"Welcome to the Weekend Chat!" All Members Invited!! May 1st-3rd, 2020. [closed]

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CHANGE TO BEST ANSWER PROCESS:  After much discussion we have come to the conclusion that all answers in the Weekend Chat are of equal importance and weight.  So we are going to discontinue the Best Answer portion as it adds points and then takes them away from posters and is causing some hurt feelings.  So in the interest of everyone is equal and valued we will delete any best answers given which will deduct those points because it has been pointed out that to give everyone best answer is also not a viable option. 

Weekend Chat is for everyone. It's a place to catch up on what people are up to and to share what you've been doing.  New members can say hello, introduce themselves, ask questions, and meet each other.  Our seasoned members can share progress or successes from their projects, give tips and advice, or chime in on hot topics.

Post as many answers and comments as you wish. It doesn't hurt anyone to post a lot and enjoy the multitude of topics.

Enjoy yourselves and spread the love!

Comments

Paul, our 94 F150 is still going strong. Friends with newer models have had far more problems. It's been on a couple of long road trips. The longest was about 8000miles (12875km).   Every time we think we should get rid of it, another reason to keep it comes up.

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Welcome, Frank. I'm not sure that most are from warmer climates. While this past week we were in the 70s (20C), only two weeks ago the high for the day barely went above freezing and we got more than a foot of snow. Could go back to snow anytime over the next week or so.

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Doug, does yours have the online 6 cylinder 300?

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Welcome. I have only been on Wikitree since late January.There is so much to do and learn here. I haven't done a DNA test yet. But, I have found errors in my own old research.

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Nancy, I too have found errors in my research, so much so hat my original database (Family Tree Maker) is hopelessly out of date and error ridden! Keep plugging away; it only gets better!

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Hi Pip, and all and glad we had a successful clean a thon last weekend.   Would have gotten more done, but like Pip, kept seeing a new squrial or rabbit to follow.  Back to my list of formatting the profiles I created when I first started and didn't know what I know now.  Plus trying to connect my adopted family tree into the larger tree to see if I am related to my birth self ! Trish , adopted born Loretta Morrison

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Had a 67 red Mustang I sorta restored back 30 years ago ..still miss it.

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My mom had a 66 mustang that My grandfather bought her in 68. My mom told my younger sister that she is why she had to get rid of her mustang and buy a Volkswagen rabbit.

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Our F150 has the V8 and 4-wheel drive. It can haul just about anything.

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Nice! My father in law has the inline 6 cylinder 300. The engine that will never die.

Answer 1

We are going to have periods of rain for the weekend here in Central Pennsylvania. So far, 2 inches of rain since yesterday.

Thanks to all the folks who participated in the Clean-a-Thon last weekend. I believe it was just shy of 600 people.

Pennsylvania is still engaged in Covid-19 restrictions and guidelines as the rest of the country. I am seeing more traffic on the roads. Things do appear to be loosening up somewhat.

I got sidetracked again this week reading about the caverns in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia. I found out 2 of my first cousins, 3XR, brothers Jacob and John Pirkey, once owned a farm that had one of the openings to a cavern. While reading the articles on Google, I found out their father Elias was a veterinarian in the Civil War. One article leads to another, and you are hooked for the day. One of my distant relatives has some good profiles on WikiTree created for them.  

Stay safe, enjoy your weekend.

Comments

Rodney, I can't tell you how often I look up something on Wikipedia, and follow link after link to the point that I am nowhere near where I started!

We had a lot of rain two days ago. Soaked everything and the creek got up but did n't break it's banks, thank goodness. Cool and windy today.

Answer 2

There it is Pip!  Been fighting off the sleep monster for a few hours to post here before I nod off.  We had the kid last week and sleep is hard to come by.  About to drop off for a nap now after working the Swedish ancestor's profiles.  Baby and mom fine, he's getting adjusted just passing his second week at home.  Will try to add to my answer after a much needed nap.

Comments

Congratulations SJ. Hope all is well in Spain. Stay safe.

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Lovely news. Congratulations. Must admit I've almost forgotten how exhausting it was. Stay safe.

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Hope you get that nap, SJ. Having kids, much less a newborn, will definitely keep you from getting a full night's sleep!

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Congratulations on the new baby

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Congratulations on the little one! Hope you and Mom get some needed rest. Stay safe and healthy too!

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Congratulation SJ and family! You'll get plenty of sleep when he's a teen and you can't get him out of bed! Best to all of you. Stay safe and take care.

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Great News that everything went well with Mom and the baby.   Enjoy your rest!

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Congratulations SJ! So glad to hear that all is well with baby, Mom and a Sleepy Dad!!

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Congratulations S.J.  :-)

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Congratulations SJ.

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Congrats SJ

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Lovely news congratulations! Nap for hours in about 11 years, unless you have more kids....

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Thanks all for the well wishes.

Answer 3

Today is....

               

NATIONAL CHOCOLATE PARFAIT DAY

With layers of sweetness, May 1st ushers in National Chocolate Parfait Day.

Enjoying a delicious chocolate parfait would be a perfect way to end your day.  Parfait literally means perfect in French!  There are a couple of ways to make parfaits. The traditional French-style uses sugar syrup, eggs, and cream. The American style layers parfait cream, ice cream, and flavored gelatin in a tall, clear glass topped with whipped cream, fruit and liqueurs. The parfait has recently taken a wholesome turn using yogurt layered with nuts and fresh fruits, instead of ice cream and sugary syrups.

