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Shopping Saturday - How I Spent My Allowance

9/22/2012

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Back when I was a kid, growing up in the 70's, this was the place everyone went shopping on Saturdays.  The right side had an S & S Grocery Store, and the left side had a Globe Department Store.
This was before Walmarts, Kmarts, and large chain grocery stores, at least for Rochester, NH.

Each week we had our chores that we had to do: cleaning out the animals stalls in the barn, splitting and hauling wood, inside chores in the house (yes, it stunk to be the only girl lol).  If we did them well and didn't give my mother grief for the week, we would usually end up with around $2 by Saturday.  Sometimes I was smart, and saved that money for a few weeks, so that I could buy something more expensive.

But more often than not, I would go with my mother on Saturday mornings and spend it right away.   While she was shopping in the grocery store, we would go to the Globe, and look at toys, coloring books, and all sorts of "shiny" things.  More times than I can count, I bought drawing pads, colored pencils, markers, and watercolors.  I loved art (and still do today), so I was able to buy things that would make it more enjoyable.

As I became a pre-teen and teen, the focus turned more to closes.  Trying to assert my independence from my mother's choice of what I would wear (who the heck invented polyester!!??), I would save for a month or better just to buy a shirt or sweater that I truly loved.

Like in the "old" days, when a family who lived on a farm might have only "gone to town" once in awhile, that was our "going to town" trip, just weekly.  We lived 20 minutes from these stores, and so it wasn't convenient for my parents, who both worked.  I have many fond memories of those stores, and the extra treats my mother would get us on the way  home, either at the A&W drive-u

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Obituary Update

9/19/2012

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I was surprised yesterday, when less than a week after I sent my email for the requested obituaries to Ferguson Library, that I received them.  I was so excited to dig into them!  Of the 31 obituaries I requested, I received all but two of them.  The two I really wanted to see.  One for William J. Borsey, and

the one for that mystery "Mrs. Nichols".  They stated in the note that was attached, that the dates on the database must be incorrect.  I will have to double check the information I have for William Borsey and see if I can't give them a more accurate date to search.  I don't know what to do about the "Mrs. Nichols" one.

A couple of the obituaries, that I thought might be either uncles or great uncles for the Blanchard side, turned out to not look like they are related to me, at least not directly.  I will hang onto them though.  Might be able to help someone else out down the road, searching their Blanchard line.

A couple things pop out at me:
     -I knew that my grandparents, great grandfather (paternal) and my maternal great grandparents were buried in Spring Grove Cemetery, Stamford, CT.  What I didn't know, is that so are my great great grandparents, along with various other members of the family.  I am currently trying to convince a counsin who lives locally down there, to go get me some photos.
    -My great grandfather, Milton S. Ede, according to family history, died fairly young, due to getting hit in the head with a roll of fencing that fell off a truck while he was working.  According to his obituary, the poor man suffered for nearly 2 months after the injury, before he finally passed away.  From what I heard, it probably was some sort of brain swelling or bleeding.

I have decided, since there are so many obituaries, that I will set up a separate page here on the site, and transcribe them there.  Feel free, if you think you are related to my lines, to get in touch with me.  Sharing what we know is half the fun!!

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Google Books

9/16/2012

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Google Books can be a huge bonus to your genealogical research, but is often overlooked.  Never underestimate what you can find there....

A quick search with the term "Brooklyn NY", brings up pages upon pages of results.  Titles such as "Our Fireman: The Official History of the Brooklyn Fire Department" could be a hidden gem for anyone who might have someone in that line of  work in their family tree.

I recently heard someone in the professional genealogy field mention that in order to do a good search, you have to know the history of the time you are researching (my apologies, I can't remember who it was).  Google Books is amazing for this!  One example: "Report of the Department of Health of the city of Brooklyn, NY 1884-1885".  Did you have family living there in this time period?  Discussion of diseases, challenges of having so many people living in such tight quarters, and suggestions by medical professionals about how to handle those issues, will give you a good over view of what things were like for your family members.  Exciting reading?  Not usually, but every little nugget of information will give you a better understanding of where your ancestors came from.

Jumping over to information on Vermont and Massachusetts, this has actually been a boon for me, when it comes to the Blanchard branch of my tree.  I had no idea that the Blanchard name, and their accomplishments go so far back in our country's history.

