The Envelope Please!

Jasia has rolled out the red carpet at Creative Gene for the 4th annual iGene Awards.


I would like to thank the Academy of Genealogy and Family History and everyone who has followed along with me! Without further ado here are the winners at Apple's Tree.




Best Picture

The judges just couldn't resist the picture of my granddaughter, Sprout and therefore chose Faces of my mtDNA. Does the fate of our line of mtDNA rest solely with her? Meet her female ancestors as we explore the possiblities.


Best Screen Play / Best Comedy

The judges decided to combine these two categories after reading SNGF - WDYTYA Starring Apple! Follow along as Lisa Kudrow's production team takes on two of my brick walls. I will play myself, however we may have to hire actors to portray my grandchildren as they are holding out for more money! Steve Danko, Lisa Alzo and Dr. Blaine Bettinger have all been cast as themselves. The role of the anonymous professional genealogist is still being cast and suggestions are welcome. (This is actually my personal favorite post of all time - I really had fun with it.)


Best Documentary

The judges had a little more difficulty in this catagory, finally settling on David, Daniel, Donald! Tracking him down through census and newspapers took determination and a couple of creative searches.


Best Biography

The judges immediately chose Sarah Ann Wisner Camfield 1817 - 1912. Sarah's life unfolds in a four part series starting with a time-line and moving through her early, middle and final years. It was written for the 91st edition of the Carnival of Genealogy and I was very honored to be chosen as the featured author.


Best Infomercial

In the unofficial Infomercial category the judges have chosen Winter on the Tug Hill. I was very weak in this category as evidenced by the choice of a repost from 2008. Something for me to think about in the year to come!

Family of Reuben E Glover

I thought I would wrap up what I have learned about the family of Reuben E Glover. There is still much I do not know but at this time I do not have the means to pursue the the records needed to fill in the gaps. By using a time line format I hope to highlight what I have found and what I am lacking.

All three of Reuben's children appear to have died young. George before the age of 13. Lewis lived for a time at the Willard Asylum for the Insane and I believe died before he was 30. I've already written of the sad end of daughter, Alice at the age of 27. Unless Lewis had a child there were no other desendants of Reuben and Charlotte Glover.

1815 - Reuben E Glover was born Dec 22 in Phelps, Ontario, New York

He was the son of David Glover and Tamesin Hall. His date and place of birth come from unverified family records. David Glover is found on both the 1810 & 1820 census records of Phelps.

1826 - The Glover family relocates to Orleans County, New York.

This date is based on a biography of Hannah L Glover Carlisle, Reuben's youngest sister. In 1830 David Glover was found in Gaines, Orleans, New York with one male age 10-15, assumed to be Reuben.

1840 - So far I have not located him.

1850 - So far I have not located him or his father or brother, Milton.

Three of his sisters were still in Orleans County, New York. Brother, William, was in LaGrange County, Indiana. The remaining family members in St Joseph and Cass Counties, Michigan.

c. 1853 Reuben married Charlotte Ainsworth.

Charlotte was the daughter of Thomas and Elsie Ainsworth. She was born about 1834 or 1835. In 1850 she was 16 and living in the home of W.(?) W. Curtiss  in Alabama, Genesee, New York, which is just south of Orleans County.

c. 1854 - Birth of son, Lewis Edward Glover in (Western) New York.

1855 - Niagara City, Niagara, New York

Niagara Falls Gazette
Dissolution
Notice is hereby given that the firm of R. & L.E. Glover, is this day dissolved by mutual consent.
Reuben Glover
Lewis E. Glover
Niagara City, March 1, 1855
[On the same page is an add for a painter that says, "The subscriber having established himself one door north of Glover's Hotel, Niagara City, N. Y.]

c. 1857 - Birth of son, George Glover in (Western) New York.

1860 - Birth of daughter, Alice Elizabeth Glover on January 29. 

Suspension Bridge, Niagara, New York. The family appears on the 1860 census in Niagara, Niagara, New York. Reuben's occupation in listed as Cooper. He had real estate valued at $2,000 and personal estate valued at $500.

c. 1860 -1870 - Death of son George.

George does not appear with family on the 1870 census.

1863 - Reuben's brother, Lewis E. Glover died in Niagara, Niagara, New York.

Reuben was named an executor of his Lewis' estate.

1870 - Suspension Bridge, Niagara, New York.

The census shows Reuben, Charlotte, Lewis and Alice. It is presumed that George had died. Reuben was listed as Cooper, real estate valued at $2,000, personal estate valued at $1,000. Lewis had a personal estate of $600 even though he was only 16. His occupation was given as "works at coopering." Alice, at the age of 10 had a personal estate of $1,000.

