I haven't put up a post in a while for several reasons, but mainly because I haven't had much time on my hands lately. My mom came for a visit, my daughter was on winter break and I've been pondering the point of genealogy in general. So I decided to share my thoughts on the subject and see what some of my readers have to say on the subject. I am sure that this has crossed peoples' minds in the past during the course of their own research.
And you're going to have to excuse the messy thought process because I am just writing things down as they pop into my head. So if none of this makes sense to you - sorry :-)
I was thinking of a way to put all these ideas into some kind of structure and eventually decided to take a look at Maslow's hierarchy of needs. I think we can safely skip the physiological and safety needs and take a look at love and belonging or in other words social needs.
I would venture to say that for some people genealogical research is a way to feel a deeper connection to their family, whether it be their immediate or extended family. That is certainly one of the reasons I started researching my family's history. Living so far away and not being in contact with relatives caused me to forget who's who and how we're all related. I don't know if it was an actual "need" but perhaps more of a curiosity and a way to stay connected to my past. I also wanted to be able to tell my daughters about my family at some point in their lives and I knew that without some sort of system I was going to forget a lot of people. By creating and sharing an online tree on Geni I've also managed to bring the rest of the family closer together, but that was not my original intention.
I am sure that most of the geneabloggers are fulfilling some sort of social need as well as getting their research out there for others to enjoy and potentially find a connection. And many have also taken to social networks to expand their reach and interactivity with others. Many researchers enjoy the social aspects of the various genealogical conferences, workshops and cruises as well. I've enjoyed this sort of interaction too, but I don't think this has been a leading driver for me. I would probably categorize it as a fun byproduct. This also brings up specific interests like old photos, ethnic background research or even military history.
I think we have to go higher up Maslow's pyramid. The next level is esteem.
I am certain many serious genealogists have a need to be respected by their peers and enjoy a sense of achievement when breaking down a brick wall. And then bragging about it. But once again, that is not the main reason I enjoy this hobby. So next and final step - Self-actualization.
I think the desire to know and understand our past is probably the main driver for genealogists. Where do I come from? How did I get here? What chain of coincidences and historical events came together to give me this life? These are some of the questions we ask ourselves as human beings from time to time. As genealogists, we try to answer those questions through systematic research.
But I think there's more past Maslow's pyramid. A lot more...
Some people just enjoy the historical aspect of it all and genealogy makes history a little more personal. If you can place one of your ancestors in a significant historical event, then you have a personal connection to it. I especially like this side of genealogy. That's probably why I enjoy reading biographies or general historical non-fiction about people and places.
But sometimes there are some flaws in this reasoning. Let me explain my thought process.
There are several levels to understanding your past. There's oral history that you hear from your parents, grand-parents and maybe great-grands. That will probably bring you back about 100 years. That's also where most of us will end up with old photos unless you have some rare items dating back to the 18th century, but those are few and far between. Then there are a few other research milestones.
My Jewish genealogy is probably going to end somewhere in the middle of the 18th century anyway. There aren't many records kept or left and most of my ancestors and their relatives perished in the Holocaust. Looking for descendants is a bit of an interest, but while finding a 4th cousin somewhere is great, it's not like we're going to be really close. I barely keep up with my 2nd cousins as it is.
On my wife's side there are a lot of long American lines that date back to colonial times, but eventually the all end up in Europe somewhere and that's where the research will end unless there is some noble or royalty and that's pretty much genealogical vanity. So we all know the origins of our ancestors after a short amount of research and that's that.
So is it the process that we like? Is it digging through archives and finding a clue that leads us to a "new" discovery? Well then we could do that sort of research for pretty much anyone, right? Because my 8th great-grands are so far removed from me personally that they might as well be strangers. Why don't we research strangers? Why don't we just randomly open up an old city directory, pick a name and research that person? Well, some of us do. But most won't want to invest time and money on complete strangers.
Some people love cemeteries. Some people love archives and old libraries. Some people love to travel to ancestral homelands or figure out an old plat from a recorded land deed. Some people want to find parallels in their past to their own lives.
