Monday, January 31, 2011

My genealogy day - 31 January 2011

The end of January already - one of Genea-Musings best months ever.  Stayed home all day and worked on genealogy.  Got some tasks finished.

*  Read email and blogs, then wrote Amanuensis Monday - Alpheus B. Smith Probate Papers - Post 2 and researched and wrote Dear Randy - What are the Extraneous Marks on this Census Record?  before getting cleaned up.

*  Worked in RootsMagic making source citation examples, but forgot to make a GEDCOM in Legacy to have latest info in RootsMagic.  Drat.  Had lunch, then researched and wrote  Source Citation Creation in RootsMagic 4 - some examples.

*  Made the Legacy GEDCOM, imported it into RootsMagic and made more source citations, then created a small GEDCOM to see how they looked.   Different!  Also tested the source merge capability of RootsMagic.  Works fine, but I'm not sure that the citation details come across when the template is replaced.  That's a big potential problem if they don't - a killer!  Where did the time go?

*  Went in at 5 p.m. to watch TV and have dinner.

*  Back online at 6 p.m. to read everything, checked the BetterGEDCOM site, worked on my presentation and handout, and then on the OASIS class 1 presentation and handout.  Time flies by...

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

Genealogy today was 11.5 hours - 0.5 hour doing email, 1.0 hour reading blogs, 3.0 hours writing blog posts, 4.0 hours working in software, 1.5 hours working on my presentation and 1.5 hours working on the OASIS class material. 

Sunday, January 30, 2011

My non-genealogy day - 30 January 2011

Really not much of a genealogy day, except for Scanfest and working on my presentation.

*  Read email and blogs, finished up the Best of the Genea-Blogs - 23-29 January 2011 post and set it for early afternoon.  Got cleaned up and off to church by 9:30 a.m.

*  Church had annual meeting at lunch time so home at 1 p.m.

*  Rushed in to participate in the last hour of Scanfest, thank you, Miriam for hosting it.  Lots of new scanfesters - good!   I didn't scan anything today.

*  Went in to watch gold tournament, read the paper, take a nap, awakened by my daughter.  Watched more TV, we ate dinner, and I was back online at 6:30 pm.

*  Answered some emails,watched 60 Minutes,  then got into the presentation again.  More edits, and then got the handout almost finished.

*  Checked Facebook, started next week's Best Of post, and wrote this post.

Genealogy today was 6.0 hours - 1.0 hour doing email, 1.0 hour reading blogs, 1.0 hour writing blog posts, 1.0 hour on Scanfest, and 2.0 hours working on the presentation.

Saturday, January 29, 2011

My genealogy day - 29 January 2011

A different genealogy day - I went to the San Diego Family History Center leading the CVGS Research Trip.

*  Read my email and blogs, noticed that Surname Saturday - WING (England to colonial Massachusetts) posted.  Got cleaned up and packed my notebook and pockets with everything I needed for the FHC.  Except I forgot the flash drive.

*  Left at 9:10 to go to the parking garage, 10 CVGS folks showed up for the Research Trip on time and eager to visit the FHC (8 of them hadn't been before).  We left at 9:40 for the FHC, arriving at 10 a.m.  The staff gave us a 30 minute briefing (it could have been done in 15 minutes, of course) and everybody scattered to do their own thing.  I had a long list of books and periodicals to look for, and they didn't have any of the books (they haven't added much in ten years) and only one of the periodical articles.  I copied the article, then found several surname books and copied pages from them.  I helped my colleagues from time to time, but they all worked pretty independently.  We left aft 2 and I was home by 2:45.

*  Read everything, noted that Saturday Night Genealogy Fun - The Date You Were Born posted, and decided to watch TV, read the paper, take a nap and have dinner. 

*  Back online at 6:30 p.m. to work on my piles of paper in front of my bookcase.  Got the piles with articles and class notes done - need to work on the CVGS piles soon also.  Worked on my SDGS presentation for 12 February.  Added some content and moved charts around.  Then added to the Best Of post for Sunday, checked Facebook and wrote this post. 

Genealogy today was 9.0 hours - 0.5 hour doing email, 1.0 hour reading blogs, 0.5 hour writing blog posts, 4.0 hours at the FHC, 1.5 hour working on my piles and 1.5 hours working on my presentation.

Friday, January 28, 2011

My genealogy day - 28 January 2011

It was an interesting genealogy day - a little different even.

*  Read email and blogs, wrote Source Citation Dilemma in Legacy Family Tree 7.  Worked in Legacy for awhile.  Worked on updating my books to review and periodicals to review lists for Saturday.

*  Had lunch, left at 11:20 to pick up my prescription, then picked up George for our walk on the bay, and afterward went to the library to research the carriage house address in books and city directories.

*  Home at 2:45, read everything, worked some more on the lists, and wrote Getting Ready for the FamilySearch Center on Saturday

*  Went in at 5:15 to have dinner and watch TV, watered the front plants, then back online by 6:30 p.m. 

*  Read everything, researched and wrote the Surname Saturday and SNGF posts, then added to the Best Of post, and made a genealogy report for ancestors of Sarah Martin.  Checked Facebook, and wrote this post.

Genealogy today was 10.0 hours - 0.5 hour doing email, 1.0 hour reading blogs, 3.0 hours writing blog posts, 2.0 hours researching at the library, 1.0 hour in Legacy software, and 2.5 hours preparing for Saturday.

Thursday, January 27, 2011

My genealogy day - 27 January 2011

Pretty much all genealogy, all day, except in the afternoon when we went to our financial advisor and went out to dinner.

