Monday Genea-pourri, Week of Feb 12–18, 2024

I have completed two hundred and six (206) weeks of semi-lockdown due to Covid-19. I was out and about more this week, going to the History Center twice, having lunch with genie friends, attending a Harry Potter movie in German party at our German teacher’s home, and giving a live in-person presentation to a group in Modesto. 

Genealogy

Genealogy Meetings: 
On Monday, I attended Kinseekers Military SIG on Zoom and then had a nice lunch at Jack’s with genealogy friends. It was Kathryn’s birthday and we plan to meet again for lunch in late March for Sheri’s and my birthdays.

Jacqueline and I led the CGS Roundtable this week and we had a lively discussion about lots of topics. I shared the story of locating my great-uncle’s comic book story.

The Certification Discussion Group meeting this week was about the BCG’s announcement of a pilot program to split the submissions of a portfolio into two parts. The rubrics and judging would remain the same. So many people came, that the 100-person limit was reached and others couldn’t get in. Angela McGhie will do another session this week.

Genealogy Writing/Research:
I finished the article on archiving and saving your research for Der Blumenbaum. I also worked on the PowerPoint presentation on using the BLM website and its handout. I’m presenting it to a group in Sacramento this week.

Blog Post Published:

Discoveringthe Hometown of Johan Anton Hork. For 52 Ancestors, I wrote about my great-grandfather’s German hometown of Oberhundem and how I discovered it.

SNGF:Five Fun or Different Facts. I wrote about five interesting things about myself, my father, my mother-in-law, my great-grandmother, and my husband’s grandmother.

Genealogy Volunteer/Work:
I led the board meeting for the Sonoma County Genealogical Society this month. Since we have no president, we have been taking turns. I also hosted the Zoom meeting on Saturday. The talk about emigrant guides was fantastic.

I volunteered for two days at the History Center. Our new library shelf labels look great. I accessioned some items and Janet and I measured our archives. We also had a quick strategic planning meeting on Saturday.

I presented “Focused Research: Using Research Plans” to the Genealogical Society of Stanislaus County on Thursday evening. They are in Modesto, so Jacqueline came down from Oregon to go with me. Earlier we stopped at the Turlock cemetery to take photos and leave flowers on her parents’ graves. Two people came up to me before the meeting to ask about becoming a certified genealogist. I was glad to give them some preparation tips. We stayed the night and returned home the next day after she visited with her uncle.

On Saturday morning I presented “How to Leave Your Genealogy” to the Irish Family History Forum located on Long Island. It was by Zoom and seemed to be well-received.

Webinars/Courses Viewed: I did some catching up on webinars that have been presented during the past month. I was too busy preparing talks and writing articles. My favorites were the Emigrant Guides and the Slave to Soldier. Both speakers were excellent.

• Should I Stay or Should I Go? Following Their Footsteps with Emigrant Guides by Cindy Brennan (Sonoma Co Gen Soc)
• Introduction to County Research in England by Mia Bennett (Legacy Family Tree Webinars)
• In Search of Records of Chinese Railroad Workers by Grant Din (Contra Costa Co Gen Soc)    
• African Americans in the Army: 1868-1948 by Janice Lovelace (Legacy Family Tree Webinars)
• Anchors are the Way: Leveraging Multiple Forms of DNA Evidence in Your Research by Paul Woodbury (Legacy Family Tree Webinars)
• From Slave to Soldier: What Civil War Records Can Tell You about Your Ancestors by Michael Willis (Contra Costa Co Gen Soc)

Other:
No hikes this week and because I went to Modesto, no phenology. I took no photos either. However, my brother, Steve, passed away in his sleep on Sunday. He had fallen and had no feeling in most of his body. It also affected his breathing. He was 67 and my first younger brother. Here are photos of the two of us together as kids.

I am reading: Too much writing this week to get any reading in, so I am still working on these titles.

• Germans in America by Walter D. Kamphoefner
• The Improbable Tales of Baskerville Hall by Ali Standish

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.

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