Location, location, location . . . the geocoding of this database is currently underway.
Geocodes are latitude / longitude values that can specify any geographical location in the world. In this case, they are used to generate a customized Event Map for any individual in the database.
Look for more and more maps to appear as you cruise this web site.
Event Map for John Jameson Pearce
Pierce sisters, Sarah Eliza Palmateer and Margaret Hannah Barger
Cousin Berniece in Oregon has been kind enough to contribute a second batch of scans from her grandmother’s photo album / scrapbook.
These are quite remarkable and historically significant images that document the Franklin and Matilda (Hollenbeck) Pierce family, pioneers of the Portland area of Oregon.
An index to all of Berniece’s contributions is here.
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Berniece also sent along an Unknown - an unidentified photograph from the photo album kept by Minnie Palmateer Ely. There is some speculation he might be David Hollenbeck, brother of Matilda. The only thing certain about this circa 1880-1890s era cabinet photo is that it was taken in Peoria, Illinois.
W. W. Baker
With several new items added to the W.W. Baker profile, the question remains: was his name William Warren Baker? or Warren William Baker ? Sifting through a variety of documents, there seems to be about a 50/50 split - even on documents he signed. It is starting to appear as though his legal name was William Warren, but he preferred Warren William.
Over the years, I’ve made a few good acquisitions from eBay to enhance the genealogy research - I’ve also been fleeced there. But with a little healthy skepticism, and a great deal of patience, eBay is a resource that should not be overlooked.
For example, I picked up Huffington Family History Volumes 1 and 2 (actual books, not computer CDs) for a nominal price. It took just over two years from the time I set up my eBay saved search, until the time a set of these books was put up for auction. I sniped successfully, and the books were mine.
The key here is the saved search feature on eBay. This feature is an automated scan for any items that match your saved search terms - if and when there is a “hit” you get an email from eBay with a link to the item. Most auctions on eBay last seven days, so there is still plenty of time to consider your bid.
The Open Library Beta Site continues to grow, and this is a wonderful resource for many public domain - but rare - antique books.
Of interest to any genealogist, it contains an untold number of old Family and Local History titles. The site is a project of the non-profit Internet Archive, which is also well worth a look.
At the Open Library, you can search by title, author, etc., and you can search the full text of any book they have scanned. You can also view the contents of these books online.
When you find a good one, you can download the entire volume. (Click on Details for that title to see more options.) The downloaded PDF format books are fully text searchable - within, of course, the limitations of the OCR which is generally very good. The result is your own copy of a book that would be very difficult to possess otherwise.
You can also be an Open Library volunteer - their goal is to create “One web page for every book ever published”, so there’s a lot to do.
Here is a partial list of what I have picked up so far at the Open Library.
An ebook edition of The Hollenbeck Family In America (by Lawrence Hollenbeck of West Union, IL, 1973) is now available online - compliments of the Family History Archive of Salt Lake City, UT. This digital version was created from a 1974 microfilm of an original copy in the Clark County Genealogical Society Library at Marshall, Illinois.
Quite a few other Clark County, Illinois people are mentioned in this manuscript, among them White, Garwood, Gard and Holwick. Click the link above to view this manuscript, or you have the option to download your own text searchable copy (recommended).
If you happen to be a Hollenbeck, you will also want to check out this one.
Note: The Family History Archive now contains over 25,000 online documents - you can search their catalog for other surnames of interest by clicking here.
A few months ago a yellowed and food stained scrap of paper surfaced in my recipe archive, containing a recipe I’ve been meaning to try for many, *many* years. Well the day finally came, and the results were every bit as delicious (and addictive) as I remembered:
circa 1966
Grandma Pearce’s Choco Cake
2 cups sugar
2 cups flour
½ cup shortening
1 stick butter or margarine
4 tablespoons unsweetened baking cocoa
1 cup water
½ cup buttermilk
2 eggs beaten
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon vanilla
More…
In the past year, Google Book Search has added - among many other useful items - a number of old legal digests and court reporting publications. These old volumes summarize court decisions going back to the early 1800s, and can provide genealogical data with an interesting twist .
Unlike the conspicuously benign biographies you find in old County and Local History volumes, the information you can find in old legal digests is recognition your ancestors possibly didn’t want. In addition to revealing unknown vital statistics, they can provide information about topics that polite people just didn’t discuss 100 or more years ago.
