Mueller, Mills & a New Approach to Pension File Transcriptions

Posted on April 22, 2019 by Dawn Bingaman

Inspiration often strikes when and where you least expect it.

I was reading part of the redacted Mueller Report earlier this week when I had an epiphany, inspired by Appendix B of the report, the Glossary. In it are listed persons and entities referenced within the report, in alphabetical order. Alongside each name are a brief description and the role they played in the investigation conducted by Special Counsel Robert S. Mueller into the 2016 Presidential Election and Russian interference into our democratic process.

Read the full text of this important document here.

But this article really isn’t about politics per se. Rather, it is about the insight I gained into how an experienced investigator organizes his information and reports on his research, an important process whether investigating crime, genealogy, or really any other topic that generates a volume of paperwork and digital files.

You see, I am in the position of having acquired two very lengthy and detailed Civil War pension files, one for John Wesley Carson (1846-1925), and the other for his maternal uncle, George Henry Carson (1834-1903), both of whom served in New Jersey regiments. These files combined are over 500 pages in length because a Special Examiner was appointed to investigate the validity of the pension claim in each case, likely due to a suspicion of a fraudulent claim. The Special Examiner himself compiled an index while conducting his investigation which is included with the file. The index briefs I have seen appear to be more in order of appearance and therefore are not as useful to me for my genealogy research. I need a more efficient way of managing the information contained within these files.

Dealing with such large files has left me a bit stymied. I have started and stopped my transcriptions more times than I can count, using various types of software tools to assist me in the capturing of the content of the files. Until very recently, I had settled on a combination of Microsoft Word and Excel, with Excel functioning as a table of contents and Word containing the transcribed text. Although this does work to a certain extent, there still are so many individual files that I struggle to manage them all. I aspire to the Elizabeth Shown Mills method as exhibited on her website Historic Pathways, where she has many examples of written research reports and research notes. In a nutshell, she puts everything pertaining to a single individual or an ancestral couple into a master report she calls “Research Notes”. It seems to me there is incredible value in writing up the research in this fashion and having it available in a single document, along with the source citation for each assertion of fact. Of course, I still will extract information and add it to my localized genealogy database, with various excerpts to accompany each referenced event.

Mills provides a framework, but the mechanics of tracking everyone mentioned, basic biographical facts and salient testimony about persons of genealogical interest eluded me. Until now. Where this all comes together is, with Mueller’s report as inspiration, I am now thinking that I can add an appendix to my transcription that briefly lays out in tabular format all of the people interviewed or otherwise mentioned within the many pages of the pension file, including the names, ages, addresses, and dates that the interview by the Special Examiner was conducted. When compiled, this table will ultimately represent the cluster or nexus of family, friends, associates, and neighbors, aka the “FAN Club”, a term popularized by Mills¹to be researched further to help resolve my genealogical questions about these Carson families.

Who knew that the report on a current criminal inquiry could aid me in my genealogical research? It was not an outcome that I predicted by any stretch of the imagination.

Sources:

¹ Elizabeth Shown Mills, “QuickLesson 11: Identity Problems & the FAN Principle,” Evidence Explained: Historical Analysis, Citation & Source Usage (https://www.evidenceexplained.com/content/quicklesson-11-identity-problems-fan-principle : accessed 21 Apr 2018).

Census Comparison Worksheet Revisited

Posted on March 22, 2018 by Dawn Bingaman

Some time ago, I revised an Excel census comparison worksheet created by another genealogy blogger and provided an example of its use on this site. I have had enough requests for a blank copy of my census comparison workbook that I am making it available for download for those who would like their own copy.

Download blank census comparison Excel workbook
[Revised 20 Jan 2020 to correct date formatting]

Technically what I have created is called a “workbook” rather than a “worksheet” since I added additional tabs to the original sample worksheet for census images and citations. I will use the terms worksheet and workbook interchangeably though to refer to the download.

The main form allows for the input of five different census enumerations for a single family and can be printed out on a standard 8.5 x11 inch sheet of paper if desired. In my 2016 example, I tracked the Charles and Caroline Carson family of New Jersey through the censuses of 1850, 1860, 1870, 1880 and 1900 and extracted that information onto my form. Note that much of the 1890 U.S. census is unavailable and therefore not included in my example. Doing this type of work forces one to analyze each individual census to pull out the relevant facts. Combining multiple census entries into a single form allows for correlation of the data and enables one to make determinations as to whether the correct family has been identified each and every census year.

