Part 514d - Smith Robertson Genealogy - Dubuc Descendant Chart - Dating To 1681

Good evening,

Yesterday I received an e-mail quite to my surprise, and enthusiasm from Yann. Yann and I are connected by sisters; our great-grandmothers Catherine Marie Antoinette (née July) Abraham and Marie Eugénie Berthe (née July) Clergeau Rénier.

The e-mail is information regarding the ancestors of our ggg-grandmother Catherine Rosalie (née Dubuc) July. GGG-Grandmother Catherine Rosalie was the above-mentioned, great-grandmother Catherine's and great-grandaunt Marie's grandmother.

Thank you Thierry for your sharing the information with us. Per Yann "nous avons un nouveau cousin (Thierry -) qui semble être de la branche Philippe Dubuc.” Translated: "We have a new cousin (Thierry -) who appears to be of the Philippe Dubuc Family Tree."

Philippe Dubuc is our five-times great-grandfather. Wow! Also included are the names of possible six-times great-grandparents Bertrand and Jeanne Dubuc, as well as our five-times great grandmother Marguerite (née Prieur) Dubuc, the wife of five-times great-grandfather Philippe Dubuc. And by the way, an additional nine possible relatives are included.

I have created a new Dubuc Descendant Chart. As always this new Descendant Chart will be Always Under Construction. All the new and possible relatives, all 13 entries, are included on the Chart in red.

The new Dubuc Descendant Chart will be included under the pulldown tab "Smith" at the top of the page. This Chart can be used in conjunction with the July Descendant Chart II.

Included with the genealogy of the Dubuc Family are some copies an images of registration documents. This is a treasure find. Thank you, Yann and Thierry. More transcribing and translating the come.

If you have any questions, comments or ideas please do not hesitate to contact me. Also all possible data, information, and leads are most welcome.

Enjoy,

Jim

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Part 462s – Smith Robertson Genealogy – Possible mtDNA J1b1 Subclade – Abraham, Castex, Charbonnier, Chevalier, Clergeau, Clopath, Emery, July, Merle, Olton, Rénier, Smith, Titus, Vogt…

Good Afternoon,

ZC just received news from Administration of the J-mtDNA Group at Family Tree DNA.

The classification of Haplogroup J could, based on the results, be restated as J1b1.

“I see that they have classified you as Haplogroup J, but based on a quick review of your HVR1/HVR2 results, I believe you should more properly be classified as J1b1 and thus I have moved you into that subgroup within the project.”

What does this mean to our genealogy and search?

From Wikipedia - “A Haplogroup is a group of similar haplotypes that share a common ancestor with a single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) mutation.”

The Subclade, J1b1 is “a term used to describe a subgroup of a subgenus or haplogroup.” (Wikipedia)

Here is an updated DNA Pedigree Chart, which does now include the tracing of the possible J1b1 mtDNA lineage.

See my Posts Part 456s, Part 450s, Part 449s, Part 448s, and Part 447s for my preceding discussion of our paternal grandmothers’ mtDNA.

To date our documented paper trail is to gg-grandmother Catherine Cora (née Merle) July who was born in France in 1836 and passed away in French Guiana in 1886. I do know the ggg-grandmother Jeanette Etienette (née Castex) Merle is also a part of this mtDNA lineage but I am yet to discover an physical evidence of her vital records.

The Cambridge Reference Sequence (CRS) differences for the HVR1 and HVR2 tests are, respectively: 16069T, 16126C, 16145A, 16172C, 16222T, 16261T, 16519C, and 73G, 242T, 263G, 295T, 315.1C, 462T, 489C. The inserted extract of the J1b1 subclade is from a paper by Mannis van Oven and Manfred Kayser.

To date the related surnames that I can include that may also be recipients (albeit owners) of this mtDNA classification include: Abraham, Castex, Charbonnier, Chevalier, Clergeau, Clopath, Emery, July, Merle, Olton, Rénier, Smith, Titus, Vogt. Please let me know if I have forgotten a surname which may also belong.

The following paragraph was found as an ancestry description of the J1b1 subclade.

J1b1: The mitochondrial haplogroup J contains several sub-lineages. The original haplogroup J originated in the Near East approximately 50,000 years ago. Within Europe, sub-lineages of haplogroup J have distinct and interesting distributions. Haplogroup J1b is found distributed in the Near East and southern Iberia, and may have been part of the original colonization wave of Neolithic settlers moving around the Mediterranean 6000 years ago or perhaps a lineage of Phoenician traders. Within haplogroup J1b, a derivative lineage haplogroup J1b1 has been found in Britain and another sub-lineage detected in Italy. Further research will better establish the relationship of these two geographically distant, yet evolutionarily related, haplogroups. Bryan Sykes in his Seven Daughters of Eve book named this mtDNA haplogroup Jasmine.

(See Charles Kerchner’s MtDNA Haplogroup Descriptions & Information Links).

That's it for now.

Enjoy,

Jim

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Part 450s – Smith Robertson Genealogy – Our mtDNA Results Lean To J1b

Afternoon,

Based on ZC’s present results, and the immediate differences results from the Cambridge Reference Sequence, (see Parts 448s and 449s), it may be possible to infer that the sequence may be classified as J1b. J1b is a subclade of the Haplogroup J.

I have highlighted the HVR1 results in the inserted 2004 Schematic Tree for European mtDNA Variation. This representation is from the thesis by Piia Serk, from the University of Tartu, in Estonia.

In my research of my genealogy and ancestry I am constantly “drilling-down” to locate more and more information. As discussed, my father’s maternal line mtDNA resulted in a J Haplogoup classification. This means that my father, Frederick Kenneth Lloyd Smith received his mtDNA from his mother, grandmother Jeanne Lucie Ernestine (née Abraham) Smith (and Mann). She received hers from her mother, my great-grandmother Catherine Marie Antoinette (née July) Abraham who in turn received hers from her mother, my great-great-grandmother Catherine Cora (née Merle) July.

