National Day of Listening

Today is the National Day of Listening! 

This morning Family Search said: "If a family member tells a story and no one is around to hear it, does it still get passed on?"

I love this! National Day of Listening is the perfect day to enjoy hearing the stories of those family members around us. Many people in America are still surrounded by family as Thanksgiving weekend continues on. Ask questions, listen, and record what you hear.

Maybe you need a little help. I totally understand. It's not always easy to know what to ask to prompt a good story, but luckily the History Channel has a great series going on right now that could be just what you need. 

The History Channel is running a documentary series about Christmas traditions, popular toys, musical performances, what sitting Presidents did etc through different decades. This week they featured the 1960's. Next week will be the 1970's and so on. 

Yesterday after Thanksgiving dinner my family and I watched the first episode of this series, and it was so much fun! My parents were both children in the 1960's and the commercials and fun facts provided by the show gave way to them reminiscing about their childhood. It was fun to actually see what toys they had, but also to have them add on to what the show was saying. It was especially interesting to hear them talk about Bob Hope, President Kennedy, and America at war. I loved it! I'm so excited to watch Christmas of the 1970's next week too. 

The show is available if you have the History Channel itself, but I bought just the episode on iTunes for $3.99. Not a bad price for an evening of fun, and learning more about my family. 

I hope where ever you are today that you take the time to listen, and enjoy your family history. This holiday season will be an exciting and prime time to talk with family members. Enjoy it!

Happy Holidays! And Happy Hunting! 

Family is Key

Here are a few inspirational quotes to keep you smiling as you think about family. 

Happy Hunting! 

And so the adventure begins...

It's not very often in the adventure that is family history that we reach a point in which we can actively do something right now to make a monumental difference. 
Oh yeah. You read that correctly.
There is something you can do RIGHT NOW that will make a make waves in the world of your family history hunt. 
So strap in. Get ready. Get set...

Keep a journal. 

Yep, you read that right. Keep a journal. 

So now your asking yourself, "what?" And then probably, "um, how will this help?"

Well, dear hunter, this is how...
As we hunt for information about our ancestors, we are ultimately limited by what information is out there. It's not the happiest of truths but there is it. We can (and need to) index - which does bring about new information, but we also need to be proactive in paving the for future generations. 
How many times have you wished you could find the journal of an ancestor? Wouldn't it be perfect to find that missing piece of information? 
This is part of the benefit of keeping a journal now. In writing down our daily ventures, we can preserve our lives for future generations rather than become a mystery to be puzzled out. 

For myself, whenever I start a new journal, I make sure to include some kind of survey question portion. My thinking behind this is that if that particular journal is the only one found I want my descendants to know what I think is the important stuff about me. The benefit to this controlled "me survey" is that I can choose the questions to ask and answer. 
I always include my full name, my birthdate, address, family members and their birthdates. (Seriously now. This is the info I'd want about my ancestors so I try to make it as easy as possible for whoever gets a hold of my journals in the future.) 
From there I might include my current job, hobbies, goals, favorite color- all that stuff. 
Keeping a daily (or every other day) record of our lives will be beneficial not only to the people who will come after us but there's also something calming and centering about being able to write out how we feel. 
It seems like the art of journal keeping has been largely lost but I so appreciate the books and tv shows out there that encourage people today to write, like "Diary of a Wimpy Kid", "Dork Diaries", and "The Vampire Diaries". 

Journals and diaries are available all over the place. I personally love to browse my local Barnes and Noble for the right journal, but even a composition notebook will work. 

Get excited! 

Go pick out a beautiful journal, get some awesome pens, and go to town! I love including stickers, movie ticket stubs, photos, those paper bracelets from dances...
On days when I want to write in my journal but might not have a lot of time to vent or get in touch with my inner-heart I'll bullet-point "Ten Good Things That Happened Today." It's a great way to record what transpired during the day but also helps me focus on the good things from my day. 

Still unsure? Well, consider this....

I love Nightvale and their deep thoughts but this one felt chilling. How sad! I know that I certainly have more people I'm related to than I'll be able to learn about because of lack of records but I can do something about me. I can help my future family know me. 

Journals. Diaries. They are miracles of human communication. With merely a piece of paper and a writing utensil I can record my thoughts, feelings, jokes, insights etc for people who are not yet born. 

Happy journaling Hunters!

