August 21, 2013
I’m running late today, but here’s a fun picture to atone.
I can only definitely identify my Great Grandmother, Cora Packer Shea (bottom right). The woman in the top right might be my 2nd Great Aunt Pearl Packer, but I can’t tell for sure. I do have other pictures with, I believe, each of the women and my Great Grandmother taken at other times. This one was probably taken in Kent County, Michigan sometime between 1910 and Cora’s marriage in 1922.
Happy hunting!
Jess
August 20, 2013
I am not at work!!! Please let me savor that first glorious part of my day!
I am also now in Fort Wayne, Indiana and ready for the Federation of Genealogical Societies’ 2013 Conference. I came in to town this morning barely in time for a Volunteer Orientation, got checked in early, and spent the afternoon chasing down leads on my Great-Aunt’s lines at ACPL’s Genealogy Center.
I happily hit on a few great compiled genealogies (with citations and annotations) on both the Baggett and Bone families who settled in Bond Co., Illinois. I also had a few possible hits on her Snow line, another Bond Co, Illinois family. The Genealogy Center was hopping this afternoon but they’re certainly prepared with extra work tables, volunteers helping direct traffic, and, I’m fairly certain, copy machine repair on speed dial… the machines were getting a workout.
It’s been such a bizarre month that I never had time to even mention that I’d be here, and on a couple of occasions I had the passing thought that I’d have to cancel… but I am so glad I made the trip! A conference like this is enlightening, entertaining, and a great chance to meet up with fellow researchers.
I am looking forward to everything! Volunteering, attending sessions, and sneaking over to the Genealogy Center whenever I have time.
Happy hunting!
Jess
August 15, 2013
My parents are celebrating their 38th wedding anniversary this month! Happy Anniversary! And totally unlike the modern spectacle marriages (so many couples have) they invited four people to their wedding. My grandparents.
These shots were taken afterwards at my parents East Lansing apartment.
Happy hunting,
Jess
August 14, 2013
Today is my actual blogiversary. My ‘Hello World” post went live two years ago and I’m still writing… not as often as I want, but hey, I’ve managed to keep it up and I’ve had fun doing it. I’ve also had a lot of neat experiences that I think are a direct result of the blog and the people I’ve connected with through it.
I’ve been invited to speak (and write) for what I consider my home genealogical society—WMGS, at the annual Abrams Family History Seminar hosted by the Archives of Michigan, and most recently at the Ionia County Genealogical Society. Thank you all! Each was a fabulous experience!
I’ve also become one of the genealogy resources at my workplace and have a couple of programs in the works for them in the winter—which is kind of neat for a Readers’ Services Librarian.
And, as I’ve noted before, this experiment has helped me identify problems and holes in my research, helped me connect to new friends, relatives, and fellow genies in a new and fun way, and it’s kept me seriously working on something that both excites me and pulls me out of my comfort zone.
So, thank you all for a fabulous two years!
Happy hunting,
Jess
August 7, 2013
This one’s for my Bradley County, Arkansas family members—Trotters, Yorks, and Allied families. Daddy has this one labeled as Cousins 1946. I’m guessing it’s a shot from Arkansas but I can’t name anyone in the picture. Is one of the older girls Aunt Alfreda?
Happy hunting!
Jess
August 1, 2013
Things might get a little spotty here as I we work through changes at my day job—I can’t believe I missed Wordless Wednesday!—But hopefully I’ll be able to get reorganized quickly.
I don’t know if it will last or what he will retain but my almost nine-year-old nephew, inspired by his mother who has discovered
Ancestry.com, asked me if I would show him how to make a tree (online, of course) like his mom. So, last Sunday we met up at my parents and sat down with my laptop and got started. He quizzed/interviewed my parents for their full names and birthdates and birthplaces and the names of their parents. Taking the hint that my father was a Junior so his father’s name was probably…? It’s a bit of a trick question as my Grandpa changed the spelling of his name somewhere along the way.
