Author: GenealogyAtHeart

Genealogical Software and Identifying Family Relationships

Originally published on genealogyatheart.blogspot.com on 6 Apr 2016.

Last Friday I had the pleasure of attending an all day conference hosted by The Villages, Florida Genealogy Society for the New England Historic and Genealogical Society (NEHGS).   I’m a member of NEHGS and I was interested in the topics, especially migration patterns .  Although I found all the workshops fairly basic I always take something away from any workshop I attend so I did get some new info to use when I revisit my tree AFTER I submit my portfolio.

I want to mention two points that I think were most interesting.  The first was during the workshop titled “Choosing a Genealogical Software Program” by Rhonda McClure.  I enjoyed Rhonda’s talk even though I’m not shopping for a new software program.  What was interesting to me was the number of attendees that couldn’t understand why someone would want to have their tree information on their own program.  Maybe I’m just old and remember the first genealogical software program I used which was on a cassette that was inserted into a TI-84 computer.  When we upgraded to Windows 3.0, I downloaded PAF from Familysearch.org and had to re-enter all of my tree info.  I didn’t have a lot, about 100 individuals, but it was time consuming and a duplication of efforts.

I moved to Family Tree Maker (FTM) because it was supposed to synch with Ancestry.com but as I’ve written in previous blogs, mine stopped synching and between the two organizations I could never get it working.  I then downloaded the Standard (Free) edition of Legacy in which to save my Ancestry.com Gedcom  and about once a month, I update Legacy by re-downloading the Gedcom.  I know Ancestry.com is in the works with synching with Roots Magic and maybe a resurrection of FTM.  I really would like a feature that synchs and I would go with that.  I do love the reports Legacy generates as I ended up purchasing the Deluxe version so I’d keep that, too.  The problem with not synching is one gets updated and the other doesn’t.  I have a lot of pdf’s and photos saved on Ancestry.com that’s not on Legacy so we’re back to time consuming and storage saving issues unless something is available to synch.

But back to why anyone would want to have their own software.  I live in Florida where we have many storms, often severe, which means that our power is off and therefore, no internet.  Even when there isn’t a storm we sometimes have no internet.  Like yesterday, with our wonderful new internet provider, Frontier, who can’t figure out how to provide the service we’re paying for (but that’s another story!)  With a backup generator I could still access my desktop, though it would be unlikely in severe weather that I would use a generator to do that.  I’d rather save the food in the fridge but I like options and if I would be so inclined, I could get to my information.  Although it’s also unlikely that Ancestry.com will cease to exist, one never knows.  Companies come and go.  I’m not trying to start a rumor – I think that is remote but in case, I want to have a backup.  I also like to have my tree available when I research away from home on my Kindle or laptop as in some facilities that I’ve visited, the wireless goes down when you’re in the stacks and it’s a problem.

The next interesting observation from the conference was how the Ancestry.com relationship feature doesn’t work.  I was surprised how many people rely on it.  Mine comes and goes and sometimes is so convoluted it’s hysterical. I’m not blaming Ancestry for that; it’s my twisted family tree where I relate to my husband back in the day.  It can’t figure out the connection and seems to take the long route.  I think I figured out why it does that.  Simply because of who I set at the home person.  If you’re having that problem just go to settings and change the home person to someone else and it may correct the problem.  If it doesn’t, then you’re going to have to figure out the relationship the old fashioned way.  I’d recommend bringing up the family tree view from the person you are trying to determine the relationship from and look and see where you recognize a common ancestor.

In a pinch you may find these links helpful:

When Seeking Out Records – Suggestion for Reaching Colleagues Who Care

Originally published on genealogyatheart.blogspot.com on 3 Apr 2016.

This is a story of extremes; the indifferent vs. the passionate.  Being almost done with my Kinship Determination Paper’s research I have encountered a full range of people personalities in my quest for obtaining information.  I’m trying to understand why some clerks, researchers, “professional” genealogists, historians, ministers and distant family members are so nonhelpful and others go above and beyond.  In the future, how do I insure that I contact those that care and avoid those that don’t?

As a child, I loved Highlight’s Magazine for Children.  We couldn’t afford a subscription so I looked forward to having my mom read it to me when we visited the doctor or dentist.  The “Goofus and Gallant” feature always made me laugh.  Maybe it was how my mom read them but I really wanted to be like Gallant!  Then there was the “Do Bee or Don’t Bee” segment on Romper Room.  I identified with the Do Bee.

