writing...

 

Jelled

The idea jelled as soon as they started talking.

routine helps, other things help, nice paper, good pens, but the basic thing is "do you want this thing written more than you want a slow cup of coffee, an extra 2 hits on the snooze, lasagna from scratch vs. spaghetti on the stovetop, in fact anything cooked from scratch, making do with what you have vs. fixing or replacing, not as a function of money, but of time....." there are all these suggestions -- read some of the books by writers about writing, Steven King (good!), Anne Lamont (classic), William Zimmerman (classic also in a different direction). Don't remember who, but he (it was a he) said he sat down every morning and didn't get up till he had 500 words he didn't hate (novelist). and I would add one more thing -- READ -- read old (like 1800"s), read poetry, read jane Austen, and other authors who use rich language, Faulkner, and the lovely Old school science fiction writers who will encourage your mind's flexibility. I ramble on, and/but.... Using words skillfully is our heritage, and to claim it is a worthy aim.

the 21st Century Genealogist: Musings on Transcriptions - and a tip ---

 Transcriptions enter the picture about week 3-4 (just kidding) of the genealogists' life.  Transcribing, currently, means taking a handwritten document, often long and/or legal and/or written under a time crunch or duress (like a diary during a war), and turning this 18th or 19th century piece of writing into typescript.  This is a useful skill.  Those in your family who you want to ooooh and aaaah about your work can read typescript.  You may even find it easier to do analytical work when you can skim the document. 

SIDEBAR: Do you remember from Upstairs, Downstairs that the person who did the typing was referred to as the Typewriter?  As in "I'll have the typewriter take care of this."   Did you ever read "Bartelby the Scrivener" by Melville (of Moby Dick fame) who was essentially human carbon paper?  He sat all day in the lawyer's office and made 2 copies of every legal document: original (written by lawyer) stayed in the office, copy 1 for party of the first part, copy 2 for party of the 2nd part. 

So transcribing/copywork has a long and august history, even though Bartleby is a bit creepy. So not too shabby.  

For the record, in April 2021, there are some prevailing conventions about transcriptions. One such convention is that each typed line will change to the next exactly where the handwrit changed, regardless that type usually takes less width than handwrit.  So... to match line length one does a hard return to move down to the next line, and then the smart/dumb computer automatically capitalizes the first word.  If you type as normal and put in the hard returns when finished typing, the auto-cap does not engage, but it is "forever" to get that right, and quite fiddly, and while I'm sure there is a command somewhere in Word to turn this "auto cap on hard return" off, I have yet to find... hence... 

My first solution was to type the first letter of each line twice, and then go back through and delete the first letter.  It works, but it is still a bit fiddly.  My current working solution is less so, and follows. 

TIP: My current workaround.... type as normal, but when done typing the last word in the handwrit line, put in a space, type some symbol not in the document (I use the straight up-down line) "|" and space again --  and proceed typing.  When done typing, go through the document and insert a hard return at the "|" so it remains the last or the first character in each line, then go through again and delete the symbol.  For what it's worth, I find it easier and faster to remove when it is the last character on the line rather than the first.  Also, one has only to remove the symbol, and not also the space after the symbol. 

MUSINGS - regarding capitals: So far, most of the documents I have transcribed are from the 19th century, with one or two from the 18th.   The capitalization in 18-19th century handwrit documents does not match current English usage. Current English capitalizes proper names, places and some other things, like "English."  By contrast, contemporary German capitalizes many (most? all?) nouns.  The more transcriptions I do, the more I wonder if the capitalization was to increase readibility, especially when the handwrit was done rapidly and without modern fountain pens.   I use a fountain pen, and when writing rapidly, my script takes on characteristics that I see in 19th century handwrit.  My lowercase 'r' resembles a 'v'; in 'the' the cross of the 't' starts the loop of the 'h' and the 'e' is often not rounded enough to be open.  My last name, Ross, as I sign it, could be read as Rorr, Ron, or Roir, but if we still used the 'long s' as the first 's' when there is a double 's', my last name, Ross, would be perfectly clear. And I use a well machined fountain pen with a rounded nib.  I have played at writing with a steel nib.  The shape of that nib does not want to make rounded shapes.  Have a look at the signatures in county histories under the etchings of the notables. 

I am not advocating returning the double 's' to duty, but rather considering the forest. I hypothesize that using many capitals increased comprehension of handwrit; lowercase e, i, and a can be close, not so with uppercase.  Ditto with 'nu' vs. 'mi.'  Computer wordprocessing is a medium with electronically controlled shapes, which are not affected by the force, speed or angle of the key strike.  The benefit of capitalization in handwrit is tied to the medium, rather than to the message.  

This modification would not change any spelling or punctuation, which would remain identical to the handwrit, but instead of copying every capitalization, transcriptions would apply current English norms: "the barn, and two hundred cattle" rather than "the Barn and Two hundred Cattle."

Archers do not dress as 15th century English, though they do wear a leather guard on their off arm.  The guard is tied to the action, the dress is just that, the dressing of that time and place.