A Break in Tradition

To Americans this November 5th is more likely to be marked by throw-back-Thursday pictures than any commemoration of the British holiday known as Guy Fawkes Day or Bonfire Day. 

Fans of Harry Potter or Sherlock may recognize those phrases but what is the importance of November 5th?

The fabulous historians over at History.com have summed up the highlights for us in this succinct way: 

"On the night of November 5, 1605, the conspiracy by English Catholics to kill King James I and replace him with his Catholic daughter, Princess Elizabeth, was cut short by the arrest of Guy Fawkes, who had been charged with placing gunpowder under the Houses of Parliament. The plot involved digging a tunnel under the Palace of Westminster, filling it with gunpowder and then triggering a deadly explosion during the ceremonial opening of Parliament, which would have resulted in the death of not only James I, but also the leading Protestant nobility. From then on, November 5 was celebrated in Britain and its colonies with a bonfire burning either Guy Fawkes or the pope in effigy."

At this point an old rhyme might be making its way to the forefront of your mind...

This poem is one that British children can recite by heart. It's cute, concise and brings to mind the importance of November 5th. In Britain the evening is celebrated with firework displays, bonfires, and parties. I had a British Lit teacher that told us that most towns burn an effigy of Guy Fawkes in celebration of the preservation of England and it's monarchy, except the town of Kent. Guy Fawkes was from Kent and the people will 'not burn one of their own.' 

What does any of this have to do with family history?

Remember that the colonists came to America from Britain and since this holiday was being celebrated well before the first ship of people arrived, this holiday is a tradition that would have been brought over. 

So, then the question becomes, when did Americans stop celebrating Guy Fawkes Day? Again, those scholars at History.com have the answer. 

"On this day in 1775, Continental Army commander in chief General George Washington condemns his troops’ planned celebration of the British anti-Catholic holiday, Guy Fawkes Night, as he was simultaneously struggling to win French-Canadian Catholics to the Patriot cause.

In his general orders for the day, Washington criticized 'that ridiculous and childish custom of burning the Effigy of the pope,' part of the traditional Guy Fawkes celebration. He went on to express his bewilderment that there could be 'Officers and Soldiers in this army so void of common sense' and berated the troops for their inability to recognize that 'defence [sic] of the general Liberty of America' demanded expressions of 'public thanks' to the Canadian Catholics who Washington believed to be necessary allies, and wrote that he found 'monstrous' any actions, which might 'be insulting their Religion.'" 

I love General Washington's strong wording. He was serious about this order and he was not going to be misunderstood. If you're keeping track of your family history and history dates on a timeline then these years and events would be good ones to add. 

Take a look at your family tree and see which members of your family would have celebrated Guy Fawkes Day, and who would have been the first ones to stop the tradition. 

I think this is one the more interesting transitional moments in American history. It's rare that we can put an exact date on when something changes but November 5th 1775 is when our ancestors would have been witness to a defined break in tradition. 

Take the time today to look up some of the ways that the lovely citizens of England are enjoying their Guy Fawkes/Bonfire Day. It looks like a lot of fun! 

Happy Hunting! 

1930's and 1940's

Recently Yale released 170,000 pictures from the 1930's and 1940's. These images provide a wealth of information about what life was like during this tumultuous time in American history. 

Take a look at your family tree and find which ancestors lived during the 30's and 40's then head over to this site for the link to find the website. 

This development from Yale University is exciting but it also shows how our work is never done! New information is always coming forward to help us in our family history work. 

Happy Hunting! 

The Invention of a Plain White T

T-shirts here! T-shirts there! T-shirts EVERYWHERE!

Have you ever thought about the t-shirt? I mean, they're everywhere. Hot Topic is basically shirt city. Seriously. We can get them with any phrase or picture we want. 

We even shoot them out of guns at sporting events and concerts. 

But where did t-shirts come from? And what do they have to do with family history?

Well....

My first thought when I read this was "aww!!" I can just picture these adorable bachelors, working hard in the city, trying to impress a lady friend. 

Now that you have this useful little bit of info compare the date 1904 to your family tree and see which of your ancestors may have been the first to wear that snappy new invention *cue exciting ragtime music* the t-shirt! 

Happy Hunting!

Indexing Be Like

Winnie the Pooh's got the idea! Indexing can be an enjoyable experience but it can also be tough to pick out the names and words amongst the various handwritings. 