1878 - Suspension Bridge, Niagara, New York

Niagara Falls Gazette, Wednesday, February 20, 1878
Local Department
FIRE.- The building known as the Red Slaughter House, near Suspension Bridge, was destroyed by fire Saturday evening. The premises were owned by W. E. Shaffer, who had the building stored with about forty tons of baled hay ready for shipment, a quantity of straw, three hundred newly made apple barrels, a quantity of grain, some fruit, a valuable hay press, a pair of standard scales, new, and a stationary engine for running the press. The barrels belonged to a cooper named Glover. There was no insurance on them. Shaffer’s loss is largely covered by insurance. It is thought that the fire had an incendiary origin.

1880 - Suspension Bridge, Niagara, New York.

Reuben, Charlotte and Alice appear on the index for Suspension Bridge, Niagara, New York. Lewis was found in the Willard Asylum for the Insane, Romulus, Seneca, New York, age 25 Coper [sic]

c. 1880-1887 Death of son Lewis Edward Glover.

Alice's obituary says she was the "only living daughter," since she was the only daughter my working theory is that what was meant was that she was the only living child. In 1900 Charlotte was recorded as having no living children.

1886 - Alice Glover sells property in Niagara Falls.

Gold and silver coins were subsequently found on the property and a lawsuit ensued. Based on the fact that her personal estate was valued at $1,000 in 1870, my best guess is that the property was given to her by her uncle, Lewis E Glover.

1887 - Alice E Glover is married and dies Nov 10.

Sick with typhoid fever, Alice's Baptism, Marriage and Death all occurred on the same day. She was married to Mr. Chase, nowhere in the articles is his first name mentioned. She was said to be the "Only surviving daughter of  Mr and Mrs R E Glover." She was buried in Oakwood Cemetery, Niagara Falls, New York.

1887 ? - Death of Reuben E Glover.

I have not found an obituary for him and find that strange. Perhaps the edition of the paper I need was not filmed or the OCR program simply has not found it. The date I have comes from family records.

1891 - Charlotte Ainsworth Glover married John Halbin on October 28.

Niagara Falls Gazette, October 28, 1891 The marriage of Mrs. Charlotte Glover of Suspension Bridge to Mr John Halbin of Buffalo, will take place this afternoon at 5 o'clock at the residence of the bride on Niagara avenue Suspension Bridge. She relocated to 262 Maryland St, Buffalo, New York.

1892 - Buffalo, Erie, New York

Charlotte Halbin, Ward 21

1900 - Buffalo, Erie, New York

Charlotte was listed as "Charlotte G Havlin." Her birth is given as Feb 1837. She was the mother of three children, 0 still living.

1905 - Buffalo, Erie, New York

Indexed at FamilySearch.org as Charlotte Holbin

1914 - John Hablin died April 8.

1920 - Buffalo, Erie, New York

Charlotte G Halbin found in the index for ward 24, page 20.

c. 1920-1930 Death of Charlotte Ainsworth Glover Halbin

I have been unable to locate Charlotte on the census index for 1930. It is possible the name was mis-indexed or she had remarried.

Winter on the Tug Hill

For this weeks Saturday Night Genealogy Fun, Randy Seaver, at Genea-Musings, suggested we look at our stats to see what key word searches were driving traffic to our blogs. I was surprised that one of the top searches was for a post that I wrote nearly three years ago. So here it is again. If your ancestors spent any time in upstate New York you may find it interesting. I have updated it slightly.

Thomas, Randy and I all have ancestors that lived on the Tug Hill in Northern New York in the 1800's. Possibly many more of you did too. I live between the lake and the Tug so the weather one weekend started me wondering why they came, how they got through the winter and why they stayed.

First off a little geography. Just what and where is the Tug Hill Plateau? From the New York State Tug Hill Commission:

Tug Hill is a 2,100 square mile, rural and remote region of New York State located between Lake Ontario and the Adirondacks. The region is heavily forested and receives the heaviest snowfall in the eastern United States. The headwaters of several major rivers spring from the region's core forests. The region consists of 41 towns (containing 21 villages) in portions of Jefferson, Lewis, Oneida, and Oswego counties. With just over 100,000 people, about 50 people per square mile, one of Tug Hill's most notable characteristics is its relative lack of people

Tug Hill is noted for its heavy snowfalls, usually described as the heaviest east of the Rockies, though Michigan's Upper Peninsula and the White and Green Mountains of New Hampshire and Vermont rival Tug Hill.

The combination of winter winds blowing over some 150 miles of Lake Ontario waters and the 2,000-foot rise of Tug Hill creates these heavy snows. But "lake effect" snows can be very local, so snowfall amounts around the Tug Hill Region vary considerably. There is no "average" snowfall for the entire region, except to say it is heavy everywhere in the 2,100 square mile region.

Tug Hill's elevation and position with respect to Lake Ontario results in annual snowfall in excess of 200 inches--the heaviest snowfall east of the Rockies.

So what is "lake effect"? This is the short version. For more details see the full article at Wikipedia. (Emphasis added be me.)

