Open date

Do you have ideas for stories? Pleas share.

Zoo

Are families can sometimes seem like animals at the Zoo, but they are our family. Be appreciative of where you have come from and work to improve the future.

Youth

This is a very important topic to me. The future of genealogy lies with the young people. Groups and individuals need to reach out to the younger people to spark their interest in researching their families history. Leaving this legacy is important for our future and understanding where our families came from.

For me this has been an important part of my genealogy journey. I had always been fascinated with history and understanding where my family fit into it was so important to me. It has only allowed me to gain new insights into the events of history. Understanding our families lives also has helped me understand so many more things in history. Occupations, migration, war, and immigration to name a few.

Now I enjoy teaching others my love of genealogy. This has been an important step in my appreciation of genealogy. We should all be working every day to pass that love on. How are you going to involve the next generation?

Xerox

The ability to copy something from a book onto a piece of paper has been done by all of us in our genealogy journey. With the creation of the computer our dependence on this process has been greatly reduced and we can capture computer images of most documents.

Unfortunaltely we have obtained a great deal of paper. Purchasing a low cost transportable scanner is an excellent way for you to reduce your paper and be able to store it in a format that lasts. The process of doing the scanning is a long one, but is necessary for sanity and our genealogy. Take the time to investigate this process and then do it.

Webinars

In this day and age we have no excuse to not learn about subjects that will help us with our genealogy journey. One of the most fascinating developments are the webinars that are available on a almost daily basis.

All the major sites are adding content in this area and offering you the ability to learn new techniques in the comfort of your home. Make sure to check out these exciting learning opportunity. You can not afford to not learn when doing your genealogy. As in all things education is key.

Volunteer

As genealogist we have so many chances to help with making records available to others. You can start with your local libraries genealogy room, historical society and as a transcriber online.

Local libraries are constantly looking for genealogy helpers. One of the large advantages is you learn so much about their facility. Try volunteering on a Saturday to help those patrons that are new to the libraries genealogy collections. Maybe writing is your thing and there are tons of records that the libraries that have yet to be identified to the general public. Start by asking they would love to have your help.

Historical Societies especially in rural counties tend to be the main place for people to donate their historical items. Much of this is very important to the average genealogist. The sad part is these organizations to not have the manpower to help make these records available. This is where we all can offer a helping hand. Creating that bridge between the Genealogy and Historical community is so important to both sides of the fence.

You can also volunteer in your own home by helping with the transcription projects on both Family Search and Ancestry. Did you realize that records are not able to be put on the internet with out a human putting the old records in a format that the computer can understand? This is where we can all help. The sooner we are able to get records transcribed the sooner they will be available on the Internet.

Look for you genealogy volunteer opportunity and let me know how you do.

Flag volunteers honor deceased veterans - Our Town Sylvania

Honoring our vets on memorial day.  Great volunteering!!!

Flag volunteers honor deceased veterans - Our Town Sylvania

Unkonwn

It's funny but I really could not come up wih a word that pertains to genealogy that started with the letter U. Then it hit me we struggle with the unknown so much in our genealogy journey so it should be included as a a word. We have all hit our brickwalls and are alwasy searching for that one clue when trying to learn what is unknown. Hopefully in my sharing on this page you have learned some new ideas on how to resolve some of these issues.

Have a great day.

Tax Records the under used resource

Have you used Tax records for your research? They are a very under used source for verifying a variety of facts per 1850 during a period when you normally have so little information. Great way to identify relationships, arrival and departures.

It was becasuse of the collection of taxes that the taxman was forced to differentiate between people with the same names. Fathers became identified as Senior and the sons as Junior. We are forced though to do more research if there are multiple people with the same names.

The tax man was the first person to identify when a family arrived in a particular area. He was highly motivated to identify the family as new and collect the tax. In the same token when a family left the area his records would indicate it by not having them listed. Make sure to check subsequent years in the rolls to make sure they have left. In rare cases families were missed.

Finally tax records were normally kept in the order of household. You will be able to identify who the neighbors are in the records. Be careful though,because some enterprising tax men alphabatized the names. Finally when a new person appears in your surname group it is often a indicator of a person coming of age and being able to own land. Very common.

Software

As some stage in the game software and the computer will be things that genealogist need to tackle. When I last went to count there was over 100 seperate programs to consider for storing your genealogy. It really comes down to your individual tastes.

The most popular program out there for stroing your genealogy is still Family Tree Maker. You have a variety of other choices like Legacy and Roots Magic to name a few. Make sure to download the trial versions and read up on the in's and out's. Like any good male I don't normally like to read directions so I wanted a program that loaded and I could use right out of the box. Both Legacy and Roots Magic fall into that category. I was looking for a basic program without all the bells and whistles.

Another trend in software is the accesories. They vary from a citation helper to map plotter. Teh choices are endless and growing. Make sure to take them all for a test drive before you buy.

Recomendation

I feel very strongly that I need to give another shout out about Derek and his genealogical research skills. I contacted the National Archives in Washington, DC direct about my 2X great grandfather, William Gurin (1834-1916). In response, I received (2) documents in the mail. Two tiny bits of information. While I appreciate *any* information I receive as you never know what's going to give you a much-needed clue, it was *nothing* compared to what Derek unearthed for me.

