#31WBGB: Interlink Old Blog Posts

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Aug 232011
 

Tonia’s challenge this week

  1. Spend 10-15 minutes interlinking previously written posts in your archives.
  2. Share your thoughts in the comments section:  a)  Have you interlinked posts in the past?  b) How often do you find yourself providing internal links?

 In the past, I have linked to old blog posts, but have not interlinked.  This was an interesting challenge; fortunately, it was not too difficult to accomplish.

I didn’t have to go very far back.  I had just discovered some information with which I needed to update my posts about Aaron B. Knepper:

That, of course, meant writing a new post (Aaron B. Knepper Redux). All three posts are now interlinked.
Tonia also provided us with an Extra Action Item:  “make sure that you have some kind of statistics tracking package installed on your blog” because “later in the series, we will talk about monitoring blog statistics.”  Blogger is my current blog platform.  I just discovered the “Stats” tab on my Dashboard.  In reviewing that, I was impressed with the information available to me.  I began to check out Google Analytics.  In the process of signing up, I began to read the instructions for installing Google Analytics.  It did not seem to be as simple and as straight-forward as one might suspect (since two Google products are involved).  So I ‘googled’ “blogger stats or google analytics.”   The most interesting link was to “Blogger Stats vs. Google Analytics: A Study in Simplicity” on the groovyPost Blog.   groovinJackman makes a good case for sticking with Blogger Stats.  Tonia indicates that she uses WordPress Stats and Google Analytics because “because I am just that much of a geek.”  I guess I am willing to be less of a geek on this one.  I will continue to do some research on the subject (and may give Google Analytics a trial run) but I’m going to stick with simplicity this time around.  And…   I am looking forward to the time that our challenge gets us into the traffic statistics for the blog.

Aaron B Knepper Redux

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Aug 232011
 
This is the third in a series of posts about my research into Aaron B. Knepper.  See also:

Recently I published a post sharing two weeks worth of data gathering about my maternal 2g-grandfather Aaron B. Knepper of Fairfield County, Ohio.  (See:  “Who Do I Think You Are, Aaron Knepper?“)  Since that time I have discovered some additional data that helps shed some light on questions that I raised.

I stumbled across a picture of Aaron’s tombstone (Find A Grave).  He was buried at the Old Basil Cemetery in Baltimore, Fairfield County, Ohio.  Buried with Aaron and Sarah are son, Levi H., and daughter, Emmaretta.  As soon as I saw this tombstone, I had an immediate “Aha!”  Emmaretta must be the child whose name was so difficult to read in one of the census records.  That year’s census record had a listing of “Annaretta” or “Alvaretta.”

I looked closely at the image and for the life of me couldn’t see how anyone could get Emmaretta from that record.  Then, I looked more closely at the tombstone.  Emmaretta was born in 1873 and died in 1874.  Her short life happened between censuses.  She could not have been listed on the 1880 record of the Aaron B. Knepper family.  Emmaretta is a child that did not seem to appear in any of the online family trees.  I did searches on Ancestry.com and FamilySearch.org, but had no success.  I also searched the Lancaster (Ohio) Daily Gazette and the Lancaster Daily Eagle for Emmaretta, with no success.  My conclusion:  My suppositions about “Annaretta / Alvaretta” in “Who Do I Think You Are, Aaron Knepper?” were likely correct.  Alvaretta was later known as Alva (Mrs. Thomas Sherman Flloyd).

I also took another look at the death certificate for Sarah (Aaron’s wife).  Aaron was the informant for the “Personal and Statistical Particulars.”  He lists Sarah’s father’s name as Cornelius Vanarsdalen.  The final “n” in the surname actually begins in the double line down the middle of the page.  It would be very easy to mistake “Van Arsdale” for “Vanarsdalen.”  Apparently, I had previously done that.  My records, prior to August 2011, all record her birth name as Sarah A. Van Arsdale.

Sears Catalogue of Genealogists

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Aug 232011
 

Last Sunday our pastor developed an interesting theme during his sermon. The theme had its origin in Episcopal Priest Rachel Hosmer. If a Sears Catalogue (remember them from the “old days”) arrived in the mail offering up a variety of Jesus models, which would you choose?

