We interrupt this story to bring you a brief announcement:
I am pleased to announce the opening of my new family history website: Kim's Kin.
Kim's Kin is another of my attempts to reach out to the family history community via the web. It contains information regarding my ancestors and the research I have done on them.
At this point, Kim's Kin solely focuses on the Riste family, but I hope to eventually expand it to include other ancestors as well.
Feel free to check out Kim's Kin and share your feedback with me!
(And stay tuned for the rest of the Martha Ann Riste story coming soon!)
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
Saturday, March 13, 2010
Martha Ann Riste: The Rest of the Story
In my last post, I mentioned that I began searching for Martha Ann Riste after hearing a fantastic story about her determination to join the leaders of the church and head west.
This story inspired me. I was fascinated with the idea of a courageous orphan who forsook everything for the gospel. So, when I had my first British Family History class, I began researching her family.
My first stop was the Ancestral File, to see what information had been submitted about Martha Ann Riste. I found that she was born in Derby, Derbyshire, England, on 23 September 1839.
With a birthdate and place, I set off to find Martha in England. Since I knew she had joined the LDS church in England, I began by searching for LDS Church Records in the Family History Library Catalog (FHLC). The FHLC had one listing for membership records of the Derby branch of the church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
What was in the LDS membership records? Watch for my next post . . . and find out!
This story inspired me. I was fascinated with the idea of a courageous orphan who forsook everything for the gospel. So, when I had my first British Family History class, I began researching her family.
My first stop was the Ancestral File, to see what information had been submitted about Martha Ann Riste. I found that she was born in Derby, Derbyshire, England, on 23 September 1839.
With a birthdate and place, I set off to find Martha in England. Since I knew she had joined the LDS church in England, I began by searching for LDS Church Records in the Family History Library Catalog (FHLC). The FHLC had one listing for membership records of the Derby branch of the church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
What was in the LDS membership records? Watch for my next post . . . and find out!
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
Martha Ann Riste
A young orphaned English girl. A wealthy older woman who took her in. A beautiful singing voice-- one that would send the girl to sing for the queen.
The fairy-tale elements of this story captured my attention and drew me to Martha Ann Riste. In fact, the oral storytelling spoke to me more strongly than a written story would have. Which is why I'm going to let you hear the story now.
This story inspired me! I wanted to be like Martha Ann Riste and I wanted to learn about her, too.
Little did I know I was in for a big surprise . . .
and so are you if you check my next post to find out what really happened to Martha Ann Riste!
The fairy-tale elements of this story captured my attention and drew me to Martha Ann Riste. In fact, the oral storytelling spoke to me more strongly than a written story would have. Which is why I'm going to let you hear the story now.
This story inspired me! I wanted to be like Martha Ann Riste and I wanted to learn about her, too.
Little did I know I was in for a big surprise . . .
and so are you if you check my next post to find out what really happened to Martha Ann Riste!
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
Archive.org
One of the perks of working at the BYU Library is that I have the chance to learn about all sorts of interesting places to search for information, both in print and on the web. One cool discovery I have made recently is www.archive.org.
Archive.org is a free website that is available to anyone who has internet access. Archive.org publishes copies of books, photographs, and other works that have no copyright, or whose copyright has expired. It's a pretty neat site. It has tons of information available for free. That includes the actual images of the books they put online. It's easy, quick, and great!
I searched archive.org for East Leake and I actually found A History of East Leake by Sidney Pell Potter. It was published in 1903, which is useful because the Ristes left Nottingham around 1836. Therefore, Potter was writing the history at a time when he was much closer to the events he described than more recent historians. The downside to Potter's book is that he was a parish priest, and his work does not mention nonconformist churches at all (except for one text by the Church of England against Anabaptists). This is unfortunate because the Ristes were Baptists. In spite of Potter's obvious bias, I still think A History of East Leake has a lot of useful information about the village. It even includes photos and maps of the parish!
I'm looking forward to seeing what other gems are waiting for me on the Internet Archive!
Archive.org is a free website that is available to anyone who has internet access. Archive.org publishes copies of books, photographs, and other works that have no copyright, or whose copyright has expired. It's a pretty neat site. It has tons of information available for free. That includes the actual images of the books they put online. It's easy, quick, and great!
