The 2016 Civil War Teacher Institute in Richmond, Virginia

 

I've just returned from a great educational opportunity.  The annual Civil War Teacher Institute is an event run by the Civil War Trust, and they really respect and appreciate educators.  Attendance is actually free — when you register you pay a deposit of $100, but it's refunded after you attend.  They just want to make sure you're serious.

The institute is targeted primarily at K–12 teachers and museum professionals, but educators and historians of all types are welcome.  When I told people that I taught family hyistory, that seemed to fit right in.  And even though the approach for the workshops and tours was from big-H history, it was not difficult to see family history aspects of almost everything I learned.

The 2016 institute was held in Richmond, Virginia.  Things started Thursday night with a reception and buffet dinner.  One of the speakers was Reggie Harris, a performer who has created dialogs and songs to educate people about the Underground Railroad and other aspects of the historical conditions of black people in this country, particularly around the time of the Civil War.

We had Friday morning to ourselves (breakfast that day being the only meal not provided).  Instead of sightseeing, I headed over to the Library of Virginia for some on-site research (and I am now the proud owner of a Library of Virginia library card!).  Then everyone met at the host hotel for a buffet lunch, where the speaker was author and former teacher Kevin Levin.  He subject was that, no matter what people say, the Confederate flag is and always has been a symbol of racism and white supremacy.  By extension, notwithstanding high-minded speeches about states' rights and sovereignty, from the Southern perspective the Civil War was about maintaining the institution of slavery, pure and simple.  He made his points passionately, giving several excellent examples to illustrate them.  (It was a shame that the keynote speaker for the Saturday night banquet resorted to the jaded claim of "Federalism versus states' rights" as the cause of the war, but some people will always cling to their rationalizations.)  Levin is currently working on a book about the black "body servants" (i.e., slaves) that many Confederate officers brought with them to battles and the persistent myth (many, many times disproved) that these men "fought" as armed soldiers.

In the afternoon six different workshops were offered in three tracks.  I passed on "Richmond in the Civil War" and "Using Art to Teach the American Revolution."  I first chose "Teaching Civil War Military History by Accident", which ended up being about using simplified miniatures rules to get students interested in studying military history.  The instructor, John Michael "Mike" Priest, uses 54 mm figures becaue they're easier for small hands to maneuver, and cards because they're a little easier than dice and less of a swallowing hazard.  (I participated in the demo later in the day and led the winning side.)  The same person taught the second session I went to, "Locating and Evaluating Civil War Primary Sources for the Classroom", on online sites for historical primary sources.  He listed several sites I am familiar with, such as Fold3.com and Chronicling America, but some on the list were new to me, such as War Papers of the Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States (MOLLUS) and Pennsylvania Volunteers of the Civil War.

For the third session I seriously considered going to the talk about "Civil War Navies:  Brown and Blue Water Warfare" (I'm a sucker for a Navy man), but fortuitously I chose instead to go to Jesse Aucoin's presentation on "Journey through Hallowed Ground."  This is a project to plant a tree within a designated National Heritage Area for each of the more than 620,000 soldiers, Union and Confederate, whose deaths were caused by the Civil War.  (Men who died after the war due to injuries or illness from the war are eligible.)  As part of the project, research done on each man is added to his public page on the Fold3 "Honor Wall."  Currently the organization has been reaching out to schools and having students research soldiers as class projects, but I thought this looked like something a lot of genealogists would be interested in.  I'm going to be talking with Jesse about modifying her presentation to target genealogists, and I hope to start speaking about the project in the Bay Area next year.

Battery 5 of the Dimmock Line

On Saturday, after a lovely breakfast buffet, we had our first day of field trips.  The choices were "The Bloody Battles for Richmond", "400 Years of History on the Peninsula", and "In the Trenches at Petersburg", which is what I opted for.  The first half of the day was spent at Petersburg National Battlefield, where at our first stop National Park Service Ranger Grant Gates demonstrated how General Ulysses S. Grant cut off General Robert E. Lee's supply lines to Petersburg by creating a human map on the grounds.  He asked for volunteers and designated them as Grant, Lee, the cities of Richmond and Petersburg, and the five railroad lines coming out of Petersburg.  The rail lines were represented by strings held on one end by each of the rail heads and on the other by Petersburg.  Gates had Grant and Lee bounce off each other in a circle around Richmond, with Lee between Grant and Richmond, to show how Lee was able to block Grant from his original goal of taking that city.  Then Grant walked about the perimeter of Petersburg, stopping at each rail line and cutting the string.  (I was Boydton Plank Road and South Side Railroad.)  It was a clear illustration of how Grant stretched out Lee's men and slowly cut off his supply lines.

