"Welcome to the Weekend Chat!" All Members Invited!! March 11th - 13th, 2022 [closed]

+30 votes
6.4k views

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New Members Saying Hello (our favorite!)

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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.

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Enjoy yourselves and spread the love!

WikiTree profile: Pip Sheppard
closed with the note: Another great Chat! See you next weekend!!
in The Tree House by Pip Sheppard G2G Astronaut (2.7m points)
closed by Pip Sheppard
Yep been around along time.    Never paid a lot of attention to them.

Mark, I am very pleased with all the participation this week. More than usual!! I think the record is 60+ way back a year or so ago. 

Laura; BEWARE !!  it was / is a conspiracy, so have you noticed "them" paying a lot of attention to YOU?  {sound of a mad scientist laugh

Looked up the titles you mention, Nelda, and yeppers, it's "them" .. it was banned by some countries for generating religious controversy ... Spoiler alert: The conspiracy in the book is that Jesus married Mary Magdalene and had children, leaving living descendents behind. The Catholic Church covered up this fact, according to the novel, while a secret society called The Priory of Sion works to keep Jesus' descendents safe. Sep 16, 2011

Rome's diocese said Monday it has barred the producers of "Angels & Demons" from filming in two churches for the prequel to the "The Da Vinci Code," the popular book and film that angered many Catholic leaders.Jun 16, 2008
 

Silly the things people will believe in the face of opposite evidence.

Think it was Paul that commented on itchy ears, and following anyone who said what the listening one wanted to hear ?  The disease of lust in their souls brings forth an itch in their ears, that they will have a mind to hear only such as will by scratching please them. 2nd Timothy 4:3

Yep, that's it.

"For the time will come when they will not tolerate sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance with their own desires."

Susan I have a contingent of trained military types whose sole mission is to keep me safe.  So I have been told
Pip our world has become a berry scary dark place and the chat reminds us there are good people in this world abd a safe place to interact.  You are a master host

crying I suspect that a great many Ukrainians thought the same way: we have a military and they will protect us. 

49 Answers

+22 votes

Good morning Pip and the weekend chatters.

Weather:

  • Currently, it is 57ºF and overcast in southwest Louisiana.
WikiTree:
  • I have standardized all the birth locations (open profiles only) for the Arant surname page. I can now sort the profiles by Country down to local using the WikiTree BEE browser extension.

RootsTech - Find my Relatives:

  • My count is up to 28,289 relatives.

WikiTree BEE (browser extension) update:

  • There's a new button on your profile to see up to 10 generations of ancestors.
  • Also, you can create citations while on the DAR website.
by Tommy Buch G2G Astronaut (1.8m points)
edited by Tommy Buch
Howdy, Louisiana! Finally, your weather matches our, at least temperature-wise.
How do you keep on coming up with all these new buttons for us to play with?  You are wonderful, and a Wikitree treasure, Tommy Buch!

laugh Hmm. WikiTree BEE keeper, I'm reluctant to download anything to this loaner Chrome notebook for fear of Murphy's Law ... 

I gather from comment it is meeting with a favorable reception. This is good, means you are appreciated. 

+24 votes

Thank You for hosting the Chat Pip.

Musings form The North Coast.

Weather, It is Northeast Ohio so the weather changes very often. The current pattern is one the maple syrup producers like warm during the day and cold at night. No change there.

On the Home Front,

An eventful week even by my standards.

On Tuesday we made our weekly trip to the salvage stores. While loading our car I heard a lot of racket behind me. I turned and saw a horse and buggy leaving the parking lot rapidly and noticed that there was no driver. Then I saw an Amish woman on the ground screaming in pain. I rushed over and she said to call an ambulance. I called 911 and then she said that her 5 year old son was in the buggy alone. I then handed the cell phone to Diane and ran out to the street to look for the buggy. Good luck prevailed as the buggy was stopped up the street and I walked up to the Amish man holding the horse and explained that The owner was in the parking lot just down the street and could not stand up. He walked the horse and buggy back down as an Amish woman carried the 5 year old boy. By this time several Amish workers from the store were out in the parking lot and the injured woman gave then her address so that someone could take her son home and wait for an older son to come home from school. The horse was secured and the ambulance arrived. Diane had stayed with the injured person and remained on the phone with emergency services while I helped direct traffic to avoid further problems. The EMT's placed an air cast on the woman's lower leg and loaded her in for transport to the hospital. So we took our leave and went home.

We were scheduled to watch our great granddaughter on Wednesday but we got an early morning message, about 4:30, that they were coming over with the little one because mommy was being rushed to the hospital. At 11:51 our third great grandchild was born. Lilli weighed in at 7 pounds 13 ounces.

Totally unrelated to anything else on here, Tuesday night I went in to the local big computer store and noticed that in the parking lot they are installing charging stations for electric cars. I suppose this makes sense because just a couple miles further down the road there is a Tesla dealership.

This weeks blog can be found here, https://dalesradiomusings.blogspot.com/2022/03/know-it-has-been-while-since-my-last.html

for the radio post and a new genealogy topic can be found at

https://dalesgenealogy.blogspot.com/2022/03/this-is-start-of-this-topic-for-me.html

by Dale Byers G2G Astronaut (1.7m points)
Hello Dale. Well done, you and your wife for the wonderful help you provided the Amish mother, son and others. While stopping to render aid however possible is an act of a 'good samaritan', yours is novel given an Amish horse and buggy accident!

I expect to see more and more 'charging stations' across the country. I am retired from Arizona State University and about three years ago I drove up to do some research work. I have a permit for underground parking to the nursing building. The president of our university had already installed 2 parking spots as 'charging stations.' His emphasis for our university is innovation!
No lack of excitement for you Dale. Right place at the right time.

And... congrats on the new descendant!

Congratulations on the newest family member !!! 

Congratulations on the newest family member!
What a rewarding week for you!  Amazing!
God bless new baby and family!

Congratulations to the new grandparents! I love the name Lilli! Good birth weight! I wish all health and joy!heart

Wow, what a week.  Congratulations!
Congratulations!

Nice work in the community. My question: Is anyone considering installing community water troughs?
"Is anyone considering installing community water troughs?"

I think WalMart and the plaza with the large grocery store have them but most shopping centers and stand alone stores have hitching posts. The event above took place after the woman had unhitched the horse and dropped one of the reins while getting into the buggy.

Hi Dale-

How are mother and Baby Lilli today?

Water troughs and hitching posts: That's a nice way to accommodate the neighbors! Also to avoid random arrangements of road apples, though I think there is a way to hang a canvas sack under the horses' tails to catch the droppings and most have a shovel in their buggy and a bucket hanging off a hook somewhere.

I have a vivid memory of overturning my powerwheelchair in an attempting to avoid running through a pile of horse manure on a narrow sidewalk in the autumn of 2001. There was a high curb on my left and a steep slope on my right, I veered right and made it past, but had nudged the chair beyond it's center of gravity. I wasn't hurt, and I didn't land in the poop. Luckily, the next person to come along was my "guardian  angel"  a local firefighter/EMT who had set me upright on previous outings. My family got me a cell phone shortly thereafter. laugh

Mother and baby are home and doing fine. Where we were there are no sidewalks, in fact the road was gravel. The Amish actually do not bother to clean up the horse droppings around us because it is a very rural area.
Congratulations to you and your family, Dale.
Blessings to lilli and her family.  Hope you get to meet her soonn
+22 votes
Good Morning Pip and all who will be posting!

