Feb 27

Roger Gives Sage Advice

The library of Michigan is again severely threatened, again. Or perhaps it is “still threatened”. I am sad and upset about the assault on this fine facility, and it’s collection.

You can a statement from the Michigan Genealogical Council on their site. Since MGC is soliciting ideas, please feel free to send suggestions to they at their posted address.

Roger posted a little on the issue, it is a worthwhile read, check it out here.

If you just want to vent, feel free to post “G” rated suggestions right here.

Feb 26

Final Accounting GeneaBloggers 2010 Winter Games

1  – Go Back and Cite Your Sources!  My award: Platinum

Complete.  This requirement fit in nicely with my current push to reformat my citations recommendation by Mills, in Evidence Explained: Citing History Sources from Artifacts to Cyberspace. I reformatted 59 of those sources February 17-18.  The drudgery will continue, I have a lot left to do here.
______________________________________________________

2 – Back Up Your Data! My award: Platinum

I am still slightly confused by the wording of this requirement, BUT,  I feel safe and comfortable about my backup system.

2A – complete: http://xrl.in/4jhg

2B –  http://xrl.in/4jhg

2C – complete: http://xrl.in/4jhg

2D – complete: http://xrl.in/4jhg

2E – complete: http://xrl.in/4jhg

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Category 3 –Organize your Research!  My award: Diamond

Although I feel well organized, I am not sure how an “outsider” who had never looked at my information, would view my system.  I had no clue that it was hard for someone else to understand until my daughter tried to help me file.  Trying to explain about filing woman’s item under their maiden name gave me a headache.  I am working on an explanation which will work for the non genealogist in the family.  There are a lot of them.

I have not completed the final task in this category, but will aim to do so soon.

3A – I filed 32 new items properly in their notebooks on February 17, these hard copies are not original documents and can be replaced, so they are organized by Surname, First Name and added into my huge ring-binder collection. http://xrl.in/4kab

3B  –  I have organized hundreds of files and added tags.  It feels great to have this complete.

3C – complete http://xrl.in/4ljr

3D – I have completed many more than twenty of these.  I actually added tags to all my saved photos.  I am going to be ready to scan some more, now.

3E – I entered 35 new facts into my database, most linked to newly scanned documents from my pile of unentered research. I wish the whole thing was done. Hopefully, soon.

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Category 4:  Expand Your Knowledge!  Award:  Platinum

4A – complete: http://xrl.in/4it6

4B – complete: http://xrl.in/4lj0

4C – complete: http://xrl.in/4ljr

4D – complete: http://xrl.in/4ljr

4E – complete: http://xrl.in/4j12

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Category 5: Write, Write Write!  My award: Diamond

5A – Complete: http://xrl.in/39ye

5C – Complete: http://xrl.in/4j12 , http://xrl.in/4it6 ,

http://xrl.in/4j14, and this one.

5E  – Complete, I added Ahnentafel pages for both my husband and me.

5F – complete: http://xrl.in/4it6

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Category 6 Reach out and perform Genealogical Acts of Kindness.  My award: Gold

I look weak here, but I believe, overall in my genealogical life, I am strong.  I do make every effort to help others.   I am an active member of my local Genealogical Society; and belong to several others.  Until you have experienced assistance from someone who happens to have access to information you cannot otherwise get, it is hard to realize how important this is.  I have also participated in some cooperative research and data sharing with newly found cousins during the Games, but it is not the same as gifting someone with information.  I encourage everyone to help others as much as possible; we can all with with an attitude of helping.

6A – I read 10 new blogs 15 February 2010, and commented on several.

6B – Added 32 memorials and grave photographs to Find-A-Grave to satisfy this requirement on 15 Feb 2010

6G – Complete, I have used the Google follow feature for a couple of blogs. I will probably change them over to my feed reader, since what is how I prefer to follow, but I did meet this condition and will leave them as followed for the duration of the Games.
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The ten inches of snow we received  slowed me down this week. I am expecting to have three VIP’s (grandchildren) visit for the weekend, so I am writing this in advance, for posting on Friday, the closing day.

I believe this exercise has proven to me that I can make progress, it is a matter of how high a priority I can assign to the tasks.  I hope all the participants have benefited as much as I have during the games.

See you all next year.

Feb 24

Geneablogger 2010 Winter Games

I am rolling down the the finish on my Winter Games activities.  I will have limited time after today to complete more activities, so my summary will probably list my accomplishments through today.

In response to task 4C, I created a memorial page for my father, James Austin Yearnd, Sr., on Footnote. I was pleasantly surprised when it easily converted to an “I Remember” page on Facebook.

