October 30, 2013
Tis the season… My brother and I on Halloween in 1984. Shots from the period fascinate me as I look at his children and see the resemblances. Also, given where we live I probably went out in that costume and a winter coat… kind of defeats the purpose but that’s fairly normal for a Michigan Halloween.
Happy hunting,
Jess
October 23, 2013
A housekeeping note: I don’t manage to get in a post for everyone’s birthday and not everyone wants me too. But I do try… life just happens to interfere… often. That said…
One of these two is celebrating a birthday this month. This is not a good picture, but it makes me laugh—Grandpa in his sombrero on the phone and Uncle paying no attention. This was taken at Uncle’s house—decades before my Gran redecorated it—in Rockford, Michigan.
Happy hunting,
Jess
October 20, 2013
Family history month for the avid genealogist is a great reminder that we have to keep learning and there are workshops aplenty to keep us busy. Looking for some around you? Michigan researchers keep an eye on the Michigan Genealogical Council’s Community Calendar. You might also check out ConferenceKeeper.net.
Last weekend I tripped down to my home away from home for Western Michigan Genealogical Society‘s Annual Seminar Got Ancestors?! in Grand Rapids, Michigan and had a lot of fun… playing right into their theme for the year, “Are You Having Fun Yet?!”
This year’s featured speaker was genealogy ninja and technology curator, Thomas McEntee (of High-Definition Genealogy, GeneaBloggers.com, Hack Genealogy, among others). He offered five presentations—sessions on changing technology, cluster research, an introduction to blogging, a great look at the concept of mind mapping, and 10 ways to jumpstart your genealogy. I came away with a great list of new-to-me sites to play with—both for organizing my research and connecting with fellow researchers, more blogs than I will ever be able to keep track of (but I want to read them all!), and strategies for organizing a research problem and identifying the possible resources that may help you in solving it. And, as always, it was fabulous to see all my WMGS friends and hang out for a couple of days. It was definitely worth the trip!
Don’t forget to put the next seminar on your calendar—October 10-11, 2014! WMGS will be celebrating 60 years with a seminar featuring Dick Eastman!
Happy hunting,
Jess
October 16, 2013
I’m running a little behind in my planned posts but this Family Almanac post was inspired by the comments of WMGS’s featured speaker Thomas McEntee this past weekend. He rightly pointed out that family history researchers often forget to preserve their own story in the hunt to find the out about their ancestors.
So, this week’s post marks a milestone for me… This week marks the 11th anniversary of starting my first job as a public librarian. I started my career at the Krause Memorial Library in Rockford, Michigan which was the perfect place for me at the time both for my genealogy research and my development as a librarian.
The photo is probably from that Halloween when I decided to dress up as a hockey fan for the holiday.
Happy hunting!
Jess
October 12, 2013
I recently came upon this blogpost from The Art of Manliness on a trend the writer noticed on the ease and intimacy of men in the past in photographs. It made me think of these photos from our family collection. The following are both shots of my Great Grandfather Robert Shea and his friends. The first (which I’ve posted before) is with his fellow patients at the Michigan State Sanatorium. The other is with a friend I do not recognize (though I think I have other pictures of) and I’m not sure where the photo was taken.
Happy hunting,
Jess
October 9, 2013
Time has gotten a little away from me but I don’t want to miss a note in memory of my Grandma Trotter who would have been 87 this month. This photograph is from just after my brother was born when she came to stay with my parents while I was in the hospital with a broken leg. We miss you, Grandma!
Happy hunting,
Jess
October 2, 2013
And now for a musical interlude…
I love this shot! That’s my brother in the foreground with a bottle and the acoustic guitar. That’s me in the background… playing with socks???
Happy hunting!
Jessica
Genie Road Trip 