Back to School: January Progress Report

I've been taking the National Genealogical Society study course, which I previously talked about here and here. Now it's time for a progress report.

The holidays forced me to shelve my school work for a few weeks. I had to do mom things like buy presents. I also had to prepare for a trip to California. It took some time to get back in the routine, but here I am.

I finished the first assignment in lesson 2 today. It was about family traditions. What you might think is a tradition is actually a custom. A tradition is more like a story passed down and I had to verify it with records. I had to fluff up my tradition example a bit. As a family, we're small and just not that exciting. My piece was a reach, but it was all true and I have the documents to back it up.

The lesson came with a writing example from a former student. His was about 1 1/2 pages. Mine was 4. What can I say? I do a lot of research. I like to talk about said research.

Part 2 of lesson 2 discusses family papers/memorabilia/heirlooms. This task is proving a challenge because the items that exist for my family are all in California and I am in Texas. I have to reach deep into my brain for ideas to list for this assignment.

So far I do like the experience of this course and do feel like I am learning something. I just wish the process was more interactive, but I'll save that rant for another time. Onward!

Investigating a Sutherland Connection

I ordered a death certificate for John Fraser Sutherland (1872-1946) today. He was my great-great grandmother's third husband.

My great-great aunt Violet was John Sutherland's stepdaughter, raised by him.

Violet's second husband was Roy Vaughn. Roy's mother's maiden name was Sutherland.

Coincidence? I don't know. That's why I ordered the death certificate. We'll see what clues it provides.

Snow Boy: 64th Carnival of Genealogy

The topic of the 64th Carnival of Genealogy is "A Winter Photo Essay." I realize this is a record snow season in many parts of the country and the last thing you want to see is pictures of the white stuff, but hear me out.

This is the story of a little boy who loves snow. Sadly, the only climate this child has ever known is a warm, toasty one. He's visited snow, but never had it fall at his house.

Christmas Eve 2004, snow did in fact come to our Texas coast. The Weather Channel showed footage of children frolicking in the snow on Galveston beaches. Unfortunately, Snow Boy was in California at the time, visiting family for the holidays. He could only watch the white stuff on television.

One day in December 2008, the Houston temperature dropped as the precipitation chances rose. Snow Boy prayed for snow and assured his mother that this was the day it would happen.

I humored him but prepared for the inevitable disappointment of a boy's burst weather bubble. Then the forces came together. After school, a light sleet began to fall and continued to do so through dinner.

Snow Boy pulled up the weather forecast on the computer and took this picture as proof of the sheer possibility of it all:

Do you know what happened next? It started snowing in Houston! Just for Snow Boy!

And it kept snowing....

....and snowing.....

...all because one little Snow Angel Maker willed it to happen:

The next morning, there was little evidence of the magic night except for this mini snowman on the mailbox and the new winter memories of a happy little boy.

Price Increase in OK not OK

The price of dying in just went up in Oklahoma. Actually, the price of verying one's death went up.

The last batch of Oklahoma death certificate applications I sent out cost $10 apiece. Now, they are $15 each! Happy New Year, I guess.

The form is updated. It asks for more information, which may aid in finding the record. You may also type right on the form and print it, but you can't save it.

Frankie and Her Sisters

One of my 2009 resolutions was to build a foundation to research my Chickasaw Colberts. To do so, I had to start with my great-grandmother and her five sisters.

I already have the death certificate for my great grandmother, Frankie Velma Jones (1888-1951).

Today I filled out the applications for death certificates for the sisters. I was surprised that two of the sisters died in California, as did Frankie. Frankie was the eldest and she was born in Texas. All the other sisters were born in Indian Territory/Oklahoma.

Here's my death certificate shopping list:

Mattie Jones Frensley (1890-1979)
Naomi Jones Gable (1894- ? betw. 1920-1926)
Rutha Jones Fuqua (1895-1991)
Vera Jones Cobble (1901-1967)
Mary Elizabeth Jones Bennett (1909-1987)

I also printed applications for Naomi's 2 children, Ruth's husband Nolen (because I don't know his mom's name), and one of Vera's children.

Notes for my family:

1. These sisters are Doris' aunts. Their children are her 1st cousins.

2. The two California sisters (Vera and Mary) lived in the Pasadena/Altadena area. Do you remember visiting anyone out there in the 1940's-1950's?

Best of the Genea Blogs

My 52 Weeks of Genealogy Blog Topics two-part post made the Best of the Genea-Blogs for January 4-10. What's more impressive is that I'm among many better known bloggers. It's like being in the locker room with all the big leaguers.

Thanks for the nod, Randy!

