There are Benefits to Cleaning Out Your Basement

Under my living room I have a little storage space, about 3 feet high, running the full length and width of the room (13' x 24').  Nearly 1,000 cubic feet of dry inside storage space. Packed full. There are all sorts of things we have put in there - never to be seen again.   Along with an admirable collection of dust and debris, there are lamps, suitcases, old pillows and bedspreads, knickknacks, my old comic collection, one new car tire, an inflatable boat [anybody want an inflatable boat?],  and dozens of boxes of books and papers.  Somewhere in there, I knew, I had some old papers I had shipped up from my grandmother’s house in Christiansted, but where?  It seemed like less trouble going to all the way to St Croix to look through the collection at Whim than to tackle that beast of a storage area.

Well, Monday was a holiday for me but not for my wife, so I figured I’d surprise her and spend my day off cleaning out and organizing the years of junk, rather than “chillaxing” in front of the TV like most sensible people.  Since the ceiling is 3' high and I'm 6' 1", it was pretty cramped, and I'm still quite sore, but it was worth it. Not only did I complete a task we’ve been putting off for years, but I found that box of old papers. That night, I started going through them and made quite a find: the Royal Appointment of my great grandfather, Christian Andreas Conrad, to the office of Toldskontrølor (Comptroller of Customs) of St Croix in 1907.

St Croix Death Records on Ancestry.com

When I began searching for my family there were very few records available online for St Croix. 

The best online collection was the St Croix census.  There were indexes at the Danish Demographic Database (http://www.ddd.dda.dk/ddd_en.htm) and VISHA (http://stx.visharoots.org/db.html) and images on Ancestry.com. 

There were a few church records on FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/) and the copy of NARA’s Colored People records M-1883 on Fold3 (which has since been posted to Ancestry.com). 

That was about it.

St Croix Records Back on Ancestry After a Year

Long time readers will remember that back in May 2012 Ancestry posted a large collection of records from the Virgin Islands (see my post, New Virgin Islands Records on Ancestry.com) and then, a week later, yanked them down. (See Virgin Islands Records Vanished from Ancestry.com).  Well, mostly, they’re back.  Hopefully to stay.

Ancilla and Elizabeth: Who were they?

Probably one of the most enjoyable aspects of blogging genealogy is helping other people research their Virgin Islands roots.  The complete lack of helpful information for VI researchers makes it very easy to get frustrated and quit.  Hopefully, I help fill in a little there.  Apart from the sheer enjoyment of sharing my passion, working on someone else’s family allows me to work with records and locations that don’t pertain to my family. It helps me learn about the other people on the islands which gives me a better understanding of the culture and society that shaped my family.
Since it’s summer, most of my free time is devoted to the old “honey-do” list and I have been lax in both blogging and genealogy. I haven’t been as energized as I would like, so I was thrilled to receive this email from a blog reader:

I have been looking into Genealogy recently in St Croix and stumbled across your blog that is probably the most informative thing I have found. 

I have been looking into a little bit a family mystery.  We have not known much about my Great grandfathers Brother (I guess my great -great uncle).  Only that he left Denmark and died in the Caribbean.  Since I last looked into it a few years back there was not much available on the internet.  A couple of seeks ago, I tried again and found quite a bit.  His Gravestone on find a grave (his name is Jacob Sorensen).  He died a shoemaker in 1874 after at least 25 years on the island.  I am not sure how common it was for soldiers to stay on during the Danish period   
What I have been able to find through census records, Visha and Ancestry, is that he was married (something that we did not know).   I would like to find the marriage license.  I would also like to find any christening records (to see if there are any distant cousins out there).
 
What I also find intriguing is that I believe his wife (Elizabeth Block)would have been descended from Slaves because her mother's name was Ancilla Benners.  I have read that Ancilla means Slave girl in Latin.  I would love to find out more about them.

The reason I am writing is that I will be going to St Croix for a few days in a couple of weeks.  It is a family trip but I am hoping I will have a little time to do some research.  I live in Salt Lake City so I do have access to resources but I am wondering if you might have any suggestions on where I might be able to visit in St Croix to find a little bit more about my relatives.

