"Welcome to the Weekend Chat!" All Members Invited!! February 28th - March 1st, 2020 [closed]

+19 votes
1.6k views

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

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

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

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Enjoy yourselves and spread the love!

WikiTree profile: Pip Sheppard
closed with the note: Great to hear from everyone. See you next weekend!
in The Tree House by Pip Sheppard G2G Astronaut (2.7m points)
closed by Pip Sheppard

Still new here, I like reading the chats. Here in New Jersey, the weather has been windy and changeable. No snow at all in February. I have daffodils with definite buds. No flowers yet but soon.

In Real Life, I have had a very busy week. Hosted MahJongg at my house on Monday. I have a local group of 10 that plays every week. I only host when there some of them are in Florida as I don't have room for 2 tables like some others do. Tuesday, I had a political meeting to attend. Wednesday was Ash Wednesday so I went to church.

Yesterday was crazy, Qi Gong class in the morning, followed by a local senior meeting, then a play and free dinner at the local school. I am not used to being a senior who gets to take advantage of these freebies. Today, Friday, I got a haircut and on the spur of the moment got myself and my daughters matching bracelets that say 

Live With All your heart.

Despite being busy, Wikitree has become my new 'game' I have played video games in my spare time for years and have put that aside for the moment. This week, I cleaned up the profiles for my parents and am working on my grandparents. When I first came to wikitree about a month ago, I didn't have good biographies and profiles. I also managed to connect with the big tree through another branch of mine.  

It's a funny thing, really, just how easy it is to be pulled into rabbit holes that just get deeper and deeper and deeper.

In the last while I have been working on a particular branch of my family (because renewed interest from a cousin who is also on WT has pushed me to do more).  While doing this I, as always, looked at the spouses and siblings etc.  So -- with wonderful support from Fiona McMichael -- I extended my (deceased, not the one on WT who has been cheering me on for ages!) cousin's connections to her in-laws, then that family.  In so doing, I ended up with an email conversation back-and-forthing between the daughter of one of those collaterals.  Pushing even more, I now have her paternal grandparents and extended family sourced and quite a few of them added to WT.

In all of this (trying to prevent TL:DR syndrome) I found that a daughter of the one branch married into a family that, with a LOT of work (I stayed up all night following the burrows in this particular rabbit warren), I discovered actually links back (in the 1700s) to my own paternal side.  So the in-laws of my cousin are related to my grandfather's half-sister's husband.

I love genealogy!

.

(For those who've never come across it before .. TL:DR is usually "too long, didn't read" (or some variation thereof).)

@Pip, there is 1 breed that remains in Arizona through the winter. I'm not sure if the one I saw was one of those. A lady in Sierra Vista posted that she'd seen them last week too and put out her feeder the next day.

I think I may buy a feeder but not sure how I'd be able to attach it to my balcony's railing.
Pip, I am glad to hear you're feeling better. By the way, I have a loud wood pecker that's been starting to visit me. I'm about to mail that bird to your county. As well as some of my unruly neighborhood kids for your spring clean up.
Hi, Nancy, and welcome to WikiTree! You ARE busy! good thing. Life should be full of as much activity as we can handle. MahJongg is a favorite game of mine, albeit on the computer.

Living with all your love is a great motto! Got for it!
Hi, Melanie! I sometimes fall down a rabbit hole only to find that there is a connection to a family I worked on long ago. It makes it worth to make those kind of connections. This happens frequently with families on either side of the Catawba River, near where I grew up.

And yes, it is easy to get pulled down those rabbit holes!
Diane, we use plant hangers, the arm kind, to hang our hummingbird feeders, up high where we can see them. If you don't have a place to attach one, use a shepherd's crook. We've done that before.
Ha on the woodpecker. We have three kinds that hang out in our area, especially since we hang suet out for them particularly. Send them on!
Pip there's not any place to attach a shepherd crook to the apartment railing. I bought a feeder yesterday, but it was so windy that I knew within moments that it wouldn't work. The nectar was dripping like crazy. I'm sure my downstairs neighbor would not appreciate my feeder attracting ants to her area!

I'll look for a small one with a stake, so I can put it in a large planter.
That'll work, too, Diane. We've done that before, put a small crook in a planter.

34 Answers

+20 votes

Hello everyone,

Central Pennsylvania continues on a roller coaster ride with temperatures. Daytime high temperatures over the next week vary from 39F to 62F. A few hours Northwest of here at the Great Lakes they are calling for snow.

I have spent most of the week working on a family outline. Right now, a GG Grandfather I am working on had 2 wives, one wife having 6 children, and the second wife having 16 children. The children’s birth years from these 2 marriages range from 1864 to 1904. I had to tape a few sheets of paper together and make myself a chart for this family. Thank goodness for Family Search census citations. This family is also listed in the book Genealogical Records of Reverend Hans Herr and his Direct Lineal Descendants.

Stay healthy and safe over the coming week.  Travel safe.

 

by Rodney Long G2G6 Pilot (849k points)
Hi, Rodney! Slow load on my comment, so you beat me to it today. Good show!

