Saturday Night Genealogy Fun

Word Cloud made with Tagul.com - thanks

This week Randy Seaver (over at Genealogy Musings) has a fun and easy Saturday Night Genealogy Fun. I hope everyone plays because this combines three of my favorite things - genealogy, Legacy Family Tree software, and surnames! So without further ado -

(1) Go into your Genealogy Management Program (GMP; either software on your computer, or an online family tree) and figure out how to Count how many surnames you have in your family tree database.

DONE 

(2) Tell us which GMP you're using and how you did this task.

I opened up my Legacy Family Tree version 8 software and selected the Reports Tab from the Legacy Toolbar. In Reports I selected the Statistics Report.

One of statistics if "Surname Statistics" which provides the total number of unique surnames, the 10 most popular (frequent instances) surnames, and most popular surnames by time period – with missing dates, used before 1500, between 1500-1599, between 1600-1699, 1700-1799, 1800-1899, 1900- 1999, and after 2000.

(3) Tell us how many surnames are in your database and, if possible, which Surname has the most entries.  If this excites you, tell us which surnames are in the top 5!  Or 10!!  Or 20!!!

Unique Surnames in my Family Tree – 1,442

And my Letterman (or Legacy) Top 10 list (number 1 being the most popular of frequent instances) is as follows:

10.          Morrissey

9.            Unknown

8.            Croy

7.            Cannell

6.            Kocevar

5.            Tracey

4.            Kavanaugh

3.            Shaughnessy

2.            Murphy

1.            Keough

(4) Write about it in your own blog post, in a comment to this blog post, in a status or comment on Facebook, or in Google Plus Stream post.

Of course I have quite a few women whose maiden names I am still looking for (hence Unknown coming in at number 9). As to the rest of my top 10 - 6 of the surnames are on our Irish sides, 1 of the surnames is on our Slovenian side, 1 is a French surname married into the family, and 1 is a Manx surname married into the Murphy side.

So why not play SNGF and share your most popular surnames?

SNGF - Kenneth Patrick Malone [2994] Your Random Number Is Up!

Searching at FamilySearch.org because I am on a mission!
Image courtesy of FreeDigitalPhotos.net ID-10037896

If it's Saturday, you know Randy Seaver has some Saturday Night Genealogy Fun in store for us. The mission this week was as follows:

1) You're going on a scavenger hunt - for records of one of your relatives. You can pick a relative who lived in the 1800 to 2000 time period. A brother of one of your ancestors might be best (since males don't change their surname). Or the husband of a sister of your ancestor. Tell us the name of your chosen relative.

2) Go to FamilySearch and search for records for that relative. Start on the Search page. Search any way you want.

3) Tell us what you found in the FamilySearch record collections. Did you find something new about that relative?

4) Write your own blog post, comment on this post, or write something on Facebook or Google+.  

Okay Randy - I am up for it! The first thing I did was go to Random Number Generator and let it generate my choice by using a number from 1 - 6636 - which corresponds to the total number of RINs (record identification number) in my Legacy database. The random number generated was 3043, belonging to Valrea Rosemond Cleckner. Since Randy suggested we use a male (for easier record finding) I went ahead and choose her husband Kenneth Patrick Malone [2994].

Next I went to FamilySearch.org, signed in and used the search feature. I filled in the name (Kenneth Malone) and the birth and death information I already had in my database ( birth - 1908 in Johnson, Nebraska AND death 1978 in Clackamas, Oregon).

