Thankful Thursday - Putting the FAMILY in Genealogy and Family History

While I was away on my trip last week, I was both a Genealogist AND a Family Historian. I'm beginning to embrace that there is a difference between the two, even though they are inextricably linked together (think Accountant and Bookkeeper or Doctor and Physician's Assistant.) They are two distinctly different things. One is not better than the other; they are just different activities with different outcomes. I was alternately a Genealogist inbetween bouts of being a Family Historian sprinkled with a healthy dose of Archivist (and I even momentarily channeled my Financial Management self when discussing a stock market issue with someone.)

The OED defines the word 'genealogy' as "...a line of descent traced continuously from an ancestor...(mass noun) the study and tracing of lines of descent...a plant's or animal's line of evolutionary development from earlier forms." I'd really like for everyone to note that last definition, "a plant's or animal's line of evolutionary development from earlier forms." In my small albeit skewed opinion, I believe that the word 'genealogy', along with its grammatical iterations, implies a pseudo-scientific approach. It is simply the tracing of a line back to its origin. [Insert your Charlemagne reference here].

As I sat in the Allen County Public Library, or in some of the Intermediate/Advanced sessions at FGS, I was at different times both Genealogist and Family Historian. While digging through books of Indices attempting to find any hint of a link between my known ancestors and possible ancestors, I was working as a Genealogist. I was seeking evidence that proves that the man who I know as Tobias Bigler was the son of George M. Beighler. Because if you're a Genealogist, you don't go from Tobias Bigler to Urs Graf without proving the connection. It's not snobbery or elitism or an "I'm smarter than you" thing, it's Genealogy by definition. It's not me taking someone's money to do a job, it's me making sure that I don't spend days, weeks, months or even years, researching a family line that's not mine.

You only have to go back to my "Holy Crap!" moment while I was working on my very first genealogical proof argument for my ProGen group to know that I've experienced first hand that rock-in-the-pit-of-your-stomach moment when you realize you've been researching the wrong line for, oh I don't know, about TEN years. And the evidence was staring me in the face the whole time. Here's the document I used from Spring Grove Cemetery, Cincinnati, Ohio:

For some still-to-me-unknown-reason, when I originally got this copy of her burial card in 1997, I wanted Sarah's parents to be Patience Tunis and Nehemiah MEEKER. She was, after all, Sarah MEEKER Burrows, as the card indicates. And, I mean, how many Nehemiah and Patience Meekers can there be, right? So, I found Nehemiah & Patience Meeker who had a daughter Sarah born in 1778 and away I went. I found compiled genealogies with all kinds of information about the Meeker family and its history. For YEARS I continued to look at the Meeker line. What's more, Sarah Meeker is nicely typed out on my DAR application as the wife of Stephen Burrows, the son of my American Patriot, Waters Burrows. 

Except there's one tiny, little problem. This Sarah, the one buried in Spring Grove Cemetery in Cincinnati, Ohio, in Section 54 Lot 93, born on 15 Aug 1778, who died of consumption on 25 Oct 1845 and was first buried in the Presbyterian Family Vault on Elm Street in the City and then interred in Spring Grove on 22 Nov 1850? Yeah, she's actually the daughter of Nehemiah TUNIS, Sr. and Patience Camp and her name is Sarah Meeker Tunis. She married Stephen Burrows on 26 Sept 1797 and they settled in Ohio sometime before one of their children, Nehemiah Tunis Burrows, was born there on 13 May 1817. 

How do I know all this? Because as a Genealogist, I locate evidence to prove the vital information about a person. I locate evidence to prove the person existed and then no longer existed. In some cases, the individual connected with another individual and new individuals were created. I document everything I learn, carefully, to ensure that anyone else who reads my documentation knows where I found the evidence I used to prove my case. We don't live in a vacuum, so if new evidence surfaces that changes my case, I accept that, alter my documentation and go on. 

As a Family Historian, however, I seek the story of Sarah, who was also known as Sally. I want to know how it was she survived moving so far away from her family into what was dangerous country at a time there was virtually nothing there. In her lifetime, the place she died changed from a camp called Losantiville into a thriving City. It was so large, frankly, that only a few short years after her death, they had to disinter her body, and the body of many of her family members to move them to the new Spring Grove Cemetery & Arboretum to make way for a park. Yup, that's right, Cincinnati's Washington Park is where one of the two original cemeteries was located.

Sarah's husband, Stephen Burrows, was a founding member of many of Cincinnati's institutions including the Fire Department, its first lending institution, a number of Fraternal organizations, the Lane Seminary, and a number of others. Their life appears to be full of interesting firsts for Cincinnati, and although he must have been a very prominent citizen (at one point he was an Alderman) I'm puzzled by the fact his name doesn't have more cadre. With everything that he did, you'd think his name would be among those of the other founding families of Cincinnati. But it's not.

It is the Family Historian in me that asks the question, "Why?" It's the Family Historian in me that wants to know what they wore and how they got all the way to Cincinnati when there were no real roads. Did they go by river? How? How did they do it? 