*  Read email and blogs, transcribed and posted Treasure Chest Thursday - Isaac Seaver's Civil War Pension Papers: Deposition (Part 1) of the Widow and then wrote Ancestry.com and the Genealogical Community. 

*  Got cleaned up, had lunch, answered some emails and worked on the Chula Vista Carriage House problem.  Found the property on Google Maps.  Worked a bit in Legacy trying to merge a free-form master source into a template created source - it won't do it because they are different types.

*  We left at 2:30 p.m. for the financial consultant, and met Tami at 4:15 for dinner at Mimi's Cafe in Mission Valley.  Traffic was terrible going home - back at 6 p.m.

*  Made an LFT7 GEDCOM file and imported it into RootsMagic 4 to see if RM would merge two different sources - one free-form and one template created.  Easily.  Now I have a decision to make about my sources - template or free-form?  And which program is easiest to work with to do it?

*  Wrote 2011 Ultimate Family History Journey Sweepstakes and "Mining Genealogical History in Kansas" with Ruth Himan.  Found and captured the Table of Contents I made for the 1991 CV history book.  Checked Facebook, updated the Best Of post, and wrote this post.

Genealogy today was 9.0 hours - 0.5 hour doing email, 1.0 hour reading blogs, 3.5 hours writing blog posts, 2.0 hours working on the CV100 problem, and 2.0 hours working in genealogy software.

Wednesday, January 26, 2011

My genealogy day - 26 January 2011

It was a fairly full genealogy day with the CVGS Program and all.  Then the Aztecs lost to BYU to put a damper on it.  They'll meet two more times, I think.

*  Read email and blogs, made some TIF photos into JPGs, and posted (Not So) Wordless Wednesday - Post 137: Lyle and Emily Smiling.  Wrote Legacy Family Tree 7.5 - Error in Ancestor Book Reports.

*  Printed off the Family History Fair forms, ate lunch,  and went off to the library at 11:30 a.m. for the CVGS Program Meeting with Ruth Himan as the speaker.  She did a wonderful job.  Met with the CV100 folks afterwards, and went looking in the library for earlier CV history books.

*  Was home by 3:15, and read everything, worked in Legacy Family Tree a bit, then wrote SLIG Course Summary - Advanced Genealogical Methodology.  Put some New York Marriages (a new FamilySearch database) into Legacy.

*  Went in at 5:30 to watch the news, eat dinner and read the paper.  Back online at 6 p.m. to read more, work more in Legacy on New York Marriages, and respond to some messages on Ancestry.com.

*  Went in at 7:15 p.m. to watch the basketball game.  A good game until the Aztecs went cold in the second half.  Drat.  Better to lose a game now than in March.

*  Back online at 8:15 p.m. to read everything, add to the Best Of post, check Facebook and write this post. 

Genealogy today was 10.0 hours - 0.5 hour doing email, 1.0 hour reading blogs, 3.0 hours writing blog posts, 1.0 hours working in Legacy software, 3.0 hours at CVGS program, and 1.5 hours adding data to the database.

Tuesday, January 25, 2011

My genealogy day - 25 January 2011

It was a decent genealogy day, interrupted by a visit to the dentist and Obama's SOTU.

*  Read email and blogs, wrote Tuesday's Tip - Use FamilySearch Research Courses and posted CVGS Program on Wednesday, 26 January - Ruth Himan presents "Mining Genealogical History in Kansas."  Got cleaned up.


*  Left at 9:30 a.m. for the dentist's office to have three old fillings replaced.  I drooled out of both sides of my mouth...home at 12 noon all numbed up and tried to eat lunch.

*  Read everything, researched and wrote ProGenealogists has a Makeover.

* Made GEDCOM in FTM 2011 and imported to Legacy Family Tree 7.5 to work on citation formats.  Wrote Peeking at Legacy Family Tree 7.5 Source Citations in the GEDCOM File - Post 1.  Worked through about 20 master source citations using the free-form format since I could find no "merge sources" facility. 

*  Went in at 5 p.m. to watch the news, read the paper, eat dinner, and watch Obama's State of the Union, then Ryan's short rebuttal.  Linda was on computer, so did the dishes, and took my walk.

*  Back online at 8:15 p.m., read everything, added to the Best Of post, then worked on free-form citations in Legacy some more.  Checked Facebook, and wrote this post.  Just a blogging fool today...

Genealogy today was 7.5 hours - 0.5 hour doing email, 1.0 hour reading blogs, 2.0 hours working in software, and 4.0 hours writing blog posts.

Monday, January 24, 2011

My Genealogy Day - 24 January 2011

It was a fairly full stay-at-home genealogy day - lots of blogging, not much else.

*  Read email and blogs and transcribed and posted Amanuensis Monday - a Jones letter from Tennessee in 1824 and then January 18th FamilySearch Bloginar is posted.

*  Got cleaned up, made a small test GEDCOM in FTM2011 and opened it in Wordpad to see the results.  Not pretty!  Had lunch, read the Life in Civil War America book for awhile - copied some pages.

*  Wrote Peeking at Family Tree Maker 2011 Source Citations in the GEDCOM File - Post 1 and missed the Ancestry.com announcement for awhile.  Oh well, didn't bother to post it.

*  Balanced the checkbooks and entered last of 2010 info into Microsoft Money. 

*  Checked out new stuff in MyHeritage, and posted MyHeritage.com Upgrades Smart Matching.  Worked on and posted Book Review: Life in Civil War America, by Michael J. Varhola.

*  Went in at 5 p.m. to water the front plants, watch TV news, read the paper, and we had Ron over for dinner.

*  Back online at 7:45 p.m. to read everything, work on the SDGS presentation, update the Best Of post, check Facebook, talk to Lori, and write this post. 

