Tuesday, January 31, 2012
Sunday, January 29, 2012
Carnival of Genealogy #104 iGene Awards
Call for Submissions! The topic for the 114th edition of the Carnival of Genealogy is: The 5th Annual iGene Awards! For those not familiar with the iGene Awards, you can see the previous years here, here, here, and here. We'll announce our best blog posts from the previous year (in this case, 2011) in the following 5 categories: Best Picture (that would be a photograph), Best Screen Play (story you would make into a movie including the cast), Best Documentary (investigative research), Best Biography, Best Comedy. Write up a blog post with links to your best articles in these categories and submit it to the COG! Feel free to use the iGene graphic if you'd like. The deadline for submissions is February 1st.
This is my second iGene Awards, the first one was here.
Best Picture Well I did a lot of pictures last year, so this one was real hard to pick, but this one is one of the most visited also, so check out my 2011 Swimsuit issue.
Best Screen Play Well these groups of posts on the 1962 Seattle Worlds Fair would make a good Screen Play, maybe starring Elvis. No wait he already did a movie at the 1962 Seattle Worlds fair.
Best Documentary Well this article is my best sleuthing. Found this certificate behind the certificate in the frame that holds my parents Marriage Certificate in my parents bedroom.
Best Biography Really did not do any biographies this year so I will skip this one this year.
Best Comedy This post has the pictures of where we stopped the night after the WSGS Conference in Richland this year. Why is it funny? We were looking for a quiet place to sleep and stopped at a rest stop. I knew there was a railroad track close, but could not find it in the dark. Check it out here.
Saturday Night Fun Maternal Grandfather's Line
It's Saturday Night, so it's time for some Genealogy Fun.
Many of us have traced our patrilineal line and had a Y-DNA test done for the line. I thought that some of you might be interested in tracing another Y-DNA line - that of your maternal grandfather.
The challenge is this:
Find a living male person in your database from your maternal grandfather's patrilineal line who could take a Y-DNA test. Answer these questions:
1) What was your mother's father's name?
2) What is your mother's father's patrilineal line? That is, his father's father's father's ... back to the most distant male ancestor in that line?
3) Can you identify male sibling(s) of your mother's father, and any living male descendants from those male sibling(s)? If so, you have a candidate to do a Y-DNA test on that patrilineal line. If not, you may have to find male siblings, and their descendants, of the next generation back, or even further.
1) My grandfather was Charles Rupert Kelly
2) His father was Robert Forsyth Kelly, grandfather was Thomas Kelly one of my brick walls. Thomas was born near Louisville April 25, 1827. He married Margaret Josephine Forsyth and I have the Forsyth family back to North Ireland.
3) Well my mom was an only child, her father almost an only child, his only brother died at age five. Thomas Kelly had four sons, Robert, Charles, John and Thomas. John and Thomas both died young, but Charles lived to have four sons, one that died early so there is a possible sons alive in that line yet. My only contact from that family has been a son of one of the two daughters. There was bad feelings when Robert Forsyth Kelly died so the family has been pretty polarized since.
Many of us have traced our patrilineal line and had a Y-DNA test done for the line. I thought that some of you might be interested in tracing another Y-DNA line - that of your maternal grandfather.
The challenge is this:
Find a living male person in your database from your maternal grandfather's patrilineal line who could take a Y-DNA test. Answer these questions:
1) What was your mother's father's name?
2) What is your mother's father's patrilineal line? That is, his father's father's father's ... back to the most distant male ancestor in that line?
3) Can you identify male sibling(s) of your mother's father, and any living male descendants from those male sibling(s)? If so, you have a candidate to do a Y-DNA test on that patrilineal line. If not, you may have to find male siblings, and their descendants, of the next generation back, or even further.
1) My grandfather was Charles Rupert Kelly
2) His father was Robert Forsyth Kelly, grandfather was Thomas Kelly one of my brick walls. Thomas was born near Louisville April 25, 1827. He married Margaret Josephine Forsyth and I have the Forsyth family back to North Ireland.
3) Well my mom was an only child, her father almost an only child, his only brother died at age five. Thomas Kelly had four sons, Robert, Charles, John and Thomas. John and Thomas both died young, but Charles lived to have four sons, one that died early so there is a possible sons alive in that line yet. My only contact from that family has been a son of one of the two daughters. There was bad feelings when Robert Forsyth Kelly died so the family has been pretty polarized since.
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
52 Weeks of Abundant Genealogy Free Offline Genealogy Tools
52 Weeks of Abundant Genealogy
Week 4 – Free Offline Genealogy Tools: For which free offline genealogy tool are you most grateful? How did you find this tool and how has it benefited your genealogy? Describe to others how to access this tool and spread the genealogy love.
The Tool I am most grateful for is the Northwest Museum of Arts and Culture (The MAC). It is a part of the Eastern Washington Historical Society and its archives has some early funeral home records of funeral homes that have closed, one of the largest collections of photographs around, most by Charles Libby who was a good photographer and he kept records to identify the date and place of each photo. They have oral histories of many local celebrities (the one Bing Crosby did is missing), collections of early pioneers, and a wonderful staff some paid and some volunteers. The do have a small admission fee and do charge for copies, but hopefully they will continue to stay open. Due to the economy the state has told them they must find their own funding within the next two years as the state will no longer give them funds to operate.
