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Archive for the ‘Research Tips’ Category

This Week Ancestry.com Offers Free Access to Immigration and Naturalization Records

Posted in Research Tips, tagged , , , , , on 29 August 2011| Leave a Comment »


The following announcement was written by Ancestry.com:

Week of Free Access Enables Families to Discover Stories of Ancestors’ International Travels and Passage

PROVO, UTAH – (August 29, 2011) – Ancestry.com, the world’s largest online family history resource, today announced an entire week of free access to its popular U.S. and International Immigration and Naturalization records. The free access week begins August 29th and runs through the Labor Day holiday ending September 5th. During this time, all visitors to Ancestry.com will be able to search for free the indices and images of new and updated U.S. immigration records as well as selected international immigration records from the United Kingdom, Ireland, Italy, Australia, Canada, Germany, Sweden and Mexico. Millions of Americans can trace their family history to other countries, and these collections provide valuable information about the travels and journeys that brought them to America or other countries around the world.

Ancestry.com’s extensive collection of immigration, naturalization and travel records offer an important resource for discovering and celebrating family history. As part of this promotion, the company is adding to its collection of U.S. and international records for tracing relatives from their homeland to other countries around the world. These records include ships passenger and crew lists, declarations of intent, petitions for naturalization, witness affidavits, border crossings, certificates and other records generated by the naturalization process, which is the act and procedure of becoming a new citizen of a country. Because the process has changed significantly over time and varies from country to country, different records are available from a wide variety of state, federal and international sources.

Newly added U.S. collections include Florida Petitions for Naturalization, 1913-1991; Delaware Naturalization Records, 1796-1959 and Utah Naturalization and Citizenship Records, 1850-1960. Noteworthy updated U.S. and international collections include U.S. Naturalization and Passport applications, 1795-1972; UK Incoming Passenger Lists, 1878-1960; Border Crossings: From Canada to U.S., 1895-1956; New South Wales, Australia, Unassisted Immigrant Passenger Lists, 1826-1922; Border Crossings: From Mexico to U.S., 1895-1957; New York State, Passenger and Crew Lists, 1917-1973; Atlantic Ports Passenger Lists, 1820-1873 and 1893-1959.

“One of the most common elements of the American experience is our respect and interest in our native heritage. Almost all Americans have international roots, and many take great pride and even feel patriotic toward the countries from which their ancestors originated,” said Josh Hanna, Ancestry.com Executive Vice President. “That’s why we continue to build and enrich our collection of immigration and naturalization records and why we are providing free access to anyone who wants to search these records to discover their family’s international history.”

Many families have already made important discoveries in Ancestry.com’s immigration and naturalization collection. Each of the following stories offers an example of the exciting and often emotional discoveries made by some Ancestry.com users.

  • David A. Bader – Atlanta, GA: Bader traced his mother’s immigration from birth in Vienna, Austria, in 1934, during the Holocaust, through a KinderTransport to England (1939-1941), and eventually her immigration into the U.S. He’s also traced her parents’ journeys through concentration camps and other paths that lead to the United States, where the family came back together after their separate journeys of luck and fate.
  • Kristine Plotinski – Romeo, MI: Plotinski recently found the ship manifest of when her grandparents and three aunts immigrated to the United States from Iraq in 1947. She shared this document with her aunts and they were deeply touched when they saw their names on the manifest. One of her aunts remarked that she had been unable to find her immigration records on a visit to Ellis Island and recounted that seeing the document from Ancestry.com brought back many memories. Her aunt very clearly remembers the day in 1947 when her ship arrived in New York. She was awed by the lights of New York and the snow and wore a pink coat made with rabbit fur, which her grandmother had made for each of Kristine’s aunts.
  • Jackie Wells – Annapolis, MD: Although her father died of cancer, Wells was fortunate to spend considerable time with him before he passed. Many of their talks focused on his family history. He did not know much about his mother, who died from a fire when he was three, or about her background. His father remarried and supported a blended family, but did not talk about his background. Since those discussions, Wells has traced her father’s side back to the original immigrants, finding early colonial settlers of New England, a sea captain defending New York’s harbor under George Washington in 1776, early residents of the new capital Washington, hard-working mid-1800’s immigrants, Civil War soldiers, sports legends and many poignant personal stories. So far, for two of the immigrants Wells located, she has traveled to and photographed their birth villages, in Italy and in Germany. Wells’ family history research has helped her find and be welcomed by hundreds of newfound relatives who have provided many memories and a much deeper understanding her father’s family history.

To start researching the immigration and naturalization records for free, please visit www.ancestry.com/immigration.

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How Our Genealogy Began, & How You Can Start Too!

Posted in Caillebotte, de Launay, Féron, Hensley, Paris, Research Tips, Valpinçon, Yerres, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on 19 April 2011| Leave a Comment »


From page 1, Vol. 1 of “Jules & Paul de Launay” (publish 1983) by Jules Richard de Launay.  The photos which I have added are from my mother, Rosemarie’s collection.

