German Genealogy Web Seminar Tonight ...

Yesterday, I received an e-mail to remind me that the ancestry web seminar for German genealogy is tonight at 8pm. I will post my thoughts after I've attended the seminar. Stay tuned ...

Just A Little Note ...

I'm sure you might have noticed that I have not posted that many posts in the past few days, and I thought I would explain why that is so. For the past few days, I have been having a little difficulty concentrating on writing posts. I have a few posts that are still in draft, and I'm having a slight writer's block in what I want to say. One of those posts is the Genealogy and History Thoughts Column 15, and that has been backlogged since the 28th of June. I'm hoping to get it done soon, and I'll post a note when I do get it posted. In the meantime, I have posted my thoughts on Ancestry's new home page, and you can read the article here. Stay tuned ...

FamilySearch Lab's Record Search Databases ...

I haven't noticed any new database additions to the record search in a while. Yesterday, though, I noticed that West Virginia deaths were updated. Oh well, I'm sure something new will be posted there soon ...

Another Interesting Article ...

I just happened to notice an interesting article on yahoo news. You can read the article here.

I realize it does not really have to do with genealogy or history, but I thought it was interesting, nevertheless.

Poll Results!

The poll is now closed and the results are in! The question for this poll was, "If you wanted to read posts on history, what topics you like to see? Six people voted, and the results are:

• History of a locality - 2 votes
• Historical Event - 0 votes
• Historical Analysis - 1 vote
• Historical Mysteries - 2 votes
• Historical Controversies - 1 vote

I'll definitely have to do some research. To those who voted, thank you for voting. Enjoy!

Here's Another Interesting History Article ...

I just happened to notice this interesting article on a stone tablet and the early roots of Christianity. You can read the article here. Enjoy!

My Thoughts on Ancestry's New Home page ...

A couple of days ago, I happened to read Ancestry blog's posts 1 and 2 on the new home page, and I thought I would post my thoughts here. Even after I read the posts and the comments, I also decided to log into Ancestry. (I don't have a subscription with Ancestry. My sign-in is due to the rootsweb message boards.)

So, what was my impression of the new home page? I don't think the new home page is anything special. It's just so-so to me. Obviously, I don't find the new home page impressive, but I also don't see why the new home page is special. The home page, to me, appears to be nothing I haven't seen before. Of course, I haven't tried searching through this new home page. (If the search results are just as poor as the new search, my opinion will probably a bit different than it is now.) I realize that websites will change their pages around at times, but this change does not strike me as something new. It looks very similar to the main Ancestry home page that I see before I log into the site.

One of the things that I did notice was that family trees were put at the top of the page. I don't have a family tree connected to my home page, so I can still see where the search engine is from my computer screen. I personally do not want to put my family tree online, for privacy and safety concerns, so the addition of having a family tree box at the top of the page just makes me want even less to create a tree with Ancestry. Plus, I don't believe adding a "create your family tree" box to the top of the page will sit well with Ancestry's customers. I think adding that box just makes people feel that ancestry only cares about creating family tree databases. In light of incidents that happened last year, I think many genealogists are wary about sharing any information with Ancestry, especially if they believe Ancestry might claim that contributed information as their own. Of course, that's just my thoughts.

So, what do you think? As always, you can leave a comment.

Week of June 29, 2008: More Genealogy and History Blogs Added!

I have added several more genealogy and history blogs. The blogs added are:

• The Poplar Grove Project (This is the blog for the Maryland Plantation where a goldmine of records were found. I learned about this blog from an online genealogy group.)
• CelticGenealogy.org
• Genlighten Blog - Genealogy Documented (I learned about this blog from Miriam's post.)
• The Chart Chick (I learned about this blog from Becky's post.)
• Travels in Czech, Russian, English, Estonian, Polish (I learned about this blog from Harold's post)

You can find these and other genealogy blogs on the lower left side of the page, and you can find these and other history blogs on the right side of the page.

13 Days Left ...

That's right. You have thirteen more days to submit your article to this upcoming edition of the Carnival of Central and Eastern European Genealogy. I plan to post the edition on July 18.

Finally, I Got Part Of An Article Series Done ..

Yes, I have finally posted another backlogged article today. You can read it here. I will be posting some more posts on searching for my German ancestors. Enjoy!

One more backlogged post to go ...

51st Edition of the Carnival of Genealogy Posted!

The 51st edition of the Carnival of Genealogy has been posted! You can read it here. The next edition will be hosted on Lisa's blog, 100 Years in America. The topic for this next edition will be on:

"AGE. As family historians, we take time to carefully mark the birth dates of our forebearers. We print out family tree charts including this all-important data. We make it a point to note at what age family members have married, had children and passed away.Take some time to look over the data that you have collected on members of your family tree, and share a story of age with us for the upcoming edition of the carnival. Do you have a member of the family who went to work to support the family while still of a tender age? Someone who accomplished something that was typically done by others beyond his or her years? A couple who married young? A couple with disparate ages? A family member who accomplished something of note at an advanced age? How about family members that lived many years, outlasting many of their relatives and friends?With the understanding that "age is often a state of mind", share your family story about someone whose story stands out because of their age, either young or old. Submit your blog article for the Carnival of Genealogy using our carnival submission form. Past posts and future hosts can be found on our blog carnival index page."

13th Shades Of The Departed Guest Column Posted!

The 13th Shades of the Departed guest column has been posted! The author of this column is Denise May Levenick, and you can read the column here. Enjoy!

And Some Ancestry News ...

I was unable to mention this yesterday, but I thought I would make mention of a couple of Ancestry. com news. In the first item, Ancestry is digitizing records at the NARA, and in the second, Ancestry has changed their home page.

Happy Fourth of July!

I just want to wish everyone a happy Fourth of July. Enjoy!

And Another History Article ...

I just happened to notice this article on yahoo news. Apparently, George Washington's childhood home has been found.

Two More Articles You Might Find Interesting ...

I just happened to notice these two articles on yahoo news. The first article has to do with the explosion in Siberia over a hundred years ago, and the other article has to do with the difference between modern and Stradivarius violins. I thought someone might find these articles interesting, and I hope everyone enjoys reading them.

Family History Center Visit 7

Earlier today, I went to the local Family History Center. I spent about two hours there, but I did not accomplish very much. I tried to copy images from the Holy Trinity Church records microfilm, but I was unable to do so because the film was too dark to be scanned. I am still waiting for the microfilm that I ordered back in May, but it has not yet come in. I also decided to order two more microfilms. One microfilm is of records from Huntingdon County, Pennsylvania and the other microfilm is of church records from Saddleworth, Yorkshire, England. I'm hoping that these microfilms come in soon. Wish me luck, and stay tuned ...

Finally! I Got Two More Done ...

I finally posted two posts that I have had back-logged for a while. Yesterday, I posted a post on my Oswalt ancestors, and today, I posted on a possible ancestor, which I have submitted to the Carnival of Genealogy. Any now, back to posting other posts ... Stay Tuned!

