Wednesday, March 30, 2011

My genealogy day - 30 March 2011

It was a busy genealogy day, at least until I got home at 2:30 pm.  Then it turned into a happy and fun day.

*  Read my email and blogs, then wrote (Not So) Wordless Wednesday - Post 146: Gram, Mom and Nana and then put Jean Wilcox Hibben Series on National Archives Records together and set it for later in the morning.  Got cleaned up.

*  Printed out some papers for CVGS colleagues, ate lunch, and went off at 11:30 a.m. for the CVGS Program meeting at the library. 

*  Enjoyed the program, we had about 40 in attendance, and Paula Sassi went quickly through handwriting examples that show different traits (I know, some people don't believe graphology is scientific, I don't know) and then some handwriting examples from the 1700s to early 1900s.  She didn't analyze the personalities in much detail, though. 

*  Home from the library at 2:15 to find Tami and the grandgirls napping, so quickly posted Chula Vista Genealogical Society Seminar - Saturday, 2 April 2011.  Went in and took a nap with Lolo dancing for us.

*  Played with and enjoyed the girls for awhile, then we left at 4 p.m. for the shopping center, where we got some clothes for the girls, ate dinner at the food court, and shared an ice cream while Tami shopped by herself. 

*  Home by 7:15 p.m. to get the girls bathed, read to, brushed and bedded down.  Finally back online at 8:30 p.m. to read, add to the Best Of post, check Facebook, and work on a William Seaver murder post for Thursday.  Wrote this post.

Genealogy today was 7.5 hours - 0.5 hour doing email, 1.0 hour reading blogs, 2.5 hours writing blog posts, 2.5 hours at the CVGS meeting, and 1.0 hour doing online research.

Tuesday, March 29, 2011

My genealogy day - 29 March 2011

Got several projects almost done today - the big ones!  Just need some cleanup and editing.

*  Read email and blogs, then wrote Tuesday's Tip - Consider Name Variations For Elusive Ancestors.  Worked in WikiTree and then wrote Exploring WikiTree -- Post 10: Merging Two Profiles and set it for later in the morning.  Got cleaned up.

*  Came back to read the new Internet Genealogy magazine and write Internet Genealogy Magazine - April/May 2011 Issue.  Still need to print the articles of interest.

*  Got started on my Genealogy 2.0 column for FGS FORUM, which is due on Friday.  Had lunch in the middle of it to get inspiration.  Got it almost finished - just needs some cleanup and a close. Took a break at 1:45 and posted CVGS Program on Wednesday, 30 March: "Handwriting and History."



*  Had to leave at 3:30 p.m. to sign more papers, and then had to PDF the signed papers and email them to the broker. 

*  Went in at 5 p.m. to watch TV, eat dinner, read the paper.

*  Back at the keyboard at 6:30 p.m. to read, check Facebook, then worked on Classes 3 and 4 of the Genealogy 101 course.  Shifted sections around to fit the schedule.  Got Class 3 finished and Class 4 almost finished - both presentation and syllabus.  Whew.

*  Added to the Best Of blog post, and wrote this post. 

Genealogy today was 10.0 hours - 0.5 hour doing email, 1.0 hour reading blogs, 1.0 hour in WikiTree, 2.0 hours writing blog posts, 0.5 hour reading IG Magazine, 3.0 hours writing the Gen2.0 column, and 2.0 hours working on the CVGS Gen101 material. 

Monday, March 28, 2011

My genealogy days - 27 and 28 March 2011

I missed journaling yesterday - didn't have much progress!  Did have fun, though!  Then today had personal business for most of the day, so not much progress until late afternoon.

On Sunday, 27 March:

*  Read email and blogs, finalized the Best of the Genea-Blogs - 20-26 March 2011 post and set it for 12 noon.  Got cleaned up, and went off to church.


*  Home by 11:30 a.m., and got onto the Scanfest chat.  didn't scan anything (I couldn't decide what to do).  Scanfest was fun, but wish I had scanned something.
 
*  Went in at 2 p.m. to  read the paper, watch basketball and take a nap.  Came back at 4 p.m. to do some email, then we had dinner and watched the news.
 
*  Read everything, wrote the Amanuensis Monday post, started the next Best Of post and checked Facebook before forgetting to write this post.
 
Genealogy Sunday was 5.0 hours - 0.5 hour doing email, 1.0 hour reading blogs, 0.5 hour writing blogs, 2.5 hours on Scanfest and 0.5 hour doing online research.
 
On Monday, 28 March:
 
*  Read email and blogs, noted that Amanuensis Monday - Norman Seaver's Probate Records posted, and wrote Some Comments from Chris Whitten on my Exploring WikiTree posts.  Got cleaned up.
 
*  Made my phone calls and wrote emails for my business issue, worked a bit in WikiTree, then we went down to AAA to get papers signed and notarized.  Got home and waited for last bit of information before I sent the document package off via OnTrac.  Finally found their drop box in National City.  Who knew?
 
*  Home by 3:30 p.m. to read, then write FamilySearch.org U.S. Vital Record Collections summaries.  Got into the sources again in RootsMagic 4, and deleted quite a few - the ones without an actual source, like "gravestone" and "will proved" and "age 56 at death."  In the process, searched for Find-a-Grave info for the gravestone ones and had some success - added about 30 FaG cites to the database, so it was not wasted effort.
 
*  Went in at 6 p.m. for dinner, then read the paper and watched TV news.
 
*  Back in the cave at 7 p.m. to read, then worked on the CVGS Genealogy 101 syllabus and presentations for awhile, added to the Best Of post, checked Facebook, wrote some emails, and wrote this post.
 
Genealogy Monday was 7.5 hours - 1.0 hour doing email, 1.0 hour reading blogs, 2.0 hours writing blog posts, 2.0 hours working on sources, 1.5 hour on CVGS Genealogy 101 class.

