Literature Search: US-REC Study Group

I have begun a literature search for families in my tree.   This is a partial response to an assignment for our US-REC study group.  My previous post looked at an online compiled tree.  This post is the beginning of a literature search that will enable me to assess various compiled books, stories, and articles potentially related to families in my tree.   Not surprising, I have more entries for the Cole (Coale) family than any others.  Coal (Coale) ancestry has been traced back to the 1100s in England (lots of warrior-knights in the early years).

Following is a list of resource found.  Of course, it is only a partial list upon which I can continue to add sources.  Now I can begin to review the individual sources for reference to individuals in my family tree, along with an analysis of the source regarding its likely reliability.

Source		Surname(s)	Individual(s)	Availability
J.D. Warfield; The Founders of Anne Arundel and Howard Counties, Maryland; Bowie, Maryland; Heritage Books; 1995	Pp 132-4	Cole (Coale)	Humphrey Cole	Google Books; try interlibrary loan
Robert W. Barnes; Baltimore County Families, 1659-1759;	Pp 120-123	Cole (Coale)	George Cole Family; John Cole Family;	St. Louis County Library; Google Books
Robert W. Barnes; British Roots of Maryland Families	Pp 124-127		William Cole I	FHL (975.2 D2ba)
Willis B. Coale; The Coale Family: Nine Generations (Vol. 1: 1569-1955); Willis B. Coale; Pontiac, IL, 1976		Cole (Coale)		St. Louis County Library
Willis B. Coale; Map Story of Nine Coale Generations; Willis B. Coale; Santa Clara, California; 1971		Cole (Coale)		Allen County Public Library; try interlibrary loan
Lothrop Withington; Virginia Gleanings in England; Baltimore; Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc.; 1980		Cole (Coale)		St. Charles City-County Library; St. Louis County Library
Charles Warner Stafford; The Stafford Index (Volume 2); Stuart, Florida; Stafford; 1964		Cole (Coale)		Mid-Continent Public Library
Paul Drake, J.D.; Now in Our Fourth Century: Some American Families; Bowie, MD; Heritage Books; 1999		Cole (Coale)		Mid-Continent Public Library
Almarie Moore Edwards and C Walter England; History and Genealogy of Caples Family and Allied Families of Maryland; Jacksonville, Florida; D.C. Thompson; 1964		Cole (Coale)		St. Louis County Library
Baltimore County Historical Society; History Trails Extra, Vol. No. 2, Revolutionary Biographies, Part II; Cockeyville, MD; The Society		Cole (Coale)	Abraham Cole	Allen County Public Library; try interlibrary loan
Annie Walker Burns Bell (compiler); Baltimore County, Maryland, Wills (Vol. 19, 1842-1842); Washington, D.C.; A.W.B.Bell; 193?		Cole (Coale)	Abraham Cole; Ruth Cole; et al	FHL (975.271 P28be v. 18-20)
Annie Walker Burns Bell (compiler); Baltimore County, Maryland, Wills, Vol. 15 (1834-1836)		Cole (Coale)	John Ensor, Jr; Ellen Cole; Zachariah Cole; Lewis Cole	FHL (975.271 P28be v. 15-17)
William B. McCord; History of Columbiana County, Ohio and Representative Citizens; Chicago, Illinois Biographical Publishing Co.; 1903	Pp 715-716	Cole (Coale)	Henry Cole, Sr. George Washington Cole; et al	FHL – digital version available online
Prof. Ewing Summers (editor); Genealogical and Family History of Eastern Ohio; New York and Chicago; The Lewis Publishing Company; 1903	Pp 661-2	Renkenberger	Bertram Renkenberger	University of Missouri – St. Louis
Roster Commission; Official Roster of the Soldiers of the State of Ohio in the War of the Rebellion, 1861-1866 (Vol. VIII), 110th – 140th Regiments – Infantry; Akron; Werner Co.; 1886-95	P 172	Cole (Coale)	George Washington Cole	St. Louis County Library
Roster Commission; Official Roster of the Soldiers of the State of Ohio in the War of the Rebellion, 1861-1866 (Vol. III) 21st – 38th Regiments-Infantry; Akron; Werner Co.; 1886-95	P 147	Cole (Coale)	Jeremiah Cole	St. Louis County Library
Alphabetical index to Official roster of the soldiers of the State of Ohio in the War of the Rebellion, 1861-1866; Akron; W.P.A; 1938		Cole; Smith; Brenner; Renkenberger;		Ohio Historical Society
George N. Mackenzie; Colonial Families of the United States of America (Vol I, p 189); Baltimore; Genealogical Pub. Co.; 1966	35	Cole (Coale)	Willaim Cole II	St. Charles City-County Library; St. Louis County Library
Calvert County Maryland Genealogy Newsletter, Volume XI, Number 1, April 1996, page 3, 9	36, 241	Cole (Coale)	William Cole I, Willaim Cole II	St. Louis County Library
Eula Richardson Hasskarl; The Boswells of Shelby County, Kentucky, (Vol. II, July, 1978); Ada, Oklahoma(?); 1978	58	Cole (Coale)		Missouri Historical Museum (St. Louis)
Calvert County Maryland Genealogy Newsletter, Volume XIV, Number 7, September 1999, page 7: Sunderland, Maryland; J&MB O'Brien	62	Cole (Coale)	William Cole I, William Cole II	St. Louis County Library