Google Analytics' Statistics: Results For June 2008

Once a month, I thought I would post the Google Analytics results for my blog, and to keep it to once a month, I just decided to list everything in one post. So, here are the results for the month of June 2008.
my
The top ten countries, in number of visits, to my blog are:

1. United States - 712 visits
2. United Kingdom - 27 visits
3. Canada - 21 visits
4. Not Set - 18 visits
5. Australia - 9 visits
6. Israel - 5 visits
7. Germany - 3 visits
8. Finland - 3 visits
9. South Africa - 2 visits
10. Spain - 2 visits

The top ten states in the U. S., in number of visits, are:

1. Michigan - 177 visits
2. Texas - 68 visits
3. California - 57 visits
4. Illinois - 42 visits
5. Not set - 35 visits
6. New York - 27 visits
7. Utah - 27 visits
8. Ohio - 23 visits
9. Washington - 21 visits
10. Oregon - 20 visits

The top ten cities/towns in Michigan, in number of visits, are:

1. Hamburg - 68 visits
2. Whitmore Lake - 39 visits
3. Oak Park - 11 visits
4. Sterling Heights - 10 visits
5. East Lansing - 8 visits
6. Redford - 7 visits
7. Grand Rapids - 5 visits
8. Livonia - 4 visits
9. Huntington Woods - 3 visits
10. Detroit - 2 visits

The top ten articles for this month are:

1. FamilySearch Lab Adds More Databases to Record Search - 47 views
2. What on Earth? This is a Stupid Lawsuit ... - 43 views
3. A Bell and Beau Couple: My Great-Grandparents - 30 views
4. No! Ancestry's New Search Is Worse ... - 23 views
5. Researching in FamilySearch Lab's Michigan Vital Records Databases, And More Genealogy Blogs I Forgot ... and Week of June 15, 2008: More Genealogy and History Blogs Added! - all tied at 20 views
6. Week of June 9, 2008 and Earlier: Genealogy and History News - 19 views
7. An Interesting Article On a Genealogy Gold Mine ... - 17 views
8. 8th Edition of the Carnival of Central and Eastern European Genealogy - Father's Day Edition!, Genealogy and History Thoughts Column 14 - My Thoughts on Another "Genealogy is Bunk" Article and Update On That Lake Ontario Shipwreck ... - all tied at 16 views
9. Tombstone Maker Website and They May Look Cute ... - both tied at 14 views
10. Things Handed Down: Traits and Characteristics and Another Lesson Learned the Hard Way ... - both tied at 13 views

Well, that is it for this month's Google Analytics Report. To my reader, I just want to say, "Thank you for reading my blog."

Carnival of Central and Eastern European Genealogy Reminder

I just want to remind everyone that submissions for the next edition of the Carnival of Central and Eastern European Genealogy are due on July 17th at 11:59 P. M. The topic for this upcoming edition is on research experiences or research tips. I will accept entries that deal with research from Germany to Russia to the Balkans Peninsula. You can find the submission link on the lower right side, below the pictures of other genealogy carnivals.

And Another Poll ...

I have created another poll. The question for this poll is, "If you wanted to read posts on history, what topics would you like to see?" The choices are:

• History of a locality
• Historical event
• Historical Analysis
• Historical Mysteries
• Historical Controversies

You can chose more than one answer, and you have a week to vote. Enjoy!

Poll Results!

The results are in, and the poll is now closed. The question for this poll was, "Are you new to genealogy?" I created the poll with the thought that maybe posting some basic how-to on genealogy would be beneficial to those of my readers who might have been new to genealogy. Nine people voted, and the results are:

• Yes - 0 votes
• No - 9 votes

I guess it would not be worthwhile for me to post articles on the basics of genealogy. To those who voted, thank you for voting.

Genealogy and History Thoughts Column 15 - Dealing With the Ugly Side of History: Slavery in the United States

Earlier today, I posted a link to an article on one family's discovery of their involvement in the slave trade, and afterwards, Thomas asked me what my thoughts were about this article and its affects on genealogy research. To be honest, this is a difficult topic to write about, and I'm not sure I can write a post that does justice to this topic. I will try my best, though.

Do I believe a discovery like the one the family made above would deter or stop people from doing genealogy? Maybe. I think it depends upon whether or not the genealogists in question were prepared to expect to find ugly family secrets. Even though I have no clue how many people might be scared away from doing their genealogy, my guess is that the number would be fairly small. (Of course, I could always be wrong.)

To be honest, I think if I found a dark family secret, it would still come as a shock to me even though I know I might uncover something ugly in my family's past. I have not uncovered any slave-owning ancestors yet, but I am not going to be presumptuous and claim that I do not have any ancestors who were. I might still uncover an ancestor who was a slave-owner.

If I find a slave-owning ancestor, what will I do? To be honest, I do not know what I would do, and I guess I will not know unless I come upon this situation. But, I think the best solution would be to be honest about my family's past. It probably would be difficult to admit, but I do not believe hiding or white-washing my family's past would be a good decision. History is full of incidences where humans have behaved ugly or done horrible things to other humans, and it does not do anyone any good to try to hide the past.

An Article On A Family Secret ...

A couple of days ago, Thomas wrote about a documentary that he watched on one family's role in the slave trade. Well, I just happened to find a brief article on the family today from the History News Network. You can read the article here.

Looking For My German Ancestors: My Research Experiences - Part 1 ...

I did write an earlier post about researching German ancestors for a previous edition of the Carnival of Central and Eastern European Genealogy, but it was a fairly brief post. Plus, I wrote the post in terms of generalities. I did not go into detail about my experiences. So, how did I start?

Since my known German ancestors are on my paternal side, I first started out by talking to my paternal grandparents about my ancestors. (Well, actually one is supposed to do that anyway, regardless of ethnic background, but I digress.) From my grandma, I was able to learn the names of her grandparents and the names of two of her grandma's brothers. With that information, I was able to do searches in the censuses, and find the rest of the family. Of course, it also helped that my grandma had a family tree of one of her lines as well. Even though I had that family tree, I still verified the information that was on the tree, and I am glad I did so, as I found several errors on it, especially the portion of the family tree where one of the generations in the U.S was concerned.

After searching for my ancestors in the censuses, the next step for me was to start research in Michigan's vital records. Since I found my ancestors living in Saginaw and Bay counties in the censuses, I decided to start looking for records in those counties. Up at the county buildings for both counties, I was able to find marriage and death records for a few of my ancestors and their siblings. Of course, I did not find all the records that I had hoped to find, and I am still looking for records on my ancestors in this country. In another post, I will post more specifically on records that I collected and still collecting on my ancestors. Stay tuned ...

Finally ... I Got It Posted!

I finally got the Genealogy and History Thoughts Column 14 posted! I had been working on it for a while, and I have finally got it done. You can read it here. Enjoy!

12th Shades Of The Departed Guest Column Posted!

The 12th Shades Of the Departed guest column has been posted! The author of this week's column is Miriam, and you can read it here. Enjoy!

A Probable Ancestor: The Independent and Spirited Christoph Friedrich Cotta

Is he my ancestor? Well, I say probably because all the sources that list him as the father of my ancestor are secondary sources. I don't have any primary sources, yet, to back up the claim. (The microfilm that I am waiting for might have a primary source document connecting him to my ancestor.) I don't know much about him, except from the few secondary sources I have read. One of those secondary sources happens to be a family tree.

This family tree, though, only has a brief paragraph on him, and that paragraph is in German:

"Chr. Friedr. Cotta, Dr. Jr., geb. 1758 in Tuebingen (cross symbol) 1838 in Trippstadt, Pfalz; einst franzos. Praefekt von Strassurg, Bezirksrichter von Weissenberg u. Landau; getr. 1796 mit Sara Stamm, Weinhaendler's Tochter, geb. 1771 in Strassburg, (cross symbol) 180? in Weissenburg."

According to this paragraph, Christoph Friedrich was born in 1758 in Tuebingen, Germany, and that he died in Trippstadt, Palatinate, Germany. It also states that he held the public offices of Perfect in Strasbourg, France and judge of the district court in Weissenberg and Landau, Germany, and that he married Sara Stamm in 1796. The family tree also lists his children as Emil and Amelie Cotta, and that Amelie married Adolph Kees. (Amelie and Adolph Kees are my ancestors according to not only the family tree but also the marriage record of their daughter, Emilia.)