Saturday, March 26, 2011

My genealogy day - 26 March 2011

A Saturday with nothing much else to do but work on genealogy.  I could have gone to the FHC, but it's more fun editing my sources in my database. 

*  Early get-up for breakfast with Linda's swim club, home by 8:15 a.m. to read email and blogs.  Wrote Surname Saturday - RITTER (Germany > Pennsylvania) post, then the Reynolds came over for a chat.  former neighbors, moved away in 1985 and haven't seen them for years.  Fun hour.

*  Researched and wrote the Saturday Night Genealogy Fun - How Many Surnames? post and set it for 12 noon.  Already have 12 blog responses. 

*  Started in on the source editing again in the S's and got through the Zs by the end of the day.  Only a few that I need to research more on.  During the process, corrected many source citations where I'd guessed at the source name.  Then merged several master sources.  Need to go do more of that.  Added some source citations from the WHITE surname notebook too, and found more Hunterdon NJ sources online and added them.  Worked most of the afternoon on this!

*  Went in at 5 p.m. to watch basketball, then had dinner, and worked through the loan application.

*  Back online at 7 p.m. to read, then worked on the CVGS Genealogy 101 presentation - got class 1 done (again!) and class 2 almost done.  Added to the Best Of post, checked Facebook and wrote this post.

Genealogy today was 11.0 hours - 0.5 hour doing email, 1.0 hour reading blogs, 1.5 hours writing blogs, 2.0 hours on CVGS Genealogy 101 class, and 6.0 hours on database sources.

Right eye aches and is weeping, and can't close it all the way?  Whatsup withat?  A cold, or something more serious.  drat.

Friday, March 25, 2011

My genealogy day - 25 March 2011

A stay at home day, even though I didn't plan it that way.  It was raining before noon so no walk on the bayfront.  Got some genealogy done, too!

*  Read my email and blogs, then posted The Genealogism Blog Collection.  I wonder what Chris Dunham is doing these days?  I miss his blog posts.  Worked in WikiTree a bit, then wrote Exploring Wikitree - Post 9: Another Search for Matches and set it for later.

*  Wrote NEHGS AmericanAncestors.org has a FREE Guest Account and set it for early afternoon.  Had lunch.  Answered several emails, two from distant cousins doing original research on our family lines.

*  Balanced the checkbooks and filed the paper.  Decided to make another Surname Notebook.  Picked the White family - 8 generations - to see how big a book it might make.  Printed out the pedigree chart, the family group sheets, and the narrative descendants report.  Got the binder apart and sorted the papers by family, correspondence, and supporting book chapters and periodical articles.  There are no photos or BMD certificates, but lots of wills and research notes.  Put the Surname book together in a three-inch notebook.  I found some interesting material also that I will use to source some of the Facts in the database WIGATI (When I Get Around To It).

*  Started a long email to a reader asking about how to start doing research.  May be blog fodder sometime.  Dinner called at 5:30 p.m.

*  Back online at 6:15 to finish the email, then worked on the CVGS Genealogy 101 Class 2 presentation and syllabus.  Then it was time for Geneabloggers Radio at 7, and I listened and chatted until 8, when WDYTYA came on. 

*  I thought the Buscemi episode was the most boring one so far.  It's an interesting story, but depressing.  Linda caught some things too - like how did they know it was the same Ralph Montgomery?  I can't believe that he scrolled through 11 months of newspaper articles on the microfilm machine either.  Someone probably did a lot of work beforehand.  I liked the touch of finding the cousin through the online family tree.  The meeting was great - they both added content for the other person.

*  Back online at 9:15 p.m., added to the Best Of post, checked Facebook and wrote this post.

Genealogy today was 10.5 hours - 2.0 hours doing email, 1.0 hour reading blogs, 2.5 hours writing blog posts, 2.0 hours putting the White surname book together, 0.5 hour in WikiTree, 0.5 hour on CVGS class, 1.0 hour on GBRadio, and 1.0 hour watching WDYTYA.

Thursday, March 24, 2011

My genealogy day - 24 March 2011

Another stay-at-home day.  Started off really exciting, Linda couldn't find her keys.  Went out and hunted in the car, then the walkway, then the bedroom.  She went off with my keys.  I finally found them in the pants pocket that she took of when she got home yesterday.  Good detective work, eh?  Figured out her movements and followed them until I got the keys.  And her credit card.  glad she didn't put them in the washer!

*  Flush from that success, I read email and blogs, then posted Treasure Chest Thursday - Isaac Seaver's Civil War Pension File: Isaac's Death Record.   Received the press release and posted Tpstry.com and GenealogyFreelancers.com Partner Up.  Just saw the editing problem now!  Will go fix it.  Got cleaned up and brought in the trash cans.

*  Decided I'd better check out Tpstry.com, so spent awhile answering questions, then captured screens and wrote Exploring Tpstry - Post 1: Getting Started.  Had lunch.

*  Worked on the Auble Surname notebook, then added sources from the Zion church in New Germantowen NJ to the database since it was in the Auble book.  Wrote Testing DearMYRTLE's Genealogy Paper Organization System.

*  Time for the SDSU/UConn basketball game - watched it, had dinner at halftime, and disappointed that my Aztecs lost 74-67 in a good game that demonstrated their one weakness - outside shooting and free-throw shooting.  Drat.  34-3 is a pretty good year, though.

*  Back online at 6:30 p.m. to read, then work on the CVGS Genealogy 101 Class 1 presentation and handout.   Got that one pretty much done.  Now on to class 2.

*  Read blogs, added to the Best Of post, checked Facebook and wrote this post.

Genealogy today was 10.0 hours - 0.5 hour doing email, 1.0 hour reading blogs, 1.0 hour in Tpstry, 2.5 hours writing blog posts, 1.0 hour working on sources in the database, 2.0 hours working on the Auble surname book, and 2.0 hours working on the CVGS presentation. 

