Ten Tips for a Successful Family Reunion

Your Family Reunion day has arrived. You're hosting it. Are you ready? Or are you starting to panic? I host Family Reunions (we call them Family Fun Days) every year and I've learned a lot from my earlier mistakes.

Here are ten tips and guidelines that might help you survive.  Just remember that the key is organization! And everyone attending wants to have fun. So relax but stay organized.

1. Create a guest list, send out invites well ahead of the actual date of your reunion and keep track of who is coming and who isn't. Contact guests a week ahead to remind them.

2. Plan your food and decide who is bringing what - is it a potluck? Are you providing everything? Be specific in your invitations so that guests know what is expected of them.

3. Plan your activities and games. Keep  children in mind. Perhaps you want to provide games and goody bags specifically for  youngsters. 

4.  Create a Timeline for your Family Reunion.  Set a start and end time, then assign blocks of time to certain activities such as eating, organized games, free time, cleanup etc. These are flexible but as the host or hostess you need to keep things moving so you need a timeline.

Let's  say your Family Reunion is going to run from 1 to 6 pm.  Your timeline might look like this:

11 am set up games and activities outside
12 noon Pop and water in coolers, chips and nibbles out on patio
1 pm Guests arrive. Potluck food goes in fridges
1-2 pm Guests mingle, look at family charts and play games if they want
2 pm - 3 pm Scavenger Hunt (an organized activity)
3 pm - start the fire for the corn roast, get family members to help shuck corn
3:30 pm start barbeque
4 pm Supper (corn, hot dogs, hamburgers)
4:30 Coffee and tea
5 pm Cleanup
6 pm Guests leave

Your timeline can be as detailed or as basic as you want but having one will help keep you on track.

5. Create a master plan for your reunion. This is the list of all games, activities and food you are providing. I also like to have sketches of where things go.

For example for our Family Fun Day this year I'm organizing an Ancestor Race and there are several events that have to be set up that morning. So I made a rough sketch of our house and property with the location of each event shown.  I also have pails labelled with the name of the event and filled with whatever items are needed for that event. That will make it easy for whoever might be helping me set the events up to grab a pail, check my sketch, and get things ready without asking me questions.

6. Make a TO DO list for the week before your reunion. This is where you will note what foods you need to buy, what food prep you have to do (if any) and when, when you are going to tidy and clean your bathrooms and have extra toilet paper and hand towels ready, and all other miscellaneous tasks that might get forgotten or left to the last minute.

Example: My TO DO list for the week prior to my family reunion might look like this:

Monday: Grocery Shopping
Tuesday: Find coffee urn, plastic plates and all other reunion items. Set out buckets with Scavenger Hunt or Race items ready to be hidden outside
Wednesday: Clean and tidy house. Clean all patio furniture. Put Ancestor Charts up for family to see
Thursday: Make hamburger patties. Get bathrooms ready (extra soap, towels and toilet paper out)
Friday: Buy 60 cobs of corn from local farmer. Set out game items (frisbees, football, croquet, etc).
Saturday morning: Hide Scavenger Hunt or Race items outside. Put up posters

7. Keep the little details in mind. For example are you having name tags? If yes, you need pens for your guests to fill those name tags out. Hosting a reunion is hectic and the last thing you need is to be running around hunting for pens or some other item you suddenly realize is needed.

8.  Make a detailed shopping list. What food items do you need? What about plates and cutlery? Write it all down. For example I will need hot dogs,  buns, pop, bottled water, chips, pretzels, relish, mustard, ketchup, serviettes (napkins), plastic cutlery, butter for corn,  coffee and coffee cream. I usually write out everything I need for the reunion then tick it off if I have it on hand.

9.  Organize your games. Let's say you are having a Scavenger Hunt. What items do you need for it? Write them down! You'll need bags for family to put their items in as they find them. You'll need clues so bettter get those written and printed off. Do you need to hide items? Make a note of what you are going to hide and how many and where.

10. Last but not least, have a backup plan in case of rain. Our Family Reunions seem to always get rained out. I learned the hard way that I need a plan for what to do with 35 or more people trying to fit into my house and how to set up the buffet meal that I planned to have outside until it started raining. Perhaps you will want to rent a tent in case of rain. Or maybe you have a big family room and can easily accommodate all your family if rain forces everyone inside.

I'm pretty organized for this year's Family Fun Day (one week from today!) but I'm sure something will go wrong. It always does but that's part of the fun!

Genealogy Games For a Family Reunion: Race Events & Eggs (Part 3)

T-Shirt Prizes

My annual Family Fun Day is fast approaching and I'm still creating posters, flyers and other items needed for the Amazing Ancestor Egg Race.  I'm also busy organizing all the materials I'm going to have to set out the morning of the reunion.  I talked about what else I've done to create Genealogy Games for a family reunion in Part 1 and Part 2  of this series.

Yesterday I completed the t-shirts which are the prizes for this year's winning team. This year I did iron-on transfers as I didn't have the time to create hand-painted t-shirts.

In my genealogy themed race,  family members in teams of two must complete events in order to receive coloured plastic eggs containing their next clue.  Each clue directs teams to the next event.  Each event is based on an actual event in the life of one of my ancestors.

Amazing Ancestor Egg Race Events

Here are a few of the events my husband and I have created:

Deer Run Event

Deer Run In this event teams must help my 9th great grandmother Ots-Toch (a Mohawk French woman) and her son It-sy-cho-sa-quach-ka aka Jacques Van Slyke, my 8th great grandfather, hunt deer. I don't want to reveal how I've got this set up as too many of my family read my blog! Some of them will be trying to get a little edge on the rest of the players by reading my blog for clues. But it's not giving away too much by saying that using the tools I'm providing, teams must prove their ability to hunt alongside our ancestors Ots-Toch and Jacques.

