What to Save? What to Toss? 4 Questions That Can Help You Decide

It's the How to Archive Family Keepsakes Blog Book Tour and Olive Tree Genealogy is the stop today. My readers know how passionate I am about preserving family treasures. Well today you are in for a treat! Denise Levenick is the guest author today.

So read on for great tips on deciding what items are worth archiving. As an added bonus you can get a FREE PDF Chart Handout What To Do With What You Inherit: Save, Skim, or Toss, (Read on for information about downloading the free handout).

What to Save? What to Toss? 4 Questions That Can Help You Decide

Guest Post by Denise May Levenick, The Family Curator, author of How to Archive Family Keepsakes (Family Tree Books, 2012). 

It can be hard for family historians to let go of anything that might carry a family story, no matter how old or broken that keepsake might be -- the chipped china teacup you remember from your grandmother's kitchen cupboard, the mildewed children's book that was once bright and new, the keys to long-forgotten locks. 

One key isn't much to save, but it doesn't take long for family keepsakes to become a mountain of memorabilia that threatens to come down on our present life like an avalanche. 

So, how do we choose, what to save, what to toss, and what to give away? I've sifted, sorted, and organized dozens of family collections, and discovered that it sometimes "less" is truly "more," even when it comes to family archives. Yes, we could probably find a family story in every single item set aside and saved, but is that the story we want to preserve? Or, knowing the story, can we let the item go?

Our ancestors were mobile people, and as anyone knows who has ever moved from home to home, each relocation typically involves a kind of triage. Some things are tossed away, others carefully packed up and moved to the new home. Rarely is a home moved intact from place to place.
The same kinds of decisions occur between generations. Sometimes, a son or daughter will inherit an entire home of possessions and need to begin the difficult task of sifting, sorting, saving, and tossing.
Family historians will want to be on the lookout for anything that documents vital record information (birth, marriage, death records), hints at unknown family members, or fills in the blanks for "mystery years" or "family secrets."

Ask Yourself

1. Why did my ancestor save this?
The answer could be quite simple. Maybe your mom, like her girlfriends, followed the current fad and pressed her prom corsage in her school yearbook. Or, perhaps your grandmother added a caption to a baby photo because there was no other documentation of birth. The dried flowers are sentimental, but can be discarded. The baby photo, however, should be preserved with its important handwritten note.

2. Is it unique, one-of-a-kind?
Some family letters, photos or documents might be the only proof of birth or other event; you will want to save those items that document a vital event or important family story.

3. Is it old?
You might be unsure whether or not an item is worth keeping. When in doubt, save it, especially any original document decades old with names, places, and dates. You may discover connections later in your research. Think again about Question #1: Why did my ancestor save this?

4. Is it valuable?
“Value is relative,” you may have heard it said. And, it’s true. What’s valuable to you today, may not be valuable to your children or grandchildren.

Some items, like books and newspapers are now available in digital versions. Save digital copies as PDF images and let go of the paper copies. Or save a digital copy and file a single paper copy as a backup. Digital storage is less expensive than physical storage space. Do preserve your family’s heirloom original documents, though. They may be priceless and unique.

Think About Your Answers

Four "Yes" answers should be a clue that the item is worth preserving, or at least holding for further consideration. 

I've found 19th century baby photos tucked between pizza take-out menus and trade union cards stashed in old wallets. You have to look inside everything, but then, it's ok to toss the cracked plastic envelope, the take-out menus and the smashed, blackened prom corsage.

Take a digital photo if you need a visual reminder of the artifact. Write a short note if it holds a special story. If in doubt whether or not you should let something go, ask yourself if you've ever saved a similar memento from your own life experience, and what you expect your children to do with it. Sometimes, it's ok to give yourself permission to hold on to the memory and let go of the clutter. 

For a FREE PDF chart What To Do With What You Inherit: Save, Skim, or Toss, visit www.thefamilycurator.com/saveskimtoss.

Find more ideas for sorting and organizing inherited family treasures in How to Archive Family Keepsakes: Learn How to Preserve Family Photos, Memorabilia & Genealogy Records by Denise May Levenick (Family Tree Books, 2012). Copyright, 2012, Denise May Levenick. All Rights Reserved. www.thefamilycurator.com

How to Archive Family Keepsakes (Family Tree Books, 2012) ISBN 1440322236
Paperback from Family Tree Books, Amazon.com ; PDF eBook from Scribd
10% Savings Coupon ShopFamilyTree.

Join the Blog Tour
Join the Blog Book Tour for How to Archive Family Keepsakes January 10-26, 2013 for author interviews, book excerpts, giveaways, and more. Visit the Blog Book Tour Page at The Family Curator website for the complete schedule .
 
Proceeds from the sale of How to Archive Family Keepsakes during the Book Tour will help fund the 2013 Student Genealogy Grant founded in 2010 in honor of Denise’s mother, Suzanne Winsor Freeman.


Blog Book Tour Giveaways
Comment on daily Book Blog Tour PostTweet the Tour Twitter @FamilyCurator #keepsakebooktourShare the Tour on FaceBook, Google+, Goodreads

It’s easy to enter to win a free copy of Denise’s new book or one of the weekly giveaway prizes. All you have to do is leave a comment to the Blog Tour Post hosted at one of the official tour blogs. Random winners will also be selected from social media comments on Twitter, FaceBook, and Google+.

