Saturday, September 19, 2015

Not Surprised, But Disappointed.....

I finally received approval to look at what was called out as Source # 49 in my test.   I have been swamped with other work, so it has taken me a couple of days to sit down and actually click the buttons to go into #49.   I wanted to set aside time to review the various sources that were called out in #49's tree and see if I could also reference those same source items.

I started to look and did not see a quick answer.   So, I had MyHeritage generate it's Family History Report for #49 starting with our furthest back common ancestor.   MyHeritage generate a very nice 38 page report, fully indexed.   It was missing one section: SOURCES!   There were no sources for any of the information on the site!  

I will have to put contacting my distant cousin on my To Do list.

Now on to asking for access to Lucky #13.

#genealogy #MyHeritage #Source #NoSource

Thursday, September 10, 2015

Actually Submitted an Article!

My Winter / Spring was spent in the search of my Great Grandfather, Ellis Shaul.   I could not accept the he just disappeared and was buried with some unknown death date in Iron, Michigan.   By a serendipitous search for another relative, I found the account of Ellis' untimely death in Findlay, Hancock County, Ohio.   All those shaky leaves are WRONG!

Read all about it in the Winter issue of the Detroit Society for Genealogical Research Magazine.

#Shaul #Genealogy #DSGR

Waiting for Approval -- #49

I am still waiting for approval from Source #49 to see his tree and have access to the source information.   This could be a long wait.  

On the other side of the hill -- just got another Instant Discovery from which will add another 20 ancestors starting back 16 generations, in the mid 1400s.  I applied the update, but will hold off on printing another tome until I have a chance to finish off the exploration of this one.  

Hopefully, #49 will come across with access soon.



#genealogy #MyHeritage

Wednesday, September 9, 2015

MYHeritage - Starting to Review Sources on Other Trees

I decided to start with my Weaver connection at Source #49 and see what I could see.  I had access to the Tree that connected to my tree, but all I was able to see was the raw information that was held -- names and dates.   I took the next step and requested the owner to grant me access to their information for the expressed purpose of determining if MyHeritage passes along source information.

Stay tuned.


#MyHeritage #genealogy #Weaver

Tuesday, September 8, 2015

MyHeritage - Indirectly Related via Hannah Jenks or Jenckes [Bosworth]

Fourth and final section of the Indirect Related listings.   Hannah Bosworth is reported to be my seven time great-great-aunt by marriage.   Not sure if that really makes her my eight times great aunt. Anyway, the report shows that she will appear in the generation of my Seven Times Great Grandparents.   I find her on page 59, person number 301.  Hannah married my seven times great-great-uncle, Nathaniel Miller Jencks, Esq.    There are two sources referenced in this match up.  #7 - "Bonnett Web Site" and #31 - "Jenks Web Site".  Well, I was complaining that the others were all referencing a single site and coming from the same cousin.   So, now I have multiple sites from two separate "cousins" to investigate.

More to follow as this unravels.

#genealogy #MyHeritage #Jenks

Monday, September 7, 2015

MyHeritage - Indirectly Related via Chrisopher Everett Drake

Christopher Everett Drake appears under the heading of my second cousin's husband, once removed.  He appears in the generation of my parents.  Going back to my Direct Relations section, I find Christopher married to Sarah Catherine Weaver, daughter of James Henry and Mary E [Wood] Weaver.

Again the whole line is referencing source #49, another member's pages and are classified as "Highly Reliable".   The good news with these three days of review is that all three Indirect Releated groups are from the same source.   This means one in depth plunge to determine the connection and to come up with source citations more than a member page.

The next set of Indirectly Related pages promise to be from different member files.   More cousins are interested in genealogy!

