Last week, I wrote a post about my experience using Evidentia to analyze a death certificate.  In it, I mentioned that I would like the Evidentia program to produce a Document Analysis report.  Here is how I think such a report should look; the first part is a template with Evidentia fields in brackets and the second part is a sample report output using my death certificate analysis.

Template

Document Analysis Report

[Citation Title from the Catalogue Claims screen]

Source:  [Source Listing from the Document a Source screen]

Citation: [Citation from the Catalogue Claims screen]

Source Analysis

The source reviewed is [source classification from Document a Source screen; i.e. original, derivative, authored work, etc.].  [Citation notes from the Catalogue Claims screen.]

Information and Evidence Analysis

[Claim.]  This information is considered [information classification from Catalogue Claims screen; i.e. primary, secondary, or indeterminable.] The record provides [evidence classification from Analyze Evidence screen; i.e. direct, indirect, or negative] evidence of the claim. [Analysis from the Analyze Evidence screen.]

{Repeat for each additional claim from the relevant document.}

Note:  The template becomes more complicated if there is more than one subject attached to a claim.  For the moment, I’ve added in the next subject and claim type in the same paragraph, immediately following the analysis of the first subject and claim.  Any thoughts on a better way to handle this?

[Claim.]  This information is considered [information classification from Catalogue Claims screen; i.e. primary, secondary, or indeterminable.] The record provides [evidence classification from Analyze Evidence screen; i.e. direct, indirect, or negative] evidence of the claim. [Analysis from the Analyze Evidence screen.]  Next subject: [Subject Name, Claim type].  The record provides [evidence classification from Analyze Evidence screen; i.e. direct, indirect, or negative] evidence of the claim. [Analysis from the Analyze Evidence screen.]

Sample Report Output

Document Analysis Report

Death certificate of J. A. Hemphill

Source:  Georgia. Murray County. Death Certificates. Probate Court’s Office, Chatsworth.

Citation: Murray County, Georgia, death certificate no. blank (24 August 1936), J. A. Hemphill; Probate Court’s Office, Chatsworth.

Source Analysis

The source reviewed is an original record.  This is a clear photocopy of the original, signed, death certificate, which I obtained from [name withheld for private use].  Information about the death was recorded by the attending physician; it is likely accurate and will probably provide the best available evidence of the death date and place.  Personal information about the deceased is more prone to error; the information identified below as primary is likely accurate, while the information classified as secondary may include errors.

Information and Evidence Analysis

J. A. Hemphill died in Murray County, Georgia in Militia District 972.  This information is considered primary.  The record provides direct evidence of the claim. This information probably was recorded by a trained official doing his job.  Error is unlikely.

The deceased’s name was J. A. Hemphill. This information is considered primary. The record provides direct evidence of the claim.  The deceased’s son was the informant on the death certificate.  He would obviously have firsthand knowledge of his father’s name.

J. A. Hemphill resided in Ramhurst, GA  at the time of his death.  This information is considered primary.  The record provides direct evidence of the claim.  This information probably was provided by the informant, the deceased’s son.  Error is possible, but unlikely.

J. A. Hemphill was married at the time of his death.  This information is considered primary.  The record provides direct evidence of the claim.  J. A.’s son was the informant on the death certificate.  He would have firsthand knowledge of his father’s marital status.  Next subject:  Roberts, Nancy Alice (death).  The record provides indirect evidence of the claim. While Nancy Alice Roberts is not named in J. A. Hemphill’s death certificate, the document provides indirect evidence that she was alive at the time of his death, otherwise J. A.’s marital status (as reported by their eldest son) would have been recorded as widowed, rather than married.

J. A. Hemphill was 57 years old when he died.  This information is considered secondary.  The record provides direct evidence of the claim. His age at the time of death puts his birth date between  between 25 Aug 1878 and 24 Aug 1879.  While this evidence is direct, it likely originates from J. A. himself.

J. A. Hemphill’s occupation was farmer.  This information is considered primary.  The record provides direct evidence of the claim.  J. A.’s son, the informant, would have firsthand knowledge of his father’s occupation.

