17 June 2014 update: I got a message from Mary Sarah Bilder, Professor of Law, Lee Distinguished Scholar, Boston College Law School, letting me know the correct title of this collection should have used the word Colonies, which I originally added in brackets, instead of Plantations. I made this correction in the post title. Professor Bilder included a link to an interesting article on an appeal related to the Phillips-Woodbridge duel in the June 2014 "Object of the Month" posted at the Massachusetts Historical Society: http://www.masshist.org/object-of-the-month. This background adds to what we can learn in the papers filed for the appeal.
Many sources used by historians are also useful to genealogists studying our family history.
Are you looking for the name of the wife of Thomas Parker who was in Virginia by April 1699? Have you considered court records in England? Thomas Starke of London appealed a ruling of the court in Virginia to the British Privy Council. Records of that appeal give us the name of Thomas Parker's wife Francillia who is executrix for Joseph Goodricke.1 If this case is from a burned Virginia county this information could be extremely useful to a descendant of Francillia Parker. We'd also be interested in the relationship between Francillia and Goodricke in case this could lead us to her maiden name.
The Legal History Blog posted about one of these new sources in "An Annotated Digital Catalogue to Appeals to the Privy Council". The post tells us over 800 cases were appealed to the British Privy Council from the colonies and about one-third of those cases came from what is now the U.S.2
Annotations added to the original papers (such as the legal briefs) link to other useful resources. In some cases only the register books have been found; in some cases the register books and the briefs filed for the appeal still exist. Links take you to digital images of the record books. Where the briefs are not available the entries in the record books may not give details of the case, but just state whether the original ruling was upheld or not. Some cases have pages and pages of briefs filed by both sides in the case.
The advice to students on how to use these resources will also be helpful to genealogists; definitions of the papers and processes help us understand the British legal system.
I can't wait to spend more time in this source.
1. Starke v Parker, Appeals to the Privy Council, Acts of the Privy Council, Colonial Series, Virginia, Report No. 13_1699_00; digital index and images, Ames Foundation, Harvard Law (http://amesfoundation.law.harvard.edu/ColonialAppeals/index_new.php?report_no=13_1699_00 : accessed 16 June 2014). Images from the National Archives, London, England, may be used only for purposes of research, private study, or education; reproduction permission was granted for the Harvard website. Copyright laws in England are different than those in the U.S. Be sure you understand the laws applied to this source before using it.
2. Dan Ernst, "An Annotated Digital Catalogue to Appeals to the Privy Council," Legal History Blog, posted 12 June 2014 (http://legalhistoryblog.blogspot.com/: accessed 16 June 2014).
To cite this blog post:
Debbie Parker Wayne, "Digital Catalog for Appeals to the British Privy Council from the American Colonies," Deb's Delvings Blog, posted 16 June 2014, updated 17 June 2014 (http://debsdelvings.blogspot.com/ : accessed [date]).
© 2014, Debbie Parker Wayne, CG, CGL, All Rights Reserved
Showing posts with label Law. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Law. Show all posts
16 June 2014
07 October 2013
DNA: Patents, Permissions, Property, Ethics
There is a brouhaha in the genetic genealogy community this week and coverage in the worldwide media about patent 8,543,339 that was just awarded to 23andMe. The official title of the patent application is “Gamete donor selection based on genetic calculations,” but some are calling it a "designer-baby" application.
My initial reaction to many of the articles was to wonder how this is different than what has been happening with sperm and egg donor selection for many years. I have friends who used a long list of preferences to select a sperm donor. That seemed like a perfectly reasonable thing to do. So I had to read patent 8,543,339 to see if it included something else that I was not getting from the blog posts and news articles.
I do not have legal or medical training and my math education ended at Calculus III back in the early 1990s so reading a patent such as this is a long slog for me. My opinion and understanding is purely that of a layperson who has some understanding of and a strong interest in DNA and how it can be used. In a nutshell, it seems to me the bulk of the patent is describing a standard logical process we see whenever a person chooses a sperm or egg donor (or even a mate):
The same calculation could be performed for multiple traits or conditions. I would then make a decision whether or not I wish to have a child whose other biological parent is this person, just as I would do now based on a donor's profile without DNA analysis (or my attraction to a mate and desire to have offspring). The complicated stuff in the patent comes in with a description of the algorithms used to analyze the DNA for the likelihood of the resulting child having the specific trait or traits. I did not see anything in the patent related to modifying the genes in the egg or sperm to achieve specific traits, just calculating the odds of the trait occurring in a child created with these biological parents.
It seems like this patent is just covering the addition of using DNA data to do something we do now with physical and personal traits, beliefs, and characteristics of a potential donor or mate. This doesn't strike me as "designing a baby" any more than we do now except we add DNA and statistical analysis to the mix. Personally, I may not agree that we should use genetic analysis to select for a baby with a particular eye color. Trying to give a baby the best chance of survival with the least chance of a debilitating disease seems harder to argue with.
While I was mulling this over, Blaine Bettinger, an intellectual property attorney with a PhD in Biochemistry, wrote a blog post titled "A New Patent For 23andMe Creates Controversy."1 I agree with Blaine's conclusion in his article as related to the patent itself. I think everyone should read Blaine's article before coming to a conclusion about this issue.
What this issue brings to my mind is how important it is that we encourage real science education for our children and that we have an informed discussion as to how we will proceed in this brave new world we are facing with all the scientific and technical breakthroughs. I just completed a course on genetics and ethics where the instructors emphasized how much more research is needed for us to understand the impact of genetic modification of any organism—flora or fauna.2
A lot of the controversy this week for genealogists seems to be because our DNA data was used for research we didn't realize it might be used for when we gave consent for it to be used. This makes it even more important that we understand exactly what we are giving permission for when we agree to let a company use our DNA for research or when we upload our DNA data to a server where the information might be publicly shared. Every person will have to decide for herself what she wishes to agree to. But without research, progress in using DNA for any purpose will be stymied.
I have been reading American Property: A History of How, Why, and What We Own by Stuart Banner.3 This book presents, in a very readable way for the non-lawyer, a history of American laws on property and ownership. It includes a chapter on "Owning Life."4 All of the chapters give an insight into how American legal thinking on property of all kinds has changed over the decades. The book covers how technological changes have impacted several legal decisions related to property. Banner doesn't specifically discuss DNA in the context of today's controversy. He does discuss the legal framework and history we should understand as we determine how genetic information and other biological material could or should be used in the future.
We need to have a serious discussion about how we proceed so misunderstandings are reduced as much as possible and we can all make good decisions. These discussions should include genealogists, historians, and those from all walks of life as well as geneticists and medical practitioners. The social scientists, hard scientists, legal representatives, and educated and interested people need to cooperate to find the best way forward for humanity. But I hope everyone who wishes to be part of the process will study our history, the good and bad, and understand the implications for the future of the decisions we make today.
I don't have all the answers. As a matter of fact, I have more questions than answers about how we should proceed. But frankly, I think those of us who don't jump in wholeheartedly on one one side or the other are the ones who are needed the most as humankind determines how to ethically use what we have learned about DNA in the past and what we will learn in the future.
All URLs accessed 7 October 2013.
1. Blaine Bettinger, PhD, JD, "A New Patent For 23andMe Creates Controversy," 7 October 2013, The Genetic Genealogist (http://www.thegeneticgenealogist.com/2013/10/07/a-new-patent-for-23andme-creates-controversy/). See links in the first three paragraphs for blog and mass media articles. For full disclosure, I will be working with Blaine and CeCe Moore to present a week-long course on Practical Genetic Genealogy next summer at the Genealogical Research Institute of Pittsburgh (GRIP).
2. Rob DeSalle, PhD and David Randle, PhD, "Genetics and Society: A Course for Educators," Coursera online free courses (https://www.coursera.org/course/amnhgenetics).
