Sunday, October 29, 2017

Sunday Celebration~Genealogy Happy Dance!

You know the dance. You know you've done it. The one every researcher does after finding something new. The one where you want to jump up and down and shout to everyone around that you found the document, contacted a cousin who has the family Bible, made a DNA connection or found a whole new branch to your tree. The one that is met with glazed stares and eye rolls.
                                                          Celebration Sunday is a place to share your discoveries. 
This is a weekly series to enable everyone to tell about their Genealogy Happy Dance moment. This can be done by scrolling down and adding your story to the comments section. You may also put a link to a blog post.




My Happy Dance This Week:  
 Whether it's my own research or that for a client, it's always thrilling to move back a generation and discover new ancestors.
I was able to do just that this week for a client. The documents found to lead me to a maiden name and parents to add more leaves to her tree. Love making those discoveries!


What had you dancing this week?                                                                                    
                

                                                        Share your discovery!
                                                                                   Let the dancing commence!


Share the fun! Click below to tweet this post! 

http://ctt.ec/6acwg


Looking forward to reading about your Happy Dance moment!

Thanks so much for stopping by!
Helping you climb your family tree,


Saturday, October 28, 2017

Register for My GPS Class with In-Depth Genealogist Academy!


On November 5th my new class for the In-Depth Genealogist Academy will begin!
I am excited to teach The Genealogical Proof Standard: A Guide for Your Genealogy Journey.

The class is online and will last 4 weeks. There will be video tutorials and a written lesson each week.  Homework will be assigned. It will not be graded but supportive feedback will be given. We also have a water cooler area where you may leave any questions and comments on the things we are learning.

What will we be learning?
Here's an outline for the month of classes:

Week 1-Reasonably Exhaustive Research
Gathering the Information
 Week 2-Complete and Accurate Citations
Leaving a Trail to Follow
Week 3-Analysis, Correlation, and Conflicting Evidence
Taking a Good Look
Week 4- The Written Conclusion
Summing it Up

This class is for beginners as well as those who have more research experience.  It will help build good habits and sharpen skills.

Want to know more?
Visit The In-Depth Genealogist Acadamy where you can watch my video explaining more about the class and find the link to register.

We all want to put our best foot forward when researching for others or our own families.  Understanding and following The  Genealogical Proof Standard is a must for every everyone. 

Register today! Can't wait to see you there!

Helping you climb your family tree,



Tuesday, October 24, 2017

Tuesday's Tip~Gettin' By With Help from Our Friends-Alona Tester


This week it's a pleasure to welcome Aussie friend Alona Tester from Gould Genealogy.

