Five years ago, my mom and I started the process of getting all her siblings and their children and grandchildren together. She is one of eight (seven now living), and such a large family coupled with long-standing family disputes, meant that we had never all been together in the same place at the same time. Out of my twenty-seven first cousins, there were at least seven that I had never met. I started by writing letters to each of my aunts and uncles asking for updates for the family tree and l
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I have never blogged before but have been a stalker on many sites. I am hoping to use this blog as an accountability tool for my own research. My goals for this summer are to find proof one way or the other that my husband's Mathieu ancestor Michel Mathieu, who came to the US from Canada in the 1860s is descended from Joseph Mathieu and Marie Papillon. I have heard that his parents are listed on his death certificate, but would like to find other more direct sources.
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Have you ever received a gift, an heirloom, that belonged to an elder family member? Maybe it was an old stone pot that belonged in the family for generations. What a treasure! Wouldn't it be even greater then to know the story behind it? Maybe Great Aunt Ruth used to use that pot each Sunday for special meals with the family. Wouldn't it have so much more meaning to know the life behind the item?Genealogy appeals to people who like mysteries - piecing together puzzles from the past and uncoveri
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For those of you who keep up with my genealogical diggings and family history research:Since this project was first started, back in October 2007, it has grown from a simple quest to do a simple pedigree, to an enormous, time consuming project. The tree goes back sixteen generations and includes nearly 1300 people. But there are still a lot of things I need to get and a lot of information I need to find. So I've decided to make up a to-do list for my genealogy and family history quest. This is f
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The following link is in regards to a statement made today about Burr Oaks Cemetary in Chicago, Ill - famous resting place to several famous african-americans, including Emmett Louis Till. Apparently, for four years now, the cemetary workers have been digging up graves, cutting up the bodies, and dumping the parts into a massive open grave in the deepest backends of the cemetary land. How could anyone desecrate a grave that way?http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/31832393/ns/us_news-crime_and_courts/?GT
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Since I was a little kid I would always ask my grandmother about her family and how things were "in the old days" She told me so much information but I was a kid and cannot remember everything she told me. So, a few years ago I decided that I would try and find out some more information for myself. WOW, who knew there was so much information out there. You can get information about family and places from everywhere; internet, family, library, newspapers.I have boxes and boxes and notebooks at my
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Mailing lists can be a terrific way of gathering information and sharing stories with others. Mailing lists allow you to keep up to date with advancements in a field, events, and education. Sometimes though, someone or a group of people on the mailing list begin souring the list with drama. Some people just thrive on conflict. A fact that is difficult to escape in life, but one that is controllable, especially on a mailing list.Recently, a professional list for genealogy dealt with conflict amon
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Wow - I went looking for a marriage certificate I had received from the state of Michigan, and haven't found it yet. I've read occasionally about "the box" - I have "the drawer". It's the top drawer of my little file cabinet (the bottom is full of financial records, medical stuff for me and my pet, etc.). I have been just dumping everything in there for about a year now. It's definitely time to go through it and get it organized.I started looking through the papers and found things I'd forgotten
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Originally posted at http://thechartchick.blogspot.com/2009/07/generation-maps-social-networking.htmlIt has been fascinating tonight to watch a new genealogy social networking site get started. I signed up for Genealogywise.com late this afternoon, and in just a few hours, I had dozens of friends and dozens of fans on the Generation Maps group. We'd love to have you join us. It will be interesting to see where this site goes and how it develops.I've loved all the fun we have had on facebook over
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I am mapping out my fathers family. I am stuck @ my grandparents... Does anyone have info on the Larue's or Burke's from Oklahoma? They (my grandparents) eventually ended up in southern California.Thanks for any info you may have!!
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Everyone has a story of when they were bit by the genealogy bug and their entire lives were transformed to trying to get as much information as possible about their family. This blog will share mine. I will also post this as a discussion forum to hear others stories.My paternal grandfather died when I was 16 years old on December 17, 1993. I was a junior in high school. Both sets of my grandparents lived two hours from my house in different directions, so I was never close with any of them. My f
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Less than 5% of the research materials available to you is on the net. Further, stumbling blindly around the net and wasting time with folks who likely know less than you do, or playing with most pay-for-genealogy websites, is akin to shooting at the woods from the back door hoping to bag a squirrel for breakfast; slim chance, indeed. However by venturing into the woods where squirrels more likely will be found, your chances of coming home with something to eat are much greater than trying from
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There is no better tip for all good genealogists to take to heart than to remember first and foremost to document each and every source whether it be written, spoken, e-mailed or heard. This is important not only for others with whom one might share information who may wish to corroborate their own findings. Source documentation is also important especially when old parroquial church books and other documents already in a state of detrioration continue to be assaulted by heat, book weevils and t
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Another group of links sent to the Candyman list onJuly 3, 2009.http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Candyman/Repeat. Bedford County, PennsylvaniaMother Bedford: The Pennsylvania Frontier of the 1700shttp://www.motherbedford.com/Brief biographies; genealogiesSearch : A - GeneaStarhttp://www.geneastar.org/liste.php3?lettre=AAncestries reported in the U.S. 2000 censushttp://www.census.gov/prod/2004pubs/c2kbr-35.pdfAdams County, Pennsylvania obituary database (100 sampleobits)http://www.adamslibrary.org/
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There has always been a story told over and over again by my mother and grandmother. I doubt it was told to us as a warning regarding the dangers of playing near railroad tracks - we never lived near railroad tracks. I think perhaps it was probably one of the most devastating family events, so it was a story that was retold over and over to preserve the memory of this little boy as best as possible?Oddly enough, before I began researching my family history, this story always went that "Grandma P
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This was sent to the Candyman Genealogy List on July 3, 2009http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Candyman/I try to send in ten links per day. You have to be a member tosee the posts, but you can go no-mail and still fish through thearchives.Linda BeeSearch EngineWolfram|Alphares://C:\WINNT\system32\shdoclc.dll/dnserror.htm#http://www.cnn.com/2009/TECH/05/12/future.search.engine/index.htmlNew services promise online life after death - CNN.comhttp://www.legacylocker.com/Unclaimed propertyIndiana Unclaime
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Looking to share information on families from Pollard, Jessamine Co., Ky. I have a large data base which connects many of the Jessamine Co., Ky families. Would like to exchange info with any one else interested in Jessamine Co. and surrounding Ky counties.
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NBC News reported this afternoon that employees at Burr Oak Cemetery in Alsip, IL have been digging up graves and reselling the plots. They stated that there was an area blocked off that they believe have the remains from the graves, plus the tombstones, all piled up. According to the NBS reporters, the owners of the cemetery tipped the police off to what was going on.When will our loved ones be safe. Cemeteries are moved, family is not notified. Now the employees seem to think it is alright to
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