Accessing Passenger List on New Netherland Institute Voyages

 

This is the cover page of New Netherland Institute - Be sure to Donate! (click here)

Where Are the Passengers' Names?
This tool is rather comprehensive for what it has captured. Reaching the passenger lists however, is not intuitive.  So you have to be ready to explore. 

Of course, the passenger list can be accessed if you already know the ship name AND the year that it arrived.  My Vosburg family were in New Netherlands before 1660 and I have no idea on which ship. So, off to a3Genealogy digging. 

This is a quick tutorial in 6 Steps. 

Step 1: Link to the Database: Voyages of new Netherland or https://airtable.com/shrMDlcIOR4lhG2hh

Opening View

Step 2: Find the “Hidden Fields” on the second line of the table. Here it says 108 Hidden Fields.  That has to hold great information! Click on “Hidden Fields” and you will get a drop window.  Choose “Hide All”, and all the green options will lose their green highlight.

Play with Hidden Fields. Toggle Off fields if not needed.

Step 3: Choose options to view from Hidden Fields. I choose the least options as possible since I have no idea of the ship name or the crew, and all I know is the ancestor’s surname.  Therefore, I activate the fields for Departure Years and for all 7 of the Passengers Recorded.  (I can choose crew, soldiers, also, but I’m searching for occurrences of ancestral surnames; and I find it easiest if I do this is small steps. Yes!!! There are 7 options of Passengers Recorded, so I scroll and click all seven if needed. I have no idea how or why this is divided as such but I noticed only Passengers Recorded_1 through Passengers Recorded_3 are populated (not 4-7).

Note: Your view is partially blocked as you chose this options, but you can see your screen being populated in the background. Click on the populated screen (to the right anywhere and the dropdown menu will disappear.  In the end you will get this view. Note there are passengers!

See Departure Years and SOME names that can be viewed under Passengers Recorded

At the bottom of this screen (not shown here) a note informs me that the database holds 248 records with Passengers Recorded, but I only care about the records before 1660. So let’s take a look at line 129,  Voyage ID v_152in 1651.  (Alternately you can ctrl+find on the full Grid View and search for your surname, and the entire Passengers Recorded listing is searched, but what if your spelling is one letter off?)

Step 4: Expand the Passengers Recorded field. 
When you click PassengersRecorded_1, on line 129 (see below) expand the view with the small blue arrow. 

Expand to see full passenger list

Or you can just chose the Voyage (v_152) and line number I want (129). Either way, the passengers are listed.  

Passenger Names

a3Genealogy and I have no association with the Institute; just a happy user.
Happy New Netherland Ancestor searching!
Kathleen Brandt

Brickwall? Turn to the Law for Hints

How Did the Family Disappear?

1819 Virginia Laws/Codes

When an ancestor doesn’t do the expected, or it appears that at best they made a decision that seems truly insane, perhaps a look at the laws for this time period is a good idea.  The answers to some of the insanity may be buried in legislation books. 

Genealogists and family historians should never complete the story without the facts.  And a few minutes reviewing the laws of the time, especially in America history from the Colonial Period up to the Reconstruction era may explain it all. 

Did You Know In Colonial…?

• 1683 Pennsylvania: a law united Pennsylvania with the lower counties (Delaware) and allowed for naturalizing the Swedes. All freemen were made citizens and all Christians were freemen, except servants and convicts. A similar law was repealed in Virginia and baptism no longer exempted you from slavery.

• 1670 North Carolina: marriages were few before 1670, so our ancestors may not be in the church records.  Why? Only ministers of the Church of England were entitled to perform the rite of marriage before 1670, and few visited or settled in Carolina.  As a result, An Act Concerning Marriages (1669) was ratified by the Assembly of Albemarle to perform marriage ceremonies.

• 1700 Massachusetts: June a law passed ordering Roman Catholic priests to leave the colony within three months, upon penalty of life imprisonment or execution. New York passed a similar law.

 Can’t Find Naturalization Records 

• Between 1855 and 1922 the law stated that an alien woman became a citizen automatically if she married a native-born or naturalized citizen. 

• After 1922, a married woman alien had to obtain naturalization on her own. 

•  Former black slaves were made citizens by the ratification of the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution in 1868.

• Expedited naturalization proceedings have been available to aliens who are Army veterans, since 1862; Navy veterans, since 1894; and wartime enlistees, since 1918.

• Statutes during World War I and the permitted naturalization proceedings to take place abroad.  This law was also instated during the Korean War.   

