Saturday, June 30, 2018

ANCESTORS IN THE NEWS ~ What and Who have I located in the Detroit Free Press?

ANCESTORS IN THE NEWS
Newspapers are one of my favorite resources for finding out information about my family.  It’s not just the engagement, marriage announcements and obituaries that can be of interest.
 
Today many of us use social media, email or texts to share with one another.  However, before those technological advances, there were newspapers.  They were the gossip columns and information disseminators of their day.

Did someone leave on vacation or go on a trip to visit family, did they hold a party or for the ladies, perhaps a tea?  You may read about it in the newspaper.  Those are the items that fill out our ancestors lives with every day activities.

Here’s a couple of items I found in the Detroit Free Press, from newspapers.com.

My granduncle, Ford Gould, apparently had his car stolen in 1934.  I recognize the address as the place his parents (my great grandparents) lived, in Detroit. Did they ever find his car?

GOULD_Ford_auto_stolen_DFP_25_Aug_1934_pg_20_annot

Detroit Free Press, Detroit, Michigan, Sat. Aug. 25, 1934, page 20

Auto Thefts
Ford Gould, 3639 Linwood Ave., Buick Tudor, license number 96-253, stolen from above.

On a lighter note, I located an article that actually contains the names of my great grandmother, Mrs. A.C. Milne (maiden name Susan Gillespie) and Miss Eva Knowles, future sister-in-law of Mrs. A.C. Milne and Miss Lizzie Gillespie who was the sister of Mrs. A.C. Milne.

MILNE_Mrs_AC_to_return_from_trip_DFP_28_Aug_1881_pg_6_annot

Detroit Free Press, Detroit, Michigan, Sun. Aug. 28, 1881, page 6

Personal
Mrs. A.C. Milne is expected to return from her Eastern trip some time this week.

Miss Eva Knowles and Miss Lizzie Gillespie left last Tuesday for a two weeks’ visit in the interior of the State.

I searched on Google and could never locate a photo or old newspaper ad for a Buick Tudor.  I did find lots of Ford Tudor vehicles from the era.

What articles have you found in newspapers that tell you a little more about your ancestor’s lives?

Happy hunting,
Michigan Girl
Copyright ©  2010-2018   Diane Gould Hall
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.  NO USE WITHOUT PERMISSION

Friday, June 29, 2018

HERE’S WHY I THINK MY DAD WAS 20 YEARS OLD WHEN HE GRADUATED FROM HIGH SCHOOL IN 1933?

H. Norman Gould-1933-cropped
My Dad - Harry Norman Gould

Most of us assume that graduation age for high school is age 17 or 18.  Right?  There are exceptions.  If a child is particularly bright and graduates early  If a child was held back due to grades or illness, perhaps they would graduate at an older age.

Let’s discuss my Dad, Harry Norman Gould.  I have always known his birthday, 31 Dec 1912.  Born on New Year’s Eve.  We celebrated his birthday, along with a new year, every year.  That would mean he probably graduated high school in 1930 or 1931.  However, I had never located a high school yearbook for him and had no school records.

FINALLY,  (after a dozen years of searching) I found my Dad’s high school yearbook picture.  Thank you to MyHeritage for having this yearbook collection for Northwestern High School in Detroit, Michigan, for this particular year.  I had done this search on Ancestry many times, but not located the yearbook.  It is still not available on that site.  One more reason for me to be happy I signed up for MyHeritage recently.  Yes, I still have my Ancestry subscription too.

My Dad's yearbook page

To my surprise, I found my Dad in a 1933 yearbook.  And there was the handsome portrait photo I have always had for him.  My grandmother wrote the date 1933 on it.  I never thought it was a high school photo, because I “assumed” he graduated in 1930 or 1931. 
 
Here’s his birth certificate from Michigan.  I sent for this record back in 2005. Every item on this certificate except for one, coincides with all I know about my Dad and what I’ve gathered in evidence to support that.
 
The one exception is his father’s name being listed as Henry W. Gould instead of Harry W. Gould.  I have learned that Harry and Henry are often interchangeable from one record to the next, so that exception doesn’t bother me.
 
