New Website......

I'm trying to do the right thing withe the Genealogy Do-Over and have set up a new website. I'm slowly adding to the database as I get sources/documentation/proofs to the people. I have some names there that haven't had their sources - so am looking for more.


Excavating My Roots


Would love to have you check it out and see if you have any pictures to add (or give you permission to do so)


Thanks for checking it out

Genealogy Do-Over - Week 1 Progress Update

Happy Birthday to:

My 8th Great Grandfather, Thomas Hoyt

My 4th Cousin 3x removed, Joseph Blake Cram


Married on January 1

My 4th cousin 8x removed, Sidney Cram (m. Hannah Goodspeed)

My 8th Great Uncle, John Hull (m. Mercy Jacobs)

In Memory

Born in 25 Nov 1854
My 1st cousin 3x removed, Frank Curtis Plaisted. He would have been 161 years old.

Born in 1885
My 1st cousin 3x removed, Arthur Edward Clement. He would have been 130 years old.

Born 09 Dec 1889
My half 1st cousin 2x removed, Harry Mallory Hutchinson. He would have been 126 years old.

Genealogy Do-Over - Week 1

Well the journey has begun........

Photo by Thomas McEntee

Week 1 – 2-8 January 2015
 Setting Previous Research Aside
Well everything is put away

 Preparing to Research
Clean up the desk area
Set up RM6 to start a new database
Set up a Research Log (been a long time since I used one)
Review personal book library (need to double check what I have)
Create a Genealogy Calendar (calendar of #GeneDoOver and blog entries)
Set up/Re-organize electronic files
Check out Evernote, Evidentia and other programs (not sure budget will allow)
Think about a binder system
Make a list of relatives to contact (remaining uncle and cousins)


 Establishing Base Practices and Guidelines
Standardize electronic file naming practices (be consistant)
Create to-do list for research
Citing Sources correctly (may have to invest in book/chart)



You can find the complete schedule and more details here....

Epic Fail 2014 - Genealogy Do-Over 2015

Well I was an epic fail in 2014 with keeping up with the blog and doing genealogy the right way... I did manage to prove a Minnesota Pioneer this year, so was able to join Minnesota Territorial Pioneers through Charles Nelson Stewart.

I want to try to get my paperwork together for Wisconsin Century/Pioneer (Wisconsin State Genealogical Society) - I have 2 people that I could do.

I would also like to finalize my paperwork for National Society of New England Women and try to find a 1812 soldier in the family.

But most and foremost I need to get my my act together with doing the research.


I've decided to join Thomas MacEntee and his Genealogy Do-Over in 2015 (Starting January 2, 2015)

You can find the schedule and more details here....

You start all over (boxing up what you have, so you can start with a clean slate) You can still use documents that you might have had to pay for (vital records) and those from far away research.

My goals:

1) Learn to cite my sources correctly. I know I haven't always done the best job through the years.
2) Have a Research Log (learn how to use one)
3) Try to do more on the blog during the process - blog on how things are going.
4) Organize (via computer and files while doing the Do-Over)
5) Hope to participate in a 52 week blogging meme (not sure what's on for this year)

Genealogy Meme - Updated 2014

I decided to do this genealogy meme that's going
around the genealogy blogs.


The list should be annotated in the following manner:
Things you have already done or found: bold face type
Things you would like to do or find: italicize
Things you haven’t done or found and don’t care to: plain type

