Another Silly Quiz ...

I decided to go to Blogthings and take another one of their silly quizzes just in time for Saint Patrick's Day. Here is the results from the only quiz that I believe was appropriate for all ages:

Your Irish Name Is...

Jade Boyle

What's your Irish Name?

More Genealogy Blogs Added!

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

• Ancestor.ie's Genealogy Discussion Blog
• Genealogy Addiction and Future Parenthood
• Genealogy and History Fan
• Parishmouse
• TNGenWeb - Blount County, Tennessee

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

This Date ...

You won't see this date again for another four years! Okay, I realize this statement is a bit corny, but I couldn't resist. I was just tempted to post something on this date as this is a leap year.

Speaking of leap years, when a person is born on this day, how do families celebrate that person's birthday in non-leap years, and how does the government determine when that person is legally an adult? What does the government do, as this date only comes once every four years? I'm just curious. I've always wondered what people do in a situation such as this one.

Congrats to FootnoteMaven!

I just noticed that FootnoteMaven has announced that she has been blogging for a year. I just want to say, "Congrats!"

Light Blogging?

As many of you might have noticed, I have not posted as many posts this week. I am not sure if the next few days or next week will be similar to this week. At the moment, I feel as though I am going through a writer's block, and I can't come up with very many ideas for topics to post on at the moment.

More Genealogy Blogs Added!

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

• Chris Staat's Genealogical Musings
• International Association of Amateur Genealogists (IAAGEN)

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.

Thoughts On A Quote ...

Yesterday, I happened to read a quote that was posted on GenLady's blog. After reading the quote, I thought about it for a long time. Would my ancestors be proud of me? I don't know. For one, I am more educated than many of my ancestors were or ever hoped to become. Undoubtedly, most of my ancestors would be proud of me for that alone. Of course, I am only guessing as I do not know what their thoughts were.

Re-added a History Blog!

I've re-added a history blog to my history list that got deleted from my blog by accident. The blog is:

• WW1: Experiences of an English Soldier

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

Have You Looked At These Sites?

I was just wondering if anyone had noticed these two websites:

• Behind the Name - the Etymology and History of First Names
• Behind the Name - the Etymology and History of Surnames

Obviously, from the titles of the websites these websites deal with the meaning of first names and surnames. Both sites appear to be very informative. My only problem is that most of the surnames of my ancestors did not show up when I typed them. I don't know when the websites are updated, so it could be very possible that the owner is still updating the surname database. So, what do you think about these two websites?

Added Another History Blog!

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

• World History Blog

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

More Genealogy Blogs Added!

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

• Caddo - My Home Town
• OneGreatFamily Blog
• The Polish Pioneers of Calumet, Michigan
• Why My Family Genealogy Would Make A Great Western

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

Thoughts About Irish Heritage in America ...

Whenever I think of writing a post on Irish ancestry, I hesitate as I am not completely sure if my ancestors who married in Ireland are actually Irish. The problem is that the surname for my ancestor is supposed to be Scottish and not Irish, or so information that I have read on the surname says. (Of course, it is entirely possible that my ancestors were descended from Scots that settled in Ireland.) Of course, when I was little girl, I did not know that I had ancestors that were born in Ireland, and I think that was also true for my family members. It was not until I began researching my family history that I learned I had ancestors born in Ireland.

So, why am I writing this? Well, when I was in elementary school, students were expected to wear green on Saint Patrick's Day. This was, of course, primarily a peer pressure expectation from fellow classmates. I realize that wearing green on Saint Patrick's Day is probably expected almost everywhere in the United States, but there was also another rumor that was told in my elementary school that I am unsure if it has been heard anywhere else in the United States. Supposedly, according to this rumor, on Saint Patrick's Day, one could see leprechauns but only if one was Irish (or, apparently, of Irish ancestry). Silly and unbelievable? Yes, but when one is five, six or seven years old, it can be believable. Or it was when I was that age. Of course, that was the time of my life when I was enthralled by fairy tales. And among those fairy tales were stories of leprechauns and pots of gold at the end of the rainbow, especially with cartoon shows of fairy tales. Undoubtedly, the leprechaun with a pot of gold is a stereotype, albeit one that seems to be friendly. And, one could argue, that the Lucky Charms cereal reinforces that stereotype. If one thinks about cartoon shows and cereal that deal with Irish stories, one could argue that the Irish immigrants who came to the United States did influence our culture, even if that influence is subtle.

My Grandparent's Names

Earlier today, Randy Seaver posted about the names he gave his grandparents and then challenged other genealogy bloggers to post about the names they gave their grandparents.

So, what names do I give to my grandparents? I call my grandparents, Grandma and Grandpa. If I happen to be talking to a family member about one of my grandparents, I might specify with the surname of my grandparent. For example, I would say, "Grandma [Surname]." I can't say for sure, but I think it was the same way for my parents as well. In referring to my grandparents, my parents call them "Mom and Dad," even if they are not their parents, but their in-laws. (As far as I know, I don't believe my parents' calling each other's parents, "Mom and Dad," has ever caused problems, although I did have a high school teacher who got upset that his married daughter called her father-in-law, "Dad.")

Speaking of parents, I have only called my parents either, "Mom and Dad," or, "Mommy and Daddy" when I was younger. I have never been allowed to call my parents by their first names, although I understand that there are some parents who do allow their children to call them by their first names. If I ever have children, I don't believe I would allow them to call me by my first name. I guess I'm just too traditional to allow that to happen.

Some Useful Technology For Genealogy?

