Vining Newsletter - January 2005

Dear Vining Researchers,

Thank you for providing me with feedback about a Vining newsletter. I hope that through this medium we can effectively communicate about research that each of us is conducting and can bring the power of numbers to bear on topics that might well be beyond the resources of any individual.

In most academic disciplines, there are published journals where peer-reviewed articles report research results. However, most of the research we are conducting about those who carry the Vining surname is not appropriate for such journals, in large part because it is too limited in scope to be of interest to the general genealogical community. That is not to say that some Vining research may not find its way into a publication, but in general, that is not the case. So, what is a Vining to do? I propose that we use this Vining newsletter as a forum for reporting results and asking questions. Below are several articles that are hopefully of interest to Vining researchers. An article on surname DNA projects will be included in a future newsletter.

REPORTING THE FACTS WITH DOCUMENTATION - Ruby Gordon
   We are all encouraged to document our genealogical and historical findings. Research directed toward establishing family relationships needs to be systematic and meticulously recorded. The purpose for documenting information in the first place is to create value to the data. Any lack of source documentation often reflects disorganized research and reduces credibility to genealogical and historical work. Sources are direct (primary) or indirect (secondary). Direct sources come from first-hand evidence by a witness such as a birth certificate, death certificate, or Bible record. Indirect sources, on the other hand, come from published works such as newspapers, journals, books and other situations that have been reported to have happened.
   When reporting research results, there are three common ways to document findings. These are by foot notes, end notes, and parenthetical references. Foot notes require the source be listed at the end of each page in the document with only the number appearing in the text. End notes should appear with the sources at the end of a document with numbers in the body of the text. Parenthetical references mean to document the source concisely and accurately in the body of the text with a list of works cited at the end of the document. The current trend is toward parenthetical references in the humanities which includes genealogy and history. The preferred method for the physical, biological, and behavioral sciences commands a variant version.
   This researcher suggests obtaining a manual for writers and researchers which can be found in most local book stores. Any one of the following will be most helpful as a guide that summarizes the documentation style of the Modern Language Association of America, the up-to-date method at a reasonable cost.
      Trimmer, Joseph F. A Guide to MLA Documentation, 6th Ed. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2004, 46 pages. Price $10.76 paperback.
      Trimmer, Joseph F. The Essentials of MLA Style: A Guide to the System Of Documentation Recommended by the MLA for Writers. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1998, 70 pages. Price $11.00 paperback.
      Gibaldi, Joseph. MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers, 6th Ed. New York: The Modern Language Association of America, 2003, 360 pp. Price $17.00 paperback.

CENSUS RECORDS
   The first decennial census of the population of the United States took place in 1790. Information for each household included the name of the "head of family" followed by the numbers of (1) Free white males 16 and above, (2) Free white males under 16, (3) Free white females, (4) All other free persons, and (5) Slaves. To prevent double counting of people who moved during the span of time in which the census was to occur, the census was to record persons according to where they were living as of 1 August 1790. We would expect, then, to have a fairly comprehensive documentation of the households headed by a Vining in the United States at that time. This may be the case for Connecticut, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, and Vermont, but it is often reported that during the War of 1812, the schedules for Delaware, Georgia, Kentucky, New Jersey, Tennessee, and Virginia were burned. However, there is some uncertainty about this. I have created a 1790 Vining census web site (see following article) and will welcome contributions so we can have a complete list of households headed by a Vining from that first census. Then, on to 1800, etc.

NOW WHERE DID I PUT THAT INFORMATION?
   I know how much time is involved in genealogical research, much of it in searching for records but a lot in transcribing material and documenting the sources. Unfortunately, an extraordinary amount of time may also be expended in trying to find what we know we have written down but can't quite put our fingers on at the moment. It is advantageous to all of us, then, if we can share information. In the past this has involved mailing an envelope stuffed full of photocopies from one person to another. Today, however, with access to the internet, we can post our material on a common web site, and then everyone can go to that place for the most up-to-date information. Also, it is much easier to correct an error when there is only one "copy" of a document than to send corrections to everyone who received the original, erroneous material. Therefore, I have created a Vining Family web site ( http://www.vfthomas.com/Viningfamilies.htm ) where genealogical material is presented in, I hope, a helpful format and where documentation is provided when available. Similarly, I am developing a Vining census web page ( http://www.vfthomas.com/Vining1790census.htm ) where all Vining households will eventually be listed. Currently, the page has only 1790 census records and only from New England and New York. Please send me your additions.

