Welcome to the October 4, 2010 edition of the Carnival of Genealogy. The topic for this edition is: Document Analysis. We'll be looking at how one document can lead to breaking down a brick wall on our family trees. There are a wide variety of documents presented here, suggesting that you just never know when you'll come across a significant document in your research. I think you'll be impressed! The cider mills are open and there's no better time for a tall glass of fresh, cold apple cider. So pour yourself a glass to enjoy while you're reading and grab a doughnut to go with it. The Carnival is back in town!
In this edition I'll be commenting on several articles. As is most often the case in the COG, the articles will be presented in the order I received them. The articles I've selected to comment on were chosen not because they are "better" than the rest but because there's something about them I want to call your attention to. Maybe they were especially well researched, maybe they made me laugh, maybe they are a good example of story-telling, maybe they taught me something I didn't already know, etc. Just think of it as me pointing out some of the various rides offered at a carnival ;-)
The featured article, which appears at the end of the COG, is one that stands out from the crowd. It's a shining example of putting all the ingredients together and coming up with a 5 course dinner. It covers the topic thoroughly, in an engaging way, and leaves you fully satisfied at the end.
Dorene Paul presents Marriage Record of Thomas F. Larkins and Lula Cross: A Closer Look posted at Graveyard Rabbit of Sandusky Bay, saying, "Dorene from Ohio takes a closer look at the marriage record of her great great grandfather in Kalamazoo County, Michigan, to see how the groom was connected to one of the witnesses at his wedding."
Leah presents A Letter From Joseph posted at The Internet Genealogist, saying, "Two years ago, by chance, I found a letter from the brother of my great-great-grandmother. It turned out to be the key to discovering not only who their parents were but the famly's rich history in both Switzerland and America." I'd like to think I could have done as much as Leah did with her document discovery when I was 22 years old. Of course there was no internet and no online databases to search for documents back then ;-) Check out Leah's article. It's very nicely written. She did a great job with the information she found!
Karen Hammer presents The Needle in the Haystack – Finding Elsie in the Census posted at Ancestor Soup, saying, "Sometimes the information you need to knock down that brick wall is right in front of you, but you just can't find it."
Julie Cahill Tarr presents Who Knew a Visitation Register Could Be So Helpful posted at GenBlog, saying, "Not sure if the entirely qualifies, as it did not help break down a brick wall (I'll leave it to you to decide if you want to include it). My post is basically about how a visitation register helped to further prove family connections originally found through traditional research. It also makes me realize that I do know what I'm doing when it comes to genealogy research :)" This is a great story about using an uncommon resource. Funeral home visitation books can be a wonderful resource for the family historian. And Julie makes a good case for reviewing the resource repeatedly for more information. Great job with this one Julie!
janice poole presents Henry Chiles Ward Son of William and Elizabeth Ward September 22, 2010 posted at Genealogy: Our Astounding Past, saying, "I am a researcher interested in my family's past and exploring all the avenues where one can find information. Any tips or help I can give or someone can give me would be very helpful."
Judy Cole presents Pension File?Fact or Fiction? posted at The Genealogy Gals, saying, "There are many kinds of brick walls. Some are in the records, some are in our heads and some are in our hearts. A pension file helped me to break through all three." Judy's well written and interesting article shows us how valuable a healthy dose of skepticism can be. You'll enjoy reading this one. It presents a good look at document analysis and includes thoughtful reflection and humor. Nice job, Judy!
J.M. presents Breaking Down the Wall posted at Tracing My Roots, saying, "In this post, I'll show you an amazing document that helped me break through a brick wall." KABOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! That's the sound of C4 bombs exploding and bringing down J.M.'s brick wall! I must admit, she found the mother lode of documents... what a discovery!!! You must read this article. Well written, of course. Fascinating. Exciting. Complete. Terrific! Thanks, J.M.!