Genealogy is about the When. When an individual was born and died. That's what a Genealogist seeks out: the evidence of the When. That is not to say that a Family Historian doesn't seek the when as well; a Bookkeeper ensures that the Debits and Credits always equal zero. However, Family Historians seek the stories of the Who and How and Why their family came and went, lived and died, shared joys and sorrows. Family Historians want to know the human side of our genetic connections. Genealogists are there, in all of us, to ensure that we are careful in our research; that we verify the When. So we can embrace the right family (even though some of us will embrace pretty much ANY family.) Heh.

Tuesday Tip - FGS2013 Open Minds, Open Hearts, Open Doors

Having made it to Thursday at FGS, I thought the rest of the time would be just as fun and easy and my expectations were right on target. This self-professed morning person didn't make it to a single 8 o'clock session. Between socializing with new people I'd met and then recapping our days with my roomie there was just no way it was going to happen. A week of 6 hours of sleep per night (or less) was starting to take its toll.

I approached Friday very differently in the morning than what I'd planned earlier in the week. I decided to spend some extra time in the Exhibitor Hall, taking advantage of the resources that were available. I started at the Bureau of Land Management booth. I had no idea so few people knew this resource was available. If you haven't had a chance to look at their site, you can check it out here. I'd stopped by the booth before, but wanted to get the certified copy of my ancestor's land patent they were providing:

I then visited both the New York Genealogical & Biographical Society and the Wisconsin State Genealogical Society to get pointers on how to start researching two of my brick walls. My fourth stop was the charm: The Southern California Genealogical Society. I'm a member, and it was such a pleasure to get to meet Paula Hinkel in person. But, that wasn't the real pay-off (sorry Paula but I know you understand). As I was explaining to Paula my difficulty with locating the Probate/Trust documents for my Stellas, she strongly urged me to talk with Judy Russell, The Legal Genealogist. Of course, who should appear but none other than...Judy Russell! Paula introduced us (although Judy and I met each other on social media.) Judy was kind enough to take a few minutes to listen to my dilemma and quickly recommended a course of action. No session could have given me the clue I needed to move forward the way that Judy did. I'm crossing my fingers that there's some form of payoff.

I was so excited that I decided to head back to my room and ran into a few new genea-friends. They were interested in grabbing some lunch before the 2 pm session, so the three of us walked up to the Dash-in (my new favorite place to get a meal in Ft. Wayne)! I love the opportunity to talk with researchers from areas other than my own, mainly because their research happens in places I'm not familiar with (yet). In this case, one researcher lives and researches in a State I hope to be able to start researching in in the not too distant future; I just want to get the closer lines done before I start on the ones that go back a lot farther.

We made it back to the Convention Center with a few minutes to spare. I finally ran into the incredibly talented Kathleen Brandt of A3 Genealogy. If you don't know Kathleen but her name is familiar, it's because she performed the research for much of the Chris O'Donnell segment for Who Do You Think You Are, including uncovering the family sword in the Smithsonian. I can only aspire to the quality and level of research skills she has and she's a fascinating person as well. She decided to join me in Judy Russell's session "Roadblocks, Red Lights and Detours: Records Access Issues." This subject is near and dear to my heart, and Judy is a phenomenal speaker. You've gotta love a Zombie Apocalypse reference, seriously. Heh. Best take-away from this session was that we need to reach out to and invite our legislators to our genealogy society meetings so that they are more invested and have a better understanding of our concerns with regard to information access. Hallelujah to that!

After getting such a charge out of Judy's session, I decided to go back to my room, switch my bags and head over to the Library. Friday night was the Evening at the Library event, and I was a little concerned that it would be as busy as it was on Wednesday. It was busy, but I have to admit that at least there wasn't a line to get a seat. I found a nice location, plugged into one of the few working plugs (my power-strip was a much sought-after commodity) and started to work. I was joined by a few genea-friends who were getting as burned out as I was. There really is a limit to how much new information one brain can absorb. I kept thinking back to my college days feeling like I was cramming for a final exam...LOL.

At a little after 6 I went downstairs to the appointed spot the ProGen group was meeting for our group photo. I still can't believe that I made it through the program and am now an alum! Where did the time go? Unfortunately, there were a lot of attendees who were missing from the group; but we managed a decent picture (I think). And then it was back to the books.

I took a break to go down to get some of the promised 'light desserts'. I have to say, the brownies, cookies, sweets breads (not to be confused with sweetbreads...we had THAT conversation) and little fruit cookie/tarts were exactly what the doctor would have ordered. Oh, and I ran into some of the Indiana ladies and a librarian local to my area. We had a lovely chat and it was nice to have the break. 

On the way back up to the Genealogy Center, I had the pleasure of seeing some of the people who had come dressed in Civil War era clothing participating in the 'dancing' portion of the evening. Oh, wait...look who's in there! None other than the (apparently) incredibly multi-talented Amy Johnson Crow. She definitely knows how to cut a rug!! 

