Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas to all....enjoy the time with your family.

My Shutterfly Books

Wordless Wednesday: Family Traditions; Chocolate Chip Cookies

Forget homemade pecan, pumpkin and apple pies….bring on my mother’s chocolate chip cookies! My mother has been using her mother’s chocolate chip cookie recipe for as long as I can remember. Through the years I have tried to make them following the same recipe but they never taste the same. I am visiting her in Pennsylvania for thanks giving and we (well I watched) made chocolate chip cookies today. I have such a stomach ache….

 This is why I have a stomach ache!

So good!

Old Cow Bell

In Pennsylvanian at my mother’s for a mini vacation and for thanksgiving. We were talking about an old cow bell she had from her great great grandfather’s farm, it is over 120 years old!

 As we were talking about the bell my mom said “Oh, I have this too”, it was an old bread maker used be my 2^nd great grandmother Mary (Walters) Knaus (1860-1941). The front is embossed “ No. 4 Universal bread maker awarded gold medal St. Louis exposition 1904 made by Landers Frary & Clark New Britain Conn. U.S.A.”

 

All of these years and I never knew my mother had these! It was really neat to touch and see something that belonged to my ancestors.

Veterans Day

Remembering all who have and are serving our country....Thank you

 My family who served their country:

My grand father William A. Halley who served his country during WWI and the Koran war. Retired Senior Chief Petty Officer, United States Navy.

William A. Halley

My 3rd great grand parents Israel and Sarah Halley who’s five sons, John, Henry, Elisha, Noah and  James, served in the Civil War. All but one came home, Elisha died (18 June 1862) during a battle in Nashville, Tennessee.

Frank Halley, son of Henry Halley died over seas during the World War.

Gone but not forgotten

My Virtual Cemetery

 My Family at Find A Grave.com

A Family Time Capsule and Memory Album

Found this on Amazon, looked interesting.

Historic Haile Homestead- Talking Walls

My daughter and I visited the Haile Homestead on Sunday, we had a great time.

The Haile Homestead was once the home of Thomas and Serena Hale who came to the Gainesville, Florida area in 1854 and established a large plantation called Kanapaha. The house is 6,200 square feet, plenty of house for their 15 children!

The Haile’s, even their guests, had a habit of writing on their walls; the oldest date was in 1859. There are 12,500 words all together. To see a video of the Haile Homestead see Haile Homestead Video Tour

Wordless Wednesday: Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings and the 1930 Census

Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings is the Author of several books, one most of us are familiar with is The Yearling. I am reading her book Cross Creek, The author relates her experiences on a seventy-two acre orange grove in a small Florida village that she called home for thirteen years. In chapter 5 (pg 56) she writes about her experiences while she is traveling with her friend the census taker, in the back county sections of Alachua County Florida in 1930. Cross Creek chapter 5. The Census

Family Old Photos.com

A free genealogy old photograph archive of old pictures of people and places. Search their collection or browse through the surname index. Family Old Photos.com

Daughters of the American Revolution-52 weeks to better genealogy

I have search the Daughters of the American Revolution but had no luck. Last week when I received tombstone inscriptions from Indiana on the cover page it says Compiled and Indexed by the Indiana Reserve Chapter Daughters of American Revolution and Tipton County Extension Homemakers Association.

Disney's new series "My Family Tree"

The Gerry's are part of Disney's new series "My Family Tree," which spotlights kids with interesting family histories. The series will launch in November although no specific date has been announced. Disney spokeswoman Patti McTeague said the children all "have self-esteem and a gift of story-telling -- a true art form." see full story Disney's My Family Tree

I received a package from my father today

I received a package from my father today! He was cleaning out my grand mothers' house and found old letters, my grandfathers will, my grandmothers birth certificate, old pictures and obituaries, I will be busy tonight!

Researching Your Family Using Online Public Library Resources and Other Free Databases

While researching ancestors in New Jersey, Indiana and Missouri their online public library databases have been a great resource. I have found information on them that I could not find on Ancestry.com and newpaperArchives.com. I found death notices, marriage announcements and other interesting stories just from searching their online newspaper archives. I found a newspaper article on my grandfather when he was around two years old he had started a fire in their house! There was also plenty of social information like who visited who and who was sick. I had one family member that was always mentioned in the social section she was always visiting somebody or involved in church functions. You can even print the articles out.