My first four hits in the record category all related to my Kenneth Malone and they were as follows:

1. Oregon, Death Index, 1903-1998 for Kenneth Malone - event date 31 Mar 1978, Clackamas, Oregon; birth date 29 Jan 1908; certificate number 78-03780 (no image available but I could always follow up and get the death certificate since I now have the number).
2. United States Census, 1940 for Kenneth P. Malone - in the 1940 census Kenneth (age 32) and his family reside in Portland, Oregon. The birth, residence, spouse and children are all listed on the results page - and it indicates Kenneth was born in 1908 in Nebraska, residence is Tract 17, Portland, Portland City Election Precinct 216, Multnomah, Oregon. His spouse is shown as Valria Malone and his children are Jacquelin Malone and Kenneth Malone. From the results I can check certain "facts" including marital status, race, status in household, gender, approximate age, and birthplace for all members of the household. I can click through to the actual census sheet and learn Kenneth's employment and wages as well as where the family was located in 1935. Finally I was able to get the record's citation as put together by FamilySearch.org including enumeration district, sheet and family number and lines where they appear on the page.
3. United States Census, 1930 for Kenneth P. Malone - in the 1930 census Kenneth (age 22), his spouse and their daughter reside with Kenneth's parents in Maple Grove, Johnson, Nebraska. I was able to find out information about Kenneth's wife Valrea (as well as learning that they just had their daughter Jacqueline). Based on the two censuses - 1940 and 1930 - it appears that Kenneth and Valrea moved to Oregon between 1930 and 1935. Now I am wondering why, who they might have known in Oregon, and when they made the move - inquiring minds and all that.
4. United States Census, 1910 for Kenneth Malone - in the 1910 census Kenneth (age 2) lives with his parents Patrick J and Margarit Malone and his four siblings.

Interestingly, I did not have the 1940 census for this family in my Legacy database and so I need to add it (thanks Randy). This reminds me that I need to run a search using the 1940 census to determine which of my families need that census added to their files! I did not get a result for the 1920 census for Kenneth, nor did I get any information on births or marriages through FamilySearch.org. I also did not see any public trees for this couple.

I think I will run the same search on Ancestry.com and FindmyPast.com later this week to see how they might differ. More on those results when they are in.

How about you - why not accept Randy Seaver's mission and learn more about one person in your genealogy database. Happy searching!

Counting Cousins in SNGF

If it is Saturday, then Randy Seaver is at it again and here is our mission:

Murphy-Keough Cousins' Surnames
made with wordle.net - thanks

1)  Take both sets of your grandparents and figure out how many first cousins you have, and how many first cousins removed (a child or grandchild of a first cousin) you have.

2)  Extra Credit:  Take all four sets of your great-grandparents and figure out how many second cousins you have, and how many second cousins removed you have.

HINT:  Make a Descendants Chart with your genealogy software program!

3)  Tell us the grandparents and great-grandparents names, but don't give the name of living cousins unless you want to.  

4)  Are there any of those lines that you don't know all of the cousins names?  Do you care?  

5)  Tell us about them in your own blog post, in a comment to this blog post, or in a Facebook or Google+ post of your own.  Be sure to drop a comment to this post to link to your work. 

I have lots of cousins but I had not really stopped to think about how many until tonight. Having tooled around in Legacy Family Tree (my genealogy database software of choice) I was familiar with something in the miscellaneous report section called Relationships. Running the report shows me how I am related to everyone in my database (because let's fact it, it is all about me!). Of course you can change the person of interest and run the Relationships report for them but that is not the mission - stay focused.

For this mission and this blog, I choose the Murphy-Keough direct line (my permanent tag 1). I printed the report to a csv file, then saved it as a Microsoft Excel workbook. Finally I filtered the data in my workbook - yes, you guessed it, Excel will let you filter your first cousins, your first cousins once removed, your first cousins twice removed, and so on and so on. Now I am ready if next week's mission is second cousins, third cousins and fourth cousins (or any other relationship).

So who are my people and what are my stats - well I'm glad you asked.

My grandparents Andrew Francis Keough and Dora Josephine Murphy had three sons and three daughters, one of whom is my father.  I have seven (7) siblings and twenty-one (21) first cousins. Oh yes my aunts and uncles had children and we grew up visiting at my grandfather's home on a regular basis and we took summer vacations together when we were young. We still get together for family reunions and had one just last summer.

