Are My Roots Showing?

Sunday's Obituary - Joseph Zenophile Lanctot

2012-02-12T08:00:00.000-05:00

Obituary.

Again has the heavy hand of death been laid upon our city, and one of our foremost citizens, Joseph Zenophile Lanctot, answered the dread summons, passing to his eternal reward on Monday, July 21, 1913, aged 52 years, 6 months, and 6 days. The cause of death was heart failure.

Joseph Zenophile Lanctot,
Armour Chronicle, Armour,
South Dakota, 25 July 1913,
p. 2, col. 1

The deceased was a native of Canada, being born at LaPrairie, in the district of Montreal, on January 15, 1861. He came to the United States in 1877, settling in Mead, Nebraska, where he resided until 1883, when he came to Charles Mix county and filed upon land, moving to Armour in 1901, since which time he conducted the Armour House.

He was united in the bond of wedlock to Miss Eliza Bourke, at Fremont, Nebraska, in 1881. Eight children were born to this union, five sons and three daughters; three sons and two daughters, together with the bereaved wife and mother, are left to mourn his loss. The surviving children are: Arthur, Mrs. F. Luchsinger, Louis, Mrs. L. H. Barnes and Elmer, to whom the heartfelt sympathy of our people go forth in their hour of trouble.

The funeral was held Tuesday morning at 10:30 from the Catholic church, of which faith deceased was a member, Rev. Father Keane officiating. The remains were intered [sic] in Pleasant Ridge cemetery and were followed to their last resting place by a large concourse of friends and neighbors.

-- Card of Thanks --

We wish to thank the friends and neighbors who assisted us during the illness and burial of our beloved husband and father; and for the beautiful floral tributes.

Mrs. Z. Lanctot and Family.

Do we share any ancestors?

Please email me at lostancestors [at] gmail [dot] com

National Inventor's Day - Elmer Lanctot

2012-02-11T08:00:00.000-05:00

In honor of National Inventor's Day, I thought I would shine the spotlight on my great grand uncle, Elmer Lanctot.

Elmer is the youngest son of my 2nd great grandfather, Joseph Zenophile Lanctot. He was born 30 August 1899 in Charles Mix County, South Dakota. He married Blanche D. Davis on 7 Jan 1920, and had two sons, Robert and William, and a daughter, Patricia. In 1951, he married Minnie Benson. He died 21 June 1973 in Mitchell, South Dakota and is buried at Graceland Cemetery.

On August 3, 1937, Elmer, in partnership with Henry G. and Anson F. Scharnweber of Mitchell, South Dakota, were issued patent number 2,088,753 for an "air cooling apparatus."

The invention was actually a series of improvements on the then current automobile air conditioner. It's principle purpose was to provide a system that was driven by the vehicle's engine and to make it less likely to malfunction.

I'm pretty sure it was quickly overcome by the next "new and improved" patent, but still ... it's a little bit cool, right?

Do we share any ancestors?

Please email me at lostancestors [at] gmail [dot] com

Sunday's Obituary - Louis P. Lanctot

2012-02-05T08:00:00.000-05:00

Louis Lanctot - he's the one with
the big arrow pointing at him. I don't
know who the other gentlemen are in the car

LOUIS P. LANCTOT

YanktonPress & Dakotan.
Yankton, South Dakota,
23 October 1922

Louis P. Lanctot, formerly of Yankton, was instnatly [sic]killed near Casper, Wyo. Saturday afternoon, when a heavy auto truck, loadedwith lumber, turned over pinning him underneath. Such was the news that reached LouisSchneider, of 705 Pine St., yesterday morning, who was the father-in-law of thedeceased. Mrs. Eliza Lanctot, mother ofLouis, and also a brother, Arthur, were in Yankton, as it happened, on theirway west and were notified of the tragedy just as they were leaving. The body will be brought to Yankton forburial, arriving tomorrow night if connections are made.

Louis P. Lanctot was born in Saunders county,Nebraska, Sept. 17, 1887 and was married at Sacred Heart church, this city, toMiss Alice Schneider, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Louis Schneider, of Pine street,and they resided here for several years. About five years ago Mr. Lanctot took up land five years ago Mrs.Lanctot took up land in Wyoming, settling near Bucknam, 25 miles from Casper,and his family joined him there. OnSaturday Mr. Lanctot drive to Casper for a load of lumber and on his return,not far from Casper, his truck turned over, It is understood here he was instantly killed or died very soonafterwards. Mrs. Lanctot and four littlechildren, aged from one year to seven, survive. In addition to these relatives Mr. Lanctot leaves his mother, Mrs. ElizaLanctot; three brother, Arthur and William of Armour; Elmer, of Parkston, and twosisters, Mrs. Fred Lichsinger [Luchsinger], of Wyoming, Minn., and Mrs. L. H.Barnes, of Armour. Mrs. Lanctot leftCasper today with the remains of her husband and funeral arrangements will bemade here after her arrival.

Do we share any ancestors?

Please email me at lostancestors [at] gmail [dot] com

Follow Friday - MapMaker

2012-02-03T08:00:00.000-05:00

I stumbled across another website that I had saved quite some time ago and decided to dust it off and see what it could do. That website is MapMaker.

MapMaker is a product of BigHugeLabs, which has some other pretty neat tools - though I haven't really played with any of them yet.

The maps include the entire world, or specific regions (U.S., Europe, Asia, etc.), and all you have to do is check the boxes of the places you want identified on the map, and (as the website says) the map "automagically" updates. There are options to change colors and stuff, but I didn't mess with that -- mainly because I had no idea what I was doing. There's some of that newfangled HTML stuff on there for you high-techies.

The site says that you can "Create a map of places you've visited (or want to visit or dream about or know people from) and get HTML code that you can embed in your profile on Flickr, Facebook, My Space, your blog or any other web page." I thought to myself ... "self, why can't you make a map of where all the people in your tree have been born?" Self answered, "no reason." So I did. Here's what it looks like:

Areas of Research

Make yours @ BigHugeLabs.com

I see no reason why you couldn't do a map of the migration patterns of families within your tree, or any other kind of map you can think of.

It may not be as useful as say ... census records ... but it's still pretty nifty.

Do we share any ancestors?

Please email me at lostancestors [at] gmail [dot] com

Motivation Monday - First Month Goal Update

2012-01-30T08:00:00.000-05:00

So, it's a month into the new year, and I thought I'd do a quick update just to see where I am with my goals so far.

My Geneabuddy and I are trying something new this year (totally Laura's idea), and we're assigning the items on our weekly to-do list the corresponding number of the goal it works toward. I like this because it helps me keep my eye on the prize. I tend to get all tangential when I'm making my list of weekly goals, which is never a good thing.

The moment of truth:

1. Obtain the addresses, birth dates, and anniversary dates for all of my first cousins on both sides of my family … and names and birth dates of spouses and children. Oh and all my half siblings’ spouses and kids too.
Working on this one. I've mailed out three letters and sent one Facebook message (didn't have a mailing address). I have another planned for mailing this week.

2. Attend at least five (5) Scanfests (or equivalent) this year - and actually scan stuff.

Well, I wasn't able to attend January's Scanfest because I was spending time with one of my living family members (which is probably more important anyway), but I'm going to try to attend February's. In the meantime, I'm going to keep scanning on my own (see #3)

3. Scan and label at least 15 photos and/or negatives each week, or until they are done, whichever happens first.

So far, so good. I've managed to get 58 photos/negatives scanned, labeled, and put in their appropriate folders so far this month.

4. Attend at least two (2) genealogy conferences.

Hoping to attend FGS in Birmingham (which will depend on (1) a successful mediation of one of our cases, and (2) the federal trial calendar for the same case. Keeping my fingers crossed nonetheless. Also planning on attending the Family History Expo in Atlanta in November.

