Day 2 - 2February 2012
The day started off with an excellent breakfast at eh Radisson. The other good news was that I didn't have to change rooms. I headed over to hear the RootsTech keynote speaker for the morning, Jay Verkler, the past head of Family Search. I was very impressed and excited with what he told us. There are great collaboration plans in the near future. He also talked about developing the community framework timeline. That opens up some excellent research possibilities. Another momentous announcement was that they now estimate that it will only take ten years to digitize the current microfilm holdings for the Family History Library. I can can hardly wait! And it's wonderful to hear there are 4,200 genealogists here. That rocks. Google had an intriguing announcement about Google Chrome. Using Historical-Data.org, Schema.org, and an extension they will now be able to deeper search sites that were ignored in earlier Google searches. Family Search, Ancestry, and others will be included. BrightSolid is evidently going to become part of the American genealogist's vocabulary. They are a UK company that is well-known there that is coming across the pond. That could open up some interesting competition.
After the keynote thousands of genealogists headed to the Exhibitors Hall. I was aiming to get a free tee shirt by getting my card stamped from various vendors. I succeeded and am now the proud owner of a RootsTech tee. It was rather crowded to actually visit with vendors, but I decided to do more in-depth chats with them later.
My first session was Steve Morse. He has some great free helps that I would call widgets but probably aren't. They help you find things like the birth date from a gravestone that gives the death date and the age in year, month, and day. He also has some great aides for the 1940 census! He's at SteveMorse.org, not com. More to come.
Friday, February 3, 2012
Thursday, February 2, 2012
The Journey to RootsTech 2012
1 February 2012
Planning paid off! I made a list of everything I needed to pack days before I was to leave. It would be too easy to forget a charger or some other vital tech piece. Last night I checked that list twice just like Santa-- I don't think I forgot anything.
I deliberately took the mid-day flight and am really glad I did. It was an easy morning getting out of the house. My flight wasn't until 12:45, but I wanted to get tot he airport an hour and a half early just in case there were any problems. It was an easy drive to Omaha and the easiest airport check-in I have had. There was no one waiting to check baggage, the security check was barely busy, and I was to my gate by 11:15-- wow.
One of the things besides the kitchen sink I didn't bring was a lunch or snack. I brought a small package of Lay's potato chips and a cup of coffee. I could refill it and take it on the plane. That worked well, but next time I will take along a sandwich or something. It was great having the new Delta card, as it got me zone 2 seating which is pretty sweet. The flight was on time leaving and arriving at Salt Lake. The last time I was st the SLC airport I was stranded with my daughter for a day. This time it went well. Their shuttle system takes getting used to but was only $8.00.
My hotel reservation was in two parts. They couldn't guarantee I would have the same room the second night. They did upgrade my room though. I hurriedly set up in my room and then headed towards the Family History Library. On the way I realized I was very hungry and stopped at the J B's across from the Salt Palace. It was great getting that 55+ lunch price. I had looked before I got toe SLC to figure out how to get to the FHL. Of course I got the distance off a bit and had to call Mike to get better directions. The FHL ended up being just a hundred feet away.
My friend Marcia and I had planned to meet for dinner tonight, and I knew she was going to the FHL when she got to SLC. I looked around the FHL a bit and found her checking out the US book shelves. I had forgotten just how impressive the FHL is. I was mesmerized walking down any bookshelf-- it was incredible what they have. I checked out a few books I had printed out the records for before I left.
Marcia and I headed over to the Salt Palace to get our registrations. The Salt Palace is huge. The registration process went well. From there we went to a very nice Japanese restaurant across from the Palace. We ate light,but each added a glass of wine. After dinner we headed back to the FHL. This time I decided to work on the Saratoga land records. I had ordered the grantee index earlier in Lincoln and had the volumes and page numbers I needed. It was tedious, but I am starting to put a picture together of that family. Thank you to the person who suggested bringing magnets to mark the microfilm cabinets. After a couple of hours or more we headed back to our hotels. After relaxing for a bit and checking out the conference schedule again I decided to go down to the bar to write up my notes while enjoying an excellent glass of Cabernet!
Planning paid off! I made a list of everything I needed to pack days before I was to leave. It would be too easy to forget a charger or some other vital tech piece. Last night I checked that list twice just like Santa-- I don't think I forgot anything.
