Featured Database: Passengers From Balearic Islands to Florida 1768

PASSENGERS FROM THE BALEARIC ISLANDS TO FLORIDA IN 1768 (MINORCA AND MAJORCA)

Andrew Turnbull, a Scottish-born physician and wealthy member of the East Florida Society in London which was formed in 1766, conceived a plan to bring colonists of Greek, Italian, Minorcan and Turkish origins to Florida in the hopes of cultivating the land. Great Britain had acquired Florida around 1763.

The Turnbull venture

On March 31, 1768, a fleet consisting of eight ships left Mahon, Minorca with over 1400 passengers. The fleet arrived in Gibraltar on April 3, 1768, then left Gibraltar on April 17, 1768. Of the 1403 passengers who had left Gibraltar, only 1,255 managed to reach the coast of East Florida as 148 of them perished on the high seas. Three children were born at sea: Eulalia Elquina (Alzina); Antonia Arnau; and Benito Buenaventura (unknown parents).

Four of the ships which carried some 700 immigrants, arrived in St. Augustine, Florida on June 26, 1768. The other four vessels had been carried off course by strong currents, but they eventually reached St. Augustine little by little, arriving one after the other, during the month of July, 1768.

Thanks to Researcher & Contributor Lucie Servole Myers, the names of these immigrant Minorcan settlers to Florida who sailed on the 8 ships has been published on Olive Tree Genealogy website. Lucie used several sources to reconstruct passenger names and all sources are provided online

The ships and number of passengers:

AMERICAN SOLDIER 145
BETSEY 120
CHARMING BETSEY 232
ELISABETH 190
FRIENDSHIP 198
HENRY & CAROLINA 142
HOPE 150
NEW FORTUNE 226

TOTAL: 1,403 (men, women, and children)

Interested descendants can also choose from the list of Passengers from Spain; Passengers from Greece; Passengers from Corsica; Passengers from Canary Islands; Passengers from Italy; Passengers from Balearic Islands

Graveyard Rabbits Carnival: Funeral Cards

Funeral Cards and Memorial Cards are often confused. Both are valuable genealogical finds as they contain information about a deceased person. Funeral cards were originally intended as an announcement type card - to be given out to friends and family when a loved one died. It had the time and place of the funeral so that mourners could attend.

Memorial cards were printed in remembrance of a loved one who had died. Often they were not printed until some time after the death. They were given out to friends and family members.

Some funeral cards like the one on the left, have photos, so if you are lucky enough to find one for an ancestor you may see an actual picture of the deceased.

AncestorsAtRest.com has a very nice collection of Funeral Cards online. A look at the index for surnames starting with "A" shows funeral cards for

Able, Fletcher, died 1912 unknown location
Abel, Nicholas, died 1893 Henry Illinois USA
FuneralCard Adams, Catherine, died 1888 unknown location
Adams, Willie, E., died 1889 unknown location
Adams, Elizabeth, E., died 1911 England, Minnesota USA
Anderson, James, died 1942 unknown location
Anderson, Johanna, M., died 1902 unknown location
Ashton, Ann unknown location
Ashton,Joseph, Alfred, unknown location
Atkinson, Florence, L., died 1885 unknown location
Anderson, Gertrude, Bogart, Broadwood, died 1951 Ontario Canada

The Funeral card for Abraham Neilson was found in an antique photo album that I purchased as part of my Lost Faces collection.

Genealogy Today also has many unique funeral cards and genealogy databases.

Footnote.com hits 60 million image milestone!

Footnote,com Marks Family History Month with 60 Million Image Milestone

-Adding more than 1 million new records per month, Footnote,com continues to expand valuable collection of digitized content-

Lindon, UT – September 22, 2009 – Adding more than 1 million new records per month, Footnote.com will mark the month of October, designated Family History Month, with the addition of its 60 millionth image. Since its launch in January 2007, Footnote.com has partnered with organizations including The National Archives and Gannett to digitize and index valued historical documents and photos and make them available online.

