Family History Month - It Has Come To A Close

Family History Month ends today ~ I hope you have enjoyed the 26 daily prompts (everything from A to Z) and that you actually did at least a few of them.  Since I am a big believer in following my own advice, here is a wrap-up of my response to a few of the prompts.

Acknowledge - Thanks to Vince, Meagan, Geraldine, Mary & Joel, & Jeri AND thanks to The Newfoundland Grand Banks' website volunteers and the Plate Cove Facebook page participants for pointing me in the right direction where the Irish/Newfoundland connection is concerned, and sharing your knowledge, enthusiasm and genealogy finds with me!

Backup - I backup twice a month - you should too!

Collaborate - Thanks to Janelle and Sherrie for helping me out with the Slovenian side of the family!

Engage - Thanks to Great Aunt Christine and my cousin Mary Christine for sharing lunch, as well as your memories and photographs with my mom and me this month ~ you provided lots of new information!

Index - I continue to work through the birth, marriage and death information I gathered during my research trips to the Family History Library in Salt Lake City, Utah and the Provisional Archives in St. John's, Newfoundland.  The indexes are a work in progress ~ I am about 85% complete and hope to be finished by the end of the year!

Kin - My October 11, 2010 post was about my grandfather ~ I made sure to send an email to family members to encourage them to take a look at my Blog and also share their memories.

Locate - I went through my Master Locations List in my Legacy Family Tree program and updated and/or corrected all my addresses - 25 countries are represented and I have learned a great deal about the historical locations in Norway and Sweden during the past month.

Marriage Records - I have 1,586 marriages in my family file; of those 457 marriages do not have a marriage date!  I need to get busy in this department!

To Do Logs - I have made the commitment to record all my to-do items for the next 2 months and hopefully I will establish a pattern so that it becomes second nature to me.  I am using my Legacy Family Tree program for this task.

Webinar - I attended 3 webinars this past month:

• Evidence Analysis with Karen Clifford  
• Blogging for Beginners with DearMyrtle
• Sharing Genealogy Electronically with Geoff Rasmussen 

Each was helpful and provided some great tips (they are all still available online at the Legacy website for replay ~ check them out as well as a few others).  Best tip from the webinars came from Karen Clifford:

• determine a research question/issue
• make up a research plan
• research for three hours focusing on the issue, various resources, and possible findings
• write up your research report summarizing the question/issue, the plan, the resources, the results (positive and negative), and what further research is required

I think I will give that a try next month!

I hope you gained some insight, had some fun, found some new websites to check out, and noodled around with your family history!  Sláinte!

Family History Month - ZEST

~ Today's prompt is brought to you by the letter Z ~

Webster's Dictionary defines zest as "an invigorating or keen quality, spirited enjoyment, relish."   I have a zest for genealogy.  I enjoy the unknown puzzle, the research, the libraries and the archives.  I enjoy reading through old records, meeting with extended family members and learning about the mosaic that is my family. 

My family is a combination of Irish, Norwegian, Austrian/Slovenian, and Swedish.  For the past five years (on and off) I have researched these countries and the particular counties or provinces where my ancestors originated.  I have a zest for learning the geography, history and cultural background of each of these areas.  I have a zest for attending seminars and conferences with other genealogists ~ people who are genuinely interested in my research and willing to share their tips to make my search easier. 

I don't know about you but once I started working on my family history and trying to piece together the puzzle that is my genealogy I got "it." What is "it?" 

• It is finding your ancestors in passenger manifests, censuses, county land records, voting records, and city directories. 
• It is finding an account of your great-grandparents' town complete with handwritten maps showing their homes, schools, and fishing areas. 
• It is finding photographs of any of your ancestors. 
• It is corresponding with a church office and having the minister or priest get back in touch with information about family marriages, baptisms and confirmations. 
• It is finding your Swedish ancestors in Genline records and then corresponding via DISbyt with current extended family in Sweden. 
• It is finding your Norwegian ancestors in the bygdebok (Norwegian farm books) for their area and being able to place them at a specific farm, learn what church they attended, find their vital records and follow their trip to Canada and later the United States. 
• It is finding out where your great-grandmother was buried and being able to make the trip to the cemetery. 
• It is being able to answer someone's questions and help them with the genealogy. 
• It is the thrill of the search and the knowledge that your people will be honored and remembered through your database, scrapbook, book or blog.

Hopefully, your genealogy provides you with enjoyment, is invigorating, and adds a bit of flavor to your life ~ much like the zest of a lemon adds a little flavor to a recipe.  Cheers!

Family History Month - YIELD

~ Today's prompt is brought to you by the letter Y ~

Webster's Dictionary defines yield as "to bring forth by a natural process; to grant to another; to give up possession."  A synonym for yield is share.  If you have spent any time on the genealogy boards or websites, you have read the discussions about sharing genealogy data.  We have all either read or heard the horror stories of people who shared their genealogy with others only to find it on someone else's website without permission, attribution or thanks.  As a result, many genealogists (and quite a few family members I know) refuse to yield (or give up possession) their genealogy research to others.  Or you may have the relative who yields research in drips and drabs - only answering your specific question and no more (it always feels a bit like the game 20 questions)

This is a real shame because when we are unwilling to yield (or share), we oftentimes are also unable to get information from others in return.  Yielding requires us to accept that we may not get anything in return or may not even be thanked ~ but I think we all have to be willing to take a chance and yield simply for the sake of furthering the research that is available to others (whether online, at a local library or archives).

Before you dismiss this notion, ask yourself a few questions:

• Why am I saving my genealogy research? 
• What have I done with my genealogy research? 
• Have I started a blog to share information and stories with others? 
• Have I self-published a book about a branch of my family (and provided copies to the local library, archives or genealogical society)? 
• Have I printed up my family tree with a charting program? 
• Have I made audio/visual recordings and provided them to extended family members? 

If you are already yielding GREAT ~ and on behalf of the rest of us  ~ thanks. 

However if your research is sitting in your computer or file cabinets and no one else is getting any benefit, ask yourself if it is time to yield ~ to bring forth, to grant to another, to give up possession, to share! 

Yielding can pay big dividends ~ maybe someone researching your family has information that will answer your questions or provide that extra fact that will change everything up in your own genealogy research.  Today start with baby steps ~ yield a family line on your blog, website or online tree ~ put it out there and perhaps good karma will return the favor.

