My Apologies ....

As everyone has noticed by now, I haven't posted anything on my blog for months, and I just want to apologize for the lack of activity on my blog. The reason why I haven't posted in so long is that I have so been busy (and am still busy) with school work that I haven't had the time to post or read any updates on genealogy news in months. What has been happening in the past several months?

I also want to apologize for not keeping up with the Carnival of Central and Eastern European Genealogy. I still want to keep the carnival going, but since I have been so busy, I've forgotten to contact those who were supposed to host the carnivals for the past several months. I am extremely sorry for that, and I would like to eventually resume the posting of carnival editions. Unless, someone else wants to host the edition in December, I might post that edition. I will also accept requests for hosting next year's editions, if anyone is interested. You can contact me about hosting at jess_history at yahoo dot com.

I don't know how often I will be able to post on my blog in the upcoming months due to the fact that I will be busy with school work, but I hope to be able to do so. Therefore, posting on this blog may be light until May or June of next year.

I also want to give my thanks to those who have served, and I apologize for the belated Veteran's Day thank you. Enjoy!

What I've Been Up To Lately and Other Things ...

Well, as you all have probably noticed, I haven't posted very much in a long time. Up until a couple of days ago, I had been extremely with school work, and therefore, I didn't have very much time to keep up with what has been going on in genealogy lately. Unfortunately, I am unsure as to when I will be resuming my normal posting schedule since I will still be taking a couple of classes this summer, and I will only have a few weeks break before I begin the next school year. Thus, blogging is probably going to be pretty light into the foreseeable future.

On a lighter note, I've noticed as everyone else has that FamilySearch's Record Search has added or updated quite a few databases, and I've done a little searching in some of the databases. I believe I have found some useful information on a few of my ancestors, and so, I have a few new leads to look up. Of course, I don't know if I'll be able to follow up on them this summer, but sometime in the future, I will pursue them.

I also wanted to list a few links that might help other people in their research. The first link is for some digitized parish books from Austria and Germany, which I learned about when I happened to be looking the website for the historical society of Gelnhausen, Germany for ways to further my research into my Kees ancestors. Only some of the parish books for the locations listed have been posted, but at the moment, it is free to view the images online. If you want to download any of the images, though, you would have to pay.

The other two links deal with genealogy research in Lancashire, England. The first link has transcriptions of parish records for churches in Lancashire, and are free to view. Transcriptions are added frequently, so if you don't happen to find transcriptions for the churches you are looking for, they might be posted eventually. The other link is for an index to the Birth, Marriages and Death records recorded in Lancashire county in 1837 and later. The index is also free to view, and the site lists information on how a person can order a certificate for the record. This site also frequently updates the index as well.

I hope these records might be useful and helpful for others in their research. Enjoy!

What I've Been Up To Since Mid-December ...

As you've probably noticed, I haven't posted much recently, although I've wanted to do so. (At the time of this writing, I have about 13 backlogged articles that I am trying to finish and post.) Of course, I haven't had much time because I'm a grad student.

One of the articles I wanted to post was a summary of the genealogy research that I did over Christmas break. Well, it wasn't very much, but while I was doing research for my thesis at the Library of Michigan and State Archives of Michigan, I was able to do a few quick look-ups on a couple of branches. At the Archives, I discovered that my Klippel ancestor had filed a Declaration of Intent (I'll write about this later.), and in the Library, I found the burial records for a few Saint Joseph county ancestors and relatives. Unfortunately, I did not copy the burial records down as a result of being too tired from doing research for my thesis earlier in the day. Since I know where to find the burial information, I'll make sure to copy the information on my next visit to the Library of Michigan.

So, as you can see, I did not do very much genealogical research on my time off from school. Most of the time I did research for my thesis, or read the textbooks for my upcoming classes, and since I've returned back to school, I am still researching and reading for my classes. I do not know how many posts I will be able to publish in the upcoming months because of my school work, but I do hope to post whenever I can. So, there maybe periods of time when this blog is quiet, but it will be due to being busy with school work rather than neglect. Stay tuned for future articles ...

Light Blogging Ahead!

Well, I'm back at school again, and after looking at my schedule, I have come to the conclusion that my workload will be greater for this semester than the previous semester. Thus, I do not know how often I will be able to post in the upcoming months. I'll try to post some articles, but I cannot make too many promises. So, if my blog is inactive for awhile it is because I am busy with schoolwork. I just thought I would let everyone know. Enjoy!

