You all know how to play Wheel of Fortune -I've given you R S T L N and E just like in the Final Round on the TV game!
Take a crack at this quote:
_ .... _ _ _ _ .... R _ T .... _ S .... _ _ R _ ....
T _ .... L _ _ E .... _ _ T _ .... _ _ T ....
_ _ _ E S .... _ .... _ _ N E .... _ N _ E S T _ R.
[Note: If you can see the "..." they are spacers between words. Blogger doesn't do double spaces well. I whited them out on the blog web page.]
Extra credit if you can find the quote on a web page.
Put your answer in Comments.
Sunday, June 15, 2008
Best of the Genea-Blogs: June 8-14, 2008
Here are my picks for great reads from the genealogy blogs for this past week.
My criteria are pretty simple - I pick posts that advance knowledge about genealogy, address current genealogy issues, provide personal family history, are funny or are poignant. I don't list posts destined for the Carnival of Genealogy, or other meme submissions (but I do include summaries of them), or my own posts.
* "Pro-Gen Study Group #2" by Mark Tucker on the ThinkGenealogy blog. Mark summarizes his second month of participation in the Professional Genealogist's Study Group (this group is for genealogists considering being a professional). I am also participating in this group, and Mark is in my discussion group, but not my peer group. While this group is closed to newcomers, as Mark explains, the outline of reading and assignments has a lot of value to anybody trying to improve their research, writing and business skills.
* "My Favorite Virginia Genealogy Sources" by Arlene Eakle on the Arlene Eakle's Virginia Genealogy Blog. Arlene describes her favorite genealogy sources, and her favorite my surprise you. I agree with her choice. The problem is that they are so difficult to find and use effectively.
* "Productive research leads to new ancestral questions" by Pat Richley on the TeachGenealogy Blog. Pat describes her Study Group's field trip to the Family History Library last weekend. They had a great time, and Pat summarizes some of the research findings in this post.
* "In Viet Nam, I'm my Own Grandmother" by Megan Smolenyak Smolenyak on the Roots Television: Megan's Roots World blog. The title initially made me put this on my list, but then I read about the process Megan went through to see how she came to that conclusion!
* "WeRelate: Sources, Notes, References and Footnotes" by Denise Olson on the Family Matters blog. Denise covers these topics as they are used in WeRelate databases. Alas, they are everything I'm not good at! That's why I'm going to study extra hard this week. I really appreciate Denise's efforts to learn more about WeRelate and pass them on to make my learning easier.
* "Showing Off Your Photos in AncestryPress" by Stefanie Condie on the Ancestry.com blog. They have significantly improved the options in the AncestryPress family books, resulting in more capability and coverage. I'm almost ready to try this out! Thanks, Stefanie.
* "The Future of e-Paper" by Dick Eastman in the Eastman Online Genealogy Newsletter. Dick's timely article should be "must reading" for everyone with a genealogy cave full of books and magazines. The future can be nearly paperless! But read the comments too - many people won't do this.
* "June 13 - Friday from the Collectors - The Gift of the Photograph, Uniting Families with their History" by Lisa on footnoteMaven's Shades of the Departed blog. Lisa writes about her experiences finding family photographs and sharing them with her extended family.
* "I Still Think She's Dead - and Here's Why" by footnoteMaven (or should she now be the shadyMaven?) on the Shades of the Departed blog. fM posted last week about this photo of a female who might be dead, and she wrote this week about her reasons for thinking that she is dead. Fascinating detective work!
* "The Ancestry Newspaper Rollout. Why I Say 'Meh' " by Jennifer on the Rainy Day Genealogy Readings blog. I really appreciate blog postings without sugar coating, and this one of Jennifer's is great. I was going to write something more prolix and confusing on this subject, but Jennifer hit the nail on the head before I had a chance to find my hammer!
* "Are Genea-bloggers Journalists?" by Thomas MacEntee on the Destination: Austin Family blog. Thomas asked an important question here, and searches for the answer. My input is that "yes, in many cases, they are."
I encourage you to go to the blogs listed above and read their articles, and add their blog to your Favorites, Bloglines, reader, feed or email if you like what you read. Please make a comment to them also - we all appreciate feedback on what we write.
Did I miss a great genealogy blog post? Tell me!
My criteria are pretty simple - I pick posts that advance knowledge about genealogy, address current genealogy issues, provide personal family history, are funny or are poignant. I don't list posts destined for the Carnival of Genealogy, or other meme submissions (but I do include summaries of them), or my own posts.