Here in the Dallas-Ft. Worth area we have yet another arctic blast. Expecting sleet and then snow later today; and yes, icy roads overnight. Thankfully, this is to be short-lived and it will warm up by Sunday.

I have done very little this past week but have dabbled on a Louisiana cemetery - adding more of my family. I can almost see from my surgical eye. The fluid bubble is still bouncing around but is ever so slowly shrinking.

Again, our prayers are with the Ukranian people, both the ones trapped and the refugees. I so hope for a peaceful resolution to this tragedy.

Have a good week and don't forget to "Spring Forward" on Saturday night here in the USA.
by Virginia Fields G2G Astronaut (1.2m points)
edited by Virginia Fields
Hi Ginny! Here in Arizona, we don't "Spring Forward." Arizona and Hawaii don't follow DST.

I am with you as to prayers and intentions for the Ukrainian people. What strength they have shown. When our gas prices rise, I can only think that each extra penny will help the Ukrainian people in some way. In this day and age, how devastating.

You take care and have a great week!
Carol - yes, I remember that Arizona does not change times - good for you!! When we travel west we have to remember that so we know what time it is. I wish none of us had to change times twice a year - just decide on one of them and leave it alone!
Good reminder, Ginny. It IT spring forward for the US. I'll be getting to the church at the wrong hour if I don't remember to set our clocks.

Glad to hear the eye is improving. Don't overdo it! (If you need coverage Sunday/Monday, I'm available.)
I agree, Ginny--decide on one way or the other and leave it be. I do not like going back and forth. Just about the time I get used to it being one way, it's time to change again.
Ginny, I was told years ago (like 50 years ago) that DST began to help give farmers an extra hour of daylight. There have been pleas to end DST given that we are no longer primarily agrarian. I think now it is just tradition, a tradition that we could do without given that it affects our bodies' biological clocks!
I remember being young (yes, I do) and it did not bother me; then, I had babies and they did not understand DST and I was tired!! Now that I am of an advanced age (sigh) I really hate it. Old people do not like change!!
Thank you for the reminder of Daylight Saving Time. I'm jealous of Carol, and many of my relatives in Hawai'i who do not have to experience it. As of the moment I read your answer. I started complaining and plan to do so until maybe Thursday. I'm not quite old, yet I do hate change.
DST saves energy. Go for it full time will lower energy use.

If you ever wondered about astrology just remember Vlad the slayer is a Libran. Least likely sign for a psychopathic killer.     Libra so like harmony and balance not chaos and war   Remember the song ?   Aquarius      My sweetie man is a Libran    We have been married over 45 years   I am blessed
+22 votes

¡Buenos días a todos from the Old Pueblo! It is 9am in Tucson and 46F (7.8C) with an expected high of 67F (19.4C) and sunny skies. We have had air quality alerts these past several days due to pollen and pollution winds bringing particulate from the four corners regions.

 

This has been another of the worst and best of weeks.frown The worst this week has been trying to contact my various physicians for medication refills, imaging, etc. I can certainly forgive my primary care provider two days ago. His assistant called to tell me that he got COVID in January, then last week was admitted to the hospital for a heart attack. He had a triple bypass and they were ready to move him from the ICU to a general ward earlier this week, but there were so few nurses working in the general ward that they kept him in the ICU! Several years ago, I gave a lecture asking the audience to envision what health care would look like in this country and globally without nurses. Well...here we go. It is still a female dominant work force, but many women now have other options open to them and they are choosing them.

 

My other worst issues was yet another health provider.angry I was referred to a GI specialist about 6 months ago. I had to wait 3 months to see him. I saw him on December 1st, and he submitted a referral for pancreatic imaging on December 2nd. I went for the imaging on December 29th and ended up not having it done because the insurance company requested his notes to verify the reason for the imaging (it is called prior authorization). They requested his notes on December 12th and he never sent them. I was told that I could get the imaging done if I paid the $1200 cost (jajajajaja – laughter in Spanish). The imaging center tried calling him, I tried calling him several times, and my insurance company actually called me about this. A GI doc is not time-constrained like an ER doc or an ICU doc. This was uncalled for. So last week, I went to his office and made an appointment with the nurse practitioner (NP). I saw her two days ago. She ordered the imaging, I am scheduled for the end of March and we are keeping an eye on getting the prior authorization.

 

I am still having GI trouble (to add to my neuro, cardiovascular and torn right hamstring issues) and the nurse NP forwarded a prescription to double the dose of a pancreatic enzyme prescribed in December. I have been taking one horse pill with each meal and the 3-month supply in January was $141. The NP doubled the dose, which should mean $242 every 3 months. I just about pooed my knickers when I got a text from the pharmacy indicating that the

3-month supply for two horse pills per meal was nearly $1500!!! No joke! $1465! angryI called the pharmacy and asked what up. The pharmacist cannot explain it either! So...I need to let the NP know that I absolutely cannot afford $1500 every three months and that is just ONE of many medications that I have to take on a daily basis. I have no idea what I will do other than taking loperamide used to treat Montezuma’s revenge when I go to Mexico. That is not the best idea, but it is all of $16 per month.

 

There were some upsides for the week. I spent a few hours with a neighbor canvassing for our political party to get out the vote in the primary and general elections. We donned masks and met some really nice people. I signed up for Netflix several months ago in lieu of cable TV (which was nearly $90/month). I watched a movie called the The Other Boleyn Girl, which was entertaining. I read the book by Philippa Gregory maybe 20 years ago and did not know there was a film version until I saw the title on Netflix. What I am waiting (impatiently) for is The Crown. I have watched all the prior seasons with my sister at her home in Wisconsin. I was also a very good girl last night and finally finished a good rough draft of our nurse sleep researcher paper that will cover night shift and nurse health outcomes, organizational costs (e.g., attrition, medication errors) and tips for night nurses and nursing administrators.

 

The other upside is the headway I have made on WikiTree with the Hildreth clan in Massachusetts. Several weeks ago, I worked on and completed the cousin Cowee clan. I then took another path that lead to a Cowee married to a Hildreth and the rest is history and Hildreth genealogy. I have several more family members to add, source and connect, and believe that will lead to a healthy 1000 for the month of March halfway before March ends. Then I really need to work on my taxes!

 

Pip, thank you for corralling the Chatterers.smiley I will be chatting with all of you next Friday from my sister’s home in Eagle, Wisconsin. We will be celebrating St. Patrick’s Day together with green ‘brewskis’, Iris soda bread and potato soup! Slán! Lá fhéile Pádraig sona dhuit!

by Carol Baldwin G2G Astronaut (1.1m points)
Carol
I feel your pain at the cost of our mediations now-a-days!  It's horrid that the medicines we NEED to stay well are financially out of reach.  Ridiculous!
Carol, sorry about the medical issues. Hope you get a resolution soon. I have noticed how active you've been with your Hildreths as that is one of the surnames I follow--my daily email have been chock-full of Carol Baldwin's activity. I don't know if or how we are related--I can only follow my Hildreth line to about 1800 in Charleston, South Carolina, but other researchers believe we have a connection to Hildreths of New England.
@Candyce

@Nelda

Thank you both for your Rx support. These prices are outrageous. So, I cannot afford a three-month supply of one drug that costs more than my mortgage payment! Generally, as a nurse, I go to bat for my patients. Now I have to go to bat for myself. Big pharma is monstrous.

