Ancient Finnish Swordsman Found Buried With Two Swords

Metal detectorists exploring an area in southern Finland have stumbled upon the burial plot of a fascinating ancient figure. The extraordinarily well-preserved body was found buried with two sword,
 perhaps to aid him as he journeyed into the afterlife.

Read more at

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/11/19/finnish-swordsman-buried-two-blades_n_4304980.html

Coffin Plate Of Hannah Parent 1899

The Coffin Plate Of Hannah Parent

Hannah Parent

Died April 6th 1899

Aged 65 Years

I had a look around and found the following info. Not sure if its the right Hannah as the dates are off a bit but its worth a little investigating. For more Coffin Plates see Ancestorsatrest.com

Name:	Hannah Parent
Birth Date:	1833
Age at Death:	66
Death Date:	8 Apr 1899
Burial Place:	New Brunswick, Canada

Some Ideas for Christmas Gifts for Genealogists

 A Genealogy Baker's Dozen Gift Ideas

50 Gifts for Genealogists this Christmas

How My Great-Great-Great Grandma Chose My Christmas Gift This Year

 

Outrage in Norway as hundreds of gravestones are covered in BLACK BAGS with a demand for payment

This is shameful. This is very shameful. Read the full details at Outrage in Norway as hundreds of gravestones are covered in BLACK BAGS at cemetery along with a demand for overdue rental payment

• Around 670 headstones have been labelled at Mollendal cemetery in Bergen
• Government covers initial maintenance cost and rental - 25 years for a coffin; 20 years for an urn
• After that, relatives must pay annual cost: £52 for a coffin; £37 for an urn

Remembrance Day Moment

My Great Grand Uncle Frederick Markham 1896 ~1918

On this Remembrance Day take a moment to think about the people who suffered great hardship and gave so much. Let us hope for a day when people will no longer die in war.

1921 Canadian Census Tips For Finding Ancestors in the Mess

There's a lot of bad transcribing on the online  1921 Canadian Census which is fully indexed and online at Ancestry.ca and   Ancestry.com 

Olive Tree Genealogy put up a workaround and some useful tips for finding your ancestors in the mess! See Problems With 1921 Census Indexing & How To Work Around Them

 

 

Surprise Found in Lead Coffin Found at King Richard III Burial Site

The lead coffin found near the body of King Richard III during archeological excavations in Leicester has taken a surprise turn!

Archaeologists had thought the 600-year-old metal casket, which was found in a stone tomb at Greyfriars in August, might belong to knight Sir William de Moton. But analysis is showing that the skeleton appears to be that of a female.

Working with a newly found list of burials at the Friary, scientists are attempting to discover just who is buried in this high status coffin.

Read more: http://www.thisisleicestershire.co.uk/New-twist-mystery-lead-coffin-near-Richard-III/story-19946113-detail/story.html#ixzz2iHRVpkV1

DNA Kits from Ancestry - Free Shipping

Ancestry is currently offering Free Shipping with Coupon Code: FREESHIPDNA on all DNA kit orders. Just use the link below to order your DNA Kit today!

Free Shipping with DNA Kit Purchase at Ancestry.com! Use Code: FREESHIPDNA

Have archaeologists discovered the grave of Alexander the Great?

Could archaeologists have discovered the grave of Alexander the Great?

 

Alexander The Great

 At a site in Greece archaeologists have uncovered what could be the grave of Alexander the Great. The warrior king - who ruled much of the known world in the 4th century BC - was thought to be buried in Egypt. But a few experts now believe otherwise after they uncovered a marble-faced wall 500 metres long and three metres high under an artificial mound, dating from the right time in history. However many believe it will turn out to be the grave of some other important individual.

Don't Miss NARA Virtual Genealogy Fair Today!

The National Archives is holding its first-ever virtual Genealogy Fair on September 3 and 4 (2013) 10 a.m.–4 p.m. EST

The Fair will be streamed online through Ustream. It's free, and there's no reservations or passwords. You can ask questions through the chat function, or  tweet your questions to @usnatarchives #genfair2013.

