Monday Genea-pourri, Week of January 30–February 5, 2023

I have completed one hundred fifty-two (152) weeks of semi-lockdown due to Covid-19. We had nice weather until the weekend when we got some rain and later showers. I went hiking with friends on Wednesday and to the meadow for phenology on Thursday.  I also started my in-person class at the Acalanes Adult School.

Genealogy

Blog Writing:

Social Media: Newspaper Social News. I wrote about the many newspaper articles that named my grandmother, Anna and her sister, Ethel Sullivan in Anaconda, Montana.

Saturday Night Genealogy Fun: Basic Facts for an Ancestor: A. Ebenezer Loveless I answered questions posed by Randy Seaver about my great-great-grandfather.

Meetings/Discussion Groups
I met with my mentee on Wednesday and we discussed her progress. I also attended the Certification Discussion Group meeting that day. On Friday, our peer group met and discussed our takeaways from our SLIG classes the prior week.

Volunteer
I volunteered at the History Center on Tuesday and John and I worked on the library inventory. That evening, I was a co-host for the California Genealogical Society webinar given by Linda Okazaki on organizing your genealogy.

Wednesday, I went to the FamilySearch Center in Oakland for my volunteer shift. We have not had many visitors this winter. Likely, it will pick up when the daylight lasts longer. Jane brought up the idea of having discussion groups facilitated by us at the center. That will likely bring in more visitors.

Client Work
Monday, I started my Adult School in-person class on researching using online records. I have eleven students, most of them beginners. So, I set up the beginning class for the spring session.

On Saturday, I gave a presentation to the Solano County Genealogical Society on researching in church records. I think it went well, my first time giving it to a society.  The Sonoma County Genealogical Society wants me to do the directory presentation in March and I worked on updating the handout.

I also have been working on my AppGen course using probate records. I am nearly one-fourth of the way finished, though, I have taught this before and can re-use some aspects of prior lessons. The main goal is to find good in-class and homework activities. I created a new video tip for our YouTube channel and the founders met Monday to discuss the upcoming session. We had just finished our registration and now waiting for their payments.

Own Work
Though I don’t really have time now to do my own genealogy, often an article will give me a new database to check and I did some searching in newspapers for Loveless (Little Rock, Ark) and Nilsen (Harcourt, Iowa). A comment on my blog about a Davey post from a Davey descendent got me doing a little genealogy to connect him to my tree.

Webinars Viewed.

• Organize Your Genealogy by Linda Okazaki (CGS)
• Historical Events that Affect German Genealogy Research by Fritz Juengling (SGGS)
• Finding Your Ancestors' Locations by Pam Vestal (SCGS)

 I am reading:

• Water Always Wins: Thriving in an Age of Drought and Deluge by Erica Gies
• For Her Own Good: Two Centuries of the Experts’ Advice to Women by Barbara Ehrenreich

Other
Wednesday, I was able to join the hiking group at the Crockett Hills Regional Park. I saw my first of the season Steller’s jay but not too many other birds. It was very cold and windy. We did see some early blooming plants: Ribes, Dirca, Osoberry, and Bay, all pictured below. I attended the California Native Plant Society’s webinar this month and the presentation was attracting birds with native plants. I also got in a walk between rain showers on Sunday, but because it was so windy, I didn’t see any birds.

Photos for this week

Genealogists are great at documenting our ancestors’ lives but not so great at 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.

Copyright © 2023 by Lisa S. Gorrell, My Trails into the Past. All Rights Reserved.