26 July 2012

Thrifty Thursday: Johnston County, NC Records


Facts to know when researching your ancestors in Johnston County:

  • Formed in 1746 from Craven County
  • In 1752 a part of Johnston County was taken to form Orange County
  • In 1758 the eastern part of Johnston became Dobbs County
  • In 1770 a part of Johnston County was taken to form Wake County 
  • In 1855 a part of Johnston County was taken to form Wilson County
  • Has the largest Civil War Battlefield in NC, Bentonville Battlefield
Johnston County Records available online
My goal here is to have resources other than your everyday census, cemetery, and obituary records. If you know of additional resources that can be found online, please let me know to add them.

1700s (some 1800s & 1900s)
1900s
Other
General Links:



23 May 2012

Disagreeing Records: James Monroe Skidmore

I'm going to try to write a blurb on all of the children of Katherine Abernathy and William Skidmore. First up is James Monroe Skidmore.

My current research on James Monroe Skidmore, also known as "Mun" or "Uncle Mun", has shown me that a lot of records for Mun disagree on many of the basic events in his life.

The things I am sure of: Mun was born to Katherine Abernathy & William Skidmore. He married Susan Moody and had no children. And most, if not all, of his life was in the Riverbend area of Gaston County, NC.
James Monroe Skidmore
Photo from findagrave.com taken by Jennifer

Now for the disagreeing records.

Birth Date: I have found two different dates for Mun's birth. According to most of the census records his calculated birthdate is 1856, but that could be because of when his birthday falls in the year.

1. 5 Apr 1855 (Sources: 1,2)

2. 16 Apr 1855 (Sources: 3)

Marriage Date: Again I've found two dates. Biggest problem here is that I haven't found the actual marriage record, which would help me out a lot. According to one census record Mun's marriage to Susan Moody was about 1874. According to these dates James Monroe Skidmore was about 17 years old when he got married to Susan.

1. 4 Apr 1873 (Sources: 1)

2. 8 Apr 1873 (Sources: I found this on one website that doesn't state its original source for this date and after further looking on familysearch.org there is a marriage record for "W.M. Skidmore" to Susan Moody in Riverbend, Gaston, NC. )

Death Date: Once again, sources give two different dates. Either way, he died at the age of 81. He is buried in the Hickory Grove Baptist Church Cemetery in Gastonia, Gaston County, NC.

1. 2 Jan 1937 (Sources: 3, 4)

2. 30 Jan 1937 (Sources: 1,2)

Other information on James Monroe Skidmore:

13 May 2012

Cheap Picture Frames for Historic Photos

I have just recently finished my first semester of teaching (hence my 5+ month hiatus) and am about to move into a new apartment. One of my projects: making a wall of old photographs.

Step 1: Purchased different picture frames from a local thrift store. My total cost for all of these frames was less then $8.

Step 2: Paint all the frames one color.

Step 3: Ok, so now I have picture frames that are all different shapes and size but they have the classic black look. What I'm planning on doing is getting my old photographs together and placing them in the frames. I am currently wondering whether I should use the originals or get copies of them. I started researching copyright laws to see what amount of copying photos like these I could get away with. See my blogpost on historic copyright laws here: "Can I copy that picture?"

This picture was probably taken in the late 1800s and is no longer protected by copyright (see more about this photograph here.)


11 May 2012

Can I copy that picture?

Since gathering up old historic and genealogy photos I've wondered, what photos can I copy & reprint without breaking copyright laws. I am about to do a project with these photos so I'm researching copyrights & will share with you what I have learned:


Date of Work
Term of Copyright
Published before 1923
In public domain. No Copyright (Free to copy! YAY!)
Published between 1923-1963 When published with notice or registered in the U.S.

In public domain, unless the copyright has been renewed in which case they are protected for 95 years from the copyright/publication date.
Published between 1964-1977 When published with notice or registered Protected for 95 years.




There are additional regulations for things published after 1978, but I don't have to worry about that for the picture I plan on copying and reprinting.

More info can be found here at the Library of Congress.

30 December 2011

22 December 2011

Thrifty Thursday: NC (& Other) Census Records


As a poor college student with little money and a hobby for genealogy I have had to find as many free records as possible over the years. So for this Thrifty Thursday, some of the most important records genealogists have at their disposal: Census Records! Most of these links are for North Carolina censuses, but pages are available for all states on these sites.

A compilation of sites, by state and county, that offer free transcriptions & indexes of census records. Some counties have "Other" types of records as well, like tax lists. 
Set up almost like a spreedsheet, the USGenWeb Census Project shows the online transcription status of every census record and the provider of the transcription. 
Similar to CensusFinder, Census Online connects users to other sites which have transcriptions & indexes of census records sorted by year and county.

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