Saturday Serendipity (February 29, 2020)

After a hiatus last week, Saturday Serendipity (SS) returns today for a very rare, indeed a unique, SS posting.   Drum roll please .  .  . 

This is the very first time that Saturday Serendipity has ever appeared on February 29th.  While a 29th day in February only occurs every four years, the 29th of February only falls on a Saturday every 28 years.  The last time February 29th was on a Saturday was in 1992 (long before this blog existed).  The next time the 29th of February will be on a Saturday will not be until 2048–long after this blog will cease due to the absence of the author.

So as not to waste this once in a blog opportunity, here are some suggested reads for Saturday, February 29, 2020.

1.     American Ancestors by the New England Historic Genealogy Society (NEHGS) is the recipient of a significant collection from the Theodore Roosevelt Association.  It includes family papers (with one item being a handwritten genealogy), scrapbooks, letters, period ephemera, and many previously unpublished photos.  You can read more about the donation and see many photos by going here.

2.   For those with roots in Rhode Island, Diane Boumenot of One Rhode Island Family blog, posted a week ago about divorce in Rhode Island during the late 1800s.  While largely about the bases for divorce and the statistics on the results of divorce petitions, she also suggests how one might be able to locate and request copies of the divorce papers.  Read more here.

3.   Having posted tangentially about the Salem Witch trials recently (see here), the post at NEW ENGLAND FOLKLORE blog this week interested me.  Peter Muise provides a list and review of eight films about New England witches here.  [Speaking of the Salem witchcraft hysteria, it is interesting to note that the start of that awful period in our history was on leap day, February 29, 1692, which (not "witch") was 328 years ago today.]

4.   A few years ago Apple changed its photo application from iPhotos to Photos.  I had more than 18,000 genealogy photos and images all organized in family and individual sub files.  I had backups of all the photos and went through the process of moving them into Photos.  And then none of the files were there.  Long story short, I spent three full days on the phone with Apple technicians in Cupertino and the end result was all the files were restored and available in the new Photos app, BUT all my organization was lost and unrecoverable.  I have spent countless hours over the ensuing years rebuilding the file organization (and I'm still not done).  So I was particularly empathetic when I read Marian Wood's experience with hours of work creating transcriptions of years of her mother's letters along with Marian's own context additions.  Read what happened and the end of her dilemma here. 

5.   This week The Weekly Genealogist of NEHGS had an item that jumped out at me.  A little over a year ago we moved from Loudoun County, VA to New Jersey.  We lived in Loudoun County for over 35 years and became well aware of the segregationist past of the county and especially its school system.  Now there has been a discovery of a treasure trove of records and documents in a locked school system building that had been deserted since the 1950s.  Among the finds are many, many records about the schools set up in the past for African American children in Loudoun County.  The records include attendance records, report cards, and much more.  Anyone from the African American community having known or suspected roots in Loudoun County, VA should learn about the project that has been going on to preserve and publish the discoveries.  Read about the history and the ongoing project here.

6.   And finally, every once in a while I recommend an entire book for your reading list (or "pile" as the case may be).  With the major non-election news stories of the last week involving the Covid19 (coronavirus) pandemic and the repercussions on our stock market and the world's economy, I want to recommend two books for deep background and details of the world's worst virus pandemic–the 1918 influenza.  That flu pandemic is thought to have caused the death of about 2.5% of those who contracted the disease–and that translates (under most modern estimates) to somewhere between 50 and 100 million deaths world-wide in about a year!  The two books are:  The Great Influenza by John M. Barry; and Flu by Gina Kolata.  I have blogged about the 1918 flu pandemic a few times; the first time was seven years ago in the midst of the 2012-2013 flu season (it can be seen here).  The second post was on March 11th, 2014 (almost six years ago) on the day in March that is often considered the anniversary of the outbreak of the 1918 flu.  That post can be seen here.