After reflecting on the theological questions he raised, I started thinking about a Sears Catalogue offering a variety of models (actually caricatures) of genealogists. Depending on where your research is heading, which kind(s) would you be likely to order? Please note: none of my ‘tongue-in-cheek’ musings are designed to reflect any specific living, practicing genealogist or family historian. (You know the line: “the names have been changed to protect the innocent…” and “Your secrets are safe with me.”) If truth be told, there is some of each of the following in me:
  1. Albert Einstein model (the academician): The Professor has been teaching genealogy to a couple generations of budding genealogists. He is up on the latest methodologies, search engines, social media, certification processes, and much more. His only shortcoming is that he tried researching one of his ancestors 6 years ago, hit a brick wall, and gave up the actual practice of genealogical research, replacing it with webinars and conference attending to bolster his teaching. His blogging replaces his need to do genealogical research. After all, the academic world is about “publish or perish.” His next book on genealogical methodology is at the printers, as we speak.
  2. Marian the Librarian model (the archivist): Marian never leaves the stacks of the library (except for inter-library loans). She loves to read the published books of family history and the chapters of local city and county histories that record the cherish memories of citizens who were “an asset to their community, beloved by all, and dearly missed by family and friends.” She believes that “if it is written in a book, it must be true.” She has gathered all these stories about her ancestors that she can find. She is disappointed, however, that more of her ancestors haven’t been recognized and honored in a like manner.
  3. Indiana Jones model (the archaelogist): The quest for artifacts runs strong and deep in his genealogy. He will go to the ends of the earth to discover the kinds of cars his ancestors drove, the stoves on which they cooked their meals, the clothes they wore, the tools they used on the job, the construction of their homes and the heating systems in them, the kinds of streets that ran in front of their homes, the timepieces used to tell time, and so much more. It’s O.K. to discover some information about the ancestors themselves, but that kind of data takes a back seat to the really important “stuff” of the artifacts they left behind.
  4. Margaret Mead model (the cultural anthropologist): A variation of the Indiana Jones model that stresses “the older, the better.” She is less concerned about the data that helps tell an individual’s story. More important to her is the information about the societies in which her ancestors lived. What were the social patterns of the day? How did people migrate to and from family homesteads? What did the German-Americans living in Youngstown, Ohio, do on a Saturday night? What about the Polish-Americans and Italian-Americans there? Whether or not her ancestors participated in those activities is only of secondary importance.
  5. Frank Buck model (the hunter and tamer): He loves the hunt. He will spend hours in dusty county court-houses or hot, humid cemeteries pursuing his quarry – an ancestor’s deed or birth certificate or divorce decree or naturalization papers. He would never take his prey to a taxidermist so it could be mounted and displayed for all to see. Instead, all his records go into the center ring where he will attempt to tame it. You’ve seen how he works, going from one piece of wild data to another, poking a chair at it so it won’t overwhelm him. When the data all seems tamed, it is time to return them to their individual cages so that the performance can be done again for the next show. Lots of beautiful looking data, but all of it wild… never to be truly tamed and domesticated.
  6. Amelia Earheart model (the test pilot): She loves to fly high so he can see the “big picture.” She loves mapping sites all over the world. She has a problem with Google’s Street View because it gets her too close to the action. After all, she reasons, genealogy is about the distance between us and our ancestors. Once she got close and discovered that her Grandfather was a very bigoted person and a member of the Ku Klux Klan. That revelation too, too real; so she soared back to the heights… back to the big picture… promising never to get bogged down in sordid data again.
  7. Ambrose Monk model (the hoarder): Ah, don’t you just love the Ambrose model. He has every edition of every newspaper published in his city during his lifetime. He has a copy of every photo taken by members of his family, two generations back. He has pedigree charts and family group records for thousands of near and distant relatives. While he knows where each document is, when he is gone it will take decades to organize the data in a retrievable way so that it can be viewed by subsequent generations of family or utilized by other genealogists.
  8. Cinderella model (the fairy princess): As a youth, Ms. Ella, was fascinated by the family stories that were told again and again – “her materal great grandmother was a Cherokee princess;” “her paternal great grandfather came from Poland and the people at Ellis Island changed his surname to something more American-sounding;” “there is a great treasure waiting in Europe for members of her family, once they can prove their descent from the Grand Duke;” “her father’s birth certificate (listing his birth date as 7 months prior to his parent’s marriage) is a mistake by the State Department of Health and Statistics;” “grandma has definitive proof of their family lineage back to Adam and Eve.” She is working hard to gather the material that will substantiate these stories that she knows are true, because they are told with great sincerity by all the members of her family.

  9. Steve Jobs model (the technogeek): The most important thing about genealogy for the technogeek is the equipment he uses. He has an iPad; a mini-laptop; a Flip Pal scanner and a VuPoint magic wand; a 2Tb external drive; 10 memory sticks; cloud storage accounts with Mozy, Dropbox, and Carbonite; three GPS-enabled digital cameras; a smartphone containing every geneology app; and a desktop computer loaded with the latest versions of RootsMagic, Family Tree Maker, The Master Genealogist, Gramps, Reunion, MAC Family Tree, and other software. He regularly spends 4-6 hours each day on his genealogy, with only about 10 minutes actually devoted to gathering, storing, reviewing, analyzing and assimilating data.  After all, the “grunt” work of genealogy isn’t as much fun as playing with all the ‘toys.’ 

 Anything here ring a bell for you?  Do you see a caricature of yourself or someone else?  And why is it so easy to fall into these traps of over-functioning in one area of our genealogy, much to the detriment of other aspects of our genealogical work?  Any models (caricatures) that you would like to add? 

#31WGBG – Write a Link Post (Syncing Files with Dropbox)

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Aug 192011
 

Week 7 of 31 Weeks to a Better Genealogy Blog (see Tonia’s Roots) asks us to “Write a post linking out to another blog or blogs.”  This is actually a task at which I have been getting better in recent weeks.


Randy Seaver (Genea-Musings) has been answering questions raised by his readers.  His latest is “Dear Randy: How can I sync my files with my brother?”  The reader and his brother both use Family Tree Maker and were wondering about keeping their files synchronized.  One response was to utilize Dropbox (with the suggestion that the reader check out Dick Eastman’s articles on Dropbox).  Randy is great at demonstrating “how to.”  As an example, look at his posts on Family Tree Maker 2012.  Randy’s suggestion to use Dropbox was a good on; unfortunately Randy, himself, does not use Dropbox,  That doesn’t invalidate his suggestion, but it does necessitate some further description.

