Dear Bjorn,
I hope this finds you well. I must admit, Life caught up with me. But I got your comment about our Ancestry and I can tell you this, my family is from Hessen, and someday I hope to visit Germany and discover much more about our family as we are sadly, a dying last name.
I am on Ancestry.com if you want to find me there "Digging For Ancestry" is my handle there. Hope to hook up with you soon.
Sincerely,
Tracy H
Sunday, January 15, 2017
Sunday, September 18, 2011
Breaking Down Walls..
This isnt really a post about Genealogy, but Im sure it will bend that way as it is undated history. One of my relatives who I loved very much and enjoyed her time while she was on this Earth.. I wish I had got a chance to talk to her the way that I talk to adults now. I was just a child when she passed away. She taught me so much in the 12 years that I knew her, but so many unanswered questions now that she is gone. There really is no one who can answer them.. and the one that is so private to most women of her time era, were her pregnancies..
Women just didnt talk about things like we do today, how its going, how does it feel, etc. Or if there was trouble, did you have a miscarriage, did it hurt, etc. I have been looking at photos of this woman, and in various photos over a 15 year time span, in the early 20's to mid 30's, she looked pregnant, using her hands to cover her obvious growing belly, but then, in later photos, there is no child, and then a massive gap between her 2nd and 3rd children.... almost 11 years. In those years, I see the baby bumps, but no one can tell me that part of the story. Just something that I've pondered and talked over with my own Mom, who doesnt have answers to these questions either. We will never know, and always wonder...
Women just didnt talk about things like we do today, how its going, how does it feel, etc. Or if there was trouble, did you have a miscarriage, did it hurt, etc. I have been looking at photos of this woman, and in various photos over a 15 year time span, in the early 20's to mid 30's, she looked pregnant, using her hands to cover her obvious growing belly, but then, in later photos, there is no child, and then a massive gap between her 2nd and 3rd children.... almost 11 years. In those years, I see the baby bumps, but no one can tell me that part of the story. Just something that I've pondered and talked over with my own Mom, who doesnt have answers to these questions either. We will never know, and always wonder...
Saturday, September 17, 2011
Reading Others Work
Since getting all the Genealogy from my Grandmother, I have been putting it away, hoping to get to scanning all documents, mementos and keepsakes. I came across the Ellis Family Genealogy compiled and researched by John Plunkett of Florida. He did such a wonderful job in getting this book put together. It is my great hope to be able to do this for my family lines.
Being a good researcher is key, but also being able to write and tell a story is another crucial part. For me, I struggle with writing, I am the artist sure, but mine is photography, scrapbooking, but never much for the writing, I have a lot to say, and a lot to tell as far as my families history, BUT, the words rarely come the way I want them to. But in that, the more I work at it, the easier it will come right?
Wednesday, July 27, 2011
Stevenson Genealogy
Stevenson Genealogy
This is my favorite place to order supplies. They offer a wonderful newsletter each month with helpful tips. When I was just beginning I wanted a 15 Generation chart, and had no clue as to where I needed to look for them. I found them here, and when I ordered, and received my package, one of the owners sent me a little note, wishing me luck on my research. It was so nice to have that, and for all of my needs I come here.
Over the years I have collected memorabilia from various relatives, and Stevenson's Genealogy has various size page protectors, for photos, funeral notices, and paper items that need to be preserved.
Click on the link above and you will be taken to their site, I have also added their free forms to my sidebar. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do. If you have questions, they are also a great source to ask.
This is my favorite place to order supplies. They offer a wonderful newsletter each month with helpful tips. When I was just beginning I wanted a 15 Generation chart, and had no clue as to where I needed to look for them. I found them here, and when I ordered, and received my package, one of the owners sent me a little note, wishing me luck on my research. It was so nice to have that, and for all of my needs I come here.
Over the years I have collected memorabilia from various relatives, and Stevenson's Genealogy has various size page protectors, for photos, funeral notices, and paper items that need to be preserved.