* "Pro-Gen Study Group #2" by Mark Tucker on the ThinkGenealogy blog. Mark summarizes his second month of participation in the Professional Genealogist's Study Group (this group is for genealogists considering being a professional). I am also participating in this group, and Mark is in my discussion group, but not my peer group. While this group is closed to newcomers, as Mark explains, the outline of reading and assignments has a lot of value to anybody trying to improve their research, writing and business skills.
* "My Favorite Virginia Genealogy Sources" by Arlene Eakle on the Arlene Eakle's Virginia Genealogy Blog. Arlene describes her favorite genealogy sources, and her favorite my surprise you. I agree with her choice. The problem is that they are so difficult to find and use effectively.
* "Productive research leads to new ancestral questions" by Pat Richley on the TeachGenealogy Blog. Pat describes her Study Group's field trip to the Family History Library last weekend. They had a great time, and Pat summarizes some of the research findings in this post.
* "In Viet Nam, I'm my Own Grandmother" by Megan Smolenyak Smolenyak on the Roots Television: Megan's Roots World blog. The title initially made me put this on my list, but then I read about the process Megan went through to see how she came to that conclusion!
* "WeRelate: Sources, Notes, References and Footnotes" by Denise Olson on the Family Matters blog. Denise covers these topics as they are used in WeRelate databases. Alas, they are everything I'm not good at! That's why I'm going to study extra hard this week. I really appreciate Denise's efforts to learn more about WeRelate and pass them on to make my learning easier.
* "Showing Off Your Photos in AncestryPress" by Stefanie Condie on the Ancestry.com blog. They have significantly improved the options in the AncestryPress family books, resulting in more capability and coverage. I'm almost ready to try this out! Thanks, Stefanie.
* "The Future of e-Paper" by Dick Eastman in the Eastman Online Genealogy Newsletter. Dick's timely article should be "must reading" for everyone with a genealogy cave full of books and magazines. The future can be nearly paperless! But read the comments too - many people won't do this.
* "June 13 - Friday from the Collectors - The Gift of the Photograph, Uniting Families with their History" by Lisa on footnoteMaven's Shades of the Departed blog. Lisa writes about her experiences finding family photographs and sharing them with her extended family.
* "I Still Think She's Dead - and Here's Why" by footnoteMaven (or should she now be the shadyMaven?) on the Shades of the Departed blog. fM posted last week about this photo of a female who might be dead, and she wrote this week about her reasons for thinking that she is dead. Fascinating detective work!
* "The Ancestry Newspaper Rollout. Why I Say 'Meh' " by Jennifer on the Rainy Day Genealogy Readings blog. I really appreciate blog postings without sugar coating, and this one of Jennifer's is great. I was going to write something more prolix and confusing on this subject, but Jennifer hit the nail on the head before I had a chance to find my hammer!
* "Are Genea-bloggers Journalists?" by Thomas MacEntee on the Destination: Austin Family blog. Thomas asked an important question here, and searches for the answer. My input is that "yes, in many cases, they are."
I encourage you to go to the blogs listed above and read their articles, and add their blog to your Favorites, Bloglines, reader, feed or email if you like what you read. Please make a comment to them also - we all appreciate feedback on what we write.
Did I miss a great genealogy blog post? Tell me!
My First Father's Day
I was only 8 months old when I celebrated my first Father's Day - with my dad, of course! Here's a picture from about that time in 1944:
I don't know if he's tickling me or what, but it looks like I was having fun!
I learned a lot from my father, and I wrote about some of them in I Learned from my Dad...
My father's biography is in My Dad - Fred Seaver (1911-1983). I posted pictures of my dad and brothers in My Father and his Boys
My maternal grandfather's biography is in A Wondrous Life.
This is my 35th Father's Day as a parent, and each has been special. Our two daughters were darling children and are responsible adults, who have made wonderful families, and we love to visit with and be visited by them. We have one daughter and our two granddaughters here this weekend, and I've had a lot of quiet time holding, feeding, and singing to the littlest one, Audrey. She slept in my arms for an hour this morning while I read the paper and then read my email and blogs. Her older sister, Lauren, is a ball of fire and a lot of fun, and we play games and share treats with each other. Gee, I wonder if she wants another Hershey's kiss? Or just a Grandpa's kiss? Tough choice? Not for me, I have plenty of both - an endless supply!
