Footnote.com has announced additions to its Vietnam War collection. The new resources are Army Photos and Unit Service Awards. These additions are a result of the partnership between Footnote.com and the National Archives.
In a press release sent from Footnote.com’s corporate home in Lindon, Utah, CEO Russell Wilding said, “These documents and photos tell a part of the Vietnam War story that you just can’t find in textbooks. It’s imperative that we preserve and share this side of history for future generations. We are encouraging everyone to come to Footnote.com and enhance these stories by adding their own comments, photos and documents.”
GeneaBlogie comment: I’m a big fan of Footnote.com. But I was not particularly enthused by these additions. They are historically important, but I would rather have seen a collection of individual awards rather than unit service awards. But the unit service awards collection is only 1% complete; maybe I’ll warm to it when there’s more of it.
MyHeritage.com has announced its acquisition of OSN, a network of 10 leading European family sites based in Hamburg, Germany.
In a press release distributed from London, Tel Aviv, and Hamburg, MyHeritage said that the OSN acquisition makes MyHeritage the largest international site on the Web dedicated to families. The acquisition includes Germany’s Verwandt.de, Moikrewni.pl of Poland, and the American site Dynstree.com. MyHeritage said that the expansion gives it a combined network of 13 million family trees and 47 million members worldwide. It also gives MyHeritage a presence in major Latin American markets.
“By integrating these market-leading services into a single international platform, we are taking a great step towards realizing our vision of connecting families around the world,” said Gilad Japhet, founder and CEO of MyHeritage.com.
Board member Saul Klein said, “Facebook has built an amazingly useful graph of our social connections and LinkedIn of our professional connections, and MyHeritage.com is building a uniquely valuable graph of our family life, both past and present.”
MyHeritage will establish an office in Hamburg to integrate OSN personnel. OSN technologies will be integrated into MyHeritage starting with an application called Family Crest Builder which goes live on MyHeritage today.
In fact, the technology blog Tech Crunch reported earlier today that “all of OSN’s information, profiles, family trees and pictures should be all live on MyHeritage, as of” this morning.
TC’s Sarah Lacy wrote:
Post-deal, MyHeritage is far beyond most genealogy competitors with the exception of Ancestry.com, which started in 1983, has spent some $80 million acquiring census information and went public last year. But there’s a key difference: MyHeritage is more about living family members, and Ancestry.com is more focused on, well, ancestors. So in practice the companies are far different. There’s more interaction, communication, and photo and video sharing on MyHeritage because—bluntly put—more of the profile-owners are alive.
Daniel Groezinger, co-founder of OSN Online Social Networking GmbH, said, “Since 2007, we have built our services into market leaders in key European and Latin American markets and we’re excited to work with Gilad and his team to make it easier for families to keep in touch and bridge gaps of geography, language and time.”
Geneablogie will review the added features on MyHeritage this weekend.
Three years ago during Black History Month, I wrote a series called “African-American Military History.” One of the posts in that series was the one depicted below.
Earlier today, Brig Gen Mary J. Kight became the first African-American woman to command a state National Guard organization. She was sworn in as Adjutant General of California by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. She now heads California’s 21,000-strong Army and Air National Guard organizations, the largest in the nation.
I had the great privilege of serving at the California Air National Headquarters as a lieutenant colonel and colonel while Mary Kight, at the same ranks was with the 144th Fighter Wing at Fresno. I heard about her before I met her. The respect she garnered around the headquarters back then (the mid- to late 1990’s) made it clear that she was an up and c0ming future leader.
General Kight holds masters degrees from Gonzaga University and the Air University. She also graduated from California State University, Chico, and Monterey Peninsula College in our mutual hometown of Monterey. A former aircraft maintenance officer, General Kight has had a variety of assignments in the Air Force and Air National Guard over the past thirty-six years. Since 2004, she has visited a number of the more than 32,000 Californians who have been deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan.