Click on the link above and you will be taken to their site, I have also added their free forms to my sidebar. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do. If you have questions, they are also a great source to ask.
Friday, July 22, 2011
Humbled by my Ancestors
Everyone has a past you just have to dig for it.. I have been using my gift membership to Ancestry.com nightly and getting so many records its just unreal. Someday I hope to chart all of this on a great big chart, but for now, I am very happy with my going green/ paperless family tree.
Last night I decided to work on my Great Grandma Hastings family, and got about to 1340 A.D., and much to my surprise, I am a niece of King Henry VI. Everyone has someone in their family that is famous, just sometimes its not the famous type you would like to have.
I also looked for my boyfriend who has been told since he was a teenager that he is related to Outlaw Jesse James, he too wasn't quite sure how to take that, or to be real happy about it. But I found it, they are distant cousins, just not so distantly, only by about 125 years.
As I was digging for my own ancestry, a lot of the deaths were at Tower of London, that gave me a very unsettled feeling. Mostly sadness, I am sure it was due to the King, he seemed to be a very difficult man. My own GGGGGGrandmother was beheaded by his order, and for that, just makes me sad, I am still working on trying to find out why she was beheaded, she was only 54 years old.
In that time era, it seemed common place to find you guilty and then behead you. Which I find ironic, since today's society its, you are found guilty, but then can spend the rest of your life in jail at the expense of others. Maybe the King did have a point, maybe if you were truly guilty of what he said, off with your head, and be done with you. But a lot of the crimes people committed were stealing food because they were poor, or not affording the taxes, and lastly, religious views, some wanted to remain Catholic, and others didn't, Hence the introduction of Protestants...
As I dig more into the how's and why's of my ancient family, I will post my findings. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask,
Tracy
Last night I decided to work on my Great Grandma Hastings family, and got about to 1340 A.D., and much to my surprise, I am a niece of King Henry VI. Everyone has someone in their family that is famous, just sometimes its not the famous type you would like to have.
I also looked for my boyfriend who has been told since he was a teenager that he is related to Outlaw Jesse James, he too wasn't quite sure how to take that, or to be real happy about it. But I found it, they are distant cousins, just not so distantly, only by about 125 years.
As I was digging for my own ancestry, a lot of the deaths were at Tower of London, that gave me a very unsettled feeling. Mostly sadness, I am sure it was due to the King, he seemed to be a very difficult man. My own GGGGGGrandmother was beheaded by his order, and for that, just makes me sad, I am still working on trying to find out why she was beheaded, she was only 54 years old.
In that time era, it seemed common place to find you guilty and then behead you. Which I find ironic, since today's society its, you are found guilty, but then can spend the rest of your life in jail at the expense of others. Maybe the King did have a point, maybe if you were truly guilty of what he said, off with your head, and be done with you. But a lot of the crimes people committed were stealing food because they were poor, or not affording the taxes, and lastly, religious views, some wanted to remain Catholic, and others didn't, Hence the introduction of Protestants...
As I dig more into the how's and why's of my ancient family, I will post my findings. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask,
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
Gifting MySelf
So, I have wanted a membership to Ancestry.com but with no job, and only one parent working, money is being spent conservatively.. so for my birthday, I bought a 6 month membership to Ancestry. And for me, this has been a wonderful gift. And my boyfriend is pleased that I'm getting so much use out of the membership.
I have been adding census records, military records, and anything that they have to the already 1500 plus members in my family tree. Very exciting stuff.
I've been meeting distant relatives online, and working with them, sharing photos, today I got a photo of a GGGGrandfather, and it was from his service during the War Between the States. I hope to look more into that part of his history, due to I want to determine which side he was on, where he was stationed, etc.
I have been adding census records, military records, and anything that they have to the already 1500 plus members in my family tree. Very exciting stuff.
