Saturday, November 26, 2011

Acknowledgments of Gratitude

My big Thanksgiving weekend activity has been to write the “Acknowledgments” page on my website, Greta’s Genealogy.

The reasoning and inspiration behind this page are explained at the top of the page (which I am including below).

Most if not all of us are aware of the importance of source citations, but how many of us also pay tribute to the people and things - documents, photographs, and other items passed on to us by these people - that initially led us to the sources?

In my genealogy program, on the “Notes” page for the family that starts off (genealogically, not chronologically) each new family line, I try to outline the people and previous research that laid the foundations for my own research. But right now I am the only person who sees these pages.

Family history books may contain an “Acknowledgments” section, but what if I never publish a book?

So I decided to do the next best thing - to publish such a page on my website. There are a lot of names on that page, and I know there should be a lot more. As I go through my e-mail and the “Correspondence” sections of my research binders and folders, more names will be added to this list. Here is what I have written so far:

Acknowledgements

When I started family research back in September 2005, I knew next to nothing - almost nothing about my ancestors beyond my grandparents, nothing about how to do genealogical research, and nothing about the vast amount of historical and genealogical resources that are available, both online as well as in repositories and a host of other places.

Very soon after I got started, however, I came into contact with people who were incredibly generous - with their information, expertise, photographs, and family stories and memories.  Not all of these people will show up in my source citations or photo attributions, so I would like to express my gratitude to them on this page.  There are so many of them that I may not remember them all right away, so like the rest of this website, this page will be a work in progress.

I would like to extend my heartfelt gratitude to the following people:

Eunice Sandling - the cousin who actually sparked off my passion for family history with her History of the Floyd Family.

Paul Moore - the cousin who set the example when he passed Eunice's research and his Moore family tree to me.

The Dodd family - Jim, Pat, and Paula - for their great Floyd family research and preservation of Floyd family heritage, and for sharing it all with their Floyd cousins.

Carolyn Chamberlain Loffler - the cousin who passed so many family stories to me (who had heedlessly failed to pay attention to these stories when I was growing up) and has provided so much encouragement to me.

Jo Ann Sizer - my third cousin in the Moore family line, the first Moore family researcher I found outside of the cousins I grew up with, who had done so much research on the William Spencer Moore family, shared it all with me, and set the example for me in how to do family research.

Kim Wilson - a researcher who was working on families in the Anderson County, South Carolina area - not related to my Moores - who generously shared her information and expertise with me.

Howard and Judith Koehl - for sharing family memories with me and going to extraordinary lengths to share family photographs with me.

John Hornady - for what may be the most generous sharing of family materials of all - not just scans and copies, but original materials inherited from a Lewis family hero who had no direct descendants, so John passed them to me.  For giving me a piece of history:  I cannot thank you enough.

My Brinlee cousins - Raymond Parker, George Brinlee, Edna Rae Spencer, and Gale Wallen - for being first-rate researchers and for so many great pictures, including the only pictures of my Grandfather Lawrence Brinlee that I have ever seen.

A. Gayle Hudgens - besides setting a great example as a researcher and knowing a ton of interesting stuff about the Lewises, Gayle is one of the most enjoyable people to correspond with and talk to I have ever known.  She makes the pursuit of finding one's family, both in the past and the present, a real pleasure.

Marianne Dillow - for sharing her wonderful Lewis family research with me.

Chuck Golden and Gary Brown - For sending me pictures, including the pictures which gave me my first glimpse of my great-great grandfather Joseph Madison Carroll Norman, and for sending me Inez Cline's History of the Norman Family.

Rebecca Cardwell Sibley - and her husband Danny and her mother Leota - for sharing a treasure trove of Norman research, for arranging to meet my husband and me on our way home from Charleston, South Carolina, and for being people that I'm honored to be related to.

To some wonderful Genea-Bloggers - Carol at Reflections from the Fence, Becky Jamison of Grace and Glory, and Cynthia Shenette of Heritage Zen - for being real Genea-Angels and doing some gigantic genea-favors for me - and at their own initiative.  This is what makes the genealogy blogging community great!

Mary Lou Benjamin - for being a fabulous Fichtelmann researcher and sharing her research, and for being the one who figured out who Christine Fichtelmann's father was, and sharing that.

Mary Newton - for having written that all-important message board post that connected the William Spencer Moore and Bud Mathis Moore families, for sending me the Bud Mathis Moore family materials, and for putting me in touch with other Bud Mathis Moore descendants.

