Roots and Stones: 52 weeks

Showing posts with label 52 weeks. Show all posts

Saturday, December 25

52 Weeks to Better Genealogy : Week 12 Challenge : Archives & Libraries

Amy Coffin of the We Tree blog (and hosted by GeneaBloggers) presents "52 Weeks To Better Genealogy", a series of weekly genealogy prompts / suggestions / exercises that (hopefully) will help anyone to become a better researcher.

The challenge for week 12:

LAC, Ottawa

Check out the web sites for the Society of American Archivists, ARMA International, and the American Library Association. Genealogists can benefit from the educational opportunities and publications of other information-based organizations. You may not be an archivist, records manager or librarian, but you share the same interests. Look at the events these associations hold. Find the books they publish and see if you can request them through your library via Inter-Library Loan. You may also want to check out your state’s (or country’s) library association. If you’re a genealogy blogger, write about your impressions of one or more of these organizations.

I'll post my results later this week...

Please Note: This challenge was originally published the week of 20 March 2010. I'm continuing the series on my own after a lengthy (cough, cough) break from genealogy...

52 Weeks to Better Genealogy : Week 11 Results

Amy Coffin of the We Tree blog (and hosted by Geneabloggers) presents "52 Weeks To Better Genealogy", a series of weekly genealogy prompts / suggestions / exercises that (hopefully) will help anyone to become a better researcher.

The challenge for week 11:

Read the back posts from the Transitional Genealogists Forum. This is a message board for genealogists who are taking the steps needed to become professional genealogists. Even if you aren’t interested in that goal, you will benefit from the questions and answers provided on this excellent discussion list. If you have a genealogy blog, write about a question or subject from this board that was helpful for you.

I found several things of interest, including...

The thread for [TGF] Source Citation Placement from 4 February 2008 for the placement (and discrepencies) of sources within a formal research report. Of interest, especially if I ever get my butt in gear and write personal research reports, as I would like to (eventually) do...

The thread for Privacy Laws - Canada from 2 August 2008 is something I am sadly lacking in and need to become more aware of...

The post of Organizing and "Publishing" Personal Research (by Connie Sheets) from 8 March 2009 made me think about what I'm doing, how I'm going about it, and where I want my research to go (where my ancestors went is another issue! ;)

The thread for How Do You Track Time on Projects? 26 June 2009 : Since time (whether blogging, researching, or just being "genealogically nosy" (i.e. surfing), tends to drift away from me, I thought this conversation might be of some help...

The thread for Tips for citations in Word 13 August 2009 : Helpful, again, if I ever get to my plan of personal research reports...

The threads for personal research report or status update from 30 August 2009 and Organization of Client Reports from 6 December 2009 : I especially found the response from Elizabeth Shown Mills quite helpful in regarding a format for personal research reports (which I would eventually like to do for my own research...).

The thread for What to call a progenitor whose first name is unknown from 6 January 2010 : I found this conversation interesting since we all have "unknown's", whether progenitor's or not (even though the question itself was asked in conjection with a client research report).

The thread for Henrietta Lacks - example of an interesting research project from 1 February 2010 : This one jumped out at me solely because I have the book that came out of this research - waiting on my TBR shelf! :)

...as well as the numerous threads on various citation formats and discussions on BCG Standards and "Evidence Explained"! Even though I have no (current - I've thought about it though!) plans to "become" professional/certified (though informal "self-education" will always continue), I plan to subscribe to the list regardless. It's quite a bundle of information!

Please Note: This challenge was originally published the week of 13 March 2010. I'm continuing the series on my own after a lengthy (cough, cough) break from genealogy...

Sunday, December 19

Research Diary, no. 5

My Research Diary:
Part to-do list...
Part dear diary...
Part Nosy-Nellie...

Weekly events, plans (and a question or two) from my oh-so exciting genealogy (and sometimes non-genealogy) life...