Here is what these Libraries had to offer:

The New Brunswick free public library has holdings that include newspaper clippings, books, pamphlets, slides, microfilms, city directories, photographs, post cards, maps, manuscripts, and letters. They also have the New Brunswick Daily Times from December 27, 1871 to August 27, 1916 that have been digitized to allow online searching.

The Tipton County Public Library has the complete Tipton Newspapers from 1852- 1971 digitized and the database is fully searchable by keyword and date. The Library also has a searchable vital records index that includes marriage, obituary and cemetery records. Other online resources include Tipton County history books and the Tipton History photo collection.

The Genealogy Center of the Allen County Public Library has searchable vital records including; cemetery, obituary and other death event records, history, court and courthouse records, institutional, military, school and government records.

Missouri has great digital archives; you can even download a death certificate! The Missouri Death Certificate Database contains death records created after 1910 and over 50 years old, that information is available online through a searchable index that links to a digitized image of the original death certificate that you can print out. Death certificates before 1909 are available on microfilm at the Missouri State Archives. Missouri Digital Heritage

Fifteen States have already made their older death certificates available online Arizona, Delaware, Georgia, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Ohio, South Carolina, Texas, Utah, Vermont and West Virginia and several more states are in the process of doing the same.

Chronicling America is enhancing access to America's historic newspapers. This site allows you to search and view newspaper pages from 1860-1922 and find information about American newspapers published between 1690 to present. You can view newspaper pages from the following states: Arizona, California, District of Columbia, Florida, Hawaii, Illinois, Kansas, Kentucky, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Texas, Utah, Virginia and Washington.

Chronicling America is sponsored jointly by the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Library of Congress as part of the National Digital Newspaper Program (NDNP).

For more information on searchable death indexes and records including probate indexes and cemetery and burial records listed by state and county click the link below:

http://www.deathindexes.com

Jimmy Kimmel Live- joking about his Ancestor Tree with Matthew Fox

Sentimental Sunday: The Cedar Chest

A few years ago, my grandmother called me really excited. She said, “You will never guess what your father just bought me… a cedar chest!” She went on about how beautiful it was, that my dad put it at the foot of her bed and she could not wait to put her winter clothes in it.

When talking to my father later on that night, he said he found the cedar chest at an antique shop and he thought Grand mom would like it. He never thought she would be so ecstatic about a cedar chest. I told him she was filling it up now.

A few months later I went to visit my grandmother (I live in Florida and my grandmother lives in New Jersey) and the first thing she said when I walked into the door was ‘you have to see my cedar chest’. I expected to see something fancy but what I saw was an old beat up cedar chest sitting at the foot of her bed. Laughing, she said, “It is so big you could bury me in it!” Then she opened it to show me how she filled it with all her winter clothes. My grandmother was 92 at this time; however, she sounded like a young girl when she went on and on about how she always wanted a cedar chest and that she was so happy she finally had one.

Now I wanted one. When I returned home to Florida, I spent the following weekend going to antique stores and flea markets to find a cedar chest. I did not find one so I ended up going to a wood furniture store. My husband did not really want a cedar chest at the foot of the bed. He said it would take up too much room and make our bedroom smaller. He knew how much I really wanted one so he said he would buy it for me but I would have to stain it myself. He bought me the cedar chest and all the stuff I needed to stain it. Although it took me several days to sand and stain it, it was beautiful when I was done.

We put the cedar chest at the foot of our bed. My intentions were to put sheets and blankets in there but when I went to do that my husband already had some of his stuff in there. For a person who did not want the chest he sure had it filled up! Now I had a story to tell my grandmother.

In February, my grandmother had fell twice and hurt herself so I flew to NJ as soon as I could. My sister flew in from New York so between the two of us, Grand mom had plenty of help. She had hurt her leg and could hardly walk. She had arthritis in both hands; she could not even hold a coffee cup. Michele and I decided to empty the winter clothes from the cedar chest and put in the clothes that were needed. The cedar chest was close to my grandmother’s bedroom door and was easy to get too in case of a fast change of clothing. 

In April my grandmother fell about four times in two days. Thank God she had her medical alert on and pushed the button for help each time, they call my father first and he goes over to check on her. The last time she fell she told my dad she was ok but the next day she told him her side hurt. My father went to her doctor’s office and they sent a nurse out the next day. The nurse sent her to the hospital. It is a good thing she did Grand mom had four “cracked ribs”. Poor thing! She had to of been in pain. 