1. Belong to a genealogical society.
2. Researched records onsite at a court house.
3. Transcribed records.
4. Uploaded tombstone pictures to Find-A-Grave.
5. Documented ancestors for four generations (self, parents, grandparents, great-grandparents) .
6. Joined Facebook.
7. Helped to clean up a run-down cemetery.
8. Joined the Genea-Bloggers Group on Facebook.
9. Attended a genealogy conference.
10. Lectured at a genealogy conference.
11. Spoke on a genealogy topic at a local genealogy society.
12. Been the editor of a genealogy society newsletter.
13. Contributed to a genealogy society publication.
14. Served on the board or as an officer of a genealogy society.
15. Got lost on the way to a cemetery.
16. Talked to dead ancestors.
17. Researched outside the state in which I live.
18. Knocked on the door of an ancestral home and visited with the current occupants.
19. Cold called a distant relative.
20. Posted messages on a surname message board.
21. Uploaded a gedcom file to the internet.
22. Googled my name.
23. Performed a random act of genealogical kindness.
24. Researched a non-related family, just for the fun of it.
25. Have been paid to do genealogical research.
26. Earn a living (majority of income) from genealogical research.
27. Wrote a letter (or email) to a previously unknown relative.
28. Contributed to one of the genealogy carnivals.
29. Responded to messages on a message board or forum.
30. Was injured while on a genealogy excursion.
31. Participated in a genealogy meme.
32. Created family history gift items (calendars, cookbooks, etc.).
33. Performed a record lookup for someone else.
34. Went on a genealogy seminar cruise.
35. Am convinced that a relative must have arrived here from outer space.
36. Found a disturbing family secret. **New**
37. Told others about a disturbing family secret.
38. Combined genealogy with crafts (family picture quilt, scrapbooking).
39. Think genealogy is a passion not a hobby.
40. Assisted finding next of kin for a deceased person
41. Taught someone else how to find their roots.
42. Lost valuable genealogy data due to a computer crash or hard drive failure.
43. Been overwhelmed by available genealogy technology.
44. Know a cousin of the 4th degree or higher.
45. Disproved a family myth through research.
46. Got a family member to let you copy photos.
47. Used a digital camera to “copy” photos or records.
48. Translated a record from a foreign language.
49. Found an immigrant ancestor’s passenger arrival record.
50. Looked at census records on microfilm, not on the computer.
51. Used microfiche.
52. Visited the Family History Library in Salt Lake City.
53. Visited more than one LDS Family History Center.
54. Visited a church or place of worship of one of your ancestors.
55. Taught a class in genealogy.
56. Traced ancestors back to the 18th Century.
57. Traced ancestors back to the 17th Century.
58. Traced ancestors back to the 16th Century.
59. Can name all of your great-great-grandparents.
60. Found an ancestor’s Social Security application.
61. Know how to determine a soundex code without the help of a computer.
62. Used Steve Morse’s One-Step searches.
63. Own a copy of Evidence Explained by Elizabeth Shown Mills.
64. Helped someone find an ancestor using records you had never used for your own research.
65. Visited the main National Archives building in Washington, DC.
66. Visited the Library of Congress.
67. Have an ancestor who came over on the Mayflower.
68. Have an ancestor who fought in the Civil War.
69. Taken a photograph of an ancestor’s tombstone.
70. Became a member of the Association of Graveyard Rabbits.
71. Can read a church record in Latin.
72. Have an ancestor who changed their name.
73. Joined a Rootsweb mailing list.
74. Created a family website.
75. Have more than one "genealogy" blog.
76. Was overwhelmed by the amount of family information received from someone.
77. Have broken through at least one brick wall.
78. Visited the DAR Library in Washington D.C.
79. Borrowed a microfilm from the Family History Library through a local Family History Center.
80. Have done indexing for Family Search Indexing or another genealogy project.
81. Visited the Allen County Public Library Genealogy Center in Fort Wayne, Indiana.
82. Had an amazing serendipitous find of the "Psychic Roots" variety.
83. Have an ancestor who was a Patriot in the American Revolutionary War.
84. Have an ancestor who was a Loyalist in the American Revolutionary War.
85. Have both Patriot & Loyalist ancestors.
86. Have used Border Crossing records to locate an ancestor. **New**
87. Use maps in my genealogy research.
88. Have a convict ancestor who was transported from the UK.
89. Found a bigamist amongst the ancestors.
90. Visited the National Archives in Kew.
91. Visited St. Catherine's House in London to find family records.
92. Found a cousin in Australia (or other foreign country).
93. Consistently cite my sources.
94. Visited a foreign country (i.e. one I don't live in) in search of ancestors.
95. Can locate any document in my research files within a few minutes.
96. Have an ancestor who was married four times (or more).
97. Made a rubbing of an ancestors gravestone.
98. Organized a family reunion.
99. Published a family history book (on one of my families).
100. Learned of the death of a fairly close relative through research.
101. Have done the genealogy happy dance.
102. Sustained an injury doing the genealogy happy dance.
103. Offended a family member with my research.
104. Reunited someone with precious family photos or artifacts.