#genealogy #MyHeritage  #Drake #Weaver

Sunday, September 6, 2015

MyHeritage - Indirect Related via Mary E Weaver [Wood]

Mary E Weaver, born Wood, appears under the heading of being in the Generation of my Great-Grandparents (Lemuel and Effie Clarissa [Lee] Weaver) and is designated as my cousin's wife, twice removed.   By use of the extensive Name Index, I was able to find that Mary was the wife of James Henry Weaver, son of William Powell and Catherine Elizabeth [Deaver] Weaver.  Again, all source footnotes point to the same web site, footnote #49.  This is already on my To Do list for a future review.   But, of what this gives a good indication is that I have a cousin in the Weber/Weaver family also doing genealogy with whom I can collaborate!!    

Move as this progresses.


#genealogy #MyHeritage #Weaver

Saturday, September 5, 2015

MyHeritage - Indirect Related via Catherine Elizabeth Weaver [Deaver]

For today's review of my Genealogy Report, I have decided to start with one of the Indirect Related sections.   This one is the section attributed to Catherine Elizabeth Weaver [born Deaver].  First of all, a genealogist nightmare -- maiden name Deaver, married name Weaver.   Did someone transcribe it wrong or is that really what it?   Well, it was actually Deaver.

The section starts with the generation of my Great-Great-Grandparents.   This would be the generation of Goodlif (Gottlieb) and Anne Weaver [Lane] (Weber).  Yes, double name change.   Gottlieb Weber was born in Germany, came to North America, settled in Pennsylvania, met and married Anne Lane.   Both of his names morphed into an English equivalent of Goodlif Weaver - Gottlieb in German is God Love.

Catherine is called out as my great-great-aunt.    So, this requires me to look back into the Direct Relations section of the report to determine exactly where Catherine fits into the family puzzle.  I am able to determine that Catherine was the wife of William Powell Weaver, the brother of my great grandfather, Lemuel Weaver.

In looking over the report, MyHeritage classifies the source of the information that appears as "Highly Reliable" and footnotes a source of the originating Family File.  So, this makes a To Do entry to verify the source information defined in footnote #49.   All of this must be done BEFORE I even think about adding this group to my local database.

More tomorrow.

#genealogy #myheritage

1880 Census Records Posted to Lost Cousins

Yesterday, I discovered the website, LostCousins.com.  I entered the 1880 US Census information for my ancestors into that application.   Each household was entered as a separate entity.   Each was entered as it was written on the Census form --- the application allowed for override to correct the Census Taker's spelling of the names or recording of the ages.   For each family member in the household, I recorded their relationship to me -- direct ancestor or blood relation.   For the direct ancestor, I needed to indicate their relationship via Ahnentafel code.   Luckily, they make a blank Ahnetafel chart available so that I could determine the code to use.   

Once entered, clicking the SEARCH button causes the application to do a quick edit.  It caught that my great grandfather was reported in two separate households in the 1880 census and that in his father's household there were two children with similar names of the same age.   Both were correct.  All I had to do was confirm these items as being correct.  

Now I wait to see if any of the descendants of my ancestors also post to this site.  The only US Census entries that are available are 1880 and 1940.   The other census options are for Canada and the UK,   Since my ancestors, even those that started out from England, were in North America long before 1880, I could not avail myself of these options.

The site boasts of (as of today, 7 September 2015:

  • 99, 502 members
  • 2,584,365 relatives entered
  • 116,482 relatives matched
So, #Jenks, #Koontz, #Shaul, #Weaver, #Tobias, #Gardner, #Dagan, #Lee, cousins get busy!!

#LostCousins  #Genealogy

Friday, September 4, 2015

MyHeritage - A New Venture for Me



On a lark, I decided to upload the GEDcom file I use for DNA matches to MyHeritage and just see where it lead me.  The file was an abbreviated version of my main database with just main line ancestors back about six generations.