I thought in addition to providing the Excel download that it may be useful for some to learn how I use the workbook. If you are in that camp, read on. I upgraded from Excel 2010 to Excel 2016 since the original post so the screenshots may look slightly different than before.

How to use the workbook

If a couple has more than nine children, additional rows can revealed. This form actually includes spaces for a total of 14 children. This couple had fewer children, so I simply hid the rows. To unhide, select rows 34 & 45, right-click and choose Unhide from the context menu that pops up.

Unhide rows to reveal the spaces to track additional children

If a child was not yet born, or if someone died and would not have been included in the census for that year, then I shade the cell in the column so I know that they should not have been counted and I do not have to keep looking for them. Select cells under the appropriate column, right-click, and choose the paint bucket icon. Click the down arrow to the right of Fill color and select any color. I use a light gray.

Shade cells of unborn children or deceased persons for easier tracking

If you want to add another sheet to the workbook to include an image for another enumeration, click the plus (+) sign near the bottom of the workbook.

Add another sheet to the workbook

To rename your new sheet, right-click and select Rename. Type in a new name, ideally something short, but descriptive, like the census year.

Rename worksheet to “1900”

To move your new worksheet to another location in the same workbook, hold down the left mouse button and drag it so it appears in chronological order.

Move the new 1900 sheet to the right, after 1880

Change the entire sheet background to white to remove the grid lines for individual cells by going up to the area to the left of column A and above row 1 and clicking there. Your entire sheet should turn gray to indicate that it is selected. Then click the paint bucket and choose white for the sheet color. The columns and rows remain on the worksheet, they just are not visible.

To add a census image, click on the worksheet corresponding to the year of the census. Click in cell B3, then choose Insert > Pictures from your toolbar and navigate to the folder you stored the image. If you just downloaded it, the image is probably in your Downloads folder.

Insert census image at cell B3, just below the census citation

Change it up

This is your workbook, so feel free to edit it accordingly. In the above example, the main form was designed to show a single family across five census enumerations. If using that approach, you would need a separate workbook in the event of a second marriage, especially if there were additional children. If you want to focus on an individual and include all marriages and children from all of those marriages, make those changes.

Here is an example of another workbook I created to show one woman, her two husbands and children by both marriages.

This census comparison worksheet shows extracted information for Jane Amanda Carson and husbands Joseph Kuhn and George E. Hart in five Federal census enumerations (1880-1930).

Final thoughts

Remember that you can revise the workbook to include any census listings of your choice, but I would recommend only including those from 1850 and later where each person in the household is listed. Better forms are available to track censuses between 1790-1840 that only list the head of household, with everyone else represented by a tick mark in broad age groupings. An example by Bill Dollarhide is featured here.

Make sure that you download a copy of each census that your family appears in and attach it to the appropriate tab in the workbook. In genealogy, there is no guarantee that the record you find today will be available tomorrow, or that you will be able to locate it again. Unfortunately, websites do go offline, and sometimes genealogy records are later restricted, so download them as soon as you find them. Keeping everything together in one workbook will make your genealogy research easy to find and easy to review at a later date.

Have fun census tracking! Hopefully the effort will yield new insights in your genealogy reasearch.

Continuing Education: What’s In My Queue?

Posted on May 28, 2017 by Dawn Bingaman

For anyone on the arc of becoming a professional genealogist, or working to professional standards, continuing education is of vital importance.

APG has a new continuing education requirement for Professional Genealogists as a tenet of its “Code of Ethics and Professional Practices” that reads:

“Engage in sufficient continuing education to maintain competence and comply with applicable requirements”.¹

In addition, there are several standards put forth by the Board for Certification of Genealogists (BCG) that address continuing education, in terms of both formal and informal engagement.

No one needs to convince me of the value of continuing education – in fact, I thrive on it. For me, the in-person multi-day genealogy conference or institute experience (or both!) is the highlight of my year. In addition to the learning opportunities, the networking, camaraderie, and research aspects are essential to my development as a professional genealogist.

