Week End Chat...All Members Invited!!! Dec 2-4, 2016

+13 votes
451 views

This is an ongoing "Chat" post that can be added to throughout the weekend.  All members of WikiTree are encouraged to join in, especially first-timers!

 

Hi Gang!

 

Say Hello and introduce yourself... where are you from and what are your interests?

 

Leaders, Mentors, Greeters, Pilots - What tips can you share with us today?

 

What improvements can we make?

 

What do you enjoy most about WikiTree?

 

Do you have any stories to share about famous or notorius ancestors?

 

What projects are you involved in, and how are they going?

 

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

 

... anything that you want to talk about!

 

 

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

in The Tree House by Doug Lockwood G2G Astronaut (2.6m points)

13 Answers

+14 votes
Hi and Bye, It is move in weekend and sometime after 11 this morning we will be unloading, unpacking and hooking things up at the new place. We will not have good internet service until Monday morning at least and I anticipate it being much longer than that before we have everything unpacked and put in it's proper place so have fun, I will not be on WikiTree much if at all for the next 5 days.
by Dale Byers G2G Astronaut (1.7m points)
Enjoy the new home after you get settled.  What an early Christmas
gift for yourself.
We got the keys and after today we have free access to move anything in, we just can not block any outlets or sleep there until after the State inspection on Monday. Hey I guess that is a small price to pay for a brand new 3 bedroom 2 bath home with a payment of only $650 per month.
O waauw so you're moving, sounds great and congratulations with your new home Dale !
All of our stuff is at the new home. We are going to organize it and make sure that any outlets are clear for tomorrows inspection. We will also have the internet  and TV's connected tomorrow so right after the inspection we will start setting everything in it's proper place.
+17 votes

Happy Week End to All,

I hope everyone had a nice week. 

The holiday spirit is in the air....we put candles in our windows this week & put up the tree. Our cats are now circling it for the kill. I expect a stage dive at any moment!

What's new with you?

 

Remember, you might be a Wikitreer if you participate in the Week End Chat!

 

Image result for black cats in christmas tree humor

 

 

by Doug Lockwood G2G Astronaut (2.6m points)

Now that cat seems to like the tree eeh :D 

WikiTreer for sure so here I am ,  I missed a few weekend chats, but we have been and still are pretty busy working on some new projects for our South African members with some wonderful people . 

Monday we're celebrating Sinterklaas (movie Belgium Sinterklaas) in the Netherlands, so we're having fun here :D  

O and if someone is interested in joining the South African Roots project , check out this G2G 

we also started working on the (South African) Anglo Boer War (sub) project , for that one see this G2G 

everyone interested of course is welcome to join !

Have a wonderful weekend everyone ! 

+16 votes
Happy weekend all!

I got my first job this past week and I'll be starting work in January. Super excited. And nervous. Hoping everything goes well, I'll be on probation for a year.

Woke up at 1:25 this morning thanks to my dog and haven't slept yet, nine or so hours later. Thanks, fluffbutt.

Planning to relax and possibly hop down the rabbit hole that is my great grandfather's ancestors again. Surprisingly, getting my DNA done has not helped me at all in finding who they might be. I'm starting to wonder if I might be better off finding the names of all the men who lived in Tioga County, NY during that time period, ages 0 to 150, and seeing if their family trees will line up with my DNA matches at all.

On that note: does anybody know if Eastern State Penitentiary had conjugal visits in 1899 or 1900? That's the only way my great great grandmother Isadora York's husband could be the father of my great grandfather.

The weather has been unseasonably warm... it shouldn't be nearly 60 degrees Fahrenheit in December in NYC!
by G. Borrero G2G6 Pilot (124k points)
Good luck with your first job!  1 year probation is a good thing, it means they expect it to take you some time to get a handle of it. Do your best, but don't stress out too much if you are slower than others and make more mistakes.
Thanks for the advice, Susan! :)
Congrats on the job! :)

As for the conjugal visits... unsure but interesting question. Maybe he escaped to go visit then turned himself back in to finish out his sentence. Check newspaper articles for that area during that time. One of my cousin's back in the 1920's escaped twice. Unfortunately after the 2nd time they think some towns people killed him brutally. And each escape & then death was in the newspapers.
Thanks, Charlotte!

