All I Want For Christmas
Dear Santa:
Don't bring me new dishes;
I don't need a new kind of game.
Genealogists have peculiar wishes;
For Christmas I just want a surname.
A new washing machine would be great,
But it isn't the desire of my life.
I've just found an ancestor's birth date,
Now I need the name of his wife.
My heart doesn't yearn for a ring
that would put a real diamond to shame.
What I want is a much cheaper thing:
Please give me Martha's last name.
To see my heart singing with joy,
Don't bring me a red leather suitcase.
Bring me a genealogist's toy:
A surname, with dates and a place.
Monday, December 22, 2008
Thursday, December 11, 2008
Genealogists night before christmas
T'WAS THE NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS GENEALOGIST VERSION
"T'was the night before Christmas when all through the house
Not a creature was stirring, not even my spouse.
The dining room table with clutter was spread
With pedigree charts and with letters which said...
"Too bad about the data for which you had written I
t was lost in the stacks at Visitations of Britian."
Piles of old copies of wills, deeds, and such
Were proof that my work had become much to much.
Our children were nestled all snug in their beds,
While visions of sugarplums danced in their heads.
As I sat my computer, I was ready to drop
From entering data on cousins, whose lines never stop.
Christmas was here, and such was my lot
That presents and goodies and toys I forgot.
Had I not been so busy with my grandparent's wills,
I'd not have forgotten to shop for such thrills.
While others bought gifts that would bring Christmas cheers;
I'd spent time researching marriages and birth years.
While I was thus musing about my sad plight,
A strange noise on the lawn gave me such a great fright.
Away to the window I flew in a flash,
Tore open the drapes and I yanked up the sash.
When what to my wondering eyes should appear?
But an overstuffed sleigh and eight small reindeer.
Up to the housetop the reindeer they flew,
With a sleigh full of toys, and Saint Nicholaus too.
And then in a twinkle, I heard on the roof
The prancing and pawing of thirty-two hoof.
The TV antenna was no match for their horns,
As I looked at our roof with hoof-prints adorned.
As I drew in my head, and bumped it on the sash,
Down the cold chimney fell Santa - KER-RASH! "
Dear" Santa had come from the roof in a wreck,
And tracked soot on the carpet, (I could wring his short neck!)
Spotting my face, good old Santa could see
I had no Christmas spirit as you'll have to agree.
He spoke not a word, but went straight to his work
And filled all the stockings, (I felt like a jerk).
Here was Santa, who'd brought such gladness and joy;
When I'd been too busy for even one toy.
He spied my research on the table all spread
"A genealogist!" He cried! (My face was all red!)
"Tonight I've met many like you", Santa grinned.
And he pulled from his sack a large book he had penned.
I gazed with amazement - at the cover which said
"Your Genealogy Lines - Ne'er Before Read"
"I know what it's like to have the genealogy bug,"
He said, as he gave me a a great Santa Hug.
"While the elves make the sleighful of toys I now carry,
I do lots of research in the North Pole Library!
A special treat I am thus able to bring,
To genealogy folks who can't find a thing.
Now off you go to your bed for a rest,
I'll clean up the house with this genealogy mess."
As I climbed up the stairs full of gladness and glee,
I looked back at Santa who'd brought much to me.
While settling in bed, I heard Santa's clear whistle,
To his team, which then rose like the down of a thistle
And I heard him exclaim as he flew out of sight,
"Family History is Fun! Merry Christmas! Goodnight!"
With kind permission from:
http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~parrottreilly/poems.html
"T'was the night before Christmas when all through the house
Not a creature was stirring, not even my spouse.
The dining room table with clutter was spread
With pedigree charts and with letters which said...
"Too bad about the data for which you had written I
t was lost in the stacks at Visitations of Britian."
Piles of old copies of wills, deeds, and such
Were proof that my work had become much to much.
Our children were nestled all snug in their beds,
While visions of sugarplums danced in their heads.
As I sat my computer, I was ready to drop
From entering data on cousins, whose lines never stop.
Christmas was here, and such was my lot
That presents and goodies and toys I forgot.
Had I not been so busy with my grandparent's wills,
I'd not have forgotten to shop for such thrills.
While others bought gifts that would bring Christmas cheers;
I'd spent time researching marriages and birth years.
While I was thus musing about my sad plight,
A strange noise on the lawn gave me such a great fright.
Away to the window I flew in a flash,
Tore open the drapes and I yanked up the sash.
When what to my wondering eyes should appear?
But an overstuffed sleigh and eight small reindeer.
Up to the housetop the reindeer they flew,
With a sleigh full of toys, and Saint Nicholaus too.
And then in a twinkle, I heard on the roof
The prancing and pawing of thirty-two hoof.
The TV antenna was no match for their horns,
As I looked at our roof with hoof-prints adorned.
As I drew in my head, and bumped it on the sash,
Down the cold chimney fell Santa - KER-RASH! "
Dear" Santa had come from the roof in a wreck,
And tracked soot on the carpet, (I could wring his short neck!)
Spotting my face, good old Santa could see
I had no Christmas spirit as you'll have to agree.
He spoke not a word, but went straight to his work
And filled all the stockings, (I felt like a jerk).
Here was Santa, who'd brought such gladness and joy;
When I'd been too busy for even one toy.
He spied my research on the table all spread
"A genealogist!" He cried! (My face was all red!)
"Tonight I've met many like you", Santa grinned.
And he pulled from his sack a large book he had penned.
I gazed with amazement - at the cover which said
"Your Genealogy Lines - Ne'er Before Read"
"I know what it's like to have the genealogy bug,"
He said, as he gave me a a great Santa Hug.
"While the elves make the sleighful of toys I now carry,
I do lots of research in the North Pole Library!
A special treat I am thus able to bring,
To genealogy folks who can't find a thing.
Now off you go to your bed for a rest,
I'll clean up the house with this genealogy mess."
As I climbed up the stairs full of gladness and glee,
I looked back at Santa who'd brought much to me.
While settling in bed, I heard Santa's clear whistle,
To his team, which then rose like the down of a thistle
And I heard him exclaim as he flew out of sight,
"Family History is Fun! Merry Christmas! Goodnight!"
With kind permission from:
http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~parrottreilly/poems.html
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
How to start you family tree in 5 minutes
Your family tree in 5 minutes
Do you have a spare five minutes? Yes? Then - let's do genealogy!
Well, you will need quite a few spare five minutes, but the idea is to have a system whereby you can take advantage of clumps of time. Do you have an hour or two to spare from time to time? A day here or there? A weekend? Five minutes? Whatever "spare" time you have, compiling your family tree is an absorbing and fun way to spend it.