Please click on any image to enlarge it. 
 
GOULD_Harry Norman_31 Dec 1912_DetroitWayneMichigan

This certificate tells me the following:
Date Filed – December 13, 1920
State File Number – 121-582-0015973
Child’s Name – Harry Norman Gould
Date of Birth – December 31, 1912
Gender – Male
Child’s Birthplace – Detroit, Wayne, Michigan
Mother’s Name Before First Married – Marie Lindsay
Mother’s Birthplace – Michigan
Father’s Name – Henry W. Gould
Father’s Birthplace – Michigan

Note the date of filing is 1920.  My Dad would have been nearly 8 at the time this certificate was issued.   I wonder if there had been no record of his birth prior to that time?

Was the certificate required in order for him to enter school?  If so, why did he enter so late?  His age on 13 Dec 1920 was 7 years 11 months and 12 days.  That would certainly account for him not graduating until 1933.

Here is the original scan of that photo of my Dad, with my grandmother’s writing on it, identifying it as her son, Norm and the year 1933.  Prior to this I had thought it was a portrait photo taken of my Dad after high school.

GOULD_H Norman-1933_with date written on it_annot

And here is the photo as it stood in my grandmother’s home on Asbury Park in Detroit (indicated with an arrow).  That’s me at about age two.

GOULD_Diane_circa 1952-53_at Asbury Park home of Harry & Marie Gould_DetroitMich - Copy

I took another look today to try and find a birth record online, for my Dad.  Family Search didn’t have it.  When I looked on Ancestry this is what they have for Michigan births.

NOTE – The index goes to 1911.  Just my luck.
 
Michigan records on FS

My Dad’s age seems to be listed correctly, based on a 1912 year of birth, in the 1920, 1930 and 1940 census records.

For now, I am going to conclude that my Dad did graduate from high school at an older age.
 
I know he had scarlet fever when he was a child, leaving him deaf in his left ear.  I don’t know how old he was when he got sick.  Perhaps, because of that he had to miss some schooling or had to repeat a grade.

Have you found a surprise or two, like this in your research?  I’d love to hear about it.

OTHER POSTS THAT MAY BE OF INTEREST

Happy Birthday Dad - 1912-1991

AMANUENSIS MONDAY - TRANSCRIBING MY GRANDMOTHER'S JOURNAL - BIRTH & DEATH DATES – DECEMBER

Happy hunting,
Michigan Girl

Copyright ©  2010-2018   Diane Gould Hall

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.  NO USE WITHOUT PERMISSION



Thursday, June 28, 2018

A NEW MILESTONE ON MY BLOG ~ Thank you to everyone who reads my posts!

500000
This is a day I am proud to share with all of you.
 My blog posts hits have reached the 500,000 mark today!


Thank you to every reader.  Thank you to all the other bloggers and readers who have recommended my blog posts to others.

I’m so proud to be a member of the genealogy blogging community.  When I wrote my first blog post in 2010, I wondered who would ever read what I wrote.  I was hit and miss on posting, with only 22 posts in the first 3 years.

In September of 2013 I got serious and realized if I was going to “do this” then I should post regularly and see what happens.  In the 5 years since then, I have written 455 posts.

Along the way I have met and made wonderful friends in the blogging community.  I have been contacted by cousins who have found my blog as they searched for their family.  It’s been a FANTASTIC experience and a wonderful journey.

I don’t plan on stopping any time soon because new discoveries within my family are being made every day.  With all the DNA testing we have even more chance of making connections.

To anyone out there who has considered writing their own blog, I highly recommend it.  It’s a wonderful way to share family stories and also research tips.
 
A BIG shoutout to my fellow bloggers/friends.  Too numerous to mention, you know who you are.

Call me “smiling in Ramona.”