      Yes, the 1918 flu was now over 100 years ago and since then science and medicine have advanced considerably bringing us penicillin, the so-called miracle drugs, DNA research tools, etc.  So why read about a 1918 pandemic?  Because failure to recall history potentially leads to the repetition of history.  We have many more tools than in 1918, but I leave it to readers to decide if we might now (in the age of the jet that brought us an explosion in international travel) be in danger of repeating decisional failures that were made in the age of the rail and biplane.

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Copyright 2020, John D. Tew

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Immortality -- Arnold G. Tew, Sr. (February 28, 2020)

Today I post a reprise of a post first published seven years ago today in honor and memory of my paternal grandfather.

"Immortality Lies in Being Remembered by Family and Friends."

                                                                                                                                                                -- John D. Tew

Arnold George Tew (1896 - 1958)

My paternal grandfather was born on October 15, 1896 in Central Falls, Rhode Island.  He died suddenly and unexpectedly on this day 55 years ago in Berlin, Connecticut while on a business trip.  He was the only one of the four sons of John Andrew Tew and Margaret "Maggie" (Conner) Tew to survive beyond age two.  Arnold was married to Huldah A. Hasselbaum of Providence, Rhode Island and together they had three children.  Arnold is the grandfather of ten grandchildren, the great grandfather of sixteen great grandchildren and the great great grandfather of at least seven great great grandchildren with more surely to come.

He has been gone from us for sixty-two years now, but he is not forgotten!

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All photographs from the collection of the author.

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Copyright 2013, John D. Tew

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Celebrating the World Scouting Movement, B-P Day, Founders' Day, and World Thinking Day (February 22, 2020)

       

(L to R) Peter Baden-Powell; Robert S.S. Baden-Powell;
Heather Baden-Powell; and Olave Baden-Powell (1923)

The following is a reprise of a post first published on February 22, 2014. Since that post was published, the Boy Scouts of America have made significant moves towards making BSA a more inclusive organization that reaches out to all youth and adult leaders who have in mind the best interests of boys – and now girls too – and their development into responsible young women and men.  As of February 1, 2019 the Boy Scouts Program became known as "Scouts BSA" and for the first time in BSA history the BSA programs for younger children (Tiger Cubs and Cub Scouts) can be co-ed.  The program for older children (ages 11 to attainment of age 18) will admit girls as well as boys, but the "troops" will be formed as single-sex entities.  Girls are now eligible to earn the Eagle award.  As a long-time adult Scouter and someone who took a co-ed "Crew" to Philmont Scout Ranch in 2004, I applaud these moves and celebrate today "B-P Day," "Founders' Day," and "World Thinking Day" with renewed enthusiasm for BSA. 

In addition to being the birthday of George Washington (and my maternal grandfather, Everett S. Carpenter), today is the birthday of Robert Stephenson Smyth Baden-Powell born February 22, 1857 – and his wife, Olave St. Clair Baden-Powell (nee Soames), was also born February 22nd, but in 1889.

Robert Baden-Powell, known to Scouts as "B-P," was the founder of the Scouting Movement. He was a Lieutenant General in the British Army and a war hero who wrote a book about the art and skill of reconnaissance and military scouting that became a hit with boys. In 1906-1907 B-P came out with a version of his scouting book aimed at boys and in 1907 he held a camp on Brownsea Island in England to test his ideas.  The next year he published Scouting for Boys and its popularity resulted in the formation of Scouting units across the UK.  The Scouting Movement was born and in 1910 the "Boy Scouts of America" was formed in the United States. The Girl Guides organization was also created in 1910 by B-P and his sister Agnes Baden-Powell.  [B-P's wife, Olave Baden-Powell, became the Chief Guide for England in 1918 and was later named the first World Chief Guide in 1930.] In 1912, Juliette Gordon Low founded the "Girl Scouts of the United States of America" after Low had a meeting with Robert Baden-Powell.