Indexing is a vital step in the Family History process. 

Did you know that each month one million names are added to Family Search mostly because of indexing? 

WOW! That's a lot of names! That's also a lot of raw material to look through and make connections with. 

My Indexing Story For the Week:

So, despite my best efforts I haven't been able to locate my maternal grandfather's parents information. Not their names, or birth dates- nothing. I was telling a friend about this issue when she pulled out her phone and asked for my grandfather's full name, birth and death dates. In less than three minutes she had found my grandfather and his parents on the 1930 census. I hadn't been able to find it because it hadn't been indexed yet. (I would also give credit to her amazing internet skills.) The record only recently became available and now I can continue working. 

This excited cat understands me. This is how it feels when new information becomes available. 

I'll never know who the person was that indexed the 1930 census but it was pivotal in my heritage hunt. 

If I know who they were I would give them these beautiful flower cupcakes, just as I would give them to all indexers. 

Even when we don't see it the work we do makes a difference. Keep working, keep hunting, keep squinting (Oh Pooh Bear). This work matters. 

Happy Hunting Indexers!

Photographs and the Art of the Unselfie

I recently had the opportunity to look through some old photographs of my childhood and was surprised to find an album of family members all holding me not too long after I was born. It was such a thrill! 

So, there I am as an adorable little newborn and many of the people holding me are now deceased. 

Uncle Gilly

Grandpa

Uncle Jeff

I'm so grateful to my parents and the family members around me that took the time to document these important moments, and yet each picture just looks relaxed. These weren't photo shoots or  fancy parties. In fact, they usually just took place in the living rooms of these special loved ones. 

With today's technology we are never far from a camera and we take pictures all day. But we seem to take two kinds of pictures.
The first kind of picture is inanimate objects. Remember going on a field trip as a kid and your mom would send you with a disposable camera to capture your adventure? I certainly do. And I remember developing the pictures and they were all of random things. 

Grass in Washington D.C.

A floral shop in Washington D.C.

The second kind of pictures we seem to take are selfies. Selfies by the fist-full. 
As much fun as selfies are it's important that we take pictures of other things too. 
How in the world will we present our lives to future children and grandchildren if all we have are pictures of inanimate objects and selfies? What is our legacy if that's all we document? 
"Look at this picture when grandma's eyebrows were on point!" "And this one was an epic hair day grandma was having."

As we take pictures it's important that we document moments that we will want to remember, and to also make notes of who the people in the photo are. There are many apps that will let us record details about the pictures we take- and it is very important that we write (or type) the first AND last names of the people in the picture along with the date.
I've lost contact with friends from my first few semesters of college, and it makes me sad. I have pictures with these people but have you ever tried googling "Scottie the Hottie I think he was from New York"? It doesn't yield many results. 

That isn't to say that random pictures or selfies should be discouraged but rather that we should take a variety of pictures. 

Documenting our legacy is about the every day moments, and the tender times during our day. Our pictures should be more than random pictures of trash cans, selfies, or only photos of vacations and ballgames. We are so much more than any single event. We are all an amazing collection of adventures and moments and it's beautiful to look back and revel in these silly, sad, happy, thoughtful, meaningful, incredible memories. 

Take more pictures, smile, document, and remember. 

Happy Photographing Hunters! 

Twitter: A Love Story

I love Twitter 

It is my preferred source for finding news, celebrity drama, and movie updates. (If you haven't seen it yet, I'm still geeking out about Kenneth Branagh directing the Artemis Fowl movie.)

Other than getting news updates in it's many forms I can also see what's the latest in the world of family history. There are constantly updates, technology advancements, and record discoveries taking place as well as the foremost authorities in family history writing articles to help us all in our pursuit of hunting down our ancestors. 

If you don't have a twitter, it's easy to set up on your phone or your computer. 

Here are some great groups to follow on twitter that regularly update with articles, and helpful hints.
Family Search 
Ancestry
Ancestry Road Map 

These are just a few of my favorite groups to follow, and their tips are interesting to read. It's exciting to see that the world of family history is always moving forward and coming up with new ways of finding the people of our past.
There's always something new to do and something new to learn. 

Good luck Hunters and Huntresses! 

If you like it, then you should have put a thimble on it...

Mental Floss is one of my absolute favorite sites with amazing articles. This beauty is entitled "Why Engagement Rings Are Made With Diamonds". 
Take a look through this fascinating article and then match it up with your family tree. Which ancestors would have had thimbles? Diamond rings?

