Thursday, December 31, 2015

2015 ~ A LOOK BACK AT MY TOP 10 POSTS AND A SHOUT OUT TO FELLOW BLOGGERS



A LOOK BACK

First of all, I’d like to thank all the readers that take time to stop by and read my posts.  I always enjoy your comments and input.  It’s been a fun year for me and I’ve enjoyed sharing my journey with you.

Next, I’d like to thank all the other bloggers out there who keep us all informed, up to date and entertained.
 
A SPECIAL THANKS to the bloggers who have a “Best of” post each week or each month and have mentioned my blog in their list.  You may visit my mentions page here.

Some of those who have mentioned me in their lists are:

Randy Seaver in Genea-Musings – Best of Genea Blogs
Jana Iverson Last in Jana’s Genealogy and Family History – Fab Friday Finds
Jo Henn in Climbing My Family Tree – Noteworthy Reads
Gail Deaver in Genealogy a la carte - Creme de la Creme
Miriam Robbins in Ancestories – Friday Finds and Follows

HERE ARE MY TOP 10 MOST READ POSTS OVER THIS PAST YEAR.  Please click on the title to go to that post.
I do hope there will be many more informative posts that will bring you to my blog in 2016.  We never know what lies ahead for our genealogy world.
 
May all your brick walls come down.  OK, how about just one or two?  That’s what I’m hoping for.

Happy hunting,
Michigan Girl

Copyright ©  2015   Diane Gould Hall
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.  NO USE WITHOUT PERMISSION

Wednesday, December 30, 2015

WEDDING WEDNESDAY ~ Elijah Hudson & Margaret Deaver ~ 1828, Pocahontas County, Virginia

wedding-bells_thumb2

ELIJAH HUDSON & MARGARET DEAVER
married on 28 Feb 1828 in Pocahontas Co., Virginia

Elijah and Margaret are my 4th great granduncle and aunt.  He is the son of Richard H. Hudson and Elizabeth Redding/Redden.  She is the daughter of James Deaver and Sally (maiden name unknown) or Catherine Bird.  There is conflicting evidence as to her name.

According to the West Virginia, Marriages Index, 1785-1971, they were married in 1828, in Pocahontas County in what would have been Virginia at the time.

NOTE:  West Virginia separated from Virginia and became it’s own state in 1863.
  
West Virginia, Marriages Index, 1785-1971 
Name:Margarett Deaver       
Gender:Female       
Spouse's Name:Elijah Hudson       
Spouse Gender:Male       
Marriage Date:1828       
Marriage Place:Pocahontas, West Virginia, United States


Here is the image from the marriage register.

HUDSON_Elijah marriage to Margaret DEAVER_1828_annotated

Elijah & Margaret are indicated in red.  I do notice that two other surnames (indicated in green) from our family show up on this page.  McClintick and another Deaver.  I need to find out if they are connected.

Elijah and Margaret had 11 known children: William, Harriet, Laura, Warwick B., Davis, Geo. M.D., Nancy Jane, Isabella Susan, Paul McNeel, John Lechter and Sarah.  I have a LOT more research yet to do on this branch of our family.

I have information (not verified), that Elijah died in 1881 at the age of 79, and Margaret died in 1889 at the age of 82.  They may be buried in the Hudson Cemetery, Green Bank, Pocahontas, West Virginia.  Here are links to the memorials, Elijah #41809590 and Margaret #79239034

One source used for some of this information is the book Historical Sketches of Pocahontas County, West Virginia, by William Thomas Price, published in 1901.

If you think you might be related to anyone mentioned in this blog, please contact me.

Happy hunting,

Michigan Girl

Copyright ©  2015   Diane Gould Hall
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.  NO USE WITHOUT PERMISSION

Wednesday, December 23, 2015

MERRY CHRISTMAS 2015 ~ What are your Christmas memories?

merry_christmas_for 2015
First I would like to wish you all a very Merry Christmas.  I hope you spent time with family or friends, or doing something you loved.

WHAT ARE SOME TRADITIONS THAT YOU REMEMBER FROM YOUR FAMILY?

