new tutorial for navigating the database

Posted on | April 19, 2013 | No Comments

I’ve put together a short, illustrated tutorial on how to use the various features of the genealogy pages, which is available here. Please let me know if it is of use to you.

non-conformist ancestors

Posted on | March 29, 2013 | No Comments

One branch of the Mathematician’s paternal line is made up of Quakers who lived in Norfolk in the late 17th, 18th and earlier 19th centuries. In the records such persons are called ‘non-conformists.’

Andrew Muskett (?-1744)* is the earliest of these ancestors I’ve had any luck really documenting. He led a not-so-quiet life (for a Quaker), and thus there are records about his disagreements with the Church of England, to be specific: an Exchequer suit, Manning c. Muskett, 1719. The Exchequer courts dealt with issues around taxes, which is how Andrew ended up in their bad graces: as a Quaker he refused to pay tithes to the Anglican Church. I still haven’t got the full details on this yet but it’s clear things didn’t go his way. Andrew Muskett ended up in jail in the Norwich Castle, and more, I think, than once.

Exchequer, 12th Century

The Quaker Meetings kept good records and I’ve been able to track down some interesting tidbits and the Muskett family, but really what I need are official documentation of births, etc.

One of the reasons it’s so hard to actually document people who lived in Great Britain is the very antiquated way the British National Archives handle requests for copies of records which I’ve mentioned before

English government offices that handle vital records will only release official, certified copies of birth, death and marriage certificates — and a hefty fee of about $25 a pop. In the States most local governments will issue a non-official ‘genealogy only’ copy for a couple dollars. Apparently British genealogists have been trying to convince their government that it would make sense for them to institute this kind of policy, but it’s not clear where the negotiations stand. Unfortunately.

There has been some movement toward better access, but it’s not entirely satisfactory.  There’s now online access handled by a private company in league with the British Archives, but here’s the hitch: Even to search for records (not to see them, mind you, just to use the search engine) there’s a charge. Then if you do find a record, you pay five pounds to look at/download the image. If you want a transcript as well, that’s another five pounds So about $15. And the real problem: there’s no way to know if it’s the right record without paying for it. Which I have now done, twice, and got burned, twice.

For about ninety pounds you can get unlimited access for a year. That’s tempting for the simple reason that otherwise the records are completely inaccessible, and I could do a lot of work over a year.  And so why don’t I just do it? Because I’m in a snit. I hate being nickled and dimed, and I hate it even more when it’s being done with the cooperation of the British National Archives.

*if you are prompted for a log in when you try to look at this record, use the word visitor for both log in name and password.

Ulisse Uncertainty

Posted on | September 23, 2012 | 5 Comments

Some time ago I wrote a post about my great grandfather‘s rather untraditional but pragmatic way of getting heirs (here).  The mother of his two sons was Catherina Gionti, and she was not his wife.

I have just basic facts about Catherina’s family.

Ulisse Family Tree, Stella Cilento (click for full size)

You’ll see on the family tree that Catherina had a brother named after their father, Ulisse Gionti. There’s a problem here: Catherina was born in 1839; Ulisse was born in 1888. Catherina’s father remarried late in life, and I thought at first that Ulisse was the son of the second marriage — but the genealogist found birth records for children born of that second marriage, and he’s not on it:

• 9a. Carmela Gionti born 29 NOV 1855  daughter of Ulisse Gionti and Cristina Massanova;
• 9b. Nicola Gionti born about 1858. I found his death record, it reads: DR 26 JUL 1862 Nicola Gionti age 4 son of Ulisse Gionti, farmer and Cristina Massanova. Note, the deposition of death was made by Giuseppe Gionti age 50, farmer.
• 9c. Nicola Gionti born 7 MAR 1862 son of Ulisse Gionti age 48 and Cristina Massanova.
• 9d. Lucia Maria Filomena Gionti born 10 DEC 1863 daughter of Ulisse Gionti age 49, farmer, son of the late Francesco Gionti and of Giustina Massanova age 35, farmer

It seems highly unlikely that the Ulisse Gionti born in 1888 was a child of the marriage of Ulisse Gionti and Cristina Massanova, as the last recorded birth is for Lucia in 1863. However, Ulisse 1888 could be the son of the Nicola Gionti born in March of 1862. Or, there might have been some confusion or a technical glitch about the 1888 birth date… but then I found Ulisse  1888 here in the States:

WWI Draft Registration for Ulisse Gionti (1888)

This Ulisse Gionti was born in 1888 in Stella Cilento, and in 1917 he’s living in Williamstown NJ with a wife and three children. He’s still recorded as an ‘alien,’ but this card indicates that he registered for the WWI draft. Whether he fought or not I haven’t yet figured out; nor do I have information about his immigration or anything else. I will keep looking for some indication of his father’s name. At this point I’m willing to bet (but not very much) that he’s Nicola’s son.