I searched archive.org for East Leake and I actually found A History of East Leake by Sidney Pell Potter. It was published in 1903, which is useful because the Ristes left Nottingham around 1836. Therefore, Potter was writing the history at a time when he was much closer to the events he described than more recent historians. The downside to Potter's book is that he was a parish priest, and his work does not mention nonconformist churches at all (except for one text by the Church of England against Anabaptists). This is unfortunate because the Ristes were Baptists. In spite of Potter's obvious bias, I still think A History of East Leake has a lot of useful information about the village. It even includes photos and maps of the parish!
I'm looking forward to seeing what other gems are waiting for me on the Internet Archive!
Saturday, February 6, 2010
FamilySearch Maps
I just found out about a cool new website for English research.
It's www.maps.familysearch.org
If you go into the website, you can click on any county and find out all sorts of information for that county. This includes:
1. List all parishes in the county. List all surrounding counties
2. Search the Family History Library Catalog
3. Search the FamilySearch wiki
If you choose a particular parish to look at, you can find:
1. Ecclesiastical parish boundaries
2. Civil parish boundaries
3. Chapelries near by
4. Date that parish registers begin for that parish
5. Names of adjacent parishes
6. Map showing all parishes within a five-mile radius
7. Poor law union the parish belonged to
8. Diocese
9. Hundred (another civil/court division)
10. Probate Court
11. Rural Deanery
12. Type of parish
This site is a gold mine! I searched for East Leake, Nottinghamshire, where the Ristes lived, and discovered that although East Leake is in the ecclesiastical parish of Nottinghamshire, it is in the civil parish of Loughborough. This may explain why I didn't find Levinah's birth record, or any probate records for the Ristes in Nottinghamshire. I still didn't find Levinah's birth in Loughborough on www.FreeBMD.org, but at least I have some new leads to follow!
If you are doing any English research, be sure to check out maps.familysearch.org. It's amazing!!!
It's www.maps.familysearch.org
If you go into the website, you can click on any county and find out all sorts of information for that county. This includes:
1. List all parishes in the county. List all surrounding counties
2. Search the Family History Library Catalog
3. Search the FamilySearch wiki
If you choose a particular parish to look at, you can find:
1. Ecclesiastical parish boundaries
2. Civil parish boundaries
3. Chapelries near by
4. Date that parish registers begin for that parish
5. Names of adjacent parishes
6. Map showing all parishes within a five-mile radius
7. Poor law union the parish belonged to
8. Diocese
9. Hundred (another civil/court division)
10. Probate Court
11. Rural Deanery
12. Type of parish
This site is a gold mine! I searched for East Leake, Nottinghamshire, where the Ristes lived, and discovered that although East Leake is in the ecclesiastical parish of Nottinghamshire, it is in the civil parish of Loughborough. This may explain why I didn't find Levinah's birth record, or any probate records for the Ristes in Nottinghamshire. I still didn't find Levinah's birth in Loughborough on www.FreeBMD.org, but at least I have some new leads to follow!
If you are doing any English research, be sure to check out maps.familysearch.org. It's amazing!!!
Friday, January 29, 2010
Publishing Issues
Thanks to everyone for your supportive comments about sourcing. I now have some good ideas that I am planning to try out. And, since you were so helpful last time, I have a new question for you.
Recently I discovered that this blog is not coming up on a Google search. When I created the blog, I set it to be available through search engines and blogger lists. However, I have tried various keyword searches on Google, and nothing is coming up. Conversely, my private blog is set to not be searchable through search engines and blogger lists, but it came right up when I searched the blog title on Google. That's a little scary. I spent a long time trying to figure out how to make this blog come up on Google, but to no avail.
Has anyone else had a similar problem? Were you able to fix it?
I know I could make my personal blog private, but I like having it open so that friends browsing my facebook site can see my personal blog without having to be invited. So, if any of you have any thoughts, I would be interested to hear them.
By the way, I apologize that my most recent posts have been technical, rather than informative. I'm still trying to work out the bugs on this new blog and I find reader comments to be very useful. Nevertheless, I will be posting an informational post about the Ristes again. Stay tuned!