While the day focuses on the chocolate parfait, that doesn’t mean you can’t experiment with other fresh flavors. Fruit and cream go quite well with chocolate. And don’t forget ingredients such as pretzels or cookie bits. The options are only limited by your imaginations. 

HOW TO OBSERVE Chocolate Parfait Day"

Enjoy your version of a chocolate parfait today with family and friends!  Create a chocolate parfait bar and let the creating begin. Be sure to share your creations with us!

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Comments

Anything with chocolate!

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Agreed, Doug! Anything chocolate, including chocolate on stuff a person normally wouldn't put  it on. 

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Dorothy, I gained pounds just looking at that pic! lol Chocolate anything I can't resist.

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Chocolate three times today already now thanks for the post I want the forth!

Answer 4

Thanks for hosting Pip, I have much to tell this week. On Monday we had our first ever virtual club meeting for the Geauga Amateur Radio Association. With over 30 people "attending" the meeting I would call it a success. Then Tuesday Morning I had my first ever Virtual Doctors visit. Every thing is fine on that part. Wednesday I finally got my economic impact check so we bought some much needed items that would not normally fit in our budget. Thursday was a bad day. First I tried to have the oil changed in my 2016 Kia Rio but they could not get the drain plug out so they sent me away without the oil change. Then I went to get gas in the same car and my bank card was declined. I had plenty of money in the account and thankfully I got gas later that day. Today Diane has a doctors visit and in her case they wanted to see her face to face but I could not go along. Tomorrow I will be cutting the grass and in the afternoon dropping the Rio off at the dealers for the oil change, I hope they can remove the drain plug. so I might not be on the computer much.

I am sad to say that I have not done much with genealogy this past week and the next couple of days are not looking promising either.

They are starting to open things back up here in Ohio but the vision exams are still not allowed. My hearing aid provider is allowed to open because they say hearing is essential. Huh Hearing is essential but seeing is not, go figure!

Comments

In my spare time today I am working on upgrading/updating my All In One Desktop computer to make it more usable for some of these virtual meetings that will be going on for at least the next month. The sad part is it is a slow Windows 7 machine that can not be upgraded to Windows 10.

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I also gave away one of my tablet computers about 2 weeks ago. We have a 16 year old almost grandson who has no computer or tablet to do his schoolwork on, he has to share his parents laptop with his brother as well as his parents. I had this older tablet just sitting and collecting dust so I told him to take it. The last report I got I was told he loves it and uses it so I am happy with that.

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I swear, Dale, I don't know how you keep up! Better than vegetating, huh?

I'm needing a new prescription for my eyes, but the next appointment isn't until September. Maybe I should call and see if I can get an earlier one. Doubt it, since everyone else's appointments during the lockdown would have to be rescheduled, too. We have both had virtual doctor's appointments this past week. It ain't like being there.

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Pip, I only posted the highlights so I do way more than you see. That may be why I actually lost a little bit of weight during the stay at home time. I may stay at home but I still find more to do than time in the day.

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Dale, that I believe. Fortunately for me, I've maintained my weight,  but only because of the outside chores.

Answer 5

Hello everyone, I'm relatively new to WikiTree (joined in January). I live in the UK. Where I am near the south coast it's sunny and breezy after many days of rain. We're all locked down of course, as are so many people, but coping.

I've had a very exciting genealogical week. I got my DNA results and put them up on FamilyTree and GEDmatch a week ago.

Through this I've managed to identify my mother's lost father -- a long time goal of mine. She was adopted and was never able to trace her father, who had not been married to her birth mother.

Working on clues from her I'd narrowed him down to two main possibilities in the records, along with many less likely ones. Having the DNA match was definitive - I'd been on the right trail but it turned out to be my secondary possibility that was right, not the primary one I had really come to believe in myself.

A first cousin of hers is alive in Northern Ireland and I'm now in correspondence with his son. The uncle involved was known to have gone on the run from there, and they never knew what had become of him. Now we can join the story up from both ends. My mother, who is 87, is overjoyed about it. I'm so pleased to be able to bring her some certainty about this, as much as I can.

I have also contacted other second cousins of mine on a different branch of the family who are now in Maryland. My family are all Scottish and Irish but a great many emigrated. I'm from a line who went to Canada but came back in the 1930s.

With all the information coming in to me now I'm quite overwhelmed with trying to keep on top of it all in an organised way!

Comments

Since I'm originally from Maryland, give me some more details on that connection.  Your profile family tree is locked so I can't look at it myself.

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Hi there, Frank, and welcome to WikiTree and the Weekend Chat. I commend you for your diligence it tracking down your mom's father and for the connections you made. Good work. DNA does help, doesn't it?

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Thanks Pip and Gurney. I've changed the privacy setting now, so my tree should be accessible. I'm still getting used to doing it right. 

I haven't updated all the info yet for the new connections. But my Maryland cousin joined WikiTree after our contact! He is James Morton (Morton-9310). I'm pretty sure we have a common ancestor in Andrew Morton, about whom I posted details here: https://www.wikitree.com/g2g/972483/info-about-andrew-morton-b-1864-and-family

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Hi Frank, and welcome to Wikitree.

Your story is eerily similar to mine.

