A Favorite Resource

Like most of my blog posts, I start with an idea, often a generalized idea that has been simmering on the back burner waiting for just a bit more inspiration to kick it out of  my brain and onto the computer screen.  A few just burst out, but very few. Today's post has been started several times, before but it always sounded so . . .so . .so mechanical.  I'd like to tell you that I have solved that issue, but I don't really think I have.

When I was a young girl, I am sure that I had more library fines than anyone else in my small town.  I loved the library and checked out boatloads of books, but as I have mentioned before, I have a defective organization gene.  Just like my current genealogy research,  I would travel to far away countries and go back in time through those books. Naturally I lost track of the days and then was afraid to tell my mother that I had overdue books once again.  I wonder how long they keep their records . . . . It's possible I might still have unpaid fines.

When I first began my genealogy research, I dismissed the resources of my local library just because my family did not live in the local area.  Silly girl. . .  While they have a searchable obituary index for the local papers and a county land platbook, it is their fabulous pajama friendly digital collections and databases that make this a five star resource in my book (I know, I know. . .a pun is the lowest form of humor).  My first love was the Historic Chicago Tribune where I found more than obituaries.  I found articles about my family members protecting the citizens of Chicago as policemen, handing out flowers for charity, a kidnapped (and returned) baby, and a g-g grandmother who took in an abandoned and desperate woman.  I love newspapers!

My next discovery was the Newspaper Archive.  The first night I found an obituary and date of death for my g-g grandfather in the hometown paper of his son breaking through a year long brick wall!   I persisted and discovered that my gr. grandparents lived in Estherville Iowa between census records.  Small town newspapers love social news so this had a number of leads I need to follow.  For fun, I put in my own name . . .  Yikes! There were 49 records listing items such as my 4-H ribbons as well as every time I attended my church youth group.  Six hours later, I forced myself to log off and go to bed.  I thought I had been searching for about two hours.


 These are my two current favorites among the many available, but I haven't  investigated them all. I think that Heritage Quest and Sanborn Maps are looming in my future.

Look for this symbol that indicates you can access it from any computer with your library card.

The globe symbol is for databases that can be accessed from any computer anywhere

Some are only available at any branch of the St. Joseph County Public Library



The good news is that ANYONE can get a St. Joseph County Public Library card and access their digital collections and databases even if they are not a resident of St. Joseph County Indiana.  A single non-resident card is available for $50-$64.  This is cheaper than an individual yearly subscription to many of their resources.  What a deal!  Of course, if you are a resident, then it's free!

Click here for information about a card.  Click here for a complete list of databases available.

Is the St. Joseph county library unique?  I don't think so.  The Root Cellar in Clinton, Iowa was extremely friendly and helpful when I first contacted them by phone and email.  When I visited during a genealogy trip there last summer, they greeted me like an old friend and helped my brother and I find the resources we needed, showed us how to use the readers and checked on us occasionally.

If you have Chicago ancestors and you haven't been to the Newberry Library online sources, you are missing a great resource.  Hopefully, next summer I can make a more personal visit.

I would have to say that a library is THE resource that I think of first when I am researching.

The Spoons of Berenice

I have just returned from a glorious weekend knitting retreat with twelve knitting friends.  Our cabin looked out on the frozen lake, there was a continual fire in the fireplace, snowflakes out the window, lots of laughter and answers for all of our knitting questions.  It definitely was rejuvenating.

Because most (but if you insist on honesty, then all) of the ladies in the group are not interested in genealogy, I tried to keep my family history comments to myself, but . . . some did accidentally slip out.  Before I left, my Famuggle daughter warned reminded me just how boring genealogy is to others.  Since they are not technically family, my knitting friends cannot be labeled Famuggles but rather they belong to a sub set called Fruggles.  After one such slip up, I decided the next time to try and turn the conversation to something more universally acceptable.  I asked each person if they had a cherished family possession that had been passed down to them, and why did they cherish it?  Amazingly, everyone had something, and some had difficulty choosing just one.  I heard about Christmas ornaments, family bibles, immigrant trunks, and a chest of drawers.  As each person told about their possession their voice became animated, and the emotion attached to the object was clear.  Here was a group of non-genealogists sharing their family history. . . and enjoying it.

My question was a result of an unpublished post that had been languishing in my que for several months. . . The Spoons of Berenice. Several times, I would try to write only to delete most of it.  It just wouldn't come together.  Every Christmas for her first thirteen years my grandmother, Berenice Moldt, received a sterling silver spoon as a gift.  The spoons were sometimes beautifully elaborate, and, occasionally, dreadfully plain.

Each spoon had the year engraved on it and usually her name, always misspelled as Bernice, or her initials.  Sadly, she told me when I was younger who gave them to her, but I have long forgotten.  Now I am on a quest to find out.


