Gathering Stories

Who's Waiting for You in the 1940 Census? Aunt Martha

2012-03-01T22:22:00.000-06:00

L to R Aunt Martha, Dad, Mom. Presumably the photo was taken by Uncle Stan.

The next relative waiting for me in the 1940 census isn’t a relative at all. Not technically anyway. Martha Hempstead was born in Oklahoma City and grew up there. In the 1930 census she is living with her parents and older brother Jimmie. Her father was a bookkeeper. My parents met Martha and her future husband Stanley at church in the spring of 1951 just a week before Stan and Martha's wedding. My parents were newlyweds themselves having just been married the previous fall. They all became great friends and spent much time together as young married people unencumbered by children. After a few years though, my parents became ‘encumbered’ by yours truly. But the day I was born, my father was out of town so it was Stan and Martha that drove my mother to St. Anthony’s Hospital in Oklahoma City, coincidently the same hospital where Martha herself had been born in 1928. From the beginning they were known to me as Uncle Stan and Aunt Mar ( Apparently I couldn’t say ‘Martha’ and it came out just ‘Mar’).

A year or so after my birth, Stan and Martha adopted a daughter of their own whom they named Sarah. Two years after that my mother had twins, my sisters Sally and Jenny. Like the good 1950’s housewives they were, Martha and Mom would go to one another's houses to share chores like polishing silver and waxing furniture. Occasionally they piled all of us into the car and went shopping together. How they managed to do all that with four little girls underfoot I’ll never know! Sarah and I being close in age were also together a lot without my sisters. Sleepovers, birthday parties, Saturday afternoon movies. Sarah was daring and bold and imaginative. Quite the counterpoint to my shy, quiet, anxious personality. She had great ideas and was not afraid to carry them out. Sarah was a walk on the wild side for me. Tragically, Sarah died when we were in our early twenties. Seven years later my mother also passed away.
Stan and Martha lost their only child. I lost my only mother.
But God in His mercy had provided back-ups. And so Martha became my mother and I became her daughter. We still grieve for those irreplaceable ones we have lost but find much comfort in our shared memories. Aside from my father, Aunt Martha is the only person on earth that remembers my long-ago childhood. That is a precious gift that I do not take for granted. As we have all gotten older over the years, it has been my privilege to stand in Sarah's place in that that journey we all must take as our parents age. In the fall of 2010, Uncle Stan also passed away. They had been happily married just shy of 60 years. Now Aunt Mar is facing yet another loss, as well as the experience of living alone (for the first time in her 83 years) with the courage and faith that has always sustained her.
So I'll be looking for her in 1940 and every census to follow and praying that a little of her grace has rubbed off on to me, her 'daughter' in every way that matters.

Who's Waiting For You In The 1940 Census? My Parents

2012-02-27T11:15:00.000-06:00

The Parents - Gene & Virginia Allen - Newlyweds in 1950

I thought I'd start first with the low-hanging fruit (or nuts depending how you look at it)- my parents. At the time of the 1930 census, my maternal grandmother was pregnant with my mother who was born in November of that year. They owned their home which gives me hope they were in the same place in 1940. We'll see. Their enumeration district in Prague, Oklahoma was 41-33.

As for my dad's family, they lived in Neosho, Missouri. In the 1930 census, my then 2 yr old father was living with his mother and stepfather. For some inexplicable reason, he was listed as Gene Wilson instead of Gene Allen. This mistake by the enumerator caused me no end of grief trying to find him until it occurred to me to look for my grandmother instead. Bingo. By 1940 Dad was living with his maternal grandparents who later adopted him. Since Dad is thankfully still with us at age almost 84, I took a chance and asked him if he remembered the address. He did. 316 Wheeler St. Easy peasy. Except Dad's grandparents were living on Jefferson St. in 1930. The ED for that address was 73-13. Hopefully that will get me in the ball park.

Who's waiting for you?

Who's Waiting For You In The 1940 US Census?

2012-02-27T10:13:00.001-06:00

One of the things I've been doing to prepare for the upcoming census release is to find as many relatives as possible in the 1930 census. Having an idea of their enumeration district in 1930 should be helpful in finding them in the un-indexed (at least at first...you're all volunteering to index right?) 1940 census. Fingers crossed, they all pretty much stayed put between 1930 and 1940! Anyway, I thought it might be fun to do a series of posts about this leading up to April 2.
So who is waiting for you in the 1940 census?

Helpful Links:

How to Get Ready really good, step-by-step instructions from NARA
Volunteer to index! many hands make light work etc...
Official NARA page This is where you can go to access the census beginning April 2.
Blank 1940 US Census form
Steve Morse's Magic Finder Site not the official name but hey, it's magic to me. He has some neat utilities for converting a 1930 ED to a 1940 ED and how to find the 1940 ED based on an address.
Census Tracking for Beginners good overview article on Familysearch.org
Become a 1940 Blog Ambassador

Downton Abbey Meets Grandpa Moses

2012-02-23T22:28:00.000-06:00

Season 2 - Downton Abbey

WW I Draft Registration

I've been a fan of British period dramas since the 1970's when 'The Six Wives of Henry VIII' and 'Upstairs Downstairs' made an indelible mark on my impressionable adolescent brain. So its no surprise that I fell in love with Downton Abbey. The second season, which just ended here in the US, dealt with the effects of WW I on the family and their household. There were several episodes with scenes set in the trenches of that war and it got me thinking about how little I know of my grandfather Moses Lee Easley's experience there. I know that he was a WW I veteran ( in spite of the fact that the 1930 census says he wasn't) and that he fought in France. Beyond that it's a complete mystery. I would love to see his military records but I imagine they all went up in that horrible fire in St. Louis that consumed most US military records from WW I through the Korean war. On the other hand, I have never inquired about the records either so I should probably put that on my genealogy 'to do' list. I did find his draft record on Ancestry and was surprised to see that he was already in Oklahoma at the time he registered for the draft. I had always assumed he had lived in Tennessee and didn't move to Oklahoma until after the war. And why Oklahoma? I've found records that show some members of his extended family moving here about the same time. Were he and my grandmother sweethearts already when he left? Did he serve with an Oklahoma military unit since he registered here? The only Oklahoma WW I records I've found are casualty lists and he obviously survived the war. I've looked at some Tennessee records and haven't found him there either.

Moses Lee Easley abt 1920

And the trenches weren't all my grandfather had in common with the fictional inhabitants of Downton Abbey. His family also experienced the devastation wrought by the "Spanish" flu.

....to be continued.