Genealogy (names, dates, places - the who, where and when) and Family History (social and local history) is a journey; a journey through memories, through records, through the Internet; through time. And knowing your destination is half the journey - I think organisation is the other half! Because, with organisation comes discipline, planning, adeptness - a readiness. Planned, disciplined, skilled behaviour, is very handy for a genealogist!
When you only have small clumps of time, it is a good idea to be methodical. So, what do you need? To begin, you should have some idea of where you need to travel - so download and print a pedigree sheet or two (perhaps one for each of your parents, or your spouse or partner may like to do genealogy too) at www.geniecreations.com/free4gen.htm or www.kbyu.org/ancestors/charts or http://www.kbyu.org/ or www.ancestry.com/save/charts/ancchart.htm Or make your own with a piece of A4 paper folded in half four times (credit card size) and then opened and folded longways in half and half again. You have the places to write name and birth, marriage, death dates and places for four generations across the page and eight great-grandparents down the page.
Once you have a Pedigree/Ancestry sheet you will be able to write down your birth date and place, and those of your parents, grandparents and great- grandparents et al; also marriage and death dates and places. The names and the places are your destinations. You will hope to find others researching your surnames and/or families. You will hope to find information about your places - perhaps even lists of names from parish registers or cemeteries, but certainly information about what is available for your places (maps, photo of the church, what is in the local repositories and what original records are accessible for research, etc). Later the gaps on your Pedigree Sheet will be your destinations as you try to find the missing information.
That's your first five minutes!! In your first clump of time you have obtained and started to fill in a Pedigree Sheet. Over the next few hours, days, weeks or months, depending on your supply of clumps of time, fill in the information for the names, dates and places of births, marriages and deaths.
Where to start? No matter where you are researching, follow the "CR" plan - Check Resources. The first resource to check is close relatives. Ask around your family - look for certificates, birthday books, address books, photo albums, scrap books, newspaper cuttings - anything that may place a person in a place or a time.
It will be a good idea to purchase an A5 hard covered note book (eventually you will need two of these and also an indexed A5 notebook - A-Z). Leave 12 pages in case you need to create an index. Count the number of pages left and divide by four (for the four families in the grandparent section of the pedigree sheet - or your choice of four families). Then use coloured "tabs" to mark the four families (you can buy these tabs from stationery shops). You can divide these sections again if you wish to have sections for any great-grandparents. You now have a Check Resources note-book. (You could use a ring binder and loose leaves instead if you wish). You could create an electronic file too - directions to in Part 2 next month.
In the appropriate section, make a note of everything and anything you find as you check the resource of close relatives - which cousin has a photo of which great-grandmother; who has her birth certificate; her birthday book; her school report, etc. Find long-lost cousins ( http://www.whitepages.co.nz/, http://www.teldir.com/ - worldwide phone books). Have an expanding 12-pocket file for any papers you collect. Twelve pockets means three pockets for each of the four families - one for certificates, one for information about places, names, etc and one for letters (or emails) you receive and copies of any you send. You should check resources for community repositories too, as you may find information about your families there. Community repositories are your local museum, libraries and archives. Here you may find your family in directories (usually trade geographical directories, but with a nationwide alpha-betical index - great to find where in the country siblings might live! A good example is found at sil.otago.ac.nz/oni/default. html), also in electoral rolls, newspapers, scrap books, photo collections, etc. The following sites are just a small selection of what is available, and just for three countries, but enough to use quite a few clumps of time! If you need to write to any repository, do enclose an SAE (stamped address envelope - at least DEL size or A5) and copy your question onto a new page, so the reply can be quickly written there and posted back.
New Zealand Museums On-Line will help you find museums throughout the country (http://www.nzmuseums.co.nz/). Choosing "History" gives a full list of museums. The Australian National Maritime Museum Research Library also has 17 interesting Pathfinder books (www.anmm.gov.au/libhome.htm). Australian Mus-eums & Galleries Online (amol.org.au/guide/guide_index.asp) has similar information to NZ Museums On-Line.
Museums Around the UK on the Web a huge directory is at vlmp.museophile.com/uk.html
The Auckland City Library has a very well organised site with some searchable data bases including cemeteries (http://www.akcity.govt.20nz/library/family/family.html). For links to Libraries in New Zealand, see tepuna.natlib.govt.nz/web_directory/NZ/libraries.htm
For libraries in Australia, see www.nla.gov.au/apps/libraries
Familia is the UK and Ireland's guide to genealogical resources in public libraries (www.familia.org.uk/main.html). I hesitate to mention Britain's 24-Hour Museum (http://www.24hourmuseum.org.uk/), as it may take more than your clump of time! But have a look sometime. Archive New Zealand's regional offices are listed at www.archives.govt.nz/archivesnz/offices/offices_frame.html, the National Archives of Australia at www.naa.gov.au/the_collection/family_history.html and the Public Record Office for England - national archives for England, Wales and the United Kingdom - at http://www.pro.gov.uk/
Finding information in community repositories is good because you can often go back to the original source - the newspaper, the directory, etc. Always check the original, if possible. Note any interesting Web sites, and your comments about them, in your Check Resources notebook. As you find more information, you may like to download and print Family Group sheets (www.byu.org/ancestors/charts). Here you can record the information you find about cousins, aunts and uncles even third cousins twice removed (www.janyce.com/gene/cousins.html)! Always look for a clue as to the when and where of events, so that you can check resources in those places for your families too.
A note of caution: The Check Resources notebook and the expanding file are just fine as you begin this hobby, but you may find you will need a more flexible and comprehensive filing system as your journey progresses. Use the A-Z notebook to create your index to the Web sites you found worthwhile, so you can find them again quickly. For example, you could enter Auckland City Library under Auckland and Libraries, Australian National Maritime Museum under Australia and Museums (you could Bookmark them too). Grab some clumps of time and do your genealogy - and see what you can find to write in your Check Resources book!
To "do" your genealogy in five minutes (or a clump of time) you need to be organised, and have discipline and planning, especially if you plan to use computer resources. You need to be able to pick up your Internet Diary (which could be called your Computer Resources book), your Check Resources book and your A-Z of Web Sites book and see just where you stopped last time, what you would like to do this time, and make the most of those clumps of time!
In your Check Resources book you will have made notes of anything of interest you have found for your 4/8 families. You will have filled in all you know on the Pedigree sheets. You will have noted Web sites of interest in the A-Z book.
Use your Internet Diary in a similar manner, as you check the resources on the Internet. Count the number of pages in an A5 hardbacked notebook. Leave 12-14 for an alpha index. Write the day's date on the next page, and write what you do and where you go - as per instructions to follow. When your "five minutes" is finished, write the surname searched in the alpha index with the day's date. Next time you want to search that surname, you can start searching again, productively, straight away, instead of wasting time wondering where you went last time.