I think I've discovered a North Dakota gentleman who married twice, so just like you, I've got lots of children to add.
Glad you are feeling better Pip. Yes, we have some early spring flowers poking through the ground also. Yes, multiple marriages with children from both marriages can be tricky. I find making myself a chart and digesting the census records helps me when I create the profiles. Have a good weekend Pip.
Bearing 16 children seems impossible to me!    Research has certainly shown our ancestors were survivors in many ways.... not just war, starvation and disease.
Hello Peggy, hope all is well. When I first read about this family in the Genealogical Records of Hans Herr, I was skeptical which is one of the reasons I started charting the family. I am about 3/4 of the way done before I start creating profiles. The lady was 14 years younger than the man. She was 20 years old when she started having babies. The babies were born between the years of 1878 and 1904. That is 26 years or 312 months. If I divide the 312 months by 16 children, that would average to a baby about every 19 months. She lived till she was 71 years old.

Hope you have a good rest of the weekend  Peggy

Rodney -- Sung to the tune of "16 Tons" [Johnny Cash] of tons of coal and whadda ya get? 

Poor woman bore 16 children and the other one bore six ... 

Hopefully the man that caused this 22 children was prosperous enough to feed, house, clothe and educate them 

+19 votes

Hello to all from beautiful southeastern Arizona! The crazy cooler weather remains here. Forecast is for rain on Monday with a high of only 48F, then two days with lows at freezing. However, today and tomorrow will be gorgeous with highs near 70F! Love days like these!

Writing: Haven’t gotten any revisions done on book 2 this week. Been busy looking at several ways to promote my first book. So far, book 1 only has two 5-star reviews on Amazon and no one has reviewed it on Goodreads yet. I know it’s only been a month since I self-published, but I did hope for a bit better. wink

WikiTree: I’m glad I decided to add the profiles for the Willis family when I did. I added Abigail’s parents (but forgot to add her father’s second wife!) and her 9 siblings and their spouses. I knew her brother Nathan had married widow, Lucy (Fearing) Dogget. I hadn’t realized his second wife was the sister of Paul Fearing or that her father and many brothers had also settled in Ohio in the 1780s. Now I’ll need to write more revisions to my revisions for book 2. *laughing while crying* But, at least I know the information will be correct.yes

I never dreamed Howards in Bridgewater were so numerous or how these families were interconnected. Her mother was a Howard, 3 of her sisters married Howards, and another sister married a Hayward. Her remaining sister married a Packard – who was a son of another Howard!

The last sister, Lucy, married a Notable. While I would love to have a Notable in my family tree, Cyrus Alger is not even remotely a blood relation, since I’m descended from Increase’s second wife, not his first wife Abigail. Dang it!

Well my plum walnut bread is cooling, and it’s time for me to get ready to host at the senior center today. May all of you have a glorious weekend!

by Diane Hildebrandt G2G6 Pilot (109k points)
Hi Diane, yes those multiple marriages can be fun. Especially when they marry a sibling from the first marriage. I worked on one of those 2 weeks ago. You enjoy your day and have a good weekend.
Interesting how your research impacts your writing. That's a good sign, I think. Keep on plugging away, Diane! And keep us posted, too, on your progress.
@Rodney Fun? My eyes kept crossing! lol

@Pip I really didn't think they were related, so I'm glad I decided to do some fact checking on the Fearing relationship. Now knowing the family relationships for some people mentioned in his diary makes them more real (to me!) than just some meaningless names.
+18 votes

Today is.....

NATIONAL CHOCOLATE SOUFFLE DAY

      

National Chocolate Souffle Day celebrates a delightfully delicious dessert on February 28th each year. 

The word souffle is the past participle of the French verb souffler, which means “to blow up” or more loosely “puff up” which describes a souffle perfectly.  A souffle is a lightly baked cake made with egg yolks and beaten egg whites that are combined with other ingredients to make the dish either a savory main dish or a sweet dessert.

Two essential components make up every souffle.

1.  a French creme patisserie base/flavored cream sauce or puree

2.  egg whites beaten to a  soft peak meringue

A souffle gets its flavor from the base, and the egg whites provide the lift to puff it up.  A variety of cheeses, jams, fruits or chocolates can be baked into the base of the souffle.  Many souffle bakers like to puncture the top of the souffle after removing it from the oven. Then they pour mouth-watering sauces onto it, such as chocolate, vanilla or for a savory flavor cheese and herbs.

HOW TO OBSERVE Chocolate Souffle Day:

Souffles offer an opportunity to show off and invite friends to share in the celebration. If you need a recipe, we’ve found several for you to try. Of course, if your culinary prowess exceeds these, be sure to share it with us. We would love to see how you celebrate the day!

Easy Chocolate Souffle
Mexican Chocolate Souffle Cake
Flourless Chocolate Souffle with Raspberry Cream

by Dorothy Barry G2G Astronaut (2.7m points)
Anything chocolate! Anything souffle! Good one, Dorothy (as usual!).
These are my favorite!    Time to try a new recipe..... somewhat enticed by the  "Easy" title.
Mine eyes do see that chocolate souffle, souffle / mine mouth do open wide, so wide ... and not a crumb, no crumb, does pass my way ... dang it. Now I gots the munchies ...
+18 votes

Hello from Colorado.  It’s warming up today so maybe we will burn off the snow before we get hit again. We are way ahead of our averages on snow which is good for the spring and summer,  I’m looking forward to the blooms of spring.

I’m a seasonal worker for HR Block and we have been very busy. It seems the virus concerns are bringing out now to get taxes done before they are forced to do them from home. So February looks like the first month in a long time that I will not make my 1000 contribution goal.

