IT’S BLOGIVERSARY TIME ~ Celebrating 11 years of family finds and story telling

Who knew?  Eleven years!  I certainly never thought I’d still be sharing family stories and research tips for this many years.

It’s been fun and continues to be rewarding.  Many cousin contacts have been made over these years. I hope with many more to come.

WHO IS TO BE CREDITED FOR MY SUCCESS?  YOU!!!!  And, I cannot thank you enough

Let’s take a quick look at some stats from my blog.

HOW MANY POSTS HAVE I WRITTEN & PUBLISHED?

639 – an average of 58 per year

HOW MANY PEOPLE HAVE MADE COMMENTS ON MY POSTS?

2,130 – and I have responded to each and every one

HOW MANY HITS OR CLICKS ON MY PAGE HAVE THERE BEEN?

805,746 – an approximate average of 200 per day

Realistically knowing that not all of those hits are people coming to read my content.  But, nonetheless a good indicator that I do have readers.

My goal is to write many more stories this year.  Thank you all for your continued support.

Happy hunting,

Michigan Girl

Copyright ©  2010-2021   Diane Gould Hall

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.  NO USE WITHOUT PERMISSION

CELEBRATING MY 10th BLOGIVERSARY ~ WOW!! 10 years of blogging–and still enjoying every minute–where have I been and where am I going?

Who would have thought that I’d still be blogging after 10 years?  Not me, that’s for sure.  But, I am still enjoying finding and telling stories about my ancestors.  I absolutely love the feedback and connections I’ve made.

Blogger keeps track of comments, but once you have over a thousand, they quit counting.  I am happy to say I went over a thousand a few years ago.  THANK YOU!  Not only do I read every comment, I also reply to every single one.  You all make me smile with your questions and your input.  Thank you for taking the time to leave a comment.

Let’s look back at some highlights from the last decade.

 

Two of my blog posts have stayed at the top of the count for most read.  They are:

• DIGITAL FOLDER ORGANIZING & NAMING MADE EASY with 30,856 pageviews

• ADDING SIBLING LINKS TO FINDAGRAVE with 24,624 pageviews

I’ve been contacted by cousins I never knew existed because they found my blog from doing a search on Google or seeing a link on Facebook, Twitter or Pinterest.

 

Speaking of those traffic sources – which one stands at the top? 

• That would be Facebook – where I connect with many of my readers
• Followed by Google, Cyndi’s List and Pinterest

In 10 years I’ve written 582 blog posts.  Considering I didn’t get serious about writing until the fall of 2013 (only 22 posts for the three years 2010, 2011 and 2012). I’ll divide 582 by 7 which means I’m averaging about 83 posts a year.

Want to see my first post from January 12, 2010?  Here’s the link to Blogging about family research - Day 1 It’s fun to look back at those first posts and see how far I’ve come.

• I’ve redesigned my blog several times over the years, creating new headers and new tabs.
• I’ve learned a LOT by reading other blogs, which I still do regularly.
• Attending conferences and seminars has allowed me to meet other bloggers, many of whom I greatly admire. 
• I’ve helped other genealogists start their own blogs.
• I’ve taught classes about the importance of getting your stories out there with blogging being one way to do that.

(Click on this image to enlarge it)

Left to right - my previous blog header, my genie office where it all takes place and my very first published blog book

So, it’s been a great 10 years.  Enough of looking back, let’s look ahead.

We can’t know what the future holds for any of us.  I plan to keep telling my ancestor’s stories and bringing them to life.  By sharing their names and something about their lives, we honor and remember them.

 

There’s a lot more to find out there.  After 17 years of researching I still have brick walls.

 

DNA has added a new tool for us and learning about it has been my focus for some time now.

I applied to the Mayflower Society this year and am writing about my journey to become a member.

My hope is that I will continue to write stories of interest.  That I will connect with more cousins.  And that my readers will keep coming back for more.

 

Words cannot express my appreciation for every one of you.

So here’s to another 10 years!  Cheers!