Anyway, I've been rambling long enough. I think that for me personally, I have accomplished several things through genealogy:
1. I can now easily name pretty much all my living relatives out to my 2nd cousins.
2. I managed to get the family a little closer together.
3. I've been able to build a family tree for my daughters to enjoy later in life.
4. I've enjoyed the research process and connecting ancestors to historical events.
5. I virtually-met many interesting people who share my hobby.
I'm sure there's a lot more that I'm forgetting to add at the moment, but I think this post is long enough, don't you?
What's the point to your genealogy research? Let me know in the comments. I hope I gave you some food for thought.
Just to show you all how much more information there is about my wife side of the tree I went ahead and created the 5th generation RM4 ahnentafel for her ancestors:
16. Jesse Travis BRANNON: born 2 Feb 1837 in Georgia; married 20 Aug 1861 in Gwinnett County, Georgia. USA
17. Isabella Elizabeth ATKINSON: born Feb 1843 in Georgia; died in Georgia. USA
18. Calvin Rufus BISHOP: born 3 Jan 1852 in Spartanburg County, South Carolina; married; died 6 Jan 1880 in Beech Springs, Spartanburg County, South Carolina. USA
19. Margret TIMMONS: born bet 1852 and 1860 in South Carolina; died 14 Jan 1912 in Atlanta, Georgia. USA
20. Alexander McD. "Alex" WILEY: born abt 1844 in Pennsylvania; married.USA
21. Emily GREENAWALT: born Mar 1846 in Pennsylvania. USA
22. Rev. Milton B. TUGGLE: born 2 May 1845 in Oglethorpe County, Georgia; married 9 Jan 1894; died 12 Jan 1910 in Atlanta, Fulton County, Georgia. USA
23. Anna Frances DEAN: born 17 Nov 1866 in Floyd County, Georgia; died 27 Jun 1947 in Dekalb County, Georgia. USA
24. Jacob HYTOWITZ: born 1864/5 in Russia; married abt 1882; died 9 Sep 1937 in Pittsburgh, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania. RUSSIA (probably Lithuania)
25. Rose "Rosa, Rosie" FRANK: born bet 1866 and 1868 in Poland; died 11 Feb 1941 in Pittsburgh, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania. POLAND
26. Thomas Ward RIGHTMIRE: born 11 Aug 1849 in Webster, Taylor County, West Virginia; married 22 Dec 1882; died 25 Oct 1922 in Parsons, Tucker County, West Virginia. USA
27. Edith Mae CONLEY: born 15 Nov 1858 in West Virginia; died 16 Mar 1917 in Tucker County, West Virginia. USA
28. Conrad J. AUTH: born Jul 1832 in Hesse-Cassel, Germany; married 1864; died 19 Jan 1911 in Pittsburgh, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania. GERMANY
29. Elizabeth BANNANTINE: born Feb 1839 in England; died 9 Oct 1933 in Pittsburgh, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania. ENGLAND
30. Thomas KEARNEY: born Apr 1840 in Ireland; married 1868. IRELAND
31. Maria : born Jan 1843 in Ireland. IRELAND
Yep, we have 10 born in the USA (4 GA, 2 SC, 2 PA, 2 WV), 1 RUSSIA, 1 POLAND, 1 GERMANY, 1 ENGLAND and 2 IRELAND. If I go further back and try to see where all these US folks are from, I have several generations until I find them mostly in IRELAND, ENGLAND and FRANCE. But most lines have been in the southern USA for a couple of centuries.
Looking at this list I see that I have a lot of work to do on my wife's side as well. I am missing death/burial dates/places and other important information.
Does anyone have any time to spare? Yeah, I didn't think so :-)
I have to thank Randy Seaver for his challenging Saturday night fun posts that help me get out of my genea-blogging slumps. This time around he asks us to:
1) List your 16 great-great-grandparents in pedigree chart order. List their birth and death years and places.
2) Figure out the dominant ethnicity or nationality of each of them.
3) Calculate your ancestral ethnicity or nationality by adding them up for the 16 - 6.25% for each (obviously, this is approximate).
4) If you don't know all 16 of your great-great-grandparents, then do it for the last full generation you have.
5) Write your own blog post, or make a comment on Facebook or in this post.
