Ferndale Genies Minutes, April 19, 2021
Thank you, Linda B, for preparing the minutes.
Present were: Bill, David, Elizabeth, Frank, Margie, Judith C., Judy S, Linda B, Linda R, Rick, Sherry.
Sherry: Working on her German research. She is finding it challenging to find record collections that cover the years her ancestors immigrated. Has also been working on organization of files and folders. Started using One Tab, a Chrome extension which allows often-used web pages to be organized and to open under one tab.
Discussion of using One Note and Evernote as an organization tool. Evernote is extremely popular with several professional genealogists. Judith uses Dropbox, which opens across her shared devices. (Note: One Note also synchronizes across devices and platforms. Evernote free version can be used on two devices, and more if the premium version is purchased.)
Judy S.: Working on a photo organizing project.
Bill: Has been working with the Skagit Valley Genealogy Society on technical issues related to going back to meeting in their local library. The library may fund equipment to allow “hybrid” meetings of Zoom and in-person from the conference room.
Bill sent out a questionnaire to members of SVGS about meeting preferences. Some interesting findings: Many respondents use Zoom at least once per week. Half of SVGS members live outside Skagit Valley. About 20-30% of respondents preferred all meetings online, the same percentages would rather meet in person, and most wanted both. Of 100 responses, 10% live in Canada.
The technical challenge is to have adequate cameras and microphones for communication with a group.
Judith C. is also interested in this issue. Whatcom County libraries are now open with limited capacity and no use of conference rooms as yet. They are prepared for Zoom meetings from the conference rooms.
Bill also mentioned that he uses LastPass, a password manager. The company is having a sale on its product if anyone is interested.
Rick: Working on finding obituaries and newspaper articles about people in his tree and checking to see if relatives mentioned are also in his tree. Rick finds most of his information at the Stark County Library in Ohio.
He has been watching “My Grandparents’ War” on PBS and recommends it.
Rick found a tombstone with the names of 13 family members inscribed. The death dates were all incorrect. After investigating, he realized the burial dates had been inscribed instead.
David: Shared that he bought soft-shell crabs and is learning how to cook them. (!)
A suggestion to check the 1920 Census for a naturalization date interested him and he decided to look again at that record for his great grandfather. He is not sure of the accuracy of the date in the census record, as one doesn’t know who provided the information. When he found the correct naturalization record for his g-grandfather, no town was listed. He did find that the state of Connecticut surveyed men for their suitability to serve in a war. This record yielded some interesting information including the fact that his g-grandfather could swim, could drive a team of horses but not ride one, and reported he was a farmer and stone cutter. David was able to conclude his ancestor arrived in 1869. Further information is hard to find, especially since his ancestor changed his name more than once.
Linda L.: Linda watched several presentations online. One that discussed how diseases were recorded on death records was particularly interesting. She also spent some time researching in yearbooks from Fairhaven H.S. and Western Washington University—lots of fun to see former teachers and professors as young people! In addition, she is going through photos and organizing files.
Elizabeth: Received a message from her husband’s cousin, who contacted Elizabeth because her daughter is interested in family history. Elizabeth will happily contact her. Elizabeth is sorting through and scanning photos and realized she must also keep the originals.
Elizabeth recently found a book about the county to which her husband’s family has been connected. The account of this area in the mid-1700s should give some insight into decisions ancestors made.
Linda B: Has been researching her great grandfather from Prussia. Ordered his naturalization papers from the Milwaukee Historical Society, hoping to learn his town of origin in Prussia, but the only location given was Germany. Now searching through passenger lists for ships arriving in Baltimore in June, which was a hint found in those papers. Also working on creating a family photo album and finds finishing it challenging.
Frank & Margie: Margie had questions about DNA matches she is receiving from 23 And Me: how does one judge which are worth pursuing, is the place in the family, such as 3rd or 4th cousin a determining factor, or the amount of matching DNA?
Frank received obituaries for aunts and uncles from a relative, which helped him track back to grandparents and great grandparents. He learned many details about the family, including an ancestor who fought in a Civil War battle in Kentucky.
Frank and Margie offered to help anyone researching in Connecticut, which prompted Judy S. to inquire if a surname from her family was familiar.
Judith C: Reported on the activities of the German Group. Most members are trying to find villages the ancestors came from. This requires the organization of US research before “crossing the pond.”
Everyone was encouraged to update Zoom to the latest version: 5.6.3.
Family Tree Webinars is hosting their annual 24-hour webinar marathon and extending viewing through April 30. There are exceptionally good speakers presenting. Those researching German ancestry might be interested in the webinar: “Leaving a Paper Trail, Other German Sources. (Note: They are also having an anniversary sale on membership.) https://familytreewebinars.com/24
Judith has been interested in pursuing webinars and meetings with people who specialize in certain types of research or the use of tools, such as the Family Tree Maker software she is learning. Special interest groups are great for this, and she encourages us to pursue membership or attendance at a group in our own area of interest. Judith is willing to help someone find an appropriate group.
Judith also encouraged us to check out “Elevenses” by Lisa Louise Cooke. You can go to Youtube.com and search on “Elevenses with Lisa” for more than 50 past videos. One past presentation on YouTube is “German Genealogy: Top Ten Tips” with Katherine Schober as a guest. For Katherine’s video go to:
Upcoming Meetings:
Genies German Group Tuesday, May 4 at 1:00. Ask Judith for information.
Genies Monthly Meeting: Monday, May 17 at 1:00. The zoom invitation will be emailed the day before.