"What technology do you most rely on for your genealogy and family history research?" Well, that happens to be the question for the next edition of the Carnival of Genealogy, and I'll confess, it is not a question that I can easily answer. I could only choose three items, one each from the categories of hardware, software and website. So, which three items did I choose? Here's my choices:

Hardware: For the hardware category, I would have to say that a ubs 2.0 flash drive has been one of the items I have relied the most on. (I couldn't choose my computer.) I have a flash drive that I use to store my genealogy software and family tree. Of course, I must state that this flash drive is also password protected. I would not put my family tree on a flash drive that did not have a password-protected component to it. There are many different ubs drives out there at different prices and storage capacities. The flash drive that I use for my genealogy has 256 MB of space on it. I keep my genealogy files and genealogy software on this flash drive. (I must state that I have other flash drives that I use for school.)

Software: For the software category, I would have to nominate the genealogy program that I use. I use Family Trees Quick and Easy, version 5. How did I come to choose this program? Well, a few years ago, my college's bookstore was selling some computer programs for five dollars or less, and I happened to notice that one of the programs was a family tree program. Since I already knew what the price for other family trees programs were being sold at, I bought the program because it was such a bargain. Even though I have tried some other free and demo versions of family trees, I have never been impressed by those programs. I like the program that I use, and I am happy with the program.

Website: For me, this category was the most difficult for me to make a decision. For the moment, I think I'll have to go with Rootsweb's message boards. As there are many different categories and topics for queries, I think many novice genealogist could find a lot of information on how to do genealogy research or where to find records. (I had a hard time coming up with this answer as there are many websites and blogs that I visit, and this was best I could do at the moment.)

So there are my three choices. Do you agree or disagree with me? As always you can leave a comment.

Some Interesting Articles ...

I've wanted to mention some articles that I found interesting over the past week or so, but I never got around to mentioning them. So here are some articles that I have found interesting:

• "Copyright Issues: Photographs" at GeneaBlogie
• "Age of Consent vs Age of Majority Explained" at Olive Tree Genealogy Blog
• "If These Walls Could Speak: A German Häuserchronik" at What's Past is Prologue
• "Building a Better Blog" at the same blog as above
• "What is Blogging? Why Would I Want to do it?" at Kinexxions
• "What's Next? European Genealogy & Social Networking" at 100 Years in America
• "European Genealogy Resources Online" at the same blog as above
• "Nagyon Köszönöm! The National Archives of Hungary in English" at the same blog as above
• "British WW1 Medal Cards on Ancestry" at Anglo-Celtic Connections
• "New Genealogy Guide for Finland Research" at AnceStories: The Stories of My Ancestors

I realize that I have listed a large number of articles, but I thought these articles were interesting. Enjoy!

Update at 2:30 p.m.: I added the links to the articles for Anglo-Celtic and AnceStories, and more post labels.

More on Kosovo and Serbia ...

A few days ago I mentioned that Kosovo had declared its independence. I've been watching the news, and I forgot to mention that the United States (along with some other countries) has recognized Kosovo as an independent country within the past couple of days. Now today, earlier this afternoon, I learned that protests were held in Belgrade. Some were peaceful but other protests were violent. And the U.S. embassy was attacked by those violent protesters. You can read more here and here.

I usually do not post on politics on this blog because I have another blog for that purpose, but I did so in this case as I thought my readers might have been interested in reading about the recent events with Kosovo. I realize that the issues surrounding Kosovo's declaration have long roots in history that are connected with strong emotions, but I don't have any sympathy for the Serbs who attacked the embassy of my country. I can't speak for my fellow countrymen, but I don't believe attacking another country's embassy will garner very much sympathy from the citizens of the attacked embassy. Especially when one remembers that Serbs attacked the Albanians in Kosovo back in 1999, I don't believe the average American will be very sympathetic to the Serbs. I could be wrong, but then, I can only speak for myself. I guess the best thing one can do is pray that this difficult and intense situation does not erupt into violence or war.

More Genealogy Blogs Added!

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

• Virginia Pioneers
• Primary Selections from Special Collections (Davenport, Iowa Public Library)

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

4th Edition of the Carnival of Central and Eastern European Genealogy

The fourth edition of the Carnival of Central and Eastern European Genealogy is now here! The topic for this carnival was a carousel, so articles on any topic that was related to Central and Eastern Europe was accepted. I had several articles submitted, and I believe this is largest edition of the carnival as of date. So read on:

First off, we have three articles from Lisa of 100 Years in America. The first article is An Eastern European Celebration in Pittsburgh. In this article, Lisa writes about the FEEFHS conference that will be held in Pittsburgh in early August of this year.

The next article from Lisa is Back and Forth Across the Kingdom of Hungary. In this article, Lisa writes about the Radix Log - Hungarian Genealogy Blog, and the useful links for Hungarian genealogy that a genealogist can find on that site.

The last article from Lisa is Crossing Borders and Language Barriers. In this article, Lisa writes about the difficulty she has in researching on her ancestors in Hungarian and Croatian language records.

Next, we have an article from Miriam of AnceStories: The Stories of My Ancestors. In 11. The Railroad Front, Miriam writes about the conditions her great-grandfather and fellow soldiers experienced in the 1918-1919 military expedition in Russia.

Next, we have two articles from Stephen Danko of Steve's Genealogy Blog. In The Website of the Plock Diocese, Steve writes about the information one could find about church records and priests in the Plock Diocese in Poland.

The last article we have from Steve is Abstracts of Presentations. This article was posted was posted on the United Polish Genealogical Societies blog, and the article contains abstracts of presentations that will be presented at the 2008 Conference in Salt Lake City, Utah in April.

Next, we have an article from Donna of What's Past is Prologue. In Polish Names and Feast Days, Donna writes about the Polish tradition of naming children after the Saint of the closest feast day.

Last, but not least, we have News From Eastern Europe ... from Jessica of Jessica's Genejournal. In this article, Jessica briefly writes about the recent events that occured in Kosovo and includes a link to a news article about these recent events.