Saturday, June 14, 2008
2nd Edition of "Smile for the Camera" is all about Belles and Beaus
The second edition of the Smile for the Camera - A Carnival of Images is posted by footnoteMaven at http://www.shadesofthedeparted.com/2008/06/2nd-edition-smile-for-camera.html. The topic was Belles and Beaus.
There are 24 entries in this Carnival, each heart-felt, some poignant, some humorous, all wonderful expressions of love.
My own entry was "The Best Day of My Life" which I wrote last year.
Enjoy this Carnival, and consider entering the 3rd Edition - the topic will be:
A celebration of home. Where is home and how do you celebrate? Choose a photograph of an ancestor, relative, yourself, or an orphan photograph that shows a celebration of home. Is it a house, a town, a city, a country, the old country, a group of people, or just a state of mind. Here in America we celebrate our love of home with fireworks and Old Glory. How and what do you or did your ancestors celebrate? Show us! You can enter by using the handy submission form provided by Blog Carnival. The deadline is 10 July 2008.
There are 24 entries in this Carnival, each heart-felt, some poignant, some humorous, all wonderful expressions of love.
My own entry was "The Best Day of My Life" which I wrote last year.
Enjoy this Carnival, and consider entering the 3rd Edition - the topic will be:
A celebration of home. Where is home and how do you celebrate? Choose a photograph of an ancestor, relative, yourself, or an orphan photograph that shows a celebration of home. Is it a house, a town, a city, a country, the old country, a group of people, or just a state of mind. Here in America we celebrate our love of home with fireworks and Old Glory. How and what do you or did your ancestors celebrate? Show us! You can enter by using the handy submission form provided by Blog Carnival. The deadline is 10 July 2008.
The "Unclaimed Persons" Search Group is Thriving
When Megan Smolenyak Smolenyak started the Unclaimed Persons Group on Facebook, I jumped right in. So far, 8 cases have been posted and the group has responded by solving several of them and several more cases are being actively researched by a dedicated group of researchers.
As of this morning, 244 people have signed up for this Group on Facebook. That is a good number, but it is just a small fraction of the potential number who could help out solving these Unclaimed Persons cases.
If you are interested in helping in this Unclaimed Persons Group, then please first read Megan's post "Wanna be my (Facebook) Friend?" Facebook is a free signup, and is pretty easy to use once you are there and have experimented for awhile. You'll find a number of well-known genealogy "friends" there, and you can be their Friend too!
Megan's post above has a link to The Unclaimed Persons Group. The Group rules include:
1. We'll create a separate discussion board topic for each case, titled with the case number and the name of the deceased. Please post all research findings here and not as comments on the case-related photos or The Wall. Hopefully, this will help us avoid duplicating efforts.
2. If you'd like to email Megan or other Unclaimed Persons administrators about a case, please use the email address at unclaimedpersons@rootstelevision.com. This will help us make sure your questions and/or tips don't get buried in our inboxes.
3. Please do not post contact details and other private information about living persons, such as likely next of kin, in the public forum. Once you have those details, email them to unclaimedpersons@rootstelevision.com.
4. Please do NOT contact coroner's offices directly, unless it's specified in a case that they have requested this. We're not trying to be control freaks here, but several coroner's offices have requested that we act as a point of contact and forward them the compiled information. We want to make sure that we don't overwhelm them with our enthusiasm!
5. NEVER contact possible relatives. Instead, provide the information to the relevant coroner's office via this Facebook site and/or unclaimedpersons@rootstelevision.com.
The Discussion Board is the place where the Cases are posted by the administrators, and the place to post research information about the cases. Reading through the discussions for each case, I find suggestions for ways to improve my own research skills.
This is fun research and also helpful to society and families. Come join this really friendly Group!
As of this morning, 244 people have signed up for this Group on Facebook. That is a good number, but it is just a small fraction of the potential number who could help out solving these Unclaimed Persons cases.
If you are interested in helping in this Unclaimed Persons Group, then please first read Megan's post "Wanna be my (Facebook) Friend?" Facebook is a free signup, and is pretty easy to use once you are there and have experimented for awhile. You'll find a number of well-known genealogy "friends" there, and you can be their Friend too!
Megan's post above has a link to The Unclaimed Persons Group. The Group rules include:
1. We'll create a separate discussion board topic for each case, titled with the case number and the name of the deceased. Please post all research findings here and not as comments on the case-related photos or The Wall. Hopefully, this will help us avoid duplicating efforts.
2. If you'd like to email Megan or other Unclaimed Persons administrators about a case, please use the email address at unclaimedpersons@rootstelevision.com. This will help us make sure your questions and/or tips don't get buried in our inboxes.
