Follow Friday: Tax Lists for Tax Day

Since today is Tax Day, it seemed an appropriate time to share some tax lists that are freely available.

New River Notes provides information about the Upper New River Valley of Virginia and North Carolina. It includes a 1787 Wilkes County, North Carolina tax list. My 6th-great-grandfather Francis Hardgrave is listed in Captain A. Trible's District, along with his Greer brothers-in-law. There is also a 1797 tax list for Wilkes County, North Carolina. By then, Francis Hardgrave had left Wilkes County. Other tax lists on the site are the 1774 list of tithables for Surry County, North Carolina; 1790 Surry County, North Carolina tax list; 1782 Montgomery County, Virginia land and personal property tax lists; 1802 Tazewell County, Virginia personal property tax list; 1806 Giles County, Virginia personal property tax list; 1810 Patrick County, Virginia personal property tax list; 1815 Ashe County, North Carolina tax list; 1831 Floyd County, Virginia personal property tax list; 1838 Smyth County, Virginia personal property tax lists (there is a separate list for free persons of color); and 1842 Carroll County, Virginia personal property tax list. There are numerous tax lists for Grayson County, Virginia and Washington County, Virginia.

Cape Fear Clans has the following tax lists: 1763 Bladen County, North Carolina tax list; 1755 Cumberland County, North Carolina tax list; 1801 list of taxable property for Captain Watson's district, Robeson County, North Carolina; and the 1825 tax list for Rockfish district, Cumberland County, North Carolina.

The Russell County, Virginia GenWeb has tax lists for Russell, County Virginia.

Images and partial transcriptions of the 1837 and 1838 Smith County, Tennessee tax lists and images of early Upcountry South Carolina tax lists are available at kenshelton.com.

The Sumner County, Tennessee Archives has Sumner County tax lists, 1795-1801. John Mills, the future husband of Francis Hardgrave's daughter Nancy (they married in 1820), was taxed in 1799 and 1800.

These are just a few examples. It's worthwhile to search and see if there are any free tax lists for your areas of interest. Although no one likes paying taxes, the taxpayers left us something useful: records of their residence in a particular place at a particular time, and possibly additional information.

Follow Friday: Norwegian Genealogy and then some

Martin Roe Eidhammer, a Norwegian, has a genealogy blog called Norwegian Genealogy and then some (http://martinroe.com/blog/).

Some blog posts focus on Norwegian records. A recent post is about the Norwegian 1664-1666 census. It explains the layout of this census, shows an example, and includes a link to the census itself. This post has encouraged me to explore this census, and will help me to understand the information that it contains. Other posts focus on Norwegian names, reading Gothic handwriting, and places in Norway.

The site also includes a Norwegian genealogy dictionary, a list and definitions of causes of death, and downloads, including forms and "cheat sheets" for the Norwegian church books, pre- and post-1812 revision.

If you have Norwegian ancestors, this blog should be very helpful to you!

Follow Friday: Unknown No Longer

Unknown No Longer (http://unknownnolonger.vahistorical.org/) contains the names of slaves mentioned in the unpublished documents of the Virginia Historical Society. Digital images of the documents are included. As of September 2011, more than 1,500 names had been entered into the database. This number will grow larger over time; the database is a work in progress. The Virginia Historical Society has more than 8 million unpublished documents; it will take a long time to look through them all.

It is possible to search by first name, last name, owner's last name, gender, date range, location, occupation, and record type. Record types include account, account book, advertisement, affidavit, agreement, appraisal, autobiography, Bible record, bill of lading, bill of sale, bond, broadside, certificate, church records, commission, commonplace book, contract, court records, deed, deed of emancipation, deed of manumission, deed of trust, diary, indenture, insurance policy, inventory, lease, letter, letterbook, list, manumission certificate, memoir, mortgage, newspaper clipping, notice, pardon, pass, patent, petition, receipt, recollections, record book,  register, report, resolution, sales book, scrapbook, summons, voucher, will, and writ of execution. There is also an "other" category. It is also possible to browse by record type and by location.

The site also includes a message board and a list of related resources (online projects and primary and secondary sources.)

Follow Friday: Explore Chicago Collections

Explore Chicago Collections (http://explore.chicagocollections.org/) can be used to locate archival material from the member 21 institutions of Chicago Collections. Researchers can search for the locations of physical collections that they may want to consult. They can also access digital collections. More than 100,000 images are available.

In addition to searching, it is possible to browse by topics (events, government, daily life, creativity, environments, work), names, cities, and neighborhoods.

I found information on this site which relates to my family history. For example, I found that the Chicago History Museum has the Chicago Typographical Union No. 16 records. My great-grandfather Henry Brown Gatlin was a member of Chicago Typographical Union No. 16. In 1922, he was one of two members to be on the arbitration board, which selected the chairman for wage negotiations. By 1929, he worked as a business agent for the union.The Chicago History Museum also has a Chicago Mercantile Exchange album. My paternal grandfather Henry Cornelius Gatlin was a member of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, and also served as director and officer. I also found two photos of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange Center. The first and second photos were taken from different angles. There are also photos of the Illinois State Penitentiary at Joliet, Illinois. My great-grandfather's brother William D. Gatlin was there from 16 October 1917 to 23 September 1919, when he was shot after he tried to attack a prison guard.

If you have ancestors who lived in Chicago, this site is worth a look!

