Daniel S Vancourt Leaves Large Family but Who Were His Parents

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Daniel S Vancourt was born in 1804 in Montgomery County, New York. I have been researching him because he is my wife’s great great grandfather. Of interest to me is the fact that he lived in and may have been born in the same county in New York as my maternal great great grandfather Jacob Dingman.

Daniel married Amanda Miranda Stephens in about 1838 when he was 34 years old, probably in New York state, although I have found no record of the marriage.

Daniel and Amanda had 10 children in 25 years. Their first child was Julia A, burn in Jan 1840 in Slippery Rock, Mercer County, Pennsylvania. Daughter Amanda Melvina followed on 6 Sep 1841, also in Slippery Rock.

Daniel and Amanda were migrating with Amanda’s parents, Truman and Roena Kibbee Stephens, from New York state and they eventually traveled to Ritchie County, Virginia. arriving late in 1841. (Ritchie County would later become part of West Virginia, after 39 counties seceded from western Virginia in October 1861 after the start of the Civil War).

Waterways probably were important in this migration. The Erie Canal was in full swing when they began their journey, and the might have used the Genesee Canal to travel south from Rochester, New York, to connect with the Alleghany River near the New York-Pennsylvania border. From there they might have traveled down to Pittsburgh, where they could have traveled down the Ohio River before disembarking in Pleasants or Wood Counties, and traveling overland to Richie County.

West Virginia map

Daniel established a farm on Hushers Run near Ellenboro. Hushers Run is the name for the land along a stream in Ritchie County, named for an early settler in the area.Hushers Run WV

Son Truman Daniel was born in Apr 1946 in Ellenboro, Virginia. He would later serve the Union Cause in the 6th West Virginia Infantry.

More children followed: Phoebe Lucretia in 1950; Mary Matilda in 1853; Roena Catherine on 20 Jan 1955, Margaret A on 10 Jun 1956, Ellen M in Dec 1959, David A in Dec 1962, and Electa Jane in Dec 1865.

Amanda passed away in 1881 in Ellenboro at the age of 60 after 43 years of marriage.

Daniel died on February 28, 1894, in Ellenboro, West Virginia, at the impressive age of 90. He was buried on the family farm.

Daniel had many grandchildren as follow: Julia: 4 children; Amanda Melvina: 11; Truman: 11; Phoebe: 5; Roena: 9; Ellen: 11; David: 4. Current research leads to the conclusion that Mary Matilda, Margaret, and Electa were spinsters.

While much information exists about the offspring of Daniel (and there is data on Amanda’s mother) I have found nothing about Daniel’s parents. This is disappointing because I would like to know 1) if he is connected to Elizabeth Vancourt who is in my maternal ancestry, and 2) if he is descended from Elias Vancourt, who immigrated from the Isle of Guernsey in about 1715 to Piscataway Township , Middlesex County, New Jersey, and is considered to be the original Vancourt/Van Court immigrant ancestor.

Finland’s Marimekko Is Bringing Style to USA at Target

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I was watching television the other day and a commerical from Target came on with a bold title that appeared to be to be in Finnish. I was immediately intrigued, being a good Finnish-American. Finally today, I was able to do some online research and found that the title was Pöytä Juhlavaksi, which apparently is translated loosely as “Serving It.” Anyway, the commercial featured a great number of brightly colored picnic dishes and serving plates, so that commercial title is appropriate.

Marimekko Serving It

It turns out that Target has made a deal with Marimekko, the Finnish design and lifestyle company, to supply a variety of items for American consumers beginning on April 17, offering them online and in stores. A Google search turned up a lot of buzz about the deal — and some advice for potential buyers: Shop early because the products probably will fly off the shelves quickly.

Target has a series of four commercials about the Marimekko promotion under the banner of It’s Finnish, Target Style. They include Surf’s Up, House Party, and Go Fly A Kite, in addition to the one titled Serving It.

To view the four commercials go here: It’s Finnish, Target Style.

The Target.com page featuring all the products in the Finnish, Target Style collection is at Target Marimekko Brand Shop.

Target also provides these helpful FAQs regarding the collection:

When will the collection be available?
Marimekko for Target will be available on April 17, 2016. Target will carry the collection online and in all stores, through May 8, 2016, or while supplies last.

What time will the collection be available on Target.com?
The Marimekko for Target collection will be available in the early morning on April 17, 2016.

Will all stores have the collection?
A selection of the Marimekko for Target collection will be available in all Target stores, with the full collection available on Target.com.