I did find a very interesting story on a family member from South Carolina. Her father was a plantation owner.  Her mother was a slave whose father was the father of the plantation owner. When the plantation owner died, he gave all his assets to his kids and their mother.  They were freed and then turned over to the Colonization Society to move out of South Carolina. The rest of the family disappeared but she turns up in a boarding school in New Hampshire.  She marries and lives out her life living “white”.  We are working on dna testing now to prove the lineage but her story is really amazing in the transformation that occurred in her life. I would really like to get more details showing her movements with the Colonization Society as well as her teen years in boarding school and her mother and siblings.  Here’s her profile.

https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Wigfall-98

by Gurney Thompson G2G6 Pilot (443k points)
Really interesting story, Gurney, thanks for sharing it!
What a fascinating story, Gurney! I knew some Wigfalls from South Carolina through my government work.

We just met with our H&R Block agent, so our taxes are DONE! Had to wait until I got over the flu, though, so we were later than last year.
Greetings, also from Colorado, in Lakewood.

That's a great find, and great story.
+16 votes

WEATHERING in Central California -- warmish, up in the 70's -- high 70's some days ... seems odd for February ... looks like another one for today 

HOMEFRONT -- why did the doorbell ring madly as if someone were pounding on it and in desperate need to assistance? The vision of two oldsters scrambling to answer the door is not my favorite, but that's the reality ... no one was there.  What it SOUNDED like to me was like being trapped in a tower with the carillon chimes all a-jangle ... I have a time or two actually been within 100 ft of a carillon when it sounded off and talk about ringing ears ... 

Some serious contemplative viewing revealed it might be stuck on its lower part -- it's a vertical strip, not a button of any kind, and "sticky" on its best days ... hmm said one aggravated old woman with a throbbing stubbed toe ... and so I did it, I unstuck the miserable chime. No comfort at all to my toe, though ...

GENEALOGICALLY I progress, I continue my rotation through my Watchlist, ever expanding and adding notes and profiles and sources ... at times I ask myself "Why do I have THESE people on my list" and with further exam, sometimes decide to orphan them ... 

I am still contemplating the meaning of "Watchlist" and wondering what is it I am to be watching? Or watching for? Oh, I'm told, watching for activity on those profiles. To which I reply my Watchlist is the least active ... I appear to be the ONLY one -- other than some 'thoner -- to be fiddling with these profiles ... I mean like it's watching paint dry. 

I read all the posts here and see all the productive days and weeks reported on by all the productive and active Chatters  ... I should maybe check to see if I have any moss growing on me LOL ... 

(When you've "done it all" before you are 60, sitting still and watching everyone else whizz by is pure pleasure (the sitting part) ... LOL) 

by Susan Smith G2G6 Pilot (652k points)

Susan, I really  need to reduce my watchlist! The larger my watchlist, the more suggestions I have to take care of.

We have a doorbell that rings when someone gets close, even before they ring it. The bad end of that is that three of our tech items let us know simultaneously. Talk about the noise!

OK Susan, what does the word 'thoner-- mean. I do not believe I have ever seen that. You have a great weekend.

RODNEY:  Ah, 'THONER' used by some in g2g as designation for 'marathon-er' (one who participates in a marathon ) Let's see, I have plucked some knowledge from g2g about them ... 

WikiTree has marathons, fix this, fix that - the most done in the least amount of time 

Some of the 'thoners lack skill, or commonsense, or self-restraint. Project managers of the marathons hotly defend their people. PM will insist their people are trained beforehand. 

A marathon is a brief, intense, "violent" exercise and has lots of points attached, and there's oft a complaint from a 'thoner about where their points went because their points are missing - oft sounds like a child whose candy was snatched away

Hmm ... I've not been a 'thoner so I speak from the outside, out of horrified bemusement.  Also, "Haste makes waste" and some 'thoners prove that to be true

I suppose one should give them credit so I will, there are a number of "things" that are endemic in 1000's of profiles and the 'fixit' ranges from punctuation to dates missing to ... 

I suggest a search of g2g for 'marathon" -- up will arise a long list of announcements about one or another which will also quite often lay out the 'rules of engagement' ... 

OK, now I understand. You have enlightened me.

smiley Well, Rodney, I give them credit since I figure the blunders associated with their efforts are few in percentage compared to the "good" they do ... but it is the blunders that rouse the beast in the breasts of those affected ... 

+15 votes

WikiTree: Started Greeting this last week and it has been a blast! Very invigorating to see all those new people and see where they might be going with their family history journey.

In my Peasley Name Study, added Captain Ralph Erksine Peasley (1866-1948) who is a distant cousin. Also, created his Wikipedia article since he is a notable sea captain from the Pacific Northwest. A series of short stories that turned into a book, which then became a silent movie in 1921 were based on him. Trying to determine if, as family lore states, a canyon is named after him in Washington State. Waiting to hear back from WA State Library.

Another notable Peasley (and distant cousin) found was Professional Baseball Player, Marv Peasley (1899-1948), a southpaw pitcher.

At home: Lost first cousin on the 14th from suicide, so trying to keep busy. It was still very cold (down to 1 degree) until yesterday when it finally got up to 55! Started drinking half chicory/half coffee! We cold brew them together, pretty good! 

Thanks Pip for hosting.

by Azure Robinson G2G6 Pilot (539k points)
Ain't greeting great, Azure?! What a wonderful group of people to work with. We are so very glad to have you  on the team!

