Genealogy & General Subjects Blog



Friday, August 31, 2007

YouTube Videos

I thought this video from the Birmingham (Alabama) Public Library was quite entertaining...



Also, check this one out. A video/music version of "I am my own Grandpa"



Note: Neither of these are mine, and information on their authors can be found at YouTube.

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Wednesday, August 29, 2007

Pets, Wills

When Leona Helmsley died a couple of weeks ago, she reportedly left millions for her dog. We've all heard about the people who do this, and I have to assume that it is relatively uncommon to leave such a large sum for pets in your will. Other websites do recommend making sure that your will does make provision for the care of pets and give you tips on how to do this... there is even a whole BOOK on the subject!

In 1996, 7 states reportedly had laws allowing owners to set up trust funds for their pets after the owners' deaths (The Buffalo News, August 24, 1996: p.B10). By 2002, that number had jumped to 17 (Houston Chronicle, April 22, 2002: p.01). Since then, at least Ohio has passed a similar law, and possibly other states as well.

In general, leaving money to the cats directly is not particularly enforceable by the courts nor is leaving the cat to someone's care a surefire thing, which is why the trust fund idea has boomed. In the abovementioned book, the author apparently notes that "The law will regard the clause in your will where you bequeath money or property to your pets after death as the equivalent of leaving your car to your washing machine." A whole company, PetGuardian has grown up just for the creation of such trust plans. There is also a report of a custody battle over a dog after the owner's death.

Still, all of this must be a recent phenomenon, right? Aaah, no.

In a quick search on Ancestry.com, I found a few mentions of this practice in historical newspapers, but all from the 20th century. The earliest I found was this one from 1903:
Sandusky, Ohio Sandusky Evening Star
16 Jan 1903
"Tiffin O Jan 16 - What purports to be the last will of Mrs. Charlotte M. Hoyt the New York multimillionaire was filed here dated Sept 9, 1902. It postdates the other two wills. Judge J.H. Dunn of Tiffin who was in charge of her interests since her removal to Tiffin two years ago is bequeathed the residue of her estate valued at several hundred thousand. Her father Casper Guss of Tiffin gets $100 a month during his life and the New York Humane society $50 per month for the care of her pets."

Here is another, where the relatives contested the will:
Lincoln, Nebraska Evening State Journal
13 Oct 1938
"Left Money to Pets
Dogs and cats frequently at odds were united in a common cause when relatives of Mrs. May Gavin asked the orphans court to nullify her will setting aside $3000 for the lifetime care of her pets."
Then I found this book on Google Books, which has a whole chapter entitled "Wills in Favour of Dumb Animals". Although the most interesting parts (the actual text of most of the wills) are hidden from view because of copyrights, it clearly demonstrates that people have been leaving money to pets since the seventeenth century.

A compilation of some other funny will clauses can be found here (no guarantees regarding accuracy).

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Monday, August 27, 2007

Faith & Betrayal, Part II

(go to Part I here)

As I mentioned, Faith & Betrayal was particularly interesting to me because of a family connection. While researching my father's line, I made contact with a very distant cousin, who has provided me with additional information regarding the Walsh family, some of which is included below.

James Walsh was born on July 31, 1806 in Over Darwen, Blackburn, Lancashire, England. This area is known for its textile production, an occupation that James Walsh and other family members pursued as well. Typically, the textiles would have been cotton or calico.

Born as the golden age for handweavers was ending, James Walsh would probably have spent most or all of his career in factories, even if he had started in a handweaving family. By the 1830s, steam power had made large-scale industrialization of textile factories possible, largely destroying the handweaving industry. Working and living conditions for these workers were typically abysmal, but a large-scale work force was needed and readily available in the young who had been pushed out of other more agrarian pursuits.

Of the Walsh hometown in Blackburn, I found this piece of information regarding the handweavers:

"The 1830s were a miserable time for the handloom weavers as more types of cloth were woven by power looms, and this caused a reduction in the handloom price for the same type of cloth; there was also a general downward trend over the decade and in 1837, wages were reduced 25% in a single year. There was widespread distress among the handloom weavers in Blackburn.

