Texas Genealogy Events: Week of June 1-7, 2009

Straight from the Texas Genealogy Events calendar, here's what is happening in Texas for the week of June 1-7, 2009:

Monday, June 1

Montgomery County Genealogical & Historical Society, Inc.
Monthly Meeting, 6:30pm
Montgomery County Memorial Library,
104 I-45 N, 1st floor meeting room,
in Conroe, Texas.

Ellis County Genealogical Society Meeting, 7pm
Ellis County Woman's Building,
407 West Jefferson Street in Waxahachie

Thursday, June 4

Mid Cities Genealogical Society Meeting, 7pm
Euless Public Library,
201 N. Ector, Euless, Texas


For further details on these events, please see the Texas Genealogy Events Calendar. Please confirm all dates and locations with the host societies and organizations.

Do you have an event you'd like to see on the calendar? Contact me using the email address at the right side of this blog. Events should occur in Texas or be of interest to Texans (neighboring states welcome). Speakers are encouraged to publicize their presentations.

Fight On, Wonder Boys!: COG 73

A rare window of time has allowed me to participate in the 73rd Carnival of Genealogy. The theme for this edition is "The Good Earth," and it issues the following challenge: Were your ancestors sharecroppers or land barons? Perhaps an ancestor was a logger or a miner. Do you have stories of homesteading? Is there a master gardener in your tree? If your ancestors lived in the city did they keep a square foot garden or escape the city to a favorite park? Tell us about your family's ties to the land!

The very first family line I traced were my Williamsons of Arkansas. They arrived from Tennessee around the time Arkansas became a state and stayed put in the same county for decades and generations. Nice, straight-and-narrow family, active in the church and community, present in many records with a name that's a challenge to spell wrong: they were the perfect family on which to cut my genealogical teeth.

My great-great-great-great grandfather, John Williamson (1786-1861) brought his family to Pope County, Arkansas in the early 1830's. Records from the General Land Office of the Bureau of Land Management show the ownership and location of the land held by John Williamson (and later that of his namesake) as well as other Williamson kin.

With a little homework and the affirmation of two different books, it was determined that the former John Williamson homestead is also the present-day location of Arkansas Tech University.

During my August 2008 trip to Russellville, Arkansas, I found it difficult to picture the homestead as it once was because a thriving university was running on top of it. I did find this old postcard of early ATU however, which helped a bit:



During the tour of ATU, my father and I saw this hall with the Williamson name. We wondered if it was named after our ancestor.

The answer was no. The hall was named for Marvin Williamson.

He was the first student enrolled at Tech in 1910, then he was the band director for decades. That's how you earn your name on a hall, folks. I still haven't figured out if or how we are tied to this particular Williamson, which is odd because I thought I knew about every Williamson in Pope County.

While on the Arkansas Tech campus, we met with someone at the museum. She spoke of an important anniversary coming up in the school's history. I shared with her my records showing that John Williamson once farmed the land on which the school stood. It was a nice meeting, but I got the feeling that my information wouldn't be added to the college's storied history. University students and local residents will only know of John Williamson's tie to the land if they read the right history books.

So to the descendants of John Robert Williamson I say if you're ever in Russellville, Arkansas, stop by Arkansas Tech and get a gander at your ancestral homelands now being occupied by Wonder Boys and Golden Suns.

Back to School: I am Complete Again

I received an envelope from the National Genealogical Society in the mail today. I was hoping it was an award for being their #1 Awesomest Member, but it was the return of my 4th NGS course assignment with comments.

If you remember from my past discussion, you don't get grades in the "graded option" of the NGS course. You either "complete" the assignment or you don't. I am pleased to inform you that I have now completeted four assignments. Numbers 5-7 are submitted and still outstanding. 8 is halfway done on my computer. 9-16 aren't even on the horizon until after June.

For this assignment I had to survey the genealogical holdings at a local library. Clayton was the obvious choice, but I decided to go another direction and check out a library with which I've had little experience: the main Conroe branch of the Montgomery County Memorial Library System.

Here is the feedback I received:

"You have written an excellent report on the genealogical resources of the Montgomery County Memorial Library. You obviously made a thorough survey of the collection; you almost sounded surprised at the extent of potentially valuable material available [That's the copy writer coming out in me. I can make anything sound exciting. However, I was pretty impressed by the amount of genealogy "stuff" they packed into that department]. You're lucky to have both this library and the Clayton Library available to you.