Free-Colored (Creole) Ancestor Missing 

Free coloreds were not created equal in the Gulf South.  Free Coloreds classified as Creoles were granted more privileges and rights than other free coloreds in the south.  This encouraged fair skinned coloreds (not all mulattoes) with an aire of an “uppity” class to blend in and migrate to Alabama and Florida.  However, these rights were soon ripped and your free-colored ancestors may have been on the move again.

• 1833 Alabama recognized “Creoles of Color” and granted them advantages not otherwise afforded by “free coloreds.” This could explain why a free-colored ancestor would have migrated to Alabama.  One advantage was education privileges that “colored children” were not granted. Free Creoles' rights were stripped beginning in 1840, and enforced by 1850.

• 1857 Pensacola Florida Free Creoles voluntarily exiled to Tampico due to local legislation that stripped them of their “civil” rights."

Can’t Find Your Native American Ancestors in Virginia 

• 1850 Amherst County Native Americans were classified as “black free inhabitants” or “white” based on the racial community where they lived.  This also led to interracial family units for subsequent generations, no longer “Indian.”

• 1880 to 1900 the Native Americans in Amherst County were forced by law in 1705 to be called "mulatto" and then called "black" in 1900, erasing records of “Indian.”

(Reprint, "But It Doesn't Follow Logic!" 2 Nov 2010)

Happy Ancestral Holiday Hunting

Kathleen Brandt, a3Genealogy

Top 8 Resources to Researching in Kansas City

By Tommy Brison

As most knows, the a3Genealogy blog is client and readers driven. The a3Genealogy team of researchers specialize in DNA, Irish, German, Eastern European, Swedish, British, African American, Jewish and Native American, (etc.) research in the USA and worldwide. So when we received the following letter asking for a blog on local Kansas City resources we were EMBARASSED!  No one has asked us to write on the home of our KC home base. So following are our top eight KC resources. There are more to come. Thanks Kim!

From New York to California, Louisiana to the Plains, the Great Lakes to the Gold Rush, Virginia to Missouri’s Little Dixie counties, or Pennsylvania to the Missouri Rhineland, our ancestors migrated through the Kansas City (KC) area using waterways, the stagecoach, overland trails, and the early railroad. They left behind a wealth of original documents, manuscripts, diaries, and journals. 

1. 1.  NARA - Kansas City, MO.; https://www.archives.gov/kansas-city

• U. S. Penitentiary, Leavenworth Records, RG129
• Civil War Provost Marshal Records (Index on Mo State Archives website: sos.mo.gov/archives
• Alien Case Files (Index on ancestry.com or nara.gov)
• Bankruptcy Records 
• Native American Student and Removal Records

2. Midwest Genealogy Center of the Mid-Continent Public Library.

 

3.  Mo. State Historical Society: https://shsmo.org/research/ this Kansas City Research ceter is one of six in Missouri, but Kansas Citians have access to all of them: Cape Girardeau, Columbia, Rolla, St. Louis, Springfield. You can contact the Historical Society and request they send your research materials to the closest repository.  I often check HathiTrust.org to give leads through its indices and abstracts.

4.  County Court Records. This is not a blog about the court structures but I encourage researchers to learn.  It is at the Recorder of Deeds of Jackson County, Mo that researchers can access free marriage information, and undergo an online trace of land or house ownership. 

                           

Let's learn about John Smith starting in Jackson County in 1832. What a easy start to distinguish the different John Smith family units in KC area. (Hint: there was more  than one John Smith living here at the time.)

With a click on the document link, the research can gather the details that often identifies family members, place of origin, and community relationships, etc.  It also can reveal political and religious associations (more places to research), financial and marital status.  

5.  Trowbridge Research Library: www.wycomuseum.org/WCM_research.html 

I would be remiss if I didn't include this Kansas City, Wyandotte County, Kansas repository. The Trowbridge Research Library is a wonderful hidden gem. Many of our KCMO ancestors married or are buried across the state line.

• local cemetery records
• marriage licenses 1849 - 1895
• obituary index to 1993.

6.  National WWI Museum: Edward Jones Research Center: 

  https://www.theworldwar.org/explore/edward-jones-research-center 

 

 The Edward Jones Research Center offers an Online Collections Database (see images above) and textural and artifacts from WWI.  This Smithsonian National WWI Museum has a wonderful research room with over 10,000 library titles.  To learn more be sure to view the video A Trip to the National WWI Museum and Memorial. 