J. A. Hemphill was born in Georgia. This information is considered secondary.  The record provides direct evidence of the claim.  This information, along with the age, likely originates from J. A. himself.

J. A. Hemphill’s father was the James Y. Hemphill who was born in North Carolina.  This information is considered secondary.  The record provides direct evidence of the claim.  While I’m sure the informant would know his grandfather’s name, the information is classified as secondary, since the man in question died when J. A. was a child; therefore Uncle Jim never had an opportunity to know his grandfather personally. Next subject: Hemphill, James Young (J. Y.) (child). This information is considered secondary.  The record provides direct evidence of the claim. While I’m sure the informant would know his grandfather’s name, the information is classified as secondary, since the man in question died when J. A. was a child; therefore Uncle Jim never had an opportunity to know his grandfather personally.

James Y. Hemphill (the father of J. A. Hemphill) was born in N. C.  This information is considered secondary.  The record provides direct evidence of the claim. The informant on the death certificate of J. A. Hemphill was J. Y. Hemphill of Ramhurst, Georgia.  While it is not stated on the record, he was the deceased’s son and would have only secondary knowledge regarding his grandfather’s birth place.  This information should only be used to corroborate or cast doubt on other, higher-quality pieces of evidence.

J. A. Hemphill’s mother was Mary E. McEntire. This information is considered primary. The record provides direct evidence of the claim. The informant, Uncle Jim, would have known his grandmother personally; he was 19 when she died. Next subject: McEntire, Mary Elizabeth (child). This information is considered primary. The record provides direct evidence of the claim. The informant, Uncle Jim, would have known his grandmother personally; he was 19 when she died.

Mary E. McEntire was born in N. C. This information is considered secondary. The record provides direct evidence of the claim. The informant, her grandson, would have only secondary knowledge of her birth place.  This evidence should only be used to corroborate or cast doubt on other, higher-quality pieces of evidence.

J. Y. Hemphill (the informant) resided in Ramhurst, Ga. on R. # 1 at the time the death certificate was issued around August 25, 1936. This information is considered primary. The record provides direct evidence of the claim. I have no reason to believe this is inaccurate.

J. A. Hemphill was buried at McEntire Cemetery.  This information is considered primary.  The record provides direct evidence of the claim. This information probably was provided by the informant, the deceased’s son.  Error is possible, but unlikely.

J. A. Hemphill was buried on 25 Aug 1936. This information is considered primary. The record provides direct evidence of the claim. This is likely to be the only piece of evidence regarding the regarding the date of J. A.’s burial, unless I can locate a burial permit or records from the funeral home; however it is high-quality – direct evidence from a primary source (his son) found on an original record.  Error is possible, but unlikely.  The death certificate also reports that the undertaker was Love Funeral Home of Dalton, Ga.

J. A. Hemphill died 24 Aug 1936 at 7:30 PM.  This information is considered primary.  The record provides direct evidence of the claim. This information was reported by the attending physician, M. P. Bates of Ramhurst, Ga., who saw him on the day he died.  Error is unlikely.

So, there you have it.  A complete report of all claims and analysis from one source record.  It took forever to put this sample together, because I kept having to click back and forth between the “Catalogue Claims” screen and the “Analyze Evidence” screen for every piece of information.  I think it’s an important report to have, though.  What do you think, Evidentia users?  Is this something you would like to see included in the software?

Recently, I’ve been trying out Evidentia, a new-ish program to aid in the analysis and proof of genealogical problems. I’m not going to explain how the program works & it’s terminology. If you haven’t heard about Evidentia yet, you can read about a review here that goes into a bit more of the background.

I am going to share my experience with analyzing one document, including some suggestions that would make the program more user-friendly.

As others have stated, Evidentia really forces you to slow down. A death certificate is usually relatively straightforward, and the one I analyzed is no exception, but it took me several hours over the course of two days to enter and analyze all the information. By the time I finished, I had entered and analyzed 15 “claims” for four “subjects.” Slowing down is a good thing. It’s been said that “we have to slow down to reach our destination.”

Here is a screen shot of some of those claims; they won’t all fit in one view.

