Hope everyone had a wonderful weekend!
I got an e-mail last week about a new website and project called RestingSpot.com. I haven't gotten a chance to use it yet but I've taken a look at the website and this project, while extremely ambitious, could prove extremely useful to any family historian who has ever spent hours or days or weeks trying to find what cemetery an ancestor is buried in, only to get to the cemetery and not be able to find the grave. This website seems to take FindAGrave.com one step further, in that they hope to not only make available not only what cemetery a person is buried in but, using cellphones and GPS coordinates, identifying and recording the exact spot in the cemetery where the grave can be found. So, check it out, see if it's helpful, if it works, if you want to volunteer to help, if it's worth recommending and passing along. It seems to still be somewhat in it's infancy, but I think it's a great idea. You can find them at http://www.restingspot.com/, or follow them on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/pages/RestingSpot/217684168263834) or on Twitter ( http://twitter.com/restingspot).
Monday, August 22, 2011
Wednesday, August 17, 2011
Wordless Wednesday - John Ricklefs mugshots
I think this was my favorite part of the package I got from the NY State Archives... :)
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| John Ricklefs' mugshots from Elmira Reformatory in upstate New York, circa 1907-1908. |
Tuesday, August 16, 2011
Filling in the blanks - the New Jersey State Archives and (true name) John Ricklefs
I've worked with the New Jersey State Archives before, when tracking down vital records on my Reinhardt relatives, and I've always been very pleased by how quickly they respond, how helpful they are, and how many of the records I need they actually have.Well, it turns out inquiring about criminal records is no exception.
I wrote an email yesterday to the NJ State Archives asking what records they might have on John Ricklefs and how I might go about getting them - the first time I wrote to the New York State Archives, I didn't include any of the information I was actually looking for, which might have saved me a day and an email, so now I just give them as much information as I have, straightaway - the more specific you can be about who and what you're looking for, the less work they have to do and the more quickly they can get back to you. This goes for any record you might be looking for, from any agency or institution.
So, I wrote yesterday telling them John Ricklefs, sometimes spelled Rickless, served time at the state prison in Trenton - I knew what date he had been arrested and what date he had been incarcerated, and I had an idea of the year he escaped. I had also done some research on their website ahead of time (which never hurts to do - really, the more research you can do yourself and the less you have to rely on others, the better - although don't rely on yourself so much that you don't ask for help when you need it!) and thought it was possible, judging on the dates, that they might have an inmate register for him.
I heard back from them this afternoon and it turns out, they do. They will mail it to me as soon as I send them a check for the copying fees but they were nice enough to give me a bit of information contained in the file - John was received at the prison Nov. 23, 1916 and escaped on June 22, 1919 (which I did not have an exact date for previously); he spent two years at Blackwell's Island (which I think might have been his time in the House of Refuge but which I will have to look into), he spent 6 1/2 years at Sing Sing as Harry Young, and he was returned to the prison from Connecticut on April 16, 1940, which is just everything coming full circle - he escaped from jail in New Jersey in June of 1919, he was jailed in Connecticut three months later, he escaped from THAT prison in December 1919, he ended up in prison in Massachusetts about two years later, and after serving that term, was returned to Connecticut in 1936 for his jailbreak there, and after serving that term, was returned to NJ in 1940 for his jailbreak there.
I have no words. The more I learn about these brothers, the more fascinated I become, and the more my heart breaks. But for now, I have a check to write and mail, and I'll let you know what I find out!
I wrote an email yesterday to the NJ State Archives asking what records they might have on John Ricklefs and how I might go about getting them - the first time I wrote to the New York State Archives, I didn't include any of the information I was actually looking for, which might have saved me a day and an email, so now I just give them as much information as I have, straightaway - the more specific you can be about who and what you're looking for, the less work they have to do and the more quickly they can get back to you. This goes for any record you might be looking for, from any agency or institution.
So, I wrote yesterday telling them John Ricklefs, sometimes spelled Rickless, served time at the state prison in Trenton - I knew what date he had been arrested and what date he had been incarcerated, and I had an idea of the year he escaped. I had also done some research on their website ahead of time (which never hurts to do - really, the more research you can do yourself and the less you have to rely on others, the better - although don't rely on yourself so much that you don't ask for help when you need it!) and thought it was possible, judging on the dates, that they might have an inmate register for him.
I heard back from them this afternoon and it turns out, they do. They will mail it to me as soon as I send them a check for the copying fees but they were nice enough to give me a bit of information contained in the file - John was received at the prison Nov. 23, 1916 and escaped on June 22, 1919 (which I did not have an exact date for previously); he spent two years at Blackwell's Island (which I think might have been his time in the House of Refuge but which I will have to look into), he spent 6 1/2 years at Sing Sing as Harry Young, and he was returned to the prison from Connecticut on April 16, 1940, which is just everything coming full circle - he escaped from jail in New Jersey in June of 1919, he was jailed in Connecticut three months later, he escaped from THAT prison in December 1919, he ended up in prison in Massachusetts about two years later, and after serving that term, was returned to Connecticut in 1936 for his jailbreak there, and after serving that term, was returned to NJ in 1940 for his jailbreak there.
I have no words. The more I learn about these brothers, the more fascinated I become, and the more my heart breaks. But for now, I have a check to write and mail, and I'll let you know what I find out!
Monday, August 15, 2011
Going down one path will always lead to another...
