I Am So EXCITED!!!

The Topeka Genealogical Society hosts a Genealogy Conference each year that I attend.  Each year they have a different speaker – sometimes it is someone I have heard of, other times it is a new person.  They have all been people that specialize in some area of genealogy and they have all provided information that has provided me with new areas of research.

This year they are hosting one of my favorite genealogy ladies.  Her name is Lisa Louise Cooke and she hosts a website called “Genealogy Gems” – she is just fantastic and a true Genealogy Gem!  She has a blog that I subscribe to and she gives out some great information on such topics as Evernote, Google Earth, Phone Apps for Genealogy research and so much more.  She also has both free and subscription based Genealogy Podcasts and provides research strategies and tips that are 100% useful to anyone.  She has videos (both free and subscription based) that show how to use Evernote, Google Earth and many more topics.  She has also written several books which are wonderful additions to anyone’s personal genealogy library.

She is a very “tech savvy” and “Internet knowledgeable” person when it comes to Genealogy trends and research.  She has moved my research to areas I never would have gone had it not been for her guidance.  She speaks at some of the biggest genealogy conferences (most recently, Roots Tech – a genealogy conference in Salt Lake City that lasts several days) and it was quite a surprise to find out she would be speaking for our local conference which is just a one day event.

I have never been to any conferences where she speaks (they are usually the bigger ones that are out of reach of my pocketbook and are never in this area) so this will be a very special day to finally meet the person that I so admire and have learned so much from!

There is no doubt in my mind that she will help me discover new ideas that will take my research to great heights as I continue Searching For Ancestors!

© 2016, copyright by Janice Penry.  All rights reserved.

Podcast? What In The World Is That?

I have been asked, "Where do you learn how to do genealogy"?  Well, I read a lot, I ask questions of others (those in the know), I attend conferences and I listen to podcasts.

Podcasts are nothing more than a person who has taped themselves and/or others and provide information to the listening audience.  There are podcasts on all types of subjects, including genealogy.  The one I listen to the most is Lisa Louise Cooke and she is the producer and host of the Genealogy Gems Podcast.  She is also an author of some of the best genealogy books I have the pleasure of reading and she is a conference speaker whom I have personally seen.  She has a terrific website and offers both free and premium (subscription) podcasts.  The premium version also includes how-to videos and handouts.  She has a few free videos available also.

Her website can be found here.  The following infographic was put together by Lisa and explains more about what podcasts are.  I hope you check out her website and catch a few podcasts.  They are so informative and you will learn a lot from her.  She is one of the top people in the field of genealogy and she is an expert on how Google Earth can help with your genealogy as well as tons of other genealogy related subjects.

Genealogy Do Over

What is a “Genealogy Do Over”?  Well, it is a learning program that I have been following.  A very well-known gentleman in the genealogy community has provided information on how to “do” genealogy correctly, such as citing your sources (which is the biggest failure that we have all done) to research strategies, organization, providing forms to help with your research, etc.  His name is Thomas McEntee and he has a group on Facebook specific to the Genealogy Do Over and can be found here:  https://www.facebook.com/groups/genealogydoover/.  You can also check out the following page on his blog where he further explains what this is about and why he started this group:  http://www.geneabloggers.com/tag/genealogy-do-over/.

On the Facebook page if you look under the "Files" tab, there are the weekly things to "do over" with your genealogy all listed in PDF format per week.  This is a 13 week plan that is now in its 4th Cycle for the year.  It is currently on Cycle 4, Week 1 so this is a great time to check out the information.  There are also free forms to download (submitted by both Thomas McEntee and the people that are following his “Do Over” plan).  The Group provides you a chance to ask questions about, as well as learn information about, the different aspects you are presented with for each week.

This is what Thomas McEntee put on his blog which kind of explains what the Genealogy Do Over is all about:

“Back on 15 December 2014, I made a big announcement: I was getting rid of 20+ years of past genealogy research and starting over. Some people said I was crazy. Some people said the idea was just “stupid” and wasteful.

But almost 10,000 genealogists and family historians have either been actively participating in this crazy project or have followed it over at the Genealogy Do-Over Facebook Group. Many have said that they finally have a methodology and format for research that they can live with AND that can bring them results.

