If Your Momma Ain’t Intrigued, Ain’t NObody Gonna Be Intrigued!

(From The Princess Bride)

Inigo Montoya: “I do not mean to pry, but you don’t by any chance happen to have six fingers on your right hand?”

Man in Black: “Do you always start conversations this way?”

I love Inigo. He’s focused, passionate, and funny.

Intriguing,too.

Sort of like my new friend, Cathy. In just three meetings with me she has “completed” her 4-generation pedigree and is well on her way to filling in the details of the fifteen family groups.

I always give homework and rarely remember what assignment I gave. I should probably write them down? I’d be a fun teacher. My students would get away with a lot. But we’d also have fun learning, too. Exciting subjects drive themselves. Don’t you think?

Cathy has surprised me two times now by coming into the Family History Center having done hers. She’s amazing. She needs no reminders. We laughed about how tired she was. On Tuesday night we both left the Center and worked on some of her family history puzzles late into the night. She admitted that she had the next day off from work and spent the whole day looking for the link between two great grandparents with the same last name. That was the homework assignment she’d been given that she was so excited to share last night.

“You did?!” I squealed.

“Yup. I found them.” She started talking to herself as she fingered through her files, looking for the one with the goods in it while I peppered her with  distracting questions.

I switched chairs to sit at her right, explaining that I sleep on the left side of the bed, but I’m used to sitting to her right. My friend got a chuckle out of that declaration.

“You mean they were sisters?” I asked.

“That means that their great-grandchildren, one a boy and the other a girl, got married?” I looked at her, waiting.

“”They’re a few logs removed from the wood pile,” she said matter-of-factly, staring straight ahead at the computer screen. Oh, my! She makes me laugh!

 I had to get my cousins chart out to figure out what to call them. From now on it’s going to be hanging in the Center.”Cathy! Your mom and dad are third cousins!” No big deal, but really fun!

It was 8:30 and my ride  had arrived, so we wrapped things up and I went home . While unwinding on the couch, Kyle asked, “What do you DO with people there?” which he followed up with, “I have NO interest in that at all!”

To which I replied, “It’s in the stories, Kyle. You get hooked in the stories. We (Cathy and I) opened up a World War I draft registration record and found out this guy had three fingers on his left hand.”

Kyle just stared at me with a squinched up nose. Guys love blood and guts and action! The kind that Inigo Montoya delivers. I think my son was starting to get it, but he just laughed and shook his head.

But my mind was already off imagining about how it had happened.

‘Cause in the end, that’s what intrigued me the most. And if  Momma ain’t intrigued, ain’t NObody gonna be intrigued!

Ha! What intrigue have you found in your ancestors’ closets?

Family History Sunday Series 1:6 Vital Records and Archives

When the Fall arrives and the chlorophyll production wanes, vibrant colors surface and beautify the trees. I never tire of that phenomenon!

When you think about Autumn leaves I want you to be reminded of vital records that are had for each living person and that add to their story. When you throw the piles in the air be reminded of the documents that may lay piled in a relative’s attic that somebody could use to pull together someones story, filling very important gaps in their history and those that they were related to.

Family History Sunday Series:1:3 Using the Census

Image link:
http://www.visualphotos.com/image/1x4188646/close-up_of_russian_olive_tree_rings

If I were to make an analogy between tree rings and family history, tree rings would be generations of people. I was born in one generation, my children in the next, and their children in the next after them. This is a familial generation vs.  ”Generation X”, and “Baby Boomers”, etc, which are cultural generations.

When searching for documents you’ll find government records like the census that pay attention to neither the familiar nor cultural generation. They collect data from their citizens on a regular basis. Some gather that information every 10 years, 5 years, or just once, or not at all. It varies from country to country. Google your country to find out what yours does.

This week:

Let’s assume that you’ve done all of the homework in the two previous posts in the series. You’ve got your worksheet out and you’ve filled out box#1 for you, your spouse and children. Now what?