In the winter of 1841 to 1842 a Committee was formed to administer relief, and their report issued in December 1841 makes gloomy reading. 7,000 people in Blackburn were having to exist off 2s. 8d per week. The section of the Report on Lammack states : 'Most of the cottages in this district are handloom weavers. They were, consequently, found generally employed, but receiving very scanty remuneration for their labour, and the scanty pittance exhibiting an almost weekly reduction. The majority of persons visited were found to be hardworking, clean, managing and patient under their many and great privations. Their principal food is oatmeal porridge, with either churned or sweet milk, and potatoes stewed with a little water, salt and an onion or two for dinner'."

By 1841, we find James Walsh, age 30, married to Elizabeth (Betty) Cranshaw (m. 18 Jan 1828 in Blackburn) and the father of six young children: Richard (b. 1829), Thomas (b. 1831), Elizabeth (b. 1833), Mary Ann (b. 1835), Sarah (b. 1838), and Ellen (b. 1840). They lived in the lower end of Tottington Mills, parish of St. Anne's Church of England.

It is entirely possible that the Walsh family moved to Tottington as a result of the poverty affecting handweavers in Blackburn. Tottington was experiencing a population explosion as the cotton factories expanded production. This website notes that Tottington-Lower End had a "population in 1801 of 4,314, which in 1841 had increased to 9,929, and in 1851 to 10,685 souls".

James Walsh and his family are again mentioned in Tottington-Lower End in 1851. By this time, nine children are living at home, in addition to James and Betty. Since the last census, the family has been enlarged by Susannah (b. 1842), Emma (b. 1845), Joseph Cornelius (b. 1847), and James (b. 1849). Hannah Marie would be born later that year, and Betty's final child Amelia Jane would be born in 1853. Mary Ann is not living at home.

In both the 1841 and 1851 censuses, James is listed as a "machine printer". In all probability, this means that he worked with calicos, using an automated process to apply the colors or dyes to the cloth. It is quite likely that this was done using a roller or cylinder machine, such as the one discussed here. In 1851, several of James' sons are also listed as working as "machine engravers". This was a relatively skilled job, so the family may have been slightly better off than many.

In 1861, the family is still in Tottington. James, age 53, is a calico machine printer. Betty died in 1855, and James had married Sarah Penwright. James and Betty's youngest daughter Amelia Jane also died in 1858. She and Betty were buried in Tottington, Lancashire, England. Seven other children are still living at home, as is Betty's father, Richard Cranshaw, who at age 83 is still working in the mills as a madder dyer. Joseph, age 14, is also working in the mills. For the first time, the girls are also employed. The family seems to have more economic concerns than in years past, based on these factors.

The Walsh family was among the first wave of Britons to be exposed to the Latter Day Saints missionaries. The first LDS missionaries didn't even enter England until 1837. However, they converted many in a short time; by 1852, more than 30 thousand had converted in the United Kingdom alone. James Walsh and his family were among this early wave.

James was ordained Teacher on July 8, 1841/2 in Tottington, Lancashire, just 4 years after LDS missionaries arrived in England. He was ordained Priest (a fully functional LDS church member) on 7 May 1848. He was also president of the Bury District [LDS Church] for a time. Other family members, including the Cranshaws, also joined the church and held positions of authority.

The cotton industry was once again struck a severe economic blow in the 1860s:
"The American Civil War from 1861-65 dealt all the cotton industry a severe blow. It almost decimated the handloom branch, cutting off the market in the rest of America as well as cotton supplies from the South."
In addition to this economic blow, the Walsh family had suffered a personal one, when James lost his leg in the mills in the early 1860s. While not uncommon for mill workers, this disability would have been economically devastating for the family.

James emigrated to the U.S. in 1863. Both religious persecution and economic concerns may have played a role. James brought his wife Sarah and children, Mary Ann 26, Ellen 21, Susannah 19, Emma 16, Joseph 14, James 12, Hannah 10. James was 49 and Sarah was 44.

They sailed on the ship "Antarctic" the 23 May 1863 and arrived the 10 Jul 1863 in New York. They resided on the "Poop" deck as they sailed the ocean. Other friends sailed with them, including John Snowcroft who later became successful in Ogden and Duckworth Grimshaw who was also successful in the valley. Their sons, Richard and Thomas, came to America in 1853/4 and were living in Brooklyn, NY when the rest of the family immigrated. Elizabeth never came to the US.