"History is neither written nor made without love or hate."
- Theodor Mommsen (1817-1903)

~~~~~*~~~~~*~~~~~

What happened this week:

Blog housekeeping...

Changed my Blogger Profile picture to an actual "me" picture ;) and added the profile widget to the blog's sidebar.
I separated out two more lists from the main label gadget:: Locations (other than those covered in "Ontario Counties & Districts") and Cemeteries & Churches.
I've added 24 new-to-me blogs to my reading lists - see below (though I'm sure there will be more, as always!)
I started charting out a rough draft of a blog schedule - as per one of my goals for the new year...
More new followers! Who knew I'd have something interesting to say ;-) Hello to everyone (new and old) and thanks for reading! I think I've followed everyone in turn, but if I haven't please let me know!
I edited the About page and added a header pic [though it may change, something just isn't sitting right...]

Genealogy:

I finished the "52 Weeks to Better Genealogy" challenge for week 10 (Family Search Pilot) and posted the challenge for week 11 (Transitional Genealogists Forum)...
Regular features included Tombstone Tuesday (Oshawa Union), Wordless Wednesday (a second Valcartier postcard), Tabloid Thursday (1911 fashion), and a 2nd (and just for fun!) Blog Carol (with Bob and Doug McKenzie)...
My Brick Walls page is posted (though it's only bare bones at the moment...)
More housekeeping: began (or rather, continued...) indexing and properly labelling documents (currently on births); also still working on FGSs...

I'm currently reading Alison Gernsheim's classic Victorian and Edwardian Fashion: A Photographic Survey, Dover Publications, 1981 (originally published as Fashion and Reality (1840-1914) by Faber and Faber, 1963). And of course, all of my ILLO's have come in at the same time, so I'll be doing a lot of reading in the next 3 weeks...

New-to-me blogs:

Canadian genealogy blogs

What's coming up:

I was thinking of becoming a FamilySearch Indexer - does anyone else do this? What do you think?
Tombstone Tuesday and Tabloid Thursday make an appearance...
...and in the middle, Wordless Wednesday continues with my "mini-series" of Valcartier picture postcards.
My results for Week 10 (Transitional Genealogists Forum) of "52 Weeks to Better Genealogy" and a new challenge post for Week 12 (Archive & Library Sites).
Still mulling over ideas for Military Monday, as well as another personal regular feature inspired by The Wandering Genealogist's Ancestral Profiles... [I like schedules, can't you tell? ;-) ]

Barely a week after I posted my Research Plan, the newest CoG edition (due January 1, 2011) was announced - about genealogy plans! I would like to take part, and I'll probably expand (and add!) to my goals section...
Haven't started (and probably won't start until the holidays when I'm off work) working on my planned Resources page...

Weekly Question ('cuz I'm nosy! ;-)

How do you tag/label your blog posts (if you blog) and how do you (if you do) showcase them on the sidebar/bottom of your blog (list vs. cloud, number vs. not numbered, alphabetically vs. most popular, one long list vs. specialized lists, etc.)?

Whenever I find a new blog, one of first things I do (beside read the posts!) is to see how everything is set up - I'm always on the look-out for ideas! There's always something different, which is good!

Thanks for reading!
Jenn

Saturday, December 18

52 Weeks to Better Genealogy : Week 11 Challenge

I'll post my results later this week...

Please Note: This challenge was originally published the week of 13 March 2010. I'm continuing the series on my own after a lengthy (cough, cough) break from genealogy...

52 Weeks to Better Genealogy : Week 10 Results

Investigate Family Search Pilot, which is part of FamilySearch.org. This is a wonderful collection of records which literally grows every day. In the middle left of the page is a link that says “Browse our record collections.” Click it and pick a region. Search collections outside your research interest. Investigate the types of records collected all over the world and see how they differ from those with which you are familiar. If you are a genealogy blogger, pick a type of record from another country and share your observations about it.