Your citations were all correctly written and formatted. Good job!

Thank you. Thankyouverymuch.

My Social Family Tree

Last year, I started building a family tree at Geni. It was my little private tree as I built it up. Earlier this month, I pulled off the dust cloths and introduced the little tree to my family.

My expectations were minimal. I just wanted to use Geni as a repository and back-up site for all of the family photos that were coming in from all sides. Any time I make contact with a distant cousin, there are always photos to exchange. This Geni tree would help me share those with my family.

I also wanted a location for basic information on my ancestors. This tree is not sourced. The audience does not care about sources. Not every one in my family is interested in this history, but their kids, grandkids, etc. might be. I just wanted a static place where this information would always be available for those who wanted it.

The results were positive. People joined, commented and looked at pictures. Some added family members. My dad was able to get my mom's side of the family in on it. She has a gazillion first cousins, so I now have a gazillion first cousins once removed.

I built my tree carefully. I entered all living people using their first names only. When they were invited to the tree, they could change their names, add last names or do whatever they wanted to their profiles. I just didn't feel comfortable doing it for them.

As for the deceased members of the tree, well they got the full treatment. I'm trying to build a little profile of each person. All of their pictures are tagged. Obituaries are added if I have them. I'm trying to rebuild their lives through the events timeline. I add census information when I can. I add a little to the tree each morning so there is always something new to look at. That's my m.o.: telling the stories of those who can't.

I'm still a little suspect of Geni. I have all my account preferences set pretty much as private as they can be. I'm hoping others know how to do the same. I don't like all the emails Geni generates. I'm hoping others know how to fix that and don't think I'm the one sending them (go to Settings, people!).

Some of the bugs are frustrating. My updates aren't showing up, so nobody can see what I've added on a given day. Yesterday, all the profile pictures I added disappeared. I added them again today, but you wouldn't know it from the updates.

Geni is like family. It has faults, but I like it anyway.

IGHR (Samford) Mailing List

The Samford Institute of Genealogy and Historical Research--sometimes called Samford, sometimes caller IGHR--has a mailing list.

If you are considering attending this week-long genealogy summer camp, or want to learn more about it, you may want to subscribe to the list. Directions on how to do so are found here.

IGHR is on my calendar for 2010. I'm eyeballing the Southern research course, or maybe the law/gov docs one.

Here's something funny I learned about IGHR while I was at the NGS conference in Raleigh: the most popular session at IGHR is Elizabeth Shown Mills' "Advanced Methodology" class. It's a very difficult class, but the experience is very rewarding. One person described the experience as being broken down like boot camp, and built back up again. When you complete the class, you get a button (or sticker?) that says "I Survived #4" which is the number of the course. Too funny.

Texas Genealogy Events: Week of May 25-31, 2009

Straight from the Texas Genealogy Events calendar, here's what is happening in Texas for the week of May 25-31, 2009:

Tuesday, May 26:

Austin Genealogical Society Meeting, 6:30 pm
Location:Highland Park Baptist Church,
5206 Balcones, Austin, Texas
Topic: State Census and Other Resources
Presenter: Cindy Foreman

Fort Worth Genealogical Society Meeting, 6:30 pm
Fort Worth Central Library(Downtown)
500 West 3rd Street
Fort Worth, Texas
Tandy Lecture Hall

Thursday, May 28

East Texas Genealogical Society
Get Acquainted Luncheon, 11:30am
Meetings are held between 11:30am and about 1:30pm (or whenever) at the Heartland Ham Co.
3400-A South Broadway, Tyler 75701. (903) 581-2802
These meetings are a chance to meet other members of the society in a relaxed, informal, social atmosphere -- all while enjoying a delicious lunch.
We talk about all sorts of subjects: genealogy, computers, kids, grand-kids, etc.
Come and enjoy yourself!

Saturday, May 30

Austin Genealogical Society
Saturday Series, 1pm
Genealogy Potpourri...Internet Lessons, Practicing, and Brick Wall Solving
1:00 bring your laptop, or observe.
2:00 bring your brickwall question for discussion
Cost: Free
Location: Austin History Center, 810 Guadalupe, 78701

For further details on these events, please see the Texas Genealogy Events Calendar. Please confirm all dates and locations with the host societies and organizations.

Do you have an event you'd like to see on the calendar? Contact me using the email address at the right side of this blog. Events should occur in Texas or be of interest to Texans (neighboring states welcome). Speakers are encouraged to publicize their presentations.