3. Stuart Banner, American Property: A History of How, Why, and What We Own (Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 2011). See also Robert C. Deal. "Review of Banner, Stuart, American Property: A History of How, Why, and What We Own," H-Law, H-Net Reviews , posted June 2011 (http://www.h-net.org/reviews/showrev.php?id=32895). See also Harold Henderson, "Jenny Lind, Elvis Presley, and the Evolution of Property in the US," Midwestern Microhistory: A Genealogy Blog, posted 30 July 2012 (http://midwesternmicrohistory.blogspot.com/2012/07/jenny-lind-elvis-presley-and-evolution.html).
4. With gratitude to my friend and role model Stefani Evans, CG, for prompting me to move this book to the top of my to-read pile when she pointed out this chapter and the references throughout the book to intellectual property arguments and rulings.
© 2013, Debbie Parker Wayne, CG, CGL, All Rights Reserved
My initial reaction to many of the articles was to wonder how this is different than what has been happening with sperm and egg donor selection for many years. I have friends who used a long list of preferences to select a sperm donor. That seemed like a perfectly reasonable thing to do. So I had to read patent 8,543,339 to see if it included something else that I was not getting from the blog posts and news articles.
I do not have legal or medical training and my math education ended at Calculus III back in the early 1990s so reading a patent such as this is a long slog for me. My opinion and understanding is purely that of a layperson who has some understanding of and a strong interest in DNA and how it can be used. In a nutshell, it seems to me the bulk of the patent is describing a standard logical process we see whenever a person chooses a sperm or egg donor (or even a mate):
- I wish to have a child with a trait that might be a low risk of developing a specific disease or a high chance of having a specific eye color
- My DNA indicates a risk or likelihood of X for this condition
- A potential donor's DNA indicates a risk or likelihood of Y for this condition
- A child conceived between me and the potential donor might have a risk or likelihood of Z for this condition
The same calculation could be performed for multiple traits or conditions. I would then make a decision whether or not I wish to have a child whose other biological parent is this person, just as I would do now based on a donor's profile without DNA analysis (or my attraction to a mate and desire to have offspring). The complicated stuff in the patent comes in with a description of the algorithms used to analyze the DNA for the likelihood of the resulting child having the specific trait or traits. I did not see anything in the patent related to modifying the genes in the egg or sperm to achieve specific traits, just calculating the odds of the trait occurring in a child created with these biological parents.
It seems like this patent is just covering the addition of using DNA data to do something we do now with physical and personal traits, beliefs, and characteristics of a potential donor or mate. This doesn't strike me as "designing a baby" any more than we do now except we add DNA and statistical analysis to the mix. Personally, I may not agree that we should use genetic analysis to select for a baby with a particular eye color. Trying to give a baby the best chance of survival with the least chance of a debilitating disease seems harder to argue with.
While I was mulling this over, Blaine Bettinger, an intellectual property attorney with a PhD in Biochemistry, wrote a blog post titled "A New Patent For 23andMe Creates Controversy."1 I agree with Blaine's conclusion in his article as related to the patent itself. I think everyone should read Blaine's article before coming to a conclusion about this issue.
What this issue brings to my mind is how important it is that we encourage real science education for our children and that we have an informed discussion as to how we will proceed in this brave new world we are facing with all the scientific and technical breakthroughs. I just completed a course on genetics and ethics where the instructors emphasized how much more research is needed for us to understand the impact of genetic modification of any organism—flora or fauna.2
A lot of the controversy this week for genealogists seems to be because our DNA data was used for research we didn't realize it might be used for when we gave consent for it to be used. This makes it even more important that we understand exactly what we are giving permission for when we agree to let a company use our DNA for research or when we upload our DNA data to a server where the information might be publicly shared. Every person will have to decide for herself what she wishes to agree to. But without research, progress in using DNA for any purpose will be stymied.
I have been reading American Property: A History of How, Why, and What We Own by Stuart Banner.3 This book presents, in a very readable way for the non-lawyer, a history of American laws on property and ownership. It includes a chapter on "Owning Life."4 All of the chapters give an insight into how American legal thinking on property of all kinds has changed over the decades. The book covers how technological changes have impacted several legal decisions related to property. Banner doesn't specifically discuss DNA in the context of today's controversy. He does discuss the legal framework and history we should understand as we determine how genetic information and other biological material could or should be used in the future.
We need to have a serious discussion about how we proceed so misunderstandings are reduced as much as possible and we can all make good decisions. These discussions should include genealogists, historians, and those from all walks of life as well as geneticists and medical practitioners. The social scientists, hard scientists, legal representatives, and educated and interested people need to cooperate to find the best way forward for humanity. But I hope everyone who wishes to be part of the process will study our history, the good and bad, and understand the implications for the future of the decisions we make today.
I don't have all the answers. As a matter of fact, I have more questions than answers about how we should proceed. But frankly, I think those of us who don't jump in wholeheartedly on one one side or the other are the ones who are needed the most as humankind determines how to ethically use what we have learned about DNA in the past and what we will learn in the future.
All URLs accessed 7 October 2013.
1. Blaine Bettinger, PhD, JD, "A New Patent For 23andMe Creates Controversy," 7 October 2013, The Genetic Genealogist (http://www.thegeneticgenealogist.com/2013/10/07/a-new-patent-for-23andme-creates-controversy/). See links in the first three paragraphs for blog and mass media articles. For full disclosure, I will be working with Blaine and CeCe Moore to present a week-long course on Practical Genetic Genealogy next summer at the Genealogical Research Institute of Pittsburgh (GRIP).
2. Rob DeSalle, PhD and David Randle, PhD, "Genetics and Society: A Course for Educators," Coursera online free courses (https://www.coursera.org/course/amnhgenetics).
3. Stuart Banner, American Property: A History of How, Why, and What We Own (Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 2011). See also Robert C. Deal. "Review of Banner, Stuart, American Property: A History of How, Why, and What We Own," H-Law, H-Net Reviews , posted June 2011 (http://www.h-net.org/reviews/showrev.php?id=32895). See also Harold Henderson, "Jenny Lind, Elvis Presley, and the Evolution of Property in the US," Midwestern Microhistory: A Genealogy Blog, posted 30 July 2012 (http://midwesternmicrohistory.blogspot.com/2012/07/jenny-lind-elvis-presley-and-evolution.html).
4. With gratitude to my friend and role model Stefani Evans, CG, for prompting me to move this book to the top of my to-read pile when she pointed out this chapter and the references throughout the book to intellectual property arguments and rulings.
© 2013, Debbie Parker Wayne, CG, CGL, All Rights Reserved
01 May 2013
NGS: Building New Bridges in the West
Genealogical conferences are often an interesting mix of genealogy and history. The upcoming National Genealogical Society 2013 Family History Conference will truly represent both sides of this equation. The conference theme of "Building New Bridges" symbolizes "the West as a timeless 'bridge' where cultures, nations, and technologies connect."1
The conference committee, led by Stefani Evans, CG, went all out to provide a unique program. Yes, you'll find the traditional sessions we all need no matter where we do research. Thomas W. Jones on "Debunking Misleading Records." Elizabeth Shown Mills on "Information Overload? Effective Project Planning, Research, Data Management, and Analysis." Sharon Tate Moody on "Strategy for Research Success: How to Analyze Your Evidence and Plan Your Next Step." And more than I have space to name from many other names every genealogist will recognize.
Every conference has some sessions that focus on the regional history. Stefani and her team have gone above and beyond to provide unique topics and sessions not only pertinent for Nevada, but for anyone working in any of the states once colonized by Spain and Mexico and all western states. Stefani's ties to the University of Nevada-Las Vegas probably helped in bringing in so many well-known historians as speakers. I hope all of the genealogists at the conference let these speakers know how much we appreciate them sharing their knowledge with us.
One of sessions I consider must-see is "Interethnic Women and Marriage along Spanish Colonial Frontiers 1820–80" by Maria Raquel Casas on Thursday at 9:30 a.m. A few years ago I read her book on this topic.2 Even though the book focuses on California most of the history and analysis can also be applied to Texas, Arizona, New Mexico, and other Spanish-influenced states. I learned of many sources I hadn't heard of before when I read the footnotes and the twenty-six page bibliography. Check out her other publications on her CV.
