Well I am now into my sixth week of traveling the Genealogy trail as my business. Some exciting things happened that will play important parts in my long term plans.
Monday started out with contacting folks that I met with on Saturday that are serving along with me on the Ohio Genealogical Trustees board. Talked to one local group about setting up a Google+ hangout for a upcoming event. Very easy to do and will bring folks that may not otherwise be able to attend their local chapter meetings. Finalized my latest Quick Guide and set it off to the editor. It covers the subject of Probate and how it effects the genealogist.
Tuesday I spent some time mentoring a guy that lives in San Antonio who will be teaching some genealogy classes this Fall. Offered him some advice from my ten years of doing the same thing. Hope to help moving into the future. This aspect of genealogy is very important to me. Made a connection with a group of Irish librarians back in Ireland that are dealing with Genealogist every day. Hoping to have it help my tour next year as well as lead to some business here in the states. See what happens.
Wednesday was spent gathering the information for my next Quick Guide. This release will be dealing with Maritime history in the Great Lakes and what resources are out there for Genealogist. Amazed after doing this to learn how much information is out there. Quoted some new projects and hope that I can keep the client funnel full.
Thursday was spent writing the Quick Guide. This is the first one that I really feel I am getting the hang of it. This is good since I have two due in a few weeks. Spent part of the day finalizing up some old projects.
Friday finalized the editing of the Quick Guide. Rest of the day was spent finalizing for the trip to North Dakota. Should be a very interesting trip. Working on the husbands family this time around and will be working on the wife's after that. Should be a very large project. Taking the train. Should be interesting. Made a connection with a local lawyer to do some probate/genealogy work. Very exciting stuff. Finalized the press release for the Irish tour next spring.
Stay tuned next Sunday for my recap on my Genealogical trip to North Dakota. Here we come Fargo.
Sunday, July 28, 2013
Sunday, July 21, 2013
Week 5- Collection of new things.
Well it's time for another recap with my new career. Let's just say that this trip has amazed me with the variety of new things that happen every week. It continues to keep me motivated. Here are some of the highlights of my past week.
On Monday I initiated dialogue with the people running the Lifelong Learning Program at Lourdes University concerning trips to Ireland with a genealogy and history twist. They were very interested and have agreed to run information on it in their monthly newsletters. Contacted the Tour company and they are coming up with the release. Spent the rest of the day working on a research plan to Sandusky, Ohio to complete some client research. Preparation is the key to a successful trip. Yes, you can find a lot on the computer, but the majority of records are still offline. First Quick Guide on Migration patterns was approved and published.
Traveled over to Sandusky to do some research for a client at the Erie County Public Library in Sandusky, OH. They have a wonderful collection. My plan was to identify a timeline that would show when this family moved into the area and when they possibly left. The resource that I was using was the city directories. This is a resource that I could only get at the library. Started back in the 1850's and up to today. Used the online census records prior to going so had confirmation that the family was there in the 1870's. Death certificate for the person we are looking for indicated he was born there. I was not able to locate the family through 30 years of city directories. Library had a great collection of birth and obit records. Turned up nothing. Was a very disappointing day, but tells me something must be wrong with the information I had to work off. I have not given up.
Wednesday I had to travel up to Northern Michigan to meet with a client for a wedding genealogy that I am putting together for them. They came up with the idea that a wonderful gift would be the gift of a family genealogy for the new bride and groom. I have completed the pedigree chart portion of both sides of the new family, but now need to fill in the personal stories. This is what really brings a family to life. The client is up in years so by the time I got up there they were ready for naps. Client suggested I spend the day scanning pictures to include in the Genealogy. They have a wonderful summer home on the lake so spent time swimming and boating. The temp that day was up in the 90's. Left the rest of day to prepare for the oral history interviews the next morning.
Thursday was up and ready to go. Completed individual interviews with the client and her husband. There son was there listening and he said they were telling stories that he had never heard them talk about. This is why I do what I do. Prior to everyone waking up I was looking around the house for my laptop. While looking I saw a sword propped up against the wall. Since I am a Civil War nut I was drawn to it like a magnet. From looking at it I could tell that it was a cavalry saber. Showed it to the client. She told me that it was a family heirloom on her family, but did not know where it fit in. Well during the interview and with the miracle we call the internet I was able to identify the ancestor that the saber belong to and the Pennsylvania cavalry unit that he served. Now to order the pension and service records. The interviews were wonderful and the things identified this day were wonderful. Identified a trunk and powder horn as well. This place had lot's of treasure they were not aware of prior to my visit. Later in the day we headed back to Ohio after a short swim in the Lake.
