About a year ago, I began a genealogical quest to find out more about the ancestors on my father’s side of the family. Although an avid genealogist for fifteen years, I spent most of that time concentrating on my maternal lines for my M.F.A. degree thesis, and subsequent book, Three Slovak Women (Gateway Press).
As I started my search, I realized that I had committed what could possibly be the number one sin in genealogy--becoming interested too late (i.e. after the generation who could tell me what I wanted to know had passed away). Well, almost, I thought. There was still my father, who was living with me and who, at seventy-nine, possessed a sharp memory. I had documents, photographs, etc. but there were many unanswered questions. One winter evening, I asked him about his ancestors in Slovakia. When he replied that he knew nothing, I asked, “Didn’t you ever ask your mother or father about their parents or grandparents?” I was stunned by his reply:
“What do I care about those people. They’re dead. I didn’t know them.”
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January 30, 2006
Sliding Home
For a decade I only took slides. I liked the simplicity of dropping the film off to be processed and picking up the slides a few hours later. This was in the days before one hour processing and digital imaging. I admit that the slide format now seems archaic especially since film cameras and slide projectors are not as popular as in the past.
Like the millions of people who also chose slides as their photographic medium for family events and vacations I wonder about the future of the boxes of slides stored in my home. What’s going to happen to them? If you own slide collections--film or glass--you’re probably trying to decide how to share, preserve, and copy them...
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Like the millions of people who also chose slides as their photographic medium for family events and vacations I wonder about the future of the boxes of slides stored in my home. What’s going to happen to them? If you own slide collections--film or glass--you’re probably trying to decide how to share, preserve, and copy them...
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More Homebound Research Tips
I struck an important cord with many readers in my January 12th column about homebound researchers. Here are just a few comments I heard from readers:
Before and After ComputersHere’s one story that was shared: "My mother-in-law’s address book provided several family members who I did not know, but who were part of the family I was then researching. I reached a woman in her 80s who was the last person in her family with the information I needed. She responded with a short, brusque note saying that everyone was gone, her children did not talk to her anymore and, ‘I don’t know nothing about the family.’ It was a depressing note. However, a couple of months later at Easter, I sent a card and said that I hoped she was doing well. I asked no more questions. She responded saying that it was good to hear from another Christian woman. We wrote for a couple of years until her death. I never asked questions, but she gave me many answers as she told me about her years growing up, her brothers and sisters, and even her children. Sometimes it takes a bit of kindness and a lot of patience to flesh out the family tree.
“Using the computer, I went to the web page of a local library in the town my cousin Bill was raised in. He was killed at age 18 in WWII and I could not find much information or any picture. I asked the research librarian if they had yearbooks for the high schools in the area. I received some clippings and a copy of a yearbook page. She could not find a picture of Bill but did send me the yearbook page with his sister’s photo. She also sent a couple of newspaper clippings about Bill and his death in the Hawaiian Islands. One of the clippings had his picture!"
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Before and After ComputersHere’s one story that was shared: "My mother-in-law’s address book provided several family members who I did not know, but who were part of the family I was then researching. I reached a woman in her 80s who was the last person in her family with the information I needed. She responded with a short, brusque note saying that everyone was gone, her children did not talk to her anymore and, ‘I don’t know nothing about the family.’ It was a depressing note. However, a couple of months later at Easter, I sent a card and said that I hoped she was doing well. I asked no more questions. She responded saying that it was good to hear from another Christian woman. We wrote for a couple of years until her death. I never asked questions, but she gave me many answers as she told me about her years growing up, her brothers and sisters, and even her children. Sometimes it takes a bit of kindness and a lot of patience to flesh out the family tree.
“Using the computer, I went to the web page of a local library in the town my cousin Bill was raised in. He was killed at age 18 in WWII and I could not find much information or any picture. I asked the research librarian if they had yearbooks for the high schools in the area. I received some clippings and a copy of a yearbook page. She could not find a picture of Bill but did send me the yearbook page with his sister’s photo. She also sent a couple of newspaper clippings about Bill and his death in the Hawaiian Islands. One of the clippings had his picture!"
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January 26, 2006
Say What?!
Say What?!
I puttered around the Internet recently, searching for the exact wording to a quote I vaguely recalled, and as I'm prone to do, allowed myself to get pulled into a cyberspace sinkhole. In this instance, I spent a couple of hours meandering through virtual quote-land -- all sorts of sites devoted to quotations.
Not surprisingly, I decided to see what memorable words had been uttered about genealogy and everything related to it. I've gathered a few to share with you today. Not all are positive and a few of them are downright peculiar, but these are the ones that caught my attention one way or another and I hope you'll find them interesting as well. So here we go -- in no particular order ...