I last visited with General Kight last September at the retirement ceremony of a mutual acquaintance at Travis Air Force Base. Gracious and friendly as always, she certainly didn’t let on that she must have known that she would soon make history again.
I salute and congratulate you, General, for your well-earned appointment!
Brigadier General Mary J. Kight
Adjutant General of California
effective 2 Feb 2010
It was raining as it had almost everyday about the time the mail came. There was the usual detritus of our not-yet-paperless society and a package that looked like it had been around the world a couple of times.
“Hmm,” I thought, “this may be the book I’ve been waiting for.” And indeed it was. Seems I had given the sender a Zip Code that was one digit off my actual zip code. And naturally, nobody actually reads the address except the Zip Code, so the book had been off to places exotic and mundane, but none close to the actual destination.
When I opened the battered package, I found the book had survived with nary a scratch. It may well have been an allegorical allusion to the solid work I would find inside.
The book is called Wanted! subtitled US Criminal Records–Sources & Research Methodology. It’s the latest effort from Ron Arons (The Jews of Sing Sing).
In the Introduction, Arons says “Whether you have a criminal ancestor in your family or are interested in learning more about a famous gangster or lesser known felon, you’ve come to the right place.” Yes, indeed.
Arons gives several pages of practical advice on finding criminal records, but the meat of the book is its 365 page state-by-state finding aid for criminal records (he points out that most of such records are not digitized and available directly on the Internet). In each state section one finds the name, web address, physical location and telephone number for repositories of criminal records. For each repository, there is a table listing record types, location or call numbers, the author of the records, and of course a title and description. Each state section also lists the federal records from that state held by the National Archives, together with the location and contact information for the NARA facility with records from that state.
Some states are broken down to the county level.
The author has also included for every state a Web address by which to locate inmates or access a list of executions or both in that state. (The book covers all fifty states and the District of Columbia; it does not include the territories).
The records that Arons catalogs are prison records, court records, parole and pardon records, and even some investigative and police reports. He leavens the raw information with occasional photographs or documents that he has come across in his research, some of which relate to famous and notorious outlaws. Some of these documents relate to Arons’ great-grandfather, Isaac Spier, the New York bigamist, the discovery of whose misdeeds led ultimately to the writing of The Jews of Sing Sing.
I found the book easy to use and accurate with respect to the websites and the state archives that I have had experience with. I have frequent need for criminal and court records and frankly, I’m waaay tired with websites that purport to give directions to such information but are just a compilation of broken links. Here, Arons has created a truly useful finding aid valuable to veteran researchers, librarians, archivists, law enforcement and legal historians, and biographers as well as the occasional user.
Most people won’t stay up all night looking at this book cover-to-cover as I nearly did. But most historical researchers sooner or later will need a finding aid to criminal records As a lawyer and former judge, I’m glad to have this “one-stop reference” as Arons calls it. It really is the book I’ve been waiting for!
Wanted! (Oakland, Calif.: Criminal Research Press 2009),
Copyright 2009, Ron Arons
Go to Ron Arons’ website, www.ronarons.com, for ordering information.
I have been somewhat silent on the blog because of ongoing personal and family health issues. But I’m still here and we’ve got things coming up.
First, let me tell you that I will be having surgery to correct a spinal problem on about February 25. There likely will not be much new content the week after that, but please stop by anyway, because we likely will run one or more of our “Golden Oldies” that you may have not seen.
When we’re back completely, which will only be a matter of days after that last week in February, you’ll notice some “home improvements” around here.
Then, if you’re in the area, my presentations at the California Genealogical Society & Library are the week before my surgery–Saturday, February 20. The CGSL is located at 2201 Broadway, Suite L-2, in Oakland. Please see the CGSL website for more details.
I’ll also be at the Sacramento Regional Family History Center on March 13 for the Fifth Annual African American Family History Seminar. The Family History Center is at 2745 Eastern Avenue in Arden-Arcade.