Wednesday, March 23, 2011

My genealogy day - 23 March 2011

It's unbelievable that 23 days in March are gone by...where did the time go?  did i have fun?  Noted that I've lost out on www.randyseaver.com now - the journalist in Maine captured it and started a blog.  I'm glad he didn't call it Randy's Musings! 

*  Read my email and blogs, then wrote (Not So) Wordless Wednesday - Post 145: The Lyle Carringer House in 1922.  Got cleaned up, answered some emails, and went off to Costco to look at toys and books and buy flowers for Linda.

*  Home by 11 a.m., put the flowers in water, and worked on Exploring WikiTree - Post 8: Searching for Common Ancestors.  Even asked to be on a Trusted List!  Had lunch.

*  Put an AUBLE Notebook together trying to use DearMYRTLE's guidelines.  Printed out lots of stuff, and filed it in order, but need to find the supporting documents now in the old notebooks.  There is stuff all over...that's why I'm reorganizing gradually! 

*  Reorganized my Ancestral Files on the computer too - made folders for Surnames, e.g. AUBLE Family, then added individual family file folders in those, and put the FGSs and narratives created for my Auble families in the right folders.  Need to go capture other reports, documents and photographs. 

*  Wrote the book review for Raking the Ashes and sent it off to Kathryn. 

*  Flush from those three accomplishments (hmmm, not sure about that!), I tacked the taxes!  Loaded TurboTax and entered all the data I have.  We actually get money back again, which is good - and no penalties like several years ago.

*  Went in at 5:45 p.m. to read the paper and eat dinner, then put the trash out. 

*  Back online at 7 p.m., read everything, wrote The Exploring WikiTree Compendium and edited several other posts.

*  Edited my handout for the File Organization again, then added several charts to the CVGS Genealogy 101 Class 1 presentation.  Still need to do more proofing of the processes.

*  Added to the Best Of post, checked Facebook and wrote this post.

Genealogy today was 9.5 hours - 1.0 hour doing email, 1.0 hour reading blogs, 2.0 hours writing blog posts, 0.5 hour working in WikiTree, 1.5 hours working on the book review, 2.0 hours working on organization, and 1.5 hours working on the Genealogy 101 presentation.

Tuesday, March 22, 2011

My genealogy day - 22 March 2011

The day started in Escondido in a motel where Angel Linda and I stayed two nights to celebrate our 41st wedding anniversary.  We visited the San Diego Zoo Safari Park near Escondido on Sunday and Monday - I got caught in a hail storm on Monday morning, and then heavy rain for about 20 minutes, so we went visiting our former pastor after that.  Had a fun two days.  We were home by 10 a.m. since it's less than 40 miles to Escondido up I-15.  I was able to keep up with email and blogs while we were gone with the free wifi service at the hotel, although I didn't blog at all.

*  Got the system on by 10:30 a.m., read email and blogs, and noted that Tuesday's Tip - use Arphax FREE Surname search engine posted this morning.  Answered a bunch of emails.  Wrote Exploring WikiTree - Adding Family Tree Widgets to your blog or website.  Had lunch.

*  Worked for awhile in WikiTree - tried to make my thumbnail photos the same size so they show the same size on the WikiTree trees.  Was only partially successful.  Had to capture more thumbs from other pictures in my computer files.  Wonder if the widgets adjust if an image is added? 

*  Captured DearMYRTLE's Getting Organized PDFs to refer to in the CVGS Genealogy 101 class.  Worked in my sources in the database - almost got through the S's!  Found that I had some RI cemetery sources wrong, and some not added, so spent a good hour getting them in the database and right. 

*  Went in at 5 p.m. to watch news, read the paper, and we had dinner.  Back online at 7 p.m. to read, and then posted States My Ancestors Lived In. 

*  Tried to summarize the Getting Organized ideas for the CVGS Genealogy 101 class.  Added some of my own ideas.  Now I need to make an example Notebook!  Re-organizing all of my paper files, and adding paper from the database, is a long-term goal but I have no inclination to do it for every family, just because it will take months of full-time effort which I don't have time for now!  Got some great ideas from DearMYRTLE's articles!

*  Added to the Best Of posts, then checked Facebook and wrote this post.

Genealogy today was 8.0 hours - 1.0 hour doing email, 1.0 hour reading blogs, 1.0 hours writing blog posts, 1.0 hour working in WikiTree, 2.0 hours working in the database on sources, and 2.0 hours working on the Genealogy 101 presentation and handout.

Saturday, March 19, 2011

My genealogy day - 19 March 2011

Another good day - some genealogy, and SDSU won again in the NCAAs.

*  Read email and blogs, got cleaned up, noted that Surname Saturday - LNU (????? > Rhode Island) posted.  Gathered the laptop and off to CGSSD meeting.


*  Got to CGSSD meeting at 8:50 a.m.  Took notes during Gary Hoffman's Cloud computing, and marked up the handout during Barbara Renick's talk.  Both were excellent - lots of good information (blog fodder!).  Left at 12:30 p.m. and home by 1 p.m.
 
*  Ate lunch, read everything, noted that Saturday Night Genealogy Fun - Contribute to the Genealogisms Dictionary posted.  Wrote Gary Hoffman and Barbara Renick at CGSSD Today and set it for later in the afternoon.
 
*  Went out to cut the front lawn.  Got it done by 3 p.m. and start of SDSU/Temple game in NCAAs.  Went double overtime, SDSU won, 71-64.  Ate dinner during second overtime. 
 
*  Back online at 6 p.m. to read, then write three posts for Monday and Tuesday.  Got the Best Of post done pending overnight additions.  Started list of Genealogism posts for next week.  Checked Facebook.  Wrote this post.
 
Genealogy today was 8.5 hours - 0.5 hour doing email, 1.5 hours reading blogs, 3.5 hours at CGSSD meeting, and 3.0 hours writing 6 blog posts.