Happy hunting,

Michigan Girl

Copyright ©  2010-2020   Diane Gould Hall

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.  NO USE WITHOUT PERMISSION

IT’S BLOGIVERSARY TIME ~ I began this journey 9 years ago

It’s been 9 years now since I began this blogging journey.  WOW!  It’s sure been wonderful.

 

I’m a better genealogist because of my blog.  When you are putting something out there for all to see, you realize it better be correct.  As I write about each ancestor I see where the holes are in my research.  I take the time to go back and find missing sources and that will often lead to more records.

 

I’ve made many wonderful friends along the way.  Bloggers are a generous group and we all enjoy helping one another and welcoming new bloggers to the fold.

Each year I have all my blog posts printed into a book or books.  I use Blog2Print and they make it super easy to do.  My current book is in the printing process right now, so here’s a display of my books so far.

The first 3 years I didn’t write much so that white soft cover book on the left covers 2010, 2011 and 2012.

 

I’ve written 515 posts so far and have had well over 1000 comments left by readers.  Blogger stops counting at 1000.  I have responded to each and every comment.

What does the future hold for my blog?  I hope I continue to write posts that people enjoy reading and that I continue to get feedback and make connections with family.

Here’s to a really productive 2019!

Happy hunting,

Michigan Girl

Copyright ©  2010-2019   Diane Gould Hall

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.  NO USE WITHOUT PERMISSION

FAMILY RECIPE FRIDAY - CHOCOLATE FUDGE

FAMILY RECIPE FRIDAY

My grandmother, Florence Bowden Milne left us a spiral bound notebook, which I refer to has her journal. In it she left a treasure chest of family information and wonderful clues to life back in the early 1900's. 

A recipe doesn't necessarily have to be something that is for cooking. With that in mind I will be sharing various types of recipes, both for cooking and for other things from my grandmother's journal. These items range from recipes for complexion cream (featured in a previous post), to curling fluids for your hair to cures for blackheads or acne. You'll see them all here as the weeks continue. So come back often.

TODAY'S FEATURED RECIPE

CHOCOLATE FUDGE

Recipe for Chocolate Fudge & Chocolate Fudge with nuts

You can click on the image above and enlarge it.  I haven't tried any of the recipes yet, but plan to do so, now that I am looking them over again.  

Because this journal/notebook is well over 100 years old it is very fragile.  I have it tucked away in an archival envelope.  I photographed every page a couple of years ago.  

TIP:  If you have any kind of letters, notebooks, journals or other items that are falling apart or very fragile you can preserve them by taking photos of the pages.  Why is this a better way than scanning?  Well, because you aren't handling the item as much and turning it over on top of the scanner and trying to lay it flat. 

 Once you have taken the digital image you can then crop it, enhance it, enlarge it, straighten it, save it, email it etc.  

That's all for this Family Recipe Friday.

Happy Hunting or cooking,

Michigan Girl

Copyright © 2013 Michigan Girl

 

CREATING FAMILY TREES WITH VARIOUS BACKGROUNDS

SATURDAY FUN

To stay with the Surname Saturday theme.

How many surnames are in your family tree?

Yup, that's right, let's count those surnames.

I won't have to manually count mine because my Legacy database will do it for me.  Here's how.......

 First click on the "Reports" menu

If you don't have the Reports icon on your top menu you can find it on the text menu across the top of your page

             
Second - once the small window opens, click on the "Books/Other" tab and select "Surname Summary"

Next you'll see a box pop-up that is titled "Surname Summary."  Click on the "preview" box.  

NOTE:  Be sure you have selected "screen/printer" as your report destination (at the bottom).

     Once you've selected "preview," Legacy will immediately    generate a report. Mine was 18 pages long. Showing every surname, how many times the surname appears in my database and the date range for the names.

HOW COOL IS THAT?

 So, how many surnames do I have in my database?

987

Do this in your database and tell me how many you have.