Experts from the National Archives will be discussing Native American and African American history, immigration, Civil War pensions, U.S. Colored Troops, and Navy Deck logs.

We hope to "see" you there: http://www.archives.gov/dc-metro/know-your-records/genealogy-fair/

Recorded sessions will be available online after the event.

Special Deal on Flip-Pal Mobile Scanner

If you've been considering buying the amazing Flip-Pal mobile scanner but haven't done so yet, now's the time!  Flip-Pal Mobile Scanner! Labor Day Sale is on!  

The following specials are valid until 11:59 p.m. Mountain Time, Wednesday, September 4, 2013 or while supplies last.

Save $20 on the Flip-Pal mobile scanner and Deluxe Carry Case Bundle!
(Regular Price: $179.98, Sale Price: $159.98) Place your order

Save $25 on the Flip-Pal mobile scanner Rechargeable Bundle!
This bundle includes the Flip-Pal mobile scanner, a Deluxe Flip-Pal mobile scanner Carry Case and an Eneloop AC Battery Charger with a 4-Pack of AA Rechargeable Batteries. (Regular Price: $209.97, Sale Price: $184.97) Place your order

Save $40 on the Really Big Bundle!
Do you want it all? This bundle includes a Flip-Pal mobile scanner, a Deluxe Flip-Pal mobile scanner Carry Case, a Flip-Pal mobile scanner Sketch Kit, a Picture Keeper PK 8, an Eneloop AC Battery Charger with a 4-Pack of AA Rechargeable Batteries, a Flip-Pal mobile scanner Cleaning Cloth and a Flip-Pal Window Protector Sheets 3-pack.
(Regular Price: $288.93, Sale Price: $248.93) Place your order

Questions? Please contact  customer support staff at 1-855-477-3547 or at support@flip-pal.com

Read Olive Tree Genealog reviews and about the wonderful projects you can complete using the Flip-Pal Mobile Scanner. Create books, tea-towels, wall hangings, Christmas gifts and more. 

Amateur archaeologists discover subterranean slave world under Roman emperor’s villa

A discovery beneath the Roman Emperor Hadrian’s Villa at Tivoli of a subterranean jigsaw of tunnels and roads is interesting. It wasn't discovered by professional archaeologists but by Italian caving enthusiasts.

Continue reading and see photos at http://news.nationalpost.com/2013/08/29/possible-that-an-entire-underground-city-was-found-in-italy-by-amateurs/

Using Flip-Pal Mobile Scanner to Turn Ancestors Recipes or Letters into Wall Hangings

The following blog post is republished with permission from Olive Tree Genealogy Blog

Scanning my Grandmother's Recipe

I saw this blog post How to turn handwritten recipes into tea towels several months ago and thought "what a great idea!" I'd hoped to get one made myself to show you but time constraints and health issues have prevented me from creating my own.

Because I want to share this with my readers, you should read the original blog post. I'd suggest using your Flip-Pal Mobile Scanner to scan old letters or Grandma's recipes then start creating your towel or napkin or even a wall hanging. Wouldn't that be a nice Christmas gift for a family member!

As you can see I have my Grandmother's recipe in her handwriting and am scanning it in hopes of finding enough time to create my own tea towels for gifts.

National Acadian Day

 It's National Acadian Day  Acadians are the descendants of the 17th-century French colonists who settled in Acadia, a colony of New France

 If you have Acadian ancestors, you may want to check out these sites:

* Acadian Genealogy Homepage  Acadian-Cajun Family Genealogy and French-Canadian Genealogy

* Parish Registers fonds, which contains transcriptions of parish registers of various Acadian parishes and from the Gaspé peninsula.

* Biographies of the 37 main Acadian families from the Université de Moncton’s website. [French language only]

Texas Man Builds Fake Cemetery With Tombstones From Actual Dead People

A  Houston Texas man, tired of homeless people sleeping on his property, installed three grave sites complete with fake headstones.

Much to his surprise, it turned out that the headstones were  discarded from a local monument company and are inscribed with the names of actual deceased people.