Each blog tour post comment gives you one chance to win; one entry per post per day, please. Leave a comment at each stop on the blog tour and increase your chances of winning. The lucky names will be announced each Saturday during the tour at The Family Curator.

About the Author
In every family, someone ends up with “the stuff.” Denise May Levenick is a writer, researcher, and speaker with a passion for preserving and sharing family treasures of all kinds. She is the creator of the award-winning family history blog, The Family Curator www.TheFamilyCurator.com and author of the new book How to Archive Family Keepsakes: Learn How to Preserve Family Photos, Memorabilia and Genealogy Records, (Family Tree Books, 2012).

DNA and Native American Heritage

I'm a recognized Metis in Canada. I have my official Metis card. But I have always wanted confirmation of my Native American heritage through DNA testing.

Now perhaps it is just me but for the life of me I cannot figure out on Family Tree DNA how to do this! I have my brother's Y-DNA testing done and have the Family Finder upgrade. I have my mtDNA done. I've been willing to pay for whatever upgrade or test I need. But what one?

I wrote to one of the partners in Family Tree DNA a week ago to ask for assistance. No response. I should add that I'm linked to him on Facebook and I've seen him online several times since I sent my message. I'm sure he's a busy guy but c'mon - a week goes by and he doesn't answer a customer and someone he's linked to on Facebook as a friend?

So on the weekend I posted on the Family Tree DNA Facebook page, and asked for advice.  Again my post was met with silence. No official response at all.  Thankfully one person responded and gave me advice and a contact name of someone not involved with FamilyTreeDNA who might be able to help. I plan to follow that up as soon as I figure out how to download my raw data from FTDNA site!

In the meantime Roberta Estes was recommended as the person to consult. She responded to me with a link to her blog post called Proving Native American Ancestry Using DNA According to Roberta I need to order an upgrade to test at D9S919. Her article went on to explain exactly how to order this upgrade on FTDNA. I am so impressed! That's the kind of help I like - a clear explanation and set of instructions that are easily followed.

So I've ordered the upgrade on my brother's DNA and on mine. We'll see what happens!

But I must add that I'm very disappointed in Family Tree DNA's lack of response to a customer. It's not only bad customer relations, it's bad marketing! I want to spend money with them and they are not bothering to help me do so.

Thank goodness for the willingness and kindness of strangers who jump in and try to help! 

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A Case of Mistaken Identity

For many years I thought my great-great-grandfather Joseph McGinnis died in Guelph in 1877 and his wife, my great-great-grandmother Frances (Fanny) McGinnis died there in 1890.

After all, in the years before the Internet, I'd sent for and received a transcript of the 1877 death registration of Joseph, which gave this information: Joseph McGinnis age 38, a labourer born Ireland died of consumption. Informant his wife Frances McGinnis who signed with her mark (X)

That agreed (pretty much) with my ancestor who I knew as Joseph McGinnis born circa 1825-1830 in Ireland, married to Frances (Fanny) Downey, and a labourer.  He should have been at least 47 in 1877 but I thought perhaps the census taker misunderstood Fanny's Irish accent.

The 1881 Census Adds to the Confusion

In the 1881 census for Guelph I found the widow Frances McGinnis age 49, a charwoman and her son Joseph age 15, a moulder. It all fit as Joseph and Fanny did have a son Joseph born in 1864. We all know that census records are not always 100% accurate so I wasn't worried about the slight difference in the age of Joseph in 1881.

One small problem was another Frances McGinnis in Guelph, also a widow, age 51, born Ireland and no children with her. She was a washerwoman.

The only census records I had been able to find for the family were the 1861 census for Puslinch (near Guelph) where Joseph's age was given as  30 and 1871 for Guelph where he was listed as 46 years old.  So there was already a huge discrepancy in ages! His wife Fanny was listed in 1861 as age 30 and in 1871 as 44.

Fanny's Death Registration

Discrepancies aside it seemed pretty clear to me that I'd found great-great-grandpa's death. Next I found Fanny McGinnis dying in 1890. Again this was before the Internet and online genealogy records so I sent for and received her registration which stated:

Frances McGinnis, age 60 born Ireland died in St. Joseph's Hospital in Guelph. No family member had given information. I also found a death notice for her in the Guelph newspapers which gave no further information.

Have I Really Found Their Deaths?

So there I had it. The deaths of both my great-great-grandparents.  Or did I? When the 1891 census was released, I was quite surprised to find my 2nd great grandmother on it! There she was living with her daughter Delia in Guelph. How could this be? I puzzled over this but simply could not explain it. She and her husband Joseph were buried in St. Joseph's Cemetery. I had her death registration dated 1890. I had his from 1877. I finally decided that perhaps her daughter Delia had given her mother's name even though she was not living. I wasn't happy with that and knew I would pursue the discrepancy further,  but at that time I had no other census records or death records to search as they were being released slowly to the public.

The 1901 Census is Released and Answers are Found

Fanny McGinnis Death Registration 1904

And then the 1901 census was released. I was quite excited to hunt for my McGinnis ancestors and to see if Fanny was in there. Sure enough she was. She was living in Morriston (near Guelph) with her son (my great grandfather) and daughter.  It occured to me that if I had the wrong Fanny dying in 1890 and being buried with the Joseph McGinnis who died in 1870 I surely had the wrong great great grandpa too! Next I found proof of my Fanny's death in 1904. Verified. Positively the right Fanny.

