Review: Planters, Paupers and Pioneers: English Settlers in Atlantic Canada by Lucille H. Campey

Planters, Paupers and Pioneers:  English Settlers in Atlantic Canada. By Lucille H. Campey, Natural Heritage Books [Dundurn Group], 2010, 470 p.

 Book one of a three book series by Lucille Campey on English migration to Canada, Planters, Paupers and Pioneers focuses on the experience of English settlers to the New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia and Newfoundland from the late 1670s to the 1860s.

Campey examines the reasons for English emigration to Atlantic Canada and details the geographic origins of these emigrants. For example, the author has devoted a whole chapter to the Yorkshire settlers who came to the Chignecto Isthmus in Nova Scotia in the 1770s, and another to the Loyalist influx from the south.  She also discusses other emigrating groups, such as the Home Children from Liverpool to Nova Scotia. In addition to the who, what, when and why of English emigration, the author has also researched “the how” of it, and provides detailed information about the sea voyages themselves and the experiences of the settlers after arriving at their destinations.

This is a thoroughly-researched book that comes with many helpful maps, tables and charts. The author has included a complete list of placements of Louisa Birt’s 347 Home Children in Nova Scotia, a list of Middlemore Home Children, and a number of relevant passenger lists and ship crossing lists.  Appendices include Yorkshire Passenger Lists, 1774-75 and Ship Crossings from England to Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Prince Edward Island. A bibliography is provided, as is a name-place-subject index.  If you would like to add context to your English-Canadian research, Campey’s book will supply a wealth of information and insight into the English settler’s life in Atlantic Canada.

Review: Tracing your trade and craftsman ancestors : a guide for family historians by Adele Emm

Tracing your trade and craftsman ancestors : a guide for family historians. By Adele Emm, Pen and Sword, 2015, 214 p.           

          While some genealogists secretly harbour hope that they are descended from nobility, most of us have found that our family line contains a predominance of working class folk. Adele Emm’s guidebook focuses on the records left behind by ancestors engaged “in trade.” Knowing and understanding the work your ancestors did is imperative to understanding the structure and rhythm of their lives.

            Emm describes the records that provide clues to our ancestors’ occupations: censuses records, vital records, parish records, wills and immigration records. These records are good starting points, but there are other documents, as Emm explains, that provide information about our ancestors’ working lives. She discusses the availability and location of guild and apprenticeship records, and how they might add missing information to your ancestor’s narrative.

            The author also provides valuable information about the use of occupational surnames in England, and how street names can even point to your ancestor’s choice of employment. Obsolete occupations, such as “higgler” or “dudder,” can be a puzzlement to today’s genealogists. Emm points readers to free online resources that explain these unfamiliar occupations.

Most interesting are the chapters devoted entirely to specific types of trade and their allied occupations including, merchants, shopkeepers, builders, smiths, shoemakers, and clothiers. Emm also includes a miscellaneous chapter that covers coopers, printmakers, wheelwrights and saddle-makers. The author discusses the definitions of each occupation and the related jobs associated with it, the requirements in terms of apprenticeship and training, and the working conditions of the job throughout the years.

This guide will be of benefit to anyone researching their trade ancestors in England. Those who are researching in other countries may find interesting information here that also applies to their ancestor’s work life in other places, but the primary focus is on apprenticeship requirements and guilds, as well as working conditions, in England.

Review: The Family Tree Guide to DNA Testing and Genetic Genealogy by Blaine T. Bettinger

The Family Tree Guide to DNA Testing and Genetic Genealogy. By Blaine T. Bettinger, Family Tree Books, 2016, 239 p.

            There’s been a lot of buzz around Blaine T. Bettinger’s book on DNA testing, and a quick browse through its pages reveals why it has been received with such enthusiasm by the genealogy community. It’s a comprehensive guide covering all types of DNA testing available to genealogists, and it is as useful to genealogists who have yet to take a DNA test, as it is to those who have. Bettinger is an intellectual property lawyer with a Ph.D. in Biochemistry. He is also an accomplished, professional genealogist whose unique career experiences make him well informed about the ins and outs of DNA testing and the issues surrounding its use in genealogy.