Will all stores have the same items?
All stores will have Marimekko for Target items. The collection will vary by store. Please note that we expect this collection to be popular, so it’s possible that availability at a store may quickly change.

What time will the stores open?
All stores will open at their regular posted time.

Will stores allow guests to put items on hold?
Per our store policies, guests will not be allowed to put items on hold.

What are the online-exclusive items?
There are 26 online exclusive items that will only be available online, but all store items will be available on Target.com. Plus sizes for women are available online only.

Return policy
There is a 14-day return policy for the Marimekko for Target collection at Target stores and on Target.com.

Will there be a limit on the purchase quantities for the collection?
There will be no purchase limits in Target stores and standard limit restrictions will apply on Target.com. Target.com purchases are limited to five of the same item. We encourage people to shop early if there are specific items they are hoping to purchase.

Finally, if you want to learn more about Marimekko and its products, go here Marimekko.com. It is in English.

Learning About My Seventh Great Grandmother from Holland

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This is a followup from my post of yesterday: Ancestry.com Providing Thousands of Hints for My Research .

My maternal seventh great grandmother was  Eva Albertssen Bratt, b 9 Jan 1633 in Amsterdam, Holland. When I reviewed my entry for her on my Huskonen-Dingman-Van Court-Scheppelmann Ancestry tree, I found that I only had a paltry two sources and 1 record.  Her entry showed, however, that Ancestry.com had found 27 “green leaf hints.”

One of the hints pointed to 29 other Public Ancestry Member trees the included a listing for my Eva. Most of these appear to be derivative, but a few present the results of considerable research. For example, one tree claimed 33 sources and 32 records. Needless to say, it will take me some time to evaluate each of these sources and records and decide which I want add to Eva’s facts on my tree.

One takeaway from looking at entries for Eva in this research is that the colonial Dutch were very determined to record the major developments in their lives as both civil and church records.

Also, I am grateful for the dedicated genealogists who transcribed these nearly 400-year-old records and published them for researchers like me. In many cases, the records were created in Dutch, so the transcribers also had to translate them into English.

One of the resources cited in the trees I have looked at is Web: Netherlands Genealogical Online Trees, 1000-2015, a project by Ancestry.com. We’ll see how useful this turns out to be.

Ancestry.com Providing Thousands of Hints for My Research

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Today, I checked my Ancestry.com account and learned that my favorite subscription database provider has found 17,987 “hints” for my research. Many of these are for my Huskonen-Dingman-Van Court-Scheppelmann family tree. But many others are for the some 50 trees that I have created for ancillary research projects, including some for myself and others for friends and students of my various genealogy classes. FYI, my four-part family tree covers me and my wife and will benefit our children and grandchildren, as well as collateral relatives.

In looking at some of the hints recently, I have been very impressed with the quality and scope of what Ancestry.com has found for me. Many are ones that I would not have looked for even if I had access to the respective collections, libraries, or repositories — simply because I had not idea that the records existed.

I will be spending more time in the coming weeks and months looking at these hints and selectively adding them to my main tree. I will be adding facts to other trees that I have created to explore relevant surnames in America and in Finland, the latter being the birth country of my paternal grandparents.

Ancestry.com has made a very  important addition to each hint listing: If the person of potential interest is related to me, Ancestry.com calculates and provides the relationship to me. I don’t know when this feature was added, but I think it is really great! It helps me focus on those hints of most interest, even if I don’t have the person’s family name “top of mind.”

Hats off to Ancestry.com for adding this feature to its Hints listing!

Now, I’m going to get to work sifting through those thousands of outstanding hints!

Life and Times of Jennie Morley

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Most people in Andover, Ohio, knew her as Jennie Morley, but her real name was Sarah Jane Howlett. Jennie Morley was important to our family as she raised Grace Green as her daughter. There probably was no formal adoption. It is worth noting that Jennie Morley “adopted” other children over the years.

Jennie was born 18 Dec 1846, in Reynoldsville, Jefferson, Pennsylvania, USA

1850 Census Washington, Jefferson, Pennsylvania Age: 3. Residing in household of George (age 24) and Laura Howlett (age 28).

1860 Census Winslow, Jefferson, Pennsylvania Age: 13. In household of George (age 32) and Mary Ann Howlett (age 22), second wife of George.

1861 Her father, George Howlett, was killed while serving with the Union Army in the Civil War.

1866 (about) Age: 19. Marriage to James M Perkins. Andover, Ashtabula County, Ohio. James was a Civil War veteran, having served with the 29th Regiment, Ohio Infantry. He was a farmer in West Andover.

