Genea-Musings

Friday, August 4, 2017

Genealogy News Bytes -- 4 August 2017

Some of the genealogy news items across my desktop the last three days include:

1) News Bytes:

* MyHeritage Acquires the Legacy Family Tree Software and Webinar Platform

* Preserve the Pensions Announces Resumption of Document Conservation at National Archives

* Dutch Genealogy News for July 2017

* New Season of PBS Genealogy Program, “Finding Your Roots” Starts October 3

2) Record Databases:

* New Records Available to Search This Findmypast Friday, 4 August 2017

* Best of New and Updated Genealogy Records Collections

* Chronicling America Updates - July, 2017

3) Genealogy Education:

* 2017 International Genetic Genealogy Conference will be December 9-10 in San Diego. Register at http://i4gg.org/registration/

* BIFHSGO Conference Early Bird Deadline Approaching

* Upcoming SCGS Webinar, 5 August, 10 a.m. PDT: Using atDNA to Verify and Expand Genealogy, by Emily Aulicino

* Upcoming Family Tree Webinar, Wednesday, 9 August, 11 a.m.: "A Taxing Matter: Using Tax Lists in Genealogy" by Judy G. Russell.

* Archived Family Tree Webinars webinar: Tracing Your West Country Ancestors, by Kirsty Gray.* Archived Family Tree Webinar: Using Manuscript Collections, by Mary Hill, AG.

* 23andMe YouTube Channel: Damon and Jo's 23andMe DNA Journey

* BYU Family History Library YouTube Channel: Relatives Around Me, by Nicky Smith

* Family History Fanatics YouTube Channel: Are Your DNA Ethnicity Results Accurate?

* Genealogy Quick Start YouTube Channel: Reunion Genealogy

* Lisa Louise Cooke's genealogy Gems YouTube Channel: Historical newspaper research just got better with this awesome website

* The In-Depth Genealogist YouTube Channel: Chit-Chat Live: CanGen Summit

* George G. Morgan and Drew Smith's The Genealogy Guys Podcast #330 - 2017 July 30

4) Genealogy Bargains:

* Genealogy Bargains for Friday August 4, 2017

* Save 50% on Legacy Software and Yearly Webinar Subscription

5) Neat Stuff:

* Absolutely Free Genealogy Research Sites for Every Single U.S. State

* Finding Living Relatives

* The Genealogy Industry Infographic (2015)

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The URL for this post is: http://www.geneamusings.com/2017/08/genealogy-news-bytes-4-august-2017.html

Copyright (c) 2017, Randall J. Seaver

Please comment on this post on the website by clicking the URL above and then the "Comments" link at the bottom of each post. Share it on Twitter, Facebook, Google+ or Pinterest using the icons below. Or contact me by email at randy.seaver@gmail.com.

Who Knew? Lizzie Borden is my 6th Cousin Twice Removed

I read today that this is the 125th "anniversary" of the death of Lizzie Borden's parents in Fall River, Massachusetts, ostensibly at the hand of Lizzie herself (although she was acquitted of their murder).

Of course, when someone famous in New England pops up in the news, I wonder if I am related to that person. Am I related to Lizzie Borden?

Here is the relationship chart provided by Geni.com showing my relationship to Lizzie:

The common ancestor is Elizabeth (Mott) (Ricketson) Wing (1659-1723), who married (1) William Ricketson (1636-1691) (and they had six children, including Lizzie's ancestor Elizabeth Wing (1684-1732)) and (2) Matthew Wing (1674-1724) (and they had three children, including my 6th great-grandfather, Benjamin Wing (1698-1776)).

I know that my grandmother, Alma Bessie (Richmond) Seaver (1882-1962), who was Lizzie's 6th cousin, would have been horrified if she had known about her relationship. My cousins and my brothers will be amused by this revelation. My children and grandchildren will ask "Who is Lizzie Borden? There goes grandpa off on another wild-relative chase." Me? I'm just glad to find some blog fodder today! My relative may have been an ax murderer!

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Disclosure: I receive a complimentary subscription to Geni.com, which I appreciate. I have received no other material compensation from Geni.com, but have from their current owner, MyHeritage.com.