My nephew then started a private tree in Ancestry that I’ve shared with his mother as a full editor so he can work on it with her as well. I was fascinated watching him enter in the information and think of more questions. And I was doubly impressed when he started really thinking out the hints that he was offered through Ancestry.com. He really looked at what the records said, pulling up the originals and actually listening to the stories I was telling—no, really, you have to understand, my leading complaint is that he doesn’t listen—so that he caught a few errors in the indexing before I got to them. He was reading through the page for himself, asking thoughtful questions, spelling things mostly on his own, and he didn’t want to stop for dinner—which was an issue because, among other things, I didn’t want Parmesan cheese in my laptop.
I am so thankful for that afternoon which has gotten me through a rough week. I had a wonderful time and I hope he did too!
Happy hunting,
Jess
July 24, 2013
I don’t know who all is in this photograph but I know for sure that the standing girl in pigtails is my Great Grandmother Cora Packer, the woman with the boy in her lap is her mother Flora (Massy) Packer, the boy is her brother James Arthur Packer, and the girl sitting down in front is Cora’s sister, Pearl Packer.
Any Packer, Garbutt, Massy, or Cory researchers recognize anyone else?
From my great aunt’s photo collection.
Happy hunting,
Jess
July 17, 2013
Summer finally found us and it’s getting hot!
Here’s a pool party from my past. My brother and I and our cousins enjoying fun in the sun! The small bucket was meant to be for cleaning off our feet before we got in the pool but evidently my cousin was happier on his own… It was a perfect fit at the time.
Happy hunting,
Jess
July 16, 2013
I didn’t want to let it go too long without saying that the second day of the Abram’s Family History Seminar was great! I attended two presentations by Dr. Thomas W. Jones (who I gushed about here). He presented “The Jones Jinx”—a case study on narrowing down ancestors with common names—which I’m still pulling great research ideas out of even though I’ve heard it before. Dr. Jones also presented on Probate Records—which I haven’t spent nearly enough time on. It was totally worth having someone walk through the steps and terminology of probate with examples of how this can help you in your research.
I also attended Dick Doherty’s “Cost Effective Research: Accessing Irish Records from North America” which gave me a nice list of records to find and tips on using them. I’m hoping to use them while further researching the Massy family as well as my Byrne/Cunningham/Dowdall lines which I’ve unfortunately been ignoring for the past few years.
And Karen Krugman’s session on sourcing offered interesting tips on sourcing for yourself—so that you can put your hands on an information source quickly should you need it again. She made a good point about the level of need for different researchers but also noted that while she had never intended to write a book she now has and that’s meant going back and having to track down source material from before she was adequately sourcing her research.
All in all, the two days were a success from my point of view.
Kudos to Kris R., the rest of the Archives of Michigan staff, and the Michigan Genealogical Council for a great seminar!
Happy hunting!
Jess
PS. Save the date for the MGC/MHF Seminar on Saturday, October 26th featuring Lou Szucs! Info forthcoming at the MGC site in August.
July 13, 2013
I am a woman of my word… Last year I posted that if the Archives of Michigan hosted a Genealogy Lock-in I’d be there in a heartbeat… and I was.
Yesterday was day one of the annual Abrams Foundation Family History Seminar. I started the afternoon delivering what I hope was a though-provoking and humorous session basically on mistakes I’ve made so other people wouldn’t have to. It was a fun and responsive group and I hope even the veteran researchers got something out of it.
After my session I dropped in on Lori Fox’s session on “Filling in the Blanks” which offered good advice about getting the stories behind the names and dates. I have a list of family stories I’m always meaning to get written down. Some of them make it into this blog, but others I haven’t written up and I know I should. I’m also one of those people that has felt that I have time to work on my part of the family story later. But we never know what will happen day to day. So I’m going to try and take Lori’s advice and get some of my stories down for my family.
And this evening I attended the Archives of Michigan’s first Genealogy Lock-In which went off great from my perspective. We had a pizza dinner down in the lounge where I got to connect with some of my fellow WMGS bus trippers and then I spent a lovely evening largely working on my Grove/Long families from Summit Co, Ohio surrounded by fun and amusing fellow researchers. I think the staff spent a lot of time running around but they were attentive and it never really felt like there were excessive backups in getting help. There probably were a few technical hitches (somehow there’s never enough plugs for all our gadgets) but it felt like a very successful evening. I hope they do it again!
And I hope everyone got some rest. We’re in for another day packed with information!
Happy hunting!
Jess
Genie Road Trip 