I went back upstairs and continued to research until I was pretty bleary-eyed. When I saw it was 11:30 and was fairly sure I'd read the same sentence about 10 times, I knew it was time to pack it in.

I somehow managed to get myself up and out of my room in time to meet the usual suspects for Dr. Tom Jones' "Creating Family Histories for Future Generations." One of the first points he made really resonated with me: harvest what future generations can't. I tell everyone who will listen that we MUST ACT, as genealogists, to protect primary documentation that is at risk. Whether it's a repository that's in danger of closing, a piece of legislation that may close access to records or an elderly neighbor who we know has primary material and no one willing to take it, as historians, researchers and family storytellers, it's our responsibility to act to protect the information we can when we can. (OK, getting off my soapbox...back to Dr. Jones) He spoke about learning and improving our skills and sharing what we learn. He also discussed the acronymn B-E-A-D: Accuracy, Biography, Documentation and Explanation. He states, "Accuracy is invisible." It's so true.

And this is the point that I have to admit that I don't remember what I did between that session and the afternoon session. Heh. I may have gotten my Friday and Saturday lunches mixed up; oh, no I didn't! However, I DID go BACK to the Dash-In, this time with the Hamilton County Genealogical Society folks (omigosh, I can't believe I didn't remember that right away...lol...I'm STILL tired). Not too tired to (now) remember the fabulous gourmet grilled cheese and soup I had for lunch, nor the terrific time I had talking with the group. They're working so hard to get their Society polished up for the 21st Century, especially as they mark their 40th anniversary this year. Way to go, and keep up the great work you're doing for those of us who have deep roots in the southwestern portion of Ohio!

At 2 pm I went to my second session by Dr. Jones: "Organizing Evidence to Overcome Record Shortages." I sat with a new geneacquaintence who, at the end of the session, looked at me and said, "I have NO idea what he just said." I laughed, and pointed at the brand new book she had in her lap and said, "He just gave you a synopsis of the Genealogical Proof Standard." I have to admit, hesitantly, that I was a bit disappointed in this afternoon session. In the syllabus the session was labelled as 'Intermediate/Advanced', but I felt like he'd covered the exact same territory in the morning session, just in a different frame. That's not to say that I didn't enjoy the session, just that I wished he'd more directly discussed record shortages and the types of alternate records to be used in their place.

At 3:30 I knew exactly where I was going: Michael Lacopo's "Mennonite Research: The Forgotten Swiss Germans." I so enjoyed Michael's first session that I decided even though I don't have ancestor Mennonites that I might be able to glean some new insight into my possible Swiss ancestors. Boy, was I in for the surprise of my genealogical week. As Michael detailed the history of the Mennonite sect, I came to understand how challenging researching them can be. The tenets they live under are: adult baptism, no oath taking and pacifism. So, nothing to capture a birth date, no military documentation and nothing where an oath would be taken such as naturalization and voter registration. Huh. 
Wait for it ...

The room burst into laughter at this slide, neatly positioned at about the middle of Michael's presentation. Again, he's a great presenter, and knew that at that time of the day, on the last day of the Conference, there were going to be a lot of weary people. There were also a lot of 'cat people' in the audience; I asked to take a picture so I could put it on Social Media. Unfortunately it's a bit fuzzy; the kittehs are named Menno, Ulrich and Conrad, after the founders of the Mennonites. Awesome.

Michael then described the 'typical' migration path of a Mennonite from Switzerland. As he had in his first session, he stressed that very often Mennonites were enumerated or described as "German" rather than Swiss. He then stated that the migratory path was something like this: Switzerland --> Berks, PA --> Ohio. On the screen, he showed a map of Ohio with a number of counties shaded, indicating they were often the places Mennonites settled. My eyes jumped to the center of the State and two of the shaded Counties leapt off the screen: Fairfield and Licking. Oh. My. Word.

For those who would like a refresher, check out this image of Tobias Bigler, and note where he was from and where he went. Yup. And, what's more, it would make COMPLETE sense that I've been unable to find any records for him, other than a few probate records with his name in them from Union County. Whether or not the family was Mennonite, I have to be open to the possibility and now know the resources that I can use to begin this research. Way to go, Mr. Lacopo!

After the session, as I was standing with a geneacquaintance, one of the Certified Genealogists who had been a presenter bumped into us. This CG, who I respect immensely and had really only met peripherally, looked at me and said, "I like what you write. Keep up the good work." (OK. I'm not sure that's exactly what was said because I was too stunned. But it was close to that. Really.) 

For a very long time I've worked directly for someone who doesn't monitor my work as an Archivist. I know that she trusts that, as a professional, if I have a question or need anything from her that I'll ask. The flip side of that is that I cannot remember the last time that she told me that I did a good job or acknowledged me in a positive way, so coming from a CG, well...it just meant the world to me that they'd take that moment to acknowledge my writing. It certainly had the desired effect, as you can tell by this overly lengthy post! LOL

The night, and Conference, closed out for me with a dinner with the usual suspects and some new genea-friends. If I had not been open to going to the Conference alone, open to meeting new people despite my prior experience, and open to new ideas and avenues to be better in all aspects of genealogical research and being a professional in any business, I would not be the happy woman I am at this moment. 