George Moore - for sharing some critically important Moore family history that led to some new discoveries.

Randy and Rich Floyd - for making that all-important connection from their New York Floyd branch, descendants of Ransom Floyd, to our Texas Floyd branch, descendants of George Floyd and for reaching out and sharing precious letters written by my great-grandfather Charles Augustus Floyd to their ancestor and by my grandmother's sister Lannie Angelina, who died in childbirth.

Paula Moore - for connecting her Freeman Manson Moore line with our William Spencer Moore and Bud Mathis Moore lines, for reaching out, and, with her sister Carolyn, making my first research trip one of the most enjoyable experiences of my life, let alone one which resulted in a huge find of Moore, Lewis, and even Tarrant materials.

Richard Van Dyke - for sharing wonderful memories of Bun and Square Brinlee.

Maria Fazio - for sharing Terrana-Davi family lore and documents with me.

Surname Saturday: Raligh H. Jones and Minnie Brinlee

Raligh H. Jones
b. 15 Apr 1861, Illinois
d. bef 1930
& Minnie Brinlee
b. 20 Jul 1872, Erath County, Texas
d. 14 May 1959, Whittier, Los Angeles County, California
|--Nora Lee Jones
|----b. 13 Jul 1889, Texas
|----d. 20 Dec 1968
|---& Charles Alexander Whitaker
|----b. 1 Feb 1886, Marshall, Harrison County, Texas
|----d. 17 Oct 1966, Ada, Pontotoc County, Oklahoma
|----m. 14 Nov 1905, Roff, Indian Territory
|--Burl Mason Jones
|----b. 6 Oct 1891, Texas
|----d. 18 Sep 1967, Modesto, Stanislaus County, California
|---& Selma Sanders
|----b. 28 Apr 1897
|--Lena “Linnie” Jones
|----b. Dec 1894, Indian Territory
|----d. Oct 1995, Muskogee, Muskogee County, Oklahoma
|---& William Clyde Frazer
|----b. 28 Apr 1886, Kentucky
|--Earl Jones
|----b. 1903, Indian Territory
|--Lillie Jones
|----b. 1910, Oklahoma

Raligh Jones was the son of John Franklin Jones and Sarah Elizabeth Hefley. Minnie Brinlee was the daughter of Richard Mason Brinlee and Sarah Ellen Petit. Two of Raligh’s brothers married Married Minnie’s sisters: Herbert Shelton Jones married Elizabeth Ann Brinlee and James Raymond Jones married Sarah Alice “Allie” Brinlee.

I would love to share information with anyone related to/researching this family; you can contact me at my e-mail address, which can be found by going to my profile page (there is a link to that page in the About Me section to the left).

