Decisions, decisions, decisions

Genealogy research comes with a lot of decisions to make. Some are simple, which line or branch of the tree do you pursue at the moment, which do you hold off on till more records become available online. Do you rely on a database you find online because some of the dates, places and names match what you already have or do you dig more to actually confirm that what the database contains is at least somewhat accurate.

Then there are the more difficult decisions regarding genealogy, even though they go along with those listed above they take more thought. Like when I found information that could POSSIBLY take some of my maternal lines back another generation or two but if I were to add the information to my tree and I come to find out later that the information is inaccurate or completely off as far as connecting to what I already have, removing it will be a chore that I definitely won't enjoy in the least.

And there begs the question (or more than one), is the information I found accurate enough that adding it to my tree would benefit not only my research but also others that may find a connection to the line? Do I add the information to my genealogy program or just to what I have in the binders in the hopes that I can find more evidence it fits? And in the case of one of my paternal lines, do I actually SKIP a generation and put 'unknown' as the names for BOTH parents and then add the grandparents because that information is known. Skipping an entire generation is something genealogists don't like to do because doing it can come back to bite you later on, especially if it turns out the 'grandparents' are wrong, which would then mean those 'unknown' parents are also wrong.

So if any of the above questions are ones you are dealing with right now good luck in making those decisions. I wish I could give you advice on what to do, but the decisions are going to be different for each researcher.

CSI had an episode on this week that involved the murder of a genealogist. It was one of the more interesting episodes I've seen in a long time, because another genealogist was helping one of the CSI's solve the case by literally doing research on the suspect's family. I recall her saying something that I've said on the blog more than once 'Use your gut, what's it say?' Genealogists have to go by what their instincts are telling them because in the end that might be all you have to work with.

Instincts are important for any detective but especially a genealogist doing research, so if you find information that could take one of your lines back one, two or even three generations but still aren't sure if you should add and/or include this information in your family tree, all I can say is go with your instincts.

RootsTech doesn't want book vendors or publishers

There's been a lot of talk during the past couple of days about a decision that RootsTech has made regarding book vendors at their upcoming conference in February. Even though I don't plan on attending I find it sad that the organizers jumped to the conclusion that no one that IS attending would not want to browse vendors selling books about genealogy. Now, I don't claim to be technically sound, far from it in fact. I know how to use a computer (as you can see) and can use Word and other applications but look to my older brother when I need an 'expert' in something technical.

The conference was held for the first time last year and was a blend of technology AND genealogy but from what I saw online (they had some lectures available for free online), it was mostly technical. Of course, at the actual venue where it took place there were vendors selling and plugging not only technical items you could use for genealogy but also books. If I'm wrong about that please forgive me, but if they hadn't been I think the current discussion would've been around a year ago.

But this year they seemed to think that book vendors wouldn't be necessary, not a 'ban' of sorts but just not useful to researchers. But isn't that how most of us 'old-timer' genealogists started out? With books? When I started my research WAY back in 1991, the Internet didn't even exist at least not like it does now. There's were any cell phones or iPads, iPhones and the like and Facebook was probably only a thought in the back of the founders mind (or not). My paternal grandfather started his research in the 1970s BEFORE the miniseries Roots aired on television. He could only work with books and microfilm readers and writing LETTERS (yes actual letters no electronic mail for him).

When I began I found two BOOKS that he had and started with those, Searching For Your Ancestors and a book about my surname FRY. That's how a 'learned' what genealogy and the research behind it was. I also didn't have a computer back then (and if I did there wasn't a genealogy program for it) so I used the old standby, paper and pencil. My grandfather drew his OWN pedigree chart and I followed his example until I found templates of Pedigree charts and Family Group Sheets to use. I may record information in a genealogy program now, but I still use binders and notebook paper and I take notes the old-fashioned way (better than I did in high school).

But here's something else to consider, with the economy the way its been the last couple of years some (if not most) people can't AFFORD fancy 'toys' like laptops, iPads, and iPhones just to do genealogy research on. Heck, some books are pricey too, but those at least can be found cheaper on ebay. I know I've found a number of books on the auction site and even though they are older or even 'outdated' by some standards, I still rely on them from time to time because everyone, especially genealogists need a refresher on the basics of research.

