"Welcome to the Weekend Chat!" All Members Invited!! August 23rd-25th, 2019 [closed]

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CHANGE TO BEST ANSWER PROCESS:  After much discussion we have come to the conclusion that all answers in the Weekend Chat are of equal importance and weight.  So we are going to discontinue the Best Answer portion as it adds points and then takes them away from posters and is causing some hurt feelings.  So in the interest of everyone being 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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Comments

I have to thank the seasons for their -- what? is it a procession or a progression? Dunno. The earth rotates, and the earth orbits, and the seasons "change" not necessarily by the calendar or clock in terms of when leaves bud on trees and when leaves turn colors and limbs are bare ... granted, there's that moment when something happens and whatever was S goes N and 6 months later it reverses ... never paid much attention to that ...

And what possible use do I have for an equinox or a solstice? Yes? It occurs, they occur, there's a fuss made by the Media but do the Media explain why this "event" is of importance to me, my life? Not that I have noticed.

But the seasons as I see them over the course of the year in my yard and neighborhood, that MEANS something to me ...  

On the Genealogical front it's putting together cousin marriages--  which seem to be overly abundant among my various ties and connections by marriage and by blood, but that opinion (mine) has never moved a mountain nor changed the Past into a shiny star I could put atop the tree ... so.  Pull a thread here and if I'm lucky the tangle is no longer there, I see how it fits together ...  neither my liking nor my approval of events Past has anything to do with fitting this all together ...

There was a nice exposition on William the Conqueror and on Richard III which came up during a discussion on .... what? Oh, Y-DNA back to William the Conqueror? No, it is said ON PAPER there were no male descendants. So the best one can say is that -- since not ALL males on this planet have had their DNA test done -- no male descendants have (yet) been discovered.  Nor likely to be during our lifetime?

And as for Richard III, there is a mtDNA trail to his mother, Cecily Neville. So Richard III had sisters at least -- I discount the statement that it was an mtDNA trail to RICHARD, because ... ahem. Well, unless there's been some serious secrets kept til now, he was male

Tell you da truf, one man's fatigue -- and him trying to type out a statement or series thereof while 2/3 asleep  -- can leave the rest of us gasping in wonder or even in shock ... No surprises there, on what fatigue will do to communication, it's happened to me too

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Lynette, I read that article and thought, “Hey! It’s not so bad here!”

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The usual way to report a death is to file a tax return and mark them deceased with day of death. You can add a 1310 if there is a refund to put down the details of the person claiming the refund.

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Sue, we gave DCs. Mom didn't file taxes. Her SS stopped the month she died. We gave the credit union a copy of her DC, they wrote off her credit card bill. I think she had credit life. A couple other things we gave a copy of the DC.  The DC should have the SS#.  The FAG can be of anyone. But the DC proves its the person.

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Pip, I think ours is part petrified lake and maybe part volcanic pressure. There's an inactive volcano just a bit north of me. We don't have a good topsoil here. And in the 1000s of years past the winds blew, It litterally blew the soil off. This area has a high boron content, indicating a dry fresh later lake bed. And was in the middle of the 20 Mule Team route.

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Lynette, I really got to start seeing more of this beautiful and fascinating country of ours! You’re so geographically minded.

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Pip,

How do you divide zebra grass? I just got a clump last year and it's expanding like crazy. Do you just cut it in half with a shovel?

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This is a winter project. I have to wait for it to die back. I use the same method I used on irises and red hot pokers. Dig around and a little under the zebra grass. Put your shovel right in the middle and drive it straight down and pry it out. If it is a really big one like the two we need to move, you can cut it into fours.

Wherever it’s going, I always prep the ground first. Huge hole, wide and deep, with a little bit of potting soil mixed in. Plant and water well to get the air out. In the spring, you’ll be surprised to see how zebra grass can take a beating and keep on ticking! The next year, even better.

We’ve learned not to plant anything close to zebra grass.

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Pip, I'm on the eastern side of the lower Sierra Nevada Mountain in the Indian Wells Valley that is about 28 miles wide in any direction.  I'm a few miles south of Truckee and the Donner Pass, and the Mammoth Mountains.  I'm 80 miles south of Mt Whitney. I'm 80 miles west of Death Valley. I'm 50 miles from the junction of the San Andreas and Garlock faults, just north is the volcano where the Corps of Engineers put in a Geothermal power plant which the volcano hasn't erupted in about 10,000 years. And all the quakes we are having are moving towards that area.

http://scedc.caltech.edu/recent/Maps/118-36.html

And the only thing that actually thrives here is creosote, cactus, and sidewinders, both the reptile  and the Missle. And a few othere creepy crawly things.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ridgecrest,_California

And this is my desert https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mojave_Desert

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Pip,

Thanks for the information. I will try that when it starts raining. I bought the clump and stuck it in the ground and thought it died last year. I searched and couldn't find it. This year in the Spring it was really visible. I have grown to like grasses for their drought tolerance and have a lot of varieties. I have zebra, mondo, and pampas along with others. Funny thing is, I don't have much of a lawn where grass should be. :)

Answer 1

Great write up as always Pip.

Hope all Wikitree'ers are having a good Friday, or intending to have one.

Slow rain sliding across Central Pennsylvania today, no outside work will get done.

Had a great week corresponding with folks working on distant cousins, and even received some pictures from "the picture lady of Denmark." Thank-you Susan.

As you are traveling in your vehicle over the highways this weekend to visit family and friends, remember to keep all 4 tires underneath you. The ride will be much smoother.

Comments

Hi there, Rodney! 

I'm headed outside to beat the rain on the way. Not much getting done lately due to all the rain and lightning.

"The picture lady of Denmark" I LOVE that!

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That slow rain just finished sliding across Indiana, so we're happy to send it your way. We were awfully short on rain in recent times, so it was well-needed. I suspect that by Saturday afternoon, the ground will dry enough around here to do lawn cutting, so I'll be doing my outside work this weekend. We're also sending cooler weather your way, so it seems to me it's the early hints of fall coming.

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Yes Scott, right now the weather lady is saying next 4 days will be in the 70's. We will take it.

Answer 2

Great post Pip! You are an inspiration and yet bring us all back down to earth at the same time. My roots are far more scattered and it is quite an endeavor to bring all the branches together. I suppose it is a good thing that none of my particular branches left the Northeast!

This week I received an email from FamilySearch that changed the immediate focus of my research. I didn't even know that they sent out emails! I don't know if it was last year, or earlier this year, but I got locked out of my FamilySearch account. I tried to call them and follow their advice, but I still could not access my account. So, I decided to create a new account with a different email and, I hate to admit this, I used my husband's name just in case. I was prompted to add some of his family, which I did. He is from Colombia and I have not been very successful find any records at all.

Lo and behold, I get an email with a record hit from FamilySearch! It was from my husband's family, but not a name I recognized. I queried and he admitted that he never told me about this aunt of his. Not for any particular reason, he just never mentioned it (he does not have the genealogy bug). She was a Roman Catholic nun. Her discovery led to many, many more records and I am updating FamilySearch and Wikitree at the same time. These are his father's ancestors who probably have some European ancestry, specifically Spain. My husband had his DNA tested and he is equal parts mestizo, Native American, and Spanish (European). I think his mother's family is entirely mestizo and Native American and that someone in his father's line married someone who was mestizo and Native American. I probably know who because there is no records for his grandmother. There are also no records for any of his mother's family that I can find so far.