And, believe it or not, that is NOT the end of my week. But that's a tale for a future post...

Follow Friday - #FGS2013 A Plethora of People to Pursue

I have to admit that I really wanted to get to the Keynote session on Thursday, but I was delayed by a bit of a work-related issue that had to be taken care of so it just didn’t happen. But, as I have always said, everything happens for a reason. I had the opportunity to enjoy breakfast with a great group of genealogists, including Linda and Margel from the Midwest Geneabloggers group. We got into a lively conversation about how genealogical societies need to work with historical societies to leverage one another and to ensure that the level of customer service we receive as researchers is ‘up-to-snuff.’ There are just far too many stories of Archivist’s who seemingly go out of their way to prevent researchers from accessing material they need. I don’t understand this pervading and insidious way of working. We also discussed the importance of securing primary documentation as a source of genealogical material and the best methods for doing that. Is this starting to sound familiar? If not, read on…

I made it over to the Exhibit Hall as it was opening and wandered around checking out the booths. I didn’t do a super thorough job, but enjoyed watching the people and talking to a few of the vendors. I got information on my Dad’s (potential) SAR chapter at the SAR booth; poked around in the books available at several vendors; spoke with another Midwest Geneablogger, Kathryn Lake Hogan at the GSG booth; and had a heart-wrenching conversation with someone at the DAR booth.

I started my conversation with the DAR representative like this: Is there a National edict of what to do with the primary documentation (hand written meeting minutes, pamphlets, committee reports, etc.) held by the individual Chapters? If not, what are you doing to preserve that information from your Chapter? (Note: This particular Chapter is within the range of the Allen County Public Library) As it turns out, they decided to have their materials digitized, and they did. They kept one ‘set’ on several local hard drives and also have a copy on the Cloud.

Are you wondering what they did with those original books lovingly written by their mothers, grandmothers, aunts, and cousins? I was too. They shredded them. That’s right, you read that right. They shredded them. Because no one wanted them or had the space to store them. Now, before you get too upset, there was some material that was given to the ACPL, but even they were reluctant to take it. I keep thinking, what is this world coming to when a LINEAGE SOCIETY destroys primary documentation? At the same time, I have a ‘oh, well…’ kind of mind set. I’m only one person and I there’s not a lot I can do alone. But just an hour before I learned this, I was sitting at a table with a half dozen women who were ardently describing their concern about primary documentation being lost. WHAT IS THE DISCONNECT?!!

I wandered off to go to a session being presented by Kris Rzepczynski, the Senior Archivist at the State Archives of Michigan. He was the first speaker on Librarians’ Day and I really liked his style, so I decided to go and hear some happy news about researching in Michigan. The room was about half way full. Kris did a great job in describing the records that are available in the State as well as a bit of the history of the migration of people into Michigan.  Overall it was a terrific presentation and it genuinely made me want to get in my car and go to Lansing to see what I can find on my Powelson and Garret(t) lines.

I met up with the usual suspects and we went over to a hotel for a light lunch and some great conversation. Diana Ritchie(http://randomrelatives.blogspot.com/) shared an incredibly funny newspaper article she’d found the night before (while the rest of us were downstairs talking shop). Hopefully she’ll blog about it…it’s a hoot!

As the 2:00 sessions were getting ready to start, I was standing out in the hallway with quite the conundrum. Elizabeth Shown Mills was doing her “Smiths and Jones” presentation, Debbie Parker Wayne was doing a presentation titled “Going Nuclear: DNA Discoveries to Trace All Lines of Descent”, and there was a guy presenting on Beginning Swiss Research. As I looked at the syllabus, I realized the only presentation that wasn’t being recorded was the one on the Swiss Research so in I went. Best decision. Ever.  The presentation was given by Michael Lacopo. Oh, did I mention the ladies I had breakfast with were from Granger, Indiana. Michael Lacopo? Granger, Indiana. Small world.

A couple of great take-aways with regard to the research itself, including the 1676 edict attaching the location of the person (gemeinde), at that moment, to the person and their future family permanently. How cool is that? And confusing, because if you ask someone where they’re FROM they’ll answer with that location, but if you ask them where they LIVED they might give the location they were actually living OR the gemeinde. Uh oh…

Michael got a rousing round of applause when he stated that everyone in the audience should hug the Archivists who work so hard to make material available to them even though they don't get paid very much to do it. OK, maybe I was the only one clapping, but still. However, I thought back to the conversation we had in the morning, and it made me wonder how many people in the audience had had a negative experience in a repository. Huh.

