Greetings!!
I think I am suffering from information overload, LOL. As you know I have been working on my family genealogy and I have come to the point where I have so much information floating around in my brain that I need to dump some of it out and make room for more.
It's time to put some of that information down to hard copies that I can refer to rather than trying to remember it all. If I don't I will surely forget something!!
I have a big black 3 ring binder that I am filling up with all this information. I have in it, copies of obituaries, deeds, military records, various censuses and so on. Yesterday I found an obituary for my great-grandfather's wife. It was interesting! I found out my grandfather had more than one sibling. I only knew about the one but he actually had 3 siblings! I know their names and need to go hunt them down.
I have spent a lot of time on findagrave.com trying to find cemeteries that some of my ancestors are buried in. It is a great resource, however, because the photos and listings are done by volunteers much of them are incomplete and names are still missing. Still, it is a good place to look. And if you know the name and location of the cemetery you can always ask for volunteers to take pictures for you, especially if you live some distance away. Be patient!! Sometimes it takes a while for a volunteer to get to the cemetery. For example I am a volunteer photographer locally but have not been out to take pictures yet this year. The weather has not been very co-operative. Most days when I have the free time to go, it is raining cats and dogs. I was hoping for today but alas we are expecting some wicked thunderstorms again later today and right now the heat and humid is enough to choke an elephant. Tomorrow or Friday early in the morning should be better days to make a trip to one of the local cemeteries and get some pictures taken. I'll print out a list of the requests later today to take with me.
Yesterday when I was looking for pictures of Smokey on some thumb drives I came across a ton of military records and censuses I saved some years ago. At the time I had no idea if any of these people were relatives or not, but I saved them anyway thinking someday I might make a connection with them. I am glad I did because I now know some of them are indeed ancestors and I can print them out and attach them to my other records for the individuals.
If you are like me, money is often tight and you cannot afford to join every genealogy site online now. I suggest you do what I did when I did not have the money to pay for a membership. Take advantage of their free trial periods. Most of the sites offer free trial periods a few times a year. Get in on them and save every record you can find to your computer. Even if you do not know if they are a relative or not. You might find out later that they are and that will save you tremendous work down the line. This is how I found a lot of pieces to the puzzle and many pieces I did not know fit,,,, until now. There are still so many more pieces to look for but it is so much fun!!
Until next time,,,,,,,Blessings!!
Showing posts with label Ancestry. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Ancestry. Show all posts
Wednesday, June 12, 2013
Friday, June 7, 2013
Genealogy,,,,,,
Greetings!!
As usual I have a million thoughts running through my mind but I decided to write a little about the genealogy I have been doing. I have actually done genealogy on and off for several years. I started with my dad's side of the family because it is such an unusual name and I felt it would be easier to track. I quickly got back into the 1600s with family information. It was fascinating!! Revolutionary war heroes, ancestors connected to the Mayflower and Civil War soldiers and much more.
My mom's side of the family proved to be much more difficult. I had very little information to go on and a very common name, Parker. All I knew was my grandfather's name and the approximate years of his birth and death and where he was buried. I had no idea if he had siblings and if so, where they were or had died. I did not know his parents names either. Right off the bat I discovered all the records were destroyed by a fire and there was no birth or death certificate. Years went by and I could not find anything. My mom's generation are all gone. I have a few cousins who either did not know anything or were not discussing it.
You can imagine how frustrating that can be when you can find no information at all. I went back to work on dad's side of the family for a while. Then I even stopped for a few years. I tried again, still nothing to be had. This went on and off for several years.
Recently ancestry.com had a free two week trial and a special deal if you joined. I took the two week trial and then joined. Suddenly, everything had opened up and I found all sorts of information!! Not only did I find my grandfather's parents names, I know his great- grandparents names. I have census reports, property deeds, obituaries, newspaper clippings, the name of the cemetery, and even some pictures!!
I have met a couple of "woodpile" relatives online and we have joined forces to find even more information. I may have found the name of my great-great-great-grandfather but am now in the process of trying to confirm that. Sometimes I feel like I am trying to connect the dots or perhaps putting the pieces of a puzzle together. Other times it is like looking for a needle in a great big hay stack and seems impossible. But that one needle will sew all the pieces together neatly like the quilt of our life.
Along the way I am learning way more about history than I ever did in school. Actually, I hated history in school, it was my worse subject. Being able to tie it to ancestors and places I have actually been to makes it interesting to me and so now I am really enjoying it.
I have downloaded a couple of e-books about the history of the area my g-g-grandfather settled in when it was still wilderness. I have an e-book of the Parker genealogy written in 1889 which takes my family history back into the 1200s in England. I have a newspaper article stating that Captain John Benjamin Parker of the Lexington, Mass Militia was the great-grandfather of my great-great-grandfather, but I have a couple of generations missing that I need to connect the dots with to prove it without doubt.
I have learned that just because someone told you years ago something it does not make it true and you must have proof for everything. For example, everyone was told the land that my mother was raised on was a land grant from the King of England to my ancestors pre-revolution, turned out to not be true. My great-great-grandfather purchased the land in 1853. I have a copy of the deed to prove it. I also have a copy of the plat map that shows the boundaries of the land he had purchased.