Genealogy today was 9.0 hours - 0.5 hour doing email, 1.0 hour reading blogs, 1.0 hour working in FTM2011 and GEDCOM, 0.5 hour in MyHeritage, 1.0 hour reading the Civil War book, 1.0 hour working on my SDGS presentation, and 4.0 hours writing blog posts.

Sunday, January 23, 2011

My non-genealogy day - 23 January 2011

Ah, no more football until the Super Bowl in two weeks (I know, the Pro Bowl is next week, but I may skip it - not real football).  Two good games today - looked like runaways until the Bears and Jets made them interesting.

*  Read email and blogs, finished up the Best of the Genea-Blogs - 16 to 22 January 2011 post and set it for noontime.

*  Off to church at 9;30 a.m., home by 11:30 a.m.  Quickly read everything.

*  Watched both football games, read the paper, had a nap during the Packers/Bears game, and we ate dinner in front of the TV.

*  Back online at 7:15 p.m., read blogs and email, wrote More on the FamilySearch Family Tree Update and added a few bits of data that came in via email over email to the database.  Checked Facebook.

*  Wrote CVGS Program on Wednesday, 26 January - Ruth Himan presents "Mining Genealogical History in Kansas" and CVGS Research Trip to LDS FamilySearch Center on Saturday, 29 January on the Chula Vista Genealogy Cafe blog.  Then wrote this post.

Genealogy today was 4.0 hours - 0.5 hour doing email, 1.0 hour reading blogs, 1.0 hour working in the database, and 1.5 hours writing blog posts.

Saturday, January 22, 2011

My non-genealogy day - 22 January 2011

Saturday was more of a non-genea day than Friday was.  Sunday will probably be a non-genea day too due to the football games. 

*  Read email and blogs while Lolo had breakfast, noted that Surname Saturday - BROWN (18th Century Colonial Massachusetts) Help! posted and corrected the obvious error quickly. 

*  Audrey up at 9, and got her fed and dressed.  We had lunch at 11, and put them down for naps.  I got an hour nap too - desperately needed!  Noted that Saturday Night Genealogy Fun - Do Some Random Research  posted. 

*  They were up by 1 p.m., we packed them up, and left at 1:30 for church for Kathy's memorial service.  The girls went to the church babysitter and had a great time doing crafts, games, singing, dancing, etc.  I think the babysitter had fun too.  Then down to the reception where they ate well, talked to our friends, and were really cute and good. 

*  Called Tami to let her know we were on the way.  Got to Murrieta Chick-Fil-A at 5:30 p.m., the girls played until Tami came at 6 and we ate dinner and exchanged the stuff.  I headed home at 7, got home by 8:15 p.m.  Linda was out with a friend. 

*  Read everything, added to the Best Of post, checked Facebook, wrote These Folks had Genealogy Fun Tonight Doing Random Research and wrote this post.

Genealogy today was 3.0 hours - 0.5 hour doing email, 1.0 hour reading blogs, and 1.5 hours writing blog posts.

Friday, January 21, 2011

My non-genealogy day - 21 January 2011

Another day with little productive genealogy work due to the grandgirls being here to play with grandpa and entertain grandma.

*  Read my email and blogs while Lolo was eating breakfast.  Audrey was up at 8 a.m. and the morning was mostly shot.  Did notice that Google Maps Fail... failed to post when I looked around 10, so fixed that.

*  We went off to El Pollo Loco at 10:30 a.m. and picked up lunch, and went to the bayfront to have a picnic.  The girls played on the playground, fed the sea gulls, and we walked out on the pier.  Lauren had many questions!  We got home by 12:30 p.m. and the girls went down for naps.

*  While they napped, I read everything and wrote FamilySearch Family Tree Update.  Also added some Seaver families to the database sent by a correspondent. 

*  Lolo got up and we snuggled and played a bit, and when Audrey woke up at 3:30 we went out on the front lawn for a party with juice and  Oreo cookies (they love the Oreo cookies!).  Back in to watch TV and play, had dinner, I took a nap, we played hide and seek after dinner, got them bathed and jammied, read to, and to bed by 8 p.m. 

*  Finally had some time to read and write - wrote two posts for Saturday since it is a lost day also, and updated the Best Of post and wrote this post.

Genealogy today was 4.5 hours - 0.5 hour doing email, 0.5 hour reading blogs, 2.5 hours writing blog posts, and 1.0 hour working in the database.

Thursday, January 20, 2011

My genealogy day - 20 January 2011

Really not a big genealogy day for me - real life won out today.

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

*  Wandered around the BetterGEDCOM site a bit, and finally wrote Source Citation Templates and GEDCOM Files - Oh My!  

*  Went off to my retired engineer's luncheon at 11 a.m. and was home by 12:45 p.m. to find Tami and the grandgirls here.  They went down for naps quickly.

*  Wrote Computer Group Summary - 19 January 2011, then worked in the database fixing source citations in notes for some folks, pondering what to blog about next.  Never got to another post because Lolo got up at 3 p.m. and we snuggled and watched Sprout on TV and then we made plans for dinner. 

*  Went to dinner at Rubio's at 4:15 p.m. and were home by 5:15 p.m.  Entertained the girls, had dessert (grandpa gave them an Oreo cookie after they didn't like the pineapple sherbet - grandpa is a big hero!), got them bathed and read to and put down around 8 p.m. 

*  Back online at 8:15 p.m. to read everything, feed the Best Of post, check in on Facebook, and ponder writing a blog about who knows what for Friday morning.  I don't anticipate being able to write until naptime on Friday.

Genealogy today was 6.0 hours - 0.5 hour doing email, 0.5 hour reading blogs, 2.5 hours writing blog posts, 1.5 hours working in the database, and 1.0 hour pondering GEDCOM and the like.

