Genealogy

GENEALOGY

ROOTSWEB SOUNDEX CONVERTER

" GENEALOGIST'S POX "
WARNING: Very contagious to adults.

SYMPTOMS: Continual complaint as to need for names, dates, and places. Patient has a blank expression, sometimes deaf to spouse and children. Has no taste for work of any kind, except feverishly looking through records at libraries and courthouses. Has compulsion to write letters. Swears at mailman when he doesn't leave mail. Frequents places such as cemeteries; ruins; and remote, desolate country areas. Makes secret night calls, hides phone bills from spouse, and mumbles to self. Has a strange, faraway look in eyes.

NO KNOWN CURE.
TREATMENT: Medication is useless. Disease is not fatal, but gets progressively worse. Patient should attend genealogy workshops, subscribe to genealogical magazines, and be given a quiet corner in the house where he or she can be alone.

REMARKS: The unusual nature of this disease is -- the sicker the patient gets, the more he or she enjoys it!

--Author Unknown

A few years ago I saved the following poem from a letter on a genealogy mailing list. Credit was given to: Hilma Winner Larkin, 469 Martin Street, Philadelphia, PA 19128. She was 80 years old at the time. Hopefully she has never been cured and is still finding her kin.
NOW & THEN
My dishes are piled up high in the sink The dust in my bedroom would drive you to drink. You can't see a thing through my windows, you'll find I found a small mouse living up in the blinds!
My family eats meals that come out of a can. There's dust bunnies hiding inside every fan. Now, what is the reason for all of this mess? I have an addiction, I have to confess.
I have a disease and there isn't a cure It's called "Genealogy" - what is the lure? It's finding the kin that I never have known Who knows? Maybe one of them ruled from a throne!
I'm searching for ancestors, living and dead To get information, I'd stand on my head! I plod through old graveyards to look for my kin With all of these tombstones, where shall I begin?
I go to the Archives and search every tome and get so involved I forget to go home. My family keeps wondering where I can be While I keep on looking for my family tree.
But, don't try to cure me, I like the disease Don't try to reform me, it won't be a breeze. I'll keep on researching 'til I cease to be And then my descendants can research ME!

FAVORITE LINKS

Cyndi's List of Genealogy Sites on the Internet

Genealogy's Most Wanted

Ancestors Web Site Donna Hancock's Genealogy Page Ancestry's Home Page Ancestry's Social Security Death Index Gendex - WWW Genealogical Index Genealogy - Surnames.com Helm's Genealogy Toolbox Scott McGee's Gen Web Page Ye Olde Genealogie Shoppe Robert Bickham's Genealogy Page

LIST LINKS

Genealogy Mailing Lists Genealogy Usenet Newsgroups

MAYFLOWER LINKS

Caleb Johnson's Mayflower Web Page General Society of Mayflower Descendants Mayflower Families Pilgrim John Howland Society John Alden Historic Site Plimoth On The Web

Map Links Contiguous Boundaries of the 48 States Try it! You'll like it! 1895 U.S. Atlas Counties of the United States USGS Mapping Information: Geographic Names Information System (GNIS)

Recentaly on a genealogy mailing list, several genealogy research tips contributed by Becky Sullins were listed. Becky has graciously given me permission to post them here. She has some excellent suggestions for beginners and old timers alike. Thanks Becky!
IDEA#1 - I keep two composition notebooks. The smaller ones with the black and white cardboard covers. One for my husband's line and one for mine. Each page contains an outline of one surname. I keep this by my computer so that I can look up information quickly without having to dig in my files. I arrange names alphabetically and when I obtain a new surname I add it to the end. About once a year I copy it to another book, arranging the new names in their alphabetical place. I allow about three lines for each individual. One page holds about 12 generations front and back.
IDEA #2 - A mini-recorder is wonderful to carry to courthouses, libraries and cemeteries. One hour with a mini-recorder equals about 10 hours of writing. I have dictated all of the households of one surname from the Alabama Federal Census (not index) in one afternoon, (about 200 families) I have also dictated a whole large cemetery in a few hours. I bring the tape home and type it out on the computer in the comfort of my home. While dictating you should speak clearly and not to fast, (speaking slowly isn't necessary). Spell out any names that are questionable and make distinction in how a name is spelled (i.e. Katherine vs Catherine). This works especially well in cemeteries as you can note where a grave is located in the cemetery or what section of the cemetery you are working on, as well as notes about headstones.
IDEA #3 - Ever thought about taking all those old photographs of your ancestors, framing them and making a family tree of pictures on your wall? Or have a carpenter cut out the form of a tree from painted plywood. Order name tags for ancestors from a trophy company. Mount the tree to your wall and place the name tags in correct descending order along the tree.
IDEA #4 - Keep two computer files. One for information you have proven with facts and data and one that contains information other researchers have given you.
IDEA #5 - A two drawer filing cabinet works great for storing files. I use the paper folders with pockets on the inside covers. These fit perfectly inside the drawer, and the pockets hold new information until I can sort it out and put it in the folder. I label each folder both on the front and the side and arrange them alphabetically. If your files are too large for this method, you can use a bookshelf that has shelves tall enough for the files.
IDEA #6 - I ordered mailing labels with my name and address and phonenumber on them. I stick one to the front of each family folder. That way if I ever forget and leave it in a courthouse or library it can bereturned to me and won't wind up in that bin where they put lost family files.
IDEA #7 - I keep a wire basket beside my computer. After I print genealogy information out I place it in this basket until I have time to sort it and put it in the family files. This has saved a lot of lost information.
In addition, Ellen Bisson, who forwarded the above to my mailing list, reminds us to always make backup disks with our bookmarks and e-mail addresses on them. Good advice, Ellen.

United States Internet Genealogical Society

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