Friday, March 18, 2011

My genealogy day - 18 March 2011

It was a fairly full genealogy day - the highlight was Geneabloggers Radio!  Informative and fun.

*  Read email and blogs, wrote Exploring WikiTree - Post 6: Privacy Levels and then William Seaver's Murder in 1821 - A Jailhouse Confession and set it for early afternoon.  Did more research on this problem without much reward.

*  Had lunch, and off at 11:45 a.m. to pick up George for our walk on the bayfront.  Took my Lee Child novel back to the library and picked up the new William Martin book. 

*  Home by 1:15 p.m., read everything and decided to work in my sources for awhile.  Got through the Rs and into the Ss before finding one that I needed to fix - had to split vitals and probates to reflect what I actually used. 

*  Answered five emails that had piled up on me, plus one Ancestry message from two months ago.  Had to do some research in the database and online for two of them.

*  Wrote Rosie is on WDYTYA? Tonight - a Re-run, then went in to have dinner, watch TV and read the paper. 

*  Back online at 6:30 p.m. to read, write the Surname Saturday post, and then listened to Geneabloggers Radio while madly chatting with 75 others.  A really good two hours.  Even got the SNGF idea from it!

*  Wrote the SNGF post for Saturday, then the Best Of post, checked Facebook and wrote this post. 

Genealogy today was 11.0 hours - 1.5 hour doing email including research, 1.5 hours reading blogs, 2.0 hours on Geneabloggers Radio, 1.5 hours working on database sources, 1.0 doing online research, and 3.5 hours writing blog posts.

Thursday, March 17, 2011

My genealogy day - 17 March 2011

St. Patrick's Day today - I didn't wear green, forgot, actually until I was out to lunch.  Had green salad, though!  Not much of a genealogy day, just some blogging, a webinar and work on the CVGS 101 class.

*  Read email and blogs, noted that Censuswhacking on St. Patrick's Day posted, and put Treasure Chest Thursday - Isaac Seaver's Civil War Pension File: Compendium of Posts together.  Got cleaned up, then wrote William Seaver's Murder in 1821 - a Reward Offered.

*  Left at 10:50 a.m. for lunch at a local restaurant with my Rohr Engineering group.  Talked English genealogy with Allen, and vacations with Don.  Talked about Rohr people and our retired lives too.

*  Home by 12:45 p.m. to read, then wrote Mark Tucker's Vision on What Genealogy Software Should Be.  In to watch the SDSU/Northern Colorado NCAA first-round game.  Aztecs won 68-50, but it was close in the first half.

*  Back online at 3:45 p.m. to read, and at 4:15 got onto GoToMeeting for the Michael Hait webinar on Doing a Reasonably Exhaustive Search.  It was a quick hour.

*  In at 5:30 p.m. to have dinner, then back online at 6:30 p.m.  Read everything, modified info from Genea-Musings for SDGS Newsletter.  Worked on the CVGS Genealogy 101 course.  We're taking the four sessions which were too crammed and making them into two four-session  courses.  I can use much of the same material, just spread it out and add new material as required.  Got classes 1 and 2 pretty much done for Genealogy 101. 

*  Checked Facebook, added to the Best Of post, and wrote this post.

Genealogy today was 8.0 hours - 0.5 hour doing email, 1.5 hours reading blogs, 2.0 hours writing blog posts, 1.0 hour on webinar, 0.5 hour on SDGS articles, and 2.5 hours working on CVGS classes.

Wednesday, March 16, 2011

My Genealogy Day - 16 March 2011

A fairly full genealogy day - the day after Mocavo... there was a pretty typical response - some liked it, some didn't, some found useful online things, others not so much. 

*  Read email and blogs, the wrote (Not So) Wordless Wednesday - Post 144: The Carringer Home in 1926.  Got cleaned up.

*  Wrote CGSSD Meeting on Saturday, 19 March, Features Barbara Renick and Exploring WikiTree - Post 5: Adding Photos and set it for early afternoon.

*  Had lunch and went off to the library at 11:30 a.m. for the CVGS Computer Group meeting.  I showed WikiTree and Mocavo, and Shirley went through several of the features of Google.  They were mostly new for the 12 in attendance.  I'm always amazed by how much my colleagues don't know about or know how to do.  Worked on a query for 30 minutes, then home.

*  Home by 2:30 p.m. to read, and then went into RootsMagic to work on sources.  Never got there - found more info on McKnew family in DC on FamilySearch and added data and sourced it as I went.   Checked my Ancestry mailbox and Sarah's latest comments were there.  Sorted out some of the William Seaver facts.  Also checked Maryland State Archives for Seaver and found nothing useful. 

*  Went in at 5 p.m. for dinner, then read the paper, took out the trash and watched TV news.  Back online at 7 p.m. to read, then worked on St. Patrick's Day post, read Shades, added to the Best Of post, checked Facebook, and wrote this post.

Genealogy today was 10.5 hours - 1.0 hour doing email, 1.5 hours reading blogs, 2.5 hours writing blog posts, 2.5 hours on CVGS meeting and query, 2.5 hours doing online research and adding data to the database, and 0.5 hour reading Shades.

Tuesday, March 15, 2011

My genealogy day -- 15 March 2011

I stayed home so that my friends wouldn't stab me in the back - poor cousin Julius had this problem, you know!

*  Read email and blogs, and wrote Tuesday's Tip - use the U.S. Military Indexes site,  Worked a bit in Mocavo again with different searches.  Edited the blog post set for 6:07 p.m. tonight (Cliff picked the time!).

*  Worked in WikiTree for awhile, and wrote Exploring WikiTree- Post 4: Editing a Person Page and set it for early afternoon.  Got cleaned up and thought about taking a walk in the sunshine, but the feeling passed.

*  Watched DearMYRTLE's last webinar for Legacy and learned some tricks for the blog - if I was using new Blogger, which I'm not.  I should change...but I haven't yet. 