Eula Richardson Hasskarl; Spencer County Kentucky Marriages and Vital Statistics; Ada, Oklahoma; E.R. Hasskarl; 1979	83	Cole (Coale)		Columbus (OH) Metropolitan Library
Helen White Brown; Marriage Records: Prince George's County Maryland, 1777-1886; Baltimore; Clearfield; 1995	147	Cole (Coale)		St. Louis County Library
J Reaney Kelly; Quakers in Anne Arundel County; Baltimore, Maryland Historical Society; 1963	231	Cole (Coale)		St. Louis County Library
V.L. Skinner, Jr.; Abstracts of the testamentary proceedings of the Prerogative Court of Maryland (Vol. II: 1670-1674); Baltimore, Maryland; Genealogical Publishing Company; 2005	261 (page 164, liber 3, folios 250-251)	Cole (Coale)	William Cole I	St. Charles City-County Library; St. Louis County Library
Lewis H Yankey; The Whetzel Family; Criders, Virginia	270	Cole (Coale)		Allen County Public Library; try interlibrary loan
R. Bernice Leonard; Twig and Turf II: Bartlett and Allied Families, 1693-1984; St. Michaels, Maryland; R.B. Leonard; 1981		Cole (Coale)		Mid-Continent Public Library
Virginia Bartlett Gibney; House of Memories; Easton, Maryland; 1969		Cole (Coale)		Wilmington (OH) College Library
The New York Genealogical and Biographical Record		Messerall (Mesurolle)	Jean Mesurolle	St. Louis County Library
New Jersey Historical Society Proceedings; October 1924	P 393	Messerall (Mesurolle)	John Messerall, Ann Rose	St. Louis County Library
Inge Auerbach und Otto Froelich (bearbeitet); Waldecker Truppen im Amerikanischen Unabhaengigkeitskrieg (Hetrina) – Index nach Familiennamen, Bd. V; Marburg; Institut fur Archivwissenschaft, Archivschule Marburg; 1976		Mieding	Johan. Mieding	Only available in libraries in Germany
Jospeh Butler; History of Youngstown and the Mahoning Valley Ohio; Chicago and New York; American Historical Society; 1921		Brenner	John Brenner; Judson Brenner	St. Louis County Library
Bernice Hammar Simon; Index to History of Youngstown and the Mahoning Valley Ohio: vol. I, II, III by Joseph G. Butler; Canfield, Ohio, B.H. Simon; 1986		Brenner, Welk, Cole, Renkenberger		St. Louis Public Library (HQ Special Col. Open – Q 977.139 S594I)
Youngstown; Chicago; American Historical Society; 19??		Brenner	Judson Brenner	Allen County Public Library; try interlibrary loan
The Numismatist: Volume 35	57	Brenner	Judson Brenner	Google Books
American Journal of Numismatics: Volumes 51-52	156	Brenner	Judson Brenner	Google Books
United States Assay Commission; Proceedings of the Assay Commission; Washington; Government Printing Office; 1922		Brenner	Judson Brenner	Google Books
Harold Levi and George Corwell; The Lovett Cent: A Confederate Story; Blairsville, Georgia; Skeenah Gap Publishing; 2006	113	Brenner	Judson Brenner	Google Books
Charles Burleigh Galbreath; History of Ohio: (Volume 4); Chicago and New York; American Historical Society; 1925		Brenner	Tod Brenner	St. Louis County Library; Google Books
Modern Cemetery: Volume 26	140	Brenner	Judson Brenner	Google Books
The Numismatic Scrapbook Magazine: Volume 27	1723			Google Books
The Military History of Ohio; New York, Toledo and Chicago; H.H. Hardesty, Publisher; 1889	314	Welk	Kate Welk (Brenner)	Google Books
Lewis M. Gross; Past and Present of DeKalb County, Illinois (Vol 1); Chicago; The Pioneer Publishing Company; 1907	424-7	Brenner	Judson Brenner	Google Books
Genealogical and Family History of Eastern Ohio; Lewis Publishing Company; 1903	186 – 189	Brenner	Conrad F. Brenner	Google Books
General History of Trumbull and Mahoning Counties (Vol. 1); Cleveland; H.Z. Williams & Bro.; 1882	394	Brenner	John Brenner	Google Books
Metal Industry (Vol. 9); New York; Metal Industry Pub. Co.; January 1, 1911	44	Brenner		Google Books
Frank Conover, ed.; Centennial Portrait and Biographical Record of the City of Dayton and of Montgomery County Ohio; Chicago; A.W. Bowen & Co.; 1897; Dayton History Books Online, http://www.daytonhistorybooks.com	765-6	Smith	John A. Smith	Dayton History Books Online (www.daytonhistorybooks.com/)
Trudy Schenk and Ruth Froelke; Wuerttemberg Emigration Index (Vol. 1I-VIII); Salt Lake City; Ancestry, Inc.; 1986		Renkenberger	Johannes Renkenberger; Johann Georg Renkenberger	St. Charles City-County Library; St. Louis County Library
Filby P. William, ed.; Passenger and Immigration Lists Index, 1500s-1900s; Farmington Hills, MI; Gale Research; 2010		Renkenberger	Johannes Renkenberger; Johann Georg Renkenberger	FHL (CD-ROM no. 9 pt. 354 2002 copy 1
Clay Shampoe and Thomas R. Garrett; Baseball in Norfolk, Virginia; Charleston, S.C.; Arcadia; 2003	17-18	Otey	Thomas William Otey	University of Cincinnati
Ronald M. Renkenberger; Renkenberger, 1745-1988; Laotto, Indiana (?); R.M. Renkenberger; 1988?		Renkenberger		Allen County Public Library; try interlibrary loan

