NERGC Day 2 Highlights

Today was my second day at the conference. I've gotten even more great information! The speakers are wonderful and I enjoy getting to meet even more bloggers. Our blogging area was set up in the exhibit area and after the morning sessions about ten of us gathered and spent some time getting to know each other. 

Photos are courtesy of Heather Wilkinson Rojo's Facebook posts. Heather's blog is Nutfield Genealogy. Beside me are Midge Frazel of Granite in My Blood and Lori Thornton of Smoky Mountain Family Historian. 

Heather and I had lunch together and listened to Laura Prescott talk about  "Jousting With the Gatekeepers."  She highlighted the challenges of accessing records and gave some tips for finding success. She also talked about the importance of preserving access for future generations. We live in a privacy-obsessed society and it threatens to undermine the work of future generations.

I heard talks on using the Library of Congress web site, finding records for soldiers in the French and Indian War, and finding information about farming ancestors. Blogger Lori Thornton gave the talk titled "Digging Up the Dirt on Your Farmer." She offered a wealth of resources for getting more details about the life of a farmer. I'm in a bit of an information coma but I know I'll benefit when I get back home and start putting it into practice with my own genealogy. 

Tonight is a Special Interest Group session for bloggers. Heather has identified about 18-19 who are attending the conference. Some have other commitments and won't be there tonight though so I expect a small casual gathering. Then tomorrow I'll be at it again. 

The Shot Heard 'Round the World

Asa Alden Barrows was born 28 July 1751 to Moses Barrows and Deborah Totman. He married Content Benson 19 November 1774.  He was a private in Capt. William Shaw's Company which responded to the alarm of April 19, 1775. He only served three days in that capacity but would re-enlist for eight months during the siege of Boston and in December 1776 he joined a militia company commanded by Joshua Perkins and marched to Barrington, R.I. where he remained for six weeks. In July 1780 he enlisted for a fourth time and served in the militia company commanded by Perez Churchill that marched to Tiverton, R.I. 

In 1832 at age 81, he submitted a pension form. He was awarded a pension of $33.33 per annum and received $66.66 in back pension pay. According to an inflation calculator, the pension would be $921.90 per year in 2012 dollars. His last pension payment was in 1850, meaning he was 99 years old (if he died after July 28). 

Asa's Signature on his application

Pension calculation sheet

Asa Alden Barrows - 5th great-grandfather

Rachel Barrows - 4th great-grandfather

Asa Freeman Ellingwood - 3rd great-grandfather

Nina King Ellingwood - 2nd great-grandmother

Annie Florilla Gibbs - great-grandmother

Fern Lyndell Cotton - grandmother

My First Genealogy Conference!

I'm in Manchester, N.H. attending the 2013 New England Regional Genealogical Conference. As someone who's dabbled in genealogy for quite a few years, I must say this past year has really taken my hobby to a new level. As I reflect on what made the difference, I have to say it's blogging. When I go to write something about one of my ancestors, I need to dig deeper to find the story behind the names and dates. I am also aware that I don't want to spread false information so I feel an obligation to hold my research to a higher standard of genealogical proof than I did when I was "dabbling." I am so grateful to Bill West of West in New England as he is the person who cajoled me into giving it a try and his blog provided me with ideas of how to get started. 

The sense of community among those who blog about genealogy is amazing! People are so generous in sharing information and helping you when you're stuck. Everyone cheers for and promotes each others' blogs. At the conference, bloggers wear beads to identify each other as fellow bloggers and tomorrow night there is a special group meeting of bloggers. I'm very excited about going and meeting some people who I only know from the online community. 

I was a little apprehensive about attending the conference on my own. I knew a lot of people would be attending with friends and spouses and many would already know each other from other conferences or historical and genealogical societies. I have to say that it's not just the bloggers who are very friendly! From the woman at the registration desk this morning who asked about the surnames I am researching (we discovered a common ancestor!) to those who chatted with me at lunch and dinner (everyone seems to have a family member who attended or attends Bentley), I have met and heard fascinating stories about their adventures tracing their family history. 

And since it is a conference, I should note that the workshops are wonderful. The opening this morning was about the mills in Lowell and Lawrence...well, I teach about that so I wasn't prepared to learn much...but I was proven wrong. Sandra MacLean Clunies' use of three specific people who worked in the mills highlighted some aspects of mill work that I hadn't thought much about before. Laura Murphy De Grazia paid moving tribute to the victims of the Boston Marathon victims before her attempt to define what constitutes a "reasonably exhaustive" search. She had great examples and analogies to bring to life the topic and I came away with a much deeper understanding of the rather nebulous term. Warren Bittner shared the trials and tribulations of documenting his grandmother's family in New York. It was fascinating to see how even a certified genealogist struggled to piece together the evidence. It was like a episode of Law and Order following him through the clues to the presentation of persuasive proof of her parentage. He has a very entertaining delivery with lots of humor. 

Tomorrow is day two and I can't wait to see what else I can learn and who else I can meet. Who wants to come with me next year? 

Wordless Wednesday - Sisters

Friday Funny - Mr. Adam Eve

While looking records of the Eveleth family in an ancestry.com database of Torrey's New England Marriages Prior to 1700, I saw this record where the groom is named Adam Eve.....

Image © Graphics Factory.com

Ancestry.com. U.S., New England Marriages Prior to 1700 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2012. Original data: Torry, Clarence A. New England Marriages Prior to 1700. Baltimore, MD, USA: Genealogical Publishing Co., 2004.

Friday Funny - Squirrel Hunt Challenge

I found this on Genealogy Bank

Thursday, November 15, 1866
Daily Eastern Argus (Portland, ME)
Vol: 34   Issue: 266   Page: 2

--- A Squirrel hunt match came off in Bethel a few day since between two of the Bethel Nimrods, J. E. Ayer and C. C. Keith. The latter was the winner, having killed 1250 to the former's 875. Ayer paid for the oyster supper in Bethel.

Friday Funny - Too Much For Her

I found this while searching on Genealogy Bank for articles about my relatives in Bethel, Maine. I'm not sure why it showed up in by search but the story is too interesting not to share. I can't imagine a hen laying an egg that is 8"X6"! No wonder she died in the process!