Wordless Wednesday: Capitol Rotunda Edition

Record Shopping @ NARA

Today I ordered compiled military service records and Civil War pension applications in relation to my great-great-great grandfather, Max Baerecke.

This was my first foray into the vast NARA universe. Of my three direct ancestors who fought in the Civil War*, Max was the only one whose information gave me the opportunity to order records. Everything relating to my Sgt. Jones I was able to get on Footnote. The other ancestor has too common a name for me to pick the correct file to order. So while I've been attending presentations and listening to others talk about the joys of receiving military records from NARA, I never had the opportunity to order my own set until Max came along.

The online ordering process was pretty easy. I was able to use a credit card. I have order numbers for reference and an account in which to check status.

We'll see how it goes, and we'll see what treasures these files hold......in 60 to 90 days.


*Yes, I know there are other wars from which I can order records. My ancestors always just seemed to be too young, too old, too new to the country, or just plain rejected to be a part of any of them. That's just how my tree grows.

Texas Genealogy Events: Week of September 28 - October 4, 2009

Straight from the Texas Genealogy Events calendar, here's what is happening in Texas for the week of September 28 - October 4, 2009:

Thursday, October 1:

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

Saturday, October 3:

Houston Genealogical Forum General Meeting, 10am
Bayland Park Community Center
6400 Bissonnet, Houston


For further details on these events, 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.

Tales from the Genealogical 'Hood: My FHC Field Trip

Today I made another trip to my local Family History Center. As you may or may not know, I don't have good luck there. It seems the films I request always come back "restricted" and my access denied. I suspect the problem is with the regulations of entities in a particular state in which I have a research interst (rhymes with Dew Hexico). There's nothing really scandalous or secretive about the circa-1900 marriage & probate records I need.

Anyway, I went to the FHC today armed with a new order for records from other--hopefully more access-friendly--states. Here's what I requested:

Since I had an $11 credit from my last denial, I invested the funds into 2 microfilm rolls for Pope County, Arkansas probate records and indexes. I'm looking for the will of my great-great-great grandfather, John Laurens Williamson, who died in 1862. I want the document because he's a direct descendant and I believe it is an important record to have. At the same time, I'm trying to sort out the mystery of his likely son, Horatio Williamson, who shows up in the household in the 1850 census (no relationship stated), then is never heard from again in any other records. Perhaps this will holds clues.

At the same time, I placed an order for 1900's-1920's marriage records for Stephens County, Oklahoma. I'm looking for my great-grandmother, her five sisters & all their husbands. I know who all these people are, I just want the actual records. The good news with this order is that all these volumes are on microfiche. These cost 15 cents apiece and they stay at my FHC indefinitely! Yay! That means I'll have 3 decades of Stephens County marriage records within reach as long as I need them. I will need them, too, because my family history research of Duncan, Oklahoma is fast turning into a community study of sorts.

As I claimed my credit with the FHC volunteer, I gave the explanation of the restricted records. The nice lady helping me jokingly wondered aloud what mysterious research I was doing. I just shrugged and let her think I was up to no good. Makes life interesting.

Soooo....now I just wait and see if my FHC luck will change. It all depends on how the microfilm rolls, I guess.

Planting a New Family Tree

Recently, I started building a family history database from scratch. This means I'm starting a new family tree with myself as the "home" person. No merging profiles, no uploading thousands of records from another database. The significance of this exercise is that this database/family tree will be entirely built with good sources and strong documentation. For my non-genealogy readers, that just means you aren't added to my tree until I get the documentation that proves you should be there. I am so serious about this that I didn't start building the tree until I could find my own birth certificate in order to make a proper source citation.

At this moment, I've only added my family up to my eight great-grandparents, their kids and siblings. Last night I finished adding "events" for everyone included in the 1930 census. Today I'll complete everyone in the 1920 census. Then I will go back and see which birth and death certificates I have and create a to-do list based on what else I need.

I have lots of information on my grandparents and great-grandparents. I want to make sure that I get all those details in the new database before I move on to the sixteen great-great grandparents. It gets tricky after that.

This slow, calculated process isn't for the weak of heart or patience. It takes a long time to get the citations just right. The RootsMagic software I'm using greatly eases the process, but it still requires the user to take the time to input all of the citation details.