In reflection of the past five months I think I’ve been in contact with half Do Bees and half Don’ts.  My findings don’t appear to have anything to do with area density; rural or urban doesn’t seem to be a factor at all!  It seems that locales in economic distress exhibit the least desire to be of help.  Maybe it’s because the employees are stressed due to over work because of unfilled positions or limited resources.  Perhaps it’s the overall mood of the community.  Or they can’t focus on the past as it’s so difficult dealing with the present.  The topic would make an excellent  dissertation for someone to investigate!

In the past week I’ve joked about the following situations I encountered but mind you, I’ve used gallow humor to deal with the frustration:

  • No one answers the phone in the probate department of a Midwest county office; repeated calls made at various times over several days.  Are they all dead?!  Called the operator who responded, “I know, I’ll transfer you.”  No voice mail, no email.
  • Emailed a question through a city’s website link, “Ask a Librarian.”  No response.  Called a few days later, phone out of service.  Looked online for a new number and none found.  411 has the number I tried so I reported it out of service.  I emailed another library the original question.  Got cc’d on the forward and then got a response from who the email was forwarded to.  Response said, “You are welcome to visit [name of library] and look through these volumes.  We ask folks to make an appointment so that I will be sure to be here (I’m the only full-time staffer here). “  I responded that I couldn’t come as I live far away and I just needed direction on where the record I was searching might be found so I could arrange for a look up.  The response was, “Oh, ok.  The …(first facility I had emailed but gotten no response from)… has the information.  Unfortunately, it’s closed these days but plans to reopen at some point.”  The person did do a look up and in one volume negative evidence was uncovered so I still needed to check other sources.  Called the city to find out when the library will reopen.  Was told there is no known date.  It’s a budget problem and not mold, mildew, fire, water, or a gas leak issue.  I’ve had to revise travel plans in the past due to all the above concerns except budget.  That’s a new one for me and will certainly make for an interesting footnote!  Going to have to check out Evidence Explained for help on that citation.
  • Tried to email a city department but the form filler didn’t work.  Copied the email address and tried to send from my personal email – returned as undeliverable.  Looked up a different department, no email address.  Emailed the webmaster about the problems and asked that my request be forwarded to the appropriate departments.  Got a response, “ok.”  No apology, no thanks for letting us know there’s a problem with our website, no nothing, which means I never heard from any of the departments who I asked that the email be forwarded to.  I’m thinking it’s because there is no email.
  • Spoke with a clerk in a county records department about obtaining a deed.  My only question was, “Does your office house records from 1920?”  I was expecting a yes, no or maybe so answer.  I got, “I’ll transfer you.”  Ok, a new take on “maybe so.”  Asked the same question to the next clerk.  Got, “I’ll transfer you.”  Was transferred back to the original clerk.  Clearly frustrated, she said that I should just come in and ask that question.  Huh?  Like I’m going to get the answer in person and not on the phone?!  I told her why I couldn’t come.  She said, “Well, find someone to come in for you.”  I asked for a recommendation since I don’t live in the area.  She responded, “I don’t know, maybe a title company” and hung up.  I’m thinking that the department should stop paying for phone service as a way to balance their budget since the employee will only speak to people face-to-face.  Would skype count ?  Perhaps the probate office figured this out already and stopped paying for phone service which would explain why no one answers that phone.
  • Received a letter in the mail from a state archivist (not the same state as the above) that said, “Unfortunately, we do not provide copies of county records…You will want to contact (the county) to obtain a copy.”  Clearly the archivist cannot comprehend what the request was – it stated that the county has lost the record.  I’m fairly certain the record was microfilmed and that’s why I contacted the state archives.  At least my check was returned.  Maybe I should donate it to the city with the budget problems.

Since I want to remain a “Gallant Do Bee” I’m thankful this week for:

  • The State Archivist (of a different state) who remembered that I had emailed a question a few weeks ago, found something recently while assisting someone else and emailed me the new information.  Wow, now that’s service!
  • Same situation happened with a county probate office – the individual I had been in contact with several weeks ago just happened to find something that she thought might be helpful.  It was regarding guardianship of a collateral line I was working on and yes, it was valuable, just like her!
  • The small town library that did several look ups, then scanned and sent the findings at no charge.  I sent a donation as I was so impressed with their helpful, dedicated staff.
  •  A county archivist who answered all my questions on the phone, made several suggestions and asked for a copy of the paper when I’m done so their collection can grow.  This individual demonstrated passion about her community and plans for the future. A winning combination!