“Footnote.com is more than just a repository of documents and images,” said Russ Wilding, CEO of Footnote.com. “It’s a social gathering place where visitors can add photos, documents and other personal contributions, to create a more detailed and rich picture of our past.”

A favorite site of scholars, historians and genealogists Footnote.com has hundreds of rare and unique record collections including:

Historical Newspapers
Revolutionary War Documents
Civil War Records and Photos
The Interactive Vietnam Veterans Memorial
WWII Collection

Included among the millions of records are a number of free collections like the Social Security Death Index (SSDI), which gives visitors the opportunity to create interactive experiences from a simple index. For each of the SSDI records Footnote.com has created a page that features a dynamic timeline, map, photo gallery, and section for others to contribute stories and insights about an individual.

“The SSDI is a very popular database for genealogists and historians,” added Wilding. “What makes the SSDI more powerful on Footnote.com is the ability to enhance the records through member contributions.”

The Social Security Death Index has a span that includes individuals who were born back in 1875 and also those that have died as recently as last week. The index provides valuable information including name, birth date, death date and last known residence.

Footnote,com encourages visitors to share and preserve their own family histories, including photos, letters, and documents by scanning and uploading them to the site. User contributions combined with the original documents, Footnote.com is reveals a richer and more contextual side of history that few have seen before.

Visit Footnote,com to explore these and other historical collections.

Drouin Institute and Ancestry.com reach an agreement!

The Drouin Institute website has just announced that an agreement has been reached with Ancestry.comregarding the indexing of the Drouin Records.

I first talked about the pulling of the Drouin Records in

Ancestry in Arbitration over Drouin Records

And Is there Genealogical Life Without Drouin

Readers and Genealogists will be happy to know that the Drouin records will once again be available to subscribers on the Ancestry.com website as of September 21st.

Read Drouin versus Ancestry case settlement by arbitration (In French)

The posted version on the French language part of the Drouin website reads:

C O M M U N I Q U É

Ancestry.com et M. Jean-Pierre Pepin (Institut généalogique Drouin) annoncent à leur clientèle et à l’ensemble de la communauté des généalogistes qu’ils ont procédé au règlement de leur différend.

Ce faisant, les parties ont pris en compte les préoccupations des généalogistes énoncées dans les dernières semaines.

Ainsi, Ancestry.com remettra en ligne le Fonds Drouin numérisé sur son site internet à compter de lundi le 21 septembre 2009.

Les parties remercient la communauté des généalogistes et leur souhaitent bonne recherche pour l’avenir.

Ancestry.com
Institut généalogique Drouin

Montréal le 17 septembre 2009

Basically this says that Ancestry and Jean Pierre Pepin of Drouin Institute have listened to online genealogists concerns and that Ancestry.com will once again offer the Drouin records online as of Monday Sept 21st.

32nd Annual Rensselaerswijck Seminar Oct 2 and 3 in Albany New York

Announcement from Nancy Johnsen Curran

RUSSELL SHORTO TO BE OPENING SPEAKER AT 32nd ANNUAL RENSSELAERSWIJCK SEMINARRussell Shorto, noted author, will speak on “Oh, Henry: What Has the Hudson Year Wrought?” at the opening reception of the 32nd Annual Rensselaerswijck Seminar, Thursday, Oct. 1, at 5:30 p.m. at the NYS Museum, Albany. Admission is free.

The seminar theme
Oct. 2 and 3 the Rensselaerswijck Seminar, “Kiliaen van Rensselaer’s Colonie: The Beginning of European Settlement of the Upper Hudson,” will be in the New York State Museum’s Carole Huxley Theatre. Registration is at 9 a.m. both days.

The New Netherland Institute’s conference theme is a return to its roots as a platform for local historians to present their latest research on the only successful patroonship in New Netherland.

