Thursday, February 7, 2013

I'm going to GRIP in July

I haven't posted for some time.  As many of you are aware, life often interfers with genealogy.  Well, that's enough on that subject.

I registered this morning for GRIP.  I think the online registration process was easy this year.  Perhaps it's because I knew what to expect, but I registered and received confirmation within a few minutes of each other.

 For those of you who many not know about this wonderful genealogical institute, here's the link for more information.
http://www.gripitt.org/ There are still openings in five of the six classes offered this year.

Hope to see you there. 

AND, I hope to post more about my research efforts on the Blackmore, Blincow, Bryan and Doyle families for my father-in-law. 

Tuesday, September 11, 2012

Happy Birthday!! Happy Anniversary!!! Happy Memories Today

For all of you out there who want to celebrate a happy occasion today, like birthdays, anniversaries, or other special events, I am sending you my positive thoughts.  We aren't being selfish or self-centered.  But for some of us, today was (before 2001) , and still should be, a happy occasion.

Monday, August 6, 2012

GRIPitt 2013

The Genealogical Research Institute of Phoenix in Pittsburgh is the newest institute for genealogists.  I posted updates of the 2012 institute that I was fortunate enough to attend.  Now
the GRIP classes for 2013 have been posted on their web site: http://www.gripitt.org/?page_id=547.  This information is more than just the title and coordinator; it's the detailed description.

You may want to put July 22 through July 26, 2013, on your calendar.  Registration for 2013 will begin at NOON (Eastern Time) on Thursday 7 February 2013.

Make sure you look at all of the information on the web site.  There is a tab for "Blogs" that you can check out and read about all of the bloggers listed and their comments regarding the 2012 institute.

And, as full disclosure, I have received no compensation for these comments other than being listed on the blogs page.  I am commenting because I had a great time and learned so much that I'm still processing a lot of the information.  So, thank you to Debbie and Elissa.

Friday, August 3, 2012

1940 Census on Family Search - Indexing DONE

I'm sure most of you received this email announcement.  If not, here it is.  And thank you to all who helped.

We did it!

Today just before 2:00 p.m. (MDT), the very last batch of the 1940 US Census was arbitrated and submitted for publication. The indexing portion of the 1940 US Census Community Project is officially done!
Just look at what we accomplished:
  • The project was supposed to take at least six months, yet it was completed in just 124 days—two full months ahead of schedule!

  • An "army" of more than 160,000 volunteers participated. Plainly stated, there is nothing in the annals of the genealogical community that can compare with this achievement.

  • Because of the familiarity of the volunteers with the names and places contained in the records, the resulting index is thought to be among the most accurate of any census ever published.

  • Tens of millions of people will benefit for generations. That's quite a legacy!
It will take a few more weeks to complete the quality audit of the remaining states and publish them online for searching; however, the majority of the 1940 US Census records are already searchable online at the sites of the consortium members. Meanwhile, we hope the feelings you have at this moment of accomplishment are satisfying and will motivate you to continue giving. Families are being united across the generations with every name you index or arbitrate.

Saturday, July 28, 2012

GRIP 2012 Reveiw and GRIP 2013 Preview

GRIP 2012 offered four classes while GRIP 2013 will offer 6.  I believe that means that there will be room for 50-60 more students. 

GRIP 2013 (July 22-26, 2013) is offering the following classes. This information is taken from the GRIP brochure.

Intermediate Genealogy:  Tools for Digging Deeper with Paula Stuart-Warren, CG, FMGS, FUGA. 

Skills for Proof with Thomas W. Jones, Ph.D., CG, CGL, FASG, FUGA, FNGS.

Bridging the 1780-1940 Gap:  From New England to the Midwest with D. Joshua Taylor, MA, MLS.

Military Records: From Cradle to Grave with Craig R. Scott, CG.

Your Immigrant Ancestors' Stories: Writing a Quality Narrative with John P. Coletta, Ph.D., FUGA.

Advanced Research Tools:  Land Records with Rick Sayre, CG and Pam Sayre, CG, CGL.

Now, aren't you going to have trouble deciding which class to take?  More details will be on the GRIP web site (http://www.gripitt.org/) in the future.  (It may take Debbie and Elissa a little while to recover from this first one before they get everything up for 2013.)  Registration will be in February 2013. 

Cafeteria food is not my favorite.  But there was a very nice salad bar for both lunches and dinners.  Turkey sausage was offered some mornings.  I loved the steamed vegetables:  beans, carrots, and zucchini.  I also really liked the cooked spinach that was served.  And the sweet potatoes with orange were good.  The turkey for dinner one night was moist and, fortunately, there was some left over, I think, because turkey was added to the salad bar the next day.  Great!  Oh, yes.  And I can't forget to mention the desserts.  What a variety, every day. 