My mother was also adopted and also did not have her father listed on her original birth certificate. After a DNA test we have identified the family, but there were 3 brothers  in my grandfathers generation, none of whom were married to my grandmother.

While we think her father may have been the brother who was never married, the other two brothers married after my mother was conceived - so we cannot rule them out.

The trouble is that the brothers descendents are reluctant to do a DNA test to confirm the details, possibly because they are catholic and they dont want a "Scandal" in the family.

But as long as I know who the family is, I'm going to accept that for now.

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Similar story of my husband's birth father turned out he had 4 marriages at the same time, plus girlfriends of which my husbands birth mother was one.  This birth father took his mother's maiden name as he was not raised with a father.  DNA put an arrow to my husband's grandfather's family.  No infidelity he just was a young guy, and it was before he married. He has a brother of his grandmother that was told while she was alive who fathered the child as well.  But a family member of this grandfather wrote a professional genealogy book, and the whole family is in denial and no one wants to be tested. Or to even talk about it.  Found one willing male tester and they y-line match whole different surname!

Answer 6

Hails and horns, Wikipeeps!

It's been a busy couple of weeks hasn't it? Well, as busy as you can get with the human malware running around. I hope everyone is staying safe and is staying home. For God's sake, people. STAY HOME! I cannot stress this enough. Too many people have died. Stay home and stay safe!!

Now than that PSA is over with....On WikiTree, I've finally added more Capobiancos to the world tree. These would be the brothers and sisters of several Capobiancos in the tree already. We're almost at 100: https://www.wikitree.com/genealogy/CAPOBIANCO

You should check out my 3x great-grandfather Angelo Maria Capobianco's profile. He married twice and his first wife seemed to die quite suddenly. Really sad according to the death banns. =(

And last but not least, I have two blogs to share. The last one really showed off my nerd cred. I e-mailed it to Pip and he has yet to respond to it:

https://allroadhaverhill.blogspot.com/2020/04/52ancestors-week-17-land.html

https://allroadhaverhill.blogspot.com/2020/04/52-ancestors-week-18-where-theres-will.html

On the non genealogy front, we're getting my room painted. This means getting all my junk out and put elsewhere so we can work. Fun....

Not really. But, whatever. At least it will look so much better once it's done.

And that's it from me. Unless you want to see last week's comic. It has a sort of genealogy theme. Parents saving their kids from the invasion of the purple people eaters: https://starbolts.blogspot.com/2020/04/starbolts-478-parental-directive.html

Enjoy! 

Comments

Getting your room painted is your LAST CHANCE to get rid of junk you KNOW you no longer need, Chris! (This is what happens when we clean out closets!)

As usual, I enjoy reading your blogs (and I even got to read them early; thanks to you!). Vegetable prison... now that's funny as the dickens!

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Thanks for the PSA. The other day an 80+ year woman took to task a 20something couple who weren't maintaining social distance or wearing masks. They said they weren't worried about getting sick. She let them know in no uncertain terms that the problem wasn't them getting sick but them causing her to get sick and that their attitude was one of complete selfishness. She was applauded by other shoppers when done.

I agree with Pip. Painting is a great time to get rid of "stuff"

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@ Pip: Yeah. It's all fun and games until the hot peppers escape and give you agita. One time my dad thought it would be a good idea to grow hot Chilean peppers. You could smell the spice in the front yard. At least it kept the animals away....

As for my room, I'm not really throwing much out. Just reorganizing. You definitely don't want to see my closet. It's got a lot of my brother's junk in there. The top shelf alone is a mess. A hot mess.

I will get rid of a few things. I have this 3D puzzle of the world. It's freestanding and has no support at all. It's old and prone to fall apart. The globe has kind of collapsed in on itself. I think it's a metaphor for how the world is right now....

@ Doug: No problem. I was just venting because there are people who say this whole thing is a hoax. It angers me because as I've said before I have family in Italy and I doubt thousands of people dying worldwide is a hoax.

I had to explain this to people on Facebook a few times. I would have smacked some sense into those 20somethings, too. Not gonna lie.

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Chris, what's your brother's stuff doing in your closet?!?

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Ain’t that a good question.....

Lol. It’s mostly stuff from when we were kids. Baseball cards, model kits that were never built and a few other things.

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So true. How can it be a hoax when people are dying? I live in New Jersey, USA, a hotspot for the virus. I don't know anyone close that has been affected but plenty of acquaintances. My husband used to volunteer with FEMA and one of his acquaintances there just got off a ventilator, been in the hospital about a month. A fellow band parent from when my kids were in High School in the 1990s died right after they moved to an over 55 community, so now his wife is there alone. Stay Safe and Stay home. Numbers are still high, even if they are lower than they were.

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:( Condolences to you and yours.

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When I go to work. The combo of my hard hat and black face mask makes me look like a Cobra Trooper

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You should go into work saying that you plan to take over the town using the power of smooth jazz! COBRA!!!!!

I think that actually happened....

Either way, tomorrow is May 4th. May the 4th be with you.

Answer 7

Nothing to report from England really since we've been shut in for more than 6 weeks. After several days of really sunny weather it's gone back to changeable. Must admit we did take the car out for a little bit of exercise last week (charge the battery and move the tyres about). Didn't stop anywhere. Somehow, during the shutdown they've managed to drive the foundations for a road through the strawberry fields which does solve the problem of what to do with the strawberrys this month, with there being no Wimbledon. I've given up trying to get a supermarket slot and am running the household on wholesale and organic boxes of stuff. Quite interesting working out what to do with those things I've either never bought before or don't very much like.