It was very challenging to figure out how to solve this confusion. There was no other Joseph and Fanny McGinnis in the census records for Guelph and area. There was only my family - and that was verified. There was only one Joseph McGinnis death (in 1877) yet there were two Fanny McGinnis' deaths (one in 1890 and one in 1904). There was only one couple named Joseph and Fanny McGinnis in the census for 1861 and 1871 and they were definitely mine. My Joseph did not appear in any census after 1871 and my Fanny was listed as a widow in 1881. I began to wonder if it was possible my 2nd great grandfather was a bigamist.

Church of Our Lady Holds the Clues

The Catholic Church in Guelph, which is where my Joseph and Fanny attended, does not allow the public access to its church records  so I could not search for the burial records or marriages to try to find some conclusive facts. Then came a bright spot - the Church was willing to allow the Church secretary to conduct searches on behalf of individuals for a small fee.

I immediately wrote to request the burial records for Joseph who died in 1877 and Fanny who died in 1890.  The Church secretary found and photocopied the deaths. And there it was - the burial record of Joseph stated in part :

"... Joseph McGinnis, husband of Frances Foster, deceased the 25th inst. in the town of Guelph, aged 48 years."

Frances Foster? My ancestor was Frances Downey. So this Joseph who died in 1877 didn't appear to be my 2nd great-grandfather. But where was my Joseph in 1881? My Fanny was listed as a widow. If he died in Guelph between 1871 and 1881 why was there no death registration? Why no burial record at the Catholic Church (I did request a 10 year search of the records for him but nothing was found)

The burial record for Frances who died in 1890 stated that she was the widow of Joseph McGinnis and that she was born in Gilbraltor.

Questions and More Questions 

And so the puzzle remains - what happened to my Joseph McGinnis? The last record of him is the 1871 census. Was he a bigamist? Did he die in 1877? Did he leave Ontario for the USA, as many of his cousins and brothers did? Did he die there and his widow Fanny returned to Guelph by 1881?

And which widow in that 1881 census is my Fanny?

And why is there no second couple named Joseph and Fanny McGinnis in the Guelph area in any census record, other than my 2nd great-grandparents?

I'm leaning towards Fanny and Joseph leaving Guelph for the USA, Joseph dying there and Fanny returning. My reasoning is not only that I can't find a death record in Ontario for Joseph but also because I am unable to find their unmarried children Mary Jane aka Mae and Robert  in the 1881 census for Ontario or the 1880 census for USA.  Of course since I'm not sure that the Robert age 15 in 1881 is the son of my Fanny or the Fanny who died in 1890, I might also be missing Robert in 1880 and 1881.

I've not found Fanny's grave or her burial record from the Catholic Church. 

What are your thoughts?

Summary
1847 my Joseph and Fanny baptise daughter Fanny in Church of Our Lady Guelph
1849  my Joseph and Fanny baptise son Alexander in Church of Our Lady Guelph
1851 my Joseph and Fanny baptise son Daniel in Church of Our Lady Guelph
1851 Census Puslinch - they are not found but the first page of this census is missing
1856  my Joseph and Fanny baptise daughters Ann and Margaret in Church of Our Lady Guelph
1861 Census my Joseph and Fanny are found in Puslinch Twp, Wellington Co.
ca 1860-1862 my Joseph and Fanny have a daughter Mary Jane (Mae)
1864 my Joseph and Fanny baptise son Joseph  in Church of Our Lady Guelph
1865 my Joseph and Fanny baptise son Robert in Church of Our Lady Guelph
1871 Census my Joseph and Fanny are found Guelph, Wellington Co
1877 Joseph McGinnis, husband of Fanny Foster, dies
1877  a widow Fanny McGinnis found in City directory for Guelph
1882/1883 a widow Fanny McGinnis found in City directory for Guelph. Noted as widow of Joseph. Living 64 Cork St. at corner of Cork and Norfolk
1881 Census - two widowed Fanny McGinnis' found in Guelph
1890 Frances/Fanny Foster widow of Joseph McGinnis dies
1891 Census - my widowed Fanny in Guelph with her daughter Delia
1901 Census - my widowed Fanny in Morriston with son Alex and daughter Fanny Vogt
1904 - my Fanny Downey, widow of Joseph McGinnis, dies.

Researchers close to revealing results on Richard III skeleton

Researchers will reveal next month whether a skeleton found under a city centre car park is that of Yorkist King Richard III.

The University of Leicester will disclose the results of tests carried out on the remains, thought to be those of the Plantagenet King, at a press conference in the first week of February.

It's very interesting to note that DNA is being analyzed and compared with that of Michael Ibsen, a descendant of Richard III’s family. Radiocarbon tests and genealogical studies are also taking place.

The skeleton, with a metal arrow in its back and severe trauma to the skull, was exhumed from a car park behind council offices in Leicester in September during an archaeological dig. 

Read more at York Press

Family Curator Blog Book Tour for How to Archive Family Keepsakes

Organize your family history heirlooms and research in 2013 --
Family Curator Blog Book Tour for How to Archive Family Keepsakes by Denise Levenick – On Tour from January 10-26^th, 2013.

How to ArchiveFamily Keepsakes: Learn to Preserve Family Photos, Memorabilia & Genealogy Records will be featured in a new Blog Book Tour January 10-26, 2013. With top reviews from leading genealogy bloggers and 5-Star Ratings on Amazon.com, this new resource by Denise Levenick, The Family Curator, will help you organize and preserve your family history heirlooms and research in 2013.

