2016 International Congress of Genealogical and Heraldic Sciences recap

I spent the first part of August in Scotland, and I have to say, it was glorious.  Not only did I tour the countryside but I presented a paper on migration in the US to the congress and met some great people. Not to mention I learned a lot and was able to geek out on a variety of subjects. And we all know that geeking out is a very, very good thing.

First off, and the reason most of my friends hated me while I was gone, is that I missed the east coast

Loch Lomond

heat wave.  Yes, while friends and family were baking in 100+ degree heat and over 120 degree heat index I was living it up in a rainy 65 degree average country.  Believe it or not, I even bought a wool sweater to wear becasue I was cold in the morning and had forgotten my cardigan at home.

Scotland was absolutely beautiful.  I was there last in 1997 and we only spent a few days driving from Glasgow to Stirling to Edinburgh.  It was great to be back and have an adventure around the area.  With the rain the highlands were an amazing shade of green with waterfalls of the heights everywhere you looked.  We enjoyed a few days as tourists around the area and of course in the city we were staying, Glasgow.

However, the reason for the trip was for me to present at the 2016 Congress.  I spoke on the first day, 10 August, about the migration patterns of three family lines from the Northeast to the Northwest United States.  Each one had a different motivating factor as well as method to get there.  As I was speaking to a European audience (1 American was in the room that I knew of) the reactions were wonderful to my stories and the information I presented.  It made my day to have a great discussion with the attendees and answer their questions.

Even better, I was able to attend a few heraldry classes and really geek out on a subject with others who are passionate about it as well.  I heard a couple great papers on funeral escutcheons as well as marshaling of arms from the Order of the Garter prior to the 1560s.  Like I said, I was geeking out a little bit.

Right now I think I will submit a paper to the next one as well.  The following years and places were announced on the last day of the event for the upcoming congresses:

• 2018: Ararat, France
• 2020: Madrid, Spain
• 2022: Cambridge, England

I think I will put in for them all actually.  I have always wanted to see Madrid and Ararat is on the Mediterranean.  Somewhere I have not been before as well.

Summer Dreaming, Summer Exploring at Americas Footprints

My latest blog is up at Americas Footprints.  It is on activities you should try over the summer.  Below is a glimpse, but check the full article out here.

The summer travel season is upon us. Do you have plans yet? I know I made plans months ago and can't wait to get going, and doing, all the things I want to!

Whether you are planning a large trip or having a stay-cation make sure you take the time to explore your family roots too. Here are 5 ways to squeeze some family history fun into your summer time downtime.

1. Create a photo collage from summers past.

2. Take a virtual trip through your ancestral towns

3. Make ancestor trading cards for the younger (or young at heart) generations in your life

4. Take the time to write about your heirlooms so others will know where they came from

5. Document your life, since you are the absolute best person to do that

I hope you get out there and make the most of the next few months by trying a few!

Year in review

Grape-Shot: 1915 English magazine
illustration of a lady riding a champagne cork

Happy 2014!  A New Year and a new beginning in the genealogy world.  What a whirlwind trip 2013 was and I bet 2014 will be just as exciting!  Sitting at my desk a year ago I really could not phantom where I would land 365 days later.  Few of the things I accomplished were actually planned.  Most just ended up in my lap where I swallowed down my fears and went for it, shaking in my boots the whole time.

2013 started off with my new adventure as a contributor at the In-Depth Genealogist.  I had just ended my stint at the Family Tree Firsts Blogger and was looking for a way to continue to grow not only as a genealogist but as a writer.  To be frank I thought they would turn me away since I was an “unknown.”  However, they gave me a chance and I can’t believe the experience I have received in the last year by working with these amazing people. 

On the home research front there were quite a few successes.  Several walls came crumbling down, particularly for a number of my female lines. Nearly a dozen new cousin contacts were made not only through this blog but from DNA results on FTDNA.  I am not the best pen-pal, but I hope these contacts continue to grow through the years and we can share some amazing breakthroughs together in the future.  My family just keeps growing!