Here’s my plan on how to not waste time with the losers and connect with the colleagues who care – I started a database of my contacts that were most helpful.  It has name, position, contact method (phone/email), and date of contact.  I thought about making a Goofus list, too, but decided against it.  I’m going to hope that maybe those negative folks were just having a bad day, week or month and not a lifetime. Personnel changes could also occur and I want to continue doing “reasonably exhaustive research” which means I just may have to recontact the same resource locations again in the future. I also wrote thank you notes to those that were so helpful and asked if I could have their supervisor’s name to let that person know how valuable the employee was.  Kindness is contagious and I want it passed on!

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Donations

Originally published on genealogyatheart.blogspot.com on 27 March 2016.

Had an interesting genealogical experience last week that I want to caution you about!  I’m all over the web – you can find my blog, website, email, public tree on Ancestry, FamilySearch, Find-A-Grave, etc. and I’m visible for several reasons:

  • I strongly believe my ancestors’ information and stories should be shared with anyone who cares to learn about them.
  • I LOVE genealogy, history and family stories so I joyfully research and investigate the past.
  • I’m more interested in preserving what I discover than gaining monetary compensation for my efforts.
  • Collaboration works for me!  I like connecting with others who are interested in the same lines that I am; if I’m not visible how are they going to find me?
  • I understand if you don’t share these views; I’m not going to try to convince you to change your mind so don’t try to do that to me.

With that said, here’s what happened –  I received an email message that someone was trying to contact me via a public posting forum.  I went to the site and the individual was requesting contact information for the deceased’s living relatives, though it didn’t say why.  I responded publicly to contact me via my email to discuss as I don’t give out living people information, other than my own, in a public manner.

I soon received an email from a small museum who wanted to know who the next of kin was as the deceased had donated an item that the organization no longer could display.  The museum needed to know if the family wanted the item returned or if they could sell it and keep the proceeds.

I responded what my relationship was to the deceased but they wanted a blood relative.  Using the tools of the genealogy trade, I found a living adult child who didn’t want the item and emailed the organization that they could sell it.

So, now you have the background of the bigger issue here – what happens to items that you or your loved ones’ donate.  This experience jarred me because I never really thought about a museum discarding items.  I donated a lot of old sheet music to a local museum about 15 years ago because they were trying to grow their collection and we didn’t have the room for it.  If they decided to sell it I’d be fine with that.  Although ancestors owned the sheet music I wouldn’t consider it an heirloom.  When I gave it away I didn’t think about asking for it back if they couldn’t house it any more.  In my head, you give it away and you have no rights to it any longer.  Apparently, the deceased thought differently!

If you plan on donating items you need to educate yourself before you give.  Check out these links:  http://www2.archivists.org/publications/brochures/donating-familyrecs

http://web.library.yale.edu/mssa/collections/donating-materials

http://dos.myflorida.com/library-archives/about-us/about-the-state-archives-of-florida/how-do-i-donate-to-the-archives/

and definitely check out the organization you’ve planned to give to BEFORE you make that donation.  Ask

  • Does the organizations short and long term goals mesh with the items being given?  If not, they may not want to keep them long term.
  • Do you understand the documents you’re going to sign?  Check with your lawyer and accountant before you make the donation.
  • Is it clear what will happen to your items in the event the museum no longer wants them?
  • If there is a provision to return items, how will the organization get in contact with you or your descendants?

Definitely food for thought while your devouring your chocolate bunny today!

Goodbye Picassa

Originally published on genealogyatheart.blogspot.com on 24 March 2016.

