What's New?

I haven't blogged for a while... I know. We are winding down from a busy summer around here. Last week I was on vacation with my family. It was wonderful and the kids had a blast. This of course meant that I didn't do anything genealogy related, only checked emails once, and didn't give Facebook any attention at all.

When we arrived home, late last Friday night, I had a box of free NARA publications waiting for me, that I requested while in D.C. I'm excited to do more than just skim through them. I also discovered that the 1940 census has been completely indexed. Apparently the next project up for an indexing push is U.S. Immigration and Naturalization records. And I had a death certificate waiting for me (yay!).

This week has been consumed with getting my boys ready for school, doctor/dentist appointments, and the Olympics. What can I say? I love the Olympics, which has caught on with my boys. We've been watching it together. All of this translates to not much time being given to genealogy (sigh) or blogging (sigh again).

I'm excited to get back into my routine. I have a lot of ideas to follow up on, research plans to write, and my NARA research findings to transcribe/extract data from. However, I've decided my top goal for the month of August is to get my office under control and organized. This sounds like a simple project.... it's not. It was quasi organized before summer break started and now it has mutated into complete chaos. Not exactly an exciting genealogical project, but one that is necessary.

So what goals do you have for the month of August?

Scandal? Intrigue? Or Just Plain Doodles?

As I've mentioned in previous blogs, I volunteer at the Tennessee State Library and Archives. Two weeks ago I completed an 18 month scanning project of all bible records located in the surname vertical files. To find these bible records I had to thumb through every single vertical file from A-Z. This also included naming the scans and putting them into a database. I believe the end goal is for these scans to become accessible online. Overall, it has been a project I've really enjoyed working on. And yes, there has been blood (a really nasty paper cut from a manila folder), sweat (sometimes if the air wasn't on very high and the sun was shining through the window it got rather warm), and.... well no tears. In truth, it was a very stress free environment (somewhat zen like, unless the scanner or stapler gave me attitude), especially when you compare my work at the archives to the hectic very noisy life of raising two young boys at home.

Anyway, over the last 18 months I've seen a lot of really interesting items in these vertical files. The final day of this project would prove to be just as interesting. I was working on my last drawer of files, and while scanning the title page of a bible record from the Wright file, I glance down at the second page  and this is what I see:[1]

"in

sinners

Hannah       Statlen [?]

Thom Shult"                                                          

I'm usually pretty focused on any given task, but I have to admit this gave me pause. After all, this was somebody's bible and the word "sinners" is written along with some names. Is Hannah Statlen one person or is it two separate people? Are the sinners Hannah and Thom? Or are these just random writings/doodles on a page? I quickly looked for these names in the bible record and didn't see them (yes, I know it was off task but I couldn't help myself). I even looked, very quickly, in the file for any other information. Nothing. Hunh. So I made a copy of the page and made notes on the back regarding which file it came from. I needed to continue on and I can always go back and take more time looking for details later. There is a story here, if not in actual fact at least in fiction. I'm inspired.

[1]   [Anonymouns], "Wright Family Bible," p. 2; Wright folder 1, surname vertical files; Tennessee State Library and Archives, Nashville.

The Genie Gods Must Be On Vacation

Do you ever wonder if the genealogy gods are on vacation, when things just don't seem to be going right? Lately I've been slamming into brick wall after brick wall, and I don't mean the researching a surname kind. I'm a little anxious, but mostly frustrated.

One of my goals this year was to get a website up and running. Rather than set New Year's resolutions, I make my goals around the time of my birthday in June. My deadline is fast approaching and I am finally ready to go forward with creating a website.

I recently watched a great explorinar presented by Thomas MacEntee about Weebly, a free website hosting service. After watching the explorinar I thought creating a website should be no problem and I would get it done in a jiffy. Right. Well, I have a specific idea of what I want (sort of) and it turns out Weebly doesn't offer bullet points in their tool bar, and I've had trouble with other features. Not as easy as I thought it would be. The added pressure is that I want to update my business cards with the website included. Did I mention that I need to get these cards ordered within the next week? I need them for upcoming events.