I flew to NJ at the end of May because Grand mom kept falling and every time I talked to her she sounded groggy. I needed to make sure she was ok. When I got there things were not good. She was having a hard time getting up and walking even with the walker. She said to me, “Oh Kathy, I don’t know how I ever got this way. Why do I feel so tired?” I said, “Well, Grand mom you never been 94 before.” And she laughed. My sister came from New York to help me. My grandmother got in the habit of sleeping on her couch so my sister and I slept on the floor next to her in case she needed to get up at night. Her hands were getting worse she could not even open them. She needed assistance with everything and I told my father we needed to hire her a personal assistant, my Grandmother said she wanted George Clooney. I stayed for as long as I could. My heart was so torn between my grandmother and my responsibilities back home in Florida. My children are grown and live on their own, I work for my husband and he knows how much I love my grandmother. He always told me to stay as long as I need to and I always have.

On June 24^th my brother called me telling me that Grand mom is not feeling well. She is sleeping all the time and her nurse cannot get her to eat anything. I was on the first available flight the next day, so was my sister. She does not look good. 

We do not know if Grand mom has a kidney infection or is in kidney failure. My father took her to the doctors on wed and the doctor wanted her to go to the hospital, but Grand mom refused to go. So they put a cath in her and sent her home. It takes Michele and me everything we have to sit her up and lay her down.

The following day she said she wanted to go to the hospital. My sister could not pack a bag fast enough. We called 911 and off she went. My grandmother was in the hospital for 9 days. My sister and I practically lived there because we did not want to leave her and she did not want us to go. Each day she was getting worse. The doctors basically told us there was nothing they could do… she was dying of old age, (as she would say 94 years young) and her body was shutting down. The last two days she did not know who we were.

 My grandmother’s wish was to die at home and it took a whole day to get her released from the hospital.  Grand mom was home for about a half an hour and with her family by her side, she passed away. I was holding her hand at the time… she looked so peaceful. 

A few days after the funeral we all gathered at my grandmother’s house and my dad and aunt called me into Grand mom’s room. They said they would like me to have Grand mom’s cedar chest and then he opened one of Grand mom’s dresser drawers. It was filled with pictures… it never was before. He said I could have all of the pictures. I told him thank you but that I felt uncomfortable taking it since we just buried Grand mom and he said he understood. I thought about it for two days. I know how much Grand mom loved that cedar chest. I talked to my husband (he drove down for the services) about it and he said, “Take it before someone else does and who knows what will happen to it. It will make a great storage place for all of your family history stuff and we have the truck now.” So I decided to take it. As I was putting the pictures in the cedar chest I found some neat stuff: a civil war certificate of an honorable discharge on my great great grandfather and a very old picture of my grandfather’s sister that he never met because she died before he was born. I could have been there for hours looking at pictures but I needed to get going because we were leaving the next day and had to pack. The cedar chest was carefully loaded into the back of the truck. I still felt guilty about taking it. It belongs at the foot of my grandmother’s bed.

The cedar chest now sits in my guest bedroom at the food of the bed. My daughter and I looked through the pictures the other day. Some of the pictures are very old and have no names or dates on them so I do not know who they are. There are also newspaper clippings, letters, and 8 mm film. My grandfather took a lot of movies when he was alive (he died in 1979). I plan on getting the film onto DVD’s and make copies for everyone. I did not go through everything yet. It is going to take time. 

It has been almost three weeks since my grandmother died and every once in a while I go to the bedroom door just to look at the cedar chest. It is hard to believe that it is at my house now.

I think I will go look at it again…

Search message boards at Ancestry.com, Genealogy.com and RootsWeb.com.

The New Genealogy Message Searcher


Search message boards at Ancestry.com, Genealogy.com and RootsWeb.com.
searches sites including: http://boards.ancestry.com, http://genforum.genealogy.com/, http://boards.rootsweb.com/ 


I embedded the search engine on the right side of my blog

My Grand Mother

On July 6th 2010 at the age of 94 my Grand Mother passed away at home with her family by her side. I have written stories about her and her life in previous posts. This post is the hardest one I have ever written.

100 cemeteries and counting: A local man's genealogical journey - The Middletown Press : Serving Middletown, CT

100 cemeteries and counting: A local man's genealogical journey - The Middletown Press : Serving Middletown, CT

True Blood: Sookie Stackhouse Family Tree

 Check out Sookie's Tree at:

http://www.scribd.com/doc/9467326/Niall-Brigant-Family-Tree

The Complete First Season          The Complete Second Season        The Complete Third Season

The Ancestry Insider: NARA Responds to Ancestry.com Issues

The Ancestry Insider: NARA Responds to Ancestry.com Issues

2010 U.S. Census: Feds Worried Mass Idenity Theft, Lawsuites....

2010 U.S. Census: Feds Worried Mass Identity Theft, Lawsuits Could Derail $15 Billion Head Count.. see more http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/04/08/2010-us-census-feds-worri_n_529845.html

Tombstone Tuesday

Green-Wood Cemetery

My sister and her friend spent a Saturday afternoon at Green-Wood cemetery and sent me some photo’s.
 

