Tag Archives: family history

Mothers of all generations….Happy Mothers Day!

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Marian Anderson #2

Happy Mothers day! I just had to share my favorite photo of my own Mother (who is now in her 80’s).   Doesn’t she look so sweet?

Mother’s Day is a good day to remember that Mothers and Fathers sacrifice a lot for their families.  I really liked this ‘Ode To Mothers’ video on Ancestry.com’s YouTube channel.

 

Family historians seem to forget about the mothers sometimes….just because they are trying to trace the paternal lines back another generation.  I’m traveling to Minnesota this summer and hope to research my husband’s great-grandmother that immigrated there.  From what we know, it looks like she immigrated before she was married, but her parents were still in Norway.  Did she travel alone?  Why did she come?  What was her life like?  Mothers of all generations are a part our families and it’s good to have a day to honor them all.  Have a lovely day celebrating Motherhood!

Miscellaneous Monday….NEW stuff I gotta share

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dixiecollage

It’s Monday {again} :o)!  How do the weekends fly by sooooo fast?!!!  I even took work off Thursday and Friday, and the weekend still zoomed by too quickly!  Last week, my hubby and I traveled south, to Utah’s Dixie.  It was really nice and WARM there!  The red rocks, blue skies, and blooming flowers made for nice NEW photos!

We made it a very quick trip and was back home by Friday evening – then Saturday I attended a GREAT Family History Fair and took a few NEW classes.  Now I’m motivated to ‘get back at it’!  (I seem to I do genealogy in spurts :o)  I also recently noticed this family history blog:  DearMYRTLE’s Genealogy Blog …I like to visit once in a while, to keep myself motivated to do more researching – (because sometimes, when those brick walls pop up, I can get a bit discouraged).

And lastly…this GREAT quote from M*A*S*H’s Alan Alda:

Begin challenging your own assumptions. Your assumptions are your windows on the world. Scrub them off every once in a while, or the light won’t come in. Alan Alda

Have a great day! Do or learn something NEW!

Linking to:

Mosaic Mondays

 

 

 

 

NEW photos of my week #41

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oldcollage2

This week I took a short over-night trip to visit my Mom and Sister, and to also go with them to see The 5 Browns in concert.  On the way home, I stopped at various rural towns to take some pics.  It’s obvious that the old and the weathered caught my eye that day….nothing NEW!

The concert was FABULOUS!!!  50 fingers were flying!  Here’s a sample of how good they are:

On the trip I also listened to a book on CD, “A Girl Named Zippy“,  that the teacher of a family history class recommended.  The book is random stories of the childhood of Zippy.   It was nice to listen to….but I don’t think I would’ve liked reading it, since there really was no plot etc.  But it was a good example of how interesting our own personal histories can be.  (And a good reminder to me to start writing a few things down before I forget them!)

zippy

Have a great week!  Do or Learn something NEW!

Linking to:

Mosaic Monday

 

my NEW genealogical excitement

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wills{source}

As a family historian, I love, loVE, LOVE living in this day and age of computers, scanners, optical character recognition readers etc!  Isn’t it sooo great?!?  Are you wondering what’s in the box?  Well…let me tell you!  They are bunches of old will documents that have been stored away in Maryland for over ONE HUNDRED YEARS….maybe not even opened for that long…who knows!   But now, these records are being scanned and available  for use/research.  Click the ‘source’ link next to the picture to read the article.  It really is an EXCITING time for genealogical research!  If you missed my post about the War of  1812 Project, be sure to check it out too!

I’ve been busy lately with plenty of family history research…mainly USA research.  However I do have English ancestors and I {eventually} would like to get going on researching those lines!

I recently went to a short workshop on how to use FindMyPast at a nearby Family History Center.  Since I’m busy with other research, I don’t really want to pay the money to have access to this database at home (Ancestry.com’s subscription alone about breaks the bank!), so I’m sooooo glad I can go somewhere to use it without signing up and paying yet.  Maybe when I’m REALLY seriously studying those English lines I will, but not now :o)

Just so you know, there is no cost to visit a FamilySearch Center, and they are open to anyone with an interest in genealogical research. There are more than 4,600 Family History Centers in 134 countries – so find one near you!!! Family History Centers provide free access to quite a few subscription genealogy websites.  It’s soooo GREAT!

NEW genealogical stuff in my brain!

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greenlilac

Wow! This week (and last week) has WHIZZED by!  I guess I’ve been overly busy with things.   Along with all the ‘normal-life’ activities…I took a fun NEW class on Photoshop last week and went to a Family History conference this week.  All GOOD stuff….so I have some NEW stuff in my brain.  Yeah! 🙂

I realized I hadn’t been out shooting much this week, but wanted to continue with the Alicia’s Project Nurture Photography Challenge.  This week’s theme is green(easy!), so I hurriedly went out to the backyard and took a pic of the lilac bushes…just starting to bud and blossom.  Therefore, here’s my entry for this week  (above).

So…about this NEW genealogical stuff in my brain:  I want to share one GREAT thing that’s happening in the world of family history.  There’s a project underway called the “Preserve The Pensions – War of 1812”.  When its completed, it should be wonderful!  One of the presentations I attended today explained that in order for people to get their military pensions, they had to prove they were entitled to them.  Makes sense, right?  However!…Since they couldn’t just go down to the copy-shop and make a copy of their marriage certificate, family bible or other important documents..guess what many did!?!?!  They TORE OUT the page of the family bible, (for instance the ‘Marriages’ page) and sent THE ORIGINAL into the government as proof they were married to the soldier and should be eligible for benefits!  WOW!!!!  So this project is in the process of digitizing all the files… (all those original documents)!  Such a GREAT thing!  They have a long way to go and it’s expensive, so they’d like donations.  What they have digitized so-far is free on Fold3.com.  Check it out!

Have a great day and DO OR LEARN SOMETHING NEW!

Linking to: Project Alicia

a NEW class for the NEW year

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church

Well, it’s a NEW year and I’m taking a NEW class!  I’m excited!  The class is on how to do family history.  I LOVE doing family history (as my previous post mentioned) and I’ve already taken a LOT of classes on the subject, so I’m hoping to learn something NEW!

{I can’t wait for the day when teachers can scan your brain cells to see what you already know, and then go ahead and teach you what you don’t know!  Ha!  Someone please get busy on that invention, RIGHT AWAY OK?!?!!! :o)}

Everyone MUST should visit The Thinking Closet and check out the journaling she did about her ancestors!  SO FUN!

awards

Also, I thought I’d share a list of ways to start working on your family history. Family History DOES NOT just mean names on a pedigree chart!

1 Think about your ancestors

2 Celebrate important dates in the lives of your ancestors.

3 Make a family calendar of these important dates

4 Make plans now for how to pass on family heirlooms and documents

5 Copy documents of your family for each child as they leave home

6 Gather and label old photographs

7 Visit cemeteries where ancestors are buried, record headstone information

8 Start a timeline for each of your children

9 Write about a typical day in the life of you, your spouse, or your child

10 Keep trip journals when on family vacations

11 Record family stories and legends

12 Write a paragraph about every living relative you personally know

13 Frame and display photos of family members and ancestors in  your home

14 Index your journals.  List important events and where they can be found (page numbers, or dates)

15 Create a map and pinpoint locations of your ancestors and their migration

Is there something on this list you could start with?  Have a terrific day and learn or do something NEW!