Source: John W. Valk Badge of Military Merit; owned by Miriam Robbins Midkiff, [ADDRESS FOR PRIVATE USE,] Spokane, Washington, 2008.
Wednesday, August 06, 2008
Wordless Wednesday: A Purple Heart
Source: John W. Valk Badge of Military Merit; owned by Miriam Robbins Midkiff, [ADDRESS FOR PRIVATE USE,] Spokane, Washington, 2008.
The Genea-Bloggers' Picnic Has Been Posted
Bill West of West in New England has posted "Welcome to the Picnic!" He asked genealogy bloggers what kinds of picnics they remembered from their childhood. There are 20 picnickers, each with their own picnic baskets and favorite foods. My submission, "Picnic Time" is here.
Enjoy the reads!
Enjoy the reads!
Tuesday, August 05, 2008
Donna's Top Ten Genea-Blogger Group Games...
Donna Pointkouski's got a hilarious post over at her What's Past is Prologue blog: "The Top Ten Genea-Blogger Group Games That Were Cut by the Olympic Committee." You gotta read it!
Monday, August 04, 2008
Addendum to Genea-Bloggers Group Games Badges and Medals
ADDENDUM II: Participants are encouraged to use the lovely Summer 2008 Genea-Bloggers Group Games participants' badge (shown at the top of this post) created by the equally lovely footnoteMaven on their blogs. Please link it to the Genea-Bloggers Group Facebook page: http://www.new.facebook.com/group.php?gid=30305424880
Addendum to Genea-Bloggers Group Games Participant Rules
If you are planning to participate in the Genea-Bloggers Group Games, please be aware that I have made an addendum to the participant rules.
As part of Step 1: Sign Up, please e-mail me (kidmiffATgmailDOTcom) with the following information:
A. The name of the country in which you now reside.
B. An attached graphic of a flag you create yourself at WeAreMulticolored representing your ancestry, heritage, or personal expression.
For example, I would send in the name of the United States, and the following graphic, representing by its colors and shapes my American, Canadian, Frisian, Dutch, English, Scots, and French ancestry and heritage:
As part of Step 1: Sign Up, please e-mail me (kidmiffATgmailDOTcom) with the following information:
A. The name of the country in which you now reside.
B. An attached graphic of a flag you create yourself at WeAreMulticolored representing your ancestry, heritage, or personal expression.
For example, I would send in the name of the United States, and the following graphic, representing by its colors and shapes my American, Canadian, Frisian, Dutch, English, Scots, and French ancestry and heritage:
This information will be used during the Opening Ceremonies, so please e-mail it to me by 3:00 PM, Pacific Daylight Time on Thursday, August 7 (same time as the participant submission deadline).
Tagged...Again...and Again!
Carol Wilkerson of iPentimento in Your Reader got this whole BFF (Blogging Friends Forever) meme rolling through the genea-blogosphere, when she tagged me the other day. I like these memes, because I discover new-to-me blogs. But it was only logical that sooner or later, people were going to start tagging those who'd been tagged earlier. It gets difficult to find someone who hasn't been tagged!
Recently, both Amy of Amy's Genealogy Blog, etc. and Jeanna of RootsReading.com tagged me as a BFF. Thanks, ladies! Both are new-to-me blogging buddies whose blogs have recently been added to my blogroll. I hope my readers take the time to go visit Amy and Jeanna.
UPDATE: Thank you also to Donna of What's Past is Prologue for tagging me along with the other authors of the Facebook® Bootcamp for Genea-Bloggers blog.
UPDATE II: Another thank you to Virginia of Valeehill Genealogy Blog, who tagged me in a note over at Facebook.
And speaking of my blogroll, if you actually visit my blog site and don't just read AnceStories from a feed reader such as Google Reader or Bloglines, you'll see about a quarter of way down the page, in the right-hand margin, a list of 10 posts that have recently been published by my genea-blogging friends. You see, currently, I have 163 blogs added to the Genealogy folder of my Google Reader account! That's too long of a list to post on my blog, and unless someone's blog has an intriguing title, it's doubtful my readers would click on a link. Thus I've fixed my setting to show the latest posts with a clip that will motivate my readers to click on the link to read more.
There are a number of ways to find new genealogy blogs. Laura Womack wrote "Methods for Finding Genealogy Blogs" at Life at the Home20. I have also discovered that when I view my Google Reader and click on "Discover" above my blogroll, it gives me suggestions for finding more blogs, genealogy and otherwise. It does this by comparing my interests with the feeds of users similar to me. Try it out!
Announcing the Summer 2008 Genea-Blogger Group Games !
Announcing the Summer 2008 Genea-Blogger Group Games!
August 8 to August 25, 2008
Created In the Spirit of the Summer Olympics
Created In the Spirit of the Summer Olympics
In the Spirit of the 2008 Summer Olympic Games, we would like to invite you to participate in the 2008 Genea-Blogger Group Games beginning August 8th through August 25th (one day longer than the Olympic Games, due to Scanfest occurring on the 24th). There will be five categories in which you can participate. All participants will receive a badge, and qualifying participants will be awarded medals (designed by our very own creative footnoteMaven) on Monday, August 25th during the Closing Ceremonies.
If you would like to participate, please carefully read the criteria below. If you have any questions, please post them at the appropriate discussion boards (and not in the comments below) provided at the Genea-Blogger Group page.
The footnoteMaven has graciously created the participants' badges as well as medals in the following levels: bronze, silver, gold, diamond, and platinum, with bronze being the lowest level and platinum being the highest. These badges and medals will be awarded during the Closing Ceremonies on Monday, August 25th at Destination: Austin Family.
ADDENDUM II: Participants are encouraged to use the lovely Summer 2008 Genea-Bloggers Group Games participants' badge (shown at the top of this post) created by the equally lovely footnoteMaven on their blogs. Please link it to the Genea-Bloggers Group Facebook page: http://www.new.facebook.com/group.php?gid=30305424880
If you would like to participate, please carefully read the criteria below. If you have any questions, please post them at the appropriate discussion boards (and not in the comments below) provided at the Genea-Blogger Group page.
Participation
1. Sign up at the Facebook Genea-Blogger Group page by RSVPing to the Genea-Blogger Group Games that will be listed in the Events menu on that page. Submission deadline is 9:00 AM, Pacific Daylight Time on August 8, 2008. Only participants who have signed up in advance will be listed in the Opening Ceremonies. If you are not yet a Facebook and Genea-Blogger Group member, you must sign up for these immediately. Administrators can also participate.
ADDENDUM I: E-mail Miriam Midkiff by 9:00 AM, Pacific Daylight Time on August 8 with the following information which will be used during the Opening Ceremonies:
2. Participate in Opening Ceremonies by publishing a post on your blog on August 8, 2008, by 12:00 noon, PDT describing the categories in which you will compete. Describe your goals for achievement. Look for the Official List of Competitors at AnceStories: The Stories of My Ancestors to be posted later that day. These are our Opening Ceremonies.
3. Start competing on August 9, 2008 at 12:00 noon, PDT.
4. Record your progress daily on your blog. Keep track of your own statistics. This is on the honor system! For those who may be on vacation during this time and perhaps not have Internet access, keep record of daily stats manually and publish them when back online.
5. Stop competing on August 23, 2008 at 12:00 noon, PDT.
6. Post your final tallies by 3:00 p.m. PDT on August 23, 2008 on your blog.
7. Visit Destination: Austin Family on August 25, 2008 for the Medals Ceremony/Closing Ceremonies (we are postponing this by one day because of Scanfest and to give the administrators time to double-check tallies).
ADDENDUM I: E-mail Miriam Midkiff by 9:00 AM, Pacific Daylight Time on August 8 with the following information which will be used during the Opening Ceremonies:
A. The name of the country in which you now reside.
B. An attached graphic of a flag you create yourself at WeAreMulticolored representing your ancestry, heritage, or personal expression. Please explain the heritage or special meaning behind your flag.
C. The URL (web address) of your blog.
2. Participate in Opening Ceremonies by publishing a post on your blog on August 8, 2008, by 12:00 noon, PDT describing the categories in which you will compete. Describe your goals for achievement. Look for the Official List of Competitors at AnceStories: The Stories of My Ancestors to be posted later that day. These are our Opening Ceremonies.
3. Start competing on August 9, 2008 at 12:00 noon, PDT.
4. Record your progress daily on your blog. Keep track of your own statistics. This is on the honor system! For those who may be on vacation during this time and perhaps not have Internet access, keep record of daily stats manually and publish them when back online.
5. Stop competing on August 23, 2008 at 12:00 noon, PDT.
6. Post your final tallies by 3:00 p.m. PDT on August 23, 2008 on your blog.
7. Visit Destination: Austin Family on August 25, 2008 for the Medals Ceremony/Closing Ceremonies (we are postponing this by one day because of Scanfest and to give the administrators time to double-check tallies).
Badges and Medals
The footnoteMaven has graciously created the participants' badges as well as medals in the following levels: bronze, silver, gold, diamond, and platinum, with bronze being the lowest level and platinum being the highest. These badges and medals will be awarded during the Closing Ceremonies on Monday, August 25th at Destination: Austin Family.
ADDENDUM II: Participants are encouraged to use the lovely Summer 2008 Genea-Bloggers Group Games participants' badge (shown at the top of this post) created by the equally lovely footnoteMaven on their blogs. Please link it to the Genea-Bloggers Group Facebook page: http://www.new.facebook.com/group.php?gid=30305424880
Competition Categories
1. Go Back and Cite Your Sources!
We all know how important our research is - but it is only worth the evidence that supports it! Have you ever looked at an entry in your database and wondered, "Where did that come from?" or "How can that be?" All events can and should be backed up by linking them to sources and evidence using a consistent and clear citation format.
Create proper citations of sources for as many events possible using either Evidence Explained: Citing History Sources from Artifacts to Cyberspace by Elizabeth Shown Mills or How to Cite Sources by John Wiley.
Qualifications for "Go Back and Cite Your Sources!":
10 Citations - Bronze Medal
20 Citations - Silver Medal
30 Citations - Gold Medal
40 Citations - Diamond Medal
50 Citations - Platinum Medal
2. Back Up Your Data!
Backup data to choice of formats (flash drives, CDs, DVDs, online) or storing hard copies properly (safety deposit box, safe, etc.).
A. Prepare a comprehensive backup plan for your digital research files and a security plan for your hard copies and photos
B. Secure your hard copies and photos in waterproof containers
C. Backup all your data using a flash drive, an external drive, CDs, DVDs, or an online resource
D. Have all your hard copies and photos scanned and secure them either in a fire-proof safe or offsite in a safety-deposit box/secure environment
E. All your data is backed up digitally and secured physically and you can recover from any disaster while losing only one month or less worth of research
Qualifications for "Back Up Your Data!":
Complete Task A - Bronze Medal
Complete Task B - Silver Medal
Complete Task C - Gold Medal
Complete Task D - Diamond Medal
Complete Task E - Platinum Medal
3. Organize Your Research!
So you have plenty of research - that's okay if you can find what you need when you need it, right? Take time to review your collection of documents and photos, both hard copy and digital, and work to organize those items for easy access.
A. Organize at least 20 hard files or ancestral items (books, fabrics, inherited items) into file folders, boxes, envelopes, containers, etc.; archival-quality where appropriate.
B. Organize at least 20 digital files into folders, label, add metadata, add descriptions, add tags, etc.
C. Organize at least 20 photos into photo albums, scrapbooks, collages, protective holders, boxes, etc.
D. Organize at least 20 digital photos into folders, label, add metadata, add descriptions, add tags, etc.
E. Create at least 20 data entries in your database, or scan 20 photos, or scan 20 documents.
F. Create a master list of your files and notify your family members of where it is stored.
Qualifications for "Organize Your Research!":
Complete any one task - Bronze Medal
Complete any two tasks - Silver Medal
Complete any three tasks - Gold Medal
Complete any four tasks - Diamond Medal
Complete five or more tasks - Platinum Medal
4. Write, Write, Write!
Do you find birth dates, death dates and all the data boring if there's no narrative behind it? Don't you find the stories about ancestors more attractive than cut and dried census data? It takes time to be able to write about your family history and the more you write and the more often you write, the easier it is to bring your family to life for others to see.
