Tiptoeing Through the Records: Beckwith

I also put together another Adventure in Family Tree.This is the case of the unexpected husband. Click Here to read. This involves Susan Eliza Gee my great great grand aunt.

Tuesday, July 31, 2012

Names that look the same are not always the same person

This is a case that I have been working on recently. I finally got Support to change the record, but someone is messing around with Zopher's family. More on that later.

Unknown individual to me
Salomon Gee Person identifier: M5V7-8KM

There are two combined records both from Family Search for this individual.

Possible duplicates reveals only one individual, Salmon Gee Person identifier: KWJP-41C with 50 combined records.

On July 21, 2011 I sent the following e-mail to those contributors that were listed on the record at that time. Today the only Contributors that are listed on the record are as noted above. (Family Search)

Dear patrons,

My cousin Janet Pollei brought the following problem to my attention. I would appreciate it if you would look this over and see if you have any more information that I might not be aware of. I would like to make sure that we have the correct data before NFS switches entirely to Family Tree.
This is taken from C.E. Benjamin’s book; “The Descendants of Solomon Gee of Lyme Connecticut”.
40. ZOPHER GEE, (William, Solomon), b. 28 AUG 1763 Lyme, New London Co.,
Conn. d ..14 AUG 1829 New Lyme, Ashtabula Co., Ohio married 13 NOV 1788 Lyme, Conn. Esther Beckwith b. 6 JUN 1770 Lyme, New London Co., Conn. d. 31 AUG 1794 Lyme, Conn. bur. Old Stone Church Cemetery, Lyme, Conn. daughter of Zenas Beckwith and Anna Harris.
Only three children are listed for this marriage.
Esther Beckwith Person identifier: LZ2H-WP7
38 contributors to her record
52 combined records.
NFS Lists a son Salomon Gee Person identifier: M5V7-8KM
2 combined Records both by Contact name: Alice Colby Volkert
This additional child was not present a couple of months ago when I looked at the record.
Date of birth is listed as 31 August 1794, the day that Esther Beckwith died. There is no death date noted for this person in the record.

All the ordinance work for this individual has been performed except the endowment which is reserved by Contact name: ChristensenGeraldineHope1 E-mail address:geri.christensen@gmail.com
Esther Gee, the third child of Zopher and Esther was born 6 of July 1794 in Lyme, New London Connecticut.

It seems strange to have twin children born so far apart with no family record of the occurrence.
In the notes on Salomon we find the following: Contributor: Alice Colby Volkert
Contributor: FamilySearch
Sources are ContributorFamilySearch Source Source type: Other, Repository name: The Temples of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Repository city: Salt Lake City, Repository state: UT, Repository country: USA, Repository postal code: 84150, Event date: 20 Mar 2007, LDS temple record number: 725155093, Contributor: TEMPLE, Contributor of repository: DATA_ADMIN Source Source type: Other, Repository name: The Temples of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Repository city: Salt Lake City, Repository state: UT, Repository country: USA, Repository postal code: 84150, Event date: 20 Mar 2007, LDS temple record number: 725155097, Contributor: TEMPLE, Contributor of repository: DATA_ADMIN Source Source type: Other, Repository name: The Temples of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Repository city: Salt Lake City, Repository state: UT, Repository country: USA, Repository postal code: 84150, Event date: 20 Mar 2007, LDS temple record number: 725155092, Contributor: TEMPLE, Contributor of repository: DATA_ADMIN Source Source type: Other, Repository name: The Temples of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Repository city: Salt Lake City, Repository state: UT, Repository country: USA, Repository postal code: 84150, Event date: 20 Mar 2007, LDS temple record number: 725155095, Contributor: TEMPLE, Contributor of repository: DATA_ADMIN [ These records come from the proxy ordinances performed as listed below]
Kevin Merrill Contact name: Kevin L Merrill E-mail address:merrill30@gmail.com
Contributed to the record
The ordinances listed in NFS are:
Baptism 26 Feb. 1999 Los Angeles
Confirmation 10 June 2000 Detroit
Initiatory 14 September 200 Detroit
Endowment Reserved
Sealed to Parents 24 July 2003 Detroit

Possible Duplicates
Salmon Gee spouse Sarah Watson Crane MMQ4-BCQ
(This is the older sibling of the individual in question.)
Salmon Gee spouse Deborah Reed. KWJP-41C
(This is the same older sibling of the individual in question. Lysander Gee sealed Deborah Reed to his father Salmon in the Logan Temple 6 September 1888, ninety-eight years after her birth. Deobrah Reed was Lysander’s wife’s (Theresa Bowley) aunt. This was never a marriage in their lifetime.
I do not believe the individual Salomon Gee Person identifier: M5V7-8KM ever existed as a son of Zopher Gee and Esther Beckwith. There is no documentary evidence of this event.
Esther only had three children and not four. In comparing the dates of birth of Salomon to his supposed sister Esther, New Family Search records indicate that Esther was born 6 July 1794 and Salomon was born 31 July 1794, the day that Esther Gee died.
Where did the record come from? I think that perhaps someone combined a possible duplicate that was floating around in the NFS database, perhaps from extraction. It certainly did not come from someone familiar with the Gee family genealogy.
I would appreciate any enlightenment that you might be privy to.
Sincerely,

Laurence Gee, M.D.
On looking at the record in Family Tree Alice Colby Volkert removed the relationship of this individual to Zopher and Esther as parents on 21 July, 2012.