Nelda, I am only related to one Hildreth, but by marriage. One of the Hildreth women married Samuel Howe, who is a 5th cousin. Actually, I'm having a bit of an issue with their Find-A-Grave profiles...well, hers actually. Samuel was married twice. He is on F-A-G with his first wife, but not his 2nd wife (Sophia Eunice Hildreth-Howe). A Boylston group oversees Samuel's FAG, but an individual oversees Sophia's. He has been phenomenally unresponsive and their son, Samuel Jr. still has no mother (she hasn't been connected). All of the Hildreth's that I am working on are around the Worcester County, Massachusetts area. If I come across one your way, I'll let you know...or you will likely see it on the feed before I do. Take care.
Ouch! Sorry for your troubles, Cousin Carol! I look forward to info sharing/collaborating on the Cowees. I am doing a lot of on the ground research in Westminster, MA these days.

Caro, you have  had a rough time of it! How horrible. I'm on no medications, but my wife is, and they cost nothing like yours do. Plus, all the run arounds. My wife has had to deal with some of that. I am so sorry!

We are Crown watchers, too! The guy who's played Prince Charles also starred in Ripper Street. Great actor. 

Still not sure when I'll be making the trip out there. My brother, the hiker, has been sending videos of his hikes, and it makes me wish I was there. I'll keep you posted.

Here in Ontario, Canada, A single person aged 65 years or older with a yearly income above $22,200 after deductions, pays the first $100 of total prescription costs each program year (August 1 to July 31 the following year) and after that,  pay a maximum of $6.11 dispensing fee for prescription drugs.

A single senior, with a yearly income of $22,200 or less after deductions,  pays up to $2 for each prescription drug filled or refilled – does not have to pay for the first $100 of total prescription costs
Air quality alerts? Ew. Y'all need rain.

My husband and I had issues in the past with the marketplace insurance and getting medications. GoodRx was available at the time and thankfully it was cheaper than the health insurance. Now I don't have that issue with my employer sponsored health insurance.

Have you noticed that asthma medications cost a lot? I pay less than $30. The inhalers cost almost $400!

I'm not a fan of expensive medications and surprise medical bills. I hope you get this stuff figured out.

@M Ross

@Eileen Robinson

@Pip

Canada is a different (and wonderful) kettle of fish for elders with Rx needs! Here in the states, we hear about how big pharma provides drugs at low rates to other countries (e.g., Canada) then we get stuck with paying exorbitant prices under the guise of big pharma 'research'. I'm sure big pharma's stockholders are making out like bandits at elders' and others expense in the U.S.

Pipster, I'll have to check out Ripper Street! You know who I really love? Benedict Cumberbatch . I think he is totally awesome! I saw Power of the Dog on one of the two 'streams (?)" that I have (Netflix or Amazon). The story was very different...what I would expect from Jane Campion after seeing The Piano so many years ago, but Benedict's performance was stellar! He was fantastic in The Imitation Game.

@Carol
I always count it as a compliment when someone spells my name correctly.  For that, I say 'thank you'.
Hi Candyce, you are very welcome!
+23 votes

Hails and horns Wikipeeps!

Wow. Where do I begin? Well, as Mary Poppins once said "Start at the beginning."

Okay. First up, I posted a blog about worship and finding ancestors in various sacramental records: https://allroadhaverhill.blogspot.com/2022/03/52-ancestors-week-10-worship.html 

Most of my ancestors are Catholic so this was really cool to find on Ancestry. This morning a friend of mine helped me get the actual documents. That was awesome! I really appreciate the help!

That was a good part of the week. Some other stuff annoyed me and I ended up having to explain the ins and outs of Italian genealogy. Basically it comes down to this:

1. If an immigrant is born in another country like Italy, the profile here on Wikitree uses the name they were born as. No anglicization of names. It doesn't matter if they were born in San Pietro a Maida, Italy with the name "Giovanni", they would be called "Giovanni" on their profile here. It doesn't need a source. It's just common sense.

Yes the person could use "John" on their stone or in other documents. But, in life they'd have gone by John or Giovanni. Some gravestones by the way even have the Italian name if the family decides to give the stone the name.

Just keep that in mind when you find Italian profiles. That goes along with the women keeping their maiden names as well. Hope that clears things up.

And I hope everyone has a great weekend!

by Chris Ferraiolo G2G6 Pilot (753k points)
Chris, I saw that post and really appreciated finding that out. I have helped a good friend whose ancestry is Italian; I have found a lot of information once they immigrated but really need to dig into the Italian records. Once I can see clearly again, I was considering contacting you for a bit of help. I will need to create some profiles here on WikiTree for her family so maybe in a couple of weeks I can do that.
I'd be happy to help in any way! =D Just let me know!
Thank you, Chris, I will do that!
Ciao Cousin! I was working on Andrea Giorgio a while back! I found a death registry for him...in Italian...by a priest...who detailed the last rites...listing him as a farmer...listing his father who was still alive...and listing his wife! Which confirmed which woman he was married to! I'm so glad I studied Spanish as it helped me with Italian, both Romance languages! I am thankful it was in Italian and not Latin!
Ciao, Carol!

Yeah, the death registry would be a civic record. That would be in Italian or other languages. It's certainly a great record! It should also list the peoples' ages.

Andrea would be Andrew in America.

BUT! This'll blow some minds....

Vincenzo became James most of the time. And Vincenza became Jenny.
Chris, I agree with using the name as it was originally, Wilhelm instead of William, etc., on the immigrant ancestor. I wish it were more clear when their children are born here how their names are to be spelled. Can't always find an early record to use.
True. Birth records in Massachusetts have been great at least for Italians and French-Canadians. Usually those names will be in English. But, sometimes on censuses you might find kids enumerated by their Italian names despite being born in America.

For example, my great-aunt's husband Arnold Villanucci was enumerated as Emeraldo in the 1940 census. Stuff like that happened quite a bit.
Funny you should mention that, Chris.  As I was adding the name of the spouse to one of my ancestors today, there were two different names on his records - one had the name with which he was born, and the other had his anglicized name.  Now I feel better about my decision to go back to his profile and adding an AKA.
Cool, Candyce. Always go with the birth record. =) I am tempted to go back and put in alternate names but we'll see.
Cool finds on those records, Chris, the ones you mentioned in your blog. It is always exciting to find one more little tidbit of information to add to a person's history. Makes people more than names, dates, and locations.

You gonna get pounded by the next storm?
Pictures help more than docs. But, I get what you are saying.

Anyway, we may get a bit of rain. We shall see. At least it won't be snow.
+27 votes

Greetings from Brightlingsea, Essex, England

Thanks t Pip for hosting the weekly chat. Thought I  had better get in on this early, as if I leave it till later in the weekend, I am apt to forget and remember only when it is too late.

Seem to be getting into a more active life these days. Meeting which were once on Zoom, Teams or a conference call are now in person, and events that had fell by the wayside are now up and running again

One event that I attended was the commemoration service for 3 sailors who died on MTB 667 on the 5th of March 1943 following an accident while the vessel was in the shipyard at Brightlingsea.  It seems that a leak of methyl bromide from the fire control system had caused there death and made several others very ill . Those who died were :-                                                                            

Motor Mechanic F. W.  Phair, Motor Mechanic C.E. Harris  and  Petty Officer J.  Heaney

 An annual service of remembrance is held by the Brightlingsea Brach of the Royal Naval Association to remember Motor mechanics F.W. Phair and C.E. Harris buried in the churchyard of All Saints, Brightlingsea and       J. Heaney buried elsewhere.  A short service was held at the gravesides and wreaths were laid. Members from other Royal Naval Association branches from Colchester, Weeley and Rayleigh.                                                                          This service was instigated in the 1990s by the late president Joe French   - who at the time (1943) was the Captain's secretary at HMS Nemo (Brightlingsea) and arranged the funerals of Phair & Harris.

