Wednesday, January 25, 2012

Using This Blog

This makes the 48th post for The Brickwall Protocol since August 6, 2011. I thought it might be helpful to try and outline the blog for those who are just beginning to use the content. It is designed to help those serious genealogists who face the "Brick Wall". It is not for the faint hearted, and requires a great deal of work to complete the methods described within.

The first section is the actual protocol as written in 1989. It represents ideas produced from more than 50 years of tree climbing and brick wall destruction. [Having the surname JONES will produce a large number of brick walls!] Each post is identified by the label BWP(#). This tag shows that the post has content that was published in the original form. It guides the genealogist "step by step" in the concepts, methods, and tools, which I have found to be helpful during my own JONES tree climbing. These are numbered BWP(1) through BWP (14). This will also help find a post in sequence, and follow the posts in order of concepts.

Starting with BWP(15), there are post which give additional information and helps designed to supplement the first section. Additional helps are given which were not part of the original publication. BWP(16) gives an example of my own work.

BWP(17) discusses a family coding system method and BWP(34).

BWP(19) shows a method using "squares and circles" for research design.

Other topics which have been helpful:

BWP(20)- Genealogy and Geography
BWP(21)- Making Maps and BWP(22) Maps from History and BWP(23) Name That Creek.

Social roles in the context of history: BWP(24)

Understanding history: BWP(25), BWP(28), BWP(30), BWP(31) and BWP(33).

Your own research: BWP(34), BWP(35), BWP(36), and BWP(37).

The BWP labeling stops after BWP(37). After this post of October 31, 2011, the titles introduce themselves. Some are intended to be helps, such as "Clarify Dates"[Nov. 9, 2001] to a little bit of humor, such as "For The Serious Genealogist"[Nov. 16, 2011].

Some topics presented:

Clarify Dates- Nov. 9, 2011.
"Letters Patent" A 12 Step Process- November 23, 2011.
Conceptualize Content - December 5, 2011.
Poor to Peerage: Becoming an Adult 1650 England- December 16, 2011.
Yearly Income per Head 1688 England, Part(1) and Part (2)- Dec. 31, 2011 and Jan. 7, 2012.
Spelling Words- Jan. 12, 2012.

I hope this outline will help the reader use this blog successfully in your own tree climbing.

Thursday, January 12, 2012

Spelling Words

Sounds to symbols has been a task since the first scribe dotted those symbols in the hardened clay of the Tigris River. Now how do you spell ...? This must be a question asked repeatedly throughout generations. For the genealogist, it is often a source of trouble, finding the spelling of the same name (words) occurring in various forms, even in the same document. "Be prepared!" The old scout motto would say. Sounds to symbols, what trouble it can be.

The following is an example of such a phenomena found in English records. "Peuman's End" it was called at first. It would seem that when Governor Bennett, in January 1653, ordered all Dutch ships seized, one fellow failed to get away. Both Wingfield [History of Caroline County, Virginia, p. 36] and Campbell [Colonial Caroline, A History of Caroline County, Virginia, p.16] relate the story. According to legend, a Dutch pirate was raiding the waters of the Rappahannock River. He was chased into a creek and met his death. The creek was named after the place where Peuman met his end! The two words thereafter were combined to become "Penmansind Creek", or "Powmansend", or "Powmansend", or ... . The following is an outline of the various spellings which were recorded in Cavaliers and Pioneers, by Nugent. The spelling is given first, followed by the reference (volume) and page number. You can begin to see the spellings, and why it is important to view a broad range of words when checking an index for your name.

The first listing of this name appears in Cavaliers and Pioneers (CP), Vol. I, p. 440:

Puamunaremo (?) CP I, p. 440
Puamunvien CP I, p. 442
Powmansend CP I, p. 526, 528
Pewamamcsee CP II, p. 138
Pewmansend CP II, p. 371, 380, 397
Puesmonseen CP II, p. 73
Pwomansend CP II, p. 8, 18, 20, 382
Pewamanesee CP III, p. 87
Pewmondsend CP III, p. 12, 136, 148, 182, 217
Powomasend CP III, p. 12
Peumansend CP III, p. 350, 355 (swamp).

Wow, how would you spell Peuman's end?

Saturday, January 7, 2012

Yearly Income per Head 1688 England (Part 2)

The last post of December 31 presented the yearly income for the "head of household" for those socially defined in 1688 England. It starts with "Beggars" at 2 pounds sterling. This post continues with the listing "Lesser Clergy-men":

Lesser Clergy-men 10
Eminent Clergy-men 12
Persons in Law 22
Lesser Merchants and Traders by Sea 33
Eminent Merchants and Traders by Sea 50
Persons in lesser Offices 20
Persons in greater Offices 30
Gentlemen 35
Esquires 45
Knights 50
Baronets 55
Spiritual Lords 65
Temporal Lords 80

Which would you choose? A social class it is.