Another must-see is Davis S. Tanenhaus on "Legal Histories of Families" on Wednesday at 2:30 p.m. I first heard of Tanenhaus through the Legal History Blog and saw some interesting article titles associated with his name in law journals. His publications are listed on his CV and there are many titles that can help any genealogist understand her family's history.
There are a lot of blocks on the schedule where choosing one speaker means missing another must-see. I hope lots of these sessions will be recorded so I can listen to them when I get home. I make use of all my travel time by listening to recorded genealogy sessions. My phone and tablet only have a few songs, but are full of genealogy sessions from conferences over the years.
Stefani's team made an effort to bring in speakers and topics that are not widely available through webinars and online sources and new topics and new speakers. You really need to be in Vegas next week to get the full experience. I'm not a gambler. Most of my family never migrated west of Texas. But I expect to learn so much that will help me with my future research. I hope my brain doesn't turn to mush until after the conference because I am scheduled to do one of the last sessions on Saturday before the conference ends. This is my only complaint to the conference planning committee (said with an understanding smile).
1. Diane L. Richard, "NGS Announces Plans for 2013 Family History Conference in Las Vegas," Upfront with NGS blog, posted 17 May 2012 (http://upfront.ngsgenealogy.org/2012/05/ngs-announces-plans-for-2013-family.html : accessed 1 May 2013).
2. Maria Raquel Casas, Married to a Daughter of the Land: Spanish-Mexican Women and Interethnic Marriage in California, 1820-1880 (Reno and Las Vegas: University of Nevada Press, 2007).
To cite this blog post:
Debbie Parker Wayne, "NGS: Building New Bridges in the West," Deb's Delvings Blog, posted 1 May 2013 (http://debsdelvings.blogspot.com/ : accessed [date]).
© 2013, Debbie Parker Wayne, CG, CGL, All Rights Reserved
The conference committee, led by Stefani Evans, CG, went all out to provide a unique program. Yes, you'll find the traditional sessions we all need no matter where we do research. Thomas W. Jones on "Debunking Misleading Records." Elizabeth Shown Mills on "Information Overload? Effective Project Planning, Research, Data Management, and Analysis." Sharon Tate Moody on "Strategy for Research Success: How to Analyze Your Evidence and Plan Your Next Step." And more than I have space to name from many other names every genealogist will recognize.
Every conference has some sessions that focus on the regional history. Stefani and her team have gone above and beyond to provide unique topics and sessions not only pertinent for Nevada, but for anyone working in any of the states once colonized by Spain and Mexico and all western states. Stefani's ties to the University of Nevada-Las Vegas probably helped in bringing in so many well-known historians as speakers. I hope all of the genealogists at the conference let these speakers know how much we appreciate them sharing their knowledge with us.
One of sessions I consider must-see is "Interethnic Women and Marriage along Spanish Colonial Frontiers 1820–80" by Maria Raquel Casas on Thursday at 9:30 a.m. A few years ago I read her book on this topic.2 Even though the book focuses on California most of the history and analysis can also be applied to Texas, Arizona, New Mexico, and other Spanish-influenced states. I learned of many sources I hadn't heard of before when I read the footnotes and the twenty-six page bibliography. Check out her other publications on her CV.
Another must-see is Davis S. Tanenhaus on "Legal Histories of Families" on Wednesday at 2:30 p.m. I first heard of Tanenhaus through the Legal History Blog and saw some interesting article titles associated with his name in law journals. His publications are listed on his CV and there are many titles that can help any genealogist understand her family's history.
There are a lot of blocks on the schedule where choosing one speaker means missing another must-see. I hope lots of these sessions will be recorded so I can listen to them when I get home. I make use of all my travel time by listening to recorded genealogy sessions. My phone and tablet only have a few songs, but are full of genealogy sessions from conferences over the years.
Stefani's team made an effort to bring in speakers and topics that are not widely available through webinars and online sources and new topics and new speakers. You really need to be in Vegas next week to get the full experience. I'm not a gambler. Most of my family never migrated west of Texas. But I expect to learn so much that will help me with my future research. I hope my brain doesn't turn to mush until after the conference because I am scheduled to do one of the last sessions on Saturday before the conference ends. This is my only complaint to the conference planning committee (said with an understanding smile).
1. Diane L. Richard, "NGS Announces Plans for 2013 Family History Conference in Las Vegas," Upfront with NGS blog, posted 17 May 2012 (http://upfront.ngsgenealogy.org/2012/05/ngs-announces-plans-for-2013-family.html : accessed 1 May 2013).
2. Maria Raquel Casas, Married to a Daughter of the Land: Spanish-Mexican Women and Interethnic Marriage in California, 1820-1880 (Reno and Las Vegas: University of Nevada Press, 2007).
To cite this blog post:
Debbie Parker Wayne, "NGS: Building New Bridges in the West," Deb's Delvings Blog, posted 1 May 2013 (http://debsdelvings.blogspot.com/ : accessed [date]).
© 2013, Debbie Parker Wayne, CG, CGL, All Rights Reserved
12 July 2012
Understanding Historical Spanish Documents in the U.S.
Need help understanding Spanish language documents in your historical research?
In recent years I've compiled quite a collection of books and articles related to the law, using laws for genealogical research, and interpreting historical documents. I'm reviewing my collection and updating my notes in preparation for the "Statutes and Story: Laws and Social History in Family Research" workshop next week at the Angelina College Genealogy Conference. One of those books in my collection is a must have for any genealogist working in the areas of the U.S. once claimed by Spain and Mexico. Whether studying the laws or anything else in any locale where Spain once ruled this book is useful:
J. Villasana Haggard, Handbook for Translators of Spanish Historical Documents (Austin: University of Texas, 1941).
Haggard describes his reason for compiling the book. It is one that I suspect leads to many of our most useful how-to books: he needed to do something and couldn't find a book already published that explained how to do it well. So he compiled one, with help from his colleagues who were also subject matter experts. He made notes during a decade or more of work and then documented what he learned to help others. He points out that even an expert in a language needs to know more when translating historical documents. He had the same problems genealogists encounter during research: different paleography, faded ink, crumbling paper, long sentences with no punctuation, and understanding the different way of looking at things hundreds of years ago.1
Especially important is Haggard's statement:
A good reminder that we shouldn't rely heavily on machine "translations" of our historical documents. We need additional analysis by someone knowledgeable both with the history of an area, the culture, and the language.
Haggard planned to update the handbook and publish a later edition.3 I haven't been able to find one. If anyone knows of a later version please let me know. This 1941 version is obviously typed on a typewriter and may look quaint to modern eyes. But the information is invaluable. Twenty pages of bibliography. Nine pages showing letter forms used in different centuries. Many document samples with translations. Symbols and abbreviations used. A short history of the development of language and writing in Spain. And so much more including a procedure that starts with reading the document twice before anything else is done.
By the way, even though Google is my go-to source for a lot of things, when looking for electronic copies of books I don't go first to Google Books. The PDF files on Google Books do not allow searching within the text after the PDF is downloaded to my computer. The citation below leads to a searchable PDF version at the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana. Many other sites also provide searchable versions. I download the PDF from Google Books only when I can't find any other option. Yes, I know I can find tools to make the PDF searchable. But if someone else has already done so, I see no need to repeat their work.
1. J. Villasana Haggard, Handbook for Translators of Spanish Historical Documents (Austin: University of Texas, 1941), iv-v; Digitized Books, University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana (http://libsysdigi.library.illinois.edu/oca/Books2008-09/handbookfortrans00hagg/ : accessed 30 January 2009).
2. Ibid., 1.
3. Ibid., iii.
To cite this blog post:
Debbie Parker Wayne, "Understanding Historical Spanish Documents in the U.S.," Deb's Delvings Blog, posted 12 July 2012 (http://debsdelvings.blogspot.com/ : accessed [date]).