*  Worked in my sources in RootsMagic 4 - got through the Ps and Qs.  Got sidetracked after finding more data for some surnames on Find-a-Grave.  Did more online searching in AmericanAncestors and Chronicling America searching for newspaper articles about the elusive William Seaver.  Wrote "A Horrid Murder" in Alexandria.

*  Went in at 5 p.m. to watch TV, read the paper and eat dinner.  Came back at 6 p.m. to make sure the First Look at Mocavo - A New Genealogy Search Engine post went online well.  Had to fix it immediately.
*  Tweeted and Facebooked Mocavo, and monitored the traffic.  Sent useful comments to Cliff via email.  Great fun to be on the crest of the wave. 

*  Added to the Best Of post, and wrote this post. 

Genealogy today was 11.5 hours - 1.0 hour doing email, 1.5 hours reading blogs, 1.0 hour in WikiTree, 1.0 hour doing online research, 2.5 hours writing blog posts, 0.5 hour watching the webinar, 1.0 hour working in sources, 1.0 hour on Twitter/Facebook and 2.0 hours in Mocavo.

Monday, March 14, 2011

My genealogy day - 14 March 2011

Ah, the Ides of March are upon us!  Time for the nifty St. Patrick's day census-whacking post!

*  Read email and blogs, then posted Amanuensis Monday - a Seaver Merchant in Washington D.C.  Wrote Take the Genealogy Habits, Attitudes and Origins Survey.  Got cleaned up.

Wrote Exploring WikiTree- Post 3: Viewing a Person Page and set it for after noon.  Went looking for more articles on William Seaver and his children - found the son's obituary.  The family had money!

*  Ate lunch, then worked in RootsMagic 4 on sources.  Got through the Ns, Os and into the Ps.  Found some facts wrongly sourced, so corrected them.  Found some more Seaver data online and added it to the database.  I love it when data just appears without much work!

*  Added some of the recent obituaries to the Seaver database also.  Worked a bit in Mocavo again.  Worked right up to 5:30 p.m. but don't recall what I did, besides miss National Nap Day.  I really should keep a log of what I gather and add to the database.  Maybe Tuesday if I remember!

*  Went in for dinner at 5:30, then read the paper, watched TV, and washed the dishes.  Back online at 7 p.m.

*  Read everything, then wrote my Mocavo review and emailed it off.  Added to the Best Of post, and checked Facebook, and doodled around in the database a bit, then wrote this post.

Genealogy today was 11.0 hours - 1.0 hour doing email, 1.5 hours reading blogs, 3.0 hours writing blog posts, 1.5 hours working on Mocavo, 1.5 hours doing online research, and 2.5 hours working in the database on sources and adding data.

Sunday, March 13, 2011

My genealogy day - 13 March 2011

It turned into a fun and interesting genealogy day.  I played Random Genealogy Games today!

*  Read email and blogs, finished off the Best of the Genea-Blogs - 6 to 12 March 2011 post and set it for noon time.

*  Got cleaned up, went off to church at 9:30 a.m., talked genealogy afterwards with John C.  He has an Ancestry tree, I think.

*  Home at 11:30 a.m. to read, then read my Ancestry Message Center - I hadn't checked it for months, and they don't seem to send an email any more that you have mail!  Several interesting ones that I can help with, so answered them via email.  One was intriguing - a murder of a William Seaver.  Found articles on GenealogyBank that defined it, another talked about the reward offered by the President, and then an article where someone admitted to the murder.  Added article transcriptions to my database.  Jumped around a little in GenealogyBank and found more articles too.  Sunday afternoon genealogy fun!  Beats balancing the checkbook and doing the taxes!

*  Went in at 3 p.m. to watch the NCAA basketball brackets - SDSU got a #2 in the West Regional with Duke, Connecticut, Texas, and 12 others.  We'll see how good they really are.  Read the paper, had a nap, and we ate dinner at 5:30 p.m.

*  Back online at 6 p.m. to do more random genealogy searching on Ancestry.com and GenealogyBank.  Found many more interesting newspaper articles, and transcribed them - probably ten or more today total.  Wrote up the SDGS program review article and sent it off to the editor.

*  Stopped at 9 p.m. to start the next Best Of post, checked Facebook, then wrote this post. 

Genealogy today was 7.5 hours - 1.0 hour doing email, 1.0 hour reading blogs, 0.5 hour writing blog posts, 1.0 hour on SDGS article, 1.0 hour working on Ancestry messages, and 3.0 hours doing online random searches. 

Saturday, March 12, 2011

My genealogy day - 12 March 2011

It turned into a decent genealogy day!  And my Aztecs won, beating BYU 80-62 to win the MWC championship.  NCAA Tournament, here we come as a #1 or 2 seed.

*  Read email and blogs, wrote and posted Surname Saturday - CARD (England > Rhode Island).  Got cleaned up, put the flash drive in my pocket, and took the bookbag to the SDGS program meeting.

*  The SDGS program was Alfredo Pena on the Conquest of Mexico, other Spanish families that came in 1650-1900, and the Exodus to the US 1900-1945 in the two sessions.  He was late (got there at 10:10 a.m.) and Marna asked if I had anything to present...it was in my pocket - but then Alfredo walked in.  I took notes for the SDGS Newsletter article - sure hope I can decipher them!  Had a number of people thank me for the February program, which I appreciated.

*  Home by 1 p.m. to have lunch, read online, then write Saturday Night Genealogy Fun - New Genealogy Blogs.  Looks like the bloom is off the SNGF rose, should I continue with it?  Checked Facebook, and added 21 new blogs to my Google Reader, and read them.


*  Went in at 3:15 p.m. to watch the news, read the paper and take a nap, then watched the SDSU/BYU game for the MWC championship.  SDSU won 82-60, an up-and-down game.  We ate dinner watching it.

