Reviews

REVIEWS Ordering information for publishers follows the reviews. Unless otherwise indicated, reviews are by the editor. GUIDES AND METHODOLOGY Courthouse Research for Family Historians: Your Guide to Genealogical Treasures. By Christine Rose. CR Publications, 2004. xviii plus 219 pages, glossary, illustrations, index, sources, paper, $21.98. This title’s last word, “treasures,” sets the tone for this ancestor-tracing handbook, which catches and keeps the reader’s attention from its first to its last page. The author describes genealogical researching with such words as “excitement” and “thrills,” with little mention of toil amid dusty files and musty stacks. The focus is overwhelmingly county courthouse (although the author notes that some states house such records in town halls or probate districts). Christine Rose, a Fellow of the American Society of Genealogists, actually visited some 500 county courthouses to achieve her stated goal of producing an easily-read guide for family historians. The author presents twelve chapters of sound advice for her readers. For example, select the proper county courthouse in which to conduct research. Discover when the county was formed and if it still exists. Go personally to the site. Some courthouse records have been microfilmed, but far from all of them. Practice, she writes, with your local courthouse by simulating a research problem. Make editorial decisions such as the use of male or female pronouns and present or past tenses. Mrs. Rose also urges the researcher to study and practice transcribing early handwriting samples, to take a one-page summary of already-known facts, and to decide a goal for each visit. Above all, she advises, do not take a computer. The courthouse is an awkward place in which to use one. It is better to abstract by hand. Upon arriving at the courthouse, family historians will recognize anew this book’s usefulness. The admonitions are not all solemn. Mrs. Rose warns against eating, drinking, smoking, talking, or even singing while working–and that you may confront less-than-enthusiastic records clerks. Courthouse clerks will answer simple questions, but most are too busy to otherwise assist. Many lack what the author calls “genealogical inclination” to digest details of historical problems. 374 Final copy 26 March 2005 Pennsylvania Genealogical Magazine Vol. 43 (2004) 2004 Reviews 375 As Mrs. Rose leads her readers through the labyrinth of courthouse documents, she maintains her treasure-hunting metaphor with mention of more excitement and digging for clues amid the paperwork of life and death. She ties it all together by consistent quotes of Rose family examples of genealogical research. Particular strengths are the chapters on estate and land records, frequently flavored with verbal tidbits, such as this list of old-time taxed property: “horses and mules” as well as “squirrels and crows!” Near the end, readers will find mention of the Internet for those who cannot get to a courthouse because of health or cost. Internet searching should begin with “Cyndi’s List.” Most family historians will applaud this valuable book. Reviewed by John A. Baird, Jr. Map Guide to German Parish Registers Grandduchy of Hessen. By Kevan M. Hansen. Heritage Creations PO Box 540193, North Salt Lake, Utah, 2004. 194 pages, maps, index, paper, $34.95. Map Guide to German Parish Registers Mecklenburg Grandduchies of Schwerin and Strelitz. By Kevan M. Hansen. Heritage Creations PO Box 540193, North Salt Lake, Utah, 2004. 300 pages, maps, index, paper, $34.95. The volume listing parishes in Hessen sets the style and format for this series, of which these are the first two volumes. The first map in the book furnishes an overview of three provinces in the Grandduchy of Hessen: the Province of Oberhessen, the Province of Rheinhessen, and the Province of Starkenburg. The overview map of each province then lists the Districts or Kreis within that province. The sections that follow have maps, for Lutheran and then for Catholic parishes within the Kreis, delineating the parishes, Family History Library microfilm numbers for each parish, and a list of towns in the Kreis. The Province of Oberhessen provides a useful example. The overview Lutheran map depicts six districts within the province. Page numbers where each district can be found in the book are given on the map. The map for Giessen, for example, is on page 40. That map in turn shows forty-two Lutheran parishes within the District. The parish key is at the top of the next page. It lists each parish numerically, with the microfilm roll number of the parish’s records as found in the Family History Library Catalog. The Town Key follows. Listed alphabetically within this district are 129 towns. The number assigned to the parish is also assigned to the town. An index of all towns for each volume can be found at the back of the book. Thus any family historian who has located a town of interest in the Grandduchy of Hessen can look for the town in the index and locate the