I use RootsMagic 4 as my desktop genealogy database.  Before I started using Dropbox, I had copies of my files on several computers, memory sticks, external harddrives, and online storage.  I also sent copies of those files to my son.   I was never sure which file was the “right”one — meaning the one with the latest update.  I hadn’t designated one computer as the primary one.  RootsMagic has an interesting feature called RootsMagic to Go. That allows RootsMagic to be installed on a memory stick (and thus can be used on any computer).  When RootsMagic to Go is started from the memory stick, it syncs files on the computer with those on the memory stick.  That helped me (if I remembered to have the memory stick with me) but didn’t help me to share those files with my son.   My solution came when I began to use Dropbox.


After establishing my free 2GB account with Dropbox, I opened Tools / Program Options / Folders in RootsMagic and set my default folder for RootsMagic data files as C:\Users\Bart\Dropbox\BFT – RM4.  I then logged in to my files on the Dropbox website and marked the BFT – RM4 file to be shared and linked it to my son.  As a result, when he goes into Dropbox, he has full access to those files.  My son runs RootsMagic 4 on his MAC under Parallels.  Dropbox has a MAC app.  My desktop computer runs Windows 7 (there is a Dropbox app) and my other computers run  RootsMagic 4 through Virtualbox with a Linux Mint operating system.  (Yes, there is a Linux app, as well.)  Dropbox is serving me well, and keeping my database files synchronized.  (Of course, I have a number of back-ups as well.

I have also used “BackUp my Tree” to automatically backup all my family tree files.  Backup my Tree searches my files for family tree files (all popular family tree software and gedcom files).    This was extremely helpful as I was trying to consolidate files as I was moving toward using Dropbox.  I must admit that since I have been using Dropbox I haven’t found it necessary to refresh files from Backup my Tree; but they are there in the event of a genealogical catastrophe.

What I Learned from My Aaron B. Knepper "Feeding Frenzy"

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Aug 162011
 

This is the second of three articles about my research into Aarob M. Knepper.  See also:

 
In a previous post (“Who Do I Think You Are, Aaron Knepper?“) I reported on my task of gathering, surveying, analyzing, and drawing some conclusions about my 2g-grandrather, Aaron Knepper.   The gathering of some data was necessitated when I added the Ancestral Trees page to my blog.   I needed three valid dates for Aaron Knepper as I accomplished that task — birth, marriage, death.  As I indicated, I became a victim of a “genealogical feeding frenzy.”   I suspect that we have all experienced that at one time or another.  One piece of data leads to another which raises a question which leads to more data which leads to a gap in knowledge which lead….     (Well, you know how the story goes, and goes, and goes!)

In the past my feeding frenzies have lacked discipline (hence the name “frenzy”) — a census record for one family leads to the search for a death certificate which leads to a search for a spouse’s father….   This time, however, my focus was on Aaron B. Knepper.

In the past, data about individuals has come in bits and pieces.  Some of it gets entered immediately in my RootsMagic 4 database; some of it gets stored in my Research Wiki.  Previously, I never gathered and analyzed all my data for one individual at one time.  So, what have I learned from this project:

I learned…. In addition to being fun; genealogy is hard work.   A simple little project morphed into a two week venture.  

I learned….  There is a lot of data available on the internet.  Some of it is even useful.  (Not a new learning; instead, a reminder of an old learning.)

I learned….  Keeping a singular focus for my genealogical research paid dividends. 

I learned….  All the data available on the Internet is not enough to fill in all the blanks.  I will have to go elsewhere to learn more.

I learned….  Some information about my 2g-grandfather will likely never be discovered.  Other information will require different kinds of searches — trips to county courthouses, etc. 

I learned…. Online family trees (mostly un-sourced) need to be examined.  Where they are sourced (even if only a couple of sources) may be just the resource I need.  I found death certificates for Aaron Knepper and his wife Sarah this way.

I learned….   Even un-sourced online family trees can provide marvelous clues for further research.   (A number of trees provided 3-4 generations of ancestors for Aaron and Sarah Knepper.  I won’t add those names to my RootsMagic 4 database, but the information is in my Research Wiki.)

I learned….  This comprehensive online search for Aaron Knepper’s records provided me with a comprehensive and unitive approach for my genealogical research.    Looking at the big picture, helps fill in the small details.

I learned….  I want to know what the “B” stands for in Aaron B. Knepper’s name!   and    I want to know why the family moved to Lawrence County Tennessee after the 1870 census and returned to Fairfield County Ohio prior to the 1900 census.

I learned…. Having a copy of Mark Tucker’s visualization of the process involved in the Genealogical Proof Standard on my computer table, helped keep me on focus.  It was a reminder that Having the data was not enough.

Who Do I Think You Are, Aaron Knepper?

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Aug 162011
 
This is the first of three articles about my research into Aaron B. Knepper.  See also:

 Until recently I had very little information about my gg-grandfather Knepper. I thought I knew his given name (Aaron) and the approximate year of his birth (1841) and his wife’s name (Sarah Van Arsdale). These facts were not validated or sourced. Two months ago, I added 1880 and 1900 census records4,6.


