Monday, November 30, 2009

Randy's Genealogy Day - 30 November 2009

Eleven months of the year are gone off to the dustbin of history - what will December bring? More "Fools on the Hill" I think... and some happy times with kids and grandkids and Santa's visit!

* Read email, blogs and Twitter, then researched and wrote Why is Genealogy Software so Complex? and Getting Help for Family Tree Maker 2010, but set it to post later in the morning. Worked a bit in FTM 2010, downloaded the update, and checked for ahnentafel list capability - nope! Have complaint, will blog about it!

* Got cleaned up, the toilet overflowed, and the day sorta went off-track for awhile. Forgot to set up fan to dry out carpet. Had lunch early, and got back to the computer and started looking at the Census Mortality Schedules on ancestry.com and before I knew it two hours of fixing sources in the Dill family had passed by.

* Posted Cyber Monday Genealogy Specials and answered some emails, and found and fixed a long-standing error in my Seaver genealogy. Did more database work with sources.

* Went in at 3:15 to read the paper, watch the news and take a nap. The contract nurse came at 4 p.m. for my insurance physical and had a heckuva time getting the electrodes to stick to my hairy chest. Finally left at 5:30, and we ate dinner watching the Saints/Pats game.

* Back online at 8 p.m., and checked Facebook, sorted through my big stack of papers next to the keyboard (found more data to be entered into the database - about two inches worth - oh boy!). Took the fan in to dry out the bathroom carpet about 12 hours late!

* Read that Find My Family debuts tonight at 9, so went in and watched it. Decent, too many tears, not enough research methodology for my liking. So does watching it count as genealogy for me?

* Came in and read everything, then wrote this post.

Genealogy today was 8.0 hours - 0.5 hour doing email, 0.5 hour reading blogs, 0.5 hour on Twitter/Facebook, 2.0 hours writing blog posts, 1.0 hour in FTM 2010, 0.5 hour sorting papers, 3.0 hours working in database.

Sunday, November 29, 2009

Randy's Genea+Football Day - 29 November 2009

On the seventh day, some genea-bloggers rest...and others don't. I tend to during football season! If the Chargers are winning. Which they are, so I did.

* Read email, blogs and Twitter, and got half of the Best of post written before church. We were home by 11:40. Finished off the Best of the Genea-Blogs post and tweeted it.

* Went in at 12:30 to eat lunch and get ready for Chargers game, even snuck in a 10 minute catnap while watching Skins/Iggles game. Chargers won 43-14 over Chiefs...a good game for me - no stress...keeps my heart rate down in the 80s.

* Came in to read everything at 4:30, wrote up draft of the Christmas letter for Linda's review, and draft of the mailing list. Went back out to dinner at 5:30 and watched Steelers/Ravens game for awhile.

* Mark sent a link to NJ Archives Will Abstracts so perused them for awhile - copied and pasted some into the database. Lots more of that to do once I have the collateral lines in the database. Checked in on Facebook too.

* Back out at 8:30 to watch end of Steelers/Ravens, and then Chargers Highlights. Back in at 9:30 to read everything, answer email and write this post.

Genealogy today was 4.5 hours - 0.5 hour doing email, 0.5 hour reading blog posts, 0.5 hour on Twitter/Facebook, 1.5 hours writing blog posts, and 1.5 hours checking out NJ Archives stuff.

Saturday, November 28, 2009

Randy's Genealogy Day - 28 November 2009

A Saturday with no place to go, and it rained for the first time in 164 days in San Diego, so what did I do all day? Yep - genealogy and football watching.

* Read email, blogs and Twitter, and Finding Sarah Martin's Parents - Mark Putman did it! posted before I had breakfast.

* Researched and wrote the SNGF post for later in the day, and Surname Saturday -WHITE
posted.

* Started entering Rolfe and Martin data into the database from the Rolfe book and the Martin WorldConnect database. Lots of other surnames too. Almost missed lunch I was having so much fun!

* Saturday Night Genealogy Fun - Famous Look-Alikes posted in the early afternoon, but forgot to tweet it until an hour later. Worked on balancing checkbooks for two hours!

* Used WorldConnect to find databases with Dunham, Ayers and Smalley families from Middlesex County NJ. Found decent data - need to check the referenced books and articles. Lots of work here!! What, 5 p.m.? Time sure flies when you're having fun!

* Went in and watched Utah/BYU, then Stanford/Notre Dame and then SDSU/UNLV games. Dinner at 6:30, and stayed till the end of SDSU game - lost 28-24 in last minute. Drat!

* Back online at 9 p.m., read everything, went looking for Mulford surname and found quite a bit, but nothing that puts Marie Mulford in a family in NJ! Or even in NY! A dead-end female, I think. Wrote this post and will check Facebook before retiring.

Genealogy today was 8.0 hours - 0.5 hour doing email, 0.5 hour reading blogs, 0.5 hour on Twitter/Facebook, 1.0 hour writing blog posts, and 5.5 hours working in database and doing online research for Martin/Rolfe family lines.

Friday, November 27, 2009

Randy's Genealogy Day - 27 November 2009

Boy, it sure seemed like nobody has been reading blogs the last two days - turkey and shopping are a deadly time spender, I guess. Another almost great genealogy day today...with some great news in the evening!

* Read email, blogs and Twitter before posting Follow Friday - The ProGenealogists(R) Blog, Black Friday Sale at JMK Gifts! and Funny and creative coffins.

* Wrote "Heirloom Discovery Day" Program Highlights - 11/25 and Some Heirloom Photos from Georgie Stillman program.

* Being all blogged out, I spent some time working on the Martin/Rolfe problem before going off to get a haircut and visit the bank. Was home by 12:30 p.m.

* Wrote ProGen Group Christmas Elf Dance, which tired me out so I went in to take a nap.

* Back online at 3 p.m., worked on the Martin/Rolfe puzzle until 5 p.m. Looked for LDS FHLC entries for Middlesex County NJ and Tompkins County NY.

* We left at 5 p.m. for Oggi's for pizza and salad for dinner. Home by 6:30 full up to the top...heartburn here we come!

* Mark sent email with Martin/Rolfe puzzle solution, so checked it out, found the Rolfe book online, and emailed Mark with the find. He already had it, and emailed back more info. Wrote post about this for Saturday. Checked Facebook.

* Created genealogy report for my White line, and wrote the Surname Saturday post for White. Wrote this post. Whew - 8 blog posts today, not a record!