Visit 14 popular genealogy blogs and websites featuring Denise and How to Archive Family Keepsakes for book excerpts, interviews, special guest posts, free downloads, and giveaways.  View the schedule at the Blog Book Tour Page. (Olive Tree Genealogy will be part of the Blog Book Tour, watch for a Guest post from the author on January 15!)

How to Archive Family Keepsakes offers practical guidance for family historians:

•    Helping a parent or loved one downsize to a smaller home

•    Needing a simple, effective filing system for genealogy research

•    Interested in scanning and making digital copies of genealogy records

•    Looking for a way to preserve your family history and heirlooms for future generations

Proceeds from the sale of How to Archive Family Keepsakes during the Book Tour will help fund the 2013 Student Genealogy Grant founded in 2010 in honor of Denise’s mother, Suzanne Winsor Freeman.

About the Author

Denise Levenick lives in Southern California and inherited her love of family history along with a trunk filled with family treasures from her maternal grandmother. She is now the caretaker of several family collections and has adapted professional archival techniques to organize and preserve family keepsakes for a home situation. She is a frequent contributor to Family Tree Magazine and speaks to genealogy societies and service groups about preserving family treasures. Denise created The FamilyCurator blog in 2007 where she continues to write about her own family history research and preserving family keepsakes.

Join the Blog Book Tour for How to Archive Family Keepsakes January 10-26 for author interviews, book excerpts, giveaways, and more. Visit the Blog Book Tour Page at The Family Curator website for the complete schedule 

How to Archive Family Keepsakes (Family Tree Books, 2012) ISBN 1440322236

Paperback from FamilyTree Books or Amazon.com
PDF eBook from Scribd

10% Savings Coupon ShopFamilyTree

New Court Ruling for Metis in Canada Shows Importance of Genealogy

A landmark victory for non-reserve aboriginals in Canada has just taken place.

The Federal Court has ruled Métis and non-status Indians are indeed “Indians”  ^FN under a section of the Constitution Act, and fall under federal jurisdiction.

This is important because in Canada status Indians receive many benefits including free health care (dental and medical), education benefits, no tax on purchased goods and no income tax. Metis and non-status Indians do not receive these benefits.

Metis and non-status Indians have been fighting the government for years for access to the same health, education and other benefits Ottawa gives status Indians. This means they could also hunt, trap, fish and gather on public land.

So why does this make Genealogy important? I'm a Metis. I applied for and received my Metis status card many years ago. Without genealogy I would never have known I had native heritage. My native ancestor was a Mohawk woman named Ots-Toch who married a Dutchman named Cornelis Van Slyke.  I would never have discovered this without pursuing my family tree. It was not common knowledge in our family.

This new ruling could have a huge positive financial impact for me, my children and grandchildren. And we have genealogy to thank for me applying for and being granted my Metis status.

You can read more about this decision here. 

^FN Please note that I am using the word "Indian" here as that is the term with legal meaning in the Indian Act of Canada

A Genealogy Mystery: The Gun & the Watch Fob

This is the story of a long-standing family mystery in my husband's Massey family.

Bill Jr. back 2nd from left

The characters

William Massey born 1916 and died 1984. He was a bachelor who lived in the sleepy town of St. Mary's Ontario his entire life. I'll call him Bill Jr.

His uncle Bill Massey was born 1894 and died in 1967. He too was a bachelor who to our knowledge never left St. Mary's. Let's call him Bill Sr.

Bill Massey Sr.

When Bill Jr. died in 1984 his brother Mike cleared out Bill's house and found two objects which he gave to my husband (Bill's brother's grandson). Mike did not know where one of the items came from or why his brother had it but he knew that the second item belonged to their uncle Bill who was born in 1894. Mike did not know why his Uncle Bill (Sr.) had this particular item.

The objects

1. A Nagant Gas Seal Revolver made in Belgium, model 1895, manufactured in 1898, known to belong to Bill Sr.

2. A watch fob with a two annas coin from India dated 1897. On the reverse of the coin is a shamrock with a green stone. The shamrock has been soldered on. Not known if it was ever owned by Bill Sr.

The gun would have been an unusual gun to find in North America years ago. As far as we can find out they were never sold commercially in this country. This gun was basically only used by the Polish Army, the Russian Army and some European Police Forces so it is curious how it ended up in the sleepy little town of St. Mary's Ontario.

Neither of the uncles (Bill Sr. or Bill Jr.) ever traveled overseas as far as we can determine.  Bill Sr. born in 1894 would have been too young to be the original owner of the gun. Did it belong to his father Thomas Massey?

There is indeed a sentence in Thomas Massey's obituary of 1912 which has puzzled my husband for many years "...the deceased was born in St. Mary's and spent all but a few years in the Stone Town." The Stone Town refers to St. Mary's where Thomas was born and died. To the family's knowledge he never left but this tiny reference in his obituary does indicate that indeed he did live elsewhere at some point in his life.

Also noteworthy perhaps is the fact that Uncle Bill Sr, the man who we know the gun once belonged to, was 18 when his father Thomas died. It might make sense that a gun belonging to his dad would be given to him as a memento. But the puzzle remains - how was the gun obtained and by who?  And... do the watch fob and India coin go with the gun? In other words were they owned by the same man?

I should also mention that neither of the Bills collected antiques or were sentimental. They had no other family treasures in their homes. So why keep this gun and watch fob?