And here’s my first suggestion. See the bottom of the screen shot where it says “Save Citation?” I did not realize I had to click that in order to save the claims. I had already clicked it after saving the citation. I lost a number of claims and had to reenter them. Since the name of the screen is “Catalogue Claims,” I think it would be more consistent to have the button say “Save Claims” or maybe just “Save” if its purpose is to save both the citation AND the claims.

After cataloguing all the claims, one moves on to “Analyze Evidence.” Although, really, the analysis process starts on the Catalogue Claims screen when the information is classified as primary, secondary, or indeterminable. (I’m just splitting hairs here – not suggesting a change.)

There were times when I found the analysis process extremely tedious. For the most part, I think it’s a good idea to analyze each item of information. However, some things are just so straightforward that no analysis is required. For example, the residence of the informant. It’s original, primary, and direct and I’ve already input that in the required fields. He would know his own address. I really don’t know what else to say about it. I have no suggestions for change here – maybe I’m just overthinking this. Most of the time, analyzing the claims was fun and interesting; it’s just those really simple facts that bogged me down.

I also found it difficult to stick to analyzing only the document that I was working on. I wanted to incorporate information from other other sources, which I suppose should wait for the proof argument. For example, this document says that the deceased’s mother was born in North Carolina. Since I know that she was not, I wanted to include that in the analysis of that claim. (I’m reading Tom Jones’ Mastering Genealogical Proof and he says to analyze one source at a time, so I’m trying hard to do so. Evidentia helps.)

My second suggestion is on this screen. See the little check mark next to the analysis text field? You are supposed to click on it after entering the analysis and it changes from gray to green, so you know that you’re finished with that bit of analysis. Maybe it’s my monitor or my eyes, but the difference between the gray and the green is so subtle as to be almost indistinguishable. Maybe red would be a better color than gray? I guess that wouldn’t work for people who are red-green color blind. However, some color combination with more contrast would be an improvement.

Also, clicking on the check mark next to analysis doesn’t actually save the analysis. You still have to click on “Save Proof” at the bottom of the screen, even if you haven’t written a proof summary yet. Yes, I learned this the hard way – by losing the analysis that I had entered and having to do it again.

I haven’t written a proof argument using Evidentia yet, because I haven’t entered claims from enough sources to form a solid conclusion. In the meantime, I would like to be able to prepare a document analysis report. Evidentia has two documents reports available – Claims by Source and Subject by Source — but neither one includes the analysis.

I’m working on a sample of what I think a document analysis report should look like. Check back next week for details.

The bottom line on the program is that I like it and plan to continue using it. I think it will help me be a better genealogist.

The first McEntire in my family line is my great-great grandmother, Mary Elizabeth.  She was born 23 February 1841 in Murray County, Georgia, where she lived most of her life.  She married James Young Hemphill on 10 September 1867, also in Murray County.  Elizabeth was J. Y.’s second wife; he first married her sister, Rhoda McEntire, who died giving birth to twins on 22 July 1864.  Elizabeth and J. Y. had six children together.  She died 6 July 1921 and is buried at the Hemphill-McEntire Cemetery in Murray County.

2nd Generation

Mary Elizabeth McEntire’s parents were Joseph Alexander McEntire and Elizabeth Alexander.  Joseph was born 1 December 1803 in Burke County, North Carolina.  He married Elizabeth Alexander on 19 January 1832.  They moved to Murray County around 1837.  Joseph died 27 November 1879 and is buried at the Hemphill-McEntire Cemetery.

Children from this marriage were:

1. Martha A. ” Mattie” McEntire, born July 1833 in North Carolina and died 1916.  Mattie never married.
2. James Alexander McEntire, born about 1834 in Burke County, North Carolina.  He first married Georgia Gertrude Carter about 1861.  James and Georgia had six children.  After Georgia died, James married his first cousin, Rosannah McEntire. James died in 1917.
3. Rhoda Jane McEntire, born 2 June 1839 in Georgia and died 22 July 1864.  Rhoda is the sister mentioned above who married J. Y. Hemphill.  They had three children.
4. Mary Elizabeth McEntire (see above).
5. Rachel McEntire, born 1843 and died 1845.

