1. Ancestry.com Class 2

2. How do you use Ancestry.com?

3. Focus of Ancestry Class 2 1.Census Records 2.Suggested Records 3.US City Directories 4.Collaboration 5.“Fun Stuff ”- Pictures

4. If family historians had ruled the world, things would be quite different. Vital records would have been recorded since the beginning of time. Courthouses would have been built fireproof, bug- and rodent- proof, and on high ground. In the case of censuses, census enumerators would have had to pass rigorous exams, be multi-lingual, and have perfect penmanship. Alas, this was not the case. Enumerators were often political appointees who just happened to have the right connections, and anyone who has worked with census records can attest that nice handwriting was definitely not a requirement!

5. 1. Census Records http://search.ancestry.com/search/category.aspx?cat=35 http://search.ancestryinstitution.com/search/category.aspx?cat=35

6. With just a few basic facts…. Name Place where an ancestor lived Estimated year of birth

7. 1930 U.S. Federal Census Address name relationship to head of family home owned or rented if owned, value of home if rented, monthly rent whether owned a radio set whether on a farm sex race Age marital status and, if married, age at first marriage school attendance literacy birthplace of person, and their parents http://search.ancestryinstitution.com/search/category.aspx?cat=35 if foreign born: language spoken at home before coming to the U. S. year of immigration whether naturalized ability to speak English occupation, industry and class of worker whether at work previous day (or last regular work day) veteran status if Indian: whether of full or mixed blood tribal affiliation

8. Deconstruct the Census What information in the census is going to help me better understand my ancestor? Was the person employed that year? Did the family speak English? Put everything into the context of history. This is where you are going to find the story. For example, all men who were born between 1872 and 1900 were eligible for the draft for World War I. Dates and places from the census can help track a family’s moves. Zero in on where they were at each census so you can trace other records.

9. How Accurate is the Census? Who answered the questions? The responses could reflect how well the person who answered the questions Knew the person Could they communicate with the enumerator? 1940 Census marked the person who responded

10. Family Structure Relationships to the head of household are shown beginning in the 1880 census. This is great for showing extended family living in the household. John Wesley and Martha Arvilla Lucore, 1900 US Census

11. Look for marriage information 1870 and 1880 asks whether married within the year and if so what month. 1900 and 1910 asks for the number of years married, number of children born and number still living. 1930 asks for age at first marriage. Use this as a clue to a prior marriage.

12. Extended family living in the same community http://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?db=1880usfedcen&h=2 9135409&ti=0&indiv=try&gss=pt&ssrc=pt_t15830714_p52584001 4_kpidz0q3d525840014z0q26pgz0q3d32768z0q26pgplz0q3dpid http://search.ancestryinstitution.com/cgi- bin/sse.dll?db=1880usfedcen&rank=1&new=1&so=3&MSAV=0&msT=1&gss=ms_db&gsfn=john&gsln=he witt&msbdy=1815&msbpnsearch.ancestryinstitution.com/cgi- bin/sse.dll?db=1880usfedcen&rank=1&new=1&so=3&MSAV=0&msT=1&gss=ms_db&gsfn=john&gsln=he witt&msbdy=1815&msbpn

13. Where is Ghordis Burdick on the 1880 Census?

15. 2. Suggested Records When you find a record for your ancestor, look for the Suggested Records link on the right. Ancestry.com looks for other members who have interacted with that record, and if they've found other records for that person, they suggest them to you. http://search.ancestryinstitution.com/cgi- bin/sse.dll?rank=1&new=1&MSAV=0&msT=1&gss=angs- c&gsfn=john+&gsln=lucore&msbdy=1845&msbpn__ftp=Pennsylvania%2c+USA&msbpn= 41&msbpn_PInfo=5%7c0%7c1652393%7c0%7c2%7c3244%7c41%7c0%7c0%7c0%7c0%7c &uidh=dw5&mssng0=martha&pcat=35&h=36870676&db=1880usfedcen&indiv=1 Check Suggested Records to see other records that may apply to this person.

16. 3. U.S. City Directories, 1821-1989 http://search.ancestryinstitution.com/search/db.aspx?dbid=2469 Erie, Pennsylvania, City Directory, 1929 http://trees.ancestryinstitution.com/tree/15830714/person/385621597?msg=ni

17. 4. Collaboration “The key,” said Tim Sullivan, President and CEO of Ancestry.com, “is to collaborate with each other.” Both the professional and the novice have something to contribute to each other’s success in piecing together one’s family history. “Approximately 80% of all research done in genealogy is duplication,” said Ron Tanner, Product Manager for the Family History Department. “If we’re going to work together on a shared family tree, is there anything we’re going to have to do differently? The answer is ‘yes,’ we need to stop playing Go Fish and play 52-card Share-em.”

18. Collaboration

19. http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GSln=HEW&GSpartial =1&GSbyrel=all&GSst=40&GScntry=4&GSsr=721&GRid=8859098&

21. Some travelers came to a village, carrying nothing more than an empty cooking pot. Upon their arrival, the villagers were unwilling to share any of their food stores with the hungry travelers. The travelers went to a stream and filled the pot with water, dropping a large stone in it, and placed it over a fire. One of the villagers became curious and asked what they were doing. The travelers answered that they were making "stone soup” which tastes wonderful, although it still needed a little bit of garnish to improve the flavor. The villager did not mind parting with a few carrots to help them out, so that was added to the soup. Another villager walked by, inquiring about the pot, and the travelers again mentioned their stone soup which had not yet reached its full potential. The villager handed them a little bit of seasoning to help them out. More and more villagers walked by, each adding another ingredient. Finally, a delicious and nourishing pot of soup was enjoyed by all.

22. Be objective. Be courteous. Be patient. If you edit, share your email. Assume the other person is well intentioned. Write good reason statements. Don’t make changes just because you “know.” Use sources. Rarely delete a person. Usually, the person belongs to a different family. Don’t delete the person, just remove them from the family. Don’t guess when merging. Do your homework. If the possible duplicates list presents a person who is not a duplicate, use “not a match” to remove them from the list. Collaboration Etiquette

23. 5. “Fun Stuff”- pictures http://search.ancestryinstitution.com/search/CardCatalog.aspx#ccat=hc%3D25%26dbSort%3D1%26sbo%3D1%26

24. What story does this picture tell?