5. Give at least two (2) presentations to my genealogical society.

One down, one to go. I gave my "Online Genealogy Collaboration" presentation during our January 10th meeting. Still trying to decide on my next topic.

6. Index at least 200 records per month at FamilySearch Indexing.

I've done 100 records so far this month, so I've made progress, but I'm slacking on my goal a little. I'll have to make up for it in February.

7. Add at least five (5) individual ancestor stories to my website.

Hmm ... I haven't added any, but I made the ones already on there look really nice! Okay, I'll get to work on those - which should be a little easier now that I'm participating in the Write Your Family History Challenge for February.

8. Blog at least twice per week.

I have a total of 19 blog posts for the month of January (including this one) ... I'd say I blew this goal out of the water this month!

9. Finish reading Greenwood's "The Researcher's Guide to American Genealogy."

Currently re-reading Chapters 13 and 14 to present to the Genealogists in Second Life Book Club at the end of February.

10. Add at least three (3) website links per week to my online toolbox.

I have added 19 links to my toolbox, which has significantly whittled down my list of "pending" links to add. So this goal ... check.

All told, not too shabby. I'm hoping that a lot of these will become routine and it won't be so hard to remember to put them on my weekly lists (and actually do them). A couple more will hopefully get reached in the next several weeks and I can put that energy toward some of the other, more intimidating goals.

I couldn't have done it without Laura. Each of us is capable of motivating ourselves and we do okay, but working together we're AWESOMESAUCE!

Do we share any ancestors?

Please email me at lostancestors [at] gmail [dot] com

Sunday's Obituary - Mary Alice Egan Schneider

2012-01-29T08:00:00.000-05:00

MARY ALICE SCHNEIDER

Yankton Press & Dakotan,
Yankton, South Dakota,
14 June 1947, p. 4, col. 5.

Mary Alice Egan was born in Georgetown, District ofColumbia, June 14, 1859. After living inseveral other states for short periods she came to Yankton with her mother andstepfather, Mr. and Mrs. Patrick McDonald, March 20, 1870. Her parents filed on a claim in Bon Hommecounty about three miles from the old county seat of Bon Homme where she spenther girlhood with the exception of a year spent in old Fort Randall where shewas employed.

She was united in marriage Nov. 18, 1877, to Louis Schneiderwho had homesteaded a mile from her parents’ home. They lived on this farm, with the exceptionof the two years spent in Yankton, until 1899 when they moved to a farm nearUtica, residing there till 1914 when they retired, building the home in whichshe lifed until her death June 5, 1947, nine days before her 88th birthd. [sic]

Mrs. Schneider had been in failing health since falling andfracturing her hip over four years ago. Preceding her in death were her husband, Louis Schneider, 13 years ago,a son Edward, in May 1946 and a son Joseph, who died in infancy. Surviving are two daughters and three sons,Mrs. Alice Lanctot, Yankton; Mrs. R. J. Tester, (Margaret) Sioux City, Ia.;Robert of Minneapolis, Minn.; Martin of Beresford; and Charles of Casper, Wyo.,who was unable to be present for the funeral, also one brother, Peter McDonaldof Sturgis. Twenty-three grand-childrenand one great, great grand-child also survive.

The following out of town relatives and friends attended thefuneral services held June 9, from Sacred Heart church with burial in Yanktoncemetery: Peter McDonald, Mr. and Mrs. Chas. Limbo and son Wesley, and Mrs.Emma Lettau, Sturgis; Mr. and Mrs. Robt. Schneider and daughter Mary,Minneapolis, Minn.; Mrs. Lee Rardin and son Glen, Portland, Ore.; Mrs. O. B.Thompson, Sioux Falls; Mrs. Hannah Lucid, Mitchell; Mr. and Mrs. Ira Beecher,Mrs. Frank Gunn, and daughter, Marguerite, Scotland; Mr. and Mrs. Wm.Schneider, Mrs. Frank Balvin, Mrs. Henry Marek, Tyndall; Mr. and Mrs. R. J.Tester and Mrs. Frank Skidmore, Sioux City, Ia., Martin Schneider, Mr. and Mrs.Joe Klasi, Mrs. Eileen Frank and son Carlyle, of Beresford; and Sgt. And Mrs. Thos.Rogers of Ft. Dix, New Jersey.

Pallbearers were Clarence Courtney, Joe Adrian, FrancisBride, Lewis Tackle, Ray Vogus, and Wm. Cummingham.

Do we share any ancestors?

Please email me at lostancestors [at] gmail [dot] com

Follow Friday - TimeToast

2012-01-27T08:00:00.000-05:00

While I love the fact that my RootsMagic 5 will do a very nice timeline, I have been looking for a way to do one that is a little more visual (pictures and pretty colors work better for some reason). So when I stumbled across a link I saved some time ago for TimeToast, I decided to play with it a bit.

You can view timelines for pretty much any period or person in history (here's one for the Space Race), but you can also make your own timelines!

It's not comprehensive, but I added enough stuff to see how all the bells and whistles worked. Here's my end result:

First (and most important), it's FREE. Second, it's incredibly easy to use. Granted, I would love to be able to export my timeline from RM5 to this website (hint hint TimeToast and RM5), but alas, I cannot.

There are a couple of options for creating the timeline. You can add individual dates or a span of dates. One drawback I found is that for a span of dates, a day and month are required, which is kinda crappy if all you have are years.

You can add images to your individual entries, but they have to be in .jpg, .jpeg, or .png format. No PDFs allowed, which is kind of a bummer. Images cannot be added to time spans.

The timeline can also be viewed in "Timeline" view or "Text" view. Above is the timeline view. You can look at the Text view for this timeline here, click on "Text" in the upper right corner of the visual. I would love to figure out how to embed the text view and the timeline view. They sure would be nice together on my website.

All in all, it's a neat little website. Your timelines are public, unless you keep them in "draft" version but then you can't share them.

For a free site, I don't have a problem allowing my timelines to be public - I just won't put any living people's information up there. I haven't figured out if you can embed them on WikiTree yet, but I hope that's a possibility. It certainly would add some visual interest to MY pages (which are incredibly boring right now). Maybe Chris Whitten is reading ... ??

Do we share any ancestors?

Please email me at lostancestors [at] gmail [dot] com

Wisdom Wednesday - What I Learned This Week

2012-01-25T08:00:00.000-05:00

I decided this would be the week I start working on my book - in preparation for the February "Write Your Family History in 29 Days" challenge. It was just supposed to be an outline. That's it. This is how far I got:

1. Cover Page
2. Title Page
3. Copyright Page
4. Dedication Page
5. Table of Contents

Then I was like, "well, what now?" In my mind, I had always thought about how I wanted my book to be. It was crystal clear ... until I tried to put it on paper. My brain locked up and all I could think about was whether I had any new posts on Facebook, or maybe I got a new email that needed my immediate attention (at 10:00 at night).

I was even prepared for it taking a long time to get the whole thing put together (I'm not even close to filling in all the blanks for the people I want to include in this book). I knew I would be working on little bits at a time and filling in the information as I confirmed it. But come on, this is just an outline! Surely that would be the easiest part. HA!

I knew what I wanted my book to be, but I hadn't really given much thought as to HOW I was going to get it that way. Layout? Never even crossed my mind. Format? Nope. I guess I just thought that I would sit down at the computer and the story would magically go from my brain through my fingertips and onto the page.

This week's lesson: I need more wine. Maybe therapy.

Okay, the REAL lesson: One step at a time. Get the basics down before you move on to the advanced stuff (like an outline!)