3rd Generation

Joseph Alexander McEntire’s parents were Thomas Young Hemphill McEntire and Martha Hemphill.  Thomas was born January 1772 in County Tyrone, Ireland.  He immigrated to this country before 1790 and settled on land along the Catawba River near Old Fort, in what was then Burke County, North Carolina.  Thomas and Martha were married in 1794.  He died 23 April 1813 in Old Fort.

Children from this marriage were:

1. Mary Howard McEntire, born 14 June 1795 in Burke County, North Carolina and died 20 October 1880 in Greenlee, McDowell, North Carolina.  She married David Washington Greenlee on 4 December 1815 in Burke County, North Carolina.  They had four children.
2. Jennie McEntire, born 6 January 1797 in Burke County, North Carolina and died in 1873 in Crooked Creek, McDowell, North Carolina.  She married Thomas Lytle in 1820 in Burke County, North Carolina.  They had 10 children.  (Jennie and Thomas Lytle are ancestors of mine through a different line.)
3. Rosannah McEntire, born 14 September 1798 in Burke County, North Carolina and died 26 December 1870 in Cherokee County, Alabama. She married Chisolm Daniel on 15 September 1818 in Burke County.  They had six children.
4. Martha Hemphill McEntire, born 14 March 1800 in Burke County, North Carolina and died 10 July 1841 in Murray County, Georgia.
5. Thomas Young McEntire, born 16 December 1801 in Burke County, North Carolina.
6. Joseph Alexander McEntire (see 2nd generation above).
7. Nancy Clarcy McEntire, born 20 November 1805 in Burke County, North Carolina.
8. John Cunningham McEntire, born 17 August 1807 in Burke County, North Carolina and died 15 October 1860 in Murray County, Georgia.
9. James Lette McEntire, born 28 August 1809 in Burke County, North Carolina and died 17 August 1870 in Murray County, Georgia.  He married his first cousin, Mary Ann Hemphill, in 1837 in Georgia.  They had 13 children.
10. William McKey McEntire, born 16 January 1812 in Burke County, North Carolina and died in 1876, probably in Murray County, Georgia.  He married Emily Green.
11. Rebecca McEntire, born 13 December 1813 in Burke County, North Carolina and died 22 August 1864, also in Burke County.  She married her first cousin Thomas Hemphill and had 11 children.

McEntire Surname Fun Facts

McEntire is a variant spelling of McIntyre, which is of Scottish origin and means “son of the craftsman” or “son of the carpenter.”  There were only 84 households who used the spelling “McEntire” in the United States in 1840; 5% were in North Carolina and 2% were in Georgia.  By 1880, there were 724 McEntires in the U. S., with the highest concentration (25%) found in North Carolina and 8% in Georgia.  In 1920, the McEntire surname frequency had decreased to 384, with 13% in Georgia and 9% in North Carolina.

More about the McEntire Family

• A complete list of deceased McEntire and McIntyre family members in my database.
• Posts about McEntire ancestors and relatives in this blog.
• McEntire documents, photos, and headstones.

If you have any additional information (or corrections) on the McEntire family, comments are most appreciated!

This post is part of an ongoing series focusing on specific surnames.  To see all posts in the series, click here.

My Patterson family line starts with Mary Elizabeth, my great-great grandmother.  She was born 7 Feb 1867 in Gilmer County, Georgia, where she lived until after her marriage.  She married William E. Whitener in 1883 and they moved to Murray County, Georgia sometime in the next year or two.  Between 1904 and 1907, they moved to Oklahoma and stayed there until Mary’s death on 6 Apr 1920.  She is buried in Ward’s Grove Cemetery in Foyil, Oklahoma.

2nd Generation

Mary’s father was Jeremiah “Jerry” Patterson, who was born about 1833, probably in Lumpkin County, Georgia.  By 1840, the Pattersons had moved to Gilmer County.  Jerry married Elizabeth Sarah Davis, probably around 1857 or 1858.  He died on 15 September 1872.