© 2012, Debbie Parker Wayne, CG, All Rights Reserved
In recent years I've compiled quite a collection of books and articles related to the law, using laws for genealogical research, and interpreting historical documents. I'm reviewing my collection and updating my notes in preparation for the "Statutes and Story: Laws and Social History in Family Research" workshop next week at the Angelina College Genealogy Conference. One of those books in my collection is a must have for any genealogist working in the areas of the U.S. once claimed by Spain and Mexico. Whether studying the laws or anything else in any locale where Spain once ruled this book is useful:
J. Villasana Haggard, Handbook for Translators of Spanish Historical Documents (Austin: University of Texas, 1941).
Haggard describes his reason for compiling the book. It is one that I suspect leads to many of our most useful how-to books: he needed to do something and couldn't find a book already published that explained how to do it well. So he compiled one, with help from his colleagues who were also subject matter experts. He made notes during a decade or more of work and then documented what he learned to help others. He points out that even an expert in a language needs to know more when translating historical documents. He had the same problems genealogists encounter during research: different paleography, faded ink, crumbling paper, long sentences with no punctuation, and understanding the different way of looking at things hundreds of years ago.1
Especially important is Haggard's statement:
One must not mistake verbatim translations, paraphrases, imitations, parodies, or any other thinly veiled approximation for the serious work of translation. A verbatim version of an original cannot properly be called a translation, for a translation should be first and foremost a faithful rendition of the substance as well as the form of the original.2
A good reminder that we shouldn't rely heavily on machine "translations" of our historical documents. We need additional analysis by someone knowledgeable both with the history of an area, the culture, and the language.
Haggard planned to update the handbook and publish a later edition.3 I haven't been able to find one. If anyone knows of a later version please let me know. This 1941 version is obviously typed on a typewriter and may look quaint to modern eyes. But the information is invaluable. Twenty pages of bibliography. Nine pages showing letter forms used in different centuries. Many document samples with translations. Symbols and abbreviations used. A short history of the development of language and writing in Spain. And so much more including a procedure that starts with reading the document twice before anything else is done.
By the way, even though Google is my go-to source for a lot of things, when looking for electronic copies of books I don't go first to Google Books. The PDF files on Google Books do not allow searching within the text after the PDF is downloaded to my computer. The citation below leads to a searchable PDF version at the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana. Many other sites also provide searchable versions. I download the PDF from Google Books only when I can't find any other option. Yes, I know I can find tools to make the PDF searchable. But if someone else has already done so, I see no need to repeat their work.
1. J. Villasana Haggard, Handbook for Translators of Spanish Historical Documents (Austin: University of Texas, 1941), iv-v; Digitized Books, University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana (http://libsysdigi.library.illinois.edu/oca/Books2008-09/handbookfortrans00hagg/ : accessed 30 January 2009).
2. Ibid., 1.
3. Ibid., iii.
To cite this blog post:
Debbie Parker Wayne, "Understanding Historical Spanish Documents in the U.S.," Deb's Delvings Blog, posted 12 July 2012 (http://debsdelvings.blogspot.com/ : accessed [date]).
© 2012, Debbie Parker Wayne, CG, All Rights Reserved
10 February 2012
Save SSDI and Stop ID Theft NOW!
How would you feel if the government restricted your access to records that name your ancestors? How far would you have progressed in your genealogical research without access to birth, death, and marriage records? What if you lost access to those and other records used to establish kinship links and our family histories? Even worse, what if your relative was unidentified and unclaimed in a coroner's office far from home and those trying to identify the deceased lost access to the very records that would allow them to find you? Or your military serviceman's body could only be identified if a living family member can be found to provide a reference DNA sample for comparison?
Several years ago a group of genealogical organizations formed an advocacy committee — RPAC — Records Preservation and Access Committee. The group has been much more visible in the last few months and is leading the charge to preserve access to records we use every day. An important blog entry on recent efforts can be found at http://www.fgs.org/rpac/2012/02/07/rpac-launches-stop-identity-theft-now-petition/. The main RPAC website is at http://www.fgs.org/rpac/.
As many genealogists now know, the U.S. House of Representatives, Ways and Means Committee, held a hearing on February 2nd to consider closing access to the Social Security Death Index (SSDI, based on the Death Master File / DMF). Only those in favor of closing the records were allowed to speak at the hearing. See http://www.ntis.gov/products/ssa-dmf.aspx for more information on the DMF and SSDI.
Many of us believe our elected officials are trying to enact legislation to make Americans feel better and safer, but that will actually have the opposite effect. Some of those violated by identity theft believe their social security numbers (SSN) were stolen from online SSDI databases. Ironically, the DMF /SSDI was created to prevent SSNs of deceased persons from being used fraudulently. And in this computerized age, how can the government justify ignoring data they spend so many of our tax dollars collecting? Legislators on both sides of the aisle are pushing to close records. But how can we allow the party that scorns government regulation to champion so many actions that regulate those who aren't able to make million dollar donations?
How can you help?
Understand the issue by reading the RPAC Talking Points on Why Genealogists Need the
Social Security Death Index (SSDI) at http://www.fgs.org/rpac/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/talking-points-on-why-genealogists-need-social-security-death-index-final.pdf.
Sign the online petition at http://wh.gov/khE. Step-by-step instructions for creating an account on whitehouse.gov and for ensuring your petition signature is counted can be found at http://fgs.org/pdf/rpac_petition.pdf.
FAX a letter to your congresspersons and senators. FAXing is better than writing; postal deliveries to the capital are delayed due to screening after anthrax-laced letters were sent via mail shortly after 9-11. Sample letter suggestions can be found at http://www.iajgs.org/pramc/Latest_Alert.doc. Legislators can often be persuaded by letters and FAXes that indicate constituents can support a bill if certain specified changes are implemented. This can sometimes be better than a bald statement that you are against a bill.
Find your senator at http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm. Most senators have their Washington, D.C., FAX number on their senate page. Often the Web page for a senator is http://_surname_.senate.gov, for example, hutchinson.senate.gov for Texas Senator Kay Bailey Hutchinson.
Find your congress-person at http://www.house.gov/. Often the Web page for a congressman is http://_surname_.house.gov, for example, gohmert.house.gov for Texas Representative Louis Gohmert.
Don't they deserve to hear from you after all the robocalls you have received from them during the dinner hour?
The DMF / SSDI is only ONE of the record sets facing restrictive access regulations. Access to social security SS-5 information and vital records in many states are under attack by those who do not understand these records are not contributing significantly to identity theft. If we enforced the laws already on the books and made proper use of the information available now, we wouldn't need "feel good" laws that sound good but don't accomplish the intended goal.
© 2012, Debbie Parker Wayne, CG, All Rights Reserved
Several years ago a group of genealogical organizations formed an advocacy committee — RPAC — Records Preservation and Access Committee. The group has been much more visible in the last few months and is leading the charge to preserve access to records we use every day. An important blog entry on recent efforts can be found at http://www.fgs.org/rpac/2012/02/07/rpac-launches-stop-identity-theft-now-petition/. The main RPAC website is at http://www.fgs.org/rpac/.
As many genealogists now know, the U.S. House of Representatives, Ways and Means Committee, held a hearing on February 2nd to consider closing access to the Social Security Death Index (SSDI, based on the Death Master File / DMF). Only those in favor of closing the records were allowed to speak at the hearing. See http://www.ntis.gov/products/ssa-dmf.aspx for more information on the DMF and SSDI.
Many of us believe our elected officials are trying to enact legislation to make Americans feel better and safer, but that will actually have the opposite effect. Some of those violated by identity theft believe their social security numbers (SSN) were stolen from online SSDI databases. Ironically, the DMF /SSDI was created to prevent SSNs of deceased persons from being used fraudulently. And in this computerized age, how can the government justify ignoring data they spend so many of our tax dollars collecting? Legislators on both sides of the aisle are pushing to close records. But how can we allow the party that scorns government regulation to champion so many actions that regulate those who aren't able to make million dollar donations?
How can you help?
Understand the issue by reading the RPAC Talking Points on Why Genealogists Need the
Social Security Death Index (SSDI) at http://www.fgs.org/rpac/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/talking-points-on-why-genealogists-need-social-security-death-index-final.pdf.
Sign the online petition at http://wh.gov/khE. Step-by-step instructions for creating an account on whitehouse.gov and for ensuring your petition signature is counted can be found at http://fgs.org/pdf/rpac_petition.pdf.
