Tips – Page 22 – GenealogyAtHeart.com

Photographs Unveil Information in a New Light

Originally published on genealogyatheart.blogspot.com on 16 Jun 2016.

I’ve had a very strange week – genealogywise! It started with this recent family photo tree purchase:

tree

I always wanted to place family photos on the wall in my office but I couldn’t decide which pictures to use or how to group them. I saw the photo tree concept online but the reviews weren’t good; some said it was difficult to put together and others complained it wouldn’t stay up on the wall. The trees were pricy, too, and I didn’t want to waste time and money on a product that would frustrate me.

A few weeks ago I found the tree pictured above offered through Books R Fun locally. The reasonable price and the easy directions worked for me! Within minutes I had the tree up and then it hit me – why not use couple photos. I could display more people that way and since my husband and I share an office, it would serve as a nice reminder of our many grandparents.

I didn’t think it was going to take me long to finish the project as I sort of knew which photos I would select. First problem I encountered was my photos were missing from Google Photos. I’ve blogged previously about how Google Picassa has morphed into Google Photos and I thought that I had successfully transferred all of them from one program to the other a few months ago. Evidently, most did not take. Please check if you did that, too, as it’s better to know now then when you need them.

No worries, I thought, I have them saved elsewhere. That’s when I realized the computer where I had saved them had bit the dust. I checked Dropbox; they weren’t there, either. I must have removed them when I reached the max allowable on my plan. They were on Ancestry.com but to have to go through the gallery to locate them would be time consuming. I have backups on cd but those were saved by family surnames and I would have had to keep flipping through the various cds to find what I wanted. I then remembered that I had installed Picassa on the desktop of an old laptop. Sure enough, there they all were! Since I had taken the time to place all the photos in albums it was a breeze to find what I was looking for quickly. I’m glad this happened now as I have since backed up the laptop pictures to 2 hard drives and again, to Google Photos. The $8.00 tree purchase saved me future grief!

Being a thrifty genealogist, I decided I wouldn’t print the photos to photographic paper until I had them perfect as most of the photos I selected didn’t fit easily into the frame size. I plan to make them real photos this weekend and add children of the couples to frames that will surround the tree.

As I was arranging and rearranging the photos on the tree itself I was startled to discover how much of a strong family resemblance my father-in-law had to his mother and grandmother! My husband bears a remarkable resemblance to his maternal grandfather who he never knew. I have seen these photos for most of my adult life; none were new to me. It wasn’t until I placed them in the tree that I noticed the similarities between individuals.

I’m not sure if it was because they were now almost all the same size, shape, and color, the angle on the wall or the proximity to each other. Looking at them from this perspective was nothing short of startling. I highly recommend trying this! You may discover things about your family in a completely different way.

When I looked at myself, however, I was stunned. I don’t look like anyone! I blurted out that I must have been adopted but hubby pointed out that I have the original birth certificate and that there are photos of me in my mother’s arms in the hospital shortly after I was born. Mom clearly looked like she had been through labor! I knew I had my mom’s eyes and figured my hair was just a blend of both of my parents – my dad’s blonde and my mom’s dark brown. Looking at the photos I realized I had my paternal grandmother’s hair, my maternal grandmother and great grandmother’s nose and my paternal grandfather’s chin. Okay, so my dna is all mixed up – I am a true red blooded American mutt!

The photos didn’t just unveil family similarities; they also showed up some commonalities uniting all sides. I always thought my preference for pearls was a result of watching Leave It To Beaver as a child and channeling June Cleaver! Nope, in just about every photo a female is wearing pearls. I shared this insight with my daughter who just happened to be wearing pearls. Nice to know that trait got passed along to another generation.

I also discovered that one of the great great grandpas was wearing some type of insignia. I never noticed it before and it’s another mystery to solve. Taking a look back at your old photos may just lead you to more amazing family discoveries.

Random Genealogy News

Originally published on genealogyatheart.blogspot.com on 9 June 2016.

Maybe due to the recent passing of Tropical Storm Colin through my area my thoughts are fairly random today! Several days of heavy rain and wind is pushing me to get outside and do some cleanup yard work so this will be brief!

First up – did you know that Family Tree Maker is back. They have a newsletter that will keep you updated as to when they are going to start synching again with Ancestry.com. If you’re a faithful reader you know I gave up on them about two years ago but now I’m thinking that maybe the problem was that I had the 2012 version and when they moved to the 2014 version it interfered with the synch. Neither FTM or Ancestry ever asked me what version I was using when I repeatedly called which says a lot about their customer support. Anyway, the software is now owned by mackiev which used to make really good products, like Kidspics that my own children loved back in the day. For $29.95 they’ll sell you their latest version of FTM at a discount if you had a previous one and I may do that as another backup. To sign up for their newsletter click here.

