Genealogy Gems from Allen County Library

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A free newsletter for genealogists and family historians is published monthly by the staff in the Genealogy Center at the Allen County Library in Ft. Wayne, Indiana. Called appropriately enough, Genealogy Gems: News from the Fort Wayne Library, it is sent out by email on a monthly basis. Curiously, its publishing date is the last day of each month.

I subscribed to this e-publication for many years, but then I changed email addresses without updating my contact info, so naturally they stopped arriving in my email inbox.

I recently re-subscribed after I was reminded of the availability of this free publication when a friend sent an email to me about something she thought I might be interested in: “American Immigrant Autobiographies – Part 1,” by Cynthia Theusch, which included content about Finnish immigrants. Of course I was interested, being a third generation Finnish-American. Here is what that author wrote for the June 30, 2014, issue of the Allen County Library newsletter:

The “American Immigrant Autobiographies Part 1” microfilms include selected autobiographies from a larger collection of personal papers that are at the Immigration History Research Center at the University of Minnesota in St. Paul. This set of seven rolls of microfilm is stored in the U.S. Special Collections area (Cabinet 64, Drawer B-11). The manuscripts are either typed or handwritten in their native language. A guide to “American Immigrant Autobiographies Part 1” has been printed and is at the Microtext desk. This guide lists the names of 67 individuals and their answers to the 15 questions they were asked to help them write their stories. The first seven questions were genealogy related, such as country of origin, occupation, reason for immigrating, date of immigration, where they settled in the United States, and the type of job they had here.

Reels 1 through part of 6 contain 38 autobiographies of individuals from Italy, Sicily, Croatia, Yugoslavia, Austria-Hungary, Turkey, Hungary, Russia, Poland, Lithuania, Ukraine and Finland.  Reels 6 and 7 contain memoirs or autobiographies of 29 people from the Finnish-American Family History Project. This microfilm collection is only a small portion of the holdings in the Immigration History Research Collection housed at the University of Minnesota.

The next time I visit the Allen County Library, I will take a look at this set of microfilms. Chances of finding relatives among the “29 people from the Finnish-American Family History Project” are slim, but I would expect to learn some new things about the experiences of Finns as they immigrated to America.

If you want to sign up for this free e newsletter, go to http://www.genealogycenter.org/Community/E-zine.aspx. FYI, past issues through mid-2012 are available for opening and browsing, but if you want to browse the entire run of Genealogy Gems, go to http://lists.genealogycenter.info/pipermail/genealogygems/index.html.

Check Out This Genealogy Programming for TV

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You probably know that in recent years there have been numerous programs on television about genealogical and family history research.  The other day, I did a Google search for “genealogy on tv” and was rewarded with a surprisingly large number of “hits.” Many involved “Who Do You Think You Are?” the series that recently concluded its 2014 schedule on TLC Network.

Finding Your Roots

In one “hit” in my Google search, I learned that a new season of “Finding Your Roots with Dr.  Henry Louis Gates” starts on September 23 on PBS. The first episode includes horror novelist Stephen King, actor Courtney B. Vance, and Canadian actress-singer Gloria Reuben.

“Finding Your Roots” is a PBS-TV series that explores race, culture, and identity through genealogy and genetics. You may know that Dr. Gates hosted the network’s past genealogy programs: “African American Lives I & II” and “Faces of America.”

The PBS Series will return Tuesday, September 23 for its second season. The 10-part series explores the heritages and ancestries of 30 of today’s leading entertainers, athletes, chefs, and media personalities, including Ben Affleck, Jessica Alba, Khandi Alexander, Tom Colicchio, Tina Fey, Sally Field, Derek Jeter, Stephen King, Nas, Anna Deavere Smith, Sting, and Courtney Vance. The series is scheduled to run every Tuesday through November 25th. Check your local PBS listings for times.

