I am now the proud possessor of a Library of Congress Reader Identification Card. This last Wednesday, January 7, I was part of a group of 28 members of the Fairfax Genealogical Society which participated in guided tours of three parts of the Library of Congress: the Geography and Map Reading Room, the Newspapers and Current Periodicals Reading Room, and the Local History and Genealogy Reading Room. All three of our librarian-tour guides were excited about their collections and very generous in sharing information, particularly information they felt was relevant to historical and genealogical research, as well as research tips that would be useful in exploiting these collections to the fullest.
Three of us researchers had done some searching of the Library of Congress website beforehand and had written down call numbers for books we were interested in; in the Local History and Genealogy Room we filled out request forms and handed them in before we went to lunch so that after lunch we were able to return and use the books for a couple of hours of research. I chose Jessye Ann High’s John Finley, “Fighting Jack,” 1760-1839, and His Descendants. A John Finley of Greene County, Illinois has been cited as the father of my great-great grandmother Nancy Finley. There were two John Finleys in Greene County during the period in question, and while I was fairly certain this John Finley was not the father, I though he might be the grandfather, as the other John Finley was young enough to be his son. However, High’s book makes no mention of “my guy”; moreover, it includes John Finley’s will, which does not mention a son named John. The alternatives are: some other type of relative such as a nephew or no relation.
An exciting and relatively new (it’s in its third year) program at the Library of Congress, jointly sponsored with the National Endowment for the Humanities, is Chronicling America, “a site produced by the National Digital Newspaper Program, [which] provides free, public access to select digitized newspaper pages and a wealth of information about historic American newspapers held in libraries across the country.” You can find information on Chronicling America at http://www.loc.gov/ndnp/ and see what’s available or do a search at http://www.loc.gov/chroniclingamerica/.
Kudos to Bobbie Leamer for organizing this and other wonderful field trips; the next one is to the DAR Library.
Thursday, January 8, 2009
Monday, January 5, 2009
Memory Monday: Getting Married at Dr. Maiden’s House
The other day I was thinking about the documents that my husband and I need to make sure are preserved, which led me to think about where we put our marriage license, which caused me to remember our wedding.
Brides are usually supposed to be the “stars” at their weddings. I was not the star of mine, and that was fine with me. I had never wanted a big, fancy wedding, and was happy to have as little fuss (and expense) as possible. I wore a simple white blouse, a dark skirt I had bought at a thrift shop, and a garland bought at a florist’s shop – it’s still in our freezer 26 years later. We did not arrange to have a large church wedding and reception, but opted instead for a small potluck party afterwards at a friend’s house, and when we registered at the courthouse to get a marriage license we had a J.P. assigned to marry us.
The J. P. was a 97-year-old Methodist minister named Dr. Maiden, and he was the star of our wedding. We were married at his house, which was equipped with a special automated chair on the banister of his staircase that could be used to go up and down the stairs. One of the instructions he gave to Stuart was, “Now Stuart, one of the first things you have to learn when you get married is to put your wife on a pedestal, so I’m going to have you seat Greta on this chair, which is a lot like a pedestal, and let her take a ride up and down these stairs.” I enjoyed the ride. Then we let Stuart’s 2-year-old niece Kristy take a turn.
Dr. Maiden was still very sharp and had a wonderful wit, so wonderful, in fact, that Stuart and I had to fight to keep from dissolving in giggles throughout the entire ceremony. Almost all of the pictures from our wedding show us cracking up or with huge smiles on our faces. One picture shows Dr. Maiden cracking up.
I will never forget Dr. Maiden and believe our “humorous” wedding got us off to the right start. I do not look down on the more solemn ceremonies that are more typical of weddings, and I love the beautiful ritual of the weddings we have witnessed in our church, but I believe that one of the strongest elements of our marriage has been humor and that it was appropriate for us to start our married life that way.
Brides are usually supposed to be the “stars” at their weddings. I was not the star of mine, and that was fine with me. I had never wanted a big, fancy wedding, and was happy to have as little fuss (and expense) as possible. I wore a simple white blouse, a dark skirt I had bought at a thrift shop, and a garland bought at a florist’s shop – it’s still in our freezer 26 years later. We did not arrange to have a large church wedding and reception, but opted instead for a small potluck party afterwards at a friend’s house, and when we registered at the courthouse to get a marriage license we had a J.P. assigned to marry us.