You can then spend "five minutes" surfing the Net. Decide where you want to go - to choose someone on your Pedigree sheet who was born middle 1800s or earlier is a good start. We are looking for people, persons, places (people researching your names, the person you are looking for, the place where this person lived). The farther back you can start, the wider the net you cast. There is a much better chance that you can find descendants of siblings of great-grandparents or great, great-grand parents who may have gone to live in other parts of the world. Note: Responsible genealogists do not publish personal details of living people, so may not include the names of family born after 1900.
In your Internet Diary, write the name in quotation marks and as proper nouns, ie: "Edward Bridges" rather than edward bridges. A search for the latter returned around 169,000 hits (number of Web sites found to match my search query!) but "Edward Bridges" returned 529 hits (we lost all the references to bridges around the world!). Make a note of which search engines and the search query you used. See box for suggestions.
Remember, less is best. Do the widest search first to see just what is available. Two of my favourite search engines (http://www.alltheweb.com/ and http://www.google.com/) offer Advanced Search facilities. This saves you using "Search Engine Maths" - the "plus" and "minus" signs - in your search query. Instead use "Must have", "Should have", "Must not have". Look for the choice "Exact phrase" too, as this ensures that the words "Edward" and "Bridges" are side by side.
After your first wide search, add must have born or +born. Some "minus" choices would also reduce the number. In my example, my final Alltheweb search query ("Edward Bridges" +born +england -University -Austen) resulted in 11 Web sites to look at.
Remember, as soon as you open a suggested Web site, hit the CTRL+ F keys, to bring up the Find Function window, so that you can type the name or place you have searched for and so find just where on the page these words appear. Make sure you "find" on each of the pages. When you find something that looks good, make sure there is an email address and phone number too, so that you may make contact with the compiler and verify the accuracy of the data.
Some searches are just not successful, particularly if you have a common name. Try searching with the surname in capitals; try forename SURNAME; surname, forename; SURNAME, forename. Just keep checking resources in the hopes of finding a sibling with a less common name, or an uncommon occupation or place name. And keep trying again with the search engines; millions of new pages are added to the WWW every week.
You should also search Genealogy Gateways - search engines searching only genealogy pages. Try http://www.gendoor.com/, http://www.rootsweb.com/, http://www.ancestry.com/, http://www.genealogy.com/, http://www.gengateway.com/ (will take you to other specific Gateways), http://www.coraweb.com.au/ (Australian Gateway), http://www.cyndislist.com/, http://www.genuki.org.uk/
If you wish to track your progress electronically, you could use a program such as TreePad (www.treepad.com). The free version is TreePad Freeware, so this is the one to download. TreePad looks like Windows Explorer, but you create the folders, sub-folders and "files". You create nodes (folders) and child nodes (sub-folders) and articles (which can be text, links etc). Create Internet Diary as a node and the date as a child node. In the article, paste your search engine, search query, Web sites found and add your comments, etc. Search will quickly take you back to where you last searched for a particular family. Go to www.genealogy.net.nz to download a node listing the Web sites mentioned - it will save lots of typing!
These are just a few of the ways to look for People, Persons and Places. And you must find a spare "five minutes" for http://www.familysearch.org/ , The Mormon Church Web site. To look for your Persons (ancestors) go to "Search for your Ancestors in our vast record collections". It is best to begin by using the International Genealogical Index database to look for your ancestors. For hints on ways to make the best use of www.familysearch.org go to Genealogy on the Internet Web site - http://www.genealogy.net.nz/. For your Places, see "Search the Family History Library Catalogue" - go to Places and see just what original records the library holds for your places. Films and fiche may be ordered into your local Family History Centre - under "Find a Family History Centre near you".
If you have very few names on your Pedigree sheet, you will need to access contemporary records to find the missing information - records that were created at the time of the event. These include civil registration (the legal requirement to register births, deaths and marriages), church registers (vital records - christenings, marriages, burials as noted in parish registers), cemetery records and census returns (mostly every 10 years since 1841 in England, Wales, Scotland). There are others - newspapers are one.
Filling the gaps will require visits to libraries, repositories, Family History Centres etc. However, you can make a start! If you have NSW events, go to http://www.bdm.nsw.gov.au/ This index of births to 1905 and deaths and marriages to 1945 is online and free to access. In Victoria, there is a charge to look at the index (births to 1924, deaths to 1985, marriages to 1939) - 99c per screen of around 10 records (www.justice.vic.gov.au/bdm). Click on Births, Deaths & Marriages, then Family History, then VicHeritage Family History. Then you must go to the section headed Search Births, Deaths & Marriages on the Internet and click Maxi, then Continue. These indexes have parents' names on birth entries, spouse's name on marriages and parents' name or age on death entries. Certificates are available - cost $17-$26. These indexes and those for other Australian states are available on fiche and CDs too. Look at http://www.rootsweb.com/blahausbdm - the Australasia Births, Deaths and Marriages Exchange. This is a free resource to share information about details contained on civil and parish records registered in Australia and civil records registered in New Zealand.
A growing resource, as volunteers around the world create the database, is freebmd.rootsweb.com , the index to births, marriages and deaths in England and Wales from mid 1837 to eventually 1901. The indexes on fiche or film held in libraries and Family History Centres can be up to the 1990s. A brief index giving person's name, registration district and reference number - though age at death (since 1866), spouse's name (since 1912) and mother's maiden name (since Sep 1911) are a great help. Go to www.genuki.org.uk/big/eng/civreg for information. To order a certificate (and so find more information) go to http://www.research-uk.co.uk/ - scroll down to page end and click on "Direct to BDM Order page". For Scotland, a pay-to-view site, but with a free surname search - http://www.origins.net/GRO
Use the search sites already listed to search for your church or parish registers, cemetery records and census records. Always search on the Internet, just in case. To see what can be available, look at http://www.wirksworth.org.uk/
What do you do with all the information you have collected? You do need a genealogy program.
Three popular programs are: http://www.legacyfamilytree.com/, http://www.familyorigins.com/, http://www.familytreemaker.com/.
For thoughts on choosing a genealogy program, go to www.beehivebooks.co.nz/id39.htm
Do try to follow the suggestions for organisation and for keeping track of your searches, so you can have some worthwhile "five minute" clumps of time as you "do" genealogy!
Do you have a spare five minutes? Yes? Then - let's do genealogy!
Well, you will need quite a few spare five minutes, but the idea is to have a system whereby you can take advantage of clumps of time. Do you have an hour or two to spare from time to time? A day here or there? A weekend? Five minutes? Whatever "spare" time you have, compiling your family tree is an absorbing and fun way to spend it.
Genealogy (names, dates, places - the who, where and when) and Family History (social and local history) is a journey; a journey through memories, through records, through the Internet; through time. And knowing your destination is half the journey - I think organisation is the other half! Because, with organisation comes discipline, planning, adeptness - a readiness. Planned, disciplined, skilled behaviour, is very handy for a genealogist!
