The Archived Document Contest is a monthly contest to
showcase what can be found when we explore beyond what is available online.
Those that enter the contest share what they have discovered, how they have
discovered it, and how it relates to their family history research. In October we
learned that there are methods to get information when the records are not
available. We also got insight into fascinating aspects of some ancestor’s
personalities that were revealed when researchers explored past indexes and
transcriptions.
John Covey shared with us that his request for his aunt’s
birth certificate was denied because he was not a direct descendant. What he
received from the Tennessee Office of Vital Records instead of a birth
certificate was an extraction of the information that the official document
contained. This included the date, time, and location of his aunt’s birth along
with detailed information about her parents and their background. We always
want original records but when they are restricted there are often other ways
to obtain juicy tidbits of information.
Linda Stephens provided a copy of her grandmother’s marriage
certificate. The original document had holes in it caused by an eraser where
the ages of the bride and groom were once recorded. By looking at the original
document it was obvious that the 28-year age difference must have been a
concern to someone.
Margie Stein Beldin entertained us with her story of her
research trip to Scotland. After days of looking for information about her
great-grandfather she hit a goldmine on the last day of her trip. She had
poured through many collections at the UK National Archives before it was
suggested that she visit the Scots Guard Barracks archivist. She was presented
with a huge file folder of information pertaining to her great-grandfather.
Included in the folder were his enlistment and discharge records which included
his birth date and place, parents’ names, and religion. In addition to the
information she expected to find she also was provided with his physical
description, his health history, and reports of his drunken behavior.
Loren Schmid educated us with his research report disproving
a family legend about his great-aunt’s father-in-law. This man was said to have
been so tall that he hit his head on a barn while riding a horse and that he
had sustained an injury that gave him a mental disorder. Searching through
various Civil War military records, vital records, historical biographies, and
even grave markers Loren ascertained that this man was actually 5 foot 2 inches
and died of senility contributed to by arteriosclerosis.
We can all claim to be winners in this month’s contest. The
examples and lessons learned provide us with an astounding amount of
information to let us know that personalities of our ancestors are recorded and
can be found when we leave the Informational Highway titled the Internet. The
judges had plenty of material to consider before making the decision on which
of the entries would win the TriCity Genealogical Society membership which was
the prize for the October contest. They finally concurred that Loren Schmid and
his discovery of his great-aunt’s height-challenged father-in-law was the winner.
Loren was honored at the TriCity Genealogical Society Annual Meeting with a
certificate stating that he had won an annual membership. Loren stated that
since he had already paid his 2016 dues he would like for the money slated for
the prize to be donated to the Wreaths Across America project. More information
about this project can be found at www.wreathsacrossamerica.org
 |
| Loren Schmid accepting certificate for winning October Archived Document Contest from John Covey, President |
November’s contest is underway. Enter your story for an
opportunity to win a free 2-hour consultation with Stories to Tell Books.
Stories to Tell Books assist authors in any and all steps necessary to publish
manuscripts. Need some technical advice?
Want an editor to look over your work? Check out Stories to Tell Books at www.storiestotellbooks.com. Better yet,
submit your entry to the November Archived Document Contest. Upload a family
history related document to the TriCity Genealogical Society Facebook page at www.facebook.com/TriCityGenealogicalSociety
Include how you obtained the document, which can be any method other than
downloading from the Internet. Also explain how it pertains to your research.
All monthly winners will be entered into a separate and special contest for the
Annual Archived Document Contest with prizes to Ancestry.com and Findmypast.com
No comments:
Post a Comment