The J. P. was a 97-year-old Methodist minister named Dr. Maiden, and he was the star of our wedding. We were married at his house, which was equipped with a special automated chair on the banister of his staircase that could be used to go up and down the stairs. One of the instructions he gave to Stuart was, “Now Stuart, one of the first things you have to learn when you get married is to put your wife on a pedestal, so I’m going to have you seat Greta on this chair, which is a lot like a pedestal, and let her take a ride up and down these stairs.” I enjoyed the ride. Then we let Stuart’s 2-year-old niece Kristy take a turn.
Dr. Maiden was still very sharp and had a wonderful wit, so wonderful, in fact, that Stuart and I had to fight to keep from dissolving in giggles throughout the entire ceremony. Almost all of the pictures from our wedding show us cracking up or with huge smiles on our faces. One picture shows Dr. Maiden cracking up.
I will never forget Dr. Maiden and believe our “humorous” wedding got us off to the right start. I do not look down on the more solemn ceremonies that are more typical of weddings, and I love the beautiful ritual of the weddings we have witnessed in our church, but I believe that one of the strongest elements of our marriage has been humor and that it was appropriate for us to start our married life that way.
The 99+ Genealogy Things Meme
This meme was conceived and compiled by Becky Wiseman at Kinexxions; I suspect GeneaBloggers are going to have lots of fun with it.
The 99+ Genealogy Things Meme
The list should be annotated in the following manner:
Things you have already done or found: bold face type
Things you would like to do or find: italicize (color optional)
Things you haven’t done or found and don’t care to: plain type
1. Belong to a genealogical society.
2. Researched records onsite at a court house.
3. Transcribed records.
4. Uploaded tombstone pictures to Find-A-Grave. (Will be doing this soon.)
5. Documented ancestors for four generations (self, parents, grandparents, great-grandparents) .
6. Joined Facebook.
7. Helped to clean up a run-down cemetery.
8. Joined the Genea-Bloggers Group on Facebook.
9. Attended a genealogy conference. (Probably not until I get my youngest child out of the house - not that I'm counting down or anything...)
10. Lectured at a genealogy conference.
11. Spoke on a genealogy topic at a local genealogy society.
12. Been the editor of a genealogy society newsletter.
13. Contributed to a genealogy society publication.
14 Served on the board or as an officer of a genealogy society.
15. Got lost on the way to a cemetery.
16. Talked to dead ancestors. (Okay, who was evesdropping?)
17. Researched outside the state in which I live. (Same as #9.)
18. Knocked on the door of an ancestral home and visited with the current occupants.
19. Cold called a distant relative.
20. Posted messages on a surname message board.
21. Uploaded a gedcom file to the internet.
22. Googled my name.
23. Performed a random act of genealogical kindness.
24. Researched a non-related family, just for the fun of it.
25. Have been paid to do genealogical research.
26. Earn a living (majority of income) from genealogical research.
27. Wrote a letter (or email) to a previously unknown relative.
28. Contributed to one of the genealogy carnivals.
29. Responded to messages on a message board or forum.
30. Was injured while on a genealogy excursion.
31. Participated in a genealogy meme. (Does this one count?)
32. Created family history gift items (calendars, cookbooks, etc.).
33. Performed a record lookup for someone else.
34. Went on a genealogy seminar cruise. (The only kind of cruise I would be interested in.)
35. Am convinced that a relative must have arrived here from outer space.
36. Found a disturbing family secret. (Well, it actually wasn't disturbing to me.)
37. Told others about a disturbing family secret.
38. Combined genealogy with crafts (family picture quilt, scrapbooking).
39. Think genealogy is a passion not a hobby.
40. Assisted finding next of kin for a deceased person (Unclaimed Persons).
41. Taught someone else how to find their roots.
42. Lost valuable genealogy data due to a computer crash or hard drive failure.
43. Been overwhelmed by available genealogy technology.
44. Know a cousin of the 4th degree or higher.
45. Disproved a family myth through research. (Almost!)
46. Got a family member to let you copy photos.
47. Used a digital camera to “copy” photos or records.
48. Translated a record from a foreign language. (See article in my blog on doing this.)
49. Found an immigrant ancestor’s passenger arrival record.
50. Looked at census records on microfilm, not on the computer.
51. Used microfiche. (Soon.)
52. Visited the Family History Library in Salt Lake City.
53. Visited more than one LDS Family History Center. (Only one so far.)
54. Visited a church or place of worship of one of your ancestors.
55. Taught a class in genealogy.
56. Traced ancestors back to the 18th Century.
57. Traced ancestors back to the 17th Century. (Found others who had.)
58. Traced ancestors back to the 16th Century. (Found others who had.)
59. Can name all of your great-great-grandparents. (But I can name all of them but my Smith great-great-grandparents; see Brick Wall article.)
