Life As a Genealogy Instructor

I love teaching, especially genealogy classes. It is stressful, time consuming, unpredictable and very rewarding. The hours just to put together a presentation and then having to update before every lecture can never be truly measured. Unlike other presenters, I do not practice the presentations out loud. Every class with me is unique, open to questions and sometimes sidetracked as those are answered. Somehow the time is magically consumed, but we manage to end pretty much on schedule.

Serendipity Moments Highlights of This Week

This week has been full of serendipity moments for me. What brings this about probably is my trying to recover from the potent viral infection that seems to be attacking everyone that I know. With teaching classes on Tuesday the 15th, Saturday the 19th, and Tuesday the 22nd, by Tuesday my voice had pretty much played out. I think that I pushed my limits and by Tuesday evening felt pretty miserable.

Hall Family Published Letters and Stories

My friend Teena came to me just over a year ago for help in organizing her family history. This I agreed to do, as she is very willing to be involved in the research. We have had such a great time exploring her ancestors. Some of this I have blogged about before, like going to two local cemeteries in search of information on the Hall and Uno families. Her Hall family is from New Zealand and they are related to John Hall who was Prime Minister from 1879-1882. She has made some amazing connections to people related to this line and they made her aware of three books about the family.

Charlestown, MA - Multiple Births Review 1663-1850

While there were earlier births in the town of Charlestown, MA., multiple births did not appear in the records until 1663. At that point there were still Tidd family members living in the town, but no multiple births are listed for them. While looking for possible family records within the books, Charlestown, MA Vital Records to 1850, Vol. I and Vol. II - Parts 1 and 2, I became intrigued by the occurrences of multiple births. Book I stops with the births of 1797 on page 446, and then they continue in Vol. II Part 1. The birth records are interspersed with Marriages and Deaths, and sometimes are given for the entire family in group format. Most are listed as having been born in Charlestown, while others it is another place or not identified.

Helping Others Find Answers by Writing Articles

In 2009 I joined the editorial team of The Bulletin, the quarterly for the Genealogical Forum of Oregon. This is a way that I can contribute as a volunteer and work mostly from my home. One of the best benefits is that I have access to a large library with check out privileges for material for the articles that I write.

The Art of Communication for Genealogists

How we communicate whether in person, through snail mail, over the phone or through online messages can quickly determine the results that we do or do not receive. Like playing the game Telephone, where one person passes on a message and then it continues to be passed to all the participants until the last person reveals the message they heard. Usually after the message has passed through several people it bears little similarity to the original message.