3. Please do not post contact details and other private information about living persons, such as likely next of kin, in the public forum. Once you have those details, email them to unclaimedpersons@rootstelevision.com.
4. Please do NOT contact coroner's offices directly, unless it's specified in a case that they have requested this. We're not trying to be control freaks here, but several coroner's offices have requested that we act as a point of contact and forward them the compiled information. We want to make sure that we don't overwhelm them with our enthusiasm!
5. NEVER contact possible relatives. Instead, provide the information to the relevant coroner's office via this Facebook site and/or unclaimedpersons@rootstelevision.com.
The Discussion Board is the place where the Cases are posted by the administrators, and the place to post research information about the cases. Reading through the discussions for each case, I find suggestions for ways to improve my own research skills.
This is fun research and also helpful to society and families. Come join this really friendly Group!
Friday, June 13, 2008
Rootie Toot Toot, Lickety Split, Softie and Squash/Mira
I have always loved cats. Small cats, house cats, big cats (from afar). They are beautiful, graceful, regal, clean, and intriguing animals. Here are some of my cat stories.
When I was growing up, we lived between two busy streets. There were always cats around the neighborhood, and we usually adopted one every year. And every year, it seemed that our precious kitty would get run over. We always named our cats, and one year Rootie Toot Toot came into our live. He was a tom, a gray long-hair cat, just beautiful, and very happy to let us pet him and play with his tail. We dressed him up and put him in our toy car, but he usually jumped out. I'm not sure how he got his name, but it may have been a description of a bodily function. RTT lasted about 8 years before my dad found him on the side of the street one morning. We were sad for weeks. And then another cat came into our lives, and the cycle continued.
When we moved into our present house in 1975, we found a mother Manx cat and her kittens in the side yard. We named the mother Mom and the most adventurous kitten Lickety Split, because he always ran away fast. We fed them, but they were feral and we didn't tame them, and we were concerned about scratches because we had a 1 year old at the time. Eventually, we called a Manx cat fancier and she came and caught them and took them away, but not before I got a bone-deep bite on my hand.
Our neighbors had two little girls, and when the third came along, they also got a female, gray kitten for the girls to care for, and named her Softie. Softie visited our yard often, and my girls played next door with the other girls and they loved Softie. The neighbors moved away after several years, and couldn't take Softie with them, so they gave us to Softie, and she was a wonderful companion for all of us for many years. Softie was an outside cat, and lived on dry cat food and water. She roamed our end of the block - we are on the edge of a hillside with plenty of birds and some small rodents. Softie occasionally scored a mouse, and would proudly bring it to the back door for approval. When the opossums or dogs, or even other cats, came into the yard, she would leap from the ground to the shelf to the lath and up on the roof. I was always amazed how lithe she was. Softie saw my girls grow up and go off to college, and was a real blessing to our empty nest, and when the girls came home to visit Softie was a center of attention for them.
Softie was such a wonderful kitty, and lived to age 18. She became more of an indoor cat as she approached the end, and we knew the end was near at Christmas time 1996 when she stopped eating and struggled to get up on the couch. On the night she died, I petted her for the longest time, put some soft food near her, put her on a blanket on the floor, and told her goodbye with tears in my eyes (I have them now as I type this) and went to bed. I was awakened by something falling off the wall in the hallway (it was an angel ornament - my wife collects them) - this had never happened before or since. I got up, found the broken ornament on the tile floor and wondered how that happened. Then I looked in the family room and there was dear Softie hanging by a paw and claw to the couch - she evidently died trying to get up on the couch. Did her spirit pass through the hall and knock the ornament off the wall? We buried Softie in the back yard she loved.
My older daughter was married in 2000 in Santa Cruz, and visited us in Chula Vista soon after. She wanted a cat, so she went to a pet store here and bought a scrawny tortoise shell kitten, thinking that she could take it home on the plane with her. Well, no - not without papers, a health certificate, a cage and a reservation. Her friend came and got it and brought it to us, since we were going up to Santa Cruz in two weeks. This kitten was pretty skittish, and would hide under or behind furniture. I didn't see her and sat on her once, so I named her Squash. I looked into taking her on the airplane, and went to a vet to get the health certificate, but Squash was sick and we only got an expensive bottle of some medicine that she didn't like. So we drove Squash to her new home - over 500 miles away. We had to stop for a night on the way, and couldn't sneak her into our room, so we paid the extra $10 for a pet-allowed room. She traveled the whole way perched on the back of my driver's seat, or in my lap.
