tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9275109921432476932024-03-12T20:30:01.200-05:00The Last Leaf On This BranchLaura Cosgrove Lorenzanahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02794581991087280753noreply@blogger.comBlogger152125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-927510992143247693.post-16115159908486608382019-11-01T14:27:00.000-05:002019-11-01T15:06:53.144-05:00Blogging with a PurposeMy last blog post was many moons ago. <i>Many</i>. And, I've been hesitant to post an update because I didn't want to muddle up the stuff the Universe has been planning for me over the last few years.<br />
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So, I'll say this: I will never be a Professional Genealogist. I thought that I'd be able to make it, but the reality is that I don't have the fortitude to stop. When a client has hired me for 2 hours and I'm on the 10th hour, still trying to satisfy my own curiosity, well that's not a good thing. It's not a bad thing either: I'm happy that it didn't take me very long to determine that I wasn't cut out to do that specific work, professionally. My skills are great, it's the inability to stop that was the professional killer.<br />
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This blog was started with the intention of recording my journey from "family historian" to "Professional Genealogist". I won't lie: I love writing. And guess what? I discovered that while <i>writing the blog</i>. So it's not a complete loss (LOL). Plus, I've been able to share quite a bit of my archives knowledge along the way, helping people to preserve and manage their own archival collections.<br />
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I also learned the value in editing myself and how that taught me about record editing. Now, when I find personal genealogical material for an ancestor of mine, I wonder what they left out. What happened to them that we'll <i>never</i> know because they didn't want anyone to know it? I mean, I deleted entire blog posts because they were written about events or people that I simply didn't want to be associated with or remember. Which, in hindsight, wasn't the smartest decision, but it was done all the same.<br />
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Of course, the main reason I wanted to preserve my words in this blog was because I was the last leaf on my branch of my family. That, also, turned out not to be fully accurate. Yes, DNA testing is a tricky thing. And it's not just about you and finding your ancestors; nope, your 3rd and 2nd cousins can be the conduit through which living people can find you<i>. </i>Full disclosure: that can be very disruptive to your immediate relatives. Heh.<br />
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It's been 10 months since I worked in an Archive. I did research this summer in a number of repositories, but my work as an Archivist has come to an end after 15 amazing years. I loved my work, and I'm extremely thankful for all the places that allowed me the privilege of processing their archival material. Hopefully, many generations from now, someone will find one or more of their ancestors in a folder with my writing as the label. How cool would that be?<br />
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I contemplated deleting the blog since I'm neither "Professional Genealogist" nor "Archivist". But, I decided that it needed to stay, if for no other reason that I hope it'll be cousin bait for my own genealogical work. And I hope that I'll have time to update it about all the wonderful collaborations and genealogical finds I've made over the last few years. Maybe I'll "re-brand" it to something else, we'll see.<br />
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In the old Celtic world this is the day to celebrate Samhain. It's an ending...and a beginning...<br />
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<br />Laura Cosgrove Lorenzanahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02794581991087280753noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-927510992143247693.post-26103888094473068652016-10-03T13:16:00.002-05:002016-10-03T13:16:37.439-05:00Amazing Archives Search Resource: ArchiveGrid<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">There are so many wonderful repositories that hold primary material; material that you'd otherwise might never get to see or use in your research. One of my favorite ways to track down new information is by looking for Archives in the area where I'm doing research. One of my go-to resources is <a href="https://beta.worldcat.org/archivegrid/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #8e7cc3;">ArchiveGrid</span></a>, a site hosted by the phenomenal <a href="http://www.worldcat.org/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #8e7cc3;">WorldCat</span></a>.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">ArchiveGrid looks like this:</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhK9l6Wmifx76vgNNo_g1wUUFXBsq6zUhVPQXokwdkxyN4Ui_9iMSNTCH08Q3JCYXDQOIXW1Q7zGrmDYvss8V8jw22lftej3zhgPmgmcuzG_8U8zFs1eVpq5OjGPRpSSUEHCU7-Y_JrpK4/s1600/ArchiveGrid.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="190" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhK9l6Wmifx76vgNNo_g1wUUFXBsq6zUhVPQXokwdkxyN4Ui_9iMSNTCH08Q3JCYXDQOIXW1Q7zGrmDYvss8V8jw22lftej3zhgPmgmcuzG_8U8zFs1eVpq5OjGPRpSSUEHCU7-Y_JrpK4/s400/ArchiveGrid.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The beauty is that you don't have to know <i>exactly</i> where to look; they have search options for both "location or zip" and dropdown menus by State. As you can see, they also include a section with the latest additions and information about the site.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">So, if you haven't checked it out yet, why not poke around during American Archives Month?</span>Laura Cosgrove Lorenzanahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02794581991087280753noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-927510992143247693.post-63522977102006708362016-10-01T08:59:00.000-05:002016-10-01T08:59:39.818-05:00October is American Archives (and Family History) Month!!<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Wait...What?! She's writing a blog post? Yes, I'm writing posts this month. Life has kept me so very busy that I haven't done any genealogical research for the last six months or so. I DID help a prospective DAR member with her application, which was quite the endeavor, but in the end we got her application approved and she's now a member.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">I thought I would take this opportunity to share my work with those who aren't familiar with it. I'm a professional, consulting, Archivist. I've been an Archivist for about 13 years, and it has been the longest running 'career' that I've had. My work is varied, fascinating and has enriched my life in ways I would have never dreamed possible. An Archivist's job is to protect the information held in the material over which we are the stewards.</span><br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5iJoMOcyCmxxrjYmvHG2eUAgLZ25VRh8MWQnyHoxNUv1c8rmKaqUwI2WgQ5ZepvciOIAiXWnJTta_AElpI960RskHs3CwBmspBxDJnHiGTtHLw_gqt0FAZtCR-a9DnQK8LvdvXXmwjuI/s1600/20160505_100246.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5iJoMOcyCmxxrjYmvHG2eUAgLZ25VRh8MWQnyHoxNUv1c8rmKaqUwI2WgQ5ZepvciOIAiXWnJTta_AElpI960RskHs3CwBmspBxDJnHiGTtHLw_gqt0FAZtCR-a9DnQK8LvdvXXmwjuI/s320/20160505_100246.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Slides received for processing</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">An Archivist is the steward of unique materials of enduring value. In layman's terms, we take care of old stuff. Old stuff that can't be found elsewhere. Material that is unique and irreplaceable. That material can be anything from photographs to letters: things on paper. However, an Archives can hold other things as well; for instance when I was working at Shure, Inc. there were at least two copies of each microphone they'd ever produced. There are microphones used by famous people and not so famous people. Depends on your perspective. <grin></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">As stewards of this material, an Archivist needs to understand about the composition of the materials to ensure the environment in which they are housed is conducive to its longevity. So, making sure that things like newspaper, which is very acidic, aren't housed with other paper is a key aspect of our work. We need to have a great grasp of basic chemistry: the composition of paper, ink, glues, etc. so that the materials can be stabilized to prevent deterioration. Ensuring that photographic materials are housed properly to avoid fading, warping and loss of image is equally important. </span><br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqwQB_dNR0uz6UfMuEs69uNwnWOHwKpVHp0dqNZjc1bk2vcw7bIMx7sZkYx8drSGSMNPaNsx2SH9XzqjpoXP9JFEphTUhGK7mO1R0zMIUu4lfjeqiWugnJ0QdaFKjlPuT1kGXi2RPB_2w/s1600/20160511_145719.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqwQB_dNR0uz6UfMuEs69uNwnWOHwKpVHp0dqNZjc1bk2vcw7bIMx7sZkYx8drSGSMNPaNsx2SH9XzqjpoXP9JFEphTUhGK7mO1R0zMIUu4lfjeqiWugnJ0QdaFKjlPuT1kGXi2RPB_2w/s320/20160511_145719.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Slides being processed: organized & described</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><a href="http://www2.archivists.org/" target="_blank">The Society of American Archivists</a> are having a number of events this month to highlight the importance of Archives. I hope you'll check them out or follow along here as I share some of what I use in my work.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Have a great day and a fabulous Family History Month!!</span><br />
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<br />Laura Cosgrove Lorenzanahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02794581991087280753noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-927510992143247693.post-13216348623536982722016-02-15T07:02:00.000-06:002016-02-15T07:02:59.271-06:00Motivation Monday - Connections, Skills, Cousins and...?<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">What’s not to love about a Monday celebrating the Presidents
of our Great Country? Even though it’s REALLY cold and I have to go to work, it’s
still a great day. I woke up on the right side of the dirt. Heh.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I have been really fortunate to be working on a number of
genealogical projects that have kept my “recreational” writing to a minimum.
But, I decided that there’s nothing stopping me from writing a short post about
what keeps me motivated in the genealogical process:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">1) Connecting with great new people. This, for me, is what
keeps me going. I work alone and often spend my non-work time alone, so meeting
new people, virtually, makes me happy. Whether I’m helping them, they’re
helping me or we’re collaborating, it’s fun to work with others to move our
research forward. If you haven't thought about attending a conference, please do...it's a great way to get connected! Great place to start is at <a href="https://www.fgsconference.org/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #8e7cc3;">FGS's Conference</span></a>.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">2) Enhancing my own skill sets. I find it remarkable that
each time I work on someone else’s genea-challenges, I uncover another skill
set. As an example, in the last few weeks I worked with original Land Records
that included information that <i>should</i>
have been in Court records but was recorded in the Land Records instead. This
made me review how I look at land records and how much material they can
provide when doing research. I volunteer for the Fox Valley Genealogical Society as a research assistant once a month and I'm finding helping my DAR sisters with their HWs leads to some really interesting challenges!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">3) Sharing my love of the preservation of our history. Seems
like each time I discuss research with someone, the physical material comes up
in the conversation as well. I’m now assisting a local small cemetery to
determine how best to preserve headstones from burials in the mid-1800s, some
of whom were born in the 18<sup>th</sup> Century. I’m going to be working to
get an RFP from companies that specialize in historic cemeteries, and will be
doing some of the work alongside them. I also love <a href="http://www.fromrootstoleaves.com/#!lecture-topics/cx07" target="_blank"><span style="color: #8e7cc3;">speaking to audiences</span></a> about
it; I’ll be presenting a few times this year, including next week in
Naperville, Illinois. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">4) Meeting new cousins! I have two such connections that
happened in the past week; one on Dad’s side and one on Mom’s side. Not sure
how well the BEIGHTLER connection is going to play out; we had a nice back and
forth, but I think they may not be happy that our family name is <i>not</i> spelled BIEGHLER, how their ancestor
spelled it. Unfortunately, if you use <a href="http://www.namethesaurus.com/Default.aspx" target="_blank"><span style="color: #8e7cc3;">Name Thesaurus</span></a>, there are 296 variations
on that spelling and the iterations in our part of the family are BIGLER,
BEIGHLER, and BEIGHTLER. As for Mom’s side, I was really happy to find a
photograph posted in Ancestry that turns out to be the 3<sup>rd</sup> cousin of
my Mom, part of her WAGNER ancestors from France! Super excited that the cousin
is also excited to know about the detailed work I’ve done on this line, and
that I will be able to add another branch in that line. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">These are the things that motivate me. What motivates YOU? </span></div>
Laura Cosgrove Lorenzanahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02794581991087280753noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-927510992143247693.post-62682998029387694932016-02-12T18:54:00.002-06:002016-02-12T18:54:29.292-06:00Friday Follow - Changing the Changes for a ChangeIf it weren't for a number of genea-friends who've mentioned their dusty blogs, I might not be writing this. I've spent a lot of time writing posts on Facebook, and realized that I'm missing a lot by doing that. For one thing, I'm missing out on all the cousins I have, who I haven't connected with, by limiting the scope to Facebook. For another thing, I really do enjoy telling the stories of my ancestors, as well as myself, in a more 'literary' way.<br />
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My tiny little Life has gotten in the way of my Work, both of the Archives variety and the Genealogy variety. I haven't answered calls for papers or lectures, and it's only been providence that's allowed me the privilege of speaking for a number of groups last year! My passion hasn't waned, it's just that there's a finite number of minutes in a day and I've had to make some hard choices about what to do and what not to do. I have NOT given up on my genealogical research; frankly, I've made some really great advances! But, of course, no one's going to know if I don't write about it.<br />
<br />
<span style="line-height: 1.7em;">So, I've re-launched my website at <a href="http://www.fromrootstoleaves.com/">www.fromrootstoleaves.com</a>. </span><br />