Following the service - there were refreshments at the Brightlingsea Royal British Legion Club.

by Chris Burrow G2G6 Pilot (218k points)
edited by Chris Burrow
Thank you so much for sharing these very poignant photos.
Photos and commentary fascinating. And this happen each year. Good that they are remembered and honoured.
Marvelous photos, Chris. I am glad to see that folks still take these kinds of ceremonies seriously. They often seem to be forgotten here.
During WwI. My great uncle was in a hospital in your area after being gassed. He was a member of the Canadian Cycle Corp. Penny-1014. He died 3 days before the war ended after returning to the front
+21 votes

Hi from southern Ontario,

Chez moi/at home: what's happening here? We had an in person Horticultural Society meeting on Tuesday, it went really well, 41 people in attendance just over 50% of the members. Mask wearing mandates are to expire on March 21st.

I'm watching it snow, just a steady stream of fluffy flakes, it's about 1 C, it has been above freezing most days this week and most of the snow has melted except for the snow mountain in the centre of our court and the snow piles along the drive. The good news is that the forecast for the next 2 weeks is all above normal, with a projected high of 16 C on Friday, we just may get the early spring that the groundhog predicted. If it keeps snowing today, I will do my own Scan a Thon. 

The ice in our garden pond has melted and 7 fish have been seen swimming around, perhaps we have lost 1 or maybe it's hiding under the rocks. Clocks go forward this weekend. 

March 17th is St Patrick's Day and we also call it House Day, 29 years since we got the keys to what was then a newly built house. 

In Regina, Saskatchewan where our friends live its minus 29C! The town of Saguenay in Québec usually has snowy winters with about 2.5 metres of snow by early March, so far this year they have 3.5 metres with more to come. 

Alton Cemetery project and other genealogical musing: I have been working on updating the backup cemetery project tree on Ancestry, its just names with a burial record source. I'm planning to work on adding my friend's aunt, the lady who died recently, to WT, she is a direct descendant 4 x GGD of https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Goguen-10. I will probably need help from the Acadians project. 

This week I checked when our local museum and archives would reopen as there are many interesting/ fascinating docs that would be a great addition to the cemetery project. It turns out it will be closed until the fall, nothing to do with Covid, they are updating all the HVAC systems to ensure the documents are properly preserved. All the archives are temporarily stored off site. 

While wandering around the site I was reading an archivist's blog from Dec 2020. She said that many times archives have skewed towards documenting influence and the lives of the dominant and noteworthy. But and I really like this she pointed out:

Archives reveal (if we listen) another story, and a quieter power: the power of ordinary people, local government and history archives, such as ours at the Region of Peel, document the lives of ordinary people particularly well. 

If working with large volumes of archival records teaches you nothing else, it is the countless connections between people. Archival collections are arranged and described to expose these connections because they are informative in themselves; so, for example we keep records together based on the person or group who created them. Working with the archival records of organizations such as governments brings home how many people it takes to get complex things done. In reality we are all dependent on others; but this also means that together we can do what is impossible individually. Sounds a lot like the WT philosophy. 

What else: Reading, Edward Rutherfurd's new book China, it is not in the same category as his best works, like Sarum or London, sort of rambling with little of the stage setting that makes his other books such great stories. 

by M Ross G2G6 Pilot (701k points)

Hi M, I will think of you when my sister and I are drinking green beer and eating soda bread and potato soup this Thursday!

I do love those paragraphs by the archivist! I just finished a post on another G2G. Someone asked about the Boston University genealogy course and I left a great deal of feedback because I took that 7-week course at the end of 2019. We had to learn a great deal about records, archiving and genealogical proofs. These paragraphs that you shared truly are foundational thoughts on the daily 'lives of ordinary people' and archiving our collective history, very much like WikiTree. Thank you for those beautiful paragraphs.

I've been trying to slog through Rutherford's Russia, but my heart just isn't in it. I've been so very distressed about Russia's unconscionable invasion of Ukraine and killing innocent civilians that I'm going to re-read London. It's been a while anyway. 

Looking forward to a Virtual Vacay!

M, your post reminds me why I have good reasons not to live in Regina. I just couldn't take it! surprise Brr....

I really like the philosophy of the archives in your area. Really right on target!

Carol, I found Russka very enlightening, not hopeful or uplifting but it explains a lot, a country which has never known any form of democracy and it seems that the people don't know what it means.

I too am heartbroken about events in Ukraine, Canada as a country has more people of Ukrainian descent than any other. Including several good friends plus friends of Estonian, Latvian and Lithuanian descent who are petrified about what may come next.
I also found I could not read that book.  It was way too dark in tone.  I was happy to give it away unread.    Instead I read a book on quantum theory. So much better and not dark or depressing

Laura, we had to read several books on quantum theory when we were working on our certification as Healing Touch (HT) practitioners, an energy based modality. Loved them. Separate from those, I really enjoyed reading Richard Feynman's Surely You Must Be Joking. If I had a physics professor like him, I would have been in quantum heaven!

Speaking of quantum, I just heard one of Willie Nelson's latest number, Thought is Energy. I sent it to my HT colleagues.

Carol  I wrote a book about energy and how it works.   If you send me a pm with your email I will share it with you

Hi Laura and All, Laura I just sent a message with email.

Willie Nelson just released a new song called Energy Follows Thought: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8tXosYPillw 

I just sent it along to Healing Touch colleagues because it's so perfect.heart Willie was our main man  when we worked in hospice. We let patients pick a Willie song to sing along with during showers and cares. And every time Willie and his group played the Wisconsin State Fair every hospice nurse who had off attended the concert with our Bics (for Amazing Grace, which is how he ended his show). His sister, Bobbie, played piano. I saw she just died 2 days ago. If you copy and paste the URL that I posted in this message. It's worth a listen. It's going to be our new Healing Touch anthem. Enjoy!

i just sent you several emails with files

Carol, 

I had the incredible good luck to have a professor somewhat like Richard Feynman for two classes- Botany and Biochemistry. It was as though 12 years of schooling had drained my imagination and he gave me a jump start. 

Here's a bit of a Feynman classic on Scientific Method; which applies to genealogy. https://youtu.be/EYPapE-3FRw

You had Richard Feynman for a professor?!? How cool is that!!!!
Pip,

No, Richard Feynman was a little before my time. I had a biology professor, Neal Anderson, who was a bit like Dr. Feynman- he was able to coax the imaginations of his students out of the horrific hidey hole of conformity that is high school.
Ahhhh, I get it now. I was wondering just how old one would have to be to have him as a prof. (Not Asking!!).
+21 votes

On this day:

1722: The Irish philosopher John Toland dies

1945: The short-living Empire of Vietnam is founded

2006: The former President of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, Slobodan Milošević, dies

by Jelena Eckstädt G2G Astronaut (1.4m points)
Since St. Patrick's Day is some 5 days away, I'll go with John Toland. Plus, we can all do with a bit of philosophy. Two of my American favorites were Charles Sanders Peirce and William James.
I had to pick the Empire of Vietnam, something totally out of my knowledge set. Thanks, Professor!
I was in Kosovo 1997-1998. Courtesy of The U.S. Army. So I already turned in my report on Milosevic 24 years ago.