Wednesday, January 19, 2011

My genealogy day - 19 January 2011

I actually ventured out to the library today...the weather cooled a bit here in Chula Vista.  High was only about 65 F.

*  Read email and blogs, then found some photos I haven't used yet for Wordless Wednesday, so cropped, rotated and saved them before using one in (Not So) Wordless Wednesday - Post 136: Lyle Carringer Family in about 1924.  Got cleaned up.

*  Puttered online a bit, had a phone call, and finally posted FTM 2011 Source Citations in Legacy Family Tree 7 - Mangled?  Ate lunch.

*  Gathered my stuff and off to the library for the CVGS computer group meeting at 12 noon.  Shirley was late, so I started in on the new FamilySearch site, and she came in but let me continue.  We visited the historical records, the learning videos, the research wiki and the library catalog.  Many in the group of 13 had not seen the new site or knew about some of the features.

*  Got a haircut on the way home, home by 2:15 p.m. to read everything and ponder what to blog about.  Worked a bit on the Dill/Burnet family online and in FTM 2011, and finally wrote What's New on Ancestry.com?

*  Went in at 5 p.m. to watch the news, read the paper, have dinner, put out the trash, and find some financial papers before getting back online at 7:30 p.m.

*  Added the Burnet family to FTM 2011, but had a slip of the fingers and deleted about 30 minutes of notes work.  Didn't figure out until later how to get it back (the Undo button doesn't work...).  Added content to the Best of post, read the book to review online, then checked Facebook, took a walk down the block, then wrote this post.

Genealogy today was 9.0 hours - 0.5 hour doing email, 1.0 hour reading blogs, 2.5 hours at library with CVGS, 2.5 hours writing blog posts, 2.0 hours working online and in the database, and 0.5 hour reading the book.

Tuesday, January 18, 2011

My Genealogy Day - 18 January 2011

Another stay-at-home genealogy day, another bloginar, and lots of blogging!

*  Read email and blogs, then wrote Tuesday's Tip - Check your files from time to time! and got cleaned up.


*  Worked in the database a bit, decided not to put any more citations into FTM2011 source templates because they transfer as free-form templates and get all messed up.  Answered some email.  Checked out the Jamaica Plain Historical Society site for Seaver data - nice stuff here!  Had lunch early.
 
*  Logged into the FamilySearch Bloginar at 11:55 a.m., connected and used the 800 number to listen.  Tweeted a bit too, and posted RootsTech Open Interactive Discussions during the bloginar.  It lasted until 1 p.m.
 
*  Put together FTM2011 Source Citations in RootsMagic 4 - Mangled? and then loaded the GECOM into Legacy Family Tree - and captured the same source citations.
 
*  Wrote more email, read everything, checked Facebook and I must have wasted an hour or two doing something I can't recall!
 
*  Went in at 5 p.m. to watch the news, read the paper and have dinner.  Linda needed the computer so didn't come back until 7:15 p.m.
 
*  Wrote James H. Dill in Newspaper, Cemetery and Book Records - did more research on this problem too.  Read blogs, added content to the Best of post, and wrote this post.
 
Genealogy today was 10.0 hours - 1.0 hour working on email, 1.0 hour reading blogs, 2.0 hours doing online research, 1.0 hour on FamilySearch Bloginar, 2.0 hours working in software and 3.0 hours writing blog posts.

Monday, January 17, 2011

My genealogy day - 17 January 2011

Another stay-at-home day with the library closed and lots of fun stuff to do.

*  Read email and blogs, transcribed another Alpheus Smith document and posted Amanuensis Monday - Insolvency Sale of Land of Alpheus B. Smith.  Got cleaned up...


*  Checked the latest at Build a BetterGEDCOM and then logged into the BG chat at 10 a.m.  It went past 11:30 a.m., and we really didn't get much accomplished.  Wordsmithing and reviewing previous decisions. 

*  Had lunch, worked in FTM2011 to find source citations for comparisons with other software.  Wrote Source Citations Created in Family Tree Maker 2011 - some examples and created a GEDCOM file to input to other programs.  Got it into RootsMagic and found the same citations in RM4.  Checked the RM forum and message boards for info about FTM to RM4 but not much there that's recent.

*  Worked on some sources in FTM2011, and added or corrected some citations to two families.  Checked in at WeRelate.org to see how the Carpenter family is coming along. 

*  Went in at 5 p.m. to watch TV, read the paper and have dinner.  Back online at 6:15 p.m. to read everything, answer some emails, and do some census research for JHDill.  Wrote James H. Dill in the Vital and Census Records and then found some newspaper and cemetery records.

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

Genealogy today was 11.0 hours - 0.5 hour doing email, 0.5 hour reading blogs, 2.0 hours on BetterGEDCOM, 3.0 hours writing blog posts, 2.5 hours researching JHDill, and 2.5 hours working on sources in the database.

Sunday, January 16, 2011

My Genealogy Day - 16 January 2011

Not much of a genealogy day until after dinner... then it was gangbusters!

*  Read email and blogs, and edited the Best Of post before going to church at 9:30 a.m.

*  Home at 11:30 a.m., watched the Seahawks/Bears game until out of hand then to the computer to read and note that Best of the Genea-Blogs - 9 to 15 January 2010 posted.

*  Watched the Jets/Patriots game, took a nap, read the paper, and then went out to pull stickerweeds in the back yard before dinner.

*  Back online at 6 p.m., edited the Best Of post a bit, then wrote Alpheus Smith, Elizabeth Dill, Forrest Gump and SNGF.