Coming up, we’ll be reviewing a new book, and we’ve got interesting Black History month items as well. Finally, expect tow of our favorite lawyers, Pat Lust and Noe Udont to make another appearance soon.
“Finding Dr. King’s Roots in Slavery” originally appeared at GeneaBlogie on Monday, January 15, 2007.
As is the case for many African-Americans, the ancestors of Martin Luther King, Jr., apparently included a slaveowner. We know that Martin Luther King, Jr., was born on January 15, 1929, in Atlanta, Georgia. The 1930 census of Fulton County, as mentioned here previously, enumerates the family of “Marvin L. King,” the wife being “Elberta.” We know that Dr. King’s mother was named “Alberta.”
In addition to “Marvin, Jr.,” the census records a daughter, Willie. The Kings live next door to “Allen” D. Williams, a Baptist preacher, and his wife, “Jimmie.” In his autobiography, Dr. King tells us that his mother was the daughter of the Rev. A[dam] D[aniel] Williams.
The 1920 census of Fulton County shows Adam D. Williams, his wife “Jennie” [Parks], (her correct name) and daughter Alberta. In Henry County, the census counts a Jim King, a farmer, his wife “Dealy,” and seven children. In his autobiography, Dr. King relates that his father was from Stockbridge in Henry County, Georgia. The indisputable King Encyclopedia says that Dr. King’s grandfather was James Albert King, who married Delia Linsey, and that they were from Henry County.
In the 1910 census, Adam D. and Jennie C. Williams have their names spelled correctly. They are in Fulton County. At the same time, James King, Sr., is a resident of Henry County, and his household includes a son “Michael,” then about 12 years old.
Martin Luther King, Sr., was known as “Michael,” at least until he was 22 years old. At that time, according to the New York Post in April, 1957, his father told him that his true name was “Martin,” but that his mother had nicknamed him “Mike.” [The senior "M.L." King went on to say that he had intended to name his son "Martin," and did not know until 1934 when the boy was five years old that the name "Michael" had been put on the birth certificate. The elder King said he found this out when he was applying for a passport. Reliable sources suggest that the senior King had gone to Germany at that time.]
The odd thing about the 1910 census is that James King’s place of birth is shown as Ohio (as is his mother’s) and his father is said to be a native of Ireland. On the 1900 census, this same assertion is apparent, except that his father’s birth place is given as Pennsylvania.
The 1900 census shows us one Nathan King, a day laborer in Jones County, Georgia. He’s counted with his wife “Malinde” and three children.
In 1880, Nathan King was listed in Putnam County with wife Malinda and seven children, one of whom is named James and appears to be James Albert King, Dr. King’s grandfather.
Back another decade, in 1870 (the first time most blacks were identified by name in the census), there is no Nathan King family in Putnam County, Georgia. There is, however, a Jacob Brannum, age 65, heading a household that includes 38 year old Nathan and 24 year old Malinda, as well as 5 year old James (whose last name is spelled “Branham”). The ages of Nathan and Malinda Brannum and their four children are consistent with the ages of Nathan and Malinda King and their families.
The Branhams were prominent landowners and slaveholders in central Georgia. They were of Irish ancestry and had moved to Georgia from Virginia in the late 1700’s. In the mid-nineteenth century, Henry Branham and Joel Branham were key figures in the family and in Putnam County. Henry owned 29 slaves in 1850, while Joel owned twelve. Both men were physicians.
Dr. Joel Branham attended the birth of one of Putnam County’s most famous residents: the controversial writer, Joel Chandler Harris, who apparently was named after him. A folklorist and journalist, Harris wrote the Uncle Remus stories.
(Another prominent literary figure born in Putnam County is the Pulitzer laureate Alice Walker [The Color Purple], who is fiercely critical of Harris, accusing him of “stealing” African-American heritage).