Click here to read the article.

Happy Hunting! 

Help and Inspiration

This past weekend I had the opportunity to meet a gentleman who was just beginning his family history journey. It was the story he told that inspired him and his enthusiasm that was the most striking.

This gentleman said that he was recently in a church setting and was sitting quietly and just pondering when a stranger approached him to ask for help on a family history issue he was dealing with. The gentleman happily said he'd help and it was in helping this total stranger with his family history that he came to realization that these names are real people, and they are our family just as real as our living family members today. 

That experience made him want to begin working on his own family history. 
When I met this gentleman and his wife I was assisting them in getting organized on working on their family history. As he and his wife looked at the names in his tree he would tearily point at a name and say, "that's my grandmother" and "that's my auntie." 

This story was also wonderful to me because seeing a stranger be excited about family history can inspire others. My story of starting on my family history came from finding a name on my own tree and realizing that it was exciting and very possible to do this work. I loved hearing someone else's story of how they got started. 

What's your story? What first got you excited about starting the work on your family history?
I'd love to hear all about it!

Happy Hunting! 

Pink vs. Blue

Pink and Blue are two seemingly ordinary colors in the crayon spectrum that have special meaning for parents and babies everywhere. It's pretty well understood that little girls are swaddled in pink, and baby boys are wrapped in blue. 

However, it hasn't always been this way. 

Prior to World War II babies would have been dressed in the opposite color as they are today. 

It's true!

Red was thought of as an inherently masculine color, and any color that was a derivative of red was a color for men. Even little baby men. That meant maroon, and even pink were men's colors.

Blue was thought of to be a delicate, and beautiful color fit for a girl; one fit for a little lady. This was in part because of flowers like blue bells. 

Today when a couple wants to decorate their nursery in neutral colors they use green and yellow. Back in the pre-WWII days, couples would use blue and pink. That just sounds adorable! 

This interesting information lends to the question, well why did this change?

In large part it was because of the WWII imagery and propaganda of Rosie the Riveter in her factory blues, and how that image changed into the June Clever in a pink dress. When Rosie conquered at the factory in blue, and then held her homestead while in a pink dress, the color ideology altered.

What does this have to do with family history?

Any ancestor you have on your tree that was born in America prior to WWII would have been wrapped in a different color than babies are today. So, great-great-great grandpa was a pink baby boy- how cute is that? 

This is a great event to add to your family history timeline. 

Look through your family tree and see which family members would have been dressed in pink or blue. 

(All facts from this article can be seen here.)

Happy Hunting! 

Maple Leaf Rag

"Ragtime, which emerged in the 1890s, was composed music, written down for performance on the piano. Ragtime pieces were not accompanied by lyrics and not meant to be sung. The creative genus of ragtime, Scott Joplin, was born in Texarkana, Texas, in 1868. He learned to play on piano his mother bought from her earning as a maid, and he may have been trained in classical music. …He played at the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago in 1893 and soon wrote ragtime sheet music that sold well. In 1899 he composed his best-known tune, the 'Maple Leaf Rag,' named after a social club (brothel) in Sedalia, Missouri. It sold an astonishing one million copies."
 From "African Americans: A Concise History" by Hine, Hine and Harold

Interesting bit of history, but what does it have to do with family history?
Well, Scott Joplin's Maple Leaf Rag was written in 1899 and with a new style of printing that became available in 1900, the song Maple Leaf Rag was the hit song from 1900-1905. Everyone heard this song! And because of the notations on the sheet music people were hearing the song all over the country played the same way. 

Wow!

This hit jam was played in dance halls, bars, at parties- everywhere! With records becoming more and more available Maple Leaf Rag could be heard in homes from coast to coast.

That means that any of your ancestors (mine too) that were alive during 1900-1905 heard this song! It's a piece of history, and one that we can listen to and connect to. 

If you're working on a family history timeline then this song would be a great event to add to the timeline.

Check out Maple Leaf Rag here. 

Happy Hunting!

It's Alive!

A common question that gets asked when Hunters and Huntresses are working on family search is: Why can't I find my parents? My siblings? My own aunts and uncles?

And this is what I ask them: Are they alive?

