Weekly Genealogy Blogging Prompt #3

3. Participate in weekly blog themes: Tombstone Tuesday, Wordless Wednesday, etc. Many genealogy bloggers post photos of grave stones on Tombstone Tuesday or a photo worth 1,000 silent words on Wordless Wednesday. Participate in these informal events or invent your own.

I was an "early adopter" of Tombstone Tuesday and I usually try to participate on a regular basis.  Wordless Wednesday has not been as consistent but that is because I need to scan more photos.  Thankfully, Scanfest is coming up this Sunday!!!

Genealogy Journal Tuesday, October 27, 2009

A very quiet Tuesday at least from an email perspective - weird. Rainy and cold weather continues.

• Lots of Tombstone Tuesday posts to tag for the roll-up at GeneaBloggers.  Sometimes I wish I had more cemetery photos of my ancestors.

• Most of my day was spent working on two articles for upcoming issues of Family Tree Magazine.  They will appear in the March 2010 and May 2010 issues.  It was my first assignment with them and I have to say that FTM and F+W Media are a very well-oiled machine - I'm very impressed.

• Posted The Do's and Don'ts When Researching The Living here at Destination: Austin Family.

• Worked on the draft of a new post to go up here at DAF - lists web-based resources for locating living people.

• Found some interesting articles about personal history, capturing memories and genealogy in the Costco Connection magazine.  Usually I don't find much of value in this magazine since it is geared towards large suburban families and small home-based businesses but I was pleasantly surprised this issue.

• Received the latest issue of On Huguenot Street, the newsletter for the Huguenot Historical Society in New Paltz, New York.  I noticed they are planning a family reunion for descendants of the original patent families - I descend along the Freer and Deyo lines.  They are looking for volunteers - I may see if they need a blog.

• Music today: it was more Jazz Divas - my fave of late is Lisa Ono, a Japanese woman born and raised in Brazil.  She does some great bossa nova versions of classic Jazz standards.

© 2009, copyright Thomas MacEntee

Genealogy Journal Tuesday, October 20, 2009

Tuesday was not too busy - I finally got to start blogging on the Marjorie Pauline Frost book (see below)!

• Did my usual tour of the genealogy and tech blog posts.  Lots of Tombstone Tuesday posts were flagged during the day.

• Found out that I had won a free on-line class from GenClass so posted about it at DAF.  Forgot that I had even entered in the contest!

• Answered several technical questions via e-mail from fellow genealogy bloggers - mostly pertaining to Google Analytics as well as formatting issues with Blogger.

• Fooled around with Google Wave a bit and also sent out more invites.  I think I am totally out now.

• Spent much of the late afternoon working on the post about a 1926 baby book for Marjorie Pauline Frost and trying to match it up with its owner or the owner's family.  This was a fun Twitter-based CSI-type project on September 21, 2009 and I wanted to do a series of posts to illustrate the power and importance of Twitter for the genealogy community.  Search for the Living - Honing Your Research Skills is the first part and explains how I got involved in the search.

A good day - even had time for a late afternoon nap.  Wondering what Wednesday will bring . . .

© 2009, copyright Thomas MacEntee

Light On Posts

Just a quick note to my regular visitors and to the new ones as well: I've been bogged down with setting up my new company - now that I am among the many unemployed - and have been lacking in terms of blog posts.

I have lots of news and lots of posts coming up.  I am also going to pre-post several weeks of regular items such as Tombstone Tuesday and Wordless Wednesday.

Other highlights coming up this month:

- a special post on Veterans Day; remember to thank a vet not just this Tuesday but every day!

- posts for the Smile for the Camera, Carnival of Genealogy, Cabinet of Curiosities, and Carnival of Irish Heritage and Culture carnivals.

- updates on the Genea-Bloggers group at Facebook.

- introduction of a new series for those thinking of purchasing a new computer this holiday season called I Dream of Genea-Computer!