*  Transcribed several of the Alpheus Smith probate documents, then went searching in Rootsweb, AmericanAncestors and Ancestry for some of the descendants of Moses Smith (Alpheus' grandpa).  Found more info and added it to the database, providing source citations (it's not that hard if you have the right attitude!). 

*  Looked for James A. Smith in the census records - found him in 1850, 1870, 1880 and 1900 and added that info to the database too, with sources.  I never knew what happened to him...I'm not done finding out, I think.  Two daughters, so no DNA opportunity there.

*  Read everything, checked Facebook, and wrote this post.

Genealogy today was 5.0 hours - 0.5 hour doing email, 0.5 hour reading blogs, 1.0 hour writing blog posts and 3.0 hours working in the database and doing online searches.

Saturday, January 15, 2011

My Genealogy Day - 15 January 2011

Genealogy society meeting, football, a little blogging, a big surprise, and some data mining...not bad!

*  Read email and blogs, got cleaned up, and off at 8:15 a.m. to the CGSSD meeting in La Jolla. Noted that Surname Saturday - RICHARDS (England to Lynn Massachusetts) posted.

*  Sat in the Family Tree Maker SIG and contributed a bit on places, sources and navigation.  Then Anne Miller and David Armstrong's presentation on using Google Earth was dazzling. 

*  Home by 12:30 p.m. to recall that I had not written a SNGF post beforehand - so wrote Saturday Night Genealogy Fun - Ancestral Name List Roulette.  Had a good response this week - genealogists love to work in their databases!  In the process, I found a crack in Elizabeth Dill's brick wall and will pursue it!   More later.

*  Went in to watch the Steelers/Ravens game, and stayed through dinner and then the first half of the Packers/Falcons game. 

*  Back online at 7 p.m. to search Ancestry, Footnote, GenBank, AmericanAncestors and WorldVitalRecords for my new lead, and found very little in online databases. 

*  Worked on adding vital records and source citations from AmericanAncestors to several of the collateral fmailies in the 1800s.  Worked through the Aaron smith and Zachariah Hildreth families.  Probably added 20 to 30 citations.

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

Genealogy today was 8.0 hours - 0.5 hour doing email, 1.0 hour reading blogs, 3.0 hours at CGSSD meeting, 1.5 hours writing blogs, and 2.0 hours working in my database and doing online research.

Friday, January 14, 2011

My Genealogy Day - 14 January 2011

The genealogy day was interrupted by real life - a doctor's appointment, lunch and exercise. 

*  Read my email and blog reader, then posted Recent Chula Vista Genealogy Cafe Posts.  Got cleaned up, and went off at 9:30 a.m. to the doctor for the quarterly check-in.

*  Still overweight with too much glucose...drat!  I need to lose weight, eat less and exercise more.  Of course.  Then to the bank for cash and Costco to window shop, look at new books, have a Polish dog (but no ice cream or churro!).  Stopped at the library, then picked up George for our first walk on the bayfront for 2011.

*  Home by 12:45 p.m. to read everything, then research and write Creating Source Citations in Family Tree Maker 2011 - Post 5: Some Issues. 

*  Worked on the 1900 census source citations, got about half done.  Worked on the state vital records database sources from FamilySearch and Ancestry.  got through the M states.  I'm finding that I had mixed two or more databases sometimes, and sourced at least one non-existent database.  Fixed!

*  In at 5 p.m. to watch the news, read the paper, eat dinner and wash the dishes.  Back online at 6:30 p.m. to read everything, make a map for Linda, fixed some more sources.  Got the laptop running so I can load it with the latest FTM 2011 database.  Checked Facebook.

*  Wrote the Surname Saturday blog post and added to the Best of post, then wrote Family Tree Maker 2011 can make an Ancestral Name List!



*  Compacted the FTM 2011 database, made a GEDCOM file of it, and copied the database and the GEDCOM file to the flash drive and installed them on the laptop.  Wrote this post.

Genealogy today was 8.0 hours - 0.5 hour doing email, 1.0 reading blogs, 3.5 hours writing blog posts, 3.0 hours working in FTM 2011 on sources.

Thursday, January 13, 2011

My Genealogy Day - 13 January 2011

I stayed home today and worked on genealogy most of the day...

*  Read email and blogs, wrote Treasure Chest Thursday - Isaac Seaver's Physical Examination for Civil War Pension.  Got cleaned up.

*  Worked in the database on Sources quite a bit - compared FTM 2011 sources to RM4 and LFT7 sources for the same data.  The FTM 2011 GEDCOM adds words to some sources - really bad stuff, and some sources don't have everything included.  Had lunch.

*  Wrote Creating Source Citations in Family Tree Maker 2011 - Post 4: Census Records but had to rewrite half of it because the editing got messed up.  Very frustrating!

*  Decided to change all census source groups to the "by census year" template - did that and got all but the year 1900 citations fixed. 

*  Left at 4 p.m. for went to dinner with Tami and Linda.  Did some chores when we got home, but watched news and read the paper while Linda was on the computer.

*  Back online at 6 p.m. to read everything, work on sources some more, wrote National Genealogical Society Quarterly (NGSQ) Index Now Online.  Did some random Googling and GenealogyBanking of extended family to find articles or obituaries without much luck. 

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

Genealogy today was 9.5 hours - 0.5 hour doing email, 1.0 hour reading blogs, 4.0 hours writing blog posts and 4.0 hours working on source citations in software.

Wednesday, January 12, 2011

My Genealogy Day - 12 January 2011

It was a fairly full genealogy day, highlighted by the CVGS Research Group meeting.