Children from this marriage were:

1. William Henson Patterson was born 23 April 1859 in Gilmer County, Georgia. William married Susan Anne Tatum in 1878.  They had five children.
2. John W. Patterson was born March 1866, probably in Gilmer County.  He married Martha Ledbetter on 4 Mar 1890.  They had three children.  John and Martha divorced before 1910.  Both are found in Oklahoma in subsequent years, so it is unknown if they divorced before or after moving west.
3. Mary Elizabeth Patterson (see first generation above).
4. Andrew Jackson Patterson was born Jun 1870 in Gilmer County.  He married Julia Anne Terry on 1 April 1887, also in Gilmer County.  They lived in Cherokee County, North Carolina and Monroe County, Tennessee, and then returned to Georgia, living in Murray County and possibly Whitfield County, where they both died.  Andrew and Julia had four children.

3rd Generation

Jerry’s parents were John “Jackie” Patterson and Jane “Jinny” Chapman.  Jackie was born about 1794, likely in Pendleton District, South Carolina.  He and Jinny were married on 6 October 1828 in Hall County, Georgia.  They had moved to Gilmer County by 1840 and Jackie died in adjacent Fannin County on 18 April 1854.

Children from this marriage were:

1.  Nancy Patterson, born 28 November 1829 in Hall County, Georgia.  Nancy married her first cousin, Samuel Patterson about 1848 or 1849.  They had 10 children.  Nancy died 19 August 1919 in Hall County.
2. Jeremiah Patterson (see 2nd generation above).
3. Malinda Patterson was born about 1836 in Gilmer County and died 10 Apr 1894.
4. Louisa J. Patterson was born about 1839 in Gilmer County and died there on 10 April 1897.  She married John Burch.  Louisa had a son named William Patterson.
5. Henson Patterson was born about 1843 in Gilmer County.  He died 16 December 1864 in Nashville, Tennessee from wounds received in the Battle of Nashville.
6. John Patterson was born about 1845 in Gilmer County.  He died 25 December 1878.
7. Julia Anne Patterson was born about 1848 in Gilmer County.
8. James G. Patterson was born about 1850 in Gilmer County.  He married a woman named Francis and had three children.
9. Fields C. Patterson was born about 1852 in Gilmer County. He married a woman named Martha and had two children.

4th Generation

Jackie’s parents were John Patterson and Nancy Chapman.  John was born between 1755 and 1774, possibly in Ireland.  In 1790, he appeared as head of household in Pendleton District, South Carolina.  He died between 1807 and 1810 in Pendleton District.

Children from this marriage were:

1. Hannah Patterson
2. Joseph Patterson, born between 1790 and 1794, likely in Pendleton District.  Joseph had 12 children.
3. Jeremiah Patterson, born between 1794 and 1800, likely in Pendleton District. Jeremiah had seven children.
4. John “Jackie” Patterson (see 3rd generation).
5. William Patterson, born 17 December 1795 in Pendleton District. He married Martha Welch about 1818.  He died 16 April 1895 in Forsyth County, Georgia.
6. George W. Patterson, born about 1796 or 1797, likely in Pendleton District.  He married a woman named Mary and had eight children. George died about 1870, probably in Fannin County, Georgia.
7. Hiram Patterson, born about 1801 in South Carolina.  Hiram married Elizabeth Cantrell on 26 August 1830 in Hall County, Georgia.  They had five children.
8. Enoch Patterson, born about 1802.
9. Samuel Patterson, born between 1804 and 1810.
10. Elizabeth Patterson, born 18 Jun 1808.  Elizabeth married James Cantrell and had 10 children.

Patterson Surname Fun Facts

Patterson is of Scottish and Northern English origin.  It is a patronymic, meaning “son of Patrick.”  In 1840, there were 3,015 Patterson households in the United States; 5% lived in Georgia or South Carolina.    In 1880, there were 50,255 Pattersons in the U. S., with 7% in Georgia or South Carolina.  In 1920, there were 28,328 Pattersons living in the United States: 6% were in Georgia or South Carolina.  I wonder what happened between 1880 and 1920 to cause the frequency of this surname to decrease by almost half?

