New Poll Created!

I haven't posted a poll in a long time, but I've decided to do one to find out which article topics my readers are interested in reading. The question for this poll is, "Which article topic are you most interested in reading?" The choices are:

• Trippstadt, Germany Civil Death records
• World War One ancestor
• Irene Havens
• Genealogy and History Thoughts Columns
• New Civil War Pension File
• Other topics in genealogy/history

The poll will be open for a week, and you can choose more than one answer. I am hoping that this poll will indicate which articles my readers would like to see, so that I can try to plan ahead in writing my future posts. Any other suggestions for article topics are welcome as well. Thanks!

Google Analytics Report For September 2009

Well, another month has gone by, and that means that it is time for another Google Analytics report! Here are the results for September 2009:

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

1. United States - 221 visits
2. Canada - 33 visits
3. Brazil - 30 visits
4. United Kingdom - 12 visits
5. Unknown (not listed) - 6 visits
6. India - 5 visits
7. Netherlands - 5 visits
8. Germany - 3 visits
9. Argentina - 3 visits
   
10. Australia - 2 visits

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

1. Indiana - 42 visits
2. Michigan - 20 visits
3. Texas - 19 visits
4. Illinois - 18 visits
5. California - 18 visits
6. New York - 12 visits
7. Virginia - 8 visits
8. Ohio - 7 visits
9. Pennsylvania - 6 visits
10. Wisconsin - 6 visits

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

1. Saturday Night Fun - Ahnentafel Roulette - 19 views
2. Tombstone Maker Website - 15 views
3. And Another Late Saturday Night Fun Entry ... - 15 views
4. Good News For the Library of Michigan? - 15 views
5. Library of Michigan Update ... - 15 views
6. 80th Edition of the Carnival of Genealogy Posted! - 11 views
7. 17th Edition of the Smile For The Camera Carnival Posted! - 10 views
8. 79th Edition of the Carnival of Genealogy Posted! - 10 views
9. An Interesting Article On An Archaeological Find In the U. K. - 9 views
10. The Pension File Came! - 9 views

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

If Something Were To Happen ...

For this upcoming edition of the Carnival of Genealogy, I am supposed to write an obituary for my blog in case something was to happen (ie. the blog was deleted). Instead of writing an obituary, I've just decided to mention the steps I have taken to preserve my writings in case (God forbid!) my blog is deleted by accident.

Last year, I created a mirror blog for this blog after another genealogy blogger's blog was deleted by accident, and since that time, I have been slowly adding posted articles to that blog. I am also copying the articles that I have posted in the past, and I am saving those articles in a word document until I can get all of the past articles posted on the mirror blog. So, if something should happen, I should be able to prevent any loss of work, and I should be able to get the blog back up and running if I needed to do so. You can view the mirror blog here. Hopefully, I will never have to use the mirror blog, but one can never know what the future will bring.

An Interesting Article On An Archaeological Find In the U. K.

I just happened to notice this article about an archaeological find of Anglo-Saxon items in England. I thought someone might find it interesting. Enjoy!

23rd Edition of the Carnival of Central and Eastern European Genealogy Posted!

The 23rd edition of the Carnival of Central and Eastern European Genealogy has been posted! You can read it here. (Thank you, Ambar, for hosting this edition!) The topic for the next edition will be on "Tips, Tricks, Websites,.... for researching Central and Eastern European Genealogy," and Al of Polish-American Genealogy Research will be hosting this edition. Submissions will be due on November 8th, and the edition will be posted on November 15th. Articles can be submitted here. Enjoy!

The Pension File Came!

What pension file? Okay, I didn't mention that about a month ago I ordered the Civil War Pension file for Benjamin Oswalt, the man I believe to be Adam Oswalt's younger brother. Well, the file arrived this afternoon, and when I came home from class, I saw it. Anyhow, I wouldn't have ordered the pension file while I was at school, except that I need it for school-related, non-genealogy project. So, as you can imagine, I'll be digging through this file, and seeing if I can find any direct proof that connects Benjamin and Adam together. Wish me luck!

Saturday Night Fun - Ahnentafel Roulette

For this Saturday Night Fun, Randy has challenged other genealogy bloggers to post information on one of their ancestors by coming up with the Ahnentafel number of an ancestor, and I've decided to participate in the challenge. The only difference is that I have chosen to divide by the age of my late grandfathers instead of my father's age, as a way to protect the privacy of living relatives. Here are the results that I obtained by following Randy's directions with the modification that I listed:

My grandfather, if he were living today, would have been 91, and when I divided his number by 4, I came up with the number 22.75. Since the number isn't a whole number, I've decided to round it up to 23.

The ancestor who is number 23 on my chart is my ancestor, Anna. I've written a little bit before on her family in my "Searching For My German Ancestors" posts, but I don't believe I have written a post that was specifically on her. Here are three facts about her:

1. She was born in Germany. (I don't have a birth date for her yet because I jumped ahead to continue researching on her parents' ancestry. I do have a possible birthplace in Germany, but I need to order records from the place to confirm my suspicions.)
   