Today’s Tuesday Tip is all about social media and genealogy, and how you can get the most out of it.
Genealogy is HUGE on social media, and it can help you in so many ways. While there are a ridiculous number of social sites around the best known ones are Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Pinterest, Flickr and YouTube, so for the purpose of this article, I’ll stick to just them.
FACEBOOK
(http://www.facebook.com)
Guess what, Facebook is more than just posting pics of your food, and status updates, it has become an invaluable tool for those researching their family history. The last few years there has been a MASSIVE increase in the number of genealogy-related groups and pages on there. If you don’t believe me just check out Katherine Willson’s Genealogy of Facebook list which now has over 11,000 links. My own list for Australian links now has over 1000, and Gail Dever’s list it the place to look for links about Canada. There are country-related genealogy groups, as well as state or county related ones – these are a great place to ask questions relating to research in the region. There are town history groups which share stories and old pictures from the past … which perfect for learning more about the time you family was there. And there are topic-specific ones … DNA, adoption, convicts, military history, genealogy software groups and more. There’s also plenty of “Descendants of ….. “ groups, as Facebook has become a way that extended family members can keep in touch and share information about the family history. You can also follow libraries, societies, and other genealogical organizations to keep up with the latest news and record releases from them.
TWITTER
(www.twitter.com)
Twitter tends to be the next most popular social site, but I find people either get it, or they don’t … it’s just not everyone’s cup of tea. Yes, it’s different from Facebook – for a start, you can only type 140 characters long [update: I see that Twitter are just introducing trials of 280 characters]. So you get snippets of information, rather than long spiels. I follow a bunch of genealogy people and organizations on Twitter to get ‘news’ essentially. But how do you know who to follow? Well a good place to start is to have a look at those who use the hashtag #genealogy. If you’ve not used Twitter before, go to www.twitter.com, type #genealogy in the search box, and see what people are writing that is genealogy-related. Once you’ve created an account, you can then follow them – which means you’ll see all the tweets they send. As I said it’s a great way to get genie news in short snippets.
GOOGLE+
(https://plus.google.com)
If you find that you’re busy enough with Facebook and Twitter you may wish to skip Google+, but it does have the advantage of having communities which some certainly like and is a great way to interact with others with the same interests. And there’s also no adverts clogging it up like there is on Facebook these days.
PINTEREST
(https://www.pinterest.com)
I’ll admit I’m not a Pinterest fan – but that is purely because I have enough other social media accounts to deal with. However, I do know many who are totally hooked on it. Think of Pinterest as like a giant wall of pinboards. You can have up to 500 pinboards (I’m pretty sure that’s the maximum, but correct me if I’m wrong), and you can use keywords to find what others have posted, and if you like it you can pin it on one of your pinboards – so you can go back to it later. While I’m not an active Pinterest user, I know that genealogy is a big topic on Pinterest, so why not check it out?
FLICKR
(www.flickr.com)
This is a great one, but one that’s not used enough. Flickr is a photo sharing site and is generally recognized as being a public place that everyone can see, though you can have private albums if you choose. It’s a place that lots of State Libraries and other organizations are putting their collections, so you’ll find LOTS of old photos. You can search by organization or by keyword. Find photos of the occupations your great-grandfather did, or a photo of the street your grandma grew up in. Or a photo of the church multiple generations of your family were baptized in and so on. Perfect to help fill in the social history and make your history more than just names and dates.
YOUTUBE
(www.youtube.com)
 Where do I start with YouTube? Do you have queries on how to use your genealogy software? Check YouTube? What is the best way to organize my genealogy? Check YouTube. What about some short genealogy tips? There are so many; you’ll lose count! I need some help using this website or that website? Check YouTube. You get the point … there are 1000s of videos on YouTube that you learn from. All the big name genealogy sites have YouTube accounts, as do many major libraries and archives. They’re worth following to keep up with what’s new and how to best use their collections. You can simply type genealogy in the search box, and you’ll get an idea of just how big genealogy is on YouTube. There is a phenomenal lot there, but just scroll through, and you’ll find some that sound interesting, and others that don’t – so just pick and choose.

One last tip … don’t try to follow everyone, and join every social site out there. Seriously, if you do, you won’t have a life! But use the sites you feel more comfortable with, and follow people/groups/organizations that look interesting to you. Learn from them, let them inspire you.




Bio: 
Alona Tester is a family historian from Gould Genealogy. Based in South Australia, she has 25+ years experience in the genealogy industry and is a genealogy educator and blogger.
She is the author of Genealogy & History Newsblog as well as her own personal genealogy blog, LoneTester HQ.





Great tips, Alona! 


Thanks so much for stopping by!
Helping you climb your family tree,



Sunday, October 22, 2017

This Week On My Family History Calendar

Oct. 22-Oct. 28



Oct. 22~
  Loretta "Etta" (McManus) Daughrity (1894-1936), my maternal great grandmother was born 123 years ago in Sumter County, South Carolina. Her parents were William A. McManus (1854-1914) and Frances "Fannie" Virginia (McRady) McManus (1856-1903).  


Etta Daughrity
Sumter, South Carolina


Oct. 24~
    This day is the 24th anniversary of the death of my paternal great grandmother, Emma Ruth Baker Early (1901-1993), Ruth died of congestive heart failure in Columbia, Richland, South Carolina. She is buried in the Sumter City Cemetery in Sumter, South Carolina.
Emma Ruth (Baker) Early
Grave Marker
Sumter City Cemetery, Sumter, South Carolina


Oct. 28~
  My paternal great great grandfather, Arthur Wellington Baker (1857-1940), died 77 years ago at the age of 83 in Sumter County, South Carolina. He was buried in the Sumter City Cemetery. 