I switched to the present for task 3C in organize your research.  I found hunted up all the photographs we have taken at the reunion of M-in-L’s family, and organized them in archival quality pages in notebooks, by year.  I will take them to next year’s reunion and try to get the names of the unidentified (mostly children) people.  A great task to have out of the way, with benefit for everyone.

In response to item 4D, I headed over to the FamilySearch.org Research Helps Page.  I selected New York State, an area where I need to do much additional research.  In reviewing the New York State Research Outline, I noted a link to the Family History Library Catalog for New York resources.  There were also a variety of links and listings of  books, internet sites, and other resources.  The research outline may contain information about sources I was not familiar with, and I will be consulting these research outlines for each State when I am beginning to research here.  There was also a index of indexes and sources for finding references to ancestors, arranged by time period, and pointing to Family History Library microfilm and print resources.

I believe it would be helpful to combine this reference with Cyndi’s List, which points to internet resources; and World Cat, along with your local library catalog.  I also look for local and county Historical and Genealogical Societies, in the area I am researching, since they often contribute indexes and publish information.

Last, but not least, I completed Task 5A by revising and re-publishing  my “About Granny’s Genealogy” page.

I decided to use the rest of today to continue posting photos on Find-A-Grave, a feel good task that may assist other researchers, now or in the future.

I want to conclude this summary by saying that I am glad I decided to participate in the Games!  Even though I have not done every task, I have learned from each one I did complete.  There is nothing that makes life more worthwhile than learning!

Feb 24

Progress Report Number 5, GeneaBloggers 2010 Winter Games

1  – Complete.  This requirement fit in nicely with my current push to reformat my citations recommendation by Mills, in Evidence Explained: Citing History Sources from Artifacts to Cyberspace. I reformatted 59 of those sources February 17-18.  The drudgery will continue!

Category 1 – Platinum

______________________________________________________

2A – complete: http://xrl.in/4jhg
2B – Hoping for clarification, help me out, read and comment here: http://xrl.in/4jhg
2C – complete: http://xrl.in/4jhg
2D – complete: http://xrl.in/4jhg
2E – complete: http://xrl.in/4jhg

Category 2 – ????

______________________________________________________
3A – I filed 32 new items properly in their notebooks on February 17, these hard copies are not original documents and can be replaced, so they are organized by Surname, First Name and added into my huge ring-binder collection. http://xrl.in/4kab
3B  –  I have organized hundreds of files and added tags.  It feels great to have this complete.
3C
3D – I have completed many more than twenty of these.  I actually added tags to all my saved photos.  I am going to be ready to scan some more, now.
3E – I entered 35 new facts into my database, most linked to newly scanned documents from my pile of unentered research. I wish the whole thing was done. Hopefully, soon.
3F

Category 3 — Gold

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4A – complete: http://xrl.in/4it6
4B – complete: http://xrl.in/4lj0
4C
4D
4E – complete: http://xrl.in/4j12

Category 4 — Diamond

______________________________________________________
5A
5B
5C – complete: http://xrl.in/4j12 , http://xrl.in/4it6 ,
http://xrl.in/4j14, and this one.
5D
5E- I added my Ahnentafel to this blog, placing it on a new page. http://xrl.in/4ljg
5F – complete: http://xrl.in/4it6

Category 5, Gold

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6A – I read 10 new blogs 15 February 2010, and commented on several.
6B – Added 32 memorials and grave photographs to Find-A-Grave to satisfy this requirement on 15 Feb 2010
6C
6D
6E
6F
6G – Complete, I have used the Google follow feature for a couple of blogs. I will probably change them over to my feed reader, since what is how I prefer to follow, but I did meet this condition and will leave them as followed for the duration of the Games!

Category 6, Gold.

The ten inches of snow we received today slowed me down some today. I am expecting to have three VIP’s (grandchildren) visit later this week, so I have just a little time to continue with the competition. I will be writing a summary for the closing games before they arrive.

No matter how much more I accomplish, this exercise has proven to me that I can make progress, it is a matter of how high a priority I can assign to the tasks!

Feb 23

GeneaGlogger’s 2010 Winter Games, Task 4B

This task asks that I create a timeline using a free application; I used the suggest application, Timetoast.

This subject of this timeline is my dead-end great-grandfather, Charles Yuen/Ewen/Ewens/Yournd/Yearnd, about whom I have previously written.

The genealogy program I use, RootsMagic, displays a wonderful timeline in the individual’s view, but I tried this anyway.

To illustrate, I added a date of birth for every indirect source I had.  I also added his children’s births, which don’t show up on an individual’s detail screen. A weakness that I noted was that day, month and year were required.  To be honest, the farther in my research I travel, the less sure I am of dates.  Since many dates are hard to pin find myself using “about” or “between” quite often.  This tool did not allow for that, so that info had to be placed in the notes.

