My barber shop, Gabby's, in Chicago . . . a step back in time.
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
Saturday, April 26, 2008
Irish Words, Irish Ways
This post was written for the 5th Edition of the Carnival of Irish Heritage and Culture.
Starting at an early age, my family made sure I knew that my heritage was Irish. And one of the best ways to reinforce this in a child was to engage in the Irish tradition of storytelling and using Irish words or phrases.
If it weren't for the efforts of my great-grandmother, Therese McGinnis Austin, and her nieces Dorothy Austin Mulholland and Ethel McCrickert Hannan, my only images of the Irish would have been stereotypical. Many of these archaic symbols could be seen in movies and television shows:
- the Irish policeman with the Irish brogue;
- the Irish maid always wisecracking, also speaking with the Irish brogue;
- the poor, put-upon Irish mother with at least 10 children; and
- the perpetually inebriated Irish father who was "bone idle" and spent most of his time and the family's resources at the corner pub.
But these older women who helped raise me and had a big influence which countered those stereotypes, always made sure that their homes had "touchstones" or "markers" which I could hear, smell, see, or otherwise witness during my young years.
I remember the dish towel that Grandma Austin had which was imprinted with the all-too-familiar Irish Blessing:
May the road rise up to meet you.
May the wind always be at your back.
May the sun shine warm upon your face,
and rains fall soft upon your fields.
And until we meet again,
May God hold you in the palm of His hand.
And if I remember correctly, I could find the same prayer usually on a souvenir plate or a mug in the houses of other relatives that someone had brought back from a trip to Ireland.
What I thought of as tchotkes now I look back at as pleasant reminders of my heritage. The only relative I remember who actually made it to Ireland was my Aunt Ethel. I have some great photos of her at the Blarney Stone and in Dublin during a visit in the 1970s. My great-grandmother and my mother always said that Ireland was the one place they'd like to visit before they died.
Besides being regaled with stories of the Irish customs of their parents and grand-parents (what they ate, how they dressed, etc.) all my older relatives somehow possessed the ability to tell a good story. These days I don't so much remember the stories themselves, but usually who told them and how they were told.
As I've said in earlier posts, my family did not sit in front of the television very often, especially at my great-grandparents' house (except when Lawrence Welk was on - and family members would get up and dance in the living room!). After a meal, everyone sat in the living room and talked. You would think that after years of being together we'd all run out of things to talk about, but that was never the case. And if someone didn't have a new story, they'd start with an old tried and true one: "Remember the time that Father Casey woke up on the Church Hall floor . . ."
My cousin Ronald Mulholland had some of the best stories, and they were all "clean" since he was with the order of the Marist Brothers. All the same, the stories were always hilarious, with people laughing so hard they cried.
Now that I think of it, I have the same "gift of gab" as we used to call it. There are some stories of my family that I can tell over and over again and they always provoke a few laughs or some pleasant sighs - those sighs you utter when briefly you think back to those relatives who've passed on, and their stories, and their ways, and how much you enjoyed being there in that time and place.
As I get older, I do much more sighing as I conjure up memories of Grandma and my aunts, funny stories, Irish souvenirs, and how they made sure I never forgot who I was or where I came from.
Starting at an early age, my family made sure I knew that my heritage was Irish. And one of the best ways to reinforce this in a child was to engage in the Irish tradition of storytelling and using Irish words or phrases.
If it weren't for the efforts of my great-grandmother, Therese McGinnis Austin, and her nieces Dorothy Austin Mulholland and Ethel McCrickert Hannan, my only images of the Irish would have been stereotypical. Many of these archaic symbols could be seen in movies and television shows:
- the Irish policeman with the Irish brogue;
- the Irish maid always wisecracking, also speaking with the Irish brogue;
- the poor, put-upon Irish mother with at least 10 children; and
- the perpetually inebriated Irish father who was "bone idle" and spent most of his time and the family's resources at the corner pub.
But these older women who helped raise me and had a big influence which countered those stereotypes, always made sure that their homes had "touchstones" or "markers" which I could hear, smell, see, or otherwise witness during my young years.
I remember the dish towel that Grandma Austin had which was imprinted with the all-too-familiar Irish Blessing:
May the road rise up to meet you.
May the wind always be at your back.
May the sun shine warm upon your face,
and rains fall soft upon your fields.
And until we meet again,
May God hold you in the palm of His hand.
And if I remember correctly, I could find the same prayer usually on a souvenir plate or a mug in the houses of other relatives that someone had brought back from a trip to Ireland.
What I thought of as tchotkes now I look back at as pleasant reminders of my heritage. The only relative I remember who actually made it to Ireland was my Aunt Ethel. I have some great photos of her at the Blarney Stone and in Dublin during a visit in the 1970s. My great-grandmother and my mother always said that Ireland was the one place they'd like to visit before they died.
Besides being regaled with stories of the Irish customs of their parents and grand-parents (what they ate, how they dressed, etc.) all my older relatives somehow possessed the ability to tell a good story. These days I don't so much remember the stories themselves, but usually who told them and how they were told.
As I've said in earlier posts, my family did not sit in front of the television very often, especially at my great-grandparents' house (except when Lawrence Welk was on - and family members would get up and dance in the living room!). After a meal, everyone sat in the living room and talked. You would think that after years of being together we'd all run out of things to talk about, but that was never the case. And if someone didn't have a new story, they'd start with an old tried and true one: "Remember the time that Father Casey woke up on the Church Hall floor . . ."
My cousin Ronald Mulholland had some of the best stories, and they were all "clean" since he was with the order of the Marist Brothers. All the same, the stories were always hilarious, with people laughing so hard they cried.
Now that I think of it, I have the same "gift of gab" as we used to call it. There are some stories of my family that I can tell over and over again and they always provoke a few laughs or some pleasant sighs - those sighs you utter when briefly you think back to those relatives who've passed on, and their stories, and their ways, and how much you enjoyed being there in that time and place.
As I get older, I do much more sighing as I conjure up memories of Grandma and my aunts, funny stories, Irish souvenirs, and how they made sure I never forgot who I was or where I came from.
Friday, April 25, 2008
Rationing Redux
There has been quite a bit of news this week as to several food crises around the globe including Haiti. This Passover has seen a matzo shortage. Warehouse-type stores such as Costco and Sam's Club have begun limiting the amount of rice and/or flour a customer can buy at one time.All the news this week about rising prices in gas and food made me think about food and gas rationing in American history. I don't have personal knowledge of the rationing during World War II, but I would hear stories from my great-grandparents, John Ralph Austin and Therese McGinnis Austin. During the war, they had the Grahamsville house as a summer home and it always had a "victory garden" which allowed them to avoid purchasing rationed food and subsist on what they grew and what my great-grandmother subsequently canned or preserved.
The tough part for them was gasoline rationing. It meant leaving a car up in the country and taking the train and/or bus and hoping some kind neighbor could pick you up. In addition, since my great-grandfather ran a garage in Manhattan, which certainly meant a dip in business. For those of you unfamiliar with the concept of a "garage" in Manhattan, here's the best way I can describe it: usually the garage was located in the lower levels of a high-rise and there would be at least one on each block. A car owner would rent a parking space and they would also have access to repairmen, someone to wash and clean the car, and to bring it "around front" for them when they needed it. Garages like this were very popular in the 1930s and 1940s.
What I do remember is the high cost of meat in the 1970s which led to Meatless Tuesdays and many meatless meals. Also there were gasoline shortages in the late 1970s better known as the energy crisis.
What do you remember about food and fuel rationing - either your personal experience or stories your parents or grand-parents told you? Do you also remember being told to "only take what you can finish" when at the dinner table? Did a relative admonish you as a child when you didn't want to finish your plate?
Problem with Google Subscribe Gadget
Time for me to get into tech mode here! I finally figured out what was slowing down this blog from loading in Internet Explorer or any other browser. Culprit: the Subscribe gadget from Google Gadgets.
Using time tested troubleshooting techniques, I removed all my widgets and gadgets, added them back in one at a time, and after each addition cleared my browser cache and did a page reload. After a short time, I could see that the gadget which allows visitors to subscribe to Destination: Austin Family in various ways was causing the problem.
I'm not very interested in the "why" right now. If a visitor really likes this blog, they will most likely subscribe using various other methods. What is vexing me now is getting the feedback to Google so they can work to improve what could be a valuable gadget. But for now, a slow page load is not worth using the Subscribe gadget.
Using time tested troubleshooting techniques, I removed all my widgets and gadgets, added them back in one at a time, and after each addition cleared my browser cache and did a page reload. After a short time, I could see that the gadget which allows visitors to subscribe to Destination: Austin Family in various ways was causing the problem.
I'm not very interested in the "why" right now. If a visitor really likes this blog, they will most likely subscribe using various other methods. What is vexing me now is getting the feedback to Google so they can work to improve what could be a valuable gadget. But for now, a slow page load is not worth using the Subscribe gadget.
Thursday, April 24, 2008
Julian, Julian, Julian (Calendar), Do Ya Love Me?
Just a quick note as I've been working on some early Massachusetts Bay Colony ancestors and how easy it is to forget about the Julian vs. Gregorian Calendar. If you have any ancestors with life events within the year 1752, you may or may not already know this information.
The issue I keep running into is this: the vital records for a locality, such as Dedham, Massachusetts, list an event as "the 15th day of the 2nd month."
Example: my 9th great-grandmother Eliony Lumber was married to Edward Hawes on the 15th day of the 2nd month of 1648 in Dedham, Norfolk, Masschusetts.(1)
So that means February 15, 1648, correct? Actually the correct date is April 15, 1648.
Keep in mind that under the Julian Calendar, the first day of the new year, for church and legal purposes was March 25th, also known as Lady Day or the Feast of the Annunciation. So the 1st month would be March, and the 2nd month would be April.
In each country you should remember the cutoff dates for the switch from the Julian Calendar to the Gregorian Calendar.
There are some great resources out on the Web, especially a recent post by Carolyn L. Barkley over at GenelogyandFamilyHistory.com.
Check out The Perpetual Calendar for precise dates when certain places made the switch.
Notes:
(1) Vital Records of Dedham, Massachusetts, 1635 - 1845, Online Database: NewEnglandAncestors.org, New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2007, accessed April 24, 2008 citing Vol. II, p. 126.
The issue I keep running into is this: the vital records for a locality, such as Dedham, Massachusetts, list an event as "the 15th day of the 2nd month."
Example: my 9th great-grandmother Eliony Lumber was married to Edward Hawes on the 15th day of the 2nd month of 1648 in Dedham, Norfolk, Masschusetts.(1)
So that means February 15, 1648, correct? Actually the correct date is April 15, 1648.
Keep in mind that under the Julian Calendar, the first day of the new year, for church and legal purposes was March 25th, also known as Lady Day or the Feast of the Annunciation. So the 1st month would be March, and the 2nd month would be April.
In each country you should remember the cutoff dates for the switch from the Julian Calendar to the Gregorian Calendar.
