January 27, 2010

January 23, 2010

Surname Saturday, LIVINGSTON

Am I crazy?

Livingston [e]: Origin- Ireland


How does it fit into my surname of Raeburn? Well this is what I intend to find out.

Searching the lateral lines, it’ll either be the deciding factor in my insanity or my ‘oh happy day’ when it connects.

A little background refreshing; my Raeburn line is elusive and goes back to Ireland and disappears there. No known records so far in Ireland. However...the only way I have found anything resembling a relative or location is by researching the lateral lines. Case in point- finding Edward Weir next door in Ontario, turns out he is the brother in law of John Reburn of Aghnamullen Parish Monaghan Ireland. [Many other neighbor/relatives along the way]
I will bypass a lot here.....

A little more background-
Margaret Raeburn b abt 1786 marries John Livingston b abt 1789, in 1818 Carrickmacross Monaghan Ireland. 1851-They live in Quebec next door to Patrick Hamill of Ireland who marries their daughter (a winter spring marriage indeed).

Patrick Hamill was a co-tenant with a William Reaburn in Aughnamullen Parish Monaghan c 1820-30.
Livingston's also leasing land c 1820-30 here.
MY RAEBURNS were in this area of QUEBEC SAME TIME. This Margaret is 24 yrs older than my William, an aunt?

Ok- follow me with this one-

1860's +: Nottawasaga twp, Simcoe co Ontario, MY William Raeburn family is neighbor to James Livingston b abt 1801-11 Ireland. James is buried Singhampton Union Cemetery, Nottawasaga Simcoe County.

This, in and of itself may not necessarily peak my curiosity, however James Livingston[e]’s son George is buried in Plot 42, next to my William Raeburn Plot 43 in Batteau Hill Cemetery, Nottawasaga. Coincidence? Perhaps. Or IS IT?

Questions:
1. Where exactly did James Livingston[e] come from in Ireland?
2. What is the surname of his wife Jane?
3. What does the death certificate say?
4. Is there an obit?
5. Oh come on.....are they related????!!!

January 16, 2010

Happy 101 and Kreativ Blogger Awards



I am finally getting on responding to some awards that have come my way in recent and not so recent weeks, and I thought no one was reading.....

In November: Sheri Bush @ Twig Talk
awarded me the Kreativ Blogger Award, thank you Sheri

Recently: Judith Richards Shubert @ Genealogy Traces
and Linda McCauley @ Documenting The Details
awarded to me the “Happy 101" Award, thank you ladies.

There are many good blogs worth reading, much better than mine! [I think] And I will share some of those I have enjoyed reading over the past year, since I started this blog. Many are on my side bar on the blog to the right and in my profile list...please check all of them out if you have time!

I have always enjoyed Greta’s blog, she writes as though we are all friends of hers
Greta’s Genealogy Bog

Tom Mac @ Genealogy Journey

Brett Payne @ Photo Sleuth great Photos

and one I have just discovered: Cherry Tea Time by Beneta Steyer

Honestly..You would think I have thought about what 10 things make me happy...seeing it seems to be my husbands favorite saying “Are Ya Happy” [Today and every day!]

Things I can currently think of that make me happy (lack of morning coffee at the moment, pardon me as I go get a refill....)

I am happy when my family is happy, what can I say.
Sunsets at Lake Michigan with or without my toes in the sand-sometimes its winter
Hikes...out in the woods when the mosquitoes population is low
Knocking down a brick wall in my family genealogy
Country drives with my husband
Getting together with my family
Sunshine (cue in the John Denver tune....really!
Babies in the family... will make me happy
Renovating a room in the house
Being around happy people
oh, and one more thats 11..hanging out with my big sister and laughing all day long

January 11, 2010

BLOGOVERSARY #1

Blogoversary January 11, 2010

“You Say Its Your” ... Blogoversary....Happy ... Blogoversary To You ...

One Year into the blog. I started out like gangbusters and then the blog trickled to a near stop. Why? Well I will review-

1. Initial intention of the blog; was the hope of connecting to someone within the family line, in hopes of unlocking mysteries that have me at a halt.