This has been in place now for a few months.   Updates keep flying in from MyHeritage.   As of yesterday, I pulled down and printed off my Genealogy Report.   This installment is 215 pages in length.    The table of contents for the report is as follows:

  1. PATERNAL ANCESTRY
  2. MATERNAL ANCESTRY
  3. DESCENDANTS
  4. DIRECT RELATIONS
  5. INDIRECT RELATIONS via CATHERINE ELIZABETH WEAVER [DEAVER]
  6. INDIRECT RELATIONS via MARY E WEAVER [WOOD]
  7. INDIRECT RELATIONS via CHRISTOPHER EVERETT DRAKE
  8. INDIRECT RELATIONS via HANNAH JENKS OR JENCKS [BOSWORTH]
  9. FAMILY TREES
  10. NOTES
  11. SOURCES
  12. INDEX OF PLACES
  13. INDEX OF DATES
  14. INDEX OF INDIVIDUALS

All in all, a rather impressive presentation!   In the following entries, I want to take the time to explore the report and its elements.     As far as the mind boggle point of view, page 82, the last of the section on DIRECT RELATIONS, notes Generation of Twenty-one-Times-Great-Grandparents !!  Although the birth dates for none of the four reported grandparents appear, birth dates for their children (my 20 Times Great Grandparents) are reported:

  • John Baldwin - 1250
  • Ann Baldwin [L'Enfant] - 1260
  • Abigail Savage [Stanton] Shropshire - 1263
Back to the mid 1200s! 

Next stop --  looking to see from where is the lineage proof source derived.

Stay tuned.


(BTW -- received another update from MyHeritage this AM with more confirmations)

#MyHeritage #Shaul #Weber #Weaver #Genealogy

Wednesday, May 13, 2015

Another Great Great Grandfather.

Jumping on the success of finding GG Grandfather, Ellis Shaul, I thought I would just hunt and peck for anyone else's obituary that I could find.   Well, there popped up the obituary of GG GRandfather, Ezra Peter Koontz:

Ligonier Leader, 31 January 1907

Obituary -- Ezra P. Koontz

Ezra Peter Koontz was born at Navarre, Ohio, May 15, 1832.  He came to Indiana in 1846, walking from Ft.Wayne to Ligonier where he was engaged in manufacturing of chairs for a year or more.  He went to Markle, Ind., where he was married to Mary Ann Allen April 11, 1853.   To this union was born four children: Ephraim R., who died in infancy; Casmear P. of Columbus, O., Harriet H. J. Smith of Port Clinton, O.,  Orrin D. of Glenville, Minn,

In 1863 he moved to Huntington, Ind., remaining there a year.   He then moved to Ft. Wayne, Ind. where on Sept 7, 1864, the wife and mother answered the devine summons from this life here to a life of the blessed, beyond this world of pain.  After the death of his wife he removed to Navarre, O., leaving the motherless children with their grandmother.  He soon returned to Indiana, settling in Ligonier in the spring of 1865, where he engaged in the manufacture of furniture for thirty years.

He was married to Mary Anna Sibert in Ligonier, Ind., Dec 29, 1867.   To this union there were three children born:  Phineas H., who died at the age of six years; Ezra B. E. of Savage, Neb, Geo D. of Chicago, Ill.

The children were all present the funeral except one, who arrived later.

Mr. Koontz answered the roll call on Monday morning at 4 o'clock, Jan 21, 1907, aged 74 years, 8 months, and 6 days.   The lamp of this temporal life went out, but to be relighted on the shores of God's eternal bliss.

Those present from a distance were:  Mr. and Mrs. C. P. Koontz, Columbus, O.; Dr. Sirvenius [Sylvanis] Koontz, Roanoke, Ind.; Mr. Wm. Koontz, Roanoke, Ind.; Mr. and Mrs. Aaron Koontz, Milford, Ind.; Mr. and Mrs. Tuff and daughter, Gladys, Kendallville, Ind.; Messrs Harry and Herman Smith, Port Clinton, O.

Card of Thanks

We desire to than the friends and neighbors who so kindly assisted us during the sickness and death of husband and father.

Mrs. E. P. Koontz and Children


OK, most of this is old news.  BUT, WHO ARE:

  • Dr. Sirvenius [Sylvanis] Koontz, Roanoke, Ind.; 
  • Mr. Wm. Koontz, Roanoke, Ind.; 
  • Mr. and Mrs. Aaron Koontz, Milford, Ind.;
  • Mr. and Mrs. Tuff and daughter, Gladys, Kendallville, Ind. 
They have never appeared anywhere before.     Another door has opened.   More research. 