Genealogy today was 9.5 hours - 0.5 hour doing email, 0.5 hour reading blogs, 0.5 hour on Twitter/Facebook, 4.0 hours working on Martin/Rolfe puzzle, 4.0 hours writing blog posts,

Thursday, November 26, 2009

Randy's Thanksgiving Day - 26 November 2009

Spent Thanksgiving doing genealogy - remembering the family, blogging a little, and searching for all of the Mulford Martins from New Jersey in 1700-1850 time frame. Kept me busy! Had dinner at Black Angus too - no stress, no mess, no cleanup...nice relaxing dinner.

* Read email, Twitter and blogs and posted Happy Thanksgiving! Copied I Am So Thankful from last year and modified it some, set it to publish at mid-day.

* Been thinking about how to sort out all of the Mulford Martins in my research puzzle. Went back through Ancestry, WorldConnect, Google Books, etc. and saved stuff this time. Downloaded a Martin GEDCOM from WorldConnect that sorts the family according to a Martin book. Haven't found the book, though! Worked through lunch and up to about 4 p.m. Went out and watered the front plants and got trash out for pickup.

* Left at 4:15 p.m. for Black Angus for roast turkey and trimmings dinner for $14.99. Pretty good - enough to eat, hot, no mess, no stress, no cleanup, can't beat it! We were home by 6:15 p.m.

* Watched the football game for awhile, back online around 8 p.m. to do more Mulford Martin searching. Got 1830, 1840 and 1850 census listings to see if I could match them up with the Martin database people. Yes and no! Found several interesting people, though. Wrote this post.

Genealogy today was 9.0 hours - 0.5 hour doing email, 0.5 hour reading blogs, 0.5 hour on Twitter/Facebook, 0.5 hour writing blog posts, and 7.0 hours doing online Martin research.

Wednesday, November 25, 2009

Randy's Genealogy Day - 25 November 2009

A decent genealogy day - some blogging, some online research, the CVGS meeting, and some database work.

* Read email, blogs and Twitter before posting Creative Coffins and (Not So) Wordless Wednesday - Family Photographs: Post 81 -- My Red Fire Engine. Wrote Kemp and Sovereen Lands in Norfolk County, Ontario to publish in the early afternoon.

* Got cleaned up, then worked on the Putman/Martin/Rolfe info that Mark Putman sent this morning. He's probably solved the Sarah Martin puzzle, but the evidence is thin.

* Left at 10:45 a.m. for McDonalds for lunch, then to the library for work on a query, and then the CVGS monthly program meeting - Georgie Stillman doing the Heirloom Discovery Day. Was home by 2:30 p.m.

* Took a short nap, back online at 3:45 p.m., read everything, worked more on the Putman/Martin/Rolfe puzzle. Found some data on WorldConnect, but not the link between Martin and Putman, there is no data. Onomastics are almost persuasive, and locality is important too. Need land and probate records!

* In for dinner at 5:30, watched news until 6:30, then back online and wrote Ruth and her Grandma Genie Camp. Did more work on the Putman/Martin/Rolfe puzzle.

* Wrote two posts for SSDC Graveyard Rabbit about Calvary Cemetery in San Diego.

* Worked in database adding census citations and fixing sources. Wrote this post.

Genealogy today was 11.0 hours - 0.5 hour doing email, 0.5 hour reading blogs, 0.5 hour on Twitter/Facebook, 4.0 hours researching and writing blog posts, 2.5 hours on CVGS meeting, 2.0 hours on Putman/Martin research and 1.0 hour in database.

Tuesday, November 24, 2009

Randy's Genealogy Day - 24 November 2009

Ahhh, a total genealogy day... lots of database work, online searching work, and a little blogging!

* Read email, read blogs, read Twitter, wondered what to blog about for awhile, then hit on Getting Help with RootsMagic 4.

* That 15-inch tall stack of loose papers and manila folders isn't getting any smaller, and I know that there are things in the pile that need to go into the database. Grabbed about 7 inches of paper, and sorted it out. Yep - lots of goodies in here that need to be input. Beavered away at it for the morning and most of the afternoon.

* Had lunch at my desk, and after finding the Auble newspaper article, posted it in Drinking, Singing and Quarreling are dangerous to your livelihood. Back to the database work! Fixed a few of the English christening records too - they need the church source, not just the note about the date and place.

* 5:30 p.m.? Where did the day go? Into FTM 16 I think! Went in to eat dinner and watch TV, then back at the database work at 6:30.

* Researched and wrote Canadian County Atlas Project - Wonderful! after finding loose maps in my pile. Pretty good web site!

* Did a little work on Ancestry Search for Tony - wrote email about my findings. Checked Twitter and Facebook.

* Grabbed another 3 inches of paper, but straightened it up and put it back. Another day! Did some online research on several families to answer an email query, and didn't find much. Decided to make my census citations in my database as uniform as possible, so went through most of my families with census citations. Just a few more - maybe over the weekend.

* Wrote this post! Whew. My shoulders hurt but my fingers don't!

Genealogy today was 12.0 hours - 0.5 hours doing email, 0.5 hour reading blogs, 0.5 hour on Twitter/Facebook, 1.0 hour in RootsMagic, 2.5 hours writing blog posts, 1.0 hour in Ancestry, 1.0 hour doing online research, and 6.0 hours working in my database fixing things (and even added some people, but deleted some too).

Now, what in the world am I forgetting to do? Where's my to-do list? I need to update it so that I don't miss something important.

Monday, November 23, 2009

Randy's Genealogy Day - 23 November 2009

Another diverse genealogy day - some blogging, some reading, some teaching, some meeting, some napping, some football, some databasing, etc.

* Read email, blogs and Twitter and tweeted when Adding Other Search Providers to RootsMagic 4 WebSearch posted. Wrote "Heirloom Discovery Day" is CVGS Program on Wednesday and set it to post in the early afternoon.

* Packed up my OASIS handouts and the laptop, and went off at 9:20 a.m. for the 10:15 class in Mission Valley. Got set up, greeted the managers, helped a former student, and my four students came and sat through my presentation, demonstration of Legacy note and source creation, and question and answer period. This was the final class for this month.

* Off to Kearny Mesa, stopped at Carl's Junior for lunch, got to SDGS library at 1:10 p.m. and joined the education meeting in progress. Pam is well organized! Left at 2:30, was home by 3.

