The Sackett Family Association Blog

Do you recognize this young lady?

2012-01-31T08:16:00.002Z

Association member Dennis Gottier has found this daguerreotype photograph among his mother's family items.

Daguerreotypes were commonly used from the 1840s to 1860s, which might put the young lady's birth in the range 1820 to 1840.

Dennis does not know if the subject is a Sackett, but is hoping someone might recognize her.

2012 Sackett Reunion is open for reservations

2012-01-22T21:29:00.001Z

For anyone planning to attend this year’s reunion in Westfield, MA in September, you can now make your hotel reservations. The hotel is the Holiday Inn Express in Westfield, MA. It is located just off exit 3 off Route I-90 which is also called the Mass Pike. The hotel address is 39 Southampton Rd. Westfield, MA 01085. The phone number is: 413-564-6900. A block of rooms has been reserved under “Sackett Family Reunion” at a reduced rate of $119.95 per night for the dates of September 19, 20, 21 and 22, 2012. The rooms are all double queen rooms.
Please plan your stay so that you check in at least by Wednesday, September 19 as the meeting will begin PROMPTLY at 9 a.m. on the following morning, Thursday, September 20 in the conference room at the hotel. Our meetings are scheduled for the 3 days September 20, 21 and 22 with a group dinner planned for the evening of September 22, so if you are planning to attend the entire meeting, you should plan to check out of the hotel the morning of September 23.
If you have not already advised either Deb Barbee or me that you are attending, please do so. Also, some of you mentioned bringing your spouse, family or children and we need to know how many will be in your party and also all the names of those attending with you. This is for head count and also for badges, etc.
Making your reservations should go smoothly, but if there are any questions or problems, my contact at the hotel is the manager, Arlee Meade. Or you can contact me at slp3000gt@cox.net.

Best regards,
Sharon Powalka
North Granby, CT

New on sackettfamily.info

2011-12-31T23:27:00.002Z

The Sackett Family Association website sackettfamily.info has been updated with the following new pages:

Massachusetts vital records, 1911–1915
New members 339 Mary Brade, 340 Nathan Sackett, 341 Crystal E Sackett, 342 Kathleen "Kathi" Normandeau
Adopt-a-newspaper research project (20 records added; total 1,245)
Sackett places
Early Sacketts timeline chart
Notable Sacketts timeline chart

Additional information on places bearing the Sackett name would be welcome. In particular, it would be interesting to know who the places were named after.

The timeline charts are an attempt to show the lifespans of some early and notable Sacketts in the context of historical events.

New on sackettfamily.info

2011-11-30T00:06:00.000Z

The Sackett Family Association website sackettfamily.info has been updated with the following new and revised pages:

Ohio deaths and burials (470 records)
Massachusetts Masons membership cards (25 records)
Updated DNA Project (added results for Paul S Sackett & Terry J Sackett; revised conclusions for Vermont and New Haven lines)
TSFA website added to British Library UK Web Archive
New members 335 Joseph Sackett, 336 Rebecca Paul, 337 Thomas Neumann, 338 Paul Sackett
Revised member's page 178 Joan Leary
Updated Thurmon King's database

Sackett Family Association historian Thurmon King continues to add ever more content to his database. This now contains records for 36,345 people. After removing for privacy reasons those still living or born after about 1920, records for 29,147 people are now online with this update. If you have not checked recently, you may find more information on the Sacketts in your line. If you find gaps, and you have more information, do please let Thurmon know. This is a collaborative venture!

The Association website has been accepted for preservation by the British Library UK Web Archive. The entire site will be archived by the Library at approximately six-monthly intervals, with the archived copies being publicly available. It will be interesting in years to come to see how the site contents change over time. It is also a significant step in ensuring the preservation of our laboriously gathered Sackett data.

Terry Sackett's DNA test brings new discovery

2011-11-11T08:54:00.001Z

DNA test results for Association member Terry Sackett have led to a significant discovery for descendants of the Vermont and New Haven lines.

We have been searching for some time for a Sackett descendant with a well-documented ancestry back to John Sackett of New Haven. Terry fitted the bill ideally as his ancestral line has good documentary evidence for each link back to John.

We had hoped that Terry's results would match those of descendants of Simon Sackett the colonist, thus proving a genetic link between Simon and John. This would have supported the family tradition quoted by Weygant in The Sacketts of America that John's father, also John, was Simon's brother. It would also have supported the theory that all Sacketts are related, originating in a single family in Thanet, Kent.

Terry's DNA does not match that of Simon's line. Instead, and rather surprisingly, it matches with several descendants of Joseph Sackett of Vermont. This means that Joseph of Vermont and all his descendants are in the line of John of New Haven. In the absence of other early immigrants, it is a reasonable conclusion that Joseph of Vermont (who is found there in the 1790 census) was a great-grandson of John of New Haven.

This latest test result also makes it likely that Simon the colonist and John of New Haven were not related, despite the family tradition. Test results are not yet conclusive on this as John's DNA has not been determined. The common ancestor between Terry and the Vermont descendants is not John himself but is assumed to be John's grandson Joseph, now believed to be the father of Joseph of Vermont.

More DNA tests will be needed. In particular, we now need male descendants, with the Sackett name, of one of John of New Haven's sons other than Lieutenant Joseph Sackett.

More explanation and charts are on the website at DNA project

New on sackettfamily.info

2011-09-30T23:21:00.000+01:00

This month's update to the Sackett Family Association website includes the following new and revised pages:

    * Florida death indexes
    * Frederick Plummer Sackett gallery & descendant chart
    * Added RSS feed from TSFA blog to What's new? section on home page
    * Added Subject Index to Site Map
    * Updated 2012 Sackett reunion, Westfield, MA
    * New members 333 Cinda Simmons, 334 Sara E "Kit" Bowser
    * Member's page revised 17 Ray J Sackett

Are you planning to attend the 2012 Sackett reunion?