I would appreciate it if you would consider this information and then decide whether it would be better for DATA ADMINISTRATION to deal with this problem.

Sincerely,

Laurence Gee

Dear Ivin Laurence Gee,
RE: Salomon Gee

Thank you for contacting FamilySearch Data Administration. We have edited the record for Salomon Gee and he no longer appears with these incorrect parents. Thank you for bringing this concern to our attention.

Sincerely,

FamilySearch Data Administration

Thursday, May 31, 2012

Family Search Watch

Each week I get an e-mail from Family Search on any activity on the records that I have put a watch on. I have placed a watch on some of the records that I have been working on. In the past I have found that very helpful, because some patrons combine records that should not be combined or enter changes that may or may not be correct. I do not know why I feel I need to be the guardian of the records, but I guess that I have a desire that everything should be correct even if I am wrong.

This week I got another e-mail. Usually it is 4 or 5 changes, but this week there were 53 changes. The majority were changes by Family Search with minor changes such as correcting names and spellings and places of birth or death. It was somewhat time consuming to go through all 53 records, but it was worth it because I found the following records that need attention. I even found two individuals who need ordinance work. I made a list, so that if my computer crashes I will have the information on a website, or as the present terminology would have it, on the Cloud.( A fancy term for web based backup.)

NFS Cleanup needed.

Abigail Hill Person identifier: LHLM-PJB her many husbands

Sophia Mack Person identifier: LHZX-ZLY where does this information come from?

Ebenezar Mack Person identifier: LZV8-YBJ multiple spouses and duplicate parents.

John Dodds Telford Person identifier: KWJX-YCR two sets of parents. The one set is incorrect.

Sarah Maria Sayles Person identifier: KWJP-HQJ 7 sets of parents 3 extra spouses.

Find Grave marker for Graham Coltrin Person identifier: KWJP-HCC supposedly buried in the Centerville Cemetery. His name was on On Find a Grave, but no photo of the headstone. Needs research

William Jasper Kerr Person identifier: KWJP-CSM has three wives, one unknown with a child John Campbell Kerr. Needs research.

Solomon Gee Jr. Person identifier: LZPP-GVP has two spouses. Look and see if the spouses need to be combined.

August Bernard LCRZ-8TW and wife Gertrude LCRZ-DSD need temple ordinances done and daughter Alice LCRJ-THR needs to be sealed, but she only died recently.

Sara Gee (Sarah) Person identifier: 2736-R71 has two sets of parents. Solomon Gee and both his wives. This needs to be corrected.

Susannah Moody Person identifier: LHZ8-FJ5 has two sets of parents. This needs research and correction.

Betty Catherine Bruce Person identifier: 2MGH-H5K needs a definite date of death and place of death. I will have to look in my database.

William Gee Person identifier: LZJG-NS1 has an extra spouse that doesn’t belong. I have written the person that placed that record, but he has so far not taken action.

Elam Luddington Person identifier: K24C-FH6 has three sets of parents. This needs research.

Edward Gee Person identifier: LC1Y-J1N has two children that need ordinances.

Martha Bingham Person identifier: LZD7-W9P needs to be combined with Mrs Solomon Gee Jr. MQRC-26F Her birth date is listed as 1694.

Deborah Gee Person identifier: KNSS-KG3 has one record with gender unknown.

This will take some time to do. As I complete each item on the list, it will appear in my next watch e-mail entitled “Weekly FamilySearch changes for things you are watching” with me as the contributor.

Thursday, April 19, 2012

A return to the busy day at the office.

On my blog of April 15, I detailed the marriage of Salmon Gee to his mother in law. I e-mailed Support and today I received a reply;

Dear Ivin Laurence Gee,

RE: Solomon Gee PID # LZL9-B9S

Thank you for contacting FamilySearch Data Administration. Solomon Gee no longer shows with Deborah De WOLF as an incorrect spouse on new FamilySearch. Thank you for bringing this concern to our attention.

Sincerely,

FamilySearch Data Administration

----------------------
(CaseID:2562541)

An hour later I got another reply:

Dear Laurence Gee:

We looked at the record for Solomon Gee (MS5M-QHY) and we do not see Deborah De Wolf as a spouse to him. The record for Deborah DeWolf (KN65-2K4) does not list Solomon Gee as a spouse. It appears this issue has been resolved. If this is not the case, please let us know. Thank you.