There are some great resources out on the Web, especially a recent post by Carolyn L. Barkley over at GenelogyandFamilyHistory.com.
Check out The Perpetual Calendar for precise dates when certain places made the switch.
Notes:
(1) Vital Records of Dedham, Massachusetts, 1635 - 1845, Online Database: NewEnglandAncestors.org, New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2007,
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
Name Day
In my in-laws' family there is the concept of having a "Name Day" or "Name's Day." There are many cultures that use the same type of celebration: specific days of the year are set aside to celebrate specific saints in most Christian-based religions. The most obvious example would be March 17th to celebrate Saint Patrick.
Today is the Feast of Saint George, April 23rd. This means that those who are named after Saint George would be celebrating their Name Day also known as Saint's Day.
In some countries, the Name Day garners more celebrating than the Birth Day. In Greece, where my in-laws are from, a person celebrating their Name Day has to serve as host to their guests. This means that instead of receiving gifts they give gifts, usually in the form of hosting an open house or taking immediate family members out for a meal.
Also in the Greek tradition is this twist: if your Name Day falls during the Lenten period (which is now since Greek Easter is April 27, 2008), then the celebration is carried over until Easter Monday, the day after Easter.
Does your family have a tradition of celebrating Name Day?
I've Won The Fight Against Bloat!
That's genealogy database bloat - my own personal bloat will have to wait. I am so excited over this especially since I figured out why Family Tree Maker (Version 16) was still displaying my database as being close to 280 MB since I had removed almost all the images.
As is common with several applications, if you insert an image either under the Scrapbook or under the Source areas of FTM, this takes up space, usually the number of bytes in the image file. However, if you delete that image, FTM still holds on to that amount of space.
I tried compacting the file to no avail. Finally, I had to do this:
- create a backup (if I didn't do this, I'd be "dumb as a box of hair")
- export the FTM database to GEDCOM 5.5
- close FTM
- open FTM
- under File, Open, locate the GEDCOM file. You may need to change the Files of Type drop-down box to GEDCOM, *.GED
- locate the recently exported GEDCOM
- exit FTM
- open FTM and then run Tools, Compact File
Be aware that you may lose some data in Notes fields or other fields if the data string was unusually long. That is why the backup file is important to use as a reference. But the method above removes all the "image placeholders."
For now, I will not reference any images for census records, etc. I know where they are and I have labeled them properly as well as used the new Tags function with Windows Vista. If I, or anyone who might inherit my research, wants to lookup an image for verification, it should be fairly simple.
I am a much happier man with a 8MB database. As they say, bigger is not always better.
As is common with several applications, if you insert an image either under the Scrapbook or under the Source areas of FTM, this takes up space, usually the number of bytes in the image file. However, if you delete that image, FTM still holds on to that amount of space.
I tried compacting the file to no avail. Finally, I had to do this:
- create a backup (if I didn't do this, I'd be "dumb as a box of hair")
- export the FTM database to GEDCOM 5.5
- close FTM
- open FTM
- under File, Open, locate the GEDCOM file. You may need to change the Files of Type drop-down box to GEDCOM, *.GED
- locate the recently exported GEDCOM
- exit FTM
- open FTM and then run Tools, Compact File
Be aware that you may lose some data in Notes fields or other fields if the data string was unusually long. That is why the backup file is important to use as a reference. But the method above removes all the "image placeholders."
For now, I will not reference any images for census records, etc. I know where they are and I have labeled them properly as well as used the new Tags function with Windows Vista. If I, or anyone who might inherit my research, wants to lookup an image for verification, it should be fairly simple.
I am a much happier man with a 8MB database. As they say, bigger is not always better.
Wordless Wednesday
Family Portrait - Wedding of Ethel Henneberg and Raymond O'Brien, abt 1936, Bronx, New York
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
Green, Before Green Wasn't Cool
Since today, April 22nd, is Earth Day, I thought I'd post about my great-grandparents and how they lived a "green" lifestyle.Therese McGinnis Austin and her husband John Ralph Austin moved from New York City to a small town named Grahamsville in Sullivan County, New York around 1947.
The house they had bought was an old farmhouse which had been build around 1900. From excerpts of my great-grandmother's diary of that period, there are many passages recounting how they dealt with all the changes involved with moving from city life to country life. There was only a wood stove in the kitchen and a water pump. If you needed to use the "necessary" you had to go outside to the outhouse. This was pure rural living.
But my great-grandmother seemed to be the one who could adapt easily to the new surroundings. This included learning about living with nature and not just using nature. By the time I arrived and was old enough to ask questions, I could see that Grandma and Grandpa did things differently than most, at least back around 1970:
- All newspapers were bound into flats and tied with string or they had a contraption that would roll them into very heavy "fire logs" - the logs had to be tightly woven in order to burn slowly and they were almost always burned along with wood.
- There was no garbage collection service and you had to take your refuse to the county dump which charged by the bag. This meant sorting all garbage, taking the bottom lid off of tin cans, and flattening the can. The goal was to make that bag as small and as tight as possible.
- All organic matter (vegetable peels, scraps, etc.) was placed in a compost heap out behind the house.
- Grandma was particular about what she used for housecleaning - especially since there was a well and a septic tank on the property. I remember her using vinegar, baking soda, and plain soap for her chores.
Looking back to that time, I now realize that my great-grandparents were pioneers in terms of being green. They were very careful about their consumption of goods and how to dispose of them.
Saturday, April 19, 2008
Baltimore
I am taking a few days off and will be spending them at Baltimore's Inner Harbor. I may not be able to answer questions or publish comments until I come back on Tuesday.
Have a great weekend!
Friday, April 18, 2008
My Minuteman Ancestors
Today is the 233rd anniversary of the Battles of Lexington and Concord. Just before dawn, the British troops attempted to find and destroy military supplies that had been stored by the Massachusetts military. Unbeknown to them, the Minutemen had received intelligence of the impending attack which allowed them to not only move the supplies to safety, but also to meet the British at the Lexington Commons just before dawn.
Starting with only 75 men at Lexington, the Minutemen were able to muster up close to 4,000 men by the end of the day and drove the British troops back to Boston. As a tribute to these men, who took part in "The Shot Heard Around The World," I offer up a glimpse into the lives of a few of my ancestors involved with the American Revolutionary War.
Frederick Visscher (3rd Cousin, 8 Times Removed)
Frederick Visscher(1) was born on February 21, 1741 in Albany, New York, the son of Harmon Frerickse Visscher(2) and Catharientje Brouwer(3). He served in the Tryon (later Albany) county militia and later served under Gen. Herkimer at the Battle of Oriskany. Visscher commanded an entire regiment during this battle which has often been called one of the bloodiest battles of the entire American Revolutionary War. Taking place on August 6, 1777, the militia with its 800 menu fought against 450 men made up of British troops and Seneca and Mohawk Indians. By days end, Gen. Herkimer would die of his wounds at Oriskany and the patriots would lose 465 men.(4)
After the war, Visscher was injured in a battle against Mohawk Indians fighting with the British led by Sir John Johnson on May 21, 1780. The details are quite gruesome as told by Jeptha R. Simms in his book The Frontiersmen of New York:
As the enemy ascended the stairs, Col. Visscher discharged a pistol he held in his hand, and calling for quarters, threw it behind him in token of submission. An Indian running up, struck him a blow on the head with a tomahawk, which brought him to the floor. He fell upon his face, and the Indian took two crown scalps from his head, which, no doubt, entitled him to a double reward, then giving him a gash in the back of the neck, he turned him and attempted to cut his throat, which was only prevented by his cravat, the knife penetrating just through the skin.(5)
Visscher was later appointed brigadier-general by Governor George Clinton on February 6, 1787. In June, 1782, on the occasion of General Washington's visit to Schenectady and at a dinner given in his honor, Colonel Visscher was, at the personal request of Washington, seated at his right hand.(6)
Frederick Visscher married Gazena DeGraff(7) on May 22, 1768 at Schenectady, New York. Frederick died in Schenectady on June 8, 1809.
Jonathan Everett (6th Great-Grandfather)
Jonathan Everett(8) was born on August 3, 1717 in Dedham, Massachusetts, the son of Richard Everett(9) and Mary Fuller(10). Jonathan answered the first alarm call in Lexington on April 19, 1775.(11) Everett was married to Jemima Mann(12) on September 5, 1844. She was born December 21, 1722, the daughter of Peletiah Mann(13) and Jemima Farrington(14).
Jonathan's son David Everett(15), born May 23, 1752 in Attleboro, Massachusetts, also served as a minuteman with his father at Lexington on April 19, 1775.(16)
Jonathan Everett died on December 15, 1796 at Wrentham, Massachusetts.
Wigglesworth Messenger (husband of my 5th great grand-aunt)
While not really an ancestor, who could resist not discussing someone with the first name of "Wigglesworth"? He was born on December 16, 1743(17), the son of Ebeneezer Messenger(18) and Rebecca Sweetzer(19). He was married on August 15, 1765 to Jemima Everett(20), daughter of Jonathan Everett and Jemima Mann.
Wigglesworth Messenger served as 1st Lieutenant in Capt. Oliver Pond's company which answered on the alarm of April 19, 1775 at Lexington, Massachusetts. He also served as a Private in Capt. Lemuel Kollock's company, Col. Wheelock's regiment marching from Wrentham to Warwick, Rhode Island on the alarm of December 8, 1776.(21)
Notes:
(1) Reynolds, Cuyler, Hudson and Mohawk Genealogical and Family Memoirs, (New York: Lewis Historical Publishing Company, 1911), Vol II., pp 806-808.
(2) Id.
(3) Id.
(4) Gavin K. Watt, Rebellion in the Mohawk Valley, (Toronto, Canada: Dundurn, 2002), pp. 316-320.
(5) Simms, Jeptha R., The Frontiersmen of New York, (Albany, New York: 1883), Vol II, p. 327.
(6) Hudson and Mohawk Genealogical and Family Memoirs, Vol II., pp 806-808.
(7) Id.
(8) Everett, Edward Franklin, Descendants of Richard Everett of Dedham, Massachusetts, (Boston, Massachusetts: 1902 (privately published)), p. 49.
(9) Id., pp. 29, 36
(10) Id., p. 37
(11) Id., p. 50. He was a minute man from Wrentham, in Oliver Pond's Company, which marched on the Lexington alarm of April 19, 1775; and he also served in the same company from September to December of that year.
(12) Mann, George S., Mann memorial, a record of the Mann family in America : genealogy of the descendants of Richard Man of Scituate, Mass., (Boston, Massachusetts: Press of David Clapp & Son, 1884), p. 22.
(13) Id.
(14) Id.
(15) Descendants of Richard Everett of Dedham, Massachusetts, p. 50.
(16) Id.
(17) Id.
(18) Id.
(19) Id.
(20) Id.
(21) Secretary of the Commonwealth, Massachusetts Soldiers and Sailors in the War of the Revolution, Vol. I-XVII. (Boston, MA, USA: Wright and Potter Printing Co., 1896), Vol. X, p 702.
