"Weekend Chat" - All Members are Invited! (1 May 2015)

+59 votes
5.9k views

This is an ongoing "Chat" post that can be added to throughout the day.  All members of WikiTree are invited to join in!

Do you have any ideas to share?

Any stories about famous or infamous ancestors?

Have you found any close relatives through WikiTree?

New people, say Hello and introduce yourself!

What improvements can we make to help new members?

G2G Pilots, Mentors, and Leaders... any fresh Tips for us?

What's the weather been like in your neck-of-the-woods?

Any subject you want to chat about...

Post answers here, comment on answers, up-vote things you like or agree with, and have fun!

New Tag: Weekend_Chat  To receive notice when future Chats are posted, add Weekend_Chat to the list of Tags you follow.  You can edit your list by clicking on "My Feed" on G2G, then click to "add or edit".  Seperate words with an underscore.

in The Tree House by Keith Hathaway G2G6 Pilot (634k points)
edited by Keith Hathaway
Thanks for the invite Robert.

Hey all,

I've been doing genealogy research for a few years now, and  I've been on Wikitree since February.  Lately I've been concentrating more on my husbands side of the family.  In 2013 his father passed away and we inherited his grandparents farm.  No one had been out there in 7 years and we discovered what is a hoarder's paradise.  My husband's grandmother was one of the family genealogists and a big shutterbug, we've been trying to rescue her 70 + year old archive.  It would be so easy if everything was in neatly labeled boxes, but that is a fantasy.  All her records, pictures, scrapbooks and genealogy books were mixed in with the trash and scattered from attic to basement.   We've been working on weekends to try and sort everything out. We've removed over 4 tons of trash from the house and had to make sure none of the family history went to the dump or recycling.  I had started posting some of the pictures we'd found to find a grave and almost immediately got pounced on by a couple of ecstatic cousins who knew the archive existed and were thrilled that it was coming to the light again.

With all the research into my husband's family, I do tease him that he is related to all of Harrison County, Indiana.  Right now we're trying to determine if there is one cemetery in that county he doesn't have a relative buried in.  So far haven't found one yet.  On the plus side we've started transcribing the main cemetery where so many of his relatives are buried and will probably move on to some of the smaller one's in the area when we finish.
Thank you to Robert for the kind invitation.

I work back & forth from Ancestry to Wikitree.  I did take a DNA test but it hasn't helped with my worst Brick Wall.  

I find this whole process to be very interesting and it helps to keep the mind sharp.

My biggest problem involves my ancestors from Wales.  It is so challenging because sometimes it seems like everyone was born on the same day in the same town and has the same name.  I know I exagerate :D  I did find a book about Welsh Genealogy research and I did find it to be helpful.

Hi all (and thank you Robert for the invitation laugh ),

I have only been on WikiTree for 2 month and have found that it is almost impossible to stay away. The idea of a free, centralized, shared, contributive Family tree is great. It has allowed me to find out that, in fact, I really enjoy genealogy.

I would like to thank all the wonderful, tactful people who contribute on a daily basis to this work. Thank you all.

Hugs (to those who are not offended by them),

Bob

PS: I have ideas about improving this site but don't really know where to post them or how to help them go forward.

Michele Camera

Hello. Brilliant . Don't quit ! Good hunting & happy days. Sincerely, Phil (Grace-883)
Hello and thanks for the invite.

I started up on wikitree to help look into our family ancestry. We hit a few "dead-ends" in searching and we didn't have any idea how to get further. We found so far that this has been a great way of organizing all the information and we have made a few connections with others concerning parts of our family. We are still looking for more information on Crabb, Hoskins, Beach (England), Lukens, Atkinson (England), Cook/Cox. We were able to find our ties in Ostrander, Justus, and Bartlett.

Would love to hear any tips on how to get more information. We were not told much about our family and what we were told we are trying to verify. The project started with my mother and my daughter has been working on it for three years. We're trying to find Native American ancestry, any possible Nobility from Europe, and where the family all came from. If anyone could help that would be awesome.

Thanks!
Hello Bert Crab,

1 hint or a tip... hmmm... I'll say that I hope the reason you are "trying" to find ancestry in Native America and Aristocratic Europe is because you have a reasonable belief that those are the places of your origin. Something like finding a sepia photograph of your grandmother wearing native attire wedged into her diary which outlines her long walk through the Gulf coast to Oklahoma...or a cache of several hundred thousand dollars worth of jewels passed down through inheritance and attached to family lore about escaping from the Bolshvicks. Because if the intent is to find a connection to a tribe or clan that simply is "cool", it can both lead one into making leaps and assumptions that cannot be supported by historically accurate and authoritative sources (aka "making mistakes") and even worse - taking one on a goose chase while letting you miss out on your true story.