Green-Wood Cemetery is located in Brooklyn, NY on 478 acres of hills, valleys and ponds, was founded in 1838 and was once considered to be the fashionable place to be buried. 

Green-Wood Cemetery even has an online burial search that goes back to 1850. To learn more about the cemetery or search their online burial site  go to Green-Wood Cemetery

Join The Group Tracing Descendants

Tracing Descendants Is An Online Genealogy Social Site – communicate and collaborate with others whether you are just starting your family history or have been doing it for years.

Create your own custom web pages, blogs, podcasts, and/or articles, share documents, upload photo’s and video’s. Plus much more….

For a limited time only JOIN NOW for a one year free membership (19.95 for yearly access) after registration use promo code PC1



What Is A Social Website?

A social website is a type of website with pages that anyone can edit and contribute to, including text, photos, videos, polls and more. Unlike most websites that only technically savvy programmers can create, social websites can be easily worked on within your web browser. Because many people can contribute to a social website, the content grows quickly as a result of collaboration. Users can easily and quickly build on the work of others by adding new content-and even new pages-to the social website.

Who Do You Think You Are? Tonight Spike Lee

Spike Lee travels to Georgia to find answers about his once–enslaved ancestors — and then visits Texas to meet a descendant of his family’s former slave owner, a woman who is most likely his distant cousin.Friday April 30th NBC 8/7c season finale

What Is Genealo Gee?

GenealoGee.com is a genealogy bookmarking site for genealogists and hobbyists to share blog posts, articles, news and other information with each other. It has a similar purpose as the popular online news site "Digg," but it is focused exclusively on family history and genealogy. As the site grows in popularity and more people contribute articles, GenealoGee.com will become an increasingly valuable resource for locating online information about genealogy. The site is entirely free for users.

How to Include Stepchildren in a Family Tree

Some may think that stepchildren should not be included in a family tree, as it interferes with the authentic ancestry denoted by the tree. But you wouldn't want to leave out those kids who, even though they are not blood relatives, are beloved members of the family. Let stepchildren know that they are an essential part of the family by including them your family's tree. These instructions begin at the point where your grandparents are listed, even though your tree's history may very well extend much farther back. See more at:

How to Include Stepchildren in a Family Tree eHow.com

America The Story Of Us

A riveting adventure of how America was invented, AMERICA The Story of Us focuses on the people, ideas and events that built our nation, covering 400 years of American history in the most extensive and in-depth television series ever produced by HISTORY. From the rigors of linking the continent by wagon trails to the transcontinental railway, the engineering of steel-structured buildings, through to landing on the moon, this epic 12-part series is a grand cinematic vision of how this country was built.




I watched this last night, great show.

Ellis Island gives Springsteen heritage award

NEW YORK — Everyone knows he was born in the USA, but it was Bruce Springsteen's European immigrant roots — and his family's 110-year American dream — that were celebrated on Thursday.


Accompanied by his proud mother and aunts — the women who "provided me with place" and "filled my family and all of my work with great meaning" — the rocker from New Jersey received an Ellis Island Family Heritage Award.

The Statue of Liberty-Ellis Island Foundation, Inc. presents the award to immigrants or their descendants "who have made a major contribution to the American experience." Also honored were investment banker Peter G. Peterson; Avon Chairman and CEO Andrea Jung, and NBA All-Star Dikembe Mutombo.

"You can't really know who you are and where you're going unless you know where you came from," Springsteen said.

Springsteen's maternal great-grandmother, Raffaela Zerilli, arrived at Ellis Island from Vico Equense, Italy, on Oct. 3, 1900, with five kids in tow.

"I docked at Ellis Island in a city of light and spires," their famous descendant later wrote in his song "American Land," a story not unlike their own.

They joined her husband, Raffaele, in Manhattan's West Village.

One of those kids, Antonio, grew up and married Adela Sorrentino. Their youngest daughter, Adele, went on to marry Irish-American Douglas Springsteen.

The Springsteens raised their three kids in New Jersey.

When Bruce was 16, his mom borrowed money to buy him a guitar — an event he later chronicled in a tender tribute, "The Wish."