photo courtesy of 
Jean-Marie Bronson

This location has some surviving earthworks and interpretive displays, including one board explaining that earthworks were created with slave labor.  This area was owned by the Josiah Jordan family.  Their house was destroyed, and a small depression in the earth is what remains to mark the spot.  A small family cemetery is fenced off from the main grounds; the rangers don't include it in their talks.

The next stop was "The Crater."  I had never heard of the Battle of the Crater, but now I know it was where, in July 1864, Union forces dug a tunnel underneath and blew up a Confederate battery, Elliott's Salient, leaving a sizable hole in the ground.  It was where USCT soldier Decatur Dorsey earned a Medal of Honor through his actions as the color bearer of the 39th Regiment.  Unfortunately, it was also where about 200 USCT soldiers were massacred, most by Confederates but some by their own Union comrades.  The Union lost this engagement, and Lieutenant General A. P. Hill paraded the intermixed black and white prisoners of war through the streets of Petersburg to horrify the populace.  We were told this was the first time Southern troops had actually faced black soldiers in combat.

William Mahone, the Confederate general in command at the Crater, surprised everyone during Reconstruction by creating a mixed black and white political party, the Readjusters.  While it appears he did so for purely pragmatic reasons, not because his opinion of black people had actually changed, it forever tainted Virginians' views of him.

The latter part of the day was spent at Pamplin Historical Park/Museum of the Civil War Soldier.  This is an educational complex with two museums; reconstructed models of a plantation big house and slave quarters; reconstructions of Civil War era earthworks, so visitors can get an idea of what it was like to behind a bunker; antebellum homes; even a soldiers' camp.  The large plot of land was donated by Robert B. Pamplin, Sr. and Dr. Robert B. Pamplin, Jr., descendants of the slave-owning family that owned the original plantation on whose grounds the complex now stands.  It looks like the family came out pretty well after the war.

After a buffet lunch in the museum dining room, we had an hour in the main building, the Museum of the Civil War Soldier.  This has a unique audio set-up.  You choose one of thirteen historical soldiers, and a docent programs your choice into your audio player.  On entering each room in the museum, the audio kicks in automatically and gives you a two- to three-minute overview of the subject, e.g., camp life, hospitals, etc.  In each room are several numbered cards for different subjects.  You punch in a number, and you hear a short piece about your soldier, in his own words.  At the end you find out if your soldier lived through the war.  I chose Alexander Heritage Newton, the only USCT soldier on the list (there were no Jewish soldiers available).  He survived the war, became a minister, and wrote an autobiography which included information about his USCT unit.  One of the choices is a young drummer boy, intended for use by school children (he also survived the war).

After this museum, we went outside to the big house and slave quarters area, where the foundation is now growing a garden similar to what the slaves would have had.  Then we headed to the soldiers' camp, where a reenactor described some of the daily life of a Confederate or Union soldier.  After a short rifle demonstration, he rounded up some volunteers and marched them around in the sunny 95/95 weather (95 degrees and 95 percent humidity) while the rest of us watched from the shade.

At the Saturday evening banquet, former University of Georgia football coach Vince Dooley was one of the speakers.  Dooley earned a Master's degree in history and apparently has maintained an interest in the subject.