The members of the New Netherland Project staff will all take part. Charles T. Gehring, Ph.D., director of the project, Janny Venema, Ph.D., assistant director, and Martha D. Shattuck, Ph.D., editor, will present new information from their research specialty areas.

Genealogy and history will be twin themes in the analysis of the history of the Van Rensselaers, both from the aspect of their place in history and the succeeding generations of the family.

Shorto used the resources of the New Netherland Project in writing his 2004 book about New Netherland, “The Island at the Center of the World.” His most recent book is “Descartes’ Bones: A Skeletal History of the Conflict Between Faith and Reason.”

He will also take part on a panel of authors Friday at 10:30 a.m., with other contributors to the institute’s recent publication, “Explorers, Fortunes & Love Letters: A Window on New Netherland.” Dr. Shattuck, editor of the book, will be moderator.

A score of scholars and historians from this country and the Netherlands will present seminar topics over the two days, giving current information about the origins and history of Rensselaerwijck, a million acres that encompassed what is now Albany, Rensselaer and Columbia counties.

The annual New Netherland Dinner Saturday at the Hampton Inn will cap the two days of discussions.

Admission to the seminar is $75 for both days, $50 for one day, and $25 for students.

A special rate is offered at the Hampton Inn for those attending the conference.

More detailed information and registration forms are available at the New Netherland Institute website

Those with New Netherland (New York) ancestors can search New Netherland Genealogy databases feely available on Olive Tree Genealogy website

Louisiana Biography and Obituary Index 1804-1972

Did you know that The Louisiana Biography and Obituary Index is an index to obituaries and death notices published in New Orleans newspapers from 1804-1972.

It also includes biographical information published in older Louisiana collective biographies. The original index, housed in the Louisiana Division of New Orleans Public Library, is an alphabetical card file of more than 650,000 names. It is free to search so if you have Louisiana ancestors, don't wait!

Mitchell & Rettie Photo Album online on Lost Faces

Recently I found a beautiful Civil War era photo album in an antique shop. The album had 18 identified photos - from the 1860s to 1880s and 1890s. It had many unidentified photos too. Most were taken by photographers in the town of Fergus (Wellington Co. Ontario) and some from Toronto.

I took some photos and created thumbnails of them which I posted at LOST FACES. Since I don't own the album it would not be right for me to publish full size photos, and the only reason I am posting the thumbnails is in hopes that a descendant will want to acquire the original album.

Some surnames of folks in the photos are Mitchell, Rettie,Brown, McLelland, Barnett

It's in very good condition and the photos are beautiful.You can read the list of names as identified in the album, see the research I did on the family, and view the thumbnails and 4 full size photos at the Mitchell-Rettie photo album page It is Album #61. Yes there are 60 0thers online for interested descendants to browse!

Ancestry.com & NEHGS partnership

Genealogy bloggers are buzzing about a new partnership just announced between New England Historic Genealogical Society (NEHGS) and Ancestry.com

NEHGS’ historical records said to go back 400 years, will be part of Ancestry.com’s World Archives Project. The digitized records and their indexes will apparently be accessible to both Ancestry.com or NEHGS subscribers

I've been unable to find an official announcement about this partnership but will keep readers informed as I learn more. This is pretty exciting news for subscribers to either subscription website!

Here's Your Chance to Nominate Your Fav Genealogy Blog!

Family Tree Magazine is calling for nominations for Favourite Genealogy Blogs.

From Sept 3-Sept 30 you get to nominate your favourite genealogy blog using the online form. Nominate as many blogs as you want, even your own if you have one. Just make sure any nominated blogs have something to do with genealogy.

After all the nominations are in, you will get to vote for your favourite. Voting takes place Oct 5 to Nov. 5.

Visit FamilyTreeMagazine to vote or follow the magazine on Twitter for contest updates. Look for the hashtag #FT40.

Is there Genealogical Life without Drouin?