2011-09-19T21:56:00.000+01:00

This is a reminder that in the next week or so, I will be giving the hotel in Westfield, MA a room count for them to hold a block of rooms for us for our Sackett Family Reunion next year. If you are planning to attend the reunion and have not already advised Debbie Barbee or me that you will be coming and how many people are in your party, please let me know as soon as possible. For your reference, the dates of the reunion are: September 20–22, 2012.
Also, if you are planning to attend and are coming from somewhere local to Westfield and do not need a hotel room, we’d still like to know, so we can get an idea how many and who are planning to attend.

Thanks for your help!
Regards,
Sharon Powalka

New on sackettfamily.info

2011-08-31T20:30:00.004+01:00

This month's update to the Sackett Family Association website http://sackettfamily.info/ includes the following new pages:

• British Postal Service appointment books, 1737–1969
• UK Railway employment records, 1833–1963
• Probate index, Berkshire County, Massachusetts, 1761–1900
• Births, Guernsey
• Deaths, Guernsey
• Ancestors and Descendants of Frederick Plummer Sackett
• Adopt-a-newspaper research project (39 records added; total 1,225)
• New members 329 Donna Grote, 330 Peggy Lockwood, 331 Nigel "Ollie" Sackett, 332 Anna Shaffer
• New and revised profiles 132 Jean Carpenter

Thurmon King has transcribed Andrew P Sackett's book Ancestors and Descendants of Frederick Plummer Sackett. By coincidence, one of this month's new members, Peggy Lockwood, is a descendant of Frederick Plummer. We welcome her and all new members.
Karen Gerke has contributed more extracts from Minnesota newspapers. Any member willing to help with the newspaper project, do please get in touch. There are thousands more to be researched and transcribed!

Sackett Family Association President's Message—Member Profiles

2011-08-23T16:31:00.003+01:00

Some of us have had the pleasure of meeting other Association members at one or more of the Sackett reunions. But many of us have not met and we know little about each other.
Space is available on Member's Pages on the website to include a short profile. This is a great way to share a few personal details with other members, and help us to get to know each other. Some suggestions for information likely to be of interest are: occupations or former occupations, where you live, where you were born, how you became interested in Sackett family history, details of any particular Sackett research you are engaged in, and any other hobbies or interests. A couple examples which may give further ideas are on Glenna Hertzler's page and Thurmon King's page.
Please send your profiles to me (or if you prefer send them to the Sackett mailing list and I'll pick them up there). I will post them on your Member's Page with the next website update, and will include a link in "What's new?" on the home page. Photos to accompany your profile should be sent to me, not to the list, as the list cannot process attachments.
Members who already have profiles may like to review them to see if they need updating.

Regards,
Chris Sackett
TSFA President

New on sackettfamily.info

2011-07-31T20:24:00.001+01:00

This month's update to the Sackett Family Association website http://sackettfamily.info/ includes the following new pages:

* Memoirs of Flora Hermosa MacDonald (1888–1921) & her husband Loren Leroy Taylor
* Memoir of Nelle Loriene Taylor (1916–2009)
* Flora Hermosa Macdonald (1888–1921) gallery & descendant chart
* Jeremiah Sackett (1836–1918) gallery & descendant chart
* Marriages, GRO indexes, England & Wales, added 1912–1920
* New members 321 Hilary Kirk, 322 Wendy Bentley, 323 Ken Sackett, 324 Marti Prespentt, 325 Rebecca Couch, 326 DeAnna Sackett Johnson, 327 Lee Lewis, 328 Kim Curry
* Redesigned members' pages
* Updated Thurmon King's database

Willis Jensen responded to the plea for family memoirs with detailed life stories of and by his grandmother and great-grandparents. They make fascinating reading. Thank you to Willis, Leonard John Sackett, and Susan Graetz for supplying pictures.
Members whose Sackett ancestries have not yet been recorded are encouraged to get in touch. Research help to trace your line is at hand if needed. As well as recording Sackett ancestries, redesigned members' pages have links to research items provided by the member.
Thurmon continues to add to his database. It now contains 36,000+ individuals. Details of more than 29,000 of these are online.
Robert M Keir, who died earlier this month at the age of 106, appears on the Sackett snippets page as the oldest Sackett descendant.

Sackett Family Association President's Message

2011-07-13T19:44:00.002+01:00

During my year of service as your president I aim to post a "TSFA President's Message" on about a monthly basis. My general theme will be to encourage more participation in researching our Sackett heritage and recording it for future generations.
There has been a huge increase in the amount of genealogical data available on the web, so much so that extracting and transcribing the Sackett data alone looks set to be a never-ending job. Although that work is necessary, the data on the web will not be lost if we take our time over it. But there is a great deal of other data that will not find its way into genealogical records, and will be lost if we do not act to record it.
I would like us to think about the information we have on the lives of our own recent Sackett ancestors, and consider what we could add to the Association's databases. Most of us will have memories of grandparents and knowledge of great-grandparents that could and should be recorded for the future.
Information could be in a variety of forms. It need not be a carefully crafted biography (although that would be welcome too!), but could be just a detail such as a marriage date or place. Items covered could include education, occupations, hobbies, religious affiliations, military service, charitable work, political activity, residences, migrations, and more. Especially welcome are photographs of ancestors, or scans of important documents. If you do have a significant amount of information, we can help write up a sketch if that is needed. Individuals of interest for inclusion in the Sackett databases are all Sackett descendants, whether of the name or not, and their spouses.
May I urge you to take a look at what is presently recorded on your ancestors on the Sackett Family Association website and give some thought to what information you could add. Please look at both the genealogy record accessed from your member's page in the members' register and at Thurmon King's separate database. The new information may be sent to this list, or to me, or to Thurmon.
We are careful not to infringe privacy, and as a general rule do not publish information on those still living. If you wish to have information on the living recorded, please send it to Thurmon (rather than to the public List). He will add it to his database for later release.
Regards,
Chris Sackett
TSFA President

New on sackettfamily.info

2011-06-30T20:09:00.001+01:00

This month's update to the Sackett Family Association website http://sackettfamily.info/ includes the following new pages:

• England & Wales census 1911
• Channel Islands census 1911
• 2012 Sackett reunion, Westfield, MA
• Genealogical Register of the Descendants … of Robert Day
• Member's page revised 320 Kelly Wauthier

Because of a strict 100-year rule the 1911 UK census has only just been published. The records on Ancestry.com are not yet fully indexed, so transcriptions made so far are only of households where the head was a Sackett. Further transcriptions will be added when indexed records are made available. This was the first UK census where the forms were completed by the householder rather than by an enumerator. The householders' signatures, reproduced on the page of transcriptions and on their biographical sketches, provide something of a personal link to our ancestors of a hundred years ago.

