The Book Process

I am still working on my book project. The research phase includes following all the bread crumbs left by previous researchers. When I finish with one, up pops another one. It is an amazing process. After reading an article about PERSI yesterday I went to explore the new set up at Allen County Public Library in Indiana. I found that my two articles are there as well as some for the surnames, but some are missing. The best part are the new listings of some older articles and some more recent. Today I sent in a request, which they replied to promptly and started working on today. The timeliness of these new discoveries feels like true serendipity. The key to it all is keeping an orderly record of where I have been, where I am at and what I want to do in the future.

Organization Progress Since Covid 19

Susan Olsen LeBlanc 30 January 2016 I finally unpacked the last three uhaul boxes in my office. What a great feeling that is. That leaves me with a 2'x2' stack of papers from multiple ancestral families that need to be sorted. There are serious documents in there and I can hardly wait to start sorting. This has taken me years to accumulate and then I never had the time to really utilize what was found. This is a must do project before I leave my research to someone else. There are still boxes for other projects: five boxes of family pictures from 1992, ten albums to be redone from magnetic picture albums; about twenty boxes of children's school work to go through; about twenty tubs of my mother's things; postcard collections to be sorted and put into notebooks. This will not all happen right away, but making progress is about moving forward and that is what I am feeling right now! 30 January 2022 Progress made in six years. Stack of papers sorted and filed in tote for next step. Finished ten picture albums now in new albums. Six to go. Finished sixteen boxes of children’s school work. Four to go. Finished fifteen tubs of my mother’s things. Five to go. Finished all postcard collections. Yet to do five boxes of family pictures. That is 27 out of 56 albums, boxes and totes completed. About half way done. Most of this was done after Covid 19 came about. I gave some of our children their picture albums and school work!

1 May 2020 Update

May 1, 2020 starting a new month with some great things happening today. I actually slept for eight hours last night. It felt so good and then I was up by 8:30, had breakfast and emptied the dishwasher. As I was sitting down in my recliner my good friend called and reminded me that the Women's Conference session was just starting. It was so nice to watch and the messages were so uplifting. They are available at lds.org

Anderson Cousins

Finally, called my mother's cousins who live locally. Why it took me five years I am not sure, but I am so glad that I came across the slip of paper with their name on it again. We met for lunch on Friday with her sister and had a lovely visit. They also have a brother living in the area and there are other cousins. I DNA match to one of their brothers and a niece. On my blog gophergenealogy.blogspot.com there are family stories under the surnames Cole and Neppl that tell more about our ancestors. Two of the lead articles are Cole Family Migration Article and Portland, Oregon WWII Article. Now I need to write more about the Anderson family. Making connections is wonderful.

Almost Finished Initial Sorting

Almost finished with the initial sorting of twenty years of family history research. I already have notebooks for each ancestral line with family artifacts and pictures. I have sorted by families and places. I have just about finished all of my unsorted materials and now can focus on what to scan, keep in a notebook or shred. For my favorite family and New England line there is one large tote of materials. All my other ancestral lines fill just one large tote for all of them. The last large tote is for work for others which most likely will be scanned for teaching information. Any materials may be given to the clients, which I have already done. It is a long hard process, but this is over twenty years of research and numerous trips to the Family History Library in SLC. The wonderful thing is I am now at a time in my life when I can focus on organization so when I am gone the family might have some interest in it. I may also do more writing and even print a book or two. By knowing what I have there is less chance for duplication, but so far I have done well in the copies that I made.

DNA and what it can do for family history.

In 2000, probably before, I signed on for ancestry.com. In 2016 my husband and I took our first genealogy tests. In three years the journey of discovery has been amazing. At this point for me fourteen close relatives have been tested through ancestry.com. Of two immediate family members, two close family members, three first cousins, and twelve second cousins, only four second cousins am I unsure of. Of the thirteen third cousins seven are known relatives. There are a total of 40 matches through to the fourth cousins. Fourth cousins are way out there and will wait until I have more time to play with this. Searching by surname or location does help to pull up connections to the unknown.

The Watts House Collections - Compiled Family Histories

These family histories were written by family members and others who wanted to preserve the stories of the Watts family. Three of them were written in 1976 as part of the Bi-Centennial Celebration of the United States. Van Watts, while not a descendant, contributed greatly to the story and promoted the family during this time period.