Family History Month - XEROGRAPHY

~ Today's prompt is brought to you by the letter X ~

Okay, I won't lie to you.  The last three letters in the alphabet are a bit hard to work with!  At first I went online looking for words and after checking out the various sites, still came up stumped.  Then I thought since there weren't any words that started with X  I would use a word that had the letter X somewhere in it.  Then I decided to go to the book - the dictionary that is! 

My experience serves as a reminder to all of us genealogists out there that there are several methods of looking up information.  I think perhaps we have gotten a bit spoiled with the Internet available 24/7 and we forget that a wealth of information is NOT on the Internet and IS in books and other media that is available in our homes, our relatives' homes, the local library, various archives and government agencies.  But I digress.

Today give some thought to your paper files and xerography (that is ~ the process for copying graphic materials ~ the photocopying process that was introduced and trademarked by Xerox).  Do you continue to xerox information from books, maps, and other documents to place in your files?  Have you switched over from xeroxing to scanning and do you now keep your information on your computer?  Do you use some combination method of xeroxed and computer files.  I think genealogy will always be paper driven (no matter how much we keep on our computer's hard drive  and "in the cloud").  What steps are you taking to make sure your paper files will be preserved for future generations?   

Family History Month - WEBINARS

~ Today's prompt is brought to you by the letter W~

There are many ways to learn ~ you can read all about it by checking out a book, you can listen in and learn by checking out an audio podcast, you can travel locally or nationally and attend lectures at a conference or seminar, you can teach yourself by noodling around with a genealogy program or playing around with a software program, or you can "watch and learn" by attending an online webinar. 

Webinars contain the best of both worlds ~ you can watch the presentation (ususally a Powerpoint or slide show) while listening to the presenter.  In the early days of webinars sometimes the presentations were not all that smooth.  Today, many organizations have tweaked their presentation models and provide quite professional webinars for your viewing and listening pleasure! 

Have you checked out any webinars lately?  With hosting sites like GoToMeeting, the audience has the ability to attend a presentation and, in certain instances, direct questions to the presenter live and have them answered in real time (this live mic option gives you the ability to follow up on your questions and/or interact with the presenter).

Last Wednesday I attended DearMyrtle's webinar "Blogging for Beginners" brought to the genealogy community by Legacy Family Tree.  Not only did Myrtle present her Powerpoint slides and give her lecture live, but the audience was able to ask questions and the answers were provided in real time (at least for me, within moments of typing my questions into the query box I received answers).  At the conclusion of DearMyrtle's presentation, Geoff Rasmussen opened things up to live questions with the assistance of the GoToMeeting's sidebar (it is equipped with a space to type questions as well as a tab for "raising your hand.")  Once called on, your computer's mic is live and you can ask your question and have it answered in real time.   Very cool and a real boon ~ fitting your genealogy education into your schedule via webinars. 

A suggestion for all Genealogical and Historical Societies ~ webinars are a great way to include those who cannot attend your meetings and open up a wealth of opportunities for distance Societies to increase their memebership and/or attendance at meetings.  How many times have you seen a great class, lecture or course offered by a particular Society but because of distance or time you could not attend?  I would happily pay for a lecture or course offering if I could attend via computer ~ how about you?  Perhaps we can move our Societies forward into the brave new world of webinars! 

Check out FamilySearch.org which has several of their Saturday morning FHL lectures available online ~ this is perfect as you can attend the lectures in the comfort of your home when it is convenient for you (pjs and all!).  Some other choices include NEHGS and Legacy Family Tree.

Now if you will excuse me, I have an 8:00 a.m. webinar with Karen Clifford entitled  "Evidence Analysis" offtered in conjuction with Legacy and ICAPgen ~ it is taking place in Salt Lake City and in addition to the actual class attendees, several hundred are attending from all over the World (I'm in my pjs with a large cup of coffee - cool!).  It will be available for the next 30 days at Legacy's site.  Cheers!

Family History Month - VOLUNTEER

~ Today's prompt is brought to you by the letter V~

First, the excuses:

• You have thought about it and plan to look for something you might enjoy doing
• You are busy right now but when you have a little bit of time, you plan to schedule something
• You don't have much time to devote to it, so it probably would not make any difference
• You would love to do it but you are home-bound

What is it? Making the decision to VOLUNTEER to do something "genealogy-related" for your community (either local or global).

Now, the solutions:

• Today spend a bit of time noodling around at FamilySearch.org or Ancestry.com or your local genealogical or historical society's website - check out the volunteer opportunities, especially indexing records
• Today take a look at your schedule ~ do you have an hour or two to devote to volunteering ~ sometime during your week?
• Every little bit helps in the volunteering department ~ an hour a week is 52 hours over the course of a year!
• If you have a computer and access to the Internet you can volunteer to index from home, write or edit a society newsletter, write an article or blog for your society, or perform genealogy research

We all know we should, we all know we could ~ so let's just do it ~ VOLUNTEER!

There are so many opportunities and so many options to volunteer ~ there truly is something for every interest. 

If you haven't yet volunteered, consider this your written invitation ~ join us ~ do something to help out our genealogy community, you will be glad you did.

If you currently volunteer ~ on behalf of all of us who receive the benefit of your generosity ~ THANKS and keep up the good works! 

Family History Month - UPDATE

~ Today's prompt is brought to you by the letter U~

Are you on Facebook or another social network site?  Have you posted research queries on rootsweb?  Have you posted queries on FamilySearch.org?  Do you have a blog or other website?  Do you use Google Alerts with your research?  When was the last time you updated your contact or research information?  Is your current email address or other method of contact on your site?  Have you updated your research queries on any of the available sites based on more recent research and/or additional information? 

So often we join a website or genealogy search service and either do not check back regularly or do not update our contact information.  If someone reads our queries weeks, months or even years later, they will not be able to contact us.  Today check back with your membership and query sites and see if you need to update your contact or research information.  If your information is up-to-date OR you haven't made use of Google Alerts or rootsweb, why not give it a whirl.

Family History Month - TO-DO ITEMS

~Today's prompt is brought to you by the letter T~

How do you keep track of your to-do items?  When you are busy with actual research or you are reading through your research, how do you make note of documents you need to look up, certificates you want to order, emails you need to send, follow up telephone calls, or books, articles or journals you want to check out?  Do you keep track of these to-do items with your genealogy computer program, a handwritten note system or some combination of the two?  Does your current method work for you?  Are you able to filter your to-do list by individual, respository or task? 