parish, district, and microfilm with ease. If an ancestor’s town of origin Final copy 26 March 2005 376 Pennsylvania Genealogical Magazine Vol. 43 did not have a church in the village, this guide will help locate where church records for that village can be found. Equally important, these maps aid family historians in identifying surrounding towns and parishes where additional information on the family may be found. Unfortunately, overview maps are limited to Lutheran and Catholic parishes only. This limitation has significance for Pennsylvania researchers, as many immigrants who came to Pennsylvania from Hesse were members of the Reformed faith. Comparable maps for Reformed parishes are not given. The thirty-eight Reformed congregations in Hesse, along with two French Reformed church books and 130 communities that have Jewish records, are simply listed at the back of the book in a section entitled “Other Churches.” In addition, researchers using these Map Guides need to understand these guides are limited to the church records that can be found at the Family History Library in Salt Lake City. They do not include the many church records that can be found only in Church Archives in Germany. In other words, they do not include all churches in the region. Notwithstanding their limitations, these map guides are a quite useful and are a significant contribution to the literature on German research. Reviewed by John T. Humphrey Ancestors in German Archives; A Guide to Family History Sources. By Raymond S. Wright III, Nathan S. Rives, Mirjam J. Kirkham, and Saskia Schier Bunting. Genealogical Publishing Company, Baltimore, 2004. x plus 1,189, cloth, $85.00. The first chapter provides an overview of locating records in German archives. Thereafter, the chapters present the information received from questionnaires, with one chapter for the national archives, one for religious archives, and one for each of the sixteen Länder (states). Within a chapter, institutions are listed alphabetically by the town in which they are located. Most of the 2,000 archives responded to the thorough questionnaire asking about their holding. As the project progressed, Internet Web sites were sought out, both to fill in information about the nonrespondents and to verify information on returned questionnaires. Following contact information for each archive (including Web site and e-mail addresses), there are descriptions of the jurisdiction and of the organization of the archive, and a listing of any published guides or descriptions of the collections. Thereafter, the respondents discussed records in categories such as emigration, churches or religious communities, civil registration of vital events, civil registration of residents, records of government entities, censuses, and military records. In the last category, archives were asked about records they hold “from former German communities or jurisdictions now in other countries.” These would have been outside the jurisdiction defined in the earlier part of the survey and occasionally produced interesting responses. Final copy 26 March 2005 2004 Reviews 377 Introductory Guide to Swiss Genealogical Research: Swiss American Historical Society Publication No. 21. By Lewis Bunker Rohrbach. Picton Press, Rockport, Maine, 2004. viii pages plus 120 pages, maps, paper, $14.95. Researchers may find that an ancestor they thought was “Pennsylvania German” was really Swiss. This book, clearly labeled as introductory rather than comprehensive, provides a starting point for this new area of research. It has discussions of Swiss history, citizenship, religions, languages, emigration, record types and their location, and women, along with tips for American and Swiss research and an explanation of the research of Julius Billeter (available through the Family History Library). It also includes a table of the 400 Geminden currently being published by Picton Press on CD-ROM (see review below), a table of currency units, a glossary of terms in German, a discussion and list of Swiss Christian names and nicknames, and a bibliography. Historic Sacred Places of Philadelphia. By Roger W. Moss, photographs by Tom Crane. University of Pennsylvania Press, Philadelphia, 2004. xiv plus 314, maps, 174 color illustrations, 38 black and white illustrations, glossary, bibliography, index, cloth, $34.95. Don’t assume this is a typical coffee-table book. Photographer Crane avoids photographs that are merely pretty (hence trite) with a gifted sense of angle, proportion, light, and color, capturing the special essence of these sacred places in images that seem to glow. Moss, the Executive Director of The Athenæum of Philadelphia and an Adjunct Professor of Architecture at the University of Pennsylvania, contributes text that genealogists can appreciate. He begins with an overview of the denominations that settled Philadelphia. The Bibliography, with sections for general sources and those specific to each sacred place, is augmented by even more extensive information on the Philadelphia