7.  Kansas City (MO) Public Library: Missouri Valley Special Collections: http://www.kchistory.org/ For local online and research resources, this library is a must for KC area researchers. The a3Genealogy researchers have found the most unlikely ancestors named in the collections. 

8.  Merrill J. Mattes Research Library: www.ci.independence.mo.us/nftm/TrailsResearch.  The National Frontier Trails Museum, Independence, MO is the repository not to be missed to uncover your ancestors as the travelled west. This repository holds a treasure trove of diaries, journals, and manuscripts.

For more about Missouri genealogy resources and research, be sure to join me at the Salt Lake Institute of Genealogy (SLIG) 2021 Show Me Missouri Session in January. 

Secret: Although I'm speaking on African American Research resources in Missouri, know that the same collection groups are used for all ancestors. No one lives in a bubble (ok...NBA yes). 

Happy Thanksgiving Weekend
Stay healthy and safe!

Kathleen Brandt
a3Genealogy@gmail.com  

Volga Germans - Researching Norka Russia to Oregon

 

For Deep Diving Research|
As with all good research, we must be familiar with our subject: time, place, historical and social challenges and impacts and cultural groups to include religious followings and practices. So, in tracing German – Russians who settled in Oregon, led us to uncovering 6 generation ofrecords and documents. This Volga family, originally from 1725 Hessen, Germany settled in Oregon in 1887.

1-2-3 Begin in America
With my own family from central Kansas, midwestern Volga Germans were familiar. Matter of fact, the a3Genealogy team had worked on enough mid-western Volga German ancestral projects that it just seemed to be another group to settle in the plain states: the Swedish, Norwegians, the Irish, Germans, Italians and the Volga. These Russia Germans were our neighbors, our friends, and co-workers or local farmers. But Portland?

•  Where Kansas settlers seemed run-of-the-mill, Oregon Volga Germans required us to ask a few questions: 1) why? 2) where? 3)when?
  
  
• Why? As is the practice, we turned to reading all we could about this western settlement: newspapers, town and county histories and the timeframe. What we needed to know was twofold: was there a community church or community cemetery that could help explain the why? Of course, there is always a Who.  Who did they follow to Oregon? By learning how these ancestors  lived in their communities, will guide us to not only why they moved to a particular location, but from where did they come?

• Where? From which Volga settlement did these Oregon settlers emigrate. 

They usually travelled across the water in groups or to meet up with family members? Generations before did this same group of families leave Germany to settle along the Volga River. Did they intermarry, and 5 generations later immigrate to the USA together? Did the group travel directly to Oregon? 

• When? So many questions here. When did they arrive in Oregon? When did the travel to America? When did they arrive in Russia? And when did they leave Germany?

Yes, all of these questions were answered with the pulling of documents in all three countries, translations in two of them (German and Russia) and another one of Dr. I. E. Pleve detailed family charts.

Researching in Russia

A great place to start is with an earlier blog post entitled Researching Germans from Russia Ancestors? Researchers will find this article to be a primer that will discuss beginning your Russian research and 9 Places to Research Your German from Russia Ancestral Records. 

 After five generations of living in Russia, Volga Germans would consider themselves Germans. Matter of fact, in one generational stump, our in-house linguist (that would be me - Thank you University of Michigan) solved a conflicting surname through a translation brainteaser - Vögel to Fogel’ / Faglen by realizing the two were merely the same surname.  Same woman, but some in the community used the older-age spelling of her maiden name.

птицы (Russian: ptitsy”) equals birds in English or Vögel in German, or alternatively Fogel in Old High German.  These words translate to “birds”or fowl  in English. Etymology assisted: from Proto-Germanic fuglaz. Cognate with German Vogel, Dutch vogel, English fowl (bird) and Icelandic fugl.

Interesting Documents to Analyze
After exhausting the 9 resources suggested in the referenced earlier blog, the researcher will want to continue analyzing documents. In 1866 the Norka Village community gave permission for settlers (German descendants) to travel. The families had to meet qualifications however:

1. Everyone who wanted to leave had to announce it at the village gathering and pay all their debts.
2. Everyone leaving had to give his land to reliable people so that these people will pay all the duties current or future. If the person leaving had not found such a reliable person, then the land will be used by the community. If the person comes back, he or she can only get the land back, if they can pay all the duties.
3. If there were no legal obstacles, then the person can go abroad. Keep in mind that “abroad” could mean to go from Russia to Germany or any other county that was not under the Russian government. 
   