<span style="line-height: 1.7em;"><br /></span>
<span style="line-height: 1.7em;">And wrote a blog post. </span><br />
<span style="line-height: 1.7em;"><br /></span>
<span style="line-height: 1.7em;">I'm the Last Leaf on This Branch...I'm a shaky leaf...did I get your attention...?? </span>Laura Cosgrove Lorenzanahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02794581991087280753noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-927510992143247693.post-8570557586209529002015-12-20T12:08:00.000-06:002015-12-20T12:08:12.461-06:00Blog Caroling 2015: The Boar's Head Carol<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2_KpgvJz0z7ocgjuxHnlB8j0v1Nzx3Y-qKQB8LcpbKo7uUJcADDRRmuQryIgVAsYplE7eHaBbqypqokcUP5jUQpkcGIrxkOMFF96O8ETMUmAWhnEImChNKiyDaBcS7ONachdOgwWQyag/s1600/1914934_10153101829462820_8430711022798170380_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2_KpgvJz0z7ocgjuxHnlB8j0v1Nzx3Y-qKQB8LcpbKo7uUJcADDRRmuQryIgVAsYplE7eHaBbqypqokcUP5jUQpkcGIrxkOMFF96O8ETMUmAWhnEImChNKiyDaBcS7ONachdOgwWQyag/s320/1914934_10153101829462820_8430711022798170380_n.jpg" width="246" /></a></div>
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<h3>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Thanks to Pat Richley-Erickson for posting to the Friends of fM page:</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">"THE GREAT BLOG CAROLING SONGBOOK - December 2015.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Our beloved colleague and editor/publisher of Shades of the Departed, the divine fM, came up with the marvelous idea on a winter's eve, many years ago. This year, as a gift to footnoteMAVEN, we continue to celebrate the tradition, as any good genealogist would do. (With fM's permission, of course!)"</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: small;">My submission for this year is The Boar's Head Carol. It's an ancient song that I've loved ever since I heard it as a child. Enjoy!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><a href="https://youtu.be/9u_c9G1mKGg" target="_blank">The Boar's Head Carol</a></span><br />
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Laura Cosgrove Lorenzanahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02794581991087280753noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-927510992143247693.post-47829661224981895402015-12-02T06:34:00.000-06:002015-12-03T07:25:31.406-06:00Wordless Wednesday - Agnes Doecker Wersel (1845 - 1882)<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmySBSxhtAWTQlHPD298D0t9R4kd9z1zJBTr4_GCAi-KdroSClRFffc-KMOjLbKi125QUCD00rPbHFm9OO7vJ9jv7-xtWBYVnLC5rQsxjzqz1Ncqdpw7Ne5XkVQat53GpbYT4LbIxPS4g/s1600/Doecker+Agnes+1864.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmySBSxhtAWTQlHPD298D0t9R4kd9z1zJBTr4_GCAi-KdroSClRFffc-KMOjLbKi125QUCD00rPbHFm9OO7vJ9jv7-xtWBYVnLC5rQsxjzqz1Ncqdpw7Ne5XkVQat53GpbYT4LbIxPS4g/s640/Doecker+Agnes+1864.jpg" width="408" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-size: x-small;">Agnes Doecker Wersel c. 1864 (1845 - 1882) </span><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Courtesy Collection of Carrie Farmer</span></b></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />Laura Cosgrove Lorenzanahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02794581991087280753noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-927510992143247693.post-87018193405480657392015-11-29T09:07:00.001-06:002015-11-29T09:07:55.289-06:00Sentimental Sunday – Saviors of “The Stuff”<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>On this nearly last day of November, I feel compelled to
ensure that thanks goes where thanks belongs. That means that I say a heartfelt
“thank you” to Steve and Nancy Baer (Strubbe). </b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>Nan, as she was known to her friends, lovingly kept family
materials given to her long ago. OK, lovingly might not be absolutely accurate,
but at least they looked something like this when I got my Archivist hands on
them:</b></span></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidTjIhjwuaAk9StJOslDyMaSfwRB0ApjQSMpIO189W-rtvGpIEnOMx5gIxfKOgCbNED_eFTE-x26Di3DjjDKjcyN_PLI7y-iO-9D6gX_EXVtVnm6hglEc7d76SzTL8VuBjx9mmBBFjz_I/s1600/Picture1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidTjIhjwuaAk9StJOslDyMaSfwRB0ApjQSMpIO189W-rtvGpIEnOMx5gIxfKOgCbNED_eFTE-x26Di3DjjDKjcyN_PLI7y-iO-9D6gX_EXVtVnm6hglEc7d76SzTL8VuBjx9mmBBFjz_I/s320/Picture1.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The second batch of family history materials saved by Mary Strubbe</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I include this photograph in a lecture I do about caring and
maintaining family history materials, and it gets a chuckle from the audience
every time. I love pointing out the picnic basket in the plastic tub; it’s a
classic example of someone’s best effort at preserving something important.</b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>And the things in those boxes, and the archival boxes that
Nan’s daughter Mary had begun storing some of the materials in, were very
important. The picnic basket secured a Bible and a large book of piano music,
which has a published date of 1800 and a signature of ‘Robert Chambers Greene’
on the frontispiece. The other materials included marriage certificates,
original letters from the great aunt of Nan, who at the time was completely
unknown to any of us. There was just so much that it’s taken me several years
to put the pieces together to create a rich family tapestry of stories. </b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>When I stopped at Steve’s home in Bloomington, Indiana on my
way back from NGS in Cincinnati in 2012, he showed me an <a href="http://thelastleafonthisbranch.blogspot.com/2012/05/wordless-wednesday-laura-louisa-greene.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: #8e7cc3;">original copy of a photograph of my second great-grandmother</span></a>, Laura Louisa Greene Richards. Laura
was born in 1837, and we believe the photo was taken around 1857, the year she
married Randolph Richards. Steve, after a career as a dentist, had opened an
antique store and had a house full of wonderful antiques. He maintained a
genealogical collection; after he passed away in 2013, his children had a yard sale
to get rid of much of what he’d had because they thought it was stuff he’d saved from the antique store. There's no way to know how much of it was from the family materials he'd described to me. I don’t know what happened to all the genealogical
material that he’d researched over his adult life.</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>These two people were the keys to my ability to fill in the
blanks of our family history. The twins, Stephen Burrows Baer and Nancy
Richards Baer Strubbe, certainly had to be descendants of Stephen Burrows
(1776-1849) and the Richards family (John Richards {1788-p1834} and Mary Penn
{1785-1860}), and much of the materials were from these families. There are also
materials from Greene, Hunt (a line by marriage), as well as mentions of
Sargent and Penn. I’ve been able to fill in the blanks and research through to
lines that include Sefton and Chouteau in French St. Louis; and a lengthy list
of others including Russell, Wallace, Chambers and Camp. </b></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZBb8puF8FHBRJlVMYOpumuTWbJ21OhBlr8LuKVdM_GIWSoELJ48Xi45hoOqUQMI1NUqan9CYjRs4PZwLCezK5WXw2h5yRRlruBakmju1Eq7og-R06EdyCAqORbPbzwZnLBRt4R1CziC8/s1600/IMG_20131025_074246_590.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZBb8puF8FHBRJlVMYOpumuTWbJ21OhBlr8LuKVdM_GIWSoELJ48Xi45hoOqUQMI1NUqan9CYjRs4PZwLCezK5WXw2h5yRRlruBakmju1Eq7og-R06EdyCAqORbPbzwZnLBRt4R1CziC8/s320/IMG_20131025_074246_590.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo taken while processing the Strubbe Family Archives</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>This is the story of two families, Steve and Nan’s, who took
different directions in handling their ‘stuff’ after they were gone. I’m
grateful that I had the opportunity to meet Steve personally and to see some of
the genealogical material he’d acquired over his lifetime. There’s really no
way to know what he had and it’s gone now. Nan had told her daughter, Mary,
that there was a lot of “stuff” she’d kept and that if Mary didn’t want it
that she could "get rid of it." So there's a measure of thanks that goes to Mary who found the material
interesting and decided to keep it. When I left Cincinnati last, the material from the plastic
tubs looked like this:</b></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhT-_17WfAMthmGKzsji4mq9KQCcoNY1wAQ0vbKRu3GzD5EldQYrMDA36H2C1KP7bvc1j9QxHuy52OyhdEBTfoR_1Bum2wzKcN-DldOw_cZV5MEsulTiNn7bfXGR5UBwoUuppV8Kg5Usig/s1600/IMG_20131025_155834_822.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhT-_17WfAMthmGKzsji4mq9KQCcoNY1wAQ0vbKRu3GzD5EldQYrMDA36H2C1KP7bvc1j9QxHuy52OyhdEBTfoR_1Bum2wzKcN-DldOw_cZV5MEsulTiNn7bfXGR5UBwoUuppV8Kg5Usig/s320/IMG_20131025_155834_822.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A portion of the Strubbe Family Archives</td></tr>
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<b style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">It’s not ‘perfect’ and I tell people all the time that it’s
not about perfection. It’s about honoring those who kept the material for us,
and helping those who will be its stewards in the future to understand its
importance by putting it in containers that LOOK important. Thank you, Steve
and Nan, for saving our family history so we can share its stories.</b></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaZc_9b81GL2jN0BqatL56yyC6NZxxTWmSAoHI2NnzCX0a03C7syv5Dp2tWe-fYX8GzP_11n4ZKH65EpvAfOhj8fkI6_-zTaIlvLje06hhFm-MZ8zZO3FKCPDHufRoKY-D02w_b7397jE/s1600/twinsmomsteve.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaZc_9b81GL2jN0BqatL56yyC6NZxxTWmSAoHI2NnzCX0a03C7syv5Dp2tWe-fYX8GzP_11n4ZKH65EpvAfOhj8fkI6_-zTaIlvLje06hhFm-MZ8zZO3FKCPDHufRoKY-D02w_b7397jE/s320/twinsmomsteve.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Steve and Nan with the Strubbe twins (courtesy of the Strubbe Family Archives)</td></tr>
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Laura Cosgrove Lorenzanahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02794581991087280753noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-927510992143247693.post-60858248958555971022015-11-11T06:24:00.000-06:002015-11-11T20:30:57.567-06:00Wordless Wednesday - Veteran's Day 2015<b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Please also see my 2012 musing regarding <a href="http://thelastleafonthisbranch.blogspot.com/2012/11/sentimental-sunday-veterans-broader.html" target="_blank">looking at Veterans in a broader sense</a>.</span></b><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" height="241" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNJBlR-OecVZ-kxcwH6Dlh8I1RyfvDQPjR8ZfsVUa0zhgMdBeiYhKhtY6MPA1W3GlCjVg-x5OF_ntAvpplFIANFuniSE2dgmjAJXiVhhee9ymxo6iKg1JlTNw8ZZVK3EwESMp2xvV3xLk/s320/Beightler+Daniel+c+1912+w+caption.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="320" /></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Daniel Beightler (1844 - 1925)</span></td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNJBlR-OecVZ-kxcwH6Dlh8I1RyfvDQPjR8ZfsVUa0zhgMdBeiYhKhtY6MPA1W3GlCjVg-x5OF_ntAvpplFIANFuniSE2dgmjAJXiVhhee9ymxo6iKg1JlTNw8ZZVK3EwESMp2xvV3xLk/s1600/Beightler+Daniel+c+1912+w+caption.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"></span></b></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpQOeCNG_QkA3nwXeRBPyIUE_1xZPsQY-Npq1ehD7iMMrAyAMp6yDg0gGaacYtLPMhU3_sK-igr0TqKVj7gNvGZq3DHrJzJta3UELZwPDz1tOjar-6jCPv-CY4_fwBjMWuUGgNBONuicQ/s1600/George+Jeffrey.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpQOeCNG_QkA3nwXeRBPyIUE_1xZPsQY-Npq1ehD7iMMrAyAMp6yDg0gGaacYtLPMhU3_sK-igr0TqKVj7gNvGZq3DHrJzJta3UELZwPDz1tOjar-6jCPv-CY4_fwBjMWuUGgNBONuicQ/s320/George+Jeffrey.jpg" width="209" /></span></b></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">George Jeffrey (1858 - 1935)</span></b></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5nFctk1wYIn9OP3qbdeawaBmAqwMAljV05DUgbYDzMqONUsEtd6EEC5NRSGX9LTybhr7RxlG0_8baP2-DhStumDidxgTpavBZ-qmxGFOwLCOJOSmCEpOg507lmdoq77SPkkbovTDQ6Kk/s1600/Cosgrove+John+June+1915+Grantham+Lincolnshire+England.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><img border="0" height="198" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5nFctk1wYIn9OP3qbdeawaBmAqwMAljV05DUgbYDzMqONUsEtd6EEC5NRSGX9LTybhr7RxlG0_8baP2-DhStumDidxgTpavBZ-qmxGFOwLCOJOSmCEpOg507lmdoq77SPkkbovTDQ6Kk/s320/Cosgrove+John+June+1915+Grantham+Lincolnshire+England.jpg" width="320" /></span></b></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">John Cosgrove (1891 - 1971)</span></b></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCaTD1ItyxrvzqfuyhQQPKCngArO7FXa7eWXjuSiINkH1DqBl4Xu-5KjsgJwvh_a09aCmX69KTiJtD1Kb5ZRHeYpcf55ZNRnW3-gX1lDIHUP36faK1eGJA-pWeQytoVALEd8nEOJw4N6Q/s1600/Beightler+Robert+Sprague+Sign+recto.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCaTD1ItyxrvzqfuyhQQPKCngArO7FXa7eWXjuSiINkH1DqBl4Xu-5KjsgJwvh_a09aCmX69KTiJtD1Kb5ZRHeYpcf55ZNRnW3-gX1lDIHUP36faK1eGJA-pWeQytoVALEd8nEOJw4N6Q/s320/Beightler+Robert+Sprague+Sign+recto.jpg" width="248" /></span></b></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Robert Sprague Beightler (1892 - 1978)</span></b></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnQiGGCPNkuu-Zsx9cB_uKzBz7WKl_6HC8QZZhOpBbxrUO_i5ICFc0ClV8YN8dx3y-oD8nC1YT7TNqTVpmAHO27ZjvLuNmK-ce4ClnodO0nbn3wQ-x0Rj_jDmA265FQC2qnrpaHahT6eg/s1600/Cosgrove+Francis+D+1923++1944+Ranville+France.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnQiGGCPNkuu-Zsx9cB_uKzBz7WKl_6HC8QZZhOpBbxrUO_i5ICFc0ClV8YN8dx3y-oD8nC1YT7TNqTVpmAHO27ZjvLuNmK-ce4ClnodO0nbn3wQ-x0Rj_jDmA265FQC2qnrpaHahT6eg/s320/Cosgrove+Francis+D+1923++1944+Ranville+France.jpg" width="229" /></span></b></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Francis D Cosgrove (1923 - 1944)</span></b></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7s6MvpoFlDL4bzYlkUkK7JEaWGm5ucX3rsIRunRfCNWDsGcCNs5u8hVyrHyYjcA8yt7GcsZLnvOJuGepauAJTMAm0PsZEH1k7V3o7Nu50KirWm91qSh9wpn1H4gViDiK1Zf_1fg4lPEk/s1600/Ill+Elmer+E+Jr+w+others+nd.tif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" height="255" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7s6MvpoFlDL4bzYlkUkK7JEaWGm5ucX3rsIRunRfCNWDsGcCNs5u8hVyrHyYjcA8yt7GcsZLnvOJuGepauAJTMAm0PsZEH1k7V3o7Nu50KirWm91qSh9wpn1H4gViDiK1Zf_1fg4lPEk/s320/Ill+Elmer+E+Jr+w+others+nd.tif" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Elmer Ill (1920 - 1980)</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9ghe4Iy2msK1mMnVoxjcvNDK2pycXyI0Y99gr9_Xp7HV4EvG-_nhwyrcL0ye8Mg18UJdLzP_-GacXG_XZS9CEVKB3X8C3LwsXZDRMGU4-OkhaOs2ZUQnoMjHkqQI7ry7C7wAh__8NQnw/s1600/Somewhere+over+Vietnam.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><img border="0" height="206" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9ghe4Iy2msK1mMnVoxjcvNDK2pycXyI0Y99gr9_Xp7HV4EvG-_nhwyrcL0ye8Mg18UJdLzP_-GacXG_XZS9CEVKB3X8C3LwsXZDRMGU4-OkhaOs2ZUQnoMjHkqQI7ry7C7wAh__8NQnw/s320/Somewhere+over+Vietnam.jpg" width="320" /></span></b></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Daniel Barnes Cosgrove...the green light's on...<br /><br />To all the veterans who've served to protect the freedoms we have today.</span></b></td></tr>