60. Found an ancestor’s Social Security application.
61. Know how to determine a soundex code without the help of a computer.
62. Used Steve Morse’s One-Step searches.
63. Own a copy of Evidence Explained by Elizabeth Shown Mills. (Soon.)
64. Helped someone find an ancestor using records you had never used for your own research.
65. Visited the main National Archives building in Washington, DC.
66. Visited the Library of Congress. (This Wednesday!)
67. Have an ancestor who came over on the Mayflower.
68. Have an ancestor who fought in the Civil War. (A bunch.)
69. Taken a photograph of an ancestor’s tombstone.
70. Became a member of the Association of Graveyard Rabbits. (Just last week -yay!)
71. Can read a church record in Latin.
72. Have an ancestor who changed their name.
73. Joined a Rootsweb mailing list.
74. Created a family website.
75. Have more than one "genealogy" blog.
76. Was overwhelmed by the amount of family information received from someone. (And grateful and humbled.)
77. Have broken through at least one brick wall.
78. Visited the DAR Library in Washington D.C. (Before too long...)
79. Borrowed a microfilm from the Family History Library through a local Family History Center.
80. Have done indexing for Family Search Indexing or another genealogy project.
81. Visited the Allen County Public Library Genealogy Center in Fort Wayne, Indiana.
82. Had an amazing serendipitous find of the "Psychic Roots" variety.
83. Have an ancestor who was a Patriot in the American Revolutionary War.
84. Have an ancestor who was a Loyalist in the American Revolutionary War.
85. Have both Patriot & Loyalist ancestors.
86. Have used Border Crossing records to locate an ancestor.
87. Use maps in my genealogy research.
88. Have a convict ancestor who was transported from the UK. (It's a family legend.)
89. Found a bigamist amongst the ancestors.
90. Visited the National Archives in Kew.
91. Visited St. Catherine's House in London to find family records.
92. Found a cousin in Australia (or other foreign country).
93. Consistently cite my sources.
94. Visited a foreign country (i.e. one I don't live in) in search of ancestors.
95. Can locate any document in my research files within a few minutes. (Only because I'm new enough at this game not to have piles and piles.)
96. Have an ancestor who was married four times (or more).
97. Made a rubbing of an ancestors gravestone.
98. Organized a family reunion.
99. Published a family history book (on one of my families).
100. Learned of the death of a fairly close relative through research.
101. Have done the genealogy happy dance.
102. Sustained an injury doing the genealogy happy dance.
103. Offended a family member with my research.
104. Reunited someone with precious family photos or artifacts.
Well - there are a lot of things I have not done; have to plead "being a newbie." Did have a "first" in this post - my first link inside a post - thanks Thomas and Becky!
The 99+ Genealogy Things Meme
The list should be annotated in the following manner:
Things you have already done or found: bold face type
Things you would like to do or find: italicize (color optional)
Things you haven’t done or found and don’t care to: plain type
1. Belong to a genealogical society.
2. Researched records onsite at a court house.
3. Transcribed records.
4. Uploaded tombstone pictures to Find-A-Grave. (Will be doing this soon.)
5. Documented ancestors for four generations (self, parents, grandparents, great-grandparents) .
6. Joined Facebook.
7. Helped to clean up a run-down cemetery.
8. Joined the Genea-Bloggers Group on Facebook.
9. Attended a genealogy conference. (Probably not until I get my youngest child out of the house - not that I'm counting down or anything...)