And so that ends this edition of the Carnival of Central and Eastern European Genealogy. The topic for the next carnival will be on the traditional dishes of our ancestors from Central and Eastern Europe. The deadline for the next edition of the carnival will be March 21. The carnival will be posted on the 22nd. You can submit your article here.

I Wish This Wasn't True ...

I happened to be reading Chris Durham's blog when I came across his commentary on Alison Weir's new book. Apparently, one of Alison Weir's sources came from a World Connect family tree. After reading the Times' article and viewing the World Connect tree, I'd have to agree that using an online family tree as a source is not acceptable. To me, the listing of registers as a source was too generic; I did not know where I could find the source. The point of a citation is to give information on where one can find that source.

So, why is this important? When an amateur genealogist/family historian lists a source without including the information on the source's location or posts false information without correcting it, all genealogists/family historians look like fools. We appear to lack the professionalism of other people who do historical research. When a professional biographer or historian does this, false information is just perpetuated. It is bad enough that false information is spread around over the Internet. This misinformation does not need to be repeated in books.

Non-fiction Meme ...

Over the past few days, many genealogy bloggers have posted their responses to this meme. I wasn't directly tagged by any blogger but by reading Terry's post, I have become tagged. So, here is my response:

What issues/topic interests you most--non-fiction, i.e, cooking, knitting, stitching, there are infinite topics that has nothing to do with novels?

Well, I mostly read history books, but I also read a few genealogy books. Most of the genealogy books I read are how-to-do books. I also enjoy reading books about current events, different cultures and about different religions from my own. Most of the reading that I do is on non-fiction topics. I don't read as many works of fiction as I use to when I was younger.

Would you like to review books concerning those?

I already write mini-reviews of history books that I have read on this blog. I haven't posted a review lately, but eventually I'll get around to doing so.

Would you like to be paid or do it as interest or hobby? Tell reasons for what ever you choose.

I'm not paid now to do the reviews that I do. I have never thought about being paid, and I really do not feel like being paid for them. I don't believe my book reviews are very good to make money, anyhow.

Would you recommend those to your friends and how?

Only if I knew that they were interested in the subjects of books that I read.

If you have already done something like this, link it to your post.

Here are a few posts where I have reviewed a few history books:

• An Interesting History Book
• Another Interesting History Book
• Another Maritime History Book

I have only included the first three reviews. I don't believe these reviews garnered very much attention as they were posted very early on on my blog.

And now, I am supposed to tag ten other people. So, here are the ten I am tagging:

• Harold of Midwestern Microhistory
• Jennifer of But Now I'm Found
• CanadaGenealogy
• Olive Tree Genealogy Blog
• Terry Snyder of Desktop Genealogist
• The Ancestry Insider
• Chris of The Genealogue
• Two Sides of the Ocean
• Irish Family History
• The Polish Genealogy Project

Enjoy!

Carnival of Genealogy Posted!

The latest edition of the Carnival of Genealogy has been posted! You can read it here. The topic for the next carnival is on technology. What hardware, software and website do you use primarily in your research?

I Realized I Forgot One ...

I just realized today that I had forgotten to include another history blog. Originally, I had Mustaches of the Nineteenth Century listed in my history blogs list, but when I changed my template, the links to my history blogs got deleted. So, I've added this blog back to my history blogs list. I am terribly sorry for forgetting to add this blog. You can find this and other history blogs on the lower right hand page of the blog.

News From Eastern Europe ...

I just happened to notice yesterday that Kosovo declared its independence on the 17th. It will be very interesting to see what goes on in the Balkan Penninsula. You can read more about the declaration here.

On a side note, should I include this in the Carnival of Central and Eastern European Genealogy? Please let me know what you think. Thanks!

Added a Link ...

I just added a link to the submission page for my carnival. The link is below the Carnival of Genealogy and H.O.G.S. blogger images. It is a small rectagular image. I hope this makes submissions easier for everyone. Please let me know if this does not help. Thanks!

Just A Reminder ...

I just want to remind everyone that the submissions for the Carnival of Central and Eastern European Genealogy are due tomorrow, in case anyone hasn't submitted a post and want to do so. I will continue to accept posts up to 11:00 p.m. The topic for this carnival is a carousel. Posts written that deal with Central and Eastern Europe are welcome. The posts do not have to be recent posts.

Update, a few minutes later: I keep forgetting to mention the location of the submission link. It is toward the very bottom of the page. It is above the links to my yahoo groups. I'm terribly sorry about that.

Genealogy and History Thoughts - Column Twelve

I do not know about other genealogy bloggers, but lately, I've become a bit hesitant to post on any memories of living relatives.

I guess the best example at the moment is my Great Depression post. I could have included some of my grandparents' memories, but I just felt that that would be violating their privacy. I'm not sure if they would want to find their memories posted on the internet, so I just decided to play it safe and write in general terms. I've also written in mostly generic terms about my ancestors since the whole Internet Biography Database fiasco. I'm still uncomfortable with the thought that a genealogy company could take my words and call them their own. So, in order to prevent that, I've come to the decision to include as few indentifying details as possible. (Plus, one could possibly run into copyright violations if one is quoting or using information from another source.)

Still, I wonder how much should a genealogy blogger post on his or her family or ancestors. How much is too much? I really don't have the answer to this question. Has anyone come across this issue before? How did you resolve this problem? How much is too much?

As always, you can leave a comment with your thoughts and feelings.

Light Blogging ...

I probably won't be posting very much this upcoming week. I'll be busy.

My Family and the Great Depression ...

Obviously, I was not around when the Great Depression occurred, but some of my family was. So, where was my family during the Great Depression?

Well, a some of my ancestors and family were living in the Detroit area. Other ancestors were living in England. As to the experiences of my ancestors in the U. K., I don't know very much about their experiences.