My tip is (and if I could remember how to make this italicize, I'd do so) _ Let the facts take you where they lead. Of course you have to exercize reasonable judgement about whether or not what you are reading makes sense....I once questioned my mother about whether she had both a sister and an aunt with the same name...No, she didn't...which led me to answer her question with "because on the 1920 census, your grandparents had a 10 year old child with the same name living with them and your mother, but your grandmother would have had to have been 51 when she gave birth." That let to a wild story about adulterous affairs, divorce in the early 20th century (and believe me...I was taught THAT just didn't happen "like it does today") and gave me the names of an entire limb of the tree I hadn't known existed and hadn't made it to the paper/electronic copy of the family tree.

By doing research from the known to the unknown, I've found the most interesting people...both other cousin genealogists who share valuable sources and insights as well as interesting ancestors. Yes, I have found heroic military officers and links to the Houses of Europe. I've also found artists and tradesmen, scholars and teachers, drunkards and libertines and a handful of Salem witches. It makes for a wonderfully colorful story. Your true story is probably just as colorful in its own way.

Don't try to work quickly. In fact be slow as a turtle so you look at every scrap of information that can be gleened froma document and whether or not they add up, make sense or spur you to wonder "what's up with that?" BTW, The "What!!??" moments are usually the ones that lead to interesting stories. You have no deadline or due date to complete your tree - as if it ever can be complete, ha!

Work a little every single day, and then put it away before you get tired and start missing things. I have learned that suggestion the hard way.

Don't be discouraged by the tedium of slogging through page after page of census reports that outline what seems like nothing but people who were born, farmed, married, bred and died...and who look just like every other family on the pages before and after theirs. The day that something looks odd, or that an aunt or cousin suddenly appears on the report living with the family - THAT is the day an adventure begins.

Don't forget to do your homework. I was given an tree but not the corresponding documentation...so I had names, dates, places and nothing else. My mother, in her research had discovered my 10th great grandfather, George Jacobs Sr, of Salem witch trials notoriety. I knew about him for years, but it wasn't until I was reading a website assembled by the University of Virginia that I made my own discovery.

U of V assembled a list of ALL the people involved in the witch trials and categorized them...these were found guilty, those not guilty, these escaped, these released on bond, these died in prison, these were accusors, these witnesses and these prosecutors. While reading the each name on these lists...one struck me. It seemed familiar. Sure enough, she was on my pedigree with no other information attached to her. After hitting the New England Historical society's website, and making the rounds of secondary databases and looking at digitized copies of documents, I became reasonably sure that she. as the same Elizabeth Dicer as my 10th great grandmother, Elizabeth (Austin) Dicer - another accused witch. And thus, my fourth Black Sheep witch was added to my collection. (sigh) Also, friends and family have fuel for good natured ribbing when I'm in a witchy mood. :-. I wouldn't have made the connection if I hadn't been reading a tedious academic site instead of watching TMZ with my husband.

My last hint for now is "Don't hesitate to ask..." for help, for clarification, for a person's story and most of all "How do you know that's true?" You know, I bet Woodward & Berstein would have been great genealogists if they hadn't wasted their time on that Watergate thing. :-D LOL
No worries, Phil. I'm like a dog with a bone. :-)
Welcome aboard, Bob Atherton! BTW, there are all sorts of groups on G2G...I believe we have one dedicated to site maintenance. That might be a good one to lurk around to see if your ideas match the mission.
Yep. It was the cell phone creating the run-on posts. Darn! And I so like reclining with the thing, playing games with my teen while I work on the tree.

New Tag: Weekend_Chat  To receive notice when future Chats are posted, add Weekend_Chat to the list of Tags you follow.  You can edit your list by clicking on "My Feed" on G2G, then click to "add or edit".  Seperate words with an underscore.

40 Answers

+13 votes
The weather has be very cold in Northeastern Ohio and February temperatures were the lowest ever recorded. However, the sun is out and the next few days look much improved. Spring is coming on stronger every day. I had to discontine posting for a while due to bilateral knee replacement in January. The board seem to be getting more diverse and extensive in its subjects.
by Frank Gill G2G Astronaut (2.5m points)
Thank you Frank!

