Genealogy Books

This book is a well-written, thoroughly-researched examination of ancient Maya political structures, both as models and in actual functioning. It is based on Classic information sources, Colonial documentation and modern anthropological observation and discusses the tensions, pitfalls and benefits generated by the Maya way of political organization. I've read several works on Maya politics in the past few years, and though this volume is slim it is rich with both data and discussion of how the data can be viewed to rebuild a functional political system. Professor McAnany is much less interested in creating an elegant theory and much more concerned with trying to postulate how Maya politics actually worked, based on what the Maya themselves tell us. For those with an interest in the Maya this is an important book which pulls together older political theories and the latest information in a way that breathes life into the ruined cities and the people who built them.

The Lordly Ones is a must have for any reader of history, especially those just beginning the journey of researching the War of the Roses and the powerful Neville family and the critical role they played in it.

Richardson, skips the prose and gets straight to the point in an easy to read fashion that never skims over the details, yet makes the issues more striking and easy to recall with his charts and maps. He's also cleary comfortable offering his own opinion while laying the background on this complex family that turned into the ultimate family of 'players' by a series of masterful marriages.

Though Richard Neville aka The Kingmaker is the best known figure in the family it was his daughter Anne who wore a crown through her mariage to Richard III. And Richardson, doesn't just linger on the most famous of the Nevilles; he carefully takes the reader through their entire history in concise able fashion.

In 1838 the U.S. Congress directed that money remaining unclaimed by pensioners be transferred by the agents for paying pensions to the Treasury, if the money had remained unclaimed for eight months. This book is a list of 16,000 settled accounts for pensioners or their heirs who were required to obtain their payments from Washington. Pensioners from the Revolutionary War, War of 1812, Indian Wars, and the Mexican War are included. Pension Officers from all over the United States forwarded their accounts. Since these records were collected and maintained by the Auditors, and not the Pension Offices, they have not usually been included in pension research. This work is a finding aid to 144 boxes of accounts located in the National Archives, Washington, D.C.

This book is, first, a genealogy of the descendants of Johann Dietreich Loucks (LAUX) (migrated GE > NY 1709) through 9 generations. It also includes all known Loucks' descendants as of the writing in 1940. The data supporting much of the genealogy (church records, etc.) is transcribed in an appendix to the book.

Secondly, it has photographs, excerpts from other historical writings, and maps included in other parts of the book.

Finally, it has a reproduction (in original printing) of the Reunion Volume issued by the Loucks Family Association held in York, PA in 1910. This includes some historical (Germany, France) statements dating back to 1100 AD.

The data is pretty well researched, in my humble opinion, but there are minor errors, however those are documented in various Loucks/Laux fora on the Web. I would consider it a vital part of any Loucks/Laux researcher.

Another, principally Canadian-focused and not as well documented, Loucks genealogy book is by Dale McIntosh (Loucks Family History, CS90.L62 1984). I have not found a commercial source for that book.

As Continental forces and Virginia militia units were engaged in winning independence, American quartermasters and provisioners struggled to provide these units with all the necessities of life, from meals and guns to meat, fodder for horses, the horses themselves, firewood, and every other type of material. Much of this was requisitioned from the civilian population and certificates were issued payable in either continental or state funds, depending on the units supplied, upon presentation to court authorities. Thousands of these certificates issued to Virginians were duly entered by the courts, and they provide a fascinating insight into the period of the Revolution. These "Publick" Claims booklets contain interesting and useful information about the contributions of ordinary people to the Revolutionary War. They provide some details of people's service in the militia or as guards for prisoners of war; they indicate where some bodies of troops were at particular times; and they identify providers of horses, wagons, cattle, grain, or other supplies. Much of the information in these booklets cannot be found anywhere else, which makes the surviving records particularly valuable. Also remarkable is the fact that records survived from virtually every county in the state at that time with the exception of the newly formed Kentucky counties. This makes the collection even more valuable in covering areas which heretofore in this time period have suffered from a lack of personal data. The "Virginia Publick Claims" are published by counties. In addition to a faithful transcription by Janice Luck Abercrombie and the late Richard Slatten, a complete index is provided for each county booklet. This series is an extremely important genealogical tool for searchers in Revolutionary-era materials.