I think its a shame that the organizers not only informed book vendors and publishers that they wouldn't be 'needed' at the conference but the fact that they did this TWO MONTHS before the event when the vendors have probably already made plans to attend and put the money aside to register and reserve hotel space. What do they do now? The time was set aside for the conference and everything else was turned down.

As of this blog entry, the organizers have seen all the uproar and discussion revolving around the decision and are taking the comments into consideration. I hope they realize the mistake they made passing judgement on the book vendors and publishers and reverse the decision. The conference should focus on both genealogy AND technology but it shouldn't omit the one thing that even newcomers to genealogy might rely on, BOOKS.

A genealogy dislike

There aren't many things that I dislike about genealogy or doing genealogy research. Sure you have your 'brick walls' that you never think you'll be able to knock down but then after weeks (or months or even years) you finally do. And then there's the family history you find online or information you get from a cousin that you have to check for accuracy and find that very little of what they have or what you found actually IS accurate.

But there's one thing that I have never liked about genealogy or genealogy research. Its when you have to add information to a person because they have passed away. A cousin contacted me on Facebook to let me know that her mother (my aunt) had passed away last night. I hadn't seen my aunt, uncle or my cousins for that matter since they moved down state about 10 years ago. I hadn't talked to them either so I didn't know about the medical issues my aunt had over the last year or so. It surprised me when my cousin called and filled me in because the issues she relayed to me were ones I didn't expect.

Needless to say it felt strange adding the date of her death to my family tree and the binder where I keep my maternal line information. I looked at the date and then noticed that 10 years to the DAY my aunt's sister-in-law passed away, and a year prior her brother had passed away. My aunt and uncle (along with my two cousins) lived about two blocks from our house for nearly all of my life before they moved away. My cousin (the one that let me know about my aunt's passing) actually lived across the street from me for about 6 years before they moved.

I am going to miss my aunt she was a stubborn woman and strong willed. One memory I have of her came around the holidays. We had gone over to my aunt and uncle's house for either Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner and she made stuffing...well what she called 'stuffing' it was actually made from Stove Top and as much as I loved my aunt, it was the WORST tasting sawdust ever. Everytime I see a box of Stove Top I think of her and smile. I'll miss you Aunt Jeanne.

Genealogy Instincts again

Here's the problem I always have with doing genealogy research. Some people don't think going with your 'gut' or your 'instincts' is the right way to go because you might end up doing research on the wrong family and I don't just mean one branch but the ENTIRE family back two or three hundred years and then come to find out after all that work that you aren't even related to anyone in the tree.

But I find that using my instincts, genealogical or detective if you prefer, don't just help me find the RIGHT branch or family for my tree but also ends up helping others that might be doing research on the same surname as I am. After all I did find at least two generations of Robinsons for another researcher that turned out not to be mine.

I haven't been doing as much research lately because 'life' has gotten in the way. But I never let my research lag for very long no matter what else is going on. In fact just last week I was poking around trying to find information on a great-aunt's husband's family and sent an email to a cousin (a daughter of the great-aunt) and she gave me a couple of clues. Well, with those few clues I managed to find her GRANDPARENTS marriage record. It turns out her father was born here in the US but was then taken to the Czech republic when he was a baby with his parents and returned to the US when he was about 25. Unfortunately, because the country has changed so much and actually branched out into several other smaller countries finding any other information on that side of the Atlantic is going to be a tough mystery to tackle. But the elation my cousin had when I sent her the image of her grandparent's marriage record was enough for me.

This led me to once again tackle my own maternal side of the tree. Though not as difficult as my cousin's digging through German records when there isn't much known is part of the challenge and much like one of my favorite fictional characters, Nancy Drew, I am always up for a challenge.

The Mystery of Henry Lepley Civil War Soldier

Did you ever start researching a name on your family tree and think it was going to be simple? Well let me tell you from experience that its NOT. I have been bothered by the Civil War pension file of my great-great grandfather, Henry Lepley probably since the minute I got it in the mail several years ago. No, more like from when my order was confirmed.