Of course that paragraph does not tell me much about him. From another secondary source that I, it appears that he was a revolutionary in the area of present-day Germany during the French Revolution. Although I don't know yet what his exact role was, it appears that he was a part of the leadership of the Mainz Republic. (I'll have to do some more research about the Mainz Republic, and I'll probably post another article on the French Revolution.) The Mainz Republic, though, did not last very long, and Christoph apparently fled to Strasbourg. I don't know much more about what he did during the French Revolution, and I'll have to do more research. Of course, I consider him to be an independent spirit because of his ideological beliefs and the role he played in the French Revolution, even if it turns out to be a minor role.
___________________________________________________________________

Sources

1. Cotta Family Tree, printed ca. 1930s-1940s (according to family tradition. Family tradition also claims that only five copies were made.)


2. Haas, Heinrich. Geminde Trippstadt: Ihre Buerger von 1666 bis 1890.
   
3. "Marriage record of Friedrich Klippel and Emilia Catherina Charlotta." Heiraten 1840-1875. Zivilstandregister, 1803-1957, (Trippstadt, Germany). FHL Film INTL 489217.
4. Wangermann, Ernest. The English Historical Review. (April 1991) 106:419. 404-406. JSTOR.

So, What Do You Think? Please Advise ...

I'm writing this post with the hope that some of the more experience genealogists will be able to advise me or give a suggestion. The problem I am trying to solve is outlined below:

Although I have written about my Civil War ancestor, Adam Oswalt, before, the posts have always been fairly brief. For this post, though, I plan to write up a little bit on him and his possible siblings. I am hoping that more experienced genealogists will either be able to confirm for me that I am right in my analysis or what I should do to make links. So, here is where I am at: I'm trying to figure out if Adam had brothers named William and Benjamin. I have circumstantial evidence that suggests that they are, but I don't have actual documents yet that confirm this link. What I do have, though, are a death certificate, a Civil War pension file, a couple of marriage records, and some census records that imply a relationship.

I think I'll start with the death certificate and Civil War pension file. On Adam's death certificate, his parents are listed as Benjamin Oswalt and Mary Rough, and his birthplace is given as Pennsylvania. From Adam's Civil War pension file, I learned that he was born in Huntingdon County, Pennsylvania. He did mention that his parents were illiterate, but unfortunately, he did not name them. Of course, when I did a census search for Huntingdon County, I was able to find Benjamin and Mary Oswalt. (They were the only Benjamin and Mary Oswalt couple in the county. Sometimes their surname is spelled Oswald.) For the 1850 census, the children listed in the household were: Solomon, William, Margaret, Benjamin and Nancy. The only problem was that Adam was not listed in this census. Nor could I find him in the 1860 census. In fact, I could not find Adam in the censuses until the 1870 census, and by that time, he was already living in Three Rivers, Michigan. (The only census that suggests he was living in Benjamin and Mary's home was the 1840 census, but as most genealogists know, the 1840 census only lists the name of the head of the household.)

To make things even more interesting, in the 1860 census, I found a Solomon and William Oswald living in Saint Joseph County, Michigan, although they were living in different households. William Oswald, though, was living with a Daniel and Margaret Black. Originally I did not know Margaret's maiden name was Oswalt until I just happened to find the marriage record for her second marriage. When she married David Elsey, she listed her parents as Benjamin and Mary Robb. Outside of having William living in Daniel and Margaret's household, the significance might not be much, except that when Benjamin Oswalt married Elizabeth Freelove, Daniel Black was listed as one of the witnesses, suggesting a family relationship.

Up until I found Margaret's second marriage, I really did not have anything to connect Adam to William and Benjamin other than the fact that they lived at some point in the same county. And I only had a land record where Adam sold some land, that listed an Elizabeth Oswalt as a witness. (Benjamin had married an Elizabeth Freelove, and William had married an Eliza Mosier. I suspect that the Elizabeth listed might have been Benjamin's wife. Although I don't have the marriage record yet for William and Eliza, I do know what her maiden name is from her second marriage record.) Of course, outside of those two records, I don't have much to connect them to Adam, and to make things worse, both William and Benjamin's death records list the names of their parents as unknown. I have not yet checked William or Benjamin's pension files, so I might find a connection still.

As for searching church records, I am still trying to figure out which church Adam might have attended. Other than the fact that he was a Protestant, I don't know what his religious beliefs were. To make things more difficult, when he married Barbara Detwiler, he was married by a justice of peace and not a minister, so I'm still trying to figure out what his religious beliefs might have been. As you can see, I'm having some trouble with this, especially since I don't have any family traditions, of what might have been his religious, to go on.

So, what do you think? Do I have enough to connect Benjamin and William to Adam, or are there other sources of information I should seek first before I list them as brothers? What do you think should be my next move? Any suggestions are welcome and appreciated. Thanks.

No! Ancestry's New Search Is Worse ...

I just happened to notice The Ancestry Insider's post on Ancestry discontinuing their old search and switching to the new search. At the moment, I personally believe the new search is inferior to the old search. When I was looking through the free newspapers last week, I noticed that new search would not eliminate any newspapers, even if I specified the name of a state in the keyword section. I would still get too many irrelevant matches. Obviously, it was frustrating for me to have to try to sort through everything that the new search brought up, and in the end I had to switch back to the old search. With the old search, it was easier for me to narrow down the number of matches since I could specify the state that I wanted. I could not do that with the new search.

I did try the new search once before the historical newspaper database was available, and again, I was not impressed with the new search. I still had the same problem with the new search as I did when I looked through the newspaper database. Even if I had specified a state for an ancestor, the new search still brought up similar names for other states. It seemed as though it did not matter whether I narrowed down the search; I still got too many irrelevant matches.

I personally believe that if Ancestry were to switch over to the new search today, it would be a mistake. The new search is much worse than the old one, and I think many genealogists would be upset with a search engine that was worse than the old one. Many customers would be dissatisfied with Ancestry, and would feel as though they were getting less for their money. (Ancestry subscriptions are expensive enough already.) Besides, I don't understand why Ancestry needs to change the old search. The old search seems to do a fairly decent job. Unless the new search is improved and made to be better than the old search, there is no point in changing the search. Why fix something that's not broke, and why replace it with something much worse and much inferior to the old one?

Somewhat Of A Home ...

Well, the picture isn't exactly of a home. It is actually a picture of some of the buildings in the on-campus apartment complex where I lived up at school for the past two school years. The houses in the pictures are single homes that house four people in each building. I ended up living in a single-person efficiency room instead of living in one of the houses with three other roommates. The apartment houses, though, are very nice, outside as well as inside.

I ended up choosing this picture because I couldn't think of a good picture that would celebrate home, but since this is where I called home for eight months out of a year, I guess it counts. Just as an end note, I took that picture this past school year in the fall.

Some Interesting Articles ...

I just happened to notice two interesting articles on Yahoo news, and I thought I would share them with everyone. The first article deals with personality and bilingual speakers. (I know this has nothing to do with genealogy of history, but I thought I would mention this article because I like to study different languages.)

The other article has to do with Homer's epic poem, the Odyssey. Apparently, the date of Odysseus' return home has been determined. You can read that article here. Interesting and intriguing, isn't it?

And More Genealogy Blogs I Forgot ...