Thanks to the Legacy Relationships report (in my handy dandy Excel workbook) which was crosschecked for quality control purposes - I have eighty-three (83) first cousins once removed, seventy-three (73) first cousins twice removed and thirty-three (33) first cousins thrice (is that a word?) removed. I am sure that I don't have all our family members included, but this mission definitely tells me that I have some cousins I need to get in touch with and get more information from.

I want that extra credit Randy mentioned (and Legacy did all the hard work). My paternal great grandparents Patrick Keough and Mary Driscoll had ten (10) children and my maternal great grandparents Lawrence Edward Murphy and Catherine Matilda Murphy (those who follow my LVUG Community Tuesday's Tips will recognize this couple and no, they were not related) had twelve (12) children (what can I say - I am sure the names gave it away but we are 100% Irish Catholic on this line).

I have two hundred twenty-seven (227) second cousins - fifty-three (53) are second cousins, one hundred fifty (150) are second cousins once removed, and twenty-four (24) are second cousins twice removed. I also have one hundred eighty-eight (188) third cousins of all stripes, and fifty-seven (57) fourth cousins of all stripes (that means I added together the standard issue and the removeds for each of these classes of cousins).

I am sure I don't have everyone and that is part of the reason I blog. In answer to Randy's question, I do care about those missing cousins as I want our family history to be inclusive. So, if any of these names are familiar, we might be related - so contact me! 

There you have it, Saturday Night Genealogy Fun, part one. Now I have to do this same mission again for the non-Irish side of my family (otherwise known as my mother's side of the family). 

Mission Accomplished!

Saturday Night Genealogy Fun – April 12th edition

This week’s SNGF posted by Randy Seaver over at Genea-Musings was definitely one mission that I could accept and accomplish. The only problem was that the results of the mission show I still have lots of work to do citing my sources! 

Randy’s mission (cue that Mission Impossible music) was as follows:

1. Have you done a good job of citing your sources in your genealogy management program or online family tree?  How are you doing?  How many source citations do you have, and how many people are in your tree?  What is the sources to persons ratio?
2. Which master source (e.g., 1900 U.S. census, Find A Grave, specific book, etc.) do you have the most citations for?  How many?  How did you figure this out?
3. Tell us in your own blog post, in comments to this post, or on Facebook or Google+ in a post.  Be sure to leave a comment with a link to your post on this blog post.

I use Legacy Family Tree for my genealogy management program. In order to find the answers, I ran two reports. The first was a Statistics Report which gave me a total of 6,630 individuals in my main family file. (It also gave me lots of other fun statistics – births, marriages, and deaths by era or gender; number of children in a family by size or era; frequency (called popularity) of surnames and given names, in total and by century; number of unique locations as well as their frequency (again “most popular”), but I digress). The second was a Source Citation Report. I checked the boxes to number the master sources and to include the number of times the master source was cited and who used that master source. I have 131 master sources (did I mention that I am a lumper?). 

My Legacy Source Citation Report - in order of source names and
includes number of individuals using that master source

The Source Citation Report provides the master source citation as well as number of times it has been cited. There are a number of options (to include the individuals who use the master source, the citation detail, text, and/or comments, the surety level of citations, and the evidence analysis of citations). What was unclear (at least to me) is the entry order in which the Source Citation Report appears. After a bit of searching I discovered that the order is based on the source list name you have given your master sources as they appear in the Master Source List (an aside -  you can also see the total number of master sources right in the Master Source List). Since I organize by category, then by location, and then by date, my books show up first (all in alphabetical order), my censuses show up together (again in alphabetical order by country, state where appropriate, and then by year). Once you understand the order and you number the master sources, the Source Citation Report is a more useful tool (and it might affect the naming pattern you choose for your Master Source List).

