AnceStories: The Stories of My Ancestors: July 2015

Saturday, July 18, 2015

July 2015 Scanfest Has Been Cancelled

I'm cancelling Scanfest for July.

I have a fantastic reason to do so.

See this couple looking adoringly at one another?

That's my sister with her Mr. Wonderful. And they are going to be married next week, the day I had planned for the July Scanfest way back in December.

As genealogists, we love weddings! A whole new branch to tie into the family tree; another family to research!

But as the sister of the bride, I have my own reasons for loving this marriage. You see, my sister is a wonderful woman. She's a loyal friend, a loving mother, a dedicated nurse, and an I'll-be-there-for-you-no-matter-what sister. She deserves a great guy, and she is getting one.

Lucky me; I get another family to research AND I get another wonderful brother, nephew, and niece in the bargain! Good people who will make great family members.

We'll commence Scanfest again in August; the 30th, to be exact. Be on the lookout for the upcoming announcement. And send your best wishes and thoughts to Sis and Mr. Wonderful next Sunday as they celebrate the beginning of a whole new life together.

Friday, July 10, 2015

Friday Finds and Follows: 10 July 2015

Articles and posts that caught my eye:

Helga Estby walked cross-country to try and save family farm by Stefanie Pettit at The Spokesman-Review - in 1896, a Norwegian immigrant from Spokane County and her 18-year-old daughter set out to walk across America from the Northwest to New York City to win $10,000 to save their family farm. Were they successful?

Two new coins to mark McCrae’s ‘In Flanders Fields’ by Gail Dever at Genealogy à la carte - Canada is honoring its most famous WWI veteran

Using Etsy for Genealogy by Thomas MacEntee at Geneabloggers - who knew? Using this "Ebay for handmade goods" site can yield some genealogy treasures!

Pacific Northwest Digital Collections Summit, Final Report Available by Nono Burling at Between the Lines (the Washington State Library blog) - "In March 2015, the Oregon and Washington State Libraries co-hosted a summit of approximately 50 library, archives, and museum professionals to explore avenues for increased collaborative digitization throughout the region." Includes an interactive map which shows you digital projects already underway in Washington and Oregon.

How to Find the Cheapest Office Supplies Online by Ryan Dube at MakeUseOf - because genealogists can never have enough genealogy supplies!

How To Stay Healthy Before, During, And After A Convention by Stephanie Lee at Lifehacker - SLIG and RootsTech 2015 were visited by plagues; here's how to avoid them in the future

My New Genealogy Follows at Twitter:

@mohistorymuseum, @ACGSI, @FamilySleuther

Genealogy Facebook Pages I've "Liked":

Auprès de nos Racines
Be sure to check out Katherine R. Willson's incredible Genealogy on Facebook list for more genealogy pages and groups.

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Friday, July 03, 2015

Friday Finds and Follows: 3 July 2015

The last "Friday Finds and Follows" post I published was on April 17th. A lot has been happening in my life since then, which caused me to kind of drop off the face of the earth...or at least off the face of Blogger. Some of the many things which have kept me busy, tired, and realizing the need for cutting back from genealogy and blogging for a while until I catch my breath have included;

physical therapy twice a week after my knee surgery on April 2nd; there was also a twice-a-day exercise regime I had to follow
much pain and fatigue as a result of my surgery; some days I'd come home from work, pop dinner in the microwave, and then crash in bed!
teaching a five-week genealogy course through my local community colleges district's seniors' program
an interview for and a job offer as a Secretary Senior with the Toxics Cleanup Program at the Washington State Department of Ecology, the latter which I gladly accepted!
giving my two weeks' notice as a Special Education Instructional Assistant at Spokane Public Schools and subsequently finishing up my duties there, including writing detailed sub plans for my replacement
a new job with a steep learning curve...but a fun and interesting place to work!
a two-day out-of-town workshop for my new job's program
planning for my parents' 50th anniversary celebration
getting used to my new daily schedule and routine with a longer work day (eight hours vs. six hours)

I've finally "found my groove" and actually have spent some time the last week in a half doing research on the sister of one of my great-grandfathers. It's time to do some blogging once again! Thanks for bearing with me. This post includes some older finds and not just ones from the past week.

Articles and posts that caught my eye:

The laws of access by Judy G. Russell at The Legal Genealogist - be prepared the next time you go to a county clerk's office or state archives

An open letter to genealogy societies by Susan Petersen at Long Lost Relatives - Susan lists her (very valid, in my opinion) frustrations about societies. These are reasons why many are dying off.

Digital Archives milestone: 150 million records by Brian Zylstra at From Our Corner (blog of the Washington State Secretary of State) - I'm proud of what my home state has done with their fabulous digitized records collections, and wish more states would follow this example.

Ten Tips for New Geneabloggers by Bill West at West in New England - Are you thinking about blogging, or are you a new blogger? Here's some good advice from a long-time and well-read geneablogger.

How to Download Your Ancestry.com Tree by Elizabeth O'Neal at Little Bytes of Life - some handy tips

A challenging environment: Alaska, 1900-1940 by Zachary Garceau at Vita Brevis - ever wonder how those enumerators got around that remote land called Alaska to do the census? You'll be amazed!

EWGS 80th Anniversary Celebration...A Fun Event by Donna Potter Phillips at the Eastern Washington Genealogical Society blog - still going strong after 80 years! Here's how we celebrated!

New Maps of Juneau, Alaska's Evergreen Cemetery to Go Online in October by Leland Meitzler at GenealogyBlog - as someone born and raised in Alaska, I always cheer when more of that great state's genealogy resources go online!

Longest Marriage in My Family Tree by Cecily Cone Kelly at Letters to My Grandparents - this post came about from a Facebook conversation Cecily and I had. I'm so glad she wrote it; now I need to write mine!

Make Your Genealogy Blog Photos Stand Out on Pinterest! by Lisa Lisson at Lisa Lisson.com blog - I'm a new fan of Lisa's blog, and after reading this post, I'm sure you'll know why. She's got lots of great tips!

A Time I Will Never Forget--I Am a Survivor! by Brenda Leyndyke at Journey to the Past - Brenda is another blogger whose writings have recently been added to my news feed. This story is personal, poignant, and exactly an example of what WE should be writing about for OUR descendants!

My New Genealogy Follows at Twitter:

@steve_newby3, @OnwardToOurPast, @ITAPconference

Genealogy Facebook Pages I've "Liked":