The biggest exhibit of the MAC is the Campbell House, a house built using funds from mining in the Coeur d'Alene mining district and preserved as it was when the Campbell family lived there. The MAC came to our genealogical society looking for some help in finding out about the people that worked for the Campbells as servants, chauffeurs, gardeners, etc. So several of us did some research on a few of the people that worked for the Campbells. We got free access while doing the research so got to see a lot of the archives they have. Has it helped my research? No, but I have sent a lot of people there to further their research.
Week 4 – Free Offline Genealogy Tools: For which free offline genealogy tool are you most grateful? How did you find this tool and how has it benefited your genealogy? Describe to others how to access this tool and spread the genealogy love.
The Tool I am most grateful for is the Northwest Museum of Arts and Culture (The MAC). It is a part of the Eastern Washington Historical Society and its archives has some early funeral home records of funeral homes that have closed, one of the largest collections of photographs around, most by Charles Libby who was a good photographer and he kept records to identify the date and place of each photo. They have oral histories of many local celebrities (the one Bing Crosby did is missing), collections of early pioneers, and a wonderful staff some paid and some volunteers. The do have a small admission fee and do charge for copies, but hopefully they will continue to stay open. Due to the economy the state has told them they must find their own funding within the next two years as the state will no longer give them funds to operate.
The biggest exhibit of the MAC is the Campbell House, a house built using funds from mining in the Coeur d'Alene mining district and preserved as it was when the Campbell family lived there. The MAC came to our genealogical society looking for some help in finding out about the people that worked for the Campbells as servants, chauffeurs, gardeners, etc. So several of us did some research on a few of the people that worked for the Campbells. We got free access while doing the research so got to see a lot of the archives they have. Has it helped my research? No, but I have sent a lot of people there to further their research.
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
Thursday, January 19, 2012
52 Weeks of Abundant Genealogy Free Online Genealogy Tools
Week #3 – Free Online Genealogy Tools
Week 3 – Free Online Genealogy Tools: Free online genealogy tools are like gifts from above. Which one are you most thankful for? How has it helped your family history experience?
Well the best free online site I use all the time is the Washington State Digital Archives (http://www.digitalarchives.wa.gov/Home ). Since I do a lot of local research for others it is a wonderful resource for local marriages, the Washington Death Index, Social Security Death Index (Washington connected only) early births, naturalization records, land records, auditors records, military records, cemetery records, legislative records, pictures, territorial records (including territorial census).
Sam Reed the current Secretary of State was the champion for the digital archives, because he was charged with keeping the archives of Washington, and for the last 20 years or so nearly all the records are made on a computer, and no where was there any way for a regular archives to store digital records before Sam came up with a digital archives. Before it was even open, Sam asked the local gene societies of Washington if they would help digitize records the archives already had, and if they had any records they would like to submit. I had a few DOS databases we had collected over the years, and I was worried they would be lost since few people could even access a DOS database anymore. I have also helped digitize many records for them. Soon after it was open Family Search came and checked it out, they were both amazed by the actual archives and the support from volunteers to digitize records. Soon after that visit Family Search started their digitizing of the records and volunteers all over the world have been helping.
Sam is retiring at the end of this year, so we all need to thank Sam Reed for his help to all genealogists.
Week 3 – Free Online Genealogy Tools: Free online genealogy tools are like gifts from above. Which one are you most thankful for? How has it helped your family history experience?
Well the best free online site I use all the time is the Washington State Digital Archives (http://www.digitalarchives.wa.gov/Home ). Since I do a lot of local research for others it is a wonderful resource for local marriages, the Washington Death Index, Social Security Death Index (Washington connected only) early births, naturalization records, land records, auditors records, military records, cemetery records, legislative records, pictures, territorial records (including territorial census).
Sam Reed the current Secretary of State was the champion for the digital archives, because he was charged with keeping the archives of Washington, and for the last 20 years or so nearly all the records are made on a computer, and no where was there any way for a regular archives to store digital records before Sam came up with a digital archives. Before it was even open, Sam asked the local gene societies of Washington if they would help digitize records the archives already had, and if they had any records they would like to submit. I had a few DOS databases we had collected over the years, and I was worried they would be lost since few people could even access a DOS database anymore. I have also helped digitize many records for them. Soon after it was open Family Search came and checked it out, they were both amazed by the actual archives and the support from volunteers to digitize records. Soon after that visit Family Search started their digitizing of the records and volunteers all over the world have been helping.
Sam is retiring at the end of this year, so we all need to thank Sam Reed for his help to all genealogists.
Tuesday, January 17, 2012
Wordless Wednesday Great Northern Goat
A small booklet I found in a bunch of old railroad books at my grandparents house.
Page 2
Page 3
Page 2
Page 3
Tuesday, January 10, 2012
Wordless Wednesday Bannack State Park #2
Bannack was a gold mining town till the gold ran out, and this is some of the abandoned mining equipment.
Tuesday, January 3, 2012
Wordless Wednesday Bannack State Park
My sister Jacque Lane and Clay Anders the husband of my cousin Dorothy Anders in front of one of the buildings from the first state capital of Montana
Monday, January 2, 2012
52 Weeks of Abundant Genealogy Blogs
Well I have been researching in Minnesota for years since my grandfather and 4 of his brothers all came to Austin, Minnesota from Humble, Denmark in the 1880s and 1890s.
The Minnesota Historical Society started a blog over a year ago, but in 2011 they started running newspaper articles and letters from soldiers on the Civil War, like this one they posted on January 1, 2012. To subscribe to a blog reader you need to go to this page.
The Minnesota Historical Society started a blog over a year ago, but in 2011 they started running newspaper articles and letters from soldiers on the Civil War, like this one they posted on January 1, 2012. To subscribe to a blog reader you need to go to this page.