Dr. Gates is the Alphonse Fletcher University Professor at Harvard University and director of the Hutchins Center for African and African American Research. In the upcoming 10-part season, Professor Gates continues his journey into the past to illuminate the familial histories of 30 of today’s most recognizable names in sports, music, film, television, theatre, and literature

Viewers can view production notes for Finding Your Roots from researchers on the series and even watch past episodes by going to http://www.pbs.org/wnet/finding-your-roots/

This is one of the wonderful things about television and the Internet today. You can often access programming you missed during the original broadcast on network or program websites.

Who Do You Think You Are?

WDYTYA, the acronym for “Who Do You Think You Are,” originally was aired by NBC Television in the 2010-2012 seasons. Then it was picked up by TLC Network and slotted in its summer programming last summer and recently concluded its 2014 six-episode summer schedule in August. The subjects of this series included Cynthia Nixon, Jessie Tyler Ferguson, Rachel McAdams, Valerie Bertinelli, Kelsey Grammer, and Minnie Driver.

We’ll offer some details from the episode on Minnie Driver, which closed out the 2014 season, as an example of what has been included in the 2014 season programs. Minnie sets out to learn more about her secretive father and traces the highs and lows of his career in the Royal Air Force during World War II. Through military documents, she comes to understand why her father was the way he was, and how his combat experience impacted the rest of his life. Then, since Minnie never met her paternal grandparents, she follows the trail in England until she comes face-to-face with the very first relative she’s ever met on her father’s side, and finds a kindred spirit in a family member she never knew about.

Some of the cities/locations visited include: Minnie’s home, Malibu, CA; Minnie’s mother’s apartment, West London, UK; Brooklands Museum, Weybridge, Surrey, UK; Royal Air Force Museum, Hendon, London, UK; Rockside Hall, Matlock, Derbyshire, UK; Stockton Central Library, Stockton-on-Tees, Durham, UK; Eileen Wiper’s home, Darlington, Durham, UK; Middlesbrough Central Library, Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire, UK; Stockport Plaza Theatre, Stockport, Greater Manchester, UK; and Minnie’s home, Hollywood Hills, CA.

If you wish to go back and view some of this WDYTYA programming, you can go to the website http://www.tlc.com/tv-shows/who-do-you-think-you-are. The header for this web page has a button promising Full Episodes, but most of what I found were short segments from the various episodes. If you drill down into the website (use the Load More button at the bottom of the page), you can find clips and episodes from last season as well.

The easiest way to learn who was featured in previous seasons, including those on NBC, is to go to the comprehensive listing on Wikipedia at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Who_Do_You_Think_You_Are%3F_(U.S._TV_series)

The Generations Project

The programming described above focuses on the genealogies of celebrities. If you want to watch programming about research by regular folks, and if you have access to the cable channel BYU TV, you might want to watch or record episodes in a series called The Generations Project. It will be rebroadcast beginning on September 17 at 1:30 pm. BYU TV is the television programming arm of Brigham Young University. The network states that “Individuals go on extraordinary journeys learning about their family history by literally retracing their ancestors’ steps, which uncovers hidden identities.” The series of 38 episodes was originally broadcast in 2010-2012.

The first rebroadcast features the story of Raquel, who explores her Spanish ancestry. Other episodes include research into Native American, African, German, and other ethnic origins. If you go to the website http://www.byutv.org/show/6f62558b-fc6f-49c5-b8c6-2473785a5b44/the-generations-project, you can watch each of the 38 half-hour episodes on your own schedule. The videography is great and the stories are engaging.

British WDYTYA on YouTube

You may know that the WDYTYA programming that we see in America is an adaptation of the original program by the same name in Great Britain (For details, go to http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b007t575). But did you know that many episodes from the British show are available in their entirety on YouTube? For example, the British version featured a program on J. K Rowling, the author of the Harry Potter book series. I watched it on YouTube and found her program to be entertaining and very well done. You may want to check it out, especially if you have any French ancestry. Go to https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b6399QxJiPM.

Cyndi’s List

My Google search also led me to the website Cyndi’s List. When you go to this website, you can find a heading “Genealogy in the Media: News, Radio & Television >> Television.” Cyndi Howells, proprietor of Cyndi’s List, has complied 46 links to websites that present or discuss genealogical and family history programming that has appeared on television. You might want to delve into this for information on some of the lesser known programming.  Be forewarned: some links appear to be outdated.