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Laura Cosgrove Lorenzanahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02794581991087280753noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-927510992143247693.post-82472109262401555892015-09-10T07:15:00.000-05:002015-09-10T07:15:53.279-05:00Thankful Thursday - Krystine Lorenzana Cabalfin<div style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<i style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Part of this post was first published on 9 September 2011; it has been slightly edited. Today is the ninth anniversary of Krystine's passing from our world.</i><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> </span><i style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">We finally can truly embrace her legacy; the beautiful children she left behind.</i></div>
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<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdxxYrKQ9kl_kDgNGzJYrSV8CggBEG_jkjQyNFKXDOb0Wk7dyXefDJTjT0ZR9gRXc2LW6g-Mw-sJmeNt1rAVX8tz2DY0NJutlxRBUZyEY3PjcpnWcidq5SEg89YvsaZUcFTMCHjGabBco/s1600/Kids+2+23+Aug+2015.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdxxYrKQ9kl_kDgNGzJYrSV8CggBEG_jkjQyNFKXDOb0Wk7dyXefDJTjT0ZR9gRXc2LW6g-Mw-sJmeNt1rAVX8tz2DY0NJutlxRBUZyEY3PjcpnWcidq5SEg89YvsaZUcFTMCHjGabBco/s400/Kids+2+23+Aug+2015.jpeg" width="300" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: small;">(CJ, Matthew and Emilyn with their 1st cousins Gigi and Mimi)</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">When most of us think of genealogy, I believe we think of it in a ‘far off’ way. Even when that genealogy includes putting our grandparents or parents ‘Died on’ date in that space in the software or on the sheet of paper, somehow we always think of the past. And even when we miss our Grannys and Grandpas (sadly, both my grandfathers died when I was an infant), I think there’s a nostalgia that goes along with it that somehow makes it feel OK.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Of course, anyone who goes back beyond even the mid 20<sup>th</sup> Century has seen plenty of death in their tree. It’s a simple fact to us, that there’ll be a date on that line, and that the date will make sense. But every once in a while, there’ll be one that tugs at your heart. The mom and baby that died the same day, or the siblings that die within days of one another due to illness. It is a fact that pre-20<sup>th</sup> Century parents dealt with on a regular basis: children and young people die.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">But, in the late 20<sup>th</sup> Century, and certainly in the 21<sup>st</sup> Century, especially in the developed world, fewer and fewer children die. We’re so blessed to live in a country that, for the most part, is a safe place for us to live. Modern medicine, sanitation, clean water and safe sources of food have increased our life expectancy significantly.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Then there’s the day that you can never quite get right in your head. The day that changes how you look at life, and love, and the way you fit in the world. For me, that day was September 10, 2006. It was a Sunday, and my parents were over because we were going to take them out to celebrate their wedding anniversary, September 11<sup>th</sup>. The phone rang, my sister-in-law’s phone number showed on the caller ID, and because my husband was busy, I picked it up. I can still hear her voice in my head, incomprehensible words through screams and cries, “Krystine’s dead.”</span></div>
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<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgD5WixiZWNnySTt2b8sWRX8uTDpRjiingQLAeueb-QhLbm4seCvy_dByq6a6V66xb_GberJSwhyphenhyphenWp6nnE0KPfRwn2PSKQmCccaBi8nCnfkWSawBqYOqDyO1W7A2otlHoqRIutB4Zg-abM/s1600/Krystine.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgD5WixiZWNnySTt2b8sWRX8uTDpRjiingQLAeueb-QhLbm4seCvy_dByq6a6V66xb_GberJSwhyphenhyphenWp6nnE0KPfRwn2PSKQmCccaBi8nCnfkWSawBqYOqDyO1W7A2otlHoqRIutB4Zg-abM/s320/Krystine.jpg" width="370" /></span></a></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I could write pages and pages about the minute details of that day; for as crummy a memory as I have, the details of that day are crystal clear. I won’t do that, or at least I’ll try not to. But I do want to share some things with you, if you’ll indulge me.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Krystine Summer Lorenzana Cabalfin was my niece. She was the daughter of Edgar and Crisel Lorenzana, my husband’s oldest brother and his sister-in-law. She was a precocious little girl, and a vibrant young woman. She was the quintessential ‘social butterfly’ with an incredible array of friends and a very tight knit, though far strewn, family. At her funeral, when discussing who she was with the priest who would provide her eulogy, I described her as the family’s Social Director. She would’ve taken that title, willingly. Most importantly I considered Krystine not only my niece; she was a confidant and friend.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Krystine was married to Jose Cabalfin in January, 2001. Christopher Joel Cabalfin was born in 2001, and his little brother Matthew Ryan followed in 2002. The role of ‘Mom’ took a while for Krystine to manage; she was challenged with lots of what I called “loving interference” from the older women in the family. But when her daughter Emilyn was born, in 2005, Krystine had finally grown into her role as mother, wife, student, friend, and Ate (a Filipino word).</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I like to tell the story of the last time I saw Krystine, because I find a lot of comfort in it. We were celebrating her older brother’s birthday; Edgar Jr, who we all call Jay-R, was celebrating his 29<sup>th</sup> birthday on September 2<sup>nd</sup> so we all got together at my in-laws. Krystine was there with her family, and as the youngest, she was ‘working’ the party, preparing food, filling dishes, running errands, etc. all while trying to fulfill her role as the Social Director, Mom and Friend. It wasn’t going well…LOL. I came into the little kitchen and asked if I could help her wash the dirty dishes and she happily accepted. As we stood at the sink, shoulder to shoulder in the cramped space, she began to share with me how she was feeling about some of the things going on in her life, and as I normally did, I tried to make her feel she had the strength to handle it all. Because I knew she did. We were interrupted and she was called away, and hours later, as the party was winding down, Cas and I prepared to leave. I found Krystine, gave her a big hug and, as she squeezed me tightly, I said, "I love you, Tin" and she replied, "I love you too, Auntie Laura." Those are the last words she said to me. I treasure them like the gift they are, and I can smile, even with a sad heart when I think of her, because we shared that moment. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Krystine died the morning of September 10, 2006. She died when her heart stopped beating while she was sleeping. There were many questions regarding her death because of her age and the fact that many in her family were/are in the healthcare profession. And none of us were prepared to lose her so soon, to put that date in that space in the software. As I scanned her funeral card, I was surprised at it’s simplicity. Because Tin was everything but simple. She was a shining light, a mother, a wife, a daughter, an Ate…and she was my friend.</span></div>
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<span style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5he5iK5sEFvjIemra7JDx3XuA7q5hdue3LhRZ-w3lJ0IrXt6QTZYK2VZjpzqWnMTAFDSjO8yTCVJm522toAzudgUtm_xaVWX-NjOGcp8nObWrUp6xeEEbj7JLCZqwCvjgGkoNFnUGuGg/s1600/edited_1441649112002.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a></span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5he5iK5sEFvjIemra7JDx3XuA7q5hdue3LhRZ-w3lJ0IrXt6QTZYK2VZjpzqWnMTAFDSjO8yTCVJm522toAzudgUtm_xaVWX-NjOGcp8nObWrUp6xeEEbj7JLCZqwCvjgGkoNFnUGuGg/s1600/edited_1441649112002.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5he5iK5sEFvjIemra7JDx3XuA7q5hdue3LhRZ-w3lJ0IrXt6QTZYK2VZjpzqWnMTAFDSjO8yTCVJm522toAzudgUtm_xaVWX-NjOGcp8nObWrUp6xeEEbj7JLCZqwCvjgGkoNFnUGuGg/s400/edited_1441649112002.jpg" style="cursor: move;" width="322" /></a></div>
Laura Cosgrove Lorenzanahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02794581991087280753noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-927510992143247693.post-55534373060886035292015-08-23T10:33:00.000-05:002015-08-23T10:40:59.902-05:00Sentimental Sunday - Cemeteries Around the World<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Way back at the end of February 2014, I had the opportunity to travel to my husband's country of birth: the Philippines. For those who don't know it, the Philippines is a group of about 7,000 islands that falls between the South China Sea and the Pacific Ocean with Taiwan to its north and Malaysia to its south. The 7,000 islands comprise about 116,000 square miles (300,000 square kms) and hold nearly 100 <i>million</i> people. (In comparison, the U.S. has 325 million people in 3.9 million square miles). In many ways, the Philippines are as widely varied as the U.S.; the southern islands have some of the most beautiful beaches in the world, while the north holds verdant mountains that seem to come right out of the sea. One of my very favorite pictures from our trip was taken as we dipped our toes in the South China Sea after a day of sightseeing in the <a href="http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/502/" target="_blank">city of Vigan</a>:</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Jade, Manang Cel, David, Cas and Auntie Delia, South China Sea. From private collection of L C Lorenzana</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Of course, while we were there, I was trying to capture my husband's family stories and get as much documentation as possible. I had NO idea what a herculean effort it would be. My husband's maternal side is from the northern, and largest, island: Luzon. It has rugged mountains, but also some of the most fertile farmland. Crops are rotated: rice, onions, corn. That's right; I couldn't get over seeing the dichotomy of fields of corn with palm trees! (yeah, yeah, I know, get to the cemeteries...). Cas's home town of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tagudin" target="_blank">Tagudin</a> is in the province of Ilocos Sur. The house Cas grew up in (he emigrated to the U.S. when he was 10 years old) is in the barangay of Cabulanglang, which is more or less near the center of the town. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">After hitting brick wall after brick wall in trying to get information from Cas's relatives ("So, when's your father's birthday?"..."I don't know."..."You don't know when your parents were born? [incredulously]" ..."No."[As if, 'why the heck would I need to know THAT?!']) I asked Cas's Auntie Delia to take me to the local cemetery. I'd been hearing about it for several days and wanted to get the chance to take pictures so I'd have SOMETHING to go by as I tried to build the maternal side of Cas's family tree. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">As with lots of things in the Philippines, the cemetery is quite lovely as you approach: </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAYE6JMY6jc5Gq1eRFamLFzDU4pqqYl2Tp8-yW3HPYiEX01a1Kb0CbSW2R0d92RUxT9Mhm2UCpu6l7uKB9Q8d9_G9nXT7GGrhG68lpQULkul1GpsIh0owC8sC0nL8OsQ1QJU-bN_1dl80/s1600/IMG_20140219_121237_661.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAYE6JMY6jc5Gq1eRFamLFzDU4pqqYl2Tp8-yW3HPYiEX01a1Kb0CbSW2R0d92RUxT9Mhm2UCpu6l7uKB9Q8d9_G9nXT7GGrhG68lpQULkul1GpsIh0owC8sC0nL8OsQ1QJU-bN_1dl80/s400/IMG_20140219_121237_661.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">But then the front looks like this:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Well, I'm not sure how to explain my experience. From the moment I walked into the cemetery, I felt a little disoriented and...pulled in every which direction. Here's why:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Yep, this is what much of the cemetery looks like. As I found out from Auntie Delia, the plots are purchased and it's up to the family to 'manage' them. There's no space in between the plots, and as we found out, if you don't know exactly where someone is buried (i.e., you go there all the time to be able to memorize the maze of crypts, crosses, stones, etc.) well, you're pretty much out of luck. That's right, Auntie Delia had no clue where the family plot was located, so I just started snapping pictures:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">More than once I got a warning from both Cas and Auntie Delia not to wander too far; I kept reminding myself I was in a place halfway around the World and that kidnappings are not unheard of (honestly, there wasn't a time that I didn't feel completely safe). But how else was I going to be able to document my trip? We got to the center of the cemetery and found it more...accessible:</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg37s-GUw34TYaHpMxiDKYe3Mt9N6hfZrgxMPv5VHdhmxGFB4x4m0xTnDqz-XH7A1un7KRvfjzdxcJl76ZiwQG-XOgwlq1kaP2UXXQajdAdl5ajvqoRt3I8bbHzwZh_azrVJdNtp_Oc2Hw/s1600/IMG_20140219_115302_832.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg37s-GUw34TYaHpMxiDKYe3Mt9N6hfZrgxMPv5VHdhmxGFB4x4m0xTnDqz-XH7A1un7KRvfjzdxcJl76ZiwQG-XOgwlq1kaP2UXXQajdAdl5ajvqoRt3I8bbHzwZh_azrVJdNtp_Oc2Hw/s640/IMG_20140219_115302_832.jpg" width="360" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Anyway, I was able to locate a number of the names in Cas's family, and then realized that there were relatively few that <i>weren't</i> the names I'd heard. Uh oh... </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">As it turns out, most of people we were looking for were right on the exterior of the cemetery, along the wall:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Cas's beloved grand aunt Melchora "Charing" Bunoan; she's the one we really wanted to see and pay our respects to (and were so happy to find her in a neat and tidy crypt). As I was to learn, her father, Graciano, was quite the lady's man. Graciano had his first child at the age of 20 and his last at the age of 70. He's a story all his own. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">As for the cemetery, I have a catalog of pictures of empty crypts, broken stones, etc. I also have quite a few well tended spots. Auntie Delia told us that on November 1st, everyone comes out and there's a big, annual clean up. There's a picnic and many people pitch in to help make the cemetery look nice. This was a unique opportunity, and I certainly hope to get the chance to go back and spend a bit more time locating our loved ones.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Where's the most interesting cemetery you've been in?</span>Laura Cosgrove Lorenzanahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02794581991087280753noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-927510992143247693.post-90251930275062922182015-08-15T11:02:00.000-05:002015-08-15T11:02:07.017-05:00Surname Saturday - What the Hallinan??!<div class="MsoNormal">
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Hallinan. Maybe Hallinane. The first time I saw this name
was when I was researching my paternal great grandfather, James Cosgrove,
who I knew (at the time) was born in “Ireland.”