The LaRoche College campus is beautiful.  While there are slopes, none of them are too difficult to walk.  I didn't make it to the labyrinth this year but I hope to get there next year.   I also didn't go into the library.  The chapel is lovely as is the little garden in front of it. 

Suzanne, in the bookstore, was very helpful to me.  And the staff working around campus were all pleasant.  I never felt uneasy because the campus security was around and was visible, particularly in the evenings. 

I believe that photos of GRIPitt 2012 will be posted on the Institute web site: http://www.gripitt.org/ in the near future, so you'll be able to see some of the fun we had. 

Lastly, if any of you are hesitant to come to GRIP alone, without knowing any one, I would encourage you to come any way.  I didn't know anyone; I flew in by myself; I took a taxi to the college on Sunday (by myself).  And I went back to the airport with 2 other students.  I never ate by myself, even if I was the first one to sit down at a table.  So, don't hesitate to plan for GRIPitt 2013, even if you don't have a friend to go with you.

GRIP - Friday

First, I'm home.  With a 3 hour time difference between Pittsburgh and home, I work up VERY early this morning.  Of course, I stayed up as late as possible to watch the opening ceremony of the Olympics.  (I just love watching all of the athletes walk in and I'm always amazed at where some of the countries are located; how small they are; or how many islands make up one country, etc.) 

Friday was only a half day of classes.  I believe this was a very wise idea.  So many of us (most of us?) talked about how tired we were.  During lunch it was fun to have one last visit with all of our new friends before leaving.  I just loved the opportunity to visit with both those in my class but those other special people I met who were in other classes.  (Did anyone notice that the cafeteria noise seemed to be higher Friday lunch even though there were fewer of us in there than on Sunday night?)

Many of us in Paula's Intermediate Genealogy class also appreciated the fact that she passed out the certificates one at a time so we could more easily identify the other class members (particularly those from the other side of the room, or from the front, or back);  those we didn't have as much opportunity to get to know.

Friday morning we had classes on finding US resources to help us "cross the pond" and then probate.  Honestly, I wasn't too excited about the first one, since I am not anywhere near finding out where or when my ancestors arrived in this country, or from where.  BUT, we should never discount something too soon.  There were so many different types of records mentioned and examples shown that will help me, just because they list locations.  So what if they don't list another country?  It's a location.  That's what is important!  Thank you, Paula. 

Of course probate records are really important for all of us to look at.  We never know what other types of information will be found in these records.  This is an area of records that I have not used at all.  I'm just really need to get out of my comfort zone and jump in.

I'll write a separate post listing next year's classes and summarizing a few things about this year.  But I will say now that I am SOOO glad I went.  Thank you Debbie and Elissa, all of the instructors and all of the other students. 

Thursday, July 26, 2012

GRIP - Thursday evening

I can't believe that it's Thursday evening already.  Except that I'm tired.  Definitely not tired of genealogy.  Definitely not tired of the amazing conversations.  Definitely not tired of the sessions.  BUT, yes, my mind is tired of trying to process and use all of this wonderful new information, etc.

I forgot to mention that I met Amanda of  http://www.amandasathenaeum.com at lunch yesterday and took the time to read some of her earlier postings as well as those about GRIP.  Then, Bob sent me an email about saying hi.  It's funny.  We've talked numerous times but I never mentioned my blog and so I'll have to make sure to specifically say Hi tomorrow. 

Sometimes I wish there was a way to slow down Josh.  He gave us some great ideas about organizing digitally.  Unfortunately, some of it has taken him almost 5 years, and I'm not sure I'll do that.  (I'd rather research).  But some of his ideas are so simple that it's too bad I didn't think of them. sooner. 

Paula spoke on state archives, government records and newspapers.  It seems a shame to only put titles to 3 seventy-five minutes talk, but I have so many notes that I just can't summarize them easily tonight.  You'll just have to hear Paula some other time;  or catch me after I've recovered from the information "stuffed" head. 

Dinner tonight was with some friends I made this week and then Elissa Powell (one of the GRIP organizers/directors) sat at our table.  I was able to "grill" her about SLIG, Samford, and Boston U, as well as talk about next year's GRIP sessions.  Since this was my first institute, I appreciated her time and the information she provided in answer to my questions.  I'll write about next year's schedule in the near future.  Just not tonight.