The URL for this post is: http://www.geneamusings.com/2017/08/who-knew-lizzie-borden-is-my-6th-cousin.html

Please comment on this post on the website by clicking the URL above and then the "Comments" link at the bottom of each post. Share it on Twitter, Facebook, Google+ or Pinterest using the icons below. Or contact me by email at randy.seaver@gmail.com.

New Records Available to Search This Findmypast Friday, 4 August 2017

I received this information from Findmypast today:

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Over 4 Million New & Exclusive United States Marriage Records Available to Search This Findmypast Friday

There are over 4.4 million new records available to search this Findmypast Friday, including:

United States Marriages

Over 4.3 million new records covering Nevada and California have just been added to our collection of United States Marriage records. Exclusively available at Findmypast, the new additions have never before been released online and mark the latest phase of our efforts to create the single largest online collection of U.S. marriage records in history. Covering 360 years of marriages from 1650-2010, when complete this landmark collection will contain at least 100 million records and more than 450 million names from 2,800 counties across America.

Each record includes both a transcripts and an images of the original documents that will reveal the date of the marriage, the full names of both the bride and groom, their birthplaces, birth dates, ages, residence as well as fathers' and mothers' names.

Scotland, Linlithgowshire (West Lothian), Poorhouse records 1859-1912

Our collection of Linlithgowshire Poorhouse records captures the details of more than 15,000 people who were admitted between 1859 and 1912. The collection contains a variety of different record types including admissions, deaths, discharges and sick rolls that will reveal your ancestor's admission date, behaviour during their stay, previous residence, and more.

Scotland, Linlithgowshire (West Lothian), Burials 1860-1975

Discover where your West Lothian ancestors were laid to rest with over 87,000 transcripts spanning 115 years. West Lothian, located in the south of Scotland, was known as Linlithgowshire until 1921. Each transcript that will reveal the date of your ancestor's burial, the location of their grave, their occupation, residence, death date and in some cases the names of additional family members.

New Jersey Baptisms 1746-1795

Explore more than 600 baptisms from the Township of Hannover, located in Morris County, New Jersey. Despite being small in population, the township is rich in history. It was the first settlement established in northwest New Jersey, dating back to 1685, and is situated by the Whippany River. Each record includes a transcript that will reveal when and where your ancestor was baptised as well as the names of both their parents.

New Jersey church records 1747-1794

Search church records from the Township of Hannover in Morris County. These records pertain to an active time in Hanover, with the resurgence of religious revivals kicking off around 1740. The most populous denominations in the latter half of the 1700s were Presbyterian, Society of Friends (Quaker), Dutch Reformed, Baptist, and Episcopal. Each result will provide you with a transcript that will reveal where and when the event took place. Some records may also include additional details such as the names of a spouse.

Britain, Knights of the Realm & Commonwealth index

Over 400 new records have been added to the Knights of the Realm & Commonwealth index. The index covers 17 different honours and decorations, both current and dormant, and includes records dating back to the 11th century. The Index is comprised of individual transcripts that list a recipient's name, birth year, death year (if applicable), the type of award they received and the date they received it. Transcripts can also include a biography which will often include the recipient's rank or position/occupation and any additional remarks, such as where they were dubbed.

PERSI quarterly index update

This week we've updated the Periodical Source Index (PERSI), adding 14,865 new articles, and uploaded 13,039 new images to seven different publications. The seven publications to which we've added images are as follows:

North Carolina Historical Commission Biennial Report, 1907-1924, 1944-1962
Northern Genealogist, 1895-1903
Old Times-North Yarmouth Maine, 1877-1884
Olde Ulster, 1905-1914
Ossory Archaeological Society Transactions, 1879-1886
Palimpsest, 1920-1923
Vineland Historical Magazine, 1916-1921

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Disclosure: I receive a complimentary subscription to Findmypast, which I appreciate. However, this does not affect my objectivity in reporting on this website.

The URL for this post is: http://www.geneamusings.com/2017/08/new-records-available-to-search-this.html

52 Ancestors - Week 186: #265 Mary (Hubbard) Gates (1712-before 1754) of Stow, Massachusetts

Mary (Hubbard) Gates (1712-before 1754) is #265 on my Ahnentafel List, my 6th great-grandmother, who married #264 Amos Gates (1706-1783) in 1732 in Concord, Massachusetts.