*  Back online at 6:15 p.m. to read, then added to the Best Of post, and started in on my "to-be-sourced" pile.  Got through about ten articles and pieces of paper.  Probably added 30-40 source citations, and several new master sources.  It's a start!  Wrote this post.

Genealogy today was 9.0 hours - 0.5 hour doing email, 2.0 hours reading blogs, 1.5 hours writing blog posts, 2.5 hours at SDGS meeting, and 2.5 hours working in source citations. 

Friday, March 11, 2011

My genealogy day - 11 March 2011

A fairly full genealogy day, with several breaks in the non-stop action.

*  Read email and blogs, then posted Follow Friday -- How to make sense of a Civil War Pension File.  Then put Genealogist Michael Hait schedules webinars together after reading about it on the TGF message board. Michael's webinars look like good ones - I'm sorry I have to miss them on Saturday.  Watched TV on and off for the tsunami that didn't hit San Diego.

*  Worked in WikiTree creating screens and adding content, and wrote Exploring WikiTree - Post 2: Navigating the Tree.  Set it for early afternoon.



*  Had a quick lunch, then off to pick up George for our weekly walk on the bayfront.  It was foggy and cool. 

*  Was home by 1 p.m. to read, then added more content to WikiTree, and work on sources in RootsMagic.  Got through the Ns and Os. 

*  The neighbors came by to visit, and we walked them home, then off to Costco for groceries and then to Lolita's for dinner, and Ralph's for more groceries. 

*  Home by 6:30 p.m. - read everything, then added to the Best Of post and listened/chatted on BlogTalkRadio.  My first time...had over 55 there at one time.  Thomas does a great job.

*  Went in at 8:30 p.m. to watch SDSU/UNLV game.  Back at halftime to check Facebook, write this post, and will return to watch second half.

Genealogy today was 8.5 hours - 0.5 hour doing email, 1.0 hour reading blogs, 2.0 hours working in WikiTree, 2.0 hours writing blog posts, 2.0 hours working on sources in RootsMagic, and 1.0 hour on BlogTalkRadio.


 

Thursday, March 10, 2011

My genealogy day - 10 March 2011

Ten days gone in March already?  Yikes.  I'd better start working on my FORUM article and my CGSSD presentation in five weeks.  Linda came home from Tami's today.

*  Read email and blogs, then wrote Treasure Chest Thursday - Isaac Seaver's Civil War Pension Papers: Widow's Drop Report.  Got cleaned up.

*  Worked a bit in Mocavo, then sent several emails.  Worked a bit in Ancestry looking for W H Allen too - found him in 1880 and 1870 finally. 

*  Decided to upload a GEDCOM to WikiTree, so created a 10-generation ancestral file and did it.  Captured screens, which turned into WikiTree - Post 1: Getting Started.  Had lunch.

*  Worked on some financial matters, then tried to upgrade sources in RootsMagic.  Linda came home tired, and I got wash going.  Got stuck trying to find where I found BMD notices in the New York Times newspaper - I can't find them now!  I think a correspondent sent me a list once, but I can't find it in my archives. 

*  Went in at 4:30 p.m. to watch TV and read the paper, then took Linda to Oggi's for pizza and watched the first half of the SDSU game there.  Came home quickly, and watched second half.  Aztecs won 64-52 and it wasn't that close.

*  Back online at 8 p.m. to read, then checked Facebook, add to the weekly Best Of post, write CVGS Research Group Summary - 9 March 2011 and then write this post.

Genealogy today was 9.0 hours - 1.5 hours doing email, 1.0 hour reading blogs, 0.5 hour in Mocavo, 0.5 hour doing online research, 2.0 hours working on sources, 1.0 hour working in WikiTree, and 2.5 hours writing blog posts.

Wednesday, March 9, 2011

My genealogy day - 9 March 2011

Another full genealogy day with Linda up at Tami's until Thursday.

*  Read email and blogs, then wrote (Not So) Wordless Wednesday - Post 143: The Carringer Home in 1925.   Got cleaned up, then wrote Dear Randy: Do Family Tree Maker 2011 Smart Stories have any practical function? and set it for later in the morning.

*   Answered some email, printed out the handouts for the Research Group, got the laptop ready to go, ate lunch, and left for the library at 11:20 a.m. 

*  Got set up for the meeting at noon.  We had 13 at the Research Group today and talked about Marriage Records, then sort of a free for all Q&A session.  The two hours went by quickly.

*  Home by 2:15, read everything, worked in RootsMagic doing the N sources.  Noted that the Family Tree Top 40 was out, so posted Family Tree Magazine Top 40 Genealogy Blogs for 2011.  Back to sources for awhile - didn't finish the N's yet.

*  Went in at 5 p.m. to watch TV, put out the trash, eat dinner and read the paper.  Back online at 6 p.m.  Checked Facebook.  Posted RootsTech Streaming Videos now Available.  Posted San Diego Genealogical Society meeting on Saturday - Alfredo Pena presenting.


Decided to work on the messy pile of "to be filed" and found many articles and book fragments that I need to use to source some of my data.  Sorted it into two piles of "to be filed" and "to be sourced" - the latter pile is about six inches high!  That took awhile, but I'm glad that I did it.

*  Added to the Best Of post, then wrote this post.

Genealogy today was 11.5 hours - 1.0 hour doing email, 1.5 hours reading blogs, 3.0 hours writing blog posts, 2.5 hours working on CVGS Research Group, 1.0 hour working on sources in the database, and 2.5 hours sorting paper piles.

Tuesday, March 8, 2011

My genealogy day - 8 March 2011

It was a full genealogy day - stayed home since Linda is outtatown with the grandgirls.

*  Read email and blogs, then wrote Tuesday's Tip - Use PERSI to find genealogy-related periodical articles

*  Had to do emergency surgery on the CVGS newsletter - got the program place wrong on the front page!  I need a proofreader that knows CVGS.  Edited it and sent it to the email list again.  Reviewed the CVGS Board minutes.  Answered some emails.