This Day in my Family - February 23

Family Events
1642 - Death: Frances Tuxbury,
1653 - Birth: Abial Sanborn, Hampton, Rockingham, New Hampshire, USA
1662 - Birth: Sarah Nudd, Hampton, Rockingham, New Hampshire, USA
1680 - Birth: John Heiford, Braintree, Norfolk, Massachusetts, USA
1692 - Death: Richard Hildreth, Chelmsford, Middlesex, Massachusetts, USA
1710 - Death: Jeremiah Rose, Scituate, Plymouth, Massachusetts, USA
1716 - Birth: Elizabeth Frost, Billerica, Middlesex, Massachusetts, USA
1723 - Birth: Zachariah Soule, Plympton, Plymouth, Massachusetts, USA
1729 - Birth: Hephzebah Frost, Framingham, Middlesex, Massachusetts, USA
1733 - Birth: Alice Corbet, Mendon, Worcester, Massachusetts, USA
1737 - Birth: Hannah Sargent, Plymouth, Plymouth, Massachusetts, USA
1737 - Birth: Richard Sanborn, Rockinghan Co, New Hampshire, United States
1742 - Death: Samuel Judkins, Kingston, Rockingham, New Hampshire, USA
1742 - Death: Samuel Junkins, Kingston, Rockingham, New Hampshire, USA
1742 - Death: Joseph Junkins, Kingston, Rockingham, New Hampshire, USA
1743 - Birth: Eleazer Goodrich, Tolland, Tolland, Connecticut, USA
1751 - Birth: Henry Dearborn, Hampton Falls, Rockingham, New Hampshire, USA
1755 - Birth: Hepzibah Wheeler Locke,
1761 - Death: Patience Tallman,
1761 - Birth: Theodate Sanborn, York, Gloucester, Virginia, USA
1775 - Birth: Abigail Cram, Wilton, Hillsborough, New Hampshire, USA
1779 - Death: David Marston, Hampton, Rockingham, New Hampshire, USA
1790 - Marriage: Thomas Mann Randolph and Martha Washington Jefferson, Monticello, Albemarle, Virginia, USA
1790 - Birth: Ann Lord Frost, Norwich, New London, Connecticut, United States
1803 - Birth: Luthera Johnson,
1803 - Birth: Artemas Frost, Shirley, Middlesex, Massachusetts, USA
1805 - Birth: Allen Cram, Roxbury, Vermont, USA
1815 - Death: John Hanks, Greenwich, Washington, New York, USA
1825 - Death: Joseph Ela, Portsmouth, Rockingham, New Hampshire, USA
1826 - Birth: Samuel Hillard Folsom, Contoocook, Merrimack, New Hampshire, USA
1829 - Death: Dorcas Abbot, Wilton, Hillsborough, New Hampshire, USA
1831 - Death: Ursula Colton, Westminster, Windham, Vermont, USA
1834 - Death: Ursula Colton, Westminster, Windham, Vermont, USA
1838 - Birth: Abiel Abbot Livermore, Wilton, Hillsborough, New Hampshire, USA
1838 - Birth: Nicholas Hiliard Freeman, New Lexington, Alabama
1839 - Marriage: William H Stockham and Abigail Adams,
1839 - Birth: Carolina Adelia Frost,
1843 - Birth: Joseph Clark, Eastport, Washington, Maine, USA
1844 - Birth: Edwin Bryant, Gustavus, Trumbull, Ohio, USA
1848 - Burial: John Quincy Adams, Quincy, Norfolk, Massachusetts, USA
1848 - Death: John Quincy Adams, Washington City, District Of Columbia, District of Columbia, USA
1849 - Birth: Julia Ella Chase, Buckfield, Oxford, Maine, USA
1852 - Birth: Thomas Victor Wendling, France
1859 - Death: Thomas Record, Buckfield, Oxford, Maine, USA
1863 - Birth: William Herschel Cobb, Notia, Cherokee, North Carolina, USA
1871 - Birth: Henry Ellingwood Abbot, Cambridge, Middlesex, Massachusetts, USA
1880 - Death: Bennie B Batchelder,
1881 - Death: Betsey Slade Wheeler, Columbus, Fairfield, Ohio, USA
1882 - Birth: Donna Laura Crane, Sharon, Franklin, Ohio, USA
1887 - Marriage: Frank True and Lottie Wheeler,
1899 - Birth: Leslie Edmund Perry, Hebron, Oxford, Maine, USA
1915 - Birth: Doris Louise Garrison, Salina, Saline, Kansas, USA
1918 - Birth: Rita Parker, York, Gloucester, Virginia, USA
1921 - Death: Charles Leivermore Frost, Campbell, Ionia, Michigan, USA
1976 - Death: Max Griswold Dwyer, Shelburne, Franklin, Massachusetts, USA
1984 - Death: Bernice Marilla Horton, Taunton, Bristol, Massachusetts, USA