My biggest challenge was the Boston University course this past fall.  You remember that don’t you?  The reason I was nearly non-existent on this blog for over 15 weeks.  I have not received my official final grade in the course but looking at my five module grades (B+/A/A-/A/A) I am pretty sure that I will receive my certificate and be a graduating member of the 13^th online session (OL13).  Waiting for the official word is a bit nerve wracking but I should really just relax.  I wanted to go to Boston for the certificate ceremony, but I don’t think I can swing a trip up there in February.  The stars are just not aligning for that to happen.

Last August I went to Indiana for a family visit and attended FGS in Ft. Wayne.  As I am sure you remember it was my first national level conference for genealogy and you can read all of the posts about FGS here.  I learned so much, met some really awesome people, plus I was able to spend time with my family researching our genealogy together.  It was a mind blowing experience overall and quite a few doors for me to avenues I never dreamed possible opened up for me.

Of course how could I forget my first year giving lectures on genealogy topics?  While it was scary at first I quickly realized that I loved teaching about my passions.  There was a reason I wanted to be a science teacher since it seems I have a knack for it. I have several lectures coming up in the next few months already, and hope to do many more.  If you come to a lecture make sure to say hi! 

Then there was my adventure into social media.  I did something that I never thought I would ever do...created a Twitter account.  From there it spiraled to Pintrest, Facebook Page, and Google+.  Do I have time to keep them all up to date?  No, but I am going to do my best this year to post more (and different things) to each feed.  Wish me luck!

Looking back over the most popular posts on the blog this year I was surprised by which ones made the list.  Hope they made your list of favorites. So, with our further delay, here are the top ten for 2013:

1. Reading and Digesting Complex Terms: Making a Flow Chart For MGP
2. Heraldic Primer Part 6: Inanimate Objects
3. Free Genealogy Lecture Series
4. Observations From The Edge: Multi-Generational Needs in Genealogy
5. Creating Fun Word Cloud Graphics 
6. Taking on The Next Generation
7. WDYTYA, #genchat, and an aftershow.  What a great way to spend an evening!
8. Road Trip : Packing for FGS 2013
9. IDG Re-post: Handwriting Tools For Your iPad 
10. Are you still there?

Now it is time to get moving on 2014.  My kids are back to school so it is high time to brush off the holiday fog and buckle down again.  I have big plans and they won’t be accomplished if I sit here staring out the window.  Join me in making 2014 a great genealogy year and let me know about your goals too!  We can cheer each other on.

An article on family heritage travel!

Over the weekend I picked up the April 2013 issue of National Geographic Traveler.  If you have not seen or read this magazine and love to learn about new places or fantasize about those bucket list trips, you should pick up a copy.  I picked up this issue specifically because on the front cover I saw the main story was titled “Return to Your Roots.”  Wow, a feature article in a travel magazine about heritage trips.

The article contained 5 first person accounts by writers who traveled to discover their roots.  They voyaged to Northern Ireland, Taiwan, Sicily, Krakow, and Angola.  Each incredibly personal story drawing the reader into their experiences making you want to know what else they may have found or explored.

In the piece on Ireland the author took her whole family on the trip.  They found her great-great grandfather’s farm, and she immersed her boys into the family experience.  In contrast the author who penned the piece on Taiwan talked about meeting with her birth sisters in the Taipei night market.  You next learn about Sicilian Cooking, the legacy Jewish Krakow, and how a surname from the Jamestown Colony leads a man to find his roots in Angola.

It was wonderful to see how they each had a different experience to share with the readers.  There was no formula, no right or wrong way to take a tip.  They were people searching for a connection to their past and were awed and amazed around every corner.   

At the end of the segment was a Genealogy 101 information box.  It made me so happy to see this included in the article as it is one thing to talk about making trips to find your heritage but something else to take on the genealogical aspect of it.  I was impressed by the author’s advice, links, and suggestions.  Makes me think she may have the bug too.

My husband and I have talked about making treks to the homeland someday.  Choosing which one and when seems to be the problem.  We have mostly Irish, Scottish, and English roots but thrown into the mix are German, Swiss, French, and Norwegian; a lot of choices and a lot of varied places to see on that list.  I also want to take our children with us to see new things and learn about the places our family left before coming to North America. 