I'm going to have to give some serious thought about how I'm going to lay out my book and roughly what each chapter will contain. I already know that I want it to be a sort of narrative - written mostly for my family or whoever wants to read it - but I also want to make sure it's properly sourced and has the appropriate historical background (in case a future genealogist gets hold of it). I probably should also give some thought as to whether I'm going to publish it as an ebook or in hard copy. That decision will likely determine the direction of the other decisions.

For now, I'm going to see if I can get any inspiration from Monday night's episode of Castle.

Do we share any ancestors?

Please email me at lostancestors [at] gmail [dot] com

52 Weeks of Abundant Genealogy - Week #4 - Free Offline Genealogy Tools

2012-01-23T08:00:00.000-05:00

Week 4 – Free Offline Genealogy Tools: For which free offline genealogy tool are you most grateful? How did you find this tool and how has it benefited your genealogy? Describe to others how to access this tool and spread the genealogy love.

This is an easy one. Without a doubt, hands-down, I am the most grateful for The Librarian.

Librarians are a different breed of human. I have yet to walk into a library, archive, or Family History Center and ask for help and not get well taken care of. Librarians are to libraries what the concierge is to a 5-star hotel ... at least all the ones with whom I've had dealings.

Librarians know their collections inside and out. They know what sort of information you can get from any given resource. Best of all? They ENJOY telling you all about it! And when you leave, you will have learned something that will help you in the future.

Librarians are also teachers. They will not hesitate to sit with you and make sure you know how to utilize any tool in the library - whether it's a computer, a book, or an old-school card catalog. (That being said, I also think librarians have more patience than a saint).

Librarians also understand the research you are doing. They get it. When they have a hand in leading you along the path to successfully complete your quest, they are as excited as you are! And they don't even care who knows!

It just doesn't get any better than that. Have you hugged a librarian today?

Do we share any ancestors?

Please email me at lostancestors [at] gmail [dot] com

Sunday's Obituary - Elizabeth Bourke Lanctot

2012-01-22T08:00:00.000-05:00

Mrs. Lanctot “Goes Home.”

Armour Lady Passes to the Great Beyond

Armour Herald, Armour, South Dakota,
26 December 1930, p. 4, col. 2

One of Douglas County’s best known pioneer women – Mrs.Eliza Lanctot – passed away on Monday, December 22, 1930, at her home inArmour. She had suddenly contractedpneumonia and because of her advanced age, was unable to withstand the ravagesof the illness.

Mrs. Lanctot was born on February 2, 1861, and died at theage of 69 years, 10 months and 20 days.

Her birthplace was Greenbush, Mich. Fifty-one years ago she was married toZenophile Lanctot at Fremond, Neb. Tothis union six sons and two daughters were born, of whom two sons and twodaughters survive. The sons are Elmer ofChicago, and Art of Armour, the daughters, Mrs. Josephine Luchsinger of St.Paul and Mrs. Marie Barnes of Armour.

Mr. and Mrs. Lanctot homesteaded in Charles Mix county [sic]in 1883 and came to Armour in 1900. Forthe past thirty years Mrs. Lanctot was in the same location, owning andoperating the Armour house, still in operation. Mr. Lanctot died in 1913.

Practically everyone in Douglas county and many in othernearby sections knew Mrs. Lanctot, who was one of the state’s few women to ownand manage a hotel by herself. She washighly esteemed by neighbors and friends and she will be greatly missed inArmour.

Mrs. Lanctot was a fine Christian woman, and always had agood word and pleasant greeting for everyone. Mrs. Lanctot for many years had been a neighbor of the Herald force andduring that time we entertained the highest regard for her sterling qualities. We but wish we could pay an adequate tributeto her memory. We are saddened, withmany others, in the loss of a genuine friend.

Funeral services were held Wednesday at St. George’sCatholic church, Rev. Father Carey officiating, and burial was made in PleasantRidge Cemetery.

Mrs. Luchsinger of St Paul and Elmer Lanctot ofChicago came to Armour for the last rites.

Do we share any ancestors? Please email me at lostancestors [at] gmail [dot] com

Saturday Night Genealogy Fun - Random Search

2012-01-21T21:57:00.002-05:00

SNGF is courtesy of Randy Seaver. This weekend, he has challenged us to do a search on a random person. Here is mine:

Random Name: WadeKnapp

FamilySearch.org: First census record is 1920 U.S. Censusand the first Wade Knapp was:

When I tried to view the image, it took me to Ancestry. Here is the image:

Wade Knapp is a white male who resides at 1330 S. 35th Street, Omaha, DouglasCo., Nebraska. He is 4-8/12 years old (b.abt May 1915) and appears to be the son of Albert and Vera Knapp, and grandsonof Fred and Frank Knapp. He also appearsto have a brother named Robert, age 4/12 years. Wade was born in Nebraska, as were his parents. Robert was also born in Nebraska, but hisfather is listed as having been born in “United States.” Could this mean that Albert was not thefather of Robert? I looked for this address on GoogleMaps, but could not get a street view.

I next searched for Wade on the 1930 census, and found alisting on FamilySearch, but with no image (of course). So … off to Ancestry I go. I found him at age 14, living at 2599 EllisonAvenue, Omaha, Douglas County, Nebraska. He is listed with his mother Vera, and his brother Robert, and anotherbrother Gerald (age 9). There is also a17-year-old cousin, Yale W. East, living with the family. No sign of dad. Now, the birthplaces of the parents match(Nebraska). I looked for this address on GoogleMaps, but could not get a street view.

I was unable to locate him in any school yearbooks, but he attended North High School in Omaha, and went to Omaha University.

Mr. Knapp seems to have made at least two trips toHawaii in his lifetime. The first was in1948, on the ship Lurline. He traveledalone from San Francisco to Honolulu and back. The second was in 1953. Hetraveled with what I presume to be his wife, Eleanor of Redfield, South Dakota. Unfortunately, their marriage predates the records available online. I assume they married sometime between 1948 and 1953. Perhaps the Hawaii trip was a honeymoon?

Eleanor passed away sometime before 1980, and he remarried a womannamed Alice Magee in August 1980, who also predeceased him. He had three children: Gary, Diane, and Pamela; and four grandchildren. I assume these were children of Wade and Eleanor.

courtesy of Douglas County Clerk's Office website

He joined the FBI and was aSpecial Agent in Charge until he retired in 1966. He worked for the family business (Omaha BoxCompany) with his brothers Bob, Sr. and Jerry. He retired from the company in November 1986.

Wade Elbert Knapp lived in Omaha, Nebraska, until he died on 7 May 2007. The SSDI shows that he was born 19 May 1915. He is buried at Forest Lawn Memorial Park inOmaha, Nebraska. You can see a photo ofhis grave here. His obituary can be found here.

Most of the information was contained in his obituary, which I attempted to corroborate, but the FBI isn't giving up any information. This was a pleasant break for me today, to actually be able to find information about someone (even if they aren't related to me) - after spending hours beating my head against a brick wall. Thanks, Randy!

Do we share any ancestors?

Please email me at lostancestors [at] gmail [dot] com

Wisdom Wednesday - It's all about ME

2012-01-17T23:19:00.000-05:00

This is being posted early because my blog is blacked out all day Wednesday in protest of SOPA and PIPA.

Did you ever stop to think, and forget to start again? ~ Winnie the Pooh

I love my blog. I also love doing my research and finding cousins and blogging about it, and most of all, getting feedback from the blogging community.

Unfortunately, I realized (after looking back over my blog posts for the past month or so) that I was losing sight of WHY I was blogging.

I brought this up to Laura, my Success Team partner, and we agreed that I should bring the focus of my blog back to my research to find more cousins and, more importantly, discovering more about the people who had a direct impact on the person I am today.

While I still intend to tip my hat to some of the more obscure celebrations on the calendar, I want to try to do it in such a way that I work some of my research into it a little better. (Of course, if the mood hits, there is a possibility that I will post something WAY off topic - just never know).