Some Famous Finnish-Americans

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When I was preparing the post earlier today about FinnFest USA 2015 coming to Buffalo, NY (go to http://www.collectingancestors.com/2014/08/21/welcome-news-about-finnfest-2015-it-will-be-in-buffalo/), I ran across the following List of Nine Finnish Americans: http://cassavafilms.com/list-of-9/nine-famous-finnish-americans. It was posted a year ago by Mark Tapio Kines, head of Cassava Films, an independent film production company.

In his introduction, Mark says,

“The Finns are kind of an obscure people. And I know, because I’m one of them. (My father hails from Norway, but the family name Tapio is definitely Finnish in origin: Tapio was the god of the forest in old Finnish folklore, and is a common first name in Finland today.) There are a few internationally known citizens of Finland, including composer Jean Sibelius, director Aki Kaurismäki, children’s book author Tove Jansson, glass designer Tapio Wirkkala, conductor Esa-Pekka Salonen, architect Alvar Aalto, Hollywood director Renny Harlin, and gay erotic artist Tom of Finland. And I’m betting you may have only heard of one or two of those names. But let’s shift the focus on an even lesser-discussed, but far better-known, group of people: Finnish Americans.”

His List of Nine Finnish Americans includes

Marissa Mayer (1975-). Current CEO of Yahoo.
Eero Saarinen (1910-1961). Architect
Jean M. Auel (1936-). Author
Linus Torvalds (1969-). Creater of the Linux computer operating system.
Jessica Lange (1949-). Actress
Christine Lahti (1950-). Actress
Jorma Kaukonen (1940-). Rock/blues guitarist.
Vampira (1922-2008). Actress
William Fredrick “Buffalo Bill” Cody (1846-1917). Wild West showman.

I thought I would add a few more names–in no particular order–of people born in America of Finnish descent, or Finns now living in Amerca:

Timothy L. Kopra (1963– ). Astronaut.
Gus Hall (1910–2000). Labor organizer, a founder of the United Steel Workers union.
Matthew Norman Niskanen (1986 -). Professional hockey player.
Dick Enberg (1935– ). Ssportscaster.
Kai Haaskivi (1955- ). Retired professional soccer player, now coaching (he played much of his career in Cleveland, my home town).

Actually, Wikipedia has a longer list of Finnish Americans at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Finnish_Americans.

Finally, I would like to add to Mark Tapio-Kines’ list of famous Finns:

I have long had an interest in professional auto racing, so I would like to offer up Kimi Raikkonen, Mika Hakkinen, Keke Rosberg, and Heikki Kovalainen, all drivers on the Formula One Grand Prix circuit now or earlier. One of the best known names in sports was Paavo Nurmi (1897–1973), long distance runner, and winner of nine Olympic gold medals. Then there is also Fredrik Idestam, industrialist and founder of Nokia. And Peter Vesterbacka, co-founder of Angry Birds, the computer game.  But the list is far longer than I care to post here, so go to Wikipedia at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Finns. Each of the names listed there is clickable to a biography for that individuals.

Read — and be amazed! And if you are Finnish-American or Finn, be proud.

Welcome News about Finnfest 2015: It Will Be In Buffalo

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My brother Walfrid just emailed me the news that Finnfest USA 2015 will be coming to Buffalo, New York. All righty! I am putting October 8-12, 2015, on my Google Calendar as a must attend event.

Not only is Buffalo only 3 hours away from my home in Brecksville, OH, by car via I-90, but FinnFest USA 2015 will celebrate the 150th anniversary of Jean Sibelius’ birth. As all Finns and  most people of Finnish ancestry know, Sibelius was a Finnish composer active in the early 20th century. He composed the symphonic tone poem, Finlandia, in 1899 amid nationalistic fervor in Finland, which was suffering under the yoke of Russian rule at the time. The composition stirred patriotic feelings whenever it was performed, so much so that it had to be performed under different names, e.g. Happy Feelings at the awakening of Finnish Spring and A Scandinavian Choral March. The composition has its own entry simply entitled Finlandia on Wikipedia at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Finlandia. The Wikipedia entry for Sibelius is at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean_Sibelius.