So sorry to hear of your loss. Thoughts and prayers coming your way.
Absolutely, Azure, Peasley Canyon is in King County, Washington, south of Seattle, part of the ridge between Seattle and Auburn.  Near Highway 18.
Yep, I used to live up there! Our Peasley family is from Washington. Do you happen to know who it is named for? I sent a query to Federal Way Historical Society but they didn't know.

I have a Peasley though his earliest records are as  Peasland and  in one record his father was  recorded as Pasewell. (Strong accents and illiteracy result in many variations).   

https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Peasland-8. He's notable in a way. He was transported to Australia for 'Highway robbery. He got his release at the end of his sentence but was later found guilty of cattle stealing. His son became a bushranger. Whilst drunk he shot a 'friend' and regretably ended up on the gallows ( as a Piesley).

Wow. Thanks for sharing, really interesting story. Any interest in joining the Peasley Name Study?
where would one look to locate at WikiTree a LIST of the one-name studies?

the surname index page, e.g. https://www.wikitree.com/genealogy/SMITH

if there is a surname project it will be link near the top of the page on the right "Smith Project"

https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Project:One_Name_Studies

Azure, thank you. Fortunately for myself, I'm not launching nor participating in a one-name study.  laughI can barely keep my own goals in sight ref my WatchList. I've spent the last 12 months and some revising my WatchList.  I've decided I must be at least somewhat OCD to keep plugging away at all this revision.

I will say there SEEMS to be hardly a month passes where someone sets up a one-name study. 

You may be right about the Canyon being named for the sea captain.  I checked the U. S. Federal and the Washington Territorial Censuses for Peasleys in the area and came up with very little.  A John Peaslee in the 1900 Census age 54 b. in Canada Jan 1846 and divorced, and a Hanna Peaslee age 33 b Feb 1867 in England, also divorced--probably divorced from each other--are the only ones I could find in the general area of the canyon, rather than in Seattle.

In my own family tree there is the husband of a distant cousin: https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Peasley-245 is William Kershaw Peasley, born 1875 probably in McLean County, Illinois and died 1910/1920 in Los Angeles County, California.  Son of W. William Peasley from West Virginia.  William was a contractor who worked on projects in Cuba and the Imperial Valley in California.
+17 votes
This has been a bad week for me in Northeast Ohio. Monday I had a fever, good news it was just a 24 hour bug and I resolved the problems so we do not have to move. Tuesday a cousin died and I started updating profiles on her line. Some of the profiles I worked on had not been touched since I created them in 2013 and were poorly sourced. Wednesday a friend and fellow ham died so those two deaths put me in a poor mood. Thursday the snow hit and has not stopped yet. They are predicting that my area should have over a foot of snow by the time it stops late tomorrow. The temps are supposed to go above freezing for Sunday and Monday with rain coming Tuesday, is it any wonder that I got sick?
by Dale Byers G2G Astronaut (1.7m points)
Dale, your griefs remind me that last year was a tough one for the three deaths of close friends and family.

Glad you only got the 24 hour version of the bug. I had the six day version. Not fun in the least. Predicted snow here didn't happen, so a relief for us.
Sorry to hear of your troubles. Sends some of that snow east. I got new boots and haven't gotten to use them here in New Jersey. I have some roots in Ohio.
The loss of anyone in our lives is painful, Dale, and we all know what it feels like -- time, distance, death, divorce, estrangement ...
Dale,

Sorry for your recent losses.    Last year I have a  "wave" of losses but I've not really done their profiles justice.  Perhaps the loss has to subside before we can create appropriate profiles.   (At least for me that seems to be the case.)    

I'm hoping spring like weather comes to you soon.

Peg
+19 votes

Hi everybody,

Tomorrow, Saturday, is Leap Day.  Do you have any Leap Day birthdays in your family that you'd like to share with the group?

by Erik Oosterwal G2G6 Mach 5 (53.1k points)
Hi there, Erik! No 2/29 birthdays, but there's at least on marriage that occurred on that day. Wonder how they celebrated it on the off years.

So, Erik. I found one who was born on the 29th of Feb.

 I found also 435 who were either born in Feb or died in Feb.  Turns out the 435 is about 23% of my WatchList.

Have not counted how many were born in any month in a leap year (don't have a list of leap years), nor how many were born in Feb in a leap year but not on the day ... 

However, I also discovered that 63% (of the current 1,920 profiles) were born in or died in Texas

+17 votes
Greetings from Everett, Washington!

This morning is foggy.  Yesterday, however, was the kind of day that would induce flowers to grow.  The frogs are croaking keenly at night. Rain is forecast.

Lent having begun, I am cutting down on WikiTree activity.  My life was becoming unbalanced.  I know, I know.  I am always torn between orderly systems such as genealogy and artistic things such as quilting.  I am spending more time cutting fabric and finishing projects.  I finished two "Preemie" quilts for baby girls and am now quilting a third one.  I'm plugging away at experimental blocks for the brightly colored "Rocky Road to California."

I've been reading an early birthday present from my husband, "The Uncollected Letters of Flannery O'Connor."  I've been sharing it with my daughter, who wants to use a quote on the blog she contributes to, "Fellowship and Fairy Dust."  My daughter is the kind of writer who cuts to the chase every time and struggles with knowing when to pace the action more slowly and fill in the setting.  