Sackett Family Association chooses new officers

2011-06-18T16:12:00.004+01:00

The Sackett Family Association Committee have chosen new officers. The following will serve for the year 2010–11:

President—Chris Sackett
Vice President—Debbie Barbee
Secretary—Glenna Hertzler
Registrar—Jean Carpenter

2012 reunion will be in Westfield, MA

2011-06-04T20:39:00.003+01:00

Sharon Powalka and Debbie Barbee, convenors of the 2012 reunion, announce that the next Sackett Family Association reunion is to be held at Westfield, Massachusetts, from 20 to 22 September 2012.
Westfield has a huge amount of Sackett history and is perhaps the most often found place name in our records. Sharon and Debbie met there recently and have checked out possible hotels and local events, as well as historical Sackett places.
The proposed dates are set to coincide with The Great New England Fair which runs from 17 to 29 September at nearby West Springfield.
As always, the best hotel rates will be had if we are able to make a block booking at an early date. It is important, therefore, to get indications of numbers planning to attend.
Please leave a comment on this blog to let others know your plans.

New on sackettfamily.info

2011-05-31T00:17:00.000+01:00

This month's update to the Sackett Family Association website http://sackettfamily.info/ includes the following new pages:

• Notables Hon William Augustus Sackett (1811–1895), U.S. Representative from New York
• Notables Julia Sanderson Sackett (1888–1975), singer and actress
• Notables Nancy (Davis) Reagan (1921–), former First Lady of the US
• Theodore Rudolf "Rhode" Sackett (1887–1953) gallery
• Lemuel Miller Sackett (1831–1908) gallery
• James Parker Sackett (1847–1922) gallery
• Adopt-a-newspaper research project (166 records added; total 1,186)
• Sackett snippets—some Sackett superlatives
• New members 315 Raymond E Roberts, 316 Marc Howard, 317 Kerri Kafut, 318 Terry Lee Williams, 319 Graeme Lewis, 320 Kelly Wauthier

Newspaper abstracts added this month are mostly of marriage and death announcements appearing in the New York Times (98 items), Los Angeles Times (25), and Chicago Daily Tribune (31).

The page of Sackett snippets is by way of a challenge -- if you have Sackett records that beat those listed, or have come across other unusual items, please let us know. Write the List or me.

Thanks to members Alice Sackett, Raymond Roberts, and Marc Howard for supplying photographs, and to Mary Lou Petrie for the Nancy Reagan tree.

New on sackettfamily.info

2011-04-30T22:00:00.004+01:00

This month's update to the Sackett Family Association website includes the following new pages:
* United States 1890 veterans' schedules
* United States Civil War (Union) draft registrations records 1863–1865
* Idaho marriages
* Carl Sackett knew what the West was really like—memoirs
* Rosetta Sackett (1819–1903) picture gallery
* Notables: Rear Admiral Albert M Sackett (1920–), TSFA member who fought in three wars
* Notables: William Edgar Sackett (1948–1926), New York Times journalist and political author
* Adopt-a-newspaper research project (87 records added last 3 months; total 1,020)
* New members 313 James Sackett, 314 Ryan McFarland
The Civil War veterans' schedules of 1890 fill many gaps left by the destruction by fire of the 1890 Federal census papers. And the registrations for the Civil War draft include most of the young Sackett men of the period, with details of age, residence, and occupation (including Chester Sackett, a loafer!).
Many thanks to Barbara Bell for the pictures in the Rosetta Sackett gallery. Bill Sackett also sent in an interesting item in the form of a telegram to his father Samuel Nelson Sackett from Senator Robert F Kennedy (see Nehemiah Jobe Sackett gallery). Historic photographs are of course always welcome, but so too are other documents of historical significance.
The number of records in the newspaper transcriptions project has topped 1,000. New genealogical information is to be found in birth, marriage, and death transcriptions from the Hartford Courant and the Washington Evening Post.

Celia is newest Sackett

2011-04-30T21:07:00.001+01:00

Celia Sackett Hernandez, daughter of Heather Louise (Sackett) Hernandez, and granddaughter of Association member Leonard Arden Sackett, was born on Saturday, 23 April, in Waterford, Michigan, another descendant in the Vermont line of Sacketts.

New on sackettfamily.info

2011-03-31T17:25:00.004+01:00

This month's update to the Sackett Family Association website includes the following new pages:
• Frederic Moseley Sackett (1868–1941) picture gallery
• Missouri marriages
• Notables Dr Mary Lou Sackett-Penn (1949–2011), TSFA acting president
• New members 301 Amber Redman, 302 Sandra Kelly, 303 Franklin D Wells, 304 Charles Nelson Sackett, 305 Terry J Sackett, 306 Jerry Meguiar, 307 Linda Curran, 308 Amy Crooks, 309 Judi Purser-Alexander, 310 Ruth Rowles, 311 Michael James Sackett (California), 312 Shaun Sackett
• Revised 299 James Sackett (Nebraska)
The Frederic Sackett gallery includes pictures from the German Federal Archive of Ambassador Sackett's time in Berlin in the early 1930s.
New members—a bumper crop of 12 this month, making 19 in the last two months—are very welcome. It has been interesting to see cousins making new acquaintances on the mailing list. Members are reminded that their ancestors' pages on the website show the names of other descendants who are in the Association.

