Thurs. the 29th
I love Thursdays! I plan to watch one my my favorite shows via Comcast's On Demand while I eat lunch. What is it, you ask? Ghost Hunters on SyFy. It only takes about 40 minutes to watch a 60 minute show!
Late yesterday afternoon, I made a "working" grid using a Word table for recording the photo number, the names on the stone, and the date range. I think this will be useful in organizing all of the photos I have taken of gravestones and cemeteries so far. With that done, I made supper and read more of Her Fearful Symmetry.
This morning, I got caught up on my blog reading. Great week for reading about cemeteries and gravestones. I spied a post about Elizabeth, NJ's gravestone restoration project and remembering seeing this cemetery on a recent edition of Ghost Hunters.
I entered a "contest" to win a copy of Her Fearful Symmetry via their Face Book Fan page since it was part of my Tombstone Tuesday post this week. I also added a book review to my post from the New York Times. It's a great read for this spooky week.
The remainder of the work day was spent uploading and researching gravestones from the Benjamin Burrows Cemetery and the Lower Mystic Cemetery. I discovered with the help of the Gallup genealogy that Franklin Gallup married two sisters Hannah and Sarah Burrows. Guess he was happy with the first so he stuck with the same family! I am so glad I have no sisters.
Friday, October 30, 2009
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Genealogist's Journal 29 October 2009
Wednesday 10/28
I meant to mention yesterday that my doctor called me out of the blue which is pretty weird (for Halloween week) because I didn't call the office and tell them we were sick. But, guess what he wanted? He wanted me to work on his genealogy some more. He's supposed to be emailing me. Didn't get a message yet!
I returned to work on my Burrows cemetery project and researched three more gravestones to blog about. The first row of the cemetery will be complete. I discovered that Ancestry is missing several pages of the Barbour Index of Groton so I had to stop what I was doing and pull out a CD that I bought of CT records and print all the pages for the surname Burrows. I had to set with them and highlight all the Groton people in it that had to do that were born, married or died in Groton.
I have tried another source to find out something more about Edward H. Wheeler whose parents were born in NY. Zilch...
I meant to mention yesterday that my doctor called me out of the blue which is pretty weird (for Halloween week) because I didn't call the office and tell them we were sick. But, guess what he wanted? He wanted me to work on his genealogy some more. He's supposed to be emailing me. Didn't get a message yet!
I returned to work on my Burrows cemetery project and researched three more gravestones to blog about. The first row of the cemetery will be complete. I discovered that Ancestry is missing several pages of the Barbour Index of Groton so I had to stop what I was doing and pull out a CD that I bought of CT records and print all the pages for the surname Burrows. I had to set with them and highlight all the Groton people in it that had to do that were born, married or died in Groton.
I have tried another source to find out something more about Edward H. Wheeler whose parents were born in NY. Zilch...
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Genealogist's Journal 28 October 2009
Tuesday the 27th
Since this was a "sick" day, I didn't get much done beyond the usual tasks of email, blog reading, tweets, and Face Book. Since those are a daily , "more than three times a day" to-do items, when you don't feel week, it can seem surmountable. Between my iPod touch and my netbook, I don't have to stay in my office all day to do much of those taks.
I had a phone call from another genealogist who lives in CA but is of New England birth. He's met Thomas MacEntee and was surprised to learn we are cousins. It must be because Thomas is prettier and smarter. OK, so I know Thomas read this...
My caller wanted to know more about genealogy courses online and if I thought they helped. He wants to write his family history. He is also considering a Master's program but doesn't think he wants it totally online like mine. I hope I helped him! Just for fun I told him about the story I am writing.
The photos that the other person took at the Lower Mystic Cemetery of the oldest gravestones are way better than mine. I am going to blog about that. I can transcribe hers and put them back on my list to re-photograph next August. She remembered taking them in the morning. I am going to be doing a lot more morning gravestone work.
I read more of "Her Fearful Symmetry" and "Seeking Spirits".