On the Wikitree front I'm either continuing to clear up my mess or making extra connections between families. Can't seem to be able to concentrate on anything more demanding.

Comments

C, my wife and I have starting going out, just driving around. Now, we do have to run some errands, but we save those for about once ever week. And, we too had to get a new battery (for the truck). Fortunately for us, it was under warranty, so we got it for free.

Answer 8

Busy times. Colorado has started easing back on restrictions although Boulder County won't start opening for a bit longer.

The week before last we finally dried out enough to actually start working outside again. I'm making good progress on the gardens. The existing beds are getting close to ready and the new beds are underway. The big one is BIG about 50ftx8ft (15m x 2.5m). The sod is broken and it is cooking under plastic for a while. The landscapers will be coming back any day now to finish a few projects.

On the genealogical front, I've started down some rabbit holes. Slowly reading some of the history on the faux-sauniers (salt smugglers) of Brittany. The papers are in French and my vocabulary is limited but improving. 45 years of not using it left its toll. There is a lot written about them. Also been filling in extended family info. I tend to research lines back as far as I can then find all the children and grandchildren of each ancestor. I had originally thought one great grandfather stayed in Québec but turns out he went back and forth regularly. Haven't found his death yet but his second wife died in Massachusetts in 1900.  Also transcribed a couple more documents for the Nova Scotia Archives transcription project.

Comments

Doug, I'm guessing that you are glad to finally get those beds prepped and going. Are you sure that you are through with the snow?

Many years ago, I spent a weekend with some friends in Boulder County, and have always wanted to go back just for the beauty of it.

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We may not be done with snow yet. Temps have been in the 70s (20C) this past week but it could go back to freezing at any time. The Colorado peach crop was destroyed this year with the last freeze/snow a few weeks ago.

I came to the Boulder area a long time ago for a job interview and decided I would stay even if I didn't get the job (I did get it). Many years later, our nephew stayed a summer with us and decided the same. He move here after finishing college and then found a job. Where in the county did you visit?

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Doug, I was at a conference on the university campus the whole time. (Actually, daytime during the conference, nights in Denver where most of us were staying.)

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The CU campus is in a nice location. Haven't been on campus for a number of years but we need to go in to the Glenn Miller Archives at some point to do some genealogy work on my wife's maternal line. We live about 20 miles from there and a bit further out from the mountains.

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Doug, I live in forest-covered mountains that have been worn down. To see those sharp, nearly bare mountains marching right down to Boulder was a sight for me.Just beautiful.

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Bare mountains have a special beauty. We are about 7 miles from the foothills, due east of Lyons, and have an unimpeded view of them. The only thing I miss from where I grew up (rural Massachusetts) are the trees.

Answer 9

After 5 weeks, we took a one week break and my parents went to stay with my sister  They're coming back again Sunday for the next month and hoping to head back to Florida again in June.  I like having them though.  Tonight we have our first cocktail party in two months.  It is a street party.  Set up on your driveway and visit people by walking in the street.  Also today we are able to get haircuts but reservations are hard to come by.  Trying on a pony tail for the street party.

Comments

Gurney, fortunately, I cut my own hair and my wife does the touchups. I did, however, grow a Corona beard (to be distinguished from have a Corona Beer). That street party sounds pretty cool.

Answer 10

On this day:

1707: The Kingdom of Great Britain is created

1840: The first postage stamp is introduced

1904: The Czech composer Antonín Dvořák dies.

Comments

Jelena, I may be one of the few here who can say that Dvorak wrote some of my favorite music. What a passionate composer. Looks like I may need to give his profile a little attention!

Answer 11

Currently, it's 7˚ C and overcast in Fort Erie, on the way to a predicted high of 14˚ C¹. Tonight's predicted low is 5˚ C, and we're supposed to have at least occasional showers all weekend. It's supposed to dry out a bit as the work week starts, which won't help me any to get the lawn² mowed. But the light of my life and the delight of my eyes actually enjoys mowing³, so I suspect that she'll get it done before I get a chance.

She is also continuing her face mask production. We have a much-beloved retired pastor in our church⁴, so I emailed his family, offering them masks to build a hedge of protection around him. I offered them their choice of styles and colours, with the option of racing stripes. His son-in-law, whose sense of humour is almost as warped as mine, took us up on the racing stripes. Currently, she's working on an order for 20 masks in assorted styles and fabrics⁵.

On the genealogy front, last night was my last time to work on Frenches for a couple of months. This month, it's time to turn my attention to Slades. Although I have started work on something that I've been meaning to do for some time: add, source, and track profiles for historical Baptist figures, from John Smyth on⁷.

Actually, what finally prompted me to get started on that was the thought that, with the lockdown going on, my fellow Baptists in Canada might appreciate more of a sense of connection with one another, which is something that I've been trying to promote through a mailing list called the Canadian Baptist Discussion List. As I find (or create) profiles for notable Baptists, I add an item to the group calendar that says something like:

Samuel Stearns Day was born in what is now Rideau Lakes, Ontario on this day in 1808.

