NOTE: When renewing your membership, please include your email address, if you have one, so we may include you in a membership email directory.
[email protected]
Soccgs Home Page
Saddleback Valley Trails
South Orange County California Genealogical
Society
P.O. Box 4513, Mission Viejo, CA.
92690
Monthly meetings are held on the third Saturday of each
month from 10:00 a.m. to Noon at the Mission Viejo Family History Center
Institute Building, 27978 Marguerite Parkway, Mission Viejo, between
Medical Center Drive and Hillcrest Drive. Membership is open to anyone
wishing to join. Yearly membership fees are $20 per calendar year for
individuals, $25 for joint membership. SOCCGS is not affiliated with the
LDS Family History Center.
***************************************************************
IT IS TIME TO RENEW YOUR
MEMBERSHIP!
Please find the renewal form on the last page of the newsletter.
SOCCGS IS TEN YEARS OLD! SO WE ARE HAVING A
PARTY!
December 20 - 10:30 a.m.
All members are invited to a special Holiday and Tenth
Anniversary Party to be held at our regular meeting place. A special
celebration is being planned to honor the founding board members. All
founding members, who are in attendance, will also be recognized. We
want to say Thank You! A special program is planned, but I have no
details at this time. Just trust me that you will have a great time! The
special program and Lunch, provided by SOCCGS will be served, after a
short meeting and installation of officers. Please note time change for
this meeting only.
ELECTION OF OFFICERS FOR 2004
Officers for 2004 were elected at the November meeting. They are:
Joe Barney, president; Mary Jo McQueen, vice president, Bunny Smith,
recording secretary, Pat Weeks, corresponding secretary and Mary Jo
Nuttall, treasurer. We thank them for their service to the society. We
are looking forward to another great year!
SURNAME SEARCHING THROUGH SOCCGS’ WEB SITE
Web Master Herb Abrams is preparing to put the SOCCGS Surname Listing on
our web site. The plan is to list the email address of the person
submitting the surname. This will allow a researcher to send an email
directly to you to gain or give information. If you do not want your email
address listed please contact Herb at (949) 581-6292 or
<[email protected]>. We will discuss this at the general
meetings in January and February. The target date for finalizing the
surname list is February 23.
“
_______________________________________________________________________________________
SOCCGS LIBRARY
Lee Patton has volunteered his services as a docent substitute. Thank you Lee! Elsewhere in the newsletter you will find the books that have been shelved during November. There are also listings of the titles at the Docent Desk. Some of the items have been donated and others purchased by SOCCGS. Please let us know if you have suggestions for future book purchases. Call Janet or Mary Jo.
GENEALOGY NEWS
The Los Angeles County Records Office is located at 12400 Imperial,
Norwalk, 90650, near the junction of I-5 and the 605 Freeway. Parking is
free. The office is open Monday-Friday 8 a.m. - 5 p.m. Telephone (800)
815-2666. The following records are housed at this location: Birth Records,
Prior to 1906 & 1964 to present; Death Records, 1877 to present and
Marriage Records 1852 to present. They also have many Statewide indexes:
Births 1949-1984, Marriages 1949-1977, Deaths 1940-1977 & 1980-1989.
SAFARI NEWS
Due to the holiday season no safaris are planned for November and
December.
HOSPITALITY
I enjoy being your Hospitality Chairperson. It has given me a chance
to meet and talk with many new members and visitors, as well as getting to
know more of our current members. SOCCGS is made up of a wonderful group of
people with varied backgrounds and interests. I am taking pleasure in
getting to know more about where the search for ancestors is taking each of
you. If I haven't yet talked with you, please introduce yourself at one of
the meetings and let me know how your search is going.
Hopefully, you enjoy the refreshments we serve during the break at our
monthly meetings. These baked goods have been provided by members who
volunteer to share their specialties with us. I think having these goodies
provides a sociable and welcoming atmosphere for all of us to chat about
our favorite topic - genealogy! The following members have provided our
refreshments during 2003: Laura Mitchell, Eileen Merchant, Barbara Wilgus,
Margaret Luckman, Gary Van Zandt, Sheryl Fisher, Helen Swanson, Georgiana
Emery, Jo Ann Nothhelfer and Leesola Cannon. Please take time to say
"thank you" to these generous people when you see them next.