Since this was a "sick" day, I didn't get much done beyond the usual tasks of email, blog reading, tweets, and Face Book. Since those are a daily , "more than three times a day" to-do items, when you don't feel week, it can seem surmountable. Between my iPod touch and my netbook, I don't have to stay in my office all day to do much of those taks.
I had a phone call from another genealogist who lives in CA but is of New England birth. He's met Thomas MacEntee and was surprised to learn we are cousins. It must be because Thomas is prettier and smarter. OK, so I know Thomas read this...
My caller wanted to know more about genealogy courses online and if I thought they helped. He wants to write his family history. He is also considering a Master's program but doesn't think he wants it totally online like mine. I hope I helped him! Just for fun I told him about the story I am writing.
The photos that the other person took at the Lower Mystic Cemetery of the oldest gravestones are way better than mine. I am going to blog about that. I can transcribe hers and put them back on my list to re-photograph next August. She remembered taking them in the morning. I am going to be doing a lot more morning gravestone work.
I read more of "Her Fearful Symmetry" and "Seeking Spirits".
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Genealogist's Journal 27 October 2009
Monday, Monday (26th)
My husband called in sick today, which is a very rare occurance, But, with all of the flu around it seemed best not to expose or be exposed to more illness. The big event for the day will be for us to go to the local grocery store and quickly pick up a few things since he looks and feels better than yesterday.
I renewed my membership in the Association of Professional Genealogists today. My membership expires in December.
I received a snail mail thank you from the wife of the President of the Thomas Stanton Society since I did a act of genealogical kindness and mailed her a copy of Grace Denison Wheeler's An Old Fashioned Stonington, Conn., Love Story. Copies were distributed to each person who attended the Denison reunion. Many members didn't want their copies so I took several that were left on the table and I have been mailing then to people who are either Denison or Stanton descendants. I feel myself getting Grace Denison Wheeler "fever" again as I have located and photographed her parents gravestones!
I spent the rest of the day working on gravestones and corresponding with Mary Jane Cook who is a Gates descendant. Her gravestone photos of the old stones in the Lower Mystic Cemetery are much better than mine and since they are not older, the time of day she took hers is probably a factor. So, they will be retaken next summer when I got back to Mystic/Groton. MJ tells me of a juicy nature an illegitimate child in this line. I find the book at Amazon, written by a current historian at UConn and used the preview to find the paragraph referenced. {eyebrows raised here]
Wrote my Tombstone Tuesday for tomorrow and today's gravestone post about J. Warren Burrows who was lost at sea.
My husband called in sick today, which is a very rare occurance, But, with all of the flu around it seemed best not to expose or be exposed to more illness. The big event for the day will be for us to go to the local grocery store and quickly pick up a few things since he looks and feels better than yesterday.
I renewed my membership in the Association of Professional Genealogists today. My membership expires in December.
I received a snail mail thank you from the wife of the President of the Thomas Stanton Society since I did a act of genealogical kindness and mailed her a copy of Grace Denison Wheeler's An Old Fashioned Stonington, Conn., Love Story. Copies were distributed to each person who attended the Denison reunion. Many members didn't want their copies so I took several that were left on the table and I have been mailing then to people who are either Denison or Stanton descendants. I feel myself getting Grace Denison Wheeler "fever" again as I have located and photographed her parents gravestones!
I spent the rest of the day working on gravestones and corresponding with Mary Jane Cook who is a Gates descendant. Her gravestone photos of the old stones in the Lower Mystic Cemetery are much better than mine and since they are not older, the time of day she took hers is probably a factor. So, they will be retaken next summer when I got back to Mystic/Groton. MJ tells me of a juicy nature an illegitimate child in this line. I find the book at Amazon, written by a current historian at UConn and used the preview to find the paragraph referenced. {eyebrows raised here]
Wrote my Tombstone Tuesday for tomorrow and today's gravestone post about J. Warren Burrows who was lost at sea.
Monday, October 26, 2009
Genealogist's Journal 26 October 2009
Sunday (25th) started as a disaster since apparently my husband has caught this virus/cold!
