Back to Presentations: Lots of Changes; Any Ideas?

For the past two years, I haven't made any presentations for genealogy.  I was asked to give a 6 hour beginner class at a local public library (in March), which I have done before.  The format is three 2-hour classes, and I have done this probably 10-12 times between 2006-2011.  So... No problem.  Right?




Well, I started looking at my power-point presentation and syllabus and I realized that so many things have changed since 2010.  Just think:  the 1940 census; all of the familysearch.org changes; findmypast moved into the US market; SCGS Jamboree and their live-presentations; RootsTech; etc.  And these are just things I could quickly come up with.




Therefore, I am going to have to completely redo the entire class presentation and syllabus.  If you have been researching for some time, have you really thought about the number of changes that have been made in the past three years?  Have you realized what changes have occurred that you have calmly accepted as the "norm"? 



I am looking for suggestions as to what you feel are the most important topics I should cover in a beginning class for genealogists.  I am talking about those who don't know what a pedigree chart is; who aren't sure what the definitions of ancestor and dependent are; who really don't know anything about census records, etc.  As I said, I've taught this class numerous times and have, according to former students, great success.  BUT, I want to make sure that I'm providing up-to-date information and giving them all of the best methods and resources to help them become excited about the search and be successful in their results.  Please send your response to karenazgen@gmail.com or karenazgen@yahoo.com.  Thank you.

52 Ancestors: #3 Olga Wilhelmina Engdahl Poe (1894-1954)

How did two 14 and 16 year old girls from Sweden get from New York to Montana in 1907?  I wish I knew;  it's one of my mysteries.


Olga was born in Sweden in 1894 in Sweden and she immigrated in 1907.  I have found her listed in a passenger list and she had traveled with her sister Hilma Engdahl.  The two girls listed Montana as their destination and they had an aunt living there.  I have been unable to find the aunt, or that family.  I would really like to know how these two girls, 14 and 16 or 17, traveled from New York to Montana.

 

After the passenger list, the next mention of Olga was in the 1920 census as the wife of Thurman Allen Poe, and living in Sparks, Nevada.  I know that she married Thurman Allen Poe, because of family information.  However, I have no documents regarding the marriage.  Thurman Allen’s brief bio was in 52 Ancestors:  #2 in this series.  I found numerous mentions of Olga and her children, particularly her daughters, in the social columns in Reno and Sparks newspapers.  Unfortunately, I don’t have any other documents with her mentioned.

 

Sometime after Olga and Thurman Allen divorced, Olga moved to California.  She died in 1954 in Berkeley.  Her obituary was included in the Reno newspaper. 

 

Since Olga and Thurman were my biological paternal grandparents, I would appreciate collaborating with anyone with knowledge of this family.  I would truly appreciate any photos, copies of documents, or even knowledge of where documents could be found.

 

This blog was written in response to Amy Johnson Crow’s blog challenge: 52 Ancestors in 52 weeks on her blog:  No Story Too Small.

Note:  I am having difficulty putting in links to Amy's blog.  Please search for it in your browser and read the challenge.

 

 

 

 

52 Ancestors: #2 Thurman Allen Poe (1888-1979)

Thurman Allen Poe was born in Grayson County, Texas in 1888. He died in 1979 in Sparks, Nevada.   I have not found him in the 1900 census, but in 1910 he was in Grady County, Oklahoma.  He married Olga Engdahl about 1919 in Nevada.  Why did he move to Nevada?  How did he meet Olga?  How did he get from Oklahoma to Nevada? 

 

Thurman Allen, or sometimes listed as Allen Thurman, spent the rest of his live in Sparks, Washoe County, Nevada.  Thurman and Olga had five children, and one son, Clifford, died at about age 8.  Raymond Verne Poe was my biological father.  The three daughters were born between 1924 and 1934.  Since I don’t know if they are still living, I will not write more about them.

 

Thurman and Olga divorced and I believe that Thurman married a Myrtle Dailey about 1960.  I don’t know anything more about Myrtle or any children she may have had before marrying Thurman. 

 

If someone has photos of Thurman, Olga or Raymond, I would appreciate copies.  I am still looking for documentation of the facts that I’ve presented.  I would enjoy collaborating with anyone researching this Poe family line.

 

This blog posting was inspired by Amy Johnson Crow in her challenge of writing about 52 ancestors in 52 weeks.  No Story Too Small

 

52 Ancestors: #1 Raymond V. Poe (1920-2006)

Raymond was born in January in 1920 in Reno, Nevada.  He died in 2006 in Oakland, California.  He was married at least 3 times, and perhaps 4.   I believe he was married first to a Marian, and had two girls.  My mother was his second wife and I don't believe I ever saw him after I was about 6.  I was the eldest of 3.