Founder member Mary Lou Sackett dies

2011-03-21T08:16:00.005Z

Association founder member Mary Lou Sackett has died, on 20 March 2011, from the recurrence of cancer which she had courageously fought off some seven years ago.
Mary Lou will be remembered with great affection by those Association members who had the privilege of meeting her at the Sackett reunion in Boston in 2006 and again the following year at Fort Wayne, a reunion which she herself organized.
Mary Lou served on the committee of the Association from its formation in 2003 until 2008, becoming vice president in 2007 and taking on the role of acting president in 2008 when president Fred Sackett had to step down for health reasons. She had been an active Sackett family researcher from a young age, particularly of her Vermont line, and was a member of the Sackett mailing list from its beginnings in 1997.

New on sackettfamily.info

2011-02-28T23:13:00.005Z

This month's update to the Sackett Family Association website includes the following new pages:
• Bible of Adam Tredwell (1772–1852)
• Wills, Administrations, & Inventories, England, 1800s
• Nehemiah Jobe Sackett (1817–1887) picture gallery
• Updated Thurmon King's database
• New members 294 Larry Youmans, 295 Richard Sackett (Virginia), 296 Beth Lee, 297 Martha Knott, 298 L John Sackett, 299 James Sackett (Nebraska), 300 Richard Hearn
Thurmon King has added some 1,200 people to his database since the last update, making a total of 35,700. For privacy reasons not all of these are published but the total of those that are published on the website is 29,354, up from 28,167 last time.
Thanks to Bill Sackett for the pictures of six generations in his line. Other members: do please look out any historic photographs in your line and make your contribution to the Sackett story.
Welcome to all new members, and a special welcome and congratulations to Richard Hearn, our 300th member.

General Register Office fees are "ridiculous"

2011-02-17T19:17:00.005Z

The nonsense of the UK General Register Office allowing access to birth, marriage, and death data only by buying a certificate has become more nonsensical with a hike in fees from £7 to £9.25 for the certificate—which for most family historians' research purposes is not even wanted.
It is pleasing to see (Daily Telegraph, 16 February, p. 22, "So am I really related to Nell Gwynn?") that the Society of Genealogists would appear to agree. Their "top ancestor-hunter", Else Churchill, is quoted as saying, "It's ridiculous that they only issue information in certified form."
A modest charge for sight of this data for the Sackett study alone would have netted the GRO several hundred pounds. Fees of more than £20,000 are out of the question. The GRO have therefore received nothing.

New on sackettfamily.info

2011-01-31T20:26:00.006Z

The January update to The Sackett Family Association website includes the following:

Deaths of American Citizens Abroad
Church Records, New York City, All Saints, Parish Register
Maine, Births, Marriages, Deaths
California, Mortuary and Cemetery Records
California State Census, 1852
Sharon, Connecticut, & Amenia, New York, Burying Grounds
Settlers of the Beekman Patent, Dutchess County, NY
Adopt-a-newspaper research project (20 records added)
New feature—dynamic indented descendant trees

The Settlers of the Beekman Patent, just published online by NEHGS, has much information about Captain Richard Sackett and his stepson Josias Crego (who Weygant had wrongly concluded to have been Captain Richard's son). The book also has more on Nathaniel Sackett, George Washington's spymaster.

Sackett Association helps Clinton Police identify rediscovered 1796 gravestone

2011-01-27T21:39:00.004Z

When police in Clinton, Connecticut, found an old gravestone during building work in the basement of their station earlier this month they turned to the Sackett Family Association for help in identifying the cemetery it had come from. The stone was inscribed "In Memory of Ruth Sackett wife of Solomon Sackett who died March 27th 1796 in the 41st year of her age."
Association historian Thurmon King found an entry for the burial in Donald Lines Jacobus' Families of Ancient New Haven, showing that Ruth had been buried in the Old Graveyard in North Haven. The stone is soon to be returned to its proper place.
The story is told in the North Haven Citizen.
(Picture: North Haven Citizen).

New on sackettfamily.info

2010-12-31T21:37:00.006Z

The December update to The Sackett Family Association website includes the following new pages:

UK City and County Directories 1900s
Occupants of Sackett's Hill 1826–1930
Notables Sarah Palin (1964–)
New members 288 Rebecca Hall, 289 Melissa Hall, 290 Joe Hart, 291 Kathy Stinson, 292 Pauline Sackett

The UK Directories 1900s cover the period to 1930 and follow on from the transcriptions posted last month for the 1700s and 1800s. I have picked out entries relating to people living at Sackett's Hill and posted those on the Sackett's Hill gallery page.
While working on the directories I made a detour and traced the ancestry of Stephen Sackett Chancellor, occasional references to whom had been puzzling me for some time. There were, in fact, four Stephen Sackett Chancellors, all in a line, the first being a grandson of Mary Sackett (c1725– ) who married Matthew Chancellor in 1752. The first Stephen's record is here.

Reunion hotel wins award

2010-12-15T11:06:00.000Z

The Royal Harbour Hotel, Ramsgate, venue for the 2008 Sackett family reunion, has been voted best small hotel in the Oldie magazine's 2010 travel awards. Did anyone have room 4?—one of the judges reckoned this was the best in the country because of its beautiful views.

New on sackettfamily.info

2010-11-30T21:58:00.004Z

The November update to The Sackett Family Association website includes the following new pages:

The extracts from UK directories help fill in some gaps left by census records. Extracts for the early part of the 20th century will follow next month.
Many thanks to Sheila Phythian, our newly-appointed regional historian for Australia and New Zealand, for the George File Sackett pictures which she took recently in Wallendbeen, New South Wales. Other members, please note that we will be pleased to publish your historic photographs of Sackett people or places.

