Genealogy and History Fan

In recent months leading up to the Primary elections, we heard much about Rev. Jeremiah Wright, the controversial retired minister of the church that Barack Obama had attended for 20 years. Some say it doesn’t really matter what Rev. Wright speaks from the pulpit. Could Wright’s views really have little or no influence on his parishioners? This current story reminds me of a very old family story that shows the great influence that one minister had on his congregation.

Rev. Peter Muhlenberg, a Lutheran Minister in Shenandoah County, Virginia was chosen to head a “Committee of Safety” on January 10, 1775. He began to enlist Germans and others in the Valley for what many called the “inevitable conflict”.

In the early morning of April 19, 1775 some 70 armed militiamen from Massachusetts fixed upon British guardsmen. This unordered attack which is known as “the shot heard around the world” was what officially began the American Revolution.

A few days later on April 23rd, Congress ordered 13,600 American soldiers to be mobilized. On May 15th, Congress placed the country in a “state of defense.” One month later George Washington was appointed by a unanimous vote to become the General and Commander-in-chief of the new Continental Army.

Meanwhile down in Virginia, Rev. Muhlenberg, preached his final sermon to his parishioners. He resigned as their minister and then threw off his robes. Underneath his robes was the uniform of a Colonel in the Continental Army (blue coat with yellow buttons worn over white breeches). He marched out of the church with the male members of the congregation following him to the recruiting office! We believe that one of our relatives, William Clevenger, was one of those men who was persuaded by his pastor, to sign up for the “cause of independence”.

I can imagine that the good Reverent on that day may have quoted Psalm 31:24 “Be ye of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart, all ye that hope in the Lord.”

Col. Muhlenberg and his regiment served with Washington at Morristown, New Jersey where Muhlenberg was promoted to Brigadier-General. It has been reported that William Clevenger was also there at Morristown. William was later wounded at the battle of Monmouth.

Do you believe that some ministers of today are over-stepping their bounds? Do you believe they should espouse their political and “non-traditional” views from the pulpit? Has worshipping God, loving our neighbor and serving mankind been put on the back burner for some in this political year? Tell me what you think.

 Did you know that some perspective parents are paying baby name consultants large fees to help them decide on the perfect name?  Read the following article for some free and interesting advice for choosing a meaningful baby name. 

A Meaningful Baby Name

By [http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Marie_Wilson]Marie Wilson

Having a baby is one of the most moving and meaningful moments in the life of a parent. Just think, when you go through the big changes that bringing a child into the world entails, your names change forever from the first name your parents gave you to “Mommy” and “Daddy”. In a lot of cases you and your spouse will even get in the habit of calling each other by those names which can become a habit for the rest of your lives, or at least until your names change again to “Grandma” and “Grandpa”.

So it’s not uncommon to want to give your newborn child a name that is rich with meaning as well. Most of the common names that reach great popularity do have a history that may go back centuries in cultures from around the world. So by finding a good book of baby names or a web site such as babynamesworld, you can have some fun looking for names that have special meaning.

However, in reality, you have to wonder how meaningful that name will be to your child. If you took 50 children into a room and asked them to tell the meaning of their names, you would probably be looking at 50 blank stares. And when it comes down to it, western people really don’t think about the origins or original meanings of their names. It is more a trivia game to know that Jane means God is gracious or that Alexander means defender of men or that George means earth worker or that Erin means from Ireland. It is hardly something that will form the character of a child.

So to select a baby name that is meaningful in a genuine way, its best to connect the name to something the child will come to value as he or she grows up. That is why giving your child the name of a revered grandparent or someone from family history is very meaningful. Despite the fact that sometimes they don’t act like it, family is important to children and if they feel a connection to their family history that gives them validation and meaning.

Similarly using your child’s name as a connection to their legacy can be very meaningful to a child. In ancient cultures, a child is born into a village that may have been there for centuries. There is a sense of national identity and social value that comes just from being “a Frenchmen”, “A German” or “An Irishman”. And even though in modern cultures there is patriotic pride, a connection to a child’s ethnic origins can have deep meaning for them over time. And a child’s name can have very rich ethnic meaning to him or her.

There are many sources of meaning that can make the naming of your child an event that touches something bigger and better than the child or even the family. Giving the little one the name of a famous figure from history or popular culture can provide a connection to an inspirational leader. Reagan, Kennedy, Lincoln or Washington are first names for both boys and girls that connect to leaders in our culture that have changed things for the better.

Biblical names or names from religious history have a similar power to put deeper meaning behind the name of a young person. Or if your family has a great appreciation for the arts, names from the world of painting, film making or music can also reflect your admiration for the greats of that genre and connect your child to that world in a very natural way.