10. Lectured at a genealogy conference.
11. Spoke on a genealogy topic at a local genealogy society.
12. Been the editor of a genealogy society newsletter.
13. Contributed to a genealogy society publication.
14 Served on the board or as an officer of a genealogy society.
15. Got lost on the way to a cemetery.
16. Talked to dead ancestors. (Okay, who was evesdropping?)
17. Researched outside the state in which I live. (Same as #9.)
18. Knocked on the door of an ancestral home and visited with the current occupants.
19. Cold called a distant relative.
20. Posted messages on a surname message board.
21. Uploaded a gedcom file to the internet.
22. Googled my name.
23. Performed a random act of genealogical kindness.
24. Researched a non-related family, just for the fun of it.
25. Have been paid to do genealogical research.
26. Earn a living (majority of income) from genealogical research.
27. Wrote a letter (or email) to a previously unknown relative.
28. Contributed to one of the genealogy carnivals.
29. Responded to messages on a message board or forum.
30. Was injured while on a genealogy excursion.
31. Participated in a genealogy meme. (Does this one count?)
32. Created family history gift items (calendars, cookbooks, etc.).
33. Performed a record lookup for someone else.
34. Went on a genealogy seminar cruise. (The only kind of cruise I would be interested in.)
35. Am convinced that a relative must have arrived here from outer space.
36. Found a disturbing family secret. (Well, it actually wasn't disturbing to me.)
37. Told others about a disturbing family secret.
38. Combined genealogy with crafts (family picture quilt, scrapbooking).
39. Think genealogy is a passion not a hobby.
40. Assisted finding next of kin for a deceased person (Unclaimed Persons).
41. Taught someone else how to find their roots.
42. Lost valuable genealogy data due to a computer crash or hard drive failure.
43. Been overwhelmed by available genealogy technology.
44. Know a cousin of the 4th degree or higher.
45. Disproved a family myth through research. (Almost!)
46. Got a family member to let you copy photos.
47. Used a digital camera to “copy” photos or records.
48. Translated a record from a foreign language. (See article in my blog on doing this.)
49. Found an immigrant ancestor’s passenger arrival record.
50. Looked at census records on microfilm, not on the computer.
51. Used microfiche. (Soon.)
52. Visited the Family History Library in Salt Lake City.
53. Visited more than one LDS Family History Center. (Only one so far.)
54. Visited a church or place of worship of one of your ancestors.
55. Taught a class in genealogy.
56. Traced ancestors back to the 18th Century.
57. Traced ancestors back to the 17th Century. (Found others who had.)
58. Traced ancestors back to the 16th Century. (Found others who had.)
59. Can name all of your great-great-grandparents. (But I can name all of them but my Smith great-great-grandparents; see Brick Wall article.)
60. Found an ancestor’s Social Security application.
61. Know how to determine a soundex code without the help of a computer.
62. Used Steve Morse’s One-Step searches.
63. Own a copy of Evidence Explained by Elizabeth Shown Mills. (Soon.)
64. Helped someone find an ancestor using records you had never used for your own research.
65. Visited the main National Archives building in Washington, DC.
66. Visited the Library of Congress. (This Wednesday!)
67. Have an ancestor who came over on the Mayflower.
68. Have an ancestor who fought in the Civil War. (A bunch.)
69. Taken a photograph of an ancestor’s tombstone.
70. Became a member of the Association of Graveyard Rabbits. (Just last week -yay!)
71. Can read a church record in Latin.
72. Have an ancestor who changed their name.
73. Joined a Rootsweb mailing list.
74. Created a family website.
75. Have more than one "genealogy" blog.
76. Was overwhelmed by the amount of family information received from someone. (And grateful and humbled.)
77. Have broken through at least one brick wall.
78. Visited the DAR Library in Washington D.C. (Before too long...)
79. Borrowed a microfilm from the Family History Library through a local Family History Center.
80. Have done indexing for Family Search Indexing or another genealogy project.
81. Visited the Allen County Public Library Genealogy Center in Fort Wayne, Indiana.
82. Had an amazing serendipitous find of the "Psychic Roots" variety.
83. Have an ancestor who was a Patriot in the American Revolutionary War.
84. Have an ancestor who was a Loyalist in the American Revolutionary War.
85. Have both Patriot & Loyalist ancestors.
86. Have used Border Crossing records to locate an ancestor.
87. Use maps in my genealogy research.
88. Have a convict ancestor who was transported from the UK. (It's a family legend.)
89. Found a bigamist amongst the ancestors.
90. Visited the National Archives in Kew.
91. Visited St. Catherine's House in London to find family records.
92. Found a cousin in Australia (or other foreign country).
93. Consistently cite my sources.
94. Visited a foreign country (i.e. one I don't live in) in search of ancestors.
95. Can locate any document in my research files within a few minutes. (Only because I'm new enough at this game not to have piles and piles.)
96. Have an ancestor who was married four times (or more).
97. Made a rubbing of an ancestors gravestone.
98. Organized a family reunion.
99. Published a family history book (on one of my families).
100. Learned of the death of a fairly close relative through research.
101. Have done the genealogy happy dance.
102. Sustained an injury doing the genealogy happy dance.
103. Offended a family member with my research.
104. Reunited someone with precious family photos or artifacts.
Well - there are a lot of things I have not done; have to plead "being a newbie." Did have a "first" in this post - my first link inside a post - thanks Thomas and Becky!