Saturday, November 19, 2011

Surname Saturday: John William Brinlee and Fetnah Ann Bull

John William Brinlee
b. 16 Sep 1869, Texas
d. 29 May 1960, Florence, Fremont County, Colorado
& Fetnah Ann Bull
b. 23 Jul 1869, Texas
d. 9 Sep 1940, Denver, Adams County, Colorado
|--Ethel Mary Brinlee*
|----b. 31 Oct 1893, Erath County, Texas
|----d. 7 Oct 1971, Englewood, Arapahoe County, Colorado
|---& Ernest Chester Rowe
|----b. 22 Nov 1894, Roff, Pontotoc County, Oklahoma
|----d. 13 Apr 1919
|--Ethel Mary Brinlee*
|----b. 31 Oct 1893, Erath County, Texas
|----d. 7 Oct 1971, Englewood, Arapahoe County, Colorado
|---& Walter Clarence Crites
|----b. 22 Nov 1893, Rye, Pueblo County, Colorado
|----d. 13 Jan 1957, Denver, Adams County, Colorado
|--Eley Russell Brinlee
|----b. 9 Sep 1895, Erath County, Texas
|----d. 26 Jun 1900, Roff, Pontotoc County, Oklahoma
|--Evard Mason Brinlee
|----b. 29 Mar 1897, Chickasha, Grady County, Oklahoma
|----d. 30 Jan 1960, Akron, Washington County, Colorado
|---& Nannie Pamelia Brewer
|----b. 4 Sep 1900, Vernon, Wilbargar County, Texas
|----m. 4 Sep 1919, Durham, Roger Mills County, California
|--Ervil Luther Brinlee
|----b. 31 Aug 1899, Coal County, Oklahoma
|----d. 12 Jun 1987, Covina, Los Angeles County, California
|---& Blanche Elizabeth Penny
|----b. 16 Feb 1906, Rockvale, Fremont County, Colorado
|----d. 19 Nov 1994, Orange County, California
|--Elsie Maude Brinlee*
|----b. 28 Sep 1901, Phillips, Coal County, Oklahoma
|----d. 19 Mar 1975, Long Beach, Los Angeles County, California
|---& Maynard E. Collins
|----b. 15 Dec 1896, Sanburn, Iowa
|----d. Jul 1986, Long Beach, Los Angeles County, California
|----m. 29 Apr 1961, Los Angeles, California
|--Elsie Maude Brinlee*
|----b. 28 Sep 1901, Phillips, Coal County, Oklahoma
|----d. 19 Mar 1975, Long Beach, Los Angeles County, California
|---& Mark Roberts
|----b. 1898, Missouri
|--Earl John Brinlee
|----b. 12 Nov 1903, Roger Mills County, Oklahoma
|----d. 7 Jan 1905, Oklahoma
|--Erwin Charles Brinlee
|----b. 18 Mar 1906, Roger Mills County, Oklahoma
|----d. 29 Jul 1952, Florence, Fremont County, Colorado
|---& Adeline F. Jones
|----b. 1906
|----d. 29 Nov 1997
|----m. 8 Jun 1943
|--Eltah Mae Brinlee
|----b. 31 Aug 1908, Roger Mills County, Oklahoma
|----d. 13 Mar 1988, Canon City, Fremont County, Colorado
|--Edith Maggie Brinlee
|----b. 13 Mar 1911, Roger Mills County, Oklahoma
|----d. 27 May 1995, Canon City, Fremont County, Colorado
|---& Roger Howard Nats
|----b. 7 Oct 1912, Fort Lupton, Weld County, Colorado
|----d. 16 Apr 1975, Williams, Coconino County, Arizona

This was a family who loved the letter “E.” John William Brinlee was the son of Richard Mason Brinlee and Sarah Ellen Pettit.

I would love to share information with anyone related to/researching this family; you can contact me at my e-mail address, which can be found by going to my profile page (there is a link to that page in the About Me section to the left).

Friday, November 18, 2011

Fun Stuff You Can Do with Weebly

Well, okay, you can almost certainly do this with other web hosting companies, too. But it’s really easy on Weebly, and that’s why I’m doing it.

I’ve been playing around with using Weebly to create a family tree/genealogy toolbox website - Greta’s Genealogy - about my ancestors and my husband’s ancestors. I am not using my genealogy program to do this, but am creating it page by page, link by link. This way, not only do I not have to wait until I can update my program to the latest version and learn how to use it to create web cards, I can tailor the pages the way I want to.

While it probably would have been enough just to put up the family lines, hanging out in the genealogy blogging community has had its effect: I knew I should somehow deal with the issue of sources.

But how? A number of genealogy programs that can be used to build a family tree website incorporate ways to include footnotes, where you can click on the footnote number and it will take you to the source citation.

I wanted something like that. I figured I would set up a source page, insert the footnote numbers on the family pages, and link them to the source page. But I decided I would like to add something more.

When I was creating family tree pages, I noticed that there are four different kinds of links that can be made:

1. Links to another website,
2. Links to another page on my website,
3. Links to a file on my website, and
4. Links to an e-mail address.

Number 3 was the one that interested me. You can, of course, insert images on the pages, but I don’t want to include too many images that will clutter up the pages; most of the images I will be using directly on the pages will probably be photographs.

So here’s how the links work:

Family page with footnotes (they are the small red things in this picture) (or you can link to this page here):



Clicking on the footnote number takes you to the source page (or you can link to the source page here):



The footnote is in turn linked to the image of the source (or you can see the source here):



So far I have just done one footnote, to see whether this works the way I want it to (it does). I can’t say that I’ll be adding every single footnote right away; I’m still doing a lot of experimentation, and I really do want to get the names out there as soon as possible. And that is working, too - I got my first Google Alert from the site the other day. As a matter of fact, it’s the first Google Alert I’ve received since I set up several earlier this year, so now I know that Google Alerts is working, too.

I am actually using my Reunion program for some of the items at Greta’s Genealogy. Right now I am using descendant reports for the pages of the siblings of my direct ancestors, and later I would like to have some cool charts to use, such as those Linda McCauley of Documenting the Details has put up on her family tree website, McCauley, Lanier, Hankins, Hopkins & Taylor Families. And she is not the only blogger I plan to steal ideas from emulate: Valerie Craft of the Begin with Craft blog has some neat features on her site, Begin with Craft - in particular I like the Google Maps there.