One last thing, have you joined the "Lunch Bunch” following our
monthly meetings? If not, please do. We go to a local restaurant each
month and everyone is welcome. This is good chance to get to know your
fellow members better and to find out more about their areas of research.
I wish you all continued success in your searches!
Sandy Crowley
ETHEL STROUPE
Virginia
:Thank you , Mrs.Stroupe, for your generous
donation!
LIBRARY ADDITIONS - NOVEMBER 2003
SOCCGS PURCHASES:
FREEMAN BATTERSHALL
by Bunny Smith
THE WEB http://www.geocities.com/baptist_documents/index.html
Freeman Battershall was the first ancestor that I
proved to be a Revolutionary War Veteran. He was born 10 March 1756 in
Franklin Township, Kent County, Maryland, the second son of John
Battershall. Freeman’s mother is not known since she died at his
birth. His grandfather, Henry Battershall came to Kent County in 1665, as a
small child, with his father, Roger Battershall. Roger came by himself
from Trowleigh, Devon County, England. John, the father of Freeman, was
born in 1711 and married in Kent County, later moving to Virginia where he
died.
In 1775 Freeman enlisted as a private with the 13th Virginia Regiment
under Capt. Benjamin Harrison. In September of 1776 the 13th Virginia
joined the Main Army under Major General Nathaniel Green and fought with
General George Washington in New Jersey. In October 1777, Captain
Harrison's unit participated in a major attack on General William Howe's
British Army at Germantown, Pennsylvania. During the winter of 1777-1778
the 13th Virginia was with George Washington at Valley Forge. The
Continental Congress, in the spring of 1778, approved a plan to capture
British-held Detroit in order to relieve British instigated Indian
depredations on the western frontier. The 8th Pennsylvania and the 13th
Virginia were selected to carry out this campaign. The 13th Virginia was
now commanded by Colonel John Gibson. He was selected by George Washington
because he was familiar with Indian warfare. In May 1779 the 13th was
redesignated as the 9th Virginia. Freeman's last assignment was in
January 1781 when the 9th went to Fort Pitt, Pennsylvania where he was
discharged at the end of the war. He was in many battles and endured long
cold winters. Since he fought under General Washington his regiment
remained active throughout the entire war. Freeman served over seven years
and sustained no major injuries or illnesses.
After the war Freeman settled in Fayette County, Virginia, which later
became a part of Kentucky. He married Nancy Rector in 1786 in Bourbon
County, Kentucky. She was born in 1767 to Daniel and Nancy Ann Oldham
Rector of Rectortown, Fauquier County, Virginia, In 1791 Freeman and
Nancy bought a farm in Clark County., Kentucky. They raised a family of
eleven children, all of them living long lives in Clark County. Freeman
died there in 1818. His wife Nancy received a widow’s pension 1842.
Much is known about Freeman and his family because Nancy used her family
bible to help prove she was eligible for a Revolutionary War pension. The
Battershall bible contained the birth and marriage dates of all of their
children and some grandchildren. Nancy moved to Montgomery County, Kentucky
to live with her daughter and died there in 1853.
Baptist History Homepage: A Source for Original Documents
Rogues, Vagabonds, and Fit Objects: The Treatment of the Poor
in Antebellum Virginia by James D. Watkinson.
Read at
http://www.poorhousestory.com/VA_Rogues_17.htm
Genealogists researching their ancestors in Canada have an exciting new
resource to add to their cache. The National Archives of Canada and the
National Library of Canada recently announced the creation of the Canadian
Genealogy Centre. These two organizations, in partnership with the Canadian
Culture Online program of the Department of Canadian Heritage, have created
a new website for those researching their ancestors. The website is
available at http://www.genealogy.gc.ca
Cool Tool: The Birth Date Calculator is designed to determine a birth
date when the age at death and the date of death are known. <
http://longislandgenealogy.com/birth.html>
Mailing Lists. List of all of the RootsWeb military-related mailing lists
are here:
https://mailinglists.rootsweb.com/listindexes/legacy/other/Military
Interesting old maps (mostly of NC, SC, VA & GA) can be found @
< http://www.tradingpath.org>
Were They All Shorter Back Then? You will find an interesting
article on this subject, which describes the changes in lifestyle that lead
to this increase in height on The Plimouth Plantation Web Site.
