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The past few decades has seen a phenomenal interest in researching one's family history and lineage. The recent resurgence in pursuing genealogy as a popular past-time has largely by due to the internet and its copious genealogical websites which offer web visitors use of their extensive databases.

Some genealogical websites encourage their users to upload their own research findings (accurate or not) so that others may access the data. Such postings are usually in the form of family trees, transcriptions and abstracts of public and private records, family folklore, photographs, cemetery transcriptions, or just about any other bit of information that may help to make a genealogical connection, general or specific, to a research goal.

The overwhelming abundance of these postings has been a boon to both experienced and budding genealogists. However, unless a researcher views them merely as "tools" or "leads" in deciphering a lineage and then seeks out to obtain the necessary "primary evidence" (official birth, marriage, death certificates) to support his findings, then his own research is pure speculation at best.

One of the most beneficial tools to find its way to the internet is the census index. Some genealogical sites also provide their members digitized images of the original census sheets, as well. A census, although it is a public record, is not a piece of primary evidence in proving one's family genealogy. Census enumerators would in earlier times go from dwelling to dwelling and record information about inhabitants living in those dwellings. The information given to the enumerators was often, but not always, stated by an adult living in the household; sometimes it was the result of questioning a child or neighbor. In any case, none of the personal information submitted by the enumerator was officially verified as being accurate; the main purpose of the census is not to record the identity of individuals, but to tally a count of the population. Sometimes family members or entire households were omitted from the enumerations or family relationships and other data were occasionally either mis-recorded or given in error. Although census enumerations can tell us with a high degree of certainty the precise geographic localities where enumerated families and individuals dwelled during a census year, particular information regarding the individuals should not be regarded as absolute fact, and must be further documented by locating and citing primary evidence.

Another popular tool on the internet is the "family tree" or pedigree. The number of family trees posted on the internet has spread like wildfire over the past decade and can be found on personal websites and genealogical sites which encourage their members to share their research with other members. This sudden influx of family trees is primarily the result of researchers extracting information (accurate or not) from one or more of the previously submitted family trees, adding his own research (accurate or not) and then uploading the finished product to the website. A scant few of these submissions can be classified as reliable works that have cited proper documentation to support the facts; unfortunately, the majority of these postings do not meet the criteria.

Some genealogical sites also offer digitized images and transcriptions of well-known, previously published genealogical works. As always, when consulting these sources, as well as any other form of non-primary evidence, the researcher must simply use them as "leads" and not assume that the information they contain is correct. One must keep in mind that even lineages compiled and published over the years by some of the most authoritative genealogists and historians have been proven to have inaccuracies in light on newly discovered evidence.

Although the internet has given genealogists many helpful tools and leads to help uncover the story of an ancestry, and numerous sites offer free use of a limited number of databases, complete access to the premium websites, which include the most crucial databases, is not free-of-charge. Subscription memberships to these premium websites amount to hundreds of dollars per year. One must keep in mind that performing proper genealogical research cannot and should not be conducted on the internet alone and that the additional expenses incurred over time, as well as the website membership costs, could well exceed a professional genealogist's fees for researching a multi-lineal project.

Tracing one's own ancestry and uncovering that hidden lineage without the skills of a more experienced or a professional genealogist requires an expertise which takes a considerable number of years for the novice to develop. However, if one has the true initiative and zeal to go forward and produce a well-documented family history, his personal rewards will be immeasurable.

Samuel Holten : A Very Brief Summary of the Life of the Most Illustrious Citizen of Danvers, Massachusetts

Samuel Holten, Jr. was born 09 June 1738 in that part of Danvers known as "Salem Village." He was the son of Samuel and Hannah (Gardner) Holten.

Samuel, Jr. grew up with his older sister, Lydia, and his half-sister, Anna, in a house built by his grandfather, Henry Holten (1662 - c.1747). Known as "Holten's Hotel," the house was located near what is now Prince Street in Danvers.

In 1752, Samuel, Sr. purchased the dwelling that still stands at 171 Holten Street from Holten cousins who were descendants of his uncle, Benjamin Holten. Benjamin had built the house about 1670. The house is known today as the "Judge Samuel Holten House."

Samuel Jr.'s pre-teen years were plagued by poor health, which not only prevented him from completing the desired pre-collegiate studies planned for him, but also caused him to have a serious hearing problem (he was almost totally deaf) throughout his entire life.

In spite of his infirmities, Samuel successfully completed his schooling locally under the guidance of Peter Clark and then went on to study medicine with Dr. Jonathan Prince, Sr., and his son, Jonathan Prince, Jr., who married Samuel's sister, Lydia, in 1754.

At the age of eighteen, Samuel had so excelled in his studies that Dr. Prince concluded that he had mastered a proficiency in both physic and surgery, and encouraged him to set up a medical practice of his own.

He practiced for several years in Gloucester, Massachusetts where he met and married Mary Warner in 1758. Shortly after their marriage, they returned to Danvers where Samuel was a well-respected physician for many years.

Before the time of the onset of the American Revolution, Samuel was appointed to the Massachusetts General Court in 1768, a position he held until 1815. A zealous patriot and member of the "Sons of Liberty," Samuel became more and more engrossed in politics. He decided to give up his medical practice by 1775 to thoroughly devote himself to the Revolution and a life of public service.

Samuel Holten's gravestone, located in Danvers an the Holten Street Cemetery (land gifted, in part, by Samuel Holten to the community) reads:

AGED 78 YEARS. He sustained various offices of trust, under the State Government and that

of the Union, with ability and integrity; to the almost unanimous acceptance of his constituents.

One of the most remarkable Americans of his time, the plaque placed in front of his house at 171 Holten Street by the Danvers Historical Commission in 1974 mentions some of his outstanding accomplishments:

* Member of the Continental Congress from 1778 - 80, 1782 -87, and its temporary

Samuel Holten's great-grandfather was Joseph Holten, who emigrated from England to America and became one of the earliest settlers of Danvers. He married Sarah Ingersoll in 1651 at Newbury, Massachusetts. Their children were born in Salem Village, now Danvers.

Samuel Holten's grandfather was Henry Holten. He married Abigail Flint 04 March 1688/89 at Salem, Massachusetts.

Samuel Holten, Sr. was born in 1703. He first married Anna Edwards of Wenham; she died shortly after giving birth to their only child, Anna, in 1729. He next married Hannah Gardner of Salem. They had four children, but only two survived infancy: Lydia and Samuel.

Samuel and his wife, Mary Warner Holten, had no sons, but were the parents of three daughters: Lydia, Mary, and Sarah. All three girls grew to adulthood and married: Lydia, to John Kettle of Danvers; Mary, to Jethro Putnam of Danvers; Sarah, to Luke Webster (he died in 1800) of Newburyport, and then to Eleazer Putnam of Danvers.

Both Samuel and Mary Warner Holten survived two of their daughters (Lydia Holten Kettle died in 1789 and Sarah Holten Webster Putnam died in 1808) and most of their grandchildren, who had died in childhood.

Mary Warner Holten died 29 August 1813; Samuel Holten, 02 January 1816. At the time of his death, Samuel Holten was survived only by his daughter (Mary Holten Putnam), three grandsons, one granddaughter, and two great-granddaughters.

(This article contributed by Scotti Genealogy Services to the General Israel Putnam Chapter, National Society Daughters of the American Revolution. The historic house was acquired by the chapter in 1921; it is open to the public for tours by appointment.)