WW2 Event Flyer

WW2 Grenade Training Course. This event is based on my dad's military service in WW2.

I bought toy grenades and toy army helmets at the Dollar Store and can hardly wait to take photos of my family and friends donning their helmets and tossing grenades to achieve the event goal.

Eileen Vollick Event Flyer

Eileen Vollick Flight School.  Eileen Vollick was the first female in Canada to obtain a pilot's licence. She's also a cousin. In this event teams will have to prove their skill at flying in order to get their next clue from Eileen. (played by a family member who has agreed to be the referee for this event)

I can't describe any more events I've got planned as that would give away too much to my family. But there are several skill testing challenges, all genealogy related, and one ancestor puzzle to complete before the final pit stop.


Event Referee & Ancestor Name Tags

Name Tags

Every event will have a referee wearing a name tag of an ancestor connected to the event. Most events will have a ref  watching to make sure teams don't cheat. Yes, my family are known for cheating in order to win.  One year two of my nieces (fully grown adults with children of their own) hid the scavenger hunt items as they found them so that other teams could not finish the hunt.

Some events don't have a referee watching the teams. When team members complete that event, they must find a specific ancestor and show that ancestor their completed task.  This is designed to slow teams down and scatter the field a bit.

Observant family may already have noticed some people wearing name tags of ancestors and will know who to look for. Others will have to race from person to person to determine who has the next egg and clue.

Eggs Filled With Clues

Eggs Filled with Clues

After creating all the genealogy ancestor events, I wrote out clues that will move teams along from event to event.  I had to make 15 copies of each clue as I expect 15 teams will participate. Then I folded the clues and inserted them inside plastic coloured eggs. Each event has a basket of eggs (labelled so I don't forget what basket goes with what event!) which the event referee can quickly grab just before the race begins.

I also created a master list of clue numbers and egg colours in case a basket gets spilled. Can you imagine trying to remember where the purple or yellow or.... any colour eggs go? So I have a list that shows that purple eggs belong to the  referee for the Deer Run event, yellow eggs are with Grenade Training and so on. 

Part of the fun is that teams must bring all their coloured eggs with them to the final pit stop. That should be in interesting exercise to see how creative my family is in figuring out how to carry those eggs.

FamilySearch Adds Free Records for 10 Countries

Press Release

22 Twenty-two collections for 10 countries were updated recently at FamilySearch.org. The Germany and Mexico church records were the two largest collections added.

Collections were also added for Brazil, Canada, Guatemala, Italy, Norway, Sweden, and the United State.

See the records online now at FamilySearch.org.

Genealogy Games for a Family Reunion - Part 2 (Ancestor Cards)

In Part 1 of Genealogy Games for a Family Reunion I talked a bit about one of the genealogy-based events I'm setting up for our Amazing Genealogy Race. Today I want to talk about how race teams are chosen.

Our Family Fun Day (that's what we call it) should see about 35 people here. There will be 9 children under the age of 12. Because we are on a farm property we don't want children going around on their own so all children under 12 have to be with an adult.

Amazing Genealogy Race Rules & Boundaries

Amazing Race Rules & Boundaries

First I made a poster explaining the rules of the race and more importantly, the boundaries. Every year something unpleasant happens. One year my niece broke her ankle while participating in  the Scavenger Hunt. Last year several people were stung by bees when they ventured too near one of our outlying barns.

So this year I've reduced the boundaries to the cleared property around our house. I've drawn a very loose representation of the boundary area and explained it on the RULES poster.

Why a poster? Because no one listens to me when I try to explain the rules just before they start the game! My family apparently has a short attention span. Or I'm boring. Either way, they just mill about and chat and cat-call while I'm attempting to explain how to play the game.

Teams for the Amazing Genealogy Race consist of two adults (and as many of the under 12 years of age children they wish to have with them). I  want people to mix and mingle because we have invited my family, hubs' family and assorted friends. Some have never met.

Creating Teams Using Ancestor Cards

Sets of Ancestor Cards

So this year I've created Ancestor Cards. I made duplicate sets of the same ancestor with a photo, their name and brief biography on the card. Hubs laminated them as I hope to use them in future genealogy games.

There are matched sets and every adult will receive a card moments before the game begins.  After all the ancestor cards are given out, each person has to find whoever holds their matching card and that is their 2-member team. As soon as they find their match they are free to begin the race.

I'm really looking forward to them reading their ancestor bio and watching them race from person to person trying to find a match. I expect some of the more competitive younger family members to be yelling out ancestor names "Sarah Elvery Stead, I'm looking for Sarah Elvery Stead!!!" I can hear it all now and it makes me chuckle to think of it!

Some years I have them choose a card (last year it was animals) when they first arrive so they can wander around for the first hour of the reunion looking for their matching card. But this year I want it to be a bit more chaotic. 

I also want to spread out the teams and not have everyone racing to Event #1 at the same time.  The first event is a hunt for wampum in honour of our ancestor Cornelis Van Slyke, a Dutchman who lived in New York in the  mid 1600s .... but I'm getting ahead of myself! I'll talk about that event in another blog post.

WorldCard Mobile App - My New Best Friend

WorldCard Mobile App created by Penpower Technology Ltd. is my new best friend. I love this app! When I was first approached by the developers to try this app and then review it, I wasn't sure how useful it would be. But I'm a huge fan after trying it out.

Basically WorldCard Mobile scans business cards and then using OCR (Optical Character Recognition) technology, reformats the card information and adds it to your Contact List in your iPhone or iPad. What a time-saver and how I wish I'd had this app when I was at RootsTech in February 2011.