Starting with only 75 men at Lexington, the Minutemen were able to muster up close to 4,000 men by the end of the day and drove the British troops back to Boston. As a tribute to these men, who took part in "The Shot Heard Around The World," I offer up a glimpse into the lives of a few of my ancestors involved with the American Revolutionary War.
Frederick Visscher (3rd Cousin, 8 Times Removed)
Frederick Visscher(1) was born on February 21, 1741 in Albany, New York, the son of Harmon Frerickse Visscher(2) and Catharientje Brouwer(3). He served in the Tryon (later Albany) county militia and later served under Gen. Herkimer at the Battle of Oriskany. Visscher commanded an entire regiment during this battle which has often been called one of the bloodiest battles of the entire American Revolutionary War. Taking place on August 6, 1777, the militia with its 800 menu fought against 450 men made up of British troops and Seneca and Mohawk Indians. By days end, Gen. Herkimer would die of his wounds at Oriskany and the patriots would lose 465 men.(4)
After the war, Visscher was injured in a battle against Mohawk Indians fighting with the British led by Sir John Johnson on May 21, 1780. The details are quite gruesome as told by Jeptha R. Simms in his book The Frontiersmen of New York:
As the enemy ascended the stairs, Col. Visscher discharged a pistol he held in his hand, and calling for quarters, threw it behind him in token of submission. An Indian running up, struck him a blow on the head with a tomahawk, which brought him to the floor. He fell upon his face, and the Indian took two crown scalps from his head, which, no doubt, entitled him to a double reward, then giving him a gash in the back of the neck, he turned him and attempted to cut his throat, which was only prevented by his cravat, the knife penetrating just through the skin.(5)
Visscher was later appointed brigadier-general by Governor George Clinton on February 6, 1787. In June, 1782, on the occasion of General Washington's visit to Schenectady and at a dinner given in his honor, Colonel Visscher was, at the personal request of Washington, seated at his right hand.(6)
Frederick Visscher married Gazena DeGraff(7) on May 22, 1768 at Schenectady, New York. Frederick died in Schenectady on June 8, 1809.
Jonathan Everett (6th Great-Grandfather)
Jonathan Everett(8) was born on August 3, 1717 in Dedham, Massachusetts, the son of Richard Everett(9) and Mary Fuller(10). Jonathan answered the first alarm call in Lexington on April 19, 1775.(11) Everett was married to Jemima Mann(12) on September 5, 1844. She was born December 21, 1722, the daughter of Peletiah Mann(13) and Jemima Farrington(14).
Jonathan's son David Everett(15), born May 23, 1752 in Attleboro, Massachusetts, also served as a minuteman with his father at Lexington on April 19, 1775.(16)
Jonathan Everett died on December 15, 1796 at Wrentham, Massachusetts.
Wigglesworth Messenger (husband of my 5th great grand-aunt)
While not really an ancestor, who could resist not discussing someone with the first name of "Wigglesworth"? He was born on December 16, 1743(17), the son of Ebeneezer Messenger(18) and Rebecca Sweetzer(19). He was married on August 15, 1765 to Jemima Everett(20), daughter of Jonathan Everett and Jemima Mann.
Wigglesworth Messenger served as 1st Lieutenant in Capt. Oliver Pond's company which answered on the alarm of April 19, 1775 at Lexington, Massachusetts. He also served as a Private in Capt. Lemuel Kollock's company, Col. Wheelock's regiment marching from Wrentham to Warwick, Rhode Island on the alarm of December 8, 1776.(21)
Notes:
(1) Reynolds, Cuyler, Hudson and Mohawk Genealogical and Family Memoirs, (New York: Lewis Historical Publishing Company, 1911), Vol II., pp 806-808.
(2) Id.
(3) Id.
(4) Gavin K. Watt, Rebellion in the Mohawk Valley, (Toronto, Canada: Dundurn, 2002), pp. 316-320.
(5) Simms, Jeptha R., The Frontiersmen of New York, (Albany, New York: 1883), Vol II, p. 327.
(6) Hudson and Mohawk Genealogical and Family Memoirs, Vol II., pp 806-808.
(7) Id.
(8) Everett, Edward Franklin, Descendants of Richard Everett of Dedham, Massachusetts, (Boston, Massachusetts: 1902 (privately published)), p. 49.
(9) Id., pp. 29, 36
(10) Id., p. 37
(11) Id., p. 50. He was a minute man from Wrentham, in Oliver Pond's Company, which marched on the Lexington alarm of April 19, 1775; and he also served in the same company from September to December of that year.
(12) Mann, George S., Mann memorial, a record of the Mann family in America : genealogy of the descendants of Richard Man of Scituate, Mass., (Boston, Massachusetts: Press of David Clapp & Son, 1884), p. 22.
(13) Id.
(14) Id.
(15) Descendants of Richard Everett of Dedham, Massachusetts, p. 50.
(16) Id.
(17) Id.
(18) Id.
(19) Id.
(20) Id.
(21) Secretary of the Commonwealth, Massachusetts Soldiers and Sailors in the War of the Revolution, Vol. I-XVII. (Boston, MA, USA: Wright and Potter Printing Co., 1896), Vol. X, p 702.
Earthquake Felt In Chicago
Amazing - I leave California and the earthquakes follow me. The US Geological Survey website reports a 5.4 magnitude earthquake just near Salem, Illinois which is considered Downstate.
I was awake at the time, about 4:40 am CDT and my entire office shook for about 10 seconds and then right after that another rattle for 5 seconds.
Wondering if people like Lori at Smoky Mountain Family Historian, Jasia at Creative Gene or even Terry at Hill Country of Monroe County, Mississippi felt it.
What is weird is this: it is the same day, 102 years ago, of the San Francisco earthquake of 1906.
I will keep this post updated and write about my experiences with the 1989 Loma Prieta quake which I lived through.
I was awake at the time, about 4:40 am CDT and my entire office shook for about 10 seconds and then right after that another rattle for 5 seconds.
Wondering if people like Lori at Smoky Mountain Family Historian, Jasia at Creative Gene or even Terry at Hill Country of Monroe County, Mississippi felt it.
What is weird is this: it is the same day, 102 years ago, of the San Francisco earthquake of 1906.
I will keep this post updated and write about my experiences with the 1989 Loma Prieta quake which I lived through.
Carnival of Genealogy - The 46th Edition Has Come To Town
Jasia over at Creative Gene is a goddess. She has rolled her Carnival of Genealogy into town and put up the tents for the 46th edition!
If you've never participated in COG, give it a try for the 47th Edition:
The topic for the next edition of the Carnival of Genealogy is: A Place Called Home. It's time for a geography lesson. Pick out a city/town/village where one of your ancestors once lived and tell us all about it. When was it founded? What is it known for? Has is prospered or declined over the years? Have you ever visited it or lived there? To a certain extent, we are all influenced by the environment we live in. How was your ancestor influenced by the area where they lived? Take us on a trip to the place your ancestor called home. The deadline for submissions is May 1, 2008.
Submit your blog article to the next edition of the Carnival of Genealogy using the carnival submission form. Past posts and future hosts can be found on the blog carnival index page.
As a new poster, you'll be amazed at the number of fellow genea-bloggers with whom you have something in common!
If you've never participated in COG, give it a try for the 47th Edition:
The topic for the next edition of the Carnival of Genealogy is: A Place Called Home. It's time for a geography lesson. Pick out a city/town/village where one of your ancestors once lived and tell us all about it. When was it founded? What is it known for? Has is prospered or declined over the years? Have you ever visited it or lived there? To a certain extent, we are all influenced by the environment we live in. How was your ancestor influenced by the area where they lived? Take us on a trip to the place your ancestor called home. The deadline for submissions is May 1, 2008.
Submit your blog article to the next edition of the Carnival of Genealogy using the carnival submission form. Past posts and future hosts can be found on the blog carnival index page.
As a new poster, you'll be amazed at the number of fellow genea-bloggers with whom you have something in common!
Thursday, April 17, 2008
Library Tribute: We Have Seen The Enemy
and it is a pickle.
Since it is National Library Week, I couldn't resist posting pics of this bizarre baby care book from around 1915. It is entitled The Indiana Mothers' Baby Book. Among its sage advice is this (click photo to embiggen):
"Perhaps an enemy has given him a pickle." Indeed.
I didn't know that Indiana had so many enemies of babies, let alone enemies who go around sticking pickles in their mouths. Proof that Dr. Spock was absolutely needed in future years to come.
Photos: Namey McNamerson on Flickr
Any American Revolution Ancestors?
This Satuday, April 18th, is the 333rd anniversary of the Battles of Lexington and Concord which marked the commencement of the Revolutionary War.
I recently knocked down a brick wall this week and found about six generations of Everetts in Massachsetts going back to about 1630. Many of the Everetts were Minute Men and responded to the alarm sounded at Lexington and Concord.
I'll be posting a brief biographical sketch of these men. Perhaps you'll join me and let us all in on your "revolutionary" ancestors.
Photo: The Minute Man, a statue by Daniel Chester French erected in 1875 in Concord, Massachusetts.
Some Poems In My Pocket
I don't read as much poetry as I used to, and I thought I had exhausted all my desire for poetry what my silly post about Limericks, Haikus But No Quatrains a few weeks ago. But I like the idea of Lisa's meme about poetry over at A Light That Shines Again so I'll give it go.
One might think that this is just a silly game and that posting poems or discussing them has little or nothing to do with genealogy or family history. However, how many of us, while cleaning out an aging parents house, has happened upon an old, yellowed and tattered newspaper clipping of a poem? One that your mother always kept in her purse or perhaps laminated and used as a bookmark. For generations people have looked to favorite poems or passages of poems as touchstones for reflection in their daily lives.
Among my favorite poets are Rachel Hadas, William Carlos Willams, Pablo Neruda, Emily Dickinson and Federico Garcia Lorca. And here are my favorite poems by some of these authors.
Because I could not stop for Death (712)
by Emily Dickinson
Because I could not stop for Death –
He kindly stopped for me –
The Carriage held but just Ourselves –
And Immortality.
We slowly drove – He knew no haste
And I had put away
My labor and my leisure too,
For His Civility –
We passed the School, where Children strove
At Recess – in the Ring –
We passed the Fields of Gazing Grain –
We passed the Setting Sun –
Or rather – He passed us –
The Dews drew quivering and chill –
For only Gossamer, my Gown –
My Tippet – only Tulle –
We paused before a House that seemed
A Swelling of the Ground –
The Roof was scarcely visible –
The Cornice – in the Ground –
Since then – 'tis Centuries – and yet
Feels shorter than the Day
I first surmised the Horses' Heads
Were toward Eternity –
The Poems of Emily Dickinson, Ralph W. Franklin ed., Cambridge, Mass.: The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, Copyright © 1998 by the President and Fellows of Harvard College. Copyright © 1951, 1955, 1979, by the President and Fellows of Harvard College.
A passage from Asphodel, That Greeny Flower
by William Carlos Williams
It was the love of love,
the love that swallows up all else,
a grateful love,
a love of nature, of people,
of animals,
a love engendering
gentleness and goodness
that moved me
and that I saw in you.