*  Worked on the Marriages handout and presentation for Wednesday CVGS Research Group.  Ate lunch at my desk.

*  Worked up and published GenerationStation - Adding and Connecting More Family Members.  nobody seems to care about this... I think it might be a winner.  We'll see!

*  Answered more email.  Did some financial stuff.  Wrote two posts on Chula Vista Genealogy Cafe blog.  Worked in the Massachusetts VRs 1911-1915 on AmericanAncestors putting Seaver information in the database with sources. 

*  Went in at 5:45 p.m. to have dinner, watched TV news and read the paper.

*  Back online at 6:30 p.m. to read everything, then finish up the Marriages material, and copied to flash drive.  Finished the Mass VRs 1911-1915 Seaver list in the database.  Added to the Best Of post, checked Facebook, then worked in Notes in the database.  I need to finish up the Sources too.  Wrote this post.

Genealogy today was 12.0 hours - 1.5 hours doing email, 1.0 hour reading blogs, 2.5 hours writing blog posts, 1.0 hour in GenerationStation, 3.0 hour putting the Marriages stuff together, 2.5 hours working in database on Mass VRs and notes, and 0.5 hour on Twitter/Facebook.

Monday, March 7, 2011

My genealogy days - 6-7 March 2011

I was too busy last night to post, so a double dose tonight.

On Sunday, 6 March:

*  Got the girls breakfast and dressed, checked my email and blogs.  Finalized the Best of the Genea-Blogs post, and set it for noon time.  Then we were off to church.

*  Home by 11:45 for lunch, naps, TV and play time with the girls.  Read email and blogs throughout the day and evening, but nothing done of consequence.  We went to dinner at In-n-Out, then TV and play, then baths and bedtime. 

*  Worked on last bits of the CVGS Newsletter, got it edited and printed, and printed the mailing labels.  Read but didn't post.  Wrote the Amanuensis Monday post.

Genealogy on Sunday was 4.0 hours at most - 0.5 hour doing email, 1.0 hour reading blogs, 1.5 hours on CVGS newsletter, and 1.0 hour writing blog posts.

Monday was a fairly full genealogy day, once I got going.

*  Got the girls breakfast, got cleaned up, read email and blogs between home events, and noted that Amanuensis Monday - Will of Solomon Carpenter (1677-1850) of South Kingstown, RI posted.  Packed the girls suitcases and Linda drove them to Victorville in the rain.  I grabbed the flash drive and the laptop and took off for my OASIS class.

*  Got to OASIS by 9:40 a.m., figured out I left the handouts at home.  Drat.  worked around it, and emailed them later.  Only 6 students today, went through several of their research problems. 

*  Home from OASIS by 1 p.m.  Read everything, then wrote Why Do People Have Favorite Ancestors?   Gathered CVGS Newsletter masters, labels and publishing kit and off to UPS store to copy, label, stamp, and tape the CVGS newsletters.  Have it down to 30 minutes.

*  Home to read, and answered several emails.  Sent OASIS handout to students, and CVGS newsletter to webmaster. 

*  Went in at 5 p.m. to watch TV, read the paper and eat dinner.  Back to the genea-cave at 6 p.m. to read, then do some searching for some of my students.  A little success, but no big answers. 

*  Read blogs, then added to next week's Best Of Post, then wrote this post.

Genealogy today was 10.0 hours - 1.5 hours doing email, 1.5 hours reading blogs, 1.5 hours writing blog posts, 2.5 hours on OASIS class, 1.0 hour on CVGS newsletter, and 2.0 hours doing online research.

Saturday, March 5, 2011

My Genealogy Day - 5 March 2011

It was a busy day - both real life and genealogy.

*  Up early, had breakfast and got the grandgirls theirs, then got cleaned up and off at 7:15 a.m. to the Chula Vista parking garage.  11 of us carpooled to the Family History Fair in Escondido (about 35 miles).  Had a good discussion in the car with Mary Lou and Kathleen.

*  Got there at 8:10, got my packet, and visited the CVGS table.  Set up my laptop, saw lots of friends, and then off to the Keynote talk by Diane C. Loosle of FamilySearch at 9 a.m.  After that, I sat at the CVGS table.  Noted that Surname Saturday - CARPENTER (England > Massachusetts > Rhode Island posted  and wrote Saturday Night Genealogy Fun - It's Fun Day! and tweeted and FBed.  Went to Gena Ortega's talk on Finding Females for the next session, then ate lunch out on the low wall with CVGS colleagues.

*  Stayed at the CVGS table for the next session, and read my email and blogs.  Then to hear Barbara Renick speak on Genealogy: Real Life is Better than Reality TV."  Spent the last hour at the table helping to pack up.  Got two speaking gigs as a result of this meeting.

*  We left at 4:30 p.m. and I was home by 5:15.  Packed up the girls and off to Chik-Fil-A for dinner.  Blew my diet, I fear!  Chicken strips and french fries tasted great after 7 weeks without!  Home by 7:15 p.m., got the girls bathed, dressed, read to and bedded down.

*  Online finally at 8:15 p.m., read email and blogs, added to the Best of post.  Worked on the CVGS Newsletter for awhile, then wrote this post.

Genealogy today was 11.0 hours - 0.5 hour doing email, 0.5 hour reading blogs, 8 hours at Family History Fair, 1.0 hour writing blog posts, and 1.0 hour working on CVGS Newsletter.

Friday, March 4, 2011

Not a great genealogy day - 4 March 2011

The day started out terrible, then gradually improved, but I got nothing of consequence done in the genealogy world.

*  Awakened at 12:45 a.m. by telephone, daughter was bitten by her dog, and on the way to the ER.  Called back at 2:30 to say she was heading home.  Didn't get back to sleep until after 3, then up at 5:45 a.m. to prepare for my procedure at the clinic.  No breakfast.  Sleepy all day.