I pray your knee replacement went well.  I broke my leg, acl, miniscus, etc years back and they did a pretty good job at patching me up.  I'm sure you'll be 100% soon :)
Welcome back Frank! I hope your knee is healing well.  I did actually notice you were absent from the G2G and it's nice to see you posting again :)
Hi Frank!  I was raised in Mentor.  My dad was the curator of Garfield's home and we lived in an apartment attached to the museum. This was all through my grade school years.
Civil War General and US President, James Garfield, is buried at Lakeview Cemetery in Cleveland as are all four of my grandparents. When I was in the National Guard at the Shaker Heights Armory, the person in charge, Lt. Colonel Garfield,  was a descendant of the James Garfield, former General and President. I believe he was a great grandson, and he was also named James Garfield.
Although I am fairly new to wikitree, I am ever amazed at what you can find Frank. I too will pray for your knee's.
It's good to see you around these parts again, Frank. It's so much easier to feel better when the weather is better, and I hope spring brings new energy to your knees!
+20 votes
Recent comments on the validity of sources reminded me of my "official copy" of my birth certificate issued by the town clerk.  Due to severe weather the night my home birth occured, the doctor's son replaced him.  Apparently he neglected to issue the birth certificate in 1936, and when my brother was born 18 months later, my mother asked for a copy from the town clerk.  The clerk issued a copy in March of 1938 saying I had been born in December 1938.  I have since destroyed the misdated copy.  I'm past the age where I feel the need to shade two years off my life!
by Beulah Cramer G2G6 Pilot (565k points)
That is a very cool story.  I had not heard of anything like that before.  Thank you Beulah!
Ha! Great story. Thanks!
In my (extended, meaning I can't prove the connection) family tree I have an American woman who gave me her date of birth. I checked it with her mother who said she was born on the previous day. So I got her birth certificate which gave the day after. I am using the middle date and adding a note in the bio.
Chris Whitten has a great story about his first name on his birth certificate.  Maybe he will share?
so is there an actual copy in the clerks office .....my ex was home birthed and NEVER havd a birth certificate  filed....even thou he got through a career of USMC and on Social Sec. now....Back in the day it wasn't thought of as needed...even due to some fluke with my dad's records...his was altered....

But now you can't do or have anything without this piece of paper...

just my two cents..

Debbie
Yes, I did get a certified copy of the original birth certificate, filed by the doctor in 1936, when I needed it to get something much later in my life.  The statement received from the first clerk was, to the best of my memories, "A certified statement that I was born on Dec.--, 1938" signed by( --------)March 1938.

Extract from email from South African wikitreer:

When I was badgering everyone to get my own marriage certificate, the Director phoned to apologize for the battle I was having and just wouldn't stop moaning about Home Affairs. One of the things he said is that of the 55 million ID numbers issued to people at birth (counting only those born within the last 100 years) they only have 50 million birth certificates. Five million people's birth certificates have been lost. 

eventually they produced her birth certificate. She reminded them she had asked for three copies. So they returned to the vault only to discover they had misfiled the original.

 

What a cool story!

Nearly 29 years ago, I gave birth at home to my youngest child, in Woodfords, CA  in Alpine County, population 1,000. The county seat is Markleeville, pop. 165 then. I filled out her birth certificate by hand as I didn't have a typewriter, and filed it at the county recorder's office. They hadn't had a birth in the county for 25 years and they had to scramble and find out how to record a birth!

OMG, well one thing is for sure....Don't Mess With the Genealogy People !!!laugh

The validity of sources is a problem in my family during my mothers generation and the previous one as there were rather a lot of illegitimate children who were raised by other family members, generally not knowing until adulthood.

Several of their births were registered with the names of the adoptive parents instead of their biological parents to avoid the "shame" of it all which makes me worried that other researchers will end up with a completely false genealogy despite using all the right sources just because they don't have first-hand knowledge of the family.

This is one of the reasons I am such a big fan of Wikitree and collabrative genealogy.
It seems to be a common occurrence that early 20th century home births were not recorded in a timely manner nor was a paper certificate always issued.  My fathers mother had to go to the county cout house and file an affidavit of live birth to get my fathers birth certificate so he could join the army, he was born December 1914, and his birth was recorded March 1941.

I ran into the same issue for Daniel Markham of Enfield, Connecticut in the year 1719/0, as recorded in The History of Enfield, Connecticut , Volume II.1900, pg. 1620 by Francis Olcott Allen [http://babel.hathitrust.org/cgo/pt?id=coo.31924099175774;view=1up;seq699].  It lists his two daughters, their parents, birthdates and then the new clerk adds: "These two being omitted by ye former clerks"  It  lists another birth to another couple, then states "End of Births in Part I Book 1."  It seems that when your birth certificate has not been filed. you may need to replace a clerk or find the doctor.  However, adding the details of a birth and witnessing to the family  bible does serve as an admissable document in a court of law. Most religiou ceremonies recognizing the birth of a child  and should also be documented.  Rut

+12 votes

Thank you for this.

I just found out that one of my husband's patriots, Dr. Robert Nelson, lived in the same district as my Loyalist, David Dinsmore. Feels bad.

Also I think there should be a box on the right of a profile for the "dancing bear" templates, something more like the info boxes on the right of profiles on Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Edokter vs http://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Carlson-1669 where even two seems like too many.

by Carrie Quackenbush G2G6 Mach 7 (78.8k points)
During the Civil war my ancestors were from the north and many of my wife's from the south.  I have imagined them doing battle, but never found any of them in the same area at the same time.  I think it's very interesting that you found Robert and David in the same district.  Sorry they were fighting, but it makes for a rich family history.