My search and research, at presents stops at my great-great-great-grandmother Jeannette Etienette (née Castex) Merle. I have not found any information on my Castex line as I have not delved into those records as yet. All-things-being-equal those records and documents could begin in the vicinity of Bordeaux, in Gironde, France.

A geographic line of the passage of these J-mtDNA results would be from Bordeaux, France to Sénégal in West Africa, to Georgetown in British Guiana (now Guyana), to St. George, in Grenada. Other lines of transfer from Bordeaux to Sénégal, to Cayenne in French Guiana, to Paris and Brittany, France as well as from British Guiana to San Diego, in California, USA.

To date, the individuals in our Family Tree with the surnames who may be recipients of this J-mtDNA include: Abraham, Castex, Charbonnier, Chevalier, Clergeau, Clopath, Emery, July, Merle, Olton, Rénier, Smith, Titus, and Vogt.

Quite a bit to assimilate at one given time… but I’m getting there.

Enjoy,

Jim

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Part 448s – Smith Genealogy – J-mtDNA Results Again - Castex, Merle, Clergeau, Rénier, Chevalier, Clopath, Charbonnier

Morning,

In the pursuit of our genealogy, the J-mtDNA results, following up on Part 447s , are critical in determining a possible match which could lead to the discovery of a most common ancestor. Of the FamilyTree DNA accessible and open records, ZC’s mt-DNA results matched 13 High Resolution (HVR1 + HVR2) sets.

To date we have received four responses. All-things-being-equal there could be an ancestor-in-common in any one of these four matches but the documentary and paper trails currently do not provide the clues. Still nine more returned replies are in the works… hopefully.

The following are ZC’s J-Haplogroup differences relative to the Cambridge Reference Sequence (CRS). These are the differences that are used to match to possible corresponding others. A match means a possible connection. Per FamilyTree DNA, "A match on HVR1 and HVR2 has a 50% chance of a common ancestor within twenty-eight generations. That is about 700 years."

The immediate differences results from the Cambridge Reference Sequence are as follows:

HVR1 – 16069T; 16126C; 16145A; 16172C; 16222T; 16261T; and 16519C


HVR2 – 73G; 242T; 263G; 295T; 315.1C; 462T; and 489C

Based on the current results, and our documentation and paper trail we are able to get back on our grandmother Jeanne Lucie Ernestine (née Abraham) Smith/Mann’s maternal line to her great-grandmother, our great-great-great-grandmother Jeannette Etienette (née Castex) Merle. That is about back to, give-or-take a couple of years, 1810. That’s Two Centuries… of paper trails. There’s still quite a bit of searching left to be done…

But in the mean-time we can add some additional family members to this pool of J-mtDNA results. Yann and his siblings are also direct descendants of great-great-grandmother Catherine Cora (née Merle) July. Their great-grandmother Marie Eugéne Berthe (née July) Clergeau and Rénier was a younger sister to my great-grandmother Catherine Marie Antoinette (née July) Abraham.

Based on the mtDNA theory and application daughters and their children should also carry the J-mtDNA. This will add surnames, from the connected families – Castex, Merle, Clergeau, Rénier, Chevalier, Clopath, and Charbonnier.

The list of surnames included in this J-mtDNA grouping now includes - Abraham, Castex, Charbonnier, Chevalier, Clergeau, Clopath, Emery, July, Merle, Olton, Rénier, Smith, Titus, and Vogt.

A lot of food for thought,

Enjoy,

Jim

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July 12, 2009 - Shangri-Las and Julys - Part 21

Good Morning,

And this is the month of July, and genealogy takes me down a number of different paths. Do you know who the biker is?

So you may ask what do the Shangri-Las have to do with the July family? Not much but there were, at one point, four members of the Shangri-Las, and there were four July sisters; Marie, Marie, Marie and Marie ~ Marie-Amélie, Marie-Antoinette, Marie-Eugénie, and Marie-Adèle.

And my Yamaha was blue and I didn't own a leather jacket. I wonder if Amy Winehouse's hair-artist checked this take for bouffant ideas? My Yamaha is now black.

The next Acte de Naissance, Birth Registration, is that of great-grandaunt Marie Amélia Blanche July. But before I traipse off in that direction, I just found in my store of files a page from the microfilm FHL[1647168]; an Index page with great-granduncle Pierre, (Pierre Gustav Henri), July's reference.

The reference number for his birth registration is 1563. Having the reference number now allows me to contact the Archives in Paris, I think, to get a clearer copy... hopefully.

Back to great-grandaunt Marie Amélia Blanche. Her birth registration is also found on the microfilm FHL[1647168] . And it's definitely so more legible than that of great-granduncle Pierre Gustav Henri's.

Examining the entry I noticed that the entry number is 1653. But wasn't that great-granduncle Pierre's registration number? No. His is 1563! The same numbers and a minor re-arrangement. Wow, I can never get over the incidental coincidences... and here's another one, sort-of.

So on with the transcription -

1653 - July Marie

Le quinze Novembre mil huit cent ciinquante huit, à une heure du jour, par devant nous adjoint du Maire de Bordeaux remplissant les fonctions d'officier de l'état civil a comparu le sieur Jean Jacques Alfred July agé de vignt-cinq ans, commis négociant, rue de Quere Bourgeois 22, lequel nous a presenté un enfant du sexe féminin, né en la dernière jour matin à quatre heures de lui déclarent et de Dame Catherine Cora Merle son épouse et auquel enfant doint? donnes les prénoms de Marie Amélia Blanche. Fait en présent les sieurs Joseph Clopet agé de trente-cinq ans, épicier rue Ste. Eulalie(?) 80 et Jacques Martin, agé de soixante-deux ans, couvreur(?) rue _____ _____ 29. Lecture faite du présent le père et les témoins ont signé avec nous.

Jean Jacques Alfred July, J Clopet, J Martin

L'adjoint de maire A. _____.