This day in my Family - February 22

1634 - Death: Elizabeth Sale, Chesham, Buckinghamshire, England (9th Great Grandmother)
1648 - Birth: William Cutter, Cambridge, Middlesex, Massachusetts, USA
1665 - Birth: Esther Batchelder, Hampton, Rockingham, New Hampshire, USA
1666 - Death: Tristram Hull, Barnstable, Barnstable, Massachusetts, USA
1675 - Birth: Sarah Dunton, Billerica, Middlesex, Massachusetts, USA
1676 - Marriage: John Clement and Elizabeth Ayer,
1676 - Death: Samuel Judkins,
1682 - Birth: Ann Clifford, Hampton, Rockingham, New Hampshire, USA
1687 - Death: Abigail Sale, Rehoboth, Bristol, Massachusetts, USA
1691 - Birth: John Lowe, Ipswich, Essex, Massachusetts, USA
1703 - Birth: Abigail Sanborn,
1711 - Birth: Elizabeth Frost, Cambridge, Middlesex, Massachusetts, USA
1716 - Birth: Mary Dudley, Sutton, Worcester, Massachusetts, USA
1721 - Marriage: Jonathan Tuck and Tabitha Towle,
1728 - Birth: Elizabeth Merrill, Methuen, Essex, Massachusetts, USA
1735 - Birth: Stephen Chase,
1736 - Birth: Hannah Dexter, Malden, Middlesex, Massachusetts, USA
1737 - Marriage: James Hartwell and Jemima Frost, Groton, Middlesex, Massachusetts, USA
1749 - Death: Elizabeth Ingalls, Rehoboth, Bristol, Massachusetts, USA
1761 - Birth: Amy Tenant,
1768 - Death: Priscilla Merrill, Nottingham, Rockingham, New Hampshire, USA
1777 - Birth: Samuel French, Berkley, Bristol, Massachusetts, USA
1778 - Birth: Putnam Spaulding, Merrimack, Hillsborough, New Hampshire, USA
1779 - Marriage: Moses Sargent and Sarah Cram,
1782 - Birth: Elisha Hitchcock, Westminster, Windham, Vermont, USA
1785 - Marriage: Thomas Walker and Catharine McLellan, Clifton, Bedfordshire, England
1786 - Marriage: Simon Godfrey and Molly Evans,
1786 - Birth: Simon Hitchcock, Westminster, Windham, Vermont, USA
1789 - Death: Sarah Evans, Woburn, Middlesex, Massachusetts, USA
1791 - Birth: David Frost, Natick, Middlesex, Massachusetts, USA
1799 - Marriage: Lawrence Lewis and Eleanor Parke Custis, Mount Vernon, Fairfax, Virginia, USA
1799 - Birth: Sally Prescott, Hampton Falls, Rockingham, New Hampshire, USA
1801 - Birth: Lydia Frost, Tewksbury, Middlesex, Massachusetts, USA
1802 - Death: Nathaniel Batchelder, Hampton, Rockingham, New Hampshire, USA
1807 - Birth: Herman Frost, Tewksbury, Middlesex, Massachusetts, USA
1811 - Birth: Robinson Bertwell, Great Harwood, Lancashire, England
1812 - Death: Nathaniel Batchelder, Hampton, Rockingham, New Hampshire, USA
1816 - Marriage: James Farrer and Roxanna Frost,
1824 - Birth: Pardon Stockham, Scioto Co, Ohio, USA
1824 - Birth: Nehemiah Hill, Millville, Cumberland, New Jersey, USA
1824 - Birth: Moses Clough, Mount Vernon, Kennebec, Maine, USA
1826 - Birth: George Frederick Holcomb, Montréal, Quebec, Canada
1831 - Birth: Chloe Huntoon, Plainfield, Washington, Vermont, USA
1840 - Birth: Martin V Reed, Garland, Maine, USA
1841 - Birth: Marion S Frost,
1843 - Death: Samuel Judkins, Salisbury, New Hampshire, USA
1871 - Death: Melinda Locke,
1873 - Death: Sarah Rice, Ypsilanti, Washtenaw, Michigan, USA
1880 - Birth: Senora Lassephine Cobb, North Carolina, USA
1882 - Marriage: Andrew J Batchelder and Elizabeth C Brown, Hampton, Rockingham, New Hampshire, USA
1888 - Death: Elizabeth P Todd, Springfield, Sangamon, Illinois, USA
1893 - Death: Lewis Phidello Frost, Janesville, Rock, Wisconsin, USA
1894 - Death: Calista M Wheelock, Jefferson Co, New York, USA
1896 - Birth: Susan Ellen Hamblin, Kanab, Kane, Utah, USA
1914 - Birth: Ardus Vee Boulden, Castle Dale, Emery, Utah, USA
2004 - Death: David Mitchell Pletcher, Bloomington, Monroe, Indiana, United States