I deliberately took the mid-day flight and am really glad I did. It was an easy morning getting out of the house. My flight wasn't until 12:45, but I wanted to get tot he airport an hour and a half early just in case there were any problems. It was an easy drive to Omaha and the easiest airport check-in I have had. There was no one waiting to check baggage, the security check was barely busy, and I was to my gate by 11:15-- wow.
One of the things besides the kitchen sink I didn't bring was a lunch or snack. I brought a small package of Lay's potato chips and a cup of coffee. I could refill it and take it on the plane. That worked well, but next time I will take along a sandwich or something. It was great having the new Delta card, as it got me zone 2 seating which is pretty sweet. The flight was on time leaving and arriving at Salt Lake. The last time I was st the SLC airport I was stranded with my daughter for a day. This time it went well. Their shuttle system takes getting used to but was only $8.00.
My hotel reservation was in two parts. They couldn't guarantee I would have the same room the second night. They did upgrade my room though. I hurriedly set up in my room and then headed towards the Family History Library. On the way I realized I was very hungry and stopped at the J B's across from the Salt Palace. It was great getting that 55+ lunch price. I had looked before I got toe SLC to figure out how to get to the FHL. Of course I got the distance off a bit and had to call Mike to get better directions. The FHL ended up being just a hundred feet away.
My friend Marcia and I had planned to meet for dinner tonight, and I knew she was going to the FHL when she got to SLC. I looked around the FHL a bit and found her checking out the US book shelves. I had forgotten just how impressive the FHL is. I was mesmerized walking down any bookshelf-- it was incredible what they have. I checked out a few books I had printed out the records for before I left.
Marcia and I headed over to the Salt Palace to get our registrations. The Salt Palace is huge. The registration process went well. From there we went to a very nice Japanese restaurant across from the Palace. We ate light,but each added a glass of wine. After dinner we headed back to the FHL. This time I decided to work on the Saratoga land records. I had ordered the grantee index earlier in Lincoln and had the volumes and page numbers I needed. It was tedious, but I am starting to put a picture together of that family. Thank you to the person who suggested bringing magnets to mark the microfilm cabinets. After a couple of hours or more we headed back to our hotels. After relaxing for a bit and checking out the conference schedule again I decided to go down to the bar to write up my notes while enjoying an excellent glass of Cabernet!
Saturday, January 21, 2012
My DNA Surprise
I started the year in my previous blog by telling what I would be doing in 2012. I really didn't go into my end of the year update on my FamilyTreeDNA profile. though. I had a Y-DNA profile done four years ago as part of the Clan MacFarlane project. When FamilyTreeDNA had their recent sale, I thought it would be fun to do the Family Finder profile. I just recently received my results. I wasn't at all surprised to learn that according to the test about 93% of my ancestry is Western European. I have researched most of the immediate lines and figured it would be a high percentage. I thought there might be a small American Indian lineage as, like many families, there is a story if native ancestry. That was not the case, the profile showed instead that about 7% of my ancestry in Middle Eastern. This fascinates me, as it was so unexpected. Now I can't wait to get going on verifying where this comes into my ancestry. Genealogy, it's the hobby of surprises.
Monday, January 2, 2012
Looking at 2012
I think this will be an exciting year for genealogy. I kicked off the year using several new databases on FamilySearch.org. FamilySearch is becoming a great site. They have made great inroads in making state and local sources available. They have become especially strong in New York documents. In addition to the state censuses, they recently added probate records. It is gratifying to see them going this direction with their collections.
This year I will be attending my first RootsTech conference in February. I am very anxious to head to Salt Lake. Not only will there be lots of genealogists to meet at the conference, there will some time to do some research at the Family History Library. This summer I plan to take a road trip through Michigan, Ohio, New York, and Massachusetts. There will be cemeteries, historical societies, libraries, and Niagara Falls to visit along the way. As an added fun trip, I am also considering a trip to Oklahoma and Missouri to fill in some loose ends.
This past Fall I joined the local genealogical society, the Lincoln Lancaster County Genealogical Society, and plan to be active in it. For this coming year I also plan to index the 1940 census for the area where I grew up in South Dakota. As a fan of FindAGrave, I will continue to add records to their database from requests and cemeteries I visit on the trips. Yesterday, I found a newly added record on FAG that helped open up a current line.