This is all very exciting and my husband (who cannot understand my fascination with dead people) is interested to know who the immigrant was. He would like to know if he is descended from conquistadors or, hopefully, not. He's pretty much anti-raping and pillaging. I don't know how I can figure this out, but I'll try to find all the records I can. I thought his son and granddaughters would be interested. Interestingly, they are Russian and live in Russia.

Comments

You have such an interesting family Lucy!  

Best of luck with the conquistadors, that sounds like a fun project. Its far enough back that he won't be able to lay claim to very much DNA, if that's any consolation.

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Sounds like it's time for some good old Lucy-style detective work. I hope you are successful in find some records somewhere! The mestizo will be the hardest, but there just might be a church record out there waiting for your discovery.

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Sometimes I think Google Translate is my only friend...

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Wow - now that's a word I'd NEVER heard before. Mestizo... had to look it up. Mixed race. Latin and indigenous descent. Now that's fascinating! I'm going to have to ask my wife who has some Spanish heritage - I am unfortunately sadly deficient in that category.

Guess you learn something new by paying attention to these chats...

Answer 3

Today is.....

        

NATIONAL SPONGE CAKE DAY

On August 23rd, enjoy National Sponge Cake Day with the quintessential classic of the cake world. This airy queen of teas is the guest of honor, but we get the pleasure of tasting! 

One of the trickiest cakes for bakers to master, a perfect sponge stands tall. Another balancing trick for bakers includes maintaining a fine crumb while keeping the cake moist. If you enjoy layering berries and whipped cream, the sponge handles this task beautifully. 

The sponge cake is believed to be one of the first non-yeasted cakes. 

The sponge cake is thought to have originated in the Caribbean. However, the earliest English printed recipe for sponge cake comes from an English poet and author, Gervase Markham. In 1615 he published a sponge cake recipe in the book The English Huswife, Containing the Inward and Outward Virtues Which Ought to Be in a Complete Woman.

I can’t knit or make plum jam, but I can bake a bloody Victoria sponge. ~ Helen Mirren as Chris in Calendar Girls (2003)

In 2003, the sponge cake played a role in a scene the movie Calendar Girlsstarring Helen Mirren. In the scene, Mirren’s character, Chris, enters a baking competition. However, she forgets she entered and instead of entering a sponge cake of her own making, she submits a store-bought Victoria sponge cake.

HOW TO OBSERVE #SpongeCakeDay

Get some sponge cake and enjoy. Or, if you are up to the challenge, try this Glorious Sponge Cake recipe. 

Comments

Dorothy,

I tried one of last weeks recipes!   It was the Ice Cream Pie with Chocolate/Rice Puffs crust.   (I made some modifications to substitute splenda for sugar...... always watching the a1c levels.)    It was a hit but looked a bit messy; probably because  I don't like the texture of refrozen ice cream,  so I didn't let the ice cream get too soft.

Thanks for inspiring us to try new recipes!

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My favourite cake with berries, and it is the season!  Thanks Dorothy

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Me, too, Laurie. One of our favorite desserts here (while dieting) is sugar-free sponge cake, sugar-free Cool Whip, and no-sugar-added berries.

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Isn't it Sponge Cake that gets used with a Strawberry Shortcake? Got to look that up...

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Scott,
Many use sponge cake with strawberry shortcake...... I prefer a short bread instead.   Probably just depends on what your grandmother did!!!

Answer 4

The monsoons aren't over yet in beautiful southeastern Arizona. Was disappointed when the rain stayed to the west of here on Wednesday, but the clouds created a spectacular sunset. Yesterday we got a wonderful soaking. No thunder or lightning typical of a monsoon storm, but strong winds made the rain come down almost vertically. My entire balcony got drenched and I had to rush to close the patio door.

Again spent most of this week researching the Militia Laws of 1792 but can't find much information. I did find the law enacted by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in June of 1793 in response to the Federal mandate. Since this law affected so many men, I find it surprising that more information isn't readily available. So I'm going to put this part of the novel on hold and write about other matters.

WikiTree: Why did I ever feel that I should extend the family of my first cousin 3x removed? I admit I've been spoiled by the ease of finding information for my Massachusetts ancestors. Archived vital records and town histories are abundant for them. I didn't realize this type of information wasn't available for Maryland. Hopefully someone with paid Ancestry access will be able to fill in their gap. So I'm going to put the Fulton family on hold and return to closer relations as there are several for whom I'd like to write more detailed biographies.

Comments

I also agreed to research the family of my 1st Cousin's wife.   She was from Massachusetts and her family had deep roots there.   The depth and volume of records in Massachusetts was a pleasant shock!   Maiden names were EASY to find.    I was accustomed to Arkansas, Tennessee, Kentucky, Kansas, North Carolina records.   Oh well,  back to my own family brick walls.

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I'm beginning to call this search my own personal "Fulton's Folly" lol I even went so far as to create a profile space Fulton Families in Muskingum County to record who was mentioned in the early county histories. After I finished, I doubted that my Robert Fulton was a son of the James mentioned in the histories. But, maybe another WikiKin will find it useful

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Diane, I've just started going back over my older profiles (badly sourced with no bios). So, instead of adding more profiles, I'm getting those bios done... finally!

Wish the records had been kept better in Tennessee, like you've found in Massachusetts.

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Way to go on getting bios done, Pip!

Started working my way back through my original profiles to add detailed bios and more sources. While trying to find a source for my aunt's second marriage, I came across mention of her in an obituary import for her brother. Oh my! It was such a mess. The siblings were listed as his children while his wife, children and grandchildren were listed as unknowns. I used the error button and posted all the correct family connections. Since my uncle was one of ten children and had six of his own plus grandchildren, I was thankful I had my aunt's family listing to follow! It took over an hour to sort these relations lol

Answer 5

Southern Sweden has real summer weather today, and it is beautiful outside.

This week I got a help finding a family member using Anbytarforum, a forum for Swedish genealogy.

It can be useful to google for Swedish names and places adding "anbytarforum" to the search, because there's a lot of information in those forums, and they've been going on since 1998 or so.

You need an account to post questions.

Below: Botanical garden in Lund, lunchtime today.

Comments

Beautiful garden.   Enjoy your forum AND the weather.

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So pretty!  Enjoy the summer weather.

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Lovely, just lovely, Maria. I know a lot of time went into making that garden beautiful.

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Oh that is beautiful!

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Thank you :) but remember, it's not my garden, it's Lund Botanical Garden 

Answer 6

Nothing major to report this week. Still plodding along adding sources to profiles that even the suggestion report does not catch as being unsourced and trying to reduce my watchlist, the last one seems to be a losing battle. They have torn down three homes so far in my neighborhood, including one next to mine and one behind mine, and I found out that those lots are going to be the first to get new homes. I am also getting ready for next weekend's Geauga County Fair. I will be working at the fair on Thursday and I will be there with my father for "senior day" when he and I will get in free. I will be a standby "walker" on that day, that means I will be on the lookout for any lost people ao any patron who would need assistance.