I tested WorldCard Mobile on dozens of business cards. Some were crowded with information or used abbreviations but WorldCard Mobile was able to convert them all and enter them in the correct fields in my iPhone contact list. The only one it had trouble with was a card with the person's name and a fancy character beside the name. WorldCard Mobile thought the fancy stylized character was part of the name but that was a very understandable "mistake" and easily corrected.

After WorldCard Mobile exports the business card information to your contact list you can edit as usual. So a quick Edit then delete of the erroneous character solved the problem.

Olive Tree Genealogy Card

All it takes to use WorldCard Mobile is a simple click of the app's built-in camera - you align your phone with the card using the on-screen image, then click. If the photo is clear and you're happy with it, you choose "recognize" otherwise you redo it. I never had a problem getting a nice clear shot the first time and I don't have the steadiest hands in the world.

After happily scanning all my business cards into my contact list, I checked out their option called "Signatures" Wow. Using this option you can transfer email signature lines (names, URLs, phone and fax numbers, job titles, etc) into your iPhone contact list too.

All you do is copy the signature line(s) you want imported, then follow the simple instructions in WorldCard Mobile and all the information is quickly and easily imported into your contact list. It truly is that fast and easy.

There is also a CardHolder which keeps copies of all the business card images which you can then organize into groups. I didn't play with this option but it looks interesting.

Almost ready to export to contacts

You can also import existing images of business cards from your photo library on your iPad or iPod Touch and they'll be converted and added to your contact list. Your iPhone needs to have auto-focus so this app isn't recommended for 3G but it works great on 4 or 3GS. I used it on my 3GS and had zero problems. It's fast. It's easy. And that makes me very happy.

WorldCard Mobile app recognizes 7 languages: English, Dutch, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, and Spanish so it would be very handy on a genealogical research trip.

I can hardly wait for my next Genealogy Conference - you know, the ones where we gather business cards like mad! Last conference I was at, I lost some of the business cards I was given. If I'd had this app I would have immediately scanned the cards so no danger of losing that important contact info.

Disclaimer: WorldCard Mobile did not pay me to write this review but they did provide me the app at no cost so I could review it. I tested it on my iPhone 3GS using IOS 4.2.1 and the version of WorldCard Mobile I used is 3.2.0

Genealogy Games For a Family Reunion: Part 1

Summer's the time for family reunions. We have one every year or two at our home in the country and a Scavenger Hunt is a big part of the family fun day. But this year I'm doing something quite different. I'm creating a race - The Amazing Egg Race (this is the working title, we may change it) - which features 8 genealogy related events.

Hubs and I started brainstorming for this race about 3 months ago. Gradually it evolved into eight different events, each one based on an actual true event or life circumstance for one of my ancestors. For example, one of my cousins, a man named Stephen Peer, walked a tightrope across Niagara Falls in 1887, then later fell to his death - whether accident, suicide or murder is not known.

Poster with Flyer & Event Rules

So one of the events that teams must complete is the "Steve Peer Niagara Falls Tightrope Walk". The event will consist of a long narrow board raised about 4 to 6 inches from the ground, along which all team members must walk from one end to the other.

I don't want to give away too much information here in Olive Tree Genealogy blog, as some of my family actually read the blog! But I am creating posters on bristleboard and flyers for each event. The posters with rules and instructions for the specific event will be placed at the event location and laminated flyers taped to the poster.

Flyer for Steve Peer TIghtrope Walk

8.5 x 11 inch Flyers provide details of the specific ancestor - their births and deaths, and accomplishment that the race event is based on. I've also added pictures to hopefully generate more interest. 

An event "referee" wearing a name tag with that ancestor's name, will monitor the specific event. As each team completes an event, the team is given a coloured plastic egg. Inside the egg is their next clue which takes them to the next event. Simple!

But of course there are some surprises along the way. For instance, teams must reach the final ancestor pit stop with 9 coloured eggs and some other items which I can't mention here or it will give too much away. Let's just say that by the time teams reach one of the last events on the race, they'll be hard-pressed to figure out how they are going to complete it and manage to carry all their items and eggs to the finish line.

In future parts of this series about Genealogy Games for Family Reunions, I'll explain how teams are assembled (Spoiler: Think Ancestor Cards...), more of the events, prizes, and how to plan and organize your own Genealogy Family Fun Day.

Yorkshire Vital Records Online

A few days ago I discovered that Ancestry.com has Yorkshire England records online. If you have Yorkshire ancestors, you'll want to run, not walk, to search them.

My son has Yorkshire lineage through his dad (Schulze, Hill, Dewhirst, Metcalf, Scholfield, Horner and more) and using these databases on Ancestry.com I was able to find dozens of church records for ancestors I already had in my genealogy program, and learn new names to add to his family tree.

Even for the ancestors I had previously found, what a bonus these Yorkshire records are! The marriage records give the father's name and occupations of both fathers, plus the groom. Residences are listed. In one day of intensive searching I found literally dozens of new details and several new ancestors for my son's paternal line.

The new Yorkshire records that are on Ancestry.com are:


* West Yorkshire, England, Births and Baptisms, 1813-1906

* West Yorkshire, England, Marriages and Banns, 1813-1921

* West Yorkshire, England, Deaths and Burials, 1813-1985

* West Yorkshire, England, Baptisms, Marriages and Burials, 1512-1812

* West Yorkshire, England, Confirmations 1859-1915

A Chance Genealogy Revelation

Some of Olive Tree Genealogy blog readers know about my good luck genealogy-wise on a day last week when I was bored. Well, my good luck continued the next day!