#Obituaries #Genealogy #Koontz #GenealogyDoOver

Thursday, May 7, 2015

Ellis Shaul --

OK,  now here is why you cannot take all of those trees on Ancestry.com as the absolute truth:

Member TreeNameParents
LA_Wilds Family Tree
Public Member Tree 
1 source  
Ellis Shaul
Birth:  5 Nov 1855 - Herkimer, United States
Marriage:  18 Jun 1882 - Madison, MI(Michigan)
Spouse:  Catharine Dagan
F: (Name Unknown)
M: (Name Unknown)


Moore-Mereness-Reuter Tree
Public Member Tree
Unsourced
Ellis Shaul
Birth:  05 Nov 1855 (5 Nov 1855) - Herkimer
F: Madison Shaul
M: Cynthia Cahoon
Wyatt Family Tree
Public Member Tree 
1 source  
Ellis Shaul
Birth:  5 Nov 1855 - Herkimer
F: Madison Shaul
M: Cynthia Cahoon
Bailey Family Tree
Public Member Tree
4 attached records, 5 sources  
Charles Ellis Shaul
Birth:  5 Nov 1855 - Herkimer, United States
Death:  Iron, Michigan, USA
Marriage:  18 Jun 1882 - Madison, MI(Michigan)
Spouse:  Catherine (Kate) Dagen
F: Madison Shaul
M: Cynthia Cahoon
Al Coney FTM
Public Member Tree 
Unsourced
Ellis Shaul
Birth:  1855
F: Madison Shaul
M: Cynthia Cahoon
Laurie Edwards Family Tree
Public Member Tree
1 attached record, 2 sources  
Ellis Shaul
Birth:  5 Nov 1855 - Herkimer, USA
Death:  Iron, Michigan, USA
F: Madison Shaul
M: Cynthia Cahoon
Carter Family Tree
Public Member Tree 
1 attached record, 2 sources  
Ellis Shaul
Birth:  5 Nov 1855 - Herkimer, USA
Death:  Iron, Michigan, USA
F: Madison Shaul
M: Cynthia Cahoon
LMBrown
Public Member Tree
1 source  
Ellis Shaul
Birth:  05 Nov 1855 (5 Nov 1855) - Herkimer, USA
Marriage:  18 Jun 1882 - Ludington, MI(Michigan)
Spouse:  Catharine Dagan
F: Madison Shaul
M: Cynthia Cahoon
Shaul Descendants & their Ancestors
Public Member Tree 
1 attached record, 1 source  
Ellis Shaul
Birth:  05 Nov 1855 (5 Nov 1855) - Herkimer, USA
Marriage:  18 Jun 1882 - Madison, MI(Michigan)
Spouse:  Catharine Dagan
F: Madison Shaul
M: Cynthia Cahoon
Wyatt Family Tree
Public Member Tree
1 source  
Ellis Shaul
Birth:  1855 - Herkimer
F: Madison Shaul
M: Cynthia Cahoon
Zachary's Tree
Public Member Tree 
1 source  
Ellis Shaul
Birth:  5 Nov 1855 - Herkimer, United States
Death:  Iron, Michigan, United States
F: Madison Shaul
M: Cynthia Cahoon
Obenauf Family Tree
Public Member Tree
2 attached records, 3 sources  
Charles Ellis Shaul
Birth:  5 Nov 1855 - Herkimer
Death:  Iron, Michigan, United States
Marriage:  18 Jan 1882 - Madison, MI(Michigan)
Spouse:  Catherine (Kate) Dagen
F: Madison Shaul
M: Cynthia Cahoon
Faye Brady Family Tree 1st GEDCOM-can't open
Public Member Tree 
1 source  
Ellis Shaul 
Birth:  5 Nov 1855 - Herkimer, USA
Death:  Iron, Michigan, USA
F: Madison Shaul
M: Cynthia Cahoon
Faye Brady Family Tree 2nd
Public Member Tree
2 sources  
Ellis Shaul 
Birth:  05 Nov 1855 (5 Nov 1855) - Herkimer, USA
Death:  Iron, Michigan, USA
F: Madison Shaul
M: Cynthia Cahoon
Faye Brady Family Tree 3rd
Public Member Tree 
1 source  
Ellis Shaul 
Birth:  05 Nov 1855 (5 Nov 1855) - Herkimer, USA
Death:  Iron, Michigan, USA
F: Madison Shaul
M: Cynthia Cahoon
Notice -- everyone claims Ellis died in Iron [County], Michigan.   No one has a guess as to date.   No one has a source of this information.   But, this was the only death information that existed on Ancestry.com.   [This is not a problem with Ancestry -- they are just reporting what data others have supplied].