Today think about your to-do lists.  If your system works great, if it doesn't work for you think about how you can tweak it to make it work.  The easiest system is to have a form (I find this works best for my research log and my to-do list).  Once you get in the habit of filing out the form it becomes second nature and you will have all the information you need on the form when you have the time to work on your to-dos.

At a minimum your to-do form should include the following:

• Individual's Name (RIN and MRIN if you use that numbering system) and any additional personal information you need in order to do the task
• Task - a brief description of the task that needs to be done
• Locality - the actual place where the to-do item can be researched
• Status - the date you start and finish the to-do item
• Results - a place to write out the information once you locate it

Legacy Family Tree (and I imagine most of the genealogy software programs) has an excellent to-do function that is easy to use and can filter and print reports based on repository, individual, task, or particular type of to-do.  If you are consistent in adding information to your to-do list, when you have the opportunity to go to a particular library, archive or the FHL you have a report of items to look up ~ a good to-do list definitely makes your research time more efficient so try to get in the habit of using to-do lists.

Family History Month - SOURCES

~ Today's prompt is brought to you by the letter S~

Performing genealogy research is quite a bit like working on a school research paper.  You have to determine what you plan to write about, read some general knowledge texts for background, develop your paper's theme, check out possible books and articles for research, read through your source materials and draft your bibliography, perform the actual research and, finally, write your paper and cite your sources. 

With genealogy (as with most other serious research) we need to cite sources for each piece of information we add to the (research paper) story of our ancestors.  Often we are in such a rush to get the names, dates and places that we sometimes forget or haphazardly cite our sources.  Then we leave our genealogy for weeks, months or years at a time (real life has a way of interfering with genealogy research).  When we get back to it, we are left to wonder ~ where did I get that piece of information, what does that "shorthand" source citation mean, is it reliable and/or accurate, do I have conflicting information and if so, how do I resolve the conflict.  If we have not clearly and accurately cited our sources for our information, we have to go back and do the research over again.  Does anyone want to reinvent the research wheel?  

How do you keep track of your sources when you research?  Is your method different when you research on-line, or at a library or archives?  If you use a genealogy software program, how does its source function work for you (both in theory and in practice)?  Do you regularly review your source citations and make sure they comply with accepted practice?  An excellent handbook/bible in this regard is Evidence Explained by Elizabeth Shown Mills.  Additionally, several websites provide source citation assistance for articles, books and online materials (check out ProGenealogists' Citations Guide and WorldCat's Citation Guide).

Today pick one family group sheet and review the information you have entered for that family (names, dates, places and events).  How many of these pieces of information have sources?  Do you need to do some clean-up work? 

Today, make the decision to work with your sources on a regular basis and clean them up as you go along with your research.  Focus on both the information and the sources when you perform genealogy research.  Future genealogists who make use of your work product will thank you for taking the time to do it right.  They will be able to carry your work forward and not have to "reinvent the wheel" when they pick up where you left off.

Family History Month - READ

~Today's prompt is brought to you by the letter R~

One of my favorite things is books - I love to read ~ a good book can take you to another place or time, it can educate and entertain you.  Genealogy is comprised of many parts ~ we can learn so much about our ancestors by reading (both fiction and nonfiction).  Check out your public library or favorite bookstore and you will find that there is something to learn (genealogy-wise) in most every section ~ world and local history, geography, travel, culinary, employment/occupation, language, religion, and technology, fiction and non-fiction.

(image by digital artist Felixco, Inc., made available by FreeDigitalPhotos.net ~ thanks)

Why not go to the library and check out a book that relates to your ethnic or religious background, your families' emigration/immigration experience, or perhaps read a newspaper from your ancestors' locality or a diary or journal of a family member.

Today, find a good book and READ!  While you are at it, why not recommend a good read to the rest of us!

My recommendation for a good read is Sarah's Key by Tatiana de Rosnay.  This book is a beautifully written concurrent story of (1) the forced roundup (Vel’ d’Hiv’) and deportation and murder of French Jews in July 1942 and (2) a journalist's assignment to cover the story for a 60th anniversary article in July 2002.  The intertwined stories were fascinating, haunting and quite touching.  The effect that atrocity had on all the characters (both past and present) was also quite thought-provoking.

Family History Month - QUERY

~Today's prompt is brought to you by the letter Q~

Oftentimes genealogy is a solitary experience.  We sit before our computers in the privacy of our homes and research on Ancestry, FamilySearch, Footnote or perhaps perform Google searches.  Perhaps we research at the local library or archives.  We may discuss our genealogy with others but many of us work on this passion alone.  It doesn't need to be that way.  In the short time I have been doing genealogy, I have found that it can also be a very social experience.  We can volunteer at a genealogical or historical society, attend a local library's "genealogy afternoon" or society or technology meetings or conferences, and we can connect online with others who share our passion. 

One of the easiest ways to move our genealogy forward and engage other potential family members is to post a query on a genealogy site.  There are several genealogy sites to choose from ~ rootsweb, local or distance genealogy societies' web pages, Ancestry's connection service, CousinConnect, Facebook's surname or locality pages, to name a few.  Today why not check out a few different query sites, read up on the terms and conditions, spend some time drafting a few clear and concise queries, post your queries, and then make a note to follow up on them.  While you are at it, read through queries from other posters.  Perhaps there is interesting information regarding your surname or locale, perhaps one of the posters is a long lost relative, or you may find a query format that you would like to use with your future queries.  Make sure to update your email address or other contact method if anything changes (you will often find people respond to a query months or sometimes years later and if your contact information is incorrect that is a connection missed).

(image by digital artist Michelle Meiklejohn, made available by FreeDigitalPhotos.net ~ thanks)

Some tips on getting your query noticed ~ There are many queries out there so make sure your query gets noticed - provide:

• Surname, Given Name and a Timeframe 
• Locale
• Concise Information You Want
• Concise Information You Have
• Contact Information 

I have had especially good luck with FamilySearch (translating Genline's Swedish documents with the assistance of FHL volunteers) and local genealogy sites (a Ward County, North Dakota volunteer looked up my greatgrandfather's obituary and sent me a transcription via email - I had the newspaper citation and provided that in my query).  Today, give it a try ~ you may be amazed at the results!