The Historical Society once again URGED me to make audio files of my "Mukilteo Minute" to be placed on the Facebook page.  It would be me narrating the slide shows.  Since I pull many images off the internet for my live presentations, I wonder about copyright.  And I wonder where I will find the time.

Big birthday (65) coming up Monday.  Senior discount, here I come!  Not eligible for Medicare until husband retires (I haven't enough quarters of employment).  I've been "retired" for years so life won't be much different.  

I found as many Unknowns as I could among the married female victims of the 2018 Camp Fire in California.  If not born in California, if married and divorced multiple times, if born recently enough that records are closed, these Unknowns are going to stay that way for a while.  Among my own relatives I've been working on the Walkers from Knox County, Tennessee, all of them some kind of third cousins.  

In the coming week my daughter and I are going to try out one of our local gyms.  Membership $10 a month, so we are told.  My goal is modest.  I want to at least be able to stand on the front of my right foot without toppling.  I may never be able to run again but do want some strength to go with another re-slenderization, which the diet is now achieving.

Tomorrow, February 29, is Sadie Hawkins Day.  Was there a real Sadie Hawkins (and does she have a WikiTree profile)? Or was she someone Al Capp made up?
by Margaret Summitt G2G6 Pilot (315k points)

You and your daughter = me and my wife. We're going to join a gym, too. We also are dieting, and have had some success (but not as quickly as we would like). 

Margaret, with all the stuff you having going on, I'm surprised that you have any time for WikiTree. Good for you! Your life always sounds so exciting to me. I should be so active. 

Hello Margaret, hope all is well. I think the Sadie Hawkins associated with Sadie Hawkins Day is a fictional character. Maybe someone will prove me wrong.
Hi Margaret, I was just lurking and noticed your comment about not being eligible for Medicare until your husband retires. If he has already worked his 40 quarters, even if he hasn't retired yet, you probably ARE eligible and need to go ahead and apply or else pay penalties later. I would urge you to check into this first thing Monday morning!

If you already have, and have confirmed you aren't eligible, then please ignore this comment! Just hoping to make your retirement a little sweeter! I also turn 65 this year so will be looking forward to finally getting off of private-pay insurance *** ugh ***
Hello Margaret, hope all is well. I think the Sadie Hawkins associated with Sadie Hawkins Day is a fictional character. Maybe someone will prove me wrong.

.

Nope.  Margaret is correct that Sadie Hawkins was created by Al Capp in his "L'il Abner" comic strip. Sadie Hawkins Day is "tradition" fiction. 

+16 votes

On this day:

1784: John Wesley responds to a shortage of Church of England priests in the USA by ordaining preachers and that way leads the way to the split of Methodism and the Church of England.

1986: The Swedish Prime Minister Olof Palme is assassinated. The murderer is not yet found.

2013: Pope Benedict XVI. retires.

by Jelena Eckstädt G2G Astronaut (1.4m points)
Yeah, I bet ol' John got into trouble over that one, ordaining when he wasn't a bishop. Apostolic Succession is still a big thing in Anglican circles.
Great job Jelena,

Once again you posted important events that occurred when I was an adult..... and yet I don't remember them.  Thanks for helping me catch up with history.
I always appreciate your educational posts Jelena. You always teach us something.
+16 votes

Nothing more disastrous than being sick when you're trying to work on a blog or a webcomic. 

Hails and horns, Wikipeeps! I feel like I phoned in this week's 52 Ancestors blog: https://allroadhaverhill.blogspot.com/2020/02/52-ancestors-week-9-disaster.html

I did like the G.I. Joe reference. Who doesn't like '80s references?!

What happened was that I had a stomach bug and felt gross. I feel better now, thankfully. I managed to post the comic and the blog. But, I really think I phoned it in this week. I'll make up for it on week 10. No idea what caused it. We went to the mall and the comic store. Must have gotten it at the shop.

So, I watched the goings on at Rootstech. I even made a cameo for the live tech demo of the site. Someone posted a thread. I commented as I watched the feed on Facebook. Tomorrow we'll be having the live chat from there. I'll be sure to be there. Hope you guys will be too!!

Other than that, I am working on getting better. Stomach issues have subsided. Not gonna push myself. 

Wikitree, wise...I haven't added anyone in ages. I should probably remedy that. I did add some birth docs, though. Has anyone tried Myheritage's new pic gimmick? I did and it's okay. I experimented by taking a pic of my dad and I and turned it black and white so it could be colorized.

It turned my yellow dress shirt white and my dad (Who has olive skin) turned whiter than normal. It was weird and totally inaccurate. Eh, whatever. Some pics aren't meant to be colorized. Either that or the program detects it when a black and white photo was just altered in Paint.

Hope everyone has a great weekend!

by Chris Ferraiolo G2G6 Pilot (756k points)
Oh, how I wish a couple of genealogical disaster hadn't happened for me. When I found one line just was NOT going to work out, it left a big gaping hole in one line. Others have not been so bad, as I was fairly sure that the evidence was shaky, so I had no problem cutting them loose. Another great blog, Chris!
Thanks, Pip. Sorry about the tree mess. But, I am sure you'll get it all sorted. =D

Chris,

Take an example from Pip and read while you're recovering.... or at least take it easier than usual.