Thank you for posting Carrie!
My 3rd great grandfather, Daniel Gill, fought for the British in the 54th Regiment of Foot against the Americans during the Revolutionary War. He could have fought against my other ancestors in the war. A few years after the war while stationed in Canada, Daniel got into an altercation with an officer, after which he abruptly left and relocated to Upstate NY. He became a school master and fathered a large family.
There have been numerous local and national battles in UK. It is inevitable that those who can trace their ancestry back that far will come across numerous examples and those who have not yet traced that far will come across them in due course.
+11 votes
The weather in Buffalo, NY has finally turned.  We have sun and it is staying a bove 60.  I may get to plant soon.

 

No ideas right now.  

 

I am working on my next profile for a double check.  My great grand father Joe Alajko.
by Living Harris G2G6 Mach 2 (21.6k points)
Sun is good. I need sun. Looking forward to seeing your great-great grandfather's profile!
I'm not far away in north-eastern Vermont... I think we get the same skies often.  It is very pleasant out today.

We have visions of starting the garden soon and the alfalfa crop in the fields out back is perking up already.

Our main battle before that is fighting sumac trees.  They are in no danger of becoming extinct around here, that's for sure.  If not tended to frequently they will gain ground in their effort to take over our property.

Thank you for posting Michael.  Good luck with Joe!
First of all my thanks goes to Robert Hathaway for the invite to this chat.  This is my first attempt at this method of communicating. I am D. Marshall Satterwhite, USN retired.  I discovered Wikitree about a year ago and it has been a great ride. The programmer of the software has done a wonderful job to aid input.  I did not do a gedcom so I have about 7000 Satterwhites to enter manually and this software program makes it a pleasure to do.  My salute to all of the leaders and to the programmer my eternal gratitude!!
+17 votes
I could use some ideas on how to motivate members to help the Holocaust project.  I have tried everything I can think of and, although some of my G2G posts have gotten lots of up-votes, people have not been stepping up to help and I am feeling very discouraged right now, as I'm getting ready to post the final Demolition Derby results.  This month-long challenge has only attracted 3 people to enter by finding sources for profiles.

I am still a novice at genealogy research and just don't have the knowledge, skills, experience, or whatever it takes to find information.  I have watched in total amazement at how fast answers with all kinds of sources and information are provided to most anyone - even all the anonymous ones - who asks a question that often has so little information that I can't imagine it possible to answer.  I have asked questions that have not received any answers.

I have started to feel like a teenager who got stood up for her first date.  Then, today, I realized that it's not personal - the Collaborative Profile this week is one of the Holocaust project's and nobody has come to the aid of that either.  When AnneB posted a question about it, one preson answered but provided the same 4 sources that we already had.

At this point, I would love to receive some feedback on how to get the members who have the right skills for this work to be motivated to contribute their efforts.
by Gaile Connolly G2G Astronaut (1.2m points)
Wish I could help but that area is not my something I know much about.

Howdy Gaile,

I'm one of your fans!  I up-vote your posts on the Holocaust project.  It is one of the projects on WikiTree I respect the most.  Your tremendous efforts do not go unseen nor unappreciated, I'm certain.

I'll tell you why I personally have not been more helpful (I didn't know this until giving it much thought just now)... I guess I was intimidated.  You are so active on G2G being a Pilot and all, and you are involved in so many other things here that I could not imagine I could be of use to you.  I felt sure that anything I could find was super easy for you and others.  I too am amazed at what others are able to produce.

And, I am behind the curve on styles and standards.  I was concerned I could not contribute meaningfully.

I have busied myself with other "projects" that I felt were more suited to me for now, but I'll take another look.  Maybe I can do more.

In fact... I have a couple of ideas :)

Oh my gosh, Robert - me intimidating anyone????? .... least of all, someone so unbelivably gifted in so many WikiTree skill areas as you are?????  I am truly in shock!!!  I often sit here with my mouth hanging open in awe at the way you find the perfect words with which to communicate with people while you impart what I see as an endless supply of knowledge to them ... however, I do not feel intimidated by you, probably because I'm not intimidatable (is that a word?).  I had a long career in a field that was mostly closed to women when I started.  As a result, I have come to know very well who I am (and who I am not), what I know (and what I don't), and what I can do (and what I can't), and freely admit all of those things, so nobody can make me doubt or be embarrassed by any of that.

I'm at the extreme left-brained edge of the continuum, can only deal with things that are black and white - gray areas only confuse me and cause me to turn away completely.  I am direct (aka lacking in tact) and receptive to direct statements from others - tact or hints will often go right over my head.