Calendar of Texas Genealogy Events

I made a calendar of genealogy events happening in Texas in 2009. Feel free to share it, link to it, borrow from it and whatever helps get the word out.

Texas Genealogy Events Calendar for 2009

This tool is a continuous work in progress. Contact me if you have an event you would like to include. Monthly meetings, social groups, conferences, special events and anything related to genealogy are welcome. Events should either be held in Texas or of interest to those in the state.

Who Are You? 9th Edition of Smile for the Camera

The 9th edition of Smile for the Camera asks:


We are asked to share a picture from our collections. The pictures should contain people whose identities are not known.

Sadly, I have a few of these images. My family is quite small during the photography era, so the chances that I am related to these people are pretty high.

The photograph I've chosen for this edition came from my maternal grandmother's collection. She had one parent come from Germany and the other from Austria. This image could belong to either one, but I'm leaning toward it being from Austria:

I'm guessing this is a wedding photo. It might be the Yost/Jost family. The book the center woman is holding has a cross on it. My great-grandmother was a devout Catholic. Also, if I may be so blunt, the noses on some of the ladies make me feel that this is my great-grandmother's family. Lastly, that baby on the right bears a strong resemblance to my grandmother's brother as a child. They are two different people, perhaps first cousins, but the similarities are significant.

It's possible that the bride and some of the others are siblings of my great-grandmother. I might be releated to everyone in this picture. Are her parents in the photo? I'll never know.

It's very hard to be this close to the answer and realize it will likely never be resolved.

Get Yourself a Google Reader

I know there are some family and friends out there reading this blog that check it several times day to see if I have updated.

I personally read about 200 blogs. Not all of them are updated daily, but there's no way I'd ever have the time to check each one individually to see what's new.

Google Reader keeps track of my blog subscriptions and tells me when they are updated.

This tool isn't hard to use. You just have to take some time to figure it out. Fortunately, there's a blog post out there called Google Reader for Beginners. How did I find out about this handy lesson? It came through my Google Reader, of course.

Bahamian Boy: Weekly Genealogy Blog Prompt #1

Earlier this week, a brilliant blogger published a list of 52 genealogy blog prompts. The goal was to encourage new and infrequent bloggers to write regularly.

Then, Thomas MacEntee, a blogger who actually is brilliant set each prompt to be a weekly event amongst genea-bloggers. So cool.

I hadn't planned to follow the 52-week prompt because I already have ideas coming out my ears. But how could I not attend the party I helped to start? Emily Post would not approve.

This week's idea: "Update your favorite picture and talk about it on your blog."

I have dozens of favorite pictures. Many I'm holding on to for specific carnivals or other blog events.

The picture I chose for this prompt isn't old, and it's technically off-subject. I like it though, and that's what counts.

This is my son relaxing in the Bahamas. I love this picture because it shows that he can stop and enjoy the moment. We've stayed at this hotel several times. He loves to sit on the deck and just watch the turquiose world go by.



Life is more rewarding when you take time to smell the roses. Genealogy is more rewarding when you take time to pause and reflect. Don't take the picture and leave, but stick around and imagine life during your ancestors' time.

I'm hoping my son's ability to relax and watch the world go by will also allow him to reflect on the past and those who were here before him.

Movin' On Up

This blog is now on Cyndi's List. That's kind of a big deal. Cyndi's List is like the massive Wal-Mart corporation of genealogy, and I'm like the inventor going to Bentonville, begging them to sell my product. I must have said something right. Maybe it was my rhyming web site description.

So....yay.

Now back to your regularly scheduled programming.

Jump Start Your Genealogy Blog. 52 Ideas. 52 Weeks. Part 2

There are so many ideas, this piece is divided into 2 parts. Begin with Jump Start Your Genealogy Blog, 52 Ideas. 52 Weeks. Part 1, then continue to ideas 27-52 below:

27. Visit the graves of local celebrities. Talk about their lives. The word “celebrity” is used very loosely here. Just do some research and you’ll find some fascinating people buried within. Tell your readers about these past lives and they’ll be hooked on your blog.

28. Write about the genealogy software you use. Comment on any tips, tricks or complaints you may have about the product.

29. Write about your favorite genealogy web sites. It seems like a new web site pops up every day. Tell us about the ones you like best.

30. Write about your experiences with social networking tools for genealogy purposes. Do you use MySpace, Facebook or Twitter? Are you a wiki kind of person? None of the above? Tell readers about your experiences with these tools and watch your own social network grow.

31. Have a family member be a guest blogger. Let a family member take the reins and provide a different perspective for a post or two. If you can’t find anyone to take the job, interview a relative and spotlight the person yourself.