Family Search is an amazing website, and it protects individuals privacy. What that means is if a person is alive then their information is kept private for them. I have a Family Search account, and so do my two sisters. When I first logged on I filled in my information and voila! There I was as the beginning of my tree. I also added in my sisters, individually, and my parents- because they are currently alive. I was able to search for three of my four grandparents in the system because they are dead and their records are available. 

On my sister's accounts they have created files for themselves, and for our parents etc. What that means is I currently exist at least three times. Uh oh! We don't want multiple files of a person- that's the whole point of merging files! But it's alright, because I am alive. Someday after I die and my information is public on Family Search then someone will reconcile the files of me into one, and then all the trees I'm on will connect in a new way.

This privacy also effects any photographs, or memories you add to a living person.

My dad also uses Family Search. When he adds a picture or memory of his deceased father to that file, we can all see it. It's really amazing! Suddenly all the people connected to grandpa can see old pictures, and read about the adventures of his Scouting days (my paternal grandfather was the ultimate Scout Master). 

However, my dad added a picture of me to the account he created for me, and I can't see it. Why? Because I'm alive and the account he created for me is (essentially) off line. It's individual and only my dad can see what he's added for me. 

Basically, people who are dead have files that can be viewed by anyone and are connected to other trees.

People who are alive have private, individual, offline files that can only be seen and accessed by the person who created them. 

It's a great opportunity to be able to create accurate accounts of family that are currently alive because we can get all their information perfect! We can ask them exactly when their birthday is, and where they were born (city, county, state, and country!) We can also add memories of them right now. In this, we are able to have full, complete files of our loved ones. 

How often have you wished you could ask someone on your tree who their relatives were? Wouldn't it all be easier if each family member had kept an honest, and exact journal?

Don't wait to interview living families. Don't regret the time you have now! In an early post I listed some solid interview questions for talking with loved ones. That list can help you in creating a loved one's living file. 

As you work on your family tree and find yourself frustrated in trying to find a family member take the time to pause, and remember that if they're alive it's private, deceased then it's public. 

Happy Hunting! 

Oh, what's in a last name?

I absolutely love etymology and learning what names and words mean. This blog post is going to be a direct quote from a fabulous Mental Floss article all about surnames, their purpose, and what they mean. 
Hopefully you'll recognize one or more of these last names and be able to add this understanding of these last names' definitions to your family tree. If nothing else, it's silly and very entertaining!

Enjoy!

"Long before Lorde, Adele, or even Cher, one name was all a person needed. In Britain before the Norman Conquest of 1066, people went by single names. If a village had an overabundance of Toms, one might be called Tom, John's son, and another Tom the baker. But last names weren't inherited until Norman nobility introduced the practice, creating Tom Johnson and Tom Baker. It's easy to guess what an ancestor of someone named Cook, Carpenter, or Smith did for a living. With other occupational surnames, though, either the word or the trade has become obsolete, so meaning is hidden. 

1. BARKER
The name Barker doesn't come from carnival barkers who yell, "Step right up!" or another Barker who shouted, "Come on down!" but from barkers, also called tanner, who converted hides into leather by steeping them in an infusion of astringent bark.

2. BAXTER
It may surprise some hipster to learn that in Old English the "-ster" suffix was used to form feminine agent nouns. A man who baked was a baker; a woman who baked was a baxter. Later, baxter was used for either sex.

3. BREWSTER
A woman who brewed was a brewster.

4. CHALLENDER
A challender was a maker or seller of blankets, from Middle English chaloun, meaning blanket or coverlet. 

5. CHANDLER
A chandler was originally a maker or seller of candles. The term broadened to mean someone in charge of stocking candles for a large household, a dealer in household items, and, later, a dealer in supplies for a ship. 

6. CHAPMAN
Chapman is an Old English word for merchant. The root “chap-“ is related to “cheap,” an obsolete verb meaning to barter, buy, and sell; to trade, deal, bargain.

7. CRAPPER
Although the purported biography Flushed with Pride: The Story of Thomas Crapper is a satire and Crapper did not invent the flush toilet, he did run a plumbing company. His name is not the origin of the word “crap,” however. The name Crapper is a variant of Cropper, one who harvests crops.

8. DAUBER
A dauber was a plasterer or someone who applied “daub”—clay or mud mixed with stubble or chaff—to make a “wattle and daub” cottage.