Sheesh, what a geek I am.

And that is my disclaimer: Weebly did not pay me anything to write this. They didn't have to; I just wanted to geek out. And to think - I probably wouldn't be doing any of this stuff if I hadn't started hanging out with the genealogy blogging crowd.

Wednesday, November 16, 2011

Sunday, November 13, 2011

Blog Tweaks

As I get back into my genealogy research and blogging routine, I have been making a few tweaks to Greta’s Genealogy Bog:

- A “Lookups I Can Do” page. This page lists books that I have in which I can do lookups; these fall into two main categories: county books (Anderson County in South Carolina, Baylor County in Texas, Collin County in Texas, and Garland County in Arkansas) and land deed books by A. B. Pruitt for Pendleton District/Anderson County and Greenville County.

- A link to my Weebly website, “Greta’s Genealogy.” Right now it has half of my Genealogy Research Toolbox. Eventually the Research Toolbox on this page and the Weebly site will both have the complete Toolbox. You will notice that some headings have no entries for them right now; that is because I am still in the process of adding my bookmarked sites to these pages.

I have also started putting up my family lines on the “Greta’s Genealogy” website. My original plan was to learn how to use my genealogy program to create the web pages, but since it is so simple to create and link pages using Weebly, I have decided to simply create this part of the website page by page. That may sound like a very labor-intensive process, but it is surprisingly a lot of fun.

- Some old items have been removed from the sidebar. A few were links to sites that no longer exist, and others were research-related links that you can now find in my Toolbox. I will probably leave the South Carolina and Texas links on the main paige of the blog, however.

Saturday, November 12, 2011

Surname Saturday: Herbert Shelton Jones and Elizabeth Ann Brinlee

Herbert Shelton “Dub” Jones
b. 22 Dec 1863, Hillsboro, Montgomery County, Illinois
d. 25 Oct 1957, Atoka, Atoka County, Oklahoma
& Elizabeth Ann Brinlee
b. 1867, Indiana
d. ca 1886, Hood County, Texas
|--Lela Sarah Jones*
|----b. 8 May 1884, Grandbury, Hood County, Texas
|----d. 8 Apr 1968, Coalgate, Coal County, Oklahoma
|---& Thomas Belase
|----b. 15 Apr 1880, Belton, Bell County, Oklahoma
|----d. 18 Aug 1964, Carnegie, Caddo County, Oklahoma
|----m. 11 Mar 1905
|--Lela Sarah Jones*
|----b. 8 May 1884, Grandbury, Hood County, Texas
|----d. 8 Apr 1968, Coalgate, Coal County, Oklahoma
|---& Joel Jasper Carlton
|----b. 6 May 1876, Boomer, North Carolina
|----d. 25 Aug 1918, Chicago, Cook County, Illinois
|----m. 24 Apr 1900

This is the family of Herbert Shelton Jones, son of John Franklin Jones and Sarah Elizabeth Hefley, and Elizabeth Ann Brinlee, daughter of Richard Mason Brinlee and Sarah Ellen Petit. Elizabeth Ann’s sisters Minnie and Sarah Alice also married members of the Jones family. The big question for this family is the actual date of death of Elizabeth Ann Brinlee; family reports say that she died when daughter Lela Sarah Jones was about 18 months old. After Elizabeth Ann’s death, “Dub” Jones married his brother’s widow.

I would love to share information with anyone related to/researching this family; you can contact me at my e-mail address, which can be found by going to my profile page (there is a link to that page in the About Me section to the left).

The Problem With Google Reader

I think I have figured out what my problem with Google Reader is. The last couple of days the post numbers were much closer to my usual 120-180 posts a day.

The problem is that it took at least two sessions to pile up these numbers, one in the morning and one in the evening. For the previous three days, however, only 100 to 108 posts were were in the reader when I opened it for a single reading session each evening.

It appears that Google Reader is dropping posts shortly after the number of posts reaches the 100 mark. I cannot just split up my reading, since during the workweek I have no time to do any reading before I leave for work. I’ll check again Monday to see whether the evening number is still near the 100 mark.

I checked my settings to see whether there was any limit on the number of unread posts, but I cannot find anything that seems to be relevant to my problem.

There may also be a backlog problem; see Amy Coffin’s comment to the post below.

