Memory Mondays

For this edition of Memory Mondays I have decided to answer some genealogy questions. 

I want to start with how I began my research because it is something I recommend. I was afraid of the internet and sharing too much. When I started researching I used the Ancestry dot com subscription at our local library as well as the website Family Search. I also researched in collections of local libraries and the courthouse. 

When I found documents related to my family, like a census record or draft card, etc, I printed them on paper and put them in folders. I talked a friend into day trips to a Presidential library that specializes in genealogy where we researched newspapers in our state, first on microfilm and then computers when they digalitized them. These holdings include many newspapers not available on line and we are able to make copies of articles.  I made so many copies that it was worth buying a membership to get a reduced rate on copying, lol. 

I also made a spreadsheet for every generation so I could chart when I had copies of birth certificates, death certificates, census and military records so I knew what I was looking for. 

Having everything on paper was good for me as a visual person. And with my family traditions - very necessary. We like to name babies after relatives and, for example, in the case of my maternal great grandfather, he and two cousins who were all born in the same township in the same year shared the same first and last name. Having the paper copies I could compare all the information to make sure the documents I had belonged to the correct person.  

I developed my family tree for about a year before I joined Ancestry and put my tree online.  I have found lots of misinformation about my past relatives on line and people don't seem to respond to messages about it.  

Another example. One census lists my great grandmother Maud as Mary. Most people's family trees list Mary as a sister. There is no Mary. 

Same family, Maud's mother Isabell raised my grandfather after her death. People confuse his Isabell for my grandfather's mother even though she is listed as grandmother on most census records. After he married, Isabell lived with them and is listed on census records as "mother-in-law". This has lead people to assume she is my grandmother's (his wife's) mother.  You can imagine the mess this makes with the wrong family attached to the maternal side. 

I knew these people and know I'm right (lol) but people will disagree with me and keep sharing the wrong information. 

How do I store this information.   

I have files of all the information I find on paper copies. I try to attach it all to the tree on Ancestry. And I purchased Roots Web so I can have a copy on my laptop not attached to the internet.  I am a total failure at Roots Web and haven't updated it in a decade. I bought a newer version thinking that would inspire me. It didn't. 

So yes, I have a room of papers. Original documents are kept in acid free boxes I purchase from library supply vendor Gaylord. 

How do I share information or do I share information.  

Oh, lots of ways. First, I send portraits and pictures to Walgreens and print 4x6 copies which I attach to my china cabinets. I test the little grandchildren on who is who.  They are pretty good at it. 

Several years ago I made picture books from Shutterfly for all the grandkids. The first page has photos of them, then the next two pages are parents, then grandparents, etc. It goes back maybe 4 -5 generations.  I did do captions, especially with military information which the boys are particularly interested in.

I created a private facebook group for each side of my family where I share information, finds and photos.  I try to encourage other relatives to share too but it is mostly me. All my children are members of the groups, too. 

I have done a little research on my husband's tree which is challenging because he was born in another state and most of his grandparents and great-grandparents are first generation. Once I found a family picture on Facebook from his mother's side showing her father and his eight siblings as young adults. I thought this was so amazing that I made copies for all his siblings and his mother. The siblings loved it (except one) and his mother called me and informed me that this is NOT my family and I have no right to have this photo (that I found on Facebook). So that is one experience. 

On my mom's side there is a line that I had no information. I started with her grandfather's name, a family legend that wasn't true and all records in a small rural community in another state and not available on line.  I contacted a relative through DNA and we compared what we could find. Now move forward to a genealogy conference last spring and a course I took on using the new feature on Family Search that reads text of old court documents.  

My great grandmother was Lavantia and I wasn't even sure of her maiden name. Census records said she was born in New York or New Jersey.  I put in her first name and married last name and up popped about 12 pages.  

It was a lawsuit brought in the 1850's by Lavantia's mother Catherine which listed her husband's name AND all seven of her children listed with their spouses first and last names.  This was completely new information to my family. I printed all the papers because they are scans of handwritten pages from the 1850's and difficult to read. I got into messages on Ancestry and offered to mail copies to relatives I had identified who were THRILLED.  No one had figured out how to get past these walls and here it was! 

I also commented on a facebook post in my town which put me in touch with someone whose great grandmother was my great grandmother's sister.  And she was the keeper of the family photos! She came to my house one day and let me scan a rubbermaid tube of papers and photos. We later located the great granddaughter of one of their brothers and all met for coffee and discussion.  

I love to share resources and finds especially in person! 

The last question is where all this stuff will go. 

I sincerely doubt any of my five children will want to take custody of all the paperwork. Or even the original photos.  I am hoping to eventually convince one of my grandchildren to take over.  We do have a very active local genealogy chapter who would house some original items in their research library along with a self published book.  I would just need to put that together. In my spare time.