Saturday 25 January 2014

Hello from the Old Dominion

I first heard about Worldwide Genealogy -- A Genealogical Collaboration from Fran Ellsworth, author of the Branching Out Through the Years blog. She sent me to Julie Goucher, of Anglers Rest, who told me there was one spot still available -- the 25th. Today is my day; but, after reading all of the previous posts, I feel seriously outclassed as a genealogist. I am a rank amateur. I am obsessed, though.

I hang out at my blog, Tangled Roots and Trees, Facebook, Twitter and now here. My social media goal for 2014 is to become active on Google+. I got my love of family history and genealogy from my father. He was the genealogist in our family for years, starting before the Internet made it so much easier than it was then. He wasn’t the best typist in the world so he would save up all his data entry tasks for my next visit. We spent hours together in his home office as I entered his latest research into the computer – all the while Dad would tell stories about our ancestors. He was a natural born teacher and storyteller.


My octogenarian parents 

When I got a personal computer in 1994, the first software application I bought was for family trees. Since Dad was working on our family, I started on my husband’s. I didn’t get very far.  His parents were first-generation Americans whose parents came from Lithuania (Russia at the time), Austria, and Serbia (though they considered themselves German). My first big discovery was on the Ellis Island website when I found my husband’s paternal grandfather on a passenger list.

I would put down my research for months and years at a time and then pick it back up again. I’d find some new bits and pieces of information before hitting another brick wall. And so it continued until last year.

Dad suffered a massive cerebral hemorrhage and could no longer research our family. After seven months of brutal physical, occupational and speech therapy, he is again able to walk and understand what we are talking about, but he is not able to speak. I’m a Daddy’s girl so I was suffering. When Mom decided it was time to move into an assisted living facility with Dad, I brought all Dad’s genealogy files home when we emptied out their house.

Dad's genealogy files and old photo albums

And so began my obsession. I’ve connected with several genea-cousins online, and a couple of them have become friends and research collaborators. I purchased more old, musty books than is reasonable and haven taken a few genealogy vacations (thankfully I have a very understanding husband who goes with me). My biggest find that caused a happy dance, lasting for days, was connecting with a woman who owned two unpublished manuscripts written by my aunt’s brothers. Their father was a Church of God missionary, who took the family to British East Africa (now Kenya) in 1920. The family lived there for nine years. The stories of that time from the memoirs are wonderful and I’ve written about them on my blog in an ongoing “Out of Africa series.” Dad and I now have plenty to talk about, and we’ve discovered that while he can no longer speak, he can read. (The brain is a mysterious thing!) So I print out my posts and take them me when we go to visit. I also tell him about new genea-cousin connections I’ve made and how we are related.

Showing Dad how I was related to a recently discovered 4th cousin from New Zealand

Google Play has become a favorite app for my research. So many old county histories, written for the country's centennial anniversary, which contain biographical sketches, and old genealogy books are available. I also spend a lot of my research time on newspaper archive sites. Many require a subscription but others located at county historical societies or on Google are free. I do this because I enjoy learning more about an ancestor than just dates and places. I have discovered my ancestors did two things well: marry into interesting families and die in very creative ways!


I live in Fairfax County, Virginia, and am more than willing to photograph headstones in the northern Virginia, Washington, DC, and southern Maryland area. I keep an up-to-date bibliography on my blog of books I own (digital and old fashioned). If I can look anything up in one of those books for you, I am happy to do so.


Union soldiers at the Fairfax County Courthouse in 1863 during the Civil War.
Photograph by Timothy H. O'Sullivan and courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

I work full-time and that seriously cuts into my research obsession, but it won’t last forever. When I retire I would like to start writing books. I consider my blog and this collaboration project good practice! Tangled Roots and Trees is not a typical genealogy blog; I leave the documents and the source citations on my tree. I tell stories instead about incidents in the lives of my ancestors and places in which they lived. I enjoy being able to marry my life-long love of history with my genealogy obsession.

25 comments:

  1. That was great, Schalene! You've got your Dad's story-telling genes. If you can keep up with Julie's amazing energy, and it looks as though you're well on the way, you're not going to see yourself as 'a rank amateur' for very long. Judging by how far you've got already you haven't been one for a long time.