After the success I had finding genealogical information about my 3rd great grandfather John Sandwell Stead and his wife (my 3rd great grandmother) Emma Sutton and her parents and siblings, I decided to google a few more ancestor names.

Since this wasn't my usual methodical search method, I opted to continue with the random typing of ancestor names and places of birth into various search engines. Maybe Stead was a good one to continue with and yep - there it was - a hit on one of my Stead "relatives" from Australia. This hit interested me because the blurb showed that Ramsgate was also mentioned.

Ramsgate England is where my Stead ancestors were from and some settled in Australia in the mid 19th century. In fact my 2nd great grandmother Sarah Stead (nee Elvery) died in Sydney Australia in 1867 on her way from Ramsgate to make a new life there with her husband and children.

What I'd found in my search was a 2009 newsletter called "About Ramsgate" in .pdf format. Included in the newsletter were extracts (and photos) from several 1923 letters sent by Jessie Broadfoot Stead to her family in Australia while she was visiting relatives in Ramsgate.  Jessie was my great-grandmother's cousin through their grandparents John Sandwell Stead and Emma Sutton (my 3rd great grandparents).

The letters were fascinating, as Jessie was a very detailed and descriptive writer. Never having been to Ramsgate personally, I enjoyed reading about the town and the people and Jessie's impressions. She also talked about the social customs and the food, all of which I found interesting as  I could imagine my great grandmother Sarah Simpson (nee Stead) being part of it all.

Then came the surprise.  Among the photos published was a photo of six women in front of a house. The caption read

40 Grove Road, Ramsgate, July, 1923. 2nd from left Jessie Stead

The author of the article with Jessie's letters and photos explained that his aunt Jessie had boarded a few weeks at 40 Grove Road. 

What astounded me was that I own the identical photograph! It was given to me by my mother many years ago and I know who two of the women are in it.

The lady third from the left is my great-grandmother Sarah Jane Simpson, nee Stead and beside her (4th from the left) is her sister-in-law Jane Stead nee Kingsland.

40 Grove Street today

The boarding house at 40 Grove Road belonged to my great-grandmother Sarah Jane! She ran it for many years and my grandmother (her daughter) often told me stories of the lodgers who stayed there and the wonderful meals my great-grandmother cooked for them.

In fact my great-grandfather David George Simpson died in that home in 1921.

I never knew who the other women were or when the photo was taken although I knew it was taken in Ramsgate. Now I know one other woman - Jessie Broadfoot Stead. Perhaps one day the identities of the other women (no doubt Stead cousins or in-laws) will come to light.

June 30-July 8 Free Access to UK Records

Just in time for the Royal Visit, free access to 6 million UK historical records giving everyone the chance to explore their British heritage and search for their family fortunes

• 6 million UK records featuring 11 million names will be available for free from June 30 to July 8 in celebration of the Royal Tour of Canada
• Newly launched London, England, Wills and Probate, 1525-1858 details four centuries of inheritances of London’s wealthiest residents 
 

In partnership with the London Metropolitan Archives, Ancestry.ca, Canada’s leading family history website[i], today launched the brand new London, England, Wills and Probate, 1525-1858, detailing some of the largest inheritances passed down in the early years of the city’s history. The records date from 1525, when wills were reserved for the super-wealthy and members of the royal family. The collection contains more than 117,000 records that bring to life the economic and social growth of London, when the productivity generated from the industrial revolution produced millionaires on a scale never before seen.

To further improve one’s chance of locating an unclaimed inheritance, from June 30th through July 8th, 2011 Ancestry.ca will be offering free access to more than six million UK historical records through the England and Wales National Probate Calendar, 1861-1941 and the Andrews Collection, which will be of particular interest to the more than one third of living Canadians who descend from the British Isles.

The popular England and Wales National Probate Calendar, 1861-1941 includes information on more than 11 million names in wills proven across the 19th and 20th centuries, including the wills of more than 9,000 people who died in Canada.


To explore the free records and to sign up for a free 14 day trial, please visit www.ancestry.ca/UK.

Find Your Patriot Roots FREE

Ancestry.com is providing free access until July 4th to US Sons of American Revolution Membership Applications 1889 - 31 December 1970.

If you have Patriot ancestors, now's your chance to search 145,000 applications for membership to S.A.R.

A Cool Genealogy Thing Happened When I was Bored

A few days ago I finished my morning blog post for Olive Tree Genealogy blog and sat back, feeling at loose ends. Okay I admit, even though I hate the word,  I was bored.

"What next" I thought. Work didn't appeal to me. My almost daily trips to Ancestry.com had pretty much exhausted those databases for my personal genealogy research for the time being. Yes, I still had mom's English ancestry to explore but I wasn't in the mood for census records. Ever felt that way? It's kind of like wanting an ice cream cone so you turn your nose up at a donut.

With a bit of a ho-hum attitude, I began googling some of my English ancestor names. I've done that before and there's not usually anything terribly exciting. But this time I found an archived Geocities website that contained "Draft Wills and Indentures, Kent". One of the many pages was called "Draft Abstract of title of Mr. john Sandwell Stead & Others to 1,2,3 & 4 William's Cottages near Ramsgate"

John Sandwell Stead of Ramsgate Kent England was my great-great-great grandfather! The 3-page draft abstract contained details on John's wife's family. Her name was Emma Sutton and I knew very little about her except that her parents were William and Ann, she was born in 1812 in Ramsgate and according to her death certificate, a sister Charlotte was with her when she died.

By the time I finished reading the papers and analyzing the information contained, I knew much more - that she had brothers William Sutton (a blacksmith) born ca 1816 married to Fanny; Robert Sutton born ca 1819 married to Charlotte Elizabeth and Samuel Cowley Sutton born ca 1820 married twice, the second time to Elizabeth Petts. Emma also had two sisters - Phoebe married to a Mr. Little and Mary Ann married to a Mr. Crunden or Crumden.