Quaker Research

2012-02-20T21:33:00.000-06:00

Lately I have been doing some more research on my Haworth line. Fortunately for me, the Haworths were Quakers (Society of Friends) which means they left many interesting records behind. One of the first places to look for those records would be the Encyclopedia of American Quaker Genealogy by William W. Hinshaw. This is a multi-volume work and each volume is quite large. Not something you would probably want to purchase unless you have unlimited shelf space in your house and a money tree in your backyard. But thankfully, it is widely available at libraries which is where I found it. The surnames are indexed (yea!) but since I knew Richard and Ann Haworth were founding members of the Lost Creek Meeting in New Market, Jefferson, TN, I went to the section in Vol 1 on Lost Creek. Each family is listed with names and birth dates. There is an indexed section of meeting minutes that records things like movement of memberships between meetings (churches), which are very helpful in tracking a family's migration. Disciplinary actions are also recorded. For example, my 3rd great grandfather William Haworth, was apparently disowned by the meeting for fighting! Member could be reinstated by going before the church and admitting their wrong but there is no record that William did this. This might explain why four of his sons volunteered to serve in the Civil War (Friends were usually pacificists) and why none of them seemed to be practicing Friends in the years after the war.
The meeting minutes are full of rather cryptic abbreviations. For example, the entry about William fighting was this:
1824, 5, 29. William, Jr. dis fighting
Not too hard to figure out once you know 'dis' means 'disowned'.

But what about this entry?
1793, 8,24. William, of Nolechucky, rpd mou.
followed by-
1798, 10,20. William con his mou.

The 1792 entry means that William Haworth of the Nolechucky area was reported to have married out of unity i.e. married a non-Quaker. But in 1798 William "condemned his marriage out of unity" which basically meant he went before the church and admitted his wrong. Presumably, he was reinstated in the church at that time. Sometimes the record will report the reinstatement, sometimes not. It is interesting that the very next entry, on the same date, says that his wife Jane also "condemned her marriage out of unity". I'm not totally sure what all this means since I know that William was from a Quaker family and I'm pretty sure his wife Jane Brazelton was as well.
At any rate, you get the idea. Hinshaw has a key in the front of each volume of his encyclopedia but I found this book, Our Quaker Ancestors : Finding Them in Quaker Records,to be very helpful. It also contains a key to the abbreviations but gives you some background on Quaker theology and customs. There is also a good chapter on the various migration routes taken by Quakers. Did you know that by 1850, half of Indiana's populations was Quaker? I didn't.
Always something new to learn.

Indexing the 1940 Census

2012-02-15T18:53:00.001-06:00

One of the things I did at Rootstech was sign up to be an indexer for the 1940 census. Now mind you, I have never indexed anything in my life. But I'm pretty excited about participating in this project. Familysearch has also just come out with a mobile indexing app for both Apple and Android. You know me...always up for a shiny new app. I'll let you know what I think.

So let's all jump on the 1940 Census bandwagon. Many hands make light work etc.

FTU

2012-02-13T11:01:00.000-06:00

So the last few weeks its been all Rootstech, all the time in the blogosphere. I imagine that those of you who were not able to (or didn't want to?) attend are probably pretty sick of it. (That being said I still have a few Rootstech posts in the queue...just sayin'.) But for anyone who is feeling un-cool and left-out because they couldn't go, I have some encouragement for you. While there were many awesome things about Rootstech the classes were mostly not among them. First there was the scheduling. So many great classes in competing time slots. Oh well, that's what happens when you only have a weekend to do everything. There was little balance between beginner classes and more advanced sessions and some classes advertised as intermediate, clearly were not. Again, that would be difficult to do when you have 4.000 attendees all at different skill levels. Then there was the overcrowding..many classes were standing room only and in at least one class, security had to come ask people to leave because the number of people in the room violated fire codes! Bottom line...if you wanted to go to Rootstech for the educational experience alone, you just saved yourself the cost of the air fare and a hotel bill.

Let me make a suggestion: enroll in Family Tree University's virtual conference. There are several advantages:

You never have to choose between two great classes. All the classes are pre-recorded and downloadable. For you to keep. Forever.
Your only overcrowding issue might be in disk space for storing the video files.
You get many of the same instructors that taught at Rootstech...Lisa Alzo, Thomas MacEntee and Lisa Louise Cook for example.
You can 'take" the same class mutiple times. But then I'm sure none of you have memory or attention issues like yours truly. ;)
Cost- The conference costs $199. That's less than $15 per class. Hello?

In the interest of full disclosure, I must tell you that although currently I have no relationship with Family Tree Magazine or Family Tree University, I was their Family Tree Firsts blogger in 2011. I received no monetary compensation from them but was given the opportunity to take FTU classes at no charge, including last year's first Virtual Conference.
All that being said, I am recommending the conference because I was impressed by it last year as a student not because I was in any way prompted to do so.

WDYTYA- Lisa Kudrow Answers Fan Questions

2012-02-11T10:46:00.001-06:00

So what did you think of the latest Who Do You Think You Are? episode? Frankly, I felt the first episode of this season with Martin Sheen fell a little flat but they redeemed themselves with last night's show with Marisa Tomei. I loved meeting her family whereas Martin's family....well Emilio seemed pretty stable. 'Nuff said?
Here's a video of Lisa Kudrow answering viewer questions about the show. Enjoy!

Rootstech Session: Telling Stories

2012-02-06T19:11:00.004-06:00

This video was used in a Rootstech session titled Telling Stories: Transforming the Bare Facts of Genealogy Into the Astonishing Tale of You and Your Family. It was presented by Ian Tester of Brightsolid and was probably my favorite class in the conference. I love the way the timeline helps flesh out the story.
The syllabus for the class is here: Telling Stories syllabus

Stories Through Data from Ross Forrest on Vimeo.

Six Lessons from Rootstech 2012

2012-02-06T09:29:00.001-06:00

I have stopped over in Phoenix on my way home from Salt Lake City to spend a couple of days with my sister. I'll write more about my experiences at Rootstech when I get home. For now though here are a few of the things I learned from attending my very first genea-conference.

6. Pack an extra bag to bring home all the fun stuff you'll accumulate.
5. Laptops are HEAVY. One more reason to get an iPad. Like I needed another reason.
4. Upgrade your camera before the conference.
3. Remember to bring the cord and batteries for said camera so that you aren't forced to take pictures with your iPod Touch and them email them to yourself.
2. An iPod Touch takes crappy pictures.

and the number one thing I learned:

1. Don't mess up your ankle the week before the conference! The boot and cane will really slow you down!

Yet Another Reason to Love Evernote

2012-01-28T19:46:00.001-06:00

So I'm busy doing laundry and packing for my trip to Rootstech but I found an awesome tool recently that I just have to tell you about....Evernote Clearly. I'm a very visual person that is also easily distracted (oooo, shiny....) so sometimes I find reading on the internet to be difficult. Enter the browser extension Evernote Clearly. One click transforms any cluttered web page into a clean, readable, printable article. Awesome. You can print directly from the extension or save it to Evernote for reading later. Watch the video and go check it out. And speaking of Evernote and Rootstech, there will be session on Evernote on Thursday. Stay tuned!