I've been meeting distant relatives online, and working with them, sharing photos, today I got a photo of a GGGGrandfather, and it was from his service during the War Between the States. I hope to look more into that part of his history, due to I want to determine which side he was on, where he was stationed, etc.
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
Medical Schools
If you have a relative that was say a Doctor in the early 1800's, where have you looked or will you look? I am looking for my GGGGGrandfather. He was a doctor in 1830's to his death in 1892.
Sunday, January 30, 2011
2011
I have not been here as much as I had hoped to be, frankly I wasnt here at all in 2010, and that was my fault. Our family was going through some seriously hard times. It is my great hope to post here once a week this year, show you what I am working on, and the things that I hope to accomplish. If you are interested in working on your families Genealogy, or learning about how to go about it. This is the year for you to start. More and more records are being uploaded onto the internet making it easier and faster to get results.
My current project is to get everything scanned and uploaded onto this website. My Grandma, bless her, gave me almost every piece of Family Memrobilia, from Funeral notices, Obits, thank you cards, even her Great Grandmothers Teaching certificate from the 1880's. I was going to share this with you now, but they don't allow PDF's, so I'll change it tomorrow to a jpeg. Lesson learned... hope all is well with everyone.
My current project is to get everything scanned and uploaded onto this website. My Grandma, bless her, gave me almost every piece of Family Memrobilia, from Funeral notices, Obits, thank you cards, even her Great Grandmothers Teaching certificate from the 1880's. I was going to share this with you now, but they don't allow PDF's, so I'll change it tomorrow to a jpeg. Lesson learned... hope all is well with everyone.
Sunday, May 30, 2010
Google Books
Have you ever been a thousand miles away from the book you would like to read? I have, and know that it can be a pain, especially when it's in a genealogy library that doesnt ship their books, or have the staff to make copies of articles for you.
Google books is currently uploading as many books as they can for free. Click on the word Google, and that will get you to where you need to be. Try searching for a relative here and see what you come up with, you can try just a name, but if its a common name such as Thomas Hastings, you can add a birth date, and wonderful things might come up for you. They offer a wide variety of choices for people to look up resources...
Google books is currently uploading as many books as they can for free. Click on the word Google, and that will get you to where you need to be. Try searching for a relative here and see what you come up with, you can try just a name, but if its a common name such as Thomas Hastings, you can add a birth date, and wonderful things might come up for you. They offer a wide variety of choices for people to look up resources...
Saturday, March 27, 2010
Took a Break
I have had so much on my plate, and none of it really worth re-chewing over.. I am in school and that has my attention almost as much as my family does. We just moved into our new house, and getting everything set up and decided what doesn't need to be in the house. I have put my genealogy files away and some in storage. Its nice to have the extra room, and spread out.. I hope that all is well with everyone out there, I just love moving, cause the stuff you forgot you had, and then find, can go to donation, or clothes that are so old, they can actually come back in style at any moment and make it into a teenagers wardrobe is fun... I'm ready to get back to studying the dead people I find so fascinating.. life is one big melting pot of people.. I doubt we will ever uncover all the mysteries, but it sure is nice looking for the.
Friday, October 16, 2009
Irregular Marriage
If you find this term in your Genealogy it means this...
In Isolated frontier areas couples were not always able to travel to a church or preacher or legal recorder when they wanted to marry so they would publicly state their intentions and set up housekeeping together and then when the first itinerant minister came through, he would marry them.
This term was accepted by church elders, in Scotland and here in the U.S.A. in the earlier days. The couple was not thought of as promiscuous, it was just something that they did. The children under law were never thought as illegitimate, and thus, the church didn't either.
So in some states now, they call it common law marriage, or even the new modern term, Domestic Partner...
In Isolated frontier areas couples were not always able to travel to a church or preacher or legal recorder when they wanted to marry so they would publicly state their intentions and set up housekeeping together and then when the first itinerant minister came through, he would marry them.