1870 Census Andover, Ashtabula, Ohio. Age: 22. Living with husband, James Perkins, in West Andover.

7 May 1880 James Perkins dies in West Andover at a reported age of 35 of apoplexy.

1880 Census Andover, Ashtabula, Ohio Age: 33. Living in Andover as head of household. Also in household, Edwin, age 12, adopted son (this is Edwin Green, older brother of Grace Green); Julia A Green, Jennie’s sister (not sure if Green is her correct surname); and Milo D Sumner, age 18, boarder, working on farm. Milo would be Edwin’s uncle, younger brother of Grace’s mother, Mary (nee Sumner) Green, who was living as a widow in Conneaut at the time, with daughter Grace.

1880 (sometime after) Marriage to James Selby Morley.

1890 No census survives.

1900 Census Andover, Ashtabula, Ohio Age: 53. Living in household of husband, James Morley. Also in household, Grace Morley (age not recorded), daughter.

6 Jun 1900. Death of Husband James S Morley. Jennie inherits the “Morley House” on West Main St, Andover.

1905 Andover Village, Ashtabula, Ohio. Indexed County Land Ownership Maps, 1860-1918. Map shows that Jennie Morley was owner of the house and farm land on West Main St.

1910 Census Andover, Ashtabula, Ohio. Jennie Morley, age 63, is head of household. Living with her is Frank M Green, age 14, listed as “ward”. The FMG initials in the basement evidently were carved about this time.

1920 Census Andover, Ashtabula, Ohio Age: 73. Listed as head of household. Occupation: farmer. Living in the household were Frank M Green, age 23, and Persis E Green, age 22, husband and wife. Frank’s occupation: Clothing salesman.

1927 20 May Age: 80. Death Andover, Ashtabula, Ohio. Jennie’s will stipulated that Grace would inherit the West Main property.

BYUtv to Debut Series Premiere of “Relative Race,” First Family History-Based Reality

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BYUtv recently sent out this news release:

BYUtv will debut its all-new original, unscripted competition reality show, Relative Race, on
Sunday, February 28 at 8pm ET/6pm MT. Relative Race follows four married couples on a
10-day journey across the country as they complete challenges, meet unknown relatives traced
through DNA and compete for a $25,000 grand prize. Driven by the science and technology of
AncestryDNA, the reality series takes viewers alongside the teams as they test their emotional
and physical endurance while simultaneously discovering more about themselves and
establishing connections with family they didn’t know they had.Participants in Relative Race 2016

Armed with only paper maps, rental cars, burner flip phones and a $25 per diem, the couples
receive instructions via text message to complete challenges that lead them to their long lost
relatives. The last team to finish each day receives a strike, and after three strikes, teams are
eliminated. Relative Race will culminate in a dramatic finale, as all remaining couples race 4,500 miles from San Francisco to the finish in New York City.

BYUtv teamed up with reality TV production company Lenzworks and the largest provider of
family history and personal DNA testing services, Ancestry, to create Relative Race, a
competition show that can be described as Amazing Race meets Who Do You Think You Are.
AncestryDNA combines advanced science with the world’s largest genealogy resource to help
people reveal their ethnic roots and discover new family connections. A veteran of reality and
documentary-based shows, Utah-based Lenzworks recently produced United Sharks of America, which kicked off Nat Geo Wild’s SharkFest this past summer.

“Family history is a powerful subject that virtually everyone engages in at some point in their
lives, yet it is most often done on paper or PC and by looking into the past,” says Derek Marquis, managing director of BYUtv. “We approached Lenzworks about developing a series around this subject matter, while pushing the envelope in a way that would connect the living through ties from the past. We combined these ingredients with couples traveling across America based on DNA research, and the idea for Relative Race was born. Immediately, we knew we had to tap into Ancestry’s renowned and extensive capabilities, as well as their professional family research experience, to identify the contestants’ relatives throughout the country.”

Relative Race is hosted by former ESPN anchor Dan J. Debenham, who has been working in the television and production industry for 28 years as an anchor, reporter, writer, producer and
executive producer. The four dynamic couples racing across the country are Anthony and Brooke Brown from Las Vegas, NV; Patrick and Janice Wright from Anchorage, AK; Bradley and Heather Randall from Sun City, AZ; and Margo and Doug Engberg from Kirkland, WA.