Sincerely,

FamilySearch Data Administration

----------------------
(CaseID:2565570)

I still had an issue to resolve so I replied:

Now all we have to do is get the Deborah Huntley Gee marriage to two Ebenezer Macks Person identifier: LZDX-SX5 and Person identifier: LZZ1-HRM spouses cleared up, Ebenezer Mack was married to Hannah Huntley Person identifier: KN65-VT7. Actually on his record he is married to two Hannah Huntleys, but I am not going there, because I am working on the Gee line. When we get this taken care of, I will work on her non-marriage to Robert Huntley, but that is a matter for another session.

Thanks you for straightening this out. I am attaching the file, which explains the non-marriage of Deborah Huntley Gee to Ebenezer Mack.

The link to this file is:

https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B3pRqBw_zruORVFJV1E2UkJBZ2s/edit?pli=1

I was going to make a separate blog entry for this, but it fits in nicely here.

The following day, April 16^th I posted about Mary Gee in the merry mix-up. We might quote Shakespeare here, “All’s well that ends well.”

2559793
4/13/12 7:15 AM
Closed

Wrong daughter
Mary Gee Person identifier: L7F3-MHL is erroneously listed as a daughter of Augustus Gee Person identifier: KWJP-416 who was married to his wife Annie (Johanna Wilhelmina) Dahlquist (1857-1933) Person identifier: KWJN-56C on 28 December 1877 Salt Lake City, Salt Lake, Utah.
Their first child Ida Louise Gee Person identifier: KWZW-BT9 was born 10 Nov 1878 in Batesville, Tooele, Utah.
Someone has added a child Mary Gee to this family. Person identifier: L7F3-MHL. Date of birth 31 may 1857.
Obviously this is an error as her father was born in 1854. This Mary E. Gee born in 1857. She is Augustus Gee’s sister who married Rudolph Thorp Luker.
I have e-mailed the contributor LucardieCharlane1 who has reserved the endowment ordinance for Mary E. Gee. Mary Person identifier: KWJP-41Z has already had these ordinances performed.
I have had no response to this e-mail.

Could you please rectify this error.
Sincerely,
Laurence Gee

Dear Ivan Laurence Gee

RE: Mary Gee PID # L7F3-MHL

Thank you for contacting FamilySearch. We were able to unlink Mary Gee from Agustus Gee and Anne (Johanna Wilhelmina Dahlquist as her mother. She now shows in nFS as having no parents or family. We wish you success in this sacred work.

Sincerely,

FamilySearch Data Administration
----------------------
(CaseID:2559794)

Subject: Re: Wrong daughter

I combined the two records so that someone coming along would not try and
seal her to the wrong husband or duplicate any work. She now appears as record 25 in
the 27 combined records of Mary E. Gee Person identifier: KWJP-41Z.

Now a return to the Ruth Gee question. (See Friday the 13^th posting)

I received the following reply to my case:

Dear Laurence Gee,

RE: Ruth Gee PID # LZV8-PMF

Thank you for contacting FamilySearch.. Could you please spell out what it is that you would like to do with the record for Ruth Gee. It is difficult to discern exactly what it is that you would like for us to do.
We wish you success.

Sincerely,

FamilySearch Data Administration
----------------------
(CaseID:2559240)

Obviously I was not specific in my posting this case information.

I wrote the following response:

Subject: Re: Wrong Ruth

Ruth Gee is not the daughter of Zopher Gee and his wife Esther Beckwith.
Please see the attached documentation in PDF format. Please remove her
from this family and place her with the proper family, She is the daughter
of Andrew Gee.

Andrew Gee Person identifier: 9N62-FBN is listed in NFS with Abigail Lane
his wife. Contributors to the record are Family Search. There are no
children or parents listed, so I assume that these names were found through
extraction.
I hope that this is proof enough that Ruth Gee was not the daughter of
Zopher and Esther and that we can remove her from this NFS family and put
it in the right place (daughter of Andrew Gee.

Please look at the attachment for documentation. I also have a 129 page
document of the descendants of John Gee which further documents that Ruth
Gee is the daughter of Andrew Gee and the wife of Morgan Owen which I can
e-mail to you as well.

Thanks,

Please let me know if you need further help from me.

Sincerely,

Dear Ivin Laurence Gee,

RE: Ruth Gee PID # LZV8-PMF

Thank you for contacting FamilySearch. We were able to unlink Ruth Gee from Zopher Gee and Esther Beckwith as her parents. She now shows in nFS as having no parents and is alone. You may add the correct parents for her. We wish you success in this sacred work.

Sincerely,

FamilySearch Data Administration

----------------------
(CaseID:2559240)

I did not respond to this e-mail, but went straight to Ruth Gee’s record. I found her and put her in Andrew and Abigail Gee’s family (They are what I refer to as the New York Gees), as they had not a child listed. Then I connected her to her rightful husband Morgan Owen and found two of their children and attached them. I will leave this to someone else to finish unless I don’t find anything else challenging.

Now we await Support’s response to the non-marriage of Deborah Huntley and Ebenezer Mack. That may take a while for them to sort out.

Index of Labels

Saturday, September 21, 2013

Working on Family Tree