July 2012 Scanfest

Scanfest is Coming (with some changes)!

The July 2012 Scanfest will take place here at AnceStories tomorrow, Sunday, July 29th, from 11 AM to 2 PM, Pacific Daylight Time.

What is Scanfest? It's a time when geneabloggers, family historians, and family archivists meet online here at this blog to chat while they scan their precious family document and photos. Why? Because, quite honestly, scanning is time-consuming and boring!

Scanfest is a great time to "meet" other genealogists, ask questions about scanning and preservation, and get the kick in the pants we all need on starting those massive scanning projects that just seem too overwhelming to begin.

To get started, you need to know the basics about scanning:

1. Don't use commercial glass cleaners (i.e. Windex) or paper towels to clean your scanner's glass plate. Use a soft, clean cloth, preferably microfiber. If you must use a liquid, use water sprayed directly onto the cloth and make sure to let the plate dry thoroughly before placing photos or documents on it.

2. Wear cotton gloves (available at many art and/or photography supply shops) when handling photos and old documents.

3. Don't slide the photos around on the glass plate. Place them exactly where you want them. Photos should NEVER be scanned by a scanner that feeds the document through the machine, but ALWAYS on a flat-bed scanner.

4. Set your scanner to scan at no smaller than 300 dpi (dots per inch). Many experts recommend 600 dpi for photographs.

5. Photographs should ALWAYS be scanned and saved as .tif files. Use "Save As" to reformat the .tif file to a .jpg file for restoration and touchups, emailing, or uploading to an online photo album. ALWAYS retain the original scan as a .tif file.

6. Documents can be scanned as .pdf files or .tif files.

7. When you are done scanning your photos, don't put them back in those nasty "magnetic" photo albums. Place them in archival safe albums or boxes found at websites such as Archival Products or Archival Suppliers. Do NOT store any newsprint (articles, obituaries, etc.) with the photos. The acid from the newspaper will eventually destroy the photograph.

Now about the chatting part of Scanfest (here are the changes):

We will be using Cbox, a live blogging format that you access right here at AnceStories. On Sunday at 11 AM, PDT, come right here to AnceStories and you'll see the Cbox live chat window in the top post. You will not need to download any software.

Why the change? CoverItLive, the chat platform we have used in the past, changed its terms of use for its free version. It is now limited to 25 views per account per month. As you can imagine, more than 25 people visit Scanfest each month, either during its live session on the last Sunday of each month, or later, to catch up on what they missed. We will be trying out Cbox to see how it fits Scanfest's needs. We may try other chat platforms in the future to find the best fit for Scanfest and our Scanfesters.

I'm looking forward to seeing you all there and getting some scanning done!

Surname Saturday: WILKINSON

My WILKINSON line ends with my paternal great-grandmother's mother, Mary J. WILKINSON, and like my KIMBALL line, can only be traced back two more generations. The line originates from Yorkshire, England, but there are no further details, such as which city or town, or even which Riding in Yorkshire the family hails. This is a brickwall line I would love to tear down!

Stories and History:

Ahnentafel #76 - Richard (middle name John?) WILKINSON (b. c. 1815) - born in Yorkshire, England, he married Mary LAMOREAUX (a.k.a. TERRY) (c. 1818 - 1901). An article in the Weekly Guide, Port Hope, Ontario, Canada, on 25 August 1869 mentioned a thirtieth anniversary celebration of a Mr. and Mrs. John WILKINSON of Canton on the 14th of August. Richard and Mary were known to have ties to the area. They had five, possibly six, children: Elizabeth, John, Mary, Richard, William, and (possibly) George Henry. The couple was in Woodstock, Oxford County in 1845, and Aurora, York County by 1856. By the 1861 Canadian Census, they were in East Gwillimbury, York County and in 1871 and 1881, they were in Whitchurch Township, York County, where Richard remained the rest of his days. In 1891, Mary is listed as a widow. There is no record of Richard's death in the Ontario Death Records (believe me, I've looked!).

Ahnentafel #38 - John WILKINSON, Sr. (1845 - 1917) - According to a written family history, John was born in Woodstock, Oxford County, Ontario. He married Mahala SAYERS (1847 - 1937) on 29 Jul 1871 in Port Hope, Northumberland County. They emigrated to Muskegon County, Michigan c. 1880-1 with other Sayers family members, effectively missing both the U.S. Federal Census of 1880 and the Canadian Census of 1881! John and Mahala had eight children, the first five born in various communities of Northumberland and Durham Counties, and the last three born in Muskegon County. John was a carpenter and built numerous homes in the Whitehall Township area of Muskegon County.

Ahnentafel #19 - Mary J. WILKINSON (1872 - 1940) - She was born in Port Hope, Northumberland County, Ontario, the eldest of eight children. She married George Emmett LEWIS (1868 - 1964) on 31 Dec 1891 in Muskegon, Muskegon County, Michigan. Like her father, George was a carpenter, and it is likely Mary met George if he worked for or with her father. For a short time, Mary and George lived in Cleon Township, Manistee County, and later in Blue Lake Township, Muskegon County, but they lived most of their lives in Whitehall Township, Muskegon County, particularly the Village of Whitehall with both Wilkinson and Lewis family members close by. Mary gave birth to 13 children, 11 of whom survived infancy. Her eldest child, George Richard LEWIS was tragically killed at the age of 20 in a motorcycle accident. Although Mary herself only lived to the age of 68, four of her children survived into their 90's, apparently inheriting her Great-grandfather Sayers' longevity genes (he lived to age 102).

Ahnentafel #9 - Marie LEWIS (1902 - 1986) - my great-grandmother; read her AnceStory here.

Ahnentafel #4 - Robert Lewis ROBBINS (1920 - 2003) - my paternal grandfather; read his AnceStory here.

Ahnentafel #2 - my father (living)

Ahnentafel #1 - myself


More about the WILKINSON family:

1. Online database (I update this at least once a month): WILKINSON ancestors and relatives (no info on living persons available)

2. Some WILKINSON obituaries

3. Posts about WILKINSON ancestors and relatives on this blog

4. Some scanned WILKINSON photos

5. Some scanned WILKINSON documents

6. My WILKINSON Virtual Cemetery on Find A Grave

My WILKINSON immigration trail:

Yorkshire, England > Oxford Co., ONT > York Co., ONT > Northumberland Co., ONT > Durham Co., ONT > Northumberland Co., ONT > Muskegon Co., MI > Manistee Co., MI > Muskegon Co., MI > Ottawa Co., MI > AK > Stevens Co., WA > Spokane Co., WA