Update to my last three blogs about frugality in genealogy – Should have definitely mentioned Linkedin and Facebook. I use both and they are free! Did you know that there are over 8,000 genealogy sites on Facebook?! To view the list of them click here.

Two more reason to DO IT NOW! – Had a colleague from my educational job thank me for giving her the “Mean Momma” look when she told me two weeks ago that she had 14 boxes of family documents stored in an unair conditioned shed near a major river that floods. I told her to move them in her house pronto but she insisted that she was going to spend the summer going through the boxes, one a week. She had gone through 3 of the boxes when the flood advisory hit the area and she wasted no time in getting the boxes relocated in her home. With the storm, she had time to go through them and found some wonderful genealogical stories that I’m encouraging her to write about and publish. She’s an awesome writer so in the near future, look for a guest blog from her.

Another colleague asked me about how to go about collecting family history information. I pointed her to my website that houses all of my blogs (www.genealogyatheart.com) and strongly encouraged her to talk with her parents when she went home for Memorial Day weekend. When she returned the following Tuesday she told me that she relaxed all weekend and never got around to talking to her parents about the past. Five days later one of her parents had a stroke and has lost the ability to speak. Understandably, she is devastated on so many levels. If that isn’t a wake up call for all of us, I don’t know what is! Don’t delay – send that email, make that phone call, take the older relative to lunch and get the info today!

Those are my three random thoughts for the day – got to go get on the garden gloves and start picking up Spanish moss.

Pursuing Genealogy on a Shoestring Budget – Part 3

Originally published on genealogyatheart.blogspot.com on 4 Jun 2016.

This is the last in a series of posts about keeping the costs down on our very expensive practice. Our running total for the frugal (accumulated in Parts 1 & 2) is less than $100.00 per year. Granted, that sum is based on using your local library for much of your research which could be problematic if your facility limits your time, has shortened hours due to budget cuts, and is difficult to reach, transportationwise. That amount also does not include costs for renting microfilms from Familysearch or obtaining vital records. Those two prices are set and non negotiable. The best way around that is to find others who are researching your lines and are willing to share what they have found. You may even get lucky and find that some kindhearted researcher has scanned and posted the vital you needed, thus saving you time and money.

The sites below are FREE and are good ways for you to connect with others who share your interest areas:

Ancestor Cloud – although it costs to hire their researchers, it does not cost anything to obtain their weekly emails or to view and post requests on their website. They saved me the cost of traveling overseas and I would use them again if the situation arises. If you do need to pay for assistance, you negotiate the price so it will fit nicely in with your budget as opposed to other companies out there that have standard fees.

Blogs – geneabloggers is one of many that give helpful advice and resources without any cost to you. Just check out the main page and you’ll see that founder Thomas MacEntree has loads of discounted genealogy related services listed. Subscribe to their newsletter and you’ll get the deals emailed to you as they become available.

Crestleaf will email a newsletter weekly with the updates to their records. Scroll down to check out their surname index, or browse by decade or location. Lots of good free info for you to explore!

Cyndi’s List – for the most comprehensive genealogy sources on the web. This site will point you in the right direction, thus saving you time and money.

Genealogy in Time is another email “magazine” with helpful information. Their website has a search engine that is powerful and there are lots of articles to help you find those elusive ancestors. Sign up for their Sunday email, “The Genealogy News” which includes links to genealogy news that occurred in the past week. I love starting my week off by reading the “News” with my morning coffee.

Geneanet – is more than just a place to search; the community forum is a place to post your queries and if you have French ancestry, you must check out their searchable collection. You can specify a surname you’re interested in and receive an email when more information becomes available on their site.

Legacy – download the Standard edition family tree and view their training videos. Although some do have a cost attached, their weekly webinars are free if you are able to watch them shortly after they’ve posted.

I’ve only scratched the surface of genealogical savings. Deals are out there and the wise genealogist uses resources that give the most bang for the buck. Happy Hunting!

Pursuing Genealogy on a Shoestring Budget Part 2 – Genealogical Websites

Originally published on genealogyatheart.blogspot.com on 2 June 2016.