I have been checking out the newspapers from the time but have not found any escapes. I can't even find the guy after he got out of prison. I have a newspaper article saying he was released in the last year (1902), but then... nothing after. No location for him, no death. I'm not sure if he was actually born in Tioga County like I said, or if he was born of a marriage or not. It's possible not, but I'm not sure.
Well it was certainly worth a shot. LoL

Do you have his inmate number? You could possibly request a copy of his inmate file from the penitentiary and it will even have a mug shot of him (if one was taken) & his details.
+16 votes
I think I have bit off more than I can chew....  It first started with Sarah Graham-9102, b. 1818 SC, lived in married in MS.  Looking for her parents?

OK first decide to find every graham in SC, so I started building trees of SC Graham's,  As I add, Wiki match offers possibilities, Great (over 10,000 Graham's here) but many don't have sources or location, OK change in plan.

Now plan on fixing every Graham on Wiki, do the research, find sources, and fill in location, so I can find Sarah's parents.  I go to the unsourced Graham list and start working, three days later and 100+ profiles and there spouses later, Think I making progress (original list was four columns wide, 3=100) I move to the next page and now there are two new columns.  there growing faster than I can remove them!

Rethinking my strategy!
by L S G2G6 Mach 1 (14.5k points)
Please   tell me where SC is?
Not absolutely sure what she means, but SC  stands for the state of South Carolina in the United States.
Yep, South Carolina ... Linda gave the Wikitree ID so, Sarah's profile is at:  https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Graham-9102
Linda, the struggle is real!  I completely understand what you are talking about as I have been here too many times to count.  We should have the whole world mapped in a pedigree chart by now, with all the extra work we have done, shouldn't we?
+15 votes
I think if I had to choose a theme song for my genealogical life it would be..." If I could turn back time"  (Cher)

What song would you choose?
by Rionne Brooks G2G6 Mach 7 (71.1k points)
Oh, so many choices .... 'Another one bites the dust' ... that being another profile transferred from my source to Wikitree ...
"If I could put time in a bottle" the first thing ..... I'd make it a bottle of Bourbon.
+14 votes
Well I'm sort of resting on my laurels this weekend as I've completed the things I wanted to have done by Dec 5, the first anniversary of my joining WikiTree.  I'm in the top 25 on G2G at 213,000+ and well over the 5000 contributions I wanted.  I've been learning a lot about sourcing lately and the next year this time I'll see if I can pass 15,000 contributions.  I do still have a lot of projects and commitments I need to work on this coming year, though, so we'll see...  Well, I hope I'll be seeing better as I'm, getting cataract surgery on the 15th and in January on the other eye if things go ok on the first one.  

It's relatively cold here now in Tempe with lows in the 40's
by Dave Dardinger G2G6 Pilot (437k points)
Congrats! And I'm glad I'm not the only one on Wiki who is so goal oriented!
Congrats Dave , always great to achieve the goals you worked for so hard .

My mum has had a cataract surgery a few months ago and her eyes now are almost even better than mine, she could trow away her glasses !  She only needs one for reading now (just like me ;) ) You will have to do without Wiki Tree for a while after the operation though, and my mum had to wear sunglasses for a while and wasn't allow to go on the computer or watch a lot of television (your eyes need rest and the light is hurting your eyes in the beginning my mum said) So good luck and just don't worry to much .. my mum is really happy with her improved sight :)

Here temperatures are switching , one day it's freezing cold and the next it's not. No snow ..I hope we will have some this year when it's Christmas ...
+15 votes

lt's been a hard week for those affected by the fires still raging around Gatlinburg, Tennessee, USA which has consumed over 15,000 acres of the Great Smoky Mountains. Eleven people perished. 

Also more than a dozen tornadoes hit the central states Tuesday and early Wednesday, killing three people in Alabama and two more in Tennessee. So not a good week for us here.

On a happier note, Christmas Decorations are up!!! Now to complete the shopping!!  But.. I might be a Wikitreer if I participate in the Week End Chat and other activities on here instead!! I just loved that post: https://www.wikitree.com/g2g/324194/you-might-be-a-wikitreeer-if  ......