I must admit such a personal affinity for Finlandia that I use its opening measures as the ring tone on my Iphone.

In any case, there promises to be plenty of focus on Sibelius at the 2015 Finnfest USA. For example, we would expect performances of Sibelius music at Buffalo’s Kleinhans Music Hall by the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra, maybe on Saturday night. We took a peek at the 2014-2015 schedule for the BPO and discovered that the celebratory focus on Sibelius actually begins this year with “Ludwig Plays Sibelius,” in which former BPO concertmaster Michael Ludwig returns for two performances on December 7-8. He will play Sibelius’ Violin Concerto in D minor on a concert that also features Sibelius’ The Swan of Tuonela. What might be in store during FinnFest attendees hasn’t been announced yet, but we can expect whatever it is to be a “hot tichet.”

I should note that Kleinhaus Music Hall is one of the official venues for FinnFest programming, along with the Hyatt Regency Buffalo/Hotel and Conference Center. Coincidentally, the music hall was designed by Finnish architects Eliel and Eero Saarinen, and is celebrating the 75th anniversary of its opening in 1940. It has been designated “one of the greatest concert halls in the United States.”  If you are interested in seeing images of Kleinhans, go here: https://kleinhansbuffalo.org/.

I did a quick check on Google Maps and found that the two venues are 1.4 miles apart which is estimated to take 6 minutes to travel by car.

FinnFest USA 2015 would be my fourth FinnFest. My brother, Walfrid, and I attended FinnFest USA 1996 in Marquette, MI, and FinnFest 2007 in Ashtabula, OH, and I traveled to Houghton & Hancock, MI, for FinnFest USA 2013. The festival moves around the country and its complete history can be viewed at http://www.finnfestusa.org/about-us/history/past-locations.html. Wikipedia also has an informative entry at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FinnFest_USA.

The Huskonen family had a mini reunion at FinnFest 2007 in Ashtabula. Maybe we can organize another at FinnFest 2015.

 

WDYTYA Kicks Off New Season on Wednesday, July 23, on TLC

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Who Do You Think You Are? the genealogical and family history series returns on TLC on this coming Wednesday, July 23. The first episode features Cynthia Nixon, winner of Emmy, Grammy and Tony Awards who is perhaps best known from TV’s “Sex and the City.” Cynthia searches for answers in her paternal line, and truth becomes stranger than fiction when a mystery of deceit and murder slowly unfolds in relation to her 3x great-grandmother. Watch a sneak peek from Cynthia’s episode at http://www.tlc.com/tv-shows/who-do-you-think-you-are/videos/new-season.htm.

If you are in need of a serious fix of genealogy programming, this season’s premiere is sandwiched between reruns from last season in what look’s like a Wednesday marathon of genealogical research, beginning at 1 pm and continuing until 11 pm. You can check out episode summaries at http://www.tlc.com/tv-shows/tv-schedule.htm. Scroll down to Wednesday evening for all the episodes being presented.

Other celebrities who will be featured in future episodes include Jesse Tyler Ferguson; Rachel McAdams and her sister, Kayleen McAdams; Valerie Bertinelli; and Kelsey Grammer.

I would like to point out that Valerie Bertinelli is one of the stars of the “Hot in Cleveland” sitcom that appears on Wednesday evenings on the channel TVland. Her bio with filmography is available on Wikipedia at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valerie_Bertinelli. Also, you can watch full episodes of “Hot in Cleveland” at http://www.tvland.com/shows/hot-in-cleveland.

Finding Naturalization Records in Cuyahoga County, Ohio

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In the course of developing my workshop on Naturalization and Alien Registration for the Genealogical Committee of the Western Reserve Historical Society (details here), I discovered that the WayBack Machine provides access to the Naturalization Records database that was available on the Internet at one time.