DNA and GENEALOGY
   We read about DNA in newspapers and magazines and hear about it on television more now than ever before. It has been used by the scientific community for many years to evaluate relationships among species but now is becoming another tool of genealogists. In a future Vining Family newsletter, there will be an article on Surname DNA Projects. Given this use of DNA in genealogy, I think it will be helpful for everyone to have a basic understanding of DNA. Therefore, each newsletter I will provide some information about DNA and will welcome contributions from you. For some of you, this will be old hat, so please feel free to skip to the next article. For the rest of you, here goes...
   DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) is a molecule (that is, a collection of connected atoms of various elements) that contains the blueprints for all the cellular material in us and in plants and in every other living thing. (If you find this and other statements oversimplified, please let me know and I will adjust my style in future articles.) Within each cell, we have DNA in two places. We have it in each nucleus (plural: nuclei) and in each mitochondrion (plural: mitochondria).
   Let's start with the nucleus where we have 46 of these DNA molecules, called chromosomes. In the nucleus, the arrangement of the atoms in each chromosome is more or less linear. (Sometimes you will read about "strands" of DNA.) These 46 chromosomes are not all different from each other; they come in pairs. Stated differently, we have two sets of 23 (where each of the 23 is basically different from every other one of the 23). There are two exceptions to this (not counting various genetic anomalies such as Down Syndrome). The first exception is that we have only one set of 23 chromosomes in our reproductive cells (sperm and egg). The second exception applies to males, who technically have 22 pairs and 2 singles. Because of the structure of these 2 singles, they are referred to as the X chromosome and the Y chromosome; think of a Y as an X with one "tail" missing (or at least very short). Females have two X chromosomes. You will hear more about this Y chromosome as it is used in genealogical research when the paternal lineage is of interest. So, to summarize the nuclear DNA: (1) it occurs in 46 pieces (2 sets of 23) in the nucleus of all our cells except in the nucleus of each reproductive cell where we have only 1 set of the 23; (2) in males, the two chromosomes of one of the 23 pairs are not identical to each other.
   Now for the mitochondria. In each mitochondrion, of which we have many in each cell, there is a single chromosome. The shape of this chromosome is not linear like the chromosomes of the nucleus. Instead, it is circular; that is, it doesn't have any ends. You will hear more about mitochondrial DNA because it is used in genealogical research when the maternal lineage is of interest.
   In the next newsletter, I will (try to) describe the structure of DNA. For next time, your reading assignment is the first 400 pages of ... (remember those days?).

OLDEST LIVING VININGS
   For reasons that will become apparent as you learn more about the transmission of DNA from one generation to the next, it is problematic to define genetically what we mean by a female Vining. For now, though, we will pretend that it is not a problem and that a female Vining is anyone who was born with that name. With that issue summarily dismissed, I think it might be interesting (and hopefully some of you do, too) to identify who are the oldest living male and female Vining (or, at least, the oldest who are willing to reveal their ages). My father turns 85 on 9 January 2005, but I am fairly sure that there are Vining men older than he is.

YOUR INPUT
   I would appreciate hearing what topics you would like to cover in future newsletters. If you have an interesting genealogical problem that you are working on or that you have solved, please write about it for inclusion in a future newsletter. Also, please feel free to comment about any of the above topics.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Tom

Thomas F. Vining
V. F. Thomas Co.
Delta Institute of Natural History
219 Dead River Road
Bowdoin, ME 04287
207-266-5748 = 207-BOOKS-4-U
http://www.vfthomas.com