ARTICLE # 12 BY DOREEN DOLLEMAN – COMPUTER RESEARCH
I have prolonged writing an article on my very own direct line ancestor, Richard Olmstead of Burritt’s Rapids, Ontario, even though he should be my favorite subject. I finally came up with a much better plan and asked Bill Samland if he would be willing to do it for me. He is an excellent researcher and has a double interest in this line as Richard’s daughter Aurilla Olmstead married her cousin Hiram Olmstead and Bill is a descendant of that union. I will keep my own article brief so that he can have more space.
I would like to share with you some of my recent computer discoveries in hopes that it will help those of you who are fortunate enough to have a computer. First of all I have to confess that I am not an expert in this area. In fact, those books written for “dummies” are too far advanced for me to even comprehend! I am ashamed to tell you that I only just discovered Google advanced searches, and I have had my computer for 3 ½ years! However, just in case there are others out there as slow to catch on, this article is for you. I only discovered this wonderful tool three weeks ago, quite by accident, and already have unearthed so many missing ancestors that my head is swimming. Here is what I have been doing:
1. Go to the Google website at www.google.com and click on the words “advanced search”.
2. A form will appear and as much or as little of it can be used. I fill in the box that says, “exact phrase” with an ancestor’s name or a place name (i.e. Parry Sound).
3. There is another box that says, “with at least one of the words”. If I decide to use this I fill in only one extra word (i.e. Olmstead). Do not use 2 words or you will end up with too many results.
4. Choose the number of results you would like listed. I like to pick 100 as that usually more than covers the number found.
5. Click on “Google search” and your results will appear. If you see one of interest that you would like to view, click on the word “cached” for that entry. This will highlight the exact phrase and any other words you have chosen so you can spot them quickly.
6. If there are far too many results you can narrow down the field by returning to the form and filling in the box that says “without the words” with something appropriate that you would like to eliminate. For instance, if you are searching for a Frederick Olmstead, but don’t want to view the hundreds of results for Frederick Olmstead, the famous architect, you might type in architect, garden, parks.
7. Be sure to try all spellings of your name of interest and also in the exact phrase box try the name backwards (Olmstead, Frederick) as well as forwards. The results will be different so don’t overlook doing it both ways.
I will tell you a few of my amazing success stories. I made three discoveries all in one evening. I was looking for any new information on my great great grandparents, David and Jane McAleer Olmstead. All I did was type in Olmstead for the exact phrase and McAleer for the extra word. One of the results was a Chippewa Co, MI obit for a Charlotte V. Olmstead, wife of William Olmstead and d/o William and Ann McAleer. I about fell off my chair! Charlotte McAleer was my Jane’s youngest sister who did a disappearing act after the 1871 Ontario Census. No one in my family ever knew what became of her. William was a younger brother of my David Olmstead and he also disappeared after the 1871 census. It never would have crossed my mind that these two missing ancestors had married each other. I did a similar search using only two words, Gillespie and Olmstead, hoping to find my David and Jane Olmstead’s missing daughter Charlotte (I knew she had married a Joseph Gillespie, but that was where it ended). Immediately I found her death record in Chippewa County, MI and also that of her infant daughter! I have searched for these families for over thirty years and found three missing people in a matter of minutes. I also found a biographical sketch on Byron Eaton, husband of Jane Olmstead (d/o Aaron Jr. mentioned in a previous newsletter article in May 2000). I only used the words Eaton and Olmstead to complete this search. I learned the names of their children, what became of the family, and was able to make contact with a descendant who has been so generous with her help. My last example is Moses Olmstead (s/o Jedediah) and his wife Almira Seekins. I did a search using just the name Almira Olmstead and found a biography of a Jonathan Russell, written by his son, while neighbors to Moses and Almira in Lapeer Co, MI. He tells the story of how a Mormon elder came to their community to preach in 1840, goes on to describe how Moses and Almira were baptized on the Russell property, and later sold their farm and moved to Nauvoo, IL, home of the church. This was a wonderful and very personal first hand account of this family. I also used the extra word “Mormon” along with Moses Olmstead and found several early Mormon church records pertaining to him. I have been helping three elderly descendants of this family and they have been delighted with the new findings. They think I am amazing, but honestly it is the computer that is performing the magic!
I also have to mention that the LDS website, www.familysearch.com has a census search for 1880 US/1881 Canada and Great Britain. It has been an enormous help to me. I discovered it last year and have found so many missing ancestors because of it. It is similar to the Google search in that you can fill in as much or as little to get the results you want. It is great to locate missing females as you don’t need to know their married surname. In my previous article (May 2000) on Aaron Olmstead I gave you all the information I had on Emerson Olmstead (s/o Aaron Jr.). He was living in Milwaukee, WI until 1870 and then was gone. I used the 1880 US search and found him relocated in Leavenworth, KS. His oldest daughters were no longer in his household and I had no idea who they might have married. So I did another 1880 search for daughter Blanche, using only her first name, birth year (two year range), and Kansas for the state. I found a likely suspect in a Blanche Goodson with her young children also in Leavenworth. She was a music teacher, as was Emerson’s wife. I was then able to confirm that her maiden name was Olmstead. Later I used Google search and found Emerson’s son Archibald Olmstead. I really hit the jackpot with this one as he was a famous musician, having founded the Winfield College of Music in KS. The Winfield Library sent me his four-page obit, which was full of details about parents and siblings, a photo, a two page funeral service, and his father Emerson’s obit! Olmstead Days are still celebrated in Winfield each year.
One last word of advice is to make use of the lookup volunteers who offer their help and are listed at most genealogy websites. I have used them often and have found that most will go out of their way to be of service. I only just used Random Acts of Genealogical Kindness, www.raogk.org/search.html, for the first time. Both contacts I made offered to take tombstone photos. One lady sent me the photo immediately and followed up with much additional information that was unexpected. The other person promised to make a trip to the cemetery as soon as the snow melts. These folks are truly wonderful and so remember to thank them for their time and remember to do the same for others by being willing to share your research.
I know this article must be a disappointment to those of you who do not have a computer. I will try to make up for it by offering to do a Google search for you on your Olmstead ancestor if you write and provide me with a few basic details (name, place and time frame).