I love that you are finding that your relatives came from the same area as you Pip. My relatives came from all over the world but imagine my reaction when I discovered that a distant relative built the first house I bought. That house was built over 150 years ago.

Comments

That must have been a surprise Dale!  The world is small sometimes.

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Dale, I've also been reducing my watchlist. I've got it below 2000 (the Connect-a-thon killed me). Now I've found that some of the profiles I orphaned, even a while back, are popping up again in newer sources.

What I did accomplish this week is reducing my suggestions down to five (from 142!).

I've actually been surprised at the number of profiles I come across that are unsourced but not labeled so.

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Pip, My watchlist is over 4900 and my suggestion list is over 200. The profiles I am finding have no real sources but due to the way they are written they look like they are sourced to the computer program making the suggestion list. A lot of the suggestions on the list of profiles I manage actually have sources but again they look unsourced to the program making the suggestions. for those reasons I am ignoring the suggestion list and fixing the profiles by adding sources in a way that the program can see they are sourced, and so that they have actual sources. My problem is when I start reducing the watchlist another rabbit hole appears and the numbers go up, not down.

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Rabbit holes: the bane of reducing watch lists!

Answer 7

Thanks for being there for us once again Pip!!  Once again you posted an incredible introduction for the WeekEnd Chat.   I certainly look forward to reading your  "stories" since you have such a gift for bringing them to life. 

Weather  has been on the hot and humid side this week in Catoosa County, Georgia;   but not unbearable.    Just need to get outdoor things done in the early morning.  

Genealogy  work hasn’t been particularly focused.    Have been working a college era friend’s  family line; he died last January.  Jace and his wife Janet (also known her since 1971) had no children so I decided to make sure his family was properly researched.  Thankfully his name is unusual,   since I don’t have anyone to interview besides his widow.     But I lost focus when a merge was proposed on my Sisk family line; and so the story goes.     I also didn’t get around to scanning some photos…… but next week is available for catching up with the goals.

WikiTree milestones:   Within the week I’ll probably be a WikiTree Pilot!   Seems like a title with RESPONSIBILITY and  I’ll certainly try to fill the shoes.   However,  I’ll admit my heart really lies with creating and improving profiles;  but I learn so much on G-2-G I acknowledge it’s a very important part of the  WikiTree process.  And there are such incredible people to associate with……. It’s like having a caring family filled with geniuses and highly motivated cousins; what more could you want?? 

The Lightning Strike:   We’ve now recovered from the damage to our computers,  it was time consuming and exhausting trying to troubleshoot.     You’ve heard the saying;  “Behind Every Great Man,  There’s A Woman”…..    Here’s my version of how that was implemented in our home.    My husband Roger is the family computer hardware expert  (sort of my own IT Department)…. But he was exhausted from troubleshooting and repairing 3 damaged computers.   We also had to replace the “fried” router and he hadn’t ever installed a router.   All computers were functioning again. He installed the new router and it didn’t work.  (Frustration was evident.)   So I read the installation instructions to him line by line as he implemented each step.    I understood the first 4 or 5 steps .   But the next step I read aloud  made me think  “What in the world ????”;  then he said  “OK that’s done,  what next?”  I continued  displaying nothing but confidence.   We went through three or four more befuddling  (to me) steps with him saying   “OK, what’s next? ”….  And then it worked.   Back in action.

 

I  hope you’al  will  join me in having a GREAT WEEKEND.

Comments

Glad you're back in action Peggy!

Congrats on the pilot-to-be. I think we generally contribute a lot to the environment around us. Seems to me that you might show some qualities on WT that draw geniuses and highly motivated cousins.

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Peggy, you have been busy! So glad you're back in action. Hot and humid across the mountains from you. Pop-ups almost every day.

I, too, have a penchant for folks who didn't have any kids, and I try to make sure that they have good bios and such.

G2G is like a school for me. I read nearly every post, and many of them answer questions before I need to ask them Love the funny stuff, too!

Answer 8

Hails and horns, Wikipeeps!

I have had a seriously interesting genealogical adventure this week. But, first let's get a few things out of the way.

I wrote about tragedy this week. You can see the blog here: https://allroadhaverhill.blogspot.com/2019/08/52-ancestors-week-34-tragedy.html 

Natural disasters and a father dying just after his kid was born. You can't make this stuff up. You really can't!

Now for the main event. I think I might have a HUGE lead on the brick wall that is Domenica Gullo.

I was going through my great-aunt's DNA matches and I typed in "Gullo" in the search on Ancestry. You should totally make use of the last name search. Saves so much time.

She shares 19 cMs with a woman who has a lady named "Santa Gullo" in her tree. I do some investigating and this person also matches my father. Doesn't match me.

I figured I'd make a floating tree for her. What's the harm, right? I check out the tree and see the following:

Santa Gullo

Born: 2 Feb 1871 in San Pietro a Maida.

Died: 5 Oct 1961

She was married to a guy named Giovanni Domenico Mediglia. I found his immigration papers. He was also from San Pietro a Maida. The bells in my head are doing the red alert sound effect from Star Trek at this point.

The plan is to e-mail the commune and see if I can get info on Santa. She could be a sister to Domenica. OR a first cousin. It's hard to say. The DNA is there. Just a matter of building the bridge.

On the non genealogy front, though it kinda IS genealogy....

Planning on sending a Christmas card to relatives in Italy. Should be good. I'll write it in English. No glitter, though. Don't want to start an international incident. You only send glitter to people you hate. There's a website devoted to that ya know. The person I am sending it too is an English teacher. So, she can translate. Should be fun. I have an idea of what to say. Just don't know what I can send with it. Ideas are welcome! Will be sending after Thanksgiving. 

Comments

Oh geez, no glitter.  We went to Disneyworld when my kid was 5 and the fairy in the gift shop sprinkled (ok, dumped) "fairy dust" in her hair.  Months later I was still finding bits of glitter glued to her scalp.  That stuff is evil.

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For the most part it's the obvious things. Stuff like you can bring in outside food, but there could be surcharges if the kitchen is open, or discounts if you order through the kitchen, so it can get complicated. Same with the bar - typically all the alcohol has to run through the bar instead of being brought in from outside, although they'll make exceptions if you're a member and such.

And there's charges for pretty much everything that constitutes an add-on. You can bring all your own decorations, but we'll often provide tablecloths, chair covers, extra tables, sterno setups for keeping food warm, DJ's, live band, etc. all for a fee. The prices are generally pretty reasonable even for non-members, and for members they're even better, so good if you know a member who is willing to rent the hall for you.

There's a few obvious things - like alcohol to minors, drinking in the parking lot, and acting like an idiot that are major no-no's, and acting like the world is your trash can and dumping in the parking lot is up there pretty high too on the list of "that group will never return here".