Architects and Buildings Project Web site. The book presents fifty sacred places within the City of Philadelphia built before 1900 that are worth making an effort to see, including some no longer dedicated solely to worship. Contact information for visitors is provided for each building. The theme of change runs throughout the text. The places are grouped within seven neighborhoods. This grouping of congregational histories as reflected in ecclesiastical architecture provides a vivid sense of the ebb and flow of ethnic groups, religious preferences, and social strata, with the accompanying congregational splits and mergers. Many of the places have belonged to two or more denominations, often surprisingly different. We learn not only of the original architect, but also of earlier structures, later remodeling, and even later restorations of original features. What a wonderful book! Final copy 26 March 2005 378 Pennsylvania Genealogical Magazine Vol. 43 Frontier Forts of Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia and Ohio 1740—1794, Built by the French, English and Americans, A Bibliography and Finding Aid. 2nd ed. Compiled by Jean O. Morris. Jean S. Morris, 2003, 66 pages, maps, indexes, paper, $14.00 postpaid. This was originally published in the Western Pennsylvania Genealogical Society Quarterly (Spring 2001) as “Frontier Forts of Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia and Ohio Built by the French, British and American 1740-1793: A Bibliography and Finding Aid with Four Maps.” This edition is enhanced by additions, corrections, and many more maps. A Guide to Using the Published Archives of Pennsylvania, 2nd ed. By Jean O. Morris. Jean S. Morris, 2003, 51 pages, maps, index, paper, $12.50 plus $2.50 postage and handling. The 138 volumes of the published Pennsylvania Archives are the single most valuable research tool available for Colonial (1681—1774) and Revolutionary (1775—1783) research in Pennsylvania. The series was published between 1896 and 1907 and contains records held at the official state archives in Harrisburg. Although many of the original records that were published herein are no longer extant, researchers should check both these published and the actual archives. The published archives are a product of their times. The compilers did not have access to all of the sources available in the various departments of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, and the produced volumes include numerous typos and omissions. Conversely, through the years, some records have become unavailable, and the published Archives are the only source. The Morris guide lists the contents of each volume in each series and in which volume the various indexes appear. Contents by county are also listed. Among the numerous records noted are: Minutes of the Supreme Executive Council in the colonial period; Indian affairs; petitions by inhabitants, counties, and many others; names of those fighting in all conflicts starting with the French and Indian War; arrests of Tories and prisoners and deserters; Indian affairs; confiscated estates; border disputes; documents of various government offices in the Commonwealth; Indian prisoners; German immigrants; papers of the Dutch and Swedish settlements; church records; journals; diaries; maps; tax lists; and on and on. Most of the records give names and sometimes more information. Morris includes a bibliography and the dates of formation of Pennsylvania counties with the parent county given. This is a must, an essential resource, not only for those researching ancestors in Pennsylvania, but also for those interested in the history of the area, as it specifically indicates where the information is and is sure to save considerable time. Final copy 26 March 2005 2004 Reviews 379 Locating Your French and Indian War Ancestor: A Bibliography and Finding Aid. Compiled by Jean O. Morris. Jean S. Morris, 2003, 25 pages, maps, paper, spiral binding, $8.50 postpaid. France and Great Britain fought each other through a series of colonial wars, ending with the French and Indian War. Great Britain was victorious and secured its claim to North America and a monopoly over trade with the Indians. In addition to an extensive and excellent bibliography and a Web-site listing, this pamphlet contains a chronology of the war from 1749 to 1763. Western Migrations by River and Canal from Pennsylvania and New York, A Bibliography. Compiled by Jean S. Morris. Jean S. Morris, 1997, 24 pages, maps, $12.50 postpaid. The bibliography had its beginnings in Western Pennsylvania River Bibliography, which Morris compiled in 1978. In this publication she has included New York state along with Pennsylvania, as the Erie Canal went through both states. She indicates she has been selective in the listings and has not attempted to make this a complete bibliography for the US. Yearly examinations and licensing of all masters, pilots, and engineers of vessels began in 1853. Records are contained in several NARA Record Groups, and this