Introduction Brigadier General Solomon Place (1770–1834) holds a distinct place in the history of early nineteenth-century upstate New York. A prosperous citizen of Greenwich and a career militia officer during the War of 1812, Solomon’s life is well documented through public records and a family Bible record penned in his own hand. Although family lore…
Category: Genealogy
George Washington
When I was growing up my bedside lamp was a antique copper cast of George Washington praying before the Battle of Valley Forge. My grandfather and great grandfather were George Washington Place, Jr. and George Washington Place, Sr. A family tradition, now disproved, says my ancestor was Brig. Gen. Solomon Place (War of 1812), who was (they say) made a…
Excavating Identity
I get edgy when I think someone is too attached to a theory. They’re all theories in my book, some with better evidence than others. And, so often we as genealogists go through struggles about evidence and conclusions when someone really wants a particular result. “Humans add narrativium [“narrative causality”] to their world. They insist…
GEDCOM is not the Answer
James Tanner warns us about using GEDCOM. Info stored in a way that it is only portable by GEDCOM might be lost. “Even if you were successful in having someone in your family accept the information in GEDCOM format, it is very likely that much of the value of the information would be lost.“ “The…
An Iron Collar Around His Neck
Battle of Culloden, 16 April 1746. It was the end the Jacobite Rebellion, the end of the Stuart dynasty, and in many ways the beginning of the modern era. After the battle, 3,470 people were prisoners of the English. Of these, 936 were transported to the colonies, 222 were banished, 120 were executed, 88 died…