New Year's Challenge #5

Challenge #5

>> find 3 historical books (ie pre 1910) about your geographic area of interest: online, Newberry, inter-library loan (your back closet?)

check out Google books - free historical...

Why??  Don't remember where, but do remember reading the comment (which I have found true) that the past is a different country, and by reading books written in that different country, not just about that different country, one can start to catch the ethos of that time, and also that place.

Consider:
the wonder of the speed of train travel after horses
the ease of housekeeping when water was piped inside, or oil replaced candles, or gas replaced oil light
the difference when schooling became the responsibility of the local government
and on, and on, and on.

My grandfather was born into a world of horse power supplied by horses, 2x daily mail delivery, telegrams & milk brought to the door, refrigeration in true ice boxes.  By the end of his life there were computers, cars, cell phones and a man had walked on the moon.   Amazing --
          And, someone looking at our lives in 100 years may say the same of us.

Cheers
Liz

ps - you are now at the end of January !! -- February is the month of many celebrations... stay tuned

New Year's Challenge #4

 Challenge #4

>> index (& put into sleeves) all ‘original’ & valuable documents.  *** if the document cost time and money, and would be difficult to replace, it is valuable.

              (Extra credit: transcribe/abstract each document and put that info into an excel spread sheet.)

 

(and this is the time when you might want to consider how you are going to keep track of all the info that you have -- by number or by name or....  There are as many ways of organizing as there are people, and/but some ways have historically worked better than others; dictionaries and encyclopedias and donor lists all work on alphabetical order...)

 

New Year's Challenge #3

Challenge #3

>> find one ancestor on every census s/he was alive for.  (remember no 1890 census), and transcribe everyone in the family on each census. 

              (bonus points for filling in the 10 years inbetween: ie. city directories, birth of kids, draft reg)

 remember that transcribing means all the info that's on the census... age... occupation... etc.

(and what is really interesting is comparing the information from census to census!!)


"extra credit"
take the parent of the ancestor you chose, and take that person back to 1850...

 

New Year's Challenge #2

Challenge #2

look at one new data base (online) that is not Ancestry:  newspapers, PERSI, Fold 3 (military & city directories a specialty)

Chicago folk have access to Chicago Trib Historical through their Chg public library card.  Suburban libraries that co-operate/courtesy card to Chg Public give many more access -- and that's from home!

PERSI is the indexing tool for genealogical periodicals.  The genius people at  Allen County Library, Fort Wayne, Ind thought this up, and maintain the list, which is available online through Heritage Quest (limited), or Find My Past (total), a finding aide which  is available through many libraries.

(yes, gen club folk... Forest Park Library has some of PERSI through Heritage Quest, which you can see at home!!)

What this resource offers is access to the items written, over many years by many people (and yes, of differing abilities) on so many many subjects for the periodicals, monthly newsletters, quarterlies, yearly journals.

So..should you be researching blacksmiths in Pennsylvania in the 1850's, you can see if anyone wrote an article about this.

NOTE: PERSI doesn't carry the article, but Allen County Library has the periodical!  Road trip for many; for few, talk to your friendly local library's reference librarian. 


Grow, learn, be brilliant !!

 

 

New Year 2017 -- Intro to the year & challenge #1

UPDATE: It's the first of January -- and unusually warm for Chicago.  Got to see the Apple drop in New York, and the Star go up in Chicago, and fireworks both places.

The new years challenge is posted, I hope.  Still working on some of the technical issues.

Challenge still holds --


ORIGINAL:   It's mid-December, and the weather is absurd.  Time to find a warm spot, cocoa or coffee, put on the fuzzy slippers, and hit the New Year's resolutions a bit early to learn a bit more about our favorite passion, genealogy.

 

For those of this mind, here is a New Year's Challenge! 

 

There are 5 challenges (so far); one will be posted (planned) each week on Monday.   Each project may be fast or slow, and with the extra credit should well occupy the remaining weeks till the first genealogy Saturday.

 

If you are local to Chicago area, join in the fun during the 2nd Saturday Genealogy meeting at the Forest Park Library.  The administration has changed, and what months will have meetings is still under discussion.  (Library is at Jackson & DesPlaines, Forest Park, IL) 

 

CHALLENGE #1:

** do 2 “learning” things: read a book, view a webinar, attend a conference, go to a gen club lecture

 

there is a world of info to be had, and much of it free or for small cost.  I know genealogists are frugal; use that to your advantage and do a little searching on line.  

 

• google "genealogy webinars free" and see what pops
• google "genealogy conference or seminar [your city]" and see what pops
• google "genealogy groups [your city]" and see what pops

or fall back to hitting the library for books.  Paper does still work...!!

 

Have fun and grow during !!