Compiled Sources - a Blessing and a Curse

This month's assignment for our US-REC Study Group is a) to read American Genealogy, Chapter 11: ("Compiled Sources and Newspapers" ) and The Source, Chapter 12 ("Newspapers") and b) evaluate a compiled source using Greenwood's criteria (page 185 in American Genealogy). Greenwood's criteria are fairly straight-forward:

1. Are the materials which the source presents well documented?
2. What kinds of sources are represented in the documentation? Are they original records (or photocopies of such) or are they other non-original materials?
3. Are the research and analyses of difficult problems and connections examined in detail so that the bases for their acceptance can be completely understood?

The Compiled Source:

In April, 1910, a search of FamilySearch revealed an IGI record of the baptism of Johannes Brenner (my 2g-grandfather), son of Georg Friedrich Brenner and Johanna Catarina Venninger at the Protestant Church in Adelshofen, Baden. At approximately the same time, I came across online data tracing the lineage of Johanna Catarina Venninger (my 3g-grandmother) back about 12 generations. In telephone contact with the author of the materials, he acknowledged that he was in the process of removing it from online presence, but was willing to share his records with me. His records included names, dates, events, and locations, but no citations. In that telephone conversation, he indicated that the information came from FHL microfilms (mostly on the Protestant Church in Adelshofen, Baden). I found two other online trees containing information about Johanna Catarina Venninger's lineage. I put the information in a GEDCOM file (most from the original contact, supplemented by the other two online trees.

Evaluating the (Haphazardly) Compiled Source:

The evaluation is quite simple:

1. The materials are not well documented. A verbal statement that the materials came from FHL microfilms (mostly #1189094) is vague, at best, and relates to the material in general only (that is, it does not document the source of particular data).
2. It is hard to determine whether the author viewed photocopies of the originals (FHL microfilm) or used derivative sources (IGI, AFN). Regardless of what he used the material, as it came to me, was clearly derivative (no images of the German Church Records; only lists, in English, of the events, persons, dates, and localities).
3. There was no analysis of the data, no evidence of conflicts, no examination of the data in detail.