How many of you have taken a trip to discover your ancestors?  I would love to hear about it and your experiences.

Crazy Ideas are my life

Today I had a completely crazy, yet horribly exciting, idea pop into my head. The next time I go home I want to map out a couple of the family cemeteries. Goofy right? But totally worth every minute of the pain it would be to do it!

 

I was searching between trees online trying to figure out ancestor relations between me and a couple other possible new cousins when it hit me. Over 1/2 of my Indiana ancestors are in 5 cemeteries. I know 5 may seem like a lot, but the area in Indiana I am looking at has nearly 200 that I know of, so 5 is really good in my book.

 

The ability to look at a map (with pictures maybe) and see how the families are laid out in the cemeteries would be great. If you can't tell, I am a very visual person. I have to see it, draw it myself usually, and then look it over in my head. That is the best way I learn. Write, draw, remember.

 

Maybe I can experiment with this idea on one of the smaller local cemeteries in my area of Virginia. See how I can make it more efficient before I go home... whenever that maybe.

 

Has anyone out there ever done anything like this?  Have any suggestions or tips? 

 

photo credit: Steve took it via photopin cc

What we did on my sons birthday: The next FTF post is up!

My next post is up at Family Tree, and you can read it here.

To say that we had an exciting birthday trip is an understatement.  2 hours of “Are we there yet?” from the back seat plus the bouncing in said seats as we crossed into Maryland would never have given it away.  No… never. 

Of course the funniest thing was when we asked the boys if they recognized the narrator’s voice on the movie.  One said Mufasa (from Lion King) and the other said Darth Vader.  Oh my!  Can you guess their ages?  It was a very well done movie and my oldest sat in rapt attention.  It was great because as we took the tour he would retell parts of the movie to us, and then supplement it with things he had read. 

On the battlefield there is a family cemetery next to the Mumma farm, which, for you history buffs out there, was the only farm to have been burned that day.  It was a quiet little place with very old and new headstones.  I have a thing for cemeteries (I know which of you don’t?) and I just had to see it.  Good thing my husband thinks it is interesting looking around them too.  There were some very beautiful ones, including one that had a weeping willow on it.

There were several other major stops we made that day.  The Observation tower was a wonderful place to look out over the battlefield.  It was very tall, and steep, but well worth the trip up.  You could see a majority of the battlefield from there, which really gives you a scope of how it all played out.  I also loved the Burnside Bridge.  It was a hike to get to it, but it was so amazing to stand there and just hear nature around you.  We also took a stroll through the National Cemetery in Sharpsburg.  Those are always amazing places, and they always take my breath away.

Below are a few of the pictures I took.  Hope you enjoy them!

 

Top of the Maryland Memorial

Top of the NY Memorial



Dunker Church

Indiana Memorial

The Bloody Cornfield

Burnside Bridge and the
Witness Tree

Passports are a family thing

I have had a passport since I was 18.  When I was a freshman in college my mother was stationed in Germany.  Yeah... they ship me off to college and then go to Europe for a 3 year tour of duty.  The last thing my parents did before they left was take me to the base and get me a passport so I could visit them over breaks.  The experience wasn't bad.  Took a picture, signed a piece of paper, and 3 months later it showed up in my mailbox.

Since then I have renewed my passport twice, the last time this year.  Renewals are fairly easy things to do online now, and I never had to go into an office.  Typed it up online, printed it out, and then mailed it in!  My kids on the other hand have been a whole different story.  They have to get theirs renewed for a family trip we are taking and it has been hurdle after hurdle.  Some of my own making too.  I could go on and on about it, but I can already feel my blood pressure raising.

The one thing I kept thinking about while I filled out their forms:  I have to make this look nice so when my descendants look for passport applications they can read it!  Yeah, that thought actually went through my head.  Jeesh...