Happy Counting,

Michigan Girl  

 

THOSE PLACES THURSDAY

THOSE PLACES THURSDAY

Armada, Macomb Co., Michigan

Armada, Michigan is located north of Detroit

Armada is a village in Macomb County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 1,730 at the 2010 census. The 2008 Census Bureau Estimate places the population at 1,657. The village is located within Armada Township. Wikipedia

Area: 487 acres (197 ha)

Weather: 52°F (11°C), Wind SW at 0 mph (0 km/h), 100% Humidity

Local time: Thursday 2:27 PM

Population: 1,729 (2012)

Why am I posting about Armada, Michigan?

1. Because my Great Grandfather, William Val GOULD (aka Vivaldo William Gould) was born there.
2. Because his father & mother, John C. GOULD & Sarah HART, were married there in 1858.
3. Because many other family members were born, married & died there.

I first heard of Armada, Michigan very early in my research of the GOULD family.  The more I researched the more intrigued I became with this little "town" of Armada.  

Where was it?  How many members of my family have links to it?

In 2007 I was able to go back to Detroit for the first time since 1970.  I spent 8 days there, going to libraries, cemeteries, courthouses and meeting long lost cousins, nieces & nephews.  What a treat.

I had my whole trip planned out.  What I was going to do each day, where I would go, what I was looking for.  This took a LOT of pre-organization (I'll cover genealogy roadtrips in another post).  Since most of the family were working during the days, I knew I could spend the daylight hours doing research and then spend the evenings with family.  That's exactly what I did.

On about the 3rd or 4th day, it was time to drive north from my hotel and go to Armada.  YEAH!

It's about 73 miles and takes about an hour to make the drive.  Once I was out of the Detroit metro area, the scenery was lovely.  When I reached Armada I stopped at the welcome sign and took this photo.

 

 WOW!!!  I was finally here.  Armada is just a small town.  The town hall consisted of about 6 employees.  There was construction on main street so I had to park and walk.  Not a problem.

I didn't find any information at the town hall as far as old records.  I was kind of hoping I would, but apparently the records are kept at the county level, as most records are.  But, you never know when you might get lucky.

I knew that several family members, including my 2nd Great Grandparents, Henry HART& Olive Doten HART were buried at a small cemetery called Rose Hill Cemetery.  It's located on Coon Creek Rd.  You have to take GOULD Rd. to get to it.  Yes, a road named after my father's family.  My maiden name.  And another road nearby is named PRATT Rd.  Another family I'm linked to.  This was very exciting.  

Here are some photos from Rose Hill Cemetery.

As you can see it's a small country cemetery.  It's located in between homes on a dirt road.  Just a small chain link gate is the entrance.

Once there I was able to locate the headstone for my 2nd great grandfather & his wife and their son.  In addition, as I walked the cemetery, I found many other family surnames.  I took as many pictures as I could because I wasn't sure who I might find connected to me, that I wasn't familiar with at this time.

TIP:  Whenever you visit a cemetery, large or small, always walk all around and look for other family surnames.  You can check at the office, if there is one.  If not, as in this case, then just document what you find by taking pictures and/or notes.

Note:  After I got home I was able to connect our family, by marriages to many of those buried at this cemetery.

Headstone for Olive Hart

My 2nd Great Grandfather, Henry HART, was born about 1785 in New Hampshire and died 26 Apr 1879 in Armada, Macomb, Michigan.  He married Olive DOTEN bet 1830-1835, possibly in Canada.  She was born in 1805 in Vermont and died 10 Apr 1887 in Armada, Macomb, Michigan.  They had 9 children.  Several of those children are buried in Rose Hill Cemetery.  The HART children married into the following families in Armada: PRATT, RICHARDS, GOULD, HEAD, TIBBETS, BEALS, GAYLORD, WETHERELL & INGRAHAM.

There's so much history here and many stories to uncover.  I've found a few, but still have more to find.  

Visiting places that your ancestors lived is so very rewarding.  It can reveal clues to their lives, give you information you didn't have before, lead to new family finds and expand your family.

Who knows?  You might even find some cousins among those still living in the area.

Happy hunting,

Michigan Girl