A. Write a summary of what your blog is about and post it on your blog – you may not have done this since you started the blog and it is a great way to have new readers learn more about your site.
B. Participate in a genealogy or family history related blog carnival. See the AnceStories post "August Is..." for a list of these carnivals and their submission URLs and deadlines.
C. Prepare several posts in draft mode (if possible with your blog platform) and pre-publish.
D. Write a brief biographical sketch on one of your ancestors.
E. Sign up to host a future carnival:
Qualifications for "Write, Write, Write!":
Complete any one task - Bronze Medal
Complete any two tasks - Silver Medal
Complete any three tasks - Gold Medal
Complete any four tasks - Diamond Medal
Complete all 5 tasks - Platinum Medal
5. Reach Out & Perform Genealogical Acts of Kindness!
A. Comment on a new (to you) genea-blog.
B. Join another genea-blogger’s blog network on Facebook Blog Networks.
C. Invite other genealogists to join Facebook.
D. Assist another researcher with a research request or lookup. See AnceStories "Random Acts of Kindness Week" posts for ideas for this item and Item E.
E. Participate in an indexing project.
F. Join a genealogical, historical, heritage or lineage society.
Qualifications for "Reach Out & Perform Genealogical Acts of Kindness!":
Complete any one task - Bronze Medal
Complete any two tasks - Silver Medal
Complete any three tasks - Gold Medal
Complete any four tasks - Diamond Medal
Complete five or more tasks - Platinum Medal
Remember: If you have any questions about participation rules or the criteria for the categories, please post them at the appropriate discussion boards at the Genea-Bloggers Group at Facebook!
We all know how important our research is - but it is only worth the evidence that supports it! Have you ever looked at an entry in your database and wondered, "Where did that come from?" or "How can that be?" All events can and should be backed up by linking them to sources and evidence using a consistent and clear citation format.
Create proper citations of sources for as many events possible using either Evidence Explained: Citing History Sources from Artifacts to Cyberspace by Elizabeth Shown Mills or How to Cite Sources by John Wiley.
Qualifications for "Go Back and Cite Your Sources!":
10 Citations - Bronze Medal
20 Citations - Silver Medal
30 Citations - Gold Medal
40 Citations - Diamond Medal
50 Citations - Platinum Medal
2. Back Up Your Data!
Backup data to choice of formats (flash drives, CDs, DVDs, online) or storing hard copies properly (safety deposit box, safe, etc.).
A. Prepare a comprehensive backup plan for your digital research files and a security plan for your hard copies and photos
B. Secure your hard copies and photos in waterproof containers
C. Backup all your data using a flash drive, an external drive, CDs, DVDs, or an online resource
D. Have all your hard copies and photos scanned and secure them either in a fire-proof safe or offsite in a safety-deposit box/secure environment
E. All your data is backed up digitally and secured physically and you can recover from any disaster while losing only one month or less worth of research
Qualifications for "Back Up Your Data!":
Complete Task A - Bronze Medal
Complete Task B - Silver Medal
Complete Task C - Gold Medal
Complete Task D - Diamond Medal
Complete Task E - Platinum Medal
3. Organize Your Research!
So you have plenty of research - that's okay if you can find what you need when you need it, right? Take time to review your collection of documents and photos, both hard copy and digital, and work to organize those items for easy access.
A. Organize at least 20 hard files or ancestral items (books, fabrics, inherited items) into file folders, boxes, envelopes, containers, etc.; archival-quality where appropriate.
B. Organize at least 20 digital files into folders, label, add metadata, add descriptions, add tags, etc.
C. Organize at least 20 photos into photo albums, scrapbooks, collages, protective holders, boxes, etc.
D. Organize at least 20 digital photos into folders, label, add metadata, add descriptions, add tags, etc.
E. Create at least 20 data entries in your database, or scan 20 photos, or scan 20 documents.
F. Create a master list of your files and notify your family members of where it is stored.
Qualifications for "Organize Your Research!":
Complete any one task - Bronze Medal
Complete any two tasks - Silver Medal
Complete any three tasks - Gold Medal
Complete any four tasks - Diamond Medal
Complete five or more tasks - Platinum Medal
4. Write, Write, Write!
Do you find birth dates, death dates and all the data boring if there's no narrative behind it? Don't you find the stories about ancestors more attractive than cut and dried census data? It takes time to be able to write about your family history and the more you write and the more often you write, the easier it is to bring your family to life for others to see.
A. Write a summary of what your blog is about and post it on your blog – you may not have done this since you started the blog and it is a great way to have new readers learn more about your site.
B. Participate in a genealogy or family history related blog carnival. See the AnceStories post "August Is..." for a list of these carnivals and their submission URLs and deadlines.
C. Prepare several posts in draft mode (if possible with your blog platform) and pre-publish.
D. Write a brief biographical sketch on one of your ancestors.
E. Sign up to host a future carnival:
The following regular carnival hosts are accepting names for volunteer hosts: footnoteMaven needs volunteer hosts for the October 10th edition only of "I Smile for the Camera" (see her criteria in next paragraph); Jessica Oswalt of the Carnival of Central and Eastern European Genealogy; Lisa of the Carnival of Irish Heritage & Culture; and Tim Abbott of the Cabinet of Curiosities. Jasia has all the volunteers she needs for this year's Carnival of Genealogy, so please do NOT distract her from her writing to ask to volunteer as a host right now! :-)
You must email the footnoteMaven with the words "Guest Host – Smile For The Camera" in the subject line. In the body of the email you must select your favorite article from Shades Of The Departed and explain why it is your favorite. The footnoteMaven will select the best answer to determine the host for the October 10 “Smile For The Camera.” The best answer will be featured on Shades Of The Departed.
Qualifications for "Write, Write, Write!":
Complete any one task - Bronze Medal
Complete any two tasks - Silver Medal
Complete any three tasks - Gold Medal
Complete any four tasks - Diamond Medal
Complete all 5 tasks - Platinum Medal
5. Reach Out & Perform Genealogical Acts of Kindness!
A. Comment on a new (to you) genea-blog.
B. Join another genea-blogger’s blog network on Facebook Blog Networks.
C. Invite other genealogists to join Facebook.
D. Assist another researcher with a research request or lookup. See AnceStories "Random Acts of Kindness Week" posts for ideas for this item and Item E.
E. Participate in an indexing project.
F. Join a genealogical, historical, heritage or lineage society.
Qualifications for "Reach Out & Perform Genealogical Acts of Kindness!":
Complete any one task - Bronze Medal
Complete any two tasks - Silver Medal
Complete any three tasks - Gold Medal
Complete any four tasks - Diamond Medal
Complete five or more tasks - Platinum Medal
Remember: If you have any questions about participation rules or the criteria for the categories, please post them at the appropriate discussion boards at the Genea-Bloggers Group at Facebook!
Sunday, August 03, 2008
The 53rd Carnival of Genealogy is Posted!
Jasia of Creative Gene has just posted the 53rd Edition of the Carnival of Genealogy. This was a carousel (choose your own) theme, and there are 39 submissions, including many first time carnival participants! Whew! (My own submission is "Pygmy Goats in Alaska," written by my dad 32 years ago.) Even though I'm a fast reader, it will take some time to visit all these blogs and savor some great reading. I hope you'll join me!
Jasia says:
The topic for the next edition of the COG is, The Family Language...Does your family use words and phrases that no one else knows or understands? Where did they come from? Did you ever try to explain your "family language" to outsiders? Tell a story about your family-coined words, phrases, or nicknames. This topic was chosen by Donna Pointkouski who will be hosting the next edition of the COG at What's Past is Prologue. Thanks Donna! The deadline for submissions is August 15th.
Submit your blog article to the next edition of the Carnival of Genealogy using our carnival submission form. Past posts and future hosts can be found on our blog carnival index page.
Friday Findings: GenLine, CRAPSEY Burials, Cousins, and SNOOK Graves
Due to the Blogger debacle this week, I was not able to post my Friday Findings in a timely manner. Here's a rundown of my research results for the week of July 26 - August 1, 2008:
More on Many Marriages
While entering the marriage records of my husband's granduncle, Lee Joseph "Mick" MARTIN, I realized that the witnesses for his third marriage, to Martha Isabell (JONES) DVORAK, were his daughter from his first marriage and her husband. Hmm... It made me wonder if his first wife had died by then (I'm not sure how their marriage ended; by divorce or by her death?). I couldn't find any death information for her, but I did find Isabell, as she was called, on the SSDI.
Swedish Parish Records
Also following up on last week's findings, I went to my local Family History Center to use their free subscription to GenLine, the Swedish parish records database, to find and verify my great-great-grandmother's birth (Ida Charlotte (GUSTAVSON) HOLST). I had never used it before, so it took some time. Fortunately, it has a nice tutorial, available both in English and Swedish. It is necessary to know the name of the parish to do a search. The records appear in digital image format, not unlike looking at a roll of microfilm. They are not indexed by name in any way, so it takes some searching. All I had for Ida's birthplace was Hamnada, Sweden. I had no idea where this location was, and used both Wikipedia and the FamilySearch Library Catalog to find it, without any success. I had a feeling I was spelling it incorrectly. I then did a Google search and found a mention in someone's online family tree of a "Hamnada-Småland, Krnberg". I went back to Wikipedia to look at the political structure of Sweden. Småland is one of 25 provinces (landskapen) of Sweden and has no political structure as of 1634. It is a cultural, geographical and historical subdivision. Kronoberg is a county (län), a political subdivision, that lies in what is a part of Småland. I still could not find Hamnada or a a similiar name in any of the lists of municipalities (similar to American townships), villages, or cities of Sweden.
I went back to GenLine, and looking up Kronoberg County records, I noticed that Hamneda was one of the parishes. Bingo! They had birth and christening records up through 1861 (I don't recall the beginning year), so I went to take a look. In 1861 alone, there were NINE Ida Charlottas (no Charlottes) born in Hamneda parish! Only one had a surname close to GUSTAVSON, and that was a Ida Charlotta GUSTAFSON born, it appears on 29 December 1861 and baptized 31 December 1861. I say "appears", because I am not certain of what the dates stand for. There are three numbers and a month before each record. The first number is the record number, as they are all in sequence from 1 until the last record. Then comes the month abbreviation, which is very similar to our English month abbreviations. Then two numbers follow. The first number is always lower than the second number, and none of the numbers go beyond 31, so my assumption is that the first one is the birth date and the second one is the christening date. The words "Births and Baptisms" appear at the the top of each of these pages (in Swedish, of course), adding credence to my theory. I used FamilySearch's online Swedish Genealogical Word List to figure out the words.
My Ida Charlotte GUSTAVSON was born 28 October 1861, but I need to find my source of information for that. Her 1900 U. S. Federal Census enumeration does have October 1861 as a birth date. I ran out of time to double check 1860 records, and there are none available at GenLine for 1862. I will need to search other nearby parish records, too, I think. I also did not have time to figure out how to save or print the image with the birth date of the Ida Charlotta GUSTAFSON I found. This was an interesting first foray into Swedish records, and I felt I learned quite a bit.
CRAPSEY Burials
I've been trying to find a death date for my 4th-great-grandmother, Lura Ann (JACKSON) PECK CRAPSEY. I know she was deceased by 1900, when my step-ancestor, the Rev. John CRAPSEY, Jr. was listed as a widower in the Federal Census for that year. She was alive as late as 1891, when her husband filed an application for a pension based on his deceased son's military service. They were living St. Paul, Ramsey Co., Minnesota. Attempts to have a volunteer at RAOGK look up her death records did not work out. I then came across John's obituary stating he was buried in Forest Lawn Cemetery. There is a Forest Lawn Memorial Parks and Mortuaries in Ramsey County, and I contacted them to see if I could find burial information (and thus a death date) for the Crapseys. I received an immediate response that there was no record of either one in their records. I need to follow up with wording from John's obituary to make sure that the Forest Lawn Cemetery he was buried in is the same as what Park and Mortuaries company now manages, when their records begin, and if they have record of John and Lura's children being buried there (it's possible, if their children are buried there, that John and Lura are buried without markers).