There's also a cleaning and damage deposit and trust me, if glitter is found, you'll never see that money again. Now there's always what I call "residual" glitter - you know, decorations that have glittery surfaces where a tiny portion of that rubs off during the party. We're not quite that stupid, but even so, people roll their eyes the next day and assume there was a TON there and only some of it got cleaned up, even though it's more likely that no glitter was used and it's just that little bit from decorations.

I can print you off a copy of their rental agreement if you're really interested. My understanding is that our hall here in Indianapolis is one of the least expensive rentals in town, although the room is a bit older and does need some updating. Odds are you'd be more interested in one closer to you, but if you want to compare and contrast, feel free.

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@ Dale: Totally going to watch Star Trek: Picard. That's gonna be awesome! Did you see the comic con trailer?

@ Lisa: The Happiest place on Earth always wants to leave their mark. =)

@ Scott: I think you covered the basics. I've never been into the town VFW building. It's just right adjacent to my dad's dental practice. We share a parking lot. So, sometimes when the office closes, people tend to use our parking lot.

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Chris, I have seen all the Star Trek shows so Picard is a yes and we have seen all of the trailers/ previews so far, I even got Diane hooked on Star Trek.

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Awesome! I like how Seven is a lot more human now. I also wonder if we'll get a DS9 reference. I know one character is going to be a Trill.

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I can't say that I've got the CBS app - not paying for it. So all new Star Trek will be a year in arrears if at all. Just recently rented ST Discovery blue ray from the library and have started watching. Not terribly impressed, but I'm an original series kind of guy. If their attempt was to capture pre-TOS days, they failed miserably. If they were trying to present a Star Wars type epic show in a Star Trek format - they did a pretty decent job. I just try to remember that it's just a TV show and Shatner's "Get a Life" SNL comments are always applicable.

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I think as of Season 3, the Discovery crew has been sent a thousand years into the future. So there's more possibilities. We shall see what happens. I haven't watched much of it myself. I have, though, watched sfdebris's reviews of it. You should check his stuff out: https://sfdebris.com/

His Star Trek reviews are pretty good and he reviewed most of Trek from TOS to Enterprise already.

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Scott, We cut the cable over a year ago and CBS All Access  is worth the price for us. They have a lot of older shows that we like, not just Star Trek, as well as all of the Star Trek TV series. We have a few pay streaming services and it is still cheaper than the cable bill plus we choose what services we wand and do not pay for those we don't want.

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We cut the cable too, but just haven't enough interest in the CBS app to pay for it. I watch mostly stuff I can get to for free, like network TV and the Amazon Prime shows. My wife likes some Netflix and mostly Hulu. I watched BritBox to see all the classic Doctor Who's, but have made it all the way through now and am ready to cancel.

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Scott, We watch mostly CBS shows for the new stuff so the CBS app works for us

Answer 9

Greetings WikiKin,

It's a beautiful day here in southeast Michigan. It was kind of hot earlier this week but now it's pretty much perfect, and should be all weekend. That's nice, because we're not going swimming this weekend, we're going to our parish festival.

It's a Slovak Festival; we attend a Slovak parish. We're not Slovak, but neither are most parishioners. Only one Holy Mass at our parish is in Slovak. Another one is in Latin, the other four rest are in English. We haven't been to the festival before. We started attending mass at this parish two years ago this month, immediately after the festival that year. last year, I think we were on vacation at the time.

In the world of genealogy, I have been doing a little more at the other sites this week. Here at WikiTree, I've mostly just been keeping {{Unsourced|Michigan}} in the upper seventies the best I can.

I've also just started working on a Washtenaw County page for the Michigan Project. I grew up in Washtenaw County, mostly. I wasn't born there, and I don't live there now, but the town I consider my hometown is there. Also, my paternal grandfather's family lived there for about a hundred years.

I don't think I've done anything for the Fullers this week at WikiTree. I did have a prolific Find-a-Graver transfer all his Jackson County (where I was born) Fullers to me. I think there were about 15. In time, I'll make sure they all have profiles here (with more sources than F-A-G).

Comments

Thomas, you and I share an ancestor, Hans Herr. Have you done any research on his children at all?

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Just once, I'd like to attend a service in Slovak. I'll have to settle for the 1928 BCP.

Thomas, all of y'all recovered from that spate of illness?

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I attended a memorial service at a Slovenian Church that was done in that language. It was for Diane's father. All of her grandparents were Slovenian.

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Pip, we're mostly recovered. My wife finally seems to be getting better.

Answer 10

Currently, it's 20˚ C and partly cloudy in Fort Erie, heading for a predicted high of 22˚ C, and a low tonight of 14˚ C. For the past couple of days, we've had a break from the tropical (literally!) temperatures that we had been sweating through for most of the summer. It feels like we're heading into my favourite time of the year here¹, when I can walk outside and not feel like I'm in a sauna. (Or, for that matter, just leave all the windows open, and let the breezes blow where they may.)

Pip, we'll be right down to drop off some furniture for your wife to give some TLC to. They're heirlooms from the light of my life and the delight of my eyes' side of the family (plus a dresser that I got from our pastor and an antique rocking chair she picked up off the curb), and I have neither the tools, nor the skills, nor the money to give them the repairs they need (at least, not to the level of quality they deserve).

Having finished a first pass of comparing Slades on SladeGenealogy.net with Slades on WikiTree, I can now say that there are 416 profiles in common between the two sites, which is about 3.6% of the Slades on SladeGenealogy.net. Of those, 286 (2.5%) have sources other than SladeGenealogy.net (which I file under "See also:"), and 406 (3.5%) are connected to the main tree here. (I'm not diving in on adding the rest of them, because I have... what was it called again? Oh, yes. A "life". One or two here and there to connect unconnected branches, sure. Adding wholesale Slades by the thousand is not at the top of my priority list.)

I have turned my attention back to Slades on ThePeerage.com. For this pass, I'm checking up on the sourcing level for each Slade, and improving the sources where I can. The sourcing levels I'm using are as follows:

3 = 3 or more primary sources, possibly plus secondary sources

2 = 2 primary sources, possibly plus secondary sources

1 = 1 primary source, possibly plus secondary sources

0.5 = One or more secondary sources, no primary sources

0 = Unsourced or unavailable for analysis due to privacy settings

When I remember, I'm adding the {{Unsourced}} template to profiles at level 0, and a Needs More Records category to profiles between 0.5 and 2.

Also, I am trying (without success so far) to connect Henry William Newlands, who was Acting Commissioner of the Yukon for a few months. His family tree sprawls from Scotland to British Columbia, but can I find a connection anywhere? Noooooo!

1. In B.C., I used to live for the summers. Here, they're unendurable without air conditioning, which we don't have.

Comments

I should probably add that the percentage of (deceased) notable Slades from Wikipedia with sources on their profile (other than Wikipedia) has topped out at 89.7% and not budged in weeks. Not because I don't care, but because I'm stumped. If anybody can provide primary sources for:

• Samuel Slade
• Thomas Howell Slade Jr.
• William Slade

please do!

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I see some Nova Scotia in your Newlands profiles, Greg, so I'm going to jump down the rabbit hole for a bit and see if I can add to your good work.

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Thank you, Laurie!