To date, he has provided me with well over 200+ pages of documents from the National Archives in Washington, DC including detailed Civil War pension records, letters from my 2X great grandmother regarding William's military pension, medical records, hospital records from William's last days, including day-by-day doctor's notes about William's condition. They are extremely exciting to read, although at times heartbreaking to know what William endured from his Civil War injuries. One of the documents also included a 1915 photo of 81-year old William from his hospital records. *Amazing*

I can't thank Derek enough for the treasure he gave me on my favorite and by far (for me) most fascinating ancestor. I considering myself a pretty good sleuth on the ancestry trail, but I could *never* have discovered on my own what he found.

A link to his website is below. Highly recommend if you need assistance in your genealogy quest!

Revolutionary War Ancestors

A common quest for many researchers in their early stages is to identify if they have a ancestor that participated in the War for Independence. For us doing research of ancestors in Northwest Ohio this is a very high possibility if your are able to trace your ancestors were in Ohio prior to 1830. Why you ask?

The largest issue that is unique to Ohio is the Ohio Military lands. Here in Northwest Ohio it is the region known as the Firelands region. This area is in Erie, Ottawa, Sandusky, Lorain and Huron counties. In the past few years signs have been posted in this area that identify that you have arrived. This area was originally claimed by the state of Connecticut. The land was given to those people that had land damaged in Connecticut by the British during the War. It was given as compensation to those effected. Pay attention to the many New England names used where our ancestors lived, because they offer great clues on their origins.

Finally be careful when using lineages from the DAR. Over the years some funky genealogy has been going on and some of the lines lack the proper documentation. Always document your genealogy.

Queen

Have you found your family to be realted to royalty? Be aware without the proper documentation it does not become fact. There are a lot of suspect genealogy in this area. The challenge of proof can be dificult as a result of so many sources depending on the same bad information.

Photos

Photos are the images that actually allow us to see our ancestors as well as get clues to how they lived. Fascinating understandings can occur when you look at the clothing, backgrounds and features of the people in the pictures. Make sure to identify the people in the pictures. Start from now and work your way back.

Scanning those pictures and putting them in a format that will survive the test of time is critical. There are many scanners out on the market that make it easy to complete this part of your task. Do a little at a time and stick with it. Very valuable step in our preservation of our families legacy.

Finally for the pictures themselves remember to use archive quality sleeves to store them. Include the pictures in the family group files you have created to organize your paper files.

Organizing

Do you have your genealogy paper work organized? In this day and age of electronics ant eh Internet you would think that we would not need to copy things on to paper anymore, but we still do. The mounds of paper that are still created with our research is endless. Keeping on top of this task can be a big part of our genealogical research process.

Create files for each family group. Organize those groups by generation. Use a pedigree chart as your guide. Include one of those in the first file for a particular surname. Only include items that relate to that particular family group in that file. Exception is the next generation. Example would be stuff that relates to you is in your family group file not your parents. Your parents would include their information plus your siblings.

Finally create a file for unsourced and information that has not yet been processed the family group folder. Make sure to file this information on a weekly basis. As you go to put it in the family group file make sure to include the sourcing for this document in your computer program. Maintaining organized paper files can be a large challenge, but it is a must.

LegacyStories.org Unveils Life Lessons Slide Shows for Funeral Homes, Mortuaries and Assisted Living Communities - Houston Chronicle

Contact me if you are interested in learning more.

LegacyStories.org Unveils Life Lessons Slide Shows for Funeral Homes, Mortuaries and Assisted Living Communities - Houston Chronicle

Naturalization

Immigrant ancestors often went through the process of becoming naturalized citizens of the United States. A couple things to remember about this process is that it took two steps. First was intent and finally was becoming naturalized. This process takes seven years.

Prior to women getting the right to vote in the 1920's they could only beceome a naturalized citizen of the United States in one way. Their husband had to be a naturalized citizen or US born. Depending on the nationallity some never became citizens. As documents go the naturilization records both the intent and the final document tend to be a little lacking in the information area. Majority of the time they only indicate the coutry that the person orginated from, but as it goes all documents as they relate to our ancestors are good to have.

Testimonial

For my fellow ancestry researchers, I want to *highly* recommend Derek Davey's assistance. Derek and I graduated high school together and he is a professional genealogist, teaching at Lourdes College in Sylvania, Ohio. I have never had such a treasure trove of documentation as that which he unearthed for me from the National Archives in Washington, DC. Can't say enough good things about Derek!

Maps

An important element of our genealogical research is the use of maps. Often we forget to look at maps in the time periods that our ancestors lived or migrated to a particular area. Over time the landscape as it relates to maps has changed dramatically.

Here in Northwest Ohio up until the 1840's the rest of the states was very well developed with county lines and roads. Northwest Ohio was just a blank space on the early maps. A big reason for this was the existence of the Black Swamp. It provided a natrual barrier to migration through the area to both the West and North. When the German population entered the area and drained the swamp it allowed for better roads and more people to migrate to the area. Not to mention some of the best farm land in the world.

Pay attention to maps. Easy explanations can be resolved for difficult brickwalls by looking at a map for the time period our ancestors were living.

Digging Up Roots - My Journey Into The Past: Tombstone Tuesday - Samuel and Hannah Hill

Some Northwest Ohio folks.

Digging Up Roots - My Journey Into The Past: Tombstone Tuesday - Samuel and Hannah Hill