Here are some things I remember.
  • My Dad loved to decorate and would always put up lots of lights.  Even later in his life when he lived in an apartment he would decorate the stair railing.
  • We always had a live tree in our house.  However, at my paternal grandparent’s house they had one of those little fake ones.  The kind that really looked fake (back in the 1950’s).
  • I also remember that the same grandparents had bubble lights on their tree.
  • My Dad’s mom was a great cook.  She always had a special salad with the holiday meal and I still have it to this day.  It’s very refreshing with the meal.  A piece of pineapple layed on top of some iceberg lettuce.  On that you put a good size piece of cream cheese and top it with a cherry.  Then you drizzle a dressing over it that’s made from the cherry juice and a little mayonnaise.  Sounds crazy, but it tastes good.
  • And, how about tinsel? Did you use it?  Was it carefully placed on the tree or thrown on in a more haphazard fashion? Ours was very carefully placed.
  • My parents always made sure we had a good Christmas.  We sure weren’t rich, but they made Christmas special.
  • Special gifts I remember are:  A musical cat that rolled over.  Her tail would go around as the music played and it would make her roll over.  I named was “Princess.”  And my little pink donkey, “Waggy.” 
Copy of Diane sitting at little desk in front of Christmas tree_enhanced
Me at about 3 yrs. old.  My Mom hated my straight hair and was always giving me perms
GOULD_Diane with both grandfathers_Dec 1952_DetroitWayneMichigan_ENH_edited-1
1952 - Detroit, Michigan - Me and both my grandpas. On the left is my paternal grandpa, Harry Gould and on the right is my maternal grandpa, Joseph Milne and there's that little fake tree

I was about 8 years old when I realized Santa wasn’t real.  I had to keep it a secret though, because my brother was 2 1/2 years younger and I couldn’t spoil it for him.  Can’t believe I didn’t tell him. It would have been the naughty sister thing to do.

What are your Christmas memories?  Please share them in your comments here or on your own blog and leave me a link so I can read it.

PREVIOUS CHRISTMAS POSTS YOU MAY LIKE

Christmas Then & Now - With Family & Friends
Seasons Greetings to All My Readers

Happy hunting,
Michigan Girl

Copyright ©  2015   Diane Gould Hall
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.  NO USE WITHOUT PERMISSION

Wednesday, December 16, 2015

WEDDING WEDNESDAY ~ Andrew Charles Milne & Susan Anne Gillespie–married in 1880

wedding bells

Andrew Charles Milne married Susan Anne Gillespie on
June 9, 1880 in Detroit, Wayne, Michigan
 
Andrew C. Milne - possibly his wedding day
Susan Milne with her son Joseph and her infant daughter Irene


Andrew & Susan are my maternal great grandparents. He was born 8 Feb 1856 in Aboyne, Aberndeen, Scotland.  His parents are Charles Milne and Margaret Ritchie. Susan was born 18 Jul 1860 in England.  Her parents are Joseph Gillespie and Susan Burgess. 

Andrew came to the United States via Quebec, Canada, in June 1868, traveling with his sister, Mary.  Susan came over at the age of two in 1862 with her parents.

One question I wish I could ask all my ancestors is “how did you meet one another?”  Somehow though, they did meet and were married in 1880.  They were only married for 12 years as Andrew died of Consumption on 8 Dec 1892, while Susan was pregnant with their daughter, Irene.

This couple had four children:
 
Joseph Albert (my grandfather), born 8 Jan 1883 – died 27 Sep 1957, age 74
A.C., a son, born and died 30 Jan 1886 (premature birth)
Etta, born 3 Oct 1887 – died 26 Jan 1890 of Diptheria, age 2 yrs. 3 months
Irene “Peggy” Marie born 13 Jun 1893 – died 11 Jan 1989, age 95.

Here are the marriage records I have for Andrew & Susan.

Milne_Andrew-Gillespie_Susan_Marriage cert 1880-Detroit MILNE_Andrew C marriage record to Susan GILLESPIE_9 Jun 1880_DetroitWayneMichigan_annotated
Copy of MILNE_Andrew C marriage record to Susan GILLESPIE_9 Jun 1880_DetroitWayneMichigan_cropped
ZOOMED & CROPPED FROM MARRIAGE RECORD

I have more information on this couple, but I’ll save that for another post.