2012 will be a very busy year for me, contributing to what is available and extending my own genealogy.
This year I will be attending my first RootsTech conference in February. I am very anxious to head to Salt Lake. Not only will there be lots of genealogists to meet at the conference, there will some time to do some research at the Family History Library. This summer I plan to take a road trip through Michigan, Ohio, New York, and Massachusetts. There will be cemeteries, historical societies, libraries, and Niagara Falls to visit along the way. As an added fun trip, I am also considering a trip to Oklahoma and Missouri to fill in some loose ends.
This past Fall I joined the local genealogical society, the Lincoln Lancaster County Genealogical Society, and plan to be active in it. For this coming year I also plan to index the 1940 census for the area where I grew up in South Dakota. As a fan of FindAGrave, I will continue to add records to their database from requests and cemeteries I visit on the trips. Yesterday, I found a newly added record on FAG that helped open up a current line.
2012 will be a very busy year for me, contributing to what is available and extending my own genealogy.
Monday, October 24, 2011
The Case of the Disappearing Old House
The old house disappeared. My grandparents, George and Mary McFarland, purchased a fine old house in Rapid City, South Dakota in the early 1900's when my grandfather invested in the Security Bank. After the bank closed, the family used the house off-and-on over the years when the children attended high school and for other occasions. The picture shows Alice, Mamie, Clarence, and Ellen McFarland in front of the house in 1937. George died in 1941. He left the house to his daughter, Alice (Sallie) McFarland Miles, as the house had always been a favorite of hers. She lived in it until her death in the house in 1965. I have good memories of visiting my aunt and cousin there. After Sallie’s death the house went to her daughter. She and her family lived there until the early 70’s.
When visiting Rapid City it was easy to spot the old house at the end of Fifth Street. In 2010, I drove by to see the house, but I was dismayed to discover that it was no longer there. I could see the remains of the foundation but nothing else. I figured that a large old house like that was probably too expensive to maintain and heat and that the current owners had likely razed it. I was very disappointed to lose the old icon.
Recently, my cousin Ann moved to Rapid City. She learned that they had not razed the house but moved it. My next step was to find out to where they moved it. The only clue was that it was out in the country somewhere; not an easy search. I tried doing some searches on the Rapid City Journal website, but I was not able to locate anything. On a trip back to the area a couple of weeks ago I stopped at the Rapid City Public Library. The reference librarian https://www.facebook.com/#!/group.php?gid=60792005629&v=info did some searching and found that the house actually has its own Facebook page.
Saturday, January 2, 2010
Looking Back on 2009
It's time to reflect on my genealogy journey in 2009.
I have been doing genealogy so long that I rarely have great surprises, but there were a few this year. For me, the biggest surprise was the very unexpected find of a photo of an oil portrait of my ancestor, Elizabeth Wildey Rosevelt, done in about 1808. I had no idea a portrait existed, but Karen Morris, who also is working on this line, saw the original portrait at the home of another of Elizabeth's descendants. I had no idea a portrait existed and had never pursued looking for one. In 2008 I worked with a friend to add gravestone photos of a local cemetery to Find A Grave. This year I was able to contribute in a different way by taking photos requested by others. I replaced my old digital camera with a new model that is very good at taking gravestone pictures but wasn't expensive. I can also now be more a part of the digital world by using it to take photographs of documents. This was very useful on my genealogy trip to New York City. I was able to photo a large number of documents at the New York Historical Society. It wasn't a surprise to find these documents, but it was a pleasure to actually see them. It was also very fulfilling to visit the graves of so many of the family buried in New York City. Over the year I was able to add a large number of descendants to my Jacob and Lydia Butts Rosevelt line, so all-in-all it was a successful year.
It is also time to give appreciation for the efforts of so many who have added documents and saved them to be shared online. Missouri has a tremendous site with digital copies of vital records. Other state and societies, such as South Dakota, Michigan, Delaware, Massachusetts, and Ohio have added many vital records also. I have been disappointed that Ancestry hasn't added more American records this year, but several other have added records that were difficult to locate before. The Family Search pilot project has added several state censuses with indexes to them. Footnote is making available some great Civil War records. I especially want to thank the Old Fulton New York Post Cards site, http://www.fultonhistory.com/Fulton.html. Part of his site has copies of many old New York newspapers. This is a great site that should receive more commendations. I also want to give a special thank you to all of you that took gravestone pictures I requested on Find A Grave.
