Before beginning a list of either general or specific references, it should be noted this website and its presentation of data from my years of research is not going to be accompanied by superscripts or footnotes for every fact included herein. This website is not the USGenWeb, Rootsweb, Ancestry or the GEDCOM product of canned genealogical software. It does not offer broad extractions from one specific source, but being just one surname line, offers specific extractions from myriads of sources, or just the opposite.
Because there will be no referencing with every piece of data, I'm assuming those who succeed in finding their ancestor's marriage, burial place, or birthdate, will email me for its specific source and presumably more detail. Serious researchers will, no doubt, contact me for that information. Many, it is suspected, will already have found an online site somewhere offering cemetery gleanings or marriage data seen here. But, novices will surely need to ask me for the source. I welcome that.
Because many of the people named in these pages derive from the earliest generations of Willem and Harmen Jans Lubberdinck van Borculo, I will reference the primary research of Mrs. John Spell, of Wichita Falls,TX., for those who haven't, as yet, been introduced to it.
The two articles, first appearing in 1953, which identified our immigrant ancestors, were published in the "New York Genealogical and Biographical Record(NYGBR)" under the title,"The Van Barkelo Family in America".
The initial article by Mrs. Spell, appeared in April,1953, pages 70-81,Volume 84, dealt with the descendants of Willem Jans Van Barkelo, assumed to be the older of the two brothers.
The second article appeared in the October,1953 issue, pages 196-207, and covered the descendants of Harmen Jans Van Barkelo, which early documents confirmed to be the brother of Willem..
For nearly 50 years, we've all relied on and referenced Mrs. Spell's articles to support our connections to one of the two Dutchmen. Not until 1984, however, were we able to discover, or, to at least verify our European surname, with the able assistance of Hendrik O. Slok, someone who could, no doubt, read old Dutch records.
Slok's contribution,"The Dutch Ancestry of the Van Barkello Family in Early Kings County,NY; in the Netherlands",pages 193-198,NYGBR,Vol.115,No.4(October,1984), was the bridge we all needed and wanted to cross, officially, to achieve the full measure of connection with our surname line in Europe.
For those, like myself, who began tracing their roots long before the Internet invaded our lives, we recall having to rely on the limited resources and references available at the time. In the mid-1970's, the compiled hardbound indexes were not as prevalent as today, in fact, most did not exist. The 1790 indexes were compiled decades ago, but the projects necessary to produce indexes from 1800-on did not materialize until genealogical interest had generated sufficient demand.
In 1952, the 1880 U.S. Federal Census Schedules were open to public viewing, having attained the 72-year statute requirement to secure issues of privacy. Genealogy was then still an exercise and indulgence for the rich and/or retired. In 1972, the 1900 census became viewable, and coupled with the development of a Federal Archives Regional Branch Library system which provided microfilmings of original documents, census schedules and duplicated materials otherwise kept and maintained at the National Archives in Washington D.C., genealogy suddenly became an accessible and affordable recreational pursuit for anyone. Soon thereafter, the LDS Church began its project to provide Family History Center Branch Libraries at many of its church locales to serve its members and gratiously opened these facilities to general public usage as well.
Most state historical societies were created over a century ago, and many genealogical societies have been around for over 50 years. However, their membership and collections were seldom as extensive as one's own home library and tended to preoccupy itself with just local history and its more prominent people. After 1972, monies from increased memberships and donations caused society bookshelves and filing cabinets to burgeon with newly published material, forcing most societies to seek larger accommodations. The Genealogical Forum of Oregon,Inc., to which I've belonged since April,1977, has had four location changes in the 26 years since I joined. It's probably one of the largest and best stocked societies on the West Coast, open almost every day, including Saturdays and Sundays.
Today, most of us are well-versed in the use of the Internet and the "WorldWideWeb" sites available to us. Genealogical websites, in particular, represent one of the fastest growing arenas for the placement(uploading) and retrieval(downloading) of data. Enormous online databases also provide the opportunity for connections with those willing to upload their genealogy and share their research.
To Research your ancestry, one can never side-step the utilization of federal and state census schedules. After first identifying an ancestor born prior to the last available census(currently 1930), it is vital each preceding census be used to provide the basic person/place/time-frame and relationship data which forms the foundation of ancestral research. Van Borculo research most often demands a methodical, sequential census search due to its surname-regression or "de-Anglicizing" tendencies, which make hopeful attempts at "quantum leaping" a frustrating and all too fruitless exercise.
As a matter of note, the most widely used reference I employ to help cousins track their specific Van Borculo branch lines, irregardless of spelling, is my collection of census data extracted more than 20 years ago and compiled into a book entitled Van Borculo Census Researcher,1982,276p. The book is just as its title implies, and does not discriminate among the many variant surname spellings, but includes both federal and state census gleanings. I've attempted to reconstruct those missing schedules while omitting the data(for good reasons) lost to war, fire, flood or natural disintegration. In some cases, specific birthyears are still unknown, but so much additional research can be offered that relationships may be deduced with reasonable certainty. Much of the census data from the Colonial Period through 1850 is available at this website.
Corroboration is the foundation of good genealogy, and with the number of categories offered from my Directory page and Sub-Directory System provided, you should eventually be able to find your ancestor and make most deductions on your own. But, should you falter, there will be plenty of contacts, besides myself, who can keep you on the right path.
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