This term was accepted by church elders, in Scotland and here in the U.S.A. in the earlier days. The couple was not thought of as promiscuous, it was just something that they did. The children under law were never thought as illegitimate, and thus, the church didn't either.
So in some states now, they call it common law marriage, or even the new modern term, Domestic Partner...
Friday, October 2, 2009
Correct Last Names....
My own last name is a huge long German name... and let me tell you, we are a unique bunch, but the problem I am having now is, when my Great Great Grandfather and his family immigrated to this country in 1881, after living in NYC for a short stay, they moved to Illinois. Upon doing research in the community that they lived in, I discovered that there were several other families living there with the same last name but with a different spelling.. my version is ae, another is ea, and then the third, a. And the ones with the A are the ones who spelled it this way when they were living in Germany, but my GGGrandfather changed his name to ae, and a cousin of his switched it to ea.
It has become confusing at times to tie it all together, but I am not quitting, just taking my time to read thru the names, and make out a family group sheet and work on connecting the families. They separated upon leaving Illinois via North Dakota then to Washington state. The cousins, left Illinois for N.D. as well, but then to California and Chicago.
So when you are doing your research, make sure you check with various spellings.. there could be more family than you know..
It has become confusing at times to tie it all together, but I am not quitting, just taking my time to read thru the names, and make out a family group sheet and work on connecting the families. They separated upon leaving Illinois via North Dakota then to Washington state. The cousins, left Illinois for N.D. as well, but then to California and Chicago.
So when you are doing your research, make sure you check with various spellings.. there could be more family than you know..
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Snap Fish!!!
I am in love with snapfish, I just cant say it enough.. By the time I take my photos, and upload them to snapfish, pay a small amount, nothing compared to Target, or even costco.. and put my order thru, I have my photos back in my hand and ready to scrapbook. They have some wonderful projects as well, and I am getting ready to start my Christmas gift list and some of them will be through Snapfish.
On average before snapfish I paid .30 cents for a photo, usually because I didnt want to have to make two trips to the store, one to put in my order and two, to pick them up. Usually I would pay the extra money and do instant photos.
Now with snapfish, holy cow, I just load them up, select the ones I want printed, pay, poof, within like 4 days I have my photos. And they are delivered to my mailbox. We are a one car family, so this is totally convenient for us.
Thank you snapfish, I know there are other competitors out there, but none with the prices like snapfish, but more importantly, the extra projects. Thank you!!!
On average before snapfish I paid .30 cents for a photo, usually because I didnt want to have to make two trips to the store, one to put in my order and two, to pick them up. Usually I would pay the extra money and do instant photos.
Now with snapfish, holy cow, I just load them up, select the ones I want printed, pay, poof, within like 4 days I have my photos. And they are delivered to my mailbox. We are a one car family, so this is totally convenient for us.
Thank you snapfish, I know there are other competitors out there, but none with the prices like snapfish, but more importantly, the extra projects. Thank you!!!
Friday, September 18, 2009
Genealogy Groups..
Starting a Genealogy group is something that is very common, and also very helpful. The people in your group can be friends or they can be people you have met at school while taking a class, or while working.
My girlfriends and I have started a group and sunday is our first get together. I have all the information that I want to take along with me.
A group setting can be so much fun, but also informative. Usually there is someone in the group that has far more insight into a certain area. Then there is a newbie, but has ideas of their own. Everyone brings something to the table, and then more information can be collected by just a few ideas from the table.
My girlfriends and I have started a group and sunday is our first get together. I have all the information that I want to take along with me.
A group setting can be so much fun, but also informative. Usually there is someone in the group that has far more insight into a certain area. Then there is a newbie, but has ideas of their own. Everyone brings something to the table, and then more information can be collected by just a few ideas from the table.
