Genealogical Gems

Within the Lancaster Convention Center (Lancaster, PA) is a small section dedicated to Thaddeus Stevens and Lydia Hamilton Smith. The section is known as the Stevens & Smith Historic Site. It is scheduled for development this year. At the moment one can only get a glimpse of it through the Convention Center or by peeking in from the outside. Here at Queen and Vine Streets in Lancaster City, Pennsylvania, Thaddeus Stevens had his law office. Stevens was an abolitionist. An abolitionist is a person who favors the abolition of a practice or institution, especially capital punishment or (formerly) slavery. Stevens was born 4 April 1792 to Joshua Stevens and Sarah (Sally) Morrill in Danville Vermont. One of four children, he attended Vermont University from 1810 to 1812 when the War prompted its closure. He then went to Dartmouth, where he graduated in 1814. He then studied law and found himself set up in Gettysburg, PA in 1816. He practiced law there until 1828 when he...

This week’s prompt is conducting collateral research. Collateral is defined as “a person having the same descent in a family as another but by a different line.” In genealogical terms, a collateral relative may be an aunt or uncle or a cousin. Last October I discovered the maiden name of hubby’s great grandmother through collateral research!   Hubby’s grandmother was Julia Coursault Deyoe. Her death certificate shows her father as Charles Coursault from the USA and her mother as simply Apolina from England . Nowhere had I been able to find more information on Apolina until …   Last October I did a broad search for Coursaults in the Pennsylvania Death Certificate database on Ancestry.com. I already knew her siblings’ names since I had followed the family through the census records. I found the death certificate for her brother, Francis Coursault. Their sister Catherine (also spelled Kathryn), who married George Bonner, was the informant and listed their mother as A...

  This week’s prompt is building a research toolbox, and citing sources. I have to admit my toolbox looks like I just threw stuff in there, which is actually pretty much what I did. One of my “to do” items is to clean up my resources, as well as my image folders. Research toolbox My research toolbox consists of bookmarked pages. I have started to organize them, as you can see in the image. I have folders in folders! In the folder titled “PA Resources”, there is a folder for various counties.    Suggested resources: Ancestry.com – http://home.ancestry.com .   Civil War Soldiers and Sailors Database - http://www.nps.gov/civilwar/soldiers-and-sailors-database.htm .   Find My Past - http://www.findmypast.com.au/articles/world-records/full-list-of-united-kingdom-records?sourceID=13 .   Jewish Gen - http://www.jewishgen.org/ .   London Lives 1690 to 1800 - http://www.londonlives.org/ .    Polish Roots - http://poli...

Apolina Morrill is my husband’s great grandmother. I only recently discovered her maiden name. I found it on a death certificate of one of her other children. One of my goals this year then is to find and confirm her parents.   Apolina was the wife of Charles Coursault and they lived in Philadelphia . They had eight children, including hubby’s grandmother, Julia. I was not able to find Apolina’s maiden name thru Charles or Julia so I proceeded to check out Julia’s siblings. Julia (1885-1945) was the oldest. Her siblings were: Catherine (1886-1960), Leopold (b. 1890), Francis Prosper (1892-1946), Marie (b. 1894), Anna (b. 1899), and Helen (1901-1930). I have not found the eighth child yet. It was on Francis’ death certificate that I found it. The informant was a Mrs. Bonner and that would be his sister Catherine. Catherine would have been the oldest of the surviving siblings since Julia had passed the year prior.    1920 Census Apolina was living on Frankfo...

Apolina Morrill is one of my husband’s immigrant ancestors. Until recently she was a dead end. I had only known her as Apolina. It was not until Pennsylvania made the death certificates easily available, that I knew who her parents were. My goal this year, concerning her, is to confirm her parents and learn more of Apolina, the wife of Charles Coursault.    Her – and Charles Coursault’s – children are: Julia b. June 1885 ß hubby’s grandmother! Catherine (Katie) b. June 1887 marr George Bonner; daughter Lillian Leon (Leopold) b. January 1890 Francis Prosper b. April 1892 marr Esther b. 1892; son Elmer b 1915. Marie b. August 1894 Anna b March 1899 Helen b 1902 All I knew to start with was what I learned from the Census records.    Reviewing Census Records   1920 Census Apolina is now 57, widowed and living in a rented home on Frankford Avenue with three children, a daughter in law, and a step grands...

Today is a Happy Dance Day! I found the maiden name of my husband's great grandmother. I knew only her name was Appelina and that she came over from England. She married Charles E. Coursault of Philadelphia and they raised their family there, attending Christ Church. Pennsylvania recently released the Death Certificates from 1906 through 1963 inclusively. I did a broad search for Coursaults in Philadelphia and found a Francis Coursault. Francis is a son of Charles and Appelina. His sister Kathryn, who married George Bonner, was the informant and listed their mother as Apolina Morrill. Happy dance! So of course, off on a virtual side track! Apolina did not come to America all by herself. The 1880 Census shows her, at age 17, working as a button maker and living with her parents Issac and Mary Morrill and four siblings. The Census looks to read Murrill instead of Morrill. The other children are 13 year old Emma, 11 year old Bella, nine year old John, and three year old Mary....