John Newmark presents Breaking Down Brick Walls: Part One posted at Transylvanian Dutch, saying, "I have partially broken down the brick walls beyond three ancestors, with three documents: a will, courtroom testimony, and one document carved in stone." Wow, John has some terrific documents! Additionally, he writes a beautiful analysis of what he learned, what he questions, and what he still wants to find out. Especially clever was the way he broken down a brick wall with a brick, er, well, a stone anyway. Great job, John!
Charles Hansen presents Carnival of Genealogy Brick Wall breakthrough posted at Mikkel's Hus, saying, "I was pretty sure of the link but this document from the Mayflower Society proved the link that had been a brick wall for years."
Cynthia Shenette presents Where They Lived: Every Address Tells a Story posted at Heritage Zen:, saying, "I've run into a number of brick walls while researching my 20th century Warsaw ancestors. If standard sources aren't available or you just can't find what you are looking for, it may be time to get creative and "think outside the box." I'm thrilled to talk about my "document" and do a brief overview of three sources that I love and use frequently." If there was an award for getting the most information from the smallest document, I think Cynthia would get it. Her document is just a little scrap of paper but it's been invaluable in her family history research. Great write up too!
Michelle Goodrum presents 98th Edition of COG - Document Analysis! - Bessie Maud Passmore Birth Certificate posted at The Turning of Generations, saying, "The discovery of my great grandmother’s original birth certificate allowed me to break through a brick wall and explore my dream Genealogy Garden of Eden." You've got to appreciate Michelle's use of metaphor. A "Genealogy Garden of Eden"... terrific! Wonderfully creative! Who says genealogy is dull and boring? Not Michelle's genealogy! Do check out her creatively written article. It's a pleasure to read. :-) Great job, Michelle!
Jasia presents The First Find Revisited, Part 1 posted at Creative Gene. My two-part story about finding the ancestral village of my great grandparents in Poland. The social security application of someone I didn't know broke down that brick wall for me. Sometimes it pays to review your documents and family trees after a period of time. It paid off for me!
Vickie Everhart presents CoG :: Honoring Our Family Historians posted at BeNotForgot.com. What a blessing to receive four pages of paper in the mail . . . from a 90-year-old cousin . . . who is sharing the memories of a 90-year-old great-grand-aunt . . . and not only did the brick walls come tumbling down . . . but this document started the process of adding flesh and bones to the names and dates in this branch of our family tree . . . Vickie was lucky indeed! What's even better is that she shared her good luck story with us, beautifully written as always. A plus with Vickie's articles is that she almost always creates a lovely scrapbook page to go with them. She's very talented that way! Thanks for sharing with us, Vickie!
Greta Koehl presents From the Will to the Estate Packet - Part 1 posted at Greta's Genealogy Bog, saying, "I started out on my first research trip with one view of the William Spencer Moore family - based on his will - and came back with a completely different view - based on the revelations contained in the estate packet. I'd call that breaking down a brick wall. And it didn't hurt that a couple of other big surprises were in there, too." Greta is a wonderful writer. But we knew that didn't we? In this instance, she manages to reveal the story of her document discovery along with the story of her great great grandfather's life, death, and will... and the people named in the will/estate packet. One can't help but admire the way she creates suspense and teases us with hooks that leave us wanting to know more. Very, thorough. Very entertaining. Very educational. Very well done, Greta!
Please join me in congratulating Greta for the being the Featured Author of the 98th Edition of the Carnival of Genealogy!
That concludes this edition of the Carnival of Genealogy. I must say, I was amazed at the variety of documents that led to our brick walls coming down. It just goes to show that you never know where the next significant clue to your family history will come from. Keep an open mind and leave no stone unturned! I hope you enjoyed and learned from this edition and I hope it inspires you to keep up the search...
Call for Submissions! The topic for the next edition of the Carnival of Genealogy will be: Religious Rites. Baptisms/Christenings, First Holy Communion, Confirmation, Bar/Bat Mitzvah, church weddings, anointings, ordinations, etc. Organized religion played a large part in many of our family histories. Virtually all religions have their rites/ceremonies. Has your family participated in any of these rites? Write about it and submit your article to the Carnival of Genealogy. The deadline for submissions will be November 1st. Thirty submissions will be accepted.