*  Read email and blogs, posted (Not So) Wordless Wednesday - Post 135: A Pensive Emily and wrote CGSSD Meeting on Saturday, 15 January: "Using Google Earth to Map Your Ancestor's Home" for later in the morning.  Got cleaned up.  Wrote Creating Source Citations in Family Tree Maker 2011 - Post 3
 and set it for mid-afternoon.

*  Gathered materials for the CVGS Research Group.  Left at 11:15 a.m. for the library, reviewed the SD Union index for air show articles in the 1930s, and didn't see any indexed.  Hosted the Research Group about Military Pension Records.

*  Home by 2:30 p.m., read everything, wrote my SDGS program summary article for SDGS newsletter and sent it to the editor.

*  Went in at 4 p.m. to watch news, read the paper, watch the memorial service, eat dinner, and put out the trash. 

*  Back online at 6:30 p.m. to read, then work a bit on source citations, wrote Research Group Summary - 12 January 2011  and  Saturday Workshop, 15 January: "Organization of your Genealogy" on the Chula Vista Genealogy Cafe blog.

*  Had to search a bit for some of Helen's mysteries, never found them.  Then searched for the reference data in NARA ARC for my Isaac Seaver Civil War Pension File.  Finally found it and created the citation.

*  Checked Facebook, reviewed the day's posts in Google Reader and added to the Best of post, wrote this post and I'm done.

Genealogy today was 10.0 hours - 0.5 hour doing email, 0.5 hour reading blogs, 1.5 hour writing SDGS article, 3.0 hours writing blog posts, 0.5 hour doing online research, 3.0 hours on CVGS Research Group, and 1.0 hour working on sources in my database.

Tuesday, January 11, 2011

Randy's Genealogy Day - 11 January 2011

Stayed home today, except for dentist visit, and wrote and worked in my database, while monitoring progress on the tree trimming in front and weed whacking on the hillside.  The hillside looks much better and the trees in front are trimmed, plus the side junkyard is empty!  It only cost money.

*  Read email and blogs, then wrote Tuesday's Tip - Find and Use Historical City Directories.  Got cleaned up, and worked in the database getting sources fixed.   Went off to the dentist office at 10:40 for cleaning work.  Found three fillings in poor shape.  That's going to be expensive.

*  Back at 12:30 p.m., had lunch, had fun writing Genea-Musings Top 20 Hits for 2010.  Worked more in the database on sources, and gathered screen shots for Creating Source Citations in Family Tree Maker 2011 - Post 2.   I'm gradually figuring out the best choice for some types of sources. 

*  Went in at 5 p.m. to watch news, read the paper and eat dinner.  Back online at 6 p.m. to read everything, and work on more sources.  Probably fixed 40 or 50 today. 

*  Prepared for Research Group meeting on Wednesday by printing pages form the Martin Carringer RevWar Pension File and the Isaac Seaver Civil War Pension File. 

*  Checked Facebook, added to the weekly Best Of blog, converted several more sources, and wrote this post.

Genealogy today 9.0 hours - 0.5 hour doing email, 0.5 hour reading blogs, 3.0 hours writing blog posts, 1.0 hour working on Pension File printouts, and 4.0 hours working in the database.

Monday, January 10, 2011

Randy's Genealogy Day - 9 January 2011

I have the terrible feeling that I missed doing something important, besides going to a funeral... oh well, the day is gone now.

*  Read email and blogs, put Amanuensis Monday - the Probate File of John Whitney (1621-1692) of Watertown, Massachusetts together and got cleaned up.

*  Worked on some FTM 2011 sources, captured some screens and posted Creating Source Citations in Family Tree Maker 2011 - Post 1

*  Wrote my GYROJ column and sent it off to Gale.  Oh yeah, need to write SDGS article!  Sent CVGS Newsletter to webmaster, and then to email distribution. 

*  Had lunch, got Linda lunch, wrote Footnote.com Subscription Special - $49.95.  Went off to the store to get dinner stuff, had car problem with Lincoln, called AAA, they came and got it started and showed me trick.  Probably fuel filter or fuel pump.  We'll see.

*  worked in FTM 2011 on more source citations - even added some people who are sibling families. 

*  Went in at 5:30 to watch football game, eat dinner, read paper, then read Parker novel, and do the dishes at halftime.

*  Back online at 9:30 to review blogs for the last two days, check Facebook and write this post.

Genealogy today was 7.5 hours - 0.5 hour doing email, 0.5 hour reading blogs, 3.0 hours working in sources, 2.0 hours writing blog posts, 0.5 hour on CVGS, 1.0 hour writing column. 

Sunday, January 9, 2011

Randy's Genealogy Day - 9 January 2011

Thought I was going to be sick last night, but wasn't, and feel good today.  Linda stayed home and in bed - she'll be up and about on Monday, I hope.  Had some genealogy fun tonight...

*  Read email and blogs before church, then home by 10:15 to watch football games.  Interrupted by doorbell - a guy came to trim our trees.

*  Gathered CVGS newsletter stuff together and went off to the UPS Store to copy, stamp, label, tape and mail the newsletter - Virginia helped.  Home by 12:45 p.m. to watch football.

*  Noted that Best of the Genea-Blogs - 2 January to 8 January 2011 posted, and checked email and blogs at halftime.  Did some source citation corrections - got 1900 census done!  Napped through part of the late game, then did more source corrections and had dinner.

*  Back online to read everything, then back to source corrections and new source citations when I found additional data on existing sources.  Cool.  Wrote Brick Wall Solutions: Was there a Name Change?



*  Checked Facebook, read everything, wrote this post.  Done!

Genealogy today was 7.0 hours - 0.5 hour doing email, 0.5 hour reading blogs, 1.0 hour on CVGS newsletter, 1.0 hour writing blog posts, and 4.0 hours working on source citations in the database.