The three tombstone markers are inscribed

Johnny Mack Chappell, Dee Brown Hancock 1922-1973, and Sandra Ruth Howen 1939-1986

Video & Details at:

Daily Mail Online: Texas man tired of homeless people sleeping on his property builds a fake GRAVEYARD complete with old tombstones - only to find out they were made for real dead people

ABC News: Phony Tombstones Used as Scarecrow for Vagrants

Tomb Found At Richard III Burial Site To Be Opened

Archaeologists in England are going to open the lid on a stone coffin that was discovered at the site of the English friary where the remains of Richard III's were found.

Archaeologists suspect the tomb may contain the skeleton of the medieval knight Sir William de Moton of Peckleton, who died between 1356 and 1362, or perhaps one of two heads of the Grey Friars order in England, Peter Swynsfeld or William of Nottingham.

Credit: The Templar Church By artur84 on FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Censuses of Canada West and Canada East, 1842 now available online

Sample page 1842 Census Canada West

Library and Archives Canada is pleased to announce that Canadians can now access the Census of Canada West, 1842 as well as the Census of Canada East, 1842 online. In 1841, Upper Canada was renamed Canada West, and Lower Canada became Canada East. These two jurisdictions are now known as the provinces of Ontario and Quebec.

Each census is partly nominal and contains the names of heads of family, their occupation and the number of residents for each family.Users can search these new databases by the names of heads of family, as well as by geographical information such as district and sub-district names.

Enumerators visited 17 census districts, divided into sub-districts. These units were made up of cities, towns, parishes, villages and townships. Not all returns have survived. The returns for eight districts and 51 sub-districts have been preserved and are searchable online. You can see the list of Districts covered at Districts and Sub-districts: 1842 Census (Canada West) and Districts and Sub-districts: 1842 Census (Canada East)

Ancient Jewish tombstones hidden from Nazis during WWII rediscovered in Vienna

"It was 1943 when Vienna's Nazi overlords gave the order to destroy the city's oldest Jewish cemetery, demanding it be levelled and the tombstones attesting to centuries of Jewish existence there be destroyed.

Desperate to save their heritage, the city's shrinking Jewish community decided to act. Defying the possibility of prison, deportation or execution, they buried the gravestones and kept them from Nazi hands." [Source: Edmonton Journal]

Continue reading this story

Credit: Image courtesy of digitalart / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Tips for Finding an Ancestor's Death Record

Death Records

Ancestor Death Record Finder

copyright Lorine McGinnis Schulze
Olive Tree Genealogy
published on AncestorsAtRest with permission

Can't find your ancestor in death records?

Most genealogists search death records such as Cemetery records, Obituaries and Vital Stats (Death Registrations or Certificates). If we don't find our ancestor in one of those death records, we're stuck! Where to search next? My ADF (Ancestor Death Finder) can help.

What happens when a loved one dies? What events take place around the death of a family member? What kind of death record paper trail is created on the death of an individual? The answers to these questions will lead you to other sources of death records and hopefully end that brick-wall.

When an ancestor dies, many records of that death might be created. Let's talk about records kept before an ancestor death and those created after a death.

Continue reading 

Summer Sale at FamilyTree DNA

Join the Genealogy Revolution. Search for your surname in the largest DNA database of its kind! My Surname Begins with Equals Contains Ends with Sounds like

Summer is once again upon us and it is time for Family Tree DNA Sizzling Summer event! Our successful summers over the last two years have led us to offer you great values again this year.

We have been working with Illumina to offer our Family Finder autosomal test for only $99 during our summer event. In fact, if we receive enough orders at $99, Illumina may be able to help us keep it at this extremely low of rate of $99!

As you take advantage of our summer event, remember that the permanency of the $99 Family Finder test is actually in your hands!

Beginning on Thursday, June 27, 2013 and running until Friday, July 26, 2013, we will offer the following:
        

• Family Finder    was $289    Now $99
• mtDNA Full Sequence    was $289    Now $189
• Y-DNA37    was $169    Now $129
• Y-DNA67    was $268    Now $208
• Y-DNA111    was $359    Now $308
• Family Finder + Y-DNA37    was $368    Now $228
• Family Finder + Y-DNA67    was $467    Now $307
• Family Finder + mtDNAFullSequence    was $398    Now $288
• Comprehensive Genome (Y-DNA67, FMS & FF)    was $666    Now $496

REMEMBER: ALL ORDERS FOR THIS Family Tree DNA SALE MUST BE PLACED AND PAID FOR BY 11:59pm CST, JULY 26, 2013, TO RECEIVE THESE SPECIAL PRICES.