It is unclear if the Walsh family took advantage of the revolving fund that enabled new Mormon immigrants to come to the United States. If so, they would have had to repay these funds.

The story is told that the Walshes were persuaded to stay on the east coast rather than coming west. James is found in the 1864-92 Directories for Lawrence, MA.

Lawrence, MA also has a strong history of textile industry, being one of the first locations to industrialize textile production in the U.S. Although the area has a stronger connection to wool than cotton, calico printing did apparently exist in the city and the textile factories did well into the 1900s.

It seems plausible that the Walsh family opted to stay in Lawrence, at least in part, due to the economic opportunities. This, in conjunction with the rising disillusionment with the Mormon church by both converts and the general public, may have induced the Walshes to remain in the east.

Disillusionment with the church may also have played a role, however. None of the Walsh children who remained in the East seem to have been in the LDS Church at the time of their deaths. So complete was the erasure of this period of time that I was, in fact, completely unaware of its existence until relatively recently. Certainly, therefore, the Walsh children and future descendants did not mention religion as a reason for immigration, possibly because they were ashamed of their conversion.

Regardless of the reasons, James Walsh did stay in Lawrence, MA until his death. City Directories for Lawrence list James Walsh:
  • 1864 printer, house Sutton, near Turnpike s.s.
  • 1866 printer h 45 Pacific corp.
  • 1868 house 207 Lowell
  • 1871-1878 207 Lowell
  • 1879-1892 B.S. appears 207 Lowell
  • 1892 James B.S. died March 19, 1892
  • 1892 Sarah, widow of James B.S. house 207 Lowell
  • 1894-1898 Sarah, widow, house 126 Broadway
By the 1870 Census, James was 60 and seems to have retired, being listed with no occupation. The value of his real estate was $3,000. Sarah was 49 & keeping house. In the 1880 Census, James was 73 years old, a printer, and crippled. Sarah was 59 and keeping house.

James died at age 85 years, 2 months, 25 days of General Debility and Paralysis. His obituary on 19 Mar 1892 read:
"James Walsh died last night at his residence, 207 Lowell Street, aged 86 years. Deceased was born in Darwin, Lancashire, England and came to this country in 1862. Deceased was one of the oldest calico printers in this country. He was the father of 13 [12 is the accurate number] children. One of whom, A.G. [Alonzo was a grandson] was president of the Lowell Common Council and another, Thomas, is manager of the Hamilton print works, Lowell. In 1860, he lost his leg while at work on a calico printing machine. "

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Tuesday, August 21, 2007

Top Ten Things About Modern Culture that Will Annoy Future Genealogists

10. Frequency of modern moving (and distance of moves) - is this John Doe the same as that John Doe?
9. Single parents, adoption, sperm banks - who the &*#)@^$ are their parents?
8. Co-habitation - are they just roommates? were they ever married? who is the parent of these children?
7. The scattering of ashes - I have a relative who was never buried
6. Intransigency of electronic information - but it used to exist!
5. The downfall of the local paper - goodbye information about who is accepting visitors and who left town recently!
4. Distance between members of extended families - I am definitely NOT related to my neighbors
3. Illegal immigration - did they cross the border? when?
2. The abbreviated 2000 census - I hope they completed the long form!
1. The destination wedding craze - they were married WHERE?!

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Monday, August 20, 2007

Rev. Martha Scott Newman

Rev. Martha Scott Newman, age 84, died August 14, 2007 at the Redington –Fairview General Hospital in Skowhegan, Maine following a brief illness. She was born in St. Louis, Missouri May 16, 1923, the daughter of Harry G. And Lora E. (Whitworth) Scott.

Martha was educated in the schools of St Louis, Missouri. She received her Bachelors Degree in English from Central Missouri State College, her Masters of Library Science from the University of Denver, and her Masters of Theology from Eden Seminary.

As a minister, Martha served in small Unitarian Universalist churches in the mid-west and later moved to Maine where she served in several churches including five years service in Houlton. She was a member of the U.U.A. Of Ministers, Nature Conservancy, and was active in the Democratic Party. Martha also volunteered at the Clothes Cupboard in Skowhegan and attended the adult Sunday school at Centenary United Methodist Church in Skowhegan. Martha loved reading, listening to opera, studying theology, gardening, cooking and sewing.

