Accentuate the Positive

A few days ago, Jill Ball of Geniaus created a Geneameme of 20 items to help geneabloggers share some of their successes in 2012 as opposed to lamenting the fact that not as much had been accomplished as anticipated. Per her instructions, I have omitted the few items that were not relevant to me.

An elusive ancestor found: No new ones were found in 2012, but several that I had known about from online trees and/or publications were confirmed through documentation.

A precious family photo found: A recent find (like the 2nd week of December) on an ancestry tree was  a photo reportedly of my 3rd great grandmother, Sarah Foster Parkison. I'm still waiting to hear back from the submitter of the tree to confirm that it is actually her and to hear how he came to have the photograph.

An ancestor's grave found: I didn't find the grave itself, but rather a photo of the gravestone of Jacob Berlien (1716-1790)

An important vital record found: the 1763 marriage record of John George Steinweeg and Veronica Danerin in the records of the Trinity Lutheran Church in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Photocopies of the original records in German Script are held by the Lancaster County Historical Society.

A newly found family member who shared: A trio of Hoffman cousins. Nick Hoffman, Mike Lies, and Bob Hoffman whom I wrote about in Cousins Connecting, Contributing, Collaborating.

A genea-surprise received: links to two newspaper articles about a Hoffman Family Reunion in 1913 and one in 1914.

My 2012 blog post that I was particularly proud of was: There were three brothers who immigrated... Yeah, Right! about the three Berlin brothers (really!) who all arrived in Philadelphia on the ship, Charming Nancy in 1738.

My 2012 blog post that received a large number of hits or comments was: So, Now what do I do? regarding use of my blog posts on ancestry trees has had the most hits of any post written in 2012 and the most comments.

A new piece of software mastered: It's not new to me but I've learned a few more things about using some of the (to me, lesser used) features of Legacy Family Tree.

A social media tool I enjoyed using for genealogy: the "Technology  for Genealogy" group on Facebook and Google+ in general.

A genealogy conference/seminar/webinar from which I learnt something new was: the Genealogical Research Institute of Pittsburgh.

A great repository/archive/library I visited was: the Family History Library in Salt Lake City.

It was exciting to finally meet: For fear of leaving anyone out I won't mention names but I had a wonderful time meeting fellow geneabloggers at RootsTech and the NGS Conference in Cincinnati.

A geneadventure I enjoyed was: my Research Trip to Pennsylvania (to the counties of Westmoreland, Lancaster, and Berks) and visiting The Old Trappe Church and the farm where my ancestor served as an indentured servant.

Another positive I would like to share is: From the stats, I know that a great many people have "landed" on the blog while searching for people mentioned in various blog posts. Out of those several hundred, twenty-six individuals actually contacted me in 2012 because of blog posts that were published, which pleases me no end. Many of them turned out to be distant cousins.

Published under a Creative Commons License.
Becky Wiseman, "Accentuate the Positive," Kinexxions, posted January 1, 2013 (http://kinexxions.blogspot.com/2013/01/accentuate-positive.html : accessed [access date])

This 'n That and 21.3%

This... I guess it's about time I checked in with y'all. Yep, I'm still alive and kicking but those Hoffman folk have taken over my research... I now have a pretty good idea of the meaning behind that ancestry.com slogan "You don't even have to know what you're looking for... you just have to start looking." Of course, it does help to have a few "clues" to start with. But in the past three months I've added nearly 500 descendants of John and Catharine (Coy) Hoffman to my Legacy database! And yes, they are sourced... but not necessarily in the "ESM" style.

It had been quite a while since I had gone looking for "more recent" relatives and I do love how ancestry.com gives those hints along the right side of the screen after you've found someone in a census or other record. Sometimes there are lots of those hints and other times not so many. Of course, you still need to be able to determine if the hints are really for the person for whom you are looking. But, my goodness, it's so much easier now than it was, oh, 20 years ago!

'n That... Research is on hold for now. I left Indiana last week to come to Huntsville, Alabama to help out my friend/distant cousin (3rd cousin once removed in the Joslin line) while she is recovering from cancer surgery. Recovery from the surgery has been very good but she's had a terribly painful flare-up of rheumatoid arthritis in her hands and shoulders. Then her left knee started swelling up and has been quite painful - that's been diagnosed as osteoarthritis. After visits to several doctors yesterday and today, medication has been prescribed that will, hopefully, ease the pain. After she recovers from the surgery she will have 5-6 more rounds of chemo to blast away the remaining cancer. So, if you'd care to add Babs to your prayer list, I'm sure she would appreciate it.

and 21.3%... I'm a little behind on blog reading but I saw Judy Russell's post More Lost Than Found and Randy Seaver's Saturday Night Genealogy Fun challenge and, though a little late, thought I'd see how I measure up. Like Judy, I've got far more ancestors missing than I've found, but overall, not too bad. Things look good for the first four generations, but starts dropping off at the fifth.

I'd be quite pleased if I could locate the six missing 3rd Great Grandparents, but they are back in the "old country" of Switzerland or Germany and I haven't a clue really, as to which little town from whence they came.

The missing 3rd Great Grandparents:

• Parents of Charles Wiseman (1815-1895) born Switzerland, died Switzerland County, Indiana
• Parents of Michael Fisher (abt 1800-1845) born Germany, died Carroll County, Ohio
• Parents of Christena Houck, wife of Michael Fisher, (abt 1805-after 1850) born Germany, died unknown

And, if I could find the elusive parents of Ruth Dyer, Sally Church, and Abigail Price they would surely fill in some of the empty spots!

Published under a Creative Commons License.
Becky Wiseman, "This 'n That and 21.3%," Kinexxions, posted August 21, 2012 (http://kinexxions.blogspot.com/2012/08/this-n-that-and-213.html : accessed [access date])

A Caroling We Shall Go :: We Three Kings

footnoteMaven is continuing her tradition of Christmas Caroling around the Genea-Blogosphere and I thought I'd join the festivities this year.

Actually, I have many “favorites” when it comes to Christmas Carols. This year I've selected “We Three Kings” with lyrics and music written by the Reverend John Henry Hopkins, Jr. and a somewhat non-traditional, but beautiful, rendition by The Beach Boys.

We three kings of Orient are;

Bearing gifts we traverse afar,

Field and fountain, moor and mountain,

Following yonder star.

O star of wonder, star of light,

Star with royal beauty bright,

Westward leading, still proceeding,

Guide us to thy perfect light.

Born a King on Bethlehem’s plain

Gold I bring to crown Him again,

King forever, ceasing never,

Over us all to reign.

O star of wonder, star of light,

Star with royal beauty bright,

Westward leading, still proceeding,

Guide us to thy perfect light.

Frankincense to offer have I;

Incense owns a Deity nigh;

Prayer and praising, voices raising,

Worshipping God on high.

O star of wonder, star of light,

Star with royal beauty bright,

Westward leading, still proceeding,

Guide us to thy perfect light.

Myrrh is mine, its bitter perfume

Breathes a life of gathering gloom;

Sorrowing, sighing, bleeding, dying,

Sealed in the stone cold tomb.

O star of wonder, star of light,

Star with royal beauty bright,

Westward leading, still proceeding,

Guide us to thy perfect light.

Glorious now behold Him arise;

King and God and sacrifice;

Alleluia, Alleluia,

Sounds through the earth and skies.

O star of wonder, star of light,

Star with royal beauty bright,

Westward leading, still proceeding,

Guide us to thy perfect light.