Has this happened yet? Well no, but I have connected with one person earlier in the year that is a descendant of a lateral line. He was looking for maps to Derrygooney townland in Monaghan Ireland and found it in one of my posts, and he discovered our lines were connected. He [Steve] traveled to Ireland shortly after on business, visited the area and took photos which he graciously shared with me. We didn’t discover any thing ‘new’ about our lines....but it was nice to correspond with him.

2. Pitfalls; Well...sometimes I have creative BLOCK! I wonder if posts are being read, if they are of interest. So then I tend to slow way down.
I have one pet peeve, I have shared a lot of my own research with a few, only to find it was re-posted by a couple of folks on the internet as their own work. I had a long conversation with another researcher once, and we had both agreed..that’s just wrong. Give credit to the ones who did the work, if you know, at least a brief acknowledgment. Two reasons- credit for work...but also, if you are taking credit for others work and someone comes along asking you questions or for more info and you HAVEN’T A CLUE AT ALL, that is of no help to others. Post the researchers name to the work, so THEY can be contacted. [I did ask that my name be connected to the work]
So with that thought.....I had slowed down on content exposure.
I guess an example of what I mean is: so someone lists in their gedcom my: great grand mother's siblings. WHAT IS THE RELATIONSHIP TO THAT OTHER PERSON? my great grand mother is married to a man WHOSE SISTER is married to someone else totally not related and THAT PERSON has a brother, who is the ancestor of the person who added my great grandmothers siblings. that is just a really huge stretch and absolutely no relation. Some one else called this "name collecting".

3. Time- Sometimes life just gets in the way...so be it.........can’t change that one!

New Goals for Blog:


1. Community and correspondence...It has been nice to read others posts, for interest of their own content and ideas. I would like comments on my blog, it helps me...so I will try to leave comments also when I read others posts. The correspondence has been nice, I like it. I left a ‘check off’ at the end of each post if one doesn’t feel like commenting. It actually is helpful, but NOT mandatory!

2. Practice-
blogging helps get the creative process moving again.

3. Get over it- Some people "collect names". You know what work YOU [I] have done!

Lets see if I do better this year! Happy New Year every one!!

Photos taken by Steven Ellingson
old John Reburn homestead, Corvacken townland, Aughnamullen, Monaghan
below:Landscapes in Ireland

January 3, 2010

52 Weeks To Better Genealogy - Challenge #1

Week 1: Go to your local public library branch. Make a note of the genealogy books in the collection that may help you gain research knowledge. Don’t forget to check the shelves in both the non-fiction section and the reference section. If you do not already have a library card, take the time to get one. If you have a genealogy blog, write about what you find in your library’s genealogy collection.

I spend a fair amount of free time at the Hackley Public Library’s Genealogy Department in Muskegon Michigan. My Library card is wore out! I have gone through the collection which is a good size, many times. I always find sometime new. Resources online include, Ancestry Library Edition, NewEnglandAncestors.org and Footnote subscriptions (the latter is a new find for me!).
Heritage Quest is one I can access from home through my library card.

There are so many books in the collection to mention the list would be long. In brief: Historical County books of Michigan as well as other states, atlases of local counties, directories, newspapers on microfilm etc. So instead of listing more, I will mention the last books I accessed.

I personally do not have much to search in the area of Muskegon for my personal research. However for a brief moment in time my grandfather took the family to Muskegon and he had a store there. I found him listed in the R.L.Polks Directory of Muskegon 1928 , as well as the store.
Cornell Leo D (Joyce) store mgr Great A & P Tea Co h1005 Maffet (MH) page 215
Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Co gros.....1035 Peck (along with other locations) page 217

Ha! Now I know what the A&P stands for...yeah, I didn’t know. Furthermore, through Ancestry.com I found grandpa’s biological brother living in Muskegon during the 1920's. Relevance? Grandpa was adopted at age 1 and became a Cornell. His ‘brother’ Lorrin Rust, who was older remained with his mother with other older siblings. I want to find the Rust family...and I earlier joked when I said they could be right here in Ravenna, when they originated further up north. (Some folks with that name here)

I found at the library, a very informative book called The Scotch-Irish: A Social History
By James Graham Leyburn. The migration of the Scots from Scotland to Ireland and North America. A very good read.

I will be there again, I am sure to find a new book. I always do.