Lastly, as I sat marveling at the manner in which Michael Lacopo got his message across, using humor to keep the audience alert and attentive, I was struck by the thought that of any session that should have been recorded, it was his. Not enough of the lesser known speakers get acknowledged through the various Social Media channels. So, please think about that the next time you go to a Conference. Yes, it’s fabulous hearing ESM, Dr. Jones and the individuals in our profession at that level, speak. But the content in the sessions given by some of the lesser known presenters is just as valuable, and in some ways more so. So, if you ever get to meet Michael Lacopo, give him a hug from me. J

The evening ended with another amazing meal at a Ft. Wayne restaurant called Gas House. They seated us in a small room at a large table and the conversation was lively, loud and full of laughter. What an inspiring and invigorating way to end the day, and I truly felt there wasn’t a way that it could be any better.

As we all sauntered back to our hotels (it was a fairly long walk), we saw Amy Johnson Crow and Curt Witcher. For those who aren’t aware, Curt is the Allen County Public Library Genealogy Center Manager.  I struck up a conversation, telling him how impressed I was, both as a researcher and as an Archivist, with the way the Center is lead. Not managed, but lead. What ensued was a remarkable conversation about the state of Archives and Archivists, Libraries and Librarians, and education as a whole. I felt like this gentleman, who has an incredible job with immense responsibility, allowed me insight into why the ACPL is such an incredible repository. And, it gave me hope that I may still have a professional future, perhaps not one I expected, but a professional future all the same.

Speaking of futures…I’m late! LOL Off to sessions. If you have difficulties locating anyone I’ve discussed here, please leave me a comment and I’ll get their information for you (sorry, but this blogger has GOT to go!!)

Thankful Thursday – FGS2013: The ‘New’ Buzzword is Collaboration

Well, FGS is amazing. Or, rather, the people at FGS are amazing. Yesterday was jam packed with research and catching up with genea-friends from far and near. The folks at the Allen County Public Library Genealogy Center pulled out all the stops and were performing the herculean task of handling all the people who were coming in to do research while attending the conference. It was standing room only at the research tables and I heard that even the microfilm room, which is colder than a Siberian winter, was full. After being in the Library from about 9:30 until 5:30, I dashed back to my room to quickly freshen up for the opening social. That’s where things went a little awry.

I do my best not to be critical unless it can be considered constructive (mainly because I’ve been on the receiving end of criticism that was anything but constructive). It’s not helpful to just hear that you stink at something, so, here’s my take on what I can only say was a customer service fiasco. We entered into the venue for the Opening Social, the Foellinger-Freimann Botanical Conservatory. We were greeted by several people who were handing out raffle tickets and packets of flower seeds, a nice touch, although I ended up with 3 or 4 packets that people didn’t want because they wouldn’t use them. We took a few steps forward ... and stopped. We were chatting among ourselves, so at first it didn’t seem to be an issue. However, after about 15 minutes, having moved only about 10 feet forward (that is not an exaggeration) we started wondering what was going on. We finally moved past the entry way and into the conservatory, only to see the line of people winding through the facility with no discernible end.  After waiting another 10 – 15 minutes, someone from our group went up the line to see if she could determine whether or not we were supposed to wait in the line or not, and she wasn’t really able to find out anything other than it was the line for the food. Keep in mind, we were told it would be ‘light appetizers’ and we hadn’t had dinner prior to arriving, our plan being that we would spend a bit of time at the social and then head out for dinner. Finally, after waiting 40 minutes and not getting beyond the middle of the first room, we decided to go back out the way we came in.

Having had such a great day at the library, it was a real let-down to not know what was supposed to happen at an event we paid to get into. At no time did anyone from FGS, FindMyPast.com or the facility inform the people standing in line what was happening or what was expected of us. All someone needed to do was walk up and down the line informing people that they could go forward into the tent at the back of the facility. I can’t comment on the food or drinks, though I heard varying comments about that as well. What a shame that such a great day nearly ended with a complete downer all because someone didn’t have the wherewithal to let people know.

Of course, leave it to the group I was fortunate to join to make the most of a bad situation. Ft. Wayne has an amazing little place called the Dash-In that makes the most delicious vegetarian dishes and serves awesome beer.  Once we’d eaten, we decided to head back to the hotel where we found more folks who’d bailed from the Social. We ended up staying up far later than I intended, discussing the challenges genealogists face when going into Archives. So many of you have had negative experiences in Archives, and it really irks me to hear that there are Archivists out there who don’t understand the concept, and importance, of good customer service or the value in the collaborative possibilities with genealogists. It only takes a little bit of communication to right a wrong.

Have you had a negative customer service experience at an Archives, or Conference, that you were willing to ‘forgive’ because you knew the circumstances warranted it? Did you notify someone that a change would make the situation better?

Let’s hope that was just a little hiccup in what will otherwise be a fabulous conference.

Tuesday Tip - Collaboration and a Behind the Scenes Tour of ACPL at FGS2013

Good morning! I'm having to learn all about brevity...I wanted to write a lovely, long post about the amazing day I had yesterday at Librarians' Day, but I have to get ready to get back to the Library! So, without further ado...