Last blog we looked at ways to cut costs on genealogical memberships. We’ll keep a running tab of expenses; for full membership in genealogical organizations the cost would be about $409.00 annually and on a limited budget, less than $100.00. Today we’re going to explore how to cut costs for those must have online databases.

AmericanAncestors.org is a database offering “hundreds of millions of valuable records.” For home access, the cost is $89.95 annually but it is free through many public libraries. Check out the link I’ve provided – it’s to the 453 databases in the collection. I have found this site very useful for my New England and Long Island ancestors but if you aren’t researching those areas or are on a tight budget, save by using it at the library.

Ancestry.com is most likely available at your local library, too, but I must caution you that not all records are available on the library edition. It is also only available for use in the library so you are limiting the time you can spend searching. That’s okay if you’re on a tight budget as there are other sites you can use while you’re at home. If you are a member of the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP) you can get a one time discount of 30% off an annual Ancestry membership. You must have your AARP card number when you call Ancestry Customer Service and it will extend a current membership so wait until a day or two before your expiration before you renew to take full advantage of the offer. Call Member Services at 1-800-ANCESTRY. Cost depends on what membership you’re purchasing (U.S., World., or All). There’s always the 14 day free trial but if you do that, make sure you’re saving what you find on your computer so you can access it when the trial ends.

Billion Graves is FREE so check it out. Personally, I’ve never found anything different than what is available

elsewhere but I still look and so should you.

Familysearch.org is FREE and if you haven’t created a login you need to. The caveat here is if you are building

your tree on this site ANYONE can change what you’ve entered. Wikis are wonderful and in a perfect world this would not be an issue. I have had well meaning but not knowledgeable folks change data and make links that are not right. I know of the changes because they nicely email you when someone has done something to what you’ve entered. I don’t have the time to keep undoing what someone else does so my skeletal tree is going to remain that. That’s not to say that the rest of the website is a wonderful FREE source for you to use at home.

Find-a-Grave.com is affiliated with Ancestry.com but remains FREE. Not all information on the site is accurate so be careful, just as you would if you were researching anywhere else!

FindMyPast is awesome if you’re researching Great Britain. They boast 8 million records and I have found some info but not enough with the lines I am currently researching to make it worthwhile if money was an issue. They do have a blog and send lots of emails a week with updated news. Like every other competitor, they want you to save your tree to their site. This increases the number of records they can claim they have while you do all the work. The benefits, though, are that you can connect with others who are interested in the same lines and you can access the information anywhere you have connectivity. Fourteen day FREE trial available.

Fold3 -now part of Ancestry.com, has a basic membership for free. That allows you to search and browse but not access all images. Kind of like letting you look in the bakery window but not enter to taste! Specials are offered frequently, such as join for 7 days for free or $49.95 for a premium yearly access. Fold3 is mostly thought about in regards to military records but they are building on other areas, such as Project Blue Book (I believe this is the first genealogy website to include nonearthling alien information!) to African and Native American collections.

GenealogyBank – I call it the newspaper place. Check out where they have records before you buy; with over 100 million records you most likely will find something valuable here, especially obits. Free 30 day FREE trial that’s well worth it so give it a try.

MyHeritage is a not only a place to save your tree online but you can scroll all the way to the bottom of their longggggg page, click search, and use their database. They have a Nordic Census that I’ve found helpful. It’s FREE.

Today’s costs – if you are using a library for Ancestry and you’ve taken advantage of the free trials – $0.00. Our running total for the budget concern – still less than $100.00/year. Next time we’ll look at free additional resources available.

Pursuing Genealogy on a Shoestring Budget – Association Memberships

Originally published on genealogyatheart.blogspot.com on 29 May 2016.

Genealogy is expensive! There’s costs for membership to associations and online databases, travel, research supplies, vital records, mailing, and conferences. When doing our taxes earlier this year the reality of the expenses hit me. When I received an email recently from a reader who mentioned how the costs were pinching her lifestyle I decided to investigate ways to save.

I’m open to suggestions so please readers, comments are welcome on ways you’ve found to be frugal! The focus today is on association dues because one of the benefits of belonging to a group is discounts on related items.

Most likely your local and state association’s yearly membership dues are reasonable. I believe it’s important to support your local group, if you can afford to do so. My local group costs $17.00 annually and provides a weekly email of free classes offered and genealogy tips. If the cost is prohibitive for you, speak with the group about ways you can take part without paying dues. Volunteering at events, assisting with the newsletter or transcribing local records may all be needed and appreciated more than the amount of the annual dues. It can’t hurt to ask!