I am descended through:

* their son #132 Simon Gates (1739-1803) who married #133, Susanna Reed (1745-1833) in 1766.

* their so #66 Nathan Gates (1767-1830) who married #67 Abigail Knowlton (1774-1855) in 1790.

* their daughter #33 Abigail Gates (1797-1867) who married #32 Benjamin Seaver (1791-1825) in 1817.

* their son #16 Isaac Seaver (1823-1901) who married #17 Lucretia Townsend Smith (1828-1884) in 1851.

* their son #8 Frank Walton Seaver (1852-1922) who married #9 Hattie Louisa Hildreth (1857-1920) in 1874.

* their son #4 Frederick Walton Seaver (1876-1942) who married #5 Alma Bessie Richmond (1882-1962) in 1900.

* their son #2 Frederick Walton Seaver (1911-1983) who married #3 Betty Virginia Carringer (1919-2002) in 1942.

* their son #1 Randall Jeffrey Seaver (1943-living)

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1) PERSON (with source citations as indicated in brackets):

* Name: Mary Hubbard[1,3-4]

* Alternate Name: Mary Gates[2]

* Sex: Female

* Father: Samuel Hubbard (1687-1753)

* Mother: Sarah Clark (1681-1720)

2) INDIVIDUAL EVENTS (with source citations as indicated in brackets):

* Birth: 4 May 1712, Concord, Middlesex, Massachusetts, United States[1]

* Distribution: 2 September 1747 (age 35), bequeathed 30 pounds in will of Samuel Hubbard; Concord, Middlesex, Massachusetts, United States[2]

* Death: after 2 September 1747, before 10 December 1754 (before age 42), Stow, Middlesex, Massachusetts, United States

3) SHARED EVENTS (with source citations as indicated in brackets):

* Spouse 1: Amos Gates (1706-1783)

* Marriage 1: 7 November 1732 (age 20), Concord, Middlesex, Massachusetts, United States[3–4]

* Child 1: Oliver Gates (1733-1813)

* Child 2: Amos Gates (1735-1804)

* Child 3: Simon Gates (1739-1803)

* Child 4: Abraham Gates (1741-1806)

* Child 5: Isaac Gates (1746-1831)

4) NOTES (with source citations as indicated in brackets):

Mary Hubbard was born 4 May 1712 in Concord, Massachusetts, the second child and first daughter of Samuel and Sarah (Clark) Hubbard of Concord[1].

On 7 November 1732, she married Amos Gates of Stow in Concord[3-4]. They had five children between 1733 and 1746, all probably born in Stow.

Samuel Hubbard's will was written on 2 September 1747 and he bequeathed 30 pounds to his daughter, Mary Gates. The will was proved on 28 January 1754[2]. It is unknown if Mary was still alive at that time, or if the legacy was distributed to her or her children.

There is no known death date for Mary (Hubbard) Gates. She must have died after 2 September 1747 and before 10 December 1754, when Amos Gates married his second wife, Deborah (Thayer) Rockwood in Mendon, Massachusetts.

There is no known burial location for Mary (Hubbard) Gates.

5) SOURCES

1. George Tolman (compiler), Concord, Massachusetts Births, Marriages and Deaths, 1635-1850 (Concord, Mass. : Committee on Printing, 1894), Births, Volume I, page 80, Mary Hubburd entry.

2. "Middlesex County, MA: Probate Papers, 1648-1871," digital image, American Ancestors (http://www.AmericanAncestors.org : accessed 6 November 2016), Probate Packet 12,200, Samuel Hubbard, taylor of Concord, will written 2 September 1747, proved 28 January 1754.

3. George Tolman (compiler), Concord, Massachusetts Births, Marriages and Deaths, 1635-1850, Volume II, page 131, Amos Gates and Mary Hubburd entry.

4. Clarence Almon Torrey, "Stephen Gates and Some of His Descendants," New England Historical and Genealogical Register, Volume 120, pages 161-170 (July 1966), 261-271 (October 1966), Volume 120, page 269, Amos Gates sketch.

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NOTE: Amy Johnson Crow suggested a weekly blog theme of "52 Ancestors" in her blog post Challenge: 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks on the No Story Too Small blog. I have extended this theme in 2017 to 208 Ancestors in 208 Weeks.