More about the Patterson Family

• A complete list of deceased Patterson family members in my database.
• Posts about Patterson ancestors and relatives in this blog.
• Patterson documents, photos, and headstones.

If you would like more information about this family or would like to share what you know, please contact me.

This post is part of ongoing series focusing on specific surnames.  To see all posts in the series, click here.  

Last year at the FGS conference, I visited a vendor booth for a new web-based service to keep research logs, called Research Ties.  The program had not been released at that time, so I signed up for the mailing list.  When I was planning the sessions I wanted to attend at RootsTech and spotted one called “Research Ties: An Online Research Log.”  I thought it was probably the same program, but since I hadn’t received any email about a launch, I checked their website and recognized the logo.  I immediately added this session to my calendar.

I was intrigued with what I saw while attending the session, so I signed up for a two-week free trial.  My two weeks is almost up, so here’s my experience.

The program is pitched as an advancement on paper logs, word processor logs, and spreadsheet logs.  I use a spreadsheet, so I was curious to see if it really was faster and more efficient.

What I Liked About Research Ties:

• I like the idea of having my log accessible via the web.  While I almost always have access to my spreadsheet, if I’m at a repository with only my iPad, using the spreadsheet is difficult.
• I really like the templates for creating research objectives.  They are well thought out, thorough, and specific.  Here’s a screen shot of the “Add Objective” screen (click to enlarge):

And a sample objective that I wrote using the template:  ”Search the probate records of Murray County, Georgia for the surname Baxter.”

• I also like the template for formulating a search statement.

Here’s a screen shot of the objective above with a search and search result attached:

What I Didn’t Like About Research Ties:

• While the idea of online access to my research log was attractive, the reality didn’t measure up.  I first tried using the program over 3G at the Family History Library and it was so slow as to be unusable.  I tried again when I got home, using my own wifi, but it’s still so slow that I can’t stand the wait.
• It requires too much duplicate data entry.  Surnames, families, repositories, sources, places – they all have to be entered into this program in order for it to work.  Yes, you can upload a small gedcom (no more than 100 names recommended), but I just didn’t see that as a viable alternative.  I could pick a few names that I’m working on right now to create a gedcom, but then I’d have to do it again when I move on to a different set of names.  I especially didn’t like entering all the source information into separate fields, when I’ve already done that in RootsMagic source templates.
• It’s not always clear what information should go in the fields.  Some fields give a clue, but some don’t.
• I also found that the drop-down lists for fields didn’t always work.  In fact, sometimes the same field would produce a drop-down list if I was using my iPad, but not my laptop or it would produce a drop-down list one day but not the next on the laptop.
• The reports don’t make sense to me.  I can run a report of objectives, or a report of searches, or a report of results. . .but not all three at the same time. The results report includes the related “search,” but not the objective.

The Bottom Line:

It’s too slow for me.   When I was at the Family History Library, I felt like I was wasting valuable, and limited, research time by waiting on the screens to load, so I finally gave up.

At home,  I could have put up with the duplicate data entry if it went faster, but it’s still too slow.  I can enter the information (or copy and paste) in my spreadsheet much, much faster.  And I can sort and filter to my heart’s content to get just the information I want to look at  and create reports that make sense to me.

If you would like to try out Research Ties, click here.  I would advise you to read the slides and posts in the learning center and blog first.

As for me, I’m sticking with my spreadsheet.

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A couple of weeks ago, I went to Salt Lake City for the 3rd RootsTech conference. While the conference was fun and interesting, the highlight of my trip was the Family History Library. I knew it would be.

I arrived in Salt Lake City about 2:30 MDT and after checking into my hotel, immediately walked over the FHL to get the lay of the land and do a little research.

The first floor houses family history books (i.e. compiled genealogies), the second floor has U. S. / Canada microfilms, and the third floor has U. S. / Canada books.  The other two floors are dedicated to International and British Isles, but I knew I would be focusing on United States research, so I didn’t visit them.