Its bugged me simply because there's no real evidence provided within the pension file that Henry died during the war from any kind of injury. It mentioned him being 'wounded' but the specifics are to say the least contradictory. His 'widow' got a monthly pension because according the file he DID die. Unfortunately it doesn't specify WHERE he died, and when it does each location contradicts the one before. To top it off the Pension Office in January 1868 actually asked that they be furnished with 'official' evidence of the date AND cause of Henry's death. The problem with that is non of the documents in the file have ANY record OF his death. They request this TWO MONTHS after they issued the certificate to Mary Jane, his widow, granting her the pension of $8 per month.

Its just plain crazy and now when Henry's name is found on a website for soldiers from Pennsylvania, I wrote the webmaster and asked her about it telling her there are questions about whether he actually DID die. She replied that he DIDN'T die and was actually DISCHARGED in Harrisburg. She then sent me a Word document that shows NOTHING about Henry being in Spotsylvania or being wounded or even being IN the Civil War past 1863, which again contradicts Charles Lepley's diary entry that says he heard that Henry was 'wounded' (the entry dated June 16, 1864).

I'm creating a Word doc for the webmaster of the site (Helen, a very nice lady) of what was in Henry's pension file. I would really like her opinion since I am completely confused as to what REALLY happened to my 2nd great-grandfather. I guess I just don't want to end up finding out that he WAS discharged from the service and vanished, leaving his wife and THREE young children behind.

More Later.

Scandinavian genealogy

Its been more than interesting finding out about my Norwegian, Swedish and Danish ancestors. I guess I never thought about any other ancestors' origins except England and Germany, which I already knew. Some of my collateral relatives or spouses of them came from Sweden but I never dug any deeper because I wasn't directly related to them.

I worked on some collateral lines from my 3rd great-grandparents and found that only ONE actually came to the US and settled here. All the others stayed in Norway. I find that unusual because you would think that if one found America appealing that their siblings would follow her and see if what she told them (assuming she told them) was true.

I haven't put everything into my genealogy program yet, and I also haven't sent the family history reports to any cousins that I think might be interested because frankly I don't know how they will react to finding out that their great-grandfather or in my case 2nd great uncle changed their surname from Oleson to Ring because of the man that essentially raised them as his own sons. The change affects any cousins that are related to Albert's brothers Anton, James and Martin. I don't even know my own reaction to the decision they made to pretty much erase their father's name of Oleson and become the sons of Fred Ring. I'm going to have to give that some thought and post my thoughts about it later. I was just glad to be able to get to the bottom of most of that mystery, even though I still don't know what happened to Albert's father Carl Petter or why Martin's father was listed as Martin. But I'm not one to give up on solving a mystery.

Norwegian, Swedish, Danish equals Scandinavian genealogy

The Norwegians aren't the only ones that have unusual naming traditions that make it challenging for a genealogist to trace their ancestry back to that country or even Sweden or Denmark. I've finally managed to organized each of the surnames so that I can create some family history reports. This of course would be much easier had my great-grandfather, Albert just kept his biological father's surname of Oleson instead of honoring his step-father by taking his (Ring).

Its funny but I think I can understand why Albert and his three brothers DID take Fred's last name of Ring instead of keeping Carl Petter's of Oleson. Since it looks as if Carl pulled some sort of disappearing act after Martin was born in 1878 and Julia married again around 1881 or at least after the 1880 census, and proceeded to have several children with Fred, it makes sense that since Fred was probably the only 'father' they knew growing up, especially Martin, that they would feel it was only right that they take his name of 'Ring' as their own. I admire them for doing that but much like my other great-grandfather Joseph Cowden who was actually born Cowden Roxberry, it would've been nice if somewhere, ANYWHERE, Albert or one of his brothers would've explained this for their descendant and family genealogist. None of my cousins EVER knew about this and they all thought that it had been Fred that changed his name and not Albert or James or Martin.

It should be interesting to get their reaction to this discovery I've made and the research that I've put into tracing Julia's and Carl's families back to the countries of their birth. We all knew that my grandmother, Rose Julia (Ring) Gentzen was part Norwegian and that Julia was as well, but Fred Ring is DANISH, yet in the census records, Albert, Martin, James and even Anton acknowledged that their father was SWEDISH. I doubt anyone of my cousins will react badly to the news that their great-grandfathers surname wasn't originally RING but OLESON, but at least I've cleared but the mystery surrounding just WHO changed their name when they came to America. The truth is NO ONE changed their name until after Julia married Fred A. Ring in 1881.