Keeping Family History Alive

Many people will never know about the family members that came before them.  I didn't want to be one of those people so I started doing research, and before long, became an addict.  Yes, a genealogy addict!  I want to find all my relatives and pass on those names to my children, so they can in turn pass them on to their children.  Research is not always an easy task but it is getting easier and easier, thanks to all the websites that are devoted to genealogy and family history. I heard yesterday that genealogy has surpassed gardening as a favorite hobby.  More and more people are going to become addicts, just like me!

My mom passed away at the young age of 52.  Oh how I wish I had sat down with her and asked her lots of questions about her life growing up, about her family members, about her earliest memories, about lots of things.  But I didn't.  Don't wait to ask those questions of the ones you love.  I have started quizzing my dad and I have found out some of the most amazing things.  You will too!

Me as a baby, with my mom and dad.

While doing my research, I seem to run into brick walls more than not, but every once in awhile, I come across something that blows one of those walls wide open.  I recently went on a search of a great, great grandmother and knew lots about her from the time she married on until she died.  However, I couldn't find anything about her before that.  As I mentioned in a previous blog, I went onto the Facebook page for the North Carolina Genealogy group and posted a query seeking information on Margaret E. Gordy Green.  In no time, someone came back with several pieces of information that were very helpful and I was able to break down that wall.

It is so important to make sure any information you find is well sourced and that you constantly back up what you have found.  Sourcing is important so you know where to go back, to find that information, if you need it again.  And you would certainly hate to lose all the info you have found because you didn't have it backed up.  I use Backblaze as my cloud backup but I also have a zip drive with the same information on it.  I try to backup my info a couple times a week but at least once, for sure.

I have been scanning pictures and saving them in several places too.  All those pictures that were taken back in the early 60's are becoming more and more faded.  I don't want to lose those precious memories.  Some of them I have been able to enhance in my photo program, that came with the computer.  But they will never be as good as they were back then.  Below is an example of what I am talking about -

This is the photo that has been
enhanced.  The original is below.

I have lots of scanning and enhancing to do but it will be worth it to be able to preserve them for later.  

Do you have a bunch of old family VHS tapes laying around?  There are lots of companies now that will take them and put them on a DVD.  I have one from the 60's of my family that really brings back precious memories.  I want to get it on a zip drive or saved in another format so I don't lose it.  There are some programs out there that will do that too.  I am still trying to decide which one is better but I will do it, so it will be preserved for the future.  

    

See how faded this on
not be able to see it.  

I have made a book, through Shutterfly, about my mom's life, which I gave to my family for Christmas one year. They loved having that book of pictures and stories.  And Shutterfly made it so easy to do and was very reasonable.  

All these things will help you preserve your family history and although they might not appreciate it now, I have no doubt, that in the future, your children, and theirs, will love that you took the extra time to keep their memories alive.  

Today's Terri's Tidbit:  If you have old family VHS tapes, audio tapes, etc and you would like them put onto a DVD or other medium, contact TMC Place.com. They have been preserving people's memories for over 30 years.  

Family History Made Easier: Don’t Reinvent the Genealogy Wheel

I am doing something a little different for this blog entry.  I wanted to tell you a little bit about how and why I have been doing research into my family tree. So the regular family history stories will continue next week. 

One caveat before I begin, however, is that I am not an expert on this subject.  I am a work in progress and continue to be astounded with new stuff everyday.  However, I have had a lot of “lessons learned” over the years and thought I would pass some of that on, to any interested parties, in hopes that it may save you some time. 

I have had several people ask me why I decided to do the blog and where I go to get my information, such as when I applied for my Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) membership.  My recent stories on my family come from my memories, with the help of my dad, (who I have bugged relentlessly with questions) and other family members.  My DAR application required a lot of research, and patience, to find all the documents required to apply.  But I did it, applied and was accepted.  To make sure I had everything I needed though, I visited with the local DAR Registrar, before I sent my app in.  She was so helpful.  If you have a DAR Chapter in your area, and are thinking of applying, take advantage of this person.  That’s what they are there for.  They are a wealth of info on how to begin, as well as all that is required at the end.

I was talking to a friend recently who had inherited a trunk with many family treasures tucked away inside.  It had valuable family history information that would make it pretty easy for her to do the genealogy on that particular side of the family.  I was so jealous as I listened to her tell me about all the journals, pictures etc. she had in her possession.  I would love to have had those resources when I began my search for the people in my family tree.  But thank goodness, there are options out there for people who don’t.

