I'm always happy to receive suggestions about potential subjects for blog postings, and I'm ecstatic when someone submits a story they've written! This is one of those days! Loyal blog-reader Fern Wilcox shared this clever story about her research. Here it is, with my sincere thanks to Fern (and my apologies for using her pun in the title): I am searching for my g-grandparents' birthplace in Ireland: Francis JANES, b abt 1822 in Ireland, and his wife Mary Jane (MACKEN) JANES, b abt 1825 in Ireland. They had a daughter Mary Jane b 1847 in either Conn. or Ireland according to Federal Census records; a child who supposedly died on board ship on their way over (per a family story) in abt 1850; Richard b 1853 in NY; George b 1858 in NY; William b 1861 in NY; and Lillie, my grandmother, in 1864 in NY. The earliest I could find them was in 1875 in the NY census, which has been driving me batty for years. According to censuses all the kids except Mary were born in NY. I finally got a result when I did an Ancestry search on the 1865 New York State Census specifically for: Frank b 1822 +/- 5 years, his spouse Mary, child-Mary and child-Richard. I put in the “Lived in” box: Staten Island, Richmond, New York, USA. I purposely left the Surname box blank. I only put in two of the children because I was trying to minimize the information. And up popped the following!!!!

View Record	Frank Geans	abt 1823	Castleton, Richmond	Mary

 

NAME:	Frank Geans
GENDER:	Male
RELATION TO HEAD:	Head
BIRTH YEAR:	1823
AGE:	42
RESIDENCE:	Castleton, Richmond
DISTRICT:	03
LINE NUMBER:	10
PAGE NUMBER:	19

  The other family members were listed as:  

NAME	AGE
Frank Geans	42
Mary Geans	38
Mary Geans	18
Richard Geans	12
George Geans	7
William Geans	5
Silly Geans	1

  For crying in the beer! Lillie’s name was transcribed as “Silly Geans”. That’s the best! I guess the lesson here is to think outside the box when searching. I’m still trying to get back to Ireland with them! And when I do I will buy a new pair of “geans”!