New on sackettfamily.info

2010-10-31T22:16:00.004Z

The October update to The Sackett Family Association website includes the following new pages:

The American Genealogist (NEHGS)
Rhode Island, Vital Records
Providence, Rhode Island, Index of Births, Marriages and Deaths
Seymour, Connecticut, Vital Records
Adopt-a-newspaper research project (19 records added)
New members 285 Willis Jensen, 286 Kaitlynn Santeford, 287 Nathan Sackett

The Rhode Island and Seymour, Connecticut, records, although few in number, will fill in some gaps in our researches.
Many thanks to Karen Gerke for her further contributions to the Adopt-a-newspaper research project. Other contributors: please keep the extracts coming! And if other members would like to help, do please get in touch. Although many of these items are mundane, there is always the chance of turning up something that will add greatly to the Sackett story.

Old news of the old website

2010-10-14T11:36:00.002+01:00

A screen shot of the old website is recorded here for the archives.

New on sackettfamily.info

2010-09-30T11:21:00.005+01:00

This month's update to The Sackett Family Association website includes:

Website redesigned
Genealogical sketches—added Place index
India Births & Baptisms
India Deaths & Burials
India Marriages
Adopt-a-newspaper research project (12 records added)
Updated Thurmon King's database
New members 280 Evelyn Shorter, 281 Diane Bagnall, 282 Anna Tabor, 283 Carolyn Dark, 284 Don Sackett

This update adds considerably to our knowledge of the genealogy of the Sackett families in India. Thanks to Thurmon King for finding the records. Nearly all the India birth, marriage, and death records have been linked to genealogical sketches, where the various family groupings may be seen.
The genealogical sketches are also now indexed by place name down to county level. This provides lists of individuals having any event in a particular place. An example of the usefulness of this feature would be to look up India in the place index, where a list of the individuals researched above may be found.
Thurmon King has updated his database and this has been uploaded to TSFA website. The online database has records of 28,167 people, up from 27,119. As well as adding more people to the database, Thurmon has added considerable amounts of new data to the records of existing people.
The Sackett Family Association extends a warm welcome to the new members, especially Anna Tabor who has probably created a record not to be broken by joining the Association at the young age of 9 days! I guess many of us would wish that we had started our genealogy studies when we were younger.
Finally, I have indulged an occasional irresistible urge to fiddle around with the look of the website. I hope you like the redesign.

New on sackettfamily.info

2010-08-31T11:57:00.001+01:00

The Sackett Family Association website has been updated with the following:

Peter John Hills, Dane Court, St. Peter's-in-Thanet: a Kentish manor and its families
Sir Bernard Burke, A Genealogical and Heraldic Dictionary of the Landed Gentry of Great Britain and Ireland
Vital records, Massachusetts, 1841–1910, NEHGS (added years 1903–1910; all years now completed)
Portland 2010 reunion picture gallery
Minutes of members' meeting in Vancouver, WA (members only)
New members 271 Denise Molyneux, 272 Gary Rood, 273 Joe & Janice Shorter, 274 Julianne DuBois, 275 Robert H Sackett, 276 Robert S Sackett, 277 Matthew C Sackett, 278 Glenn Sackett, 279 Linda Hare

This update includes the final batch of transcriptions of Massachusetts vital records in the NEHGS 1841–1910 database. There are 656 Sacket/Sackett records (of which 5 images are missing). Despite taking care in transcribing, there are likely to be some errors, especially with initial capital letters, which the 19th century clerks contrived whenever possible to make look the same. If records appear not to agree with data from other sources, please ask and I will re-check the transcription.
Many thanks to Don and Glenna Hertzler for providing, respectively, a reunion picture gallery and the minutes of the Association meeting held during the reunion.

2010 Reunion is another great success

2010-08-30T10:18:00.004+01:00

The 2010 Sackett reunion in Portland, Oregon, was much enjoyed by the 29 members attending. Convener Kathryn James arranged a full program of activities, and advantage was taken by members, both new and old, of every opportunity for discussions.
Plans are already being formulated for the next reunion, to be held in the Fall of 2012 in the north east United States.

2010 Reunion picture gallery by Don Hertzler

Thurmon is honored for services to Sackett Association

2010-08-20T09:42:00.001+01:00

Thurmon King, historian of The Sackett Family Association since its formation, was honored at the 2010 reunion in Portland, Oregon, for his huge contribution to the research of the Sackett family.
He was presented with a plaque by reunion convener Kathryn James on behalf of the Association.
Starting with Weygant's The Sacketts of America, Thurmon has built a database of some 34,000 individuals, and never misses a lead to more information on the Sacketts.

New on sackettfamily.info

2010-07-31T19:16:00.000+01:00

New pages added to The Sackett Family Association website in July include:

Australia, Convict Transportation Registers
Australia, New South Wales, Unassisted Immigrant Passenger Lists
Australia, Queensland, Passenger Lists
Australia, Victoria, Assisted and Unassisted Immigrant Passenger Lists
Australia, First World War Enlistment Papers
Australia, Birth Index
Australia, Death Index
Australia, Marriage Index
The Sackett family in New South Wales—memoirs compiled by Barry Axtens
Emigration to Australia—map
Oliver Perry Davis (1844–1906) and siblings, picture gallery & descendant chart
Adopt-a-newspaper research project (24 records added)
Added lightbox feature to picture galleries, to view thumbnails at full-size on same page
Added descendant charts to family picture galleries; charts are linked to individuals' pages

Many thanks to new members Barry & Meryl Axtens for the memoir of Barry's branch of Sacketts in New South Wales. Their joining the Association, together with the recent enrolments of other down-under members Jo Gillausseyn and Peter Sackett, has prompted the inclusion of various Australian databases on the website. The Australia birth, death, and marriage databases were published by Ancestry.com only this month, a timely addition to these researches. This Australian material should be read in conjunction with Sheila Phythian's "Sacketts in Australia" research paper posted on the website in April.
Thanks, too, to Dennis Gottier for the Oliver Perry Davis pictures.
I have made some improvements to the picture galleries so that full-size pictures may be viewed using a "lightbox" feature and, where relevant, have added descendant charts to the galleries so that family members appearing in the pictures can also be seen in the context of their family group. Names on the charts are linked to the individuals' pages and there is a link on the individual's page back to the chart.
Share your stuff!
If you have a collection of historic family photos in your Sackett line, do please consider sharing them on the website. Pictures should be sent to my direct email, not to the Sackett List as that does not allow attachments.
Any family bible records, or other documents, in your line? These often contain information not available in official sources and can add important details to our Sackett story.
I would also be pleased to receive further contributions towards the Adopt-a-newspaper research project, from both existing and new volunteers. It would be good to get to 1,000 records in the coming weeks. Any new volunteers, please take a look at the Research data > Newspapers page to see which states, cities, or newspapers, to adopt—or ask me!