OTHER POSTS THAT MAY BE OF INTEREST

WEDDING WEDNESDAY - Martin & Wunderlich - Married 1745 in Germany

SCOTLAND - Aberdeen & North-East Scotland Family History Society

If you are related to anyone mentioned in this post, please contact me.  I’d love to hear from you.

Happy hunting,
Michigan Girl

Copyright ©  2015   Diane Gould Hall
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.  NO USE WITHOUT PERMISSION

Sunday, December 13, 2015

LEGACY 8 - HOW TO CHANGE THE LABELS IN FAMILY VIEW

         
After the announcement by Ancestry, regarding the discontinuance of Family Tree Maker, many people have switched to Legacy. 
I thought I would post about a basic function in Legacy – the ability to customize the labels on your Family View.
 
Here is how my great grandparents, William & Elizabeth Lindsay look right now.  Notice their labels are: Born, Bapt., Died, Buried, DthCau.
                           (CLICK ON ANY IMAGE TO ENLARGE IT)







By clicking in the blank area just to the left of those labels you will bring up your customization screen.
You’ll notice those little ….. next to each field name.
















Click on any of those boxes containing the dots and you will bring up a new screen.



Scroll through the selections until you find the one you want.  There are many choices.  Click on the “select” icon.  You will see that your new selection is in the “Field Name” now instead of whatever was there before.
 
You can either click on “Close” and go back to your Family View or you can use the “SAVE” icon in the lower right corner.  Should you decide to “Save” you will see this screen.

PLEASE NOTE:  I already have saved views in my screen.  The first time you see this screen all the numbers will be blank.  Simply enter what ever name you want to give the particular view (in the box below) and click on the “save” icon in the upper right corner.




You can save up to 10 different views.  Change every label or just one or two.  It’s up to you.  Then save it for when you need it again.



















TO CHOOSE A SAVED LABEL view, simply click in that blank area to the left of the labels on the Family View.  You will see up to 5 of your saved views displayed, or you can click on “customize” to change selections and save again or to “Load” an already saved view.




















These flexible options come in very handy depending on what you are working on with your family.  Maybe you want to see display everyone’s age at death, or their primary spouse or their User ID field. 

I, personally start all my work from the Family View.  From there I might go to the Index or Chronology view, but only temporarily.

The Legacy Users Group on Facebook has been swamped with questions over the past several days.  If you are a testing Legacy or have decided to switch over, you will find many answers in that group.

I hope this post has been helpful.  If so, or if you have a question, please leave me a comment.  Please add me to your circles or follow my blog as I will have other posts about Legacy 8 and many other research items.

OTHER POSTS THAT MAY BE OF INTEREST

LEGACY 8 - Census List - How Will I Use It To Search For My Family?

WORKDAY WEDNESDAY - Using Legacy 8 to Determine What My Ancestors Did for A Living

Happy hunting,
Michigan Girl

Copyright ©  2015   Diane Gould Hall
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.  NO USE WITHOUT PERMISSION

Wednesday, December 9, 2015

FAMILY TREE SOFTWARE TO BE DISCONTINUED

 
clip_image002[7]

This is certainly a HUGE surprise in the genealogy world. I never saw it coming. And from the comments I've read in Facebook groups, neither did anyone else.

This is not THE END.

I wanted to write a very quick post to my readers with this message. 

DON'T PANIC!

You won't have to make any changes or decisions right now. It's the holiday season. Enjoy your family and friends. 

There are other software programs out there and transferring a GEDCOM from your FTM software will preserve all or the majority of your data.

I'm sure many of your favorite bloggers will be writing about this. Stay tuned, read about your options and then make your decision. 
Having access to records online is really what we all want.  That hasn't changed.  Let's not jump to rash decisions and cut off our noses to spite our faces.  I've seen many comments about people banning Ancestry or deciding to pull their trees off the site.
 
Those decisions will only hurt researchers.

REMEMBER WHY WE DO WHAT WE DO
To honor our ancestors and preserve our family history.

That should always be your focus.

Here are links to Facebook groups offering solutions and ideas for you. 