Mes excuses. Je vais imprimer les Français de cet article bientôt.

“On the ninth of December 1813 in Paris, at the church of St. Denis du St. Denis du St. Sacrament, was baptized a two day old baby, Jules.  He was the son of Jacques Launay and his wife Marie Valpinçon, living at No. 8 rue Neuve St. Catherine (now Rue des Francs-Bourgeois, Paris III).  The godmother was Anne Valpinçon, wife of Boissière, residing at no. 30 Rue de la Barillerie (now Bvd. du Palais Paris I & IV).  The godfather was Jules Valpinçon of No. 11 Rue des Deux Boules (Paris I).

I first obtained a copy of the certificate of baptisms of the above Jules in 1933.  I knew something about my grandfather Jules, but I knew nothing of the family except for the little bit of confused information which my father Paul could remember from his conversations with his father Jules.

Paul de Launay (about 1887)

Since Jules died when his son Paul was only 13 & 1/2 years old, the latter’s knowledge was rather vague.  The information which Paul got from his mother Anna was unreliable as she was a social-climber and gave herself and her husband Jules grand (but false) ancestral backgrounds.

Who were these people mentioned in the certificate?  Why was the father named Launay instead of de Launay?  Who were these three Valpinçons?  It was 30 years later in 1963 that knowledge about these people began to unfold.

In January 1962, I arrived in London, England, to spend three years as liaison scientist for the U.S. Office of naval Research, London Branch.  My son Hugh wrote me suggesting that while I was in Europe, perhaps I should investigate our de Launay ancestry.  The idea pleased me, for I had 5 weeks of leave per year and I wished to be doing something active during those times.  But I did not know how to start the research.  Launay, Delaunay, de Launay are very common names in France, so I would need firm clues in order to identify my own de Launays.  Valpinçon, on the other hand, seemed to be a rare name, and form PINSON de VALPINÇON to be contrived (which it proved to be).  Thus, I decided to begin with the Valpinçon Family and leave the de Launay for later.

In the summer of 1962, while in Paris for a week on Navy business [editor’s note: the writer, Jules Richard de Launay, a former Rhodes scholar, and a Navy physicist], I spent an hour each evening looking through the set of telephone books in the Metro station for the name Valpinçon.  Before I began the search, I had reasoned that between Mont Pinson in Calvados and the nearby village Aunay-sur-Odon, there could be a dale called Valpinçon.  Thus, the first place I looked at in the phone books was Aunay-sur-Odon, and there it was:  Pierre de Valpinçon, agrie!  After that happy event, I searched the whole set of volumes, but never found another Valpinçon.

Back in London, I wrote a letter to Monsieur Pierre de Valpinçon, giving him the details from the baptismal certificate of 1813.  I asked if he knew anything about the Valpinçons on the certificate, and if so, would be kindly give me what information he could.  Several months passed by without a reply.  I began to assume that he was not interested and had thrown my letter in the waste paper basket.  In time, however, I was delighted to receive a letter from him.  He said that he had passed my letter on to his cousin l’Abbé Yves Champion of Laval, who was the family genealogist.  The Abbé was injured in an automobile accident just after receiving my letter and was incapacitated for some time, hence the long delay.  The Abbé tol Monsieur de Valpinçon that he was certain that I was their cousin and that he knew the connection.  I was then invited to spend a day in April (1963) in the week after Easter at the farm.

This photo from a later reunion, not 1962.

What happened to the family in Paris after the birth in 1813 of Jules, I had no idea.  In 1982, I engaged the Paris genealogist Madame Margaret Audin of 37 Rue Quintinie, Paris-XV, to find out what happened to them.”

So began Volume 1 of “Jules and Paul de Launay” printed for my uncle Jules Richard de Launay in 1983 by Frank Webster, bookbinder in Canterbury, England.

I will be re-publishing my uncle’s work here, as I transcribe it for republication with my own work, and that of my mother’s, for the descendants of their father, my grandfather Paul de Launay.

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Protected: Gustave Caillebotte Cousins Reunite in Paris.

Posted in Caillebotte, de Launay, Féron, Paris, Research Tips, Valpinçon, Yerres, tagged , , , , , , on 2 March 2011|


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Newly Found Ancestors – March 2nd

Posted in Caillebotte, de Launay, Féron, Paris, Research Tips, Uncategorized, Valpinçon, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on 2 March 2011| 2 Comments »


I hesitate to use “Newly Found Ancestors” as a title for today’s article, since just about every day it would likely seem appropriate, but since I found a mother lode of information today, it seems especially so.