New on sackettfamily.info

2010-06-30T19:30:00.001+01:00

June updates to The Sackett Family Association website include:

Bible of Matthias & Sarah Ann (Sackett) Davis
Adopt-a-newspaper research project (51 records added)
New members 270 Meryl & Barry Axtens

Special thanks to Dennis Gottier for the bible records and to Sheila Phythian for the Australia and New Zealand newspaper abstracts.

New on sackettfamily.info

2010-05-31T19:40:00.000+01:00

Updates this month to The Sackett Family Association website include:

Added Google search
Vital records, Massachusetts, 1841–1910, NEHGS (complete years added: 1894–1902)
Adopt-a-newspaper research project (10 records added)
New members 266 Jo Gillausseyn, 267 Peter Sackett, 268 Richard Sackett, 269 Susan Wise

Michelle is new TSFA president

2010-05-12T22:24:00.002+01:00

Michelle Marolis has been chosen by the new TSFA committee to serve as president for the year 2010/11. Michelle joined the Association in April 2008 and served as vice president last year, taking over as acting president following Tom Smith's untimely death.

Other officers for this year are Liesa Robarge, vice president, and Chris Sackett, secretary. Chris is also acting registrar pending a further appointment to this position.

New on sackettfamily.info

2010-04-30T19:55:00.002+01:00

April updates to The Sackett Family Association website include the following:

Notables Thomas C Smith (1943–2010), TSFA president
Research paper Sacketts in Australia—The Early Years by Sheila Phythian
Adopt-a-newspaper research project (131 records added)

Sheila's "Sacketts in Australia" paper includes previously unpublished research in Australia of a number of Sacketts who immigrated there and information on their descendants, a number of whom were not previously known to us.

Kathryn James announces new Reunion website

2010-04-26T20:04:00.006+01:00

Reunion 2010 convener Kathryn James has launched a new website especially for this year's reunion in Portland, Oregon, and Vancouver, Washington.
Kathy promises surprises, prizes and special activities at this year's reunion, as well as the opportunity to meet with your Sackett kinsfolk.

Visit Reunion website

Sackett Association loses a president and a friend

2010-04-18T20:49:00.002+01:00

Sackett Family Association members were greatly saddened to hear of the death, on 31 March, of their president Tom Smith.
Tom was a founder member of The Sackett Family Association and made a considerable contribution both to the research of the Sackett family history and to the successful formation and development of the Association. He served as a committee member of the Association for many years, eventually taking on the presidency in May 2009. He was taken ill with cancer just a few months into his term of office.
Tom was instrumental in setting up the DNA testing project in 2004 and continued to administer the scheme. He supported enthusiastically the Sackett family reunions, most recently at the Thanet, Kent, gathering in September 2008, when his courteous manner and gentle dry sense of humor won the hearts of friends old and new.
Tom will be remembered with great affection by all those Association members who had the privilege and pleasure of meeting him.

[Picture: TSFA president Tom Smith & Ramsgate mayor Kay Dark exchange gifts at the Thanet Reunion, September 2008]

Obituary in Middletown Press
Biographical sketch

New on sackettfamily.info

2010-03-29T20:02:00.002+01:00

The following new pages have been added in March to The Sackett Family Association website:

Church marriages, London
Marriages, GRO Indexes, England & Wales (Added 1901–1911. Period now 1837–1911)
Census, England & Wales, 1891 (Added 28 households; now 75)
Bible of Mary R Caul
Bible of Mary A Sackett (1836–1916)
Adopt-a-newspaper research project (66 records added)
New members 264 Jeff Bellairs, 265 Jeanette Otis

Ancestry.co.uk have recently added images of London marriage registers to their databases and this update includes 97 marriage records not previously researched. I have taken the opportunity to reorganise the marriage records on the website. All English church marriages now appear on pages at both County and Parish level. Much confusion resulted from the formation in 1889 of the county of London which absorbed most of Middlesex and parts of Kent, Surrey, and Essex. Marriages in parishes affected by this change appear on the website in both the original county and in London, regardless of whether the marriage was before or after 1889.
The availability online of English census records (not previously indexed in their hard copy form) has made much easier the finding of Sackett households, although the eccentricities of Ancestry's indexing necessitate alertness to the possible need to include Jackets and Socketts. A further 28 households have been found in the 1891 census, and there should be more to come (the 1891 total is 75 households, compared with 120 in 1881 and 110 in 1901).
Thanks to Thurmon King for supplying transcripts and images of the two bibles. The bibles relate to the same Sackett families, who have not yet been linked to established trees.
Thanks too to the newspaper transcribers who have researched further entries. The total is 612 in just three months. I have singled out Thurmon's "Chicken" story as a "favorite" on the newspapers index page and have it in mind to compile a separate favorites page. Please feel free to suggest articles for inclusion.

New on sackettfamily.info

2010-02-28T20:16:00.001Z

I have updated The Sackett Family Association website with the following:

1850 United States Census
Bible of Merrill Sackett (1817–1886)
Adopt-a-newspaper research project (140 records added)

The images of Merrill Sackett's bible are kindly supplied by John Griffin who bought the bible at a thrift store in Seattle. John hopes to make contact at the reunion in July. Members having a particular interest in this item may wish to contact John in the meantime.
Many thanks to the Adopt-a-Newspaper volunteers who have transcribed another 140 articles this month. There is plenty of work to be done if others would also like to help. Please ask about volunteering on the List.