Legacy User Group 

Technology for Genealogy

Dear Myrtle 

Happy hunting,
Michigan Girl

Copyright ©  2015   Diane Gould Hall
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.  NO USE WITHOUT PERMISSION

Saturday, December 5, 2015

SYMPATHY SATURDAY ~ Who in my family died on this date?

clip_image002

This is my first Sympathy Saturday post.  It’s a date I picked at random.  As it turns out it is the 20th anniversary of the death of my 2nd cousin’s half brother, Ralph David Hockster.  I never met Ralph, but I am very close to his sister, Paula and am acquainted with his other two sisters. Wonderful people.

Here is the list of those who died on this date and how they are related to me.

Jesse CLARK ~ husband’s 1st cousin 5 times removed – born 13 Apr 1761 in Keene, New Hampshire – died 5 Dec 1762 in Keene, New Hampshire.  Age 1 yr. 7 mos. 22 days

Christian KOUNS ~ my 1st cousin 4 times removed husband’s grandfather – born about 1759 in Augusta, Virginia – died 5 Dec 1837 in Lawrence Co., Ohio.  Age about 78 years.

Alma S. GOULD nee PRATT ~ relationship unknown, she as an unlinked person of interest in my database - born 19 Sep 1859 in Michigan – died 5 Dec 1915 in Brady, Saginaw, Michigan.  Age 56 yrs 2 mos 16 days.

Henry W. DOLLER ~ husband’s 1st cousin once removed – born 15 Feb 1923 – died 5 Dec 1994.  Age 71 yrs 9 mos 20 days.

Ralph David HOCKSTER aka Ralph HOLIDAY ~ my 1st cousin once removed wife’s son – born 4 Jan 1935 in Detroit, Wayne, Michigan – died 5 Dec 1995 in Temecula, Riverside, California.  Age 60 yrs 11 mos 1 day.

The youngest person was Jesse Clark who had not yet reached his second birthday.  He is also the person who died the longest time ago, in 1762, which is 253 yrs. ago.  I’m glad we can remember this little guy today.

The oldest person is Christian Kouns who died at about age 78 years.

It’s very easy to run these kinds of lists in Legacy 8.  I just used the “Search” tab and then selected “Find.”  I did discover that when I entered “equal to” rather than “contains” I got no hits.  Sometimes you have to play with your criteria.  This particular search also gave me any death date with a “5” in it, such as 15 or 25.  It was easy to  pick the few that matched what I wanted.  I suspect that I could have tweaked my search and eliminated those unwanted dates.

Here is a screenshot of my search.

 


OTHER POSTS THAT MAY BE OF INTEREST
LEGACY 8 - The Search Function - What Can You Find?

TUESDAY'S TIP - How to Determine Which War Your Ancestor May Have Participated In - using Legacy 8

Happy hunting,
Michigan Girl

Copyright ©  2015   Diane Gould Hall
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.  NO USE WITHOUT PERMISSION

Thursday, December 3, 2015

ANCESTOR WALL OF PHOTOS ~ It’s finished–Here’s how I did it

Ancestor wall_finished slanted view


This was such an exciting project.  I have wanted to create an ancestor wall in my “genie cave” for about 10 years.  I have a lot of ancestor photos and have collected more in that ensuing ten years.

I began by taking a look at all the frames I had purchased over the years.

- What size photos would I need?
- Which pictures should be in which frames?
- How would I group them?

I made the decision on the photos, downloaded them to a flash drive and went to Walmart.  I’d never used their photo center. I found it easy to use.  You can crop or enhance the photos, to a limited ability, right there on their screen.  They print immediately. 
Cost – 79 cents for a 4 x 6 and $3.99 for an 8 x 10

Once I got home I realized there were a couple of additional enlargements that I needed.  This time I decided to use Costco photo service.  I uploaded the pictures directly to their site and they were ready the next day.  Cost – $1.79 for an 8 x 10 (cheaper than Walmart)

Now I have what I need to begin.  Here is what I did:
  • Took the frames apart and cleaned each piece of glass and the frame.
  • Created labels for each photo stating who the people in the photo were and a date and location, if I knew.  And, in many cases, how they were related to me.
  • Placed the photos in the frames.
  • Laid the frames out on the carpet in my office and moved them around until I was happy with the layout.
  • I took a photo of the layout. 
Ancestor wall_laid out on carpet
  • Got a large piece of glass from an old table top and laid it on the carpet so I could trace a template of each frame.
  • Using brown painter’s paper I traced each frame, and cut it out, and as I did, I numbered each template and each frame.  It didn’t matter what number or that they were in any special order.  Once the template is on the wall you just match the frame number when you are ready to hang.
Starting with the center photos I began hanging the templates on the wall with blue painters tape.  A few tweaks to the layout were made, as I went.
 