Incredibly helpful, that. But I was <i>so</i>
excited when I found out that the Burnley Cemetery (Lancashire, England) had
its records online. And, even more excited when I found this: </span></div>
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o:title="Cosgrove Burials Burnley Cemetery online"/>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I was working on unraveling the mystery of James Cosgrove
and Catherine Durkin Cosgrove’s young daughter, Mary Ann, who had died at 17
(you can <a href="http://thelastleafonthisbranch.blogspot.com/2012/04/tombstone-tuesday-another-prevarication.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: #8e7cc3;">read that post here</span></a>). Naturally, while locating the truth about Mary
Ann, I found two new mystery names: Holihan and Feeley. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I was able to determine who Agnes Feeley was fairly quickly;
she and her husband Luke were the godparents, before they were married, of James and Catherine’s first son, Francis:</span></div>
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o:title="Cosgrove Francis 1884 Baptism St Marys Burnley"/>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrHTq7mea9LddmFN0ndqUEhJaoksjn6Xfc0vHUCIYxiBzwEv8Qn68AAKt64PcaLY-4IKi3Q-6sh52X_S3a4YencPPW53zfa8d1qR-acjxJGXigQAFGHZo8yRPYmZU2ecfHWkipQA-yd7s/s1600/Cosgrove+Francis+1884+Baptism+St+Marys+Burnley.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="176" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrHTq7mea9LddmFN0ndqUEhJaoksjn6Xfc0vHUCIYxiBzwEv8Qn68AAKt64PcaLY-4IKi3Q-6sh52X_S3a4YencPPW53zfa8d1qR-acjxJGXigQAFGHZo8yRPYmZU2ecfHWkipQA-yd7s/s640/Cosgrove+Francis+1884+Baptism+St+Marys+Burnley.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">And, ten years later as a married couple they were
godparents to James and Catherine’s daughter, Catherine:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">So, I decided to take a long
shot and I ordered the marriage certificate of James Cosgrove and Catherine
Durkin directly from Burnley:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Ah, the beauty of records outside the U.S. is that they
often provide a plethora of information. In this case, I now had the first name
of Catherine Durkin Cosgrove’s father: <i>Patrick</i>. Armed with <i>that</i> information, I
went hunting for them in the English Census. To my surprise, I found them right
away in 1861! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Of course, the first thing that caught my eye was that name:
Hallinane. There he is, listed as the 66 year old father-in-law of Patrick
Durkin, Patrick Hallinane. Ah, but let no answer come without more mysteries;
his place of birth is recorded as “British Colonies”, as is his daughter,
Patrick’s wife Anne. I confirmed this was the right family, because the
spelling was off a bit, by pulling the 1871 and 1881 Censuses as well and both
the Catholic parish name and addresses match with other records. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">It would appear that my 3<sup>rd</sup> great grandfather may
have been born on one of the islands in the Carribean that, at the turn of the
19<sup>th</sup> Century, were under colonial rule. (I'd ruled out any number of other potential "British" places) Obviously, finding records
of someone born around 1795 in any one of a long list of places like that can’t
possibly bear fruit. But, then again, I said I’d ‘never’ find the origins of my
Irish Cosgroves either. *munches on words*</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">So, I’ve added the name Hallinan(e) to my list of confirmed
surnames. The full list, as of today, looks like this:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">MATERNAL: Wersel, Wicart,
Geerling, Wagner, Hensgen, Gerlach, Augustin, Richards, Penn, Greene, Barton,
Russell, Tucker, Wallace, Chambers, Claypoole, Burrows, Waters, Meeker,
Crocheron, Tunis, Camp, Johnson, Jeffrey, Nichol/Nicol, Powelson, Metselser,
Messler, and Garrett</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">PATERNAL: Cosgrove, Quinn, Durkin, Hallinan/Hallinane,
Leatherman, Alstaetter/Alstätter, Goebel, Schneider,
Beightler/Beaghtler/Bieghler/Beighler/Bigler, Lukenbill,
Ammarine/Amerine/Amrine, Picony, Wolford, Worley, Barnes and Rogers. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Whew! Now, to plan that research trip to the islands…</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Thanks for reading!!</span></div>
Laura Cosgrove Lorenzanahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02794581991087280753noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-927510992143247693.post-25458118068369497432015-08-14T06:04:00.000-05:002015-08-14T06:04:32.679-05:00Friday Funny - Holy Smokes I'm Four!<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>“I started my blog FOUR years ago!” I said. </b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>Cas’s reply,
“And then what happened?” Heh.</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>What DID happen? Well, I unwittingly <a href="http://thelastleafonthisbranch.blogspot.com/2011/08/normal-0-false-false-false-en-us-x-none.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: #8e7cc3;">met my goal</span></a> and then
realized that it might not be for me. Perhaps it’s more accurate to say that I
realized my motivation for <i>becoming</i> a
Professional Genealogist had completely changed, and so it was no longer my
goal. </b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>The most important things that I learned in the last four
years about genealogy:</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>Elizabeth Shown Mills. Dr. Thomas Jones. These are just two
of the names that I didn’t know when I started my blog. Can you imagine? I’d
been doing family history research since 1996, and I’d never heard these names.
*hangs head*</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>ProGen Study Group. I was a member of ProGen 15; a class
that is based on ESM’s (that name) book, <i>Professional
Genealogy.</i> It’s where I learned my fear of writing under a deadline is
alive, well, and detrimental to any potential career I might have that involves…writing.</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>The Genealogical Proof Standard. Yep, I’d never heard of
this before either. At the point I was writing my proof for my ProGen class, I
uncovered the fact that I’d misidentified my American Patriot’s daughter-in-law
on my DAR application in 2003. No one caught it. Because they weren’t following
the GPS. *sigh*</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>Conferences. Go. Just go. No, don’t say you can’t afford it,
because I couldn’t afford it and yet I scraped together enough to drive to
Cincinnati for my first NGS. I shared a room with a complete stranger in order
to cut my cost, and made a wonderful friend in the process. There’s not enough
space here for me to say all the wonderful things there are about the educational
and social aspects of going to conferences big and small. So. Much. Fun. Oh,
and some of my most important genealogical discoveries came while I was
attending conferences. So, there’s that.</b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>I started over. In 2012, after learning the points above, I
realized that there was a lot of what I’d done all those years before that
probably wasn’t absolutely correct, or at the very least wasn’t documented. And,
in trying to figure out how to most efficiently get things together, I scrapped
it all and started over with a brand new database and filing system, both
physical and digital. No, I didn’t throw
anything away (at least not in the beginning). I just started with myself and
very methodically began to work back. Oh, the things I found!</b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>DNA. Just do it. Even if you have your lines traced back to
Charlemagne, DNA testing can help others to locate <i>their</i> roots by identifying you as a connection. </b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>I won’t bore you with the Life Lessons I’ve had in this same
four years. Some were pretty darn harsh. But, I’ve also had some truly joyous
times too. And, the reality is that there’s more about the Genealogical
community that I’ve come to know and love than I could have possibly imagined.
A community that comes together for those in need by digging into their
not-so-deep pockets and giving a *little* bit to help someone. And, my word,
the sheer volume of generous thoughts and prayers, in times of need, are astounding.
</b></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>Over the last four years, I’ve met second and third cousins,
who I treasure immensely. I’ve traveled to places to stand on the ground my
ancestors owned more than 200 years ago. I’ve documented back to all of my 2<sup>nd</sup>
great grandparents, a feat I would have steadfastly said was impossible. Yes, I
became a Professional Genealogist, but my work as an Archivist has expanded and
I’m focusing on that. For now. Because
the one thing I definitely learned in the last four years is this: things change.
People change. And, when you embrace it, change can be fun.</b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>Thanks to everyone who still reads my blog. Thank you.</b></span></div>
Laura Cosgrove Lorenzanahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02794581991087280753noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-927510992143247693.post-63971427623182390182015-01-07T08:15:00.001-06:002015-01-07T08:15:25.911-06:00Wisdom Wednesday - Getting Over Source Snobbery<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I am eating my words. I am noshing on them like they are an
incredible delicacy. I had been a source snob (a nod to Dr. Thomas Jones for providing me with that phrase) ever since I started my own "do-over" about three years ago. I refused to acknowledge anything that didn't have a source attached to it, including my own 'newbie' research that I started in 1996. Today, to prove just how right Dr. Jones is (as if any proof is needed) I'm saying "Thank you, Ancestry.com, for providing a place for people
to input the information they know about their family history and to upload documents and photographs that they have of their family." Because I just found a mother-lode.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">In December of 2011, at the invitation of my second cousin Bill Strubbe and his wife Kim, I took my first
trip to Cincinnati. I had never met them; Kim and I connected through Ancestry and after
just a few short weeks they offered for me to come to stay with them a few days
to discuss our shared family history and for me to do some on-site research in and around Cincinnati. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjU1sX7-kwmViSX_V76fqVGd0b0-McCplyCIsZ97fuR98AoBM_LtIj6vHIUQNAW2V-OzREvYZ5wecd97omfrLob6v_jWu4LhpdwK974f4IK9FYcPLxuk8ZN-yYpIqikDVVcaWN1ev4TJMM/s1600/Strubbe+Bill+and+Laura+Cosgrove+Lorenzana.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjU1sX7-kwmViSX_V76fqVGd0b0-McCplyCIsZ97fuR98AoBM_LtIj6vHIUQNAW2V-OzREvYZ5wecd97omfrLob6v_jWu4LhpdwK974f4IK9FYcPLxuk8ZN-yYpIqikDVVcaWN1ev4TJMM/s1600/Strubbe+Bill+and+Laura+Cosgrove+Lorenzana.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">'Selfie' by Bill Strubbe with Laura Cosgrove Lorenzana 2011</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">We really hit the jackpot when Bill invited our third cousin,
Nancy Wersel Rybolt, for a casual dinner to introduce us and discuss what Nancy
knew about our family. It was Nancy’s father, Robert Wersel, who I’d first
written to in 1996 to get information about our Wersel family. I nearly lost my
mind when Mr. Wersel told me that he had documents from the 1820s – 1850s!! In
our correspondence, he promised that he’d locate the documents, since he’d given them to
his daughter for safe keeping. Fast forward back to 2011, and on that fateful evening, Nancy showed up with a
shopping bag (yes, a ratty old shopping bag) FULL of pre-1880 documents and
papers! Some of them had been encased in cellophane and were virtually impossible to
read; most were not in English. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">As I stood looking at them in utter disbelief,
the discussion around me was what a shame that no one knew what they were or how to read
them. I remember thinking how lucky I was that I'd spent the time to learn French and German as I discovered
documents in German, Dutch, French and Portuguese. I was able to assess most of them on the
spot; but after a short while we decided that I should scan what I could (I was
scheduled to leave in the next morning) and I would transcribe and translate
the scanned images. Right before Nancy left for the evening, she turned to me and said that she’d
decided I should bring the documents home with me to properly stabilize and
archive them and that I could bring them back “the next time you’re in
Cincinnati.” Of course, you know I didn’t turn her down!</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The document that caused me the most concern was what I
believed to be a letter, which clearly was from 1851. Here’s what it looked
like the first time I saw it:</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgct1HgMrEZDI3_fboeSnYF3UHi_wARPoR_At4MG15ayb4HQNrH_60mJyRN0zqMNX2x9YOECkNlAqgxU6UCEyzU4i_OyoU145ruHS9X7nvHoJCHGjHycFwrMnTkx4eSb5VAA4nB5aWhtD8/s1600/Wersel068.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgct1HgMrEZDI3_fboeSnYF3UHi_wARPoR_At4MG15ayb4HQNrH_60mJyRN0zqMNX2x9YOECkNlAqgxU6UCEyzU4i_OyoU145ruHS9X7nvHoJCHGjHycFwrMnTkx4eSb5VAA4nB5aWhtD8/s1600/Wersel068.jpg" height="400" width="290" /></a></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">After conservation (being removed from the cellophane and
humidified to remove the wrinkles), it looks like this and is much more
legible:</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiplEAfxcl52_LW60PvIIEJEHLr3MAreSwdjdixIrDtP0nd-TqC14WXYDb09sxw5Dpx7tgOwsQC_YvxroAZ7RrV64gAzSjXECCJrBpy4OjZOmdRXqBLwBetxHeW9_Mskqg7s1gyuOg9kto/s1600/Rybolt+Documents0005R.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiplEAfxcl52_LW60PvIIEJEHLr3MAreSwdjdixIrDtP0nd-TqC14WXYDb09sxw5Dpx7tgOwsQC_YvxroAZ7RrV64gAzSjXECCJrBpy4OjZOmdRXqBLwBetxHeW9_Mskqg7s1gyuOg9kto/s1600/Rybolt+Documents0005R.jpg" height="400" width="310" /></span></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The letter is signed “Nicholas Ravold” a
name I’d never seen before. Recently, with a few hours on my hands for research, and armed with my more open mind about sources, I decided to see what I could find on the Ravold line. Right there, on Ancestry.com, is a
tree that has PHOTOGRAPHS of Nicholas Ravold, his wife, Elizabeth Hensgen, and
most of their children and children's children. Stunning! Is all the research sourced and accurate? No, it's not. But, it's a fabulous start and with this letter and another one written in 1864, I'm able to connect other research with what I have. I asked permission from the owner of the tree
to use the pictures, which was granted without limit (I’m not sure she completely
appreciates that scope…lol). </span></div>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNditrXPzswl2Ej79nGynimsPm3uiy4M2fO0Q-TNk8me8PXTcz_xHWZK4MlMRwBtZlOEvHMFbsllUivTfFxQuufPH4Wfk790qglSpC8h9tSKZqYqV1xLYI86brpj50aDtIsjbaAorWK-c/s1600/Ravold+Nicolas+1799+and+Elizabeth+Hensgen+1803.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNditrXPzswl2Ej79nGynimsPm3uiy4M2fO0Q-TNk8me8PXTcz_xHWZK4MlMRwBtZlOEvHMFbsllUivTfFxQuufPH4Wfk790qglSpC8h9tSKZqYqV1xLYI86brpj50aDtIsjbaAorWK-c/s1600/Ravold+Nicolas+1799+and+Elizabeth+Hensgen+1803.jpg" height="320" width="192" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Nicolas Ravold (b 1799) Elisabeth Hensgen Ravold (b 1803)</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyGPfhqmjI-ZrSbh52ezK4_D-pWjLfcrBo0_CNH4A5-z21zWbJe9L3LRJekticO6WSVqKCz_C2vIojFGO3I_n31ik18SSJ2TRNbaXUXkNheYqtGdSkVRdOQLDaNyx6LkSlDR1HYZm1GVE/s1600/Ravold+Jean+Baptiste+with+daughter+Adele.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyGPfhqmjI-ZrSbh52ezK4_D-pWjLfcrBo0_CNH4A5-z21zWbJe9L3LRJekticO6WSVqKCz_C2vIojFGO3I_n31ik18SSJ2TRNbaXUXkNheYqtGdSkVRdOQLDaNyx6LkSlDR1HYZm1GVE/s1600/Ravold+Jean+Baptiste+with+daughter+Adele.jpg" height="320" width="204" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwVPigPb9ZID5vZTPE8Sl8MdoSeEg9nvSls-frAdLQFKmoRBy3MItos8UQDzOk4Q4SIyDCq7WyxTEOGWbSgBp1rSJk6r5rgFS5seDV0MAiinWqnrb8uL5nRhjw7RoflFmZE6T3nyC5HiY/s1600/Bernard+Marie+Therese+Charles+Ravold+1829.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwVPigPb9ZID5vZTPE8Sl8MdoSeEg9nvSls-frAdLQFKmoRBy3MItos8UQDzOk4Q4SIyDCq7WyxTEOGWbSgBp1rSJk6r5rgFS5seDV0MAiinWqnrb8uL5nRhjw7RoflFmZE6T3nyC5HiY/s1600/Bernard+Marie+Therese+Charles+Ravold+1829.jpg" height="320" width="208" /></a></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">So, once again, I have primary documentation (an original
letter) to help support the research I have on this family. All because of
collateral lines and “bad genealogy” from Ancestry.com. MMMMMM…nom, nom, nom…</span></div>
Laura Cosgrove Lorenzanahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02794581991087280753noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-927510992143247693.post-89649356901804237782015-01-04T12:18:00.000-06:002015-01-04T12:18:24.348-06:00Sentimental Sunday - The New Year Brings New Evidence<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Happy New Year! I’ve been following a bit of Thomas MacEntee’s
<a href="http://www.geneabloggers.com/announcing-genealogy-doover/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #8e7cc3;">Genealogy Do-Over</span></a>, and thought I’d take a few minutes to talk about what
happens a bit down the road. I began my own ‘do-over’ about three years ago; I
started a fresh database and began re-foldering all the research material that
I wanted to keep. This also meant culling (that’s an Archives term for throwing
stuff out) what was either duplicate material or unsourced material. Anything that I could not identify a source for
or all the pre-Ancestry/FamilySearch/HeritageQuest copies of Census records got
tossed. Anything that was an original or that I’d purchased was put into
archival acid-free folders, labeled in pencil and put into archival boxes to
become the base for my ‘new’ research. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">At the same time I was beginning my ‘do-over’, I was also
learning about best practices in genealogical research (yes, Margaret, there
are ‘best practices’). I learned about citations and, more importantly, started
looking beyond the ‘regular’ record sets to find information about my
ancestors. As a beginner, we tend to focus on the easily obtainable records
such as online Census records and other compiled genealogies. We know to look
for BMDs (birth, marriage and death records) but there is just so much MORE out
there. Not just more records, but records with more high-quality evidence of
our ancestors. And that brings me to the heart of this post: Civil War Pension
Files. Not Service files, but <i>Pension</i>
files, a completely different set of documents.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Disclosure: these documents are NOT cheap. As a matter of
fact, they are heartstopping-ly expensive. The National Archives and Record
Administration has a webpage that explains what records are available and their
corresponding cost: <a href="https://eservices.archives.gov/orderonline/start.swe?SWECmd=GotoView&SWEPostnRowId=1-29XS&SWEView=GPEA+Product+Catalog+Category+Detail+View+FFO&SWEHo=eservices.archives.gov&SWEPostnApplet=GPEA+Product+Catalog+Category+Form+Applet+FFO"><span style="color: #8e7cc3;">here’s
a link to that page</span></a>. A pension file costs $80. You read that right. But, here’s
why I ordered a copy of the file of my 2<sup>nd</sup> great grandfather, Daniel
Beightler: in other personal material I’d received from a collateral relative,
she noted that there was information about Daniel’s first wife, Amanda N.
