Amanda Butterfield Genealogy

I know I don't usually post on this blog anymore, but today I was reading a post on Dick Eastman's blog about new research to solve the mystery surrounding Amelia Earhart's dissappearance. You can read more in his post linked here. I found the article links fascinating, and if TIGHAR ever needs research help, I am there!

I was in the Harold B. Lee Library earlier today polishing up my capstone paper. I glanced over to a table about 10 feet away from me to see Jill Crandall, AG and the Midwestern States Research Professor at BYU holding her end of the year consultations for her students. I remember those days when I first started the family history program, how overwhelmed and lost I was. Well, I am still overwhelmed and lost plenty of the time, but as of next week, I'm graduated! Good luck to all of you who still have however many years to graduate. :)

Last week I had to defend my paper to a board of AGs. This oral defense is one of the most dreaded events of the Family History degree program. I have to say, though, it wasn't that bad. I learned a lot of great information, the board gave me some great ideas for continuing my research, and it was a great learning experience. I highly recommend the oral defense for family history majors (it is optional, not required). It definitely is for your benefit, not the board's.

I have finished the research project for my history 482 class. It is turned in and out of my hands (for this class anyways). I have thoroughly enjoyed working on the Canter family project throughout this semester, and if my client so chooses, will gladly continue working on it. I have to defend my project to two AGs next Thursday, but am confident in my research. Next week I will write about how it goes!

I am in an upper-level family history course at BYU, and I am currently finalizing my project for the semester. I have spent the last week trying to write a research report of 100+ hours of research. Granted, I had written smaller reports along the way, but I cannot stress to you how much easier it had been if I had written the report as I did my research. Even a weekly summary would have saved me hours of trying to figure out what problems and thoughts need to be sent to my client. Luckily, this work is pro-bono, so I am not wasting client funds. I encourage all of you researchers (and myself) to learn from my mistakes. Try to write the client reports as you do the research. I have heard that you should write your client every 10-20 hours of research. Good luck with all of your research and client reports!

I had the opportunity to attend the Computerized Genealogy Conference hosted by BYU this last weekend. The conference focused on how technology can aid the typical researcher. There were so many classes I wanted to attend, but of course, I can only be at one place at one time. I was fortunate to have a class that was designed just for me: Internet Sources for the Midwestern States. I am not as up to par with internet research as I should be, and this class (along with 3 other internet research classes I attended) gave me a good foothold on internet research. Some of the sources listed in the midwestern class were a tremendous help, giving me access to records I have been trying to find for several weeks now. I highly recommend this conference to any genealogist, as it is a huge time saver to use technology in family history research.

As I have researched in various facilities, I have noticed that many library users are not aware of certain etiquette in using archive and library facilities. I implore all genealogists and library users to follow a few guidelines when doing research:

1. Treat the materials with respect. This means you should handle documents and books carefully so as not to cause any damage to them. For example, resting your elbows on books can break the binding. You should also always be aware of copy policies of original documents. Some documents are too fragile to copy without assistance from a staff member. Others are restricted from photocopies altogether

2. Be considerate when using microfilms. Most libraries require you to refile your own films and fiches, though I can't tell you how many times I have seen piles of microfilms left by the reader after someone has finished with them. Also, many libraries ask you to limit the number of films you have at one time. The Family History Library and BYUFHL request 5, I think. This is to allow other researchers an opportunity to use the films they need. Again, I can't tell you how many times I have seen someone with well over a dozen microfilms at their reader. You can only read one at a time, it's really not too much trouble to get up a few extra times to get films.

3. Be helpful to others, and respectful to staff members. A little courtesy goes a long way. Many library users you may come across may be newcomers to genealogy. They may not know how to use a reader or make copies of microfilms. By helping them, you not only give genealogists a better reputation, but you can also teach them how to properly use library resources so they don't damage materials, as mentioned above.

4. Dress professionally. You don't have to wear a suit to the library, but perhaps sweats and flip-flops are a little too casual. When you dress respectable, staff members will most likely be more courteous and helpful, and they will trust you more with documents.

These are just a few simple suggestions for all library users. I'm sure the AG and CG websites have a more complete list than this.

I have been struggling for weeks on the problem of which of the 12 children of George Madison Canter and Elizabeth Hannah Gilliland were alive in the 1900 census. According to both the 1900 and 1910 census, Elizabeth gave birth to 12 children. 8 were still alive in those census years. I had been able to verify that two of the deceased children were Eliza Etta Canter and Lydia Eunice Canter. However, I have had no such luck verifying the other two. George M. and Louisa Jane were the most likely candidates, as I have found no other records for these two past the 1880 census in Kansas. However, I have not been able to find any information on Sarah L. after her marriage to Jesse Webb in 1896. She also could have been one of the deceased in 1900. I had ordered George Madison's civil war pension file (the shortened genealogical version), and one of the documents states that in 1898, George had 8 living children, listing them by name: Mary, Catharine, William, Della, Sarah, Stella, Chloe and Janey (Cora Jane). George M. and Louisa Jane must have died sometime before 1898.

I will continue to try to find the death records for these two, but at this point, I'm not sure they ever made it out of Kansas. Their family moved back to Ohio in 1882, and I have searched death records between 1882 and 1900 with no luck. Unfortunately, civil registration in Kansas did not occur until after 1900, so I have struggled to find replacements for birth and death records of these two children.

As I have progressed throughout my research, I have tried to find my families in every census year they would appear. So far, thanks to Ancestry.com, this has been quite successful. However, multiple families are missing from the 1860 census. George Madison's family, his wife's in-laws, and some of his brothers' families are not to be found. I am almost certain they are still living in Jackson County, but just to make sure, I have done national searches for them. What is curious is that multiple families are missing. They are farmers, so they live in rural areas, and from what I have gathered, they live next to each other.