Family History Month - PHOTOGRAPHS

~Today's prompt is brought to you by the letter P ~

This past week, my mother and I visited the Maple Valley Historical Society (MVHS) in Maple Valley, Washington.  My great-grandparents on my mother's side of the family left Austria/Jugo-Slovia in the early 1900s and settled in the farming/mining community of Hobart. 

MVHS supports the several communities of Black Diamond, Taylor, Hobart, Enumclaw & Maple Valley.  MVHS has (at least) three great resources:

• PHOTOGRAPHS - Individuals and companies have provided community photographs, brochures, reports, family histories, yearbooks/annuals of people, places & things related to their families, homes, schools, farms and businesses;
• NEWSLETTER - the Maple Valley Bugle, a well-written and interesting newsletter with articles and photos of community events, reunions, and remembrances (obituaries); and
• PEOPLE - Society members who are available at their three Museums to assist you with your research and answer any questions you have or suggest other community members who may have the information you need.

A few weeks ago I went on MVHS's website and e-mailed them to schedule an appointment.  On this visit we were able to meet with an affiliated family member who very graciously offered to let me review her personal genealogy and family history records (she keeps track of the various families with pages for birth announcements, engagement and marriage announcements and articles, obituaries, photographs and newspaper articles ~ all placed in binders by family ~ I definitely lucked out this week~).  Later in the day we also went to my Great Aunt's home and had lunch with her and her daughter.  During lunch, they continued to fill in the blanks and answer questions for me on our family history.  After lunch, we went through old family photographs and they agreed to let me scan them.

You may already have a collection of family photographs (lucky you) but if you don't or if there are some missing links, make a point to contact the local library, genealogical or historical society where your ancestors lived.  You may find a wealth of information and photographs (either from birth or death notices, their school days, their marriages and anniversaries, business dealings, or other articles of interest).  Newspapers and newsletters can give you a feel for the history of area and the community. 

Read up on how best to copy or scan photographs for your genealogy files and how to maintain those photographs (you may want to take a look at Resources for Private and Family Collections).  Back up the photographs that may reside on your computer - either on an external hard drive, CD or DVD.  You would be devastated to lose those photographs if your hard drive crashed, so remember to back them up on a regular basis.  Do you have a system to keep track of your photographs - is there a better (or more efficient way)?  Have you identified the people, places and the dates in your photographs?  If not, spend some time doing so because every photograph tells a story!  Share your family photographs ~ make a copy for a family member, share them on your blog, a family newsletter or that book you are working on!

For a fascinating bit of American history told through photographs, take an on-line look at the Liljenquist Family Collection at the Library of Congress.  This is a revolving collection of 700 ambrotype and tintype photographs of both the Union and Confederate soldiers during the Civil War ~ a history lesson told through pictures of the people who lived it.

(a special thanks to Dick Peacock and Sherrie Acker of the MVHS who met with me and to all the people responsible for the MVHS newsletter and museums ~ what an amazing wealth of family history and community history information)

Family History Month - ORGANIZE

~ Today's prompt is brought to you by the letter O~

In a perfect world our genealogy would be completely organized and filed on a timely and regular basis.  We would have binders and/or folders clearly marked, indexed and perhaps even color-coded for ease of use.  All our family group sheets would be completely and accurately filled out, all of the supporting documents found (or a to-do list made up of missing information so we could easily acquire it).  We would have family photographs copied and/or scanned with names and dates entered as part of the metadata or tags.  If anyone visited our genealogy nook or office, they would easily be able to find whatever they were looking for.  If you are nodding your head in agreement, I am impressed (and please share your secret to being so organized!).  For the rest of us, organization is a goal that we continually strive to reach but often fall short. 

Do you have a plan or system of organization for your genealogy?  What grade would you give yourself for your plan in theory AND in practice?  Are you able to find things easily?  Is someone else able to make use of your folders, binders or computer files?  How much time do you spend looking for papers, pictures or research?  How much time do you spend organizing and/or reorganizing your genealogy? 

Today give some thought to your organization system and whether it works for you.  If it works, please share your tips with the rest of us.  If it does not work for you, why not check out the various tips and tricks shared by other genealogists (either in books, articles or blogs) and think about making some changes to your system. 

Whatever you decide to do for organization, come up with something that is clear and simple, write yourself a "cheat sheet" outlining your system (both for yourself and others who may use your work in the future), and then devote some time each week (schedule an appointment) to keep your system up-to-date.  You would be surprised how much easier your genealogy searches will be when you are able to find what you need to move your research process forward.

Family History Month - NUMBERS

~ Today's prompt is brought to you by the letter N~

Genealogy consists of names, dates, places, events, stories and photographs.  A big part of the data entry associated with genealogy involves numbers ~ birth, baptism, marriage, death & burial dates to name just a few.  The generally accepted method of entry for dates is day-month-year (the European method) with the first three letters of the month spelled out (i.e., 01-Oct-2010).  Is this the number system you are using?  Why or why not?  Have you ever received a family tree or chart and not been able to determine the date of an event because it was put in all number order (01-10-2010) - is that January 10th or October 1st?  Perhaps the year was listed with only two numbers (07) - is that 1807, 1907 or 2007?  Granted you can spend some time with the information and usually figure it out but why not enter it clearly in the first place? 

Most genealogy programs (both computer database and paper-based) assign a number to each person and each marriage in your family tree.  GEDCOMs number individuals based on the family group to which they belong.  Articles and books go into great detail on the numbering systems in genealogy (the ahnentafel or Sosa-Stradonitz numbering system, the register system or the modified register/ngs system).  One excellent article discussing the various numbering systems is Genealogy Numbering Systems. 

Whether you use one of the systems mentioned or make up your own, have you made an index of your numbering system that shows the individual and the number(s) assigned to him/her?  I use Legacy Family Tree and have assigned RINs (record identification numbers) and MRINs (marriage record identification numbers) for every individual in my database.  These numbers are part of my computer and paper-based filing system.  I make sure that the I do not reassign abandoned RINs and MRINs and that I do not renumber my RINs and MRINs.  In addition to backing up my genealogy database on a regular basis, I also save an index of my numbering system so that if anything goes wonky I can recreate my numbering system.  For those of you who use a software program, on the off chance that some gremlin wreaks havoc with your database, have you backed up your database and your numbering system?  For those of you who use a paper-based system, how do you keep track of your numbering system?