For example, today is Winnie the Pooh Day. No, Winnie and I are not related (though we do resemble each other from the neck down occasionally - except I try to wear pants). I was able to find a quote that was fitting for genealogists:

Before beginning a Hunt, it is wise to ask someone what you are looking for before you begin looking for it. ~ Winnie the Pooh

For a bear with no brain, Winnie the Pooh sure had some pretty stimulating thoughts.

52 Weeks of Abundant Genealogy - Week #3 - Free Online Genealogy Tools

2012-01-15T13:56:00.002-05:00

Week 3 – Free Online Genealogy Tools: Free online genealogy tools are like gifts from above. Which one are you most thankful for? How has it helped your family history experience?

This is another one that will require more than one answer. There are so many free resources out there, many of which depend heavily on volunteers to keep their sites free. Have you thought about volunteering for one of them?

Here are my top 5 (in no particular order):

FamilySearch
This tool has been invaluable in finding stuff that I can't find on Ancestry, and even stuff that I can find on Ancestry, but the image is hard to read. I pretty much use the two interchangeably as far as that goes. Aside from the research tools, and the wonderful learning tools provided, the one thing about FamilySearch that makes it that go-to site is the wiki. Lately I have been using the U.S. census wiki, which lists all the census enumerations that were done in a particular state, whether indexes/images exist, and where you can find them. Complete with links.

Find-A-Grave
Without a doubt, the go-to site for me when I'm looking for a photo of an ancestor's grave or other information about an ancestor. This has helped me fill in some blanks, get clues, and saved me a ton of money in travel expenses alone. I also happen to volunteer for this site.

Bureau of Land Management
Land records are a very good source of information about your ancestors. You never know what you might find in some land records. I requested my 2nd great grandfather's land records (they had not yet been digitized, but there are a lot of records that have), and it turned out that his declaration of intent to become a U.S. citizen was in the file. I felt like I hit the jackpot! The site also provides the location of the land, which can be plugged into the calculator at EarthPoint (also free), and plotted with Google Earth. Note: if your records have not been digitized, there is a fee to request those records from NARA.

Steve Morse's One-Step Webpages
There are many useful tools on Steve Morse's website. The one that I have been using lately is the Enumeration District converter for the 1940 census. It was recently updated with a quiz that makes it even easier to perform the conversion from the 1930 census EDs in preparation for April 2. I can't even wrap my head around how much time this mighty tool has already saved me, much less how much it will save me once the 1940 census is released!

Internet Archive
Historical, academic, non-fiction, and pretty much every other kind of book you can think of is at your fingertips and available on the internet. Don't just stop at the books ... you can find videos, census images, governmental reports, and more! Books can be saved to your computer in many different formats (including PDF, EPub, and Kindle), or you can read them online.

52 Weeks of Abundant Genealogy by Amy Coffin is a series of weekly blogging prompts (one for each week of 2012) that invite genealogists and others to discuss resources in the genealogy community including websites, applications, libraries, archives, genealogical societies and more.

Friday the 13th

2012-01-13T08:00:00.000-05:00

Friggatriskaidekaphobia or paraskevidekatriaphobia = fear of Friday the 13th.

I've never been very superstitious about Friday the 13th (probably because it's too hard to pronounce), but it's always something that's in the back of my mind. This year, we will have the maximum possible number of Friday the 13ths in a calendar year (three). They will occur in January, April, and July. Then we're clear straight through to September 2013!

Historically, there is no written evidence of the Friday the 13th superstition before the 19th century (see this Wikipedia article). I wondered whether any of my ancestors were superstitious about the date. Since they aren't around to ask anymore, I decided to see how many people in my family tree were born or died on Friday the 13th. I was surprised that no one in my tree died on Friday the 13th. No one was married on Friday the 13th (which may be a clue to the superstitious nature of my people, but it could also be that Catholics don't typically marry on Fridays), and only 3 were born on Friday the 13th:

Marie-Josephte Bruneau - born 13 Jul 1744 in Quebec, Canada. She is the wife of my 5th great granduncle, Pierre Joseph Lanctot. She lived to be 81 years old.

Josiah Bell - born 13 Nov 1807 in Surry, Virginia. He is my 7th great granduncle. He lived to be 88 years old.

Bessie Ruth Mount - born 13 Dec 1912 in Scottsburg, Indiana. She is my half 3rd cousin 3x removed. She lived to be 86 years old.

Looks like Friday the 13th wasn't a big deal in my family. They probably couldn't pronounce it either.

Open Thread Thursday - What's in a Name?

2012-01-12T15:25:00.001-05:00

Thomas MacEntee posted a new topic for this week, and this is one about which I decided to throw in my 2 cents:

Do you wonder if the terminology currently in use to describe someone who pursues genealogy passionately yet for personal reasons and not as a profession is inadequate?
Are you an amateur genealogist? A hobby genealogist? A family historian? A non-professional genealogist?

In response to Thomas' first question, I do think the terminology matters in terms of expectations.

This past May, I graduated from college with my Associate's Degree in Paralegal Studies. I can now call myself a paralegal (I never would have called myself that before my schooling; and I get a little irritated with folks who don't have the degree, but insist on using that title anyway - but that's another story). I have not sought my paralegal certification yet, and I'm not sure that I will. I have 5 years of experience as a paralegal already, and I don't see the certification making a difference in the work I am able to perform, or the salary I receive, at any point in the foreseeable future. At this point, the only difference is that I cannot put a "CP" after my name. (And, quite honestly, I'd rather have a genealogy certification anyway!)

My point is this: even though I am not a Certified Paralegal, I still have to abide by the same rules as those who are. I still am not allowed to give legal advice, sign contracts, negotiate fees with clients, or any of the other stuff that is strictly for attorneys. Any of the work I do has to be done under the direct supervision of an attorney. If I fail to follow these rules, I get in trouble with the Bar Association.

If someone calls themselves a professional, I would expect them to adhere to the same rules as someone who is certified/accredited. I wouldn't necessarily expect the same from someone who calls themselves an "amateur" or a "hobbyist" (although I would hope that person would strive to meet those expectations anyway). Sometimes, people call themselves "professionals" simply because they earn money doing what they do. Using that definition, technically, I guess I could be called a professional change hoarder or a professional mock trial coach. (I personally wouldn't hire me to do either task, but maybe I have higher standards than others).

While there is no "governing body" for the genealogical community, I would like to believe that professional genealogists would adhere to the same rules, regardless of whether they are certified. Unfortunately - thanks to the Elizabeth Shown Mills article recently discussed in the Genealogy in SecondLife Group - I know this is not the case.

An identity would seem to be arrived at by the way in which the person faces and uses his experience.

- James Baldwin

Who Am I?

Now, to answer Thomas' second question: I don't differentiate between the terms "family historian" and "genealogist" because I think the two are interchangeable - at least in my world. But call yourself a professional family historian? I feel pretty confident that the expectations will be higher.

I've been researching off and on since 1990, so I don't consider myself a newbie ... and with all I still have to learn, I certainly wouldn't call myself an expert either. I don't know that calling yourself a "newbie" or "amateur" necessarily carries any sort of stigma, but I think it does help others in the genealogy community - newbies and professionals alike - understand a little more easily when you make a mistake.

I am eager to learn everything I can, and develop sound research skills - in line with those of a professional certified genealogist. Someday I may actually learn how to cite a source without having to look it up. Heck, one day I may even get my certification. Until then (and at the risk of stirring up the mix with yet another term) I'll call myself a

GENEALOGY PASSIONIST!

Wordless Wednesday - Are You Hard of Rearing?