Copyright © 1962 by William Carlos Williams
Sonnet XVII
by Pablo Neruda
I don't love you as if you were the salt-rose, topaz
or arrow of carnations that propagate fire:
I love you as certain dark things are loved,
secretly, between the shadow and the soul.
I love you as the plant that doesn't bloom and carries
hidden within itself the light of those flowers,
and thanks to your love, darkly in my body
lives the dense fragrance that rises from the earth.
I love you without knowing how, or when, or from where,
I love you simply, without problems or pride:
I love you in this way because I don't know any other way of loving
but this, in which there is no I or you,
so intimate that your hand upon my chest is my hand,
so intimate that when I fall asleep it is your eyes that close.
100 Love Sonnets: Cien sonetos de amor by Pablo Neruda, translated by Stephen Tapscott, Austin, Texas: University of Texas Press. Copyright © 1986.
One might think that this is just a silly game and that posting poems or discussing them has little or nothing to do with genealogy or family history. However, how many of us, while cleaning out an aging parents house, has happened upon an old, yellowed and tattered newspaper clipping of a poem? One that your mother always kept in her purse or perhaps laminated and used as a bookmark. For generations people have looked to favorite poems or passages of poems as touchstones for reflection in their daily lives.
Among my favorite poets are Rachel Hadas, William Carlos Willams, Pablo Neruda, Emily Dickinson and Federico Garcia Lorca. And here are my favorite poems by some of these authors.
Because I could not stop for Death (712)
by Emily Dickinson
Because I could not stop for Death –
He kindly stopped for me –
The Carriage held but just Ourselves –
And Immortality.
We slowly drove – He knew no haste
And I had put away
My labor and my leisure too,
For His Civility –
We passed the School, where Children strove
At Recess – in the Ring –
We passed the Fields of Gazing Grain –
We passed the Setting Sun –
Or rather – He passed us –
The Dews drew quivering and chill –
For only Gossamer, my Gown –
My Tippet – only Tulle –
We paused before a House that seemed
A Swelling of the Ground –
The Roof was scarcely visible –
The Cornice – in the Ground –
Since then – 'tis Centuries – and yet
Feels shorter than the Day
I first surmised the Horses' Heads
Were toward Eternity –
The Poems of Emily Dickinson, Ralph W. Franklin ed., Cambridge, Mass.: The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, Copyright © 1998 by the President and Fellows of Harvard College. Copyright © 1951, 1955, 1979, by the President and Fellows of Harvard College.
A passage from Asphodel, That Greeny Flower
by William Carlos Williams
It was the love of love,
the love that swallows up all else,
a grateful love,
a love of nature, of people,
of animals,
a love engendering
gentleness and goodness
that moved me
and that I saw in you.
Copyright © 1962 by William Carlos Williams
Sonnet XVII
by Pablo Neruda
I don't love you as if you were the salt-rose, topaz
or arrow of carnations that propagate fire:
I love you as certain dark things are loved,
secretly, between the shadow and the soul.
I love you as the plant that doesn't bloom and carries
hidden within itself the light of those flowers,
and thanks to your love, darkly in my body
lives the dense fragrance that rises from the earth.
I love you without knowing how, or when, or from where,
I love you simply, without problems or pride:
I love you in this way because I don't know any other way of loving
but this, in which there is no I or you,
so intimate that your hand upon my chest is my hand,
so intimate that when I fall asleep it is your eyes that close.
100 Love Sonnets: Cien sonetos de amor by Pablo Neruda, translated by Stephen Tapscott, Austin, Texas: University of Texas Press. Copyright © 1986.
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
Wordless Wednesday
Recently refurbished Uptown Broadway Building
near my home in Chicago, Illinois
Photos used by permission from Uptown Update
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
In Need of Photo Tips - Include Images In Database?
I am in a bit of a bind and there are so many options to resolve this issue. So I thought I'd open it up as a "suggestion box" so that others can add their two cents.
My FTM (Family Tree Maker) database is over 250MB in size right now. Most of the file size comes for my adding images of sources (census pages, pension rolls, obituaries) in the Source area. It sure is convenient to be able to view the images right there in the source for the person in question.
My next step was to only include the image on the Source for the Name of the person, not for Date of Birth, etc. I figured that I could just go to the Name field to see the image.
Well now, even that is failing to reduce the file size. I'd like to have some way of "linking" to the images either to my computer or some web storage.
1. I don't know if linking to my computer is the best way. What if I have a hard drive crash (you know that I back up to my external drive once a week)? What if I rearrange directory names? This might render those links useless.
2. I am considering a link to Picasa but then I'd need to make my album public. I've recently made the committment to using more and more Google tools and applications (Calendar, Notebook, Documents, iGoogle, etc.) so it would be convenient to have the images there as well.
3. I do have a Flickr account (premium) and I like it much more than Picasa. Maybe I just haven't spent enough time with Picasa. I would do the same linking that I am considering with Picasa.
Any thoughts?
My FTM (Family Tree Maker) database is over 250MB in size right now. Most of the file size comes for my adding images of sources (census pages, pension rolls, obituaries) in the Source area. It sure is convenient to be able to view the images right there in the source for the person in question.
My next step was to only include the image on the Source for the Name of the person, not for Date of Birth, etc. I figured that I could just go to the Name field to see the image.
Well now, even that is failing to reduce the file size. I'd like to have some way of "linking" to the images either to my computer or some web storage.
1. I don't know if linking to my computer is the best way. What if I have a hard drive crash (you know that I back up to my external drive once a week)? What if I rearrange directory names? This might render those links useless.
2. I am considering a link to Picasa but then I'd need to make my album public. I've recently made the committment to using more and more Google tools and applications (Calendar, Notebook, Documents, iGoogle, etc.) so it would be convenient to have the images there as well.
3. I do have a Flickr account (premium) and I like it much more than Picasa. Maybe I just haven't spent enough time with Picasa. I would do the same linking that I am considering with Picasa.
Any thoughts?
A "Wild" Step Back In Time
Wow - this has been quite a happening in Chicago since late yesterday afternoon!
According to the Chicago Tribune, there was a cougar running loose in the streets of Chicago for the first time since the city was founded in the 19th century.
Read more about the incident here.
There were reports over the weekend of a cougar in the north suburbs around Wilmette but police are not certain that this is the same animal. Speculation has begun as to whether this was someone's "pet" that got loose.
To put the location in perspective, the cougar was killed in the Roscoe Village neighborhood which is about 3 miles southwest from where I live.
View Larger Map
Photos: Tribune photos by Candice C. Cusic / April 14, 2008.
1863 War Tax in New York
Well, Tax Day is here and if you haven't already done your taxes, I guess you will be busy tonite! Mine were done back in February and since I owed the State of Illinois just a wee bit, I opted to wait until last week to mail the payment.
In tribute to taxes, I recently discovered The Income Record: A List Giving the Taxable Income of Every Resident of New York - published in 1863 by the American News Company, New York, New York. I was amazed when I found this on Google books and it has helped me place some of my ancestors in New York during that time period. But I find it rather odd that you could get your hands on a book that listed your family members' and neighbors' incomes, as well as those of the Vanderbilts and the Goulds. The highest income listed is $1,843,637 and the smallest is $1.
The preface lays out the objectives of this book: 1) to "satisfy an imperious public curiousity . . ."; 2) to help others determine whether or not their neighbors ". . . perform their duty in bearing their share of the public burdens . . ."; and 3)to ". . . furnish trustworthy statistics . . ."(1)
The concept of a personal income tax in the United States was first introduced as part of the Revenue Act of 1861 to help pay for the costs of the War of the Rebellion. The tax rate from 1861 through 1872 was 3% of all incomes over $800.(2)
It was not until 1913, with the ratification of the Sixteenth Amendment to the Constitution was there a permanent personal income tax. The first tax rate was 1% for taxable net income over $3,000 rising to a rate of 7% on incomes over $500,000.(3)
Since 1913, the tax rate has fluctuated to as high as 94% for certain income levels during WWII to as low as 0.375% in 1929.(4)
Oh, and by the way: Tax Freedom Day is April 23rd - the first day of the year when you begin to keep your own income and have theoretically already paid all your taxes for the year.(5)
Notes:
(1) The Income Record: A List Giving the Taxable Income of Every Resident of New York, New York, New York: American News Company, 1863, p. iii.
(2) Income Tax in the United States, (www.wikipedia.org) accessed on April 6, 2008.
(3) Id.
(4) Id.
(5) Tax Freedom Day, (www.wikipedia.org) accessed on April 6, 2008.
In tribute to taxes, I recently discovered The Income Record: A List Giving the Taxable Income of Every Resident of New York - published in 1863 by the American News Company, New York, New York. I was amazed when I found this on Google books and it has helped me place some of my ancestors in New York during that time period. But I find it rather odd that you could get your hands on a book that listed your family members' and neighbors' incomes, as well as those of the Vanderbilts and the Goulds. The highest income listed is $1,843,637 and the smallest is $1.
The preface lays out the objectives of this book: 1) to "satisfy an imperious public curiousity . . ."; 2) to help others determine whether or not their neighbors ". . . perform their duty in bearing their share of the public burdens . . ."; and 3)to ". . . furnish trustworthy statistics . . ."(1)
The concept of a personal income tax in the United States was first introduced as part of the Revenue Act of 1861 to help pay for the costs of the War of the Rebellion. The tax rate from 1861 through 1872 was 3% of all incomes over $800.(2)
It was not until 1913, with the ratification of the Sixteenth Amendment to the Constitution was there a permanent personal income tax. The first tax rate was 1% for taxable net income over $3,000 rising to a rate of 7% on incomes over $500,000.(3)
Since 1913, the tax rate has fluctuated to as high as 94% for certain income levels during WWII to as low as 0.375% in 1929.(4)
Oh, and by the way: Tax Freedom Day is April 23rd - the first day of the year when you begin to keep your own income and have theoretically already paid all your taxes for the year.(5)
Notes:
(1) The Income Record: A List Giving the Taxable Income of Every Resident of New York, New York, New York: American News Company, 1863, p. iii.
(2) Income Tax in the United States, (www.wikipedia.org) accessed on April 6, 2008.
(3) Id.
(4) Id.
(5) Tax Freedom Day, (www.wikipedia.org) accessed on April 6, 2008.
Monday, April 14, 2008
My Family Traits
This post was written for the 46th Edition of the Carnival of Genealogy.
This post has been more difficult for me to compose than any of the other COG posts and for what reasons, I know not why. I have started each day saying, "I'm just gonna sit down and hammer this one out" but it never happens.
I've been wracking my brain for traits that I seem to have inherited, both positive and negative, biological/medical as well as character/behavioral. So here goes!
Old Blue Eyes
Most of the Austins on my mother's side have striking blue eyes. But of course, I have to be one of the odd ones: mine are hazel and seem to change with what I am wearing - like a chameleon!
Hair, Hair, Everywhere!