Rootstech Advice

2012-01-26T10:30:00.000-06:00

Since Rootstech will be my very first genealogy conference as well as my first trip to the famous Family History Library, I have been scouring the blogs for advice on how to prepare for the trip and make the best use of the short time I'll have in Salt Lake City. Genealogy bloggers, being the generous souls they are, have written some very helpful posts on this topic. Here are just a few I've found:

Sue Maxwell - Granite Genealogy Prepare Before Attending a Genealogy Conference Sue has some great tips from selecting your workshops to what to pack.

Banai Feldstein - The Ginger Jewish Genealogist The Insider's Guide to the Family History Library and SLC This is a very comprehensive post on the FHL and answers a lot of questions that I didn't even know to ask!

Jill Ball - Geniaus A Peek Inside My Gadget Bag Jill was at Rootstech last year and lets us in on what worked (and didn't) as well as the technology she's taking this time around. My favorite? The decidedly low tech spiral notebook. I also can't wait to see the hot pink laptop bag!

Julie Cahill Tarr - GenBlog 11 Tips for Attending Rootstech Concise and too the point but great advice. Number 9: Sit by someone you don't know. Well that shouldn't be hard since I only know one person (in real life, not just online) that will be there! But its still great advice especially for introverts like me.

Amy Coffin - The We Tree Genealogy Blog The Wallflower's Guide to RootsTech Speaking of introverts, Amy has written a great post for those of us who are little intimidated by the thought of all the new people we will be meeting. My favorite tip? Attend a class outside your comfort zone.

Maybe next year it will be me writing the advice!

Meet the Official Rootstech Bloggers

2012-01-23T13:55:00.001-06:00

The Tech Tips blog on FamilySearch.org is doing a series of posts to introduce to the Rootstech bloggers. Mine was posted here today. They sent us a questionnaire and then picked from our answers to write the intro. Some of the questions: what superpower would you like to have? (time travel) and what is your hidden talent? (I can say 'supercalifragilisticexpialidocious' backwards.). If you want to know my biggest pet peeve you'll have to go read the article!

Business Cards

2012-01-18T21:15:00.000-06:00

One of the things that has been suggested to me take to Rootstech is business cards. Now, I don't have a business or a "brand" or even a logo but did that stop me? Apparently not. I finally put my order in tonight after weeks of agonizing over design, colors, what info to include, etc, etc. Here is what I came up with.
I wanted to keep it simple. At some point I'd like to have an actual designer make a logo for the blog but that wasn't going to happen before Rootstech. Anyway, it's one more thing to check off my pre-Rootstech to-do list!

Front side

Back side

Preparing for Rootstech- The Family History Library

2012-01-12T20:55:00.001-06:00

Image by whistlepunch via Flickr

The countdown to Rootstech has begun! My head is buzzing even more than usual as I try to plan what to bring, what to do while I'm there and on and on and on....
One of my priorities while in Salt Lake City is do some research at ~~Mecca~~ the Family History Library. The time I will have available to do this will be limited and since it will probably be a LONG time before I get there again, I want to be as efficient as possible. So here is my plan:

I'm taking the first flight out of Tulsa (7:25 am!) which will get me to SLC by noon on Wed. (Rootstech begins on Thursday, Feb. 2) This will give me several hours in the afternoon and maybe early evening to research. Starbucks anyone? ( Do they even have Starbucks in SLC?)
When I registered for Rootstech I signed up for the Late Night at the Library event on Friday evening. More research time.
Today I sat down and identified 3 brick walls to work on. One of these is my great great grandmother Martha Blosser. I also want to do some research on Hardin County, TN the home of most of my maternal relatives and the side on which I have the least information.
After picking my genealogical battles, so to speak, I went to familysearch.org and checked the library catalog for the areas I want to research. I printed off the titles that I want to look at while I'm there. I will be focusing first on the books since I can always order microfilm in Tulsa if I run out of time.
On the other hand, I've learned that you can ask FHL to pull film in advance of your visit so its already there waiting for you. What a cool service and a great time-saver! You can do it online here.
I will be bringing my Flip-Pal scanner, my camera and a couple of flash drives. If I start to run out of time in the library I can make a quick scan or save and I will still be able to evaluate the information after I get home. Oh and lots of batteries.

Any of you experienced FHL researchers have any suggestions?

Users Schedule | RootsTech.org

2012-01-06T14:26:00.000-06:00

You can also view the Rootstech schedule by type of attendee. For example, us non-techie types (i.e. "users") can look at just the sessions that are designed especially for us.

Users Schedule | RootsTech.org:

'via Blog this'

Decisions, Decisions

2012-01-06T07:09:00.004-06:00

The Rootstech schedule is out! Good thing I have a few weeks to decide.

Digital Scrapbooking - The Easy Way!

2011-12-28T12:31:00.000-06:00

Christmas is over for another year and if you're like me you have a lot of digital photos lurking in your camera/phone. Over the next few posts we are going to liberate them. Digital scrapbooking has several things to recommend it over paper scrapbooking primarily the cost. I can buy an entire digital scrapbooking kit for less than $10. Try doing that in the craft store! And unlike paper I can use my digital supplies over and over again. With most photos taken these days being digital ones, digital scrapping just makes sense.

So what do I need to become a digital scrapper?
1. A computer. Duh.
2. Software- For these tutorials you will need PowerPoint (PC) or Keynote (Mac). If you don't already have one of these don't go out and buy them (unless you just want to!). Go to OpenOffice.org and download a program called Impress for FREE! All three of these programs are designed to create digital presentations but are also perfect for quick and easy scrapbook creation. Many scrappers use Photoshop / Photoshop Elements or some other image editing software. I have used PSE for several years but it is fairly expensive, there is quite a learning curve and I still sometimes get frustrated with it. The method I'm going show you is much easier.
3. Digital supplies- The digital background papers and decorative embellishments are usually sold as a "kit".
Most websites that sell such supplies have some sort of "freebie" you can download without cost. Just go to one of the links below and download one to practice with.The "papers" are usually .jpg files (just like your photos). The rest of your supplies will be .png or .psd files which are native to Photoshop. Don't worry, you will still be able to use them without Photoshop on your computer.

