June 5, 2016 - Immigration, continued/Time Lines

We reviewed some of the things we talked about last week regarding my grandfather's immigration records.  We need to be patient.  Sometimes it takes a long time to find just what we are looking for.  In the meantime, we take hints from everything we do find.  There are times when putting the hints together will be the only way to tell the story.

I commented on how helpful the Danish American Genealogy Facebook group was, because they shared lots of information.  I would eventually have figured it out myself, but their help made it so much easier.  One of the students wanted to know what FB groups I followed.  I will make a list at the end of the blog.

We discussed how, although most immigrants came through New York, there were many other ports that also were points of entry - Boston, Charleston, Baltimore, New Orleans, for example.  There were also many who came in through Canada.   Ellis Island was the second facility used for processing immigrants.  Prior to that, Crystal Gardens was used.  We also talked about how most name changes did not occur at Ellis Island (or other points of entry), because the process usually involved checking the names off the passenger list.  Name changes were generally made later, either when other paperwork was done, or simply because the immigrant wanted a more American name.  Remember, though, that each situation is unique.

We then moved on to our story for today.  I shared the story of my 2x-great-grandfather Henry Andrew Smith.  I had found a lot of records about him, including many census records, state census records, military records, land records, and others, even his story from a book.  In fact, I had so many bits and pieces of information that it was hard to put them all together.  So, I created a timeline.  We will talk more next week about that.  We ended the story with how, after living years in Iowa, he died in Oregon.  Oregon?  Yes.  See you next week for the rest of that story!

Some of the FaceBook groups/pages that I follow:
GAA (Genealogy Addicts Anonymous)
Genealogy - Improving Your Searches
Genedocs Templates
31 Days to Better Genealogy
Dear Myrtle
The Organized Genealogist
Genealogy Tip of the Day
Genealogy - Cite Your Sources

I also follow several that are specific geographical sites - like Denmark, Sweden, Ireland, Scandinavia, Midwest, Georgia, etc.

There are several others, as well, but some are not as good as others.  Lest it sound overwhelming, some do not have posts that often.  Others I just skim very quickly to see if I might be interested.  If so, I usually just Save that post and go back and look at it later.  (Save a FB post by clicking on the down arrow at the top of the post box and click on Save Link.  Saved is one of the menu options to the left side, so you can find them later.)

To find pages that are about what you are interested in, put the search criteria in the Search Facebook box at the top of the page and look at options.  Some groups you just have to Like to be included, others require you to request to be part of the group.  Some have gotten so large that they are not allowing new people to join.  Don't worry about it, though, as there are plenty of other groups.

See everyone next week when we will solve the mystery of the ancestor who appeared to die in Oregon after living in Iowa until he was over 80 years old!

EDIT: I forgot the FaceBook page of the group that I am part of:  Genealogy Study Group - Lawrenceville GA.  We meet every 3rd Wednesday at 10:00 at the LDS Church on Sugarloaf Parkway.  It is an open group - meaning anyone from the community is invited and there are no dues or membership fees.