TA

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on other shores --- due to covid I purchased a zoom basic account.  Necessary for my work, it also has had a lovely unintended consequence.  My two brothers live west coast and east coast; I am in Chicago.  For months we have been zooming every two weeks.  Short, long, with topics all over the map.  We have more chatting with zoom than pre-zoom. Before covid we saw each other only at Thanksgiving.  

Genealogy as a Who Dun It...

.............Follow da Money

Where is the money?   Historically (and in New York & Tokyo) the money is in the land, not in the skill.  Visit Plymouth Plantation, and the residents will tell you, almost to a man, that they are farmers, and "oh, I shoe horses when needed" or "I build furniture when it's needed."  

        And with the money in the land, how does land change hands?  Inheritance, marriage, "sale" to family, and, way down in the list of choices, sale to non-family.

A number of years ago, I was downstate Illinois to research both land and probate records.  Working in the courthouse in an age when everyone was much more relaxed about access to records, I was shown the stairs to the basement, and told that probate was to the right and land to the left.... and please turn the light out when I came up.  

The difference between the probate side and the land side was amazing, and made perfect sense when thought about for more than one second.  All probate records were dead records; everything in those records had been settled, and if a question arose, looking for the answer could take time, and taking time would not be an issue.  

On the other hand, literally, land records were current; these records were a deposit ticket which described their assets. Anyone in the county might need to get a record from yesterday or 15 years ago to 'do something' with the piece of land described on that piece of paper.   

Probate was the archive.  Land was the tickler file. 

        As a consequence, the probate side was, to put it mildly, quite untidy.  On the land side, you could almost eat off the floor, and all the books were "just so." 

    TA

ps - I'm told that how you find out I've posted is changing in July.  I will pursue, but right now this is a bit fuzzy how or what I need to do.  The main thing is, I am not stopping writing, so if it seems I disappear, I've not!  And it seems the address is still the same. Thanks for coming by and reading. 

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on the other side - The country has crossed the one year mark with Covid last month.  My time has gone into education, lots of education, via zoom, as courses pivoted (great word, right?) from live to on-line, and then worked again to add options to all the people itchy in their living rooms without travel to research.  Starting to look forward to life after lockdown, but it's shape isn't in anyway clear.

"You Can Never Know Another Person's Why"

 Long ago and far away, my high school decided that being modern would be served by dividing the year of English into 3 (or was it 4?) units, each with a different topic and taught by a different teacher. I only remember nuggets from one, "I know what I like," taught by Mr. Holbrook.  

One of few gray-haired teachers, he taught this mix-master class during his first year at the school. He had been a journalist for many years, and indeed, he also guided yearbook and newspaper staffs, imparting real-world skills.

As the class stumbled through debating "I know what I like" (aka "developing aesthetics," a totally unappealing title for teens) while discussing short stories and essays, he would toss out one liners.  If  ears were open and brains switched on, these bon mots plopped down front and center until assimilated. Perhaps these were his version of a koan. What is more important in a white horse? its whiteness or its horse-ness?

Holbrook comments -- in no particular order  -- 

"All of you watch too much TV," was thrown out as an aside one day when we were up and heading for the door. I hung around and asked why he said "all of you" because he didn't really know us that well.  His return. "If I had said, 'Some of you watch too much TV,' everyone would put themselves in the section that didn't watch too much TV.  By saying 'all,' each of you will think, even if just for a moment, 'Do I watch too much TV?' and that's the object, to get you thinking."  Hmmmm.

Several times during the quarter, the discussion veered into theft, embezzlement and other kinds of stealing.  His comment, "Don't talk to me about anything less than $100,000 as my share of the take. If I'm going to jail, it's going to be for a big amount."  OK.   

He mentioned his many geographic moves as a journalist.  A bunch of military kids, we were not impressed.  Older than most of our parents, he claimed he was never concerned about keeping his job. "I was looking for a job when I found this one." Interesting & surprised. 

He also talked about teaching. I must have asked why he wasn't bothered by the line of students sitting with their backs to the wall, not talking, not listening, etc.  For him, a class of 30 divided into three groups: 5-7 students who were bumps on a log, 3-5 who would learn without a teacher, and 22 who were at various points, needed a teacher and wanted to learn.  He said that many teachers taught to the bumps, spending much of the class time engaging with them. He believed that wasn't fair to the class.  He said he always taught to that middle group, but every so often would throw out something to invite the 5-7 bumps to bestir themselves and join in, and more often he would throw out a comment or observation to challenge the 3-5 who were yawning (inside if not outside).  Again, interesting. 

His biggest toss out has rattled around my brain for decades, constantly informs my genealogical work and is the title of this piece, the concern about "why."  I suspect the discussion started with an examination of the actions and motivations of a character in some short story.  As the exchange progressed, Holbrook tossed out the observation, "You can never know another person's 'why,' because knowing that would require mind-reading skills." He added that the questions you answer in a news article are "who, what, when, where, why and how," but in journalism the why is not any manner of mind-reading, but examining the situation from the outside and telling the "what of the what" or "what made the what possible."  The window broke (what happened) caused by a hurricane which came through town  (why the window could break) or the dog was lost (what happened) because the door was left open  (why the dog could be lost). Simplistic examples but decent illustrations. 