I Can Finally Breathe ... For A Little Bit

As you have probably noticed, I haven't posted very much since mid-November. Why? Well, I've been busy with school work, and I just finally finished my work for this semester earlier today. I'll be going home later this week, but, I'll have to research over the break for my thesis. So, I won't have much of a break, but hopefully, I will be able to spend some time relaxing.

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!

Classes Have Begun!

Classes officially started for me today, so I won't have as much time to post for the next several months. Thus, blogging will be light until I have more time to post. (Of course today was a strange day for me because I had class on my birthday. I've never had class on my birthday before, and yet, it felt like any other day that I've been in school. I guess I am getting to the point in my life where birthdays don't mean as much as they did when I was a child.)

16th Edition of the Smile For The Camera Carnival Posted!

The 16th 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 "School Days." It is September, historically the month when a new school year begins. We all have images of the days spent in school. The barefoot children gathered together with their teacher in front of the rural school your ancestors attended. Children at their desks, children at play in the school yard, and those obligatory school photographs - one for every year." Enjoy!

Back At School ...

As you probably have noticed, I haven't posted too much lately, and that is due to being quite busy. I just moved into an apartment on the campus of the school I will be attending over this weekend, and thus, I haven't had time to write because I was packing and moving this past week. Anyhow, since I am back at school, I won't be posting as much I as I have in the past, and I thought I would give everyone a heads up. I have reactivated my Facebook account as well, but I do not know how much I will be using it, though.

So, I'll be around, but this blog might be pretty quiet in the upcoming months. Stay tuned ...

Why I Haven't Posted In Awhile ...

As you have probably noticed, I have not posted very much this week, and that is due to the fact that I have been busy with school work. I've had to work on a few projects for my classes this week, so I haven't had much time. Things are starting to slow down, so I'll be able to post more after my classes end next week.

On a happier note, I've just connected with a person who is also descended from the same Kees and Cotta ancestors, and I'm excited! I was finally able to e-mail her some of the information I have earlier this week. Of course, I haven't had very much time lately, so I hope to send more e-mail as soon as I'm done with school. Plus, I hope to go the local Family History Center soon as the microfilm for the protestant church records of Trippstadt, Germany came in last week. Hopefully, I'll be able to visit soon.

Why I Haven't Posted Too Much Lately ...

As you have probably noticed, I have not posted very many articles lately. This has mostly been due to the fact that I have been fairly busy for the past two weeks. Last week, I started classes again, and as a result, I do not have as much time to do research and writing posts. Thankfully, I will only be taking classes for the next month, and then, I should be able to resume my writing for another month.

Since I haven't had very much time lately, I have decided to extend the deadline for the submissions for the Carnival of Central and Eastern European Genealogy till Monday morning, and I will post the edition on Monday evening. If you have not submitted an article and would like to, please e-mail me with a link to your article at jess_history at yahoo dot com. Thanks.

I Can Finally Start to Breathe ...

I am finally finished with the semester! I finished my last paper much earlier today and turned it in. (I took my last final exams yesterday.) Now I can start to relax, and so I will be getting back to posting new posts. Of course, that will be after I finish packing and go home ...

Light Blogging: Back To School ... Again!

Classes start up again for me tomorrow after the Labor Day break, and since classes will be resuming, I will not be posting as much due to the lack of time I will have. I do have several posts that I am working on at the moment, and I hope to post some of those in the next few days. Other than that, blogging will be pretty light for me. I don't know if I'll be posting any more than once a week at the most. So, in case you notice that I haven't posted anything in awhile, that is the reason. I will probably resume a more normal amount of posting around Christmas break. Until then, happy reading!

I'm Feeling That Disease Too ...

A few days ago, I happened to notice that Randy wrote about suffering from a genealogy illness, and I just want to say that I'm suffering from one right now. Which one? Well, it happens to be the Genealogicus Terminus version. Why? Well, I'm back up at school, and I won't be able to do any family history research for the next several months. In addition, the last microfilm I ordered came in over a week ago Tuesday, and I have not been able to look at it since it came in. (You can see why I'm frustrated, can't you?)

Of course, not all is lost. I was able to talk to my grandpa about the microfilm, and he is willing to take a look at the microfilm to see if he can find anything. (This is the same grandpa who got me interested in genealogy in the first place.) So, as you can imagine, I'm happy about that, and I can't to hear about whether or not he has found anything. I might not find out what it is until I go home for Christmas, but if there is anything, I'll mention it. Stay tuned ...

School Begins!