            The author has divided the book into three major sections: “Getting Started,” “Selecting a Test,” and “Analyzing and Applying Test Results.” The first part provides an easy-to-follow, and detailed explanation of basic key terms and concepts in the study of DNA, including the common misconceptions that crop up around DNA testing. Bettinger also provides a thoughtful discussion on the ethical issues a genealogist might encounter when testing, and how to handle sensitive information in a conscientious manner.

            For those readers who have not yet submitted their DNA for testing, the second part of the book will be of high value. Four types of testing are explained in detail: Mitochondrial-DNA, Y-Chromosomal, Autosomal-DNA and X-Chromosomal. Case study examples are provided to highlight how each type of test can be used in a practical way in genealogy. Throughout the book, full-colour charts are used to complement the textual information.

            The third part of the book sets out to assist readers in selecting the most appropriate testing company for their needs, and after the selection, how to best to analyze the test results. Included in the appendix, are numerous chart templates to help make analysis easier. Whole chapters are devoted to strategies for adoptees who want to use DNA to locate living relatives, as well as to “ethnicity estimations,” and the truth surrounding the reliability of those ethnicity pie charts.

            The Family Tree Guide to DNA Testing and Genetic Genealogy is a helpful guide that explains the complex concepts of DNA in a clear and concise manner, without overloading readers with an excessive amount of scientific jargon.

Review: How to Use Evernote for Genealogy: A Step-By-Step Guide to Organize Your Research and Boost Your Genealogy Productivity by Kerry Scott

How to Use Evernote for Genealogy: A Step-By-Step Guide to Organize Your Research and Boost Your Genealogy Productivity By Kerry Scott., Family Tree Books, 2015, 239p.

           In the introduction to her book, Kerry Scott makes the rather bold claim that using Evernote to organize your piles of photocopied documents, bits of information, scans, jottings, charts and photographs will make your genealogical research much more productive and as a consequence, change your life. So, let’s start at the beginning.  What on earth is Evernote?

The slogan currently shown on the Evernote homepage (www.evernote.com) is Remember everything. Modern life can be complicated: simplify it with Evernote, the app to manage it all. Evernote is a powerful, free software program, well-suited for genealogical research, that can capture your notes (typed or handwritten), photographs, audio files, pdfs, web clippings, to-do lists, research/correspondence logs (and whatever else you’d like to thrown in there) all in one place. It allows you to store work in “the cloud,” on your computer, or both. This information can be easily shared with others. As well, you can use the app on all of your electronic devices.

Scott gives instructions for setting up an Evernote account and discusses the various membership levels and platforms available. It is true that the software is free for the basic service, but as often is the case, there are also added features which come with a fee. Please note that the prices for the premium services have gone up slightly from the ones quoted in the book.

The appeal of this book is that the author gears all of the discussion towards using Evernote specifically for genealogy and how we, as genealogists, can benefit from it. The book is divided into chapters on how to use the program for particular tasks. For example, she discusses how to input and organize your data within Evernote, how to search within the program, and how to tag various items and use those tags to break down genealogical brick walls. She also shows the reader how to: share and collaborate within Evernote, sync data with mobile devices, and protect information. She devotes a chapter to using Evernote with outside applications such as Penultimate, Skitch, Moleskin Notebooks, Scannable and Swipes.

There are four appendices included at the back of the book:  an Evernote quick reference guide, a collection of census extraction templates to use with Evernote, a genealogy conference planner and a set of research worksheets and templates.