I followed Randy's advice and grabbed my info from a RM4 Ahnentafel list:
1. Avraham Benjamin KIELCZEWSKI: b.? m.? died bef 1 Jun 1918. POLAND
2. Zywa Golda KRUG: b.? m.? died bef 1 Jun 1918. POLAND
3. Haim Shmuel KALMANIEWSKI: b.? m.? d.? POLAND
4. ???: b.? m.? d.? POLAND
5. Shlomo SMORGONSKI: born abt 1836. m.? d.? POLAND
6. Hanna Minka ?: b.? m.? d.? POLAND
7. Jacob SEGALCHIK: b.? m.? d.? POLAND
8. Ita ?: b.? m.? d.? POLAND
9. Jacob Yitzhak DOMBEK: b.? m.? d.? POLAND
10. Sarah Rachel KARPIK: born abt 1861 in Sterdyn, Sokolow, Lublin, Poland. m.? died abt 1941 in Sterdyn, Sokolow, Lublin, Poland. POLAND
11. Avram KREPLAK: b.? married 1874 in Kosow Lacki, Poland. d.? POLAND
12. Dobe JABLONKA: b.? married 1874 in Kosow Lacki, Poland. d.? POLAND
13. Aaron ZINBERG: b.? m.? d.? RUSSIAN EMPIRE
14. Sarah ?: b.? m.? d.? RUSSIAN EMPIRE
15. Joseph BENDITOVICH: b.? m.? d.? RUSSIAN EMPIRE
16. Miriam ?: b.? m.? d.? RUSSIAN EMPIRE
Hmmm. I have a lot of work to do. For starters, I know I have looked for all of these ancestors on JewishGen, but those databases are far from being complete. My next task should be to get some microfilm from the LDS, but how is that really going to help me? I can't read Russian or Polish or Latin or whatever language any of these records will be in. If they even exist.
At least I can pretty firmly say that I am 75%/25% Polish-Russian, which I have known pretty much all my life. And as I have written here before, the next generation after this one had a 75%/25% split for those who perished in the Holocaust. Yes, the entire Polish side. It's a good thing my grandfather fled to Russia.
So, does anyone have suggestions how I should go about filling in all these question marks?
I mentioned in my last post how much City Directories have been helpful in my research and wanted to point my readers to a new site from Miriam Robbins Midkiff:
Online City, County, and Rural Directories Website
This new site has set a lofty goal to have a complete listing for city, county, rural, business, and other types of directories for the United States and Canada, and then go on to add directories for other countries. The navigation is very easy and you can quickly get to what you are looking for. Since this is a work in progress you need to check back and see what's been added recently.
Of course, there have been a lot of directories added lately to Ancestry.com and Footnote.com, but those are pay sites and they are not complete anyway. Here's an example:
I know my wife's Hytowitz line arrived in the US around 1880, but since there is no 1890 census I have a huge gap until I find them in the 1910 Census. I have tried everything I can think of to find them in the 1900 Census, but with no luck so far. Looking through the Pittsburgh City Direcotries on Footnote is extremely frustrating. But on Miriam's site I found the links to Eve and Don which are so easy to browse through.
Anyway, check out the site and Miriam, if you need any help, let me know!
Warning: This has nothing to do with family history except for the fact I propose an interesting way to use Twitter for the next scanfest.
Since I still think that Twitter is just a big single-channel chat room, I thought it might be a great way to run scanfest. For those who don't know, scanfest is the once-a-month multi-user chat event that brings genealogists together as they go through the mundane task of scanning old photos and documents. It's on the last Sunday of every month and usually hosted by @kidmiff (Miriam Robins Midkiff of the Ancestories blog).
In the past scanfest has been run on several platforms with varying success. And here's why I think Twitter will be very successful:
- Anyone can join.
- No limitation on number of particpants.
- Get genealogists more involved in Twitter.
- Twitter is searchable and might lead to new relative connections somewhere down the road.
- Immediately archived, so if someone is late and want to catch up they can.
- People can get updates on their mobile devices even if they can't participate.