Ray was married to his third (or fourth) wife the longest and I believe he had 3 children in this marriage.  I have tried to contact children from this marriage in order to get photos or documents but have not had much luck.  I don't want to bring up bad memories or discuss Ray or his relationships, but since this was my biological father and his ancestors are my ancestors and my children's ancestors, and my grandchildren's ancestors (You know what I mean.) then I'd like to have photos in my files as well as documents that may be with these people. 


Of course, as with any of my research, if you are related, or have information about anyone I write about, I would be glad to collaborate.  Unfortunately, with this family, I have very little I can share with you. 


This blog was written in response to Amy Johnson Crow's challenge in the blog  No Story Too Small

52 Ancestors: The Challenge

While catching up on reading blogs I came across this blog by Amy Johnson Crow's:  No Story Too Small

She's set a challenge:   52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks.
The challenge: have one blog post each week devoted to a specific ancestor. It could be a story, a biography, a photograph, an outline of a research problem — anything that focuses on one ancestor.

So, I signed up.  What better way to meet a couple of my goals including writing blogs consistently and writing mini-bios of my ancestors?

Now the decisions:  What day of the week am I going to post?  Which ancestor and/or family do I start with?  Should I include my husband's family also?  Will I need to include collateral lines to find 52? 

New Start - 2014

Happy New Year to all!!

I hope I still have a few readers.  Even if I don't, I need to write regularly, and so this blog will probably be part journal, part genealogy discoveries, and part "cousin bait" for the future.

I'm back to blogging; I hope regularly. 

I'm back to genealogy; I hope regularly. 

I'm back to presenting and teaching; I hope regularly.

This is a New Year.

So, I'm putting the past behind me.  I'm starting over with ALL of my family research.  Yes, I had computer problems.  Yes, I had been saving my files to an external hard drive.  Unfortunately, I didn't realize that my genealogy program files weren't in my documents or someplace that I was actually backing up.  No, I didn't have a cloud backup or anything that allowed me to sync with other devices.  So when my computer "crashed", even specialists couldn't recover my lost files.  That's now in the past.

What have I learned?  What am I going to do differently?

Before I assume that everything is backed up, I am going to make sure that all of the different parts.  Backing up isn't helpful if  I can't retrieve the files.

I'm going to get cloud storage and use it regularly.  Again I'm going to make sure I can retrieve the files.

I have a new tablet and I'm going to get a new laptop.  (I'm using one of my husband's old ones temporarily.)  I will make sure that the tablet and laptop "communicate" with each other, particularly with regards to genealogy files. 

My new family files will have sources for facts as I input the information.  This will take me longer, but I won't have to spend hours, days, months, going back and adding sources.  Hopefully some of it will be quicker because of my experiences and improved skills.

I am going to return to making presentations at FHSA chapter meetings and giving free beginning classes (5-6 hours) at public libraries in order to share the joy, excitement and wonder of family discovery with others.

Lastly, for now, I'm going to try to put the fun back into genealogy as many have been discussing on other social media outlets. 

Again, Happy New Year to all and I hope we find at least one brick wall crumbling down.

 

Tuesday's Tip - School's Starting - Plan for Education

No, it may not be starting today where you are.  But in some parts of the country teachers are already back in the classrooms.  And students are starting this week or next or started last week or even two weeks ago.

I'm a grandmother, so why does this matter to me?  I think of the NEW year as the beginning of school, not in January.  I start planning activities for the coming year in August and September, and sometimes in July. 

So what are you thinking of doing in the next year to help you improve your researching techniques?  Dates have been set for many national and regional conferences, institutes and seminars.  I have a 2014 calendar that I printed off the internet that I have marked up.  No, I'm not going to be able to attend everything I list on this calendar, but at least I have the dates in one place.  Check web sites for activities you may be interested in or that are near you.  AND... Don't forget your local genealogical and/or historical society meetings.  Put them on your calendar also. 

SO..... What's on my calendar right now?
Jan 13-17 - SLIG - Salt Lake City, UT
Jan 17-18 - Mesa Family History Expo, Mesa, AZ
Jan 25 - Pinal County Genealogy Workshop, Casa Grande, AZ
Feb 6-8 - RootsTech - Salt Lake City
Mar ?? - FHSA Seminar, Phoenix, AZ (Day not set but it's always in March)
Mar 24-26 - Forensic Genealogy Institute, Dallas, TX
Mar 27-29 - Advanced Forensic Evidence Analysis, Dallas, TX
May 7-10 - NGS, Richmond, VA
Jun ?? - SCGS Jamboree, Burbank, CA
Jun 8-13 - IGHR, Samford University, AL
Jul ?? - GRIP, Pittsburgh, PA - At least I hope it will be offered again
Aug 27-30 - FGS, San Antonio, TX

I know I've missed many.  But make your own list and circle the dates on a 2014 calendar.  This way you can plan for your continuing education in the 2013-2014 "school year."