I started out looking for more info on Paul, Jules, and Gaston de Launay on Ancestry.com.  Then I switched to just looking for anything with the Valpinçon name.  That’s when I found a lot of information in the French National Archives of Paris, online through Ancestry.com.

One of the first things I found was the birth record of August Boissière, who was the son of Anne (Valpinçon) Boissière.  Anne (born 4 Sep 1771) was the daughter of Gabriel Hippolyte Pinson de Valpinçon (died 1830) and his wife Anne Julie Féron (1745-1831).

9 Dec 1813 baptism record of Jules de Launay

Anne (Valpinçon) Boissière was the godmother of Jules de Launay, according to the baptismal record of 9 Dec 1813, at the Saint-Denis du Saint Sacrement Catholic Church located at Number 68, Rue de Turenne, in Paris.  Jules de Launay’s first cousin, Jules Valpinçon, was listed as his godfather, as well as being his namesake.  Pastor Paul Quinson was kind enough to stay open long enough for me to get a photo of the baptism record.  A low resolution photo of it appears to the right.

I also found evidence of the date of birth of Paul Valpinçon and his son, Henri.  Both were born in Paris.  I found the marriage date of Paul Valpinçon and Marguerite – in Paris.  I found the date of marriage of Hortense Valpinçon and Antoine Jacques Fourchy – in Paris.  In this marriage record between Hortense and Jacques, I also found the names of Antoine Jacques Fourchy’s parents:  Paul Fourchy and Marie Mathilde Chapellier married 25 August 1858.  That first led me to the names of Paul’s maternal grandparents, Louis Edmond Chapellier and Marie Trudon, and finally his paternal grandparents, Antoine Jules Fourchy and his wife Anne Céline Pincon de Valpincon.

Wait a minute, Anne Céline Pinçon de Valpinçon?  Yes, more Valpinçon family as we go up the Family Tree.  This makes the tree a bit more vertical.  However, when I got to Anne, I also found the Family Tree of the Marguerite Family on Ancestry.com.  It is an extensive tree, but with very few records attached to it online.  Much of it appears accurate at first look.  It appears that they know about Paul de Launay and Olive, but not Mabel.  They don’t seem know about the Carr Family, but do have three “Living de Launay” under Paul & Olive, and so it’s difficult to tell what they know for sure.  They also do not seem to know about the Caillebotte descendants, but know about the Clouet side.  They do not have the Valpinçon descendants of Jean-Baptist, which leads to cousins Philippe, Michel, Elizabeth, & Monique, but does know about the ones of Augustin Renè de Valpinçon (which leads to Paul and Hortense Valpinçon).

I have sent a message to our “Marguerite” Family cousins in the hopes of a response.  Updates to come when they are available.

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En français:

J’hésite à utiliser “Nouveaux ancêtres ont trouvé” un titre pour l’article d’aujourd’hui, depuis à peu près chaque jour, il serait probablement semblent appropriées, mais depuis que j’ai découvert un filon de l’information aujourd’hui, il semble particulièrement.

J’ai commencé à la recherche de plus d’infos sur Paul, Jules et Gaston de Launay sur Ancestry.com. Puis je suis passé à un peu à la recherche de quelque chose avec le nom de Valpinçon. C’est alors que j’ai trouvé beaucoup d’informations dans les Archives françaises du National de Paris, en ligne grâce à Ancestry.com.

Une des premières choses que j’ai trouvé était l’acte de naissance d’Auguste Boissière, qui était le fils d’Anne (Valpinçon) Boissière. Anne (née le 4 septembre 1771) était la fille de Gabriel Hippolyte Pinson de Valpinçon (mort en 1830) et son épouse Anne Julie Féron (1745-1831).

Anne (Valpinçon) Boissière a été la marraine de Jules de Launay, selon l’acte de baptême du 9 décembre 1813, à la Saint-Denis du Saint Sacrement Église catholique située au numéro 68, rue de Turenne, à Paris. cousin germain de Jules de Launay, Jules Valpinçon, a été répertorié comme son parrain, en plus d’être son homonyme. Pasteur Paul Quinson de Sainte-Denis a eu la gentillesse de rester ouvert assez longtemps pour moi d’obtenir une photo de l’acte de baptême. Une photo en basse résolution de celui-ci apparaît à droite.

J’ai aussi trouvé des preuves de la date de naissance de Paul Valpinçon et son fils, Henri. Tous deux sont nés à Paris. J’ai trouvé la date du mariage de Paul Valpinçon et Marguerite – à Paris. J’ai trouvé la date du mariage d’Hortense Valpinçon et Antoine Jacques Fourchy – à Paris. Dans ce dossier mariage entre Hortense et Jacques, j’ai également trouvé les noms des parents Antoine Jacques Fourchy: Paul et Marie Mathilde Fourchy Chapellier mariés le 25 août 1858. Cela m’a d’abord conduit à les noms des grands-parents maternels de Paul, Louis Edmond Chapellier et Marie Trudon, et enfin ses grands-parents paternels, Jules Antoine Fourchy et son épouse Anne Céline Pincon de Valpinçon.

