From the FIRST MATE's PHOTO ALBUM...

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THE NEW BARN!

You all have been hearing about my huge garage demolition project...
this is the end of the project. That is - to build a large 12 foot by 24 foot barn that is 13 feet high to provide a loft for (additional) storage.



Inside showing the 12'x16' loft. In the middle of the loft, it is about 5'6" tall.

- Photos taken & submitted by JGWest

"Brick Walls"

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What's this all about?

Have we reduced genealogy to building walls? Well sometimes we have built our own walls that we can not get past. What I mean by that is how we do research. We sometimes get excited about new leads or the volume of new information. When this happens, we sometimes do not begin to build a solid foundation for our research... making sure of our sources and evaluating the evidence before we continue. Now, you would think that building a poor foundation would make tumbling a brick wall easier! This fact would be valid except that we have piled a lot of garbage & other waste products around the wall to fortify it. Like the old joke about college degrees: "BS, MS & PHD" - the last being "piled higher & deeper." You might ask about making a solid foundation, wouldn't that make it harder to knock down a brick wall? No, because your documentation and sources provide lots of doors and windows to the previous generations.

However, sometimes we have been doing quality work building our family history, but records are missing or there seem to be few clues to where to look for our ancestors. Much has been written on this subject. Cyndi's List has a whole category devoted to this subject with 38 links to sites that attempt to help us tear down brick walls stopping us from going back in time. The category is called: "Hit a Brick Wall?" http://www.cyndislist.com/hitbrick.htm The first link is for buying a copy of the book "500 Brick Wall Solutions to Genealogical Problems"... we have a copy of this book at Willard Library. I reviewed it for the Tri-State Packet several years ago.

Good luck & keep digging and knocking down brick walls!

- Written by JGWest

STAYING AFLOAT in the GENE POOL -Genetic DNA News

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Perspective

At our TSGS monthly meeting last Tuesday night, Larry Goss made a report about having all put the last 2 issues of the Tri-State Packet on a CD. I asked a somewhat dumb question as to how many issues he had on that CD with his reply: “all of them!” After the laughter subsided, I mentioned that the day had been unlucky for me and jokingly stated that Larry was just adding to it. I told everyone about my fall on my back as I stepped on a sheet of ice... I did not injure myself. Former TSGS President Karin Kirsch stated that it was not an unlucky day, because I was actually lucky not to get hurt. I thought she was right! - I had the wrong perspective of the incident.

Perspective comes into play when we consider a glass with a substance at the half-way mark... is it half full or half empty? If you dislike buttermilk, but have to drink a glass of it, the glass being half empty sounds best. However, if you love buttermilk, the glass being still half full is best. Simple perspective!

Perspective of how we view things changes the meaning of the results and is true with our genealogical research. We often get very disappointed when we get a “hot new lead” only ending up proving that that person or family is not ours. However, with the right perspective, it should be good news, since you just eliminated one family to be confused with your correct line... you are narrowing the search. That is an important discovery concerning your ancestry.

This happens all of the time with genealogical DNA testing. You seem to wait forever for the results only to discover that you did not match with anyone. Very disappointing! Sometimes this is a result of not having very many with your surname taking the test, yet. But if there are larger numbers testing in your group with no matches... you can eliminate the (documented) families from further research by you. I put "documented," since some may think they are descended from someone, but has not proven it. That might mean they are not descended from that line.

Other reasons you may not match is that back in time your surname was different than it is today. Anglicized names occurred often in America, especially with German names in Colonial times and both World Wars. Adoptions & illegitimate births ended with name changes from the original father. Sometimes people changed their names to escape the law or their past. This is always a perspective that you must look for when doing your genealogical research. It would be important to find any name changes as it will affect your family history and might just make it an interesting story!

Remember to always keep your genealogy in perspective!

- Written by JGWest

NAVIGATING ALONG the RIVER - Research Tips

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Research Inventory

by Terry Winchester

Have you ever found yourself scouring through records online, such as at http://www.ancestry.com/ or at the Family History Library Catalog at http://www.familysearch.org/, and come across records that sound familiar, but you can’t decide on whether or not you’ve already searched some of those records? Or, perhaps you’ve been in the process of looking through material, and discover only after a good amount of time spent, that you’ve already searched that particular source? We always want to avoid the duplication of research by others, but how often do we duplicate our own research? I know I’ve looked at the same records several times, only to discover that I had already searched them, and only after some serious time spent on the record, something shows up that reminds me that I’ve already been there.