2012-01-11T08:00:00.000-05:00

Oregonian - November 29, 1942

St. Columba (South Dakota) Parish Church Registry 1881-1927 - M Surnames

2012-01-10T08:00:00.000-05:00

I have come into the possession of a copy of a Church Registry for St. Columba Parish, South Dakota that includes the baptism, marriage, first communion, confirmation, and death records for the Yankton townships of Walshtown, Mayfield, Idylwilde, Jamesville (Sigel) from 1881 through 1927. The entire list of surnames posted to date can be found here. If any of these names belong to you, let me know and I will gladly forward a copy of it to you.

Last Name	First Name	Page	Comments
Madar	Caroline	26
Mader	Michael	54	(m. Hruska)
Madole	Thomas	3
Madsen	Anna Louise	40
Madsen	Conrad	58	(m. Huber)
Madsen	Richard Julius	37
Magorien	Ann	55	(m. O'Neill)
Mamper	John George	22
Marshall	Elisabeth	53	(m. Murphy)
Marshall	John	3
Massey	Alice Mary	48
Massey	Ann D.	55	(m. Rix)
Massey	Edward Joseph	4
Massey	Mary Ellen	55	(m. Turner)
Massey	William	60	(m. Goettertz)
Massey	William Christopher	43
Mattas	Ida	57	(m. Goebel)
McCabe	Mary	53	(m. McKeachie)
McGee	Mary	51	(m. Cooney)
McGillick	Aedella Mary	34
McGillick	Agnes Bridget	7
McGillick	Alice	60	(m. Beddow)
McGillick	Loretta Lucille	48
McGillick	Lucy	61	(m. Murray)
McGillick	Lucy Elizabeth	2
McGillick	Mary	60	(m. Fitzgerald)
McGillick	Patrick Edwin	38
McGillick	Patrick J.	57	(m. Huber)
McGillick	Peter	45
McKeachie	Andrew	53	(m. McCabe)
McLuery	Julia Agnes Irtsch	55	(m. Drotzman)
McManus	Edward Patrick	8
McManus	Ellen Isabella	4
McManus	John Sylvester	25
McManus	James Daniel	22
McManus	Margaret	2
McManus	Mary Ann	57	(m. Kelly)
McManus	Michael Own	14
McManus	Thomas	11
McManus	William	18
McMarrigan	Elisabeth	26
McNamara	Mary E.	53	(m. Lenon)
Medeck	Charles William	22
Medeck	Adam	25
Medeck	Ann	21
Medeck	Elisabeth Barbara	15
Medeck	Elizabeth Margaret	27
Medeck	Henry	40
Medeck	Jacob Carl	30
Medeck	John	9
Medeck	Lide Louise	35
Medeck	Margaret	60	(m. Hasker)
Medeck	Mary	12
Meder	Mary Christina	31
Meter	Mabel Mackelin	40
Meloy	Annie	59	(m. Gemmill)
Meloy	Ann Clara	54	(m. Smith)
Meloy	Anne Isabella	1
Meloy	Bernard Ray	21
Meloy	Ellen Grace	5
Meloy	Ellenora	55	(m. Cooney)
Meloy	Francis Cornelius	32
Meloy	Frank	57	(m. Meloy - widow)
Meloy	Grace	60	(m. Lilly)
Meloy	James Clarence	18
Meloy	James	61	(m. Kelly)
Meloy	James Edward	16
Meloy	Jena	53	(m. Fahrenwald)
Meloy	John Joseph	12
Meloy	John Bernard E.	49
Meloy	Kate	59	(m. Foley)
Meloy	Katherine	54	(m. Rempp)
Meloy	Laurence	35
Meloy	Mary Joan	4
Meloy	Mrs. Margaret	57	(m. Meloy)
Meloy	Neil Francis	8
Meloy	William Patrick	3
Merrigan	Andrew	52	(m. Gemmill)
Merrigan	William Willard	17
Mines	Elisabeth Ellen	9
Mines	Eugene	51	(m. Boyle)
Moore	Anna	8
Murphy	Alice M.	57	(m. Noonan)
Murphy	Catherine	35
Murphy	Catherine	51	(m. Noonan)
Murphy	Catherine Ann	47
Murphy	Delia Agnes	42
Murphy	Ellen	47
Murphy	Gertrude Agnes	7
Murphy	Jeremiah	60	(m. Noonan)
Murphy	Joseph	7
Murphy	Mary	37
Murphy	Mary Florence	43
Murphy	Nicholaus	57	(m. Nooney)
Murphy	Thomas	45
Murphy	William	53	(m. Marshall)
Murray	Alice	60	(m. Donnelly)
Murray	Catharine Agnes	29
Murray	Ellen	54	(m. Slowey)
Murray	James	56	(m. Slowey)
Murray	James Thomas	35
Murray	Margaret	59	(m. Noonan)
Murray	Mathew	52	(m. Slowey)
Murray	Patrick Christopher	3
Murray	Patrick	61	(m. McGillick)

National Clean Off Your Desk Day

2012-01-09T18:18:00.000-05:00

Well, I didn't know what I was getting myself into when I thought "oh, I'll participate in National Clean Off Your Desk Day!" Ay caramba. I really meant it as motivation to clean off my desk at work, which usually serves as a catch-all for anything my boss doesn't want to deal with. This is what I encountered this morning when I got to the office:

... and just so you'll be really impressed, here's the other side of the office:

It was a little overwhelming at first, but just by picking up one thing at a time and dealing with it, I was able to clean off my desk (and credenza) before the end of the day!

Those papers on my desk are actually for reference; they're under the glass, they don't count!

Whew! I made it. Of course ... then I came home to this:

YIKES!!! Fortunately, it wasn't as bad as I thought, and I was able to get it under control in about an hour:

Pay no attention to the box by the window. It's not on my desk, it doesn't count!

Now if I can just get the cats to stop messing up my office while I'm at work ... good grief.

So ... how did you celebrate Clean Off Your Desk Day?

52 Weeks of Abundant Genealogy - Week #2 - Paid Online Genealogy Tools

2012-01-08T13:22:00.000-05:00

Week 2 – Paid Online Genealogy Tools: Which paid genealogy tool do you appreciate the most? What special features put it at the top of your list? How can it help others with their genealogy research?

Without a doubt, the paid online genealogy tool I use most frequently is Ancestry.com. But who hasn't already extolled the virtues of that website?

So I'll list some of the other paid sites that I use regularly:

GenealogyBank - Historical books, newspapers, documents dating back to 1690. You can search by name or by topic (e.g., "147th Infantry"). Careful ... it's really easy to get sidetracked here.

Fold3 (formerly Footnote.com) - mainly used for military records now, but it still houses all the records it had before. You just have to go looking for them. One feature I like about this site is that you can create pages for people, events, groups, etc. and link documents you find to those pages. You can also download the documents to your computer.

WorldVitalRecords - from census records to land records to newspaper archives to yearbooks and maps ... you just never know what you might find here. Start with a broad search, then narrow as you go. Caution: also easy to get sidetracked on this site too!

I just hope there is an upcoming topic for free sites. I use WAY more of those (and sometimes with more success than the paid sites).

Disclaimer: I haven't been paid to name any of these sites, particularly Ancestry, which is why I didn't want to put a commercial for them on my blog.

52 Weeks of Abundant Genealogy by Amy Coffin is a series of weekly blogging prompts (one for each week of 2012) that invite genealogists and others to discuss resources in the genealogy community including websites, applications, libraries, archives, genealogical societies and more.