Sunday, January 4, 2009
Photo Identification
As you can see from reading the post below, I have stumbled onto a little mystery. The photos in question may not be of the same person, but my search through my mother's old photo albums has made me realize how many pictures I have inherited in which I do not know some or all of the people. In the past I have enlisted my cousins' help in identifying some other old photos through a group e-mail. I have decided to simplify the process by creating a special photo album on my Facebook page (starting with the photos below) that will eventually have all of my "mystery photographs." Several of my cousins are on Facebook, so I am hoping to get some good results from this ... or drive my cousins as crazy as these mystery photographs are driving me!
Saturday, January 3, 2009
Do You Recognize This Woman?
To Judith Shubert of Genealogy Traces - might this be your grandmother? I know I have seen a photograph very much like the one you posted on your blog at http://genealogytraces.blogspot.com/. My mother's name was Mandy Moore (Roberts after she married her first husband, Dock). She was born and grew up in Texas and later lived in California. Unfortunately I cannot find the actual picture that I am thinking of, but she may have been the same person as the one shown in these photos.
99 Things Meme
I found this on Terry Thornton’s Hill Country of Monroe County Mississippi.
Things you’ve already done: bold
Things you want to do: italicize
Things you haven’t done and don’t want to - leave in plain font
1. Started your own blog.
2. Slept under the stars.
3. Played in a band. (My high school band)
4. Visited Hawaii.
5. Watched a meteor shower.
6. Given more than you can afford to charity.
7. Been to Disneyland/world. (Land, not World)
8. Climbed a mountain. (A small one.)
9. Held a praying mantis.
10. Sang a solo.
11. Bungee jumped.
12. Visited Paris.
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea.
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch.
15. Adopted a child.
16. Had food poisoning.
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty.
18. Grown your own vegetables.
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France.
20. Slept on an overnight train. (In Russia and D.C.-Chicago and back.)
21. Had a pillow fight.
22. Hitch hiked.
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill.
24. Built a snow fort.
25. Held a lamb.
26. Gone skinny dipping.
27. Run a marathon.
28. Ridden a gondola in Venice.
29. Seen a total eclipse.
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset.
31. Hit a home run. (The hit was nothing to brag about, but neither was the fielding…)
32. Been on a cruise.
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person.
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors.
35. Seen an Amish community.
36. Taught yourself a new language. (Several)
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied. (Don’t want to be rich, but being 100% debt-free would be nice.)
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person.
39. Gone rock climbing.
40. Seen Michelangelo's David in person.
41. Sung Karaoke.
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt.
43. Bought a stranger a meal in a restaurant.
44. Visited Africa.
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight.
46. Been transported in an ambulance.
47. Had your portrait painted.
48. Gone deep sea fishing.
49. Seen the Sistine chapel in person.
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris.
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkelling.
52. Kissed in the rain.
53. Played in the mud.
54. Gone to a drive-in theatre.
55. Been in a movie.
56. Visited the Great Wall of China.
57. Started a business.
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia.
60. Served at a soup kitchen.
61. Sold Girl Scout cookies. (Was a Cookie Mom for Four Years)
62. Gone whale watching.
63. Gotten flowers for no reason.
64. Donated blood.
65. Gone sky diving.
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp.
67. Bounced a cheque.
68. Flown in a helicopter.
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy.
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial.
71. Eaten Caviar.
72. Pieced a quilt.
73. Stood in Times Square.
74. Toured the Everglades.
75. Been fired from a job.
76. Seen the Changing of the Guard in London. (Accidentally left this one out.)
77. Broken a bone.
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle. (Thanks to my Uncle Bill.)
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person.
80. Published a book.
81. Visited the Vatican.
82. Bought a brand new car. (Not recently)
83. Walked in Jerusalem.
84. Had your picture in the newspaper.
85. Read the entire Bible.
86. Visited the White House.
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating.
88. Had chickenpox.
89. Saved someone’s life.
90. Sat on a jury. (Report to jury duty, but no trial resulted.)
91. Met someone famous.
92. Joined a book club.
93. Lost a loved one.
94. Had a baby.
95. Seen the Alamo in person.
96. Swum in the Great Salt Lake.
97. Been involved in a law suit.
98. Owned a cell phone.
99. Been stung by a bee.
Things you’ve already done: bold
Things you want to do: italicize
Things you haven’t done and don’t want to - leave in plain font
1. Started your own blog.
2. Slept under the stars.
3. Played in a band. (My high school band)
4. Visited Hawaii.
5. Watched a meteor shower.
6. Given more than you can afford to charity.
7. Been to Disneyland/world. (Land, not World)
8. Climbed a mountain. (A small one.)
9. Held a praying mantis.
10. Sang a solo.
11. Bungee jumped.
12. Visited Paris.
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea.
