Discover the “Life” of Your Ancestor 05/16/2012
 Opinion, Columbian, 8 July 1816, page 2. Our ancestors’ birth, marriage, and death records tell us about specific happenings at specific moments in time. Developing ancestral house histories tell us “how” they lived. Dwellings, whether rented or owned, were central in our ancestors’ lives. Much of life happened at home alongside neighbors and among townspeople. Study the documents available for a particular ancestor; locate the addresses listed and begin researching social details through directories, newspapers, and local records such as court documents. You will be surprised at how your ancestor will begin to “come alive” as you develop a genuine understanding of the life he or she lived surrounding their home. [General questions pertaining to this subject are welcomed and encouraged.] Add Comment Looking for information for a family tree usually begins with vital records. Along the way other documents are added such as censuses and military records. As the typical records are exhausted, business and employment records, which are often overlooked, are an option that often hold rich information. These records can be used to confirm or deny other conflicting records, place an ancestor at a particular time and place, provide information that cannot be found anywhere else in addition to detailing the life an ancestor lived. WHERE TO BEGIN While not every ancestor will have accessible business or employment records, the best way to find out is by discovering the ancestor’s occupation. An ancestor may be a business owner, employee, or a specific practitioner of a specialized occupation such as a physician. Information can be obtained by examining marriage and death records, children’s birth records, obituaries, censuses, directories, sometimes deeds and land records, or court records. Once the occupation is known and the location is ascertained, specific databases, repositories, libraries, and archives can be searched for business papers. WHAT INFORMATION IS AVAILABLE? There are numerous sources for business records which may provide business and family correspondence, legal records, financial records, accounts, diaries, autobiographical material, and newspaper clippings among other surprising items such as obituaries and photos. Many businesses have donated records to various repositories including local historical societies, public libraries, trade associations, colleges and universities, or local and state archives. To begin the exploration of business resources, several samplings from The Library of Congress are shown below.  Biographical records 1992-1936 of James Franklin Jaudon, courtesy of Florida International University Libraries. This obituary is an example of what can be found when searching on The Library of Congress website. The entry is located under the records for the United States Cane Sugar Corporation, the business correspondence from 1919-1924 in southern Florida. From this one small entry, the following genealogical information can be ascertained:
Elisha Riggs, Jr. Date Event 1826, Nov. 28 Born, Philadelphia, Pa. 1844 Graduated, University of Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany 1848 Entered firm of Corcoran and Riggs as junior partner 1849 Married Mary Keene Boswell 1853 Explored Rocky Mountains with Benton-Beale Expedition 1854 Sold interest in Corcoran and Riggs 1857-1862 Lived in Europe 1862-1865 Member, banking firm of Jerome, Riggs, and Co. 1881, July 8 Died, New York, N.Y.  Courtesy of University of Berkeley. The last example is from a page taken from the Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation record of accounts in California, published between 1906-1934. The signature book records the amount on fixed deposits and includes photographs of the customers. Even before exhausting other records, these examples show that business records can provide information which may not be found in any other location. The Library of Congress website can be accessed at: www.loc.gov. Upon visiting the site’s home page a specific keyword search can be performed. Consider keying in the ancestral name, company name, occupation, location, etc. Researching on the site takes some digging, but is well worth the time if information similar to the above examples is discovered. Additional resources for business records including local archives and early records of apprenticeships and indenture documentation will be explored in future blogs. Comments and general questions related to this topic are welcome.  Developing a family tree is obviously of great interest to genealogists and family historians, but without knowing ancestors beyond their name, dates, and the people they are connected to, the list becomes just that, a list. On the other hand, what if you knew (even if you’re not a genealogist) that your ancestor lived in a house just around the corner from where Oscar Wilde was visiting a famous actress, Lillie Langtry, who was scheduled to make her American debut in a play in the Park Theatre across the street from where your ancestor conducted business on a daily basis? Or what if your ancestor occupied the apartment just above where a gathering took place denouncing loyalty to President Lincoln during the Civil War? When we look over the information we have gathered as a family historian or genealogist, we find that it is the specific and unique details that breathe life into the names that one has gathered. Rather than take the view that all people living in the 1800s dressed alike, took part in identical current events, ate the same food, lived in a house that was built in that era, and interacted with no one but their own relatives, why not discover what their personal life was really like? Building the Framework Before beginning the process of discovery that will bring life to your ancestor the foundation must be laid. This starts with developing the framework of a plan including the choice of a family member who will be the focus individual and the location that is to be searched. While discovering the history of a dwelling, the information may touch on more than one life in the family, but your research should always return to the individual who is the focus of your search. Next, record all the background information beginning with the property street number and name. Locate the designated block and lot numbers which are generally found at the municipal or county clerk and often available online as well. Include the current town, county, and state keeping in mind that town and county lines may have changed over time. Part of your foundation investigation will include searching building records, studying and recording the physical aspects of the architecture and what you observe about its construction and possible alterations.  