So after days and many frustrating hours of trying to figure out the website, I've made a compromise. I decided that putting together a website should not be a rushed or pressured project. Therefore, I would not include my website on the card right now. I came to terms with that and moved my focus onto the business card. Should be easy. Afterall, I've already done a card and should be able to update it without a problem. Right. I spent last night frustrated (again) over not being able to make the proper changes. Thinking it was me and my inept tech skills I asked Hubby for help. He's much more tech savvy than me. Well, he couldn't get it worked out either. (sssiigghhhh). I'll need to start from scratch.

My other hurdle? Last week I was exploring a new set of records on microfilm. I finally found the record I would need listed in the index (yay!). Sadly the discovery was made at the same time I had to leave to pick up my preschooler. Argh! I wouldn't have a free day to go to the archives again until Saturday. Well, Nashville was pretty much shut down on Saturday for the Music City Marathon. Argh (again). So now all I can think about are the possibilities of information this record might hold, and try not to let my imagination go too wild. It's a challenge.

I'm hoping the genealogy gods come back from their vacation soon. I've got goals to fulfill and deadlines to meet.

Follow Friday-From A to Zophar

I was reading Wendy's blog From A to Zophar today and discovered a term I had never heard of before, "cousin bait". Apparently the idea is to blog about your family history and hope that someday a cousin or some other distant kin will find you when researching a mutual family surname. Until now, I didn't realize this had terminology behind it.

Wendy goes on to relate how she connected with a relative who discovered her blog, and that they share an ancestor. They have been sending a flurry of emails back and forth exchanging information. I had two thoughts upon reading this post; "How exciting!" and "I wish that would happen to me."

Admittedly I have made some wonderful discoveries and even tracked down my father's immediate family. However, it was through hard research and I have never found anybody I'm related to through my blog. I have hope that someday that will happen, until then I'll just keep slogging through the trenches of research on my own.

So, have any of you connected with kin through your blog?

In Which Genealogists, Dancing With the Stars, and Samford All Come Together

So I woke up this morning fresh from a dream of being at Samford and socializing with genealogists. Sounds great right? Well, not so much. There was a group of genealogists standing around a girl proclaiming, "We have to figure out this girl's parents!" and another group of genealogists were practicing for Dancing With the Stars in the cafeteria. Now if you've ever seen the show and the costumes the dancers wear, this could lend itself to a rather disturbing visual. In fact it was what woke me up. I'm not sure what Freud would make of it all, and come to think on it I'm not sure I would want to know.

At any rate, I think it comes down to all of my thoughts from the evening being played out in my dream. My husband and I went out for dinner last night (sans children, yay!) and I was discussing with him what my goals are for genealogy. I'm in the ProGen study group and our assignment this month was to write a business plan for our genealogy business. So I was bouncing some ideas off my hubby, with one of them being how I want to attend Samford again in June and when I plan on starting the clock for BCG certification. Okay, so this accounts for Samford in the dream.

My mother-in-law came over to watch the kids and before we left I was talking genealogy with her. She has an Italian side to the family that is very confusing. They came to America with one name and then changed it once they were here. To top it off, there seems to be some confusion on how any of those names are spelled (argh!). Needless to say I haven't gotten very far with that side. So I believe this would account for the girl in my dream surrounded by the group of genealogists.

Finally, I was thinking last night about the NGS conference next May in Cincinnati, Ohio. I'm not sure I'll get to go to that one. However, the NGS conference in 2013 I believe is going to be in Las Vegas. For some reason (every time) I can't help but think, "Genealogists gone wild!" This thought coupled with a brief conversation over dessert about Dancing With the Stars accounts for the dancing genealogists in the Samford cafeteria.

Wacky right?? I can only hope my dreams will be a little less active tonight.

Follow Friday-Susan's Genealogy Blog

It's been one of those weeks where life has taken over and needed to be dealt with. So I haven't had much time to sit and organize my thoughts to blog. However, I have had some time to read blogs and one that caught my eye is Susan's Genealogy Blog titled Genealogy In Greek Speak. She discusses some resources that genealogists use to track down books, journals, manuscripts, and periodicals. Most of the sites she mentions I have used before and they are very good (especially if you can find what you are looking for).

I had the pleasure of meeting Susan during IGHR at Samford. We were both in Tom Jones' writing class and I've been following her blog ever since. Susan has covered some really good topics that are educational, interesting, and fun to read. It's a good site to explore.

Why Did You Start Genealogy Research?