Previously I’ve blogged about one of my favorite Google products, Picassa, to which I uploaded all of my photos, movies and images of records.  I’m sad to say that it’ll be going away soon. Google stopped supporting it on March 15th.  It’s being replaced by a product called Google Photo so if you were using Picassa you’ll need to log into Google Photos to save your albums.  Supposedly, it’ll be an easy transition.  Problem is there won’t be editing software included and it won’t scale uploaded photos. I’m planning on following their directions so I don’t lose what I’ve saved this weekend.  I did click on the Photos link provided on the Google blog but the photos displayed weren’t everything I had in my Picassa albums.  Possibly it’s because I was signed in with a different email address.  I’m not panicking yet because I have hard copies and cds of everything but I certainly don’t want to spend the time reuploading!  That’s why I plan on checking it out this weekend and contacting Google before it’s too late if I can’t figure it out.  Looks like Google Photos has the facial recognition feature that I absolutely love.  New features on Photos begin on May 1st so I’m hoping that those will include fixes to the limitations that I’ve already mentioned.

Google Library for the Genealogist

Originally published on genealogyatheart.blogspot.com on 19 March 2016.

I’m taking a course through the National Institute of Genealogical Studies called “Google for the Genealogist.”  Half way into it and I’m finding it’s very useful.  There are 8 modules in total and the one I just completed on Google Books was the most relevant to me so far.

I use Google to search for old books that may contain a mention of my ancestors. Sometimes I just look for the location and then when I open the book, search for the surname.  I have found some incredible stories – such as Mathew Baines or Beans who was dying at sea and wrote a letter to a James Harrison, a fellow Quaker, requesting he look after Mathew’s children.  Problem was that Mr. Harrison had died so the children appeared in Orphan Court.  Two Google Books mention these events. Looking at someone else’s tree on FamilySearch or Ancestry might give you Mathew’s year and place of death but the books bring the experiences he had to life!

With old Ancestry, as in before December 2015, I used to snip the page from the book and snip the title page, save to Word and then upload as a pdf to my tree attaching to the appropriate person. Problem is that it’s no longer easy to find those pdf’s on Ancestry.  I’m going to have to go back and re-download and save to my hard drive.  I never saved to my hard drive before because I was working on a cheap laptop I didn’t have a lot of faith in and thought it would be better if it were saved in Ancestry’s cloud.  Live and learn!

But back to Google Books and the class I’m taking…Did you know that you can save books to your own created bookshelves in your own library in their cloud?!  I somehow missed this and it’s super easy to do.  All you need is a Google account, which is free, of course. (Not going to get into the whole topic of nothing is free as in they’re monitoring your usage and using your searches but you know what I mean by free – as in there’s no initial monetary cost involved to create a Google account.) Once you have an account (if you have an email through Google you have an account!), next click “More” on the Google ribbon and find the link for “Books.”  Click and search for a surname or place you’re interested in finding information about.  When you find a book you like, click on it.  You then click “Save to My Library.”

On the left hand side of the page you can create your own book shelves.  I created two state names and one called Reference.  If you scroll down you’ll see recent books you may have looked at.  It’s simple to just click on the book and add to the appropriate book shelf.  I’m going to be very busy once I’m done with the Kinship Determination Paper uploading all my pdf books and saving it to My Library. That way, I will have all the sources I’ve used in one place.  I plan to add who the book refers to in the Description block that comes up for the book shelf.

Who Knew? Two Genealogy Tips I Just Learned

Originally published on genealogyatheart.blogspot.com on 13 Mar 2016.

Tip 1:  Did you know that Fold3 has lots more than just military records?  If you have the premium or you get a free trial offer you need to explore the site by doing the following-

  1. Click BROWSE at the top of the page
  2. Click CATEGORY on the right side
  3. Click ALL TITLES
  4. Take a look at what they have!

I have found the Pennsylvania Archives most helpful.  Scroll down to the bottom of the selected volume to check out the index.

I never knew Fold3 had FBI Case Files, slave auctions from the West Indies, orphan records and more.  Why in the world don’t they advertise this?!  I would have probably bought the premium membership years ago had I known.

Tip 2:  Just learned this from the Pinellas County Genealogical Society and I quote, “Family Tree Maker users can now do a direct import including all media files (without GEDCOM) to RootsMagic. This works with FTM versions 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, and 2014 and classic (version 16 with file extension.ftw) for Windows. Also works for FTM 3 for Mac. Read the details at http://goo.gl/VkKrUJ. They also offer a special low price for FTM users to buy the RootsMagic program.”  Pretty cool if my Family Tree Maker hadn’t stopped synching with my Ancestry.com tree.  Hope this helps you out!