- information on a genealogy wiki that I am developing called Lowville Long Ago using the same platform as Wikipedia.  This project is so complicated that it needs its own blog just to explain the construction phase!

Stay tuned.

Genealogy Journal Tuesday, November 24, 2009

I can tell people are getting ready for the Thanksgiving holiday - I've seen a drop in emails and web hits but it is nice to see folks are keeping up with their blog posts with lots of Tombstone Tuesday entries!.

• Posted Eyes of St. Joseph Part 1 at Destination: Austin Family and Resources for PDF at GeneaBloggers.

• Worked on pre-posting for the Advent Carnival of Christmas Memories at GB.

• Finished my work on client research and sent it via e-mail.  I wanted the client to have all my findings plus a pedigree chart and ahnentafel report in order to share them at Thanksgiving.

• Started to rebuild my own database - this time I am doing a parallel operation with Family Tree Maker 2009 as well as RootsMagic 4. Entering everything by hand, making sure all source citations are uniform and correct. Someone shoot me please!.

© 2009, copyright Thomas MacEntee

Genealogy Journal Tuesday, November 10, 2009

A very busy day which is usually the case with Tombstone Tuesday - lots of blog posts to review and tag. TT has become the most popular of the Daily Blogging Theme days and with Veterans Day approaching even more so.

• I was able to get two other posts up at GeneaBloggers: one on setting up your options for email subscriptions at FeedBurner which finishes out the series and another resources post, this time on photo editing tools.

• I was proud of myself that I didn't let another carnival deadline pass me by! I managed to post about Mom and how she loved to travel especially by car for the Smile for the Camera carnival.

• The rest of the afternoon was spent working on pre-posting for Veterans Day both at GB and DAF.

• The evening was spent finishing a DVD we own called Life With Judy Garland: Me and My Shadows. I am always amazed at the performance of the great Australian actress Judy Davis who seems to "channel" Judy Garland. Followed up with a great new episode of The Good Wife on CBS.

• I also became more familiar with my new iPhone while watching television. An ingenious product but I am glad I waited and didn't pony up $299 right away when it came out!

• Music: I was finally able to load my "Mellow" mix on my iPod today. For me, this is a combination of jazz, classical and what I call "classipop" which is classical crossover such as Sarah Brightman, Josh Groban, and others. Very conducive to working.

© 2009, copyright Thomas MacEntee

Genealogy Journal Tuesday, November 17, 2009

A relatively quiet days with lots of time for research and writing - my kind of day.

• Went through the blog posts - lots of Tombstone Tuesday entries which I was glad to see.

• Posted Planning a Blog Redesign and Resources for Blog Design over at GeneaBloggers.  Also posted New Years Resolutions 2009 Check Up at Destination: Austin Family.  I am already working on my resolutions for 2010 since I am so much more focused on genealogy as a career than I was a year ago.

• Drafted a resources post at GB on holiday blog templates - many genealogy bloggers like to spruce up their blogs for the holidays so I want to make sure they have resources and, more importantly, understand how to back up their current template in order to restore it later on!

• Also worked most of the afternoon on my new "top secret" program at GB which has intrigued many folks.  Not sure the best time to make the announcement - probably this Friday, November 20, 2009.  Stay tuned.

• The rest of the afternoon - which was cold, chilly and damp - was spent on research for my Hawaiian/Portuguese client.

• Watched the first half of the movie The Hand That Rocks The Cradle - creepy and seems like no one can play a crazy b*tch like Rebecca DeMornay! Also watched The Good Wife on CBS.

• Music: well although I didn't play any of it, I organized all my Holiday music.  I am a firm believer in no "Christmas" until at least the day after Thanksgiving - the economy be damned.  No decorations, no music, etc.  I'm old-fashioned and I like it that way.

© 2009, copyright Thomas MacEntee

Genealogy Journal Sunday, October 18, 2009

Sunday was a productive day given I didn't get out of bed until 10:30 am.  But it was a sunny day which was nice after a week of doom, gloom, rain and highs of 45F!