Before leaving for Salt Lake City, I had made two lists (in Evernote, of course) of things I wanted to look for at the library.  I had a list of books – both family history books and state/county books – and a list of microfilms.  After visiting the 3rd floor and seeing all the U. S. books, I brainstormed a list of localities to search in, with the idea that I would focus on will abstracts and land records.  I later added genealogical society journals for those localities to my list (which turned out to be fruitful).

It’s hard to comprehend just how much is available at the FHL without going there.  According to their website:

The collection includes over 2.4 million rolls of microfilmed genealogical records; 727,000 microfiche; 356,000 books, serials, and other formats; over 4,500 periodicals and 3,725 electronic resources.

Here is a tiny portion of the microfilm stacks:

Each one of those drawers is packed full of microfilm rolls.

After a few hours on Tuesday, I spent most of Wednesday, and then several hours each on Friday and Saturday at the FHL.  Rather than making copies, I used my iPad to take photos of all my finds.  I took 337 photos during my research time.  Now, some of those photos are about the source (i.e. book cover, microfilm box, etc.), but still.

I found A LOT.  It will take a long time for me to sort through everything I found, process it, add it to RootsMagic, etc.  Fun times and one item checked off my Genea-Bucket List!

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Several months ago, I discovered that the (non-indexed) images of Georgia Probate records had been added to FamilySearch.  I started searching through the Administration & Guardian Bonds for Murray County and immediately hit pay dirt with a guardianship bond for my 3rd great-grandfather, Andrew B. Baxter.  I also found a guardianship bond for the children of a 2nd great-grandfather, J. Y. Hemphill.

Last night, I was reviewing what I had found.  I thought I had searched the entire record and found nothing else, but I was jumping around in the images online and found at least two more records.  I realized that I need to be more organized and methodical about searching these images.  I also realized while at the Family History Library last week that I need a list of relevant surnames for each locality that I’m searching; I can’t rely on my memory anymore, because there are simply too many names to remember, especially in the counties where I have a lot of people, such as Murray County, Georgia.

So, here’s my research plan for searching this record.

Objective:

Search the “Administration and Guardian Bonds 1844-1896″ records of Murray County, Georgia for the following surnames:

Adair, Alexander, Bailey, Baxter, Beamer, Black, Botten, Bradford, Bright, Bruer, Butler, Campbell, Carter, Caylor, Chable, Childers, Coffey, Couch, Dillard, Dwight, Ellis, Elrod, Fouts, Goodwin, Green, Greenlee, Haney, Harris, Harrison, Headrick, Heartsill, Hemphill, Henderson, Johnson, Jones, Kendrick, Kilgore, Langford, Langston, Lankford, Lawson, Littlefield, Love, Lowery, Lytle, Manley, Matthews, McClure, McEntire, McIntyre, McKinney, Moreland, Morgan, Mullinax, O’Neal, Osborn, Patterson, Poteet, Ridley, Roberts, Rogers, Sampler, Saunders, Sharp, Shields, Stanfield, Stanford, Stroud, Stuart, Terry, Thompson, Townsend, Tucker, Vineyard, Wallace, Ward, West, Whitener, Wofford.

Yes, that’s 79 surnames.  I don’t know why I thought I could keep them all in my head and associate them with Murray County.

To come up with the list of surnames, I did a people search in RootsMagic on the following criteria:

• “Any fact” place contains Murray and Georgia – this gives me a list of people have any event associated with Murray, Georgia.
• Color coding is not Yellow – this is how I designate people outside my research mission, which is direct ancestors and two generations of descendants.  People who are color-coded yellow might be three or more generations away from my ancestors or parents of spouses, etc.
• “Any fact” date is after 1843 and before 1897 – the date range for this record set is 1844-1896, so I want to exclude people who died before 1844 or were born after 1896.  By searching on the “any fact” field, I don’t inadvertently exclude people for whom I have other information, but don’t have a birth or death date.

This search turned up 305 names.  I exported the report, pulled it into Excel, and ran the Remove Duplicates tool to trim the list down to one instance of each surname.

My next step is to review the handwritten name index in the books and then start paging through, image by image, with the list of surnames by my computer.

I bet I find more records that I’ll be interested in.  But even if I don’t, I’ll know that I didn’t miss anything important.