I'm going to copy off Pip's paper.

Googled to discover who St Patrick was and he was a missionary to Ireland, and a Bishop there, in the 5th Century -- also a patron saint.  So I'm at a loss to understand why we modern folk are "supposed" to wear green.  

Oh. Googled that and The St. Patrick's Day tradition was popularized by Irish immigrants in the United States, who believed that wearing green made them invisible to leprechauns—the classic fairy creatures who pinch anyone they can see. Feb 1, 2021

Seriously? 

Someone did pinch me -- I was wearing orange and not paying attention to the holiday as usual and SHE pinched my buttock ... first and only time she did THAT, you betcha. Score 1 for Orange and 0 for Green. 

+17 votes

Thanx, Pip, for being here, in the vanguard of us all, just as a host(ess) should be ... I can imagine you striding forth, kilted, operating a bagpipe, or at least leading a group of bagpipers 

I'm always impressed with marching bands that are winding their brass instruments while marching. Ditto for bagpipers. Takes a powerful set of lungs to do that, I suspect. 

I thought this was Thursday, and Sig O let me know it is Friday, food delivery day ... where the blankety blinking did Thursday go?? 

Sky is clear, blue, no clouds and it is brrrrr a 44F out there at 8:26 AM local pacific 

Birds are swooping through the airs out there, I think those are pigeons? Very enthusiastic aerial display, whatever they are. Wonder if they will try again to nest up on the roof? Not really safe, there's enough cats around here smart enough to figure out how to go from ground to fence to roof ... 

TOMORROW it is .. ah, Spring Forward or said Sig O. Yes, okay, the 13th, a Sunday.  Now that's one thing I think we can have confidence in, that Spring Forward and Fall Back will never, ever occur on Friday the 13th.  (Knock on wood, because some duh? in US Legislature might actually convince enough people to get passage of a bill to have it happen on a Friday instead of on a Sunday and some equally duh? president might sign it into law. .. ) 

Feral cat not quite full grown found dec'd in front yard, and as per the gentleman's agreement that HE deals with all dec'd cats, Sig O, took it out back and buried it. Maybe a dozen cats have laid to rest out there. 

We attended the viewing for grandson via Zoom. Zoom remains a mystery to me, but I'm guessing now that if you have Zoom on your computer, you can set a date and time and send the URL to everyone invited to attend? ... exactly how to go about this, I do not know. There were those who attended in person and those who attended via Zoom. They were not using masks, those who were physically there. Daughter still devastated and tottering. I pray she will be able to "let go" of him. I've listened to women whose wounds of grief were as fresh 40, 50, 60 yrs later as the day their child died. 

Was doing some of the usual stuff (sourcing, mostly) on other families not my own and came across John Davis Satterwhite (1887-1963) | WikiTree FREE Family Tree married eight times. Dillie Mae, Ruby Pearl, Maud M., Susie Emily, Bertha Safronie, Daynea Mae, Gladys Albertine, and Annabel. That's impressive and so I said to the profile manager, and did he think he'd found all of them? He said he had. 

I had one relative, had to line up by dates his marriages and divorces before I could sort it out, a time-line. Pretty sure I saw some bigamy there.  Him and all his wives were all dec'd by the time I profiled.  

I'm afraid for Ukraine, and I'm afraid that we could be looking at WW3.  It makes me wonder about the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse - war, famine, pestilence, death - I have always heard them named that way, there is a diff tween the NT and OT.  They seem very present, at this time. 

by Susan Smith G2G6 Pilot (650k points)
Susan, it takes me several days to physically make the adjustment when the time changes over. I wish they'd just pick one and stick with it. Apparently, Arizona doesn't have to deal with this, per Carol. I used to take it in stride, but now that I am older....

cheeky I quit adjusting the times twice annual way back in the early to mid 1990's. Hazardous activity, trying to get clocks down from wall and adjusted and put back up, with clocks sometimes escaping my grip and bouncing off furnishings 

And I was ticked off. Why, o' why, was I running - figuratively speaking -- from one item to the next adjusting the time thing? Why???? Who was master here? Who was the servant? So I quit.  Had to wrestle with guilt feelings for a few years, but really, I was the human / master and not the servant / slave yes

EDIT - besides nowadays, we have those whatisits in computerized objects which get pinged and adjust automatically.  And there's only one wall clock that would be adjusted and it's on the wall above the Sig O's desk .. HE can risk life and limb to deal with it 

And if you are still adjusting time things, WHY??? Are you the master or the slave??

It is easy to add or subtract 1 hour.   So I don’t adjust clocks I just do math
Laura, welcome to the crowd of sensible people. !!
Hmm Susan most of my friends and family think I am from another planet or dimension.  Sensible is not a word they often use to describe me.    Odd.  Eccentric.   Adventures.  Foodie.   Trimester traveling.    Anachronistic.  Optimistic.  Fiery.  Calm in an emergency.     Brutally honest. Are what I hear most often.

laughWell, I think you are efficient. or make efficient use of your time.  And what's more wasteful of your time than re-setting items with time pieces in them when you can just do some mental math? 

Just occurred to me that you can order online items of replacement which can be pinged by satellite ... yes? 

Or have the person who is doing the yardwork (you said you'd hire someone) to also come by and reset the gizmos

Or you could bribe your wife, tell her if she can do all 18 items in 25 minutes you will buy her a faux mink jacket 

OR ... I ran out of ideas 

+24 votes

Virtual Vacation!

Today we are going to Bon Echo Provincial Park, Ontario, we camped in the park in July 1991.

3 of these pictures are from Ontario parks 125 project website listed for free use and download. 

The park is in south-eastern Ontario about 100km north of Lake Ontario, it is part of the Canadian Shield a huge area of bedrock much of it with little to no soil. The park is on Mazinaw lake which is divided into Upper and Lower Mazinaw lake by narrows. It also is connected to the Mississippi River, the one in Ontario not the other one south of the border. 

The most interesting/ fascinating park feature is Mazinaw Rock on the east side of Lower Mazinaw Lake, the deepest lake in Ontario after the Great Lakes. Mazinaw Rock is more than 100 metres higher than the west side of the lake. The explanation is that a fault line fractured several million years ago causing the east side of the fault to rise and the west side to drop. 

This is Mazinaw Rock taken in the fall of 1992 by the Ontario 125 project. 

500px-Virtual_Vacation-374.jpg

Another fascinating feature is the 260 perhaps more Indigenous rock paintings at just the right level to have been painted by people in canoes all along the base of the cliff.

500px-Virtual_Vacation-377.jpg

500px-Virtual_Vacation-376.jpg

A trail including a steep set of stairs takes you to the top of Mazinaw Rock where you can see a wonderful view of the narrows between the two parts of the lake. To get to this hike you have to take a boat to the bottom of the stairs. 

500px-Virtual_Vacation-379.jpg

The view from the top of Mazinaw Rock

500px-Virtual_Vacation-380.jpg

This picture of the ferry is from the Ontario 125 project. 