The Massey family were not wealthy. They were not sophisticated. They didn't travel. They were hard-working labourers who lived and died in St. Mary's.  The Massey family history was passed down, any heirlooms were also passed down and treasured and family stories known and told about each member of the family. But nothing was ever heard of any of the family going off on an adventure or joining the army and leaving Canada.

Did one of the Massey men win these items in a poker game? Bill Sr. was a barber and perhaps one of his customers paid for their haircut and shave with the gun. We have no clues and no idea as to what the story is. But we think there just might be an adventure related to these items and waiting to be found.

In Memory of Joan Miller of Luxegen Genealogy

On Saturday I learned about the death on Friday of fellow Canadian genealogist and blogger Joan Miller  I met Joan in Salt Lake City Utah in 2011 and spent many hours with her and her husband Reg. She was an absolutely lovely and generous lady. I will always remember her huge smile which enveloped all of us with its warmth. Joan's energy, enthusiasm and shining spirit will be greatly missed. My thoughts are with Joan's family at this time.

Joan's family has requested donations in Joan's memory be done through Kiva. Kiva provides loans to help others in impoverished parts of the world. Joan was passionate about Kiva and was a founding member of the Kiva Team Genealogists for Families.

In Joan's memory I just made a loan to a woman named Delia, a pig farmer in the Philippines.
Delia is 33 years old and lives in the Philippines. She is married with 2 children. Delia has a pigpen that sells grown & matured pigs. She has had this business for 5 years. She requested a loan of PHP 15,000 ($375.00) to buy animal feed for her pigs.

I chose to make my loan a commemorative loan which I dedicated to Joan. This means that instead of being repaid my loan, the repayment will go towards another loan. Every time the loan is repaid, it will be turned back to Kiva to lend to another needy individual.

The Kiva website explains "We are a non-profit organization with a mission to connect people through lending to alleviate poverty. Leveraging the internet and a worldwide network of microfinance institutions, Kiva lets individuals lend as little as $25 to help create opportunity around the world."

If you wish to honour Joan's memory by making a small loan, you may do so at this page

Creating a Hand-Made Journal for a Diary or Life Story using Flip-Pal Mobile Scanner (Step 1)

Yesterday I went around my home with my Flip-Pal Mobile Scanner in hand. I was looking for patterns. Patterns can be found anywhere - in floor tiles, couch fabric, sofa cushions, carpets, wallpaper, drapes, wall tiles, kitchen and bathroom counters, etc.

I wanted to scan patterns to create pages for a journal I want to make. I want this hand-made journal for my Life Story that I plan to write. It's an offshoot of my weekly Sharing Memories blog posts here on Olive Tree Genealogy. Right now it's an idea glimmering in my brain. It's not well thought out, but I do have a sort-of kind-of plan on how I plan on creating my journal with beautiful hand-made pages which I will make.

Usually when I do project like this, I create the entire thing first, then I share it here on Olive Tree Genealogy blog. But this time I thought it would be fun if others joined me! Of course you can use your journal for anything you want! As a diary. As a Life Story book. As a Sharing Memories book. Those are just a few ideas for a hand-made journal.

So if you have a Flip-Pal Mobile Scanner, and you'd like to create your own journal (for yourself or for gifts), why not grab it and find some patterns in your home that you might be able to use. (If you don't have a Flip-Pal Mobile Scanner you really should get one)

It will also be really helpful for us to share our ideas -what works and what doesn't work, as we go along. You might figure out the solution to a problem as we create our journals. Or you might find a great pattern that others can duplicate. For instance I know that my white lace tablecloth makes an amazing pattern but I forgot to scan it so I'll pull it out and get that done before I make any final decisions on which of my scanned patterns I will use for my journal pages.

I've already scanned over 40 patterns (32 are shown below) and I've printed off about 10 that I like for the pages of my journal. Take a peek at the patterns below and let me share with you a few of the ones I really like for my pages. 

Some of the patterns I scanned are too dark to use as pages I can write on. I might use them as borders on other pages or as the inside covers or even the outside cover of my journal. I'm not sure yet. And while I love that blue-purple Kleenex box scan, I don't have anything that I feel matches or complements it to be able to use in my Journal creation.

Oh, and where you see the word "REDO" as part of the file name, it means I didn't notice the dog hair or crumbs or specks of dirt and dust until I'd finished scanning! So I have to rescan after I do a little cleanup. So I can already give you a tiny word of advice - be sure what you are scanning is free of dust, dirt, lint, pet hair and so on! Unless you like the abstract and real feeling to your pages if you've scanned in some cat or dog hair, then by all means keep it natural.

If it weren't winter in Canada I'd have gone outside looking for more patterns to scan - the gravel in my garden, an old pot, the wrought iron patio table, the welcome mat, the birch tree bark... I bet I could find lots! I'll be interested to know what my readers find outside if you choose to accept my challenge to join me on this project.

I've decided to create pages using light beige and white patterns. Some of the patterns above are too small for you to see the great designs on them so I'm going to show you a few below as larger images.

Wooden Closet Door painted cream

Stucco Ceiling

Bedroom Wallpaper

See how pretty those patterns are when enlarged? They're going to make beautiful paper if I decide to use them for my journal pages.

How to Scan Patterns with Your Flip-Pal Mobile Scanner

Take the lid off your scanner. It pops off very easily. Then find a pattern you want to scan and put your scanner over it so that the object you are scanning is against the flat bed.

