31st Shades Of The Departed Guest Column Posted!

The Shades of the Departed guest columns are back, and the 31st Shades of the Departed guest column has been posted! The author of this week's column is Terri Kallio, and you can read it here. Enjoy!

67th Edition of the Carnival of Genealogy Posted!

The 67th edition of the Carnival of Genealogy has been posted! You can read it here. The topic for the next edition will be on "A Tribute to Women. Write a tribute to a woman on your family tree, a friend, a neighbor, or a historical female figure who has done something to impact your life. Or instead of writing, consider sharing a photo biography of one woman's life. Or create a scrapbook page dedicated to a woman you'd like to honor. The next edition will be hosted at Creative Gene."

Celebrate Your Name Week - Day One

I just learned about the Celebrate Your Name Week from Amanda and Sheri's posts, and I thought I would play along. As everyone knows, my name is Jessica, and as a little girl, my parents told me that my name meant wealth. When I got older, I noticed in a store, a card with the meaning of my name. According to that card, Jessica came from Hebrew and means wealthy.
According to Behind the Name, Jessica as a name, "first used in this form by Shakespeare in his play 'The Merchant of Venice' (1596), where it belongs to the daughter of Shylock. Shakespeare probably based it on the biblical name ISCAH which would have been spelled Jesca in his time. It was not commonly used as a given name until the middle of the 20th century." Meaning of Names also says the same, but adds a little more information: "In Hebrew, the name Jessica means- Rich. God beholds. The daughter of Shylock in Shakespeare's play The Merchant of Venice.. Other origins for the name Jessica include - Hebrew, Israeli.The name Jessica is most often used as a girl name or female name. Hebrew Meaning - Rich. God beholds. The daughter of Shylock in Shakespeare's play The Merchant of Venice. Origin - Hebrew." So, as you can see, the information that I had learned prior to looking on those websites was fairly close and accurate.

My parents named me Jessica because they liked the name, so I wasn't named after a relative. In addition, my middle name is unique in my family since none of my other relatives have that name. So, that's a little information on the name, Jessica.

Something To Think About ...

I just happened to notice Brenda's post on the Michigan Grange, and I thought I would mention it since the post reminded me about something I read a few years ago.

Since I had ancestors who were farmers, it is very possible that they were members of teheir local grange, and according to one of the local history books, one of my Detwiler ancestors' son was an officer in the local grange of his area. I did read somewhere a couple of years ago that old grange records might still exist, but unfortunately, I do not remember where I read about it. Either way, the article I read mentioned that records would probably be held by the state's Agriculture college (or a college originally founded to study agriculture science), and in Michigan's case that would be Michigan State University. I suppose that it is something for me to look into, but I haven't had a chance to find out whether or not that information is true. When I get a chance to investigate the possiblity, I will let everyone know what I have learned. Stay tuned ...

Google Analytics Results For February 2009

Well, another month has gone by, and that means that it is time for another Google Analytics report. Here's are the results for February 2009:

The top ten countries, in number of visits, are:

1. United States - 660 visits
2. Canada - 76 visits
3. United Kingdom - 52 visits
4. Australia - 13 visits
5. Netherlands - 10 visits
6. Germany - 4 visits
7. Israel - 4 visits
8. Poland - 3 visits
9. New Zealand - 3 visits
10. Spain - 3 visits

The top ten states in the United States, in number of visits, are:

1. Michigan - 99 visits
2. California - 76 visits
3. Illinois - 57 visits
4. Texas - 49 visits
5. New York - 42 visits
6. Utah - 27 visits
7. Ohio - 25 visits
8. Washington - 23 visits
9. Florida - 21 visits
10. Virginia - 18 visits

The top ten places in Michigan, in number of visits, are:

1. Hamburg - 62 visits
2. Lansing - 8 visits
3. Southfield - 6 visits
4. Grand Rapids - 4 visits
5. East Lansing - 3 visits
6. Clinton Township - 2 visits
7. Washtenaw County - 2 visits
8. Oak Park - 2 visits
9. Redford - 2 visits
10. Detroit - 1 visits

The top ten articles, in number of views, are:

1. I've Left Facebook ... - 53 views
2. Updates in FamilySearch's Record Search - 47 views
3. How Does One Become Certified? - 39 views
4. Three Ladies in the 1940s? - 36 views
5. Another Shipwreck Found! - 30 views
6. Has Anyone Heard Anything New? - 29 views
7. Update on the Michigan Death Certificates, 1897-1920 - 29 views
8. Jessica's Genejournal's Best Of The Best 2008 - 25 views
9. 10th Edition of the Smile For the Camera Posted! - 24 views
10. 16th Edition of the Carnival of Central and Eastern European Genealogy - 24 views

Well, that's it for this month's report. To my readers, I just want to say, "Thank you for reading!" Enjoy!

74th Edition of the Carnival of History Posted!

The 74th edition of the History Carnival has been posted! You can read it here. Enjoy!