As more people carry smart phones and tablets on a daily basis, we want to be able to use those devices in our genealogy research.

Here are few apps that I could not live without (note: I use Apple devices, so this post will not cover Android and other operating systems; however, please leave comments about ANY of your favorite apps).

1. Maps – this is essential when I’m on a genealogy road-trip, for finding cemeteries, courthouses, places to have lunch, etc.
2. Evernote – Evernote is my go-to app for storing everything, so it includes all kinds of genealogy notes that I may need to access.
3. Goodreads – I keep a list of genealogy books that I own and a wish-list of books I want to buy.  This prevents me from buying duplicates and ensures that if the opportunity arises, I have the exact name and author of books that I want to purchase.
4. Gedview – this is a handy little app that lets you upload a gedcom from your desktop genealogy program.
5. RootsMagic – this lets me access my actual RootsMagic file via Dropbox.
6. Dropbox – I like to keep my genealogy photos in my Dropbox account, so that I can show them off if the conversation turns to family history.
7. Ancestry.com – I love being able to view my source documents no matter where I am.
8. WordPress – I mostly use this for reading and responding to comments on my genealogy blogs throughout the day, although you can do more.  It’s so much easier to stay on top of things.
9. Flipboard – I use this to stay on top of my Twitter feed and read posts from the many genealogy blogs that I follow.
10. Toodledo – this is a task-tracking app that I use for all my to-dos, genealogy and otherwise.
11. Instagram – I use Instagram for genealogy purposes when I’m in cemeteries that have old, worn headstones.  I can add a note with the name on the headstone, so that if I can’t read it in the photo, I still know whose stone it is.

I use other apps, as well, but these are my faves for genealogy.

What apps can’t you live without?  Let us know in the comments.

My local library received a new book this week:  Confederate Voices by Debbie Stephenson Moore.  It’s not a book about the Civil War or the Confederacy, but rather is a collection of biographies, family histories, and organization vignettes with Confederate soldiers from southeast Tennessee and northwest Georgia as the unifying theme.

I like the way the book is organized and laid out.  It’s in alphabetical order by surname of the veteran or group name.  Each story is usually one page long, although a few are several pages.  Confederate Voices draws on pension records, census records, newspaper articles, letters, obituaries, and photographs to flesh out the lives of its subjects.

My second great-grand uncle, James A. McEntire, is an example of a typical biography included in Confederate Voices.  It tells when and where he and his wife were born, a bit about his service in the war, where he lived after the war and the state of his health, then death dates and places.  It also includes pictures of both James and his wife.

“The O’Neal Family of Polk County, TN” is a six-page chapter that covers the family history of another of my collateral lines – the family of John Silas and Elizabeth (Kendrick) O’Neal.  This chapter includes some information about John and paragraphs about most of John and Elizabeth’s children and their families, such as when they were born and died, who they married, and where they migrated to, all interspersed with photos.

In addition to the bios and family histories, Confederate Voices includes chapters on various Confederate cemeteries, chapters of the United Daughters of the Confederacy, and Confederate Veteran Camps.

The book includes a table of contents and an index (link to full index here), so it’s easy to find particular names that you might be looking for.  If you are researching people in Bradley, McMinn, and Polk counties in Tennessee or Murray and Whitfield counties in Georgia, Confederate Voices is worth checking out.

Joseph Lytle Burgin was born 30 Aug 1846, probably in McDowell County, North Carolina.  He appeared on the 1850 and 1860 censuses in the household of his parents, Merritt Burgin and Susannah Adeline Lytle.  He died 23 Mar 1927 in Old Fort, North Carolina.

Sometime before 1880, he married Dulcina and had two children, Mollie G. and James Alonzo. (They may have had more children; I have not researched this family extensively.)

Joseph died on 23 Mar 1927.  He had gangrene in his left leg and foot, caused by diabetes.  He is buried at Bethel-Cherry Springs Cemetery in McDowell County.

Joseph was the grandson of John Burgin and Elizabeth Mann (my fifth great-grandparents) and of Thomas Lytle and Jennie McEntire (my fourth great-grandparents).