* Read everything, felt sleepy so went in and took my nap. Up at 4 p.m., came back to do some email and look at several websites. Couldn't think of anything to blog about.

* Went in at 5 p.m. for dinner, then watched football for awhile, and back to computer at 6:30. Read everything, and worked in my database on source creation. Found some VR data for Wallingford VT and entered the Seaver folks into the database with citations.

* Sent CVGS newsletter off to society leaders (forgot to do this before), checked Twitter and Facebook, played around in FTM 16 some to try to get a listing of source citations - over 200 pages sourced now, but the listing doesn't provide the page number when I have it. Frustrating - that's what I really need - to know what sources I need to find page number citations for. Wrote this post.

Genealogy today was 8.5 hours - 0.5 hour doing email, 0.5 hour reading blogs, 0.5 hour on Twitter/Facebook, 2.5 hours at OASIS, 1.5 hours at SDGS Library, 2.0 hours in database and FTM 16, and 1.0 hour writing blog posts. Feel like I wasted some time today...but nice to not have a deadline to meet for awhile.

Sunday, November 22, 2009

Randy's Genealogy Day - 22 November 2009

Sunday was pretty typical - church, some blogging, some research, some football, some food. Excellent in all respects! Fun too!

* Read email, blogs and Twitter before getting ready for church. RootsMagic 4 WebSearch Quirk, written last night, posted while I was watching TV.

* Off to church at 9:30 a.m., was home by 11:45 a.m.

* Joined in on Miriam's Scanfest but scanned only six loose pictures. Best of the Genea-Blogs posted while chatting with the folks.

* At 1 p.m., went in to have lunch and watch the Chargers game against Denver. Really enjoyed the 32-3 romp...it would have been closer but for Bronco turnovers and poor passing.

* Came in at 4:30 to read everything, answer some emails, and in the process opened the database, then Googled several names, found some online data for several ancestral RI families, and entered data into the database. Hmmm, 6:30 p.m., where's dinner?

* Ah, dinner was being served, so we ate, then watched some football, but soon came in to work on my OASIS class 4 handout and presentation. Got them finished, copied the handout, copied to flash drives, and tried to put them on my Google Site for access. Nope! No can do. OK, copied to Google Docs page. Can I share them with everybody? No. Dammit! Why not? So now they will have to email me to get a copy - no big problem.

* Wrote three posts for the Chula Vista Genealogy Cafe blog, then wrote one for Genea-Musings for Monday morning. Checked Facebook and Twitter. Then this post. Done!

Genealogy today was 7.5 hours - 0.5 hour doing email, 0.5 hour reading blogs, 0.5 hour on Twitter/Facebook, 1.5 hours on Scanfest chat, 1.5 hours on database/research work, 1.5 hours on OASIS work, and 1.5 hours writing blog posts.

Saturday, November 21, 2009

Randy's Genealogy Day - 21 November 2009

Spent all day either doing genealogy things or watching football on TV. Hmmm, could set up the laptop and do genealogy while watching TV! Cool.

* Up early to go to breakfast with Linda's swim club, read email before leaving at 6:50 a.m. Surname Saturday - HILDRETH posted while I was enjoying my eggs, bacon and cakes. Left Carrows at 8:15 to go to UCSD for CGSSD meeting.

* At CGSSD meeting, enjoyed the RootsMagic users group, the business meeting was over quickly, the pumpkin pie and snacks were good, and talked to several interesting people (you know who you are!). Had an hour to kill, so set up laptop in meeting room and surfed the net for awhile. Saturday Night Genealogy Fun -- Who is Your MRUA? posted while there, so tweeted it too.

* Off to SDGS Library Open House. Took the tour, talked to the leaders, and headed for home - got home at 2 p.m.

* Read email, blogs and Twitter, then went in to watch SDSU/Utah football game. A wipeout, 38-7, as expected. Came back at halftime, downloaded the new version of RootsMagic 4, and then worked in RootsMagic and Footnote.com for awhile.

* Went in at 3:30 to take a nap and watch the SDSU game - it worked and I missed the end! Back online and captured some screens for a RM4 quirk and thought about blogging about it. Went in at 5 p.m. for more football on TV and dinner.

* Watched to the end of Cal/Stanford game, so online again at 8 p.m. Worked for awhile fixing database sources, then wrote two blog posts for Sunday, then this blog post.

Genealogy today was 8.5 hours - 0.5 hour doing email, 0.5 hour reading blog posts, 0.5 hour on Twitter/Facebook, 3.0 hours at CGSSD, 1.0 hour at SDGS Library, 0.5 hour on RootsMagic downloads and testing, 2.0 hours researching and writing blog posts, and 0.5 hour doing database work.

Friday, November 20, 2009

Randy's Genealogy Day - 20 November 2009

It was a schizophrenic day - half little girls and half genealogy. Both were a lot of fun!

* Read email, blogs and Twitter before Audrey woke up at 7:30, and the Follow Friday - FamHist and LineageKeeper and more was posted.

* Tended to the girls for most of the morning - snuck in a time or two to read blogs, but had little time to do anything useful. James came at 11:15 for lunch, we packed up the stuff, and they left for home at 12 noon.

* Read everything, and did a little research on the DAR site, and posted Using the DAR Genealogical Research System (GRS), and then wrote Using the DAR GRS - Ancestors and Descendants to post later in the afternoon.

* Added some Seaver data from the DAR database to my genealogy database. Did some source fixing too.

* Looked at and downloaded the Windows Live Sync program to see if that will work for me to sync files between desktop and laptop computers. Had to split my Genealogy files into two parts because of the 20,000 file limit for any one file folder. Haven't added Sync to the laptop yet.

* Went in at 5:30 p.m. to watch TV, read paper and eat dinner.

* Back online at 7 p.m., did more work in my database fixing my sources - got one whole branch done, but still many more to do. Made ahnentafel report for Hildreth surname to prepare for Surname Saturday post.

* Wrote the Surname Saturday and SNGF posts - will be offline on Saturday until about 4 p.m. Wrote this post.

Genealogy today was 8.0 hours - 0.5 hour doing email, 0.5 hour reading blogs, 0.5 hour on Twitter/Facebook, 1.0 hour in DAR database on Seaver stuff, 2.0 hours in database fixing sources, 3.0 hours researching and writing blog posts, and 0.5 hours working on the sync problem.