Last week, as I added a page of 3 generation ancestral trees for each of my four grandparents to the blog, I realized I had to search for his birth, marriage, and death dates. I did a quick search (Ancestry.com and FamilySearch). The quick search expanded into a feeding frenzy. The result was 23 separate documents and/or indices plus a plethora online public trees (4 at FamilySearch and 27 at Ancestry.com.). [Note: Most of the online public trees were unsourced; only five with 4 or more sources. Most sources were census records. I did not survey the online public trees to simply copy names, but to check for clues for further research. I did find Aaron's death certificate there... and up to 6 generations of his ancestors. I intend to check out those data and (perhaps) to correspond with those who presented them.]
This is the first time that I have looked at all the data I have about one individual in a single, unitive way. I created a fairly large spreadsheet with 46 rows (one for each of the documents, indices, family trees) and 53 columns one for each of the data fields. The spreadsheet is accompanied by a text document which cites all the sources. This blog post will be my attempt to assimilate and analyze the actual data which I found. In general, I must admit, that the data does seem to be fairly consistent and agreeable, within acceptable limits.

Name: All sources seem arrive at a general agreement (with variations) about his given name –
  • A.B. Nepper3
  • Aaron Nepper1
  • A.B. Knepper3,4,16,18,21,22,23
  • Aaron Knepper2,11,13,14,15,17,27,28f,28h,28i,28j,28k,28l,28m,28n,28o,28p,28q,28r,28s,28t,28u, 28v,28w,28y,28z,28bb
  • Aaron B. Knepper5,6,7,9,10,12,19,20,24,25,26,28a,28b,28c,28d,28g,28aa
  • Arron Knepper8
  • Arron Harold Knepper28x
I have not found a source that lists his middle name, only the initial (“B”). The 1850 & 1870 census enumerations have the family listed as “Nepper.” It is uncertain whether this alternative spelling came from the family or the census enumerator. “Arron,” enumerated in the 1920 census8, is most likely a mis-spelling by the enumerator. I find no support “Arron Harold28x.” (The “Arron” probably comes from the 1920 census; the “Harold” does not seem to be supported anywhere else.

My conclusion: Without the presence of a birth certificate, the two sources that probably shed the most light on the issue of his name are 1) the entry in the Fairfield County marriage records22 where the name was given as “Aaron Knepper” with the additional information “By Self Sworn” and 2) his death certificate9 (Aaron B.) for which information was provided by his son, Cyrus Knepper. I will continue to list him as Aaron B. Knepper (while being cognizant of the alternatives). The big question remains: What was Aaron B. Knepper’s middle name?

 
Birth: The sources are fairly consistent –
  • 1841 (likely an estimate from census records, et al)2,3,4,7,9,11,28y
  • 1842 (also likely an estimate)1,8,28e,28g28i,28j,28k,28l,28m,28n,28o,28p,28q,28r,28s,28t,28u,28v,28w,28z
  • January 18416,28h
  • 14 January 184112,24,25,26,28a,28b,28c,28d,28f,28aa
  • Ohio1,2,3,4,6,7,8,9,11,28e,28f,28g,28h,28i,28j,28k,28l,28m,28n,28o,28p,28q,28r,28s,28t,28u,28v,28w
  • Fairfield County, Ohio12,24,25,26,28a,28b,28c,28d,28aa
While the information I collected is fairly consistent, in the absence of any original sources (such as a birth certificate) which provide primary information about Aaron Knepper’s birth, I can draw the conclusion that Aaron B. Knepper was likely born in January 1841 (probably the 14th) in Ohio (probably Fairfield County).

Marriage: The sources are fairly consistent for date and place of his marriage to Sara(h). Her name, however, has an interesting variety of spellings, none of which confirms my original data (“Van Arsdale”) –
  • Married11
  • 1862 (most likely calculated from census records)1,2,3,4,6,7,8,9,11,28e,28f,28g,28h,28i,28j,28k,28l,28m,28n,28o,28p,28q,28r,28s,28t,28u,28v,28w
  • 6 February 186217,24,27,28a,28x,28aa
  • Fairfield County, Ohio24,27,28x,28aa
  • Sara A9,28h
  • Sara Ann Vanarsdalen28b,28c,28f
  • Sarah Ann Vanarsdalen28x
  • Sarah A Vernersdalen27
  • Sarah4,17
  • Sarah A3,6,7,16,19,28e
  • Sarah Ann20
  • Sarah Vernersdalen17
  • Sarah Ann Vernersdelen24,28a,28aa

The Fairfield County marriage records (an image copy of an original source which provides primary information and direct evidence) take precedence here: Aaron Knepper and Sarah Vernersdalen were married on 6 February 1862 in Fairfield County, Ohio. I found no source that confirmed that Sarah’s family name as Van Arsdale (as I had originally thought it was). Because I was curious, I searched Ancestry.com and FamilySearch for exact matches to “vernersdalen” and “vernersdelen” – hoping to find the name in census records. The only match was the index for Fairfield County marriage records. A like search for “vanarsdalen” brought many hits but no confirmable records. Sarah’s death certificate, however, gives her father as Cornelius Vanarsdalen and her mother as Sarah Jenson. The information for her death certificate was provided by A.B. Knepper.