So... when I hear younger genealogists (time doing, not age) voicing "Why did Frances move from Ohio to Minnesota in 1910?" or "Why did Charles strike off by himself in 1850 and go from Oklahoma to California?"  I quietly smile to myself.   Often the question can be reworded into a question that can be answered by examing matters observable, such as, "How were Ohio and Minnesota different?" or "What did California offer a single man from Oklahoma in 1850?  Those questions can be answered with paper, and maps, and newspaper articles. No crystal balls required. 

Sometimes circumstances and hints suggest a motivation, but given the complexity of life, cause and effect are rarely clearcut. Journals & letters often include what purport to be motivations, but the caution comes from psychologists who remind that we may not know our own whys.  

What's the take-away?  First, keep thinking and wondering and learning.  Second, remember that you can never know another person's why. Go for the paper. (and cite...of course cite).

TA... 

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this blog got to mature, like a fine wine... so did the p.s. --- on other shores: we celebrated Christmas, but couldn't see friends at church.  the tree is small and lovely. the stockings are still hanging on a bureau in the living room, our stand in for a fireplace.  Santa knew there will still be months of staying in and dropped off 3 jigsaw puzzles with travel themes.  Also books.

In past years, this week between Christmas and New Year was the change-over week.  Stow the old paper and hang empty labeled files for the new.  This year...not so much.  

I spin and knit for calm and for product, but finished items and skeins were fewer in 2020. Time went into writing and sorting my computer.  I and the alphabet will prevail.  (think of a spare room.  Open the door, toss stuff in, close the door.  That was almost my computer).

Time also went into walking the My Mission virtual challenges.  While waiting for my DAR bling, I have walked the Camino de Santiago, swum the English Channel, and climbed Mt. Fuji, all virtually with circuits in the house.  Now I am walking Hadrian's Wall from east to west.  It's a bit silly, and also fun.  For every 20% of a mission's mileage completed, the organization plants a tree. Every so often they send postcards of what you would see if really there, and at the end you are sent a rather impressive medal and a certificate (suitable for framing). 

Another wrinkle on citations –

Citations are designed to let the reader (and in 10 years, you, the author) know where a bit of information was found. 

Different sources are cited differently, and that is not the subject of this post.

Citations themselves can be written differently, and that also is not the subject of this post.

This post offers a sidebar on how to record, as you are researching, what information a document, a narrative, a newspaper article, includes for later quick reference. From around 1910 until now, birth information is most often found in a birth certificate, death in a death certificate, and marriage in a marriage certificate. Line up a row of birth, marriage, and death certificates, and your family is laddered into a huge tree.

Earlier, not so much. And the earlier the time, the fewer records. Marriage records go back decades, and sometimes there are christening records. Before that…again, not so much.

So where do the facts come from? From tax records, from deeds, and from newspapers. (and that’s another huge set of blogs.)


                [I am a convert to “write/cite” and offer many bows and thank yous to the inventors, teachers and discussers of this technique who have taught me and shared wisdom informally; it’s a very long list.  

                However, that technique does not speak directly to the case of re-finding, quickly and easily, which article of the 157+ saved holds the information on birthday, residence or relationship.  Hence, a new wrinkle.]

Many sources include useful information which is often not reflected in the title of the article. How could the relevant facts be tracked, especially when the number of sources numbered in the hundreds; memory is good, but has its limits. 

Once the following solution presented itself, it was however, a “duh,” and an “of course.”

I put each source on its own page. Paper is cheap; electronic paper is even cheaper.

1. The page is topped by the citation – or all the info that will become the citation.
2. Next comes a snip of the source – or the whole source if it is small.
3. Next, if the snip is handwritten, or difficult to read, a transcription.

So far, cite/write… and not my idea/invention

        4. Then – and this is the only new thought of the mix – a list, in whatever font size is very easy to read when glancing at that page, on screen or on paper, of those things in this source that speak to the question or situation being explored.

So… when the question is building the Ferguson tree (a personal project) a social tidbit about Mrs. Webb from Bryan, Texas visiting her father Eugene [Ferguson] in Bloomington is of GREAT interest. Published in June 4, 1934, this 4- line squib offers that Mrs. Webb is the daughter of Eugene, that she lives in Texas, he lives in Bloomington, Ill.

And the page after #3 would look like this (below):

• · June 4, 1934
• · Mrs. Webb daughter of Eugene (ferguson)
• · Mrs. Webb lives in Bryan, Texas  --- [look into her marriage]
• · Eugene lives in Bloomington, Illinois.

If you find this useful, wonderful. If not, of course keep doing what you have been doing.
Peace.


TA

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Since last time: Writing up a storm and using #4 (above) to keep straight all the bits and pieces.  Looking forward to SLIG in a week, and enjoying the posts from this week of SLIG.

Chickens Come Home To Roost.