And the translation -

1653 - July, Marie

On the 15th of November, 1858, at one o'clock in the day, appeared before us, Deputy Mayor of Bordeaux, fulfilling the duties of State Civil officer, a Mr. Jean Jacques Alfred July aged twenty-five years, an employed Merchant, of 22 Rue de Quai Bourgeois, who introduced a female child, born yesterday morning at four o'clock, to the declarant and to Mrs. Catherine Cora Merle, his wife and they give the child the name Marie Amélia Blanche. Appearing in person, Mr. Joseph Clopet, 35 years old, grocer, of 80 Rue Ste. Eulalie and Jacques Martin, 62 years old, roofer of 29 Rue _____ _____ . Having read of this, the father and the witnesses have signed with us.

Jean Jacques Alfred July, J Clopet, J Martin

The Deputy Mayor A. _____.

Point B on the inserted map is the approximate location of 22 Rue de Quai Bourgeois, in Bordeaux, France, where great-grandaunt Marie Amélia Blanche was born, as provided by Google Maps. (Make sure you enter in the above address to see the location.) Point A is approximately where her older brother, great-granduncle Pierre Gustav Henri was born. The distance is about 0.5 kilometers or about three minutes by car. I suppose the gas stations were few and far between in 1858.

And on to great-granduncle Jean François Albert.

Enjoy,

Jim

--------------------------

Bonjour,

Et c'est le mois de Juillet, et la généalogie me prend un certain nombre de voies différentes. Savez-vous qui est le motocycliste?

Donc, vous mai demande qu'est-ce que les Shangri-Las avoir à faire avec la famille July. Pas beaucoup mais il ya eu, à un moment donné, quatre membres de la Shangri-Las, et il y avait quatre sœurs de la famille July, Marie, Marie, Marie et Marie ~ Marie-Amélie, Marie-Antoinette, Marie-Eugénie, et Marie-Adèle.

Et mon Yamaha est bleu, et je ne suis pas propriétaire d'un blouson de cuir. Je me demande si sèche-artiste de Amy Winehouse vérifié prendre, pour des idées de bouffant cheveux? Ma Yamaha est maintenant noir.

Le prochain Acte de Naissance, c'est que, de l'arrière-grand-tante Marie Amélia Blanche July. Mais avant d'aller dans ce sens, je viens de trouver dans mes fichiers, une page de l'microfilm FHL [1647168]; une page d'index de référence à l'arrière-grand-oncle Pierre, (Pierre Gustav Henri ), July.

Le numéro de référence pour son acte de naissance est 1563. Ayant le numéro de référence, aujourd'hui me permet de communiquer avec les Archives de Paris, je crois, d'obtenir une meilleure copie ... je l'espère.

Retour à mon arrière-grand-tante Marie Amélia Blanche. Son acte de naissance est également disponible sur le microfilm FHL [1647168]. Et il est plus lisible que celui de l'arrière-grand-oncle de Pierre Gustav Henri.

L'examen de l'entrée, j'ai remarqué que le numéro est 1653. Mais est-ce pas le numéro de l'acte de mon arrière-grand-oncle de Pierre? Non! Il est 1563! Le même nombre, et d'une réorganisation mineure. Wow, je ne peux jamais sortir de l'accessoire de coïncidences ... et voici un autre, peut-être.

Ainsi, avec la transcription --

1653 - July Marie

Le quinze Novembre mil huit cent ciinquante huit, à une heure du jour, par devant nous adjoint du Maire de Bordeaux remplissant les fonctions d'officier de l'état civil a comparu le sieur Jean Jacques Alfred July agé de vignt-cinq ans, commis négociant, rue de Quere Bourgeois 22, lequel nous a presenté un enfant du sexe féminin, né en la dernière jour matin à quatre heures de lui déclarent et de Dame Catherine Cora Merle son épouse et auquel enfant doint? donnes les prénoms de Marie Amélia Blanche. Fait en présent les sieurs Joseph Clopet agé de trente-cinq ans, épicier rue Ste. Eulalie(?) 80 et Jacques Martin, agé de soixante-deux ans, couvreur(?) rue _____ _____ 29. Lecture faite du présent le père et les témoins ont signé avec nous.

Jean Jacques Alfred July, J Clopet, J Martin

L'adjoint de maire A. _____.

Et la traduction --

1653 - July, Marie

On the 15th of November, 1858, at one o'clock in the day, appeared before us, Deputy Mayor of Bordeaux, fulfilling the duties of State Civil officer, a Mr. Jean Jacques Alfred July aged twenty-five years, an employed Merchant, of 22 Rue de Quai Bourgeois, who introduced a female child, born yesterday morning at four o'clock, to the declarant and to Mrs. Catherine Cora Merle, his wife and they give the child the name Marie Amélia Blanche. Appearing in person, Mr. Joseph Clopet, 35 years old, grocer, of 80 Rue Ste. Eulalie and Jacques Martin, 62 years old, roofer of 29 Rue _____ _____ . Having read of this, the father and the witnesses have signed with us.

Jean Jacques Alfred July, J Clopet, J Martin

The Deputy Mayor A. _____.

Point B sur la carte insérée, est l'emplacement approximatif de 22 Rue de Quai Bourgeois, à Bordeaux, en France, où mon arrière-grand-tante Marie Amélia Blanche est né, comme prévu par Google Maps. (Assurez-vous que vous entrez dans l'adresse ci-dessus pour voir l'emplacement.) Point A est d'environ, où son frère aîné, mon arrière-grand-oncle de Pierre Gustav Henri était né. La distance est d'environ 0,5 km, soit environ trois minutes en voiture. Je suppose que les stations étaient peu nombreuses en 1858.

Et à l'arrière-grand-oncle Jean-François Albert.

Cordialement,

Jim

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July 11, 2009 - L'Acte de Naissance - Great-Granduncle Pierre Gustav Henri July - Part 20

And now to continue.