Today, spend a little time reviewing your numbering system and making sure it works for you.

Family History Month - MARRIAGE

~ Today's prompt is brought to you by the letter M ~

How many marriages do you have in your family tree?  How do you keep track of these marriages?  Is your marriage information standardized? Do you have marriage certificates, newspaper notices and photos either scanned into your computer or in paper based files?  Besides putting the marriage information into your genealogy database do you make any other use of it?

(photo by digital artist Salvatore Vuono and made available by FreeDigitalPhotos.net ~ thanks)

There are many reasons why I use a software program (my choice ~ Legacy Family Tree) ~ to put my data in a standardized format, to be able to manipulate the data for research purposes, to help make my data easy to use and publish to others. 

I use the RIN (record indentification number) and MRIN (marriage record indentification number) in Legacy and I file both on my computer and my paper based system with the individual's name and their RIN and (where appropriate) MRIN.  On a regular basis I go through a "potential problems" and a "missing information" search to make sure that I have included a complete date, location, officiating priest/minister, source(s), and witnesses.  I make sure to look for church marriage registers and county or town marriage registers.  Finally, I take a look at newspaper indexes (either at the local library or on-line) and see if there are articles or notices of my marriages. If there are articles about my marriage couple, I make the trip to the local library or genealogical society or request a copy from the distance genealogical society or library.

So many times, the newspaper article in a local paper helps you learn about the marriage couple, their faith, their education and occupation, their parents, extended family members and friends (usually there is some mention of those in attendance), and their social status.  The "mother lode" so to speak is when photos accompany the article.  These photos really give you a picture of the times due to the style of the wedding dress or groom's attire. 

Today, take a look at you master marriage list and see where you have missing information or potential problems.  Then make a search list and see if you can find the information you need either through your local library or genealogical society look-up (for local or distance locations).  Cheers!

Family History Month - LOCATIONS

~Today's prompt is brought to you by the letter L~

Do you use a database program for your genealogy?   A great reason to use a database program is that you can standardize information.  One of those key pieces of information is locations.  The first statistics we look for in genealogy are name, date, event and place (or location).  Being able to correctly determine and plot location is important in terms of knowing where to search for additional information about ancestors.  Learning the locations is important to help us place our family in a geographical chronology. 

How do you keep track of your genealogy locations?  How do you check to make sure your information is correct?  Do you have misspellings of town names or counties?  Do you have a county listed at a time when it did not exist?  Today why not spend some time going through your master location list (whether in your genealogy database or your paper based program) and clean it up where necessary. 

• Check out the master location list that is part of your genealogy database program - really spend some time learning how to make the best use of it. 
• A helpful site that can operate as a check of sorts in this regard is Standard Finder by FamilySearch.  You can use this program to determine proper spellings of locations, to check if locations exist, as well as to determine alternate name spellings and variants of those locations.
• Once you have your locations in good order, there are several mapping programs that will read your genealogy database program and map or plot your location information for you.  Check out Map My Family Tree or Family Atlas.  Both programs are relatively easy to use and can give you a new perspective on the various locations in your family tree. 
• Two programs that will provide a bit of historical context with your locations are Animap Plus (for North America) and The Centennia Historical Atlas (for Europe & the Middle East). 
• Finally, don't forget to check out Google Earth which has a wealth of information, a free download program and tutorials that explain how to use the program.  

(photo by digital artist Salvatore Vuono and provided by FreeDigitalPhotos.net ~ thanks)

Family History Month - KINSHIP - Remembering My Grandfather - Andrew Francis Keough

~Today's prompt is brought to you by the letter K ~

Kinship is defined as "a relationship between any entities that share a genealogical origin, through either biological, cultural or historical descent." (Wikipedia)   Family History Month honors the collective history that binds family together ~ a group, a clan, a tribe ~ one's relatives or family, one's kin.  Today  on the anniversary of my grandfather's birth I would like to share with you his story ~ one of the group of Plate Cove, the clan of Keoughs, and the tribe of the Irish.  Today why not share a story of your kinship.


Although I was quite young when my grandfather died, I have fond memories of going to his home for family events and playing with my many cousins in the backyard or at the grade school across the street.  As a child I knew that my grandfather immigrated to the United States but until I became interested in genealogy I could not have told you much about Newfoundland or its history.  I thought on the anniversary of my grandfather's birth I would share his story as told through the paper trail. 

Andrew Francis Keough

(11 Oct 1892 - 7 Jun 1963)

My grandfather was born on October 11, 1892 in Plate Cove East, Bonavista Bay, Newfoundland, the fourth child of Patrick Kehoe and Mary Driscoll.  He was one of 11 children (7 boys and 4 girls) but as was often the case in those days 3 of those children died in in early childhood. Andrew's great grandfather (also named Andrew Kough) had immigrated to Newfoundland from County Carlow, Ireland between 1814- 1816.  My grandfather's birth certificate and baptism register entry both list his surname as Kehoe.  I recently learned that the spelling of surnames was at best an inexact science and, in fact, oftentimes reflected the registrar's or priest's choice of spelling.  One archivist told me that he could identify where a parish priest was from based on his choice of spelling the name Keough with its variations of Kehoe, Keogh or Kough. 


My grandfather came to the United States on December 9, 1916 as evidenced by his certificate of arrival issued in Northgate, Burke County, North Dakota.  He arrived via the Great Northern Railway from Sydney, Nova Scotia (a rather common starting point for many Newfoundland emigrants).  Following the paper trail led me to his World War I military registration card dated Jun 5 1917 and filled out in Silver Bow, Butte County, Montana where he was working as a structural iron worker employed by ACM Company at its mines.  On the card he stated that he provided support for his family back in Plate Cove, Newfoundland. 

The 1920 Federal census found him (together with his good friend and fellow Newfoundland transplant Richard Tracey) as a lodger in Seattle, King County, Washington.  He was employed at the Shipyards.  

On Jul 9 1925 he married Dora Josephine Murphy at St. Joseph's Catholic Church in Cordova, Alaska.  


The 1930 Federal census found my grandparents and their two children settled in the Ballard neighborhood of Seattle, King County, Washington where he was employed as an ironworker. 