Cousins
A distant LEWIS cousin of mine, Bob Stefanich, contacted me to tell me about another cousin of ours (related more closely to me than Bob is) and that the LEWIS family reunion is occurring today in Fruitport, Muskegon Co., Michigan (wish I could be there)! I've contacted Jim with the hope that I can get more information on the grandchildren and great-grandchildren of my 2nd-great-grandparents, George Emmett LEWIS and Mary WILKINSON.
Also, a McARTHUR cousin contacted me. She lives in Michigan and is able to visit the ancestral cemeteries. She promised to take some tombstone photos of some of our mutual ancestors...so exciting!
SNOOK Graves
Speaking of ancestral graves, I heard from a Find A Grave photo volunteer--Catherine Bryon--who photographed the graves of my husband's 3rd-great-grandfather, Reuben Wohlford SNOOK, and his second wife, Elizabeth NEARHOOD, at the Forsyth Cemetery in Rosebud Co., Montana. Click on the links to view the photographs. Thanks, Catherine!
More on Many Marriages
While entering the marriage records of my husband's granduncle, Lee Joseph "Mick" MARTIN, I realized that the witnesses for his third marriage, to Martha Isabell (JONES) DVORAK, were his daughter from his first marriage and her husband. Hmm... It made me wonder if his first wife had died by then (I'm not sure how their marriage ended; by divorce or by her death?). I couldn't find any death information for her, but I did find Isabell, as she was called, on the SSDI.
Swedish Parish Records
Also following up on last week's findings, I went to my local Family History Center to use their free subscription to GenLine, the Swedish parish records database, to find and verify my great-great-grandmother's birth (Ida Charlotte (GUSTAVSON) HOLST). I had never used it before, so it took some time. Fortunately, it has a nice tutorial, available both in English and Swedish. It is necessary to know the name of the parish to do a search. The records appear in digital image format, not unlike looking at a roll of microfilm. They are not indexed by name in any way, so it takes some searching. All I had for Ida's birthplace was Hamnada, Sweden. I had no idea where this location was, and used both Wikipedia and the FamilySearch Library Catalog to find it, without any success. I had a feeling I was spelling it incorrectly. I then did a Google search and found a mention in someone's online family tree of a "Hamnada-Småland, Krnberg". I went back to Wikipedia to look at the political structure of Sweden. Småland is one of 25 provinces (landskapen) of Sweden and has no political structure as of 1634. It is a cultural, geographical and historical subdivision. Kronoberg is a county (län), a political subdivision, that lies in what is a part of Småland. I still could not find Hamnada or a a similiar name in any of the lists of municipalities (similar to American townships), villages, or cities of Sweden.
I went back to GenLine, and looking up Kronoberg County records, I noticed that Hamneda was one of the parishes. Bingo! They had birth and christening records up through 1861 (I don't recall the beginning year), so I went to take a look. In 1861 alone, there were NINE Ida Charlottas (no Charlottes) born in Hamneda parish! Only one had a surname close to GUSTAVSON, and that was a Ida Charlotta GUSTAFSON born, it appears on 29 December 1861 and baptized 31 December 1861. I say "appears", because I am not certain of what the dates stand for. There are three numbers and a month before each record. The first number is the record number, as they are all in sequence from 1 until the last record. Then comes the month abbreviation, which is very similar to our English month abbreviations. Then two numbers follow. The first number is always lower than the second number, and none of the numbers go beyond 31, so my assumption is that the first one is the birth date and the second one is the christening date. The words "Births and Baptisms" appear at the the top of each of these pages (in Swedish, of course), adding credence to my theory. I used FamilySearch's online Swedish Genealogical Word List to figure out the words.
My Ida Charlotte GUSTAVSON was born 28 October 1861, but I need to find my source of information for that. Her 1900 U. S. Federal Census enumeration does have October 1861 as a birth date. I ran out of time to double check 1860 records, and there are none available at GenLine for 1862. I will need to search other nearby parish records, too, I think. I also did not have time to figure out how to save or print the image with the birth date of the Ida Charlotta GUSTAFSON I found. This was an interesting first foray into Swedish records, and I felt I learned quite a bit.
CRAPSEY Burials
I've been trying to find a death date for my 4th-great-grandmother, Lura Ann (JACKSON) PECK CRAPSEY. I know she was deceased by 1900, when my step-ancestor, the Rev. John CRAPSEY, Jr. was listed as a widower in the Federal Census for that year. She was alive as late as 1891, when her husband filed an application for a pension based on his deceased son's military service. They were living St. Paul, Ramsey Co., Minnesota. Attempts to have a volunteer at RAOGK look up her death records did not work out. I then came across John's obituary stating he was buried in Forest Lawn Cemetery. There is a Forest Lawn Memorial Parks and Mortuaries in Ramsey County, and I contacted them to see if I could find burial information (and thus a death date) for the Crapseys. I received an immediate response that there was no record of either one in their records. I need to follow up with wording from John's obituary to make sure that the Forest Lawn Cemetery he was buried in is the same as what Park and Mortuaries company now manages, when their records begin, and if they have record of John and Lura's children being buried there (it's possible, if their children are buried there, that John and Lura are buried without markers).
Cousins
A distant LEWIS cousin of mine, Bob Stefanich, contacted me to tell me about another cousin of ours (related more closely to me than Bob is) and that the LEWIS family reunion is occurring today in Fruitport, Muskegon Co., Michigan (wish I could be there)! I've contacted Jim with the hope that I can get more information on the grandchildren and great-grandchildren of my 2nd-great-grandparents, George Emmett LEWIS and Mary WILKINSON.
Also, a McARTHUR cousin contacted me. She lives in Michigan and is able to visit the ancestral cemeteries. She promised to take some tombstone photos of some of our mutual ancestors...so exciting!
SNOOK Graves
Speaking of ancestral graves, I heard from a Find A Grave photo volunteer--Catherine Bryon--who photographed the graves of my husband's 3rd-great-grandfather, Reuben Wohlford SNOOK, and his second wife, Elizabeth NEARHOOD, at the Forsyth Cemetery in Rosebud Co., Montana. Click on the links to view the photographs. Thanks, Catherine!
Saturday, August 02, 2008
Beginning Online Genealogy Class Offered
If you live in the Spokane, Washington area and are interested in taking my next Beginning Online Genealogy course, check out your Fall Quarter 2008 Community Colleges of Spokane catalog that should be arriving in your mail any day. My class is listed on page 117 under Continuing Education courses.
We will be meeting in Room 213 at CenterPlace at Mirabeau Point Park, 2426 N. Discovery Place, Spokane Valley from 6:00 to 8:00 PM, Tuesday evenings from October 7th through the 28th. You must register through the Institute for Extended Learning at (509) 279-6000. The course number is L109 and the fee is $41. You can also register online by going to http://www.iel.spokane.edu/registration.
This beginning class covers Getting Started, Organization, Vital Records, Census Records, Googling Your Ancestors, and Connecting with Others Online. We will be utilizing several popular genealogy websites as well. The class is a prerequisite for my Intermediate Online Genealogy Class, which will be offered during Winter Quarter.
We will be meeting in Room 213 at CenterPlace at Mirabeau Point Park, 2426 N. Discovery Place, Spokane Valley from 6:00 to 8:00 PM, Tuesday evenings from October 7th through the 28th. You must register through the Institute for Extended Learning at (509) 279-6000. The course number is L109 and the fee is $41. You can also register online by going to http://www.iel.spokane.edu/registration.
This beginning class covers Getting Started, Organization, Vital Records, Census Records, Googling Your Ancestors, and Connecting with Others Online. We will be utilizing several popular genealogy websites as well. The class is a prerequisite for my Intermediate Online Genealogy Class, which will be offered during Winter Quarter.
Friday, August 01, 2008
Pygmy Goats in Alaska
This was taken from the Fall 1976 edition of the National Pygmy Goat Association's Memo, and was written by my father, Bryan H. Robbins, from our home in Klawock, Alaska. A while ago, I invited my mother to write about her education as part of the 48th Edition of the Carnival of Genealogy. I thought it would be interesting to share my dad's writings with my readers, too!
In the remote rural villages of Alaska, milk comes only in a box or can, unless of course you have a homestead and can raise goats. Our 3/4 acre family homestead in a coastal village in southeast Alaska had some small livestock, but no fresh milk supply for our children. I was convinced that goats were the perfect answer for our place. The goats we needed had to be very efficient milkers or very small and not eat very much as dairy-mixed grain (or any feed) cost about $16.00 per hundred plus an additional nickel a pound freight to Klawock. High Alaskan prices are usually attributed to the high cost of freight. No live freight though, could be shipped on our weekly freighter. Whatever type of goat we got had to be small enough to put aboard a small airplane that is our lifeline to the outside world. In fact, all of our farm animals [chickens, ducks, geese, rabbits, and pigs] to date have been flown to our homestead.
Countryside & Small Stock Journal's pygmy goat news and pygmy goat advertisers started me thinking, investigating, and writing about pygmy goats. The pygmy seemed an answer to our small milking needs. The pygmy, being small, could browse efficiently on our rainforest brush, needing only small amounts of daily grain. Best of all, adult animals could be shipped by air, thus saving us a year of growing out a kid of dairy breed.
We soon found our girl: a beautiful, full-belted, two-year-old doe named Fatima. She was shipped to us from the Kings Valley Animal Family in Oregon, but we would have to wait until spring before our own "herd sire" would come to Alaska.
Our goat experiences began with a good laugh over a panic-stricken pilot who flew our pygmy from the Ketchikan airport to Klawock. The pilot had never heard a goat bleat and after taking off for Klawock, our goat started to cry. The poor man thought her crying was the stall warning of the aircraft signaling an imminent crash landing.
Having only one goat on the homestead can be a real problem too. Fatima would cry by the hour for company. A five foot fence didn't contain her, except when her horns were caught in it, which was nearly all the time. She also thought that she was a person and should live in our house with us. Whenever she got out of her pen, she would butt the front door wanting to come in for a visit. If we weren't home, she would go next door to the neighbors and cry on their porch. When they opened their door, she would run inside and sit on their couch. We had to get her proper company before the following Spring. Soon, we were able to locate another two-year-old doe and arranged to have her bred before being shipped to us. The second doe, Graycie, flew in by mail plane a short time later. Soon things began to settle down at the homestead and stay in the barnyard.
Graycie was a beautiful agouti and definitely in a family way when she arrived. She continued to grow in size as her term progressed, to the point of reminding us of a burro with a full pack. One of the neighbors said he was going to make her a "wide load" sign to wear. There was good reason for that wide load she was carrying. In August, she presented us with four of the cutest little kids we had ever seen. She had a perfect set: two does and two bucks.
Oh! now we had fresh milk, too, not much, but so fresh. It was sweet and nutty in flavor and not at all like what comes out of a box or a can. It was our children's first whole fresh milk too.
Two months later our buck arrived and our doe was rebred. I continued milking her for a total of five months until she got down to a cup of milk per milking. Then she was dried off to prepare for her next kidding. I was only expecting twins this time, but when her time arrived I sat with her all day and night because she had such a difficult delivery before. I sat with her around the clock; since there were no further symptoms, I went to bed. She delivered again--four kids. But alas, without assistance, two were lost. With Graycie's multiple births, it won't be long before we have a large herd of pygmies in Alaska.