FAX a letter to your congresspersons and senators. FAXing is better than writing; postal deliveries to the capital are delayed due to screening after anthrax-laced letters were sent via mail shortly after 9-11. Sample letter suggestions can be found at http://www.iajgs.org/pramc/Latest_Alert.doc. Legislators can often be persuaded by letters and FAXes that indicate constituents can support a bill if certain specified changes are implemented. This can sometimes be better than a bald statement that you are against a bill.
Find your senator at http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm. Most senators have their Washington, D.C., FAX number on their senate page. Often the Web page for a senator is http://_surname_.senate.gov, for example, hutchinson.senate.gov for Texas Senator Kay Bailey Hutchinson.
Find your congress-person at http://www.house.gov/. Often the Web page for a congressman is http://_surname_.house.gov, for example, gohmert.house.gov for Texas Representative Louis Gohmert.
Don't they deserve to hear from you after all the robocalls you have received from them during the dinner hour?
The DMF / SSDI is only ONE of the record sets facing restrictive access regulations. Access to social security SS-5 information and vital records in many states are under attack by those who do not understand these records are not contributing significantly to identity theft. If we enforced the laws already on the books and made proper use of the information available now, we wouldn't need "feel good" laws that sound good but don't accomplish the intended goal.
© 2012, Debbie Parker Wayne, CG, All Rights Reserved
11 January 2012
Unexpected use of DNA
Note: Personal opinions follow.
There is a heated discussion going on right now in the genetic genealogy community. After a story was aired on a local television station, Dick Eastman's Online Genealogy Newsletter carried the story to genealogists.The discussion spilled over into the general public after CNN and London’s Daily Mail carried the story.
Police asked for assistance from a well-known forensic and genetic genealogist in analyzing a DNA sample from a 1991, King County, Washington, case where a sixteen year old girl was murdered. Some of the information, as reported, is incorrect. Other blog articles and comments in the online stories above are correcting some of those errors. No matter how carefully a knowledgeable person tries to phrase probabilities with DNA results, those explanations are difficult for the less-experienced to understand. Even if a reporter gets it right, editors make changes without truly understanding how the meaning of the words were changed, headline writers are trying to catch your attention with the most sensational phrasing. And readers can get something different than either the expert, the reporter, or the editor meant to convey.
Genealogy DNA project administrators are worried relatives will resist testing for genealogical purposes if they think their DNA results will be used by the police when the DNA tester is not remotely related to a crime.
Some see this as another incidence of government agencies trampling our rights to privacy and freedom from unwarranted search and seizure.
Here are some facts to consider:
Why is it we never seem to be proactive in solving issues instead of panicking and being reactive? There will always be those who will violate the accepted rules, but we should document the rules to provide guidance for those who want to know what is right and what is wrong.
My personal opinion is that I have no problem with police doing any DNA tests they want on convicted felons or on someone they have REASONABLY concluded is a suspect. I am against blanket DNA testing to try to narrow down an investigation to possible suspects. I am against using medical and genealogical databases for criminal investigations. I suspect my relatives and friends who are involved with police work might disagree with me.
When and if we ever learn enough about DNA so that we can be sure the guilty person is the only one who will be caught in a net, I might change my mind. Today there are too many unknowns to put what we have learned about relationships from genealogical DNA testing to use nabbing suspected criminals.
Note: I did not include links to DNA projects or mail-lists to document my statements above. In this paranoid environment that does not seem prudent. And I'll leave it to the mathematicians to post the supporting statistics now under discussion by genetic genealogists.
Related Stories:
Does DNA Link 1991 Killing to Colonial Era Family? by Blaine Bettinger of The Genetic Genealogist offers a commmon sense way of looking at this issue. He may convince me that it is acceptable to use medical and genealogical databases for criminal investigations.
Added 12 January 2012:
Using Public Y-DNA Profiles to Track Down Criminals: Would You? by CeCe Moore of Your Genetic Genealogist asks "If one of your loved ones was murdered and you believed that you could identify the guilty party using the same resources that we use for our hobby...wouldn't you?" and offers supporting arguments.
Added 14 January 2012:
"The Mayflower criminal registry," by John Hawks of John Hawks weblog brings up issues we should discuss as affordable whole-genome research becomes a reality.
© 2012, Debbie Parker Wayne, CG, All Rights Reserved
There is a heated discussion going on right now in the genetic genealogy community. After a story was aired on a local television station, Dick Eastman's Online Genealogy Newsletter carried the story to genealogists.The discussion spilled over into the general public after CNN and London’s Daily Mail carried the story.
Police asked for assistance from a well-known forensic and genetic genealogist in analyzing a DNA sample from a 1991, King County, Washington, case where a sixteen year old girl was murdered. Some of the information, as reported, is incorrect. Other blog articles and comments in the online stories above are correcting some of those errors. No matter how carefully a knowledgeable person tries to phrase probabilities with DNA results, those explanations are difficult for the less-experienced to understand. Even if a reporter gets it right, editors make changes without truly understanding how the meaning of the words were changed, headline writers are trying to catch your attention with the most sensational phrasing. And readers can get something different than either the expert, the reporter, or the editor meant to convey.
Genealogy DNA project administrators are worried relatives will resist testing for genealogical purposes if they think their DNA results will be used by the police when the DNA tester is not remotely related to a crime.
Some see this as another incidence of government agencies trampling our rights to privacy and freedom from unwarranted search and seizure.
Here are some facts to consider:
For the most part, people making comments online have no detailed information about what was actually done — how many markers were tested, how closely did they match, exactly what was done. Without understanding these undisclosed facts of the investigation no real evaluation of the process can be made.Ever since Dolly was cloned, even before, there have been discussions about how science and technology have moved far beyond our laws. We do need to update our laws and define what is legal and what is not. Recent laws like GINA and the California SB 559 are a start. We need more. Some of us have been worried about and fighting to keep the government from restricting our right to access our own DNA test results without unnecessary regulation and interference by those who think they know better than we do. This current controversy could exacerbate the regulation situation — or make it irrelevant if no one tests anymore because they worry about the police getting their DNA data.
We don't know enough about the DNA markers used for genealogy and exactly what matches mean. Some projects have testers who match exactly on 67 or more markers when we know they don't have a common ancestor within the last several hundred years. That same project can also include testers showing two mutations likely occurred between a father and a son. One DNA project administrator reported three mutations between a father-son pair that tested.
Genealogical DNA databases are NOT representative of the population at large. DNA databases include only those who have self-selected themselves for testing.
Those self-selectors can provide any information they want about names and ancestors. Many provide no information at all. Some may have provided alias information just because they wanted to protect themselves from possible misuse of their DNA results. I'm not recommending this. If more people do this the databases will become useless for genealogical purposes. But this severely impacts any conclusions drawn by law enforcement based on self-provided, unverified data in genealogical databases.
Why is it we never seem to be proactive in solving issues instead of panicking and being reactive? There will always be those who will violate the accepted rules, but we should document the rules to provide guidance for those who want to know what is right and what is wrong.
My personal opinion is that I have no problem with police doing any DNA tests they want on convicted felons or on someone they have REASONABLY concluded is a suspect. I am against blanket DNA testing to try to narrow down an investigation to possible suspects. I am against using medical and genealogical databases for criminal investigations. I suspect my relatives and friends who are involved with police work might disagree with me.
When and if we ever learn enough about DNA so that we can be sure the guilty person is the only one who will be caught in a net, I might change my mind. Today there are too many unknowns to put what we have learned about relationships from genealogical DNA testing to use nabbing suspected criminals.
Note: I did not include links to DNA projects or mail-lists to document my statements above. In this paranoid environment that does not seem prudent. And I'll leave it to the mathematicians to post the supporting statistics now under discussion by genetic genealogists.
Related Stories:
Does DNA Link 1991 Killing to Colonial Era Family? by Blaine Bettinger of The Genetic Genealogist offers a commmon sense way of looking at this issue. He may convince me that it is acceptable to use medical and genealogical databases for criminal investigations.