information is given, as are libraries, researchers, societies, and other resources. Whiskey Rebellion Bibliography. Compiled by Jean S. Morris. Jean S. Morris, 1998, 10 pages, maps, paper, $5.50 postpaid. The Whiskey Rebellion refers to events principally in 1794, but to some extent in previous years, in the counties of Washington, Allegheny, Westmoreland, and Fayette in western Pennsylvania during a conflict about taxation on liquor produced there. all Morris publications reviewed by Jane Adams Clarke, FGSP ABSTRACTS Denizations and Naturalizations in the British Colonies in America, 1607—1775. By Lloyd deWitt Bockstruck. Genealogical Publishing Company, Baltimore, 2005. xv plus 350 pages, appendix, index of stray names, paper, $30.00. In the past it could be difficult and time consuming to determine if a colonial ancestor had been naturalized, but now Bockstruck has gathered the names into a single alphabetical list. In addition to naturalizations (which provided rights as if a person were native born), he includes denizations (which conveyed to aliens a subset of the rights of citizens), and oaths of allegiance (which sometimes carried with them some or all of the rights). Final copy 26 March 2005 380 Pennsylvania Genealogical Magazine Vol. 43 Anyone working in the colonial period should read the Introduction for an understanding of the implications of being an alien versus a native citizen over time in various colonies. For each individual, the type of event, residence, date, and any auxiliary information is provided. The source is not given for each individual, but the sources used are listed in the Introduction by colony. Some of the sources are duplicative of each other in part or in whole. When alternate spellings are found, an entry was created for each spelling. French naturalizations in Quebec–primarily of persons from the English colonies–are added as an appendix. American Migrations, 1765—1799. By Peter Wilson Coldham. Genealogical Publishing Company, Baltimore, 2000. xiii plus 931 pages, appendices, indexes of persons and ships, cloth, $75.00. The title of the book masks its content. The explanation on the title page is more informative, but still incomplete: “The lives, times and families of colonial Americans who remained loyal to the British Crown before, during and after the Revolutionary War, as related in their own words and through their correspondence.” It is the first paragraph of the introduction that tells us that the information is from what is generally called the American Loyalist Claims in the Public Record Office (PRO) in England, primarily held in Audit Office (AO) classes 12 and 13, Series I and II. Coldham began abstracting some of these records in 1980 under the auspices of the National Genealogical Society, which was published as American Loyalist Claims. That work is revised and incorporated in this volume. The book is arranged by states, then alphabetically by Loyalist. Fifty of its pages chronicle Pennsylvanians, including the claim of Thomas Penn for the loss of 21,592,127 acres. The very detailed abstracts include citations to the AO document in which the information was found. The introduction and the Bibliography in Appendix VI will be informative for anyone studying Loyalist ancestors. Kirchgemeinden CD-ROM series: Geminden Court and Sorvilier, Kirchenbücher des Court Kanton Bern, Schweiz. Published by Lewis Bunker Rohrbach. Picton Press, Rockport, Maine, 2004. CD-ROM. Pricing for series: Kirchgemeinden with one CD: $99.50; Kirchgemeinden with two CDs: $149.50; Kirchgemeinden with three CDs: $199.50; Kirchgemeinden with four CDs: $249.50; Kirchgemeinden with five CDs: $299.50; . The Kirchgemeinden CD series is what might more appropriately be called “microfilm on CD” for home use. Other than a cover page and an introduction, it consists entirely of images of the pages in PDF format. These images were done in Switzerland, but you may find the volumes you want available on microfilm at the Family History Library and its Family History Centers. The greatest drawback is that the print function Final copy 26 March 2005 2004 Reviews 381 of Adobe Acrobat® has been disabled. Since these are images of pages that researchers may need to study to interpret, as is often the case with unfamiliar handwriting and language, and have entries that document relationships for which a hard copy is necessary, it is extremely unfortunate that the only way a printed image can be obtained is by using the PrtSc (Print Screen) key to place an image on the Windows Clipboard to be pasted into another application such as a word processor or an image editor. A full list of available Kirchgemeinde CDs is on the publisher’s Web site. Land Records of York County, Pennsylvania, 1771—1775. By Mary Marshall Brewer. Colonial Roots, Lewes, Delaware, 2004. vi plus 216 pages, index, paper. $20.00. Land Records of York County, Pennsylvania, 1775—1793. By Mary Marshall Brewer. Colonial Roots, Lewes, Delaware, 2004. vi plus 277 pages, index, paper. $24.00. Brewer has continued with her excellent abstracts of York County deeds, following on two earlier volumes reviewed in previous issues of this publication. The two new volumes take the abstracts up to, through, and after the American Revolution, covering Deed Books E and F, and G and H. Interestingly, many of the items in the first publication and the great majority of the items in the second are deeds of mortgage rather than deeds of sale. In many cases, these are for multiple parcels of land, each naming adjoining property owners, so the records are rich in names. FAMILY HISTORIES AND LINEAGE BOOKS Russell Families of Adams County, Pennsylvania. By George Ely Russell. Catoctin Press, 2004. 