Lake-effect snow is produced in the winter when cold, arctic winds move across long expanses of warmer lake water, providing energy and picking up water vapor which freezes and is deposited on the lee shores. The same effect over bodies of salt water is called ocean effect snow, sea effect snow, or even bay effect snow. The effect is enhanced when the moving air mass is uplifted by the orographic effect of higher elevations on the downwind shores. This uplifting can produce narrow, but very intense bands of precipitation, which deposit at a rate of many inches of snow each hour and often bringing copious snowfall totals. The areas affected by lake-effect snow are called snowbelts. This effect occurs in many locations throughout the world, but is best known in the populated areas of the Great Lakes of North America.

This is a composite of some of the radar returns from a January 2008 weekend. You can see how tight the bands are. They do fluctuate up and down the eastern end of the lake. In the areas in yellow the snow was falling at a rate of 1"- 4" an hour.

And in this graphic you can see the average snow totals for the region. Most of the Tug Hill is in the pink and red. If your ancestors settled in Southwestern New York the conditions would be very similar.

So why did they come? My best guess is opportunity. There was money to be made from logging. I imagine that the land was cheaper in this area. But for now all I can do is guess.

At the risk of creating my own family myths, I have to wonder how they got through the tough, long winters that are part of living here. I couldn't find any pictures from the 1800's but I did find these from Oswego County, taken in December 1937, at the Library of Congress digital collection. Photographer: Arthur Rothstein.

My great-great-grandparents, in 1855, lived in a log cabin in Adams, NY. Would it have been similar to this one? How much wood did they have to cut each year to keep it warm? How much time did they spend in the nice months preparing for winter? How many layers did they have to wear to stay warm? What were their quilts like. Did they have snowshoes?



There would most likely have been animals to care for. How much hay and silage did they need? Was the barn heated? If they had a cow how hard was it to milk in the cold? How much did they shovel? Just a path to the barn or more? Did they have other animals?



Did the snow make some chores easier? Were logs easier to drag over snow? Did they have a sleigh?



Were they able to plow the roads with horses? Were they cut off from neighbors for days or weeks at a time?
I know that there were many more questions that ran through my mind over the last couple of days. Life on the Tug Hill couldn't have been easy in winter. It is beautiful county in the other seasons. Is that why they stayed? It wasn't enough for the many that moved on. Lots of questions and no real answers.

Post Titles - Tuesday's Tip

This is a post born out of frustration. You see, there was a time when I had so few genealogy blogs on my reading list that I could manage them all from my iGoogle home page. And back then I made an effort to read every post that appeared on my list. I left lots of comments, interacted with everybody else, learned new things and shared some laughs. In short, reading other blogs was fun! (And I had plenty of time left over to post to my own blog.)

With the recent blog explosion keeping up with everyone and reading blogs has become more like work. Sure, there are still enjoyable moments but I have a lot to wade though to find posts that I really enjoy. My frustration comes from a reading list full of titles that tell me little or nothing about what the post is about. Here's what my I saw on my reader on Monday.

 

A couple of the titles look interesting but the rest have cut off the part of the title that would give me an idea if I wanted to click and read. The only reason for putting the prompt in your title is so that it will show up in the roll up widget at GeneaBloggers. Consider flip-flopping your title so that the prompt is at the end. It will still get picked up by the Google Reader widget that creates the roll up.

Give your post titles some thought. Tease me, inform me but make sure you give me a reason to click and read!

My Plan for 2011

Last year I had really had only one goal and that was to get to Michigan and retrieve the remaining letters. It didn't happen.

2011 promises to be a year of big changes for me. In another few weeks I will finally be a snow bird and I am so looking forward to that! I think a warmer climate will go a long way to enabling me to recover my health and that will be my number one priority. I am much too young to feel so old! A new home and new community will surely take up much of my time. Due to our delay in leaving New York I had to order kerosene today and that effectively reduced my genealogy budget to $0.00.

So where does that leave me as far as genealogy research and writing?

I intend to refocus on the letters. I have decided to end the current batch of letters with Sarah Ann's death. Any letters after that also fall into the Carlisle set and I will add them there. I anticipate that many of the Carlisle letters will lead to further research of both people, places and events.

I have not researched my early New England ancestors because so many others have already done so. It's about time that I gathered and verified  information on my own and with so many of the early records available online for free it seems like a logical step to make. I do know that I will not find everything online but by finding what I can this year I can hope to search for and order records at some future date. At least I'll know what I have and what I lack. New research will of course lead to new things to write about ;-)

Almost all of what I consider to be my best writing has been either for the Carnival of Genealogy or some other prompt given me by someone else. Not knowing what the topics will be it's hard to plan too far ahead and I think I actually do better with a limited research/writing window.

While having nothing to do with my own research I hope to spend some time giving back by adding more memorials to Find A Grave. If any opportunities come along to transcribe newspaper articles or documents that would help a large number of people I hope to be able to do so and contribute to GenWeb.

I rarely know where a research trail will take me or when I'll veer off to some totally unplanned direction but I've found that those unplanned paths are always the most fun!

Bring on the new year - I'm ready!

Written for the 101st edition of the Carnival of Genealogy.
Thanks for the posted fM!