A Black Sheep

 I am not sure he was really a Black Sheep but he certainly was a Gray Sheep. Growing up my cousins, my brother and I would hear about my dad's cousin, know to us as Itchky. I remember the comments about him were always unusual. Perhaps I met him once or twice over the years when, as a child, we would celebrate Rosh Hashanah or other holidays with my dad's side of the family. At some point I recall hearing that Itchky moved to California and while I would hear of him from time to time, I do not think I ever saw him in person again. Fast forward to today and my adventure with genealogy. Going through early family pictures I would recognize him and the memories came streaming back.

Where There's a Will (#52Ancestors)

Ah, once again it's all in the meaning....  When I looked at this week's topic I, of course, thought of a will left after the death of a family member. But then I suddenly thought of another definition, a definition that refers to a person's strength, strength to do things that some of us may never thought could happen. What must it have been like, in those long ago years, to collect your families, your belonging and to leave behind a life you had always known. Perhaps be the person that leaves first, to make the way and hope that others you love will follow. That is the meaning of 'Where there's a will' I'd like to write about... some of the amazing people who played a part in our becoming the people we are today.

In my family there is not a lot of information about the "why' of why my maternal grandparents came to this country. They each came from Romania but not in the same years. I don't even know if the knew each other before they met here. My mgm is an example of the many young women who left their homes, their parents, their siblings to start a new life in this country. My pgm brought her youngest child, my father, and youngest daughter to start a new life here in the USA. Before that she had sent her other daughter, Bertha at age 16, to pave the way. Leaving meant leaving her sisters as well as the graves of two daughters and her husband. These are just two of the millions of our ancestors, strong willed men and women, who risked all they head to start, they hoped, new and better lives for themselves and their children.

My PGM, Dad, and Aunt

My MGM and PGF

I am not sure I could ever had the

will or been as strong and brave

as they were.

Sally's Wedding Ring: A Bridge to Her Descendants

Over the years pieces of family jewelry moved from their original owners to me. I have loved having and wearing each and every piece. Several pieces changed in appearance over the years. Some changed by the original owner and some I have changed. All have gained meaning for new generations as I share its story. Each piece belonged to, and was worn by, a family member who preceded me. As I wear each piece I have chances to share, with my descendants, stories about their ancestors. Recently I joined the #52Ancestors 2018 Version sponsored by Amy Johnson Crow.  This story is the first as the writing challenge begins.

There is organization & then there is ORGANIZATION!

Yes, deciding to begin this mammoth project using Ben Sayer's system was the right choice. The only problem is that BEFORE you begin all previously collected records should be in an orderly fashion! BIG SHOCK!  I am not certain but I do think there is a chance that I am the Queen of the Duplicates! I thought I was doing well just collecting all the documents about each family. Not so.

The Organization of Genealogy Materials May Take Many Forms

In April of this year  I wrote about A Different Kind of Brick Wall. I wrote my first thoughts about the problem of getting organized. I thought I was just writing about getting all my materials put together by families. I really had not thought through this whole process at all. Now that I am really thinking about it it is getting worse, not better.

Let me try to describe the thinking, exploring process which, by the way, is still ongoing. I started by Googling "digitally organizing genealogy data". There really is a LOT of good material out there. But not a lot fit into my pre-thinking and, though I had specified digital, still folders and paper based were included. As a part of the process I did see many interesting ideas.

As the result of one suggestion I created folder on my Pinterest page saving some of the good ideas for organizing that can be found on that excellent resource. I spent time going through many Pinterest pages but nothing really seemed right for me. Then I visted Cyndi's List-Organizing/filing section. Several good ideas were in that set of resources but My Ancestor Family File Folders and File Naming Convention developed by Ben Sayer really made an impression on me. AHA, a way to go.

Who Would Have Guessed?

Hyde Park High School

I grew up on Chicago's south side in an area known as South Shore. I attended O'Keeffe Grammar School. After my nine years there I moved on to Hyde Park High School. Hyde Park was considered a very good community high school. Because of its location it was sometimes referred to as the "prep school for the University of Chicago." Hyde Park High School opened its doors in 1894 at Kimbark Avenue and 56th Street. That building later became the home of Ray Grammar School.  In 1914 the high school opened its doors in a new building at 6220 S. Stony Island Avenue. Today that building still stands. The community has changed and the school addresses the needs of a new audience of students. It now has another name. It is the Hyde Park Academy.  Over these many years it has had some famous alumni as well.You may even recognize the name of some of these folks: Steve Allen, Fred Beebe, Jim Fuchs, Amelia Earhart (1915), Gwendolyn Brooks (1934), Mel Torme (1944). But, for me, it is still the building where my mother and I each attended high school. That is the important element in this story. Sarah Ruth Segall also lived in an area of the south side that attended this same high school. She graduated from Hyde Park in 1926. Well, years went by as they always do. Sarah Ruth grew up and, along the way, became Sally Segall Greenfield, mother of a daughter and two sons.