Pilot, shmilot ... the only reason I accumulated all these points (and I am shocked every time I happen to notice the obscene number attached to my name) is that I am not shy - I ask a lot of questions and am so grateful for all the help everyone here (with you near the top of that list) has given me to learn the WikiTree ways plus what genealogy is all about and how to do research that I try to return these gifts by offering help to those who need to learn the things I know - how computers, the internet, software, HTML, and even that "wikicode" hocus pocus work, so I also answer a lot of questions.  Then, I am very opinionated (when I know enough about something to have an opinion on it) and always willing to share my opinions (for which I may not be too popular).  The only kind of pilot I ever want to be is one who gets off the ground!

Robert, could we perhaps form a partnership?  If you find information and apply your wonderful way with words to writing about it, I'll apply all the coding, styles, standards, etc.  We could collaborate (in the best WikiTree tradition) to produce amazing profiles!

yes One thumb for Gaile

yes One thumb for Robert

I'm sure glad that's a thumb, rather then a ... umm ... err .... different finger.
I added some info, with sources, and a few relatives for you.
Vic,

Thank you soooooooo much!  If my husband weren't watching, I could kiss you for that!!!

Three cheers for Gaile!!! 

As you know, I've been dipping into the Holocaust project now and then. It's kind of a tough one, but it IS possible to find information! I find it fascinating and wish I had time to do more. It's an honorable effort.

Last summer, my daughter and I had an opportunity to go to Prague, Czechoslovakia. We took a tour through the "ghetto" and visited one of the Jewish cemeteries. It was tremendously humbling, and when I think about all of the people who died and were buried in such overly crowded spaces, my heart breaks a little more. So, I will continue to pop in and research a person now and then, just because I feel that it's one of the few ways I, personally, can honor those affected by the Holocaust.

As a note of encouragement to others who are hesitant to participate: Anything that you do for the project is helpful. If you have time to take ONE person and find ONE source, then someone else may be able to come along and build on that. Your contribution may actually help a family member find someone who has been lost!

Thank you, Gaile, for persisting with this project. Don't give up! heart

I have a couple both holocaust survivers that married after the war.  Her sisters also survived the camps and we have information from after the war.  But the husband lost both his first wife and their children from Lodz.  We are having a difficult time finding out details I would have access to research facilities here if you would direct me on any help you need for your project.

+17 votes
I have met a granddaughter of my great grandfathers son.  It was so wonderful to exchange pics and it really helped fill in may of my blanks.
by
2nd cousin (once removed)... that's great!  Thank you for posting!
+20 votes

I had edited all of the profiles from my origional ged-com, about 4500 names uploaded in April 2013.  It took me 2 years.  Of course after I did the first edits the guidelines for profiles changed and I learned how to properly add embedded sources.  So now I am going back through the entire file and verifying that the edits meet current guidelines.  Only 3978 more to do.

I discoved that I had missed a source for the cemetery for Robert Stoddard, I had a cemetry name but not a source.  Review determined I had used the wrong cemetery name and I discoved photos of  his headstone and those of his family as well.

As painful as the review is, I can do 25-40 a day, it has improved the profiles that are important to me.

by Philip Smith G2G6 Pilot (337k points)
edited by Philip Smith

Thank you Philip,

I wish everyone reviewed their gedcoms! (even half as well as you've done)

That's what my profile double check is, go over each profile and make sure everything is sourced.  It is time consuming.
I use the weekly activity e-mail to help me re-review the profiles on my watchlist - at the bottom, it lists the folks from my watchlist whose birthday is that week. I try to give a "birthday gift" of an improved profile to those listed (of course, this relies on all the profiles on your watchlist having a birthday to be listed... so I also try to review a profile a day from my watchlist, either a profile without a birthday or the profile that hasn't been edited for the longest time). Cheers, Liz
I am doing the same thing.  I have to go through every entry, because I didn't Source everyone.  It is taking a lot of time, but I have plenty of that.  The one thing I realize now is that everytime I put in an entry, other than spouse (parents,children & siblings) it was making another page, so I ended up with an awful lot of pages.  So what I am doing now, is putting the children, siblings and parents, if I have their names, in the Biography.  Then when I finish editing what I have, I will start over and start entering those names that I have in the Biography.  Does this make sense?  I have really enjoyed this retirement project, it will keep me going until I am too old to do it.  Oh, I am new to the chat, I live in Christina Lake, about midway through BC, on the border, and about 2 hours north of Spokane.  We had a beautiful winter compared to everyone else, and Spring is looking good.  I love Wikitree, I have connected with several relations, especially on my Dad's side, and have been sent photos, and stories from some of them.  Thanks to those who keep it going,  Regards, Iris Hooge
Following on the same path you did accept you are way ahead in the distance. A SMALL!  GEDCOM might make a nice foundation to start your WikiTree profiles with, but more than that is just being mean to yourself.
I agree. Pike-2301
+12 votes

Today is the 399th anniversary of the marriage of Christopher Smith and Alis Gibes.  Happy Anniversary!  And bless you, Alis for delivering all those children! 

by Kitty Smith G2G6 Pilot (638k points)

Happy anniversary Christopher and Alis!  Thanks Kitty

12 kiddos! Wow!  Happy anniversary to them :)
+13 votes
My fervent wish of the week is that members would extend back in time the genealogy of Ronald Reagan.
by William Arbuthnot of Kittybrewster G2G6 Pilot (181k points)
Thank you Sir William.