Here to to a great 2010.
I have been doing genealogy so long that I rarely have great surprises, but there were a few this year. For me, the biggest surprise was the very unexpected find of a photo of an oil portrait of my ancestor, Elizabeth Wildey Rosevelt, done in about 1808. I had no idea a portrait existed, but Karen Morris, who also is working on this line, saw the original portrait at the home of another of Elizabeth's descendants. I had no idea a portrait existed and had never pursued looking for one. In 2008 I worked with a friend to add gravestone photos of a local cemetery to Find A Grave. This year I was able to contribute in a different way by taking photos requested by others. I replaced my old digital camera with a new model that is very good at taking gravestone pictures but wasn't expensive. I can also now be more a part of the digital world by using it to take photographs of documents. This was very useful on my genealogy trip to New York City. I was able to photo a large number of documents at the New York Historical Society. It wasn't a surprise to find these documents, but it was a pleasure to actually see them. It was also very fulfilling to visit the graves of so many of the family buried in New York City. Over the year I was able to add a large number of descendants to my Jacob and Lydia Butts Rosevelt line, so all-in-all it was a successful year.
It is also time to give appreciation for the efforts of so many who have added documents and saved them to be shared online. Missouri has a tremendous site with digital copies of vital records. Other state and societies, such as South Dakota, Michigan, Delaware, Massachusetts, and Ohio have added many vital records also. I have been disappointed that Ancestry hasn't added more American records this year, but several other have added records that were difficult to locate before. The Family Search pilot project has added several state censuses with indexes to them. Footnote is making available some great Civil War records. I especially want to thank the Old Fulton New York Post Cards site, http://www.fultonhistory.com/Fulton.html. Part of his site has copies of many old New York newspapers. This is a great site that should receive more commendations. I also want to give a special thank you to all of you that took gravestone pictures I requested on Find A Grave.
Here to to a great 2010.
Monday, November 30, 2009
Surprise Finds --- Some of the most Fun
A surprise genealogical find is often the most exciting, and often one of the most revealing. A couple of weeks ago I was playing around on FindAGrave, one of my favorite sites. I love the idea of genealogists and others contributing to the database without any monetary reimbursement. FindAGrave now has over 39 million graves listed. I have contributed many records, taken many photographs, had others take photos for me, and searched it regularly. I would never be able to visit all of the cemeteries in person, but FindAGrave gives me the opportunity to see gravestones throughout the country.
I had been looking at my records for Lydia Rosevelt Tracy, wife of Dennis Tracy. A published family history stated that Lydia died in New Jersey in 1890. The last record I had for her was in the 1880 census, where she is shown living in Monroe, Middlesex County, New Jersey. A look at Google maps showed that there was actually a place called Tracy there and may be where she resided. It also showed its proximity to nearby Monmouth County. I decided to see what cemeteries were nearby, so I used FindAGrave. There were a few not far from Tracy. I then did a name search and found Lydia buried in Old Tennent Churchyard in Monmouth County. Thank you AnnieFran, Anne Mount West, for your contribution. She also has her own web page with links to Monmouth County resources. A further search of FindAGrave showed several other family members buried there also.
The message here is to check, and re-check, a source. I probably missed seeing the entry earlier because it didn't show Middlesex County. This wasn't my find of the year, but it was still fun to come across it unexpectedly.
I had been looking at my records for Lydia Rosevelt Tracy, wife of Dennis Tracy. A published family history stated that Lydia died in New Jersey in 1890. The last record I had for her was in the 1880 census, where she is shown living in Monroe, Middlesex County, New Jersey. A look at Google maps showed that there was actually a place called Tracy there and may be where she resided. It also showed its proximity to nearby Monmouth County. I decided to see what cemeteries were nearby, so I used FindAGrave. There were a few not far from Tracy. I then did a name search and found Lydia buried in Old Tennent Churchyard in Monmouth County. Thank you AnnieFran, Anne Mount West, for your contribution. She also has her own web page with links to Monmouth County resources. A further search of FindAGrave showed several other family members buried there also.
The message here is to check, and re-check, a source. I probably missed seeing the entry earlier because it didn't show Middlesex County. This wasn't my find of the year, but it was still fun to come across it unexpectedly.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