Let's be brutally honest.  I suspect I am not the only one with at least some disordered documents - loosely sorted stacks (paper) and/or roughly labeled files (electronic). I also suspect that I am also not the only one using the time without FHL and Archives (and research trips!!) to explore all the nooks and crannies of house and computer, in the hope of exhuming semi-lost items and mostly forgotten wonderfuls.  

A part of me is thinking of Carter peering into Tut's tomb.. "I see wonders." 

Some time ago, I saw the touring exhibit on the most recent finds at Pompei.  Among the artifacts was a delicate gold necklace with shaped dangles, continuous and graduated.  Behind me I heard the murmur, how did they do that?  

It just takes time.  

My computer includes county histories, hundreds of newspaper clips, documents and snips about every aspect of life.   Now has come the reckoning.  Now is the time to order and arrange.

Can do. 

It just takes time. 
        

The goal is to make things findable, so I tweek the alphabet.  When I label a file or a document and use the family name in the titling, I double the first initial, ala RROSS or DDASING.  While it is unlikely that DASING would come up in a search as part of a word, ROSS gets many hits as partial words.  

I label by the BIG branch - so RROSS also includes the women/men who marry into that line, the names Wilkey, Shirley, Barbee, Compton.  CCOMPTON will probably graduate into its own line when I open up that line sideways. Rebecca was born in Virginia, married in Tennessee, and died in Illinois. She promises a great story; her family line ties into a land grant from Lord Fairfax.  How cool is that!!

Back to the piles  -- afterall, lockdown will be over in only 5 months. 

TA... 

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on other shores: Earlier this month, I submitted my paperwork for DAR membership.  My grandmother was a member; she joined during the 1920's.   Paperwork for her does not cover current requirements; lucky that I'm a genealogist and can find the missing information.  I am kept in the loop on local chapter doings, and have joined in writing cards for overseas soldiers, and sponsoring cemetery wreaths for vets.

Also, am now officially an elected member of the Illinois State Genealogical Society board, and a member of the education committee.  Laura, past president and current chair of this committee has a large vision for activities for this committee.  It promises to be an exciting time.  Stay tuned for news. If you are in Illinois and not a member, consider joining.  In fact, if you are not in Illinois, follow and consider joining - with everything via zoom during Covid, you can live virtually anywhere.  What a bonus.

and finally-- and a Happy to you, wherever and whatever you celebrate --  

Dead People Have No Rights -- (though they may well have copyrights!)

Reviewing the underpinnings, with some comments.

Dates:   DAY(1,2,3 etc.)  MONTH (Jan., Feb., Mar. etc.) YEAR (4, repeat 4 digits) 

            Why?  My cousin got a birthday card from a friend in Belgium on June 6. My cousin's birthday is June 1.  That's why.  6/10 is ambiguous. 10 May points to one specific day in the year.  Why 4 digits for the year?  When research stretches into 3 centuries, though you know you will remember that a certain snip is from 1820 and not 1920, I guarantee you won't. 

                Also interesting, and good to know, between 1582 & 1752 both Julian and Gregorian calendar were in use, depending on where. Genealogists get to juggle double dates, which is particularly interesting when calculating ages. More info here. [1]  

Names: Record as you would introduce - Maggie Thompson, Roger Anderson,  Douglas Scott.  Why?  With this convention, one does not wonder whether Douglas Scott is Mr. Scott or Mr. Douglas.  

Places: Small to large or large to small.  Ancestry offers small to large in their drop-downs; Family Search prefers Large to small when you fill in the catalog box.  For your own work, choose one (either) and stay there.  (Please include the county, sometimes it makes a difference when trying to work out a puzzle.)   Why?  Lots of cities share names with counties, and counties with states, and lots of city names are in more than one state.  Hence, Hartford, Washington Co., New York.

      

Living People & Privacy: Genealogical databases blank out vital statistics on living people.  This action, unfortunately, hardly needs a why.  Stolen identities and hacked everything require diligence, for ourselves, our families and those whose information we tend, both online and on paper.  

Dead People Have No Rights:  Unfortunately true.  Small rant here.  My mother died in April.  I have a tree on Ancestry, but the youngest person included, and long dead, is my grandmother.  Three days after my mother died, Ancestry planted a snapshot of her on my home page.  I do not know where the person ID'd as the contributor got this snapshot and he has not replied to any post through Ancestry.  Annoyed hardly starts to cover it. 

            However, dead people do continue to hold copyright. Current copyright law gives ownership of writings (and other creations) made on or after January 1, 1978 to the creator for their life plus 70 years. Interestingly enough, a letter's content still belongs to the writer, while the physical item belongs to the recepient, who may give away, sell or display the letter, but not publish. [2]

            Who would have thunk that?

TA... 

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1. An interesting article is posted on the Connecticut Library Site. Google: Connecticut State 

    Library >  History & Genealogy > Colonial Records & Topics > 1752 Calendar Change. 