32. Update older posts. If you find more information related to a previous post, create an update post. Link to the older posts to refresh readers’ memories, then give us the details on new discoveries.

33. Highlight the good work of others. List your favorite posts of the week/month/year. This is an easy way to give some blog love and write an easy post. You can use this idea as little or as much as you want.

34. Share a photo that conjures mixed emotions in you. Explain why this is the case as you detail the who/what/when/where/why of the subject matter.

35. Talk about an orphan picture containing people you do not know. Provide comments on your best guess about date, place, subjects.

36. Talk about military battles and your ancestors’ connections to them.

37. Talk about historical events and your ancestors’ connections to them.

38. Talk about natural disasters and your ancestors’ connections to them.

39. Did your ancestors come by boat? Talk about the documentation that records their departure and arrival.

40. Discuss on your ancestors’ land records. Where did they live? Who were their neighbors?

41. Talk about any unusual occupations your ancestors had.

42. Campaign for the politicians in your family tree. If you don’t have one, research the political leaders in your ancestors’ city, county, or state and share the information on your blog.

43. Go directly to jail and talk about your ancestors in the slammer.

44. Dig around the patent office. Talk about your creative ancestors and their inventions. You can also pick a patent and research the registrant.

45. Extra, read all about it! Do you have an ancestor featured in a newspaper article that wasn’t an obituary? Share the article (or a bit of it if there are copyright concerns) on your blog.

46. Comment on obituaries in your collection. Obits come in all shapes and sizes. Share some of the stand-outs with readers.

47. Seek help for records that don’t make sense. Do you have a census page or family record that contains information that just doesn’t add up? Discuss it in your blog and see if readers can help.

48. Open up the ancestral military and pension files. Talk about the records contained within.

49. Use your blog like a sounding board for research plans. Sometimes it helps to write down what you want to do, so you can plan how to do it.

50. Ask questions on your blog. Get answers from readers. Need to find a record? Need to know the parking situation at a big repository? Throw the questions out there and see what happens.

51. Talk about the email discussion lists to which you belong. Are they great? Too quiet? Informative? Let readers know.

52. Discuss your favorite genealogy publication. Why do you like it? Is it worth the money? How would you improve it?

There you go! 52 blog writing ideas for 52 weeks of the year. Use these prompts for times when you’re stuck about something to write about. Hopefully, genealogy blog writing will evolve from a resolution to a wonderful habit that’s automatic.

[Edit: Due to spammers targeting this particular post, I've had disable comments here. I am very sorry for this. If you'd like to comment on this post or have questions, feel free to email me using the address listed on the side of this blog. Thanks!]

Jump Start Your Genealogy Blog. 52 ideas. 52 weeks. Part 1

As quick review of genealogy blogs shows that many bloggers have made resolutions to write more about genealogy in 2009. Yes, you should blog more about genealogy! Carve out a little time for yourself (that means make an appointment for YOU and put it on your calendar). If you have a little writer’s block, don't worry. Help is on the way

Below are some genealogy blog prompts to jump start your brain. There are 52 in all, one for each week of the year. These are not intended to be done in order. Skip around and repeat all you want, so long as you have fun!

1. Upload your favorite picture and talk about it on your blog. Answer the who/what/when/where/why of the subject matter and explain why it is your favorite.

2. Participate in carnivals. A blog carnival is a showcase of bloggers’ posts on a given topic. Genealogy bloggers LOVE carnivals because there’s something for everyone. To learn about when these showcase-type events are happening, read others’ genealogy blogs. Someone’s always talking about a carnival.

3. Participate in weekly blog themes: Tombstone Tuesday, Wordless Wednesday, etc. Many genealogy bloggers post photos of grave stones on Tombstone Tuesday or a photo worth 1,000 silent words on Wordless Wednesday. Participate in these informal events or invent your own.

4. Take a genealogy day trip and blog about it. Discover the local history and genealogy in your area. Take a trip to a cemetery or other historic location. Describe the day, what you learned, where you went, how it looked, how it sounded. Armchair genealogists will love the mini travelogue.

5. Talk about your genealogy adventures while on vacation. Doesn’t everyone plan a little genealogy visit during vacation? Take your readers along for the ride.

6. Let readers in to your kitchen. Discuss your family’s favorite foods. What was a typical Sunday dinner in your childhood house? What did grandma make that had you coming back for more? Were there any dishes that the dog wouldn’t even eat?

7. Share your holiday traditions. How did you spend the 4th of July? Did the fire truck ever come to your house on Thanksgiving? Share your memories of all holidays, not just the December ones.

8. Talk about highlights and events from your local genealogy society. Most genealogy bloggers are members of several historical societies and love to hear about the events in other organizations. This is also a great way to attract new members.

