Last weekend my dad's cousin and aunt came into town. We spent Saturday afternoon scanning documents and photos and sharing them with each other. It was such a great time to be able to spend with family and help each other in our genealogy efforts.

On thing we talked about was a way to better collaborate with each other and how we could better share our genealogy files with each other. I had the idea of using Dropbox. We both have free Dropbox accounts right now, but I suggested we get a "Family Dropbox" subscription so we can store all our photos, documents, stories and any other genealogy document we want to share with each other. My dad's cousin that that was such a great idea! 

For those of you who may not know what Dropbox is, it is a great way to store, backup and share files on your computer with anyone you want. All you have to do is add their email to the folders you want to share with others and immediately they will be able to access all those great documents you have found in your genealogy research. You can download your own free 2GB account by clicking this link:
http://db.tt/77rl5Ye - This link will let you set up a free account, as well as give us BOTH 256MB more free space!

One of my tasks this weekend is to set up this "Family" account. Before I do, I need to go through and organize my genealogy files better! I know, I should already have everything organized, but I admit I have been a little messy with all my files lately... :P

Thank you Linda and Vonda for coming up and collaborating our genealogy together!! I look forward to the next time we can get together again!

On Sunday some of my friends in my ward got together for dinner. As we were talking one of my new friends mentioned she was from Manti, Utah. As soon as she said that the genealogist inside me kicked in. 

While doing my family history I remembered coming across some people with the last name Braithwaite and I was pretty sure they were from Manti, or at least one of those little towns in central Utah. I said to her, "I think we might be cousins."

We then sat down, I pulled out my phone and opened up one of my genealogy apps to figure out how we were related. I showed her my connection to John Braithwaite. From the diagram below, you can see that my 2nd great-grandfather was George Washington Ivory.

• I am descended through his youngest son, Ellis Clark Ivory. 
• George had a daughter named Mercie Ella Ivory. 
• She married John Braithwaite.
  
• John Braithwaite's grandfather was Rowloand Braithwaite.
• Rowland Braithwaite's 3rd great-granddaughter is my friend!

This just comes to show that you never know who you might run into that you end up figuring out that you are distant cousins of some sort - even if it is like this and it it just through marriage!

The 1810 U.S. Federal Census is one of the only documents that gives any information about Mathew Hayes Ivory, Sr. and his family.

In 1810 Mathew and his family were living in Moyamensing Township, Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania.

I had never heard of Moyamensing so I decided to learn more about it and where exactly it was located. When doing a Google search on Moyamensing, the first result is a page on Wikipedia. According to Wikipedia, "Moyamensing was originally a township on the fast land of the Neck, lying between Passyunk and Wicaco. It was incorporated into the Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania and is today primarily a neighborhood in the South Philadelphia section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States."

Below is a map showing the boundaries of where Moyamensing was.

Yesterday I was working on adding content to the website and one of the things I added was the Family Tree page containing the pedigree chart of Mathew Hayes Ivory, Jr. as well of a descendancy chart of Mathew and his wife Mary Elizabeth Judith Bemus.

The family tree and descendant chart are one of the ways to get to the individual profiles on the website. If you are wanting to see the individual profile of anyone on the charts, simply click their bubble and you will be taken there to see more information, documents and other family members.

This post will not be very long, nor is this website anywhere near complete, but I wanted to make a quick blog post about the new website, design and blog.

I am hoping this site will be a great resource for those who are doing their family history and especially for those who are researching the Ivory family.

If you are a descendant of Mathew Hayes Ivory, born 1809 in Philadelphia, or related to any Ivory family members, please feel free to let the Ivory Family Association know of any research you are conducting, or any comments or questions you may have.

Happy Researching!!