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Greg, heirlooms = memory. And you're right, TLC is just what they need. The more of that, the longer they last. Now, to find someone in the family who'll appreciate them.

Like that rating system!

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That was a fun Friday rabbit hole Greg, so thank you!  Most members of this family married into other immigrant families, some recent enough that there could be records in Europe, but I'd be fumbling. However, I did find a Nova Scotia girl, and now WT shows that Henry Williams Newlands' first cousin's wife's brother's wife was my second-cousin. 

Enjoy your Saturday

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Wow. That's pretty cool that you ended up finding out that you're actually related to Henry Newlands. I remember my surprise and pleasure at discovering that Douglas McCurdy was my second great aunt's daughter-in-law's first cousin once removed. It's a long and tortuous relationship path, but we are related!

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So many branches have been connected during and since the Connect-A-Thon that a number of jurisdictions on the Let others know what locations you are working on page are now empty. Aside from trying to find unconnected branches to bring those jurisdictions up to 5 unconnected branches each (if I can), I'm also looking for notables: heads of state or heads of government for countries, premiers and lieutenant governors for provinces, and governors for states. Once I've added as many politicians as I can, I'll be looking for other notables: composers, authors, Nobel laureates, etc.

I'm working up from the bottom of the list on politicians, and for now, I'm not creating profiles for people who don't have them, like Rhodri Morgan for Wales, or any of the former Prime Ministers of Ukraine. So far, I have got at least two unconnected notables from the bottom of the list up as far as Nebraska. 

That burst of "Can you connect a [insert state name here] governor?" threads a while back got me to thinking that pretty much all of the state governors would end up being connected to the main tree in jig time, but that trend seemed to peter out, and there are a bunch of governors left to connect.

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Just so you know, Laurie, connecting Henry William Newlands vaulted the Can you help connect a Yukon Commissioner? challenge past three others and left it tied for 6th place in terms of percent complete with Can you help connect a Rhode Island Congressional Representative? Thank you so much.

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That's great news Greg!  Glad I could help.

Answer 11

The weather cooled down by the end of the week and has been pleasant. Could use slightly warmer at night to help the tomato harvest, but all is well with the garden.

The work on the Clan Society annual meeting is progressing nicely. Two weeks from now we'll be setup and open for business. The time consuming work (building frameworks for the backdrops to hang from and my wife creating tartan gift bags for the board) is almost done. Plenty of time to be prepared. Since many of the guests are from the Southeast and all at much lower altitude, we are preparing to help out if the weather turns cold. Weather for this event can range from 90ish (32-35C) and sunny to snowing. Any condition in between is also possible. Normal is 70-80F (21-27C) and sunny until the afternoon thunderstorm rolls through and brings some wind. Doesn't usually last very long.

Genealogically, not much has happened. I've started reading New Brunswick Was His Country, the Life of Willam Francis Ganong by Ronald Rees. I got interested in him when working on Canada Managed Profiles although I knew of him before then. Nice rabbit hole to chase down into.

Comments

That sounds like a nice summer read.  I've an Archibald cousin who married into the Moir clan, but haven't explored the Ganogs yet.  I'm tempted to say "Sweet!"

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Doug, we're going to have a high of 74 tomorrow, the lowest we've had in a long time.

Highland clan meeting for lowland members?

Answer 12

Trying to read books and give them to the library. I went through my collection on genetics, Seven daughters of Eve and Vikings, Saxons and Celts or something like that. Great reading but time to donate them. It tells of the work on mitochondrial DNA by the person in England who had access to the Iceman and Cheddar man. Puts everything in the long view. We are all related, even those other than New England (I can usually find 8th to 10th cousin for anyone going back to New England.) Now I am on to a book about the wars in England in the 17th century, sigh. This has a lot to do with why my New England Ancestors migrated.

Comments

Books are certainly one of my weaknesses........ about 20 years ago had to start a ban on buying books.   You're so disciplined by realizing you should donate them!

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I have a friend who cleaned up for a friend that died. It would be nice to get rid of as much as possible, Also giving it to the library may give it a second life so it doesn't go straight to the dump. Giving stuff away is an exercise in letting go. I didn't think I could give any books away until I reasoned, why am I keeping it, to read again? So the trick is I read it again. After that I can decide whether to give it or not. Turns out some stuff was picked up probably at a sale because I thought I might be interested. Sometimes I read a bit and decide, not really that interested...

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So like me!!!

We finally acknowledged it would be easier to check out books from the library than find them in our  HUGE MASS of books that were collecting dust.

Don't get me wrong,  I still have my "favorites" at home.

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Seven daughters of Eve and Vikings, Saxons and Celts: Sykes, right? I read the second - just fascinating.

Sue, we have two big books sales here, fortunately for us and all of our books. One is the library, the other the AAUW. We do get awfully cluttered around here with previously read books.

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Sue, I hear you about the books things. My wife and I have emptied the nest and filled it with all the books that were at storage. We're trying to sort through them so that we can get rid of ones we read and kept at the time, and find all the ones we wanted to read. Once read, they go back to half price store for a little cash but mostly because they are a no-kill shelter for books. I'm hopeful we can make a dent in them as I'd like to have my living room back one day.

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Our local library has a sale every fall and the money goes into the new books kitty.  It has been going on for several years and people know to contribute from about June to Oct.
It is a large city library and have room to sell around 10,000
donations of books, records, dvds, etc.  A week of $.50 to
$1.00, except for for some special collectables, and then a
week of a bag full sale.  They make a real haul because every thing is a donation to start with.  There is a large group of volunteers who organize every thing and they use a lot of the rooms that usually are closed, like The Napolean Room which is usually a "look through the doorway"
at his original collectibles donated by the large French im-
migrant population we had in the area.  Originally a house
was even built for him but he never resided here.  He died
first.

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That sounds like Asylum, Pennsylvania where a French Colony was built with places for the royalty who never made it there.

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Napolean's niece, (his brother lived in New Jersey) did live
in the area but he never made it.

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For a long time, I have dreamed of having a WikiTree genealogy library, stocked with tons of things like genealogy books, newsletters from genealogy societies, old phone books, and all that other stuff that most people other than genealogists would think is useless.

Trouble is, WikiTreers are everywhere, so having it in one place would deprive everybody else. Therefore, I have decided that we need to build that library on an ocean liner, and have it cruise around the world, visiting every WikiTreer within reasonable travelling distance of a port.

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Perfect Greg!    I love cruising so count me in on regular WikiTree cruises.

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I’ll join you!

Answer 13

Good evening from Europe,

on the personal front, mum is still fighting with the 1001 little things that were in the old drawers and that belong to the category "could be useful one day (or maybe never)". We also threw out one pile of drawers that she actually didn't like anymore (mainly because it made her difficulties to reach the 100+ cookbooks in the shelf behind), so now she is still putting all these little things where they should belong now.

On the genealogy front I focused again a bit more on MyHeritage this week, but one day I chose to clean up location fields in the Data Doctor Challenge. Collected some contributions there on my way to my 12th 1000+ contributions in a row.