Still more have taken the collaborative effort to heart and have shared their own work, their own templates as well as tips and tricks. The Genealogy Do-Over has been as close to a “genealogy hack-athon” and an exercise in group problem solving as I could want.

With all of the organization I have been doing as a result of this project, I can now find things instead of spending hours trying to locate information in different areas of my home.  I only have one (1) more family line to fill out Family Groups Sheets on in an effort to see what types of information I don’t have so I can more easily find that information  The family I have left  is the Scott side of my family (my mother’s ancestors).  I have located information on the Internet going back several generations, however, we all know not to take the Internet for granted.  I will need to prove the existence of each of those family members and try to locate their birth, marriage, and death information to try and prove that connection.

Please head on over to Thomas McEntee’s Blog or Facebook page and I highly suggest joining his group on Facebook if you want to learn how to do genealogy correctly the first time so you don’t end up like me.  I had information spread all over the place that contained no source citations and couldn’t find any documents I needed when I needed them (and of course couldn’t find the place where I got that information since the source citation wasn’t listed).  Source citations are used in an effort to allow others to find your information for themselves should they look at or copy your documentation.  Documents with source citations are considered “facts”.  Documents without source citations are considered “possible facts” which need to be explored further by a genealogist to find “facts” (and make sure you provide source citations to those documents when you find them).

Some documents and sources are considered “Primary” and others are considered “Secondary”.  Primary sources are those documents that were created by someone who was at the event when it happened (Birth Certificates, Marriage Certificates, diary pages, etc.) and Secondary sources are those documents where someone different supplied the information (such as Birth Date and Place of Birth on a Death Certificate).  Most likely, the person supplying that information was not there at their birth and only provided information they were “told”.  That documentation needs to be supported by other documentation (preferred Primary source) to be considered “fact”.

I digress, and I apologize.  I have learned so much from the genealogy community and I enjoy sharing my knowledge.  I wish you the best of luck in your search for ancestors!  I will continue “Searching for Ancestors” myself when the opportunity arises, and will post information as I locate it.

More Organization

I am continuing my quest to get organized.  I have gone through some documentation I found on the Internet in reference to the Modrell Family and created Family Group Sheets for everyone.  I also have a copy of the Scott/Mayes book that descendants have compiled.  The only issue with both sets of information, is that I don't know where the documentation came from since most of the information provided does not contain sources for the information.  I will be compiling those Family Group Sheets for the Scott/Mayes families as well.  Once finished, I will be able to find holes in the information I have from both sides of my family and continue my search to find the necessary documents that back up the information provided, and will then be able to provide sourced and documented evidence since much the information is from unknown (to me) sources.

Family Group Sheets help me to see the big picture since the parents and children are listed as well as birth, marriage and death dates, and room for place information on each event and a 2nd page for miscellaneous notes (such as Census information, all source documentation for information provided on 1st page, name of hospital/nursing home for birth or death information, etc).  Family Group Sheets are truly a great source of information.  If you have any missing areas, you see at a glance which documents you need to find to complete the information for each family group.  There should be a sheet for each person as both a child and parent (if they are a parent) or spouse or partner (if living with another individual).  The form I have is in a Word Document so I can change form fields if needed when I have a "Partner" situation instead of "Husband/Wife" or "Spouse/Spouse" for same sex marriages instead of "Husband/Wife".  It can be customized for whatever situation I come across.

I have saved the form I use to Google Docs and by clicking this link you can see the form I am speaking of.  I can't remember where I got this form, but I found it somewhere on the Internet.  There are a lot of forms out there and you can google Family Group Sheet and add Word Document or Excel Document for those forms that are fillable on the computer.  Ancestry.com and Family Tree Magazine also have many free documents which can be downloaded and used by anyone.

Another set of very helpful forms that can be found on the Internet are the Census Forms that date back to the first census in 1790 with readable column headings so you know what information was asked.  When I provide census images and information on my blog, I will provide the information for each column, but that information won't mean anything if you don't know what the headings are (which reflect back to the questions asked by the census taker).

I also need to put tab dividers in my binder to divide each family surname in an effort to make it easier to place information I find.  Then, I will need to create a Table Of Contents for each section so I don't duplicate the documentation I have (which has happened many times before with my complete and total disorganization).  The key will be to remember to update the Table Of Contents when I find new documentation to add to a specific person or family.