http://www.plimoth.org/learn/history/myth/fourfttwomyth.asp
1840 Census of Pensioners, Revolutionary or Military Services
with the Names, Ages and Places of Residence. <
http://www.usgennet.org/usa/topic/colonial/census/1840/index.html
More Good Map Sites: (Hope you can ignore the popup
ads, I guess someone has to pay for these “free” sites.)
http://philnorf.tripod.com/mapofthe.htm
http://sc_tories.tripod.com/map_of_the_great_philadelphia_wagon_road.htm
http://web.uccs.edu/~history/151images/GreatWagonRoad.gif
http://www.uky.edu/RGS/AppalCenter/580map10.gif
ROLLING HOUSE
Perhaps the following explanation will help some
genealogists understand this particular term. In the town of Urbanna,
Virginia, which is nestled along the Urbanna Creek and the Rappahannock
River, early colonial citizens fished and hunted in the bountiful game
areas along the river. They set fish traps and enjoyed the oysters of the
river. They felled some of the great trees along the river for sailing-ship
lumber and grew tobacco in their patented fields. Around 1649 more citizens
patented land in this area. In 1650 Capt. Ralph Wormeley acquired even more
land. Tobacco became the money crop of this part of Virginia. It was grown
in and around the area of Urbanna. In 1680 20 town sites were designated as
Colonial PORTS. Urbanna was one of these. Inspectors were nominated and
their job was to inspect the tobacco to assure quality before it was
shipped to England and Spain. The tobacco came to the port in
"kegs." These barrels were so designed as to be rolled from the
farm into the horse drawn wagons and hence to town where they were rolled
into the inspectors' warehouses (rolling houses) for character and quality
analysis. The Rolling Houses acquired this title much the same way as
Tobacco Auction Houses where the leaf was auctioned to the cigarette
manufacturers. Whiskey barrels even today are shaped similarly because
their weight prohibits an individual from lifting, dragging or pushing. The
barrel shape can be rolled along and handled by one person with no
difficulty. I hope this description will give others an appreciation of the
role tobacco played in the early colonial days of our nation.
Taylor Brooks [email protected] Fri., 22
August 2003
GENEALOGICAL EVENT CALENDAR
Dr Schweitzer is coming to San Diego! On January 10, 2004 the San Diego
Genealogical Society is hosting a Family History Seminar. For information:
Harvey Keating <[email protected]>
Write Your Life Story: Free classes at Santiago Canyon College, 541
North Lemon, Orange. Begin week of January 12, 2004. Call
714-628-5900 for more information or to register. Learn more about
the classes at http://www.MemoirMentor.net
TO BE WITHOUT HISTORY IS LIKE BEING FORGOTTEN
AND TO BE FORGOTTEN IS THE WORST FATE OF ALL.
A BRICK WALL CRUMBLES
by Leon Smith
Sometimes (if not all the time) it pays off to pau attention to your
monthly SOCCGS bulletin. I always enjoy reading the bulletin and I pick up
some good websites and research ideas. In last month's bulletin I noticed a
mention about L.A. County records being available in Norwalk. This sounded
a lot better to me than going all the way to L.A. I don't know about you,
but I dread going to big cities, fighting traffic, finding parking and
putting up with long lines in the government buildings. To my surprise, I
actually enjoyed my trip to Norwalk. At 10:30 in the morning, the traffic
wasn't too bad. As I got to the designated freeway exit I wondered how hard
it would be to find the right building. To my amazement, there were posted
signs guiding you to the county records office. There was even free
parking! Inside, there were idiot-proof colored strips on the floor to
follow to the correct person and there were no long lines. Since I didn't
have much information on my particular relative I was directed downstairs.
The personnel there were very helpful and within minutes I had found my
great great aunt’s document. It was a painless experience.
For years (about 25) I have tried in vain to discover more about my great
grandfather's parents. James Monroe Osborne was born in Missouri in 1882.
By the 1900 census he was listed as living with another family. As the
family folklore goes, his mother died before 1900. She had given birth to
7 children. The father was known to be a bit of a rounder and got into a
fight at a party. He supposedly knocked the other guy down so hard it was
thought he had been killed. It was said that he jumped on his horse and
fled the county. All of his children were farmed out to other families to
be raised.