Saturday, January 8, 2011

Randy.s Genealogy Day - 8 January 2011

The day was dominated by the SDGS seminar and then by football.

*  Checked email before going off to SDGS seminar in Mission Valley.  Noted that Surname Saturday - STONE (England to colonial Massachusetts) posted.  Got cleaned up.


*  Left at 8.  Enjoyed 4 Marcia Melnyk talks and a decent lunch, and conversations with Del and Carol.   Good to see Pam too.  Had to leave at 3 in middle of the last talk.

*  Home by 3:30 p.m. to find Linda in bed with chills and fever, then vomiting.  Yikes.  Didn't go to birthday party.  Barbara came by and got the walker for Jean.  Went to Jean's house to help her get from car to bed after hospital stay. 

*  Noted that Saturday Night Genealogy Fun - What are they searching for? posted.  Read email and blogs, then watched end of Saints football game and start of Colts game.  Don't care either way...good games!  Had leftovers for dinner, then back on computer to help Phyllis with her FTM 2011 problem (couldn't do it on the phone, she's confused.

*  Edited the CVGS Newsletter a bit, then printed it out for review.  Printed out mail labels and am all set to publish on Sunday.  Checked Facebook.  Added content to Sunday's Best of blog post.  Answered some email.  Wrote this post.

Genealogy today was 9.0 hours - 0.5 hour doing email, 0.5 hour reading blogs, 0.5 hour blogging, 6.0 hours at SDGS seminar, and 1.5 hours working on CVGS Newsletter.

Friday, January 7, 2011

Randy's Genealogy Day - 7 January 2011

This was a stay-at-home (except for 30 minutes) day devoted almost entirely to genealogy stuff...

*  Read email and blogs, wrote Useful Genealogy Resources Website and then More News about the 1940 U.S. Census Release, then got cleaned up.

*  Went to the Med Center for a blood test and the gas station and home in less than one hour.  Walked right into everything.

*  Worked a bit on the source citation list for 1900 census - got it from from 80 to 50 remaining.

*  Put New or Updated FamilySearch Historical Record Collections together - needed it for CVGS newsletter.  Wrote 18 boxes of history atchives donated  and Chula Vista Centennial - 1911 San Diego City Directory pages on the Chula Vista Genealogy Cafe blog.  Now I see the spelling error - do you?

*  Worked some more on the 1900 census source citations - got it down to 20.

*  Went in to have dinner and watch TV news - back online at 6 p.m. to work on CVGS Newsletter.  Got it finished then remembered two events, so changed the font size a tad to make space. Checked Facebook.

*  Wrote the Surname Saturday and SNGF posts for Saturday, plus added posts to the running Best of compendium.  Tomorrow is the all-day SDGS seminar so blogging will be light.  Wrote this post.

Genealogy today was 10.0 hours - 0.5 hour doing email, 1.0 hour reading blog posts, 4.0 hours writing 7 blog posts, 2.0 hours working in the database, and 2.5 hours on the CVGS Newsletter.

Thursday, January 6, 2011

Randy's Genealogy Days - 5 and 6 January 2011

Blogger seemed to crash on Wednesday evening where I couldn't post or edit anything, hence no post on 5 January.  A short summary:

Wednesday, 5 January:

*  Worked in the morning on Genea-Musings blog posts, printed off the CVGS Board meeting papers.

*  Went to meet Olive and Janice at 11:30 at the library, then the Board meeting, home by 3 p.m.

*  Wrote two more blog posts.  Worked in the evening on the CVGS Newsletter.   Edited last month's version in DOC format in OpenOffice, added about 60% of content.  Checked Facebook.

Genealogy on Wednesday was 10.0 hours - 0.5 hour on email, 0.5 hour reading blogs, 2.5 hours writing blog posts, 3.5 hours on CVGS meeting, 3.0 hours on CVGS Newsletter.

Thursday, 6 January:

*  Read email and blogs, wrote Treasure Chest Thursday - 1888 New York Marriage Record of Isaac Seaver and Alvina Lewis and Using Zamzar.com to Convert PDF Files to JPG Images.  Added some posts to the Sunday Best of post since I couldn't do it last night.  Got cleaned up.

*  Worked in the database cleaning up master sources and source citations.  Stated at the top and got down to the 1900 census.  Turns out I have lots of citations to the 1900 census without any citation detail, and they have to be added one at a time.  I got 133 items down to 80.  Lots more to do here!  Worked out a procedure to work around some of FTM 2011's quirks.

*  Wrote Table of Contents - Winter 2010 Issue of FGS FORUM (used the PDF snipping tool!)

*  Met Tami at 4 p.m. at Panera Bread for dinner, home by 5:15, watched TV until 6:30 p.m. while Linda did her email.

*  Opened the CVGS Newsletter DOC file and it's all messed up... didn't look like that last night!  Damn OpenOffice... decided to make a new master in OpenOffice format, and copied the text from the DOC file into the ODP file one page at a time.  Still have no clue on how to do a header...worked around it.  Added more content and am 85% done.  Hope nobody adds much on Friday!

*  Checked Facebook, wrote this post.

Genealogy today was 11.0 hours - 0.5 hour doing email, 0.5 hour reading blogs, 3.0 hours researching and writing blog posts, 4.0 hours working in the database, and 3.0 hours on the CVGS Newsletter.

Tuesday, January 4, 2011

Randy's Genealogy Day - 4 January 2011

Another pretty full genealogy day - plus a nap, and some shopping.

*  Read my email and blogs, then wrote Tuesday's Tip - find Online Historical Newspapers and got cleaned up. 