Here I am scanning the patterned fabric of an antique parlour chair in my living room.

Cover the other side of the glass (it will be facing up or out towards you) loosely with the scanner lid or the Flip-Pal Mobile Scanner black cleaning cloth. Hold the scanner very steady if you are scanning a wall or ceiling.

You can see the end result of the scan in the first image of the thumbnail patterns at the start of this blog post. It is called ChairYellowPattern.jpg and is in the second row, first on the left.

Don't worry about anything else right now except finding and scanning patterns. These will be the basis of your journal pages. You might do more than just print them off later as pages so keep an eye out for darker patterns and different patterns that you might add as borders to your scanned pages. I've got that part figured out in my head (sort of) so we can play around with that idea later.

This is going to be fun! I hope you'll join me for this project. As soon as I create my pages, I'll be posting again.

What is Hot and What is Not in Genealogy?

GenealogyInTime Magazine has just released the annual review and ranking of the top 100 genealogy websites from around the world.  Many old favorites made the list, as well as some interesting new genealogy websites.  As well, there were some rising genealogy stars that made significant traffic gains this year.

The annual review also provides some interesting insight into emerging trends in the field of genealogy. Find out what is hot and what is not.  Discover all this and more in the article Top 100 Genealogy Websites of 2013 by GenealogyInTime Magazine.

Olive Tree Genealogy did not make the Top 100, but the editors were kind enough to mention my blog in their article accompanying the list of sites that did make the cut. Congratulations to all the free websites and blogs that did make it! You had tough competition with  almost half the top 100 being large business pay-to-view sites. 

The article that accompanies the list is well worth reading.

Tools for Recording Life Stories

Recently Olive Tree Genealogy received this email from a reader. It's a great question for discussion!

This month my neighbor and I and one more friend are starting a genealogy club at the assisted living center in our town. We thought that we would begin by having each member of our club tell their personal story as we record it. I bought two digital recorders today but my sister suggested that we use Dragon Dictate. Would anyone have an opinion on this for me?

Recording and preserving life stories and memories is a wonderful idea. I think the digital recorders will work well but the group might also consider using a Smart Pen. With a Smart Pen you make jot notes in a special notebook.

The Pen not only records the person talking, but your jot notes allow you to touch a word on the paper and you get immediate playback. Later you simply plug your pen into your computer and transfer the recorded story or stories to your hard drive.

It's an amazing piece of technology and great for interviews as it is less intimidating than a recorder. I've written about using the Smart Pen if you care to read the articles:

Echo Smart Pen: Handy Tool for Genealogists

Capturing Memories Told By My 88 Year Old Aunt

 I'm not sure that Dragon Dictation would work well as it types as you speak.  It's a voice recognition program which is different from digital recorders. It requires editing the written text too. As well Dragon Dictation requires that you "speak" the punctuation you wish to insert. So if someone is speaking and you are using Dragon to record that person it will be a run on sentence with no punctuation.

Let's have my readers weigh in with their ideas and suggestions - what do you use?

Learning Styles in Genealogy

One of my genealogy friends and fellow blogger Midge Frazel, recently wrote a blog post about Project Based Genealogy. I was fascinated by Midge's explanations of Project based versus Problem based and realized that the way I approach my genealogy is mostly Project based.

One of her key points was that genealogists often do not stop to analyze what they've found. Anyone who reads this blog or my AskOliveTreeGenealogy blog knows that I am constantly advising readers to study, think about and analyze the documents and facts they find when researching.

Midge goes on to talk about random abstract learning styles versus concrete sequential. Try as  I might, I'm definitely in the first group of random abstract! I can manage to stick to a methodical research plan in short bursts but am soon back to having huge leaps of ideas and hunches and off I go to investigate. Creative problem solving is definitely huge for me.

And true to form as I read Midge's post with great interest, I got side-tracked by a link she provided to an earlier blog post which also had a link to a site where you can take a quiz to find out what your learning style is.  I was hooked and off I went.  (Yes I did return to Midge's article and read it thoroughly. I urge everyone to have a good read of it)

So what learning style am I?  Intrapersonal. It's also called the Solitary Learning style. Yep that's me. I don't like any noise or any distractions and I hate interruptions. I'm also determined to figure things out on my own with no help from anyone else. Sometimes that's good and sometimes that's bad!

My family think I'm impulsive because I will, in their minds, suddenly make a decision about something I've not even discussed with them. But what they don't realize is that I've been researching the problem quietly, for weeks or months - sometimes for years, before I make my decision. So what comes as a sudden surprise to them is not sudden or impulsive at all. It's the result of a very long deliberation, of thinking over what I've found about the problem - the pros and cons.

I approach my genealogy research the same way. There is no right or wrong to how we conduct our genealogy but I like learning new methods and trying them out, seeing if I can adapt to them or adapt them to my style.

I should add that the Linguistic Style also ranked very high on my overall score on the quiz (75%) but Intrapersonal topped them with a whopping 94%. 

What about you? Take the quiz. Read Midge's blog post. Then come back and let me know in a comment on this post, what you think and what your learning style is.

The Facey Loveseat, Still in the Family After 5 Generations

Loveseat and Chair Today

Hubs' 2nd great-grandfather Samuel Facey and his wife Margaret Wilford owned this loveseat and chair circa 1900.

Private Collection B. Massey

The photo with the young girl shows the loveseat in the home of their daughter Mary Louise Elgie (nee Facey). That is hubs' mother sitting on it. Mary Louise was her grandmother.

