Organize Your Family History

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Stepping in my ancestors’ footsteps

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Muster Funeral Home in Calhoun, KentuckyI’m in the midst of my research trip to Kentucky and this morning I really felt the power of walking where my ancestors walked. This morning, I was sitting on the porch of Farley’s Bed and Breakfast in Calhoun, McLean, Kentucky, enjoying a cup of coffee on a lovely morning. As I looked at the impressive building across the street, I noticed the sign Muster Funeral Home, established 1855. It occurred me that this was probably the funeral home some of my ancestors used.

Since my laptop was in my lap, I took a quick look at the death certificate for Bonnie Adams, the daughter of my great great grandfather, George Washington Adams (who is the primary focus of my research on this trip) and his second wife, Della. Bonnie died in 1919 at the age of six, from influenza. I knew they were living in Calhoun at the time of her death. Sure enough, the undertaker was Muster.

Yesterday morning, I had gone to Calhoun Cemetery and looked at young Bonnie’s grave marker. George and Della had a tumultuous relationship that ended in divorce a year after their daughter’s death. I can imagine that their grief on top of an unhappy marriage was practically unbearable.

Being right there where they were, both near the funeral home and the grave site, really brought home the power of these trips. I felt like I knew my ancestors better and could understand just a little more what his life was like.

I’ll write more later about this trip, but I can say with assurance that no matter what I discover in the libraries and repositories this week in Kentucky, just walking in the shoes of my ancestors in McLean County has made this trip worthwhile.

Preliminary lessons in planning my research trip

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Tomorrow’s the big day. I’m going to leave bright and early to travel to McLean County, Kentucky, where I haven’t been for five years. I have been preoccupied with planning it for the last month or more and now it’s time to pack up my stuff and go. After a day in McLean, I’ll move on to Owensboro for the morning, then Frankfort, where I’ll stay three nights. I’ve been very keen to do a lot of planning so I wouldn’t waste any time while I was there. I actually placed a lot of pressure on myself, I think.

Time will tell whether I’m right, but here are the initial lessons I feel I’ve learned:

  • At some point I had to call it done. I was poring over repositories’ catalogs and my family tree, trying to fine-tune my lookups and I realized I needed to decide I’ve finished, pack up and relax.
  • Less is more. When I initially started planning this trip, I though I’d spend time in Louisville and Bowling Green repositories, but after taking a realistic look at the time I had available, I decided to pare the trip down to just three locations. That gives me more breathing room, which feels much better.
  • The little repositories are as intriguing as the big ones. Kentucky has some great repositories for genealogists in Frankfort and I can’t wait to explore them. But I’m equally excited to visit the McLean County Historical and Genealogical Museum just three blocks from my B&B in Calhoun. I’m confident the folks there will point me to resources I couldn’t find elsewhere. I will also visit the Genealogy Room of the McLean County Public Library in Livermore to see what I might find there. And I’m excited to pay another visit to the Kentucky Room of the Daviess County Public Library in Owensboro where I hope to do some newspaper research on some indexed articles (obits mostly) about ancestors. I’m also looking forward to seeing their vertical files.
  • It’s important to build in some flexibility. Five years ago, when I took a trip to both Kentucky and Alabama, I was so glad I allowed myself some flexibility to change things up. I ended up staying longer in Kentucky and lopping the more distant Alabama destination off my itinerary.  This time, I’m allowing myself the option to stay away an extra day if need be. And I have a just-in-case plan to go to Louisville, if I tap out early on the resources in Frankfort.
  • I can’t necessarily count on technology. I’m going to stay at a B&B in the tiny town of Calhoun, Kentucky, where my ancestors live. When I spoke with the owner last week, she mentioned that the internet was down in the entire town that day. She hoped it would be back. What? I’m planning my trip in Trello, but it requires the internet in order for me to access it. I’m assuming I’ll have cell phone service, but sometimes that can be spotty. So I’m doing something I don’t do much of: I’m printing out the things I’d be lost without (both literally and figuratively) that day.
  • Depth beats breadth. I have a lot of ancestors who lived in Kentucky, particularly in McLean County. I’ve been figuring out what resources not available on the Internet I might be able to find out about them when I’m on this trip. As part of the prep for this trip, I’ve spent more time looking into my 2nd great grandfather, George Washington Adams (1845-1938)–whom I thought I had known pretty well. Well, newspaper research this month revealed something I hadn’t known: he was a member of state legislature in the last decade of the 19th century. So I’ve decided I’d really like to spend time in McLean researching context so I can understand more about how he lived. (I heard a great talk from Elizabeth Shown Mills on context at the NGS conference, which is inspiring me.) That might mean I find out fewer facts about other ancestors, but I’m okay with that. And, of course, the context I learn will help me with other ancestors who lived in that time and place as well.
  • I’m going to be kind to myself. I have high hopes for this trip, but if they don’t all pan out, that’ll be okay. I know it’s not going to be perfect and I won’t kick myself when I realize what I could have done differently. I’m staying at an AirBnb in Frankfort and while I hope my evenings will involve some planning for the next day, I also plan to let myself relax. I also plan to eat well. I’m fortunate that I love spending time by myself, so hanging out on my own in an AirBnb is my idea of a good time.

