New Bookmarks Added (weekly)

• 50 Best Genealogy Brick Wall Solutions

  Tags: genealogy, tips

• Avoid The Pitfalls in Native American Genealogy - YouTube

  Tags: Tutorials, genealogy, tip, video

  • - By Nancy Lecompte

• Tuesday’s Tip – Interpreting primary sources – the 6 ‘w’s | Essex Voices Past

  Tags: genealogy, opinion, tips, records, tutorial

  • Each primary source you can decode will give you a layer or building block towards historical truth.
  • So understanding the ‘tricks’ of decoding sources are vital to the craft of being a historian.
  • a primary source doesn’t have to be a document – it could be anything!
  • What?
    What is the document you are looking at?
  • When?
    When was your document created?
  • Was your source written at the period you are studying or was it written afterwards or retrospectively (and therefore with the benefit hindsight)?
  • Who?
    Who created it?  Who was the intended audience?
  • Where?
    Where was your document written
  • Why?
    There should be lots of ‘whys’ on your mind when you analyse your source:

• Massachusetts Indians in the Revolutionary War | Native Heritage Project

  Tags: massachusetts, native, research

• Maine Indians and the Revolutionary War | Native Heritage Project

  Tags: native, research, maine

• Ne-Do-Ba – Gwilodwogan (Wabanaki People) | Native Heritage Project

  Tags: native, research, maine

  • - By Nancy Lecompte

Posted from Diigo. The rest of Ne-Do-Ba group favorite links are here.

Lewis Kindness - A Soldier’s Story

Reading Civil War pension files is a quirk I have. Over the years I have collected quite a number of them. Most are for Native Americans. The story these files tell about the men (or the widow they left behind) who were willing to sacrifice it all for their country are all too frequently extremely sad. The pension file for Lewis Kindness is no exception.

His pension file does not provide any information of use to my Kanistanaux project. However, I have a soft spot for soldier’s stories (a disclaimer in case you haven’t figured it out yet)  and I have a blog. So, dear readers, I have the privilege of telling this soldier’s story.

I want to thank Caroline K. Andler of the Brothertown Nation for sharing Lewis’ Pension file with me. I also want to thank her and Andrea R. Brucker for the wonderful work they did in producing a book titled Letters Home From The Brothertown "Boys".

Caroline gifted me with a copy last month. It is a most wonderful book which I highly recommend to anyone interested in Civil War history. They did an absolutely wonderful job of transcribing dozens and dozens of letters written by Brothertown men. They have also compiled biographies of the companies the men served in and for many of the individuals. A nice finishing touch is the inclusion of some wonderful photos of the “boys”.

K’chi Wliwni Nidobak -  Great Thanks My Friends

P.S. If you click on the book cover or it’s title, you will be taken to Amazon.com where you can purchase a copy and Ne-Do-Ba will receive a small percentage of the profit as an Amazon Affiliate.

Kanistanaux Family in 1870

I did it! I am so excited. I found the Kanistanaux family in the 1870 Census.

All of them together!!!!!!!!!!!!

U-Ta-Wa-Un - Who are you?

Once again, while searching in old newspapers for something completely different, I found a nice little treasure. Actually this one was pretty big, if you count the number of words.
At some point in a puzzling research project, I think most genealogists find themselves asking a dead ancestor something like “Betty, just who are you really?” We might even say it out loud if nobody is listening. Of course we don’t generally expect to get an answer, but what can it hurt to ask? At a minimum, it’s a way to vent frustration. And when we get an answer? That’s the really cool and Really Spooky part of genealogy that keeps me hooked.
I other day I said out loud something to the effect of “U-ta-wa-un, you little stinker, who the heck are you?” (actually that’s cleaned up considerably for my public audience). I then decided to put him aside. Within days I stumbled on a local news piece that tells me exactly who U-Ta-Wa-Un was before he was U-Ta-Wa-Un. He was listening and he answered - Spooky stuff!
Pretty cool what you can find when you’re not looking for it, ha ;)