Genealogy Day 2013

By Terry Orr

Learning about your family roots, experiences, challenges, and travels can be fun, rewarding and perhaps most difficult project in your life.  For more than twenty years now, I continue working on my family tree that has grown from a reality small group of family members to over six thousand and still growing with each new find.  Sadly, there are few family artifacts from my efforts, I do treasure those that are available and are kept in safe and secure environment.

In my physical and virtual travels, many records have been destroyed either by accident, through hatred, or lost. The records that were destroyed over difference religious beliefs are probably the ones that disturb me the most.

During these years I have gotten to meet family members for the first time and establish some very wonderful and enjoyable relationships.  When I travel these days, part of the planning process is to visit them and or new ones along the way.

My goal - at some point in time, turn our family tree’s over to a much younger person in the family.

Getting started can be fairly simple, especially if you have lots of information available and relatives who can help get you started. Below are some good links to help you get started on your family tree.

Let us know how things are going. Thanks!

References and Links: 

http://genealogy.about.com/cs/beginnerscorner/ht/family_tree.htm 

http://www.tedpack.org/howstart.html 

http://usgenweb.org/research/starting.shtml 

http://www.genealogy.com/79_fs-start.html 

http://rwguide.rootsweb.ancestry.com/lesson1.htm

(All images from Google) 

Got a Hobby?

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By Diane Forrest

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When my husband became injured and was no longer able to work, he became very anxious.  He loved his job, and the interaction with his customers, and being home alone was a big change for him.  With nothing to do beside watch TV, he became bored.  I had read about a football player who began to knit during the off season, so I suggested that my husband take up some sort of hobby.  I knew he would be unable to knit, I couldn't teach him, since I didn’t know how, but I did know how to do latch hook.  That was something I would do while I was in my dorm room at school.  So I got him a kit, and got him started, but that activity was not for him.  He did like to do the painting by numbers, but his leg spams made that activity difficult.  Then he discovered baking.  He would make the most wonderful brownies and Italian Cream Cakes every week.  He would bring them to the hospital where I worked and share them with my coworkers.   He was happy for a while, until I was eating all the results of his hobby and told him he might want to learn how to do something else.  He got some birds, and enjoyed training them how to talk, but the mess they made became too much for him to clean.  Then we moved to a new house, and our next door neighbor taught him how to do woodworking.  He would beam when he finished making a wooden bowl and present it to a friend.  Many fortunate people have a project he made for them, and still treasure them today.

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When he passed away, I found myself needing something to occupy my time, so I began baking, only I didn’t eat my hobby, instead I sent it to friends and family and let them enjoy it.  Then I began to make cards.  I could never find a card that said what I was feeling, so I thought, why not make my own.  I love finding just the right picture, and lace and ribbons to place on them to make each one special and unique. I have even done a few wedding invitations party invitations and all occasion cards.

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A hobby is defined as an activity that is regularly undertaken for pleasure, typically during one's leisure time. Some examples include sports, crafts, collections and games.  Some of Terry's hobbies include Genealogy, playing cards, reading, watching sports and playing golf, and feeding/watching the birds.  And lately home remodeling. I still enjoy baking and making cards, and also love to play cards or other games.  This month is national hobby month.  If you don’t have a hobby you enjoy, why not find something you think you would like to do, and begin working on it.  Not only is it a great stress reliever, you may find that you could turn it into a lucrative business such as photography, woodworking, making stained glass or picture frames, baking cakes or painting.

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What are some of your hobbies?   
Leave a comment and let us know.

Ancestor Appreciation Day

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By Diane Forrest

I was talking to my aunt the other day, and she was getting ready to decorate her home for the fall season.  Back in the old days, we only decorated for Christmas.  Now she decorates all year long.  She puts up aster trees and decorations, then spring time, summer, July 4th, when school starts, Halloween, Thanksgiving and then back to Christmas again. As she was talking about her decorating she claimed that "my ancestors didn’t do all of this."   to which I replied - "Mine did!!"  Once she started decorating her house, she supplied her sister, my mother, with decorations for the different seasons for her home.  Once I moved out on my own, I was also supplied with decorations.  Now that my son has his own home, I expect I will be supplying his wife with decorations for the seasons.   It seems funny that a small little task likes decorating your home is something that could be passed down from generation to generation.

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That reminds me about a story about cooking roast.  This woman's recipe called for cutting off both ends of a roast before cooking.  She never could understand why.  She asked her mother, who gave her the recipe why the ends were cut.  She told her, well that’s the way we have always done it.  She then asked her mother the reason for cutting the roast.  Her mother replied, well I had to, the pot wasn't big enough.