See:

https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Day-6230

Right now, there are only a few entries in the calendar, but as I find/add more, it should eventually become a sort of "Baptist History of the Day" thing, sort of like those services that will email you a Bible verse every day. I'm hoping that will help to keep the list in people's minds when the discussion lags (as it tends to do when there are so few subscribers).

1. I'll believe that when I see it.
2. which is starting to look nearly as shaggy and unkempt as I do
3. I have photos of her using a mower that I bought her some years ago (before we got married), and grinning like the cat that swallowed the canary.
4. His equally beloved late wife was my seventh cousin once removed.
5.  Because, hey, if you need to wear one, you might as well turn a necessity into a fashion statement, right?
6. There is no footnote 6.
7. I don't need to get the Pre-1500 badge to work on Baptists, which is a relief, since the standards look pretty rigorous to me.

Comments

"I don't need to get the Pre-1500 badge to work on Baptists" I get this one! 

Answer 12

Hey everyone, hope that the weekend is treating you well!

I have no news here aside from taking care of my now 5 month old. She's a wonderful handful.

Some of you (how many of you, really?) may have noticed that the Cosenza archives are down. Family Search still hasn't gotten around to transcribing and translating those records, and now with Covid-19, I suspect it'll take even longer.

On that front, my biodad has DNA matches but they're to his Italian ancestors from Montesano sulla Marcellana which is notoriously lacking in indices in the back so... to get anywhere with that I'll have to do things individually and manually. It was hard enough to do a year that had all the indices.

Comments

G, I hope FS gets those records online in the not too distant future. It would certainly fill in the gaps for a lot of researchers looking for information in Italy. You really put some work into Portale Antenati - Montesano sulla Marcellana - 1865. 

Answer 13

Happy May Day.

Its an odd one for many of us. I was delighted to find this virtual May morning from Magdalen Choir Oxford with all the boys singing from home. 

 https://youtu.be/CEBsmxAfGiY.My son works at Oxford University and sometimes gets up early to listen but I've never been.

A week or so ago I was working on the profiles of a family  that lived in the parish in the late 16th, early 17th C. It  struck me this morning  that this tradition started 500  years ago, so the singing from the church  tower  on May morn would have been part of their lives.

Comments

Hi, Helen. I heard it too. So charming. Need to get that written into the profiles somehow.

Stay safe.

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I'd completely forgotten about May Day. Thanks for the reminder.

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Helen, thank you for sharing that link! I do enjoy a good English boys choir. The training tells in the quality.

Answer 14

Hello to all from beautiful southeastern Arizona! The temps are really heating up down here. It's currently 71F, and we'll hit the 90s today. The weather the past 2 weeks has been simply gorgeous!

Hummingbirds: I ordered a new feeder. The glass bottle screws into the base, and it does not leak! *does happy dance!* I'd planned to use the leaky, cheap one for water, but the feeder was still half-full when the other one arrived. It was a windy day, and the dang thing blew off my patio table. The base came off, sugar water everywhere! I searched my patio and the grounds but couldn't find it. *sigh!* 

A friend called me a few days after my birthday and said she had a belated present for me. I had posted on FB complaining that my salvia greggii didn't survive this winter. She bought one for me when she was at Ace. She said it looked scraggly and was afraid it wouldn't survive, but she  set it outside my apartment door, knocked, and left. I'm tickled! This one is a hybrid (salvia x greggii) and it's good up to 0F - old one was only 32F. I potted it and it's doing well. The birds are even starting to visit it too!

WikiTree: I enjoyed the Clean-a-thon and chatting with the Tree Nuts. *waves to all!* I learned a lot and I'm so glad I participated. I hope to finish up the Willis family soon, so I can return to work on my early profiles. I'd like to clean those up before my 1-year anniversary!

Writing: Still having problems staying focused. Unsure if it's because of the pandemic or if it's because I feel a lack of concrete evidence. I'd like to visit Zanesville, Belpre, and Marietta when this trouble is over if I can swing the cost on my limited budget. I visited Dr. Increase Mathews House museum back in the '80s, but didn't visit the Stone Academy which Increase built. Last year, the Stone Academy became an UGRR Interpretative Center. I want to do some research there then also visit Marietta College's Legacy Library. In Belpre, I want to view Increase's sister home, Captain Jonathan Stone House, and also the Historical Society there. Here's an interesting newspaper article about this home.

I'd like to determine the extent of Increase's involvement in abolitionist activities. Since his sister, business partner (Levi Whipple), and distant cousin (David Putnam Jr.) are known abolitionists and because he built the Stone Academy, I have assumed he may have been too.

Hope everyone enjoys their weekend and stays healthy!

Comments

Diane, your birdfeeder story sounds like a lot of our feeder stories! We got early hummingbirds this year. Usually, they're not here to stay until early June, but we already have a couple who are staying and not just passing through.

What a nice present to receive for your birthday! hope this one lasts through the winter. I've given up on annuals, and we check for the temp on the tag before buying, too.

The Tree Nuts rocked the Clean-a-thon this year! Congratulations!

Answer 15

Thanks for hosting Pip, and welcome to the weekend everyone - hope all are safe and staying well. It is raining again...we have had several weeks of mostly rain with a few hours of sunshine here and there. When it dries up, we'll get the garden planted. Local farmers can't get their fields planted.