Welcome to the Family, Wiley Jones

Yesterday, my Jones line was a brick wall. I knew they were from North Carolina, but couldn't make the connection. Have you ever tried to look for a Jones without a birth date? Doesn't work too well.

Today I no longer have a Jones brick wall. In fact, not only did I knock a hole out, I drove a path back 100 years in North Carolina. Here's what happened:

I was putting together a little profile for Frank Wiley Jones. He's one of my favorite ancestors: part cowboy, part businessman, all gentleman. I Googled his name to see what I could find about his days in Duncan, Oklahoma and Indian Territory before that.

Up pops this chapter from "A History of the State of Oklahoma: 1908" (scroll down 1/4 page to see the entry for Frank Wiley Jones.) I knew most of the information on the page, but at the bottom it lists his grandfather as Wiley Jones. I know Frank's father was Richard Manson/Monson Jones, but I never knew the next link up. Now I do. It's Wiley Jones.

I found Wiley in the 1860 census in Cooke County, TX, just where he was supposed to be according to the book. Two doors up from him is Josiah Jones. I know these people came from Buncombe County, North Carolina, so I started digging for a records online that may have a Wiley and Josiah Jones in the same family. I found one led by Ebed Jones. Then it goes back another generation from there.

Just like that. No big discoveries. Just a simple mention of a man's grandfather in a 100-year-old history book.

I've started gathering censuses and various records to verify all this information. So far, it's looking good. I've now pushed far enough back in this line that there is a great deal of documentation.

The sad part of this is that last week I spent about 30 minutes in the western North Carolina genealogical societies booth at the NGS conference in Raleigh. I whined to the booth staffer how I knew my Jones' were from Buncombe County, I just didn't know enough to act on it. I sat there and looked at all the great books they had. I saw many Jones entries, but didn't know which if any were mine. A week later, I know so much more and no longer have access to those books.

For my family, just know you have at least 100 years of Jones history in North Carolina (1750-1850), then 40 years in Texas before the move to Indian Territory / Oklahoma.

Tombstone Tuesday: Woodmen of the World

My selection for Tombstone Tuesday is this Woodmen of the World marker I found in the Masonic Cemetery in Las Vegas, New Mexico in March 2009. I am not related to this person, but I just had to take some pictures:

ALBERT S.

MOYE

BORN

Dec 22 1862

DIED

March 8

1908

NGS 2009 Conference Recap for May 16

Although today was the last day of the 2009 conference, it still contained a full slate of events.

I skipped the first session so I could catch up on sleep. I did get an extra hour, but a small hotel kitchen fire about 8:30am did make things interesting. I got a free ride down 10 flights of stairs (which is really 20 if you've ever had to do that) and a small stint out in the Raleigh drizzle. Everything ended fine.

The first session I attended was on court records. The presentation really was a basic explanation of the legal system as it relates to proceedings.

Session 2 covered certain military records in the National Archives. I didn't take many notes. Basically, you can find these items if you make friends with the finding aids.

After lunch, I went to a session that talked about records in the Library of Congress. I haven't used this resource as much as I should. My favorite part of the presentation was the part that showcased some old panoramic city maps and building plans. I can't wait to play with these collections at the LoC web site. I'm not sure I would purchase this session CD from NGS, though, because the presentation was very visual. It might not translate well in only audio.

The final session I attended was called "What is a Reasonably Exhaustive Search?" based on the phrase in the Genealogical Proof Standard. This is one of those terms you have to know when pursuing certification, so I'm glad I went to the presentation.

So now I am done with my first NGS conference. If I had to do it again, I would probably get the 600-page print syllabus and not the CD version. I don't need to kill a tree, but it would have been good to have that honkin' book during sessions. However, I do have everything I need on the CD so I will deal.

Tonight is just dinner at the bar and not much else. I hope you enjoyed my conference re-caps. Hopefully others will do the same on their blogs when they attend regional genealogy events. That's how information gets shared and everyone wins.

NGS 2009 Conference Recap for May 15

It feels like I've been here a month! I don't mean that in a bad way. I've just done so much.