The recent arbitration between Ancestry.com and Drouin Institute over the Drouin Records has caused quite an uproar in the genealogy community. Many researchers feel that their genealogical research into Quebec ancestors is over with the pulling of the Drouin Collection.

Pam Tessier (pamtessier@sympatico.ca) posted the following information on a Rootsweb mailing list. With her permisson her original email is being published here. I have added links to the resources Pam suggests, and also added a few of my own suggestions for Quebec and New France genealogy research resources.

I agree with Pam - life is NOT over because the Drouin Collection has been pulled. Yes it's a wonderful resource, but while we wait to see if it can be brought back, let's move on to other valuable resources and find our French-Canadian ancestors.

And now -- Pam's email:

Believe it or not, there are other sources and there was a genealogical research life before the Drouin appeared on Ancestry.

The PRDH is an excellent research source for Quebec records and the BMS2000 is another one. Both are great subscription sites and well worth the relatively cheap costs.

If you are only interested in free sites then try the LDS Pilot Project under Quebec records or visit your local Family History Centre and do it the old fashioned way - microfilm in a film reader and turn a crank or push a button.

Check your local library and see if you can find a copy of Rene Jette's Genealogies of the French Families (Dictionnaire Genealogique des Familles du Quebec) or Cyprien Tanguay's books. Tanguay was on-line but it is not a source I use anymore so you will have to check.

[Also] the Drouin collection of transcribed BMD records is also available in a set of books - albeit a bit of hike for some of us to the Canadian Room of the North York Library.

The so-called Blue and Red Drouin marriage books are available at branches of the Societe Franco//-Ontarienne d'Histoire et de Généalogie. Try contacting them on-line for a lookup. It will probably cost you something but then these organizations don't exist on air. The Library of Canada will also send you every known marriage with your surname, from the landing in Quebec City to the present, for a very, very modest fee. The Red or 'Petit' Drouin is available on CD from many on-line book stores. From originals to transcripts, there are a lot of options.

Be sure to check out Lorine's Olive Tree Genealogy, she's probably got a few listed that I missed.

And of course, you can visit the Penetanguishene Museum and find almost every one of these sources just waiting for you- Quebec repertoires on CD, microfiche, in print or in a computer database.

Lorine's notes:

The following books are available from Amazon.com:

Dictionnaire Genealogique Des Familles Canadiennes


Dictionnaire Genealogique des Familles Canadiennes Depuis la Fondation de la Colonie Jusqu'a Nos Jours


Dictionnaire genealogique des familles du Quebec (French Edition)

Dictionnaire Genealogique des Famille Canadiennes by Tanguay is available on CD ROM. A few of the 7 volumes can be found at Google Books The Internet Archives also holds some digitized copies

Also, the Revest (Rivest) Marriage index and the Loiselle Marriage Index are another of the many resources available for French Canadian research. links and details are found at Olive Tree Genealogy Quebec pages.

Creating Your Own Archived Articles on NewspaperArchive.com

Yesterday I discovered yet another very cool feature on NewspaperARCHIVE.com Using the TOOLS section to create your own personal ARCHIVE allows you to build your own webpages featuring articles from NewspaperARCHIVE.com which you can share with friends or family.

I started my own Archive with newspaper articles on my VOLLICK family who left Ontario Canada for Sault Ste Marie Michigan. I plan to share these with my brothers and sister as soon as I have the full number allowed (25 articles) Here's how you do it:


Step 1: Login to NewspaperARCHIVE.com with your username and password

Step 2: Search for your articles (I use Advanced Search)



When you find one of interest, click on the icon ADD TO MY ARCHIVE (the little man with the plus sign, third icon from the left)


This is the popup window you get after clicking on ADD TO MY ARCHIVE


Step 3: Choose MY TOOLS from the left side bar.