When you only have small clumps of time, it is a good idea to be methodical. So, what do you need? To begin, you should have some idea of where you need to travel - so download and print a pedigree sheet or two (perhaps one for each of your parents, or your spouse or partner may like to do genealogy too) at www.geniecreations.com/free4gen.htm or www.kbyu.org/ancestors/charts or http://www.kbyu.org/ or www.ancestry.com/save/charts/ancchart.htm Or make your own with a piece of A4 paper folded in half four times (credit card size) and then opened and folded longways in half and half again. You have the places to write name and birth, marriage, death dates and places for four generations across the page and eight great-grandparents down the page.
Once you have a Pedigree/Ancestry sheet you will be able to write down your birth date and place, and those of your parents, grandparents and great- grandparents et al; also marriage and death dates and places. The names and the places are your destinations. You will hope to find others researching your surnames and/or families. You will hope to find information about your places - perhaps even lists of names from parish registers or cemeteries, but certainly information about what is available for your places (maps, photo of the church, what is in the local repositories and what original records are accessible for research, etc). Later the gaps on your Pedigree Sheet will be your destinations as you try to find the missing information.
That's your first five minutes!! In your first clump of time you have obtained and started to fill in a Pedigree Sheet. Over the next few hours, days, weeks or months, depending on your supply of clumps of time, fill in the information for the names, dates and places of births, marriages and deaths.
Where to start? No matter where you are researching, follow the "CR" plan - Check Resources. The first resource to check is close relatives. Ask around your family - look for certificates, birthday books, address books, photo albums, scrap books, newspaper cuttings - anything that may place a person in a place or a time.
It will be a good idea to purchase an A5 hard covered note book (eventually you will need two of these and also an indexed A5 notebook - A-Z). Leave 12 pages in case you need to create an index. Count the number of pages left and divide by four (for the four families in the grandparent section of the pedigree sheet - or your choice of four families). Then use coloured "tabs" to mark the four families (you can buy these tabs from stationery shops). You can divide these sections again if you wish to have sections for any great-grandparents. You now have a Check Resources note-book. (You could use a ring binder and loose leaves instead if you wish). You could create an electronic file too - directions to in Part 2 next month.
In the appropriate section, make a note of everything and anything you find as you check the resource of close relatives - which cousin has a photo of which great-grandmother; who has her birth certificate; her birthday book; her school report, etc. Find long-lost cousins ( http://www.whitepages.co.nz/, http://www.teldir.com/ - worldwide phone books). Have an expanding 12-pocket file for any papers you collect. Twelve pockets means three pockets for each of the four families - one for certificates, one for information about places, names, etc and one for letters (or emails) you receive and copies of any you send. You should check resources for community repositories too, as you may find information about your families there. Community repositories are your local museum, libraries and archives. Here you may find your family in directories (usually trade geographical directories, but with a nationwide alpha-betical index - great to find where in the country siblings might live! A good example is found at sil.otago.ac.nz/oni/default. html), also in electoral rolls, newspapers, scrap books, photo collections, etc. The following sites are just a small selection of what is available, and just for three countries, but enough to use quite a few clumps of time! If you need to write to any repository, do enclose an SAE (stamped address envelope - at least DEL size or A5) and copy your question onto a new page, so the reply can be quickly written there and posted back.
New Zealand Museums On-Line will help you find museums throughout the country (http://www.nzmuseums.co.nz/). Choosing "History" gives a full list of museums. The Australian National Maritime Museum Research Library also has 17 interesting Pathfinder books (www.anmm.gov.au/libhome.htm). Australian Mus-eums & Galleries Online (amol.org.au/guide/guide_index.asp) has similar information to NZ Museums On-Line.
Museums Around the UK on the Web a huge directory is at vlmp.museophile.com/uk.html
The Auckland City Library has a very well organised site with some searchable data bases including cemeteries (http://www.akcity.govt.20nz/library/family/family.html). For links to Libraries in New Zealand, see tepuna.natlib.govt.nz/web_directory/NZ/libraries.htm
For libraries in Australia, see www.nla.gov.au/apps/libraries
Familia is the UK and Ireland's guide to genealogical resources in public libraries (www.familia.org.uk/main.html). I hesitate to mention Britain's 24-Hour Museum (http://www.24hourmuseum.org.uk/), as it may take more than your clump of time! But have a look sometime. Archive New Zealand's regional offices are listed at www.archives.govt.nz/archivesnz/offices/offices_frame.html, the National Archives of Australia at www.naa.gov.au/the_collection/family_history.html and the Public Record Office for England - national archives for England, Wales and the United Kingdom - at http://www.pro.gov.uk/
Finding information in community repositories is good because you can often go back to the original source - the newspaper, the directory, etc. Always check the original, if possible. Note any interesting Web sites, and your comments about them, in your Check Resources notebook. As you find more information, you may like to download and print Family Group sheets (www.byu.org/ancestors/charts). Here you can record the information you find about cousins, aunts and uncles even third cousins twice removed (www.janyce.com/gene/cousins.html)! Always look for a clue as to the when and where of events, so that you can check resources in those places for your families too.
A note of caution: The Check Resources notebook and the expanding file are just fine as you begin this hobby, but you may find you will need a more flexible and comprehensive filing system as your journey progresses. Use the A-Z notebook to create your index to the Web sites you found worthwhile, so you can find them again quickly. For example, you could enter Auckland City Library under Auckland and Libraries, Australian National Maritime Museum under Australia and Museums (you could Bookmark them too). Grab some clumps of time and do your genealogy - and see what you can find to write in your Check Resources book!
To "do" your genealogy in five minutes (or a clump of time) you need to be organised, and have discipline and planning, especially if you plan to use computer resources. You need to be able to pick up your Internet Diary (which could be called your Computer Resources book), your Check Resources book and your A-Z of Web Sites book and see just where you stopped last time, what you would like to do this time, and make the most of those clumps of time!
In your Check Resources book you will have made notes of anything of interest you have found for your 4/8 families. You will have filled in all you know on the Pedigree sheets. You will have noted Web sites of interest in the A-Z book.
Use your Internet Diary in a similar manner, as you check the resources on the Internet. Count the number of pages in an A5 hardbacked notebook. Leave 12-14 for an alpha index. Write the day's date on the next page, and write what you do and where you go - as per instructions to follow. When your "five minutes" is finished, write the surname searched in the alpha index with the day's date. Next time you want to search that surname, you can start searching again, productively, straight away, instead of wasting time wondering where you went last time.
You can then spend "five minutes" surfing the Net. Decide where you want to go - to choose someone on your Pedigree sheet who was born middle 1800s or earlier is a good start. We are looking for people, persons, places (people researching your names, the person you are looking for, the place where this person lived). The farther back you can start, the wider the net you cast. There is a much better chance that you can find descendants of siblings of great-grandparents or great, great-grand parents who may have gone to live in other parts of the world. Note: Responsible genealogists do not publish personal details of living people, so may not include the names of family born after 1900.