I have a sibling who insists g-g-grandpa was an Admiral in the British Royal Navy and that is why he was given the land in a grant. Impossible!! He was born in NY State, and in 1817 long after land grants were given by the King of England!! Yes, I have the proof to back it up.
Recently I discovered one of my uncles had been married twice. Something I did not know! The first marriage apparently did not last long but was "ordered by the superior court". That was in 1930, long before I was even a glimmer in my daddy's eye. No one had ever spoke of it though, so I thought that was interesting. I believe he had a child with his first wife. I might have discovered the child's name, but it is not confirmed yet. If I am on to the right person he would have died very young by an "accidental drowning" and that might explain why my uncle never discussed it. Time will tell as I am still digging.
Today I plan on punching holes and putting all the documents I have downloaded and printed out into a three ring binder. It helps to have hard copies to check dates and names from time to time. And I am accumulating quite a mass of papers now. It is so interesting to find out about your ancestors in history. Who they were, where they came from, what kind of work they did, etc. You can find out a lot about your own personality traits by your ancestors traits. For example, I definitely have the Parker strong will and determination. I know it came from them by how they were written about in that genealogy written in 1889 that I mentioned above.
I will not be posting tomorrow for it is the Lord's day. But I will be back on Monday. Have a wonderful weekend!!
Until next time,,,,,,,Blessings!!
As usual I have a million thoughts running through my mind but I decided to write a little about the genealogy I have been doing. I have actually done genealogy on and off for several years. I started with my dad's side of the family because it is such an unusual name and I felt it would be easier to track. I quickly got back into the 1600s with family information. It was fascinating!! Revolutionary war heroes, ancestors connected to the Mayflower and Civil War soldiers and much more.
My mom's side of the family proved to be much more difficult. I had very little information to go on and a very common name, Parker. All I knew was my grandfather's name and the approximate years of his birth and death and where he was buried. I had no idea if he had siblings and if so, where they were or had died. I did not know his parents names either. Right off the bat I discovered all the records were destroyed by a fire and there was no birth or death certificate. Years went by and I could not find anything. My mom's generation are all gone. I have a few cousins who either did not know anything or were not discussing it.
You can imagine how frustrating that can be when you can find no information at all. I went back to work on dad's side of the family for a while. Then I even stopped for a few years. I tried again, still nothing to be had. This went on and off for several years.
Recently ancestry.com had a free two week trial and a special deal if you joined. I took the two week trial and then joined. Suddenly, everything had opened up and I found all sorts of information!! Not only did I find my grandfather's parents names, I know his great- grandparents names. I have census reports, property deeds, obituaries, newspaper clippings, the name of the cemetery, and even some pictures!!
I have met a couple of "woodpile" relatives online and we have joined forces to find even more information. I may have found the name of my great-great-great-grandfather but am now in the process of trying to confirm that. Sometimes I feel like I am trying to connect the dots or perhaps putting the pieces of a puzzle together. Other times it is like looking for a needle in a great big hay stack and seems impossible. But that one needle will sew all the pieces together neatly like the quilt of our life.
Along the way I am learning way more about history than I ever did in school. Actually, I hated history in school, it was my worse subject. Being able to tie it to ancestors and places I have actually been to makes it interesting to me and so now I am really enjoying it.
I have downloaded a couple of e-books about the history of the area my g-g-grandfather settled in when it was still wilderness. I have an e-book of the Parker genealogy written in 1889 which takes my family history back into the 1200s in England. I have a newspaper article stating that Captain John Benjamin Parker of the Lexington, Mass Militia was the great-grandfather of my great-great-grandfather, but I have a couple of generations missing that I need to connect the dots with to prove it without doubt.
I have learned that just because someone told you years ago something it does not make it true and you must have proof for everything. For example, everyone was told the land that my mother was raised on was a land grant from the King of England to my ancestors pre-revolution, turned out to not be true. My great-great-grandfather purchased the land in 1853. I have a copy of the deed to prove it. I also have a copy of the plat map that shows the boundaries of the land he had purchased.
I have a sibling who insists g-g-grandpa was an Admiral in the British Royal Navy and that is why he was given the land in a grant. Impossible!! He was born in NY State, and in 1817 long after land grants were given by the King of England!! Yes, I have the proof to back it up.
Recently I discovered one of my uncles had been married twice. Something I did not know! The first marriage apparently did not last long but was "ordered by the superior court". That was in 1930, long before I was even a glimmer in my daddy's eye. No one had ever spoke of it though, so I thought that was interesting. I believe he had a child with his first wife. I might have discovered the child's name, but it is not confirmed yet. If I am on to the right person he would have died very young by an "accidental drowning" and that might explain why my uncle never discussed it. Time will tell as I am still digging.
Today I plan on punching holes and putting all the documents I have downloaded and printed out into a three ring binder. It helps to have hard copies to check dates and names from time to time. And I am accumulating quite a mass of papers now. It is so interesting to find out about your ancestors in history. Who they were, where they came from, what kind of work they did, etc. You can find out a lot about your own personality traits by your ancestors traits. For example, I definitely have the Parker strong will and determination. I know it came from them by how they were written about in that genealogy written in 1889 that I mentioned above.
I will not be posting tomorrow for it is the Lord's day. But I will be back on Monday. Have a wonderful weekend!!
Until next time,,,,,,,Blessings!!
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