   

Household Census: 

The household censuses were used for the purpose of keeping track men for the military service. So, family units were not captured for the same purpose as American census. These censuses were updated from the previous census. Most of these records are easy to translate, but sometimes, you may just wish to pay for someone else to struggle through the scribbles.  Household census records may also proffer information on the emigration of the family.  

The Passport: Passports were not only difficult to obtain, they came with strict guidelines.  It may have restrictions to where the family could travel: …family can go to different towns and villages of the Russian Empire till September 24, 1887Issued March 24, 1887. Has to come back after this time period otherwise will be punished by law Volost Chairman 

The Petition: Families had to petition separately to travel to the USA (or outside of the Russian Empire). If debts were settled, and they were granted permission, a fee was paid for processing and a passport to travel overseas was issued.  The petition of one such petition read as follows in the following translation: 

Petition
I need to visit the USA as my relatives live there so I am asking Your Excellency to allow me to go abroad for 6 months if there are no legal obstacles. I am enclosing an excerpt from the family list, certificate from the Kamyshin uyezd police department # 155 and Norka volost administration #467, passport #224 and copy of the decision of the community that there are no obstacles for me to leave #18, certificate of my transfer to the reserve and a treasury receipt that 5 rubles were paid for the passport form, and I am asking Your Excellency to grant me a foreign passport for the above mentioned period of time.

Norka
April 20, 1887
Signature
Passport #186 issued on April 21, 1887 

Although mentioned in the earlier Researching Germans from Russia Ancestors? researchers will want to check with the American Historical Society of Germans from Russia for a listing of  surname and location resources. 

And, if they have one of Dr. Pleve’s  hand-drawn charts for your ancestors be sure to purchase it.  I have one chart hanging in my office (48x30) because it is just delightful! 

Kathleen Brandt
a3Genealogy.com
Accurate, accessible answers

Finding Slave Marriages: Tips to Missouri ---------- (Saline County)

Forgotten Historical Records 
There are records of slaves dated as early as the settlement of the Americas, but rarely can we trace these ancestors since last names are usually not given. Slaves did not always take their last owners names, and they often changed their names during Reconstruction Era as was permitted by law. Read also Ex-Slave Alias. So where else can you search for hints of your ex-slave ancestor? The answer is early Marriage Records.

Did They Legalize Their Marriages?
Marriage records of recently freed ex-slaves are often tucked under the more commonly researched books. After emancipation, African Americans were to legalize their marriages. Slave marriages, commonly jumping over a broom, or by a roaming preacher, were not recognized after the Civil War. (Of course it bought them few rights before the Civil War: sometimes a master allowed them joint residency).

But after the Civil War, when the right was granted, many African Americans rushed to get their marriages legalized, but not all. Those who did not legalize their marriage often regretted it. Without the formal civil marriage documents widows attempting to obtain Civil War Pensions using their slave-union were most often denied, even with children in tow and depositions of the slave marriage confirmed.

Freedmen's Bureau of Marriage Records 
Of course there are Freedmen's Bureau of Marriage Records but in rural America marriages were rarely recorded with the Bureau, but at local courthouses. At a3Genealogy we are attempting to capture and index these smaller hidden collections. For more information on the Freedmen's Bureau of marriage records visit Sealing the Sacred Bonds of Holy Matrimony Freedmen's Bureau Marriage Records. 

What to Expect
In the Saline County Colored Marriages Book, 1865-1870 not only were the marriages and parties named, but also names of children born under the slave marriage. The bride's surname may be a "hint" to a slave master, but of course more research is needed.

Reprint / updated 21 Oct 2020  

Kathleen Brandt,
a3genealogy.com
Accurate, accessible answers
a3genealogy@gmail.com

Eastern European Church Records to the Rescue

Typically, seeking ancestors in Eastern Europe is quite time consuming. Rarely will we find family units who were stationary for generations.  But, church records will be the researcher’s best friend. 

A few key tips to working in Eastern Europe:

1. Familiarity with location and surname - location association
2. Be guided by a strategic research plan that allows for expansion and molding as your research unfolds
3. Keen eye for detail.  One accent can move the researcher from one voivodeship (province), powiat (county / district), or gminas (municipalities)

Location Confusion
The structure of the voivodeship (province), powiat (county / district), or gminas (municipalities) is the first hurdle.  Researchers should be quite familiar with this location’s idiosyncrasies. 

One research project, based on US documents suggesting Galicia, lead us to Dobromil.. The surname we were researching was also seen in the area.  After coming up empty handed on our original targeted search, we uncovered a bit more about the region.  