In your Internet Diary, write the name in quotation marks and as proper nouns, ie: "Edward Bridges" rather than edward bridges. A search for the latter returned around 169,000 hits (number of Web sites found to match my search query!) but "Edward Bridges" returned 529 hits (we lost all the references to bridges around the world!). Make a note of which search engines and the search query you used. See box for suggestions.
Remember, less is best. Do the widest search first to see just what is available. Two of my favourite search engines (http://www.alltheweb.com/ and http://www.google.com/) offer Advanced Search facilities. This saves you using "Search Engine Maths" - the "plus" and "minus" signs - in your search query. Instead use "Must have", "Should have", "Must not have". Look for the choice "Exact phrase" too, as this ensures that the words "Edward" and "Bridges" are side by side.
After your first wide search, add must have born or +born. Some "minus" choices would also reduce the number. In my example, my final Alltheweb search query ("Edward Bridges" +born +england -University -Austen) resulted in 11 Web sites to look at.
Remember, as soon as you open a suggested Web site, hit the CTRL+ F keys, to bring up the Find Function window, so that you can type the name or place you have searched for and so find just where on the page these words appear. Make sure you "find" on each of the pages. When you find something that looks good, make sure there is an email address and phone number too, so that you may make contact with the compiler and verify the accuracy of the data.
Some searches are just not successful, particularly if you have a common name. Try searching with the surname in capitals; try forename SURNAME; surname, forename; SURNAME, forename. Just keep checking resources in the hopes of finding a sibling with a less common name, or an uncommon occupation or place name. And keep trying again with the search engines; millions of new pages are added to the WWW every week.
You should also search Genealogy Gateways - search engines searching only genealogy pages. Try http://www.gendoor.com/, http://www.rootsweb.com/, http://www.ancestry.com/, http://www.genealogy.com/, http://www.gengateway.com/ (will take you to other specific Gateways), http://www.coraweb.com.au/ (Australian Gateway), http://www.cyndislist.com/, http://www.genuki.org.uk/
If you wish to track your progress electronically, you could use a program such as TreePad (www.treepad.com). The free version is TreePad Freeware, so this is the one to download. TreePad looks like Windows Explorer, but you create the folders, sub-folders and "files". You create nodes (folders) and child nodes (sub-folders) and articles (which can be text, links etc). Create Internet Diary as a node and the date as a child node. In the article, paste your search engine, search query, Web sites found and add your comments, etc. Search will quickly take you back to where you last searched for a particular family. Go to www.genealogy.net.nz to download a node listing the Web sites mentioned - it will save lots of typing!
These are just a few of the ways to look for People, Persons and Places. And you must find a spare "five minutes" for http://www.familysearch.org/ , The Mormon Church Web site. To look for your Persons (ancestors) go to "Search for your Ancestors in our vast record collections". It is best to begin by using the International Genealogical Index database to look for your ancestors. For hints on ways to make the best use of www.familysearch.org go to Genealogy on the Internet Web site - http://www.genealogy.net.nz/. For your Places, see "Search the Family History Library Catalogue" - go to Places and see just what original records the library holds for your places. Films and fiche may be ordered into your local Family History Centre - under "Find a Family History Centre near you".
If you have very few names on your Pedigree sheet, you will need to access contemporary records to find the missing information - records that were created at the time of the event. These include civil registration (the legal requirement to register births, deaths and marriages), church registers (vital records - christenings, marriages, burials as noted in parish registers), cemetery records and census returns (mostly every 10 years since 1841 in England, Wales, Scotland). There are others - newspapers are one.
Filling the gaps will require visits to libraries, repositories, Family History Centres etc. However, you can make a start! If you have NSW events, go to http://www.bdm.nsw.gov.au/ This index of births to 1905 and deaths and marriages to 1945 is online and free to access. In Victoria, there is a charge to look at the index (births to 1924, deaths to 1985, marriages to 1939) - 99c per screen of around 10 records (www.justice.vic.gov.au/bdm). Click on Births, Deaths & Marriages, then Family History, then VicHeritage Family History. Then you must go to the section headed Search Births, Deaths & Marriages on the Internet and click Maxi, then Continue. These indexes have parents' names on birth entries, spouse's name on marriages and parents' name or age on death entries. Certificates are available - cost $17-$26. These indexes and those for other Australian states are available on fiche and CDs too. Look at http://www.rootsweb.com/blahausbdm - the Australasia Births, Deaths and Marriages Exchange. This is a free resource to share information about details contained on civil and parish records registered in Australia and civil records registered in New Zealand.
A growing resource, as volunteers around the world create the database, is freebmd.rootsweb.com , the index to births, marriages and deaths in England and Wales from mid 1837 to eventually 1901. The indexes on fiche or film held in libraries and Family History Centres can be up to the 1990s. A brief index giving person's name, registration district and reference number - though age at death (since 1866), spouse's name (since 1912) and mother's maiden name (since Sep 1911) are a great help. Go to www.genuki.org.uk/big/eng/civreg for information. To order a certificate (and so find more information) go to http://www.research-uk.co.uk/ - scroll down to page end and click on "Direct to BDM Order page". For Scotland, a pay-to-view site, but with a free surname search - http://www.origins.net/GRO
Use the search sites already listed to search for your church or parish registers, cemetery records and census records. Always search on the Internet, just in case. To see what can be available, look at http://www.wirksworth.org.uk/
What do you do with all the information you have collected? You do need a genealogy program.
Three popular programs are: http://www.legacyfamilytree.com/, http://www.familyorigins.com/, http://www.familytreemaker.com/.
For thoughts on choosing a genealogy program, go to www.beehivebooks.co.nz/id39.htm
Do try to follow the suggestions for organisation and for keeping track of your searches, so you can have some worthwhile "five minute" clumps of time as you "do" genealogy!
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
Computer Prayer
Computer Prayer
Blessings on this fine machine,
May its data all be clean.
Let the files stay where they're put,
Away from disk drives keep all soot.
From its screen shall come no whines,
Let in no spikes on power lines.
As oaks were sacred to the Druids,
Let not the keyboard suffer fluids.
Disk full shall be no more than rarity,
The memory shall not miss its parity.
From the modem shall come wonders,
Without line noise making blunders.
May it never catch a virus,
And all its software stay desirous.
Oh let the printer never jam,
And turn my output into spam.
I ask of Eris, noble queen,
Keep Murphy far from this machine.
Blessings on this fine machine,
May its data all be clean.
Let the files stay where they're put,
Away from disk drives keep all soot.
From its screen shall come no whines,
Let in no spikes on power lines.
As oaks were sacred to the Druids,
Let not the keyboard suffer fluids.
