Afternoon, May 6, 2009 - Tampa

Afternoon…

Well this morning was filled with a few bits and pieces… Five professions today - veterinarian; baker; farmer; launderer; and genealogist... Fed the dogs; started the laundry; made a loaf of whole wheat bread; made a loaf of pumpkin cranberry pistachio bread; gave the dogs their monthly meds; checked the new vegetable garden on the side of the house for new peppers, tomatoes, and eggplants… Can report six small green tomatoes and a bunch of new anticipatory-flowers… and checked the new banana bunch in the back yard, but still to check the watermelons vines and avocado trees in the front yard. So much for suburban farming…

I’m sort of waffling about what I need to do with respect to research today and work on my genealogy. Some projects have crossed my mind that I know I need attending to. And these are just a few on top of what I’m currently working on and/or are waiting in the wings. They are:

1. Complete the article I‘ve been writing regarding why I started into genealogy. It’s about my Uncle Jim ROBERTSON, who I was named after; that is, the James part. Uncle Jim was one of my mother’s three brothers. He was born in Jamaica 14 March 1923 and was killed in World War II in the Indian Ocean. My other two names, Kenneth and Lloyd were for my father and grandfather. And the SMITH, well what can I say, it’s my surname, aka, my family name. The picture of Uncle Jim, to the left, may have been taken around 1939.

2. Complete the article on my search and research of finding the final resting place of my granduncle Frederick Henry ABRAHAM. Granduncle Frederick Henry was killed in World War I on 2 October 1918 in Joncourt, France. He is buried where he and his comrades were killed. Granduncle Frederick Henry was my father’s mother’s only brother. The picture of Granduncle Fred was from a picture postcard from around 1917.

3. Complete the write-up of the research and search of the life of my great-grandmother Catherine Marie Antoinette (née JULY) ABRAHAM. Great-grandmother Marie Antoinette was the mother of granduncle Frederick Henry. I discovered that she was born at Ile de Gorée off the coast of Sénégal, Africa in December 1860 and she died in San Diego, California on 25 January 1940. Check out http://webworld.unesco.org/goree/... The following picture is of grandaunt Cecile Blanche (née ABRAHAM) Ham her youngest daughter and great-grandmother Marie Antoinette. I'm not sure of the location, it's either British Guiana (now Guyana) or San Diego, California. I'm also not sure of the year, but if it is in San Diego, it would be after 1919.

4. Work on the cataloging of all genealogical documentation that I have acquired in the past eight years. I have been using the software Clooz, version 2.1, which is very compatible with the genealogical software that I use, Legacy, version 7.0.0.9 and The Master Genealogist, version 7.04. The British version of Clooz is Custodian 3, version 3.5.5 which I have but have not yet made an attempt at using it.

5. Begin a project of cataloging all genealogy books and texts, physical and on line that I have acquired over the years. I keep checking updates from Kindle and the current offering of genealogy references.

6. Check out and respond to possible matches regarding my input at Genes Reunited, see http://www.genesreunited.co.uk/.) To date I have received 200 possibilities. At the initial go-around there have been two definite matches in 100 possibilities. The actual two matches are through first cousin twice removed George Conrad GREEN and possibly four-times great-grandmother Jane (née VOGG) ABRAHAM.

Just some thoughts. Breads are now out of the oven. The baking of course, provides the aromas of Harold Peterson Junior High School in Oromocto, New Brunswick and 1977+. Supper tonight is shrimp fried rice.

The rescueds have both decided to jump in my lap... Can't type anymore. Enjoy the day.

Jim

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Afternoon, May 5, 2009 - Tampa

Afternoon from Tampa…

I spent some time this morning volunteering at the nearby Family History Center in Lutz. I’m usually there on Thursdays. It’s a wee bit north of my house, about a 15-minute drive… extremely convenient for researching genealogy documentation available at the Family History Library (FHL) in Utah.

And I’m working on one of the number of microfilms relating to the Parish of St. Patrick's in Grenada. These are16mm microfilms numbered FHL1523479 and FHL1523480. The microfilms are a collection of Civil Registers of Births and Deaths titled Civil Registration, 1866-1933 and images of manuscripts at the District Registrar of St. Patrick, Sauteurs, Grenada, in the West Indies. And as it is a 16mm microfilm it is packed with page after page of registration entries.

The main issue with these Registers is that the Birth Registrations typically do not include the name of the child, only whether the child was either male or female. It does include the date and place of the birth and the name of the parent and/or parents, and at times the mother’s maiden name, and father’s occupation. This appears to be the general rule with civil birth registrations throughout Grenada. (I was only able to find my father's registration entry as I knew his birth date and the names of his parents, my grandparents.)

At this point I have been able to review 21 Items; four on FHL1523479 and 17 on FHL1523480. An Item is sort of a chapter in an FHL microfilm. In this case each Item appears to be a separate Register. And of those 21 Items / Registers I have found 106 entries in the St. Patrick’s registers that are of possible interest. I have been able to capture images of all 106 entries and each associated page. The birth registrations include the names Smith, Redhead, or Gentle, and the registrations range from 1866 through 1928.