Barnes. The same Amanda Barnes who has eluded every family member I’ve ever
talked to about her. One *tiny* thing caught my eye while looking at this
document during my ‘do-over’: that there was an affidavit by Amanda’s BROTHER in
Daniel’s pension file. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I’d recently connected Amanda to a set of probable parents
through a DNA match to myself and my Dad, as well as a Census record with
incorrect information provided (imagine that), but to have a <i>notarized affidavit from her brother</i>? I
coughed up the $80 (this was my Christmas present from my husband.) When I got
home yesterday, there was a package in the mailbox. I’d ordered the record
on-line December 16<sup>th</sup> and it arrived on January 3<sup>rd</sup>! Unbelievable!!
Granted, I had all the pertinent information requested on the online form, so
there wasn’t a lot of research to do on NARA’s end, other than to digitize the
file. But still, great job!! </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">What did I get for my $80? A treasure trove of information
about my ancestor, the people he knew (affiants), the communities he lived in,
and…an affidavit by Isaac H. Barnes who states, “…his first wife [Amanda
Barnes] was my sister.” </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJwArhH-Fello-lrKSDU5r6mmha3JOdLC7kmHxx47VyJ4yJyngghV9yv8JnHa5lvk18vWqWBdA1niCme38x7kG7rkVajCPd8KD4FQRBlOYFhBQgmNsRZP3qN3oTL83xS3oOG5z-fsBJPE/s1600/Beightler+Pension+File+page.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJwArhH-Fello-lrKSDU5r6mmha3JOdLC7kmHxx47VyJ4yJyngghV9yv8JnHa5lvk18vWqWBdA1niCme38x7kG7rkVajCPd8KD4FQRBlOYFhBQgmNsRZP3qN3oTL83xS3oOG5z-fsBJPE/s1600/Beightler+Pension+File+page.jpg" height="640" width="396" /></span></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">There are also two later affidavits from a niece and nephew
of Amanda that provide additional information for me to research. There’s more…much,
much more, which will take some gathering and analysis to determine the
usefulness of it. But, had I not gotten this record set, I would not have this
volume of excellent quality evidence to use.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Plus, I wouldn’t be using the sentence “<i>I would not have
this volume of excellent quality evidence to use.</i>” had I not focused my ‘do-over’
on the quality of the information that I use to move my research forward. So, what's your first observation in your do-over? I also have seen lots of posts from people who think a do-over is unnecessary; do you find yourself going back to 'old' research and reviewing it?</span></div>
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Laura Cosgrove Lorenzanahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02794581991087280753noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-927510992143247693.post-32792389490389835332014-10-24T16:00:00.000-05:002014-10-24T16:00:01.057-05:00Follow Friday: The Power of Connect. Explore. Refresh.<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">If you're on Social Media at all, you've seen me posting a lot about FGS (<a href="http://www.fgs.org/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #8e7cc3;">Federation of Genealogical Societies</span></a>). I unexpectedly had the opportunity to go down to San Antonio in August to help man the booth for FGS's annual conference. All I can say is: what a blast!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Many people don't know you don't have to be in a Society that is a member in order to participate in an FGS conference. An FGS Conference has all the components of a great genealogical gathering: Connecting with colleagues and friends; Exploring new ideas about our research and family history; and Refreshing our minds, hearts and souls with the experience of being with a group of individuals who share our passion.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">As an FGS Ambassador, I can say that I take a different view of the 'how's to have the best time at a conference. For me, the Connect-ion comes from sharing my room (or sharing someone else's room) to cut my expenses. Is it a bit of a crap-shoot rooming with someone you haven't met before? Of course it is. But I have to say that <i>every single time</i> I've shared a room, I've created a friendship with someone I might not have otherwise come to know. And my life is so much better for the lovely ladies who've given up a little of their personal comfort to share with me. Rather than going with someone I know, I find that going by myself and sharing with a new roommate provides the opportunity to meet new people and extend my sphere of geneacquaintances even more. There are so many great people out there looking to connect with others who share their passion. No doubt, that's the Connect.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><i><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Nope. No fun here. Not at all. FGS2014</span></i></b><br />(c) 2014 - Laura Cosgrove Lorenzana </td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Exploring a new city is always a combination of excitement and caution. Coming from Chicago, I understand the trepidation of traveling alone in a new City. But, there's no reason to just hang in your room! FGS always has a tremendous home crowd willing to help with everything from places to eat to the best places to do a little research. The quality and breadth of the speakers that are part of the conference provides the opportunity to Explore new ways to research, new places to look for resources and the latest technologies to push our families' stories along. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I was so Refreshed when I got home; my husband told me that it seemed like I'd been on some kind of exotic vacation because I was so relaxed. (Actually, I was just exhausted from all the fun, but don't tell him. Heh.) And, more importantly to me, I had Refresh-ed and invigorated knowledge to jump-start some of my research that had gone stale. A Refresh-ed sense of what I'd like to accomplish in the next few years with my own research and my fledgling business. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">New connections to mentor, collaborate and assist in a wide array of genealogical ways. The exploration of the Genealogical Proof Standard and how to make our family stories come to life. And, refreshed perspective on what it means to participate in a community that is, at its heart, all about family.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">You can register for FGS2015/Rootstech, February 11 -14 in Salt Lake City, right <a href="https://www.fgsconference.org/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #8e7cc3;">HERE</span></a>. Follow along with the latest updates on the <a href="http://voice.fgs.org/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #8e7cc3;">Voice</span></a>, FGS's blog or on Twitter with the hashtag #FGS2015. Oh, did you hear? Donny Osmond's going to be the keynote speaker!! </span><br />
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Laura Cosgrove Lorenzanahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02794581991087280753noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-927510992143247693.post-25685842027632182572014-09-10T06:28:00.000-05:002014-09-10T06:28:08.151-05:00Thankful Thursday - Krystine Lorenzana Cabalfin<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i>This post was first published on 9 September 2011; it has been slightly edited. Today is the eighth anniversary of Krystine's passing from our world.</i> </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: small;">When we think of genealogy, I believe most of us think of it in a ‘far off’ way. Even when our genealogy includes putting our grandparents or parents ‘Died on’ date in that space in the software or on the sheet of paper, somehow we always think of the past. And even when we miss our Grannys and Grandpas (sadly, both my grandfathers died when I was an infant), I think there’s a nostalgia that goes along with it that somehow makes it OK.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Of course, anyone who goes back beyond even the mid 20<sup>th</sup> Century has seen plenty of death in their tree. It’s a simple fact to us, that there’ll be a date on that line, and that the date will make sense. But every once in a while, there’ll be one that tugs at your heart. The mom and baby that died the same day, or the siblings that die within days of one another due to illness. This was a fact that pre-20<sup>th</sup> Century parents dealt with on a regular basis: children and young people die.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: small;">But, in the late 20<sup>th</sup> Century, and certainly in the 21<sup>st</sup> Century, especially in the developed world, fewer and fewer children die. We’re so blessed to live in a country that, for the most part, is a safe place for us to live. Modern medicine, sanitation, clean water and safe sources of food have increased our life expectancy significantly.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Then there’s the day that you can never quite get right in your head. The day that changes how you look at life, and love, and the way you fit in the world. For me, that day was September 10, 2006. It was a Sunday, and my parents were over because we were going to take them out to celebrate their wedding anniversary, September 11<sup>th</sup>. The phone rang, my sister-in-law’s phone number showed on the caller ID, and because my husband was busy, I picked it up. I can still hear her voice in my head, incomprehensible words through screams and cries, “Krystine’s dead.”</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgD5WixiZWNnySTt2b8sWRX8uTDpRjiingQLAeueb-QhLbm4seCvy_dByq6a6V66xb_GberJSwhyphenhyphenWp6nnE0KPfRwn2PSKQmCccaBi8nCnfkWSawBqYOqDyO1W7A2otlHoqRIutB4Zg-abM/s1600/Krystine.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgD5WixiZWNnySTt2b8sWRX8uTDpRjiingQLAeueb-QhLbm4seCvy_dByq6a6V66xb_GberJSwhyphenhyphenWp6nnE0KPfRwn2PSKQmCccaBi8nCnfkWSawBqYOqDyO1W7A2otlHoqRIutB4Zg-abM/s320/Krystine.jpg" height="400" width="370" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: small;">I could write pages and pages about the minute details of that day; for as crummy a memory as I have, the details of that day are crystal clear. I won’t do that, or at least I’ll try not to. But I do want to share some things with you, if you’ll indulge me.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Krystine Summer Lorenzana Cabalfin was my niece. She was the daughter of Edgar and Crisel Lorenzana, my husband’s oldest brother and his sister-in-law. She was a precocious little girl, and a vibrant young woman. She was the quintessential ‘social butterfly’ with an incredible array of friends and a very tight knit, though far strewn, family. At her funeral, when discussing who she was, with the priest who would provide her eulogy, I described her as the family’s Social Director. She would’ve taken that title willingly. Most importantly, I considered Krystine not only my niece, she was a confidant and friend.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Krystine was married to Jose Cabalfin in January, 2001. Christopher Joel Cabalfin was born May 4, 2001, and his little brother Matthew Ryan followed December 21, 2002. The role of ‘Mom’ took a while for Krystine to manage; she was challenged with lots of what I called “loving interference” from the older women in the family. But when her daughter Emilyn was born, November 9, 2005, Krystine had finally grown into her role as mother, wife, student, friend, and Ate (a Filipino word).</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: small;">I like to tell the story of the last time I saw Krystine, because I find a lot of comfort in it. We were celebrating her older brother’s birthday; Edgar Jr, who we all call Jay-R, was celebrating his 29<sup>th</sup> birthday on September 2<sup>nd</sup> so we all got together at my in-laws. Krystine was there with her family, and as the youngest, she was ‘working’ the party, preparing food, filling dishes, running errands, etc. all while trying to fulfill her role as the Social Director, Mom and Friend. It wasn’t going well…LOL. I came into the little kitchen and asked if I could help her wash the dirty dishes and she happily accepted. As we stood at the sink, shoulder to shoulder in the cramped space, she began to share with me how she was feeling about some of the things going on in her life, and as I normally did, I tried to make her feel she had the strength to handle it all. Because I knew she did. We were interrupted and she was called away</span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">, and hours later, as the party was winding down, Cas and I prepared to leave. I found Krystine, gave her a big hug and as she squeezed me tightly I said, "I love you, Tin" and she replied, "I love you too, Auntie Laura. Those are the last words she said to me. I treasure them like the gift they are, and I can smile, even with a sad heart when I think of her, because we shared that moment. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Krystine died the morning of September 10, 2006. She died when her heart stopped beating while she was sleeping. There were many questions regarding her death because of her age and the fact that many in her family were/are in the healthcare profession. And none of us were prepared to lose her so soon, to put that date in that space in the software. As I copied her funeral card, I was surprised at it’s simplicity. Because Tin was everything but simple. She was a shining light, a mother, a wife, a daughter, an Ate…and she was my friend.</span><br />
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Laura Cosgrove Lorenzanahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02794581991087280753noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-927510992143247693.post-54715083618990925492014-08-31T07:44:00.000-05:002014-08-31T07:44:16.330-05:00A blog update...<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Well after missing my blogiversary earlier this month, but having an absolute blast at FGS 2014, I knew it was time to let you all know that I do still exist and I have every intention of continuing the blog. However, I may be moving it to another platform so I can integrate the blog with some resources and other information I often get asked about as an Archivist. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">As soon as I get back home (I'm still in San Antonio), I'll be working on getting the new platform in place.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Thank you for continuing to read...</span><br />
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<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Laura</span>Laura Cosgrove Lorenzanahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02794581991087280753noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-927510992143247693.post-80243907689100992632014-03-18T10:05:00.000-05:002014-03-18T10:05:40.749-05:00Tuesday Tip - Citing Sources vs Starting an Archives?<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>I received a question last night that made me more
uncomfortable than any question I’ve had in a very long time. I honestly didn’t
know how to respond. This morning I brought it up to my husband and, after discussing it through with him, I decided how best to answer it. Here’s the question:</b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>"<i>I will be archiving some material at my local public library. Is there a simple how-to for newbie archivists? It's all volunteer there, so there's no trained archivists on site</i>."</b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>This may seem like an innocent enough question, but it’s not
unlike someone who’s been in a major accident asking the doctor, ‘Is anything
wrong?’ There is no right or wrong answer because there’s simply no way to know
with the information that’s available at that point in time. Of course, I could have responded to the person and asked
for additional information. But that’s not the issue about this question that
makes me so uncomfortable. </b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>Let me ask you this: would you hire someone off the
street to do your family research? Or how about going up to a random person in
a Library’s genealogy section and asking them? That person may or may not know
anything about the Genealogical Proof Standard. I didn’t when I started
researching my family in 1996. Heck, I didn’t know there <i>was</i> a GPS until 2011! I hadn’t heard of Elizabeth Shown Mills, Dr. Thomas Jones or pretty much any
other highly respected professional in the Genealogical community. That’s not
to say that I didn’t know how to find a family tree on RootsWeb or how to go to
the Newberry Library to look up information in a book, but I had <i>no concept</i> of the proper standard for
genealogical work.</b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>Even more, I didn’t know how important it was to cite my
sources. This is an element of the GPS that probably causes the most heated
debate. But, as anyone who’s done genealogical research for more than a few
years can probably tell you, there’s a painful lesson in looking at a key piece
of information needed for a proof statement and realizing you can’t use it
because you have no clue where that information came from. It’s a lesson that may not be learned for
years, because the lack of a proper citation might take years to uncover in a large volume of research. The
simple fact remains, you can’t just say that “Joe Smith is the direct
descendant of Charlemagne” without some corresponding evidence. Well, you can <i>say</i> it, but that doesn’t make it a fact.</b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>How does this correlate with the question? “Archiving” is not something you learn in a few hours. Just like genealogical research skills and best practices, it
takes years to learn the intricacies of the best practices in Archival Sciences.