Michigan Girl

Copyright ©  2010-2018 Diane Gould Hall
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.  NO USE WITHOUT PERMISSION

Sunday, June 24, 2018

SUNDAY’S OBITUARY ~ James A. Cooper, my 3rd great granduncle (1822-1907)

COOPER_James A_Obit_21 Mar 1907Transcription of this obituary

JAMES A. COOPER
The Optic is called upon to chronicle the death of another well known and respected resident of Walton and a pioneer, Mr. James Cooper, whose death occurred Thursday, March 14th, after a long illness.
James A. cooper was born May 31st, 1822 in the township of Conquest, Cayuga Co., New York and departed this life March 14th 1907 at his home in Walton, Eaton Co., Mich., aged 84 years 9 months and 14 days, where he has resided since 1863.  At the age of 14 he came to Mich. with his uncle Aaron Brooks and settled in the township of Kalamazoo, section 36. At the age of 17 he removed to Bellevue and learned the blacksmith trade which he followed for 35 years.  He married Jan 1st, 1850 to Miss Maria Thornton who survives him.  To this union three children were born: Edward, who died aged three years; Jennie, wife of Simeon Cole who died Oct. 25, 1889 and Marvin by who he was cared for in declining years.  Mr. Cooper was of genial disposition, a kind husband and father, a good neighbor and an honest man and had many warm friends.  Thus one by one the old pioneers, those hardy, fearless men and women who converted a wilderness into land of plenty and comfort, pass on to the great beyond.
Funeral from his late home Sunday at ten o'clock conducted by Prof. Wright of Olivet. Burial at Bellevue.

James is my 3rd great granduncle on my paternal side.  He is the son of my 4th great grandparents.

Here’s how we are connected

Jacob Cooper & Mary Polly Byrne – my 4th great grandparents

Lany Cooper & Munson Thorp – my 3rd great grandparents

Horace Henry Thorp & Catherine C. Dorsey – my 2nd great grandparents

Mary “Mae” E. Thorp & William Val Gould – my great grandparents

Harry W. Gould & Marie Lindsay – my paternal grandparents

Harry Norman Gould – my Dad

James A. Cooper was one of 6 children born to Jacob Cooper and Mary Polly Byrne.  After Jacob’s death in 1827, at the young age of 33, Mary remarried to Benjamin B. Cosgrove and together they had 3 children, giving a total of 9 children born to Mary.

James was the 4th born and would have grown up in the house with most of those 9 children.  Since he was born in 1822 in Conquest, Cayuga, New York, I wonder what their life was like? The town of Conquest was formed in 1821, just the year prior to James’ birth. James became a blacksmith and it makes me wonder if that was the occupation of his father, Jacob?

The current population of Conquest, New York is only 1,759.  So, it probably was a very small community back when James and his parents and siblings lived there.  The town is located between Rochester and Syracuse, New York and not far from Lake Ontario.

Here’s a map showing the location of Conquest in New York state.

Map of ConquestNY

Here is an 1825 map of Cayuga County, showing the location of Conquest within the county.

Map of cayuga ny 1825

When James was 14 he moved to Michigan, settling at age 17 in Bellevue.  At age 20 he married Maria M. Thornton and together they had 3 children.  A son Edward who died at age 3 yrs., a son James Marvin who lived to age 73 and a daughter, Mary Jane who died at 30.

Both James and his wife Maria M. Thornton are buried at Bellevue Cemetery, in Eaton Co., Michigan.  You may visit their memorials here #82081824 and #82082051.

If you are related to this family I would love to hear from you. 

OTHER POSTS THAT MAY BE OF INTEREST

Surname Saturday – Copper – Have I really gone back 3 more generations?

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks – Week #7 – Cornelia Gardenier Cooper – My 7th great grandmother

Happy hunting,

Michigan Girl

Copyright ©  2010-2018   Diane Gould Hall

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.  NO USE WITHOUT PERMISSION

Wednesday, June 20, 2018

FRIDAY FACES FROM THE PAST ~ My Uncle Bob (Robert A. Milne) and his World War II Military Buddies

My maternal Uncle, Robert Andrew Milne, 1909-1969, served during World War II as a Surgical Technician, PFC with the 111th infantry.  I have only a few photos from his time in the service. He was honorably discharged 29 Sep 1945.  He was the only member of my immediate family who served during this war.  My grandfather’s were too old and my Dad was 4F due to being deaf in his left ear from scarlet fever.