Think about how excited you are when you find that handwritten document from decades ago.  I bet the person filling it out was only thinking about how they have to fill this paper out, how quickly they could get it done, and didn't really think about who may see it in the future.  Who really does? That is unless they are in a field of study that has them coming into constant contact with original documents. 

Almost makes me want to take up old fashioned letter writing again!

photo credit: Baigal via photo pin cc

What? It is already the end of MAY!

That was my reaction to the calender this morning.  The last few months, in fact this year, have just flown by.  Crazy-hectic-mom schedule doesn't help the matter at all.  My oldest has already got the itchy feet and antsy twitches that come with a kid that sees the end of the school year just a few weeks away.  I have the antsy twitches and tick of a mom that will soon has both kids home for 11 weeks. 

To top it off, Mr. Man will be starting middle school and Mr. Bear is entering Kindergarten this fall.  I just have to make it to September to receive my reward of freedom from children eight hours a day five days a week.  Think about all the research I will be able to do! Oh, and mani-pedi's; can't forget the occasional spa day you know.

However, we have to get through almost three months of summer first. Mr. Man has all the places he wants to visit this summer outlined on a piece of paper that was handed to me yesterday.  Battlefields, museums, and various historical sites in a four state radius.  I had to inform him that I didn't think we would be able to make it up to Boston this summer (talk about disappointed looks from the two of them). 

Included in the summer plans is a historical summer camp put on by the Jamestown Yorktown Foundation called Broadsides Camp.  We have our week booked there, both boys are going to both camps, and it should be fun!  They both did it last year and they begged to come back this year.  Who can say no to a history camp?  Logistics are the only down side as it is three hours from home and we have to stay in a hotel for a week.  Ah well, could be worse.

One of the best parts:  on day three of the Jamestown camp they will be learning about the Tempest and how some ships were blown of course and shipwrecked in Bermuda.  Among those colonists was Stephen Hopkins and his family, ancestors on my husband's side.  Mr. Man is so excited to be learning about his family at CAMP!  Mr. Bear is excited to drill with the soldiers at Yorktown and the go to play with mud and fish at Jamestown. 

Wish me luck... I may need a rescue by the end of the summer!

*Images taken by me.  Toys on the beach at Virginia Beach, and Statue of John Smith at Jamestowne Island, 2011.

FTF Post is up!

The next post from Family Tree Firsts has been posted tonight. This will be a four part series on my adventures in genealogy. I promise, the ending will be well worth the wait!

I talk in my post about my desire to find the parents of Henry Arvin, from Port Tobacco, Maryland. I think his father was Edward Darnell Arvin, but I am having problems proving it to myself completely. This will be one of those instances where I have worked myself to the point I need to take a field trip.

In fact, my family did take a field trip to Port Tobacco last summer. It is just over an hour from our house when you take the 301 bridge over the Potomac River from King George County Virginia to Charles County Maryland. I had a plan, I was in search of the family homestead, graves and names, and I was not going to come home until I found them! We actually had a grand day wandering around graveyards from the colonial era, visiting the Port Tobacco historical town center, reading historical road signs, and exploring the state park where I think the family home may have been.

We found more than family history that day too. It was the middle of June, and the flags were still on the graves from Memorial Day. Flags were there honoring soldiers from the Revolutionary War on, and confederate flags for those who had fought for the south in the Civil War. That sparked an interesting lunch time debate with my son about honoring your ancestors, learning from the past, and how people move on and learn from those lessons. He has an interest in military history, which means these conversations are always a learning experience for him at 11 years old.

One place we spent almost an hour was St. Ignatius Church.  It is the oldest active Catholic Church in the United States.  The grounds have amazing views of the Potomac and the rolling vista's of Charles County Maryland.  My husband dutifully helped me scouring the cemetery for any surname that may have been linked to my family:  Darnell, Arvin, Montgomery and Padgett.  I found one in this cemetery who may be a cousin; just need to do some investigation on that line.

My son's favorite bit of information from that day was learning that Port Tobacco had a connection to the assassination of President Lincoln. The civil war is his hands down favorite war to read about, but what can you expect from a boy who lives on a battlefield in Virginia?