Confession time: I've never really used the Family Search site. (Bad genealogist, I know ;-)

My excuses include having access to various other websites (LAC, Ancestry, automatedgenealogy, Canada GenWeb, etc.) as well as a close proximity to the Archives of Ontario in Toronto.

So before the change to the beta site, I decided to pick (somewhat randomly) two different records to poke around in:

Louisiana War of 1812 Pension Lists

This is was quite interesting as I've never had a chance to look at pension records - and for the War of 1812!

Louisiana, War of 1812 Pension Lists, Lists of Pensioners - Pensions to Veterans, 1878-1879 database, FamilySearch (http://familysearch.org/); accessed 18 December 2010.
Click to Enlarge

There are three record groups:

List of Pensioners - Pensions to Veterans, 1878-1879 (42 images)

Names of soldiers (and, more usually, their widows) are included along with the pension they received every quarter (6.75 or 7.00 for the first, second and third quarters, and 14.20 or 15.00 for the fourth quarter). Little snippets of extra information are sometimes also included under the "Attorney" column, including a representative's name or the notation "death"/"dead" (presumably when the pension would then cease or move to someone else).

List of Pensioners paid by State Auditor, 1876-1877 (52 images)

Includes names of soldiers (and/or their widows) and organized alphabetically by surname and then subsequently by quarter.

List of Pensioners under acts of 1873 and 1876 (55 images)

Includes names of soldiers (some widows and other dependants as well, but usually "Wid Solder's Name") and other interesting notations including "Dead", "Doubtful" or "No Doubt" (in regards to a claim?), "Ok" (they got paid?), a question mark, and "Fraud".

The helpful "About this collection" link to the FamilySearch wiki is also included.

New Brunswick Provincial Return of Deaths, 1815-1919

Canada, New Brunswick Provincial Return of Deaths 1815-1919 database from FamilySearch (http://www.familysearch.org/: accessed 18 December 2010).
Death of Mrs. John (Mary O'Callaghan) Mahoney, 1815, Campbelltown, New Brunswick, image no. 84.
Click to enlarge.

Having become quite used to the layout and formats (which has varied over the years) of Ontario Vital Registration, I was interested to see how another province handled their civil registrations. The first thing I noticed was that the form was quite static and even over the course of 40-plus years, remained virtually the same. Fields included:

County of registration
Name of deceased
When and where died
Sex and age
Occupation
Where born
Religious demonination
Cause of death
Duration of illness
Physician attending (if any)
Signature of party making return

The database itself is divided by years, beginning with a blanket category of "1815-1887" and then yearly from 1888 to 1919 (with no records listed for 1893). Though the initial group (1815-1887) gives an impression of quite early records, the majority are from the 1880s, with quite a few from the 1870s, and 1860s, a smattering of 1850s, and one (pictured above) from 1815 (a return completed many, many years after the fact, no doubt).

There is also the usual About this collection link to the FamilySearch wiki.

Please Note: This challenge was originally published the week of 6 March 2010. I'm continuing the series on my own after a lengthy (cough, cough) break from genealogy...

Sunday, December 12

Research Diary, No. 4

My Research Diary:
Part to-do list...
Part dear diary...
Part Nosy-Nellie...

Weekly events, plans (and a question or two) from my oh-so exciting genealogy (and sometimes non-genealogy) life...

"Dance like no one is watching. Sing like no one is listening. Love like you've never been hurt and live like it's heaven on Earth."
- Mark Twain (1835-1910)