For the last seven years, I have spent my vacation time from my day job in class, improving my skill set as a genealogist. Friends of mine at work groan – you’re doing what for your vacation? – is a common question. Just wait until they learn my next vacation will be in Pittsburgh. In July, I will attend the Genealogical Research Institute in Pittsburgh, otherwise known as GRIP, for the first time. There were a number of excellent courses to choose from, but it was not really a difficult choice in the end. I settled upon “Gateway to the Garden State: Sources and Strategies for New Jersey Research”. This is the first time I have seen a New Jersey course taught in the institute format, so I was quick to avail myself of the opportunity; I live in the Pacific Northwest, but spend a fair amount of my research time working on my New Jersey ancestors. After July, the next item on my continuing education plan is a return to the Salt Lake Institue of Genealogy (SLIG) in 2018. I have attended SLIG more than any other institute for several reasons: quality of education and speakers, and proximity. Proximity to Seattle, and proximity of the institute to the Family History Library. Yes, there are many FHL records online at FamilySearch, but so much more is available at the library that it makes a trip very worthwhile. The sheer breadth of their collections means you can research in many record types and many geographic locations across the globe from a single location.

Now and then I am able to combine classes with a more traditional type of vacation. In 2015, a friend and I were onboard for the maiden voyage of the FGS Alaskan Cruise with Royal Carribean. We went to genealogy sessions while at sea, and then were tourists in the ports of call at Juneau and Skagway, Alaska and Victoria, British Columbia. We went whale watching, did a brewery tour and tasting, and saw Coast Salish art at a museum, all while sampling the local fare. A genealogy cruise is a more intimate format than a large conference, as tables are set aside to dine with FGS attendees nightly, and there were several social hours for our group. We even had the opportunity to share a table one evening with Elizabeth Shown Mills, whom I was able to ask about where to submit a particular type of article for publication.

When possible, I choose to attend events in those areas where I have research to do, or where I can easily commute to places I need to do research. For example, I attended the 2003 National Genealogical Society (NGS) conference in Pittsburgh, and then spent several days afterwards visiting cemeteries and the library and courthouse in St. Clairsville, Lorain Co., Ohio where family had migrated to in 1803 from Virginia. Five years later, I attended the 2008 NGS Conference in Kansas City, Missouri where I met up with several colleagues from my local genealogy society. I then took some time after the conference to travel to St. Joseph, Missouri and Topeka, Kansas to visit family and ancestral cemeteries. I did research on-site in local libraries and at the Kansas State Historical Society (KSHS). Plus, I was able to get my barbecue fix at Jack Stack in Kansas City with my brother before heading out on my road trip.

The Library of Virginia in downtown Richmond is a huge draw for me as well, so I attended both the 2007 and 2014 NGS Conferences and stayed over both times to do research in the library and archives. Sharing oysters with a like-minded travelling companion at Rappahannock after a full day of research was a highlight which I hope to repeat.

Sometimes I cannot take more vacation time to attend conferences and institutes, plus the budget only goes so far. Fortunately, there are now plenty of online courses to choose from. I am currently enrolled in “Elements of Genealogical Analysis: A Class in Methodology”, a five-week session being taught by the esteemed Robert Charles Anderson of Great Migration fame, through the New England Historic Genealogical Society (NEHGS). His approach is a logical one based on what he calls “linkage analysis” and the building of linkage bundles and, ultimately, dossiers from carefully correlated linkage bundles. He uses examples from his book and from various short articles that we read offline to flesh out the methodology.

Earlier this month, NGS held its annual conference in Raleigh, North Carolina. Although I was unable to attend in person, I purchased one of the two live-streamed event packages, each consisting of five presentations. I signed up for the BCG Skillbuilding package taught by five of the top genealogists in the field today. Besides live-streaming of limited sessions, PlaybackNow offers audio recordings of most of the other lectures. These can be purchased as part of a larger package, or individually through the branded PlaybackNGS website. I picked up six individual sessions to add to my library of conference recordings that goes back to the first conference I attended in 1989.

