Monday Musings

Headed out to research in Dayton, Ohio this Saturday.  So I'm hoping to get some more items added to my to do list.  I want to get it all on a spread sheet so that it is all organized chronologically.  Makes it so much easier to get the microfilms that way. 

Now that the holidays are upon us I've been doing a ton of sewing.  With both of my children moving into new homes this year there are some things that I'm working on for them and for some friends.  I could have sworn it was summer a few weeks ago!  Where did the time go?

Refining my Christmas research trip list as well.  One of our long standing holiday "traditions" is a Christmas research trip.  Mr. Brown Eyes is off between Christmas & New Years so we try to take a few days and go somewhere to research and get some down time from all the holiday hoo ha...  Its become a real tradition and we really look forward to it.  Biggest decision is where to go? 

A Little Done..

Research trips are such fun!  Especially when you combine them with vacation time, some shopping and some fun time with your main squeeze!  I'm blessed that Mark enjoys the thrill of the hunt... aka researching almost as much as I do!

I've been working on the data entry from that last trip.  I've gotten all the deeds & wills from the two days in Raleigh, North Carolina scanned and on my flash or thumb drive as they are sometimes called.  And yesterday I finally finished recording all the marriage records I pulled in Medina County, Ohio.

I've still got tons of obits to get done, both from Medina County, Ohio and from Miamisburg, Ohio - and I've got to get those wills & deeds transcribed from North Carolina. 

With the census count down to 1940 in full swing and only about 296 days (Depending on when you read this!) to go I've got some census work I want to complete as well.  Then there's all the prep work for my trip the first week of July.  I've got the two cemeteries in Kentucky printed off that we need to photograph - over 200 headstone entries to chase, and then all the other work back in Ohio to get printed and bound as well.

The new cousins would love a copy of the genealogy I've done on the family so that needs to get printed and ready to go as well. The fun never ends eh?  

The two oldest grandsons are here all weekend and we've a wedding to attend so I don't know how much I'll get done this weekend.  Promise you, It will all be right here on this desk where I left it come Monday morning!

Happy Researching!
Karen

Lists, Lists & More Lists

Are you a list maker?  I am! I have to do lists for everything.  Shopping, future projects, places I need to go, things I need to do.  Being a genealogist it seems I'm always working on a list of some sort.

This week I've been working on my lists for upcoming trips.  We're not doing trips around the world or anything but you must admit that being prepared aka having a good list is the foundation for a successful research trip. 

Tomorrow we are headed out to Miamisburg, Ohio to do some research on my Gebhart & Early families that lived in that area.  So I've got an extensive list of people who need obits.  While I am pulling newspapers to search & copy, Mark will be going thru the books looking for mention of them there. 

Other lists that are in progress include one for next Tuesday's trip to Fort Wayne and then for our vacation trip I'm working on lists for Pennsylvania (Dauphin, Berks, Lancaster & Schuylkill Counties) and the North Carolina State library & the Archives there as well.  Also hoping to do some work in West Virginia and Ohio along the way. 

Fortunately I don't need them all today.  Most are an ongoing thing in my genealogy software, Legacy.  When I do an obit list I take them out of the software and put them on an excel spreadsheet so they are in chronological order, making two copies, one for me and one for the librarian or Mark, depending on who is pulling the films for me.  Otherwise I use them straight from Legacy.  I print them, bind them in one of my research notebooks and then we are good to go! You can check out the research notebook & obit list by clicking on the link and scrolling down.  Both are there within a few days of each other.

Lists for research trips - they're a good thing!  How do you arrange your lists for your trips?  Do you use them the way your software presents them or customize them for yourself?  I'd like to hear how you do your lists.

Travel Thursday - Dayton Archives & Record Center

Last week Mark & I traveled down to Dayton to the Archives & Record center.  I must say it was a very successful trip.  I promised you an update on last Friday but we overslept so the blog remained undone!

This trip to the Archives we tried to stick pretty close to the goal of locating direct line ancestors, and I must say we did pretty well.  There are a few marriages that I now believe took place in one of the nearby counties, but for the most part we found lots of goodies!

We found wills on two (2) of my great grandmother's, Henrietta Hagele Peterman doesn't name my ancestor, only her "children" in general with the exception of her son, William Peterman & her daughters, Lillian and Ida.  Sure would have been nice to see her name Mary Pauline Kreitzer! 

Also located the will for Ann Margaret Cook.  Ann obviously held grudges.  Ann's daughter, Catherine and her husband, Abraham Boomershine, challenged Ann in court over some land held by Ann's husband Christian Cook.  The law suit took place in 1849.  Ann dies in 1863 and in her will declares that Catherine & Abraham Boomershine and their heirs are only to have $5.  All the rest of the estate to be equally divided among the other 5 living siblings.  Nasty!  Bet holidays were interesting at that house.

Also found wills for a couple of my grandfather's, although no real suprises there.

Verified & found the dates for several marriages of great aunts & uncles - had the marriages of most already. The ones I didn't find I'll check surrounding counties for. We also verified quite a few births and many death dates, along with getting full death dates that we only had years on. 

Copies were a dime each and we spent about $10 on copies. So all in all a very good trip.  I'm working my way thru them, sourcing and linking as I go! 

Throw in dinner with good friends & a hotel across the street & you've got a winner of a trip! Already working on my to do list for the next trip!

Happy Researching!
Karen

Wisdom Wednesday - Research Trips

Each year in mid January we start discussing our vacation plans for the year.  Usually has something to do with research trips.  The genealogists trip to Mecca - where ever that might be for you.  For me, its where I really need to travel to for research. For things I can't get on line or at my local libraries.

I'm a big believer in planning & to do lists.  For me the success of my trip totally depends on pre-trip planning. 

Below are some tips I believe help make your research trip to Mecca the best it can be.

1. Define where Mecca is. Locate maps of area, location of archives & record centers, to provide easy access from hotel. 
2. Consider hotel rates vs different times of year. Rates can vary greatly.
3. Define your goals for trip.  What exactly is it that you hope to accomplish by traveling there to research?
4. Figure out the best location for acquiring the records you need. Check for historical societies, newspapers, libraries, archives etc.
5. Contact those institutions or their websites for more info.  Email with your questions if not answered on website. Pay attention to hours & days available. It may impact your travel plans.
6. Spend some time in your data base determining which families you will be working on & what it is that you are looking for.  Going in with no plan usually results in no gain.
7. Posting notes on listserves for that county may get you information on best times to visit record centers & libraries as well as information on where to eat,  area's of town to avoid etc.
8. Assemble all your information in a bound notebook along with your detailed to do list.  Bound is best so there's no mix ups!  You can see my post on the research notebook here.

Happy Researching!
Karen