Each entry in this volume gives the name of the bride and groom, the date of the bond, and the name of the bondsman, who was often a relative of the bride. A brides' index follows at the back of the volume. All told, this work identifies the 3,500 oldest Loudoun County marriage bonds known to exist.

A careful and exact transcription of the militia registers for this most important county. Contains over 20,000 references to men who served during this period. Extremely valuable, since every able-bodied male over sixteen years was liable for service unless exempted by age or infirmity. Also important for families who moved away, since often in the registers it notes their destinations. The Loudoun County militia journals list the names of hundreds of men who lived there from 1793 until 1824. There are company rosters naming the officers, sergeants, corporals, drummers and clerks. Officers of higher rank and assignment are frequently mentioned. One can also find the names and locations of home and tavern owners who provided space for companies to muster and rooms for boards to convene in. Although there is little family information, some militiamen are further identified by the listing of their fathers' or masters' names beside their own. There are many rosters which include father and son or several brothers, all in the same companies.

As Continental forces and Virginia militia units were engaged in winning independence, American quartermasters and provisioners struggled to provide these units with all the necessities of life, from meals and guns to meat, fodder for horses, the horses themselves, firewood, and every other type of material. Much of this was requisitioned from the civilian population and certificates were issued payable in either continental or state funds, depending on the units supplied, upon presentation to court authorities. Thousands of these certificates issued to Virginians were duly entered by the courts, and they provide a fascinating insight into the period of the Revolution. These "Publick" Claims booklets contain interesting and useful information about the contributions of ordinary people to the Revolutionary War. They provide some details of people's service in the militia or as guards for prisoners of war; they indicate where some bodies of troops were at particular times; and they identify providers of horses, wagons, cattle, grain, or other supplies. Much of the information in these booklets cannot be found anywhere else, which makes the surviving records particularly valuable. Also remarkable is the fact that records survived from virtually every county in the state at that time with the exception of the newly formed Kentucky counties. This makes the collection even more valuable in covering areas which heretofore in this time period have suffered from a lack of personal data. The "Virginia Publick Claims" are published by counties. In addition to a faithful transcription by Janice Luck Abercrombie and the late Richard Slatten, a complete index is provided for each county booklet. This series is an extremely important genealogical tool for searchers in Revolutionary-era materials.

While the decennial federal census is one of the first information sources the novice genealogist learns about, many researchers never go beyond the general population schedules, to the slave and agricultural schedules. In fact, a household that was missed in the general census (it happens to all of us) is quite likely to show up there. The agricultural schedule names only the head of each household, but also provides considerable other information that helps to place the family in context in the community. Actually, it consists of forty-eight columns, showing production of everything from bushels of tobacco and gallons of wine to pounds of beeswax and tons of "water rotted hemp." Green, who has previously abstracted the agricultural censuses of Alabama, Missouri, Kentucky, and several other states, has limited herself to only six columns: Name of the owner, improved and unimproved acreage, cash value of the farm itself, value of farm implements and machinery, and value of livestock. These generally give a good indication of the prosperity of the establishment and, because these data are common all across the country (unlike cotton or flax production), the researcher may gain a good idea of wealth relative to other regions. The transcription follows the order in which names were recorded by the census enumerator within each parish, with a surname-only index in each volume. Original page numbers are not given, however. The parishes appear alphabetically, Ascension through Madison in Volume 1 and Morehouse through Winn in Volume 2 (which may also be purchased separately). If you find someone of interest here, of course, I recommend you make a date with a microfilm reader and examine the full listing!

This book was in excellent shape and arrived in a timely manor. It was important to me to receive this book because these are my ancestors. It will help with my research.