I found this claim hard to believe for a number of reasons:

  1. Ellis' family lived in the South West portion of the Lower Peninsula of Michigan.
  2. Iron County is in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.
  3. Kate, his widow continued to live in the Ludington area after the city directories noted she was a widow.
  4. There was no record of Ellis' death or burial in Iron County or anywhere else in Michigan.
So, I just kept knocking at the brick wall.

I was 'googling' for information about on of my wife's relatives when I was shifted to Newspapers.com.   Given the opportunity for a free 7 day subscription, I pulled up the articles about her relative.   Then, as was my habit where ever I research, I plugged in Ellis' name.   BINGO.   Newspaper accounts about a refinery explosion in Findlay, Ohio in 1904.  Ellis did not survive.   The family was so poor, they could not bring him back to Michigan and his coworkers chipped in and paid for his burial in Ohio.  The wonderful researchers at the Findlay-Hancock Library provided me with even more news articles about the event and I know have a full picture of my great grandfather's demise.  

To complicate the searches, Ellis' surname was reported as Shaul [the correct spelling], Schaull, Shaw, and Shawl, all within a 3 day reporting period.   

So, continue to ask the question of any tree you find anywhere on the internet:  Where did you get this information?   Be sure you can retrace the steps.   

#Evidence #BrickWall #Genealogy #Update

Monday, April 27, 2015

I just blew up a brick wall ...

OK, literally, my brick wall blew up.   My great grandfather, Ellis Shaul, has been hiding for many years!  I have his marriage records, the birth of his children, his 1900 census records, the marriages of his children, the deaths of his children, the death of his wife, but have not been able to find any mention of Ellis after the 1900 census.   The only clue I had was that my great grandmother was listed as his widow in the 1915 city directory for Ludington, Michigan.

Well, Ellis showed up!!!   I went back and started over with all the basics.   And I found him.  He BLEW UP.  Yup.  In September, 1904, Ellis Shaul, was working at the National Refinery in Findlay, Ohio, when the tank he was working on blew up and shot him 100 feet into the air! (Cincinnati Enquirer, Sep 22, 1904, p 1).  He did not survive.  The article goes on to state that Ellis was from Ludington, MI and that his widow was wired with the news of her husband's death.   A quick, four line blurb in the Sandusky Star-Journal, Sep 22, 1904, p 5, reports Ellis was blown to pieces.  

Now, there does not appear to be a death certificate issued in the state of Ohio.  I have dug deeper, pun intended, and found Ellis Schaull buried in Find A Grave at the Maple Grove Cemetery in Findlay, Ohio in September 1904.  It makes sense that the body would not have been shipped back to Michigan -- a matter of expense.  I have an inquiry into the Find A Grave keeper to verify this is really my Ellis.

KABOOM.

#Genealogy #BrickWalls

Monday, April 13, 2015

Big TY to Angie Bush!!

Angie Bush re-recorded the session she held for Dear Myrtle #DearMyrtle in the DNA Interest Group on FaceBook on GEDmatch Basics #GEDMATCH.   The original session had a number of audio problems.  I just finished the session.   WOW!  Now, I really can dig into this with more than a look of total bewilderment on my face.  