It's a loaded question, isn't it? I was over at GenealogyWise.com earlier, setting up a page and that was one of the questions. Why indeed? I had to sit back and think about it. My research started so many years ago I'm not sure I truly remember the exact reason, other than it was interesting.

In general I find people interesting. I like to people watch too. Before having children I was a full-time elementary school teacher, and I loved the challenge of trying to figure out what made each student tick. What was their mode of learning? Why were they behaving a certain way?

It's the same with ancestors. I had a recent blog series on Rachel Luttrell and her Widow's Pension Woes. In it she was described as being in her early-mid 40's and of frail constitution. Well, if I had been taking care of an ill husband for many years, had 7 babies (3 of which died), and was a widowed mother trying to eek out an income in the 1880's I would probably appear frail too. Perspective, mind-set, the psychology of our ancestors. It's fascinating! I also think most of our ancestors would be thrilled we took an interest in them. Certainly the living are, so why not the deceased?

So my answer; I love genealogy. It's fun, it's fascinating, and it's a way of making a connection on a bigger scale than the secular life we live in.

Why did you start genealogy research?

Synchronicity In Genealogy

We have all heard the stories. A book falls off a shelf in the archives and opens to a surname you are researching that has been a "brick wall" for the past 10 years. Or you are casually walking around a random cemetery (because that's what us genealogists do for fun) and come across an ancestor that was supposed to have died and been buried two counties over!

Synchronicity. It's those seemingly random things in life that come together at exact moments. They can't be rationally explained, they just are. When they happen to me with regards to my ancestors, I can't help but wonder, "Who is really running the show here?" Some ancestors really make you work at finding them, others are happy to be easily found, and then there are some that don't want to be found at all--at least not by you.

I recently wrote a blog about being tech-challenged and that I would like to become more tech-savvy. In the blog I mentioned having a hard time understanding Google + and Second Life, you can read the blog entry here. Well, oddly enough, later that day I received notification that my free "Social Media For the Wise Genealogist" class was going "live" in a few days. The class is given by The National Institute for Genealogical Studies. When I attended the NGS conference in Charleston, South Carolina this past May I visited their booth. The National Institute for Genealogical Studies was offering a free internet course and I signed up for it (free is very attractive), and I figured this would be a good opportunity to see what they were all about. Then of course with all the excitement a conference brings, and life in general, I forgot about it. Once the class gets rolling I'll of course blog about it and let you know how it is going.

Synchronicity. I love it when it happens. It's fun. If you like hearing or reading about these kinds of incidents, there is a book called Psychic Roots by Henry Z Jones who writes about many genealogists who have these experiences. I've provided an affiliate link below.

So, have you ever had one of these strange incidents happen to you?

Are You Tech-Savvy Or Tech-Challenged?

Sadly I'm firmly entrenched in the tech-challenged category. I try very hard to be tech-savvy and just when I think I'm making progress, I'm reminded I'm not (sigh). I took my Mac to the Apple store yesterday for maintenance and asked about the Lion upgrade. I was told I need a Leopard before I can get a Lion. Huh? So I asked why and the guy explained it--twice. Each time my brain glazed over at about the same point and I missed the explanation. I think it has something to do with interfacing better (do I even know what that means??).

So what does this have to do with genealogy you may be wondering? Well, I think I can safely say that very few genealogists don't work on a computer. I'm always reading blogs, articles, links, or postings about the latest genealogy software, webinars, that Footnote is now Fold 3, and the various other online repositories. Then there are the social sites. I still don't understand Google + or Second Life, I've tried--it's not going very well.

Fortunately, there are some good resources (on the internet) to help me. Legacy Family Tree has a CD of  a webinar about Google + presented by Paul Allen, Dan Lynch, and Mark Olsen. Dear Myrtle has a good blog on how to figure out Second Life. Apparently, there are quite a few groups for a genealogist to attend in Second Life. Then of course, there are various bloggers who write about technology and how to keep up with it.

I've also been looking at RootsTech, a technology conference for genealogists. The next RootsTech conference will be held in Salt Lake City on February 2-4. Last year's conference was a big success. I'm seriously considering going to it. Meanwhile, I'll be watching a few webinars trying to figure out
Google +, Second Life, and how to add a few bells and whistles to my blog. I may have to watch them a couple of times.