2. Roam around Copyright Alliance:  https://copyrightalliance.org/about/

+++++++++++++++++++++++++

since last posting: the tree is up and the larder is being stocked with celebratory food for Christmas and NY eve -- smoked salmon, herring in wine, "smelly" cheese.  You'd think we were Scandanavian (not!).  Education continues. With more than 3/4 of my lines leaping to Germany and the encouragement of a colleague, I have started DuoLingo.German, learning what I could have absorbed as a youngster. My grandmother spoke German but wouldn't speak it/teach it to her daughter (my mother).  Grandma often said, "We are in America. We are Americans. We speak English."  So I know the sounds, from songs and food names, but the language is being found again.   

Pencil, Paper, Films & Books

Back in the day, the first activity of a newbie genealogist was writing the details of their nuclear family into a lineage chart and a family group sheet.  Then the lineage chart parents sprouted branches for the grandparents, and two more family group sheets appeared. By this time the newbie had met the US census, and grabbed info from films, which taught geography and which also required learning how to use indexes, and probably soundex.  

Next steps included getting paper (official documents) to certify the information from family birthday books and "Aunt Sally" rememberings.  Birth & death certificates, marriage licenses, and pictures of gravestones joined the growing paper collection.  If lucky, many family documents were in the bottom drawer of the filing cabinet in the back bedroom.  If not, getting these documents meant travel to the issuing county or letters with checks. Luck in genealogy friends and casual mentors encouraged full and careful readings of these documents, and embedded hints directed future explorations. To this mix, the newbie would add in a local genealogy group, a few lectures, a weekend conference or two, reading and time.  In a bit, training wheels were left off. 

The amazing thing, however, is that "back in the day" is not 1860 or even 1950.  Back in the day was 30 years ago.  My first steps in genealogy were as written above.  I wrote letters.  I traveled to courthouses. I spent hours with the entire US census on microfilm at the Great Lakes NARA (73rd & Pulaski, Chicago).   I copied census pages longhand, (xeroxed census pages were rarely legible) and xeroxed book pages when in libraries (or more often wrote transcriptions).   Gathered information was studied closely at home, and notes kept track of future searchings. 

 

Today... "way different" is putting it mildly.  Open up a program, enter your parent's and grandparent's names and out pops a family tree of multiple generations.  When you claim them and title this assemblage with your name, the computer program starts sending hints, and an invitation is extended to add these new names to your tree. AI and other people supply you with ancestors; it's like pushing the STAPLES easy button. Do I use these big data bases, absolutely, with many thanks for all the records gathered, and never more than during this strange year.  I use these data bases to supply some of the documents that "in the before" were available only at the ancestor's hometown courthouse, or transcribed or abstracted in reference books available only in large collections.  

Anyway, back to the way back machine. Technology may move into computers that take dictation, rather than fingers on keys, but reasoning still directs what is recorded. The human brain still offers the best network for doing solid genealogy, and reviewing the underpinnings from time to time reminds.

General comments about research:

• Move from the known to the unknown
• Test every hypothesis
• Look carefully at all information available
• The further back, the fewer records
• Decide early (like today) how you are going to keep your information
• Full recording of where you got the info ("citing your sources") is VERY VERY VERY important

 

General comments about forms for the info:

• Record dates – 5 Sept 1897
• Record names – Margaret Simpson 
• Record places – Chicago, Cook, Illinois
• Living people have the right to their privacy – name/dates/locations
• Dead people have no rights 

 

Stay tuned for continuing coverage on these guidelines.  No specific order or schedule. 

If all this is thoroughly known and you feel you could write the next blogs, you still might want to check in every so often.  Other topics will enter the stream.  

(Similar comments were written in 2019, and found last week while "wandering about" my computer looking for documents saved a bit too hastily. (see above about deciding how to keep information.)  Not surprising if you have heard some version of this before, and you may hear some version of this in the future from another, but sometimes a reminder and a fresh voice is a good thing.) 

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since last posting. I am writing for my portfolio, yet, still, continuing, (choose your own word).  Yes, I have taken extensions.  Currently filling in the squares on the KDP lineage/generations.  This is a family I have been living with and collecting tidbits about for almost 30 years, so ... many choices about what to include and what to save for the book.  Continuing my education with conferences, webinars and various discussion groups, enjoying and learning from all. Honing my craft & working --- speaking to local gen groups, and writing.  

TA... 

I Love Learning.

 As said before, I love learning -- always have. 

 

And... while I'm growing a bit weary of my small physical universe, my home is comfortable, and I am grateful for heat and light and no earthquakes or hurricanes.

 

I am also very grateful for the internet, which connects me to FamilySearch, Ancestry, and other databases -- and allows my continuing curiosity walking room.  I go down rabbit holes, and explore for friends, but also have used this time to get much more schooling. 

 

Currently I am enrolled in Pro-Gen, an esteemed on-line genealogy course, which seeks to teach the many aspects of a working genealogist's life, both the business side and the "book-learning" research side.  Every month includes projects, and last month’s project was a research report.  

