Genealogical Gems: Hiding in Plain Sight

picture originally found on www.vgs.org for the conference.  

This post is part of the November Genealogy Blog Party on My Descendant's Ancestors. Check it out today!

 I attended my first Genealogy conference a few weeks ago here in Virginia.  My family and I were at the local library when I noticed a poster for the poster for the VGS annual conference, Genealogical Gems:  Hiding in Plain Sight.  I don't normally get to spend a day on myself so I jumped at the opportunity to attend!  I figured why not?  It was practically in my backyard.


I spent the day on Track 2 which featured Sharon Cook MacInnes, PhD, CG from www.ancestortracks.com Her presentations included:

• Researching State Land Records for the 20 State-Land States: Deeds & Tax Records

• Researching Federal Land Records for the 30 Federal-Land States, Including Military Grants.

• Getting the Most Out of Ancestry.

• Using the FAN Club to Tear Down Brick Walls.

Now I have to say, I thought I had done pretty well following my family history in New Jersey.  There were some ancestors who I thought I had "finished" (finished as I thought I would ever get with them ;) ) and boy was I wrong!  Now granted it will be a bit before I can get up to the NJ archives to start digging again, however, I'm excited to make another trip up to Jersey to tackle more land records!   

In the meantime, I will be searching Virginia land grants.  I already found the original land grant for my neighborhood!  It's so neat to see the land exchange hands between the crown and the original owners.  Plus I now know how some roads got its name.

Stay tuned for what I find thanks to my new found knowledge!  

Don't forget to like my fb page!

Sunday morning grave hunting

My daughter and I went out on Sunday morning to do some grave hunting.  We had a very successful hunt.  To find out about the graves we documented you can go to my Find a Grave profile!  If you are also on Find a Grave, feel free to add me as a friend :)

With my arsenal of brushes, water, etc in my trunk we set out to clean off some graves that needed a good weeding. Soon I will be placing an order for biological cleaner made for gravestones soon so we can head out to some abandoned cemeteries next and start cleaning up the historical sites.  I explained to her that because I can't get home to take care of my family's stones, I like to help out where I can and it makes me feel like I'm helping keep their memories alive.  Though I will be heading up to NJ soon to give my mom & grandparents some care & cleaning.

On our way out of the cemetery my daughter took these pictures.  Maybe I have a budding grave hunter on my hands??

Mystery Solved! Hunt Family

One of my roadblocks that has been on my radar for a while was which Hunt son is the father of Florence L Hunt and husband to Della Burke?  This one is proving to be difficult.  However talking to one of my husband's cousins turned out to be a very fruitful conversation!  In a box of costume jewelry she received when their grandmother passed away was their great grandfather's dog tags!   That man is....

DELMAR HUNT

My missing person!

I was so happy to finally have proof of who it was.  I thought it was him and didn't have any real proof.  I have a list of vital records to purchase and on that list were some for him and while I will still order them for now I have a picture of his dog tags!

Do you have any roadblocks?  Have you solved a mystery recently?

Wordless Wednesday: 3/29/2017

Front row:  George W. Barker & wife Frances and thier six children: Laura & Ella at parents' sides
Top Row: Dora, Charlie, Grace, Matie.
Rachel "Frances" Barker (Moody) is my Husband's 4x Gr Grand Aunt.  

Tombstone Tuesday: Morris D. Babcock 1904-1971

This week for Tombstone Tuesday I had my daughter's friend help me choose an ancestor to post.   She choose #64.

Morris D. Babcock, my 2x Great Uncle on my mother's side.  Son of William Babcock and Adeline Williams.  Morris was 1 of 4 children.  His siblings were Herbert, Wilbur, and Lela Mae, my Great Grandmother who my daughter shares the same middle name.  He is buried in the VanBlarcom -Babcock plot.

