Book Reviews

Book Reviews A Genealogist's Guide to Discovering Your Female Ancestors. By Sharon DeBartolo Carmack. Betterway Hooks, Cincinnati, OH, 199S. 152 pp., paper, glossary, appendixes, bibliography, index. $17.99. Available in book¬ stores, or contact the publisher for ordering information. Sharon DeBartolo Carmack bases her recent book on the belief that there dawns a new day in women’s genealogy, and she offers her work as a positive response to the challenge that still dominates the field. The certified genealogical record specialist tells her readers that “Every female ancestor has a story worth telling and waits silently for you to tell it.” There is no longer any legitimate excuse for researchers to neglect their women ancestors as the writers of many earlier family histories have under¬ standably done. The author’s premise is that while tracing female ancestors may be a difficult challenge requiring much patience and creativity, “foremothers” are as much a part of human heritage as “forefathers.” As such, they de¬ serve equal treatment by genealogists. The author also notes that her book should not be considered as a beginner’s guide to genealogical research, but as a means that will help readers to research both genealogical and historical information about their female ancestors. Carmack effectively compares researching and writing about female forebears to apple-pie making in that for each activity success comes from locating the needed ingredients, combining them, and then blending the mixture together (baking or writing) to produce either a tasty dish or a narrative biography. Discovering Your Female Ancestors guides the reader to information sources created by women, including customary references such as diaries, letters, journals, and family Bibles, but also to the perhaps overlooked pub¬ lished Bible records in genealogical magazines. It also urges consideration of data sources created about women including cemetery, church and cen¬ sus records, ship passenger lists, and medical records. In this connection genealogists should be alert to the possibilities of tuberculin sanitoria records (from the late-nineteenth and early-twentieth century, when con¬ sumption claimed many lives) as well as insane asylum documents from an era when some women were wrongly committed to those institutions. 374 Book Reviews 375 Practical advice is flavored by frequent citation of case histories, where the reader meets such representative ancestral women as Cicely Chapin from Colonial New England; Caroline, the Virginia slave; and Anna Banoni, an urban immigrant. To counter possible lessening of the reader’s zest for the quest, the book contains random pep talks from the author that range from “Leave no stone unturned” or “It’s up to you” to “ Telling a forgotten woman’s story gives you a real sense of accomplishment.” Identity is the most common genealogical problem in researching women. To “get at” the female object of your inquiry, the author declares that it may be necessary to build a case that combines both evidence ob¬ tained and inference about the unknown based upon what is actually known. Sharon Carmack, therefore, urges the tracer of female ancestors to build a narrative that includes verifiable facts about an individual as well as social history which, by its very nature, focuses upon community life. In drawing conclusions, however, about such particular feminine concerns as family planning, sex, dangers and fear of childbirth, the re¬ searcher must remember the importance of explanation to support speculation. Despite reliance upon social histories to supplement barebone statistics, the reader must not get carried away with conjecture and supposition. Never forget, the author warns, that documentation remains an important part of family history construction. This important book concludes with a twelve-page case study of the writer’s third great grandmother, Mary Fitzhugh (Stuart) Fitzhugh (18101881). The narrative absorbs the reader but contains too much emphasis on possible drug addiction and illicit sex, thereby raising this question: When does the extrapolation of social history invade family privacy as an author takes a woman from a name on a chart to star in a finished bio¬ graphical narrative? John A. Baird, Jr. Reading Early American Handwriting. By Kip Sperry. Genealogical Publish¬ ing Company, Baltimore, 1996. 289 pp., paper, appendixes, bibliog¬ raphy, documents, and transcriptions. $29.99 plus $3.50 shipping. “Absolutely indispensable” are the words found on the back cover of this book by an associate professor of family history at Brigham Young University. Readers will soon confirm the accuracy of these words, easily distinguishing this description from what initially seems little more than publisher’s hype. Kip Sperry’s work is designed to teach these readers 376 The Pennsylvania Genealogical Magazine not only how to read, but also to understand characteristics of most early American documents. The author believes and shows how paleography (the study of early handwriting) is an essential element in genealogical and historical research. There is a need both to examine old documents and to possess the ability to interpret the value and significance of these early records. Successful searching of original sources such as Colonial American records depends upon skill in deciphering the highly individual handwriting of our ances¬ tors as well as an understanding of the terminology employed in those days. Reading Early American Handwriting begins with basics for neophytes starting their paleography study. Readers learn the importance of four considerations: make a correct analysis and interpretation of the hand¬ writing and understand the abbreviations used; make a proper abstract, transcription, or translation of the document; evaluate