Disk full shall be no more than rarity,
The memory shall not miss its parity.
From the modem shall come wonders,
Without line noise making blunders.
May it never catch a virus,
And all its software stay desirous.
Oh let the printer never jam,
And turn my output into spam.
I ask of Eris, noble queen,
Keep Murphy far from this machine.
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
Genealogy Pox Poem
GENEALOGY POX
INCIDENCE: Though it can strike at any age, this dread disease rarely affects children or young adults, and rarely becomes serious until after middle age.
CONTAGION: The cause and manner of transmission of the Pox are poorly understood. It is generally only mildly contagious, requiring relatively prolonged exposure to one afflicted with it. However, some victims contract the disease after one brief exposure, while others seem to have a natural immunity, and can withstand years of close contact without ever succumbing to it.
SYMPTOMS: Insatiable craving for names, dates and places; patient often has a blank expression and seems deaf to spouse and children; has no taste for productive work of any kind, but will spend long hours feverishly looking through books at libraries and courthouses; may become addicted to the use of microfilm and microfiche readers; may become a compulsive letter- writer or phone-caller; may tend to lie in wait for the mailman, cursing him soundly if he only leaves bills or circulars; frequents strange places such as cemeteries, attics and any place where dusty old books and photographs can be found.
These have always been the classic symptoms. But recently the virus causing this Pox seems to have mutated. The newest symptom is spending hours in front of a computer screen, sending e-mail messages and looking for more and more genealogy websites on the Internet. This can lead to dire consequences, as the victim often forgets to eat or sleep and can become emaciated, disoriented and clinically speaking, totally nuts!
TREATMENT: There is no known cure, and fighting the disease only makes the victim withdraw from contact with those trying to help him. Humoring him, or joining in his obsessive activities seem to be the best ways for loved ones to deal with it. It is progressive, but has never been known to be fatal. The patient should attend genealogy workshops, subscribe to genealogy magazines, and be given a quiet place where he can be alone. If the patient is inattentive to those closest to him, his attention can be gotten, at least for short periods of time, by promising him a new website address, or a new and more powerful computer. But perhaps the surest, and certainly the least expensive way of getting his attention, is to ask a question - ANY question - about his great grandmother!
REMARKS/OBSERVATIONS: The most unusual aspect of this disease has always been that, the sicker the patient gets, the more he enjoys it!
With kind permission from:
http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~parrottreilly/poems.html
INCIDENCE: Though it can strike at any age, this dread disease rarely affects children or young adults, and rarely becomes serious until after middle age.
CONTAGION: The cause and manner of transmission of the Pox are poorly understood. It is generally only mildly contagious, requiring relatively prolonged exposure to one afflicted with it. However, some victims contract the disease after one brief exposure, while others seem to have a natural immunity, and can withstand years of close contact without ever succumbing to it.
SYMPTOMS: Insatiable craving for names, dates and places; patient often has a blank expression and seems deaf to spouse and children; has no taste for productive work of any kind, but will spend long hours feverishly looking through books at libraries and courthouses; may become addicted to the use of microfilm and microfiche readers; may become a compulsive letter- writer or phone-caller; may tend to lie in wait for the mailman, cursing him soundly if he only leaves bills or circulars; frequents strange places such as cemeteries, attics and any place where dusty old books and photographs can be found.
These have always been the classic symptoms. But recently the virus causing this Pox seems to have mutated. The newest symptom is spending hours in front of a computer screen, sending e-mail messages and looking for more and more genealogy websites on the Internet. This can lead to dire consequences, as the victim often forgets to eat or sleep and can become emaciated, disoriented and clinically speaking, totally nuts!
TREATMENT: There is no known cure, and fighting the disease only makes the victim withdraw from contact with those trying to help him. Humoring him, or joining in his obsessive activities seem to be the best ways for loved ones to deal with it. It is progressive, but has never been known to be fatal. The patient should attend genealogy workshops, subscribe to genealogy magazines, and be given a quiet place where he can be alone. If the patient is inattentive to those closest to him, his attention can be gotten, at least for short periods of time, by promising him a new website address, or a new and more powerful computer. But perhaps the surest, and certainly the least expensive way of getting his attention, is to ask a question - ANY question - about his great grandmother!
REMARKS/OBSERVATIONS: The most unusual aspect of this disease has always been that, the sicker the patient gets, the more he enjoys it!
With kind permission from:
http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~parrottreilly/poems.html
Sunday, October 26, 2008
Things I have and things I love about my family tree
things I hate about researching my family tree
One adulteress can spoil the batchI don't recall where I read it, but I do remember the sinking feeling I felt: the idea that somewhere, among the hundreds of people who copulated to create the branches of a family tree that ends with you, at least some percentage of the women were unfaithful. Some percentage of that percentage were impregnated by lovers, and some generous percentage of that group lied to their spouses, their family and their priests about the identity of the father. The child remained legally, and in the eyes of the church, a descendant of the husband.This situation occurs more often than you might think. An evolutionary biologist at the University of Manchester estimates that in 10 percent of British births, the mother was sleeping with a man who had "stronger" sperm than her husband. Both impregnated her, but the lover's sperm won out. According to an excellent article published in the New Yorker (26 March 2001), the rate of "false paternity" in the U.S. is estimated to be between two and five percent — "not large, but over ten generations the likelihood that a bloodline suffers from what geneticists refer to as a 'non-paternity event' could approach 50 percent." According to Why is Sex Fun?: The Evolution of Human Sexuality, some genetic testing hints that as many as 30 percent of American, British and Italian babies are secretly illegitimate — in its most recent annual survey (2003) of accredited DNA centers, the American Association of Blood Banks found that 29 percent of 340,798 men tested were not the fathers, as claimed by the mothers. The rule applies even in the animal kingdom, or at least among chimps: A 1997 study that ran DNA paternity tests on baby chimps found that 54 percent had not been fathered by the mother's mate.Once in a while a guy finds out that his kids may not be his, and he goes ballistic. Consider a story I read in This is True, a newsletter of weird-but-true news: "A man in Kinshasa, Zaire, was upset to learn that three of his four children were not his own, and that his wife of 20 years had been unfaithful to him for most of that time. Worse, the neighbors had known for a long time and laughed at him behind his back. Furious, 'Papa G.' sent the wife and three girls to the kids' father's house to live, but then decided that wasn't enough revenge. So he seduced one of the girls, got her pregnant, and married her to become his ex-wife's son-in-law."I shared this with Eddie Mitchell of Genealo-zine, and he related the story of a friend whose mother had left his father to live with her longtime lover. The lover turned out to be the biological father of the friend's brother and sister, who were in their early 20s. So you never know who you really are — just the stories people tell. The veracity of a legal or church record is only as good as someone's word. That said, you must now strike this thought from your head, or you will never find the energy to search through census records in bad light on an crippled microfilm reader.