Now go get your supplies together and we'll start scrapping!

NEXT: Downloading and organizing your kits

Family Tree as Christmas Tree

2011-12-24T11:00:00.000-06:00


Gavin Jackson Armstrong 26 Dec 2009


Tate Allen Armstrong 21 Dec 2011

Our family tree is becoming a Christmas tree! Meet the newest leaf Tate! Tate was born 3 days ago, a healthy 7 lbs. 12 oz. He joins his cousin Gavin who was born the day after Christmas 2 years ago. I am a very blessed grandmother.

Happy holidays to everyone!

Genealogy and Backward Compatibility

2011-12-15T12:00:00.000-06:00

I "unplugged" a bit last weekend and logged on Sunday night to find the genealogy community in an uproar! I'm a little late to the party but for what its worth here is my take on the whole thing.
(I'll say up front that I am an Official Rootstech Blogger and received a free registration to the conference. I did not, however, receive a gag.)

So here is what I think is going on. There are really two issues. The first one was brought up by Thomas MacEntee in one of his excellents posts on this subject. There is a raw nerve running through this country right now...the perception that the ordinary American is getting screwed over and losing control over things that are important to him. Touch this nerve at your peril as several companies have discovered, Netflix being a prime example. When a company (or a conference) are perceived to have arbitrarily handed down an edict from on high...well let's just say there can be a signficant blow-back.

The second issue here is the changing roles of "old" technology..i.e. books and print versus "new" technology. And this debate isn't restricted to genealogy...all forms of print media are being challenged. People are asking "why do we need libraries/books now that we have the internet and computers and e-readers?" The generation that is now coming into it's own, politically and career-wise have spent their whole lives adapting to rapidly changing technology. It's what they know. The problem comes in when people assume that level of expertise is the norm for everyone. Many of the people using libraries these days are either low-income or elderly. The lower income folks want to be connected to technology but cannot afford computers or internet service. They go to the library to use the public computers instead. The older folks have a different issue. They don't understand technology and have massive doubts about their ability to learn the skills they are increasingly being forced to use. I don't know the percentage of the American population these last two groups represent but I'd guess that its considerable. Add in the immigrants with language barriers and those of us that are digitally "connected" start looking the minority! In spite of that, governments and companies are completely abandoning traditional methods of communication for digital methods. For example, a couple of years ago the state of Oklahoma decided they would no longer provide paper income tax forms. This was not a big deal to those of us who file online anyway. But for the aforementioned groups this has been a huge problem especially for the elderly. Again I think there is that assumption that its easy for everyone to operate in the digital world when it is really only easy for the person or entity making the decision to do so.

There is a great divide in our society. Not between social classes but between folks who have the expertise and resources to access technology and folks who don't. Those of us..genealogists included...who make use of the digital world have an obligation to reach out to people who, for whatever reason, can not. At the very least we should not take away the tools they do have! How unfair!

If computer manufacturers can put floppy drives on computers for 20 years after they have become obsolete we can surely have some backwards compatibility where people are concerned.

Blog Caroling ~ Rose of Bethlehem

2011-12-13T09:38:00.000-06:00

Free Our Photos!

2011-12-12T09:14:00.000-06:00

Photo by Woody H1

So there's been a bit of radio silence on ye olde blog the last couple of weeks. I like to tell myself that I'm taking a short break now that my Family Tree Firsts gig is up and hey, its the holidays and oh yeah I'm busy knitting for a new grandson that will be appearing in about a week. All of which are true. But the fact is that without the accountability of an actual editor waiting for my next post I tend to get a little ~~lazy~~ lax. Dorothy Parker was famously quoted saying that she did not like to write but loved having written to which I can only say "Amen!".

Therefore I have figured out a way to kick my own butt. Write a series!

Soon I will begin a series of posts on how to rescue all those digital photos lurking in your computer. If you are like me you have tons of digital photos being held hostage in your PC. The upcoming festivities will surely add to that number. And that's not even counting all the heritage images languishing on my hard drive! So I'm starting a campaign... forget Occupy Wall Street...let's Free Our Photos!

I have found a fast, easy and above all cheap way to get them out of digital never-never land and into the hands of your family. In addition, I will be reviewing some of the photo publishing options currently available online. Stay tuned!

Santa Finds His Roots

2011-12-06T12:48:00.001-06:00

This was just too funny to pass up...

Easy Gift Idea

2011-12-06T12:27:00.001-06:00

Lorine over at Olive Tree Genealogy Blog has a great easy gift idea. Go check it out!

Rootstech Early Bird Prices End Tomorrow

2011-11-29T18:30:00.001-06:00

Just a reminder that the deadline for the early bird discount on Rootstech 2012 registrations ends tomorrow, Wednesday, Nov. 30. After that date the registration fee goes from $129 to $189.

If you have any doubts that Rootstech will be completely amazing, check out Amy Coffin's "Reasons for Not Attending Rootstech 2012" 'Nuff said?

Flip Pal Blog Hop- Week 3

2011-11-22T21:15:00.001-06:00

So here's another project using my Flip-Pal scanner. This project was super simple and fast. To clarify, the label holder on the first ornament was placed last, AFTER the modge podge had dried completely.

The other Flip Pal Blog Hoppers are:

Sheri Fenley
The Educated Genealogist
http://sherifenley.blogspot.com

Drusilla Pair
Find Your Folks
http://www.findyourfolks.blogspot.com

Marian Pierre Louis
Roots and Rambles
http://rootsandrambles.blogspot.com

Caroline Pointer
For Your Family Story
http://www.4yourfamilystory.com/blog.html

Heather Wilkinson Rojo
Nutfield Genealogy
http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com

Julie Cahill Tarr
GenBlog
http://genblogjulie.blogspot.com

Disclosure: I am an affiliate of Flip-Pal which means that when you click on a link, graphic or text, and then purchase from them, I receive a small referral commission. Flip-Pal provided me with an evaluation scanner to participate in the Simple Gifts Blog Hop, which I will not be required to return. My opinions and reviews in this blog, for good or ill, are purely my own. So there.

Happy Anniversary

2011-11-21T08:17:00.001-06:00

Gene & Ginny Allen

Today is the 61st anniversary of my parents marriage. This was taken shortly after their wedding in front of their first apartment in Stillwater, OK.
This photo is from their photo album. I have a digital copy of this photo thanks to my Flip-Pal scanner. I would not have been able to remove it from the album without damaging it and the album itself is too large to scan with a flatbed scanner.

We have a winner!