Saturday Night Genealogy Fun :: It's GeneaThanksgiving

I can't believe it's been a week since my last post. It's been a busy week at The Family History Library! Anyway, I thought I'd play along with Randy tonight with his Saturday Night Genealogy Fun!

This week it is the Thanksgiving Edition in which he asks:

• Which ancestor are you most thankful for, and why?
• Which author (book, periodical, website, etc.) are you most thankful for, and why?
• Which historical record set (paper or website) are you most thankful for, and why?

You don't have to travel too far back in time to find the ancestor that I'm most thankful for – my grandmother, Hazlette (Brubaker) Phend Dunn Ferguson (1902-1984). Even though grandma didn't document her findings she was an enthusiastic genealogist providing me with a five-generation pedigree chart filled with the names and dates of her ancestors (and mine!). Grandma also left behind many old family photographs in addition to her own handwritten biography.

The author that I'm most thankful for is a very recent find... Ann-Jannette Emerson published an impressive body of work called “James and Mary Veatch Ellis : Their Sons & Other Descendants” in 1985. I heard about the book several years ago but finally had the opportunity to spend some time with it while here in Salt Lake City. It is a huge 700-page book jam-packed with documents, transcriptions and abstracts – all with sources. And, it takes me back two more generations on my Ellis line and makes a probable link to the Veatch family – both early 1700s settlers of Prince George's and Frederick counties in Maryland.

It will probably come as no surprise to my few faithful readers that the “record set” that I am most thankful for is Land Records! As tedious and frustrating as they can sometimes be to use they have provided me with “proof” connecting one generation to another in several lines being researched. Case in point, Brinker last June and Huntsicker last month! Obviously, deeds also allow you to locate the land where your ancestors lived and help in finding that land when you visit the area. It is an amazing feeling to walk on the land where they lived!

Saturday Night Genealogy Fun :: The Ancestors' GeneaMeme

Randy Seaver has picked up The Ancestors' GeneaMeme from Geniaus as his Saturday Night Genealogy Fun and I thought I'd play along...

According to the instructions, the list should be annotated in the following manner:

• Things you have already done or found: bold face type
• Things you would like to do or find: italicize (colour optional)
• Things you haven’t done or found and don’t care to: plain type
• You are encouraged to add extra comments in brackets after each item

My comments are in square [ ] brackets...

1. Can name my 16 great-great-grandparents
2. Can name over 50 direct ancestors [with help from my genealogy database]
3. Have photographs or portraits of my 8 great-grandparents
4. Have an ancestor who was married more than three times [None that I know of though William Alexander was married three times.]
5. Have an ancestor who was a bigamist [Not that I know of.]
6. Met all four of my grandparents [No. Knew my Mom's parents buy my Dad's mother died when he was 2 years old. His father died 5 years before I was born.]
7. Met one or more of my great-grandparents [Five of them were still living when I was born and they all lived in the area.]
8. Named a child after an ancestor [I don't have any children...]
9. Bear an ancestor's given name/s [My middle name is Rose, which is the same as my Mother's. She was given the name in honor of her mother's aunt, Rose (Wise) Zinsmeister.]
10. Have an ancestor from Great Britain or Ireland [Joslin, Goodrich and others.]
11. Have an ancestor from Asia
12. Have an ancestor from Continental Europe
13. Have an ancestor from Africa
14. Have an ancestor who was an agricultural laborer [The vast majority of my ancestors were farmers.]
15. Have an ancestor who had large land holdings [William Foster, Andrew Brinker and others.]
16. Have an ancestor who was a holy man - minister, priest, rabbi [Johann Casper Stoever and William Foster. Jacob Phend wasn't a preacher but he helped start several Evangelical churches.
17. Have an ancestor who was a midwife
18. Have an ancestor who was an author [Sort of. My grandmother wrote her autobiography.]
19. Have an ancestor with the surname Smith, Murphy or Jones [William B. Jones]
20. Have an ancestor with the surname Wong, Kim, Suzuki or Ng
21. Have an ancestor with a surname beginning with X
22. Have an ancestor with a forename beginnining with Z
23. Have an ancestor born on 25th December
24. Have an ancestor born on New Year's Day
25. Have blue blood in your family lines
26. Have a parent who was born in a country different from my country of birth
27. Have a grandparent who was born in a country different from my country of birth [All 4 grandparents and the 8 great-grands were born in the United States. Only three great-great grandparents were "foreign born" - two in Switzerland (Phend, Wiseman) and one in "Germany" (Fisher).]
28. Can trace a direct family line back to the eighteenth century [Several]
29. Can trace a direct family line back to the seventeenth century or earlier [Several]
30. Have seen copies of the signatures of some of my great-grandparents
31. Have ancestors who signed their marriage certificate with an X [Probably, quite a few of them couldn't read or write...]
32. Have a grandparent or earlier ancestor who went to university [Charles Romain Brubaker briefly attended Valparaiso College.]
33. Have an ancestor who was convicted of a criminal offence [Not aware of any but it's possible.]
34. Have an ancestor who was a victim of crime
35. Have shared an ancestor's story online or in a magazine (Tell us where) [here at kinexxions]
36. Have published a family history online or in print (Details please) [Phend Family History privately published in 1991.]
37. Have visited an ancestor's home from the 19th or earlier centuries [The closest is the home of John Brubaker in Huntington, Indiana.]
38. Still have an ancestor's home from the 19th or earlier centuries in the family
39. Have a family bible from the 19th Century [Charles Wiseman Family Bible]
40. Have a pre-19th century family bible

The Tech Savvy Genealogists' Meme

Jill Ball at Geniaus has created The Tech Savvy Genealogists' Meme and explains why she did so at So you think you're a Tech Savvy Genealogist...

I think it's always a good idea and rather fun, sometimes, to evaluate yourself and see how you “measure up” to certain criteria...

If you wish to participate in the meme, simply copy the text below and paste it into your blog (or into a note on facebook or Google+ if you don't have a blog) and  link back to Jill's post for a little "link love". Annotate the list in the following manner:

Things you have already done or found: bold face type
Things you would like to do or find: italicize (colour optional)
Things you haven’t done or found and don’t care to: plain type

Feel free to add extra comments in brackets after each item.