Ancestor wall_templates
  • Check the back of each frame to determine what type of hanger it had or if it needed one.  Then be sure we had the items we needed for the process of hanging them.
  • All that was left now was to ask my husband to help me hang the frames.  He is always very helpful and in about an hour we were finished.
Here is the progress of the wall from beginning to end:
Ancestor wall_prior to templates Ancestor wall_laid out on carpet

Ancestor wall_templates Ancestor wall_finished straight view

On a scale of 1-10 I was an 11 when this was finished.
 
To have all of these family members that I’ve studied and gotten to know over the last 13+ years, right there where I could see them everyday…..PRICELESS!

Yes, they are on my computer in digital files.  Yes, they are in archival boxes in my closet.  Yes, they are in my Legacy program.
BUT, this is different.  Now they are right here where I sit every day. Not to mention that I think they look just great.

Who is the oldest generation on my wall?  That would be my 2nd great grandparents, Horace Henry Thorp and his wife Catherine Dorsey. He was born in 1836 in Skaneateles, Onondaga, New York and she was born about 1842 in Dublin, Ireland.  Their photos are courtesy of my 3rd cousin Jim Nymberg and his wife, Bonnie.

THORP_Horace & Catherine in brown frame

It’s a matter of personal taste as to whether you mix and match your frames, or have them all the same.  I like them mixed.

There are many suggestions I’ve found on Pinterest that gave me inspiration for this project.  Here is a link to my Pinterest board, where I’ve saved some things I’ve found. Gallery Walls

If you have done this in your home, I’d love to know how yours turned out.  Leave me a comment or send me an email at michiganfamilytrails(at)yahoo(dot)com.

Happy hunting,
Michigan Girl

Copyright ©  2015   Diane Gould Hall
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.  NO USE WITHOUT PERMISSION

Tuesday, December 1, 2015

TOMBSTONE TUESDAY ~ Theda Armitage (1861-1885), age 23

ARMITAGE_Theda_headstone_1861-1885_UnionCem_Odell_Livingston_Illinois_enh

Theda Armitage is my 1st cousin 3 times removed on my paternal side of the family.  She is the daughter of William Armitage (1826-1900) and Ann Maria Thorp (1830-1903).  Theda was the first of 5 children born to William & Ann.

Theda, unfortunately, died at the age of just 23, from Typhoid Fever.

When I contacted Livingston County, Illinois vital records office, they could not locate her death certificate.

However, they were nice enough to send me a death register.

(CLICK ON ANY IMAGE TO ENLARGE IT)
ARMITAGE_Theda_death index_Sep 1883_Illinois
DEATH REGISTER FOR THEDA ARMITAGE - 11 SEP 1885

Theda would have only appeared in two census records.  1870 and 1880.

I have located her family in the 1870 census, living in Odell, Livingston, Illinois.  Curiously, there is no child named Theda in the record.  However, there is a daughter named Katie who is 8 years old (which would match with Theda’s age at that time).  We all know about nicknames for our ancestors.  Did Theda go by “Katie?”  There are two younger siblings, Clara & Elmer.
I did locate the family, including Theda, in the 1880 census in Odell, Livingston, Illinois.
 
Here are the images from both census records.
1870_ARMITAGE_William & Ann & children_Odell_Illinois
1870 CENSUS FOR ARMITAGE FAMILY
1880_Armitage_Anne Thorp_1880_Illinois
1880 CENSUS FOR ARMITAGE FAMILY
Theda worked as a school teacher according to the 1880 census.  I have no record that she ever married or had children.

She is buried at Union Cemetery in Odell, Livingston, Illinois.  You may visit her FindAGrave memorial here.

If you are related to this Armitage family, or the Thorp family that married into the Armitage family, please contact me. 
 
Happy hunting,
Michigan Girl

Copyright ©  2015   Diane Gould Hall
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.  NO USE WITHOUT PERMISSION