The author has presented a strong case for her assertion that Evernote can change a genealogist’s life. Scanning and inputting information into Evernote in the beginning may take some time, but with the author’s detailed instructions readers will be able to navigate the steps much more easily. Once the information is in there, Evernote may help to simplify the organizational process and, as a result, reduce the mountains of paper notes and documents piled on our desks.

Review: Tracing Your Legal Ancestors: A Guide for Family Historians by Stephen Wade

Tracing Your Legal Ancestors:  A Guide for Family Historians.

By Stephen Wade, Family Tree Books, 2010, 177 p.

Were your U.K. ancestors employed in the legal profession? Do you know the difference between a Scrivener and Barrister’s Clerk?  Have you been baffled by the jargon you’ve found in legal documents? Maybe you just want to know where you can find records pertaining to your judge ancestor. If so, you’ll want to delve into Stephen Wade’s guide to researching law occupations to find the answers.   

To begin researching and understanding the lives of your legal ancestors, a review of the basic workings of the legal system is in order. Wade provides the history surrounding the development of the legal system in England, including the evolution of various types of courts, as well as the occupations of those who were engaged in their operations. The author doesn’t limit his discussion to the high-profile occupations, such as judges, magistrates, and barristers, but also provides insight into the lives of the clerks, administrators, town clerks, legal secretaries and other ancillary legal workers. While most of the examples and discussion surround the judicial system in England and Wales, the author also includes a chapter describing the systems in use in Ireland and Scotland.

Almost half of the book is devoted to a survey of resources researchers can use to locate documents pertaining to their legal ancestors. Some of these resources can be accessed online. Wade includes a handy glossary of legal terms, a comprehensive bibliography for further reading, and association addresses where one might seek additional information. This guidebook is essential for those wishing to learn more about the law in England, and about those who were involved in its professions.

Review: Cradled in Sweden by Carl-Erik Johansson

The 1995 version of "Cradled in Sweden"

Cradled in Sweden by Carl-Erik Johansson, Everton Publishers, 2002, 345p.

            First published in 1972, Carl-Erik Johansson’s concise and comprehensive guide book has been long considered the bible of Swedish genealogical research. My own dog-eared and worn copy from 1995 is clearly an indispensable resource in my personal genealogy library.

            English-speaking researchers are sometimes wary of learning more about their Scandinavian ancestors because of the language barrier. Making sense of Swedish records, especially census or parish records, isn’t as difficult as one might imagine. Swedish, like English, is a Germanic language. Some of our words are shared or contain the same root elements. Additionally, earlier parish records are usually written in Latin. Typically, these records are presented in a uniform way across the parishes, which makes the extrapolation of information easier for the English speaker after learning just a few basic genealogy-related Swedish words.  Johansson provides a useful word list that contains Swedish and Latin expressions found in parish registers, census rolls, military records, court records, emigration files and other Swedish records of interest to genealogists. He also includes a handy visual letter guide to Gothic/ German Script, with examples of the most common given names written in this style.

            The initial chapters are devoted to providing the very basic, but absolutely essential background information required for conducting research into Swedish ancestry, specifically details about:  1) The Language, 2) The Country 3) The Names of Places and 4) The Names of Persons.  The author also devotes chapters to fixed and movable feast days, handwriting, and to the various repositories that house documents and information. The bulk of the book concerns itself with the description and details surrounding available records of interest to genealogists, including emigration, parish, clerical survey, census, land, court and military records.

            Helpful additions to the book are found in the appendices. Johansson provides a list of Swedish and Finnish army units, an index of companies and squadrons of Swedish army units in both regimental and alphabetical order, an alphabetical index of all parishes in Sweden, and of course, that handy Swedish word list.

            Now that the Riksarkivet.se (the website of the Swedish National Archives) has parish records and other important genealogical records digitized and available for free online, “Cradled in Sweden” is a great resource to help novice Swedish researchers fully understand and decipher these records.

Review: Advanced Genealogy Research Techniques by George G. Morgan & Drew Smith

Advanced Genealogy Research Techniques by George G. Morgan & Drew Smith, McGraw Hill Education, 2014, 206 p.