So far, this crazy endeavor is going really well. It's a great feeling to know I have this tree that will be well-researched and not in constant need of adjustment. We all have those genealogy projects that are a complete mess. This isn't one of those and just the thought of that fact makes me happy.

Texas Genealogy Events: Week of September 21-27, 2009

Straight from the Texas Genealogy Events calendar, here's what is happening in Texas for the week of September 21-27, 2009:

Monday, September 21

Angelina County Genealogical Society Meeting, 5p
Kurth Memorial Library
706 S. Raguet Street,
Lufkin, TX 75904

Tuesday, September 22

Austin Genealogical Society General Meeting
Social time: 6:30-7 Meeting 7-8:30
Location:Highland Park Baptist Church,
5206 Balcones,
Topic: Tales and Imagery from the Tombstones
Presenter: Janene Jeffrey

Thursday September 24 - Saturday September 26

30th Texas State Hispanic Genealogical & Historical Conference
Addison, Texas
The Hispanic Genealogical and Historical Conference will promote, assist, develop, and conserve the genealogical and historical resources contributed by those of Hispanic heritage. It will promote awareness for the need to preserve Hispanic family history and assist in making the acquaintance of historical research locations, research document skills, and research comradeship. The Hispanic genealogy conference perpetuates the memory of individual contributors of Hispanic Heritage and holds a special regard for past and present contributor to history and genealogy.

Thursday, September 24

East Texas Genealogical Society Get Acquainted Luncheon
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, September 26

Clayton Library Mini-Education Session
U.S. - Mexico Border Crossing Records of the Early 20th Century Saturday, 09/26/2009 10:00-11:00 AM
In the first half of the 20th century, immigrants and non-immigrants from countries both inside and outside the Western Hemisphere crossed into Texas and other border states from Mexico. Border crossing towns included Brownsville, Eagle Pass, El Paso, Fabens, Fort Hancock,Laredo, Rio Grande City, Progreso/Thayer, Roma, Yseleta, Zapata, and many others. Learn about the different types of records that were generated as well as which individuals were generally included in these records. Reservations required, please call 832-393-2600. Adults/Teens.

Van Zandt County Genealogical Society Meeting, 2pm
Location: Van Zandt County Library
317 First Monday Lane
Canton, TX 75103-1052
903-567-4276


For further details on these events, 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.

I'm Dating RootsMagic

I first noticed RootsMagic 4 when it came as part of my blogger swag bag at the Southern California Genealogy Conference 2009 Jamboree. I must admit, I was a bit excited because my relationship with another genealogy software package wasn't really going anywhere.

Since then, my handful of encounters with RootsMagic have been simple and pleasant. I don't like complicated programs. I don't read manuals, so I want something easy going. I watched the RootsMagic tutorial and started playing with the basics. There are lots of bells and whistles, but I am easily guided by symbols and explanations. The tools for developing citations are top notch.

RootsMagic appears to do the same types of fancy tricks as my previous software did. I don't have enough information in my database yet to play with the reporting features, so I can't comment on those except to say the results look promising. What makes me feel best is that if I royally screw something up and need technical support, there's a good chance I'll get a response from a high-level staff member of RootsMagic who will personally help me get back on track. That wouldn't be the case with my previous genealogy program.

I've now logged enough time with RootsMagic 4 to announce to my family and friends that I am exclusively dating this genealogy software. I don't want to rush things, but this relationship looks very promising.

Wordless Wednesday: Petey Loves Genealogy!

My 6th ProGen Chat

Yesterday, I participated in my 6th chat for my 18-month ProGen endeavor. This month's assignment had to do with time management. We had to keep a log of everything we do all day long for several days. Then we analyzed the data to see where the "time suckers" were in our schedule and submitted our observations to our peer group.

Since I live my life by a calendar & to-do lists, I knew this assignment would be no problem. I did the task and turned it in early. There was no way I was going to be late on a time management assignment.

My outcome from this assignment was different than others'. What I learned about myself was this: I cram a lot of activity into a little time frame. Sometimes I am so efficient with my time that I forget to breathe. Based on that observation, I've started to let some smaller things slide. There is less on my to-do list each day.