Page 1 of my Legacy Source Citation Report begins with Books and are numbered
(I organize by category, note the source name lists as shown below)

First up as you can see is Death Records of Pierce County, Washington
as you can see the source list count is also shown here in the Master Source List

What I did not see in the Source Citation Report was the total number of source citations (perhaps I missed something). So I added together all the source citations (how many times each of the 131 master sources was used – that is where the source detail is used). I have 2,633 particular source citations. Assuming that each individual in my family file should have at least 5 source citations (birth, baptism, marriage, death and burial – and that does not even include any citations for the standard events/facts like census, military service, naturalization, etc.), I should have at least 33,150 source citations. It looks like I have some work ahead of me. 

This whole going back through and working on my source citations was my planned project for 2014 – I am doing it in small bites, an hour at a time. Right about now I think it might just be my planned project for 2015 as well. Did I thank you for that splash of cold water Randy? And how about we rename “sources to persons ratio” to something a bit more fun like “genealogy sources golden ratio” and give out virtual badges when we reach certain levels (I need some kind of "pat on the back" for this necessary but daunting task).

 

Okay, back to the mission - My top three master sources by use (assigned to and used with a person – you know that pesky source citation detail in Legacy) are:

• 175 individuals  -  U.S. Census 1930, population schedule (with the top locations being Nebraska and Washington)
• 169 individuals  -  U.S. Census 1920, population schedule (with the top locations being Nebraska and Washington)
• 168 individuals  -  Find A Grave 

Finally, I agree with Randy’s thoughts on the quality of these reports. The Statistics Report and Source Citation Report are a good start but I would like more useful statistics and even greater detail to appear in these reports. I did find a way to gather this information in a useful format by using the search capabilities in Legacy. More on that in next week’s Tuesday’s Tip over in the Legacy Virtual Users’ Group Community on Google+. 

So, how did you fare with this week’s Saturday Night Genealogy Fun mission?

SNGF - Ancestral Homes 150 Years Ago

It has definitely been awhile! Although I have posted on Google+ and been active in the Guild of One-Name Studies and the Legacy Virtual Users' Group, I am afraid I have let my blogging slide. Well it's time to get back in the saddle and why not start with some of Randy Seaver's Saturday Night Genealogy Fun.

The mission that I accepted (and yes you are hearing the Mission Impossible theme music) was as follows:

1) Determine where your ancestral families were on 1 June 1863 - 150 years ago.
2) List them, their family members, their birth years, and their residence location (as close as possible). Do you have a photograph of their residence from about that time, and does the residence still exist?
3) Tell us all about it in your own blog post, in a comment to this post, or in a Facebook Status or Google+ Stream post.

Here is mine for the Irish side of my family:

My second great-grandparents, James Keough (1824-unknown ) and Margaret Dooley (1832–1919), resided in  Plate Cove East, , Bonavista Bay, NEWFOUNDLAND.  I do not have a photograph of their residence, but I do know it no longer exists. I visited the community and have met extended family members and have many pictures of the community. The household included my great-grandfather Patrick Keough (1859–1924), who would have been 4 at the time, as well as 6 siblings. They had a total of 14 children between the years 1850 -1878.

My second great-grandparents, Dennis Driscoll (1824 - unknown) and Ellen Kenny (1832–unknown), resided in Plate Cove East, , Bonavista Bay, NEWFOUNDLAND. I do not have a photograph of their residence, but I do know it no longer exists. I visited the community and have met extended family members and have many pictures of the community. Their daughter, my great-grandmother Mary Driscoll (1864–1915) had not arrived on the scene yet.

My second great-grandparents, James Joseph Murphy (1819-882) and Ellen Kiley (1834–1913), resided in Vesta, Johnson, Nebraska, USA.  Each had emigrated from Ireland to the USA in the 1850s.

I have mapped the location of their town, but I do not have a photograph of their residence, and believe it no longer exists. In 1867 James and Ellen homesteaded and built their home and farm (I reviewed the original paperwork at NARA Washington, DC), and the farm remains in the family today. In 1863, the household included my great-grandfather Lawrence Edward Murphy (1862–1918) and his sister Katherine K. Murphy (1863–1946). Five additional siblings would follow.