And yet we are faced with the realization that, just like someone who is
starting to look into their family history, there is the need to protect and
preserve primary materials in places that don’t have the resources to hire a
Professional Archivist. There are steps to be taken to get the process
started, but there are also mis-steps that could create challenges in the
future, or worse, the loss of information and/or materials. </b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>So, just as there’s a need for Professional Genealogists to
get the word out to new family historians about best practices and proper standards, Professional Archivists need to find a way to educate those who ask
questions that cause that uncomfortable feeling. Doing nothing, not sharing the
knowledge that can ensure the material will be stabilized to preserve it for
the long term, won’t suffice. Locating reasonable resources that can point
beginners in the right direction is essential to ensure a safe start for any
Archives not created by someone trained in the Archival Sciences. Because,
believe it or not, there is a LOT of science involved in working in an
Archives. There’s years worth of information to learn, some of which is
critical to the long term health of the material over which someone is now the
steward. And, what may seem to be the best thing to do may indeed be the
worst thing to do for a collection. Just like not citing sources is
one of the worst things that happens in genealogical research. (To be fair, I’m admitting that I have lots of material in my
research that does not have source citations. I’ve been researching since 1996
and it wasn’t until the beginning of 2012 that I started looking at the best
practices of genealogy. But, I've learned the importance of this best practice and apply it to all my current research.) </b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>As a trained Archivist who’s worked in a wide variety of Archives
for the last eight years, I worry about the number of people being tasked with
the responsibility of ‘archiving’ materials for public use, as is the person who asked me this question. Granted,
this group may be forced into this situation by a lack of funding, but that shouldn’t
stop the professionals in charge from seeking the assistance of a Professional Archivist to set the
proper structure for their new Archives. They shouldn't be leaving that responsibility to someone without Archival Sciences education.</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b><span style="color: #999999;">Fortunately, the Society of American Archivists is working
on “</span><i style="color: #999999;">Best Practices for Volunteers in Archives</i><span style="color: #999999;">”, a document that, according to
the website (</span><a href="http://www2.archivists.org/"><span style="color: #674ea7;">http://www2.archivists.org/</span></a><span style="color: #999999;">
accessed 18 March 2014), will go to the Standards Committee for review and be
available in May 2014. In the meantime, for those who are interested in an
answer to this question, I can direct you to several very good resources:</span></b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #674ea7; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.history.ncdcr.gov/shrab/documents/InsuringOur.pdf"><b>http://www.history.ncdcr.gov/shrab/documents/InsuringOur.pdf</b></a></span></div>
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<span style="color: #674ea7; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.loc.gov/preservation/"><b>http://www.loc.gov/preservation/</b></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b><span style="color: #999999;">I wrote an article for Archives.com that explains, in layman’s
terms, the process of ‘Processing’ material. You can find it here: </span></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b><span style="color: #674ea7;"><a href="http://www.archives.com/experts/lorenzana-laura-cosgrove/archival-processing-for-family-history.html">http://www.archives.com/experts/lorenzana-laura-cosgrove/archival-processing-for-family-history.html</a></span></b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>This does not answer the person's question, I know. I wish I could go to their location and help them get their Archives started. But I can't, so I have to be satisfied with providing what information I can that will help. Researchers generations from now may depend on what we do.</b></span></div>
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Laura Cosgrove Lorenzanahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02794581991087280753noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-927510992143247693.post-81100823066217195382014-01-29T19:25:00.000-06:002014-01-29T19:25:55.270-06:00Wishful Wednesday - 52 Ancestors Week 5 - The Story of Lillie Howard<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>One of the challenges in telling our ancestor’s stories is,
without documents of their life, how do we know what it was like to be them? I
think about all the little failures and successes in my life, that no one will
know in the future, that have molded me into the person that I am. So, we dig
to find all the documents that we can to bring together as much information
about each of those people from whom we came. And, every once in a while, you can
find something that tells a whole story in very few words. </b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>For this week’s ancestor, I chose someone who’s not an
ancestor at all. But, she’s buried with my family. And, in that one
not-so-small gesture, I think it tells a great deal about my family. I’m pleased
to introduce you to Lillie Howard.</b></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2E0Lclj_XM78hPoUxSe1MitNaZnMD8QIV_sNWB9YjBgLwJyCo2K4yCiZxmOSSuytX_JD-oDvIG-js0obmMjcwKSMFQgRgbsz2LhdGRdxLBGBt5DtM4rwuH0Nu9IITwqexSVazDNhI-5A/s1600/Spring+Grove+Cemetery+6058+Lillie+Howard+1857.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2E0Lclj_XM78hPoUxSe1MitNaZnMD8QIV_sNWB9YjBgLwJyCo2K4yCiZxmOSSuytX_JD-oDvIG-js0obmMjcwKSMFQgRgbsz2LhdGRdxLBGBt5DtM4rwuH0Nu9IITwqexSVazDNhI-5A/s1600/Spring+Grove+Cemetery+6058+Lillie+Howard+1857.jpg" height="211" width="320" /></a></div>
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<o:p><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b> </b></span></o:p><b style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I ‘found’ Lillie as I was researching my Burrows family in
Cincinnati, Ohio. If you follow my blog, you’ll know I’ve become quite a fan of
Cincinnati; it’s a gorgeous city and every time I’m there I feel, well, at
home. It’s a welcoming place. And, out of 38 of my extended family buried in
Section 54 Lot 93, Lillie has always been an enigma.</b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMgnbH_zaKQowJ2x_15Lru_eMXO3qYZ14hXmd4ulENh7guAtzyn4ml-rFG7gN3DTK6VSRTfqXuU-J1beC61QU1prnUrDKCIaDlpdOK78oqU3LZvAf463lx-NjFQ3nG10uTMWWaigrT_pE/s1600/Spring+Grove+Cemetery+Section+marker+S+W+Hartshorne+Sec+54+Lot+93.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMgnbH_zaKQowJ2x_15Lru_eMXO3qYZ14hXmd4ulENh7guAtzyn4ml-rFG7gN3DTK6VSRTfqXuU-J1beC61QU1prnUrDKCIaDlpdOK78oqU3LZvAf463lx-NjFQ3nG10uTMWWaigrT_pE/s1600/Spring+Grove+Cemetery+Section+marker+S+W+Hartshorne+Sec+54+Lot+93.jpg" height="400" width="225" /></a></div>
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<b style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The Big Guy had a special Plan
for little Lillie. She died on Christmas Day, 1857. Now, mind you, I’ve thought
a LOT about little Miss Lillie. I’ve done the math to see if she could have been
a child of one of the Hartshorne girls or any of their contemporaries. It just
seems impossible.</b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>So, I decided Lilly needed a story. It goes something like this: The Hartshornes, SW and Ann Eliza
(Burrows) are at church on Christmas Eve and hear of the plight of this poor
baby girl who is tragically ill. Their hearts go out to her, having lost three
infant children themselves. When they return to church the next day for the
Christmas celebration, they learn of the sad fate of little Lillie: she’s died.