That's what I talked about in chat. Othes noticed that volunteer time was taking a bigger chuck of their time than previously realized, and how life can often get in the way of your intended genealogy goals. It was a good chat.

I suggest everyone keep time logs for several days. Be honest, detailed and thorough. You'll be surprised by the results. I plan on doing another multi-day time log six months down the road just to see if my changes have stuck. Keeps me honest.

Texas Genealogy Events: Week of September 14-20, 2009

Straight from the Texas Genealogy Events calendar, here's what is happening in Texas for the week of September 14-20, 2009:

Monday, September 14

The Humble Area Genealogical Society Meeting, 7pm
Location: Humble Senior Activity Center
1401 North Houston Ave in Humble

Tuesday, September 15

East Bell County Genealogical Society Meeting, 6:30p
McLane Room of the Temple Public Library at 101 North Main Street. The library is on the square in downtown Temple.

Saturday, September 19

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

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
Plano Saturday Seminar, 10am
The seminars are FREE and are held at the W.O. Haggard, Jr. Library, 2501 Coit Rd., Plano, Texas, in the first floor Program Room. Registration is not necessary. The content is suitable for all levels of genealogy research so bring your friends to learn and have fun at the same time! As always, donations are gladly accepted!

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


For further details on these events, 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.

My Thing for LibraryThing

Earlier this week, I shared with you the bag of goodies I purchased at the FGS Conference in Little Rock. What I didn't mention is that whenever I buy books, I enter them into my little online library at LibraryThing.

I use LibraryThing for two reasons. First, it helps me see what's in my own collection. I know what I have and what I need. Also, I use my LibraryThing account to share my collection online with others. Take a look at my genealogy library. If there's a book I have that is of interest to you, let me know and I'll do my best to get you the information you need.

P.S. If you have an account on LibraryThing, feel free to add me!

Wordless Wednesday: Hurricane Ike Edition

The one-year anniversary for Hurricane Ike is coming up. My Wordless Wednesday will make note of the day...only it won't be wordless:

This is my son's school playground. Those fallen wires are the reason we didn't have power for 14 days after the hurricane. Each day, with nothing else to do, my son and I would walk from our quiet, dark house down to the school to see if any utility companies were working on the wires. Given the size of the region and the massive scope of the problem, I knew we were low on the list for repair. My son and I would talk as we walked along to and from the school. Day 5, day 6, day 7... they'd pass with no change. Finally on day 13, we saw a truck. It was just one truck with one utility worker, but it was a truck! On day 14, we saw many utility trucks. They were from Georgia and Florida. They drove all the way here, away from their own families to help ours. The principal of our school opened the building so the workers would have restroom facilities and seating. Parents came and grilled food for the workers. That hurricane sucked. It destroyed lots of people and lots of places. But what I choose to remember are the walks I had with my son, the utility workers who helped us and the neighborhood who in turn helped them. This is why I live here, and that's what I think about when I see this picture. Looking back--which is easy to do when you have power--I have a lot of positive memories of those walks with my son. I think he feels the same way, but given his age, he'd never admit it.

A Peek into My FGS Shopping Bag

The danger in driving (as opposed to flying) to a full-scale genealogy conference is that when you make purchases, you're not limited by the space & weight of your airline luggage. I had a nice roomy car trunk and I did my best to fill it. Here's what I got at the FGS conference in Little Rock:

Getting the Most Out of Roots Magic 4 - by Bruce Buzbee
The introduction to this book says it's not an instruction manual. That's good because I'm not a fan of those page-filled sleeping pills. Based on what I've seen so far, this book will show me some of the deeper level bells and whistles of the Roots Magic 4 genealogy software.

North Carolina Research: Genealogy and Local History - edited by Helen F. M. Leary, C.G., F.A.S.G.
Both Craig Scott and J. Mark Lowe recommended this book. The title is a bit misleading (as Craig pointed out to me). This book is more than just North Carolina research. It also appears to be a stellar how-to book for genealogical research in general. It's a biggie. I can't wait to dig in.

The Genealogist's Guide to Researching Tax Records - by Carol Cooke Darrow, C.G., and Susan Winchester, Ph.D., C.P.A.
This book was recommended to me by Craig Scott. He is the mentor for my Pro Gen 3 group. I've also seen him speak, so I trust anything he says. I'd buy an old phone book if he told me to because I know he wouldn't steer me wrong. Besides, I can use the extra education on tax records.