On file I have the birth registrations for great-grandaunt Marie-Amélia Blanche, and great-granduncles Pierre Gustav Henri and Jean François Albert July. All three are from civil registers from Bordeaux, France, countering the two younger sisters' which were from the civil registers of Cayenne in French Guiana. This is the tedious part, transcribing and then translating, but as before one never knows what gems of information are written in the margins or between the lines.

Beginning with great-granduncle Pierre Gustav Henri, it is the one that seems the hardest to read. The ink on the copy is faded and the background of the image is very grey. The lesson from the other two transcriptions is that as the registrations were similar I would hope that there is some stream of similarity to the content of great-granduncle Pierre Gustav Henri's Birth Registration. I found the birth registration on microfilm FHL[1647167] based on the entry in the Table Décennale des Actes de Naissance de la commune de Bordeaux. (See Part 12 and Part 13j . I would not have known that this was his Birth Registration were it not for the 10-Year Table. His name is almost completely faded, but adjusting the brightness and contrast settings I can barely make out the July surname in the left hand column.

In my transcription and translation I have used a blank line "_____" to indicate that I can not make out or read a specific word on the document.

My transcription for what it's worth... It's almost impossible to make out the faded and smeared writing in the end part of the registration. Key facts are legible but I can only provide my work until I can locate a better copy of l'Acte de Naissance. I compared the registrations on the same page as that of great-granduncle Pierre Gustav Henri's but I am not able to decipher much more than I have. I have included an image of the complete page. Great-granduncle Pierre Gustav Henri's is the fourth one on the page. And if you take a chance at reading and/or transcribing, please feel free to contact me with your additions and or changes.

As follows:

_____

July, _____

Le deux octobre mil huit cent cinquante sept a midi a comparu Jean Jacques Alfred July age de vingt-trois ans, commis négociant, demeurant Rue des Portanets 20. Le quel nous a presenté un enfant du sexe masculin, né dans se domicle et a né hier soir à deux heures de lui déclarent et de Catherine Cora Merle _____ _____ _____ il choisi les prenoms de Pierre Gustav Henri faites présente des sieurs Auguste _____, _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____.

Jean Jacques Alfred July, A _____, _____ de _____ _____, _____ _____

Best translation, at this point in time:

On the 2nd of October at noon, 1857 appeared Jean Jacques Alfred July, 23 years old, an employed merchant, residing at No 20, Rue des Portanets. We were presented a male child, born at home and born last night at 2 am to the declarant and Catherine Cora Merle _____ _____ _____ choose names as Pierre Henri Gustav has made several Auguste _____, _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____.

Jean Jacques Alfred July, A _____, _____ de _____ _____, _____ _____

Enter the following address; Rue de la Porte des Portanets, 33000 Bordeaux, Gironde, Aquitania, France at Google Maps to see the approximate location where he was born.


Next two l'Actes de Naissance to follow: Great-grandaunt Marie Amélia Blanche and Great-granduncle Jean François Albert July.

Enjoy,

Jim

And now for the translation...
---------------------

Et maintenant, pour une traduction ...

Pour continuer.

Le fichier, j'ai les actes de naissance pour les arrière-grand-tante Marie-Amélia Blanche, et arrière-grand-oncle Pierre Henri Gustav et Jean François Albert Juillet. Tous les trois sont des registres d'état civil de Bordeaux, en France, alors que les actes des deux jeunes sœurs ont été des registres d'état civil de Cayenne en Guyane française. Il s'agit de la partie pénible, la transcription et de traduction, mais comme avant, on ne sait jamais ce que les pierres précieuses d'informations sont écrites dans les marges ou entre les lignes.

Commençant avec un arrière-grand-oncle de Pierre Gustav Henri, il est celui qui semble le plus difficile à lire. L'encre sur la copie est disparu et le fond de l'image est très gris. La leçon à tirer de deux autres transcriptions, c'est que les enregistrements se ressemblent, je souhaite qu'il y ait une certaine similitude des flux sur le contenu de l'acte de naissance de l'arrière-grand-oncle Pierre Gustav Henri. J'ai trouvé l'acte de naissaince sur microfilm FHL [1647167], fondée sur l'entrée dans la table décennale des Actes de Naissance de la commune de Bordeaux. (Voir les pièces 12 et 13. Je ne l'aurais pas connu, que ce soit son acte, si ce n'est pour la table décennale. Son nom est presque totalement disparu, mais quand je ajuster la luminosité et le réglages de contraste, dans le logiciel, je peux à peine faire le Juillet nom dans la colonne de gauche.

Dans ma transcription et de traduction, j'ai utilisé une ligne vierge "_____" pour indiquer que je ne peux pas faire, ou lire le mot sur le document.

Ma transcription de ce que cela vaut la peine. Il est presque impossible à faire, le signal s'est évanoui et barbouillé écrit en fin de partie de l'Acte. Les principaux faits sont lisibles, mais je ne peux que donner mon travail jusqu'à ce que je peux trouver une meilleure copie de l'Acte de Naissance. J'ai comparé les enregistrements sur la même page, à l'un des arrière-grand-oncle Pierre Gustave Henri, mais je ne suis pas en mesure de déchiffrer beaucoup plus que je le peux. J'ai inclus une image complète de la page. Le quatrième sur la page, est d'un arrière-grand-oncle Pierre Henri Gustav. Et si vous prenez une chance à la lecture et / ou de la transcription, s'il vous plaît n'hésitez pas à me contacter pour vos ajouts ou modifications.

Comme suit:

_____

July, _____

Le deux octobre mil huit cent cinquante sept a midi a comparu Jean Jacques Alfred July age de vingt-trois ans, commis négociant, demeurant Rue des Portanets 20. Le quel nous a presenté un enfant du sexe masculin, né dans se domicle et a né hier soir à deux heures de lui déclarent et de Catherine Cora Merle _____ _____ _____ il choisi les prenoms de Pierre Gustav Henri faites présente des sieurs Auguste _____, _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____.