 

A genealogical research report concerns itself with determining relationships, as in "Who is the father of 'x'", "Is 'x' the brother of 'y'? or separating people who share the same name, as in "was Isaac Jacobs, merchant, b. 1847 or Isaac Jacobs, carpenter, b. 1850, the husband of Polly Thomas, b. 1853?

 

But… since the assignment was “a research report” there was a bit of latitude in choosing the subject.  I used the opportunity to spend time on a question that has been sitting (literally) on my shelf for at least 15 years.  My report investigated a set of documents found decades ago by my mother, who lived in Virginia.  She was an avid estate and garage sale attendee, had a 10 year old’s curiosity with the cash to satisfy, and much followed her home. During one visit, she showed me a bag of "stuff," and asked if I would like it.  I would.  

 

The bag was full of wonders – a book covered in green velvet, a small leather covered "pocketbook," 2 postcards, etchings, a folded speech, and a single chapbook journal with notes from a whaling voyage.  Researching for the report linked all but the journal with Leroy MiltonYale.  He was a physician, the son of a physician, and noted as a pediatrician. He was also a proficient amateur etcher, who started the New-York Etching Club and was its first President 1877-1879. 

            As said, research was able to attach all but the journal into the timeline of Yale’s life, and all the pieces fit without pushing. The journal did not fit. There is no account of adventurous travel in Yale’s life, but against that, the 2-3 year period during which this voyage took place (1886-1888/89) is only lightly sketched in the public accounts of Yale’s life.

           

            Another tidbit.  His mother’s brother was Richard Luce, a mariner (read whaler), who lived in Leroy’s household when Leroy was young.  However, the journal carries comments that the author was a greenhorn, which could hardly have been whaler Richard Luce, and the journal includes drawings, which could tie the journal to Leroy.  And if not Leroy, what prompted the attachment to Leroy artifacts for over 150 years?

 

Am I curious? Absolutely!  

            Plan to look into NUCMC, the New Bedford Whaling Museum, and ?  Any and all suggestions gratefully received and will be acknowledged should this make the public stage. Email is RossGen360@outlook.com. 

 

Do return. Updates about this... and writing about much else.  As said by another, "Genealogy is fun." 

 

++++++++++

on other shores: Neither 2019 or 2020 had many posts; I was doing a lot of family tending.  My mother started declining Sept 2018, moved close to us in December 2018, and died in April 2020. We are near the end of tending the paperwork of her estate, but there is much to do before settling the paperwork of her family history legacy, 100’s of pictures, some labeled, some not – and notes from her research trips and letters with Ross genealogists across the country.  For those of you on or anticipating this journey, peace and light.   As estate paperwork eases, my posts will be more regular. 

fun now - for september party !! GENEAQUEST !!! (oops... long over!!)

SO.... this post got lost in the trenches.... and today is 8 October.

Geneaquest 2020 was a great conference -- I really enjoyed doing the GeneaBars - Civil War Pensions, Dealing with Brick Walls, Lineage Societies.  And enjoyed being on the other side of the footlights on Saturday listening to the lectures.  Keep your ears perked for Geneaquest 2022.

Recent doings:     Upgraded my gear.  Audio: From laptop built-ins to wired boom mike headset. Added the "apple" wired ears, and just recently, wireless earpods (GREAT, and really appreciate the stretch factor when going to a day of lectures.)

    My computer 'grew'; I've added 5" to the depth of my desk, and sat a large monitor on it, and, after what seemed like a lifetime of waiting, have a separate camera sitting on the big screen.  Now I'm getting the office version of two-foot-itis, (own a 20' boat, want a 22'), and thinking about a second big screen. 

    Why the catalog of recent spending?  A reminder to myself (and maybe an encouragement/reminder to you?) that these tools are how I stay working and learning, and connect, and even more so now.  For the next 'x' months, nearly all my interaction with ... everything, anything... will be virtual.  There is enough angst in research & speaking/writing well, and choosing precise words for the thought/concept.  Good tools don't change the work, but good tools can decrease the drag coefficient. Nuff.

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GENEAQUEST 2020

Geneaquest is a conference that CAGGNI (Computer Assisted Genealogy Group of Northern Illinois) (say that 5 times fast) puts together every two years.  Last time, in 2018, I gave my lecture on finding women. This time, not surprisingly, I am in the planning up to my eyeballs.

As you can see, registration is now open.  Do come.  It's VIRTUAL (of course!!). and 2... count it 2 days rather than one.  Is this an ad.... yes, but an ad in a good cause.  Hit their site, and you can get all the details, I'll continue to talk about behind the scenes, and the why.

You should come because:  (and bring at least one friend... )

• Probably not much planned yet for September
• Price point is better than a lot of stuff hitting the screen -- $40 members/$45 non-members 
• Add on DNA primer for +$15 Friday afternoon (yes, add-on to Sat only)
• GeneaUS Bar - Friday morning.  Bonus for early registrants. (I'm doing three sessions if you want to come see)
• Virtual Lunch tables with your buds or a speaker - again - first come.
• Give-aways.  Door-prizes. 

