GeneaBlogie

En route to Tokyo 180 degrees Longitude (International Date Line) North Pacific Ocean In the time it took to type the preceding words, I’ve traveled through time from 2:45 pm Tuesday September 28 to 2:45 pm Wednesday September 29. Very weird. So I did leave the country. My day job is taking me to the so-called “Far East” for about …Continue reading →

My day job was quite complicated this past week, so there was very little time for quality research or blogging. I did find another excellent, easy-to-use Website in Missouri. This one’s the Jackson County Records Department in Kansas City. Their on-line records search function is accessible from almost any main page on the Jackson County site. Available records include marriage …Continue reading →

Genealogists have to depend on the prior work of others who create or compile or index records. When someone has made record-gathering easy, it makes the genealogist’s task easier. And as much fun as this is, there’s enough frustration to measure as well. Today’s kudos go to the Secretary of State of Missouri, the Honorable Matt Blunt . His office …Continue reading →

Beyond a Reasonable Doubt? So I had been looking for George Micheau’s (1851?-1942?) forebears (see I’d Like to Teach the World to Gene). And I had a theory about that. Genealogy is like other evidentiary endeavors: theories, hypotheses, inferences, assumptions, and sometimes the outright WAG (“Wild A– Guess,” for the uninitiated), all play roles in getting to the “facts.” My …Continue reading →

Matilda Manson is listed in the 1850 census of Talbot County, Georgia, with her mother, Jane Manson and her sister, Mary Manson. Matilda’s age is given as 6 years old; Mary is reported to be 4, and their mother Jane’s age is listed as 24. All three are described as “mulatto.” Matilda next appears in federal census records in 1880 …Continue reading →

I hate the word “diversity” in its current political connotation. Curiously, though, genealogy demonstrates both the “diversity” and the (now-politically incorrect) “melting pot” aspects of America. I also hate people who, despite doing genealogical research, can’t take off their blinders about the realities of human nature. In this field, we all know of incidents like this: A: I’m researching the …Continue reading →

I came across the name of one of my cousins on a genealogy website. I’d never heard of her before, but I decided to write her a letter. “Dear K, You don’t know me, but I’m your cousin. My mother, L, is your grandfather P’s sister . . . .” That was seven months ago–still haven’t heard from her. One …Continue reading →

Some people think I’ve become obsessed with this genealogy thing. But see the last post, “Resistance is Futile.” I suppose it can become an addiction. With the growth of computerized databases and widespread availability of technology, it’s never been easier to do some basic research. Finding one’s way past the brick walls still requires actual examination of actual documents, however. …Continue reading →

Having been born in the 1950′s, I grew up in what was then called “The Space Age.” My grandparents, all of whom in the 1950′s were about the age I am now, had been born at “The Dawn of Aviation.” (In fact, my mother’s parents were born before that certain day at Kitty Hawk). Just before I started school, the …Continue reading →

. . . or more precisely IE6 ate my post! It seems that XP SP2 installs a pop-up blocker as part of its new security features. When composing on Blogger, the new pop-up blocker will perceive the Blogger spell check function as a threat and navigate away from the composition page without saving your data. To solve this problem, set …Continue reading →