My state society costs $25.00 per year. I have access to a monthly free webinar, archived journal and newsletters, and access to a members only forum where I can post questions or ask for help with lookups. There are also occasionally special offers; the current being Fold3 for half price ($49.95). Adding the cost to join the state society with the Fold3 discounted membership is less than the cost for Fold3’s regular price, however, Fold3 offers discount premium memberships all the time so that alone would not be a reason to join the state association. For me, the webinars and journal are well worth the price of $25.00.

Regional societies offer specialization and if you’re looking to cut costs this may be where to do it. For example, I do a lot of research in the midwest, mostly Indiana-Ohio-Illinois. There are many local societies and historical groups in the areas that I mine for records, along with larger groups, such as the Ohio Genealogical Society, which costs $35.00 a year. I tend to not join these groups because I don’t live close enough to benefit from the local events they offer. Before you join, check out the groups website and contact members for their advice on where to find what you’re looking for. I have found the majority are knowledgeable and willing to share their expertise. If there is a record you need that is in their holding, discuss the cost involved for you to receive a copy. I try to pay it forward by also sending them the information that I have collected at the end of my project. This allows their resources to grow and benefits the whole group. If you find that the society won’t assist you unless you become a member, contact the local library instead by emailing through the Ask-a-librarian link. For a quick look up, direction in which to research, or knowledge of where a record may be housed these folks are the best and it’s free!

If you research in primarily the New York or New England area you may want to join the New England Historic and Genealogical Society (NEHGS) and the New York Genealogical and Biographical Society (NYG&B). NEGHS is $89.95 annually; I love their quarterly magazine, journal (The Register), weekly e-newsletter and using their library for free. I find their AmericanAncestor.org database powerful, too. I’ve attended two of their workshops in the past six months (one in Boston and one in Florida) and weren’t all that impressed, though. They also have an Ask-a-genealogist service that’s free but I’ve never used it so I can’t attest to how it works. I have asked for help in person and found some of the genealogists to be extremely helpful. I’m trying to limit my book collection so I haven’t taken advantage of the 10% discount on what they publish. If you’re going to save check your local public library. Mine has access to the database and the journals so I really don’t need to pay for this membership but having the resources at home is worth it for me.

NYG&B is $70.00 per year and offers a quarterly journal (The Register) and review of genealogy news (The New York Researcher), monthly e-newsletter, free FindMyPast US-Canada subscription, access to records in special collections, and discounts on other promotions. My library does not have copies of The Register but another library in my area does. If my budget needed to shrink, I’d cut this and read the superb journal in the library.

National societies have many benefits of membership. The National Genealogical Society (NGS) is a bargain at $65.00 a year. Members receive access to free online courses, a quarterly journal, (NGS Quarterly) and magazine (NGS Magazine), digital monthly newsletter, and access to Bible records, ancestry charts sent in by members, and a marriage and death notice database from early American newspapers. They also offer some partnership discounts. There are additional fees to attend conferences, however, members receive a discount. I, personally, would not cut out belonging to this group.

I realize the hobbyist is not going to join the Association of Professional Genealogists as a professional member for $100.00 a year. A subscriber only member price is available for $45.00 annually and provides a paper copy of the Quarterly journal. If you’re a professional, though, this organization is well worth the cost; the members only listserv alone is an extremely valuable resource, along with professional development webinars, conferences and discounts, such as a 25% off a JSTOR pass, 10% off Legacy Family Tree software and webinars, $20.00 for Rootsmagic and book, and 10% off BYU online certificate in genealogy program tuition. There’s more deals then I listed but subcribers only do not have access to them. So unless you’re going pro, you won’t have a cost savings here.

The Board for Certification of Genealogist (BCG) has a free website that is of value to everyone interested in genealogy, whether you want to become certified or not. The free Springboard blog is informative regarding methodology, links are given to educational programs so you can continue to grow and the skillbuilding and sample work sample areas are important for all levels of genealogists. Most importantly, The Standards are a must and only $6.99 for a Kindle edition.

Notice I haven’t mentioned lineage society memberships? That’s because the application fees and membership dues vary. With all the added costs, such as luncheons, travel to events, and highly encouraged donations for philanthropy, if you’re on a budget it’s best to avoid them. Their members may volunteer to help newbies though, so you might want to check that out. Some groups, like the Daughters of the American Revolution have very helpful information for free online to everyone.

Here’s the rounded cost if you’ve joined all – $407.00. On a fixed income, my recommendations are paying for your state and NGS membership and definitely purchasing a copy of The Standards if you don’t have one already – that cost is less than $100.00 a year.