In a gesture born of the season, SW tells the
head of the Home to have little Lillie’s body prepared and sent to Spring Grove
to be buried in their family plot. </b></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheBwf_g_P8IxhejX8ev5TTij1TtY_Ce_AbvIFOOl0cmHgQ134_aSoqQPTBciYRJZIoCPWofgDns8fzTlhF5kUOE8ZE23wSc492nZx9xPI5_NJolKynCOZwEcaPuHq_mDyPqmVZqKU_4G8/s1600/IMG_20131024_171938_721.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheBwf_g_P8IxhejX8ev5TTij1TtY_Ce_AbvIFOOl0cmHgQ134_aSoqQPTBciYRJZIoCPWofgDns8fzTlhF5kUOE8ZE23wSc492nZx9xPI5_NJolKynCOZwEcaPuHq_mDyPqmVZqKU_4G8/s1600/IMG_20131024_171938_721.jpg" height="225" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>What do you think? Do you wish there was a different story for Lillie?</b></span></div>
Laura Cosgrove Lorenzanahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02794581991087280753noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-927510992143247693.post-32538524980066714982014-01-22T08:57:00.001-06:002014-01-30T17:03:36.614-06:00Wisdom Wednesday - 52 Ancestors Week 4 - Anne Marie Wagner to Mary Wersel<div class="MsoNormal">
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<span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>I spent a number of years searching for records of the wife
of my 2<sup>nd</sup> great grandfather, Frank B Wersel. All of the family information
I had indicated she was Mary Ann Wersel; nothing was known about where she came
from or what her maiden name had been. Names are funny things; today the 'honor' associated with carrying a family name isn't anywhere as strong as it was in the 19th century. Yet, many of us have had the maddening experience of trying to trace an ancestor who seemingly vanishes only to find them hiding in plain sight with a new name.</b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>In December, 2011 I was
blessed to have original materials loaned to me by my Cincinnati cousin so I could digitize them
and do a little basic conservation of the old and delicate documents. One of
those was this ‘Extrait’:</b></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmZ7Q3x2mzkcuv5GFSwRZUTWtMWvKFlOvJOlYmJOrxcC6aSKLLtyoNpkCEuAvyujLheufjp8ZPzn09LueURkg1c3svsy72yHvINSKjUK2-0iY9lRaPa1_5oRhFBoO5xUPLEWAox6avcro/s1600/Extract+1844+Wagner+Anne+Marie+Birth+Certificate+1842+pg+1+French.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmZ7Q3x2mzkcuv5GFSwRZUTWtMWvKFlOvJOlYmJOrxcC6aSKLLtyoNpkCEuAvyujLheufjp8ZPzn09LueURkg1c3svsy72yHvINSKjUK2-0iY9lRaPa1_5oRhFBoO5xUPLEWAox6avcro/s1600/Extract+1844+Wagner+Anne+Marie+Birth+Certificate+1842+pg+1+French.jpg" height="400" width="290" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>For those who can’t read French, this is an extract from
birth records in Bliesbrucken, Sarreguemines, Moselle, [Lorraine] France which
was written in 1844. It’s the birth record of my 2<sup>nd</sup> great
grandmother, Anne Marie Wagner, born 8 May 1842 to Jean Frederic Wagner and his
wife Anne Eve Hensgen. A second document explained the ‘Extrait’:</b></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikEwFrbsLkpkvUgyv0Nqo_pimyjeaDAG02-U1eSQeTmN6ozouZIHrvg1xxYC_KHOskWSOkHA49jPTczlB4dX8yeX9JGZNLD4OMq7q2a3i4BWxKHRLjEyMBakesZdUv8JTHmb4JtYk9lSA/s1600/Wagner+Jean+Frederick+Interior+Passport+1844.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikEwFrbsLkpkvUgyv0Nqo_pimyjeaDAG02-U1eSQeTmN6ozouZIHrvg1xxYC_KHOskWSOkHA49jPTczlB4dX8yeX9JGZNLD4OMq7q2a3i4BWxKHRLjEyMBakesZdUv8JTHmb4JtYk9lSA/s1600/Wagner+Jean+Frederick+Interior+Passport+1844.jpg" height="400" width="296" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>It’s clear this document has seen better days, and at first
glance there isn’t anything there to save. This is an interior passport, a
document that allowed a traveler to move freely throughout the area. A closer
look includes this little bit of information:</b></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4BfFiiNRn-uf0WEIxXEdXZEeZ5N7pGvdAhbbiTAU1ppSEcQM300UVwI2lSHbe5psivklqyHhdH5b2VQmyxm99PjwsOHjjqNMbLkJkdYSPO0J39P6WxQXSCcawTl1C5Rs_qMPp3dWUdOc/s1600/Wagner+Jean+Frederick+Interior+Passport+1844+Close+up.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4BfFiiNRn-uf0WEIxXEdXZEeZ5N7pGvdAhbbiTAU1ppSEcQM300UVwI2lSHbe5psivklqyHhdH5b2VQmyxm99PjwsOHjjqNMbLkJkdYSPO0J39P6WxQXSCcawTl1C5Rs_qMPp3dWUdOc/s1600/Wagner+Jean+Frederick+Interior+Passport+1844+Close+up.jpg" height="400" width="335" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>It clearly mentions “Wagner, avec sa femme” and also
mentions “Gertrude et Anne Marie”. (“Sa femme” means ‘his wife’); it is dated
26 March 1844, the same year as the birth extract. It would appear that the purpose of getting his daughter's proof of birth was to provide it to the authorities when he requested the passport.</b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>While there wasn’t a document showing how the Wagner family
came to the United States, there was a Naturalization document, originating in
Cincinnati, Ohio and dated 7 October 1850, for Anne Marie’s father, who is now
John Wagner. </b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>Then, on the 7<sup>th</sup> day of April, 1860, Anne Mary Wagner
was married to Francis John Wersel in Cincinnati, Ohio. (Not to be confused
with Frank B Wersel…that’s another story). I’m not certain, but this may be
their wedding photo:</b></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBKLmAvKGroFQBaLyvvtL4qzPt3zFcXz-6wuH8FCPpdJxJ2gOVnr3-UO4Kjxv0QY1TdzBt1ppvb00hh0cBeGhPHSrardhpNZTitjlw22V2z2ZuSngLgq1MryRZoBg6S5nPoG0cEYHKFqU/s1600/Wersel+Frank+and+Wagner+Mary+Ann+verso.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBKLmAvKGroFQBaLyvvtL4qzPt3zFcXz-6wuH8FCPpdJxJ2gOVnr3-UO4Kjxv0QY1TdzBt1ppvb00hh0cBeGhPHSrardhpNZTitjlw22V2z2ZuSngLgq1MryRZoBg6S5nPoG0cEYHKFqU/s1600/Wersel+Frank+and+Wagner+Mary+Ann+verso.jpg" height="400" width="247" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>Isn’t she lovely? And he’s quite dashing as well, don’t you
think? Anne Marie seems to have chosen her husband well; by 1870 their family
included five children (George, Henry, Agnes, Franklin and Charles), Anne Marie’s
parents (John and Eve) and a female servant. Of course, she’s no longer Anne
Marie, but gave her name as ‘Mary’.</b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>By 1880, the Wersel family had added two children, William
and Stella. The entire family, including the Wagners lived at 251 Betts in
Cincinnati. By now, Anne Marie was living as the wife of a business man; Frank’s
upholstery business was booming and he was doing very well for himself. </b></span></div>
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<b style="color: #cccccc; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The following image was taken some time after 1890, the year the
Wersel’s son Henry married Laura Richards. Mary Ann Wersel is flanked by her
children with her son Henry and his wife Laura standing behind her.</b></div>
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<span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>On 18 July 1897, Mary Wersel died. She is buried, along
with her husband Frank, in St. John’s Catholic Cemetery in St. Bernard, Ohio. </b></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5VFWGxXDapD1pIskFoSspPx6ogic2C2RpVt_9hBP7sWvlcbbrbej-NANLd2rMUqSlPfAJfoxPgfIjzGwZD-elIHvouwrbDH8rIyY9reACdsi5VuE0y4cvHOio8ORf6muCt27BamSftLs/s1600/Wagner+Mary+Ann+Wersel+Monument+St+Johns+Cemetery+St+Bernard+Ohio.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5VFWGxXDapD1pIskFoSspPx6ogic2C2RpVt_9hBP7sWvlcbbrbej-NANLd2rMUqSlPfAJfoxPgfIjzGwZD-elIHvouwrbDH8rIyY9reACdsi5VuE0y4cvHOio8ORf6muCt27BamSftLs/s1600/Wagner+Mary+Ann+Wersel+Monument+St+Johns+Cemetery+St+Bernard+Ohio.jpg" height="239" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>From Anne Marie Wagner in Bliesbrucken to Mary Wersel in Cincinnati, Ohio. It wasn't a long stretch, from Anne Marie to Mary, but I was held up in my research, initially, because I didn't think to try a different name. Now, it's the first thing I do.</b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>C’est ci bonne, c’est la vie. </b></span></div>
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Laura Cosgrove Lorenzanahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02794581991087280753noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-927510992143247693.post-39502570766456197152014-01-21T11:36:00.000-06:002014-01-24T14:30:42.116-06:00Tuesday Tip – The Moldy Truth re: North Carolina<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I’ve been watching the discussions regarding the destruction
of materials from Franklin County, North Carolina with (understandable)
interest. Along with many of you, my first thought was, ‘OMIGO_!!’ Then, because
I’m not involved directly with the Heritage Society, the Clerk of the Courts,
the Recorder of Deeds, the Franklin County Commissioners or the North Carolina
State Archives, I felt it was best to quiet my voice and simply ‘listen’ to
what was being presented on Social Media. I think we’ve all been on the receiving
end of a not-so-great social media experience and I felt it was so important
not to add an uninformed voice to the fray. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">However, as a Professional Archivist, I wanted to have an
understanding of how this situation came into being, so I contacted Sarah
Koonts, State Archivist of North Carolina. We exchanged several emails, and
then we scheduled a call. I’ll discuss what we talked about in another post but
I’ll say that, if I lived in North Carolina, I would want Sarah as the steward
of the records the State holds. She’s a passionate historian and Archivist, but more
importantly, she’s just as frustrated by the series of events that occurred
because they ended with the loss
of confidence by the public that she serves. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Having said this I’m fully aware of the investment, of time
and heart, that the Heritage Society put into trying to protect the material
that was located in the basement of the Franklin County Courthouse. However,
having read the document provided by Franklin County Manager, Angela
Harris, there is only ONE aspect of this situation which seems to need some serious
discussion and education: Mold. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">In the first posts, I saw comments about the fact that there
were materials stored in the basement of the Franklin County Courthouse that
were moldy while some had been unaffected. For the record, I have never been in the Franklin County Courthouse
basement, so I’m only speaking as an Archives professional not as someone who
has been on site. However, after reading Ms. Harris' document and looking at the pictures, I’m very surprised that
the people working in that location did not feel the effects of the mold that
was there. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I get teary every time I see the picture of the ledgers
lined on those shelves that are now gone. But then I see the ‘dust’ too, which
is not only dust but mold and know that it would have cost thousands of dollars
to rid them of the mold that had infested them. Sadly, while there is plenty to
be learned from this situation, the greatest take-away should be that NO
records, of such rich research value, should ever be allowed to sit in a
basement where they deteriorate to the point they have to be incinerated. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The terrible thing about mold; it appears to be
harmless, but it can create a multitude of health problems in individuals who
have been exposed to it. Unless going through a clean room after being exposed,
those mold spores can travel on your person and be left along your path
potentially contaminating everything that you come in contact with. How is that possible? It’s possible because mold goes
dormant (that dusty stuff). All it takes is microscopic bits of H<sup>2</sup>O
to come in contact with it for it to rebloom and you have another infestation. This is why there are companies that charge
thousands of dollars to provide mold remediation. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">I’d like very much for those you who are reading this and
grinding your teeth because you think I’m over-stating the dangers of mold to follow
</span><a href="http://www.connectingtocollections.org/moldrecording/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #b4a7d6;">this link</span></a><span style="color: #cccccc;">, from a slide presentation of how mold affects a collection (in this
case in Libraries and Archives), not unlike the materials in Franklin County.
Please note, at the end of the presentation slides that the presenter mentions,
multiple times, that mold remediation/removal from materials should be done by </span><i style="color: #cccccc;">professionals</i><span style="color: #cccccc;">. It’s simply not something
that you can do yourself. No amount of hand sanitizer will help. The Library of
Congress also has some great information </span><a href="http://www.archives.gov/preservation/conservation/flood-damage.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: #b4a7d6;">here</span></a><span style="color: #cccccc;">.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">As researchers, of any kind, it’s up to <b><i>us</i></b> to be familiar
with our local repositories. It’s up to <b><i>us</i></b> to be vigilant about staying
informed of who the stewards of those materials are because THEY are the ones who
are responsible for those materials. And, with public records, those stewards
change often. Do you know who your Clerk of Courts or Records of Deeds is, or what
about your County Archives? You don’t know if your County has an Archives? Hmmm, maybe
that’s something you might want to check out…</span></div>
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<span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">We must act locally to save records from </span><i style="color: #cccccc; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">needing</i><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> to be destroyed. </span></div>
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Laura Cosgrove Lorenzanahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02794581991087280753noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-927510992143247693.post-52683743003130844862014-01-15T19:11:00.000-06:002014-01-15T19:11:03.850-06:00Wishful Wednesday - 52 Ancestors Week 3 - Jeffrey Girls<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">When I saw Amy Johnson Crow’s suggestion about </span><a href="http://www.nostorytoosmall.com/posts/challenge-52-ancestors-in-52-weeks/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #8e7cc3;">52 Ancestors</span></a><span style="color: #cccccc;"><span id="goog_2044052735"></span><span id="goog_2044052736"></span><a href="https://www.blogger.com/"></a>,
I immediately responded that I thought it was a fabulous idea. Taking the time
to focus on one ancestor a week and writing a blog post about that ancestor seemed
like an easy enough task. </span><span style="color: #cccccc;">Of course, here we are in Week 3, and I’ve yet to get
a post done. I thought I’d quickly write a post about my Granny Frances and her two
sisters, Bessie and Adelaide. You know, for Week Three. Because there were
three of them.</span><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">Except, my math's not so hot and there was a fourth. Actually, I knew this; Isabel, the oldest
daughter of George and Fanny Jeffrey was born on 31 May 1886, according to State of Michigan records. The written entry shows she was born to “George
Jeffrey” a “carriage maker” and “Fannie”; George is from “Canada” and Fannie is
from “Michigan”. This all jibes with other evidence I have and explains the
lovely photos of ‘Isabel’ that I found among my Granny’s photos:</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></span>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgP5nVSUS5P_GYbNiLnVD3mrpikoQg_o783-F7pJgP5-urDpjzCXIVYVi2k08SYPyDDU96KL9LKmiimXcd-qdVA-gRW8AkUE38EHWNGoFTVk-Bs2CEX4sIeLKuxRqcCJhoTTTlkP1iRv64/s1600/Jeffrey,+Isabel.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgP5nVSUS5P_GYbNiLnVD3mrpikoQg_o783-F7pJgP5-urDpjzCXIVYVi2k08SYPyDDU96KL9LKmiimXcd-qdVA-gRW8AkUE38EHWNGoFTVk-Bs2CEX4sIeLKuxRqcCJhoTTTlkP1iRv64/s1600/Jeffrey,+Isabel.jpg" height="258" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">In order to write a quality post (you know I strive to do
that, right), I decided to take a fast look at my ‘Documents’ folder in my
digital library under the surname ‘Jeffrey’. I thought I might be able to add a
document or two to my other sources for the Jeffrey girls in Family Tree Maker. As my
eyes scanned down the list of unprocessed material, they stopped at an entry that says
this:</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span><span style="color: #cccccc;"> Jeffrey Edna B3 p237</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span><span style="color: #cccccc;">Um, who’s Edna? The other entries, GIF file images from the
State of Michigan, County of Kalamazoo Birth Records, read like this:</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span><span style="color: #cccccc;">Jeffrey Isabel B3 p146</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">Jeffrey Bessie B3 p284</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">Jeffrey Frances Isabel B4 p129</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">Jeffrey Adelaide B5 p142</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">I remember when I pulled these images back in December, 2011. What I
didn’t remember is pulling FIVE records.
Here’s where it gets really hinky; check out the dates of birth (again,
according to what’s written in the log books):</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Isabel - 31 May
1886</span><br />
<span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Edna - 21 December
1888</span><br />
<span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Bessie - 31 May
1889</span><br />
<span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Baby** - 22 Apr 1893 **A notation was added “7-1-58 Frances Isabel”</span><br />
<span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Adelaide B - 10 May 1901</span><br />
<span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">I did verify that the ‘Edna’ entry was a daughter of George and
Fannie, from Canada and Michigan. George’s occupation is listed as ‘Mail
Carrier’ and I know that my George was indeed a Mail Carrier in Kalamazoo for
30 years, as confirmed with the US Postal Service. So, what’s wrong with this
picture?</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">As I mentioned, before, I like to think I’m smart. The time period
between Edna’s birth 21 December 1888 and Bessie’s birth 31 May 1889 is only 5
months. While babies are viable at that time frame, it seems highly unlikely in the late 1800s. It also seems a bit strange that Bessie and Isabel
share the exact same date of birth, although again it’s not impossible. What’s
really bizarre is that my cousin Kathy, the daughter of my mom’s sister
Jacqueline, 'corrected' my information when she saw it online, telling me that the family celebrated Bessis’s birthday around
Christmas and that her birthday was December 21<sup>st</sup>. Uh, oh.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><o:p><br /></o:p></span><span style="color: #cccccc;">It’s far more likely that Bessie was born in December 1889,
and any family historian worth their salt knows that hand written records, even
official ones, can be incorrect. In Kalamazoo County, at that time, it was still
commonplace to provide information about the birth of a child well after the
actual date. Is it possible that Bessie <i>was</i>
born on 31 December instead of May as was written in the log? The strange
thought that perhaps to ‘honor’ her departed sister they decided to say that
she was born on the same day, but a year later, also came to mind but seems
unlikely. Maybe George or Fanny misspoke when giving the information to the
County when asked the child’s date of birth.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">I've been unable to locate a death record, or any other record for that
matter, for Edna Jeffrey. I can only presume that she died very close to, or
on, her birth date and that’s why she was never mentioned by my Granny. Of
course, now I wish I’d asked my Mom about her a few years ago when her mind was
working a lot better, although I doubt that she’d have known anything about Edna.