Sunday we had another lovely buffet breakfast (did you notice that all meals but one were included as part of the program?) before the last field trips.  This time the options were "Lincoln in Richmond" and "Hollywood Cemetery."  I'm a genealogist, so of course I chose the cemetery.  I shouldn't have.  The program gave no warning about the amount of walking up and down hills that would be required, and I couldn't keep up.  Before I gave up and headed back to the cemetery entrance to wait for everyone else, I did see some of the cemetery's sights:
• Confederate graves as far as the eye can see, many of which had faded flags next to them, probably still there from Memorial Day
• A massive memorial pyramid, built in 1869, dedicated to the more than 18,000 Confederate enlisted dead buried in the cemetery
• The famous iron "black dog", a guardian over the grave of a little girl
• A large memorial to Jewish Confederate soldiers
• A monument to George Pickett, of Pickett's Charge

The description of Pickett reminded me a lot of George Armstrong Custer.  Pickett was the last in his class at West Point, had a huge ego, was very proud of his shoulder-length hair, and was extraordinarily devoted to his wife.  In addition, after he died, his wife wrote glowing, heavily exaggerated stories about him.  He was the Confederacy's version of Custer!

This was a wonderful program, and I am very happy I was able to attend.  If you teach history, if you are fascinated by the Civil War, I encourage you to consider going next year.  At the Saturday night banquet, it was confirmed that the 2017 institute will be in Memphis, Tennessee, though the dates are not yet posted.

Saturday Night Genealogy Fun: How Many Ancestors Did You "Meet"?

Randy Seaver has another fun question for this week's Saturday Night Genealogy Fun:

Here is your assignment, if you choose to play along (cue the Mission:  Impossible music, please!): 

1) Write down which of your ancestors that you have met in person (yes, even if you were too young to remember them).

2) Tell us their names, where they lived, and their relationship to you in a blog post, in comments to this post, or in comments on Facebook.

These are my ancestors whom I have met:

• Myra Roslyn (Meckler) Sellers Preuss (1940–1995), my mother, lived in Brooklyn, New York; Miami, Florida; Los Angeles County, California; Sydney, New South Wales, Ausralia; Okaloosa County, Florida (two separate stints); Villa Tasso, Florida; and San Antonio, Texas (and possibly Chicago and Hawaii).  (She died in Okaloosa County.)

• Bertram Lynn Sellers, Jr. (1935– ), my father, has lived in multiple locations in New Jersey; multiple locations in New York; Sanford, Florida; Miami, Florida; Los Angeles County, California; Sydney, New South Wales, Ausralia; Okaloosa County, Florida (two separate stints); Villa Tasso, Florida; Mossy Head, Florida; Cleveland, Ohio; and San Antonio, Texas.

• Abraham Meckler (1912–1989), my maternal grandfather, lived in Brooklyn, New York; Miami, Florida; Las Vegas, Nevada; Margate, Florida; and I think Sunrise, Florida (until his death in one of the two latter locations).

• Lillyan E. (Gordon) Meckler (1919–2006), my maternal grandmother, lived in Manhattan; Brooklyn, New York; Miami, Florida; Las Vegas, Nevada; Margate, Florida; Sunrise, Florida; and then in Carson City, Nevada until her death.

• Sarah Libby (Brainin) Gordon (about 1890–1963), my great-grandmother (mother of Lillyan), lived in Kreuzburg, Russian Empire (now Krustpils, Latvia) and Manhattan, where she died.  I have no documentation that I met her, but my mother told me that she took me to Florida to meet her grandmother while I was still a babe in arms, and my father remembers the event also.

• Bertram Lynn Sellers, Sr. (1903–1995), my paternal grandfather, lived in multiple locations in New Jersey; multiple locations in New York; and Okaloosa County, Florida (that I know of).  He died in Niceville, Okaloosa County.

• Anna (Gauntt) Stradling (1893–1986), my paternal grandmother, lived in multiple locations in New Jersey; multiple locations in New York; Sanford, Florida; Jacksonville, Florida; maybe somewhere else in Florida?; and Chisago City, Minnesota, where she died.  (And likely more places I don't know about.)

Laura May (Armstrong) Sellers Ireland (1882–1970), my great-grandmother (mother of Bertram Sr.), died eight years after I was born, but I never met her.  The rest of my ancestors died well before I was born.

So I have met only seven of my ancestors, one fewer than Randy, and one of those I have no recollection or proof of.  And Randy thought eight was a low number!

Treasure Chest Thursday: The Last Pages from Jean La Forêt's Journal

We've reached the end of the pages in Jean La Forêt's journal that have entries on them.  These pages seem to be notes rather than something organized.  Maybe these were just pieces of information Jean wanted to remember and keep track of.  None of this writing requires translation.