Next time we’ll explore cutting costs for online databases.

A FREE Research Assistant – Google Keep

Originally published on genealogyatheart.blogspot.com on 18 May 2016.

Found a new tool that could help you immensely with your research notes, to do lists, and anything else you want to write and remember. From Google, it’s entitled Keep and with just one click, you can save your work and be able to retrieve it from any online device.

Click on the left hand corner of the Keep page where there are three horizontal lines (the main menu bars). This will open up the main menu where you can view your notes and reminders, once you create them. Filing is easy, just click the “Create New Label.”

If you’d like to share what you created, click on “Settings” and make sure “Enable Sharing” is checked.

You access Keep through your Google account so if you have gmail or Google+ you already have a Google account. If you don’t have an account, the page should direct you to how to obtain one but I haven’t checked that out since I have an existing account.

Keep works on both IOS and Android so whatever is your preference, you can use this tool. It does need Chrome so if you aren’t using that already, you may have to download it for Keep to work efficiently. The Chrome download is supposed to also be available from the Keep page but again, I have it so I’m not able to verify that information.

So, how can you use this with your genealogy? What I think is the best feature is that it is a blend of Evernote and Pinterest. I can click the grey lightbulb on the panel to add text or a part of a webpage. I especially like that I am able to simultaneously update my research log that I’ll display on Keep; the display is viewable like Pinterest. Another beneficial feature is that I can see everything on the same page at once which will make sorting for a timeline or rearranging when analyzing the records much easier.

I can then create a label for the whole group which will enable me to separate out various projects that I’m working on simultaneously. This method also allows me to quickly access the information anywhere (desktop, laptop, tablet, phone) AND be able to retrieve everything about the project in an organized way. Want to see all your labels? Simply click the main menu bars and it will list all the labels you have previously created.

The “Reminders” feature will also help you stay organized. Give it a try!

Heirlooms and Hand Me Downs – Who Cares?!

A FABULOUS FIND of 13 May 2016

Originally published on 11 May 2016.

I read recently an online article about the glazed over look that family members often get when we genealogists start talking about the past. The author mentioned that he was frustrated that his family doesn’t seem to care while the actors featured on tv shows are always so excited about their genealogy finds.

I understand why our family members often don’t get it. Here’s my top 5 reasons for the disconnect and a way to get around it:

1. The past is done and it’s not relevant to me. Geez, I even had that philosophy when I was young. Think about the 1960’s mantra of not trusting anyone over 30! It’s rare that young people can connect the dots of how several times great grandpa’s life could be meaningful today. It’s not just young folks. Some people never out grow this belief so don’t get me wrong and think this view only applies to youth. The solution is simple – tell or write engaging family stories that are applicable to life today. Write the story as a cliffhanger and I bet your relatives will want to learn more about their past.

Concrete tactile learners – there are many learners that have to SEE the picture, TOUCH the artifact, or LISTEN to the voice in order to process the information so show that photo taken at the 1920 family reunion and point out the resemblance to Great Uncle Fred. Caution is needed, though. Don’t overload them with a lot of photos or items as they’ll disconnect from sensory overload. A little goes a long way and what you’re aiming for is to pique interest.

Money, Money, Money! Of course the television actors are excited about their family history finds. Your relatives would be, too, if they were being paid for appearing on tv. This is not a suggestion to pay our family members to listen to us but it does explain why there may be a lack of enthusiasm. D. Joshua Taylor, of Ancestry Roadshow, mentioned at the National Genealogical Society Conference that his grandma updated the family history annually and every one expected to receive a copy gift wrapped under the Christmas tree each year. That tradition, coupled with the $20. bills she hid in the pages, did help family members look forward to the gift. (And he’s interested in the family genealogy so clearly this approach worked. Thank you, Josh’s Grandma!)
Individual Attention. Another reason tv actors are enthusiastic is because they are exclusively meeting one on one with noted researchers who sweetly answer their every question and have the documents all nicely transcribed for them. I tend to talk family genealogy when everyone is together and that may be counter intuitive. Instead, mention some tidbit that can easily blend in with the conversation when you are with only one of your family members. A few weeks ago, while cleaning out a closet, I wondered what happened to a collection of needles I once had – darning, knitting, embroidery, tapestry, etc. that originally belonged to various females in my lines. When I was into arts and crafts, I used them and always thought about the original owners. Daughter said, “Oh, I have those.” She brought them over on Mother’s Day and I pulled out a few and said, “I remember when your great grandma used these to embroider a kitchen towel” and “Grandma Duck used to use these when she repaired the hallway stairs carpet, the one I told you about that I used to slide down on my derriere when I was five.” Will daughter remember and cherish? I don’t know but I gave it my best shot! She is quite artistic so I suspect she will make the connection and remember it.
Road trip needed! When you think of “Who Do You Think You Are?” or “Long Lost Family” you know the participants get to travel. Most family members would just love it if they got to go somewhere, all expenses paid. I always sneak in a side trip whenever we used to vacation and my family still talks about the house on Long Island that several times great grandpa John Hicks Williams had built that just happened to be for sale so we got to see the inside (online – couldn’t find an agent who was available to give us a tour). Walking in your ancestor’s foot steps is a powerful experience and with summer coming, perhaps you can take the most interested of the family on an excursion.

