Monday Genea-pourri, Week of Oct 16–22, 2023

I have completed one hundred eighty-nine (189) weeks of semi-lockdown due to Covid-19. I remained masked at medical appointments (blood draws and vaccinations), and in the airport and on flights to and from Salt Lake City.

Genealogy

Genealogy Meetings
I met up with BCG associates this weekend in Salt Lake City. It was great seeing people in person! Saturday evening, I had dinner with genealogists Helen (from Australia), Judy, and Linda at the Blue Iguana.

Genealogy Writing
I worked on my research report for my renewal while at the FamilySearch Library in Salt Lake City and got a lot done. I sure enjoyed working on their computers (they have Microsoft Office!) and being able to look up documents in the catalog as I needed them.

Blog Posts:

Friends and Classmates of Margaret T Gleeson at Mitchell High School 1892. I used Newspapers.com again to locate newspaper articles about my great-grandaunt, Margaret T. Gleeson, and her friends. I turned over a photo from an album and discovered six girls who graduated from Mitchell High School and their names were in the newspaper article.

SNGF: Do a Genealogy Software Problem Report. I ran a “problem report” and discovered I did not have any new ones since the last time I ran the report.

Genealogy Volunteer/Work
I volunteered at the Contra Costa County Historical Society’s History Center but did not last the day. I had the latest Pfizer booster the day before and it kicked my butt. I processed new donations that had come in while I was on vacation and did an obituary lookup for a researcher. I also volunteered at the Oakland FamilySearch Library on Wednesday but there were few there who needed help. I worked on my own work.

Webinars Viewed:

• Steamer Kate Explosion: Correlating Indirect Evidence to Identify and Correct and Error by C. Ann Staley (BCG/LFT Webinars)
• Gentlemen Judges: The Justices of the Peace by Judy G. Russell (Legacy Family Tree Webinars)
• Deconstructing Family Stories: Are They Fact, Fiction, or a Little of Both by Barbara Vines Little (Reisinger Lectures – FSL)
• Lineage of Land: Tracing Property Without Recorded Deeds by Shannon Green (Reisinger Lectures – FSL)
• The Many Wives of Howard William Lowe: Working with Social History to Glean Genealogical Insights by Gary L. Ball-Kilbourne (Reisinger Lectures – FSL)
• Assumptions: Problem-Solving Friend or Foe? by Jennifer Zinck (Reisinger Lectures – FSL)
• DNA Analysis Methodology: Defeat the Genealogy Gremlin with Pedigree Evaluation, Mitigation, and Reasoning by Karen Stanbury (Reisinger Lectures – FSL)

Other:
I flew to Salt Lake City where I roomed at the Plaza Hotel with Mary. It is so convenient to the FamilySearch Library. I watched the Reisinger lectures at the library on Friday, worked at the library on Friday evening during a lock-in and all day on Saturday, and had a meeting to attend on Sunday. On my way to the airport, I boarded the wrong train and ended up in a different part of Salt Lake City. Instead of working my way back, I took a Lyft. The weather in the city was nice and I got in some walking in on the long streets. It was so nice seeing old friends and meeting people I know on Zoom but hadn't met in person.

I am reading:

• The Battling Prophet by Arthur W. Upfield—finished!
• Guardians of the Valley: John Muir and the Friendship that Saved Yosemite by Dean King

The reading challenge so far for this year is 42 books completed out of a goal of 50 books. I might make it, except I spend a lot of time writing instead of reading. 

Photos for this week.
Beautiful sky in Salt Lake City. First of the FamilySearch Library & Capitol viewed from my hotel room and the second of the temple retrofit in the background. 

My setup at the FamilySearch Library where I got a lot done.

Friends with whom I had dinner.

Doggie meeting Helen's Shadow.

Genealogists are great at documenting our ancestors’ lives but not so great at documenting our own. I will write about what I have 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.