Children: Aaron and Sarah Knepper had 8 children:
  1. Elmira4,28c,28h, (Almira3, Ella20,23)
  2. Laura3,4,28c,28h
  3. Levi / Levi H3,4,28c,28h
  4. Mary / Mary C3,4,28c,28h
  5. Virginia / Virginia D / Vergie4,19,20,23,28b,28c,28f,28h
  6. Ananetta / Alvanetta / Alva4,28c,28h
  7. Siras M / Cyrus M4,19,29,23,28c,28h
  8. Marvin C(omer)6,19,20,23,28b,28c,28e,28h
The only mystery concerning the children of Aaron and Sarah Knepper is the name of #6. The 1880 census4 lists a four year old whose name is transcribed as “Ananetta.” (I was not sure that this was an accurate reading, but could not offer an alternative.) The Lancaster Daily Gazette20 tells of the death of Mrs. Sherman Floyd, daughter of A.B. Knepper. The Floyds lived in South Perry, Hocking, Ohio. Survey of census records indicates Thomas S. Floyd and Alva N. Floyd live in Perry Township, Hocking County, Ohio. Alva is 35 years old. (Her birth year would be either 1875 or 1876 which agrees with Ananetta’s in the 1880 census.) Knowing that she is later called Alva, I reviewed the digital image of the 1880 census page. My conjecture is that her name in that record should be read as “Alvanetta.”

Death: Fortunately, I was able to find a digital copy of Aaron Knepper’s death certificate12. He died in his home on East Fair Avenue in Lancaster, Fairfield, Ohio, on 17 September 1924. The cause of death was “internal Disability superinduced By a fall. On aug 19” 1924”12. His fall22 and obituary23 were reported in the Lancaster Daily Eagle.

  • 17 September 192410,12,23,24,25,26,28a,28b,28c,28d,28f,
  • Lancaster, Fairfield County, Ohio12,23,28b,28c,28f
  • Fairfield County, Ohio10,24,25,28a,28d,28aa
Parents: Aaron B. Knepper’s parents were Andrew Knepper and Sarah C. Alspach. (One tree28e had Henry Knepper and Louisa M. Cramer… obviously a mistake.) Son, Cyrus M. Knepper, was the informant for his father’s death certificate. He listed Aaron’s mother as Ida Alspach. I have no idea where “Ida” came from.
  • Andrew Knepper1,3,12,24,25,28a,28d,28f,28g,28h,28i,28j,28k,28l,28m,28n,28o,28p,28q,28r,28s,28t,28u,28v,28w,28y,28z,28bb
  • Henry Knepper28e
  • Sarah1,3,28y
  • Sarah C28a,
  • Sarah Alspach28j,28k,28p,28q,28r,28s,28w,28bb
  • Sarah C Alspach24,26,28d,28f,28g,28h,28i,28l,28n,28o,28t,28u,28v,28z
  • Sarah Catherine Alspach28m
  • Ida Alspach12
  • Louisa M Cramer28e
Residence: All records, except the 1880 census, have Aaron Knepper living in Fairfield County Ohio. In 1880, the family was living in Lawrence County, Tennessee.4,28b,28c,28e,28f,28g Discovering the reason for the move to Tennessee and then the return to Fairfield County, Ohio, will require some significant research.
  • Fairfield County, Ohio20
  • Liberty Township, Fairfield County, Ohio2,3,28i,28j
  • Basil Precinct, Liberty Township, Fairfield County, Ohio6,28b,28c,28e,28h
  • Pleasant Township, Fairfield County, Ohio20,28b,28c,28e,28f,28h
  • Pleasantville, Fairfield County, Ohio9,28e,
  • Lancaster, Fairfield County, Ohio18,22,28f,
  • Civil District Eleven, Lawrence County, Tennessee4,28b,28c,28e,28f,28g
Military: Aaron Knepper was a Union soldier during the Civil War. He served in H Company of the 160th Regiment of the Ohio Volunteer Infantry (National Guard)5,13,14