To a speedy health without relapse.smiley

I was reading the posts for  "disasters" and had to pace it..... too much misery to read all at once.crying

Feeling much better today! Thanks, Peg! =D

And yeah posts about disasters are too much. I WAS going to write about the Messina earthquake from the early 1900s. But, I again wasn't feeling too good. That and I really didn't want to bum anyone out.
Take a nap. Drink some fluids. Or you're getting some of Roadblocks gumbo
Thanks, Shipwreck! Now we know!

(And knowing is half the battle.)

G.I. JOOOOOOOOOE!
YOOOOOOOOOOOLL JOE!
You know, I had trouble deciding which Joe to call you. It was either Shipwreck or Barbecue. Neither of us are cool enough to be Duke or Flint.
Didn't Barbecue have a Massachusetts style accent? That could be ypu. I was never much of a Shipwreck fan. I always liked Beachead. That dude was always super high strung.

Duke and Flint were way to cool for you and me. We both talk to much to be Snake Eyes. Ace and Wild Bill were pretty awesome too.
Yeah, I can be Barbecue. I had his figure. It was so cool. And I had Beachead! Friend of mine gave me his Joes since my mother didn't want me to have any. It was weird. Warring factions of sentient transforming robots was okay. Military strike teams weren't. She said it had to do with imagination. The Transformers could BE something.
That is kinda goofy
Still didn't stop me from creating the historic dining room table Go-Bot Massacre of 1988. =)
My son just did a dining room table, dining room, overlapping into the living room massacre of Imaginext Power Rangers, including the Megazord, Batman, and DC Villians by Cyberverse Ultimate Class Megatron, and Starscream with help from Transformers Prime Shockwave. They decimated all who stood before them.  As I type this, my 7yr old asked me what I'm doing. So I told him I'm mentioning his brutal destruction of heroes, and villians. He told me his Lord Zed was leading the Decepticons in to battle against the Power Rangers because Goldar is an idiot. Then he said that Batman, and all the DC guys were collateral damage. Lord Zed also has to pay Megatron in emerging before he goes outside to ride his bike. If he doesn't pay up, Menasor is going to destroy Lord Zed and the Puddy's.

I'm dying laughing. My 7yr old is awesome. He told me he wanted Gnocchi for dinner last night. If I didn't make it, he's calling Unicron. I made the gnocchi.
+17 votes
Greetings and Salutations, Fellow WikiTreers!

It's been an interesting week. My contract is running out with my current employer, so I've been busy dusting off the resume and pounding the pavement looking for the next one. I'm very hopeful that the interview I did on Tuesday will pay off - that job sounded quite interesting and could very easily start the day after my contract ends, so that I've got no gap in there at all. If not, I suppose I keep looking, but I'm hopeful either way.

We took a trip last week to Peru, Indiana to visit Conny's German Breadshop. Peru is a small town near Grissom AFB, so it has it's charms as well as a nice small town downtown strip that meanders just a bit off the main drag. Conny's is on the main strip and she is one of the most friendly women I've ever met. She met my wife and I with smiles and freshly baked homemade cinnamon rolls. We ended up taking home fresh baked goods including sweet bread, almond butter kuchen, and pretzel rolls covered in baked cheese, sunflower seeds, and crushed red pepper. I think there might be a slice of sweet bread left, but the rest is gone. This week might be a trip to the Pie Shop we passed on the way there, that's supposed to have the best pie in the state. We'll see if that's true. Especially if they have a slice of butterscotch pie on hand.

From a genealogical standpoint, I've been buried in James Brown's relations for awhile now, and it's time to set that aside so that I can move on to other projects. I was thrilled that I found 2 connections for him that will definitely stand a high level of scrutiny and a third that was really wishy-washy, but he's connected to the global tree and that opened up a whole series of profiles of color that I was simply getting lost in adding to the tree. I suspect I could have sat on him for another 2 months and made tremendous progress for the communities in Colleton, South Carolina and the surrounding areas, but it's time to resume other activities. Maybe I'll return to it again one day. In the meantime, I need to purge them off my watchlist so that I can somehow get below 10,000. And I need to return to my Fulkerson family profiles as I neglected them a bit this month. Got a bit of catch-up to play now.

Winter also came back this week, as we saw snowfalls, icy roads, and cold, cold weather once more. Winter needed to remind us that it's still not spring, and frankly I didn't need the reminder. The snow's pretty to look at, but when it hits 50 degrees next week and rains, it's just going to be wet and a bit cool out there, and the roller coaster weather will continue.

Hope everyone has a great weekend!
by Scott Fulkerson G2G Astronaut (1.5m points)
And I got the call today - my current job will end on a Friday - and my new job will start the following Monday. I'm thrilled that everything worked out so well, and am definitely looking forward to how things turn out. Now I just need to finish this one out strong so that I can carry that momentum and energy into the next one. God definitely looked out for me on this one. Thanks!!
Great news, Scott! Good for you!

I worked on a Colleton County family of color for a while about a year ago. It was very fruitful and I was pleased to have added so much of that family onto WikiTree. I hope some one will pick it up and make the connection to the Big Tree sometime.
Great news on the continuity of employee.

I'm assuming the James Brown profile you're working on is the Civil War era abolitionist;   not  the  R&B musician honored in Animal House?
Nope - it was the R&B musician.

This post needs a clip of James Brown from Blues Brothers.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xbq0OuJtErs

=)

Glad you got the new job. Do you see the light, Scott?! =D

Thanks for the memories Chris.   It's time for me to watch the entire incredible movie again!  