Has anyone had a problem like this with Google Reader?

Monday, November 7, 2011

What Happened to All the Blogs I Was Following in Google Reader?

I follow a lot of blogs. Each day Google Reader usually brings me anywhere from 120-180 unread posts.

Yesterday and today that number dropped to the 60s.

Did I infect everyone with my cleaning frenzy so that you are all taking time off from blogging to clean house and organize your offices?

I didn't think so.

Not that I'm paranoid or anything. Well, yes, I am paranoid. And I hate change - there, I said it.

I hate Google Reader's new look and the nightmare that it has become to navigate. Those scroll bars? Much clunkier than the old arrows, and it seems almost impossible to navigate up and down my subscription list.

As I read my 63 unread items today, I checked to make sure that it wasn't just Blogger-platform blogs that are included. Wordpress and private sites are there. So which blogs aren't there? I can't figure it out.

Where is my tinfoil hat?

I miss my blogs!

Any suggestions on other readers?

Sunday, November 6, 2011

Why I Want to Remain an Amateur

Our genea-blogging community has an amazing range and combination of people from all demographic groups (even young people, thank God!), all walks of life, many different countries and just about every state of the United States, and, what is quite impressive and interesting, all parts of the professional-to-amateur spectrum as well as genealogy newbies and old hands that have been doing genealogy for 50 years.

As the genealogy blogging community has gelled, developed, and assumed an increasingly recognizable and well-defined identity, it has been joined by an increasing number of professionals, and, if I am not mistaken, the proportion of “semi-pros” (extensive background in research, solid skills, but not yet certified and/or only engaged in research for pay on a part-time basis) has always been fairly high. Add a good share of keenly interested and often very experienced amateurs to this mix, and the result is an eclectic group that in the aggregate covers almost every possible genealogy-related subject and possesses a huge fund of erudition and skills.

I note with interest that many of the “amateurs” are interested in pursuing some of the formal tracks of study such as ProGen study groups and genealogy institutes with the goal of eventually becoming professionals, and that many “semi-pros” are working toward certification. I haven’t really noticed any significant friction among the groups, although occasionally there does seem to be some concern about non-professionals feeling left out of discussions of topics of interest primarily to professionals such as certification and building a genealogy research business.

When I read posts or discussions on these subjects, I never feel left out or that I am being condescended to by the pros or the semis. But I have no intention of ever joining their ranks.

Don’t get me wrong: when I say that I want to remain an amateur, I certainly do not mean that I’m happy with just “amateurish” skills; like many other keen amateurs in our midst, I would definitely love to achieve professional-level skills and am doing whatever I can to learn as much as I can.

But, for a number of reasons, I have no desire to make a living at, or even earn money from, genealogy research. And while I love to help my fellow researchers - through translations, lookups, etc. - even if I could afford to, I do not want to be a full-time genealogy volunteer.

In no particular order, here are my reasons:

1. I already have a profession/vocation. I am good at it. I earn a living from it. I don’t want to give it up.

2. I like security. Some professional genealogists are able to earn a decent living, but getting to that point obviously takes a huge amount of sustained effort - in acquiring the skills, getting the certification, getting the experience, and getting the word out. Then comes the part where the professional must decide what kind of a professional/paying job or combination of jobs to pursue: his or her own business (and what areas that would cover), employee of one of a handful of genealogy-related companies or publications, archivist/librarian, educator/speaker, writer/editor/publisher, and so on. While any of these individually or in combination can be quite enjoyable and even somewhat remunerative, none of them really offers significant security. When the economy is poor, there is less money available to hire a professional researcher or pay for a genealogy class, and we all know that archives and libraries are some of the first items to go on the chopping block when budgets are cut.

3. I enjoy travel - but not all of the time. A professional genealogist does not necessarily have to do a lot of travel, but for many it seems to be a regular part of their job. I am a bit of a homebody and after a certain point, the hassles of constant travel would get to me.

4. I am not the greatest at marketing myself and would not be terribly skilled at or enthusiastic about the commercial/advertising aspects of being a professional genealogist.

5. I’m not sure I would be so good at handling poorly informed clients. “I want you to prove that I am related to Conrad Plinkelpoint.” “I can do the research that may prove you are or are not related to him.” “I want you to show that I am related to him.” “Can’t do.” You all know where this leads.

