Editor's Notes: Expect the Unexpected, Reviews

EDITOR'S NOTES EXPECT THE UNEXPECTED T his issue highlights several instances in which traditional research and analysis produced superficially reasonable conclusions, but in which a healthy dose of skepticism and deeper digging uncovered different-and correct-information about ancestors. Terri Bradshaw O'Neill was bothered by discrepancies in the ancestry for John 1 Moore of Philadelphia provided by early genealogies. Her article disconnects him from the traditional ancestry, provides the correct parents, identifies his first wife, and explores the connections that obtained him posts of prominence in two American colonies, South Carolina and Pennsylvania. By being quiet and listening to what the documents have to say, Priscilla Noyes Chatfield discovers that a traditional lineage isn't always correct, as was the case with the ancestry of Abner Holt of Montgomery County and the Northern Liberties. Careful historians have noted a deliberate semi-segregation of the German and Scotch-Irish populations in York County. Thus, we can expect a fair amount of ethnic consistency. But, as I discovered in researching the Wiley family, there was also a tendency to blend in. Deed books held the unexpected answer to the true ancestry of the family. Ancestors shouldn't be merely a collection of dates and places for vital events, so family historians strive to add other bits of information, such as involvement in notable events, relocations, and places of residence. By closely examining a key document, David Kendall Martin found that Daniel McMullen's residence in the Wyoming valley encompassed a significantly different time span than traditionally reported. This, in turn, permitted important conclusions about his origins. The best advice to researchers is: Expect the Unexpected! Patricia Law Hatcher, FASG Pennsylvania Genealogical Magazine Vol. 44 (2005) 185 REVIEWS ABSTRACTS By Diane E. Greene, AG. Westminster, Maryland, Willow Bend Books, 2004. vi plus 132 pages, genealogy, map, photos, paper. $19.50. Diane E. Greene begins this short, surprising book with the first words from her subject diarist: "Mary E. Easton is my name ... Loudon is my dwelling place-Remember well and don't forget you have a friend in Loudon ... " The author transcribed Miss Easton's diary, (18 December 1872 through 22 August 1877) for its historical content regarding an area known as the Path Valley near the colonial village of Fort Loudon, Franklin County. Ms. Greene does this effectively by interspersing the actual diary entries with extracts from the local newspaper, Public Opinion, published in Chambersburg. She indents and italicizes these newspaper articles for the reader's identification. The snippets range in length from a few lines to one of fifteen pages (within a gap for missing diary entries between 15 February 1874 and 27 October 1875). Readers meet Mary Eliza Easton (1851-1908) through some introductory pages. They learn that her father, Hezekiah, was a wealthy landowner, farmer, builder, and native of Fort Loudon, a colonial village at the foot of the Tuscorora Mountains. It became a boom town in midnineteenth century serving pioneers trekking Westward and gained fame for its wagons, wagon gears, and blacksnake whips. The dictionary defines a diary as "a daily record of events and thoughts." Although Miss Easton skipped some days from time to time, her record is a consistent, chronological account of life in her community for the five years, eight months, and a few days of the surviving document. The specific diary entries do two things. They present one person's experiences. They also describe Loudon community life, which makes the book useful for historians wishing to learn more about those early Pennsylvania days and nights. Weather, for example, was one of Miss Easton's constant personal concern . Her many meteorological observations describe the atmospheric conditions of the region. In the winter of 1875 she wrote of "col4" "real Mary Eliza Easton Diary, Loudon, Franklin 186 County, Pennsylvania. Pennsylvania GenealoRical MaRaztne Vol. 44 (2005) 2005 Reviews 187 cold/ "right cold," and "very cold" days. Often she added uch adjectives as "disagreeable" and "not pleasant" or "beautiful" and "lovely." Mondays were wash days, but these chores and knitting and sewing were punctuated by visits to the dry goods store (she paid $3.50 for shoes on 18 December 1876), calls by certain friends, and outings with others. There were even occasional men (a carriage ride with "Tony" and a party with "Will McClintock"). While most such adventures were local, mention is made of trips to Annapolis and Baltimore, with even an affair in Martinsburg, Virginia. This diary is·overwhelmingly fact with very little fancy. Yet it