My daughter didn't like the name Squash, so she named her Mira (after "miracle," and considering the short life of this cat, it was appropriate). Mira has grown into a beautiful indoor cat. When I visit my daughter's family in Santa Cruz, Mira is my sleep buddy and is always nearby wanting to be petted. My grandsons don't appreciate her yet - they want to play with her, not pet her, but I know that they will eventually love her well.
I looked for family pictures of Rootie Toot Toot, Softie and Squash/Mira, but I couldn't find only the one of Mira here. Oh well, I've given you word pictures here, I hope.
My Victorville daughter has Walter, a lovable and slobbery basset hound. Their other older basset, Lucy, died last year. My Santa Cruz daughter has an Australian Cattleherder dog named Annie who is great with the boys. I like the dogs a lot, but I love the cats.
We often forget these furry and loving members of our families, and the companionship, enjoyment and fun times they provide.
When I was growing up, we lived between two busy streets. There were always cats around the neighborhood, and we usually adopted one every year. And every year, it seemed that our precious kitty would get run over. We always named our cats, and one year Rootie Toot Toot came into our live. He was a tom, a gray long-hair cat, just beautiful, and very happy to let us pet him and play with his tail. We dressed him up and put him in our toy car, but he usually jumped out. I'm not sure how he got his name, but it may have been a description of a bodily function. RTT lasted about 8 years before my dad found him on the side of the street one morning. We were sad for weeks. And then another cat came into our lives, and the cycle continued.
When we moved into our present house in 1975, we found a mother Manx cat and her kittens in the side yard. We named the mother Mom and the most adventurous kitten Lickety Split, because he always ran away fast. We fed them, but they were feral and we didn't tame them, and we were concerned about scratches because we had a 1 year old at the time. Eventually, we called a Manx cat fancier and she came and caught them and took them away, but not before I got a bone-deep bite on my hand.
Our neighbors had two little girls, and when the third came along, they also got a female, gray kitten for the girls to care for, and named her Softie. Softie visited our yard often, and my girls played next door with the other girls and they loved Softie. The neighbors moved away after several years, and couldn't take Softie with them, so they gave us to Softie, and she was a wonderful companion for all of us for many years. Softie was an outside cat, and lived on dry cat food and water. She roamed our end of the block - we are on the edge of a hillside with plenty of birds and some small rodents. Softie occasionally scored a mouse, and would proudly bring it to the back door for approval. When the opossums or dogs, or even other cats, came into the yard, she would leap from the ground to the shelf to the lath and up on the roof. I was always amazed how lithe she was. Softie saw my girls grow up and go off to college, and was a real blessing to our empty nest, and when the girls came home to visit Softie was a center of attention for them.
Softie was such a wonderful kitty, and lived to age 18. She became more of an indoor cat as she approached the end, and we knew the end was near at Christmas time 1996 when she stopped eating and struggled to get up on the couch. On the night she died, I petted her for the longest time, put some soft food near her, put her on a blanket on the floor, and told her goodbye with tears in my eyes (I have them now as I type this) and went to bed. I was awakened by something falling off the wall in the hallway (it was an angel ornament - my wife collects them) - this had never happened before or since. I got up, found the broken ornament on the tile floor and wondered how that happened. Then I looked in the family room and there was dear Softie hanging by a paw and claw to the couch - she evidently died trying to get up on the couch. Did her spirit pass through the hall and knock the ornament off the wall? We buried Softie in the back yard she loved.
My older daughter was married in 2000 in Santa Cruz, and visited us in Chula Vista soon after. She wanted a cat, so she went to a pet store here and bought a scrawny tortoise shell kitten, thinking that she could take it home on the plane with her. Well, no - not without papers, a health certificate, a cage and a reservation. Her friend came and got it and brought it to us, since we were going up to Santa Cruz in two weeks. This kitten was pretty skittish, and would hide under or behind furniture. I didn't see her and sat on her once, so I named her Squash. I looked into taking her on the airplane, and went to a vet to get the health certificate, but Squash was sick and we only got an expensive bottle of some medicine that she didn't like. So we drove Squash to her new home - over 500 miles away. We had to stop for a night on the way, and couldn't sneak her into our room, so we paid the extra $10 for a pet-allowed room. She traveled the whole way perched on the back of my driver's seat, or in my lap.
