Saturday Night Fun - What Inspired Me?

For this Saturday Night Fun challenge, Randy is asking, "What event or person inspired you to start your genealogy research?" So, what inspired me?

Well, I did touch upon this subject before in a previous article, but I don't mind mentioning it again. As I mentioned before, I believe my interest in history and the fact that my grandfather was doing research into the family were the two factors in inspiring me to do genealogy. Of course, when I think I about when I began to do genealogy, I usually say that I began my research in my late teens, but after thinking about for a while, I wonder if I actually started it earlier.

When I was in the sixth grade, I had to do a family tree project for a project, so I began asking my grandparents for the names of my ancestors for the projects. I created a poster (which I still have) of the information that was known at the time, and when it was time to present my family tree, I had my grandpa bring in the family tree that had been done on my grandmother's side in addition to my posted. Then, when I entered the seventh grade, I had to do another family tree project as well, and I had to ask questions again. Of course, I also had to collect information on my family's medical history as that was a part of the project at that time.

Add those factors to the influence of my grandfather and my love of history, I guess it isn't a surprise as to why I do genealogy. Of course, when I think about those two early factors, I wonder if I actually started to research my family history earlier than I thought before because if I hadn't had to ask questions at those times, I don't know if I would have been able to uncover information on my great-grandfather without some of the information I learned at that time. So, what do you think?

13th Edition of the Smile For The Camera Carnival Posted!

The 13th edition of the Smile For the Camera Carnival has been posted! You can read it here. The topic for the next edition will be on

"Wedding Belles. Historically, couples married in the month of June to
honor Juno, the Roman goddess of marriage. Others did it to time conception so
births wouldn't interfere with harvest work. And brides in the 15th century
chose to marry in June because it coincided with their "annual bath" - that's
right - ensuring a relatively sweet-smelling honeymoon. Show us a photograph of
a wedding, a wedding party, a bride, a groom, the reception, or even the
honeymoon."

Enjoy!

Family History Center Visit 8

Earlier today, I visited the local Family History Center, and I took a look at the new microfilm that had come in earlier in the week. As I suspected, it was a microfilm of church records (Bishop's transcripts, to be specific) from Wigan, Lancashire, but unfortunately, after looking through the film, I realized that I had ordered the wrong microfilm. So, the next time I visit the local Family History Center, I'll have to order a different film for the area.

After not having any luck with the Wigan film, I went through the Huntingdon, Pennsylvania microfilm again, but as with the first film, I was unable to uncover any more information on my ancestors. So, I did not have any luck with that film either.

After not having any success with those two films, I did take another look at the Luton microfilm I had looked at before, and this time, I did find the marriage of my great-grandmother's older brother. (I didn't find her younger brother's marriage, but I couldn't remember the year he married.) When I looked at the witnesses to the marriage, I was surprised to see my great-grandparents listed as the witnesses! Since I did not know how they met or for how long they knew each other before they married, I was thrilled to find their signatures on the record at least three years before they married!

So, for this visit, I really did not have any success, other than when I looked at the Luton microfilm. I did not order any additional microfilms at this visit, but I am hoping to visit the center next week. I might order a few more microfilms at that visit. Stay tuned ...

Family History Center Update

I received an e-mail from the local family history center earlier today informing me that my other microfilm had arrived. This microfilm is of Church of England church records from Lancashire county, although I do not remember if the records are for Wigan or another city in the county. Well, I hope to go to the center soon, so I'll refresh my memory about which location is on the microfilm. Stay tuned ...

New Records Added to FamilySearch's Record Search

Several new databases have been added to FamilySearch's Record Search. Among the records added are vital records for Brazil and North Carolina, death records for Florida and South Carolina, and more images for Czech Republic church records. I hope these new databases help you in your research. Enjoy!

And Now For Another Episode of the "Adventures of Ben and Casey" ...

Well, not exactly, but the photograph above is a picture of my dogs, Ben and Casey that I took earlier today. (I wanted to post a recent picture of them, but I wasn't able to get Casey to face towards the camera, so you cannot see Casey's face. Trust me, it wasn't very easy for me to get them close enough to take a picture today. And that is in addition to the fact that I do not have a very good digital camera.

As you may remember, I wrote about them before in a previous post. In case you are wondering how Ben and Casey were named, my brother and I named the dogs when we first chose them. We did not know about the old TV show, so we did not name them after the show. I named Ben after a my favorite character from my favorite book series (at that time), and as for Casey's name, I'm not exactly sure why my brother gave him that name. (Casey is my brother's dog.) Of course, I could go on and on about the two of them, but I think I'll spare everyone the stories I could tell about Ben and Casey, for now.

Happy Mother's Day!

I just want to wish everyone a Happy Mother's Day! Enjoy!