*  Researched and wrote Some City Directories Online at DonsList and captured some pages for future blogs. 

*  Started the next task in FTM 2011 - getting the address and cemetery and church data out of the Place Name and into the Description of the Place.  Got through the L's.  Had lunch.

*  Went off to the pharmacy, Home Depot and the bank to shop...came home and had the wrong length fluorescent bulbs - Linda took them back.

*  Worked on the rest of the address, cemetery and church names, finished it.  Found some errors on the master Place list, but not many - the list looks pretty clean!  Installed the fluorescent bulbs in the garage.

*  Wrote Answers to my Geni.com Questions and checked Geni out some more.  Cannot see the big tree for some reason.  Will ask George!  Did a find and replace on "USA" for "United States" which worked in FTM 2011, but now the place names are not geocoded or standard.  I'm sure glad that I made a backup before I did that!

*  Went in at 4:30 to watch TV news, read the paper and nap.  Dinner, then back to work. 

*  Compacted FTM 2011 database, made a GEDCOM file, and imported it into Legacy and RootsMagic.  Investigated sources and place names, especially the Description information.  Tried to change all "United States" back to "USA" in FTM 2011, but it hung up.  Finally ditched that file and loaded the backup from earlier.  Whew!  Also loaded the FTM 2011 GEDCOM into FTM 16 to see what happens - same thing in Sources, it adds tags to some source fields. 

*  Checked Facebook, answered some email, reviewed the day's blog posts and wrote this post.

Genealogy today was 10.0 hours - 1.0 hour doing email, 1.0 hour reading blog posts, 2.0 hours writing blog posts, 1.0 hour working in SD City Directories, 5.0 hours working in the database and with software.

Monday, January 3, 2011

Randy's Genealogy Day - 3 January 2011

A good genealogy day - best of the year to date. :)

*  Read email and blogs, wrote Amanuensis Monday - Probate Records of Samuel Bigelow (1653-1732) of Waltham, Massachusetts.  Got cleaned up.

*  Reviewed the Better GEDCOM material, got ready for the online GoToMeeting.  Got on using the phone because I couldn't find my microphone/headphone set I received for Christmas in 2008.  Finally found it and plugged it in for the last 30 minutes.  An interesting meeting, not sure how much I contributed. 

*  Wrote 1 January 2011 Benchmark Numbers so that we can compare numbers next year.  Had lunch.

*  Started the FGS FORUM column for Spring 2011.  The NARA package of Isaac Seaver's Civil War Pension File came in the mail - loaded it, saved it and reviewed it.


*  Had dinner, read the paper, did the dishes, back online at 7 p.m.  Read everything, wrote My Christmas Present Came Today - Oh Boy!
 
*  Cleaned up the notes for one segment of my database - the Read, Bigelow, Warren ancestral families. 
 
*  Reviewed blog posts for Sunday and Monday and started the Best of post - I'm going to try to add to it daily rather than make notes and do it in a hurry on the weekend.  Checked in on Facebook.  Wrote this post.
 
Genealogy today was 13.0 hours - 0.5 hour doing email, 1.0 hour reading blog posts, 3.0 hours on BetterGEDCOM meeting/notes, 3.5 hours on FGS FORUM column, 0.5 hour reviewing NARA file, 1.5 hours working in database, and 3.0 hours writing blog posts.

Sunday, January 2, 2011

Randy's Genealogy Day - 2 January 2011

Really not much of a genealogy day - some blogging, and some football.

*  Read email and blogs, wrote Best of the Genea-Blogs - 26 December 2010 to 1 January 2011 and got cleaned up and off to church at 9:30 a.m.

*  Home by 11:45, read everything, watched football through the Chargers game (we won, 33-28 over Denver, but out of the playoffs due to last week's loss to the Bengals). 

*  Back online at 4:45, noted that The Genealogy Crystal Ball for 2011 posted, and answered some email.  Went in for dinner and more football.

*  Back at 6:45 to read everything, and researched and wrote The Best of Genea-Musings in 2010 (My Choices).  Checked Ancestry.com messages, checked Facebook and did the dishes, then wrote this post.

Genealogy today was 4.5 hours - 0.5 hour doing email, 0.5 hour reading blogs, 0.5 hour checking Ancestry.com, and 3.0 hours writing blog posts.

Monday will be busy because I have my Genealogy 2.0 column to write in addition to blogging and working on my database some more.

Saturday, January 1, 2011

Randy's Genealogy Day - 1 January 2011

We returned on Thursday from our 11 day sojourn to wet parts of California to find that Chula Vista had been wet too - 5 inches of rain in December (that's half of the yearly total).  I spent Thursday night digging out of my email and Google Reader piles, and then worked most of Friday on blog posts and database things, then we went out for the church group progressive dinner.  We left early and were home by 11:30 p.m. on NY Eve...and I slept through the ball falling.  Today was a fairly full genealogy day...

*  Read email and blogs, wrote 2011 Genealogy Goals and Objectives and then wrote Saturday Night Genealogy Fun - Your Very Best 2010 Research and set it for early afternoon.

*  Got cleaned up, answered some email, did some research for a future post, and wrote a post for Sunday.  Had lunch, worked a bit in the database, got the photos off the cameras and went in to watch the Rose Bowl at 2 p.m.

*  Back at halftime to read everything, and back to the game, but napped through the last 5 minutes.  Had dinner, and did some computer things for Linda. 

*  Wrote two CVGC posts, checked in on Facebook, compacted the database file, and I'm done, I think.

Genealogy today was 7.5 hours - 1.0 hour doing email, 0.5 hour reading blogs, 3.5 hours writing blog posts, 1.5 hours working in the database, and 1.0 hour checking online databases.