She is survived by two children: Amy Rouse and husband Gene also of Skowhegan and J. Mark Newman and wife Anne of Surprise Arizona; two foster daughters: Kay Keaton and husband Jerry of St. Charles Missouri and Ruth Eltinge and husband Ervin of St. Louis Missouri; a sister Colleen Ferguson of Texas; 14 grandchildren, 15 great grandchildren, and several nieces, nephews, and cousins. She is predeceased by her ex-husband John Newman and one granddaughter, Alicia Newman.

Before her death, Martha expressed her deep gratitude for the care of staff at Redington Fairview and at Dr. Oto Prokop's office.

A memorial service will be announced at a later date.

In lieu of flowers, friends may make donations in her memory to the Nature Conservancy or the Unitarian Universalist Association.

Arrangements under the care and direction of Dan & Scott’s Cremation & Funeral Service, 445 Waterville Road, Skowhegan.

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Tuesday, August 14, 2007

Faith & Betrayal

I was wandering through the library recently, and passed a book that made me stop. It had an old photo of a woman on the front. Being a fan of history of all sorts, I picked it up and checked it out with very little perusal. As it turns out, it was quite an enjoyable read -- and as I will blog in a future post -- relevant to my family history as well.

Faith and Betrayal by Sally Denton (Vintage Books, New York, 2005) is an intriguing look into the life of Denton's gg-grandmother, Jean Rio Griffiths Baker Pearce. To briefly summarize, Jean Rio was born in England and married and had children there. Upon the death of her husband, she decided to immigrate to the United States with the Latter Day Saints Church (the Mormons). Her children accompanied her on the journey and many individuals can trace their lineage back to her (one son alone had 23 children).

Faith and Betrayal examines Jean Rio's family life, journey from England to Utah and then to California, and religious experiences, but has a broader scope than just her individual life. The book is one that would be interesting to individuals with: Mormon ancestors, U.S. western pioneer ancestors, English emigrant ancestors, female ancestors... aah, yes, that about covers it.

The LDS Church was founded in 1830 by Joseph Smith; Jean Rio was converted in England and immigrated to (what was to become) Utah in 1851. She was among the wave of foreign immigrants who were converted by missionaries abroad and talked into immigrating and moving west with the LDS Church. Utah was at this time not even a part of the United States, and the LDS Church members had moved there very recently as a result of attacks on their members in states further east. It was intended to be a heaven on earth where the church ruled supreme.

Using quotations from letters and Jean's diary throughout, the book references other histories and records to paint a complete picture of what life would have been like for Jean Rio Baker at each stage of her journey. Here's a sample paragraph taken entirely at random that discusses Jean's arrival in New Orleans after her travel from England (page 67):
"With two parlors, two bedrooms, and an outhouse 'answering all the purposes of kitchen and washhouse,' the temporary residence was a welcome respite after months on the water. 'The next discovery I made.' Jean Rio wrote 'was that I wanted a cooking stove, which I purchased with all the utensils belonging for fourteen dollars.' Her children immediately scouted the neighborhood for playmates, enjoying themselves, 'finely in their rambles about the town and the open country beyond.' She stocked her kitchen from the many markets that opened at four a.m. every day. 'All kinds of meat, poultry, and fish are very cheap. The fresh meat is good, but not so large and fat as in the English markets. Vegetables and fruit are abundant and of great variety.'"
As demonstrated by this passage, Denton does an excellent job of weaving details such as cost, supplies, and typical daily activities into her narrative. These details are ones that, while providing information about Jean Rio's life, can also offer insight into what other women, pioneers, Mormons, etc. might have felt, seen, or done.

Historical information about daily life for women, childbirth, life aboard ship and on the wagon train, general descriptions of cities, and so forth all help to provide a better understanding not just of Jean Rio's life, but also of the lives of other similar women/immigrants/Mormons.