“The landscape of reality TV has shifted drastically over the past 15 years into seemingly more
contrived and ‘scripted’ programming, ” says Debenham, who is also Lenzworks’ Principal and
Executive Producer. “We were excited to bring reality TV back to its roots by offering viewers
an authentic, unscripted and emotional experience, as the teams on Relative Race embark upon a variety of adventures traveling to unknown destinations, tackling challenges that will lead them to their relatives – some famous, some infamous – all while racing against the clock.”

The first season will consist of 10 episodes, followed by a “Where Are They Now” episode
during which the couples discuss their experience racing across the country and establishing
relationships with relatives they never knew existed before the show.

In addition to Relative Race, BYUtv’s original programming slate includes the criticallyacclaimed drama series Granite Flats, which featured guest stars Christopher Lloyd, Parker Posey, Cary Elwes and George Newbern; and the long-running sketch comedy series Studio C, which has a strong following on YouTube. BYUtv is available in every state of the country via cable, satellite and multiple digital media platforms including byutv.org and on all of BYUtv’s digital platforms, including Roku, Xbox360, Amazon FireTV, iOS and Android.

About BYUtv
Owned by Brigham Young University and based in Provo, Utah, BYUtv is a groundbreaking
High Definition cable television network that has created a breadth of original “see the good in
the world” programming that fills a void in entertainment the entire family can enjoy together,
including sketch comedy, history, music and documentary offerings. The cable television
network continues to build steady momentum, drawing new viewers to its shows from every
state of the country. The non-commercial station is available in more than 55 million households in every state of the country on Dish Network, DirecTV and over 800 cable systems, and offers approximately 1,000 hours of original programming annually, including 500 hours of live HD
collegiate sports.

Watch the official trailer here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mSWpm3F-fWk

Learn more about Relative Race: http://www.relativerace.com

Stream BYUtv online: http://www.byutv.org

Download our apps on Roku, Xbox, iPhone/iPad or Android: http://www.byutv.org/apps

Follow Relative Race on Social Media
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RelativeRace
Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/relativerace
Twitter: https://twitter.com/RelativeRace

Vote By Mail Ballot Accepted by Cuyahoga County Board of Election

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My vote by mail ballot for the March 15, 2016 primary has been accepted by the Cuyahoga County Board of Election. It is so easy to do that I don’t understand why more people don’t take advantage of it. The request for a vote by mail ballot can be performed online on the CCBE website. The CCBE mails out the ballot and you simple fill it in just like you wold showing up in person at your polling place–and maybe waiting in line. Once you have filled in the ballot, you place it in a security envelope after filling in some questions, then you place that envelope in the mailing envelope. It does cost $0.71 in postage to mail in the ballot. I mailed in my ballot on Friday, Feb 19.

Below is an image of the online tracking result for my ballot. As you can see, it was received and accepted for counting on the next business day, Monday, Feb 22.

WDH Vote by Mail tracking

Use eGENEe to Search for Genealogy Websites, Resources

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I am a regular reader of Dick Eastman’s Genealogy News. In February 23, 2016, he posted an article about eGENEe, a website containing a catalog of genealogy and history websites. (To read his post, go here: http://blog.eogn.com/2016/02/23/use-egenee-to-search-for-genealogy-and-history-websites-and-resources/)

He explains that Anita Brubaker, the owner of eGENEe, says she began keeping a list of useful, reliable websites in 2010. It was first a spreadsheet and later became a true database as the number of entries grew. It now has become eGENEe. The web site currently contains more than 150,000 links for US websites, and that number is growing daily. Currently only the United States is available, but there are plans for additional countries in the future.

Dick further explains that eGENEe has a user interface that is very easy to use, noting that you can search for web sites by locality, years, categories, name, title, price, URL, or any combination of these factors. Searches can sometimes come up with some obscure resources. For instance, I did a search for my own last name. The results included this newsletter and also the Eastman Dental Center Archives at the University of Rochester Medical Center, Eastman Institute for Oral Health. I doubt if that site has patient records available due to privacy issues but does have information about dentists and other staff members.

Dick found that searching for a surname is not really productive. You can try it, he writes, but you probably won’t find meaningful results. Instead, eGENEe is an excellent tool for finding sources of records. Dick suggests searching for the name of the town or county where some of your ancestors lived.

Dick searched for “Penobscot County, Maine” and got back 40 online web sites that have information about that county. Not many of our readers are interested in Maine so I tried one for Cuyahoga County, Ohio..

Search Window image

This straight-forward search with only two search fields filled in returned 1412 items to check out. Using the various search fields can winnow down the number of “finds” to those of most interest to you.