Through family correspondence, I had the names of some of the parentless
children, but no dates of birth. I knew that my great grandfather had an
older sister, Lucy, who had lived in L.A. I knew nothing else about her. I
had located a death certificate and social security application for my
great grandfather, James Monroe Osborne. The documents showed his parents
as Frank Osborne and Mary Palmer. I also located a younger brother of
James, who had lived and died in San Francisco. His name was John Adams
Osborne. The death and social security documents were located for him and
also showed the parents as the same. I checked the 1880 census, but there
were several Frank Osbornes and I didn't know if the family was started
before or after 1880. I was stopped at that proverbial brick wall.
Now comes the November 2003 SOCCGS bulletin, and my trip to Norwalk. After
waiting for about a week I received Lucy (older sister) Osborne's death
certificate from 1940. She was quite a bit older than my great grandfather
as she was born in 1873. The death certificate listed her parents as
Benjamin Osborne and Mary Palmer. I was a little confused. I immediately
went to my files. I found that in the 1860 census there was a Benjamin
Osborn(e) listed as a son of Stephen Osborn(e) and Lavisa Bledsoe
Osborn(e). In the 1870 census the same Benjamin had been listed as Frank
with the same family. By the 1880 census he was again listed as Frank, but
with his own family, with Mary as the wife, and several children. One of
the children was Lucy, 7 years old. Now it all made sense. His name was
actually Benjamin Franklin Osborn(e) and in keeping with the American
spirit Benjamin had named two of his sons James Monroe and John Adams
Osborn(e).
I had previously researched this particular Osborn family and traced them
back several generations to Virginia. I am now about to discover more about
the Palmer family. I'm just waiting for some documents to reach my mailbox
hopefully in the near future. Thank you sister Lucy. Thank you also to Mary
Jo for assisting me in watching another brick wall crumble.
FREE ONLINE GENEALOGY COURSES FROM BYU INDEPENDENT STUDY
PROGRAM
(The following is an announcement from Brigham Young
University's Division of Continuing Education)
Brigham Young University Now Has 26 Family History Web Courses For Free
Through the BYU Department of Independent Study, twenty-six, noncredit,
family history courses are now available for free. Anyone at anytime can
take these online courses from any computer with Internet access.
"Technology has made it possible for us to offer free courses. Our
free courses are our regular courses, but we can use the technology to
offer those free to an audience that is not requiring credit," said
Dwight Laws, Director of Independent Study.
"Last year the department had three family history courses for free,
and had 30,000 people finish at least the first lesson. We have no idea
what to expect this year where we have many more free courses,"
mentioned Laws.
The courses cover topics ranging from how to get started to include
French, German, Scandinavian and Huguenot research. Each research course is
taught by a well-known, accredited genealogist. All course instructional
materials are available free online.
There is no time frame required to complete the course. A student could
conceivably finish the course in less than twenty-four hours due to a
feature called Speedback. Speedback assignments submitted on the course
website receive instant feedback.
A person does not need to register for a free course. Anyone can go to the
department website at http://elearn.byu.edu and click on Special
Offers to access the free courses.
*******
BYU offers free on-line genealogy tutorials as part of their Independent
Study Program:
http://ce.byu.edu/is/site/special_offers/famhist.dhtm
Other genealogy web courses are available at:
http://ce.byu.edu/is/site/special_offers/freecourses.dhtm
DEFINITION:
FAMILY HISTORY IS THE STUDY OF FAMILY AND THE
IDENTIFICATION OF ANCESTORS AND THEIR
PERTINENT INFORMATION.
Our membership dues enable us to have funds for our
library, programs, newsletters, insurance and other needs relating to the
operation of our organization. The prompt payment of these dues will make
it possible to book speakers in advance for 2004 and have the budget ready
for membership approval, as the bylaws require.
Thank you,
Ruby White, Treasurer
Iris Graham, Membership Chairman
Mary Jo McQueen, Program Chairman
( ) New ( ) Renewal ( ) Individual, $20/yr ( ) Jt. Members, same address $25/yr
Renewal Membership Number(s) _________________________ ________________________
Name(s) ________________________________________________________________________
Address _________________________________________________________________________
City ____________________________ State_____Zip__________Phone ___________________
Email address:________________________________________________
Make check payable to: SOCCGS (South Orange County CA Genealogical Society) Check No. __________________
Mail with application to: SOCCGS, P.O. Box 4513, Mission Viejo, CA 92690-4513 Date Rec'd__________________
NOTE: When renewing your membership, please include your email address, if you have one, so we may include you in a membership email directory.
[email protected]
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