-- >< -- >< -- >< -- >< --

Marie Josephine Leonie Adrienne – 1 fevr. 74

Pauline – Eugen Stein
Eugen Messein.

Fred Frantz & Joe
Endert – Crescent City

63 – rue Ramey, Paris

Mabel Cornwell – Vaughan – Gallegly
Mrs. Harve A. Gallegly.
Dazey – North Dakota

Henry Pelissier – Sonoma
Lawrence Villa —

John Steiner — " —

Mrs. Curdt Elizabeth
Wellston, Mo.

Mr. Otto Villamarin
Calle Real, Paris Saloon
Cavite,

Major General Tom Barry, comdt
West-Point Military Academy

Marie Robert
rue le Regratier #8

Elisa Dudot
rue St Bernard #11

Tony Kaul
Sablon(?) – Pont-à-Mousson
Elsie Fachette

Wilson B. Morse
Athlone, St Joaquin Valley

Marion P. Mauss [sic], Gen'l

Louis Soudieux – Salonns[?]

Les Messeins  — " —

Oscar & Ferdinand Levy

-- >< -- >< -- >< -- >< --

As with the list of birthdays last week, some of these are names we've seen before, but most are totally new.  Adrienne's full name is very pretty.  About halfway down the list is Emma's mother, Elizabeth Curdt, in Wellston, Missouri.  And near the end of the list is Wilson B. Morse.  He's the man Jean visited May 14 to June 14, 1890.

Jean had a Pauline in his birthday list, but her last name was Cohen.  Maybe Pauline Cohen married Eugen Stein?  But is Eugen Stein the same man as Eugen Messein?

Some names appear to be people Jean met on his travels bu didn't mention previously.  We know he was in Crescent City and Cavite.  Considering the problems he had in Crescent City, I'm surprised he cared to remember anyone there.

The Paris address might have been Adrienne's, since the photograph of her has Paris written on it.  With no context for the other names, I have no idea who they were.  I'm sure many cities have a rue St Bernard, but maybe not as many have a rue le Regratier.  Jean has left me another mystery to work on.

Wordless Wednesday

Personal Research Projects Seeking Information and Participants

Usually the projects I write about are posted on public Web pages, often by organizations rather than individuals.  These, however, are smaller scale, people who sent messages to e-mail groups I'm in.  I checked with each of them beforehand to see if a little extra publicity about the projects might be helpful.

The Dora

Joke Stans is a graduate student at the University of Antwerp, Belgium, currently writing a Master's thesis about a Jewish refugee ship named the Dora.  This ship sailed from Amsterdam (with a stopover in Antwerp on 17 July 1939) to Palestine and arrived on 12 August 1939 at Sheffaym Beach.  The research is on the passengers who embarked in Antwerp and on the organization of the illegal Zionist undertaking (from the Belgian perspective).

The hope is to find more information concerning contacts between the Belgian authorities/leaders and the Palestinian, British, and Dutch embassies (a lot of organization on account of the Dutch Jewish Committee) or other representatives in the case of the Dora.

Perhaps information exists about contacts between Belgian Jewish committees (Belgian Zionist Federation, Jewish relief committees in Antwerp and Brussels) and governmental authorities or between different Jewish organizations (Hagana, which organized the trip; HICEM; Mossad l'Aliyah Bet; the Joint; Dutch Jewish committees).  So far five pages have been discovered in the State Archives in Brussels, but that is all.

The Belgian government offered assistance for the trip but denied its part in the undertaking to British emmissaries.

It is unknown so far who took the lead in this in Belgium, but perhaps Max Gottschalk had a role in the organization of the trip.  In addition, the Torczyner and Kubowitsky families were involved in one way or another.

Joke is also searching for databases and information about the places where the passengers on the ship prepared for the trip (hachshara).  Already known is a database for training farms in Germany.

Some people did their hachshara in Villers-la-Ville, Belgium.  Because a lot of the passengers on the Dora came to Belgium from Austria and Poland, they might have done their hachshara in Poland and Austria, so a list of those locations would also be helpful.  Probably the majority of the passengers did the hachshara somewhere, but this is not definitely known.