Dobromil (given name), a given name of Slavic origin
Dobromil, Lower Silesian Voivodeship (south-west Poland)
Dobromil, Podlaskie Voivodeship (north-east Poland)
Dobromilice, a village and municipality in Prostějov District in the Olomouc Region of the Czech Republic.
Dobromil, the Polish name for the town of Dobromyl, Ukraine

Strategic Research Plan (must be fluid)
 Extensive research tying surnames and location led us  to explore Drohomyśl (Jaworów ). As I mentioned, church records can be our best friend. In the District of Jaworów in Galicia our first set of tips and hints were buried in the following locale's collections:

• Wełykie/Velkie (Michowa Greek Catholic Center)
• Drohomyśl (Jaworów)

Our original research plan was designed to  research in Poland, Lwow, Dobromil 1784-1875, with our target on Church Records, 1784-1875; and our research plan expanded to in Roman Catholic parish register of marriages and deaths in Wielkie Oczy, Galizien, Austria; now Wielkie Oczy (Lubaczów), Rzeszów, Poland. 

Keen Eye for Detail: Spelling is Similar but Locale is Different

This research Included Drohomyśl, Galizien, Austria; later Drohomyśl (Jaworów), Lwów, Poland; now Drohomyshl′, I︠A︡voriv, L'viv, Ukraine.

Again we began with the church records. Many of these church records are already digitized on Familysearch.org. Here are just a few of the relevant ones: 

☐Strzelbice, Lviv Ukraine, Stari Sambir (Starosamborski region) 
☐Wełykie [Velkie] Lviv Ukraine, Stari Sambir (Starosamborski region) 
☐Metrical Books, 1837-1894 Greek Catholic Church Kniazpol (Dobromil
☐Metrical books,1784-1906, Greek Catholic Church. Drohomyśl (Krakowiec), Greek Catholic Church records (births, marriages, deaths) for Drohomyśl (Krakowiec), Galizien, Austria; later Drohomyśl (Jaworów), Lwów, Poland; now Drohomyshl′, I︠A︡voriv, L′viv, Ukraine

Final Tip / Hint
Research plans must be fluid with every hint or tip uncovered. Sometimes we must expand our Research Plan to a larger daunting region to locate our answers. Enjoy the journey.

Kathleen Brandt
a3Genealogy@gmail.com

 

Immigrant Society Records and Genealogy

                                               

Irish, Jewish, Catholic, Greek, Plus Other Records

Ancestors left their home places, families and the comforts of their language and community behind when they took the voyage to the new world. The world of hope was on the other side of the sea.  Those who made the trip were processed at ports like Ellis Island, exiting to what should have been a land of opportunity. These were the lucky ones; albeit homeless, poor, and sick.

Their luck often ran out as they exited the processing station. They needed shelter, food, jobs and healthcare, but they were often met by "runners" known as scammers, today. With little knowledge and a bit weary and desperate, they often fell into the trap of being exploited.  With each flood of ethnic emigrations, new arrivals fell prey. That is until Immigration Societies began forming with the mission to provide the basic needs. Food, cash, housing and guidance was provided to the new immigrant. Some societies offered lists of upstanding businesses and care for children and women.

Was My Ancestor Sponsored?

Between 1880-1920 these aid societies were in abundance, but they were established as early as the late 1700's, like the ones for Irish refugees. You may find in passenger lists that your ancestor was supported by an Emigrant Society or ethnic aid society. Obituaries may list your ancestor's involvement or membership.  Church records may record assistance given to your ancestor upon arrival.  I've seen ancestors recorded immigrant records supported by the Catholic church, Greek Orthodox, and Jewish organizations, to name a few: 

Catholic Emigrant Societies.  Visit the New Advent, Emigrant Societies for a listing of Catholic emigrant societies.

Charitable Irish Society. In 1737 twenty-six men organized the Charitable Irish Society in Boston, Mass. The society collaborated "with the Irish Immigration Center and the Irish Pastoral Centre." Employment, housing, education, finance, health, and the law seminars were offered.  Charitable Irish Society Records, 1737-2008 may be found at the Massachusetts Historical Society. 

Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society (HIAS).  The HIAS, founded in 1881, provided meals, transportation, jobs and temporary housing for Manhattan Jewish immigrants. http://www.hias.org/ The American Jewish Historical Society (AJHS) collection includes immigrants arriving in Boston,  Providence and Rhode Island, between 1870 and 1929.  Arrival cards, individual case files, and passenger lists from the Boston HIAS are now held at the AJHS which has a collection of over 100 years. 