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch.
15. Adopted a child.
16. Had food poisoning.
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty.
18. Grown your own vegetables.
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France.
20. Slept on an overnight train. (In Russia and D.C.-Chicago and back.)
21. Had a pillow fight.
22. Hitch hiked.
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill.
24. Built a snow fort.
25. Held a lamb.
26. Gone skinny dipping.
27. Run a marathon.
28. Ridden a gondola in Venice.
29. Seen a total eclipse.
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset.
31. Hit a home run. (The hit was nothing to brag about, but neither was the fielding…)
32. Been on a cruise.
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person.
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors.
35. Seen an Amish community.
36. Taught yourself a new language. (Several)
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied. (Don’t want to be rich, but being 100% debt-free would be nice.)
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person.
39. Gone rock climbing.
40. Seen Michelangelo's David in person.
41. Sung Karaoke.
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt.
43. Bought a stranger a meal in a restaurant.
44. Visited Africa.
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight.
46. Been transported in an ambulance.
47. Had your portrait painted.
48. Gone deep sea fishing.
49. Seen the Sistine chapel in person.
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris.
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkelling.
52. Kissed in the rain.
53. Played in the mud.
54. Gone to a drive-in theatre.
55. Been in a movie.
56. Visited the Great Wall of China.
57. Started a business.
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia.
60. Served at a soup kitchen.
61. Sold Girl Scout cookies. (Was a Cookie Mom for Four Years)
62. Gone whale watching.
63. Gotten flowers for no reason.
64. Donated blood.
65. Gone sky diving.
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp.
67. Bounced a cheque.
68. Flown in a helicopter.
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy.
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial.
71. Eaten Caviar.
72. Pieced a quilt.
73. Stood in Times Square.
74. Toured the Everglades.
75. Been fired from a job.
76. Seen the Changing of the Guard in London. (Accidentally left this one out.)
77. Broken a bone.
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle. (Thanks to my Uncle Bill.)
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person.
80. Published a book.
81. Visited the Vatican.
82. Bought a brand new car. (Not recently)
83. Walked in Jerusalem.
84. Had your picture in the newspaper.
85. Read the entire Bible.
86. Visited the White House.
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating.
88. Had chickenpox.
89. Saved someone’s life.
90. Sat on a jury. (Report to jury duty, but no trial resulted.)
91. Met someone famous.
92. Joined a book club.
93. Lost a loved one.
94. Had a baby.
95. Seen the Alamo in person.
96. Swum in the Great Salt Lake.
97. Been involved in a law suit.
98. Owned a cell phone.
99. Been stung by a bee.
Thursday, January 1, 2009
Help Me Name a New Blog
In preparing to launch a couple of Graveyard Rabbit blogs, I started to scout around my neighborhood and the local cemeteries that are closest to where I live, and it occurred to me that a lot of what makes the Falls Church area most interesting is being irrevocably changed by development and “improvement.” Smaller, older houses are being replaced by larger ones with less personality (not large enough to be termed McMansions – our neighborhood cannot even aspire to that socioeconomic level; we call some of them “fungushouses”), small businesses and older rental units are falling victim to the construction of grandiose condominium developments and more upscale establishments, and there are plans to straighten out curving roads that do not conform to a uniform grid.
Falls Church, or at least the incorporated City part of it, is known as a desirable place to live, with much of the population belonging to the upper income brackets. In fact, complaints were published in the local newspaper when the city’s ratings slipped due to its location in the midst of “less desirable zipcodes” (a good part of surrounding Fairfax County shares the Falls Church address while not being part of the City). As a resident of one of those zipcodes, I contend that much of the surrounding area, as well as certain less glamorous parts of the city, are actually a lot more interesting than the “hoity-toity” sections and do not need to be “beautified.” Some of the streets are actually more like winding alleys, and there are tiny parks wedged in here and there; they still exist, but development is steadily encroaching on them.
One very interesting and historic area right next to my own neighborhood is Tinner Hill, a historic black district (home to the first rural branch of the N.A.A.C.P.). There are two historic churches with their graveyards and several other landmarks. Some of the historic landmarks may be preserved, but that is not a guaranteed fate for the residential neighborhoods.
I would like to do a blog which documents this “other” part of Falls Church, but I do not know what to call it: ? Falls Church. Unpretentious Falls Church?