Family Maps of Pope County, Arkansas - by Gregory A. Boyd, J.D.
Normally, I wouldn't buy this type of book. It's a map book that lists the locations of family farms and land held throughout Pope County, Arkansas. The reason I did buy it is due to my extensive family history in this area. Kinship theory is alive and well in this county's history. I am connected to many names and I need to see how their farms sat next to each other. I felt that having the book at my disposal was better than a few copied pages for reference.

Genealogical Resources of the Civil War Era - by William Dollarhide
I regretted not buying this book at the Southern California Genealogy Jamboree, so I fixed that issue and bought it in Little Rock. I have some challenges with certain Civil War ancestors in my tree and I'm hoping this book will lead me down new research paths.

Census Substitutes and State Records: Volumes 1 and 2 - by William Dollarhide
These were a bit of an impulse buy. I am trying to build a little reference library of my own. I figure that if I am doing research for someone else, or in an unfamiliar area, these books will give me a quick education on the new states/counties. These books have lots of recommendations and information, so I'm betting they become great assets to my collection.

Well, that's my exhibition hall booty in a nutshell. Too many books to take on an airplane, but just the right amount for a road trip.

I'll start reading these soon and let you know what I think.

My Article on the ProGen Study Group

As I've mentioned before, I belong to ProGen Study Group #3. I'm a third of the way through the program, having just turned in my 6th assignment.

Recently, I wrote an article for Geneabloggers.com that provides a brief history and a little behind the scenes glimpse of this special group.

The ProGen Study Group - An Online Education Opportunity

This has been a very positive experience for me and I like to share the details with others. If you have any questions, feel free to ask.

FGS Recap 3

I hoped to keep doing daily recaps of my adventures during the Federation of Genealogical Societies conference, but I got too busy cramming everything into each day. What you get instead is a recap of my observations. Lucky you.

The last 2 days, I attended several sessions that dealt with the records of Arkansas. The Arkansas History Commission website is http://www.ark-ives.com/, and boy do they like their site's name. It is clever, but they really do think it is clever. I attended several sessions about a single repository because they were led by different people and I wanted to hear several perspectives of the same place. I did learn that they've put a priority on preservation. This means that they're concentrating more on saving / documenting / recording items and less on making them available online at the moment. I can't say I disagree. There were also a handful of audience comments on parking. It must be pretty bad if the audience brings it up in multiple sessions. I was told the trick was to get their early (before government employees get to work) or get there at lunch (when city/county/state govt. employees head to lunch).

I also attended a session on Louisiana state archives. The presentation utilized an overhead projector and transparencies, so it was difficult to envision the web site. The speaker said that the archives web site has no pubic online library catalog. I didn't believe it, so I checked for myself. I've been battling the hotel's slow Internet, but the speaker appears to be right. Hard to believe.

Yesterday I also went to sessions on North Carolina and Tennessee records. Both presentations were led by J. Mark Lowe. Both were excellent. Lowe knows his stuff and presents his knowledge in an engaging way.

I also enjoyed conversations and meals with many other genealogists. The networking and social opportunities are my favorite part of any conference, including this one.

The exhibit hall is a little emptier as I also bought several books. I didn't win any vendor prizes, though. Clearly a mistake has been made...

A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to FGS

Earlier this week, I received an email from a man inquiring about some information and photos in my private family tree at Ancestry.com. He provided details and explained that he believed we had a common ancestor (we did). I replied to the person saying that I was in Little Rock (for the Federation of Genealogical Societies Conference) and that I would be able to get more information for him when I returned home. He then replied that he would be arriving shortly to Little Rock to attend the conference as well.

Color me surprised. I did the math and figured out that he and I were 4th cousins. I gave him my cell phone number and waited for him to arrive.

Today I met my 4th cousin at the FGS Conference. He's just great. We talked about our common line as well as our current families. We tracked our name and dicussed the routes taken by our ancestors.

Because we both have interest in Arkansas research, my 4th cousin and I ended up attending some of the same presentations. I imagine the same will be the case tomorrow.