~~~~~*~~~~~*~~~~~

What happened this week:

Blog housekeeping...

I separated some more labels from the main list: "Ontario Counties & Disticts" and "Memes & Themes" are now distinct label lists, along with "Surnames".
I moved some buttons to the bottom of the blog, including blogoversary (only 50 more days!), Geneabloggers, comments, and the moon phases. I was thinking of moving the Followers gadget down there as well, but I kept it in the sidebar as it breaks up the text...
I added an identification/copyright footer.
I added 48! new-to-me blogs to my reading lists - see below (though I'm sure there will be more!)
I gained (just a few! ;-) new followers - hello to everyone (new and old) and thanks for reading!
I added my name to the Geneabloggers Blog Listing - and I appeared in the December 4rd edition of New Genealogy Blogs. Thanks Thomas!

Genealogy:

Organization may (finally!) be coming! I've finally found the type of forms I want to use (actually, I ended up making the templates myself...) and have started to input data. Along with my Research Plan (see below), I think I'm finally on the road to organization...at least it feels that way!
I finished the "52 Weeks to Better Genealogy" challenge for week 8 (online maps) and week 9 (genealogy blogs) and posted the challenge for week 10 (Family Search Pilot)...
I bought a scanner! And it was on sale! Now I can start posting my gadzillion cemetery pics...
I created an overall Research Plan, including my "mission statement", my research focus, sources, an organizational plan, and objectives for the coming year. And since I'm nosy...do you have a general genealogy research plan (whether kept in your brain or jotted down on paper)? Or do you fly by the seat of your pants? ;-)
I posted my first "Tabloid Thursday" - a personal weekly meme designed to showcase everything newspaper: articles, social news, columns, and other little tidbits. This week it was...1910 BMDs and a "cheerful spinster" wanted
Other posts this week included my first Wordless Wednesday and my entry for footnoteMaven's Blog Caroling theme.

New-to-me blogs:

Canadian genealogy blogs

What's coming up:

I have two new pages I want to create: i.) a Resources page listing the cemetery transcriptions and books I've acquired, both for my personal memory and also for other researchers (look-ups and such); and ii.) a Brick Walls page, where I can (briefly) lay-out my major research hurdles.
My results for Week 10 (Family Search Pilot) of "52 Weeks to Better Genealogy" (for which I don't have very long with the brand-new site coming soon!) and a new challenge post for Week 11 (Transitional Genealogists Forum).
My first Tombstone Tuesday post! ;-)
I would also like to participate in Military Monday, but what I have in mind might take a bit of planning... so stay tuned for that! ;-)
For Wordless Wednesday I have a second Valcartier postcard and Tabloid Thursday brings the arrival of Paris fashion to a rough-and-tumble mining town...

My Question (among questions!):

Do you have an ancestor who served in the Great War (World War I)? My family (except for my step-great-grandfather, but mom's already "claimed" him...) is lacking in Great War soldiers, so I find myself "collecting" other people's ancestors... Or on the opposing side, was anyone in your family interred as an "enemy alien" during the Great War?

Thanks for reading!
Jenn

52 Weeks to Better Genealogy : Week 10 - the Challenge...

Thursday, December 9

52 Weeks to Better Genealogy : Week 9 - the results...

Pick five genealogy blogs and read them every day. Meeting new people and networking within the online genealogy community is a great way to expand your own research and experience. Reading the blogs of others will help you get to know others. Try to find some blogs that are out of your area of expertise. Lists of genealogy blogs can be found at Geneabloggers.com and Genealogue’s Genealogy Blog Finder. If you already subscribe to many genealogy blogs, find five new ones that are “outside the box,” perhaps in history or archives. If you have a genealogy blog, write about the blogs you discover and introduce others to them.

The results:

Since I am a (relative) newbie on the geneabloggers circuit, I have been exploring the listings of blogs on both Geneabloggers and the Genealogue, especially those with a Canadian bent (for obvious reasons) and adding to my blog feeder. Likewise with history blogs, especially those that deal with either Canadian or World War I subjects. But outside my comfort zone? This took some searching...

And this is what I've come up with:

Swedish Genealogy @ Of Trolls and Lemons

My step-great-grandfather was supposedly Swedish, but with a name like Frank Johnson, it's going to take some fancy research two-step to track him down! In the meantime, I'll start by reading about Swedish (along with Norwegian and Italian!) genealogy, of which I am completely in the dark.

Podcasts @ The Genealogy Guys Podcast

Isn't it sooo cute! ;-)
(And please ignore the cat food in the bottom right corner...)

At this years' staff Christmas party, I was the lucky winner of an iPod Nano! While I have an MP3 player (and will probably keep that for music as well as the handy built-in recorder), this new piece of technology (and thus the exploration of the Apple iStore) led me straight to podcasts and (of course) genealogy podcasts in particular.

