DearREADERS,Accept the challenge to transcribe and analyze this historical document from Ol' Myrt's personal family history. The only additional clue I'll give you is that I found this on Fold3.com.
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| IMAGE: If I cited this, I would be giving away too much information for this exercise. |
With any document, I recommend following Birdie Holsclaw's practice to transcribe the document word-for-word, including typed, stamped and handwritten text.
NOW FOR THE CHALLENGE
Let's answer these questions:
- What is this document?
- How would you describe the physical appearance of this document?
- What does this document say about Ol' Myrt's ancestor?
- What other people are mentioned in this document?
- What information items do you find most reliable in this document?
- What information items do you find less reliable in this document?
- What value is this document without a citation indicating provenance?
- Can you craft a citation for this document?
- What would you do with this digital document?
- What other record groups should Ol' Myrt consider after analyzing this document?
5 Nov 2014 - That's right. You've got five days to reply in "COMMENTS" to this blog post here at DearMYRTLE.com, or where this is cross-posted on DearMYRTLE's Facebook or Google+ Community.
Happy family tree climbing!
Myrt :)
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I know his wife's name
ReplyDeleteDear Cousin Russ,
DeleteIndeed you do know his wife's name. I appreciate the work you did in your blog post:
http://worthy2be.wordpress.com/2014/11/02/dearmyrtles-docuchallenge/
I'm not sure I'll find time to participate in the challenge, but I am curious about Birdie Holsclaw's transcription practice. Is it significantly different than standard transcription methods that are taught to genealogists? I did google and learned a lot about Birdie, but I didn't run across her transcription method anywhere. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteBirdie's transcription practices didn't differ significantly from standard transcription methods taught to genealogists. She was a significant influence in Ol' Myrt's life, and I always harken back to having seen how she transcribed word for word as mentioned above.
DeleteShe had a checklist for each document that included:
-- extract and conclusion
-- full transcript
-- printed image
What is this document?
ReplyDeleteMilitary Service Card – specifically Civil War Service Application # 376996 Cert #: 243464 A 17 V. R. C.
How would you describe the physical appearance of this document?
This appears to be a card index/summary of other documents related to the military service of Phillips, William H. a private in Company K, 10 Regiment of the Indiana Infantry. It was written years after the service, in a least 2-3 different hands. Looking at the document in color would help determine different entries by pen stroke/color.
Examples on Fold3 state it is a Civil War
What does this document say about Ol' Myrt's ancestor?
He served in the military, Civil War as a P [Private] in Co K, Regiment 19 of the Indiana Infantry.
He probably received land, Cert. # 243464 filing date, 7 Jun 1880 for his service.
He died, probably, 21 Feb 1921 in Knoxville, Iowa and his widow applied for his benefits 12 Mar 1921, application # 1171114 via the law of 1 May 1920 with cert # 907389
What other people are mentioned in this document? A widow
What information items do you find most reliable in this document?
None until proven. I would first need to learn more about the card and record itself:
http://www.fold3.com/page/75_civil_war_pensions_index/
DEAD stamp indicates dying after service with date and location on the last line of the card
And more about the abbreviations at: http://www.fold3.com/pdf/T289.pdf VRC is the Veterans Reserve Corps
What information items do you find less reliable in this document? Most of it.
What value is this document without a citation indicating provenance? Use as hint for other documents/sources
Can you craft a citation for this document? Yes after more research at Fold3.com:
Fold3 database, “Organization Index to Pension Files of Veterans Who Served Between 1861 and 1900”, Indiana, Infantry, Regiment 19, Company K, for Phillips, William H.; citing NARA Group T289, roll 2588825
What would you do with this digital document?
Find out what it is indexing and then find more primary/original documents to support the facts listed.
Store the transcription and image on a doc or OneNote entry by surname
Analyze the transcription to find more – see below
What other record groups should Ol' Myrt consider after analyzing this document?
Widow’s Application Card – Ancestry.com – US Civil War Pension Index – search for “William H. Phillips” + Indiana
1883 Pension Roll Google Books [Iowa – Vol 3 or Indiana Vol 4]
Compiled Service Record M540 Roll 60 or M594 Roll 19th roll 38 or 20th roll 39
Pension Application File # 376996 and widows file # 1171114
FamilySearch.org WIKI https://familysearch.org/learn/wiki/en/19th_Regiment,_Indiana_Infantry
More about Co K: http://19thindianaironbrigade.com/Company_K.html
http://www.ingenweb.org/indelaware/Military/19threg.htm
National Parks Military: http://www.nps.gov/vicilwar/search
Learn what notation – 11-5-21 means on the right upper corner. [probable date widow’s claim completed?]
Dear Cary,
DeleteYou worked hard on this entry, and I liked the idea of using OneNote, particularly as one is in the middle of research. In this case I had narrowed down the list of William Phillips to eight, and had to painstakingly work through all pension files praying for more info.
I didn't know which state he served from, if at all. In fact there were some challenges, but I had been taught to look for military service and pension files for every eligible ancestor alive during a specific war.
Fortunately, on this widow's pension file, her name, birthdate and residence were pivot points matching other records on the couple, so I was able to distinguish this from other men who served.