Wednesday, June 20, 2012
Wordless Wednesday - Creed sister reunion
Tuesday, June 19, 2012
Hmm...I did the right thing
Ancestry's "Member Connect" is a cool tool. It shows recent activity on other member's trees that is perhaps relevant to your own so you can see what other genealogists are researching. I enjoy Member Connect because I have made a couple of connections to other genealogists as I see them make additions to their trees.
However, there is a time when I do NOT like Member Connect. I suppose it is because it highlights those genealogists that don't share and share alike. I keep my member tree public because I like sharing my finds and I hope to help other genealogists. I have spent a lot of time putting together my tree and finding the sources I insist on having behind every link. A while back I noticed that one Ancestry member had been copying a lot of my items to their tree: photos, sources, etc. Great! I thought, a kindred spirit! I quickly hopped on to check out their tree but found that it was private. I fumed a little bit because although I understand that once I post my items they become "public" and available to anyone, I'm frustrated that other researchers take my items without following up. As another blogger mentioned a while back (I'm sorry I can't remember who at the moment), why wouldn't you contact me? You can't imagine all the cool stuff I have not yet posted to Ancestry.
Then I thought about it and decided that perhaps this individual is keeping their tree private in order to keep their personal stuff private. So I decided to write a message to the individual. I mentioned that I saw their copying of items from my tree and thought it would be great if we could collaborate. I waited quite a long time for a response and when it did come today it was simple: I can't help you.
So then I fumed again. But I thought perhaps they don't want to share because they want to keep their information private...I totally understand that. But in Ancestry you can share your tree to a guest and decide whether or not they can see living people. There really is no excuse not to share. But I digress. I ended up doing the right thing. I sent back a brief message telling them that they could continue to save items from my tree and that I hope they are helpful. So there...I can still share.
However, there is a time when I do NOT like Member Connect. I suppose it is because it highlights those genealogists that don't share and share alike. I keep my member tree public because I like sharing my finds and I hope to help other genealogists. I have spent a lot of time putting together my tree and finding the sources I insist on having behind every link. A while back I noticed that one Ancestry member had been copying a lot of my items to their tree: photos, sources, etc. Great! I thought, a kindred spirit! I quickly hopped on to check out their tree but found that it was private. I fumed a little bit because although I understand that once I post my items they become "public" and available to anyone, I'm frustrated that other researchers take my items without following up. As another blogger mentioned a while back (I'm sorry I can't remember who at the moment), why wouldn't you contact me? You can't imagine all the cool stuff I have not yet posted to Ancestry.
Then I thought about it and decided that perhaps this individual is keeping their tree private in order to keep their personal stuff private. So I decided to write a message to the individual. I mentioned that I saw their copying of items from my tree and thought it would be great if we could collaborate. I waited quite a long time for a response and when it did come today it was simple: I can't help you.
So then I fumed again. But I thought perhaps they don't want to share because they want to keep their information private...I totally understand that. But in Ancestry you can share your tree to a guest and decide whether or not they can see living people. There really is no excuse not to share. But I digress. I ended up doing the right thing. I sent back a brief message telling them that they could continue to save items from my tree and that I hope they are helpful. So there...I can still share.
Monday, June 18, 2012
Military Monday - 90th Division Association reunion
Sunday, June 17, 2012
Happy Father's Day
I love this picture. Not only does this two-year old look very much like my own sons, but it also reminds me of a happy time my father shared with his own father. My dad has told me stories about helping his father fix the family car and how his father drove a bus in the Kansas City area. But that is where the stories end. When my dad was eight his parents got a divorce and for all intensive purposes his father was never a part of his life again. In fact, I never met my grandfather until his funeral. What a surreal day that was.
Fast forward to my relationship with my dad. He has always been there for me through the pom-pom parades, choir concerts, and the myriad of totaled cars. My dad has always had an answer for my car or military questions. He was so helpful that when I asked for help changing a tire in high school (fully expecting him to do it) he drove to the school and made me do it myself. I owe my sense of direction to my father forcing me to name street names and directions as we took family drives through downtown Kansas City. I owe the fact that I didn't stick with many a bum to his "cleaning his gun" speech to sketchy boyfriends. Actually, I owe my father a lot. A lot more than could ever be written in one small blog post.
So, lift a beer to the best father and friend a girl could have. Love you, dad.
 |
| My father with his dad in 1949 |
Fast forward to my relationship with my dad. He has always been there for me through the pom-pom parades, choir concerts, and the myriad of totaled cars. My dad has always had an answer for my car or military questions. He was so helpful that when I asked for help changing a tire in high school (fully expecting him to do it) he drove to the school and made me do it myself. I owe my sense of direction to my father forcing me to name street names and directions as we took family drives through downtown Kansas City. I owe the fact that I didn't stick with many a bum to his "cleaning his gun" speech to sketchy boyfriends. Actually, I owe my father a lot. A lot more than could ever be written in one small blog post.
So, lift a beer to the best father and friend a girl could have. Love you, dad.
Friday, June 15, 2012
Follow Friday - FamilySearch wiki
I had a phenomenal genealogy research breakthrough on my Cutler family line, which I originally spoke about here, and I have the FamilySearch wiki to thank for it. This wiki provides a wealth of information on locations, research options and FamilySearch films and resources as well as helpful outside links.
As I mentioned in the original post I wanted to find more information on the religious background of my fourth great-grandfather, James Cutler, in the hopes of locating documentation of his birth. I knew that he came from Norfolk, England, so I conducted a search for that area.
Many links came up, but the one that jumped out at me was the "England, Norfolk, Church of England Bishops’ Transcripts" collection.
The page goes in to great detail about the collection, what is covered and even provides samples of the documents in the records. Note that there is also a link to the records. At the time, this record group was not indexed but I was able to narrow down my search and find not only the birth record of James Cutler, but of all his siblings as well.
I suggest conducting a search in the Wiki for the counties that your family lived in. I have found varying results for the several counties I have searched. Some have quite a few links and a lot of information, others are still in progress. But here is yet another way you can contribute to the genealogy community: you can add information to the Wiki that has helped you, making it a more robust resource. Visit the Contributor Help page to find out how you can add information to the Wiki.
As I have shown here the Wiki is helpful for location and particular document research. Have you used the Wiki? What have you found?
As I mentioned in the original post I wanted to find more information on the religious background of my fourth great-grandfather, James Cutler, in the hopes of locating documentation of his birth. I knew that he came from Norfolk, England, so I conducted a search for that area.
Many links came up, but the one that jumped out at me was the "England, Norfolk, Church of England Bishops’ Transcripts" collection.
I suggest conducting a search in the Wiki for the counties that your family lived in. I have found varying results for the several counties I have searched. Some have quite a few links and a lot of information, others are still in progress. But here is yet another way you can contribute to the genealogy community: you can add information to the Wiki that has helped you, making it a more robust resource. Visit the Contributor Help page to find out how you can add information to the Wiki.
As I have shown here the Wiki is helpful for location and particular document research. Have you used the Wiki? What have you found?
Thursday, June 7, 2012
Sesquicentennial of Taps
The song Taps has come to be known as a song of mourning and remembrance for fallen service members, but it has not always been that way. Written during the Civil War the song was originally used to order the troops to "extinguish lights." This year marks the 150th anniversary of the most famous bugle call. For more information on Taps and its history visit the Taps 150 website.
Wednesday, June 6, 2012
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