If you know of any information which could be helpful to Joke's research, please contact her at stansjoke@hotmail.com.

-- >< -- >< -- >< -- >< --

The father of SFBAJGS board member Preeva Tramiel created a shelter for Jews to hide in toward the end of World War II, somewhere near Munkacs or Kaschau or in between.  She is looking for names of and information about people he saved.  Does anyone have parents who escaped the camps by hiding in a building used by the Germans to repair vehicles?  Or have you heard a story about the shelter?  If so, please contact Preeva at preeva@sfbajgs.org.

-- >< -- >< -- >< -- >< --

Stephen Ankier is conducting research on the massacres in Słonim, Belarus during World War II.  He would like to hear from anyone who was a witness to the massacres in Słonim, who has relevant reliable information or documents about those events, or who has information about events that occurred in Słonim prison.  He is particularly looking for documents and photos that can be shared showing the names of any voluntary auxiliary policemen who worked for the Nazi SS in Słonim — in the prison or transporting prisoners from the prison to the death pits or active executioners — during the period 1941–1944.

Any assistance is appreciated, as even one small fragment of information can often lead to others.  If you can help, contact Stephen Ankier at sia@medreslaw.com.

-- >< -- >< -- >< -- >< --

Michael Waas, a Master's candidate in Jewish history at the University of Haifa, is looking for individuals to participate in a study of Western Sephardi paternal DNA lineages.  Thanks to a generous grant, testing kits will be provided at no cost to participants.  Eligible men are those who are direct paternal-line descendants of the Western Sephardi community.

What is the Western Sephardi community?  The Western Sephardim were arguably the original transnational people in the age of Imperialism and Colonialism, transcending religious boundaries and empires.  Western Sephardim had significant communities in Amsterdam, London, Livorno, Venice, Bordeaux, and Southwest France and their daughter communities in the New World in Curacao, Suriname, and North America.  Western Sephardim also went to the Ottoman Empire, most notably to Izmir, Salonika, and Tunis.

Anyone who is of direct paternal descent from those communities is eligible.  Michael himself is part of the testing cohort, representing the Vaz Lopes family of Bordeaux and Amsterdam.  As part of the testing, he will also need an accurate paternal genealogy, with as much information as each participant can provide.

The goal of this project is to try to shed light on the origins of the Western Sephardi community and to establish a strong dataset of DNA results, grounded in strong archival research and results that could lead to further intensive studies of Sephardim.

The aim is to have at least 50 men tested for the project.  It is planned to publish the results of the study.  Participants' privacy will be protected.

Please contact Michael if you are interested in participating or know someone who might be eligible.  He is happy to answer any questions!  His e-mail address is mwaas1989@gmail.com.

Saturday Night Genealogy Fun: Ancestor With Most Census Entries

This week's challenge for Randy Seaver's Saturday Night Genealogy Fun is one of my favorite types, where I get to look through my records for information I hadn't thought about before:

Here is your assignment if you choose to play along (cue the Mission Impossible music, please!): 

1)  Do you know which of your ancestors appears the most times in the census records?  How many years?  Are there duplicate entries?  

2)  Describe that ancestor's entries in the records in a blog post of your own, in a comment to this blog post, or on Facebook or Google+.

I don't think it's fair to count censuses for which I have no copies, because there is no guarantee someone was actually enumerated (as I know from frustrating personal experience).  So far the most census entries I have found for an ancestor is eleven, for my great-grandfather Thomas Kirkland Gauntt:

1870:  Thomas was born May 23, 1870 in Fairview, Medford Township, Burlington County, New Jersey and was enumerated in the U.S. population census on June 28 in Medford Township with his parents, James and Amelia (Gibson) Gauntt, and older siblings Charles, John, James, Sarah, and William.  Although Thomas was not enumerated twice, his brother Charles was; on July 14 Charles was in Evesham Township in Burlington County.

1880:  In the 1880 U.S. population census, Thomas was enumerated with his parents, James and Amelia, older brother William, and baby brother Samuel.  The census taker came by on June 15, and the family was living in Mt. Laurel, Burlington County, New Jersey.