44 pages, illustrations, paper, index. $20.00. When I became editor of the Pennsylvania Genealogical Magazine, I discussed with George Ely Russell, CG, FASG, FNGS, and former editor of the National Genealogical Society Quarterly, the possibility of an article on the Russells who came to Pennsylvania from northern Ireland and who were ancestral to President James Buchanan. On closer scrutiny, he realized he faced a problem, one many of us share. Although he had researched his own line, information on other branches (in some cases through the sixth generation) had come from a deceased cousin “doubtless obtained by correspondence with descendants” and from Ancestral File “which generally lacks supporting documentation” and would not suffice for a scholarly journal. Rather than consigning the lot to the depths of a file cabinet, his solution–one which will be much appreciated by Russell descendants–was to prepare this monograph. Final copy 26 March 2005 382 Pennsylvania Genealogical Magazine Vol. 43 A Minkler-Minckler Heritage. By Fonda D. Baselt. 2004; order from the author, 707 Park Lane Drive, Champaign, IL 61820-7632. 268 pages, appendix, bibliography, index, paper, $40.00; cloth $55.00 (postage included). Approximately one-third of the text is devoted to the Minkler family, but this is an all-my-ancestors book as indicated in the subtitle, Including Families: Becker, Bloodgood, Brown, Davidts, Dings, Donges, Dunschmann, Freer, Funck, Hegeman, Hemerick, Kilmer, Knickerbacker, LeRoy, Palmatier, Schneider, Sperbeck, Terrill, Vanbommell, and VanKleek. The author presents full family groups in all lines and transcribes or reproduces many documents, most notably the two-month diary of Civil War soldier Levi Minkler, who died a prisoner. There is some documentation, but it does not cover all facts presented. Plantagenet Ancestry: A Study in Colonial and Medieval Families. By Douglas Richardson. Baltimore, Genealogical Publishing Company, 2004. xxix plus 945 pages, index, cloth, $85.00. This work includes ancestral information on several Pennsylvania immigrants with Plantagenet ancestry: Beven, Bradshaw/Levis, Cartlidge/ Need, Claypoole, Ellis, and Owen. Because the book supposedly contains the most recent scholarship on all lines, this seemed a good opportunity to update my own Plantagenet lineages, which had been assembled over a number of years from a variety of sources. Unfortunately, the first sketch I read did nothing to instill confidence in the author’s statements. Modern genealogical standards require linking stated conclusions with their source, but he does not do so. He clumps all references for a couple and their children into a single paragraph, making verification exceptionally cumbersome. For items in periodicals, he gives neither author nor title. Richardson identifies the wife of Norton Claypoole, brother of Philadelphia merchant James Claypoole, as merely “__.” Six years ago, in 1998, I devoted an entire article in The American Genealogist to her, entitled “The Tracing of a Shrew: Rachel, Wife of Norton1 Claypoole of Delaware.” Clearly, Richardson has not been reading the scholarly genealogical periodicals–not even their tables of contents–raising serious concern about his statements and conclusions. Final copy 26 March 2005 2004 Reviews 383 ORDERING INFORMATION CATOCTIN PRESS PO Box 505 New Market, MD 21774-0505 COLONIAL ROOTS DELMARVA ROOTS 217 Schley Ave., Lewes, DE 19958 Phone: 800-576-8608 Internet: www.colonialroots.com Shipping: $5.50 for first volume; $1.00 for each additional item. All shipping UPS; no PO boxes. CR PUBLICATIONS 1474 Montelegre Drive San Jose, CA 95120−4831 Shipping: $3.86 for first volume. Tax: 8.25% for California residents GENEALOGICAL PUBLISHING COMPANY 1001 N. Calvert Street, Baltimore, MD 21202-3897 Phone: 800-296-6687 Fax: 410-752-8492 Internet: www.genealogical.com Shipping: $4.00 for first book; $1.50 for each additional book Tax: 5% for Maryland residents; 6% for Michigan residents HERITAGE CREATIONS PO Box 540193 North Salt Lake, UT 84054-0193 Shipping: Tax: JEAN S. MORRIS 174 Osprey Circle Ellenton, FL 34222 PICTON PRESS PO Box 250, Rockport, ME 04856-0250 Phone: 207-236-6565 Fax: 207-236-6713 Internet: www.pictonpress.com Shipping: $4.00 for first volume; $2.00 for each additional volume Tax: 5% for Maine residents Final copy 26 March 2005