People aren't where they're supposed to beYou trace your family back to a certain area and time. You dig up census records and search a small village for siblings. They aren't there. Church records list several by your ancestor's name born about the same time. Pitfalls in Genealogical Research (the best genealogy book you'll find for under $8) has some great examples of this, such as the tiny colonial town that was home to three unrelated guys with the same name.
Dates don't matchOne source has 17 January and another has 19 January. It doesn't matter, but if you're dedicated you have to take the time to make a notation and figure out which is right.
Too many statisticsThe emphasis on BMD (birth, marriage, death) isn't what genealogy is about, but sometimes it's all you have. I spend a few hours at a time typing from charts to a computer database and sometimes can't sleep because of the dates swimming in my head.
People don't care about the family history and so ignore youI have cousins and cousins of cousins who I suspect have troves of antique photos and letters in their attic, waiting to be destroyed in a fire. I write asking if I can beg, borrow or steal a glimpse; if they write back, it's often to say, "I looked but couldn't find them." Well, mister, YOU DIDN'T LOOK HARD ENOUGH.
No one labels old photosIt's so sad to visit antique shops and see dozens of 100-year-old photos for sale because no one ever took a few minutes to pencil names on the back. What's sadder is the shoe box of unidentified photos in your closet. You can't throw them out, because you know they're people who belong somewhere in the tree, but it's doubtful you or anyone else will ever know how.
Con artists everywherePitfalls in Genealogical Research describes the crooks who sell people instant family trees and fake coats of arms. That sort of thing gives genealogy a bad name. Tracing your family's history takes energy and time. I had one guy send me a chart that traced his family back to Adam.
Documenting everythingI hate having to document and footnote every date and place. It's a pain but you're supposed to do it. More statistics.
Listening to other people talk about their familiesGenealogists never seem to realize that no one wants to hear about their ancestors. They might want to hear about public records and genealogical detective stories, but only if the library isn't closing in half an hour. If you're going to share stories about your family, make sure they involve crazy aunts or murders or bastard children and leave out the statistics. Also, having an ancestor who came over on the Mayflower is not such a big deal — I have five. The Pilgrims married each other, so you find one, you find a bunch. Having an Ellis Island ancestor, now that's cool.
things I love about researching my family tree
Making new friends the list keeps growing.
It gives me a sense of the people who formed meWe are the product of people who came before. You figure that your parents molded you in many ways, and that your parents were molded by their parents, etc. So there's a part of each ancestor — good and bad — in our values and personalities and genes (but also see the first gripe in the previous list). Although playwright Edward Albee, when asked about why he had never tried to find his birth parents, responded: "I don't want to go to the trouble. I know who I am. Once I figured out who I was, whatever care or interest I may have had in where I came from vanished completely."
It reminds us that we're all family, more or lessWhen you discover and meet a long-lost cousin, you realize you could have passed her on the street or flipped him off at a traffic light and not even realized they were family. Scientists studying genomes have calculated that each of the six billion members of the species could trace back his or her lineage back 7000 generations to a founding population of about 60,000 people. They also know that the DNA of any two living people is 99.9 percent identical. As one scientist explains it, "Our similarities outweigh our differences."
The MormonsWhenever someone attacks the Mormons, I have this urge to defend them. That is, as long as they keep microfilming old records.
The detective workIt can make a person obsessive when he or she has a clue to an ancestor's identity and needs only to find a few hours to check records. My great grandfather, born during the Civil War, was the son of English parents. According to one legal record, they named him Charles Luncolias Rowe. I read in Pitfalls in Genealogical Research that the English sometimes named bastard children Last Name of Actual Father/alias/Last Name of Cheating Mother. Was he actually Lunc alias Rowe? I'm chomping at the bit to figure it out.
The people you write toI attribute my early interest to genealogy — I began when I was 12 — to teenage angst. Some people I wrote to as a kid were helpful beyond words. One woman even looked up my ancestors for me while she was vacationing overseas. I still exchange cards with some distant cousins, even though we've exhausted all leads. In many ways, genealogy is like doing a fanzine: You never meet most of your correspondents face-to-face but feel you know them.
Colonial AmericansUnlike the Poles, Germans and Russians, they recorded their public records in English. I am grateful.
Old photos that have been labeledI could study them for hours. It's weird especially to see your ancestors when they were about the same age as you. You try to imagine the events immediately before and after the photo was taken. It's sad, because you want to know these people who formed you, but they are lost. Genealogy never answered the question I was after as a teen: Who am I? Like everyone else, I'm figuring it out on my own. Each generation works from scratch. Family history makes you realize how transitory life is, which helps explain the Mormon instinct to baptize the past. It's a good instinct but probably futile.
One adulteress can spoil the batchI don't recall where I read it, but I do remember the sinking feeling I felt: the idea that somewhere, among the hundreds of people who copulated to create the branches of a family tree that ends with you, at least some percentage of the women were unfaithful. Some percentage of that percentage were impregnated by lovers, and some generous percentage of that group lied to their spouses, their family and their priests about the identity of the father. The child remained legally, and in the eyes of the church, a descendant of the husband.This situation occurs more often than you might think. An evolutionary biologist at the University of Manchester estimates that in 10 percent of British births, the mother was sleeping with a man who had "stronger" sperm than her husband. Both impregnated her, but the lover's sperm won out. According to an excellent article published in the New Yorker (26 March 2001), the rate of "false paternity" in the U.S. is estimated to be between two and five percent — "not large, but over ten generations the likelihood that a bloodline suffers from what geneticists refer to as a 'non-paternity event' could approach 50 percent." According to Why is Sex Fun?: The Evolution of Human Sexuality, some genetic testing hints that as many as 30 percent of American, British and Italian babies are secretly illegitimate — in its most recent annual survey (2003) of accredited DNA centers, the American Association of Blood Banks found that 29 percent of 340,798 men tested were not the fathers, as claimed by the mothers. The rule applies even in the animal kingdom, or at least among chimps: A 1997 study that ran DNA paternity tests on baby chimps found that 54 percent had not been fathered by the mother's mate.Once in a while a guy finds out that his kids may not be his, and he goes ballistic. Consider a story I read in This is True, a newsletter of weird-but-true news: "A man in Kinshasa, Zaire, was upset to learn that three of his four children were not his own, and that his wife of 20 years had been unfaithful to him for most of that time. Worse, the neighbors had known for a long time and laughed at him behind his back. Furious, 'Papa G.' sent the wife and three girls to the kids' father's house to live, but then decided that wasn't enough revenge. So he seduced one of the girls, got her pregnant, and married her to become his ex-wife's son-in-law."I shared this with Eddie Mitchell of Genealo-zine, and he related the story of a friend whose mother had left his father to live with her longtime lover. The lover turned out to be the biological father of the friend's brother and sister, who were in their early 20s. So you never know who you really are — just the stories people tell. The veracity of a legal or church record is only as good as someone's word. That said, you must now strike this thought from your head, or you will never find the energy to search through census records in bad light on an crippled microfilm reader.