Living family members can be one of your best resources.  Talk to them, ask them lots of questions, record their stories, take pictures and do it now.  I want to emphasize two points here, the RECORD and the NOW.  I wish someone had given me this advice 25 years ago, when many of my family members were still alive.  I just did not have the foresight to ask lots of questions when they were still living.  Take the time to visit with your mom, dad, aunts, uncles, grandparents, and cousins and glean as much information as you can.  And write it all down or voice record it.  Make your notes concise and easy to read, so when you go back to them at a later time, you can understand what you have written.  It will at least give you a better place to start and you can branch out from there.

There are many online websites that you can search through, sitting in the comfort of your home.  But the best place to get the most direct information is at the location where your ancestor lived or came from.  I really need to do this and will hit the North Carolina Archives in Salisbury, when time allows.  The Historical Society, State Archives, and local Chambers of Commerce are invaluable when you know where your ancestor came from.  When searching on Ancestry.com or familysearch.org, many times they don’t have a copy of the original and require you to go directly to the State Archives or to Salt Lake City’s Family History Library, another place I want to spend some time in.  The websites are great but they couldn’t possibly put everything that is out there on them.  However, more and more documents are being scanned and loaded to these sites everyday. I read an article that Family Search had reached 1 Billion online indexed records, in less than 7 years, but anticipate they will have another billion in far less time. 

Any information you find should be cited.  Make sure to get all the information about the newspaper articles, death certificates, wills, etc. like where it was located, dates, book titles, page numbers, every little detail you can think of.  Why do I stress this?  Because I have found some cool stuff, put it in my file, went back to it later and had no idea where it came from.  You will want all that information to verify your research. Write names on the back of pictures or file them in a way that you can have a directory.  Nothing is worse than having a picture of a family member but having no idea who they are.  There is a great book out there that gives you all kinds of information on citing your materials.   It is Evidence Explained: Citing History Sources from Artifacts to Cyberspace 2nd Edition by Elizabeth Shown Mills.  Thomas MacEntee also has one called Citing Your Sources.

Learn from other people who are doing their family history research.  There are some very interesting blogs out there from people who know their stuff when it comes to genealogy.  Take advantage of their experience.  They have been doing this for a long time and I have learned numerous ways to streamline my work, just by viewing their YouTube videos, listening to podcasts, or reading their blogs.  A couple really good ones are Randy Seaver's Genea-Musings, Lisa Louise Cooke’s Genealogy Gems, and Thomas MacEntee’s Geneabloggers.  There are tons more but I have found these to be very helpful. 

I started my blog because of some videos I watched on Lisa Louise Cooke’s YouTube website and I listen to her podcasts regularly.  They always have lots of little “Gems” that I pick up and try for myself.  Her YouTube channel has many great videos.

There are many more resources out there.  The Geneabloggers website lists over 3,000 genealogy and family history blogs, if you want to check out what others are doing.  And that is just the tip of the proverbial iceberg.  Every day, more and more things come out on the Internet that help the genealogist in training improve their techniques.

Facebook has become a great source for genealogy information too.  I mentioned in a previous blog Tidbit that I had hit a brick wall and listed it on the North Carolina Genealogy Facebook page.  Within 30 minutes I had broken through the wall with information people had provided. 

Everyone has heard of Angie’s List and Craigslist, but have you heard of Cyndi’s List?  If you have done any genealogy, at some point you have probably run across this powerhouse of a resource. 

Cyndi’s List has over 330,000 links where you can go for all kinds of valuable information that may help you find that long lost relative.  It is my go to source when I think I have covered all my bases and am still coming up short.  It’s also just a fun site to dive into and click away to see all that is available.  If you haven’t been on Cyndi’s List before, or recently, treat yourself and check it out here.

I am very thankful for all those out there who have been so gracious to share information online that helps us “want to be” genealogists.  I just hope I can pay it forward someday.

Today’s Terri’s Tidbit:  Ancestry.com has lots of information for those who are interested in genealogy.  They have an Ancestry Genealogy Toolkit that is packed with links, articles, charts, blank fill in forms, etc.  If you want to check it out, click here.