He taught himself how to play it — and went on to sell more than 120 million albums worldwide — including "We Shall Overcome: The Seeger Sessions — American Land," released in 2001. The title cut, "American Land," is a raucous, gritty pantheon of immigrant pluck and pride.


Adele Springsteen, now 85, who worked as a legal secretary for 47 years, went on to dance onstage with her son in New Jersey and Italy.

Her son — the self-described former high school outcast — played the Super Bowl halftime show and President Barack Obama's inauguration.

And on Thursday, mother, son and aunts found themselves on the island between New York and New Jersey, in the shadow of the Statue of Liberty, basking in warm applause.

Adele Springsteen married into poverty and "held our family together under just great, great, great difficulty," said her son. "Thank you, Mom. I love you very much."

Aunt Dora Kirby, 90, graduated with honors from college at age 67. "She's still cranking out people's income taxes," and will be available again next tax season, Springsteen said.

Ida Urbellis, 87, another aunt and a longtime garment worker, still works as a hairdresser on Wednesdays and Fridays.

"These fabulous women, they are my living connection to my heritage, to Ellis Island," said Springsteen.

"They have personified for me the tough optimism and the work ethic of first-generation-born American citizens," he added. "They lifted my spirit. I think they put the rock and roll in me."

http://www.ellisisland.org/

Who Do You Think You Are? Susan Sarandon Tonight

Watch tonight as Susan Sarandon solves the mystery of her missing grandmother and traces her roots all the way to Tuscany. NBC 8:00 central

Missed an episode? Watch it online at http://www.nbc.com/who-do-you-think-you-are/video/sarah-jessica-parker/1206958/

Sherwood Electronics Launches Branches, a Genealogy Program that has a Google Earth-like Graphical Viewer for Genealogy and Family History Data

Sherwood Electronics Launches Branches, a Genealogy Program that has a Google Earth-like Graphical Viewer for Genealogy and Family History Data

Posted using ShareThis

Discovering family history made simple and affordable

Discovering family history made simple and affordable. With more than 1.2 billion historical records-birth, death, marriage, divorce, census, obituary, immigration, military and more – all in a single location.

Expert Series: Professional genealogists share little-known tips and highlight valuable resources for how to research most effectively and unlock user’s family secrets.
Family Tree: Software that is simple enough for beginners, yet powerful enough for experts – enabling anyone to build a complete display of their family history.

Explore the benefits of membership without risk or obligation with a seven day free trial at TracingDescendants.com

Using A Genealogy Web Site To Find Your Heritage

There is just something about knowing where you came from and knowing who your ancestors are. This is the reason why many people have taken the time to trace their roots and find more information about their lineage. We all have to consider that knowing where you came from can greatly affect your decisions in which road to take to determine where you will be going.

Many people have been greatly influenced with their decisions because of their lineage. Many military men have chosen this path because their ancestors have been great heroes in the battlefield. Many politicians and lawyers have come from a long line of politicians and lawyers as well. This just goes to show that one's genes plays a dominant part in what career and opportunities a person may have.

But even though we don’t have a tradition to follow, learning about our roots would certainly provide us a sense of being. There is always satisfaction in clearing out clouds and knowing the truth behind it. Although family trees may seem like a high school project, genealogy goes way beyond that, it covers generations upon generations.

Starting out with a genealogy project can be very difficult but with the help of computers and the centralization of many records and information, finding records and data for a genealogy research can be done in less than a quarter of the time before.

Aside from the usual sources like your local library and records center, there are a vast number of places where you can get records. You don’t have to spend a lot of money on airfare, accommodations and food traveling from one place to another to do your research. It is simpler now than ever before.

You can get all the information you want with the use of your computer and the internet. With so many websites around that can offer a vast number of information and records, you may never have to leave your chair just to find out about your great grandfather or your third cousin twice removed. You have the power in your hands and all it needs is a little research and some patience.

Accessing records can be done in a matter of seconds or in a few days. This depends on the records that you are looking for. There are numerous genealogy web sites which can aid you in your search. All you need is to have the information which the site can use to conduct the research. This mostly is the name, birth or death date of the person you are looking for.

When you have finally completed your search, you can proudly show it off by creating your own genealogy site. Your finished product can be showcased in your site and you can let the whole world lean about your heritage.

Search Records: Birth, Marriage, Death, Divorce, Vital Records, Cemetery Listings, Obituaries, Burial & Military Records  Tracingdescendants.com