My second great-grandparents, Michael Daniel O’Murphy (1836-1926) and Honora Agnes Butler (1842–1925), resided in New York City, New York, New York, USA.  Each had emigrated from Ireland to the USA in the 1850s. I have mapped the location of their neighborhood, but I do not have a photograph of their residence, and believe it no longer exists. In 1863, the household included my great-grandaunt Mary Murphy (1861–1893). Thirteen additional siblings would follow, including my great grandmother, Catherine Matilda Murphy (1864–1907).

Thanks Randy for getting me back to my blogs - oh, and check out my answers for the Swedish, Norwegian & Slovenian side of my family on Scandia Musings.

SNGF - Genealogy Database Statistics

Saturday Night Genealogy Fun ~ Randy Seaver suggested we take a look at our stats in our genealogy database/management program.  I use Legacy Family Tree so unlike Randy, I had to do a bit more searching (and counting) to be in a position to compare stats.  The categories are:

• People: 5,657
• Families:  1,766
• Surnames:  1,266
• Events: could not find an easy way to total this
• Alternate names: could not find an easy way to total this
• Places: 1,194
• Sources: (master sources - I am a lumper) 184
• Citations: (detail added) 2,090
• Repositories: 36
• To-do tasks: (both open and closed; use as a research log) 547
• Multimedia items: (do not use this aspect of program yet) 0
• Multimedia links: (do not use this aspect of program yet) 0
• Addresses: for events - 153; for mailing - 126
• Correspondence:  (do not use this aspect of program yet) 0

Well, those are mine.  What are yours?

SNGF - My Heritage Pies

If it is Saturday you know that Randy Seaver has another bit of genealogy fun for us.  Did someone mention pie - I'm up for that!

My mission (which I accepted) was to find my Sixteen Great-Great Grandparents in my genealogy database (thanks for the hint about using an Ancestors Report ~ after a bit of playing around with the options and then saving it in a text format I was able to add it to this post).  For extra credit I went over to the Kid Zone and used the chart generator to come up with my own Heritage Pies.  (Be sure to check out the original post referencing this cool website.)   Have some fun making your own pie!

Without further ado, here is a little something about my Sixteen Great-Great Grandparents.

16.  James KEOUGH [170], son of Andrew KEOUGH [187] and Catherine AYLWARD [188], was born in Aug 1824 in Plate Cove East, Bonavista Bay, , NEWFOUNDLAND and was baptized on 22 Aug 1824 in Plate Cove, Bonavista Bay, , NEWFOUNDLAND. I have not yet found his death date but I am pretty sure that he died in NEWFOUNDLAND.
17.  Margaret DOOLEY [171], daughter of James DOOLEY [3924] and Margaret MICHAN [3925], was born on 10 Nov 1832 in Knight's Cove, Bonavista Bay, , NEWFOUNDLAND and died on 17 Sep 1919 in Plate Cove East, Bonavista Bay, , NEWFOUNDLAND at age 86.
James and Margaret were married [MRIN: 60] on 31 Oct 1849 in King's Cove, Bonavista Bay, , NEWFOUNDLAND.


18.  Dennis DRISCOLL [1564].   To-date I do not have any information on his birth and death dates, he may have been born in either IRELAND or NEWFOUNDLAND, but I am pretty sure he died in NEWFOUNDLAND.
19.  Ellen KENNY [1565] was born about 1832 in Saint John's, , , NEWFOUNDLAND, died on 30 Mar 1902 in Plate Cove, Bonavista Bay, , NEWFOUNDLAND about age 70, and was buried in Open Hall, Bonavista Bay, , NEWFOUNDLAND.
Dennis and Ellen were married [MRIN: 508] in NEWFOUNDLAND.  I do not have their marriage date.