Sorry for the long e-mail.  thanks  James

Well James, I wanted to give you something to help for your trip. While I certainly didn’t do an exhaustive research job since time is short, I think I found some things that will help your search in St Croix considerably.

VI Passenger Lists - And a Tempting Clue

Some of the most useful records for US genealogy are the Passenger Lists that show when the first immigrants came to Ellis Island, Castle Garden, or some other US port city.  These same records show VI researchers when their ancestors left the islands and came to the US (probably New York).  Wouldn’t it be nice if there were similar records showing movement to and from the Virgin Islands?

Turns out, there are.  Many people don’t realize that the Danish Archives in Copenhagen hold some very similar records.  These records were microfilmed and eventually imaged to DVD on to a set of 34 discs and several copies were given in 2011 as a gift to libraries on the Virgin islands, Puerto Rico, and Tortola. 

Immigrant Workers–19th Century St Croix Population-Part 2

In my last post, All Bahn Ya! - 19th Century St Croix Population, I showed this graph of the percentage of Crucians as compared to those born in other places throughout much of the 19th century.  I discussed the steady decrease in the numbers of residents from Africa in that post. 

As I explained, this was a direct result of the abolition of the slave trade in 1803 and the aging of those original slaves only to be replaced by a generation of native born Crucians.  This time I want to explore that other interesting feature: the rising “Other Caribbean” line. 

Understanding this feature sheds some light on not only the history of St Croix, but also gives some insight into the history and conditions on the other islands in the Caribbean.

Pulling a Thread to Unravel Genealogical Tangles

Sometimes pulling a single thread can unravel a multitude of genealogical problems. I had the fortune of finding such a thread in my own research recently. By finding a record of a family member, I was able to answer nagging questions I have had for some time about mystery persons in census returns, add needed strength to the identification of my 4^th great grandmother, and connect with a new line of cousins from St Croix. To tell the story, I’ll begin with each of the questions I had uncovered and then show how, by researching non-family members in censuses over an 80 year period and 3 generations led to adding branches I didn’t know existed in my own tree.

Pictures from Paradise

One of my readers who is suffering with the Hurricane Sandy aftermath asked for some pictures from my recent trip to St Croix. While I had planned to post some of them, as they applied to genealogy, it’s taking me too long to work through them so here’s a start.

Ancestral Homes–11 A Company St

11 A Company Street, Christiansted St Croix

One of the main projects I had planned for my visit to St Croix was to walk around Christiansted and locate my ancestors homes.  I figured that the structures themselves were probably gone, but at least I could find where they were located, to get a sense of the place. 

Since the records of St Croix are sufficiently voluminous and detailed, I have collected over 170 house numbers of relatives in town.  To keep the project small, I reduced this to just the addresses of my direct line and still was left with 28, scattered all over town.  During my trip, we walked until our feet gave out, but were able to document many of them.  I still have some left for a future trip.  It is interesting to look at the history of the house, and see how much we can glean from our genealogical records.

Return from Paradise

Customs House and Fort in Christiansted

Last week I visited the beautiful island of St Croix.  It wasn’t the first time I’ve been there, but after all the research I’ve done on my family, I saw it with new eyes.   I managed to get at least some of my wish list accomplished on the trip, although to tell the truth, I frequently got distracted.  I had to spend time at the beach, diving, and the mandatory boat trip to Buck Island.  So, while I’m getting back into the groove of real life, I wanted to do just a quick post and hint at what I’ll be writing about soon.

Birthday Trip to Paradise

Are you obsessed with researching your family and visiting the places your ancestors lived?  Do you have difficulty convincing your spouse that an ancestral home town would be an exciting spot to spend that hard-earned vacation budget or precious annual leave? Here’s a great suggestion for how to get your spouse to not only support the idea, but to actually suggest it: 

Have ancestors from a beautiful tropical island.