I got up early again, so I'd be bright and chipper for the 8 a.m. session. It was called "Of City Slickers and Straphangers: Researching Urban Ancestors," by Laura Murphy DeGrazia, CG. Harry Baerecke made me take this class so I could learn what the heck happened to him in 1890's Chicago. Most of the examples came from NYC, but the presentation was very thorough. I learned some new sources to check and new ways to approach research in urban areas. Degrazia was a good instructor. The biggest point she made was that you must study the area in which your ancestor lived, including culture, ethnicity, geography, etc. That will help you locate appropriate records for your ancestors.

The second session of the day dealt with research plans and was taught by Connie Lenzen, CG. The instructor provided a sample research plan of her own. She also referred to Professional Genealogy's chapter on research plans and the information found at the BCG web site. (By the way, Professional Genealogy is coming back in print very soon. There's an article coming out about the Pro Gen group--I think it will be in APG Quarterly--so they rushed the print order because of that article. The edition will be the same but the price will be higher.)

Session three was on tax records and it was taught by Barbara Vines Little, CG. She's another must-see instructor. Her knowledge of Virginia is vast, so most of her examples came from there. However, the tax information was general so it was very beneficial.

I then attended ther APG luncheon. I met some new people. This event was very well attended, probably because Dick Eastman was the speaker. His presentation was titled, "The Organized Genealogist." The talk was really more about efficiency than organization. He went over some Google tips, RSS, back-up suggestions and digitization. I also chatted with Carolyn Earle Billingsley, PhD and she autographed my copy of her book. Yay! She's a riot.

After lunch I was ready for a nap, but they don't provide hammocks in the convention center, so I went to a presentation about vital records taught by Patricia O'Brien Shawker, CG.

One thing I noticed today was that all of the sessions I chose fell into the BCG skillbuilding track. Interesting. If I had a clone, I would have gone to more map sessions. Choices are tough.

Tomorrow is another full day. Whew! No banquet for me tonight. I'll be having dinner at the bar if anyone's interested.

When Randy Talks, People Listen

I couldn't figure out why I had such a spike in blog visitor traffic today until I saw where everyone was coming from: Mr. Genea-Musings mentioned my daily reports from the NGS conference on his blog.

Thanks, Randy, and everyone else who has left comments. I'm glad someone is reading my reports because it is SO hard to get up early, spend all day at the convention center, go to dinner, then roll back to the hotel only to do the same thing the next day. The last thing I want to do late at night is draft a blog post, but I want to get the info out there for others.

I'm also surprised more conference attendees haven't written posts. I do know some of the bigger names are very busy. It seems there's a board meeting, a booth to staff or something else going on all the time.

I chose to blog daily and tweet often because I hope to see the same information from other genea-bloggers when they go to an event I can't attend. Mahatma Ghandi said to be the change you want to see, so I am. I want to see more updates from genealogy conferences and meetings.

(I almost wrote #genealogy. It's time to rest now.)

NGS 2009 Conference Recap for May 14

Holy heck, I'm tired. I honestly didn't know what day it was. I had to look it up in order to title the blog post.

Today at the NGS conference was great! My morning session was a double: the BCG certification Q & A. It was the same format as you see in the video on the BCG web site, but the audience asked some different questions. I'm glad I saw the video. I'm glad I went to this session. Each added to my knowledge. I am not at all ready for CG, but I know what to expect now and it isn't as scary as I once made it out to be.

Next I went to a newspaper-searching session with Paula Stuart-Warren. That was a great class. The discussion sparked a new research approach for me. I feel like my direction was rotated just 10 degrees and it made all the difference.

After lunch I went to Carolyn Earle Billingsley's "The Reality of Researching our Indian Ancestry." While I was waiting for the session to start, I thought of some new approaches I needed to try with my Chickasaws. Those ideas are pretty much what Dr. Billingsley talked about, so now I feel all special for thinking like an expert. She's a great, entertaining speaker. See her if you can.

The last session I went to was "Getting the Most from Family Tree Maker." I have FTM 2009, but haven't had much time to play with it. I didn't learn anything new from the session, but it had some great reminders. It was interesting and fast-paced.

For dinner, I went out with members of all 3 Pro Gen groups. It was great to put faces with names. I had so much fun. It was nice to meet everyone!

After dinner, I crashed the APG meeting of the chapter reps. They discussed the upcoming board meeting. It's probably safe to say the big issues that bug you and me are the same ones they'll be talking about tomorrow. It was interesting to see how things work behind the scenes. Everyone is so dang nice!

Then after that, I hung out with someone after 7pm! My wish from last night came true. Her name tag said my town, but it was wrong. She recently moved. Oh well. Ranee, it was great talking with you.

