Randy Seaver's Saturday Night Fun - Surnames

Randy asked us to look into our data base and generate a report of our top 20 surnames. In Familytreemaker it's a pretty easy report. I was surprised that "None" came in third. But I looked at other genealogists who did this exercise, and while the name changes (LNU=Last Name Unknown) we typically have a variation of this when we don't know the name. My names are mostly in my direct or secondary lines. I'm surprised by the Louis name, while in my direct line, it is very far back so I'm surprised I dug up that many people. Another surprise is that my maiden name and my husband's surname did not make the cut.

Saturday Night 2019 Positive Geneameme

Randy Seaver’s Saturday Night blog had some great questions. At first glance, I thought, “I don’t have anything ‘new’ to add.” But then I got to thinking and realized that 2019 was a great year for genealogy.

1.     An elusive ancestor I found – Ancestry’s Thru-lines located two more generations (early 1700’s) of several lines of my Luxembourg family. They moved to another town, and another researcher found the records in an unexpected town.

2.     A great newspaper article I found – I found the Dutch newspaper, the Delpher, online for free. I traced obits from 1920’s to current to track down a living relative of the one brother (there were 15 siblings) of my 2^nd gr-grandmother Emilie Verbeke, who did not come to the United States.

3.     A geneajourney I took – I spent three wonderful days in Washington DC. Two days at the archives and one morning at the DAR. Lots of Civil and Revolutionary War records.

4.     I located an important record – My 3^rd-gr-grandfather, Hiram R Dunbar and his son John went to the California gold rush and came back wealthy. I thought because Hiram owned a dry-goods store in Illinois, maybe he made his money that way. But in John’s Civil War papers, he stated that he and his father mined for gold. Now I know!

5.     A new found family member shared - I found the only living descendent of my husband’s grandmother’s only brother, Herman. She had one photo of Herman. I’ve been looking for a photo since 1979.

6.     A genea-surprise I received – I actually finished my book “The Ambellan Family of Buffalo, New York including Warren Spahn.” Took three years (not counting the 30 years of research.) It’s selling well on Amazon.

7.     Social media post I was proud of – I got the most hits on my post about How to Read Difficult Writing (https://seedstotree.blogspot.com/2019/03/tip-for-reading-difficult-writing.html) but this is the post I’m also very proud of -https://seedstotree.blogspot.com/2019/10/my-genealogy-book-is-published-yippee.html

8.     A new genea-mate - I “met” many relatives, some of them “shirt-tale” by writing my book. I included contact information, and I’ve received phone calls, emails, and ancestry’s message. Made some great connections and learned new stories.

9.     A new genea-skill I learned – I am proud to say I know how to edit, index, create a cover and pretty much everything else need to turn a manuscript into a published book.  Took three and ½ solid months.

90.  I joined - ??

11.  A genealogy session I learned something from – I attended the DuPage Genealogical Society’s conference. Thomas MacEntee spoke on book publishing. I hung around and asked questions after the amazing presentation..and you can guess what happened next.

12.  Blog post that I learned something new – I read many of the Best posts listed on Sunday in Randy’s blog. There is so much I’ve learned – too many to pick out one in particular.

13.  A DNA discovery – A DNA match to my Buffalo Schattners, and the Schatners from Grand Rapids, Michigan.

14.  I taught a genea-mate how to – I teach a beginning genealogy class nearly monthly. Afterwards I’m willing to set up meetings to help the attendees. I love volunteering at my local genealogy library to inspire people to find family.

15.  I demolished a brick wall – (Does this count?) My brick wall was finishing my research into the form of a book. I had the manuscript for several years.

16.  Great website I visited – I spent a lot of time using newspapers.com this year. I can use it free from home through my public library card.

17.  A new book I enjoyed – Before and After by Lisa Wingate about an adoption scandal, How to Find Your Family in U.S. Church Records by Sunny Morton. Not new, but new to me Publish Your Family History by Dina C. Carson.

18.  I was excited to meet – Michael LaCopo. He gave a hilarious speech, at a dinner, about what he’s learned in 30 years of family research, that only we genealogy people would understand. I drove over an hour to see it and it was a 2019 highlight. We spoke after.

19.  I’m excited for 2020 because – I’m going to t-r-y to finish a second book and I’m teaching in New York. I created four new presentations and I look forward to rolling them out.

20.  Another positive I’d like to share – Even after 30 years, there’s always something new to learn and you never know where your research will lead.

   Happy New Year!

Are You a Genealogy Presenter? Top Tips and Tricks for Handouts and Presenting

While updating my 2019 presentations excel sheet (for taxes) and I am pleased and surprised that it lists 20+ presentations this year. These do not include the group discussions I help lead – it’s the stand-up-in-front of an eager audience, teaching a topic using a PowerPoint and handout. By adding variety of new genealogical subjects, 15 presentations are already booked in 2020. These are enjoyable afternoons or evenings for me. This business launched in 2012 and over the years, I’ve learned a variety of tips and tricks for growing a presentation business, improving handouts, and the art of presenting. Here’s my list, all you speakers out there, if you have other ideas, please let me know:

Growing your business:

To start, offer to volunteer to give presentations to libraries and genealogy groups.