This year, for my birthday, my wife suggested we take a trip to St. Croix so that I could visit all of the places I have found in my research and meet up with the people I’ve contacted.  Of course, if we spend some time at the beach, that would be fine too.  So we agreed and we’re going next month, from November 8th - 15th.
Although I’ve been there many times (this picture is from my 2006 visit), I never knew that my family had such a long history on the island.  I knew about my grandmother’s house on Strand St in Christiansted, but I never knew about the other family homes.  I definitely want to take a walking tour and get pictures of the locations I’ve found.  I want to visit 45 Fisher St, where the van Beverhoudts lived for 100 years.  I want to put some context into the records I‘ve collected. I also plan to visit Whim to look at their resources and we’ll hop over to St Thomas for a day. But, what else is there?  I don’t really know much about what’s available on-island that I can’t do from home.  This is where I need help.
I’m reaching out to any readers who are familiar with the resources on the islands.  What else should I do while I’m there?  What records/resources are available there that I can’t reasonably get from home?  How could I maximize the genealogical value of the trip?  What would you do if you only had a week (while leaving time for the beach)?  Who should I look up while I’m there?
Please leave me a comment or send me an email with suggestions.  With your help, I’m hoping this can be as productive as it will be fun.

Who’s In the House–Agnes Carrington

Most of my research has been on my maternal grandfather’s line.  I have not done much work at all on my grandmother’s line, mostly since I have a couple of cousins who have been working it for a long time.  My grandmother, Olga Lagonterie (1899-1986), was from St. Lucia, another small island.  Of course, she eventually came to St Croix, or she wouldn’t have met my grandfather.  In fact she came to St Croix in 1927, with her mother, Blanche Lagonterie (b. 1867) and sister Blanche Lagonterie (b. 1901).  In the 1930 census, all three were living in Christiansted, renting a house belonging to my grandfather’s family.

Section of 1940 Census showing household of Blanche Lagonterie

By 1940, the younger Blanche had moved to New York and Olga had married my grandfather, Ludvig. The elder Blanche, age 74, was living in Christiansted but had moved to 47 Company St. My cousin pulled the 1940 Census page and noticed something very strange.  In Blanche Lagonterie’s household there was listed another person, Agnes Carrington, age 16.  She is listed as an Adopted Daughter.  Since I had never heard of an adopted daughter, I asked my family.  No one had ever heard the name.  So we wondered: 

Who’s Agnes Carrington, and what is she doing in my great-grandmother’s house in 1940?

Christiansted Cemetery-Like the Good Old Days

My grandparents, Ludvig Conrad (1894-1972) and Olga Conrad nee Lagonterie (1899-1986), are buried in the Cemetery in Christiansted.  Their grave is in the Danish Consulate’s Historic Danish Cemeteries list for the Danish Cemetery in Christiansted.  They are located in Grave #131. The consulate has a photo of the tombstone on their website. In 2000, I visited St Croix with my wife and my son.  Although this was long before I developed any interest in genealogy, I nevertheless visited the cemetery to pay my respects to my grandparents. 

The cemetery was clearly unkept, with grass growing untrimmed and weeds unchecked.  In fact, it took considerable searching to locate the grave.  My wife was astounded at the sad state of the cemetery.  We lamented the obvious decay that the cemetery had suffered over the last few decades.

St Croix Census Responses–Creative Occupations

It’s always interesting to read old census forms because they often have amusing entries.  Occupations, in particular, are interesting.  In the St. Croix census, the Occupation field held either a person’s job or other information on what they did or how they were supported.  Sometimes they provided extra information or even commentary that gives a modern reader, who is used to the “just the facts” responses, a chuckle.

Here is a set of responses I collected that struck me as unusual, either in the way the occupation was put (quill driving or bookkeeping), the extra information provided (principal stock keeper, an excellent man), or by the many ways a person can be described as unemployed (sitting down, nothing) and (lives by what he can obtain).  Some of these people are having a hard time finding work (House servant; has given up and will leave this place) or are in some way poor (no support and very destitute). 

