Book Reviews

REVIEWS ABSTRACTS Finding Your Irish Ancestors: A Beginner’s Guide. By David S. Ouimette. Provo, Utah: Ancestry, 2005. 192 pages, illustrations, index, figures, tables, sidebars, paper. $14.95. This contagious book begins with the author’s promise to help each reader find his or her Irish ancestors, learn about their families, and strengthen their connection with the past. Behind a striking, colorful cover lie twenty informative chapters, each beginning with a scenery photograph and a quotation from literature, the Bible, or an Irish proverb such as “It is not a secret if known by three people.” Each chapter ends with a helpful “In Summary” paragraph. While much of the author’s advice could apply to any genealogical methodology handbook, David Ouimette argues that this is a particularly good time to trace Irish ancestry. Many family records have become read¬ ily accessible in recent years, including an ever-growing collection on the Internet. The reader is urged to follow four specific steps for successful research: learn the basics of Ireland; take an in-depth look at Irish records; discover where to find these records; and prepare for a family trip to Ireland. There is more here than a succession of what-to-do’s. Instructions are mingled with philosophical passages such as “there is something about walking through an old cemetery.” “Gravestones,” the author muses, “offer moving expressions of life, death, sorrow, and affection etched in stone.” Among fourteen detailed guidelines is the reminder that productive genealogical research usually comes from many small steps rather than great leaps. Advice is frequently presented in the form of questions the book poses and answers. Finding is rich in lively language. For example, this reviewer enjoyed “newspapers are genealogical gold mines; “Irish family history is blossoming on the Internet,” and “everyone should know something of those who bore his name before him, no matter whether earls or blacksmiths!” This book is also flavored with fascinating detail tidbits such as “[You may learn] your ancestor’s height to a quarter of an inch if he served in the Irish Constabulary!” Near the end are lists of archives and libraries within the United States, as well as pretravel tips for that visit to Ireland. Finding more than achieves the author’s promise. Reviewed by John A. Baird.' Jr. 190 Pennsylvania Genealogical Magazine Vol. 45 (2007) Reviews 2007 191 , Potter County\ Pennsylvania Potpourri, Genealogical and Historical News from The Potter Enterprise (Volume 1, 1880-1884). By Maureen M. Lee. Westminster, Maryland: Heritage Books, 2007. 494 pages, illustra¬ tions, surname index, paper. $39.50. This surprising book is one of four volumes; each comprising a vast collection of selected articles, also from the Coudersport, Pennsylvania, Potter Enterprise newspaper from 1880 through 1884. Potpourri represents a true factual miscellany presented in a vigorous manner. There is forthrightness in this news reporting for a wide range of items. For example, readers will discover such details as “John Ormand’s female rat-terrier named Fanny eloped, absconded, left and vamoosed from her owners ranch. “ They will also learn that a certain Mathias Smith of Coudersport was killed by a passing train with four engines rolling over his body grinding his remains into an unrecogniz¬ able mass.” Further life news is equally vivid with unflinching accounts of suicides, murders, other crimes, court records to say nothing of fires and floods. These pages are also punctuated by frequent deaths of young people done in by diseases including diphtheria, inflammation of the brain, and typhoid fever. However, life in those days long ago included happy times and positive events. Readers will learn about late nineteenth-century business and church activities and about school enrollments, township statistics, and military service. Business directories list attorneys, physicians, hotels, surveyors, dentists, tailors, painters, and even stage-coach lines. These are not simply newspaper abstracts, but entire articles selected for their genealogical and historical value. The items are presented chronologically with a helpful surname index at the end, which should please the most critical reader. Reviewed by John A. Baird\ Jr. Township Tidings from Potter County, Pennsylvania: News from All of the Valleys, Creeks, and Hollows in the County ( Volume 1, The Years 1880-1884). By Maureen M. Lee. Westminster, Maryland: Heritage Books, 2007. 304 pages, index, paper $25.50. The first book in a series of four based on articles from the Couders¬ port, Pennsylvania, Potter Enterprise newspaper, Township Tidings sets its own distinct tone from the beginning. Potpourri (see review above) covers the news stories in depth: listing births, marriages, and divorces, together with court minutes, accounts of disasters such as fires and floods, crimes, politics, industry and area growth. Tidings is more inti¬ mate and neighborly. Readers, for example, will learn who is moving in and who is moving out, who is building, and details of local business activity. There is mention of those taken ill, who is visiting whom, church 192 Pennsylvania Genealogical Magazine Vol. 45 activities, harvest adventures, and even that perennial favorite, the weather. Tidings begins and ends with small-town business news. Readers will discover that on 12 May 1880 a Mr. Brine “is about ready to commence the manufacture of brick;” while on 31 December 1884 a Mark Gillan “returned from Port Allegeny and opened a tailor shop on Main Street.” Yet there is much variety. On a single page (15 July 1881) this reviewer found: bad weather had impeded the hay harvest; a Mr. Stryker broke his shoulder; Mrs. Alice Keefe, sister of M. W. Slaughter, died of the measles in faraway Texas; some pear trees had bloomed a second time that year; and measles still lingered in the vicinity of Andrews Settlement. If a book can be charming, Tidings easily qualifies. Reviewed by John A. Baird, Jr. ORDERING INFORMATION ANCESTRY PO Box 990, Orem, UT 84059 Phone Orders: 800-262-3787 www.theancestrystore.com Internet: Heritage Books 65 E. Main St., Westminster, MD 21157-5036 Phone: Fax: Internet: Shipping: Tax: 800-876-6103 or 410-876-6101 410-871-2674 www.HeritageBooks.com $4.00 for first volume; $1.00 for each additional item 5% for Maryland residents