When the new page loads you will see a list "My Account" "My Filing Cabinet" etc. YOu want "My Archives"

Step 4:


Now you are on the introduction page for My Archives. Click on MY ARCHIVE highlighted title text

Step 5:


Now you see all your previously saved arcticles. Your choices are to SHARE, ADD A LINK, ADD PRINTS TO CART or REMOVE. You can also VIEW FULL PAPER or ADD TO FILING CABINET. I usually view the full page to remind myself what the article is about


Step 6:

Choose one of your saved articles and EDIT the comments. For example I added the comment that one of my newspaper articles is the Obituary for William Harvey Vollick. After you have written your comments, SAVE CHANGES.

Remember, you can build your own personal archive of 25 saved newspaper pages to share with friends and family. I am loving this feature and have many more pages to find and add to my story page on NewspaperARCHIVE.com

Ancestry in arbitration over the Drouin Collection

According to reliable sources the Institut généalogique Drouin took The Generation Network Inc. into arbitration over the lack of full and proper indexation of the Drouin Collection previously put on-line by Ancestry.

On the 12th of August 2009, the judge named to arbitrate this case sided with Drouin, and declared that Ancestry has failed in its contractual obligation to properly and fully index the database prior to publication and since publication. The decision grants 60 (days) to Tje Generations Network to remedy the situation. Should they fail to do so, the license granted by the Institut Drouin will lapse.

The parties must still meet on September 9, 2009 to decide on the amount of damages caused by this breach of contract. Following this decision, Jean Pierre Pépin has asked that Ancestry remove the Drouin collection from internet access until such
time as it is fully and properly indexed.

The Drouin collection is not available on Ancestry.com, instead genealogists will see a notice

Quebec Vital and Church Records (Drouin Collection), 1621-1967
About Quebec Vital and Church Records (Drouin Collection), 1621-1967
UPDATE: Access to this content is currently unavailable.

For those who read French the dispute detailscan be viewed in this PDF file. You can also read blog news in French about this litigation

Pocket watch returned to family - after 130 years at sea

A silver pocket watch which lay at the bottom of the ocean for almost 130 years is finally being returned to the family of its owner. Rich Hughes, a diver, spotted the watch in the sand as he explored a shipwreck sunk off the Welsh coast.

After bringing it to the surface, he saw the words "Richard Prichard 1866 Abersoch North Wales" engraved on the casing. Mr Hughes told how he started to trace the family of ship captain Richard Prichard to hand over the heirloom.

Continue reading this amazing story of the Pocket watch returned to family - after 130 years at sea

It gives us all hope! Can you imagine the thrill of receiving that phone call telling you that one of your ancestor's treasured family heirlooms had been found and was being given to you? Especially thrilling because you would not even have known the item existed! Wow!

So here is my request - if anyone finds my 4th great-grandfather Jacob Peer's bible would you please send it to me, no matter what kind of condition it is in? Jacob was born circa 1730 (birth place unknown), married Anne (surname unknown) and lived in New Jersey then Upper Canada (Ontario) where he died ca 1810-1815. So if you find his bible, think of me!

Featured Database: Baptisms Old Dutch Church, Totowa New Jersey

One of the overlooked databases on Olive Tree Genealogy website is that of the Old Dutch Church in Totowa New Jersey. Baptisms from 1756-1822 are free and online in the New Jersey Church records section.

Other New Jersey Church Records are

Marriages Elizabethtown, (was Essex Co.)
Marriages in Hackensack pre 1700
Early Settlers in Hackensack
First Reformed Dutch Church at Montville, Morris Co., Baptisms 1786-1828
First Reformed Dutch Church at Montville, Morris Co., Marriages 1826-1873

Other New Jersey free records are found at New Jersey Genealogy & History

Ontario, Canada Marriage Registers by Clergy, 1896-1948

Ancestry.com has just released a new database Ontario, Canada Marriage Registers by Clergy, 1896-1948

This database is a collection of 18 volumes of marriage registers compiled by the clergy under the Registration Act of 1896. These registers contain over 12,000 marriages and cover the years 1896 to 1948. Most of the registers were compiled by Baptist, Methodist, and Presbyterian ministers.

