Last week I received a tip from a blog reader (thanks, Fern!) about Steve Morse and his one-step portal.

Steve Morse is an electrical engineer who turned his impressive talents to genealogy after a remarkable career in computer technology. Known as "the father of the 8086 processor," Morse was architect of the computer which started the PC revolution over 30 years ago. Morse has designed/perfected a one-step process for researching genealogical records, most notably Ellis Island passenger lists:http://www.stevemorse.org. His site has expanded over the years. It now searches Ellis Island, Castle Garden and many other major ports of immigration, as well as census and vital records. 

I was anxious to experiment with Morse's one-step portal because I've never had much luck with Ellis Island/Castle Garden records. My maternal grandfather, George DeJong, was born in the Netherlands in 1871 and came to America via New York in 1893 with a sister, Nelly ("Lykeltje" in Dutch). The next year his parents and all the rest of his siblings (except an older sister) followed. I had names, approximate dates and even a ship name (Westerdam). Much of this information had been included in a 1999 book published by a Dutch second-cousin (grandson of the sister who'd stayed behind in the Netherlands). The book, aptly titled "Sister, Please Come Over," was a collection of letters received from the emigrant parents and siblings who settled in South Dakota.

My first queries on Morse's "Ellis Island Gold" form, using the names "DeJong" and then the phonetic "DeYoung," still  turned up nothing. Even "Westerdam" led nowhere.  A fresh start on another day, I tried looking for my great-grandfather, figuring there would be relatively fewer arrivals of middle-aged men. This time I queried with no name, using year of arrival (1894) and an age range of 48-50. In seconds, the response came and there he was!! L. J. De Jong, age 50. (Note the importance of the space between the "e" and the "J.") Next to L. J. (which stood for Lieuwe Jorrits) was my great-grandmother, Mrs. De Jong, age 48!! I wouldn't have thought to search for her with a first name "Mrs."

Another discovery: the 1999 book was wrong about the name of the ship. It wasn't Westerdam; it was Westerland. Which goes to show you can't always believe what's printed in books. I still couldn't find my grandfather. I couldn't find any "De Jong" arriving in 1893. I couldn't find a "George" or the Dutch variation "Jorrits" using his approximate age. I finally queried for the sister who emigrated with him in 1893 (first name starting with "N", age 17-20, Dutch). There was Nelle de Jong, age 18. She arrived 12 September 1893 on The Obdam; travelling with her was Jork de Jong, age 22. My grandfather. Always exciting to find the name of an ancestor! I will spend more time researching with Morse's one-step wonder, and I encourage you to check it out at http://www.stevemorse.org.