Chippewa County Wisconsin - Past and Present Volume 1 Digitized and Available Here Free

This is an amazing piece of Chippewa County history and you could previously find Volume 2 for free from Google Books HERE.  Unfortunately you couldn't find Volume 1, or at least I couldn't find it.

So this Summer I borrowed a copy of Volume 1 from the Stanley Area Historical Society and digitized it myself.  I am making it freely available to all who want it since this book was publised in 1913.  That means it is officially public domain and can be freely used and copied.

The link is below will take you to the book.  After entering the folder.  Right click on the PDF file and click download to download the PDF file to your computer.

Location of PDF file.

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FamilySearch.org Has a New Look and Supports Trees!

Unfortunately, I won't be taking the time to enter in all of my people, so this will be much more useful to me once they allow uploading of GEDCOM files.  I will have to check this out with a small sample of people and let you guys know about my thoughts on the basic features of the tree.

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Ancestry.com's AncestryDNA Tests are Now Available Without Invitation

Ancestry.com has now officially opened the floodgates on their new AncestryDNA autosomal DNA test.  It costs $129 ($139 with tax and shipping), which is more expensive than the $99 dollars they offered it for during their invite only period.

Now, you can also order more than one test, although I could only order one at a time when I tried.  That just meant I had to go in and place four separate orders. :)

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www.GenealogyPlace.com is a Great Free Resource

I had a conumdrum yesterday trying to substantiate whether or not a Susannah Seymour(b 1738) in my tree was the child of a Daniel Seymour (b. 1698).  Because that would mean that my 10th great grandfather was an earlier governor of one of the 13 colonies in early america named John Webster.   I found several trees in ancestry that supported this but not one source in those trees that actually validated the connection.

I did some extensive Google searching and got a result from  http://www.genealogyplace.com.

I found over 10 references to Daniel Seymour (b. 1698) in Connecticut.  The resource helped me find one book written in the 20th century that validated the claims based on another old resource I couldn't find, it does help in my mind that the person who wrote the book was the main vital records guy for that county in the early 20th century.   I found another  resource that validated the information but I couldn't find the original source volume but I did find other volumes in that series, so it is just a matter of time.  I also found a third resource that at least validated the number of children.   I did find one resource that purported something completely different but based on the other three resources the number of kids weren't right (there were way too many) and neither were any of the kids names. 

As a result I am reasonably certain that Daniel is really Susannah's dad and that my 10th great grandfather is actually John Webster.

You Can Search the Census for Free on Ancestry.com This Weekend

I am a member already, but I thought this was interesting.  They are allowing free census searches (with a free account) through midnight on September 3rd.  Not a bad way to expand your marketing list.

http://www.ancestry.com/census?o_iid=52246&o_lid=52246&o_sch=Web+Property

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Identifying the Artist Signature on the Mystery Family Painting

My grandma showed me a painting that an old veteran of the Civil War named Josiah E Cass got while on a train in France.  Supposedly there is a big write up about this thing in the Eau Claire Leader Telegram in or around the forties but I can't find it in any of my searches.  The thing might be worth tons of money but probably not if it can't be identified.

I don't suppose anyone has any thoughts.

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Genealogy is Really a Big Deal!!!!

Seriously... I don't feel like I have ever been a part of something so important as my family.  To capture and record their history for future generations digitally has been a great undertaking but an amazing experience so far.  I know it will take years but I also know that it is worth every second.

Just a thought!

Jamie