In any event, it is possible that the Branham family held Dr. King’s ancestors as slaves. Note, however, that in 1870, there were also a number of blacks in Putnam County enumerated under the name “King.” This suggests, of course, that there was a slaveowner named King in that locale. Indeed, Elisha L. King and his wife, Elizabeth Ann, owned 15 slaves in Putnam County as of 1860.
What to make of this name change? Many freed slaves took the names of their recent owners; however, many took other names. It may well be that Dr. King’s ancestors were first owned by the King family and then by the Branhams when freed. The theory would be that they took the Branham name first and, later, for whatever reason, decided to change it to the King name. One reason for such a switch may have been to bring family members together under the same name.
The genealogist William Addams Reitwiesner lists a white man named William Nelson Williams (1804-1863) as Dr. King’s great-great-grandfather on his mother’s side. Williams supposedly had a “non-marital liaison” with an unnamed woman. It’s not clear what supports this assertion. See The Ancestry of Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. Following that line back one more generation, Reitwiesner shows William Williams (1772-1835) and Rachel Nelson (c.1774-1851) as the next great-grandparents. These people were from North Carolina, but ended up in Dallas County, Alabama.
As is the case for many African-Americans, tracing Dr. King’s ancestry past the middle of the 19th century is not a simple matter. Perhaps some young researcher will take up this matter as a tribute to Dr. King and his message of brotherhood.
Photo from Wikipedia Commons via Library of Congress, New York World-Telegram & Sun Collection. Public Domain.
Other Resources:
The Martin Luther King, Jr., Research and Education Institute (at Stanford University)
The Library of America–Reporting Civil Rights (biography of New York Post writer Ted Poston)
“The Genealogy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.” originally appeared at GeneaBlogie on Saturday, January 13, 2007.
[Updated 1/18/2010] One would think in the Cyber Age, it would be easy to find a rather complete genealogical study of an historic figure like Martin Luther King, Jr. Turns out, that’s not the case. There are sources that identify Dr. King’s parents and grandparents, but few go beyond that. Ancestry.com has a “Famous Family Tree” that goes back to King’s great-grandparents. (Ancestry.com has transcribed the 1930 census of Fulton County, Georgia, to include the family of “Marvin L. King,” with son “Marvin L., Jr.” At first I shook my head in amazement over this; but upon an examination of the image of the sheet, the transcription may be accurate. See below).
Rootsweb.com’s WorldConnect Family Tree Project has one posting for Martin Luther King, Jr., that seems fairly close to the generally known facts of Dr. King’s family history. This tree was updated on December 31, 2006.
Click on these images to see how Martin Luther King, Jr. , was enumerated on 1930 census. Did the enumerator get it wrong or did Ancestry.com transcribe it incorrectly? (Images Copyright (c) MyFamily, Inc.)
The most extensive on-line source that I found concerning the genealogy of Martin Luther King, Jr. is on a rather spare, somewhat peculiar site called WARGS. This site is owned by one William Addams Reitwiesner (“WARGS” is an acronym for “William Addams Reitwiesner Genealogical Services”). Reitwiesner is a genealogist who specializes in celebrities, politicians, and historical figures. Reitwiesner traces Dr. King’s maternal line back six generations.
The Reitwiesner work is based largely on census records and such. It is not extensively documented, as Reitwiesner candidly admits. However, it does seem consistent with known and demonstrable facts.
Next: Finding Dr. King’s Roots in Slavery
[updated 1/18/2010, 11:15 am PDT]
“The Dream” Originally appeared at GeneaBlogie on Saturday, January 13, 2007.
I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia, the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood . . . .
That’s a powerful line in one of the greatest oratories in American history–”I Have a Dream,” delivered by the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr., August 28, 1963, at the Lincoln Memorial, Washington, D.C. It was the zenith of the “March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom,” organized by a coalition of civil rights groups.
