Season's Greetings!

If it's been a while since your last visit, now is the perfect time to stop by the Library. For the month of December, the Main Library has been transformed into a Winter Wonderland. The Junior League and Jacksonville Public Library have partnered to bring us the Festival of Trees, a display of spectacularly decorated trees, each inspired by a different book. The Festival of Trees features 26 trees that encircle the grand staircase on three floors of the Library.

The holiday cheer continues as you enter the Special Collections area on the 4th floor. For the second year in a row, Genealogy Collection volunteer Patricia McCullough has lent her International Santa Collection and her decorating talent to design our annual holiday display. The theme of this year's display is "The International Spirit of Giving." Below are two of the featured Santas. You can view more pictures of the display on our flickr page:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jplgenealogy/sets/72157610580777549/

Obituaries and Death Notices: Is There a Difference?

Obituaries and Death Notices are great resources for genealogist and for those tracing their ancestors. The information they provide varies in many respects and can lead to other forms or sources of information. Although obituaries and death notices are used synonymously, there is a difference.

An obituary generally is an announcement in the local newspaper regarding the death of an individual. It provides minimal information such as, name of the deceased, date of birth, date of death, place of residences, and perhaps a cause of death. Depending upon the town, city, or community obituaries may be published for free in the local newspaper or for a fee.

Death notices, on-the-other hand, have a tendency to contain more substantial information about the deceased. This includes information, such as the name of the deceased, his/her age, name of wife/husband, children’s names, parents, siblings, place of residence, cause of death, the name of the funeral home, occupation, and even a picture of the deceased. As with obituaries, death notices may cost to be published. If a fee is assessed, this may affect the amount of information contained in a notice, especially if the cost is per letter or per word.

Another item of note is that information contained in obituaries and death notices may not be accurate always. Errors in the information can occur anywhere in the process. Incorrect data may be provided by the individual supplying the information, or by the newspaper person taking the information, or by the editor proofing the obituary/death notice, or by the worker preparing it for press. Therefore, as with all genealogy research, you will want to verify the data using other sources of information, as much as possible.

Also, as mentioned earlier, obituaries & notices of death can lead to other primary and secondary sources for locating information regarding your ancestors. For example, an obituary/death notice can lead you (1) to funeral home data for funeral records, (2) to city directories (which you can use to trace the residential history of the deceased) which in turn may lead to court and land records, (3) to names of relatives and family members (who still may exist and be able to provide information about the deceased that cannot be found in a census record), and (4) to cemetery and other record types.

In short, when conducting genealogical research, don’t forget those obits and death notices.

New Arrivals: County Court Records

Without a doubt, the most frequently used items in our microfilm collection are the county court records for Duval and surrounding counties (including Clay and St. Johns). Because the court records for Northeast Florida counties are in such high demand, we've expanded our geographic coverage to include Baker and Nassau counties. This month, we received the following county court records on microfilm:

BAKER COUNTY

• Mortgage Records of Baker County, Florida, 1876-1907
• Baker County Deeds, 1877-1909
• Miscellaneous records of Baker County, Florida, 1912-1937
• Record of Administrations, Baker County, Florida, 1914-1938
• Soldier's and Sailor's of Baker County, Florida, Discharge Records, 1917-1945

NASSAU COUNTY

• Marriage records, 1867-1953
• Returns on Accounts in Estates of Deceased Persons, 1873-1930
• General Index to Files and Records of Estates
• Petitions and Orders in Estates of Deceased Persons, 1873-1897
• Inventories, Appraisements and Sales in Estates of Deceased Persons, 1873-1933

You can read more about our county court records on microfilm at http://jaxpubliclibrary.org/coll/gen/duval.html.

Sons of the American Revolution Lineage Society

Throughout American history, many societies have risen and have developed over the course of time. The purpose of such societies and organizations vary greatly, depending upon their founder(s), origin, and reason for existence. In America, there are many societal groups in many areas; such as medicine, law, and education as well as the arts, science, and religion. For researchers of family history though, two of the most noted types are historical and genealogical societies. Some of these organizations date their genesis back to the American Revolution (1775-1783). Others developed over time with their lineage centered on an individual(s) or based upon particular event(s).

