Monthly Archives: November 2023

Ocean Liner Menu Cards

American History, , ,
Lusitania Menu Card, 1909. From author’s personal collection.

When researching an ancestor who immigrated aboard an ocean liner, you may have asked questions about their life and experience—but did you ever wonder what they ate?

During the massive influx of immigrants to the United States in the 19th and early 20th centuries, the food offered onboard liners was much higher quality than what you may be imagining. A large number of ocean liner companies competed for passengers at the time, boasting speed and luxurious accommodations in order to lure passengers. This competition consistently raised the standards of ocean travel for all classes of passengers, even those in third class, who comprised the majority of transatlantic travelers at the time.

I became interested in this subject because of a trip to an antique store. I spotted an ocean liner menu card that seemed original—not a very common find! The proprietor of the store told me that this menu card came from a collection of antiques saved by her father. As it turns out, it was an authentic menu card from the Lusitania, dated June 2nd, 1909, just six years before she was torpedoed by a German U-boat. This was during her 26th voyage and 51st crossing of the Atlantic, from Liverpool to New York.1 However, this card did not specify the class from which it came, which sent me down a rabbit hole of research into the gastronomy of ocean liners as I tried to figure it out. I was able to determine that this menu card came from second class by comparing it to known first and third class menus from the Lusitania and other luxury liners of the time period. Continue reading Ocean Liner Menu Cards →

Genetic Distance Zero

Research Methods, ,
12th generation mt DNA descendants of Juliana Carpenter. Left: Avis (Miller) Shurtleff. Right: Joyce (Houghton) Pratt.

For many years, my family’s brick wall stood firm at the unknown parentage of Betsey Doty, who married Ebenezer Besse in Plymouth on 26 September 1776. They soon removed to Maine, where the births of their children went unrecorded. An unknown Doty in Plymouth cried out for a genetic solution.

The mt DNA line of my mother’s first cousin Avis Miller Shurtleff has been filled with surprises. 1 Avis is Betsey’s matrilineal descendant, so I hoped her genetic information might crack the case—and it did! Two exact mt DNAs hits, with genetic distances of zero, matched Avis with two other people who had well-documented ancestries from Plymouth, Massachusetts. Combined traditional research and genetic evidence unlocked Betsey’s mt DNA line. Our common ancestor was Juliana Carpenter, who married George Morton in Leiden on 23 July 1612. I published an article in The Maine Genealogist summarizing the evidence and explaining why we missed connecting Betsey Doty to her parents, Stephen and Hannah (Bartlett) Doty.2 Continue reading Genetic Distance Zero →

The Boston Tea Party: An Ancestor’s Perspective

American History, ,

The title page of Benjamin Prescott's "Free and Calm Consideration"This year marks the 250th anniversary of the Boston Tea Party, which occurred on December 16, 1773. 92,000 pounds of tea from the British East India Company was destroyed by members of the Sons of Liberty to protest the Tea Act of May 10, 1773. The tax on tea (as well as glass, lead, paint, and paper) had already existed since the passing of the 1767 Townshend Revenue Act, but this new Act gave the British East India Company a monopoly on tea sales in the American colonies. Many Americans were upset by these policies and the taxes imposed by Britain without their representation in Parliament, resulting in the Revolutionary phrase “no taxation without representation.”

There is a new lineage society for descendants of participants in the Boston Tea Party, their families, and those involved in the making of colonial rebellion in Boston, created by American Ancestors in partnership with the Boston Tea Party Ships & Museum. Although I knew I had no ancestors living in Boston at the time of the Tea Party, I began searching for ancestors living near Boston at the time who might meet one of the eligibility requirements.

I was able to access an obituary of one of my ancestors using the Early American Newspapers database from Readex, which is available to search for American Ancestors members. From this, I began to learn much more of his involvement and contributions during the beginnings of the American Revolution. Continue reading The Boston Tea Party: An Ancestor’s Perspective →

Looking More Closely at DNA Shared Matches

Technology,

DNA strands on a blue backgroundWe can use DNA as another source in our genealogical research toolbox to help discover family connections and break down brick walls. DNA evidence and traditional documentation, like vitals and census records, should be used to help prove relationships between two people. Many DNA tools exist on different platforms that can help us find significant matches which can reveal common ancestors between two people.

When I began to utilize DNA in my family research, I was mystified by the idea of “triangulating” DNA matches. I discovered that it was simply another strategy for visualizing a few matches that all share a common ancestor. Continue reading Looking More Closely at DNA Shared Matches →