*  Quickly read my email, then left at 7:15 a.m. Got there at 7:45, and done by 8:30 and home by 9 a.m.  Very efficient.  Even interesting - got to watch the video of the procedure. 

*  Read blogs, and noted that Reader's Genea-Rant #2 - "Family Tree Maker 2011 sucks..." had posted.

*  Worked in GenerationStation again, and eventually put GenerationStation - Adding Family Members together. 

*  Ate lunch in a hurry, then off to the bank and pick up George for our weekly walk on the bayfront.  A nice day here - 70 F and a breeze.

*  Home by 1 p.m. to read, then went in to watch TV, read the paper and take a nap.  Finally got back on computer for a while, but we left at 4:15 p.m. to drive to Temecula to pick up the grandgirls.  There by 6 p.m., ate at El Pollo Loco, and got home by 8 p.m.

*  Tried to watch WDYTYA? but too much talking in the TV room, and I missed a lot.  Had to bathe and dress the girls, then down to bed.

*  Online at 9:15 p.m. to read, then add to the Best Of post, write the Surname Saturday post, and then this post. 

Genealogy today was only 4.5 hours - 0.5 hour doing email, 1.0 hour reading blogs, 2.0 hours writing blogs, and 1.0 hour trying to watch WDYTYA?

Tomorrow is the Escondido Family History Fair.  Will try to blog a bit from there.

Thursday, March 3, 2011

My genealogy day - 3 March 2011

Another stay-at-home day - at minimum, I save on gas expenses, and I usually have fun writing and researching.

*  Read email and blogs, then wrote Treasure Chest Thursday - Isaac Seaver's Civil War Pension Papers: Widow's Pension Awarded.  Got cleaned up, and came back to write Using the Internet Archive Website: Books - Post 2 and set it for later in the morning.

*  Answered some email, wrote emails for the CVGS carpool and the workshop on Saturday, checked Facebook and Twitter, and captured the last month of FamilySearch new/updated databases.  Saw the notice of GenerationStation and registered, then worked in it for awhile, adding two profiles. 

*  Had lunch, then wrote GenerationStation is Open.  I like it, and will work in it more.  Wrote New or Updated FamilySearch Historical Collections - March  and set it for later in the afternoon.

*  Checked out another new website for awhile, then worked in the database - got through the M sources finally.  Had to revise all of the Michigan Death Index citations - they were in one master source and there are three different collections on three different websites. 

*  Went in at 5:30 p.m. to watch TV, read the paper, and drink my dinner, such as it was (Apple Juice and Mag citrate!). 

*  Back online at 7 p.m. to read, then work on the CVGS Newsletter, add to the Best Of post, write a post for Friday morning, and write this post.


Genealogy today was 11.0 hours - 1.0 hour doing email, 1.5 hours reading blogs, 1.5 hours working online on web sites, 3.5 hours writing blog posts, 1.0 hour working in the database, and 2.5 hours working on the CVGS Newsletter.

Wednesday, March 2, 2011

My genealogy day - 2 March 2011

Another pretty full genealogy day with varied activities.

*  Read email and blogs, then wrote (Not So) Wordless Wednesday - Post 142: San Diego Mountain Snow.  Got cleaned up, worked a bit at http://www.archive.org/, wrote Using the Internet Archive Website: Books - Post 1 and set it for later in the morning.

*  Printed off the CVGS material for the meeting, had lunch, and went off at 11:30 a.m. to the library.  The Board meeting lasted until almost 3 p.m.

*  Home by 3:15 p.m. to read, then created PDFs of my Genealogy 2.0 columns for the Family History Fair, and sent them to Olive.  Checked out the new FamilySearch online presentations, and then wrote New "Research Courses" on the FamilySearch Learning Site.

*  Went in for dinner, then read the paper, put out the trash cans, watch TV news and wash the dishes. 

*  Back online at 7 p.m. to read, then worked in sources for a bit - got through half the Ms.  Added to the Best Of post, answered some email and wrote this post.  Where did the time go?

Genealogy today was 11.0 hours - 1.0 hour doing email, 1.0 hour reading blogs and websites, 1.0 hour on Internet Archive site, 0.5 hour on FamilySearch videos, 3.0 hours writing blog posts, 3.5 hours on CVGS activities, and 1.0 hour editing sources in the database.

Tuesday, March 1, 2011

My genealogy day - 1 March 2011

This was a stay-at-home day to try to catch up a bit, and I don't think I did... oh well, tomorrow is another genealogy day.

*  Read email and blogs, then wrote Tuesday's Tip - Find Ancestral Homes using Google Maps.  Got some good comments too, with old Chicago maps.  Got cleaned up...

*  Wrote Adding a Smart Story to Family Tree Maker 2011 - Post 2 and set it for late morning.  Answered some email, reorganized my pile of personal papers, and had lunch.

*  Did a little research for a correspondent, then answered more email, and finally dove into the database to work on sources, but I was soon distracted.  Wrote Reader's Genea-Rant #1 - "My cousin's done genealogy research, and it's wrong!"  Worked in Internet Archive trying to find some books - it freezes on me 50% of the time.  I wonder why?

*  Went in for dinner at 5:30 p.m., watched TV and read the paper.

*  Back in the chair at 7 p.m. to read, then work on more sources.  Got through the Ks and Ls today - had to find quite a few FHL microfilm numbers since I didn't put them in some of my notes.  Dumb.

*  Posted Videos from RootsTech 2011 after Geniaus's lead, then back to sources.  Noted that CVGS FREE Seminar - Saturday, 2 April 2011  posted.  Added to the Best Of post, then wrote this post.  Now the printer won't work again... drat.  Need to reboot.

Genealogy today was 10.0 hours - 1.5 hour doing email, 1.5 hours reading blogs, 3.5 hours writing blog posts, 1.5 hours doing online research, and 2.0 hours working on the database sources.