The URL for this post is: http://www.geneamusings.com/2017/08/52-ancestors-week-186-265-mary-hubbard.html

Thursday, August 3, 2017

Big News: MyHeritage Acquires the Legacy Family Tree Software and Webinar Platform

I received this information today from MyHeritage:

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MyHeritage Acquires the Legacy Family Tree Software and Webinar Platform

TEL AVIV, Israel & SURPRISE, Arizona, August 3, 2017 — MyHeritage, the leading global destination for family history and DNA testing, announced today its acquisition of Millennia Corporation, makers of the popular genealogy desktop software Legacy Family Tree and genealogy webinar platform, Legacy Family Tree Webinars. This is MyHeritage's ninth acquisition to date.

With hundreds of thousands of devoted users since 1997, Legacy Family Tree consistently ranks among the top three most popular and highly rated genealogy software products in the industry. The Legacy Family Tree Webinar platform — which has amassed a large and dedicated fan base since 2010 — draws speakers who are leaders in their field and covers a wide variety of topics, including genealogical research methodology, DNA, and historical records, representing a full array of educational genealogy content.

MyHeritage, which has developed a world-class, global mobile and Web platform for family trees, historical records and DNA testing, used by more than 90 million users worldwide, will now offer its services to Legacy's users.

Legacy Family Tree will retain its full staff and continue developing its software and webinar platform, backed by MyHeritage's resources. Millennia Corporation and MyHeritage have started joint work on a new version of the Legacy Family Tree software — version 10 — which will include the optional capability to sync family trees to MyHeritage’s website and use the free MyHeritage mobile app to make remote updates to their family trees on the Legacy software. Legacy Family Tree version 9 has already integrated matching to MyHeritage's 40 million family trees and to its historical records collection — which surpassed 8 billion records this week.

Legacy Family Tree Webinars will continue to feature diverse and informative content, and will be promoted to the millions of MyHeritage users, to increase the webinars' audience. The webinar platform will also enjoy infrastructure upgrades to support increased concurrent viewership.

“We are very happy with the Legacy Family Tree acquisition as it gives us valuable assets that are highly complementary to our own, and a solid team.” said Gilad Japhet, Founder and CEO of MyHeritage. “We look forward to providing Legacy's software and webinar platform with useful upgrades, and to welcoming Legacy’s huge user base of experienced genealogists to enhance their genealogical explorations through MyHeritage's services.”

“The more I’ve learned about and experimented with MyHeritage, the more I have felt we need to partner together,” said Geoff Rasmussen, founder of Legacy Family Tree Webinars. “The technology behind their online trees and historical records is incredible — second to none. MyHeritage has positioned itself to become the leader of the future of the genealogy industry and we can be a part of it. It’s the perfect match: our software and webinars combined with their resources, technologies, and international reach will help both of us accomplish our mission — to help the world find their ancestors.”

“I’m excited for us to join forces with MyHeritage,” said Dave Berdan, President of Millennia Corporation. “MyHeritage clearly cares for genealogists and continues to invest in desktop genealogy software, in contrast to one of its major rivals that has done the opposite, shutting down its desktop genealogy software and then selling it off. As we’re passionate about genealogy, our team is happy to have found in MyHeritage kindred spirits and we’re excited about the value that we can create together to benefit millions of genealogists worldwide.”

About MyHeritage
MyHeritage is the leading global destination for family history and DNA testing. As technology thought leaders, MyHeritage has transformed family history into an activity that is accessible and instantly rewarding. Its global user community enjoys access to a massive library of historical records, the most internationally diverse collection of family trees and groundbreaking search and matching technologies. Launched in November 2016, MyHeritage DNA is a technologically advanced, affordable DNA test that reveals ethnic origins and previously unknown relatives. Trusted by millions of families, MyHeritage provides an easy way to find new family members, discover ethnic origins, and to treasure family stories, past and present, for generations to come. MyHeritage is available in 42 languages. www.myheritage.com

About Millennia Corporation
Millennia Corporation is located in Surprise, Arizona. The company provides top-quality genealogy software so people can find, track, and share their family history. It is also the publisher of the award-winning FamilyTreeWebinars.com webinar series, now with more than 750 hours of quality genealogy education. For additional information on Millennia or its products, visit http://www.LegacyFamilyTree.com.
For more information about this announcement and for answers to frequently asked questions, visit:
http://news.legacyfamilytree.com/legacy_news/2017/08/legacy-family-tree-has-a-new-home-with-myheritage.html

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See Legacy Family Tree Has a New Home with MyHeritage on the Legacy News blog for questions and answers about Legacvy Family Tree software and Family Tree Webinars.