            Most of us have encountered a brick wall at one point in our genealogical research.  If you’re like me, you may even have more than one dead end branch on your family tree.  George G.. Morgan and Drew Smith of  “The Genealogy Guys” podcasts, have addressed this most frustrating aspect of family history research.  What do you do when you can’t make a breakthrough and your ancestors just don’t seem to want to be found?

            This easy-to-read and concise guidebook is divided into nine chapters.  In Chapter 1 readers are asked to “Examine the Brick Wall in Detail.”  You might be saying right now, “But I’ve done that already!”  And the authors would probably counter with, “Have you?”  They suggest important details in genealogy are often ignored or overlooked.  By revisiting your research and thinking about the problem differently, especially by paying particular attention to those previously un-noted facts, you may be able to develop a research strategy that will uncover new documents. 

            While the first two chapters of the book discuss head-on research that may help you uncover the documents you need, the rest of the book takes a more innovative, out-of-the-box approach.  If you can’t go through your brick wall, the authors recommend trying to go around it.  That means looking at your ancestor’s siblings, cousins, neighbours, co-workers, and associates to build a greater understanding of their community and of their lives.  Other chapters talk about discussing the problem with other genealogists, using crowdsourcing to coax out more details, and applying technological solutions to the problem, including DNA testing.  I can personally vouch for the effectiveness of the technological solutions.  Two of my brick walls were recently blown to bits after 25 years of research when two different distant cousins from separate lines submitted their DNA tests to the same testing centre as I did.  While it took some time to unravel our roots, we were able to locate the documents to prove our relationships, all thanks to DNA technology. 

            If you’re still unable to master your particular genealogy problem, the authors provide additional strategies on how to find a demolition expert (a.k.a. Professional Genealogist) to help you, and even discuss the benefits of putting aside the problem temporarily to recharge and regroup.

            Drew and Morgan’s advanced, structured approach to genealogical research may be just the help you need to bring down those metaphorical brick walls. 

Review: The Writer's Guide to Everyday Life in Regency and Victorian England From 1811-1901 by Kristine Hughes

The Writer's Guide to Everyday Life in Regency and Victorian England From 1811-1901 by Kristine Hughes, Writer’s Digest Books, 1998, 248 p.

At a recent book fair, I had a conversation with a genealogist who was interested in writing the story of her great-great grandmother’s life in England. “Wouldn’t it be wonderful,” she commented, “if there were a book I could consult that would provide a few details about her daily life. You know…what kind of foods she might have eaten. What it was like to work in a factory. The little details you don’t find in records.” As a librarian and a genealogist, I knew there had to be such a book out there, and after some catalogue searching, I discovered several books that fit the bill. I passed on the titles to my friend, and was planning to buy one for our society’s library. Serendipitously, only a couple of weeks later, I found Kristine Hughes’ book, which was one of the books on my list, at a garage sale. Of course, I couldn’t pass it up for the asking price of 50 cents!

“Everyday life” is an enormous subject to tackle in 248 pages, but the author has managed to create an extremely helpful book for anyone wishing to write about the practical details of life during this period. Hughes’ has divided her book into three main parts: 1) Everyday Life, 2) Government, War and the Economy, and 3) Society. The section on “Everyday Life,” is further divided into the following chapters: 1) Lighting, Heating and Plumbing; 2) Cooking, 3) Domestic Servants, 4) Home Furnishings, 5) Fashion, and 6) Medicine.

Class differences are addressed for each of these subjects. For example, on the topic of lighting in the early nineteenth century, the author explains that normally only nobility could afford wax candles, and even tallow candles were mostly used by the middle and upper classes. “Rush lights” were the most common form of illumination at that time for working class people up until the mid-nineteenth century.