And thanks Scott,  for giving James Brown some WikiTree heart.   It's nearly impossible to sit still in a chair when you hear his music.

I like reading things where people are about to leave a job. Then a new one rapidly appears. That's awesome Scott.

Hey Chris, 3 Orange whips
That movie should be required viewing in film school. :)
+17 votes

Thanks for hosting Pip.   The week has flown by.

Weather here in Catoosa County isn’t balmy, but sure doesn’t feel like winter.  Lots of trees have actual leaves forming, not just buds.  Phlox has been blooming for over a week.    The Magnolia trees, which were in full bloom, were frozen a few days ago.

Genealogy:   I’ve made a first step in acknowledging my paternal grandfather Elmer McReynolds isn’t related to me biologically.  He died of cancer when I was a toddler.   He lived with my parents his final 6 months and mom said I was “the light of his eyes”.    His wife had died of breast cancer 2 years earlier.   But Elmer always treated my father as his own son, in fact, my father was the spoiled youngest child.    If it weren’t for DNA testing, I probably wouldn’t address this but someday descendants will become confused by the DNA evidence.   I know the name of the biological grandfather and have begun researching his family line.  

A brief break:   I’m starting a Caribbean cruise next Friday.  So I’ll not be on-line for a couple of weekends.  I’m traveling with 3 of my cherished female cousins.   The cruise line is banning anyone that’s traveled where the coronavirus virus has presented itself and is also taking other measures….. but I’m not certain the airlines are being as cautious.  Two of us have decided to drive.   THANK YOU,  Southwest Airlines for your generous cancellation policy.   Wish us luck!!  After this trip, we don't have any cruises planned and will wait until "things" settle down.

Look forward to seeing everyone’s posts.

by Peggy McReynolds G2G6 Pilot (470k points)
I hope you all have a blast on the cruise, Peggy! Sounds like a lot of fun.

You know, we're just across the mountains from you, but we are still waiting for many thing to bud. Nothing for our trees yet, nor flowering shrubs yet. I have this feeling it's going to be a pretty spring, though.
The wilted magnolia blossoms probably indicate our plants are waking up too soon because of week long high temperatures.  But spring is near!
Have a great trip Peggy. Travel safe.
+17 votes

Sadly, no genealogy these last two weeks; been stocking up and getting affairs in order for the long bunker down.  Pulled the kid out of school yesterday and we're isolating ourselves until this virus passes.

On the upside, I expect a lot of free time in the coming weeks for WikiTree wink

by SJ Baty G2G Astronaut (1.2m points)
Sounds like you're taking necessary precautions.  Glad you're in a position to bunker down.... that's one advantage retirees have.

The coronavirus seems to be creeping towards you sooner than here in the southeast US.   None the less,  we're stocking up,  not so much that we're afraid of shortages but I don't want to have to sanitize things I bring into the house.    I worked in a lab while I was in college and, being an underling, I was often responsible for sanitizing..... so maybe I over react.
SJ, So far the virus has given my location a wide berth but just the same we are keeping our pantry stocked and we seem to be in pretty good shape. Since we are both retired we are not planning on going out much anyway but if we needed we could stay home for an extended time.
Do what you gotta do, SJ, and keep your family safe. This virus ain't no joke. We've had the regular flu and stomach viruses in our area, but being so rural we might not (hopefully) see the effects of the big one.
The first confirmed death in the United States from the coronavirus happened last night. It was in the state of Washington. I am not going into hiding just yet because the state of Ohio has no confirmed cases yet and Washington is a long way away from me. I do have some relatives that live there so there is some concern for them.
+16 votes

It's official, I don't know how to stop. This past week, I looked a wikidata suggestion for a profile that I didn't need to be managing, turns out that this person didn't have profiles for either of her parents. Building out her tree and then come across a few existing profiles (that's okay, nothing duplicated), checking both Wikitree and Wikipedia revealed a chain of unconnected profiles to build across to and bumped me into a G2G issue of the uncertain existence of person who had a similar name to whom I was connecting this chain of profiles to

Anyway, because of my inability to stop, by the end of today I am 99% certain that I will reach next month's objective of 50k contributions before the membership anniversary at the end of the month (4th year coming up) and also the absurdity of 3k+ contributions for the month (this feels like complete madness). Fortunately, I get busy again with life so everything should drop back to 25 - 250 contribution weeks (in other words, 100 or 1000 a month).

Awaiting the reply from a couple of leaders regarding important changes needed for a project which is misleading people with false information.

Right now, at 8am on this Leap Year morning of the 29th, it's raining, and I'm back to sleep for a few more hours (I was up late this morning)

by Richard Shelley G2G6 Pilot (245k points)

Richard,

So glad you are focusing your incredible energy and skills on WikiTree. smiley     Your contributions are impressive.

Oughta be March by the time you receive this, the start of a new contribution months.  Sometimes, I get so engrossed with what I am working on that I am surprised when I look up at the clock. I have periods of "drivenness" while WikiTreeing.