Alaska: Even Better the Second Time Around, Part 2

I always loved school and was always involved in something.  Junior high was no exception.   I was a class officer, in the National Junior Honor Society, on the Yearbook staff, on the Pep Squad, and worked in the front office one hour a day. We had so much fun in junior high. I treasured the friends I made while in Alaska and loved just hanging out with them.  Lots of times we would just sit for hours and talk and listen to music.  I would love to know where the girls, in the picture below, are today.  It would be fun to be able to catch up on all the years that have passed since we last saw each other in 1973.  One of these friends moved to Missouri, at the same time we did, but we went to different schools so I very rarely saw her.

Me with some of my friends standing in
front of Orion Junior High School.

I was in Girl Scouts during this time. We had a lot of great times as a troop. We camped out, did projects and cut up. The leader's daughter and I would always get in trouble for talking too much. Can you believe that, me talk to much? One of my friends, Diana Smith, was in the troop with us.  We still maintain contact today.  Our troop went camping one weekend, in tents, and had quite an experience. We worked real hard making no-bake cookies and sometime during the night, a bear came into the camp and ate them. There were empty containers with big ole teeth marks in them. We also saw moose while out there. This camp was right on the base. Elmendorf had a Recreation Area along the backside that was like a big wilderness area, complete with animals and that is where we camped.

I also worked on the yearbook staff with Diana Smith, Laurie Snider (who I would run into in Missouri sometimes) and Rob McKinney.  We had a wonderful teacher by the name of Marian Driskell.  We had a great group of people working on the yearbook and we were able to produce a 80 page book for our Junior High School.  I remember Mrs. Driskell taking us to workshops on things that would help with the production of the book.  One time she took several of us to a restaurant, in Anchorage, at the top of one of the taller buildings.  I think it was the Captain Cook Hotel.  I thought it was so cool how we could see forever from up there.  I still remember that I had a beef au jus sandwich.  Strange that I would remember that but I don't think I had ever heard of such a sandwich before, much less eaten one.

I hated PE! But we had to take it.  In Junior High we had these little one piece things we had to wear during class.  They were navy shorts on the bottom and I think navy and white stripes on top. You would have very little time to get in, get changed, and get out into the gym before class started and then when class was over, you were hurrying to shower, get dressed and off to the next class.  I wasn't the most coordinated one in the class either.  We had the Presidential Physical Fitness Test, we had to do each year, in order to pass PE.  One of the things we had to complete was running a mile in a certain amount of time.  I finally did it at the end of the year, but just barely made it under the required time.  I tried out for the basketball team one year because my mom had been a star basketball player.  I didn't even come close to making the layup, which was one of the key criteria for making the team.  No basketball trophies in my future.

So I didn't like PE but I loved my health class.  I learned so much in that class.  And we had so much fun in there too.  We had this plastic body that had all the parts in it, (heart, kidney, etc.) and the teacher would take them all out and then would time us as we put "Oscar" back together again. We had races and I just loved seeing how fast I could do it.  Having fun while learning!  That worked well for me.

Now that we were in Junior High, we had lockers and changed classes, just like in High School. To this day I still have a recurring nightmare about not remembering the combination for my locker, needing something for class, and not being able to get in to get it.  You had to plan well to get to your locker between classes because of time and the halls were always crowded.  Sometimes it was just easier to carry a bunch of books around.  All the sixth graders from the previous year, came to this school which made it crowded so they put up what they called Relocatables, trailers that provided more classroom space.  They sat right outside the front door of the school.  I had several classes in these trailers.

A picture from my yearbook of the
 crowded halls were at Orion. (1)

Every junior high girl has a crush on one of their teachers and I was no exception. Most of the girls in my class fell in love the day that Mr. Valentine came to Orion. He was young, teaching Boys PE, and very good looking. Needless to say, we all got tongue tied around him too. He probably thought we all were just giggly girls but boy was he cute.  We would have "Mr. Valentine" sightings and everyone would stop and watch.  Teen age girls...what more can I say?  

Today's Terri's Tidbit:  There are so many things you can do on Facebook, even genealogy.  I recently joined the North Carolina Genealogy Facebook page, mainly just to see if there was anything there that would be helpful in my family history research.  I had been looking for genealogy information on my great, great grandmother, on my mom's side.  I had hit a major brick wall and thought, hey, why not throw this out on the NC Genealogy site and see what happens. Within half an hour I had several responses to my post and was able to bring down the brick wall. If you are doing your family history, don't forget to check to see if there is a genealogical society in your state or even the county.  You, too, might just get some information that will further your findings.

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(1)  1973 Arctic Highlights Yearbook, Orion Jr. High School, Elmendorf AFB, pg. 52