Thursday, November 19, 2009

Randy's Genealogy Day - 19 November 2009

Well, another day balanced between real life and genealogy...earned some money too! The girls are really cute and smart and fun.

* Read email, blogs and Twitter before the girls awoke at 7:30. RootsMagic Essentials Software Available posted this morning - wrote it last night but seems like it posted yesterday!

* Got the girls fed and entertained, Lolo played Nick Jr games for an hour while I chased Audrey around and had fun. Linda got home at 10:15 and I quickly wrote and posted A Labor of Love - the Carnival of Genealogy.

* Gathered my laptop case chock full of handouts, and went to lunch with my retirement group. Left there at 12:25 for Pacific Beach, got set up easily for my 1:30 presentation. Able to answer some questions beforehand from attendees.

* Gave my Genealogy - Be An Ancestry Detective presentation to about 70 people. The audience was attentive and encouraging, had many questions about specific problems - and lots of good feedback they said. Cool. Was home by 4 p.m.

* We went to an early dinner at Subway, home by 5 p.m., had dessert (girls love Linda's sherbet and my Rocky Road ice cream), and got the girls bathed and dressed for bed by 6 p.m. Read everything, wrote New "Digging for Answers" column in Online Graveyard Rabbit Journal in a hurry, and got Audrey down by 7 p.m.

* Printed off the case study for the TGSG chat tonight, read it hurriedly, participated in chat until almost 8 p.m. An interesting case study tonight - Thomas Jones's NGSQ 94:287 (December 2006).

* Read email, blogs, Twitter, Facebook and vegged out. Tried to put Lolo to bed but she's fighting it. Wrote Follow Friday for Friday morning. Wrote this post.

Genealogy today was 7.0 hours - 0.5 hour doing email, 0.5 hour reading blogs, 0.5 hour on Twitter/Facebook, 2.5 hours at PB Library presentation, 2.0 hours writing blog posts, 1.0 hour on TGSG chat, and that's about it!

Wednesday, November 18, 2009

Randy's Non-Genealogy Day - 18 November 2009

The girls are still here and really dominated the day today. Got very little done on genealogy except get ready for my talk on Thursday.

* While the girls were having waffles and strawberries, read email, blogs and Twitter. (Not So) Wordless Wednesday - Family Photographs: Post 80 -- The Birdbath and CGSSD Meeting on Saturday, 21 November posted as scheduled.

* Wrote San Diego Genealogists - come to "Genealogy - Be An Ancestry Detective" and scheduled it for early afternoon. Had lunch, and went off to the library at 11:30.

* Led the CVGS Computer Group meeting with Gary. Home by 2 p.m. after stops at the bank and the grocery store.

* Linda and girls got home same time I did and girls went down for a nap, and after reading everything I did too (we had a 3:45 a.m. wakeup with Audrey last night - I finally got back to sleep at 5 a.m.). After the nap, checked out new RootsMagic for awhile but Audrey woke up at 3:30 and Linda left at 4.

* Linda home at 5:45 p.m. and we went to Mr Vs for spaghetti and meatballs. Audrey ate only olives and bread, Lolo did great with spaghetti and Italian sandwich. Home for baths and dessert, then bedtime. Audrey great, Lolo still up at 10:30 tonight.

* Finally got back online and read everything. Wrote a RootsMagic post for Thursday morning. Did a final edit on my presentation, copied to the flash drives for transfer to the laptop, and oops the 16 mb drive wasn't recognized by the laptop. Several times. Tried the other flash drive and no problem, so presentation is on the laptop now. Need to get a new big flash drive I guess.

* To make matters worse, the GooglePages site I have for my handouts in PDF format was changed to the improved Google Sites, so the URL on my handout, printed yesterday, is wrong! Fortunately, I created a TinyURL for it and I was able to jury-rig the new site so that the folks can find the handout.

* Wrote this post and I'm off to bed.

Genealogy today was 5.0 hours - 0.5 hour doing email, 0.5 hour reading blog posts, 1.0 hour working on presentation, 1.5 hours at CVGS meeting, 1.0 hour working on website, and 0.5 hour looking at RootsMagic again.

Tuesday, November 17, 2009

Randy's Genealogy Day - 17 November 2009

Not much of a genealogy day, since Lauren and Audrey were here all day, but I did manage to get some time in to meet deadlines.

* Read email, blogs and Twitter before Audrey got up. The Checking on Ancestry.com's Name Authority post published while having breakfast.

* Once Audrey was up at 8 a.m., I pretty much entertained both of them until Linda got home at 11:15 from swimming. We had lunch and put the girls down for naps after 12 noon.

* While they napped, I wrote three posts for the reconstituted Chula Vista Genealogy Cafe blog, and wrote Fall 2009 Issue of the FGS FORUM Magazine.

* The girls got up at 2:30 and we left for the Zoo before 3 p.m. Linda couldn't walk it with the Skyride not working, so she stayed near the exit and watched people and I took Audrey and Lauren in the stroller down Tiger River (got nice views of the tiger up close, the hippos in their pool up close, and the two Giant Pandas). We left the Zoo at 5 and had dinner at Rubio's in Mission Valley. Home by 6:30 p.m. after bad traffic.

* We got girls bathed, fed dessert, in jammies, read to, and put to bed. Worked on my 90-minute "Genealogy -- Be an Ancestry Detective" speech that I'm giving on Thursday at Pacific Beach library. This is a repeat so had minor changes to talk and to handout. Printed off the handouts.

* Wrote post for Wednesday morning, then wrote this post. Enough for tonight. Need to make sure the laptop is updated now, and Thursday presentation material is on it and the two flash drives.

Genealogy today was 5.0 hours - 0.5 hour doing email, 0.5 hour reading blogs, 2.5 hours writing blog posts, 1.0 hour working on presentation, and 0.5 hour on Twitter/Facebook.

Monday, November 16, 2009

Randy's Genealogy Day -- 16 November 2009

Happy birthday, brother Scott! Happy birthday, colleague and genea-blogger Ruth! And many more!

* Read email, blogs and Twitter before writing Kreativ Blogger Award - passing it on.

* got cleaned up, gathered my handouts and flash drives, and left at 9:15 a.m. for Mission Valley and my OASIS Class. We had a good session with more hands-on computer time today, and I demonstrated using Ancestry searches with wild cards, birth year ranges, no names with parents, etc. Left at 12:40, stopped by McDonalds for lunch, and home by 1:30 p.m.