On the home front, we woke Monday morning to a clunk and rattle that sounded like a critter on the roof or in the attic. My husband checked the attic and all around the house (worried about the roof rats that are prevalent in our area). When checking the gutters (called eave troughs in the northern US), he found an old beef marrow bone that our dog left in the yard. We figure a very ambitious squirrel picked it up, got up in the dogwood tree, jumped onto the roof above our bedroom, and dropped it. Phew just a squirrel attack.

The CleanAThon was fun, a great chance to connect with other WikiTreers. I got about 400 done, most of them from the no dates suggestions that now have the Needs Profiles Created category.

Other genealogy news, I decided to start working on siblings of my gg grandparents Mary Reed and Albion Sanford. So I started with Mary's brother Simon who was married to Albion's sister Currance. My starting point was Simon' biography in the History of Peoria County, Illinois. This should make it easier, right, since it lists all of their 15 children.... but somewhere along the line I found one of their children who probably married Currance's sister and have to get back to that. I got as far as a grandson and suffered a major squirrel attack...He married Hattie Johnson and after her death married her sister Juanita. Both can be found in the census with their father and grandfather, both named John Johnson. So... my current activity is looking at the 130 or so existing John Johnson profiles without any dates and trying to source and date them.

Comments

Oh no! Not John Johnsons. That'll be a chore, Kay! Nothing like needing to get 15 children and their spouses taken care of when a rabbit hole forms beneath you. Can't help but fall in.

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When you finish Kay.. wanna help me with a few Thomas Smith's?

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Loretta - careful... this diversion was from Simon Reed and when I finish that I'll be looking at some of Simon's children Emily, Henry, etc. and his brother Thomas Reed

Answer 16

Greetings from Everett, Washington!

The dandelions have turned from suns to moons.  I miss the weeds of California.  Orange poppies, yellow mustard, foxtails, alyssums, yellow sorrel that I called sourgrass. I used to sample them in my childhood.  I have learned to accept that plants die if I try caring for them.  My philosophy is to stick them in the ground and let them fend for themselves.  I was very pleasantly surprised that the purple columbine that I bought from my friend Roger and repotted has actually survived the winter.  I missed its full flower and look forward to it this year.

I have been working with a new Wikitreer on a Robe profile and we may have enough information to propose a merge. We need to find a marriage record and a 1994 obituary.

I have been populating a personal category, [[Robe-79 Descendants of William Robb, Robe]] which now has over 1200 profiles.  I note that not all who qualify are there, so I have work to do, especially among the Howlands of southern Ohio.

I thought it would be interesting to work on some of my husband's relatives of Lithuanian descent.  When his uncle, Father Jim, died, husband brought back from Indiana many of his family papers including several church directories related to this family.  But they're all in Lithuanian.  I don't know the language at all.

Today, except for myself, the family is going down to Renton to help my daughter's friend move into his new apartment.  Friend is fortunate to now have a place of his own where he can sleep (we hope) in the daytime.  He works the night shift at QFC supermarket, long hours, stocking shelves.  He has been paid well, and needs further reward, as do all our grocery employees.

The Mukilteo Historical Society had a virtual Zoom meeting last night.  The park adjacent to the lighthouse will reopen this week but not the lighthouse itself.  While meetings are suspended, things are happening behind the scenes.  We have a copy stand set up so that we can make images of the many newspaper pages in our collection.  We are working on getting new shutters and window treatments in the historic building that houses our gift shop; said window treatments have been researched and it was determined that there are no historical guidelines as they were always at the discretion of the lighthouse keepers' families.  Eventually the roof will need to be replaced, and the community informed that the historical society will choose a period look for the lighthouse roof tiles and the color of the tiles and trim. The tiles were not always the shade of red we have now.  But that change has been postponed until who knows when.

I have made seven quilt tops and it looks as if more will be finished soon.  They have made no difference in the size of my fabric stash.  I have been mending socks by hand.  

Best to you all.  I was glad to catch up on what cousin SJ is doing, with a new baby.  I am glad to hear from Pip and you all.

Comments

Margaret, that's pretty much my own approach to gardening as well.  Chuck stuff out there and see what makes it.  When I lived in SoCal I killed succulents like crazy until I learned to put them out on the patio and ignore them.

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Hi there, Margaret. I'm glad you had a Zoom meeting of the society. I know you were feeling some withdrawal symptoms not having your usual meetings!

And... I'm really glad that the community support the restoration of the historic building. That, I believe, is a worthy cause!

Answer 17

Hi everyone! I'm a little late to the chat today.

HOME: There wasn't a weekend chat last weekend so here's what's going on... My grandma fell on April 18th (Saturday) and broke her right hip. My uncle was staying with her and I was at work. She had hip surgery and went through it well. She is currently at the nursing home that I work at. She's there for therapy and we're hoping that she gets to come back home. In therapy, she's walked 5 feet with assistance and a walker. However, stepping back and pivoting she's not doing. She is afraid to roll over on the bad hip.

CORONAVIRUS INFO: 10,000+ cases in Tennessee, 199+ deaths in Tennessee.

GENEALOGY: I've been redoing my family tree on Ancestry. I've been adding sources and checking into hints as to who the parents are on some of my ancestors. I uploaded my DNA results to MyTrueAncestry for my ancient ancestry reports. It's very interesting. I'm still using GeneticAffairs. I've been using DNA Clusters, and checking out my Admixture results and matches with my Superkit.