Added 12 January 2012:
Using Public Y-DNA Profiles to Track Down Criminals: Would You? by CeCe Moore of Your Genetic Genealogist asks "If one of your loved ones was murdered and you believed that you could identify the guilty party using the same resources that we use for our hobby...wouldn't you?" and offers supporting arguments.
Added 14 January 2012:
"The Mayflower criminal registry," by John Hawks of John Hawks weblog brings up issues we should discuss as affordable whole-genome research becomes a reality.
© 2012, Debbie Parker Wayne, CG, All Rights Reserved
15 November 2011
Slavery and the Law
Those specializing in African American genealogical research may be interested in the latest issue of the American Society for Legal History's Law and History Review, a special issue on "Law, Slavery, and Justice." Cambridge Journals Online provides access. Some publications on the site are freely available and some are behind a fee wall. The site allows short-term (48 hour) subscription access as well as full subscriptions for multiple publications. This issue of Law and History Review was freely available on November 15, 2011.
Here is the Table of Contents for Law and History Review, Volume 29, Issue 04:
Even though you may not find an ancestor's name in these article, the background history is invaluable. Many of the hundreds of footnotes have links to Google Books and/or Google Scholar for easy access to preview text and reviews.
Thanks to Legal History Blog for alerting me to this issue. I love the way the Internet and blogs make cross-discipline studies so much easier than when we had to travel to university libraries to find specialized journals. But all of the recommendations make my "to buy or read" list grow endlessly and never get any smaller.
© 2011, Debbie Parker Wayne, All Rights Reserved
Here is the Table of Contents for Law and History Review, Volume 29, Issue 04:
- Law, Slavery, and Justice: A Special Issue, Introduction by David S. Tanenhaus
- Slavery and the Law in Atlantic Perspective: Jurisdiction, Jurisprudence, and Justice by Rebecca J. Scott
- Judges, Masters, Diviners: Slaves’ Experience of Criminal Justice in Colonial Suriname by Natalie Zemon Davis
- Prosecuting Torture: The Strategic Ethics of Slavery in Pre-Revolutionary Saint-Domingue (Haiti) by Malick W. Ghachem
- Time, Space, and Jurisdiction in Atlantic World Slavery: The Volunbrun Household in Gradual Emancipation New York by Martha S. Jones
- Paper Thin: Freedom and Re-enslavement in the Diaspora of the Haitian Revolution by Rebecca J. Scott
- Resetting the Legal History of Slavery: Divination, Torture, Poisoning, Murder, Revolution, Emancipation, and Re-enslavement by Walter Johnson
Even though you may not find an ancestor's name in these article, the background history is invaluable. Many of the hundreds of footnotes have links to Google Books and/or Google Scholar for easy access to preview text and reviews.
Thanks to Legal History Blog for alerting me to this issue. I love the way the Internet and blogs make cross-discipline studies so much easier than when we had to travel to university libraries to find specialized journals. But all of the recommendations make my "to buy or read" list grow endlessly and never get any smaller.
© 2011, Debbie Parker Wayne, All Rights Reserved
12 November 2011
Enhancing Genealogy with Teacher Resources
A lot of websites designed to help history teachers are also useful to genealogists who want to add social context to the story of their ancestor. Richard Byrne added a new post titled "9 Sources for Historical Images, Documents, Videos, and Audio" to his Free Technology for Teachers blog. Techie genealogists are probably familiar with some of these sites. He mentions a few of my favorites:
Check out "9 Sources for Historical Images, Documents, Videos, and Audio" and see if he has a site you haven't used yet.
What other great history sites have you used that are not on his list?
I often use the East Texas Research Center at Stephen F. Austin State University in Nacogdoches, Texas. A list of their collections and digital exhibits is here.
© 2011, Debbie Parker Wayne, All Rights Reserved
- Yale University's Avalon Project—documenting laws from ancient BCE times to the 21st century—and with a chronology of American history through the included documents
- The Commons on Flickr—where I have found some great copyright-free images to use in my Powerpoint presentations (check out some of the dance images to represent the genealogy happy dance)
- Google Books—where I can find full text copies of old legal reporters and digests (descriptions of cases your ancestors may have been involved in)
Check out "9 Sources for Historical Images, Documents, Videos, and Audio" and see if he has a site you haven't used yet.
What other great history sites have you used that are not on his list?
I often use the East Texas Research Center at Stephen F. Austin State University in Nacogdoches, Texas. A list of their collections and digital exhibits is here.
© 2011, Debbie Parker Wayne, All Rights Reserved
19 August 2011
Another Good Reason to be in Boston
In addition to the Boston University, Certificate Program in Genealogical Research, here's another great reason to appreciate living near Boston. The Boston Early American History Seminar is open to the public and free (unless you pay the reasonable fee of $25 to receive advance copies of the papers to be discussed and to support the buffet supper served after meetings). This forum for early American history has several sessions of particular interest to genealogists. Also notable is the interest of these professors in both history and genealogy.
6 December 2011, 5:15 p.m.
Abigail Chandler, University of Massachusetts, Lowell, and Ruth Wallis Herndon, Bowling Green State University
Panel Discussion on Colonial Family Law
Comment: Cornelia Hughes Dayton, University of Connecticut
Chandler's faculty page has bare details, but her thesis is online and looks very interesting: Herndon's faculty page lists several interesting books and projects:
6 March 2012, 5:15 p.m.
Karin Wulf, College of William and Mary
Ancestry as Social Practice in Eighteenth-Century New England: The Origins of Early Republic Genealogical Vogue
Comment: Laurel Ulrich, Harvard University
Wulf's faculty page lists several interesting books and projects:
Thanks to Legal History Blog for a heads up on the seminar
© 2011, Debbie Parker Wayne, All Rights Reserved
6 December 2011, 5:15 p.m.
Abigail Chandler, University of Massachusetts, Lowell, and Ruth Wallis Herndon, Bowling Green State University
Panel Discussion on Colonial Family Law
Comment: Cornelia Hughes Dayton, University of Connecticut
Chandler's faculty page has bare details, but her thesis is online and looks very interesting: Herndon's faculty page lists several interesting books and projects:
- Unwelcome Americans: Living on the Margin in Early New England (University of Pennsylvania Press, 2001)
- Children Bound to Labor: Pauper Apprenticeship in Early America (Cornell University Press, 2009), co-edited with John E. Murray
- "collaborating with Dr. Ella Wilcox Sekatau, medicine woman, ethnohistorian and genealogist of the Narragansett Tribe, on a project to re-tell New England history using both Euro-American and Narragansett sources"
- "Children of Misfortune: The Fates of Boston’s Poor Apprentices," a study that traces the lives of children bound out from the Boston almshouse in the eighteenth century
6 March 2012, 5:15 p.m.
Karin Wulf, College of William and Mary
Ancestry as Social Practice in Eighteenth-Century New England: The Origins of Early Republic Genealogical Vogue
Comment: Laurel Ulrich, Harvard University
Wulf's faculty page lists several interesting books and projects:
- Milcah Martha Moore’s Book: A Commonplace Book from Revolutionary America (Penn State, 1997), with Catherine Blecki
- The Diary of Hannah Callender, 1758-1788 (forthcoming), with Susan Klepp
- Not All Wives: Women of Colonial Philadelphia (Cornell University Press, 2000)
- a study of the relationship between genealogical practices and political culture: “Lineage: The Politics and Poetics of Genealogy in British America, 1680-1820”
Thanks to Legal History Blog for a heads up on the seminar
© 2011, Debbie Parker Wayne, All Rights Reserved
11 August 2011
Law and Kinship: 1211 vs. 2011
History-Net has a review by Arlene Sindelar (University of British Columbia) of
Sam Worby, Law and Kinship in Thirteenth-Century England (Woodbridge, Suffolk, UK: Royal Historical Society/Boydell Press, 2010); 198 pp. $95.00 (cloth), ISBN 978-0-86193-305-1.
The Amazon link is here. A Google search on the book title turns up some other interesting reviews and comments. And I am very thankful for previews on Google Books.