1885:  In the 1885 New Jersey state census, Thomas is not living with his family but is working as a farm laborer in Centre, Camden County.

1895:  The 1895 New Jersey state census is the first in which Thomas is enumerated with my great-grandmother Jane Dunstan; they married on September 2, 1891.  What's interesting is that they were living in Centre, Camden County, but without their two children, born in 1892 and 1893.  I'm still looking for the children, especially since one is my grandmother.

1900:  In the 1900 U.S. population census, Thomas Gauntt, a farm laborer, was enumerated on June 27 in Mt. Laurel, Burlington County, New Jersey.  Also in the household were his wife, Jane Gauntt, and children Frederick, Anna (my grandmother!), Carrie, and Mary.

1905:  In the 1905 New Jersey state census, Thomas was enumerated in Burlington County.  Also in the household were Jane and children Anna, Carrie, Mary, and Edna.

1910:  In the 1910 U.S. population census, Thomas was working as an insurance agent and living in Mt. Holly, Northampton Township, Burlington County, New Jersey.  Family members living with him were Jane and children Anna, Carrie, Mary, Edna, James, and Thomas.  They were enumerated on April 27.

1915:  In the 1915 New Jersey state census, Thomas and family were still living in Mt. Holly, Northampton Township, Burlington County.  The other family members enumerated were Jane and children Mary, Edna, James, Thomas, and John.

1920:  In the 1920 U.S. population census, Thomas had moved to the city of Burlington in Burlington County and was working as a farm laborer again.  The enumeration was in February, but no date is on the page.  Also in the household were Jane and children Edna, James, and Thomas.

1930:  In the 1930 U.S. population census Thomas and Jane no longer had any children living at home with them, and Thomas has no occupation listed.  They were back in Mt. Holly, Northampton Township, Burlington County and were enumerated on April 23.

1940:  In the 1940 U.S. population census, Thomas and Jane were again in Mt. Holly, although the census notes that in 1935 they were living in Burlington.  They were enumerated on April 15 and have no occupations listed.

When the 1950 census is released I hope to find Thomas in that, as he did not die until 1951.  That should give me a total of twelve censuses for him.

Treasure Chest Thursday: Important Birthdays in Jean La Forêt's Life

While I finished last week with the chronological journal entries Jean La Forêt had in his little notebook, there are other pages in the book.  I thought I had three pages of birthdays, but the third page surprised me when I read through it.  The first two pages are almost entirely names and dates, so I am not making a separate section for the one phrase that required translation.  The third page, however, has more French and does have a separate translated section below.

-- >< -- >< -- >< -- >< --

Notes à tenir [Notes to keep]

Birthdays

Hattie – Sept. 28

Nat – " 29

Adrienne – Febry 1

Marie Davis – Fevrier [February] 2 [18]59

Annie W. – Dec. 6

Theresa  Nov. 9

Robert  fevr. [February] 4

Père [?] W.  Dec. 19

Pauline Cohen  Sept. 8

Tellie Van der Heyde  July 28 [18]84

Marie Petit  Avril 25 85

Camilla – March 19 1895

H. Petit – Jan. 5 (J. J. Thirion)

Helène Christmann – Jan. 9 (Lina)

Nettie ——"——  Sept. 2  ——

Emma – Nov. 14 – 1866

Camilla – February 19 – 1895

Marie Petit – April 23 – 1885

Eugene – June 19 – 1996 [sic]

Helen (Lina) Christmann  Jan 9th  Sept. 2nd

Annie Witz – Dec. 6th

Theresa Witz – Nov. 9th

Robt. Witz – O. M. Dec. 19

Mama Witz –

Marie Davis – Mrs. Chas. S. Johnson – Febr. 2 [18]59

Nettie Christmann – Sept. 2

Adrienne – Febr. 1st [18]74

Rosita Emma  Sept. 4 [19]09

Naissance de Rosita Emma le 4 Sept. 1909 à Versoix, Canton de Genève (sur les bords du lac Leman)

Parti de Suisse : 30/4–10
A Lyon (France, du 30/4–10 au 3/5–10
A Marseilles du 3/5–10 au 6/5–10

A Alger et Algérie : du 7 May 1910 au 13 Août 1918

via Marseilles, Paris, Brest, New York, Washington, St. Louis à Overland, Mo.