Obituary Sunday - Ellen Olive "Nell" Clement Fitzpatrick

The Sheboygan(WI) Press
Apr 6, 1976

Have looked high and low for the obit in the Monday issue mentioned, but have never found it.

Genealogy Meme - Updated 2013

I decided to do this genealogy meme that's going
around the genealogy blogs.


The list should be annotated in the following manner:
Things you have already done or found: bold face type
Things you would like to do or find: italicize
Things you haven’t done or found and don’t care to: plain type

1. Belong to a genealogical society.
2. Researched records onsite at a court house.
3. Transcribed records.
4. Uploaded tombstone pictures to Find-A-Grave.
5. Documented ancestors for four generations (self, parents, grandparents, great-grandparents) .
6. Joined Facebook.
7. Helped to clean up a run-down cemetery.
8. Joined the Genea-Bloggers Group on Facebook.
9. Attended a genealogy conference.
10. Lectured at a genealogy conference.
11. Spoke on a genealogy topic at a local genealogy society.
12. Been the editor of a genealogy society newsletter.
13. Contributed to a genealogy society publication.
14. Served on the board or as an officer of a genealogy society.
15. Got lost on the way to a cemetery.
16. Talked to dead ancestors.
17. Researched outside the state in which I live.
18. Knocked on the door of an ancestral home and visited with the current occupants.
19. Cold called a distant relative.
20. Posted messages on a surname message board.
21. Uploaded a gedcom file to the internet.
22. Googled my name.
23. Performed a random act of genealogical kindness.
24. Researched a non-related family, just for the fun of it.
25. Have been paid to do genealogical research.
26. Earn a living (majority of income) from genealogical research.
27. Wrote a letter (or email) to a previously unknown relative.
28. Contributed to one of the genealogy carnivals.
29. Responded to messages on a message board or forum.
30. Was injured while on a genealogy excursion.
31. Participated in a genealogy meme.
32. Created family history gift items (calendars, cookbooks, etc.).
33. Performed a record lookup for someone else.
34. Went on a genealogy seminar cruise.
35. Am convinced that a relative must have arrived here from outer space.
36. Found a disturbing family secret.
37. Told others about a disturbing family secret.
38. Combined genealogy with crafts (family picture quilt, scrapbooking).
39. Think genealogy is a passion not a hobby.
40. Assisted finding next of kin for a deceased person
41. Taught someone else how to find their roots.
42. Lost valuable genealogy data due to a computer crash or hard drive failure.
43. Been overwhelmed by available genealogy technology.
44. Know a cousin of the 4th degree or higher.
45. Disproved a family myth through research.
46. Got a family member to let you copy photos.
47. Used a digital camera to “copy” photos or records.
48. Translated a record from a foreign language.
49. Found an immigrant ancestor’s passenger arrival record.
50. Looked at census records on microfilm, not on the computer.
51. Used microfiche.
52. Visited the Family History Library in Salt Lake City.
53. Visited more than one LDS Family History Center.
54. Visited a church or place of worship of one of your ancestors.
55. Taught a class in genealogy.
56. Traced ancestors back to the 18th Century.
57. Traced ancestors back to the 17th Century.