The Stamps of Our Lives

Many, if not all of our ancestors, lived through good times and bad times. Some suffered at the hands of enemies that wanted all of them gone. It seems wars have always been a part of man's need to conquer others. Drought, too much rain, freezing conditions have caused pain, destruction and death through the centuries. Some are fortunate enough to have diaries, letters, or newspapers from our ancestors' times. Others of us are not as fortunate.

A Different Kind of Brick Wall - the hardest I have found.

When I first began my genealogy work I was looking for specific information about my dad's family, I was not very organized... actually organization was not in my thinking at all. Just started looking up names and adding them into Family Tree Maker. I found information about different members whenever/wherever I could and printed it out. Evan took notes on where I had found the information.  I had hoped that this hit and miss method would help me answer the one question I wanted to be able to answer.  The word 'citation' had not yet entered my vocabulary. In a very short time I had a lot of names on my tree, adding information I was certain was correct without looking for any records that would verify what I was so sure was correct information.

Time For A Better Approach or Why Didn't I Just Do It Right The First Time?

I was first introduced to genealogy about six or seven years ago. How that happened is a story to save for another post. But as a result of a phone call, from a stranger, looking to solve his own genealogy problem, I became involved. In my thoughts each day I thank him for opening this door for me.
And, as all genealogists know  or learn quickly, ignorance is bliss. I hope when you finish this story it will be helpful to all the newbies that are, happily, joining our group and a reminder to us 'middlies' the learning never stops. A part of being a careful accurate genealogist is becoming a life-long learner. Ah, well, back to my story.

The Wonders of Technology - RootsTech2017 from Home

I have been a techie for a VERY long time.  It was about 1983 when we first had a Commodore Pet in the school where I was a media center director, so you see it has truly been a long while. I have had a chance to watch the technology grow and change. And still, now in 2017, I still find myself surprised, and in awe, of how far we have come.

Where in the world is Uncle Moritz?

As a child how everyone was related was of no interest to me. They were family. We saw them on holidays and family events. Why we were all at the same events was not a question I asked. By the time our family history bug bit it was too late to ask questions. No grandparents. No parents. Only one aunt was still living. Even cousins older than I were gone.  There were not even many papers remaining that would help answer the questions that began to arise. This is the story of my really rude awakening and awareness of what I was missing. My first challenge would contain a Brick Wall. How likely was that?

Solving One Mystery

Early posts have already shown how Genealogy searches have changed my early feelings and frustrations with retirement. No Story Too Small has created a challenge I cannot resist. Each week participants write a SMALL story about one ancestor and share it in the 52 Week Challenge. Addendum: August 6, 2016  Never did finish the challenge. Wish I had but have followed up with other kinds of challenges and genealogy searches are still moving forward.

Finding a Great-Aunt.... online

As you may have noticed, Genealogy, in its many forms, has changed my life and my feelings about retirement. No Story To Small has created a challenge I cannot resist. Each week participants write a SMALL story about one family member and share it in the 52 Week Challenge.   Today I begin at  the effort. Hope you enjoy meeting all these folks.

Growing My Genealogy Skills - The GenChat

I LOVE technology. I guess anyone that has been reading along with me knows that!! My newest genealogy experience was to go to a #GenChat. If you are a Twitter user you will recognize the hashtag that is needed for Twitter Communication. To simplify, let me just say that if you click on the #GenChat link above, it will not be long before you will be chatting away with folks with a common interest.  You probably have already noticed the badge of the left that gives a shout-out to the chat.

So What did I Learn From the IAJGS2013 Confernce?

The conference goers among you probably realize that much of the learning and personal impact of a great conference occurs after you get home. For sure that is what happened for me after IAJGS2013.  I learned I need to reorganize or get organized.... I guess a bit of each of those. At home I have a notebook of plastic covered sheets of documents I have found along the way, a collection of photographs, one of which is an unfinished story for another story for another day.

An Amazing Conference Experience - IAJGS, Boston, 2013

Yes, yes. I know it is January of 2014 but it has been a hectic 2013 so a little backtracking is really needed. As far as conferences go I have truly experienced my share of them. I loved being a part of the technology in education world, being involved with classroom teachers, technology coordinators, college professors who were opening the window on technology use in the world of education at universities around the country and the world. I attended them all as a learner and many of them as a presenter.  Retirement finally brought me into a new kind of convention, one like no other I had ever attended.