I hit the road from Delphos, Ohio very late. The trip from there to Ft. Wayne was entirely without incident, so I pulled into the parking lot at 8:25. No time for socializing, but Registration got me on my way to the Theater for the opening at 8:30. We heard from Amy Johnson Crow & Delia Cothrun Bourne, the 2013 Librarians' Day Coordinators. They deserve a great round of applause for putting together a wonderful set of speakers and an amazing tour of the facility. Thanks, ladies!!  Jeffrey Krull, the Director of ACPL and Melissa Shmikus, Assistant Director and FGS Director also had some opening remarks. Then...

Kris Rzepczynski, the Senior Archivist at the Archives of Michigan spoke about collaboration to build and preserve collections. All I can say is he's a great speaker who understands that adding a touch of humor can keep the audiences attention while stilling getting your message across. He framed his subject around the dismantling of the Library & Archives of Michigan (which started in 2009) and how, in the end (as of today), the Genealogical Collection has a wonderful home and is available for all researchers. The trouble, as I see it, is that not enough people actually KNEW there was a moment when material might have been moved away or scraped. That's right - scraped. I hope that we all connect in a bit more to the collections, big and small, that we use for our research and stay aware of challenges they have due to budget constraints. How can you know? Just ask. Ask the staff. If they can't/won't tell you, check meeting minutes for public entities and professional forums for private ones. If they're at risk, it's being talked about somewhere and the sooner the genealogical community can come together to assist in providing a solution, the better the chance is that things will turn out like they did in Michigan. Oh, by the way, have you SEEN the website they have? Check it out at www.seekingmichigan.org!

Elaine Kuhn, the Kentucky History Services Coordinator from the Kenton County (KY) Public Library then shared her suggestions on how Libraries can work with local organizations to preserve and make accessible (sound familiar) primary materials at risk of being destroyed because the owners don't know what to do with them. The highlights were images of George Clooney (his family is from that area) and a photo of a gentleman (I didn't note his name) wearing his "Military Order of the Cooties" hat and uniform! Too funny, but an actual organization.

Lunch was sponsored by ProQuest and we had a brief presentation by Bill Forsythe who is the Director of Product Development. For those who go to their Public Library often, ProQuest has some great additions to their products. And, for those who work in Libraries, well, same goes. What caught my attention is they're adding Lesson Plans for Teachers. Love the idea of using the information available to enhance the learning experience.

OK. Here's where I have to admit that the call of my genea-friends (who I hadn't seen for TOO long) and the Library got the best of me. I admit it, I'm weak. I didn't go to the afternoon panel discussion because I heard the siren song of dead people calling my name. Don't judge me. LOL

Now, for the BEST part! We had the privilege of going behind the scenes at ACPL. And this is where the brevity comes in, because I only have an hour to get myself ready, get something to eat and make a beeline over to the Library to be there when it opens at 9!! Here goes:

We had a tour of the Genealogy Center. I've posted about it before; sadly, there's no time at this writing to find the right one. I'll try to edit the post tonight to include it so those who haven't been here can see it.

Then, we went down to the Lincoln Financial Foundation collection. What a remarkable collection of material from and about Abraham Lincoln. You can check out the website HERE.

We then got to see the area where they keep the three-dimensional objects from the collection along with rare book storage. Didn't take any pictures there because most of the material is on-line!! So awesome.

Next stop: genealogical material processing. ACPL is the rare Library where the Genealogical Collection material handling is completely separate from the rest of the Library. Check it out!

I love that the conveyor in the middle is used as a bit of a metaphor to keep material moving forward; to keep the process of working through the additions to the collections moving at all times. For me, this was the highlight of the tour. I'm not afraid to say that I genuinely wish that there was a facility like this closer to me. I would LOVE to work here!! But wait...there's more...

This lucky woman gets to scan material sent in by patrons. In this case, this is a bible from the mid-1700s from an attendee at FGS! How cool is that?! (Yes, at this point I was totally geeking out).

Internet Archives! That's right, this is the actual location where materials are scanned to be added to the Internet Archives website. They're a non-profit organization and they have a TON of material to scan, all so that genealogists and researchers alike can have access to the information contained in the materials they scan. Again, what a cool job.

So, that was my day yesterday. Or, at least the part at the Library, heh. 

I finished up my night enjoying the company of some great genea-friends and acquaintances: Susan Clark, Kathy Reed, Becky Wiseman, Amy Coffin, Lisa Alzo and several others at the FamilySearch Blogger's Dinner. The food was very good (I was late, *sigh*) and it was great to hear about all the incredible things that are happening at FamilySearch. Stay tuned for some big announcements!

I ended the day watching Who Do You Think You Are with an amazing group of Genea-buddies. Oh, and if you weren't on social media to see my tweets, Kathleen Brandt of A3 Genealogy was responsible for the research on the O'Donnell segment that included locating the sword at the Smithsonian. What an incredible job she did - amazing job.

That's all for now...I'm late...and clearly haven't truly learned brevity...LOL. 