In December, 1933 my grandfather filed his declaration of intention to become a citizen of the United States.  His declaration notes that he made a previous declaration of intention on August 14, 1914 in the federal court of Boston, Massachusetts and references "lawful entry" to the United States two and one-half years later through North Dakota.  In January, 1936 he filed his Petition and in April, 1936 my grandfather became a citizen of the United States.  He stated in his oath that he was born in Plate Cove, Newfoundland and that his race was Irish. 

Andrew Francis Keough

Photograph attached to US Citizenship Petition/Certificate

My grandparents went on to have a total of six children and were married for 28 years until my grandmother's death in July, 1953.  My grandfather died on Jun 7, 1963 at the age of 70.  His obituary, published in The Seattle Daily Times, stated that he was a member of the Holy Names Society of St. Alphonsus Church and the Third Order of St. Francis.  He was a member of Eagles Aerie No. 1 and the Society of Ironworkers' Union. He was survived by his 6 children, 17 grandchildren, and his sister, Margaret Keough Tracey of Newfoundland.

While the paper trail is just a small part of my grandfather's story, it provides a wealth of information I otherwise would not have known.  His military registration contained a physical description (at the age of 24) as well as his signature; his certificate of citizenship included a photograph (at the age of 43); the censuses contained the names and ages of family members and street addresses where he lived in Seattle, King County, Washington; his marriage certificate and citizenship paperwork contained the names and addresses of witnesses to his marriage and his character; his obituary provided his membership in religious and occupational societies, as well as information about his rosary, funeral and burial. 

Each of the organizations listed still exists and they have websites, enabling me to learn something about my grandfather's interests.  I realize that I have only scratched the surface as far as a paper trail and I look forward to finding out more about my grandfather.  The beauty of the Internet is that, from the comfort of our own homes, we can learn a bit about our past. 


I had the great good fortune last summer to go to Plate Cove East, Newfoundland and visit the place where my grandfather was born and raised.  I went to the church in King's Cove where his great grandparents and grandparents were married.  I visited the cemeteries in Open Hall and Plate Cove East where various Keoughs were buried.  I met Keoughs and affiliated families in Plate Cove East and in St. John's who could not have been more welcoming or generous with their time and memories.  I went to the Folklore Archives and the Maritime Archives and read student papers that told the stories (in words and drawings) of various families of Plate Cove and Open Hall.    Although it was a long time coming, I truly felt like I was taking the trip home for my grandfather who had not been able to go home again.  In Newfoundland I experienced the same feeling I had the first time I went to Ireland ~ everything was familiar and I recognized, in the faces of the people, my tribe.


So today, on the anniversary of his birth a toast to my much-loved grandfather Andrew Francis Keough, "Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam uasal." 

A Wordle Summary

(made at www.wordle.net - Thanks)

Family History Month - JOURNAL

~ Today's prompt is brought to you by the letter J ~

Do you make a list of research goals at the beginning of the year or throughout the year?  Do you revisit your list to see how you are doing?  Today take some time to think about what you have accomplished so far this year with your genealogy goals.

What do you plan to focus on during the remainder of the year?  Why not take some time to journal about what you have accomplished this year and give some thought to what you want to accomplish before year's end.

(photo by digital artist Paul and made available by FreeDigitalPhotos.net ~ thanks)

Family History Month - INDEX

~ Today's prompt is brought to you by the letter I ~

Do you have something you have worked on, perhaps a vital records register, a cemetery listing, or voter directories ~ something that you have indexed to assist you with your genealogy research? Why not share it with others by posting it, mentioning it on your blog, or giving a copy of it to the area library or genealogical society so that others might also make use of it.  Also why not share how you made up your index (did you use a spreadsheet, a word processing document, or perhaps a database program).  What tips or tricks can you offer the rest of us who might be starting out with indexing?  I previously blogged about my method of indexing using Microsoft Excel (see my blog post dated August 24).  Indexing is a great way to sort and make the best use of large amounts of data.

If you don't have an index to share, have you ever thought of volunteering to index records through FamilySearch.org or Ancestry.com.  The old saying "many hands make light work" is especially true where indexing is concerned.  Why not take some time today to see what projects are out there that might interest you and pitch in to lighten the genealogical load.  Thanks.

Family History Month - HELP

~Today's prompt is brought to you by the letter H ~

Let's get outside of ourselves today ~ let's HELP someone else with their genealogy.  Some ideas to get you started:

• Is there a cemetery in your area that someone has requested photos and/or transcriptions ~ could you help them out and post the information on-line?
• Is there a church in your area that could use some help responding to genealogical inquiries about their records?
• Is there a genealogy society that needs help with indexing or updating their web presence?
• Is there someone in a local retirement home or at your church who should be interviewed about their life and times ~ could you help your community by recording their stories?
• Is there someone you know who is stymied or has hit a brick wall with their research?  Perhaps fresh eyes could provide a helping hand and some additional research possibilities.

I am a firm believer in karma, you know that "what goes around, comes around" thing.  Today why not perform a small act of genealogical kindness for someone else for no other reason that it's the right thing to do.  Who knows, perhaps one day in the future, you will be the recipient of a small act of genealogical kindness yourself.

  (photo by digital artist Simon Howden and made available by FreeDigitalPhotos.net ~ thanks)

Family History Month - GROUP

~Today's prompt is brought to you by the letter G ~

Genealogy groups exist on all levels - local, state and national.  Some groups meet in person, some meet up online via Facebook, Second Life or area or surname specific websites.  There are genealogy groups that meet to help others (at your local library or genealogical society) and groups that meet online to answer questions about specific software programs or technology in general.  There are online study courses and webinars as well as in-person conferences and seminars. 

In short ~ there is something for everyone!  Join a genealogy group ~ share your knowledge, learn something new, take on a project, volunteer for the group ~ have some fun and SPICE THINGS UP!

(photo by digital artist Carlos Porto and made available by FreeDigitalPhotos.net ~ thanks)

Family History Month - FOCUS

~Today's prompt is brought to you by the letter F ~

Sometimes we get so caught up in the thrill of genealogy hunt that we forget to focus on what we have already "bagged" from a previous hunt.  Have you ever returned from a genealogy research trip with information and documents that you later find you already had?  Have you ever spent time and effort researching a particular location or time frame only to discover that the parameters for your search were all wrong.