Arthur Wellington Baker
Grave Marker
Sumter City Cemetery, Sumter, South Carolina

Who are you remembering this week?

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Helping you climb your family tree,


Celebration Sunday~Genealogy Happy Dance!

You know the dance. You know you've done it. The one every researcher does after finding something new. The one where you want to jump up and down and shout to everyone around that you found the document, contacted a cousin who has the family Bible, made a DNA connection or found a whole new branch to your tree. The one that is met with glazed stares and eye rolls.
                                                          Celebration Sunday is a place to share your discoveries. 
This is a weekly series to enable everyone to tell about their Genealogy Happy Dance moment. This can be done by scrolling down and adding your story to the comments section. You may also put a link to a blog post.




My Happy Dance This Week:  
Yesterday, I was fortunate to be able to attend the Charleston, SC Family History Center Workshop. This event is held every October. Besides presenting three classes, I was able to meet new people and reconnect with old friends. 
Teaching others about genealogy methods is so much fun! I love to see the "aha" moments as they see how to use the concepts in their research.  
Being with a group of people who are interested in learning and sharing is the best! Each is willing to help and support each other in their passion to find their ancestors.
 Highlights of my day:
Teaching

Presenting Evidence-What's Your Type

Friends

Robin Foster

Toni Carrier




                                                                                     
Marilyn  Trevino

                


                                                        Share your discovery!
                                                                                   Let the dancing commence!



Share the fun! Click below to tweet this post! 

http://ctt.ec/6acwg


Looking forward to reading about your Happy Dance moment!


Thanks so much for stopping by!
Helping you climb your family tree,


Sunday, October 15, 2017

Celebration Sunday~Genealogy Happy Dance!

You know the dance. You know you've done it. The one every researcher does after finding something new. The one where you want to jump up and down and shout to everyone around that you found the document, contacted a cousin who has the family Bible, made a DNA connection or found a whole new branch to your tree. The one that is met with glazed stares and eye rolls.
                                                          Celebration Sunday is a place to share your discoveries. 
This is a weekly series to enable everyone to tell about their Genealogy Happy Dance moment. This can be done by scrolling down and adding your story to the comments section. You may also put a link to a blog post.




My Happy Dance This Week:  
Another cousin connection! Wow! This time I may have information that can knock down a brick wall. I've said it before and I'll say it again. If you don't have your family tree online where others can see it you are missing an important source of information. Sharing your family and their stories online through a blog, a tree or personal website enables other family members to locate you. This may be the cousin who has the family Bible ,letters or photos. They may have the one document you need to progress up your tree! If you haven't begun to share with others online, I encourage you to begin today. Decide the best way for you and get your family out there! If  you do, you will connect with cousins!


                                                                                     
                                                                        Share your discovery!
                                                                                   Let the dancing commence!


Share the fun! Click below to tweet this post! 



Looking forward to reading about your Happy Dance moment!

Thanks so much for stopping by!
Helping you climb your family tree,


Saturday, October 14, 2017

Sibling Saturday~Boys Will Be Boys!

George and Hattie Roberts Family
About 1907
Back Row -L to R:
   Lillie (Roberts) Hooper (1885-1930)
  Thomas Able Roberts (1887-1961)
  Hattie Roberts (1888-1972)
  George Washington Roberts (1890-1971)
Front Row-L to R:
  William Treadford Roberts (1894-1959)-my great grandfather
  Verdy Gil Roberts (1898-1976)
 Hattie (Brazell) Roberts with Lyda Roberts (1906-1981) 
 George Philip Roberts with Andrew Clifton Roberts (1905-1971) 
Walter Crawford Roberts (1896-1983)