I had never paid much attention to podcasts (bad genealogist!), but now I'm listening to the back issues? (shows?) of The Genealogy Guys and while there is a lot of useful information, I also find myself tuning out during the American-specific material (as well as the dated stuff - I've just started 2006).

Australian History @ Yarra Plenty Library Local History Blog

I know zip about Australian history, so when I stumbled upon this library's local history blog, based in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, I knew it had to make the list. As far as I know, I only have one connection to Australia: a first cousin, 3 times removed, whose sister-in-law was apparently born "somewhere" there.

Wisconsin Genealogy and History @ Midwestern Microhistory

I (finally) found the same first cousin (3 times removed) mentioned above in Wisconsin (though he was born in Carleton county and is buried - or at least has a headstone - in Wellington county) with his wife. So in an attempt to education myself about the records available, I'm now reading "Midwestern Microhistory" (and learning about Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, and Michigan to boot!).

Forensic Genealogy @ Identifinders International

I am a fan of C.S.I. (the older seasons, especially), but I tend to avoid anything DNAish as it pertains to genealogy - it holds no interest for me. However, when I found the Identifinders' Blog while searching GeneaBloggers for "outside-the-box" ideas, I couldn't help but be hooked!

Please Note: This challenge was originally published the week of 27 February 2010 at GeneaBloggers. I'm continuing the series on my own after a lengthy (cough, cough) break from genealogy...

Wednesday, December 8

52 Weeks to Better Genealogy : Week 8 - the results...

Amy Coffin of the We Tree blog presents "52 Weeks To Better Genealogy", a series of weekly genealogy prompts / suggestions / exercises that (hopefully) will help anyone to become a better researcher.

The challenge for week 8:

Discover online map collections. Historical maps are wonderful tools for historical research. Fortunately for genealogists, many map collections are located online. Some of the more prominent collections are: the American Memory Collection at the Library of Congress, the David Rumsey Map Collection, and the Perry-Castañeda Library Map Collection at the University of Texas at Austin. Take some time to browse each of these collections. You may also want to check the library web site of your local university (or one near your ancestral home) to see what maps they may have online. If you have a genealogy blog, write about any special maps you find during this activity.

The Results:

Even before I surfaced into the world of genealogy, the one resource I loved to look at were the hardbound county map books that are held by the main branch of my public library. These measured 14" x 18.5" and were published for counties in Ontario originally in the 1870s-1880s. They were reprinted in the 1970s-1980s by the Belleville company, Mika Publishing, which reprinted a lot of old Ontario books and atlases.

The books were held in a specially-built open-front cabinet with a sloped viewing top - much like a podium (which is, incidently, probably gone; the main branch has been recently undergoing renovations and though I have yet to have a peek, it definitely doesn't fit with the "modern" look of the architect. Sigh.). I remember pulling out a book at a time and slowly fliping through the large pages, peering at the tiny names printed in the various lots and reading the general histories and biographies. I would have loved to take one home, but they were reference copies only.

Fortunately for me (now), there's the Canadian County Atlas Digital Project, provided by the Digital Collections Program, Rare Books and Special Collections Division, McGill University, and hosted through McGill library's website. Originally launched in 1999, the site offers a short history of the county maps and their publishers, a short list of abbreviations, and the ability to order high-resolution copies. Viewers can search the collection by either a last name (alone or with further qualifiers) or by place (generally by county, by either a clickable map or a list, or more specifically with pull-down lists by county, township, and/or town).

Fitzroy Township, Carleton County, Ontario, Canada.
Map originally published by H. Beldon & Co., Toronto, 1879.
Image from The Canadian County Atlas Digital Project, McGill University, 2001.
Accessed 8 December 2010. Click to enlarge.

View of Concessions III and IV, Lots 5 and 6,
Fitzroy Township, Carleton County, Ontario, Canada.

