Monday Genea-pourri, Week of January 1-7, 2018

Randy Seaver of Genea-Musing started this meme and I loved the idea. Genealogists are great at documenting our ancestors’ lives but not so great documenting our own. I’ll write about what I’ve been doing the past week.

Family

The memorial service for my aunt, June Stewart. It was held at Bonaventure Church in Clayton. First there was a rosary and then a Mass. I read the second reading. Father Aiden gave the homily. He thought of my aunt like a second mother. The Mass was very enjoyable because a large portion of the choir was there. I love singing. After the service, there was a luncheon of sandwiches and salads in the parish hall. It was so nice visiting with my cousins and their children. Afterwards, Bonnie arranged for family to have dinner at La Veranda Café in Clayton. It was a delicious Italian meal and wonderful to catch up with more of my cousins. My cousin, Bonnie, made the day very special.

Here is a 2007 shot of my dad, Bill, with his sisters, Lorene, June, and Virginia,
and his cousin, Mary (to his immediate right). Mary is the only one left now.

Cousins Gigi and Bonnie at the reception

Finally got together with Norman’s brother for Christmas exchange. We had a lovely ham dinner together.

Genealogy

My portfolio work is moving along. During the Christmas break I had researched a title company to do some land research in Todd County, Minnesota for me because I never heard from the Recorder’s Office on my previous request. I wrote out the email but saved it in the drafts, waiting for the new year. Then I thought I should try the County Recorder’s Office one more time. Well, persistence paid! I received the land records I requested on the same day. I now know the final outcome of the homestead land of Jeremiah Sullivan. This will be helpful for my case study.

I also sent out other requests for some baptismal records from the Catholic church in Anaconda and marriage record from Portland. The church in Portland emailed me right back and after a bit of back and forth, she sent an image of the marriage record. Another score!

We had a Certification Peer Group meeting on Friday after being on hiatus for a month. It was very good seeing everyone. Most everyone had been either very busy during the month or very sick, and didn’t get much done. I probably got the most done, primarily because all of my regular activities were also on hiatus, which gave me lots of time to work on the portfolio.

I am also participating in the 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks, started by Amy Johnson Crow. This year, we will have some prompts which will make this a little easier. She gave us five prompts already and I have mapped out what or who I’m going to write about. I will use both blogs to work through this project.

Active Activity

The biggest physical activity I did this week was the walk along the Franklin Hills in Martinez, from the high school all the way to Jane Moore’s house for the 30th Annual Waffle Party on New Year’s Day. The first hill from the high school is a doozy. It is very steep, but luckily this year, it was dry. The kids from the high school call the hill “nazi hill” when they are forced to run up it.

The views from the top are worth the hike up. It was a “spare the air” day so it was very hazy when looking toward the east and south, but the view northward toward the Carquinez Straits was clear. I hiked with four friends and there were others on the trail, taking in the first day of 2018.

Vickie, Elaine, Jamie, me

Mt. Diablo in the smog - Spare the Air Day

View of the straits before going down to Jane's

Of course, what goes up much come down, and the trail down to Jane’s house was also very steep. The waffle party was in full swing when we got there. Because it was the last one, there were many more people there than last year. I don’t eat wheat and dairy, so I ate a few oranges and drank orange juice. All in all, it was a great day to start the new year!

Copyright © 2018 by Lisa Suzanne Gorrell, My Trails into the Past. All Rights Reserved.