I will write a separate post to share my learning during this process of discovering Aaron B. Knepper.
________________
  1. 1850 U.S. Federal Census (Population Schedule), Liberty, Fairfield, Ohio, Page 181A (stamped), Dwelling 734, Family 736, Andrew Knepper household, jpeg image, (Online: The Generations Network, Inc., 2009) [Digital scan of original records in the National Archives, Washington, DC], subscription database, <http://www.ancestry.com/>, Roll: M432_677; Page: 181A; Image: 109; accessed 4 August 2011.
  2. 1860 U.S. Federal Census (Population Schedule), Liberty, Fairfield, Ohio, Page 109, Dwelling 788, Family 776, Andrew Knepper household, jpeg image, (Online: The Generations Network, Inc., 2009) [Digital scan of original records in the National Archives, Washington, DC], subscription database, <http://www.ancestry.com/>, M653_961; Page: 373; Image: 7; Family History Library Film: 803961. accessed 6 August 2011.
  3. 1870 U.S. Federal Census (Population Schedule), Amanda, Hocking, Ohio, Page 19, Dwelling 133, Family 133, A.B. Knepper household, jpeg image, (Online: The Generations Network, Inc., 2009) [Digital scan of original records in the National Archives, Washington, DC], subscription database, <http://www.ancestry.com/>, accessed 6 August 2011. (image faint)
  4. 1880 U.S. Federal Census (Population Schedule), District 11, Lawrence, Tennessee, ED 112, Sheet 15, Dwelling 125, Family 125, A.B. Knepper household, jpeg image, (Online: The Generations Network, Inc., 2009) [Digital scan of original records in the National Archives, Washington, DC], subscription database, <http://www.ancestry.com/>, accessed 15 June 2011.
  5. 1890 U.S. Federal Census (Special Schedule – Surviving Soldiers, Sailors, and Marines, and Widows, etc.), Liberty, Fairfield, Ohio, ED 38, Sheet 2, Dwelling 108, Family 112, Aaron B. Knepper, (line 16), jpeg image, (Online: The Generations Network, Inc., 2009) [Digital scan of original records in the National Archives, Washington, DC], subscription database, <http://www.ancestry.com/>, accessed 7 August 2011.
  6. 1900 U.S. Federal Census (Population Schedule), Basil, Liberty, Fairfield, Ohio, ED 16, Sheet 7B, Dwelling 169, Family 171, Aaron B. Knepper household, jpeg image, (Online: The Generations Network, Inc., 2009) [Digital scan of original records in the National Archives, Washington, DC], subscription database, <http://www.ancestry.com/>, accessed 14 June 2011.
  7. 1910 U.S. Federal Census (Population Schedule), Pleasant, Fairfield, Ohio, ED 74, Sheet 9B, Dwelling 186, Family 140, Aaron B. Knepper household, jpeg image, (Online: The Generations Network, Inc., 2009) [Digital scan of original records in the National Archives, Washington, DC], subscription database, <http://www.ancestry.com/>, accessed 3 August 2011.
  8. 1920 U.S. Federal Census (Population Schedule), Pleasant, Fairfield, Ohio, ED 28, Sheet 10A, Dwelling 225, Family 234, Arron Knepper household, jpeg image, (Online: The Generations Network, Inc., 2009) [Digital scan of original records in the National Archives, Washington, DC], subscription database, <http://www.ancestry.com/>, accessed 7 August 2011.
  9. National Archives and Records Administration, T1272. Ohio 1910 Census Miracode Index, [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2000. Accessed 7 August 2011.
  10. Ancestry.com and Ohio Department of Health. Ohio Deaths, 1908-1932, 1938-1944, and 1958-2007 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2010. Original data: Ohio. Division of Vital Statistics. Death Certificates and index, December 20, 1908-December 31, 1953. State Archives Series 3094. Ohio Historical Society, Ohio Death certificate #362-49183-247, 1924, Aaron B. Knepper, Bureau of Vital Statistics, Columbus subscription database, <http://www.ancestry.com/> accessed 3 August 2011.
  11. “Ohio Deaths and Burials, 1908-1953.” index, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org): accessed 6 August 2011. entry for Aaron B. Knepper, died 1924; citing Death Records, FHL microfilm 1827473; Index entries derived from digital copies of original and compiled records.
  12. U.S., Civil War Draft Registrations Records, 1863-1865 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010. National Archives and Records Administration (NARA); Washington, D.C.; Consolidated Lists of Civil War Draft Registration Records (Provost Marshal General’s Bureau; Consolidated Enrollment Lists, 1863-1865); Record Group Number: 110; Title: Records of the Provost Marshal General’s Bureau (Civil War); Consolidated Enrollment Lists, 1863-1865 (Civil War Union Draft Records); ARC Identifies: 4213514; Archive Volume Number: 1 of 4.
  13.  “United States, Civil War Soldiers Index.”  FamilySearch  (https://www.familysearch.org:  accessed 7 August 2011).  entry for Aaron B. Knepper, Union Private;  Citing Civil War Records, FHL microfilm 0882273; United Stated Federal Archives and Records Center, Washington D.C. United States, publication M552.
    National Park Service. U.S. Civil War Soldiers, 1861-1865 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2007 accessed 7 August 2011.
  14. Historical Data Systems, Kingston, MA, comp.. American Civil War Soldiers [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 1999. Side served: Union; State served: Ohio; Enlistment date: 2 May 1864.. accessed 7 August 2011
  15. National Archives and Records Administration. Civil War Pension Index: General Index to Pension Files, 1861-1934 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2000. accessed 6 August 2011.
  16. The Farm Journal Farmers’ Directory of Fairfield County Ohio; Year Range: 1915; Page #: 200; Publisher: Wilmer Atkinson Company; Publication Year: 1915. Ancestry.com. Ohio and Florida, City Directories, 1902-1960 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010. Ohio State Directories – State of Ohio and Farm Directories/State of Ohio, 1902-1933. Microfilm, 9 rolls. Gale, Farmington Hills, Michigan. Accessed 7 August 2011.
  17. “Ohio, County Marriages, 1790-1950,” index and images, FamilySearch(https://www.familysearch.org): accessed 4 August 2011. entry for Aaron Knepper and Sarah A, Vanarsdalen (Vernersdalen?), married 6 February 1862; citing Marriage Records, FHL microfilm 295269; Fairfield County Courthouse, Lancaster, Ohio.
  18. “Card of Thanks,” Lancaster Daily Eagle, The (Lancaster, Ohio), 22 November 1916, page 6 . [database on-line]. , Provo, UT, USA: The Generations Network, Inc., 2006. Database created from microfilm copies of the newspaper. Accessed 8 August 2011
  19. “Knepper Will to be Probated,” Lancaster Daily Gazette, The (Lancaster, Ohio), 26 July 1916, page 8 . [database on-line]. , Provo, UT, USA: The Generations Network, Inc., 2006. Database created from microfilm copies of the newspaper. Accessed 7 August 2011
  20. “Life Estate to Husband is the Bequest,” Lancaster Daily Gazette, The (Lancaster, Ohio), 31 August 1916, page 6 . [database on-line]. , Provo, UT, USA: The Generations Network, Inc., 2006. Database created from microfilm copies of the newspaper. Accessed 7 August 2011
  21. “Death Follows Long Illness,” Lancaster Daily Gazette, The (Lancaster, Ohio), 16 February 1916, page 6 . [database on-line]. , Provo, UT, USA: The Generations Network, Inc., 2006. Database created from microfilm copies of the newspaper. Accessed 7 August 2011
  22. “Condition Critical,” Lancaster Daily Eagle, The (Lancaster, Ohio), 15 September 1924, page 2 . [database on-line]. , Provo, UT, USA: The Generations Network, Inc., 2006. Database created from microfilm copies of the newspaper. Accessed 8 August 2011
  23. “Recent Fall Causes Death of A.B. Knepper,” Lancaster Daily Eagle, The (Lancaster, Ohio), 18 September 1924, page 3 . [database on-line]. , Provo, UT, USA: The Generations Network, Inc., 2006. Database created from microfilm copies of the newspaper. Accessed 8 August 2011
  24. “Pedigree Resource File” database, Family Search; entry for Aaron B. Knepper.
  25. “Ancestral File v.19,” database, FamilySearch; entry for Aaron B. Knepper
  26. IGI (Birth) The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, comp., “International Genealogical Index,” version 5.0, FamilySearch (Online: Intellectual Reserve, Inc., 1999-2009), <http://www.familysearch.com/>, Aaron B. Knepper birth; accessed 15 August 2011.
  27. IGI (Marriage) The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, comp., “International Genealogical Index,” version 5.0, FamilySearch (Online: Intellectual Reserve, Inc., 1999-2009), <http://www.familysearch.com/>, Aaron B. Knepper marriage; accessed 15 August 2011.
  28. “Public Member Trees,” Database. Ancestry.com., entry for Aaron B Knepper. The following Trees were consulted: a) Meadows; b) David Prindle; c) O’Harrow Family Tree; d) Alspach; e) My Ever Growing Tree; f) LLGW; g) Collmer/Knepper/Hook/Rodman; h) Bodle-Harrison; i) Bohling (Michigan) Family Tree; j) Malin & Weissenberger Family; k) Coffelt Family Tree; l) Kristen Knepper Family Tree; m) Miller Family Tree; n) Wells Family Tree; 0) Dillon Family Tree; p) Berntheisel Betrone et al; q) Sands Family Tree; r) Valentine Wesner Henry Knepper et al; s) Jones Family Tree; t) Blaser-Dolan-et al; u) Anton Family Tree 2; v) Murray Family Tree; w) Kelley Family Tree; x) Ohio & Michigan Cousins et al; y) Kler-Stayonoff Family Tree; z) Sneary Family Tree; aa) Meadows7.15.2011; bb) root family tree gedcom.
  29. 1910 U.S. Federal Census (Population Schedule), Perry, Hocking, Ohio, ED 89, Sheet 8A, Dwelling 180, Family 185, Thomas S. Floyd household, jpeg image, (Online: The Generations Network, Inc., 2009) [Digital scan of original records in the National Archives, Washington, DC], subscription database, <http://www.ancestry.com/>, accessed 16 August 2011.  