So here is the request/challenge: Can anyone help me come up with an appropriate name?
Falls Church, or at least the incorporated City part of it, is known as a desirable place to live, with much of the population belonging to the upper income brackets. In fact, complaints were published in the local newspaper when the city’s ratings slipped due to its location in the midst of “less desirable zipcodes” (a good part of surrounding Fairfax County shares the Falls Church address while not being part of the City). As a resident of one of those zipcodes, I contend that much of the surrounding area, as well as certain less glamorous parts of the city, are actually a lot more interesting than the “hoity-toity” sections and do not need to be “beautified.” Some of the streets are actually more like winding alleys, and there are tiny parks wedged in here and there; they still exist, but development is steadily encroaching on them.
One very interesting and historic area right next to my own neighborhood is Tinner Hill, a historic black district (home to the first rural branch of the N.A.A.C.P.). There are two historic churches with their graveyards and several other landmarks. Some of the historic landmarks may be preserved, but that is not a guaranteed fate for the residential neighborhoods.
I would like to do a blog which documents this “other” part of Falls Church, but I do not know what to call it: ? Falls Church. Unpretentious Falls Church?
So here is the request/challenge: Can anyone help me come up with an appropriate name?
Will Translate for Genealogy Help
Within the short interval of three years, genealogy has become, as the blurb on this blog says, a serious obsession in my life.
But I have a day job. I am a translator. And to be honest, I am just as passionate about my job as I am about my hobby. Some days when I go to work I have to pinch myself and say, “I cannot believe I am getting paid to do what I love.”
But what is even better than genealogy or languages? Genealogy AND languages … Heaven.
This combination is something that is not going to happen much in my research of my lines or my husband’s lines. Not just because most of my lines involve Scots-Irish, English, and Welsh, because my husband’s ancestors are continental Europeans: German, Italian, and Jews from Romania. Problem is, I do not really translate German, Italian, or Romanian (well, German maybe a little bit).
Not to worry. There are a lot of other researchers out there, and some of them have ancestors from Eastern Europe. And I have been privileged to be able to help out two people so far in their ancestor research, one a co-worker and the other my husband’s cousin. For the co-worker I translated the discharge papers (from the Imperial Russian Army) of one of her husband’s ancestors, and for my husband’s cousin, the certificate of marriage of two of his ancestors (from Hungarian).
Documents of genealogical interest tend not to have complex syntax, but they do present a specific set of challenges. For one thing, the language is often archaic and the places and procedures involved may no longer exist or be practiced. The terminology is often specific to a particular bureaucratic sphere. For another thing, these documents are old and therefore possibly not in the best of shape.
In the case of Hungarian certificate of marriage, it was a copy made in 1911 of a document originally dated 1885. The copy had been folded in eight sections, and the document had started to disintegrate at the folds, so that at some point someone had felt compelled to place tape over these folds. And the tape did what tape does – it darkened with age, so that on the digital image I received by e-mail it was difficult to distinguish the text underneath these taped areas. However, because the document followed a fixed and somewhat repetitive format, I was able to guess what appeared in some of the blanks (and indicated that it was a guess in the translation notes, of course). For some partial words, especially the beginnings of the words, I could guess what the entire words were. Unfortunately, I know of no reverse sort dictionary for Hungarian (several reverse sort dictionaries exist for Russian), so guessing based on end fragments yielded little success. And there was at least one whole word that presented a problem for me: bitközség. I know that község means town, village, or community, but in this case I do not know what the affixed modifier “bit” adds to that. I did some searches, but was unable to come up with anything before the cousin brought the translation to show to relatives. Nagy Karoly, the town in question, refers both to an rtv (town with settled council) and to the jaras, or district, within which it was located and of which it was the district seat. Here bitközség would be referring to a municipality within the district.
In the case of the 1896 Russian Army discharge papers, it was the place names and unit names that were the biggest challenge: the native town of the discharged man was located in that corner of the Russian Empire which now straddles Poland, Lithuania, and Belarus. The document form was in Russian, but I could not be sure that all the handwritten entries for proper names were based on Russian names or their Polish or Lithuanian version. Three websites were particularly helpful in my search. One contained a listing of shtetls in Lithuania; this website belongs to the Lithuanian-Jewish Special Interest Group (http://www.jewishgen.org/Litvak/). The other websites belong to the Polish Genealogical Society of America (http://www.pgsa.org) and Polish Roots (http://www.polishroots.org). The soldier in question was an Old Believer; this experience provided a reminder that whether an East European ancestor was Jewish or gentile, it’s always a good idea to check both Jewish and non-Jewish East European sites.