9. FLETCHER
Fletcher comes from Old French flecher or flechier and means an arrow maker.

10. FROBISHER, FURBER
These two names come from Old French forbisseor, furbisher or polisher of armor. These days, we refurbish things without worrying about whether they were furbished in the first place.

11. FULLER, WALKER, TUCKER
A fuller, known in some regions as a walker or tucker, trampled on cloth in water to clean and thicken it.

12. HUSSEY
Hussey was a shortening of “housewife” and did not have the negative denotation “hussy” does today.

13. JENNER
Jenner comes from Old French engigneor, meaning engineer or maker of military machines.

14. KELLOGG
W. K. Kellogg, a vegetarian who developed corn flakes as a healthful alternative to the traditional ham-and-egg breakfast, might be surprised to learn that his surname derived from “kill hog” and referred to a butcher.

15. KISSER
A kisser didn’t osculate for a dollar at a carnival booth. He made leather armor for the thighs, called a cuisse, from Old French cuisse, “thigh.” Don Quixote’s name is also derived from the same piece of armor.

16. LATIMER
Perhaps from a misreading of the word “Latiner,” an interpreter was called a “latimer” in the 13th through 15th centuries.

17. LEECH
Based on the state-of-the-art medical treatment of the day, in the Middle Ages, physicians were known as leeches.

18. LORIMER
A lorimer made bits, spurs, and metal mountings for horses’ bridles.

19. PALMER
Those who had made a pilgrimage to the Holy Land wore a token representing a palm branch and were known as palmers.

20. PARKER
In the Middle Ages, a parker was a gamekeeper in a game park.

21. PULLEN
From the Old French word poulain, colt, the name was given to those who were frisky or those who raised horses.

22. READER
Most medieval readers were illiterate, but they knew how to use reeds to thatch roofs.

23. SPENCER
A spencer dispensed a lord’s provisions.

24. SPITTLE, SPITTAL
This name has nothing to do with saliva, but refers to someone who worked in a “spittle” (from Old French hospital), a charitable house for the indigent or diseased.

25. SPOONER
From the Middle English spoon, meaning splinter, this name was given to roofers.

26. TRAVERS
From Old French travers, meaning the act of passing through a gate, crossing a river, bridge, etc.; travers meant a toll collector.

27. WAYNE, WAINWRIGHT, WRIGHT
A wright was a builder or craftsman. There were once millwrights, tile-wrights and wheelwrights. Now the suffix survives only in playwright and the old-fashioned term shipwright. A wain or wayne was a cart or wagon. The names Wayne and Wainwright both refer to wagon builders.

28. WEBB, WEBBER, WEBSTER
These three names (Webster being the feminine form) all derive from Old English webba, weaver.

29. WHITER, BLACKER
Strange as it may seem, both of these names refer to linen bleachers. Blacker comes from bleckester, meaning bleacher.

30. WOODWARD
From the Old English words wudu, wood, and weard, guardian, a woodward was a forester.


Just think: if we took our surnames from present-day occupations, you might run across people like Max Coder, Tina Telemarketer, and Heather Houseflipper."

I hope you enjoyed this fun article! I've read it a few times and still get a giggle out of it. It definitely makes me wonder what my last names might be if it were based on my career or my parents' careers!
I love talking about the Norman Conquest of 1066 and the differences in Old and Middle English! We'll go into more detail about why those are all important in a future post.

Happy Hunting! 

Siblings and Cousins- Ohana

Working on family history can be really exciting as we find new names and are able to go further and further back in time. That moment when you find the name of someone born in the 1800's is really exciting!

But it's also important as we find ancestors going back that we not forget about siblings. 

This is what I mean: my dad's side of the family on my family tree goes back several generations but it looks as though only children married only children and had one child. And for a German heritage that just doesn't seem accurate.

Then on my mom's side of the family, it might not go as far back as my dad's but every child and cousin is accounted for. I love that they cared about the siblings and bloodline of in-laws just as much as their own direct line. The result is a much fuller tree, and a far more accurate glimpse of what my family really looked like. 

Using another family history program I looked up my five greats-grandfather on both sides of my family. According to this program, that great-grandfather on my dad's side had fourteen descendants. My mom's great-grandfather had over five hundred.

Wow. Big difference! Obviously, the one on my mother's is more accurate because it had cousins, and siblings taken into account.