Yes, I did it again. I forgot a few more genealogy blogs that I had linked to before. The blogs added are:

• All My Branches
• My New Mexico Ancestors and Favorite Recipes
• Radixlog - Hungarian genealogy news blog
• Genealogy Blog - Geneanet
• GenDisasters
• Family Research - English, Scottish, and Irish Genealogy

You can find these and other genealogy blogs on the left hand side of the blog. If I have forgotten your blog, please let me know. Thanks.

How Many Times Have My Ancestors Been Married?

I just happened to notice Randy's post on the most married person, and I thought I would do a similar post, only I would be doing this post on my ancestors. So, how many times have my ancestors been married?

Well, so far, the most times one of my ancestors has been married is three times. I've had a few ancestors who have been married twice (One, of which I have written about before.), but this ancestor was married more than that. For all I know is that he had been married at least three times. His first marriage only lasted about two months before his wife died, and then he didn't apparently remarry until eight years later. His second marriage lasted about nineteen years, and he again out-lived his wife. As for the third marriage, I have not been able to figure where or when he married his third wife. In fact, I don't know what happened to her. From family stories, it sounds as though she walked out on him, and his children apparently didn't care what happened to her. (It's a long story.)

So, how many ancestors do you have that have been married more than once, and how many times were they married?

Duh! I Did It Again! I Forgot Two ...

Two more genealogy blogs, that is. I had these two blogs added to my list before, but I forgot to add them again when I had to rebuild the list. So, the two blogs added are:

• The Practical Archivist
• OakvilleBlackWalnut

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

Anybody Know French, German, Italian or Spanish?

I've happened to notice a couple days ago that FamilySearch Indexing has made some Italian vital records for indexing and some church records for Quebec. There are also church records in German that need to be indexed, and many Spanish records. I thought I would mention this in case someone didn't know about this.

Genealogy and History Thoughts Column 14 - My Thoughts on Another "Genealogy is Bunk" Article

A few weeks ago, I noticed that Randy had posted on another "Genealogy is Bunk" article, and I thought I would post my response. I realize I am late in responding to the article. I had originally planned to post on this article at the time Randy posted on the article, but I never got around to writing this column at that time until now. (I was also going to post on the Vatican and Mormon records controversy, but I do not think I will now as too much time has passed and many other bloggers have covered the topic.)

So, why should I care now, weeks after the fact? Well, I thought I should respond because of Mr. McKinstry's accusations and because of his reference to the growing lack of knowledge of history. I realize that he is only writing about conditions in the United Kingdom, but the situation with the lack of knowledge in history is similar to the situation in the United States. Those who are my age or younger generally lack a good knowledge of history, and I do not believe genealogy is the reason for the decline in knowledge. No, the apathy of a majority of youth towards history, due to the way history is taught, is the cause for the decline. In public schools, history classes are associated with the memorization of dates and facts. If a student is just expected to memorize some dates and basic facts for a test, what need is there for a student to remember? Or to be interested in history when it is just a few basic facts and does not have any connection to him or her? To explain what I mean, here is an example:

Suppose a student was learning about Andrew Jackson in U. S. history class, and that student learned that Andrew Jackson was the seventh President of the United States from 1829 to 1837. Do you think that student will find these facts interesting or will want to have an interest in history? My guess is probably not. Or suppose this student also learns that Andrew Jackson ran for President in 1824 but did not get the office, even though he had the popular vote, and that Jackson's opponents accused John Quincy Adams and Henry Clay of stealing the election. Would this student be interested now? Maybe, but I wouldn't be surprised if the student still found history boring. Or suppose in addition to learning this, this student also learns that he had an ancestor who was a supporter of Andrew Jackson. Would this same student be more interested in history? My guess is that the history of this time period would have more meaning to that student.

Of course, this only a hypothetical situation, and doesn't necessarily mean students would suddenly become more interested in history. But I think it would help make history more relevant to students. In my case, genealogy has helped make history come alive for me. As I wrote in Column 3, just reading an article in a newspaper from the area my ancestors lived brought history to life. I did learn about the event from school, but learning from a textbook only made it feel one dimensional to me. (And I love history.) Yet, when I was doing research on my family, it brought what I learned in class to life. I was not and am not trying to do away my country's history; genealogy just brings history to life and help reinforce what I learned. For me, it gives history context. Genealogy has also forced me to learn the geography of the areas that my ancestors lived, and to learn the history of other countries where my ancestors lived. Plus, I have had to learn at least one foreign language to be able to go back for some of my ancestors, and I'll probably have to learn at least another language to continue my research. If studying history, geography and foreign languages are legitimate, why is genealogy not legitimate?

Of course, I can only speak for myself, but I am sure genealogy has helped other genealogists to remember or learn the history of their country. I don't believe genealogists are trying to replace a national history; I think they are trying to reaffirm and acknowledge their nation's history by figuring out how the events of history affected their ancestors. Our ancestors did not live in a vacuum; events in their country and around the world affected them as well. Combining genealogy with a nation's history gives context and understanding to why things happened the way they did. Social historians, archaeologists and anthropologists study the way common people lived, and genealogists are doing the same, except that it is on their own families. If it is legitimate for a historian to study how the average person lived in a certain time period, why should it not be legitimate for genealogists to do the same, in the context of their own families? For it is not just kings, queens, military officers and politicians who make history; average, everyday people also make history. Wars could not be fought without the participation of common people, and movements for change could not occur without the participation of the average person. Common people play just as much of an important role in history as their leaders do.

Genealogy, though, is much more than just a teaching tool for history. It could also save lives. When a person studies his or her family history, that person inevitably learns about his family's medical history. If one's ancestors died of an inheritable disease like cancer or heart disease, it could save that person and their family members' lives by forcing them to take action to change their lifestyles or get medical check-ups. Only a few months ago, their was news about the discovery of a family's history of colon cancer. Through the study of their DNA, doctors and geneticists were able to determine the cause of this family's colon cancer was caused by a genetic mutation, and they were able to narrow down the genetic mutation to one couple who came to America in the 1600s. Obviously, the study of this family's ancestry and medical history enabled scientists and doctors to figure out the mutation in their genes. If they could do it for this disease, in this family's incidence, who is to say that wouldn't be able to do so for another family. In addition, if one knows that they are susceptible to a certain disease, he or she might be able to catch it early enough to live a longer life. Is not the study of genealogy legitimate, if only for this reason?

I could probably go on and on, but I think it is obvious that most genealogists are not doing genealogy to be snobby. There are legitimate uses for genealogy. Of course, I could be wrong about my analysis. So, what do you think? As always, you can leave a comment with your thoughts.

Another Blog Change ...

I've made another blog today. I've added some links to the top articles of 2008 so far to the page. You can find the links at the bottom of the page just above the Carnival of Central and Eastern European Genealogy widget. Of course, I'll update the links as the year goes by. Enjoy!

A UK Newspaper Link ...

I also want to mention a link that I learned about today from the same group I learned about the article. This link is a link to the UK Times' archive. Articles from 1785 to 1985 have been digitized, and can be viewed for free at the moment. One has to register, though, to see the images. I've registered and I am waiting to receive my confirmation e-mail at the moment. I'll let you know if I find anything on my UK lines. Stay Tuned ...

An Interesting Article On a Genealogy Gold Mine ...

I just learned about this article from a yahoo genealogy group I am member of, and I thought I would mention it. Apparently, a gold mine of records has been discovered in the Attic of a Maryland plantation. You can read more about it here. Enjoy!

New Poll Created!

I've created a new poll in order to determine how many of my readers are new to genealogy. I'm trying to figure out if posting articles on to how-to-do genealogy would be interesting to my readers. Any suggestions are welcome. Thanks.