Angie's presentation was simple, clear, and HELPFUL!   And, she knew when to stop.  When there was enough covered and when to save more for later.   THANK YOU!!  #AngieBush

As the adage goes, a little knowledge can lead to a lot of danger!   I have a mystery cousin that wants to know how we are related and only has Ancestry and 23andMe testing done -- now, I know to ask to have one of the kits uploaded to GEDMATCH so a Chromosome Browser Comparison can be generated to see where we match.   I have a like report with a known second cousin on my mother's side of the family.  This might give a clue which branches to shake for the mystery member!!!

#geneticgenealogy #DNA

Saturday, April 11, 2015

BSO has a synonym. And it is DNA.

OMG. Another BSO!  DNA!    Enough with the TLA.   (three letter acronyms).  DNA has become my Bright Shiny Object that derails me from the articles I want to read, the research I want to do, the updates I want to make.   It has become my downfall.

I get one notice that I have a potential DNA Cousin -- and it can come from 23andMe, AncestryDNA, or FamilyTree DNA -- it doesn't matter which one -- and I am off an running.   Problem is that each has a separate database of potential cousins and there are only a hand full that repeat from one to the other.

So, I need to stop checking the notices, and start reading the articles -- most of them are on how to understand the DNA results and what the meaning of intersections of genetic codes mean.   Good things to know before getting in too deep.

So, BSO, Be Gone, Depart, Leave Me Alone.   At least until I finish a couple more pages......


#genealogy #DNA #geneticgenealogy

Wednesday, March 25, 2015

09 Feb 1796

Johann Adam Weber and Anna Barbara Holzapfel married in Schomberg (Oa. Neurenburg) Wurttemberg on 09 Feb 1796.

Adam and Barbara (German custom was to call their children by their middle name -- explains why there were so many Johanns in the same family)  were my great great great grandparents.

The LDS Church has microfilmed the records of a number of the churches in the region going back many decades (centuries).

On the same record which recorded the marriage, was recorded the name of Barbara's father, Jakob Holzapfel.  Trails to be followed.  Brick walls sometimes have stiles built over them by our friends in Salt Lake City.

My great great grandfather was known as Goodlif Weaver.   It was commonly known among the current family that he changed his last name from the German Weber to Weaver some time after coming to North America and settling in Pennsylvania.  What I did not find out until many years later was that he used a phonetic version of the translation of his first name as well -- Gottlieb (God Love) became Goodlif.  Birth dates and places of origin began to tie back and Gottlieb had been baptized in Wurttemberg.   Again, LDS had microfilmed those records.   Again the parents were listed.   And, one more step over the fence was made to find their marriage records.

So, in celebration of #WeddingWednesday I post this entry.  Do not give up.   There are more than the records in the U.S.  and they can be found.  Thank you LDS!

#Genealogy #GermanResearch #FamilySearch

Thursday, March 12, 2015

Get the Obituaries -- all of them.

Curt Witcher (#CurtWitcher) of the #GenealogyCenter at the Allen County Public Library ( #ACPL ) in Fort Wayne, Indiana, recently posted a blog about making sure genealogists track down all possible places that an ancestor's obituary might be published -- not to forget Religious Newspaper, Foreign Language Newspapers, etc.  

Well, that is great advice, up until you run into my great grandfather, George Tobias.  I have two obituaries for G-Grandpa.  Unfortunately, each provides a radically different story about where he was born and how he ended up living in Northern Michigan.   One claims he was "born in Rhode Island 83 years ago and when a small boy moved to northern Michigan ..."   The other states he was "born at Black Lake [area near Cheboygan, Cheboygan Co, MI] and came to Cheboygan as a small boy with his parents."  

Each go on to give pretty much identical information.   So, the conclusion that this provides?   Two people were the source of each obituary.   Either may be correct.   Either may be wrong.  In the case of G-Grandpa's birth place, I have to dig much deeper because I can rely on neither source.