Friday I spent listening to the oral interviews that I had recorded yesterday. Everything turned out well and looking forward to including them in the genealogy. For this project I will have to travel to Cleveland and then back up to the Detroit area for some final interviews. Love working with great clients. Came back to a email box that had a new project. I have managed to get six new clients, plus one large one. Very good stuff.
Saturday I traveled to Bellville, OH for to the Ohio Genealogical Society Trustee meeting. This was a wonderful sharing and networking day. Had some new opportunities pop up during the meeting. I came back to the press release on the Irish tour. Need to work on that in the upcoming week. More on this moving into the future. What a great week.
On Monday I initiated dialogue with the people running the Lifelong Learning Program at Lourdes University concerning trips to Ireland with a genealogy and history twist. They were very interested and have agreed to run information on it in their monthly newsletters. Contacted the Tour company and they are coming up with the release. Spent the rest of the day working on a research plan to Sandusky, Ohio to complete some client research. Preparation is the key to a successful trip. Yes, you can find a lot on the computer, but the majority of records are still offline. First Quick Guide on Migration patterns was approved and published.
Traveled over to Sandusky to do some research for a client at the Erie County Public Library in Sandusky, OH. They have a wonderful collection. My plan was to identify a timeline that would show when this family moved into the area and when they possibly left. The resource that I was using was the city directories. This is a resource that I could only get at the library. Started back in the 1850's and up to today. Used the online census records prior to going so had confirmation that the family was there in the 1870's. Death certificate for the person we are looking for indicated he was born there. I was not able to locate the family through 30 years of city directories. Library had a great collection of birth and obit records. Turned up nothing. Was a very disappointing day, but tells me something must be wrong with the information I had to work off. I have not given up.
Wednesday I had to travel up to Northern Michigan to meet with a client for a wedding genealogy that I am putting together for them. They came up with the idea that a wonderful gift would be the gift of a family genealogy for the new bride and groom. I have completed the pedigree chart portion of both sides of the new family, but now need to fill in the personal stories. This is what really brings a family to life. The client is up in years so by the time I got up there they were ready for naps. Client suggested I spend the day scanning pictures to include in the Genealogy. They have a wonderful summer home on the lake so spent time swimming and boating. The temp that day was up in the 90's. Left the rest of day to prepare for the oral history interviews the next morning.
Thursday was up and ready to go. Completed individual interviews with the client and her husband. There son was there listening and he said they were telling stories that he had never heard them talk about. This is why I do what I do. Prior to everyone waking up I was looking around the house for my laptop. While looking I saw a sword propped up against the wall. Since I am a Civil War nut I was drawn to it like a magnet. From looking at it I could tell that it was a cavalry saber. Showed it to the client. She told me that it was a family heirloom on her family, but did not know where it fit in. Well during the interview and with the miracle we call the internet I was able to identify the ancestor that the saber belong to and the Pennsylvania cavalry unit that he served. Now to order the pension and service records. The interviews were wonderful and the things identified this day were wonderful. Identified a trunk and powder horn as well. This place had lot's of treasure they were not aware of prior to my visit. Later in the day we headed back to Ohio after a short swim in the Lake.
Friday I spent listening to the oral interviews that I had recorded yesterday. Everything turned out well and looking forward to including them in the genealogy. For this project I will have to travel to Cleveland and then back up to the Detroit area for some final interviews. Love working with great clients. Came back to a email box that had a new project. I have managed to get six new clients, plus one large one. Very good stuff.
Saturday I traveled to Bellville, OH for to the Ohio Genealogical Society Trustee meeting. This was a wonderful sharing and networking day. Had some new opportunities pop up during the meeting. I came back to the press release on the Irish tour. Need to work on that in the upcoming week. More on this moving into the future. What a great week.
Tuesday, July 16, 2013
Sunday, July 14, 2013
Upcoming Events
Lakeside Ohio- Speaking on Civil War Ancestors- 23 August 2013
Toledo Area Genealogical Society- Researching War of 1812 Ancestors- 9 Sep 2013
Huron Genealogical Society- 23 Sep 2013
Toledo Area Genealogical Society- Researching War of 1812 Ancestors- 9 Sep 2013
Huron Genealogical Society- 23 Sep 2013
Week 4 Updates and Progress
Well week four was another busy week for me. Struck by the many surprises that happen in the week that I did not even expect on Monday, but here goes. Looking forward to the events of this coming week.
Monday spent doing retrievals at the courthouse. Not sure that this is going to fit into the long term picture of my business. Decided to resign. Got a lot on my plate and this will free up more time for client research.
