things, re-read, re-write, etc. Actually conducting, I wouldn't do so well.] 
22. I read genealogy-related blogs to help improve my own research. [I'm always following Genealogy Blogs. Some of my favorites come from Geneabloggers, 4YourFamilyStory, footnoteMaven, Dick Eastman's, among others] 
23. I have one or more genealogy-related blogs to help improve my own research. [Sure do, and you can find it here.] 
24. I have a Twitter account and use it regularly for genealogy. [I use it more for following other genealogy buffs, and I can be found at http://www.twitter.com/aeroeck.] 
25. I have one or more genealogy-related websites which I run and administer. [If you count my blog, yes. But I would love to get involved in a local society's.] 
26. I have created a screencast or video related to genealogy and posted it at a video sharing site (Vimeo, YouTube, etc.). [Haven't gotten that techy....yet!] 
27. I use one or more digital tools to capture and record my family history. [I use picasa photo editor, and my scanner, and they seem to work pretty well! I am getting a hand held scanner, and plan to use that for ease.