Online Genealogy Databases

As I have mentioned before, I am not the biggest fan of online genealogy databases. Many online databases can be viewed by amateur researchers as “fact” and may never have a researcher check the source or reference the data for themselves. While I have never been supportive of the idea of posting a full genealogy database to the internet, there are a few databases that I tend to use when I am stuck and need a little insight. The first two of these are specific to Charlotte County:

Arnie Krause's Forest of Trees

David James' St. Croix Valley Roots

Roger Hétu's Acadie de la Nouvelle-Écosse

Again, these databases are not error free but folks like Arnie Krause and David James are doing their best to maintain a pretty good database. As with all data obtain from websites, always research the source and double check information. Update: I have learned that Roger Hétu may have suffered a stroke recently. Best wishes/get well soon to Roger.

On The Book Shelf...

I finally got my hands on a copy of “The Family of Zadock Hawkins”. The large, hard-covered book (over 700 pages) was published in 2005 as a collaborative effort by three of the books authors: Lynn Garn, of Virginia, Ronnie Hawkins Sr., of Michigan, and G. Christian Larsen of Pennfield. This book details eleven generations of descendants of Zadock Hawkins and his wife Lydia Wilmot. In additional, information is offered on the ancestors of Zadock and his wife, as well as details on the places that the Hawkins families settled. The three author pull together years of research into a single, comprehensive source. This book is the most recent purchase in a series of local family genealogy books. Priced at $50 plus shipping, the book is certainly worth its weight in valuable data! If you would like to order a copy, please visit Online Order Form or send an email to Chris Larsen. By the way, Chris has been the coordinator of RootsWeb’s Parish of Pennfield (Charlotte County, NB) website for the past decade.

On The Book Shelf...

I love finding genealogical treasures! While picking through books at a used book store in Saint John, I discovered a wonderful little book entitled “The Descendants of Charles Dyer Wilcox on Grand Manan Island - New Brunswick Canada”. The small 52-page book was written by the late Mr. Elmer N. Wilcox in 1980 and not only offers great genealogical data on the Wilcox, Card and Dyer families but also several photos of the Wilcox family that I am sure any Wilcox researcher would love. Plus the book offers additional insight on early community of Grand Manan Island. Back in the last century, many folks would privately publish books such as these and today these rare little gems can offer some unique data that we may not find in the archives or library. Books such as these usually use reference material such as family bibles and good old oral discussion with people long departed. It is a great find and will certain be a wonderful source data for those Grand Manan queries that I tend to stumble upon.

"The Descendants of Charles Dyer Wilcox on Grand Manan Island"

Elmer Wilcox, 1980