I worked on the list of gravestones from the Lower Mystic Cemetery in Groton/West Mystic. I added many of them to my tree at Ancestry.com (especially the folks named Fish), and found that whole families are buried here.
Emailed the woman who added gravestones to this cemetery at Find A Grave as she and I corresponded last summer. Her gravestones of the older graves are easily read and mine are not. It may be that they were taken early in the day or perhaps a few years ago. I copied her transcriptions and compared them to the gravestones I took last August. Using a few words/dates and the shape and position of the stones, I matched the right one of hers to mine.
Took some time to read!
I worked on the list of gravestones from the Lower Mystic Cemetery in Groton/West Mystic. I added many of them to my tree at Ancestry.com (especially the folks named Fish), and found that whole families are buried here.
Emailed the woman who added gravestones to this cemetery at Find A Grave as she and I corresponded last summer. Her gravestones of the older graves are easily read and mine are not. It may be that they were taken early in the day or perhaps a few years ago. I copied her transcriptions and compared them to the gravestones I took last August. Using a few words/dates and the shape and position of the stones, I matched the right one of hers to mine.
Took some time to read!
Sunday, October 25, 2009
Genealogist's Journal 25 October 2009
Saturday (24th) is a day that I try to do some relaxing and clean-up around the house.
I had a lot of trouble setting up Adobe Photoshop Elements 6 just the way I wanted it to work so it was back to the books for hints. I disabled the "auto uploader" in the System tray and figured out how to disconnect files and folder from the catalog so that I can just see the photos I am working on. I don't like the way it controls the location of my files. If you move a photo in a folder then the application goes nuts. I must write this down in my notebook so I can remember how I did it. It is something I do if I alter the way software works by default.
I used "drag n drop" to put the folder of the Lower Mystic Cemetery into the Organizer so that I could print the contact sheet and that worked fine so I printed them, photocopied them and put the originals in my folder. I took out an old pad of notebook paper and started a list of the folks I took photos of. I used Find a Grave to look at Mary Cook's photos for the ones of the GATES surname. Two of the ones she took are readable which makes me wonder when she took them.
I took my work down to the living room and watched a movie, looking up vital records and the list of grave photos at Find a Grave on my Acer Aspire One netbook. I quit at 2 PM to read the new Family Tree Magazine while resting on the couch. After all, I am the Couch Potato Genealogist!
I had a lot of trouble setting up Adobe Photoshop Elements 6 just the way I wanted it to work so it was back to the books for hints. I disabled the "auto uploader" in the System tray and figured out how to disconnect files and folder from the catalog so that I can just see the photos I am working on. I don't like the way it controls the location of my files. If you move a photo in a folder then the application goes nuts. I must write this down in my notebook so I can remember how I did it. It is something I do if I alter the way software works by default.
I used "drag n drop" to put the folder of the Lower Mystic Cemetery into the Organizer so that I could print the contact sheet and that worked fine so I printed them, photocopied them and put the originals in my folder. I took out an old pad of notebook paper and started a list of the folks I took photos of. I used Find a Grave to look at Mary Cook's photos for the ones of the GATES surname. Two of the ones she took are readable which makes me wonder when she took them.
I took my work down to the living room and watched a movie, looking up vital records and the list of grave photos at Find a Grave on my Acer Aspire One netbook. I quit at 2 PM to read the new Family Tree Magazine while resting on the couch. After all, I am the Couch Potato Genealogist!
Saturday, October 24, 2009
Genealogist's Journal 24 October 2009
Fridays can be a great day to do research if one doesn't have to cook supper! [last lobster roll of the season!]
In the morning, I set up a new system for recording the photographs of gravestones I have taken previously. The contact sheet printout from Adobe Photoshop Elements will be a big help. I photocopied the sheets for the Benjamin Burrows Cemetery that I have been blogging about and put those pages in a journal book. The originals are in a folder which I will bind together eventually.
I printed the last two lessons from the "Write Your Family History Step-by-Step", stapled them and added them to the folder for reading and digesting after supper.