Ronald Reagan is one of my favorite figures.  On a documentary it said that late in his life looking back he was most proud of his service as a lifeguard for 7 years.  Even after forgetting almost everything else he remembered with pride having saved at least 77 people from drowning.
I believe he was the best president in the last 65 years. Not perfect but had to deal with the Dem. Party(House & Senate)
And caused glasnost.  But this week he needs genealogical help please.
+13 votes
Been using find a grave to locate grave sites of family members. Hard to find father's family without a trip to Europe. Hoping the Latvian state archives can send me something. Rainy day in North Carolina today.
by Jake Weiner G2G4 (4.2k points)
same here Jake, Am in near Ft Bragg and the weather....well just ain't doing it for this cold I am fighting.

Stay warm and Dry

Debbie
Hi Jake,

This answer is probably already somewhere, but what is the best way to link back to FindAGrave as source?  I try copying URLs, but they almost always do not work after I past them into WikiTree.  I have to find the Grave Id in the URL that fails to work, go to FindAGrave and look up someone - anyone - so that the right URL appears, substitue my desired Grave Id into that URL, then hit enter and I have my relative again.

Any hints on ways to not do this to myself would be appreciated.

Thanks,

Rick
Thank you Jake.  I spent my honeymoon on the Outer Banks.  It was awesome.
Hi Rick,

When citing FindaGrave I hear it's best to post the memorial # as well as a link to the webpage.  Links go inbetween brackets [ ] in the biography section.

I hope that helps!
+13 votes
I have been fascinated by people kidnapped by Indians, since this has happened to several of my ancestors.  Recently I ran into the story of Eva Wampler: http://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Wampler-261.  There is a lot of controversy over her, some of which I have added to her profile.

Perhaps someone can help me clear up the mysteries.  Fascinating story.
by Vicki Norman G2G6 Mach 2 (21.9k points)
Hi Vicki.  Great story!

The families of my wife and I each have a brush with indians.

She has one ancestor who answered a knock at the door and was shot dead by an indian.
My 6Xgreat grandfather [[Hunton-20|Philip Huntoon]] was captured by Indians while he was working in a field on his farm in New Hampshire in 1710. His story in in his biography.

There was also Hannah Emerson Dustin, who was captured by Indians and held on an island in the Merrimack River until she escaped and made her way back down to river to Haverhill, Massachusetts, where she lived. She has a statue and a park named for her near Boscawen, New Hampshire.
+14 votes
Nice Autum weather in South Africa. Warm sunny days, cold nights.

Very new to wikitree

 Have been looking at all the crimes for the period 1652 to 1800 in the Cape of Good Hope. Fasinating read. Will incorperate it in due time to the profiles. The latest was Maria Mouton that had an affair with her slave and was strangeld to death as punishment  for the murder on her husband. Wikitree opend a new world for me :-)
by Ronel Olivier G2G6 Pilot (122k points)
Thank you Ronel.  I forget that some of my WikiTree friends are from such interesting places as South Africa.  I'll bet it's beautiful there.
O Robert I can't begin to tell you how beautiful this country is. I live near Cape Town and we are so blessed. In which part of the world do you live? Thanks for the invite :-)

Hi Ronel,

I live in a place called St. Albans in the state of Vermont, USA.  The town is mostly farm land with fields and woods (we do have paved roads and electricity :). Many maple trees that give good sap.  I'm fortunate to live on a point of land that juts into a lake called Champlain.  In the summers it reaches the 80s, the winters can be 20 below.  The lake freezes for a couple of months each year.  It's mostly green rolling hills and valleys, but our horizon to the west at sunset is over the Aderondak mountains of New York state.  We like the veiw and lifestyle here very much.

Nice to meet you!

+10 votes
Its a long weekend in the UK this weekend.  Woo-hoo!!  Will try to get some genealogy done :-)
by Living Hoolihan G2G6 Mach 6 (61.3k points)
Does your long weekend celebrate something, or is it just a bank holiday?

Wishing it was me here in Canada (we do have Victoria Day though.
Cheers Leigh... thank you for joining in the chat!
+13 votes

For all the newest members – Welcome and enjoy your research. – Have “fun” –

Don’t get discouraged or shy away from attempting fixes just because you "might" make a mistake.  Nothing is ever so bad it can't be fixed..  We all were New once and have all made our fair share of mistakes.   (I had to restore 1 profile 4 times before I got it right .  WikiTree is a lot different than other sites and it does have a long learning curve.