My first response was that this was pricey for my personal library since I haven't traced any ancestors back to medieval England yet. But the reviews and the preview on Google Books make it very enticing. The nearest library with a copy, according to WorldCat, is 120 miles away in a location where I don't have anything else to do. My recent studies have focused on Spanish influences in historical Texas laws. Hmm, maybe reward points will bring this down to a price I can justify because I need to learn more about canon and English common law.
Any book that discusses kinship in this way will likely be useful to genealogists:
© 2011, Debbie Parker Wayne, All Rights Reserved
Sam Worby, Law and Kinship in Thirteenth-Century England (Woodbridge, Suffolk, UK: Royal Historical Society/Boydell Press, 2010); 198 pp. $95.00 (cloth), ISBN 978-0-86193-305-1.
The Amazon link is here. A Google search on the book title turns up some other interesting reviews and comments. And I am very thankful for previews on Google Books.
My first response was that this was pricey for my personal library since I haven't traced any ancestors back to medieval England yet. But the reviews and the preview on Google Books make it very enticing. The nearest library with a copy, according to WorldCat, is 120 miles away in a location where I don't have anything else to do. My recent studies have focused on Spanish influences in historical Texas laws. Hmm, maybe reward points will bring this down to a price I can justify because I need to learn more about canon and English common law.
Any book that discusses kinship in this way will likely be useful to genealogists:
Kinship is many-layered. This book will descend through layers from the formal and written to the practised (p. 3)Its sounds like the theories and analysis presented in the book apply to kinship research today as well as in the thirteenth century and all the times in between. Aside from the introduction, conclusion, and a ten page bibliography that will probably cause more items to be added to my book wish list, the chapter and appendix titles are:
...
an informal pattern of kinship knowledge existed beneath the laws (p. 4)
...
a way of thinking about and narrating bonds between people in terms of a recognised biological connection or analogy with biological connection. The term 'recognised' is used here because, for example, not all children are biologically related to both of their 'parents' (p. 5)
...
A particularly dangerous term in any exploration of medieval kinship is the word cousin since it can be used both specifically and vaguely to encompass a general sense of relatedness ... Cousin could be used as a word for almost any kinsman, but could also be a term of art (p. 6).
-
Chapter 1: Canon Law Kinship Structures
- Chapter 2: Common Law Kinship Structures
- Chapter 3: The Dominance of Canon Law Kinship Ideas
- Chapter 4: Kinship Laws in Practice
- Chapter 5: Trends Underlying Legal Kinship Structures
- Appendix 1: Raymón of Penyafort's Quia tractare intendimus
- Appendix 2: The historical introduction to Sciendum est
- Appendix 3: Common law adaptations of canon law treatises Quibus modis
- Appendix 4: Common law adaptations of canon law treatises Triplex est
© 2011, Debbie Parker Wayne, All Rights Reserved
01 January 2011
Texas Marriage Laws, 1836 (Gammel 1:1041)
The land we call Texas was first settled by Native Americans, then was part of Spain, France, and Mexico, before becoming the Republic of Texas. During the Spanish and Mexican years Catholicism was the official religion. Only Catholic priests could lawfully perform weddings. Due to the shortage of priests, settlers often married by bond or contract until a priest was available to sanctify the union of a couple.1
Shortly after declaring independence from Mexico, the Texians had to form a new government and enact new laws. The Spanish influence was still strong even though many of the Texians were Anglo. On 16 January 1836 the legislature passed an act setting up courts and defining duties of clerks and others.2 Section 9 of this act authorized "judges, alcaldes, commissarios, and regular accredited ministers of the Gospel, of whatever denomination" to celebrate the rites of matrimony in front of three disinterested and reputable witnesses. The officiant and two or more of the witnesses were required to sign copies of the certificate. One copy of the certificate was to be given to the bride, the other to be filed with "the archives of the municipality"3 (the county clerk after the new government was up and running). Notice that the officiant could be a representative of the government or a minister of any religion. A Catholic priest was no longer required. Interestingly, Spanish terms were still used for some officials: an alcalde was a mayor or the chief administrator of a Spanish town, a commissario was probably a commissioner. (See any Spanish-English dictionary or use http://translate.google.com/.)
Women had more recognition under Spanish law than under English common law.4 This Texas law specifically states the bride should be given the certificate. I interpret this as recognition that a woman could be entrusted with a legal document and might be more than a covered woman or a feme covert, even if she was married. A comparison to laws in many other states must be done before a definitive statement can be made as to the uniqueness of this statement in the Texas law. But a quick search in the online version of Hening's Statutes at Large for Virginia gets no hits for the word bride, except as part of a place named St. Bride's. The 1784 Virginia law states that a minister or congregation clerk must transmit a marriage certificate to the county clerk to be recorded, how much the county clerk should be paid to record the marriage, and the penalties for an officiant not filing the record in a timely manner.5 The law makes no mention of who else should receive a copy of the certificate, much less whether the bride might be given a copy.
A later clause in the 1836 Texas act described here legalized those contract and bond marriages that were not considered legal under Spanish or Mexican law:
If a couple followed the law and filed a record with the county to legitimize a bond or contract marriage then ceremonies performed prior to the formation of The Republic of Texas may be documented in early county records. Don't assume a marriage date prior to 1836 means no record is available and overlook this possibility. Remember that some counties originally covered a much larger area than the modern-day county covers. Be sure you determine the county boundaries at the time of the early Republic to determine where to look for an early marriage record.
1.
Mark M. Carroll, Homesteads Ungovernable: Families, Sex, Race, and the Law in Frontier Texas, 1823–1860, 8th ed. (Austin, Texas: Univ. of Texas Press, 2001), xi.
2.
H. P. N. Gammel, comp., The Laws of Texas, 1822-1897, 10 vols. (Austin: Gammel Book Co., 1898), 1:1039-1046, "An Ordinance and Decree for opening the several Courts of Justice, appointing Clerks, Prosecuting Attorneys, and defining their duties, &c.," 16 January 1836; digital images, University of North Texas, The Portal to Texas History (http://texinfo.library.unt.edu/lawsoftexas/ : accessed 1 January 2011).
3.
Gammel, The Laws of Texas, 1822-1897, 1:1041-1042.
4.
Jean A. Stuntz, Hers, His,and Theirs: Community Property Law in Spain and Early Texas (Lubbock, Texas: Texas Tech Univ. Press, 2005), 29.
5.
Freddie L. Spradlin, trans. "Laws of Virginia, October 1784--9th of Commonwealth," p. 505, Hening's Statutes at Large, Being a Collection of the Laws of Virginia, Virginia GenWeb (http://vagenweb.org/hening/vol11-26.htm : accessed 1 January 2011).
6.
Gammel, The Laws of Texas, 1822-1897, 1:1042.
© 2011, Debbie Parker Wayne, All Rights Reserved
Shortly after declaring independence from Mexico, the Texians had to form a new government and enact new laws. The Spanish influence was still strong even though many of the Texians were Anglo. On 16 January 1836 the legislature passed an act setting up courts and defining duties of clerks and others.2 Section 9 of this act authorized "judges, alcaldes, commissarios, and regular accredited ministers of the Gospel, of whatever denomination" to celebrate the rites of matrimony in front of three disinterested and reputable witnesses. The officiant and two or more of the witnesses were required to sign copies of the certificate. One copy of the certificate was to be given to the bride, the other to be filed with "the archives of the municipality"3 (the county clerk after the new government was up and running). Notice that the officiant could be a representative of the government or a minister of any religion. A Catholic priest was no longer required. Interestingly, Spanish terms were still used for some officials: an alcalde was a mayor or the chief administrator of a Spanish town, a commissario was probably a commissioner. (See any Spanish-English dictionary or use http://translate.google.com/.)
Women had more recognition under Spanish law than under English common law.4 This Texas law specifically states the bride should be given the certificate. I interpret this as recognition that a woman could be entrusted with a legal document and might be more than a covered woman or a feme covert, even if she was married. A comparison to laws in many other states must be done before a definitive statement can be made as to the uniqueness of this statement in the Texas law. But a quick search in the online version of Hening's Statutes at Large for Virginia gets no hits for the word bride, except as part of a place named St. Bride's. The 1784 Virginia law states that a minister or congregation clerk must transmit a marriage certificate to the county clerk to be recorded, how much the county clerk should be paid to record the marriage, and the penalties for an officiant not filing the record in a timely manner.5 The law makes no mention of who else should receive a copy of the certificate, much less whether the bride might be given a copy.