Spent the day on Tuesday writing up three research plans for trip on Thursday to Ft Wayne to conduct research. Find this time to be very rewarding and really help improve the efficient use of my time while I am in the Library. Continued working on my Quick guide on Migration Patterns for Legacy. Thought I knew a lot about migration, but learning so much more.
Wednesday, my deadline for my latest installment is here for the Sylvania magazine. Luckily I have most of this stuff in my brain. Just needed to put it down on paper. Found out today I was elected as a Trustee of the Ohio Genealogical Society. First meeting a week from this upcoming Saturday. Looking to see what fantastic things I will learn from this new opportunity. So exciting.
Thursday, Was spent in Ft. Wayne Indiana. Worked on research for a family that lived in Washington DC and Fredricksburg, VA. Surprise of the day here was they had the original birth and death records for Fredricksburg on microfilm. Helped me learn where the family was not. Second project was spent looking at Iowa and Nebraska information. Makes me appreciate the shear scale of the collection in this library. Learned not to bring a fifteen year old to the library with you. He started early and kept up until we left. Then he sleeps in the car all the way home. He was not even doing the work. Did not get the second project or third project done. Will be going back next week. No teenager this time.
Friday spent time finalizing the Quick Guide. Don't like that deadline clock ticking in my head. Got it done and submitted. Now to hear about the editing part. First one so I am expecting to get hit hard. Talked to the travel agent about the Ireland and European tours next year. Starting to fill the content on the website. Hopefully will have things up and running soon.
Saturday spent the day giving a talk up in Michigan on Brick Walls. Beautiful day for a drive and met with a great group of people. Enjoying teaching and learning from other a great deal. Quick guide was approved with some slight changes. Next deadline Probate.
Well that is enough for now. Need to feed the Social Media animal. Looking forward to the week ahead. Got to keep working towards the goal.
Please leave your thoughts. If you would like a response please include your email. Have a great week.
Monday spent doing retrievals at the courthouse. Not sure that this is going to fit into the long term picture of my business. Decided to resign. Got a lot on my plate and this will free up more time for client research.
Spent the day on Tuesday writing up three research plans for trip on Thursday to Ft Wayne to conduct research. Find this time to be very rewarding and really help improve the efficient use of my time while I am in the Library. Continued working on my Quick guide on Migration Patterns for Legacy. Thought I knew a lot about migration, but learning so much more.
Wednesday, my deadline for my latest installment is here for the Sylvania magazine. Luckily I have most of this stuff in my brain. Just needed to put it down on paper. Found out today I was elected as a Trustee of the Ohio Genealogical Society. First meeting a week from this upcoming Saturday. Looking to see what fantastic things I will learn from this new opportunity. So exciting.
Thursday, Was spent in Ft. Wayne Indiana. Worked on research for a family that lived in Washington DC and Fredricksburg, VA. Surprise of the day here was they had the original birth and death records for Fredricksburg on microfilm. Helped me learn where the family was not. Second project was spent looking at Iowa and Nebraska information. Makes me appreciate the shear scale of the collection in this library. Learned not to bring a fifteen year old to the library with you. He started early and kept up until we left. Then he sleeps in the car all the way home. He was not even doing the work. Did not get the second project or third project done. Will be going back next week. No teenager this time.
Friday spent time finalizing the Quick Guide. Don't like that deadline clock ticking in my head. Got it done and submitted. Now to hear about the editing part. First one so I am expecting to get hit hard. Talked to the travel agent about the Ireland and European tours next year. Starting to fill the content on the website. Hopefully will have things up and running soon.
Saturday spent the day giving a talk up in Michigan on Brick Walls. Beautiful day for a drive and met with a great group of people. Enjoying teaching and learning from other a great deal. Quick guide was approved with some slight changes. Next deadline Probate.
Well that is enough for now. Need to feed the Social Media animal. Looking forward to the week ahead. Got to keep working towards the goal.
Please leave your thoughts. If you would like a response please include your email. Have a great week.
Sunday, July 07, 2013
Week 3- Short week
Now I have moved into my third week of business. Got my paperwork from the State of Ohio. It is official I am business in the eyes of Ohio. Worked on record retrieval at the courthouses. Work is steady, but does not pay the bills. Set up web domain for travel business. Should have more on that in the days ahead. Speaking in Norwalk, Ohio in September. Did some preliminary research plans for upcoming week and trip to Ft. Wayne. Bought my tickets for FGS in August. Had my first computer glitch this week. Was only a three day week..
Here is my hope to a more successful week coming up. Please contact me if you need research help.
Here is my hope to a more successful week coming up. Please contact me if you need research help.
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