As for my American ancestors, I have a much better idea of what they experienced. I won't go into details as to what their experiences were like in this post. All I will say is that it was a time of struggle for my family members. Having enough to eat was more important than passing down family stories, as life was very difficult. I can't completely comprehend what life was like during the Great Depression as I never lived through it or experienced conditions similar to my ancestors. So, I truly do not have a very good sense of what life was like back then.

More Genealogy Blogs Added!

I've added a few more genealogy blogs today. The blogs added are:

• St. Vincent Memories
• Nikki-ann
• CanadaGenealogy, or, 'Jane's Your Aunt'

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

More on Limericks ...

Over the past few days since I posted my limerick post, a couple of limerick posts on me have been posted in the comments section. I've been busy, so I haven't had a chance to post them before, but I will now.

The first one is from Terry:

Jessica is a student who blogs
(Wearing mittens) about some HOGS
As off to class through snow she slogs
To learn and to earn her degree.
Top priority is to study we decree ---
But at genealogy away she plugs.

The second one is from Janice:

Jessica stockpiles all the links she can muster,
Shining the best of them to a fine lustre
Quizzes, carnivals, and tips she includes in the cluster
If only she'd known of a very rich uncle
Thoughts of grad school would then not give her carbuncle
And she could master the world into which life has thrust her.

Thank you to both Terry and Janice.

Happy Valentine's Day!

I just want to wish everyone a happy Valentine's Day!

Re-added Links to the Genealogy and History Thoughts Columns

I just realized in the past couple of days that my links to the Genealogy and History Thoughts columns got deleted when I changed the appearence of my blog. I am terribly sorry for any confusion that it might have caused.

Here's My Best ...

The first genealogy awards are here! I've decided to maily focus on my posts from 2007. Since I began my blog in March of 2007, I had plenty of posts to review. I'll have to admit that this was not any easy post to write. I had a hard time choosing which posts to pick. Oh, and as a side note, everyone is free to disagree with me about my choices. Please don't feel hesitant to say whether you agree with my nominations or if you believe another post was worthy of the nomination. I appreciate any feedback. So, here are my nominations:

Best Picture: I realize that we were supposed to post old family pictures, but I've decided to post the picture I took of one of my ancestor's tombstone. (Everyone is free to disagree with me. I wasn't sure which picture to pick.)

Best Screen play: I guess the best post that would fit in this category would be this post: I Am My Own - Well Not Quite ... . I am not sure who I would want to play the parts of my ancestors and relatives. I really don't know enough of any of the personalities of any of the people that I mentioned in this post. I chose this post as I believed this was the closest to a screen play that I could find. Of course, the screen play of this post would probably fall under the category of comedy.

Best Documentary: I guess the best post that would fit into this category would be this post: One Puzzle Piece I Would Like to Solve. The only way that I can make this fit into the category of documentary is if it was portrayed as a historian searching for the answer by digging into old records. I can't think of any other way to portray this post and make it fit.

Best Biography: I have to admit, I don't have a post that fits into this category. The posts that I can come closest to are either one of my history book reviews or Speaking of the Know-Nothing Party. I guess the latter choice is the best pick as this was a brief analysis of the political leanings of a county where my ancestors once lived.

Best Comedy: My choice for this category is different from all of my other choices. First of all, this post was written this year, and secondly, my choice isn't a family story but a joke. My choice is Ten Signs You're Addicted to Genealogy. I think this was probably the funniest post that I wrote, but I could be wrong. If anyone disagrees with me or has a better choice from one of my other posts, please feel free to let me know.

And so, this ends my picks for the best of the best. This was fun, and I look forward to the next genealogy awards carnival.

Just A Quick Reminder ...

I just want to quickly say that the deadline for the Carnival of Central and Eastern Genealogy is February 18. The topic is a carousel.

First Edition of Where Were You? Carnival Posted!

The first edition of the Where were you? carnival has been posted. You can read it here. The topic for the next carnival is where were you or your family was during the Great Depression. Enjoy!

Limerick Post ...

Within the past week or so, Terry Thornton has posted a challenge for other genealogy bloggers to post limericks about their blogs. I am going to attempt to come with my own limerick. So, here goes my poem:

I live in the land of the mitten

where every gets written

on my blog,

from the weather to book logs

all the while I'm sittin'.

Okay, I tried. I don't think this is very good, but this is what I came up with at the moment.

Light Blogging ...

I probably won't be posting much for the next week or so.

Blog Changes ...

I've added a list of labels for my posts. You can find them on the lower right hand side of the page below the history blogs.

Snow - Again!

It is snowing again in Michigan where I am at, and the wind is really blowing outside. It is bad out there and it is cold. A person could easily freeze out there, even if he or she is wearing layers, especially if you happen to stop and stand for a few minutes.

This has definitely been one of the wildest winters that Michigan has had in a long time.

More Genealogy Blogs Added!

Today I have added several more genealogy blogs. The blogs added are:

• Dee's Genealogical Journey
• Geneaphile
• The Ballycastle Blog
• Nevada Genealogy

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.

Random Question ...

I was just wondering. How does a blogger figure out which of their blog posts are the most read? I've noticed that a few other genealogy bloggers have lists of their most read posts, and I was just curious as to one is able to figure it out. Any suggestions are welcome. Thanks.

Have Ancestors That Lived in Cuyahoga County, Ohio?

If you happen to have ancestors who lived in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, you might want to check out the Cuyahoga County Recorder's Office. They have an online database with images of their land records going back to (I believe 1810). You can find the website here.

An Interesting Quiz ...

I decided to take a look at Blogthings and see if this site had any new quizzes since I hadn't been to the site in a while. I'll be honest: some of the quizzes are okay or fall into the category of funny, but there are some quizzes on the site that I think are innappropriate. Anyhow, this quiz just happened to catch my eye:

You Are a Pundit Blogger!

