Genealogy Serendipity Moments - Grandma Helen's Personal Papers

I was blessed to have two wonderful grandmothers. They were two very different people who highly influenced my life in many ways. Helen Eloise Anderson Cole Haynes lived to age 95 and Zella Alice Straw Olsen lived to age 92. For this post I will focus on Grandma Helen as I have been sorting through a large plastic tub of her paper files. She passed away on 6 December 2005. My mother was her caretaker for the last years of her life, after her second husband died. I was her tax preparer, listed second on her power of attorney and second in her will as an administrator. Not long ago in writing a post for this blog I realized I did not have a copy of her death certificate. So, I asked my mother if she had an extra copy, realizing she probably ordered several at the time of her death.

Genealogy - When the Times Get Tough Push Through Them

This is going to be more of a personal blog post about the past two weeks of my life. On my way to a genealogy group meeting, at a local genealogy facility, I missed a step and that could dramatically alter my plans for the near future. As much as I wanted to attend the meeting the pain in my shoulder indicated that I needed to see a doctor. My wonderful friend, who was with me, helped me to get up off the concrete which had intensified my landing blow. Another wonderful friend happened by and helped me to my car. As my first friend drove me home, I called my family to alert them to the plan-changing situation.

Genealogy Serendipity Moment - Howell Family in Oregon

Several years ago I was helping a friend research her Howell family ancestors. One day she asked if I would go with her to the Howell family cemetery outside of Salem, Oregon. It was a lovely spring day and it took about an hour to drive to the location of the cemetery. The only problem was we could not find the cemetery. The information was that the cemetery was just down the road from the intersection of Silverton Road NE and Howell Prairie Road NE. This was before the use of GPS and the Internet in general.

Genealogy and the AARP

Today is my mother's birthday. She is a key player in my life and for everyone in our family. For her birthday present she was sent three deer walking through her yard. It is a treat to see them, as they are easily spooked. I so appreciate all her love and support, especially when I am laid up. Whenever I see her she has magazines for me to read. As a genealogist I don't have much free time for reading, but somehow I find time to enjoy them. They include Reminisce, Country, Saturday Evening Post, National Geographics and AARP The Magazine. They often contain some genealogy surprises inside like pictures from ancestral locations or memorabilia from our past.

Book Review - Social Networking for Genealogists

Due to my recent injury I am posting a book review first published in June 2010 in the Bulletin, the quarterly of the Genealogical Forum of Oregon.

Drew Smith, Social Networking for Genealogists, Genealogical Publishing Company, Baltimore, Maryland, 2009, 129 pages. ISBN: 9780806317953

The Luck of the Draw in Genealogy and 9/11/2001

The Luck of the Draw is said to be the results of chance, a gamble, or coincidence. These critical parts of our lives often happen when we least expect them. We can no more will them to happen or prevent them from happening. Randy Seaver in his blog two days ago wrote about Good Genealogy Luck. He shared the definition of "luck" as "the chance happening of fortunate or adverse events."

Genealogy Serendipity Moments - The Gold Mine Within Fold3

Yesterday I set off to the local family history center wanting to use one of their partner websites, Fold3. At home I had been researching on familysearch.org for more information on Samuel Reed and his wife Caroline, who I wrote about almost a month ago in the post on Pioneer Women. In that post I suggested that I should re-read the Civil War Widow's Pension Packet of 79 pages and the Compiled Military Service Packet.

Labor Day - What Type of Labor Did Your Ancestors Do?

Tomorrow is Labor Day. How do you plan to spend your day? Will you have some time to labor in your genealogy work? What made me think of this topic, other than it is a major holiday in the U.S., is I just finished reading "The Colonial Craftsman", by Carl Bridenbaugh. It was recommended on one of the email lists for understanding early New England occupations before the Revolutionary War.

Genealogy Serendipity Moments - Neppl Family From Germany to America

The Neppl family is my focus this week as I am preparing a power point on German research and want to include them as a case study. My great grandmother was Louisa Clara Nepple, daughter of Franz Nepple and Mary Shaffer.
Franz (Frank) Nepple is noted to have come from Germany in 1875 and settled in Carroll County, Iowa. His seven siblings also came at variously noted times, but I never pursued looking for immigration information on any of them. Through census work I was able to validate some of the family information. The following published material is more focused on the Neppl descendents living in America from about 1867 to 1985.