2. She arrived in the United States with her parents and older siblings in February 1864.
3. She died in Detroit in the 1930s. (I don't have an exact date of death. I haven't been able to determine when she died, but it is one of my goals to do so.)

I do have more information on Anna, but I've only posted those three facts for this meme.

As a side note, I've also recently posted two other Saturday Night Fun memes from August, and you can read them here and here. Enjoy!

Looking For A Host and A Reminder ....

I just want to let everyone know that I am still looking for a host for the October edition of the Carnival of Central and Eastern European Genealogy. I won't have the time to do the edition because of school, so if anyone is interested in hosting the edition, please contact me at jess_history at yahoo dot com. As for the December edition, I haven't decided whether or not to host the edition, so if anyone is interested in hosting that edition, please let me know.

Also, don't forget that the deadline for submissions to the September's edition is tomorrow. You can submit them here. Thanks!

80th Edition of the Carnival of Genealogy Posted!

The 80th edition of the Carnival of Genealogy has been posted! You can read it here. The topic for the next edition will be on

"Your Genealogy Blog's Obituary. If your blog ended or was lost/deleted today,
how would you write it's obituary? What were the highlights of your blog? What
is its history? This theme was suggested by Schelly Talalay Dardashti of Tracing the Tribe who will be
hosting this next edition of the COG. You can read about the inspiration for
Schelly's choice of topic here.
The deadline for submissions is October 1, 2009."

Enjoy!

17th Edition of the Smile For The Camera Carnival Posted!

The 17th 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 "Travel. Planes, trains and automobiles. Horses, mules, carts, and wagons. Bikes or on foot. Show us your family and how they traveled." Submissions will be due on November 10th. Enjoy!

Library of Michigan Update ...

I just happened to take a look at Brenda's post on the Library of Michigan, and it appears that the Library of Michigan isn't out of the woods yet. I guess I was a little too hopeful in my previous post. Does anyone have any additional reports on the status of the Library of Michigan?

Good News for the Library of Michigan?

I just received some news about the Library of Michigan from one of the yahoo genealogy groups I am member of, and looks like the Library of Michigan might be preserved. Of course, that is what it sounds like from this news article. Has anyone else heard the same thing?

Although I haven't posted very much on the threat to the Library of Michigan, I have paid attention to what was going on despite the fact that I have been busy with school work. If this news is correct, then we can breathe a sigh of relief. Of course, I'm being cautious as I do not know if this article is accurate. Does anyone know for sure?

Happy Labor Day!

I just want to wish everyone a happy Labor Day! Enjoy!

79th Edition of the Carnival of Genealogy Posted!

The 79th edition of the Carnival of Genealogy has been posted! You can read it here. The topic for the next edition will be on

"Family Fun! Research an event your ancestor may have attended. Did your
ancestor live within a few blocks of the parade route for the annual Fourth of
July parade in the town where they lived? If your family lived in a rural area,
perhaps they attended a county or state fair. If they lived in a big city,
perhaps they attended a play or movie opening. Was there an amusement park or
traveling carnival near the area your family was from, one they might have
visited? Were there fireworks displays in the town your family was from? How
much do you know about the types of entertainment your ancestors might have
enjoyed? Check into it then write it up! This "fun" edition of the Carnival of
Genealogy will be hosted by Jasia on the Creative Gene blog. The deadline
for submissions is September 15th."

Enjoy!

15th Edition of the Carnival of Irish Heritage and Culture Posted!

The 15th edition of the Carnival of Irish Heritage and Culture has been posted! You can read it here. The topic for the next edition will be on Irish portraits, and you can read more about it here. Enjoy!

Don't Forget!

I just want to remind everyone that entries for this upcoming edition of the Carnival of Central and Eastern European Genealogy are due the 19th. The topic for this edition will be a carousel, and can be submitted here.

Also, I need someone to host the October edition. (I don't have anyone for December, but I might host that edition.) If you are interested in hosting the October edition please contact me at jess_history at yahoo dot com as soon as possible. Thanks!

A Family Reunion From A Child's Perspective ...

For this upcoming edition of the Carnival of Genealogy, I am supposed to write about family reunions. I have only been to one family reunion so far in my life, and as I do not know about any other family reunions in my family before my time, I'll write about the one I attended.

I was eight years old when I attended the reunion with my mom, brother and paternal grandparents, and in addition to my immediate family, my great-uncle and great-aunt also attended the reunion. They, of course, drove separate from us. The reunion was in Pennsylvania, and my grandfather drove the van we had at the time. (I don't know where exactly it was in Pennsylvania except that it was pretty close to the border with New York.) My dad did not accompany us to reunion because he had to work. I do remember the drive to the reunion, but I don't remember if I saw any road signs. All I knew was that the family reunion was on my grandma's side of the family.