Does the pygmy have a place on a modern homestead? Yes, I believe she does - in a greater capacity than just a pet. A year and a half has not been sufficient time to make an accurate evaluation of the pygmy in comparison to other goats; but for us, the pygmy has filled a void that no other animal could have provided. They pygmy has given us milk and companionship, and the hope for a future cash crop to aid our homestead economics. I'm sure that isolated Alaskans and other homesteaders could take advantage of the cutest, most affectionate and newest goat there is...The American Pygmy Goat.
© Bryan H. Robbins, April 1976
Used with permission.
Submitted for the 53rd Carnival of Genealogy.
In the remote rural villages of Alaska, milk comes only in a box or can, unless of course you have a homestead and can raise goats. Our 3/4 acre family homestead in a coastal village in southeast Alaska had some small livestock, but no fresh milk supply for our children. I was convinced that goats were the perfect answer for our place. The goats we needed had to be very efficient milkers or very small and not eat very much as dairy-mixed grain (or any feed) cost about $16.00 per hundred plus an additional nickel a pound freight to Klawock. High Alaskan prices are usually attributed to the high cost of freight. No live freight though, could be shipped on our weekly freighter. Whatever type of goat we got had to be small enough to put aboard a small airplane that is our lifeline to the outside world. In fact, all of our farm animals [chickens, ducks, geese, rabbits, and pigs] to date have been flown to our homestead.
Countryside & Small Stock Journal's pygmy goat news and pygmy goat advertisers started me thinking, investigating, and writing about pygmy goats. The pygmy seemed an answer to our small milking needs. The pygmy, being small, could browse efficiently on our rainforest brush, needing only small amounts of daily grain. Best of all, adult animals could be shipped by air, thus saving us a year of growing out a kid of dairy breed.
We soon found our girl: a beautiful, full-belted, two-year-old doe named Fatima. She was shipped to us from the Kings Valley Animal Family in Oregon, but we would have to wait until spring before our own "herd sire" would come to Alaska.
Our goat experiences began with a good laugh over a panic-stricken pilot who flew our pygmy from the Ketchikan airport to Klawock. The pilot had never heard a goat bleat and after taking off for Klawock, our goat started to cry. The poor man thought her crying was the stall warning of the aircraft signaling an imminent crash landing.
Having only one goat on the homestead can be a real problem too. Fatima would cry by the hour for company. A five foot fence didn't contain her, except when her horns were caught in it, which was nearly all the time. She also thought that she was a person and should live in our house with us. Whenever she got out of her pen, she would butt the front door wanting to come in for a visit. If we weren't home, she would go next door to the neighbors and cry on their porch. When they opened their door, she would run inside and sit on their couch. We had to get her proper company before the following Spring. Soon, we were able to locate another two-year-old doe and arranged to have her bred before being shipped to us. The second doe, Graycie, flew in by mail plane a short time later. Soon things began to settle down at the homestead and stay in the barnyard.
Graycie was a beautiful agouti and definitely in a family way when she arrived. She continued to grow in size as her term progressed, to the point of reminding us of a burro with a full pack. One of the neighbors said he was going to make her a "wide load" sign to wear. There was good reason for that wide load she was carrying. In August, she presented us with four of the cutest little kids we had ever seen. She had a perfect set: two does and two bucks.
Oh! now we had fresh milk, too, not much, but so fresh. It was sweet and nutty in flavor and not at all like what comes out of a box or a can. It was our children's first whole fresh milk too.
Two months later our buck arrived and our doe was rebred. I continued milking her for a total of five months until she got down to a cup of milk per milking. Then she was dried off to prepare for her next kidding. I was only expecting twins this time, but when her time arrived I sat with her all day and night because she had such a difficult delivery before. I sat with her around the clock; since there were no further symptoms, I went to bed. She delivered again--four kids. But alas, without assistance, two were lost. With Graycie's multiple births, it won't be long before we have a large herd of pygmies in Alaska.
Does the pygmy have a place on a modern homestead? Yes, I believe she does - in a greater capacity than just a pet. A year and a half has not been sufficient time to make an accurate evaluation of the pygmy in comparison to other goats; but for us, the pygmy has filled a void that no other animal could have provided. They pygmy has given us milk and companionship, and the hope for a future cash crop to aid our homestead economics. I'm sure that isolated Alaskans and other homesteaders could take advantage of the cutest, most affectionate and newest goat there is...The American Pygmy Goat.
© Bryan H. Robbins, April 1976
Used with permission.
Submitted for the 53rd Carnival of Genealogy.
Picnic Time!
Bill West at West in New England has asked the genea-bloggers to participate in a Genea-Bloggers Picnic. Here are some questions he asked:
*What food does your family serve at picnics?
Our annual must-attend picnic is my parents' Fourth of July picnic at their beautiful log home on the mountainside north of Colville, Washington. Traditionally, we grill hamburgers and hot dogs and have all the condiments: ketchup, mustard, mayo, pickles and/or relish, onion, lettuce, and tomatoes. There's usually potato salad, potato chips, and there MUST be baked beans. That's because Dad, like myself, is a traditionalist. He swears that at every Robbins Reunion that he attended as a kid there was nothing served but beans and dessert. Apparently there were dozens of bean dishes. He tells me this every year, and every year I remember that he inherited the Robbins' gene for storytelling, which although it always starts out with the truth, tends to grow and take on a life of its own! Mm-hmm.
When my niece's family comes, they almost always brings a cold three-bean salad that I love.
There are often veggie and fruit trays, soft drinks, and several desserts. Janet (Mom's friend) always brings a peanut-butter pie. When work kept her away this Fourth, her husband Pete did the honors.
*Are there traditional foods or family recipes?
Dad does have a special recipe for the beans. He starts out with canned baked beans, but adds all kinds of yummy stuff: mustard, molasses, etc. Can't be beat! I usually make a Jello Wave Your Flag cake.
*Is there one particular relative's specialty you wish you could taste again or one perfect picnic day you wish you could go back and relive?
One of my favorite times was a Spring Break when I was a high school junior, I think. The weather was beautiful, we had a picnic with a bonfire and roasted hot dogs and marshmallows for s'mores. Then we came in and watched "The Music Man" on TV.
Here's some more ideas I came up with, and added to my AnceStories2 blog:
*You could expand to write about family reunions, past and present, and what kinds of foods were/are brought to them. As a child, I only remember attending one reunion, the Lewis family reunion in 1979 in Michigan. I have no idea what we ate, but I do remember that one of the great-granduncles had an ice cream cart!
At the Midkiff Family Reunions that I coordinated in 1990 and in 1999 in the Spokane Valley, we split up the list of names and had one group bring main dishes, one bring salads and side dishes, and the third, desserts. Everyone had to bring their own meat to grill. The reunion committee supplied buns, condiments, beverages, and paper/plastic goods. It worked out well.
*You could add what dish everyone loved to eat, and which one people were sneaking off to scrap into the garbage so they wouldn't hurt the cook's feelings!
Everyone loves my Wave Your Flag cake. Janet has an interesting story about her peanut butter pie. Seems her Aunt Ruth is a horrible cook, yet Janet's husband Pete is always polite and will eat whatever Ruth sets before him. One time, Ruth mentioned she had made a peanut butter pie. Janet quickly declined, but Pete of course took a serving. He started nudging Janet, "You've got to try this!" Janet couldn't believe it! Aunt Ruth had finally made something edible, and not only that, delicious! And Janet blesses us by bringing one to the Fourth of July picnic/BBQ every year!
*Is there a picnic basket, old ice chest, a BBQ grill or camp stove, a special dish (physical, not recipe) or picnic cloth that's been handed down in the family and used for decades at picnics, potlucks, or reunions?
We have a picnic basket that used to belong to Norm's great-grandparents. I use it as a decorative piece in my dining room, but very occasionally we'll use it. Norm's dad loves garage sales, and he's found us a few old metal green Thermoses. He'll fill one with coffee for us before we leave their place for our long ride home.
*Is there a favorite campground, park, home, or meeting place where picnics or reunions regularly occurred?
There's a great little campground north of Colville at Mill Creek. We camped there for a few days in our camper when my parents first bought their home and we were waiting for the family to move out. Then we decided to take a trip back to Michigan, but that's another story! This campground has a swinging bridge that my dad and brother used to play on when my brother (now 34) was five years old. Adriaen would trip across the bridge, and my dad would pretend to be the troll from Billy Goats Gruff. My brother was gut-giggling so hard, he nearly fell off the bridge! Near the falls there's a great rock with drill holes in it from when the mill used to be there, gosh, 150 years ago? That rock is a good place to sit while fishing.
*What about unwelcome guests like ants, mosquitoes, and yellow jackets? Raccoons, anyone?
My son, Matthew, is a yellow jacket and mosquito magnet. I tell him it's because he's so sweet! I can't tell you how many picnics and play days we had at lakes and streams where he'd get bit/stung. Fortunately, he's not allergic.
*What favorite picnic or reunion photos do you have, especially ancestral?
I've got one of my mother's ancestors, the Valks at a picnic, and another of a Lewis family reunion taken around 1924.
Source: The Valk Family. Photograph. Taken c. 1915 - 1918, probably in Grand Rapids, Kent Co., Michigan. Original photograph believed to be in the possession of John Hanson, Little Silver, New Jersey. 2000.
*Beverages served, games and activities played, stories told...all contain memories that future generations will someday treasure, if they're left for posterity!
I especially like Bocci, which I learned to play in my students' PE classes, but I need to buy a set for the next picnic!
*What food does your family serve at picnics?
Our annual must-attend picnic is my parents' Fourth of July picnic at their beautiful log home on the mountainside north of Colville, Washington. Traditionally, we grill hamburgers and hot dogs and have all the condiments: ketchup, mustard, mayo, pickles and/or relish, onion, lettuce, and tomatoes. There's usually potato salad, potato chips, and there MUST be baked beans. That's because Dad, like myself, is a traditionalist. He swears that at every Robbins Reunion that he attended as a kid there was nothing served but beans and dessert. Apparently there were dozens of bean dishes. He tells me this every year, and every year I remember that he inherited the Robbins' gene for storytelling, which although it always starts out with the truth, tends to grow and take on a life of its own! Mm-hmm.
When my niece's family comes, they almost always brings a cold three-bean salad that I love.
There are often veggie and fruit trays, soft drinks, and several desserts. Janet (Mom's friend) always brings a peanut-butter pie. When work kept her away this Fourth, her husband Pete did the honors.
*Are there traditional foods or family recipes?
Dad does have a special recipe for the beans. He starts out with canned baked beans, but adds all kinds of yummy stuff: mustard, molasses, etc. Can't be beat! I usually make a Jello Wave Your Flag cake.
*Is there one particular relative's specialty you wish you could taste again or one perfect picnic day you wish you could go back and relive?
One of my favorite times was a Spring Break when I was a high school junior, I think. The weather was beautiful, we had a picnic with a bonfire and roasted hot dogs and marshmallows for s'mores. Then we came in and watched "The Music Man" on TV.
Here's some more ideas I came up with, and added to my AnceStories2 blog:
*You could expand to write about family reunions, past and present, and what kinds of foods were/are brought to them. As a child, I only remember attending one reunion, the Lewis family reunion in 1979 in Michigan. I have no idea what we ate, but I do remember that one of the great-granduncles had an ice cream cart!
At the Midkiff Family Reunions that I coordinated in 1990 and in 1999 in the Spokane Valley, we split up the list of names and had one group bring main dishes, one bring salads and side dishes, and the third, desserts. Everyone had to bring their own meat to grill. The reunion committee supplied buns, condiments, beverages, and paper/plastic goods. It worked out well.
*You could add what dish everyone loved to eat, and which one people were sneaking off to scrap into the garbage so they wouldn't hurt the cook's feelings!