Tips and Tricks

I think the "lowest" profile number is probably the hardest stuff to find because of the search limitations.  Although it might "look" complicated, it really is not and well worth checking.  It may save you a good deal of time later on.

Ask those questions, or do searches  in G2G  -- Lots of helpful, friendly people.  Lots of capability.

Extensive Help Menus

Kitty's Library on Wiki http://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Space:Kitty%27s_Library
Really Good - Lots of good research links to on line books and resources, etc. (cuts down search time)

I have been working on cleaning up some of the early (pre 1700) Duncan Profiles that I already have accumulated information on, and have tried to connect the dots to about the 1850 timeframe.  Many of the Virginia Duncans came from Scotland; some from Northern Ireland and thus, I became involved in the “Duncan Clan” project. http://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Project:Scottish_Clans

This is like eating an elephant one bite at a time.  So, if anyone is looking for Duncan’s before 1850, let me know.  I can probably point you to some research sites. . . .Feel free to jump on the band wagon anytime.  My Bios sound more like research papers than Bios.

Regards, Sandy

by Sandy Edwards G2G6 Mach 7 (78.0k points)
Great post Sandy.... Thank you!
my 5g great grandfather was james duncan watkins, he came here to clay county missouri in 1824 along with 3 brothers and 2 fo his sisters and thair families,

they was the kids of henry watkins and mary polly duncan

mary duncan was the oldest child of james duncan "the one my 5g was named after" and averilla ava shelton mary was the oldest of 15 and james is the same age or older then half of his aunts and uncles witch also followed the watkins into missouri
Hi Bill, Lengthy Response sent via Private Messaging.  If you do not receive, send your email address to me and I will resend.

Thanks, Sandy
".  but I admit the rest of us are left wondering at the mystery :)"

Hi Rick, my email says you did the above comment, but I can't find it.  No big mystery -- here is the important part , the rest was just "info on site links, plus some tips on navigating the site and an offer to download other info from DSA if  needed..

James was the 11th child of Marshall Duncan I and Mary Ann Durron.  The Duncan manuscript is on line. The direct descendants are not "all proven" in the manuscript, so some research is needed.   I gave him direct links to James ("the Watkins" portions) descendants.  Marshall I (Duncan-2210) is pretty much completed on Wiki, but son James needs some work and there are some pending  "to dos" on duplicates and merging for Avarilla Shelton.  Anyway, long story short.

You did great getting this together.  Lots of good response.  Thanks for the invite.  Maybe you should consider a "weekend chat".  Loved the smiling weasel.

Best Regards,
+12 votes
Hi!  My name is Rick Watts.  I have been on here for around 6 months.  I use the 100 entry badges as a carrot to make sure that I keep doing research every month.  I did a lot of work on my tree back when I was young in the 1970s, then my older half-brother took that work and put into the computer in the 1990s.   I started back with his GEDCOM about a decade ago after he lost interest. A cousin from the other side has built out a wonderful tree on her computer, but does not know how to extract to a gedcom.  So I email her and type in additions to what I have here as I can.

My latest excitement, especially for my boys, came from the relationship finder.  After tying roots back far enough, I was able to use the relationship finder to show connections to many US Presidents and even the Queen of England.  My school age boys were very excited, but also confused as to how they could be related to so many presidents (including the current one) and the Queen.  It turns out we have a link now to all but 4 US Presidents.  There is a long time rumor in my family that there is also a link to Queen Victoria, but that will need to be proven at some later date!

I also have my DNA through 23andme and keep searching for cousins there.  Between the beautiful public tree links from here and keeping meticulous notes on existing DNA connections, I am definitely making progress.  My mtDNA line is very short since my grandmother was a 'black sheep' and did not talk about her family.  And my yDNA is the same as Thomas Jefferson's, and at one point our male ancestors lived within 100 miles of each other in England.  I would love to prove that connection too!  

Anyway, that is a brief intro to me.  My family's have always had large gatherings and as long as I can remember I would sit on the ground and listen to stories.  Arguments about dog's names or horse's names and when who lived where.  Finding stories and connections makes me feel like that young kid again.

Thanks for having me.

Rick
by Rick Watts G2G4 (4.7k points)
Fantastic post Rick.... Thank you!
Awesome post, Rick!
+14 votes
Beautiful summer weather here in Southern California. Wish it would rain! But probably not until fall.

Have been working on the Womack family, lots of duplicates and merges needed. Just adopted a profile for [[Littrell-29|Jesse Littrell]]. In going through his children, found that four of them married Hammonds. Noting like keeping families together.