Next Steps:

Greenwood writes, “There are some good things written that are poorly documented, but they are the exception and not the rule.” I began to suspect this to be the case of the material I had received on Johanna Catarina Venninger's lineage. I have chosen to accept this data as likely to be “useful in providing clues for research (Greenwood).” In fact, during my recent trip to Salt Lake City and the Family History Library, I found the materials to be “a great time saver in research.” I used the materials to create lists of baptisms, marriages, and deaths (sorted by locality and date). These lists (approximately 250 entries) were annotated with the FHL microfilm numbers for the appropriate Church Records.

At FHL I began my search the day prior to RootsTech. This was my first trip to FHL and my first experience with a microfilm reader. I made the mistake of focusing first on the church records from Adelshofen, Baden (the city where my 2g-grandfather, Johannes Brenner, lived before emigrating to the United States). That was a big mistake. Because I was dealing with records written in German (with which I have only a very elementary grasp) and in Old German script (which is a challenge for us moderns to read), I did not find many of the records for which I was seeking. Fortunately, the experience gained helped me in subsequent trips to FHL. I worked through (one day with my son's assistance) the church records of the other cities near Adelshofen from which many of Johanna Venninger's ancestors came. These searches were much more successful. Now, back home, I will have to order the Adelshofen film and have it sent to one of the Family History Centers in the area so that I can review that film and, hopefully, find more of the records for Johanna Venninger's lineage (and mine).  [See related post on German Church Records.]

Following is a list of the direct line ancestors of Johanna Catarina Venninger for whom I found microfilm images. I copied those images and will enter them into our Research Wiki and eventually into our TNG website. Reference numbers follow the Ancestral Lines Paring System [ancestral line.generation]. For more information see Caper McDonald's paper or my post (“RootsTechLearning #1 -- Ancestral Lines Pairing System”). It should be noted that the generation numbers start with my son; therefore, Johanna Venninger is generation 7 (my son's 4g-grandmother).

Generation 7

33.7 Johanna Catarina (Venninger) Brenner

marriage, baptism of 3 sons and 1 daughter

Generation 8 - Parents

33.8 Johannes & 97.8 Elizabeth Margaretha (Fleck) Venninger

baptism of 4 daughters and 1 son; 33.8 – death; 97.8 – death

Generation 9 - GrandParents

33.9 Johannes & 161.9 Maria Margaretha (Pfesterlin) Venninger

baptism of 3 daughters and 1 son; 33.9 – baptism, death

97.9 Johann Casper & 225.9 Elisabetha Margaretha (Uhl) Fleck

baptism of 3 sons; 97.9 - baptism

Generation 10 – 1G Grandparents

33.10 Johann Georg & 289.10 Maria Margaretha (Nast) Venninger

baptism of 4 sons and 2 daughters; 33.10 – baptism, death

97.10 Anastasius & 353.10 Anna Margaretha (Conrad) Fleck

baptism of 4 daughters and 1 son; 97.10 – death; 353.10 – baptism, death

Generation 11 – 2G Grandparents

33.11 Johann Georg & 545.11 Maria (Solome) Venninger

33.11 – baptism; 545.11 – death

289.11 Johann Phillip & 801.11Anna Maria (Ludwig) Nast

289.11 – death; 801.11 – baptism, death

Generation 12 – 3G Grandparents

33.12 Samuel & 1057.12 Euphrosyna (Ebts) Venninger

baptism of 8 daughters and 3 sons; 33.12 – baptism

289.12 Johann Martin & 1313.12 Waldburga (Trauttlinn) Nast

289.12 – baptism, death; 1313.12 – baptism, death

801.12 Michael & 1825.12 Anna Maria (Jaich) Ludwig

801.12 – baptism, death; 1825.12 - baptism

Generation 13 – 4G Grandparents

33.13 Samuel & 2081.13 Anna Maria (Knobblin) Venninger

baptism of 3 daughters; 33.13 – death; 2081.13 – death

289.13 George &2337.13 Agnes Nast

289.13 – baptism, death; 2337.13 - death

1313.13 Phillip & 4361.13 Margaret Trauttlinn

baptism of 1 daughter

Abundant Genealogy -- Week 7

Week #7 – Historical Documents: Which historical document in your possession are you happy to have? How did you acquire this item? What does it reveal about your ancestors? (Thanks to Amy Coffin and Thomas MacEntee.)


