Enjoying Summer and the Relaxed Schedule

A week from Saturday is the actual first day of summer. With the longer daylight hours sometimes we might run out of energy before darkness even comes. As the stress of busy schedules becomes more relaxed we may become distracted from our family history work. Writing blog posts about the work being done seems to be more difficult as well.

A Clean House and Many Serendipity Moments

In less than one week from the day we received the keys to our mother's home we have emptied it and it is up for sale. As her personal representative it is satisfying to know that we are fulfilling her desires to have the house sold and begin the process of closing out the probate requirements. All the years of training and education in genealogy research have proven invaluable in navigating a very challenging path.

Mother's Day Serendipity Find

This past weekend Mocavo offered free access to their records, and having never used the website, it was time to give it a try. My test subject was Daniel Tidd, my favorite ancestor for such work. There were 223 results and looking over them page by page many were repeats or various pages from the same works. Two in particular found in NEHGS publication XIV and a Lineage Book will be investigated more fully today.

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.

Gopher Genealogy Third Blogiversary

Three years is a long time for me to be writing a blog that covers my experiences in doing genealogy which include our family, friends and clients. At times the posts may be more about family than genealogy, but many of them are about serendipity moments in which life seems to provide precious surprises of unexpected discovery. Generally the posts were written twice a week, but the past year has been very busy so the posts are about once a week. Here are some details about the posts and the readers who average about 1,000 a month.

Blessings Come to Those Who Endure

This week has been very challenging for me and our family, but in the end we received wonderful blessings as we endure to the end. The particular ending for us is my mother's estate probate and especially the removal of her accumulations and collections of almost eighty years. Growing up in the depression and losing almost everything her family had before moving to Oregon, she dearly treasured all her many special items gathered over the years. Her home was not cluttered, but discretely organized so she could enjoy her things.

Genealogy Reading - Collecting Free Material

Most genealogists are on a budget and ordering genealogy publications from societies is usually limited. Many of us belong to societies that do include ordering the publications of magazines, newsletters and quarterlies from various resources. The main problem with this is that our time in the society research facility is usually restricted to classes we attend or direct research of an ancestral line. We usually do not or are unable to take home with us copies there for member use. Today it seems many societies are removing these publications from their collections as they are out of space and/or the publications may be found online for easier access.