Another History Blog Added!

Today I have added a history blog. The blog added is:

• History Is Elementary

You can find this and other history blogs on the lower right side of the blog. Any suggestions for other genealogy and history blogs are welcome.

4th Shades Of The Departed Guest Column Posted!

The fourth guest column has been posted! You can read it here. The author of this week's column is Craig Manson. Enjoy!

Statistics For This Blog ...

Over a month ago, I posted on the results of the first month of Google's Analytics for my blog. I was originally planning to post these statistics every month, but I got too busy to post for the results in April. So, I'm posting the results in May a few days early.

The top ten countries in number of readers are:

1. United States
2. Canada
3. United Kingdom
4. Australia
5. India
6. Germany
7. Israel
8. New Zealand
9. Ireland
10. Chile

The top ten states that American readers came from are:

1. Michigan
2. California
3. New York
4. Illinois
5. Ohio
6. Texas
7. Indiana
8. New Jersey
9. Virginia
10. Mississippi

To all of my readers, thank you again for reading my blog.

Did You See This Post?

Did anyone notice John's post on using genealogy to determine your age? Did anyone try it? I tried the test, and I did get the right age.

My Scariest TV Moment ...

Cherry over at Nordic Blue posted about her scariest television moment, and challenged other bloggers to write about their memories. I've decided to participate, so here is my experience:

One of the scariest moments in television for me was when I was between the age of eight and twelve. (To be honest, I really don't remember anymore my exact age when this event occurred. I have much more of a vivid memory of the show that scared me.) My family and I were sitting around the television one night, and my Dad happened to surfing the channels to find something to watch. We ended up turning the channel to a show or made-for-TV movie called Cruel Intentions. I don't remember how long we watched the movie for, but I do remember we did not finish watching it. (It seems as though we watched it for a long time in my memory, but it probably wasn't that long.)

Anyhow, the movie happened to be about the murder of a man and the attempted murder of his wife whose children were in on the conspiracy to kill them both (or from what I remember.) Either way, the scene where the murder was replayed scared me, and for a while, I couldn't sleep very well since I was worried that would happen to me or my family. Even now, I still shiver from even thinking about that movie. Also, I had never heard of the game Dungeons and Dragons before, and since that time I have always associated that game with that movie. Even now, I still think of that game as sinister even though I have a better idea of what the game is. (In case anyone is confused, the game was where the killers came up with their evil ideas.) Since watching that portion of the movie, I have seen other versions of that movie advertised on television, but I refuse to watch it since I found the movie to be horrifying and just gruesomely sick. Personally, I wish movies like that were never made. It is just too sick and disturbing. (I am still horrified and shocked by those types of movies even today.)

A Couple More Genealogy Blogs ...

Today, I have added two more genealogy blogs. The blogs added are:

• Dead And Gone - (I first learned about this blog from the Stout Rootsweb List. Harold Henderson also wrote about this blog.)
• Desktop Genealogist Unplugged - (I learned about this blog from Jasia's post.)

You can find these and other genealogy blogs on the lower left side of the page. Any suggestions for other history or genealogy blogs are welcome.

5th Edition of the Carnival of Irish Heritage and Culture Posted!

The fifth edition of the Carnival of Irish Heritage and Culture has been posted. You can read it here. The topic for the next edition is on what it means to be Irish. You can read more about here.

(No, I didn't submit a post to this edition because I did not have very much time since it was right at the end of the school year and at the time when I move back home for the summer.)

My Two Dogs ...

Yes, I have two dogs. So, why am I writing about this? Well, yesterday I mentioned that one of my dogs had surgery to remove a cyst. Anyhow, his surgery was on Monday, and he has improved since then. He doesn't appear to be in as much pain as he was on Monday, and he is moving around a lot more.

Anyhow, here is a picture of my two dogs that was taken back in August 2007:

Both of my dogs are Schnauzer-Terriers, and come from the same litter. Their names are Ben and Casey, and they're both males. Casey is the one with the more Terrier-looking face. Ben is the small one, and he has more of a Schnauzer face. (Ben was the one who had surgery.) They're ten years old, and they still have a lot of energy. Anyhow, that's just a little about my two dogs.

Saint Joseph County, Michigan: My Thoughts and Reflections

As some of you already know, I had a least three branches of ancestral families live in Saint Joseph County. Although, I was probably supposed to write about a town or place, I've decided to write about this county because my ancestors lived in various places in this county and because I have actually visited this county. (Even if it has been a couple years since I visited.)