Why would you want to be anywhere else?  

the world of genealogy .... BASICS

The world of genealogy –

Every “doing” has its own world – activities & vocabulary.  For most Americans, sports is an obvious one.  For most men, cars, and for most women, cooking &/or fashion.

Genealogy is a world that few learn from their parents.  Possibly good, in that all the forms and procedures are a learned language, and so all more easily done with the same ‘accent’.  Possibly bad, in that it is something slightly scary, and one more time grab for busy schedules.

Anyway, back to basic forms and procedures.  I have been lecturing on various topics for over 10 years, (researching over 30) and include some form of the following in every lecture. 

General comments about research:

• Move from the known to the unknown
• Test every hypothesis
• Look at all information available
• The further back, the fewer records
• Decide early (like today) (or better yet, yesterday) how you are going to keep your information
• Citing your sources is VERY VERY VERY important

General comments about the info:

• Record dates – 5 Sept 1897
• Record names – Margaret SIMPSON
• Record places – Chicago, Cook, Illinois
• Living people have the right to their privacy – name/dates/locations

Through the next months of blogs, each comment gets its own attention!  Stay tuned.

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ps. Jill Morelli ends each of her blogs with a list of what she has done since the last blog.  I like that idea so much (personal tally list, "it's not all bon-bons") it's going to appear on at the end of my blogs.  Thank you Jill. 

COVID TIMES & GENEALOGY --

I like learning.  Always have. 

As a kid, a lot of learning came through books.  I was the kid who begged parents to leave the hall light on and my door open, not because of any fear of the dark, but because I couldn't get my hands on a flashlight, and I wanted to keep reading. "my best friend is the person who owns a book I haven't read"  me & Abe Lincoln...

If you're here, you know me from genealogy, but I did exist and do interesting in the before.  I was a musician... So how did I end up as a musician?  Because I could read, and read way above my grade level.  It was determined that I could miss "reading" one time a week to take a music lesson in 4th grade. So I did - again, learning.  And that field expanded and stuck through university and 2 master's degrees.

To finish the rundown on my mostly music ...  I ran /directed a concert series (8 years), wrote grant applications that got grants, won by audition tenured cello positions in three regional professional orchestras, played festivals, gigged much, taught private studio and university, composed, arranged.  I was guest artist for recitals & concertos.  During grad school I engaged an accountant to present “How to keep books as an independent contractor,” for performance majors.  I also caused a minor furor with a recital encore of “The Swan” when I invited volunteer ‘swans’ clothed in short white cassocks to dance free form during the piece.  Sadly, no video exists. Recitals were only taped, and camera phones didn’t exist.

               An unexpected injury in 2017 ended professional level playing; I moved quickly into professional genealogy full time.  No TV soaps for me.  Genealogy was already in play, I was doing a monthly workshop at my library, and I found a new rhythm.  I was lucky that so many skills transferred. From my father I had learned to analyze, think, & write. He also encouraged mental flexibility.  From my mother I learned to explore and welcome the new.  From music I brought self-motivation, the chops to read old handwriting, the ability to apply theory to real-life (and vice versa), organizational skills, research skills, and the mental focus to work long, hard and accurately.

So... now the world is in a new age... hibernating & virtual.  This may be a permanent change, or for awhile.  Either way, in my world, TV soaps are still not included.  The genealogy world was a bit resistant to adopt virtual processes that were already standard, if not common, in business, but it was time to latch onto the technology or return to doing NOTHING for the duration.  

You see Facebook and your gen societies, and what the national conferences have done, and will be doing the rest of 2020 - and into 2021 - and ?  And the upshot is that the things that were virtual (pro-gen, Legacy Family lectures) just keep on doing, the national conferences (NGS & FGS) are going virtual, institutes are going virtual (GRIP, SLIG), and individual ventures (CDG, etc.)

So... now, from the comfort of your own home (as the phrase goes), one can travel the country, or the world, learning, seeing, and growing as a genealogist. 

so far since March 2020 I have attended.. and all virtual .... 

Conferences: St. Louis, NGS, FGS (maybe/it's sept) 

Institutes: GRIP, 2 weeks

Courses: Pro-Gen, starting in June for 14 months

Discussion: NSGQ Discussion, 1xmonth during 2020, CDG Alumni, 1xweek; knitting/books, 2x/month; 

and I am involved with the Sept 2020 staging of a virtual (first time out virtual) conference - GeneaQuest - product of CAGGNI (chg suburb group).  I am on the planning committee, and wrangling the vendors, and will be a member of the GeneUS Bar during the conference.  (?check us out on facebook?  ??come??!!).  Learning curve is steep and exciting - and we are doing it. 

And I am also venturing out a bit on my own.  From 2014 to 2018, the local library sponsored me for "2nd Saturday Genealogy."  This included a teaching a topic with handouts, fielding questions that walked in the door, and learning from each other.  I loved doing this, and have missed it, and in the years, people moved, so they couldn't come... so, with virtual the new flavor on the block, I thought of seeing how this could work.  Plan is to do the 3rd Friday of every month at 2 pm.  I've written the people I've touched through 2nd Sat or lecturing, and will venture forth in 3 days - this Friday.  If you contacted me w/ your email, you will get an invite to the zoom meeting.  