Exact dates and locations of marriages of Emma's siblings was given. So were locations. This draft document was quite a find! Naturally I rushed back to Ancestry.com to start searching the census and other English genealogy records.

Four hours later I took a break. In my few hours of research I found quite a bit on Emma's siblings in the 1851 and 1861 census records. I didn't get to 1871 or later yet but I will.  I was able to verify that Emma didn't have a sister Charlotte (the one mentioned as being with her at the time of her death in 1875) but she did have a sister-in-law Charlotte. That is likely who was with Emma and that's an interesting cautionary note - to be careful assuming modern-day meanings for relationships.

I knew from my 17th century Dutch research that often the term "Brother" could mean brother-in-law and "Sister" could mean sister-in-law, but I hadn't thought to apply that to my English ancestry.

Other interesting (and possibly important) finds were that two of Emma's brothers were blacksmiths. Often such occupations in England were passed from father to son and that meant there was a very good chance that Emma's father William was also a blacksmith. No guarantees of course but a viable working theory. 

I also found many church records for Emma's sister Phoebe who left Kent and settled in Yorkhire. Thanks to her move, I was able to find her marriage entry in a parish church (the actual image) and learn that  father William Sutton was a blacksmith.

Aha! That helped confirm that a couple named William and Ann Sutton I'd previously found  living in 1851 in Ramsgate were almost certainly my 4th great-grandparents.  William was recorded as a blacksmith (and a pauper) but I had no proof that my Emma's father was a blacksmith. This find added more weight to my assigning this couple as my 4th great-grandparents.

I actually learned many details that day  - such as realizing that the name of one of John Stead and Emma Sutton's daughters (Phoebe Little Stead) almost certainly was in honour of Emma's sister Phoebe (Sutton) Little.  Little things perhaps but all helping to build a more complete family history.

Summing up I know now that my Sutton ancestry is:

Gen1: William Sutton born ca 1775 in Barking Essex married Ann (surname uknown) born ca 1777 in Tilmanstone, Kent

Gen 2: Emma Sutton born 1812 Ramsgate Kent died 1875 Ramsgate Kent married 1831 Ramsgate John Sandwell Stead

Today if I have time I am going to hunt for William Sutton and his wife Ann. I'm also going to find out about the four cottages that my ancestor John Sandwell Stead had title to. Also on my list is to find out about Barking Essex and Tilmanstone Kent. All these details add to my family history and I'm excited to get started.

Win 2 Weeks Free at Fotolia

Great news. The good folks at Fotolia have agreed to let one of the lucky readers of Olive Tree Genealogy Blog (http://olivetreegenealogy.blogspot.com) have a 2 week subscription to their website!

For those who don't know what Fotolia is, please see my earlier review of this site with its millions of royalty free photos.

The winner will have access to two weeks of Fotolia and be able to download 3 images per day

How to Enter:

1. Share this blog post on Twitter OR Facebook by using the icons at the bottom of this post.

2. Send an email to otg.giveaway@gmail.com after you have shared this blog post on Twitter or Facebook and in ONE sentence tell me why you want to win a free Fotolia subscription

One winner will be chosen from entries received at the email given above. One entry per person.

If you tweet this post more than once you will be disqualified.

If you send your entry to any other email other than otg.giveaway@gmail.com it will not be accepted.


Rules:
1. No purchase necessary.
2. Winner will be chosen from entries received.
3. One winner from readers of Olive Tree Genealogy Blog will be chosen to receive a prize.
4. The contest  ends at 3PM PT Saturday July 2nd, 2011.
5. You are responsible for anything in regards to the legality of entering a contest in the area in which you live.
6. The winner will be notified via your provided contact information the week following the end of the contest.
 

Worldictionary - an Interesting iPhone App

I'm translating Dutch to English on Worldictionary

I've been playing with a cool app called Worldictionary.  It translates words from other languages instantly with one quick motion of your iPhone.  

I can think of many uses for the genealogist.  If you are in the Library or Salt Lake City or anywhere doing research and you find a set of church record books in another language, choose the language it is in from the list of language choices, point your phone at the word and a translation appears.

Worldictionary recognizes and translates between 21 languages, ranging from Traditional Chinese, Simplified Chinese, English, Japanese, Korean, French, Germany, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Dutch, Swedish, Finnish, Danish, Norwegian, Polish, Hungarian, Russian, Czech, Slovak, and Romanian.

I tried Worldictionary on some French text and then on Dutch text. It did a good job of translating the words. You can also translate two words side by side but it won't translate long phrases. However you can take a photo right in the Worldictionary App and then point it to each word in turn for a translation. One caveat: be sure you hold your iPhone steady! Even with its built-in anti-shake function, you need a steady hand.

Genealogists could also find this useful for translating original text in records. Worldictionary won't work on handwritten text but I tried printing out the written text of a Dutch church record and then using Worldictionary to translate my printed words. It worked! I wish I'd had it when I was in Salt Lake City trying to translate some German church record words.

You can also tap the translated word or words listed on the right hand side of the app to go through to a more thorough translation detailing example usage, structure, synonyms, and definitions from the web.

You can also translate from English to other languages using Worldictionary. I'm not sure how helpful that would be to a genealogist but it's a cool feature!