That's it for today. I'm so tired, I don't even have the strength to put links in everywhere. You're genealogists, you figure it out. ;)

NGS 2009 Conference Recap for May 13

I don't quite know how it happened, but I was signed up for another volunteer stint at the registration desk at 7:15 this a.m. It was really fun, though, so I'm not complaining. Conference volunteering is very rewarding.

At 8-ish I went to the opening meeting for the NGS conference. It's pretty much like the opening meeting at every conference, regardless of subject: thankyouforcoming, speech, awards, standing ovation, keynote speaker, thankyouforcoming.

Next I went to a session by Dr. Thomas Jones who talked about solutions for missing records. He provided four case studies, which was stellar because I love case studies. I learned that I have great instincts and I'm doing all the right things in my approach to research. I don't always know what it's called, but I'm doing it right. Yay.

I escaped the convention center for lunch. Sam & Wallys has sandwiches just like Sub Station, so that was good. I haven't had Sub Station in at least a decade.

After that, I went very early to find a seat for Elizabeth Shown Mills session. That was the right move. If you said Brad Pitt was in room A and ESM was in room B, it would be a no-brainer which session I would attend. Brad is a tool and ESM is awesomeness. I was hoping by sitting close to her, I'd breathe in some citation smarts, but it wasn't to be. I did get a pep talk on brick walls and ways to move around them. I'm ready to take on New Mexico again. Bring it.

In the afternoon, I went to the Heritage Books booth. I bought Communities of Kinship by Carolyn Earle Billingsley. I want to get it autographed at some point. I also talked briefly with Craig Scott. He's the Pro Gen 3 advisor. I highly recommend you chat with him sometimes. He knows so much and is happy to shoot the breeze.

I opted out of the late afternoon session for sanity's sake. I came back to the room to decompress and recharge. I had dinner at the hotel. I seriously need some genealogy friends that stay out past 7 p.m. The bar was empty at dinner.

It's all good, though. I'm ready for tomorrow.

NGS 2009 Conference Recap for May 12

The conference didn't start until May 13, but I had a full day yesterday. I made my own walking tour of Raleigh in the morning. Then I volunteered from 12-5 behind the registration desk. My job was to move the conference swag bags and 600+-page printed syllabi to various places for the people processing registrations for guests. Not rocket science, but it was fun. I met a Facebook friend in person and made some new acquaintances as well. The North Carolina host committee is so dang nice!

In the evening was the Association of Professional Genealogists Round Table. We met the board members present. Then we had brief introductions. The Lone Star Chapter was well represented. Woot! After intros, we broke into groups and discussed hypothetical issues/challenges genealogists face in their jobs. We then came together as a whole class again and compared answers.

Post Round Table, those present from the three Pro-Gen groups met to say hi. There were about 10-12 people there. Pro Gen 1 had the biggest contingent. I would love to provide a URL for those who don't know what Pro Gen is, but there isn't one. I did mention last night that a lot of people land on my blog when searching for information about Pro Gen. My suggestion for a basic web page that explains Pro Gen and tells you how to sign up was well-received, so hopefully that will come about soon.

In this casual Pro Gen discussion, we also talked about what to do after Pro Gen. Class #1 is in the final phase. There were suggestions on what to study next. Greenwood's book was thrown out there by Craig Scott as an idea. Hopefully, some Pro Gen-ers read this and continue the discussion online regarding what to do next.

Yesterday was an 18-hour day. I went to bed knowing I had to volunteer the next morning at 7:15am, but it was ok. This is fun.

[Edit: Mark Tucker was kind enough to provide a link that explains Pro Gen. Thanks, Mark!]

NGS 2009 - It's ON!

I'm in Raleigh for the 2009 conference of the National Genealogical Society. I think they call it the 31st Annual Family History Conference, but whatever.

Today was devoted to just getting here, which I did. I got up way too early for my flight, which required a nap when I got to my hotel room. Chalk up 30 minutes to figure out how to connect to the hotel Internet, since the published instructions were totally wrong. All of a sudden, it was time for food.

I spent the first part of dinner immersed in an issue of Everton's Genealogical Helper. The second portion, I became friends with the person in the next seat over. We spent the next hour or so talking NC archives, genealogical pains in the butt and life in general. She took my business card which has this blog address so Barbara if you're reading this, thanks for the great conversation! Genealogists are awesome.