New presentation? Again, volunteer. You’ll be able to smooth out rough spots before you present to a paid audience.

Arrive at least 30 minutes earlier, so your host isn’t wondering and you are calm.

Take your host’s contact information with you when you drive to the presentation, just in case you have a delay, or get lost. Give them yours so they may contact you too.

When they ask for you to sign a contract, send a photo, bio or presentation description, do so in a timely manner. Send the handout on time. I have been the host, and it’s annoying to have to repeatedly ask for these.

Thank the host at the beginning of your presentation and give a personalized reason why you are honored to be speaking. (I.E. You’ve heard good things about the group or you have family in the area or in one case – I was the last presentation the group had before they disbanded.)

Handout:

Make sure it is readable. Some presenters create the easy three-slides-to-a-page-plus-lines for notes. The words may be so small they are not readable.

If you do use the slide format, leave less important slides out with a save-as and then deleting minor slides before printing.  

Be considerate of the number of pages to be printed. I’ve seen 12 pages but six is max.

Better yet, use an outline format. Takes up less paper and easier to read. (I use it.)  

In PowerPoint>File>Export>Create handout>Outline. Then a little editing.

While the subject is handouts, leave some information off your handouts. You want to see the attendees write notes. It’s part of class participation. You’ll know they are tuned in.

Depending how you feel, you might want to put a copyright symbol or even a little note to not copy without your permission.   

Include your email in case there are follow-up questions.

Attendees LOVE resources, websites and books. Check website links at least once a year. To avoid a cluttered look, use the website name in your PowerPoint, but place the URL in the handout.

Keep a copy with you when presenting. People may ask where something is in the handout or you may refer to it for other reasons.

Presenting:

Bring water – maybe your host will have water for you, but if not and you get a cough or dry mouth, you are glad to have something to sip. (It’s also good if you need a moment to think before answering a question.)

Wear something with a decent pocket so you have a place to put the little microphone box. I just slip into a pocket.

If presenting at a library, suggest they pull appropriate books to be checked out. Also preview their website for their available resources and databases. Refer to the website in the presentation. Better yet, show how to use it before or at the end of your presentation.

Laser pointers are nice.

Bring a second copy of your presentation and handout. If you bring your laptop, copy to a flash drive and bring. If just a flash drive, bring two flash drives. Just last week, no handouts were copied, but the host took my flash drive, made copies, while I started the PowerPoint presentation using my laptop.

Do not expect internet to be available, even when the host says it will be. I set up my PowerPoints with screen shots. If internet is available, it’s a bonus.

PowerPoint slides should have large easy-to-read letters. Too many words, the audience can’t read everything before the slide changes. Bullets are better than paragraphs. Keep words minimal. Pictures improve your look. Consider a relevant theme.

This tip comes from my daughter who taught. “They don’t know what they don’t know.” This means if you updated your presentation, but brought the old one by mistake, the audience doesn’t know. If you forgot to explain something, the audience doesn’t know. Just keep going and smile. If you remember later in your presentation, say it then.

Decide how you feel about people taking photos during your slide presentation. If you prefer they don’t, ask the host to make that announcement in your introduction. Or add a slide in the beginning with a camera graphic and your preferred camera rule.

Leave time for questions at the end of your presentation. I add a cute “Questions?” slide.

Throw in words like “Good question” so people are comfortable about asking.

You learn good ideas for adding to your presentation or even for a new presentation through questions and comments.

If you don’t know the answer, give a resource that might hold the answer, instead of giving the answer itself. Or better yet, ask attendees if they know the answer.

Hang around to enjoy people conversations and possibly treats! It’s a great gig – being with people who enjoy talking about what you enjoy talking about!

My Genealogy Book is Published - Yippee!

I realize that this is a bit of self-promotion, but after 40 years of research and two years of writing and editing, my first book is available on amazon. I enjoyed learning about my husband's grandmother and the 20 other members of her family who immigrated to Buffalo. Thank you to everyone who encouraged and helped me in my journey. 

Randy Seaver's October 19th Saturday Night Genealogy Fun Question

Randy Seaver usually has an interesting Saturday Night question. This week, he asked us to list inherited items. He gave us a list of possibilities to get us started, which is really nice.

Ancestoral items I inherited for which I’m grateful:

Mother’s side

A living room set – couch, two chairs. My grandfather’s 1929 engagement present to my grandmother, complete with the ding that resulted from a ketchup bottle being hurled during a skirmish between my mother’s brothers. My dad and I refinished the furniture and had it reupholstered.

A 12-gallon ceramic crock that my grandfather used to boot-leg.

My gr-grandfather’s dining room stained glass chandelier and dining room table.