My current theory is that their area or neighborhood was missed by the enumerator either due to unclear enumeration districts, or bad weather which has been known to prevent census enumerators from traveling to rural houses. Any other thoughts as to why these families would all be absent from the 1860 census?

For the past while, I have been searching for birth records of the children of Catharine Canter and Thomas Eblin. I mentioned earlier in a post that I have had little luck. I am beginning to wonder if they moved frequently during those early years of marriage, so I will have to start searching for other residences. On another note, I spent 5 hours at the family history library today in Salt Lake, with only two successful searches. I have come to the conclusion that genealogy has times of drought and times of plenty. Currently I am in a drought. I want to keep searching for the missing birth records and marriage records of this family, but I have yet to touch the 4th generation in my 4-generation project. I only have 3 weeks left, so because of time constraints, I have to move on and leave the major problems for later research.

As a Family History major, I have fallen into the trap of the Family History Library Catalog. Don't get me wrong, the Family History Library is a wonderful resource, and its catalog aids researchers in finding microfilms and records. However, the way it categorizes records does not always suit a project. The catalog breaks down records by county jurisdiction. Usually, this works just fine to find our ancestors. However, county boundaries change. Your family may have been in one county for 50 years, but suddenly disappear. The county still exists, the family is still alive and living in the same place as far as you can tell, but they are no longer in the county records. A slight shift in the boundary may have placed them in a neighboring county. Or, often families on or near county boundaries may report to whatever courthouse is closest, not necessarily which county court house they belong to. As genealogists, we need to remember to take a step back, and forget about boundaries. Families were not trapped by invisible lines in the dirt. They may have owned land in another county, or may have friends and family living in another county they would visit often. If we take a closer look at where those friends and family are located, we may find that they are really just down the street.

The trap of the FHLC that I fell into this week was slightly different, though. Sometimes we get so caught up in searching in our counties and neighboring counties, that we forget to step back and look at the statewide records and collections. I have been searching for death records in Ohio in the 1900s, and searching the counties provided few results. I was then informed that the FHL has microfilmed all death certificates for the state of Ohio. I wasn't finding them in the county collections, because they were listed in the Ohio State catalog. I guess we all have to learn by experience.

In my Professional Genealogy class with Dr. Ryskamp, we are discussing the application process for certification or accreditation. I have heard countless times that it is highly recommended that you accumulate at least 1000 hours of experience in the area you wish to certify in. I had originally been under the impression that these were to be strictly research hours on various projects in the given area. Dr. Ryskamp clarified that hours spent in any genealogy courses, conferences, etc. that apply to your area of emphasis or to general genealogical research count toward the 1000 hour recommendation. Family History majors usually are closer than they think to their hour requirements by the time they graduate. Thanks for the clarification Dr. Ryskamp!

I have been searching for the birth records of the children of Thomas Ashbury Eblin and Catharine Rebecca Canter. I have now searched three counties Thomas and Catharine are known to have lived in, with only 3 out of 11 birth records found. However, one of the films was rather faded, and I have been told that the new computer microfilm readers in the library can read difficult films. Technology once again saves genealogy (that is if I can find the children among the washed out entries).

I have been working this week again on the family group of George Madison Canter and Elizabeth Hannah Gilliland. I have to say, Ancestry.com has made my life so much easier this week. I was able to find nearly all siblings in all census years available, and I have now narrowed down my list of possible children deceased before 1900. I also was able to track down some death dates thanks to Ancestry.com's Ohio death index database. I would love to order the death certificates, but lack the funds to order all of them. However, I am accepting research donations. :)

Has this ever happened to you:
I have been researching the Canter family in Ohio and have been fairly successful in finding records for Catharine Canter/Eblin. However, I have been researching her siblings with less luck... that is until now. Until only recently I did not know the married names of Catharine's sisters. Then I found an old family history that listed the married names of those sisters. As I was looking through some old census copies of Catharine's household to answer some new questions, I noticed that it appears that her sisters were listed on the same census page under their husbands' households. All this time it has been right in front of me, and I just wasn't looking.

I continued the search for the missing children of George Madison Canter with little luck. So I decided to take a step back generation-wise and focus on finding all birth records of George Madison's second daughter, Catharine Rebecca. Fortunately, I found that her first child, William Russel, was most likely illegitimate. The IGI lists an approximate marriage date Andrew Miller that I have yet to find proof of, but William Russel in life and on his birth record goes by the name of Canter. I am comfortable with the assumption that they were not married. Catharine married Thomas Eblin a couple of years after the birth of her first son, and with that husband she had 10 children (according to the 1910 census). I have found 9 so far, and in my most recent search, I uncovered a missing daughter, Elizabeth, who though born in 1897, died before the 1900 census. I have yet to find the birth records of most of the other children of Catharine and Thomas, as they seem to have been floating around three counties during that time.

This week I have been working on the George Madison Canter/Elizabeth Hannah Gilliland family in Jackson County, Ohio. According to the 1900 census, Elizabeth gave birth to 12 children, but only 8 were living at the time of the census. I have determined that Lydia Eunice, born 1872, was one of the deceased children. I have yet to determine the other three deceased children. Ancestral File lists the couple with 17 children, and I have also been sorting out which children belong and which do not. Through census, I have verified 11. I am currently working on finding birth records for all of these children, however, I have run into two problems: the first is that from 1877 to 1884 the family moved to Stafford County, Kansas, and I have limited access to birth records there. The second is that Ohio did not register births until 1867. Although the first two children were born in 1867 and 1868, thier births have not been registered in the Ohio birth records. I hope to overcome these two dilemas. If you have suggestions, please leave a comment.

This blog is a journal of my genealogy research. Currently, I am working on the John and Barbara Canter family in Ohio, circa 1800.