Google Books is a great resource for finding long lost histories of towns, churches and even companies.  In a search yesterday for a project I am working on, I found old company newsletters with the particular ancestor in it.  Turns out he was quite musically talented, always either playing piano, or singing in the company choir.  This is something that his great granddaughter never would have know if I had searched where I did.

Not all of the information will be 100% accurate.  Personal genealogies written early on in history, tend to have many errors in them.  But it might give you some small nuggets of information you wouldn't have found otherwise.


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Genealogy Generosity

9/13/2012

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Thanks for the prompt GeneaBloggers!  So has someone offered to help you in your genealogy search?  There was one person, very early on in my search for my great grandfather Arthur Nichols.

A man named Ken, in CT, saw a request for information of mine, on a message board.  After a few emails, he offered to go to the cemetery where my grandparents are buried, and take a photo of their headstone for me.  I had never been to the cemetery.  They died when I was young, and my parents didn't want us there for various reasons.  I knew what cemetery they were in, Spring Grove, in Stamford, CT.

Ken not only took a photo of their headstone:


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But he also took a photo of Arthur's headstone:

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He also took a photo of a headstone that he thought might be related, Milton S. and Mary J. Borsey (which I can't find at the moment), and turns out to be my other great grandparents.  Until these photos arrived in the mail, I had no idea of their names or anything.  He opened up a huge hole in a brick wall for me.  I will forever be grateful to him, for taking the time out of his busy schedule to go hunt them down for me.

I hope that some day I can do the same for someone else.

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Obituaries

9/10/2012

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With a large concentration of my family having lived in Stamford, Connecticut, it only makes sense to take advantage of the Ferguson Library Obituary service.  They offer an index on their site, where you can search for obituaries, some going back to the late 1800's.

I was under the impression (I don't know why), that you had to pay $20/obituary.  After emailing the library to ask if there was any sort of discount for a large number of them, I received an email back, stating that they do this service free of charge.  Perfect!

Here is the list I am sending them:

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Of special note is the one I have highlighted, Nichols, Mrs.  I do not know if this woman is connected to my Nichols, but considering the time period, it is possible that this could be my missing Clara Estelle (Blisard) Nichols.  My great grandfather Arthur Nichols wasn't a wealthy man, but it's possible he could have done an obituary if she passed.  My grandfather Gordon Everett Sr. was born in 1913, and by the 1920 census, Clara is missing.

I don't want to get my hopes too high, but the possibility is there.  I will keep you posted, once I receive them.
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I'm Not a Professional...Yet

9/9/2012

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I am not what I would consider a professional genealogist...yet.  But I think I am well on my way.  I study each day, reading what the professionals have to say, watching webinars, and reading books and websites to improve my skills. 

One way that I am getting better at what I do, is by offering to help my friends with their family history.  My family is pretty concentrated in the New England area.  While I am still learning what is available for records, and how to obtain them, being able to work with information in other areas of the country is also expanding my skills.

One friend that I have been working with, actually has a Mormon background in her family, which she didn't know.  Her ancestors can be traced back to England, and coming to America with the influx of people in the 1800's who heard Mormon preachings in England.  I knew nothing about the Mormons, so it was a great learning experience, and lots of fun history to learn as well.

Another friend that I am working with, has roots in Kansas and Nebraska.  More history, more fun facts.  More to learn, and brush up on my skills.

I have goals for my genealogy education, and will work hard to get them achieved, so I can call myself a "professional" in the future.  But, like with most of my life, I am a firm believer in self education....never, ever stop learning.  There is too much out to know!

Besides, practice makes perfect, right?  What are you doing to hone your genealogy skills?

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Thankful Thursday - My Father

9/6/2012

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There are a lot of reasons I have to be thankful in my life, but this coming month is giving me one of the most wonderful things to be thankful.

For those of you new to my blog, this is my dad.  He can be stubborn, but giving to a fault.  He is exasperating at times (it's always been "my way or no way").

Back in February of this year, out of the blue, he collapsed with a massive seizure.  After much testing it was found that his lung cancer that he beat two years ago had spread, and

he had a 4cm tumor on his brain.  Thankfully, it wasn't in his brain.  Lots of doctors appointments later, he had surgery to remove the tumor.  We weren't out of the woods yet though.  His mental status was really altered.  A combination of the swelling in the brain and also medications they had him on.  This has since resolved itself, and he is back to doing most of what he used to do, even driving.