The hotel where the reunion was held (and where we stayed) had, from what I remember, an Irish theme. I can't remember the name, but I can still recall what the place looked like. (Of course, I also took pictures, so that is probably why I remember so much about the place.) Outside of the family members I mentioned above, I did not know anyone else there at the reunion, and I don't really recall interacting with the other people at the reunion. What I do remember was that the reunion was in late October, and was primarily a weekend event. I might have had to miss a day or two of school, but the reunion wasn't very long. Towards the end of the reunion, there was a little trick-or-treat event set up for the children, and I remember wearing the costume I had that year for Halloween. Unfortunately, my brother and I missed most of the event, but our mom took pictures of us in our costumes.

Since I really did not know anyone, I think I hung around my family most of the time, although I do remember wandering around a little bit. (Unfortunately, I don't remember everything.) I did leave the hotel a couple of times, but only with other family members. One of the outings from the hotel was with my grandparents, and I remember we drove across the boarder into New York to buy lotto tickets. On the way back to the hotel, we stopped at a park (probably a state park) and walked through the park. I think we originally stopped to see a waterfall, because I remember walking to the waterfall in the park. Unfortunately, I don't remember the name of the park or the waterfall. At one time I did have some information on the park and the waterfall, but the information was thrown out years ago before I had a chance to really look at it.

The second outing that I remember was to a restaurant, and the restaurant was in an old, white house. I don't remember the food at the place, but I do remember the Halloween decorations that were set up behind the building since I took many pictures of them. (I think I drove my mom nuts with all the pictures I took, but mostly I remember being fascinated with the decorations. Of course, as a kid, I was into Halloween, so it was hard for me to ignore.)

Outside of the events above, I don't remember too much more. I do remember that there was a group picture taken of everyone because my grandma held up a copy of the Livonia Observer, so that the picture would end up in the newspaper. The picture was eventually printed in the newspaper, but it wasn't put into the newspaper until some months later. (A classmate happened to see the picture and mentioned it to the class. At the time, we were supposed to pick articles out of the newspaper, and she happened to notice my name in the picture. Of course, I didn't know until then that the picture had been printed.) After it was printed, I cut-out the image, and I still have it in a scrapbook.

Before the reunion ended, I think every family member received a mug and plastic cup with the name and year of the reunion because we brought home a few of them. Of course, I don't know for sure, the mugs are probably the only mementos (besides the photographs) my family still has from the reunion. (My grandma did receive some information on her family, but I wasn't with her at the time so I can't say when during the reunion she received it.)

So, as you can see, most of my memories of the family reunion are random. Of course, I was really young at the time, so I did not know what was going on other than what I saw or heard. As for whether or not I would ever attend another family reunion, I probably would since I had a fairly positive experience with the one I attended. I just only wished I understood better what was going on at the time.

Google Analytics Report For August 2009

Another month has gone by, and that means that it is time for another Google Analytics report! Here are the results for August 2009:

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

1. United States - 244 visits
2. Canada - 25 visits
3. United Kingdom - 15 visits
4. Netherlands - 6 visits
5. Australia - 5 visits
6. Germany - 5 visits
7. Philippines - 3 visits
8. India - 3 visits
9. Argentina - 3 visits
10. Belgium - 3 visits

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

1. Indiana - 29 visits
2. California - 27 visits
3. Texas - 24 visits
4. Michigan - 18 visits
5. Illinois - 18 visits
6. Ohio - 14 visits
7. New York - 14 visits
8. Virginia - 8 visits
9. Wisconsin - 8 visits
10. Pennsylvania - 8 visits

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

1. An Award! - 24 views
2. Classes Have Begun! - 20 views
3. Breakthroughs and Roadblocks In Researching My German Ancestors ... - 19 views
4. 16th Edition of the Smile For the Camera Carnival Posted! - 18 views
5. My New Year's Resolutions - Eight Months Later - 17 views
6. 22nd Edition of the Carnival of Central and Eastern European Genealogy Posted! -15 views
7. 14th Edition of the Carnival of Irish Heritage and Culture Posted! - 13 views
8. An Early Irish History Book ... - 12 views
9. Tombstone Maker Website - 11 views
10. 77th Edition of the Carnival of Genealogy Posted! - 11 views

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

And Another Late Saturday Night Fun Entry ...

(I'm late again in posting my response to another Saturday Night Fun entry, but I still want to participate. Thus, I am still posting this entry even after a few weeks have gone by. - September 19, 2009)

For this Saturday Night Fun entry, Randy is asking other genealogy bloggers to post the number of ancestors they have met, and I've decided to post all of the ancestors I have met in my life so far. I won't be posting the names of the ancestors I have met because most of them are still alive. So, here are the ancestors I have met:

I have met my parents and all four of my grandparents. As I stated above, I am not posting their names because in all but one case, they are still alive.

I have also met two of my great-grandmothers, even though I don't remember them. (Both of my great-grandmothers died when I was a young child.) One of my great-grandmothers was from my father's side of the family, and the other great-grandmother was from my mother's side of the family.

So, I've met eight of my ancestors, even though I don't remember two of them.

An Award!

Earlier today, I was notified that The Daily Reviewer had included my blog in their list the top 100 genealogy blogs, and I just want to say, "Thank you for the award. It is an honor." Also, I want to congragulate all the other genealogy bloggers who made the list. (You can view the list here.) Congrats!