St. Columba (South Dakota) Parish Church Registry 1881-1927 - L Surnames

2012-01-05T08:00:00.000-05:00

Last Name	First Name	Page	Comments
Lambertz	Frank Edward	38
Le Blanc	Felix	2
Lenon	Malcom George	53	(m. McNamara)
Lilley	Margaret Netty	45
Lilley	Albert A.	60	(m. Meloy)

St. Columba (South Dakota) Parish Church Registry 1881-1927 - K Surnames

2012-01-03T08:00:00.000-05:00

Last Name	First Name	Page	Comments
Kaesser	Laura Margarite	29
Keiser	Peter	34
Kelly	Ann	37
Kelly	Bernard Edward	57	(m. McManus)
Kelly	Ellen	1
Kelly	Ellen	61	(m. Meloy)
Kelly	Francis	41
Kelly	Julia	9
Kelly	Mary Ellen	33
Kelly	Mary J.	61	(m. Gill)
Kelly	Raymond	4
Kennedy	Henry Thomas	4
Kinsella	Catherine J.	56	(m. Fitzgerald)
Klimisch	Bertha	1
Klimisch	Edward Gerhardt	31
Klimisch	Josephine Mary	41
Klimisch	Leo Antony	38
Klimisch	Mary Magdalen	19
Klimisch	Paul Theodore	28
Klimisch	Rudolph	59	(m. Drotzman)
Klingner	Francis William	8
Klinkner	Emma Josephine	13
Klinkener	Joseph	16
Klinkner	Lillie Bertha	28
Kramer	Anna	17
Kurtin	Ida Mary	25

52 Weeks of Abundant Genealogy - Week #1 - Blogs

2012-01-02T08:00:00.000-05:00

Blogging is a great way for genealogists to share information with family members, potential cousins and each other. For which blog are you most thankful? Is it one of the earliest blogs you read, or a current one? What is special about the blog and why should others read it?

Gosh, I'm not going to be able to narrow it down to just one blog. There are so many blogs for which I am thankful, so I'm going to list my top 5 (in no particular order):

DearMYRTLE
Myrtle's was the first blog I ever read ... even before it was a blog. I still have printouts of her email newsletters from the 1990s! Her blog led me to her "Beginning Blogging" webinar, and the rest is history. Now, a little over one year and 160+ posts later, I'd say that at least some of what she taught me has stuck. I'd recommend this blog to anyone even considering diving into genealogy OR blogging (or both!).

It's All Relative
I am extremely thankful for my dear friend Laura Aanenson's blog. Without her blog, we never would have made the connection to become our Success Team. And what a success it has been! Even through our "technical" failures, we continue to learn from each other, and to push each other to do more than we think we are able. I highly recommend a "Success Team" buddy for everyone (especially if you can't afford a therapist).

Genealogy Tip of the Day and Search Tip of the Day
Michael John Neill pops out these little seeds of genealogical wisdom on a (more or less) daily basis, and no matter how experienced you think you are ... there is something in there that you can use, or that will remind of something you forgot. Plus, there's also the Casefile Clues and Casefile Clues for Beginners (both subscriptions) that are great ways to pick up new places to look for clues and new ways to look at the data you already have.

Documenting the Details
Linda McCauley has been blogging for two years and researching her family history for over a decade, and knows her stuff. The reason I'm thankful for her blog is because she doesn't only tell her readers about her successes. She also isn't afraid to let us know if she goofed and why - and more importantly, how she intends to fix it. It is through her blog that many genealogists and bloggers alike, no matter their experience level, can pick up some little nugget of knowledge and be all the better for it.

My 2012 Genealogy Resolutions

2012-01-01T08:00:00.000-05:00

This year, I realized that I was exhibiting some habits that tended to be counterproductive to making any progress with my research. So I've decided that in addition to my genealogy goals, I would also make some genealogy resolutions.

I will not add a fact to RootsMagic without a source.
I will not add a document to RootsMagic without firsttranscribing it.
I will correspond with my living relatives more than once ayear.
I will not go an entire week without reading my blog subscriptions.
I will add pending links to my Genealogy Toolbox once permonth.

I don't want to overdo it, so we'll leave it at 5. Five is a good number. What are your New Years' Resolutions?

Genealogy Goals - 2012 Edition

2011-12-31T08:00:00.000-05:00

So here are my genealogy goals for 2012. I'm hoping this year will go a little smoother than last year, now that I have a relatively sturdy foundation for goal-setting and goal reaching, thanks to the last several months of the Success Team with Laura.

Obtain the addresses, birth dates, and anniversarydates for all of my first cousins on both sides of my family … and names and birth dates of spouses and children. Ohand all my half siblings’ spouses and kids too.
Attend at least five (5) Scanfests (or equivalent) this year - and actually scan stuff.
Scan and label at least 15 photos and/or negatives each week, or until they are done, whichever happens first.
Attend at least two (2) genealogy conferences.
Give at least two (2) presentations to my genealogical society.
Index at least 200 records per month at FamilySearch Indexing.
Add at least five (5) individual ancestor stories to my website.
Blog at least twice per week.
Finish reading Greenwood's "The Researcher's Guide to American Genealogy."
Add at least three (3) website links per week to my online toolbox.

I plan to update my progress on these goals once per quarter, so ... we'll see how it goes! Good luck to everyone on their goals for the new year!

Happy Bacon Day!

2011-12-30T08:00:00.000-05:00

We interrupt our normal genealogical programming to bring you this very important message:

HAPPY BACON DAY!

Some of you may or may not know that I am a fan of bacon. Okay, I love bacon. Yes, it's not the healthiest food item on the menu, but it's SO ... DARN ... YUMMY! (It actually ranks right up there with real butter ... but I digress, this is about the bacon).

My mom always teased me and my siblings and said that we would eat just about anything if it was wrapped in bacon. She is probably right. What isn't better with bacon? Green beans? Better. Oysters? Better. Filet Mignon? Duh.

There are even conventions for bacon! And now ... BACON DAY! I'm in heaven!

I was recently in Nashville and visited a little hole-in-the-wall cafe. Attached to this little cafe was a gift shop where you could buy some of the jams, jellies, and other treats they served. I bought this shirt, which pretty much sums up my feelings about bacon:

Bacon even helps heal your boo-boos:

Obviously, bacon has permeated pretty much every part of my life. So ... Happy Bacon Day! I'm gonna go have some right now.

Wisdom Wednesday - Search Terms and Spelling

2011-12-28T08:00:00.000-05:00

I would like to say "thank you" to the indexers at FamilySearch for giving me a much-needed chuckle while I was in the midst of a very frustrating search for my 2nd great grandfather's South Dakota state census record for 1905.

Let me explain.

I was doing some housekeeping on some of my files to make sure I had obtained a copy of every census available - both federal and state - for my direct line ancestors. With names like Lanctot and Schneider, I expect there to be some weirdness in the spellings. At least in the handwriting interpretation.

I ran across the following "misspellings" for Lanctot: Sanctot, Lancto, Lanetot, and Lancelot. For Schneider, I got the expected Snyder and Snider, but also got Shmider and Schinder.

I also ran across the expected first name conundrums. My ancestors have pretty standard names - Mary Alice, Louis, Thomas Patrick, Anna Christina, etc. It can get confusing when an ancestor uses one name on one census, then their middle name on the next. However, I never thought about the different ways that someone could misspell "Louis."

I was using some pretty explicit language (directed mainly at my ancestors who appeared to have vanished into thin air between 1900 and 1905, then reappeared in 1910 right where I left them) to try to convince my computer to actually FIND something useful. It didn't. I finally decided to do a very VERY broad search for "Schneider" only in the 1905 South Dakota census. I narrowed my search down to his birth year in the 1850s. That's when I saw it.

Mine or not, I had to check it out.

Sure enough. My eyes didn't deceive me. My 2nd great grandfather was Louis Schneider, born in Iowa in 1851. Both of his parents were from France. He is first found in South Dakota on the 1880 federal census (1870 census shows him in Iowa). All of this information appears to fit.