You knew this teachable moment was coming: this little reunion was possible due to the use of online genealogy tools. I've spent so much time cultivating a presence anywhere my genealogy information might be discovered (Ancestry, Footnote, this blog, Facebook, Twitter, message boards, GenealogyWise, etc.). That research strategy has paid off in spades, and I have a newly found 4th cousin to prove it.

FGS Recap Day 2

(Though this is my second day at FGS, the conference really hasn't kicked off yet. That is tomorrow. Hopefully "day 2" doesn't confuse anyone.--Amy)

For day 2, I was up very early for the Association of Professional Genealogists Professional Management Conference. At the first session, attendees were told to refrain from text messaging or the use of Twitter. No reason was given for the request. Therefore, I don't feel comfortable blogging about the all-day experience without running the risk of stepping on any administrative toes.

To the five speakers whose presentations I attended, I am sorry I can't give your names, plug your websites or praise your efforts.

To the 750+ people in my professional/social genealogy network (through this blog & its various feed readers, Facebook, Twitter, Linked-In, etc) I am sorry I am unable to share my insights of the experience, perhaps convincing some of you to attend the conference next year. It is what it is: lost marketing opportunities and unfortunate administrative decisions.

At 5:00 pm, I attended "Blogging, Social Networking, and Podcasting Open Forum. Drew Smith (of Genealogy Guys fame and librarian extraordinaire) moderated a panel of George Morgan (of Genealogy Guys fame and Aha! Seminars Inc., among other pursuits), Jim Ericson of FamilyLink.com and Gena Ortega (who plays roles for WorldVitalRecords and GenealogyWise).

Each person gave an introduction, then the discussion moved from blogs, to social networks to podcasting. The talk was informal and the audience was invited to participate at every point. I really enjoy this format because the audience asks good questions and often provides great answers. Collaboration and information sharing is a good thing. That’s the theme of this post.

I also was able to do some socializing/networking with Randy Seaver and Tami Glatz before and during the presentation. Half of the value of conference attendance are these conversations and interactions outside of presentation time.

After the awesome open forum, I went to dinner with members of the various ProGen study groups. There were eight members, 1 mom of a member and a “groupie” we’re trying to recruit. I am proud to say my ProGen 3 was well represented. The dinner was casual (pizza) and the conversation moved from ProGen, to other educational options, to boo-boos we’ve made to juicier tidbits about genealogy. Again, this event outside of conference time was just as valuable—if not more—than many conference sessions. Networking is key.

After dinner, I called home and put on my mom hat. Now it’s time to rest so I can get up and do it all over again tomorrow.

FGS Recap Day 1

My initial plan for this day of my stint at the Federation of Genealogical Societies conference in Little Rock was to just get my badge and attend an evening event. Real simple, right?

In the lobby, I ran into some of the Lone Star APG members. We all went over together to get our badges. Then we went to the ice cream social where I saw some more people that I knew, including the Genealogy Guys of podcasting fame.

After the afternoon social, some of the Lone Star posse met in the hotel bar for a different kind of social hour. I just stayed with the group because they're fun genealogists and I adore them the more I get to know them.

The happy hour group then joined with some other Lone Star APG members for a dinner/meeting. This was also fun and informative.

After dinner, the party made their way to the APG round table. The topic was about genealogy and the law. Five panelists talked about their professional genealogy work and their relationship with the legal system. The audience was able to ask questions as well. This was a great session. I was just sorry it was only face-to-face. I wish there had been a way to share the information in this session with APG members who cannot come to national conferences.

When the Round Table was over, there was a little party for APG's 30th anniversary. We each got an APG pin and a giant cake was served.

Tomorrow is the APG Professional Management Conference. Whew!

Greetings from Little Rock

I am in Little Rock for the Federation of Genealogical Societies conference. My first event is tonight, so I have some free time to see the town. The picture is of my hotel room view. There's a baseball stadium on the other side of the river.

Tonight's event is the Association of Professional Genealogists Round Table. The topic is "Genealogy and the Law." I'm not sure if it's a panel, or there will be a speaker for each table.

After the event, the Pro-Gen participants who made it to Little Rock are supposed to get together for a picture.

After breakfast today, I got a street map from the hotel desk. I think I'll just walk around and see what happens. If I get lost, the map will get me back.