provides the reader with knowledge of life in one nineteenth century Pennsylvania town and took this reviewer back to Miss Easton's first-page request "Remember well this friend who will be kind and true." Diane E. Greene makes this easy to do. Reviewed by John A. Baird, Jr. Bucks County, Pennsylvania, Miscellaneous Deed Dockets, 1785-1857. By Thomas G. Myers. Westminster, Maryland, Willow Bend Books, 2004. ii plus 442 pages, index, paper. $36.50. Deed dockets are not a standard type of record book, but seem to have been maintained in several Pennsylvania counties. The Bucks County deed docket was used to record items other than standard sales of land, items that in other localities are typically interfiled in the deed books. These include powers of attorney, a variety of releases (including dower releases), assignments, and sales of personal property. In the twelve volumes abstracted, the compiler found sixty-three slave manumissions. These records are often related to the settlement of estates, both in Bucks County and elsewhere, so are rich in statements of relationships. This publication can be especially valuable in proving elusive connections. These abstracts are not complete. They include only those of "genealogical interest," a phrase interpreted by the compiler to mean records concerning family connections. Thus, a researcher needing to establish when or if someone lived in Bucks County cannot draw conclusions based on not finding an entry in this volume. Records of the Congregation of Trinity Reformed/United Church of Christ, Waynesboro, Franklin County, Pennsylvania, 1828-1993. By Patricia A. Fogle. Westminster, Maryland, Willow Bend Books, 2004. ii plus 171 pages, index, paper. $22.00. Baptisms were recorded for 1829 (one) and 1832 (one), before being kept regularly in 1833. It is nice to see that both birth and baptism date are given, which avoids the problem of the one-date-n~escriptor often found in church registers. The column for parents provides the given 188 Pennsylvania Genealogical Magazine Vol. 44 name of the mother. Contrary to the title, records continue into the twenty-fir t century. Baptisms are shown through 2002. The first marriage records located were begun in 1852. They continue through 2003. Burials began to be recorded in 1862 and before 1945 almost always contain a statement of age in years, months, and days, which can be especially valuable in determining if a specific baptismal record belongs to the same person; beginning in 1945, only the age in year is given. Records end with burials in 2002. 18th Century Records of the German Lutheran Church at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (St. Michael's and Zion) Volume 2: Baptisms 1770-1786. Translated by Robert L. Hess; edited by F. Edward Wright Colonial Roots, Lewes, Delaware, 2005. xxii plus 287 pages plus index, paper. $35.00. 18th Century Records of the German Lutheran Church at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (St. Michael's and Zion) Volume 3: Baptisms 1787-1800. Translated by Robert L. Hess; edited by F. Edward Wright Colonial Roots, Lewes, Delaware, 2005. xvi plus 269 pages plus index, paper. $35.00. With these volumes, the baptisms through 1800 are complete, in 823 continuously-numbered pages (the index pages are not numbered). The congregation during the period covered by these two volumes was very large, served by two pastors, with a third added in 1796, each of whom kept his own record book. All are given here, grouped together by year. The almost twenty thousand baptisms in sixty-five years shows the size and importance of this congregation. St. Michael's Church (located in Philadelphia, not Germantown) was founded by the Rev. Henry M. Muhlenberg in 1743. It was joined by Zion Church in 1769 to accommodate the large membership. The two churches were one congregation. These entries may note residence in Pennsylvania outside of Philadelphia, but not European origins. Relationships of baptismal sponsors are occasionally shown, as in "the father and mother-in-law Fagner(in)" or "the mother and grandmother Eva Schluster(in)." Abstracts of Marriages and Deaths in Harford County, Maryland, Newspapers, 1837-1871. By Henry C. Peden, Jr. Colonial Roots, Lewe . D !a- ware, 2005. iii plus 166 pages, paper. $20.00. The abstracts are taken from The Aegis and Intelligencer (1864-1871), The Harford Dem-0crat (1856-1871) 1 The Madtsonian (Harford & Baltimore Advertiser) (1837-1857), The Havre de Grace .Republtcan (18681871), The SouthemAegts (1857-1864). In addition to obvious notices of marriages or deaths, Peden ha carefully culled other type of entries for the information. Thu , it al o reports a number of death based on administrator's notices publi hed in the papers. Toe abstracts ar presented in alphabetical order. 