My daughter didn't like the name Squash, so she named her Mira (after "miracle," and considering the short life of this cat, it was appropriate). Mira has grown into a beautiful indoor cat. When I visit my daughter's family in Santa Cruz, Mira is my sleep buddy and is always nearby wanting to be petted. My grandsons don't appreciate her yet - they want to play with her, not pet her, but I know that they will eventually love her well.
I looked for family pictures of Rootie Toot Toot, Softie and Squash/Mira, but I couldn't find only the one of Mira here. Oh well, I've given you word pictures here, I hope.
My Victorville daughter has Walter, a lovable and slobbery basset hound. Their other older basset, Lucy, died last year. My Santa Cruz daughter has an Australian Cattleherder dog named Annie who is great with the boys. I like the dogs a lot, but I love the cats.
We often forget these furry and loving members of our families, and the companionship, enjoyment and fun times they provide.
SDGS meeting on Saturday, 14 June - "Railroads"
The San Diego Genealogical Society monthly meeting is on Saturday, 14 June, at St. Andrew's Lutheran Church in San Diego (8350 Lake Murray Blvd., at Jackson Drive in the San Carlos neighborhood of San Diego).
The RootsMagic User's Group will meet there from 10 a.m. to noon.
At noon, the society meeting will begin, with an introduction of member Mary Card who will present “Railroads: How They Changed Our Ancestors’ Lives.”
The summary of Mary's talk includes:
"Ever wonder how the railroads changed the lives of your ancestors -- their migrations, where they lived, their livelihoods? They had a more profound impact on their lives than you may realize.
"The talk will trace the introduction and development of the railroads, their geographical and political implications, where to find records and the implications of the ‘Orphan Trains.’
"The topic will be further explored through the life of Patricia Curran who grew up as part of a railroad family. She started lobbying for railroad safety when she was only ten years old.
"Through her life, you will share what it was like to be part of the unique culture and life style of the ‘brotherhood of railway trainmen’. Railroad memorabilia will also be shared and discussed. This is a ‘must’ topic for every family historian."
Mary's genealogy curriculum vitae includes:
"Board Member Mary Card is the Society’s Historian and serves on the Education Committee. She has been pursuing genealogy for over 30 years and has also taught history classes for 26 years. She is a former Regent for the La
Jolla DAR.
"When not doing genealogy research, she is a Special Education teacher and publishes the semi-annual family newsletter, The Card Chronicle. If you attended her past presentations, you know you won’t want to miss this."
The information about Mary and her talk was obtained from the June 2008 issue of the San Diego Genealogical Society Newsletter (Vol. 41, No. 5).
The RootsMagic User's Group will meet there from 10 a.m. to noon.
At noon, the society meeting will begin, with an introduction of member Mary Card who will present “Railroads: How They Changed Our Ancestors’ Lives.”
The summary of Mary's talk includes:
"Ever wonder how the railroads changed the lives of your ancestors -- their migrations, where they lived, their livelihoods? They had a more profound impact on their lives than you may realize.
"The talk will trace the introduction and development of the railroads, their geographical and political implications, where to find records and the implications of the ‘Orphan Trains.’
"The topic will be further explored through the life of Patricia Curran who grew up as part of a railroad family. She started lobbying for railroad safety when she was only ten years old.
"Through her life, you will share what it was like to be part of the unique culture and life style of the ‘brotherhood of railway trainmen’. Railroad memorabilia will also be shared and discussed. This is a ‘must’ topic for every family historian."
Mary's genealogy curriculum vitae includes:
"Board Member Mary Card is the Society’s Historian and serves on the Education Committee. She has been pursuing genealogy for over 30 years and has also taught history classes for 26 years. She is a former Regent for the La
Jolla DAR.
"When not doing genealogy research, she is a Special Education teacher and publishes the semi-annual family newsletter, The Card Chronicle. If you attended her past presentations, you know you won’t want to miss this."
The information about Mary and her talk was obtained from the June 2008 issue of the San Diego Genealogical Society Newsletter (Vol. 41, No. 5).
Thursday, June 12, 2008
Barack Obama's Certification of Live Birth Record
Some people have questioned whether Barack Obama, the probable Presidential candidate of the Democratic Party in 2008, is a natural-born United States citizen, as required by the Constitution of the United States.
Somebody posted an image of a Certification of Live Birth on the DailyKos web site here. It is shown below:
I posted it here because I thought that it was interesting. He is qualified to be President of the United States as a natural-born citizen over the age of 35.