20.  James Joseph MURPHY [352], son of Patrick MURPHY [891] and Mary McCABE [892], was born on 19 Aug 1819 in County Carlow, Leinster, IRELAND, died on 13 Mar 1882 in Vesta, Johnson, Nebraska, USA at age 62, and was buried in Tecumseh, Johnson, Nebraska, USA (St. Andrew Catholic Cemetery, Tecumseh, Nebraska, USA).
21.  Eleanor KILEY [353] was born in Feb 1835 in County Cork, Munster, IRELAND, died on 24 Feb 1913 in Tecumseh, Johnson, Nebraska, USA at age 78, and was buried in Tecumseh, Johnson, Nebraska, USA (St. Andrew Catholic Cemetery, Tecumseh, Nebraska, USA).
James and Eleanor were married [MRIN: 10] on 28 Apr 1861 in Tecumseh, Johnson, Nebraska, USA.


22.  Michael Daniel O'MURPHY [354], son of Michael Daniel John O'MURPHY [889] and Mary HENNESY [890], was born on 8 Sep 1836 in County Kerry, Munster, IRELAND, died on 19 Aug 1926 in O'Neill, Holt, Nebraska, USA at age 89, and was buried on 22 Aug 1926 in O'Neill, Holt, Nebraska, USA (Calvary Catholic Cemetery, O'Neill, Nebraska, USA).
23.  Honora Agnes BUTLER [355], daughter of Thomas BUTLER [511] and Margaret HENIGAN [513], was born on 14 Mar 1840 in County Cork, Munster, IRELAND, died on 16 Aug 1925 in O'Neill, Holt, Nebraska, USA at age 85, and was buried on 19 Aug 1925 in O'Neill, Holt, Nebraska, USA (Calvary Catholic Cemetery, O'Neill, Nebraska, USA).
Michael and Honora were married [MRIN: 91] on 11 Jan 1861 in New York, New York, New York, USA.


24.  Elof LARSSON [847], son of Lars ELOFSSON [4274] and Anna HALVARDSDOTTER [4275], was born on 4 Sep 1833 in Fastnäs, Norra Ny, Värmlands län, SWEDEN, was baptized on 8 Sep 1833 in Fastnäs, Norra Ny, Värmlands län, SWEDEN, died on 22 Apr 1922 in Ward County, North Dakota, USA at age 88, and was buried in Waverly, Wright, Minnesota, USA.
25.  Marit LARSDOTTER [3412], daughter of Lars JÖNSSON [4290] and Ragnilda PERSDOTTER [4291], was born on 6 Jul 1829 in Stakerud, Ekshärad, Värmländs län, SWEDEN, was baptized on 12 Jul 1829 in Stakerud, Ekshärad, Värmländs län, SWEDEN, and died on 5 Mar 1906 in Woodland, Wright, Minnesota, USA at age 76.
Elof and Marit were married [MRIN: 248] on 27 Apr 1856 in Ekshärad, Värmlands län, SWEDEN.


26.  Peder ERIKSEN, Hastagjerdet [412], son of Erik IVARSEN, Medkilplass/Hastadgjerdet [4269] and Marta ZAKARIASDATTER, Berget [4270], was born on 29 Sep 1833 in Hegra, Øvre Stjørdal, Nord-Trøndelag, NORWAY, died on 5 Jul 1913 in Seattle, King, Washington, USA at age 79, and was buried on 7 Jul 1913 in Seattle, King, Washington, USA (Crown Hill Cemetery, Seattle, Washington, USA).
27.  Mali PEDERSDATTER, Rolfsengbergene [413], daughter of Peder PEDERSEN, Kvål [4697] and Mali ERIKSDATTER, Skjelstadsveen [4698], was born on 6 Apr 1835 in Hegra, Øvre Stjørdal, Nord-Trøndelag, NORWAY, was baptized on 10 May 1835 in Hegra, Øvre Stjørdal, Nord-Trøndelag, NORWAY, and died between 1881 and 1885 in Minnesota, USA.
Peder and Mali were married [MRIN: 270] on 23 Apr 1860 in Hegra, Øvre Stjørdal, Nord-Trøndelag, NORWAY.