I will be back to providing family information in blog posts shortly.  Thank you for being patient during my respite from "searching for ancestors"!

Organization

I am taking a short respite from by blog while I organize my documents.  Why you ask?  Well....

I realized when I spent over 12 hours writing this post about Perry Eneau that I did not have all my ducks (uh...docs) in a row.  I had to look in several places to find the different pieces of information that is referred to in that post.  I now have all that information together, despite the fact that some of that information may be tossed out as I work through that brick wall - although, I have worked with that information for about 5 years and still have not come to any conclusions.  I know there is a missing piece of information that I will find someday that will make all that information come together and my brick wall will tumble!  How I look forward to that day!!

I have spoken before about the fact that I absolutely love to read.  I read two (2) genealogy magazines (Internet Genealogy and Family Tree Magazine) as well as History Magazine.  History Magazine provides me with information about Military Conflicts, Weather Disasters, Heroes and Heroines, Villains and Outlaws, and much more that I can then relate to my ancestors during their lifetime. With each magazine, I mark articles as I read them that have information which I may need later (websites, international research, etc.) and I then tear those articles out and throw away the rest of the magazine.  Those articles are then separated according to content and placed in a page protector which is then placed into a binder.  I have binders for: International Research, State/City Research, Specific Record Categories (Census, Obituary, Church, Land, Military, etc.), History Articles, Specific Website Tutorials, and the last one has miscellaneous articles broke down by category (organization, photo identification, social media/apps, etc.).

I also use binders for my genealogy research.  I have a binder for my proven family members and another for my possible family members.  Once I find a document that confirms their relationship, those documents are then moved into my proven family member's binder.  Despite the number of years I have been conducting research, I only have up to some of my great-grandparents confirmed. Many people have hundreds of names by now, but I want to be careful and make sure my family really is my family and not people that others have linked to my family with no proven sources. There are too many stories out there of unconfirmed family members and I started this research wanting no part of that.  I don't want living family members "thinking" they are related to someone just because I decided to take the word of someone else, instead of finding the information that would prove/disprove that family relationship.

I want to include a Family Record Sheet for each family, as well as a Research Log for each person. That way, I will have information at the touch of a finger for everyone who is related to each other and how they are related, as well as a log for each person showing the searches I perform and whether or not I am successful in finding anything.  I also want to keep a running list of the documents/information that I need to find in order to provide more information about each ancestors life.

Please bear with me as I find a place for everything and put everything in it's place.  Who knows if I will get the entire task completed, but I hope to get the majority of it done so I can concentrate most of my time and energy on what I love doing most - "Searching For Ancestors"!!

Getting Back On Track

I have to apologize for not having any posts recently.  I attended the Genealogy Conference last weekend and my head was spinning with all the information that was provided.  It was a great conference and the speaker was wonderful.  She provided me with so much information that I didn’t know where to start upon returning home.

I was able to locate a Plat Map of Wabaunsee County in 1902 from the Kansas Memory website which shows where my Great Grandparents land was near Eskridge, Kansas.  I only wish I knew how to overlay that with a current map so I can see where that land is located in relation to what is there today.  I am also gearing up to go to the Courthouse in St. Joseph, Buchanan County, Missouri in search of documents she spoke about to try and obtain more information about my Grandparents who lived there.

I am trying to get back on track and devote some time to my genealogy and this blog.  I am preparing more posts as I continue “searching for ancestors”.  So – stay tuned!

A Learning Opportunity

I am the type of person who loves to learn.  I don’t read any fiction of any kind (books or magazines).  With that said, I enjoy going to Genealogy Conferences as it is a great opportunity to learn new things as well as meet some very well-known (and not so well-known, but knowledgeable) speakers.

Our local Genealogy Society is holding its 43^rd Annual Conference celebrating their 50^th year on Friday and Saturday this week.  Friday afternoon has breakout sessions (new this year) and I will be learning about NARA Records that Genealogists Aren’t Using, Getting the Most from FamilySearch, Scanning Tips and Tricks and Treasures at the Courthouse.  Just the type of information I need!

On Saturday, our Speaker will be Jana Broglin, CG, OGSF (whom I have never heard of before) and she will be talking about black sheep ancestors and how there may be clues in unusual records that lead to locating more records, alternative Civil War records, newspaper research including how to add social history to your ancestor’s lives, and organization of your home office (which I could use more than anyone could imagine!).

