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Tuesday, April 7, 2009
PAF
Today I updated PAF. For those who don't know what PAF is, it's a program run by the church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and it is a program to create Family Group Records and Pedigree Charts. I had all of the names down that I knew that connected me to George and Mary Anne Sparks, however I didn't have a lot of the information of HOW I got their information. I added a source to every piece of information I have so that if anyone looks at my PAF chart they can easily trace back to where I got my information. In the Genealogy lab I also learned how to download GEDCOMs onto my PAF chart which was useful, as well as combine two individuals who are actually the same person. My chart is now up to my Grandmother's great great grandparents. Is that my great great great great grandparents? I don't even know..all I know is I had to ask the TA's in the Genealogy lab how to print out two or three pages of a PAF pedigree chart :)
Friday, April 3, 2009
George H Sparks-Biographical Sketch
Here is the biographical sketch I put together about George H Sparks for class:
George H Sparks was born in Queen Annes County, Maryland in 1857. He grew up on a farm, as most people in that area do. The majority of Queen Annes County residents were, and still are, dairy farmers. He was named after his father who is also George Sparks. His parents were George and Julia U. Sparks, also both from Maryland. They were married in 1850.
His middle name is probably Haslup but we can’t be sure. We assume this because his son’s name is Haslup and it seems to be a family name.
George was married to Mary Anne Gronaw. She was also from Queen Annes County and was three years younger than him. They had five children; Lillian Hester, Haslup Finley, Mary Bertha, Julia Ethel and Georgia Pearle.
George died in 1919 and was buried in Centerville, Maryland. He lived to be only 62. We do not know the cause of his early death.
Queen Annes County is on the Eastern shore of Maryland, near the Chesapeake Bay. Queen Anne's County is located within one to two hours drive of Washington DC; Baltimore, MD; Wilmington, DE; and Philadelphia, PA. It was organized in 1706 and named after Queen Anne of Britain. The most populated area is Centreville, which is where the Sparks family lived for a time.
George grew up in a household that had slaves. This wasn’t uncommon for the time period but for a time a young black girl was living with his family as a servant. The people of Maryland used to be dependent on slave labor to grow tobacco which was their main source of money.
George H Sparks was born in Queen Annes County, Maryland in 1857. He grew up on a farm, as most people in that area do. The majority of Queen Annes County residents were, and still are, dairy farmers. He was named after his father who is also George Sparks. His parents were George and Julia U. Sparks, also both from Maryland. They were married in 1850.
His middle name is probably Haslup but we can’t be sure. We assume this because his son’s name is Haslup and it seems to be a family name.
George was married to Mary Anne Gronaw. She was also from Queen Annes County and was three years younger than him. They had five children; Lillian Hester, Haslup Finley, Mary Bertha, Julia Ethel and Georgia Pearle.
George died in 1919 and was buried in Centerville, Maryland. He lived to be only 62. We do not know the cause of his early death.
Queen Annes County is on the Eastern shore of Maryland, near the Chesapeake Bay. Queen Anne's County is located within one to two hours drive of Washington DC; Baltimore, MD; Wilmington, DE; and Philadelphia, PA. It was organized in 1706 and named after Queen Anne of Britain. The most populated area is Centreville, which is where the Sparks family lived for a time.
George grew up in a household that had slaves. This wasn’t uncommon for the time period but for a time a young black girl was living with his family as a servant. The people of Maryland used to be dependent on slave labor to grow tobacco which was their main source of money.
More Searching
Sometimes it was hard to find information on my ancestors. For our Ancestral File assignment I hardly found any of the information I was looking for. I originally searched for Mary Anne Gronaw. I didn’t really find anything on Familysearch.org. I searched Mary’s name in the Ancestral file but only one Mary Anne Gronaw came up and she was born in the 1600’s and was from Wales. I also didn’t find anything in the Pedigree Research File or the International Genealogical Index.
I then realized I could search for her under her married name, Mary Anne Sparks. This came up with 21 matches. However, none of them were her. I then checked the Pedigree Resource File and it came up with 27 matches, however none of them were her either. I didn’t use the International Genealogical Index because Mary Anne lived in Maryland although I know now that I should have checked that anyway. At one point I thought I had found her because I searched the US Social Security Death List and found a Mary Sparks from Maryland however she died in 1964 and my Mary died in 1919. The earliest birth date the Social Security Death Index has was 1880 and Mary was born 20 years earlier in 1860. I also didn’t find anything on the census because there were no matched for Mary and George Sparks in Maryland.
However, I did find information on her husband, George Sparks. I checked the US 1880 Census and I found results for George Sparks, born in 1857. The information I got from my grandmother said he was born in 1856 but all of the other information matched up, the location was Queen Annes County, Maryland. At the time of the census he was 23 and still single and living at home. This is probably why I couldn’t find a match for both of them, because they weren’t married yet. It says that his father’s occupation was a farmer, which I know is correct. The family we still have that lives in Queen Annes County are all still farmers to this day. I downloaded the GEDCOM for both George H Sparks and his father George S Sparks so I now have a 7th generation.