Emigrant Aid Society.  The Emigrant Aid Society founded in 1841, supported Irish immigrants. In 1850, the Emigrant Savings Bank was founded to provide safe banking practices to include sending bank drafts back to Ireland.  Records from 1841 - 1975 are held at the New York Public Library Manuscript Division. These records may also be found at the Family Search Library.

Royal Philanthropic Society.  In 1788 the Royal Philanthropic Society was organized "for the admission of the offspring of convicts and the reformation of criminal poor children." Mostly these children roamed the streets of Great Britain (majority in London) and parents had been either transported to Australia. or of Australian heritage. According to the website, this society housed, clothed, fed, schooled and apprenticed these children with the end goal that that they would become "useful members of society." The Admission, Discharge and Other Records, 1788-1890 can be found at the Family History Library.

Where to Begin

These records are not centralized.  But the search for where they are housed is worth the effort.  They are full of ancestral data.  A good place to start for Immigrant Society research is at the Family Search Library website using the keywords "Emigrant Societies." Be sure to expand your search.

Don't forget your State Historical Society, local libraries and additional information may be found in Ethnic Genealogical Society collections, which may be found via a simple Google search (i.e. Polish Society).

(Post updated 15 Sep 2020; original 2011).

Kathleen Brandt

a3genealogy.blogspot.com

Missouri Mormon Veterans, 1837 - 1847

Lost Missouri Relatives

The Missouri Secretary of State (SOS) Mormon War Papers contain “the records gathered by the state in relation to the disturbances with the Mormons. Records include legislative material, letters to the governor, and witness accounts.”[1]

[The Prophet's Wife and Brother give statements on property stolen in the 1838 Mormon War], Emma Smith and Hyrum Smith. 

"under a Strong Guard in the Camp of the Mob. I there heard the Deft. Say unto (apostle) Lyman Wight, that he Deft. Had taken the Pltfs. Horse, Saddle, Bridle, &Martingales,&had sold them to Capt. Samuel Bogart. I immediately informed the Pltf. Who was under Guard & Convenient to me In about two days Pltf. With Witness & others were carried to Jackson County were kept there five or Six days, from there we were taken to Richmond Ray County, there kept about twenty Days, then carried to Liberty Clay County," and that in that time Bogart guarded them, and Hyrum saw him with his brother's possessions..."

The Missouri Old Settlers vs. the Mormons

In 1830 Joseph Smith of the Church of the Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (originally called the Church of Christ) sent missionaries to western Missouri to work with the  local Native Americans. It is said that Joseph Smith “designated western Missouri as the place where “Zion” would be “gathered” in anticipation of Christ’s second coming.”[2]  Thus, Missouri became the preferred settling place for the Mormons until around 1833, when they were attacked by the non-Mormon settlers, also called “Old Settlers.”

In 1836, the Missouri State Legislature made provisions for the Mormon settlers to occupy the northwest county of Caldwell separating the Mormons from the Old Settlers. However, newly arrived Mormon settlers over-populated the county, which led to further conflicts and the expulsion of the Mormons from Missouri.

In 1838 the Missouri governor, Lilburn Boggs, gave the Mormon’s an ultimatum of leaving the state or being “exterminated."[3]  Later that year an organized Old Settler mob killed 18 Mormon men and boys.  This massacre gave reason for the Mormons to leave Missouri and to settle in Illinois.[4] 

Resources for Mormon Research?

Witnesses, names of Old Settler mobsters, victims, information on the Mormon paramilitary units and Old Settlers mobs, may be found in the Missouri Mormon Papers.

The state legislative investigation of the massacre and official discussions were documented and are held in the Mormon War Papers.  These papers also hold the criminal hearing of Joseph Smith and other church leaders for treason and other crimes. Images, text and online searches are available using Finding Aid 5.1 online.  

Mormon Volunteers Served in Mexican War

To perform an online surname of one of the 500 plus Missouri Mormon veteran volunteers who served in the Mormon Battalion of the Mexican War, try the “Search Mormon Records” link. 

These volunteers, led by Mormon company officers, served from  July 1846 to July 1847. They crossed the from Council Bluffs, IA to San Diego, CA.  