The Scouting/Guides Movement is the largest youth movement in the world. Today there are two organizations that form the global umbrella for the Scouting/Guides Movement: the World Organization of the Scout Movement (WOSM) largely for boys, and the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts (WAGGGS) largely for girls. Scouting/Guiding exists in some 216 countries today and there are about 42 million registered Scouts/Guides (32 million Scouts in 2010 and 10 million Guides in 2006). Indonesia has the largest Scout/Guide membership total at 17.1 million (7.2% of the eligible population) while the United States has the second largest combined membership at 7.5 million (2.4% of the eligible population).

In recognition of the founding efforts of Robert S.S. Baden-Powell and his wife Olave St. Clair Baden-Powell as the Chief Scout and Chief Guide respectively, Scouts and Guides around the world designate February 22nd (the Baden-Powells' joint birthday) as a day to celebrate the values and accomplishments of the Scouting/Guiding Movement.  For the Guides/Girl Scouts today is known as "Thinking Day" or more recently "World Thinking Day" and it is a time to contemplate the movement, its goals, accomplishments and fellowship among members. For Boy Scouts, today is largely known as "B-P Day" or "Founders' Day" and it is also a time to contemplate and celebrate the movement and its two founders.

As I have written previously here at The Prism, Scouting has played a significant role in the experiences of generations of our family. My father-in-law was a Boy Scout in the 1930s and later became a Scoutmaster. My mother-in-law was a Girl Scout leader for many years at the Council level.  My wife and her sister were both Girl Scouts and counselors for several summers at Girl Scout camps in New Jersey and the Adirondacks of New York respectively. My brother-in-law is an Eagle Scout.

I was a Cub Scout and Boy Scout until I reached age 18. My father was a Troop Committee Chairman. Both our sons were in Scouting from Tiger Scouts through the time they each became an Eagle Scout.  Molly was a Tiger Coordinator and Den Leader for seven years or more. I served in various adult roles for more than 20 years: Pack Chairman; Cubmaster; Webelos Den Leader; Assistant Scoutmaster; Scoutmaster; Crew Advisor; Order of the Arrow Chapter Advisor; Order of the Arrow Associate Lodge Advisor; Wood Badge Assistant Course Director; Jamboree Scoutmaster; Philmont Crew Advisor, etc.

A poster of all the Merit Badges that could be earned by U.S. Boy Scouts (circa 2000)

The family's Scouting Wall displaying the Eagle medals of our two sons, Order of the Arrow Vigil certificates, photos from four National Jamborees and other honors and memorabilia 

Like anything else, Scouting is not perfect.  It is always a work in progress with many aims and values worthy of continuing and improving where necessary.  In 2007 world Scouting celebrated its 100th Anniversary.  In 2010 the Boy Scouts of America (BSA) marked the same milestone and the Girl Scouts of the United States followed with their centenary in 2012. Today is a good day to pause and contemplate the founding and huge success of the Scouting/Guiding Movement and to hope its inclusiveness and successes will grow in the future. On balance it is one of the most positive and influential youth programs in history.

Happy World Thinking/B-P /Founders' Day!  

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Photographs of Robert Baden-Powell, Olave Baden-Powell, and B-P and Olave with two of their three children from the author's personal copy of Tim Jeal's 1989 biography Baden-Powell. 

The fleur-de-lis upon a trefoil logo representing the international combination of Scouting and Guiding is from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:WikiProject_Scouting_fleur-de-lis_dark.svg and is used under the permission granted there.

Photographs of The Merits of Scouting poster and the family Scouting Wall by the author from his personal collection.

For more information about the Scouting/Guiding Movement and some of its history, see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scouting  

For more information about World Thinking Day, see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Thinking_Day

For more information about Robert S.S. Baden Powell, 1st Baron of Gilwell, see, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Baden-Powell,_1st_Baron_Baden-Powell

For more information about Olave St Clair Baden Powell, Baroness Baden-Powell and first World Chief Guide, see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olave_Baden-Powell

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Copyright 2014, John D. Tew

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Saturday Serendipity (February 15, 2020)

The following are suggested reads for this weekend.