She didn't know about Isabel until we were going through old photos after my
mom’s sister passed away in 2006.</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Wishful thinking: there’s no such thing as an ‘easy’ post. *sigh*</span><br />
<span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Rather than bail entirely, I'm hanging with my original idea and posting about the three (surviving) Jeffrey girls:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></span>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhB0A5plsi-Mnb4fXbVDuYl7dbZDj9Zqat4nLsxrKcsxuayd_2pX6Hu4XHLQwAQQ_cfMDJw8c0AmLDkBLqzwJLx8dUen242Lq1isGIlKDUrtgL8IaCNZy0TazdWqjrPOF0osg82AJmodok/s1600/Bessie+Frances+and+Adelaide+Jeffrey+Sisters.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhB0A5plsi-Mnb4fXbVDuYl7dbZDj9Zqat4nLsxrKcsxuayd_2pX6Hu4XHLQwAQQ_cfMDJw8c0AmLDkBLqzwJLx8dUen242Lq1isGIlKDUrtgL8IaCNZy0TazdWqjrPOF0osg82AJmodok/s1600/Bessie+Frances+and+Adelaide+Jeffrey+Sisters.jpg" height="320" width="270" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span><span style="color: #cccccc;"></span><span style="color: #cccccc;">Bessie Jeffrey was my grand aunt. She was an unusual woman; she never
married, but worked for the US government her entire life. According to my Mom,
her Aunt Bessie smoked like a chimney and rarely ate, which is why she was
always frighteningly thin. She lived in Chicago; at one point she lived in a building that overlooked what used to be a Chicago architectural icon: the
Edgewater Beach Hotel. </span><span style="color: #cccccc;">I know she traveled; I found photos of her in Florida, Bermuda, and
Mexico. I know little else about her. She died, at her sister Frances’ in Villa
Park, Illinois on 24 July 1965 at the age of 76.</span></span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj52qT5YnqrLfknvQJ9F3Mkx5VpNP743RXnc5z9JXyYCYWUmG6ooGckSU5mfAkB4j4k-i4bon6nXIaWqTz_vospPwScfHe1vFboJ3Pz8es7y9q8xF24yWt4KxxqHg_OUyfMfLbvvyvbZas/s1600/Bessie+Marie+Jeffrey.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj52qT5YnqrLfknvQJ9F3Mkx5VpNP743RXnc5z9JXyYCYWUmG6ooGckSU5mfAkB4j4k-i4bon6nXIaWqTz_vospPwScfHe1vFboJ3Pz8es7y9q8xF24yWt4KxxqHg_OUyfMfLbvvyvbZas/s1600/Bessie+Marie+Jeffrey.jpg" height="320" width="260" /></a></div>
<br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">Frances Isabel was my Granny. That’s how I knew her and always referred
to her as did the rest of my contemporaries. She was a strong woman to be
certain; my grandfather had ‘a drinking problem’ and as a salesman was either
traveling or moving the family. I’ve written about her wedding date: December
7, 1917. Her husband, Victor Wersel had started at the Bryant Paper Company as
a salesman where she was a secretary. After they married they waited before
starting their family and had two daughters, Virginia in 1922 and Jacqueline
1924. Then in 1933, shortly after Frances celebrated her 40<sup>th</sup>
birthday, my Mom surprised everyone with her entry into the world. Frances was
a sweet, caring person. She would buy Christmas presents throughout the year,
wrapping them very carefully and storing them in her room until it was time to
celebrate. She made potato coquettes, which to this day are a family tradition.
Victor died in 1963, leaving her a widow; she never remarried, living the rest
of her life alone. I don’t believe that they’d saved anything, so she worked.
As a matter of fact, she was commuting from the western suburbs of Chicago to
the downtown Goldblatt’s store when they ‘suggested’ she retire after working
there for 20 years; I think they’d found out she was 85 years young. Frances
died 24 August 1990 in Elmhurst, Illinois at the age of 97.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="color: #cccccc;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5AYdHF-gcTn-8Qy_hcEKxOSfjZHDTdhqL4w_fXVBaLaQMXskNDieBjlTOy1e36bsBVb6_Uz4usgQnT5U0Yr_n61UFAEyC7BKodGXOVOlYUbMZ_VLsPQIsC4olkE-1EIcYNq83qfb5PzE/s1600/Cosgrove+Laura+and+Jeffrey+Frances+Wersel+1991.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5AYdHF-gcTn-8Qy_hcEKxOSfjZHDTdhqL4w_fXVBaLaQMXskNDieBjlTOy1e36bsBVb6_Uz4usgQnT5U0Yr_n61UFAEyC7BKodGXOVOlYUbMZ_VLsPQIsC4olkE-1EIcYNq83qfb5PzE/s1600/Cosgrove+Laura+and+Jeffrey+Frances+Wersel+1991.jpg" height="320" width="224" /></a></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">Adelaide was my grand aunt. Like Bessie she was
a bit eccentric. She was born in 1901, so her sisters were a bit older than
her. I think the term ‘precocious’ would have fit Adelaide to a ‘T’. It's uncertain whether or not Adelaide was officially married to George Thurston, the father of her two children Patricia and George, but her 1930 US Census entry indicates she was divorced and living with her parents. And, five years later, she was married and living with her husband, Adolf Koop. From the family photos I found, it appears that my grandfather Victor (Frances' husband) and Adolf got along really well and were the life of the party. Heh. Sadly, Adelaide died of ovarian cancer on 31 October 1956 in Villa Park, Illinois at the age of 55. </span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></span><span style="color: #cccccc;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYZLefpCzs06LSwWC0cXThqLNiJirEQcAaYupulxq_rxDR6vBQNmk1CtTLeEZRplAPeWD28-P8sJCTu25Fz0WAB3OExNzPJ2duTZwp273ebzBlgeX71qwKs2KtQ6W4pmZZ1P3XNSv3noI/s1600/Jeffrey+Adelaide+Thurston+Koop.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYZLefpCzs06LSwWC0cXThqLNiJirEQcAaYupulxq_rxDR6vBQNmk1CtTLeEZRplAPeWD28-P8sJCTu25Fz0WAB3OExNzPJ2duTZwp273ebzBlgeX71qwKs2KtQ6W4pmZZ1P3XNSv3noI/s1600/Jeffrey+Adelaide+Thurston+Koop.jpg" height="320" width="188" /></a></span><span style="color: #cccccc;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">Oh, there's lots more to tell, which is what is going to keep this challenge so, well, challenging. On to the next ancestor. </span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">Hmmm, I wonder who it will be...</span></span></span><br />
<br />
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<span style="color: #0000ee; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><u><br /></u></span>
<!-- Blogger automated replacement: "https://images-blogger-opensocial.googleusercontent.com/gadgets/proxy?url=http%3A%2F%2F2.bp.blogspot.com%2F-Ha6SmENBGos%2FUtcmVVJzVSI%2FAAAAAAAABn4%2F3TfGUbyMCUY%2Fs1600%2FBessie%2BMarie%2BJeffrey.jpg&container=blogger&gadget=a&rewriteMime=image%2F*" with "https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj52qT5YnqrLfknvQJ9F3Mkx5VpNP743RXnc5z9JXyYCYWUmG6ooGckSU5mfAkB4j4k-i4bon6nXIaWqTz_vospPwScfHe1vFboJ3Pz8es7y9q8xF24yWt4KxxqHg_OUyfMfLbvvyvbZas/s1600/Bessie+Marie+Jeffrey.jpg" -->Laura Cosgrove Lorenzanahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02794581991087280753noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-927510992143247693.post-4217459730150925632014-01-06T07:14:00.000-06:002014-01-06T07:14:24.823-06:00Motivation Monday - Get Those Old Photo Albums Out<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b><span style="color: #cccccc;">I posted about having unidentified photos that had been pulled from old photo albums on Friday; you can </span><a href="http://thelastleafonthisbranch.blogspot.com/2014/01/fridays-faces-from-past-keeping-clues.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: #8e7cc3;">read that post here</span></a><span style="color: #cccccc;">.</span></b></span><br />
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<span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>I received lots of comments (thank you so much!) asking about removing the photos from these old albums without damaging them. Why bother to remove them? Because for long term preservation, it’s better to remove them from the album and place
them in appropriate archival quality storage (acid-free envelopes, folders
and/or boxes).</b></span><br />
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<span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>A word of caution first: take digital images of the pages
BEFORE you try to remove them from an album. If the album is flexible enough
for a scanner that’s a fine way to get the image, otherwise using a digital
camera or smartphone will do the job. I've done both with a number of albums I've processed. And, while it’s great to capture an image
that’s of good enough quality to clip each individual picture (later), the
purpose in capturing an image of the page as a whole is to preserve the
<i>original arrangement</i> on each page as well as the <i>original order</i> of the pages.
This, in turn, preserves the context that can be inferred from how the images
are arranged if they are not identified; we call that <i>respect des fonds. </i></b></span><br />
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<span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>So, how the heck do you get the photographs off the pages?! Patience
and a steady hand are important components in this process along with a couple
of tools that you can use:</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b><span style="color: #cccccc;">1. If the adhesive is not very good and the edges of the
photographs are loose, you can use a micro spatula to attempt to </span><i style="color: #cccccc;">gently</i><span style="color: #cccccc;"> pry them up. What’s a *micro
spatula*? You can see what it looks like </span><a href="http://www.hollingermetaledge.com/modules/store/index.html?dept=28&cat=177&cart=1388976991109953" target="_blank"><span style="color: #8e7cc3;">here</span></a><span style="color: #cccccc;">. In a pinch, I’ve used a palette knife (used for mixing
oil paints) that you can get at an </span><a href="http://www.dickblick.com/products/wyland-whale-tail-palette-knife/#photos" target="_blank"><span style="color: #8e7cc3;">art supply store</span></a><span style="color: #cccccc;">. The key is in using something
that has a fairly sharp, thin edge, but not so sharp that it will cut the
photo.</span></b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>2. Dental floss. Yep, here’s a case where an inexpensive
household item can work magic. Make certain that the floss does not include
flavor (think unnecessary chemicals on your photo), but it can be waxed. Teflon
floss works the best, since the Teflon helps to prevent sticking. Begin with a
corner; gently work the floss under the photo and then use a back and forth
‘sawing’ motion - </b></span><b style="color: #cccccc; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><u>G E N T L Y</u>.
Again, this takes a very steady hand and lots of patience, but often
it’s an issue of getting past the first line of adhesive and the picture will
come off the page. </b></div>
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<span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>If, in examining the album, you find that the vast majority
of the photos are securely adhered to the pages, it may be best to leave them as
they are. In this case, acid-free tissue paper can be placed in between the
pages to help to reduce the eventual degradation of the images from the acid in
the pages.</b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>If you have other issues with your albums, let me know and I'll see if I can make suggestions that can help you. Archival supplies are NOT expensive, in general. I am an Archivist, which means I'm on an incredibly tight budget (i.e., I don't make a lot of money), so I totally understand needing to be frugal. Frugality shouldn't prevent you from protecting your family materials for the future!</b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>*Please note: I am not compensated when suggesting products and/or suppliers. I'm going by the experience I've had with the products and suppliers; your experience may be different. Common sense is my rule for 2014.</b></span></div>
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Laura Cosgrove Lorenzanahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02794581991087280753noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-927510992143247693.post-13514174640934512902014-01-03T07:52:00.000-06:002014-01-03T07:52:57.298-06:00Friday's Faces From the Past - Keeping Clues in Place<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I thought I’d take a moment to quickly discuss the
challenges of old photo albums. I’m not talking about those horrible ‘magnetic’
albums with the sticky pages and plastic that holds the photos in place, but those
albums with black or dark brown ‘construction paper’ pages. They may be 100
years old, or older, and the photos in them may look fine but the acid in the
pages are slowly degrading the images and the paper they are on. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #999999; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">As an Archivist, I’ve de-mounted my fair share of
photographs and other items from albums and scrapbooks. It’s a tedious process
but one that, in the long run, will preserve the materials longer. The key is
in ensuring that the </span><b style="color: #999999; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><i>order</i></b><span style="color: #999999; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> in which the items were placed
in the album is maintained. It is essential that this be done to maintain the
context in which the photographs were added by whoever created the album.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #999999;">Obviously if the images are identified you're well ahead of the game. Simply transferring the information to the back of the
photo, using a </span><i><a href="http://www.hollingermetaledge.com/modules/store/index.html?dept=30&cat=43&searchname=pencil&searchid=&searchtype=C&cart=138875011941483" target="_blank"><span style="color: #8e7cc3;">photo pencil</span></a></i><span style="color: #999999;"> of
course, is fine. But if there is no identification it becomes even more
critical to keep the images in the order they were in the album. As we all
know, it’s rare that someone puts random pictures into an album. While you
might not know who are in the images, those 2</span><sup style="color: #999999;">nd</sup><span style="color: #999999;"> and 3</span><sup style="color: #999999;">rd</sup><span style="color: #999999;">
cousins that are out there may know, or you may realize through clues in the
images themselves who is whom. It’s also possible there’s another album
somewhere that may have images that </span><b style="color: #999999;"><i>are</i></b><span style="color: #999999;"> identified which will provide
identification for your images. </span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">So before you remove the images from the pages, scan or take
a digital image of the entire page. Then as you carefully remove the images
from the album use a numbering system to identify their location from the
album. As you place the images in acid-free folders or in acid-free photo
boxes, carefully note on the back with a photo pencil the location from the album.
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<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I have a 3<sup>rd</sup> cousin who removed unidentified images,
many tin types, from a number of albums and when she presented them to me to
scan, she had no idea who the people in the images are or which images had
originally been together. I also found several photos my Mom had in her
collection which are unidentified. There’s nothing more frustrating for a
genealogist than to have these much older photos and simply have no clue who
they are!</span></div>
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Laura Cosgrove Lorenzanahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02794581991087280753noreply@blogger.com6