It is also interesting that the problems with cheap imports are hardly new.  William Betts is listed in 1841 as a “shoemaker, but at present can scarcely make a living by it in consequence of the great importation of foreign shoes”.  I’m also wondering about Mr. de Silva who is listed as a “Schoolmaster, Lutheran clerk, gravedigger and inviter”.  I don’t think I want to accept one of his invitations.

If anyone has a clue what Carl P Dick did in 1841, let me know.  Kind of looks like candidate philosopher.  Not much call for that still.

These come from the St Croix censuses on the VISHA Database (http://stx.visharoots.org/db.html).

Year	Name	Age	Sex	Occupation
1835	Peggy	60	F	small gang, minding sucking children
1841	Alexander	2	M	house servant, infant incapable of working
1841	Carl	50	M	keeps the yard & street clean and brings wood
1841	Carl P. Dick	24	M	candid. philos., looking for employment in the island
1841	Isabella Hodge	39	F	mother of a sick woman and in poor circumstances, lives by needlework
1841	Jacob	35	M	Cleans candle sticks, knives & forks etc. etc..
1841	Lucy Ruan	59	F	Ensane, and can give no explanation whatever either with regard to herself and her two leprous children, who are supported by the Land Treasury. They all belong to the English Church
1841	Sophia Abraham	62	F	employed to take charge of the house, which is unoccupied and out of repair
1841	William Betts	28	M	shoemaker, but at present can scarcely make a living by it in consequence of the great importation of foreign shoes
1846	Francis Armstrong	35	M	no employment, living upon what he has worked for
1846	Henry Malleville Francis de Silva	29	M	Schoolmaster, Lutheran clerk, gravedigger and inviter
1846	I. N. Meinche	20	F	not specified; presumably Prison warden, as he signs the form
1846	Isabella Charles	62	F	Celebrated fruit seller
1846	J.C. Krause	50	M	lives by what he can obtain
1846	Jim Keating	22	M	No situation, being an Idiot
1846	John G. Krause	58	M	on good cheer, no title, no office
1846	Peter Teal	62	M	no support and very destitute
1846	W. von Bretton	60	M	quill driving or book keeping
1850	Ann Norager	36	F	constantly in the hospital occasioned from an incurable sickness
1850	Betzy Andrew	34	F	Said to be doing nothing
1850	Caroline	52	F	takes care of her family which is very large
1850	Eliza Mitchell, Miss	56	F	living by economy & industry
1850	Elizabeth Hansen	59	F	charity, by Gods help
1850	Isabella Gowan	24	F	don't know what she does
1850	J L Wittrog	47	M	burgher, support his family as he best can
1850	Johannes	64	M	fisher on his own hook
1850	John Slate	40	M	stopping without permission
1850	Madlane	41	F	does nothing since the revolt
1850	Mary Lucas	57	F	trafficking fruit, assists her husband in making a living
1850	Rachel Gordon	18	F	little or nothing, supported by me
1850	Rosanna	60	F	renter of a house but cannot say how she lives
1855	Albert	15	M	caring stock and to do what he is told
1855	Andreas	32	M	principal stock keeper, an excellent man
1855	Barsheba James	55	F	sitting down, nothing
1855	Elisabeth Elskau	58	F	minding her husband
1855	Leah Nickson	49	F	not employed but minding her mother
1855	Martha Ruan	51	F	attending to her husband by permission
1855	Rosina	16	F	washer apprentice to Sophia Dyer by order of the judge
1855	Sarah	32	F	allowed to live with her husband being delicate and not fit to work
1855	William Alexander	16	M	going to America I believe
1857	James J. Grant	10	M	employed in various ways when he returns from school
1857	Paulina Edwards	11	F	apprentice, attends the Anglican church & school by the request of her mother
1860	Caroline Daniel	60	F	does what is in her power
1860	Sue	42	F	skulking
1880	Alexander Sanders	30	M	former cartman; given up and will leave this place this week
1880	Mary Peterson	27	F	House servant; has given up and will leave this place