Jane Doe - Who Was She?

If you like puzzles and mysteries you will want to read this blog post on Olive Tree Genealogy blog called Help Solve the Mystery: Who Was This Woman?

Get your sleuthing hats on!  Woman commits suicide, investigators find she wasn't who she said she was. A locked box holds clues to her real identity. Who was she? Help investigators solve the puzzle of Lori (Kennedy) Ruff

Petition to Bring 1921 Canadian Census online NOW!

If you have not been following the saga of the 1921 Canadian Census please take a moment to read Call to Action! Government puts Canadian 1921 Census Release on Hold

Summary:

• The 1921 Canadian Census was released by Statistics Canada (either January or June 1st this year, government agency accounts differ) to Library and Archives Canada (LAC) for scanning and releasing to the public.  
• It was due for release the first week of June but with no explanation from LAC the opening was delayed. 
• LAC has not been forthcoming with any details or fanfare or explanation as to when we might see this census
• A source at LAC revealed information that the Federal Government put the census release on indefinite hold because the only people interested were "3 little old ladies in Kingston [Ontario]"

Now, thanks to reader Bill Robinson, we have a chance to sign an online petition to request this 1921 census be released NOW. According to the LAC source it's on the servers ready to go but not available until the Government gives the okay. Let's show them that there are more than "3 little old ladies" who want to study this census and search for their ancestors!

Please share this post with others - in private emails or on appropriate forums and mailing lists (meaning please keep it on topic). Feel free to blog about the petition and provide the link for signing on your own blogs.  Anyone can sign no matter where you live so I hope to see our American, English, Australian and other friends and neighbours helping to bring this census online ASAP.

Happy Fathers Day X 100

5 Generations of Massey men.

Happy Fathers Day to my Father, Grandfather, Great Grandfather and my Great Great Grandfather. And all the fathers that came before them.

Special Deals on Y-DNA Upgrades for Father's Day

My Surname Begins with Equals Contains Ends with Sounds like

   Just in time for Father's Day - Family Tree DNA is offering discounts on   upgrades to Y-DNA tests.

From June 12, 2013 through June 19, 2013, FT DNA will reduce the following prices. Y-DNA 12 to 25 was $49 Now $35 Y-DNA 12 to 37 was $99 Now $69 Y-DNA 12 to 67 was $189 Now $148 Y-DNA 25 to 37 was $49 Now $35 Y-DNA 25 to 67 was $148 Now $114 Y-DNA 25 to 111 was $249 Now $224 Y-DNA 37 to 67 was $99 Now $79 Y-DNA 37 to 111 was $220 Now $188 Y-DNA 67 to 111 was $129 Now $109

To order an upgrade at these special prices you may log into your personal page at Family Tree DNA with your kit number and password. Click on the "Order Upgrade" button located on the right side of the menu bar. Then click on the "Special Offers" button. ALL ORDERS MUST BE PLACED AND PAID FOR BY 11:59pm, JUNE 19, 2013, TO RECEIVE THE SALE PRICE.

Coffin Plate Of Eleaza Albee 1884

I am not sure of the name on this Coffin Plate but it looks like Eliza or Eleaza Albee. I will let you decide. I am sure with a little work we can figure it out.

Hard to read coffin plate.

El????? Albee

Died Jan 19 1884

Aged 71 years

Search over 500 coffin plates on AncestorsAtRest.com

I had a look in the 1880 U.S. Federal Census and I found 2 possible hits.