A later clause in the 1836 Texas act described here legalized those contract and bond marriages that were not considered legal under Spanish or Mexican law:
all marriages heretofore celebrated by bond or otherwise, under the heretofore existing laws, are, in like manner, declared and decreed to be valid; provided, that all officers who have attended to the same, shall, on application of either party, or the friend of either party, file the bond or other evidence of such marriage, with the archives and records of the courts.This law also declared "the issue of the parties legitimate."6 The declaration of legitimacy would minimize questions of inheritance that might arise later if the children had not been declared legitimate.
If a couple followed the law and filed a record with the county to legitimize a bond or contract marriage then ceremonies performed prior to the formation of The Republic of Texas may be documented in early county records. Don't assume a marriage date prior to 1836 means no record is available and overlook this possibility. Remember that some counties originally covered a much larger area than the modern-day county covers. Be sure you determine the county boundaries at the time of the early Republic to determine where to look for an early marriage record.
1.
Mark M. Carroll, Homesteads Ungovernable: Families, Sex, Race, and the Law in Frontier Texas, 1823–1860, 8th ed. (Austin, Texas: Univ. of Texas Press, 2001), xi.
2.
H. P. N. Gammel, comp., The Laws of Texas, 1822-1897, 10 vols. (Austin: Gammel Book Co., 1898), 1:1039-1046, "An Ordinance and Decree for opening the several Courts of Justice, appointing Clerks, Prosecuting Attorneys, and defining their duties, &c.," 16 January 1836; digital images, University of North Texas, The Portal to Texas History (http://texinfo.library.unt.edu/lawsoftexas/ : accessed 1 January 2011).
3.
Gammel, The Laws of Texas, 1822-1897, 1:1041-1042.
4.
Jean A. Stuntz, Hers, His,and Theirs: Community Property Law in Spain and Early Texas (Lubbock, Texas: Texas Tech Univ. Press, 2005), 29.
5.
Freddie L. Spradlin, trans. "Laws of Virginia, October 1784--9th of Commonwealth," p. 505, Hening's Statutes at Large, Being a Collection of the Laws of Virginia, Virginia GenWeb (http://vagenweb.org/hening/vol11-26.htm : accessed 1 January 2011).
6.
Gammel, The Laws of Texas, 1822-1897, 1:1042.
© 2011, Debbie Parker Wayne, All Rights Reserved
04 September 2010
Genealogy in University Archives: Digital Legal Case Files
I have not yet "succumbed to the lure" of Facebook and Twitter. But I love the interesting tidbits of life being placed online nowadays. I can learn so much from bloggers in different fields telling of online discoveries. Although, some governmental entities are slow to put historical documents online, universities are leading the way. I suspect all of that enthusiasm and free labor from students helps.
Helen F. M. Leary and Elizabeth Shown Mills taught me why genealogists should be concerned about the law in a class at IGHR back in 2003. Benjamin B. Spratling III, Ann Carter Fleming, and Kay Haviland Freilich added to that knowledge in another IGHR course a few years later. They made me aware of Black's Law Dictionary1 and The History of American Law.2 A while back I discovered Law Librarian Blog and Legal History Blog. Both have posts of interest to historians and genealogists. All great resources for genealogists trying to learn more about the law.
The Law Librarian article Texas Tech Law Library Launches Digital Repository piqued my interest with a statement that there is "a complete collection of our publications faculty produced while at Texas Tech." So I browsed the collection. In addition to some great resources for learning about the law, the collection includes Executive Orders of Texas governors and personal papers of some professors.
Professor Daniel H. Benson was involved in an eight-year case against the City of Lubbock regarding the election system. One of the documents is a long list of exhibits and witnesses for the defense. Hand-written notes and lined-through sections on the typed documents could provide clues to the workings of a legal mind. But the best part is the deposition of one witness, maybe used during witness-prep. All of the questions and answers are there along with some directions like "you can elaborate on this."
Imagine the excitement of a genealogist in the future looking for her ancestor and finding his deposition where the first twenty-plus questions cover his background. How old are you? Where are you from? Where did you go to school? Where did you work? What have you published. Even a question similar to one that sparked a news controversy two years ago: "And do you regularly read and keep up with the journals and professional literature published by these associations and in your field of political science generally?"
Now I am hoping all of my ancestors were involved in massive law suits where the lawyer was also a university professor. University archives — when the courthouse burned or flooded — are an alternative repository for a "reasonably exhaustive search" (or compulsively unreasonable for those of us who don't know when to stop). The case number is on the digital documents so that future genealogist can also go to the courthouse and see the entire case file if the courthouse didn't burn or the files were saved from the fire or flood.
Thank you to all of the repositories making it easier for us to locate historical documents without leaving home.
1.
Bryan A. Garner, Black's Law Dictionary, 8th ed. (St Paul, Minnesota: Thompson/West, 2004). [4th ed. recommended as best for genealogists when can find used version. Earlier editions now available on CD from Archive CD Books.] Digitized version of 1910 Black's Law Dictionary at http://www.constitution.org/dict/blacks_2nd.pdf.
2.
Lawrence M. Friedman, A History of American Law, 3d ed. (New York: Simon & Schuster, 2005).
© 2010, Debbie Parker Wayne, All Rights Reserved
Helen F. M. Leary and Elizabeth Shown Mills taught me why genealogists should be concerned about the law in a class at IGHR back in 2003. Benjamin B. Spratling III, Ann Carter Fleming, and Kay Haviland Freilich added to that knowledge in another IGHR course a few years later. They made me aware of Black's Law Dictionary1 and The History of American Law.2 A while back I discovered Law Librarian Blog and Legal History Blog. Both have posts of interest to historians and genealogists. All great resources for genealogists trying to learn more about the law.
The Law Librarian article Texas Tech Law Library Launches Digital Repository piqued my interest with a statement that there is "a complete collection of our publications faculty produced while at Texas Tech." So I browsed the collection. In addition to some great resources for learning about the law, the collection includes Executive Orders of Texas governors and personal papers of some professors.
Professor Daniel H. Benson was involved in an eight-year case against the City of Lubbock regarding the election system. One of the documents is a long list of exhibits and witnesses for the defense. Hand-written notes and lined-through sections on the typed documents could provide clues to the workings of a legal mind. But the best part is the deposition of one witness, maybe used during witness-prep. All of the questions and answers are there along with some directions like "you can elaborate on this."
Imagine the excitement of a genealogist in the future looking for her ancestor and finding his deposition where the first twenty-plus questions cover his background. How old are you? Where are you from? Where did you go to school? Where did you work? What have you published. Even a question similar to one that sparked a news controversy two years ago: "And do you regularly read and keep up with the journals and professional literature published by these associations and in your field of political science generally?"
Now I am hoping all of my ancestors were involved in massive law suits where the lawyer was also a university professor. University archives — when the courthouse burned or flooded — are an alternative repository for a "reasonably exhaustive search" (or compulsively unreasonable for those of us who don't know when to stop). The case number is on the digital documents so that future genealogist can also go to the courthouse and see the entire case file if the courthouse didn't burn or the files were saved from the fire or flood.
Thank you to all of the repositories making it easier for us to locate historical documents without leaving home.
1.
Bryan A. Garner, Black's Law Dictionary, 8th ed. (St Paul, Minnesota: Thompson/West, 2004). [4th ed. recommended as best for genealogists when can find used version. Earlier editions now available on CD from Archive CD Books.] Digitized version of 1910 Black's Law Dictionary at http://www.constitution.org/dict/blacks_2nd.pdf.
2.
Lawrence M. Friedman, A History of American Law, 3d ed. (New York: Simon & Schuster, 2005).
© 2010, Debbie Parker Wayne, All Rights Reserved
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