9. Attend a local genealogy presentation and talk about the experience. How was the speaker? How was the venue? How did the event help your personal research? Talk about the day, but use caution when discussing the subject matter in detail. The information presented belongs to the speaker(s). Posting part or all of the presentation would violate copyright.

10. Attend a national conference and blog about it! Genealogists who can’t make the conference will appreciate the first-person account of the action. Exercise the same copyright caution as mentioned in #9.

11. Have a unique record filing system? Share your secrets! Every genealogist has a stack of paper and an individual way of organizing the pile. Share your way of tackling the record mountain and help others get organized!

12. Use your blog to break down a brick wall. Posting a name may ring a bell with a reader. Maybe you’ll make a connection in 5 minutes. May be it will take 2 years. Either way, asking for help is the first step to knocking down that wall.

13. Have expertise in a specific area of study? Share your knowledge! If you’ve lived in the same town for 60 years, you have something to share. If you’re a librarian in your day job, you have something to share. If you read Civil War history books for fun, you have something to share. If you’re walking on this Earth, you have something to share.

14. Talk about the different types of technology you use in your genealogy research. Whether it’s a new search engine, a special application, or anything else “2.0,” let readers know what you’re working with, and how it’s working for you.

15. List some vital signs. Talk about specific birth, marriage and death certificates. Topics may include misspelled names, fudged dates, other anomalies that stand out in your records.

16. Goals. Not just for resolutions anymore. Write down your genealogy goals. Then you can look back and see what you’ve accomplished.

17. Make a research task list. Posting these items to will help you get your tasks done, and may encourage readers to do the same.

18. Showcase a favorite blog or blogger. This is a great way to share some blog love and introduce readers to new genealogy writers.

19. Describe your favorite records repository. Why is it your favorite? What types of records does it contain? Do you have any advice for first-time visitors?

20. Talk about a least favorite records searching experience. Did you have a run-in with a cranky court clerk? Did you butt heads with an over-protective records manager? Share your pain on your blog and commiserate with others who have put up their genealogical dukes in the name of family history.

21. Lessons learned. Fess up to your research mistakes so others can learn from them.

22. Dish the dirt on your celebrity ancestors. Don’t have a movie star in the tree? Then talk about ancestors famous for other reasons. This is your chance to be an historical gossip columnist!

23. Talk about anything that’s haunted. Readers love spooky genealogy.

24. Document a genealogy event with photos and share in your blog. Show others how much fun your local luncheon can be, or how your genealogy field trip turned into a landslide of books. Don’t forget to get permission before posting photos of others.

25. Visit a cemetery and talk about your ancestors buried there. Bring their stories to life for your readers.

26. Visit a cemetery. Take photos and comment on unusual/unique grave monuments. Most cemeteries have at least a monument or two that make you stop and look, so do just that. Take a picture of the grave marker that made you pause and tell us why it did so.

On to part 2, ideas 27-52...

[Edit: Due to spammers targeting this particular post, I've had disable comments here. I am very sorry for this. If you'd like to comment on this post or have questions, feel free to email me using the address listed on the side of this blog. Thanks!]

The Little Cemetery That Could: Kelley-Rogers Cemetery, Cameron, Louisiana

Earlier this month, I posted a two-part piece about my day trip to Cameron, Louisiana in search of my great-great-great grandfather's final resting place and Civil War memorial.

What I didn't mention at the time was that there was a third part to the day's events. At the same Cameron Parish courthouse that held the Civil War memorial was a monument to the survivors of Hurricane Rita. The marker also mentioned that 38 out of the 40 local cemeteries were destroyed during the 2005 disaster.

That number haunted me as I drove away from Cameron. Just to the left on the road out of town, I spotted a small cemetery at a corner in the highway. It was one of the 2 remaining cemeteries.

I got out of the car again, just to look at this chunk of land--no bigger than my bedroom--and the 30 or so tightly-packed markers and remains that survived at least two major hurricanes. There was no cemetery sign, and the surrounding chain link fence was bent like a paper clip due to Hurricane Rita. In fact, I didn't even know there was a fence until I saw it through the mud. There wasn't much else separating these graves and the highway.

I took pictures of all the head stones. They were just about the only things left in Cameron, and I figured they deserved a spot in Internet history.

FindAGrave.com helped me learn the name of the Kelley-Rogers Cemetery. I in turn uploaded all my pictures and information I had for the location and those buried there. It's the least I could do for The Little Cemetery That Could.

Submitted For Your Approval: COG 63

The 63rd Carnival of Genealogy is up. I posted my 2009 genealogy resolutions a few days back. Now you can read what everyone else wrote as well.