PERSI Articles - a Virtual Gold mine via. Snail mail

PERSI 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 rather randomly. We also have a copy of the original court document. It will be interesting to compare. Then I hope to transcribe the various copies. We want to create a list of people and places to further assist in understanding exactly what the records are telling us.

Local Radio Program - Setting the Record Straight

Friday August 9, 2019

Spent the morning doing a radio program with Melinda Bernert of KOHI in St. Helens, Oregon. We had a delightful hour chat on Setting the Record Straight: the ins and outs of genealogy, the ethics surrounding DNA testing and how to get started on your own family tree. It was the morning of the local Association of Genealogist coffee meet up at Elmers. While I did miss being with them it was well worth my time to have this other experience. It also provided an opportunity to advertise for the upcoming Columbia County Genealogy Conference on September 21, 2019 at the St. Helens Public Library. It is a free conference, but registration is required and they only have eighty spots available. Registration begins August 19 at www.ci.st-helens.or.us/library.

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 Future of My Work

I made great progress in organizing my research, class, client, volunteer work, etc. paperwork for the last few years. Following a similar process to that which was done in sorting the materials at the Watts' house, the collection is now divided up by family and personal mementos; volunteer work and donated time; my personal family research collection; the collection of work for others including clients. Those are contained in three small totes and one large tote. The remainder of materials to sort are in two large totes from when we moved. This is a project that has been patiently waiting for me!

There are a few things I learned along the way and I hope to be more careful in the future of my work. Here is a list of items to consider when processing genealogy work either for yourself or others.

Fascinating Connections through DNA

When my friend read about our recent AncestryDNA results, she mentioned how interesting it would be to see how many connections were made for someone who had well researched family tree. Being an adoptee, her research for her birth family has been a struggle. While my personal database still has much work to done on it, our online information at familysearch.org is the result of forty years of work. As mentioned in the last post our family tree database has not been placed on ancestry.com. Now that we are finally jumping into the DNA tool for advanced genealogy and family tree work, there are very few copies of my work for our family posted online. Finding DNA connections is fascinating and many of the people matching our results are found in my personal database. Viewing their family trees present some very similar links, but some have been totally different than our known ancestors.

Tasks to Be Done and Bucket List Accomplishments

Today is February 18, 2016, six weeks since my last post. One might wonder what I have been up to in all that time. Several genealogy tasks and bucket list items have been accomplished. The first major step was going through all the boxes of books and finding a place for them in our home. There are still five boxes holding books, but they are sorted and will move into the space that will come as I continue organizing our home. My mother had a huge collection of books and they were culled to those that had her name, a relative's name or a friend's name in them. Beyond those there were a few that out of curiosity will be read and then donated. Some books went to family members, friends and relatives. It feels so good to be past that task.

Cleaning Up Your Genealogy Files

The ongoing process of cleaning up genealogy files will be never ending. No matter what you do today there will always be changes to the formats used and information requirements involved. Thomas MacEntee is currently embarking on a program called a Genealogy Do-Over. This is something I have done for several of my family lines from time to time. Creating clean files, especially within online genealogy family trees, is critical to our ongoing research. Using a systematic format of recording information is the basis of researching.

Today I discovered that someone has extended my Tidd family back several generations. The changes are recent and yet there are no sources or notes to indicate how the information was accumulated. In hopes of starting a dialogue about this family information an email was sent to the contributor. The chance of a response is about 50/50. Within five hours there was a response and it was very interesting. The responder noted that they are only related by marriage, but "simply put all the pieces of the puzzle together that were already there." The person is "an unofficial full time volunteer who tries to fix things when I can." They, "put much effort into this, and it is refreshing to receive thanks instead of hate mail for their efforts."

While some of the new information included birthdates in the 1500s, it is probable that the information either came from parish registers, probate records or other community records. Some of these records were microfilmed years ago, but recently were digitized and provided online to researchers. There were records from Norfolk, England for the family that were recently noticed on familysearch.org. These more recent ones are from Yarmouth, Isle of Wight, Hampshire, England also from familysearch.org. Now it is important to go back and compare the information from both locations.

Mastering Genealogical Proof - APG Discussion Group

Eight weeks ago a new educational opportunity came to me via another Oregon APG member, Judy K. Fox. Beforehand she sent out email invitations to several local APG members inquiring in their possible interest in joining a Mastering Genealogical Proof discussion group. Having already purchased the book, and knowing those who are members of the local APG group, it seemed like a wonderful opportunity. Eight of us jumped at the chance to meet weekly to discuss the book, chapter by chapter. One did have to drop out after the first week, but the rest remained steadfast, with very few missing a week.

German Ancestors Serendipity Moments

For over forty years my genealogy contained my elusive ancestor, Mary Schaffer. She is my grandmother's grandmother. The family history has been known for years, as her husband's line was traced by two family members, Catholic Priests, who traveled to Germany to document the male line. Her husband Frank/Franz Neppl was born in Arnbruck, Germany in 1852. He and his seven siblings all immigrated to the United States between 1860 and 1880. Their parents died in Germany.

Using Local Records and Indexes

This past week my research took me to the Multnomah County Library to use the Oregon Vital Records Divorce Index. Before going, online research was done in the Oregon Marriage Indexes 1906-1924 and 1946-2008 at ancestry.com. It does seem odd that twenty-two years of marriages are missing in the index, but the index did cover the years of interest in the research. There are other indexes by counties that might provide the missing years information.