And in this photo taken today, the loveseat is in a new home and hubs' mother is seated on it.

Photo courtesy of D. Bobo

In this photo below of the Facey family outside their home south of St. Mary's Ontario, they carried the loveseat outside to sit on.

Samuel is holding his grandsons Warren Haves and Harry Elgie.  Sitting beside him on the loveseat are his son-in-law William Elgie and William's wife Mary Louise Facey (Samuel and Margaret's daughter).




Isn't it wonderful that 5 generations of Facey descendants have owned and cared for this parlour set?

Hubs' nephew has a young daughter and the next time they visit his grandmother's home we are going to take a photo with hubs, his mom, hubs' nephew and the daughter.

That will make the daughter the 7th generation in the family to sit on the loveseat. Perhaps one day it will be hers.

New Year's Eve Celebrations

I've been thinking about New Years' Celebrations I've been part of over the past few decades. It's interesting how things change. In my 20s and 30s, it was all about getting invited to a New Year's Eve party. Which basically was an excuse for people to get quite drunk and for men to plant sloppy kisses on you at midnight.

The last New Year's Eve drunk party I went to was many years ago. One of the women drank so much that she stripped to her underwear and ran out and rolled in the snow. Dozens of men happily chased her and helped her roll around. I remember watching and thinking "What the heck am I doing here??!!!" That was the last time I accepted an invite to a New Year's Eve party. Or maybe it was the last time I was invited. I was looked upon as a party pooper. I always disappeared when things were getting out of hand.

Pen Twin Theatre

In any case I was happier not going, and so a new tradition began with my brother and his family spending New Year's Eve at our home. We'd order in Chinese Food and go out to watch a bad movie. That's right. A bad movie. Preferably a comedy.  My brother and his wife loved going to the movie theatre in the very small town near us. The theatre was an old curved metal Quanset Hut.  And it was never crowded, a fact which amazed them since they lived in the big city of Toronto.

After about 10 years of venturing out to watch our movies, we began renting them (remember those days?) and bringing them home so we could just stay home and eat our Chinese Food and watch our funny (bad) movie from the comfort of our living room. 

This tradition continued for about 25 or more years but when my brother remarried, it changed. I'm not complaining - his new wife had her own traditions and it seemed perfectly natural that they would shift to her New Year's Eve celebrations with her family.

So for the last 12 or so years, hubs and I have quietly watched the New Year arrive.  We still order in Chinese Food and watch a movie. The last few years we've watched one on our Smart TV either through NetFlix or Cinema Now.  How times change!

Actually the last time we both managed to stay awake long enough to watch the ball drop in Times Square was 2004.  In fact in the year 2000 I watched it alone, waiting for something apocalyptic to happen, while hubs snored in bed. Last year hubs saw midnight alone as I was tired and went to bed!

Funny thing - this year we forgot. We had Chinese Food on December 30th because we forgot that the next day was New Year's Eve. It didn't matter, we ate leftovers. At 6 p.m. No more eating Chinese Food at 9 o'clock at night!

Then we watched a movie (yes it was bad - Tom Cruise in a badly acted and written Mission Impossible movie) using my Western Digital Passport external hard drive plugged into the USB port of our Smart TV.  More changes. The movie was over at 9:30 and by 10 we were both in bed asleep!

So there you have it - how my New Year's Eve Celebrations have changed drastically over the decades. Funny thing is I enjoy them more now than I did when it was a wild and crazy evening.

2013 image by Simon Howden, courtesy of FreeDigitalPhotos
Pen Twin Theatre image by Roloff 

3rd Great Grandpa's House Built 1860 For Sale

Rear of the House

The house that my husband's 3rd great-grandfather William Massey built in 1860 is up for sale.

I talked about this house in a previous blog post at History of the Massey Home 1860 to Present

It's been completely renovated inside and out and is vastly different but the original home is the base. Someone at some point in time did an amazing job at renovating and decorating it.

See the photos of this beautiful home as it stands now.

Massey House Front View 1908

Massey House Front View 2012

New Year's Genealogy Resolutions - Successes and Failures

It's that time. Yep - time for my Genealogy New Year's Resolutions.

Last year I decided I was making too many genealogy resolutions and not even coming close to meeting them, so I set three (3) resolutions to meet in 2012. 

Wow. Only three and I still didn't meet those goals. Let's take a look at what my resolutions were for 2012 and how I think I did with each one.

1. Focus on my genealogical strengths (researching and fact-finding) and continue to build and improve on those 

[How did I do? SUCCESS  I continue to try to improve on those skills, and have added a new one - analysis of facts found]

2. Improve on my organization of genealogical records, but not worry or stress over not entering it all in minute detail in my genealogy program

  [How did I do? PARTIAL SUCCESS I downsized my office and physically moved it to a new location in my home. I am proud of all the purging I did which helped me in my organization but I have not yet reached my goal of being so organized I can immediately lay my hands on anything I want to find]

3. Set deadlines. Make one day per week the day I work on Project A and a second day of the week the day to work on Project B. No more worrying if I jump from project to project! Allow myself to jump around as much as I want but work towards deadlines for completion of Projects A, B, C etc.  I need variety but I also need the deadline to provide structure and a timeline for completion of my multitude of genealogy projects  

[How did I do? FAIL. I can't seem to settle into a consistent work routine. I jump around from project to project. I lose interest in Project A once it's reached a certain point and then I drift off to Project B, leaving Project A in the lurch for months at a time. By the time I get back to Project A I have to spend hours, if not days, figuring out what my thought processes were!]