Hope these suggestions help get your family interested in your findings – Happy Hunting!

Life is Short, Do it Now!

Originally published on genealogyatheart.blogspot.com on 8 May 2016.

Just back from the National Genealogical Society conference in Ft. Lauderdale and it was awesome. Wonderful to meet face-to-face with folks I have only interacted with online and some I haven’t seen in person in awhile.

The only downer was that a colleague of mine from my primary job had to cancel at the last minute due to a family emergency. She is working towards a PhD in creative writing and was looking forward to attending the writing workshops that were offered. Additionally, she is interested in family history and is the keeper of her family’s records so the conference was a great fit for her.

As genealogists, we typically place our family’s first so her disappointment in missing the conference was minimized by her right on priorities. This got me thinking of the lost opportunities that we often miss with our own family members. Wouldn’t it be wonderful to just have one hour with that brick wall ancestor (and maybe a translator included!)? Don’t you wish you could ask dearly departed Great Aunt Alice a couple of questions? Recording her answers would be icing on the cake.

Do yourself and the generations to come a favor and ASK TODAY your mom, grandma, and if you’re really lucky, great grandma, what you’re dying to know. Make sure you write it down (and seriously, cite it). It’ll be a Mother’s Day gift that will be appreciated long into the future. Enjoy your day!

The Importance of Recording Your History

A FABULOUS FIND of 22 April 2016.

Originally published on genealogyatheart.blogspot.com on 21 Apr 2016

As genealogists, we search high and low for records left from the past. After recently reading an article from National Geographic about what is considered “historical” for the purpose of digging up someone’s grave, I began to think about what historical means to me. I’m with the dictionary on this one – historical is belonging in the past. The past is what happened, it’s done and over. The past can be as recent as a few minutes ago when I began writing this blog or several millennium.

I have a milestone birthday coming up and that probably further influenced these thoughts. Coupled with the recent hurricane forecast from Colorado State University, I usually start thinking at this time of year about the “what ifs” regarding a severe storm coming my way. I’m a tad paranoid having experienced several hurricanes and losing just about everything in one back in the 1980’s.

Another layer regarding my thoughts is that I recently acquired a diary written by a woman in the late 1800’s about her life in a rural community. What I love most about her writing is that it was so succinct yet so telling. I’m making up this example to demonstrate the style:

15 – Fri.- Cloudy and warm. Rose early to set a hen in shed. Tilled garden. John to town to trade eggs. Mary Madden poorly, doc Bailey called. Jim and Liz – a girl.

There are 30+ years of entries and a wealth of genealogical gems in two lines! She always recorded the weather, which was a critical factor in successful farming, the family’s jobs of the day, and bits and pieces about the social life of the community. Sometimes she included major news, such as strikes in a far off city, the country’s election results and train wrecks.

What impressed me the most was how nonjudgmental were the writer’s entries. When a store clerk shot a farmer she recorded the event but not the why or the sides of the story. She was a “just the facts” kind of girl. I like that – let others form their own opinions of the events through their historical lens.

I decided I am going to start a diary on the day of my birthday in this format. Why? Simply because we don’t take the age in which we’re living as someday being considered worth remembering. Since we’re living the events they are commonplace to us and thus, not important. That’s wrong!

We’re also not vain so we tend to think that our lives don’t need recording. Don’t you do a happy dance when you find a tidbit about your great great grandma? I was so excited when I found one of mine had won a county fair award when she was 8 for sewing. If I hadn’t found the newspaper clipping that listed all the blue ribbon winners I would have never known. It told me a lot about her – that she sewed and did that well, her parents encouraged her to compete and be a part of the larger community at a young age, and that she was at the fair event.