500px-Virtual_Vacation-375.jpg

Flora MacDonald Denison ran the Bon Echo Inn in the 1910s, she was a Walt Whitman fan, she had her favorite poet’s words etched into one of the granite cliffs. The words are now difficult to make out, an original photo of the carving can be seen on several websites including Wikipedia. 

This picture is from the Ontario 125 project

500px-Virtual_Vacation-378.jpg

The camping sites are often quite close to wooded areas. We usually make sure that coolers and food containers are secured at night. Stacked with a big rock put on the top of the pile. But one night we didn't, in the morning our Rubbermaid totes had been pried open by raccoons, bite marks on the lids. 

Birch Forest

500px-Virtual_Vacation-382.jpg

A strawberry rhubarb pie (traditional camping breakfast) was missing, plus 3 loaves of various breads, a package of buns, a bag of marshmallows and a bag of small boxes of raisins. No packaging was found on the campsite so we went into the woods to see if we could find them, we found all the bags and the raisin boxes, all of them were intact, all the raisin boxes had been opened, not ripped apart. All very tidy and in a very small space about 20 feet from our tent. 

The Racoon Raid after we retrieved the packaging from the woods I took this photo. 

500px-Virtual_Vacation-381.jpg

by M Ross G2G6 Pilot (701k points)
So glad your raiders were so neat and tidy.  I bet they enjoyed their haul!

Hi M, a very wonderful and scenic Virtual Vacay! Thank you so much! The scenery is exquisite, but I especially love the rock paintings and the Walt Whitman scripting. He is one of my favorites as well, particularly because he was a 'volunteer nurse' (warms my nurse's heart) during the Civil War and, of course, his wonderful Leaves of Grass, which was required reading in high school. So beautiful, I didn't need for it to be required.

So...racoons can't be arrested or fined for littering???

The Racoon Raid. Now that's funny.

Really, these are just lovely photos, M.
I have a mental picture of a racoon family collecting the various packages, and of parent racoons saying, Be quiet, no noise, don't wake the people up.

And little racoon fingers carefully opening all the raisin boxes and eating the raisins one by one.
Fantastic pictures! Thank you!
Another wonderful VV, M. Thank you.
As usual, the most beautiful photography
+18 votes

Hi all! 

One of my step-daughters dropped by today for a brief visit with her dad. We kept it a secret and he was thoroughly surprised. The visit was too short because she'd hitched a ride with a couple who came in to town to visit a relative in a nursing home they do not expect to live very much longer. They wanted to go back home to South Carolina tonight before the bad weather arrives. 

Nothing else major has happened in our personal lives this week. 

My genealogy work has been fairly routine also.

Be kind to one another! "Life's too short for fussing and fighting, my friend...We can work it out." (The Beatles)

by Nelda Spires G2G6 Pilot (550k points)
It's comforting sometimes to have just a 'plain ole week.  Wish they weren't so far and in between.
Total agreement with that sentiment, Candyce.
I'm looking forward to a more routine time, Nelda. Soon, I hope.

Love that Beatles philosophy.
Nelda if only people would. Follow song lyrics.   We might be in a better world.
+20 votes
This week on WT I set up a free space page for a nursing home fire that occurred in 1957 in Warrenton, Missouri, where 72 of 155 residents perished.  I also created a new category for the fire, and I hope I set them up properly.

https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Space:Katie_Jane_Memorial_Home_Fire

Now I just need to create the profiles of the residents, which will take a bit.
by Michelle Enke G2G6 Pilot (407k points)
WOW Michelle, well done, you! This is a great free space. Thank you for this excellent WT addition!
I agree with Carol.  Well done.
I have finished adding the names of all the residents who died along with their birth years. Now I am creating profiles for each.
This is so sad, Michelle. But, it is also a worthy project. Good for you and a nice start to the page.
Thank you Michelle,

I admire your dedication to this project- those poor elders!
+19 votes

Thank you for the 100+ up votes! 

I'm new, having joined on 22 Feb 2022. I've connected myself to the big tree along a few of my father's family lines (mom is alive and really values privacy so that would be a much trickier work around). I have halted work on a few of dad's lines because they are messed up with several GEDCOM fragments that I will learn to deal with later. 

For now, I am working on learning best practices for citations, uploading some photos and mementos from about 100 years ago, and cruising G2G conversations to see what information I can pick up on all things WikiTree. I'm also learning to let go of my ancestors, adjusting to the fact that they have millions of descendants who are researching their connections with varying degrees of success. I've been practicing genealogy for nearly 50 years- I remember that I wasn't yet old enough to drive when one of Dad's Hurd cousins shared her research findings on our Mayflower ancestry. I was intrigued by that information, but even more fascinated by how she figured that out. Phyllis set me up with 4 generation charts and family group sheets, and emphasized that the primary goal is to track down all the details for the family group sheets. Within weeks, I had found the obituary of my Reed great grandfather on microfilm at the Fitchburg Public Library, and, at the city hall, the original record of his marriage to my great grandmother, Agnes Lizzie Dolloff. Her mother was Elizabeth Whitmore Preble-339 from Bowdoinham, Maine! That was my first discovery of a connection to a notable historical figure. I still do a lot of research in towns where my ancestors lived. It is such a short list of New England towns that visiting each one is a reasonable goal.

I am a life-long resident of Massachusetts, now living about a half hour train ride from the State House, Boston Public Library, Massachusetts Historical Society, and headquarters of New England Historic Genealogical Society. If you have projects in this area, please let me know! If you need a quick check on a source, I'll see what I can do.

by Anonymous Reed G2G6 Pilot (175k points)
edited by Anonymous Reed

What a nice offer of help for records in your area! 

The gedcom fragments can be difficult, especially when the information as presented is unsourced and relationships just copied from somewhere else. I've dealt with a few of those. I think we have a group of folks who have taken on the task of working on the very many gedcom profiles here on WikiTree.

Thanks Pip!

I've done what I can to look ahead and cast a wide net for these fragments-some are a bit creative! I'm taking notes of the profiles as I discover them and saving those to my computer and Ancestry tree.

I enjoy puzzles such as these!

My main research goal, however is to document the 18th and 19th century people buried in Woodside Cemetery, Westminster, MA, identifying the Lots in which they are buried and connecting them to their relatives and their ancestors in the big tree. I've already been working on this project for some time and just realized that WikiTree is a  more efficient way of making the information accessible than what I was planning. Now I have to adapt to WikiTree methods and documentation, but the research is well along. I have source lists for several hundred profiles ready to go.
We're glad to have you here, Anonymous, working on our tree.  I, too, have a great many gedcom ancestors and relatives.  I've been picking away at them for years, when the spirit moves me.
Thanks for the welcome Mark!

Happy hunting!
Hi Anonymous, yes WikiTree does have the right tools to show relationships between those buried in a cemetery and their connections to other people in a historic community.

I have been working on a cemetery project for some time, in July 2021 when the new connections finder was introduced I am now able to see all the interrelationships and connections between those buried in the cemetery. It is fascinating.

Ooo M Ross,

Please say more about this magic power! 

I have learned how to use connection finder for Mayflower or Presidents to check profiles other than my own, but ... are you saying this trick now works for any category?

What other tricks and toys are hiding under the hood here?!

Yes! 

Step 1- look at 

https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Category:Woodside_Cemetery%2C_Westminster%2C_Massachusetts

Is this the right cemetery? 

If so when you are entering profiles for people buried in this cemetery, you can add them to people already listed for the cemetery. 