The Flickr group, "Graveyard The Weekly Theme Group" is having a gravestone game where a person asks to see a gravestone with a particular type of artwork on it. I enjoy participating in these as it widens my knowledge of gravestone symbolism past New England.
I posted all of the gravestone photos I took at the Lower Mystic Cemetery in Groton Connecticut last summer so that I can begin researching them, adding them to my tree at Ancestry if they fit in to my ancestors, and preparing to blog about them. It's a fun cemetery to visit and I want to go back next year. It is filled with sea captains.
I researched four more gravestones in the Benjamin Burrows Cemetery and added them to my tree at Ancestry. I discovered and edited some census transcriptions errors for two brothers. While working on this I discovered a database of Military Burials and found the brothers listed. I have not worked with this database before so I put it on my list to work with next week. I found listed with these young brothers, a Hiriam Appleman which I will need to discuss with another researcher.
I need to decide whether I am going to add this cemetery to Names in Stone or to Find a Grave as I photographed the entire cemetery.
In the morning, I set up a new system for recording the photographs of gravestones I have taken previously. The contact sheet printout from Adobe Photoshop Elements will be a big help. I photocopied the sheets for the Benjamin Burrows Cemetery that I have been blogging about and put those pages in a journal book. The originals are in a folder which I will bind together eventually.
I printed the last two lessons from the "Write Your Family History Step-by-Step", stapled them and added them to the folder for reading and digesting after supper.
The Flickr group, "Graveyard The Weekly Theme Group" is having a gravestone game where a person asks to see a gravestone with a particular type of artwork on it. I enjoy participating in these as it widens my knowledge of gravestone symbolism past New England.
I posted all of the gravestone photos I took at the Lower Mystic Cemetery in Groton Connecticut last summer so that I can begin researching them, adding them to my tree at Ancestry if they fit in to my ancestors, and preparing to blog about them. It's a fun cemetery to visit and I want to go back next year. It is filled with sea captains.
I researched four more gravestones in the Benjamin Burrows Cemetery and added them to my tree at Ancestry. I discovered and edited some census transcriptions errors for two brothers. While working on this I discovered a database of Military Burials and found the brothers listed. I have not worked with this database before so I put it on my list to work with next week. I found listed with these young brothers, a Hiriam Appleman which I will need to discuss with another researcher.
I need to decide whether I am going to add this cemetery to Names in Stone or to Find a Grave as I photographed the entire cemetery.
Friday, October 23, 2009
Genealogist's Journal 23 October 2009
Yesterday was quite a productive day.
I worked on the removable labels that I use for the photographs in the album that I have been keeping as a Chapter Scrapbook for my DAR Chapter. I am historian and I maintain the photos that I take and others give me of our meetings and any special events. There's a separate 3 ring notebook that I have created to hold the certificate, newspaper clippings, chapter meeting newsletter and the like. I need to find time to create another one for the materials given to me by the last historian. Her photograph album is lovely and complete but the other materials need work.
I answered a question via email from a reader of this blog about online learning. He wants to talk to me via phone about my experience with my graduate classes and any genealogy courses I have taken. I explained the GenClass course I am almost finished with but I think he wants more of an interactive experience.
I wrote the "Angry Father" section of my ancestor narrative that I am creating.
I installed Adobe Photoshop Elements 6 on this aging desktop computer and read the two book chapters on printing a contact sheet. I printed a contact sheet for the Benjamin Burrows Cemetery photographs that I am researching and blogging about. It added the filename and the date with a photo large enough to see which gravestone it is. I made a photo photocopy of it,
I read all my blogs in Bloglines, found a Tweet from a funeral director and followed him to expand my cemetery knowledge, backed up some files to my external hard drive which completed my day.
I worked on the removable labels that I use for the photographs in the album that I have been keeping as a Chapter Scrapbook for my DAR Chapter. I am historian and I maintain the photos that I take and others give me of our meetings and any special events. There's a separate 3 ring notebook that I have created to hold the certificate, newspaper clippings, chapter meeting newsletter and the like. I need to find time to create another one for the materials given to me by the last historian. Her photograph album is lovely and complete but the other materials need work.