1.   I have subscribed to Garrison Keillor's free daily email copy of  The Writer's Almanac for many years.  Today one of the published items was about Susan B. Anthony.  She was, of course, a very important American historical figure and was on the forefront of the women's suffrage movement.  Today is the 200th aniversary of her birth at Adams, Massachusetts in 1820.  This year (August 18, 2020) will be the 100th anniversary of the ratification of the 19th Amendment giving women the right to vote.  Sadly, women's right to vote came 14 years after Susan B. Anthony died.  Read more about this remakable woman here.  Readers might also be interested in reading about Anna (Garlin) Spencer born in Attleboro, Massachusetts on April 17, 1851.  She is my 1st cousin 3x removed and was very much involved in the women's suffrage movement.  She knew Susan B. Anthony, Jane Addams (first American woman to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize), Fannie Garrison Villard (daughter of famous abolitionist William Llod Garrison), Lucy Stone (famed abolitionist and suffragist) as well as Lucy's daughter, Alice (Stone) Blackwell, and others in the abolition and suffrage movements.  You can read about Anna here and here. 

2.   On this day after Valentine's Day, it is amusing to learn that the day was not always the occasion for anonymous expressions of affection.  According to this link from The Weekly Genealogist of NEHGS, some cards on February 14th could be described as "vinegar valentines."

3.   As The Legal Genealogist, Judy Russell, so succinctly put it, "No records, no genealogy!"  Judy gives guidance on moves by legislatures in two states (Virginia and Massachusetts) that will affect the future of records and thus the future of genealogy.  Action is needed now.  Read "Yes in Virginia, No in Massachusetts" here. 

4.   Part Two of James Tanner's series on immigration and genealogy has been posted at Genealogy's Star blog.  Read it here.

5.   Three bloggers that I follow posted this week about their "Favorite Discovery" in answer to the 52 Ancestors challenege by Amy Johnson Crow.  I found all of them to be engaging reads.  You can read Nancy Messier's post at My Ancestors and Me blog here.  The post by Marian Wood at Climbing My Family Tree blog can be read here.  The post by Elizabeth Handler of From Maine to Kentucky blog can be accessed here.

6.   And finally, I stumbled across an old post on Vita Brevis, the blog of NEHGS.  It was posted back  on June 17, 2019.  Christopher C. Child, and employee at NEHGS since 1997, decided to exlore the ancestry of the 2020 presidential candidates.  He thought he would wait to report on his findings until the number of candidates was winnowed down, but then he came across some surprising discoveries in the lineage of Mayor Pete Buttigieg.  Read what he found here.  Maybe this is another reason Mayor Pete threw his hat in the ring.  😊

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Copyright 2020, John D. Tew

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Saturday Serendipity (February 8, 2020)

After a brief hiatus last week, here are a few suggested reads for this weekend.

1.  For those who live in Massachusetts (especially) and those who have genealogical roots in Massachusetts, The Weekly Genealogist of NEHGS linked to a very important article about how the governor's 2021 budget provides for the severe restriction of access to birth, marriage, and death records.  Read here about this latest step in what is looking like a trend to restrict access to important genealogical records.  See also the post by Judy Russell of The Legal Genealogist blog here.

2.   As a periodic reminder of the value of Randy Seaver's "Genealogy News Bytes" regularly featured  on Genea-Musings blog, readers should have a look at the most recent installment here. 

3.   In a nice juxtaposition of of stories relating to Massachusetts vital records, Vita Brevis, the NEHGS blog, presnted a post by Helen Herzer about how one man came to the rescue of the Massachusetts vital records indices.  You can read this brief but timely post here. 

4.   A subject that is always worth repeated presentation (like the frequent posts and articles on keeping accurate source citation records) is the matter of backing up one's family history research -- and in particular any constructed family trees one has invested countless hours in creating, updating, and preserving.  Marian Wood of Climbing My Family Tree blog has a very brief but important reminder of the need to backup one's family trees and she provides quick directions on how to do it with Ancestry trees.  Read the post here. 

5.   I am always interested in learning new or better ways of using Ancestry.  A YouTube video titled "How to find Family tree information WITHOUT a subscriotion using Ancestry" caught my eye recently.  The video is 19+ minutes in length, but walks you through using Ancestry and gives some very valuable tips.  See the video here.