The first spoon tells us that these were Christmas gifts because of the complete date of  December 25, 1899 on the handle.  I assume that it is a gift from a woman, possibly a grandmother or an aunt.  It would not be her mother with the misspelled name.  Her name was Berenice (rhymes with furnace) rather than the more common Ber-niece.

One of my favorites it the 1908 spoon which had an image of St. Patrick's church in Clinton, IA carved into the bowl section.   This leads me to believe that the relative was Catholic, possibly a member of the church, and her father's side of the family was not.  My grandmother had aunts on her mother's side, Elizabeth (Nettie) McDonnell, Florence (Flossie) Holdgrafer, Augusta (Gussie) Brown and Laura Tietjen - so maybe it was one of them.

Strangely, there are two spoons with a 1903 date. 

The back of the spoon above.

 The last date we have on a spoon is 1912.  Her grandmother died in 1914, but wouldn't she have known how to spell her name?  I can just imagine the polite "thank you", but lack of enthusiasm, that probably accompanied the opening of these predictable yearly gifts by the young girl pictured above. Yet, this is the gift she chose to keep and cherish and travel through life with her.  My grandparents moved often so possessions were chosen carefully. Was it the gift or the giver that gave these spoons such importance?   I wonder . . . did anyone else in the family receive spoons such as these as a gift?  I have no idea.  If you do, please contact me.

This then, I've discovered, is the secret bridge from our world to the Famuggle world.  We can talk with Famuggles and Fruggles about family history if we pretend it is just about the object.   Shhhh . . .we know the truth.  I invite you to try it. See if you get the same reaction that I did.  Do you think it's possible we might even convert a few . . . . . .

This is Serious!

Okay, I was half way through a new blog post.  I saved it, then closed it.  Now I can't find it.  What's worse is that none of my past blogs show up in the Edit Posts tab of my dashboard. What happened?  More importantly, what can I do?  Please, please tell me there is something.

Okay - I figured it out.  It was operator error, but my new blog post is gone -  Rats, and I really liked how it was going.

Update - Mary, that is exactly what happened.  Duhhh!
               Kathy - I spent a bunch of time doing the same thing. 
               Greta - Good idea!


But it does make me realize that I want to save my blog  so I will have my links, photos and everything someplace else.  Redundancy is a good thing.   Maybe I should go back and copy each blog post into a word document and save it that way.  Or would a PDF be better? 

Mother's Pan is Mine for the Coming Year

My brother with THE PAN

Yesterday I received an email from my brother asking why I had not posted about THE PAN yet.  My response was T. I. M. E.   Since returning to school after the holiday, I have been drowning in work.  Most evenings I didn't leave school until after 5:00 so when I arrived home I would quickly sink into a comfy chair and enjoy my dinner in front of the television. 

But today is the day to report on  the new decoration for THE PAN.  I introduced this pan and our Christmas tradition several weeks ago in a previous post titled Holiday Fun for Genealogists.  As we were all working in the kitchen preparing our traditional prime rib dinner, my brother started telling me that he had discovered some new photos from when we were young.  He would show them to me later, he said.  Later, as we sat around opening our gifts, his words came back to me when I opened a box that was so large it had to be THE PAN.  I carefully lifted it out.  The first thing I noticed was that it had been shined up and had something tall protruding from the pan. I followed it down into the pan and then noticed that it had an electrical cord coming out from a hole in the pan.  Oh, it was a light!  At this point I heard my brother say that now I would be keeping it on my desk for the coming year.  He made a fitted wooden insert to hold my pen,  pencils, markers and calculators.  The only thing missing is a place for family photos . . . . wait. . . a few photos are tucked into a slot at the back and afixed to the outside. The photos are familiar, but . . . something is not right.  I protest, "These have been Photoshopped I claim".  "I don't know what you mean, he replies in a syrupy voice.  Now I ask you, do you think these are original or has some 21st century digital sleight of hand been employed?

My mother sitting in an oversized chair soaking her feet in THE PAN

A terrible photo of my grandmother and me with THE PAN

My mother and Merle wearing THE PAN

I now have a year to plan.  Any suggestions, but remember my brother reads this blog??

The Perfect Genealogy Workshop

Max beneath the tree

I am finally back home with the usual Christmas decoration take down, put away hanging over my head on my list of must dos.  A big thank you to my husband who completed the take down part of this job while I was attending a genealogy workshop.  Many of the decorations are now piled on our dining room table for me to wrap and pack away. I think I can handle this if I listen to a Genealogy Gems podcast while I work. Additionally, the return of wrong size, duplicate, or broken gifts is also on the agenda for this afternoon.  Luckily, these are minimal and, as usual, a result of last minute desperation buying. 