Jean Jacques Alfred July, A _____, _____ de _____ _____, _____ _____

Meilleure traduction, en ce moment:

On the 2nd of October at noon, 1857 appeared Jean Jacques Alfred July, 23 years old, an employed merchant, residing at No 20, Rue des Portanets. We were presented a male child, born at home and born last night at 2 am to the declarant and Catherine Cora Merle _____ _____ _____ choose names as Pierre Henri Gustav has made several Auguste _____, _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____.

Jean Jacques Alfred July, A _____, _____ de _____ _____, _____ _____

Entrez l'adresse suivante: Rue de la Porte des Portanets, 33000 Bordeaux, Gironde, Aquitaine, France Google Maps pour voir l'emplacement approximatif de l'endroit où il est né.

Deux Actes de l'Naissance à suivre: la arrière-grand-tante Marie Amélia Blanche et la arrière-grand-oncle Jean-François Albert Juillet.

Cordialement,

Jim

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July 7, 2009 - Great-Grandmother Marie's Sister Marie-Eugénie Berthe - Part 18j

Afternoon,

I spent yesterday morning weeding one of the front beds. It's the one by the road that always gets flooded from a torrential downpour. The water usually rises up about one foot past the sidewalk while covering the easement. And on those days my issue is the wake from the cars. Forget the grass... So I found a type of jasmine ivy ground-cover that would do just the trick... And it seems to be working sort-of.

There are still weeds to be attacked, and it'll take at least about four hours when I set my mind to finish this job. But have you ever weeded out a mass of vines from those weeds that insist on inventing every possible means of contortion to sprout up through the resident plants? It's frustrating to say the least. But it sure looks good after its done... and the wake-water is sort-of slowed down by the living barricade... And I've got to finish it, but...

I started transcribing the French and translating to English of the "L'Acte de Naissance", or the Birth Registration for great-grandaunt Marie Eugénie Berthe (née July) Clergeau Rénier... and so much for finishing the weeding. This is the part of genealogy that is the most time-consuming, in my opinion, but the most rewarding when the work is completed.

One of great-grandmother Marie Antoinette's younger sisters was Marie Eugénie Berthe. This of course is a reasonable deduction as determined from the information provided in Part 1 regarding granduncle Frederick Henry Abraham, and Part 16j and Part 17 of the search for great-grandmother Marie Antoinette.

The first thing I did was to make sure that I have some good copy and images of No. 42 from the French Guiana Civil Registration. I was able to get reasonable copies from the microfilm FHL[1093377] Registres de l'état civil, 1795-1870, Naissances, mariages, décès 1868-1870.

My method of approach -

Task 1 - Transcribe the Birth Registration. And of course the entry is in French, and I have to figure out whether I can actually read the original writer's script. I can, sort of. I also make sure I have copies of the complete page, in this case two pages, that the Registration is written on. My reasoning is that if I can't make out a word or phrase, or even a letter of great-grandaunt Marie-Eugénie Berthe's entry I can then refer to other entries on the page looking for similarities or a clearer rendition of an entry. And I transcribe. In my transcription there may be a blank line which represents a word or words I cannot make out too well.

First the main body of the Birth Registation.

No. 42. Naissance de Marie Eugenie Berthe July

Aujourd'hui, sept Avril mil huit cent soixante huit, à neuf heures de la Matinée; Par devant nous, Alexandre Couij, Maire et Officier de l'état civil de la ville de Cayenne, est comparu le sieur Jean Jacques Alfred July, âgé de trente cing ans, Commis Négociant, assisté des sieurs Thomas Marie de Goyriena, âgé de soixante six ans, Négociant, et Jean Thomas Lisis Fleury, âgé de trente et un ans, Marchand, tous domiciliés en cette ville, lequel nous a declare que Dame Catherine Cora Merle, son épouse, est accocucheé le quinze février dernier, à Cinq heures du Matin, dans la maison rue du Port No. 31, d’un enfant qu’il nous présente aujourd’hui; lequel est de sexe feminine, dont la déclaration provisoire nous fut faite le lendemain, auquel enfant il donne les prénoms de Marie Eugénie Berthe. Et on signé avec nous le present acte par triplicata àprés lecture faite. Cayenne, les jour, mois et an que dessus. C

Goyriena; Alfred July; Jean Fleury; A. Couij.

And second the notation in the margin at the top of the succeeding image.

Pour acte en date de quinze fevrier mil huit cent quatre vingt dix neuf, _____ ecrit le meme jour a la maire de Paris, neuvieme arrondisement, July Marie Eugenie Berthe, dont la naissance est constatée dans l'acte ci-contre a contracté mariage avec Rénier, Tatius Valentin Aimee, dont mention faite à Paris au Dépôt des Papiers publics des Colonies, le vingt fevrier 1899 ____ _____ _____ _____.

Task 2 - Translate my transcription. Apart from my small knowledge of French, this is where I use the tools; Google Translate and the Internet. I'm not providing a literal translation at this point as it'll just take up too much space.

Task 3 - Anglicize my translation. This part is critical at times to understanding that actual meaning of the French text. (Thank you Mme Tarmey and Mme Serroya... French teachers who swore I would never learn French!) At times a literal translation just doesn't work, especially since I might be working with archaic meanings and French words and phrases that actually do not translate word-for-word into English. And it is important that I note in my citation of this document that I have done the work. All-things-being-equal, I could be wrong, so I want to make sure that anyone reading my work understands that this is my attempt.

No. 42. Birth of Marie Eugenie Berthe July

Today, the 7th of April, 1868 at 9 am, appeared before us, Alexander Couij, Mayor and officer of the city of Cayenne, Mr. Jean Jacques Alfred July, aged 35 years, an employed Merchant, attended by Mr. Thomas Marie of Goyriena, aged 66 years, Merchant, and Mr. Jean Thomas Lisis Fleury, aged 31 years, Agent, all residing in this city, who told us that Mrs. Catherine Cora Merle, his wife gave birth, on the 15th of February last at 5 am, at the home of No. 31 Port Street, to a child that we present today, who is female, which the provisional statement was made giving the child the name Marie Eugénie Berthe. This Acte signed by us in triplicate. Cayenne, the date, month and year as above. C.