I love getting to see how certain family names were used and reused. For example, there was a generation that used flower names for the girls- lots of girls named Violet, Rose, Lily, etc. Then there was a generation of using presidents names- it's actually pretty awesome. Lots of George Washington Breeden, John Adams Breeden, Thomas Jefferson Dean- I love it!

Hunting to find siblings is a lot of work and doesn't move us farther back on the timeline of our family trees but it's fulfilling and helps our family trees be accurate and full.

Think of your family now. Wouldn't you want your own siblings to be included in a list of your family? I definitely wouldn't want mine forgotten. What if your cousins were left behind? No way! I love my cousins- I definitely want them represented on my family tree. 

Family is important and hunting for our ancestors in a full and complete way is exciting and rewarding. When we make sure that we include our ancestors siblings, and cousins then we are able to see the shape that our family takes. It's amazing to see how names get reused, and just how big our family really is. 

Where the Names Come From...

Recently while in my Civil War class my professor mentioned that he was putting together a database for soldiers in specific regiments in the Civil War. He talked about utilizing Ancestry.com (a fantastic website) and how it was amazing that "all this information is just right there! It's incredible how Ancestory.com just digitizes it."

My teacher is absolutely right- it is incredible! However, neither Ancestory.com nor FamilySearch.org just magically digitize the information that we search through. Have you ever wondered where the information you find on these sites comes from? 

Think about it…when you searched for grandma on one of these sites and a file all about her popped up, did you wonder where it came from?

When I log into FamilySearch (or Ancestry) and start searching or plugging in names to try and connect on my tree, the information I find is not there by accident, coincidence or magic (although that would be super cool). This information is typed in by people like me and you! 

This amazing information that is ready for you to find comes from documents and records like census records, marriage records, death indexes, boat manifests etc.

Here's an image of an old census record. It's handwritten, and has been scanned into the database of a family history site. 

The basic idea behind indexing is this: We type up what we see on these old records. That's it! Then the information is available to people searching for their ancestors. 

I like indexing through Family Search, and it's fun to do! When I log-in, I select the indexing option. There are some great tutorials for first time indexers available too (or if you're an experienced indexer and want a refresher course). You're able to select the document to work on, and then you type exactly what you see on the record onto a spreadsheet. 

Even this explanation makes it sound more complicated than it is. 

Some census records are tougher to read than others, and that's why Family Search has a great system set up to have indexers of differing levels double check each other's work. 

When I index I am a Level 1 indexer. Then there are Level 2 indexers that will double check my work, and a Level 3 indexer who checks their work before it's put online.

This assures that the information we find and index is accurate and will truly help the person searching for an ancestor.

What this means for me and you is that when I'm searching for information on a relative and I type in their name I can find links to this census and record information so that I not only know their birth date, birth location, death date etc but I can see the family census (which will tell me more about their siblings, where they lived between the time of birth & death, who else lived with them which often included parents-in-law). All this information adds to the story of my ancestor. When I see a link to a boat manifest then I can learn more about their immigration such as how old they were, where they were coming from etc.

Indexing is amazing, and exciting to do. I haven't yet seen a member of my own family on a census record as I work but I know that other people have because of all the information I've been able to gather.

I love indexing and getting to see what names were popular at different times. 

(Thanks Hercules!)

I also loving getting to see how handwriting styles changed, and what was fashionable in that regard.

Indexing helps all of us in our family history work, and for my teacher in putting together his database. Research like his will benefit all of us too because we'll be able to learn more about family members who served in the Civil War. It really is a win-win situation.

If you're interested in indexing I highly recommend it! Either way, it's good to take a moment and be grateful for the people who do index and make so much information available to all of us. 

Happy Hunting! 

Happy Memorial Day!

Happy Memorial Day!

Did you know that the celebration of Memorial Day started with the Civil War? It's true!

It was originally called Decoration Day and it began to commemorate the fallen soldiers of both the Union and Confederate armies. (Check out more cool facts on Mental Floss!)

These days, however, we remember and are thankful to soldiers from many different wars and conflicts, not only the Civil War.

Do you have any Civil War veterans in your family tree?

I wasn't sure if I did, but I found an easy way to find the answer.

It started because of a friend in my Civil War class who was very proud of having family members who fought in the war. (Happy, excited proud, not pride proud). And it got me thinking… My mom's mom's family had been in Virginia for generations. Surely I had Civil War vets in my line…

The U.S. National Park Service keeps a database of Civil War soldiers, and it's very easy to use. 