• First thing before I even went to Google Reader was to get the Black Sheep Sunday post up on GeneaBloggers.  I usually schedule all the Daily Blogging Theme posts (Black Sheep Sunday, Madness Monday, Tombstone Tuesday, Wordless Wednesday and Treasure Chest Thursday) on Saturday for the following week but I had forgotten to do so.  It also takes a clear mind since you have to make sure you don't actually post "live" but schedule them.  I also used su.pr to schedule my Twitter and Facebook status postings for the same posts.

• Did a quick check on the SNGF - A Family's Increase postings and made sure the new ones which came in overnight were tagged so they would show up in the Google Reader widget.

• Read some amazing blog posts with my morning coffee - some great writing and great genealogy info out there!

• Worked on my editorial calendar for both GeneaBloggers and DAF.  I am using Evernote and basically created a Microsoft Word calendar based on a table, pasted it into a new notebook, and then list the title/topic of each post I want to put up.  When I do post, I highlight the text in green.  If I don't post something as scheduled, I carry it over to the next day.

• Posted about Labels and Tags for blogs over at GeneaBloggers.  This post was in response to a great series of emails from a participant at the Build a Genealogy Blog session at CGSL last Saturday.

• Posted about "burning a feed" - what it is and why it is important for bloggers - at GeneaBloggers.  This too was in response to an email by a CGSL member.  While the original question was how to get family members to sign up for email alerts when new blog posts are available, I realized I needed to backtrack and post a series on feed burners before I could post the email alerts posts.  I hope to have that one posted by Tuesday, October 20, 2009.

• Worked on an issue for my cousin Wendy in Long Island related to missing headstones at a cemetery in Queens, New York.  Made some contacts about the concept of "perpetual care" and will see what the genealogy blogosphere can find on this interesting topic.

• Rest of the night was spent watching some television and making an Italian sausage pasta sauce and shells for dinner.

• Wow - got to bed at 10:30 pm - amazing!

© 2009, copyright Thomas MacEntee

Tombstone Tuesday

[Editor's note: I love Becky Wiseman's idea of placing a photo of a tombstone in a post with a little bio about the person or persons. See, now I don't have to come up with ideas for Tuesdays! Go visit Becky's great blog Kinexxions to see more!]



Headstone of Anna Gertrude Sawyer (1834 - 1878). Digital image taken by Thomas MacEntee on March 10, 2008 at Montrepose Cemetery, Kingston, New York. Privately held by Thomas MacEntee, [ADDRESS FOR PRIVATE USE,] Chicago, Illinois. 2008.

Anna Gertrude Sawyer was born on January 29, 1834 in New York City, the daughter of Rev. Thomas J. Sawyer and Caroline Fisher.[1] She married Jervis McEntee, the famous Hudson River School artist and my 1st cousin 4 times removed, in November 1854.[2] Gertrude Sawyer died on October 14, 1878 in Kingston, New York and was buried at Montrepose Cemetery on October 17, 1878.

Notes:

[1] Eddy, Richard, The Life of Thomas J. Sawyer . . . and Caroline M. Sawyer (Boston, MA: Universalist Publishing House, 1900).

[2] Id.

Tombstone Tuesday: Maurice Wurts McEntee

Headstone of Maurice Wurts McEntee (1836 - 1983). Taken March 10, 2008. Montrepose Cemetery, Kingston, NY. Digital image. Privately held by Thomas MacEntee, [ADDRESS FOR PRIVATE USE,] Chicago, Illinois. 2008.

Maurice Wurts McEntee was my 1st cousin 4 times removed and was born at Kingston, NY on January 30, 1836, the son of James Smith McEntee and Sarah Jane Goetschius. He was a brother of the famous landscape painter, Jervis McEntee.

Maurice graduated from the Clinton Institute at Clinton, New York (Clinton was known as the "village of schools" due to the large number of private schools located there). He later attended the United States Naval Academy.