Tomorrow involves a walk around Raleigh, a half-assed attempt to find the Buncombe County Jones' in the state archives, a sampling of North Carolina BBQ and conference volunteering if asked. Tomorrow evening is APG round table. I am very excited!

Texas Genealogy Events: Week of May 11-17, 2009

Straight from the Texas Genealogy Events calendar, here's what is happening in Texas for the week of May 11-17, 2009:

Monday, May 11:

Humble Area Genealogical Society Monthly Meeting, 7pm
Speaker: John Coyle
Topic: A Forgotten Resource
Location: Lonestar College - Kingwood
see web site for directions

Tuesday, May 12:

Fort Worth Genealogical Society, 6:30pm
Computer Users Group
Fort Worth Central Library(Downtown)
500 West 3rd Street

Comal County Genealogical Society Meeting, 7:30pm
"One Room Schoolhouses of Comal County" by Alton Rahe.­
Sophienburg Museum and Archives Meeting Room
401 W. Coll St.
New Braunfels , TX 78130

Wednesday, May 13:

Collin County Genealogical Society Monthly Meeting, 7pm
W. O. Haggard, Jr. Public Library
2501 Coit Road, Plano, Texas

Thursday, May 14:

Fort Worth Genealogical Society - Day Workshop, 1pm
Hands-on, interactive, informal sessions each month.
Southwest Regional Library
4001 Library Lane at Hulen St.
Fort Worth, Texas

Clayton Library Session: Getting Organized, 1:30pm
Organized or trashed? Let's get organized!
Reservations required.
Call 832-393-2600. Adults/Teens.

Denton County Genealogical Society Meeting, 6:30pm
Denton Public Library
Emily Fowler Central Library
502 Oakland St
Denton, TX 76201

Saturday, May 16:

Liberty County Genealogical Society Workshop, 8:30am

Fort Worth Genealogical Society Board Meeting, 10am
All members are welcome.
Southwest Regional Library
4001 Library Lane at Hulen St.
Fort Worth, Texas

Genealogy Friends of Plano Libraries, 10am
Saturday Seminar
"Planning a Reunion", presented by David and Paula Pitts
W.O. Haggard, Jr. Library, 2501 Coit Rd., Plano, Texas

Clayton Library Orientation, 11am
Discussion of the resources available at Clayton Library. Orientation lasts approximately one hour. No reservations needed, meet at the Information Desk in the library.

Rains County Genealogical Society Meeting, 1pm
Location: Rains County Library
150 Doris Briggs Parkway
Emory, Texas 75440
Phone: (903)473-5000 ext 283

National Events This Week:

National Genealogical Society
31st Annual Family History Conference
Raleigh, North Carolina


For further details on these events, please see the Texas Genealogy Events Calendar. Please confirm all dates and locations with the host societies and organizations.

Do you have an event you'd like to see on the calendar? Contact me using the email address at the right side of this blog. Events should occur in Texas or be of interest to Texans (neighboring states welcome). Speakers are encouraged to publicize their presentations.

More Blog Love

Caroline Pointer of the Family Stories blog gave me a coveted "One Lovely Blog" award. Thank you!

We Tree in Lights

Greta Koehl picked this blog to show some love in part 1 of her Blog Showcase. I just wanted to say thanks in return.

Do Not Pass Go. Do Not Collect $200

You may recall that in March I went to the San Miguel County, New Mexico courthouse on a records hunt, only to find the building gutted and the records completely inaccessible.

My backup plan was to order microfilms for the dates I believe my great-great grandmother married her second husband. I ordered those films and waited.

Today I got the call that the microfilms are "restricted" and I cannot have them. Specifically films #1574070 and #1542780, are on the naughty list. Both films deal with San Miguel County (NM) marriage records circa 1900--well over 100 years old.

I assume the restriction was placed by whoever provided the records and not the Family History Library itself. I was so surprised, I forgot to ask if that was the case of the volunteer that had to break the news to me.

I don't have much experience with New Mexico records and I don't know much about the time my ancestors were there. Mostly I don't know much about them because I'm having such a hard time getting information.

Has anybody dealt with "restricted" microfilms? Can I get them in Salt Lake City? or would I be denied there, too? With both the courthouse and the FHL out of the question, I'm running out of ideas on how to find a record for a marriage that took place probably between 1898-1901 in Las Vegas, New Mexico.

Sigh...

I'd be more bummed but I have to go be a mom right now.

