All genealogists ultimately hit the proverbial brick wall. We just can't seem to find a birth date for our great great grandfather that would help us distinguish him from another individual with his same name. We research for hours through microfilm hoping to find the piece of the puzzle that will suddenly flood our family tree with new branches. As genealogists we strive to not just get past the proverbial brick wall, but to tear it down. Not brick by brick, but all at once with one piece of…
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Added by Jennifer Eklund, PLCGS on July 30, 2009 at 12:41pm —
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Genealogy can be generically defined as the study of family. For a genealogist, genealogy is defined in more detail and is different for each individual genealogist. Some genealogists only conduct one-name studies on one particular surname and never look into the other surnames in which they have ancestors. Other genealogists want to know about each individual ancestor and go into great detail to understand their lives and the times in which they lived. Genealogy for me is a way to understand…
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Added by Jennifer Eklund, PLCGS on July 22, 2009 at 9:45am —
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Disclaimer: I am discussing this resource because of my own positive experiences through this store. I am an alumni from the National Institute for Genealogical Studies; however, my affiliation ends there. I do not make any money or benefit in any way from any purchases made through this store. I just wanted to bring attention to a resource for genealogical products for those who are interested in these types of products.
The National Institute for Genealogical Studies not…
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Added by Jennifer Eklund, PLCGS on July 21, 2009 at 1:50pm —
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We all have different views about the right and wrong ways to do genealogy. Some genealogists are working toward making genealogy an actual academic discipline, which means stressing the importance of methodology and sources. Other genealogists are more traditional and do not care to bother with the academics of it all and just want to follow their line as far back as possible and not worry about "proving" through sources or multiple sources who relates to who. On mailing lists, through blogs,…
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Added by Jennifer Eklund, PLCGS on July 20, 2009 at 3:33pm —
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The Statue of Liberty-Ellis Island Foundation, Inc. is an incredible resource for genealogists who have ancestors who immigrated to America through Ellis Island. The Foundation’s website in particular is an incredible resource for genealogists. http://www.ellisisland.org/
At the above website, you can search the Ellis Island/Port of New York records for your ancestors. No payment is required to search these records. The website also offers in-depth information on the history of Ellis…
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Added by Jennifer Eklund, PLCGS on July 20, 2009 at 9:30am —
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One of the first things I learned in my genealogy courses regarded the ethics of displaying information of living relatives. When a genealogist publishes his or her family's pedigree charts or family history, understanding proper etiquette of displaying living relatives information is imperative. If you happen to publish the birth dates of your aunt and she gets upset with you, she may not want to help you with your genelaogy anymore. Publishing information that helps to identify living…
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Added by Jennifer Eklund, PLCGS on July 19, 2009 at 1:43pm —
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This summer I took an online course through one of the local community colleges called "Teaching Online." For the course I had to create some content for my "students." My course was a basic genealogy course and the below is what I created just for fun:
I created this to make you aware of the tribulations and consequences of being addicted to genealogy. Enjoy!
You know your obsessed with genealogy when...
1. You have dreams that your great great great…
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Added by Jennifer Eklund, PLCGS on July 18, 2009 at 4:29pm —
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When you first get the keys to a new home you are overcome with cognitive dissonance. The uncomfortable tension of feeling elated that you have purchased a house, but overcome with fear regarding the enormity of the responsibility. On a smaller scale, signing up for a new social networking site can have the same feelings of cognitive dissonance. A new member is excited about the possibilities of meeting new people, networking and learning with and from other members, and excited to share their…
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Added by Jennifer Eklund, PLCGS on July 17, 2009 at 1:59pm —
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When speaking with relatives about genealogy, most have their eyes glaze over or give a low groan. Jennifer is going to start asking all of these questions about relatives because she is nosey or is going to put the family secrets or family blemishes or all out family craziness in the genelaogy. I actually had an aunt tell me not to discuss my uncle's "blemishes" in my genealogy reports, afraid that my genealogy was nothing more than gossip and a way to make the family blush. Oye!