Were your ancestors blackguards or peaceful citizens? Construction Materials Once you have made a building choice and have your framework in place, a number of resource materials are available to begin constructing your ancestor’s life story including architectural books, municipal archives, online resources, local, county, and state libraries, building records, tax records, city directories, censuses, genealogy databases, architectural resources, and my favorite, newspapers. Organization is essential and knowing/discovering the area history as well as state, country, and world events will enhance your ancestor’s story and possibly dredge up additional questions that need to be explored. Finishing Touches Though there may be several dwellings and/or businesses in your ancestor’s past, as a general rule, each should be researched separately after which consideration should be given as to whether or not the history of the buildings should be woven together. Producing a cohesive story from what can amount to hundreds of pieces of information is an art which is a subject for another blog entry. Throughout future blog entries on this topic, specific steps and tips for how to search some of the individual resources, and breathe life into your ancestor through house histories, will be explained in more detail. Often we decide to begin the search for our family lineage because we have come across a box full of old photos or documents. Often old documents and pictures will not have been carefully preserved. They will be in old photo albums that increase the rate of deterioration or in boxes where the documents will have unusual stains, or be stuck together from bits of adhesive that went awry . Though we may know that there are better ways to store these mementos, inevitably they find their way back into the same box or album. This is often because we just don’t have the time to give them a better place, or even more likely, we just don’t know what that better place is or how important it may be. While attending a workshop on preserving photos and documents given by the National Archives at New York City during their open house this week I learned some helpful tips that I would like to pass on to you. I hope the information will show you how important…and how easy it is to make sure that your ancestors documents and photos last a for generations to come. The "No" Principle Let me begin by giving you these four principles to follow: 1. No humidity above 60% 2. No light – or as little as possible 3. No heat – direct or otherwise (ex. – attic during the summer) 4. No pollutants – smoke, dust, etc. What can happen if we don’t heed these four principles? Basically, what the principles have in common is energy. This energy, when coming in contact with our photos and documents, produces a destructive chemical reaction. Sounds easy enough, but this means no attic, no basement, and during the heat of the summer when the humidity rises above 60%, some place that is relatively cool, but not the refrigerator (okay, I know you wouldn’t put them in the fridge). Light fades photos and the writing on documents. The exposure to sunlight and even fluorescent light is cumulative and irreversible. Aside from the chemical reaction, there is an additional major problem that becomes very evident to us after it has become too late to save the items from their certain demise. Moisture. This can come in several forms. Mold caused by moisture is one of those forms which will accelerate the breakdown of the paper. Secondly, bugs love moisture and find that the documents and photos make grand meals turning your treasures into a perforated looking sieve. Then there is acid migration. Acid what you ask? Ever notice some old photos or documents that look as though they have a rusty water stain? That is the moisture assisting the acid from whatever you have the items stored in to leach into your documents and photos. Ok, now we know all the horrors that can damage and destroy. So what can be done? How do we keep this from happening or continuing? Storage I cannot emphasize enough that all photo albums are not created equal and there are many which can do more damage than good. The best place to look for storage products are archival companies. As difficult as that might sound, with the internet and online shopping it is easier than walking out your door to find a store that carries the products you need. PLASTIC SLEEVES - While there are plastic sleeves available that are acceptable such as polyester, polyethylene, and polypropylene, buyer beware. Manufacturers often add other chemicals and that means the plastic is not pure. This will not preserve your photos well. DIGITAL IMAGING – This type of medium has come a long way. The best thing we can do is to digitize the photos and documents, have them restored digitally and store them on a server or hard drive. ELECTRONIC MEDIA - If you are considering using electronic media such as a CD or DVD, do not use it as your main storage since minor scratches may be all that is needed to lose the entire contents. Keep the CD/DVD in a controlled environment (following the four principals), periodically copy it to keep your media up to date, and use a protective acid free sleeve. Displaying If you have some photos that you would like to display, have quality copies made and store the original in archival quality storage sleeves and boxes. Or, if you decide to display the originals, keep the document or photo from coming in contact with the glass by using a window mat. Also, make sure that the backing board is acid-free to prevent acid migration from “burning” through. Lastly, avoid using adhesives by using photo corners to mount the photo or document. To sum it up and simplify, remember the four "No" principles and use archival quality storage products. By following those simple rules you are on your way to giving your photos and documents a better chance of being enjoyed for generations to come. Source of Supplies
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