Now some of you might think I've lost my mind because the standard Twitter web site is static and requries constant refreshing. But there are some excellent tools out there that will allow for really easy chatting:
- Twitterfall - This site really turns twitter into a chat client. The beauty is in the filtering capabilities. If you just add #scanfest to your filter n the left you will only see tweets about scanfest! You can control how quickly the tweets fall down the screen by setting the speed on the right as well as animation effect, theme and other settings. You can retweet, reply, favorite, direct message and follow new users!
- Twitpic - A simple photo sharing site for Twitter users. If you want to share one of your recently scanned images, just twitpic it and add the #scanfest tag and everyone can see it!
- TweetDeck - Tweetdeck is an Adobe Air Twitter desktop application that lets you monitor several columns of info and apply filters and setting to each one. You can open up a @relpies column to see if someone was replying to you specifically. You can also submit an image to Twitpic right out of TweetDeck as well.
I'm sure there are other methods that can be used, but these are just my initial thoughts. I'm sure Thomas will have something to say about this topic :-)
Well that's it. That was my idea. I have never actually participated in scanfest, because it's on a weekend and during time I usually spend with family, but I thought this would be a great way to do it. And basically this could be a way to do any sort of group chat. The only drawback is that people who post their tweets to facebook might annoy their followers there. But one way to get over that is to use @scanfest at the start of your tweet or some other method to avoid it from updating facebook. I'm just thinking out loud at this point.
What do you think?
BTW, you can follow me on Twitter here: @abba_dad.
Wow - I am late to the party. I've already been tagged twice for this award by Judith of Genealogy Traces as well as by Msteri of Heritage Happens... - Thank you both!
The blogs who receive the Proximidade Award invest and believe in PROXIMITY - nearness in space, time and relationships! These blogs are exceedingly charming. These kind bloggers aim to find and be friends. They are not interested in prizes or self-aggrandizement. Our hope is that when the ribbons of these prizes are cut, even more friendships are propagated. Please give more attention to these writers! Deliver this award to eight bloggers, who must choose eight more and include this cleverly-written text into the body of their award.
Now as I said I think I am a little late to the party and almost everyone has been tagged, but I am still going to try. Here goes:
1) kinnexions by Becky
2) Tracing the Tribe by Schelly
3) Genealogy Reviews Online by Tim
4) Geneablogie by Craig
5) The Genealogue by Chris
6) Genea-Musings by Randy
7) footnoteMaven by The footnoteMaven
8) Ancestories by Miriam
As you can see I am on a first name basis with all these fine bloggers :-)
Hey now that I have this great list I can add a blogroll to this site!
This one goes out to both my family reading the blog as well as seasoned genea-bloggers. What should I do about sensitive material that I uncover in my research? I will list a few scenarios (some real and some not) and hope to see what you think I should do:
1) Children out of wedlock / Marriage while pregnant.
2) Previously unknown spouses.
3) Canceled engagements.
4) Missing people.
If it were up to me I would write about everything I find. But I am aware of the fact that some people are more private than me and would not want sensitive subject out on display for the whole world (and future descendants) to see. I see several possibilities:
1) Living vs. Deceased.
2) Direct Ancestors vs. Indirect Relatives.
3) Contacted Relatives vs. Unknown Relatives.
For now I will sit on most of my information until I can figure this out. But I think everyone would agree that deceased direct ancestors are fine, right?
How do you treat touchy subjects?
Terry Thornton who writes the terrific Hill Country of Monroe County blog has started a new endeavor called The Association of Graveyard Rabbits. It's an association of genealogy bloggers who write specific blogs about cemeteries, grave markers, burial customs and more. I would love to join, but I just don't see having the time right now and my geographical region is not extremely exciting for me and my current research. I haven't even scraped the surface of our family history so this will have to wait for a later date.
Schelly Talalay Dardashti, who writes the excellent Tracing the Tribe: The Jewish Genealogy Blog, has started up a Jewish Graveyard Rabbit blog as part of the association. I sent her a link to the post I wrote a couple of weeks ago about the grave of my great-grandfather Moshe Zinberg. But looking through all the photos my mother brought on her last visit I found another interesting aspect of Jewish cemeteries.