Avid readers of this blog know that Barack Obama is my 8th cousin once removed, as detailed in my post "Yep, Barack Obama is my cousin!".
Somebody posted an image of a Certification of Live Birth on the DailyKos web site here. It is shown below:
I posted it here because I thought that it was interesting. He is qualified to be President of the United States as a natural-born citizen over the age of 35.
Avid readers of this blog know that Barack Obama is my 8th cousin once removed, as detailed in my post "Yep, Barack Obama is my cousin!".
Ancestry doubles its newspaper collection - and it's FREE until 19 June
Suzanne Bonner on the Ancestry.com Blog alerted us to the increase in the number of newspapers in the Ancestry.com collection in her post "Ancestry.com Doubles Its Historical Newspaper Collection."
The lead paragraph says:
"We doubled the size of our historical newspaper collection - adding a billion names and 20 million images. Different than census or other types of records, newspapers can add context through breaking news, gossip columns, entertainment listings, advertisements and much more."
The post also mentions that through June 19th, you can search the entire historical newspaper collection free. Check out the newspaper collection and see what interesting stories you can discover!
I looked at the Newspapers and Periodicals category on the Ancestry Search page, and saw that there are currently 1,235 newspaper databases. I don't know if that includes the newly added databases or not - a long list of new newspaper databases has not been added to the Recently Added or Updated List at http://www.ancestry.com/search/rectype/recent.aspx.
The news of the FREE access for the next week should be publicized to researchers everywhere.
UPDATE 6/13: An email received from Ancestry notes: Users will need to register as members of Ancestry.com to access the free newspapers. This free registration does NOT require a credit card. Those registering for a free membership account will be asked to provide an email address.
UPDATE 6/13 later: An email from Ancestry notes that the newspapers were added or updated back on 30 May. My mistake - sorry! You would think that they would make the announcement when the new databases are added, not almost two weeks later.
The lead paragraph says:
"We doubled the size of our historical newspaper collection - adding a billion names and 20 million images. Different than census or other types of records, newspapers can add context through breaking news, gossip columns, entertainment listings, advertisements and much more."
The post also mentions that through June 19th, you can search the entire historical newspaper collection free. Check out the newspaper collection and see what interesting stories you can discover!
I looked at the Newspapers and Periodicals category on the Ancestry Search page, and saw that there are currently 1,235 newspaper databases. I don't know if that includes the newly added databases or not - a long list of new newspaper databases has not been added to the Recently Added or Updated List at http://www.ancestry.com/search/rectype/recent.aspx.
The news of the FREE access for the next week should be publicized to researchers everywhere.
UPDATE 6/13: An email received from Ancestry notes: Users will need to register as members of Ancestry.com to access the free newspapers. This free registration does NOT require a credit card. Those registering for a free membership account will be asked to provide an email address.
UPDATE 6/13 later: An email from Ancestry notes that the newspapers were added or updated back on 30 May. My mistake - sorry! You would think that they would make the announcement when the new databases are added, not almost two weeks later.
CVGS Research Group meeting on 11 June
The June meeting of the Chula Vista Genealogical Society Research Group was yesterday at the Chula Vista Library, with 10 persons in attendance, including one non-member.
We went around the table at the beginning of the meeting to see what each person was doing in their research.
* John requested four obituaries from Columbus, Ohio via Inter-Library Loan (ILL) and received them within 10 days for $5 to the CV library. They were faxed from Columbus to Chula Vista.
* Joan re-submitted her vital records request to Pennsylvania with the correct fee (she hopes). She's going to start research on her Wallace family.
* Dearl reviewed the Confederate Pension file that he received from the Texas State Archives.
* Charlotte is working on her Dodworth family in Sheffield in England, but has had little time due to family commitments. She will be gone on vacation until August and will visit family in Canada and Kentucky (lucky girl!).
* Shirley H is helping a lady in Tennessee work on a DAR lineage.
* Virginia ordered an Ohio Valley history book on ILL. She is getting her papers organized in folders.
* Shirley B went to the FHC last Saturday, and found census records for her elusive Wright family. Some records confused her more, and some revealed secrets.
* Dick has been working on http://www.findagrave.com/ to correct information in a Texas graveyard, and corresponded with a friend who photographed gravestones in his hometown.
* Ray is just starting out, and has input the family information he has into FamilyTreeMaker. He asked for web sites and databases that might have information on his families.
* Randy described his forays into Legacy Version 7, The Master Genealogist Version 7, RootsMagic Version 3, and Family Tree Builder 2.0. He also talked about the Unclaimed Persons forum on Facebook.