Everyone loves my Wave Your Flag cake. Janet has an interesting story about her peanut butter pie. Seems her Aunt Ruth is a horrible cook, yet Janet's husband Pete is always polite and will eat whatever Ruth sets before him. One time, Ruth mentioned she had made a peanut butter pie. Janet quickly declined, but Pete of course took a serving. He started nudging Janet, "You've got to try this!" Janet couldn't believe it! Aunt Ruth had finally made something edible, and not only that, delicious! And Janet blesses us by bringing one to the Fourth of July picnic/BBQ every year!
*Is there a picnic basket, old ice chest, a BBQ grill or camp stove, a special dish (physical, not recipe) or picnic cloth that's been handed down in the family and used for decades at picnics, potlucks, or reunions?
We have a picnic basket that used to belong to Norm's great-grandparents. I use it as a decorative piece in my dining room, but very occasionally we'll use it. Norm's dad loves garage sales, and he's found us a few old metal green Thermoses. He'll fill one with coffee for us before we leave their place for our long ride home.
*Is there a favorite campground, park, home, or meeting place where picnics or reunions regularly occurred?
There's a great little campground north of Colville at Mill Creek. We camped there for a few days in our camper when my parents first bought their home and we were waiting for the family to move out. Then we decided to take a trip back to Michigan, but that's another story! This campground has a swinging bridge that my dad and brother used to play on when my brother (now 34) was five years old. Adriaen would trip across the bridge, and my dad would pretend to be the troll from Billy Goats Gruff. My brother was gut-giggling so hard, he nearly fell off the bridge! Near the falls there's a great rock with drill holes in it from when the mill used to be there, gosh, 150 years ago? That rock is a good place to sit while fishing.
*What about unwelcome guests like ants, mosquitoes, and yellow jackets? Raccoons, anyone?
My son, Matthew, is a yellow jacket and mosquito magnet. I tell him it's because he's so sweet! I can't tell you how many picnics and play days we had at lakes and streams where he'd get bit/stung. Fortunately, he's not allergic.
*What favorite picnic or reunion photos do you have, especially ancestral?
I've got one of my mother's ancestors, the Valks at a picnic, and another of a Lewis family reunion taken around 1924.
Source: The Valk Family. Photograph. Taken c. 1915 - 1918, probably in Grand Rapids, Kent Co., Michigan. Original photograph believed to be in the possession of John Hanson, Little Silver, New Jersey. 2000.
Source: The Lewis Family Reunion. Photograph. Taken c. 1924, probably in Muskegon Heights, Muskegon Co., Michigan. Original in the possession of Jeanne Holst Robbins, Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan. 2008. Reprint held by Miriam Robbins Midkiff, Spokane, Washington. 2008.
*Beverages served, games and activities played, stories told...all contain memories that future generations will someday treasure, if they're left for posterity!
I especially like Bocci, which I learned to play in my students' PE classes, but I need to buy a set for the next picnic!
Data Backup Day - No Kidding
UPDATE: This was originally posted on my duplicate blog at WordPress. As of 2 August 2008, 1:00 PM, PDT, my AnceStories blog at Blogger was finally unlocked.
As Thomas reminds us, today is Data Backup Day. When I think of data, I usually think of my scanned photos and images of genealogy documents that need to be backed up to my secondary hard drive, my flash drive, DVDs, or an online backup service (right now I'm using MediaMax), or my RootsMagic databases that I upload (with living people filtered out) to RootsWeb's WorldConnect family trees. UPDATE: Yikes! MediaMax is closing down as of August 8th. Time to switch to Carbonite, I'm thinking.
I never thought I might have to back up my blogs.
Yesterday afternoon, I received three e-mails from Google/Blogger, stating my AnceStories blog, my AnceStories2 blog and the EWGS blog had all been flagged as potential "splogs" (spam blogs). I was given instructions to submit them for reviews by Blogger to prove they weren't. Several hours later, my AnceStories2 blog was unlocked and back in business. My AnceStories and the EWGS blogs are still locked. This means I can write posts, save drafts, and edit changes on already published posts, but I cannot publish or schedule to be published any posts until the blogs have been cleared.
I'm not the only one with this problem. Schelly Taladay Dardashti of Tracing the Tribe was also locked out, as was Maureen Taylor of The Photo Detective. Debra Osborne Spindle ("Tex") of All My Ancestors has been fighting a battle with Blogger for weeks...she got flagged as a malicious blog, and even though she's jumped through all their hoops, if you use Mozilla Firefox as your browser and go to her site, you'll see a big warning posted. And when you Google her site, there's a notice "this site may harm your computer."
After I got locked out, I thought about opening another Blogger blog, but the thought of importing 692 posts was more than a little daunting! Then Schelley told me about WordPress, and after reading messagesfrom many Blogger users on the Blogger Help Board who are doing the same, I decided to go for it.
WordPress has a very easy import feature that will import your Blogger posts (including drafts and scheduled ones), comments, categories, and links within the posts over to WordPress that is quick and painless. Everything remains as-is back at Blogger, too ("importing" here really means duplicating; not removing). The drawback is that I can't have advertising on this free account, and importing my widgets will take time. However, I feel it's worth it as a backup.
I'm meeting with members of my society today for our Washington State Genealogical Society 2009 State Conference Committee Chairs and plan to request permission to import the society's blog to WordPress as well. And I've decided as a backup plan, I'm going to back up all my blogs to WordPress, keeping them private, just in case something happens to them.
So expand your horizons and don't limit your idea of what "data" is to just the files and folders in your computer. Take the time to protect your invested time, research, and perhaps money and come up with a backup plan for your blogs as well.
As Thomas reminds us, today is Data Backup Day. When I think of data, I usually think of my scanned photos and images of genealogy documents that need to be backed up to my secondary hard drive, my flash drive, DVDs, or an online backup service (right now I'm using MediaMax), or my RootsMagic databases that I upload (with living people filtered out) to RootsWeb's WorldConnect family trees. UPDATE: Yikes! MediaMax is closing down as of August 8th. Time to switch to Carbonite, I'm thinking.
I never thought I might have to back up my blogs.
Yesterday afternoon, I received three e-mails from Google/Blogger, stating my AnceStories blog, my AnceStories2 blog and the EWGS blog had all been flagged as potential "splogs" (spam blogs). I was given instructions to submit them for reviews by Blogger to prove they weren't. Several hours later, my AnceStories2 blog was unlocked and back in business. My AnceStories and the EWGS blogs are still locked. This means I can write posts, save drafts, and edit changes on already published posts, but I cannot publish or schedule to be published any posts until the blogs have been cleared.
I'm not the only one with this problem. Schelly Taladay Dardashti of Tracing the Tribe was also locked out, as was Maureen Taylor of The Photo Detective. Debra Osborne Spindle ("Tex") of All My Ancestors has been fighting a battle with Blogger for weeks...she got flagged as a malicious blog, and even though she's jumped through all their hoops, if you use Mozilla Firefox as your browser and go to her site, you'll see a big warning posted. And when you Google her site, there's a notice "this site may harm your computer."
After I got locked out, I thought about opening another Blogger blog, but the thought of importing 692 posts was more than a little daunting! Then Schelley told me about WordPress, and after reading messagesfrom many Blogger users on the Blogger Help Board who are doing the same, I decided to go for it.
WordPress has a very easy import feature that will import your Blogger posts (including drafts and scheduled ones), comments, categories, and links within the posts over to WordPress that is quick and painless. Everything remains as-is back at Blogger, too ("importing" here really means duplicating; not removing). The drawback is that I can't have advertising on this free account, and importing my widgets will take time. However, I feel it's worth it as a backup.
I'm meeting with members of my society today for our Washington State Genealogical Society 2009 State Conference Committee Chairs and plan to request permission to import the society's blog to WordPress as well. And I've decided as a backup plan, I'm going to back up all my blogs to WordPress, keeping them private, just in case something happens to them.
So expand your horizons and don't limit your idea of what "data" is to just the files and folders in your computer. Take the time to protect your invested time, research, and perhaps money and come up with a backup plan for your blogs as well.
August Is...
...National Back to School Month (United States)....Holiday Month (many European countries).
August 1: Anniversary of the 1st U.S. Federal Census
Swiss National Day
August 2 - 3: Twins Day in Twinsburg, Ohio
(Do twins run in your family?)
August 6: National Salvadoran-American Day (United States)
August 7: Purple Heart Day
August 8 - 24: 2008 Summer Olympics, Beijing, China
(Any Olympians or athletic champions in your family tree?)
August 9: Singapore Independence Day
August 10: Ecuador Independence Day
August 14: Pakistan Independence Day
August 15: Korea Independence Day
India Independence Day
August 17: Indonesia Independence Day
August 21: Hawaii Statehood Day
August 25: Uruguay Independence Day
August 31: Malaysia Independence Day
Do any of the above events feature in or affect your heritage, culture, or family history?
August Carnivals:
Posted August 2 - 53rd Edition of the Carnival of Genealogy - Carousel Edition
Posted August 5 - The Genea-Bloggers' Picnic
Posted August 13 - 4th Edition of the "I Smile for the Camera" Carnival - My Favorite Photograph
Posted August 18 - 54th Edition of the Carnival of Genealogy - The Family Language
Posted August 23 - 10th Edition of the Carnival of Central and Eastern European Genealogy - Carousel Edition
Submissions for the 8th Edition of the Carnival of Irish Heritage and Culture are not due until September 22. Read more here.
The Cabinet of Curiosities is on summer holiday until September. Tim Abbott is looking for hosts for future editions.
August 1 - Data Backup Day
Julie Miller writes on how to create a genealogy disaster plan.
Scanfest: Sunday, August 24th, 11 AM - 2 PM, Pacific Daylight Time
Scanfest will be held one week early (usually held the last Sunday of the month), due to August 31st being a part of Labor Day weekend.
Go here to learn how to join Scanfest and our group of chatting, scanning family archivists, historians, and bloggers!
Go here to add the above deadlines and dates to your Google Calendar, courtesy of Thomas MacEntee of Destination: Austin Family.
Swiss National Day
August 2 - 3: Twins Day in Twinsburg, Ohio
(Do twins run in your family?)
August 6: National Salvadoran-American Day (United States)
August 7: Purple Heart Day
August 8 - 24: 2008 Summer Olympics, Beijing, China
(Any Olympians or athletic champions in your family tree?)
August 9: Singapore Independence Day
August 10: Ecuador Independence Day
August 14: Pakistan Independence Day
August 15: Korea Independence Day
India Independence Day
August 17: Indonesia Independence Day
August 21: Hawaii Statehood Day
August 25: Uruguay Independence Day
August 31: Malaysia Independence Day
Do any of the above events feature in or affect your heritage, culture, or family history?
August Carnivals:Posted August 2 - 53rd Edition of the Carnival of Genealogy - Carousel Edition
Posted August 5 - The Genea-Bloggers' Picnic
Posted August 13 - 4th Edition of the "I Smile for the Camera" Carnival - My Favorite Photograph
Posted August 18 - 54th Edition of the Carnival of Genealogy - The Family Language
Posted August 23 - 10th Edition of the Carnival of Central and Eastern European Genealogy - Carousel Edition
Submissions for the 8th Edition of the Carnival of Irish Heritage and Culture are not due until September 22. Read more here.
The Cabinet of Curiosities is on summer holiday until September. Tim Abbott is looking for hosts for future editions.
August 1 - Data Backup DayJulie Miller writes on how to create a genealogy disaster plan.
Scanfest: Sunday, August 24th, 11 AM - 2 PM, Pacific Daylight TimeScanfest will be held one week early (usually held the last Sunday of the month), due to August 31st being a part of Labor Day weekend.
Go here to learn how to join Scanfest and our group of chatting, scanning family archivists, historians, and bloggers!
Go here to add the above deadlines and dates to your Google Calendar, courtesy of Thomas MacEntee of Destination: Austin Family.Thursday, July 31, 2008
Clark Pleasant TOLLIVER (1861 - 1918)
Source: Tombstone of P.C. Tolliver, Evergreen Cemetery, Los Angeles, Los Angeles Co., California. Digital photograph taken by "Guardian," Find A Grave photo volunteer, at the request of Miriam Robbins Midkiff. 11 September 2006. Digital copy in the possession of Miriam Robbins Midkiff, Spokane, Washington. 2006.