This particular line resonates with me because, among other reasons, I am the descendant of former slave owners in Georgia as well as the descendant of former slaves. I’m not unique in that regard. So at such a cosmic picnic, I would break bread with the modern descendants of Reuben Henry Sanford, who owned my great-great-grandfather, Billie Sanford. And I would parlay with the Birdsongs. Although I’m not descended from a Birdsong-owned slave, I’m here because the union of George Preston Birdsong and Matilda Manson, a free woman of color in Upson County, Georgia, produced my great-grandfather, Otis Manson. I would come to the table with the descendants of Nathaniel Emmons Johnson of Mason County, Kentucky, and Clay County, Missouri, who apparently owned my great-great-grandfather, Ezekiel Johnson and his mother, Harriet Mitchell (Zeke’s father was the prominent Kansas City-area merchant and civic leader, Dan Carpenter). All in the spirit of brotherhood . . . Loyal and Constant Readers know that I regard any debt as having been cancelled in my case long ago.
If this great breaking of bread and healing of hearts were to take place literally, it would be a banquet for all Americans. Who would be sitting across the table from you ? And, indeed, who would lift a glass with the children of Martin Luther King, Jr.?
Did you know: Martin Luther King, Jr. was named after his father, Michael Luther King, Sr.? That’s no typo. Both the civil rights icon and his father, sometimes known as “Daddy King,” were named “Michael” instead of Martin at birth. In April, 1957, “Daddy King” told the New York Post the story behind the name changes. When he was about 22, his father, James Albert King, told him that his true name was “Martin” and that his mother had nicknamed him “Mike.” Daddy King said that when Martin was born (at home), the attending birth specialist, having known the senior King for a very long time, “automatically” put down “Michael” on the son’s birth certificate. Daddy King claimed not to have discovered this until 1934, some five years later, he applied for a passport. By this time, the erstwhile farmer had completed his studies and was a minister.
In 1934, Martin Luther King Sr. and a companion went to Germany to study theology. This image shows their arrival back in New York. It was in applying for his passport for this trip that “Daddy” King claimed he discovered that his birth record gave his name as “Michael” King.
Images copyright (c) MyFamily, Inc.
Next: The Genealogy of Martin Luther King, Jr.
It’s Not 2007’s Ancestry!
Remember this unfortunate matter?
Believe it or not it’s been less than 2 1/2 years since Ancestry.com found itself overwhelmed in tsunami of controversy that it never anticipated. The legal aspect of the dispute, about which I wrote a lot, really was not as important as the public relations aspect of it, the trust aspect of it, the transparency aspect, etc. You get the idea.
As an entity, Ancestry.com, under various names, is only about 15 years old. The 2007 controversymight’ve been exactly what one would expect of a self absorbed, but bright, adolescent.
Last weekend in Provo, however, Ancestry.com displayed a new maturity. Transparency and openness and meaningful contact with its customer base are all part of the changed face of Ancestry.com. . Likewise, CEO Tim Sullivan, and senior vice president Andrew Wait have changed the faces, literally, by bringing in a world class set of subject matter leaders, all with highly attuned people skills.
I just got back to town and school starts tomorrow. So some of this will have to wait a day or two. By then, you may have heard some of it from other bloggers, but as they used to say in Washington, nothing’s really been said until everybody has said it. So stay tuned!
So it seems it was just October and here it is January 2010! Last year I didn’t really set particular goals for genealogy in 2009, yet I came up with a major breakthrough–finding the parents of my great-grandfather, Richard William Gines (a meeting some cousins on that journey). So what will happeb in 2010? I’ve got no idea, but bring it on!
Pat Lust and Noe Udont, the two lawyers in our bits on certification, have at least one more appearance to make and they may be back for other things later.
I have two events at which I am a speaker; the California Genealogical Society’s African-American History Month event in Oakland on February 20, and the African-American Family History Seminar at the Sacramento Regional Family History Center in Arden-Arcade on March 13. More about these events later.
We’ll be revisiting a topic from a couple of years ago, regarding the accessibility of vital records. And we have some Census 2010 information as well! Stay with us!