In many cemeteries in Israel you will find memorial monuments to holocaust victims. The one above is for the victims from Grajewo, Szczuczyn, Rajgród and Radziłów in Poland. As you may recall my paternal grandfather was born in Radziłów. The inscription on the monument reads:
Grajewo
Szczuczyn
Rajgród
Radziłów
Saints of Grajewo, Szczuczyn and Rajgród perished in the village of Bogusze near Grajewo
Saints of Radziłów were burned alive in a barn
May the Lord revenge their blood (HY"D)
I put together a map of the area as well:
If you want to learn about honorifics for the dead in Judaism, you can find more on Wikipedia by clicking here.
To learn more about reading Hebrew gravestones, click here. This is a must-have document for anyone trying to understand a Jewish grave.
One of my favorite Genea-Blogs is Shades of the Departed. The level of detail that fM and the guests put into analyzing a photograph is jaw dropping. I wanted to participate in the latest Smile for the Camera - Crowing Glory carnival, but I was away on a family vacation and having a fantastic time that I just never made it. It's kind of hard to put together a post after chasing three year-olds on the beach all day long.
But I do have two amazing photos that I would have loved to share in the carnival. One is a picture of Edith May Conley (Rightmire), b. 1858 in West Virgina. Edith is my wife's 2nd great grandmother. I recently got a batch of photos from Uncle Glenn and this was one of them:
I have absolutely no idea how to analyze the photo, but what I can tell you is that it is made out of some 2 layered cardboard and was taken in West Virginia around the year 1900. How do I know this? Well it says so on the back. Some one wrote all that in pencil including who Edith is and who her daughter and granddaughter are.
Now that is a seriously stunning piece of headgear, don't you think? I especially like the black veil with the white pearls on it. Very nice. When I eventually learn to analyze photos I will have to redo this one. But until then, anyone out there want to take a crack at it?
And oh, famous relative alert: Edith was the first cousin of William Gustavus Conley, who was the 18th Governor of West Virginia.
On to the next crown. This is one of my favorite pictures ever taken. It's Moshe Zinberg, my great grandfather. This is actually a photo I took of my sister's roots project, so the quality is horrible. But I will get the original soon and all will be corrected. Check out the baby sheep:.jpg)
This picture was taken in Russia when the Zinberg family fled their home during WW2. The family had gone through a lot of ups and downs before the war. In 1933 Moshe sold everything the family owned in order to arrange for documentation and safe passage to Israel. But it turned out he was conned and lost everything. He had to start his whole life over and rebuild from nothing. When the war started the family fled to middle Asia and ended up in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. That's where my grandparents met.
And that's a story for another time.
That's my final tally. This was a lot of fun and got me on the right track. Thanks again to all the organizers and participants!
Where have I disappeared to? I have been busy. Busy with work, family and some more research. I have made tremendous amounts of progress, mostly by reaching out to people for help. I received a gigantic GEDCOM from a distant cousin of my wife's from the Bishop side and started adding it into my files. I only did this because this particular GEDCOM (as opposed to almost all the others I have seen) had a lot of sources and citations. I also got some additional information on the Kilchevsky (or should I just give that spelling up and go with the original Kielczewski?) side of the family. I also signed up with Footnote.com and started looking through their 43+ Million records. So, I have been a little busy.
Anyway, back to the medals:
1. Go Back and Cite Your Sources!
50 Citations - Platinum Medal
I am well into the hundreds here. And I have barely scratched the surface. Not only am I adding sources for everything I have, I also need to verify everything I have added from others. Lots to do.
2. Back Up Your Data!
This is definitely an important task. Let's see where I stand:
A. Prepare a comprehensive backup plan for your digital research files and a security plan for your hard copies and photos - I will make daily backups locally and then move all my files to my external drive weekly. I will also burn an image of the external drive to DVD once a month. Eventually all information will be secured off-line as well.
B. Secure your hard copies and photos in waterproof containers - That will have to wait another day. I don't have many documents and photos to begin with, so this became a lower priority.
C. Backup all your data using a flash drive, an external drive, CDs, DVDs, or an online resource - Done!
D. Have all your hard copies and photos scanned and secure them either in a fire-proof safe or off-site in a safety-deposit box/secure environment - It will take me a long time to scan everything I have, even though it's not much. And as far as off-site storage, that will have to wait as well.
E. All your data is backed up digitally and secured physically and you can recover from any disaster while losing only one month or less worth of research - Digitally yes, physically no (see D).