The Registration Act of 1896 mandated that clergymen report marriages within 30 days of when they took place. Under previous laws, marriages could be reported within 90 days. This act went into effect July 1, 1896.

The registers consist of preprinted forms that the ministers simply filled out whenever a marriage took place. These forms had spaces to record the following information about the bride and groom:

* Name
* Age
* Residence
* Whether bachelor/spinster or widow/widower
* Occupation (for the groom only)
* Religious denomination
* Names of parents

The record also indicated whether the couple was married by license or by banns, included the signatures of the bride and groom, and provided the names and addresses of the witnesses. At the bottom of each record the minister was to sign and date the record, certifying the authenticity of the recorded marriage.

Indiana Alasdair and Lilith Croft, Tomb Raider (Making a history adventure movie with children)

My two eldest grandchildren are with me for their annual summer week with Grandma and Grandpa. This is when we enjoy genealogy treasure hunts, Cemetery Hunts, Genealogy Crossword puzzles and other fun Genealogy activities such as playing Ancestor Cards. My grandson, who is 11, is a history buff. He loves all things historical and genealogical. How great is that for a passionate genealogist to have a grandson she can pass the torch to!

We planned a Genealogy Time Capsule for this year's big event but we are not sure now if there will be time. Since we always make a movie with the kids (their choice) with Grandpa filming and offering suggestions to help them keep their thoughts organized, my role is usually during the brainstorming sessions. That's where I encourage them to write down their ideas for the plot, characters and costumes. It doesn't have to be lengthy, a page of jotted notes usually does the trick but they seem to enjoy it and it helps them stay on track.

This year we've decided to do a historically based adventure movie. It's based on the TerraCotta Soldiers found in China. These soldiers guarded the Emporer's Tomb. So the plot this year involves my grandchildren being archeologists who dig up a TerraCotta Army which is guarding a Chinese Emperor's Tomb. There is of course a curse attached to the disturbing of this Army and there will be many dangers facing the archeolgists.

Luckily I happen to have a Terracotta Army of Chinese soldiers (doesn't everyone??). I purchased them at various stores one summer to use for chessmen on my outdoor chessboard! They aren't full size but are about 2 to 3 feet tall. Making this movie will allow us to talk about history, about archeology and about China. We can even talk about different burial customs, so it touches on genealogy.

Our working title is Indiana Alasdair & Lilith Croft, Tomb Raider: The Army of Death This morning we are going to come up with ideas for the various scenes, the overall story line and costumes. I always get a small role in these movies, so am not sure what they will come up for me this year! Last year I was a grandmother who was turned into a zombie by a zombie dog (our dog Barley), but saved with a magic potion by a little girl (my granddaughter). The part required me to have fake blood dripping from my mouth and to stumble around our living room doing a zombie walk a la Michael Jackson. I hope this year my part will be a little easier and require less messy makeup!

This afternoon Grandpa will film them. This usually lasts several hours, there is lots of discussion on location, costumes, dialogue, etc. Often it extends to 2 OR 3 days of filming, then trying to keep the grandchildren entertained while Grandpa uses his computerized editing program to edit, add sound, credits and titles, then burn the movie to a CD ROM. The grandchildren take that home with them to show family. All in all it's a fun way to spend time with the kids, to talk about history or genealogy, and to introduce many educational aspects to a fun activity.

What I would do differently at a Family Reunion

Well the Family Fun Fest (aka Family Reunion) is over. We held it Sunday at our place and thankfully the rain held off until all the games were played.

The Scavenger Hunt went well except we had a problem with people getting stung by bees over near the red barn! Unfortunately the nest was around the back and we had no idea it was there. I suppose that's one of the challenges of an outdoor family reunion in the country, but I still felt bad that it happened to my family and friends.