In a mix of personal and genealogy front I wonder this week about the life of migrants who don't learn the language of their new country. I know because of the hashtag #resistancegenealogy that happened throughout all censuses and in all kind of regions, so I don't want it to become a political discussion! I only think that if you don't learn the language of your new home you have to stay in your quarter (to not call it "ghetto") where there are other people who understand you and your life is so much poorer, because you actually can't participate in the things that are important for the home society...

Pip, I got your email and it made my day already in the morning. I'm so glad that the translation is well readable and also happy that you enjoy reading the interview. You were always asking about the translation, so I sensed that you would like to read it.

This is it for now, have a great weekend everybody 

Comments

Your post has prompted me to think about my father, Jelena. He's an adventurer who collects a lot of stuff, because his memories are somehow tangled up with simple objects. At the same time, he's never managed to fully experience some of the places we've lived because of the language barrier.

Scientists say that languages are harder to learn as an adult, particularly for a person who is unilingual through childhood. Deep down I also think its partly a need to hold on to certain elements of his identity. He's quite content in his quarter, and always keeps one foot on the option of one day, perhaps, going home.

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Laurie, I know the saying that it's harder to learn a language as adult. I am a linguist myself. I'm not sure I agree though. I was raised unilingual because I first because of my disability didn't start to talk at all (all I could say at 2 years old was "Mama", "Papa", "Auto" and "nein") and when I finally started to talk I had understood that mum (who was the foreign language part of my parents) knew German. So I only learned Serbian when I was in Serbia or when someone of my Serbian family came over for a visit. Nowadays when I talk Serbian, my accent obviously gives me away within seconds (once someone who didn't know me heard me saying two sentences in Serbian and asked if I was German), and yes, I am not grammatically perfect, but the wool cannot be put on my eyes.

Germany made contracts more than 50 years ago with other countries to get workers in the at that time flourishing economy. My mother came 50 years ago with basic school knowledge of German. But she fast got to know my father who didn't know Serbian at all. My uncle had learned during WWII two or three years German at school. He came shortly after my mother to Germany and worked for most of his German working life mainly with Germans. His wife came with him, but worked mainly with Yugoslavians. That way she spoke far less German, and she was the one who spoke the worst German of those three. When my uncle retired, he went back to Serbia really fast. But that had mainly financial reasons. His pension in Germany wasn't that high that he could have financed a decent flat and living. In Serbia life is much cheaper even with a low German pension, especially because they could return in the flat where the mother of my aunt lived.

In general I know for example Turks, who live in  Germany for around 40 years and it's hard to communicate with them because they hardly know German. The German politics thought when they made the worker's agreements: "The men will work here for some time, earn money, and go back to their country after a few years". Because of that thinking they were put in barracks near their workplace and nobody really cared about integration or teaching them German  The return of the workers mostly didn't happen. On the contrary: The men had the possibility to get their families to Germany. The children went to school here, learned German. The children grew up with a "mixed" identity. They were no true Germans, but also no true Turks, Italians, Yugoslavians whatever. In Turkish there is even a special word for Turks that grew up abroad. You can translate it to English as "foreign Turks". Nowadays the integration of foreigners who come to Germany is (at least in the language teaching department) far better than what it was in the late 1960s. Politicians seem to have learned.

In my opinion when you want to learn a language, no matter at what age, it is important to have constant contact with that language, and not only through your textbook. Follow an internet portal or a newspaper. When you watch or hear something that goes viral worldwide, have a look if your foreign source also writes about it. (Stupid example, I know:) When you watch the Super Bowl and you know how the match was going, you can read about it in your target language. And even if you understand only one sentence in the whole article, your brain will memorize unconsciously some structures of the language and you will get used to it even better.

Seems like this response got far longer than I actually wanted. Doesn't matter though, that way y'all learn something about Germany ;)

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I agree with you about the importance of immersion. Right now I'm fluent in English and French, but I was often the family translator during those nomadic years, the most willing to jump in, figure it out and make mistakes, I suppose. Ich habe Deutch gesprechen, parlavo italiano, no habla Espanol mas, and I can't remember enough Cantonese to get that far,  but it comes back easier when there is a reason.

I'm in Canada now, and all the cities have a wide variety of strong cultural communities, with plenty of first-generation immigrants who struggle in English or French. In my view, we each make choices about what we will hold on to and where we will be flexible. I just think that sometimes its an personal, emotional choice, like your mother with her cookbooks.

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Jelena, my wife grew up from age four in Mexico City, and the curriculum at the American School required  all students to learn Spanish, no matter their country of origin (and there were plenty of foreign students). So, she is fluent in English and Spanish. 

Me? I grew up in a mono-lingual society that did not feel it was important to teach foreign languages. There were only language electives in school. Now, I wish I had stuck with it (or that it had been required!). Reading your posts here just may be the thing to re-enter the world of Spanish, especially if I can convince my wife to work with me on it.

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I wish I could have been able to take Italian in high school and college. Was never offered. I grew up knowing a few basic words and I learned Spanish instead. Took five years of it. Took it first year of college.

My grandmother spoke a bit of Italian. So did my dad. They taught me a few words here and there. And I learned some French from my mom's side.

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Laurie, the cookbooks will never ever be thrown away. Actually books in general will not be thrown away. Once neighbors moved out (years ago) and threw away dozens of books. Mum took out as much as she could from the trashcan for paper, took the books she wanted to keep for herself and brought the other books back in the house with a note: "I can't throw away books, please take as much as you want. What is left after 5 days, will be thrown away though." Out of those dozens of books after 5 days were left only 3. Mum now had a "tower" with five or 6 drawers in front of the cookbook shelf that made it difficult to reach the bookshelf. That is gone now.

About languages: I simply enjoy learning languages. One example, I think in February I started to learn Dutch, I knew we will go to Amsterdam, I have a cousin some times removed who went there and so on. When we arrived in our hotel, I switched on TV, there was the big party of Ajax Amsterdam after the very successful season. One player was just saying something, and no... I didn't understand him. When he was ready I said to the TV: "Matthijs, can you please tell me in a language I understand what you said?" But throughout the days there, I could manage my way through the written stuff in Dutch quite well. I didn't really dare that much to really talk Dutch, that happened only when we were driving back to Germany. There I asked in a restaurant of a gas station if they have a coffee for me. And when the waiter asked me if I also wanted an apple pie, I understood it at the second time. Yay, I was proud of myself then...

Chris, I think Italian is a language that is hardly taught anywhere mandatory outside of Italy and Switzerland. I also only learned it at university. And there I only learned to translate from Italian to German, so I now have really problems to produce Italian myself.

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Well, at least there's Google translate!! =D

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My sad story of languages:

Languages don't come quickly to me,     I spent two years in Germany and was getting comfortable with German but we moved when I was 15.    My new school didn't offer German so I took 6 months of French,  when we moved again.   My new school offered French but I had been taught primarily how to READ French and I started a class mid-semester that only SPOKE French.    When I started College,  I felt it best to just start from the beginning and took 2 years of Spanish.

Today,  I'd say I only speak English.  Primarily because I believe Jelena is correct  .... you must immerse yourself in the language.  I've spent  time on Duolingo but it can only take you so far.