Genealogy is so much more than collecting names, dates and places. It's the stories that help our families come to life. A few years ago, I was fortunate to connect with a distant cousin who shared the following story about the sons of  both my maternal great great grandfather George Phillip Roberts(1856-1930) and his brother Thomas Jefferson Roberts (1866-1955).
"George Phillip's sons as well as Thomas Jefferson Robert's sons among others had happily nicknamed themselves the " Twelve Raggedy-Ass Boys" This was more of a club than what we would think of now as a modern street gang: however, the boys did get into trouble...from time to time. Like the time they set fire to a neighbors outhouse ( in those days the boys referred to it as a "crapper"). the neighbor saw them do it and chased them down, but they ran into Thomas Jefferson Robert's store and hid there. When the neighbor came into the store to confront Thomas Jefferson Roberts, the boys acted like little angels and convinced Thomas Jefferson that they did nothing wrong. Thomas then "escorted" the the irate neighbor out of his store. Thomas Jefferson's store was built on a small hill and the back half of it was on stilts. The boys would often meet underneath the store and it was there that my grandfather, Charles Franklin Roberts and his brother Walter Roberts were playing butcher. they had gotten a hold of one of Thomas Jefferson Robert's meat cleavers from the store and were using a stump to cut up branches, toys and whatever else they could find. Then Charles noticed something that looked better to "butcher" when Walter had his hand resting on the stump. With one swift whack, Charles lopped off one of Walter's fingers. How the boys explained that one I'll never know !"
 ~Cody Dailey. Robert's researcher.

Four of the Roberts Brothers
Verdy,Walter,William and George
© Cheri Hudson Passey

What rascals! It's fun to think of the grandfather my mother knew and loved as part of the "Raggedy-Ass"boys. I wish he had lived long enough for me to ask him about their adventures. 

What about the siblings in your tree? Do you have any stories about their exploits? I'd love to hear about them!

Thanks for stopping by!
Helping you climb your family tree,


Sunday, October 8, 2017

This Week On My Family History Calendar


October 8-October 14




Oct. 11~
 My paternal great great grandfather, Ezra Ashby Hudson (1821-1882) was born 196 years ago in Darlington District, South Carolina. He was the son of Jacob Hudson (1788-1870) and Mary (?).


Oct. 13~
  The 105th wedding anniversary of my maternal great grandparents, Manning David Daughrity, Jr. (1889-1931) and Loretta (McManus) Daughrity (1834-1936). David was 23 and Etta 17 when they married in Bishopville, Lee, South Carolina. 

David and Etta Daughrity
Marriage License 
   
 My 5th great grandmother, Mary (Strother) Dargan (1772-1822) died 195 years ago in Sumter District, South Carolina. 

Who's on your calendar this week?

Thanks so much for stopping by!
Helping you climb your family tree,



Celebration Sunday~~Genealogy Happy Dance!

You know the dance. You know you've done it. The one every researcher does after finding something new. The one where you want to jump up and down and shout to everyone around that you found the document, contacted a cousin who has the family Bible, made a DNA connection or found a whole new branch to your tree. The one that is met with glazed stares and eye rolls.
                                                          Celebration Sunday is a place to share your discoveries. 
This is a weekly series to enable everyone to tell about their Genealogy Happy Dance moment. This can be done by scrolling down and adding your story to the comments section. You may also put a link to a blog post.




My Happy Dance This Week:  
Being able to recover my files after my laptop died! Whew! I am so glad to have put all my data and files on Dropbox. After having to leave my computer at the repair shop for who knows how many days,  I pulled up Dropbox on an old, very slow laptop that is not being used and voila! I can still use my Legacy computer program, my picture and Word files and work on my powerpoint presentation for a lecture I am giving in a few weeks. Should my laptop not be fixable, and I sure hope it is, everything on it is also backed up with Backblaze, so I can download it all to a new computer if I have too. Do you have all your important files backed up to the cloud? If not, I encourage you to do it. Right now. You will thank me later!


                                                                                     
                                                                        Share your discovery!
                                                                                   Let the dancing commence!


Share the fun! Click below to tweet this post! 



Looking forward to reading about your Happy Dance moment!

Thanks so much for stopping by!
Helping you climb your family tree,


Thursday, October 5, 2017

The RootsTech 2018 Schedule is Out! Time to Start Planning Classes!


Registered for RootsTech 2018 or thinking about it?
The schedule of sessions is now online.
Take a look and get started planning your days!
Click here to see what's being offered this year.
Deciding on which classes to take at RootsTech can be overwhelming. My suggestion? Take a step back from the schedule and answer some questions of yourself to help narrow down your choices.

Using Identity Characteristics to Locate Your Ancestors
Angela Paker McGhie
RootsTech 2017

First-What is your level of experience? Are you a beginning genealogist or have you been researching for years?

