Editor's Notes, Dates and More

EDITOR’S NOTES DATES AND MORE G enealogists are often a bit obsessed about obtaining dates of birth, death, and marriage for their ancestors. I suspect this derives from the focus of the preprinted family group sheets with which so many of us began our research and the databases into which so many of us are now entering those dates. But dates are not all we should be researching. Back¬ ground and history is often revised during our research. In this issue we have several articles providing dates. Birth, death, and marriage dates are provided for Elizabeth Hooten, but they are boring without her story. She is believed to be George Fox’s first convert to Quakerism, and traveled widely preaching about her beliefs. In “The Hooten/Hooton Families,” both English parish registers and English Quaker quarterly digests provide dates. Harry Coffee McDonough, like many born before the twentieth century, did not know when he was born and did not seem overly concerned about it. Research into the dates of his life actually altered his autobiography and reconstructed the McDonoughs of Blair County. Sarah (Worthington) Walmsey kept a book in which she recorded dates of death. The records of the Courts of Oyer and Terminer are full of stories of crimes committed, but they also include the names of jury members and numerous witnesses. We have long had indexes to the Philadelphia burials, but in this issue we add some that were never included in those early indexes. The descendants of Dr. Adam Kuhn may not have been clear about the date of his marriage, but records of Penn¬ sylvania’s Revolutionary governments— minutes and the passport petitions— provide the answer. They also tell a story that is not included in family compilations. And in the Greene County Court records, we found an entry that gives us a glimpse of what court days were really like. I hope that you are planning to join us at the Federation of Genealogi¬ cal Society conference September 3-6, to be held in Philadelphia. The Genealogical Society of Pennsylvania is one of the sponsors. It is a great opportunity to mix learning with research. Nationally known speakers will be lecturing on topics both general and specific to Pennsylvania. The numerous research facilities in the area are preparing to help family his¬ torians find the information they are seeking. See the ad inside the back cover of this issue. H Patricia Law Hatcher, FASG 98 Pennsylvania Genealogical Magazine Vol. 45 (2007)