1. Own an Android or Windows tablet or an iPad [Probably will get one when the netbook dies]
2. Use a tablet or iPad for genealogy related purposes
3. Have used Skype to for genealogy purposes
4. Have used a camera to capture images in a library/archives/ancestor's home
5. Use a genealogy software program on your computer to manage your family tree [Legacy]
6. Have a Twitter account [Yes, I do have an account but I don't have the time or internet access to actively use it.]
7. Tweet daily
8. Have a genealogy blog
9. Have more then one genealogy blog [Whitley County Kinexxions, but haven't posted on it with any frequency since January 2009!!]
10. Have lectured/presented to a genealogy group on a technology topic [Blogging, way back in February 2008]
11. Currently an active member of Genealogy Wise [Have an account, but don't have time for it.]
12. Have a Facebook Account
13. Have connected with genealogists via Facebook
14. Maintain a genealogy related Facebook Page
15. Maintain a blog or website for a genealogy society [Been there, done that, probably not again.]
16. Have submitted text corrections online to Ancestry, Trove or a similar site
17. Have registered a domain name
18. Post regularly to Google+ [Have an account and check in when I have time and internet access.]
19. Have a blog listed on Geneabloggers
20. Have transcribed/indexed records for FamilySearch or a similar project
21. Own a Flip-Pal or hand-held scanner [Yes, along with two other scanners]
22. Can code a webpage in .html [Am a little rusty, but can code basic stuff]
23. Own a smartphone [I can foresee this becoming a “necessity” in the future.]
24. Have a personal subscription to one or more paid genealogy databases
25. Use a digital voice recorder to record genealogy lectures [Is that legal?]
26. Have contributed to a genealogy blog carnival [Past contributions to the COG, hope to resume contributing in the near future.]
27. Use Chrome as a Browser [Almost always, unless a site “requires” another]
28. Have participated in a genealogy webinar
29. Have taken a DNA test for genealogy purposes
30. Have a personal genealogy website [Had one but it is now defunct. A blog is better!]
31. Have found mention of an ancestor in an online newspaper archive
32. Have tweeted during a genealogy lecture
33. Have scanned your hardcopy genealogy files [documents and papers as well as family photos]
34. Use an RSS Reader to follow genealogy news and blogs
35. Have uploaded a gedcom file to a site like Geni, MyHeritage or Ancestry [Have one file on WorldConnect not sure I'll ever do another – a blog is better!]
36. Own a netbook [Using it as this is being written. Don't know what I'd do without it!]
37. Use a computer/tablet/smartphone to take genealogy lecture notes [too cumbersome]
38. Have a profile on LinkedIn that mentions your genealogy habit
39. Have developed a genealogy software program, app or widget
40. Have listened to a genealogy podcast online
41. Have downloaded genealogy podcasts for later listening
42. Backup your files to a portable hard drive
43. Have a copy of your genealogy files stored offsite
44. Know about Rootstech [Hoping to attend in 2012]
45. Have listened to a Blogtalk radio session about genealogy [Difficult to do while traveling]
46. Use Dropbox, SugarSync or other service to save documents in the cloud
47. Schedule regular email backups
48. Have contriibuted to the Familysearch Wiki
49. Have scanned and tagged your genealogy photographs [Have them scanned but not tagged]
50. Have published a genealogy book in an online/digital format [Have one written but not published, it needs some work done on it yet. Someday. Published the “Phend Family History” in 1991, the old-fashioned way.]

I'm not quite a genea-techno-geek, but I'm on my way...

The 99 Genealogy Things Meme :: Revisited

What goes around, comes around... Back in January 2009, with the help of the genealogy blogging community, I created The 99+ Genealogy Things Meme, which lists some things that you, as a genealogist, might have done or might like to do in/for/with your research.

A recent comment by Judy Webster of Genealogy Leftovers alerted me to the fact that Jill at Geniaus had taken the meme and dinkumised it (created an Aussie Version) in 99 Things Genealogy Meme - Aussie Style.

Then, Valerie at Family Cherished has modified the Aussie version creating a 3rd generation variation on the original listing.

The author of the Blog of the Brant County Branch of the Ontario Genealogical Society has modified the list further and created the 99 Genealogy Meme - Canadian Style.

I'll repeat the original list below, with an update on the things I've done. Feel free to modify the list to suit your needs... If you wish to participate in the meme, simply copy the text below and paste it into your blog (or into a note on facebook or Google+ if you don't have a blog) and annotate the list accordingly. We're on the 'honor system' here, no one is going to check up on you! Participation is up to you, no tagging of other bloggers required. And, if you've done it before, you can do it again.

The list should be annotated in the following manner:
Things you have already done or found: bold face type
Things you would like to do or find: italicize (color optional)
Things you haven’t done or found and don’t care to: plain type

1. Belong to a genealogical society.
2. Researched records onsite at a court house.
3. Transcribed records.
4. Uploaded tombstone pictures to Find-A-Grave.
5. Documented ancestors for four generations (self, parents, grandparents, great-grandparents).
6. Joined Facebook.
7. Helped to clean up a run-down cemetery.
8. Joined the Genea-Bloggers Group on Facebook.
9. Attended a genealogy conference.
10. Lectured at a genealogy conference.
11. Spoke on a genealogy topic at a local genealogy society.
12. Been the editor of a genealogy society newsletter.
13. Contributed to a genealogy society publication.
14. Served on the board or as an officer of a genealogy society.
15. Got lost on the way to a cemetery.
16. Talked to dead ancestors.
17. Researched outside the state in which I live.
18. Knocked on the door of an ancestral home and visited with the current occupants.
19. Cold called a distant relative.
20. Posted messages on a surname message board.
21. Uploaded a gedcom file to the internet.
22. Googled my name.
23. Performed a random act of genealogical kindness.
24. Researched a non-related family, just for the fun of it.
25. Have been paid to do genealogical research.
26. Earn a living (majority of income) from genealogical research.
27. Wrote a letter (or email) to a previously unknown relative.
28. Contributed to one of the genealogy carnivals.
29. Responded to messages on a message board or forum.
30. Was injured while on a genealogy excursion.
31. Participated in a genealogy meme.
32. Created family history gift items (calendars, cookbooks, etc.).
33. Performed a record lookup for someone else.
34. Went on a genealogy seminar cruise.
35. Am convinced that a relative must have arrived here from outer space.
36. Found a disturbing family secret.
37. Told others about a disturbing family secret.
38. Combined genealogy with crafts (family picture quilt, scrapbooking).
39. Think genealogy is a passion not a hobby.
40. Assisted finding next of kin for a deceased person (Unclaimed Persons).
41. Taught someone else how to find their roots.
42. Lost valuable genealogy data due to a computer crash or hard drive failure.
43. Been overwhelmed by available genealogy technology.
44. Know a cousin of the 4th degree or higher.
45. Disproved a family myth through research.
46. Got a family member to let you copy photos.
47. Used a digital camera to “copy” photos or records.
48. Translated a record from a foreign language.
49. Found an immigrant ancestor’s passenger arrival record.
50. Looked at census records on microfilm, not on the computer.
51. Used microfiche.
52. Visited the Family History Library in Salt Lake City (May/June 2011).
53. Visited more than one LDS Family History Center.
54. Visited a church or place of worship of one of your ancestors.
55. Taught a class in genealogy.
56. Traced ancestors back to the 18th Century.
57. Traced ancestors back to the 17th Century.
58. Traced ancestors back to the 16th Century.
59. Can name all of your great-great-grandparents.
60. Found an ancestor’s Social Security application.
61. Know how to determine a soundex code without the help of a computer.
62. Used Steve Morse’s One-Step searches.
63. Own a copy of Evidence Explained by Elizabeth Shown Mills.
64. Helped someone find an ancestor using records you had never used for your own research.
65. Visited the main National Archives building in Washington, DC.
66. Visited the Library of Congress.
67. Have an ancestor who came over on the Mayflower.
68. Have an ancestor who fought in the Civil War.
69. Taken a photograph of an ancestor’s tombstone.
70. Became a member of the Association of Graveyard Rabbits.
71. Can read a church record in Latin.
72. Have an ancestor who changed their name.
73. Joined a Rootsweb mailing list.
74. Created a family website.
75. Have more than one "genealogy" blog.
76. Was overwhelmed by the amount of family information received from someone.
77. Have broken through at least one brick wall (June 2011 at FHL in SLC!!)
78. Visited the DAR Library in Washington D.C.
79. Borrowed a microfilm from the Family History Library through a local Family History Center.
80. Have done indexing for Family Search Indexing or another genealogy project.
81. Visited the Allen County Public Library Genealogy Center in Fort Wayne, Indiana.
82. Had an amazing serendipitous find of the "Psychic Roots" variety.
83. Have an ancestor who was a Patriot in the American Revolutionary War.
84. Have an ancestor who was a Loyalist in the American Revolutionary War.
85. Have both Patriot & Loyalist ancestors.
86. Have used Border Crossing records to locate an ancestor.
87. Use maps in my genealogy research.
88. Have a convict ancestor who was transported from the UK.
89. Found a bigamist amongst the ancestors.
90. Visited the National Archives in Kew.
91. Visited St. Catherine's House in London to find family records.
92. Found a cousin in Australia (or other foreign country).
93. Consistently cite my sources.
94. Visited a foreign country (i.e. one I don't live in) in search of ancestors.
95. Can locate any document in my research files within a few minutes.
96. Have an ancestor who was married four times (or more).
97. Made a rubbing of an ancestors gravestone.
98. Organized a family reunion.
99. Published a family history book (on one of my families).
100. Learned of the death of a fairly close relative through research.
101. Have done the genealogy happy dance.
102. Sustained an injury doing the genealogy happy dance.
103. Offended a family member with my research.
104. Reunited someone with precious family photos or artifacts.

