Genealogy #70 Genealogy 2.0

It's been fun to play with the MyHeritage site. I started a tree to see how it would look and I find it more interesting than the classic pedigree charts. I didn't do the Look-alike meter because I don't have a picture of my parents to download but that's OK. The only difference between me and my mom's baby pictures are the clothes we were wearing. I did a celebrity collage and got some interesting results. Do I really look like Bette Davis (a 49% match) or Katherine Heigl (a 55% match)? The highest match at 67% was with Ophelie Winter. The collage is at the bottom of the blog.



The site, Footnote, is for the hard core genealogist in my opinion. I can see how it would be helpful and very useful. The ability to share photos, documents and other info via the Internet is one of the great things about how the Internet can help genealogists.

Genealogy #69: Database Researching

I did a search on members of my dad's family on Ancestry.com. I hadn't found much on LDS Family History Library which I thought was a little strange because I've found so much there in the past. On Ancestry.com I found census records from 1890 through 1930 that had various people and dates. I also found WWI military records and death records. It's not my first choice but it gave me some good information.

Genealogy #68: Detective Work

I've been having mixed results with my "detective work". I couldn't get any of the Tejano Voicies oral history stories to play. I enjoyed reading Betty Skelton Frankman's interview from the NASA Oral History Project. She was an aviatrix and participated in the same NASA tests and training as the Mercury astronauts. She flew in aerobatic shows and appeared in shows with the Navy's Blue Angels.



I had mixed results searching the Find-a-Grave site. I first tried cemeteries that I knew had family members. But the cemeteries were so big that they didn't list the people who are buried there. So I decided to try something else. Before I came to HCPL I was at WTLS (West Texas Library System) headquatered in Lubbock. WTLS is the library system that services 29 counties in west Texas. The county next to Lubbock is Crosby and its countyseat is Crosbyton.


The Crosbyton Cemetery was established in 1909 and the oldest grave is for Henretta Richardson. According to her gravestone she was born on Feb. 24, 1914 and died just 4 days later on the 28th of February 1914.

Genealogy #67: Genealogy Genesis

My family has been involved in genealogy work for decades. My mom's father hired a professional genealogist to work on his line back in the 1940's. My dad had several briefcases full of forms and charts for the various lines he was working on. After he retired he volunteered at a Family History Center and used the computer that connected to Salt Lake City to continue his search. He printed out every family chart he could find. I've done a little. We interviewed a couple of elderly sisters (one was 97 and the other 99 years old) and recorded their information. It was interesting to hear them talk. If one didn't remember a name or date the other one did.

As for advise, connect family members, there's a good chance that someone in the family may already be doing genealogy and would love to share. Be patience, it can go in spurts and just when you think the line's gone dry, something may happen and it starts flowing again. Keep good records and organize them. The more info you can get the better, especially if it included photos and stories. This helps the person to "come alive" and isn't just a name and some dates on a page.

Crafts and Hobbies #65 Coin Collecting

My dad was a coin collector and I remember seeing all sorts of coins, both singles and sets. He bought mint sets of ours birth years for each of us and gave them to us. He also bought commemoratives and mint sets.



I remember having a penny collection as a child. I never did completely fill that blue folder, but it was fun going through the change trying to find the ones I needed. I did keep a few of the Texas quarters as souvenirs.



Both my brother and sister have been world travelers because of their work and have brought back money from the various countries they have visited. I have always found it interesting to see the variety and craftsmanship that are displayed in both the paper money and coins. Some designs make the US designs seem a little dull.






According to Google maps there are three coin dealers in Humble. I went to one a couple of years ago when I sold some coins. They used to Red Book to determine the prices. they had quite a selection of coins to choose from.

Crafting and Hobbies #66: Knitting and Crocheting

It was interesting to read some of the history of both knitting and crocheting. I knew it had to have been around a while but I wasn't sure how long. I learned some of the basics as a child but the only person in my family who did either was a cousin that I rarely saw. I picked it up again while I was in Lubbock and knitted some scarfs and crocheted a couple of afghans. unfortunately I haven't kept up with it. This exercise has reawaken the interest.



We don't have a knitting group at Crosby and I'm not sure if we would have enough interest to start one. We have serveral women who do quilting though.

Pot Luck #57: TXT U L8R - Texting

My experience with texting is very limited, i.e. I received one text during Ike and wasn't sure how to answer it. So, the exercise has been very helpful. The instructions were pretty clear and I think that I could text if needed. As far as texting and walking or driving. Maybe its just me, but I can't think of anything that would need to be said that couldn't wait until the conditions were safe. The only possible exception might be during an emergency.