It…
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Added by Jennifer Eklund, PLCGS on July 16, 2009 at 10:35am —
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My paternal grandmother loved to tell stories about our ancestors. She loved history and she loved genealogy. She did not live long enough to know what the Internet is or the amount of resources now available over said Internet to conduct family research. She didn't know what the genealogical proof standard was or what methodology meant or own one book on genealogy. She just loved to tell the stories that had been past down to her and tell the stories she had lived through. Like my maternal…
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Added by Jennifer Eklund, PLCGS on July 15, 2009 at 12:04pm —
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Every genealogist knows that pictures of our ancestors are like treasure. No amount of money could ever make us hand over the very souls of our ancestors. Pictures help our stories of our ancestors come to life. Pictures make us feel as though we actually knew our ancestors. Through pictures we can see through the descendants what physical features stand out down a line. Pictures also tell us about the times our ancestors lived in through their clothing or the background of the picture. Having…
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Added by Jennifer Eklund, PLCGS on July 15, 2009 at 9:30am —
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Every genealogist wonders who will continue their research when they were gone. My paternal grandmother died knowing that her oldest granddaughter and oldest daughter were serious genealogy hobbists. However, once my cousin had a family of her own, her genealogy obsession waivered. My aunt has not done any serious research in years. And neither of them are the generous types in sharing the research they have. Information they collected on a trip to England three decades ago is something they…
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Added by Jennifer Eklund, PLCGS on July 13, 2009 at 9:26am —
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Not having sources to document where you found information on your ancestors in genealogy is like Superman wearing his alter ego Clark Kent's glasses, useless. Without the use of sources, information in a genealogical report is nothing more than hearsay. The more sources a genealogy report presents, the more credible the report. Many beginning genealogists do not understand sources though. The more a genealogist understands the differences between sources and the information derived from…
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Added by Jennifer Eklund, PLCGS on July 12, 2009 at 9:47am —
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I have touched slightly in other blog postings about GenealogyWise, specifically my review of the site. Today, I have not been able to really use the site for its intended purpose because I have been working on a tutorial for the "Professional/Technical Communication" course I am currently in. (I received my bachelor of science in psychology in May and will begin a master's program in psychology with a specialization in psychology of culture in September. My career goal is to be an online…
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Added by Jennifer Eklund, PLCGS on July 11, 2009 at 4:01pm —
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I made a reference in a previous blog about feeling hugged by my ancestors when sitting among my grandparents scrapbooks, photo albums, journals, etc., when I was 16 years old. A new found friend on GenealogyWise emailed me and said he liked that phrase, "hugged by ancestors." A few of the back and forth emails had the subject line "Hugged by ancestors," and I have not been able to get this phrase out of my head since.
As I pulled a few different genealogy files out today to look up…
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Added by Jennifer Eklund, PLCGS on July 11, 2009 at 12:00am —
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Several years ago I sent out an S.O.S. on a message board to find information on an ancestor. A man who's first name was spelled Frances. A member of the board who happened to be an English teacher replied to me with a lecture about how I was spelling the man's name wrong. Frances with an "e" is the feminine. Francis with an "i" is the masculine. She told me I needed to change the spelling because I was spelling his name wrong.
What the English teacher did not understand was that…
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Added by Jennifer Eklund, PLCGS on July 10, 2009 at 12:39pm —
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As I talk to fellow genealogists and others about the launch of GenelogyWise (official launch date is Friday, July 17, 2009), I have come consistently across complaints of too many social network sites existing. I think I have benefited from only having a MySpace and Facebook page and now GenealogyWise. I tried out a genealogy networking site last year, but the site could not keep my interest. Some days the site did not work at all and the content on the site was not enough to keep my interest.…
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Added by Jennifer Eklund, PLCGS on July 10, 2009 at 11:12am —
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Mailing lists can be a terrific way of gathering information and sharing stories with others. Mailing lists allow you to keep up to date with advancements in a field, events, and education. Sometimes though, someone or a group of people on the mailing list begin souring the list with drama. Some people just thrive on conflict. A fact that is difficult to escape in life, but one that is controllable, especially on a mailing list.
Recently, a professional list for genealogy dealt with…
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Added by Jennifer Eklund, PLCGS on July 9, 2009 at 1:41pm —
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Everyone has a story of when they were bit by the genealogy bug and their entire lives were transformed to trying to get as much information as possible about their family. This blog will share mine. I will also post this as a discussion forum to hear others stories.
My paternal grandfather died when I was 16 years old on December 17, 1993. I was a junior in high school. Both sets of my grandparents lived two hours from my house in different directions, so I was never close with any…
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Added by Jennifer Eklund, PLCGS on July 9, 2009 at 11:03am —
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Researching your family tree can be a rewarding experience, not just for you, but also for other living members of your family and those members yet to be born. The first step in preparing to research your family tree is to write down all the information about your family that you know. Include names, birth, marriage, divorce, and death dates and locations. Occupations, residences, schools attended, medical information, and anything else you find pertinent to your family tree should also be…
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Added by Jennifer Eklund, PLCGS on July 8, 2009 at 5:53pm —
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