Completed Task A&C - Silver Medal - I have work to do.
3. Organize Your Research!
Complete five or more tasks - Platinum Medal - I have done everything but F. I'll work on that.
4. Write, Write, Write!
A. Write a summary of what your blog is about and post it on your blog – you may not have done this since you started the blog and it is a great way to have new readers learn more about your site. - This was my first post, July 29th, 2008.
B. Participate in a genealogy or family history related blog carnival. - I submitted one of my posts to the Carnival of Central and Eastern European Genealogy.
C. Prepare several posts in draft mode (if possible with your blog platform) and pre-publish. - Still a no on this one. I am an impulse blogger who can't pre-publish.
D. Write a brief biographical sketch on one of your ancestors. - Done.
E. Sign up to host a future carnival - Probably not going to happen just yet because of newbieness.
Complete any three tasks - Gold Medal
5. Reach Out & Perform Genealogical Acts of Kindness!
A. Comment on a new (to you) genea-blog. - Pretty much every day.
B. Join another genea-blogger’s blog network on Facebook Blog Networks. - Multi-done.
C. Invite other genealogists to join Facebook. - I decided to give this one my own spin. I have been talking about genealogy at every opportunity and getting people interested. I even hosted our monthly neighborhood poker night and after I was eliminated I checked some people's ancestors. So I will include this one as done!
D. Assist another researcher with a research request or look-up. - I have contributed to several researchers with small amounts of information.
E. Participate in an indexing project. - Not done. I am sure there is something that I could have done, but I just don't know where to start yet.
F. Join a genealogical, historical, heritage or lineage society. - I did not join the two I wanted (I will in the near future) but instead signed up for three SIG on JewishGen. So that should cover it.
Complete five or more tasks - Platinum Medal
Here's the final tally:
3 Platinum
1 Gold
1 Silver
This has been a lot of fun to do. Not only did I learn some valuable lessons about genealogical research, but I also managed to step up my research and incorporate some structure in it. Whatever I have not completed, I will strive to do in the next few weeks. Thanks to all who organized and spent time making sure we all have a good time.
I haven't kept up with updates about my progress. Shame! So here goes:
1. Go Back and Cite Your Sources!
50 Citations - Platinum Medal
I knew this would be easy because I had almost 1000 people in my tree and almost no sources. Most of what I entered was from personal interviews with immediate family, but a lot has come from census data and other sources. I probably made a slight dent in the amount of sources I need to add, but I am going to get there. One of the features I like about RootsMagic is the Memorize/Paste option for source citations. If I find a source that has either multiple people or several facts I can easily copy it over and not have to do much else. So 50 citations was pretty trivial.
2. Back Up Your Data!
This is definitely an important task. Let's see where I stand:
A. Prepare a comprehensive backup plan for your digital research files and a security plan for your hard copies and photos - Working on it.
B. Secure your hard copies and photos in waterproof containers - Hmmm. I haven't even thought about doing that.
C. Backup all your data using a flash drive, an external drive, CDs, DVDs, or an online resource - Doing this as we speak!
D. Have all your hard copies and photos scanned and secure them either in a fire-proof safe or offsite in a safety-deposit box/secure environment - I don't think this is going to happen anytime soon, although I realize how important it is. I am in the process of scanning everything, but I doubt it will end up in an offsite secure environment.
E. All your data is backed up digitally and secured physically and you can recover from any disaster while losing only one month or less worth of research - Digitally yes, physically no (see D).
Complete Task C - Gold Medal - I will definitely be here at the end of the games.
3. Organize Your Research!
Complete five or more tasks - Platinum Medal - I have done everything but F. I'll work on that.
4. Write, Write, Write!
A. Write a summary of what your blog is about and post it on your blog – you may not have done this since you started the blog and it is a great way to have new readers learn more about your site. - This was my first post, July 29th, 2008.
B. Participate in a genealogy or family history related blog carnival. See the AnceStories post "August Is..." for a list of these carnivals and their submission URLs and deadlines. - I was going to do this, but the topics didn't really spark any memories. I will see if something comes up by the deadline.