the document for its genealogical value; and devise a research plan identifying genea¬ logical sources to search. Attention paid to these steps will bring in¬ creased capacity for more accurate work, to say nothing of the resulting enthusiasm for the task. Reasons to recommend the book include detailed techniques, profuse examples, and freshness of the author's prose. In the first instance, for example, Professor Sperry quickly moves beyond general principles to specific suggestions for effective work, including wearing white gloves when handling original records in archival boxes and folders, recogniz¬ ing the value of a good quality magnifying glass, preferring pencil to pen for notations, and using colored paper when researching microfilm records in archives and libraries. To echo the ancient adage that “practice makes perfect" the author provides some 100 showcase examples of handwriting styles, letter forms, and abbreviations and terminology frequently found in early American correspondence and records. Each document is paired with a facing-page author’s transcription, permitting the student to gain proficiency in learn¬ ing to read the old-time writings word-for-word and letter-by-letter. Equally important to the user is liveliness of the text. Accredited and Certified Genealogist Sperry makes his case through a blend of warnings (beware of spelling variations), admonitions (copy punctuation exactly), and exhortations (remain alert for confusion caused by handwriting “curls, swirls, and squiggles”). Other ingredients include the importance of realizing that Colonial clerks and clergy did not write with the intent that researchers would be able to read their handwriting several hundred years later, and a disarming confession that some readers may disagree Book Reviews 377 with some of his transcriptions which comprise such a significant section of this guidebook. Genealogists of every experience level will appreciate the appendixes which add much to the book. One locates archive and record repositories across the country. Another features a timely section on the Internet and compact discs, both of which play an increasingly frequent part in the providing of original records. A useful Internet site, Deciphering Old Hand¬ writing, illustrates the growing capacity of the former, while an example of compact disc availability comes through the Mayflower Descendant peri¬ odical now attainable through this technology. John A. Baird, Jr. Hopeful Journeys: German Immigration, Settlement, and Political Culture in Colonial Pennsylvania, 1717-1775. By Aaron Fogleman. University of Pennsylvania Press, Philadelphia, 1996. 257 pp., index, maps, illus., cloth. $34.95 cloth or $14.95 paper plus $4.00 shipping. Hopeful Journeys traces the German migrant groups from their origins to the places of final settlement in the colonies. The immigrants' “Old World” customs, beliefs, and connections did not entirely disappear as they adapted to life in the colonies. This work was originally presented in the author’s Ph.D. dissertation at the University of Michigan in 1991. The basis for his dissertation is partially the published migrants lists of Annette K. Burgert, FGSP and former board member, and Werner Hacker, a German. To quote Fogleman: “Both Bur¬ gert and Hacker, a German, have years of experience compiling and pub¬ lishing lists of German-speaking migrants in the eighteenth century. Hacker studied the region of the lower Neckar, which includes the north¬ ern Kraichgau region studied by Burgert.” Fogleman further extended this research by checking archival records in Germany as well as other sources in the United States and Europe. He documents the emigrants’ history in Europe and offers many reasons for migration. He emphasizes the importance of German emigration, and the importance of networks to their success in America. The book is based on statistical analysis, and contains numerous tables and maps. The extensive bibliography permits the reader to learn more of this immigrant group and their influence on our culture. In addition to being a scholarly work. Hopeful Journeys is a very readable history and should be of particular interest to all descendants of colonial Pennsylvanians. Jane Adams Clarke, FGSP 378 The Pennsylvania Genealogical Magazine Books in Brief* Reviewed by Charles C. Mathews Colonial Families of Cape May County, New Jersey. By F. Edward Wright, Fam¬ ily Line Publications, Westminster, MD, 1998. xiii plus 331 pp., index., paper. $28.00 plus $3.00 shipping. This well-organized and useful source for studying the early families of Cape May has been prepared from a variety of sources. Original records in¬ clude wills, church records, and land records. Published sources include early issues of The Cape May County Magazine of History and Genealogy. The result is reconstructed lineages for more than 60 families. Reviewed by John A. Baird, Jr. American Genealogical Research at the DAR, Washington, D.C. By Eric G, Grundset and Steven B. Rhode. Daughters of the American Revolution, Washington, DC, 1997, 180 pp., paper, illus., index. $25.00 postpaid. The Daughters of the American Revolution published this book to insure Man accurate and full picture” of the Society’s role in genealogical research. It is not a general guide to that craft, but rather a manual that discusses the collections at DAR headquarters in the nation’s capital and places them within the broader scope of American genealogical sources and subjects. The book effectively explains how researchers may best use the avail¬ able resources in the search for their family’s place in American history. Mention is made that DAR holdings partially duplicate collections of the Library of Congress and National Archives, but readers also learn that with access to open stacks, with non-circulation (certain availability) of ma¬ terials, and with quick processing of new items, researchers often find in¬ formation at the DAR library that they do not or cannot locate elsewhere. Authors Grundset and Rhodes include a comprehensive guide to spe¬ cific subject research and conclude with a section on proper citing, quoting, and reproducing of DAR sources. * Editor's Note: Many of the volumes reviewed here are abstracts of original records that can be very helpful in the genealogist’s initial search for an ancestor’s records. The reader is cautioned, however, that the possibility of errors or omissions exists whenever abstracted and/or transcribed records are used. If at all possible, the original or a microfilm copy of the original should be examined. Many of the records included in the “Books in Brief* section have been microfilmed and are available through the Family History Library system. Book Reviews 379 Reviewed by Jane Adams Clarke, FGSP Captain Watson's Travels in America; The Sketchbooks and Diary of Joshua Rowley Watson, 1772-1818. By Kathleen A. Forster University of Penn¬ sylvania Press, Philadelphia, 1997. xii plus 372 pages, index, illustra¬ tions, cloth. $69.50 plus $4.00 shipping. From 1816 to 1817, Bridsh naval captain Joshua Rowley Watson visited friends in Philadelphia and toured the northeastern United States. His impressions of travel that took him to Washington, Boston, the Hudson River Valley, and Philadelphia, is quoted in its entirely in this book. Cap¬ tain Watson also sketched much of the landscape he viewed, and the volume includes more than 150 illustrations. Forster has gathered this previously unpublished material into a beauti¬ ful book. It includes an extended essay on Watson’s life and travels, a dis¬ cussion of his artistic style, a guide to the diary, and the complete diary it¬ self. Kenneth Finkel, whose comments bring to life these landscapes, provides detailed commentaries on the plates of watercolors and drawings. While Watson did not give much information about the people he vis¬ ited, Forster has added some detail. Nevertheless, the book is of interest for its historic and artistic impressions of the time period. Emigrants from Baden and Wurttenberg in the Eighteenth Century. Volume I: Baden Durlach and Vicinity. By Brigitte Burkett. Picton Press, Camden, ME, 1996. Li plus 428 pp., photos, index, cloth. $49.50 plus $4.00 shipping. This book is a study of some 435 emigrant families and individuals from Baden and Wurttenberg who went to America in the eighteenth century. It includes all those who were identified by a pastor, usua]ly through a notation in the church books examined, as having emigrated. Confirmation of emigration was then obtained from either the Pennsylvania passenger lists or other published information on immigrants. No special effort was made to identify the immigrant’s subsequent residences in America. Any information obtained from the early church records in Europe is welcomed and valuable; however, this book should not be confused with the excellent books written by Annette K. Burgert, whose works bear simi¬ lar titles. Researchers may be disappointed if they expect Burkett’s work to provide the documentation of a specific United States immigrant so ably presented in the works of Burgert. Readers will find, though, that one previously unpublished passenger list, that of the Elisabeth which arrived in 1753, is included, as are signa¬ tures of most of the heads of families. 380 The Pennsylvania Genealogical Magazine Reviewed by Kay Haviland Freilich, CGRS Migration from the Russian Empire: Lists of Passengers Arriving at U.S. Ports. Volume 3: May 1886-December 1887. Volume 4: January 1888-May 1889. Edited by Ira A. Glazier. Genealogical Publishing Co., Baltimore, 1998. Volume 3: 521 pp., index, cloth. Volume 4: 519 pp., index, cloth. Each volume $50.00 plus $3.50 shipping. Continuing the work begun in 1995, these two volumes document immi¬ grants from the Russian Empire during the three-year period beginning May 1886, This time period marks a dramatic increase in departures from Russia: 90,000 names are included in these volumes compared to 105,000 names in the two earlier volumes that cover 1875 to 1886 (see PGM 39: 350-2). A high percentage of these immigrants belonged to various ethnic groups, with Jews accounting for almost half the number. Nationalities other than Russian, including Poles, Ukrainians, Finns, and Germans are also found in the passenger lists. Land Records of New Castle Countyi, Delaware. Volume 1: 1715-1728. By Carol Bryant. Family Line Publications, Westminster, MD, 1998. 191 pp., index, paper. $16.00 plus $3.00 shipping. Almost fifteen years of land records from the northern county of Dela¬ ware are included in this volume, which begins with Liber E of the New Castle records. In addition to deeds, the instruments include leases, re¬ leases, powers of attorney, appointments, mortgages, and patents. Family relationships are often revealed in the property descriptions. No longer extant are the first 58 pages of Liber E and all of Liber F, covering 1719 to 1722. Revolutionary Patriots of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. By Henry C, Peden, Jr. Family Line Publications, Westminster, MD, 1998. 335 pp., index, paper. $27.00 plus $3.00 shipping, Names of many Pennsylvania patriots found in the published Pennsylva¬ nia Archives are in unindexed volumes, so locating them is difficult. This work serves as a finding aid to the Lancaster County soldiers listed in the Second Series, Volume XCIII, one of those lacking an index. Each entry gives rank, company, battalion, and dates and places of service. Any other information contained in the muster rolls is noted. In some cases, pleaces of residence and dates of death are indicated. Approximately8,000 patriots are listed.