WIKITREE: I've been merging profiles on WikiTree that need merged. I've also been working on some of my free space pages. My plans are to: start working more on my ancestors profiles and getting more involved in the projects I'm a member of.

Comments

Greta, I'm glad that at least your grandmother is where you are working. I know how serious a hip injury can be for an older person. Keep us posted on her progress!

Your WikiTree goals sound just like mine!

Answer 18

Buenos dias from the Old Pueblo! It is 9:30am, 82F and sunny here in Tucson! It's going to be a hot one this weekend, but not as bad as June, July and August!

Thanks for hosting, Pip! I am still recovering from the THON! I was thrilled to find that our team, the Sandringham Strollers, came in 4th! Sadly, I found a doozie of a mess in Devon four days after the CAT. I thought I would be doing a follow up favor; however, rather than creating more of a mess, I will be contacting two of my (many) top England Team colleagues to see if they can help with conflated names, messy and likely incorrect Find-a-Grave information, etc. Oh well...

I won't be doing much genealogy or wikitree activity this weekend. I've been asked to write an editorial for a medical journal to celebrates the upcoming Nurses Week (May 6-12) and the WHO 2020 International Year of the Nurse and Midwife! My nurse sleep researcher colleagues and I had a policy brief published in a nursing journal in November 2019 and one of the nurses from the CDC had it translated into Spanish. I have a physician colleague who is willing to published the Spanish translated articles in this medical journal (he is editor-in-chief). It is peer reviewed, online, open access. He has made a commitment to making Spanish-language articles about pulmonary, critical care, and sleep across the lifespan/culture available throughout the Americas and Spain. He asked me to write the editorial and it's due on Tuesday, so I have to get my tuchus in gear and get it done.

Once the article is done, I will be building my family tree in Cornwall. I am so looking forward to that because I will be able to be in touch with a couple of OPCs that I got to know while I worked on the Orphan Trail. I also want to check to make sure they are doing OK during the pandemic. 

And...I hope all of you are staying safe and healthy. Please take care. We'll meet again, don't know where, don't know when, but I know we'll meet again some sunny day...

It's an old Vera Lynn song my grandmother used to sing to me! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Nzy1cfnKh4

Comments

Carol, I'm so proud of Sandringham's effort for the Clean-a-thon! I'll be back with you for the Source-a-thon. Excellent work.

I've just about given up on getting my Cornwall families added to. Mine connection left there in the 1600s and the records are not only scarce, but it's also difficult to separate out all those with the same forenames.

I think it's pretty neat that you've found someone who is willing to create open access medical articles. There is such a need for multi-language collaboration, especially in the medical field. I 'd love to see the opinion piece when you get done. Will it be online?

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Hi Pip,

I'll send it to you. It will be a brief editorial recognizing the 2020 International Year of the Nurse. I contacted a colleague of mine, who is an internationally recognized Nightingale scholar. She agreed to co-author. I will send it to you via email once published.

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Excellent! Thanks!!

Answer 19

I will trust everyone has weathered April remaining safe  and will continue to stay safe 

I realize this is a Very Historic Era, I don't think even the 1918 Pandemic led to this much havoc ... 

I think the Black Plague was the last time towns and nations were shut down economically and etc similar to what we see now here in USA and other nations 

THE WEATHER -- doesn't know if it was spring or winter or summer these last 4 weeks ... I will say we did not get sleet, hail, snow, nor iced surfaces.  Wet, damp or roasted depending on the day, however. 

HOMEFRONT? -- We got our first of 5-meals per person delivered today. Each Friday we'll receive (each of us) delivered to the door, five trays of a frozen meal, a small loaf of bread, five desserts, five milks (small), some juice and some bitty cups of butter ...  (I also now know what a "Moon Pie" is  -- it's mini size, 110 cals, and rubbery feeling in your mouth) 

Okay, GETTING the delivery box OPEN was a Heroic Saga ... but we managed. I think cursing the tape helped. However Sig. O. found the box cutter, finally, screamed BONZAI at the confounding confabulation and sliced tape strips ...  

They'd TAPED the two boxes together and taped every other crevice also -- wasn't no way was anything going to fall out of THOSE boxes ... where's a 9 yr old boy when you want something OPENED?? Could have used one here today ... LOL 

Just about everything that was already frozen was bunged into our freezer, bar two meal trays (one each) & a milk, a small loaf of bread (to be split between the two (as will the one in the freezer) ... and the two have been set out to thaw

Getting staples and perishables online has been seriously disrupted since the last 10 days of March, all through April and looks to be much of May or all of May ... so we signed up for the meals to be delivered ... and Sig. O. is finding it even more difficult to "fix a meal" ... well, he's 78 in a couple of months ...  probably should have done this last year but ... 

 GENEALOGICALLY I racked up 1325+ contributions over last month and made more than a three connections tween my family lines and some other profile manager's lines -- might have done as many as five ... I don't keep count nor keep track 

Have been mastering the skill of using Rootsearch ... it does not appear on EVERY profile on my Watch list  ... spent all of 2019 doing editing, revising, amending, sourcing, clarifying, etc and so forth and looks like I'll spend 2020 doing the same ... went from 1,950 profiles and added some, am up to 1,990 at the moment ... and this is despite orphaning several dozens that I discovered I had that were not blood kin, but in-laws to blood kin ... 