Let’s start going back in time, one generation at a time, starting with your parents. They go in box #2/3. So will all of their children.

The first thing I do when researching a person is I draw a timeline on the front of a folder. I put dates and places that I already know on the timeline. Then I see where the gaps are. I focus on the gaps.

The next thing I do is I look for census records. Here’s a typical image of an original census document that you can find on Ancestry.com, and FamilySearch.org.

Here are some links to some great info on the census.

The 72-Year Rule”- Love this! Why did we get access to the 1940 US census THIS year? Because it was taken 72 years ago!

How the Census works

US Census Questions and Information by Year- I love looking at the different questions that were asked and how and why those questions evolved over time.

It is from the census that I find out (sometimes) if children of the parents had died, the place of birth for the person I’m researching as well as their parents. I find out occupations, whether they owned or rented a home, or if they could read and write. You’ll want to find a census that has a parent in it, but for a lot of us, that fun begins with our grandparents.

Here’s what I do on Ancestry.com:

1. I choose a name to search for.

2. I type in the information I have (name, place they might have lived, and approximate birth date) in the search window. I press search and look for “Census and Voter Lists”. From that list I choose a gap in my timeline where a census could fill in or add some information.

3. I never ever believe what I’m seeing on the record until I have other documents to corroborate it. There are so many reasons for false information being put on census records. Use the record as a tool to find the truth. For me they are a starting place, not an end point.

That’s it for today. Make sure that you fill out your worksheet and add that stuff to your online tree!

Family History Sunday Series 1:2 Hug a Tree Today

“A few minutes ago every tree was excited, bowing to the roaring storm, waving, swirling, tossing their  branches in glorious enthusiasm like worship. But though to the outer ear these trees are now silent, their songs never cease.” John Muir 1838-1914

Don’t you love the lessons from trees?

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Last week we got you prepared with an offline, paper worksheet, and registered withfamilysearch.org.

Today we start building your tree, one generation and one family group at a time.

A pedigree chart is comprised of family groups, but shows only direct-line relationships. In other words, it shows branches without all of the leaves! Each one of those rectangles represents a husband or wife in a family group.

So, let’s begin! Where do we start? We start with the most important family group!

First we have to find it, so go give a virtual hug to a tree. You wrap your arms around the trunk, not the leaves, branches, or roots. Right?

My friend, YOU are the trunk of your family tree. You are the start of the most important family group to your family tree. Get used to it and embrace it.

The roots (your ancestors) and the branches (your descendants) depend on YOU. You bring nourishment from the roots to the branches and leaves. You live in the present. Family history is valuable only when we value our role in it, and see it as a symbiotic relationship between all of the players.  And we, the trunks, play as vital a role as the roots. Later in this series we’ll see how you need them.

This week’s assignment is to work on your first family group:

Offline:

1. fill in box#1 on the worksheet. The information will include you and your spouse if married, and your children, everyone’s birth dates, places, their spouses names, death dates and places, and marriage dates. Add post-it notes for their children’s info.
2. create a file folder for this family group. Put copies of important documents inside the folder along with one completed family group record. (Documents you should put in the folder will be related to birth, death. and marriage at least. Later you can add travel, military, school records, etc.)

Link to this record:
http://misbach.org/freecharts/family-group-record-sheet.html

Double-click on the image to enlarge and print from your computer. Or you can have them shipped to you if you register at Misbach.org. They’re free. (You’ll need 15 for this project.)

Online:

1. start an online family tree for free at AncestralQuest (or any other site like Ancestry.com, or MyHeritage.  Add information for you, your spouse, and your children. (I have a subscription to Ancestry.com because I do a lot of my basic research there.

There you have it! Do this step well and you’ll have a firm foundation for all of the other ones to follow! Have fun collecting documents!

See you next week!

In case you missed the beginning of this series:

I Have a Dream 

Getting Your Bearings