GRIP Day 4: So Many Sources, So Little Time

Today (Thursday) John said that genealogists have 3 jobs:

1. To identify sources
2. To find the information about your family in those sources
3. Write up our findings (they are of no use in a notebook)

He made sure to give a multitude of sources for us to look for.  Whether church records from the seventeenth century, compilations, maps or online databases, I now have dozens of items to look for while looking for my ancestors across the pond.

We began the day looking at maps and gazetteers.  In German research, the Meyers Orts- und Verkehrs-Lexikon des Deutschen Reichs is the most important gazetteer in German research.  There is a “how to” book by Wendy K. Uncapher that is very useful.

Our second session was on sources of information in Germany.  Published sources from Germany are much more accessible than archives in Germany.  It is important to look for civil records (especially family registers for those from Württemberg), land records, and house books, among others.

After lunch we discussed how to find your ancestors in those published records.  Although there will always be transcription and translation errors, these are still great sources to use.  Make sure to check the US first, both the Family History Center and WorldCat, before heading to Germany to look for them.

Our last course was on finding German ancestors on the internet.  John said that the internet has revolutionized the way we go about researching.  One of the most important things to remember in searching is to use German key words as well as English.  You can also search through Google.de for more German language hits.

Our evening sessions began with a Q & A with the instructors.  My favorite line from the entire week was when Josh Taylor was discussing Who Do You Think You Are? and mentioned that he had told producers “I don’t do southern Indian princesses.”  An amusing line with an important point: every genealogist has a different area of expertise; one does not have to know everything.

Our second session was by the creator/director of the Photo Antiquities Museum in Pittsburg.  He went through the history of photography complete with examples that he passed around.  He was tremendously passionate about the subject, which made the presentation even better to watch.  I look forward to visiting his museum in the future.

Only 1 day left!

NGS 2012 Day 3, AM

It was hard to believe on Friday morning that the conference was half-way done.  I had learned so much already and some of the sessions I had been looking forward to the most were over the next two days.
I began day 3 with Printed Legends and Missing Footnotes: Dissecting 19th and 20th Century Compiled Genealogies by D. Joshua Taylor.  Most genealogists come across a compiled genealogy which is unsourced.  Surprisingly, these are not always correct  It is important to verify as much of the information as possible.  Additionally, remember that just because a like does not have a + next to it does not mean the line ends, they just did not have information on them, something I have found in my Perrine research.  My favorite tip from this lecture was to look for reviews of the book in its contemporary journals.  I had never thought of this.  This is a great lecture for purchase if you are wondering what to do with compiled genealogies about your family,
My second session was on Facial Recognition Software: Application for Genealogists? with Greg Kipper.  Kipper began by debunking what he called the “CSI effect.”  Despite what we see on TV, the technology is not currently there to identify people consistently with this software.  In the future, we can hope for improved technology that will be able to compare faces and make matches, which would be tremendously useful for unidentified family photos.
My last session of the morning was Documentation: The What, Why, and Where by Tom Jones.  I really liked how Dr. Jones made documentation so basic.  We need to have sources that allow yourself and others to find the information again.  Once you have the basics down, you can use books such as Evidence Explained (aff) to get into further detail.  This lecture would be especially useful to those new in genealogy, in properly sourcing your genealogy, or who get overwhelmed by Evidence Explained.
For the lunch break, my husband and I went to the Istanbul Café, which serrves wonderful Turkish food.  I highly recommend the cold appetizer sampler and any of the doner kebab meals.  From here we went to the Ohio Book Store which has a large genealogy, local history and US history section.  If you have local ancestry here, be sure to check out the balcony at this used book store.

Wordless Wednesday: Mark Twain's Study

This is the study Samuel Clemens, aka Mark Twain, wrote in while in Emira, NY.  Currently, it is on the campus of Elmira College, but it used to be at his sister-in-laws home called Quarry Farm.  I have to admit it is not what I imagined, basically a gazebo with windows.  For more information, visit the Elmira College website.

