Monday Genea-pourri, Week of July 13-19, 2020

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. This idea came from Randy Seaver of Genea-Musing, who started this meme.

I have completed eighteen weeks of semi- “lock down” due to Covid-19. This week, the governor closed everything down again (so all that previous shelter-in-place was wasted), so no volunteering at the History Center was allowed. I left the house this past week do phenology at the meadow and go for a walk to the mailbox and check out some old houses in the neighborhood. Otherwise, I met people on Zoom.

Genealogy

Blog Writing:

Blogs posted this past week:

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks: Week 29: Newsworthy—Amos Gorrell was Injured in the Civil War.  I wrote about my husband’s great-grandfather who was listed in the newspaper as injured.

Saturday Night Genealogy Fun: The Day Your Paternal Grandmother was Born I wrote about my grandmother, Anna Marie Sullivan and highlighted 15 October 1892 in the Anaconda Standard.

Study Groups Attended:   

Many online meetings again this week:

• Our Monday Morning Group met with thirteen people. We talked about Covid-19, webinars, Excel tools, and newspapers.  
• I met with Jacqueline for our weekly hour talk. We discussed upcoming conferences and deciding whether to attend.
• All of us Amigos met on Wednesday for a quick get-together. We talked about military records, Zoom, and FGS conference coming up.  
• Three of us were on for the Thursday evening discussion group and we talked about MAAGI and how nice a Ring Light is for illuminating our faces. I need to buy one.
• My Friday Cert Discussion group met with four of us. We talked a lot about KDP, websites, institutes, but did not discuss the Q article that had been assigned. Maybe next week.

Webinars Attended:

• Tips for Genealogy Research by Fritz Juengling (SDGS GIG)
• Writing Up Your Research by Michael Leclerc (APG Writers SIG)
• All You Need to Know About German Names by Katherine Schober (Vivid-Pix)
• Maps: Time and Place by Jeanette Shiel (SDGS)
• Using Tax Records in Genealogy by Jeanette Shiel (SDGS)
• The Digital Library on American Slavery by Janis Minor Forté (MAAGI make-up class)

Client Work/Presentations:

I am working on writing up the research for my client, now we have it settled about what she really wanted.

Volunteer Work:

There was no work at History Center for CCCHS because of non-essential offices ordered closed. I did respond to an email query.

I attended two board meetings this week, first for the Sacramento German Genealogy Society and the second for the Contra Costa County Historical Society, taking minutes for both. The SGGS minutes format is a little complicated but I’m sure after a month or three, I’ll have it figured out. Both drafts are done and sent to the respective board members.

Own Work:

I have not done any personal research work this week, with the client work and watching a few webinars taking up most of my time. I am reading two articles in the NGSQ, one for the Friday discussion group and one for Tuesday’s NGSQ Study Group. I also gathered information about next week’s 52 Ancestor’s post about the Davey family in old country of Cornwall. We visited one of the home towns there in 2018.

I received a couple of new books in the mail that I purchased:

• German Home Towns: Community, State, and General Estate, 1648-1871 by Mack Walker
• The Non-Designer’s Design Book by Robin Williams

And I am also reading:

• The History of the World in 6 Glasses by Tom Standage

Plus, I have several articles to read for the writing class I’m taking at the five-day Institute of Genealogical Research starting on 27 July.

Other:

Woke up too late for yoga class in the park on Sunday—couldn’t believe I slept near ten hours, the most I have had in a week. I guess I really needed it.

Book Club on Sunday was fantastic with lots of great mysteries to look for at the public library: Famous Last Words, Through the Grinder, Body in the Garden, and The Secret Language of Stones. I also want to read The Color of Law. I shared the three books above that I’m reading.

Some shots from the meadow this week:

Copyright © 2020 by Lisa S. Gorrell, My Trails into the Past. All Rights Reserved.