New on sackettfamily.info

2010-01-31T20:21:00.002Z

This month's update to The Sackett Family Association website includes:

Vital Records of Sandisfield, Massachusetts
Vital records, Massachusetts, 1841–1910, NEHGS (complete years added: 1841–43, 1867–70, 1882–84, 1886–93)
2010 Reunion news #2, #3, & #4
Adopt-a-newspaper research project (402 records added)
Updated Thurmon King's database
New members 261 Janet French, 262 Glen Sackett, 263 Debbie Hill
Revised 252 Adel Firth-Mason

I have added 166 transcriptions from images of the Massachusetts vital records on the NEHGS website. The count so far is 520 Sacket/Sackett records transcribed out of a total of 648. The following years are completed: 1841–47, 1850, 1852–55, 1857–84, 1886–93. Some of the gaps are caused by poor quality images of very faint originals and I am waiting for some of these to be checked by the very helpful NEHGS staff.
The Adopt-a-newspaper research project has got off to a flying start and we have a splendid total of more than 400 transcriptions in the first month. If you have not already volunteered for this project, please do check the newspapers page on the website and consider whether you could help. States on the Library of Congress Chronicling America not yet spoken for include: CA, DC, NE, UT, WA. All these have many references to Sacketts, doubtless including much hitherto undiscovered family information.
Thurmon's database is also updated on the website this month. The database contains an amazing 34,053 people. For privacy reasons not all these are published on the website (there is a cut-off for those born after 1920), but the number published still tops 27,000. Of the total in the database, the number of Sackett descendants is about 19,700; there are 9,500 spouses of Sackett descendants; and the remainder of about 4,800 are ancestors of spouses, mostly their parents.

Dates are announced for Sackett 2010 reunion

2010-01-19T17:14:00.004Z

The latest issue of Reunion News (# 3, 19 January 2010) has a detailed Q and A on the arrangements for the reunion.

Core dates are 19 to 24 July, with activities being arranged for 20 to 23 July.

Adopt-a-newspaper project is launched

2010-01-12T19:30:00.003Z

The Sackett Family Association is launching a project to research and transcribe thousands of newspaper articles relating to members of the Sackett family.

Association members are invited to volunteer to help with this work. Details of the project, together with a list of volunteers, and research results, are all on the Association website at adopt-a-newspaper project.

This major research project will add considerably to our knowledge of the history and genealogy of the Sacketts, and is seen as a way of adding flesh to the bare bones of birth-marriage-death data.

Sackett 2010 reunion—are you going?

2010-01-07T17:06:00.005Z

Convener Kathy James has more news on the preparations for the 2010 Sackett reunion in Portland, Oregon.
See Reunion News #2, January 2010
Visit the Reunion page on The Sackett Family Association website to see who else is planning to attend and let us know your intentions.

Planning starts for 2010 Sackett reunion

2009-11-14T19:37:00.002Z

The next Sackett Family Reunion is being planned to be held in Portland, Oregon, in July 2010.

Convener Kathy James will be pleased to receive comments, suggestions, or offers of help.

See Reunion News #1 November 2009 for more information.

Kathy James is 2010 reunion convener

2009-10-31T19:56:00.005Z

The Sackett Family Association Committee are delighted to announce that Kathryn James has kindly stepped forward to take on the job of 2010 Reunion Convener.

She is already at work on plans to hold the event in Portland, Oregon, in July of next year.

Was this rifle made by Jacob Sackett?

2009-10-15T20:47:00.005+01:00

Kelly Harriger of Brookville, PA, writes asking for help in identifying a late-percussion period target rifle.

A collector of western Pennsylvania longrifles has suggested that it bears the style of Jacob Sackett of Sagerstown, in Crawford County, PA. It will be recalled that we ran an article in the January 2005 TSFA Newsletter, "Jacob T. Sackett, Blacksmith, Gunsmith and Violin Maker" by William B. Moore, reprinted from the Newsletter of the Crawford County Historical Society.
Kelly's further information on this rifle is on the website.

Nathaniel Sackett, Washington's spymaster

2009-09-30T20:14:00.004+01:00

One of the more colorful characters in Sackett history is Nathaniel Sackett who was one of George Washington's spymasters during the American Revolutionary War. Weygant's Sacketts of America includes much detail on Nathaniel, including the text of the letter from Washington appointing Nathaniel to the service of his country.
More material is now available on the Internet at the Library of Congress and at the
University of Virginia. Transcripts of a number of letters to and from Nathaniel have been added to The Sackett Family Association website. These give a fascinating insight into conditions during the war. The new material is included in a biographical sketch of Nathaniel which is included in the Notables section.
There is very likely more material to be had on this subject and others may wish to join in the hunt.

Jeffery Sackett, Mayor of Sandwich

2009-07-31T18:17:00.004+01:00

By an extraordinary coincidence, the gravestones of Jeffery Sackett and his family at St Mary's Church, Sandwich, were "discovered" twice in one afternoon by Sackett Family Association members attending the reunion in Thanet, Kent, last September.
Jean Carpenter and her brother Mike Trickey can claim the first sighting, and this was followed an hour or so later by Steve and Debbie Barbee, accompanied by Chris Sackett.
Jeffery Sackett, 1617-1695, was three times Mayor of Sandwich. His biographical sketch includes details of his father's will—he was effectively disinherited by his father—and of a lengthy case in the Chancery Court which Marion Sackett had researched some years ago.
The court case, a sorry tale of greed and marital disharmony from which our man does not emerge well, is a sad reminder that human nature is not much changed down the ages.

Mike Sackett visits Sackets Harbor

2009-07-15T19:20:00.000+01:00

Mike Sackett and Mary Volberding recently visited Sackets Harbor where they toured the Sacket Mansion and met local historian, Bob Brennan. Their visit attracted the attention of the local press and an article appears on NewsWatch.

