GFHC: Emergency Spare Open Thread

klompendanser for Genealogy and Family History Community

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Saturday December 14, 2013 · 7:22 AM PST

2013/12/14 · 07:22

Genealogy & Family History Community

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klompendanser for Genealogy and Family History Community

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Friday November 29, 2013 · 9:00 AM PST

2013/11/29 · 09:00

Well, that's not really true--the diary I wanted to publish today wasn't cooperating, and will have to wait until I can rework it. So, in a tryptophan-induced stupor I had to scramble for a topic I could throw together in a hurry that didn't sound like it was written by someone who was in a tryptophan-induced stupor. Or something.

Anyway, this diary will continue our recent themes on the importance of not believing everything you read. ;)

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klompendanser

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Monday October 14, 2013 · 6:55 PM PDT

2013/10/14 · 18:55

Winter is coming; shorter days, cold temperatures, snow, ice. Which is why you should get out and enjoy the fall while you can.

All photos are of the Winchell Trail along the Mississippi River in Minneapolis. Read More

Genealogy - Emergency Spare Edition

klompendanser for Genealogy and Family History Community

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Saturday August 24, 2013 · 11:55 AM PDT

2013/08/24 · 11:55

Due to technical difficulties, the open thread scheduled for yesterday will appear tomorrow (Sunday) instead.

Genealogy & Family History Community

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klompendanser

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Saturday August 17, 2013 · 8:43 AM PDT

2013/08/17 · 08:43

Even though I've lived in Minnesota for most of my adult life (just never you mind how many years), I've never reconciled myself to how flat much of it is. I grew up in the hills of Wisconsin. In fact, I was born in the unglaciated driftless region -- an area of rocky hills, valleys, and exotic bluffs rising out of the land. Though my parents moved farther north when I was quite small, the landscape is in my blood and I feel at peace when I am there.

My parents were both born and raised there, and mom's family settled there well before Wisconsin became a state. The vast majority of my relatives on both sides of the family are still there...and all my life that is where all my family reunions have been held. There is one particular collection of rocky bluffs near Camp Douglas (the link has the standard post-card view) that always will have a fond place in my heart -- not just the ancestral stuff and family picnics, but the spectacular beauty is just unlike anything else I'd ever seen. Even the name -- "castle rock" -- held enchantment; as a kid I thought it really WAS a castle! My dad told me that when he was a kid, tourists on the road between St. Paul and Chicago would stop and demand to know who "built" the castle.

As I was passed through the area last weekend, once again visiting relatives, I decided to get out to stretch my legs. For the record, my legs are no longer in a condition to "run" on such a terrain, especially not while fiddling with a camera. So let this be a lesson to all you young whippersnappers--get out with that camera while you still can get out with that camera.

klompendanser for Genealogy and Family History Community

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Friday July 26, 2013 · 9:00 AM PDT

2013/07/26 · 09:00

Summer! Time for long family roadtrips ... and, to the horror of many in our friendly little community, traveling companions may insist that there will be No Libriaries! No Courthouses! And Most Especially No Cemeteries!

If that ...shudders... is the prospect you are facing, do not despair! I can't imagine that there are similar restrictions on packing your trusty new e-reader ... which means you can quietly indulge in your family history obsessions without driving everyone else crazy! Join me below the fleur-de-kos to see how I've been making use of my own new toys while on the go.

Genealogy & Family History Community

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klompendanser for Genealogy and Family History Community

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Friday June 28, 2013 · 9:00 AM PDT

2013/06/28 · 09:00

Genealogy & Family History Community

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With a few hours to spare on a recent road trip to Wisconsin, I decided to locate the old two-room schoolhouse my Dad attended from 1924-1932. It was a cool, drizzly, windy Sunday afternoon ... and the remote country road fairly empty, but the schoolhouse itself was bustling with activity!

And the renovators were eager to share stories about the school, giving me a tour of their work, and later inviting me to their home for coffee, cookies, and more stories!
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Changing Seasons? Give me a Break

klompendanser

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Sunday May 05, 2013 · 8:01 AM PDT

2013/05/05 · 08:01

So we are almost a week into May, and it was still snowing last Friday. I don't care what the calendar says, it isn't "spring" if you are still wearing sweaters under a winter coat. Such is life in Minnesota.

