But the research has already been done!

Sometimes when I'm talking to people about their family history they will state something along the lines of "That branch has already been researched and there is even a book so why should I do it?" When I first started my family history and genealogy research I used to have the same feelings. The Chipman family has a number of books compiled by various family members, same with the Fraser family of which I'm a descendant. Why should I duplicate all the work done by others?

To answer that question, how about we take a look at an interesting case concerning the family of "Daniel Wilsey Hatfield". Daniel married into the Lannen branch descended from Simon Baxter, in theory my 6th great-grandfather¹, of New Brunswick, Canada.

This is from the book "The Hatfields of Westchester : a genealogy of the descendants of Thomas Hatfield of New Amsterdam and Mamaroneck, whose sons settled in White Plains, Westchester County, New York" by Abraham Hatfield published in 1935 that I found on the Internet Archive.

Abraham Hatfield, compiler, The Hatfields of Westchester : a genealogy of the descendants of Thomas Hatfield of New Amsterdam and Mamaroneck, whose sons settled in White Plains, Westchester County, New York, (Rutland, Vermont: New York Genealogical and Biographical Society, 1935), p 99; digital images, Internet Archive (https://archive.org/details/hatfieldsofwestc00hatf_0/page/n1/mode/2up : accessed 23 Jun 2020).

As you can see there is a lot of good information provided. Even better, on the next page the compiler has included the authorities from where he receive the information. Something that is often omitted in these sorts of family genealogies.

Abraham Hatfield, compiler, The Hatfields of Westchester : a genealogy of the descendants of Thomas Hatfield of New Amsterdam and Mamaroneck, whose sons settled in White Plains, Westchester County, New York, (Rutland, Vermont: New York Genealogical and Biographical Society, 1935), p 100; digital images, Internet Archive (https://archive.org/details/hatfieldsofwestc00hatf_0/page/n1/mode/2up : accessed 23 Jun 2020).

So everything should be good to go and we can trust what is written, right?

For those that have been reading my blog you will know that one mantra I stress is along the lines of "Trust no one, verify everything, and even if written in stone it might be wrong."

So what can we verify concerning the facts about Daniel as written in his biography? How about we start with his marriage to Mary Ann Lannen?

We are fortunate that a number of the New Brunswick marriage registers are available on FamilySearch in the New Brunswick marriage registers, 1792-1889 collection. This includes the Kings County, v. A, 1812-1844; v. B, 1844-1867 marriage registers. How do I know to look there? One reason was that Ancestry gave me a hint from the New Brunswick, Canada, Marriages, 1789-1950 collection but the main reason is that back in 2012 at Library and Archives Canada I came across the entry in the transcriptions of the marriages registers by Ruby M. Cusack in her work "Kings County Marriages: Register A".

Kings, New Brunswick, Marriage Register v. A, 1812-1844, Daniel Hatfield-Mary Ann Lannen; FHL microfilm 845,798, item 1, image 163.

According to the marriage register, which would have been created closer to the time of the event than the biography, they were married in 1828 and not 1829. That means for me that everything in his biography from this book is now suspect and needs to be verified.

I've not been able to confirm the date of his birth but based on the decennial census enumerations between 1851 and 1871 he was born about 1798. I was able to locate abstracts of newspaper articles through the Daniel F Johnson's New Brunswick Newspaper Vital Statistics database found on the Provincial Archives of New Brunswick site to confirm the date of his death in 1878. I haven't taken the time to confirm his land ownership but with the New Brunswick, county deed registry books, 1780-1930 collection on FamilySearch it wouldn't take to much effort to track any land transactions for him.

As for Daniel's middle name, the abstracts from the newspaper articles either record it as "W." or "Wesley". In the land deed records in Kings County, New Brunswick he is recorded as "Daniel Hatfield of Norton" without any initials. His youngest son, Heber, middle name is recorded as "Wolsey" in  the 1871 census of Canada and the articles about Heber's death in Chicago. But it could be Wilsey, we just don't know.

What about Daniel's wife, Mary Ann Lannen? What can we learn about her? Using the Daniel F Johnson's New Brunswick Newspaper Vital Statistics collection we can find the abstract for her death notices in two newspapers and they both match what is in the biography. That's a good start.

However, it seems that she is not the daughter of Simon Lannen and Abigail Baxter but of John Lannen. This can be found in the abstract in the Wallace Hale's Early New Brunswick Probate, 1785-1835 database on the Provincial Archives of New Brunswick site. There in the abstract from John Lannen's will is written: "Daughter Mary Ann HATFIELD, wife of Daniel HATFIELD land."

But can we trust Wallace Hale's work? So far I haven't had any issues but since I try to verify everything, through the magic of the interlibrary loan program, back in 2015 I ordered a copy of the microfilm from the Provincial Archives of New Brunswick that holds the probate file for John Lannen.

Kings County, New Brunswick, Probate Files, RS 66, John Lannen, 1832, will, p 2; Provincial Archives of New Brunswick, F11570. 

Although authorities have been listed for the information, this book doesn't indicate where they got their information. Was it from newspapers or bibles or was it from what they were told as they were growing up? We will probably never know. Just from a bit of digging through the records that are available to us we can see some mistakes in the biography of Daniel Hatfield and Mary Ann Lannen were found.

Can we blindly trust these sorts of compilations of family histories and genealogies? For me, I'd say no. However, they can provide clues for us to follow and confirm through using our own research skills.

So even if there is a book written about your family, take a look at the information held within and take the time and effort to verify and validate the facts recorded. You may just find that you discover something else that no one else has found that could change the family narrative (Widow's Pension Application = One Less Brick Wall).