Signed: Goyriena; Alfred July; Jean Fleury; A. Couij.

Note in the margin.

By the Acte dated the 15th of February 1899, _____ written the same day by the mayor of Paris, 9th Arrondisement, Marie Eugénie Berthe July, whose birth is recorded in this Acte, did marry Tatius Valentin Aimée Rénier, in Paris with reference the submission of public papers of the Colonies, the 20 February 1899 ____ _____ _____ _____.

As this Blog posting is in both French and English I'm not going to further confuse myself and translate it into French. My apologies to Annie, Marcelle and Yann.

Enjoy,

Jim

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July 4, 2009 - Happy 4th! It's All About The Julys - Part 17

Afternoon, and the best 4th of July,

This morning I attempted to try and make hot dog buns, from scratch. Big joke, and probably it would have been much more expedient for me to get them at the store... but oh yes, it's the 4th of July and stores are supposed to be closed. But what do I know? Doesn't a national holiday mean that everyone takes the day off? Just asking, and we'll see about the buns. Also making some rice congee topped off with ginger and onion. Great for what ails you, whenever... I think in some neighborhoods they call it gruel.

As I mentioned in Part 16j, I don't have complete documentary proof I would like to have nor an exact paper trail to prove the July family. I do have reams of documents and a number of coincidences. On one hand this is good, but on the other hand there are a few conflicting bits of evidence. My question now is, is this enough evidence to build the July family, great-grandmother Marie Antoinette's family? Or are my thoughts tommyrot?

The Genealogical Proof Standard (GPS), is an accepted standard I can use to build a good case. It is a measure that I can apply when there is no direct evidence of a specific event. It is a five-step process presented in the Board for Certification of Genealogists' BCG Genealogical Standards Manual . It requires that I:

1. Conduct a reasonably exhaustive search for all information that is or may be pertinent to the identity, relationship, event, or situation in question;
2. Collect and include in the compilation a complete, accurate citation to the source or sources of each item of information used;
3. Analyze and correlate the collected information to assess its quality of evidence;
4. Resolve any conflicts caused by the items of evidence that contradict each other or are contrary to a proposed (hypothetical) solution to the question; and
5. Arrive at a soundly reasoned, coherently written conclusion.

Certainly sounds like a class assignment, doesn't it? But this process is not something to shake my head at. It stops me from a willy-nilly creation of our family history, and from just throwing in any possible thought that may or may not fit my immediate stream of consciousness. This avoids a half-truth from becoming a fact.

In Part 1 I asked the question "Why did great-grandmother Marie Abraham leave British Guiana and move to California?" The short answer: To visit her sister Mrs. C. St. Philippe. The details and collection of my search are spelled out from Parts 2, 3, 4 and 5.

But my journey does not stop here. I want to discover my great-grandmother Marie Antoinette's and my great-grand-aunt Célestine's parents and family. The research becomes more and more compelling as well as more intricately confusing. The path has many gates and many tangents.

In my recent posts I have presented some of the documentation and evidence that I have. I am now working with some other software packages to graphically map and best display my research to this point.

But now I need to make supper. Hot dog buns are out of the oven and are somewhat smaller than the norm... just means less carbs.

Enjoy the fireworks, and ready the earmuffs for the dogs.

Jim

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Bon après-midi, et le meilleur du 4 Juillet,

Comme toujours, s'il vous plaît excuser mon français.

Ce matin, j'ai tenté d'essayer, et de faire des petits pains à hot dog, à partir de zéro. Grosse blague, et probablement il aurait été beaucoup plus rapide pour moi, de les faire à la boutique ... mais oh oui, c'est le 4 Juillet, et les magasins sont censés être fermés. Mais que sais-je? Est-ce que pas un jour de fête nationale signifie que tout le monde prend une journée de congé? Je viens de demander, et nous verrons sur les petits pains. Aussi, je fais du riz congee, complété avec le gingembre et l'oignon. Grande souffre de ce que vous, à chaque fois ... Je pense que dans certains quartiers comme ils l'appellent bouillie.

Comme je l'ai mentionné dans la partie 16, je n'ai pas de preuve complète que je voudrais avoir, je n'ai exact papier pour prouver l'July famille. J'ai foule de documents, et un certain nombre de coïncidences. D'une part, cela est une bonne chose, mais d'autre part, il existe quelques conflits de bits de données. Ma question maintenant est, est-ce assez de preuves pour établir la Juillet famille, arrière-grand-mère Marie-Antoinette de la famille? Ou sont mes pensées tommyrot?

La preuve généalogique standard de localisation (GPS), est une norme acceptée je peux utiliser pour construire une bonne affaire. C'est une mesure que je peux appliquer quand il n'y a pas de preuve directe d'un événement spécifique. Il s'agit d'un processus en cinq étapes présentées dans le conseil pour la certification des généalogistes' BCG généalogie du Manuel des normes. Il faut que je:

1. Effectuer une recherche assez exhaustive pour toutes les informations qui sont pertinentes ou mai de l'identité, de relation, un événement ou une situation en question;

2. Recueillir et inclure dans la compilation complète, exacte citation de la source ou les sources de chaque élément d'information utilisées;

3. D'analyser et de corréler les informations recueillies pour évaluer la qualité des éléments de preuve;

4. Résoudre les conflits provoqués par les éléments de preuve qui se contredisent ou sont contraires à un projet (hypothétique) de la question, et

5. Arriver à un bien motivée, cohérente écrit conclusion.

Certes, sonne comme un devoir de classe, n'est-ce pas? Mais ce processus n'est pas quelque chose à me serrer la tête. Il m'empêche d'un bon gré mal gré la création de notre histoire familiale, et de jeter tout simplement pensé que possible mai ou mai pas ma flux de la conscience. Cela évite une demi-vérité, de devenir une réalité.

