Spring 2016: Upcoming Topics

One more week until our Tuesday morning posts resume! In February, we will publish posts on Archival Resources, Genetics, Ancestor of the Day, and Family History Case Study. Below is a description of some upcoming topics for Spring 2016. 

Please take advantage of our new poll posted to the right. Get your votes in by February 10th. 

Below are some topics we look forward to posting about this spring:

History and Genealogy -- This is a new series that will begin this spring. When you begin to research your family history, there is an inherent curiosity regarding the historical context 

Beginner Genealogy -- because there is so much to cover when starting your research, we will continue this series throughout the winter and into the spring. The cold weather months are a perfect time to start your genealogical research in a warm, cozy library or archive, or at home! 

Archival Resources -- In this series we will profile different record types and include examples and visuals when available. 

Family History Case Study -- Sometimes the best way to begin your own research is by taking a look at someone else's. Family History Case Study presents some of Tangled Branches Genealogy's family history research.

Ancestor of the Day -- An always popular topic and very fun way to spend time researching! Probably more like "Ancestor of the Week."

Genetics -- The human genome is filled with information about our ancestors! We will begin to explore why genetics is becoming so important to family historians and genealogists. 

New Poll!

Please take advantage of our new poll located to the right. It is a way for us to take your interests into consideration while we work to generate interesting, informative content. Get your votes in by February 10th!

Hello!

It's been a while since we've posted and we're hard at work on some new content. Juggling work, family, and volunteer commitments can be a bit overwhelming at times. We'll be back to posting weekly on Tuesdays in February. For now, enjoy these genealogy and family history stories that have been in the recent news. Happy searching!

Were you adopted? Learn tips for searching your genealogy The Davis Enterprise
Genealogy: Digging deeper into newspapers Examiner.com
We the People: Archaic terms often stump genealogists NewsOk.com
Genealogy Records at Intersection of Faith, Family History Voice of America News
Irish Roots: Why Genealogy is Seasonal The Irish Times

Holiday shopping for a genealogist

This post is just for fun! Since holiday season is rapidly approaching, consider buying something genealogy related for the family historian in your life. Below are a few examples I've collected, but I'm sure there are lots of other great gift ideas out there!

Family tree charts
Most of the genealogists I know go through a lot of family tree charts, pedigree charts and family group sheets and prefer to gather most of those for free online or at their local libraries. However, there are specialty items, poster sized charts, and other goodies that may be perfect for a genealogist.

Scrap-booking materials

Archival quality preservation materials

Eccentric genealogist clothing

Family themed home and office gifts

Books! Because I am a librarian by trade, I always love receiving books as gifts. And looking through thrift stores for books. And looking through commercial bookstore for books. Consider buying a book about genealogy or a certain local history book for your friendly genealogist!

National Origins: Scotland

**The content of this post will be made into a new page on our blog in the near future. For now we are excited to share what we have discovered so far!**

Since I have been researching Scotland recently, I have decided to compile some of my Scottish resources as a way to organize my own research. This post will serve as sort of a libguide for Scottish genealogical research that I hope will help others as well.

Introduction to Scottish Research

Starting with the basics is key to any genealogical research. To research Scottish genealogy, one must first establish and prove a connection to Scotland. This step may be quite easy if you or your parents were born in Scotland, but others may be researching ancestors that are removed by several generations.

Below are some basic resources for Scottish genealogical resources. More will be added, along with annotations before this content is made into its own page.

General Genealogy Resources

Ancestry.com

FamilySearch.org

GENUKI

Scottish Genealogical Resources 

Getting Started in Scottish Genealogy

Scottish Genealogy Society

Scottish Records

National Records of Scotland

Scotland's People 

Scottish Records Association

Family History Case Study: Martin Family History

As we prepare for the holidays, I hope you have lots of family with which to visit, celebrate, and reconnect. I always find November and December to be a particularly reflective time for me and I do a ton of writing during these two months. I find myself looking over oral histories and transcribing them, volunteering to index names for my local genealogical society, and just wanting to conduct in-depth genealogical research.

I thought November would be a great time to share some of my own family history research. Portions of the content below (employment information and residences in Champaign, IL) were originally published by the Champaign County Genealogical Society in November 2015 for their quarterly journal.