* Read everything, wrote SDGS Library Grand Opening, and more, researched and wrote my Graveyard Rabbit column and sent it to Julie, and went in to take a well-deserved and needed nap.

* Watched TV, read the paper, had dinner, and came back to computer at 6 p.m. Checked Facebook, decided to research the Name Authority on Ancestry a bit more, and wrote Ancestry.com's Name Authority Dictionary, then did more research on it.

* The girls came at 7:45 p.m. with Michelle, and we got them bathed, dressed and ready for bed. Audrey went down easy as usual, Lolo is still awake as I write this at 10:40. Wrote a post for the morning, and then this post.

Genealogy today was 8.0 hours - 0.5 hour doing email, 0.5 hour reading blogs, 0.5 hour on Twitter/Facebook, 2.5 hours on OASIS class, 3.0 hours writing blog posts, and 1.0 hour researching on Ancestry.com.

Sunday, November 15, 2009

Randy's Genealogy Day - 15 November 2009

Whew - my Chargers won again, close but enjoyed the cigar. Oh, genealogy? A little.

* Read email, blogs and Twitter and got the Best of the Genea-blogs post ready to go before church. Went off at 9:40 for church, and home by 11:30 a.m.

* Checked the BOGB post, wrote the SDGS newsletter program summary, and went in for lunch, read the paper, watch football. Chargers on at 1:15 versus Eagles. Ahead 14-6 at half, 28-9 after 3 quarters, hung on for 31-23 win. Randy was happy.

* Came in to work on OASIS class presentation and handout. Got them done, and handout printed, by dinner.

* After dinner, back online at 6:30 p.m. Worked on Carnival of Genealogy post for a l-o-n-g time. Went back to watch end of Patriots-Colts game at 8:30, then Chargers highlights for awhile.

* Answered some emails, wrote this post, sent the SDGS article off to editor and copied OASIS stuff to two flash drives.

Genealogy today was 7.0 hours - 0.5 hour doing email, 0.5 hour reading blogs, 0.5 hour on Twitter/Facebook, 3.5 hours writing blog posts, 1.0 hour on SDGS article, 1.0 hour on OASIS stuff.

Saturday, November 14, 2009

Randy's Genealogy Day - 14 November 2009

This was the SDGS seminar with Ancestry.com day - so the day was full of genealogy.

* Up early, read email, blogs and Twitter, but got cleaned up and ready to leave by 7:30 a.m. My Surname Saturday - AUBLE/ABLE post went online while I was in the car.

* Got to Handlery Hotel, checked in, talked to Anastasia and Laryn of Ancestry.com, and found a seat in the packed ballroom. Started at 8:30, and was over at 3 p.m. Enjoyed the talks by Suzanne Adams, talked with several folks, including Sue Aprea at one of the breaks. Was home by 3:45 p.m.

* Read everything, noted that Saturday Night Genealogy Fun -- A Nice Thing had posted at 12:30, tweeted it, and went in to take a nap. Watched TV, read the paper, had dinner.

* Back online at 6:30 p.m., read everything again, and wrote SDGS Ancestry.com Family History Seminar Highlights. Need to write a briefer summary on Sunday for SDGS newsletter. Checked Facebook, talked to Lori about Christmas visit.

* Checked Aztecs football game - they lost 30-27. Did dishes, back to write this post.

Genealogy today was 10.0 hours - 0.5 hour doing email, 0.5 hour reading blogs, 0.5 hour on Twitter/Facebook, 7 hours at SDGS/Ancestry.com seminar, and 1.5 hours writing blog posts.

Friday, November 13, 2009

Randy's Genealogy Day - 13 November 2009

Do you realize that November is almost half over already? Scary...

* Read email, blogs and Twitter, and posted Follow Friday - The Ancestry Insider and then got cleaned up. Came back and wrote Check out The Beginning Genealogist website.

* Wrote Book Review: "Genealogical Resources of the Civil War Era" and scheduled it for later in the afternoon. Finally logged on to Google Wave and played around a bit. Will probably be a winner, but needs many more people to make it really useful. Uploaded photos to computer and rotated some of them.

* Had lunch at home, then picked up George for our walk along the bayfront (2 miles, 35 minutes, boats, restaurants, ducks, seagulls, squirrels, para-surfers, etc.) Cool day...about 63 F and windy. Was home by 1 p.m.

* Wrote CVGS Research Group Highlights - 12 November 2009 and scheduled it for the evening.

* Found out Chula Vista Genealogy Cafe blog was suspended by Blogger. Asked for a review, haven't heard back. At least can access email account. This happened back in July time too - took about 10 days to fix. Exported all of my other blogs to hard drive just in case. Need to do that more often.

* Worked on list of potential CVGS speakers for Barbara I. Emailed it off to her, Gary and John. Also emailed my ProGen October assignment to my group.

* Went out at 4 p.m. to cut the front lawn. Came in at 5 p.m. to watch news, read paper, eat dinner.

* Back online at 6:30 p.m. Worked on posts for Saturday, then checked Facebook.

* Recalled that database had some duplicate names and facts in Richmond family - so went into database and merged duplicate people and deleted extraneous facts on many of them. This happened when I merged five databases into one. Very frustrating!

* Answered Gmail email, then wrote this post. I rarely check the Gmail accounts.

Genealogy today was 10.0 hours - 0.5 hour doing email, 0.5 hour reading blogs, 0.5 hour on Twitter/Facebook, 1.0 hour on Google Wave, 2.0 hours on CVGS speaker list, 1.0 hour on database work, 0.5 hour on deleted blog account, 4.0 hours writing blog posts.

Thursday, November 12, 2009

Randy's Genealogy Day - 12 November 2009

It was pretty much a genealogy day all day, but feel I gotr virtually nothing accomplished. Let's see:

* Read email, blogs and twitter, then posted Treasure Chest Thursday - The Spoon Holder.

* Got cleaned up, looked for Catherine Knapp in 1850 to 1880 census records - only in 1850. Couldn't find the obituary or a death date online either. Wrote email to Tony about continuing A.com problems. Had lunch at home.

* Gathered up papers and off to library at 11:40 for CVGS Research Group. done at 2 p.m., and home by 2:30.

* Read everything, checked latest NEHGR online edition, downloaded it, and read it. Wrote October 2009 New England HistGen Register contains American Ancestors Journal.