Name:  Eliza Albee Spouse:  Leonard Albee Birth:  abt 1812 - Connecticut Residence:  1880 - Wilmington, Houston, Minnesota Name:  Eliza H. Albee Spouse:  Charles Albee Birth:  abt 1814 - New Brunswick Residence:  1880 - Machias, Washington, Maine

The Coffin Plate Of Thompson Tyler 1856

Thompson Tyler Coffin Plate 1856

Thompson Tyler

Died April ? 1856

AE 19y 7mo

See more coffin plates at AncestorsAtRest website

Carrie Christina Hoch Coffin Plate

Carrie Hoch Coffin Plate

Carrie Christina Hoch

Died Nov 26th 1900

Aged 18 Years 6 Mos

To see more Coffin Plates try AncestorsAtRest.com 

I had a look in the Ontario Canada Death Records and I found a Carrie Hoch born in 1882 in Fullarton Ontario and died on Nov 26 1900 in Perth County Ontario. More research is needed but I betting this is our Carrie.

Free Acces Until May 31 on Fold3

The 150th Anniversary of the United States Colored Troops

On May 22, 1863, the War Department issued General Orders 143, establishing a Bureau of Colored Troops in the Adjutant General’s Office to recruit and organize African American soldiers to fight for the Union Army. With this order, all African American regiments were designated as United States Colored Troops (USCT). 

Today marks the 150th anniversary of the USCT, and the National Archives is pleased to announce the completion of the USCT Service Records Digitization Project. In partnership with Fold3, the project provides online access to all service records—more than 3.8 million images—of Union volunteers in USCT units. 

From May 22 to 31, the digital collection will be free on Fold3. (All National Archives collections on Fold3.com can always be viewed for free at any National Archives facility nationwide.)

Compiled military service records (CMSRs) are part of Record Group 94, the Records of the Adjutant General’s Office. They contain card abstracts of entries related to an individual soldier such as muster rolls and regimental returns. 

Many CMSRs also contain original documents called “personal papers,” which are especially valuable to researchers looking for documentation on former slaves. These papers include enlistment papers, correspondence, orders, prisoner-of-war memorandums, casualty reports, or final statements. Unique to the records of the USCT are deeds of manumission, proofs of slave ownership, and bills of sale. 

Starting in October 1863, a slave owner could offer his slave for enlistment in military service and be entitled to compensation up to $300 upon filing a valid deed of manumission and release, and making satisfactory proof of title. These forms offer researchers rare information and document the life of a slave person in the absence of other vital records. 

Edmund Delaney was a slave who served in Company E of the 117th USCT Infantry. He was 25 years old when he enlisted in August 1864. Delaney’s owner, Harvey C. Graves of Georgetown, Kentucky, filed a compensation claim for his military service in December 1866. Graves stated that he “purchased [Delaney] at private sale when he was quite a small boy and owned him at the time of his enlistment.” 

The claim form was accompanied by a proof of ownership form to which Graves attached a rare “likeness,” or photo of Delaney, and several of Delaney’s letters written to him while serving in Brownsville, Texas. The letters offer us a rare glimpse into his lonely soldier’s life, especially when he laments that no friends have written back to him: 
“somehow most of them seem to be very much afraid of their pens and ink.”  
 

The USCT service records also reveal the social issues faced by free blacks, such as the story of Fortune Wright, a soldier of the 96th USCT Infantry. Wright was a free black man before the Civil War began, and he enlisted in Louisiana in July 1862.

On October 23, 1865, a white doctor and another man thought they observed Wright beating a black woman on a street in Jefferson, Louisiana. When they attempted to reprimand Wright, a fight ensued. Wright—fearing for his life—stabbed the doctor, who was beating him with a cane. The doctor died.    

Wright pleaded not guilty at his court-martial trial but was found guilty of murder and sentenced “to be hanged by the neck until dead” on January 5, 1866.

The accused offered his explanation while in prison in New Orleans. He stated that he was approached by an “immoral colored woman” who put her hand on his shoulder and was “acting her willingness to prostitute her person.” The woman told him to give her a dime. Wright said that he didn’t have a dime, and that if he did have a dime, he would give it to his wife. Wright stated that he was angry with the woman for her insulting conduct and language. If she repeated her language, Wright told her, he would slap her. She did repeat herself, and Wright slapped her. 

