Monday Genea-pourri, Week of October 14–20, 2024

I have completed two hundred and thirty-nine (239) weeks of semi-lockdown due to Covid-19. Outside activities included going to the History Center twice, Oakland FamilySearch Center, the Social Security office, and on a day cruise on the Sacramento River with Norman’s brother & wife.

Genealogy

Genealogy Meetings:  
This was a week with several meetings on Monday. Our CDG renewal accountability group met and we decided on how often to meet and what to discuss. I attended Kinseekers military SIG where we discussed drafting into the Navy during WWII, about National Guard service in Mexico in 1916, and Record of Service cards from a variety of states. Jacqueline and I met and talked about Ancestry’s updated DNA stats. 

Lastly, at the Oakland FamilySearch Center staff meeting on Friday, one member covered what books the center has and another about the FS labs.

Genealogy Writing/Research:
I discovered two deeds for Thomas and Mary Davey while using the full-text search at FamilySearch Labs. I had no idea why they bought land in Franklin County, Kansas for $10K and then a year later sell it again for $10K. They were living in Jeffersonville, Indiana at the time and I believe this is their record because one of the witnesses was Fred H. Davey, who is likely their youngest son. I may never know the why of this transaction.

Blog Post Published:

Ten Children Make a Full House. For 52 Ancestors’ theme of “Full House,” I wrote about the children of John and Margaret (Tierney) Gleeson.

SNGF: Which Ancestor Married the Most Times? I wrote about my mother’s paternal grandfather, Thomas Newton Johnston who married three times.

Genealogy Volunteer/Work:
I helped a researcher at the History Center who is doing a college research paper. She came wanting to use a couple of the special collections that she found using the Online Archive of California. She was pretty excited by the records she found. On Saturday, the center was open for Archives Month and we gave tours to those who signed up. Many took out memberships and purchased books. At my stint at the Oakland FamilySearch Center, I gave a presentation on using city directories.

Webinars/Courses Viewed:
I attended the sixth session of the SLIG course, Advanced Study of Death, coordinated by Gena Philibert-Ortega. We learned about rural cemeteries and mariners from Marian Pierre-Louis. I have visited one of rural cemeteries on her list: Mountain View Cemetery, designed by Frederick Law Olmsted.

I also attended the second session of the SLIG course, Assemblage: Preparing, Writing, and Revising Case Studies. We learned a tactile way to structure our case study. For homework, I outlined using sticky notes on cardboard, and I feel a lot better about writing it up now.

I also viewed the following webinars:

• Getting Started with First World War Army Records of the US, UK, and Canada by Heather Robb (Heritage Seekers)
• Sense and Sensibility: The Power of Logic, Intuition, and Critical Thinking by Robbie Johnson, CG (BCG/LFTWebinars)
• Tho They Were Poor, They May Have Been Rich in Records by Paula Stuart Warren (SCGS)

Other:
For my husband’s birthday, his brother and wife treated us to a small boat river cruise on the Sacramento River out of Clarksburg. We had wine and beer tasting and a chartuterie board. The weather was just perfect, it only getting cool once the sun went down. We had dinner afterwards in Freeport.

I am reading: Not much time to reach with taking two SLIG classes. I hope to finish the first book before the next class, as Pamela Prickett will be one of the instructors.

• The Unclaimed: Abandonment and Hope in the City of Angels by Pamela Prickett
• Murder in Rose Hill by Victoria Thompson
• Journeys of the Forgotten: The Orphans of Hamilton County, Iowa by Jill Morelli
• Yours Truly: An Obituary Writer’s Guide to Telling Your Story by James R Hagerty

Photos for this week. Some shots from our river cruise. The guys had beer and the gals had wine.

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 © 2024 by Lisa S. Gorrell, My Trails into the Past. All Rights Reserved.