After the table round, Randy briefly discussed the Genealogy News of the Month, highlighting the databases for states mentioned around the table.
During Question time, we discussed:
* Shirley H asked if Revolutionary War veterans were identified in any census records? John noted that the 1840 census identified Rev War veterans by name even if they weren't head of household.
* Shirley B wondered if the early volumes of The American Genealogist were available in San Diego. Randy said he thought they were on the shelf at the SD Family History Center.
* Joan recently received a stack of land records from a Minnesota historical society, and asked about their value to her. Several noted that these records may identify siblings or children, the location of the land, the place the buyer resided previously, neighbors and witnesses who might be family members, etc.
* Randy posed a research question from a recent query - a James B. Garrett resided in Justice Precinct 5 in Kaufman County, Texas in the 1880 and 1900 census. The correspondent wanted to know how he could identify the land that was sharecropped by Garrett. John suggested finding the names of owners of land near Garrett in the census records, then finding that owner's name on a plat map or in land records to identify the approximate location. Shirley recommended using that information to find tax lists, voter registration lists, the 1880 agricultural census, and other local records to try to identify neighbors and associates of Garrett.
After the meeting, Randy provided the syllabus material from the last two seminars to Ray to help him get started in online research. He also showed Ray the library computer terminals and how to access Ancestry Library Edition on them.
This meeting had excellent sharing to answer questions and recommend ways to solve research problems. It's fun to hear the research stories, the successes and frustrations, of each attendee, and to be able to help researchers knock down their brick walls one brick at a time.
We went around the table at the beginning of the meeting to see what each person was doing in their research.
* John requested four obituaries from Columbus, Ohio via Inter-Library Loan (ILL) and received them within 10 days for $5 to the CV library. They were faxed from Columbus to Chula Vista.
* Joan re-submitted her vital records request to Pennsylvania with the correct fee (she hopes). She's going to start research on her Wallace family.
* Dearl reviewed the Confederate Pension file that he received from the Texas State Archives.
* Charlotte is working on her Dodworth family in Sheffield in England, but has had little time due to family commitments. She will be gone on vacation until August and will visit family in Canada and Kentucky (lucky girl!).
* Shirley H is helping a lady in Tennessee work on a DAR lineage.
* Virginia ordered an Ohio Valley history book on ILL. She is getting her papers organized in folders.
* Shirley B went to the FHC last Saturday, and found census records for her elusive Wright family. Some records confused her more, and some revealed secrets.
* Dick has been working on http://www.findagrave.com/ to correct information in a Texas graveyard, and corresponded with a friend who photographed gravestones in his hometown.
* Ray is just starting out, and has input the family information he has into FamilyTreeMaker. He asked for web sites and databases that might have information on his families.
* Randy described his forays into Legacy Version 7, The Master Genealogist Version 7, RootsMagic Version 3, and Family Tree Builder 2.0. He also talked about the Unclaimed Persons forum on Facebook.
After the table round, Randy briefly discussed the Genealogy News of the Month, highlighting the databases for states mentioned around the table.
During Question time, we discussed:
* Shirley H asked if Revolutionary War veterans were identified in any census records? John noted that the 1840 census identified Rev War veterans by name even if they weren't head of household.
* Shirley B wondered if the early volumes of The American Genealogist were available in San Diego. Randy said he thought they were on the shelf at the SD Family History Center.
* Joan recently received a stack of land records from a Minnesota historical society, and asked about their value to her. Several noted that these records may identify siblings or children, the location of the land, the place the buyer resided previously, neighbors and witnesses who might be family members, etc.
* Randy posed a research question from a recent query - a James B. Garrett resided in Justice Precinct 5 in Kaufman County, Texas in the 1880 and 1900 census. The correspondent wanted to know how he could identify the land that was sharecropped by Garrett. John suggested finding the names of owners of land near Garrett in the census records, then finding that owner's name on a plat map or in land records to identify the approximate location. Shirley recommended using that information to find tax lists, voter registration lists, the 1880 agricultural census, and other local records to try to identify neighbors and associates of Garrett.
After the meeting, Randy provided the syllabus material from the last two seminars to Ray to help him get started in online research. He also showed Ray the library computer terminals and how to access Ancestry Library Edition on them.
This meeting had excellent sharing to answer questions and recommend ways to solve research problems. It's fun to hear the research stories, the successes and frustrations, of each attendee, and to be able to help researchers knock down their brick walls one brick at a time.
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