Even though my brother was savvy enough to read my Sunday morning blog post to get clues ahead of time, his daughter and her husband, plus my 4 year old grandson, won! Little Colby knows our property very well and he knew where a lot of the items (chicken eggs, carrot for a bunny, oak leaf, a letter in the mailbox) were.

The victory photo of the winners was amusing as Colby did his Dr. Evil impersonation and held it for all the shots.

After the Scavenger Hunt we had to scramble as it started to rain. Just a light drizzle at first so everyone moved under the awnings (until we ran out of room). But just as the meal was almost ready, corn was boiling over our outdoor firepit, and food was being placed on the tables on the front verandah, it began to pour.

I had no backup plan (note to self: create a Plan B next time for eating!) and had a moment's panic trying to think where 38 people would sit in my house to eat a very messy meal! But everyone was very good natured and they either sat outside under the awnings or made do with whatever little space they could find to park themselves inside. Luckily the food was fine as our front veranda is 40 feet long with a roof.

The most correct answers to the Family Trivia Game was won by my oldest son (go figure!!) and his prize was the McGinnis Family Book I created.

What would I do differently next year?

1. I would have name tags - and I'd ask each "guest" to put their name AND their relationship to me or to my husband. That would not only be kind of fun for distant cousins to figure out their relationship, but it would also help people to know who everyone is. There are complex relationships with today's blended families and sometimes Person A can't figure out how Person B fits into the family.

2. I'd shorten the Family Trivia Game, and I would have it a bit more structured. I'd have a set time where everyone who wants to play is given the sheet of questions and a pencil, then given a set amount of time to finish the task. I thought it would be more fun if they had all afternoon and could ask other family members for help, but that just resulted in confusion and people losing interest in the game.

3. I would put up a more prominent family chart - a simple pedigree chart - and make sure everyone knew where it was for viewing

It was a lot of fun and I can't wait til the next one!

Newspaper Index for Barrie Ontario Canada online

The Barrie Public Library in Simcoe County Ontario Canada has placed the Barrie Newspaper Index online:

http://news.ourontario.ca/barrie/

The index covers the period from 1847 to 1968 and includes almost 120,000 entries.

How to find Newspapers from other Ontario locations can be found at http://www.olivetreegenealogy.com/can/ont/npaper.shtml

Scavenger Hunt at Family Reunion

Today is the day of our big McGinnis Family Reunion. I always create a Scavenger Hunt for these gettogethers and this year is no exception. Because we live on a large property the hunt covers a fair bit of ground and usually takes from 30 to 60 minutes.

Because our reunion also includes my husband's family, and friends, I like to encourage mingling by creating random partners for the hunt. I do this by creating cards in pairs - either numbers or animals or colours. Sometimes I have people choose their cards as soon as they arrive. This gives them lots of time during the first hour of the party to look for their match. But other times I wait until the Scavenger Hunt is ready to start and then everyone picks their card and frantically hunts for their match. That's lots of fun as it gets quite noisy with people yelling out numbers, or animal names, or sometimes making the sound of their animal.

I like to have family gather some items but I also have them answer questions for part of the hunt. This year I tried to think of some genealogy questions that could be incorporated but decided instead to create a separate game called Family Trivia Game which I talked about in yesterday's blog post.

This year we are using pairs of animals and it should be fun to see everyone trying to find their matching animal.

So our Scavenger Hunt consists of gathering items such as:

* a piece of hay

* an oak leaf

* an egg (we have chickens but they don't lay enough eggs. So to make sure everyone finds an egg, I hardboiled 2 dozen which we will hide in the barn and around the yard. However the teams will not be told that the eggs are hardboiled. Instead each team wil be told that they need to be very careful with their eggs since they are freshly laid by the chickens and can't come back to me broken.... just a little McGinnis twist!)

