Saturday, March 3, 2018

Saturday Night Genealogy Fun -- Rootin' Tootin' Genealogy Quiz

It's Saturday Night - 
time for more Genealogy Fun! 



Your mission, should you decide to accept it (cue the Mission Impossible! music) is to:


1)  
Mary Harrell-Sesniak posted a "Rootin' Tootin' True Confessions of Genealogists Quiz" on the GenealogyBank Blog two years ago, and invited readers to answer the 50 questions.  She also provided a score sheet.


2)  For this week's SNGF, let's answer her questions and see how we score.  Copy and paste my answers below and edit the list for yourself (be sure to delete or edit my comments).

3)  Please share your responses and your score in a blog post of your own, in a comment to Mary's post, or on Facebook or Google Plus.

Here's mine:

  1. _x_Gone to sleep reciting details about ancestors?    The "genea-somniac's cure!"
  2. _x_Photographed more than 20 tombstones?    Hundreds of them.
  3. _x_Had an ancestral chart, family photo, coat of arms, ship of immigration (or similar) professionally printed or framed?    A friend did it in calligraphy.
  4. _x_Figured out your kinship to someone famous?   All the time!
  5. _x_Solved a stranger’s dead-end mystery for free?    Occasionally.
  6. __Considered consulting a psychic about genealogy?   Not yet...
  7. _x_Taken a selfie in a graveyard or hugged a tombstone?   Yep.
  8. __Probed the ground or used a divining rod to locate a missing tombstone?   Nope.
  9. _x_Written your own obituary?  I did an SNGF for this.  Unlimited space.
  10. __Created a birth, marriage or death notice (obit) for an ancestor who didn’t have one?  Why do this?  I do it in my ancestor biographies.
  11. _x_Eschewed the sunshine for valuable library/research time (or met the dawn while tracing your family tree)?  Almost every Saturday from 1988 to 2004.
  12. _x_Celebrated a birthday, marriage or commemorative event of a deceased forebear?  Honored parents and grandparents anniversaries and birthdays.
  13. _x_Rescued (i.e., purchased) photos, medals or similar objects of someone not related to you?   Used to visit used book stores and thrift shops for books and photos.
  14. __Reunited lost artifacts with living relatives?  Tried to send a photo album, but she didn't want it.
  15. _x_Centered a vacation around genealogy?  Almost every year since 1990!
  16. _x_Traveled to meet a newly discovered cousin whom you met through genealogy research?   Did a "Prodigy friend" tour in 1994.  Now go to conferences.
  17. _x_Tested your DNA?  AncestryDNA, FamilyTreeDNA, 23andMe autosomal tests, and FTDNA Y-DNA and mtDNA tests.
  18. _x_Paid for others to get their DNA tested?  My wife and brother-in-law.
  19. _x_Worn clothing (t-shirts, jackets, hats) emblazoned with genealogy surnames, slogans, society names, etc.?  Lots of t-shirts, worn at conferences, seminars and to bed.
  20. _x_Upon their leaving the nest, converted your child’s bedroom (or personal space) into a genealogy room?   The Genea-cave is a former bedroom.
  21. _x_Spent more on genealogy in a month than groceries?  Easy to do at RootsTech - travel, hotel, food, stuff.
  22. _x_Collected odd records in the name of genealogy (for example, taxes)?  Have grandparents rent books and parents tax returns.
  23. __Added margin notations in books (error corrections, enhanced details)?  I refuse to write in books or on periodicals.
  24. _x_Mapped a forebear’s traipsings?  Genealogy software makes this easy to do.
  25. _x_Traveled more than 100 miles for research (library, court house)?  Furthest was to England to research in Trowbridge CRO.
  26. __Purchased something that belonged to an ancestor or that has his/her name on it (photo albums, homesteads, lineage society pins)?  Nope.
  27. __Participated in a reenactment related to your ancestry?  Nope.
  28. __Made something to commemorate genealogy (historical costumes, paraphernalia, needlepoint or model of an immigrant ship, painting, genealogy quilt)?  Nope.
  29. _x_Joined more than five lineage or genealogy societies?  Currently member of NGS, NEHGS, SCGS, SDGS, CVGS
  30. __Overlaid an ancestor’s photo on that of a living person to identify a doppelganger (look-alike)?  Not yet.
  31. _x_Downloaded, emailed or shared genealogy jokes?  Have a file folder and do a presentation for these.
  32. __Purchased a book with only a small reference to your ancestry (100 words)?  Don't think so.
  33. _x_Mentioned genealogy in your will?  Have written a codicil to be included in next revision.
  34. _x_Studied old handwriting or consulted with a handwriting expert so that you can read old documents?  Paula Sassi is local expert who has done this for me.
  35. __Made a gen-tote of gadgets for on-the-go projects (portable scanning, grave cleaning, flash drives, notepads, acid free gloves)?  Nope.
  36. __Taken a handful of dirt or a stone from a place significant to your ancestry?  Never thought to do it.
  37. _x_Diverted a mealtime conversation to genealogy?  Happens all the time!
  38. _x_Initiated conversations about ancestry with complete strangers (outside of a genealogy setting)?  Tell me your name and I'll discuss it!
  39. _x_Researched the genealogy of complete strangers?  Yep.
  40. _x_Transcribed an old document, or more than 500 genealogy records?  At least two every week.
  41. _x_Joined a dozen or more social media genealogy groups?  Facebook has many!
  42. _x_Created a genealogy blog or a public tree (online)?  Ahem.  Every place I can.
  43. _x_Published a family history book or distributed genealogy folders amongst the relatives?  Did this back in the 1990s, gave them to siblings, children, cousins, aunts, uncles.  
  44. _x_Programmed gen-destinations (court houses, cemeteries) into your GPS?  The easy way to find places!
  45. __Taken genealogy courses with the intention of receiving a certificate or other form of recognition?   Not yet, might in the future.
  46. _x_Paid to attend genealogy conferences?  Several each year.
  47. _x_Searched surnames on eBay?  Even found stuff, but never bought any.
  48. _x_Scoured thrift or resale shops for genealogical finds?  Yep, see #13.
  49. __Trespassed in the name of genealogy?  Almost did it at a private graveyard in Connecticut.
  50. _x_Dined anywhere but your dining table to avoid disturbing a genealogy project?  I used to do a lot of typing on the dining room table.  
My score:  37.  I get the "Up and Coming Genealogist Award."  I thought that I would get the "Hopelessly Hooked Family Historian" award.  


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Copyright (c) 2018, Randall J. Seaver

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