I prefer the list view, not because the timeline is not pretty, but because I can see all the information at one time, in the order they occurred. I do not have to click or highlight a dot to see an individual fact.  I can not make the list show here, but you can look at it that way from the public link.

Feb 20

Some Wexford County Obituaries

As part of the 2010 Geneablogger Winter Games, I have been organizing my files, renaming some, adding tags and so on. While doing that I came across some information which may help some of you! I posted these on the Wexford, Michigan RootsWeb e-mail list years ago. I think adding it here might reach some people who just “Google” their names. I am often surprised at the search terms which land people on this blog.

While I was copying obituaries from a scrapbook, some “extra” obituaries which were on the pages with my subjects hitchhiked home with me. If you are researching any of these people, please click the “contact me” link at the top right of this page, and e-mail me the name of your subject. I will e-mail you a copy of the obituary.

Last First Year
Agren Gordon Lee 1942
Albright John 1942
Badder Caroline 1942
Baird Mrs. Richard 1942
Benson John 1942
Boggs Kate 1942
Brewer Smith 1942
Brooks Ruppert 1942
Bruyette Mose 1942
Clark Almeda L. 1949
Edelman Mrs. Charles Anna Lindberg 1942
Flynn Frank W. 1942
Fourman Pharon 1942
Greef, Jr. Karl 1949
Ingemanson Mrs. Ola Selma Samuelson 1941
Johnson Mrs. Albert G 1942
Ketchum Alton 1942
Lamunion Glen A. 1940
Long Mr & Mrs George + 4 children 1942
Manktelow Mrs. Albert Florence Chapin 1940
Merrill Lt. Donald W. 1942-1949
Meyer William F. 1942
Miller William R 1942
Miller Frank W. 1949
Monroe Charles Edward 1942
Nelson Baby of Mr. & Mrs. George Nelson 1942
Older Mrs. John Susana Shirer 1942
Rogers Mrs. Charles Blanche Smith 1942
Russ Luie 1942
Servis Clyde 1949
Servis Mrs. Frank Mary Ellen Krager 1942
Stevens Harvey H. 1949
Thompson Orlo 1942
Van Ocker William 1942

Feb 19

Winter 2010 GeneaBlogger Games — Progress!

Over the past couple of days, I have been doing the factory work of genealogy. Since I committed to do a lot of that in my resolutions earlier this year, it is about time I got to it!

A few years ago, I went through my shelves, and read through every notebook filled with copies, notes and information. I entered all data into my computer, added sources, scanned everything, and breathed a sigh of relief, which I am sure was heard in Siberia.

Then Evidence Explained was published, and my genealogy program was updated to help me cite properly. All of this lead to my realization that a citation is not a citation, or at least every citation is not created equal. Luckily, I can print a report showing my sources and where they are used in citations. Thank you RootsMagic!

Well maybe not. The report is 339 pages long. No, I did not print it, I saved it as a pdf. If there is any good news here, it is that I have actually sourced my facts, and the information I need is present. Additionally, my newer citations are entered more correctly, and will not need revision. The bad news is that many of my sources need to be re-entered, changed around, or somehow corrected.

On to the Winter Games progress for on Task 1, “Go back and cite your sources!” I have thus far added 64 correctly formatted citations to my database, qualifying Granny’s Genealogy for a platinum medal in Task One. The work will continue!

For Task 3A , I filed 32 new items properly in their notebooks  these hard copies are not original documents and can be replaced, so they are organized by Surname, First Name and added into my huge ring-binder collection.

I moved on to Task 3B, and can report that I renamed, organized, tagged, and separated into computer folders, 282 digital files containing transcriptions of various events, including deeds, obituaries and so on. These are now filed in folders by surname, the same way my hard copies in notebooks are. I am happy to have this done, and it will make adding new transcriptions and locating the material already transcribed much easier.

So, I am in the running for at least a Silver medal in Category 3, and there is time left before the closing ceremonies!

Feb 19

Progress Report Number Four, 2010 GeneaBlogger Winter Games

Task

1  – Complete.  This requirement fit in nicely with my current push to reformat my citations recommendation by Mills, in Evidence Explained: Citing History Sources from Artifacts to Cyberspace. I reformatted 59 of those sources February 17-18.  The drudgery will continue!

Category 1 – Platinum

______________________________________________________

2A – complete: http://xrl.in/4jhg
2B – Hoping for clarification, help me out, read and comment here: http://xrl.in/4jhg
2C – complete: http://xrl.in/4jhg
2D – complete: http://xrl.in/4jhg
2E – complete: http://xrl.in/4jhg

Category 2 – ????