Clark Pleasant TOLLIVER...or was it Pleasant Clark TOLLIVER?...was my ex-husband's great-great-grandfather, born 25 May 1861 in North Carolina, probably in or near Glade Creek, Allegheny County. His parents were Jacob F. TOLIVER (1831 - 1898), a Civil War veteran, and Matilda HIGGINS (1829 - 1906). Clark had two older siblings (Amanda Phidella and Rose Phidella) and two younger siblings (Solomon and John Houston) before his parents divorced sometime before 1882. That was a time when divorce was not as common nor easy to obtain as it is today, and I hope to someday obtain a copy of their court records to discover more about that situation.
In 1882, Clark's father remarried to Caroline CHEEK (1849 - 1927), with whom he had one known son, Clayton. Clark was a young man by this time, and not long after, he removed to Battle Creek, Madison Co., Nebraska, where he met and married Senna "Senie" COLLINS (1870 - 1950) on 3 July 1886. The couple had five children while they lived in Nebraska: a child who died young; Margie Ethel (my ex-husband's great-grandmother, whom he remembers well); John Houston; Zada Elizabeth; and Emma Leah. The family then moved further west to Hotchkiss Twp., Delta Co., Colorado, where they had four more children: Mae; Mitchell Luther; Elsie (who died in infancy); and Lorna Ermine.
It was in Delta County that they met the MIDKIFF family. Margie married a widower in 1907, John Franklin MIDKIFF, who had four older children, including Edna Susan, whom Mitchell married 13 years later in California. Thus there were Midkiff and Tolliver cousins who were doubly related: first cousins on the Tollier side of the family and half-nieces and nephews on the other.
Sometime before 1915, Clark and Senie moved once again, this time to Los Angeles. Clark died there 22 May 1918. Senie lived until 1950. They are buried in separate cemeteries: Clark at Evergreen and Senie at Forest Lawn in Glendale.
This and That
Scanfest
WOW! Thanks to the great publicity over at facebook's Genea-Bloggers Group, we had the Best Scanfest Ever. We had three records broken! The first was a total attendance of 20, which means that in all, 20 Scanfesters participated at some point between 11 AM and 2 PM, PDT, but not all at the same time. The second was the highest number of Scanfesters in the chat conversation at once, at 18. The third record was the highest number of first-time Scanfesters in attendance: 11! My only regret was that I did not get as much scanned as anticipated because my hard drive was filling up (I've since been working on remedying that problem by deleting unnecessary files and programs). So who were our participants? Besides your humble hostess, we had Colleen, Diana, Diane, Elizabeth, footnoteMaven, George, George, Jasia, Kathryn, Kathryn, Kathy, Laura, Lori, Lorine, Michelle, Randy, Renee, Sheri, and Thomas! Too bad Craig couldn't make it! Thanks to Diane, Thomas, Randy, Kathy, and George for your announcements or follow-up posts on Scanfest, too.
Online Photo Storage
Speaking of scanning, Lee at the Footnote Blog shares how you can store your photos online for free at Footnote...and do a whole lot more with them, too!
Find A Grave now has 25 million grave records in the non-famous side of their website! Take a look...you might find an ancestor or two.
Facebook
The Facebook craze has hit the genealogy community, thanks to Megan Smolenyak Smolenyak's Unclaimed Persons project. A side effect of this is a new Facebook group, the Genea-Bloggers, started by Thomas MacEntee of Destination: Austin Family. This group is for those who either blog about genealogy, or are fans of genealogy blogs. Genealogy bloggers have been learning more about each other in this terrific social networking community, and thanks to Thomas' great administrative skills, we're kept up-to-date on all sorts of blogging and other events, such as carnivals and Scanfest. Thomas recently started the Facebook® Bootcamp for Genea-Bloggers blog to help out those genea-bloggers learn how to navigate and use Facebook. I encourage you to join Facebook (a social networking site, similar to MySpace, but a little more "grown up") and add me as your Friend (contact) by searching for "Miriam Robbins Midkiff." (Don't be afraid to challenge me to a round or two of Scramble!) Besides adding genealogy community contacts, I've added real-life friends, family members, members of my local genealogical society and acquaintances from church and schools I've attended. I also recently searched for and found some cousins I've been out of touch with for years.
And if you're already a member of the Genea-Bloggers Group, stay tuned to the FB for GB blog to hear of an exciting new event coming in August!
An Award
Fellow Washington State genea-blogger Carol Wilkerson of iPentimento honored me with a BFF (Blogging Friends Forever) Award. The rules for passing on the award are:
My primary heritages are Dutch and Frisian, and thus I've been a fan of Henk van Kampen's Trace Your Dutch Roots. Lately, he's been featuring photographs of Dutch ports. Do you have Mayflower ancestors? Take a look at the Delfshaven pictures. Did your ancestors (Dutch or not) traverse the Atlantic on one of the Holland-American Line ships? See the Wilhelminakade.
North Frisian Resource
The Frisians are an ethnic minority who live in present-day Netherlands, Denmark, and Germany, whose language, customs, and ethnicity are more closely related to the English than the Germanic peoples of the countries wherein they reside. I blog often about my Frisian ancestors from the Netherlands, and if you're a fan of Michael John Neill's RootDig, you'll hear about his Ostfrisians (West Frisians from Germany). Recently, Jennifer of Our Future Rooted in Our Past blogged about the North Frisian Emigrant - Archive of the Nordfriisk Institute in Denmark. Thanks for sharing this great resource, Jennifer!
Family Ties
My parents returned home in the wee hours of this morning after a trip back to Michigan to visit my paternal grandmother, who was diagnosed about a year or so ago with Alzheimer's. As well, they enjoyed visiting the families of their respective brothers and one of Dad's sisters. I was relieved to hear that Grandma recognized Dad and Mom and that they had an enjoyable time together. My parents have made similar trips in the past to say their last goodbyes to their parents. Grandma is my last biological grandparent, although my mother's step-mother is still in good health. They also got to see one of the newest members of the family. I know this was a bittersweet time for the folks...a part of the circle of life.
Internet Genealogy
And finally! I received the latest issue of Internet Genealogy magazine today (I think I was the last person on the planet to do so!). One of the many reasons I love this publication is that I see so many familiar names, sites, and blogs mentioned. footnoteMaven's Shades of the Departed blog was featured in the Net Notes column by Donna Pointkouski. If you're interested in the photography side of genealogy (and who isn't?), be sure to read this article, then drop by Maven's blog.
Donna Potter Phillips of the Eastern Washington Genealogical Society has two articles. One is "E.W.G.S. at 75: Thriving' and Survivin'" and highlights the many ways our terrific society has kept up with the times and has stayed growing and vibrant in an age when we're seeing a demise of many societies. Her "Cold Case Research: Genealogy Style" reminds me of the Campbell House and Unclaimed Persons projects, and explains how doing family tree research on strangers from history is not only fun, but educational! If you're stuck or tired of your own family lines, why don't you and some genealogy friends or fellow society members do a similar project?
And that's a wrap!
WOW! Thanks to the great publicity over at facebook's Genea-Bloggers Group, we had the Best Scanfest Ever. We had three records broken! The first was a total attendance of 20, which means that in all, 20 Scanfesters participated at some point between 11 AM and 2 PM, PDT, but not all at the same time. The second was the highest number of Scanfesters in the chat conversation at once, at 18. The third record was the highest number of first-time Scanfesters in attendance: 11! My only regret was that I did not get as much scanned as anticipated because my hard drive was filling up (I've since been working on remedying that problem by deleting unnecessary files and programs). So who were our participants? Besides your humble hostess, we had Colleen, Diana, Diane, Elizabeth, footnoteMaven, George, George, Jasia, Kathryn, Kathryn, Kathy, Laura, Lori, Lorine, Michelle, Randy, Renee, Sheri, and Thomas! Too bad Craig couldn't make it! Thanks to Diane, Thomas, Randy, Kathy, and George for your announcements or follow-up posts on Scanfest, too.
Online Photo Storage
Speaking of scanning, Lee at the Footnote Blog shares how you can store your photos online for free at Footnote...and do a whole lot more with them, too!
Find A Grave now has 25 million grave records in the non-famous side of their website! Take a look...you might find an ancestor or two.
The Facebook craze has hit the genealogy community, thanks to Megan Smolenyak Smolenyak's Unclaimed Persons project. A side effect of this is a new Facebook group, the Genea-Bloggers, started by Thomas MacEntee of Destination: Austin Family. This group is for those who either blog about genealogy, or are fans of genealogy blogs. Genealogy bloggers have been learning more about each other in this terrific social networking community, and thanks to Thomas' great administrative skills, we're kept up-to-date on all sorts of blogging and other events, such as carnivals and Scanfest. Thomas recently started the Facebook® Bootcamp for Genea-Bloggers blog to help out those genea-bloggers learn how to navigate and use Facebook. I encourage you to join Facebook (a social networking site, similar to MySpace, but a little more "grown up") and add me as your Friend (contact) by searching for "Miriam Robbins Midkiff." (Don't be afraid to challenge me to a round or two of Scramble!) Besides adding genealogy community contacts, I've added real-life friends, family members, members of my local genealogical society and acquaintances from church and schools I've attended. I also recently searched for and found some cousins I've been out of touch with for years.
And if you're already a member of the Genea-Bloggers Group, stay tuned to the FB for GB blog to hear of an exciting new event coming in August!
An Award
Fellow Washington State genea-blogger Carol Wilkerson of iPentimento honored me with a BFF (Blogging Friends Forever) Award. The rules for passing on the award are:
1. Only five people are allowed to receive this award
2. Four of them must followers of your blog.
3. One has to be new to your blog and live in another part of the world.
4. You must link back to who ever gave you the award.
I hereby pass this on to Jasia, footnoteMaven, Apple, Renee, and Diane (the newbie to my blog, who technically doesn't live that far away - British Columbia - but it is another country, after all!)
My primary heritages are Dutch and Frisian, and thus I've been a fan of Henk van Kampen's Trace Your Dutch Roots. Lately, he's been featuring photographs of Dutch ports. Do you have Mayflower ancestors? Take a look at the Delfshaven pictures. Did your ancestors (Dutch or not) traverse the Atlantic on one of the Holland-American Line ships? See the Wilhelminakade.
North Frisian Resource
The Frisians are an ethnic minority who live in present-day Netherlands, Denmark, and Germany, whose language, customs, and ethnicity are more closely related to the English than the Germanic peoples of the countries wherein they reside. I blog often about my Frisian ancestors from the Netherlands, and if you're a fan of Michael John Neill's RootDig, you'll hear about his Ostfrisians (West Frisians from Germany). Recently, Jennifer of Our Future Rooted in Our Past blogged about the North Frisian Emigrant - Archive of the Nordfriisk Institute in Denmark. Thanks for sharing this great resource, Jennifer!
Family Ties
My parents returned home in the wee hours of this morning after a trip back to Michigan to visit my paternal grandmother, who was diagnosed about a year or so ago with Alzheimer's. As well, they enjoyed visiting the families of their respective brothers and one of Dad's sisters. I was relieved to hear that Grandma recognized Dad and Mom and that they had an enjoyable time together. My parents have made similar trips in the past to say their last goodbyes to their parents. Grandma is my last biological grandparent, although my mother's step-mother is still in good health. They also got to see one of the newest members of the family. I know this was a bittersweet time for the folks...a part of the circle of life.
Internet Genealogy
And finally! I received the latest issue of Internet Genealogy magazine today (I think I was the last person on the planet to do so!). One of the many reasons I love this publication is that I see so many familiar names, sites, and blogs mentioned. footnoteMaven's Shades of the Departed blog was featured in the Net Notes column by Donna Pointkouski. If you're interested in the photography side of genealogy (and who isn't?), be sure to read this article, then drop by Maven's blog.