There is no danger of me losing my hair, especially not on the top of my head. Along the Austin line, males are known for a very full head of hair although it has a tendency to turn gray, actually white, by age 40. So far at 45 I've avoided this trait but I expect it will happen soon enough. Why is it when we hear the word "distinguished" we immediately translate that to "old"?
There is also hair and heaps of it everywhere else. Thankfully only among the men in my family. The running joke is "Sorry, I can't attend. It is back shaving night."
Not Short, Not Tall - Just Right
There are very few members of my family on the short side (5 foot or under) or tall (6 foor and higher). We all tend to congregate around the 5'5" to 5'11" range. There have been some notable exceptions: my great-grandmother Therese McGinnis Austin was over 6 feet tall. Whenever I watched Julia Child on television she reminded me so much of Grandma. And, I have a 1st cousin who is over 7 feet tall and weighs close to 400 lbs wearing size 20 shoes or something like that. As wonderful as that sounds, he has been plagued by health problems plus, it is difficult to find a chair at our family reunion that won't break when he sits!
A Cruel Joke
Most people in my family have a weight problem and I think this may come from our stocky German ancestors, the Hennebergs and the Pressners. I call my hips a "cruel joke passed down through the generations." To accentuate this, most men in my family tend to be very barrel-chested: when I was at my weightlifting prime mine was close to 52 inches. It makes clothes selection very difficult.
A Wee Nip
I'm not sure if I get this from my Austin or MacEntee side, but I bet it is my Austin side. My great-grandmother knew her way around a "restorative cocktail" and one aunt always traveled with a small suitcase that contained a bar setup for her Rob Roys. Usually alcohol consumption has tended to be a problem, a disease, on the MacEntee side of my family. But when there is a funeral, wedding or some other celebration, it wouldn't be the same without one person acting like a red-*ssed monkey and someone taking a photo or video as evidence and for later embarassment.
Smarts
I certainly get this from the MacEntee side of my family. We tend to be inquisitive and precocious to a fault. Voracious readers (mostly non-fiction) and puzzle maniacs especially crossword and Scrabble. I began school at age 4 since I probably had worn out my mother with my questions and had to take a special test to get into Kindergarten that early.
Raisins
This is one of the weirder traits: most of the Austins detest raisins in food. I've posted about this before but there is an instant revulsion bordering on running to the loo to be sick. It can't be explained, but when younger people are asked whether or not they like raisins in food, their answer immediately tells everyone which side they take after.
Smoking
This was one that really amazed me. Almost all of my mother's siblings smoke or smoked as well as my father and his siblings. But I believe there are less than 5 out of my 41 first cousins who took up the habit. That's a good thing.
Generosity
This one I am pretty proud of. On the Austin side are many people who would simply give you anything if you were in need. And these are people who grew up with nothing during the Great Depression. I was raised to always bring something when invited over to someone's house. And if we had guests, they were required to take a plate of food home with them. If someone had a flat tire, or their spouse was in the hospital, family members dropped everything and went. If it is a much bigger problem, usually someone will do "triage" and organize everyone else. I guess, like me, they've come to realize that you need to give to get: if your hand is closed and gripping tightly to what you have, it will never be open to receive.
There are some scarier, darker traits and behaviors which I've left out. Most of my family knows what they are and many of us have worked many years to break out of these cycles for the sake of our offspring. I'm very proud of that as well.
This post has been more difficult for me to compose than any of the other COG posts and for what reasons, I know not why. I have started each day saying, "I'm just gonna sit down and hammer this one out" but it never happens.
I've been wracking my brain for traits that I seem to have inherited, both positive and negative, biological/medical as well as character/behavioral. So here goes!
Old Blue Eyes
Most of the Austins on my mother's side have striking blue eyes. But of course, I have to be one of the odd ones: mine are hazel and seem to change with what I am wearing - like a chameleon!
Hair, Hair, Everywhere!
There is no danger of me losing my hair, especially not on the top of my head. Along the Austin line, males are known for a very full head of hair although it has a tendency to turn gray, actually white, by age 40. So far at 45 I've avoided this trait but I expect it will happen soon enough. Why is it when we hear the word "distinguished" we immediately translate that to "old"?
There is also hair and heaps of it everywhere else. Thankfully only among the men in my family. The running joke is "Sorry, I can't attend. It is back shaving night."
Not Short, Not Tall - Just Right
There are very few members of my family on the short side (5 foot or under) or tall (6 foor and higher). We all tend to congregate around the 5'5" to 5'11" range. There have been some notable exceptions: my great-grandmother Therese McGinnis Austin was over 6 feet tall. Whenever I watched Julia Child on television she reminded me so much of Grandma. And, I have a 1st cousin who is over 7 feet tall and weighs close to 400 lbs wearing size 20 shoes or something like that. As wonderful as that sounds, he has been plagued by health problems plus, it is difficult to find a chair at our family reunion that won't break when he sits!
A Cruel Joke
Most people in my family have a weight problem and I think this may come from our stocky German ancestors, the Hennebergs and the Pressners. I call my hips a "cruel joke passed down through the generations." To accentuate this, most men in my family tend to be very barrel-chested: when I was at my weightlifting prime mine was close to 52 inches. It makes clothes selection very difficult.
A Wee Nip
I'm not sure if I get this from my Austin or MacEntee side, but I bet it is my Austin side. My great-grandmother knew her way around a "restorative cocktail" and one aunt always traveled with a small suitcase that contained a bar setup for her Rob Roys. Usually alcohol consumption has tended to be a problem, a disease, on the MacEntee side of my family. But when there is a funeral, wedding or some other celebration, it wouldn't be the same without one person acting like a red-*ssed monkey and someone taking a photo or video as evidence and for later embarassment.
Smarts
I certainly get this from the MacEntee side of my family. We tend to be inquisitive and precocious to a fault. Voracious readers (mostly non-fiction) and puzzle maniacs especially crossword and Scrabble. I began school at age 4 since I probably had worn out my mother with my questions and had to take a special test to get into Kindergarten that early.
Raisins
This is one of the weirder traits: most of the Austins detest raisins in food. I've posted about this before but there is an instant revulsion bordering on running to the loo to be sick. It can't be explained, but when younger people are asked whether or not they like raisins in food, their answer immediately tells everyone which side they take after.
Smoking
This was one that really amazed me. Almost all of my mother's siblings smoke or smoked as well as my father and his siblings. But I believe there are less than 5 out of my 41 first cousins who took up the habit. That's a good thing.
Generosity
This one I am pretty proud of. On the Austin side are many people who would simply give you anything if you were in need. And these are people who grew up with nothing during the Great Depression. I was raised to always bring something when invited over to someone's house. And if we had guests, they were required to take a plate of food home with them. If someone had a flat tire, or their spouse was in the hospital, family members dropped everything and went. If it is a much bigger problem, usually someone will do "triage" and organize everyone else. I guess, like me, they've come to realize that you need to give to get: if your hand is closed and gripping tightly to what you have, it will never be open to receive.
There are some scarier, darker traits and behaviors which I've left out. Most of my family knows what they are and many of us have worked many years to break out of these cycles for the sake of our offspring. I'm very proud of that as well.
Upcoming Posts - Week of April 14th
Just wanted to give visitors and idea of what I'll be working on this week:
April 14, 2008: My Family Traits
My post for the 46th Edition of the Carnival of Genealogy
April 15, 2008 (Tax Day): The 1863 War Tax in New York
I will describe an interesting book, The Income Record: A List Giving the Taxable Income of Every Resident of New York - published in 1863 by the American News Company, New York, New York. This is available for free in Google Books and has helped me establish not only residency for several ancestors but also how they were doing financially!
April 16, 2008: Wordless Wednesday
Posting photographs connected to my family history or places I live or have lived.
April 19, 2008: 333rd Anniversary of the Battle of Lexington and Concord
I will be posting about my family's involvement with this famous battle which began the American Revolutionary War. I will be pulling biographical information from at least one ancestor who fought there. I may also try to mention several Loyalists in my family tree. I will be adding this to the Genea-Blogger calendar if anyone wants to join me.
April 14, 2008: My Family Traits
My post for the 46th Edition of the Carnival of Genealogy
April 15, 2008 (Tax Day): The 1863 War Tax in New York
I will describe an interesting book, The Income Record: A List Giving the Taxable Income of Every Resident of New York - published in 1863 by the American News Company, New York, New York. This is available for free in Google Books and has helped me establish not only residency for several ancestors but also how they were doing financially!
April 16, 2008: Wordless Wednesday
Posting photographs connected to my family history or places I live or have lived.
April 19, 2008: 333rd Anniversary of the Battle of Lexington and Concord
I will be posting about my family's involvement with this famous battle which began the American Revolutionary War. I will be pulling biographical information from at least one ancestor who fought there. I may also try to mention several Loyalists in my family tree. I will be adding this to the Genea-Blogger calendar if anyone wants to join me.
My Stuff And What My Ancestors Would Think About It
Larry at Passing It On, has a great post which is sure to start the cogs and wheels in your brain spinning this morning: What would your ancestors think about your stuff?
He poses this question in light of how Americans buy, use and dispose of items and comparing such consumption to the practices of our ancestors. Well, it certainly got me to thinking!
I've noticed various consumption patterns among my family:
- my mother was a product of the Great Depression and lived with 11 other siblings. This meant there often was not enough to go around in terms of food. It also meant there were never any new clothes but hand-me-downs from older siblings. The most profound effect was my mother's purchasing habits later in life. As I cleaned out my mother's house over the past three years, I noticed that she had bought almost 10 of every food item, whether she needed them or not. Cake mixes, canned goods, spices, baking goods, etc. At first I attributed such consumerism to her early-onset Alzheimer's Disease. But then I remembered that Mom always shopped like this. And we never threw anything away! Much of the food had to be disposed of during the cleaning process: most food pantries would not accept expired dry goods, open items but would gladly take canned goods.
- my great-grandparents were definitely thrifty. I think my great-grandmother (Therese McGinnis Austin) still had the first nickel she ever received. They too lived through the Great Depression and my great-grandmother grew up very poor in New York City at the turn of the 20th century. The farmhouse that she and my great-grandfather (John Ralph Austin) purchased in 1947 as a retirement home was stocked with lots of items I would now consider antiques. And my great-grandmother was the first "green" person in our family as far as I was concerned: she had canvas and mesh shopping bags to take to the store; she would sort all the garbage and place organic items in the compost bin; she would make use of all the produce, nuts and fruits she could find near the house; an item was used until it was beyond death.
As I get older and more in middle-age, I find that not only do I not need as much, but I don't want much. And my trick to minimizing consumerism: downsize. At home here in Chicago, we live in a small 2 bed/2 bath condo with almost no storage space. This has forced us to justify each and every purchase and decide if we really need it and where we will put it.
Recycling has always been big with me after living in California for close to 20 years. San Francisco had a great program that worked very well. Chicago's program has been dismal up until recently. They had a "blue bag" program where you actually had to pay for the bags into which you placed your recyclables! Now, our neighborhood is one of the first to have tall, bright blue recycle bins. My only complaint is that they aren't emptied but twice a month and are constantly overflowing.