If you haven't gotten the "are you interested" letter from me, leave a note for me here; I think it's possible.  

hows my crystal ball? 

I see the future of genealogy having to keep the virtual aspect of society meetings -- 

I see the future of conferences incorporating some virtual aspects - 

I see genealogists getting easy with Zoom - both attending and leading.  

we all remember, "to infinity, and beyond!"   

it pays to sleep in a dorm !

This is a very quick blog - to register the gift of the universe in serendipity and wonder.   And to say thank-you to many people.

As many of you know (and now all of you) I have been chewing through preparing my portfolio for BCG certification for awhile.  The timetable changed, more than once, but was never abandoned. 

[NB. I am currently on the clock, with my due date 6 May 2020, so I am saying May 1 to myself.  This is an absolutely positively FIRM date.  If I were to renew for another year (which is possible), I would instantly be subject to a new set of requirements, which in turn would require reworking, if not re-doing a number of things.  Not going there, period paragraph.]

Was at June 2019 GRIPitt for a week of learning/honing my skill in writing proofs, a basic building block of genealogists.  A wonderful course, learned much, and still integrating the learning.
           Hence, the sleeping in the dorm.  Note: dorms have come up in the world; this one was ensuite! 

Also... meeting many wonderful people - including Sandy - who told me about an on-line course run by Jill Morelli that goes through portfolio prep with the real deal - not hypotheticals or verbal comparisons of the rubrics.  Fantastic! and my name is on the wait list for the course.  I couldn't be more delighted. (Obviously, my fingers are way big crossed.)

Thank you universe - and all the names you are known by. 

MOVE.....

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       Write it

       Shoot it

       Publish it

       Crochet it

       Saute it

       Whatever

       Make

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From Josh Whedon, Creator of Firefly

S is for is for Saving... & S is for Surfacing

>> S is for Serendipity

From Miriam-Webster, an official definition of serendipity is, "the faculty or phenomenon of finding valuable or agreeable things not sought for."  I, going shorter, would say that serendipity is between "wow" and "whoopee," and that serendipity makes for some of the best stories to trade.  

If you don't have a collection of these, just keep researching.  

Serendipity #1: A few years ago, I was in McLean, Va., visiting my mother, and went to the local FHL.  The gent tending was not, by his own comment, a genealogist; he did, however, ask what name I was researching.   When I said, “Rentchler, downstate Illinois,” he said, “Rentchler, California.” …. And we realized that we are cousins.  The brother of my Rentchler went to California, and the library tender is a descendent of that person, Marshall Rentchler.  I am a descendent of the son who stayed home in Belleville, Henry L. Rentchler.

Serendipity #2: In the 1980’s I was researching in Ft. Wayne, In. with my mother, and commented to her that “look… Patrick joined Manerva’s church 8 months before they were married.”  A gent at the next table made comment to me that it was common for the beau to join his lady’s church some months before marriage, so they could be married in her church. 

Serendipity #3:  In 1964, an oral history was taken about two very very small Illinois towns, Belle Rive and Dahlgren, resulting in a book titled (no great surprise here) "The History of Belle Rive and Dahlgren, Illinois" and put in the Mt. Vernon library.  In 1998, to aide my own research, I made an every name index of this book, and published it online.  In 2018, my colleague and friend mentioned that he had people from that area.  It turns out that one of the interviews was given by his great aunt, who he knew, though he had no knowledge of this book!  (ps-the index is still on-line)

Serendipity #4: The first time to Mt. Vernon library (IL), with my mother to research my father's line, we were pointed at a researcher across the room.  The librarian thought that she knew about the Ross’.  Indeed she did!  Her GG and my GGG were sisters – Sarah Nooner & Rebecca Barbee – both originally Comptons, and born Manassas, VA. 

   ... and the "wow" factor continues.  My cousin, a Ross, married a woman born and raised in Manassas, VA, who, though she doesn’t have any Comptons in her line (to her knowledge) did comment that there were many Comptons in her school.  (and GGG gets the line back to the early 1800s!!)

Serendipity, at this point and for me, is genealogy’s four leaf clover.  Keep your eyes (and ears) open, and it may just find you ---

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>> S is for surfacing 

You may notice that my last post was Sept 6, 2018.  On Sept 7, 2018, I was on a plane headed to Va. to tend my mother.  Sitting in a hospital or rehab is not the best place for the creative musing or applied thinking/writing that goes into a blog.  Ta-da.  No writing for 5 months.  The extra time until today, and being able to get “back on the blog” were used arranging her move to Chicago and settling many things. 
       
I am looking forward to months, even years, with much less excitement. 

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2018 began with an "ABC-darium," a walk through the alphabet expanding into short comments on matters genealogical.  Published on most Tuesdays and some Fridays, a letter may be visited more than once before moving on.   2019 continues to finish the alphabet.  Then ??? -- any suggestions?

© 2019, SE Ross