Second-Are there topics you need to understand better or are new to you? What do you need to help you become a better genealogist?

Third-Who do you want to hear speak? We all have our favorite speakers. Is there someone you don't want to miss? We all have people we want to learn from no matter what their presentation is about.

Fourth-Do you like to learn by doing? RootsTech offers several labs to help put the instruction into practice.

Fifth-Remember to have fun! Each class can offer you something. We never know everything and even a professional can learn from a beginner class. Think out of the box and attend a class for the fun of it!

Once you have your schedule filled out it's not set in stone. You may change your mind at the last minute and decide to attend another when you get there. Listen to what others are saying and suggesting. A class or lecturer may be recommended by another attendee you had not considered.
The RootsTech app should be out soon making it easier to create your schedule to consult each day. That announcement will be shared on my blog with instructions on how to download and use it.

Learning about WWI and WWII Records
David Allen Lambert



Take a look at the many sessions being offered at RootsTech 2018. What classes are you excited about?

Thanks for stopping by,
Helping you climb your family tree,


Tuesday, October 3, 2017

"Researching in School Records" an In-Brief With IDG Guide by Melissa Barker~Review

A new In-Brief with IDG Guide from the In-Depth Genealogist is available. The following in my review of this new product.




In her In-Brief with IDG Guide “Researching in School Records,” Melissa Barker shares important information on why, how and where to begin looking for your ancestors in these records.
Melissa begins by listing the types of schools that may have been available in the areas we are researching. Knowing about the community our ancestors lived in may help to point us to possible educational opportunities in the area, leading us to locate the various types of records possibly created.
Types of records can include special school censuses, enrollment and attendance records. Melissa explains what information often in the various types.
Other ideas on where to find school information include yearbooks and newspapers.
She cautions not to overlook Yearbooks and school photographs and explains where we may find them.
What if your ancestors didn’t attend school? Melissa also addresses this issue in the guide. She shares resources you may not have thought of that may mention them even if they weren’t a student.
After explaining the why, how and what the records that may exist, Melissa supplies a comprehensive list of links to sites with searchable school records, state archives, religious holdings, and articles on the topic of using school records for research.
When we are researching our ancestors, we should look beyond the typical birth, marriage and death records to see what else may help us to understand their lives. Looking for school records and the information they may provide is a step not to miss.
 Melissa Barker’s In-Brief with IDG Guide “Researching in School Records” gives the necessary information to begin using this important resource.

Disclaimer: A free copy of the In-Brief Guide “Researching in School Records” was provided for purposes of reviewing.
I am also an affiliate with the In-Depth Genealogist.

Have you used school records in your research?
Thanks so much for stopping by!
Helping you climb your family tree,



Monday, October 2, 2017

Mailbox Monday~Dear Old "Pete" and Frances

                                                           
Etta Daughrity Letter
Envelope
                 
This letter was written in 1934 by my great-grandmother, Loretta "Etta" (McManus) Daughrity  (1894-1936) to her daughters Loretta Geraldine (Daughrity) Dennis (1919-1959)  who was a few months from her 16th birthday and Frances Elizabeth (Daughrity) Hicks (1916-1989), aged 18.
 In this letter, Loretta is lovingly called by her nickname "Pete."
The girls were visiting friends and family in Camden, South Carolina. 

The letter is transcribed as written with no spelling or punctuation corrections.


                                                                                    Wed. Aug. 8, 34
Dear old "pete" and Francis, 

         Pete your card came to hand
Tues. was sure glad to hear from 
you all, and to know you were 
well, and having a fine time,
We are all about the same,
and every thing is the same
old thing nothing new, going
on, only Mrs. Cole took (9) nine
kids out to Pocallo Tues. p.m. for
an after-noon swim. Azile and 
"Rene" were in the crowd, she sure
had a brave heart to take so 
many. of course Annie Mae went
along with J.W. and Frankie.
If you all are coming home Sun.
and they will spend the day, drop
me a card, so I will know Sat.
Etta Daughrity Letter
pg. 1