Finally, one way in which I've changed my consumerism is shopping at and donating to my local non-profit run thrift store. I use the Brown Elephant which benefits the Howard Brown Health Center here in Chicago. I keep a large bin in the hallway closet and over a three month period I will add items that I don't want or can't use anymore. Then I'll haul it up Clark Street and drop it off. I also shop at Brown Elephant especially when I need a book to read on a long trip or on vacation. They sell hard cover books for $1 and if I leave it on the plane I don't feel so bad about it. Also, if I finish the book, I'll either leave it at the hotel if they have a library/reading room or I'll drop it off at a local thrift store.
I think many of my ancestors who came before my great-grandparents would be amazed and even a bit outraged at the level of consumerism we see these days.
He poses this question in light of how Americans buy, use and dispose of items and comparing such consumption to the practices of our ancestors. Well, it certainly got me to thinking!
I've noticed various consumption patterns among my family:
- my mother was a product of the Great Depression and lived with 11 other siblings. This meant there often was not enough to go around in terms of food. It also meant there were never any new clothes but hand-me-downs from older siblings. The most profound effect was my mother's purchasing habits later in life. As I cleaned out my mother's house over the past three years, I noticed that she had bought almost 10 of every food item, whether she needed them or not. Cake mixes, canned goods, spices, baking goods, etc. At first I attributed such consumerism to her early-onset Alzheimer's Disease. But then I remembered that Mom always shopped like this. And we never threw anything away! Much of the food had to be disposed of during the cleaning process: most food pantries would not accept expired dry goods, open items but would gladly take canned goods.
- my great-grandparents were definitely thrifty. I think my great-grandmother (Therese McGinnis Austin) still had the first nickel she ever received. They too lived through the Great Depression and my great-grandmother grew up very poor in New York City at the turn of the 20th century. The farmhouse that she and my great-grandfather (John Ralph Austin) purchased in 1947 as a retirement home was stocked with lots of items I would now consider antiques. And my great-grandmother was the first "green" person in our family as far as I was concerned: she had canvas and mesh shopping bags to take to the store; she would sort all the garbage and place organic items in the compost bin; she would make use of all the produce, nuts and fruits she could find near the house; an item was used until it was beyond death.
As I get older and more in middle-age, I find that not only do I not need as much, but I don't want much. And my trick to minimizing consumerism: downsize. At home here in Chicago, we live in a small 2 bed/2 bath condo with almost no storage space. This has forced us to justify each and every purchase and decide if we really need it and where we will put it.
Recycling has always been big with me after living in California for close to 20 years. San Francisco had a great program that worked very well. Chicago's program has been dismal up until recently. They had a "blue bag" program where you actually had to pay for the bags into which you placed your recyclables! Now, our neighborhood is one of the first to have tall, bright blue recycle bins. My only complaint is that they aren't emptied but twice a month and are constantly overflowing.
Finally, one way in which I've changed my consumerism is shopping at and donating to my local non-profit run thrift store. I use the Brown Elephant which benefits the Howard Brown Health Center here in Chicago. I keep a large bin in the hallway closet and over a three month period I will add items that I don't want or can't use anymore. Then I'll haul it up Clark Street and drop it off. I also shop at Brown Elephant especially when I need a book to read on a long trip or on vacation. They sell hard cover books for $1 and if I leave it on the plane I don't feel so bad about it. Also, if I finish the book, I'll either leave it at the hotel if they have a library/reading room or I'll drop it off at a local thrift store.
I think many of my ancestors who came before my great-grandparents would be amazed and even a bit outraged at the level of consumerism we see these days.
Sunday, April 13, 2008
My Computer
Miriam over at AnceStories 2: Stories of Me for My Descendants has a great prompt this week - My Computer!
Tell about your first experiences with a computer? Did you take a computer class in school or college, or perhaps as a part of work training? What kind of computer did you train on? What was the purpose of your learning or training?
The first computer I ever encountered was an early version of the IBM PC in 1984. I had just graduated from college and was working for the US Department of Agriculture in Washington, DC. One day, my supervisor came to my desk, plopped this huge machine on my desk and said, "This is a computer. I need you to learn how it works and then teach everyone else in the department." This is why I often call myself the "Accidental Trainer."
If you use computers at work, tell about the various types you've worked with.
Oh gosh. Does an abacus count? I've used the IBM PC in all its iterations, a publishing system known as Atex, HP systems, Dell desktops and laptops, the Tandy TRS-80 (aka Trash 80) which used 12" floppy disks, and more than I could ever remember.
What was the first computer you ever owned (brand)? What type of operating system did it have? How much RAM did it have? How big was the hard drive and processor? Do you remember what type of backup it had (floppy disks, etc.)?
The first computer I owned outright was a Dell desktop. It had Windows 95 as the operating system (OS) and I believe it had 256k RAM. The hard drive was about 1GB. It had a 3.5" floppy drive as well as a 5.5" floppy drive.
What about its peripherals? What type of monitor (brand, pixels, size) did you have? What about the keyboard and mouse? Did it have speakers?
The monitor was some huge monstrosity but it did have color. I had a mouse but it didn't have a track-ball like mine today. It did not have speakers or a printer.
Did you have a printer? What kind of ink did it use? Did it print on single sheets or use continuous feed?
As I've said before, I take a very "green" approach to computing. For years I never had a printer and didn't find a need for one. If I had to print, I'd place the item on a floppy disk and print it at work. Today I have a HP 1200c all-in-one but I only print less than 10 pages a month. All my work is usually stored in PDF and I download all my bills from vendors in PDF format.
Tell about your first internet experience. Unless you've recently joined the technology age, you started out with dialup (and may still use it, depending upon what is available and affordable in your community). What was the first speed of dialup that you used? Who was/were your provider(s)? Do you use broadband now? What type (cable, DSL, etc.)?
Actually I was pre-Internet in that I dialed into many Bulletin Boards (remember them) with the 1200 baud Hayes modem. There was no "provider" instead you just dialed in from your phone line.
Then for years I used AT&T dial-up until I moved to Chicago. I now use COVAD which is based in Santa Clara, California. I've been happy with their DSL service and it is very reliable. I need reliability since I work from home every day.
For what did you mainly use your first computer?
I actually used it for genealogy!
What did you love about your first computer? What did you dislike? What about each of your consecutive computers?
Well the first computer was just an amazing machine in my eyes but to be honest I can't remember much about it.
Tell about any crashes or hard drive failures you have experienced.
Almost never on my home computer (can one type with fingers crossed?) but several times on the Dell D600 laptop that my office provides. So now I back up all my data to my external hard drive.
A few years ago I would receive the Blue Screen of Death sometimes on my home PC. It was fun to call up Microsoft support and they would get all snotty when I used the term Blue Screen of Death. They would immediately correct me and call it a General Protection Fault. Yeah, whatever
How did you discard former computers?
In San Francisco where I lived until 2004, a local group ran a drop-off point down in the Financial District. You could drop off the machine, pay a small fee of about $10, and they would later send you a receipt for tax purposes plus a certificate stating that they had wiped the hard drive clean of any data.
Share the progression of your first computer and internet experiences through your present ones. Compare and contrast.
Well there is no comparison with the Dark Ages back in the 1980s. Do you remember items such as Dot Matrix printers? A software program called Sideways and what it was used for? How we had to format diskettes before being able to use them? Products like Lotus 1,2,3 or Symphony?
What is on your wish list for your current computer situation? Is it a whole new system? Some jazzy peripherals?
I have a pretty smokin' setup right now: 20" wide screen flat panel monitor, 250GB external hard drive, iPod Nano, 80GB internal hard drive, 2GB Ram, etc. The only thing I might want is more memory.
My Library, My Refuge
In honor of National Library Week, Lori at Smoky Mountain Family History has challenged genea-blogers as well as others to post one tribute to libraries.
As a child, I loved to read and this came about at a very early age - I believe I was not yet three years old. I do remember being able to spell long words like xylophone at age three. But this ability did not come about by itself - my mother read to me all the time and encouraged me to read on my own.
My early school years, grades 1 through 3, were at Saint Peter's Catholic School in Liberty, New York where I grew up. We really didn't have a library per se; rather it was a large closet that had been converted into a "book room." To me it wasn't very welcoming and I never really remember going there.
I first discovered the library at school while I was in the 5th grade. To me, it was a fascinating place where I could spend all day if I were able. The librarians were women who were kind but firm. They enforced all the rules but also had time to help you find a book for a book report.
As I grew older, I spent more time at the public library in our small village. It was a fairly modern building that really stuck out among all the much older houses and stores on North Main Street. The Jacob and Edith Beck Memorial Library was a two story wonderland to me. For a boy from a small town, they seemed to have everything. When my mother would go in to pick up the latest "good read" that was on the bestseller's list, I'd beg her to leave me there while she went grocery shopping. By time I was 11 years old, I knew where all the different sections were and what they contained. And it seemed that I was always checking out books to read at home which was important since we really could not afford to buy them on our own.
The Jacob and Edit Beck Memorial Library, Liberty, New York
When I went off to college in 1980, I encountered my first really big library: the Gelman Library at The George Washington University. With seven floors and over 1 million volumes, I had everything I needed not only for academic research but for pleasure reading as well. Within six-months of arriving on campus, I had already snagged a work-study part-time job in the Acquisitions department. My main job was to process incoming books so that the Catalog department could enter them into the system. I enjoyed working there with a great group of people.
The Gelman Library, The George Washington University, Washington, DC
As if that weren't enough, as I started my graduate studies, I realized that I was in a city where I could take advantage of the ultimate library: The Library of Congress.
Large and imposing, I was determined to make it work for me - and I did. Beginning in my senior year of undergraduate studies, I was able to secure a "study shelf." This meant, rather than having to fill out a call slip and wait an hour for delivery of the book every time I went there, I could place books on a shelf labeled with my name. This made it much easier to go and perform research there but it did take the books out of circulation for other researchers. Luckily, the staff knew where the books were and sometimes I would go to my shelf a notice was left stating that the book had been removed and who was using it. There were times when this happened and it was fun to meet someone else also researching your same or similar topic.
The Main Reading Room, Library of Congress, Washington, DC
These days I don't get out much to the library but when I do, it is usually at the Harold Washington Public Library here in Chicago. This place is a wonder even from the outside! Although it looks like a large older building in the stlye of Louis Sullivan, it is in fact very modern. Plus who can resist the huge gargoyles posted at each corner of the roof!
Harold Washington Public Library, Chicago, Illinois
As a child, I loved to read and this came about at a very early age - I believe I was not yet three years old. I do remember being able to spell long words like xylophone at age three. But this ability did not come about by itself - my mother read to me all the time and encouraged me to read on my own.
My early school years, grades 1 through 3, were at Saint Peter's Catholic School in Liberty, New York where I grew up. We really didn't have a library per se; rather it was a large closet that had been converted into a "book room." To me it wasn't very welcoming and I never really remember going there.