Always Moving Forward

I have certain professional goals and my approach is to do something--anything--each day to move toward those goals. Always moving forward.

Sounds ambitious and driven, but it doesn't make for good blog fodder. Unfortunately, it's what I've been doing, so that's what you get.

Today was my second ProGen3 chat. 16 more to go, I guess? It went well. I love the topics and the group. Before the chat, we are given questions based on the readings in the Professional Genealogy book. During the chat, we compare answers, backgrounds, opinions, etc. My mind is always churning when chat is over.

After lunch, I finished the lecture part of my NGS course, assignment 8. Then I worked on one of the two tasks of the lesson. I transcribed a will. It was kind of a softball challenge. I easily interpreted the handwriting. I did pretty well on the abstracting, too. We'll see how well it serves me when I go for certification.

In less than a week, I will be at the National Genealogy Conference in Raleigh. I am very excited.

Texas Genealogy Events: Week of May 4-10, 2009

Straight from the Texas Genealogy Events calendar, here's what is happening in Texas for the week of May 4-10, 2009:

Monday, May 4:

Montgomery County Genealogical & Historical Society, Inc.
Monthly Meeting, 6:30 pm.
Montgomery County Memorial Library,
104 I-45 N, 1st floor meeting room, in Conroe, Texas.
*please note, web site has disappeared. If you have information on this group, please let me know.

Ellis County Genealogical Society Meeting
Ellis County Woman's Building,
407 West Jefferson Street in Waxahachie

Tuesday, May 5:

San Angelo Genealogical and Historical Society Meeting, 7pm
First Baptist Church, First Place,
14 East Harris Avenue, San Angelo, Texas.
Visitors are welcome.

Thursday, May 7:

Mid Cities Genealogical Society Meeting
Euless Public Library, 201 N. Ector, Euless, Texas

Saturday, May 9:

East Texas Genealogical Society Meeting, 2pm
Presenter: Patricia Adkins-Rochette:
"The Texas State Troops and the Confederate Army in Texas during the Civil War"
Tyler Public Library
201 S. College Avenue
Tyler, TX 75702
903-593-1329


For further details on these events, please see the Texas Genealogy Events Calendar. Please confirm all dates and locations with the host societies and organizations.

Do you have an event you'd like to see on the calendar? Contact me using the email address at the right side of this blog. Events should occur in Texas or be of interest to Texans (neighboring states welcome). Speakers are encouraged to publicize their presentations.

Bookmark this easy URL for the Texas Genealogy Events Calendar: http://tinyurl.com/txgen .

Saturday in the Park

Today I attended the last meeting of the season for the Houston Genealogical Forum. Part of me went because I'm hooked on the Picnic box lunches they serve. The other part of me wanted to see their guest speaker: Carolyn Earle Billingsley, Ph.D.

Dr. Billingsley talks about kinship. If you want to know more about an ancestor, you need to move beyond that person and study his or her kin. Those neighbors might be family members, you know.

I liked this talk because it justified the way I look for genealogical information. I'm not content to make the biological connection. I often call b.s. on the information I find (or others provide), then I start the process for finding more details for the same event.

Dr. Billingsley talked about migration and the reasons people move. This totally fit with my insistence that my great-great grandmother moved to New Mexico for a reason, and I think that reason was family. You don't just leave Illinois as a widow with a child and mosey down to a railroad town for a fresh start. Someone was there waiting. Dr. Billingsley's words made me feel less crazy because I am so sure this is the case.

Anyway, it was a fun time. I lost a good seat and a stack of old genealogy journals because I was being polite and courteous of others. Apparently it's every man for himself at the book sale and you must grab what you want or others will do it for you. I know that now. BUT I did get a copy of the September 1999 Evidence NGSQ, so that was a score. I was able to snatch that one without a fight. These genealogy meetings cen be tough, you know.

I also talked to a couple of people about my Texas Genealogy Events calendar. The response is always positive. Yay.

The rest of the day will be lazy. I might do some of the reading required for my NGS class.

Then and Now

This is the home where my great-grandparents (John Arthur Lenertz 1889-1937, Gertrude Eleanor Barecke / Baerecke 1892-1935) and their only child lived in Bartlesville, Oklahoma. That's my great-grandmother in the front. This picture was probably taken in the last half of the 1920's or first half of the 1930's.

This is the same house as it was when I took the picture in 2008:

In the first picture, you can see there is no house to the right. Today, there are houses all around. It is an established neighborhood.