Book Reviews

Book Reviews Records of Marriages and Burials in the Monocacy Church in Frederick County, Maryland and in the Evangelical Lutheran Congregation in the City of Frederick, Maryland 1743-1811. Translated and edited by Frederick Sheely Weiser. (Wash- ington, D.C.: The National Genealogical Society. 1972. [Special Publication No 38.] ix, 183 P. Index. $13.25.) , Pastor Weiser continues in this volume his invaluable services in providing translations of early German church records. This particular volume is divided into two sections , Marriages, 1743-1811, and Burials, 1771-1807. It is to be hoped that a future volume will present the baptismal, confirmation and communicant records of these congregations in the Monocacy River area so as to round out the over-all picture of the area's settlers. There are only thirty marriages recorded between 1743 and 1769,, but from then on the records are quite full. Information about the contracting parties in the later years usually includes parentage, place of residence, witnesses, sometimes where the ceremony was performed ("in the house of Jacob Medtart" for instance, or in "Mr. Haus's house in Creagerstown"), and whether the ceremony was authorized by license or after proclamation of the bans. The burial records are reminiscent of those made by the Rev. Henry Muhlenberg. In the case of adults, they often give the deceased's occupation, place of birth in Germany, date of marriage, spouse, cause of death and number of children. Often the German birthplaces have been more precisely located by the addition, in brackets, of the modern place names, as identified by Dr. Fritz Braun of Kaiserslautern. The number of deceased Marylanders who were born in Pennsylvania is indicative of the southward migration which went on in the eighteenth centuryThe surname index helpfully includes the variant spellings which appear in the text. Pastor Weiser is to be congratulated for his labors in adding to the growing number of German church records in translation. HANNAH BENNER ROACH Quaker Biographical Sketches of Ministers and Elders and other concerned members of the Yearly Meeting of Philadelphia [16824800]. Edited by Willard Heiss. (Indianapolis: 1972. 328 p. Index. $5.00.) Librarians of genealogical and historical societies should bless Mr. Heiss for this latest of his publications, since it will save them time and labor, eliminating the need to "pull" the original volumes of The Friend in which these sketches were first published (Vols. 27-36). It will also be a boon to genealogists, enabling them to have, at modest cost (because of its paper binding and photo-offset reproduction) in their own private libraries the more than 600 sketches included in this one volume. The sketches vary in length, some being only one short paragraph, others covering as much as eight pages, such as that for Elizabeth Ashbridge. The longer ones, such as hers, generally are of friends who did much travelling in the ministry; they are of particular interest for the details of those travels which provide information not otherwise readily obtainable. Where long passages "of pious admonitions and religious exhortations" in the original were omitted by Mr. Heist, he has 'ndicated the omission by a series of asterisks. 51 52 The Pennsylvania Genealogical Magazine The genealogist is cautioned, however, not to accept as invariably correct the dates given of births, marriages or deaths without checking the original meeting records. Thomas Olive's burial, for instance, is given (p. 24) as "Ninth month 4th 1692," an obvious impossibility, since his will was written four days later. The sketches do provide, nevertheless, a useful starting place for the genealogist. The seven-page index to the subjects of the sketches includes the volume and page of the original sketch. The book is available from Mr. Heiss at 4828 North Illinois, Indianapolis, Ind., 46802. HANNAH BENNER ROACH Scandinavian Immigrants in New York 1630-1674 with Appendices on Scandinavians in Mexico and South America 1532-1640. Scandinavians in Canada 1619-1620, Some Scandinavians in New York in the Eighteenth Century, German Immigrants in New York 1630.1674. By John 0. Evjen. [Facsimile reproduction of the 1916 Minneapolis edition.] (Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Company, 1972. 438 p. Illustrations, appendices. $13.50.) Although lacking an index, this useful work, long out of print, lists alphabetically in the Table of Contents all immigrants named in the first three chapters covering respectively Norwegian, Danish, and Swedish immigrants to New York in the 1630 to 1674 period. The first two chapters each conclude with an excursis covering other names unidentified or requiring special treatment. Four appendices cover the Latin American, Canadian, eighteenth century and German immigrants cited in the title; and there is a supplement discussing coins and weights and measures. There are 17 plates offset reproduced from the halftones in the original, all of which have suffered in the process, and 59 line illustrations scattered through the text which have fared somewhat better, many of these latter being autographs. Anyone seeking information on Nordic immigrants will want to check the appropriate pages of this book. WALTER LEE SHEPPARD, JR. Register of the General Society of the War of 1812. 