Attendez une minute, Anne Céline Pinçon de Valpinçon? Oui, plus de famille Valpinçon que l’on monte l’arbre généalogique. Cela rend l’arbre un peu plus vertical.Cependant, quand je suis arrivé à Anne, j’ai aussi trouvé l’arbre généalogique de la famille Marguerite sur Ancestry.com. Il s’agit d’un massif d’arbres, mais avec très peu d’enregistrements qui s’y rattachent en ligne. Une grande partie de celui-ci semble exacte au premier coup d’oeil. Il semble qu’ils savent à propos de Paul de Launay et Olive, mais pas Mabel. Ils ne semblent pas connaître la famille Carr, mais avons trois «Vivre de Launay» en vertu de Paul & Olive, et il est donc difficile de dire ce qu’ils savent à coup sûr. Ils ne semblent pas connaître les descendants Caillebotte, mais savoir sur le côté Clouet. Ils n’ont pas les descendants de Valpinçon Jean-Baptiste, qui conduit à des cousins Philippe, Michel, Elizabeth, et Monique, mais ne savent sur ceux d’Augustin René Valpinçon de (ce qui conduit à Paul et Hortense Valpinçon).

J’ai envoyé un message à nos “Marguerite” cousins de la famille dans l’espoir d’une réponse. Mises à jour à venir, quand elles sont disponibles.

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FindaGrave.com

Posted in Research Tips, tagged , , , , , , , , on 22 February 2011| 1 Comment »


Click photo to visit FindaGrave.com

I thought I’d stop what I’m doing right now to talk about an important subject:  getting sidetracked.

Getting sidetracked is easy to do when you’re working on your genealogy. Yesterday, after arriving in Athens for a 3-day layover, I had intended to finish my update of spending two days of genealogy research in Paris with my cousin Monique.  However, I decided to do something I thought, at the time, would just take a few moments, and simply add two new research source subscriptions to look for information about my grandfather Paul de Launay:  Footnote.com, and NewspaperArchive.com. Something caused me to look for something over on a site called FindaGrave.com, a regular “go to” source for me, and once again….I was sidetracked.  This time it pushed me back to doing some research on my father’s side of the family.

Having said all of that, it brings me to the point I wanted to make, and that was that FindAGrave.com has now become a very important site in the genealogy world.  I spent several hours adding photos that I found there, to my own tree, and then spent several more hours adding half of my own maternal great-grandparents to the FindaGrave.com site.  Many photos I found were high enough resolution for printing smaller photos, and many times, there was an obituary or family biography to go along with the person, which would lead me to other cousins, and more distractions.

So if you haven’t checked it out visit FindaGrave.com, I highly recommend it.  You’ll be surprised how many of your own ancestors are there.   If you don’t believe me, then read this article about FindaGrave.com, and then get back to work.

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En Français:

Je pensais arrêter ce que je fais en ce moment pour parler d’un sujet important: se laisser distraire.

Se distraire est facile à faire lorsque vous travaillez sur votre généalogie. Hier, après son arrivée à Athènes pour une escale de 3 jours, j’avais l’intention de terminer ma mise à jour de passer deux jours de la recherche généalogique à Paris avec ma cousine Monique. Cependant, j’ai décidé de faire quelque chose que je pensais à l’époque serait quelque chose qui serait simplement de prendre quelques instants et ajouter deux nouveaux abonnements source de recherche pour trouver des informations sur mon grand-père Paul de Launay: Footnote.com, et NewspaperArchive.com. Quelque chose m’a fait chercher quelque chose de plus sur un site appelé FindaGrave.com, un habitué “aller à” la source pour moi, et encore une fois …. j’ai été mis de côté. Cette fois, il me repoussa à faire quelques recherches sur le côté de mon père de la famille.

Ayant dit tout cela, il m’amène au point que je voulais faire, et c’est tout FindAGrave.com est devenu un site très important dans le monde de la généalogie.J’ai passé plusieurs heures à ajouter des photos que j’ai trouvé là, à mon propre arbre, puis a passé plusieurs heures plus ajouter la moitié de mes propres grands-parents maternels sur le site FindaGrave.com. De nombreuses photos que j’ai trouvé étaient à haute résolution permet d’imprimer des photos plus petites, et de nombreuses fois, il y avait une biographie nécrologique ou en famille pour aller avec la personne, qui me conduirait à d’autres cousins, et plus de distractions.

Donc, si vous ne l’avez pas vérifié visite FindaGrave.com, je le recommande fortement. Vous serez surpris de savoir combien de vos propres ancêtres sont là. Sivous ne me croyez pas, puis lisez cet article sur FindaGrave.com, puis se remettre au travail.

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