"Thos. Granger" (blocked out in red) was my great-great-grandfather, "D[avid]. Story" (blocked out in green, but with his Story brothers all around) was Thomas' father-in-law and thus my great-great-great-grandfather, and "R[ichard]. Barber" (blocked out in blue) was also my great-great-grandfather. Thomas' daughter Linda and Richard's son Michael were my great-grandparents!

For me (a city gal) to not only be able to see the extent of land that my forefathers owned (coupled with descriptions from the agricultural schedule of the 1871 census), but also the proximity that these families lived within each other has always been quite special to me. Not only were their farms close by, but they most likely attended the same church (St. Mark's Anglican, ironically in the next township and the next county!) and went to the same social functions. My "people" were farmers, descended from poor protestant Irish, who left Ireland before the famine to eke out a new life in a strange new country. They didn't get much mention in the "official" record, and I have very little personal artefacts, so any little link to their lives is, for me, quite precious.

Please Note: This challenge was originally published the week of 20 February 2010 at GeneaBloggers. I'm continuing the series on my own after a lengthy (cough, cough) break from genealogy...

Wednesday, December 1

Distractions (Research Diary, No. 3)

After an unexpected absence of almost 10 months, I (think) I'm back... ;-)

Life, work, and other distractions got in the way of any genealogy-ing. But in the midst of my final week of vacation (and with the impending holidays), I've decided to dust off my research and my blogging...

I've changed the background (since my old background was gone anyways and Blogger changed its layout...), fiddled around with a few odds and ends, while otherwise contemplating my next major move.

Changes to the sidebar:

added a Welcome message
got rid of the profile pic and blurb...while adding a link to my blogger profile in the welcome message
added decorative dividers (to break up the text)
added a brief label legend (it began brief, anyway...)
separated surname labels from the rest of the labels

I was also thinking of separating out the location labels from the rest of the labels, but I haven't quite decided yet...

Changes elsewhere:

the background and format
added the "share buttons" (facebook, email, twitter, etc.) to the bottom of posts

Let me know what you think!

As for the "52 Weeks to Better Genealogy" feature (hosted by Geneabloggers), I am planning to start where I last left off (since it's a very useful series...).

Therefore, I need to finish weeks 8 and 9 (which I both posted initial entries for, but never got around to finishing...ahem). Since I began initially with week 6, I also think I'll head back to the first and work through weeks 1 thru 5...eventually. ;-)

I think that's all for the moment. It's getting close to 11 p.m. and my brain shut down for the night about an hour ago...

Jenn ;-)

Saturday, February 27

52 Weeks to Better Genealogy : Week 9 - the challenge...

Pick five genealogy blogs and read them every day. Meet new people and networking within the online genealogy community is a great way to expand your own research and experience. Reading the blogs of others will help you get to know others. Try to find some blogs that are out of your area of expertise. Lists of genealogy blogs can be found at Geneabloggers.com and Genealogue’s Genealogy Blog Finder. If you already subscribe to many genealogy blogs, find five new ones that are “outside the box,” perhaps in history or archives. If you have a genealogy blog, write about the blogs you discover and introduce others to them.

I'll post my results later this week...

Monday, February 22

52 Weeks to Better Genealogy : Week 7...the results

Play with Google Maps. This is a helpful tool for determining the locations of addresses in your family history. Where your ancestral homestead once stood may now be a warehouse, a parking lot or a field. Perhaps the house is still there. When you input addresses in Google Maps, don’t forget to use the Satellite View and Street View options for perspectives that put you were right there where your ancestors once stood. If you’ve used this tool before, take sometime and play with it again. Push all the buttons, click all the links and devise new ways it can help with your personal genealogy research. If you have a genealogy blog, write about your experiences with Google Maps, or suggest similar easy (and free) tools that have helped in your own research.

The Results:

I've played with Google Maps (and their neat street views) a few times before at work - and sometimes for work (assisting customer's in finding locations, directions, etc.). This is the first time I've used Google Maps for my research, and I found a few interesting tidbits...