During the Civil War, he was a 1st. Sergeant, 1st. Lieutenant and Adjutant, 20th New York State Militia, April-August, 1861. Maurice was Acting Master in United States Navy under Admiral David Farragut and was honorably discharged on May 14, 1867.

Besides his military service, Maurice was a reporter and editor for the Kingston Daily Freeman newspaper. In addition, he wrote tales of the sea for youngsters, under pen name, "Uncle Blue Jacket" (in reference to his military service), for St. Nicholas and Harpers Our Young Folks.

Maurice never married and died at Kingston, NY on June 14, 1883.

To Cite Or Not To Cite . . .

. . . that is the current burning question among genealogy blog authors this week.  In case you've missed out, a discussion has cropped up as to the very legitimacy of genealogy blogs and their role in helping people search for their roots.  While I won't delve into the details of such a discussion, I do want to dicuss how I handle source citations here at Destination: Austin Family and my opinions on how using endnotes can affect the readibility of blog posts.

The idea of including footnotes/endnotes in genealogy blog posts is not new, nor is the discussion among geneabloggers as to whether or not to include such source information.  Many of us opt not to cite our sources in the blog post and this is not because we are "intellectually lazy" and just don't want to do the work.  The fact is that many of our posts are created based on our research.

In my series Two Roads: Do McEntee and MacEntee Converge or Fork?, many of my posts had up to 52 endnotes all citing sources used in my research. Most of my posts, even those for Tombstone Tuesday, have research to back them up. During last summer's Geneablogger Games, one of the events was Go Back And Cite Your Sources which awarded various medals based on the number of source citations created in one's genealogy database.

I admit I am not consistent when including source citations in my blog posts. Mostly I worry that it will affect the readibility of my posts. This has been discussed at length among geneabloggers in the past including some great comments on a post by Sheri Fenley of The Educated Genealogist.

Here is my current take on the source citation situation: my blog posts are not the same as articles submitted to a genealogical society for publication. What I write on my genealogy blog is intended to "bring to life" the stories of my family and my ancestors and to make the field of genealogy attractive to my readers. This doesn't mean I have a "low brow" readership that can't handle endnotes and source citations. It doesn't mean that I don't have said citations to back up what I say or write here. It doesn't mean that my genealogy blog - or any genealogy blog for that matter - is not a legitimate source of information about a particular topic or family line.

What it does mean is this: just like any source of information you encounter in your daily routine - be it television, The Internets, newspapers, etc. - you are expected to exercise your own judgment and critical thinking as to whether the information merits your attention and possible use as a source for whatever you do including genealogy research. Anyone who does not go through life this way probably believes everything they read in the paper, is certain that they have $33 million waiting for them in an overseas bank account because some Nigerian man said so, and has it on good authority that they are the 5th cousin 10 times removed to Queen Victoria all because some man named Gustave Anjou did the research and charged them for it.

Tombstone Tuesday - Gertrude Berg

While on my latest trip home to New York, I stayed with my uncle in Halcott Center.  Well to get to and from Halcott Center (population 193), one has to go through Fleischmanns, New York.  A few weeks prior we had watched a wonderful documentary entitled Yoo-hoo, Mrs. Goldberg via Netflix and we discovered that Gertrude Berg, the star of this radio and television blockbuster in the 1940s and 1950s spent many summers in Fleischmanns and was buried there.

Thus the hunt ensued.  Clovesville Cemetery on the outskirts of Fleischmanns was easy to find and we proceeded to the Jewish section where we stumbled upon the Edelstein Berg family burial plot. I wish the day had not been so sunny so that the photo could be clearer.  And as you can see by the stones and pebbles left, Mrs. Berg has had many visitors as of late.

And for those wondering, yes the town of Fleischmanns is named after the same Flesichmann family of yeast fame!

Here is Gertrude Berg's entry over at Find-A-Grave.

Photo:  Gravestone of Gertrude Berg, Clovesville Cemetery, Fleischmanns, New York, taken September 19, 2010. Privately held by Thomas MacEntee [address withheld for privacy purposes], Chicago, Illinois.