AH, and dealt with several cousinly contacts in April -- which took some sorting out on my part to figure out whether this was my paternal or maternal line and which branch and to track it down and then surf up a lot of info for them and send that to them ... 

Comments

I've seen some newspapers from the US for 1918 and 1919 and everyone is wearing masks and the headlines say, "Stay home, only go out for groceries," and the like.

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Mention of newspaper accounts and promoted behavior (social distancing) in 1918? NOT something I have read about but -- logically -- I should have given thought to -- possibly because of the war and draft (1917-1918) occupied a lot of attention during that period in what little media I've seen from that era -- that and women attempting to gain the legal right to vote in USA ...  

One of my father's brothers died of it while they were riding line in New Mexico ... isolated as a line camp can be, but Papa made no mention of 'how to behave" suggestions and rules that you are describing during that pandemic (1918) but it is likely at age 14 or so he knew nothing about it 

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Los Angeles Times

School children

Disinfecting the bus

Street car conductors

Boston Police

Seattle Police

clerks

mailman

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Wow, Ms Baty (Mr?) that is an awesome collection of photos Thank you for posting them

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Susan, down here in the South, if you have a moon pie you've just gotta have an RC (Royal Crown) Cola to down it. They still sell like hotcakes here. A popular snack.f

The packing of your food sounds like the packing USA Kilts does of my orders. They want me to work for it, even though the items are paid for! 

One thing I really like about Rootsearch is that I do not have to type in all the info. Of course, if I create a new profile, I do have to type it all in. Slows things down!

PS: SJ is a Mr.

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PIP --I first discovered Moon Pie in the series of mysteries featuring "Bubba" - written by C. L. Bevill ... Bubba lives in Texas and he's a good ole boy ... also a college grad but he pretends he is not ... and he's had (is having) a run of Luck that makes Bad Luck look like Good Luck ... there's about a dozen or so of the books so far ... one of his most favorite snacks is Moon Pie and RC Cola 

BUT I had never SEEN a Moon Pie so I didn't know (Bubba says "dint") ... well, now I know, at least I know what the mini looks like 

Thanx for the disambiguation of SJ Baty (Mr vs Ms) ... probably something he's likely never viewed himself in need of

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1325! Wow! Congratulations!

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 Under current conditions, Loretta, there's not much else I can do but click away saving information gathered ... MY GOAL is to (finally) revise my entire watch list ,,, decided that meant everything dated 2018 or 2019 will be revisited ... I  don't do anything at WikiTree BUT the profiling on my extended family lines anyway ... already have 116 and counting for MAY ... 

PS/ hours later, turns out there is a new app, found on the MyWikiTree menu, it's called "Surname Contributions" and it says those 1,325+ clicks to save were done on 137 different profiles ... there may have been more profiles attended to but the thing only counts 10 (surname) profiles ... NOW I won't have to guess about my productivity or write it down somewhere -- I can just use this app and get a very good est of my productivity 

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That photo of the street car with ads for Pears Soap on the seat backs reminded me of the Pears Cyclopedia which my mother (and probably her mother before her) had for years. It was a one-volume mini encyclopedia published as an advertising gimmick way back when, but it was surprising how often, when we looked stuff up in it, that it actually had a (short, of course) article on that topic.

Some years back, I was visiting friends in Hong Kong, on the way to (or from) a conference for work. I happened to spot some bars of Pears Soap in a pharmacy. I thought, "Huh! They still make that stuff!", and promptly picked some up to take home to my mother for old times' sake. She was not at all surprised to see it. Then, a week or two later, I was in a drug store that we frequently shop in at home, and saw... you guessed it: Pears Soap. Duh! It had been around all along, and I just never noticed. 

And yes, it's still around. The light of my life and the delight of my eyes likes it a lot, because it smells like disinfectant. So when she's had her hands in something really nasty (or when there's a cut involved), she reaches for the Pears. (Me, I prefer Dettol soap, but I can't find it in Canada. Usually, I have to pick it up on a trip, if I happen to be in a place where I can get it.)

Answer 20

Another week has flown by! 

Weather:   Plenty of spring rain here in Catoosa County.   Gone are the worries of a night time frost.    This is the last week we're allowed  to burn brush piles  (until after September 30th)..... so we've been pretty busy cleaning out the yard waste previous owners had piled in the stream corridor....  Every muscle hurts.  Good news,  we avoided getting poison ivy or any bug bites.  Didn't even see a snake.

Genealogy:   Not a lot accomplished!  I was distracted with learning WikiTree Greeter duties,  but can't continue using that as an excuse.

Travel and Covid:   With the states  starting to  "re-open",  and my state of Georgia apparently leading the pack, I'll soon start thinking about a trip to see my mother in Kansas City.   The trick is..... I want to make certain I don't expose an 87 year old,  even though she seems to prefer a visit to an abundance of caution.   

Looking forward to seeing your posts...

  

Comments

Hi there neighbor Peggy! (I figure that in this community, anyone within a couple of states is a neighbor. )

Us: no poison ivy, no bug bites, one snake. We are allowed to burn if we get a permit, but that depends on the weather (on how dry it's been).

I really do hope you get to make it to Kansas City. Phone calls and FaceTimes just aren't the same. But I know your concerns. It's the way we feel when we go to check up on Dad (92 years old).