My grandmother’s diamond and sapphire ring and pink glass dishes.

Father’s side

Three pairs of my grandmother’s gold earrings which I wear frequently.  A gold lapel pin that was her mother's. I've had it dated to the 1860's so maybe it's even older.

Two rings my dad always wore.

A photograph album. My grandmother and I labeled the photos before she died at 99 years old.

  

My mother is still living and going strong, so there hasn’t been a lot of distribution yet. I have many little items also, but these are the bigger pieces. I treasure them and the memories of these wonderful loving people.

Events in the Northwest Suburbs

Are you looking for the list of genealogy events in the suburbs? This feature of the blog is on hiatus. Check back for other interesting articles. Thanks for stopping by and good luck in your genealogy searches.

Jacquie

Visiting National Archives in DC? - Bring a Quarter!

My husband and I had business in Washington DC. Of course, one of my first stops was at the Archive building for Civil War pensions records. While their website gives good information about procedures and rules, I learned a couple of things that might be helpful to future visitors. I can’t stress enough to read the website first before you go, but here are some tips. 

1)     While the library opens at 8:45 a.m. the lobby doors open at 8:30 a.m. and you can get a lot done in those 15 minutes. To your right as you enter, you will go through the same security you follow at an airport.

2)     Next you’ll go to the center desk, show an ID, and the guard will fill out a form, and ask you to sign. You’ll be given a gold “Temporary Researcher Pass” to clip on. There is plenty of lobby seating, and a large area to stand if the library has not opened. If opened, you go straight in, walking to the right of the desk.

3)     You  walk to the room directly behind the center lobby desk where there is an information desk with attendants. You may have to wait in line. If this is your first time, they will direct you to a computer on your left to see a five-minute PowerPoint on using the library. There are four computers for this, in the corner, not those near the information desk.

4)     After you’ve seen the instructions, go through a glass door on your left to a desk. You’ll be asked to fill out a short form, and show ID. They will take your photo and issue you a Research Card, which is like a plastic library card. It’s good for one year. (If you have an expired Research Card, bring it with you. It will be updated and save you time.) Now go back to the information desk and scan this card.

5)     In this first-floor room, coats, backpacks, purses, hats, and pens were allowed. I travelled light, but still had some restricted items with me, including a small purse. My husband had a hat.

6)     There is a bank of eight computers where you may use ancestry or fold3 to find information. Fill out the half page record request forms available in duplicate on the computer table. It’s best to fill out in pen, then bring to the information desk where the forms will be reviewed and signed. Then place them in a small wooden box. Records will be pulled according to the schedule listed on the website, starting at 9:30 AM.

7)     You may place any prohibited items in the lockers located through the glass doors to the left of the information desk, past the desk where you received the Research Card, at the end of the hallway. You will need a quarter for this! There are no change machines. This is much like other libraries, where the quarter is returned when you open the locker with your key. These are roomy lockers and there are plenty. The bathrooms are in this hallway.

8)     Next take the elevators outside the room upstairs to room 203, where all the personal items on the list are prohibited. I had a couple of pieces of paper which were stamped. I could not carry a sweater, but I wore one. Pockets were not examined. You will be carefully inspected, and you’ll scan your Research Card. For us, within about 30 minutes after the pull time, the records were available. As you walk into the room, the records are at a small tall desk on the very far left wall. You’ll walk past a line of tables in a beautiful room filled with books from floor to ceiling. The desk clerk will ask you to sign the pink page to take one envelope. There is a clock on the left side of the desk for the time. You will use one of the room’s tables.

9)     My husband and I each had an envelope. We sat next to each other with a four-inch tall glass partition between us. He was not allowed to touch mine, and I was not allowed to touch his. We both viewed the records, but he turned “his” pages for me, and I turned “mine” for him. These are original records, and you must keep them in exactly the same order. They watch you very carefully.

10)  There are plenty of pencils and paper next to the “pull” desk for taking notes. You may take photos with your cellphone, without flash. The light is good. Or you may choose to go through a 20-minute process to copy pages on their copiers. We used our phones.

11)  The veteran’s pension file is in the same envelope as the widow’s pension. Write down the numbers for both when you order. This is great, you get two for one! I ordered files, I’d previously received by mail from the NARA but found more papers, with very interesting family information, not included in the mailed information.

12)  If you leave the building, but plan to return the same day, let the guard at the exit table know. There’s a short cut for returning researchers.

13)  If you have time, you may want to get your research card, and order your paperwork the night before, to save time in the morning. We did this for the second day (yes, I geeked out and spent two days there). We went directly to the second floor to look at records. Once you’ve ordered the record to be pulled, it is in room 203 for three days, unless you specifically sign for its return.

14)  The workers including the guards are very nice and extremely helpful, but they are strict about any rules.

I hope this helps any visitor navigate the NARA.  I was told that NARA II was very similar.  Hope you find interesting information on your trip to the NARA!