Message from Kathy,
Happy Halloween!! Are you ready for the trick or treaters? That is typically what we think of when you mention Halloween, so how does the spooky day tie in with our beloved hobby of family research? In reality, this holiday is celebrated around the world as a day to honor deceased loved ones. Read below how this day is celebrated throughout the world and as you are indulging on some treats take a little time to remember your ancestors and how they made you who you are.
We are working on a new project of posting more videos and pictures of our successful 2018 tours (and other years) on our website, www.familytreetours.com, so check it out occasionally. Slowly but surely, they will be there.
Don’t forget it is never to early to get your plans set for 2019. For all of you struggling with your Irish research our 2019 Irish research trip can help you with breaking down your brick wall while enjoying the magic of the Emerald Isle. Did you know landed estate papers (of which the Public Record Office in Belfast has one of the best collections in the British Isles) sometimes contain the names of the tenants showing the land they farmed? These are just one of the types of records the tour participants can access during their time in the archives with our research team. Other sources which are not yet online include workhouse registers and many church records. Please get in touch if you have questions about this tour.
Until next time,
Kathy
Genealetter in PDF
|
|
SPOTLIGHT: HALLOWEEN CUSTOMS AROUND THE WORLD
Not all children around the world walk from door to door with pillowcases full of candy on Halloween. And although the holiday is an Irish invention, it’s Canada and the United States that have made Halloween as popular as it is today. But that doesn’t mean that the tail end of October (or the beginning of November) slips by without celebration in other parts of the world. These six countries celebrate their holidays around Halloween time, and some of their celebrations may even trump our North American version, so let’s check out some other traditions.
Dia de los Muertos — Mexico
El Dia de los Muertos, or “The Day of the Dead,” is celebrated every year on Nov. 1 and 2. The two-day holiday serves as a time to honor deceased loved ones by setting up altars and providing their favorite food and drinks. Many families burn candles and incense to help the souls find their way home and set out wash bins, so their departed loved ones can clean up before enjoying their favorite dishes. And although the Day of the Dead is often associated with Mexico, it is celebrated throughout much of Latin America and Spain. (I learned a lot about this custom while watching the Disney movie “Coco” with my grandson. 😊)
#2. Seleenwoche — Austria
The week of Seleenwoche, held Oct. 30 to Nov. 8 every year, is a time to remember and welcome back dead souls. Austrians provide the souls with bread, water and the light of a lamp at night. On the night of Nov. 1, All Saints Day, families gather together and walk to the graveyard with lanterns to leave at the grave sites of their loved ones. The following day, All Souls Day, is dedicated to remembering loved ones and praying for their souls.
#3. Guy Fawkes Day — Great Britain
The fifth of November is reserved for Guy Fawkes Day and Bonfire Night in Great Britain. The day is meant to celebrate the survival of King James I due to the capturing of Guy Fawkes, an infamous traitor who was a critical part of the Gunpowder Plot of 1605. On this day, the British burn sculptures of Guy Fawkes, light off fireworks and build bonfires.
#4. Samhain — Ireland and Scotland
The two-day-long Samhain (literally meaning summer’s end) festival in Ireland and Scotland is meant to celebrate the end of the harvest season and the beginning of the “darker half” of the year. Pagans and Wiccans believe that this is the beginning of the new year and the easiest time to communicate with the dead. Celebrators leave offerings of food and other items along the road and inside their homes. Some even set empty chairs by the fireplace and light candles to help the spirits find their way.
#5. All Saints Day — Germany
Similar to the Austrian festival of Seleenwoche, southern Germany celebrates Halloween as All Saints Day (or week) from Oct. 30 through Nov. 8. Catholics and some Protestants spend the days attending church and honoring their departed loved ones. Traditionally, Germans will hide all of their knives, so the returning spirits cannot be harmed when entering their homes.
#6. Teng Chieh — China
China’s version of Halloween may not happen in the month of October, but it’s one of the most unique Halloween festivals in the world. Teng Chieh, also known as the Lantern Festival, marks the end of the Chinese New Year celebrations. Families provide traditional food and water for the spirits of their lost loved ones. Nighttime bonfires, hanging lights and small paper boats are lit to remember the deceased and free their souls.