______________________________________________________
3A – I filed 32 new items properly in their notebooks on February 17, these hard copies are not original documents and can be replaced, so they are organized by Surname, First Name and added into my huge ring-binder collection. http://xrl.in/4kab
3B –
3C
3D
3E
3F

Category 3 — Silver

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4A – complete: http://xrl.in/4it6
4B
4C
4D
4E – complete: http://xrl.in/4j12

Category 4 — Silver

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5A
5B
5C – complete: http://xrl.in/4j12 , http://xrl.in/4it6 ,
http://xrl.in/4j14, and this one.
5D
5E
5F – complete: http://xrl.in/4it6

Category 5, Silver

______________________________________________________

6A – I read 10 new blogs 15 February 2010, and commented on several.
6B – Added 32 memorials and grave photographs to Find-A-Grave to satisfy this requirement on 15 Feb 2010
6C
6D
6E
6F
6G – Complete, I have used the Google follow feature for a couple of blogs. I will probably change them over to my feed reader, since what is how I prefer to follow, but I did meet this condition and will leave them as followed for the duration of the Games!

Category 6, Gold.

I am pretty pleased with myself and my progress.  I will continue and keep my nose to the grindstone.

Feb 18

A Picture is Worth 1000 Words, Winter 2010 GeneaBlogger Games Task 2 In Five Parts

Task A, security plan for hard copies and photos:

All my collected data relating to my research is scanned, and available in digital format on my “main” computer. My scanned data is in notebooks on shelves, and is not in water proof containers. My irreplaceable original hard copies are stored in our safety deposit box at our credit union. Those are limited to records of a family estate and a hand-written genealogy handed down from an ancestor.

Task B: Secure hard copies and photos in waterproof containers:

I have no plan to store my data in waterproof containers, since I have digital copies of every page, and a total of 3 backup copies of all digital copies. The volume makes it impossible to even dream of waterproof storage.

My limited number of ancestral photographs and keepsakes are stored at home in a fire-proof safe. Digital copies and or photographs reside on my computer. I have not investigated the possibility of waterproof containers for the photos.

Task C: Back up all your data, external, flash, CD, online, or whatever.

Please refer to my data backup plan. This has been in effect for 2+ years and I am satisfied my files and digital photographs are safe. You can enlarge by clicking the thumbnail.

backup plan

If you have questions, please post them in a comment, I will be glad to answer.

Task D: All hard copies and photos scanned and secure them either in a fire-proof safe or offsite in SD box/secure environment. OK, on this one I admit I am confused. Should the hard copies and photos be in a fire-proof safe, and a waterproof container? Task B says waterproof, this one says fire-proof. Help!!!!!! Please comment on this one.

My plan does not change for this. Some irreplaceable photographs are stored in a fire-proof gun safe here at home, but it is not practical to store every document there.

Task E: all data is backed up digitally and secured physically and you can recover form any disaster while only losing one month or less of research.

I am confident about my plan for my digital data. I do not feel I will lose more than a month of data. But I am not waterproof and I cannot tell if the tasks build on each other.

I hope some of my GeneaBlogging friends will comment here and tell me what award I deserve. I am not waterproof, and probably will never be, but my digital copies are safe. The award criteria is:

  • Complete Task A – Bronze Medal
  • Complete Task B – Silver Medal
  • Complete Task C – Gold Medal
  • Complete Task D – Diamond Medal
  • Complete Task E – Platinum Medal

As much as I think I am safe, and deserve at least a diamond medal here, I am open to opinion and suggestions for improvement. What say you?

Feb 18

Progress Report #3, 2010 GeneaBlogger Winter Games

Task

1

2A – complete: http://xrl.in/4jhg
2B – Hoping for clarification, help me out, read and comment here: http://xrl.in/4jhg
2C – complete: http://xrl.in/4jhg
2D – complete: http://xrl.in/4jhg
2E – complete: http://xrl.in/4jhg

3A
3B
3C
3D
3E
3F

4A – complete: http://xrl.in/4it6
4B
4C
4D
4E – complete: http://xrl.in/4j12

5A
5B
5C – complete: http://xrl.in/4j12 , http://xrl.in/4it6 ,
http://xrl.in/4j14, and this one.
5D
5E
5F – complete: http://xrl.in/4it6

6A – I read 10 new blogs 15 February 2010, and commented on several.
6B – Added 32 memorials and grave photographs to Find-A-Grave to satisfy this requirement on 15 Feb 2010
6C
6D
6E
6F
6G – Complete, I have used the Google follow feature for a couple of blogs. I will probably change them over to my feed reader, since what is how I prefer to follow, but I did meet this condition and will leave them as followed for the duration of the Games!