tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5175406033019361042024-03-05T02:41:56.106-08:00Gopher GenealogyGopher Genealogy by Susan LeBlanc provides information about research, lectures, published articles and book reviews, and Serendipity Moments that are the results of searching for ancestors both personally and for clients. The objective of the blog is for others to receive insight and inspiration in doing their family history research. It is an evolving method of communication and input from reviewers is welcome.gophergenealogyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03440793574085228625noreply@blogger.comBlogger454125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-517540603301936104.post-42163476723772405262023-01-12T08:19:00.001-08:002023-01-12T08:19:22.384-08:00Serendipity moment of the day - I finished sorting the collection of research materials I gathered for over 50 years. This work in progress has consumed my time since “Covid’ struck three years ago. Actually about a year before that I sorted all genealogy matter found in my office in preparation for this project. Since retirement and our move to the new to us house in 2015, things worked very gophergenealogyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03440793574085228625noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-517540603301936104.post-364902836855062882022-11-22T19:34:00.002-08:002022-11-22T19:34:32.546-08:00Saints and Strangers22 November 2022
Saints and Strangers is an amazing show. There are two parts. We descend from Stephen Hopkins through Daniel Tidd and Sarah Jane Eldridge, husband and wife. Stephen is nine generations out from Sarah and thirteen generations from me. The show really brings history to life. I am grateful for our ancestors and the sacrifices they made in coming to this country. The book Saints andgophergenealogyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03440793574085228625noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-517540603301936104.post-79980116707255327972022-11-21T14:35:00.007-08:002022-11-21T14:35:44.019-08:00Gratitude for Animals21 November 2022
I love wildlife. Not really so much up close and personal, but certainly in pictures. The birds have flocked to our backyard looking for a winter treat. The hummingbirds are my favorites. My next favorites are the small birds. I love to see a matched set, female and male. Then there are the days when the babies are fledging from their nests. My phone camera helps to capture gophergenealogyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03440793574085228625noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-517540603301936104.post-12167391116017268842022-11-16T14:22:00.004-08:002022-11-16T14:22:30.255-08:00Friends - Today, Tomorrow, Forever16 November 2022 Today I am grateful for friends. Some I have known for forever and others I just became acquainted with. The best of them listen to my struggles and offer warm hugs when times get tough. The memories of sharing the experience of raising young children cause me to reflect on some very special friends. Those that have passed on are treasured. My life would not be nearly as gophergenealogyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03440793574085228625noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-517540603301936104.post-58561195553013088122022-11-15T23:00:00.007-08:002022-11-15T23:00:50.368-08:00My Memories of My Mother15 November 2022
My mother is a great blessing in my life and the lives of our family. Her family moved to Oregon in September of 1941 and she has lived here ever since. In that time she lived in Portland, St. John's Woods, St. Johns, Linton, Portland and Clackamas. Overall, for the majority of her life Portland was her home. At the age of twenty she married my father and together they raised gophergenealogyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03440793574085228625noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-517540603301936104.post-28949613205099337972022-11-14T18:01:00.002-08:002022-11-16T16:05:36.904-08:00Our Father Who Guides Us Still14 November 2022 Today would have been my father's 88th birthday and I am so thankful for the short time I had with him on this earth. He has been gone thirty four years. It seems like just yesterday we were kneeling by the bridge steps he was working on at their home, discussing the impact of his brain tumor on his life. The two years he spent fighting this disease were admirable, his courage togophergenealogyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03440793574085228625noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-517540603301936104.post-80060470011264985782022-11-13T18:44:00.003-08:002022-11-13T18:44:32.597-08:00Family Members, New Discoveries, Private Stories 12 November 2022 Today I am grateful for my family. This includes my husband David, all six of our children, their spouses, our six grandchildren; my two brothers, my sister and their families. Then there are my two uncles and nineteen cousins (up from twelve). DNA has been a big factor of finding unknown cousins still living that we did not know. These are people who play significant roles in gophergenealogyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03440793574085228625noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-517540603301936104.post-22839524621882379872022-11-13T18:41:00.000-08:002022-11-13T18:41:05.582-08:00Original RecordsNovember11 2022 I love the process of doing Family History work. When things seem to magically appear when they are needed most or least expected. In the past couple of years it seems when I have a question