On top of all the other difficulties presented by the document, the handwriting wasn’t terribly good (a problem familiar to all of us). To compensate for this, however, the document was interesting for some of the details it provided on what was of interest to the Russian authorities: “If, when he enters active service, [name] brings his own boots with him which are at least nine vershoks in length and undergarments which are suitable for use, then upon his arrival these items may be appropriated and money will be paid to him for these items,” followed by the specific price to be paid for each type of garment.
I learned a lot from translating these documents: geographic terminology, a bit about the military bureaucracy of the Russian Empire, and Jewish marriage customs in the Austro-Hungarian Empire., among other things.
But I have a day job. I am a translator. And to be honest, I am just as passionate about my job as I am about my hobby. Some days when I go to work I have to pinch myself and say, “I cannot believe I am getting paid to do what I love.”
But what is even better than genealogy or languages? Genealogy AND languages … Heaven.
This combination is something that is not going to happen much in my research of my lines or my husband’s lines. Not just because most of my lines involve Scots-Irish, English, and Welsh, because my husband’s ancestors are continental Europeans: German, Italian, and Jews from Romania. Problem is, I do not really translate German, Italian, or Romanian (well, German maybe a little bit).
Not to worry. There are a lot of other researchers out there, and some of them have ancestors from Eastern Europe. And I have been privileged to be able to help out two people so far in their ancestor research, one a co-worker and the other my husband’s cousin. For the co-worker I translated the discharge papers (from the Imperial Russian Army) of one of her husband’s ancestors, and for my husband’s cousin, the certificate of marriage of two of his ancestors (from Hungarian).
Documents of genealogical interest tend not to have complex syntax, but they do present a specific set of challenges. For one thing, the language is often archaic and the places and procedures involved may no longer exist or be practiced. The terminology is often specific to a particular bureaucratic sphere. For another thing, these documents are old and therefore possibly not in the best of shape.
In the case of Hungarian certificate of marriage, it was a copy made in 1911 of a document originally dated 1885. The copy had been folded in eight sections, and the document had started to disintegrate at the folds, so that at some point someone had felt compelled to place tape over these folds. And the tape did what tape does – it darkened with age, so that on the digital image I received by e-mail it was difficult to distinguish the text underneath these taped areas. However, because the document followed a fixed and somewhat repetitive format, I was able to guess what appeared in some of the blanks (and indicated that it was a guess in the translation notes, of course). For some partial words, especially the beginnings of the words, I could guess what the entire words were. Unfortunately, I know of no reverse sort dictionary for Hungarian (several reverse sort dictionaries exist for Russian), so guessing based on end fragments yielded little success. And there was at least one whole word that presented a problem for me: bitközség. I know that község means town, village, or community, but in this case I do not know what the affixed modifier “bit” adds to that. I did some searches, but was unable to come up with anything before the cousin brought the translation to show to relatives. Nagy Karoly, the town in question, refers both to an rtv (town with settled council) and to the jaras, or district, within which it was located and of which it was the district seat. Here bitközség would be referring to a municipality within the district.
In the case of the 1896 Russian Army discharge papers, it was the place names and unit names that were the biggest challenge: the native town of the discharged man was located in that corner of the Russian Empire which now straddles Poland, Lithuania, and Belarus. The document form was in Russian, but I could not be sure that all the handwritten entries for proper names were based on Russian names or their Polish or Lithuanian version. Three websites were particularly helpful in my search. One contained a listing of shtetls in Lithuania; this website belongs to the Lithuanian-Jewish Special Interest Group (http://www.jewishgen.org/Litvak/). The other websites belong to the Polish Genealogical Society of America (http://www.pgsa.org) and Polish Roots (http://www.polishroots.org). The soldier in question was an Old Believer; this experience provided a reminder that whether an East European ancestor was Jewish or gentile, it’s always a good idea to check both Jewish and non-Jewish East European sites.
On top of all the other difficulties presented by the document, the handwriting wasn’t terribly good (a problem familiar to all of us). To compensate for this, however, the document was interesting for some of the details it provided on what was of interest to the Russian authorities: “If, when he enters active service, [name] brings his own boots with him which are at least nine vershoks in length and undergarments which are suitable for use, then upon his arrival these items may be appropriated and money will be paid to him for these items,” followed by the specific price to be paid for each type of garment.
I learned a lot from translating these documents: geographic terminology, a bit about the military bureaucracy of the Russian Empire, and Jewish marriage customs in the Austro-Hungarian Empire., among other things.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)