I first discovered the library at school while I was in the 5th grade. To me, it was a fascinating place where I could spend all day if I were able. The librarians were women who were kind but firm. They enforced all the rules but also had time to help you find a book for a book report.
As I grew older, I spent more time at the public library in our small village. It was a fairly modern building that really stuck out among all the much older houses and stores on North Main Street. The Jacob and Edith Beck Memorial Library was a two story wonderland to me. For a boy from a small town, they seemed to have everything. When my mother would go in to pick up the latest "good read" that was on the bestseller's list, I'd beg her to leave me there while she went grocery shopping. By time I was 11 years old, I knew where all the different sections were and what they contained. And it seemed that I was always checking out books to read at home which was important since we really could not afford to buy them on our own.
The Jacob and Edit Beck Memorial Library, Liberty, New York
When I went off to college in 1980, I encountered my first really big library: the Gelman Library at The George Washington University. With seven floors and over 1 million volumes, I had everything I needed not only for academic research but for pleasure reading as well. Within six-months of arriving on campus, I had already snagged a work-study part-time job in the Acquisitions department. My main job was to process incoming books so that the Catalog department could enter them into the system. I enjoyed working there with a great group of people.
The Gelman Library, The George Washington University, Washington, DC
As if that weren't enough, as I started my graduate studies, I realized that I was in a city where I could take advantage of the ultimate library: The Library of Congress.
Large and imposing, I was determined to make it work for me - and I did. Beginning in my senior year of undergraduate studies, I was able to secure a "study shelf." This meant, rather than having to fill out a call slip and wait an hour for delivery of the book every time I went there, I could place books on a shelf labeled with my name. This made it much easier to go and perform research there but it did take the books out of circulation for other researchers. Luckily, the staff knew where the books were and sometimes I would go to my shelf a notice was left stating that the book had been removed and who was using it. There were times when this happened and it was fun to meet someone else also researching your same or similar topic.
The Main Reading Room, Library of Congress, Washington, DC
These days I don't get out much to the library but when I do, it is usually at the Harold Washington Public Library here in Chicago. This place is a wonder even from the outside! Although it looks like a large older building in the stlye of Louis Sullivan, it is in fact very modern. Plus who can resist the huge gargoyles posted at each corner of the roof!
Harold Washington Public Library, Chicago, Illinois
A New Look
Part of Spring cleaning also means updating the look of this blog. Let me know what you think, especially if you find the page loads slowly for you. I believe the culprit is either the new Blog List or the Label Cloud.
Wednesday, April 9, 2008
Genea-Blogger Carnival Calendar
Inspired by Miriam's recent post at AnceStories in terms of various April carnivals that genea-bloggers might find interesting, I've created a Genea-Blogger Carnival Calendar using Google Calendars.
Events are designated as "deadline" or "published" (I sometimes submit a post but can't remember when it will be published), and the event details contain links to the carnival hosting site as well as the submission form.
I've inserted an example in this post until I decide where I actually want to place this on my already crowded blog. Perhaps I will just have a hyperlink in the side bar to it.
If you use Google Calendars and want to add this to your current calendar, simply search for Genea-Bloggers under the Public Calendars section.
It can also be accessed via hyperlink here.
For now, I've placed it in agenda format at the very bottom of this blog - the place where no one ever looks, I'm sure!
Events are designated as "deadline" or "published" (I sometimes submit a post but can't remember when it will be published), and the event details contain links to the carnival hosting site as well as the submission form.
I've inserted an example in this post until I decide where I actually want to place this on my already crowded blog. Perhaps I will just have a hyperlink in the side bar to it.
If you use Google Calendars and want to add this to your current calendar, simply search for Genea-Bloggers under the Public Calendars section.
It can also be accessed via hyperlink here.
For now, I've placed it in agenda format at the very bottom of this blog - the place where no one ever looks, I'm sure!
Who Are The 67 Bodies of Fort Craig?
Late last evening, I came across an interesting story(1) on the AP newswire concerning the exhumation of 67 bodies which was done in secret by federal archaelogists near Fort Craig, New Mexico.
It appears that some graves had already been looted over the course of several years, mainly for the Civil War artifacts they contained. The archaeologists, working for the Bureau of Land Reclamation, came upon scores of empty graves, 20 of which had been looted.
At first I thought it odd that there would be Civil War artifacts buried at Fort Craig which is in Socorro County, New Mexico, but upon further research it makes sense. Many of the bodies buried at Fort Craig undoubtedly either fought at the Battle of Valverde (February 20-21, 1862) or had served in other locations back East. After the Civil War, many of the men who chose to remain in the military were stationed "Out West" at various outposts in what is now Nevada, Arizona and New Mexico. This was part of the "Indian Campaigns" in various territories with purpose of containing Indian raids on new settlements.
No doubt the identification process for the 67 bodies will take years, and information such as census data for Fort Craig may be used. In my preliminary search of the censuses for the period 1860 - 1880 (Fort Craig was abandoned by the military in 1885), I found that the makeup of the residents changed quite a bit during that 20 year period.
In the 1860 census, there are 199 residents and the overwhelming majority of them are of Spanish or Mexican descent judging from the surnames listed. For this census, it appears that both Valverde and Fort Craig are used as towns to list the residents of Fort Craig.(2)
In the 1870 census, there are 239 people listed in Valverde with no Fort Craig listed at all in the data. In addition, almost all the names are of Hispanic descent which leads me to believe that while the military still had a presence at Fort Craig until 1885, the data for the military families must be listed either at one of the other forts (Bascom maybe?) or by the precinct number.(3)
In the 1880 census, there are many more surnames matching Roberts, Gardner, and Williams with many of the residents having been born in New York, Vermont and Illinois. Some of those born in the New Mexico Territory do not have Hispanic surnames leading me to believe that they were born there in the Valverde/Fort Craig area. The 1880 census lists a total of 141 residents of just Fort Craig.(4)
Notes:
(1) 67 bodies secretly exhumed from NM grave, Melanie Dabovich, Associate Press article,
(2) 1860 United States Census, (http://www.ancestry.com), accessed April 9, 2008, citing Census Place: Fort Craig, Socorro, New Mexico Territory; Roll: M653_714.
(3) 1870 United States Census, (http://www.ancestry.com), accessed April 9, 2008, citing Census Place: Census Place: Socorro, Socorro, New Mexico Territory; Roll: M593_896.
(4) 1880 United States Census, (http://www.ancestry.com), accessed April 9, 2008, citing Census Place: Fort Craig, Socorro, New Mexico; Roll: T9_804; Family History Film: 1254804.
Tuesday, April 8, 2008
iGoogle as a Home Page and Genealogy Gadgets
Yesterday I posted about one of the new widgets available in Blogger that enables you to pull your favorite blogs from your Google Reader and have them listed in the sidebar as a Blog List. I've been exploring many of the Blogger widgets and Google gadgets and I've found another feature that helps me with my genealogy research: iGoogle.
iGoogle is a reworking of the Google Personal Homepage but it is much more robust and customizable. You can select from a variety of themes, some of which change over the course of the day (sunrise, sunset, etc.) or you can even create your own (but you do need a good working knowledge of XML programming).
To me, the best features include:
- the ability to add tabs so you can neatly organize gadgets and feeds. You can create a News tab with feeds from CNN, Reuters, etc. You can create a tab for your documents in Google Docs or another for your items in Google Calendar.
- the ability to choose from thousands of gadgets and add them to your iGoogle pages. Many of the gadgets are exact duplicates of widgets found in Blogger.
But the best part is the number of genealogy-related gadgets including research tools for RootsWeb, Ancestry, USGENWEB. Other gadgets include feeds for Dick Eastman's Online Genealogy Newsletter and other genealogy news sites.
Getting Started
1. You must have a Gmail account in order to set up an iGoogle page.
2. On the default iGoogle page, click Sign in in the upper left-hand corner and use your Gmail credentials to sign in.
Set iGoogle as Home Page
3. The default iGoogle page appears. Now is a good time to set this as your home page (in Internet Explorer, click Tools, Internet Options, then Use Current in the Homepage section).
4. Choose a theme by clicking Select Theme. The Themes page appears and lists hundreds of themes from which to choose. Some themes such as Live Planet - Northern Hemisphere will change throughout the day as time elapses. Take your time and select a theme that is a) easy to use and allows you to clearly view the added Google Gadgets and b) matches your personality. My current theme is Clear Blue.
Gadgets! Get yer gadgets!
5. The iGoogle page reappears with the new theme added. Now it is time for the fun part: adding gadgets.
Locate the bar labeled Look for new stuff to add and click.
The Google Gadgets page will appear.
6. To review what a gadget does, click the title, such as Gmail. If you already know that you want the gadget, click Add it now.
Use the pre-defined search links on the left (Hottest, Most Users, and Newest) to see what others have used. Use the Search for gadgets search box to locate specific gadgets such as Weather or Spanish Word of the Day.
Continue to add gadgets but don't go overboard! I recommend about six gadgets on a page. When finished, click Back to iGoogle home.
Arrange Your Gadgets
7. The gadgets you selected will now appear on your iGoogle home page.
You can drag gadgets up and down the same column for desired placement or over to one of the other columns. If you find you don't like a gadget, simply click the "x" in the upper right corner to delete it.
Too Many Gadgets? Think Tabs
8. It is normal to want so many gadgets that it doesn't make sense to have them all on one page. This is where you add a tab to the iGoogle home page and place similar gadgets (news feeds, photos, etc.) on the same tab. In our case, we are going to create a Genealogy tab that will have some great gadgets.
In the left hand side of the iGoogle home page, click Add a Tab.
Enter a name for the tab, such as Genealogy. Now comes the fun part: mark the box labeled I'm feeling lucky. Automatically add stuff based on the tab name and click OK.
The Genealogy tab will now have many genealogy-related gadgets on the page. Arrange them in whatever order you desire.
Exploring More Gadgets
9. In my experience, I didn't want most of the gadgets that Google thought would be fun to have. I was looking for search engine-based gadgets for sites like Internment.net, Ancestry, RootsWeb, etc. I didn't think Google would have them but using the search function, boy was I surprised!
On the iGoogle home page, on the right-hand side, click Add Stuff. The Gadgets page appears. Enter Genealogy in the Search for gadgets box and a whole slew of gadgets will appear.
Remember to also use search terms such as Ancestry, RootsWeb, USGENWeb, census etc. Locate the gadgets you want and click Add it now. Then go back to your home page to review the gadgets and change the placement.
My current iGoogle home page tab for Genealogy contains the following gadgets:
- Genealogy Blog Finder
- Search USGenWeb Archives
- American Memory Search (Library of Congress)
- RootsWeb Search
- Internment.net Search
- CousinConnect Genealogy Query (you can change the setting to look for specific surnames)
- Ancestry Census Search
- FamilySearch (LDS)
- Eastman's Online Genealogy Newsletter
I hope you take iGoogle for a test drive. I enjoy it because I am not longer looking through my favorites for websites I use all the time.
iGoogle is a reworking of the Google Personal Homepage but it is much more robust and customizable. You can select from a variety of themes, some of which change over the course of the day (sunrise, sunset, etc.) or you can even create your own (but you do need a good working knowledge of XML programming).