Morris D Babcock

b: 25 JUNE 1904 

d: 9 OCT 1971

Clarence Van Blarcom (Gr Grandfather)

b: 26 SEP 1894

d: 15 AUG 1983

Lela M VanBlarcom nee Babcock (Gr Grandmother)

b: 10 AUG 1889

d: 1 APR 1983

William Babcock (Gr Gr Grandfather)

b:  22 APR 1870

d:  1 DEC 1941

Addie Babcock nee Williams (Gr Gr Grandmother)

b:  24 AUG 1872

d:  21 FEB 1952

Herbert Babcock (Gr Gr Uncle)

b:  14 JUN 1892

d:  DEC 1958

Buried in North Hardyston Cemetery,  Hamburg, New Jersey

January Birthdays

10 JAN 1776	Phebe Angle
20 JAN 1866	Jonas Babcock
10 JAN 1787	Elias Chardavoyne
5 JAN 1663	Francis Cooke
12 JAN 1804	Gilbert Drew
19 JAN 1670	John Eddy
4 JAN 1683	Joseph Eddy
17 JAN 1824	Easter Edsall
3 JAN 1724	Jacobus Edsall
12 JAN 1843	James Edsall
17 JAN 1812	Mary Edsall
24 JAN 1829	Samuel B. Edsall
26 JAN 1780	Sarah Edsall
2 JAN 1724	Susannah Howard
JAN 1604	William Hunt
1 JAN 1710	Vrouwtjen Kipp
JAN 1857	Frank A Lawrence
JAN 1890	Horace Riggs
JAN 1879	Martha Rude
2 JAN 1884	Fred Stewart
2 JAN 1836	William Reynolds Stewart
13 JAN 1695	Experience Sweeting
7 JAN 1781	Martina Terhune
JAN 1873	Walter Vreeland
JAN 1860	Louis Williams
JAN 1859	George Willis
JAN 1891	Addie Burke
30 JAN 1804	Sib bah Cooper
30 JAN 1755	Jesse Dennis
JAN 1869	Hattie Drew
JAN 1868	George Loren Dutcher
JAN 1867	Lillian E Havens
11 JAN 1822	Mary Mitchell
JAN 1895	Arden Montague
JAN 1897	Katie Montague
21 JAN 1620	Adam Mott
7 JAN 1839	Mary Potter
5 JAN 1880	Clarence E Predmore
14 JAN 1759	Ann Schooley
JAN 1898	Gilbert Snook
14 JAN 1851	Howard P Snook
1 JAN 1891	Sarah A Snook
22 JAN 1604	Timothy Stanley
JAN 1634	Timothy Stanley
23 JAN 1679	Daniel Tuthill
19 JAN 1661	Elizabeth Tuthill
16 JAN 1778	Jeremiah Tuttle
15 JAN 1871	Rutherford Tuttle
6 JAN 1730	Eunice Talcott Wadsworth
2 JAN 1794	Osmond Wells

***If I missed any or if any are incorrect please let me know and I will update my records! Thanks!

Tombstone Tuesday: Martha Pitkin Welles 1692-1763

It's time for Tombstone Tuesday!  

I went to my awesome friend Jacque again to choose which family member I would focus on this week.  

Her pick for this week? 756.

Martha Pitkin Welles, my husband's 8X Great Grandmother.  She is actually the mother of one of the Patriots in the Revolutionary War, William Welles.  I haven't completed proven that line but it is currently in process.  

Photo Credit: the moo

Photo Credit: the moo

Martha Welles nee Pitkin

b:  28 FEB 1692 Hartford, CT
d:  4 JUL 1763 Glastonbury, CT

Thomas Welles

b:  14 FEB 1692 Glastonbury, CT

d:  14 MAY 1767 Glastonbury, CT

Buried in Green Cemetery in Glastonbury, CT

Martha and Thomas were married in 1715 in Hartford, CT.  Together they had 10 children;  Ruth, Mary, Thomas, Elizabeth, William, Martha, Elizabeth, Sarah, John, and William, my husband's 7x Great Grandfather.

2017: Genealogy Goals & Focus

I mentioned on my blog Love, Faith, and Coffee that my 2017 Word of the Year is Focus.   And that word will be carried over into my genealogy research.  

Goals for 2017

• Clean up trees  (citations, duplicates, etc)
• Medical Family Tree
• Ask extended family members for pictures 
• Plan a trip to photograph missing gravestones
• Plan a trip to NJ archives
• Keep up with birthdays

What are your goals for 2017?