Classes officially start today, so I do not know much time I will have to blog due to the fact that I have to concentrate on schoolwork. As such, I will be posting less than I did this summer, but I still plan post some posts. I just cannot guarantee the frequency and number of my posts.

Well, Now I Know What Technique I was Taught ...

I just happened to notice the Ancestry Insider's post on the Palmer Method of handwriting, and the image of the letters looks very similar to what I was taught in school. When I was in the third grade, I was taught how to write in cursive, and since that time, I have continued to write in cursive. I never knew which method I was taught until today. The sad thing is that many people my age cannot read cursive and that teaching cursive has pretty much stopped. (At least that is what I've heard.) Anyway, thank you Ancestry Insider for your post on this handwriting technique.

48th Edition of the Carnival of Genealogy Posted!

The 48th edition of the Carnival of Genealogy has been posted! You can read it here. The topic for the next edition is a swimsuit edition or beach stories. Enjoy!

47th Edition of the Carnival of Genealogy Posted!

The 47th Edition of the Carnival of Genealogy has been posted! You can read it here. The topic for the next edition is in honor of Mother's Day and is on our Mother's education. (Or the education of a female ancestor.)

I Remember That Weekend ...

I just happened to notice Jasia's post on past weather in Michigan. I clearly remember that weekend. I was a freshman in college at that time, and at the time, it was the weekend before finals week at my college. Usually, it does not snow that late in April in Michigan, and I think that was one of the first times in my life that that had occurred. (At least that is the first time that I can remember that occurring.)

Christmas Catch-up ...

As I haven't had time to write posts for the last five days, I've decided to play catch-up with this entry and include the past entries in this post.

When I was in elementary school, each classroom would have a Christmas party on one of the last few days before the Christmas break. Usually, we would make Christmas ornaments for our parents, and maybe have some snacks. As I got older and went to Middle and High school, I didn't have classrooms that had parties. Instead, my classmates and I would either watch a movie or would make stuff such as Christmas decorations or little Christmas boxes. In my German classes, we would make Christmas cards in German for our parents. As far as I can remember, most of the schools that I attended did not have any Christmas pageants. When I attended my second high school, the school had a Christmas concert in the gym. I don't know if one would consider it a Christmas pageant, but I believe that is the closest that I have come to one. ...

As for Christmas celebrations or Christmas services, the churches that my family attended always had a Christmas Eve service. I have only been to a couple of Christmas Eve services. At Ward's, the first church my family attended, they had an evening service. The pews would be decorated with garland-wrapped poles and lit candles on top. From what I can remember of the service I attended, the sermon was on Jesus' birth. In addition to a Christmas Eve service, Ward's had a Midnight New Year's Eve service, but I never went to one of the services. After my family moved, we attended another church. This church had at least two evening Christmas Eve services. Again, the sermon was on Jesus' birth, but there would be music at the services. A couple of times, my mom played the piano for the services. Another difference was that all of the attendees held candles that were lit during the service. (Yes, even kids were allowed to hold candles, but the parents kept an eye on them. They were only lit for a couple of minutes, and then they were blown out.) In addition to holding candles, we would also sing songs. ...

As for stockings, both my brother and I had stockings. We did not hang our stocking up every year, but when we did, we hung on the mantle of the fireplace. The few times that we did hang up our stockings, our stockings were filled with small presents, like socks or movies. Of course, the presents in our stockings were not the only the presents we got. We did get other presents. ...

Speaking of presents, they had to be bought. Until the past couple of years, I didn't really buy Christmas presents. I don't know when my parents went shopping as I never went looking for my parents' hiding place for the presents. I only started to buy gifts a few years ago, and when I did, I bought gifts at book sales on my school's campus. I guess you could say that I bought gifts early since the sales were at least a couple of weeks before my school went on Christmas break. ...

When it comes to Christmas, though, I don't associate remembering dead relatives with Christmas. I don't visit cemeteries at Christmas time, since my ancestors are buried in cemeteries to far away from home. As for remembering deceased relatives, we would talk about fond memories that we had of them. Of course, we did not just talk about relatives. At one Christmas dinner, we reminisced about one of the pastors at Ward's who had passed away just a few days before that Christmas. ...

As for music, we listened to Christmas music in the car and on the radio on days before Christmas and on Christmas. (I don't have a favorite Christmas song, but I like several of the Christmas songs.) We did not go caroling, although one year a group of neighborhood children went door to door caroling. ...

As you can see, I've had quite a bit of catching up to do. Hopefully, I'll be able to contribute to the next two entries.