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1. I say "in theory" because I've not been able to connect, to my personal satisfaction, my 4th great-grandmother, Hannah Baxter, to her probable parents of Elijah and May (nee Smith) Baxter.

Capital Sm@rtLibrary in Ottawa, Ontario

For those doing research in the Ottawa-Gatineau region you may be interested in the Capital Sm@rtLibrary. This site, as they so simply put it, "brings together the collections available at 12 libraries in the National Capital Region. In a single search, you can view the resources of all 12 collections."

The participating libraries include the following:

• Ottawa Public Library
• University of Ottawa
• Carleton University
• Canadian Housing Information Centre
• Algonquin College Learning Resource Centre
• Université du Québec en Outaouais (UQO)
• Cité collégiale
• Canadian Museum of History
• Bibliothèque municipale de Gatineau
• Dominican College
• Canadian War Museum
• National Gallery of Canada
• Canada Science and Technology Museums Corporation

Some of the libraries are lending libraries while others you need to visit to look at the item you are interested in. Fortunately the table on the Sm@rtLibrary site provides those important details.

However, what makes this a great site is that the catalogues of all these libraries are searchable in one place. For example, one of my little annoyances (AKA brick wall) that I'm always on the look out for is information that will help show that Hannah, the wife of Charles Howe, of Norton, Kings County, New Brunswick is the daughter of Elijah Baxter and the granddaughter of the Loyalist Captain Simon Baxter.

Into the Sm@rtLibrary search I typed in "Simon Baxter" to see what would appear already knowing that the book "Simon Baxter (the first United Empire Loyalist to settle in New Brunswick)" by John B. M. Baxter is held by the Canadian Museum of History. What I didn't expect to find was "Auction  [microform] :  will be sold at public auction on Wednesday, 15th inst. at 12 o'clock, at the house of Mr. Simon Baxter, in the parish of Norton, K.C" which is held in the Carleton University Library. This auction may have been held in Elijah's brother's house.

To All the Mothers on My Direct Line

Happy Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day to all the women in my direct line that brought forth and nurtured their children.Without them I wouldn't be here today.

Jill Frances McMullen, Winifred Violet Warrener, Frances Mary Howe, Elizabeth Murdoch, Henrietta Jane Whitfield McGregor, Annie Elizabeth Starr Chipman, Margaret Stewart, Isabella McCulloch, Mary Ann Kay, Henrietta Jane Whitefield, Eliza Ann Wells, Catherine McKinnon, Maria Elizabeth Jenkins, Sarah Eliza Starr, Margaret Orr, Janet Campbell, Mary Smith, Isabella Birnie, Ann Rudsdale, Ann Pape, Susan Fair, Florence Bardge, Ann Fraser, Mary Foley, Jane Innes, Ann McDonald, Sarah E Pickel, Maria Waring Little, Sophia Araminta Cogswell, Thamar Troop, Mary McEwan, Margaret Houston, Margaret Pettigrew, Eleanor Maynard, Jane Philips, Sarah Howell, Hannah Baxter, Elizabeth Sherwood, Mary Ann Fowler, Mary McGown Dickie, Elizabeth Beckwith, Esther Fairweather, Jemima Sawtelle, Lydia Parker, Ann Osborne, Lydia Huntington, Katherine Chipman, Jean Allen, Elizabeth Handley, Margaret Homes, Hope Howland, Elizabeth Young and Elizabeth Tilley.

There are so many more yet I don't know their names but I will keep striving to find them.

My Baxter Missing Link

Like everyone else I too have my "problem" ancestors. This year I'm going to see if I can't resolve at least two of these brick walls. In this specific case it is Hannah Baxter, my 4th great grandmother. For the past 10+ years I've been trying to verify who her parents are. So what do I know so far?

• She was born about 1801 (range 1801-1803 from census records) in the province of New Brunswick
• She married Charles Howe, son of Lt. Caleb Howe UEL of the Queens Rangers and Esther Fairweather, on 20 Dec 1822 in Norton, Kings County, New Brunswick
• She appears in the Canadian census enumerations of 1851, 1861, 1871 and 1881 in Kings County, New Brunswick
• She is not found in 1891 census so it is assumed she died between 1881 and 1891
• She had had a large family: Robert, Caleb, Ann, Mary, William Small, George B., Esther, Charlotte Willard, and Joseph
• Her husband, Charles, died 7 Nov 1839 in Kings County, New Brunswick

According to the page "Simon Baxter of Hebron Connecticut" at http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~jcahill/simon.htm Hannah is listed as the daughter of Elijah Baxter and Mary Smith. However, I've not been able to find any document that can substantiate that statement.

So where have I looked (other than the obvious places)?

• Marriage records: "New Brunswick, Marriage Registers, 1789-1889" at https://familysearch.org/search/collection/2001063
• Land records: "New Brunswick, County Deed Registry Books, 1780-1930" at https://familysearch.org/search/collection/1392378
• Provincial Archives of New Brunswick web site including but not limited to "Daniel F Johnson's New Brunswick Newspaper Vital Statistics" and "Vital Statistics from Government Records (RS141)"
• Posts on Facebook groups and Ancestry  message boards
• Google searches for references to her or her probable parents

I've not been able to find a death registration or obituary. I've also not come across a will or probate for her probable parents. I still need to look in the 1887 - 1891 editions of the Kings County Record to see if I can find any reference to her death just in case she died in that period.

So I put it out to all those other researchers, where should I look next? What other resources have I missed in my quest to find out who Hannah's parents are?