6.   James Tanner of Genealogy's Star blog began a new series of posts this week about immigration––"Stymied by the Immigrant: Part One."  Immigration is not just a timely, if polemical, topic in today's news, it is also as integral to the genealogy research of Americans as it is to the history of the United States. Read Mr. Tanner's introductory post here.

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Copyright 2020, John D. Tew

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Preserving, Protecting, And Growing The Pursuit of Genealogy (February 7, 2020)

We often see articles and blog posts about the dilemma of what to do with all our genealogy research and discoveries; how to preserve it, who to leave it to, how to interest others in keeping and extending it, etc.  Recently there have been a few news items that impact the pursuit of genealogy and  warrant possible concern about the future of genealogy study and research.

It was announced this week that Ancestry is laying off 6% of its workforce (about 100 people) due to a drop in the purchase of its DNA products over the last year and a half.  Similarly, 23andMe announced a layoff of 14% of it workforce (also about 100 people).  Both of these workforce reductions were explained as necessary due to a decline in the sale of DNA kits.  As the Ancestry CEO stated, most early adopters of the DNA technology have already made their purchases and thus Ancestry believes "[f]uture growth will require a continued focus on building consumer trust and innovative new offerings that deliver even greater value to people."  And yet, while Ancestry plans to focus on its main family history business it will also try to grow its new AncestryHealth business.  AncestryHealth is designed to compete with 23andMe by using two DNA screening products to indicate for purchasers the possibility of predispositions for particular disorders and diseases.

Another genealogy-related development is underway in Massachusetts.  The governor's proposed budget for fiscal 2021 contains a provision at p. 277 of the budget that significantly limits the examination and availability of copies of birth, death, and marriage records unless such records are more than 90 years from the date of birth or marriage or 50 years from the date of death.  There is no exception for genealogy/family history use and there is no exception for those able to document descent or relationship to the person who is the subject of such records.  And this record limitation is on the heels of the recent USCIS (United States Citizenship and Immigration Services) push to increase fees for copies of historical records requested by genealogy and other researchers by 492%.

So what to make of these various genealogy tidbits?  

Is the enormous popularity of genealogy during the rise of the age of digital technology on the wane because – like the decrease in DNA test sales – the early adopters/fad followers have dipped into the subject and are now moving on?  Is the rising concern about personal privacy in the digital age leading to a trend of shutting down access to history and genealogy-related records thereby seriously undermining the popular pursuit of family history research?

As with many conundrums about whether or not we should be optimistic regarding the future, with respect to genealogy perhaps it would be encouraging to somehow look to our youth.  To preserve, protect, and grow the research and study of our family histories it is most likely the young people in our lives that we will need to rely on.  So it is probably a good idea to see what can be done to make sure the young are increasingly introduced to genealogy and their family history; which led to the idea of looking for some data points on youth interest in genealogy . . . and explains why the image at the top of this post is of the Genealogy merit badge offered by the Boy Scouts (now also available to be earned by girls as well as boys in the new Scouts BSA program).

Scouts BSA has about 138 different merit badges that can be earned.  Genealogy is just one of them and it was introduced in 1972 based on an increased interest in –– and popularity of ––genealogy.  The creation of the Genealogy merit badge occurred on the very cusp of the modern computer age and the coming of a general availability of digital records.  Genealogy is not one of the newest merit badges – there are many that go back to the founding of the American scouting movement in 1910-11.  Looking at the status and popularity of the genealogy merit badge sounded like a good place to take the temperature of the health of genealogy among today's youth.  And as it turns out, there are some statistics about merit badges thanks to Bryan Wendell of Bryan on Scouting: A Blog for the BSA's Adult Leaders. 