58. Traced ancestors back to the 16th Century.
59. Can name all of your great-great-grandparents.
60. Found an ancestor’s Social Security application.
61. Know how to determine a soundex code without the help of a computer.
62. Used Steve Morse’s One-Step searches.
63. Own a copy of Evidence Explained by Elizabeth Shown Mills.
64. Helped someone find an ancestor using records you had never used for your own research.
65. Visited the main National Archives building in Washington, DC.
66. Visited the Library of Congress.
67. Have an ancestor who came over on the Mayflower.
68. Have an ancestor who fought in the Civil War.
69. Taken a photograph of an ancestor’s tombstone.
70. Became a member of the Association of Graveyard Rabbits.
71. Can read a church record in Latin.
72. Have an ancestor who changed their name.
73. Joined a Rootsweb mailing list.
74. Created a family website.
75. Have more than one "genealogy" blog.
76. Was overwhelmed by the amount of family information received from someone.
77. Have broken through at least one brick wall.
78. Visited the DAR Library in Washington D.C.
79. Borrowed a microfilm from the Family History Library through a local Family History Center.
80. Have done indexing for Family Search Indexing or another genealogy project.
81. Visited the Allen County Public Library Genealogy Center in Fort Wayne, Indiana.
82. Had an amazing serendipitous find of the "Psychic Roots" variety.
83. Have an ancestor who was a Patriot in the American Revolutionary War.
84. Have an ancestor who was a Loyalist in the American Revolutionary War.
85. Have both Patriot & Loyalist ancestors.
86. Have used Border Crossing records to locate an ancestor.
87. Use maps in my genealogy research.
88. Have a convict ancestor who was transported from the UK.
89. Found a bigamist amongst the ancestors.
90. Visited the National Archives in Kew.
91. Visited St. Catherine's House in London to find family records.
92. Found a cousin in Australia (or other foreign country).
93. Consistently cite my sources.
94. Visited a foreign country (i.e. one I don't live in) in search of ancestors.
95. Can locate any document in my research files within a few minutes.
96. Have an ancestor who was married four times (or more).
97. Made a rubbing of an ancestors gravestone.
98. Organized a family reunion.
99. Published a family history book (on one of my families).
100. Learned of the death of a fairly close relative through research.
101. Have done the genealogy happy dance.
102. Sustained an injury doing the genealogy happy dance.
103. Offended a family member with my research.
104. Reunited someone with precious family photos or artifacts.

Military Monday - George W Butcher

We know that George Butcher served during WWI in the Navy. It was probably on a ship - might have been a gunner of some sort, since he did come out of the war with hearing loss.

Tombstone Tuesday - George W Butcher

This is my maternal grandfather's tombstone. I fought in first WW. I'm still trying to track down more of his family. His father was married twice and had lots of children, but it's not clear.

It's funny that it says his service was Massachusetts, since he was from New Hampshire and his draft card says he registered in New Hampshire. Still trying to figure that one out.

This can be found in the Flushing Cemetery, Flushing, Genesee, Michigan. Thanks to Jayne at FindAGrave for taking this picture for me.