Dans la Partie 1, j'ai demandé à la question "Pourquoi avez-arrière-grand-mère Marie Abraham quitter la Guyane britannique et passer à la Californie?" La réponse courte: Pour rendre visite à sa sœur Mme C. St. Philippe. Les détails de ma collection et de recherche sont définies à partir de parties 2, 3, 4 et 5.

Mais mon voyage ne s'arrête pas là. Je veux découvrir les parents et la famille de mon arrière-grand-mère Marie-Antoinette et de mon arrière-grand-tante Célestine. La recherche devient de plus en plus pressante et plus intimement à confusion. La voie a de nombreuses portes et de nombreuses tangentes.

Dans mes messages récents, j'ai présenté une partie de la documentation et les preuves, ce que j'ai. Je travaille actuellement avec d'autres logiciels, à la carte graphique et la meilleure visualisation de mes recherches, à ce point.

Mais maintenant, j'ai besoin de faire le souper. Hot dog pains sont sortis du four et sont quelque peu plus petit que la norme ... signifie moins de glucides.

Profitez des feux d'artifice, les oreilles et prêt pour les chiens.

Jim

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July 3, 2009 - The World Really Is Getting Smaller and Great-Grandaunt Berthe - Part 16j

Afternoon.

The sky is blue and the squash are dead! Drowned! The zucchinis, the other squash looked like they may have learned to swim. The tomatillos and new tomatoes plants appear to have survived the flood. The harvest this morning; three pear tomatoes and two eggplants, but I'm not feeding the Lilliputians. Tonight's supper maybe Thai eggplant, green tomato and Cubanelle pepper pizza.

I struggled yesterday trying to figure out how to send a self-addressed envelope to the Centre des Archives d'Outre Mer at Aix-en-Provence in France. I know I could have attached an International reply coupon but the immediate issue would be is where to get one locally. And face it, I'm totally green as to their use. I did chance upon La Poste website and quickly discovered that I could purchase French stamps. And this makes more sense to me...

I can provide a SASE with actual stamps, which I hope will be appreciated by the person at the other end when and he is tasked with the job of returning the requested documents to me. And so I wait. I would like to go to Paris and Nice but this may be a somewhat less expensive means of acquiring the documents I need.

And while I am now at a standstill acquiring great-grandaunt Célestine's 1872 birth registration, I discovered a new one for another July. (It's going to get confusing searching for a July in July.) From the Cayenne Tables De L'État Civil, I found a registration date of 7 avril 1868 for Marie Eugénie Berthe July. (See Part 13j.) I borrowed the microfilm FHL[1093377] Registres de l'état civil, 1795-1870, Naissances, mariages, décès 1868-1870 and found the corresponding entry, on two pages. I've taken the liberty to create a single picture of the Birth Registration.

Reading through the entry her parents are written as Jean Jacques Alfred July and Catherine Cora Merle. Definitely a match! This Marie Eugénie Berthe is a younger sister to Pierre Gustav Henri, Maria Amélia Blanche, and Jean François Alfred. The July family is growing. (Thank you Cousin Yann for the other additional family information.)

And the added note in the margin of the Birth Registration catches my eye. The names July and Rénier and the year 1899 stick out and are a bit more bold than the rest of the notation. Where have I seen the name Rénier before? I think, and think... Of course, the letter addressed Dear Monsieur Rénier from Lt. Col. Compton Smith, dated Nov. 30/18. The letter of condolence regarding the death of granduncle Frederick Abraham, the only son of great-grandmother Marie Antoinette, and nephew to Monsieur Rénier. And Marie Eugénie Berthe is married to Tatius Valentin Aimée Rénier. This is too, too coincidental! (See my Blog post dated May 23, 2009.)

I don't have a complete documentary proof and paper trail to exactly prove the July family. I do have a number of coincidences, and I do have a number of conflicting bits of evidence. And so I've updated great-grandmother Marie Antoinette's Sibling Chart. It now includes four sisters, all named Marie, two brothers, their parents and known spouses.

And more is to come...

To be continued... and stop by for homemade pizza when you're in the neighborhood.

Jim

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Bonjour.

S'il vous plaît excuser mon français.

Le ciel est bleu, et le squash sont morts! Mort de la pluie! Les courgettes, les courges d'autres ont appris à nager. Le tomatillos, et de nouvelles plantes de tomates, semblent avoir survécu à l'inondation. La récolte de ce matin, trois tomates poire et deux les aubergines, mais je ne suis pas nourrir les Lilliputiens. Ce soir, le dîner peut-être de l'aubergine thaï, de tomates vertes et poivrons Cubanelle pizza.

Je me suis battu hier à essayer de comprendre la façon d'envoyer une enveloppe pré-adressée au Centre des Archives d'Outre Mer à Aix-en-Provence en France. Je sais que je pourrais avoir joint un coupon-réponse international, mais la question immédiate serait, là où pour obtenir un local. Et en face, je suis totalement vert quant à leur utilisation. Je n'ai chance sur site de La Poste, et a rapidement découvert que je pouvais acheter des timbres français. Et cela fait plus de sens pour moi ...

Je peux fournir une SASE, avec les timbres, qui je l'espère, sera apprécié par la personne à l'autre bout, et quand il est chargé de l'emploi, de revenir à moi, les documents demandés. Et j'attends. Je voudrais aller à Paris et à Nice, mais cela mai être un peu moins cher, moyen d'acquérir les documents dont j'ai besoin.

Et tandis que je suis maintenant à l'arrêt d'acquérir arrière-grand-tante Célestine de 1872 l'acte de naissance, j'ai découvert un nouveau pour un autre July. (Il va y avoir de confusion recherche d'une July, en July.) De la Cayenne Tableaux de l'état civil, j'ai trouvé une date d'enregistrement du 7 avril 1868 pour Marie Eugénie Berthe July. (Voir la partie 13.) J'ai emprunté le microfilm FHL [1093377] Registres de l'état civil, 1795-1870, Naissances, mariages, décès 1868-1870, et a trouvé l'entrée correspondante, sur deux pages. J'ai pris la liberté de créer une image unique de l'acte de naissance.