Don’t neglect telling your tale! You are important and one day, one of your descendants will appreciate that you recorded your life. You don’t have to do it in the way I’ve selected. You can write a mini-autobiography or use a letter format. If you’re artistic, a collage of events in your life that were important to you can be depicted. You might want to record and videotape yourself if you’re more of an oral story teller. It doesn’t matter how you record your life, what matters is that you do!

Not sure where to start? Interview yourself! Here are some resources to get you started:

You can see that many of the questions are redundant. I really like FamilySearch.org’s approach, 52 questions – one a week. You can do this! Take the challenge!

The Passionate Genealogist – Using Creativity to Climb Your Brickwalls!

Originally published on genealogyatheart.blogspot.com on 10 Apr 2016.

Just back from a Learning and the Brain Conference in Orlando on imagination, curiosity and creativity. As genealogists we have passion which is the basis for all three, the drive that’s needed for success. After hearing the wonderful speakers from around the world I began to think that the application for genealogy can knock down our brick walls. Here’s how-

The beginning of imagination is dreaming. Our dream may be to discover who our several times great grandpa married or the reason our family moved to an area. It could be how our grandparents met or why we always have banana birthday cake. These thought provoking questions for people with passion to learn more about their ancestors lead to pursuing and seeking ways to find the answer to the question.

The posed research question you act upon is how you demonstrate your curiosity. One of the sessions had an interesting photo at the beginning – it showed square trees. The research question presented was where could you find square trees. I figured it was a trick question and immediately replied Lowes or Home Depot. Hint: That’s not the answer the presenter was looking for! How I formulated my response was by enlisting my background knowledge. My do-it-yourselfer hubby has had me assist with so many projects involving square wood if I lived in a large city my frame of reference may have been to expect that most trees grew in a square shape because that’s what I would be familiar with in the big box lumber department. I know that the trees in my neighborhood grown in somewhat of a round shape and that what we find in the store is processed lumber. Think how this applies to your research. Do you always rely on your same go to websites – the big names on the web to answer your research question? That’s not bad or wrong to do but there’s so much more that you’re missing. Those that want to REALLY know the answer would have their curiosity take them to some out of the box, unconventional places. I have found the answer to some of my research questions in odd places – on a microfilm in Salt Lake City of a book that exists in no library today, at a research facility in Boston that had a text that isn’t anywhere in the state the record was compiled from, on a CD created by a rural former church historian of the denomination’s newsletters, in a deed moved from the recorder’s office to an archive, in a letter stuck in a book on the shelf in our study. Those are just a few examples that pop into my brain that have happened to me in the last six months. None of those had anything to do with the major genealogical websites. Please do not think that I don’t value the information that’s now available on the web. I DO! I certainly don’t want to go back to those dark ages when information was difficult to obtain. I highly value and appreciate the big box genealogy sites. My point is that we need to remember it’s not the be all and end all. There is more – lots more – and your curiosity will propel you to find the more.

If you’re thinking, easy for her to say! I can’t afford, find the time, etc. etc. to go seek this information you’re wrong and doing your research a disservice. You don’t have to go to Salt Lake or Boston or even clean your house to find the letter in a book. You can use the technology that’s available to minimize the miles and bring the research to you. Use Worldcat if it’s available to have your library cooperative bring the material to you. Same with the microfilm – search Familysearch and order the film to be delivered to a closer site to your home. Yes, there is a fee but it’s minimal compared to cost involved if you don’t live in the Salt Lake City area. Aren’t sure how to find what you need? Call or visit your local library and they will help you. If they don’t, go to another. Don’t give up and don’t let negative people stand in your way.

How interesting is this! I’ve even mentioned big box sites to help you find the information you’re needing. You are bringing the knowledge closer to you. That’s why I believe genealogy is a study in patience. In this info overload world we so often expect the answer to arrive instantly on our phone, tablet or laptop. As the song says, “Waiting is the hardest part” but could also be the most important and relevant piece of your genealogical puzzle. While you’re waiting – go make yourself a nice cup of tea and dream some more, then act on that dream and the cycle continues.

See, when you’ve acted on your curiosity you’ve become creative. It was quite easy! We all have this ability we just have to practice it.

We did a cute little exercise at one of the breakout sessions you can take part in. Go to Answer Garden and answer the question “What is creativity.” Your answer is right because there is no one right answer so don’t be afraid. You don’t have to sign in, give your email address, nada! Once you submit your answer you will get an interesting “art” piece. I printed it and have it on my workspace as a reminder to be creative.