* a Canadian flag (I'm going to plant small ones on sticks around the yard)

* an apple (we have apple trees scattered around the property)

I also ask questions such as

* How many outside doors are on our house
* How many barns do we have
* What is the name of hubby's tractor?

For a bit of extra fun this year, I took envelopes and addressed them to each animal team. I then created stamps using the animal picture from the cards I made, and on each stamp I printed a postage amount (2c, 5c, etc) The instructions and question posed on the Scavenger Hunt say that it is Mail Call. Each team has to get their team mail (it's up to the teams to figure out there is a rural mail box at the end of our driveway) and bring it back. They must also note the cost of their stamp. But the trick is that I fastened the stamps on very loosely, and it is almost guaranteed that many will fall off before the team checks the postage. Yes okay I have a bizarre sense of humour....

For an extra surprise I sealed all the envelopes and in each one I put a slip announcing that team had won a bonus prize. It will be interesting to see which of the teams open their envelopes! The bonus prizes are small tokens which are genealogy related - bookmarks I created with genealogy slogans on them.

I think this will be quite a bit of fun and as long as my niece doesn't break her ankle again (as she did at the last family reunion at our place) we should be okay.

Family Reunions & Genealogy Games

Tomorrow is a big McGinnis family reunion at our home. We have these about every 5 years, and each year I try to incorporate new games for everyone to play. Because my family is not as passionate about genealogy as I am, I like to brainwash them (oops, I mean educate them!) with a little bit more genealogy and ancestor stories at each gathering.

This year we are having my infamous Scavenger Hunt - it's infamous because at the last gathering my niece broke her ankle! Yes, she was running down our gravel driveway during the hunt and lost her footing. Our property is a 100 acre hobby farm so there's lots of places for mishaps to occur. My Scavenger Hunt is not a genealogy based game but it's lots of fun and everyone seems to enjoy it. Because we are on a large property the boundaries of the hunt are clearly laid out and I hide items when necessary. More on that in tomorrow's blog post!

We will also be playing a game called Family Trivia Game. I created a list of 15 questions about the family - asking such things as "What was the maiden name of Grandma McGinnis?" and "Which ancestor is famous for being the only person to die walking a tightrope across Niagara Falls?" and "What year did Grandma & Grandpa Fuller leave England to come to Canada?"

I create fairly easy questions because of my family's general lack of interest in all things genealogy! But I like to include questions about facts they probably don't know and I'm hoping they'll remember when they leave. If my 11 year old grandson were able to be with us tomorrow, he'd win this game hands down. He knows more about our ancestors than anyone in the family besides me.

One of my questions this year (and this is a big help for any of my family reading my blog before tomorrow!) gives one point for each sibling they can name for four of our ancestors - our Grandpa Fuller, Grandma Fuller, and Grandma & Grandpa McGinnis. I like to give clues so for this question I told them that the total number of possible points is 15. That should help.

I also create a simple ancestor (pedigree) chart that goes on a clipboard I will place outside on one of the tables. Anyone who checks that chart will be able to answer some of the questions. This year I added a question that involves them looking at a photograph of one of our ancestors taken in England in 1894. I hope that adds a little more visual interest to the game. I gave the relationship of the ancestor to me (2nd great-grandmother) and they have to tell me her name. I suspect no one will know it, but they might realize they can check the 16-generation genealogy chart in my computer room to see who fits the bill.

As family arrive they'll be given the sheet with the questions, and a pencil. They have several hours to work on their questions, because I won't be posting the answers until after the corn roast and meal is over. So that will give everyone about 3 hours to try to come up with the answers. Each person will mark their own sheet (hey, my family is honest, aren't they?) and the prize for the person with the most points is a copy of my McGinnis Family book.

I'm excited to try this game out tomorrow, it was very difficult to limit the questions to 15! I kept thinking of questions I wanted to ask, but my husband pointed out it was starting to look too much like an exam at school! Here's hoping I hit the middle ground and asked questions that weren't too difficult but were interesting enough to pique family members' interest.