the answer comes. DNA is certainly a large part of the process. Yesterday a book I ordered came in the mail. I had already read a transcription of this small book, but now I have the original gophergenealogyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03440793574085228625noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-517540603301936104.post-29082859999516695292022-11-13T18:38:00.000-08:002022-11-13T18:38:03.245-08:00Do We Really Know Our Ancestors10 November 2022 I put away Halloween decorations and put out some of the Thanksgiving decorations. I am not into spooky things, but I do like the childlike wonder of the holidays. The weeks in between seem to pass so quickly and these days this is even more true. For November I enjoy looking at depictions of the Pilgrims, and other symbols of their lives. I ponder about what their lives were gophergenealogyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03440793574085228625noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-517540603301936104.post-50541945241217609902022-11-13T18:35:00.001-08:002022-11-13T18:35:11.033-08:00Grandchildren - A Ray of Sunshine9 November 2022 I am so very grateful for our grandchildren. So far we have six, three boys and three girls. They are like a ray of sunshine on a cloudy day. Today was a day to slow down and recover some from a busy week. These days give me time to pause and reflect on all of our many blessings. Each of the six are so unique. They are loving, caring, thoughtful, patient especially with me, gophergenealogyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03440793574085228625noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-517540603301936104.post-40092994502181776882022-11-13T18:33:00.000-08:002022-11-13T18:33:14.568-08:00Book Serendipity8 November 2022 Another book serendipity moment. Somehow in my purchase of books for the writing of our family history I managed to buy only one I already had a copy of. I was thinking that it did not really have information about the families we are researching. It is, “A History of the Cutter Family of New England,” by Dr. Benjamin Cutter in 1871. There are four entries in the index for the gophergenealogyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03440793574085228625noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-517540603301936104.post-64393425929061200832022-11-13T18:29:00.009-08:002022-11-13T18:29:59.688-08:00Medical Personal and Gratitude7 November 2022 I am celebrating the good news that since my most recent lab work results were so good that I can bypass the annual MRI until a year from now. That reprieve means a lot to me. Having several medical conditions and quite a group of doctors is a huge challenge. This year I received another new General Practitioner (6 in 6 years), a new Dermatologist and a new OBGYN. I still have thegophergenealogyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03440793574085228625noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-517540603301936104.post-78568416990151194882022-11-13T18:27:00.001-08:002022-11-13T18:27:15.638-08:00Opportunity to Vote6 November 2022 I am grateful to have the opportunity to vote. The results may not always be what we want, but hopefully the candidates listen to the concerns of the citizens in the process. My prayer is that we can hold onto our homes, have health care we can still afford to use and gas that does not become too expensive to use. I have been voting since I was eighteen and one of the first young gophergenealogyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03440793574085228625noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-517540603301936104.post-60911199905186403042022-11-13T18:23:00.003-08:002022-11-13T18:23:59.565-08:005 November 2022 For day 5 of gratitude my focus is on quiet moments to catch up on the order of life. It is great to have a day at home when you can sort, clean, and declutter. It feels so good to put order to paperwork, computer files, calendars and all the things that make our lives run more smoothly. Maybe this has to do with the change of time last night. So grateful for an extra hour of gophergenealogyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03440793574085228625noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-517540603301936104.post-64082210286047833092022-11-13T18:22:00.001-08:002022-11-13T18:22:13.116-08:00Working with Public Employees4 November 2022 Today I recovered from the activity of the day before. Being retired certainly changes the pace of life. On the days that I am at home I visit more with my family and friends on the phone. The ability to share our lives through electronic devises is critical. I love it when I talk with our grandchildren and they give me a tour of their home and things they are working on. Then gophergenealogyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03440793574085228625noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-517540603301936104.post-83574052362436169792022-11-13T18:17:00.001-08:002022-11-13T18:17:32.527-08:00Thankfulness Transferred, Basis of Gratitude3 November 2022 On this day I want to focus on Thoughtfulness. In our world this is one of the most important characteristics that we can develop. Today I had an appointment at 7:30 am at the dentist. It is very hard for me to get out of the house by 6:30 am. I am grateful that my husband David drives me to most medical appointments. It was very dark when we left, but at least the rain held off gophergenealogyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03440793574085228625noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-517540603301936104.post-84812044500678271192022-11-13T18:15:00.007-08:002022-11-13T18:15:57.189-08:00Gratitude