Creativity is the quality of human existence that allows us to modify the environment to our needs to make something new and useful. It’s a mix of intuitive and rational factors. That’s why we use the Genealogical Proof Standard. We use our gut and our brain to analyze the findings and reach a conclusion. We may be right and we may be wrong but until a direct or negative piece of evidence is discovered to make us revisit our findings, our analysis stands.

Creativity is a process and like all processes, has several steps. Preparation is primary! If the problem is worth studying you need to have background information and that’s pulling together what you know. Your answer may be right there in front of you but was overlooked the first time you saw it. Here’s one of my “Oh, Duh!” moments – wanted to know where an adult child had moved and found it listed on a death certificate for the parent. Was there all the time but I failed to “see” it. Don’t reinvent the wheel! Collaborate with others who may have already discovered what you’re looking for. Email the person who posted that family tree and ask where they got their info. Sure they might have just copied someone else but they might not have. If you don’t ask you won’t know. Asking is free!

Now you’ve found some tidbit of a record and you don’t know how it fits. No worries, time for another cup of tea. You just need to reflect on the finding. It will allow your brain to storm! Hmm, maybe I should check this resource or that facility or ask that second cousin. Research shows brainstorming is best done alone; we are social creatures for the most part and even if we don’t want to believe it, social inhibitions often prevail in group think. There is a time for collaboration and a time for going solo. When you’ve got some brainstormed ideas it’s time to put it out there to the genealogical community and step back into collaboration. How can technology help you in preparation?! Use Google Docs to share your findings with the other researchers that are working on your same line. One of the presenters recommended Padlet which I haven’t tried yet but plan to. It looks like a thinking Pinterest and it’s free. I like free! You collaborate with whoever you select to be in your group. Wish I had known about this a few years back when I was working with several distant relatives to beat the clock to find a Revolutionary War participant so an elderly relative could join the DAR before she passed. We made it happen but this would have been so much better. Another awesome idea is to use a Web Whiteboard. A whiteboard has taken the place of blackboards in the classroom – no squeaky chalk and no dust. You don’t even need one in your office, you can draw, write or scribble on a virtual whiteboard to help you sort out the connection between those found documents. Symbaloo may be the answer you need to bookmark your favorite go to web sites. It’s a free social bookmarking cloud based service that allows you to surf your favorite website with an easy click AND download an ap so you can keep being productive when you’re waiting in line at the checkout or for an appointment.

Now that you’ve got many ideas to help you with your preparation you’re ready to move to the next stages of creativity: Incubation and Inspiration. I love incubation – it’s easy but we don’t do it enough. We just need to STOP and let our brain process what we’ve found. Go outside and smell the roses. Take a walk. Swim. Lay on the sofa. Wherever you love to hang, go there! Your brain is still working on solving but it needs to be left to do it without the pressure of hurry. It’ll come. Just wait. Patience again! My brain works in a weird way. My best solutions for my job as an educator comes when I’m stuck in traffic on the interstate after my 2^nd cup of coffee and old hard rock is playing on the radio. I see my destination off in the distance, Oz beckons me and Voila! The answer is there. So if you’re like me, you may have your incubation moment in an odd location but if it works, who cares because you’ve reached inspiration. The unconscious mind (incubation) has brought the solution to be recognized in your conscious mind (inspiration).

If you’re stuck in incubation here’s some ideas that might help you. Vocaroo is an online way to share voice messages over the web. For those of you who are auditory this may really be helpful. Say what you know into Vocaroo and then listen to what you said. That’s it. If you’re a visual learner you may want to Mindmap. Unfortunately, most mindmap sites are not free but you don’t need to purchase it – take a look at images on google and you’ll get the idea. Mindmap on paper or on the virtual whiteboard. Poplet is a free sight designed for schools that can help you with a downloadable ap so you can take it anywhere. Since you’re reading this blog you might be a blogger yourself. Blogging can also help your inspiration. You can keep your blog to yourself, include just a few or make it public. There are lots of blog sites but I like Google’s Blogger. I don’t want you to think you have to spend a lot of time on becoming creative. Use your smart phone clock timer to keep yourself in check. Don’t beat yourself up if the timer goes off and you’re not where you hoped to be. It’s okay, really.

The last parts of creativity are Verification – Implementation – Production. Test the ideas that inspired you. You’re that much closer to scaling your brick wall. Happy Hunting!