Presently, the website is infected with some sort of virus, and–at least on my Google Chrome browser–there is a warning against accessing this website.

I have heard through the grapevine that this website eventually will be fixed and made available to the public again–perhaps later this month (April, 2014).

In the meantime, if you want to “root” around in the Cuyahoga Naturalizations database, go here:

http://web.archive.org/web/*/http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~ohcuyah2/nats/index.html

When you “see” the record of backups created by the WayBack Machine, click on one of the backups (e.g. in 2009) and you will have access to the database.

Happy “rooting.”

 

How Our Ancestors Became Americans, Or Not–A Workshop

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Your ancestor steps off the ship at Ellis Island. What happens next in the process of becoming a citizen of the United States? On Saturday afternoon,  5 Apr 2014,  1 to 4 pm, at Western Reserve Historical Society, I  will present a two-part workshop discussing the process of naturalization and the records it produced, as well as what was required of people who did become naturalized.

The first part will deal with the steps involved in the process of naturalization: the documents, time periods, and changes in immigration laws. It also will cover why these records are of interest to genealogists and family history researchers. Participants then will get some time to start research on ancestors who became naturalized in the WRHS Library. In particular, they will be able to look for naturalization records on Ancestry.com and FamilySearch.org, as well as explore the U.S. Customs and Immigration Service website at http://www.uscis.gov/genealogy.

For various reasons, many immigrants did not become naturalized. In the second part of the workshop, I will discuss records created by immigrant ancestors who did not become naturalized: Alien Registration during two world wars. If you had ancestors who were not citizens during those conflicts, they were supposed to register with the authorities, resulting in files of useful information.

The cost of the workshop is $15 and registration in advance or at the door is required. To register online, go here: http://www.wrhs.org/Calendar/Becoming_Americans.  If you have trouble with online registration, please email foxreinhardt@usa.net.
I hope to see you there.

52 Ancestors — #13 We Are Sixth Cousins, Once Removed, Descending from Hezekiah Sumner 1724-1802

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My wife, MJ, and I share many things from our growing up years and among our continuing interests: we graduated from the same high school in the same year (Andover; 1956); we were HS senior class officers; we lived all early our lives in Ashtabula County, Ohio; we prefer classical music to popular music; we prefer Scandinavian decor; we like bourbon, and we like our beef cooked medium rare to rare. One thing we don’t exactly share is an abiding interest in genealogical research. In fact, MJ is only mildly interested in the results of my research.

We both have Dutch ancestors coming here in colonial times: mine on my mother’s side (my mother’s maiden name was Dingman, adapted from Dingmansa),  and hers is on her father’s side (her maiden name: Van Court). On my father’s side, the ancestry is from Finland with the immigration occurring in 1902 and 1903. On her mother’s side, her ancestry is German, with the immigration occurring in 1897 and 1905. As a result of my research, I have learned that we also have ancestors immigrating from England in the 1600s, mine on my mother’s side; her’s on her father’s side.

One day a few years ago, she remarked: “If you keep going back, you’ll probably find that we are related.” I didn’t think much of her comment at the time. So you can imagine my amazement when I was looking at her family tree that I had assembled on Ancestry.com. Several people on her father’s side back in the late 1700s had names that seemed similar to names in my family tree, so I switched to my family tree, and there on my mother’s side were the exact same names.

When I reported this to MJ, it got her attention, and she, of course, said: “See. I told you so!” Now she likes to repeat this story whenever conversation drifts into genealogy and family history.

It turns out we both are descended from Hezekiah Sumner, who is my fifth great grandfather, and her sixth great grandfather. He was born in 1724  in Middletown, Middlesex County, Connecticut and lived later in life of Bethlehem (now Otis), Berkshire County, Massachusetts. He died in 1802.