Poetry Challenge :: Ballads of Blue River

Last month Bill West issued a call for submissions to the Second Great American Local Poem And Song Genealogy Challenge! We are to “Find a poem by a local poet, famous or obscure, from the region one of your ancestors lived in. It can be about an historical event, a legend, a person, or even about some place (like a river) or a local animal.”

The poet I've chosen would fit the “obscure” category. It is doubtful that anyone outside of Whitley County, Indiana has ever heard of J. D. Archer for few within the county have!

Josiah D. Archer (also known as J.D. or Joe) was born on the Archer family farm in Thorncreek Township, Whitley County, Indiana in 1877, the son of Josiah and Alice (Barney) Archer. The Blue River, which runs through a portion of their farm, played an integral part in the life of J.D. as well as his brothers and the other boys in the neighborhood.

In 1912, while living in Chicago, he published a small book of 26 poems titled “Ballads of Blue River” which relate mostly to his youth and growing up along the banks of the Blue River. Greatly influenced by the poetry of James Whitcomb Riley, many of Josiah's poems were written in the "Riley style" using Hoosier Dialect. Among the topics he describes are coon hunting, sugar making time, evening on the farm, and falling in love.

I don't have the original book as I think very few were printed but have photocopied it. An original copy resides at the Whitley County Historical Museum.

J. D. lived in Thorncreek Township. So did several of my ancestors and their siblings. The owner of Sherwood's Pond – the subject of the poem below - was John D. Sherwood and his wife Jennie Virginia Sherwood. She was my 1st cousin four times removed. Also mentioned in that poem was Foust's woods. It was owned by Franklin H. Foust and his wife Maxia Jones. Maxia was my 3rd Great Grandaunt and the aunt of Jennie Sherwood.

Sherwood's Pond

Nes'led snugly an' serene
In a quiet vale that stretched between
Two hills, on the eastward orchard crowned,
On th' westward woodland bound,
Where crooked pathways wind and creep
And fleecy patches mark the browsing sheep;
Banks with green grass fringed an' lawned,
Memory veiled, lies Sherwood's Pond.

We ust go acrost lots to school
Through th' fields an' orchards as a rule
An' had to pass by the pond on our way
An' I tell you, on a summer day
With sunshine floodin' things all over,
Fish a-flouncin' an' bees in th' clover,
It was jist like drivin' Swigart's mule
To git our feet to go t'ward school.

Seems like only jist last year,
With summer come an' dog days near,
That us youngsters, pleasure bent,
To that 'are pond at high noon went,
Sailed our boats an' fished an' swam
In th' deep hole by th' dam.

After we'd swum an hour or more,
Some, shiverin' cold, would wade ashore,
Quiet-like, an' start a-puttin' on their clothes,
When someone in th' pond would hold his nose,
Dive an' bring up clay-mud from th' bottom,
If th' fellers on shore wasn't watchin'—swat 'em,—
Smear 'em with mud till there was nothin' else to do
'Ceptin' wade back for another plunge or two.

Seemed like ever'body in the country knew
'Bout that 'are pond, an' knew Jud Sherwood, too.
He liked to hunt nuts in th' fall
In Foust's woods, an' th' tree was mighty tall
That he couldn't shin up to th' very top
An' slash till th' last nut would drop.

Could make bows an' arrows out o' hick'ry wood;
Shoot 'em, too, straight as any Indian could.
Jud was always makin' somethin' new
Like divin' boards ah' rafts fer floatin', too,
An' many a time we worked away till dark
To float some new concern that he called Noah's Ark,
Till his mother, kind o' worried, would call "Judd-e-e” about then
An' he clim upon th' fence an "Whoo-whoo-ed" back again.

In winter-time the ice was a foot thick
Then broke an' over-run an' re-froze slick.
Th' whole Beech Chapel crowd come down
With skates an' sleds; some come from town
An' after tumblin' 'round a heap a-tryin' fancy whirls
Th' big chaps kind o' edged around to walk home with th' girls.

In winter's cold or summer's heat
That 'are old pond was hard to beat
An' when I ponder o'er them days gone by
When Jud an' Sam an' Eve an' I
An' Bub an' Bill jist lived down there,
So to speak, Lords o' earth an' free as air,
I jist natur'ly can't help a thankin' God
For that 'are pond o' water an' them hills o' sod.

==++====++====++====++====++====++==

Pressler's Band

Talkin' about music in a kind o' off-hand way,
The kind that bears repeatin', as Father ust to say,
There ain't none any better'n a drum-band anywhere.
If I was needin' cheerin' and inspirin', I declare,
I'd jist like to take a walk down town an' stand
An' hear old Yankee Doodle played by Presslers' Band.

Durin' campaign season that 'are band was sure to play
An' then you'd see the crowd begin a-movin, that-a-way,
Boys would come a runnin' for four blocks or more
And old soldiers come a "heppin'" that could hardly walk before.
You knew th' Thorncreek Delegation was a goin' to be on hand
When you heard old Yankee Doodle played by Presslers' band.

Douglas Pressler was their fifer an' allays led th' band,
And his half a dozen brothers played the snares on either hand.
Lordy! How they made that old "Six-Eight" tune hum,
While Henry Egolf beat th' stuffn' out th' old bass drum.
Any feller that ain't heard 'em ain't supposed to understand
The glory o' th' music played by Pressler's band.

Presslers' band! Seems like I kin hear 'em yet
A playin' martial melodies, the kind you can't forget.
If I could choose my music for jist a single time
I'd say it was a privilege mos' pleasin' an' sublime
To elbow into Thorncreek's crowd an' stand
An' hear old Yankee Doodle played by Presslers' Band.

The “Happy 101” Award

The “Happy 101” award is making the rounds in geneablogger land and I'm happy to say that it has been given to me three times! I've received it from Carol at Reflections from the Fence, Harriet at Genealogy Fun, and Bill at West in New England.

I'm also happy to accept the happy award! By accepting it I am obligated to name 10 things that make me happy and pass the award along to 10 more bloggers that brighten my day.

Here are just 10 of the things that make me happy:

1. Being retired.
2. Traveling.
3. Sunshine and blue skies.
4. Meeting geneablogger friends.
5. Keeping in touch with family.
6. Warm weather.
7. Walking in the woods or along the seashore.
8. Writing.
9. Photography.
10. Watching the sun rise and set.

And the 10 bloggers to receive the award are:

• Jasia at Creative Gene
• Apple at Apple's Tree
• Denise at Moultrie Creek
• fM at footnoteMaven
• Ruby and Cheri at You Go Genealogy Girls
• Donna Pointkouski at What's Past is Prologue
• T.K. at Before My Time
• Debra Osborne Spindle at All My Ancestors
• Leah Kleylein at Random Notes
• Greta Koehl at Greta's Genealogy Bog

The Puckerbrush Blog Award for Excellence

It is indeed an honor to have received this award from Denise Olsen at Family Matters, Gini at Ginisology, and Harriet at Genealogy Fun. Thank you, ladies, one and all.