As Dick points out, the sites found might be difficult to find with a simple Google search. As Dick points out, many of the results found would be difficult to find with a simple Google search.

eGENEe is available free to use at: http://eGENEe.com.

The Family Dinner

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Lately, with all the focus on the runup to the 2016 Presidential Election, I have been somehow reminded about my family sitting around the dinner table in the mid-1950s discussing topics ranging from family developments to national news of the day. Mind you, I don’t recall any specific topics, but only that Dad and Mom and my sister and brother shared information and opinions. I doubt that we got into any heavy political discussions during this period which encompassed the presidency Dwight Eisenhower.

We did sit around the kitchen table for dinner on a pretty regular basis–and that is what I remember.

Today, I ran across an article produced by National Public Radio (Tuesday, Feb 16) entitled “No Place For Discontent’: A History Of The Family Dinner In America.” It began thusly:

In homes across the United States, families sit down around their dining tables to share a meal together known as the Family Dinner. This can be a joyous occasion or a contentious one. Whether you feel warm and fuzzy or grit your teeth at the thought, the family dinner is an opportunity for familial communication that didn’t always exist.

The article went on to discuss how the family dinner table came about in America, and how it was idealized during the 1950’s:

The 1950s emphasised the importance of a happy nuclear family. And what better place to showcase it than at a dining room table? Father sits at the head of the table; mother is at the opposite end. They’re flanked by their docile children, as shown on TV shows like Leave It to Beaver and Father Knows Best.

You might want to go here to read the online version of the report to learn how the family dinner tradition began in American. Also, for the historical illustrations, photos, and a video that illustrate its development.

 

 

 

Learning about Genetics and Your Physical Fitness

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At one time, about 25 years ago, I was quite concerned about my physical fitness. I was running at least 3 miles every other day, and even doing some body-building routines. If I had had available the following blog posting, “How Much Does Genetics Really Affect Your Fitness?” I would have been all over it. Today, I am not so much interested in physical fitness per se.

But I was attracted to the article from the standpoint of genetics, however, especially since I have been working with DNA tests.

So who provided this blog posting? It was written by Beth Skwarecki, for the Fitness category of the blog, LifeHacker. According to an entry on Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lifehacker):

Lifehacker is a weblog about life hacks and software which launched on January 31, 2005. The site is owned by Gawker Media. The blog posts cover a wide range of topics including: Microsoft Windows, Mac,Linux programs, iOS and Android, as well as general life tips and tricks. The staff updates the site about 18 times each weekday, with reduced updates on weekends. The Lifehacker motto is “Tips and downloads for getting things done.”

The central idea of the posting is that there are a lot of things that enter into your conditionng along with genetics: “your diet, your exercise schedule, and the types of workouts you do, to name a few. But genetics is also a big factor.”

Skwarecki writes “There are genes for aerobic fitness and for muscular power, for adaptability to training, and for the size and shape of your body. To understand how your DNA affects your fitness, we talked to someone who has extensively studied this exact question: Stephen Roth, a professor in the Department of Kinesiology at the University of Maryland. The gist is this: We each draw something different in the genetic lottery, but we can always improve on what we’ve got.”

Here are some ballpark figures on heritability of athletic traits. The higher the heritability, the more you can blame genes, rather than training, for the difference between a couch potato and a star athlete.

●Aerobic fitness: about 40-50% heritable
●Strength and muscle mass: about 50-60% heritable
●Your mix of “slow twitch” and “fast twitch” muscle fibers (basically, whether your muscles are better at endurance or sprinting): about 45% heritable
●Height: about 80% heritable
●Competing in sports, at all: 66% heritable.
Trainability itself has a genetic factor, too. If you and your gym buddy follow the exact same program, starting at the exact same fitness level, one of you might end up stronger than the other.
,,,
Here’s one more complicating, but hopeful factor: Athletic talent has many components. Maybe you can’t run as fast as one of your soccer teammates, but you have a better eye for where the ball is going to be and a more powerful kick once you’re there. Or maybe your cardio endurance isn’t great, but you have long legs and an efficient running stride. So don’t give up, even if you’re convinced you got a few dud genes.

Genetics is hard. Out of 20,000 human genes, Roth points out, only hundreds have been studied, and only dozens carefully studied, for their role in exercise. Just because we know a gene exists doesn’t mean we understand how it works, or what turns it on.

To read the LifeHacker blog posting, go to http://vitals.lifehacker.com/how-much-does-genetics-really-affect-your-fitness-1747333767

If you are interested in exploring LifeHacker, or signing up for emails, go to http://lifehacker.com/