© 2010, copyright Thomas MacEntee

Tombstone Tuesday

Headstone of Hugo Freer, Patentee of New Paltz, and his wives Marie Haye and Jannetje Wibeau. Digital image taken Sunday, October 26, 2008 at the Huguenot Burial Ground (aka Walloon Cemetery), New Paltz, New York. Privately held by Thomas MacEntee, [ADDRESS FOR PRIVATE USE,] Chicago, Illinois. 2008.

Hugo Freer, my 9th great-grandfather, was one of the Huguenots who founded New Paltz, New York in 1677. Hugo married Marie de la Haye on October 2, 1660 at Mannheim, Germany. Marie Haye died at Hurley, Ulster, New York in 1676.

Hugo next married Jannetje Wibau around 1678 and she died at New Paltz on December 8, 1693. Hugo Freer died at New Paltz in 1698.

Tombstone Tuesday

Photo: Headstone of Abraham Putman (1777 - 1854). Purmort Cemetery, DePeyster, St. Lawrence County, NewYork. Digital image. Privately held by Thomas MacEntee, [ADDRESS FOR PRIVATE USE,] Chicago, Illinois. 2008.

Abraham Putman, my 5th cousin 7 times removed, was born on August 14, 1777 at Tribes Hill in Montgomery County, New York, the son of David Johannes Putman and Anna A. VanAntwerpen.

He married Elizabeth Campbell on September 14, 1807 at Caugnhawaga, New York.  She was born on April 7, 1790 in Tribes Hill and died on March 16, 1853 at DePeyster,

Abraham Putman died on September 4, 1853 at DePeyster not long after his wife.

Tombstone Tuesday

Headstone of John W. McEntee. Digital photograph taken by Thomas MacEntee on July 14, 2008 at New Paltz, New York. Privately held by Thomas MacEntee, [ADDRESS FOR PRIVATE USE,] Chicago, Illinois. 2008.

John W. McEntee, my 2nd great-grandfather, was born on January 21, 1840 at Gardiner, Ulster County, New York, the son of Edward McEntee and Ann Freer.

On March 11, 1874 at Guilford, New York, he married Elmira Wood, daughter of William and Elizabeth Wood.

John enlisted as a Private in the Union Army on April 20, 1861 at the age of 22. He fought with the 11th Infantry Regiment New York, Company C and was mustered out June 2, 1862 at New York, New York.

John W. McEntee died on January 21, 1918 at Gardiner, New York, at the age of 78 and is buried in the New Paltz Rural Cemetery.

Tombstone Tuesday: Matthew McCrickert

Photo: Headstone of Matthew McCrickert (1926 - 1946). Calvary Cemetery, Woodside, Queens County, New York. Digital image. Privately held by Thomas MacEntee, [ADDRESS FOR PRIVATE USE,] Chicago, Illinois. 2009.

Matthew McCrickert was my 1st Cousin 2 Times Removed and was born on May 14, 1926 in New York. Matthew died on June 11, 1946 in the crash of a U.S. Army transport plane over Freehold, New Jersey. He was 20 years old.

Tombstone Tuesday

Photo: Headstone of John E. (1937 - 2000). Sullivan County Veterans Cemetery, Liberty, Sullivan County, NewYork. Digital image from Find-A-Grave - taken by Ellen, Geri Ellen & Barbi Neumann.

John MacEntee was my uncle - my father's brother - and his daughter Lisa is responsible for my involvement on Facebook. Somehow she found my blog and invited me to join Facebook to learn more about her and my other MacEntee relatives now living in Idaho.

Tombstone Tuesday

Headstone of Samuel Allen Austin. Digital photograph. Privately held by Thomas MacEntee, [ADDRESS FOR PRIVATE USE,] Chicago, Illinois. 2008.