I then realized I could search for her under her married name, Mary Anne Sparks. This came up with 21 matches. However, none of them were her. I then checked the Pedigree Resource File and it came up with 27 matches, however none of them were her either. I didn’t use the International Genealogical Index because Mary Anne lived in Maryland although I know now that I should have checked that anyway. At one point I thought I had found her because I searched the US Social Security Death List and found a Mary Sparks from Maryland however she died in 1964 and my Mary died in 1919. The earliest birth date the Social Security Death Index has was 1880 and Mary was born 20 years earlier in 1860. I also didn’t find anything on the census because there were no matched for Mary and George Sparks in Maryland.
However, I did find information on her husband, George Sparks. I checked the US 1880 Census and I found results for George Sparks, born in 1857. The information I got from my grandmother said he was born in 1856 but all of the other information matched up, the location was Queen Annes County, Maryland. At the time of the census he was 23 and still single and living at home. This is probably why I couldn’t find a match for both of them, because they weren’t married yet. It says that his father’s occupation was a farmer, which I know is correct. The family we still have that lives in Queen Annes County are all still farmers to this day. I downloaded the GEDCOM for both George H Sparks and his father George S Sparks so I now have a 7th generation.
Census
The Census assignment was my favorite assignment in class. We had to go through every census that was done during our ancestor's lifetime. I chose to look through each census during George H Spark's lifetime.
1860-In 1860 George would have been four years old. There were a lot of George Sparks's that came up when I searched his name through Ancestry.com, however I knew when I found the right one because his father was also named George Sparks and they lived in Queen Anne's county, Maryland.
1870-This census says that George is 15. Professor Summers warned us that sometimes census's are hard to read or the information could be a little bit off because at the time the sources of information weren't very reliable. I found that George did go to school that year and was the only one in his family who had done so. It said that his father's occupation was a farmer and his mother, Julia's, was a housekeeper. His older brother, William, also worked on the farm and he was 21. I found out that they had a slave living with them during this time. This wasn't uncommon in this area during this time period. Within the family an 11 year old black girl was listed as living with them who cannot read or write and her occupation was put as "servant".
1880-This census says George is still single. At this point he should be about 24-25 years old but the census now says he is 23. I am starting to notice the mistakes made by the census keepers however a year isn't a huge difference. This census page was hard to read, it looked like it had some water damage done to it. At this point the family also has a five year old nephew living with them as well.
1890-Unfortunately almost all of the census records were destroyed this year. Professor Summers told our class that one of the buildings flooded and the majority of census records from this year were ruined. The one's for Maryland were among the ruined ones.
1900-This is the census that told me his parents birth dates and marriage date. I noticed as the years went on that the census's became more and more detailed. I searched Mary Anne's name in this census and found that she was 39 years old and widowed. George somehow died young. She works on the farm, can read and write, and their five children, Lillian Hester Sparks Walls (1884-1962), Halsup Finley Sparks (1886 - 1951), Mary Bertha Sparks Walls (1888-1971), Julia Ethel Sparks Jester (1890-1980), Georgia Pearle Sparks Walls (1892-1977). It looks like three of the sisters married men with the last name Walls...Queen Anne's county isn't a very populated place. All of the children were buried in a cemetary in Cetreville, Queen Anne's county, Maryland.
I enjoyed the census assignment so much because it gave me the most information out of any other project we had to do for class. I didn't realize that George died so young and that him and Mary Ann really weren't married for a very long time.
1860-In 1860 George would have been four years old. There were a lot of George Sparks's that came up when I searched his name through Ancestry.com, however I knew when I found the right one because his father was also named George Sparks and they lived in Queen Anne's county, Maryland.
1870-This census says that George is 15. Professor Summers warned us that sometimes census's are hard to read or the information could be a little bit off because at the time the sources of information weren't very reliable. I found that George did go to school that year and was the only one in his family who had done so. It said that his father's occupation was a farmer and his mother, Julia's, was a housekeeper. His older brother, William, also worked on the farm and he was 21. I found out that they had a slave living with them during this time. This wasn't uncommon in this area during this time period. Within the family an 11 year old black girl was listed as living with them who cannot read or write and her occupation was put as "servant".
1880-This census says George is still single. At this point he should be about 24-25 years old but the census now says he is 23. I am starting to notice the mistakes made by the census keepers however a year isn't a huge difference. This census page was hard to read, it looked like it had some water damage done to it. At this point the family also has a five year old nephew living with them as well.
1890-Unfortunately almost all of the census records were destroyed this year. Professor Summers told our class that one of the buildings flooded and the majority of census records from this year were ruined. The one's for Maryland were among the ruined ones.
1900-This is the census that told me his parents birth dates and marriage date. I noticed as the years went on that the census's became more and more detailed. I searched Mary Anne's name in this census and found that she was 39 years old and widowed. George somehow died young. She works on the farm, can read and write, and their five children, Lillian Hester Sparks Walls (1884-1962), Halsup Finley Sparks (1886 - 1951), Mary Bertha Sparks Walls (1888-1971), Julia Ethel Sparks Jester (1890-1980), Georgia Pearle Sparks Walls (1892-1977). It looks like three of the sisters married men with the last name Walls...Queen Anne's county isn't a very populated place. All of the children were buried in a cemetary in Cetreville, Queen Anne's county, Maryland.