To begin, I went through my tree and found probable candidates for war, meaning I looked for men from states that fought in the Civil War who would have been old enough to fight from 1861-1865. (The Civil War is a great point to have on a timeline). 

I located some likely ancestors and plugged their names into the data base. The search asks that you guess whether your soldier was fighting for the Union or Confederacy, and since my family was from Virginia I knew they would have fought for the Confederacy. After a few guesses, and trial and error… I found someone! 

It was so exciting! I had an ancestor who fought in the Civil War! He lived and took part in a major part of history- that's amazing!

Once I had his page with information I was able to add it to his Family Search page. BAM! Now when I view my ancestor on my family tree it also shows his service record. 

Memorial Day can be an exciting day to think back on those who came before us and fought so we could enjoy the peace and freedoms we have today. 

Perhaps you have a close family member who served and you want to remember them too. Today would be a great day to pull up their Family Search page and write some memories. Especially with families gathering today for this holiday, it could be a good time to talk about family history. 

I know that I'm thankful to my Civil War vet ancestor as well as my three grandfathers, and many uncles for their service. I'm grateful for my family, and this special day to remember all that they did. 

Here's a gorgeous picture of the Washington Monument through Cherry Blossoms on the Potomac River. During the Civil War many men marched through the Nation's Capital to reach battles in the South.

Freedom in not free. 

A younger me at the Lincoln Memorial. Grateful to Abraham Lincoln and his hand in keeping the Union together. 

Happy Memorial Day and Happy Hunting! 

Family & History

Family History. Family & History. There are two parts to the work we do as we hunt for our ancestors. We want to find our family- their birth dates, death dates, locations of both events, family members and all that. But we also want to learn about them. 
We want to know their history.
Sometimes we are lucky enough to inherit or have access to the personal items of family members that are long past (or perhaps a distant family member does have access to those items and is willing to share with us). 
When my maternal grandfather passed away my family was left his navy footlocker with uniform, old photos and other personal items. It's been fantastic to look through!
However, it's rare to magically and suddenly inherit a perfect box full of all the information we need. Old photographs, letters, and pieces of their life's journey along with a handwritten autobiography informing us of all the amazing details we crave. Wouldn't that be amazing though? 
Instead what we DO have are contextual clues, and history. By matching up the years that our ancestors were alive to what we know about history can tell us a lot without ever finding that coveted diary. 
What can we know about our ancestors?
We can know who the President, King or Queen was during their life.
We can know what music was popular during their life. 
We can look up fashion and see what kinds of clothes our ancestors were wearing.
We can see what wars were being fought during their lifetime.
We can see what plays, and books were being read and discussed during their lives.
We can see what kinds of jobs most people were going into in the adult years of their lives.
This information we gather can help us better understand who our ancestors were and what they went through even when we lack the personal stories.
Being able to find personal and exact information is always really exciting but piecing together the events of history and discovering how they line up to our ancestors lives can fill in a lot of the blanks.
A few years ago I got out a long piece of butcher paper (I had purchased the roll of paper from Ikea) and drew a timeline on it. Using a ruler I measured a quarter inch for each year starting in 1550 CE. I then wrote in major events from that year until the current time. It included wars, monarchs, eventually US Presidents, terms, etc. plus some events I really love, for example Shakespeare's birth and death dates and the publishing dates of favorite books such as "The Great Gatsby", and the year "Maple Leaf Rag" was the number one song in the USA. It was a bit of a project but totally worth it. I initially made the timeline to help with a school assignment in a history class but I kept it. When I got started into family history I found that I was really glad I had made the timeline because I'm able to occasionally roll it out to compare the years of ancestors. 
I found this especially helpful because knowing a specific ancestors' birth and death years I can see that they were a child during the War of 1812, and was a young adult during the Great Awakening. Then their formative adults years the witnessed the presidency of Andrew Jackson and all the politics that went along with it. With all these details it's fascinating to think about the kind of person that my ancestors could have been. 
If making a timeline of your own sounds exciting (and it really was a lot of fun to put together) I can post some of the dates I included on my own timeline. 
Well, what does this all mean? What this means is that family history is completely and totally do-able! The information is at our fingertips and readily available! We can hunt and we can find!
With minimal starting information, passion and enthusiasm we can be successful in working on our family history. Both parts of it- the family AND the history parts. 
Good luck Hunters and Huntresses!