Veterans Day 2012

Words cannot express the gratitude I feel.

© 2012 Denise Spurlock, Ancestral Trees Research

Tuesday’s Tip – Missouri History Museum

If you have ancestors who lived in Missouri, check out the Missouri History Museum! The museum has exhibits and collections sure to be of interest.

Currently featured on-ground exhibits include The Civil War in Missouri, The Language of Portraits, Underneath It All, and Our Olympics. Some of the online exhibits are Sidewalks of St. Louis, unCommon Threads: Stories of Missouri Brides, and Shifting Gears: The Automobile Industry in St. Louis, 1890-1930.

History Happens Here! is the museum’s blog. Check out their publications page to learn about their magazine and available books.

Subscribe to the monthly e-newsletter “Genealogy and House History News” to receive the latest information on additions to the Genealogy and Local History Index, new Archives Collection Guides posted online, and upcoming genealogy workshops and lectures.

Information about location, hours, etc. can be found here.

Daily Official Program of Thursday, June 16, 1904, of the Louisiana
Purchase Exposition, also known as the St. Louis World's Fair.
Public domain image via Wikimedia Commons.

© 2012 Denise Spurlock, Ancestral Trees Research

Remembering 9/11

I didn’t have the television on that morning, so I didn’t hear about the attack on the World Trade Center until I got to work. At the time, I was teaching computer applications at a small vocational rehabilitation school. To think that terrorists so boldly attacked American citizens on our own soil was unimaginable to all of us. It was a difficult day as students and faculty tried to deal with what it all meant for the security of our nation.

Things have changed since 9/11. The new security measures in place at our nation’s airports mean longer waits before boarding flights. It’s inconvenient, but necessary. Osama bin Laden is dead, but unfortunately the threat of terrorism is not. Regretfully there are those who view all Muslims as terrorists; I understand fear, but not intolerance.

On this Patriot Day, I remember those who lost their lives and wish peace and healing for their families. I thank those who protect us from terrorist threats on a daily basis. I pray for tolerance for those who, despite having different religious beliefs, mean no harm and only wish to live peaceably with others.

© 2012 Denise Spurlock, Ancestral Trees Research

Saturday Night Genealogy Fun - What Type of Genealogist Are You?

Randy Seaver’s Saturday Night Genealogy Fun post for today asks What Type of Genealogist Are You? The mission for those responding is:

1)  Read Lorine McGinnis Schulze's blog post What Type of Genealogist Are You? (25 August 2012).

2)  Answer the questions, and write about them!!

3)  Share your opinions in your own blog post, in comments on this post, in a Facebook Status, in a Google+ Stream post, or in a Twitter microblog.

There is no doubt that I am the Hunter/Detective type; I love research, for my own ancestors and for those of clients and friends.

Based on that, I am neither a Gatherer/Ancestor Collector (although I know several) nor an Ancestor Finder. And although I have been frustrated at times with collaborative genealogy, I am not a Hoarder; I want share my research but not necessarily in online trees. Not a Junkyard Collector either, although you couldn’t tell that by looking at my desk!

I haven’t submitted any articles to scholarly journals (yet), but I am a Scholar in that I want to have proper source citations and I try to include them even on my blogs so that people will know where I found my information. The longer I am involved in genealogical research, the more I am becoming an Analyzer; in my personal research, I find if I go back and look at documents again, there are clues I didn’t see before!

I wish I were more of a Planner. I try to use research plans and logs, but sometimes I get caught up in the thrill of the hunt, or sidetracked by some tidbit of information, and I get off track.

So there you have it: I’m a Hunter/Detective, with some Scholar and Analyzer thrown in for good measure!

Sherlock Holmes in "The Five Orange Pips"
By Sidney Paget (1860 - 1908) (Strand Magazine)
 [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

© 2012 Denise Spurlock, Ancestral Trees Research

Happy Independence Day!

Geni.com posted this great infographic about Independence Day! Do you live in a town with a patriotic name? Have a presidential surname? I remember hearing that one of my paternal ancestors signed the Declaration of Independence but I haven't found any evidence to support that family legend; on my maternal line, I am distantly related to John Adams. However you choose to celebrate the 4th of July, have a wonderful day!

© 2012 Denise Spurlock, Ancestral Trees Research

Friday Funny - A Census Chuckle!

Marysville Tribune, 13 January 1851,
page 4, column 1; Ohio Historical Society,
microfilm 46242.

"Census Anecdote.

'What is your age, miss?' inquired a gallant marshal of a young lady about sixty, in the — district, the other day.

'What's that to you, Mr. Impertinence?' said the fair one, drawing up and exhibiting a formidable chevaux de frieze of broken teeth.

It is a very unpleasant question but it must be asked. What age shall I place you at? twenty, I should think.

'Yes,' said the old girl, completely molified, 'I think I was twenty last spring,' and the gratified damsel invited our friend to take a glass of wine and call again before he left town."

© 2012 Denise Spurlock, Ancestral Trees Research

Tuesday's Tip - Newspapers Can Provide Data Missing from Records

Historical newspapers can provide information about events that are missing from the record books. For example, if you have a marriage license, but no return, check the local newspapers to see if a marriage announcement was printed (click here for an example from my own family). In small town papers, you may find other useful information; in city papers, there may only be the names of the bride and groom with the date of marriage.

© 2012 Denise Spurlock, Ancestral Trees Research