Review of Virginia Immigrants and Adventures

As promised on our 12 April show, we are publishing here a review of Virginia Immigrants and Adventures:

Martha W. McCartney, Virginia Immigrants and Adventures 1607 – 1635: A Biographical Dictionary (Baltimore, MD: Genealogical Publishing Co., 2007). 833 pp., $49.95.

Martha McCartney provides an excellent collection of biographical information on the early colonists along the James River from difficult to obtain primary sources. Virginia Immigrants and Adventures 1607 – 1635: A Biographical Dictionary will no doubt become a favorite work of students and genealogists of colonial Virginia history. That said, this is clearly a reference work. The format of the book is alphabetic for the most part, except where family groups appear listed together. This means that if the person being sought was identified with his/her parents, it may be necessary to search all the entries of the surname to locate the pertinent biography. This problem is negated, however, by the index included at the end of the book, making the book fairly easy to use.

In addition to the biographical information, McCartney has used her knowledge of the early geography of the area to link individuals to a particular place within the area. A map shows the areas where information on the individuals included in the book resided. Each biography references this map. This will be helpful in tracing individuals from the period in which counties govern the area, to this early period where individuals are identified by plantation or now defunct city. The first portion of the book also includes a brief description of the colonization of this area, describing, in great detail, each of the locations referenced on the map.

Clearly a work of many years diligent effort, scholars and genealogists alike may expect to benefit from the wealth of information McCartney has amassed. Unlike most histories and biographies covering this time period, McCartney has clearly tried to gather information on every person mentioned in the available records for this area. This makes it a source for information about the lives and habits of people which are widely available nowhere else.

Amanda Sims, MA (Pending, in history)

Historian Martha McCartney to Guest on 12 April Show

You won't want to miss this one! You don't know her yet, but you certainly should. So far, our guests have been well-known in genealogical circles, but it's also important for Family Roots Radio to introduce others who have had a significant impact on the field. Martha McCartney is an historian-archeologist who has applied her careful and diligent findings to genealogy and the field of family history is much better off for her efforts. A multiple award-winning research historian, with a focus on Jamestown, Virginia, Martha has recently published an 800 page biographical dictionary, Virginia Immigrants and Adventurers, 1607-1635. With biographical sketches of 5,500 early settlers, everyone with Virginia ancestors should take notice.

But, we're not limited to Virginia. We'll be discussing the kinds of sources and strategies Martha used to develop these biographies. Every researcher will want to learn from her experience. Come listen in, and become a better family historian!

More Links from 22 March "Keeping Current" Show

Our "Keeping Current" show included a great interview with genealogical editor Leland Meitzler, and a few links came up in that interview and later in the show we wanted to share with you. Leland mentioned Liz Kersten's "Digital Genealogist" as a great example of an on-line, electronic magazine. We also talked about the many genealogy blogs, and noted Randy Seaver's blog, which also has a great list of other genealogy blogs you might want to check out.

For our "Research Tip from the Pros" we mentioned the many on-line dictionaries you can use to find meanings of obscure words. One of our favorites is Dict.org, since it allows you to search many different dictionaries. You should also check out Bartleby.com, another great reference website.

Our free data site of the week was Chronicles of the Scotch-Irish Settlement in Virginia, available at RootsWeb. Of course, there's a link on the Genealogy Sleuth page as well, under Court, Estate and Probate links.

We also touched on genealogical newsletters distributed on-line, but did not get a chance to identify many of them. In addition to the sites discussed in our "Interactive Website" segments (links in the show's description below), here's a starter list to check out. Go their webpages and subscribe, for free:
DearMYRTLE's Daily Genealogy Column
RootsWeb Review
The Global Gazette
Ancestry Weekly Journal
Branching Out
Family Tree Magazine Newsletter