It is now almost his birthday.  He will be 70 this month.  This is a HUGE milestone for him.  Not many people in his family live this long, and he seriously thought he wouldn't.  Of 6 children, there is only him and his older brother.  Both his sisters, and his two other brothers have passed away.  His parents both passed away in their early 60's.

I am thankful to the doctors, nurses, and hospital staff at Wentworth Douglass Hospital, and especially the Seacoast Cancer Center, for all that they have done to ensure that I have my father for another birthday.  Now we can enjoy complaining about him being a royal pain for much longer :).

He has worked hard all his life to take care of my mother and us children.  And as much as he hates to admit it, from all I have been told about my Grandfather, he is more like him than he will ever admit.

In August he had new scans done, and they have come back clean as a whistle.  Not a spec of cancer anywhere.  It truly is amazing what G-d and medicine can do.  And yes, praying was the first priority.  I am just thankful.....the words can't do justice for  what my heart feels.
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What To Do With A Tight Budget

9/4/2012

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Because of budget concerns, yesterday I had to temporarily cancel my paid membership for Ancestry.  I still have access to it for a bit, so I need to download my updated GEDCOM (I added about 5 more people to it yesterday), so that I can work with it offline.

Anne Gillespie Mitchell wrote a great post on her blog back on the 14th...."Stop Searching, Start Analyzing".  And this is exactly what I need to do.  And what better time than while my Ancestry account is on hold.  I need to get my OneNote notebooks set up properly for each family.  That alone could take a month!  I am going to tackle it one family at a time, add my documents/images, and do proper sourcing for what I know. I need the practice on the source citations, so this will be a good work out for me.

Yesterday someone shared a new pin on Pinterest, that had a video with a downloadable OneNote template for creating a research plan.  I love it, and will be incorporating it into my notebooks for each person.  Even if they are not a "brick wall", this is a good way to get a full overview of what you have, or don't have.  In genealogy, there is always the tendency to miss something.  This will also allow me to make a list of documents I need to request.  I know it's a lot, and budget wise, it's going to take awhile.  From the Ferguson Library in Stamford, CT alone, I need 20 obituary notices, to the tune of $20 each.  I need to prioritize what I want to get first.

Because I am house sitting for the week, I don't have access to my printer, to get documents printed out for my paper files.  After losing a huge amount of resources by relying on an online service a few years ago, I want those paper files.  Besides, who knows what technology will look like in even 10 years from now.  Will anyone in my family be able to access my files if there aren't paper backups?  I don't want all my hard work to go to waste.

Take Anne's advice.  Stop, breathe, and take the time to review what you have collected.  You just might see something you didn't before.
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Weebly And The Switch

9/2/2012

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So, if you managed to see my Facebook post, or my "I'm Moving" post on the old blog...you are probably wondering why the switch to Weebly.  Honestly, until a day ago, it didn't hold much interest to me.  I had created a site with the Ancestors Before Me url, but hadn't done anything with it.

Then I found a pin on Pinterest Thursday.  It lead me to an amazing set of 3 videos by Caroline M. Pointer of 4 Your Family Story.  In these three videos, she walks you step by step through setting up a Weebly account, and then setting up your first pages.

I did try a couple templates before I found one that worked for what I wanted...no real header.  I had forgotten what she said in video two about how to get rid of it...so as I set my site up, I used her videos to refresh my memory.

A few of the reasons I think this site is a better fit than Blogger:
-I like the layout and ease of use better.  Blogger is super easy, but you are limited a bit in what you can do with a straight blog.
-I like that this looks more like an actual website...because it is.  And if I decide to buy the domain down the road, I shouldn't have to do much other than change a few "behind the scenes" settings.
-I think it will be more user friendly for family who come to see the updates.  If they don't want to read through all the blog posts, they can check out photos, maps, etc.  They can follow my thought process and see where they fit into the equation.  Who knows, they might have a light bulb moment and be able to help me solve a brick wall.
-I think that the elusive "missing cousins" that I don't know will find me more easily with this format than with Blogger.

So, I think I have gotten the really important blog posts moved and published.  I will be adding photos and such here in the very near future, so please bookmark the site and visit often.

And you really should go watch Caroline's videos.  They are amazing!  Thank you for taking the time to make them Caroline!

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