Another Twist To The Postmortem Photo ...

I just happened to notice that an update to the postmortem photos articles has been posted at Shades Of The Departed. You can read it here. Enjoy!

What on Earth? This Is A Stupid Lawsuit ...

I just happened to read Randy and the Ancestry Insider's posts on the lawsuit filed by TGN (the company that owns Ancestry.com) against the maker of the Legacy Family Tree. Ancestry claims that Legacy has infringed upon the copyright of Ancestry's Family Tree Maker. I realize that copyright infringements are very serious, but from looking at the different boxes for the software, it appears to my layman's judgement that the lawsuit is petty. (I'm not a lawyer, so I'm not an expert. This is just my opinion.)

To me, the legacy box does not share very much in common with Ancestry's Family Tree Maker boxes. The Family Tree Maker boxes have a branch with leaves of a certain color, and each color is different for three editions of the Family Tree Maker. The Legacy box, however, only has a orange maple leaf on the box. (That is, if you look at Ancestry Insider's picture of the box.) If you look at the picture in Randy's post, however, the box does not look a bit like the boxes for Ancestry's software. Of course, that is just one of the aspects mentioned on the Ancestry Insider's post that I thought I would mention.

From a public relations standpoint, I think this lawsuit was a mistake for Ancestry. This lawsuit only makes Ancestry appear more of a money-grubbing company. I think this lawsuit will only drop Ancestry's approval rates drop even more among its dissatisfied customers. Of course, that is just my opinion.

So, what do you think? As always, you can leave a comment.

Week of June 15, 2008: More Genealogy and History Blogs Added!

Over this past week or so, I've added a few more new genealogy and history blogs to the lists. I have also relinked to genealogy blogs that I had linked to before. I think I've got all of the blogs listed from before, but I don't completely remember. If I've missed your blog, please let me know. Thanks. (Oh, unless I state where I found these blogs, I have most likely found them listed either in the Carnival of Genealogy of Chris' Blog Finder.) The blogs added are:

• The History Man - (I learned about this blog from Wig-wag's post)
• African-American History & Genealogy in Nashville, Tennessee
• Ahnentafel
• West Country Genealogy
• TwigTalk
• The Guilford Genealogist Blog
• Routes and Roots - discovering South Africa, past and present
• Roanoke Beacon Blog
• Louisiana Genealogy Blog
• Jackson County, Indiana - (I learned about this blog from Harold's post.)
• HistoricalTownMaps Blog
• Forest County Historical Society
• East Coast Genealogy

Well, I think that is all of the new blogs added recently. You can find the genealogy blogs to the left side of the page and the history blogs to the right side of the blog.

11th Shades Of The Departed Guest Column Posted!

The eleventh Shades of the Departed guest column has been posted! The author of this week's column is Susan A. Kitchens, and you can read her column here. Enjoy!

Family History Center Visit 6

I visited the Family History Center earlier today, and I went through the same microfilm as in previous visits. The microfilm for Trippstadt is still on back-order. Anyhow, I was able to find one more person in the microfilm, but I could not find the other three people I was looking for in my previous visit. It may be possible that they were baptized in another church in the area, or that I missed them when I was going through the film. Some of the images are dark and some of the ink on pages has bleed into other pages. Those may be the reasons why. Either way, I can try again, and maybe I'll order another microfilm or two. (I just haven't decided which ones I want.)

An Interesting Article on Hawaii ...

I just happened to notice this article on Hawaii, and I thought I would post a link to it.

So, what so you think? As always, you can leave a comment with your thoughts.

Got An E-mail ...

I just received an e-mail last night from a response I left on a message board over a year ago on a probable ancestor. I'm excited and thrilled! I can't wait to hear back from her! I'll keep you posted. Stay tuned ...

Another Personality Quiz ...

I thought this was a cool quiz, so I decided to take it. Here are my results:

You Are Fall!

Thoughtful Expressive Creative Poetic Smart

What Season Woman Are You?

Of course, I would like to take personality quizzes that relate more to genealogy. So far, I haven't seen too many.

Scanning Photographs ...

For the past few days, I have been scanning old family photographs that my grandma has. Almost all of these photos are photos that I have never seen before. Most of these pictures appear to have been taken in the 1930s and 1940s, and I think many of the pictures are beautiful. These photos were taken by my late great-aunt (who did not have any children), and I consider myself lucky in that she labeled some of the pictures. I also consider myself lucky since she did not glue the pictures onto the pages of the album. (She used paper frame corners to keep the photos in the album.) Unfortunately, she did not label all of the pictures, so there are several that I have no clue who are in the photos.

In addition, many of the photographs have the original negatives behind the photo. I have been debating whether or not to scan in these negatives. Does anyone know if scanning will harm the negatives. Is scanning the negatives in a good idea? Any suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks.

Oops! I Forgot To Post My Thoughts ...

A few days ago, I posted an article and links on postmortem photos, but I forgot to add something. Well, I forgot to include my thoughts on this topic. My apologies to those who were disappointed.

So, what are my thoughts about postmortem photographs? Well, postmortem photographs have struck me as a bit surreal and creepy. I know I did read somewhere else about postmortem photos before footnoteMaven posted her articles on the subject, but I can't remember where or when I read it. The only postmortem photograph that I have seen in my family was a picture of an infant taken sometime in the 1910s. I knew the infant was dead because he was lying in his casket in the photograph. Of course, I also knew who it was from what my grandma had told me. When I first looked at that photograph, it was surreal to me. I could have easily mistaken the baby for a doll, if it were not for the fact that the baby was in the coffin. (Well, the baby was small, so that's why I almost mistook it to be a doll.) Of course, one does not expect to find postmortem photos in their family collections, so it would be very easy for someone to want to believe the deceased was not real. I obviously was not prepared to see a picture of that type, the first time I saw that photo.

None the less, the photograph struck me as hauntingly beautiful in the way all of the objects were arranged in the picture.

50th Edition of the Carnival of Genealogy Posted!

The 50th edition of the Carnival of Genealogy has been posted! You can read it here. The topic for the next carnival will be on a family member who had an independent spirit, and will be hosted at Destination: Austin Family. Enjoy!

Update on Irish Seminar

Well, I can't seem to be able to get this seminar. I happened to notice that ancestry said the presentation will be up at 8:00 p.m. tomorrow. I'm not sure what that means, but I couldn't get the presentation to work for me, if it was even presented. I have not received any e-mails to inform me whether or not there were any technical difficulties. Needless to say, I'm a bit frustrated. If someone could tell me whether or not the Irish research web seminar was even presented tonight, that would be nice. Thanks.

Ancestry's Irish Genealogy Research Web Seminar ...

I signed up to take the Irish genealogy web seminar offered by Ancestry.com. It was supposed to start at 8:00 p.m. EST time, but as of 8:30 p.m., the web seminar has not started. If it does start sometime tonight, I will post on the web seminar after it is done. Stay tuned ...

Google Analytics Poll Results!

The results are in, and the poll is now closed. The question for this poll was, "Do you like reading posts on my Google Analytics results?" Five people voted, and the results are:

• Yes - 3 votes
• No - 2 votes

I think I will still keeping posting Google Analytic posts, but only once a month. To those who voted, thank you for voting.

This Makes Me Sick!

Here's an article on an issue that genealogists need to be concerned with: vandalism of cemeteries. It makes me sick and angry to think that there are people out there who would vandalise cemeteries. Why can't people leave the dead people to rest in peace in their graves?

Update On that Lake Ontario Shipwreck ...