Samuel Allen Austin, my 2nd cousin 6 times removed, was born on April 28, 1815 at Denmark in Lewis County, New York. He was the son of Isaac Austin and Betsey Kidney who had migrated from Kent County, Rhode Island to Saint Lawrence County, New York during the Yankee Migration.

Samuel Austin married Dolly Rice sometime around 1837. Dolly died shortly after birth of their first and only child on April 6, 1838. The unnamed child had been born on March 14, 1838 and died a day after its mother on April 7, 1838.

Samuel remarried on July 5, 1840 to Eliza Maria Hazleton at Fowler, Saint Lawrence, New York. Eliza Hazleton was born on February 16, 1815 at Gouveneur in Saint Lawrence County.

Together Samuel and Eliza had at least six children (three others have not been confirmed) between 1841 and 1856:

- Hannah A. Austin (1841 - 1852)
- Izelia Austin (1846 - 1866)
- Lyman Lorenzo Austin (1848 - 1927)
- Isaac A. Austin (1850 - 1851)
- Rosalie Melissa Austin (1854 - 1926)
- Allora Eliza Austin (1856 - 1901)

Eliza died on August 21, 1890 at Fowler. Samuel died on March 12, 1895. Both are buried, along with several children at the Fowler Baptist Church Cemetery in Fowler, Saint Lawrence, New York.

Tombstone Tuesday

Headstone of Quincy C. Matteson (1834 - 11879). Digital image. Privately held by Thomas MacEntee, [ADDRESS FOR PRIVATE USE,] Chicago, Illinois. 2008.

Quincy Matteson was my seventh cousin 5 times removed and was born at DeKalb, St. Lawrence County, New York on August 19, 1834.[1] He was the son of Francis Matteson and Hannah Dence.[2]

On February 25, 1864 he married Amelia Bancroft at DeKalb, New York.

Quincy Matteson died on July 8, 1879 at Hermon, New York. He is buried at the Old Hermon Cemetery, Hermon, New York.[3]


Notes:

[1] Cady, Anne M., Inventory of Old Hermon Cemetery, Hermon, New York (NYGENWEB, St. Lawrence, online (http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~stlawgen/CEMETERY/Hermon/Hermonlp.HTM>, data downloaded 21 January 2008).

[2] (http://www.ancestry.com), accessed January 30, 2008, citing Census Place: Montgomery, Orange, New York; Roll: T625_1253; Page: 5A; Enumeration District: 135; Image: 223

[3] Cady, Anne M., Inventory of Old Hermon Cemetery, Hermon, New York

Tombstone Tuesday

Monument of Charles H. McEntee (1842 - 1862). Taken March 10, 2008. Montrepose Cemetery, Kingston, NY. Digital image. Privately held by Thomas MacEntee, [ADDRESS FOR PRIVATE USE,] Chicago, Illinois. 2008.

Charles H. McEntee was my 1st cousin 4 times removed and was born at Kingston, NY on January 21, 1832^[1], the son of Charles McEntee and Christina Tremper. He was a brother of the famous painter, Julia McEntee Dillon.

Charles attained the rank of Captain (posthumously), Company H, 120th NYS Infantry Volunteers in which he enlisted on August 18, 1862^[2].

Maurice died at Falmouth, Virginia on December 21, 1862^[3] most likely from injuries at the Battle of Fredericksburg.

Notes

[1] 1860 US Census, (http://www.ancestry.com), accessed February 27, 2008, citing Census Place: Kingston, Ulster, New York; Roll: M653_870; Page: 0; Image: 347.

[2] Van Santvoord, Cornelius, The One Hundred and Twentieth Regiment New York State Volunteers (Rondout, New York: Kingston Freeman Press, 1894), p. 297. "Company H was raised by Captain Charles H. McEntee and Lieutenants James K. Holmes and Michael E. Creighton.".

[3] Id., p. 298. "A gallant and promising young officer stricken with brain fever and died at the beginning of his military career on December 21, 1862, at Falmouth, Va. His remains lie in Montrepose Cemetery, Rondout, where loving parents have erected a broken column to mark his resting place."