1972. Edited by Col. Frederick Ira Ordway, Jr. (Washington, D.C.: General Society of the War of 1812, 1972. xxii, 688 p. Portraits, illustrations, appendix, index. $15.00.) This is the first Register the General Society of the War of 1812 has published, and is of considerable interest since it includes sketches of all members of all 15 active state societies, as well as of members-at-large, and brief capitulations of each member's lineage back to the qualifying ancestor. The volume begins with biographical sketches of the immediate past and present President Generals and Register General, lists the officers of the General Society, past President Generals, and a 5-page history of the General Society. The biographical sketches of each society's members are arranged alphabetically, as are the individual state societies. Each member's General Society number and state society number and date of election precede the biographical data given, ending with his occupation, and address at the time the applicant became a member. Then follows in tabulated form the name of each ancestor, the places and dates of their 53 Book Reviews births, marriages and deaths, their spouses and her similar dates, and ends with the service of the qualifying ancestor. It is obvious this data was taken from the papers submitted at the time of applying for membership, and was not updated for publication. As a result, as admitted in the Foreword (p. xiii), some inconsistencies occur. Since it is a little startling to find former President Eisenhower still listed as a member of the Pennsylvania Society (p. 503). one is inclined to wonder how many of the members listed are still alive! The Appendix lists in alphabetical order members elected to the various societies during 1971 and 1972, except for one D.C. member, elected in 1931, whose paper must have been overlooked when work on that society's papers was being done. The extensive index (15,000 names) includes the names not only of members but of all ancestors — a most useful tool for genealogists. In this reviewer's opinion the book is one of the better Registers put out by patriotic societies and is recommended for use as a finding aid. It is available from Mr. Alan Corson, Jr., Treasurer General, 1034 Nicholson Road, Wynnewood, Pa. 19096, with checks made out to the General Society of the War of 1812. HANNAH BENNER ROACH By Gerald Hamilton Edwards. (Baltimore! Genealogical Publishing Company, 1972. viii, 252 p. Charts, maps, facsimiles, appendices, bibliography, index. $10.00.) In Search of Scottish Ancestry. This is one of the most useful works of specialized genealogy that this reviewer has seen. It opens with an outline of Scottish history (35 pages) slanted particularly toward the development of clans and records. The reader is guided into the use of printed directories, family histories, compilations, and pedigree indexes. Civil registration began in 1855, and the surprising amount of information available, particularly in death records, is brought out. Church records (registers) began later in Scotland than in England, but for the period of the colonization of the Americas they were in existence, and the author tells us what we may reasonably expect to find in them. Christian name patterns are mentioned in the first chapter. The fifth chapter goes into great detail on this subject, which in its standardization is peculiar to Scotland. Surnames and their distribution throughout the country, are covered in Chapter Four. The author discusses wills in Chapter Six, and devotes Chapters Seven through Nine to land records, mentioning other court records in Chapter Ten. The following 64 pages (Chapters Eleven through Nineteen) cover census, tax, clan, titles, university, professional, army, navy, and East India Company records; discusses migration abroad, the Scottish Record Office, Heraldry and the Office of the Lord Lyon, societies, libraries, apprenticeships, and a wealth of other material. Mr- Hamilton-Edwards closes his discussion with some suggestions on recording your findings (Chapter Twenty). Next are 24 pages of appendices, of which Appendices B and C, glossaries of Latin and other terms found in legal records, are particularly important. Appendix D lists all parishes in existence before 1855, and Appendix E all directories published prior to 1860. The book ends with a 16 page bibliography and an 18 page index. This volume, with its charts, sketch maps, and reproductions of typical records, is a must for anyone working on a Scottish pedigree. WALTER LEE SHEPPARD. JR. 54 The Pennsylvania Genealogical Magazine By Mary Keysor Meyer. (Baltimore: The Maryland Historical Society, 1972. 