Perhaps I should move to Spain?   SJ seems to like it. 

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I've lived in several countries for short stretches, and in my experience, I pick up as much of the language as I need to get by. If I don't need and use a word or a grammatical construction, I don't retain it. 

An extreme example of this was when I spent a couple of months in Niger, which was once a French colony. There wasn't much French left in the markets, but for some reason, all the numbers used were French, rather than Hausa (the local trade language). So we ended up using this weird patois with English sentence structure, Hausa nouns and verbs, and French numbers. But hey, it got us what we needed, so it worked for us.

I've also found that each new language I pick up tends to "push out" the previous one. I have almost no Hausa left, not a word of Tigrigna, and the only thing I can say in Cantonese is "Ts'ing ma'at kao gun ts'e-mon." (Please stand clear of the doors.) And even then, I botch the tones so badly that nobody can understand what I'm saying. I've kept more Croatian, but that's because I keep in touch with my friends there.

Greg

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Peggy, for me language acquisition works the best when I have a personal connection. I once learned Turkish, mainly by a newspaper that wrote nearly exclusively about the four big football (soccer) teams in Turkey. Why? Because a player I knew personally from my German team was transferred to a team in Istanbul and I wanted to "keep in touch" at least by being able to read how he was doing there. The first things I learned was "yellow card" and "red card" and the abbreviation for "minute". Because that was the stuff I needed to understand the match sheets...
Greg, I also make the experience that new languages "kick out" other languages that aren't used often or not at all. That's my "problem" with French. During school time I was really good at it, but then I had often big gaps of usage, so that in the meanwhile I can understand it still quite ok, but the production is not good anymore. Give me 10 days in France and it will come back for sure, but without that, it's really hard for me to produce decent French currently.
Seems like you constructed in Niger your own "Slade pidgin" ;)

Answer 14

Its been a tragic week for me. Not, like, in my personal life, but strangely in other ways. First that mink I told you about last week has been back, the sneaky devil. Even the shrimp mysteriously disappears from the trap. My once-vibrant back yard is silent. Whatever isn’t dead is grieving.

Then there’s WikiTree. Do you follow the 52 ancestors theme on G2G? This week’s theme: tragedy. I started thinking about 9/11, the Frost bridal party drowned in the Tusket river, the abandoned wife trying to keep her daughter alive in the poor house; my uncle, one of seventeen Lockeport sailors lost in one day; all the missing and murdered ... you know. You’re genealogists too. 

Next the storytellers are preparing for an epic telling of Nodic legends (e.g. Odin, Thor, Loki). Storytellers take turns over an 8 hour period. I said what the heck, it could be fun, and reached into the hat to pick my story.  I drew Ragnarok. You know, terrible winter, volcanoes, world war, and the end of all things.

All this tragedy. I could get depressed, sit by the computer with a glass of wine and imagine a better world. Or I could rise to my feet, and go forth to seek out life and new adventures. Because that, like Chris Hemsworth said, is what heros do!

I’m going for a walk in the woods at least  

Have a super weekend!

Comments

Pip, when you take a walk in the woods pay attention. You might hear this song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TyQuVt5m8ac

If you do, follow it to its source or you'll get lost forever!!

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Chris,

I always remind myself to not Wiki and wine/whine.    Laurie and Pip showed the way,  just go for a walk.

I've totally avoided the  "Tragedy" topic on 52 ancestors.....  Though my husband and I have been debating who suffered the most:  the Gettysburg soldiers who engaged in Pickett's Charge or our troops invading Okinawa in 1945.

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Chris, just how do you find all this stuff?!?

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@ Pip: Google. =) Plus, that song up there happens to be from Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. Probably one of the best Zelda games from the late '90s. There's a part of the game where you have to follow that song to its source in an area called "The Lost Woods". One wrong turn and you have to start over. It wasn't just hard. It was Nintendo hard (TM).

Luckily walkthroughs online have made it a breeze. It wasn't the case twenty years ago. You needed a guide from Nintendo Power.

I like games with puzzles. But, even then that game was just hard. And it's been updated and referenced even in current Zelda games like Breath of the Wild. Same song, too.

@ Peggy: Never Wiki angry, either. Wouldn't be fun for anyone. It's a good policy to walk away when frustrated. Especially when you have to deal with puzzles.

Who suffered most between those two events?! Uhh....Oh, dear god! This parachute is a backpack!!

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I can add: Never Wiki when you didn't sleep enough. Did that and turned angry every time when a data doctor had removed USA, but didn't put for example the "dead dot" in the same profile. Ok it gave me some contributions, but hey, those are so easy things to do....

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That they are. Though, I have yet to ever do more than a few hundred contributions in a month....

I want to try for 1000 one day. Not sure HOW.

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If you do your personal connectathon it's "only" 500 profiles because every new profile which is connected to an existing one counts twice. "You created" and "you connected" same time.
Doing a no brainer challenge like the locations this week is also adding fast contributions. It's easy to find USA locations pre 1776 with "USA" in it. A 1775 profile with "Massachusetts" is correcter than "Massachusetts, USA", even if "Massachusetts Bay" is the complete correct naming.

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Well, Chris, you can be like me and be terrified of power outages, computer freezes, etc., and safe little pieces of work more often.

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Well, the Categories team is putting the Italians in "Migrant from Campania to Massachusetts" category. I may do them a solid and work on my Campania and Calabria people. That would rake in the contributions. =)

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Exactly. To get a huge contribution count in short time you gotta take a no brainer with many profiles you can work on. Categorization, stickers, tasks with a clear date (all locations before 4 July 1776 have to get removed the USA) or things like that are great for this task.

Answer 15

Thanks for hosting Pip. Great story as usual.

Since you mention cemeteries, I finally took the time to look closely at the gravestone pictures I captured last month. So sad.... Benjamin and Mary had a tall monument, with smaller headstones on the individual graves. Three children survived to adulthood. Looking at the monument, there were 3 young boys, 2 teenage daughters and another 8 children with no dates. Wow - 16 children most died young.

Other than that, I have not worked on any family. I've been looking at some of the more than 347,600 profiles with a 133 suggestion. Most of those are old gedcom imports with no dates, no locations. Certainly can send you down some rabbit holes.

Comments

Kay, I've come across a few grave plots like that, and those kinds of discoveries always made me sad. A few of those had a lines of small stones for children who died within days or weeks of each other.

And... I've got enough rabbit holes without having to add those pertaining to 350,000 other profiles! 

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Pip. I tried. It didn't work.... so I went off to work on some family but Jennie married William King. There are (were) about 2 dozen William King profiles with no dates, locations, sources ...

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Your William King = my Robert Smith. I feel your pain, for sure.

Answer 16

Hi WikiKin.  Weather in Spain is as it always is, sunny and warm.  Water is 27 (about 80 f) and we go swimming almost every day.  The 4 year old is in swim lessons (two week crash course) and one week on she can keep her nose out of the water while swimming.  The younger one celebrates his first birthday next week so we will be busy.