Sentimental Sunday - Back to the Roots

I'm going to try to create slightly shorter posts with 'better' content. I know that I've veered from posting directly about genealogy; one thing I know is that this is a record of my experiences and I don't want to hide when Life gets a bit overwhelming. At the same time I understand that readers aren't necessarily interested in that so on with the genealogy!

What's sentimental about today? Well, I'm leaving this morning to head to Delphos, Ohio. It's where my Beightler (also Beighler, Bigler, etc) and Leatherman ancestors were and it's nicely located for my trip on Monday to Marysville and possibly Lancaster, Ohio. I'll decide in the morning whether or not I'm going to drive all the way to Lancaster to pick up copies of the land records from my 4th great-grandfather, George Beighler, who purchased a part of the Refugee Tract and whose heirs confirmed his ownership in 1827. I may go to Marysville first and then end the day in Lancaster. It's interesting because I'd been searching for records of George in Licking County as that's the information on the back of the photograph I have of his son Tobias from 1884. What I didn't know is that Fairfield County was once part of Licking County, no real surprise. And naturally, the minute I looked in Fairfield there were all kinds of records. As I said, go figure...

Either way, the next three days will be spent doing a lot of driving and genea-hunting, and I just can't wait!

I'll be updating my findings here and on Social Media; I've spent much less time there as I've been immersing myself in getting my house and research ready for this trip. I'm wishing all my genea-friends out there safe travels as they journey to Ft. Wayne for the Federation of Genealogical Societies Conference, and there are so many of you that I 'know' on social media that I can't wait to meet in real life!

Take care everyone!

Wisdom Wednesday - It's Last Leaf's Blogiversary!!

Holy smokes...it's my blogiversary!  Here's a shout out to the fabulous Thomas MacEntee for providing a platform for anyone who wants to post about their genealogical trials, tribulations, and triumphs...thank you!! And, it's pretty darned incredible to think that I started this blog two years ago. It's been a topsy-turvy couple of years, but fortunately my 'house of horrors' has morphed into more of a 'Tilt-A-Whirl'. Still a ride, but a lot more fun. Here's a bit of an 'update':

My garden is producing nuclear-sized cucumbers and soon I'll have a bumper crop of tomatoes and bell peppers. There's little to do in the garden other than water and weed occasionally, and enjoy its bounty. The same goes for my yard; the perennial flower seeds I planted in the early summer have grown into a nice little green oasis with specks of purple and white flowers. Next year they'll put on quite the show. The other flowers I planted, those the bunnies didn't eat into nubs, are doing fairly well also. 

My house is once again more of a home. We're looking forward to doing some minor repairs and lot of cosmetic work to clean and freshen it up. There'll be plenty of painting in my spare time, along with some other updates that will happen when time and, of course, funds are available. 

Our kittehs have provided a unifying source of comedy. They are growing into their personalities and adult kitteh bodies. Villy is a mix of sweet and salty; her purr is epic and she has become my own ironic love (I swore I disliked girl kittehs, and every day I munch on those words.) Goober has found a bit of a voice, albeit a very "peepy" one. He's our long, lean oozer who loves to leap from behind the couch and grab our legs as we walk by. Fortunately, the 'frown' he was born with (not anywhere near as epic as Grumpy Cat, but still) is slowly turning into a hint of a grin. Yay for good livin'! And, Conway is just the sweetest 15lbs of kitteh you'll ever meet. Actually, we're pretty sure he doesn't know he's a cat because he acts more like a dog. He loves people and he loves talking even more. He's particularly fond of sharing his philosophical views, which he shares quite intently. He hasn't quite grown out of the habit of 'nursing' on my neck (we've termed it 'getting schnecks') which is a bit of a challenge because he weighs 15 lbs and leaves a kitteh hickey when he does it. I'm pretty much the antithesis of the kind of 'mom' I wanted to be: I'm overly indulgent and they know it. And our house has much more love in it because of them. (Can you tell? I mean, really, I could talk about them for hours. It's sad. And so funny).

As for myself, the last 10 months have been incredibly challenging for me physically. I've been suffering (and I don't use that word lightly) from what appears to be rapid onset osteoarthritis in my hands. Basically, I went from some minor pain in my left hand (I'd had a cortisone shot in July last year) to significant pain in both my hands. It's challenging to openly discuss this because I work with my hands and I didn't want to leave the impression that I wasn't able to work. While I scaled back the more physical aspects of my work, everyday chores like doing the dishes became a nightmare. The good news is that I've had shots in my hands again, and I'm feeling significantly better. I still have some pain, but that comes with the territory. I'm hoping to be able to get back to a regular course of exercise, which I miss terribly.

Ironically, all of the above has caused an inverse reaction of less time spent on blog posts, something I truly am hoping to remedy. I'm rushing to get ready to head to FGS, and I plan on Tweeting and blogging as much as I can. My week is incredibly full and I simply can't wait!  Here's a quick run-down:

Sunday: I leave in the early after noon to drive to Delphos, Ohio. Depending on time and traffic I may make a quick stop in Van Wert to get the lay of the land and go to a cemetery or three (Heh). I'm staying in Delphos.