This is how, after creating the profile for person X buried in the Woodside cemetery, go to edit , under edit text you will see a little icon that looks like this categorization icon click on that, it opens a search box, enter the cemetery name Woodside cemetery, Westminster, Massachusetts, then click on the cemetery name and it will add the person to the cemetery list. 

To see connections between people buried in the cemetery go to the cemetery category, click on My Connections which will give your connections if any, it also says 

To view connections for someone else, enter their WikiTree ID here:  

You can enter the WikiTree ID for anyone listed in the category and it will show you how that person is connected to anyone already listed in the category. This means as you add people to the Woodside cemetery category you will be able to see how they are connected to the other people buried there. 

This is the cemetery category for the people in the Alton, Ontario, Canada category, my husband is related to or connected to almost everyone buried at Alton.

https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Category:Alton_Cemetery%2C_Alton%2C_Ontario

If you have other questions please ask, you can send me a private message by going to my profile and selecting send a private message. 

I hope this helps. 

Wow, Thank you M Ross!  

You made enterring the category a whole lot easier than I expected it to be. I've just added 16 people to Woodside Cemetery. smiley

You are quite welcome, the best part of WT is collaboration and getting help from others when needed.
+20 votes
Greetings from Rochester, Minnesota!

It's 10°F. I'm not going to mention the wind chill! It should get warmer this week.

Tomorrow, I return to work after a two week recovery from my pelvic surgery. The COVID cases are slowly going down in Olmsted County. We are cautiously optimistic.

Once my Anatomy and Physiology class is finished in May, I'll get back to genealogy! I'll take a break from classes this summer.

I'll make sure to change my clocks before going to bed on Saturday night.
by Eileen Robinson G2G6 Pilot (198k points)
Pelvic surgery.  I sincerely hope you have a full recovery.  !!!
So far, no major issues. We'll see how it goes.

That's too cold, Eileen, especially with the wind chill! I hope the cold doesn't affect your pelvis like it doesn't some of my old joints! Glad to hear you are recovered enough to return to work. 

Eileen, Best wishes for continued healing as you return to work! Take care and listen to your body-just say "No." if something doesn't feel quite right!
Prayers for healing and full recovery. You are a doer just dnr an over doer

laugh Yeah, Eileen, don't be another overachiever like T. Brady, who is NOT (of course) going to retire after a brutal 22 yrs ... he's going for year 23.  

+14 votes

laugh GENEALOGY -- still approaching the self-imposed duty of expanding the horizons (time-wise) of the various connected families - the families of the spouses for the most part so far 

So I was looking at cousin Ida Lee (Williams) Billingsley - WikiTree Profile and ran into a lack of info on her mother's father, Norton Landon. Tsk. Might be Morton Landen. It's perplexing. 

So went to her spouse, Daniel Franklin Billingsley (1886-1923) | WikiTree FREE Family Tree and was able to connect HIM to Billingsley-526 and was able to find Northcott-321 and connect there.  Leaves Dotson-3932. 

by Susan Smith G2G6 Pilot (650k points)
Aside from Alfred's family, I seem to have an easier time of working the families I have, Susan.
Yeah, but the newspapers might be helpful. Otherwise we are left to speculate ... don't know if there would be papers at the county courthouse or state archives that ref to Junior's  commitment ... sometimes you can find papers like that - depends on whether he was voluntary or involuntary ... anyway you could ask the office of the clerk about it
+18 votes

GRIEF -- I think that the nastiest part of grief, if you are grieving, is that it will occur, will you or nil you.  I'm having dreams of lost children and trying to find them - and other dreams of someone asking me if this is the body. Other things just as shocking. I spent 9 yrs after my father died having similar dreams.  It will take time to level out. I know that from experience. 

by Susan Smith G2G6 Pilot (650k points)
Sometimes I wake because of tears. And sometimes I wake because I'm laughing. I have learned over the many decades not to fight with my grief. Just let it roll past. I dream of lost children that I'm hunting for, because I'm very family oriented, emotionally, mentally. Always have been. I think some of this hunting for the lost child comes from the Sunday school lessons where the sheppard seeks the lost sheep. He looks everywhere for that sheep. I look everywhere for that child. In my dream I am anxious and I cannot rest, I must find the child.

"I have learned over the many decades not to fight with my grief. Just let it roll past." I think this is the toughest thing for me to deal with, Susan.

It is probably a challenge for almost anyone, Pip. We struggle to get away from pain. And grief is pain. We fight it, fight to get away from it. If we can learn that it is not an enemy, not The Enemy, and just let it pass by, just let it happen, the pain is less ...
Susan,

Thank you for sharing your grief. It is a sacred space. Even when it feels like a hole torn through space and time, it exists because of love eternal.

You are not alone.
Susan I send you comforting hugs.  I spend a lot of wee hours of the morning talking to my dead loved ones. I have decided they moved to a new world fort a better life much like many of our ancestors and in time I will move to join them.   It makes it so much more bearable.      I like to think of my son as helping the little souls who find themselves in this new land. He loved his children so very much and I think working with little souls would be something he would want to do
You are right, Laura, it makes it more bearable
+17 votes

On this day:

1887: The German physicist Gustav Kirchhoff dies

1913: The Australian city Canberra, which will later become the Capital city, is established

1947: The American President Harry S. Truman announces his Truman-Doctrine.

by Jelena Eckstädt G2G Astronaut (1.4m points)

Kirchoff has a profile here. But I choose to read up on the Truman Doctrine. Thanks, Prof!

I am from Missouri like Harry and had a Truman wedding one of his great nieces was one of my bridesmaids and one of his gray nephews was one of our ushers.     I loved his daughter’s mystery books. Margaret was an author and pianist
+21 votes
Good morning from Germany,

where seemingly everything and everybody tries to help refugees that are coming from the Ukraine. In Poland, the biggest and most important neighbor-state with a big Ukrainian community already before the war, arrived around 1.5 million people. Some of them also try to get further to Germany, as they have friends or family over here. Actually I think that the German (regional) governments react faster than they did when the Syrian refugees were coming.

The pandemic is still going strongly here. This week we had the highest ever recorded number of new infections in a day with more than 250k new infections. Today will come the 17 millionth infected person in Germany. Our health secretary is not happy about that. But on the other hand there is a party in the government that sees wearing a mask as "restriction of freedom". Urgh. Probably there will come a new version of our "Law for Protection of Infection" (yes this is my translation of it), I really hope there will be at least a mask obligation in grocery stores.

Genealogy-wise, I worked this week with an American member of the Germany Project on the profile of Franz Beckenbauer. At least he isn't unlinked anymore, but we still struggle to find the correct birth for his parents. (Update: I just found that the baptism books of his likely church are available online. Running there to look for him.)

Personally: It was a quiet week. On Thursday, mum wanted to go to our Chinese restaurant in town. We did, and then, instead that we order one meal with two plates, we ordered two meals. Well, one meal is waiting in our fridge to be eaten today.

Stay safe, keep the distance (still the best method not to get Covid) and have a great weekend
by Jelena Eckstädt G2G Astronaut (1.4m points)
When I order Chinese for myself, I usually order 2 meals.  When It's for my wife and I we get 3 meals, and share them. Then she scolds me if I don't save any for her for later. I love Chinese food.

What's your favorite Chinese meal?
While covid stats are down here in the US, in New York City there is a rise in an omicron variant. We'll see how that goes!

