Next month we have another Friday meeting,
February 15!!! Mark your calendar.
Our group has turned out
just the way I hoped. A time for genies
to make friends, share our successes and help each other uncover our family
connections.
The “success of the
season” belongs to Margie C.’s family.
After 50 years of searching for their niece, she found them. After Margie’s brother’s death in a plane
crash in Alaska, they knew he had a daughter but they didn’t know her name or
her mother’s name after she re-married.
The poignant retelling brought shared tears around the table. A long-awaited reunion will take place
soon. Thanks, Margie.
Linda Lambert
brought along her mother’s cradle roll certificate and has posted “Cradle Rolls, Rabbit Holes, Serendipity & Obliquity”
on her blog.
Joe and Marjie F. spent July
cleaning out Joe’s childhood in New York. Marjie says they hadn’t thrown anything away
since 1930. What a job! Joe brought back a wall-sized family tree from
Adam and Eve to Jesus. I have it in the
Genies collection now for your enjoyment.
Marjie is enjoying Loretta
Willem’s writing group on 1st Mondays along with Linda B. and
Elizabeth. Marjie says Loretta really
has gotten her writing and the class gives people a feeling that they can
really can write.
David R., still here after
the holidays, got tips in his search for his cousin’s adopted daughter’s birth
parents. This is a good place to
come. Several regulars are adopted and
Cheryl has made the search for other people’s birth parents her life work. They mentioned how to get non-identifying
information which can be very helpful.
It has to mined for clues. We are
reminded that you don’t need a name to search; you can try a date and place
alone. Also if you have a birth
certificate number, they often kept the original number after the names were
changed to the adoptive parents. Using
the certificate number, you may turn up the original with the birth parents’
names. Best advice: try everything and don’t stop trying.
I have been reading and listening
to lots of info on Organizing Genealogy.
There are many methods and tips.
It seems like the bottom line is:
Find a system that works for you; that is, one that you will stick
to. There is always a question about
whether to use paper or digital files. I
find that a mix works for me. When I am
actually researching, I need to be able to write things down. Having a spiral notebook or pad seems to work
for a lot of people. But when I find the
answers and documents, I find online storage works for me.
I recently set up a new system of
using manila folders for projects (large and small) that are actually in
progress and for ideas that I stumble on for lines I’m not currently working
on. I don’t want to file these away in
my family binders…never to be seen again.
Linda L. and Sylvia also started folder systems.
Sylvia is a using a folder
system for her DNA matches. Remember her
DNA match profile form from last week.
Each match has its own folder containing the profile form along with her hand-written work notes
and, very important, their color-coded family trees. Sylvia and CeCe Moore tell us that you need
to just build trees for your matches who don’t have them. Cheryl, too.
When will I start building trees, seriously and constantly, like they
do?
A big thank you to Cheryl
who is still working on David’s Culver DNA matches. It is a huge job and she hasn’t given up yet.
Remember Friday,
February 15 for the next Genie meeting.