Empty Envelopes Provide a Wealth of Genealogical Data

A FABULOUS FIND of 22 March 2016

Originally published on genealogyatheart.blogspot.com on 5 March 2016.

A colleague of mine brought in a pile of old envelopes recently and asked me if they were important genealogically.  The reason for the question is that the addressed envelopes contained no content.  She assumed family had saved them because they were stamp collectors who hadn’t gotten around to removing the stamps.

My answer to her was a resounding YES!  Those envelopes tell a story even though they are empty.  I suggested she first put them in chronological order based on the postmark date, if any.  Next she should try to match the envelopes to letters that she had found and store them together.  Any remaining envelopes should be examined closely for information regarding:

  • Addressee
  • Sender
  • Postmark
  • Possible notations
  • Envelope condition
  • Handwriting
  • Type of writing utensil used
  • Cost of postage

Examining the addressee and sender aids in identifying relationships, although the type of relationship is still unknown.  Definitely don’t assume the relationship was family!  I have some old letters addressed to a grandfather that had the contents.  He did not know the sender; the writer was inquiring about a device the grandfather was selling.

Carefully analyze who the envelope was addressed to.  Was it to a Miss or Mrs.? Was a nickname used, such as Nelia for Cornelia?  How was the last name spelled?  That is extremely important if your family changed spelling.  How I wish I had envelopes for my Koss family from the mid 1920’s. The name changed from Kos (in 1920) to Koss (in 1930) but when the change occurred I don’t know. An envelope could assist in narrowing down the date.

Look at the addressee’s residence – was it a rural route?  a city?  a county?  If the postmark is illegible or missing that information could help identify the time period.  Although the Rural Free Delivery (RFD) began in the late 1800’s it was not widespread.  Prior to that, letters may have been addressed, for example, as Columbia County, New York.  That’s a clue the resident lived outside of a town or city.  If the envelope was dated, check the census to see if that address was also used for the individual.  The 1940 census may show the person’s home address but the envelope could provide a clue as to where the individual was staying temporarily if they don’t match.  My colleague recognized an address as belonging to her grandmother but the envelope was addressed to an unknown person at that address 20 years before her grandmother’s birth.  Perhaps the home belonged to a family member that she was not aware of or perhaps the envelope was found after the grandmother moved in.  I doubt the second explanation as that would not be a reason to keep an envelope with family records but who knows?!  She was the stamp collector so maybe she saved it for the stamp.  I recommended that a title search on the property be done to gain more information about the occupants.

I love postmarks because they often tell an interesting story.  If the sender’s address was Connecticut and the addressee’s was New York but the postmark was California either the U.S. Post Office really messed up (which unfortunately happens frequently) or the sender was in California for business or pleasure when the letter was mailed.  This could open up a whole new area to check for records!

My mom, a product of the Great Depression, always reused envelopes as scratch paper.  Grocery lists, things to do, phone messages – check the envelope for any notations.  Although you won’t for certain know who wrote the notes unless they’re signed or had such a unique handwriting that you can identify without a signature, you can gain insight on the day to day lives of the family that received the letter.  One envelope my colleague had this notation printed in caps “BURN THIS AFTER READING.”  Guess the receiver followed directions but we were dying to know what the contents had been.

Now look at the envelope itself.  Is it stained?  Is it brittle?  Has the color aged?  This lets you know the conditions that affected it since it was written.  Perhaps the stain was from water – was it delivered in a rainstorm?  Did it survive a sea voyage?  Maybe a cup of tea was spilled on it as the contents were being read!  You might never discover what really happened but it sure is fun to try.

I love handwriting, mainly because mine was always criticized while growing up.  The style can give you much more information about the time period and the sender.  Was it printed, cursive, Palmer, D’Nealian, or calligraphy?  Is it legible or not?  Perhaps the writer was in a hurry to mail the contents! Handwriting can also help you match the envelope to an individual if the sender did not include his/her name in the return address.

Writing utensils can also help you identify a time period.  A ballpoint pen came into use in the late 1800’s.  Prior to that fountain pens and dip pens were used.  The color of the ink can give you even more clues – the dye or pigment used could be a regional product.