C. Prepare several posts in draft mode (if possible with your blog platform) and pre-publish. - I'm not sure I understand what this means. I usually blog my findings and the excitement comes through. I can't recall a single post I have made (on any of my blogs) that was drafted and pre-published.
D. Write a brief biographical sketch on one of your ancestors. - Done. And I plan a few others by the time the games are over.
E. Sign up to host a future carnival: - I am such a newbie and I am not even sure what you need to do to host on of these things. I might volunteer to host the Carnival of Central and Eastern European Genealogy. We'll see.
Complete any two tasks - Silver Medal - Achieved!
Complete any three tasks - Gold Medal - Possible?
Complete any four tasks - Diamond Medal - Possible?
5. Reach Out & Perform Genealogical Acts of Kindness!
A. Comment on a new (to you) genea-blog. - Pretty much every day.
B. Join another genea-blogger’s blog network on Facebook Blog Networks. - Multi-done.
C. Invite other genealogists to join Facebook. - Tough one. I don't know many non-blogging genealogists. But since I have added several links in posts, I guess I kind of qualify? I'll take it.
D. Assist another researcher with a research request or lookup. - I am definitely going to do this. One of the things I can do is translate from Hebrew, so let me know if there's a need. But I will go through the entire list and see what else I can do. So many people have been commenting and leaving me valuable tips and I have to start paying back.
E. Participate in an indexing project. - That one might be tough, but I will try to get there.
F. Join a genealogical, historical, heritage or lineage society. - I am planning to join two: I am thinking about joining the Georgia Genealogical Society but I am definitely joining the Jewish Genealogical Society of Georgia.
Complete any four tasks - Diamond Medal - Done!
Complete five or more tasks - Platinum Medal - Hope to get there!
So that's it so far. Here's the final tally:
2 Platinum
1 Diamond
1 Gold
1 Silver
Miriam Robbins Midkiff commented on my previous post, about the validity of online family trees, by saying:
Amir, there is a well-known quote in the genealogical world: "Genealogy without sources is mythology."
Even if you have researched all your information carefully and have the documents to "prove" it, if you don't list your sources with your information when you publish it or post it online, it must still be considered mythology.
Good sources allow another family historian to retrace your steps through the same documents.
Thomas MacEntee responded to my question on the Genea-Blogger Group discussion thread along the same lines:
Amir, for me, none of the Ancestry tree data - be it One World Tree or others - is reliable unless there are source citations. I am a stickler for that.
Sometimes I will use the data in my database but place a citation of UNSOURCED with it so that I know I have work to do down the road.
And Bob Franks concurs as well:
I concur with Thomas about this. I treat unsourced data as research hints only until source material can be obtained to verify the data. I've also seen a lot of online trees where the source is listed as other online unsourced trees. It seems these spread like wildfire.
I have to agree with all of them. For one thing, they've been doing this for a while and I bet they know what they are talking about. But also, as I started drowning in a sea of ahnentafels, I was able to find some GEDCOM files that contained actual source references. Not a lot, but I guess that's better than claiming your ancestors are the Kings of Asgard.
I have decided to add this kind of information and tag the source as 'questionable'. This will help others who might come across this information in the future as well as allow me to return to these parts of the tree and continue a more thorough research at a later time. I find it kind of ironic that while researching the past you leave behind clues for people who might come across this research in the future. Kind of cool.
I found a great little Civil War story to tell, but I will just post it separately later. Thanks for the help and comments. Keep 'em coming!
I need to list the events I will participate in. This is an easy one since I am such a beginner and need to pretty much do everything in every category. My only issue would be time constraint. So here goes:
1. Go Back and Cite Your Sources - I have a lot of work to do in this department. I already added Sources and Citations to over 200 people in my tree (I described the process in my previous post).
2. Back Up Your Data - RootsMagic does a backup every time I close it, but I definitely need to move everything to an external drive. I just freed up a lot of room on one so this should be an easy one to do.
3. Organize Your Research - My idea of organization, so far, has been to put digital images in properly named folders in my genealogy directory. Much work to be done here. Only problem is I don't have that much hard copies or non-digital materials.
4. Write, Write, Write - Self explanatory. I love to write.
5. Reach Out & Perform Genealogical Acts of Kindness - Since I am a newbie, a lot of these are going to be easy to do.
So that's it. Let the games begin!