I first decided to google Arnprior District and Memorial Hospital (in Arnprior, McNab twp., Renfrew co., Ontario, CAN), where I was born. I found myself in luck - with a street view of the building (and the World War I cenotaph visible in front of the building):

(click any image to enlarge)

(map of the Arnprior area on the Ottawa River with the hospital marked)

(hospital sign, dated (I think) 1945?)

(general view, with the sign to the right - it's a nice, old-fashioned building)

Next, I decided to take a wander "up north" to Cobalt (Bucke twp., Temiskaming dist., Ontario, CAN), where my mother was born and my grandparents (her mother and step-father) still reside. After my parents divorced, this is were we lived until I started kindergarten. Lo and behold, guess what I found:

(map of Cobalt and surrounding area)

(my grandparents' house!)

(the United Church where my grandparents were married - since she was Baptist and he was Anglican)

(Cobalt railway station, now "The Bunker", a military museum)

After we left Cobalt, I remember riding the train (the Northlander, which was a 10 hour trip) to visit them, and arriving at this station (when it was still the station) at night. The train is still my favourite way to travel.

I then went back to the Ottawa area to look at Kinburn (Fitzroy twp., Carleton co., Ontario, CAN), where my father was born and grew up, my parents lived while they were married, and I spent the first two years of my life. Unfortunately, google failed me here - there was no option for a street view beyond the major roads:

(map of the Kinburn area)

(satellite image of the Kinburn area; in the top right corner (just hidden) is the Kinburn/Carp intersection...)

(the intersection at Carp Rd. and Kinburn Side Rd., looking towards Kinburn - the closest street view I could get on Google)

52 Weeks to Better Genealogy : Week 8 (the challenge)

Research Diary (No. 2)

What happened this week?

Not much, actually.

Having been working all weekend, I haven't touch anything genealogy, nor did I complete challenge 7 of the "52 weeks to better genealogy series" (but I'm planning to do that today - and maybe even challenge 8 (historical maps) - since I'm off!).

And then there was the two cakes I had to do for work...

The only thing remotely to do with genealogy this week was a calendar I've started at google. I'm planning to put all events in that I know dates for and (eventually) have a "This week in my family blah blah blah" thing. (Or something like that, anyway... ;-) Oh, and the blogs, of course (I keep adding more all the time - there's too many good ones!)

I'm still in my sorting and organizing phase, so no real actual research (besides the gems from the Ottawa Citizen) is going to be done anytime soon...

What's to be done this week?

1. The "52 weeks" challenges (weeks 7 and 8).

2. Family group sheets clean-up and organization. I have all my source documention (births, deaths, census, etc.) somewhat neatly (there's one last pile I have to complete) organized, so it's on to the actual extraction.

3. Continue to search the Ottawa Citizen back issues for tidbits.

Non-genealogy, this week we're getting (from a friend at work) a dining room set (5 chairs, table, buffet and china cabinet), so I also have to do some moving and shifting...

Saturday, February 13

52 Weeks to Better Genealogy : Week 7 - the challenge

I'll post my results later this week...

52 Weeks to Better Genealogy: Week 6 - The Result...

A wordle of this week's post (click to enlarge)

Amy Coffin of the We Tree blog presents "52 Weeks To Better Genealogy", a series of weekly genealogy prompts/suggestions/exercises that (hopefully) help you to become a better researcher.

This week's (#6) challenge dealt with the exploration of your local public library's online database(s).

Since I work for my local public library, and have used our databases (both genealogical and non) to assist others, I'm afraid I slacked on this challenge a little. ;-) To access the databases, you simply click on Online Resources, and one of the subject headings listed on that page is Genealogy. There are four databases under this:

Ancestry Library Edition
Description: Ancestry.com is the number one online source for family history information, including the web's largest collection of historical records.

My Notes: Though our library subscribes to this Ancestry version, it is only available for use while actually in a library building (which sucks, but then how would Ancestry get their money's worth?!) and on a library computer.