* did more online searching, found some Rootsweb sites down - frustrating!

* Went in at 5 p.m. to watch TV, read paper, eat dinner, and back online at 6:30.

* Rootsweb back up for NJ and NY, couldn't find anything on Catherine Knapp there either. Drat. Oh well.

* Worked on adding program dates, speakers, topics to my tables for CVGS, CGSSD and SDGS. Need to come up with a list of suggested speakers for CVGS program chair.

* Read everything, and Facebook, then checked Ancestry.com locality problem, and it's still there for some cities. Noted it in comment on A.com blog. Wrote this post.

Genealogy today was 10.0 hours - 0.5 hour doing email, 0.5 hour reading blogs, 0.5 hour on Twitter/Facebook, 0.5 hour reading NEHGR, 1.0 hours writing blog posts, 1.5 hours on Ancestry.com problems, 1.5 hours looking for Catherine Knapp, 2.0 hours on CVGS speaker lists, and 2.0 hours on CVGS Research Group.

Wednesday, November 11, 2009

Randy's Genealogy Day - 11 November 2009

Spent almost all day honoring my ancestors by searching for and documenting their records.

* Read email, blogs and Twitter before posting (Not So) Wordless Wednesday - Post 79: Veteran's Day and SDGS on Saturday, 14 November: Ancestry.com Seminar.

* Worked some more on Ancestry "New Search" and found problems with many counties in the Residence list - New York, Chicago and others. Emailed Tony about my finds.

* Researched for one of my OASIS students who couldn't find his grandfather - I can't either. Well hidden.

* Wrote Ancestry.com's Improved "Edit Search" Feature and posted it. Nobody else has written about this yet - wonder why?

* Answered several emails with information and opinion (hey, they asked!). Worked some more in Ancestry search. Looked in Google Books for the Kemp and Dafoe families in Ontario around 1800- found a book of church records - data matches my database - didn't have a source before!

* Decided to finish my ProGen homework assignments. Revised the marketing plan, letterhead and business cards, and wrote several more forms to use in business. Sent the marketing plan off to the ProGen Group. There - done with ProGen homework, except for the chats, I think!

* Went in at 4:30 p.m. to read paper, watch news, take a nap, eat dinner, and was back online at 6:30 p.m.

* Read everything, checked Facebook and GenealogyWise, and worked for awhile in my database resolving shorthand sources into good sources for my Seaver folks. Did over one hundred in about two hours, I think. Tiring.

* Received email from Mark P. about the Putman research, so did some searching online for information, then searched for the Peter Putman RevWar Pension file. Figured out I should look for mention of him, and other family names, in other pension files. Will do tomorrow!

* Wrote this post... and I'm done for the night.

Genealogy today was 11.5 hours - 1.0 hour doing email, 0.5 hour reading blogs, 0.5 hour on Twitter/Facebook/GenWise, 1.0 hour on Ancestry, 1.0 hour doing research for student, 2.0 hours writing blog posts, 2.0 hours working on ProGen homework, 2.0 hours working in database, and 1.5 hours doing online research.

Tuesday, November 10, 2009

Randy's Genealogy Day - 10 November 2009

FWIW, Today was 11/10/09... a day of doctors and genealogy.

* After reading email, blogs, and Twitter, posted Lyle Was Driving for the Smile for the Camera carnival.

* Got cleaned up, left for the eye doctor at 8:30 a.m. Eyes tested OK, been 9 years since last checkup, ordered new glasses. Home by 10:30 a.m.

* Eyes dilated, everything's bright! Researched and wrote Family Tree Statistics from MyHeritage.com and posted it. Pretty good stuff. Checked other software and only RootsMagic has stats like this, but not in graphical format.

* Had lunch, left at 12:40 p.m. for dentist office for cleaning. Home by 2:15 p.m.

* Read everything, worked a bit in the database on Connecticut VRs. Researched and wrote Ancestry.com Has Military Collection FREE through 13 November and posted it. First one to post it? Emailed it to my CVGS mailing list.

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

* Back online at 7:30 p.m., looked for Paul Schaffner in Ancestry WWI draft cards, got frustrated by New Search failure to find anything in San Francisco. Researched and wrote AFL with "New Search" on Ancestry.com. Maybe they'll fix the problems. Checked Facebook.

* Searched 1874-1877 San Francisco City Directories on Footnote.com. Keeping a list for McKnew, Paul, Schaffner, Seaver and Whittle. Wrote this post.

Genealogy today was 8.0 hours - 0.5 hour doing email, 0.5 hour reading blogs, 0.5 hour on Twitter/Facebook, 0.5 hour on MyHeritage, 1.0 hour on Footnote, 1.0 hour on Ancestry, 3.0 hours writing blog posts, 1.0 hour in database - sources for CT marriages.

Monday, November 9, 2009

Randy's Genealogy Day - 9 November 2009

Really not much of a genealogy day - did what I had to do in and by the time I had to do it!

* Read email, blogs and Twitter, then wrote Square Pegs Into Round Holes about classifying or categorizing genealogy researchers. Not sure what I contributed, but it garnered some comments and, hopefully, provoked some thought.

* Got cleaned up, put OASIS material on two flash drives, gathered up the class material, and left by 9:15 for Mission Valley.

* Taught my 2nd session of the OASIS class, had lunch at McDonald's, stopped at the library to talk to the folks, and was home by 2 p.m.

* Looked through the ourFamily*ology research links for useful websites. Tried a few - mainly state archives sites.

* Finally blogged Calling San Diego Readers -- Dr. Spencer Wells at Natural History Museum on 11/11 which I got from email today. Then wrote 1940 U.S. Federal Census Information from email information from Joel Weintraub. Tired, went in to watch TV.

* Watched the news, read the paper, didn't get a nap, we ate dinner watching the football game.

* Back to the computer at 8:30 after the game, and read everything. Decided to write a Smile for the Camera Carnival post and set it for Tuesday morning. Then wrote this post.

Genealogy today was 8.0 hours - 0.5 hour doing email, 0.5 hour reading blogs, 0.5 hour on Twitter and Facebook, 2.5 hours on OASIS class, 0.5 hour on CVGS visit, 1.0 hour on ourFamily*ology site, and 2.5 hours writing blog posts.

Sunday, November 8, 2009

Randy's Genealogy Day - 8 November 2009

Really not much of a genealogy day - posted BOGB, published CVGS newsletter, put OASIS notes together, and blogged more about ourFamily*ology family tree site.