Saint Joseph County (not the same as the city) is located in the lower Southwestern area of Michigan, and is one of the counties on the border with Indiana. The county is surrounded by the Michigan counties of Branch, Cass, Kalamazoo, Calhoun, and Van Buren and the Indiana counties of Elkhart and LaGrange. The village of Centreville has the county court house, and civil records for the county are held there. The only cities in the county are Three Rivers and Sturgis. Although I haven't been to Sturgis, it appears to me that both cities are small cities. Three Rivers was small to me. (Well, at least for someone who spent most of her childhood in Metro-Detroit.) The next, largest, nearby city outside of Three Rivers would be Kalamazoo. To get to Three Rivers, a person living in Kalamazoo would only have to head south on 131. (Or for Grand Rapids for that matter.) If one is traveling from the Detroit area to Three Rivers, the trip will take at least three hours. (Yes, it is a long drive for those who live on the east side of Michigan. Trust me.)

During the time of my ancestors, the county consisted mostly of farms and farmland, and even today, the county is still very rural. Although I didn't travel to every place in the county, most of county outside of Three Rivers consisted of farmland and villages. Many of the roads in the county are two-lane highways. The road between Three Rivers and Centreville is one such road. (The two are only about 5 or 10 miles apart and the drive is only about ten-fifteen minutes from one to the other.)

From reading the above, it may seem as though I don't like area. Actually, that is the farthest from the truth. I like the area, and I think it is beautiful. (Yes, I am big fan of the countryside.) I would love to live in the area if I ever get a chance to do so.
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For sources and information:

http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~mistjose/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Joseph_County,_Michigan

Blogging This Week ...

My blogging for this week might be light, but I'm not completely sure. It'll depend upon how my dog is doing. (He had surgery yesterday and can't move around too much, so I'll be taking care of him for the next week.)

6th Edition of the Carnival of Central and Eastern European Genealogy

The sixth edition of the Carnival of Central and Eastern European Genealogy is here! The topic for this carnival was a carousel, so any article relating to Central and Eastern Europe was welcome. This edition will be short as I have only received a few entries for this edition. So, here is this edition:

First off, we have an article from Steve Danko of Steve's Genealogy Blog. In The Polish Village of Dylagowa, Steve writes about the village that his paternal grandparents were from.

Next we have an article from Lisa of 100 Years in America. In A Thousand Words and A Few Pictures, Lisa writes about the frustration she has in reading books on places her ancestors from since they are in languages that she does not read.

Next, we have an article from a new contributor, Saifuddin of Saifuddin. In The Character of the Ottomans, Saifuddin writes about the government of the Ottomans. I think many people forget how much of a role that the Ottoman Empire had in the history of Eastern Europe.

Last but not least, we have an article from Jessica of Jessica's Genejournal. In A History of Hungary ..., Jessica writes a review of a book on an overview of the history of Hungary that is in the English language.

Well, that is it for this edition. The topic for the next edition, in honor of Mother's Day, will be on a female ancestor from Central and/or Eastern Europe. The deadline for the next edition will be May 19th. The edition will be posted on the 20th. You can submit your entries here.

A Summer Challenge: Read Five Non-fiction books ...

I just happened to read Lori's post about the challenge to read five non-fiction books, and I thought I would join the challenge. I love to read, so I am quited interested. I think I will be able to read five books before the summer ends since I have to do a lot of reading up at college. (At least I'll be able to choose the books I want to read. [Ha!])

Either way, I look forward to the challenge!

A History of Hungary ...

Yes, a book on an overview of Hungary's history does exist. Although I haven't finished reading the book yet, I thought I would mention this book anyway. The Hungarians: A Thousand Years of Victory in Defeat by Paul Lendvai (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2003) gives an overview of the history of Hungary from the Eighth Century to the present day. Obviously, the book cannot cover ever single detail in Hungary's history, but at least this book does give the reader a general overview of Hungary's past. For those who are researching Hungarian ancestors or doing historical research, this book is one way that those people can get a feel for the history of Hungary. The book does include some pictures and maps, so one can get an idea of the location of places. I should note that the version I have is translated into English. (It appears to have been originally published in German, from looking at the original title listed in the copyright section.) Although the book is to read, I must mention that the book is over 500 pages long.

Either way, it is much more convenient for those who want to learn about Hungary's history to read this book than it is to read multiple books on the same subject. I only hope that this book does help others with their research of Hungary.