Checking up in the Sackett database reveals that Augustus Sacket, who founded Sackets Harbor, was Mike's sixth cousin, five times removed—a detail that evidently did not come readily to mind during the interview!

Thurmon King's database is added to TSFA website

2009-06-30T19:01:00.000+01:00

This month's update to The Sackett Family Association website includes the addition of Thurmon King's database. This is presented in a "raw data" format using Thurmon's data from his Legacy files processed through The Master Genealogist and Second Site. The database is also still available online in The Next Generation format.

The database has records of 33,487 people, of which 24,655 are online on TSFA website. Records of people born after about 1920 are not published for privacy reasons.

Obituary — Jimmy Marr

2009-05-31T19:42:00.004+01:00

Jimmy Marr, who died on 29 March, aged 90, was born in Guernsey and was a great-grandson of Jabez Sackett (1840–1925) who had moved to the island from Kent and then Yorkshire in about 1890.

Jimmy was a highly regarded schoolmaster in London but his passion remained his island home, in particular its rich history, of which he was an acknowledged expert. He wrote extensively on island topics. Foremost amongst his publications was his History of Guernsey, regarded as the definitive work on the subject.

His biographical sketch includes a detailed obituary.

Tom Smith is new TSFA president

2009-05-27T07:43:00.001+01:00

Tom Smith has been chosen by the new TSFA committee to serve as president for the year 2009/10. Tom was a founder member of the Association and was active on Sackett-L for some years before that. He regularly attends reunions and is also administrator of the Sackett DNA project. He was vice president last year.

Other officers for this year are Michelle Marolis, vice president; Chris Sackett, secretary; and Sandy Berry, registrar.

Origin is discovered of grand piano at Sackett's Hill House

2009-05-14T16:35:00.004+01:00

The following, received from a visitor to sackettfamily.info, not only adds a snippet of Sackett history, but also demonstrates the extraordinary reach of the Internet:

"Dear Chris,
I’ve just been reading the story about Sacketts Hill House and found it very interesting. I own the grand piano that is shown in the pictures. It was owned by Mr Lockyer, bought when he got married in about 1911 from the Army and Navy Stores in London for £50. It is nice to see it as it was back in situ up to 1935. I have the photogragh of the sitting room showing the piano. Apparently, Mr Lockyer was a musician who also sang.
Now that I know its history, I will take great care of the instrument. Again, many thanks for your site and its information.
Robert Clatworthy"

New TSFA Committee elected for 2009/2010

2009-05-02T10:31:00.004+01:00

Voting in this year's election of members to TSFA Committee closed on 30 April. The election was uncontested, there being a full quota of 12 candidates for the 12 seats. Election of these candidates has been endorsed by the votes in favor of 36 members of the Association. There were no votes against.

The new Committee comprises: Class of 2010 (to serve for one year) Thomas Smith, Glenna Hertzler, John Sackett, Darlene Sackett; Class of 2011 (to serve for two years) Jean Carpenter, Debbie Barbee, Sandy Berry, Kari Roehl; Class of 2012 (to serve for three years.) Chris Sackett, Michelle Marolis, Patti Hobbs, Kathryn James.

TSFA website wins Guild award

2009-05-01T16:42:00.006+01:00

The Sackett Family Association has won second place in the websites category of the Guild of One-Name Studies publication awards 2009.

The two Alfred Barrett Sacketts

2009-04-23T18:05:00.010+01:00

Amongst the UK passenger arrivals records are those of a number of journeys made by the two Alfred Barrett Sacketts.

ABS1—The Revd Alfred Barrett Sackett (1862–1951)—served as Chaplain to the Forces in Gibraltar before and during the First World War. He was awarded the OBE for this work.

ABS2, his son,—Alfred Barrett Sackett (1895–1977)—was a distinguished headmaster of Kingswood School in Bath, Somerset, and was an active leader in the Methodist church.

UK incoming passenger lists may help identify Sacketts in India

2009-04-17T17:24:00.009+01:00

A large number of UK passenger arrivals records are posted this month on The Sackett Family Association website. These are transcribed from images of original records and cover the period 1878–1960.

Further work is needed to identify some of the passengers. Others are well-known to us. Amongst these is the Hon Frederic Moseley Sackett, making the transatlantic voyage in 1930 to take up his appointment as US Ambassador to Germany. The record shows that he stopped off en route at the American Embassy in London, presumably to meet UK dignitaries and perhaps for further briefings from the US staff there.

Several records relate to Sacketts returning from India, and these will prove helpful in identifying the families of some of the Sacketts found recently in the India Office records at the British Library.

Committee candidates seek your vote

2009-04-06T21:43:00.005+01:00

The annual election of Association Committee members is under way. Although the elections are uncontested this time around, the candidates would still appreciate your support.

These are the first elections to be held under the new rules agreed by the Association last year. These new rules were designed to encourage greater participation in Association affairs. Association president Don Hertzler and Nominating Committee chairman Tom Smith have both said how pleased they are to see a full slate of twelve candidates for seats on the Committee.

The candidates' list and their election statements may be seen on the Association website at Committee Elections 2009. Association members may vote via the website or TSFA mailing list.

Sackett's Hill House photographs

2009-04-05T18:04:00.011+01:00

A splendid collection of photographs of Sackett's Hill House has come our way, courtesy of Nick Smyth, who was born there.

Nick had been in contact with Jill Attwell of Orchard Cottage, Sackett's Hill, but had lost contact and then got in touch with Chris Sackett through The Sackett Family Association website.

Members who attended the reunion in Thanet last September will recall that we were trying to find information on the mansion house that had burned down.

Nick's contribution to our records fills in a lot of gaps. The photographs explain, too, the strange story of the owner who had installed a railway to carry his guests to the house from the main road.

The pictures, and an article about Sackett's Hill, are on the Association website at Gallery > Sackett's Hill, St Peter in Thanet, Kent.