Terry Thornton at Hill Country of Monroe County Mississippi created the Puckerbrush Blog Award for Excellence last month, saying:

In honor of our absent friend, Janice Brown, whose delightful blog Cow Hampshire continues to inspire through all her archived articles, is my attempt to recognize a few writers and their blogs ---those I consider the best in the blogging world and whose work has influenced me the most.

In a comment, Terry explained:

On any land allowed to go fallow and left untended, a wild assortment of wild plants grow --- in some areas, this wild growth results in such a thicket of plants that it is almost impossible to push your way through the growth.

So it is with the growth of blogs --- so many that it is impossible to read them all. But in the puckerbrush eventually a few plants/trees become dominant and influence all who view them through the thick surrounding puckerbrush.

And it is those outstanding blogs whose influence spreads beyond just the surrounding rabble of puckerbrush that I'm honoring.

Sadly, it has been over a year since Janice's last post and, as Bill West wrote recently, her blog has apparently been removed from the Internet. It's gone. All of those wonderful articles. Gone. We can only hope that Janice is alive and well and simply gave up on blogging. Godspeed, Janice, wherever you are now.

Most, if not all, of the blogs listed below have already received the award, some several times over, but I selected them in the true spirit of this award: because they have inspired me and influenced me, or in some way have helped me to become a better blogger. To me, they are the heart, the core, of the bloggers who write about their family history and they were all blogging before it became "the thing" to do. I value their online "friendship" and appreciate all of the moral support they have given to me and to so many others.

Without further ado, my ten selections are:

I don't know if it is "legal" or not to give the award to the one who inspired it, but Cow Hampshire was one of the blogs that I read regularly when I first discovered blogging a little over 3 years ago. Janice's writing was outstanding and she has (had?) a marvelous sense of humor. Her Jib-Jab videos using the heads of genea-bloggers were a hoot and were instrumental in providing us fledgling bloggers with a sense of community. I'm very saddened to know that they no longer exist. So it is with a heavy heart that I "posthumously" give the Puckerbrush Award to Janice Brown at the now defunct Cow Hampshire!

At Creative Gene, Jasia has written some very poignant and touching stories of her family that tug at the old heart-strings. In addition, as everyone should know by now, she was also the creator of the Carnival of Genealogy which gives us all an opportunity to write about a topic that we might not ordinarily tackle. The COG was really the beginning of the genea-blogger community and is a great way for new bloggers to be discovered.

Miriam Robbins Midkiff at AnceStories: The Stories of My Ancestors has not only provided us with some wonderful, well-written, stories of her ancestors, but has also given us a boatload of great research tips - especially for file organization. I've never attended one of the monthly Scanfest sessions but they've been a hit with many genea-bloggers.

We all felt the disappointment and horror with Cheryl at Two Sides of the Ocean when her original blog somehow disappeared and she lost 18 months worth of posts. Cheryl plans to reconstruct as many of those posts as possible, but it will take a while. She is a master at integrating photographs and documents with her posts to make them visually appealing.

In addition to presenting some interesting family tales, Craig Manson at Geneablogie, is also our resident go-to legal guy. His interpretations of copyright and other issues pertinent to genealogy are highly regarded and greatly appreciated.

Randy Seaver at Genea-Musings writes about his family history but also provides detailed evaluations of software, opinions on news releases from the "corporate" world of genealogy, and is the instigator of the weekly "Saturday Night Genealogy Fun" challenge. I'm sure it's a challenge for Randy to come up with his challenges each week! I also look forward to his weekly "Best of the Genea-Blogs" posts. He almost always has several posts listed that I've missed.

I don't have any Polish ancestors, but that doesn't stop me from enjoying the posts written by Steven Danko at Steve’s Genealogy Blog. He does write about things other than his Polish roots, like his visits to the Family History Library in Salt Lake City. And he's shown that he is more than a little talented behind the camera.

Tim Agazio at Genealogy Reviews Online often has a different take on genealogy issues. Different is good. And refreshing. But he hasn't been posting as often as he used to. Hope everything's okay with Tim.

Apple, over at Apple's Tree, has diligently been transcribing family letters that she discovered last year. Those letters, as well as the posts that Apple has written about her family, are a delight to read. They provide us with a glimpse into what life was like in the past.

When I first discovered Walking the Berkshires, written by Tim Abbott, I think I turned just a little green from envy. The treasure-trove of family documents and photographs that he has custody of is quite amazing. I especially loved reading his stories about Windrock, the family home.

One Lovely Blog Award 2X (make that 3X)

Thank you to Harriet at Genealogy Fun and Greta at Greta's Genealogy Bog for bestowing the "One Lovely Blog Award" on kinexxions! 'Tis appreciated.

Update May 9th: Thanks also to Granny Pam at Granny's Genealogy for the award.

As part of the award, I am to pass on the link love to seven other blogs...

• Genealogy Bug by Kate Keller
• Janet the Researcher by Janet Iles
• Jennifer's Genealogy Blog by Jennifer Trahan
• Random Relatives by Diana R
• Still Digging for Roots by Cherie
• Tangled Trees by TCasteel
• The Educated Genealogist by Sheri Fenley

The Kreativ Blogger Award...

The Kreativ Blogger Award has been bestowed upon me by Julie Cahill Tarr at GenBlog by Julie, Harriet at Genealogy Fun, JoLyn at Uphill Both Ways, and Taylorstales at Taylorstales-Genealogy.

Thank you all very much.

And, of course, there are "rules" associated with the award:

1. Copy the award to your site.
2. Link to the person from whom you received the award.
3. Nominate 5 other bloggers.
4. Link to those sites on your blog.
5. Leave a message on the blogs you nominate.

The bloggers that I've selected are some of those that inspired me to start blogging two years ago, thanks guys (and gals)!

• Stephen Danko at Steve's Genealogy Blog
• footnoteMaven at footnoteMaven
• Tim Agazio at Genealogy Reviews Online
• Miriam at Ancestories: The Stories of My Ancestors
• Denise at Family Matters and Moultrie Creek

The 99+ Genealogy Things Meme

With the help of the genea-blogging community a list of genealogy things related to, or associated with, your genealogy research has been created, thus 'The 99+ Genealogy Things Meme' is born! It was inspired by The 99 Things Meme and a suggestion by a post on the MoSGA Messenger (Missouri State Genealogical Association) blog.

Contributors to the list were: Thomas MacEntee (items 31-43), Donna Pointkouski (44-73), LOOKING4ANCESTORS (83-87), Kathryn Doyle (78-83), and Bibliaugrapher (88-92) who also reminded us that the list should be international in scope (Thank you). And I'm to blame for the first 30 items as well as items 74-77 and 93-99 (#97 is courtesy of a commentor on Donna's blog). Greta Koehl left a comment with items 100-104, which I couldn't resist! How could we forget the Happy Dance! LOL.