So I've been very happy with the New York State Archives in my research on the Ricklefs brothers, although this last time I associated with them there was such a long lull between my request for information and them getting back to me that I thought my email got lost! But even though this isn't really genealogy work per se, I feel like the research skills I'm using - whether it's thinking of any and all possible agency or institution to contact who might have the info I'm looking for, or not being afraid to ask questions or ask for help, or reading the documents I receive as closely as possible to catch any tiny clue that I might be able to use on the next leg of my research journey - are all skills we should all be using in our genealogy research, and this is good practice for me and a chance to hone them!
Anyway, I got a ton more information on John Ricklefs' early criminal career, just fascinating stuff, but also info and clues to help point me in another direction for finding out even more info to fill in the blanks and round out the picture. I knew, in addition to spending time in the New York House of Refuge, Elmira Reformatory, and Sing Sing, he had also spent time in Clinton Correctional Facility in upstate Dannemora; in New Jersey State Prison, from which he escaped; a Connecticut prison, from which he escaped; and prison in Massachusetts. These new documents the NY State Archives sent me included various case histories on John, which told me WHY he was sent to prison in NJ and CT (burglary, of course), the dates of his arrests and incarcerations; the prison names; his prisoner number; all useful information I can now use to take this path onto the next one. Now that the New York State Archives have been so helpful and proven so fruitful, it's time to see where these other states keep their historical prison records, and find out how I can get my hands on them.
It's all about connecting the dots...the journey doesn't end. When one path ends, another usually begins. Don't be afraid to take it!
Anyway, I got a ton more information on John Ricklefs' early criminal career, just fascinating stuff, but also info and clues to help point me in another direction for finding out even more info to fill in the blanks and round out the picture. I knew, in addition to spending time in the New York House of Refuge, Elmira Reformatory, and Sing Sing, he had also spent time in Clinton Correctional Facility in upstate Dannemora; in New Jersey State Prison, from which he escaped; a Connecticut prison, from which he escaped; and prison in Massachusetts. These new documents the NY State Archives sent me included various case histories on John, which told me WHY he was sent to prison in NJ and CT (burglary, of course), the dates of his arrests and incarcerations; the prison names; his prisoner number; all useful information I can now use to take this path onto the next one. Now that the New York State Archives have been so helpful and proven so fruitful, it's time to see where these other states keep their historical prison records, and find out how I can get my hands on them.
It's all about connecting the dots...the journey doesn't end. When one path ends, another usually begins. Don't be afraid to take it!
Wednesday, August 10, 2011
In the midst of a busy summer, although not genealogy-wise...
Hopefully y'all have been too busy with your summer vacations to notice that I've been too busy with my summer vacation to write! There hasn't been a lot going on on the genealogy front for me lately and on top of that, I was away in Mexico for a wedding and there have been a lot of little day trips and busy weekends and now I have birthday planning to do! I think I'm going to need a vacation from my summer! :)
I really don't have much to add right now either but wanted to drop everyone a line just to say hi and to hope your genealogy research has been more productive lately than mine! I have much more to look at regarding the Ricklefs-Tiedemann Germany lines, which hopefully I'll get to once September rolls around. I've also, as I always do, jumped around back to my Raynor line - since reading Russell Shorto's "The Island at the Center of the World," I'm determined to look more closely at both my English and Dutch colonial ancestry to see how they connect to the events Shorto talks about in his book (or, if they don't connect, just finding the contemporaries of those New Amsterdam settlers and seeing what was going on in their lives). I also have an extra day off on Monday coming up and if it rains, I'm contemplating a trip into Manhattan to visit the Municipal Archives. It's been too long since I've been there and I have a couple of records I think I'll have better luck finding if I do my own search instead of relying on archive staff (if it's your tree and your research, you know what spelling variations or name variations to look for much better than an employee or volunteer with no vested interest in your personal tree would). If I get there, I'll let you know how it goes!
I really don't have much to add right now either but wanted to drop everyone a line just to say hi and to hope your genealogy research has been more productive lately than mine! I have much more to look at regarding the Ricklefs-Tiedemann Germany lines, which hopefully I'll get to once September rolls around. I've also, as I always do, jumped around back to my Raynor line - since reading Russell Shorto's "The Island at the Center of the World," I'm determined to look more closely at both my English and Dutch colonial ancestry to see how they connect to the events Shorto talks about in his book (or, if they don't connect, just finding the contemporaries of those New Amsterdam settlers and seeing what was going on in their lives). I also have an extra day off on Monday coming up and if it rains, I'm contemplating a trip into Manhattan to visit the Municipal Archives. It's been too long since I've been there and I have a couple of records I think I'll have better luck finding if I do my own search instead of relying on archive staff (if it's your tree and your research, you know what spelling variations or name variations to look for much better than an employee or volunteer with no vested interest in your personal tree would). If I get there, I'll let you know how it goes!
Wednesday, July 27, 2011
New Netherlands becomes New York - finally finished with "The Island at the Center of the World"!
I just finished Russell Shorto's "The Island at the Center of the World: The Epic Story of Dutch Manhattan and the Forgotten Colony that Shaped America" and maybe it's just hormones, but I started crying as I read the last page. This is my new favorite book. It took me forever to get through it because life kept getting in the way, but the story Shorto tells and the way he tells it made me fall in love all over again with colonial New York history and my colonial New York ancestry. The world and the people in this book just come alive and jump off the pages and make my fingers itch to do for my colonial family tree branches what I've been trying to do for my more recent family history - really delve into the world they were living in. The book is about Dutch New Amsterdam and New Netherland, which ties into some of my ancestry, but it gives an interesting perspective of my English Long Island heritage, what those people looked like from the other side. If anyone has any kind of early colonial New York ancestry, Dutch or English (or any of the many other nationalities who settled in New Amsterdam), or has any kind of interest in early New York or even early American history, read this book!!
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