2005 Reviews 189 East New Jersey Land Records, 1747-1757 (Books G2 and H2). By Richard S. HutchinSon. Colonial Roots, Lewes, Delaware, 2005. vii plu 209 pages, index, paper. $23.00. The East Jersey proprietary includes the counties of Bergen, Es ex, omerset, Middlesex, and Monmouth. The deeds of tho e counties were filed in Perth Amboy (except Bergen, which were filed only in the county courthouse and are not included herein). This is the first of a planned eries that will encompass the East Jersey deeds from 1703 to 1772. The earlier East Jersey land records are part of the published New Jersey Archives series. These deeds often include detailed chains of title that document transfers by sales and inheritance that are not necessarily recorded elsewhere. For many individuals, the index includes an identifier such as occupation, office, or place of residence. Toe names in the index are exactly as spelled in the records and thus can be quite different from any alternate spelling considered by modern genealogists, especially for Dutch names, of which there are quite a few. Researchers are advised to scan the entire index under the first letter of the last name for unexpected spellings. FAMILY HISTORIES AND LINEAGE BOOKS The Ark and The Dove Adventurers. By The Society of The Ark and The Dove; edited by George Ely Russell and Donna Valley Russell. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Company, 2005. xviii plus 284 pages, index, hardbound. $28.50. There are no passenger lists for The Ark and The Dove, which left England in November 1633, arriving at St. Clement's Island in the Potomac in March 1634. The Society of The Ark and The Dove has identified two dozen families-plus that of Sir George Calvert-that left descendants, and who are listed to the fifth generation in this volume. Additionally, a section entitled "Other Early Arrivals" lists passengers for whom present-day descendants are not known to survive, plus other early arrivals for whom evidence has not been found that they were on The Ark or The Dove. Given the scholarly reputation of the editors, this book was much anticipated by descendants struggling with questionable lineages, hoping to clarify undocumented ancestry. They are to be disappointed, as this seems to be a publication of lineages from applications to join Toe Sodety in le s-criticaJ time , with ome add d documentation. It cannot be u ed without a copy of Harry Wright Newman's The Flowering of the Maryland Palatinate, published in 1959, which is the citation for most statements concerning relationships in the first three generations. More di turbing are the number of citations such as "undocumented information is based on contributions of [name), supplied to the compiler." 190 Pennsylvania Genealogical Magaztne Vol44 Colonlal Families of Delaware, Volume 8. By Ralph and Catherine Bev- erly. Colonial Roots, Lewes, Delaware, 2005. xvm plus 288 pages, index, paper. $26.00. This series compiles families primarily from published abstracts. This volume includes families of John Allen of Kent County, John Allen of Sussex County, Joseph Allen, Jonathan Bailey (corrected from an earlier volume), Edmund Baily, Clement Lee Bayly, John Bailey, Barnet of Kent County, Thomas Barnett, Phillip Barratt, Humphrey Barratc, William Collins, Edward Collins, Andrew Collins, Joseph Collins, Isaac Collins, Henry Hall, John Hall, Moses Hall, Robert Hall, Nathaniel Hall, Adam Hall, John Hall, Thomas Hall, William Hall, Hodgson, McClement, Melvin, and Spruance. REPRINTS AND NEW EomONS A Bibliography of American County Histories. By P. William Filby. Re- print of 1985 edition by Genealogical Publishing Company, Baltimore, 2005. xiv plus 449 pages, paper, $35.00. Arranged alphabetically by county within state, this selective bibliography (when several are available, it tends to omit the shorter ones) is most likely to be helpful in identifying titles that are not widely available because they are not in major collections such as the Family History Library and hence not in their on-line catalogues. ORDERING INFORMATION COLONIALROOTS 217 Schley Ave., Lewes, DE 19958 Phone: 800-576-8608 www.colonialroots.com Internet: Shipping: $5.50 for first volume; $ 1.00 for each additional item. All shipping UPS; no PO boxes. GENEALOGICALPUBLISHINGCOMPANY 3600 Clipper Mill Road, Suite 260, Baltimore, MD 21211 Phone: 800-296-6687 Fax: 410-752-8492 www.genealogical.com Internee Shipping: $4.00 for first book; $1.50 for each additional book 5% for Maryland residents; 6% for Michigan residents Tax: WILLOWBE D BOOKS 65 E. Main St., Westminster, MD 21157-5036 Phone: 800-876-6103 or 410.876-6101 Fax: 41<N371-2674 Internet: www.WillowBendBooks.com $4.00 for first volume; $ 1.00 for each additionaJ item Shipping: 5% for Maryland residents Tax: