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Blog Entries: 1 to 10 of 14
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Apply What You Learn
I typically try to start these entries with a question to ponder. Here it is for today: How are you applying the learning that you are doing? That learning could be from these blog entries (I hope you are learning from them!). That learning could be from the classes that you take from HQRL or other places. That learning could be from the librarians that you find at HQRL or elsewhere. It could be from your genealogy friends, books, articles, or it could be from your own experiences as you research. All of those are places where you can learn. The question is, when you experience those learning situations, do you apply what you learned in them?
From my own learning in the last class on Kentucky I tried MyHeritage again as it was one of the resources that Debra Dudek discussed. Now I have used it before but this time I followed her suggestion for looking at newspapers and the boundary differences as Kentucky separated from the Virginia Territory. I found an article from 1897 that was under the heading “Genealogical and Historical.” It was about a gentleman who died when thrown from a horse. (As a side note, this was not the only article on the page about someone being thrown from a horse. No wonder cars soon took off.) But I am bird walking ,,,,, the man was my 5x Great grandfather. It mentions his name and his sons including one who I have always seen with the nickname “Choctaw” and it mentions that in the article. I still have some research to do but it is the first time I have seen them linked in the same article from an old newspaper. I am not sure why it came up in this edition because he died long before this, but it did.
I have also learned over the years the advantage of contacting some of the resources I have found. I contacted a member of the Ostrander Society that I found when looking for on my paternal side. They just sent me the death certificate of my great grandfather listing his parents and both his and his parents marriage records. Cool, huh?! I contacted a historical museum and I was sent my great-great grandfather’s civil war records. Sometimes you just have to take the step and ask the questions. Maybe they will turn up nothing…..but maybe they will be a cool find.
April 17th we will learn about finding indirect evidence, which might be my story about “Choctaw.” In May we will learn about how Google can be effectively used in our research and how to find and use Real Estate Deeds. We will continue to have some great speakers so go to the website and get signed up or call HQRL or go into HQRL and sign-up to continue your learning.
Heidi Geise, education@hqrl.com
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Kentucky Ancestors and more
Here is today’s question. You are researching your family and come across information maybe in a census report giving you the name of a state from which your family was in previously. Maybe that state was Kentucky? What do you do next?
Remember in an earlier blog entry we talked about why you are doing this work. If you are just looking for lineage, perhaps you look at the big cites and try to find death, marriage, birth records that could give you the basic information. But what if you want more or what if you can’t find the basics?
That is where our April classes might come in handy. The class yesterday is a key to unlocking the information you might be looking for in Kentucky. I will say this again, even if you aren’t looking for information about Kentucky, knowing what one state provides can help lead you in the right direction in any state in which you might be searching. Maybe not always, but generally.
What did we take away from Debra Dudek’s class? Wow! My head is full of places to look. Debra filled us with information and unique places to research, some familiar but interesting places within them. Check out Fold 3 at HQRL for newspapers not just military records. I can’t begin to cover everything she shared with us. Check out her website at http://www.debradudek.com.
All these individual state and country classes also tell us that history is an important part of the search. Knowing who tended to settle in the areas, why and when can give us a hint into what our family might have been doing there. Were there conflicts in the area that your people might have been a part of or did they leave to avoid the conflicts, and what side were they on. That information can connect you to the correct sites to find more information.
History is not just about battles, but it could be the land boundaries. For example: before 1776 Kentucky records might be found in Virginia state government records as it was part of the Virginia Territory. And do you know the migration routes your family might have taken to get into and out of Kentucky? By land or by water? History could be about the weather. My grandmother had to leave Colorado because of her asthma and the arid conditions in her location. Be open to thinking about all sorts of reasons people might have moved into an area or out of an area. What did they do for a living? Did they move for jobs.
The 2nd class in April is about Indirect Evidence. If you are challenged in your search, perhaps looking at brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles, neighbors, cultural groups in the last know vicinity or hint of a location might be the ticket. Check out the class on April 17th.
Heidi Geise, education@hqrl.com
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King's Daughters and More
Last week’s entry was a long one so lets get right to it today. Have you found any of those French-Canadian men and women in your tree yet? I didn’t find any of Les Filles Du Roi but thank you, Lisa (our speaker) for connecting me to France and for giving me a bit of a kick start into researching these challenging branches. Any of you have relatives from Valence, Dauphin, France in late 1600s? I have a lot of research to do!
I also checked out her YouTube channel, @HaveRootsWillTravel where there are lots of videos to watch and fascinating information. Lisa really gives us the history of the locations that the men and women came from and moved to. She explains their personal stories as she has found them through her research. She also helps to explain the role that each of the groups and/or individuals played in the history of the area. She is a great storyteller and historian as well as genealogist. Check out these videos.
One of my take-aways is to listen to how she tells the stories. What can I learn from them that I could apply to my own family history stories? This is an important question I believe. One of the ways we can connect with younger family members or get other members interested is through the stories that we tell. Don’t underestimate the power of your own stories as they unfold through your research. Remember, this Blog started with the message from another speaker, DearMyrtle, who said that one of the keys to being an effective Genealogist / Family Historian was to share what you have learned!
With that said, April takes us to 2 new topics: Finding our Bluegrass Roots and Indirect Evidence. Whether you have Kentucky connections or not, learning from these speakers is always eye-opening as we pick up tips from how they research regardless of the location. Indirect evidence, I’ll bet we can all learn from that one. Any brick walls in your tree that you want to break through?
Go to hqrl.com and get signed up for classes or go into the library and see what you can find and then sign up for classes or call the library. Whatever method you choose, let’s see you at the next class.
Heidi Geise, education@hqrl.com
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Beginning Tips & King's Daughters Class
So, a full agenda on today’s entry. Let’s start with the beginner tips and I am throwing 2 at you today. The first one is that after you have started to look at those big sites, your favorites and some new ones, you need to do a little gap analysis. We need to do this continuously whether beginners or not. What do I know? What do I need to or want to know? Where have I looked? Where else could I look? The answers to these questions are not only in your own research and stories but are where the classes, like those offered at HQRL, come into play.
Here is an example. I have a 3 times great grandmother that on a census report for her daughter says that she came from Canada (French side). This would have been the early 1800’s. So that is what I know? I have no other information except the name of her spouse and that he was English. Where have I looked? Where else could I look? What I know is that March 20, 2025, HQRL offered a class, King’s Daughters that focused on finding French-Canadian ancestors. Will I get some ideas?
The 2nd tip goes with the previous one in my head. The tip is to have a PLAN. I know this one is a challenge because everyone wants to just jump in and start looking for stuff. How many times have we gone to the computer or to the library and started looking with this plan: “Today I will add every hint I can find on my entire family.” How well did that work? Did you stay focused and find what you needed or get sidetracked looking for “shiny items?”
Keep your gap analysis in mind and set a more focused plan. “I am going to follow the trail backwards to look for my 2 times great grandmother in census records. I will also look at her siblings for information about their mother. I will look at information on my 3 times great grandmother near the birth of her daughter that might indicate her movements forward and backwards.” Now, this may not be perfect but at least it is more focused and gives me more chances to find what I am looking for. Instead of going all over the place, if I find hints I can keep a log nearby with places that I might look at later so that I don’t lose that information. Whew! Remember we said, “Genealogy is not easy!”
Now what about those French-Canadian women (and men)? Wow, what a great class we had. I will add more about it in next week’s entry but let me say that now I have ideas as to what to look for and what the history was of the brave women and men that helped build Quebec and the surrounding areas and migrated into the US. Check out the resources at HQRL itself: French-Canadian Sources, The French-Canadian Heritage in New England, French-Canadian Roots, French Dictionary, and French-Canadian At a Glance. Also, check out http://www.youtube.com/c/HaveRootsWillTravel, one of the resources from our speaker, Lisa Elvin-Staltari. She also has the following sites: www.haverootswilltravel,com and Have Roots Will Travel Podcast.
What solutions can you find in Kentucky? Check out the class on April 3rd. And what happens if you can’t find the vital records? Check out the class on April 17th about finding indirect evidence. Sorry, this got long….so much information. GO TO HQRL for more.
Happy Hunting!
Heidi Geise, education@hqrl.com
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Beginning Tip #4
Here we are again. Just to re-cap, we have discovered why we are doing the family history work, general starting organization, and where we should start. Now we need to research, but where?
If you have done any research, you probably have a couple of go-to sites. Places that you are familiar with like genealogy.com or familysearch.com. Remember that if you actually go into the HQRL library, you can use ancestry.com library edition for free and that if you are a member, myheritage.com library education is available from your own home for free.
The most important thing, as we said before, is based on your “current level of awareness” what sites are you comfortable enough with to go to every time you sit down to research. Go to those sites and play around with what you are familiar with but also find some new areas to play around in. Have you used the catalog in either site? Have you used Family Search Wiki. All great places to find new information and perhaps break through a brick wall. Ancestry also has a new feature, Ancestry Network that will help you connect your FAN Club.
Oh wait! Do you know what that is? FAN Club is Family – Associates – Neighbors. Sometimes when we can’t find the vitals on say a great-grandparent, we might notice in the census sheets that we keep seeing the same names. That is because people sometimes moved in groups (family, friends from the same homeland, church members, etc.) – FAN Club. This is really just to point out that even our big sites change and going to new places in them helps us learn more and connect with more people.
Besides going to new areas of our familiar sites, try 1 new site a month. Maybe it is a big site like Findmypast or linkpendium (google them for details) or maybe it is a library or history society or genealogy society in an area your are reaching. Maybe it is NARA, the National Archive. Take an hour to just look around in the site to see what they have to offer before you plug in a name and try to find a long-lost ancestor. Embrace to joy of research.
You know, family history research is not easy and it is not fast. Our family history didn’t happen overnight, and it won’t unfold overnight. It is a big puzzle with something always waiting to be found. Enjoy the journey.
Another place to start is to take classes, hopefully at HQRL but online, some even free. Find what works for you. Our next ones are about French-Canadians, Kentucky and another about using indirect evidence (what happens when you can’t find a specific vital record). To me it is the learning and the stories that we discover like finding that a great-grandparent worked for the WT Tubing Company and what that company did. How did I find it? Playing around on a site and finding an old city directory.
Be a learner and Enjoy!
Heidi Geise, Education Coordinator (education@hqrl.com)
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Beginning #3: Where Do I Start?
As I have done more family history and taken our HQRL classes and those offered other places, one of my take aways is to find sites that you like with speakers that you appreciate. YouTube has all sorts of short videos by great presenters. Google genealogy and see what you find and mess around on the big sites like Ancestory.com, MyHeritage.com, and FamilySearch.com. There is an amazing amount of information on these sites and others that suggest how to go about finding the information you need and the stuff you didn’t know you needed until you found it! They can help you get started. Don't forget RootsTech happening right now!
So where do you start? I found a list of steps on several of the above sites and one thing I noticed that they had in common……Don’t look at other people’s trees until you have some facts under your belt. What does that mean? Have you talked to your family members to see what they know? Do you know the names, dates, and locations of parents and grandparents? Are there stories that you have heard passed through the family? Have you checked any of them out? Have you checked out the box in the attic or basement (or in my case the garage)?
YOU START WITH WHAT YOU KNOW! Who do you know the most about? YOURSELF! Find your favorite Family Group Sheet and/or a 5 or 6 generation pedigree chart, you can check into HQRL and they have some available. Fill in the facts that you know starting with yourself. Next go back to your parents and do the same and then your grandparents.
Genealogy is always done backwards. Start with the most recent and go back into time. This makes perfect sense if you think about it. We know more about, for example, our grandparent’s lives at the end of them than we did at the beginning. By working this way, you can begin to see trends and verify information. Do names of siblings match from one generation to the next where appropriate and the same with children. Are spouses, parents, dates and locations making sense?
Before you start digging around in those enormous databases, have you interviewed the family? I know I said that before, right? What do you want to know? Remember that earlier post about why and what? Do you want to know where that family recipe came from that gets served every holiday? I heard a story once; Dad went to his wife and asked why she cut the ends off the ham before cooking. Mom said “because my mom did.” He asked grandma, “why do you cut the ends off the ham?” Her answer. “Because my mom did.” So, you guessed it, “Great grandma, why do you cut the ends off the ham before cooking?” Great grandma looked at him like he was silly, “Because my oven is too short!” Ask the people that were there what life was like, where did you live, why did you move, etc. Do realize that there may be some ham stories in the mix. People will remember what they can or in some cases want to remember or want to tell you, but you will have a start and you can check things out from there.
Another starting point is to look around the house, grandma’s attic, etc for photos and documents. You may have all sorts of information right under your nose in the family Bible, shoebox of photos and newspaper clippings, yearbooks, etc. Again, check out HQRL. They have a list of places to search for those “in your home treasures.” Ask for the Beginners Packet.
This is enough for now. You need time to do the work and sign up for classes:
• March 20 – French Canadians
• April 3 – Kentucky
• April 17 – Indirect Evidence
• May 1 – Google Your Way to Genealogical Gems
Happy Hunting!
Heidi Geise – education@hqrl.com
HQRL Education Coordinator
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Beginners: Where Do You Store Your Tree?
So, you have your why and how you are starting to organize. We stopped last week just before we got to the Trees or Pedigree Charts so let’s start there.
There are 2 main categories of documenting your family tree, with paper and pencil or digitally. You can break the online option into stand-a-lone trees meaning they are on your computer only or trees that are on a website. I am not going to get into all the details of these as there are other, much more qualified than I am to lay out all the options. Look up Family Tree Magazine that compares the options every year. Check out RootsTech each year put on by Family Search at the beginning of March and you will surely find comparisons. (By the way, RootsTech 2025 starts March 6th and is free for online registration. Check it out. Hundreds of presentations.)
This is what I will say, there are products like Roots Magic and Family Tree Maker and others that allow you to purchase the program and then input your data into it. No one else can see it unless you share it with them and you can create timelines, notes, etc fairly easily. With Ancestry,com you have to subscribe and then you can input your data, others can see it and may or may not be able to use it depending on your level of privacy. Family Search is always free and is really one very large tree for the world. Others can change your tree as it is there’s as well. To me some of the pros and cons are clear, do you mind other’s seeing your work and/or manipulating your tree?
Many people chose several options, including myself. I use Family Search for searching and finding new information and resources. As I have gotten more experienced I use other people’s work and sources for ideas and then verify them if they seem to fit my family. I use RootsMagic, but not as much as I could to document my notes, details. But really, I am a paper pencil person. I want to see that chart with all the markings and information that I have searched and then put the notes in my binders. This is just my way and remember, “my current level of awareness,” may change my thinking and who knows what my next organizational strategy will be.
The key to all of this is to know what is possible, know yourself and how you function best, and choose one while being open to new ideas and strategies.
Between now and next time, make some choices and get started. Google Pedigree Charts, Family Group Sheets (You will find some on ancestry.com, family search, NARA, lots of locations for free. Better yet, go into HQRL and see what they have available. The librarians would love to help you get started.
Next time we will look at where to start your research if you have not started already. AND DON"T FORGET TO SIGN-UP FOR CLASSES.
We have some great ones coming up:
- March 20 - Filles Du Roi - King's Daughters - French Canadian Ancestry
- April 3 - Kentucky
- April 17 - Indirect Evidence
AND SO MANY MORE!
Happy Hunting!
Heidi Geise
HQRL Education Coordinator
education@hqrl.com
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Beginning Genealogy - Organizing
Here we are again. Did you think about the questions from last week? Are you doing genealogy or family history? My experience has been that most people just use the term genealogy to mean all of it. As long as you know what you are trying to do…that is the most important thing.
Now, did you find your “why?” Maybe it is to tell the story that someone wants to be told or maybe it is to finally answer some of those truths about our family stories. Again, it is your journey and your story. I just suggest that your have your “why” clearly in front of you.
So, what is next? From the beginning we need a plan for how we are going to organize all of our information, artifacts, documents, etc. A common theme you will hear in my tips is, “find your own way.” With that said, it helps to have some options rather than just randomly creating files and piles and boxes of “stuff.” In today’s world it could mean organizing in files digitally on your computer, on flash drives or in the cloud. It could be in notebooks and files in a cabinet, or on pedigree charts or family trees that are paper and pencil or on the computer.
When I taught high school classes, we talked about making choices/decisions based on our “current level of awareness.” That just means in this case that we make choices about how we want to organize based on the options we are aware of, what options we know how to do and what we are reasonably comfortable with. If I don’t like computers, doing everything digitally may not be my “cup-of-tea” so to speak. However, as I learn more about how to use various tools and what methods are available, I may change my mind because my “current level of awareness” has now changed.
I used to keep everything in binders and folders based on my 4 grandparent surnames. They were and still are, color coded. I soon realized that printing all the documents, photos, etc was expensive and there might be another way. What did I do? I created binders and folders that were color coded on my computer. I currently keep notes in the physical binders and download documents that I use to the binders and folders on the computer always (almost) documenting where they came from (but that is a tip for later).
I think this is enough to think about for now. We haven’t gotten into online or paper and pencil pedigree charts or whether to build a stand-a-lone family tree just on your computer. Next time!
In the meantime, how are you currently organizing your genealogy? How do you keep everything clear in your head, and desk, so that you don’t repeat research, look at the same documents over and over because you forgot where you left off or what you found? How much space for storage do you have or want to use? What is your style?
Happy organizing!
Heidi Geise
HQRL Education Coordinator
education@hqrl.com
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Beginning Genealogy / Family History #1
As I venture into this new (for me) area of blogging, I want to get caught up and set up a routine. My goal is to post something on the Education Blog every Friday. So far it has been about past classes but I want to post for a few weeks some tips for beginnings or anyone wanting to continue to learn.
If you have taken any of my beginning classes, you know that I start with the difference between genealogy and family history and then we talk about “why do either.” Keeping it simple, genealogy is the line of descent – names, vital records – this person is the son of this person is the son of this person, etc. Family history is the story behind the facts. It is up to you which you do and part of that depends on the “why” of what you are doing.
Either one can be challenging, neither is easy. There are roadblocks, facts that are hard to find or hard to verify. Without knowing why you are doing it, it would be easy to say, “too hard, I quit.” I was speaking to my sister one day and she told me that our mother, who was quite shy, wanted her story to be told. There was my why. I wanted to know the history of our family, but I wanted to tell the story as a tribute to my mother. It is one thing to research for me, but one must not disappoint one’s mother!
Ask yourself this question, “If you had 5 minutes to speak with any ancestor, who would it be and what would you want to know?” These questions could be the starting point for a family interview or they could be the research plan for your work. Maybe they will lead you to the answer to why you are doing this work.
So, let’s leave it at this for now. Think this week about what your work is. Are you following a line of names and dates or are you telling the story behind where your family came from, what was going on around them, why did they move, what were their lives like? Why do you want to do either? What will keep you going when the going gets tough?
Heidi Geise
HQRL Education Coordinator
education@hqrl.com
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Mapping Your Migrating Ancestors
I have found that since taking on the Education Coordinators role at HQRL, that there are some amazing people out there sharing their knowledge about doing family history. They are incredibly helpful and giving of their time and vast knowledge and those of us taking their classes and learning from them are very fortunate. Tina Beaird has spoken to our group several times because she is one of those people. If you looking for classes to take on any genealogical website and her name comes up as a presenter, TAKE THE CLASS!
This class on Mapping Your Migrating Ancestors didn't disappoint. Tina pointed out for example the types of records to look for that might help you find where those ancesots moved from and to. She reminded us to look places we might not have expected such as wills and tax assessment. To look in state, federal and university archives and of course the many different kinds of maps available.
One suggestion was to always consider the time period you are looking at. An example of the importance of this tip is that many towns started up along railroad lines. When the railroad line disappeared, so may to have the town. I am curious to try using Google Maps to create a map that pins on it the different locations a family may have traveled / lived.This is something I didn't know you could do.
My biggest take away / reminder from this class was not only the many, many resources available to find this information but also how the different resources and maps help to complete the story of our families. It is not only that they went from point a to point b but why. What was the travel like for them when they were traveling? Who might have been living near them that might be future family or that might have been left behind when they moved.
Thank you Tina for another great class. Now it is up to each of us to use what you have taught us. Education isn't just listening......it is the application of what we have heard.
Heidi |
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