 

by Dorothy Barry G2G Astronaut (2.7m points)

Aah that really sounds bad ... really sad to hear people were killed and must be very hard for their families ...hope it will calm down over there so people will have some rest and prepare for and enjoy Christmas. 

Hahaha yes it really is a great post  ! Still smiling :D

+11 votes
I'm a Wikitreer! I made homemade cranberry sauce last night in preparation for Thanksgiving dinner 2.0 at my grandparents'. Am now wondering why buy the stuff in a can? Homemade Is delicious. I'm looking forward to talking with Grandma and Grandad Foulk about the family tree.
by Kari Wentworth G2G6 Mach 1 (10.5k points)
+12 votes
I joined Wiki about a year ago when I had a bad head cold and stayed home with cold medicine and my laptop.  Yipes, I've come a long way, and I have even more in the future.

Yesterday I discovered & sourced another black sheep; his wife divorced for "abandonment" and he left for California.   Their first child died at 13 months and I imagine things were painful.  (His first name was "Moses")  

Meanwhile, it's holiday time; I've sent out cards and I'm planning to take December in stages.  I've started sourcing the "Ayers" in my (ha ha) spare time, and I'm singing in a Cantata this month.  Cheers to all, and thanks for being patient with newbies!  -- Janine
by Janine Barber G2G6 Pilot (227k points)
+10 votes
Well I was a little worried about my goal of a 1,000 contributions a month. I seem to be caught up in contributions that don't add to the count, but I guess I need not have worried as I am over 137. I adopted 9 profiles and 8 were unsourced, since 7 were related it went much faster than expected. I might even adopt a few more. Had the wondrous surprise of only 1 DB error in my first 9 generations. It seems like every week they come up with a new DB error and I fall behind. Also was surprised when I looked up one of my great great great grandmothers whose profile I thought I had improved, but turns out I didn't and her mother's  profile and hers were reversed. 3 aunts and an uncle are back to being siblings with much improved profiles - 6 to go.  This wikitreer never sleeps!
by Susan Fitzmaurice G2G6 Mach 6 (61.8k points)
+11 votes
Thanks to a new DNA cousin, I just broke down a brick wall I have had for over 30 years!  A big hole was filled in this week!  Big Yay!!

On a not as good note, I have been working a case which involves people who migrated to Oklahoma around 1850-1880.  They have fallen off the face of the earth and I cannot find them anywhere!

We are preparing for colder weather next week and possibly snow.  Snow in the Seattle area means a light dusting and then it melts.  But we do lose our power here A LOT.  That is really our biggest concern.

Happy hunting this week to all!
by Emma MacBeath G2G Astronaut (1.2m points)
Great on the brick wall down.
+8 votes
Hi everyone!

I've been spending more time here than anticipated this weekend. I've been attempting to take care of some unsourced profiles while listening to Christmas music while my wife prepares the Christmas cards to be sent out. Our youngest (age 11) has a friend over so he's taking care of keeping himself occupied. :)
by Tim Bittner G2G6 Mach 2 (29.8k points)
+4 votes
Well darn the weekend went by too fast for me. I wasn't able to get much in the way of genealogy done due to several issues. Shopping for essentials, taking over for my dad at the hospital to sit with my aunt (kidney stone), working on & finishing up a couple of projects for the family Christmas party yesterday. Then yesterday was decorating my parents tree, finishing the painting for mom's present and then going to the party! LOL

 

I did get a $25 certificate for Amazon and bought a couple eBooks: "After You're Gone" by Thomas MacEntee, 50th anniversary edition of the Genealogical Standards. I did get "Guide to DNA testing" by Richard Hill but thankfully it was only $0.99 as it wasn't what I expected. If someone asks which DNA test is best etc send them to this book as it goes through & explains each test.

Now my question: what book on Amazon in regards to DNA would be great for someone who wants to learn more about reading chromosomes & what it means relationship wise etc. I ask for a DNA genealogy for dummies book but it has yet to come out. LoL I was looking at "The family tree guide to DNA testing & genetic genealogy" by Blaine Bettinger but is there another out there that may be better. Thanks in advance! :)
by Charlotte Shockey G2G6 Pilot (979k points)

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