2011-11-20T16:41:00.001-06:00

Thank you to everyone who entered the Gathering Stories Rootstech registration giveaway. I numbered the entries and submitted them to the ~~oracle~~ random number generator. And the winner is...Susan Kitchens of Family Oral History Using Digital Tools! Susan suggested that I attend this Rootstech class- Telling stories: transforming the bare facts of genealogy into the astonishing tale of you and your family.
Sounds right up my alley! Thanks Susan!
If you didn't win this time you can still enter at Genealogy Gems through Wed, Nov 23. Also, you can still get in on the discounted registration through Nov. 30.

Thanks also to Rootstech who provided the free registration.

Flip-Pal Blog Hop Week 2

2011-11-11T18:08:00.001-06:00

This is my very first attempt at video...ever. Be kind. This was done on my iPod Touch and I apologize in advance for the shakiness. It's a great little project and would work well for a teacher gift. Or a co-worker gift...shhhh....

Tell Me Where to Go.... and Win a Rootstech Registration!

2011-11-09T10:33:00.001-06:00

Fairy Godmother

Image via Wikipedia
One of the perks of being a Rootstech 2012 official blogger is that I get to play fairy godmother and give away a FREE registration to Rootstech! Here's how to win:

Go to the schedule on the Rootstech website and pick two workshops- one that you would like to go to and one you think I should attend. This is my first ever live genealogy conference so I really want your opinion!
Share this blog post on Google+, Facebook or Twitter.
Enter the contest by sending the two workshop titles and a link to your social media post (on Twitter just mention @nancyshively in the tweet) to gatheringstoriescontest@gmail.com.

The winning entry will be chosen at random. You must enter before midnight CST on Friday, Nov. 18. If you are chosen you will receive one free registration to Rootstech 2012. You will be responsible for your own transportation, lodging, etc.

Good luck!

Coupon Code

2011-11-08T12:15:00.002-06:00

Don't forget that you can get 10% off your very own Flip-Pal scanner by using the coupon code BDAY11A
Don't procrastinate though.... the coupon expires next week on November 13!

Simple Gifts- Week 1

2011-11-04T15:10:00.001-05:00

Although I've been wanting a Flip-Pal...like forever...well o.k. for a year anyway...I didn't have a real need for one until I inherited this-

my parent's scrapbook. My mom was a scrapbooker before scrapbooking even existed and this one documents their wedding and early years as a young couple. Besides photos there are newspaper clippings, ticket stubs, dance cards and even the 'do not disturb' sign from their honeymoon. The album is over 60 years old and is showing its age. A few of the pages are falling out. The photos are either falling off the page or require a jackhammer to remove. It is the latter that finally gave me my ~~excuse~~ reason for owning a Flip-Pal. The ONLY way to digitize those stuck photos would be with one of these.
Well, lucky for me, Thomas MacEntee and Flip-Pal chose me as one of the bloggers that get to try out one of these babies for the Simple Gifts Blog Hop! Woo hoo! Thanks guys!

So here's my plan....to scan as much of the album as I can and convert it into a digital scrapbook, preserving the contents of the original and making it share-able with my family. My parents wedding anniversary was Nov. 21 and although Mom has been gone for over 2 decades now and Dad has re-married, I know he would love it as would my sisters. Funny thing about the scrapbook though. While there are lots of photos of me, their first child, it comes to an abrupt halt around the time my twin sisters were born! They were still taking pictures but none of them ever made it into an organized album. The twins pretty much rocked our world for years to come.

My Flip-Pal arrived last week.

Its about the size of a book and very light. Everything I've heard about the Flip-Pal is has to do with its ease of use and so far I have found that to be true. It comes completely ready to use..down to having batteries not only provided but pre-installed! I've also heard a lot about its "stitching" capabilities. The scanning surface is only 4x6 but if you need to scan something larger, you do it in sections. Then the software installed on the SD card (where the scans are also stored) puts the pieces together into one image.
I decided to start with the a piece of ephemera....a joke-y check written from my dad to my mom. I scanned it in two sections..

then I popped the SD card out of the scanner. It comes with a USB to SD adapter in case your computer doesn't have an SD card reader. When I took it back to my Mac, lo and behold, I found that I actually do have a slot for the SD. Who knew? Now up until this point, this thing has been extremely simple to use. But the directions for using the SD card with my Mac were not as clearly written as the PC instructions. Or at least it seemed that way to me. I went to the Flip-Pal web site and downloaded the latest version of the stitching software and the complete user manual. After a little reading I figured it out. The rest was beyond easy. I clicked on the SD card icon on my desktop, opened the Mac folder on it and launched the stitching software. It asked me to select the scans I wanted to stitch and that was it! The software did the rest and this was the result:

Can you tell where it was stitched? Me neither. Amazing.

So this week I will be scanning my little heart out and trying my hand at some digital scrapbooking. Come along....it'll be fun!

Disclosure: I am an affiliate of Flip-Pal which means that when you click on a link, graphic or text, and then purchase from them, I receive a small referral commission. Flip-Pal provided me with an evaluation scanner to participate in the Simple Gifts Blog Hop, which I will not be required to return. My opinions and reviews in this blog, for good or ill, are purely my own. So there.

The Apple Butter Recipe

2011-11-04T10:48:00.000-05:00

You don't need very many ingredients to make apple butter.

Apples- my grandmother always used Jonathan apples. So do I. I usually buy about 1/2 bushel which is something like 40 apples. I've never tried them but you could probably use other varieties of apples such as Gala. Just don't use those nasty red delicious apples.
Sugar- the white granulated kind
Oil of cinnamon- Grandma used to buy this at the drugstore. I don't think you'll find it at your local Walgreen's though..at least I haven't. I get mine from here. It takes years to use it all up.
Red Hots cinnamon candies
Water

Equipment you'll need:

an apple peeler or corer
a large pot or two for cooking the apples
a ricer or food processor (if you're wondering what the heck is a ricer, see this post.
a crock pot
a water bath canner
canning jars and lids

I like to peel my apples first. It helps if you have one of these....

....an apple peeler and a helpful husband.

Once the apples are peeled, cook them covered pan with a very small amount of water (no more than 1/3 cup) over medium heat, stirring frequently so all the apples are cooked evenly. You may have to do this in multiple batches.

When the apples are cooked, put them through the food processor 3 or 4 cups at a time. Process a few seconds until smooth. Be careful not to over-process them...you don't want baby food or apple paste!

And keep some of the cooked apples un-processed.

Warm cooked apples sprinkled with cinnamon sugar are yummy all by themselves. Topped with vanilla ice cream they're heaven.

