Always look at all sides of a tombstone–there may be additional details on the “back,” the “side,” or the “top” of the stone. Most stones won’t contain a reminder the way this one does. There usually isn’t anything on the bottom of a stone and digging them up to look is frowned on and occasionally dangerous. And the back of the stone does give more information about Franzen: The Franzens are buried in what’s known locally as the “South Cemetery.” It’s actually the Evangelical Lutheran Cemetery southeast of Golden, Adams County, Illinois. Learn more about research methods and analysis in Michael’s newsletter Casefile Clues.
Under a US Congressional act of 1796 (the Act For The Relief and Protection of American Seamen (1 Stat. 477) signed into law on May 28, 1796), American seamen were periodically issued certificates to hopefully prevent them from being illegally impressed by ships from other nations. . These documents can appear in one of three formats: registers–listing certificates that were issued–not all are extant, some are held by the National Archives and others by local historical societies applications–proof and evidence–generally held by the National Archives, available on microfilm or digitally and usually arranged by port certificates–usually kept by the sailor himself The Mystic Seaport Museum has a database of entries from the Custom Houses of Fall River, Gloucester, New Haven, New London, Newport, Marblehead, and Salem. FamilySearch includes these databases: […]
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