As you may remember, I posted an article on the discovery of a shipwreck in Lake Ontario. Well, I just happened to notice that Tim Agazio posted an update to this article. You can read it here.

Summer Reading Challenge: Book Review 4

Well, I have finished reading another book. The book I chose to read was From Front Porch To Back Seat: Courtship in Twentieth-Century America by Beth L. Bailey (Baltimore, Maryland: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1991). This book falls into the categories of history and women's studies. As the title suggests, the book is on a history of Twentieth Century courtship/dating practices in the United States, but the book only covers practices from the early 1900s to about 1965.

The book is interesting, but I do not believe I would recommend it. The book was obviously written for academia, so I do not believe the book would be of interest to most people. Of course, if someone is doing research into U. S. dating practices of the past, then I would recommend that that person read this book. Outside of that, this is not a book for children as the subject matter is what I consider "adult reading material."

8th Edition of the Cabinet of Curiosities Posted!

The eighth edition of the Cabinet of Curiosities has been posted! You can read it here. Enjoy!

What Do You Want To See?

I'm trying to figure ways to increase the number of readers of my blog, and I was just wondering what types of articles my readers would like to see on the blog. So, What type of subjects or posts do you want to see on this blog? Any suggestions are welcome, and you can leave your suggestions in the comment section. Thanks.

Speaking of Father's Day, Here's An Article ...

I just happened to find an article on yahoo about the origins of Father's Day. You can read it here. (I should mention that the first half of the article relates to Father's Day. The other part has links and statistics that seem a bit negative towards fathers.)

Happy Father's Day!

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

An Interesting Article on a Great Lakes Shipwreck

I just happened to learn about this article from one of the online genealogy groups that I am a member of, and I thought I would share this article. A shipwreck dating from the American Revolution was found in Lake Ontario, and you can read more about it here.

8th Edition of the Carnival of Central and Eastern European Genealogy - Father's Day Edition!

The eighth edition of the Carnival of Central and Eastern European Genealogy is now here! The topic for this edition was similar to the last edition except that this edition is in honor of Father's Day. This edition is a little bit larger than the last, and after some technical difficulties, here are the submissions:

First off, we have an article from Elizabeth O'Neal of Little Bytes of Life. In John Andrew Pado: Loving Life and Family, she writes about her husband's ancestor, who came from what used to be Czechoslovakia, and memories of him from her husband's family.

Next, we have four articles from Steve Danko of Steve's Genealogy Blog. In The Declaration of Intent of Damian Niedzialkowski -1, he writes about a possible relation to his Niedzialkowski ancestors, and the vital records information he obtained about him and his family from the Declaration of Intent. In The Certificate of Arrival for Damian Niedzialkowski -1935 , he writes about the information he obtained from Damian's certificate of arrival. In The Petition for Naturalization of Damian Niedzialkowski -1938, he writes about the information he learned from Damian's petition for naturalization. In New Discoveries About Damian Niedzialkowski/Damian Cosky, he writes about the discovery that Damian's name change, and about further plans for research.

Last, but not least, we have an article from Jessica Oswalt of Jessica's Genejournal. In A German From Russia: Anton's Story, she writes about her ancestor who came from Russia, and about family memories that family members have of him.

Well, that concludes this edition of the Carnival of Central and Eastern European Genealogy. The topic for the next edition is on research experiences and techniques. What experiences have you had researching for your ancestors, and do you have any techniques or tips for doing research on ancestors from this area? Submissions are due on July 17th, and the next edition will be posted on July 18th. You can submit your articles here.

Poll Results for Carnival of Central and Eastern Genealogy Poll

The poll relating to the Carnival of Central and Eastern European Genealogy is now closed, and the results are in. The question for this poll was, "Are you planning to submit an article of the 8th edition of the Carnival of Central and Eastern European Genealogy?" Three people voted, and the results are:

• Yes - 2 votes
• No - 1 vote

To those who voted, thanks for voting. The 8th edition will be posted sometime later today.

2nd Edition of Smile For the Camera Carnival Posted!

The second edition of the Smile For the Camera Carnival has been posted! You can read it here. The topic for the next edition is on photos of homes. Enjoy!

They May Look Cute ...

As you may have remembered, I wrote a post about my two dogs several weeks ago. Since this upcoming edition of the Carnival of Genealogy is on pets, I thought I would share a little bit more information on my dogs, Ben and Casey. (I have had other pets besides my dogs, but I don't want to write about fishes and hamsters I had in the past.)

As I mentioned before, Ben and Casey are mixed with Schnauzer and Terrier (which type of terrier, I do not know), and they love to run and bark. (Not surprising, since that is a characteristic trait of those breeds.) They both ten -going-on-eleven years old, and are still very hyper. Before I go any further, I think I should introduce my dogs separately.

To the right of this paragraph is a picture of Ben. (He is the one who had surgery a few weeks ago.)I do have other pictures of Ben, but I chose this one because it highlights the characteristics of his ears better than any other picture. As I have mentioned, Ben likes to run and bark, and he barks at almost anything that moves (but not cars going down the street), especially people and animals walking down the street or strangers that come up to the house. (Anyhow, I will spare everyone from the sound of his barking. I will not post that.) He is also territorial, and is not friendly with strangers. Once he gets used to dealing with a new person after a few days, he becomes a sweetheart and comes to love that person. (The only exceptions to this are the vets and groomers. He is always good and sweet for them, although he goes nuts when he sees other animals in the waiting room at the vet's.) A couple parts of his personality that has always been with him since he was a puppy are his hyper behavior and nervousness. (I don't know if it is just a part of the personality of the breed or not.) I don't think I need to add anymore to this paragraph about his personality.

Of course, I could think of many stories of Ben to tell, but I don't think I will mention any at the moment. Instead, I'll just say that I think I should have named him Houdini. (I'll let you guess why.) Oh, and Ben does not play fetch. If you throw something and he grabs it, he will take it to a corner. He will not bring the object back to the thrower.

And now onto Casey. To the left is a picture of Casey. He is much more relaxed than Ben and friendlier. Unlike Ben, Casey loves to play fetch, and he will bring back the object to the thrower. Casey also has hunting blood in him, and he gets excited every time he sees an animal out in the yard. Casey can also do other things, but I don't think I'll mention those. I'll just say that he can jump and climb up objects.

Well. that is a little bit more about my dogs. I realize I spent more time on Ben, but Ben is my dog. Casey is actually my brother's dog. Sometimes they can be precious, and other times, well ... (I don't think I need to say more.)

10th Shades Of The Departed Guest Column Posted!

Yes, I know I am late in posting this, but the tenth Shades of the Departed guest column has been posted! The author of this week's column is Lisa, and you can read it here. Enjoy!

Update to the Article About the Church Found in Jordan

I just noticed this update to the post I posted on the Christian church found in Jordan. The article is from the History News Network, and you can read it here.

Another Carnival of Central and Eastern European Genealogy Poll

Since I have not yet received any other submissions besides my own that fit for this edition, I was wondering if people were still planning to submit articles to this edition.

Please let me know if you need more time. I will still accept submissions as long as they submitted to before Father's Day.

Limited Free Searching Of Ancestry's Newspapers

I just happened to read Randy's blog, and noticed that he had posted on Ancestry's limited-time offer on their historical newspapers. You can also read about it here. Enjoy!

Summer Reading Challenge: Book Review 3

Well, I have finally finished reading my third book. I've been reading several books at the same time, so it's been a while since I've had a chance to post one of these posts.