Oshawa Book of Remembrance
Description: Online version of the Book of Remembrance, dedicated to preserving the memory of those from the Oshawa region who served and gave their lives in WWI and WWII.

My Notes: Each entry provides a picture of the soldier, his rank and full name, birth date and place, death date and place, parents names, where the soldier went to school, and (occasionally) hobbies. The original book is available in a glass case at the main branch of the library, where a new page is displayed everyday. This database can be searched (divided by branch of service - Army, Navy, etc.) or browsed.

Oshawa Newspaper and Obituary Index
Description: An index to the Oshawa newspapers preserved on microfilm at the McLaughlin Branch of OPL.

My Notes: Includes full name (as given in the source) of the individual, type of event and date, source (newspaper name) and date. Obituary listings include the name of the cemetery. Search (keywords, dates) only :-(

Toronto Star - Pages of the Past
Description: The digitized full-image version of the complete contents of the Toronto Star newspaper since 1894. See below for my (short) exploration of this database.

My Notes: Listed under the subject of History are a further two resources:

Oshawa Full-Text Archive
Description: Check out our expanded Oshawa Full-Text Archive, a collection of materials providing a glimpse into Oshawa's past.

My Notes: Various local history books and booklets that are kept in the library's local history collection and are not allowed to leave the library. They have been digitized and organized by general subject headings (business, directories, education, clubs, local families, etc.). Searchable within each document only.

Oshawa Images
Description: Take a look at our newest online collection, featuring intriguing images from Oshawa’s past.

My Notes: Includes a variety of images, ranging from portraits, street scenes, groups, and buildings. Attached to each image is as much detail as known, copyright, history (if known), and holder. Database also includes a rotating list of "Mystery" pictures. Search (basic and advanced) only.

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While the local resources are not (currently) of much use to me, I did go to the Pages of the Past database and do a couple brief searches.

One of the sons of the Story clan - Frederick William - married an Wilhelmina Alexandra Robinson, daughter of Alexander Hamilton Robinson and Martha Jane MacFarlane, of Etobicoke, York co., Ontario, Canada. Frederick and Wilhelmina, along with her mother, Martha, migrated to B.C. I have an obituary for Martha (I also have Wilhelmina's) from a Vancouver paper, and while she died in B.C., she was buried with her husband and parental family in Etobicoke. I decided to look up Martha's 1930 obituary in the Toronto Star, assuming, with the burial occuring in Etobicoke, there would have been a cross posting. She died on Monday, February 10, 1930. I found her in Friday, February 14th, page 33:

(click to enlarge)

Unfortunately, I was unable to locate a Toronto obituary (I have the Vancouver one) for her daughter, Wilhelmina Alexandra (Robinson) Story, who died on the last day of the year, December 31, 1951. Nor was I able to find any mention of the death of Wilhelmina's husband, Frederick, on January 2, 1961 - though I did not expect to find anything for him, since he was not originally from the area. However, when I tried a blanket search for just MacFarlane/McFarlane, beginning in 1894 (when the digitized version begins), I got a "No Results" screen (which is weird, since in Martha's obit, above, her father Alexande MacFarlane, is listed...)

Saturday, February 6

52 Weeks to Better Genealogy: Week 6 - the challenge...

Amy Coffin of the We Tree blog presents "52 Weeks To Better Genealogy", a series of weekly genealogy prompts/suggestions/exercises that (hopefully) help you to become a better researcher.

Having recently (re)joined the blogging community, I've only just discovered this wonderful series. So, despite beginning a few weeks late, here is the exercise for week 6:

Online databases at your public library. Search your library’s web site and see if your card grants you access to online databases. Libraries (even small ones) often have wonderful online tools including genealogy databases, historical newspapers and more! Take some time and play with these little perks that come with a library card. You just may get some help in your own genealogy research and gain some free research tools to boot. If you don’t know how to access online library databases or you’re not sure if your branch has them, ask a librarian for guidance. If you have a blog, discuss which databases (if any) to which your library subscribes.

I'll post my results sometime (!) this week...