Genealogy: Genealogy 2.0

OK, I put my Celebrity Collage under my blog entries. It is just sooo wrong. I had to try three different pictures to find a group that wasn't too weird. One I had with glasses I was matched with almost all men. Really wrong. Any way it's there.

I have downloaded the free part of MyHeritage on my laptop and have been making some entries from my father's side of the family. It has been interesting and challenging to try to trace relatives. I'm not sure it will continue much past the great-great grandparents I have found in the census info. It has been interesting asking my father about some of it. I have heard about some family stories that I wasn't aware of before.

About Footnote, I'm not sure I get the point of the Member Discoveries. That said, I stumbled upon an entry by my aunt about her husband that included biographical information. Some of it I had found some time ago on a military site. Just browsing, some of the original documents look interesting. I saw some of the Apollo program pictures that were great. But this just doesn't seem like a site I would spend a lot of time on. Maybe if I were more of a history buff it would interest me more.

Genealogy: Database Researching

I've been doing some searching on my father's side of the family. I have gotten bits of information from him on family names, but trying to find them in Ancestry.com is a challenge. Well, part of the problem is my grandmother's name is spelled three different ways on the census reports. When I found her mother, I was able to track my grandmother.
The USGenWeb site has links to more current pictures of the cemetery where a lot of my family is buried. Found my grandmother's and her sister's, mother's and father's markers.

Genealogy: Detective Work

I tried to listen to some of the Tejano Voices, but they wouldn't play on the pc I was using. I'm going to try some of the JSC programs when I get a chance. I'm more interested in space anyway.

I've never really tried to do an oral history as such. Years ago, we tried to get my grandmother to talk about her past and tape record some of the stories. I've seen the tapes recently. I guess I need to try and find them and see if they can be made digital for the family to have if they want them. Some of her stories were of traveling to Texas (I think) in a covered wagon. The only other people that could remember some of the stories are my father and aunt. My father did a video around his home town on one visit. Again I need to find that tape and see if I can get it in a digital format.

I'm using Findagrave to find the cemetery where a lot of my father's family is buried and where we will go. It's the Coop Prairie Cemetery in Mansfield, Scott County, Arkansas. There is a picture saying Coop Prairie was founded in 1849, but in the records I can only find a death date of 1864 as the earliest burial. There are a number of records that don't have dates listed and they may be too worn to find a date. The burial for Elizabeth MaryAnn Shannon Hukill gives her death date as Feb. 19, 1864. According to the website, as the stone is very hard to read online, it says Elizabeth M, Wife of Jas. S. Hukill, born 1840.

I think there may be an art to taking pictures of gravestones. I lot of the ones on this site are hard to read. They are taken from above and the text isn't clear.

Genealogy: Genealogy Genesis

I haven't really been interested in genealogy. I have an aunt on my mother's side who has with her son, done extensive research and published a book on the history of that side of the family. No one on my father's side has done as much, though I believe there has been some research done by a cousin.

I have wanted to get some family stories from my father about his mother, but like many things, I haven't gotten around to it yet.

If I were to start, I would need to figure out what system to use, maybe check with my aunt on how she organized her research.

Start talking with my father about his family.

We also have a family Bible that goes back several generations that would also be a starting point.

The suggestions for software both require downloads. I might try one on my laptop just to see how it works.

Crafts & Hobbies: Knitting and Crocheting

Back when I was in college and when I first started working I did quite a bit of crocheting. I crocheted several afgans, both granny squares and a ripple effect. I also made a couple of shawls. A few years ago I tried a couple of hats for someone with cancer who had lost her hair. They were OK, but I was out of practice. Since then, I haven't done much. I have tried knitting in the past, but I have problems with it. My stitches aren't regular and I can never get the size right.

I kind of like some of the chemo hats and since Head Huggers has crocheted ones, that would be something I could do.

We don't have a knitting/crocheting group. To start a group, we would have to put out a call to see if anyone was interested. Those books go out some, but I think we have more quilters in our area.