Well, this is a surprise! The consolidation of the genealogy industry continues. I can see the logic for both parties: MyHeritage gets a relatively large software user base and access to a well-designed and full featured software partner - perhaps there will be synchronization between the software and the user's MyHeritage tree, with Record and Smart Matches already being delivered to the Legacy program user. Legacy gets more customers for their software and webinar products, perhaps offered at a discount to MyHeritage users. Will Version 10 of the software be in the cloud, on a yearly subscription, and interactive with a MyHeritage tree, while still providing the excellent report and chart functions to the desktop user?

Disclosure: I have a complimentary subscription from MyHeritage, and have had it for several years. I have received material compensation from MyHeritage for travel, meals and entertainment at conferences in exchange for presentations made at luncheons and in their exhibit space. I have received material considerations from Legacy Family Tree for presentations made on several Legacy cruises. I have purchased Legacy Family Tree over the years, and have a subscription to Family Tree Webinars.

The URL for this post is: http://www.geneamusings.com/2017/08/big-news-myheritage-acquires-legacy.html

Genea-Musings Makes the Family Tree Magazine's Top 101 Best Free Family History Websites for 2017

I received this news this morning from Family Tree Magazine:

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I'm happy to share the news that your website has been named to Family Tree Magazine's list of "101 Best Free Family History Websites" in the September 2017 issue. This issue is now being mailed to subscribers and it goes on sale August 15 at select newsstands nationwide and in our online store, ShopFamilyTree.com.

Each year, Family Tree Magazine publishes the 101 Best Websites for family history to guide genealogists to the top websites where they can make family history research progress, and to honor the individuals and organizations who create those sites. This year, we focused on websites that provide genealogy information and records free to researchers.

The full list of 101 Best Websites, including your site, can also be found by perusing the listing categories at http://www.familytreemagazine.com/article/101-best-websites-2017 . Today's edition of our free, weekly email newsletter will announce the 2017 list, and we'll share the announcement on social media. You can find us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/familytreemagazine/ , Twitter at https://twitter.com/familytreemag and Pinterest at https://www.pinterest.com/familytreemag/ .

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I am very pleased that Genea-Musings was included in the list of the "Best Free Family History Websites for 2017" in the "Expert Advice" category. I saw the list in the September 2017 issue that I received earlier this week.

The categories for 2017 are (from the magazine article- they are different on the web page):

* Umbrella Offerings
* Vital and Grave Records
* Ancestors in Uniform
* From There to Here
* Mapping Your Kin
* Extra! Extra!
* Logged-in Libraries
* Ancestors Across america
* Sharing Sites
* Tech Tools
* Speaking English
* Foreign Intelligence
* History Lessons
* Expert Advice

I noted that the only other genealogy blog listed was the Ancestry Insider, although several websites on the list also have a blog component (e.g., Cyndislist, Lisa Louise Cooke, etc.).

My thanks to Family Tree Magazine for this honor - I really appreciate it.

There are many excellent FREE websites on this list - have you looked at all of them? This served as an excellent reminder to me that there is more to online genealogy and family history than the commercial sites and FamilySearch.

Disclosure: I am a Family Tree Magazine subscriber and have been for many years. I have received no material considerations, other than greetings and smiles at conferences, from Family Tree Magazine.

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The URL for this post is: http://www.geneamusings.com/2017/08/genea-musings-makes-family-tree.html

1712 Birth Record of Mary Hubburd in Concord, Mass. - Post 376 of Treasure Chest Thursday

It's Treasure Chest Thursday - a chance to look in my digital image files to see what treasures I can find for my family history and genealogy musings.

The treasure today is the 1712 birth record of Mary Hubburd in Concord, Massachusetts:

The birth record for Mary Hubburd is the 9th entry on this page:

The transcription of this record is:

"Mary hubburd Daughter of Sam^ll Hubburd and Sarah his wife was born may y^e 4 day 1712"

The source citation for this record is:

George Tolman (compiler), Concord, Massachusetts Births, Marriages and Deaths, 1635-1850 (Concord, Mass. : Committee on Printing, 1894), Births, Volume I, page 80, Mary Hubburd entry.