We went out to eat, too, Jelena.... Italian. Over-ordered and brought the remainder home, like you did.
Jelena. Hugs to you my friend.    Hugs to your Mom too.  Covid is starting to lessen here in the USA.  My family is vaccinated and boostered except 2 who are both under 5.   Everyone who had it in the family had symptoms of a mild cold. Thanks to being vaccinated.    I pray for you and your Mom to have good health.     We made donations to charities that are helping refugees from Ukraine.   All of this is just so sad.   I pray  for peace. To come quickly

laugh Hah. You were fortunate in your meal. My Sig O decided to fast-cook a store bought pizza and put it in the broiler on a high flame and ..... the toppings were charcoal ... the base, the crust, was soft and moist. It was edible. 

+24 votes
You have a weekend chat? Wow, this is a very different genealogy website! I'm brand new, as in just joined this week. This is a massive website, with so much to learn! I've figured out how to add sources though, so that's a big step forward.

As for me, I am in not-so-sunny Sydney, Australia where it is rather wet. We are in flood clean up mode. But my family didn't personally lose anything, we just had a bit of mopping up to do. Between the worst bushfires ever seen in Australia, followed by the worst floods since records began, and living through my first pandemic, it feels like we lurch from one crisis to another. But then thinking about what the ancestors may have been through makes me glad I live today and not a few centuries ago.

Nice to virtually meet you all :)
by Melanie White G2G6 Mach 2 (22.5k points)

cheeky Weekend Chat happens if Pip doesn't participate in some Challenge or Marathon or some other volunteer WikiTree Event ... this absence now and then provides that element of uncertainty that adds so much to Life ... However, of the available 52 weekends, he's usually hosting 45 or so ... not a shabby effort considering how much activity he has inside and outside of WikiTree. laugh

Welcome, Melanie! Great to have you join WT - you'll LOVE it. 

It must be so difficult in Australia right now, what with all the challenges the country is going through. Sympathy isn't much help, but you have it anyway.heart

If you've already figured out how to add sources, Melanie, you are way ahead of the game, compared to many newbies. Great!

I hope you'll be a regular here in the Chat. We have a wonderful community, and this is our chance to catch up with each other.
Welcome Melanie.  I have cousins in Brisbane.   Australia is such a fascinating country.  Several of my Scottish ancestors ended up in Australia or New Zealand. Besides Canada ad the USA.    If you have any Penny or Kerr in your line we might be related.
Thanks Frances. But at least we aren't being bombed. I think we should reserve our sympathies for those who really need it right now. Certainly climate change is an issue for us and it would be nice to get the government to lift their game. We have an election coming up, so you just never know.
Thanks Pip. Adding sources is definitely time consuming. But I do have a background in clinical research, nursing to be specific, so I am well aware of the importance of substantiating claims with evidence, and all the painful different ways of formatting references.

The chat looks brilliant, though it will be hard to keep up with it all.

Hi Laura,

My ancestors come from Scotland, Ireland, England and Norway - at least that's where the ones I have found come from. It looks like a few made their way to the US, as well as New Zealand and a few other places. I haven't yet come across any with the name Penny or Kerr, but I'll keep a look out. smiley

Oh wow, busy person then! And here I was thinking Pip was a she, not a he. That'll teach me not to make assumptions based on a name. blush

Ah there were some people surnamed PENNY in LA and MS back in the early 1800's
Well, Pip is a high-end over-achiever; also an insomniac and a Type A and reads 50 to 60 books a year ... and a long list of other activities and interests outside of WT and at WT
Mine originate in Aberdeenshire. Then to London Ontario Canada and out
Hi Melanie,

greetings from Gernany, nice to meet you! As others pointed out, if you know how to basically source your profiles, you're learned a big deal for the site. That does mean that you probably won't add to all those unsourced profiles the site is dealing with.

Don't stress yourself out with keeping up with the Chat. If you are a regular Chatter, you will soon get to know where the regulars are from. That already helps a lot.

I'm glad you only had to do some mopping at home. I saw a short news report in German TV where our reporter was on a bridge somewhere in NSW. He said: "Usually the water is here 12m under the bridge. Now it nearly floods the bridge completely." This was just shuddering to see.
+17 votes

Hi from Bavaria, Germany...

It's been a while since I posted anything here. 
Rationing of oil and flour has been introduced in our local Aldi store, due to the war in Ukraine and sanctions on Russia preventing the import of sunflower seed oil and wheat from those regions. Fuel prices have gone through the roof, so we hardly drive anywhere any more and will probably get rid of the car this year. The Great Reset is well underway. 

We have seen God's provision through what has been an 'interesting' time, for which we are thankful, and expect more of the same in the coming months.

Daughter is getting married in July, in the UK, so we are hoping we'll be able to travel over for the wedding. She, her fiancé and his parents visited us last month (biggest number of people we've had together for over 5 years) and I made beef cobbler and a cheese cake - which went down well. It was a big treat.500px-Miscellaneous_Pictures-58.jpgBeef Cobbler.  For recipe, see Miscellaneous_Pictures-59.jpg

Genealogically:
I've been cleaning up family profiles, looking for illustrations, (here are a couple from the US Civil War from the Illustrated London News 1862 - of the High St, Richmond, Virginia, and a Federal Gunboat - amazing).

I've also been trying to dig into the mystery surrounding one of my family lines which claims to go back to the Norman Conquest, and have created a free space profile for research purposes. 

I also discovered that a 5 x ggf was baptised in the Old Meeting House, Norwich, UK, in 1739, and his grandfather was possibly caught up in the Puritan persecution which was common in Norfolk, England at the end of the 1600s. All very interesting, and I can relate very well to what they went through back then, so that's fascinating. Dad's side of the family have lots of beautiful, God-loving non-conformists. heart

Blessings. laugh

by Frances Piercy-Reins G2G6 Mach 8 (86.1k points)
Thank you for the on the ground update from Germany.

My heart is with all of Europe at this time. My maternal grandparents were born in The Grand Duchy of Finland. I am somewhat aware of the history and my mind goes constantly to what my distant cousins must be going through in these days.

Yes, it's so strange to think of ourselves as descendants of those who went through hell in the past. I wonder if they ever thought about what their great xxx grandchildren would go through in the future.yes

laugh Ancient times and our ancient ancestors .. glad to hear from you again ..you are all too near that chaos that the Russian has unleashed ... let's see, in my line as patriarch so far as being Confident about it, is Michael Huffman who came to Illinois from North Carolina, by way of Kentucky, and is said to have been German 

My father said that in the town he was in as a youth, until WW1, the primary language was German; when WW1 happened and he said that overnight (so to speak) the street signs were alter to English and the schools switched to English etc ... the town transformed itself from "Little Germany" to a hometown in Texas   

I looked at the recipe. Beef Cobbler sounds so good.

A wedding!!! Wonderful, Frances! I do hope you can make the trip (and that nothing will prevent it). 

If I ever make it over, you can be sure I'll be stopping by for a meal like the one pictured. Looks yummy!

I'm proud of my non-conformists, too, but I have so many that were on different sides of the religious disputes, I really can't pick one over the other.

It really is, Paul - cooked very slow and on a low heat - the meat falls apart. Heaven on a fork. heart

Thanks so much Pip! Really hoping it will be possible. Restrictions are still here in Germany and our esteemed Health Minister wants to keep them that way.
I gained 5 pounds looking at the picture
Looked at the beef cobbler recipes online and drooled.

So you should. Scrumptious! heartlaugh

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