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  2. Welcome to World Wide Genealogy, Schalene. I visited Virginia about 10 years ago and found its history fascinating, so I look forward to reading more - and also hearing about the background to your unusual name.

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    1. ScotSue, I am named for my maternal grandmother, Wilhelmina Schalin. I wrote a post about it: http://tangledrootsandtrees.blogspot.com/2013/12/how-i-got-my-name.html

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  3. Hello Schalene, neighbor to the north!

    Great to get to know you. Touching the story of your love of genealogy coming from your Dad. Looking forward to hearing more and getting to know you better. Welcome!

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  4. Fascinating first post! Welcome. I think you are doing just fine, obsession trumps rank amateur every day! Keep on telling the stories!

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  5. Schalene! you did a Wonderful Post! First PLEASE tell "Dad" he did a Wonderful Job in preserving and researching. All his work will continue on through you and it was all for something. I'm so Glad he got you started and had so much information to pass onto you. I wish I could touch his books and papers. All those years of research and glad you two can find a way to still let him know what your UP to! Keep going. Do your Blog like you want. It's a reflection of you. Look forward to reading more. Welcome!

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  6. Hi Schalene, I enjoyed your post. Your dad sounds like a great mentor to the world of family history in addition to being a great dad. I just recently learned that I had Virginia ancestors. They lived in Richmond and Franklin County - The Guilliams. Looking forward to hearing more about your research and Virginia.

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  7. Hi Schalene, you are certainly not an amateur story teller! I love the story of you working on your family tree with your Dad! Really looking forward to reading more of your stories.

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  8. Thanks for the warm welcome, everyone! I look forward to participating and learning more about how to do proper genealogy research and resources. It's great to learn about people with similar interests to me and how you got your passion for genealogy.

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  9. That is a wonderful story and I hope if anything happens where I'm unable to keep researching that one of my children will step up and take over. The nightmare is that they toss all your work out while "cleaning out" the house.

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  10. Schalene, A great story and I love that you & your Dad worked through the data together. You continue to share that special bond by him reading your blog posts. Such a shame that his condition has affected his speech, I am wondering if you can use the Book of Me prompts to capture information from your parents that still include him in the genealogical work you are doing.

    A great post and welcome!

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    1. I considered participating in the Book of Me but in the end decided not to be my blog isn't about me but rather my family's history. I had never considered the angle you suggest and will now go back and look at the Book of Me again to see how I might involve Mom and Dad. Thank you!

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    2. Hi Schalene
      I used to feel the same as you about writing about myself - it seemed precious and narcissistic. Thanks to Julie's Book of Me series I have thoroughly enjoyed writing not just about me but also the stories I have been involved in. These are family stories and will become part of my family history for future generations.

      Many of these have involved my close family so I have followed these rules:

      - I have not named living people in the posts I have published.
      - Where a living person has been involved who could be identified from the context I have written the post but not published it.
      - If the living person could not be identified from the context I have written the post and published it.

      I have kept my Book of Me blog separate from my other blogs so I can make it private. This means that only my close family and members of the Google Plus group can read it for the time being. If I am still alive at the end of the series (a comment on my health and age and not a comment on the ease of following the series!) then I will do a blog to book and assemble the posts for future generations.

      I hope this helps and if I am 'teaching granny to suck eggs' then thank you for your forbearance!

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    3. Hi Schalene
      I used to feel the same as you about writing about myself - it seemed precious and narcissistic. Thanks to Julie's Book of Me series I have thoroughly enjoyed writing not just about me but also the stories I have been involved in. These are family stories and will become part of my family history for future generations.

      Many of these have involved my close family so I have followed these rules:

      - I have not named living people in the posts I have published.
      - Where a living person has been involved who could be identified from the context I have written the post but not published it.
      - If the living person could not be identified from the context I have written the post and published it.

      I have kept my Book of Me blog separate from my other blogs so I can make it private. This means that only my close family and members of the Google Plus group can read it for the time being. If I am still alive at the end of the series (a comment on my health and age and not a comment on the ease of following the series!) then I will do a blog to book and assemble the posts for future generations.