(Nearly) Worldess Wednesday - Sulmona, Italy - Casillo

The young woman in my great-great aunt Amelia Casillo Berni.  The child is her son Frank.  Who are the other two people?  We have no idea.  I also have not yet researched the area of Sulmona yet.  I have ordered the FHC film for my ggg grandparents marriage (hopefully) and it may give Carolina Izzo's hometown, which may help clear up this photo.  If anyone knows Italian, can you translate what this card says?  The Google translation was jibberish:-(

Wordless Wednesday - Jacob Gress

Photograph in possession of my great aunt Lois (It would be her grandfather, my great-great grandfather).  I scanned during my trip to Florida last spring.

Wordless Wednesday - Ralph, Carrie (Gress) and Ethelyn Williams

Ralph, Carolyn M. (Gress) Williams and their daughter Ethelyn. Carrie was born approximately 1871, so I would guess this picture was taken around 1900. I like the glasses on Carrie (hopefully footnoteMaven will, too:-)) and her dress.

Carrie is my great-great grandfather's younger sister. This photograph is in possession of my Aunt Lois and was scanned during my recent trip to Florida.

Wordless Wednesday - Sophia Gresz/Gress

This is a tin-type photo of my ggg-grandmother Sophia (unsure of maiden name) Gresz/Gress. Her granddaughter (my great-grandmother), Vera, looks like her, as does Vera's daughter (my grandmother) and me. It was amazing to see this photo to see how far back it goes. I'll do a photo spread here on that soon. Photo courtesy of my great-aunt Lois.

Wodless Wednesday: New York, in lots of miles

Here is a picture my grandfather took while in the airforce (I believe it's in Korea) and a picture of me in South Africa under the same type of sign.

Wordless Wednesday - Marcantonio Casillo (Casell)

Marcantonio Casillo (Marco Antonio Casell) - 1868- 1937

My great-great-grandfather

Wordless Wednesday - Cooper

 

This photo is a cooper (barrel-maker) from the Octoberfest Museum in Munich, taken by me January 2009.  I have two ancestors who were coopers by trade.

The wild tricycle ride

The word prompt for the 11th Edition of Smile For The Camera is brothers & sisters. Were they battling brothers, shy little sisters, or was it brother & sister against the world? Our ancestors often had only their siblings for company. Were they best friends or not? Show us that picture that you found with your family photographs or in your collection that shows your rendition of brothers & sisters. Bring them to the carnival and share.

My entry for this Smile for the Camera is not of an ancestor, but of my sister and I.  It is one of my favorite photos of us.  It is dated 1985, which makes me about 4 and my sister about 2.  When we were little our house had a basement and I would pull her round and round on her wagon which was attached to my tricycle.  Christina, my sister, loves telling people about this. According to her, she would sometimes tip over (my mother confirms this) and it was quite tramatic.  Her big question though, is who is stupider, my pulling her all around or her for always getting back in? 

For my 18th birthday, Chris gave me a collage of pictures of the two of us, which surrounded the following poem she had found (author unknown to me):

My sister shares a part of my that no one else shall ever see.

And when the days and miles divide us...

the bond we have shall live inside us.

Together sharing dreams, love and laughter~

My sister for always, my friend... forever after.

Wordless Wednesday - Kingston, Ontario

Photograph taken by me, summer 2008, in Kingston, Ontario.

Wordless Wednesday - William H. Whitehead

My great-grandfather William Herbert Whitehead with his cousin Fred Whitehead's wife Irene.  Fred and Irene raced greyhounds.  This photograph is courtesy of my grandmother.

Bidding on other people's relatives

I went to my first auction on Sunday and was dismayed to see that they were selling photographs and postcards from some one's estate.  The photo's were from the early 1900's and not labeled.  The postcards were from the mid-1900's and all had letters written on the back.

I had wanted to bid on them, but with a small apartment and a growing set of my own genealogical work, I had no where to put them.  It was very sad to me to see these photographs going to people who probably were going to throw them out and just wanted the frames or old photo books.  I just kept thinking about who these people were, what their lives were like and what a shame it was that no family members either existed or wanted them any longer.

My grandmother has always had a problem with seeing people sell photos in frames at garage sales and forbid my family to do so.  She said it was tacky and would prefer we just throw out the photos and sell the frames, if we did not want to keep them.  She also knew people who would buy the old photos in frames and hang them on the wall, telling people it was their ancestor.  Of course, no one would ever debate the statement, but you have to feel bad for the person who decided to pursue their ancestry in this family.