Perhaps you were looking at the big picture and forgot to look at (or focus on) what was right in front of you.  The solution to this problem is to focus on one person or one family at a time.  We need to focus on a particular family to the exclusion of all the other wonderful genealogy information out there.  Today pick a family to focus on, print out a family group sheet and review the document for errors, potential problems and missing information.  Some things to consider:

• have you checked names, dates and places to determine if there are gaps in your information
• do you have documents that support your hypotheses
• have you noted the sources for your hypotheses
• have you drafted a chronology or timeline to help you address gaps in your information
• are you missing birth, baptism, marriage, death & burial dates and/or places
• are you missing censuses
• are you missing occupations, residences, emigration/immigration, memberships & affiliations
• are you missing obituaries 

Toady, focus on one family ~ If your software program provides a chronology function and/or a research assistance function use them to jump start your research.  Focus on the information you have and the information you need to flesh out and update that one family file.

(photo by digital artist Simon Howden and made available by FreeDigitalPhotos.net ~ thanks)

Family History Month - ENGAGE

~Today's prompt is brought to you by the letter E ~

Are there members of your family that might not share your interest in genealogy but they are willing to provide you with information (names, dates & places) or memorabilia (family papers, photographs or slides, family items, family recipes) or an interview about their life and times.  Give some thought to how you could engage these family members who may have the knowledge to help you fill in the blanks in your family tree. 

Make a list of the elders in your family and engage them today - this necessarily involves some prep work but there are several great sites that can give you direction as well as suggested interview questions.  Schedule times to meet with the elders in your family and have them tell you their stories and share their history (be sure to record their voices, take photos of their memorabilia, ask for copies of family recipes and/or scan documents).  Once you have engaged these family elders make sure you follow up with a written summary of their interview(s) and a thank you note.  Everyone has a story to tell and future generations will be thrilled to have these memories.  Think of all the leaves you can add to your family tree!

(photo by digital artist Francesco Marino and made available by FreeDigitalPhotos.net ~ thanks)

Family History Month - DOCUMENT

During Family History Month I will post my daily prompts with a Motivation Monday link to remind everyone that we have a month of Family History prompts to celebrate - go back and read the first 3 or jump right in with the 4th prompt!)

~Today's prompt is brought to you by the letter D ~

Genealogy is the sum of many parts.  One of those parts is the various documents we find during our searches and how we document our searches.  Today give some thought to your documents.  Ask yourself the following questions:

• Are my documents organized (do I have a system)?
• Are my documents easy to work with (does my system work for me)?
• Have I incorporated my documents into my genealogy software program or paper based system?
• Am I able to quickly and efficiently add newly acquired documents into my system?
• Are my documents safely stored and backed up in case of disaster?
• Have I made arrangements for the preservation of my genealogy documents and work product?
• Have I published my genealogy and corresponding documents as a means of preserving my family history?

If you need some inspiration regarding document organization (both hard drive and paper files), check out these podcasts and blogs:

• Family History:  Genealogy Made Easy Podcast
• Episode 32 Genealogical Hard Drive Organization
• Episode 33 Hard Drive Organization Part 2
• Elyse's Genealogy Blog (check out her free genealogy forms page as well as posts)

If you need some inspiration regarding preserving your genealogy, check out this podcast and article:

• Genealogy Gems
• Episode 95 - Paper Preservation
• Preserving Photos, Documents & Heirlooms

If you need some inspiration regarding publishing your genealogy, check out this blog:

• A Genealogy Blog Primer

Remember that your genealogy is a work in progress ~ if an organization system is too convoluted it probably won't work for you in the long run.  If you wait until your genealogy is perfect or "done" you will never publish and you will lose the opportunity to connect with others who may be working on the same families! Take a look at suggestions that are out there for organizing, preserving and publishing your work and take it a step at a time.  Do you have any tips for what works for you or podcasts or blogs that have helped you ~ please share.

(photo by digital artist Salvatore Vuono and made available by FreeDigitalPhotos.net ~ thanks)

Family History Month - COLLABORATE

~Today's prompt is brought to you by the letter C ~ 

Do you collaborate with any family members to help with the genealogy puzzle that is your family?  Could other family members be interested in working on the family tree but are unsure of how to start or what has already been done?  It's time to contact other family members and see if there is any interest in working together for the common goal that is your family tree. 

For those of you who already have collaborated with and have research cousins - how did you find them and how do you divide up the workload?  Do you share a blog or a website, do you connect on Facebook or a private or public tree?  Today consider contacting a family member (near or far) who currently does genealogy or who has expressed an interest and see if you can brainstorm on ways to work together to share the load, encourage each other, and work out some of those family puzzles ~ collaborate!

(photo by digital artist Francesco Marino and made available by FreeDigitalPhotos.net ~ thanks)

Family History Month - BACKUP

~Today's prompt is brought to you by the letter B ~

Everyone who uses computers for their genealogy knows the mantra ~ backup your work and your files.  It is a fact of life that hard drives crash, flash drives go missing, software programs go wonky on you, and a host of gremlins (both machine and human error) can cause us hours of frustration and lost work. 

Today's activity and prompt is ~ backup, backup, backup!  If you are like me you know that you should do it but you may be unsure of the nuts and bolts of how to do it.  If this describes you, check out the How-To Geek's recent article What Files Should You Backup On Your Windows PC?  This blog is a great resource for all things technology-related and I found this article especially helpful in making sense of data protection.

(photo by digital artist Salvatore Vuono and made available by FreeDigitalPhotos.net ~ thanks)

Happy 100th Episode to Genealogy Gems!

Five Seasons of Genealogy Gems Podcast Episodes ~ if you haven't already, take a look at Lisa Louise Cooke’s website and podcast series. I think Lisa is the most interesting, informative and enthusiastic genealogy presenter out there! She has several excellent podcasts on organization (both computer and paper based systems), preservation of genealogy materials, and publishing your family stories (her most recent podcasts take you step by step through the process of publishing at Lulu). I consider myself relatively tech savvy but Lisa’s Google series really opens your eyes to what is available on the Internet and how to harness it for your own personal use. You can search her Podcast Show Notes from her home page to find particular show topics.