Here is how we are related:

Hezekiah Sumner (1724 – 1802) is your 5th great grandfather
Hezekiah Sumner Jr (1757 – 1796) is the son of Hezekiah
Reuben Sumner (1797 – 1832) is the son of Hezekiah
Harrison D Sumner (1828 – 1870) is the son of Reuben
Mary E. Sumner (1852 – 1884) is the daughter of Harrison D.
Grace Darling Green (1880 – 1948) is the daughter of Mary E.
Mary Jane Dingman (1908 – 1975) is the daughter of Grace Darling
Wallace Dingman Huskonen. You are the son of Mary Jane

Hezekiah Sumner (1724 – 1802) is MJ’s 6th great grandfather
Abigail Sumner (1752-1820) is the daughter of Hezekiah
William Kibbe (1773-1855 is the son of Abigail
Roena Kibbe (1798-18760 is the daughter of William
Amanda Stephens (1821-1881) is the daughter of Roena
Truman Van Court (1846-1894) is the son of Amanda
James S. Van Court (1871-1928) is the son of Truman
Clyde H. Van Court (1902-1967) is the son of James S.
Mary Jane Van Court is the daughter of Clyde H.

When I put the generations into a relationship chart, it turns out that we are sixth cousins, once removed. The “once removed” is because there is one more generation in her ancestry than in mine. Here is my relationship chart:
 

                      Hezekiah Sumner — Common Ancestor
Hezekiah Sumner Jr     Abigail Sumner               Siblings
Reuben Sumner           William Kibbe                  First cousins
Harrison D Sumner      Roena Kibbe                   Second cousins
Mary E Sumner           Amanda Stephens          Third cousins
Grace Green                 Truman Van Court          Fourth cousins
Mary Jane Dingman    James S Van Court        Fifth cousins
Wallace D Huskonen  Clyde Van Court            Sixth cousins (& father-in-law)
                                        Mary Jane Van Court   Sixth cousin, once removed
 By the way, if you want to doublecheck this relationship, go to Cousin Calculator. The website provides an automated calculator for cousinship, as well as an article about how to use it. Also, Dick Eastman has an informative discussion of the subject of cousinship on his blog here.
So what else have I learned about Hezekiah in my research? He married Desire (a.k.a. Desiah) Higgins on 10 Feb 1744 in Middletown, Connecticut. They had their first child, Samuel, later that year. Then followed Tabitha (who died in infancy), Clemence, Tabitha (again), Abigail, Desire (who died as a child), Hezekiah Jr., Daniel, and Desire (again). As you can see from the descendencies laid out above, I descended from Hezekiah Jr, and MJ from Abigail.
Image

The above family group record appears in the book, Record of the Descendants of William Sumner of Dorchester, Massachusetts, 1636, by William Sumner Appleton. I found the book and the appropriate page in Google Books.

Recently, on Findagrave.com, I found Memorial #71466839, for Hezekiah Sumner, b. 1725, d. Feb 14, 1802. This memorial further reports that he was buried in West Center Cemetery, in Otis, Berkshire County, Massachusetts. Looking further among the 54 burials in this small cemetery, we see that Desire Sumner, b. 1733, d. 1804, was also buried there (Memorial #71466838).

Whoa! The death date for Desire Sumner is after the death date for Hezekiah. Either her death date on her cemetery marker is wrong, the Findagrave transcription is wrong, or the family group record in the book Record of Descendants of William Sumner … is wrong. Another source (Massachusetts, Town and Vital Records, 1620-1988, Ancestry.com) gives her death date as 10 Aug 1794, so maybe the cemetery marker/transcription is wrong. Also, there’s the question of a second wife for Hezekiah by the name of Mary. Finally, it’s worth noting that there are two other Sumners buried in this tiny cemetery: Doreen Sumner, b. unknown, d. 1792; and Susanna Sumner, b 1797, d. Aug 7, 1800. Listings for them in Massachusetts, Town and Vital Records … state that they were daughters of another couple, Daniel and Hanna Sumner.

I have further learned that Hezekiah served briefly in the Revolutionary War in a militia from Stanisfield. He enlisted May 26, 1777 in Capt. Allin’s Company, in Col. Wiggleworth’s Regiment, and served 1 mon, 6 days. This comes from a 1926 application for membership in the Sons of the American Revolution, available online at Ancestry.com. The SAR application further mentions that his pay was refused because the date of his enlistment came after some sort of deadline. The SAR application provides the additional information that Desire Higgins was born in Truro, Barnstable County, Massachusetts in 1724 (another disagreement with the cemetery marker/transcription information).

