Monday Genea-pourri, Week of May 22–28, 2023

I have completed one hundred sixty-eight (168) weeks of semi-lockdown due to Covid-19. My outside activities included volunteering at the History Center, hiking at Mt. Diablo, phenology, operating at the train club show, attending an outdoor memorial, and attending a historical society presentation about the San Ramon Branch of the Southern Pacific Railroad. I also did a little shopping at REI.

Genealogy

Blog Writing:

Breaking Brick Walls. For week 21 of 52 Ancestors, I wrote about tips for handling brick walls, using some examples from my own research. This post was highlighted on Linda Stufflebean’s “Friday’s Family History Finds” at Empty Branches on the Family Tree.

SNGF: Then and Now – Your First Foray into Genealogy Social Media I wrote about using USGENWEB and Rootsweb to interact with other researchers in the early days of online genealogy.

Meetings/Discussion Groups
This week was busier with meetings. I hosted the Monday Morning Roundtable meeting and we had good discussions about our research. I attended the RootsMagic SIG on Wednesday and the discussion was about using the “tasks” function. I met also on Wednesday with my mentee and we set a schedule for her to do while I’m gone. We won’t be meeting for at least six weeks.

Volunteer
I volunteered at the History Center and helped a friend who came in using the center’s computers to read early scanned editions of the Contra Costa Gazette. He was looking for articles about the early construction of the San Ramon branch line of the Southern Pacific Railroad and the businesses that were located near the depot in Concord. I answered some queries that were outstanding. This week I’ll make sure my tasks will be covered while I’m gone on vacation. Lastly, I got out an updated press release for the BCG Reisinger Lectures to be held in October 2023 in Salt Lake City and online.

Client Work
I finished up the article I was working on for Der Blumenbaum. I also got a request from a society in Washington to do a talk in 2024, so it is on my new calendar. I also viewed a few of the lectures given by our instructors at the Applied Genealogy Institute. What a nice variety of subjects!

Own Work
This week I worked on the Gleeson family. I have decided to start a KDP on the family and sketched out the basic information and format. I will write what I can while on the train heading east, making notes of what needs to be further researched and coloring that in red text. I found quite a bit about Michael P. Gleeson, my great-grandmother’s brother, who it turned out was a traveling salesman for the Schilling spice company.

Webinars Viewed

• Working on the Railroad: Pullman Porters and Maids by Janice Lovelace (Legacy Family Tree Webinars)
• Samuel Witter vs. Samuel Witter: Separating Same Name Men, War of 1812 by Elizabeth Shown Mills (Legacy Family Tree Webinars)
• NCGS Journal Editor by Day and Freelance Writer/Speaker/Researcher by Night by Diane L Richard (APG Writers SIG)

I am reading:

• Founding Gardeners by Andrea Wulf—Returned without finishing (due)
• The Wounded World: W.E.B. DuBois and the First World War by Chad L Williams—Returned without finishing (due)
• Levi’s Dream: A 1930 trip to the national parks in a Model A Ford . . . with seven children by Linda Cottingham Killinger, et al.—FINISHED!
• Murder on Bedford Street by Victoria Thompson—FINISHED!

Other
We hiked on the east side of Mt. Diablo this week, only about two miles, but we saw a lot of flowers still. We snacked along Perkins Creek which was a delight. I took lots of photos and a few are posted here.

My husband and I attended the memorial for his brother who died two weeks ago. It was held at the farmhouse of the farmer with whom he worked. It was a nice turnout and the weather cooperated with light breezes (to keep the bugs away) and mild temperature (the shade trees helped, too). About eight people got up to tell stories about Allen and had us in tears and laughter.

Because we’re leaving for a vacation trip, we’ve been working on the garden. Weeds have been pulled and the tomatoes and peppers are in. The last task is to put in the irrigation system tonight.

I spent time reading through the Pacific Coast Region of the NMRA’s Branch Line articles looking for information to write an article about Bill Everett who used to do a traction column and host traction meetings at the conventions. His models are at the California State Railroad Museum and I would like access to view them. I’m hoping the article will help me get access. I would like to include a photo of some of the cars he built. I also counted the pages of the article I wrote so I can turn in the application for Model Railroad Author in the NMRA’s Achievement Program. I can also turn in the application for Model Railroad Official after being a Director for the Region for four years.

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.