Dans l'entrée, ses parents sont écrits comme Jean Jacques Alfred July Cora et Catherine Merle. Certainement un match! Cette Marie Eugénie Berthe est une petite soeur de Gustav Pierre Henri, Maria Amélia Blanche, et Jean François Alfred. July La famille est en pleine croissance. (Merci Yann Cousin pour les autres renseignements additionnels sur la famille.)

Et la note ajoutée en marge de l'enregistrement de naissance attire mon oeil. Les noms July et Rénier et l'année 1899, sont un peu plus gras que le reste de la notation. Où ai-je vu le nom Rénier avant? Je pense, et je pense que ... Bien sûr, la lettre adressée Cher Monsieur Rénier du lieutenant-colonel Smith Compton, en date du 30/18 novembre. La lettre de condoléances, concernant la mort de Frederick granduncle Abraham, le fils unique de l'arrière-grand-mère Marie-Antoinette, et neveu de Monsieur Rénier. Et Marie Eugénie Berthe July est marié à Tatius Valentin Aimée Rénier. C'est trop, trop coïncidence! (Voir mon blog en date du vendredi 22 Mai 2009.)

Je n'ai pas une preuve documentaire, et de papier, à prouver exactement le July famille. J'ai un certain nombre de coïncidences, et j'ai un certain nombre de bits de la preuve. Et j'ai mis à jour le tableau des arrière-grand-mère Marie-Antoinette. Il comprend, désormais, quatre sœurs, toutes les Marie, deux frères, leurs parents et leurs conjoints connu.

Et de plus, est à venir ...

A suivre ... et d'arrêter, par les pizzas maison, lorsque vous êtes dans le quartier.

Jim

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May 23, 2009 - A Memorial - 2nd Lieut. Frederick Henry Abraham - Part 1

Good day,

And the question was, "Where is the final resting place of my granduncle Frederick Henry Abraham?" He was killed in World War I on the 2nd of October, 1918, and I wanted to find his final and exact resting place.

I had been told that granduncle Frederick Henry's grave was someplace in France, somewhere near the northern border in a place called Joncourt... and that's almost halfway between Brussels and Paris. I had gathered some bits of information, data, and photographs from family and friends. (Thanks Toni and Zoe.) These pieces most certainly held the keys to where granduncle Frederick Henry was laid to rest.

Granduncle 2nd Lieutenant Frederick Henry Abraham, pictured at the left, was born on the 4th of July, 1886 at Soesdyke, Demerara, British Guiana, which is now the country of Guyana.

His parents were Frederick and Catherine Marie Antoinette (née July) Abraham. Frederick Henry was the only son of five children. His sisters were: René Marie Hyde (née Abraham) Brebner, Edmée Blanche Émeline (née Abraham) Salmon, Jeanne Lucie Ernestine (née Abraham) Smith Mann (my Grandmother), and Cécile Blanche (née Abraham) Ham. He was my father's uncle.

Grandmother Jeanne had in her possession a letter dated the 30th of November, 1918. The letter is addressed to a Mr. Rénier and was written by a Lt. Col. Compton Smith of the 16th Lancashire Fusiliers. The letter is a letter of condolences to one Mr. Rénier on the death of his nephew, Frederick Henry Abraham. And no one had any idea who was this Mr. Rénier.

After much discussion and research I finally discovered that Mr. Rénier was married to one of my great grandmother Catherine Marie Antoinette's sisters, great-grandaunt Marie Eugénie Berthe (née July) Rénier Clergeau. And that would make Mr. Rénier, the husband of great-grandaunt Marie Eugénie Berthe, my great-grandaunt Marie Eugénie Berthe, my Great-granduncle. I had discovered this marriage from a notation added in the margin of her 1868 Birth Register from Cayenne, French Guiana, known today as Guyanne.

Transcribing great-granduncle Valentin Aimé Rénier's letter I understand a brief but detailed account of granduncle Frederick Henry's passing on the 2nd of October in 1918.

"Dear Monsieur Rénier

Your nephew 2nd Lieut Fred Abraham was killed on October 2nd, just South of JONCOURT, RAMICOURT road about 9.15 am.

The Battalion was attacking RAMICOURT, and your nephew was in command of the left front company (D). This company was checked by machine gun fire from the direction of WAINCOURT, and your nephew very gallantly endeavoured to bring a Lewis gun into position to fire on the hostile machine-gun. He was shot in the head while so doing, and passed away at once without pain.

He is buried just EAST of a sunken road, about 1000 meters EAST of JONCOURT. The cemetery where he lies contains about 130 graves of those who fell on the same day. The cemetery is marked by a cross on a mound, but the actual grave is only marked by a stick with a time disc bearing number 453. This number is, however, registered, and a cross with his name will be put up in due course by the British Graves Registration Commissioners.

I enclose a map on which I have marked by means of arrows the position of his grave, the place where he fell, & the position (approximately) of the machine gun which killed him. I hope this will enable you to identify the localities.

Your nephew was exceedingly popular with both the men & officers of this regiment, and much respected in account of his character & gallantry.

If there is any further assistance that I can give you in any way, I shall be most happy to do so, if you will let me know.



Yours sincerely,
Gd Compton: Smith Lt. Col.
16th Lancashire Fusiliers"

And no one has a copy, that I am aware, of Lt. Col. Smith's map. But today's technology, especially Google Earth, is a tremendous tool which helps in mapping directions and points of interest. And that's just what I did... I took the points as outlined in the letter and was able to find the location were granduncle Frederick Henry was shot by the enemy, and from what direction.

Check out the map. It was constructed with Google Earth and CorelDraw 4... It's a wonder of what we can visualize through today's modern technological innovations. My family history comes alive and at my personal computer I can feel the moments of my granduncle Frederick Henry.


Enjoy,

Jim

To be continued... Check back.

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