I enjoyed the census assignment so much because it gave me the most information out of any other project we had to do for class. I didn't realize that George died so young and that him and Mary Ann really weren't married for a very long time.
Vital Records
Vital Records are things such as birth dates, death dates, marriage dates and other life milestones. I already knew how many children George and Mary Ann had, along with their names and dates of birth. I eventually found their death dates, however I didn't have their marriage date. I couldn't find theirs, however I did find George's parents, George and Julia's, wedding date. They were married in April of 1850. I found George's parents names through a 1900 Federal Census record. His father, George S Sparks, was born in December of 1824 and married Julia U, born in July of 1830. She was the mother of 12, however only two survived. In 1900, George H(son) was no longer living with them. I found information on Mary Ann through this census record as well, telling me she was born in April of 1861 and was widowed at this point. So, George somehow died in between the 1890 and 1900 census's. The information my grandmother gave me says he died in 1896 so it makes sense. I found that Mary Ann could read and write and was still working on the farm with her five children.
Although I couldn't find a wedding date for George and Mary Ann or George's cause of early death, I did find information on his parents as well as his wife. I also found some film numbers that could lead me to their wedding date which were from church records in Queen Anne's county. The majority of my family that lives in Kent or Queen Anne's county is Methodist or Catholic so I would assume that George H and Mary Ann would have been married in a church. The film numbers I found were the following:
Church records for the Eastern Shore of Maryland
1. FHL US/CAN Film 13149
Loan records from the 1800’s
2. FHL US/CAN Film 1605394
Catholic Church Records
3. FHL US/CAN Film 2070867 Items 8-10
If I wanted to order these records from the state of Maryland I would have to order most of them through Church Diocese Archives in Baltimore, Maryland. However, the Genealogical Society of Utah has some of the film in Salt Lake. Vital Records were recorded on a state level in 1860 and 1880.
Although I couldn't find a wedding date for George and Mary Ann or George's cause of early death, I did find information on his parents as well as his wife. I also found some film numbers that could lead me to their wedding date which were from church records in Queen Anne's county. The majority of my family that lives in Kent or Queen Anne's county is Methodist or Catholic so I would assume that George H and Mary Ann would have been married in a church. The film numbers I found were the following:
Church records for the Eastern Shore of Maryland
1. FHL US/CAN Film 13149
Loan records from the 1800’s
2. FHL US/CAN Film 1605394
Catholic Church Records
3. FHL US/CAN Film 2070867 Items 8-10
If I wanted to order these records from the state of Maryland I would have to order most of them through Church Diocese Archives in Baltimore, Maryland. However, the Genealogical Society of Utah has some of the film in Salt Lake. Vital Records were recorded on a state level in 1860 and 1880.
Locality
Queen Anne's and Kent County, Maryland are where George and Mary Ann lived. I have been both places numerous amounts of times because a lot of my mother's family still lives in that area. Professor Summers asked us to research the place where they lived so that we would have more background. I found that the majority of people living in that area are farmers-just like I suspected. The family we have that lives there are farmers, as were George and Mary Ann. Queen Anne's county is on the Eastern Shore of Maryland near the Chesapeake Bay. It was one of the first counties formed in the US as Maryland was one of the original 13 colonies. It was named after Queen Anne of Britain. The most populated part of it is in Stevensville, which is right across the Bay Bridge. However, at the time of George and Mary Ann, Centreville was the most populated area which is where they lived for a time.
I spent my first birthday there along with many summers and visits to my great-grandmother, uncles and aunts, cousins, second cousins and great aunts and uncles. We have a family reunion every summer in a park in Kent County where we have a ton of food but everyone looks forward to the crabs my great grandmother Helen brings (Maryland is famous for their crabs). I enjoyed researching about these places because although I've been there many times it's interesting to learn the vital facts.
I spent my first birthday there along with many summers and visits to my great-grandmother, uncles and aunts, cousins, second cousins and great aunts and uncles. We have a family reunion every summer in a park in Kent County where we have a ton of food but everyone looks forward to the crabs my great grandmother Helen brings (Maryland is famous for their crabs). I enjoyed researching about these places because although I've been there many times it's interesting to learn the vital facts.
Pedigree
The next step was to create a family pedigree chart. I've made family trees before but never one like this. I had ever used the Personal Ancestral File (PAF) program before. I went to labs at the Genealogy Lab on campus in the JFSB every Wednesday afternoon between classes for about two hours each week. The TA's were very useful in teaching me how to use the program. I kept a record of all of the E-mails, Web sites, time, etc. that I spent putting together my pedigree and family group record. I really enjoy having a pedigree so that I can see exactly how I'm related to George and Mary Ann Sparks. The PAF program also has an option for you to "Add Sources" so that I could remember where I got this information and be able to find it again if I need to, or so that I know where to go if I want to continue looking for information.
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