Here's the actual census card:

I guess I can see how someone could think that said "Lovins" ... but shouldn't common sense and logic overrule that theory? In any case, I got a good chuckle out of it. And apparently my 2nd great grandfather was WAY ahead of his time ... because THIS is the first thing that popped into my head when I saw it:

It just goes to show ... be prepared for ANY type of misspelling or misinterpretation when performing your searches.

This actually is going to help me quite a bit. I have 2 Mary Alices (mother and daughter) who married two men named Louis (unrelated). Now this Louis can be referred to as "McLovin" just so I don't get so darn confused.

St. Columba (South Dakota) Parish Church Registry 1881-1927 - H Surnames

2011-12-26T10:08:00.000-05:00

Last Name	First Name	Page	Comments
Hand	Barbara Margaret	6
Hanson	Mary Odella	43
Haney	Michael	5
Hansen	Christopher	60	(m. Goebel)
Hansen	James Lloyd	46
Hanson	Hans	58	(m. Slowey)
Hanson	Bernard Edward	38
Hansen	Katherine Helen	46
Hasker	Hedwig Anna	52	(m. Drotzman)
Hasker	Helen M.	58	(m. Wagner)
Hasker	Henry	60	(m. Medeck)
Hasker	Katherine	55	(m. Hauger)
Hasker	Margaret	58	(m. Rankin)
Hasker	Mary Theresia	10
Hasker	Mary	55	(m. Schramm)
Hasker	Peter	59	(m. Wagner)
Hauger	Agnes Catherine	40
Hauger	Clarence William	45
Hauger	Cordilia	33
Hauger	Elisabeth	54	(m. Frick)
Hauger	Henry	55	(m. Hasker)
Hauger	Henry Laurence	26
Hauger	Henry William	23
Hauger	John Sylvester	32
Hauger	Joseph Albert	37
Hauger	Josephine Elizabeth	47
Hauger	Lauretta Ann	4
Hauger	Lena Mary	46
Hauger	Mary	39
Hauger	Mary Catherine	10
Hauger	Odel	51	(m. Wagner)
Hauger	Peter George Henry	29
Hauger	Robert Henry	42
Healy	Elizabeth Williamina	29
Healy	Evangeline Monica	40
Healy	Joseph Francis	14
Healy	Katherine Agnes	24
Healy	Ludovicum (Hugh)	15
Healy	Mary	20
Healy	Mary Margaret	6
Healy	Sarah Ann	18
Healy	Thomas Luke	32
Healy	Thomas	52	(m. Paul)
Heider	John Francis	15
Heider	Veronica Martha	17
Heinisch	Catherine	56	(m. Rapp)
Heinisch	Theresa	59	(m. Sigl)
Heirichs	Anna Mary	10
Heirich	Frank	52	(m. Huber)
Heirigs	Annie	19
Heirigs	Francis Joseph	17
Heirigs	Joseph	33
Heirigs	Wendel Laurence	19
Hermann	August	58	(m. Schmeltzle)
Hickey	Bridget	55	(m. Eldred)
Hickey	Edward Martin	19
Hickey	Florence Clare	16
Hickey	James William	23
Hickey	Mary Genevieve	26
Hickey	William	53	(m. Flynn)
Higgins	Lili	54	(m. Foley)
Hirsch	Laura	2
Hirsch	Louis	2
Holbrook	Frank	58	(m. Slowey)
Holbrook	Mabel Isabelle	47
Holbrook	Mary Ela	49
Holtzbauer	Ceilia Mary	4
Holtzbauer	Charles	4
Hruska	Mary Josephine	54	(m. Mader)
Huber	Albert Emil	30
Huber	Ann	53	(m. Nipp)
Huber	Arnold Lewis	40
Huber	Carolina	52	(m. Heirich)
Huber	Catherine	57	(m. McGillick)
Huber	Charles Michael	56	(m. Rothmeyer)
Huber	Christina Anna	24
Huber	Edward Marcellus	31
Huber	Elenora Bertha	28
Huber	Frederick	1
Huber	Genevieve Theresa	34
Huber	George Paul	24
Huber	Hedwig	58	(m. Madsen)
Huber	Henry William	20
Huber	Herman George	36
Huber	John Peter	13
Huber	Joseph E.	54	(m. Rothmeyer)
Huber	Joseph Peter	35
Huber	Katharine Emma	17
Huber	Klara Rose	20
Huber	Louis	12
Huber	Martha Mabel	32
Huber	Mary Leona	18
Huber	Mildred Theresa	40
Huber	Nelly Echo	23
Huber	Peter L.	54	(m. Wallace)
Huber	Otto	13
Huber	Theresa E.	57	(m. Anderson)
Huber	William	9
Huber	William Peter	21
Hunhoff	Anna Mary Helen	14
Hunhoff	Mary Johanna Agnes	11
Hunhoff	Mary	56	(m. Schramm)

2011 Goals - A Final Update

2011-12-24T10:09:00.000-05:00

It's nearing the end of the 2011, and (reluctantly) I thought I'd see where I stand with my goals.

1. ~~Plan (and execute) a trip to the National Archives in D.C.~~

Check.

2. ~~Request NARA files for my military ancestors~~.

Technically, I did request records on the ancestors for whom I had sufficient information. I requested two of them. I didn't get anything (thank you, 1973 St. Louis fire), but I still requested them.

3. Break down the brick wall that we call my grandfather's biological parents!

This one isn't done, but I'm changing my plan of attack. I'm actually giving up on the goal of unsealing his adoption records for now. I'm going to try approaching it from a DNA standpoint and see if I can "back door" my way into figuring out who my grandfather's biological family is. More on this later.

4. Scan and organize all of my photos.

Epic fail. I still have a box of photos and negatives on my closet shelf to be scanned. This one might be a carry-over to 2012 (especially now that I have my new handy-dandy negative scanner). We'll see.

5. ~~Re-source all of my research ... well, some of it is sourcing for the first time, but I just need to make sure everything has a source!~~

All of my known direct ancestors have been entered, documented, sourced, and media-ized in RootsMagic. I have continued to source all documentation that has been newly added to my database, so I'm doing pretty well on this one!

6. ~~Keep a to-do list in ONE place, and actually work on it!~~
I am really getting the hang of using the to-do list in RootsMagic, and now that I have updated to RM5, I can add those to-do items to my research log as I finish them. This makes keeping track of my research a whole lot easier!

7. Increase my FamilySearch Indexing output by at least twofold.

I am ashamed of myself here. While I have done some indexing, it's not anywhere near twice what I was doing before. It might be about equal ... maybe. I have requested off work for April 2, so I will be doing a LOT of indexing on that day. Maybe that will make up for it.

8. ~~Finally take a trip to the Family History Library in Ooltewah, TN~~

Done!

9. Transcribe all the documents I have obtained (and will obtain).

This is still a work in progress, but it will remain one of my resolutions.

10. Last but not least ... start writing my family history! Note: it will probably be 2064 before I actually FINISH it, but at least I can start writing it.

Still a work in progress, but at least it's started.

So I guess it wasn't as bad as I thought. One lesson I learned this year (thanks to Laura and our Success Team) is that goals I set need to be obtainable within the proposed time frame. I also need to make goals that are in smaller bites - from a quantitative standpoint ("I will scan xx photos per xx") rather than huge chunks ("I will scan ALL of my photos"). My goals for 2012 will definitely be more reflective of these valuable lessons.

Product Review: Imagelab Slide & Negative Scanner

2011-12-22T08:00:00.000-05:00

I love technology. I love new toys. Fine ... I'll admit it. I'm a gadget whore.

This one, I think, will prove quite useful. I put this little item on my wish list some time ago, and when my mom asked me to send her my Christmas list, I simply copied the link to my Amazon wish list and emailed it to her. I never thought she would choose this from that list.