We left Detroit when I was 7 years old.  I have no memory of my Uncle Bob, although I know he was at some family functions that I also attended.  I had always heard from my Mom (his sister) that he had a tough life and had some issues with alcohol.  He was married twice and left no children. 

I wish I would have known him better. Don’t we all wish to have those conversations with family members.  

Today I will just focus on a couple of photos of him with his Army buddies. 

Here he is in a group photo.  There are no names or dates on the back of this photo.  I’ve indicated which one is my Uncle Bob.  He was very small in stature, 5’ 6 1/2” and 114 pounds.

MILNE_Robert_WWII military unit_he is back row 2nd from right_cropped_annot

And here’s another picture without him in it.  I see the same guy kneeling in the front in this photo, who appears in the front row above, second from the left.

MILNE_Robert_men from his unit in WW II

Here is Uncle Bob on the beach (I’m assuming during his service based on the pants and how young he looks.

MILNE_Robert on the beach with no shirt

And at the beach again in his later years, age 53, July 1962.

MILNE_Robert sitting at beach_circa 1960

There is something about looking at photos of my family that makes me very nostalgic and sometimes even sad.  We moved away from Detroit when I was 7 and that means I missed out on time with my Aunts & Uncles and many cousins.  By the time I was old enough to think about traveling to see them, they were all gone.  I will continue to keep their memories alive by honoring them in blog posts and on our family tree. 

What do you think about when you look at family photos?

Happy hunting,

Michigan Girl

Copyright ©  2010-2018   Diane Gould Hall

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.  NO USE WITHOUT PERMISSION

Saturday, June 16, 2018

SIGNING UP FOR A SUBSCRIPTION TO MY HERITAGE ~ Was it worth it? 100% YES!!!!

MyHeritage header for my Gould website

I’ve been a paid member of Ancestry.com$ since 2004.  I use the website daily in my research.  I also use many other websites such as Family Search, FindAGrave, Seeking Michigan, West Virginia Culture, Archive.org, Google Books, Interment.net, Newspapers.com$, Genealogy Bank$, Fold3$ and Steve Morse’s website.  There are many more not mentioned here.

Several of those are subscription based and I’ve indicated them with a dollar sign.  I don’t mind that because they have provided much information to me over the years.

So, why would I need to pay for another subscription service?  What could they possibly offer that I don’t already have access to?

That really was the question I’ve asked myself for some time now.  I have made use of the free version of MyHeritage by uploading DNA from family members and adding the limited number of people to a tree, available in the free version.  That always seemed like enough.

But then……………Lisa Louise Cooke of Genealogy Gems Podcast, advertised a 50% off subscription.  Just $125 for a year for All Access.  Don’t get me wrong, I’ve seen offers like this before, or very similar.  I never acted on them.  Why now?

I don’t have a good answer to that question.  I will tell you that I purchased the subscription and immediately created a current Gedcom from my Legacy database and uploaded it.  If I’m going to use a website I may as well have my whole tree on there for finding matches.

Within 24-36 hours I checked back in and there were all of these matches listed, OVER 999!

MYHeritage match number

My immediate thought (being the slight sceptic that I am), I thought, well, they will probably be census records and those things I’ve already located before.

I WAS WRONG!  Oh so very wrong.

Under “Record Matches” there were 111 sources with 6,889 matches – so what were these matches, which websites, would they be useful to me?

MyHeritage matches by source

I began scrolling through this list of 111 sources.  What would I find?  Here’s a list of the first few of them:
  • FamilySearch Family Tree
  • Geni World Family Tree
  • Many U.S. Federal Census Records
  • Wiki Tree
OK.  Those are records sets I’m familiar with.  But, as I continued to scroll, I was immediately stopped in my tracks by one record set – Chronicling America.  If you know me, you know that I LOVE newspapers.  I have searched on the Chronicling America (a free site) on many occasions.  I have only found a couple of articles over the years.  BUT, now I see 114 matches!  In MY tree.  Are they valid matches?  OH BOY, let’s go look.