Monday: Up bright and early to head to Marysville, Ohio and the Union County Court house. Then, I have an appointment with the Archivist at the Union County Historical Society, where I'm hoping to learn more about my Beightler and Amrine family members. Again, time permitting, I'll be hitting some of the local cemeteries to locate ancestors.

Tuesday: Librarian's Day!! I'm super psyched to have the opportunity to enjoy this day, which I'll be enjoying with one of my co-volunteers from the Fox Valley Genealogical Society and a Librarian from the Oswego, Illinois library where we provide research assistance once a month. There's some really great things planned for our day. Then, I'll get to meet up with my roomie for the week before heading off to the FamilySearch bloggers dinner with (hopefully) a quick break for a photo-op with my ProGen Study group alum. Oh!! I forgot to mention I finished ProGen! Heh.

Wednesday - Saturday: I'm immersing myself in all things genealogical. I hope to have the chance to hear some of the people I know on-line speak and just generally hang out with people who love genealogy as much as I do!!

Sunday: I'm rising bright and early to drive down to Bloomington, Indiana to the home of my cousin, Stephen Baer's son. He has kindly offered to allow me to see all of the material his dad had accumulated and although he describes it as a bit of a jumble I suspect its very organized. I'm just hoping for a few more clues to the very early origins of our shared family. 

So, that's it. I'll be starting my third blogging year with a research trip and conference followed by a family visit to see some of my family's material. I'm working overtime to not get too excited about all the great people who I know from social media but that I'm going to be meeting for the first time. I'm also going to be missing a few of my genea-friends who can't make the trip. I'll cross my fingers I'll see them, soon.

Thank you again, all of you, for taking the time to read my posts. I know you're inundated daily with all types of genea-information and other information as well, and the fact you take the time to read what I post is greatly appreciated. 

Sentimental Sunday - The Line Between Family and Friend

So, the lovely Katie Chapman posited “I am left wondering what it is that still makes those positive family relationships somehow carry more weight than those friendships that are just as positive in their influence in my life.” She then posed the questions on Google+ “Is there a line between friend and family? If so, why? Can that line disappear? What can change that line?” (I have to note, after writing for a bit, that Katie did qualify this with the term ‘positive family relationships’. Smart girl…I just redacted five paragraphs of stuff no one wants to know because it doesn’t fall into that category. Heh.)

Speaking as someone who once had to figure out a way to feed 30 people in a space made for 4, I feel more qualified to answer these questions than I’d like. The reason being that I now live on the opposite side of that equation; on the side of the ‘friend’ who sort of feels like family but really isn’t. As I’ve written about many times, my life has taken an odd turn and my husband and I are left with only a few relatives who stay in contact with us. It’s not as if we don’t have fond memories of family, quite on the contrary. Both of us have warm and heartfelt memories of huge family gatherings and the feeling of security that comes with knowing you have numbers of relatives behind you when the going gets tough. Except, in our case, when the going got tough, well…

In the 20+ years Cas and I have been together, we only ever wanted our families to be happy. If someone asked us to do something for them, we did it regardless of the circumstances. On many occasions, Cas took his father to dialysis in the morning, after working a 12-hour night shift at the hospital, because no one else was ‘available’. I bailed my parents out financially countless times, to my (and our) saving’s detriment. We gave everything we had because they were family, and that’s what you do for family.

Except, the truth is that that’s not how everyone behaves in real life. While we never expected reciprocity, there’s a level at which you begin to notice you’ve become a door mat. A place where people wipe their feet before moving forward. It’s certainly not treatment you’d ever accept from a friend, so why would you accept it from family? Well, if you’re smart, you move those relationships to the ‘not-positive’ category and go on.

But where do you go? You have no ‘family’. So, you try to build bonds with people willing to accept you the way you are, and there’s a remarkable and refreshing quality about that. People who choose us, rather than being stuck with us because of our DNA. The trouble comes in when you don’t have the self-awareness to own up to your new-found friends that they’re your family replacement. Because if you don’t fess up relatively quickly (no pun intended), there’s a fair chance that you’re going to put too much pressure on the new ‘relationship’ and they’re going to bolt. Because, who needs fake family when you have real family?

I do have a friend, and a very good one at that, who has a ‘brother’ who isn’t a brother at all, but someone who came into their lives and genuinely became a part of their family. How much a part of their family? At their dad’s funeral, he provided part of the eulogy. There wasn’t a dry eye as he described the rare quality of the man who had created a family so wonderful that they would take him in and make him part of their family. He’s lucky, and he knows it.

So, Katie, only a person with positive family relationships wonders why it is that family relationships have a different quality to them than those equally positive friend relationships. The line between friend and family is only as wide as the two people allow it to be; and it most definitely can change and disappear just as family relationships change and sometimes even disappear. The bond between two people is only as strong as the weaker of the two, right?