I previously mentioned her series Family History Made Easy which is a great resource for the beginner (and even those with more experience can learn something new as well) and both her regular Genealogy Gems podcasts and her Genealogy Gems premium membership are well worth your time and investment. Each of these three podcasts can be found at her website (or on iTunes).

I have emailed Lisa on a couple of occasions either with a question about how to do something or why to do something – each time I have received a timely and thoughtful response. In a few cases she mentioned the question on her podcast as well as the solution in an effort to assist other listeners.  Lisa is on a mission to make sure that we learn best methods with the experts she interviews and technology she explains, spread joy in the genealogy community, help us think about genealogy in new and different ways, and encourage us to share our knowledge in a collegial atmosphere. She is quite simply a Genealogy GEM!

Genealogy Gems’ 100th episode is coming up soon – HAPPY 100TH

(photo by digital artist Francesco Marino and made available by FreeDigitalPhotos.net ~ thanks)

On a personal note, Lisa is the reason I started my blogs and her step-by-step instructions on how to blog using Blogger helped me noodle around with my blogs and finally go public in August. My hard drive organization is a variation on her suggestions and one day soon I will need to take a look at Lulu for publishing that first section of my family history. So, happy 100th episode Lisa and please keep those podcasts coming!

October Birthdays & Anniversaries

Welcome to October's "roll call" of those who came before me ~ a listing of the birthdays and anniversaries of my Keough & Murphy ancestors who were born or married during October.  I use a cutoff year of 1900 for privacy concerns. As you can see England, Ireland, Newfoundland, and the United States (Massachusetts, Michigan, Nebraska, and Oregon) are represented.

Do we share any of the same ancestors? If so, I would love to hear from you and hear all about them.

1. Catherine KEOUGH [367] Oct 1842, Plate Cove East, Bonavista Bay, , NL
2. Mary Bridget KEOUGH [176] Oct 1861, Plate Cove East, Bonavista Bay, , NL
3. John P. KAVANAGH [1141] Oct 1876, , , Nebraska, USA
4. Mary TRACEY [1385] Oct 1888, Plate Cove East, Bonavista Bay, , NL
5. Rose MURPHY [2125] Oct 1890, Saint Mary, Johnson, Nebraska, USA
6. Agnes B. MURPHY [2126] Oct 1894, Saint Mary, Johnson, Nebraska, USA
7. Mary J. MURPHY [996] 4 Oct 1865, Vesta, Johnson, Nebraska, USA
8. Johannah M. MURPHY [478] 5 Oct 1884, Tecumseh, Johnson, Nebraska, USA
9. Andrew KEOUGH [949] 6 Oct 1863, Plate Cove, Bonavista Bay, , NL
10. Catherine KEOUGH [944] 6 Oct 1872, Plate Cove, Bonavista Bay, , NL
11. Michael Patrick SULLIVAN [499] 6 Oct 1875, , , Michigan, USA
12. George KENDALL [1085] 8 Oct 1887, ENGLAND
13. James TRACEY [1222] 9 Oct 1856, King’s Cove, Bonavista Bay, , NL
14. Andrew Francis KEOUGH [30] 11 Oct 1892, Plate Cove East, Bonavista Bay, , NL
15. Andrew BARKER [N250] 13 Oct 1848, Open Hall, Bonavista Bay, , NL
16. Margaret SHAW [470] 14 Oct 1894, Eugene, Lane Oregon, USA
17. Catherine BARKER [N1094] Oct 15 1842. Open Hall, Bonavista Bay, , NL
18. Catherine KEOUGH [173] 16 Oct 1852, Plate Cove, Bonavista Bay, , NL
19. Richard PHILPOTT [N789] 19 Oct 1855, King’s Cove, Bonavista, , NL
20. Patrick KEOUGH [159] 21 Oct 1859, Plate Cove East, Bonavista Bay, , NL
21. Mary Bridget KEOUGH [N216] 21 Oct 1861. Plate Cove East, , Bonavista Bay, NL
22. Mary TRACEY [N1463] 22 Oct 1843, King’s Cove, Bonavista Bay, , NL
23. Patrick JOY [N3075] 22 Oct 1893, Open Hall, Bonavista Bay, , NL
24. Denis Patrick KEOUGH [1561] 23 Oct 1894, Plate Cove East, Bonavista Bay, , NL
25. Helen M. McCORMICK [2185] 25 Oct 1888, , , Massachusetts, USA
26. Elizabeth BARKER [N1095] Oct 27 1844, Open Hall, Bonavista Bay, , NL
27. James HOGAN and Anne KEOUGH [1219] 27 Oct 1848, King’s Cove, Bonavista Bay, , NL
28. James KEOUGH and Margaret DOOLEY [60] 31 Oct 1849, King’s Cove, Bonavista Bay, , NL

Note: The number in brackets [ ] is the individual's RIN (record identification number) or the couple's MRIN (marriage record identification number) in my genealogy program.  An N before the number indicates that the record is found in my Newfoundland Families database.

October Month & Name Wordles made with Wordle.net ~ thanks

Family History Month - ACKNOWLEDGE

Today is the first day of Family History Month and I am celebrating the month with daily prompts using the alphabet and action words, please join me! 

~Today's prompt is brought to you by the letter A ~

If there is one thing I have learned on this journey it is that genealogy is not a solitary activity.  Sure you can work on your genealogy by yourself but sooner or later you have to rely on others - for stories, for data, for inspiration, for making connections, for tips and helpful advice, for cheering you on when you are successful and for commiserating with you when you hit that brick wall.  In fact, that shared sense of collegiality is one of the best parts of the genealogy community. 

Oftentimes, we forget to acknowledge those who have helped us with our work.  Why?

• Sometimes this is a conscious decision - many people have seen their work product on someone else's tree without a prior request to use it and/or a proper acknowledgement. 
• Sometimes this is the result of forgetfulness - many times we plan to write a thank you note or comment on someone else's helpful blog post, article or GEDCOM once we get a minute in our busy day and we simply never do it.

Well let's dust off our manners and be thankful!  Today acknowledge one person who has helped you with your genealogy research AND acknowledge one person who has helped further our collective genealogy community.  Make a phone call, send an email, connect on Facebook, post a comment on a website or podcast, and/or acknowledge that person on your own blog.

(photo by digital artist Felixco, Inc. and made available by FreeDigitalPhotos.net ~ thanks)