83 p. Map. bibliography. $4.50.) Genealogical Research in Maryland. A Guide. This guide to the resources for genealogical research in Maryland should prove especially useful for those confronted with a Maryland problem who are unfamiliar with Maryland sources. Mrs. Meyer, Assistant Librarian and Genealogist at the Maryland Historical Society, has in this volume set out the places where research maybe followed, the types of records which can be found, and concludes with a bibliography of published Maryland source material for each county. She starts out with a listing of the present counties in the state, their dates of organization, county seats, and parent counties, to which is added a useful map of Maryland. There are brief accounts of the Maryland Historical Society, the Peabody Library, Enoch Pratt Free Library and Maryland Genealoical Society, all in Baltimore, the Hall of Records and Maryland State Library in Annapolis, and the Prince George's County Genealogical Society in Bowie, Md. She next discusses the location of official vital records (births, deaths, marriages and divorces), church records, census records, oaths of fidelity, military records, rent and tax rolls and ships' passenger lists. A handy check list of the Published Archives of Maryland is followed by "Special Finding Aids" in the various Maryland depositories, a listing of historical and genealogical publications and county historical societies in the state with their locations. The concluding bibliography is arranged by counties. It is heartily recommended as an indispensable tool for anyone intending to pursue research in Maryland families. HANNAH BENNER ROACH English Ancestral Names,, The Evolution of the Surname from Medieval Occupations. By 3. R. Dolan. (New York7. Clarkson N. Potter, Inc., 1972. xvi, 381 p. Bib- liography, indices. $10.00.) This book is more than just a listing of some 5000 English surnames which originated in medieval times. It contains fascinating accounts of the occupations covered, as how a smith or a potter or a miller worked, the tools in use at the time, the manner and style in which the various levels of society lived, even the entertainments and amusements current in such leisure time as was available. In fact, the prefatory remarks to each chapter devoted to an occupation provide a quite detailed picture of medieval life. In the first 22 pages the origin and reason for the development of surnames is discussed, and brief references are made to names which derived from addresses, relationships, or were properly descriptive nicknames. The author then turns to the various occupations which were common during the time surnames evolved, roughly 1100-1350. The author covers these occupations in 22 chapters. In general they include potters, smiths, the building trades, the clothing and leather industries, the farming industry, millers and related occupations, shipping and merchants, innkeepers and beverage makers, coopers and cabinetmakers, entertainers, those engaged in hunting, fishing and other sports, lawmen and officials, and the church related occupations. Four of the chapters, for instance, are devoted to smiths in general, smiths who made weapons, smiths who made armor, and smiths who worked in nonferrous metals, such as goldsmiths, silversmiths, coppersmiths, brassworkers, leadworkers and pewterers. The two chapters on the clothing industry include the wool industry's workers and those who worked in linen, silk and other fabrics of the time. Book Reviews 55 Not surprisingly, the author has found 200 family names derived from the farming industry alone, and at least as many, if not more, from those associated with castles and manor houses, such as servants, personal staff, household executives, cooks, messengers, guards, sergeants, gentry and deputies. One wonders how many of these names, located in Old English (Anglo-Saxon), Middle English and Old French records, have survived unchanged today! Certainly their derivations are legion. For anyone interested in the evolution of English surnames, or even of his own surname, this book is not only educational put interesting because of the general information on medieval times contained within its pages. Two indices conclude the work: one is a subject index, the other a surname index. HANNAH BENNER ROACH Notices Maryville College, in Tennessee, is pleased to announce establishment of The Op Den Graef-Levering-In Den Hoeven Scholarship. This Scholarship memorializes three lower Rhineland families, who were among the first to respond to William Penn's invitation to civilize his proprietary lands in America. All came committed to Penn's principles of freedom of conscience and toleration of all faiths, principles that were eventually incorporated in the constitutional provision for separation of church and state. The scholarship is a living memorial to these families and their descendants, and has been made possible initially by the gifts of a descendant who is a Maryville College graduate. This scholarship fund is open to gifts memorializing by name other descendants of this immigrant-ancestor group. Scholarships from the fund are to be awarded to a student or students interested in a career in state or national government, or international relations. Recipients should usually be members of the junior or senior class, and have demonstrated academic achievement in the classroom. Other considerations shall be financial need, contributions to the college's life and work, and promise for the future. Inquiries should be directed to Maryville College, Maryville, Tennessee, 37801. Dean S. Skelley, 2505 Swift Street, Houston, Texas, 77025, is preparing a new edition of the Morse Genealogy, American and Canadian descendants, all branches. He is also reorganizing the old "Morse Society". Correspondence from those wishing to contribute material to the genealogy and/or join the society is invited. Edwin Hoover Gideon; 419 E. Durham Street, Philadelphia, Pa., 19119, writes that he is serving as a clearing house for information on Hoover-Huber Imes. Family charts, genealogical data, documentary evidences and inquiries are welcomed.