Your blog is smart, insightful, and always a quality read. Truly appreciated by many, surpassed by only a few

What Kind of Blogger Are You?

So, what do you think? What type of blogger are you?

More History Blogs Added!

Over the past few days, I have added some more history blogs. The blogs added are:

• Boston 1775
• Appalachian History
• Scandalous Women

You can find these and other history blogs on the right side of the page. (It used to be the lower left side.) Any suggestions for other history or genealogy blogs are welcome.

A Non-Genealogy Blog

I just wanted to mention a non -genealogy blog that I just learned about within the last couple of days. I learned about it through a submission to the Carnival of Central and Eastern European Genealogy, and as the submission did not relate to the carnival, I was not going to include it with the next edition. Although I wasn't going to include it in the carnival, I thought I would mention it here: http://www.robschaumer.com/blog/ . You can read more about it here.

Genealogy Parade Floats Response Posted!

A listing of the genealogy parade floats have been posted at West in New England. You can read it here. Enjoy!

Weather Update - West Michigan

I just got back inside from participating in an outside-class function (It was for a class, but it wasn't during class), and the weather is just getting worse by the hour, if not by the minute. It has been snowing steadily since about 10 a. m. (or at least it wasn't snowing at 8 a. .m), and it is snowing ever harder than it was then. Right now, at about 4:17 p. m., it is snowing enough to be a partial white-out. At about 12:37, I'm guessing there was about half - in - an - inch to an inch of snow out, and now I'm guessing there is about three inches. (And I just heard thunder a second ago.) Either way, it is bad enough for my university to cancel classes and activites after four p. m. (My school rarely cancels classes.)

If you live in West Michigan, be careful out. If you live on the east side of Michigan, I would probably leave work a little earlier, as it is only going to get worse. The bad weather is coming.

Hoping For the Best ...

I've been hearing over on the news about the destruction down in the south. I'm hoping that bloggers who live down South are alright.

If I Had A Million Dollars ...

I would use it to pay for Graduate school and invest the rest of it ...

Well, I would do that, but that doesn't conform to the challenge's question. Both Becky Wiseman and Shelly Dardashti have posted their answers to this question, and now I will too.

If I had a rich uncle who gave me a million dollars to research my family history, what would I do? I couldn't tell my family, but I don't know if that would be a problem. I took over the research originally from my grandfather, and he still assists me in our research. My brother also helps me. Both help look up and read records when I visit places to do research. I don't believe that would change regardless if I recieved money.

I think the biggest change for me would be that I wouldn't have to rely upon family members to help pay for obtaining records or ordering microfilms. I probably would be able to pay my way to do research in countries that my ancestors lived before coming to the U. S.

So, I don't know how much that would change my research. As I don't have an uncle that is rich, I think this will still be a fantasy.

Speaking of the Lost Colony ...

In light of GenLady's post about the Lost Colony, I thought I would recommend two history books that I read on the Lost Colony.

The first book that I want to recommend is Big Chief Elizabeth: The Adventures and Fate of the First English Colonists in America by Giles Milton (New York: Picador, 2000). This book is written in the style of popular history books. In other words, it is easier to read than many other history books would be. The history of the colony and world events are mentioned in the book, and the author also gives his speculation on the fate of the lost colonists.

The other book is Roanoke: Solving the Mystery of the Lost Colony by Lee Miller (New York: Penguin Books, 2000). Unlike the other book, this book is written more in the style of an investigative report, only with a historical analysis twist. This book also explores the events and history of the colony and world, but this book also speculates on who was most likely responsible for the failure of the colony. The author also gives her opinion as to the fate of the colonists.

I can't say which book I like more as I enjoyed both of these books. To me, they were both very interesting. In addition to these books, you might want to check out the blog, Searching for the Lost Colony DNA Blog for further information.

Finding Cousins ...

I couldn't help but notice that Randy Seaver posted an article on finding living cousins, and I have decided to explain how I found a couple of cousins.

So, how did I find a couple distant cousins? Well, I found one cousin from the family tree that that person had posted. I found two other cousins from message board queries they had posted. Of course, I must state that I only found these people because they posted either looking for information on their family or posted their family tree that connected with a branch of my tree. Outside of those methods, I have not connected with any other distant cousins. I think the main reason I was able to find a couple of cousins is that those cousins were searching for information and wanted to be found. Of course, I have posted responses to other queries and have not received a response as that person did not update his or her e-mail. I guess that is just one of the realities that we must all face when searching for cousins.

Blog Adjustments

I've changed the template somewhat; I've just changed to a three column. (I had to go to another site.) I've had to add a few more things back onto to my blog, so if you blog is not listed anymore, that is why. Please let me know if I've lost your blog link, and I'll put you back up. I'm terribly sorry for losing anyone's blog link. Thanks!

More Genealogy Blogs Added!

I have added several more genealogy blogs today. The blogs added are:

• Janet the Researcher
• Jewelgirl's Searching For Family Branches
• Sharon Klein's Genealogy
• The Virtual Dime Museum

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

Carnival of Genealogy Posted!

The carnival of genealogy has been posted! You can read it here. The topic for the next carnival is the Academy of Genealogy and Family History Awards! That's right, we get to nominate our own posts for best picture, best possible screenplay, best documentary, best biography and best comedy. Enjoy!

Blog Changes - Again!

As you can see, I've made changes to my blog again. This time I have changed the template as I was getting bored with the template that I had. Plus, I wanted another template that I could make changes to much easier than I could with the previous template.

Ten Signs You're Addicted to Genealogy ...

I've decided to take another stab at coming up with genealogy humor. After reading Chris Durham's post a few times, I could not help but come up with my own humorous post. (Or an attempt at it.)

So here are ten signs you're addicted to genealogy:

10. You have dreams where you see your family tree.

9. You are grumpy for most of the day if you do not get a chance to read articles from genealogy blogs or read about genealogy techniques.