I tried using the app to translate words in books, on my computer screen and hand-printed by me. Everything worked perfectly. I'd like to try it on a street or highway sign or a restaurant menu but I'd have to drive to the next town to give it a try on the bilingual signage on the highway. I'm quite sure a menu would work fine since it worked on the examples I used (Book, computer screen and hand-written)

Imagine travelling to Germany, France or Spain or anywhere you don't read the language and you could instantly translate words in your hotel or restaurant or at the train station! The more I played around with Worldictionary the more I liked it.

It won't translate any text in Italics so if you encounter something in a book that is in Italics you'll have to print it out by hand and then point and translate with the app. 

Worldictionary remembers your previous word searches and allows you to build your own database for increased translation efficiency.

I did  encounter one small problem that I'm sure won't affect very many people. I was using the App so it was open and at the Translation screen. My doorbell rang so I set my iPhone down on my couch (face down with the app still open). I forgot all about it for a couple of hours.

When I picked my iPhone up it was red hot and the battery almost completely drained. Oops.

The poor app had been working and working, frantically attempting to translate my couch pattern into an English word. So take heed and don't leave the app open or face down on a surface or you'll drain your battery completely.

You must have an Internet connection for the app to work and it will cost you $4.99 in the App Store but I think it's well worth it. If you're a genealogist on the go or even working at home, you may just find this app makes it to your favorite app list. 

Disclaimer: Worldictionary did not pay me to write this review but they did provide me the app at no cost so I could review it. I tested it on my iPhone 3G using IOS 4.2.1 and the version of Worldictionary I used is 2.1.0

The Massey Home History 1860-present

Massey House 1908

William Massey, my husband's 3rd great grandfather, left Quebec and settled in St. Mary's Ontario in 1859.  In October 1860 William began buying land in the small community. His wife and six children needed a home, and William built a frame house on one of the lots.

Massey House ca 1920s Notice the cow!

William eventually sold all but the lot where the Massey house stood. Some of the lots went to family members and to individuals who were related by marriage.





Before William left Ontario to fight in the American Civil War in 1864, [UPDATE: William did NOT fight in the Civil War! I have found records that he was actually in jail during this time] he transferred ownership of the lot and the house to his wife Ellen (for $1.00).


He died in November 1865 shortly after returning home to St. Mary's, and his widow remained in the house.

Eventually the land and house was transferred to their son Thomas Massey, my husband's 2nd great-grandfather. 

Thomas and his family lived in the home until Thomas' death in 1912.

Massey House 1942

 His widow Harriet continued to live in the house until her death in 1945.

The next family member to own the house was their son John Massey, my husband's great-grandfather. John's brothers lived in the house with him at various times. When John died in 1976 the home finally left Massey ownership. So this home had a 126 year history of Massey individuals living in it.

Recently my husband visited relatives in St. Mary's and while there, made a side trip to the Massey house. He wanted to take more photos to go with the photos you see here.  At my suggestion he took copies of his early photos of the house in hopes of  interesting the new owners with the house history. When he explained who he was and his reason for being there, the current owner of the house was fascinated and took him inside for a tour! She showed him around both inside and out and together they hunted for original foundations and parts of out buildings.

Hubs many years ago cleaning William's Grave

To my husband's delight they found the original outhouse which is now a garden shed, and some foundations which would have been an outdoor shed (now a toolshed). Hubs also noted interior parts of the original house and was there for over an hour. Of course he left copies of the house photos he brought with him and promised to send the owner copies of the Abstract Indexes to Deeds and ownership papers that pertain to the property and the house.  She was so interested that she phoned her place of work and told them she'd be late returning from her lunch break!

Hubs was so excited about being allowed inside that he forgot to ask permission to take a photo of the exterior of the house as it stands today. Hmm... or was it deliberate so he could visit again soon?

Whatever the cause, hubs had a huge serendipity moment and was able to go back to his 91 year old grandmother's home to share the story with her. She was in the Massey house as a young bride, sitting in the kitchen talking to her husband's grandmother Harriet, the widow of Thomas Massey.


It was wonderful for hubs to share details of the house as it stands today. When he mentioned certain details it triggered memories for her which she then shared with him. All in all a wonderful genealogical day.

Could This Be Marie Olsen?

A gravestone with the name Marie Olsen and dates of birth and death (1879-1932) was recently found in St. Paul Minnesota. I read this story on Geneanet and CBSMinnesota and decided to have a quick hunt for Marie.

I found a possible candidate in Ancestry.com Minnesota Death Index, 1908-2002

Name:	Mrs. Marie Andrew Olsen
Death Date:	21 Nov 1932
Death County:	Ramsey

It's proving difficult to narrow down all the Marie Olsen results in Ancestry.com databases but I hope someone somewhere will know who Marie Olsen is and where her tombstone belongs.

Genealogist Finds Descendants of Golden 1880 Ring

This is an amazing story. I love a happy ending and how wonderful for the descendants!

KITTERY, Maine — A professional genealogist from Utah has helped find the rightful heirs to a 1800s gold ring found buried in the sands of a local beach in what he is calling an "almost unheard of" turn of events.

The descendants live as far away as Virginia and North Carolina, but in a striking coincidence, they happen to be in New Hampshire this week for a family member's funeral.

Danny Hall, "The Gentleman Genealogist" from Salt Lake City, Utah, heard the "unique" story of the engraved ring, as told in recent stories in the Portsmouth Herald.

"I've never seen anything close to this before," said Hall, who specializes in solving family mysteries and reuniting relatives. "This is almost unheard of."

Continue reading this story at Genealogist unravels mystery of 1800s ring

Organizing Those Documents and Photos!

Well, I'm at it again. I'm reorganizing my genealogy documents and photographs. It doesn't seem to matter what method I choose, I always end up changing my mind after using a method for a few months.

I deliberate. I analyze. I mull over my organizational options: Binders? File folders? Emphasis on digital rather than paper?