To me, the best features include:
- the ability to add tabs so you can neatly organize gadgets and feeds. You can create a News tab with feeds from CNN, Reuters, etc. You can create a tab for your documents in Google Docs or another for your items in Google Calendar.
- the ability to choose from thousands of gadgets and add them to your iGoogle pages. Many of the gadgets are exact duplicates of widgets found in Blogger.
But the best part is the number of genealogy-related gadgets including research tools for RootsWeb, Ancestry, USGENWEB. Other gadgets include feeds for Dick Eastman's Online Genealogy Newsletter and other genealogy news sites.
Getting Started
1. You must have a Gmail account in order to set up an iGoogle page.
2. On the default iGoogle page, click Sign in in the upper left-hand corner and use your Gmail credentials to sign in.
Set iGoogle as Home Page
3. The default iGoogle page appears. Now is a good time to set this as your home page (in Internet Explorer, click Tools, Internet Options, then Use Current in the Homepage section).
4. Choose a theme by clicking Select Theme. The Themes page appears and lists hundreds of themes from which to choose. Some themes such as Live Planet - Northern Hemisphere will change throughout the day as time elapses. Take your time and select a theme that is a) easy to use and allows you to clearly view the added Google Gadgets and b) matches your personality. My current theme is Clear Blue.
Gadgets! Get yer gadgets!
5. The iGoogle page reappears with the new theme added. Now it is time for the fun part: adding gadgets.
Locate the bar labeled Look for new stuff to add and click.
The Google Gadgets page will appear.
6. To review what a gadget does, click the title, such as Gmail. If you already know that you want the gadget, click Add it now.
Use the pre-defined search links on the left (Hottest, Most Users, and Newest) to see what others have used. Use the Search for gadgets search box to locate specific gadgets such as Weather or Spanish Word of the Day.
Continue to add gadgets but don't go overboard! I recommend about six gadgets on a page. When finished, click Back to iGoogle home.
Arrange Your Gadgets
7. The gadgets you selected will now appear on your iGoogle home page.
You can drag gadgets up and down the same column for desired placement or over to one of the other columns. If you find you don't like a gadget, simply click the "x" in the upper right corner to delete it.
Too Many Gadgets? Think Tabs
8. It is normal to want so many gadgets that it doesn't make sense to have them all on one page. This is where you add a tab to the iGoogle home page and place similar gadgets (news feeds, photos, etc.) on the same tab. In our case, we are going to create a Genealogy tab that will have some great gadgets.
In the left hand side of the iGoogle home page, click Add a Tab.
Enter a name for the tab, such as Genealogy. Now comes the fun part: mark the box labeled I'm feeling lucky. Automatically add stuff based on the tab name and click OK.
The Genealogy tab will now have many genealogy-related gadgets on the page. Arrange them in whatever order you desire.
Exploring More Gadgets
9. In my experience, I didn't want most of the gadgets that Google thought would be fun to have. I was looking for search engine-based gadgets for sites like Internment.net, Ancestry, RootsWeb, etc. I didn't think Google would have them but using the search function, boy was I surprised!
On the iGoogle home page, on the right-hand side, click Add Stuff. The Gadgets page appears. Enter Genealogy in the Search for gadgets box and a whole slew of gadgets will appear.
Remember to also use search terms such as Ancestry, RootsWeb, USGENWeb, census etc. Locate the gadgets you want and click Add it now. Then go back to your home page to review the gadgets and change the placement.
My current iGoogle home page tab for Genealogy contains the following gadgets:
- Genealogy Blog Finder
- Search USGenWeb Archives
- American Memory Search (Library of Congress)
- RootsWeb Search
- Internment.net Search
- CousinConnect Genealogy Query (you can change the setting to look for specific surnames)
- Ancestry Census Search
- FamilySearch (LDS)
- Eastman's Online Genealogy Newsletter
I hope you take iGoogle for a test drive. I enjoy it because I am not longer looking through my favorites for websites I use all the time.
Monday, April 7, 2008
I'll Throw My Hat In The Ring
As Jasia said, as long as we genea-bloggers are being silly and playing games tonite (and having fun), I'll join in. I christen this meme as The Hat Trick!
Remember when a woman wouldn't be caught dead leaving the house without a hat, let alone hat and gloves? These dames remind me of some of my great aunts and cousins when I grew up: crazy hats, lots of wild costume jewelry, and they'd get all gussied up even just to go down to the diner and swap gossip over some coffee and a few packs of Lucky Strikes.
You just know they are talking about some woman who wasn't wearing a hat.
Nowadays, anything can pass for a hat. I realize she was going for that Dutch Masters, Girl with a Pearl Earring, Vermeer look but you'd think she could do better than a plastic bag from Piggly Wiggly. Right now I can hear my great-grandmother's ghost snapping off a witty comment: "You know what they say girls, hats always make a difference!"
This concludes The Hat Trick. Now back to your previously scheduled programming.
Extra bonus points if you can find all the colons in this post.
Remember when a woman wouldn't be caught dead leaving the house without a hat, let alone hat and gloves? These dames remind me of some of my great aunts and cousins when I grew up: crazy hats, lots of wild costume jewelry, and they'd get all gussied up even just to go down to the diner and swap gossip over some coffee and a few packs of Lucky Strikes.
You just know they are talking about some woman who wasn't wearing a hat.
Nowadays, anything can pass for a hat. I realize she was going for that Dutch Masters, Girl with a Pearl Earring, Vermeer look but you'd think she could do better than a plastic bag from Piggly Wiggly. Right now I can hear my great-grandmother's ghost snapping off a witty comment: "You know what they say girls, hats always make a difference!"
This concludes The Hat Trick. Now back to your previously scheduled programming.
Extra bonus points if you can find all the colons in this post.
I Am Colon, Hear Me Roar
Well, I guess if Lori Thornton at Smoky Mountain Family Historian, Jasia at Creative Gene and footnoteMaven can play, so can I. It turns out that as a result of taking the What Punctuation Mark Are You? quiz over at Blogthings, I am a colon. No jokes please.
You Are a Colon |
 You are very orderly and fact driven. You aren't concerned much with theories or dreams... only what's true or untrue. You are brilliant and incredibly learned. Anything you know is well researched. You like to make lists and sort through things step by step. You aren't subject to whim or emotions. Your friends see you as a constant source of knowledge and advice. (But they are a little sick of you being right all of the time!) You excel in: Leadership positions You get along best with: The Semi-Colon |
New Blogger Feature: Blog List
You may notice a change on the sidebar at Destination: Austin Family - I've managed to automate the listing of my favorite genea-blogs by using Blogger's new Blog List widget.
I'll admit it is much easier using this widget than having to frequently update a list of blogs by hand. If you use Google Reader, which I do, it is even easier to locate your favorite blogs and add them to the Blog List.
Once you follow the instructions, these are the other benefits of adding Blog List to your Blogger site:
• the list of blogs is composed in HTML and not JavaScript - these means by adding your favorite blogs you are helping to improve the PageRank standing of those blogs within Google searches;
• you can display all the blogs in your Google Reader, or only 5, 10 or 25 blogs;•
• you can include the title of the most recent post or even a snippet of the item; and
• you can list the date of the last update to the blog.
If your genea-blog isn't already added to my reader and the blog list, then 1) please forgive me; and 2) send me an email or add a comment and let me know the name and website address and I'll be happy to add it!
This week is Spring Cleaning not only at home but on Destination: Austin Family. I'll be re-working the layout of items so look for changes by week's end!
Sunday, April 6, 2008
Spring
Miriam over at AnceStories 2: Stories of Me for My Descendants has a great prompt this week - Spring!
How do you feel about Spring? Is it a favorite season of yours, or a least-favorite? Why?
Spring is my second favorite season, after Autumn. Right now is the part of Spring I like the least: the lawns are brown and muddy, grass is dead, no leaves on the trees, and the temperatures fluctuate too much - it is 66 degrees today here in Chicago but it will be barely in the 40s by the end of the week.
What are your favorite Spring activities? Do they include gardening and yardwork? House repairs or touch-ups?
Spring is my chance to do touch-ups around the house and also map out home improvement projects. I have two this year: replace the drawers on the built-in 100 year old china cabinet in my dining room with cabinet doors; and refinish the bathroom part of the master bedroom suite.
Do you have favorite Spring flowers or blossoming trees?
I remember dogwood growing up and I am very partial to hyacinths.
What are your favorite Spring sports, either as a participant or as an observer? While basketball is wrapping up in March Madness, baseball, track and field, tennis, and golf are starting up in schools across the nation.
I am not a sports person, at least not in the team sports sense. I always drifted more towards the personal sports like weightlifting where I challenged myself and not others. Also, the current nature of sports in this country disturbs me - we pay some players more for one game than we do a teacher's annual salary. I'd like to see us raise children who see teachers as their idols and heroes, and not the latest sports star hawking his or her line of Nike shoes.
Here in Spokane, Spring is welcomed with such community events as Bloomsday Run (one of the largest in the nation) and the Lilac Festival. Does your community have Spring events, and what is the extent of your participation?
In Chicago we have the Easter Flower Show at Marshall Field's (I still can't bring myself to say Macy's!), opening day for the Cubs at Wrigley Field, the reopening of Buckingham Fountain, and Spring will close on Memorial Day weekend when we hold Bike the Drive: Lakeshore Drive is closed - all 27 miles - and taken over by bicyclists of all ages.
Do you have a regular Spring cleaning time? When is it and what does it include?
I usually have to wait until all danger of snow is gone here in Chicago - my biggest cleaning chore is salt removal. I usually put leather conditioner on my huge leather sofa, clean the windows, change the filter on the furnace/air conditioner, check smoke alarm batteries, put away the flannel sheets and bring out the lighter comforters as well, put away winter clothes and donate some to local charity, pull out recipes for cole slaw, baked beans, fried green tomatoes and all my favorite summer foods!
What are your favorite Spring holidays? Easter or Passover, Mother's Day, Earth Day, Memorial Day are a few.
Least favorite: Tax Day.
What are some of your favorite foods that are in season during Spring?
Asparagus (grilled then drizzled with asparagus and olive oil), English peas, rhubarb.
Ah-choo! What do you like least about Spring?
My allergies act up - this is the first year that I have had to take Allegra D each day all year rather than just seasonally. I also don't care for all the rain!
Do you have favorite memories of Spring Break from your school or college years?
I usually didn't travel home on Spring break - it was a chance to catch up on studies or just take some time and enjoy wandering around Washington, DC.
What family birthdays, anniversaries, or events are commemorated in the Spring? Are there any significant family history events that occurred during Spring?
Most of the birthdays among my mother's siblings occur in July - which is weird since there are 12 kids and the girls all have names that start with J. But my great-grandmother Therese McGinnis Austin was born in Spring, she married my great-grandfather John Ralph Austin in Spring, and he died in Spring.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)