8. You bring notebooks, pencils, and possibly tape recorders or camcorders to family gatherings, even if it is not for a holiday or special event.

7. You can remember what a first cousin five times removed is but you can't remember what you need to buy at the grocery store.

6. Family members run away from you when they see you coming towards them with a notebook and pencil in your hand.

5. You are always finding cousins related to you, no matter how distant, and introducing them to your family members.

4. Local archivists, librarians and county officials know you on a first name basis.

3. You write or speak about your ancestors as if you have known them your whole life.

2. You stop to transcribe the tombstones in every cemetery you drive by.

1. If you did not have to eat, sleep or work, you would spend all of your time at an archive.

Response to "Where Were Your Ancestors in 1808" Posted!

Donna over at What's Past is Prologue has posted a list of all the articles that responded to the question, "Where Were Your Ancestors in 1808?" You can read the article here.

Poll Results ...

The poll is now closed, and the results are in. The question for this poll was, "Should I continue the Carnival of Central and Eastern European Genealogy?" Nine people voted, and the results are:

• Yes - 7 votes
• No - 0 votes
• I don't know - 2 votes

I guess I'll be continuing the carnival for the time being. To those who voted, thank you! Enjoy!

A Cute Quiz ...

I learned about this quiz from reading one of Janice's articles, and I thought I would try this quiz out myself. So here are my results:

Take the Quiz here!

Blog Changes

As you might have noticed, I have added a new graphic to the title of my blog. It is supposed to be a 3-d shape. This graphic was something simple that I could do with my computer's paint project. Some day I would like to have a unique look for my blog, but I still don't know how to do that. Any suggestions or advice would be welcome.

More Genealogy Blogs Added!

Again, I have added more genealogy blogs today. The blogs added are:

• But Now I'm Found
• Searching for the Lost Colony DNA blog
• Kasper & Anna
• Genealogy - Northwest Ohio

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

More Genealogy Blogs Added!

Today I have added several more genealogy blogs. The genealogy blogs added are:

• Nordic Blue
• GenLady
• Genealogy - Southeast Michigan
• Irish Family History
• Ohio Historical Society Archives/Library Blog

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

Where Was I in the Censuses?

The only two censuses that I might have been in so far are the 1990 and 2000 Censuses, but I do not know if any census takers ever came to my house. In 1990, I would have been too young to remember. In 2000, I remember that a census was occurring, but I don't recall anyone coming to the door to ask about our family. I was under the impression that the census bureau would be mailing those sheets. I asked my dad if anyone had ever come by, or if we ever received a form, but he said no. So, I do not know if my family was recorded or not. So, I can't say for sure if I am in either census, even though I was living in the same house for both censuses.

Another Genealogy Carnival!

I just happened to be looking at Blog carnival's listings for history blogs, when I happened to notice another genealogy blog. This carnival is called Where Were You? The carnival is hosted by GenLady. The first carnival will be posted on February 11th. The topic for this carnival is: Where were you when the censuses were taken? You can find more information on this carnival here. Enjoy!

How Addicted Am I?

Other genealogy bloggers have blogged about how addicted they are to blogging, and I thought I would take the test as well. So here are my results:


54%How Addicted to Blogging Are You?

I thought I would be higher, but oh well, I guess it is high enough. Tim Agazio challenged other bloggers to take this test.

Carnival of Irish Heritage and Culture Posted!

The third edition of the Carnival of Irish Heritage and Culture has been posted! You can read it here. The topic for the next carnival is on the heritage of Ireland, and will be presented in the form of a parade. The deadline for the articles are March 14. Enjoy!

Blue Eyes: Who Would Have Known?

Over the past several hours, genealogy blogs have been a buzz with the news that people with blue eyes have a common ancestor. You can read more about it here. I guess that's why the genes for blue eyes are considered recessive.

More History Blogs Added!

Today I have added two more history blogs. The history blogs added are:

• Walking the Berkshires
• The Victorian Peeper

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

My Cloud of Words ...

Over the past couple of days, other bloggers have been posting clouds of words from their own blogs. I've decided to do so myself, and so here is my word cloud for my blog:

added american ancestors ancestral ancestry antrim appears area article ballymena blog born carnival central check church civil column com comments connections contest copyright county creative date depict diary eastern eastman edition email european family familysearch float gene genealogist genealogy groups heritage history index information interesting ireland irish jasia jessica john journal labels library link lisa lived local married michigan miriam moment morales nancy news newsletter online partition past pennsylvania people pm poll posted powered project records reminder research roots scenes scottish smith society states stories subscribe think thoughts topic town tree united vital war west western writing written yahoo year

created at TagCrowd.com

More Genealogy Blogs Added!

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

• Harold Henderson's Midwest Microhistory: A Genealogy Blog
• The Polish Genealogy Project

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

More on Pennsylvania Records ...

I've run across some other links on the drive to index Pennsylvanian vital records. One short article can be found in the Ancestry newsletter. The other link came from an e-mail that I received from a genealogy group.

Some Disturbing News ...

I just ran across this story a few minutes ago on yahoo, and I thought that maybe some of you would want to read this article. It is the actions of people like that who make me sick.

A TV Genealogy Show!

I just got my copy of the February edition of the Reader's Digest in the mail yesterday, and learned that the show African American Lives 2 will be put on the air by PBS on February 6 and 13. From the little blurb that I read, it appears that the show will be very interesting and exciting. I hope to find out what time it is to be shown on my local PBS channel. Enjoy!

3rd Edition of the Carnival of Central and Eastern European Genealogy

It is time for the third edition of the Carnival of Central and Eastern Genealogy. The topic for this carnival was stories. The stories could range from ancestral stories to folklore to history.

