Nutfield Genealogy: News from Nutfield

It's been a while since my last "News from Nutfield" report. I have about two months of catching up here. I'm afraid that the next few weeks will be just as busy since there will be a wedding, adding a new branch to our family tree...

April Anomaly

Do you remember one year ago we were all excited about the 1940 census release, and then we were as busy as bees indexing away? It’s hard to believe it was only one short year ago, the indexing was finished ahead of schedule and we’ve all grown accustomed to looking up relatives on the 1940 census just like any other census… How time flies!

States Meme Approximation

I didn’t know that over at the Hidden Genealogy Nuggets Blog by Jill Sanders there was a weekly blog theme called Genealogy by the States. The week of March 5^th was New Hampshire week. I have a Google alert for the words “genealogy” and “New Hampshire” and I was alerted to all the posts in the blogosphere that participated in this meme. You should check it out to see if you would like to participate or maybe find a cousin connection when the meme comes to your home state.

The 1779 Slave Petition to the New Hampshire Legislature
photographed at the New Hampshire State Archives

Slave Petition Permeability

In 1779 fourteen African slaves in New Hampshire petitionedthe legislature for freedom. Instead of voting for or against the petition, the legislature tabled the issue. Last month the New Hampshire Senate voted in favor of the petition, righting a wrong that had gone on for more than two centuries. This story was in the news, and I posted it on the Nutfield Genealogy Facebook page. Judy Russell, the Legal Genealogist, who is also a lawyer as well as a genealogist, inquired about the story and asked me how to get a copy of the 1779 petition. I went to Concord to photograph it for her, which gave me a chance to meet the NH State Archivist and to actually see this important document in person. It was a thrilling moment to carry out this little RAOGK for Judy.

Boston.com and AP reported on “NH Senate passes bill freeing former slaves” at this link: http://www.boston.com/news/local/new-hampshire/2013/03/14/senate-passes-bill-freeing-former-slaves/AOSRgOoGDUYZKVLaxNYe1H/story.html

Maine Manipulations

Pam Carter’s blog “My Maine Ancestry” had a great blog poston 9 March 2013 “A Case of Domestic Violence”. This is a case of the importance of reading other people’s blogs, and the great cousin connections you can make. Her blog post had a slew of ancestors from my family tree. I knew most of the information in this blog, but not ALL of it. Pam took the dry notes from several of the same sources I already read, but wove a wonderful tale that was very readable and interesting. It brought together details into a wonderful explanation of the court records.

RootsTech and Hessian Soldiers Recurrence

Late last month I was in Salt Lake City for the RootsTech 2013 conference. It was exciting enough to be in Salt Lake City, home of the world’s biggest genealogy library, but adding the RootsTech conference to it was like the icing on the cake. Along with some of my blogging friends I was also able to be on Dear Myrtle’s Hang Out on Air pre-conference show. All these lovely experiences needed a bit of payback to complete the karma circle. One of the folks hanging out On Air with Myrt had a Hessian soldier ancestor like me, and happened to drop the name. While looking up my own Hessian, I found her ancestor in the journal of the Johannes Schwab Historical Association. I photographed the article and sent it off to her. This is amazing to me because only a handful of libraries have subscriptions to the JSHA journal, and the Family History Library in Salt Lake City is one of them!

Cousin Connection Catalyst

Mehetable Chandler Coit was subject of recent Fieldstone Common episode “One Colonial Woman’s World with Michelle Coughlin”. And then, again, Marian hit ancestor paydirt (for me anyway) with her episode of “The Notorious Elizabeth Tuttle with Ava Chamberlain” on 28 March 2013. The infamous Elizabeth Tuttle (b. 1645) was the niece of my 8^th gread grandmother, Dorothy Tuttle . Thanks Marian!

I also learned that I am distant Marian Pierre Louis’s cousin. Our connection is through John Chandler (abt 1634 – 1703) and Elizabeth Douglas, I descend from daughter Hannah Chandler Draper, Marian through another sibling. Mehetable Chandler Coit was also a sibling.

New online resources

At the NEHGS website, the database previously named “Massachusetts Soldiers in the Colonial Wars” has been updated and renamed “Colonial Soldiers and Officers in the New England 1620 – 1775” See the description and links at http://www.americanancestors.org/Blogs.aspx?id=28839&blogid=124069

The New Hampshire Historical Society, founded 1823, now has their museum collections catalog online at www.nhhistory.org. Click “Museum” and then click “Online Catalog of Museum Collections”. This database has over 23,000 records of objects and biographies of prominent people, most with images attached. Reproductions of images may be purchased directly from the catalog. Also, more finding aids have been added at http://www.nhhistory.org/finding_aids/finding_aids.html

Also new this past month, NERGC, making the "Top 40 List" at Family Tree Magazine, touring the Mayflower II while she lies in drydock, volunteers just indexed their billionth record for Family Search, big news coming soon from my Hawaiian genealogy research, bridal showers and lots of wedding preparations... Phew!

Links:

Fieldstone Common blog http://www.fieldstonecommon.com/

Genealogy by the States- New Hampshire http://www.hiddengenealogynuggets.com/genealogyblog/category/genealogy-by-the-states/

Hidden Genealogy Nuggetss http://www.hiddengenealogynuggets.com/genealogyblog/

Johannes Schwalm Historic Association (Hessian Soldiers) www.jsha.org

Mondays with Myrt 18Mar2013 HOA http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D11HuZpTq3c

New England Historic Genealogical Society (NEHGS) www.americanancestors.org

One Colonial Woman’s World http://www.onecolonialwomansworld.com/

Pam Carter’s My Maine Ancestry Blog “A Case of Domestic Violence” http://mymaineancestry.blogspot.com/2013/03/a-case-of-domestic-violence.html

--------------------------------