More about Daniel Miller journal

I still am not sure about titling my blog, I finally decided it matters, but since I am in a learning curve I'll read other bloggers and see what they do. Meanwhile if the label isn't apt forgive me. My last post I stated that I was looking for the 1870 census with my gggrandfather and his family on it.

That evening(Monday)I tried to find him on www.ancestry.com , I spent at least three hours trying various search techniques. I used initials, I used 3 letters and an *, I used first name and location, I restricted the search to just the 1870 census and decided that after 22 pages it would be next month before I was through! By then my eyes decided it was time to go to bed.

Tuesday after I got some things out of the way, I decided I would try the FHC site www.familysearch.org and found the 1900 census with my Daniel. He was in Oswego county as usual, but for some reason that census did not show up on ancestry when I searched for him. I took the info from family search back to ancestry and there it was! I saved it to my database and also to my tree on ancestry. I also located him and his family in the 1865 census for NY state while on family search and copied that page image to my home database and placed the page in my ancestry photo album.
I now have 1850 - 1865 and 1880 - 1900 so I have all the easy Federal censuses except 1870. Back to the search....

Wednesday, off to teach, the computer group is waiting to learn some new internet techniques, I think I might have a few now. At least one member found a relative, so I did accomplish something.

OK, back to Daniel, I try ancestry again, the non-population census might work? I find Daniel had 4 acres and two cows in Oswego worth $275 in 1850 in June, but in the September 1850 Federal Census he is in Harmony, Susquehanna, Pennsylvania with his wife Nancy and son James 5, why is he there? I still have not found a reason. I tried the family stories in ancestry all 15,395 of them. I found one that could possibly be his parents, but I have learned to stick to my goal and not go off on a tangent (hard lesson to learn), wrote down the information and continued my quest.

I tried military though I have no reason to believe my Daniel was in the war. I found a Civil War draft registration in 1863 that I think could be my Daniel, it is in the right place, and seems to be the right age. I will have to check further after I find the census for 1870.

Did I mention hat I am browsing the 1870 census for Oswego, NY on Heritage Quest as I find time? Bedtime at long last.

Thursday June 16, I am tired of Daniel, I think I will try his son Delavan, who was born about 1859 and was in the 1860, 1865 NY, and 1880 census with Daniel and wife Nancy. Unusual name, should be easy to find, Hah! Tried variations and still no luck, I am going to try Nancy now, Lots of Daniel and Nancy's in the 1870 census, but none of them are mine. I found a tax list for 1866 with Daniel Miller listed, but it is for Plainfield which is in Otsego county, I seriously doubt it is my Daniel as he has been in Oswego county all this time.

I have decided that after finishing the browsing of the Oswego and Otsego county 1870 census on Heritage Quest, if I still can't locate the census that has Daniel, Nancy, Delavan, and possibly Alice on it, I will leave this search for a while and go on to other things, probably trying to find Daniel's parents. I am keeping my fingers crossed.

beginning note

This blog will be an every so often note on my efforts in genealogy, when I have the time and energy to put it together. A sporadic journal of things I have done or not done that I now regret

When I first started in genealogy I had no idea of what needed to be done. As a consequence I am now faced with the task of going through my database and adding facts and sources to my early discoveries. I am also trying to bring place names up to standard, according to the new rules - which by the way seem to change every year or so. Actually you could even say the same for sourcing. what was good enough for the 1920's and 1930's is no longer adequate for today's standards.

I do not source according to standard and probably never will, my standard is if I found it and write down where and when in such a way that one of my descendants can actually find the same thing it is good enough, I will probably never publish anything and therefore need never meet the high or impossible standards of sourcing that are out there.

I do try now to do a reasonably exhaustive search, and I am working with my first four generations, giving each one a timeline of their life as I find it. My present task is to find the 1870 census for my Daniel C Miller. I have him in 1850, 1860, 1880, and 1900. I have his obituary in 1901 which is vague on his birth, so I am looking for documentation on that. I have my own site at www.clancywrightgenealogy.org if you would care to look at it