Granted things change. I find more documents, or more photographs come my way. I learn more about a specific family member. So my stack of documents and photos becomes even larger.

Often I change my method of organization of my family files based simply on quantity. The more documents, the more room I need. And for that I like file folders in cabinets.

But lately I've been thinking a lot about who will want all this "stuff" in the future. Even the most interested of my children or grandchildren are not likely to want both of my 3x2' filing cabinets with their 6 large drawers stuffed full of papers.  Or my extra filing cabinets overflowing with the leftovers.

What to do? I don't want digital as my main method of storage and viewing. It's a great backup but doesn't work for me as my number one organizational method.

Binders haven't worked for me  as I research all siblings of my direct ancestors on every generation. That's way too many binders and way too much reading for others.

With all those constraints in mind I sat down to really think this over. What was my main goal? To ensure that my research into my ancestry is passed on. Okay what were my secondary goals? To create a method of storing my research that had some chance of actually being looked at and read by others. Any other goals? To create a way of keeping my documents that I could easily pick up and see fairly easily what I have and what I am missing.

I realized that to meet these goals I had to keep in mind that it is  my direct ancestor lines that will be of the most interest (perhaps the ONLY interest!) to my children or grandchidren. They aren't genealogists. They don't care about siblings. They don't care about doing any research personally. So if I want one of them to become the keeper of the work I've done, I have to pare it down.

Paring it down does not mean I have to discard what I've worked on for the past 30 plus years. But it does mean I have to separate direct ancestors from siblings. It means I need two storage methods and that's when it hit me. I need to keep the "extras", that is the sibling and spousal research that are not direct ancestors in my family tree, in filing cabinets as I've been doing. And I need to start my binder system again.

I need to move my direct ancestors documents, research and photographs and get those into binders.  But I need to be strict with myself and ONLY place material about my direct ancestors in those binders. Binders allows anyone to pick one up, glance through it and keep all relevant documents in one place.

Keeping in mind that I'm creating these binders for non-genealogists, I need to keep it simple. No confusing genealogy reports, just a simple chart showing the direct lineage from me back through the years. Add a family group sheet for each direct ancestor and that's it. Then I add the images for census, church records, vital stats, land records and so on. Whatever I have found for each ancestor goes into the binder for that family surname. That includes my scanned and printed photographs for the family.

I realize I could achieve a much nicer (visually) product by creating a family book for each surname but that's just too time-consuming for my immediate needs. Once I have all my documents and photos in a binder, I can begin work on that. But to do this quickly and efficiently, I've decided on binders.

It's almost a complete circle because at one point several years ago I switched from binders to filing cabinets due to the sheer volume of material I'd collected. In the past I've always organized based on what suited ME and my needs, but not with the future in mind. Now I've reached an age and a stage where that's my utmost concern - passing those genealogy records on.

So for the past week I've been sorting and placing documents into binders. One of the perks is that I'm actually finding copies of certificates that I'd forgotten I have! I do have a tendency to get side-tracked and  to start incorporating extraneous non-direct ancestor items such as my grandmother's brother's original military records. I have to constantly remind myself that I'm not creating the binders just for me, but for future generations.

I'm thinking I might start a second binder for each family surname and make those strictly for documents and photos that pertain to non-direct individuals (siblings on all generations). That allows me to preserve the documents in an orderly way and if one of my children or grandchildren decide they want everything, it is there for them in labelled binders. If they decide they only want the information on our direct ancestors they'll be able to do so easily.

Fotolia - Looking Good!

I've been playing in Fotolia.com for about a week now. And I'm loving it!

Fotolia has approximately 13 million royalty free images, illustrations and videos available for download. You can use the downloaded images in all print, electronic, online materials and webpages and there are no royalty fees to pay.

Most images can be bought for about $1.20 to $4.00 per image, or less if you buy in bulk. Pricing varies as it depends on how many credits you buy. The more credits you purchase, the less cost to you per image. Fotolia states that you can purchase photos for as little as 14 cents and I assume this is when you purchase credits in bulk.  One credit costs $1.20 (U.S.) and the minimum purchase is 10 credits ($12.00). The Fotolia FAQ page explains all of this quite well.

I used their basic search box to search for keywords, such as genealogy and history. What impressed me was the professional quality of the images that came up in the results pages. The specific keyword genealogy brought up just over 200 "hits" but by changing the keyword slightly (family tree, ancestry and others) I was able to generate many choices.

It didn't take me long to realize I could generate even more results by being creative in my searches and I began using such terms as Grandmother, children, grandmother books child....

There is also an advanced search feature which I really like. Here you choose from a broad topic, then you are given a drop down list of sub-categories within that topic. This drilling down goes on for some time and anywhere along the way you can stop and enter a keyword if you wish, then search.

As an example I used the representative category "People" Then I chose the sub-category of "on location" At the next drop-down list I chose "house" then in the keyword box I typed "grandmother and child" That gave me very specific images that I downloaded for an article I am working on.

I also tried a conceptual category such as Emotions &Feelings, then Happiness and then Pleasure and then used the same keywords. That gave me different images which also fit what I'm trying to portray in my article.

I could also have searched by clicking on a tag (keyword) and browsing. 

There are so many ways Fotolia could be beneficial to bloggers and genealogists in particular. Find and download stock images for blog posts - readers love photos and sometimes it's difficult to take one yourself. 

For those  who are writers and work on family history books or genealogy books in general, Fotolia provides a way to acquire professional royalty-free images to illustrate your work.

Downloading an image is quick and easy. You can either put it in your Lightbox to save it for later. Lightbox has unlimited storage. You can add it to your shopping cart until you have several chosen. Or you can check out one image at a time. You choose your licence, either credit or subscription and whatever licence fits your needs, then you accept the terms and download to your computer. It's much faster to do than for me to explain it.