First off, we have 1775: Yemelyan Pugachev written by Jason of Executed Today. This article gives information and background on the man who led an uprising against Catherine the Great of Russia and also alludes to the uprising's impact upon Russian literature.

Next, we have two articles, Snapshot 1908, Galician Partition of Poland and Snapshot 1908, Russian Partition of Poland written by Jasia of Creative Gene. These articles deal with what Jasia's grandparents' lives would have been like in their ancestral villages in the year 1908.

Now, last but not least, we have Travel Writing Contest! written by Michael of Traveling Stories Magazine. As the title of the article suggests, this article is about a writing contest. Although this article does not relate to Central or Eastern Europe, I have included it as it still fits into the stories category.

And so that ends this carnival. The topic for the next carnival is a carousel. Article topics for this carnival can deal with stories, traditions, food, history, etc. of the countries of Central and Eastern Europe. The deadline for the next edition of the carnival will be February 18th. You can submit your article here.

A Family History Float ...

Earlier this month, Bill West put out a challenge for genealogy bloggers to come up with their own parade floats. Having just read Randy Seaver's post, I've decided to come up with my own float.

As to what I would have on my float, it is more difficult to decide. As I have mentioned before, I have ancestors from the U. K., Germany and early-1800s America, and as my ancestors come from a variety of areas, it would be difficult to adequately represent my heritage through scenes or images on my float. I think the best representation of my heritage would be to depict scenes from the history of Michigan that my ancestors would have experienced since I have ancestors who continuously lived in Michigan for the past 150 years.

So, what scenes would I depict? I probably would have a scene from the Civil War era, and the rest of the float would probably depict the major industries that Michigan has been known for in the past. Other than that, I can't think of what else I would put on my float as family has lived in Michigan for a long period of time.

Antrim County, Ireland

So far in my research, I have discovered that I have at least two ancestors who were born in Ireland. At the moment, I do not know where in Ireland they were born, I do know where and when they married. One piece of information that one can glean from a Scottish birth certificate is the date and place of the child's parents' marriage. As one of my great-grandfathers was born in Scotland, I have a date and place. According to this certificate, my great-great-grandparents were married in Ballymena, Antrim County, Ireland.

Antrim county happens to be in Northern Ireland. According to Ballymena's town council website, Ballymena has been settled for centuries. You can read more about the history of this town here and here. One of the attractions appears to be a mountain located north of the town of which more information can be found here. From looking at the official tourist site, I think I would be fascinated by the history and the old churches and buildings of the town.

Of course, I do not know if either of my ancestors were born there or lived there. All I know at the moment is that they got married there, and I do not know at which church they would have married. Hopefully, I will be able to find that answer in the near future.

New Poll Created!

I have created a new poll, and the question is "Should I continue the Carnival of Central and Eastern European Genealogy?" Your choices are:

• Yes
• No
• I don't know.

The reason that I have posted this poll is that I have not gotten very much of a response since I started this carnival, and I am wondering if it is worth it to continue this carnival. I would appreciate any suggestions or advice.

Carnival Deadline Extended Again!

Again, I have decided to extend the deadline for the submission of entries of the next carnival. This time you have the opportunity to submit an article up until 9 p. m. eastern standard time on the 28th. The topic for this carnival is on stories. Entries can be on family stories, folklore or history as long as it relates somehow to Central and Eastern Europe. You can submit your entries here.

A Family Dinner Affair?

If you could have dinner with four of your ancestors, who would you chose and why?

A difficult question to answer, if you ask me. So, who would I chose to have dinner with? Well, I would definitely invite my Civil War ancestor, Adam. Why? Well, I have a lot of questions to ask, especially questions about his children, siblings and parents. I'd want to confirm who his siblings were and the names of all the children. Also, I want to ask him about his service and his childhood. As you can see, I have a lot of questions to ask him. Plus, I want to see what he looks like as I don't have a picture of him and get an idea of what his personality was like.

And now for the difficult part: choosing the other three ancestors to invite. Do I split my invitation by gender or by the parental side that the ancestor came from? It is definitely a complex decision to make.

I definitely would like to invite one of my German - speaking ancestors, not only to ask him or her questions about his or her family, but also so that I could (technically speaking) practice speaking German. I realize that is an impossibility, but since it is an imaginary situation, it could be a hypothetical possibility. I am not sure, though, which German ancestor I would invite.

I suppose for the last two ancestors, I could invite Jacob and Barbara Detwiler. I definitely have questions to ask them about their parents and family members. Plus, I would like to know what convinced them to move to Michigan.

Of course I do have two other ancestors that I could invite. Again, I would be asking those two ancestors the same questions that I would be asking Jacob and Barbara.

As to whether I would want to want to eat a home cooked meal or a meal at a restaurant, I think I would prefer a home cooked meal as that meal would give me an idea of what my ancestors ate, the economic status of my ancestors and, of course, the ethnic heritage of my ancestors.

As to which era I would want to eat in, I would rather eat in the era of my ancestors because as a history major, I would find experiencing my ancestors' eras as exciting and adventurous, and because eating in their eras would give me an idea of what their lives were like. Plus, I believe it would be easier for me to experience their lives as I don't believe they would be able to handle the way of life in my era. I think it would be too overwhelming and shocking for them.

Genealogy and History Thoughts - Column Eleven

Some days I wish I had old letters that my ancestors wrote, but I'm not fortunate enough. I do have two old letters, but they are from cousins of my ancestors and not my direct ancestors. One letter I am unsure of who wrote the letter and to whom the letter was addressed. All I know is that the letter was in some papers of my great-grandmother's cousin. The second letter is again from the same branch, except this time, it was written by my great-grandmother's aunt to her son (my great-grandmother's cousin).