The “Government, War and the Economy” section is broken into four chapters: 1) The Courts, 2) The Military, 3) Economics and Banking, and 4) The Laboring Classes. The topics in these chapters are likely ones that researchers of British genealogy have encountered before. Still, there are interesting charts and helpful details included, such as the prices paid for an army commission; army pay rates for enlisted men, and naval uniform and dress code descriptions, including a chart of epaulettes and their meanings.

The section, “Society,” contains the final six chapters of the book: Arts and Entertainment; Shopping; Travel; Etiquette; The Pleasures of Good Society; and, Mourning. Each chapter contains a plethora of fascinating details. The chapter, “Mourning,” is of particular interest to genealogists. As we routinely include death and burial information in our histories and charts, it is interesting to learn the mourning practices of the time. Hughes includes a chart of appropriate mourning attire, not only for the spouse of the deceased, but for other family members as well, such as siblings, aunts, uncles, and first cousins. Also included is a chart of mourning fabrics commonly used throughout the years.

  Each chapter ends with a timeline of events pertinent to the subject material, and a bibliography of materials for more in-depth reading. While this book isn’t written specifically for genealogists, it is certainly of use to any student of history. It will be especially useful for those researchers planning to write a detailed family history article or book about an ancestor’s life in Regency and Victorian England.

Review: The Family Tree Cemetery Field Guide by Joy Neighbors

The Family Tree Cemetery Field Guide: How to Find, Record & Preserve Your Ancestors’ Graves by Joy Neighbors, Family Tree Books,  2017, 239 p. 

            As someone who enjoys strolling through historic graveyards and reading gravestone inscriptions, I’ve never understood the squeamishness of some when it comes to cemeteries. Yes, graveyards are “repositories for the dead,” as author Joy Neighbors describes them, but more importantly they are “a place to memorialize, visit and remember” our ancestors. Genealogists understand this, and can appreciate such repositories for their historical and cultural importance. This definitive guide was written for “tombstone tourists” searching for departed family members in these resting places, in an attempt to better understand their ancestors’ lives.

            The author has divided this comprehensive guidebook into four parts. The first section, “Planning Your Trip to the Cemetery,” takes a look at the history and cultural significance of cemeteries, various types of cemeteries, burial customs and practices. Neighbors also examines the various types of records that are generated around a burial, including permits, deeds, plot records, maps, sexton’s records and cemetery ledgers. This section concludes with an in-depth look at online tools such as BillionGraves and Find-a-Grave, that can help genealogists find the location of a gravesite before even stepping onto the cemetery grounds. Missing, unfortunately, are non-US-based cemetery transcription and photo projects such as CanadianHeadstones.com and GravestonePhotos.com. A checklist of useful items to take on a cemetery trip is also included.

            The second section, “Researching on Hallowed Ground,” provides research strategies for having a successful cemetery outing and gives instructions on how to safely enhance the readability of hard-to-read stones.  The author also discusses how to interpret inscriptions, read old script and how to take digital photographs that capture even the most weathered inscriptions. A particularly helpful chapter, “Headstone Iconography Guide,” provides a listing of symbols and abbreviations that sometimes appear on gravestones along with their meanings.

            “Part 3: Making Sense of Your Research,” concerns itself with organizing, analyzing and sharing the information obtained at the cemetery and records office.  Neighbors also provides suggestions for building upon the information found at the cemetery. She gives examples, through case studies, to show how cemetery records can be built upon to create a more complete life history of your ancestor. The importance of sharing the findings is also emphasized. A description of several tombstone transcription projects and websites are included that provide an opportunity for uploading cemetery data for the benefit of other researchers.

            “Digging Deeper,” the fourth and final section of the guide deals with other records, not found at the cemetery, but that pertain to records surrounding death, such as death certificates, obituaries, probate records, funeral home records, coroner’s reports, and other genealogy records. This helpful guide also discusses the need for cemetery restoration and preservation projects to ensure that these very important places remain for future generations.