I found something I think is really cool and that's the ability to see what images you have already purchased! I found after a few days I forgot what I had already downloaded. But clicking on "My Files" brought up a list of all my images. It also showed me which ones had expired and which ones were still available if I needed to download them again. You have a 72 hour period in which you can download purchased images. 

Fotolia also offers free images and if you like them on Facebook it's fast and easy to find those images. You also get a few extra by becoming a fan of their Facebook page.

An aspiring photographer can also sell images on Fotolia and if you are interested in that aspect you will want to read their explanatory page on selling your photographs

There is more to be discovered at Fotolia but this is what I've found so far. I'm impressed and I plan to keep on looking around and downloading! I also have some exciting news about an opportunity for one lucky reader of my Olive Tree Genealogy Blog to win a two week subscription to Fotolia.... so be sure to watch for the blog post about this in a few days.

Disclaimer: Fotolia approached me and asked if I would review their site. They have not paid me to write this review but they did provide me with a one month subscription so that I could explore the site and its options thoroughly.

Help Save Gordon House in Penetanguishene

Pam Tessier sent the following urgent message regarding preservation of a historical house in Penetanguishene, Simcoe County Ontario

A bit of historical background.........

 Located at 12 Water Street in Penetanguishene is the building commonly referred to as "The George Gordon House". A plain, white stuccoed, one and a half storied, cedar log house, it is said to be the first home built in the town.

George Gordon was a fur trader and in the west prior to the War of 1812. He was a witness to the seige of Michilimackinac and was in Sault Ste. Marie when it was burnt by the Americans. The house Gordon built shortly after he arrived in Penetanguishene in 1825 still stands and is lived in today. The age of the house may make it one of the oldest in Simcoe County, perhaps even Ontario. The fact that it is still lived in certainly makes it unique. It is local lore that the first Roman Catholic mass was said in this house, shortly after the arrival of the Drummond Islanders in 1828/29.

But we have a problem. The owner is an elderly lady who has had to vacate the house and is presently in hospital. Where ownership goes from here is difficult to determine, but if the house is to be saved, not just for her descendants but all the townspeople and their descendants, action has to be taken now. Heritage Penetanguishene, a council appointed committee, has not designated it as a "property of interest" and they are reluctant to designate the house a historical property because it has had stucco applied to the exterior.

We would like to work with them to have this historically valuable house declared not just a place of interest but eventually an official historical property. Here it sits, part of our history and totally unprotected from bulldozers or neglect.

We need your help! A few years ago when we hosted the Simcoe Branch of the Ontario Genealogical Society, I was approached about the preservation of this house by a number of people who were Gordon descendants . If there is enough interest shown by the public, we may be able to persuade Heritage Penetanguishene to move quickly on the designation.

If you are interested in seeing this landmark preserved, please join the Committee to Save the Gordon House by contacting Pam Tessier at: savethegordonhouse@gmail.com. Numbers matter and we do have a voice!

mtDNA Test Results Arrived!

Written by Lorine McGinnis Schulze of http://olivetreegenealogy.blogspot.com (see FN1)

Readers may recall that on May 10 this year I mailed in my mtDNA Test Kit which I ordered from Family Tree DNA . Well, last week an email arrived saying my test results were posted!

I was pretty excited and immediately went to the Family Tree DNA website to read the results. I have to confess that I'm confused. I'm not sure what I've learned that will help me in discovering my maternal origins.

It seems my Haplogroup is J and I have 5 mutations from Cambridge Reference Sequence (CRS). But what does it all mean? I've got a lot of reading to do! One thing I spotted during a quick browse of various articles was reference to Haplogroup J being found more frequently in centenarians than in younger individuals. (Source: http://www.fasebj.org/content/13/12/1532.full) The women on my mom's side all live to be in their 90s so that's kind of interesting.

An intriguing but still puzzling result is my Recent Ancestral Origins section. Here FamilyTreeDNA displays a chart showing the countries of origin reported by the people I match. This intrigued me because my maternal lineage as far back as I know it (Mary Ansell born Kent 1771), is based solidly in England.

But my chart results show I match 80 people from England, 54 from Germany, 22 from Ireland, 13 from France, 11 from Sweden and several other countries where my matches are under 10. I'm going to have to do some reading to understand what these numbers mean because there are also percentages given showing what % of the total population tested within each country of origin match my test results.

England is low - yes it says I match 80 people who gave England as the country of origin of their most distant female ancestor. But it then shows that I only match 1.2% of the population tested. That seems low to me, especially since I also match at 1.2% the total who gave Austria, 1.2 % who said Denmark and 1% who gave Switzerland as their most distant country of origin. More research on my part is definitely required for me to understand these numbers.

I also gave in to temptation and upgraded from mtHVR1 to Mega. The sale price at Family Tree DNA was too good for me to resist!

An extra step you can take with your DNA test results is to submit them to mitosearch then you check for matches in their database. I did that and sent off emails to the people who most closely matched my 5 mutations. We'll see what develops from that!

It also seems to me that I need to join some DNA projects so I'm off to hunt for any that I think apply.


FN1: I've added my name and blog URL to the header of this post because two other blogs are copying  my DNA articles without permission and posting them on their blogs. No link back to my blog is given and my name is omitted as the author. Since I hope to make connections with other genealogists through my blog, I have added my name and blog URL. This may help ensure that some notation is kept that indicates to readers of these unscrupulous blogs that the articles are not written by the blog owners in question. These same blog owners have disabled their comment feature and removed email addresses so I cannot contact them.