Follow Friday: GreatFireOfLondon.net

Dave Fowler has created GreatFireOfLondon.net, which is part of the History in Numbers collection. The site is informative and well-done, and it is definitely worth checking out. It contains a detailed overview of the Great Fire of London (1666). Key facts and a  day by day chronology are provided. Background information is provided on some of the people who were involved, such as Thomas Farriner, Samuel Pepys, John Evelyn, Robert Hooke. Christoper Wren, King Charles II, Thomas Bludworth, and Robert Hubert (the innocent man who was executed after making a false confession). The fall and rebuilding of St. Paul's Cathedral is covered. There is an image and a transcription of the September 3 to September 10, 1666 issue of the London Gazette, which reported on the fire. A helpful site map can be used to easily locate information.

Follow Friday: DNAeXplained

I have more experience with traditional genealogical research than with genetic genealogy, but I am learning more about using DNA testing in conjunction with documentary evidence. Roberta Estes' blog DNAeXplained (http://dna-explained.com/) is a helpful resource for learning about the use of DNA testing in genealogical research.

Roberta blogs about the following topics: General Information, Basic Education, Introductory DNA, Intermediate DNA, Advanced DNA, Examples, Educational, Entertainment, and Project Administration. Items that are no longer really relevant are categorized as Historical or Obsolete. More specific categories are listed on the right side of the page, so it is easy to browse through the posts on a particular topic.

I even found a post that mentioned my 7th-great-grandfather Edward Lucas!

Follow Friday: Forgotten New York

According to webmaster Kevin Walsh, the purpose of Forgotten New York "is to highlight neighborhoods, objects and aspects of New York City that have gone ignored or unnoticed by other guidebooks, websites, and articles." Some of the subjects covered are cemeteries, neighborhoods, roads, and street necrology. It is a program of the Greater Astoria Historical Society.

My Winters ancestors lived in Brooklyn. Some Forgotten New York posts that are of particular interest to me include The Names of the Neighborhoods of Brooklyn, East Flatbush, Brooklyn (which mentions Holy Cross Cemetery, where members of the Winters family are buried), Irish Hunger Memorial, Battery Park City (Hugh Winters and his wife Mary Bennet were born in Ireland), and Roosevelt Island.

Follow Friday: Hoosier Daddy?

In his blog Hoosier Daddy?, Michael Lacopo writes about his search for his mother's father. His mother was adopted as a baby. He eventually found his mother's biological mother and her family, and he thought he knew the identity of his mother's biological father. However, DNA testing revealed that her mother's father was neither his grandmother's first husband nor her second husband. Through DNA testing, Michael narrows down the list of possible candidates for his grandfather. Along the way, there are some surprises. I eagerly await additional posts, and I also want to know the identity of his grandfather!

Follow Friday: War of 1812 Archaeology

The Maryland State Highway Administration's archaeologists partnered with state, county, and federal agencies to survey and excavate  War of 1812 sites (battlefields, encampments, and a shipwreck). Their papers have been published in the book Archaeology of the War of 1812. The archaeological sites are also discussed on the blog War of 1812 Archaeology. If your ancestors participated in the War of 1812, you may find it to be a good source of historical information. Some posts include information about individuals. For example, the farmstead of Aaron and Tabitha Williams, which was also a tavern during the 1820s and 1830s, was fortified during the War of 1812.

Follow Friday: Once A Hoosier…Always A Hoosier

The Indiana Genealogical Society has launched a new blog, Once A Hoosier…Always A Hoosier. The blog includes information on thousands of deceased people who were born before 1930 and lived in Indiana at some point or were buried in Indiana. It is browsable by county, and can also be searched. If your Indiana ancestors are not included, you may use the submission form to add them.

Follow Friday: ArkivDigital English Blog

ArkivDigital now has an English-language blog. Its content will include information about new records available through ArkivDigital, tips on reading Swedish records and on researching Swedish ancestors, and events. A post on Swedish church book tutorials has already been added. The blog Web site includes a Research Tips section, an Event Calendar which lists events in the United States that ArkivDigital will be present at, and links to ArkivDigital Web pages and other Web sites which are useful for Swedish genealogy research.

The blog is located at http://blog.arkivdigital.net/. If you have Swedish ancestors, check it out!

Follow Friday: Nashville History

Debie Oeser Cox has a great blog, Nashville History (http://nashvillehistory.blogspot.com/). She worked at the Metropolitan Government Archives in Nashville, Tennessee, but is now retired.  It is a great resource for learning about the history of Nashville. In July she posted an excerpt from History of Nashville Tennessee by H. W. Crew (1890): Turnpikes and bridges in Davidson County, Tennessee. She also shares her memories of life in Nashville.

She also sometimes posts records that are useful to genealogists. I found my 3rd-great-grandmother Mary (maiden name unknown) on a transcribed list of Nashville building permits, 1892. She was listed as Mrs. Cox (her second husband was John Cox). I was able to identify her because her address was given. On 19 May 1892, she was granted a building permit for a fence. Another post that was helpful to me is Original Lots, Nashville, 1784. A map of the plan of Nashville, showing the lots, is included, and there is a link to a table (also created by Debie Oeser Cox), which provides information about each lot, including the grantor and grantee. My 6th-great-grandfather Andrew Lucas was the grantee for Lot 34; he received it on 30 July 1784.