If you wish to participate in the meme, simply copy the text below and paste it into your blog (or into a note on facebook if you don't have a blog) and annotate the list accordingly. We're on the 'honor system' here, no one is going to check up on you! Participation is up to you, no tagging of other bloggers required. A link back to this post would be nice but is not mandatory ;-)

The list should be annotated in the following manner:
Things you have already done or found: bold face type
Things you would like to do or find: italicize (color optional)
Things you haven’t done or found and don’t care to: plain type

1. Belong to a genealogical society.
2. Researched records onsite at a court house.
3. Transcribed records.
4. Uploaded tombstone pictures to Find-A-Grave.
5. Documented ancestors for four generations (self, parents, grandparents, great-grandparents) .
6. Joined Facebook.
7. Helped to clean up a run-down cemetery.
8. Joined the Genea-Bloggers Group on Facebook.
9. Attended a genealogy conference.
10. Lectured at a genealogy conference.
11. Spoke on a genealogy topic at a local genealogy society.
12. Been the editor of a genealogy society newsletter.
13. Contributed to a genealogy society publication.
14. Served on the board or as an officer of a genealogy society.
15. Got lost on the way to a cemetery.
16. Talked to dead ancestors.
17. Researched outside the state in which I live.
18. Knocked on the door of an ancestral home and visited with the current occupants.
19. Cold called a distant relative.
20. Posted messages on a surname message board.
21. Uploaded a gedcom file to the internet.
22. Googled my name.
23. Performed a random act of genealogical kindness.
24. Researched a non-related family, just for the fun of it.
25. Have been paid to do genealogical research.
26. Earn a living (majority of income) from genealogical research.
27. Wrote a letter (or email) to a previously unknown relative.
28. Contributed to one of the genealogy carnivals.
29. Responded to messages on a message board or forum.
30. Was injured while on a genealogy excursion.
31. Participated in a genealogy meme.
32. Created family history gift items (calendars, cookbooks, etc.).
33. Performed a record lookup for someone else.
34. Went on a genealogy seminar cruise.
35. Am convinced that a relative must have arrived here from outer space.
36. Found a disturbing family secret.
37. Told others about a disturbing family secret.
38. Combined genealogy with crafts (family picture quilt, scrapbooking).
39. Think genealogy is a passion not a hobby.
40. Assisted finding next of kin for a deceased person (Unclaimed Persons).
41. Taught someone else how to find their roots.
42. Lost valuable genealogy data due to a computer crash or hard drive failure.
43. Been overwhelmed by available genealogy technology.
44. Know a cousin of the 4th degree or higher.
45. Disproved a family myth through research.
46. Got a family member to let you copy photos.
47. Used a digital camera to “copy” photos or records.
48. Translated a record from a foreign language.
49. Found an immigrant ancestor’s passenger arrival record.
50. Looked at census records on microfilm, not on the computer.
51. Used microfiche.
52. Visited the Family History Library in Salt Lake City.
53. Visited more than one LDS Family History Center.
54. Visited a church or place of worship of one of your ancestors.
55. Taught a class in genealogy.
56. Traced ancestors back to the 18th Century.
57. Traced ancestors back to the 17th Century.
58. Traced ancestors back to the 16th Century.
59. Can name all of your great-great-grandparents.
60. Found an ancestor’s Social Security application.
61. Know how to determine a soundex code without the help of a computer.
62. Used Steve Morse’s One-Step searches.
63. Own a copy of Evidence Explained by Elizabeth Shown Mills.
64. Helped someone find an ancestor using records you had never used for your own research.
65. Visited the main National Archives building in Washington, DC.
66. Visited the Library of Congress.
67. Have an ancestor who came over on the Mayflower.
68. Have an ancestor who fought in the Civil War.
69. Taken a photograph of an ancestor’s tombstone.
70. Became a member of the Association of Graveyard Rabbits.
71. Can read a church record in Latin.
72. Have an ancestor who changed their name.
73. Joined a Rootsweb mailing list.
74. Created a family website.
75. Have more than one "genealogy" blog.
76. Was overwhelmed by the amount of family information received from someone.
77. Have broken through at least one brick wall.
78. Visited the DAR Library in Washington D.C.
79. Borrowed a microfilm from the Family History Library through a local Family History Center.
80. Have done indexing for Family Search Indexing or another genealogy project.
81. Visited the Allen County Public Library Genealogy Center in Fort Wayne, Indiana.
82. Had an amazing serendipitous find of the "Psychic Roots" variety.
83. Have an ancestor who was a Patriot in the American Revolutionary War.
84. Have an ancestor who was a Loyalist in the American Revolutionary War.
85. Have both Patriot & Loyalist ancestors.
86. Have used Border Crossing records to locate an ancestor.
87. Use maps in my genealogy research.
88. Have a convict ancestor who was transported from the UK.
89. Found a bigamist amongst the ancestors.
90. Visited the National Archives in Kew.
91. Visited St. Catherine's House in London to find family records.
92. Found a cousin in Australia (or other foreign country).
93. Consistently cite my sources.
94. Visited a foreign country (i.e. one I don't live in) in search of ancestors.
95. Can locate any document in my research files within a few minutes.
96. Have an ancestor who was married four times (or more).
97. Made a rubbing of an ancestors gravestone.
98. Organized a family reunion.
99. Published a family history book (on one of my families).
100. Learned of the death of a fairly close relative through research.
101. Have done the genealogy happy dance.
102. Sustained an injury doing the genealogy happy dance.
103. Offended a family member with my research.
104. Reunited someone with precious family photos or artifacts.

The 99 Things Meme

I first read about The 99 Things Meme (a list of 99 things you can do, or have happen to you, during your lifetime) on the MoSGA Messenger blog Friday night and thought it was interesting but didn't take the time to post on it then. Anyway, it has dredged up some memories from the past, mostly good, and I've been mulling it over most of today while running errands.

So, I've just finished getting caught up on my blog reading for today and noticed quite a few bloggers had picked up on it, apparently from another blog, catching it and passing it on to others, rather like a virus. But a good one. Memes like this are nice. They give you an opportunity to learn just a little bit more about your fellow bloggers.

The list is annotated in the following manner:
Things you’ve already done: bold face type
Things you’d like to do: italicize
Things you haven’t done and don’t care to: plain type

1. Started your own blog. - - Two of them.
2. Slept under the stars.
3. Played in a band.
4. Visited Hawaii. - - Spent a couple of hours in the Honolulu airport on the way to Japan in 1975. Not what you'd call a visit.
5. Watched a meteor shower.
6. Given more than you can afford to charity.
7. Been to Disneyland/world. - - Visited Disneyland several times when I was stationed in California.
8. Climbed a mountain. - - Mount Fuji, Japan. 1977.
9. Held a praying mantis. - - Saw a twig move this past fall while walking in the Crooked Lake Nature Preserve and picked it up for a few minutes.
10. Sang a solo. - - Does singing to yourself in an empty house count? Chances of me singing a solo in public are slim to none.
11. Bungee jumped. - - One of my first cousins did. I'm not sure I could, though it's on my list.
12. Visited Paris.
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea. - - Wasn't at sea, but spent several hours watching a "heat lightning" storm from the second story of my house a few years back. It was absolutely fascinating.
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch.
15. Adopted a child.

16. Had food poisoning.
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty. - - haven't done it and now I don't think anyone can.
18. Grown your own vegetables.
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France.
20. Slept on an overnight train.
21. Had a pillow fight. - - too many to count, with my brothers
22. Hitch hiked. - - Back when I was dumb and young. I'm still dumb sometimes, but no longer young.
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill.
24. Built a snow fort.
25. Held a lamb.
26. Gone skinny dipping.
27. Run a marathon.
28. Ridden a gondola in Venice.
29. Seen a total eclipse.
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset.