* Read email, blogs and Twitter, then edited the Best of ... post, before going off to church by 9:30 a.m.

* Home by 11:30, checked CVGS newsletter printout one last time, and left at 12:10 for the UPS Store to print and mail copies. Virginia helped. Was home by 12:40 p.m., and Best of the Genea-Blogs - November 1-7, 2009 posted while I was away.

* Settled in to eat lunch and watch football. Charger-Giants game came on at 1:15, and was over by 4:30. Chargers won in last minute, 21-20, but were dominated on both sides of the ball for stretches. Watered the front plants to cool down.

* Watched highlights, took a nap, then more football before dinner, and watched the SNF game until halftime.

* Came in to modify the OASIS class handout and presentation - finding if I don't bold the text that I save on ink. Printed off copies for Monday's class. Put updated material on two flash drives.

* Back in to watch the end of Dallas-Philly game, and read my Connelly book. After the game, came in and read everything and then wrote Checking out ourFamily*ology - Post 3. I'm unimpressed by the functionality, although it looks nice. Checked in on Facebook, and wrote this post.

Genealogy today was 5.0 hours - 0.5 hour doing email, 0.5 hour reading blogs, 0.5 hour on Twitter and Facebook, 1.0 hour writing blog posts, 1.0 hour on CVGS newsletter, and 1.5 hour on OASIS class material.

Saturday, November 7, 2009

Randy's Genealogy Day - 7 November 2009

This was a different genealogy day for me - actually got out of the Genealogy Cave and did something fun and useful in the outdoor world.

* Read email, blogs and Twitter before going off to the Men's Bible Study breakfast at 8 a.m. Surname Saturday - RICHMAN/RICHMOND posted while I was cleaning up.

* After breakfast, headed to San Diego Public Library downtown to finish off a CVGS query about tattoo parlors in San Diego. Found it, copied it, then talked to genealogy librarian Susan for awhile - she knows so much San Diego area history!

* Took off for Mission Hills and Pioneer Park where they dug up all of the gravestones, threw them in a gully at Mount Hope, and then replanted some of them in an area of Pioneer Park. Took pictures of quite a few for SSDCGYRabbit blog. Then went by the 30th Street neighborhood and took pictures of the Carringer houses.

* Home by 12 noon, read everything, and saw the Public Profiler site on Al's blog, so used it for Saturday Night Genealogy Fun - Surname Distributions! Yep, on a whim. That's how I usually choose - I believe in Just-in-Time SNGF!

* Went in to watch SDSU/TCU game, read the paper, took a short nap, and came back after halftime (SDSU down 31-6) to mess around online in Twitter and Facebook. Aztecs lost 55-12.

* Linda left after 4 p.m. to help our neighbors in the rest home, so read new FORUM mag online, then ate dinner, watched more football, and then the news.

* Back online at 6:30 p.m. - decided I'd better finish up the CVGS Newsletter. Got it done, printed off for copying, saved as a PDF for emailing, and printed off the address list. Ready to publish tomorrow!

* Wrote most of the Best of the Genea-blogs post tonight because tomorrow is church, CVGS publishing at 12 noon, and the Chargers Game. Then wrote this post.

Genealogy today was 8.5 hours - 0.5 hour doing email, 0.5 hour reading blogs, 0.5 hour on Twitter/Facebook, 2.0 hours writing blog posts, 1.0 hour at SDPL, 1.5 hour at cemetery and 30th Street, 2.5 hours doing CVGS newsletter.

Friday, November 6, 2009

Randy's Genealogy Day - 6 November 2009

I've had this terrible feeling all day that I've forgotten to do something. Where's my to-do list? Buried in a pile, I fear.

* Read email, blogs and Twitter, then read the new monthly Shades digital magazine that footnoteMaven has created. Awesome! Wrote Follow Friday - Shades of the Departed - WOW!!.

* Got cleaned up, then wrote Three APG/PMC Presentations Available to View and scheduled it for early afternoon.

* Worked in my database for awhile replacing shorthand sources with real sources.

* Had lunch at home, left at 11:45 a.m. to pick up George for our walk on the Bayfront. Cool today - only mid-60's with some clouds. Was home by 1 p.m.

* Answered some emails, scanned some papers, then researched and wrote Checking out ourFamily*ology - Post 2. Pretty slow, difficult to navigate.

* Went in at 5 p.m. to read paper, watch TV, eat dinner, and read my book while Linda worked on computer.

* Back online at 7:30 - read everything, checked Facebook, worked on the CVGS Newsletter. Still need about half a page from somewhere. Will use my blog articles if necessary.

* Wrote Surname Saturday post for Saturday morning, thought about SNGF without a decision, then wrote this post.

Genealogy today was 10.0 hours - 1.0 hour doing email, 0.5 hour reading blogs, 0.5 hour on Twitter/Facebook, 0.5 hour reading Shades, 1.0 hour working in ourFamily*ology, 3.0 hours writing blog posts, 1.5 hours in the database, 2.0 hours doing CVGS newsletter.

Thursday, November 5, 2009

Randy's Genealogy Day - 5 November 2009

Started out as a genealogy day, and finished like one, but in the middle was ... granddaughters! A great family history day!

* Read email, blogs and Twitter, then wrote Are census records reliable for genealogy research?

* Did more San Francisco research on Joseph Whittle, and wrote More San Francisco Treats, and scheduled it for the afternoon.

* Left at 11 a.m. for the pharmacy to pick up my drugs, back home by 11:45 a.m.

* Got started on CVGS Newsletter - got everything in that I have - need several articles and other info from board members.

* Went in at 2 p.m. to take a nap, expecting the girls to be delivered by 3 p.m. or so, and they would stay two days/nights before Tami comes to pick them up. Then Tami called and said she needed to take them home tonight. She got here at 3:30, the girls came at 4:15, and we left for dinner at Rubio's in the valley at 5:15. Linda and I were home by 7 p.m. Tami and the girls headed home. It was fun seeing them and getting hugs, kisses, and smiles from them.

* Read everything, had to install the new Windows Live Messenger, read the ProGen chapter, checked Facebook, and at 8 p.m. started the ProGen chat with my group colleagues. We were done by 9 p.m.

* Watched Elissa Powell's presentation on the APG web site - excellent presentation. There are two others to watch, too. Then wrote this post.