Information on the internet is being updated on a daily basis, and somehow, we’ve got to remember where we’ve been and what we’ve done in order to avoid wasting time. And it’s not confined to the internet, either. Our own TSGS is constantly buying new books and material, and in order to save time and, frustration, it helps to know what you’ve already looked at in the enormous amount of material at Willard Library.

Well, I found a solution that, at least, works for me. I call it my Research Inventory Sheet. For each county that I’m interested in, I create a form, and make an entry for each record relating to that county, that I’ve searched, be it in book or microfilm form. Here’s how I do it. In Microsoft Excel, I create my own form, with column headers, as follows: Title, Author, Publisher/Location, Result. I think the headers are pretty well self explanatory, but I’ll explain a bit. TITLE is obvious. Under PUBLISHER/LOCATION, I’ll list everything about who published the material, and where and when I found it. If it’s a book that I found at the Library, I’ll include the Call#. Under RESULT, I simply list, in summary, what was found, and any notes that I may need to find the entire contents of the record which I have filed in my own filing system. Of course, at the top of the page, I allow for an entry as to County of Research and Surname(s).

- Written & submitted by Terry Winchester.

RACING DOWN the RIVER -Brief Genealogical Notes

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Bill West announced that...

"Who Do You Think You Are" premieres on NBC Friday Mar 5 at 8pm EST. Read more on the NBC Web Site: http://www.nbc.com/news/2010/01/14/nbc-presents-post-winter-olympics-primetime-schedule-beginning-march-1/ "“Who Do You Think You Are?” gives viewers an up-close and personal look inside the family history of some of today's most beloved and iconic celebrities. Among the celebrities featured are Matthew Broderick, Lisa Kudrow, Spike Lee, Sarah Jessica Parker, Susan Sarandon, Brooke Shields and Emmitt Smith. Ancestry.com is NBC's official partner on the series. From executive producer Kudrow (“Friends,” “The Comeback”) - in conjunction with her production company Is or Isn't Entertainment and the U.K.'s Wall to Wall productions - “Who Do You Think You Are?” is an adaptation of the hit BBC television documentary series created and executive-produced by Alex Graham."

Dick Eastman posted...

It appears that genealogy is all over the television set these days. PBS is releasing a four-part series, "Faces of America with Henry Louis Gates Jr." The special, which builds upon the Harvard University professor's popular documentary series "African American Lives" parts 1 and 2, traces the genealogical histories of 11 luminaries of various races and backgrounds. The list includes author Malcolm Gladwell, cellist Yo-Yo Ma, former champion figure skater Kristi Yamaguchi, television actress Eva Longoria, and Oscar-winning legend Meryl Streep. When "Faces of America with Henry Louis Gates Jr." premieres on PBS in February, viewers will first get to see Kristi Yamaguchi learn about the grandfather she never really knew. Meanwhile, novelist Louise Erdrich is shown cheering out loud when she is told one of her ancestors was one of the founders of Detroit. Check out the PBS Web Site for more: http://detnews.com/article/20100114/ENT10/1140329/PBS-lines-up-family-history-series--Faces-#ixzz0ce3yCrZT

Tombstone Thursday - Carver

St. Bernard Cemetery, Rockport, Indiana
John D. Carver
1952-2006
[Click on the photo for a larger image.]
This poem is very special, it reminds me of how I feel about my wife.

- Photo taken & submitted by JGWest
[Tombstone Thursday is dedicated in memory of Donald G. West 1952-2000]

From the FIRST MATE's PHOTO ALBUM...

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Contrasts!

My newly discovered cousin from Chicago posted these photos on Facebook over a period of 4-5 months... what a contrast!!!

"The Jeep photo was taken August 31, 2009, in the Hawaiian Paradise Park subdivision, about ten miles south of Hilo on the Big Island of Hawaii." - Clint said in his e-mail with the photo. Click on it for a larger, clearer image... great photo of a beautiful, warm scene (noticed jeep with wheels turned for photographic effect!).


The below photo shot out Clint's window taken 08 January 2010 in the Chicago neighborhood of Logan Square, during a "snow storm that dumped about 8 inches ... fairly light for the city, but the first significant snow this winter." Zoomed image of the alley showing the snow coming down.

Photo (below) taken on 08 Jan. 2010 from Clint's window looking down on the snow covered cars on North Maplewood Ave. in Chicago.

What a contrast from August to January! From the bright, sunny and warm scene in Hawaii to dark, night-lighted and cold alley of Chicago!!!

- Photos taken & submitted by Clint Hadden