(source Courtney McCaffrey article Oct 2014)
|
|
Genealogy Research Tip – Follow the Preacher
Ministers, priests, and rabbis were leaders in their communities far more in the past than they are today. So much so, that when a clergyman moved from one location to another, even across the ocean, members of his congregation often followed him. So if you’re stuck trying to figure out where your ancestor lived before he showed up in the town you know about, try investigating his preacher. He might lead you just where you need to go, just as he led your ancestors!
|
|
THIS AND THAT:
The New England Historical Genealogical Society's AmericanAncestors.org has continued to expand its collection of Massachusetts: Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston registers, 1789-1900, as follows:
Massachusetts: Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston Records (Image-only), 1789-1900
In the last three weeks, the image/browse collection has passed a significant milestone with more than 500 volumes now available to view on the online database.
- Our Lady Help of Christians (Newton): Baptisms & Marriages, 1879-1900
- Sacred Heart (Natick) Baptisms & Marriages, 1890-1900; Confirmations, 1893-1900
- St. Francis de Sales (Charlestown) Baptisms, 1861-1900; Marriages, 1862-1900
- Sts. Peter and Paul (South Boston) Baptisms & Marriages, 1847-1900; Confirmations, 1865-1900
You don't need a subscription to view these images, only a Guest Account. To find out how to navigate the collection to find the records you want, watch this short how-to video.
Massachusetts: Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston Records, 1789-1900
Indexing of the images continues and there are now more than 200 volumes available in the fully indexed collection via the link above. The most recent additions were the registers for St Mary's in Randolph, which was built in 1849:
- St. Mary (Randolph) Baptisms & Marriages, 1853-1900: Confirmations and First Communions, 1869-1884
To search and view the indexed collection, you need to be a member of the NEHGS.
US – FamilySearch has added almost 750,000 new records to their Michigan county birth record collection. The records in this collection span the years from 1867 to 1917.
This collection can be searched by first name and last name. Access is by subscription. [Historic Michigan County Birth Records]
Netherlands – Open Archives has announced that they have reached the milestone of 200 million records online. Open Archives contains genealogical records from 86 different organizations. Most of the records cover the Netherlands, but due to borders changing over the decades, there are also a substantial number of Belgium records in their collection as well.
The span of records contained in Open Archives is extensive. It covers everything from birth records, baptism records, marriage records (both civil registration and church records), burial records, notarial deeds, military records, andpersonnel legal records. Even the burial records contain over things such things as prayer cards, family messages and funeral cards, all of which can be very useful for genealogical research.
US – Findmypast has released a new collection of New York Roman Catholic baptism and marriage records. This release covers the Archdiocese of New York, which consists of the boroughs of Manhattan, the Bronx, Staten Island and the counties of Dutchess, Orange, Putnam, Rockland, Sullivan, Ulster and Westchester. The records in this collection span the period from roughly 1785 to 1915.
This first release covers some 1.5 million records. It is part of Findmypast’s new initiative to digitize the historical records of the Catholic Church in North America. This is big news for anyone with Catholic ancestors in North America.
News from Archion.de (Germany)
From October, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Oldenburg will present more than 1000 digitized church records via Archion. With the publication of church records of the former state of Oldenburg, baptisms, marriages and deaths can be researched online for the first time from the 17th to the 20th century. This is possible because the archive of the Regional Church of Oldenburg has also collected church records for backup filming and subsequent digitization, which were previously only available to the individual parishes. Among the 82 towns that will go online, you will find the city of Oldenburg as well as the mid-sized towns of Delmenhorst and Wilhelmshaven. Another import with more than 400 church records from 18 parishes is planned for 2019.
With the presentation of the Oldenburg church records, Archion enables family research in the holdings of 17 Protestant, a state and a private archive and thus covers not only a large part of Protestant Germany but also parts of the former eastern areas of Germany. With an extent of more than 80,000 volumes, Archion is the largest online archive for German church records.
What was put online in the past weeks?
- Archive of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Northern Germany
(Landeskirchliches Archiv der Ev.-Luth. Kirche in Norddeutschland)
church records from the Mecklenburg region
- Archive of the Evangelical Church of Berlin-Brandenburg-Silesian-Upper Lusatia
(Landeskirchliches Archiv in Berlin)
church records from the Frankfurt/Oder, Calau-Lübben and Finsterwalde regions
- Archive of the Evangelical Church in Rhineland
(Archiv der Evangelischen Kirche im Rheinland)
church records from the towns: Allenbach, Altwied, Boppard, Dill, Dudweiler, Freusburg, Kölln, Niederalben, Niederwörresbach, Ottweiler, Sensweiler, St.Wendel, Wirschweiler
What is currently being imported?