28.  Francis KOCEVAR [2390] was born in AUSTRIA.  To-date I have not found his birth and death dates but I am pretty sure he died in AUSTRIA.  The family were Slovenes and their homeland was part of the Austria-Hungary empire during their lifetime.
29.  Jenie PRISEL [4650] was born in AUSTRIA.  To-date I have not found her birth and death dates but I am pretty sure she died in AUSTRIA.
Francis and Jenie were married [MRIN: 748] in AUSTRIA.  I do not have their marriage date.


30.  Anton ZAGRADISNIK [915] was born on 6 May 1839 in Gornji Grad, , , AUSTRIA and died in 1918 in AUSTRIA at age 79.  The family were Slovenes and their homeland was part of the Austria-Hungary empire during their lifetime.
31.  Anna PEVEC [916] was born about 1840 in Bocna, , , AUSTRIA. To-date I have not found her death date but I am pretty sure she died in AUSTRIA.
Anton and Anna were married [MRIN: 265] in AUSTRIA.  I do not have their marriage date.



So for those of you keeping track here are the birth and death places for my Great Greats:

the birth places for my Great Greats break down as follows:
4 = Newfoundland
4 = Ireland
2 = Sweden
2 = Norway
4 = Austria (Slovenes)

the death places for my Great Greats break down as follows:
4 = Newfoundland
4 = Austria/Slovenia
2 = USA - Minnesota
4 = USA - Nebraska
1 = USA - North Dakota
1 = USA - Washington

And finally ~ here are my Heritage Pies

Thanks Randy ~ that was fun and I learned how to cut and paste between my genealogy database program and Blogger.

SNGF ~ Wordle (Word Cloud Fun)

Anyone who reads The Keough Corner knows that I love Wordle and its creator Jonathan Feinberg.  I use it every month for my Birthday & Anniversary Posts.  I make one wordle that includes the names and locations for everyone who celebrates a birthday or anniversary as well as a second wordle that includes information about the month.  Wordles make for great art on your blog and the options to play with fonts and colors are pretty amazing. 

In keeping with Randy Seaver's Saturday Night Genealogy Fun ~ I prepared a wordle for my Newfoundland places and surnames.  My process is pretty simple ~ grab the text from my blog post (either in Blogger or Microsoft Word), insert in the Wordle magic machine (remember if you want a word or name to stay together use a tilde - Plate~Cove), play with fonts, colors and additional options ~ I like half and half or randomize, make a screen capture with my Microsoft Snipping Tool, save it on my Desktop and then go to my blog and insert the jpeg ~ Done!

Now that I've shown you mine, why not go over to Wordle, have some fun, and then show us yours!  As usual ~ thank you Randy Seaver for our Saturday Night Genealogy Fun.

SNGF - Surnames

For this mission (I hear the Mission Impossible theme in the background!) I took a look at two databases in my Genealogy Management Program (GMP).  I have my personal family database and my Newfoundland Families' database (the start of a one-place study for the Bonavista South region).

1.  How many surnames are in my family tree database:
1. Keough/Lidman database = 1,133 surnames
2. Newfoundland families database = 302 surnames
2. I use Legacy Family Tree version 7.5 and this is how I performed the task:
1. Open family file
2. Click on Reports - All Reports
3. Click on Surname Summary
4. Click on Preview Report - Screen/Printer
5. Surnames are listed in alphabetical order so I paged through to find the top five surname entries - the report gives you the name, the quantity and the date range
3. The top five surnames in my family tree databases are:
1. Keough/Lidman database:
1. Keough = 347
2. Murphy = 173
3. Shaughnessy = 116
4. Tracey = 63
5. Kavanaugh = 62
2. Newfoundland Families database:
1. Keough = 414
2. Walsh = 228
3. Sullivan = 200
4. Philpott = 148
5. Aylward = 147
4. Posting in my blog!

DONE!  Key the music as Randy Seaver's Saturday Night Genealogy Fun post self-destructs (am I dating myself?).  Cheers