On the genealogy front I've been Bio Building profiles - writing out long bios and adding all sorts of goodies.  I find myself working on about 8 or 10 at once and they all seem to finish at the same time.  I'm almost done with 4th great-grandmother Marjry "Maria" (DeGraff) Miller.  Her family migrated to New York 4 to 6 generations earlier (17th century) depending on the line and Marjery and her husband headed west in the mid-1800's, first to Illinois and then Iowa.  It seemed like quite the journey for the time period.

Comments

SJ, funny that I've come across a line that was also on the move. Virginia - Ohio - Indiana - Kansas in two generations. One more generation, add Colorado.

Happy birthday to the youngin'!

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Fantastic profile. What a journey. The history of Racine Wisconsin spoke of the 850 mile journey from central New York taking 6 weeks in 1835. 

If they traveled by water, then they likely took the Erie Canal. For perspective, see some pictures here https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Space:Erie_Canal_Photos

By land then they probably followed the Genesee Turnpike and the Seneca Turnpike. When Ephraim and his son Peter traveled around 1850, they might have been able to take a new railroad. From what I can discern, Ephraim lost part of his farm to the Erie Canal.

Answer 17

Happy weekend, everyone!  One week to go before the semester starts.  I'm not ready...

It's been a rough week here.  Last weekend we adopted a bunny.  On its second day with us it stopped eating, then died suddenly right in front of us at the vet the next morning.  Turns out it had a perforated ulcer; it wasn't our fault and there's nothing we or the vet could have done, but it still sucks big time.  Meanwhile, we've started cleaning out my father-in-law's condo.  He moved to assisted living and we need to get his place ready to sell.  I found some photos and 35 mm slides (stored down in the parking garage, yikes!) that may be worth hanging on to.  I suspect if there's older family history stuff it's with his sister in Connecticut.

On the genealogy front... back to Annie Gray (my great grandfather's mother, who had him out of wedlock and then married Frank Hazard, who adopted him) and her family.  I think I've filled in the gap in her timeline between the 1860 census (Boston) and the birth of my ggf in Newport in 1883.  Using a map helped... of the possible Annie Grays I found in the 1870 and 1880 censuses, most were elsewhere in Massachusetts, but one was living within a few blocks of where I know her father lived then, working as a servant in a Boston household.  So now I just need to figure out how she got from Boston in 1880 to Newport in 1883, and where/when she would have encountered my ggf's likely biological father John Flanagan and his adoptive father Frank Hazard.  This story is slowly starting to come together.

Comments

Well, she didn't take I-95. I can tell ya that much. At least the story is coming together. Keep up the good work, Lis!

So sorry about the bunny. =(

Slides in the garage is a good find! Here's hoping they are in good condition. My dad has old home movies on reels. I want to get them on dvd.

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I suspect she came as a servant in a family that moved between Boston and Newport; now that I know who she was working for in 1880 maybe I can figure it out.  Seems less likely that she would have gone there on her own when her remaining family was in Boston.

FIL took the slides to his new place; at least they aren't in the garage any more.  We acquired an old straight razor with original case that belonged to his grandfather.  Still sharp!

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Excellent! Glad they are in decent condition. I hope you figure the stuff about the lady. Trying to think if she went by train.

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Lisa, I did government work for a while, and the nature of the job allowed to have lots of time off, and... I was never  ready when it was time to start back.

You're work on Gray sounds like the making of a great book.

Answer 18

Hope everyone is having a wonderful weekend!

We've had some thunderstorms here in Pleasant Hill, Cumberland, TN on the Cumberland Plateau.

Tomorrow I am giving my first Wikitree presentation at the Cumberland County Archives and Family History Center. Trying to introduce some basics to hopefully get some new Wikitreers.

Comments

Good for you, William! Just the thing we need - spreading the word so to speak. I wish you the best. Be sure to report back so we know how it went.

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Greetings Pip and Wikikin,

My presentation went great! Several folks trying Wikitree for the first time! Mission accomplished!!!

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Good for you!  My computer teacher asked me to help a very senior citizen enter his family.  The teacher knew I work a lot on wikitree.  The gentleman couldn't cope with the internet, passwords, profiles, etc.  I ended up adding about 25 profiles from his great grandfather down to his immediate line and the members on his grandfathers generation.  Then he asked me to add his wife's family of about 10 profiles.  He was very grateful and I helped out
some one in a way some one may have to pass on a favor
for me some day.

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Isn't it amazing how grateful people are when you work on their family trees?   Often they actually feel indebted;  because they don't realize we do this for fun.

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Great, William! I wonder if I greeted any of them the past couple of nights.

Answer 19

Greetings and Salutations, Fellow WikiTreers!

So my weekend starts off a bit late, as my brother-in-law who had been unemployed since February 2018 has now got a job! And while I'm one of his main sources of transportation, I am thrilled to hear that he's doing well at his new position and am more than happy to help him get back and forth until we can determine some decent public transportation routes. So all is well. :)

Had a couple busy days at work, and a couple of relatively unsettled weather days, but it looks to be a cooler weekend ahead and dry enough to let me get my grass cut. So between the haircut that's needed, and the grass cut that's needed, and the transportation (that's needed), it's going to be a busy weekend ahead. Plus I have to meet with the church Pastor on Saturday for a brief meeting, so I'll be running all over but happy to do it.

Genealogy-wise, it's been almost all Toni Morrison related this week. I think my count of new profiles added to her tree is around 110, and still growing. I've expanded 4 of her lines, and now am branching off to cousins and continuing to expand from there. Mark Burch has been assisting as well, so the count might be closer to 130 - when it gets that high, you kind of lose track and just focus on continuing to add them in hopes that one of them somewhere will just click and connect with an existing set on WikiTree. I'll likely add another dozen or more this weekend so wish me luck.

I do hope that everyone has a wonderful weekend - go out and do something fun this weekend, like miniature golf, or indoor wall climbing, or even just taking a hike on a trail.

Comments

Scott, your busyness sounds a lot like mine. The standing appointments are only part of the crammed schedule. Next week has an additional three events, two medical and one a home blessing for members of a small church I assist with. The wife and I are looking forward to some day trips after next week! Just need to get out of town!!

Answer 20

It's been hot here in Phoenix this week. So I haven't been doing much getting out of the house this week. But I have been working of indoors hobbies.

We did get out at night to a Toastmasters meeting. And we've been watching a bunch of "Agents of Shield" episodes that we have.

And of course, It's just over a month before we fly to Ohio and I'll see if I can talk a few relatives into trying out Wikitree.

Comments

Agents of Shield, huh? Awesome show. Did you see the season seven trailer?

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The heat has kept us in, too, Dave. That and the rain. But the upside is a cleaner home and more reading, hobbies, WikiTreeing!

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I believe we did. We missed a couple of episodes on TV this year, but if it was at a different time or day of the week we might have missed it.

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We also read both aloud and by ourselves. we're just about finished with "Close to Critical" by Hal Clement, a SF writer. I first read him while I was on guard duty in Viet Nam. Of course if I were on guard duty where it mattered I'd not have done any reading. but there were two or three guard posts further out in Nha Trang as well as well as a group of South Korean soldiers protecting the area.