The two white men appeared on the scene at this point without knowing how the argument began. As Wright walked away, the doctor followed and struck Wright on the head with a walking cane. Wright reeled around and grabbed the stick while the doctor cursed at him to let go. The doctor grabbed Wright by the collar of his coat and then punched him in the face. The second white man yelled to “kill the damned black yankee [since] there is no law for him.” Wright warned that if they both jumped him, he would cut one with his knife. When he was attacked, Wright stabbed the doctor with his knife.

Wright’s captain and his attorney sent pleas for a postponement of the sentence to Maj. Gen. Edward Canby of the Department of the Gulf. They were hoping for time to appeal to President Andrew Johnson for a pardon based on self-defense. 

Several postponements were granted. The series of the documents leading to President Johnson’s final decision reads like the ultimate page-turner. On February 24, 1866, General Canby received a telegram from the War Department in Washington, DC, stating that President Johnson has ordered that “the [death] sentence be duly carried into execution.” A copy of this message on American Telegraph Company letterhead survives in the service record.
   

Wright was not notified of his fate until the evening before his hanging. A week earlier, Provost Marshal A.M. Jackson was warned in a letter from Eastern District headquarters in Louisiana that “Precaution must be taken that the office of hangman be confided to a capable person so that no disagreeable results may ensue, and that the body be not disturbed until the hangman has pronounced life to be entirely extinct.” 

Jackson’s report of the execution dated the next day describes quite a different scene.

The knot on the rope was not soaped properly and the knot slipped as Wright fell from the platform. Though he was suspended, his neck was not broken and he could still breathe. Wright was taken down and put on the platform a second time. It took fifteen more minutes of strangulation before death took Fortune Wright. Jackson claimed that though the circumstance was “unpleasant,” Wright did not suffer “as he remained insensible from the time of the first fall.”

The stories of the USCT soldiers will be available free to non-subscribers on Fold3 from May 22 to 31, and can be accessed for free at any time on computers at the National Archives.

Freeing the dead…

“In our culture, we memorialize the dead, but we don’t maintain relationships with them,” said Shandaken resident and spiritual teacher Glenn Leisching. “Memorial Day is the only time that we honor them, and it’s just about soldiers. But all our ancestors need to be acknowledged.”

Read More At

Memorial Day Weekend: Remembering My American Uncle

Peter Gerth. U.S. Army WW1

In honor of Memorial Day I thought it would be nice to post a photo of one of my American relatives in the Military. I have many ancestors and relatives who have served in the Military but as I am Canadian most of them served in the Canadian or British Military.

Here in Canada we tend to think about our Military Ancestors on November 11th, Remembrance Day. Memorial Day is an American holiday but I guess that's one of the great things about the Internet age. We can all get involved in each others holidays.

Peter Gerth was my Great Grandmothers sister's husband. My Grandmother spoke of him as Uncle Peter Gerth. I don't think she met him more than a few times in her life. She could only tell me that he drove a trolley in Gaylord Michigan. So with only that info and this picture I set out to learn what I could.

One of the first things that I found was the 1910 census.  This told me that his first name was in fact Lambert. I guess he did not like the name Lambert. Can't say I blame him. The census also gave me a year of birth and a Country of birth.  

GERTH LAMBERT  23 M W CANADA MI WAYNE 17-WD DETROIT 1910 Series: T624 Roll: 680   Page: 270
Gerth, Lambert, 23 b Can German, imm unkn, NA, conductor
Gerth, Katie, wife,  21 b Can German, imm unkn
Butler, Carrie, mother in law, 53 b Can German, married 30 years, 6 children, 5 living, imm unkn
Ryan, Viola, niece, 7  b Can English

I then found the WW1 Draft Registrations.

WW1 Draft Registrations
Name: Lambert Peter Gerth
City: Detroit
County: Wayne
State: Michigan
Birthplace: Ontario;Canada
Birth Date: 17 Jan 1887
Race: Caucasian
Roll: 2032763
DraftBoard: 26

Now that I know he was born in Ontario Canada I was able to find his Birth Registration and then look for him on a census as a child in Ontario. This work continued with one record leading to another. So lets just say I now know a lot more about Uncle Peter.

Happy Memorial Day Uncle Peter. Thank you for your service