      I hope this helps and if I am 'teaching granny to suck eggs' then thank you for your forbearance!

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    4. Tom, thank you for telling more about the "mechanics" of how you do the Book of Me. It gives me a lot to think about.

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  11. You are welcome. I think many people think their family history starts with the generations prior to themselves! I am about to start a group which is aimed those caring for a parent. A much smaller group - 10 couples and a much shorter session. The trial I did late last year proved popular and I thought it might be great for you to involve your parents. Good luck with it and let me know how you get on (if you need anything drop me an email!)

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    1. Julie, thanks! My brother and his wife bear most of the brunt of caring for Mom and Dad as they live close by. My husband and I are about 6 hours away and go down every month for a few days. Mom has become a real story teller now that she and Dad are back together (after his rehab). So I'm sure I'll be able to figure out how to do something that can still involve them.

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    2. I too have taken care of my mother, my father during their winter years and now my Dad's best friend. I have been going strong for 12 years. I admire those who do this.

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  12. Schalene, your story about your dad and his inability to talk hits home. My father, who was a great communicator could no longer speak or even move for 11 months before he passed. However, a lot can be said in silence. I spent at least 10 to 14 hours a day with him...I look so forward to your posts.

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    1. Yvette, you, my brother and his wife are my heroes! I swoop into town for a few days, take them places and get to enjoy them. I don't really have to do the hard stuff. And you are right. A lot can be communicated without words. Dad is still a great communicator! Thank you so much for your comments.

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  13. Schalene, you write so movingly about your father. I was so pleased that I had encouraged my father, who suffered from Parkinson's, to type out his memories of his boyhood and wartime experiences. He had lots of anecdotes, an interest in journalism, told a good story and he and I enjoyed reading his accounts. I feel so lucky now to have them. I am sure your mother, and through her your father, would get a great deal of pleasure in recording their memories.

    When I started blogging,it never occurred to me to write about my own childhood in the 1950's, but blogging introduced me to "52 Weeks of Personal Genealogy" a few years back - a forerunner of Juiie;s "Book of Me" , though I do not write to every prompt. I do recommend recording your own memories of growing up. I started printing my posts to create a folder entitled "I Remember When...." in the hope some day my daughter and little granddaughter might be interested. Though like, Kristin, I do wonder if my efforts may be consigned to the scrapheap! I hope not. Good luck!

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  14. Coming in late to the comments Schalene I can see you've already had lots of reassurance about your strengths as a family story teller....your Dad has lit the fire well. How very wonderful to be able to share your research and the stories with your Dad for so many years and now to be able to involve your Mum...both are very special gifts.

    Love Tom's advice about the Book of Me...should work perfectly. Think of it as the diary you wished you had from your great-grandmother. There are a couple of old series from 2011 and 2012 that might be useful discussion points too...I'm sure your Mum knows many of your dad's life stories and he will shake his head if she gets it wrong ;-)

    As to Sue and Kristin's concerns about it ending in the scrap heap, my only thoughts are put what you learn in a Blurb book (downloads from your blog) and pick one child to inherit the documents and write it in your will....should at least slow down the chucking-out stage!

    You are doing your bit for the whole family by preserving your parents' life stories!

    good luck and I look forward to hearing more.

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  15. I had not been back to this post until tonight and noticed there were several more comments. Thank you all so much! Mom has turned into quite the storyteller now that Dad can no longer speak, so I will be giving her the Book of Me prompts. We've already talked about it and she is very excited to start. She plans to write one for her and one for Dad each week as appropriate. When I was talking to Mom about it on the phone, Dad waved for the phone and got out the word, "tickled." I am beyond tickled! I can't wait to see them next month to get started.

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    1. I am delighted that you can use the BOM prompts and that your Mum and Dad can participate with you despite the miles between you. What a great way to capture the details and include them in the project.

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    2. I am so pleased that you have found fellow bloggers' support so useful and good luck in taking forward the memories of your mother and father,. I am sure it will be a very rewarding experience for all of you. Good Luck! .

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