For additional information on this topic, be sure to read: The Mormon Battalion's Manifest Destiny: Expansion and Identity during the Mexican American War. 

a3Genealogy

Accurate, Accessible Answers

a3genealogy@gmail.com

 [1] Mormon War Papers, 1837-1841; Office of Secretary of State, Record Group 5; Missouri State Archives, Jefferson City. http://www.sos.mo.gov/archives/resources/findingaids/rg005-01.asp Online access 20 May, 2010

[2] This post is not an attempt to provide the history of the Mormons, Joseph Smith, or the Missouri Mormon War.  The purpose of this post is to accurately capture the online materials reported from the Secretary of State website: The Missouri Mormon War; Missouri State Archives, Jefferson City. http://www.sos.mo.gov/archives/resources/findingaids/rg005-01.asp Online access 20 May, 2010

[3] The Missouri Mormon War, Governor Boggs’ Extermination order, Office of Secretary of State, Record Group 5; Missouri State Archives, Jefferson City. http://www.sos.mo.gov/archives/resources/findingaids/miscMormonRecords.asp?rec=eo Online access 20 May, 2010

[4] The Missouri Mormon War; Office of Secretary of State, Record Group 5; Missouri State Archives, Jefferson City; http://www.sos.mo.gov/archives/resources/mormon.asp, Online access 20 May 20, 2010

Jul 2020 - 2021 Webinar Offerings

The a3Genealogy Webinar Series isn't new to us, but these online and video offerings are mandatory for now as we suspend all in person presentations, classes and workshops. 

We have spent the past two months tailoring our classes for online only presentations.  Why should learning stop during this country slowdown? These are just a few online webinar titles offered by Kathleen Brandt as Keynote Presenter. All titles are tailored for your audience / organization. Know that all of the presentations are chocked full of actual images and many have real life short case studies conducive to online training. 

Be sure to review the Experience/Qualifications page. 

Kathleen Brandt

Keynote Speaker/Presenter

816-729-5995

2020 - 2021 Webinar / Online Series

Military Records

•  Tracing State Militia Records
•  Revolutionary War
• Finding Your Revolutionary War Soldier
• African Americans Served Too – Finding Revolutionary & War of 1812 Records
• Identifying Revolutionary War Era Parents 
• 7 Best Revolutionary War Resources
• Your Blacksheep: Courts-martial and Courts of inquiry records
•  War of 1812
• War of 1812: 10 Places to Search
• Researching Your War of 1812 Impressed Seamen
•  Civil War
• 10 Best Bets to Civil War Research
• 7 Tips to Researching Slaves and Slaveholders
• Grand Army of the Republic (GAR): Where Are the Records
• Military Records Were Destroyed: What to Do?
• Civil War POW Records: Finding Your Soldier
• Modern Wars
• Military Records Were Destroyed? What to Do?
• 7 Easy Tips to WWI and WWII Research
• Forgotten Records - WWI and WWII

Methodology & Brickwalls

• Turn Brickwalls into Straw Houses: 10 Huffs and Puffs of Research 
• 60 Mile Radius: Kansas City, The Gateway to Genealogical Resources
• Destroyed Records: Fire, Water, Thieves
• The Changing Surname: How to Trace It

Missouri Research

• 7 Tips to Researching Slaves and Slaveholders in Little Dixie – Missouri
• 8 Tips to Researching MO Rhineland Ancestors
• Pioneer Trail From Missouri to California: How to Trace Them
• 5 Research Tips to MO. Bohemian Ancestors

Tracing Immigrants

• When They Came to America, Where Did They Go?
• Tracing Missouri Irish: From Immigration to Emigration
• Blackbirding: Sugar, Cotton, and Slaves! Researching South Pacific Island Laborers
• Did Your Ancestor Become a US Citizen? Where to find Records and Documents
• Tracing Huguenots – From There to Here
• Researching Germans from Russia Ancestors

 Slave and Slaveholder Records

• Researching the Road to Freedom: 5 Ways to Freedom & 15 Record Sets to Find Them
• Where Are the Slave Records?
• Claim It!  Southern Claims Commission Records
• African Americans Served Too – Finding Revolutionary & War of 1812 Records
• Using Ship Manifests Records to Trace Slaveholders and Slaves

Kathleen Brandt

a3Genealogy@gmail.com

816-729-5995 for quotes and bookings

1807 Law for Tracing Slaves & Slaveholders

At a3Genealogy we have had many blog and presentation requests to address issues in the news of late. So let's unscramble referencing 1807.  Note: This 1807 Act Prohibiting Importation of Slaves should not be confused with the recent “law and order” conversation that encouraged the use of the 1807 Insurrection Law. 

An 1807 Law that can help trace ancestors:

ex-slave ancestors and slaveholders.  