The postage price can help you determine the time period.  Although we’re not talking about post cards I always think of them as “penny postcards” even though they now cost 35 cents to send. I don’t think they could be sent for a penny when I was a kid but that’s what my family called them and that’s how I still think of them.  The art on the stamp also “may” disclose information about what was important to the sender – or not!  A few years ago I became known as the “stamp girl” in my office as I would make several trips to the post office a week to mail packages my husband had sold on ebay because I was closer to the post office then he was.  I would purchase stamps for coworkers on those trips.  Some coworkers would request a certain type of stamp and others could care less.  Although you might not find out for sure if the stamp conveyed a message from the sender it might.  Remember the 1973 LOVE stamp?  If the sender was breaking up with addressee I doubt that stamp would have been used.

Let me know if your envelope analysis unveils a genealogical gem!

 

 

Wagon Insights

Originally published on genealogyatheart.blogspot.com on 2 March 2016.

I’ve been reading through the diaries that were sent to me from Indiana and I’ve found a few surprises about life in the late 1800’s.  Here are 10 wagon facts I never thought about:

  • You had to wash your wagon
  • When you purchased a new wagon you traded in your old wagon, like we do today with our cars
  • Wagons broke down ALOT!  Poor road conditions, skittish horses and driver error contributed to the break downs.
  • You were responsible for the cost of damages caused by your runaway horse and wagon
  • There were ALOT of serious accidents around wagons – falling out of, getting run over by, getting injured by overhanging tree limbs, etc.
  • When your wagon needed repairs someone would come to you but it was much more expensive than if you somehow got the wagon to the wagon shop to be repaired.
  • Depending on the repair needed, it could take a few hours or several days to get the part
  • Wheels fell off wagons frequently
  • If you were going to take a train you hired a livery person to pick you up and take you home, unless you had relatives to help you out.
  • Family members borrowed each other’s wagons for various jobs that needed to be accomplished

Who knew?!

Midwest Magic

Originally published on genealogyatheart.blogspot.com on 28 Feb 2016.

Yesterday I had the pleasure of attending the Leesburg, Florida Genealogical Conference of the Ohio Genealogical Society, Florida Chapter  Debbie Mieszala, CG, presented on 3 topics:  Newspaper Research in the Midwest, Land Records in Pennsylvania and Ohio and Pulling Evidence from Beneath a Record’s Surface.  I was especially interested in the Pennsylvania land records for the Kinship Determination Project I’m working on for my genealogical portfolio.

Having a horrible time locating a deed – I’ve checked with the county, actually two since one was split from the other, called and emailed the local historical society, public library, local genweb contact and genealogical society. Had found a genealogist who told me the probate records don’t exist, after I spent $78.00 and gave her precisely what microfilm to look up in the courthouse.  Worst part was she laughed when she told me it wasn’t there and didn’t credit me for the time left I had paid for. She did ask if there was another record she could look up while she was at the courthouse but that was all I needed at the time.  Then she didn’t write a report of her findings; I asked her to send me her non finding and she sent one line via email.  Found her on the Association of Professional Genealogist site so I assumed she’d be like the other APG members I’ve worked with.  Did she do anything unethical? No, she just lacked the level of professionalism that I’m accustomed to in this field.

I’ve blogged before about the experience my 2nd cousin had when he hired a genealogist across the pond.  Not wanting to admit his hire had done less than quality work he accused me of having wrong info.  When I showed him my proof he contacted his genealogist who was happy to charge him more to recheck her work.  When he balked she admitted she had only checked records 1900 forward and the children I had listed were born in the 1890’s.  I’m not sure who was at fault there:  Did he tell her to start with 1900?  Did she inform him she had only looked beginning with 1900?  (The records for the 1800’s were available as she later went back and verified my information).  Was there a language barrier that impeded communication?  Beats me!  Clearly she hadn’t performed a reasonably exhaustive search, especially since the records were available in the same respository that she had found some of her data.

But back to the conference….

If you never attended a presentation by Debbie you must – she shares her personal stories in a way that is both inviting and instructional.  I love how she laughs at the frustrations she encounters, such as illegible handwriting, missing sources and records not where they should be.

Now I have some new places to search and met some wonderful attendees from Pennsylvania who gave me additional advice. One gentleman has volunteered to send a cd he compiled of a valuable resource to anyone interested in Pennsylvania research.  That alone was worth the drive!  I’ll be spending part of today checking further and will make one last sweep through the areas I’m writing about in the summer so I can feel confident I performed a reasonably exhausted search.