Anyway, there was a bit of a break in the weather yesterday--nice enough to work on an update to my series

Jan 2013

December 2012

September 2012

May 2012

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Friday April 26, 2013 · 9:03 AM PDT

2013/04/26 · 09:03

No, not the musty, dusty tomes we pore over at the historical society -- I'm talking about genealogy in fiction. Which is completely unrelated to fictional genealogy...cause that would be a whole 'nother diary! (pun intended)

My initial idea here was to do an in depth look at genealogical/family history themes in fiction and literature. But that is a little bit much for an open thread ... the point of which is to get the conversation going, not put everyone to sleep. So I thought I'd narrow my own comments to a few things I've read lately, then open the floor for everyone else to discuss their own favorites.

klompendanser for Genealogy and Family History Community

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Saturday March 30, 2013 · 8:55 AM PDT

2013/03/30 · 08:55

On March 30, 1904, my paternal grandparents arrived in New York with two very young children -- my uncles (one was 2 yrs old, and the other was 3 months old). They arrived on the SS Finland, which left Antwerp, Belgium 11 days earlier. The ship's manifest shows that they were able to read and write, that they were in possession of $42, and had tickets to travel to Iowa to join grandma's brother. The manifest also shows they were traveling with grandpa's brother--and his wife and daughter. Also in the group was grandpa's sister.

These are the bare essentials, all found in Ellis Island records online, together with a picture of their ship--painted in military gray, with this brief bio

Built by William Cramp & Sons Shipbuilders, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 1902. 12,188 gross tons; 580 (bp) feet long; 60 feet wide. Steam triple expansion engines, twin screw. Service speed 16 knots. 1,162 passengers (342 first class, 194 second class, 626 third class). Straight stem, two funnels and four masts.
Built for Red Star Line, British flag, in 1902 and named Finland. New York-Antwerp and later New York-Liverpool service. Transferred to American Line, in 1916. Used as US Army transport 1918-19

Without any background information, the details are as bleak and cold as a March day. Unfortunately, for quite a while this was all the information I had to tell a family story ... but since this is about people who mattered to me, I was determined to dig for more.

50 years of marriage
44 years in America

This picture was taken on the day of their 50th wedding anniversary in 1948. The two middle-aged men are my uncles who were also immigrants. The two women, my aunts, were born in America, but before citizenship was granted in March of 1911. My dad is the tall (6'4"!) young man--born in 1918.

Genealogy & Family History Community

Visit our favorite LINKS, but leave the
blood feuds at home

klompendanser

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Sunday January 06, 2013 · 7:30 AM PST

2013/01/06 · 07:30

This time of year is always hard -- short days and inclement weather tend to make me stay inside most of the time, which tends to exacerbate symptoms of SAD. And I have more tangible sadness going on in my life (I've lost two brothers in the last two years, and my remaining brother is in the final stages of terminal cancer). Moping around the house clearly is not going to give me the emotional strength I need to get through the next few months, so I took advantage of Saturday's bright blue skies and a reasonable 20 degrees to get outside.

My last diary in this series about changing seasons/changing perspectives was just before winter storm Caesar dumped a foot of snow on the Twin Cities. Since then, the temperatures have fluctuated wildly between high 30s and frigid single digits, but the drought has kept a firm grip on the state. We've had very little additional snow ... and next week they are predicting a major thaw.

Previous diaries in this series:

May 2012

September 2012

December 2012

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Friday December 21, 2012 · 9:05 AM PST

2012/12/21 · 09:05

Genealogy & Family History Community

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blood feuds at home

It is a truth universally acknowledged that community diaries are a place of refuge from pie fights erupting elsewhere on the GOS. That doesn't mean we can't indulge in a bit of genealogical crankiness. ;)

Even with our home computers, internet access and email, we've all done our share of whining about cost! delays! missing records! inaccuracies! inconsistencies! The genealogists of 100 years ago complained about the same sort of things, though I think it is fair to say a good many of them found ingenious ways around their difficulties. Today I thought I'd focus on the rants for a little relief from some the stresses on the rest of the site.

In fact, I think I'll focus on the guy I consider to be the crankiest genealogist of my research acquaintance.

Col John Levering, Cranky Genealogist

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GFHC: Emergency Spare Open Thread

GFHC: Not Bothering to Bang my Head Against The Wall

Blue skies, autumn leaves (photo heavy)

Genealogy - Emergency Spare Edition

Driftless Wandering with a Purpose

GFHC: Researching on the Go

GFHC: Dad's School

Changing Seasons? Give me a Break

GFHC: Genealogy by the Book

GFHC: 109 Years Ago Today

Changing Seasons: Doing My Best Against SAD and Sad (photo diary)

GFHC Open Thread: Cranky Researchers Edition