Mary Hubburd (1712-1754) was the second child of Samuel Hubburd (1687-1753) and Sarah Clark (1681-1720). She married Amos Gates (1706-1783) in 1732 in Concord, and they had five children.

Amos and Mary (Hubburd) Gates are my 6th great-grandparents, through their son Simon Gates (1739-1803), who married Susanna Reed (1745-1833) in 1766, and resided in Gardner, Massachusetts.

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The URL for this post is: http://www.geneamusings.com/2017/08/1712-birth-record-of-mary-hubburd-in.html

Wednesday, August 2, 2017

Changes to RootsMagic 7 in Version 7.5 and Updates

RootsMagic announced Version 7.5 on 28 June, Version 7.5.1 on 14 July, and Version 7.5.2.0 on 24 July, and I promptly downloaded it and have been using it daily.

I was curious as to the changes made since Version 7.2 and found the RootsMagic Version 7 Update History list on the Forum - see http://forums.rootsmagic.com/index.php?%2Ftopic%2F14651-rootsmagic-7-update-history%2F

Here are the changes:

7.5.2.0 - 24 July 2017

NEW: Marking a person as unchanged when "Accept changes" is clicked is now an option
FIXED: Range check errors in FamilySearch
FIXED: Facts which are built into Ancestry but not RM (like Origin and Circumcision) didn't have an option to "update" the fact in TreeShare when info was different.
FIXED: Relative names didn't show suffix in TreeShare
FIXED: Suffix differences for a person name didn't show name in yellow or allow updating the name in TreeShare

7.5.1.0 - 14 July 2017

NEW: Color coding in TreeShare
NEW: Groups in TreeShare
NEW: Choose Ancestry WebHint categories (Records, Other Trees, Photos/Stories)
NEW: Option to strip private notes when uploading
NEW: Lock icon shown next to private facts in TreeShare
NEW: Star icon shown next to primary name
NEW: Record WebHints transfer back to Ancestry as Ancestry Source (not Other Source)
NEW: TreeShare Option: Clear all "changed"
NEW: TreeShare Option: Unlink RM person from Ancestry person
NEW: WebHints "Update fact" has option to just add WebHint w/o updating data
FIXED: Backing up to google drive was creating 0 byte backups
FIXED: Adding a person from Ancestry to RM sometimes wasn't transferring fact notes, sources, or media
FIXED: Transferring a source already on Ancestry doesn't duplicate it anymore
FIXED: Adding new person to Ancestry adds media to citations
FIXED: View online in WebHints works on Mac now
FIXED: Marks person as unchanged when "Accept changes" is done
FIXED: Transferring data to living person on Ancestry sometimes toggled Ancestry living flag off
FIXED: Speed of Place Merge and Place List edit sped back up
FIXED: Some marriage events would show pink source status even though sources were the same

7.5.0.0 - 28 June 2017

NEW: TreeShare for Ancestry
- Upload RootsMagic file to Ancestry tree
- Download Ancestry tree into new RootsMagic file
- Share data between your RootsMagic file and your Ancestry tree
- Includes people, events, notes, sources, and media (both photos and document images)
- Collaborate with people you share Ancestry trees with (Editor access only)
NEW: WebHints for Ancestry
- View record hints, other member tree hints, and photo / story hints
- Directly add data from hints into RootsMagic, along with the hint citation and media
FIX: Fixes an issue with some diacritics displaying as weird symbols on screen
FIX: Fixes some issues with FamilySearch LDS ordinances

I have not noticed some of those fixes or new features as I work with RootsMagic, but I'm not downloading Web Hints, and I am only uploading content, sources and media to the Ancestry tree using TreeShare.

The user community is busy finding more things to fix and I hope the RootsMagic team is inventing new features to add to make this an even better program.

I am working on a list of things I would like to see in a future version of RootsMagic - do my readers have suggestions? If so, please comment! Or add them to the list of the RootsMagic Wish List forum page (search first to see if the wish has already been expressed).