Note:  I took this screen shot after confirming two of the matches, so the number is down to 112.

Myheritage chronicling america

The answer to my question about valid matches is Yes most of them are valid matches.  And, many of them are obituaries or articles I did not have.

I’m so happy that the $125 I spent on that subscription.  If I found nothing else, but these matches, the price was well worth it.  BUT…..wait, there’s so much more.
  • I’ve got 48 matches in U.S. Yearbooks 1890-1979.  I’ve looked at yearbooks on Ancestry, but many of the ones I see here are matches I hadn’t located.
  • There’s the Idaho death certificate I hadn’t yet found.
  • Pennsylvania Newspapers with 21 matches
  • England & Wales Death Index 1837-2005 with 25 matches
  • Various other newspapers by state
Needless to say, I am going to be very busy for a long time.
The bottom line to this is.  We all need to make sure we are examining every resource available to us.  Maybe, just maybe, that one item you find will break down that long standing brick wall.  I sure hope it does for me, as I have several long standing ones.

One more thought.  Perhaps it’s the idea of a new resource that we aren’t totally familiar with?  It refreshes our thought pattern and re energizes us.  What do you think?

I’ve got lots of records to look at now, so off I go.  I’ll let you know what I find.
 
Speaking of that, please let me know what your experience has been when you’ve looked at a new group of records or subscribed to a site for the first time.

Happy hunting,
Michigan Girl
Copyright ©  2010-2018 Diane Gould Hall
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.  NO USE WITHOUT PERMISSION

Tuesday, June 12, 2018

TOMBSTONE TUESDAY ~ Isaac Frampton Gillen & Lennie Kite Gillen–Rome Proctorville Cemetery, Lawrence Co. Ohio

GILLEN_Isaac F_1890-1983_Headstone_RomeProctorvilleCem_OH
GILLEN_Lennie_1888-1980_headstone_RomeProctorville_OH
Funny how we go back to files we have and turn up new members in our family.  This happened to me today when I was reviewing photos I’d taken during my trip to Lawrence County, Ohio, back in July 2012.  Yup, six years ago.

Maybe it’s just me who is guilty of this…..but.  I have taken several genealogy trips, been to many cemeteries, libraries (including 3 trips to the FHL) and courthouses and come away with hundreds of digital photos.
 
When I get home I very quickly arrange them all in digital folders for review at a later time.

When does that later time occur?  Darn good question I would say.  Sometimes right away and sometimes six years later.

Today I was specifically going through my folder for Rome Proctorville Cemetery in Lawrence County, Ohio.

At the same time I was reviewing the images on the FindAGrave site for the cemetery.  I wanted to match up memorials with my photos.  If there was already a photo, great.  If not, I could add it.  What I discovered was no memorial for two headstones I’d photographed, Isaac Gillen and Lonnie Gillen.  Isaac was in my database, but with only a birth year. Lennie wasn’t there at all.

Here’s what I discovered today.

Isaac Frampton Gillen is my 2nd cousin 3 times removed and Lennie/Lenie Kite was his wife.

Here is how we are connected via our common ancestors, William Gillen & Rachel Frampton, who are my 4th great grandparents.

(CLICK ON ANY IMAGE TO ENLARGE IT)
GILLEN_Isaac Frampton relationship to me_ANNOT

I’m still researching this couple.  I’ve learned that they were married 15 Oct 1910 in Lawrence Co., Ohio.  I located their marriage record on familysearch.org.
 
You can see we have the couple’s names, ages and their parents names.  I also see a statement from Isaac’s father, K. W. Gillen that he gives consent to the marriage.  I see that Isaac is 20 years old and his soon to be spouse is 22.  Why would they need consent?  Was the age of consent 21 years?  Therefore, making Isaac too young to marry without consent from his parents?  Whatever, the reason it appears, from records, that this couple stayed married at least through the 1956 city directory listing I found.

GILLEN_Isaac F marriage to Lenie Kite_1910_LawrenceCoOH_cropp

Isaac worked as a Farmer in every record I’ve located so far.  He served in the Army from 29 Aug 1918 to 19 Dec 1918.  When he registered for the draft in 1917 he was married with one child.  He is listed as tall, medium build, brown hair and brown eyes, with no scars or deformities.