Perry Newton Martin (1875-1956) and Mary Olive Keltner (1875-1965)

Perry Newton Martin is my second-great-grandfather and is my father’s direct male line ancestor. Perry Newton Martin was born in Crawfordsville, Montgomery County, Indiana on 13 November 1875. His parents were Valerian I. “Valley” Martin (1851-1931) of Crawfordsville and Mary Jane Corn (1850-1928) of Henry County, Kentucky. Perry’s parents were married 14 September 1871 in Crawfordsville.  Perry’s father, Valley Martin was employed as an engineer by the Crawfordsville Casket Company for over twenty years and was a lifelong resident of Crawfordsville, Indiana. Mary kept house and cared for Perry and his three younger brothers: William, Walter, and Clarence.

Perry Martin married Mary Olive Keltner (1875-1965), daughter of Jacob Keltner and Margurete “Maggie” Cain, on 8 April 1895 in Montgomery County, Indiana. Their three eldest children, Arthur (b. 1896), Harry Ellsworth (b. 1898) and Lee Otis (b. 1900) were born in Montgomery County, Indiana. Perry was listed as a machinist on the 1900 census when he was living with his family in Union, Montgomery, Indiana and Mary was listed as keeping house. The company of employment is not listed with Perry’s occupation, though according to his retirement records Perry began working for Illinois Central Railroad in 1899.

Perry’s obituary states that he had been a resident of Champaign, Illinois since 1902. By 1904, Perry is listed in the Champaign-Urbana city directory at 308 S State Street, working as a fireman for Illinois Central Railroad, so Perry and his family may have traveled to Illinois for work opportunities. This is the first record of Perry and his family living in Illinois and it is certain that the family moved from Indiana to Illinois between 1902 and 1904.

By 1906, Perry had begun his lifelong career as an Illinois Central Railroad Company locomotive engineer. Perry worked for IC as an engineer for 46 years, retiring in 1945.  The Martins welcomed their fourth child--and only daughter--Thelma Madeline on 20 April 1906. Their fifth and last child, Ernest Walter, was born in 1912. While Perry worked for the railroad, Mary Olive kept house and raised their six children. She later worked as a telephone operator for Illinois Bell Telephone Company.

The family rented homes throughout the city of Champaign until 1920 when they purchased their first residence at 1111 Champaign Avenue in Champaign; both Mary Olive Martin and Perry Newton Martin are listed as the grantees.  From 1902 - 1920, the family lived in at least six different rental properties in Champaign.

In the 1920s, Perry vouched for all four of his sons as a reference for work at IC.  Arthur worked briefly as a clerk from 1916-1917, Walter worked as a fireman from 1920-1922, and Harry and Lee began as brakemen in 1922. After resigning his post with IC, Harry went on to become a truck driver and eventually returned to Illinois Central in that capacity.  Harry’s son Donald worked for IC for nearly forty years as a laborer, brakeman, and yard clerk.

Perry retired from IC in 1945 and lived for nine more years. During that time he and his wife traveled to visit family members and opened their home from time to time as a temporary home for children and grandchildren. Mary Keltner Martin lived for nearly nine years as a widow after Perry’s death. Mary made her home with her daughter, Thelma Martin Hughes and her daughter’s husband John B. Hughes at 916 West Tremont Street in Champaign during her final years. For her 89th birthday Mary’s granddaughter invited all of her friends and family to an open house celebration and dozens of people attended. A write-up of that party was featured in the Champaign News-Gazette.  That was her last birthday.

Goodbye Family History Month, Hello Winter Research!

It is not quite winter yet, so enjoy any warm Autumn weather that is left! As the days become shorter and more of our time is spent indoors, genealogical research can be a fun, productive way of keeping busy. Now that family history month has past, our blog will revert to once weekly in-depth posts on Tuesdays with other tidbits posted here and there. If you're new to Tangled Branches, now is a great time to catch up on our Beginner Genealogy series; all of the posts begin with the phrase "Beginning Genealogy" and have the "getting started" tag. As always, feel free to comment or contact us via the form to the right. Happy searching!