The Imagelab Slide & Negative Scanner. (cue ethereal music)

When I emptied everything out of the box, I was quite impressed. The scanner is actually smaller than I was expecting. It weighs a touch over a pound, and it's around 7-1/2 inches tall. That's completely a guess because at the time I wrote this, I was unable to find my ruler. The scanner is a little over half as tall as Meresa (my Barbie). Don't judge. I know for sure that she is 11 inches tall. Ergo, the scanner is about 7-1/2 inches tall.

Meresa: Presenter and measuring standard

Instead of simply plugging everything in, turning it on, and figuring out how to use it myself (which I usually do), I decided to read the instruction booklet. The first page is READ THIS FIRST!! So ...

The first thing you should know is that you can only use 35mm slides or 35mm negatives. Scanning other sizes could damage your originals.

The second thing you should know is that you should not get the scanner wet. No scanning negatives in the bathtub! You've been warned.

Whew! Glad I read that part first.

You can use the scanner with the provided AC adapter, or you can use 3 AAA batteries. I bought a box of 50 AAA batteries and have not one single thing in my house that uses them (I thought they were AA). Today we're going to use the AAA batteries.

It also takes a standard SD card, or you can use the USB cable to scan directly to your computer. I used the SD card that I use for my digital camera. It's an 8 GB card, and the counter on the scanner says I have 8125 images worth of space.

I found some old negatives - I have no idea how old - and I can't tell by looking at them what the photos are, so I suppose it will be a surprise for all of us! I opened one of the negative trays to place the negatives. The tray was a little tricky for me to get opened at first, but that is probably user error (or what we call a PICNIC problem -- problem in chair, not in computer).

I got the negatives loaded up and slid the tray into the slot. The images show up on the LCD screen (approx. 2-1/2 inches square). I pressed the button that says "negative" on the top to scan the photo to my SD card.

Here is a completely unretouched version of what was on that negative:

That's actually a photo of the quilt that my grandmother made for my (now 21-year-old) daughter when she was very little. This photo was probably taken around 14 years ago, judging by the background.

I don't own any slides, so I couldn't test out that feature.

Bottom line, the scanner is very easy to use. It's a little difficult to get the negatives to stay locked on the little nubs that are supposed to hold them in, but I attribute that to the fact that my negatives were slightly curled. The images are scanned at 9 megapixels, so they aren't too shabby. The images are saved as .jpg, not .tiff, so if that's a feature you really want, you might want to check out other brands.

Now I just have to find the time to scan all the negatives in that box on the closet shelf ...

Disclaimers: I have not received any compensation from Imagelab, Amazon, Rayovac, my grandmother, or Mattel for this review. I am not a professional reviewer -- I simply got a new gift and wanted to show people how it works, in case they were toying with the idea of buying one.

On This Day ... December 19

2011-12-19T08:00:00.000-05:00

Using one of the new reports available in RootsMagic 5, I have listed below all the historic events that happened today, saving the best for last.

211 - Publius Septimius Geta, co-emperor of Rome, is lured to come without his bodyguards to meet his brother Marcus Aurelius Antoninus (Caracalla), to discuss a possible reconciliation. When he arrives the Praetorian Guard murders him and he dies in the arms of his mother Julia Domna.
324 - Licinius abdicates his position as Roman Emperor.
1154 - Henry II of England is crowned at Westminster Abbey.
1490 - Anne, Duchess of Brittany, is married to Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor by proxy.
1606 - The Susan Constant, the Godspeed, and the Discovery depart England carrying settlers who found, at Jamestown, Virginia, the first of the thirteen colonies that became the United States.
1776 - Thomas Paine publishes one of a series of pamphlets in the Pennsylvania Journal titled The American Crisis.
1777 - American Revolutionary War: George Washington's Continental Army goes into winter quarters at Valley Forge, Pennsylvania.
1796 - French Revolutionary Wars: Two British frigates under Commodore Horatio Nelson and two Spanish frigates under Commodore Don Jacobo Stuart engage in battle off the coast of Murcia.
1828 - Nullification Crisis: Vice President of the United States John C. Calhoun pens the South Carolina Exposition and Protest, protesting the Tariff of 1828.
1900 - Hopetoun Blunder: The first Governor-General of Australia John Hope, 7th Earl of Hopetoun, appointed Sir William Lyne as premier of the new state New South Wales, but he is unable to persuade other colonial politicians to join his government and is forced to resign.
1907 - A group of 239 coal miners die during a mine explosion in Jacobs Creek, Pennsylvania.
1912 - William H. Van Schaick, captain of the steamship General Slocum which caught fire and killed over 1,000 people, is pardoned by U.S. President William Howard Taft after three-and-a-half-years in Sing Sing prison.
1916 - World War I: Battle of Verdun : On the Western Front, the French Army successfully holds off the German Army and drives it back to its starting position.
1920 - King Constantine I is restored as King of the Hellenes after the death of his son Alexander I of Greece and a plebiscite.
1924 - The last Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost is sold in London, England.
1932 - BBC World Service begins broadcasting as the BBC Empire Service
1941 - World War II: Adolf Hitler becomes Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the German Army.
1941 - World War II: Limpet mines placed by Italian divers sink the HMS Valiant (1914) and HMS Queen Elizabeth (1913) in Alexandria harbour.
1946 - Start of the First Indochina War.
1956 - Irish-born physician John Bodkin Adams is arrested in connection with the suspicious deaths of more than 160 patients. Eventually he is convicted only of minor charges.
1961 - India annexes Daman and Diu, part of Portuguese India.
1963 - Zanzibar gains independence from the United Kingdom as a constitutional monarchy, under Sultan Jamshid bin Abdullah.
1964 - The South Vietnamese military junta of Nguyen Khanh dissolved the High National Council and arrested some of the members.
1967 - Prime Minister of Australia Harold Holt is officially presumed dead.
1972 - Apollo program: The last manned lunar flight, Apollo 17, crewed by Eugene Cernan, Ron Evans and Harrison Schmitt, returns to Earth.
1975 - John Paul Stevens is appointed a justice of The United States Supreme Court.
1981 - Sixteen lives are lost when the Penlee lifeboat goes to the aid of the stricken coaster Union Star in heavy seas.
1983 - The original FIFA World Cup trophy, the Jules Rimet Trophy, is stolen from the headquarters of the Brazilian Football Confederation in Rio de Janeiro.
1984 - The Sino-British Joint Declaration, stating that the People's Republic of China would resume the exercise of sovereignty over Hong Kong and the United Kingdom would restore Hong Kong to China with effect from July 1, 1997 is signed in Beijing by Deng Xiaoping and Margaret Thatcher.
1986 - Mikhail Gorbachev, leader of the Soviet Union, releases Andrei Sakharov and his wife from internal exile in Gorky.
1995 - The United States Government restores federal recognition to the Nottawaseppi Huron Band of Potawatomi Indian tribe.
1997 - SilkAir Flight 185 crashes into the Musi River, near Palembang in Indonesia, killing 104.
1998 - Lewinsky scandal: The United States House of Representatives forwards articles I and III of impeachment against President Bill Clinton to the Senate.
2000 - The Leninist Guerrilla Units wing of the Communist Labour Party of Turkey/Leninist attack a Nationalist Movement Party office in Istanbul, killing one person and injuring three.
2001 - A record high barometric pressure of 1085.6 hPa (32.06 inHg) is recorded at Tosontsengel, Khovsgol Province, Mongolia.
2001 - Argentine economic crisis: December 2001 riots : Riots erupt in Buenos Aires.

... and last, but definitely not least:
I think it goes without saying that the most important event that occurred on December 19 is that I was born.* Way better than all those other (mostly depressing) events up there, right?

*for the record - I was not alive for the majority of those events ... only for maybe the last one-third of that list!