One example of an ancestral society is the “the Sons of the American Revolution” lineage society. What is the “Sons of the American Revolution?” you might ask. Sons of the American Revolution (SAR) is a non-profit corporation that seeks… “to maintain and extend the institutions of American freedom, an appreciation for true patriotism, and a respect for our national symbols”… to name a few of their aspirations.

SAR was organized in 1876 by a group of patriot descendants from San Francisco California. At that time, the organization was called “Sons of Revolutionary Sires”. “Their objective was to have a fraternal and civic society to salute those men and women who pledged their lives, fortunes and sacred honor to the battle of independence from Great Britain.”

SAR felt that through their stories, values such as patriotism would inspire future generations. From Sires on April 30, 1889, the “National Society of the Sons of the American Revolution” developed commemorating the 100th anniversary of George Washington’s inauguration. On June 9, 1906, the organization was chartered by Congress and signed by President Theodore Roosevelt. (Roosevelt himself was a member.) With twenty-six thousand members and with hundreds of chapters in various countries, the society remains active.

Although not a current subscription, the Genealogy collection does contain a few years of the SAR publication. Starting out as the “Official bulletin of the National Society of the Sons of the American Revolution”, this publication began in October 1906. From there, the title changed to “The Minute Man” in 1923. Later, the title changed again to “The Sons of the American Revolution Magazine” in 1930, and finally evolved into the current publication entitled, “The SAR Magazine” in 1967 to present time. Published quarterly, the magazine provides news and information regarding the society and its endeavors, such as updates, current events, and genealogical inquiries. In addition, it features articles written by and submitted by SAR members regarding historical events and figures.

Therefore if you believe that you have ancestors who contributed to America’s independence, you may wish to consider the National Society of the Sons of the American Revolution as a resource. For more information about this lineage society and their endeavors, you may wish to visit their website at http://www.sar.org.

Fleming Island Genealogy Group Tour the JPL Genealogy Collection

One of my favorite parts of my job is showing our impressive genealogy collection to people who have never visited the library before. On Wednesday, I had the opportunity to give a tour of the collection to the Fleming Island Genealogy Group. Today I was delighted to find that Chris Mochocki of the Clay County Public Library posted some pictures from the tour on their blog. If you would like to request an individual or group tour of the Genealogy Collection, please contact us at 630-2409.

18th Century Obituaries: the First Celebrity Gossip Columns

As genealogists, we rely on obituaries to provide birth and death dates, biographical details, and the names of surviving relatives. Obituary content provided by the surviving relatives casts the subject in a flattering light. Modern obituaries list a person's achievements and omit any personal information that might be considered scandalous. Dr. Elizabeth Warwick, associate professor at the Univeristy of Warwick (UK) claims this was not the case in 18th century England. Instead, "the people featured in obituaries became the objects of scandal and public fascination, or indeed the UK's first celebrities."

Genie’s Genealogical Tip No. 1

When searching for marriage records, don’t forget to consider “marriage bonds” and “marriage banns”.

Marriage bonds were posted by the groom at the clerk of the court in the bride’s county of residence. The purpose was to show the groom’s intent on marriage and that there were no legal impediments to the marriage. The father or brother of the bride along with the groom also could post the bond to help with the cost in the event the marriage was invalidated. Some bonds go back to the mid to late 1700s. It must be noted that bonds were not required by all states or colonies.

Marriage banns (a practice during colonial times) are public announcements made usually in church regarding an upcoming marriage. They were read out loud at least three Sundays or meetings in a row, and were documented in parish church minutes and bulletins. Many times they were posted in public places. Their purpose was to give anyone the opportunity to object to the pending marriage based upon legitimate reasons or concerns, such as a pre-existing marriage, individuals’ consent, illegal age, and so on.