Submit your blog article to the next edition of the Carnival of Genealogy using our carnival submission form. Please use a descriptive phrase in the title of any articles you plan to submit and/or write a brief description/introduction to your articles in the "comment" box of the blog carnival submission form. This will give readers an idea of what you've written about and hopefully interest them in clicking on your link. Past posts and future hosts can be found on our blog carnival index page.
Thanks for the poster, fM!
Technorati tags:
carnival of genealogy, blog carnival.
In this edition I'll be commenting on several articles. As is most often the case in the COG, the articles will be presented in the order I received them. The articles I've selected to comment on were chosen not because they are "better" than the rest but because there's something about them I want to call your attention to. Maybe they were especially well researched, maybe they made me laugh, maybe they are a good example of story-telling, maybe they taught me something I didn't already know, etc. Just think of it as me pointing out some of the various rides offered at a carnival ;-)
The featured article, which appears at the end of the COG, is one that stands out from the crowd. It's a shining example of putting all the ingredients together and coming up with a 5 course dinner. It covers the topic thoroughly, in an engaging way, and leaves you fully satisfied at the end.
Dorene Paul presents Marriage Record of Thomas F. Larkins and Lula Cross: A Closer Look posted at Graveyard Rabbit of Sandusky Bay, saying, "Dorene from Ohio takes a closer look at the marriage record of her great great grandfather in Kalamazoo County, Michigan, to see how the groom was connected to one of the witnesses at his wedding."
Leah presents A Letter From Joseph posted at The Internet Genealogist, saying, "Two years ago, by chance, I found a letter from the brother of my great-great-grandmother. It turned out to be the key to discovering not only who their parents were but the famly's rich history in both Switzerland and America." I'd like to think I could have done as much as Leah did with her document discovery when I was 22 years old. Of course there was no internet and no online databases to search for documents back then ;-) Check out Leah's article. It's very nicely written. She did a great job with the information she found!
Karen Hammer presents The Needle in the Haystack – Finding Elsie in the Census posted at Ancestor Soup, saying, "Sometimes the information you need to knock down that brick wall is right in front of you, but you just can't find it."
Julie Cahill Tarr presents Who Knew a Visitation Register Could Be So Helpful posted at GenBlog, saying, "Not sure if the entirely qualifies, as it did not help break down a brick wall (I'll leave it to you to decide if you want to include it). My post is basically about how a visitation register helped to further prove family connections originally found through traditional research. It also makes me realize that I do know what I'm doing when it comes to genealogy research :)" This is a great story about using an uncommon resource. Funeral home visitation books can be a wonderful resource for the family historian. And Julie makes a good case for reviewing the resource repeatedly for more information. Great job with this one Julie!
janice poole presents Henry Chiles Ward Son of William and Elizabeth Ward September 22, 2010 posted at Genealogy: Our Astounding Past, saying, "I am a researcher interested in my family's past and exploring all the avenues where one can find information. Any tips or help I can give or someone can give me would be very helpful."
Judy Cole presents Pension File?Fact or Fiction? posted at The Genealogy Gals, saying, "There are many kinds of brick walls. Some are in the records, some are in our heads and some are in our hearts. A pension file helped me to break through all three." Judy's well written and interesting article shows us how valuable a healthy dose of skepticism can be. You'll enjoy reading this one. It presents a good look at document analysis and includes thoughtful reflection and humor. Nice job, Judy!
J.M. presents Breaking Down the Wall posted at Tracing My Roots, saying, "In this post, I'll show you an amazing document that helped me break through a brick wall." KABOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! That's the sound of C4 bombs exploding and bringing down J.M.'s brick wall! I must admit, she found the mother lode of documents... what a discovery!!! You must read this article. Well written, of course. Fascinating. Exciting. Complete. Terrific! Thanks, J.M.!