My latest portfolio plan is to finish the KDP mid March, put it away for a month, check out the successfully submitted portfolios at the upcoming National Genealogical Society Ft. Lauderdale conference in May, edit the rest of the month and then visit the two areas I write about the most to make sure I’ve mined every available piece, do a last edit in August and submit in September – 1 month before my deadline.  We’ll see how this works out!

The absolute best part of yesterday, however, was two events that were, well, weird.  The first occurred at the conference.  During introductions I mentioned that I was interested in Mercer County, Ohio as that was where my Leininger, Duer, and Kuhn families had resided.  A woman sitting right in front of me turned and said, “My mother was a Leininger.”  Yep, we’re cousins who had never met. At break I brought up my tree and found her line.  She had never heard of the Leininger Family History books written in the early 1970’s so I gave her my email address and when I hear from her, I’ll forward her to the author.  That’s the 2nd time in two months I’ve met a cousin face to face on my dad’s side!  I would never have met either of these lovely ladies had I not been working on my portfolio.  Oddly, I’m not even writing about my family.  I’ve selected clients and my husband’s lines to submit.  Hubby jokes that my dad’s side must feel a tad left out so the living keep popping up.

When I arrived home my husband was all smiles and said I had to look at the mail right away.  Did I win something?!  Yep, I won the genealogy lottery!  A package had arrived from a former church historian in Indiana who had sent me copies of diaries from the late 1800’s to the early 1900’s that had been donated to a church.  The diaries were written by the sister of the wife of the 1st generation gentleman that is the focus of my KDP.  I couldn’t eat dinner – I had to begin reading.  I’m only up to 1890 (so my 3rd generation hadn’t even been born yet) but the diaries contain information that I was told no longer existed.  Wow.  Double Wow.

What’s really strange is that I had contacted the pastor who had forwarded my email to this wonderful woman.  She had sent a few pictures back to him.  He didn’t forward her email to me, instead, he sent me a new email with the pictures attached.  As I reviewed them I noticed that one was missing.  I hated to be a pest and recontact him as I didn’t think the missing picture of unidentified children who had attended the church in the early 1900’s would be very helpful but I wanted to be thorough so I did email him again.  He forwarded my email to the historian who resent the picture directly to me.  I was correct that the picture wasn’t helpful, however, she mentioned the diaries and asked if the pastor had informed me about them.  Nope, guess he “forgot” that part.  I’m so glad I am a pest, otherwise I would never have known about this valuable resource.  The diaries quote scripture frequently; although I haven’t come across this line yet, all I keep thinking is Matthew 7:7 “Ask and you shall receive.”  Works for me!  Happy Hunting…

Angel Pie

Originally published on genealogyatheart.blogspot.com on 25 Feb 2016.

If you were looking through my family’s treasurers you would find loads and loads of recipes.  I have my grandmother’s favorite cookbooks, which take up a whole shelf in my den.  Non could read a recipe book like a novel. Seriously!  She’d start with the appetizers, underline, star, make changes and by the time she reached desserts had come up with a wonderful menu.  She loved everyone’s culture so I have recipe books from every nationality.  Adding garlic and olive oil, she somehow made them all Mediterranean but it always smelled like heaven when you’d walk into her home, especially on a cold winter’s day.

My co-worker is still going through her treasure trove boxes of genealogical records that she inherited from her grandmother. She has found 1 recipe, handwritten by someone names M. Bonnell who we haven’t figured out how the person is related yet.  I Googled the recipe and there are versions of it out there, evidently it’s an old family favorite in many households.  Haven’t tried it but may this weekend:

ANGEL PIE

4 egg whites beat fluffy

Ad 1/2 tsp cream of tartar and beat stiff

Add 1 cup sugar, gradually beat till glossy

Spread in a greased 9″ pie pan

Bake one hour in 250 degree oven.  Cool

Spread with filling of:

4 egg yolks, beaten, light

1/2 cup sugar

5 Tablespoons lemon juice

2 teasp. Grated lemon rind

Cook in double boiler until smooth

Whip 1/2 pint of cream stiff

Sweeten slightly

Spread a thin layer of cream over baked, cooked shell.

Over cream, spread the lemon custard.

Spread whipped cream over top of all.

Enjoy!