what are you doing Sat? having
a good time I hope. But mind
what you are doing, and be a 
good girl, the two or you, not
only one. Oh! yes, Billy came Tues.
and stayed a long time, you
were not home Ha! Ha! He
passed here a little while ago.
Oh! Boy, don't you wish you were
here? Know you do in a way.
We had a good rain Tues. p.m.
and again today, it is nice
and cool, down here now.
You must come down to see me
some time. What is Allie doing?
hope she is feeling fine, she must be
to have you all up there to cook for.
Ha! Ha! Tell her to hurry up and run
you home, how is Earle, Jeff, Mack,
and Evelynn? Guess they are all fine. 
Well I'll close with love to all, tell
them to come see us, and write some
time. You wouldn't write pat. that's ok.
          Mother


Etta Daughrity
pg. 2
Two of those mentioned in the letter,  Charles Earl McManus (1903-1973) a cousin to the girls and his wife Allie Sumeral McManus (1889-1968), were living in Camden in the 1930 and 1940 census. Although not living on Lyttleton St. in these records, they were living nearby and were renting different homes in each. They may have been at the Lyttleton address in 1934.
Others mentioned are:
Mack, a Dunlap cousin whose wife went by the name "Jeff" and were living in Camden. 
Azile, joining with the group swimming is my maternal grandmother Azile Juanita (Daughrity) Roberts Sullivan (1921-2009).
Billy, the boy their mom was teasing about not seeing may have been William Austin Hicks (1912-1994) who Francis married in 1936. Although, daughter Charlene does not remember her father ever being called "Billy." The name at the end of the letter may be "Pet" and not Pat as it looks. Willie Etta Dunlap (1877-1960) was kin to the family and lived with Etta and helped take care of her girls.
Connections to the other names have not been made yet.

My favorite part of this letter is Etta's  use of "Ha!Ha!" when describing an event to her girls. It gives me a hint of her personality. 
Letters from the past can be a boon of information. Clues to names and details about activities can add flesh to the bones of an ancestor and family. 

Do you have letters written by an ancestor? What did you learn from them?

Thanks so much for stopping by!
Helping you climb your family tree,



Sunday, October 1, 2017

This Week On My Family History Calendar

October 1-October 7




October 2~
Frances "Fannie" Virginia (McRady) McManus (1856-1903), my maternal great great grandmother, was born 161 years ago. She was born in Sumter County, South Carolina. She was the daughter of Thomas J. McRady (1821-1896) and Mary Jane (Brown) McRady (1821-1894).


Fannie McManus
Headstone
Pisgah Baptist Church Cemetery
Pisgah Crossroads, Sumter, South Carolina
©Cheri Hudson Passey
Oct. 6~
   The 77th anniversary of the wedding of my maternal Grandparents Gilbert Ernest Roberts, Sr. (1920-1944) and Azile Juanita Daughrity (1921-2009).  Gilbert was 20 and Azile 18 when they married in Lancaster, South Carolina in 1940.


Azile and Gilbert
About 1940
©Cheri Hudson Passey
Thanks so much for stopping by!
Helping you climb your family tree,


Celebration Sunday~Genealogy Happy Dance!

You know the dance. You know you've done it. The one every researcher does after finding something new. The one where you want to jump up and down and shout to everyone around that you found the document, contacted a cousin who has the family Bible, made a DNA connection or found a whole new branch to your tree. The one that is met with glazed stares and eye rolls.
                                                          Celebration Sunday is a place to share your discoveries. 
This is a weekly series to enable everyone to tell about their Genealogy Happy Dance moment. This can be done by scrolling down and adding your story to the comments section. You may also put a link to a blog post.




My Happy Dance This Week:  
Another cousin connection, this time through a Find a Grave memorial site I created for my 3rd great grandmother Martha (Mathis) Dorrity. Because my name is on on the page, he was able to click on my information and send me a message. We have a connection through her husband a generation before. This is another example of why we need to share our ancestor's information anywhere we can.  We never know who may see and can add to our knowledge about them. Dancing that dance! Were you?


                                                                                     
                                                                        Share your discovery!
                                                                                   Let the dancing commence!


Share the fun! Click below to tweet this post! 



Looking forward to reading about your Happy Dance moment!

Thanks so much for stopping by!
Helping you climb your family tree,