So - only one success out of three resolutions. That's discouraging. So it's time to take a good look at what is most important in my genealogy career and hobby.

2013 New Year's Genealogy Resolutions

I need to complete my projects and complete them in a timely fashion so that's going to be my goal for 2013. That's right - only one goal this year.

My goal is going to sound simple - complete all my unfinished projects! It's going to be tough as I have several books on the go, and more promised but not started.

Number one: I completed a genealogical mystery novel after two years of hard work. After 7 edits, I sent it to my beta readers and they returned their manuscripts this summer with suggestions for improvement. Based on comments I only need to rework the first two chapters and it's done! That's going to be number one on my list in 2013.

Number two will be the book I started a year ago on Children's Genealogy Games & Activities. It is so close to completion that I am ashamed of myself for not finishing it months ago.

Number three is a Family Genealogy book I intended to give to my new sister-in-law at her wedding to my brother.  I hate to say how long it's been sitting in Shutterfly, almost ready to publish. And now her sister wants to purchase two copies of it, sight unseen. That should be motivation for me to complete it!

Number four is the next volume of my book on the Peer Family of North America. I have done all the research and need only to compile it into the various volumes then self-publish them.

Those are my four most important projects that need finishing. It may not sound like much but it seems a bit overwhelming at times. Wish me luck! I hope that by concentrating on one goal I can complete all these unfinished works. I used to be very good at completing projects and staying on track but these days I seem to be less motivated and more scattered.

If you have any ideas or suggestions for me, please do leave them in a comment here on the blog post.

Last Day of Free Access on Ancestry

LAST DAY!

Below are  30 collections that will be opened up for free between December 26-29^th. This represents more than 300 million select records from collections added or updated in 2012.

To access these free records, visit Ancestry.com/2012

* 1940 United States Federal Census
* Border Crossings: From Canada to U.S., 1895-1954
* Border Crossings: From Mexico to U.S., 1895-1957
* California, Railroad Employment Records, 1862-1937
* Canada, Nominal Rolls and Paylists for the Volunteer Militia, 1857-1922
* Canada, Voters Lists, 1935-1980
* Galveston, Texas, Jewish Immigration Records, 1901-1917
* Lancashire, England, Births and Baptisms, 1813-1911
* Lancashire, England, Deaths and Burials, 1813-1986
* Lancashire, England, Marriages and Banns, 1754-1936
* London, England, School Admissions and Discharges, 1840-1911
* Massachusetts, Town and Vital Records, 1620-1988
* New South Wales, Australia, Convict Indents, 1788-1842
* New South Wales, Australia, Police Gazettes, 1854-1930
* New York, Naturalization Records, 1897-1944
* New York, State Census, 1892
* New Zealand, Maori Land Claims, 1858-1980
* Pennsylvania, Church and Town Records, 1708-1985
* Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Immigration Records, Special Boards of Inquiry, 1893-1909
* U.S. Marine Corps Muster Rolls, 1798-1958
* U.S. National Cemetery Interment Control Forms, 1928-1962
* U.S., Buffalo Soldiers, Returns From Regular Army Cavalry Regiments, 1866-1916
* U.S., Burial Registers, Military Posts and National Cemeteries, 1862-1960
* U.S., Confederate Pensions, 1884-1958
* U.S., Records of Aliens Pre-Examined in Canada, 1922-1954
* U.S., World War II Cadet Nursing Corps Card Files, 1942-1948
* UK and Ireland, Masters and Mates Certificates, 1850-1927
* United States, Atlantic Ports Passenger Lists, 1820-1873 and 1893-1959
* War of 1812 Pension Application Files Index, 1812-1815
* Washington, Marriage Records, 1865-2004

To access these free records, visit Ancestry.com/2012

Cyndislist.com Files Lawsuit Against MyGenShare.com

CyndisList.com has filed a lawsuit against MyGenShare.com. The plaintiff(s) and defendant(s) are listed as

Plaintiffs:	Cyndi's List  and Cynthia Howells
Defendants:	Mygenshare.com and Barry J Ewell

 The suit is listed as Intellectual Property - Copyrights. For a brief summary of the case see Justia.com Dockets & Filings

A search for Cause 17:101 as listed on Justia provides information on this specific section of Copyright from Cornell University Law School

Cyndi started her website in 1996, the same year I started Olive Tree Genealogy  and we've been friends since that time. Copyright is a serious issue online and I'm certain the genealogy community will be following Cyndi's case with great interest.

As stated by Michael J. Neil on his blog post at RootDig.com Cyndi will not be responding to questions about this lawsuit.

Flip-Pal Mobile Scanner After Christmas Specials

The following specials on Flip-Pal Mobile Scanners are valid Wednesday, December 26, 2012 until 11:59 p.m. Mountain Time, Sunday, January 6, 2013. Free Shipping on all orders of $125 or more in the USA and Canada! (Applies to standard ground shipping only.)

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 Save $25 on the Flip-Pal mobile scanner Rechargeable Bundle! This bundle includes the Flip-Pal mobile scanner, a Deluxe Flip-Pal mobile scanner Carry Case and an Eneloop AA 4 Pack with AC Charger. (No promotion code needed.) (No promotion code is needed.
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