I answered a question via email from a reader of this blog about online learning. He wants to talk to me via phone about my experience with my graduate classes and any genealogy courses I have taken. I explained the GenClass course I am almost finished with but I think he wants more of an interactive experience.
I wrote the "Angry Father" section of my ancestor narrative that I am creating.
I installed Adobe Photoshop Elements 6 on this aging desktop computer and read the two book chapters on printing a contact sheet. I printed a contact sheet for the Benjamin Burrows Cemetery photographs that I am researching and blogging about. It added the filename and the date with a photo large enough to see which gravestone it is. I made a photo photocopy of it,
I read all my blogs in Bloglines, found a Tweet from a funeral director and followed him to expand my cemetery knowledge, backed up some files to my external hard drive which completed my day.
Thursday, October 22, 2009
Genealogist's Journal 22 October 2009
Wednesday the 21st
Readers of this blog will want to note that I have [mostly] changed careers. I am going to "convert" this blog into a real journal to help me go "Beyond the Horizon" moving forward with my life.
Guided and inspired by Thomas MacEntee, the Geneablogger, I am going to start to keep track of the work I am accomplishing in family history. Of course, every job I have had is about education and two have been about technology, so I have decided to leave the past posts here in case readers want to look at them for reference.
Yesterday, Family Tree Magazine, sent me an email to inform me that although I did not win the "Put Your Ancestral Photo on Our Cover" contest, they would like to use the photo I submitted in a 2010 calendar that they will be selling at their online store. I take this "event" as a sign that I am successfully moving forward with this career. I immediately stopped what I was researching and send off the photo with the information they requested giving them publication permission. I even located the name of the photography studio where the photo was taken in the 1919 Providence, RI City Directory. [Louis Fabian Bachrach]
On my tech side, a friend, famous for her skills in technology in education, gave me two books on Adobe Photoshop Elements 5 and 6! I am going to start learning this [new to me] software to improve my current knowledge of image manipulation in readiness for my new scanner I purchased as my Christmas gift.
Today, a fellow genealogist gave me a special gift of coin silver spoons. They are amazing and I will share them next week for "Treasure Chest Thursday".
I am completing Lisa Alzo's Writing Class this weekend. She has sent all the lessons and I just have two more to print and read. Inspired by this class, I have begun to write about The Defiant Daughter.
As a child, I kept a journal and have always been calendar addicted. Blogging is something I enjoy. I hope, dear readers, that you will enjoy this new journey with me!
Readers of this blog will want to note that I have [mostly] changed careers. I am going to "convert" this blog into a real journal to help me go "Beyond the Horizon" moving forward with my life.
Guided and inspired by Thomas MacEntee, the Geneablogger, I am going to start to keep track of the work I am accomplishing in family history. Of course, every job I have had is about education and two have been about technology, so I have decided to leave the past posts here in case readers want to look at them for reference.
Yesterday, Family Tree Magazine, sent me an email to inform me that although I did not win the "Put Your Ancestral Photo on Our Cover" contest, they would like to use the photo I submitted in a 2010 calendar that they will be selling at their online store. I take this "event" as a sign that I am successfully moving forward with this career. I immediately stopped what I was researching and send off the photo with the information they requested giving them publication permission. I even located the name of the photography studio where the photo was taken in the 1919 Providence, RI City Directory. [Louis Fabian Bachrach]
On my tech side, a friend, famous for her skills in technology in education, gave me two books on Adobe Photoshop Elements 5 and 6! I am going to start learning this [new to me] software to improve my current knowledge of image manipulation in readiness for my new scanner I purchased as my Christmas gift.
Today, a fellow genealogist gave me a special gift of coin silver spoons. They are amazing and I will share them next week for "Treasure Chest Thursday".
I am completing Lisa Alzo's Writing Class this weekend. She has sent all the lessons and I just have two more to print and read. Inspired by this class, I have begun to write about The Defiant Daughter.
As a child, I kept a journal and have always been calendar addicted. Blogging is something I enjoy. I hope, dear readers, that you will enjoy this new journey with me!
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