Grows2 November 2022 There is so much in my life that is good. I am grateful for opportunities that help me to grow and learn new things. Our parents were amazing. They always put our family first. As I learn of new discoveries in their lives my gratitude grows. We grew together in a small four bedroom, one bathroom home. As four siblings we learned to share so many things. We learned patience, gophergenealogyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03440793574085228625noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-517540603301936104.post-81297275108306383132022-11-13T18:10:00.000-08:002022-11-13T18:10:30.314-08:00Downsizing to a Smaller Home13 November 2022 On this day I am thankful for the blessings of living in our home in Scappoose for seven years. When we were out looking at houses and totally not finding what we wanted, our daughter spotted this home that had just been listed. We made an offer and it was accepted right away. Then the real work began in packing up our belongings gathered over 37 years. It meant sorting, gophergenealogyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03440793574085228625noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-517540603301936104.post-8861225671543903662022-11-08T15:52:00.003-08:002022-11-08T15:52:45.676-08:00Grateful for Medical Personal7 November 2022 I am celebrating the good news that since my most recent lab work results were so good that I can bypass the annual MRI until a year from now. That reprieve means a lot to me. Having several medical conditions and quite a group of doctors is a huge challenge. This year I received another new General Practitioner (6 in 6 years), a new Dermatologist and a new OBGYN. I still have thegophergenealogyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03440793574085228625noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-517540603301936104.post-45260483698649576942022-11-04T23:00:00.004-07:002022-11-04T23:00:43.353-07:00Sticky NotesI try to winnow down the stack of sticky notes by putting information for individuals and families in my genealogy database. Even phone numbers, addresses and other ways that I communicate with them. For friends and associates I created a list for contacts and even their family members in a word document. I did this when I was having major surgeries so my family would know who to communicate withgophergenealogyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03440793574085228625noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-517540603301936104.post-50438973244957811002022-11-01T23:44:00.006-07:002022-11-01T23:44:36.786-07:00 GRATITUDENovember 2022 is here and fall is preparing us for the winter months. Life feels like we are slowing down. I am grateful for the seasons in our world and the seasons in our lives. There are still many challenges in our world. This may prove to be a difficult season for those who do not have secure employment. I have read several books on Christmas in preparing for the advent season. A couple of gophergenealogyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03440793574085228625noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-517540603301936104.post-21729800275137137472022-10-28T00:47:00.001-07:002022-10-28T00:47:07.270-07:00PERSI Articles - a Virtual Gold mine via. Snail mailPERSI Articles - a Virtual Gold mine via. Snail mail
We received another set of six PERSI articles. They were prompt in meeting the estimate of two months for delivery. This time there were two of the same article twelve years apart, 1898 and 1910. They were for a court case. One is eight pages the other is for six pages. The main difference was the size of the text and some corrections made gophergenealogyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03440793574085228625noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-517540603301936104.post-90708398431650414322022-10-22T05:19:00.007-07:002022-10-22T05:34:29.877-07:00Documenting Family CollectionsI have been busy documenting my family collections. It is fun taking pictures that I can use in writing the book. Years ago I scanned over 1,000 pictures and items, but the quality is so much better now that I want to update at least some of the pictures. As I create books for all of my ancestral lines I will gradually upgrade the pictures and file them with more detailed citations. This time I gophergenealogyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03440793574085228625noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-517540603301936104.post-85574308317531018082022-10-22T05:18:00.002-07:002022-10-22T05:36:41.069-07:00Inventory Your Way to OrganizationOctober 13, 2002 I finished inventorying my family history collection for the Tidd family. As part of the process the collection for each family is now kept together in my lateral files. Now back to sorting a few more digitized pages and on to the final writing. In sharing my progress it helps me to stay focused. The collection includes over 50 items, 150+ letters, 1870 to 1977, and 55 postcardsgophergenealogyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03440793574085228625noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-517540603301936104.post-91565516887188605922022-10-22T05:14:00.006-07:002022-10-22T05:23:38.178-07:00Loving DNA new found familyDNA has helped me to discover so much about our family. Using this tool along with conventional research leads to great results.gophergenealogyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03440793574085228625noreply@blogger.com0