#31WBGB: 27 Must Read Tips

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Aug 082011
 

It is now week 6 in our collaborative effort to improve our blogging.  This week’s challenge from Tonia’s Roots is to explore the advice of professional bloggers and then:  ”Jot down 3-5 key points from the reading that you want to apply to your blog.”


There is wonderful advice out there in the blogosphere.  And it is overwhelming  – especially after reading a few lists of 20, 30, 40, or 50 ideas.   One list (actually a part of one list) caught my attention — Chris Brogan’s “40 WAYS TO DELIVER KILLER BLOG CONTENT.”  The first section of that post lists 10 ‘basics:’

  1. Brevity rules. Can you say it briefly?
  2. Start at the main point, then work the story up. (Make the main point in the first paragraph.)
  3. Use small words. You don’t have to impress people. You have to be clear.
  4. Analogies help people understand things better.
  5. So do stories.
  6. You don’t have to write complete sentences, even though your teacher taught you to do that. But treat it sparingly. Like this. Like a condiment.
  7. Keep paragraphs small, if possible. We balk at large blocks of text.
  8. Make your point from the reader’s side of the fence. Who is your audience?
  9. Depending on how you write, go back and see if you can cut out more. Reduce. Reduce. Reduce.
  10. Use the word you’re thinking about, not a fancier, or more polite word.
I have printed that list out and posted it where I can see it as I write my blog posts.  Thirty years ago the Superintendent of the Brown County (Kentucky) school system set the tone for the schools as “Forward to the Basics!”  That is what I am working on for my blog.