I have located the 1920, 1930 & 1940 census records for this couple.  There is no child listed with them on any of those records.  I’ve conducted an extensive search on both Ancestry.com and Family Search for any record of a birth to this couple and have located nothing. 

The last record I can locate for the couple is a 1956 city directory from Huntington, Cabell, West Virginia.

I have not located their obituaries either on newspapers.com, genealogy bank or a Google search. 

You can visit the memorials I created for them here #190530539 and #190530388.

If you have additional information about this couple or their family, I’d love to hear from you.  Surely there are photos of Isaac and Lennie out there somewhere.

Happy hunting,
Michigan Girl


Copyright ©  2010-2018   Diane Gould Hall
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.  NO USE WITHOUT PERMISSION


Friday, June 8, 2018

FUNERAL CARD FRIDAY ~ Robert Rulyn Corbett 1941-2013–Husband of my half sister

CORBETT_Robert R_front of funeral card_enh
Robert “Bob” Rulyn Corbett was married to my paternal half sister, Virginia Carol Gould from 20 Feb 1965, until their divorce in 1991.

Bob was the son of Lynn Salsbury Corbett (1901-1969) and Ruth Irene Thompson (1911-2002).  He was born in Detroit Michigan on 21 Mar 1941, just a few months prior to the start of World War II. He had an older sister, Betty Jean.

After Bob and Virginia married, they had 3 children, two daughters and a son.  Sadly, his son, Bobby, developed cancer and passed away at age 18.  Today would have been Bobby's 42nd birthday.

Robert remarried and lived happily with his second wife. 

In addition to his wife, he left behind his oldest daughter, Dawn and her husband and two grandchildren and his youngest daughter, Deb and her young son.  He is greatly missed by his family.

Here is the inside of his funeral card.
CORBETT_Robert R_funeral handout_28 Sep 20130001
If you think you may be related to anyone mentioned in this blog post, please contact me.  I’d love to hear from you.
Happy hunting,
Michigan Girl

Copyright ©  2010-2018   Diane Gould Hall

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.  NO USE WITHOUT PERMISSION

Tuesday, June 5, 2018

JAMBOREE 2018 ~ DAY 2 AND 3, A GREAT CONFERENCE - and SEE YOU THERE IN 2019

2018-jambo

On Friday morning my friend/roomie/fellow blogger, Debby Warner Anderson and I were up bright and early.  We had a 7 a.m. breakfast event with speaker Thomas MacEntee.  The breakfast was a small buffet and was well attended.  But, then Thomas is always an excellent speaker.  He talked to us about “How Do I Know What I Don’t Know?”  I picked up several good tips, as I always do when listening to Thomas.
  • In the 1940 census if there is a circle with an X next to a name, that is the person who was the informant and gave information to the enumerator.  I had heard this before, but had forgotten about it.  Good reminder
  • JSTOR is a website for journals and books.  They can often be obtained via inter-library loans.  “JSTOR is a digital library founded in 1995. Originally containing digitized back issues of academic journals, it now also includes books and primary sources, and current issues of journals. It provides full-text searches of almost 2,000 journals” 
With such a wonderful line up of speakers and classes, it is sometimes difficult to choose which class to attend.

NOTE:  Be sure to go to the Southern California Genealogy Society website for Jamboree to learn how you can view live streaming of some of these classes
.   
Here are the classes I attended on Friday and a few of the things I learned:

DNA and Digitization in Irish Genealogy by Brad Larkin, MBA, MCSE
I learned more about the Tithe Applotment books available for locating your ancestors in Ireland.  These are available on Ancestry.com
There were original Catholica Parishes and also Church of England parishes.  The parish records generally began in the 1830’s. 
Rootsireland.ie is a subscription site with Irish records
Family Search – The other 70% by Jill Morelli, CG
Jill reminded us that 70% of the records on Family Search.org are NOT indexed.
She gave the class many tips on browsing those unindexed records
Reconstruct Your Ancestor’s World with Google by Lisa Louise Cooke of Genealogy Gems
This was one of my favorite classes. Lisa gave us MANY hints for using Google search to our full advantage in our research.  I ended up purchasing her book The Genealogist’s Google Toolbox, 2nd edition (Revised and Updated).
Whether you use quotation marks, asterisks, or a minus sign, you can increase the chances of having your search produce websites that pertain to your ancestor.
Don’t forget about Google Books, Google Scholar, Google Patents, Google Alerts and YouTube when looking for your elusive ancestors.

me lisa louise cooke and deb
Me with Lisa Louise Cooke and Debby Warner Anderson
And in the afternoon, Debby and I attended a Visual Phasing Workshop by Blaine Bettinger.  I had attended a class on this subject, last year at the i4gg conference.  Visual Phasing allows you to use siblings and sometimes cousins, to recreate the DNA of your grandparents.  What a concept!  It is a very complicated process so attending this workshop was meant to help me understand the process better.
Here is a link to Blaine Bettinger’s website explaining visual phasing.  There are many other website links you can visit to learn more.

Deb Blaine & me
Debby, Blaine and Me
The Expo Hall was filled with vendors who shared all kinds of information and goodies with us.  It was abuzz most of the time.  It’s always one of my favorite parts of any conference.

On Friday evening, Debby and I relaxed with dinner and adult beverages in the bar/restaurant right there at the Marriott.  They had great food and we always ran into a bunch of other conference attendees to chat with. In the photo below you can see Brad Larkin and Blaine Bettinger in the foreground.
 
table at Marriott bar

On Saturday we were up early again to grab breakfast and then head to class.
 
I attended the following classes on Saturday?

Did I Get Everything? – Creating a Checklist for Genealogy Research by Thomas MacEntee
Thomas gave us some great ideas for being more organized and focused in our research.
USING EVERNOTE FOR CAPTURING NOTES AND IDEAS by Drew Smith
Drew covered a lot of basics in this class.  I’m pretty well informed on using Evernote since I use it daily.  But, I did pick up a tip about stacking tags.  I always new we could stack notebooks, but stacking tags was new to me.
Drew Smith & me
Me with Drew Smith
DIGGING PENNSYLVANIA ROOTS FROM YOUR DESKTOP by James M. Beidler
James covered the many resources available for researching Pennsylvania ancestors. 
USING HOMESTEAD RECORDS TO TELL YOUR ANCESTOR’S STORY by Michelle Roos Goodrum
I haven’t found an ancestors who were homesteaders, yet.  But, I figured I would go to this class and learn something new.  I wasn’t disappointed.  Michelle was an excellent presenter.  The story she told us about her homesteading ancestor was fascinating.  I hope one day I can find an ancestor who decided to homestead.
GRANDPA WORKED FOR THE RAILROAD by Janice Lovelace, PhD
I have many ancestors who worked for railroads in one capacity or another.  Dr. Lovelace presented an interesting review of the history of the railroad in our country and also some tips on where we “might” locate records for our ancestors who were employed by the railroad.
It was now 4:30 in the afternoon and Debby and I decided to head home.  It’s a 3 hour drive back to Ramona from Burbank.  And, many of you know how bad that L.A. traffic can be. We arrived safely at 9:30 p.m.  Exhausted, yes.  But, so happy that we attended this informative event.
 
To all the volunteers, speakers and exhibitors a HUGE thank you for a wonderful conference.

NEXT YEAR IS THE 50th ANNIVERSARY FOR THIS CONFERENCE.  It should be even more fantastic than ever.  I know I’ll be there, will you?

Jamboree 2019
  
Here are a few more photos of me with my genealogy friends.
Lise Harding & me
Lise Harding and me
Randy Deb & me
Randy Seaver, Debby & me
Me & Devon Lee
Me & Devon Lee
Me & Deb
Just about to head home - me & Debby
Happy hunting and see you next year at Jamboree 2019!
Michigan Girl

Copyright ©  2010-2018   Diane Gould Hall
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.  NO USE WITHOUT PERMISSION