Put the pureed apples into a crock pot. This is a 7 qt one.

Don't fill the crock brim full. Leave room for the sugar and for simmering. Otherwise you'll have little spots of hot apple butter all over your countertop. Not that I've ever done that. Ahem. If you have more sauce than crock pot, refrigerate the extra and cook it the next day. Or just eat it.

Add 3 cups of sugar to the crock pot to start. You can always add more later.

Put the cover on and cook on high for an hour or until hot and bubbly.

Now comes the magic secret ingredient....

Add 3 or 4 drops to the hot applesauce. That's it. No more. A little of this stuff goes a long way. I use an eye dropper to measure it. Cinnamon oil is strong stuff. Be sure to rinse the eye dropper out immediately after use. If you leave the oil in the dropper overnight, it will melt the plastic. Not that I've ever done that...cough, cough.

Add a handful or two of red hots. They give the apple butter a nice color.

Continue to cook on low for 3 or 4 hours. Stir frequently scraping the sides of the pot as you go. If you don't the sauce next to the pot sides gets thicker than the rest because the sugar is direct contact with the hot pot.

Taste and add more sugar if necessary. If the apple butter seems a little thin, remove the crock lid and cook for another hour or so, letting the extra moisture evaporate a little and thicken the apple butter. It should be thick and a rich reddish brown.

While your apple butter is cooking wash your jars in the dishwasher using the heated dry setting.

Here's how my apple butter looked at the end of cooking.

Now for the canning part. Remove the wire basket that came with it and fill your canner with water. There should be a little metal tray that comes with your canner. Be sure to put it in before you heat the water. The tray keeps the jars from coming into direct contact with bottom of the pot. Heat the water to boiling. This will take a little time. It goes a little faster if you put the lid on the canner. (If you have one of those flat cook tops forget everything I just said and take your stuff to a friend's house. You can't use a canner on flat cooktops as it will break them.)

Put the jar lids you will be using in a cake pan and pour boiling water on them. Set the aside.

When you are ready to fill them, take the warm jars out of the dishwasher.

You will need one of these funnels.

It keeps the jar rim clean while you are filling it which is important for getting a good seal
When you fill them leave about 1/2 inch at the top. Check to make sure there is nothing on the jar rim (if there is, wipe it off with a damp paper towel.) and put on the lid and screw band.

As you fill each jar place it in the wire basket that came with your canner. When it is full, drop the basket into the canner.

The water should be at a full boil.
Now this next part is important. Are you listening?

There should be enough water in the canner to cover the jars by about an inch. If you get the jars in the canner and there isn't, ADD MORE. I usually keep a tea kettle of hot water on the stove while I'm canning for this purpose. After you add the water wait for it come back to a full boil.

Now put the lid on the canner and set a timer for ten minutes. When the timer goes off, turn off the heat and remove the jars. You could lift the whole basket out but I prefer to take the jars out one at a time with one of these nifty jar lifters.

As the jars cool you will hear a little *plink* sound. This is a happy sound. It means your jar just sealed. After the jars are cooled you can check the seal by pressing on the lid. If it gives even a little bit, it didn't seal. This does not mean you are a failure. Sometimes jars just don't seal. Put that jar in the frig and move on.

And that's about it. Apple butter is great on toast and biscuits. Its also good with peanut butter. Use it in place of the "J" in your PBJ sandwich.

If you have any questions leave them in the comments and I will answer them.

Have fun!

Happy Birthday to Flip-Pal!

2011-11-03T21:59:00.000-05:00

Tomorrow I'll begin blogging about my adventures creating cool stuff with my new Flip-Pal but for now I have a deal for you! Flip-Pal is celebrating their birthday by giving us a coupon for 10% off a $100 purchase! I love coupons. To get yours, just click on the Flip-Pal graphic below or in the sidebar and enter the code BDAY11A at check-out. The coupon is good through Nov. 13, 2011. Enjoy!

Tombstone Tuesday - Moses Eugene Blosser

2011-11-01T08:00:00.000-05:00

Moses Eugene Blosser

26 April 1883 - 19 Dec 1928

Forest Park Cemetery

Joplin, Missouri

Moses was my great grandfather. He died in a car accident the same year my father was born. I'm still researching this side of my family and I have yet to get much information about him. I have a lot of questions...just not so many answers!

In Which I Divulge My Grandmother's Secret Recipe to the Interwebs

2011-10-31T08:22:00.000-05:00

Image by NixBC via Flickr

Every fall my paternal grandmother Bessie Allen Gray, made apple butter. It was amazing and she was famous for it. If we were lucky, when she came to visit us she would bring a box of jars filled with the rich, cinnamon-y apple goodness. It never lasted very long. She was so famous for her apple butter that at her funeral in 1994, the preacher actually announced where the family could get it (i.e. from me) now that she was gone! I'm not kidding. That really happened. Even now, at any gathering of my extended family you can expect the inevitable question..."hey did anybody learn how to make Grandma's apple butter?" This has made me very popular in the family. Popular like a drug dealer popular.

Anyway, sometime around 1983, I decided to pay Grandma a visit and learn how to make apple butter from the master herself. Here is how she did it. First she cored and sliced the apples and cooked them in a big pan on the stovetop. When they were cooked down, she ran them through a colander-type contraption called a ricer to make a smooth applesauce. (The ricer step made peeling the apples before cooking unnecessary. The apple sauce squished through the holes in the ricer leaving the peels behind. You did have to stop every once in awhile to dump out the peels.)

This is a ricer.

If all you wanted was applesauce, you could stop here. But who wants to stop here. She then put the sauce into a huge metal pan, stirred in about 6 c. of sugar and baked it in the oven for several hours. Then came her "secret" ingredient...oil of cinnamon. It didn't take much, just 4 or 5 drops for the whole pan. She also might add a 1/2 bag of red hots to give the apple butter a darker color. After adding the oil of cinnamon she cooked it for another hour or so until it was thick and reddish brown and smelled like heaven. While it was still hot she poured it into clean canning jars, screwed on the lids and waited for the seal to pop. This is now totally against canning "rules". Nowadays you must process the jars in a boiling water bath for 10 min or someone will die a horrible death and you will go to jail.

This is the way I made my apple butter the for the many years. Minus the jail part. Then I started ~~experimenting~~ meddling.

First to go were the apple peels. I'm totally paranoid about the amount of pesticides used on apples so I began peeling the apples before cooking them. It really wasn't that much more time consuming, especially with one of these apple peeling gadgets and a husband who just loves playing with the aforementioned gadget.

My husband- peeling out.

Then there was the ricer. While its a good job for the kids, I don't have kids at home anymore. What I do have is a food processor. Much faster than the kids. Not nearly as cute though.