31. Hit a home run. - - Does neighborhood sandlot baseball count? Or how about softball. I played on the women's softball team while stationed in Japan and got lucky a few times.
32. Been on a cruise. - - Would like to go on at least one cruise, just to be able to say that I have.
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person.
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors. - - a couple, many more yet to visit.
35. Seen an Amish community. - - There are several Amish communities in Indiana. LaGrange and Elkhart counties (Shipshewana and Nappanee). Whitley county has a small community of Amish near South Whitley.
36. Taught yourself a new language. - - Spanish. Japanese. But definitely was not fluent in either one. Learned enough to get by when I needed it. Also BASIC, Visual Basic, html.
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied. - - Was almost there, until the recent economic crisis.
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person.
39. Gone rock climbing. - - Have climbed on rocks. But that's probably not what they mean.
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David in person.
41. Sung Karaoke.
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt.
43. Bought a stranger a meal in a restaurant.
44. Visited Africa.
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight.

46. Been transported in an ambulance.
47. Had your portrait painted. - - it's been sketched, photographed and caricatured, but never painted. And most likely never will be.
48. Gone deep sea fishing. - - Once. That was enough for me.
49. Seen the Sistine chapel in person.
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris.
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling.
52. Kissed in the rain.
53. Played in the mud.
54. Gone to a drive-in theater. - - We went all the time when I was much younger. I know of two drive-in theaters within 30 miles or so that are still open (in the summertime) so maybe I'll do it again sometime.
55. Been in a movie.
56. Visited the Great Wall of China.
57. Started a business.
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia.
60. Served at a soup kitchen.

61. Sold Girl Scout cookies.
62. Gone whale watching.
63. Gotten flowers for no reason.
64. Donated blood. - - Tried to about 10 years ago but they wouldn't accept my blood. Haven't tried recently.
65. Gone sky diving.
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp.
67. Bounced a check. - - Nope, not ever. And hope I never have to.
68. Flown in a helicopter. - - Several times while I was in the Navy. Loved it.
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy.
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial.
71. Eaten Caviar.
72. Pieced a quilt.
73. Stood in Times Square.
74. Toured the Everglades.
75. Been fired from a job.

76. Seen the Changing of the Guard in London.
77. Broken a bone.
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle. - - Rode on a motorcycle once, but it wasn't speeding. Have no desire to do it again.
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person. - - Twice. And it's on my list of places to return to.
80. Published a book. - - "The Phend Family : Some Ancestors and Descendants of Jacob and Louisa Fisher Phend" in July 1991. Compiled and edited about a dozen for the local genealogy society.
81. Visited the Vatican.
82. Bought a brand new car. - - Three times so far. Drove each one for 8-10 years. Current car was bought used about 8 years ago. First two cars were used and didn't last long.
83. Walked in Jerusalem.
84. Had your picture in the newspaper.
85. Read the entire Bible.
86. Visited the White House.
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating.
88. Had chickenpox.
89. Saved someone’s life.
90. Sat on a jury. - - have been called several times but never selected.

91. Met someone famous.
92. Joined a book club. -- Several. A long, long time ago. Still have some of the books I bought then.
93. Lost a loved one.
94. Had a baby.
95. Seen the Alamo in person. -- Went on a trip to Mexico the summer before my junior year in high school with four other students and a teacher. One of our tourist stops along the way was the Alamo.
96. Swum in the Great Salt Lake.
97. Been involved in a law suit.
98. Owned a cell phone. - - Have had one of those pay-as-you-go models for two years and still don't know how to use all of its features.
99. Been stung by a bee.

=+==+==+==+==+=

At the end of his post, the MoSGA Messenger wrote: "Note: Surely there’s a '99 Genealogy Things Meme' out there somewhere…"

I'm really surprised that someone hasn't come up with one yet! So, let's see if we can. Here's a start. . . some I've done, some I haven't. . . I know there's more that can be added but I'm nearly brain dead right now. Add to the list in comments, send me an email, or create a blog post of your own and let me know. Let's see where this takes us. Anyone game?

Updated at 3:30 pm: Thomas has added 13 items (31-43) and Donna came up with 30 more (44-73)! I've added four (74-77). Donna thinks the list can be done before the end of today. Anyone else care to add something?

Updated at 3:55 pm: Getting closer! Kathryn Doyle has contributed five items (78-83).

Updated at 4:50 pm: Only need 12 more to get to 99! LOOKING4ANCESTORS added five more items (83-87).

Updated at 5:45 pm: Bibliaugrapher (items 88-92) suggested that we should make the list international in scope. I agree. We (meaning those of us who live in the U.S.) forget that genealogy is global. And, as Thomas suggested that may take us over 99 items, but then, that's okay too. I've added 4 more items (93-96). Three more to 99. Or want to go until midnight tonight to see how many we get?

Updated at 7:15 pm: Done!

Updated at 7:56 pm: Greta Koehl left a comment with items 100-104, which I couldn't resist! How could we forget the Happy Dance! LOL.

1. Belong to a genealogical society.
2. Researched records onsite at a court house.
3. Transcribed records.
4. Uploaded tombstone pictures to Find-A-Grave.
5. Documented ancestors for four generations (self, parents, grandparents, great-grandparents)
6. Joined Facebook.
7. Cleaned up a run-down cemetery.
8. Joined the Genea-Bloggers Group.
9. Attended a genealogy conference.
10. Lectured at a genealogy conference.
11. Spoke on a genealogy topic at a local genealogy society.
12. Been the editor of a genealogy society newsletter.
13. Contributed to a genealogy society publication.
14. Served on the board or as an officer of a genealogy society.
15. Got lost on the way to a cemetery.
16. Talked to dead ancestors.
17. Researched outside the state in which I live.
18. Knocked on the door of an ancestral home and visited with the current occupants.
19. Cold called a distant relative.
20. Posted messages on a surname message board.
21. Uploaded a gedcom file to the internet.
22. Googled my name.
23. Performed a random act of genealogical kindness.
24. Researched a non-related family, just for the fun of it.
25. Have been paid to do genealogical research.
26. Earn a living (majority of income) from genealogical research.
27. Wrote a letter (or email) to a previously unknown relative.
28. Contributed to one of the genealogy carnivals.
29. Responded to messages on a message board.
30. Was injured while on a genealogy excursion.
31. Participated in a genealogy meme.
32. Created family history gift items (calendars, cookbooks, etc.).
33. Performed a record lookup.
34. Took a genealogy seminar cruise.
35. Am convinced that a relative must have arrived here from outer space.
36. Found a disturbing family secret.
37. Told others about a disturbing family secret.
38. Combined genealogy with crafts (family picture quilt, scrapbooking).
39. Think genealogy is a passion not a hobby.
40. Assisted finding next of kin for a deceased person (Unclaimed Persons).
41. Taught someone else how to find their roots.
42. Lost valuable genealogy data due to a computer crash or hard drive failure.
43. Been overwhelmed by available genealogy technology.
44. Know a cousin of the 4th degree or higher.
45. Disproved a family myth through research.
46. Got a family member to let you copy photos.
47. Used a digital camera to “copy” photos or records.
48. Translated a record from a foreign language.
49. Found an immigrant ancestor’s passenger arrival record.
50. Looked at census records on microfilm, not on the computer.
51. Used microfiche.
52. Visited the Family History Library in Salt Lake City.
53. Visited more than one LDS Family History Center.
54. Visited a church or place of worship of one of your ancestors.
55. Taught a class in genealogy.
56. Traced ancestors back to the 18th Century.
57. Traced ancestors back to the 17th Century.
58. Traced ancestors back to the 16th Century.
59. Can name all of your great-great-grandparents.
60. Found an ancestor’s Social Security application.
61. Know how to determine a soundex code without the help of a computer.
62. Used Steve Morse’s One-Step searches.
63. Own a copy of Evidence Explained by Elizabeth Shown Mills.
64. Helped someone find an ancestor using records you had never used for your own research.
65. Visited the main National Archives building in Washington, DC.
66. Visited the Library of Congress.
67. Have an ancestor who came over on the Mayflower.
68. Have an ancestor who fought in the Civil War.
69. Taken a photograph of an ancestor’s tombstone.
70. Became a member of the Association of Graveyard Rabbits.
71. Can read a church record in Latin.
72. Have an ancestor who changed their name.
73. Joined a Rootsweb mailing list.
74. Created a family website.
75. Have more than one "genealogy" blog.
76. Was overwhelmed by the amount of family information received from someone.
77. Have broken through at least one brick wall.
78. Visited the DAR Library in Washington D.C.
79. Borrowed microfilm from the Family History Library through a local Family History Center.
80. Have done indexing for Family Search Indexing or another genealogy project.
81. Visited the Allen County Public Library Genealogy Center in Fort Wayne, Indiana.
82. Had an amazing serendipitous find of the "Psychic Roots" variety.
83. Have an ancestor who was a Patriot in the American Revolutionary War.
84. Have an ancestor who was a Loyalist in the American Revolutionary War.
85. Have both Patriot & Loyalist ancestors.
86. Have used Border Crossing records to locate an ancestor.
87. Use maps in my genealogy research.
88. Have a convict ancestor who was transported from the UK.
89. Found a bigamist amongst the ancestors.
90. Visited the National Archives in Kew.
91. Visited St. Catherine's House in London to find family records.
92. Found a cousin in Australia (or other foreign country).
93. Consistently cite my sources.
94. Visited a foreign country (i.e. one I don't live in) in search of ancestors.
95. Can locate any document in my research files within a few minutes.
96. Have an ancestor who was married four times (or more).
97. Made a rubbing of an ancestors gravestone.
98. Organized a family reunion.
99. Published a family history book (on one of my families).
100. Learned of the death of a fairly close relative through research.
101. Have done the genealogy happy dance.
102. Sustained an injury doing the genealogy happy dance.
103. Offended a family member with my research.
104. Reunited someone with precious family photos or artifacts.