We learn so much from our ancestors, and also about our history.  In fact, genealogy studies are the second most popular hobby, behind gardening.  A friend of mine's father and grandparents came from Italy.  He has seen pictures of the ships that transported them, and also other papers from when they immigrated to this country.  He found most of his information on Ancestry.com.  His father met his mother in America.   She was born in America, but also of Italian descent.   Their marriage combined the history of Italy, as well as the customs of America.  He fondly remembers watching his mother cook the Old Italian recipes and special holiday treats, and even occasionally prepares these dishes for his family.  These have been passed down to his children and they will one day pass them down to their children.

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Learning about our ancestors not only includes decorations and recipes, but you can also learn about health issues as well.  Many of the diseases people have are genetically coded in our DNA.  This includes the color of your hair and eyes, to heart disease or diabetes, or birth defects.

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Today is Ancestor Appreciation Day.  I found a picture of my son dressed up as a Wild West gangster.  I would imagine if he had lived in that era, that is what he would have looked like.  If he keeps that picture until he has grandchildren, I’m sure they would think he was a criminal in his younger days!   I also found a picture of my husband's grandfather, made a few changes such as coloring his hair and adding glasses and the result was nearly the spitting image of his grandfather, as shown in the picture above.  So, today, pull out your photo albums, and see if you can recognize traits in yourself that are noticeable in your family tree.

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Genealogy Day

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By Akindman

Genealogy is the study of families and the tracing of their lineages and history. Genealogists use oral traditions, historical records, genetic analysis, and other records to obtain information about a family and to demonstrate kinship and pedigrees of its members.

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I have dabbled in my genealogy over the past three decades from time to time.  Talking with your family members, grandparents, aunts and uncles are a good place to start and to gather interesting information. Second, third and beyond cousins also provide essential facts as well – and often missing data and pictures.

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The internet has become a wonderful place to find information on your family.  US Colleges and Universities are getting grants to provide accurate information at cemeteries – something long overdue and very helpful. Sharing family tree information, census data, marriage, divorce, death, Social Security, land, and all sorts of other things are available.  And you can meet other folks who are looking for bits and pieces of information that might help both of you.

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Helpful links on genealogy:

http://homepages.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~bridgett/101a.htm

http://www.genealogy101.com/

http://www.genealogyworldwide.com/genealogy_101.php

http://www.genealogy.com/mainmenu.html

http://www.archives.gov/publications/genealogy-guide.html

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Roots

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Over the river and through the woods

To Grandmother's house we go.

The horse knows the way to carry the sleigh

Through white and drifted snow.

By Diane Forrest,

I used to sing this song every year on my way to my grandmother's house at Christmas.  Every year when I was young, we would make the three hour trip to visit grandparents, great grandmothers, great aunts and other family.  We would always take those 4 generation pictures...Great grandmother, grandmother, mother and me.  I would listen as they talked about years past, and how their Christmases were like.  One of the favorite traditions involved chocolate!  (See where I get it from?)  One of my great grandmother's sons lived in California, and couldn't come home during the holidays.  So every year he would send her a huge box of chocolate candy.   Well...because she had so many family members, she would offer each person 1 piece.  That was such a treasured piece of candy because it was sent with love, and shared with love from family across the country, to family at home.  And...it was chocolate!

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Today on Root Day, share some family memories with your family, and if you are like me, you may want to write the stories down, or use a tape recorder so you can pass stories along to future generations.

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For more information about your roots, visit http://www.ancestry.com/?o_xid=21837&o_lid=21837&o_sch=Search

Ancestor Appreciation Day

By Diane Forrest,

Who are you and where did you come from?  The people from your past help to mold the person you have become.  That's why today is Ancestor Appreciation Day.

I have never done a search for my ancestors, but I have done a living history.  I have questioned family members, taken notes and even taped them (this was before videos)  I have learned that one of my relatives was Abraham Lincoln's first Vice President, Hannible Hamlin.  I learned that one of my husband's relatives was Nathan Bedford Forrest.  I have had several relatives who had buildings named after them at a state university.  I have had family members who have been instrumental in starting churches, and have had rooms dedicated to them.  I have learned that many men in my family served our country in every war.  There have been farmers to lawyers, engineers to nurses. Each of these people laid the ground work for who I am.  They inspired me to become educated, religious and active in my community.

I have included a picture of my husband next to his great- great- grandfather, who was also named David.  I colored in the beard and added some glasses and showed my husband how much he looked like his ancestor.  We also get many of our physical traits and genetics from our ancestors.

Today, why don’t you interview your ancestors and get as much information as you can from them.  Write it down, they have some wonderful books on amazon to write down family stories and records.  Pass these stories down to future generations to keep, learn from and enjoy.

To discover more of your family history check out Ancestry.com here: http://www.ancestry.com/home/lo/index?version=a&o_xid=21837&o_lid=21837&o_sch=Search