Donna Potter Phillips of the Eastern Washington Genealogical Society has two articles. One is "E.W.G.S. at 75: Thriving' and Survivin'" and highlights the many ways our terrific society has kept up with the times and has stayed growing and vibrant in an age when we're seeing a demise of many societies. Her "Cold Case Research: Genealogy Style" reminds me of the Campbell House and Unclaimed Persons projects, and explains how doing family tree research on strangers from history is not only fun, but educational! If you're stuck or tired of your own family lines, why don't you and some genealogy friends or fellow society members do a similar project?
And that's a wrap!
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
Wordless Wednesday: Grave of P. C. TOLLIVER (1861 - 1918)
Source: Tombstone of P.C. Tolliver, Evergreen Cemetery, Los Angeles, Los Angeles Co., California. Digital photograph taken by "Guardian," Find A Grave photo volunteer, at the request of Miriam Robbins Midkiff. 11 September 2006. Digital copy in the possession of Miriam Robbins Midkiff, Spokane, Washington. 2006.
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Indexed Records to Remain Free on FamilySearch.org
Press release from Paul Nauta of FamilySearch:
The recent announcements of joint census projects with FamilySearch and affiliate companies, such as findmypast.org and Ancestry.com, have caused some confusion. FamilySearch patrons and indexing volunteers are wondering if the indexes created from their efforts will continue to be free to the public. The answer is a resounding YES!
All data indexed by FamilySearch volunteers will continue to be made available for free to the public through FamilySearch.org—now and in the future. Access to related digital images may not always be free to everyone. Working jointly with other organizations ensures wider availability to improved indexes and provides a tremendous benefit to millions of people around the world who are seeking to connect with their ancestors. FamilySearch is committed to working with records custodians around the world to provide faster access to more records for more people.
Where possible, FamilySearch will seek to provide free public access to digital images of original records. Due to affiliate obligations, free access to some images may be available only to FamilySearch members (volunteers and indexers who meet basic contribution requirements each quarter, patrons at Family History Centers, and members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints whose contributions support FamilySearch’s operations). FamilySearch members will also enjoy convenient access in their homes or wherever they have Internet access. (FamilySearch is currently developing its ability to verify that users are FamilySearch members for future home access. This expanded access should be enabled in 2009.)
The general public will have several options to access any fee-based images offered under FamilySearch affiliate agreements. 1) Home access will be free for FamilySearch members; 2) access is free through a local Family History Center or the Family History Library; 3) access is often free through the record custodian or archive reading room; or 4) for a nominal fee, the public can access the images on specified record custodian or commercial Web sites.
The recent announcements of joint census projects with FamilySearch and affiliate companies, such as findmypast.org and Ancestry.com, have caused some confusion. FamilySearch patrons and indexing volunteers are wondering if the indexes created from their efforts will continue to be free to the public. The answer is a resounding YES!
All data indexed by FamilySearch volunteers will continue to be made available for free to the public through FamilySearch.org—now and in the future. Access to related digital images may not always be free to everyone. Working jointly with other organizations ensures wider availability to improved indexes and provides a tremendous benefit to millions of people around the world who are seeking to connect with their ancestors. FamilySearch is committed to working with records custodians around the world to provide faster access to more records for more people.
Where possible, FamilySearch will seek to provide free public access to digital images of original records. Due to affiliate obligations, free access to some images may be available only to FamilySearch members (volunteers and indexers who meet basic contribution requirements each quarter, patrons at Family History Centers, and members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints whose contributions support FamilySearch’s operations). FamilySearch members will also enjoy convenient access in their homes or wherever they have Internet access. (FamilySearch is currently developing its ability to verify that users are FamilySearch members for future home access. This expanded access should be enabled in 2009.)
The general public will have several options to access any fee-based images offered under FamilySearch affiliate agreements. 1) Home access will be free for FamilySearch members; 2) access is free through a local Family History Center or the Family History Library; 3) access is often free through the record custodian or archive reading room; or 4) for a nominal fee, the public can access the images on specified record custodian or commercial Web sites.
It's a Girl!
Jillian Faith Burns was born 28 July 2008 in Grand Rapids, Kent Co., Michigan to my cousin Joy and her husband Joseph. She weighed 7 lbs., 5 oz. Little Jillian joins big brothers Joshua and Jarrod. Mother and baby are doing well.
Joy was named after me (that's my middle name), and Jillian is named after my mother (Faith), who got to hold her a few hours after birth (my parents have been visiting family in Michigan this week). This makes grandchild number five and granddaughter number one for my uncle and aunt.
Monday, July 28, 2008
The 7th Edition of the Carnival of Irish Heritage & Culture Is Posted
"Looking into the Heart of Ireland" is the title of the 7th Edition of the Carnival of Irish Heritage & Culture. Lisa of Small-leaved Shamrock presented us with a Summer Reading Challenge, and if my count is correct, eleven bloggers shared 14 posts on a variety of literature relating to Ireland: fiction, poetry, genealogy, memoirs, history and juvenile literature (my submission is "The Long March"). Lisa did a fabulous job (as always), and arranged the posts into different genres, each illustrated with lovely old-fashioned pen and ink drawings and Irish quotes. She also recommended other books and online articles to complete the theme.
For the 8th ("Back to School") Edition, Lisa encourages us to do a little "homework":
Have Irish heritage in your family history? Make a plan to further investigate the Irish side of your family tree and share your goals with us. Here are some ideas:Deadlines for submissions are Monday, September 22nd, and can be entered here. Go enjoy reading the latest carnival, and get busy with your ideas for the next one!
- *Work back a few more generations on one branch of your Irish family tree
- *Find naturalization papers that give the county of origin for an immigrant ancestor
- *Find the townland in Ireland where your immigrant ancestor was born
- *Get in touch with other relatives who share the same Irish genealogy
Instead of (or in addition to) focusing on genealogy, want to learn more about Irish heritage or culture in general? Choose a topic or task that interests you, and let us know how you plan to learn more about it this coming year. Give one of these a try:
- *Take up Irish baking
- *Learn more about and enjoy Celtic music
- *Take up or set out to watch Irish dance
- *Learn the Irish language
- *Plan a trip to Ireland or a place where Irish culture resides
Set some goals for the new school year and share them with us, whether you've begun working on them or not. Hopefully we will all inspire each other in our quest for Irish family history and in our attempts to make the culture of Ireland more a part of our lives.
Friday, July 25, 2008
What This Blog is All About
I'm writing this post because I expect to have a lot of new visitors within the next few days. With the large number of genealogy bloggers jumping on board Facebook and adding me to their friends list, the Showcase Your Blog event at Successful Blog, and my interview (online article here; hard copy to be published July 27th in the business section) by technology columnist Tom Sowa of the Spokesman-Review (Spokane, Washington), with a link to this blog, I am sure there will be a number of people asking, "so what's this all about?" Welcome! I'm happy to share with you some things about genealogy, this blog, and myself.
First of All, the Name
AnceStories (ann-SESS-tore-ees) was a word I coined combining "ancestors" and "stories." I wanted a place online where I could publish the wonderful stories that my ancestors' lives had written in time and history. I started out with a website, because as I researched my ancestors' lives, I would come up with additional or corrected information to what I already had. Publishing their biographies in book format would not be convenient or current for long.
Genealogy vs. Family History
For the most part, the term "genealogy" is a reference to the research process of discovering who your ancestors are (names, dates, locations) as far back as you can go in time. "Family history" is putting your ancestors into context with the history of their times, the society in which they lived, and adding personality and depth from small clues you uncover in photographs, letters they've written, or the memories they left behind in the minds and hearts of their descendants.
So why am I so crazy about family history? I think it came out of a hunger to know more about my family and heritage, since I grew up in Native American communities in Southeast Alaska, where I was one of the few white children in those villages. My parents appreciated the diverse cultural education I was getting, but wanted me to understand my own heritage. They started buying me children's books on the Netherlands and incorporating Dutch holidays into our family celebrations. Even when we moved to Washington State when I was 12, we were still 2,000 miles away from my extended family.
I've also always loved puzzles and mysteries; some of my favorite childhood books were the Trixie Belden mystery series. Family history and genealogy are like a huge, living puzzle. You have bits of information here, and snippets of facts there, and you have to put them together to see the big picture!
Why a Blog?
In case you don't already know, "blog" stands for "web log", a journal, diary, or log kept online. It can be kept private, or made public like this one. The advantages of a blog over a website are several. It's quicker and easier to change or add information on a blog than on a website; Google indexes blogs--especially those on Blogger--daily to make it easier for other relatives to find you; and you can keep in contact with your readers when they leave comments on your posts (articles).
Content
I do write a lot about my ancestors' lives. One of my regular features is Wordless Wednesday, in which I post just a photograph of an ancestor or relative of my husband or myself. The following day, I write a biographical sketch on that person. When I come across a great genealogy database, or a keyboard shortcut, or some sort of research technique that's especially useful in genealogy, I feature it in a post. I publish press releases from various genealogy websites (subscription and free-for-use). Sometimes I write a review on a book about genealogy or history. I try to highlight what's happening in the genealogy world, either globally, nationally, or locally (I also blog for my local genealogical society here). Things I love to share are my successes: when I finally discover the names of an ancestor's parents or a document that proves a theory I had about something in their lives. These can be motivational, or even give research tips, to others with similar brick walls.
I participate in a lot of carnivals, too. A blog carnival can be thought of as a magazine with every article written by different authors on a specific topic. All the articles can be found on each individual author's blog, with the carnival host listing the table of contents and links to all the specific articles at his or her own blog. The carnivals I've participated in are the Carnival of Genealogy, the Carnival of Central and East European Genealogy, the Carnival of Irish Heritage and Culture, the "Where Were You?" Carnival, the "I Smile for the Camera" Carnival, and the Cabinet of Curiosities. These carnivals give me an opportunity to focus on a particular topic and highlight something about which I may not have otherwise written.
If you decide that you like this blog (!), you can choose to either bookmark it, have each post e-mailed to you, or have the feed sent to your favorite feed reader (Bloglines, Google Reader, etc.), by using the appropriate tools in the top right hand margin. Take a look at all the goodies in both margins...they go all the way down on both sides (you'll see I write for more than one blog). It's a "busy" look, I know. I'm trying to pair it down to make it a little easier on the eyes.
More Things I Do
I host Scanfest nearly every last Sunday of the month. It's a time when family historians gather online to chat while they scan their precious family photos and documents. Why? Because scanning can be b..o..r..i..n..g! Chatting helps the time go by quickly, we get to know one another better, and by having a scheduled time to do our scanning, we actually get to it, instead of putting it off. Feel free to join us this Sunday!
I'm enjoying being on Facebook and interacting with other genealogists and bloggers there, as well as connecting with friends and relatives from my offline world. There's a huge genealogy community on Facebook, thanks to Megan Smolenyak Smolenyak's Unclaimed Persons project (and no, I did not stutter when I wrote her name!).
I teach Online Genealogy classes--in person--for the Community Colleges of Spokane and the Spokane County Library District. I also teach some members-only computer classes for the Eastern Washington Genealogical Society, and I speak to various genealogical groups in the Inland Northwest. If you would like to take one of my classes or have me speak or give a presentation to your group, please e-mail me at kidmiffATgmailDOTcom.
My Offline Life
I am married and we are the parents of two high-school teenagers that make our lives "interesting," to say the least. We own a 100-year-old home that we are restoring whenever we have the odd hundred dollars or the occasional dozen hours to invest (we've notice that the two rarely coincide). We in turn are owned by a playful, slightly paranoid domestic tabby.
I work as support staff for special education at the middle school level in my local school district. The 2008 - 2009 school year will be my ninth year working with students of varying disabilities, which have included mental retardation, cerebral palsy, traumatic brain injury, spinal bifida, fetal alcohol syndrome, Down's Syndrome, Asperger's Syndrome and autism. Children and young adults with autism are my favorite group of the disabled community to work with, because autism is such a challenge. Did I mention before that I like puzzles? :-) Once you find "the" key to working with a student, a wonderful bond exists that brings great joy to daily work life. I consider myself very privileged to work with these students and blessed with a fabulous group of co-workers.