Recently I discovered that this blog is not coming up on a Google search. When I created the blog, I set it to be available through search engines and blogger lists. However, I have tried various keyword searches on Google, and nothing is coming up. Conversely, my private blog is set to not be searchable through search engines and blogger lists, but it came right up when I searched the blog title on Google. That's a little scary. I spent a long time trying to figure out how to make this blog come up on Google, but to no avail.
Has anyone else had a similar problem? Were you able to fix it?
I know I could make my personal blog private, but I like having it open so that friends browsing my facebook site can see my personal blog without having to be invited. So, if any of you have any thoughts, I would be interested to hear them.
By the way, I apologize that my most recent posts have been technical, rather than informative. I'm still trying to work out the bugs on this new blog and I find reader comments to be very useful. Nevertheless, I will be posting an informational post about the Ristes again. Stay tuned!
Monday, January 25, 2010
Sourcing
Any good genealogist knows that compiled research is only good if it is sourced properly. I have been wrestling with this problem with the Riste Family blog. I am committed to documenting all sources used in my research, but I am not sure what is the best way to include sources on a blog. So far my best idea is to put a number in parenthesis at the end of a sentence. This number would correspond to a number at the end of the post (1). Shorter references may be included at the end of a sentence.
So, I turn my question over to my readers. What suggestions do you have for sourcing materials? How are you sourcing your blogs? Any ideas would be greatly appreciated!
1. This is a sample of the numbering system discussed above.
So, I turn my question over to my readers. What suggestions do you have for sourcing materials? How are you sourcing your blogs? Any ideas would be greatly appreciated!
1. This is a sample of the numbering system discussed above.
Friday, January 15, 2010
James Riste and Mary Richards Life Sketch
James Riste, son of Thomas Riste and Mary Pass, was born on 27 April 1800 in East Leake, Nottinghamshire, England. According to the 1851 census, James worked as a bricklayer. He married Mary Richards on 5 February 1822 in Sutton Bonnington, Nottinghamshire, England.
James and Mary had five children:
James Riste-- born 14 Sep 1823 in East Leake, Nottinghamshire, England
Mirah Riste-- born 2 October 1827 in East Leake, Nottinghamshire, England
Hiram Riste-- born 4 February 1832 in East Leake, Nottinghamshire, England
Levinah Riste-- born 11 Aug 1835 in East Leake, Nottinghamshire, England
Martha Ann Riste-- born 23 Sep 1839 in St. Alkmunds, Derbyshire, England
James and Mary Riste and their family lived in East Leake, Nottinghamshire until sometime between 1836 and 1839. By the time their youngest daughter, Martha Ann, was born, they had moved west to St. Alkmunds, Derbyshire. It was there in Derbyshire that the Ristes joined the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
In 1855, Mary and her two youngest daughters, Martha Ann and Levina, traveled to Utah as part of the LDS church migration.
James Riste died 28 December 1882 in Santaquin, Utah, USA. Mary Richards Riste died 11 October 1884 in Santaquin, Utah.
James and Mary had five children:
James Riste-- born 14 Sep 1823 in East Leake, Nottinghamshire, England
Mirah Riste-- born 2 October 1827 in East Leake, Nottinghamshire, England
Hiram Riste-- born 4 February 1832 in East Leake, Nottinghamshire, England
Levinah Riste-- born 11 Aug 1835 in East Leake, Nottinghamshire, England
Martha Ann Riste-- born 23 Sep 1839 in St. Alkmunds, Derbyshire, England
James and Mary Riste and their family lived in East Leake, Nottinghamshire until sometime between 1836 and 1839. By the time their youngest daughter, Martha Ann, was born, they had moved west to St. Alkmunds, Derbyshire. It was there in Derbyshire that the Ristes joined the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
In 1855, Mary and her two youngest daughters, Martha Ann and Levina, traveled to Utah as part of the LDS church migration.
James Riste died 28 December 1882 in Santaquin, Utah, USA. Mary Richards Riste died 11 October 1884 in Santaquin, Utah.
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