-- >< -- >< -- >< -- >< --

Birth of Rosita Emma on September 4, 1909 in Versoix, Geneva Canton (on the banks of Lake Geneva)

Departure from Switzerland:  April 30, 1910
In Lyon (France) from April 30, 1910 to May 3, 1910
In Marseilles from May 3, 1910 to May 6, 1910

In Algiers and Algeria:  from May 7, 1910 to August 13, 1918

Via Marseilles, Paris, Brest, New York, Washington, St. Louis to Overland, Missouri

-- >< -- >< -- >< -- >< --

I wonder why Jean wrote several of the names and birthdays twice.  Sometimes he didn't include the last name, sometimes he did.  I'm sure his method made sense to him.

A lot of names here are totally new to me.  Who are the Christmanns?  And the Witzes?  I don't recognize the name Marie Davis or Charles S. Johnson.  I have no idea who Nat, Pauline Cohen, J. J. Thirion, and Tellie Van der Heyde are.

We have seen the name Hattie before.  Jean acknowledged that his survival from the assassination attempt in 1889 was in part due to Hattie.  Was the woman whose birthday was September 28 that Hattie?

Marie, Camilla, and Eugene Petit are Emma's children by her first husband, Emile Petit.  It's good that Jean was keeping track of his stepchildren's birthdays, even if he had two of them wrong the first time he wrote them down (but he was close).  The dates for Camilla and Eugene are almost the same as those Emma gave when she registered as an American citizen in Switzerland — Jean wrote that Camilla was born in 1895, while Emma said 1894.  I'm guessing Emma was probably correct.  Obviously, Jean didn't really mean that Eugene was born in 1996.  And now we have a birthday for Emma's oldest daughter, Marie.  But H. Petit?  Maybe that's one of Emile's parents?

Camilla and Eugene, by the way, are almost definitely the children in the photo between Emma and Jean in yesterday's Wordless Wednesday post.

The remaining name in these lists is Adrienne.  I haven't written about her yet, but I know a little bit about her — I have a photograph of her from 1890.  Her last name was . . . La Forêt.  The writing on the photo looks more like Emma's than Jean's.  If Adrienne was born in 1874, and Jean was born in 1853, there's a good chance she was his daughter.  If that's the case, then who was Adrienne's mother?  Neither Emma nor Jean has written anything about a previous marriage.  According to Jean's first recommendation letter, in 1874 he was an instructor in Salonnes.  I guess that's where I'll start looking for information about Adrienne.

Then there's that third page.  Funny how I joked last week that maybe Jean would add Rosita's birthday out of order, as he did his marriage to Emma, and then it shows up this way.  And there's no question about the order of the pages:  These pages are still attached to each other, and the notes about travel dates definitely come after the birthdays.  But because Jean added these notes, we know he came back to the United States a little less than one year after Emma did and went to Missouri.

And my geography lesson for the day is that Lake Geneva is called lac Léman in French.

"Online Resources Regarding Enslaved Ancestors", July 30, Oakland FamilySearch Library

Dr. Charles Foy

A new talk has just been scheduled in Oakland!

Online Resources Regarding Enslaved Ancestors
Speaker: Dr. Charles Foy

Oakland FamilySearch Library
Saturday, July 30, 2016
10:30 a.m.-12:00 noon

Often genealogical research regarding African American ancestors ends with the 1870 U.S. census, as earlier records of enslaved peoples rarely contain surnames.  Despite this significant barrier to detailing black life in the Colonial and Antebellum eras, there are online resources that can enable one to develop a fuller picture of one's ancestors.  In this presentation Dr. Foy will discuss and demonstrate such online resources.

Speaker bio: Charles R. Foy is a social historian and an Associate Professor of History at Eastern Illinois University.  He specializes in uncovering the hidden lives of black mariners in the Age of Sail.  He continues to work on the development of a black mariner database that as of 2013 contains records on more than 24,000 black mariners and black maritime fugitives.

Dr. Foy is in the Bay Area for a couple of weeks and generously offered to give this talk while he is here.  The talk is free, and everyone interested is welcome to attend.

Wordless Wednesday