I can’t wait for Friday to get here – these topics are all of interest to me!!  I sure hope I can learn some valuable information and find more records from all the sources I will be learning about!

Don't Let This Happen To You!

I have read several blogs about people who started getting interested in family history in school when they were required to provide information for a class project.  Unfortunately, my school never did that in any of the classes I attended.  So many of you have had the chance to hear the stories from your family that will help in your search for your ancestors and add that "extra special" content to your genealogy research.

Most of my family passed away when I was young and my father passed away in 1999, which is before the genealogy bug bit me.  My father was an only child and his father was an only child, therefore, I don't have anyone to provide me with those fun and interesting "family stories" on my father's side of the family (Modrell).

Please talk to your ancestors while you can, while they are still alive and able to give you all the fun and interesting information which will add some much needed "meat" to the "bones" of your family history.  I think we can all agree that "just the facts ma'am" is boring - necessary, but still very boring.

There are a lot of great websites which provide questions to ask your family members to get their minds flowing with information.  Just be sure to write the information as they provide it, or record that information and transcribe it as soon as you can thereafter.  That way, your memory is fresh in cases where it is hard to hear what was said, which will prevent you from having to revisit that same question/answer in the future.

As Always, A Day Late And A Dollar Short

I have been gathering basic information about genealogy for several years.  I have copies of several forms (which I need to fill out) and I have several pages of questions to ask relatives (which I combined from several different websites).  I often wondered how I would get to ask those questions since I only have a few uncles on my mother’s side of the family still living and they all live out of state.

I thought about asking a few questions in each phone call or writing several letters with a question/answer format, but decided I wanted to ask these questions in person to see the smiles on their faces while recalling a specific memory.  I had been trying to get some vacation time for several months, but then the unthinkable happened.

My Uncle Bill suddenly passed away.

Again, I have more questions than answers.  (Do you see a theme here?  I even have two other relatives that I missed the opportunity of asking questions due to a death-besides my father and uncle).  I am always a day late and a dollar short as the saying goes.

The only difference this time is that I have a few other family members on my mother's side that can help provide me with some answers and memories about her side of the family.

Now, it is time to get to know some of my family.  Please join me in quest as I go “Searching For Ancestors”.

Humble Beginnings....

I began “thinking” about genealogy when my father was diagnosed with an incurable cancer in 1998, but when I would ask him about certain things (family, military service, etc.) he didn’t want to discuss it, so I just quit asking.

Then one evening, I received THE phone call from my stepmother that my dad was giving up and I needed to come down (950 miles away) and spend time with him now.  I packed a suitcase, included several old photos that I wanted to have identified, and was armed with lots of questions I was finally hoping to get answers for.  The night I got there, I spent several hours just watching him and listening to him.  I was asking random questions (about how he was feeling, not the questions I needed to ask).  When I left, I told him I had lots of things I wanted to talk about tomorrow (it was late and I was tired having spent 2 days on the road and thought we would both feel better after a good night’s rest).  Tomorrow never came, he passed away about 2:30 a.m. (3 hours after I left).

So, I have more questions than answers when it comes to the Modrell part of my family.  I have unidentified family photographs, antiques with no story, and heirlooms with no meaning.

This blog will be a place to share my successes, failures, brick walls, photos and anything else I can find that relates to my family as I begin my quest of "Searching For Ancestors".

Welcome To My Blog!

Welcome to my blog!  Please sit back, relax and enjoy the ride with me as I learn about my ancestors.

I will be providing information about my research on specific ancestors, as well as general information to help you in your research efforts (please refer to the tag "general information" for posts of this nature).

I have been doing genealogy research since my father passed away on Christmas morning in 1999.  I wish I had asked him questions about our "past", but since I didn't, I have very little to go on for the Modrell family.  I have an old bible that has pictures in it, and I have no idea who these people are.

Modrell is my father's direct line and Scott is my mother's direct line.  Heneault (Eneau) is my grandmother's direct line on my father's side and Main is my grandmother's direct line on my mother's side.  They are both from Missouri, my father's family is from the St. Joseph area and my mother's family is from the Hume area.

If you have any information that can help me in my research, please do not hesitate to contact me.