6. This one is something Sheri Fenley of The Educated Genealogist and others have addressed: When your client has contracted to pay for a certain number of hours and the research you have done has filled that number of hours, but you know that there is somewhere else you could search. In other words, the temptation to do extra work for no compensation - not a good business practice. In short, I am a good worker, but not a good businessman.

7. I want genealogy to be fun. That means no pressure. That means not having to put my own research on the back burner while I do research for clients. That means being able to keep my own work days to a manageable length (okay, workdays often get out of hand in my current job, but that’s another discussion) and to be a flibbertigibbet when I feel like it. When I discovered genealogy back in 2005, it met several real needs, mainly the need to learn about my family’s history and to do something that is incredibly enjoyable but enriching and educational at the same time. I was working very hard at my day job and at my rest-of-the-time job as a wife and mother, and genealogy sort of saved my sanity (no comments from the peanut gallery!).

It is still saving my sanity, and that’s what I want it to continue to do.

Saturday, November 5, 2011

Surname Saturday: Benjamin Franklin Tinnin and Mary Frances “Mollie” Brinlee

Benjamin Franklin Tinnin
b. Mar 1856, Missouri
d. 10 Jun 1929, Vanoss, Pontotoc County, Oklahoma
& Mary Frances “Mollie” Brinlee
b. May 1861, Texas
d. 10 Jun 1938, Pontotoc, Oklahoma
m. 1 Feb 1877, Hood County, Texas
|--Emma Tinnin
|----b. Sep 1886, Missouri
|--William Beecher Tinnin
|----b. 7 Jul 1889, Texas
|--Lonnie Tinnin
|----b. Dec 1890, Texas
|--Robert Mason Tinnin
|----b. 6 Aug 1894, Texas
|----d. May 1974, Dorsey, Madison County, Illinois
|---& Viola
|----b. 24 Jan 1899, Oklahoma
|----d. Apr 1987, Bunker Hill, Macoupin County, Illinois
|--Leonard Alfred Tinnin
|----b. 4 Feb 1897, Indian Territory
|----d. Sep 1981, Stratford, Garvin County, Texas
|---& Florence Willie Hodges
|----b. 9 Mar 1901, Texas
|----d. 20 Jan 1928, Vanoss, Pontotoc County, Oklahoma
|--Roy Archie Tinnin
|----b. 10 Feb 1906, Oklahoma
|----d. 30 Sep 1972, Precinct 2, Nacogdoches, Nacogdoches County, Texas
|---& Nancy Julie Burton
|----b. 21 Jul 1911, Texas
|----d. 6 Aug 2001, Nacogdoches, Nacogdoches County, Texas

This is the family of Benjamin Franklin Tinnin and Mary Frances “Mollie” Brinlee, the daughter of Richard Mason Brinlee and Sarah Ellen Pettit. In her article on Richard Brinlee in Collin County, Texas, Families (Alice Ellison Pitts and Minnie Pitts Champ, editors, 1994), Bessie Sims Sheppard attributes daughter Mary to Ann Eliza Simmons, but the 1900 census gives May 1861 as the date of her birth and the 1870, 1910, and 1930 censuses back this up (I have not yet found her in the 1880 and 1920 censuses). A copy of Richard and Sarah’s marriage certificate indicates that they were married 15 April 1861, so I believe Mary is Sarah’s daughter.

I have quite a few gaps on this family and would love to share information with anyone related to/researching this family; you can contact me at my e-mail address, which can be found by going to my profile page (there is a link to that page in the About Me section to the left).

Wednesday, November 2, 2011

Genea-Angeldom and Genea-Serendipity

The week since my return to genealogy has been a good one, especially in terms of connections.

The first connection was with a first cousin of my husband’s father. My in-laws met with her for lunch and learned that she was very interested in family history, so they put her in touch with me. We have been sharing information on the Terrana and Davi families.

The second connection was another Fichtelmann descendant. We know how all of the descendants of the Brooklyn Fichtelmanns are connected, but this man’s family settled in North Dakota. I told him what I knew and referred him to two Fichtelmann experts.

The third connection was Becky Jamison of Grace and Glory. Becky had previously met a descendant of Richard Brinlee, the brother of my great-grandfather Hiram Carroll Brinlee, Jr., and had put the two of us in touch. The other day I received a nice present from her: she had been taking pictures at a cemetery in Colorado and had found and taken pictures of some Brinlee tombstones. And Becky has learned that she is connected by marriage to the Brinlee family - the particular family that I have just been researching! Once again, Becky is a real Genea-Angel. Thank you, Becky!