March 2024 Program
How to Find a Needle in a Haystack Without Even Looking
Presented by Lisa Woolfson
Treasures, that’s what I call them. It’s those little pieces of information that we dig and dig for or those that show up unexpectedly are what keeps genealogists going back for more. You never know what you are going to find in the most unlikely of places. The beginning of this story starts at a house in Granite, Baltimore County, MD. Our second stop is the book table at the Baltimore County Genealogical Society. Next we will journey back in time to examine the exciting story of William Penn and his friend (my seventh great grandfather) William Buckman. The adventure ends up two graveyards in Carroll County, MD. You’ve probably been by them before and never knew of the deep American history that lies beneath the surface of those grounds.
Lisa Woolfson is a genealogist who has been researching her family and the families of others for thirteen years. She has been writing and presenting her family’s history for the Granite Historical Society, Baltimore County MD, the Historical Society of Baltimore County, the Maryland Center for History and Culture, the Frederick County Genealogical Society, Heritage Frederick, the Bucks County Genealogical Society, the Bucks County Historical Society, the Spring Grove Area Historical Preservation Society.
Before Lisa was a genealogist, she was a schoolteacher. She has a B.S degree from Towson University and an M.S. degree from McDaniel College (formerly Western Maryland College). She taught for private schools, Baltimore County Public Schools, and Carroll Community College in Westminster, MD.
Watch the recorded program here.
Summary of the presentation by Erica Runkles.
Lisa G. Woolfson, a Spring Grove genealogist, presented the ancestrial adventure of William Buckman to SCPGS at our March 3rd meeting. “Finding That Needle in a Haystack When You Are Not Even Looking” covered information that she came discovered while researching her family history. The “haystack” was searching for information on family members who had fought in the War of 1812 and the American Revolution and resided in Pennsylvania. The “needle” was discovering that her relatives had come aboard the ship “Welcome” in 1682, when William Penn came with a shipload of colonists. While doing her research, Lisa discovered the “Welcome Society” and decided to use her research to join the Society. Following the application process, she was able to prove that William Buckman, her 7th great-grandfather, was the William Buckman who was one of the original immigrants to arrive in Pennsylvania with William Penn in 1682. She described the various records and resources that she used to prove that her family members were among early colonists to Pennsylvania. Her presentation included information on the voyage and life on board the ship that her ancestors endured to come to America. The content of two of her slides follow.
Food for the Belly
Sickness Abounds
Resources for presenter’s research:
Passengers and Ship Prior to 1684, Volume 1 of Penn’s Colony, Genealogical and Historical Materials
Relating to the Settlement of Pennsylvania by Walter Lee Sheppard, Jr., www.HeritageBooks.com.
I am your Friend, Wm. Penn, The Welcome Society of Pennsylvania, 1300 Locust Street, Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania 19107.
Lisa Woolfson is a genealogist who has been researching her family and the families of others for thirteen years. She has been writing and presenting her family’s history for the Granite Historical Society, Baltimore County MD, the Historical Society of Baltimore County, the Maryland Center for History and Culture, the Frederick County Genealogical Society, Heritage Frederick, the Bucks County Genealogical Society, the Bucks County Historical Society, the Spring Grove Area Historical Preservation Society.
Before Lisa was a genealogist, she was a schoolteacher. She has a B.S degree from Towson University and an M.S. degree from McDaniel College (formerly Western Maryland College). She taught for private schools, Baltimore County Public Schools, and Carroll Community College in Westminster, MD.
Watch the recorded program here.
Summary of the presentation by Erica Runkles.
Lisa G. Woolfson, a Spring Grove genealogist, presented the ancestrial adventure of William Buckman to SCPGS at our March 3rd meeting. “Finding That Needle in a Haystack When You Are Not Even Looking” covered information that she came discovered while researching her family history. The “haystack” was searching for information on family members who had fought in the War of 1812 and the American Revolution and resided in Pennsylvania. The “needle” was discovering that her relatives had come aboard the ship “Welcome” in 1682, when William Penn came with a shipload of colonists. While doing her research, Lisa discovered the “Welcome Society” and decided to use her research to join the Society. Following the application process, she was able to prove that William Buckman, her 7th great-grandfather, was the William Buckman who was one of the original immigrants to arrive in Pennsylvania with William Penn in 1682. She described the various records and resources that she used to prove that her family members were among early colonists to Pennsylvania. Her presentation included information on the voyage and life on board the ship that her ancestors endured to come to America. The content of two of her slides follow.
Food for the Belly
- Usual Food – “salt house” and “hard tack”.
- Occasional fresh fish and turtles.
- Dried peas, beans, cheese, and butter.
- Cooked over charcoal fires in metal boxes, weather permitting – often eaten cold.
- However, biscuits got hard to eat, cheese got moldy, butter turned rancid, and beer got sour.
- Water not safe to drink so even children drank beer.
Sickness Abounds
- Seasickness
- Minor illnesses could quickly spread among passengers and crew.
- Ship’s fever-small pox killed 31 during the Welcome’s crossing.
- Captain forced to put the ship into “Little Egg Harbor” in New Jersey order to allow the fever to
- run its course.
- Still fortunate because of some journeys over half of the passengers died.
Resources for presenter’s research:
Passengers and Ship Prior to 1684, Volume 1 of Penn’s Colony, Genealogical and Historical Materials
Relating to the Settlement of Pennsylvania by Walter Lee Sheppard, Jr., www.HeritageBooks.com.
I am your Friend, Wm. Penn, The Welcome Society of Pennsylvania, 1300 Locust Street, Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania 19107.