PlaybackNGS website for the 2017 NGS conference in Raleigh, NC

Maintaining a spreadsheet of lectures helps prevent against duplicate purchases. Although not shown above, I cross-reference each entry with the starting page in the syllabus for ease of use.

The best part of the new format is that recorded sessions can be ordered online and are delivered immediately. I can listen to or watch conference sessions from the PlaybackNGS website, or through the PlaybackNow app. The app itself is a free download available in the iTunes or Google app stores – conference sessions are extra. Watching or listening to presentations using the app is simple and the quality is excellent. The conference syllabus is even available with purchase of any recording either through the website or in-app, by clicking PDF near the bottom left corner of the screen.

BCG Skillbuilding courses queued up in the PlaybackNow app

The only real task for me now is deciding which session to cue up next. I am delighted that I am again able to listen in the car on my daily commute via bluetooth streaming.

Whether you choose to attend events in person or online, continuing educational opportunities for genealogists at all levels are now readily available for a range of price points. Some are totally free and some can run up to about $125 for a series of webinars and related materials.

What’s in your queue?

Sources:
¹ Association of Professional Genealogists, Code of Ethics and Professional Practices (https://www.apgen.org/ : accessed 28 Mar 2017).

Census Comparison Worksheet

Posted on November 6, 2016 by Dawn Bingaman

It has been some time since I posted about the Charles and Caroline Carson family of New Jersey. I needed to remind myself where I left off with respect to the census information I had collected thus far. I needed a form to see my census data at a glance. With only a bit of searching on Pinterest, I found a promising census comparison worksheet, posted by Jenny Lanctot who writes the “Are My Roots Showing?” genealogy blog.

Jenny has graciously made her census comparison worksheet available for download at this link. Thank you, Jenny. I like this form, in that there is room to record information from up to five different census enumerations for one couple and up to fourteen of their children. It is similar to the way I have previously laid out census extractions in a table in Microsoft Word, but with more columns. More columns equals more data points for correlation, which is a very good thing when you are writing up your research with accepted genealogical standards in mind.

I downloaded her form and began doing the data entry in short order. It did not take me long to realize that I actually wanted to see a bit more detail than the form allowed for, so I began tweaking it just a bit. In the column on the left where the couple’s marriage information is recorded, I added a row to record the marriage officiant by name and role. I added an additional row below Twp. (for Township) to note a smaller jurisdiction, abbreviated as P.O. (for Post Office), since that level of detail is included on some census enumerations. Finally, on the main tab, I also added a row for the street address when known, as this is important for tracking our urban ancestors.

The main table in my census comparison worksheet allows me to visualize 50 years of census data at a glance for one nuclear family (in this case, Charles and Caroline Carson of New Jersey). I have hidden the ribbon (using CTRL+F1 in Excel 2010) and the rows near the bottom for more siblings to make the completed worksheet easier to see in this screenshot.

In my example, I chose to only include United States Federal census information, but you could just as easily create a table that includes state census enumerations or non-population schedules such as agriculture or manufacturing. I also chose to input ages, birthplaces and occupations to improve the ability to compare across census years.

The biggest change I made was to include additional tabs in my workbook, one for each census year extracted on the main page of the form. I renamed each tab to correspond with the year, then I attached an image of the actual census page that I had previously downloaded. Lastly, I included a carefully crafted source citation so that I can simply copy and paste it into other documents or blog posts when needed.

I added more tabs in my workbook to include an image of the census page and a source citation, one tab for every census year on the main table. This image from the 1870 Federal census shows Caroline Carson living with an unidentified male named Lewis Rainier in Mercer County, New Jersey. We have yet to learn what relationship the two shared.

This is a time-consuming process, and one that I am unlikely to do for every family that I am researching, as I normally would simply extract the relevant census information into a note linked to a census “event” in my RootsMagic database. But, for those families that present brick wall problems, or for those families that I am writing about, it is a useful endeavor. If you have a genealogical problem you have worked on for years without a resolution, then I would recommend compiling your data in a format that allows you to visualize and correlate information differently, such as a census worksheet, a timeline or mind map.

Updated 22 March 2018. Follow-up post has link to download the census workbook and instructions for its use.
http://ancestorroundup.com/census-comparison-worksheet-revisited/

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