Well, as I mentioned I have been very busy at a local 3 day genealogy workshop. I took the following courses:

    Methods for Hard Drive Organization.
    Antique Photo Identification including Age Progression
    Reverse Genealogy through Correspondence with Living Family Members
    Google Earth for Genealogy - Beginning Map Overlays
    Backing up your Data

    Online Research Sites

    Family Treemaker Software - crashes and how to do a manual uninstall

    Genealogy apps for the iPod Touch

This workshop specifically targeted the organizational deficiencies and haphazard practices of the research oriented genealogist who loves the chase through history, but lacks the will to do the follow-up record keeping.  I'm a bit like the Dr. Who of genealogy so this was a workshop I needed. 

Classes started early - most days about 6:00 a.m.  Coffee was allowed in the comfortable classroom, and there was a break for breakfast between 8:00 and 9:00 a.m.  Then the participants, each sitting with their computer in front of them, proceeded with the task assigned, talking and moving from computer to computer, sharing their knowledge and understanding.  Interruptions by outsiders were not tolerated, and they were asked to  participate or . . . . . . . .well, leave.  Breaks for lunch were up to the individual while dinner was a more organized affair.  After dinner, the work conitinued with the first two courses mentioned being the longest and usually going until 10:00 or 11:00 p.m.  The Google Earth for Genealogy - Beginning Map Overlays was a distance learning class taught via computer by Lisa Louise Cooke.

My original intent was to continue the distance learning class on Google Earth , but on the last day, I unexpected decided to sign up for the Family Treemaker Software class instead.  It was a grueling class full of frustrations and problems, but finally, it all came together, however it left little time for the class I had to lead - Online Research Sites.  A quick, brief overview was given of several of my favorite sites and participants practiced using the sites, but a more thorough investigation is needed in the future.  This, of course, means that I will have to be invited back for a Part II course and a continuation of the Google Earth series.

I proclaim the workshop a success!  The price was reasonable - $0.00.  The participants congenial and helpful - my brother and I.  The environment pleasant - my brother's family room and my sister-in-law's comfy chair. The food was delicious - Prime rib leftovers make great sandwiches!

I see another workshop in my future for 2011!  Happy New Year.

I Found a Kindred Spirit

A knitting store window taken in Dingle, Ireland

Tonight as I was trying to wade through my Google Reader list of blogs that had accumulated over the holidays, I started to randomly open some of the more enticing ones.  After all I wouldn't want to open them in any orderly fashion and ruin my reputation.  Not all of the blogs I read are genealogy related.  I have a few knitting and food blogs sprinkled in.  Now in the world of knitting blogs, the queen bee is definitely the Yarn Harlot.  I used to read her blog faithfully, but somehow drifted away. . . I don't exactly remember why. I think that sometimes life just sidetracks us, and blog reading was considerably more time consuming before my discovery of Google Reader.  Then this year I set up an iGoogle homepage explained by Lisa Louise Cooke of the Genealogy Gems podcast. . . .and so I discovered the Google Reader gadget.  My love of blogs was reignited. It is my favorite gadget.

Then tonight while I scrolled through the recent posts, I opened the Yarn Harlot and coveted  drooled over admired the fabulous Paul Atwell socks she made as a gift for a very lucky person.  Indeed, the socks were so fabulous, but in an understated way of course, that I had to find out more about the pattern.  This is where I was really blown away.  It linked to a knitting/pattern/family history blog/store fusion called the Family Trunk Project Blog that took my breath away.  Now this is a blog that reaches into my heart.  After all, I come from a long line of women who made a living by their handwork, and, as I said before, it's in my genes.  I can't imagine a life without knitting or sewing, although I think about them a lot more than I actually sew or knit, but just walking into my messy sewing room can slow my breathing and relax the knots in my muscles.  I have great plans for retirement.  For the present, a knitting retreat is on my calendar for February in a stone cabin, on a lake, with a fire in the fireplace, The Big Bang Theory in the DVD player, magic meals prepared by others, and knitting with good friends!  I might have to make the Paul Atwell socks my project.

I invite you to enjoy this blog, and enjoy the spirit of her family as she creates knitting patterns to represent them and their lives.  Be sure and read the payment instructions. There is the traditional money, but there is also an alternate option to exchange your family stories for a pattern instead . . . . .wow!  My family stories are just snippets, or have already been published. If not I would be all over this.  This blog is an inspiration, if you don't knit, you might consider learning and yes, men knit.

Let Us Not Forget . . .

Let us not forget that the spirit of the upcoming holiday is peace, good will and charity.  What ever your religious persuasion or lack thereof, it is still a universal wish for a kinder world.  I agree that it can get lost in all the commercialism, and my blog has definitely focused on the quirkier side of my family celebrations.  So. . . .

I want to share with you a blog post from the Chicago History Journal about the Good Fellows.  It is easy to feel helpless as "only one person", but it only take the vision of one person to make a difference.

Do something for others no matter how small the effort. Remember many individual grains of sand make a beach.