The Watts Family in Oregon, 1852-1934 by James Grant Watts (1940)

History of Scappoose by James Loring Watts, son of James Grant Watts, (1976) Printed by SHS

Genealogy of the Covered Wagon Wattses by Maude Watts Collier, half-sister of James Grant Watts,

Watts by Maude Watts Collier (1934) Loose papers clipped together

"Covered Wagon Watts" by Alice Mary Watts, cousin of James Grant Watts

My Columbia County Relatives by Ida Strong Seggel, aunt of James Grant Watts (1976)

"Foghorn" Diary by Dr. John William Watts, uncle of James Grant Watts

Ben Watts Trail Log by Benjamin Marion Watts, uncle of James Grant Watts (1948-1949) 2 copies

Watts Family Encyclopedia by Van Watts (1976)

Footsteps of Watts Women by Susie Lolita Watts Almond, daughter of Robert Deady Watts and granddaughter of Francis Harrison Tyler Watts (1974)

Francis Harrison Tyler Watts family booklet

DNA - Just what does that mean?

DNA, just what does that mean to you and how will it help you in understanding your family tree?
To me it is diagnosing possible family connections, negotiating the information provided, and applying that information to your compiled family tree.

Since the first of the year our family has participated in two autosomal tests through ancestry.com and then transferred the results to FTDNA to attain more possible matches. It has been exciting to find people we match to in our family connections, comparing the information provided and then applying the information to our compiled family tree. The tests are for my husband and myself and we hope to soon have the results for a third test. These tests provide ethnicity estimates and matches from all lines of our family tree. While we have no compiled family tree at ancestry.com or FTDNA, our family tree for those who are deceased is available at familysearch.org.

Thankful for Family History

Family History is significant to so many people. The three most recent projects to fill my time revealed wonderful connections. Two have Native American roots. Two also have history that occurred very near to our new to us home. It takes hours compiling a family history from online resources, and yet that is only the beginning of understanding those families. Viewing pedigree charts that show five generations of basic information we ponder about the families each of those couples represent. Generations pass away and the descendants represent even more families.

Celebrating Life and Family Reunions

Today is my mother's 82nd birthday and she has been gone for over two years. So much has happened in those two years that I am still trying to recover. This year we sold her home, bought a new to us home and are in the process of selling our home from before. Each step of the way there is always the thought that I should call my mother as she would enjoy knowing about the changes. My children say she already knows and is keeping track. This spring my mother-in-law passed away, so we adapt once more to having a loved in a better place. The older one becomes the shorter this life seems to be. While children, grandchildren and possibly great grandchildren seem to extend the joy we know, in the end we will all pass on to the better place.

Celebrating Family

It has been a month since I last wrote a new post and finally the time has come to share in celebrating family and all that it means to me. But first, I must share that an article of mine has been published in the APGQ (Association of Professional Genealogists Quarterly) in the March 2015 issue. It took two years of waiting for just the right moment to send it to Christy Fillerup, who assumed the role of editor of the APGQ sometime last year. She was also in charge of SLIG (Salt Lake Institute of Genealogy) as director for several years. After returning home from SLIG in January and waiting to give her some time to get back on track, the article was sent and I waited to hear from her. 

Calendars and Journals

Yesterday I finished reading the last of my mother's calendars and journals. Thirty-two years of her life are documented in her own handwriting, from the ages of 46 to 78. The journals cover from 1980-1983 and 2000-2013, while the calendars fill in for the years 1986-1999 and 2006-2011. The main difference is the calendars are in small squares with more detailed information, while the journals share more of her feelings about the events in her life. Sometimes she would go on for pages about some days, while other days she would not write anything.

Sharing Personal Details in Family History and Life

Time, what a precious commodity. As humans we know that after we are born there are finite amounts of years, months, weeks, days, minutes and yes, even seconds in which to live. As the years pass it becomes apparent that this time is fleeting. Within those time periods we pass through various types of stressful situations. The mental or physical ailments of our own and others often are the most draining types of stress. When these times occur in my life there is a tendency to shut down and retreat from normal activities.

Telling the Truth or Lying and the Gray Area In Between

As genealogist's we explore the worlds of people sometimes known to us and others who are complete strangers. In the process we are given bits of information about people's lives and must discern the accuracy of the clues found within. Unfortunately there are people in this world who will lie to us in an attempt to thwart our investigative process.

Historic Novels and Genealogy Serendipity Moments

Sometimes we just need a book to read that we can escape in, to explore a different time and place. Historic novels written by authors who go to great lengths to explore information about those times and places are exceptional. One of my favorites is the author David McCullough and especially his book, 1776. The first time reading it I borrowed a copy from someone, as I was not sure if I wanted to purchase a copy. By the time the book was finished there was a deep desire to have my own copy. Fortunately one was found at a local book sale in our community, hardback for $1. This book was about the time and place where our ancestors lived and helped me to understand the experiences that were a part of their lives.