So, why am I writing this? Well, old letters are nice to have as they can shed light upon ancestors in way that other records cannot do. What I mean is that one can get a sense of what an ancestor's personality was like from reading the letter they wrote. Also, you would probably learn about the ancestor's friends and hometown. You would get a much better sense of what a person was going through. In short, a letter is a real glimpse into history. It is one of those rare times that history can come to life for a person. Newspapers articles can do that as well, but I think letters are more effective at making history sink in a person's mind. (You may or may not have remembered but I did write about the effect some old newspaper articles had on me in a previous column.)

Of course, it would be nice, but again, I know nothing of any other old family letters. I would have loved to be able to read letters from the nineteenth century, but as far as I know, any possible letters did not either survive. Or the letters never existed as I know my Civil War ancestor did not know how to write, nor his parents. I am not sure if his son even knew, although it appears that two of his children did learn to read and write. Maybe I just haven't found any of those letters, or maybe one of my cousins has some old letters. I have not yet checked.

So, how many of you have found or have letters written by your ancestors? How did you find them?

Reminder About the Carnival of Central and Eastern Genealogy

I'll be the first to admit it; the deadline for this carnival came up faster than I expected. Again, the topic for this carnival is on stories. I will still accept entries through tomorrow and up to noon on the 27th. I have received a few entries, but the majority do not appear to be on the topic.

What's Being Indexed by FamilySearch Indexing?

I happen to be a volunteer indexer for FamilySearch Indexing, and I thought I would just mention some of the records being indexed at the moment. A couple of records are:

• Indexes of the Irish BMD
• 1850 U. S. Federal Census

Of course there are other records being being indexed but the moment, these are two projects that have caught my attention. If you want to find out more information, click here.

Genealogy Societies and Membership ...

Over the past few days, several bloggers posted on the issue of genealogical societies and membership. Jasia, Terry and Denise were just a few of the bloggers who posted on the issue. I couldn't help but add my thoughts to this debate.

I realize that one of the issues is that membership is declining in genealogy societies, but I would like to bring up briefly why members of my generation are not members. I am not a member of a genealogical society, nor have I ever been a member. I haven't been a member because I have been a student, even when I began doing genealogy research in high school. Back then, I did not consider joining because I would not have been able to afford the dues, nor would I have had the time to go as I was busy with school. Even though I am now in college, I still do not give much thought to joining a society as I am busy with school. My first priority is to getting my school work done. Joining a society is not very high on my priority list. Will that ever change? Maybe, but that won't be until after I've graduated and have a job.

Do college students join anything? Sure. Many students join clubs on the college's campus. Of course, I do not know of how many people my age are into genealogy. If they have not joined any genealogical societies, it is probably because of school and work. A college student who goes to school full-time and works, usually does not have much more time than to be involved in a college club outside of school and work. Also, if a college student is working to pay for their education, he or she probably is not going to be able to afford the dues of a genealogy society as a college education is quite expensive. (Of course, I also do not know how much genealogy societies charge in the way of dues.)

Plus, this is a time in a person's life when people are dating, getting engaged or getting married. I don't believe that many of the people my age who are into genealogy (if there are many) would be interested in joining a society as this is a time in which a person's life is rapidly changing. This is the time of a person's life when he or she is just starting to live on his or her own. Of course, this probably also explains why many people in my age group do not express an interest in genealogy. As the lives of people my age are undergoing changes, my peers are more likely to focus on the present and not think about their family's history. If you asked many of my peers about genealogy, they would probably not know what it is or not care. I hesitate to put down not caring, although that is probably true in most cases. When you are just starting to gain Independence, you probably are not going to focus on the past or on your family as you just starting out on your own. Also, some people of my age are not interested in genealogy as a result of the behavior of other family members. For most of my peers, this is a time in a person's life when one is more interested in their individuality than the identity of their family.

So, what do you think? For those of into genealogy who are in college, am I right or am I wrong? As always, you can leave a comment with your opinion.

Poll Results

The poll is now closed, and the results are in. The question for this poll was, "What topics would you like to see covered in the Genealogy and History Thoughts columns?" Six people voted, and the results are:

• Personal research experiences - 1 vote
• contemporary genealogy issues - 4 votes
• Information on historical events - 0 votes
• Information on historical places or landmarks - 1 vote
• Information on the history of a location - 0 votes

To those that voted, thank you for participating. Enjoy!

Oh The Weather ...

For the past few days, it has snowed almost continuously, and it is still snowing outside. (At least that has been true for the area of West Michigan where I am at.) I'm guessing that there is at least four inches or more out on the ground. Sometimes I wonder if my ancestors experienced winters in Michigan similar to the winters I have experienced, or if their winters were worse. Someday, I'll get around to looking that up.

More History Blogs Added!

Today I have added two more history blogs to the list. The blogs added are:

• Detour Through History
• Local History Blog - Ann Arbor District Library (Note: I learned about this blog from Jasia's post.)

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

About Scotland's People ...

Earlier today, I noticed that Dear Myrtle had posted on the site of Scotland's People. Even though this article was on the site joining with another U. K. genealogy site, I thought that I would post an article about the site.

Scotland's People is a pay-per-view site to view the vital records and census records of Scotland up to the early 1900s. Usually one pays for a price for a number of credits for a period of a time. I have never tried the site, although I have read the about information on the website. Again, I did not mention this site in my previous post because one has to pay for credits to view the information. The purpose of my previous post was to mention free sites.

I have not tried this site as I haven't had the opportunity to do so. Also, I do not know how beneficial this site would be to me as my research has indicated that my ancestors only lived in Scotland for about a generation. Therefore, I don't know if this site is any benefit to me.

More History Blogs Added!

Today I have added a couple more history blogs to the list. The blogs added are:

• Bay City, Michigan History
• Michigan Civil War Blog

I learned about these two blogs from Jasia's post. You can find these and other history blogs on the lower left side of the page below the genealogy blogs. Any suggestions for other history or genealogy blogs are welcome.