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The URL for this post is: http://www.geneamusings.com/2017/08/changes-to-rootsmagic-7-in-version-75.html

CVGS Program Review - "Try to Remember -- Never Forget"

We had 42 attendees at the Chula Vista Genealogical Society monthly program meeting on Saturday, 29 July, including 12 guests.

They came to hear the testimony of Ruth Goldschiedova Sax, now age 89, a Holocaust survivor who was a longtime Chula Vista resident, and now lives at Paradise Village in National City. Ruth's daughter, Sandra (Sax) Scheller, has written a book about Ruth's life story titled Try to Remember -- Never Forget.

Ruth's life story includes a happy childhood in Brno, Czechoslovakia with her parents Oskar and Erna Goldschmied; the Nazi occupation starting in 1939; transportation to four different Nazi work and concentration camps; suffering and surviving unspeakable indignities at the camps; liberation and walking over 100 km back to her home town with her mother; finding that her father also survived the camps; rebuilding their lives in Brno; corresponding with a distant cousin, Kurt Sax, who went to America before the war; marrying Kurt and coming to America in about 1950; settling in San Diego and starting a family, and happily living together for over 60 years.

Ruth's testimony mainly concerned her experiences from age 11 when her world of education and culture fell apart in March 1939 when the Germans invaded Czechoslovakia. In 1941, the family was transported to Theresienstadt, a work camp where Ruth was forced to grow up quickly. She was shaved to prevent lice infestation, wrapped her feet in paper to keep them warm in the winter time, and witnessed the death of many other people. Her father Oskar was separated from them, and Ruth and her mother went to the Terezin camp, and then to Auschwitz. She faced Dr. Mengele's "live or die" judgment six times. Near the end of the war, she was in the Oederan camp and made bullets for the Germans. Finally she and her mother were liberated by the Russian Army, and reunited with her father, a miracle in itself.

Sandra showed and described the dress that Erna wore throughout the camps, a shift with a chalk X and a vertical stripe on the back. Every week, she would have to bend over and the X and stripe were painted on it again by the Nazis.

Sandra presented a slide show of Ruth's life - from childhood through reuniting with her father to her life in the San Diego area. Sandy showed several records from the concentration camps, and found her parents' love letters written over several years before their marriage (more than 1,000 of them!), and showed many photographs from the family's life in San Diego. Today, Ruth and Sandra give presentations about Ruth's life, and are working on a second book about her life.

Sharing this story is a reminder to the world that the Holocaust actually happened and that all of us must act diligently to ensure that this type of atrocity never happens again. Ruth's is an incredible and inspirational story of horror, survival, recovery, love, family, and success.

A personal note: Ruth and Kurt Sax were Randy and Linda Seaver's neighbors from 1975 to 2012, when they went into an assisted living facility. Kurt died in May 2012. We enjoyed sharing our lives, family events, and many meals, with them. They are the most positive, loving, kind, polite, generous and happy people we've ever known.

The book, Try to Remember - Never Forget, is available on Amazon in paperback, hardbound and Kindle.

Ruth's grandson, Sam, made 22 short videos with her in 2009 talking about her life experiences - see Behind Ruth's Eyes for the first one.

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The URL for this post is: http://www.geneamusings.com/2017/08/cvgs-program-review-try-to-remember.html

Sax and Goldschmied Graves in Home of Peace Cemetery -- Post 475 for (Not So) Wordless Wednesday

My friend, Kurt Sax, died in May of 2012 while we were on the Legacy cruise out of Oslo, and the family had the unveiling of his gravestone in April 2013. Here are two photographs I took at this event at Home of Peace Cemetery on Imperial Avenue in San Diego:

1) Kurt Sax gravestone:

There is a place for Kurt's wife, Ruth Goldschmiedova Sax on the left of the stone.

2) Erna and Oskar Goldschmied gravestone:

Erna and Oskar Goldschmied are the parents of Ruth Goldschmiedova Sax. They were both Holocaust survivors, as was Ruth.

Ruth and Kurt Sax were our neighbors for 37 years, and were very dear to us. Ruthie is still living, and giving presentations about her Holocaust experiences.

Did you see the "sayings" below the family names? What about the rocks on top of the gravestones?

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The URL for this post is: http://www.geneamusings.com/2017/08/sax-and-goldschmied-graves-in-home-of.html

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Friday, August 4, 2017

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