Nonetheless, Jean Rio's descendants, Denton included, are unable to preserve an unbiased look at the life of their ancestor. Even within the book, Denton bestows lavish praise on Jean Rio, including these phrases (all taken at random from the same page, 128):
  • "Still, the hardship could not erode Jean Rio's essential goodness."
  • "generosity prevailed"
  • "her high-spirited and curious mind was seductive and comforting"
  • "All her grown sons had reputations for showing tenderness in a harsh environment"
  • "A love of children and of dogs"
  • "Jean Rio rose to the challenge"
  • "she cultivated her aptitude"
  • "her quick mind"
Clearly, the book was written as a tribute to Jean Rio and she was indubitably a remarkable woman. Nonetheless, this does seem to go a little overboard for my tastes. Denton's failure to curb her own and other's hyperbole in relation to Jean Rio leaves one wishing for a more objective source to look at. (It reminds me of that joke about Remus Starr, horse thief.)

Probably the most controversial part of the book, however, is the end. Denton spends some time at the end of the book discussing Jean Rio's later life, after her move from Salt Lake City, Utah to Ogden, Utah, and finally to California. Denton claims this is a time when she gave up her beliefs in the LDS church. However, the diary upon which Denton was able to draw, ends abruptly upon Jean Rio's settlement in Ogden, Utah.

Denton claims that Jean Rio Baker was disillusioned by the church that she had loved, primarily because of the principle of multiple marriages (polygamy) then practiced by male members of the church (including Jean Rio's own son). Denton also claims that the practice of "consecration" (an enforced sharing of wealth with the church) is what lost Jean Rio her beloved piano to the LDS church. She implies that the practice may have cost Jean Rio much of her wealth, although she does not provide any good evidence of this.

While sparse documentary evidence does back up the assertion that Jean Rio was not a member of the LDS church when she died and that she was discouraged by her Utah experiences with the LDS church, it is impossible to say that Jean Rio was as completely disillusioned as Denton claims or to claim the reasons for it. Without the diary as a primary source, it is impossible to truly know what Jean Rio's experiences were in these later years. Denton, herself admits as much, saying, "much of her life remains shrouded. I reassembled her story from untold shattered pieces" (178).

Denton is also the author of American Massacre which examined the horrible murders of an entire wagon train party in southern Utah by Mormon pioneers (itself a highly controversial book). Faith and Betrayal, which is a family history, retains a slight anti-LDS Church feel toward the end. Without the strength of the primary sources, the reader is left to feel as though Denton is trying too hard to convey her perspective. Certainly, documentary evidence that exists could support Denton's point of view. However, it is sketchy enough that we can't be entirely sure what Jean Rio's later perspectives really were.

Certainly, Denton's perspective on her family is different from another member of her family who is quoted in the book speaking of Jean Rio's son:
"Plucked from the lap of luxury and set down in a frontier land of staggering toil and comfortless surroundings... he tackled his job and made good without excuses or regrets. His brothers couldn't stand the privations and hardships and moved to California where life was not so hard. But William stayed with the religion he had embraced as a boy." (174)
This quote again, shows the bias that flows throughout the book (and which is acknowledged by Denton in this instance).

However, this book illustrates very clearly the value of primary sources in examining the life of an ancestor and how secondary sources can help supplement one's understanding of those writings.

Denton's success in the book was to create a well-written narrative of Jean Rio's life, to interweave primary and secondary sources, and to look at her daily life in addition to the standard genealogical dates, etc. Her weaknesses were in allowing her own biases in relation to her family and the LDS Church to flavor her narrative. A good reminder to those of us engaged in writing family histories!

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Thursday, August 9, 2007

Early Postcards

I've scanned in a few of the early postcards that I have in my collection and added them to my Family Documents. You can see a brief slideshow of the postcards here.

As noted on the page, the postcards date from January 1905 to January 1913. Some are black and white illustrations or photos; many are in color. All but one were mailed, and they are identified by publisher (when noted), postmark date and place, as well as by title. Most of these come from the Scott girls to one another and to their grandmother, Rachel Aber Plaisted.

Many of the postcards are postmarked both from where they were mailed and "rec'd" at the post office to which they were mailed. I've only noted the "from" date and location, but can tell you that the recipient usually received the postcard the next day. Pretty fast!