The next modification was the oven. There was a reason for cooking apple butter in the fall, besides the obvious reason that you had to wait for apple season. Having the oven going for several hours at a time heats up your house big time ....not a task for summertime. Then one day I realized I had a crock pot. Actually I have two crock pots. And it would be a heck of a lot easier to cook the apple butter in the crock pot than in a big heavy metal dish pan that had to be put in and out of the oven while hopefully not dropping any of the hot apple butter (not to mention the hot pan itself) on your toes. I found it much safer and easier using the crock pot and the apple butter tasted just as good. Go me.

Finally, I decided to play it safe and actually can the apple butter in a boiling water bath. It doesn't take that long and I feel a lot better about giving it away to people I like and do not want to poison. People I don't like on the other hand......

Next: My not-so-secret recipe for apple butter a la Grandma.

(very) Early Christmas!

2011-10-28T17:46:00.000-05:00

Christmas came early this week when I was selected for the Simple Gifts Blog Hop sponsored by Flip-Pal™ and Thomas MacEntee of High Definition Genealogy! The good folks at Flip-Pal have provided me with one of their amazing scanners and I will be blogging about my experiences using it to create crafts and gifts for my family. I have some ideas for Christmas gifts and as we are also expecting a new grandson around Christmas, I'll be thinking about how to use it for baby gifts as well.

My fellow blog hoppers (kind of makes us sound like rabbits doesn't it?) are:

Sheri Fenley - The Educated Genealogist - http://sherifenley.blogspot.com

Drusilla Pair - Find Your Folks - http://www.findyourfolks.blogspot.com

Marian Pierre-Louis - Roots and Rambles - http://rootsandrambles.blogspot.com

Caroline Pointer - For Your Family Story - http://www.4yourfamilystory.com/blog.html

Heather Wilkinson Rojo - Nutfield Genealogy - http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com

Julie Cahill Tarr - GenBlog - http://genblogjulie.blogspot.com

I can't wait to see what cool stuff everyone comes up with! The Simple Gifts blog hop runs from Friday, November 4, 2011 through Friday, November 25, 2011. Hmm...maybe I'll even get some gifts done BEFORE Christmas Eve.

Disclosure statement: Couragent, Inc. has provided me with an evalution unit Flip-Pal scanner for purposes of providing a review. I received the scanner at no charge to me and I am under no obligation to return the product but can keep it for me own personal use. So there.

New iPhone App

2011-10-27T14:48:00.000-05:00

Recently, I have been having fun on the new-to-me website 1000memories.com ever since I first heard about it on a Geneabloggers Radio show. Now I just heard that they have come out with a brand new iPhone app called Shoebox. You can "scan" photos with the camera on your iPhone (or iPod Touch in my case) and then crop, rotate, straighten all within the app! You can also record the stories behind the photos as well as tag them. Pretty slick! Can't wait to play with it!

Wordless Wednesday - Jennie Shively

2011-10-19T09:32:00.001-05:00

Jennie Moore Shively
1848-1933
wife of David Shively

Guest Post by My Dad

2011-10-18T13:15:00.002-05:00

In my family we are rabid, unapologetic, orange bleedin' Okla. State Cowboys. It all started with my dad. Homecoming is coming up at OSU and on their website they asked former students to write about their experiences. I sent the link to Dad and told him he HAD to write something for this. Because I'm just bossy that way. Anyway, I loved his story and with his permission, I am posting it here.

Mystory began in September 1945 in a Model A Ford named Pluto. At 35 miles anhour the journey had taken all day but finally the Fire Station Tower wasvisible on the horizon and then gradually the rest of the campus of Oklahoma A.and M. I didn’t know what to expect. I had never been to Stillwater orOklahoma. No member of my family had ever been to college. I was going to haveto make my own way and it was more than a little scary.

ButA. & M. turned out to be a pleasant place. Enrollment was about 5,000,mostly young ladies, many waiting for their Johnny to come marching home fromWorld War II. There were no fast food places, no Student Union, no Eskimo Joes.There was no school mascot. Pistol Pete was still alive. I guess no one thoughtto ask him about it. Parking was no problem. Tuition was 75 dollars a semester.Since I was from out of state I paid 120 dollars. It seemed like a lot.

Outat Stillwater airport hundreds of fighters and bombers were beingsystematically beaten back into plowshares or refrigerators or something elseuseful. Someone said it was one of the largest air forces in the world . . .for a while.

Thefootball team went undefeated that year including a Sugar Bowl win and beat OUso bad they fired their coach and went out and acquired a whole new team It wasa mistake to embarrass that rich bunch like that. Decades of defeat would passbefore we beat them again.

Semesterfinals weren’t held until after Christmas in those days so there was time fordecorating trees and Christmas dances and parties and girls in long dresses.

Itall came to a screeching crash in January though, when hundreds of veterans hitcampus. I heard enrollment doubled overnight. You couldn’t find a place to liveor even get a cup of coffee without standing in line. The second semesterenrollment process was a disaster. It took a while to sort the whole mess outbut that was the beginning of OSU’s future . . . and mine, too.

Gene Allen

Class of 1950

BS Business Administration

2011-10-17T08:31:00.001-05:00

Not even I am obsessed enough......

Wordless Wednesday - Naomi Shively

2011-10-12T06:27:00.000-05:00

Naomi Shively

1843-1912

Just for Genie-Techie's

2011-10-07T10:54:00.003-05:00

Check out Caroline Pointer's new newsletter for us tech-obsessed genealogists. Should be a great read......She definitely knows whereof she speaks!

Tombstone Tuesday - John L. Haworth

2011-10-04T09:50:00.000-05:00

John Leonard Haworth

14 Aug 1848 - 4 Feb 1907

Civil War Veteran- Union

3rd Tennessee Infantry, Co. K

Mt. Vernon, MO Cemetery

Wordless Wednesday - Olive Shively

2011-09-28T07:39:00.000-05:00

Olive Shively
1865-1920

Tombstone Tuesday - Lost Creek Friends

2011-09-27T07:08:00.000-05:00

My Haworth ancestors were founding members of Lost Creek Friends Church in New Market, TN. The large field behind this marker was the original cemetery next to the church. This once large cemetery was probably destroyed at the same time the original church building was burned during the Civil War. Even though this part of Tennessee had many Union supporters, it was still a risky thing to be an abolitionist in that time and place. Quakers were known for their anti-slavery views which made the church an easy target. After the war the church founded a new cemetery across the road.