People aren't where they're supposed to beYou trace your family back to a certain area and time. You dig up census records and search a small village for siblings. They aren't there. Church records list several by your ancestor's name born about the same time. Pitfalls in Genealogical Research (the best genealogy book you'll find for under $8) has some great examples of this, such as the tiny colonial town that was home to three unrelated guys with the same name.
Dates don't matchOne source has 17 January and another has 19 January. It doesn't matter, but if you're dedicated you have to take the time to make a notation and figure out which is right.
Too many statisticsThe emphasis on BMD (birth, marriage, death) isn't what genealogy is about, but sometimes it's all you have. I spend a few hours at a time typing from charts to a computer database and sometimes can't sleep because of the dates swimming in my head.
People don't care about the family history and so ignore youI have cousins and cousins of cousins who I suspect have troves of antique photos and letters in their attic, waiting to be destroyed in a fire. I write asking if I can beg, borrow or steal a glimpse; if they write back, it's often to say, "I looked but couldn't find them." Well, mister, YOU DIDN'T LOOK HARD ENOUGH.
No one labels old photosIt's so sad to visit antique shops and see dozens of 100-year-old photos for sale because no one ever took a few minutes to pencil names on the back. What's sadder is the shoe box of unidentified photos in your closet. You can't throw them out, because you know they're people who belong somewhere in the tree, but it's doubtful you or anyone else will ever know how.
Con artists everywherePitfalls in Genealogical Research describes the crooks who sell people instant family trees and fake coats of arms. That sort of thing gives genealogy a bad name. Tracing your family's history takes energy and time. I had one guy send me a chart that traced his family back to Adam.
Documenting everythingI hate having to document and footnote every date and place. It's a pain but you're supposed to do it. More statistics.
Listening to other people talk about their familiesGenealogists never seem to realize that no one wants to hear about their ancestors. They might want to hear about public records and genealogical detective stories, but only if the library isn't closing in half an hour. If you're going to share stories about your family, make sure they involve crazy aunts or murders or bastard children and leave out the statistics. Also, having an ancestor who came over on the Mayflower is not such a big deal — I have five. The Pilgrims married each other, so you find one, you find a bunch. Having an Ellis Island ancestor, now that's cool.
things I love about researching my family tree
Making new friends the list keeps growing.
It gives me a sense of the people who formed meWe are the product of people who came before. You figure that your parents molded you in many ways, and that your parents were molded by their parents, etc. So there's a part of each ancestor — good and bad — in our values and personalities and genes (but also see the first gripe in the previous list). Although playwright Edward Albee, when asked about why he had never tried to find his birth parents, responded: "I don't want to go to the trouble. I know who I am. Once I figured out who I was, whatever care or interest I may have had in where I came from vanished completely."
It reminds us that we're all family, more or lessWhen you discover and meet a long-lost cousin, you realize you could have passed her on the street or flipped him off at a traffic light and not even realized they were family. Scientists studying genomes have calculated that each of the six billion members of the species could trace back his or her lineage back 7000 generations to a founding population of about 60,000 people. They also know that the DNA of any two living people is 99.9 percent identical. As one scientist explains it, "Our similarities outweigh our differences."
The MormonsWhenever someone attacks the Mormons, I have this urge to defend them. That is, as long as they keep microfilming old records.
The detective workIt can make a person obsessive when he or she has a clue to an ancestor's identity and needs only to find a few hours to check records. My great grandfather, born during the Civil War, was the son of English parents. According to one legal record, they named him Charles Luncolias Rowe. I read in Pitfalls in Genealogical Research that the English sometimes named bastard children Last Name of Actual Father/alias/Last Name of Cheating Mother. Was he actually Lunc alias Rowe? I'm chomping at the bit to figure it out.
The people you write toI attribute my early interest to genealogy — I began when I was 12 — to teenage angst. Some people I wrote to as a kid were helpful beyond words. One woman even looked up my ancestors for me while she was vacationing overseas. I still exchange cards with some distant cousins, even though we've exhausted all leads. In many ways, genealogy is like doing a fanzine: You never meet most of your correspondents face-to-face but feel you know them.
Colonial AmericansUnlike the Poles, Germans and Russians, they recorded their public records in English. I am grateful.
Old photos that have been labeledI could study them for hours. It's weird especially to see your ancestors when they were about the same age as you. You try to imagine the events immediately before and after the photo was taken. It's sad, because you want to know these people who formed you, but they are lost. Genealogy never answered the question I was after as a teen: Who am I? Like everyone else, I'm figuring it out on my own. Each generation works from scratch. Family history makes you realize how transitory life is, which helps explain the Mormon instinct to baptize the past. It's a good instinct but probably futile.
Friday, October 10, 2008
GENEALOGY WARNING!! Very contagious to mature adults. NO KNOWN CURE
SYMPTOMS: Mumbles to self. Makes secret calls at night. Hides phone bill from spouse. Has strange far away look in eyes. Has strong compulsions to write letters. Always includes a check in these letters. Swears at mailman when he leaves no mail. Continual complaints for names, dates, and places. Patient has blank expression, sometimes deaf to spouse and children. Has no taste for work of any kind, except feverishly looking through records at libraries and courthouses. Has compulsions to frequently visit strange places, such as cemeteries, ruins, and remote desolate country areas.
TREATMENT:
Medication is useless. Disease is not fatal, but gets progressively worse. Patient should be given a quiet corner of the house where he or she can be left alone. Patient should subscribe to as many societies, newsgroups, surname lists, and genealogical magazines as possible.
REMARKS: The unusual nature of this disease is... The sicker one gets, the more he or she enjoys it.
Author unknown
http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~parrottreilly/poems.html
SYMPTOMS: Mumbles to self. Makes secret calls at night. Hides phone bill from spouse. Has strange far away look in eyes. Has strong compulsions to write letters. Always includes a check in these letters. Swears at mailman when he leaves no mail. Continual complaints for names, dates, and places. Patient has blank expression, sometimes deaf to spouse and children. Has no taste for work of any kind, except feverishly looking through records at libraries and courthouses. Has compulsions to frequently visit strange places, such as cemeteries, ruins, and remote desolate country areas.
TREATMENT:
Medication is useless. Disease is not fatal, but gets progressively worse. Patient should be given a quiet corner of the house where he or she can be left alone. Patient should subscribe to as many societies, newsgroups, surname lists, and genealogical magazines as possible.
REMARKS: The unusual nature of this disease is... The sicker one gets, the more he or she enjoys it.
Author unknown
http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~parrottreilly/poems.html
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