We have to remember 1807 was the year that slaves were no longer to be imported on our shores. It was a sort of weak attempt to end slavery. Slave trading was not abolished, so the north just sold their underutilized slaves to the southern planters. When referencing the slave trade we commonly envision domestic purchases and exchanges of plantation owners and traders culminating in the overland transporting of slaves. Shipping human cargo via coastal waterways from one region to another is often forgotten history. But, after 1807 slaves were legally transported via the Inter-coastal Waterways. An easy opening to the 1807 Importation of Slaves that allowed slave trading to continue, slave breading to continue, and the trapping and enslaving “free coloreds” to thrive. Of course, illegal boats also still imported slaves, in spite of the law. 

This Abolition Act of 1807 prohibited the import of slaves into the United States, effective 1 Jan 1808; however, domestic slave trading from one slave state to another was legal until 2 July 1864. An overlooked treasure for slave researchers are the ship manifests that document the legal trade and migratory path of slaves transported by water within the jurisdiction of the United States.

Ship Manifests

Ship Manifests, 1828 Baltimore to Savannah

It is estimated that over 1 million slaves were transported using either coastwise ships to the southern ports along the Atlantic, or channeling them along the southern coast and the Mississippi River using southern tributaries. 

To fulfill the law that required proof that slaves were not illegally imported into the United States after 1808, manifests of cargo carrying slaves were submitted at both ports of departure and arrival with appropriate statements swearing that the slaves listed "have not been imported into the United States since the first day of January, One Thousand Eight Hundred and Eight..."

Sworn Statement

Slave Names and Hints
The manifests contained the name of the shipper or slave owner as well as their residence. They specified the name, sex and age of each slave to include a physical description - stature and designation of "negro, mulatto or person of colour."  Names of slaves are sometimes provided. 

Once slaves arrived at the port of destination they were often sent to neighboring areas. In a recent search we were able to locate a slave arriving in Charleston and within days exchanged in Augusta, Georgia.

Tracing Northern Slaveholders and Slave Movements to South Slave research using ship manifests requires persistent sleuthing. The family historian must gather information on the records of slave masters as well as the slave. The extant manifests are tools to research the migratory path of your slave ancestor and in many cases the movement and business efforts of the slave owner, trader or shipper. The researcher will find that due to the pirating of vessels, coastwise shipments before the War of 1812 were few; but in 1821, the boom year of coastwise slave trading, over 2,600 manifests are available for research.

1. Slave Traders. To help determine your ancestor's place of origin, be sure to trace shippers, traders and captains of that region. A recent search highlighted a well-known Cahawba, Alabama slave trader, "Shoestring" Barker. It appears Shoestring owned the local slave exchange. Corroborating information, including census record analysis and business deeds, resulted in positively identifying a slave ancestor and his owners; as well as papers that tied a slaveholder to “business dealings with Barker.”
2. Northern Slavemaster to Cotton Belt. Since most slaves were transported under the shipper's name, master records may reveal sales to a shipper, allowing the researcher to trace the vessel. A successful search may result by tracing the family unit. This was possible since the slave master moved his entire plantation to the cotton belt. After the Civil War, a Pennsylvania-born family member, as described on the earlier Philadelphia manifests, were still living in close proximity.
3. Outbound manifests from 1820 to 1860 with destination of Savannah, Charleston, New Orleans, Pensacola, Florida – may contain not only slave names, but allow researchers to trace a slavemaster, a slave ship and its cargo-passengers from origin to destination. The researcher should be familiar with the various slave ships. Visit the Slave Ships, South Carolina Genealogy Trails website for a listing of some slave vessels. Newspaper advertisements may also confirm active coastwise trading for your timeframe.
4. Analysis of 1870 and 1880 census records may also uncover a migratory pattern. Perhaps you have noted that a disproportionate community of Georgian ex-slaves or ex-slaveholders recorded their parents' birth as Maryland? Or did your Alabama ancestor record his birth or his parents' birth as Virginia? In 1836, the height of the slave trade, Virginia exported over 120,000 slaves using coastwise vessels. Combining census data with deeds, sales, wills and local history, the researcher may be able to identify their slave ancestor in the manifests or the origin of a slave holder.
5. If you are researching a New Orleans slave ancestor, you may wish to also check Louisiana Slave Records, 1719-1820, as compiled by Gwendolyn Hall. 

This blog is part of the following Presentation:
Using Ship Manifests for Slave & Slaveholder Research. 

Kathleen Brandt

a3Genealogy@gmail.com

Be Historically Correct