Away from my computer, I enjoy needlework (all kinds, but especially crochet and cross-stitch), reading, and walking. I'm not much of a TV watcher, but love black-and-white classic movies and old television shows on DVD. Classical, big band, country, and '80s pop are favorite music.
Thanks for taking the time to read this very long post. I hope that you will want to visit again. Feel free to leave your comments below.
First of All, the Name
AnceStories (ann-SESS-tore-ees) was a word I coined combining "ancestors" and "stories." I wanted a place online where I could publish the wonderful stories that my ancestors' lives had written in time and history. I started out with a website, because as I researched my ancestors' lives, I would come up with additional or corrected information to what I already had. Publishing their biographies in book format would not be convenient or current for long.
Genealogy vs. Family History
For the most part, the term "genealogy" is a reference to the research process of discovering who your ancestors are (names, dates, locations) as far back as you can go in time. "Family history" is putting your ancestors into context with the history of their times, the society in which they lived, and adding personality and depth from small clues you uncover in photographs, letters they've written, or the memories they left behind in the minds and hearts of their descendants.
So why am I so crazy about family history? I think it came out of a hunger to know more about my family and heritage, since I grew up in Native American communities in Southeast Alaska, where I was one of the few white children in those villages. My parents appreciated the diverse cultural education I was getting, but wanted me to understand my own heritage. They started buying me children's books on the Netherlands and incorporating Dutch holidays into our family celebrations. Even when we moved to Washington State when I was 12, we were still 2,000 miles away from my extended family.
I've also always loved puzzles and mysteries; some of my favorite childhood books were the Trixie Belden mystery series. Family history and genealogy are like a huge, living puzzle. You have bits of information here, and snippets of facts there, and you have to put them together to see the big picture!
Why a Blog?
In case you don't already know, "blog" stands for "web log", a journal, diary, or log kept online. It can be kept private, or made public like this one. The advantages of a blog over a website are several. It's quicker and easier to change or add information on a blog than on a website; Google indexes blogs--especially those on Blogger--daily to make it easier for other relatives to find you; and you can keep in contact with your readers when they leave comments on your posts (articles).
Content
I do write a lot about my ancestors' lives. One of my regular features is Wordless Wednesday, in which I post just a photograph of an ancestor or relative of my husband or myself. The following day, I write a biographical sketch on that person. When I come across a great genealogy database, or a keyboard shortcut, or some sort of research technique that's especially useful in genealogy, I feature it in a post. I publish press releases from various genealogy websites (subscription and free-for-use). Sometimes I write a review on a book about genealogy or history. I try to highlight what's happening in the genealogy world, either globally, nationally, or locally (I also blog for my local genealogical society here). Things I love to share are my successes: when I finally discover the names of an ancestor's parents or a document that proves a theory I had about something in their lives. These can be motivational, or even give research tips, to others with similar brick walls.
I participate in a lot of carnivals, too. A blog carnival can be thought of as a magazine with every article written by different authors on a specific topic. All the articles can be found on each individual author's blog, with the carnival host listing the table of contents and links to all the specific articles at his or her own blog. The carnivals I've participated in are the Carnival of Genealogy, the Carnival of Central and East European Genealogy, the Carnival of Irish Heritage and Culture, the "Where Were You?" Carnival, the "I Smile for the Camera" Carnival, and the Cabinet of Curiosities. These carnivals give me an opportunity to focus on a particular topic and highlight something about which I may not have otherwise written.
If you decide that you like this blog (!), you can choose to either bookmark it, have each post e-mailed to you, or have the feed sent to your favorite feed reader (Bloglines, Google Reader, etc.), by using the appropriate tools in the top right hand margin. Take a look at all the goodies in both margins...they go all the way down on both sides (you'll see I write for more than one blog). It's a "busy" look, I know. I'm trying to pair it down to make it a little easier on the eyes.
More Things I Do
I host Scanfest nearly every last Sunday of the month. It's a time when family historians gather online to chat while they scan their precious family photos and documents. Why? Because scanning can be b..o..r..i..n..g! Chatting helps the time go by quickly, we get to know one another better, and by having a scheduled time to do our scanning, we actually get to it, instead of putting it off. Feel free to join us this Sunday!
I'm enjoying being on Facebook and interacting with other genealogists and bloggers there, as well as connecting with friends and relatives from my offline world. There's a huge genealogy community on Facebook, thanks to Megan Smolenyak Smolenyak's Unclaimed Persons project (and no, I did not stutter when I wrote her name!).
I teach Online Genealogy classes--in person--for the Community Colleges of Spokane and the Spokane County Library District. I also teach some members-only computer classes for the Eastern Washington Genealogical Society, and I speak to various genealogical groups in the Inland Northwest. If you would like to take one of my classes or have me speak or give a presentation to your group, please e-mail me at kidmiffATgmailDOTcom.
My Offline Life
I am married and we are the parents of two high-school teenagers that make our lives "interesting," to say the least. We own a 100-year-old home that we are restoring whenever we have the odd hundred dollars or the occasional dozen hours to invest (we've notice that the two rarely coincide). We in turn are owned by a playful, slightly paranoid domestic tabby.
I work as support staff for special education at the middle school level in my local school district. The 2008 - 2009 school year will be my ninth year working with students of varying disabilities, which have included mental retardation, cerebral palsy, traumatic brain injury, spinal bifida, fetal alcohol syndrome, Down's Syndrome, Asperger's Syndrome and autism. Children and young adults with autism are my favorite group of the disabled community to work with, because autism is such a challenge. Did I mention before that I like puzzles? :-) Once you find "the" key to working with a student, a wonderful bond exists that brings great joy to daily work life. I consider myself very privileged to work with these students and blessed with a fabulous group of co-workers.
Away from my computer, I enjoy needlework (all kinds, but especially crochet and cross-stitch), reading, and walking. I'm not much of a TV watcher, but love black-and-white classic movies and old television shows on DVD. Classical, big band, country, and '80s pop are favorite music.
Thanks for taking the time to read this very long post. I hope that you will want to visit again. Feel free to leave your comments below.
Scanfest Reminder and Tips
Thanks to the social networking on Facebook, as well as word-of-mouth, it looks like this Sunday's Scanfest could be the biggest yet!
If you are planning to attend Scanfest for the first time, please follow these steps BEFORE Sunday to make your experience go more smoothly, and so that I will not be spending the first hour or so getting everyone set up, and can do some scanning myself!
1. You need to have Windows Live Messenger downloaded to your computer. Mac users, use this link.
2. Windows Live Messenger works best with Hotmail or Gmail accounts. I don't know why, it just does. I recommend Gmail, because it has such good spam filters.
3. Send me an e-mail (kidmiffATgmailDOTcom) to let me know you've gotten all set up with Windows Live Messenger, so I can add you to my list of contacts. Check your e-mail account (the one that you will be using as a sign-in for Windows Live Messenger) to see if I have verified you and invited you to Scanfest.
4. Go to Sally Jacob's website here to sign up for her free newsletter. It will enable you to download her helpful information called 8 Blunders People Make When They Scan Photographs...and How You Can Avoid Them All. You do not want to be scanning photos as .jpeg files or at 150 dpi (dots per inch)! Sally's pamphlet will explain all!
5. Take some time to figure out what you want to scan before Sunday. Otherwise, you'll spend your time sorting and not scanning.
UPDATE: On Sunday, sign in to Windows Live Messenger, and if you've done Step 3, you'll see my icon lit up on your list of contacts. Click on my icon and send me a message. I'll add you to our group conversation.
We really look forward to meeting all the new Scanfesters, and hope your time will be used well, both in accomplishing some much-needed tasks, and getting to know other family historians! See you Sunday (11:00 AM - 2:00 PM, Pacific Daylight Time - you can attend at any time during these three hours).
If you are planning to attend Scanfest for the first time, please follow these steps BEFORE Sunday to make your experience go more smoothly, and so that I will not be spending the first hour or so getting everyone set up, and can do some scanning myself!
1. You need to have Windows Live Messenger downloaded to your computer. Mac users, use this link.
2. Windows Live Messenger works best with Hotmail or Gmail accounts. I don't know why, it just does. I recommend Gmail, because it has such good spam filters.
3. Send me an e-mail (kidmiffATgmailDOTcom) to let me know you've gotten all set up with Windows Live Messenger, so I can add you to my list of contacts. Check your e-mail account (the one that you will be using as a sign-in for Windows Live Messenger) to see if I have verified you and invited you to Scanfest.
4. Go to Sally Jacob's website here to sign up for her free newsletter. It will enable you to download her helpful information called 8 Blunders People Make When They Scan Photographs...and How You Can Avoid Them All. You do not want to be scanning photos as .jpeg files or at 150 dpi (dots per inch)! Sally's pamphlet will explain all!
5. Take some time to figure out what you want to scan before Sunday. Otherwise, you'll spend your time sorting and not scanning.
UPDATE: On Sunday, sign in to Windows Live Messenger, and if you've done Step 3, you'll see my icon lit up on your list of contacts. Click on my icon and send me a message. I'll add you to our group conversation.
We really look forward to meeting all the new Scanfesters, and hope your time will be used well, both in accomplishing some much-needed tasks, and getting to know other family historians! See you Sunday (11:00 AM - 2:00 PM, Pacific Daylight Time - you can attend at any time during these three hours).
The Long March
When Lisa put forth the Summer Reading Challenge as a topic for the 7th Edition of the Carnival of Irish Heritage and Culture, I pondered what to submit. First I thought of my favorite Irish author, Maeve Binchy, whose novels make terrific summer reads (or good winter ones, wrapped up in an afghan with a hot drink nearby!). Trouble is, I've read all her books available in the U.S., and her latest won't be published over here until 2009. Besides, I wanted something a little more pertinent to a genealogy topic. I remembered my favorite quote by Irish poet William Butler Yeats: "Education is not the filling of a bucket, but the lighting of a fire." (I can correlate that to the genealogy vs. family history issue.) But I'm not a big reader of Yeats, so that was no good, either.
Aha! My mind flew back to when I was a homeschooling mom, over nine years ago (was it really that long?!), and I had found some interesting recommended books while teaching a Social Studies unit on Native Americans to my then second-grade daughter. One in particular was given high praise no matter in what resource it was listed: The Long March: the Choctaw's Gift to Irish Famine Relief by Marie-Louise Fitzpatrick (Hillsboro, Oregon: Beyond Words Pub., 1998). It is a creative non-fiction work about a young Choctaw boy, Choona, who overhears his elders discuss taking up a collection to help the starving Irish during the potato famine. Choona knows, even though the adults do not speak of it, that his family endured hardship and suffering during the Trail of Tears and wonders how they can possibly want to aid white people, who live so far away.
This incredible true story was beautifully illustrated by the author using as models the family members of Gary Whitedeer, himself an award-winning artist and historic preservationist who has been featured on TBS's The Native Americans and National Geographic's When Ireland Starved. The impoverished Choctaw nation raised $170 (equivalent to $5,000 today) to aid the Irish cause. If you have children in your life--and even if you don't--you will want to obtain this book. It is an emotional experience, and I dare you to read it without shedding a tear or two!
The book was named "A Smithsonian Notable Book for Children" in 1998 and won the Children's Books of Ireland BISTO Book of the Year Merit Award, 1999. But there's more to all this. In 1992, eight native Irish citizens retraced the steps of the 500-mile Trail of Tears as repayment for the Choctaw's great gift, and to raise awareness of famine relief in Somalia. In 1995, the President of Ireland, Mary Robinson, visited the Choctaw Nation to personally thank them. Two great nations, both knowing suffering and starvation, are bonded at a deeply emotional and spritual level. It is a heritage of which anyone would be proud.
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