Mr. Wendell used actual numbers from the local Council charter applications to determine how many of each available merit badge were earned nationally in a number of fairly recent years.  In this way he was able to rank the"popularity" of each merit badge over time.  In the "lifetime" (1911 - 2016) rankings of the various merit badges, Genealogy has been earned by 241,524 Scouts and so comes in at No. 78 out of 138 merit badges ranked.  But recall that the Genealogy merit badge did not exist until 1972, whereas the No. 1 merit badge – First Aid (earned by 7,137,872 Scouts) – has been around since 1911 and is an "Eagle required" merit badge.  Genealogy is not required to earn the Eagle rank and so is considered an "elective" merit badge, (but it is not among the top ten elective merit badges erned by Scouts today).  These statistics mean that Genealogy cannot be compared apples-to-apples with much older merit badges, but age and required vs. elective considerations aside, it means Genealogy currently ranks in the bottom half of merit badges earned.

It is possible to get a better handle on the status of Genealogy study among Scouts ages 11 - 17 by looking at the more recent data gathered on awarded merit badges rather than over the entire lifetime of the merit badge program when for long periods many merit badges (such as Genealogy) did not even exist.  Mr. Wendell provides data for merit badge awards for each of the years in the period 2012 - 2016 when Genealogy had been around for more than thirty-seven years.  In 2012 Genealogy merit badge was earned by 5,641 Scouts; in 2013 it was 5,740 Scouts, in 2014 it was 5,474 Scouts, in 2015 it was 5,316 Scouts, and in 2016 the award of the Genealogy merit badge dropped to only 4,570 Scouts.  So from a high of 5,740 Scouts studying Genealogy and earning the merit badge, the "popularity" of the badge dropped by 1,170 in just three years. [1]  In fact, most recently the popularity of Genealogy merit badge fell 14% in just the period from 2015 to 2016.  Only 15 of the 138 merit badges suffered a greater decrease in popularity than did Genealogy!

What, if anything, does the examination of merit badge statistics say about the current health and future of an interest in genealogy?  

There are several weaknesses in drawing conclusions from the selective sample of just young boys who participate in Boy Scouts.  [As just one example, girls were not part of Scouts BSA until February 1, 2019.  The Girl Scouts do not have a specific badge devoted to genealogy that can be compared and contrasted with the Genealogy merit badge.  And we all know that in both professional and hobbyist genealogy women have played a very large role.]  If we are to look to today's youth as the best hope for the future pursuit and continuation of the discipline of genealogy, then we need to pay attention to the status of genealogy interest among our young population not just for the preservation, protection, and growth of the individual research results in our  family histories, but also in order to have a continuing "lobby" for reasonable, inexpensive access to the important records of genealogy research.  We need our youth to develop and nurture on ongoing interest in the study of genealogy for the sake of preserving, protecting and growing the discipline of genealogy itself.

There are many organizations that have outreach efforts to interest young people in the subject of genealogy––to name just a few, there are: the societies of Mayflower descendants on the national and state levels; the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) and the Sons of the American Revolution (SAR); numerous local, regional and national genealogical societies; and even genealogy programs by local libraries.  There are also (as of 2017) the 2.3 million youth in the almost 100,000 individual units in the BSA that always have openings for Genealogy merit badge counselors.  These and similar efforts need to continue to keep the discipline of genealogy alive and thriving instead of becoming just another passing fad –– and this may be especially so in the face of what can often be seen as recent assaults on the availability of the very materials that are the foundation of genealogical study and research.         

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[1]   It is interesting to note that the Computers merit badge was discontinued at the end of 2014 after it had suffered a 79% decrease in popularity. 

For further reading see:

     The Merit Badge Program –– https://www.scouting.org/resources/guide-to-advancement/the-merit-badge-program/

     Genealogy Merit Badge Requirements –– https://filestore.scouting.org/filestore/Merit_Badge_ReqandRes/Genealogy.pdf

     Girls Can Now Join Scouts BSA –– https://www.cbsnews.com/news/girls-officially-join-boy-scouts-bsa-today/

     History of Merit Badges (Wikipedia) –– https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_merit_badges_(Boy_Scouts_of_America)

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Copyright 2020, John D. Tew

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