I was also impressed with ”How to Turn a Lousy Blog Headline into a Great One“ in Tristan Higbee’s BloggingBookshelf.   He doesn’t give 6 easy steps to transform a blog headline;  instead, he demonstrates his thought processes as he moved from an “uninteresting, vague, and non-compelling” headline to one that is interesting, specific, and compelling.  The end goal is that “Your headlines need to make sense and be compelling in and of themselves!”  That line is worth the price of admission.

Hopefully, I can begin / continue to  incorporate these ideas into future blog posts.

#31WBGB: Email a Blog Reader

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Aug 062011
 

Tonia’s challenge for Week 5 of “31 Weeks to a Better Genealogy Blog!” is: 

  • Spend 10-15 minutes connecting with your readers, either via email or comments.
  • Make sure at least one contact is with a new reader.
  • If you don’t have many comments on your blog yet, then spend 10-15 minutes visiting other genealogy blogs and leave “relevant, helpful, and genuine comments.”

Also significant for this week’s challenge was Tonia’s comment: “Yes, it is common sense and good manners. Common sense and good manners are not spectacular (at least they shouldn’t be). That’s why we should do this.”   I should be doing this all the time, but “common” sense isn’t always as common as we might like it to be.

It has been interesting this week.  I began by reading a few new blogs that caught my attention while scanning the blog roll at Geneabloggers.com.  The name of one blog in particular drew me to it immediately — Ancestral Wormhole.  That led to two blog posts  (“A New Look for Static Pages”  and  “Ancestral Trees Page Added”) and an email to the author.  It also resulted in a whole new look for my Pages.  Each post had a reader comment (thanks Greta and Nancy) to which I responded with a comment.

Another blog post (“Be-Attitudes for Geneablogging”) prompted comments from 4 readers.  I responded with follow-up comments, emails, and the addition of two new be-attitudes to the list.

In general, I can clearly say that #31WBGB is working.  My blogging is now a little more widely read, more responsive, and actually looks better.   Thanks, Tonia! and all the other who are participating in this challenge.

Ancestral Trees Page Added to Blog

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Aug 032011
 

Yesterday I wrote about expanding the usable space on the static pages of my blog (thanks to the Ancestral Wormhole blog).  I particularly like the “Ancestors Tree’s” page in which TonyTimmons had displayed the pedigree trees of his four grandparents.  At the time I asked about how he developed the images for those trees.

Impatient one that I am, I began today to develop my own “Ancestral Trees” page.   Since I use Libre Office suite (a successor to OpenOffice.org), I opened the Drawing program and created boxes in which I could put text.  Within each box I followed an abbreviated standard format for data in pedigree trees:  Name;  Birth Year and Place; Marriage Year and Place; Death Year and Place.   It was necessary for me to enter all the data individually.  (I had searched for a tree template that would work satisfactorily, but did not find one.)

I added some color to each of the boxes (and increased the transparency to 75-85% to tone down the color.  After placing each of the boxes in their respective spots, I added lines to show the relationships.  I saved the resulting image as a Libre Office Drawing file (.odg) and also exported it as a .jpeg file.  The .odg file will allow me to add or change data in each of the trees as necessary.  The .jpeg file allows me to 1) edit the file in GIMP (image manipulation program).  I resized the image (removing a lot of white space) and added the title of the tree.  The result of my editing the .jpeg files in GIMP was the four images which were uploaded onto my “Ancestral Trees” page.

I am pleased with the result. (You can check it out by clicking on the “Ancestral Trees” tab above.)  These simple trees give me a quick view of where there is missing information in my records, as well as showing me what data I have.  Of course, there are not source citations for these trees.  They are just visual images and not a replacement for my RootsMagic 4 desktop softward or my TNG online website.

New Look for Static Pages (and a Question)

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Aug 022011
 

I was perusing the blog roll at Geneabloggers  and was intrigued by the title of Tony Timmons “Ancestral Wormhole.”  I checked out his blog and discovered a most interesting post — “Changing the Style of Blogger Static Pages.”    

Static pages (in Blogger) are those extra tabbed pages that we’ve added (“About My Blog,” “About Me,” “Surnames,” etc).   When added, those pages contain all the extra information that is in the information column(s) that you find on your home page (and all blog posts).   But, what if you don’t want all that extra information on the extra pages. After all, it is not really needed there.  Readers have access to all that information on your home page and each blog post.


The directions are quite simple and can be found in the “Changing the Style…” post mentioned above.  It requires a bit of tweaking of the HTML code for each of the pages, but Tony Timmons explains it very nicely.  Even a newbie could do it.  (Timmons gives credit to Blogger Sentral where he first discovered the directions.)

If you want to see the results, click on any of the extra tabs at the top of this page.  Compare them with my “Home” page.  

While you are visiting “Ancestral Wormhole”  check out his “Ancestors Tree’s”  page.  He has discovered how to display the pedigree trees of his four grandparents.   The layout is nicely done with pleasing colors and a lot of good information in a condensed space.  I have email him and asked how he developed the image file of the various ancestral trees.   Hopefully, I will get a response and will relay it to you.

Oops!  I originally published this post without my question.  I have been surfing the net looking for help in changing the background color for my static pages.   Everything I’ve tried does not work.   Does anyone know how to do that?  I would truly be interested in learning how.