The book that I have just finished is Lincoln At Home: Two Glimpses of Abraham Lincoln's Domestic Life by David Herbert Donald (Washington, D.C.: White House Historical Association and Thornwillow Press, 1999). The book is short, coming only to about 96 pages long, and the book is focused on Lincoln's private life. One part of the book is divided into his and his family's life in the White House, and the other half of the book has transcriptions of letters between Lincoln, his wife, and their son, Robert. The book is very easy to read, and includes end notes at the end of the book that explains the context of the letters. Since I did not find any objectionable material in the book, I think it would be a good book for children to read and to use for reports.

Week of 8 June 2008: More Genealogy and History Blogs Added!

I've added a couple more genealogy and history blogs this week. The new blogs added are:

• Taneya's Genealogy Blog (I learned about this blog from Randy's Best Blog Articles of the Week post.)
• TeachGenealogy (I also learned about this blog from another one of Randy's posts.)
• Polish-American Genealogy Research
• Twig Talk
• Valeehill Genealogy Blog
• Wig-Wags (I learned about this blog from a World History Blog post.)

Of course, I should also state that I have not yet finished posting back up all of the posts that I use to have listed. I am still working on reconstructing the list.

Postmortem Photos: A Good Article To Read and My Thoughts

Within the past week, there has been a debate going around about postmortem photographs. A couple of interesting and informative articles on postmortem photos were written by footnoteMaven on her Shades of the Departed blog, and read the articles here and here. You can also read about the medicine bottles in one of the photos here.

Submissions for the 8th Edition Due Today!

I just want to remind everyone that submissions for the upcoming edition of the 8th Carnival of Central and Eastern European Genealogy are due today by midnight. If you need more time, please let me know. I can extend the deadline if it is needed. Thanks!

Week of June 9, 2008 and Earlier: Genealogy and History News

This is the news relating to genealogy and history that I have noticed for this week and the past few weeks since my last post on this topic. So, here's this week's news:

• My post on database additions and updates for FamilySearch Lab's Record Search. Also, check out the Ancestry Insider's post for more information on the updates.
• The article on the discovery of a missing lighthouse. (Also check out my post on the topic.)
• An article on the discovery of an early, Christian church. (I also posted on this.)
• Dear Myrtle's post on bill to preserve U.S. history in Congress. You also posted two follow-up posts, here and here.
• Detroit's winning of the Stanley Cup. (I don't know if anyone considers this history or not, but it will become a part of sports history books some day.)

Well, I think that is all of the news of this past week or so. If I have missed any news, please let me know. Thanks!

Another Lesson Learned the Hard Way ...

As you might have remembered, in March, I posted an article on the importance making sure that one backs up his or her information after my computer crashed. Well, I'm really embarrassed to mention this, but I did not completely learn my lesson the first. No, my computer did not crash this time. Instead, my genealogy information was accidentally erased from the flash drive I had it on yesterday. I was trying to fix a problem with my flash drive, and everything on the drive was completely erased. So, now, I'm going to have to reinstall the family tree maker and re-enter all of the information that I have been working on for the past four years. Plus, I'll have to rescan some pictures that I did not add to my other flash drive the last time. Oh, well. I will definitely, though, make sure I back-up the information on to another device or program after I redo everything. If you have information on a flash drive, make sure you back it up on something else so that you do not have to redo work.

Another Reminder For the 8th Edition of the Carnival of Central and Eastern European Genealogy

I just want to remind everyone that submissions are due tomorrow (by 11:59 p.m.) for the 8th edition of the Carnival of Central and Eastern European Genealogy. Again, the topic is on a male ancestor from the region.

Another Article You Might Find Interesting ...

I just happened to notice this article, posted on Yahoo, about archaeologists in Jordan discovering the first Christian church. You can read the article here. Enjoy!

Family History Center Visit 5

Earlier today I went back to the local Family History Center. Again, I did searching through the microfilm of church records for Holy Trinity (now known as St. Peter's). I did find a few more siblings of ancestors, but I was still unable to find a couple of my ancestors' siblings ( and children). I am still waiting for the other microfilm I ordered on Trippstadt, Germany deaths as it has not come in yet. Apparently there is a backlog on orders of microfilms, so I have held off on ordering any more microfilms until the other one comes in.

Another Quick Poll ...

I have created a new poll today in order to determine if certain posts are interesting to my readers or not. The question for this poll is: "Do you like reading posts on my Google Analytics results?" Your choices are:

• Yes
• No

You can only vote once and have about a week to vote. Enjoy!

Updates and New Databases In FamilySearch Labs' Record Search

I just happened to notice a couple days ago that FamilySearch's Record Search had updated some of their databases and added a new database. It appears that more images and names were added to the 1850 U. S. Census database. Also, the Philadelphia Marriages Index was added (images only). The Texas deaths, 1890 to 1976 (?) might also be new, but I don't remember if it was there before or not.

Another Google Analytics Post: The Top Ten Posts Of This Blog For The Past Month

I'm not sure if posting information from Google Analytics about my blog is interesting to my readers (if not, please tell me), but I thought I would post the top ten posts (in number of views) of this past month. The top ten posts are:

1. Here's An Interesting Article ... (with 71 views)


2. Things Handed Down: Traits and Characteristics (with 47 views)


3. FamilySearch Labs Adds More Databases To Record Search (with 31 views)


4. And Other Genealogy And History News That I Forgot To Mention (with 20 views)


5. 7th Edition of the Carnival of Central and Eastern European Genealogy (with 15 views)


6. At The Beach ... and Speaking of Funny Place Names ... (tied with 13 views)


7. Tombstone Maker Website; My New Year's Resolutions: Five Months Later; 49th Edition of the Carnival of Genealogy Posted!; and Just Wanted Everyone To Know ... (all tied with 10 views)
8. So, What Does It Mean To Be Irish? (with 9 views)
9. This Week's Genealogy and History News ...; 65th Carnival of History Posted!; Ancient History (search label); and Carnival of Central and Eastern European Genealogy (all tied with 8 views)
10. My Family and the Great Depression ...; 6th Edition of the Carnival of Central and Eastern European Genealogy; Family History Center Research Update; Genealogy And History News of the Past Week Or So; and A New Poll Created! (all tied with 7 views)

Well, that sums up this list of posts. To those who read my blog, thank you for reading.

Sixth Edition Of The Carnival of Irish Heritage and Culture Posted!

The sixth edition of the Carnival of Irish Heritage and Culture has been posted! You can read it here. The next edition of this carnival is on Irish literature, and you read more about the topic here. Enjoy!

Four More Days ...

I just want to remind everyone that they have four more days to submit their entries to the next edition of the Carnival of Central and Eastern European Genealogy. Articles are due on June 12th.

Just Wanted Everyone To Know ...

I just want to let everyone know that I am still adding blogs back to my genealogy and history blogs lists. (I goofed up on changing my template, and now I'm back to my old one.) If you don't see your blog on these lists, it is probably due to a backlog of work. I will try to post everyone's blogs up again. If I forget to add a blog, it is not intentional. Please leave me a comment if I have forgotten your blog.

9th Shades Of The Departed Guest Column Posted!

The 9th Shades Of The Departed guest column has been posted!. The author of this column was Jasia, and you can read the column here.

Technical Difficulties ...

You may have noticed that the list of genealogy blogs are missing from the page. Well, I am going through some technical difficulties. I was trying to switch my list to the new Blogger list, and I have been unsuccessful. I'll have to rebuild the list, so it may take me a few days to get it back together again. I will try to recreate it as best as I can. Thanks.

Update: I have also changed my template again. I will try to put everything back to the layout earlier. It will take some time, though

And More Great Lakes Books - Islands!