Once you open up the world of meaningful baby names, you may have trouble narrowing down just the right name for your child. Use normal common sense when using a meaningful name such as how well the name works with your last name and whether the name will be pronounceable and workable in an every day sort of way as well.

But by adding layers of meaning to the name of your child, you provide history, culture, family connection and role models whose shoes any child would do well to grow into and in a way, you are starting the task of molding that child to live up to that meaningful name in their future as well. And that is a good calling for any young person to live up to.

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I view a lot of census records and other historical records and I often wonder why some people would name a precious baby such a name as Hogg Rhodes, Envy Burger or Tuna N. Fish. These names were on 1930 U.S. census records. Have you found an unusual name in your research? I would love to hear some more “rare ones”. Send them to me please.

Marriage records are such a vital part of family history research. It’s also fun and very exciting to find an unknown maiden name. That new found name opens up a whole new family line! Read the following article to learn more about marriage records.

Using Marriage Records In Your Genealogy Searches

By [http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Mike_Selvon]Mike Selvon

Building a family tree involves trying to locate as many marriage records, birth records, and death records as possible as these three types of documents are integral to genealogical searches.

Generally, these three events are commonly included in a family tree. They are important to follow a woman’s paths through time as she usually changed names to use the surname of their husband after marriage.

Since marriage records are vital to compiling an accurate family tree, these records should be near the top of your genealogical research list. How to gather them will depend on the particular period and location of each marriage.

Modern marriage records are usually compiled by the state, city and/or county through the vital records department. Many genealogical sites online offer one click searching of vital records databases, or you can visit each location’s vital records department website.

Depending on each department’s policy, you may be able to order full copies of them online, or you might need to send a written request accompanied by a small fee.

In modern times, we safeguard our information and records as much as possible by backing up and archiving computer files to prevent loss. In earlier times, security of written documents wasn’t as easy, and many marriage records may have been destroyed.

While people attempted to protect information and store it in safe places, fires could wipe out the documents of a whole town. Also, persecuted individuals or groups may have had their documents destroyed or records simply were never completed.

Some genealogical societies have compiled their own databases of early ones, as well as birth and death records. These databases generally consist of information that has been submitted by member researchers.

While they strive for accuracy, inconsistencies or guesswork may creep in. Take advantage of these excellent resources, but be sure to document your sources. If you hit a dead end or false trail, you may need to consider that the information you obtained might not perfectly accurate.

Marriage records can provide more information about your ancestor than simply the date on which he or she married. They often document the names of the couple’s parents, social security numbers, pre-marriage addresses and other pertinent information. Therefore, it is important to get a full copy of the original document if possible.

Marriage records can be difficult to track down for unions that happened a long time ago. However, it is worth taking the time to do so. Along with birth records and death records, they are among the most critical documents that you can find when researching your ancestor and his or her daily life.

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The subject of marriage records made me think about wedding attire. I remember reading that the first wedding veil was worn by George Washington’s step- granddaughter. In 1799, Eleanor Custis, decided to wear white lace over her face on her wedding day. Her fiance inspired this when he told her how beautiful her face looked through a lace window curtain.

“At the touch of love, everyone becomes a poet.”

Plato (427- 347 B.C.)

The Family History Library (FHL), of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints,(Mormons, LDS) has the world’s largest collection of genealogical records. The library is located in downtown Salt Lake City, Utah. It was founded in 1894 but the current facility was built in 1985. The building is 5 floors with 142,000 square feet. It houses 2.4 million microfilm rolls, 742,000 microfiche, 310,000 books, and 4,500 periodicals. There are over 2 billion records of deceased people on databases. All of these records and more are available free of charge. The library averages about 2,500 visitors daily and is open 72 hours weekly on most weeks.

If all of this is not great enough, Ancestry.com, has recently teamed up with the FHL to provide free access of their records to library patrons. Thirteen (of the 3400+) Family History Centers will also offer this service. These 13 centers are some of the largest regional centers. The centers are in California at Los Angeles, Oakland, Orange, Sacramento and San Diego; in Idaho at Idaho Falls and Pocatello; in Utah at Logan, Ogden and St. George. Also included are Mesa Arizona, Las Vegas Nevada as well as Hyde Park in London England.

Ancestry.com began in 1997 and has grown steadily to become the number one online genealogy site. It has over 24,000 databases, including 5 billion names with family history records. Ancestry has the only complete online U.S. Federal Census collection (1790-1930). They also have the largest online collection of U.S. ship passenger lists, military records and African American records.

Visitors to the FHL or selected Centers will now have an even greater opportunity to be successful in researching their family history.

“If you want to understand today, you have to search yesterday.”

Pearl S. Buck (1892-1973)