Hey Peggy and Pip

Honestly, my energy isn't focused... I drift from place to place on here. This week, it looks to be associated with two categories belonging to Ministerial Portfolios in the New Zealand Government, it just so happens that some of these Ministers have some really interested notable connections. For instance: George has a connection to John

Already over the 100 mark for the month, and discovered the wonderful div element formatting I've used for adding a scroll bar on my Roll of Honour tables helps wonderfully with large Succession boxes (more of a favour towards the other profile managers)

+16 votes

Hello, Pip and fellow WikiTreers! Feeling exhausted and headachy so only taking time to celebrate what Nat and I achieved with Johnny Weissmuller's profile - now with biography and connection included. We nearly spent the whole week on it. And we're trying to prep a few profiles for the Olympics - even though I'm beginning to doubt that they will actually take place.

by Isabelle Martin G2G6 Pilot (560k points)
What a great profile to work on Isabelle!!
Johnny Weissmuller, yes an Olympian, but I grew up knowing him as Tarzan (Sunday afternoon fare when I was young).

I sure hope you feel better, Isabelle! Seems several of our WikiTreers are not feeling well.
+17 votes
Hi all! :) I'm late to the chat today.

HOME: Everything is going good at home. My grandmother's ankle is fine now. It seems to have healed up nicely. My boyfriend and I took a 2 day vacation while my dad stayed with my grandmother.

WIKITREE: I've been doing the usual things on WikiTree: editing profiles, greeting, and I'm still working on the Orphan Trail. This week I've been catching up on emails from Projects and other things, the 2 days I wasn't on vacation so I haven't done anything to the Orphan Trail this week. I should have more time to do it next week.
by Greta Moody G2G6 Pilot (197k points)
It's great you're working on the Orphan Trail.... I need to become more familiar with the project.   Sometimes,  life keeps us from meeting out WikiTree goals... but when time allows we'll get there.

Glad your grandmother is recovering.
You've been doing a LOT of greeting, Greta. Thanks for that! We need a few more to cover those open spaces on the schedule. It's good to have you around to jump in when needed!
Hi Peggy! Thanks. The Orphan Trail is part of the England Project and all new members start on it.
Hi Pip! Yes, I have been. You're welcome. Sometimes I'm on WikiTree in spurts so if I can cover, I let the gang know. Everyone is really nice, friendly, and helpful in the Greatest Gang!
+14 votes
Good evening from Central Europe,

Corona is coming to Germany, but it's not yet in my region. So we are a bit more cautious than usual when we have been outside, but that is it. One of my removed cousins on the Balcan is panicking a little bit, because he wants to travel next week by plane where he can't go in any other way and doesn't want to spend his vacations in a foreign country in quarantine...

Yesterday afternoon the winter realized time is running out for it to show it should be cold and white and stuff like that. Suddenly it started snowing, but the snow was melted away already this morning. There was only a bit of snow yet on cars that hadn't been moved and were standing in the shadow the whole time.

On the personal front I bought a new notebook. Now I have to get used to the new smaller format (15" instead of 17"), and to copy all my stuff from the other laptop to the new one.

One of my social sisters (daughters of my social daddy) is pregnant again. You bet I am excited for her. She is due in August and they already know it's gonna be a third boy for her.

On the genealogy front, the small German nobility connected with Siemens is... let's call it interesting. This week I found a General who was during WWII the commander of Nazi Germany in Croatia. He was later hung as War Criminal. And suddenly I thought I have to run through the book about my granddad's town again. I might find his name in that book as the Croats were occupying that area during WWII.

Is there actually a Category for War Criminals here? Von Leyser is not the only one I found.
by Jelena Eckstädt G2G Astronaut (1.4m points)

I suspect they might fall into the Notables (possibly) under the Black Sheep, if anywhere. There is a "Criminals" category (high-level), but I don't see any "War Criminals".

https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Category:Criminals

There's also the Black Sheep category:

https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Category:Black_Sheep

Sounds like that could be a new category request.

Jelena, I spoke too soon when I said that the expected snow didn't show. It snowed last night, even if only a bit. Rain this week, lots of it.

How's Mom doing? Well, I hope. I know she is anticipating her surgery.
For mum life is normal for now. She can't wait to have her surgery because she finally wants to be able to user her arm normally again. Normally means in this case, she will be able to lift it up to shoulder level. But even this is more than she is able to do now.
+10 votes
Just got a text message from my daughter in law. She was asking about a book written by my favorite author, Dean Koontz, The Eyes of Darkness. The book also appears under one of his pen names Leigh Nichols and was written in 1981. The virus in the book is "Wuhan-400". The location where the coronavirus started is Wuhan. that is the total of the facts about the book and the virus outbreak that are similar, but enough to cause pause.
by Dale Byers G2G Astronaut (1.7m points)
And yes I read it years ago.
EERIE,  I've read many many books by Dean Koontz, but not that one.  He is certainly a great read.
Peggy, Try looking for it under the pen name of Leigh Nichols.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Eyes_of_Darkness
Will do.
I LOVE Dean Koontz! I read a spate of his books several years ago. He had a way of making spooky REALLY spooky!
+13 votes
Oops, I wrote a  nice long comment that should have been an answer. Still getting the hang of this.
by Nancy Wilson G2G6 Pilot (145k points)
I noticed you placed it as a comment........  yes,  now you've already gotten the hang of it.   By now you realize we're not particularly formal or structured here.
Formalities and structure are definitely not my strong points. Nancy, I think you fit in quite well. Watch out for Peggy. She is a rabblerouser at times. She is full of shenanigans.

Thank you Paul!  heart

I've been trying to discard my image as an engineer,  how boring.  Retirement has allowed me to shed a skin.

It's alright, Nancy! The tech does take some getting used to.
Peggy I bet you were a silly engineer

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