A tip for new members: Don't add your family with a GEDCOM! Way too much work eliminating duplicates, cleaning up profiles, adding sources, and connecting to people already on WikiTree. Much more fun and efficient to add profiles manually, one at a time. I speak from experience, having done both.
by Shirley Dalton G2G6 Pilot (530k points)
Couldn't agree more on the "don't add your family with GEDCOM". I will be years working on the clean up. Better to add profiles one at a time with the appropriate sources
Amen!

Thank you Shirley and Brett :)
+15 votes
I was an organic farmer east of Calgary, Alberta Canada. I have so many chicken stories. For about a week a flock of 300+ chickens would suddenly panic and begin piling on top of one another. I could lose a lot of chickens, so I would run into the pen and find no prediator.

Each morning as I arrived in the yard the Roosters began to yell good morning, followed by my Geese yelling to me, then my Peacock would yell, then my ducks etc.Then I noticed something strange, something bouncing and running toward me it was white and matched the pure white snow that morning so I could not

make out at first what is was, that is until is ran right up to me and sat up. A pure white weasle stood up in front of me and smiled, with the most beautiful smile. Tiny little black eyes. I could hardly believe what I was seeing he wanted to say good

morning too!

I laughed so hard out loud and the more I laughed the more he smiled. Have you ever been smiled at by a weasle???
by Chris Mckinnon G2G6 Pilot (610k points)
Thanks for sharing the chicken story - look forward to more :D
Hi Chris, thank you for sharing!

I met a white weasle one time (I've since heard they are called ermine when white).  We live in a very rural area and had our doors wide open for the breeze.  The weasle marched right in like he owned the place, bearing his teeth and hissing.  It took hours of effort and attempts to get him back out of the house.  I ended up catching him within minutes of setting a live-trap (very humane and does not injure) baited with sandwich meat.
+13 votes
I had my DNA tested a year ago and found out I am ~2% Native American. It's really funny as I work with a group of Native Americans where previously I was outside the group. Now I am one.

Last night I received a comment from a story I posted on Ancestry.com which indicated which ancestor was actually my Native American contact. One more piece of the puzzle.
by Robert Elmore G2G6 (6.5k points)
Those are the kind of things that keep your research going. Congrats!
Congratulation Robert!

I am dreaming of getting my DNA tested soon.
Congrats, my wife is ~12% Cherokee Nation.
+14 votes
Hello. This is a great idea. I am an amateur genealogist from Oklahoma. I am blessed to live in an area where where you came from and culture mean a lot. I live in the capitol of the Cherokee Nation, Tahlequah, OK. There are so many people looking for Cherokee roots even to this day and I am proud to be here and to have my roots in the tribe well established on both sides of my family. Some people are not so fortunate, I know. I would like to help anyone who is interested in figuring out how to trace your roots back to the Cherokee tribe.

Also, my personal journey with genealogy has gotten even more personal. I started researching about 12 years ago and did quite a bit for several months. Then, I took a long break. About I year ago I picked it back up and was very interested in finding out as much as I could about my father's family. His father passed away at the age of 34 when my father was only 4 years old. His mother remarried and much of the family history on his father's side was a mystery to him. He heard snippets and short anecdotes but had never heard even the names of some of his ancestors. I was able to track down some of this for him through 2014 and he was so glad to know it. Tragically, we lost him in February at the age of 62. So, now I am continuing my work in honor of him. I miss him sorely and I had hoped to find so much more and share so much more with him than I did. We never know when we will have to add that date to our parents' profiel here. I sure didn't expect it.

Anyway, that's a little about me. I am no professional and I am learning a lot here. I am thankful for the space provided here to learn and share. Wado (thank you) to you all.
by Brian Wagnon G2G6 (9.2k points)
Hi Brian,

I understand how you feel. My mother asked me why I was only researching my fathers side of the family not hers.(you can only do one thing at a time) Not long after she passed away, needless to say I have spent a lot of time on her side of my tree since then. I like what you said "I do it in honour of" her, even if it is a bit late. Thanks for your post.
Exactly what I did. Mainly because I knew where in the country to look. Also I'm not happy with my Mom's Dad.
Thank you very much Brian... glad to have you here!
+11 votes
Hello! Thanks for the invite. I'm new to the G2G feed and the Mayflower Project. The Mayflower Project has widened the scope of, along with already known info, my family tree to the point of overwhelm. Just last night, I had to get up and walk away from my PC because I started shaking. I still haven't been able to,wrap my head around it.
by L Oughterson G2G6 (9.0k points)
Isn't it a lot sometimes?  Overwhelming is a good word (at least in this case)

Thank you for posting!

Related questions

+35 votes
16 answers
+30 votes
15 answers
+27 votes
18 answers
+23 votes
8 answers
+29 votes
12 answers
+28 votes
16 answers

WikiTree  ~  About  ~  Help Help  ~  Search Person Search  ~  Surname:

disclaimer - terms - copyright

...