John Newmark presents Breaking Down Brick Walls: Part One posted at Transylvanian Dutch, saying, "I have partially broken down the brick walls beyond three ancestors, with three documents: a will, courtroom testimony, and one document carved in stone." Wow, John has some terrific documents! Additionally, he writes a beautiful analysis of what he learned, what he questions, and what he still wants to find out. Especially clever was the way he broken down a brick wall with a brick, er, well, a stone anyway. Great job, John!
Charles Hansen presents Carnival of Genealogy Brick Wall breakthrough posted at Mikkel's Hus, saying, "I was pretty sure of the link but this document from the Mayflower Society proved the link that had been a brick wall for years."
Cynthia Shenette presents Where They Lived: Every Address Tells a Story posted at Heritage Zen:, saying, "I've run into a number of brick walls while researching my 20th century Warsaw ancestors. If standard sources aren't available or you just can't find what you are looking for, it may be time to get creative and "think outside the box." I'm thrilled to talk about my "document" and do a brief overview of three sources that I love and use frequently." If there was an award for getting the most information from the smallest document, I think Cynthia would get it. Her document is just a little scrap of paper but it's been invaluable in her family history research. Great write up too!
Michelle Goodrum presents 98th Edition of COG - Document Analysis! - Bessie Maud Passmore Birth Certificate posted at The Turning of Generations, saying, "The discovery of my great grandmother’s original birth certificate allowed me to break through a brick wall and explore my dream Genealogy Garden of Eden." You've got to appreciate Michelle's use of metaphor. A "Genealogy Garden of Eden"... terrific! Wonderfully creative! Who says genealogy is dull and boring? Not Michelle's genealogy! Do check out her creatively written article. It's a pleasure to read. :-) Great job, Michelle!
Jasia presents The First Find Revisited, Part 1 posted at Creative Gene. My two-part story about finding the ancestral village of my great grandparents in Poland. The social security application of someone I didn't know broke down that brick wall for me. Sometimes it pays to review your documents and family trees after a period of time. It paid off for me!
Vickie Everhart presents CoG :: Honoring Our Family Historians posted at BeNotForgot.com. What a blessing to receive four pages of paper in the mail . . . from a 90-year-old cousin . . . who is sharing the memories of a 90-year-old great-grand-aunt . . . and not only did the brick walls come tumbling down . . . but this document started the process of adding flesh and bones to the names and dates in this branch of our family tree . . . Vickie was lucky indeed! What's even better is that she shared her good luck story with us, beautifully written as always. A plus with Vickie's articles is that she almost always creates a lovely scrapbook page to go with them. She's very talented that way! Thanks for sharing with us, Vickie!
~*~*~*Feature Article *~*~*~
That concludes this edition of the Carnival of Genealogy. I must say, I was amazed at the variety of documents that led to our brick walls coming down. It just goes to show that you never know where the next significant clue to your family history will come from. Keep an open mind and leave no stone unturned! I hope you enjoyed and learned from this edition and I hope it inspires you to keep up the search...
Call for Submissions! The topic for the next edition of the Carnival of Genealogy will be: Religious Rites. Baptisms/Christenings, First Holy Communion, Confirmation, Bar/Bat Mitzvah, church weddings, anointings, ordinations, etc. Organized religion played a large part in many of our family histories. Virtually all religions have their rites/ceremonies. Has your family participated in any of these rites? Write about it and submit your article to the Carnival of Genealogy. The deadline for submissions will be November 1st. Thirty submissions will be accepted.
Submit your blog article to the next edition of the Carnival of Genealogy using our carnival submission form. Please use a descriptive phrase in the title of any articles you plan to submit and/or write a brief description/introduction to your articles in the "comment" box of the blog carnival submission form. This will give readers an idea of what you've written about and hopefully interest them in clicking on your link. Past posts and future hosts can be found on our blog carnival index page.
Thanks for the poster, fM!
Technorati tags:
carnival of genealogy, blog carnival.