The library copy of the Divorce Index is by husband for the years 1961-2008 and they are on microfiche. A similar index is available at the Genealogical Forum of Oregon, on microfilm for the years 1946-1955, 1956-1960 and 1966-1970 and on microfiche for the years 1971-1989. So by using indexes from both of the resources one can cover the years from 1946-2008. By calling prior to making the trip I was able to confirm that they still had the index and exactly where in this very large library they were located.

Pedigree Charts and Family Group Records

Long the standard forms for recording genealogy information, pedigree charts and family group records took a mighty leap forward this week when they became printable on familysearch.org. Randy Seaver wrote a post about this today and early in the day after reading his post it was time to test the newest updates to the familysearch.org website.

The first test was for my husband's and my pedigree charts. The first four generations for each of us is pretty much filled in, but there were some missing pieces of information. Some of the dates and places for events were entered long ago when the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in 1978 encouraged members to submit four generations of family data.

Why Researchers Need to Search all Available Websites

Last week at the end of one of my genealogy classes an attendee approached me about an ancestor by the name of Ami who fought and died in the Battle of the Little Big Horn. Being the curious researcher that I am, I decided to look for someone by that name in online records about that battle. Known as Custer's Last Stand, there is a large monument erected to the memory of the soldiers that died in this battle.

20,000 Page Views and 200 Posts in Two Years

In a little over a month I will be celebrating two years of writing posts for this blog. It has been a journey of sharing important moments and thoughts about genealogy. Today marks 20,000 page views and this is the 200th post. Similar to writing a diary, this will be a keepsake for my family and friends. After posting, the content is saved to my computer and printed, then put into notebooks.

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.

Webinars for 2013 A Great Educational Opportunity

Webinars are one of the best educational investments for genealogists, as most of them cost nothing to attend. For the 2013 calendar there are now over thirty four available for registration. They average three per month and there are certainly more to come.

The two hosting groups that have posted the upcoming webinars are Southern California Genealogical Society and Illinois Genealogical Society. For both of these groups if you miss the webinar you must be a member of their society to access the archived webinars. The annual membership is quite reasonable and offers additional benefits. One of my other favorite groups is the Legacy Family Tree group and their 2013 schedule is to be posted soon. With this group you may often view the webinar for a short time after it is presented, but to receive the accompanying handouts one must purchase the CD of that webinar.

Reading is Addicting for Genealogists

This year I read some very interesting books. First I read, Albion's Seed, by David Hackett Fischer, published by Oxford University Press, 1989, 946 pages. Then I read  From Deference to Defiance, Charlestown, Massachusetts, 1629-1692 by Roger Thompson, published by the New England Historical Genealogical Society, Boston, 2012, 593 pages. These two books helped to expand my knowledge of how the United States came to be and I highly recommended them. The more I read the more I want to know and understand my own heritage. The first book I borrowed from the Genealogical Forum of Oregon and the second book I purchased from the New England Historical Genealogical Society.

Ten Steps to Getting Your Genealogy Right

Ten Steps to Getting Your Genealogy Right

1. Collect documents and information from within your own home.
2. Collect documents and information from your living relatives.
3. Input information into a computer database.
4. Source every detail on every person to validate documentation of the facts.
5. Print a pedigree chart to use as a road map.
6. Do census research on every couple on your pedigree chart.
7. Create a timeline of events in each couples lifetime.
8. Do online research for documents that are needed.
9. Research every location where a couple lived to prepare for onsite research.
10. Research collateral lines to substantiate your main line.

Phase Two: Updating and Comparing Your Family History Research

My research brief case has not left my office for a long time. It has been gathering dust and papers that need to be reviewed, discarded or filed in the right notebook. Now that the computer database has been updated, I am moving on to family group records (FGR). For the Tidd family there were printouts for four generations, Daniel Tidd Jr. 1824-1913, Daniel Tidd Sr. 1799-1869, Daniel Tidd R.W.1760- 1806, and Amos Tidd 1729-abt. 1800. Amos lived through the Revolutionary War and probably moved to New Hampshire. His death and that of his wife remain one of the unsolved mysteries in this family.

Interesting Blog Statistics

On June 25, 2011 I wrote a blog post entitled, "Genealogy Education - Enhance Your Research." That post has been the most viewed for some time and today it reached 500 views. That is more than double of any other post and more than the next two combined, which are, "Genealogists- How Our Brains Assimilate Information" with 231 views and "Genealogy Serendipity Moments - The Unvarnished Truth" with 205 views. The other two with more than a hundred views are, "Genealogists Shopping List" with 163 views and "Genealogy Serendipity Moments - The Rigg Family" with 153 views. These five out of 154 total written posts continue to be popular.

Updating and Comparing Your Family History Research

Back before computers made it so easy to have a database of my family history work, I relied upon a 15 Generation Pedigree Chart for researching away from home. This chart allowed me to have a quick reference of the work on my various family lines. Over the years I have gone through at least three of these, as I literally wore them out and taped them together. Today I usually just use the standard 6 Generation Pedigree Chart that I print from my database for the family line I am currently working on. Traveling with a flash drive makes that an easier task. One thing I like about the larger chart is I could see where my lines intersect and I color-coded each family group by country of origin. My ancestry is about 1/4 Norwegian, 1/8 German, 1/4 English, and 1/8 Danish.