Thursday, September 17, 2009
Monday, September 14, 2009
Google Reader
The more I have been working online, and using blogspot, blogger.com or Google. I have seen so many new things. Google Reader is wonderful, especially if you follow a lot of blogs, like I do. You can quickly skim thru your blogs, read the ones that you really want to. Or mark as read for others.. save them, delete them, instead of having to go to every single blog.
Sunday, September 13, 2009
Where to Start..
When you are seeking your family's tree, how I start is at the end. Yes it sounds morbid, but they cant go anywhere after they are buried. So start with the cemetery. It will give you more than likely a birth date and a death date, and some markers have been fixed with sentiments like wonderful father, husband, uncle etc, that will give you the clue that he had a family. Take the dates that you have and work through the records, you can get a death certificate, birth certificate, and marriage certificate. They will cost anywhere from $10 to $20 dollars, depending on your city.
I started loading all of my family tree information onto Ancestry.com, helps keep it in one place, and well because its free to build a tree, make sure you set it to private, because anyone can copy your photos and take credit for them, and well, im all about sharing but as long as they ask for it, and not take it.
There are many websites that will offer help, most you have to pay, but some are free, and that helps a lot. So many records are being uploaded daily in hopes that others may need, find, discover their families history. Some generations dont go very far, not for lack of looking but for the sheer fact that records weren't kept, or were destroyed. And some generations can go as far as you can find. One of my lines is now up to its 19th generation, they were a very popular family in the 1500's and they kept going on their records as far back as 1100 A.D.
I started loading all of my family tree information onto Ancestry.com, helps keep it in one place, and well because its free to build a tree, make sure you set it to private, because anyone can copy your photos and take credit for them, and well, im all about sharing but as long as they ask for it, and not take it.
There are many websites that will offer help, most you have to pay, but some are free, and that helps a lot. So many records are being uploaded daily in hopes that others may need, find, discover their families history. Some generations dont go very far, not for lack of looking but for the sheer fact that records weren't kept, or were destroyed. And some generations can go as far as you can find. One of my lines is now up to its 19th generation, they were a very popular family in the 1500's and they kept going on their records as far back as 1100 A.D.
Saturday, September 12, 2009
Playing Catch Up
I have been away for a while.. my son has been sick lately and that is where my focus has been. But today he is doing much better so here I am. I am not sure if i mentioned this before but I recently bought into Ancestry.com and wow, the load of information is almost overwhelming. I have been doing one family a night and trying to go as far back as I can and get as much information as I can before moving on, and its easy to do so.
Some girlfriends and I are forming a genealogy group to help the newbies and to refresh the more experienced. I am very excited about this, not only to help each other but to get together with friends.
Another thing to mention is back up your files and then put it on a flash drive and stick it in a safety deposit box. I have been scanning all of our papers incase something crucial happens later in life. Got to be able to prove your tree if someone calls you on something.
Some girlfriends and I are forming a genealogy group to help the newbies and to refresh the more experienced. I am very excited about this, not only to help each other but to get together with friends.
Another thing to mention is back up your files and then put it on a flash drive and stick it in a safety deposit box. I have been scanning all of our papers incase something crucial happens later in life. Got to be able to prove your tree if someone calls you on something.
Friday, July 24, 2009
Find A Grave
seeing as how i dont get a chance to volunteer or help out with charities that really inspire me, I have been thinking of something to do to give back. I just happened to be working on a little research for my genealogy, and came across this little website, its nothing fancy, but it has 34million grave site photos. http://www.findagrave.com I am soon going to be walking the local cemeteries and taking photos.. Great exercise, great nature walks, and plenty of photos in the hopes of helping out my fellow genealogists. Usually when you have a person to research, you find their last known whereabouts, i.e. their grave. A photo is worth a thousand words, and in this case, a date of birth or a year, etc. If you are like me, and have just a few spare hours, or several to spare and want to get out and about, take your camera to the nearest cemetery and take photos, then upload them to the site. Also, if you need a photo, you can download it, and have it as your own, there are even celebrities listed there.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)