Genealogy today was 8.0 hours - 0.5 hour doing email, 0.5 hour reading blogs, 0.5 hour on Twitter and Facebook, 2.0 hours researching and writing blog posts, 2.0 hours on the CVGS newsletter, 1.5 hours on ProGen group, and 1.0 hour watching APG video.

Wednesday, November 4, 2009

Randy's Genealogy Day - 4 November 2009

Not much of a genealogy day - too much else needed to be done.

* Read email, blogs and Twitter, then posted More on Footnote.com Databases and Pages. Wrote (Not So) Wordless Wednesday - Family Photographs: Post 78 - Sons and Proud Fathers and Take a look at Dick Eastman's GenQueries site and scheduled them for later in the day while I was busy.

* Got cleaned up, and went off to my doctor's appointment at 10:50 a.m. Routine stuff, needed prescription renewal, and got weight lecture and an appointment for that sigmoid-thingy...then went to the lab for blood test. Ate lunch in the car - the oreo cookie fillings melted in the sun...what a gooey, yummy mess!

* Got to the library after 12 noon for the CVGS board meeting. Was home by 2:30 p.m.

* Read everything, pondered what to post, and didn't ... gathered up the financial stuff and we left at 3:30 for the financial advisor.

* Had a 2.5 hour meeting to sort out insurance policies, investment accounts and the like. Decided to come home and eat leftovers and watch the World Series.

* Game over at 9 p.m. - came in and read everything, checked Facebook, and wrote this post. Ned to read my ProGen assignment now.

Genealogy today was 5.5 hours - 0.5 hour doing email, 0.5 hour reading blogs, 0.5 hour on Twitter and Facebook, 2.0 hours writing blog posts, and 2.0 hours in CVGS meeting.

Tuesday, November 3, 2009

Randy's Genealogy Day - 3 November 2009

Finally a full day of genealogy! Yes!!! Felt OK after a good night's sleep too, but back got sore tonight after hunching over my smoking keyboard all day.

* Read email, blogs and Twitter, then wrote San Francisco Funeral Home Records.

* Found the Ohio Death Records on the FamilySearch Record Search list and started in on the Seaver surname folks. Got two pages done by lunch time - only 30 names, and not all were in my database, but transcribed and sourced the ones that were. Filled in lots of birth and death dates and places, plus some spouses names. Have 62 more pages - over 800 more items, to do.

* Almost missed lunch having so much fun! Wrote Lemon Grove Researchers Group Brick Wall Ancestors. Added more Seaver Ohio Death Records to database.

* Signed up for the ourFamily*ology site and uploaded GEDCOM file. Saved some screens. Works well, but slow...and then it times out. FAIL for now. Wrote Checking out OurFamily*ology about experiences.

* Went in at 5 p.m. to watch TV, read the paper, eat dinner, water the front plants, and didn't take a nap.

* Back online at 7 p.m. - checked out Dick's GenQueries site, then worked in the database resolving my shorthand sources into real sources for one branch of my Seaver database.

* Read everything, checked in on Facebook, then wrote post for Wednesday morning, then wrote this post.

Genealogy today was 11.0 hours - 0.5 hour doing email, 0.5 hour reading blogs, 0.5 hour on Twitter and Facebook, 0.5 hour looking at GenQueries, 3.0 hours writing blog posts, 3.5 hours in Ohio Deaths, 1.0 hours on ourFamily*ology site, and 1.5 hours working on Seaver sources.

Monday, November 2, 2009

Randy's Genealogy Day - 2 November 2009

Today is the 118th anniversary of my grandfather's birth in 1891. How I wish I had talked more with him about his family life. He would be proud of me, I think. I hope so!

* Read my email, blogs and Twitter and the Finding Potential Y-DNA Matches - Post 1: GeneTree blog posted. Wrote the Using Quick Links to Navigate Ancestry.com and Reduce AFL post and scheduled it for the early afternoon.

* Got cleaned up, left at 9:10 a.m. for the OASIS class in Mission Valley. Had 6 signed up, only 5 showed up, but it was a pretty good class. Left at 12:30, ate at McDonalds, stopped at the library to do a query lookup and was home by 1:45 p.m.

* Read everything, but exhausted. Messed around, finally figured that I needed a nap, so went in and watched TV and took the nap.

* Came back at 3:15 and worked a bit on two of the Lemon Grove group queries posted on their blog. Still felt exhausted.

* Went in at 5 p.m. to watch the World Series, we ate dinner, and I switched between baseball and football all evening. Still feel cruddy - took my Tylenol 4-in-one stuff to kill the headache and achy feeling, but then had upset stomach too. Drat. Don't have time to be sick. Sure don't feel like doing anything constructive!

* Came in at 9:30 to read everything and write this post. Going to bed early!

* Backed up the genealogy files last night to the external hard drive. Need to sync files with the laptop soon.

Genealogy today was 7.0 hours - 0.5 hour doing email, 0.5 hour reading blogs, 0.5 hour on Twitter and Facebook, 1.0 hour writing blog posts, 3.0 hours at OASIS Class, 0.5 hour working on query at library, and 1.0 hour writing comments on the Lemon Grove queries.

Sunday, November 1, 2009

Randy's Genealogy Day - 1 November 2009

Not much of a genealogy day due to church, football and baseball. Still did some blogging.

* Read email, blogs and Twitter before finishing the Best of the Genea-Blogs - October 25-31, 2009 post before going to church at 9:30. Scheduled it for noon time.

* Glad I did that, because we didn't get home until 12 noon. Read everything, tweeted the BOGB post, and went in to watch football.

* Chargers played the Raiders, and it was a pretty good game. The good guys won 24-16, but it was close. Still not sold on the Chargers - think they're probably an 8-8 or 9-7 team this year.

* At 4 p.m., came in to read, worked on my OASIS class handout and presentation, saw that SDGS has started a blog, so posted San Diego Genealogical Society has a Blog! Back to watch the World Series.

* Watched ball game, read the paper, ate dinner, came in during breaks to print out my OASIS Handouts.

* After game, came in and read, then wrote a post for Monday morning about my Y-DNA test. Wrote this post and I'm done!

Genealogy today was 4.0 hours - 0.5 hour doing email, 0.5 hour reading blogs, 1.5 hours writing blog posts, 1.0 hour on OASIS class, and 0.5 hour on Twitter and Facebook.