My annotated list is at The 99+ Genealogy Things Meme...

Year in Review in Twelve Sentences

It didn't take long for the first meme of the New Year to get started. This is a fun one though, and it doesn't require any tagging of other bloggers! It's one I wish I'd thought of. Could have saved me some time yesterday...

The honors for "first meme of 2009" go to John Newmark at TransylvanianDutch with his Year in Review in Twelve Sentences. Thanks John ;-) He says, "For those who like memes, here's a fun one to consider. Now is a time for looking back on the past year. Here's a way to quickly create a brief summary of the past year on your blog. Take the first sentence from the first post of each month. You will end up with only twelve sentences. Post those twelve sentences."

Even though I've already posted my review of kinexxions for the past year, I'd like to play along with John on this. (With the addition of including a link to each post...)

First Sentence from the first post of each month.

• Letter to Malissa Joslin Brubaker from her father, Lysander Price Joslin.
• If you could have dinner with four of your ancestors who would they be and why?
• The helpfullness of genealogists and family researchers amazes me sometimes, especially when it is truly a "random act" of kindness.
• Dianne Haddad has the current edition of Family Tree Magazine available at Genealogy Insider. Note that it is only available for one day (today)…
• The recent post Recluse dies in motel leaving $263,000 in cash in room at Genealogy Miscellanea reminded me of a distant relative who died with a fairly large estate in the early 1900s.
• Sorting, scanning and trashing are coming along nicely ;-)
• One of the most interesting men that I never met, and who just happens to be related to me (first cousin three times removed!), is Robert Quillen.
• The Genea-Bloggers are having a picnic hosted by Bill West over at West in New England.
• In May of 1986 my mother and I went on a research trip to Ohio and Pennsylvania.
• The Great Forest Park Balloon Race.
• What's still there, you ask?
• The topic for the December 1st Carnival of Genealogy is "Traditions - the handing down of statements, beliefs, legends, customs, information, etc., from generation to generation, especially by word of mouth or by practice."

Links to those posts.

• Letter from Lysander - January 2, 1890
• Who, What, When, Where, Why?
• Serendipity and a Random Act of Kindness
• Beware, Funny Gene on the loose!
• George Bonnett "news boy" leaves $20,000 estate
• SST Update!
• Robert Quillen - An Independent Spirit
• Family Picnics and Reunions
• The Sisley Family Bible
• Wordless Wednesday :: Nearly Ready for Liftoff
• It's Still There!
• Holiday Traditions and Memories

Thrice Awarded the Proximadade

It seems that I have been remiss in acknowledging the fact that the Proximadade Award has been bestowed upon me. Thank you to Sheri Fenley, Julie Cahill Tarr, and Denise Levenick for the honor and I apologize for taking so long to acknowledge it.

The text of the award states "These blogs 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."

To be honest, I'm not at all sure what the intent of the award is. Nevertheless I accept it in the spirit in which it was given and I do appreciate it. I haven't had, and still don't have, the time to determine who has or has not received it so am not going to pass it along to anyone else...

Christmas Décor Downsized

Denise Olson at Moultrie Creek has invited the Genea-Bloggers to participate in a Christmas tour to help celebrate the season!

Although I don't put up a lot of decorations (actually, almost none) for the holidays, I do have a small table-top tree. When we moved from our house in 2006 the Christmas decorations went with my mother, except for a couple of items. My apartment isn't very big and since I'm trying to downsize "stuff" I haven't purchased any decorations other than that little tree along with the ornaments, lights, etc. that adorn it. The tree sits on my dining room table (which is seldom used for actually dining!) and brightens up that corner of the room.

The Angel on top of the tree and the Santa stocking on the wall are two of the decorations I brought with me from the house. I also have a small collection of snowmen that adorn a few spots on end tables and some of them hang on the branches of the Christmas tree. It's not much, but it satisfies my needs.



As far as Christmases past, well, turns out we didn't take pictures of the house after decorating it. There are a few pictures that show the decorations in the background, but they don't show it very well. Mom always went a bit overboard with the lights and tinsel and stuff. Now, her apartment is smaller than mine and she has covered every available space with some kind of ornamentation! Perhaps the sparseness of my decorations are a reaction to her exuberance.

Me and My Drum :: Blog Caroling with fM

Last year I said that my favorite Christmas Carol was Do you hear What I Hear? And, it still is, but of course as with most everything else, there really isn't "just one" favorite!

My next most favorite is The Little Drummer Boy.

Come they told me, pa rum pum pum pum
A new born King to see, pa rum pum pum pum
Our finest gifts we bring, pa rum pum pum pum
To lay before the King, pa rum pum pum pum,
rum pum pum pum, rum pum pum pum,

So to honor Him, pa rum pum pum pum,
When we come.

Little Baby, pa rum pum pum pum
I am a poor boy too, pa rum pum pum pum
I have no gift to bring, pa rum pum pum pum
That's fit to give the King, pa rum pum pum pum,
rum pum pum pum, rum pum pum pum,

Shall I play for you, pa rum pum pum pum,
On my drum?

Mary nodded, pa rum pum pum pum
The ox and lamb kept time, pa rum pum pum pum
I played my drum for Him, pa rum pum pum pum
I played my best for Him, pa rum pum pum pum,
rum pum pum pum, rum pum pum pum,

Then He smiled at me, pa rum pum pum pum
Me and my drum.

I wonder what that "surprise" is that Ms. fM has in store for us this year? Her Choir Of GeneAngels last year was really something special.