I don’t have any information on Hezekiah’s occupation or station in life. So, while our joint descendency from him is firm, it’s obvious that there is room for more research on him and his family in Massachusetts and Connecticut.

 

Sycamore Row, John Grisham’s Latest Novel Includes Genealogy in the Storyline

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I finished Sycamore Row, by John Grishman, yesterday. It was a relatively fast read, which Grisham’s novels generally are for me. The book was published by Doubleday in October 2013.

Set in the fictitious town of Clanton, in the fictitious Ford County, in northern Missisippi in 1988, it is a legal page-turner that involves research into the family tree of one of the central characters, Lettie Lang, an African-American housekeeper. The problem for Lettie and her daughter, Portia, in doing this research, is that Lettie has no birth certificate and she was raised by adoptive parents, the Langs, who are deceased. Portia and others try to go back through the historic records of Ford County, but they are stored in an old school building without much concert for archival preservation, and it’s hard to locate specific records.

The hero of the novel is Jake Brigance, who was the central figure of John Grisham’s first novel, A Time to Kill, published 25 years ago. That novel was set in 1985, and Jake won the trial that provides the story line of that first novel. Because Jake’s reputation for fairness is established in that trial, he is asked to be the lawyer of record for a deceased millionaire to defend a hand-written will. The will leaves the bulk of his fortune to Lettie Lang, his housekeeper, and also his main caregiver while he was suffering through  terminal lung cancer. The challenge for Jake is to prove the testamentary capacity of the decedant, and that he was not unduly influenced by Lettie.

As you might expect, old county records figured in the story. It was hard to read the thoughts of Jake (written, of course, by Grisham) about the uselessness of the old county records stored in that old schoolhouse. While Jake thought they were useless, however, Portia found them to be fascinating. She told Jake she was interested in becoming a lawyer and while she reads old court files she is becoming exposed to the law.

Through information discovered in a few land records, and with lots of interviews with distant cousins, Lettie and Portia are able to put branches on Lettie’s family tree. And as you might expect, that becomes important to the storyline. Speaking of branches, the story eventually comes out about why the book is named Sycamore Row.

While he is at it, Grisham takes the reader back in time in Mississippi to when disputes between whites and blacks sometimes were settled by lynchings.

To keep things moving along, there’s also a missing person investigation running through the novel.

When I borrowed this book from the local library, I had no idea that genealogy would figure into the storyline. I have enjoyed many of John Grisham’s books, and I did this one too. The fact that genealogical and family history research played an important part in this book enhanced the pleasure I took from reading it.

If you are interested in learning more about Sycamore Row and John Grisham, you can go to his website: www.jgrisham.com, and you can do a Google Search for “Reviews Sycamore Row” and find many other opinions to read about the book.

Ohio Genealogical Society Elects New Officers, Trustees

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On Saturday, March 22, I participated in my last Board of Trustees meeting at the Ohio Genealogical Society Library in Bellville. My term ends with the OGS Conference next month at Kalahari Resort in Sandusky. I have been involved with OGS as a trustee for about a dozen years now, and I finally decided it was time for me to wind down this involvement.

As a result of the recent OGS election, new officers and trustees will be sworn in at the upcoming Conference.

Let me take a moment to announce and congratulate the incoming OGS officers and trustees:

Officers

President – Margaret Cheney
VP Member Services – Eric Johnson
VP Development – Don Clark
Secretary – James Mainger
Treasurer – Bob Keener

Trustees

Deb Abbott
Paul Morehouse
Chris Staats
Jennifer Alford
Dot Martin
Lee Martin

For this election, OGS used a combination of printed ballots and email ballots. As a result, the voting “turnout” was much higher than in previous elections conducted with only paper ballots. More than 625 ballots were submitted this time around.

Again, congrats to the winners. I know they will all do a fine job of running the Ohio Genealogical Society.