I must begin with an admission.  

RootsTech Learning #3 - GEDCOM X and/or BetterGEDCOM and/or FHISO

RootsTech 2012 was kicked off by keynoter, Jay Velkler, past president and CEO of FamilySearch. Verkler laid out a vision for the future of genealogy and family history as of 2060.  As part of that vision, the GEDCOM X project became publicly launched on 2 February 2012.

RootsTech Learning #2 - German Church Records

One of the best things about RootsTech was the availability of the Family History Library (FHL).  In fact, on Friday evening FHL stayed open until midnight to accommodate RootsTech attendees.  In addition to Friday evening, I was able to spend time on Wednesday, Saturday, and Sunday at FHL.  I suspect that there will be a number of posts resulting from that research.  For this post, however, we begin with a test.

RootsTech Learning #1 -- Ancestral Lines Pairing System

Prior to leaving for RootsTech 2012, I indicated that I would not be blogging during the conference, but would begin to put my learning to work and report on the results.  My first after-RootsTech post is about a newly developed numbering system for genealogical purposes.

My son and I have discussed for a long time the possibilities of a numbering system for our genealogical records.  The most prominent systems available to us as genealogists is, of course, derive from the Ahnentafel system which dates back to Michael Eytzinger in 1590.  I recently spend time looking at William Dollarhide's combination of the Ahnentafel and Henry systems -- in particular, Terry Cole's adaptations of Dollarhide.  In truth, none of the systems we discussed, "invented," or tried out seemed to be what we had hoped for.  A RootsTech workshop on the Ancestral Lines Paring System, attended by my son, has changed that.

Happy 2nd Blogiversary!

On 4 February 2010 I took a bold step into an unknown future by establishing "Stardust 'n' Roots" and publishing my first post. In these two years I have published 149 posts -- not a spectacular number (Randy Seaver. probably does that in a month) -- with more than 12,000 pageviews over the two years.
By far, my most popular post has been "A Hobbyist's Genealogy Manifesto." Blogger stats indicates that it has received 550 pageviews, equal to the next two most popular combined ("Location! Location! Location! A Question Answered" and "Name Collecting - 'Mythology' or the 'Pirates of the Caribbean' Option").

I have been fortunate to have posts listed as "best" or "favorite" of the week by Randy Seaver's Geneamusings, Greta Koelh's Greta's Genealogy Bog, Ruth Blair's The Passionate Genealogist, and Elizabeth O'Neal's Little Bytes of Life. What an honor! Thanks! Then it was almost more than I could comprehend when I found my blog listed among Randy Seaver's "Best of Geneablogs for the Year 2011"  (based on the number of times listed in Randy's "best of the week").

Even more astounding is where the blog is being read. Blogger stats indicates that there have been page views from: United States, Russia, Australia, Germany, United Kingdom, Canada, Latvia, Ukraine, France, South Korea, Japan, Belgium, Malaysia, Netherlands, Philippines, Spain, Thailand, Sweden, South Affrica, Guatemala, Kuwait, Ireland, Italy, Egypt, Nigeria, Slovenia, Turkey, Singapore, and New Zealand. Put it on the Internet and it is truly available everywhere.

I was surprised to find that a Swedish blog (iFokus) had a brief post dedicated to my "Sometimes Less is More!" post. He not only recommended the content of the post, but suggested that Swedish bloggers might use the post to improve their English reading skills.  Thankfully, Firefox had a translation of the Swedish ready for me.

When I began this venture, I never expected this kind of response. I am both amazed (actually, befuddled) and honored by the response. Thanks to all who have taken the time to read one or more of my blog posts. And special thanks to those of you who have taken time to leave comments. A few "cousins" have come forward and I now count a number of you as my genea-friends.

My birthday wish for all of you: May your searches uncover new resources on a regular basis, may your source citations be accurate and up-to-date, may bricks start to fall from your brick walls, and my your ancestors prove to be as kind to you as you have been to me! Blessings on you all!