I’ve literally been thinking about this trip for years. I feel I’ve prepared well. We shall see whether I’ve over- or under-prepared. I will certainly let you all know how it goes!

 

Mid-month 30 x 30 update

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It’s June 18 already! Where did the month go? Back on June 1, I started a new 30 x 30 challenge, where I commited to doing 30 minutes of genealogy research (or research-related activities) for 30 days. I great group of you decided to join the challenge.

So it’s time for a mid-month report. How’s it going? Please let us know in the comments.

I have to be honest and say it’s not going how I expected. My priority has been planning my research trip to Kentucky and I’m confident I’ve put in 9 hours (18 days x 30 minutes) this month, but it hasn’t been 30 minutes at a time. I’ve had longer sessions and have not been able to put in daily effort. (It’s been a busy time for my organizing business, so I just haven’t had that much freedom in my schedule this month.)

Planning this trip has been a journey. (No pun intended.) I leave on the 24th and I’m finished with the planning. (I did score what looks like a great AirBnB in Frankfort, just a two-minute walk from the Kentucky Historical Society!) I can’t wait to see how the trip works out and you can bet I’ll be talking about it here. I intend to write an Orderly Roots guide about planning a trip as well. And I proposed to speak on planning a research trip at RootsTech in February. (Time will tell whether that’s accepted.)

So I haven’t met my intended goal with this month’s 30 x 30 but I’m feeling okay about the time spent. How’s the challenge going for you?

It’s my 7th blogiversary!

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Seven years ago today, I published my first post on this blog. It was called My quest to learn more about my family history. In seven years, it’s been viewed a grand total of 62 times. (By contrast, Wednesday’s post on organizing learning resources has been viewed more than 800 times in two days.)

When I started the blog, I had no idea what would become of it. I knew I had the discipline and skill to blog, because I’d had an organizing blog for six years by then. I sensed that blogging about genealogy organizing would help me figure out how to integrate genealogy with my organizing business and would give me some accountability so that I would spend more on time on genealogy. I loved doing the research, I just always found things that seemed more important to do.

This blog has become than I ever imagined and I’m so grateful. Today seems like a good day to take stock of the many things I’m grateful to Organize Your Family History for bringing me.

How this blog has enhanced my life:

  • I’ve learned so much from my readers! I’ve been fortunate to have such engaged readers who provide lots of great advice and input in the comments. And everyone is so kind. Thank you!
  • Some readers have become in-person friends. I’ve done so meet ups at genealogy conferences and that’s always a treat.
  • I research more often. I’m confident that without this blog I would not research as much. My 30 x 30 challenges, in particular, really keep focused on the research.
  • I’m a better researcher. Because I’m researching more often, attending conferences, and benefiting from the wisdom of my readers, I’m most assuredly a better researcher than I was seven years ago and probably a better one than I would be today without the blog.
  • I’ve become acquainted with some well-known genealogists, which is always a treat. Through my How They Do It series, as well as Family Tree University webinars and just attending conferences, I’ve gotten to know some folks I admire
  • I’ve even made some money! I sell my Orderly Roots Guides and The Paperless Genealogy Guide (with Brooks Duncan) and I’ve earned some money through speaking, writing and consulting. I feel so fortunate for that!

I want to thank you, my readers, for coming along on this seven-year ride and for being such a big part of it. I can’t wait to find out what the upcoming year brings!