One cent stamps were used on all the postcards. Three different stamps were used: two of Benjamin Franklin (one a profile and one straight-ahead) and one of the profile of George Washington. The Benjamin Franklin straight-ahead was issued by the USPS in 1903, and was used on my postcards from 1905 through 1908. The profile of Franklin was introduced in 1908, and the Washington profile in 1912. Only the last postcard I have uses the Washington stamp. All of these stamps are quite common, but could have been helpful in dating the postcards. (Information on stamps from the excellent website: 1847USA)

There are a few postcards from other locations (the earliest is from Pikes Peak, CO), but most come from upstate New York. Many are from where the Scott girls went to college, so several normal schools (training schools for teachers) are represented, including Keuka College, Geneseo Normal School and (NY) State Normal School at Oneonta. Syracuse University and the town also figure in several postcards. Greenwood, New York is where Rachel Aber Plaisted lived. Some seem to be vacation postcards.

The postcard seems to have been invented in Hungary in the 1870s. In the U.S., advertising cards were quite popular for collecting and trading throughout the 1870s, 1880s, and 1890s, and although not exactly "postcards" in the modern sense since they weren't mailed, did give a hint of what was to come. I have many of these in my collection as well, and will be scanning them into another album at some point in the future.

The first modern postcard, prestamped with a one-cent stamp, appeared in the U.S. in 1873 released by the US Postal Service. Not until 1898 were private firms allowed to create the postcards, and even then postcards were not allowed to have writing on the address side. This wasn't allowed until 1907, when a divided back was created. After this, the use of postcards exploded. Only two of my cards pre-date the divided back era. These cards were sent from Pike's Peak, Colorado in 1905 and Keuka College in NY (probably 1905-6).

Germany is where many of my cards were printed, and apparently was the site of most postcard printing in the world. At the time, Germany had they finest printing techniques for working with colors. With the onset of World War I, therefore, postcards became more difficult to obtain in the U.S. until American companies began building their own printing technologies.

(Most of the postcard history derives from here.)

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Friday, August 3, 2007

Is Big Brother Archiving?

Recent news reports such as the one where 2.3 million financial records were stolen and where the government collected phone records, have made me wonder more about record management these days and in the recent past.

Obviously, the federal government is archiving most of its materials, as they always have, much of it presumably to become public information long after our deaths. Some of these materials will be of interest to future descendants, including passport and Social Security Applications, military service and pension records, and IRS tax information. I believe it is unknown whether the NSA phone records will be archived or eventually become part of the public record.

Certainly, current trends seem to be pushing for more classified information. According to a 2006 AP survey (referenced here), 616 laws restricting access to public government records and meetings have been passed since 9/11. Only 283 were passed to loosen access.

Vital records are among those discussed as not public information. Some genealogists are fighting these restrictions. News agencies reported that the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Act of 2004 has a clause that "requires minimum standards for the use of birth certificates by Federal agencies for official purposes." The federal government was attempting to restrict access to the certificates since they can be used as identification, possibly by terrorists. Most states were considering restricting access to the records, and some states have done so, though most seem to have a clause that opens them to the public long after we are all dead.

Some states (such as Colorado) have responded to the federal law by restricting genealogical access to vital records. Or at least, I assume that's what is meant by: "genealogists representing family members with appropriate credentials". I'm not sure what a 'family member with appropriate credentials' would be, and assume that the second clause is misplaced: that the genealogist is supposed to have the credentials. The COGenBlog reported that one searcher was told, "genealogy database printouts, research documents, family letters, genealogy society membership cards, etc., which show proof of genealogy research work related to that person will meet the requirement." The Wandering Author mentions the genealogy community controversy over restricting access to just professionals in a recent post.

But back to our subject.... of far more interest than these government documents (assuming basic facts are established), would be looking at credit card records and search terms. I mean, what better way to figure out what is driving a person? Just ask the advertising companies!

The trouble is that many of these documents are kept by private businesses. Some businesses do maintain archives. There is a listing of some of them here. However, most businesses probably go into and out of existence or through mergers too quickly. Also, I'm not aware of what most of these businesses keep in archives, but I suspect that data on the individual is not high on the list. Financial records for the agency, possibly a list of customers, but probably not your monthly credit card bills.

Still, thinking about all the information about me that is out there... utility and phone records, search information, driver's licenses, magazine subscriptions, credit card and bank statements... wouldn't that be a gold mine for some future descendant! I mean wouldn't you love to know who great-Grandma talked to on the phone, what she bought (and for how much), have a photo (even if it was a license photo), know what she read and what her hobbies were, and if she defaulted on her loans?

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