I am drowning under the amount of information and keep finding more and more methods to find additional sources. I'm not even sure how I got there, but I found a video of Miriam Robbins Midkiff talking about using Google Books in her research.
So I open up the site and plug in the first name I can think of, Conrad Auth. Conrad was my wife's 2nd-great-grandfather, was born in 1832 in Germany. He married Elizabeth Bannantine, born in 1839 in England, and lived with his large family in Pittsburgh, PA. I have very little information on Conrad and his family outside of what I could find in census data and a GEDCOM file I received from another Auth. The 1880 US Census lists his occupation as Glassblower.
I got 20 results for my search of "Conrad Auth". The first book in the list was:
Sons and Daughters of Labor: Class and Clerical Work in Turn-of-the-Century Pittsburgh
By Ileen A. DeVault
Published by Cornell University Press, 1995
ISBN 0801483077, 9780801483073
194 pages
I clicked on the link and found the following section in the book (I used OCR to get it in text instead of the screenshot I took, but many books actually have a plain-text version as well):
Charles Auth entered the Commercial Department in 1900. His father, Conrad, was a Pennsylvania-born glassblower of mixed German and English heritage and national treasurer of the Glass Bottle Blowers’ Association (GBBA). Glassblowers like Auth made up almost 3 percent of the skilled workers represented in the Commercial Department. Conrad Auth, his English-born wife, five sons, and one daughter lived in a house with a fully paid mortgage near the glasshouses on Pittsburgh’s South Side. Charles was the youngest son. His two oldest brothers held manual jobs; one was a glassblower like his father, and the other was an unspecified "steelworker." During the year ending with the federal census taking of June 1900, Conrad Auth and his glassblowing son had both been unemployed for twelve full months. Even as treasurer of his national union, Auth, Sr., did not receive a salary, although he did sometimes receive per diem payment and costs for time spent on union business. Auth`s steelworker son had been unemployed for seven months of 1900. Faced with this dramatic experience of the precariousness of the skilled trades, the Auth family switched to a new plan for their three younger sons. When fifteen-year-old Charles entered the high school's program, his other two brothers worked as clerks, one for a plumbing business and the other as a grocery clerk. Unlike their older brothers, neither of these young men employed in white-collar jobs had any periods of unemployment in 1900. Since the family had paid off the mortgage on their home, their economic situation had not always been so bleak as it was in 1900. Nonetheless, the pattern of employment in the family demonstrates a change in strategy for the sons' futures over the course of the 1890s.
WOW! Look at all this information! I love it! This kind of data breathes real life into our ancestors. It takes them from a bunch of census data and source citations to an actual family, living in times of hardship and persevering. I would have had to dig deep to find out that Conrad was the national treasurer of the GBBA. And this was just the first link!
I kept going through the list and found out that he testified in the tariff hearings before the Committee on Ways and Means, First Session, Fifty-third Congress, in 1893. There was a lot more information but I was already completely overwhelmed. I tried a few others and kept finding more and more.
So obviously this is a huge resource that I will use in the future. One of the things that's kind of annoying is that not all the books have full view. Some only have snippets and point you to where you can buy the book. But even these snippets can be extremely valuable.
Some of you veteran genealogists are probably snickering at my ridiculous newbie discovery. But since I have no formal genealogical training and I haven't even read an "Idiot's Guide To Genealogy" book, this is still a big deal to me.
Any more 'WOW' tips out there? I sure hope so!
Since I am new to the Genea-Bloggers, I am trying to learn as much as I can from others more experienced than me. I started reading a few genealogy blogs ( I will add a blogroll soon, I promise) and ran across something called the Genea-Bloggers Group Games. It's basically a bunch of genealogy themed exercises like adding proper citations, backing up research and writing posts. So I thought it would be an interesting thing to try to do if I have time. At the very least I will get a little organized.
One of the things I had to do in order to sign up is to create my flag at WeAreMulticolored which represents my ancestry, heritage or personal expression. This is what I came up with:.jpg)
My flag represents Israel (where I was born and lived most of my life), Nigeria (where I spent 5 years of my childhood) and the US (which I call home these days).