#Genealogy #Evidence #Obituaries

Thursday, February 26, 2015

It helps to read the directions ...

I finally got back into trying to organize the new information gleaned in Salt Lake City when I attended #FGS2015 and #RootsTech2015 .  I spent a bit of time in the Family History Library and really found some great information.  Now, finally back home and caught up with the affairs of state, er home, I am back into #GenealogyDoOver and loaded up #Evidentia once again.  

This time, when I launched Evidentia, it started with the message that I needed to upgrade.   So I did. Things looked a bit different, but I was gung-ho into trying to figure out how to use the software and I had the step list I printed off before I went to Salt Lake.    Things made no sense,   OK, back to the Evidentia web site.   Oh, ya, I am now on version 2.2.4.   The cheat sheet I am using is for an earlier version.   The new user manual is available!!!!!  I download it.   I am old, so I print the whole 116 pages so I can go page by page and follow what I should be doing.   DANG!!  It works.   I finally got it figured out and it makes sense.

#Evidentia is going to be well used in recording evidence and evaluating it as well.   I really like that you can like derived source to an original source once you track it down.   Reminds me of Warren Bittner's spaghetti diagram only an electronic version.  

Well, back into recording info and seeing it in action.   I have old County Clerk Land Sale indexes and the actual land sale documents that need to be recorded and linked and then there are so many more things to do.

And then Week9 of #GenealogyDoOver starts up.  


Wednesday, January 28, 2015

Wow! I'm Missing Stuff!

As promised, I actually viewed the introduction video for #GenDetective.  It was quite well done and really gave me the information needed to start using a sample GEDCOM file.  I uploaded the same GEDCOM I have been using for FamilyTreeDNA and then hit the Analyze button.   The reports were easy to read and are simple checklists of what information (documents) should be recorded and what have not.

Based on birth location and subsequent residence reporting and death date, the program calculates which census (both state and federal) the ancestor should have appeared in and reports back.

All in all, it was quick and easy to use.   I only uploaded through my 2nd great grandparents and only my direct line, but I have a great deal of hope for using this for other "clumps" of my database.  I cannot see uploading the entire database of 40,000+ records and then trying to generate reports.   At least, not until I have done a lot more work.

#GenDetective #GenealogyDoOver #Week4 #Genealogy


Tuesday, January 27, 2015

New Software To Try

OK, as part of the #GenealogyDoOver, I figured I would see what tools were out there that I have ignored for various reasons.   I still like #LegacyFamilyTree8 for my database and have been a #Clooz user since time began, but there are a lot more tools and it was time to explore.  Thanks to #DickEastman I have installed #GenomeMate to help with the DNA match analysis and #GenScriber is a great help in transcribing document images and then being able to zero in on sections to really see what is written.  But, now I venture into my own exploration with #Heredis, #Evidentia, and #GenDetective.  

I think of myself as being able to find my way through pretty much any computer program -- I have been working with computers for over 40 years in design, program, debug, implement, so I have a good background. Evidentia is pretty straight forward -- but I will sign up for the on line Google Hangout as soon as my computer issues allow.   Heredis is OK, but needs more of my time.   GenDetective is a big QUESTION.   Luckily, they provide a video to explain how to use it.   So, next entry will be after I have taken the time to watch the video and really given GenDetective a fair shot.


#Genealogy #RootsTech

Thursday, January 1, 2015

New Year, Fresh Start

Thomas MacEntee has initiated a Genealogy Do Over for 2015.  As of today there are over 1,100 of us signed up to give this a whack.   It is a ground up approach to restart our Genealogy Research.  In our restart efforts we will learn how to track research, cite sources, evaluate evidence and more!

I started to get back to basics and just search as if I had never looked for some of my ancestors before during December.  The results were quite surprising.


Members of the group have posted a number of tools that may be of assistance.


2015 Genealogy Do Over Web Page


#GenealogyDoOver #Genealogy #Research