The image at the right is an example of a Register page from Item 1 of FHL1523480...

This is a page of the 1888 registration of one of the four daughters of my great-grandaunt Grace Eliza (nee SMITH) and great-granduncle, the Reverend George Augustus GENTLE who were married in the Parish of Saint George in 1873. The registration date is 27 November 1888 and the date of the birth is 12 October 1888. All-things-being-equal this registration is that of any one of my first cousins once removed: Nellie; Margaret Lilian Greaves; May; or Helen Myra Elaine.

From FHL1523479 I found three other Gentle Civil Birth Registrations: 1876 - a female; 1877 – a female; and 1886 – a male. And there's more work to do, but the 1888 entry could be that of one of the younger daughters.

Based on the complete description at the Family History Library the microfilm FHL1523480 has a total of 26 Items. The civil birth registrations are included in Items 1 through 19. Birth indexes are included in Items 20 through 24. Items 25 and 26 relate to death registrations. Hopefully I will be able to find another GENTLE registration that I may have missed, if she was born in the Parish of St. Patrick.

And I need to breakdown 106 SMITH, and GENTLE registrations and determine whether each entry belongs to one of our families and how it fits.

It’s getting warmer in Tampa…

Jim

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Afternoon May 4, 2009 - Sort of An Update

Afternoon,

I’m sure some of you are breathing a sigh of relief that he hasn’t added any attachments this morning... or that he hasn’t included some new/old intrigue about the family from days gone by.

I’ve been taking a breather, and thinking of my next “mode of attack”. And the piles of papers still keep growing, and the folders in the databases are way beyond capacity.

I did enroll in another Scottish Genealogy class, which was to start today… but due to some unforeseen circumstances it was postponed until the fall. I think this will be about the 30th class I have registered and taken. And of course I’ve now got to polish up again on my French and Latin and "some-what-shaky" transcription skills. Not for the Scottish classes, but to address the images of documents from France and Senegal.

And of course the PC is back and running with a brand new video card so that should, all-thing-being-equal, enhance the quality of the image investigations. (The lightning season is about to start in Tampa…) And I’m just trying not to allow myself to be too bogged down with the number of family-related projects that are underway and waiting in the wings.

I need to organize, or at least come up with a good way of managing the multiple searches and projects that I’ve undertaken… as well as the new ideas that keep popping up and are on the back burner.

And the names include – Smith, (and Lloydsmith); Robertson; Abraham; July; Goodey; Crossley; Stevens; Merrifield; Elder, (and Ehrenstein); McCullogh; Trefry; Merrifield; Bailey; Megwire; Parker; Miller; Kendal; Newall; Warner; Dudgeon; Lyle; Scott; McKowan; Thomas; Doret; Rush; Steele; Brebner; Salmon; Ham; Chevalier; Boyle; Olton; Brunhammer; Doherty; Green; Myers; Billham; etc…

And the range of places include – England; Scotland; Ireland; Wales; France; Italy; Austria; Czechoslovakia; Quebec, Nova Scotia; Quebec; Connecticut; North Carolina; Vermont; New York; Jamaica; Grenada; Guyana, (and British Guiana); Cayenne, (and French Guiana); Surinam, (and Dutch Guiana); Senegal; St. Kitts; Barbados; California; Holland, (and The Netherlands); The Bahamas; Massachusetts; Ohio; Trinidad; and etc., etc., etc… and I can't forget Maine or New Brunswick...

Enjoy your coffee.

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About A Genealogy Hunt

Greetings and good-day...

This is sort-of a relaxed blog about my attempts to search, investigate, research, and trace my family roots. It's a collection of my thoughts and trials as I wade through the mass of papers, data, documents, images and ideas that relate to my family connections. Any time I'm presented with an idea or thought I try to realize and understand the source of the information and further, I try to see where I can fit the piece of the puzzle into the Tree.

This Blog will always be a work-in-progress as I delve into the past lives and histories of my family lines, the world over. I do not in way shape or form claim to be an expert or a professional, I am just obsessed with genealogy… And maybe that is a good thing.

When I first began my research, in 2003, into the life and passing of my uncle Jim Robertson for whom I was named, the Internet was beginning to come into play as a viable tool. Today it is a key component in the field of search, research, archiving, calculating, and communicating in the many different areas and arenas of genealogical and ancestry study. As my family and relatives, and friends are spread all over the world it, the Internet, allows for the immediate flow of information and online discussions.

This Blog, A Genealogy Hunt, is the journey of my search and research. Feel free to wander through my Posts, my ramblings, and my Tangents, at your will and leisure. Have a good time checking out my research and my analyses. And feel free to contact me at any time with your questions and comments and ideas. We are only a cable line or sound wave away.

Enjoy,

Jim

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