Monday, January 14, 2008

Family Tree online!


I’ve been able post the Jeffrey Family Tree on a free website. The website is http://jimjeffrey.tribalpages.com. Feel free to check it out. I’ve only posted the Jeffrey side of my family tree, because that is where my efforts have been recently. My mother’s side, the Bolenders (her adoptive parents), and the Lanes has not been uploaded to the website. That will come later.
It’s been pretty amazing how much information has been uncovered. The earliest events are the births of a couple of ancestors in 1625! The latest event is the death of my uncle, William Keith Jeffrey in May 2007. I’m still in the process of adding photos to this website. The Jeffrey ancestors in the tree have come from Scotland, England, Ireland, and Norway. I have not done all the work. My family has contributed much of it (especially my mom, Nancy, and sister, Janet). I have also had the fortune of connecting with others who have done much research on different branches of the tree. I’ve been in touch with a handful of other Jeffrey, MacFadden, McLean, and Shipman researchers that have graciously shared their information with me.
I’d love to hear any comments, corrections, or suggestions you might have. It’s been a very fascinating and rich time for me!

Sunday, January 6, 2008

Genealogy Treasures

Was visiting family over the Thanksgiving holiday, and came across a few items that were of interest in my ancestry research.
The first was a brush holder that I referred to when I told about my great-grandfather, Hans Eldor Morck. He had crafted this for his daughter, Elsie, and she had given it to my dad, James Warren Jeffrey, as a memento of his grandfather. Hans was very gifted in his craftsmanship, and it is reflected in this piece.


The second item was a closer look at the bed that belonged to my parents. There is the date 1852 inscribed on the bottom of the frame. My mother is convinced that this is the bed Henry Jeffrey was born in, and she also says that James Leonard Jeffrey was born in this bed. This cannot be confirmed, but is very interesting. My parents inherited the bed from my grandmother, Agnes Morck Jeffrey, James Leonard’s wife.
The third item was a treasure! I discovered an ambrotype photograph of my great-grandmother, Agnes Moscrip Jeffrey, holding her newborn baby, Henry. The photo must have been taken in early 1860 (Henry was born January 12, 1860).
The technique of an ambrotype was invented in 1851. The photographic image was formed on a treated sheet of glass and then backed with a dark, usually black, material. Being made of glass, they were fragile and were housed in a casing, whick usually looks like a miniature book. The major disadvantage of the ambrotype is that copies could not be made. Each ambrotype is an opiginal. The case is falling apart, and someone has used clear tape to keep the hinge together, but it is a classic! I’ve touched up the photo, and here is the photo of mother and child.