In addition to mentioning books on lighthouses and shipwrecks, I thought I would mention a couple of books on the islands of the Great Lakes.

A couple of interesting books to read are:

• Mysterious Islands: Forgotten Tales of The Great Lakes by Andrea Gutshe and Cindy Bisaillon
• Ghosts of the Bay: A Guide to the History of Georgian Bay by Russell Floren

Well, those were two books that I could think of off the top of my head. I'm sure there are other books on the islands of the Great Lakes.

And More Great Lakes Books - Shipwrecks!

As I promised earlier, here is a couple of books on shipwrecks of the Great Lakes:

• True Tales Of The Great Lakes by Dwight Boyer
• Shipwrecks Of The Lakes by Dana Thomas Bowen
• Ghost Ships, Gales & Forgotten Tales: True Adventures on the Great Lakes by Wes Oleszewski

Of course there many other books written by the authors above and many other authors, including Frederick Stonehouse. Enjoy!

Speaking of Lighthouses ...

I just happened to notice an article on yahoo about the discovery of a missing lighthouse. You can read the article here. Also, I happened to notice Harold's post mentioning another blog article on Michigan lighthouses a couple of days ago. (The blog Harold mentions is Michigan Civil War Blog.)

And speaking of Great Lakes Lighthouses, if anyone wants to read a couple of books or just start reading on Great Lakes lighthouses, I would suggest that he or she take a look at these books:

• Lighthouse Adventure: Heroes, Haunts & Havoc On The Great Lakes by Wes Oleszewski
• Great Lakes Lighthouse Tales by Frederick Stonehouse
• Keepers of Valor: Lighthouse, Lake Boats & Lifesavers by Wes Oleszewski
• The Northern Lights: Lighthouses of the Upper Great Lakes by Charles K. Hyde, Ann Mahan, and John Mahan
• Great Lakes Lighthouses: American and Canadian by Wes Oleszewski

These are just a few of the books that I can think of that are on the Great Lakes lighthouses. There are quite a few books on the subject. Of the books I have listed, the only one that I have not read is Great Lakes Lighthouses: America and Canadian. I am making a few suggestions as to where one might want to start reading to learn about the lighthouses of the Great Lakes. Another post, I'll list books that I have read on Great Lakes shipwrecks. (Yes, it was also a subject I liked to read about when I was younger.)

Detroit's Won the Stanley Cup ...

I've just learned this morning this morning that the Detroit Red Wings won the Stanley Cup. I did not watch the game (or any of the hockey games this season) last night, so I didn't know about the win until today. I just found out from looking at a Yahoo news article, and Jasia's post. It seems as though the only good news that comes out of Detroit is sport-related, but I'll save that for another post some day ...

Anyhow, I remember the 1997 season when Detroit won the Stanley Cup for the first time in 42 years. I remember how my family and I watched the games for that season. (I haven't paid very much attention to hockey or watched the games on TV in a while because I'm not interested in hockey. But I'll stop now, before I get into a tirade about Detroit ...)

Genealogy and History Thoughts Column 13 - Gas and Genealogy

A couple of weeks ago, Jasia posted an article on how gas prices were affecting genealogy research, and I thought I would post my thoughts on this topic.

Are gas prices affecting genealogists' genealogy research? I think so. With gas now at $4 dollars a gallon (in the U.S.), I think genealogists are making some changes, whether it was to travel to an ancestral location or cutting down on the number of trips they are taking to repositories. Of course, I could be wrong about making a generalization about all genealogists, but I think genealogist who are on fixed budgets are making or have made changes in their research plans. Of course, that could mean that some genealogists will not be traveling as much or might not be renewing their subscriptions to genealogy websites (if they have not already cancelled their subscriptions).

As for me, I am seriously wondering how much more genealogy research I should try to do for the rest of this summer. I had wanted to travel to an ancestral location this summer, but I dropped that idea as gas prices went up. Of course, I can still order microfilms from the LDS, but I still have to go by car to get there. I don''t know how many more times I will be able to go there if gas prices keep rising. And I don't believe my grandparents will be able to help me with research as gas is too expensive. I am starting to come to the conclusion that I might not be able to do as much research this summer as I had hoped.

Well, what can genealogists do? We probably can't do very much. (We can't change gas prices.) The only possible solution that I can think of is that genealogists offer to do more look-ups for each other. I realize that most genealogists already do look-ups for others, but I can't think of anything else at the moment that would help. So, what do you think? As always, you can leave a comment.

49th Edition of the Carnival of Genealogy Posted!

The 49th edition of the Carnival of Genealogy has been posted! You can read it here. The topic for the next edition is on family pets.

Family History Center Visit 4

Earlier today, I went to the Family History Center. I was only there for a short time, but I was still able to find a few more people in that microfilm. The other microfilm has not come in yet, so I am still going through the same microfilm. Of course, I haven't finished going through that microfilm, so I guess it is a good thing that the other film hasn't come yet.

I'll keep everyone posted with my research.

65th Carnival of History Posted!

The 65th edition of the Carnival of History was posted yesterday. (I learned about this post from World History blog's post.) You can read it here. Enjoy!

Google Analytics' Statistics For End Of May 2008

Since it is the beginning of the month, I thought I would post data of my blog from Google Analytics. (If you are not interested in these types of posts, please let me know.) I've noticed that, lately, readership has declined. If there are genealogy or history topics that you would like to read on this blog, please let me know. Thanks.

Anyhow, on to the results from the last post until today. The top ten countries in number of readership are:

1. United States
2. United Kingdom
3. Canada
4. Australia
5. Germany
6. India
7. Unknown (2 visits)
8. Netherlands
9. Finland
10. Israel

The top ten states (in the United States) in number of readership are:

1. Michigan
2. California
3. New York
4. Illinois
5. Indiana
6. Texas
7. Unknown (15 visits)
8. Ohio
9. Virginia
10. Massachusetts

In addition to those two lists, I thought I would list the top ten towns or cities in Michigan. The top ten towns and cities in number of readership are:

1. Livonia
2. East Lansing
3. Sterling Heights
4. Southfield
5. Grand Rapids
6. Farmington
7. West Bloomfield
8. Bloomfield Hills
9. Berkley
10. New Hudson

Of course, I don't know who is visiting my blog. I am only given the names of places and number of visits. To those who have visited and read my blog, thank you for your visits and readership.

Congrats to Jasia!

I just want to congratulate Jasia on Blog Carnival's recognition of the Carnival of Genealogy. I learned about the award from her post about the recognition. "Congrats Jasia!"

Ten More Days ...

Yes, that's right. You have ten more days left to submit your article to this upcoming edition of the Carnival of Central and Eastern European Genealogy. I will accept submissions up til midnight of June 13, in case anyone needs a little more time. This edition will be in honor of Father's Day, and the topic for this edition is on a male ancestor from the region.

So, What Does It Mean To Be Irish?

What does it mean to be Irish? I've thought about this question for a few days, and I'm still not sure of an answer. Whenever I try to answer the question, I start to think about stereotypes of the Irish, but I don't believe that those stereotypes answer the question since these stereotypes could describe other cultures as well.

So, I don't know what I would say. It is hard for me to answer that question as very few traditions or customs were passed down in my family, especially when it comes my British ancestry. (I have ancestors from the main areas of the United Kingdom.) So, when I think about Irishness, I think about Irish music, red hair, leprechauns, and whiskey. Obviously, those images do not come close to answering the question. I guess the best way for me to obtain an understanding of Irish culture, I will have look for and read books on the subject.