In praise of worthy genealogists

2011-09-26T23:13:00.000-05:00

I came of age in the time of campus protests, disco balls and tie-dye t-shirts. The phones in my parents house had rotary dials.We never owned a dishwasher (Dad: "Why do I need a dishwasher when I already have 3!") Our television would display every shade of black or white and required a pair of pliers, not a remote, to change the channels of which there were 3. Four if you count the public station. When I wanted to communicate with my parents from college I usually wrote a letter (remember those..paper? stamps?) because long distance collect calls were expensive. On the other hand my college daughter just picks up her cell phone. Anyway, you get the picture. I'm sure most of you have similar stories. Bottom line, I am old enough to still marvel at technology that sometimes seems almost magical.

But I came of age, in the genealogical sense, in the Internet age. My research is mostly online. I store it on my computer with a specialized genealogy database. It is double-click, drag and drop instant gratification. I admit it. I am spoiled. So my hat is off to all of you who were researching your families before computers and cell phones took over our culture. I would like to think that I would have eventually found genealogy without the technology but frankly, I doubt it. To have to send a letter for every record then waiting weeks and months for information that would only maybe take me back one generation on just one family line.... well, I don't think I would have had the attention span. I would probably have collected a couple of records, filled out a family group sheet or two and then been distracted by basket weaving or something.

So I have nothing but admiration for my genealogy "elders". I just doesn't seem right that those of us who came so late to the party, should have it so easy. You have spent decades collecting information that nowadays can be obtained in a few hours on the Internet. That kind of dedication requires a strength of character and commitment that is becoming as rare in our society as the milkman. Or transistor radios. Or vinyl records. Okay, now I'm really getting depressed.

Welcome to the future!

Laptop or iPad, that is the question

2011-09-21T19:05:00.000-05:00

Image via Wikipedia

There is an excellent article by James Tanner on the FamilySearch "Tech Tips" blog that brings up a question I have been pondering: should I take a laptop or an iPad to Rootstech? Please note that I don't currently own either one. But if I did, which would be more useful? I'm leaning toward a laptop simply because of the keyboard but I would love some input on this question. Help!

Tombstone Tuesday - Murphy Dreher

2011-09-20T13:49:00.000-05:00

Okay, this one was too good to pass up.

One of my favorite writers, Rod Dreher, recently lost his beloved sister to cancer. He wrote a beautiful post on his blog about her life and her funeral. Included in the post was a picture of his uncle's headstone, who is buried near his sister. It reads "This ain't so bad- once you get used to it". What a character! I would have loved to have met this guy.

Tombstone Tuesday - Jonathan & Nancy Haworth

2011-09-20T07:16:00.000-05:00

Haworth Family Cemetery- near New Market, Jefferson, TN

Its always interesting to see a maiden name on a tombstone. Apparently Jonathan's wife went by her middle name as another tombstone in the cemetery, for their son John, gives 'Jane' as the mother's name.

The Tech Savvy Genealogists' Meme

2011-09-18T19:02:00.000-05:00

A great challenge from Geniaus: Are you a tech savvy genealogist? I got 30 our of 50. Not too shabby for a newbie. Who knew "geek" and "genealogist" were not only NOT an oxymoron but dovetailed so nicely?

The Tech Savvy Genealogists' Meme

The list should be annotated in the following manner:

Things you have already done or found: bold face type

Things you would like to do or find: italicize (colour optional)

Things you haven’t done or found and don’t care to: plain type

Feel free to add extra comments in brackets after each item

Which of these apply to you?

Own an Android or Windows tablet or an iPad
Use a tablet or iPad for genealogy related purposes
Have used Skype to for genealogy purposes
Have used a camera to capture images in a library/archives/ancestor's home
Use a genealogy software program on your computer to manage your family tree
Have a Twitter account
Tweet daily
Have a genealogy blog
Have more then one genealogy blog
Have lectured/presented to a genealogy group on a technology topic
Currently an active member of Genealogy Wise (member but not so active)
Have a Facebook Account
Have connected with genealogists via Facebook
Maintain a genealogy related Facebook Page
Maintain a blog or website for a genealogy society
Have submitted text corrections online to Ancestry, Trove or a similar site
Have registered a domain name
Post regularly to Google+ (have account but don't post much...yet.)
Have a blog listed on Geneabloggers
Have transcribed/indexed records for FamilySearch or a similar project
Own a Flip-Pal or hand-held scanner
Can code a webpage in .html
Own a smartphone
Have a personal subscription to one or more paid genealogy databases
Use a digital voice recorder to record genealogy lectures
Have contributed to a genealogy blog carnival
Use Chrome as a Browser
Have participated in a genealogy webinar
Have taken a DNA test for genealogy purposes
Have a personal genealogy website
Have found mention of an ancestor in an online newspaper archive
Have tweeted during a genealogy lecture
Have scanned your hardcopy genealogy files
Use an RSS Reader to follow genealogy news and blogs
Have uploaded a gedcom file to a site like Geni, MyHeritage or Ancestry
Own a netbook
Use a computer/tablet/smartphone to take genealogy lecture notes
Have a profile on LinkedIn that mentions your genealogy habit
Have developed a genealogy software program, app or widget
Have listened to a genealogy podcast online
Have downloaded genealogy podcasts for later listening
Backup your files to a portable hard drive
Have a copy of your genealogy files stored offsite
Know about Rootstech
Have listened to a Blogtalk radio session about genealogy
Use Dropbox, SugarSync or other service to save documents in the cloud
Schedule regular email backups
Have contriibuted to the Familysearch Wiki
Have scanned and tagged your genealogy photographs
Have published a genealogy book in an online/digital format

The Sidetracked Genealogist

2011-09-18T15:00:00.000-05:00

I never get sidetracked. Oh no. I just started to write a post about connecting with my cousins on Facebook and needed the picture that started the initial discussion. I have now spent an hour looking for said picture. I think FB must have swallowed it. So an hour later I have no post and no picture. I think I"ll go knit.

Your Story is Important

2011-09-12T08:51:00.000-05:00

Your Story is Important: Preserve It

I found a great article on Ancestry. We tend to dismiss our own experiences as not important enough to write down. But they are important and future generations will treasure them just as we treasure the diaries and letters of our ancestors.

Welcome!

2011-09-06T18:32:00.000-05:00

photo by alborzshawn

Welcome to my new home...er...blog! Since November, 2010 I have been blogging at Family Tree Firsts on the Family Tree University web site. I'm still blogging there and I love visitors (hint, hint). But I thought it was time to create my own little bloggy outpost on the internets. I am a collector of stories. Sometimes the stories are sad, sometimes tragic. sometimes quirky but never, ever boring.