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I puttered around the Internet recently, searching for the exact wording to a quote I vaguely recalled, and as I'm prone to do, allowed myself to get pulled into a cyberspace sinkhole. In this instance, I spent a couple of hours meandering through virtual quote-land -- all sorts of sites devoted to quotations.
Not surprisingly, I decided to see what memorable words had been uttered about genealogy and everything related to it. I've gathered a few to share with you today. Not all are positive and a few of them are downright peculiar, but these are the ones that caught my attention one way or another and I hope you'll find them interesting as well. So here we go -- in no particular order ...
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January 12, 2006
Flax
An important crop in early America was flax. We see flax, flax seed, flax yarn, flax wheels, flax combs, and flax hetchalls in wills and probate inventories. But what is flax and why did our ancestors grow it?
Flax has been cultivated for, literally, several millennia. It grows well around the Mediterranean Sea, across much of the European continent, and in North America, with many different varieties. The ancient Egyptians grew flax, as did many other cultures. The overall process is similar from one area to the next, but with variations in tools and methods. Flax is a thin plant, growing one to three feet tall. The straight stalk has a woody center core and a woody outer husk. Between these, the long flax fibers grow from the root to the flowers, held by a gummy substance.
Seeds are sown in the spring, with the conventional wisdom suggesting Good Friday as the best date (but only if winter is definitely over). Once the seeds are sown, the flax plants grow quickly. This depletes nutrients in the soil, so crop rotation is necessary. As with the growing of tobacco (see “He Called for his Pipe,” Part 1), weeding is of key importance to allow the stem to grow straight. This was usually done by women.
When the flax plants have grown to maturity, they are harvested by...
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Flax has been cultivated for, literally, several millennia. It grows well around the Mediterranean Sea, across much of the European continent, and in North America, with many different varieties. The ancient Egyptians grew flax, as did many other cultures. The overall process is similar from one area to the next, but with variations in tools and methods. Flax is a thin plant, growing one to three feet tall. The straight stalk has a woody center core and a woody outer husk. Between these, the long flax fibers grow from the root to the flowers, held by a gummy substance.
Seeds are sown in the spring, with the conventional wisdom suggesting Good Friday as the best date (but only if winter is definitely over). Once the seeds are sown, the flax plants grow quickly. This depletes nutrients in the soil, so crop rotation is necessary. As with the growing of tobacco (see “He Called for his Pipe,” Part 1), weeding is of key importance to allow the stem to grow straight. This was usually done by women.
When the flax plants have grown to maturity, they are harvested by...
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Brick Walls from A to Z
This week we discuss the alphabet looking for clues to ancestral brick walls. The list is meant to get you thinking about your own genealogy problems.
A is for Alphabetize
Have you created an alphabetical list of all the names in your database and all the locations your families lived? Typographical errors and spelling variants can easily be seen using this approach. Sometimes lists that are alphabetical (such as the occasional tax or census) can hide significant clues.
B is for Biography
Creating an ancestor’s biography might help you determine where there are gaps in your research. Determining possible motivations for his actions (based upon reasonable expectations) may provide you with new areas to research.
C is for Chronology
Putting in chronological order all the events in your ancestor’s life and all the documents on which his name appears is an excellent way to organize the information you have. This is a favorite analytical tool of several Ancestry Daily News columnists.
D is for Deeds
A land transaction will not provide extended generations of your ancestry, but it could help you connect a person to a location or show that two people with the same last name engaged in a transaction.
E is for Extended Family
If you are only researching your direct line there is a good chance you are overlooking records and information. Siblings, cousins, and in-laws of your ancestor may give enough clues to extend your direct family line into earlier generations.
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A is for Alphabetize
Have you created an alphabetical list of all the names in your database and all the locations your families lived? Typographical errors and spelling variants can easily be seen using this approach. Sometimes lists that are alphabetical (such as the occasional tax or census) can hide significant clues.
B is for Biography
Creating an ancestor’s biography might help you determine where there are gaps in your research. Determining possible motivations for his actions (based upon reasonable expectations) may provide you with new areas to research.
C is for Chronology
Putting in chronological order all the events in your ancestor’s life and all the documents on which his name appears is an excellent way to organize the information you have. This is a favorite analytical tool of several Ancestry Daily News columnists.
D is for Deeds
A land transaction will not provide extended generations of your ancestry, but it could help you connect a person to a location or show that two people with the same last name engaged in a transaction.
E is for Extended Family
If you are only researching your direct line there is a good chance you are overlooking records and information. Siblings, cousins, and in-laws of your ancestor may give enough clues to extend your direct family line into earlier generations.
[ Next Page ] - Click Here
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