- Archive of the Evangelical Church in Rhineland
(Archiv der Evangelischen Kirche im Rheinland)
What happens next?
- Archive of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Oldenburg
(Archiv der Ev.-Luth. Kirche in Oldenburg)
- Archive of the Evangelical-Lutheran Church in Württemberg
(Landeskirchliches Archiv Stuttgart)
- Archive of the Evangelical Church of Berlin-Brandenburg-Silesian-Upper Lusatia
(Landeskirchliches Archiv in Berlin)
|
|
UPCOMING TOURS: For those of you who may be new to the newsletter I just wanted to remind you that our small group tours usually consist of 10-16 people, we stay in one home base town (on German trips) and travel out on day trips by train. There are free days where you go to visit your hometowns, where we have made a contact for you. If you would like to find out more please contact me, Kathy @ info@familytreetours.com
2019
Remember that we do our best to get people to as many hometowns as possible and what we suggest is if your (sourced) hometown is within a 2-3 hour train ride from our home base village than that is a good tour for you BUT we also can help you get a bit further by using two free days back to back and spend the night* in this further away area so you have more time in your home villages. Plus if you have hometowns in one of these areas proposed but also have hometowns in another part of Germany, we often have people extend their tour for a few days and travel to the other area, where we will also make contacts for you.
2019
Southwest Baden Tour
May 29-June 8, 2019
$2699.00 pp/dbl $200.00 sgl supplement
Even if you don’t have ancestors from Baden-Wuerttemberg this tour will be a fun trip to enjoy some German “gemutlichkeit”. Join us as we celebrate with the village of Bötzingen their 1250th anniversary. A weekend full of festivities, an exhibit on Emigration in the 19th century, Strassenfest (street party), a tour of vineyards with wine tasting. We also will visit a living history museum, historical tour in Freiburg, before heading over into Alsace, France to visit the charming Colmar (home to Little Venice) and a bus ride through the Alsatian countryside with stops in picturesque villages for great food and wine tastings or a visit to Lake Constance.
Even if you are not a descendant but have hometowns in Baden or Alsace this would be a great experience and we would help you to visit your hometowns also.
We are looking for descendants of these family names: Ambs, Baumeier, Brodbeck, Enderlin, Gruen (Green), Jenne, Keller, Kessler, Kraus, Lay, Moll, Rebstock, Scheffel, Schmidt, Siegstein, Strubinger, Zimmerlin are just a few.
Northern Ireland Research/Heritage tour
July 5 – 16, 2019
$2799.00 pp/dbl $200.00 sgl supplement
This trip will be helpful for those who are still looking for the exact town in Ireland, and especially Northern Ireland. We arrive in Belfast for a weekend of sightseeing before starting our “classes” on Monday morning at the Ulster Historical Foundation where we dig into other resources that may be helpful for finding those elusive ancestors. Afternoons we will be visiting research facilities with assisted research help for three days. (An optional pre-trip initial assessment will be offered so that you can learn what resources to focus on when you arrive.)
After 5 days in Belfast, we head to the historic city of Derry, one of Ireland’s remaining walled cities. From this home base, we will visit the Ulster-American Folk Park, Doagh Famine Museum, and the Mellon Centre for Migration Studies. Maybe a castle here or there too.
More 2019 Tours to Come.
OTHER HERITAGE TOURS
We can help you with Irish & Italian heritage tours, so inquire if these are places you want to go.
POLISH, CZECH REPUBLIC & SLOVAKIA TOURS: We have researcher/guides for these countries if you would like help planning an ancestral tour to these places please contact us.
ITALIAN HERITAGE TOURS: We have several researcher/guides for Italy if you would like help planning an ancestral tour to your Italian hometown.
ENGLISH HERITAGE TOURS: We also have a guide for England.
|
|
 Travel Tips:
Redeem Miles Over the Phone It's more effective to book travel with mileage points over the phone than online because for most airlines, you don't always get access to full inventory of award seats online.
Book Unpopular Times It goes without saying that booking unpopular flight times, such as with red-eyes, weekdays, or off-season periods will garner better prices. Travel on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Saturdays also tends to be cheaper.
HAPPY TRAVELS ♥
This email contains affiliate links. If you click through and make a purchase, I may receive a commission, at no additional cost to you.
|
|
|
|
|
|
